Living outside of my home country has really made me look at things that I just dont want to live without. Moreover I ve thought about the things that I really like and have grown up with and will probably like the rest of my life.
So Coast soap is the one that comes to mind. I love Coast, as the commercials say or at least used to its "the eye opener". I always had it as a kid and I remember the commercials of people having their alarms go off and then looking really tired, but as soon as they got in the shower the picked up their bar of Coast, smelled it and then had a huge refreshed look on their face. I also think that it was a manly soap. Most the commercials that I remember seeing were with men and then after the got out of the shower the wife or girlfriend would come into the scene. It was like if I use this soap then I m a man. Considering I was so young clearly my aim was to be more manly. Funny how that marketing has still stuck with me all these years.
Crest toothpaste as well. Of course I m a Crest user because my parents were coast users when I was younger. I became accustom to the taste and seeing the name on the tube etc. When I was little too they had the commercials with the stars with faces and they were singing and it was for their kids toothpaste. I remember it smelling like bubble gum and tasting so delicious when I brushed that I once squeezed a big portion into my mouth and tried to eat it. That didnt taste so good but I mean it was just so amazing. There were a few years in middle school and early high school when my parents switched to Arm and Hammer toothpaste and also Mentadent but I hated it. It wasnt Crest. Once I got a job I started buying my own toothpaste and got back to the good stuff. Today I have it sent to me because I cant buy it in Denmark. They have the 5x longer lasting stuff now....and I tell you what...it really does last longer. Despite colgate being so popular my heart will always be with coast.
Hanes Classics is also something that I have become religious about. I hate to wear any other undershirts or boxer briefs. They are just so comfortable. To be fair I havent really tried many other kinds but I figure why change a good thing. They are reasonably priced and last a long time. And hey...if they are good enough for MJ they are good enough for me.
There are other things I m sure I could sit and think about but I think the example I ve given are pretty good. Its kinda funny how with some things we are so resistant to change and others it doesnt matter. Also its amazing how much influence our youth has on things we use as we get older. This is why marketing is so interesting. I mean my parents made me a lifetime customer of a product and I ll probably do the same to my kids one day too.
onsdag den 1. december 2010
Thanksgiving
Well I cooked Thanksgiving for 10 of my friends this past week. I cooked 2 turkeys, one at my place and the other at a friends. In order to get the other turkey to my place I double bagged it and biked it in the snow to my place...then dumped it out onto a serving tray. Both were delicious thats for sure. I also made mashed potatoes corn, green beans, stuffing, rolls and then 2 pumpkin pies for desert along with an apple dish. It was sort of like crustless apple pie and then put over ice cream. It was a feast thats for sure.
All in all it was about 10 hours of cooking. Its not something I plan on doing again for another few years. I may have a smaller version but definitely not for 10 people.
All in all it was about 10 hours of cooking. Its not something I plan on doing again for another few years. I may have a smaller version but definitely not for 10 people.
onsdag den 17. november 2010
Beardy McBeardyson
Well with November often comes facial hair. The time old tradition of the no shave November or also called Movember is in full bloom. I have not shave for the past 17 days and have developed a furry coating to keep my face warm. The timing is actually quite perfect because its been ridiculously cold outside as of late. I also have no real engagements that would require me to look more presentable either.
I find that some people love the beard and other despise. I ll compare a man shaving his face to a woman shaving her legs....except, well I would say in most cases, my facial hair grows faster than a woman's leg hair. And if the opposite is actually true...I shiver in disgust. I suppose if I really have a point its that I hate shaving as much as women do. The benefit of being a man though is that having a beard isnt considered gross in most cases whereas having hairy legs as a girl is super disgusting. Yeah I said.
Anyways, I plan on keeping the beard for awhile. Most likely until I get another interview or it just gets to the point where I cant stand it. I m hoping for the interview.
I find that some people love the beard and other despise. I ll compare a man shaving his face to a woman shaving her legs....except, well I would say in most cases, my facial hair grows faster than a woman's leg hair. And if the opposite is actually true...I shiver in disgust. I suppose if I really have a point its that I hate shaving as much as women do. The benefit of being a man though is that having a beard isnt considered gross in most cases whereas having hairy legs as a girl is super disgusting. Yeah I said.
Anyways, I plan on keeping the beard for awhile. Most likely until I get another interview or it just gets to the point where I cant stand it. I m hoping for the interview.
mandag den 1. november 2010
A year older
Well another year has come and gone. I find myself wondering if I am wiser than I was a year ago. This past year seems to be lacking in any life lesson learning scenarios. Last Friday marked the 1 year anniversary of the completion of my thesis. Although my eventual graduation date wouldnt come for another 5 weeks or so, I officially finished my research and writing.
Really when I look back on the past year of my life, it was by far one of the most trying years I can remember. I of course had the highlight of becoming a master graduate, making a rap song and video and a couple trips around Euroupe but it had its moments of extreme frustrating with a dash of sadness. Once my degree was finished I started the battle to get my greencard. Dealing with government institutions is always a battle. I think that government officials must have the ultimate job security. I mean they make things take longer than necessary so they always have something to do. I think I d find a job somewhere in the government quite boring.
After I finally celebrated the joy of actually getting my greencard, I got news a few days later that my grandma had been in a car accident and essentially died although she was still alive on life support. She was the center of my family. She had her influence over everything and was often the safe haven where fueds and other problems were checked at the door. She had the power to bring people together. It was an amazing thing.
Pretty much the rest of my year has been consumed with the everyday struggle with unemployment. I dont think people can truly know how much of a struggle it really is until they have experienced it for an extended period of time. It has been by far the most ongoing and frustrating experience of my life. I complain about this all the time but it still drives me crazy that I have committed significant amounts of time and resources to pursue my education with not much to show for it. I went for my masters to avoid the lack of experience or qualifications stigma that I was branded with when I finished my bachelors. Of course I expect to be able to get a job with a masters degree and work experience with top global companies. Instead I ve had to deal with constant rejection. On top of this I have the stress that comes from loans that can no longer be deferred and have monthly payments that test my abilities to stretch my budget in order to avoid defaulting. My saving grace is that I am currently living abroad and have unemployment insurance. Otherwise I m sure my credit would be non existent and collection agencies would be hunting me down.
Another negative affect of being unemployed so long is that companies often look negatively on long periods of unemployment. What have you been doing since your last job...often becomes a tough question to answer. Also it has forced me into a situation where as soon as I get offered a job I will have to take it. Everything at this point is better than what I have been doing. The job may not be interesting, the pay may not be very good and my skills may be completely underutilized but its not like I have a lot of other choices.
Of course its easy to focus on the negative but I m trying to also take positives away from this past year.
I did graduate, I did get my greencard, and although my grandma died, I was able to reconnect and see family that I havent seen in years. With being unemployed I was able to focus on hobbies that I have had for years and make music. Extra time off has also allowed me to learn new skills with photoshop and after effect...programs I ve been interested in for awhile but havent had time to teach myself. I also went to a basketball tournament in Estonia and toured around Ireland for 2 weeks. My patience has only strengthened in all the trials this past year. And although I have often expressed pessimistic thoughts, really I am more optimistic that things really can only get better. Keeping a positive outlook is all I can do.
So am I wiser, I d say I am just not in the ways I thought I would be.
Really when I look back on the past year of my life, it was by far one of the most trying years I can remember. I of course had the highlight of becoming a master graduate, making a rap song and video and a couple trips around Euroupe but it had its moments of extreme frustrating with a dash of sadness. Once my degree was finished I started the battle to get my greencard. Dealing with government institutions is always a battle. I think that government officials must have the ultimate job security. I mean they make things take longer than necessary so they always have something to do. I think I d find a job somewhere in the government quite boring.
After I finally celebrated the joy of actually getting my greencard, I got news a few days later that my grandma had been in a car accident and essentially died although she was still alive on life support. She was the center of my family. She had her influence over everything and was often the safe haven where fueds and other problems were checked at the door. She had the power to bring people together. It was an amazing thing.
Pretty much the rest of my year has been consumed with the everyday struggle with unemployment. I dont think people can truly know how much of a struggle it really is until they have experienced it for an extended period of time. It has been by far the most ongoing and frustrating experience of my life. I complain about this all the time but it still drives me crazy that I have committed significant amounts of time and resources to pursue my education with not much to show for it. I went for my masters to avoid the lack of experience or qualifications stigma that I was branded with when I finished my bachelors. Of course I expect to be able to get a job with a masters degree and work experience with top global companies. Instead I ve had to deal with constant rejection. On top of this I have the stress that comes from loans that can no longer be deferred and have monthly payments that test my abilities to stretch my budget in order to avoid defaulting. My saving grace is that I am currently living abroad and have unemployment insurance. Otherwise I m sure my credit would be non existent and collection agencies would be hunting me down.
Another negative affect of being unemployed so long is that companies often look negatively on long periods of unemployment. What have you been doing since your last job...often becomes a tough question to answer. Also it has forced me into a situation where as soon as I get offered a job I will have to take it. Everything at this point is better than what I have been doing. The job may not be interesting, the pay may not be very good and my skills may be completely underutilized but its not like I have a lot of other choices.
Of course its easy to focus on the negative but I m trying to also take positives away from this past year.
I did graduate, I did get my greencard, and although my grandma died, I was able to reconnect and see family that I havent seen in years. With being unemployed I was able to focus on hobbies that I have had for years and make music. Extra time off has also allowed me to learn new skills with photoshop and after effect...programs I ve been interested in for awhile but havent had time to teach myself. I also went to a basketball tournament in Estonia and toured around Ireland for 2 weeks. My patience has only strengthened in all the trials this past year. And although I have often expressed pessimistic thoughts, really I am more optimistic that things really can only get better. Keeping a positive outlook is all I can do.
So am I wiser, I d say I am just not in the ways I thought I would be.
mandag den 25. oktober 2010
27 On the Horizon
Well I will be officially be turning 27 on Thursday. Crazy stuff. Well it seems like just yesterday I was turning 21. I dont really feel older. I ve surrounded myself with mostly student friends so I m pretty sure that has a bit to do with it. But deep down, I dont really connect so well with people who are married or have been in long standing relationships or have kids. I m not at that stage in my life where any of those scenarios applies. Another major part is that I still am looking for a job. I find myself being left behind by classmates who have moved on to a professional career. They have new work colleague friends and a whole new set of experiences that I cant relate to yet. I am looking forward to being a young professional. Everyday I hope that that day will be the day that I can officially end the chapter of my student life and move on to the next. Enough of that though on to the good stuff.
