Goethe would be rolling in his grave!
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/12/16/mona.lisa.smile/index.html
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Quote Time
For your reading pleasure, some quotes that aptly summarize my recent adventures and the fortuitous events that have transpired:
"Unusual travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God." - Kurt Vonnegut, cOmplements of sister
"There is a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will." -The Bard and his famous Dane
and, my personal favorite:
"Coincidence is the anonymity of God." -Kevin Mahoney, a man of very few, but very powerful words.
In other news, I began my three page quarterly report today. I am not like my father. It is not close to completion, but it is close to ten pages thus far. I've done it again. I expected this, however, and though I will cut most of it for the official report, it is wonderful to be able to take a more holistic look at my time so far and really try to integrate everything I've learned about myself, hockey and the world. As much as I lamented paper writing, I have always been a firm believer in how much one gains from having to analyze and write down (in a more organized fashion than my prolific journal entries) what one learns as a means of arriving at both further knowledge about the subject and a deeper understanding of the subject matter. I've spent the afternoon trying to get it all down and have really enjoyed the ten pages. Plus, it's taking a narrative tone, which makes me confident in my ability to turn this into a book. I think I might even blog the whole thing (maybe in segments so that you don't have to take it all in at once...sort of like a sitcom or something).
Time to go institute my new team lifting program and be mini Coach Oliver for the day! Should I make them do squat jumps?
"Unusual travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God." - Kurt Vonnegut, cOmplements of sister
"There is a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will." -The Bard and his famous Dane
and, my personal favorite:
"Coincidence is the anonymity of God." -Kevin Mahoney, a man of very few, but very powerful words.
In other news, I began my three page quarterly report today. I am not like my father. It is not close to completion, but it is close to ten pages thus far. I've done it again. I expected this, however, and though I will cut most of it for the official report, it is wonderful to be able to take a more holistic look at my time so far and really try to integrate everything I've learned about myself, hockey and the world. As much as I lamented paper writing, I have always been a firm believer in how much one gains from having to analyze and write down (in a more organized fashion than my prolific journal entries) what one learns as a means of arriving at both further knowledge about the subject and a deeper understanding of the subject matter. I've spent the afternoon trying to get it all down and have really enjoyed the ten pages. Plus, it's taking a narrative tone, which makes me confident in my ability to turn this into a book. I think I might even blog the whole thing (maybe in segments so that you don't have to take it all in at once...sort of like a sitcom or something).
Time to go institute my new team lifting program and be mini Coach Oliver for the day! Should I make them do squat jumps?
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
My Mom Needs a New Hobby....
But, good God do we have a good looking family!
The O'Neill Chronicles, aka Betty O'Neill Rocks.Com
..and man, do i miss my pretty green skirt collection!
The O'Neill Chronicles, aka Betty O'Neill Rocks.Com
..and man, do i miss my pretty green skirt collection!
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Here in the World is Meghan!
Well, it seems I'm always apologizing for my lack of updates, so I won't. Instead, I'll jump right in and tell you how busy and excited I have been lately. Ever since I returned from Ireland, where I had a great chance to reflect back upon my time in Denmark, and actually missed my new home a little, I've really begun to appreciate and enjoy this opportunity so much more. Maybe it's the whole "Hygge" Christmas atmosphere around Copenhagen and within the team as we open our "Nysse" presents (or the little tasks we force our recipient to perform - such as making Laura write and sing a team song and bake the team a cake - and tricks we play on them when they don't do the tasks) and I attend Christmas and Birthday parties, but Denmark is increasingly earning a spot in my heart. In fact, as I realize that I'm now three months into my trip and that the next few months, filled with numerous short trips, are going to fly by, it's become sad to think about leaving and I wonder if I'll even have enough time to do everything I now want to accomplish before I'm gone.
What do I want to accomplish? To start, I've started an essay/story contest open to all current and former female players, asking them to write their own hockey narratives for me so that I can collect as many stories as possible while I'm here. I've gotten support from the Danish Ice Hockey Union and a few hockey shops and reps, who are all donating various items like jerseys and signed sticks as prizes. I'm also working with Laura and setting up some sort of camp or gathering for the girls in the Jutland league (the other of the two leagues), who are almost at national team level and would greatly benefit from getting ice time with talented coaches and players, since they don't get the opportunity to play high-level hockey at their own, less serious clubs. We've got a practice and some additional off ice sessions planned, but now it's the issue of finding ice time somewhere on one of our rare free weekends and getting the girls interested. Laura has also put me to the task of designing a weekly lift for the team so we stop wasting the short time we have in the weight room on Wednesday nights (in addition to teaching some of the younger girls how to properly use the weight room, seeing as every week I think one of them is going to take herself out with a dumb bell). I will also be going to the next national team gathering, so now have to come up with some sort of session to run with the girls. I'd love to do a meditation or visualizing session, but the language barrier will keep some girls from getting anything out of it, so Bine is going to take charge of that one. I am at least going to talk to some of the older players about the opportunities they have to go to the states on scholarships, since the whole idea of scholastics and sports being combined is so foreign to them. AND, on top of all this, I've got my first quarterly report due around next week! Time has flown and I now see that I certainl haven't wasted my days, since I have no clue how I'll fit everything I've done into three pages!
