And also just posted…pics from the trip to NYC that Alex and I took.
You can view the Fotki widget here if you wanna look at the pics in sequential order….
If accessing from Facebook or you wish to go directly to the website where the pics are stored, follow this link:
http://public.fotki.com/RodneyCornelius/geographies-countries/americas/north-america/united_states/new-york/
For those of you interested, here are some pictures from Stockholm Pride. I was in the parade this year along with the cool guys and girls from Moderaterna .
Below for those accessing from the internet are the photos in a widget:
For those accessing from Facebook, here is the link to the pictures:
http://public.fotki.com/RodneyCornelius/geographies-countries/europe/sweden/2009/stockholmpride2009/
I have to say that I find the discussion on health care in the US to be really strange. The argument by the conservative wing of the Democratic party and the Republicans almost lacks logic.
They complain that “the government” will make decisions on your health care. About what care you will and won’t receive based on what is affordable or other factors. And they really are getting up in arms about it. However, we seem to gloss over the fact that HMOs today control most of the decisions about your health care. They already do tell you what care you can receive based on what is affordable or other factors. And that factor is The Profit Motive. So I need someone to explain to me why on earth it is okay for HMOs to tell us what medical care we can and can’t have, compared to research and analysis from the government. At least the government doesn’t have the profit motive guiding it. Conceptually, the government would have public health as the overriding concern.
For most of the Western countries where a government plays a role in healthcare it is mostly a constructive one. In places like Canada, United Kingdom, and Sweden, most of the populations doesn’t worry about general health conditions as they can go to a doctor without worry. Now of course, there are situations where they are exceptions…the horror stories that prove the exception instead of the rule. However, as a general rule, the general care is very good. And with frequent general care, you can minimse the likelihood that you need specialist care.
Like the US justice system, we have the best health care system money can buy…for those who can afford it.
I think more important than whether the plan is a democratic or republican plan, is that if the focus is on the public health and the public good, then universal health coverage for all Americans is possible. If healthy corporate profits is more important than public health, then of course universal health care is outside of our reach.
So now that we are at the Ā½ way point to our US trip, I should provide an update.
On Friday when we got to the airport, we were greeted with the news that our flight from Stockholm to Newark/NYC was cancelled. The cancellation happened just 5 minutes before we arrived. So we were standing around when we met a friend (Nicklas) who told us to go over to the ticket counter and maybe get some help from them.
So I go over to the ticket counter and we are helped by a terrific woman at the counter who despite the long line and being asked by her colleagues to help someone else, spent the time to re-route us to New York via Munich and we were only 90 minutes delayed at the end of it. That was really good luck! She’s earned a place in our hearts for sure! š
So we arrived on Friday night, make it through the shitty experience that is customers and immigration, and then we get to the hotel. It is a really nice hotel right at Times Square so we are in the center of it all! We were so tired that we decided to eat pizza for dinner and then go out to try and find some bars. That was an unique experience, the details of which must be shared over beers. But needless to say, we were probably so tired that we called it an early night and decided to wait until Saturday.
On Saturday we slept in late, went shopping around the city, bought some really nice things, had an award-winning dinner (sarcasm), and then went out to a bar and a club. We had a great time. But the high point of Saturday was meeting my high school friend Nakia (love you girl!) and her friend Kassia! It was good to see people in person that I have not seen in such a long time!
On Sunday we slept in late again and went up and around the city. More siteseeing (Rockerfeller Center, etc) and looked into more stores. Then I took Alex to Ruby Tuesdays (we started to upgrad the meals…lol…) and then we went to a club called Escolito. I can’t say that it was really my kind of club, but Alex liked it a lot. They were having something called American Rumble. The singers were awesome though and that is what I will remember about it.
On Monday we decided to wake up a bit early and see the city. We’ve long since realised that we cannot see everything when we visit cities, so it is good to invest 3-4 hours on the city siteseeing busses where you can hop on and hop off. So we did that for most of the day on Monday. They are great to get an overview of things you should just drive past and not visit and getting oriented for things you want to see more of on another day. We really only have 2,5 days left so we will now be able to make the most of it. The highlight of Monday was also to be able to see Rob (yay!) and chat and catch up!
So today we don’t have plans other than to do more siteseeing and take advantage of the day. Tomorrow with luck we’ll see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. And I hope we’ll be able to see my friend Derrick whilst in New York. On Friday then it’s off for a weekend in Atlanta to have with the lovely Steve, Brent, John, Ronnie, and the gang in ATL. Then onwards to Boston.
