Emma & Brano News

The Heinz-Vargic Super Heroes

On our way from the Georgia mountains to Jen's bed and breakfast we stopped in the Southern Illinois town of Metropolis. Yes we are super heroes after all.

Introducing Včelík

The new edition to the Heinz-Vargic household is a little Škoda, Fabia, who goes by the name Včelík (a sort of funny name because it is like a bee). It has a little tiny 1.2 liter engine and is perfect for buzzing around the city streets of Bratislava. I also get some amazing mileage which is again perfect...

Oh happy happy am I, each time I get to the car to drive it anywhere. There is something so wonderful about a new car. The feelings of security and sole ownership -- it's mine and only mine, I say while rubbing my hands together maniacally.

I'm in Business!!!

Yes, that's right. I have started my own business. I was walking around one day, wondering how to make my life a little bit more -- hmmmm -- autonomous. So, with the help of some great peeps, thanks to Monika, Kubo & Ivonka, and always Braňo, I managed to get through the bureacracy to go into business for myself. What am I doing? The same things that I've always done, but now it takes on a different significance. Am I egoistic in saying that now it is for me? There are different struggles -- learning to invoice, finding out that the deductions are much more strict here in Slovakia, and just figuring out all the paperwork; but, all in all life is sweat, I mean, sweet.

I have changed one thing and that is my employment at the University, where I only teach one afternoon. In a sense, I do miss that anxious energy that comes from teaching larger groups in a setting that smells of sewage and academia. (The school actually has drainage issues.) My students stop me in the halls and ask, why... why..., I answer their high pitch whines with the comment, "it's not you, it's me". I think we've broken up rather successfully. My private lessons have just begun and they progress nicely.

As for home... well, the last post below was of Braňo's professional development and he continues to work very hard for Hay. I think that he likes it and it offers him daily challenges and growth. We flourish by eating together, scrumptious meals, carefully rendered with love. More ramblings to come.

The new job - so far so good...

As many of you have wondered about my new job, after two weeks all I can say is.....so far so good. The transition to 9-5 job has gone rather smoothly, the intensity of work load - due to summer holiday - is very reasonable at the moment, the people I work with I like very much. No need for suits yet, actually when it was really hot I went in flip-flops and shorts and I was not the only one from the office to do so. I am sure the "suit-time" will come soon though.....Most of the last two weeks I spent reading and correcting the Compensation report for 2005, which is a survey of wages and salaries for the Slovak market across a sample of about 160 companies. Additionally, I have written a proposal for a training program for the management team of Sky Europe, a low cost airline present in Central Europe. If they like it, I will start working with them in the fall......I will keep you updated.......

The quest is over....

On Friday, June 10, 2005 my quest for “another level of formal education” was officially ended as I received PhD diploma from the hands of the president of my University. It took 5 years, a ton of patience, loads of frustrations, pages and pages of scrap paper, much love and support from my family & friends and 10 months in Holland (which was not so bad :) ). Looking back at those years, great memories come to mind: my students and the first time I could see “the light bulbs above their heads”, the excitement over my first academic publication, enthusiasm over my first case study or my first consulting project and the positive feedback received after it. And as I want to keep this short, not to get too sappy or emotional and I most certainly do not want this to become an “Academy award thank you speech”, I will only thank myself for sticking to it and getting it done :) :) :). Time to move on to other things has arrived.....like putting up this blog and sharing our pictures with you....can one get a PhD in photography??