Did I mention I went to Prague? Yes, I went to Prague to visit the red headed boy across the street - Mark Smith. We met up on Sunday night, and and we both shared a few seconds of being unable to believe that we were actually looking at one another as adults (he is now a tall, deep voiced, bearded young man who looks downright eastern european, save the red hair and all), having only the memories of the 12 year old the other used to be in our minds. We had a nice low key time wandering the streets and getting a drink, sharing our similar experiences living with strangers who can't/don't speak English to us and lamented that I will for the first time ever miss the Christmas Eve party, where Mark is in charge of getting Martha Swann drunk (Devin took that job last year, so now it's someone else's turn).
Much of the trip was centered on meeting up with Mark, but my good old friend fate once again decided to mess with me and smashed his cell phone on my second day there, leaving us unable to get in touch with one another. While this could have been ruination of the trip, it turned out to be quite a fortuitous event: I actually wound up befriending and spending a day and a half exploring Prague with one of my hostel roommates, a girl around my age from South Carolina, who has been backpacking throughout Europe on her own for the past month and a half. It was another one of those truly "Watson-esque" moments that showed me just how open you become to others when exploring the world on your own. We had a terriffic time and I don't think conversation stopped the entire time we were together, probably because it takes a certain kind of person to do this kind of travel, so we are bound to have a lot in common when we meet one another. While I didn't get that much time with an old contact, I made a brand new one and just added another name to the incredible web of connection I've been building this year.
Unexpected was the word of the week. I got an email from my Cape Town contact, who is happy to have me come, but wanted to let me know that there is no ice time in April and I was planning on heading down there in March! But that immediately turned positive, as Laura informed me that her friend who now coaches the national team in Australia has invited me to coach at an international camp down under in Australia. So now, as long as the Watson heads approve, I've changed my itinerary completely. Now I'm thinking: March in Cape Town, back to Denmark to play in the national championships in April, down to Australia for the camp in mid-April, New Zealand after that, and finally back to Cape Town to play in some games there in mid/late June! I think and hope it will fit my budget and since I'll have to book my tix soon so I can afford them, it won't be too long before I know. And even if I start to run out of money, I'd rather scrounge at the end and see it all, then save my money and wind up with money left over and lands unseen.
AND I also had a great weekend attending a conference on International Perspectives on Women in Sport at the university, where I met an amazing group of women (and some men) who are carrying out a lot of really interesting studies on women's sports, including the Editor who I'll be visiting in Budapest. Here, too, I made a wealth of contacts, a few of whom expressed interest in my book and gave me leads on publishing! Plus, I got a weekend of free food and coffee...boy I missed academic life. It really was an interesting conference, though, and it was great to be in this small group of intelligent and noted researchers, who actually are interested in making me a part of all of their plans for future conferences and their hope to create an institute for studying women's sports somewhere in Europe. So Sports Antrhopology/Sociology - there's another option for me!
One crazy week left and then I take off for Budapest. I can't believe Christmas is here! And as excited as I have been about getting away, I'm now equally excited about returning in a few weeks to get back to playing and carrying out all my projects - and hopefully making Belgium happen too.
OH! And! We played our rivals, Herlev last weekend. And, thanks to me and a number of stupid changes and mistakes, we fell behing 4-0 early in the game. I did have a really good game other than that, though, always loving getting to play good competition, and the team finally kicked it into gear in the third and we wound up losing 4-3, just missing a goal with 4 seconds left in the game too! I had a pretty sweet assist - a slap shot that a forward beautifully tipped over the goalie's shoulder - so I was able to not totally feel like I blew the game for the team.
I think I'll have to make another post this week and maybe actually talk about hockey for once, seeing as I always seem to neglect my research when writing my posts...maybe tomorrow after I meet with the Danish Ice Hockey Union I'll be prompted to to a good old hockey update, as I have been throwing myself in the way of hockey every chance I get - playing, watching, talking, etc. - and learning a lot about what needs to be done to help the women's program here. Because that's what I want to do now: help the development of women's ice hockey, not just study it. I now feel that I am a real part of that development which is why I want to help my new friends and teammates succeed in the future, which is why I'm holding this essay contest and trying to hold a gathering so that the talented players can be seen as well as see that there is other talent out there. So, yeah, I'll do that soon. Now I'm sure you're bored, so peace, love, puck, I'll catch ya later.
