Saturday:
Anthony arrived safely and Nick came over so we all had dinner at my place. We talked and talked and finally we called it a night at 2am. We weren't going to wake up in time for the train to Salzburg.... but it's alright.

Sunday:
Anthony was only in for a day and half, so we walked all around München. Marienplatz, Englischer Garten, then headed to BMW Museum and Welt. We checked pricing on the Olympiaturm and it's only 4,50euro to go up. Open most days until 11:30pm! We didn't go this time around because we were really hungry and it was quite busy (there were many people in Olympiaplatz for the Bon Jovi concert). We had PizzaHut which was better than I was expecting.... then WALKED all the way back to Marienplatz to go to Hofbräuhaus. It was a long day.

Monday:
We went on a historic Steam Train ride around München. It was so much fun! The smoke of coals burning, the whistles and the chugging along the tracks. Definitely a fun hour spent on a holiday.

Trials and tribulations of failure - A valuable lesson in Time Management

Today I have failed. I took on more than I could accomplish. I had to prepare two cars for testing which involved fetching parts, checkovers/inspections, and getting fluids changed. I had to speak to someone whom I have never met before, in an area I wasn't familiar with. When I couldn't reach him over the phone, I moved onto the next task. I hadn't even taken lunch but I accomplished all other things that needed to be done, and finally tackled the last task from earlier (brake fluid change) I went over to the department, the contact wasn't there, and I asked the co-workers if it was possible. They said there was no time left, and it would have to wait till next Tuesday (the cars will underway by then).

I feel pretty disappointed and my boss assured me it wasn't to big of a deal. He said that he will have the brake fluid changed at the testing area. I still feel as though I let people down. I don't want to be seen as unreliable and this could have been easily avoided. It was a very hard lesson of learning how to manage time and prioritize. If I can offer ANY advice from this experience it is one word:

ASK


If you aren't sure, ask
If you need help, ask
If you are in over your head, ask (to delegate)
If you don't know who your contact is, ask

Even if everyone is slammed with work, extremely busy, it is better to ask for clarification than to do your work incorrectly (or not at all).  You aren't going to annoy anyone, you aren't going to be frowned upon for not knowing how to accomplish something. The purpose of the internship is to gain knowledge in the field/industry and sometimes you can only do so by asking for clarification. I took on more than I could accomplish and I don't know if it was a matter of pride/over enthusiasm/willingness to take on new tasks....but I should have asked for assistance early on. Lesson learned.

...it also doesn't help that it was the Friday before a holiday so people were leaving early anyhow. This may have contributed to the shorter time frame of available assistance, but it shouldn't have been a problem if I contacted my co-workers ahead of time.



This weekend a friend is visiting from Braunschweig; We may be going to Salzburg tomorrow for some sight seeing. It's also his first time in München so I'm sure there will be some city sights to be seen.

Today I had to pick someone up from München- Flughafen (airport). To my surprise it was the Claudia Hürtgen! She is the race driver for BMW Motorsports Z4 GT3. She was super friendly and I practiced my German the entire drive while she practiced her [already awesome] English. I hope I am able to get an Autograph later. She will also be competing in the coming weeks at 24hr Rennen Nürburgring so maybe I can remind her then.She recognized me before I spotted her out, she said she has seen me at Messegelände Aschheim; this made me feel happy as she was already aware of my existence somehow  :D
I have ordered a new telephoto lens and I hope to take some better pictures this event.


BMW Motorsport Z4 GT3

Goodbye Braunschweig

Last week there was a holiday on thursday, i used my flex-time (Gleitzeit) to take friday off so I could go back to Braunschweig and pick up my last piece of luggage. I had to leave some stuff behind because when I initially moved to München, I had to live out of a hostel for a week or so.

Thursday I had left immediately from work, packed a small bag and got a ticket to Braunschweig. Because it was spontanious, there were NO RESERVATION for seats. Thats right, I had to sit 4.5 hours on the floor of an ICE3. Wasn't as bad as you might think, as long as you stake your claim for a spot to sit. (or just sit on top of your luggage).

 It was great catching up with friends and classmates. I wish I could have at least stopped by to see if I could help with Lions Racing, but things haven't been going so well from what I've heard. Lots of changes.

