It's amazing how quickly a few weeks can sneak past you. Things have been busy with work, things have been busy at home.
Miranda keeps plugging away at her thesis. I have to admire the girl. I'm also starting to get involved with a statistical analysis of her data - teaching myself how to perform a cluster analysis and possibly a scree test, whatever that is. The cluster analysis also uses Euclidian distances, which just sound cool and intelligent; that's really the only reason I mention them.
I can no longer keep up with my client work during office hours. Deadlines are starting to spring up quickly. This next week is going to be hell.
My plan to take care of Miranda and cook her a bunch of lovely meals failed pretty quickly. She still puts up with me though, as long as she gets a homemade pizza and quality Mexican every once in a while. I'm still holding my own with the laundry and dishes, which I've been fairly proud of.
We survived another non-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner tonight. It was more of a winter party with a Thanksgiving menu, and it turned out quite well. My contributions were homemade rolls, a homemade apple pie, some lumpy mashed potatoes that magically seemed to smooth out at the last minute, and the turkey (with the exception of the stuffing, that was Miranda's work.) Anything that looked nice or required any sort of skill or presentation was handled by Miranda. Guess she also deserves credit for the stuffed mushrooms, the Caprese skewers, the fruit salad, the gravy, the pumpkin & maple cheesecake, the decorating and the table setting. The canned corn is so easy, nobody really deserves credit for cooking it; it pretty much cooks itself. Everything turned out wonderfully, and it was great to spend a quiet evening with some good friends.
Now the apartment is perfectly clean and ready for my sister's arrival in a week. Really looking forward to having her here, even if there isn't much to do in Stockholm in the winter. The land of darkness doesn't really offer any good outdoor activities this time of year unless you're into winter sports, but that doesn't really work in the city. We'll figure something out.
Lastly, a hilarious comic in honor of tonight's big meal. The note below the comic offers a few nice details that really add to the story. Enjoy!
http://humoncomics.com/exotic-food
Monday, December 6, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Sunday evening jog
Scott here. As you may have noticed, I've hijacked this blog. Miranda's the better writer, but she prefers the role of editor. Even though I communicate almost entirely in English over here, every once in a while I notice that my English skills are starting to slip. Words that used to be an active part of my vocabulary are now hard to find, I'm making up new "sayings" which really aren't common and sometimes don't make any sense, I've started to overuse the word "however" - one of my coworkers' favorite words, phrasing a sentence using a bit of "Swenglish", etc. Pretty soon I won't be able to speak any language. Won't that be embarrassing. Miranda doesn't really like the fact that I've adopted the more logical British method of moving my periods and commas outside of the quotation marks unless they apply to the subject being quoted; it isn't AP style. She's started to let it slide though, and the blog keeps rolling on.
I actually have a few new topics that I like to think might be of interest: the gym class I mentioned in yesterday's post, some new shopping stories from today, a new and sporadic interest in my diet and my training. As you probably guessed from the title of this post, tonight I'll be writing about my training.
Back in 2008 I mentioned in a post that I'd love to write a blog about everything that goes through my head while I run, or something like that. One reader (we'll call him Tim B.) expressed interest, and now that I've given up on exclusively blogging about life in Sweden, the flood gates have opened.
Quick (but long) background - I've identified myself as a distance runner since I found out I was one of the fastest kids in my class in the mile, way back in 4th or 5th grade. I became a good miler in junior high, a decent track athlete and good cross country runner in high school, and although I was a good 5k, 8k and 10k guy in college, I never really stood out at the top. Regardless of my performances, at that point in time, competitive distance running dictated my life. Running defined me.
One of my summer jobs in high school involved 50-70 hour weeks in the corn fields in late July/early August. I remember waking up at 4:00 in the morning to get in a run, breakfast and a shower before the unknown 12-14 hour shift started at 6:00. Waiting until the end of the day just wasn't an option, the energy wouldn't be there.
As you can imagine, it's been hard to let go of those days. In fact, I still haven't let it go. I'm no longer running 60-70 mile weeks, and it's even less common that I do a real workout. Sometimes I'm lucky if I get out for two runs over the course of a couple weeks, but when I meet somebody new it doesn't take long for me to introduce myself as a runner.
That still strikes me as funny, you look at my post-college running career, especially compared to many of my former teammates, and I really don't feel like I deserve to be called a runner anymore. Here's a brief recap of what my post-college running career has looked like:
2003: Straight out of college I trained through the summer and ran a marathon. It was good, 2:55:56, could have been better.
2004: That summer I pulled my hamstring playing softball, then a month later I decided to return to the field and pulled it again. That marked the end of my softball career, and really set back my running career. I swear I felt that pain regularly for three years, and at times still feel like my hamstring might randomly give out. Later that winter I sprained my left ankle playing racquetball. There went my rehab running.
2005: Left ankle improved, hit the courts again, sprained my right ankle. At this point I wisened up and bought some high-tops, but that set me back a ways. So somehow I moved from a marathon in 2003 through a painful 2004 to a summer of running/rehab in 2005.
2006: My running improved, Miranda and I decided to give a triathlon a try, and I built up enough base to do some weak training for a fall marathon. Didn't do enough training, ran a 3:22 or 3:26, don't really want to remember, but to be honest, I was happy to be running.
2007: Had some fun doing two recreational triathlons in the summer and decided to do another marathon, but for some reason I gave up on training a month before the race. Literally no running in the last three weeks, and a previously high long run of something like 12 miles. I do not advise trying a marathon on that type of training, but I figured if joggers/walkers can do it, so could I. Trust me, four to six hour marathoners have some sort of mental toughness that I can't even imagine. Kudos to them. By mile eight I jogging for two minutes, walking for one minute. Half a mile later it was two minutes on, two minutes off. Didn't take long until it was one minute jogging, four minutes walking. By mile nine my knees were shot. By mile 10 my hips were shot. By mile 12 I couldn't run. By mile 14 I was bored of walking, so I stopped at an aid station and called Miranda. Ever the optimist, she was waiting at mile 20, expecting to see me at any minute. I met her at mile 16. I was finished.