Well for my actual birthday I doubt that I do much. I may drink a beer but with my wingman jetting off to London for the weekend and responsibility looming the next day I m headed for a low key day. Friday however I will be getting a bit crazy. I ve invited about 20 friends to celebrate with me. We will meet up and drink some beers and then hopefully go to town and enjoy what the city has to offer. Even if we dont end up there, I m sure the night will be fun. The crew that will gather is a good one and I always enjoy hanging out with them.
Well for my actual birthday I doubt that I do much. I may drink a beer but with my wingman jetting off to London for the weekend and responsibility looming the next day I m headed for a low key day. Friday however I will be getting a bit crazy. I ve invited about 20 friends to celebrate with me. We will meet up and drink some beers and then hopefully go to town and enjoy what the city has to offer. Even if we dont end up there, I m sure the night will be fun. The crew that will gather is a good one and I always enjoy hanging out with them.
onsdag den 13. oktober 2010
A Bit of Everything
My Greencard
Ok so I lost my Greencard. Not as in the government revoked it, but in the sense that I lost the card itself....in physical form. Yeah I know what your thinking, dumbass. I admit it. Well I was quite surprised considering that I have only lost 1 card in my life and that was a debit card that i left in an atm...which was quickly sucked back into the machine. So I went to get a replacement card from the immigration office. Well they told me I had to report it lost or stolen with the police. So I ended up doing that. A few days later I went back to the immigration office and had the form the police gave me and ordered a new card. It cost about 45usd. Well the next day I get my old card in the mail from the immigration office. They apparently had it returned to them the same day I went to the police station to report it missing. The kicker is they still took my money for a new card that they have to send away for. So really the whole thing is pretty retarded. Now I m trying to get the new card canceled and my money back. Any bets on that happening? I m going with the chances of slim to none.
Job Search
Well I was informed that after weeks of interviewing a 1 company that I didnt get the job. Instead the went with the other candidate. They gave me the excuse that my danish language skills werent at a high enough level. Weird how I was able to make it down to the final 2 with them knowing the level I can read, write, speak danish. Even more odd is that the person I would be replacing was an American. My thought is that since the hiring manager wasnt danish and had poor danish skills he wanted someone to make up for his lacking skills. Really its all pretty much bullshit considering they pride themselves on having english as the corporate language. They also told me in the interviews that the majority of all their business is done in english anyways. So in the end...just another lame excuse. Its their loss not mine. I have had way more responsibility working as a student than I would of working at that company. When one door closes another one opens.
In Other News
I ve been forced back to the jobcenter for at least another month. Once the last job didnt happen it was really my only choice. The good thing is that i am now back to a normal-ish sleep schedule. The bad thing is that that normal-ish sleep schedule has an early wake up time.
It really takes discipline to sleep normal. Even after being up all day yesterday and being completely exhausted at 7, i still had to really force myself to bed at 11.30.
Reading
Continuing with forcing myself to do things. The internet has really taken over my life....that an mindsweeper. Really i ve played over 5000 games or so in the last few weeks. My win percentage on hard is about 5 percent. Anyways I ve been turning the computer off so i can read before I sleep. I ve been going about 10-20 pages a night and then calling it quits. My book of choice right now is The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams. Its book 2 of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I ll say the original is still better by far but i m still entertained. At my current pace I should be done in another week or so. I have the next 2 in the series so I ll just move on. For me the problem I have with books is this...If there has been a movie made about it...I am less likely to read it. Case and point, Harry Potter, The Divinci Code, etc. I mean for the most part I know what is going to happen since I ve already seen the movie...and since I am more of a visual person I m doubting that I will get more enjoyment out of the books despite their superior writing or extras that werent in the movie.
I m also a bit picky about what I read. I like it to be interesting and have a bit of humor. I mean with the Douglas Adams books I am curious to know what happens next. His style of writing is just so clever to.
Basketball
Well we got dominated in our first game due to very poor offense and defense. As my coach said "you guys sucked on offense, sucked on defense and yet you were at some point still in the game". Well second game of the season is Sunday and our home opener. We should dominate this team. Its nice this season, we have an extra practice slot and I feel like I m getting into better shape as the weeks go by. I also of course spend time in the weight room and do extra cardio to boost my stamina but that extra day of practice really helps.
October
Its my birthday month and for the first year since I ve been in Denmark, I am actually having a party instead of just going into the city. We will most likely end up there later in the night but we will be at my friends place first cause its way bigger than my place. October is also the month where most people I know have their birthday. crazy stuff
Ok so I lost my Greencard. Not as in the government revoked it, but in the sense that I lost the card itself....in physical form. Yeah I know what your thinking, dumbass. I admit it. Well I was quite surprised considering that I have only lost 1 card in my life and that was a debit card that i left in an atm...which was quickly sucked back into the machine. So I went to get a replacement card from the immigration office. Well they told me I had to report it lost or stolen with the police. So I ended up doing that. A few days later I went back to the immigration office and had the form the police gave me and ordered a new card. It cost about 45usd. Well the next day I get my old card in the mail from the immigration office. They apparently had it returned to them the same day I went to the police station to report it missing. The kicker is they still took my money for a new card that they have to send away for. So really the whole thing is pretty retarded. Now I m trying to get the new card canceled and my money back. Any bets on that happening? I m going with the chances of slim to none.
Job Search
Well I was informed that after weeks of interviewing a 1 company that I didnt get the job. Instead the went with the other candidate. They gave me the excuse that my danish language skills werent at a high enough level. Weird how I was able to make it down to the final 2 with them knowing the level I can read, write, speak danish. Even more odd is that the person I would be replacing was an American. My thought is that since the hiring manager wasnt danish and had poor danish skills he wanted someone to make up for his lacking skills. Really its all pretty much bullshit considering they pride themselves on having english as the corporate language. They also told me in the interviews that the majority of all their business is done in english anyways. So in the end...just another lame excuse. Its their loss not mine. I have had way more responsibility working as a student than I would of working at that company. When one door closes another one opens.
In Other News
I ve been forced back to the jobcenter for at least another month. Once the last job didnt happen it was really my only choice. The good thing is that i am now back to a normal-ish sleep schedule. The bad thing is that that normal-ish sleep schedule has an early wake up time.
It really takes discipline to sleep normal. Even after being up all day yesterday and being completely exhausted at 7, i still had to really force myself to bed at 11.30.
Reading
Continuing with forcing myself to do things. The internet has really taken over my life....that an mindsweeper. Really i ve played over 5000 games or so in the last few weeks. My win percentage on hard is about 5 percent. Anyways I ve been turning the computer off so i can read before I sleep. I ve been going about 10-20 pages a night and then calling it quits. My book of choice right now is The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams. Its book 2 of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I ll say the original is still better by far but i m still entertained. At my current pace I should be done in another week or so. I have the next 2 in the series so I ll just move on. For me the problem I have with books is this...If there has been a movie made about it...I am less likely to read it. Case and point, Harry Potter, The Divinci Code, etc. I mean for the most part I know what is going to happen since I ve already seen the movie...and since I am more of a visual person I m doubting that I will get more enjoyment out of the books despite their superior writing or extras that werent in the movie.
I m also a bit picky about what I read. I like it to be interesting and have a bit of humor. I mean with the Douglas Adams books I am curious to know what happens next. His style of writing is just so clever to.
Basketball
Well we got dominated in our first game due to very poor offense and defense. As my coach said "you guys sucked on offense, sucked on defense and yet you were at some point still in the game". Well second game of the season is Sunday and our home opener. We should dominate this team. Its nice this season, we have an extra practice slot and I feel like I m getting into better shape as the weeks go by. I also of course spend time in the weight room and do extra cardio to boost my stamina but that extra day of practice really helps.
October
Its my birthday month and for the first year since I ve been in Denmark, I am actually having a party instead of just going into the city. We will most likely end up there later in the night but we will be at my friends place first cause its way bigger than my place. October is also the month where most people I know have their birthday. crazy stuff
lørdag den 25. september 2010
The Numbers Game
Well I m finding more and more that life is a game of numbers. It has become clearer over the last months that the more I attempt something the more likely I am to find success at some point. This mainly has related to the whole job search but it has also translated into my personal life as well. Just like filling out tons of job applications with the hopes that some will lead to interviews and then perhaps one or two will result in a job offer, I have used this philosophy when it comes to talking to women. I have of course always know that the more women that I talk to the more likely I am to get a phone number, however I ve never really put myself in the position mentally to actually put it into practice. With student life in the past and my young professional years on the horizon I find it necessary to further escape the shyness that once hindered my social life as well as find someone to spend time with. Lets face it, I will only get older and I have future thoughts of a family.
The past few weeks have been a good test for me as I have forced myself to engage the opposite sex more frequently in social settings. This engagement consists of females that are complete strangers. Its been interesting and successful in most instances. Its allowed me to practice my danish a bit as well as gain a bit of confidence. I find the most challenging aspect of it to be that most women seem to think that I automatically am hitting on them. Why is it assumed that there is some sort of agenda? I think you would be hard pressed to find a guy who would automatically think a girl was hitting on him if she approached him for a conversation. In fact I think most of the time there is perhaps a bit of confusion for guys when the roles get reversed.
Friends have consistently told me that I have high standards or I am picky when it comes to the opposite sex. I mostly disagree but in my defense, why shouldnt I have high standards? I m in the last half of my 20s and feel like I have figured out a lot of things I dont want from when I dated in my early teens and early 20s. I m not looking for just a few months of fun or a string of casual encounters, I m searching for someone I can potentially spend many years with. With the rates divorces happen present day, why should I make concessions on flaws that I know would wear me down and eventually drive me completely insane. Granted I know I have flaws and that no one is perfect but you have to draw a line somewhere. Perhaps mine is higher than others but the things I ve seen in the relationships of friends and family as well as my own encounters have been influential in setting those standards. I am not naive in thinking that issues that have been in the past wont arise again. Perhaps I am destined to travel the world alone but for now I ll play the numbers game in hopes to find what I m looking for.
The past few weeks have been a good test for me as I have forced myself to engage the opposite sex more frequently in social settings. This engagement consists of females that are complete strangers. Its been interesting and successful in most instances. Its allowed me to practice my danish a bit as well as gain a bit of confidence. I find the most challenging aspect of it to be that most women seem to think that I automatically am hitting on them. Why is it assumed that there is some sort of agenda? I think you would be hard pressed to find a guy who would automatically think a girl was hitting on him if she approached him for a conversation. In fact I think most of the time there is perhaps a bit of confusion for guys when the roles get reversed.
