there is a time for everything...

...and now its about time to be a nerd again! This spring the trend was spending at least 10 hours at school every day - and then do some more work after getting home. Today I got a taste of it again and I bet there are more days like this in the near future - the question isn't when the long days come, its when they stop coming! In a slight frustration, combined with a longing for a break I decided to figure out when my next holiday is. That's one thing I shouldn't have done...to be frank it was a bit depressing - seeing that I won't catch a real break until after i hand in my thesis - September 1st 2010, and by then I should have gotten a job. In order to cope I guess I have to take a break or two during the winter...the first real break will be after handing in the thesis January 15th, but I will squeeze in a weekend break every now and then. Winter is coming up and hopefully there will be more than one occation to go skiing! A wise (?) man said that life is what goes on when you are busy making other plans - I can't put my life on hold for a year either while i finish my thesis! Although I have some obligations to follow up on a daily basis - I have hereby decided to live every day - even if it's only for 5 minutes! Study for 10 hours - live 5 minutes...still not quite right, but I'm on my way...

live your passion!

The winner is Rio de Janeiro! This will be the first time the olympic games is hosted by a latin american country! I was hoping for Rio all along (eventhough I truly love Tokyo). I had a good time keeping the journalists calm after the announcement. That day I worked from 0530 in the morning and didn't come home until 0130 (well - after 2100 it wasnt really work - we wanted to celebrate as well!)

You have to watch the video - its great! I want to go Brazil every time i watch it!

Waiting for "and the winner is"

Here you see the japanese delegates waiting for the first round of
elections. Chicago was the first one out - Tokyo second. Madrid and
Rio remains in the race! The japanese delegation went away from the
media room in tears. There is always 2020...

Obama in the house!

Right now Chicago is presenting their bid. In the picture you see some of the journalists following the presentation on a big screen. After Obama announced his arrival Chicago has become favourites. By the end of the day we will know who will host the 2016 summer olympics!

After Chicago, Tokyo will present, then Rio followed by Madrid - this will be a long day!

Copenhagen and the press are caught up in the Obamarama obamamania - lets see if the IOC members are under the same influence...

Copenhagen IOC congress

For the next week or so this blog will be about the IOC congress in Copenhagen. I work here helping the journalists and photographers with whatever they might need help with. So far it has been slow days, but from tomorrow it's all kicking in - they are electing which city gets to arrange the olympics in 2016! Is it going to be Madrid? Tokyo? Rio de Janeiro? Chicago?

Tonight I've worked at the opening ceremony in the opera - coordinating the press. The highlight of the evening was handing Oprah an umbrella! There were of course many more celebrities - like Michelle Obama and loads of royal people and IOC members- but Oprah needed an umbrella....

Tomorrow the action starts - I promise to keep you updated!

brick by brick

I'm living by the philosophy of the third little pig. In other words I'm builing my thesis brick by brick so that the big wolf wount be able to "huff and puff" it down. Today I got a better understanding of TRL - technology readiness level and how one can see these levels in relation to the organization. Cant wait to figure out what the next brick is - and where I will put it!

break through!

Finally! After weeks of frustration comes a break through! An email to my thesis advisors that I was about to switch topic - from organizational change and technology to leadership ideals. The switch was based on the frustration that I have written about on more than one occasion...I was lost, and leadership ideals seemed more concrete. The respons, though, was more positive than I ever could have imagined. Guess what? They wanted med to combine the leadership ideals with organizational change and technological innovation!! I'm sooooooo excited! The best part is that I can join the real scientists on a real project - my contribution will mean something!! I'm so happy! This calls for celebration! - maybe not champagne yet, although I can't think of any better time for champagne than now....

so lost...

Okey - I've come to realize that I'm lost... I really don't know what to do about this thesis! For some time now I have talked to everyone willing to talk to me - discussing my "theme", Organizational change and technology, trying to get some usefull comments to put in the puzzle I call my master thesis. I have been hoping that once I have collected some pieces for the puzzle the research question will appear. Well, so far it haven't...not as much as a hint! Man, this sucks! I'm so confused and frustrated! Right now this coming year seems like the shortest "forever" ever!!

take a hint?

Friday morning I saw my (master thesis) advisor on the tube - we were both headed to school. As we met by the door on the way out - I realized that he didnt recognize me! I know I've only met him a couple of times, but I must admit I was a little dissapointed...