2008: Moved to Sweden, and realized that I was 28 pounds heavier than I was in college, and although I was packing some more muscle from more intense lifting, at least 20 pounds of that weight could not be classified as "lean". Funny how hard five years could hit me. I launched back in to running, tried to build gradually, and seven months later and 18 pounds lighter I ran a marathon PR in Berlin, 2:51:52. Sadly, I bummed up my knee pretty badly - actually, my IT band which runs down my outer thigh and connecting on the side of the knee, so I took off most of October and November.
2009: The thigh pain was still bad, despite the many leg strengthening/stretching exercises. I ran less than any year since probably 1994.
2010: My leg is still bothering me some, some, but I'm doing a lot to work around that. Developing better core strength and a change from the traditional "heel-to-toe" teachings to a midfoot/forefoot landing has basically taken away all of the pain while I'm working out. I still feel my knee a bit at times, mostly when I lay down at night or do any squats/lunges in the gym, but I honestly think that the pain will go away if I just gradually build my running distances and strength. The midfoot/forefoot switch is tough; I'm using muscles that have gotten away with being lazy for years. My arches, ankles, calves and Achilles tendon are being used like never before, and if I do too much too soon, something is going to give out on me.
So, as I announced, Miranda and I are planning to run a marathon next May, and we need to get in shape to handle the last four months of dedicated marathon training. Most people think that sounds ridiculous, but it's true. I don't want to disable myself for another couple years.
Four runs this week, two three milers, a four miler and today's five miler. I've been running at least three days a week for a while now, so that really wasn't a big step. The main difference was that this week, I really focused on holding back on my three and four milers. No reason to blow out my legs. My legs need to get used to running, learn to go farther. There's no reason to tire them out, just need to get them reacquainted with the motions.
Last Sunday I didn't have a chance to lace up my shoes until 6:15 or so. It was dark, cold and wet. The temperature was just above freezing and there was a heavy mist that just made everything feel a bit colder. I grabbed two long-sleeve tops, a heavy pair of running tights, some heavy cotton gloves, a stocking cap, wool running socks, some lightweight shoes, and went off through the city. It didn't take long to get to a well-lit running path along the water, and the soreness in my glutes and hamstrings from Saturday's core class seemed to melt away within half a mile. Another couple of minutes later and my body was plenty warm, despite being seriously underdressed for almost any other activity.
As I went, I noticed that my legs just felt good, better than normal, which was a surprise after two straight days of running and a gym class the day before that left me moving like an old man. Seriously, I was partially crippled until Tuesday. The feeling was wonderful. My legs just had a spring in them, they wanted me to loosen up and go. I didn't open up my stride, but I did let my legs take me at a comfortable pace. Didn't have a watch, didn't care. I wouldn't have known where to take my mile splits anyway. I just know that I was going fast again, something I haven't done in a long time. Every time I've fallen off the running wagon, it has been tough to get back on, but there's always a run that just feels right. Well, Sunday was the night. I kept on my path but didn't really get a good chance to enjoy the city. There weren't a lot of people out walking, but enough that people dodging was necessary at least every 30 seconds. This was further complicated by many puddles, some every five to 10 meters once the path turned into gravel. Then it became fun, almost play-like, jumping around the puddles, long-jumping the larger puddles. My primary goals became making sure nobody got splashed and doing my best to avoid scaring anybody as I came up from behind. Running became so natural that I didn't even think that I was doing it.
After about a mile and a half had to turn inland, and that meant climbing a few hills. My legs didn't seem to mind, but my heart and lungs quickly reminded me that I'm still human. I pulled back a bit, but the legs still felt good. I was doing an out-and-back route with the turnaround point about halfway up a long hill. I got there, turned around, and sadly realized that I had been running with a cold wind at my back. The mist smacked me in the face, but it's not like I really had many options, had to run home. Going down that hill was the worst of it, but it didn't take long. Up and over another hill, and down to the water. That's where it really hit me. My legs started to lose their fresh feeling and I was definitely running. Jumping the puddles was still fun, but it took work. That particular area was fairly wide open, so the wind whipped across the water and I instantly felt the cold chill of my wet running clothes. I plodded on and soon reached an area where the water narrowed and the trees provided a better barrier against the wind. It wasn't that I was feeling bad, it's just that I was no longer moving mindlessly and effortlessly through space. As soon as I became aware that I was running, running became work. Very soon after reaching the sheltered area of the path, the effort disappeared again. I didn't have to slow down, but my awareness drifted from trudging along to the fact that I was running on such a pretty path, surrounded by the city, yet all I could see around me was the lighted path along the water.
Don't remember much of the run after that. Climbed a lot of stairs, crossed a high bridge, ran down a hill and I was back at my office. All I knew was that I was more excited about this run than I've been about any run in a long time. I didn't go that fast, I didn't go that far, but it felt good and it was relaxing. Those are two big reasons that I continue to run, and I'm really looking forward to more runs like that in the future.
I actually have a few new topics that I like to think might be of interest: the gym class I mentioned in yesterday's post, some new shopping stories from today, a new and sporadic interest in my diet and my training. As you probably guessed from the title of this post, tonight I'll be writing about my training.
Back in 2008 I mentioned in a post that I'd love to write a blog about everything that goes through my head while I run, or something like that. One reader (we'll call him Tim B.) expressed interest, and now that I've given up on exclusively blogging about life in Sweden, the flood gates have opened.
Quick (but long) background - I've identified myself as a distance runner since I found out I was one of the fastest kids in my class in the mile, way back in 4th or 5th grade. I became a good miler in junior high, a decent track athlete and good cross country runner in high school, and although I was a good 5k, 8k and 10k guy in college, I never really stood out at the top. Regardless of my performances, at that point in time, competitive distance running dictated my life. Running defined me.
One of my summer jobs in high school involved 50-70 hour weeks in the corn fields in late July/early August. I remember waking up at 4:00 in the morning to get in a run, breakfast and a shower before the unknown 12-14 hour shift started at 6:00. Waiting until the end of the day just wasn't an option, the energy wouldn't be there.
