Well it was just over a year and a few weeks but I m finally back doing the 9-5. To be honest, I couldnt be more happy getting back to the working life and using my brain on a more consistent basis. Last week was my first week of a 4 month internship with a small pr/communications firm here in Copenhagen. The office has a superb location in a rather famous part of the city and all the people I work with are nice and friendly. I am working with social media, which I am super excited about. My thesis had a lot to do with social media and online content distribution so this gives me a chance to continue to learn as well as use some of the knowledge I have gained. I also am an avid user of many social networking sights so its fun to be able to combine something I enjoy with my professional life.
Although this is only an internship, I am hoping that at the end it will turn into a regular position. The company is trying to grow the social media aspect of their company so I m hoping to be part of that past the 4 months. There has been an agreement that after 3 months I will have an evaluation meeting to discuss my performance and the possibility of continuing on. So basically I m going to do everything in my power to secure a future. I tend to excel in my professional life so I am looking forward to gaining some responsibility and proving my value.
Its nice working in a smaller office because you get more interaction with co-workers. We all eat lunch together too so even if we dont work on the same projects or floor for that matter, there is always a chance to talk with everyone at some point. I think eventually when I get enough courage I ll try and practice my danish a bit more. Last week though I didnt really say much at all. I just try and keep up with the pace of the conversation and at least get the main points so I know what people are talking about. There is one other person that is a non danish speaker but I think her danish abilities are much better than mine...especially when it comes to understanding the spoken language. The good thing though is that we sit in the same office and will be working together a lot so I think there will be an opportunity to practice a bit with each other.
I think the hardest part of last week was getting used to waking up early and staying engaged for a full day. For the past year I have been able to make my own schedule and switch from a variety of things. I find it much easier to sleep at night after a full day of work. I think this week will probably be a bit easier in terms of being fresh in the mornings. I have already felt a dramatic shift in my body in regards of when I am ready for bed.
Overall I am pretty happy with life right now and despite not having any source of income for 4 months, I am basically stress free. I have no complaints and am glad that I have gotten the opportunity to gain some practical experience and potentially earn a full time position with a great company.
søndag den 27. februar 2011
lørdag den 12. februar 2011
Its The Parents Fault
I would say in the past 6 months I have seen an increasing number of things in the news about parents and their outrage for McDonalds. First, I think that they are being singled out. Really if you look at all fast food and even some sit down type restaurants, then McDonalds really isnt even the worst of them.
So some months ago Happy Meals were banned in San Francisco. Ok well they werent completely banned but there were a number of restrictions placed on meals that come with toys. So now fruit and/or vegies have to be included. Then I read a few weeks ago that there is a petition with 500+ signatures that is trying to ban Ronald McDonald from advertisements as well as being featured in the restaurants. All this is to effectively diminish McDonalds ability to market their products to kids. These parents and organizations are trying to curb the every skyrocketing child obesity that is taking over the US.
I find this all to be quite absurd. I have rather fond memories of having my birthday parties at McDonalds when I was younger, where Ronald himself would make an appearance. Why should kids be completely deprived of such an experience? I mean if trends like this continue then who would the Ronald McDonald house representative be? Just another corporate suit.
Basically it seems to me that Parents are not doing their job. Its the parents job to raise their kids and if they cant say no to fast food, hours of video games or time spent in front of the computer, then clearly they are to blame. I grew up with fast food however it was a treat. It wasnt something I could simply demand from my parents. I also played a number of sports growing up and was always outside riding around on my bike or playing other activities with friends. It seems like the era of building forts or playing kickball with the neighborhood kids is slowly diminishing. Of course its fun to sit with friends and play video games, but its the job of the parents to monitor and regulate that kind of activity.
There were times when I was growing up that I had to do a certain amount of pushups or sit ups so I could watch tv or play nintendo. On nice sunny weekend days I would pretty much be banned from the house and be sent outside to enjoy the good weather. Its the little things like this that can help kids stay in better shape. Saying no to fast food, candy, etc also helps. Parents should stop laying blame and take the responsibility of raising their kids.
So some months ago Happy Meals were banned in San Francisco. Ok well they werent completely banned but there were a number of restrictions placed on meals that come with toys. So now fruit and/or vegies have to be included. Then I read a few weeks ago that there is a petition with 500+ signatures that is trying to ban Ronald McDonald from advertisements as well as being featured in the restaurants. All this is to effectively diminish McDonalds ability to market their products to kids. These parents and organizations are trying to curb the every skyrocketing child obesity that is taking over the US.
I find this all to be quite absurd. I have rather fond memories of having my birthday parties at McDonalds when I was younger, where Ronald himself would make an appearance. Why should kids be completely deprived of such an experience? I mean if trends like this continue then who would the Ronald McDonald house representative be? Just another corporate suit.
Basically it seems to me that Parents are not doing their job. Its the parents job to raise their kids and if they cant say no to fast food, hours of video games or time spent in front of the computer, then clearly they are to blame. I grew up with fast food however it was a treat. It wasnt something I could simply demand from my parents. I also played a number of sports growing up and was always outside riding around on my bike or playing other activities with friends. It seems like the era of building forts or playing kickball with the neighborhood kids is slowly diminishing. Of course its fun to sit with friends and play video games, but its the job of the parents to monitor and regulate that kind of activity.
There were times when I was growing up that I had to do a certain amount of pushups or sit ups so I could watch tv or play nintendo. On nice sunny weekend days I would pretty much be banned from the house and be sent outside to enjoy the good weather. Its the little things like this that can help kids stay in better shape. Saying no to fast food, candy, etc also helps. Parents should stop laying blame and take the responsibility of raising their kids.
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