Inspired

Wow! I was at a great meeting yesterday at the department that I am hopefully joining in a couple of weeks. We discussed course literature, scheduling, hopes and aspirations for "my" course and a lot of other things related to teaching at the uni. It was magnificent! ;D

I can honestly say that I don't think that I have ever been so inspired when it comes to my career so I just can't wait until the necessary paperwork is pushed through. I want to start working now!

Just as I was about to leave, my boss to be asked me about my research preferences as well. My interpretation is that I will be allowed to do some research of my own related to the big project that we will be a part of and that we are managing. It's a dream come true! ;D

So I'm totally inspired, and I walk around with big ol' smirk on my face. It's good to be me! :D

Cheers!

Un-even is the word

It truly is. As I said in my last post, I haven't been frequent with my blogging, and I really need to force my self into writing... Once again I will promise to be better at it.

So what's new? I'm still unemployed, but hopefully not for long. An opportunity has arisen that would allow me to work in academia, both in a research project and as an educator of young minds. :D The topics? Urban logistics with an environmental twist, something that I really would love to work with. So fingers crossed that it will hold... :)

Apart from that? I exercise a lot. I normally go for 4 - 5 fitness classes every week, and I think it's amazing! I never was much of a fitness kind of guy before, but this past year has really turned that around for me. I have even been to a fitness instructor course, so I am now qualified to hold BodyBalance classes. In the next two months or so, I need to make a video of me teaching a class, and after that I will be a certified Les Mills instructor.

I have recently re-discovered climbing as well, and I fell in love with it. So next on my "developing myself" agenda is to participate in a course to learn more about securing others as we go climbing. It's great fun, and if you have ever thought of learning to climb, all I can say is: Do it! You will not be dissapointed... :)

So, I once more resolve to try to be better at updating this blog, and hopefully I will be able to tell you more about my new life at the university soon. :)

Cheers!

My blogger style

...is what you might like to call un-even... In my last post, my only post in 2008, I wrote that I would try to write another post within eight months. I didn't! ;) I wrote one post in 2008, now it's the 29th April 2009.

Weeell... Anything new? You bet! Even though it might not be as new anymore... I have had one of the most upturning half years of my life, actually the most upturning half year of my life.

Last time I wrote anything here, I had a wonderful girlfriend and we had bought an apartment and I was stuck at my job which I didn't care that much for... Now, a year later (minuse two weeks) I have none of these factors left in my life. We did move to our new apartment, and it was nice! I loved that place... It was newly built, it was all new and shiny... It was good...

And I loved my girlfriend, I think I still do... We actually got engaged, and I was as happy as I could be at that time, but it was not to last... She called of our engagement and my world plummeted... Of course this meant that we had to sell our apartment as well. With the ongoing recession, this was not the easiest thing to do, but we did it. We lost some money, but I honestly feel that was nothing compared to losing Her (with a capital H). I hope I can win her back some time... Hey, weirder things have happend! ;D

The week that we were moving out of the apartment, I had a meeting with my boss. I went to that meeting, thinking that I would get a new assignment, boy was I wrong! I left the meeting a job shorter... I had lost everything within six months! At least I had my health... ;) And I still do.

So now what? Well mostly I am stuck here in my new apartment, which is a nice place, but it's not the same. I look for jobs, I exercise alot, I think alot and contemplate my life. I am sad that I lost my fiancee, and I wouldn't mind having her back. I wouldn't mind having a job to go either, but I feel stronger as a person now than I have in a long time. I guess I have a new view on life and what's important...

Well, I guess that's it for now!

Cheerio!

/Matsey

A very long time, no see..

Hello!