As you can imagine, it's been hard to let go of those days. In fact, I still haven't let it go. I'm no longer running 60-70 mile weeks, and it's even less common that I do a real workout. Sometimes I'm lucky if I get out for two runs over the course of a couple weeks, but when I meet somebody new it doesn't take long for me to introduce myself as a runner.
That still strikes me as funny, you look at my post-college running career, especially compared to many of my former teammates, and I really don't feel like I deserve to be called a runner anymore. Here's a brief recap of what my post-college running career has looked like:
2003: Straight out of college I trained through the summer and ran a marathon. It was good, 2:55:56, could have been better.
2004: That summer I pulled my hamstring playing softball, then a month later I decided to return to the field and pulled it again. That marked the end of my softball career, and really set back my running career. I swear I felt that pain regularly for three years, and at times still feel like my hamstring might randomly give out. Later that winter I sprained my left ankle playing racquetball. There went my rehab running.
2005: Left ankle improved, hit the courts again, sprained my right ankle. At this point I wisened up and bought some high-tops, but that set me back a ways. So somehow I moved from a marathon in 2003 through a painful 2004 to a summer of running/rehab in 2005.
2006: My running improved, Miranda and I decided to give a triathlon a try, and I built up enough base to do some weak training for a fall marathon. Didn't do enough training, ran a 3:22 or 3:26, don't really want to remember, but to be honest, I was happy to be running.
2007: Had some fun doing two recreational triathlons in the summer and decided to do another marathon, but for some reason I gave up on training a month before the race. Literally no running in the last three weeks, and a previously high long run of something like 12 miles. I do not advise trying a marathon on that type of training, but I figured if joggers/walkers can do it, so could I. Trust me, four to six hour marathoners have some sort of mental toughness that I can't even imagine. Kudos to them. By mile eight I jogging for two minutes, walking for one minute. Half a mile later it was two minutes on, two minutes off. Didn't take long until it was one minute jogging, four minutes walking. By mile nine my knees were shot. By mile 10 my hips were shot. By mile 12 I couldn't run. By mile 14 I was bored of walking, so I stopped at an aid station and called Miranda. Ever the optimist, she was waiting at mile 20, expecting to see me at any minute. I met her at mile 16. I was finished.
2008: Moved to Sweden, and realized that I was 28 pounds heavier than I was in college, and although I was packing some more muscle from more intense lifting, at least 20 pounds of that weight could not be classified as "lean". Funny how hard five years could hit me. I launched back in to running, tried to build gradually, and seven months later and 18 pounds lighter I ran a marathon PR in Berlin, 2:51:52. Sadly, I bummed up my knee pretty badly - actually, my IT band which runs down my outer thigh and connecting on the side of the knee, so I took off most of October and November.
2009: The thigh pain was still bad, despite the many leg strengthening/stretching exercises. I ran less than any year since probably 1994.
2010: My leg is still bothering me some, some, but I'm doing a lot to work around that. Developing better core strength and a change from the traditional "heel-to-toe" teachings to a midfoot/forefoot landing has basically taken away all of the pain while I'm working out. I still feel my knee a bit at times, mostly when I lay down at night or do any squats/lunges in the gym, but I honestly think that the pain will go away if I just gradually build my running distances and strength. The midfoot/forefoot switch is tough; I'm using muscles that have gotten away with being lazy for years. My arches, ankles, calves and Achilles tendon are being used like never before, and if I do too much too soon, something is going to give out on me.
So, as I announced, Miranda and I are planning to run a marathon next May, and we need to get in shape to handle the last four months of dedicated marathon training. Most people think that sounds ridiculous, but it's true. I don't want to disable myself for another couple years.
Four runs this week, two three milers, a four miler and today's five miler. I've been running at least three days a week for a while now, so that really wasn't a big step. The main difference was that this week, I really focused on holding back on my three and four milers. No reason to blow out my legs. My legs need to get used to running, learn to go farther. There's no reason to tire them out, just need to get them reacquainted with the motions.
Last Sunday I didn't have a chance to lace up my shoes until 6:15 or so. It was dark, cold and wet. The temperature was just above freezing and there was a heavy mist that just made everything feel a bit colder. I grabbed two long-sleeve tops, a heavy pair of running tights, some heavy cotton gloves, a stocking cap, wool running socks, some lightweight shoes, and went off through the city. It didn't take long to get to a well-lit running path along the water, and the soreness in my glutes and hamstrings from Saturday's core class seemed to melt away within half a mile. Another couple of minutes later and my body was plenty warm, despite being seriously underdressed for almost any other activity.
As I went, I noticed that my legs just felt good, better than normal, which was a surprise after two straight days of running and a gym class the day before that left me moving like an old man. Seriously, I was partially crippled until Tuesday. The feeling was wonderful. My legs just had a spring in them, they wanted me to loosen up and go. I didn't open up my stride, but I did let my legs take me at a comfortable pace. Didn't have a watch, didn't care. I wouldn't have known where to take my mile splits anyway. I just know that I was going fast again, something I haven't done in a long time. Every time I've fallen off the running wagon, it has been tough to get back on, but there's always a run that just feels right. Well, Sunday was the night. I kept on my path but didn't really get a good chance to enjoy the city. There weren't a lot of people out walking, but enough that people dodging was necessary at least every 30 seconds. This was further complicated by many puddles, some every five to 10 meters once the path turned into gravel. Then it became fun, almost play-like, jumping around the puddles, long-jumping the larger puddles. My primary goals became making sure nobody got splashed and doing my best to avoid scaring anybody as I came up from behind. Running became so natural that I didn't even think that I was doing it.
