After almost over a decade as a PC user, I invested in a MacBook Pro yesterday. But no, it is not a statement. I got a wonderful PC only little over three years ago, but already after two years, I started experiencing problems with it because of all the things that it attracted from websites etc. It was really disappointing because I want my stuff to last for a while and not have to consume new things all the time. Anyway, Swedish Mikael and Martin managed to convince me to go for an Apple this time because they are more resistant to viruses and, according to them, they work much better. We used to have Macs in my family during my teenage years and from what I remember, my first own computer was an Apple. The only thing is that these days, Mac users seem to be a little bit like in a cult. Martin told me that when he sees people using Macs, he feels like nodding to them. And yesterday, when I walked out of the Apple Store in Pentagon City, with my newly bought computer under my arm, the store hostesses at the door actually applauded. In the evening, Martin sent me a text saying “Enjoy the mac experience”.  Am I joining a cult?   

The U.S. government is currently carrying out the 2010 census and since everyone living in the U.S. is supposed to participate, I also got a form to fill out. In some weird way, it gave me as a foreigner in this country a sense of inclusion.

As always, I brought too many books. I brought some that I was half-way though (I am normally reading one fiction and one fact book at the same time), and then I brought a couple of extra in case I finished the ones I had started. And no, I didn’t finish all of them. I just couldn’t chose which ones to bring. I think I need to do something about this indecisiveness, it really gets a bit heavy!

Not in the picture are the second and third volumes of Stig Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy, which I couldn’t resist picking up when I was in Stockholm. I have already finished one of them….

No, I am not accidentally re-posting one of last weeks texts, it is actually snowing again. I doubt that we will get as much snow as last week though. The snow these past weeks has however started some debate on whether global warming is really an issue. Or debate might now be the right word. Some loonies on Fox News are claiming that this is proof of global warming being just a leftist invention. (I have still to figure out why they are still so stuck on this idea this since I think even the major oil companies are accepting that global warming as a result of greenhouse gas emissions is taking place.) Anyway, this view was voiced in the media to the extent that CNN actually brought in some experts that could explain the difference between weather and climate, and the link between climate change and extreme weather. Not sure what to say, but if you want a good laugh, here is a clip from Fox News (I would be laughing even more, though, if not so many people here think that this is a good source of information):

It is George Washington’s birthday today, so we are celebrating President’s Day here in the U.S. I.e., we are having the day off. Or at least those of us who are Government employees or civil servants of some sort. President’s Day also means sales. Actually, many holidays here are celebrated with great sales (I will get back to this topic sometime because it is really something completely different than in Europe) and my plan was to go out shopping a suite or two for work. But slacking around in my apartment was too tempting and so now, at 16:30 in the afternoon, I am still fixing with things here. (I.e. I again found an excuse to not shop!) I have instead devoted the day to really cleaning my apartment, including clearing out one of my walk-in closets to turn it into something more creative, chatting with Maria S, and I will soon spend the rest of the day studying Romanian. Not exactly helping the recession, but I still think it is a better use of a day than hanging out in department stores!

I  would like to wish all my wonderful family and friends a lovely St. Valentine’s Day! (In Sweden, we call it the Day of All Hearts, and it has a broader meaning than being a day only for couples.)  I really miss you a lot here in the U.S., so lots of hugs and kisses to all of you!

The entrance to the building in Verona with the supposed balcony from Romeo and Juliette, where people have left notes and messages to their loved ones. (From my visit there in 2006)

I, myself, am appropriately dressed in a red top and am spending the day eating chocolate and reading Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice. I have read it over ten times, so I got an annotated version this time, to learn a bit more about the time period and the literary references. It is also my first English version.

A lovely day to all of you!

Today, the weather is worse than ever with lots of snow and strong winds. Fortunately, I stocked up on food supplies ands reading material yesterday, so I can comfortably stay indoors all day if necessary. (Which it will be unless the snow and the winds calm down: as it is now, I can only see the roof tops of the first line of houses across the street, the rest is not visible for all the snow in the air.)

Yesterday, I bought the Lonely Planet Guide of the Caribbean Islands. I thought I could at least dream a bit….

DN, Washington Post

I haven’t really done anything today, except work of course. But still! It makes me a bit stressed because my to-do list is very long. I think I will finish the book I am reading – does that count?

When I moved here to DC, Elisa thought that I while living here, I would probably on some occasion be in the same room as President Obama. I didn’t really think she was right, and I still think it is unlikely to happen, but last week I actually got an invitation to the US Department of State for a signing ceremony with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The signing was for the MCC Compact between the US and Moldova of a value of US$ 262 million. It will finance of roads and investments in high value agriculture, including irrigation. I was invited because I have been in contact the US team during the preparation of the ag.project. There with Mrs. Clinton was also Moldova’s Prime Minister Vlad Filat and a number of ministers from the Moldovan Government, and of course the MCC Chief Executive Officer Daniel Yohannes, the MCC US and Moldovan Teams, and many others. I am really glad that this Compact is finally signed because Moldova really needs more investments, and I am glad that I was invited to see it. It was also really fun to see the inside of the State Department. The signing ceremony took place in the Benjamin Franklin Room and there were several rooms around which were amazing, with old paintings and furniture (for example Thomas Jefferson’s desk), sets of china from places far away, and lots of other old items from all over the world. Even the restrooms were incredibly pretty. Before leaving, we got a little gift as a memory of the ceremony. So it was a great experience!

Mingling before the ceremony in the Benjamin Franklin Room

Vlad Filat and Hillary Clinton

The signing

The program, the little gift, and a paper napkin with golden emblem from the restroom (not used!)

This has not been a very active Sunday and now when it is almost seven o’clock in the evening, I am trying to get everything done that I had planned to do today. And no, this is nothing unusual – I am quite lazy on Sundays. Yesterday, I had Patrick and my new neighbors Eva-Lena and Matt over for some wine and cheese. After quite a bit of wine and lots of cheese, we went to a club that Patrick had an invitation to. I have to admit that club visits are really rare for me these days and I don’t think I have been to one for over a year. It was fun but they played mostly electronic music, which is not really my thing, so we soon returned home. It was a really nice evening though.

Today, Martin and I bought pizza and rented a movie (Inglorious Bastards – crazy and typical Tarantino!), and had a relaxing afternoon. And now, I am trying to catch up on must-dos.

The next few weeks will be exciting. We are having so called sector weeks at my work, which means that colleagues from all over the world comes in for training and retreats. I have a number of courses and seminars to look forward to, in various topics related to the work I do. It is an amazing part of my work and I am really looking forward to it!