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December 29, 2004
Oops
I should, of course, have mentioned my Starbucks visit with Lily and Amy yesterday morning. Although I had to decline a hazelnut soy latte in favor of green tea (Jess and I are doing the Hollywood diet, so no unauthorized calories), it was totally worth it to catch up with the girls. I even received a couple of Christmas gifts--my favorite of which was a magnet quote from Rilke, which begins...
Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves.
As for today, I have just consumed 32 oz. of water as part of the Hollywood diet. I think my stomach might explode--and my torso looks about 8 months pregnant. I will clearly need to space out the water portion of this diet over a longer period of time.
My plans for today include a little shopping (Ann Taylor Loft, The Body Shop, Hecht's), renewing a couple prescriptions, and making an eye appointment. At some point, I will also try and rearrange my flight schedule so that I can stay here for another week before going back to Sweden.
Posted by madchen at 07:29 PM | Comments (0)December 28, 2004
Ahh, Consumerism.
I had a massive shoe-orgy today at DSW Shoe Warehouse. After living in Sweden with only three pairs of shoes (hiking shoes, blue Land's End mocs, and a blah pair of black dress shoes) I went a little crazy. I am happy to say, however, that I successfully avoided a very tempting Prada purse (only $398!!) and a Cartier purse (only $499!). On the other hand, I am now 4 pairs of shoes richer. Ahh, shoes.
Other than that, nothing much to report.
Posted by madchen at 07:33 PM | Comments (0)December 27, 2004
Home Again
After a lovely trip to Copenhagen with Amity (we caught the 5:38 a.m. train from Karlskrona to Kastrup Airport, then had a freakishly expensive--but delicious--breakfast at the hotel), I flew home. Although I was clearly tagged as a spy (or a drug mule), the extra scrutiny at the airport caused little delay and I was happy to sleep through most of the flight.
A quick evening with the family, followed by some frantic packing, and I was asleep by 10 p.m., only to find the alarm going off at 4:30 a.m. We piled into the minivan ("Grandma's car") and set off for the airport again. At that point, I was seriously questioning whether a 7-day Caribbean cruise was worth more time in an airport. But we managed to get to New Orleans (via Atlanta) on time, and checked into the lovely Norweigen Dream.
We spent a fun 7 days at sea, stopping by Cozumel, Belize City, Roatan (Honduras), and Cancun along the way. We headed back on Christmas Day, which was not quite as delightful as I anticipated, since the ship was in the middle of rough seas and we could barely walk down the halls and spent most of the day in bed. Nonetheless, I was quite sad to arrive back in New Orleans yesterday morning (to find they had the first snow in 50 years the night before--only an inch--and the highways and airports were seriously affected).
The family spent many, many hours in the airport, finally leaving at 4:30 p.m. and arriving back in Baltimore at 11 p.m. Of course, it couldn't be that easy--our luggage somehow didn't make the flight. After an hour of waiting, I filled out a missing luggage request and we went home. Jess stayed behind to meet her new man, who was catching the next flight in from Atlanta. Our luggage must have been on his plane, because it arrive on the luggage carousel when his did. Good boy that he is, he and Jess brought all the luggage back home, so I had some clothes this morning when I woke up.
Now I'm in the middle of unpacking (and repacking--since I'll bring my summer clothes back to Sweden with me) and going through photos to order (I want to catch up on my scrapbooking while I'm here). In a bit, I'm hoping to make it to the mall, to peruse the after-Christmas shopping opportunities.
But first, I have to go disable the smoke detector, which has started beeping in the last 3 minutes. It's enough to drive someone crazy. Of course, this brings back memories, since this very smoke detector did the same thing about 7 months ago when I had my first date with Brandon. Perhaps I should call him while I'm here. I have his sweatshirt and he has my book. Perhaps an exchange is in order?
Posted by madchen at 07:34 PM | Comments (0)December 17, 2004
Scramble
I've spent the last week recovering from two presentations on Monday (which took it out of me more than I thought it would), partying at karaoke night at the Fox and Anchor, and getting ready to go home. Still halfway packed, with a sink full of dishes, and a 5:30 a.m. train to catch in the morning, I am shirking all responsibility and going out for one last night.
Posted by madchen at 07:34 PM | Comments (0)December 14, 2004
Personality Profile
I am an ESTJ...
The Portrait of the Supervisor (eStJ)
Supervisor Guardians are squarely on the side of rules and procedures, and they can be quite serious about seeing to it that others toe the mark—or else face the consequences. They do not hesitate to give their stamp of approval, nor do they withhold their directions or suggestions for improvement. Like seasoned, stalwart umpires, Supervisors will set their jaw and make the call on anyone who steps up to bat. They even feel obligated to do so, and they’re sometimes surprised when others don’t seem grateful for being set straight.