After about a mile and a half had to turn inland, and that meant climbing a few hills. My legs didn't seem to mind, but my heart and lungs quickly reminded me that I'm still human. I pulled back a bit, but the legs still felt good. I was doing an out-and-back route with the turnaround point about halfway up a long hill. I got there, turned around, and sadly realized that I had been running with a cold wind at my back. The mist smacked me in the face, but it's not like I really had many options, had to run home. Going down that hill was the worst of it, but it didn't take long. Up and over another hill, and down to the water. That's where it really hit me. My legs started to lose their fresh feeling and I was definitely running. Jumping the puddles was still fun, but it took work. That particular area was fairly wide open, so the wind whipped across the water and I instantly felt the cold chill of my wet running clothes. I plodded on and soon reached an area where the water narrowed and the trees provided a better barrier against the wind. It wasn't that I was feeling bad, it's just that I was no longer moving mindlessly and effortlessly through space. As soon as I became aware that I was running, running became work. Very soon after reaching the sheltered area of the path, the effort disappeared again. I didn't have to slow down, but my awareness drifted from trudging along to the fact that I was running on such a pretty path, surrounded by the city, yet all I could see around me was the lighted path along the water.
Don't remember much of the run after that. Climbed a lot of stairs, crossed a high bridge, ran down a hill and I was back at my office. All I knew was that I was more excited about this run than I've been about any run in a long time. I didn't go that fast, I didn't go that far, but it felt good and it was relaxing. Those are two big reasons that I continue to run, and I'm really looking forward to more runs like that in the future.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
(A)typical Saturday
Woke up early, went to a core class at the gym (more about that later). We picked up some groceries, some wine for a planned Thanksgiving meal next weekend, then home to clean up for the day. Pork tenderloin sandwiches for lunch, packed up our laptops, and off to the office.
I did some light work, Miranda's mind was spinning too fast to focus; she took a nap. I woke up Miranda, she grabbed a coffee, I left for a run, Miranda became productive. Back to the office, picked up Miranda, then off to our favorite burrito restaurant in town. Not quite as good as Chipotle, but it keeps our cravings under control. Back to the office, Miranda worked, I took a nap. Now she's packing her bag, I'm blogging, and in five minutes we'll hike across downtown to see the newest Harry Potter movie. Good day so far. Let's hope the movie doesn't let us down.
I did some light work, Miranda's mind was spinning too fast to focus; she took a nap. I woke up Miranda, she grabbed a coffee, I left for a run, Miranda became productive. Back to the office, picked up Miranda, then off to our favorite burrito restaurant in town. Not quite as good as Chipotle, but it keeps our cravings under control. Back to the office, Miranda worked, I took a nap. Now she's packing her bag, I'm blogging, and in five minutes we'll hike across downtown to see the newest Harry Potter movie. Good day so far. Let's hope the movie doesn't let us down.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Photos from Alla Helgons Dag
On the first Saturday in November, Swedes observe All Saints Day. It’s much like Memorial Day in the U.S., a day of remembrance. Most families take the time to visit their loved ones’ graves on Friday or Saturday, leaving a few 50-hour candles instead of a wreath or flowers.The sun sets before 4:00 p.m. that weekend, so even the early visitors can appreciate the view of the candles glowing in the darkness. Miranda and I decided to work all day and night that Saturday, so on 'Alla Helgons Dag' we left the apartment around 11:00 at night to visit Skogskyrkogården (the forest cemetery). The cemetery is only two miles from our apartment, and even though it was freezing outside, the 90-minute walk through the cemetery was well worth the time. You can’t imagine just how beautiful it was, walking at midnight on an unlit gravel path, cutting straight through a forest of 100-foot tall pine trees. The lower branches and all the underbrus
h had been cleared, and all you could see in any direction was rows of tombstones among the trees, illuminated in the candlelight yet still managing to disappear into the darkness. Certain areas of the cemetery are reserved for the scattering of ashes, and in these areas there were so many candles that you’d swear there was a bonfire in the distance. Other areas of the cemetery were older, which was obvious from the fact that only one out of ten tombstones had a candle, as compared to seven out of ten in other areas of the cemetery.We weren’t the only people out there with a camera that night, but we were the only people trying to capture the moment on a basic digital camera without a decent night setting or a tripod. We hope the pictures can give you a basic idea of what I’m trying to describe.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
"Working" on a Saturday
Miranda and I are at the office today. She's working on her thesis and I'm trying to avoid the long list of projects that should be wrapped up before Monday. Lucky for me, we'll probably be back here tomorrow.
The day has been okay so far. Slept in, finished off the chocolate cake I cooked last Sunday, then packed a lunch and came straight to the office. I've managed to read through all of the articles that interest me on CNN.com and huffingtonpost.com. I was debating between writing/responding to a few emails, paying a credit card bill, moving on to MSNBC.com, or blogging, and even though I have nothing interesting to write about, blogging won.
A lot has changed at work in the last few months. When I started working in Sweden there were five other people in the retirement practice: my boss, two senior actuaries and two more junior actuaries. Just over a year ago we hired another junior actuary. In the late spring one of the original junior actuaries announced she was pregnant and that she'd be leaving on 10 months maternity leave starting this month. Then in August, both senior actuaries announced they'd be leaving for a competitor. Swedish contracts typically have a three-month notice period, so they're just starting to clean out their offices now.
I have very much enjoyed working with the three coworkers who are leaving, and also credit them with helping me to form such a wonderful impression of this country. It's especially odd to see them go; they were fixtures of my daily routine, and I never really imagined that I'd be around long enough to become a fixture myself. Things aren't supposed to change around me, this is all temporary, remember? For the last six months I've been doing my work with a special emphasis on making it easy for my replacement to pick it up next year. Now I'm a very instrumental part of the business, working only in the "now" and hoping we can stay afloat through our busy season this winter. Knowing that my time here is limited really puts an interesting spin on the whole situation. It doesn't make sense to transfer work to someone that already has a set termination date just a few months out, but right now there just aren't any other options.
There has been a lot of pressure from everyone to stay. It actually started before we knew that my coworkers were leaving, and the pressure obviously increased once we understood just how much things were changing around here. It doesn't help that my boss and his bosses know that Miranda and I like it here.
