Today was a shitty day at work. I came so close to quitting and flying back to the US that I had the phone in my hand ready to call the travel agency! I suppose I can’t go into details in the public part of this, but I don’t even want to go into details in the private section of LJ either.

I was in such a good mood earlier today to…it sucks. But now I have to go and drink bottles of wine with some of my friends on the beach. It is summer after all. Maybe it is warm enough to take a nap there and just be there with my friends under the stars (and the sun that rises at 2:45am here in Sweden), relaxing and being contemplative for a while. It couldn’t hurt.

So I am little happy at the moment. I just found out that I will be in Milan, Italy during the last week of July! So I will be there to work for the week, and then I have to come back on Saturday, because I have parties that I already committed to attending and hosting on that Saturday. But that will leave all of Friday to have fun! 🙂

And maybe, just maybe, I’ll have a good night out on Friday 🙂

So, one of the things about Sweden is that everything must be communicated and all expectations must be managed, otherwise, something that you never anticipated always happens.

For example, take my internet service. Since my company set it up for me, one would assume that they were going to pay it for me as well. However, as it turns out, they only set it up for you, and then you pay it and they reimburse you for it. Which seems entirely reasonable to me. However, since they said “we’ll take care of the internet service” when I first got it up and running, one could have assumed that also meant that they were just get the bill directly and take care of it.

It’s kinda annoying, since both ways would have been right, but both sides should have made sure that the expectations were clear.

And the second annoying thing will be having my expense accounts reimbursed. The application is in Swedish. I guess I can find a secretary somewhere to submit the paperwork for me, or I can just have someone sit down with me and work through it. I am not sure what I’ll do yet.

You know, if these are my major issues of the day (so far), I think I should stop bitching. 🙂

Hej hej journal. How are you? I am doing good so far. Well, I came, I took project management, and I passed the course! Woo hoo! I was so happy to pass the class. I got 22 out of 25 questions correct, and I swear that had I not been so hung-ovre most mornings, I would have gotten those last 3 questions. When I reviewed my answers on the exam, I knew exactly which ones I got wrong. So I was pretty happy overall.

Well, after a pretty hard night partying last night, I decided that I would try and visit Steve and Scott in London. But alas, the prices were so expensive, that it didn’t make sense to go there, because I would have had to have come back to Brussels on Sunday morning in order to make my flight (my Brussels-Stockholm ticket is non-changable so I had to leave from Brussels).

So instead I went shopping, because as we all know, Rodney can make the wrong things right with only a few small purchases 🙂 So I tried to find some things to wear at Zara, but like the Gap, it just hasn’t been meeting my needs lately. I went to C&A, and got some cool clothes, walked past H&M, and realised people outside of Sweden pay waaaaaaaay too much for that crap, went to the Free Record Shop (it is not really free..that’s just the name) and picked up some music, went to a cosmetics store and got some beauty enhancers, and then went to the Sony Ericsson Store and got a USB connector so that I could backup my phone to my computer and do some other pretty useless things with it. I ended the day off (which began at like 13.00) with a trip to the supermarket, to get some juices, some yoghurt drink, and some water. So I pretty happy with the day I guess. I just wish I had been able to get some outfits. I mean, I have clothes being shipped over in time for the important August parties, but it would have been nice to get some clothes to wear immediately.

Anyway, it’s almost 19.00 now, and if I am going to go out and party tonight, then I need to take a disco nap and get some sleep. Besides, I was dancing and partying all night, and between 13.00 yesterday and 17.30 today, I hadn’t eaten anything. I was feeling kinda sick, but I feel totally better now. At least those sand-blasted diesel jeans will fit better tonight, so it is not all bad! 🙂

Ciao for now. Love you journal! 🙂

Hej då everyone! And all of you former followers of my adventures at diaryland, feel free to leave comments. I will probably be a lot more interactive here because it sends a link to my e-mail when someone responds to a post I make.

Love, Rodney

Well, good morning everyone from Brussels. Last night I took a quick walk around the city, trying to orient myself so that by the time Friday rolls around, it will all seem like old and familiar territory.

I then realised that at like 22.30, that I wanted a snack. So I called down to the room service to see what they had on offer. They didn’t have very much in terms of selection, since the kitchen had just closed. So I order a fruit salad. And then I realised that one of the reasons I like being at home so much is that I decide what I am going to eat whenever I want. But at least the bed is comfortable, so I can’t complain about that.