We have pictures even now but we’ll start posting them later on. For the moment we just wanna have fun! š
This year Alex and I went to visit friends in Delft for Queens Day. The actual day was a Thursday, but we arrived on Tuesday it was fantastic to meet Mario, Pelle, and Brian again š (whom we met in Stockholm when they were here to visit in November 2008).
So below are some pictures from the journey…thanks to a Fotki widget you can see them as a slide show!
(if viewing in Facebook you might not be able to see LJ-embedded links, so the link to the pics is here:
http://public.fotki.com/RodneyCornelius/geographies-countries/europe/netherlands/2009/queens-day-2009/
I will also pick a few to add to my pics directly in Facebook, for those who hate leaving the Facebook system for any reason š
More details about the trip another time! š
So yesterday Alex had some of his friends over. We were all having a nice time hanging out, even if they were making a night of it whilst I was cutting the even short because I had to work on Saturday (it’s quarter close, so no games and we have to take work seriously).
Anyway, during the night (and after a few drinks), I had the bright idea to make “Kiss of Death” shots. Without going into details, let’s just say that this shot was my un-doing during a trip to Canada about 12 years ago. The consequences of drinking 3 of those shots was so severe that I still have a reaction whenever I think about it. So of course, 12 years older and only a little wiser, I drink this shot last night. So naturally it put me down the way tranquilisers put down a horse. But I am not sure it is the shot itself as much as the psychological baggage attached with it.
Anyway, I woke up fit for fight today, but it was really strange to have that shot again. I think it will be another 12 years before I try it again!
Yesterday we learned of the decision to terminate our company-provided internet access at our homes. It’s a mixed blessing really as when the company paid for it, I was happy to be online and on-call anytime that they needed me. However, it also meant that I never really felt disconnected.
So I look at it this way, once I pay for my own access, if I am needed to work evenings or weekends, it will be as simple as I will need to do it from an company location. It will be different if I choose to work from home. But otherwise, I’m not so very inclined to pay for the privilege of connecting to the office at home. I think this will help the work-life balance as well. So overall, I’m struggling to complain š
So here now I keep to my promise so far to blog at LiveJournal at least once a month about what is going on with me. I guess those who Twitter or have Facebook get to know a lot more as it all unfolds, but hey, I do what I can.
Anyhoo, now that month is drawing to a close, I can say that I am generally glad that the month is over. We have a review of Business Controls this month and it has drained the life out of me as it has re-directed my work for the last 4 weeks and will do so for another 2 weeks. All of which during the same time I have had to do my “normal job.” But I guess in these economic times, having a job with a lot of to do is better than having no job at all. Although it is interesting to note that the economic crisis is affecting Sweden differently than the US.
In family news, my mother was hospitalised briefly, but is now doing fine. My grandmother was also recently hospitalised but now she is released from the hospital as well and is on the mend. So I am very happy things with them seem to be okay. In July I will see my family again for the first time in about 3 years. Alex will also get to meet them as well and that will be interesting.
I think in a bit of happier news, my efforts to reach out to more people have been successful. I now have regular e-mail contact with most of my family and some long-lost friends. So I hope that I can keep those networks going. At work I have some informal mentors now who can help advise and counsel me when I need some independent views. And on the 26th Alex and I celebrated 2 years together.
My attempts to infuse more videos and pictures into my websites, etc have failed miserable. Mostly because I don’t like the camera and video options on my phone. And speaking of which, I went from not being excited about the iPhone (during the launch of it I was so tired of the hype that I filtered out news and other stuff about it), to feeling that somehow if I can’t commit a major amount of money to this toy that my life somehow really won’t be complete. But for the moment, I’m can manage without it as the iPhone lacks a few features that I really want in a phone. And my SonyEricsson P990i seems to fit the bill and works with Lotus Notes.
Finally, I should mention how psyched I am for Amsterdam next month! We are going there for Queen Days weekend, so we will have 5 days there and visit some friends we made in December. Brian is nice enough to let us stay with him and on Saturday we’ll stay in the city.
Anyway, for those reading, hope that this entry finds you well and see on on the next update!
I am not actually sure if LiveJournal is a blog or a journal. To be honest, I am not even sure I understand the difference between the two.
