The Price of Being Tardy

Yesterday the kids were incredibly cute in the morning leading me to hang around a few extra minutes. Combine that with a detour on my ride to work I showed up at the office around 8:15 covered in sweat and road spray. Waiting at the door was my maintenance supervisor. As I walk in winded he tells me I'm late. I ask him for what. He tells me the staff meeting on the second floor. THEN I REMEMBERED. The staff meeting I scheduled the afternoon before for 8:00......OH SHOOT!

Anyway there are rules and there are consequences. So today I brought in brownies and a letter of apology to my staff.

Unfortunately you all have to settle for the letter as I can't share brownies over the web.

Facilities Management Staff: 

Once in a while a fearless leader falls short. In rememberance of the events the morning of May 30, 2013 enjoy these sweet tokens of apology. 

The Best Brownies in Great Valley – A History 

I grew up 20 miles west of Philadelphia. The general area is know as the Main Line as it was along the main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. More specifically the area I lived in was nicknamed Great Valley as it lies in a valley the runs for several miles. 

The area is notable for its rich American History. Many Revolutionary War battles were fought in and around this area. The Valley Forge Encampment of 1777-1778 was only 5 miles from my home. The Valley Forge Encampment was a turning point in the Revolutionary War when a rag-tag army under the command of General George Washington finally trained and organized to become the formidable army that ultimately won America’s independence. 

I was fortunate enough as a kid to live in an old colonial era farm house built around 1750. Living in a house that old gives me the appreciation for the level of effort it takes to keep old houses like the CMR and DCMR up and running. 

These brownies are in honor of the area I grew up. I made them from scratch with a recipe my dad tweaked to perfection.  They are sweet, and overwhelmingly chocolatey treats that remind me of home. 

Sincerly,The Absent Minded Facilities Manager


Please chim in if you can tell me the history of the Great Valley a little better. This is the best I could come up with in a rushed few minutes.

At the end of the day I hope I have been forgiven. Several Norwegians commented how much they enjoyed the brownies. To magnify the complement, a couple told me they had never tasted a brownie they liked.

Iceland - The Origin of Journey to the Center of the Earth

How cool is it that my job takes me to Iceland every couple of months. This week was my second trip to Iceland. Just before coming to Norway I wrote a blog post about our Journey to the Center of The Earth. If you've read the book you'll remember that the volcano they enter on their journey was something like 100 km from Reykjavik. So in a sense our journey is not too far off from Jules Verne's  adventure.

My Work in Iceland

I am the regional facility manager for Iceland, which is a small embassy that doesn't have a facility manager. Every quarter or so I go out there to work with post, inspect the building, and complete any outstanding reports. I provide oversight and guidance to help keep things moving forward. I serve as a liaison between Reykjavik and Washington to get the money and resources they need to keep the facility safe and operational.

Describing the Weather

The climate in Iceland doesn't get too hot or too cold. During the winter the lows are in the 20's and the in the summer the highs are in the 50's. Interestingly the weather this week was much cooler and wetter than at the beginning of April. At the beginning of April it was in the 50's and sunny, this week it was in the 30's and 40's with rain. Overall it is a rainy, windy place with very few sunny days. There is always a breeze coming off the North Atlantic.

Riding Around Reykjavik

On my second trip I took my bike with me so I could keep up my training schedule. The best part about riding my bike is that I was able to cover a lot of miles. I stuck to Reykjavik and really enjoyed being on flat land for a change.  Rather than being a tourist, I prefer to be in a place and just explore. A bike is the perfect tool. Over the course of this week I got to explore much of Reykjavik and I now feel like I could get to where ever I wanted without a GPS. Here are some scenic highlights.

 Pictures in Town

Here is a mix of pictures I took over my last two trips to Iceland.

These birds would hover over the water then dive down and catch whatever they were after.

Off in the distance is the free church. 

I believe this is city hall.

Iceland is still fighting for the green to come out.

There is something cool about a boat out of water.

This is an advertisement for the named brand. The beard is emblematic of the Icelandic look. Where the Norwegians are pretty clean cut, high tech and modern, the Icelanders feel more at one with nature. They love handwoven icelandic wool sweaters, gloves and the such.

This is a view from the Ambassador's new house. Pretty amazing.

The Icelanders take these trucks out onto the glaciers for some serious offroading. I think it is technically illegal to go offroad unless there is snow. That explains the big tire and studs. 

This is on the bus to the airport. These are lava fields.

Midnight Sun

There is still a month until the summer solstice, and although I didn't stay up to verify I don't think it ever got entirely dark while I was there. Just to see I stayed up til midnight and caught the most amazing sunset. Sunset was at 11:00 pm and I took this picture at midnight. I think it stayed this way until sunrise at 3:50 am.

This picture was taken at 10:45 pm while was out on a ride on night.

Iceland is an interesting place. If I were to live there I'd probably have to get an arctic truck and do some serious exploring on the weekends. Also since I doubt I'll ever live there, it would be fun to have a couple of days where I didn't have to work and could go out on some tours.

Biking Norway Style - It's Awesome!

The Bike Commuter

For a long time I've wanted to be a hardcore bike commuter. When I was still in school I wanted to get a job in downtown Philly and ride in from the suburbs along the Schuylkill River Trail to go to work. Three years ago when we moved to the DC area I was able to basically make it a reality. Since coming to Norway I feel like I've taken it up a notch. I appreciate that I am able to go door to door on two wheels.

Norwegians On Bikes Are Everywhere

A couple of weeks ago I was in a sporting goods store and witnessed an amazing site. Gone were the cross country skis and in its place were hundreds of bikes. The store was so busy that people took numbers and waited for one of 10 sales people to assist them. The scene was something a bike shop in America could only dream of.

I've learned that Norwegians are just as passionate about riding bikes as they were about cross country skiing during the winter months. The downside of snow free ground is that I now share my commute with hundreds of spandex wearing, neon jacketed Norwegians. Another revelation is that Norwegians are fast on bikes.  I feel very motivated by all the fast riders. 

Beauty On Every Ride

I love my ride and dozens of routes I can take to and from work. I love how the scenery changes so drastically along the way.  I tried to capture the feel of one of my bike routes through pictures.

The streets of Oslo

Boat docks along the Fjord

At the side of the bike super highway.

Neon wearing cyclist on the bike super highway. It was a quiet moment, but it gets really crowded.

Bike trails converging together. This is about the halfway point home and halfway up a long hill.

Quiet roads up by the International School.

A suburban neighborhood. More uphill

A very red barn and farm house near home. This shade of red is actually very popular. Although cool, today was  a glorious day to be outside.

During the winter these were ski trails. Now they are horse, bike and hiking trails. This is about a quarter mile from home. 

 

This is right before I turn off to go home. If I keep going down this trail I end up in the mountains where there are hundreds of kilometers of trails.

Getting Ready for the Birkebeinerett

A colleague has been telling me about this mountain bike race called the Birkebeinerett. It is a 94km race and has nearly 18,000 participants. It is the largest mountain bike race in the world. I signed up for it and started my training a few weeks ago. By the end of August I am hoping to be strong enough to put in a respectable showing. What I love most about having signed up is that it is keeping me motivated and I can already feel myself getting stronger. 

I know I can't expect to have it this good for the rest of my career in the Foreign Service,  but I sure am loving life right now and look forward to making the best of the next year and a half.