Everyone we meet - Swedes, Europeans, Americans in Sweden - whether they know our thoughts about life in Sweden or life in the US or not, are posing the question, "now that you've had a real taste of life in Europe, why are you moving back to the US?" Every time I hear the question I think about it, and then I give the same honest answer: "We're too far from our families." As I think about it now, I think it's a really funny question on many levels. What really strikes me is that everyone over here "knows" that life is better in Europe; it's a basic premise supporting their question. Is life in the US really that bad? It can't be...despite consistently raking lower in quality-of-life surveys, many Americans and American politicians are fighting to prevent the US from becoming more like Europe! What gives? Obviously everyone I come in contact with over here must be missing something. Even I know that life in the US isn't bad, even though at times I think the "why are you leaving Europe" question has some merit. But how do you explain that?
Back to my job, there have also been offers to try out another office in Europe. Nothing formal, but it seems like they'd like to keep me over here. It's possible to keep working with the Swedish office from within Europe, but even though cross-border work is fine, cross-ocean work is greatly discouraged. Miranda and I have given some thought to what life would be like in Amsterdam and even though I wasn't in love with Oslo when we visited, I think it could be a fun city to live in and a nice office to work in. They'd also both be natural fits based on the work I do and the fact that we could get along fine with English until we learn some basic language skills. Anywhere is an option though. It's tempting, but we've set our move-home date and we're sticking to it.
That's all for now. I think I'll start working on emails or paying my credit card bill. Anything to avoid the real work. Vi hörs!
The day has been okay so far. Slept in, finished off the chocolate cake I cooked last Sunday, then packed a lunch and came straight to the office. I've managed to read through all of the articles that interest me on CNN.com and huffingtonpost.com. I was debating between writing/responding to a few emails, paying a credit card bill, moving on to MSNBC.com, or blogging, and even though I have nothing interesting to write about, blogging won.
A lot has changed at work in the last few months. When I started working in Sweden there were five other people in the retirement practice: my boss, two senior actuaries and two more junior actuaries. Just over a year ago we hired another junior actuary. In the late spring one of the original junior actuaries announced she was pregnant and that she'd be leaving on 10 months maternity leave starting this month. Then in August, both senior actuaries announced they'd be leaving for a competitor. Swedish contracts typically have a three-month notice period, so they're just starting to clean out their offices now.
I have very much enjoyed working with the three coworkers who are leaving, and also credit them with helping me to form such a wonderful impression of this country. It's especially odd to see them go; they were fixtures of my daily routine, and I never really imagined that I'd be around long enough to become a fixture myself. Things aren't supposed to change around me, this is all temporary, remember? For the last six months I've been doing my work with a special emphasis on making it easy for my replacement to pick it up next year. Now I'm a very instrumental part of the business, working only in the "now" and hoping we can stay afloat through our busy season this winter. Knowing that my time here is limited really puts an interesting spin on the whole situation. It doesn't make sense to transfer work to someone that already has a set termination date just a few months out, but right now there just aren't any other options.
There has been a lot of pressure from everyone to stay. It actually started before we knew that my coworkers were leaving, and the pressure obviously increased once we understood just how much things were changing around here. It doesn't help that my boss and his bosses know that Miranda and I like it here.
Everyone we meet - Swedes, Europeans, Americans in Sweden - whether they know our thoughts about life in Sweden or life in the US or not, are posing the question, "now that you've had a real taste of life in Europe, why are you moving back to the US?" Every time I hear the question I think about it, and then I give the same honest answer: "We're too far from our families." As I think about it now, I think it's a really funny question on many levels. What really strikes me is that everyone over here "knows" that life is better in Europe; it's a basic premise supporting their question. Is life in the US really that bad? It can't be...despite consistently raking lower in quality-of-life surveys, many Americans and American politicians are fighting to prevent the US from becoming more like Europe! What gives? Obviously everyone I come in contact with over here must be missing something. Even I know that life in the US isn't bad, even though at times I think the "why are you leaving Europe" question has some merit. But how do you explain that?
Back to my job, there have also been offers to try out another office in Europe. Nothing formal, but it seems like they'd like to keep me over here. It's possible to keep working with the Swedish office from within Europe, but even though cross-border work is fine, cross-ocean work is greatly discouraged. Miranda and I have given some thought to what life would be like in Amsterdam and even though I wasn't in love with Oslo when we visited, I think it could be a fun city to live in and a nice office to work in. They'd also both be natural fits based on the work I do and the fact that we could get along fine with English until we learn some basic language skills. Anywhere is an option though. It's tempting, but we've set our move-home date and we're sticking to it.
That's all for now. I think I'll start working on emails or paying my credit card bill. Anything to avoid the real work. Vi hörs!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
More snow!
It's November 9, and we saw our second snow-storm of the season today. Luckily, the snow is melting within 24 hours, but it's still too early. From my understanding, snow doesn't typically make its way to Stockholm until much closer to Christmas.
Today's snowfall gave me a brief taste of some of the worst things winter has to offer. Three inches of slush on the sidewalks brought me to the harsh realization that the seams of my dress shoes aren't waterproof. The partially ploughed sidewalks weren't a joy on my walk from the subway station up the hill to our apartment either. Why do snowplows scrape just enough snow to leave a packed layer of wet ice? I'm afraid Miranda and I might not survive the winter if they don't lower their blades. The hill up to our apartment is just steep enough to scare me. Lastly, wet snow on a wool coat just doesn't smell good, and thanks to a client meeting today, the wool coat was necessary.
At least the client meeting went well.
An update on Miranda the student. Progress is being made, slowly but surely. She gets overwhelmed for at least 30 minutes a day, but she rebounds quickly, and that's good enough for now.
