blog.zgraggen.name  All-day insanity or I have a blog too!

Do not trust this company! Ignore phone calls and do not respond to inquiries!
Here is why:

A few weeks ago I got contacted from both my previous employers. Both said that they get bombarded with phone calls and emails from WKPRM. This polish company tried to confirm my employment background.
Email:

Dear Sir,

On behalf of WK Personal Risk Managers.I would like to confirm the employment of GUIDO Zgraggen in your company. Such verification is required for the recruitment process, because the above mentioned person has recently applied for a job.

Since, my previous company didn’t respond, they sent an email in German:
(Which is a 1:1 Google translation)

Im Namen der WK Personal Risk Managers.I möchte die Beschäftigung von GUIDO Zgraggen in Ihrem Unternehmen zu bestätigen. Eine solche Prüfung ist für das bewerbungsverfahren erforderlich, da die oben genannte Person hat vor kurzem für eine Stelle beworben.

The weird part about this is that I was never informed about this background check. Furthermore, they must have called several people till they reached my boss from the apprenticeship. Since the company was renamed and also reorganized. Besides I didn’t mention anywhere the name of him. btw: This was also almost 10 years ago!

Even though it was a little far-fetched I asked my current employer if they asked for the background checked. But they told me that they never heard of this company. My next thought was that someone must be using my identity especially my background (resume) to get a job. So I contacted this company to find out what is going on. But WKPRM never responded to my emails. So therefore the only reasonable explanation left is that this company is a fake!

For the curious people here is the link to their website.

Other theories?
Thoughts?

Another weekend and another trip to NYC… this time I was accompanied by Amy
Here are four more things, which I like to point out:

- Plaid Power: We saw the NYC Tartan Day Parade. And we happened to be there for exactly the 5min, when the bag pipers (or was it only one?) of Carnegie Mellon walked by. Thanks to Amy’s loud cheering we are now proud owner of a yellow “Plaid power” towel from Carnegie Mellon.

- MoMA stands for the Museum of Modern Art. While entered the museum I was contemplating to leave right away because there were several hundred other people trying to get admission as well. But as a UBS employee I had free admission (incl. a free ticket for Amy) and was able to queue at a special desk. Since it is the modern art museum there is a lot of peculiar art which would need some time to get used to. Especially, the exhibition from Marina Abramović which included life performance and loads of nudity. The highlights for me were “Starry Night - Vincent van Gogh“, “Water Lilies - Claude Monet” and the Picasso exhibitions.

- The View. This is a restaurant in the 48 floor at the time square. And it is the only rotating restaurant in NYC, even though the rotation is not as smooth as it could be it is a great experience and the food is delicious. Definitive worth a visit before a show. Make sure to make a reservation and tell the waiter what time your show starts. They will help you that you stay on time Video on the way down in the elevator.

- Lion King. My first show at the Broadway! I guess there is not much more to say… I liked the musical and I would definitely recommend it.

Here are some pictures…

That is the title of the book I just read.
It is a compilation of stories based on Tucker Max life. This book showed me, in a funny way, that there are people out there who live their lives different. It is fair to say, that Max is an asshole and often behaves rude and condescending to pretty much everyone who doesn’t admire him. He is very narcissistic and likes to be the center of attention. This will even get worse when he is drunk.
Average people treat other people like they want to get treated by others. Not so Tucker Max…

I thought most stories are funny and I had a hard time to put this book down. Additionally, I also thought it was interesting to see how you can be an asshole and get away with it.

Here is his description on the back of his book:
My name is Tucker Max, and I am an asshole. I get excessively drunk at inappropriate times, disregard social norms, indulge every whim, ignore the consequences of my actions, mock idiots and posers, sleep with more women than is safe or reasonable, and just generally act like a raging dickhead. But, I do contribute to humanity in one very important way: I share my adventures with the world.

I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell

The last two weekends I did some trips to New York City. Since, I am only 45min (by train) away from NYC it is a perfect spott for daylong trips. And there is also more than enough to see. I have seen many neighborhoods in NYC and I am always amazed how different each neighborhood looks almost as you are in a different city. I would like to point out four highlights which I liked.
- High Line an old train line which was transformed into a walkway
- Williamsburg in Brooklyn, upcoming neighborhood. Nice bars and restaurants
- Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York which is supposedly the 4th largest Christian church in the world
- Grand Central Station where my train arrives and leaves

More trips to follow…

Here are some pictures.