wintheplanet.com launched!

I have just launched along with a friend www.wintheplanet.com - The first online not-for-profit global lottery dedicated to sustainability.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Last few months....

Have been quite eventfull for me. Even though it has to be said that as I get older the length of time between major events in my life seems to be getting longer and longer. Maybe this is called maturity?

Anyways, things have happened:

- The business that Vlad and I started back in April now has another partner. I have had the pleasure of knowing Javier  and working with him back in the Dominican Republic and I thought of him as the person that can bring a lot of things to our team and to the project. As such he is now equal partner with us and it turns out that we are all working very nicely together

-Connected with the entrepreneurial side but also the friends side, Vlad managed to find a job as a trainee in Dexia Kommunalkredit bank so he moved back to Vienna. And to make things better, he moved in to an apartment that is withing 10 minutes walking distance from us. I am sure this change is a very good thing for him and it will be also a great thing for our venture.

-Alexandra has now a project of her own (along with Olivia and the Emersense team) and it involves doing a pilot project on 'teen education with Aflatoun. I am very happy for her as I knew she needs to have something like this to help her focus better and channel her energies in a constructive and productive manner.

-The Hub is now officially open in Vienna. We attended last Friday the kick-off event and I must say that the location has a lot of potential. Hinnerk and Matthias (the guys from the Emersense team that own this project) estimate that they might be ready in the next three month so I just can't wait to have my The Hub entry card :)

-Visited both Brussels and London this past months and I can say that both are very nice cities, but Vienna still remains the city of my dreams (now for an even larger array of reasons).

(On the stairs of the European Parliament in Brussels, I am the first one from the bottom)

-Masters. The nostalgia of finishing university made me want to go back to studying and so I started a Masters in Online Marketing. Well, not really :)
I just thought that it is a good time for me to also do this step, as we say in Romania "just to have it there". Even though I am not really sure on the value of having it, I will certainly enjoy my Januaries and Julies for the next two years :/

-Training, an aspect of my life in which I am making constant and noticeable progress.
I have bought a triathlon-specific bike with all the addition kit (indoor trainer, shoes, cleats, saddle, etc), finished integrating all the discipline in my weekely training schedule (here you can see my progress) and also finished setting the objectives for 2010.

>March- Half Marathon Vienna (21.1kms)
>April- Marathon Vienna (42.2 kms)
>May- Sprint Triathlon Vienna (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run)
>June- Olympic Triathlon Salzburgerland (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run)
>August- Olympic Triathlon Krems (this is the most important, A priority)

Connected with the competition side, in October  I ran the Wolfgangsee 27km which was planning to finish in 2:30. That was until I saw the huge 2km climb of almost 400m somewhere at the beginning of the course, and then plans changed :)
At the end I finished it in 2:57, but I am still very happy with how I planned (clothing, nutrition, hydration, pacing) and raced this event.

(I am the one on the right, and Alexandra behind me)

Another news on the triathlon side is that I got accepted as a volunteer at IronMan Austria 2010.
I was assigned to the team at the Finish that helps the athletes to the finishers tent, and I will also be joined by Emil, Vlad and Morut.

-Settled in at my job with Kraft Foods as Financial Analyst in the Financial Planning and Analysis Department. More about this in the future, but let's just say for now that there are "mixed feelings".


 That's about it on the updates side for me.
As the usage of my time is growing more and more "agenda-driven" also my blogging frequency will decrease but I will keep posting things every once in a while.