An update on Scott the homemaker. My Sunday steak with a bleu cheese spread turned out really well. The recipe came from Huffington Post, and you can check it out here. I don't know why I decided to try a recipe from a liberal news blog, but I like most the other stuff I find on that site, so it seemed worth a try. I broiled the steak in the oven, along with a side of broiled cherry tomatoes and cubed potatoes fried in a skillet with a little bit of olive oil and lightly seasoned with sea salt and garlic powder. We paired this with a bottle of Cantillon Gueuze. The only downside was that we bought the wrong type of peppercorns, shopping by look instead of by name. We should have known that the Swedish name translated to "spiced peppercorns," whatever those are supposed to be. I couldn't even tell you exactly what spices were used, all I know is that it smells like St. Nicolas broke into the peppercorn jar and spread a little Christmas cheer. For a substitute I used pre-ground strong black pepper. The steak was spicy, but the bleu cheese spread really helped. Plus, the extra pepper went nicely with the potatoes.
Miranda just told me that she made a hamburger for lunch yesterday, which was topped with the bleu cheese spread. In her words, "that was also excellent."
Last night I got off easy - a late night at work and a hungry wife meant a homemade pizza was waiting for me when I got home. Our homemade pizza making skills keep improving, and she raised the bar last night. Freshly cut salami, red onion, red peppers, a fluffy yoghurt based crust and hints of basil and oregano. Mums!
Again, an early yet later than desired night at work followed by two and a half hours dedicated to the gym (30 minutes to get there from work, 30 minute run, 60 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes to clean up and 20 minutes home) meant I had to bail on cooking tonight. I delivered Chipotle-style takeaway on my way to the gym. Miranda was happy (although unhappy that she had to come out in the snow to meet me on the subway platform as I passed by), but I was hungry when I finally got around to my burrito at 9:45. FYI, my burrito was dried out and disappointing. My mouth wished I would have skipped the run and eaten the burrito when it was fresh, but ultimately I think my stomach will be happier with the order I chose.
I have a London Broil marinating in the fridge for tomorrow night. It's about a two-inch thick roast and very lean. The marinade includes red wine, balsamic vinegar, lots of fresh garlic, a little honey, a little salt and a little soy sauce. It smelled delicious when I sealed it up. Now I just need to pick a side dish. I case you haven't noticed, my apparent cooking theme this week is red meat. I might have to switch it up and go for a chicken dish on Thursday.
Oh yeah, I baked the Fischbach family's chocolate crazy cake on Friday night and also made the usual buttercream frosting. It turned out perfectly, and since there are only two of us to eat it, dessert is taken care of until the weekend. Awesome.
That's all for now. Hej då!
Today's snowfall gave me a brief taste of some of the worst things winter has to offer. Three inches of slush on the sidewalks brought me to the harsh realization that the seams of my dress shoes aren't waterproof. The partially ploughed sidewalks weren't a joy on my walk from the subway station up the hill to our apartment either. Why do snowplows scrape just enough snow to leave a packed layer of wet ice? I'm afraid Miranda and I might not survive the winter if they don't lower their blades. The hill up to our apartment is just steep enough to scare me. Lastly, wet snow on a wool coat just doesn't smell good, and thanks to a client meeting today, the wool coat was necessary.
At least the client meeting went well.
An update on Miranda the student. Progress is being made, slowly but surely. She gets overwhelmed for at least 30 minutes a day, but she rebounds quickly, and that's good enough for now.
An update on Scott the homemaker. My Sunday steak with a bleu cheese spread turned out really well. The recipe came from Huffington Post, and you can check it out here. I don't know why I decided to try a recipe from a liberal news blog, but I like most the other stuff I find on that site, so it seemed worth a try. I broiled the steak in the oven, along with a side of broiled cherry tomatoes and cubed potatoes fried in a skillet with a little bit of olive oil and lightly seasoned with sea salt and garlic powder. We paired this with a bottle of Cantillon Gueuze. The only downside was that we bought the wrong type of peppercorns, shopping by look instead of by name. We should have known that the Swedish name translated to "spiced peppercorns," whatever those are supposed to be. I couldn't even tell you exactly what spices were used, all I know is that it smells like St. Nicolas broke into the peppercorn jar and spread a little Christmas cheer. For a substitute I used pre-ground strong black pepper. The steak was spicy, but the bleu cheese spread really helped. Plus, the extra pepper went nicely with the potatoes.
Miranda just told me that she made a hamburger for lunch yesterday, which was topped with the bleu cheese spread. In her words, "that was also excellent."
Last night I got off easy - a late night at work and a hungry wife meant a homemade pizza was waiting for me when I got home. Our homemade pizza making skills keep improving, and she raised the bar last night. Freshly cut salami, red onion, red peppers, a fluffy yoghurt based crust and hints of basil and oregano. Mums!
Again, an early yet later than desired night at work followed by two and a half hours dedicated to the gym (30 minutes to get there from work, 30 minute run, 60 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes to clean up and 20 minutes home) meant I had to bail on cooking tonight. I delivered Chipotle-style takeaway on my way to the gym. Miranda was happy (although unhappy that she had to come out in the snow to meet me on the subway platform as I passed by), but I was hungry when I finally got around to my burrito at 9:45. FYI, my burrito was dried out and disappointing. My mouth wished I would have skipped the run and eaten the burrito when it was fresh, but ultimately I think my stomach will be happier with the order I chose.
I have a London Broil marinating in the fridge for tomorrow night. It's about a two-inch thick roast and very lean. The marinade includes red wine, balsamic vinegar, lots of fresh garlic, a little honey, a little salt and a little soy sauce. It smelled delicious when I sealed it up. Now I just need to pick a side dish. I case you haven't noticed, my apparent cooking theme this week is red meat. I might have to switch it up and go for a chicken dish on Thursday.
Oh yeah, I baked the Fischbach family's chocolate crazy cake on Friday night and also made the usual buttercream frosting. It turned out perfectly, and since there are only two of us to eat it, dessert is taken care of until the weekend. Awesome.
That's all for now. Hej då!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Missed opportunity
For my exam last week I went to one of the larger insurance companies in Stockholm. The proctor had booked me a one-person conference room on the 16th floor of their building, where I sat quietly scribbling everything I know about pensions onto a sheet of paper for exactly three and a half hours. The hand cramp that came after 75 minutes of writing was certainly not welcome.
