Life in USA

2000 - 2016 United States of America

 

Dallas, Texas. In November 2000, we moved into a new home in Southlake, TX, a suburb of Dallas. A new chapter in our lives in the United States had just begun! The day we moved in, the main water line in the front yard burst, and water shot 16 feet in the air. That was such a coincidence. Welcome to Texas!   

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In January 2001, Andreas moved back to New York, where he hooked up with his girlfriend and eventually attended Ulster County Community College in Kingston. Meanwhile, Anina attended Southlake High School as a newcomer. I remember that she was the only student that didn't have a car and walked to school. Not knowing anyone was hard initially, but she quickly made new friends. She would be graduating in two years. 

 

Rolex USA. My new job at Rolex was very demanding. Construction of an 8-story office tower had just begun as part of an expansion requiring much of my time. The number one urgency at this facility (112 employees) was to reduce the enormous 16-week turnaround time to repair a watch. Retail stores and consumers were unhappy with Rolex about this situation. My job was determining the necessary steps to reduce the turnaround time to an acceptable level. My goal was to reduce it to two weeks. The sooner, the better!

 

The director of Rolex USA, Walter Fischer, had asked me a few weeks earlier how many more employees I planned to hire in Dallas to accomplish this goal. When I responded that we might not have to hire any, I saw a puzzled look on his face. However, based on the reports from the Texas facility,  it seemed adequately staffed but mismanaged. His next question was how long it would take me to achieve my goal. That was difficult to predict and would depend entirely on my ability to form and prepare a new team to accept change and adapt to new work processes.

 

Let's get to work! Coming into a new company, there was a lot to learn, and communication was vital. In week one, I announced an open-door policy. I wanted people to know I was accessible and they could come and talk to me freely. It was the opposite of what they were used to under the previous management. To break the ice, I started inviting small groups of employees to a cup of coffee to get to know everyone and give them a chance to get to know me. My goal was to listen. I told them I would visit their workstation later and was interested in learning every detail about their work.

 

Doing this for about a month gave me an initial feel for the staff and the operation. I noticed some lack of teamwork. Enthusiasm and morale needed to improve as well. Everyone followed directions and did precisely what they were told, but very few had thinking hats on. Meetings were regarded as wasted, non-productive time. Department heads managed way too many people.

 

I knew what needed to be done and implemented the first essential changes:

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• Breaking up large teams into smaller, manageable groups.

• Holding department & group meetings regularly. 

• Forming focus groups and coaching them to find solutions.

• Establishing production and performance standards.

• Introducing semi-annual performance evaluations.

 

It took a while, but slowly the staff got used to wearing their thinking hats. And with that dynamic, everything changed. Employees felt like an essential part of the Rolex team, working towards a common goal. They were proud when they could resolve an issue and saw progress.

 

Being late for work was widespread. It was a constant battle and headache that department managers and HR had to deal with. I put an end to that by introducing a flex-time work schedule. Employees could clock in as early as 7 AM and had to work for 7 hours. Lateness quickly became a non-issue.

 

To bring the team closer, I had HR organize a yearly company picnic for employees, their spouses, and children. We also started an indoor soccer team.

 

The team slowly bonded. Morale was improving. And the results didn't go unnoticed by headquarters in New York. It was nice to have their support whenever I needed it. My immediate boss Chuck was a pleasure to work with. The same can be said for my other colleagues, Bernhard, Rudi, Marc, Steve, Maria, Mary, Jean-Claude, and others. We all pulled the wagon and steered it in the same direction.

 

There came a time, approximately two years later, when I felt the Texas team respected me as their new leader and was confident to have everyone on board to move more aggressively forward toward my goal.

 

With support from my colleagues in New York, we implemented a scanning system that monitored the flow of watches as they moved through the repair process. It helped coordinators to determine where bottlenecks occurred and allowed managers to act on them and find solutions to avoid them. The teams worked tirelessly month after month, and the turnaround time kept improving. Progress was posted weekly on the bulletin board for everyone to see. It became like a race to the finish line. 

 

Sometime in 2003, we reached our goal - a 2-week turnaround time. The whole team was very proud and filled with excitement about their achievement. I invited everyone to celebrate this remarkable benchmark. We raised our champagne glasses and cheered! It was a moment in my life that I will never forget. But my job wasn't done yet; there was a lot more we needed to work on to perfect the Rolex After Sales Service. 

