New blog site

This feels wrong to post on blogger, but I am starting a new blog site on wordpress. Please check it out here: http://www.jolloway.wordpress.com/. The site explains the reasons for the shift and my ambitions for writing in the near term future.

Goodbye.

Prague

Northern Germany rivals Kansas in flatness, making it a perfect site for thousands of windmills, which blink red in the night like a scene from the X-Files. Similarly odd, but also supporting the German economy, was the string of RV’s with cabin lights on signifying they were “open.” My friend Chad invited me and two Chinese colleagues to join him for a weekend in Prague, and I welcomed the liberating excursion. I let Chad explain the RV’s to our two colleagues.

A brief tangent: incongruous systems of measurement and voltage make some sense to me because of the cost of standardization, but why can’t we all agree on names for places? Is Praha too hard to say? Why does each language create a name for various countries?

Prague has an interesting mix of disturbing history, architectural class, and reserved vivacity. Communist and Nazi occupation left mental and physical scars- in Wenceslas’ Square workers replaced the marble chipped by Communist bullets with off-color material in remembrance, and Hitler’s failed plan for a museum of an extinct race left a remarkable treasury of artifacts to help us grasp the atrocities of recent history.

Prague has a reputation for being a musical city (they have a giant metronome keeping rhythm for the city for Pete’s sake), but I was a bit too eager, and ended up getting duped by an overly commercial gig. Real classical musicians don’t play just the 3-5 minute popular themes of pieces (which pissed me off enough to write “pissed off” here- sorry Mom), and it took focused effort to relax and forget the fact that I had been had so I could actually enjoy it. The musicians weren’t bad, it just wasn’t heartfelt. Sort of…plastic.


But back to the metronome- I looked up the story behind it after I got home, and the explanation of the metronome is weak, but before the ‘nome, a 50 meter tall 17,000 ton marble statue of Josef Stalin stood there. The statue took 7 years to build, yet only 7 years after its unveiling, on the orders of Krushchev, the new Soviet head who denounced Stalin, it was blown up with 800 kg of explosives (what else could you possibly do with a 17,000 ton statue of Stalin? (source: http://www.radio.cz/en/article/66095)).

February-March in Denmark

February in Denmark

It took too long to make this post because February was one of the hardest months I’ve had in a while. The ache of being away from my wife became more acute. Delays in my project at work stole my enthusiasm. The cold grey sat brooding, sapping my optimism. My joy in the thriving church I found faded as I saw the blemishes and it became simply a place to connect with friends (extremely important, but not everything). Worst of all, it was too windy to cast a fly. It’s tough to see the silver lining from inside the cloud.

What did I learn? Much: to drop the custom of assuming high mutual respect, to not think too highly of myself, to speak up at the right time (not before, not after), and most important- to dig deep for the real well of joy rather than letting circumstances drag down my mood and influence my behavior. The realization that my situation was impacting my attitude challenged my faith in Biblical truths and myself. I have long believed that following Christ is the best way to live and is filled with a joy that cannot be stolen. To live this out is tougher than I previously understood, but now I know it’s true. As my prayer become more real and my choices of how to live each day took hold, my perspective picked up and I found that as I renewed my belief in God, God also believed in me and gave me new opportunities. Like the adage shared among fraternity pledges: “that was the best experience I never want to have again.”

Thanksgiving at Easter

A few years ago one of my best mentors invited me to understand strategy in a new way. He asked me why I thought he did certain things, gave me insight before and after he held meetings, and uncovered elements of our strategic direction that he intentionally did not share with most people. This exposed two simple revelations: there is much more strategy all around than we realize and we can be more strategic in daily activities to achieve more. I feel like God exposed different perspectives of this idea this week. Since January, adapting to new things and separation from many basic joys stretched me more than I anticipated, and many things I was looking forward to didn’t turn out as I had hoped. The week I just spent at home was a bright oasis from the cold grey. Prayers for humility and spiritual preparation for living a missional life were answered like a band-aid pulled off too slowly.

My losses have been temporary and even as I sat jetlagged in Copenhagen’s Kalstrup airport listening to Aaron Copland with black coffee and enduring a seven-hour layover, I realized I brought a bit of sunshine back with me. I left 80 degree weather to find it too cold to sit outside here even wrapped in my coat, though after my little retreat I have renewed confidence and vision. I understand why God let me feel lonely and weak as I learned to lean on Him more, and I can now feel gratitude for the experience.