I’m kinda excited about this project management class. I want to do very well in the class and to ask a lot of questions to make sure I understand. Especially since I didn’t do so well in some of the modules (think Earned Value, Project Scheduling, and Estimating were the most difficult for me). But out of 11 modules, to only have difficulty with 3 of them is not too bad at all I think.

Anyway, it’s now 07.05. For a class that begins at 09.00, I am up super early. Maybe I’ll take this chance to get some work done for about the next 30 minutes or so.

So I am on the flight, typing this, even though I know that actually submit this until I land and reconnect, but it actually cool that I can begin to write this now, and then post it when I have a later opportunity to do so.

I get to the airport in plenty of time (for a change). And after a brief argument with the check-in agent (over something stupid), I get my boarding pass and then go to the gate. Except I am so early that there is no one there. So I decide to do what anyone does in a predicament like that. I hit the bar. I order a Absolut Vanilla Vodka and ginger ale. The drink is so strong it knocks me right off my ass (that and I have not drank anything since Thursday). I literally am stumbling onto the plane (thanks to the 3/4ths alcohol 1/4ths ginger ale drink). Where I sit down and relax only to find that the plane has come with “the crying baby” attached installed. I always wonder why the airline gods curse me, by putting crying babies literally in my lap. Luckily, I have Bose (c) Noise-Cancelling Headphone, which drown out both the baby and that important safety information….

So here I type now, after I nice meal in-flight (chicken and garlic…I better not talk to anyone…oh wait, I have Altoids strips…the day is saved!), I am now typing away and working on e-mail and scoping out the cuties on the plane (there aren’t many…this flight must be in association with Mugly Airline. And now there is a gross old lady with her ass in my face. It’s soooo gross….I’m gonna barf those 4 beers I had in the first 30 minutes of the flight. And now her stomach blocks my keypad. So round, so plump. Has Santa had a sex change. I am sur that she would be polite and kind, if only she could pull the slabs of wrinkly flesh from over her eyes to realise that her stomach — which I suspect are her breasts plummeting towards her knees, are in my way….

Well, ignore that little tirade. She’s gone now…. 🙂

Anyway, that’s enough for now. I am in a rare mood… apprehensive….

…oh wait…that woman might not be a woman baby…it might be a man-man. I feel like grabbing it’s hair and shouting “why won’t this wig come off?”.

Eeeeeekkk…..the thing just smiled in my direction!!! Rodney is scared….Rodney tries to hide the overhead storage bin….this is unbearable…the smell of old washes over me…I want nothing more than an escape pod or a transporter.

Anyway, ok, I am leaving now. I realise just how little sense this is making, and perhaps this random stream of consciousness was better left in my own head…

So, I just came back from lunch with my manager (we went to McDonalds), and it was pretty good. We talked a lot about strategic directions and what has to happen to bring us to the next level of excellence. It was refreshing to hear that not all was lost in the world.

So, it’s now only 2.5 hours until I get on a plane and find myself in Brussels. I am excited about it. I will be studying a topic that I have long wanted to begin working on (Project Management) on the road to certification (maybe I won’t fail this certification like I have the previous ones ;).

Hmmm….well, back to work. There is so much to do and so little time, and I am *so* happy to be going to Brussels, I can barely contain my happiness! I am even staying my first choice hotel, the Hilton, because I have super status there and they will treat me like the God I am. 🙂

2003-07-08 – 01:26

“It’s so hard to say goodbye” or “Don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya!”

8 July 2003

Hey journal. This is kinda hard to do to you, but it’s time to say goodbye to you @ Diaryland.

The reasons are many, but this journal has been such a part of my life, it sucks to let it go. 🙁 But I have to. There are things I want to do and things I want to say in this journal that just aren’t meant for everyone. And since I can’t have much security around you journal, I have to put you to rest 🙁 *sobs*

However, all is not lost, readers. There is so much that I want to share with you all. You can follow my new adventures at:

http://rcornelius.livejournal.com

It will allow me to do so much more, and target who sees what entries based on interest and stuff like that. It will be a good thing, even though it is a sad event.

So I hope you update your bookmarks (if you kept them), and if you haven’t joined my notification list, take the opportunity to so do now.

Love you journal…I’ll keep the entries, but I’ll miss you just the same! 🙁