So it's been quite a while since I last wrote anything here on the great confusion blog. It's not that I've been lazy (though I have) and it's not really because I got bored with it (because I did a little), it's mainly due to my lack of experience in these things... I'm just not used to writing a journal of any kind. Please forgive me... ;)

So my last post told you all(?) about my first week at my job. It's been another eight months (sort of) since then... I think I am starting to get a hang of my job, but I'm not sure it is what I thought it would be, and I'm not sure it is what I should be doing with my life. On the plus side, I have a wonderful girlfriend, we are pretty soon moving to our newly (well, relatively newly) bought apartment that we haven't actually been allowed to enter yet. It's a brand new house and there are workers and carpenters running about the place making everything fit to live in... And I also have a wonderful hobby in my photography. Some of my photos can be seen on Facebook and others can be found on www.RedBubble.com. So all in all I am happy with my life, but I need to figure out my work situation so I'm still as confused as ever.

Hopefully I'll update this blog soon, at least I will try to do it the next eight month or so... ;)

Cheers!

/Matsey

My first week... Almost!

Hi!

So! I've spent almost an entire week in Stockholm now being trained for my new profession: Associate Business Consultant at Lawson Software Sweden AB... Man! Am I glad that the weekend is near? Yes, yes I am... I'm still feeling a bit confused and I don't know how everyone else at our trainee programme is feeling, but I am somewhat overwhelmed... It's just so much to keep track off, and our systems are quite complex even though they are very user friendly and easy to use for our customers. I am however confused. Hopefully it will all become a little bit clearer as the trainee programme progresses, and I still have 5 - 6 weeks here in Stockholm before I go back to "my" office in Malmö and start working on real projects. It's a bit scary, but I really look forward to it. I think that will probably be the best way to lear, to be tossed out in to reality.

I miss my darling Christina, and I do feel at times that I haven't really connected with my fellow trainees. I guess it has to be up to me to try to get more connected to them but as I am kind of shy it feels a bit hard. But i'll try to better myself.

In other news: My new camera has arrived! ;D My beloved Nikon D80 arrived yesterday and Christina collected it from the postal office. Unfortunately, I won't be able to play with it for another week as I am staying in this region this weekend. I am going to visit my parents and Christina is coming up to see me as well. But next week; Look out Lund! You'll be in my focal point... ;D

And today my diploma arrived from uni! I am actually 100% a Master of Science in Transport Systems now! It'll have to wait in the posts premices for next week as I have to sign for the letter myself. It feels a bit strange that my formal graduation ceremony will be held in "Hemköp" as I collect the papers... But still. I am what I am and now I have the papers to prove it! ;)

I am leaving you for now with a little tip: check out our (Lawson's) awsome commercial! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpZFZc_zw8I

My life is still confusing, but I am very happy about it!

Things are quite different now from when I last posted. I am now an employee! Hurrah for me! I've just gotten back from my new office where I have signed my contract. I now have the lovely title "Associate Business Consultant at Lawson Software Sweden AB". Isn't it cool? ;D Well I think so... ;)

Anyway, it was quite a fast journey. I had my first interview not even two weeks ago, the Thursday before last, my second interview last Thursday (and incidentally I also had a third interview with Maersk that day) and this Monday I received a call from one of the managers at Lawson, asking me if I wanted to come work for them, which I did! I still do... ;) So today I went to the office and signed my contract and I am now an employed man! I like it! I like it a lot! ;D

So happy times! I start work on the 1st of October and I will be educated in my company's products and work ethics for a month and a half and after that I start my actual job in Malmö. The training and education will mainly occur in Stockholm, which means that I will be separated from my lovely Christina during the weeks, but at least it's temporary and I know that this will make our lives easier in so many ways. Not only will we both bring home salaries (which is quite nice for my self-esteem) but I won't be "stuck" in the apartment all day doing nothing. So life is great and I'm on top of the world!

And the confusing part? Well it hasn't really had time to sink in yet, but I think it will be clearer in a while... ;)

Cheers!

/Matsey

It's time again!

For an update, and it will be an update of what has happened over the last three weeks or so...