Friends have consistently told me that I have high standards or I am picky when it comes to the opposite sex. I mostly disagree but in my defense, why shouldnt I have high standards? I m in the last half of my 20s and feel like I have figured out a lot of things I dont want from when I dated in my early teens and early 20s. I m not looking for just a few months of fun or a string of casual encounters, I m searching for someone I can potentially spend many years with. With the rates divorces happen present day, why should I make concessions on flaws that I know would wear me down and eventually drive me completely insane. Granted I know I have flaws and that no one is perfect but you have to draw a line somewhere. Perhaps mine is higher than others but the things I ve seen in the relationships of friends and family as well as my own encounters have been influential in setting those standards. I am not naive in thinking that issues that have been in the past wont arise again. Perhaps I am destined to travel the world alone but for now I ll play the numbers game in hopes to find what I m looking for.
søndag den 5. september 2010
Falling Into Place
Well life has returned to a normal sort of routine. The fall season of basketball has started. I m back to a normal practice schedule and our team is preparing for a preseason tournament in a couple weeks. It will be a good benchmark to see what we still need to work on before league play starts in October. The main core of our team is still intact so there is good chemistry. We have also added a couple of new guys as well that should be able to fit fairly easy.
In regards to finding a job, things have picked up a bit. I have had a few interviews with some different companies and have made it to the final two for an assistant account manager position. I feel like I have a good shot at being employed soon. The timing would be perfect because I cant imagine going through the winter without a job. The days are getting shorter and thats only going to continue. I would very much like to get up in the morning and have something constructive to do with my days. If for some reason I dont get a job in the next month or so, then I will most likely take a 6 week course related to Adobe photoshop, indesign, etc. Its something I d really like to get better with. Its pretty much a skill that I could use for a number of different things especially in a potential career.
In regards to finding a job, things have picked up a bit. I have had a few interviews with some different companies and have made it to the final two for an assistant account manager position. I feel like I have a good shot at being employed soon. The timing would be perfect because I cant imagine going through the winter without a job. The days are getting shorter and thats only going to continue. I would very much like to get up in the morning and have something constructive to do with my days. If for some reason I dont get a job in the next month or so, then I will most likely take a 6 week course related to Adobe photoshop, indesign, etc. Its something I d really like to get better with. Its pretty much a skill that I could use for a number of different things especially in a potential career.
søndag den 15. august 2010
Back from the land of Ire
Welp 5 days turned into 13 days in Ireland after a first time ever event. Thats right...I missed my flight. Funny story really...ok its not. I was under the impression that my flight was for 1 in the afternoon and not 1 in the morning. I mean I had no reason to think that I would actually book a flight that left at 1 in the morning unless I was going a very long distance. So to my surprise/disgust I realized my error after my cousin and uncle dropped me off.
Luck was definitely on my side for this one....or maybe I just cashed in on some good karma, but there was only 1 phone I could call in order to try and get a hold of someone in my family to let them know of my botched attempt to fly home. That person was my cousin, but she didnt have the phone. Turns out she left it with her mom who happened to be sitting next to my mom at the hotel. So after explaining the situation it was decided that I would just stay for the rest of the trip they planned out.
So I took a cab back to the hotel and the adventure began....errrr resumed.
Prior to the bulk of my relatives arriving, I spent a few days with my cousin. We went and say the Airtricity All-stars take on Manchester United at the grand opening of Aviva stadium in Dublin. The game wasnt much to watch (7-1 blowout by Man-U) butI did take joy in watching Wayne Rooney do absolutely nothing on the field except miss wide open opportunities and cry a whole lot.
During the days really I didnt do much other than hang out in the parks and read my newly acquired Douglas Adams book entitled The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. I figured I d save some sight seeing for when my family arrived since I had a couple days to spend with them.
In Dublin I walked a large chunk of the city and also made a visit to the Guinness Storehouse. I enjoyed watching my mom try to drink her first Guinness ever but ended up saving her after she was close to halfway done. My uncles and I pretty much drank the bulk of the free beer since the women really couldnt stomach it. Also during the stay in Dublin I got to play a traditional links golf course situated in Portmarnock. It was about 20 mins outside the city and situated right on the coast. It was such a nice course and a ton of fun to play. Dublin also had its fair share of pubs. One night we stumbled on a gem of a place and were able to get a table that had its own Carlsberg and Guinness beer taps. It was nice to avoid standing at the bar and I showed off my perfect pint pouring skills.
Now jump ahead to after I missed my flight. That day we headed down to Waterford to see the crystal factory. It was pretty interesting to see how they make the different things, but I still think it is really overrated. People who buy things there tend to have more money than sense.
From there we headed down to Cork where we stayed the night at a really nice hotel situated on a small river. It was the only day I got to use a gym. After only 1 night there we took of to see the Blarney Castle. It was a very cool place with tons to see....too much really. The main attraction was of course the blarney stone itself. Kissing the stone is supposed to give the gift of eloquence. I m still not feeling anything. After touring around the grounds we grabbed some food and headed to Killarney. We arrived there in the evening so just spent some time in a pub. The next day we woke up early and did the Ring of Kerry. Its a huge loop with tons of ruins and scenic areas to stop. That took us around 12 hours or more and was pretty incredible. Lots of cliffs and bays and mountains and rocks, etc. The whole area was pretty much like anything I ve ever seen. After we figured we probably would have rather taken 2 days to do it because there is so much.
The next day we go another early start and headed up to the Moher Cliffs. They are currently finalists for the New 7 Wonders of Nature. They were pretty awesome. Ridiculously high off the water but worth seeing nonetheless. From there we drove around and stopped at random ruins that we came across on our way to Galway.
Galway was where we spent the most time. The first full day there my uncles and I golfed at a place that was literally in the middle of nowhere. It was a fun parkland style golf course that was relatively new. It provided a good challenge and was quite the entertaining day...as is everyday hanging with my uncles. Later in the afternoon we met with the women and grabbed some dinner at an old castle that was turned into a pub.
The next day we took a tour of the Aran Islands. On the Islands are some old forts and other ruins. Also they say that there is enough stone on the islands to build a road to the US. There are hundreds if not hundreds of thousands of rock walls. The walls have been there for many generations. Its also one of the designated areas where they speak Irish (Gaelic) as the first language. All in all a pretty cool tour.
The next morning we got an early start and headed to Cavan for our stay at the Cabra Castle. After lunch almost everyone played golf on the castle grounds course. My 2 cousins when horse back riding and then in the evening we had a fancy dinner in the Castle restaurant. Later that night we had a room party since there was a wedding going on...that we temporarily crashed but it was too lame. So we went back to the room and my uncle set up a bar with all the alcohol he purchased from the store up the road.
The next day we got up and played another round of golf and then headed back to Dublin to the Airport Radisson. Not much happened from there as everyone was pretty tired from the trip. My cousin was also becoming quite sick. Her along with her mom and dad missed their flight back to the US because she had to go to the hospital. Still havent found out what was wrong but I m hoping she is ok and its nothing serious.
So everything really worked out well. I m back in Copenhagen with that empty feeling that comes with ending a vacation and leaving the ones I love. Its back to the tedious grind of job searching. I hate unemployment with a passion.
Luck was definitely on my side for this one....or maybe I just cashed in on some good karma, but there was only 1 phone I could call in order to try and get a hold of someone in my family to let them know of my botched attempt to fly home. That person was my cousin, but she didnt have the phone. Turns out she left it with her mom who happened to be sitting next to my mom at the hotel. So after explaining the situation it was decided that I would just stay for the rest of the trip they planned out.
So I took a cab back to the hotel and the adventure began....errrr resumed.
Prior to the bulk of my relatives arriving, I spent a few days with my cousin. We went and say the Airtricity All-stars take on Manchester United at the grand opening of Aviva stadium in Dublin. The game wasnt much to watch (7-1 blowout by Man-U) butI did take joy in watching Wayne Rooney do absolutely nothing on the field except miss wide open opportunities and cry a whole lot.
During the days really I didnt do much other than hang out in the parks and read my newly acquired Douglas Adams book entitled The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. I figured I d save some sight seeing for when my family arrived since I had a couple days to spend with them.
In Dublin I walked a large chunk of the city and also made a visit to the Guinness Storehouse. I enjoyed watching my mom try to drink her first Guinness ever but ended up saving her after she was close to halfway done. My uncles and I pretty much drank the bulk of the free beer since the women really couldnt stomach it. Also during the stay in Dublin I got to play a traditional links golf course situated in Portmarnock. It was about 20 mins outside the city and situated right on the coast. It was such a nice course and a ton of fun to play. Dublin also had its fair share of pubs. One night we stumbled on a gem of a place and were able to get a table that had its own Carlsberg and Guinness beer taps. It was nice to avoid standing at the bar and I showed off my perfect pint pouring skills.
Now jump ahead to after I missed my flight. That day we headed down to Waterford to see the crystal factory. It was pretty interesting to see how they make the different things, but I still think it is really overrated. People who buy things there tend to have more money than sense.
From there we headed down to Cork where we stayed the night at a really nice hotel situated on a small river. It was the only day I got to use a gym. After only 1 night there we took of to see the Blarney Castle. It was a very cool place with tons to see....too much really. The main attraction was of course the blarney stone itself. Kissing the stone is supposed to give the gift of eloquence. I m still not feeling anything. After touring around the grounds we grabbed some food and headed to Killarney. We arrived there in the evening so just spent some time in a pub. The next day we woke up early and did the Ring of Kerry. Its a huge loop with tons of ruins and scenic areas to stop. That took us around 12 hours or more and was pretty incredible. Lots of cliffs and bays and mountains and rocks, etc. The whole area was pretty much like anything I ve ever seen. After we figured we probably would have rather taken 2 days to do it because there is so much.
The next day we go another early start and headed up to the Moher Cliffs. They are currently finalists for the New 7 Wonders of Nature. They were pretty awesome. Ridiculously high off the water but worth seeing nonetheless. From there we drove around and stopped at random ruins that we came across on our way to Galway.
Galway was where we spent the most time. The first full day there my uncles and I golfed at a place that was literally in the middle of nowhere. It was a fun parkland style golf course that was relatively new. It provided a good challenge and was quite the entertaining day...as is everyday hanging with my uncles. Later in the afternoon we met with the women and grabbed some dinner at an old castle that was turned into a pub.