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Credit goes to everyone who contributed to our success, especially the dream team: Jeannette Bacon, Khaled Elrawi, Mark Rodgers, Mary Lou Tedeschi, Alex Martinovic, and Jane Summers.

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Back to Family. Anina graduated from high school in 2002. Andreas returned to Texas and moved in with us. He had his mind set on becoming a chef and planned to study at the Culinary Institute in Austin as soon as he was accepted. In the meantime, our friend Sean, the owner of Sushi-Sam in Southlake, hired him as an apprentice Sushi chef. Andreas loved working with Sean, an excellent chef and inspiration. Six months later, Andreas and Anina both moved to Austin, Texas. She studied at the University of Austin, and he attended the Culinary Institute. They shared an apartment and had a monthly allowance.

 

While celebrating Christmas together that year, we visited Russia as a family in 2003. The trip started in St. Petersburg, where we boarded a river cruise ship that was our floating hotel for the next 13 days. The journey continued from St. Petersburg on rivers, lakes, and other waterways, through Russia's countryside and vast forests to Moscow. The ship had to navigate through numerous locks. We stopped at several cities and points of interest, including Mandrogy, Kizhi Island, Kuzino, Yaroslavl, and Uglich, and saw an excellent folklore show and circus performance. The entertainment and food on board were super. We tasted delicate Russian dishes and even participated in a Vodka tasting event.

 

In November 2003, our friends of many years, Kurt & Renata, invited us for a week to Sanibel Island. Their timeshare was right by the beach, with a tennis court, swimming pool, and bicycles at our disposal. The beautiful sandy beach was lovely for long walks and swimming in the crystal-clear water. That was so cool and a special treat that was for us! We loved it and decided to invest in a timeshare if we had the opportunity.

 

In 2005, my sister organized a family reunion in the Black Forest region of Germany. Mom and Dad were in their early 80s and proud to be reunited with all their children and grandchildren. Everyone was able to attend. Unfortunately, Andreas could only stay for a few days and had to return to Austin for his studies. The rest of us visited Munich and Salzburg, Austria. I could only last a week and had to return to my work in Dallas. But Ursula and Anina stayed longer and visited Kurt & Renata at their country estate in France and continued for a visit to Paris with Wally. 

 

The year 2005 marked a few memorable events. The first one was Andreas's graduation from the Texas Culinary Institute. I was very proud of his accomplishment. It was a solid basis and start for his professional chef's career! The second one was Ursula beginning a new home business with LoveThePearls, a startup company selling pearls through social events, home parties, and shows. The third was Anina moving to Denton, where she continued her studies at the University of North Texas (UNT). The fourth was Anina renting a room at the Ashram Yoga and Meditation Center, where she met her future husband, Jeremy Delost. What a year!

 

In 2006, I visited my parents in Switzerland. They had sold the Chalet and were now living in an apartment complex for elderly folks. It was a simple 1-BR apartment on the third floor with a balcony and view of the nearby mountains. Everything they needed was conveniently located within 1/4 mile, the doctor, bank, post office, butcher, bakery, supermarket, and train station. Mom was 80, and Dad was 84 and physically in good shape. Shortly after returning to Dallas, I learned that Dad was scheduled for a prostate operation. My sister called on the day of the procedure to let me know that all went well. A few days later, I received another call informing me that Dad had passed away. He died from a complication. What a shock! I was utterly stunned. So sorry, Dad, you had to leave this world so early and unexpectedly.   

 

Anina graduated from UNT with a Bachelor's in Geography and Geographic Information Systems. Her graduation present was an all-inclusive Belize Adventure for two. After she and Jeremy returned from Belize, she worked for BNSF in Ft. Worth. 

 

Challenging Times. 2008 was terrible! It began with the housing bubble's collapse, which led to a financial crisis and recession. Many US companies scaled back their operations. Unfortunately, Anina was caught in that and lost her job. Rolex USA took drastic measures. Salaries were reduced to 80% across the board. Hundreds of retail accounts were closed from one day to the next. A year later, it decided to close the Beverly Hills, CA, service center and move its managing director to Dallas to take over my position, forcing me into early retirement at the age of 64. I was totally unprepared for this. Rolex Geneva never sanctioned these drastic measures that the two top executives at Rolex USA took. It backfired on them, and they are no longer with the company.