I have of course been taking some more photos, but more importantly a lot of stuff has happened on the job front. I think I have to start from the beginning, otherwise this won't make much sense I guess. So let's travel back in time to the 20th of August 2007... ;)

So the 20^th... It was a Monday, and more importantly, it was the day before my dissertation! So I was (unlike every other day?) sitting in front of my computer most of the day, not really working on my dissertation, but going through it and trying to cut unnecessary parts out of it. And then my mobile phone rang… It was the CEO of a company called Optilon which I had applied for a job with the previous Thursday. He was genuinely interested in me and my background, so we spoke for a bit. He is placed in Stockholm but there is an office in Malmö as well, and he said that he would ask the manager of that office to contact me during the next couple of days. I still haven’t heard anything from him, so I have to try to make contact with him pretty soon I guess.

On Tuesday the 21^st I had my dissertation! I was dead nervous before my presentation, and a lot of people came to watch me (not a lot a lot, but I filled a small room at least…) but I did all right… ;) So I was quite pleased with myself, and happy to be done with it.

Some last minute work on the train to Norrköping

Me strutting my stuff and presenting my work.

The Wednesday was used to try to get to grips with the fact that I have finished my education, I’m done! Well, I was almost done… There were some alterations that I was encouraged to do with my report, and I knocked them out of the park this day as well.

On Thursday the 23^rd I sent my report to Billerud and to the University of Linköping for electronic publishing, so now I can be found online… Also I received a call from the A.P. Moller Maersk group who had previously rejected me. Now they wanted me to come back for a second interview after all and we booked a meeting for the following Wednesday. So I felt that I was on a roll… ;)

Not much more happened during this week, so let’s fast forward to next week… Monday came again, and I was sitting at home, looking for job opportunities… As usual I went to HiQ to fetch Christina after work, and she had a proposition; that I would come to HiQ with her in the morning the following day, to work a for a couple of hours. Apparently they needed some people to do some tests that week, but they couldn’t get any of the “normal” students at this time, as it collided with the start of term for most of them. So I had a job for a couple of days!

So on Tuesday I was working, and not much more happened. On Wednesday the 29^th though, I first went to Malmö to sign a contract with Manpower so that I could actually get paid for the work that I did at HiQ, and then I was off to Maersk in Copenhagen! I had a lovely interview, and I believe I was doing quite well. I increased my score on the logical test, so I went from being part of the upper third to being quite high in the upper third of the people tested. I still haven’t heard back from them, so I choose to take that as a good sign… ;D

On Thursday I was back to HiQ doing some more tests, and my phone rang quite a few times. First from the university to clear a few aspects of the publication of my thesis, but then I was rung by a woman at Lawson, offering me an interview for the position of junior business consultant so I scored another interview! And that interview will happen tomorrow. I can’t wait! I also received an e-mail on this day from the CEO of another company, Consafe Logistics Consultants, offering me a meeting about a position the coming Monday from now, so things are finally starting to happen for me on the job front.

Anyway, Friday the 31^st of August passed without anything really to tell. On the Saturday however, we went to Malmö to go sailing for an hour on the HiQ trimaran! Unfortunately, the wind was not optimal, so we only sailed eight knots or so. The boat used to transport us to the trimaran however, was pushed to 40 knots, so we got some speed at least… But the sailing was lovely, and I really feel like saving up for a smaller catamaran and start sailing again. After this lovely excursion we helped some friends to move from their apartment to their first house. How grown up is that? ;D

The sails of the HiQ trimaran

You do look stylish in sailing clothes, don't you?

I might as well do this week as far as it has gotten, right? On Monday I was back in the saddle again! Or at least in the running track... It had been four weeks (!) and I expected it to be rubbish, but it was one of the best runs I’ve had so far and the exercises afterwards was really good as well. So I was quite content. And I still am!

Tuesday passed without any major events… And we have arrived at today. Wednesday the 5^th of September. So what will happen today? Well, I’m not sure yet, except for that I’m going to class again! Today I am starting a course in project management, and hopefully I’m going to go for a run later on tonight.

So I would like to wish you all a pleasant day and I’ll post you when I’ll post you… And with my track record, that might take a while… ;)

Cheers!

Matsey