The next day we took a tour of the Aran Islands. On the Islands are some old forts and other ruins. Also they say that there is enough stone on the islands to build a road to the US. There are hundreds if not hundreds of thousands of rock walls. The walls have been there for many generations. Its also one of the designated areas where they speak Irish (Gaelic) as the first language. All in all a pretty cool tour.
The next morning we got an early start and headed to Cavan for our stay at the Cabra Castle. After lunch almost everyone played golf on the castle grounds course. My 2 cousins when horse back riding and then in the evening we had a fancy dinner in the Castle restaurant. Later that night we had a room party since there was a wedding going on...that we temporarily crashed but it was too lame. So we went back to the room and my uncle set up a bar with all the alcohol he purchased from the store up the road.
The next day we got up and played another round of golf and then headed back to Dublin to the Airport Radisson. Not much happened from there as everyone was pretty tired from the trip. My cousin was also becoming quite sick. Her along with her mom and dad missed their flight back to the US because she had to go to the hospital. Still havent found out what was wrong but I m hoping she is ok and its nothing serious.
So everything really worked out well. I m back in Copenhagen with that empty feeling that comes with ending a vacation and leaving the ones I love. Its back to the tedious grind of job searching. I hate unemployment with a passion.
onsdag den 28. juli 2010
Music Video
So it finally happened. I completed my music video.
As I posted awhile back, a couple friends and I made a song for our basketball team. We had been trying to get a video together for awhile but lacked the proper set up to do so. Over the last month I acquired a huge blue sheet that we used like a green screen. It wasnt perfect but worked well enough. Also one of my friends, I found, had a HD video camera that we could use. Basically once we had that I used Adobe After Effects to put the whole thing together. The program is new to me but through some tutorials I figured out how to do a lot of stuff.
The idea was to include a lot of videos within the videos of random gatherings and footage of Copenhagen as well as pictures so that you have to watch it a few times to see it everything. Looking at it now, there are some things I d like to do that are more advanced but will perhaps use in another project.
The plan is to make another song in the coming months...so assuming that happens I will make another video to try and build my skills.
Hope you enjoy :)
As I posted awhile back, a couple friends and I made a song for our basketball team. We had been trying to get a video together for awhile but lacked the proper set up to do so. Over the last month I acquired a huge blue sheet that we used like a green screen. It wasnt perfect but worked well enough. Also one of my friends, I found, had a HD video camera that we could use. Basically once we had that I used Adobe After Effects to put the whole thing together. The program is new to me but through some tutorials I figured out how to do a lot of stuff.
The idea was to include a lot of videos within the videos of random gatherings and footage of Copenhagen as well as pictures so that you have to watch it a few times to see it everything. Looking at it now, there are some things I d like to do that are more advanced but will perhaps use in another project.
The plan is to make another song in the coming months...so assuming that happens I will make another video to try and build my skills.
Hope you enjoy :)
lørdag den 24. juli 2010
Ireland Bound
I decided the other day to pull the trigger and buy a ticket to Ireland. Turns out that the guy I interviewed with a couple weeks ago is on vacation for awhile so I dont expect to hear anything regarding possible employment until probably the middle of August.
Really though what it boiled down to is this....how many times in my life will I have a half dozen family members in Ireland...that answer is 1 time...and that time is this time. So I go.
I ll be spending 5 days in Dublin 3 of which it will be my cousin and I and then my other relatives come for the last 2 days I ll be there. So far the only thing planned is a Man U game on the 4th and the Guinness Brewery.
Mostly I ll just be roaming around getting lost in the city. I may go to their indoor water park there...they have an indoor surfing sort of deal...and since I havent been surfing in a year I have the itch.
I m pretty excited to go and blend in.....red hair...freckles....blue eye...yeah..you could say I ve got some Irish blood in me.
Really though what it boiled down to is this....how many times in my life will I have a half dozen family members in Ireland...that answer is 1 time...and that time is this time. So I go.
I ll be spending 5 days in Dublin 3 of which it will be my cousin and I and then my other relatives come for the last 2 days I ll be there. So far the only thing planned is a Man U game on the 4th and the Guinness Brewery.
Mostly I ll just be roaming around getting lost in the city. I may go to their indoor water park there...they have an indoor surfing sort of deal...and since I havent been surfing in a year I have the itch.
I m pretty excited to go and blend in.....red hair...freckles....blue eye...yeah..you could say I ve got some Irish blood in me.
søndag den 18. juli 2010
Summer Glory
Well July has been an entertaining month thus far. The weather has definitely has played a huge role in the glory that is summer. I suppose I ll start with the 4th. Of course being in Denmark there is not celebration for American independence. Rightfully so...however I do have a lone American friend here in Denmark and it was decided that the day should not pass unnoticed. The celebration, which was quite small consisted of a bottle of 7-11 wine and some shawarma by the lakes. It was just a cozy evening sitting in the sun and then a bit of food at an outdoor cafe. It was a delicious way to end the day.
July has also brought an end to my mandatory 6 hour days at the job center. I am now free to do what I please again...sort of. If they by some miracle find me a job or internship then I have to accept it. I however have requested some vacation days for the first couple weeks of August so I can possibly go to Ireland and visit some family for a few days. But mostly it means that the chances of them finding me something before my vacation days are fairly slim. Essentially I m turning the next month into a vacation.
My main motivation for doing this though is in order to let many of the companies I have applied for respond to my applications. For those who dont know much about the work culture in Denmark, during the summer nothing really gets done. Its not because of laziness or anything, its because of the massive amounts of people who take 3-4 weeks of vacation at a time. Companies simply dont have the staff to really handle hiring. In fact, most the hiring managers arent even around. Generally in August/September people begin returning and business as usual is restored.
I also had an interview with a company called Bestseller a bit over a week ago, and I m pretty anxious to hear back from them. I feel like the interview went well and am hoping that my lack of experience in the clothing industry doesnt hold me back. I feel like I would be a good fit and could do the job. Its basically a dream job. The downside is that I would have to move to a small town....sort of in the middle of nowhere. Its not like it would be a big shock though compared to where I grew up. The benefits besides the job is that I could play more golf and actually go surfing because its fairly close to the west coast which sometimes gets surfable waves.
Of course if I get the job I would move and thus cancel the trip to Ireland in order to find a place to live out there and get settled.
On a different note, I ve been out to the beach a few times and have been playing loads of basketball outside. I think the summer has been the best I ve had here. Its been fun too with the crazy thunder and lightning storms that have blown through some evenings. It reminds me of growing up in Virginia.
All in all Copenhagen is a great place to be in the summer. The city is alive and there is always something going on. It stays light until around 11 and gets light super early at around 3.
July has also brought an end to my mandatory 6 hour days at the job center. I am now free to do what I please again...sort of. If they by some miracle find me a job or internship then I have to accept it. I however have requested some vacation days for the first couple weeks of August so I can possibly go to Ireland and visit some family for a few days. But mostly it means that the chances of them finding me something before my vacation days are fairly slim. Essentially I m turning the next month into a vacation.
My main motivation for doing this though is in order to let many of the companies I have applied for respond to my applications. For those who dont know much about the work culture in Denmark, during the summer nothing really gets done. Its not because of laziness or anything, its because of the massive amounts of people who take 3-4 weeks of vacation at a time. Companies simply dont have the staff to really handle hiring. In fact, most the hiring managers arent even around. Generally in August/September people begin returning and business as usual is restored.
I also had an interview with a company called Bestseller a bit over a week ago, and I m pretty anxious to hear back from them. I feel like the interview went well and am hoping that my lack of experience in the clothing industry doesnt hold me back. I feel like I would be a good fit and could do the job. Its basically a dream job. The downside is that I would have to move to a small town....sort of in the middle of nowhere. Its not like it would be a big shock though compared to where I grew up. The benefits besides the job is that I could play more golf and actually go surfing because its fairly close to the west coast which sometimes gets surfable waves.
Of course if I get the job I would move and thus cancel the trip to Ireland in order to find a place to live out there and get settled.
On a different note, I ve been out to the beach a few times and have been playing loads of basketball outside. I think the summer has been the best I ve had here. Its been fun too with the crazy thunder and lightning storms that have blown through some evenings. It reminds me of growing up in Virginia.
All in all Copenhagen is a great place to be in the summer. The city is alive and there is always something going on. It stays light until around 11 and gets light super early at around 3.
tirsdag den 29. juni 2010
Summer time and the living is easy
Well the strange weather finally seems to have come to an end and summer has come to Denmark. This past 5 days or so have been perfect. I was really pleased because my cousin, came to visit this past weekend, was able to see the beautiful side of Denmark. She was able to experience all the reasons that I love living here so much.
The nice weather made our touristy activities more enjoyable, namely the canal tour and our visit to tivoli. Really it was awesome having her here. I hadnt been able to actually spend quality time with her in 6 years. Kinda weird to think she is going to be a junior in college next year and is 20. The last time I saw her she was celebrating her 14th birthday. We are so much alike though...I think thats why she is my favorite. I m hoping to get over to Ireland at the beginning of August to visit her again before she heads back to the states. A couple of my aunts and uncles and my mom will be there as well so it would be a good reason to go.
Today was my first official day at the beach as well. It was the perfect temperature outside. Not so hot that I felt the need to go swimming and not too cold that i needed a shirt on. Me and my friend Jesus H Christensen (commonly know as Jeff H Carstensen) hung out all afternoon just relaxing and enjoying the scenery. After we grabbed the biggest cheese burger I have ever seen and watched some WC.
Tomorrow I go back to the jobcenter for another couple weeks. I did get an email today about a job I applied for a while back. They wanted to make sure I knew where the position would actually be at....about 3 hours from where I currently live. Normally if they send me a message like that they have an interest in me. So hopefully I ll get an interview. The position is pretty interesting and is based in the online world which really excites me. Its a wait and see sort of thing at the moment.
torsdag den 17. juni 2010
What have you done for me lately?
Well since my Estonia trip not much exciting has happened. I was finally activated with the jobcenter due to my unemployment woes. I ve been attending everyday from 9-3 for the past 3 weeks. I ve applied for a ton of job which is the only real benefit that I can see. All of the classes and seminars they off here are in Danish and sadly my mastery of the language is not sufficient enough to get enough out of them to attend.
Otherwise the World Cup has started. I was glad to see the US get a draw against England. They play again tomorrow and I m hoping for a victory. I think if they win they will make it to the next stage. I think England will roll in their next two games and win the group. If the US wins then that will put them in prime position to take the second spot by 1 point. They will then most likely face Germany in the next round...which is kinda stressful for me considering my best friend in Denmark is German. i dont think we will be able to watch the game together.....cause who ever ends up the loser is definitely going to get loads of shit.
