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September 27, 2004
Wiped Out
Whew—what a day. But wait, where did I leave off?
Saturday night, Ronan and Fernando came over to our place, and they, Jess, and I watched Identity (starring John Cusack). In case you're not familiar with this movie, I won't give away the premise. Suffice it to say that it scared the bejezus out of me. Per my usual brilliance, I had figured out the "twist" within the first 10 minutes of the movie, but understanding the final outcome in no way detracted from the "shriek at the top of your lungs" aspect of it. Quite good, I highly recommend to all, except for my family and Sara, who won't be able to sleep alone for a week after seeing it.
Sunday was spent sleeping in until noon (I truly am a shell of my previous self when sleeping in until noon is strange), then reading the remaining articles for Monday's lecture. In the evening, I biked into campus and watched Super Size Me, a documentary about a man who eats McDonald's for 30 days straight. It was a delightful mix of hilarious and horrific—again, highly recommended.
All of which brings me to today. I woke up a bit late (having taken a shower the night before, I was happy to sleep in for an extra 45 minutes) and was out the door in a flash. Despite near hurricane conditions, I managed to bike into campus. Seriously, the wind made any forward momentum an act of God. As such, I was slightly sweaty when I rolled into class, where we were reviewing the basic tenets of Organizational Learning, with a focus on systems thinking. Boring—it was virtually a repeat of all the reading I did over the weekend. I looked longingly out the window, pleased to see that the gray clouds had blown over to clear blue skies.
The second half of the lecture was better, as Göran Carstedt (former CEO of Ikea and Volvo) was the guest speaker. He engaged us in a group dialogue about the ideas behind organizational change, and spoke a bit about his experiences. He'll be with our class for the next two days, so I'm expecting a lot of good inspiration from him.
Class ran into the afternoon (quite a shock, since I mistakenly thought we were done at noon!), so I had to quickly shuffle my plans for the rest of the day. I rode my bike home, arriving at the apartment to find a notice for a new package. Getting back on my bike, I rode back down the hill (now back to gale force winds, with threatening storm clouds) to the post office, where I received a lovely package filled with a new tablecloth and napkins—all with a fall motif—from my mom. She is now the most highly-esteemed mom in the Kungsmarksvägen complex.
On the way back, I stopped at Willy:s and did some shopping for dinner. I picked up a bunch of fresh vegetables for a soup, along with some potatoes and broccoli for side dishes. I pedaled my way back up the hill (I swear, the wind had changed directions to thwart my every move), and arrived breathless at my door once again.
The afternoon was spent catching up on email (either people have decided to stop replying to my emails, or else my emails aren't getting through), and turning in my application for online volunteering. The project I applied for involved writing reports on women and girls' issues (education, diversity, family planning, human rights, etc.) in specific countries. It should be really cool—and it will get me back in the swing of producing high-quality research, which I'm sorely missing in this program. I should hear back from the organization soon, at which time I might be devoting 5 hours a week to the project.
Dinner took a long time to prepare, since I had to make the stock for the vegetable soup (complete with toasted couscous), but it was totally worth it. Laura came over, and we ate dinner together and perused the Swedish CD-ROM I have. It was really nice to go through the material with someone else—I think we'll do it on a weekly basis from now on.
We chatted about our goals for the program, possible thesis topics, and places we'd like to visit while we're here in Sweden (we debated, then discarded, the Ice Hotel after reading a review of it in The Rough Guide To Sweden).
It was after 10 p.m. by the time I had the dishes cleaned and my room in a semi-ordered state. Now that I've catalogued my day, I will hop into bed and listen to a bit of Eragon, the latest audiobook on my list. So far it's quite good—kind of a Harry Potter meets the Hobbit.
Also, I've been reviewing and refining my personal "ABCD Game", henceforth referred to as Jen's Strategic Plan for Success. It's more difficult than I thought it would be; I keep wanting to start listing actions, without first establishing the principles I want to live by. How on earth can I tell if an action is appropriate unless I understand where I'm going? And right now, the vision of where I want to be is still quite fuzzy—but becoming clearer every day.