Comprising at least ten percent of the population, Supervisors go by experience and that is what counts, not speculation and experimentation, and certainly not fantasy. They keep their feet firmly on the ground and make sure that those under their supervision do the same, whether employee, subordinate, offspring, or spouse. If others wish to fool around and daydream, fine, as long as they do it on their own time—which means after the job is done. But if they fritter away their time while on duty, they should not be surprised when the Supervisor calls them on the carpet. The top sergeant will not put up with such nonsense.
Supervisors are gregarious and civic-minded, and are usually key players of their community. They are generous with their time and energy, and very often belong to a variety of groups, supporting them through steady attendance, but also taking a vocal leadership role. Indeed, membership groups of all kinds attract Supervisors like magnets, perhaps because membership satisfies in some degree their need to maintain the stability of social institutions. Like all the Guardians, Supervisors worry a good deal about society falling apart, morality decaying, standards being undermined, traditions being lost, and they do all they can to preserve and to extend the institutions that embody social order. Supervisors are so in tune with the established institutions and ways of behaving within those institutions, that they have a hard time understanding those who might wish to abandon or radically change them.
Posted by madchen at 07:35 PM | Comments (0)December 12, 2004
Performance Anxiety
So I was feeling pretty good about my presentations scheduled for tomorrow--that is, until I talked to the Program Manager. It all started when I saw my grade for the first term (7 weeks after the term is over). I am 1% away from having an "A"--right now I'm at a "B" (they don't believe in +/- here in Sweden), and it all comes down to a bad grade in the last group presentation (on Kobunaki Ecovillage). Apparently, I spoke too quickly, covered too much information, and used too much jargon when speaking about community investing. (To be honest, it's been so long that I don't remember at all what I said--but I certainly didn't feel like a failure afterwards.)
So now, with less than 24 hours to go until both of my presentations, I am feeling extremely stressed. I can surely speak more slowly, but I also received comments about not covering information with enough depth--I'm at a loss on how to speak slower and cover more information.
As a side note, I'm also rather irritated with the grading system as it was explained to me. All along we have been told "there are no right answers" and "this program is different--it's all about the learning process". And now it appears that one point will separate me from a good grade. (It's true, bumping up my grade on the final exam by 1 point would bring me up to the % required for an "A".) Very exasperating.
So now it's 11 p.m. and I'm frantically going over my notes. Grr. I will be SO happy when tomorrow is over. We decided to wait a bit before turning in our Strategic Management report, which gives us more time to incorporate responses from the class. So it looks like I won't quite be done at Christmas, as there will be some polishing to do.
Posted by madchen at 10:51 PM | Comments (0)Winding Down
Even though I should be going full steam towards Monday morning (when the first of two presentations begins), I am starting to feel the burden lessening. Part of that is surely because I just spent 7 hours re-writing the Strategic Management report. About half of it was good, but there was a lot of redundant information, missing information, confusing information. Since I was responsible for polishing up the report while Jo and Paulo work on the PowerPoint presentation, I spent the better part of today working in front of the computer.
I took a brief break this evening and went to Barbro Johansson's house. We met Barbro at the last Karlskrona Dialogue seminar, in which Karl-Henrik Robert, Per Carstedt, and Manfred Max-Neef spoke about the challenges to sustainability in the future. I had just stepped of the train coming back from D.C., so I was pretty exhausted and don't remember much of it. But several students (including me) talked to Barbro, who is distant family friends with Dave Nelson, one of our classmates. She remembered talking to us and invited us along with Dave to her family Christmas party tonight.
It was really fun to be in a Swedish house, celebrating Swedish Christmas. We had a special visit from a couple St. Lucia girls, who sang Swedish holiday songs in their white robes and candle-wreathed heads, and ate ride porridge with sugar and cinnamon. It was quite the experience.
Then, of course, I came back and worked for 3 more hours on my paper. It's almost 2 a.m. now and I'm due at a group meeting at 10 a.m. Sigh. Soon it will be over...
Posted by madchen at 01:40 AM | Comments (0)December 10, 2004
Cruise
To answer a bunch of questions, my family has decided to forego Christmas this year in lieu of a Caribbean cruise. We depart/arrive from New Orleans, and enjoy 7 days along the Belize, Cozumel stretch. Ahh, precious, precious sunlight.
I'll be back in the D.C. area on December 27.
Posted by madchen at 03:25 PM | Comments (0)December 09, 2004
Not all bad...
Last Thursday, our class went to the "kastell" on Aspo Island for a formal dinner. Afterwards, a bunch of us went to the "Fox and Anchor" for karaoke night. Archie and I closed out the night with a demure rendition of "Great Balls of Fire".
Posted by madchen at 07:38 PM | Comments (0)
Running, running, running...
I haven't been riding my bike recently, due to a combination of the icy weather and my lack of a bike light (stolen about a month ago). Well, I think it's been taking a toll on me--physically and financially. Because I was of town so much over the past 4 weeks, I didn't renew my monthly bus pass--instead opting to pay by the trip. I calculated this afternoon that I have spent approximately $100 on bus fare this past month (even considering the 2 weeks I was out of town in D.C. and northern Sweden)--as opposed to paying $40 for a month pass. I will definitely be re-thinking my bus vs. bike plan--especially as I am beginning to panic a little (ok, a lot) about my finances.