We went to Okercabana, the Heidberg See (twice, second time to BBQ out by the water) and some bars throughout the weekend. I met up with many fellow IEP'ers and some International Students from TUBS-Sommerkurs which was great.

Dr.Grandin and the IEP Alums

This past weekend we had the great pleasure of having dinner and drinks with Dr.Grandin, his wife and many IEP Alums and contacts. Dr.Grandin is very well accomplished and respected as he has founded the International Engineering Program and has been the director for the past 23 years. The program has gained many awards and is one of the most nationally recognized in the country blending Engineering and Language to cater to a global marketplace. It has served as a model to other Global Engineering programs but is quite strong with partner schools and business programs in countries speaking German, Spanish, French and Chinese.  It was really refreshing to see what is possible and what opportunities await after graduating from this program. I still believe I want to pursue grad studies in Europe, but it was nice building up some connections. 


Click here for more info about the International Engineering Program

Sunday was pretty productive. Laundry, research, and planning for Nürburgring. It was beautiful out so i decided to walk around camera in hand.

This is where the magic happens, BMW Forschungs- und Innovationszentrum (research and innovation center). This is just the front entrance which is about 1/14th of the actual office complex. The office complex is only about 1/3 of this BMW campus. It is a wonderful place to work. I am sad when the weekend rolls around because I have to wait until Monday to go back. Every day, a new adventure.

Saturday was spent sailing on the Ammersee. The weather was amazing as usual, and a couple friends and I drank a beer and talked about what could have been. It was "Doomsday" afterall....

After judgement day, Sunday I went to a German Practice/Stammtisch. It was great meeting new people and there were many good conversations. The weather started to get windy/cloudy, but almost in a nice way.

All the deadlines for Grad School Scholarships abroad in Germany are actually sooner than I thought (November). I'm going to have to shoot a couple emails out to different universities to get the ball rolling on deciphering if my Bachelors is comparable for enrollment, at least to get some University correspondence which many scholarships require. If I cannot find funding for graduate school, there's absolutely no way possible. I really want to study Fahrdynamik (Driving Dynamics). It completely aligns with my hobbies and interests. The reason why I went back to school in the first-place was for the love of motorsports. This internship at BMW has opened my eyes to opportunities that I initially thought unobtainable. Work hard, do the best you can, and eventually you will reach your goal. It took me a couple years, but so far everything has been working out for the best. I will try harder, and maybe in the future I'll be exactly where I want to be.

Today I saw the BMW Vision ConnectedDrive at work, what a beautiful car.

The boat we rented for 70euros (the whole day)

BMW ConnectedDrive

Unrelated but based on the ConnectedDrive design and still awesome in it's own right, the BMW 328 Hommage:

See more of the 328 Hommage on Autoblog

Week in Review

This past Wednesday I attended a German Stammtisch organized through some forums on Toytown. It is a predominantly english speaking forum, but there are an ABUNDANCE of activities set up from concerts, photo scavenger hunts, stammtisch (in many different languages), wine tastings and so on. It is easy to get ideas to keep busy and meet people. Best part, toytown is active in many large cities around Germany. It was cool mingling with people from many different countries and with the help of some locals, we were able to engage in conversation at our own pace, own level, and with good constructive feedback. There is another German Practice Stammtisch on Sunday I will go to. Next Wednesday I will be taking part in a 6 person Portrait Workshop learning  how to use Studio Lighting. I can't wait, I haven't been motivated lately to take any new photos, but it would be nice to learn how to take pictures of people nicely.

My tickets for the 24Hours of Nürburgring have been booked! My boss is going to be there too for the Mini GP race and I think one other event. He told me to drop by the paddock for a visit  :) I am extremely excited, but again, sad I do not have access to a telephoto lens. :(

I have been more busy at work which is awesome. I helped translate a 96 slide PowerPoint for BMW Driver-Training (my boss is also a driving instructor). Today I got to sit in and offer a few recommendations for some hard to translate (into English) topics. However, they all did a great job, and it was just fun meeting others and listening in.

Tomorrow I will be heading off with two other IEP students to the Starnberger See for some sailing. Can't wait, even though some say it's the Apocalypse, I'm not going to let that get in the way of enjoying my short moment left in Germany. I just realized that in 2 or 3 weeks, I'll be halfway done with my internship which really breaks my heart.