Anyhoo, I wanted to give what I guess has become a monthly general update. I post these in LiveJournal mostly because:
1) What I post here goes directly into Facebook as a note; and
2) It allows those who don’t have access to Facebook to keep in touch with me
Since I last wrote, I am pleased to report that nothing overly exciting has happened. That doesn’t mean that it hasn’t been busy, but it just means that nothing adverse or overly positive has taken place. And it is nice to have an unventful period of time for awhile. I am starting to keep in touch more with my family back in the US, and I have kept my goals for working out and eating better and I feel healthier than I have in a long time. March and April are about bringing that healthy attitude to the next level to show results š
Work is going along okay. And really my heart goes out to all of those who are so negatively impacted by this crisis. We feel this crisis in Sweden as well, but not as acutely as you feel it in the US. The job continues to be really interesting and the learning curve has been very steep. But I am now over the hump and positively contributing to the team (I hope) and look forward to a good continuation.
Jag kan prata och skriva svenska nu. Men, jag gillar inte att prata pƄ svenska. I will really struggle the next 5 weeks with my new level of Swedish class, but at the end of the it, I will be successful. Mostly because it is time to take the Swedish courses seriously and to keep at it.
Well, I wish I did have more to write about it. Turns out that when there isn’t happening other than the usual, it means that there is less to write about. But I hope that this post finds everyone in great spirits and still excited for the year ahead. We are almost one-third of the way through the year…time flies eh?
Until next time…hugs to all.
//Rodney
So the end of January seems to be a good time to write one of those open letters reviewing the year. 2008 turns out to be a mixed picture, with world events playing a disportionate impact on many of the issues.
In my professional life, what started out as a great year went down a rocky path towards the middle of the year and then recovered nicely by autumn. In the first quarter of the year, the business unit I worked passed a really big audit successfully. It was an important psychological victory that demonstrated that we run our business in a controlled manner. And certainly it make the long hours put in worth it.
Towards the middle of the year, I was asked to move to new opportunities. Perhaps a bit sad at first, it was difficult to remain downbeat. I had already decided with with my boss at the time (in December 2008) that fourth quarter 2008 was the right time to move to new opportunities (I have a habit of not staying in jobs more than 2 years or so…a benefit of working at such a large company like IBM is the ability to grow and develop in different areas). So with the support of mentors and colleagues, I moved out of the direct security, risk management, and business compliance areas into a business operations role. The transition from a mostly technical role to a business role has been bumpy, but essential. Both for the new learning opportunities it has presented and for the new challgenes it has brought with it. Additionally, because I also truly believe that too few technical people fail to understand that business and technology intersect each other, not run parallel to each other. So I remain excited about what 2009 will bring and the new initiatives that come along with it.
Personally speaking, it’s also been a very mixed bag. Let’s take the positive sides first.
Relationships – In November, Alex and I celebrated the time we first met 2 years ago. I get on very well with his family and like every relationship it is work, but well worth the effort.
Travels – I got the opportunity to visit a new country last year, Cyprus, adding to the list of countries I have visited. Alex and I spent 2 great weeks there and came across great new best friends (Zoe and Phil), whom we hope to see in Stockholm or London this year. We also made new friends from the Netherlands (Pelle, Brian, and Mario), whom we’ll visit on Queens day.
Personal Interests – My Swedish lessons are going great. To the point where I can understand 95% of what everyone says. And now with my professor I am working on writing and speaking. I expect to increase fluency in both aspects by the end of the summer (I need to work on my shyness). I have also completed the outlines of a book I am writing with a goal of creating the first draft by 2010. I have yet to copyright the book title and concept so I can’t share much other than it’s a book about business and life. The publishing process is quite intensive I have learned, so I have been moving slowly. I was also elated to see a democrat win the election (I acually preferred Hillary but Obama is an acceptable alternative).
Health – I exited 2008 just as healthy as I had entered it, with the positive exception that in the fourth quarter I incorporated regular workouts back into my routine.
On the negative sides (let’s not dwell too much on those), I haven’t kept in touch with my entire family as frequently as I had set out to do so I need to re-focus my energy on that. A planned trip to the US to visit family for Thanksgiving had to be cancelled, but I will correct that with a new planned visit in July. The health of my family is important so I want to keep a focus on that as well. And of course, I think the recession that we are in has impacted all of us in one way or another. So far my friends and loved ones seem to be weathering the storm okay, and my hope is that they continue to do so.
So, let me close this out by saying thanks to all of my friend near and far for being a part of my 2008. And I wish you and yours nothing but happiness and success for 2009.
Rodney
P.S. For those of us more technically inclined, besides e-mail, I am reachable the following ways as well:
Facebook – www.facebook.com
Twitter – http://twitter.com/RodneyCornelius
LiveJournal – http://rcornelius.livejournal.com/
Skype – Shared on request
MSN – Shared on request