After suffering through the exam, the proctor was walking me out. He ducked around the corner, came back and said "Dang, Annete isn't here. I thought you might like to meet a two-time Olympic gold medalist." Of course, when I think of Olympics, I think of track and field, so for about 0.5 seconds I was bummed that I missed out on meeting a Swedish running superstar. Then I remembered, the most famous actuary (never thought you'd see those words together, did you?) in Sweden is also the skip of the Swedish women's curling team. Yes, I missed out on meeting Anette Norberg. I immediately thought it was kind of funny - a curling champ was the last type of Olympic gold medalist I would ever expect to meet. Sadly, that may be as close as I'll ever come to meeting a Swedish celebrity. I should have made an excuse to stick around for the rest of the afternoon.
If you're looking for a laugh, check out Anette's other claim to fame, the rock video "Hearts on Fire" by Hammerfall. Whoever came up with the idea of mixing hard rock and curling is a genius.
After suffering through the exam, the proctor was walking me out. He ducked around the corner, came back and said "Dang, Annete isn't here. I thought you might like to meet a two-time Olympic gold medalist." Of course, when I think of Olympics, I think of track and field, so for about 0.5 seconds I was bummed that I missed out on meeting a Swedish running superstar. Then I remembered, the most famous actuary (never thought you'd see those words together, did you?) in Sweden is also the skip of the Swedish women's curling team. Yes, I missed out on meeting Anette Norberg. I immediately thought it was kind of funny - a curling champ was the last type of Olympic gold medalist I would ever expect to meet. Sadly, that may be as close as I'll ever come to meeting a Swedish celebrity. I should have made an excuse to stick around for the rest of the afternoon.
If you're looking for a laugh, check out Anette's other claim to fame, the rock video "Hearts on Fire" by Hammerfall. Whoever came up with the idea of mixing hard rock and curling is a genius.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Starting the countdown, again
Hello everyone.
We have just under seven months left in Sweden. 205 days. 29 weeks and two days. It's funny how some counts seem longer than others. Regardless, time is going to fly.
It's been a little over a year since we last checked in, and yes, we are still alive. Most of you who might read this already know everything I have to write, but for the sake of completeness, I feel the need to bridge the gap.
We've already been in Sweden eight months longer than we had originally planned. When we moved to Sweden two years seemed like a long time, but everyone knows that time flies when you're having fun. As most people know, I extended my contract 11 months from February 28, 2010 to January 31, 2011, so we're three months away from the adjusted move-home date. However, a second contract extension is in the works, so we're looking at a May 31, 2011 departure date. We're also discussing options for moving home, and right now our goal is to travel for about three weeks, ending up in California the third week in June for my sister's wedding. Life back in Minneapolis should start around July 1. I don't really know if "starting life" is the best way to describe our return to Minneapolis. We'll be living out of suitcases in a hotel room for about a month while we figure out all the logistics that go into moving to another city - where to live, rent vs. buy, one car or two, etc. It'll probably be the more difficult than any of our adventures so far, but I also imagine that it will be just as fun as it will be frustrating.
We're already tired of moving, so hope the transition from Sweden to Minneapolis is relatively hassle free. We've moved three times since we last wrote. Once from our old apartment in Uppsala to a temporary apartment in another town about 50 miles east of there for about two weeks. We had a gap between rental contracts and really didn't want to pay for a long-term hotel stay. Luckily, my coworker had an empty apartment for some reason. Miranda loved the 90 minute bus ride which stopped pretty much everywhere between our temporary apartment and the university. By comparison, my 40 minute bus ride into Stockholm wasn't bad at all. We moved back to another apartment in Uppsala at the beginning of December, but only had a six month contract there. Since June 1 we've been living in the suburbs of Stockholm. Nice location, still a bit farther out of the city than we'd like, but living in close proximity to Stockholm is pretty nice.
My big news is that I just sat for another actuarial exam on Thursday. It was my first essay exam, and my first exam after a multi-year break. I got off to an early start with my studying in July, then everything fell apart by mid-August. I didn't really pick up the books again until mid-September and with Miranda's help I made a strong push over the last six weeks, averaging 20+ hours a week of studying on top of a busy work schedule. I still fell far short of the rule-of-thumb 350 hours to pass, but it was a solid effort to reach the 200 hour mark before taking the exam. It went better than I expected, but I still don't have much hope of passing. The Society of Actuaries tend to be pretty tough graders. Results come out in mid-January, so for now I'm just relaxing and returning to my non-career as a blogger.
During the last six weeks Miranda pretty much took care of every worry around the house, allowing me to literally work, eat, sleep and study. It was awfully nice of her, but it didn't take long for the tables to turn.
Miranda is tied up with her thesis now; she's been doing some work here and there since March, but she made a big push in September and October to wrap up her research. Now she's in the writing stage with a goal of finishing everything but the final edits before Christmas. The turn-in date is January 4th or 5th with her defense coming the following week. She's doing her best to move forward as quickly as possible. It looks like I'll be helping a little bit with her statistical analysis, but I'll probably be helping more by taking on the house keeper role for the next two months. She's already informed me that I'm a boring chef, so I guess I need to step it up. The grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch probably didn't help, but tonight we'll be trying a pepper-encrusted steak with a Roquefort sauce and a few different side dishes. My goal is to make Miranda eat her food, then eat her words. I'll probably fail on the latter, but it's worth a try.
Other big news, we'll be home for a few days over Christmas. I'll be home about a little over a week, coming in on the 22nd and flying out on New Year's Day, while Miranda will stay an additional week. One holiday season away from our families was enough.
No other travels planned yet. We have a list of destinations we hope to visit before we leave at the end of May, but that's about it. I don't really have travel fever yet, but I'm sure Barcelona is going to sound nicer once the sunlight disappears.
We're filling our free time with fitness. Miranda and I are registered for the Stockholm Marathon on May 28, 2011. (Who runs a marathon before jumping on a plane to travel for a few weeks?) We won't start our marathon training until the end of January, so right now we're trying to get in shape to handle the physical and mental stresses of daily running.