 

In March 2009, I joined Anina & Jeremy on a backpacking trip to the Copper Canyons in Chihuahua, Mexico. Then in August, Anina and I went hiking in the Swiss Alps. At that time, she had severe doubts about whether her college degree was the right choice for what she wanted to pursue in life. She was in agony over it and was searching for a new calling. We had long discussions about it on the hiking trail. It was good to have that daughter-dad bonding time together, and I was able to plant some seeds. I knew it would take time, but I knew Anina would eventually get clarity and develop a new plan.

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New Opportunity. After my early retirement, I kept myself busy as best as possible and helped Ursula with the LoveThePearls business. That was all good, but it didn't fulfill me completely. I felt bored and missed the watchmaking world. Thus, I decided to open a consulting firm and offer my expertise to the Swiss Watch Service Industry.

 

HI-Consulting was born. Rolex Mexico became my first client. I'm very thankful to my friend Rafael Rolli for offering me this opportunity. He had just moved Rolex to new headquarters and had a relatively new service team that needed structure and guidance. It was a part-time type of arrangement and perfect for me. Naturally, I felt right at home with a company and culture I was already familiar with. At the same time I started working in Mexico, I immersed myself in an online Spanish course. Si señor, si tu quieres trabajar en México, es ventajas que hables el idioma!

 

Semi-Retirement Years. With Andreas and Anina no longer living with us at home, Ursula and I decided to downsize and look for a new home. Our broker, Sophie, found us a charming 3-BR deal in a gated community in the neighboring town of Colleyville. We had many things we no longer needed and sold many items on CraigsList and garage sales. We moved into our new home in November 2009 after returning from Sanibel with our friends Bernhard & Elisabeth.  

 

In March 2010, I joined Anina on an exciting group backpacking trip to Costa Rica. We visited the Arenal volcano area, went to beautiful beaches, did kayaking, and took a 4-day hike through the rainforest on the Osa Peninsula. It was a fantastic trip and a beautiful country to visit. The rainforest hike was the most strenuous experience of my life.  

 

Later that year, Ursula fell seriously ill. She gradually lost weight and developed a cough she couldn't get rid of. Something didn't seem right, and we took her to the emergency room. After a week in the hospital, the doctors discovered her lung was infected with some fungus. For a while, they didn't know if there was a cure. She was growing weaker and weaker. It was a scary time, and I feared for her life. She was in IC for some time before disease specialists could pinpoint the virus and start a treatment program. And luckily, Ursula pulled through. It was a miracle. Thank you, modern medicine!

 

2011 was a hectic year. In February, we skied in Wolf Creek, Colorado, with Anina, Jeremy, Avery & Nina. And that summer, Anina & Jeremy purchased their first house in Shady Shores. Anina put all her life savings towards the downpayment. A good decision and better than paying rent somewhere. It was a cute 3-BR house, one block off Lake Lewisville, with a two-car garage and a large backyard. 

 

I flew to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and spent a few weeks with my friends Bernhard & Elisabeth in July. Bernhard and I took two backpacking trips in the Sawtooth Mountains and rode mountain bikes on the Hiawatha Trail. The highlight of this trip was when his neighbor John Barlow took us fly fishing. We floated down the Coeur d'Alene River in a boat that John had built by hand. Around lunchtime, he dropped the anchor, and we ate sandwiches on a sandbank in the river. What a wonderful experience that was for me. Thank you, John! In August, John, Bernhard, and I flew to Switzerland and hiked with other retired friends on a hut-to-hut trail from Kandersteg to Mürren. 

 

In October, Andreas accompanied me to Mexico City for my consulting job. We went sightseeing together on the weekend, including the pyramids of Teotihuacán. Since he lived in Austin, I didn't see Andreas very often, and it was nice to have a few father-son days together. I was pretty fluent in Spanish at that time.

 

In March 2012, I went to Big Bend National Park with my friends John Johnson, Jimmy, and Lena. The weather was arid. For some reason, there were a hundred million flies in the air. They were everywhere; it was a natural pest. We camped in two different spots and did several day hikes. The most memorable was sitting at the edge of a cliff, looking straight down to the Rio Grande and across to Mexico. The stars in the night sky were incredible! On the last day, the Park Ranger handed us a hefty fine for (unintentionally) leaving some trash behind in a bear container. What a bummer. Lesson learned!   