The fun think though is that my cousin who is currently in Ireland for a summer internship is coming to visit me. I have only seen her once briefly in the past 6 years. She is my favorite cousin because I think we are the most alike out of my entire family....which is quite large. It will be fun showing her around the city and she ll have the chance to play some basketball with me at my basketball club. Also the US will be playing while she is here so I ll have a fellow American to watch the game with. Needless I m excited for her visit.
Otherwise the World Cup has started. I was glad to see the US get a draw against England. They play again tomorrow and I m hoping for a victory. I think if they win they will make it to the next stage. I think England will roll in their next two games and win the group. If the US wins then that will put them in prime position to take the second spot by 1 point. They will then most likely face Germany in the next round...which is kinda stressful for me considering my best friend in Denmark is German. i dont think we will be able to watch the game together.....cause who ever ends up the loser is definitely going to get loads of shit.
The fun think though is that my cousin who is currently in Ireland for a summer internship is coming to visit me. I have only seen her once briefly in the past 6 years. She is my favorite cousin because I think we are the most alike out of my entire family....which is quite large. It will be fun showing her around the city and she ll have the chance to play some basketball with me at my basketball club. Also the US will be playing while she is here so I ll have a fellow American to watch the game with. Needless I m excited for her visit.
mandag den 24. maj 2010
Estonia rambling
Its been one day back since my trip to Estonia. The trip as a whole was more fun than I could have asked for. There was nothing quite like hanging out with 14 of my friends in a completely different country. The main purpose of the trip was to participate in the SELL Games. It is sort of like a student olympics that is shared among (I believe) Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The games are open to all countries but you have to be a student to participate or a recent graduate from within the previous year.
In total there were over 1500 athletes from 66 universities along with 16 countries represented. It was a pretty cool experience and unlike anything I had ever done before. Unfortunately I didnt get to see any of the other sporting events other than basketball. We had games with only a few hours break which left time for getting food and resting a bit. My days were pretty much spent at the A.Le.Coq Sports Facility in Tartu. My team and I played against some European professional and national players as well as some NBA prospects.
The tournament as a whole was much more serious than I had anticipated as we were there mainly to have some fun. We didnt really stand much of a chance considering we were substantially outsized and playing against professional grade talent. Most teams didnt even play a single guy who was shorter than our tallest guy or that couldnt dunk. We did however play competitively for a couple of our games until fatigue began to set in. Most teams had 10-12 guys and we only had 8 at least until one of our players was injured early on. Playing with 7 guys was quite difficult. Despite the fact that we didnt win a single game and in one game took a 60 point beat down (by a professional team who took 2nd overall) we still had some positives we could take away and we can carry into summer practice and next season.
The hospitality we were shown in Estonia was fantastic. I met plenty of really nice and friendly people who were willing to sacrifice their time to help me out or show me a round a bit. I even met a native from Estonia who had lived in Oregon which was pretty cool. He was a duck fan unfortunately but I didnt hold it against him. Everything was super cheep there too...especially compared to Denmark. There was a great nightlife and tons of beautiful girls everywhere. During my stay the whether was perfect. I think the trip was a perfect amount of time because I didnt really get into a full vacation mode. Its always hard coming back to reality, for me, if I have been away for too long.
I suppose my only knock against the trip was the food and the mosquitoes. The catered food we had was hit or miss....with a lot of misses. I just went to the grocery store because food was so cheep. Also the mosquitoes were a huge problem the first night and I was practically eaten alive. After some bug spray was located it wasnt so bad.
My concluding thoughts about the country in general was that it was beautiful with tons of nice countryside, that its a place I dont think I could just move to myself and live without the proper motivation, but I would definitely like to go back.
In total there were over 1500 athletes from 66 universities along with 16 countries represented. It was a pretty cool experience and unlike anything I had ever done before. Unfortunately I didnt get to see any of the other sporting events other than basketball. We had games with only a few hours break which left time for getting food and resting a bit. My days were pretty much spent at the A.Le.Coq Sports Facility in Tartu. My team and I played against some European professional and national players as well as some NBA prospects.
The tournament as a whole was much more serious than I had anticipated as we were there mainly to have some fun. We didnt really stand much of a chance considering we were substantially outsized and playing against professional grade talent. Most teams didnt even play a single guy who was shorter than our tallest guy or that couldnt dunk. We did however play competitively for a couple of our games until fatigue began to set in. Most teams had 10-12 guys and we only had 8 at least until one of our players was injured early on. Playing with 7 guys was quite difficult. Despite the fact that we didnt win a single game and in one game took a 60 point beat down (by a professional team who took 2nd overall) we still had some positives we could take away and we can carry into summer practice and next season.
The hospitality we were shown in Estonia was fantastic. I met plenty of really nice and friendly people who were willing to sacrifice their time to help me out or show me a round a bit. I even met a native from Estonia who had lived in Oregon which was pretty cool. He was a duck fan unfortunately but I didnt hold it against him. Everything was super cheep there too...especially compared to Denmark. There was a great nightlife and tons of beautiful girls everywhere. During my stay the whether was perfect. I think the trip was a perfect amount of time because I didnt really get into a full vacation mode. Its always hard coming back to reality, for me, if I have been away for too long.
I suppose my only knock against the trip was the food and the mosquitoes. The catered food we had was hit or miss....with a lot of misses. I just went to the grocery store because food was so cheep. Also the mosquitoes were a huge problem the first night and I was practically eaten alive. After some bug spray was located it wasnt so bad.
My concluding thoughts about the country in general was that it was beautiful with tons of nice countryside, that its a place I dont think I could just move to myself and live without the proper motivation, but I would definitely like to go back.
mandag den 3. maj 2010
New Discoveries
A few days ago I was talking with some friends about the music video we never made for the song we made (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ_KzLqutLU&feature=youtu.be). Its not like we just scrapped the whole idea awhile back, it was just that every time we were able to get someone to take some video footage it turned out horrible. When I say horrible I mean that it was like the person was so completely distracted with something else that there ended up being lots of footage of the floor, ceiling and other random people and objects. In other words...it was ridiculously worthless. I suppose not everyone has a creative eye for this type of stuff.
So after this conversation I had a renewed desire to actually make this video. I started searching the internet and stumbled across Adobe After Effects. Many may know what this is but for those who dont...its a program that allows you to put in all sorts of effect on video as well as animate thing from scratch. There is a website called videocopilot.net that has a bunch of tutorials and I highly recommend it. I ve spent some hours going through the beginner tutorials and also did some of the more advanced ones. I can totally see how people get addicted to doing this kind of stuff.
The outcome of all this is that I have been searching for a blue or green sheet that I can use in order to have some fun with and maybe make a music video that can be way more interesting to watch.
So after this conversation I had a renewed desire to actually make this video. I started searching the internet and stumbled across Adobe After Effects. Many may know what this is but for those who dont...its a program that allows you to put in all sorts of effect on video as well as animate thing from scratch. There is a website called videocopilot.net that has a bunch of tutorials and I highly recommend it. I ve spent some hours going through the beginner tutorials and also did some of the more advanced ones. I can totally see how people get addicted to doing this kind of stuff.
The outcome of all this is that I have been searching for a blue or green sheet that I can use in order to have some fun with and maybe make a music video that can be way more interesting to watch.
søndag den 25. april 2010
Graduation rant
Graduation....I have had a few of them. In fact I ve had four of them if you count the one when I finished 5th grade. I think though the one I enjoyed the most was my high school graduation. For me, graduating from high school meant that I was able to leave my youth behind and become more of an adult. It meant that I gained the freedom and responsiblity to decide which path my life would take but also the consequences of said choices. Once I entered college it was really nice to be able to set my own schedule, show up to classes when I wanted to and not have to worry about the possibility of detention or reprimand from a school administrator.
I would say after I graduated with my bachelors the sense of accomplishment was so much less in the long run. Graduating from college just meant I had to find a job or decide to go to grad school. My initial thought was to work. I figured that I had spent enough money on my education and it was time to join the rest of the adult population with the hustle and bustle of everyday working life. Little did I know that there were no jobs to be had. My backup plan was going to grad school. I applied a few different places so not to put all of my eggs in one basket. I was accepted to a couple different schools and ultimately I made my way to Denmark. What better way to study international marketing and management then to be in and international setting. So two years later graduation number four.
For me this was a big accomplishment. Growing up I pretty much despised school. I started a year ahead of pretty much everyone I currently know...and then even wanted to skip a grade in middle school because it was like I was repeating everything I learned the year before. To me school a boring because I wasnt challenged enough. I found sanctuary in more creative classes as well as physical education classes. My favorites were theater, art and P.E.. For the other classes I rarely had to do homework and still got good grades. My grades were so good that I graduated with honors from my high school. So in other words, I wasnt too excited about going to college and I was the last one my family would have imagined going to grad school, let alone finishing.
So this so called big accomplishment was overshadowed by a worldwide recession. Its been almost five months since I graduated with my masters and I m still unemployed. I had a great job while I was in school but was unable to continue because of this inconvenient recession. Its funny how I decided to go for my masters so I could make it easier on myself to get a good job and now its as if I m working three or four times as hard to find something. This recession has benefited companies by replenishing the diminished talent pool with people who were previously employed. Its makes in much harder for those of us who have recently graduated. A company would, for lack of better words, be taking a chance on a recent graduate to fill a position when then can easily find someone who has multiple years of specific experience.
Perhaps though more companies should be willing to take a chance on someone with less experience. Wouldnt they be more motivated to prove themselves? Dont they bring an added excitement and fresh perspective? I mean finally practical application of all the knowledge they have absorbed for years. And if you arent sold on that...how about the fact that they command less in salary...and they can be molded and shaped into a companies corporate culture easier. Yeah someone may have lots of experience but maybe they are set in there ways...they think in their old position the practices were better.
Really the job search is worse than being in school. Every application is like homework but only way more repetitive. If you do enough homework and get it 100% correct then you can get an interview. Every interview is like an oral exam, the difference is that you automatically fail if the interviewers dont like what they here. The worst part about it all though is all the free time that you have. Most people would kill for some time off...but there is a big difference between a couple weeks of vacation and 5 months of boredom.
Personally I enjoy working. I have been working since I was 14 and have rarely been without a job. I love learning new skills and interacting with people in order to achieve a common goal. I gain a true sense of accomplishment when I can look at something and know that I made that happen or was part of something.
