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2/29/2008 12:00:00 PM
Santa Monica, CA
THE START of Project Hollywood

THE START of Project Hollywood

Howdy,

The last time you received an update from us, we wrote about THE END of our sailing project, it was an emotional email as it was an emotional project for TheSchmids family. But as someone in their reply mentioned the end of one thing is always the start of another and therefore I am proud to announce today's start of PROJECT HOLLYWOOD ... today was my first day at my new job in Santa Monica. It's very exciting as we have decided on many questions that have been up in their air for a while: "Will we stay in Vienna? Where will we settle? What type of work will I do? ... Despite many answers there are a few open questions as to be expected this early on in any 'project'.

Location wise, yes it is decided, we are moving to Santa Monica or somewhere nearby ... NO we are NOT moving to LA (though close). It seems we are having an identity crisis about LA, thinking that if we say 'we move to LA' we might get absorbed in the LA hype and especially the traffic! Traffic in LA is bad, let me tell you ... Santa Monica is sooooo much better ... don't destroy our fantasy please ... J

Work wise, I have decided to go back to corporate life and when I mean corporate, I mean true corporate by being a fulltime employee of a company again and not consulting. But then again, it isn't quite like going back to selling diapers or sanitary napkins but it is something I love, which is video gaming ... I am joined Activision today Feb 29th. My role will be in an area I feel very comfortable in, Head of Enterprise Applications, work I have been doing for the last 15 years and really enjoy. At the same time, it will be very different to the last 15 years as I won't be a consultant anymore, I will own the decisions and not 'just advise' and I will need to adjust my time expectations and temper my desire to push hard at times and keep the spark for the most important times ... LOL. Activision as a company is in an exciting industry and times, as many of you I love computer games, I had an Xbox when it came out first and love to play Activision games such as Call of Duty, Guitar Hero and Spiderman as well as games from the dark side, i.e. the competition ... I have  to talk with the CFO and get him to finally buy my favorite Xbox franchise, Ghost Recon ... J ... overall, it's a place with huge potential and hopefully a great future for the company as well as myself ... keep your fingers crossed please for a successful transition from professional sailor to professional gamer.

So it seems all is set, everything is clear, so what is missing. Well here a few of the questions and answers or thoughts around Project Hollywood.

WHEN ARE YOU MOVING?

I am moving ASAP and will be living somewhere around Santa Monica in a small apartment, but definitely big enough to welcome visitors ... come and visit me, I will be very busy at work but probably somewhat lonely at night and on weekends, as Niki and the boys won't follow right away.

WHEN IS THE FAMILY MOVING?

Niki and the boys will remain in Vienna until summer when school is over and after my mom's 60th birthday. I would say they are following in early August or so.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THE MEANTIME?

Yes, Santa Monica to Vienna is a bit too long of a commute for weekends like I did from London, so the plan with Activision is to spend 1-2 weeks a month in London and go to Vienna for the weekends. As my role is global this makes perfect business sense anyhow and I get to see the family and they get to see me somewhat. It isn't ideal but we all know it is only temporary and the right step, so we are invested to make it work for the next 6 months.

ARE YOU MOVING BACK INTO A HOUSE?

Big question, big ideas, no answers ... we are a bit torn on this subject as one of the big ideas of our sailing trip was to get away from some of the commercialism we had gotten ourselves into back in the days. Well, my thought on the topic is that we loved the boat life even in the marina, we didn't miss much on the boat or at least nothing we couldn't stick into a let's say catamaran such as a washing machine and a shower, but we would be limited how much 'crap' we can put on a let's say a catamaran ... and there is even a guest room/cabin on a let's say a catamaran. How am I doing? Am I convincing you guys that let's say a catamaran might be a good permanent home for TheSchmids? Well Niki isn't quite there yet and to be honest the banks aren't either .... Funnily enough it is easier to get a loan for a $1MM house compared to a let's say catamaran that costs a third ... still working both issues, the bank's and Niki's ... LOL

Ok enough for now, the whole family is very excited, well at least Niki, the boys and I are. Obviously our families in Austria are supportive but at the same time a little bit disappointed we aren't staying and sad about us leaving Austria ... again. Coming to Austria was a great decision for us, the boys are truly bi-lingual now including some Viennese slang (not so exciting), we got to spend more time with our families than in the previous 12 years together, we reconnected with old friends and made new friends, but in the end of the day I guess we are more Californians now than Austrians. Our heart will always be Austrian but we love the Californian lifestyle, the ocean, the sun, the beach and the mish mash of people that live there ... we are a part of that mish mash.

Thanks for support us during the transition. Looking forward to hearing back from you,

Robert, Niki and the boys

PS: I moved into my new place in Topanga ... you have to visit to see the view all over Santa Monica and the Pacific ... UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

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