 

In June 2012, I met with my senior buddies in Switzerland. We hiked from Kandersteg to Gstaad. It was a little too early in the year. One trail was closed due to a rock slide, and we also had rainy days and light snow. While descending, Peter slipped on wet grass and broke his ankle. We got him to a nearby road and called a mountain taxi that took him to the hospital in Zweisimmen. A very unpleasant way to end a hike for him. The rest of us continued and finished in Gstaad. 

 

In August, I was back in the US and hiked the Maroon Bells in Colorado with Bernhard and a group of Anina's friends. It was a scenic seven-day loop over five mountain passes. It was a fantastic trip. On the way home, we stopped at the Orient Land Trust hot springs to relax our sore muscles and came to find out that the car battery was dead. Someone gave us a boost, and we made it to AutoZone in Amarillo, where Jeremy had a new battery installed.   

 

In September, I did several hikes with Bernhard in Idaho. The nicest one was the Longs Canyon to Parker Peak loop. The weather was beautiful, and there were lots of Huckleberries and wild mushrooms to pick, but the mountain lakes trout didn't care much for my lure!

 

I went hiking in Zion National Park in October with Bernhard, John, and Mike Brown. It started with bad luck when I sprained my ankle in the Subway Canyon on day one. When I got up the next morning, my foot was swollen and painful. I could barely walk initially, but it improved as the ankle warmed up. Then John (the Boy Scout) did his magic bandage trick on me, and I could continue hiking on Ibuprofen, albeit at a slower pace. The next day we hiked the Narrows Canyon, an excellent 2-day deal from the top down. The sheer canyon walls were impressive! Half the trail was wading in knee-deep cold water, which was great for my ankle. The following day we did Angels Landing, a daring climb on a narrow path fitted with ropes and chains anchored into the rock to the top. The last two days, we hiked in and out to the famous Kolob Arch.

 

In 2013, Andreas moved to San Antonio to work as a chef at Starfish. Meanwhile, Ursula and I enjoyed the time with the friendly neighbors in our little gated community in Colleyville. Two houses down from us lived Ken and Kris. Ken was an avid cyclist. We rode our bikes weekly and later participated in the Hotter N' Hell 100 and the Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) together. It was unfortunate when Ken passed away from cancer two years later. Bicycling has never been the same for me since. Then there was Jayne Palmer and her husband Aubra, our HOA president. Aubra overcame many challenges in his life, being Albano with poor eyesight and unable to drive a car. Despite this and two bouts with cancer, he did well for himself. He is a super friendly human being and has become my best friend. Aubra and Ken introduced me to another neighbor, Dean Thompson. Dean was a former pilot for American Airlines. After his retirement, he converted one of his garage spaces into a woodwork shop. Dean taught me everything about woodturning. He was very generous and let me use his shop (almost daily) to work on my projects. Sometimes we worked on joint projects with Aubra, who specialized in crafting hiking poles and walking canes, but I mainly worked by myself and became obsessed with turning wooden pepper mills. Thank you, Dean!

 

Meanwhile, Anina had found her calling and decided to pursue a doctor's degree in Physical Therapy. She worked hard as a PT assistant while taking prep courses to have a better chance of being accepted at a college. 

 

On May 4th, Anina & Jeremy got married. The wedding was at Eden Hill Winery. It was simple, relaxed, and low-key. Jeremy's parents and his brothers from Chicago were all there. Andreas was accompanied by his girlfriend, Kate. All of Anina's and Jeremy's best friends came to celebrate, some from as far away as Seattle. Ursula baked the wedding cake and decorated the tables with the help of Jeremy's mom Sue who also took professional photographs. I had the honor of acting as the Vow Master. It was the most fantastic wedding ever. The wedding song they chose was "Someday over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole.

 

In August, John, Bernhard, and I met again with our king buddies in Switzerland. We hiked for 6-days in the beautiful canton of Wallis near the Aletsch Glacier and Saas-Fee. During the winter, Ursula and I skied in Flims, Switzerland, with our friends Hans & Farida and then joined Wally in Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis in Austria for more skiing.