Anyway, I decided to ride my bike today. First, I checked the weather report and confirmed that it would be "cloudy, but dry" and 4 degrees Celsius. Then, I bundled up (because 4 degrees is not icy, but it is DAMN cold when riding down giant hills with the wind blowing directly in your face) and dragged the bike from its resting place in my room and downstairs.
Now, I would like to point out that in Sweden, apparently, "cloudy, but dry" just means that it is not actually raining--it can be misty enough to completely soak you in a manner of minutes. Needless to say, I was neither appreciative of this fact, nor prepared.
I rode my bike downtown (7 km!!) to take care of some errands (such as paying my 10-day late rent, and unsuccessfully trying to pay my 45-day late internet bill--long story) and to get a new bike light. I managed to only be a few minutes late riding to campus to meet with my small group, but realized on the way that I forgot to bring the excel spreadsheet we needed.
I was biking up the huge hill to Minnerva when I noticed a kitten on the road. It was tiny and remarkably clean, so I stopped. It came right up to me, meow-ing and purring. I picked it up and it wriggled ecstatically in my arms while I checked that it didn't have a collar. Obviously, this was an indoor cat that had somehow gotten outside. I left my bike by the road and carried the kitten around to a couple of homes before finding the owner, who was puzzled but grateful to have her cat returned.
Having done my good deed for the day, I got back on my bike and made it to Minnerva nearly an hour late. Thankfully, my group was understanding and we were able to make good progress on our project, which involves presenting to the Tarkett Environmental Communications Manager tomorrow morning in Ronneby.
Before leaving, I had Ronan help me put the new bike light (front and back) on my bike. By "help" I mean that I stood around and watched him do it.
Then it was back on the bike for the ride back home, where I frantically finished the excel spreadsheet, send it on to my group, updated my calendar to reflect the final presentation schedule for class, and cleaned out my email inbox--which was nearly overflowing.
Now I plan on making some dinner (maybe a sandwich and soup?) and doing something productive. I'm at a point now where I can't even keep all my tasks clear in my head, and I can't seem to organize myself in a way that helps. I'm not sleeping well (waking up multiple times each night with the horrid feeling that I'm late for something) and feeling rather dismal. The weather has been alternately glorious and crappy, but it seems like I'm never free to go outside and enjoy the brief glimpses of sunshine. Instead, its just more and more group work. And then, some more group work. Before I know it, it's dark and rainy again.
So the gist of it is that I'm not having a very good time right now. I have made a point of scheduling in some fun stuff (a Handel's Messiah concert at the old church in town on Sunday night, a dinner at a Swedish family's home this coming Saturday, etc.) but it's hard to really appreciate these little bits of relaxation when I'm overcome with other stressful stuff. In short, I am counting the minutes until I get on the plane home to D.C., can pack my suitcase full of shorts and t-shirts, and get to L.A. to board the cruise ship).
I can't even imagine the cost of all the daquiris I plan on drinking that week...
Posted by madchen at 07:16 PM | Comments (0)December 06, 2004
Running on Empty
I am tired, so very, very tired. I've been going non-stop for a week.
- Wednesday - class all day, small group work at night
- Thursday - class all day, group dinner at the castle on Aspo island and karaoke afterwards
- Friday - small group work in the morning, class in the afternoon, nap in the evening
- Saturday - small group work in the morning, errands in the afternoon, small group work in the evening
- Sunday - small group work in the morning, small group work in the afternoon, Christmas concert in the evening, more group work afterwards
- Monday - workshop at Tarkett Ronneby in the morning, small group work in the afternoon and evening, more work at night
I found out today that both of my small group presentations are due to be presented to the class (45-60 minutes each) on Monday--the first day of class presentations that will go all the way to the end of January. On one hand, I'm pleased to be getting these projects out of the way so early--I'll really be able to relax and enjoy my Christmas vacation. Moreover, I'll be able to get started on my thesis early, which is good because I've already set up some preliminary meetings next week. On the other hand, I'm a little panicked about getting all of this work done in the next days.
Mostly, I want to sleep.
Oh, and our cat Daisy got put to sleep last night. My mom said she got sick over the weekend and when they took her to the vet last night she was diagnosed with kidney failure. Poor baby. She was about 12 years old, so I suppose she was a ripe old age. But still, it's sad to think that when I go home in 2 weeks she won't be there.
Posted by madchen at 10:40 PM | Comments (0)December 04, 2004
Too Busy
I haven't updated in a few days--not because I have nothing to say, just that I can't seem to find the time to say it. I'm swamped with small group work (our big workshop presentation is on Monday), thesis proposals, volunteer work, and general after-trip catch-up.
I'm getting REALLY excited about Christmas break--in fact, I'll be on the plane in 14 days!!
Posted by madchen at 11:54 PM | Comments (0)