Act like nobody is watching!

This week started with "Persuasion and Influence" and "Organizational learning". We had a lecture about the psychology of power in "Persuasion and Influence" - very cool. I learned that people with power are more likely to interupt others, they are more action oriented, less accurate in judging emotions of other people and are more likely to act like nobody is watching! If you like to know more - check out Deborah Gruenfeld at Stanford.

back to school...

Its always hard to get started after the holiday - I have been fighting the alarm clock all week. Its time for the first weekend I've had for almost 3 months! I can't remember being this exited about a weekend in a very long time! In a way I've had a very good week - the books I have ordered for amazon keep coming in the mail (one each day...) and I've finally got a new mac! I thank higher powers for norwegian consumer laws - giving me the right to a new product if the store haven't managed to fix it after two tries. My old mac was almost two years old - but now I have a new one - love my new mac!

procrastinating...

Today the term officially starts - I don't have any classes for yet another week or so, but I know I should start preparing for real! In a way I have prepared a bit, I know what classes I'm taking and I have already ordered the books online... I know what I have to do for my master - I should really get cracking on it, but....there is a but....I don't feel like it! Maybe tomorrow....

long time...

So, its been a while... I have been doing my very best at holidaying - trying to relax. The places I have gone to relax didn't have the best net access, and I have been lazy :)

School starts soon - I don't feel like starting yet - but I guess I can spend the next week to mentally prepare for the last year of school for ever (or at least for now...)! So, in a bit over a week everything this blog was suppose to be about is beginning - for real! I have some serious preparation to do! But enough about that - I want to write about how amazing the last weekend was:

The last weekend was like a whole summer holiday compressed into three days. This is what we did:

- sun bading (got a nice tan - tan lines included! I got the funniest tan lines from my sun glasses!)

- ate ice cream

- sailing and boat driving

- we went to a festival

- went bathing

- ate fresh shrimp (yummy)

- fishing - we even got fish

- stayed up late - and woke up early

- played cards

- took a lot of pictures (you see one of them here). It's taken in the middle of the night, when a boat went by.

It was so lovely! I'm so glad we got to go away - i can probably live on this for a year (and it might look like I have to)!

Day 7

It must all come to an end... Today was the last whole day of yoga and
meditation. We have lived in this bouble for a week- i think i might
have forgotten how it is to live "out there", whats my pin code again?
Things that i havent done for a week: had coffee, black tea, any
alchohol, meat of any kind, onions. I havent been using my mac, except
my iPhone. I havent read any current news papers, except a peak now
and then through iPhone. In other words, there are a lot of normal
things i havent done for a while. I realized that i focus better now
than when i came here- difficult articles become easier to read. I
hope that effect sticks! I am a bit exited to see how my new routines
will work in every day life. After all, life contains most working
days...

Day 6

If you stand upside down for 11 minutes a day, you will become more
healthy and beautiful, and less stressed and tense. These are the
words of an indian yogi. Today we've learned the dog pose - standing
on hands and feet with the tail in the air. This pose gives a nice
stretch in the legs and thighs. When we add on the shoulder standing
pose we have two upside down poses. A third is the triangulare
rotation....well that probably more horizontal. Anyway- the only way
to a better life is upside down!

Day 5

Same, same but different... The routines are getting to me- i cant
remember the difference between today and yesterday... Well, we did
some longer sequences in yoga than we have done before. Ive had my
personal best meditating for 2 hours and 30 minutes altogether today.
Some will argue that its not a competition, but i am kind of proud of
myself. I feel like i have come a bit more to terms with the ups and
downs of meditation now. Every time is the same but different...

Day 4

Day 4 already? Days go fast when you sleep a lot... The days also go
fast because we have a routine to follow every day. We get up about
7am, go to breakfast, have a morning lecture before yoga. After yoga
we meditate for 1 hour and 15 minutes- well, i'm not there yet-but at
my 30 minutes i feel like i'm getting there. Then there is lunch-
after lunch we have some hour off, some go hiking, some play games
outside, and some sleep. I do the latter... Well, not always,
sometimes i take pictures or read. Then there is more yoga, followed
by more meditation- either in groups or individually. After this
mediation there is a coaching session. Then there is dinner, after
dinner another lecture. Then there is tea (herbal of course) and
socializing- bedtime is at 11pm. Thats our day...and tomorrow is a new
one!