I guess through all my ranting I ll say this. When I get my first job post graduation, I will feel accomplishment. I will have past the ultimate test and will finally be able to move out of the post student purgatory. I m ready for the new challenges that face me in the next chapter of my life.
I would say after I graduated with my bachelors the sense of accomplishment was so much less in the long run. Graduating from college just meant I had to find a job or decide to go to grad school. My initial thought was to work. I figured that I had spent enough money on my education and it was time to join the rest of the adult population with the hustle and bustle of everyday working life. Little did I know that there were no jobs to be had. My backup plan was going to grad school. I applied a few different places so not to put all of my eggs in one basket. I was accepted to a couple different schools and ultimately I made my way to Denmark. What better way to study international marketing and management then to be in and international setting. So two years later graduation number four.
For me this was a big accomplishment. Growing up I pretty much despised school. I started a year ahead of pretty much everyone I currently know...and then even wanted to skip a grade in middle school because it was like I was repeating everything I learned the year before. To me school a boring because I wasnt challenged enough. I found sanctuary in more creative classes as well as physical education classes. My favorites were theater, art and P.E.. For the other classes I rarely had to do homework and still got good grades. My grades were so good that I graduated with honors from my high school. So in other words, I wasnt too excited about going to college and I was the last one my family would have imagined going to grad school, let alone finishing.
So this so called big accomplishment was overshadowed by a worldwide recession. Its been almost five months since I graduated with my masters and I m still unemployed. I had a great job while I was in school but was unable to continue because of this inconvenient recession. Its funny how I decided to go for my masters so I could make it easier on myself to get a good job and now its as if I m working three or four times as hard to find something. This recession has benefited companies by replenishing the diminished talent pool with people who were previously employed. Its makes in much harder for those of us who have recently graduated. A company would, for lack of better words, be taking a chance on a recent graduate to fill a position when then can easily find someone who has multiple years of specific experience.
Perhaps though more companies should be willing to take a chance on someone with less experience. Wouldnt they be more motivated to prove themselves? Dont they bring an added excitement and fresh perspective? I mean finally practical application of all the knowledge they have absorbed for years. And if you arent sold on that...how about the fact that they command less in salary...and they can be molded and shaped into a companies corporate culture easier. Yeah someone may have lots of experience but maybe they are set in there ways...they think in their old position the practices were better.
Really the job search is worse than being in school. Every application is like homework but only way more repetitive. If you do enough homework and get it 100% correct then you can get an interview. Every interview is like an oral exam, the difference is that you automatically fail if the interviewers dont like what they here. The worst part about it all though is all the free time that you have. Most people would kill for some time off...but there is a big difference between a couple weeks of vacation and 5 months of boredom.
Personally I enjoy working. I have been working since I was 14 and have rarely been without a job. I love learning new skills and interacting with people in order to achieve a common goal. I gain a true sense of accomplishment when I can look at something and know that I made that happen or was part of something.
I guess through all my ranting I ll say this. When I get my first job post graduation, I will feel accomplishment. I will have past the ultimate test and will finally be able to move out of the post student purgatory. I m ready for the new challenges that face me in the next chapter of my life.
tirsdag den 20. april 2010
Weekend Warriors
This past weekend had its moments for sure. Friday was my basketball teams finale party. Read post above. Anyways we had a decent turnout. I think maybe I was expecting more people but to be honest it didnt really matter much. The only downside is we didnt make as much money as we hoped. We still came out on the positive and everyone who contributed money was paid back. Even better was the next day when I went back to help clean up, those of us who decided to show up divided the leftover beer, soda and booze. Needless to stay I m stocked for awhile.
The party itself was a ton of fun. I had a couple friends of mine show up so I was able to hang out with them a bit as well as socialize with everyone else. I took a couple shifts behind the bar...one early and one quite late. I will say at about 3 o clock my normally good judgment was hindered a bit. Lets just say a teammate and I decided we would be more aerodynamic if we bar-tended with our shirts off. It was pretty amusing I suppose...really at that point I just didnt care. Really though whats the point if you cant make a bit of fun of yourself.
For the most part the large majority of people dressed up in suits and tuxedos which was the main point. Most the girls wore nice gowns and dresses as well. I was quite pleased with my first large party planning experience. Event management wouldnt be such a bad career to get into.
As for the rest of the weekend...I hit the gym a few times and filled out some job applications. Turns out that was a good idea since I now have an interview on Friday. Hooray for possible employment. I truly want to be working.
The party itself was a ton of fun. I had a couple friends of mine show up so I was able to hang out with them a bit as well as socialize with everyone else. I took a couple shifts behind the bar...one early and one quite late. I will say at about 3 o clock my normally good judgment was hindered a bit. Lets just say a teammate and I decided we would be more aerodynamic if we bar-tended with our shirts off. It was pretty amusing I suppose...really at that point I just didnt care. Really though whats the point if you cant make a bit of fun of yourself.
For the most part the large majority of people dressed up in suits and tuxedos which was the main point. Most the girls wore nice gowns and dresses as well. I was quite pleased with my first large party planning experience. Event management wouldnt be such a bad career to get into.
As for the rest of the weekend...I hit the gym a few times and filled out some job applications. Turns out that was a good idea since I now have an interview on Friday. Hooray for possible employment. I truly want to be working.
torsdag den 15. april 2010
Season Celebration
The regular season is over and in our basketball league there are no playoffs. There is moving up to the next division, being demoted to the lower division or nothing....we are doing nothing. So in order to commemorate the end of our first season together we are throwing a huge party for the whole basketball department at my club. Tomorrow is the day. We bought the booze...sent out the invites and prepared the decorations. Its is going to be epic.
In other news tomorrow I start a program to increase my vertical. Right now I can grab the rim but i m hoping to add about 8 inches or more over the summer so I can be dunking for next season. The program is 15 weeks long and should be challenging enough. The nice thing is that I dont need any weights or anything like that. I will however continue my normal routine at the gym and perhaps even increase how much I work my legs a little. Its easier to do this kind of training during the off season since I wont have any mandatory practices or games that I have to be fresh for.
I m pretty realistic about the whole thing. It says that I should increase 8-14 inches by the end. I figure if I hit the low end I ll consider it a success. Really any little bit will help and at the very least I will have stronger legs and more endurance.
Switching topics again. Its time for the playoffs in basketball and hockey. I am a huge sabres and trailblazers fan. Both teams are in the post season for their respective sports. So far the Sabres opener has been nothing short of thrilling. Its the middle of the second period now and they are winning. I hope they take the W and wax the Bruins in 4 games.
In other news tomorrow I start a program to increase my vertical. Right now I can grab the rim but i m hoping to add about 8 inches or more over the summer so I can be dunking for next season. The program is 15 weeks long and should be challenging enough. The nice thing is that I dont need any weights or anything like that. I will however continue my normal routine at the gym and perhaps even increase how much I work my legs a little. Its easier to do this kind of training during the off season since I wont have any mandatory practices or games that I have to be fresh for.
I m pretty realistic about the whole thing. It says that I should increase 8-14 inches by the end. I figure if I hit the low end I ll consider it a success. Really any little bit will help and at the very least I will have stronger legs and more endurance.
Switching topics again. Its time for the playoffs in basketball and hockey. I am a huge sabres and trailblazers fan. Both teams are in the post season for their respective sports. So far the Sabres opener has been nothing short of thrilling. Its the middle of the second period now and they are winning. I hope they take the W and wax the Bruins in 4 games.
torsdag den 8. april 2010
Shaping Up
After a few weeks of demolishing my body with fatty American food and barrel loads of beer, I finally have a gym membership. I will say that I am actually using it. I m not one of those people who gets one and swears they will use it but then really doesnt. I like to stay in shape in in the last few months that i havent been able to work out regularly I have slowly become soft. Yuck!
I have a basketball tourney in Estonia in a bit over a month so the plan is to make sure I am back to form by then. I m toning down my alcohol intake as well. The last month has be absurd. Lets face it..I live in a country that drinks a ridiculous amount of beer. Its a part of everyday life and can be brutal when trying to maintain a high level of physical fitness.
Really not much else going on. I m back to danish classes and still looking for work. I did get my greencard in physical form this past week. Its not green...instead its more of a reddish and aqua blueish colour.
I have a basketball tourney in Estonia in a bit over a month so the plan is to make sure I am back to form by then. I m toning down my alcohol intake as well. The last month has be absurd. Lets face it..I live in a country that drinks a ridiculous amount of beer. Its a part of everyday life and can be brutal when trying to maintain a high level of physical fitness.
Really not much else going on. I m back to danish classes and still looking for work. I did get my greencard in physical form this past week. Its not green...instead its more of a reddish and aqua blueish colour.
tirsdag den 30. marts 2010
Disaster
So the high from finally getting my greencard was shortly lived. Just a few short days later I got a terrible phone call from my mom. Through her tears she told me that my grandma had been in a car accident and was in the hospital. She went on to explain that the doctors think that she had a heart attack which caused her to drive off the road and slide down into a ditch. Moreover, the time that it took paramedics to arrive on the scene and revive her was around 10 or 15 minutes which left her severely brain damaged and doctors with little hope of her ever waking up again.
So after some phone calls back and forth over the next day or two my dad decided to buy me a ticket to New York to come and spend time with my family and to say goodbye to my grandma. I arrived in New York late at night and was taken directly to the hospital. I went in and saw my grandma in a state that I could have never imagined. She was 83 but if you knew her then you would have never thought of her being that old. She was active and alert, still driving and making her way around without trouble. She lived alone and would often visit friends and babysit her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She traveled fairly frequently and even came out to visit me in Denmark. So seeing her in such a helpless and lifeless state was hard to see and in a way she never wanted.
My grandma actually had a DNR signed. She did not want to be on life support, however when she was found, she did not have any identification or bracelet that would prove this. Since she was revived, the hospital code of ethics required them to keep her on a respirator for some days. It took about 4 days until my family was able to get her taken off of them. It was a very emotional and stressful time, but for those 4 days she was never alone. The visiting hours and normal rules of the ICU were disregarded as many of my aunts and cousins took shifts throughout the day and night so that she always had someone holding her hand and talking to her. Late on a Monday night the approval was gained to remove the breathing tubes, my grandma died a short time later early Tuesday. My uncle came out and told us and then one by one my mom and my Aunts came out. For me the thing I will never forget is when my mom came out. She made her way around hugging everyone and then ended up at my step dad. She wept with her face buried into his chest and I knew at that moment that nothing I have ever experienced could have prepared me for that kind of sadness. I think its only a sadness you can know if you have lost a close family member. Its a sadness that I hope not to experience for a very long time.
