After working a full Saturday at the office, it's Sunday morning and I'm enjoying a leisurely coffee in the hotel lobby. Work in Norway is done, and it's a relaxing feeling to know there's nothing between me and home other than some fun.
I've got to pack and head to Amsterdam this afternoon. After an overnight stay there, I'm back on a plane headed home. I'm looking forward to getting back to the states.
But since I won't be spending next week in Scotland, that probably means I'll be heading there sometime next month.
17 February, 2008
13 February, 2008
Norway: Week 2
Sorry for the lack of updates--there's just not much to say. I'm in the middle of my second week here and I still don't know if I'm coming home this weekend or spending next week in Scotland.
My days here have become incredibly routine. Wake up, go to work, go back to the hotel, eat dinner, read/surf web, go to bed.
I feel really guilty about this schedule. I'm in a foreign country, damnit. I *should* be doing/seeing things. I just don't know what to do/see. I've seen the "coolest" part of Stavanger. I've eaten all kinds of unusual food. I saw the fjords. I've visited the quiet little neighborhoods. I listened to live music and drank the beer. What's left?
Am I letting the inner introvert blind me to things I should be doing, or is there just not that much to do?
In any case, I've got a couple of more days here and then on to the next thing.
My days here have become incredibly routine. Wake up, go to work, go back to the hotel, eat dinner, read/surf web, go to bed.
I feel really guilty about this schedule. I'm in a foreign country, damnit. I *should* be doing/seeing things. I just don't know what to do/see. I've seen the "coolest" part of Stavanger. I've eaten all kinds of unusual food. I saw the fjords. I've visited the quiet little neighborhoods. I listened to live music and drank the beer. What's left?
Am I letting the inner introvert blind me to things I should be doing, or is there just not that much to do?
In any case, I've got a couple of more days here and then on to the next thing.
03 February, 2008
Norway: Landed
Well, that made for a very short weekend, but a comfortable trip. I left work a bit late Friday, went home and packed. I woke up Saturday, loaded the car and headed to the airport. The I landed in Norway "Sunday" afternoon. Traveling east steals time.
Lines at Houston Intercontinental were virtually non-existant for some reason. And the flight to Schiphol was only about 80% full, so I got a couple of seats to myself and was able to stretch-out a bit and get some sleep. The last hop to Norway was gravy--I just kicked-back and watched some Battlestar Galactica I brought with. (I gotta ration those--I only have 3 episodes left on the DVD)
It's been a very quiet day. It's Sunday in Stavanger, and the city is shut down. For lunch, I had to walk 15 minutes into downtown and fast food was the only thing open. (when I asked the lady at the check-in counter about somewhere to eat, she gave me a strange look and said "it's Sunday, I don't think anything's open")
The hotel I'm staying in is absolutely empty. There's a lounge and bar, but I've been through 3 times and haven't seen a soul. I even grabbed the lappy and headed down for a while, but after sitting in an empty hotel lobby for about an hour, I got a bit creeped-out and headed back up to my room.
Well, it's 7:45 PM here (that's 12:45 PM for most of you) and I have no idea if I'll get any sleep tonight. I'm getting much better at dealing with jet lag, but the first day is always rough.
01 February, 2008
31 January, 2008
January Update
First, my upcoming trip: I'm booked and set for another 2 weeks in Norway. It's been hectic around here trying to get everything ready for the trip on such short notice. I haven't had a chance to decide what I want to do the full weekend I'm there. But I managed to get an overnight stay in Amsterdam on the way back, so I'm really looking forward to that--last time was a blast.
Now, on to the topic of hand: what the hell did I do this month?
At the first of the year, rather than do the usual year-long goal setting that usually only gets about a quarter done and just serves to haunt me, I decided to make it more of a monthly/weekly thing.
January's goal was to simplify my life. Everyone knows that I lead a relatively simple life to start with, so that was probably just the wrong way to word it. Really, it was to remove obstacles in my personal life. If there are things I want to get done this year (and in the rest of my life), I need to remove from my life the things getting in my way. Loose the things I don't need/want to do.
My time is valuable to me. A good book suggested that I quantify it. How valuable is my time? It makes answering questions like "doing x will save me 2 hours a week--is it worth it?" easier to answer. I found a little calculator online that gave me a number. Yeah, it's probably bogus since nobody pays me for my off-time, but it's somewhere to start.
What I actually got around to was a bit modest. Loosing a quarter of the month to a toothache didn't help. And most of the changes were small and wouldn't interest most people here on the bloop. (and some of them seem a bit *too* anal--even for me) But two of them will surely get you all calling me a giant nerd:
1) I call her Rosie. Adam turned me on to this bit of simplicity. For less than 1/2 the price of a new one, I was able to stop vacuuming. I just push a button and Rosie cleans up the floors in the entire house and then re-docks herself to charge. It's just that little bit less cleaning that I have to do every week. She'll pay for herself in less than a year.