Day 3

Today i had to meet the challenge of motivating myself to meditate
after a bumpy start yesterday. I have been really tired the last
couple of days, resulting in me sleeping a lot-whenever i get a
chance. So my first attempt on meditating the morning ended in sleep,
the second attempt was more successful in the way that i managed to
keep it going for 30 minutes and felt more rested and at ease
afterwards.

Yoga was a lot of fun today-i stood on my shoulders, something i
havent done since i was a kid. After standing on my shoulders for a
while my body felt lighter- almost like walking on a cloud!

Day 2

Okey, so i'm 26 and a day. I have learned how to meditate and done it
twize. Now i understand how difficult it is to explain meditation and
how it feels like. For me (the experience is very individual) it felt
uplifting and light as well as quite demanding and heavy. The physical
reaction came as hot waves, which was nice, but also a form of motion
sickness. During the meditation, but also after, i felt somewhat
beaten up and relaxed at the same time.

Yoga was nice and slow today- a lot of breathing and stretching mostly
on the flor or sitting up. Can wait for tomorrow.

Today i am 26 and a day and a few powerful experiences richer...

Day 1

Today is my birthday! Today is day 1 of 356 being 26! It is also day 1
of my 7 day Yoga and meditation retreat! I am really exited about
practicing and learing Yoga and meditation over the next week- i'm a
total newbe! I'll write something that i have learned every day! Today
i have learned about the cinderella syndrome (first up in the morning
and last to bed at night) the muscle that is used first, and is
included in all movement is also the one that gets rest last...thats
why we get pains, like mousearm, if we dont focus on letting the
tesion go every now and then!

Sunny weekend

This weekend has been amazing! This is Vågen in Stavanger - beach volleyball world championship! The life, the weather and the games - has really been great!

Welcome to Stavanger!

On my way to the hotel I met this well-known lady, doing a not so well-
known pose...You are welcome!

Volvat

Volvat was the coolest station on the subway when I was young - because the walls had murals... Now it is closed - all that is left are the exits. Volvat reminds me of going to the centre with my grandmother on summer days - good memories.

Today I have read about E-theory and O-theory. The reading is slow - the weather is warm. I'm concidering to take the train to Stavanger in order to get some reading done! I'll get back on how that works out...

The road is long

The road can seem long both when writing a master thesis and in life in general. Sometimes everything is confusing and I dont know which road to take - or even if I want to take a road at all. I guess it all depends on where I want to go...

“Which road do I take?" Alice asked.
"Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know," Alice answered.
"Then, said the cat, it doesn't matter. If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.”

Sometimes there are no roads - just a field with endless possible directions and options, then it becomes even more tricky to decide where to go. My thesis is a field with endless options and directions. I become restless when I dont know in which direction I should go, although I know that running around like a headless chicken will not solve anything. The only way to find the right direction is to research the field propperly to find out what options it contains - and where the good hills are, so I can get a good view. In theory patience is a virtue - now I just need to figure out how to put it into practice...

In these confusing times it is good to have friends - the road is long and friends make it more fun!

(The picture is taken in Utopia - a place where they use grapes and flowers instead of money, where people are kind and the fish is fresh)

Think tank

Today I'm at a think tank for environmental responsibility and
engagement in sports! The surroundings are truly inspirational
eventhough it is grey today...

Lillyhammer

I had some hours in Lillehammer today. The weather was warm and sunny- almost worth the 6 hours I spent traveling there and back...

Lux

I say no more...

Art on the way

Found this outside a coffee house on my way home. I like it, it made
me happy!

Just starting...

So...The idea about a blog came about because I'm starting the process of writing my master thesis this summer - and I'm confused! The psychology behind this is that if I document my confusion it might go away, and even if that doesn't happen at least it's not all only in my head!

What you might want to know:
Location: Norwegian School of Management
The degree: Master of Science - Leadership and Organizational psychology
The topic: Organizational Development (OD)
The field of OD: Huge! - at least it feels like it now...
What I'm gonna do this summer: Read
Motivation: High

SLAM

Check out SLAMKUNST at www.slamkunst.no - cool exhibition in a rough gallery!