My grandma did not want people to be sad when she died. It was quite opposite actually. When she passed she wanted family to come together and celebrate. She didnt want a funeral or a service, but rather one last party that she would pay for. My grandma was the center of a large family and I think was happiest when everyone was together. So it was only fitting that she would find a way to bring everyone together one last time.
So after some phone calls back and forth over the next day or two my dad decided to buy me a ticket to New York to come and spend time with my family and to say goodbye to my grandma. I arrived in New York late at night and was taken directly to the hospital. I went in and saw my grandma in a state that I could have never imagined. She was 83 but if you knew her then you would have never thought of her being that old. She was active and alert, still driving and making her way around without trouble. She lived alone and would often visit friends and babysit her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She traveled fairly frequently and even came out to visit me in Denmark. So seeing her in such a helpless and lifeless state was hard to see and in a way she never wanted.
My grandma actually had a DNR signed. She did not want to be on life support, however when she was found, she did not have any identification or bracelet that would prove this. Since she was revived, the hospital code of ethics required them to keep her on a respirator for some days. It took about 4 days until my family was able to get her taken off of them. It was a very emotional and stressful time, but for those 4 days she was never alone. The visiting hours and normal rules of the ICU were disregarded as many of my aunts and cousins took shifts throughout the day and night so that she always had someone holding her hand and talking to her. Late on a Monday night the approval was gained to remove the breathing tubes, my grandma died a short time later early Tuesday. My uncle came out and told us and then one by one my mom and my Aunts came out. For me the thing I will never forget is when my mom came out. She made her way around hugging everyone and then ended up at my step dad. She wept with her face buried into his chest and I knew at that moment that nothing I have ever experienced could have prepared me for that kind of sadness. I think its only a sadness you can know if you have lost a close family member. Its a sadness that I hope not to experience for a very long time.
My grandma did not want people to be sad when she died. It was quite opposite actually. When she passed she wanted family to come together and celebrate. She didnt want a funeral or a service, but rather one last party that she would pay for. My grandma was the center of a large family and I think was happiest when everyone was together. So it was only fitting that she would find a way to bring everyone together one last time.
torsdag den 11. marts 2010
Greencard Glory
I got my danish greencard this week. Its really been a long time coming but I m so stoked that I have another 3 years in Denmark. Also I interviewed for a position with LEGO which if you didnt know is a danish company. I would love a second interview because the position I think would be so awesome. I would have to move but I am totally willing to. How could I pass up a position with LEGO are you kidding. The saddest day of my childhood was when I moved and all my LEGOs were lost.
mandag den 8. marts 2010
Passing time
So I totally watched 3 seasons of Greek last week. Each episode is about 44 minutes without commercials. I wasted an enormous amount of time. Hoping I get a job soon. I finally had an interview today so I m hoping for a call back.
mandag den 1. marts 2010
There is no fun in unemployment
Unemployment is really a drag when you are broke. Money kind of makes the world go around so not having any when you have tons of free time is not fun. I m in Europe and cant do anything. I have all the time in the world to travel and would love to take a trip but cant even stomach the thought of buying a metro ticket so I can avoid riding my bike in the rain.
Whats worse is that I actually like to work. I mean of course some days arent so fun and I like to have time off as well, but I like it to be my choosing. Taking a vacation at my leisure instead of being forced into boredom.
I applied for a couple of jobs these past few days so hopefully I ll get an interview. One of them could actually be considered a dream job....international marketing for a company that would be amazing to work for. My fingers are crossed
Whats worse is that I actually like to work. I mean of course some days arent so fun and I like to have time off as well, but I like it to be my choosing. Taking a vacation at my leisure instead of being forced into boredom.
I applied for a couple of jobs these past few days so hopefully I ll get an interview. One of them could actually be considered a dream job....international marketing for a company that would be amazing to work for. My fingers are crossed
torsdag den 25. februar 2010
Hobbies
So I saw a quote the other day that I dont remember word for word, but it was to the affect that the things you do while you procrastinate are the things you should most likely be doing instead of the job you have now. I believe this to be a pretty clever thought. I mean normally when you procrastinate you are putting off something boring for something you like to do. If you are procrastinating at work then clearly you do not enjoy your job enough. For me I am realizing more that I picked a field where I can potentially be put in a position to where I can do some of the things that I do when I procrastinate, which is basically be creative. Whether is music or photoshop or something to that effect. Those are the kind of things I do when I dont want to do what I m suppose to be doing. Recently I have found myself spending multiple hours a day trying to learn how to use photoshop. I ve never been that good at it but thankfully there are tons of people who are and post videos on youtube. I have to add...youtube is the greatest site on the planet...you can find anything there...thats where I learned how to tie a tie.
Anyways, recently I ve been interested in turning pictures into comic book style photos. The reason is that I am working on a video for the USG Anthem that a couple of friends and I made and released last week. I figured it would be fun to do a comic book theme with some photos and then mix it with some video clips of us in the studio.
Anyways, recently I ve been interested in turning pictures into comic book style photos. The reason is that I am working on a video for the USG Anthem that a couple of friends and I made and released last week. I figured it would be fun to do a comic book theme with some photos and then mix it with some video clips of us in the studio.
mandag den 22. februar 2010
80s Game Recap
Glory was in the air.
The temperature in Copenhagen has been dipping well below the freezing point this year so the USG men decided do heat the city up. The USG Dome was the venue for their game against Jægerspris and the only choice was to do it 80s style. The Dome was blazing hot causing the USG Men to strip down to some short shorts. This game was the final piece of a glorious weekend with the USG Anthem entitled “It Feels So Good” also being released. The plan of attack? – Of course, beat these guys by 20 points!
After William finally managed to get a pair of customized short shorts the game could start. USG got out to a 12 point lead in the first 6 minutes with help from Nic Wetaz, who scored the team’s first 7 points. At this point their intentions became clear and all the 80s hype was not just for show. Jægerspris did however not give up, yet and closed the first quarter with a 7-point leeway. USG 18 – Jægerspris 11.
Spurred on by the crowd, USG continued their fast game now, but was only slowly extending their lead. Jægerspris, with two of their 9 3-pointers in this quarter, prevented an early decisive lead. The lead came back to 8 points when The Philler geared up and successfully completed an AND1 lay-up plus one of his 3 3-pointers in the following offense. The crowd went bananas! USG’s lead now at 41 – 29.
From the USG perspective the next quarter almost entirely belonged to Wetaz, scoring 9 (3x3) of his 21 points significantly helping the USG team to establish a decent 22-points in the 7th minute. Game closed? – Far wrong! While the crowd still celebrated upcoming rap star Mr Wetaz, Jægerspris had a 9- points run til the end of the quarter leaving USG with no points scored in the last 3 minutes of this quarter. Result: USG 55 – Jægerspris 42.
Needless to say, coach Olin was on the verge of losing his mind. Good that William “the tank” Brenner started to show his excellence under the rim. With 4 points and various fouls drawn, it looked like USG had finally closed this game. Along comes the 7th minute, again! Out of nothing, Jægerspris hit an amazing 4 3-pointers and two field goals almost tying the game within 2 minutes. A fragile 1-point lead was between USG and a disaster. It was then when Air Hagelund took the game in his hand making a lay-up followed by an amazing 3-pointer only seconds before the end giving USG a 4 lead to the final result of 70 – 66. “The 7th minute was definitely our Kryptonite today. Our defense just completely broke down. On top of that, it seemed like none of them would miss a shot anymore. I couldn’t let that happen!” says Asger commenting on the team performance.
Thanks to all supporters for a great atmosphere.
USG Line-up: Wetaz, Kasper K, Niels, Ander W, Søren, Jeff, Asger, Philipp, William
The temperature in Copenhagen has been dipping well below the freezing point this year so the USG men decided do heat the city up. The USG Dome was the venue for their game against Jægerspris and the only choice was to do it 80s style. The Dome was blazing hot causing the USG Men to strip down to some short shorts. This game was the final piece of a glorious weekend with the USG Anthem entitled “It Feels So Good” also being released. The plan of attack? – Of course, beat these guys by 20 points!
After William finally managed to get a pair of customized short shorts the game could start. USG got out to a 12 point lead in the first 6 minutes with help from Nic Wetaz, who scored the team’s first 7 points. At this point their intentions became clear and all the 80s hype was not just for show. Jægerspris did however not give up, yet and closed the first quarter with a 7-point leeway. USG 18 – Jægerspris 11.Spurred on by the crowd, USG continued their fast game now, but was only slowly extending their lead. Jægerspris, with two of their 9 3-pointers in this quarter, prevented an early decisive lead. The lead came back to 8 points when The Philler geared up and successfully completed an AND1 lay-up plus one of his 3 3-pointers in the following offense. The crowd went bananas! USG’s lead now at 41 – 29.
From the USG perspective the next quarter almost entirely belonged to Wetaz, scoring 9 (3x3) of his 21 points significantly helping the USG team to establish a decent 22-points in the 7th minute. Game closed? – Far wrong! While the crowd still celebrated upcoming rap star Mr Wetaz, Jægerspris had a 9- points run til the end of the quarter leaving USG with no points scored in the last 3 minutes of this quarter. Result: USG 55 – Jægerspris 42.
Needless to say, coach Olin was on the verge of losing his mind. Good that William “the tank” Brenner started to show his excellence under the rim. With 4 points and various fouls drawn, it looked like USG had finally closed this game. Along comes the 7th minute, again! Out of nothing, Jægerspris hit an amazing 4 3-pointers and two field goals almost tying the game within 2 minutes. A fragile 1-point lead was between USG and a disaster. It was then when Air Hagelund took the game in his hand making a lay-up followed by an amazing 3-pointer only seconds before the end giving USG a 4 lead to the final result of 70 – 66. “The 7th minute was definitely our Kryptonite today. Our defense just completely broke down. On top of that, it seemed like none of them would miss a shot anymore. I couldn’t let that happen!” says Asger commenting on the team performance.Thanks to all supporters for a great atmosphere.
USG Line-up: Wetaz, Kasper K, Niels, Ander W, Søren, Jeff, Asger, Philipp, William
fredag den 19. februar 2010
USG Anthem - It Feels So Good
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=657812556398&oid=336619625022
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ_KzLqutLU
This will take you to the result of me and a couple friends fooling around in the studio. I think the song is quite catchy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ_KzLqutLU
This will take you to the result of me and a couple friends fooling around in the studio. I think the song is quite catchy
I am officially not a fan of unemployment. Officially it has been 19 days since my contract ran out on my student job and since then I have been so bored. Dont get me wrong I have been able to do a couple of fun things that may have been harder if I had a job but really the overall experience of having no real reason to wake up is not one I hope continues. I like having my day filled with some sort of accomplishment or know that I am working towards something and on top of that...I like working. I may be weird in that aspect but for the most part I have liked most of the jobs I have had throughout my life. I feel fortunate to be able to say that because I know people who feel completely opposite.