Miranda has fully embraced the concept of cross training, mixing it up with a daily workout selected from the following list: spin, core, yoga, pilates, aerobics, tae bo, body pump (endurance weight lifting), a few other classes and occasionally, a run. Some of the classes involve partner work as well, giving Miranda a nice opportunity to exercise her Swedish as well.
I have been sticking with what I know, running, supplemented with yoga, individual weight training and a rare spin class. Due to a nagging knee injury which is likely related to my über-weak core, I think I'll follow Miranda's advice and tag along to a few of Miranda's classes; at least until the knee pain goes away and I start to shift from my off-season weight to a more appropriate training weight. Tae bo and aerobics don't interest me, but everything else is fair game.
That's all for now. Glad I got the catch-up post out of the way. Check back soon for more posts. I'll try to make our mundane lives sound interesting, but in reality, I'll probably be posting about food or exercise.
Hej då!
We have just under seven months left in Sweden. 205 days. 29 weeks and two days. It's funny how some counts seem longer than others. Regardless, time is going to fly.
It's been a little over a year since we last checked in, and yes, we are still alive. Most of you who might read this already know everything I have to write, but for the sake of completeness, I feel the need to bridge the gap.
We've already been in Sweden eight months longer than we had originally planned. When we moved to Sweden two years seemed like a long time, but everyone knows that time flies when you're having fun. As most people know, I extended my contract 11 months from February 28, 2010 to January 31, 2011, so we're three months away from the adjusted move-home date. However, a second contract extension is in the works, so we're looking at a May 31, 2011 departure date. We're also discussing options for moving home, and right now our goal is to travel for about three weeks, ending up in California the third week in June for my sister's wedding. Life back in Minneapolis should start around July 1. I don't really know if "starting life" is the best way to describe our return to Minneapolis. We'll be living out of suitcases in a hotel room for about a month while we figure out all the logistics that go into moving to another city - where to live, rent vs. buy, one car or two, etc. It'll probably be the more difficult than any of our adventures so far, but I also imagine that it will be just as fun as it will be frustrating.
We're already tired of moving, so hope the transition from Sweden to Minneapolis is relatively hassle free. We've moved three times since we last wrote. Once from our old apartment in Uppsala to a temporary apartment in another town about 50 miles east of there for about two weeks. We had a gap between rental contracts and really didn't want to pay for a long-term hotel stay. Luckily, my coworker had an empty apartment for some reason. Miranda loved the 90 minute bus ride which stopped pretty much everywhere between our temporary apartment and the university. By comparison, my 40 minute bus ride into Stockholm wasn't bad at all. We moved back to another apartment in Uppsala at the beginning of December, but only had a six month contract there. Since June 1 we've been living in the suburbs of Stockholm. Nice location, still a bit farther out of the city than we'd like, but living in close proximity to Stockholm is pretty nice.
My big news is that I just sat for another actuarial exam on Thursday. It was my first essay exam, and my first exam after a multi-year break. I got off to an early start with my studying in July, then everything fell apart by mid-August. I didn't really pick up the books again until mid-September and with Miranda's help I made a strong push over the last six weeks, averaging 20+ hours a week of studying on top of a busy work schedule. I still fell far short of the rule-of-thumb 350 hours to pass, but it was a solid effort to reach the 200 hour mark before taking the exam. It went better than I expected, but I still don't have much hope of passing. The Society of Actuaries tend to be pretty tough graders. Results come out in mid-January, so for now I'm just relaxing and returning to my non-career as a blogger.
During the last six weeks Miranda pretty much took care of every worry around the house, allowing me to literally work, eat, sleep and study. It was awfully nice of her, but it didn't take long for the tables to turn.
Miranda is tied up with her thesis now; she's been doing some work here and there since March, but she made a big push in September and October to wrap up her research. Now she's in the writing stage with a goal of finishing everything but the final edits before Christmas. The turn-in date is January 4th or 5th with her defense coming the following week. She's doing her best to move forward as quickly as possible. It looks like I'll be helping a little bit with her statistical analysis, but I'll probably be helping more by taking on the house keeper role for the next two months. She's already informed me that I'm a boring chef, so I guess I need to step it up. The grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch probably didn't help, but tonight we'll be trying a pepper-encrusted steak with a Roquefort sauce and a few different side dishes. My goal is to make Miranda eat her food, then eat her words. I'll probably fail on the latter, but it's worth a try.
Other big news, we'll be home for a few days over Christmas. I'll be home about a little over a week, coming in on the 22nd and flying out on New Year's Day, while Miranda will stay an additional week. One holiday season away from our families was enough.
No other travels planned yet. We have a list of destinations we hope to visit before we leave at the end of May, but that's about it. I don't really have travel fever yet, but I'm sure Barcelona is going to sound nicer once the sunlight disappears.
We're filling our free time with fitness. Miranda and I are registered for the Stockholm Marathon on May 28, 2011. (Who runs a marathon before jumping on a plane to travel for a few weeks?) We won't start our marathon training until the end of January, so right now we're trying to get in shape to handle the physical and mental stresses of daily running.
Miranda has fully embraced the concept of cross training, mixing it up with a daily workout selected from the following list: spin, core, yoga, pilates, aerobics, tae bo, body pump (endurance weight lifting), a few other classes and occasionally, a run. Some of the classes involve partner work as well, giving Miranda a nice opportunity to exercise her Swedish as well.
I have been sticking with what I know, running, supplemented with yoga, individual weight training and a rare spin class. Due to a nagging knee injury which is likely related to my über-weak core, I think I'll follow Miranda's advice and tag along to a few of Miranda's classes; at least until the knee pain goes away and I start to shift from my off-season weight to a more appropriate training weight. Tae bo and aerobics don't interest me, but everything else is fair game.
That's all for now. Glad I got the catch-up post out of the way. Check back soon for more posts. I'll try to make our mundane lives sound interesting, but in reality, I'll probably be posting about food or exercise.
Hej då!
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