Denmark is a Case of the Mondays

Hi All,

I'm sorry about going almost two weeks without a blog post, I'll try not to let it happen again.

If you've ever seen the movie "Office Space" you'll know that one of the things the protagonist, a cubicle-dweller named Peter Gibbons (played Ron Livingston), detests is the phrase "somebody's got a case of the Mondays."  This phrase (usually delivered dripping with mock pity) means that the person is in a bad mood caused by the start of the work week.  I'm sure we've all been there.

After a great weekend in which I took a trip with the university's International Club to the chalk cliffs of Møns Klint (Denmark's answer to Dover), I was not relishing a return to school work.  However, Monday Oct. 20th, seemingly out of nowhere, turned about to be that most wonderful of things: A Great Day.

After a morning spent working on a project brief to submit to my research supervisor, I met up with a classmate to put the sections of the brief together.  It was a productive session, and I left feeling good about the direction that our research work is taking.

I swung by the grocery store on my way back to the apartment to pick up a few things.  The day was cold but sunny, which made for a nice bike ride.  I stopped to check my mail before going inside.  I receive a ridiculous amount of junk catalogues, coupon books and free newspapers, and as a result, don't really like checking the mail because it means I have to sift through a bunch of crap.  Today, however, there was a genuine letter underneath the trash. 

Usually this just means I got a bill, but when I opened the envelope, I found out that the Danish Government had seen fit to give me a monthly rent stipend!  My feelings about the Welfare State are the subject for another post, but at that moment I was lovin' the Scandinavian model.

After studying some Danish and making myself a hearty dinner of lentil stew, apples and grilled cheese, I watched an episode of Ken Burns new documentary on the National Parks.  Really interesting and definitely worth seeking out.  If you're comfortable watching full-length videos on a computer (read: under 35 or Uncle Richie) then all the episodes of "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" are available on PBS' website.

Before bed, I checked my email one last time.  I saw a message I'd been hoping to receive for quite awhile.  I'd been accepted as a member of the Sierra Club Student Coalition Delegation to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.  I'm going to be able to attend COP15 with actual credentials! Woo-hoo!

I somehow managed to calm down enough to go to bed (really, COP15's big deal for me...) only to wake up three hours letter to the sound of my alarm.  It was 2 am, time for Phillies-Dodgers, NLCS  Game 4.  Almost 4 hours later, as the sun was beginning to peek above the Danish horizon, Jimmy Rollins belted a two-out, bottom of the ninth, two-run walk-off hit to beat LA 5-4.  No classes today, so I can sleep in comfortably knowing that I'd had myself a fine case of the Mondays.

The (Off) White Cliffs of Møns Klint