What do I want to accomplish? To start, I've started an essay/story contest open to all current and former female players, asking them to write their own hockey narratives for me so that I can collect as many stories as possible while I'm here. I've gotten support from the Danish Ice Hockey Union and a few hockey shops and reps, who are all donating various items like jerseys and signed sticks as prizes. I'm also working with Laura and setting up some sort of camp or gathering for the girls in the Jutland league (the other of the two leagues), who are almost at national team level and would greatly benefit from getting ice time with talented coaches and players, since they don't get the opportunity to play high-level hockey at their own, less serious clubs. We've got a practice and some additional off ice sessions planned, but now it's the issue of finding ice time somewhere on one of our rare free weekends and getting the girls interested. Laura has also put me to the task of designing a weekly lift for the team so we stop wasting the short time we have in the weight room on Wednesday nights (in addition to teaching some of the younger girls how to properly use the weight room, seeing as every week I think one of them is going to take herself out with a dumb bell). I will also be going to the next national team gathering, so now have to come up with some sort of session to run with the girls. I'd love to do a meditation or visualizing session, but the language barrier will keep some girls from getting anything out of it, so Bine is going to take charge of that one. I am at least going to talk to some of the older players about the opportunities they have to go to the states on scholarships, since the whole idea of scholastics and sports being combined is so foreign to them. AND, on top of all this, I've got my first quarterly report due around next week! Time has flown and I now see that I certainl haven't wasted my days, since I have no clue how I'll fit everything I've done into three pages!
Did I mention I went to Prague? Yes, I went to Prague to visit the red headed boy across the street - Mark Smith. We met up on Sunday night, and and we both shared a few seconds of being unable to believe that we were actually looking at one another as adults (he is now a tall, deep voiced, bearded young man who looks downright eastern european, save the red hair and all), having only the memories of the 12 year old the other used to be in our minds. We had a nice low key time wandering the streets and getting a drink, sharing our similar experiences living with strangers who can't/don't speak English to us and lamented that I will for the first time ever miss the Christmas Eve party, where Mark is in charge of getting Martha Swann drunk (Devin took that job last year, so now it's someone else's turn).
Much of the trip was centered on meeting up with Mark, but my good old friend fate once again decided to mess with me and smashed his cell phone on my second day there, leaving us unable to get in touch with one another. While this could have been ruination of the trip, it turned out to be quite a fortuitous event: I actually wound up befriending and spending a day and a half exploring Prague with one of my hostel roommates, a girl around my age from South Carolina, who has been backpacking throughout Europe on her own for the past month and a half. It was another one of those truly "Watson-esque" moments that showed me just how open you become to others when exploring the world on your own. We had a terriffic time and I don't think conversation stopped the entire time we were together, probably because it takes a certain kind of person to do this kind of travel, so we are bound to have a lot in common when we meet one another. While I didn't get that much time with an old contact, I made a brand new one and just added another name to the incredible web of connection I've been building this year.
Unexpected was the word of the week. I got an email from my Cape Town contact, who is happy to have me come, but wanted to let me know that there is no ice time in April and I was planning on heading down there in March! But that immediately turned positive, as Laura informed me that her friend who now coaches the national team in Australia has invited me to coach at an international camp down under in Australia. So now, as long as the Watson heads approve, I've changed my itinerary completely. Now I'm thinking: March in Cape Town, back to Denmark to play in the national championships in April, down to Australia for the camp in mid-April, New Zealand after that, and finally back to Cape Town to play in some games there in mid/late June! I think and hope it will fit my budget and since I'll have to book my tix soon so I can afford them, it won't be too long before I know. And even if I start to run out of money, I'd rather scrounge at the end and see it all, then save my money and wind up with money left over and lands unseen.
AND I also had a great weekend attending a conference on International Perspectives on Women in Sport at the university, where I met an amazing group of women (and some men) who are carrying out a lot of really interesting studies on women's sports, including the Editor who I'll be visiting in Budapest. Here, too, I made a wealth of contacts, a few of whom expressed interest in my book and gave me leads on publishing! Plus, I got a weekend of free food and coffee...boy I missed academic life. It really was an interesting conference, though, and it was great to be in this small group of intelligent and noted researchers, who actually are interested in making me a part of all of their plans for future conferences and their hope to create an institute for studying women's sports somewhere in Europe. So Sports Antrhopology/Sociology - there's another option for me!
One crazy week left and then I take off for Budapest. I can't believe Christmas is here! And as excited as I have been about getting away, I'm now equally excited about returning in a few weeks to get back to playing and carrying out all my projects - and hopefully making Belgium happen too.
OH! And! We played our rivals, Herlev last weekend. And, thanks to me and a number of stupid changes and mistakes, we fell behing 4-0 early in the game. I did have a really good game other than that, though, always loving getting to play good competition, and the team finally kicked it into gear in the third and we wound up losing 4-3, just missing a goal with 4 seconds left in the game too! I had a pretty sweet assist - a slap shot that a forward beautifully tipped over the goalie's shoulder - so I was able to not totally feel like I blew the game for the team.
I think I'll have to make another post this week and maybe actually talk about hockey for once, seeing as I always seem to neglect my research when writing my posts...maybe tomorrow after I meet with the Danish Ice Hockey Union I'll be prompted to to a good old hockey update, as I have been throwing myself in the way of hockey every chance I get - playing, watching, talking, etc. - and learning a lot about what needs to be done to help the women's program here. Because that's what I want to do now: help the development of women's ice hockey, not just study it. I now feel that I am a real part of that development which is why I want to help my new friends and teammates succeed in the future, which is why I'm holding this essay contest and trying to hold a gathering so that the talented players can be seen as well as see that there is other talent out there. So, yeah, I'll do that soon. Now I'm sure you're bored, so peace, love, puck, I'll catch ya later.
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