   

In 2014, amazing Anina got accepted to TWU and started working towards her new degree (a three-year program). Ursula and I went to Idaho for spring skiing on Schweitzer Mountain with our friends Bernhard & Elisabeth. In May, we went to the Excellence Resort in Punta Cana for a week, where we celebrated our 44th anniversary. In June, my Urologist performed a prostate biopsy that unfortunately left me with a stubborn infection. I was in and out of Baylor Hospital several times until doctors could figure out the proper antibiotics that worked. That was no fun! As soon as I felt better, I built a chicken coop with Anina and Jeremy. We had lots of fun along the way. The chickens felt right at home and happily laid their eggs.

 

In October 2014, I met again with my hiking friends in Switzerland. This time we spent a week in the canton of Obwalden. Our base camp was a simple Chalet owned by Hans Vogler's family. Hans's brother Hans-Sepp was our guide. We did beautiful day hikes in the area, including the Brienzer Rothorn, and climbed the 9,485ft. Wildgärst. The weather was lovely for October.  

 

After returning to Dallas, we left for our annual stay on Sanibel Island, where we now had our 2-BR timeshare for 3-weeks. It is on the top floor, next to our friends Kurt & Renata, with a balcony overlooking the Gulf.   

 

In December, then-director Gonzalo Alvarez and I agreed that my consulting work for Rolex Mexico would end. The team was now sufficiently structured and trained to continue on their own. It was good timing because I was exposed to certain dangers, including kidnapping. It was nice to retire from work at age 69 finally.

 

In March 2015, our friend Peter invited us to stay at his beach house in Antigua. It was a beautiful three-week vacation. We swam daily in the crystal clear, turquoise-colored water at Jolly Harbor Beach. We got to know a few of Peter's friends in his community and spent wonderful group evenings together. The coconuts in the sand by the restaurant "Castaway" always reminded me of Tom Hanks and Wilson!

 

That summer, we sold our house in Colleyville and purchased a similar home with a pool just a few miles west in the township of Keller.   

 

In August, I joined Anina & Jeremy, and six friends on a backpacking trip to the Sierra Nevada. It was so different from Colorado. The rocks were Granite, and there were lots of alpine lakes everywhere. I loved these mountains! In September, I met with my hiking friends in Switzerland again. This time, our base camp was Peter's Chalet high above the village of Morgins in the French-speaking part of the canton Wallis. Peter's brother Jörg used to be a professional chef and spoiled us every evening with his delicious cuisine. BTW, the hiking was beautiful too!   

 

In 2016, I fulfilled two longtime dreams. The first one was to experience hiking in a Desert. In February, I flew with a Swiss team to Marrakesh, Morocco. From there, we crossed the Atlas and were dropped off at our starting point in the Sahara. From there, we trekked across the Sahara in an easterly direction for nine days with camels and a support crew. It was surprising how often the desert changed during the day. The terrain, the colors, the light, and the shadows constantly changed. The opposite is true for anybody who thinks a desert is boring. It was a most exciting experience, and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again in a heartbeat. Ten days later, I was snowboarding in Zermatt with my brother Herbert. That was wild; what a trip!

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My second longtime dream was to experience the Himalayas. In October, I flew with a Swiss team to Kathmandu, Nepal. From there, we traveled in 4WD buses to the starting point of our 13-day trekking. We were hooked up with the Sherpas, porters, and support crew. Starting at 2,200ft, we hiked higher daily through steep terrain and across numerous hanging bridges. We generally slept in 2-person tents near small villages. The folks that live in that mountain world are very hardworking and resilient. They must be self-sufficient and do whatever it takes to survive the harsh conditions. The last camp on our ascent was at 14,724 feet. The air was thin, and the temperature noticeably colder. The following day, a lady from our group needed to be evacuated by helicopter due to altitude sickness. The rest of us continued climbing with headlights at 4:00 AM towards the 16,756ft. Larkya-La Pass. Six hours later, we all celebrated on top and admired the breathtaking view of the snow mountains around us. It was an extraordinary and unforgettable trip!

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Anina's husband, Jeremy, had been working in California for almost a year. He frequently returned home to Denton to stay with Anina and his two daughters, Avery and Nina. It was a temporary arrangement, however. The plan was to move to California permanently after Anina graduated. In March, they put the house in Shady Shores on the market, and Anina came to live with us. Several contractors, including roofers, plumbers, and a foundation repair, were scheduled before the final closing. I checked on the workers a few times and helped restore the living room's wood floor. 

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