2) This was a little harder to do. I gave up cable TV.
Several times every week, I'd turn on the TV and, not having anything good on the DVR, I'd flip through the channels and find something I wasn't that interested in, but I'd watch it anyway. Then I'd realize that I'd wasted the entire night watching crap I didn't even like that much. So, after several conversations with Adam trying to decide on the best solution, I replaced the cable box with an Apple TV. Now, with a click of the remote, I've got all my music / playlists / podcasts / pictures instantly. And I can subscribe to a couple of TV shows I really want to watch through iTunes.
So, I don't feel guilty for wasting time watching crap on TV and I'll be actually saving money in a few months.
I also think I figured out why I don't get more reading done. I put in a very small change, and that made a world of difference. I think I've read more this month than I have for the previous six.
So, the steps I've taken have been small, but they seem to be making a real impact on my life already. More than anything, I'm sure it's because I'm more consciously aware of what I'm doing, but I feel more focused and ready to tackle things than ever.
Now, on to the topic of hand: what the hell did I do this month?
At the first of the year, rather than do the usual year-long goal setting that usually only gets about a quarter done and just serves to haunt me, I decided to make it more of a monthly/weekly thing.
January's goal was to simplify my life. Everyone knows that I lead a relatively simple life to start with, so that was probably just the wrong way to word it. Really, it was to remove obstacles in my personal life. If there are things I want to get done this year (and in the rest of my life), I need to remove from my life the things getting in my way. Loose the things I don't need/want to do.
My time is valuable to me. A good book suggested that I quantify it. How valuable is my time? It makes answering questions like "doing x will save me 2 hours a week--is it worth it?" easier to answer. I found a little calculator online that gave me a number. Yeah, it's probably bogus since nobody pays me for my off-time, but it's somewhere to start.
What I actually got around to was a bit modest. Loosing a quarter of the month to a toothache didn't help. And most of the changes were small and wouldn't interest most people here on the bloop. (and some of them seem a bit *too* anal--even for me) But two of them will surely get you all calling me a giant nerd:
1) I call her Rosie. Adam turned me on to this bit of simplicity. For less than 1/2 the price of a new one, I was able to stop vacuuming. I just push a button and Rosie cleans up the floors in the entire house and then re-docks herself to charge. It's just that little bit less cleaning that I have to do every week. She'll pay for herself in less than a year.
2) This was a little harder to do. I gave up cable TV.Several times every week, I'd turn on the TV and, not having anything good on the DVR, I'd flip through the channels and find something I wasn't that interested in, but I'd watch it anyway. Then I'd realize that I'd wasted the entire night watching crap I didn't even like that much. So, after several conversations with Adam trying to decide on the best solution, I replaced the cable box with an Apple TV. Now, with a click of the remote, I've got all my music / playlists / podcasts / pictures instantly. And I can subscribe to a couple of TV shows I really want to watch through iTunes.
So, I don't feel guilty for wasting time watching crap on TV and I'll be actually saving money in a few months.
I also think I figured out why I don't get more reading done. I put in a very small change, and that made a world of difference. I think I've read more this month than I have for the previous six.
So, the steps I've taken have been small, but they seem to be making a real impact on my life already. More than anything, I'm sure it's because I'm more consciously aware of what I'm doing, but I feel more focused and ready to tackle things than ever.
29 January, 2008
Winter, here I come!
I just got the word that I'm heading to Norway this weekend for another 2-week stint. This "last-minute" travel always stresses me a bit since I'm the type that likes to plan for a week or two at least before a big trip. But it's cool. It should be a good time and I plan to see/do more than last time now that I know how it works over there.
P.S. Sorry, Kaia--looks like my visit to see you is getting put on hold a bit. But, don't worry, I'll be up to say "hi" as soon as I can.
22 January, 2008
The Plague
Man, what a long weekend. I woke up this early Saturday morning with a massive toothache. I spent all weekend sucking down Tylenol, Aleve and anything else I could think that would dull the pain.
Then, Sunday afternoon, while I was starting to contemplate getting out the Black and Decker and seeing if I could fix things myself, I got the chills and nausea.
So, the end-result is that I've got an abscessed tooth that will need a root canal once I get enough antibiotics running through my veins. The Vicodin have taken care of most all the pain. But I apparently have come down with the flu thing that's been making its way around.
But in-between taking handfuls of meds and praying to the porcelain gods, I'm in strangely high spirits. Who knows how these things work?
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