It’s been about four weeks since I have last written. And since then I have decided to put a new theme on my livejournal page. Makes it more pretty to look at…or so I hope. It is rather hard to describe how the last 4 weeks have been. All I can say is that they have been rather intense. At times pushing me to the limits, other times pushing me over the limits but I have managed to recover. There has been work, and family, and relationships, and soon there will also be studying to worry about.

It feels as if for the past few weeks, I have been operating in an alternate universe. In some ways good and some ways bad. As I go through the next 4 weeks of my on-the-job training, I am operating now much the same way as I did 2 years ago when I took on a new job. But that job was familiar to me and it wasn’t a giant stretch. This one is. It requires more of me then I originally thought. But I still enjoy the job though and I am enthusiastic for more. There have been some…strains…on the home front. But working through those as quickly as I can.

Anyway, in the balance of things and with the perspective of reflection, things continue to be okay. My Happy-O-Meter still pretty high…

So, I won’t make this too long as I am currently cleaning the apartment. But I will try and write later on in the week with a deeper update.

Ciao and Hugs to all!

So yeah, I had a few free moments and I just decided that it was time to do at least a general update on LiveJournal.

Vacation
If I ever have to declare one thing, it is my absolute love of the European vacation system. It really help you think about the concept that everyone has a right to disconnect from the matrix as a basic right and that vacation shouldn’t be viewed as something you earn more of the longer you stay with the company. Very different to the US where vacation is seen as a reward for longer service. Except that in today’s economy and job environment, the 20+ year employee is a thing of the past. So by building vacation into the basic fabric of society, it is helpful in a way as it frees one up to focus on the work, not on which company offers the most vacation. That being said, another byproduct of today’s world is that our employers give us so many ways to connect that it can be hard to have a truly free vacation.

Work
Many of you know that I started a new job at IBM. I was Manager of Delivery Compliance & Risk Management but as of August, I moved to being a Business Operations Manager. And so far I really like the job and what I am learning and I believe that I can make a great contribution in this new job. So I am happy overall and don’t have reason to complain.

På Svenska
Well I finally got IBM to agree to pay for private Swedish lessons. This will work quite well as my travel and work schedule always precluded me from making the classes on time. Now I will have the opportunity to agree a time with the instructor and work at a pace that works for me. I am looking forward to starting in September.

Thanksgiving
Most of you are well aware of the Thanksgiving holiday in the US and how special it is. With some luck, I will be able to go to the US this year and visit family and friends.

So anyway, this was a general update. As more interesting things come up, I’ll post 🙂

Well, not back from the dead, but from an unannounced break from LJ and Blogging. Lots has been going on. I promise I will share with everyone in a couple of weeks after a few key things happen.

In the meantime, I hope that this Blog entry finds everyone well and I look forward to updating everyone.

Love and hugs, Rodney

I just wanted to take a moment to publish on my Blog my real sincere thanks for to all you for your wonderful birthday facebook messages, voice mails, SMS, e-mails, and e-cards!
You love me…you all really love me 😀
Yesterday was a fantastic pre-birthday day. One of my best friends, Markus, took me out for drinks and Alex was there too which was really nice.

There are only a couple of things that are certain, and the rising of the sun and taxes are two of them.

In Sweden it is time to file tax returns. the cool thing about Sweden however is that they send you a form with the amounts completed for you. You make any changes if anything is incorrect. and then you can file on paper, internet, or sms. This seems profoundly more logical than the U.S. tax system (where I also have to file by next month).

Thinking about this as the sun is rising is abnormal, but I am awake anyway.

Hope that everyone has a good day today or tonight, wherever you may be!