I think the part that drives me even more nuts is that I have so much free time to think about things I would otherwise be less consumed with if I had other responsibilities to occupy myself with. I m talking about stressful things...like a lack of income and student loan payments being due, the constant application rejections stating that I lack experience in a certain area, and most importantly is my pending Danish greencard application. I feel pretty much suspended on really pursuing anything until I figure out if I can start making any type of long term plans. Currently I do not have the right to work full time because the visa I have is an extended student visa. Getting a greencard would essentially give me the same rights as a danish person with the exception of being able to vote. This means I will be able to collect unemployment insurance money through the Union that I am a part of. If I were to be able to collect this then I would feel more at ease because then I could volunteer with companies to gain more experience to make myself more marketable in the business world. I could go back to the kind of normalcy that I am craving.
I think the part that drives me even more nuts is that I have so much free time to think about things I would otherwise be less consumed with if I had other responsibilities to occupy myself with. I m talking about stressful things...like a lack of income and student loan payments being due, the constant application rejections stating that I lack experience in a certain area, and most importantly is my pending Danish greencard application. I feel pretty much suspended on really pursuing anything until I figure out if I can start making any type of long term plans. Currently I do not have the right to work full time because the visa I have is an extended student visa. Getting a greencard would essentially give me the same rights as a danish person with the exception of being able to vote. This means I will be able to collect unemployment insurance money through the Union that I am a part of. If I were to be able to collect this then I would feel more at ease because then I could volunteer with companies to gain more experience to make myself more marketable in the business world. I could go back to the kind of normalcy that I am craving.
søndag den 14. februar 2010
Thats a (w)rap!
So I ve been working on a rap song with a couple of friends the past few weeks. We decided one day after a friday open gym with some beers that it would be a pretty awesome thing if we created and Anthem for our basketball club. A couple visits to the recording studio later and it is nearly completed. I laid down my vocals today on some of the verses and also the chorus. I m pretty stoked to hear the final result. We also had a video camera so we were able to record some footage for a video we plan on making. I would just like to thank unemployment for allowing me to have the time to do this. Sooooo much fun!
onsdag den 10. februar 2010
I m back
Danish started up again yesterday. I have 3hrs of class two times a week and about 9hrs of homework. Thats the intensive course for ya. My class was only 7 people yesterday and I m hoping that there are more tomorrow because I was the odd man out during the partner exercises. That was not much fun.
Overall though I m glad with the level. I think I can regain my footing before climbing to the next module. I hear its pretty tough. Really though I think my conversational skills will get better and now that I m forced to relearn some key vocabulary then I ll be more inclined to speak with some of my friends. The added benefit is that it will look good to companies I am trying to work for that I am making the attempt to improve my abilities to read, write and speak the language.
Overall though I m glad with the level. I think I can regain my footing before climbing to the next module. I hear its pretty tough. Really though I think my conversational skills will get better and now that I m forced to relearn some key vocabulary then I ll be more inclined to speak with some of my friends. The added benefit is that it will look good to companies I am trying to work for that I am making the attempt to improve my abilities to read, write and speak the language.
fredag den 5. februar 2010
Six for Six
This past Wednesday my team had a basketball game. The second half of the season has been a bit rough but we finally got back on the winning track. Our coach missed the game due to some business in Switzerland so I, along with another one or my teammates, were put in charge. Officially I was listed as head coach for the game.
Since I was in charge I decided to sacrifice my game minutes in favor of some guys who throughout the season hadnt really gotten much playing time but have worked really hard in practice. I think it actually paid off well. One of the guys who had maybe played 5 minutes all season scored is first bucket of the season and shot with confidence ending up with 7 points. Another of our big guys, that has also barley seen time, clogged up the middle and grab some rebounds and drew a couple key fouls to get the other team in foul trouble. I was really pleased with the effort they gave and I think they really appreciated the court time. Towards the end of the game when it got close the normal starters ended up finishing the last 5 minutes.
I ended up subbing myself in which turned out pretty well. I stole the ball on the first possession and then got fouled and hit 2 free-throws. A couple possessions later I drove to the basket and was fouled again and hit 2 more free-throws finishing the game six for six with 15 points. Defensively we stood strong forcing quite a few turnovers and only giving up a very deep 3 pointer. The game was finally put out of reach with about 10 seconds left in the game when one of my teammates grabbed a rebound after a missed free-throw, was fouled and then hit both of his shots to put the game out of reach.
I was really pleased that it was a team effort and everyone was quite please with my coaching, which was nice because a year ago when I tried coaching it really didnt turn out so well. But really there was too much I in that team.
Since I was in charge I decided to sacrifice my game minutes in favor of some guys who throughout the season hadnt really gotten much playing time but have worked really hard in practice. I think it actually paid off well. One of the guys who had maybe played 5 minutes all season scored is first bucket of the season and shot with confidence ending up with 7 points. Another of our big guys, that has also barley seen time, clogged up the middle and grab some rebounds and drew a couple key fouls to get the other team in foul trouble. I was really pleased with the effort they gave and I think they really appreciated the court time. Towards the end of the game when it got close the normal starters ended up finishing the last 5 minutes.
I ended up subbing myself in which turned out pretty well. I stole the ball on the first possession and then got fouled and hit 2 free-throws. A couple possessions later I drove to the basket and was fouled again and hit 2 more free-throws finishing the game six for six with 15 points. Defensively we stood strong forcing quite a few turnovers and only giving up a very deep 3 pointer. The game was finally put out of reach with about 10 seconds left in the game when one of my teammates grabbed a rebound after a missed free-throw, was fouled and then hit both of his shots to put the game out of reach.
I was really pleased that it was a team effort and everyone was quite please with my coaching, which was nice because a year ago when I tried coaching it really didnt turn out so well. But really there was too much I in that team.
lørdag den 30. januar 2010
Frozen
January 2010 has been the coldest month since 1987 in Denmark. So far everyday with the exception of 1 or 2 days has been below freezing. It has snowed here a handful of times during the month with the majority of it coming in the last few days. Today was a blustery -7 degrees centigrade which really didnt seem that cold until the wind started blowing. The reason for this little history lesson is that if you arent familiar with Copenhagen, there are these man made lakes that separate the burrow or Norrebro from what can be considered central Copenhagen. These lakes have of course frozen over because of the cold weather. The ice is thick enough to hold a substantial amount of weight and today I saw it with my own eyes. There were a few hundred people out ice skating and playing on the lakes. Each lake is quite large. I would estimate that if you took a football field and placed it on top...the width of the lake would equal the length of the football field. Then if you covered the lakes with football fields, I would say you could probably fit maybe 15 or 20 fields on just one lake. Thats a pretty rough estimate though...the point is that the lakes are pretty large. Its pretty cool though that since they have frozen over it has created a massive area for people to play on congregate that normally isnt there. Even when the lakes are not frozen, they arent really used for anything. This is where a lot of trash ends up and a large majority of the run off from the rain ends up. All in all they are just big duck ponds.
So today was a fun kind of experience. It remains to be seen if I will ever get to do that again considering it has been 23 years since the last time they froze over like that.
The next thing I am curious to see is the harbor area. Apparently the ice breaking ships have been on call for a couple weeks now due to the freezing temperatures so I wonder if there is some ice floating around in the sea.
So today was a fun kind of experience. It remains to be seen if I will ever get to do that again considering it has been 23 years since the last time they froze over like that.
The next thing I am curious to see is the harbor area. Apparently the ice breaking ships have been on call for a couple weeks now due to the freezing temperatures so I wonder if there is some ice floating around in the sea.
torsdag den 28. januar 2010
Well the month is coming to and end, I m finishing my contract with IBM and I havent been able to secure a new job. My lack of a new job is not, by any means, due to a sub par effort. I have indeed put in a number of different applications, however many of the deadlines are just now expiring. Hopefully in the next month I will have the opportunity to wow a hiring manager and obtain a position. I am pretty excited about the professional life that is on the horizon. Being a student has definitely had its advantages but its not all glorious. I ve spent 22 years of my life in academic institutions so the transition into a new realm is welcomed.
tirsdag den 12. januar 2010
Life after graduation
So I finished my masters degree a couple of months ago and I have determined that life after graduation has a lot of potential. It has the potential to be great beyond my wildest dreams. However the current in between phase that I am stuck in pretty much sucks. I have been searching for job...and applying...but still with little luck. I was essentially turned down for 2 jobs that I could do hog tied. I had already been working in a position for 2 years that was quite similar in a variety of aspects to the position I applied for, however, it seems that I am still running into the same catch 22. I dont have enough specific experience in my field of choice, but I am unable to get the experience without a job.
Maybe when I meet people for the first time or interview, people look at me and think I m stupid or something. This thought was actually brought about when a few days ago one of my work colleagues said that she thought I would suck at the job I have been at for 2 years when I was first hired. I of course did not suck at my job and actually moved into a pseudo management roll and team lead position. I tend to excel in the business environment. I attribute that to my massive amounts of common sense. It more than makes up for what I lack in book smarts. I have just always had a strong work ethic when I work. My dad seems to have played a large roll in this. Whether he likes his job or not, he has always put forth a strong effort and left the excuses for everyone else. He is also a fairly humble individual. Anyone with any sense of pride would work hard and do the job right.
Its just a shame that so far a masters degree is not paying any dividends and its just a 40k piece of paper...that I have still yet to receive in the mail.
Maybe when I meet people for the first time or interview, people look at me and think I m stupid or something. This thought was actually brought about when a few days ago one of my work colleagues said that she thought I would suck at the job I have been at for 2 years when I was first hired. I of course did not suck at my job and actually moved into a pseudo management roll and team lead position. I tend to excel in the business environment. I attribute that to my massive amounts of common sense. It more than makes up for what I lack in book smarts. I have just always had a strong work ethic when I work. My dad seems to have played a large roll in this. Whether he likes his job or not, he has always put forth a strong effort and left the excuses for everyone else. He is also a fairly humble individual. Anyone with any sense of pride would work hard and do the job right.
Its just a shame that so far a masters degree is not paying any dividends and its just a 40k piece of paper...that I have still yet to receive in the mail.
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