London- business view

In travelling to London, we got to experience two blue ocean business models: Ryanair (http://www.ryanair.com/en) and Pret a Manger (http://www.pret.com/).
If you haven't been, the US Pret site calls the shop "a cross between a good restaurant, an Italian coffee bar, and a bullet train," and Ryanair is the airline that last year asked passengers if they would be willing to give up their seats for cheaper fares (http://www.ryanair.com/en/news/free-flight-would-you-stand).

In the phenome, "Blue Ocean Strategy," (BOS) W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne argue that Pret a Manger correctly identified that existing market options did not meet market demand for a fast, healthy, and reasonably priced option (105-106). While the British Pret site admission that they were started by college friends with "woefully little experience in the world of business" shows that you don't need to read BOS to come up with BOS business plans, Pret serves as a fine example to apply elsewhere. Below I applied the BOS strategy canvas to Pret:

Pret clearly goes against the grain of both fast food options and nice restaurants, converting far and near non-customers. When we went to Pret, I was impressed that everything I saw looked appetizing, with sandwiches that took your Panera ingredients a step more creative, seasonal soups and espresso drinks. Prices were about right to tempt daily and it's the kind of place you just feel cool going to.

Ryanair is a bit more controversial. In a WSJ article/interview published on 12/10/10 entitled "O'Leary Pilots Ryanair Into Lead With 'Mad' Ideas for Cost Cuts," it is clear that Ryanair's business model is unique not only in messing with the strategy canvas to deliver a unique mix of benefits to passengers, but also that the company is trying to change consumer behavior. Charging for checked bags means that fewer people will check bags and Ryanair needs fewer people to load and unload those bags on planes. The infamous, and since revoked, proposal of charging to use restrooms will push more people to go before boarding, which will reduce the number of restrooms needed on a plane, freeing up space for more paying passengers. Another WSJ article dated 2/01/20 called "Ryanair Aims to Bank on Rivals' Pains," explains that while it's a tough time for all, their ancillary revenue scheme is paying off financially. Here's a similar shot at classifying how Ryanair is different:

So what's it actually like? To manage the baggage size and weight limits I had to leave my standard US-size carry-on (too wide), managed to fit clothes for 4 days in my laptop case, and took the advice of fellow bloggers to simply cram a bunch of crap in my pockets. I was concerned when the plane we were to board arrived only 30 minutes or so before our scheduled departure, but they pulled it off (things like removing seatback pockets have trimmed cleanup time). The flight was on time and the cheapest fare I've ever paid (something silly like $5). It was no big deal to ignore the repetitive pestering to buy drinks, snacks, magazines, and smokeless cigarettes. However, I underestimated how far away the airports were. I spent a lot more money and time getting to Billund from Sonderborg, and to our London hotel from Stansted, than the flight itself. My verdict: unless I can fly out of and into a convenient airport, it's not worth it. Put a value on convenience and factor it in. For me, it was novel to fly once, but I got a bad taste in my mouth, and I didn't even try the smokeless cigarettes.

London- slideshow

Trafalgar Square from the National Gallery Steps:

Danielle, London Eye, Thames, and nice photogenic sky:

I was severely disappointed when I saw this, because the Rosetta Stone website says they offer 31 languages, but I only saw three on this thing in the British Museum:

Lady making funny face to the left of Danielle, oh yeah and Big Ben:

Steamy paella on cold day in Portobello Road Market:

We saw this statue, Danielle asked who it was, I assumed some British luminary and replied sarcastically, "George Washington," but we got closer and it actually was! Right outside the National Gallery. Brilliant!

Me outside Westminster with my handwarmer:

January in Denmark

That's the scariest title I could think of. I decided to write monthly recaps of life in Denmark as I go, and have periodic special reports on a few preselected and TBD topics. So here we go:

The cheapest flight over passed through Helsinki, where as we landed I saw the imagery the Polar Express was based on, and once inside the airport learned what an extremely thorough security pat down feels like (a little gross). Danielle and I broke a sweat running through the airport to catch our connecting flight that should have already left, though in the first and only exemplary customer service I have found here, they held the flight to Copenhagen so the dozen or so of us could board.

We had just one afternoon in Copenhagen, but we were jetlagged and freezing so we walked around a bit, drank too much coffee just to stay warm, then had dinner so early that our lunch-shift waitress left halfway through our meal and we had to wait 15 minutes because we weren't technically allowed to put in entree orders yet. The food was good, but our bodies didn't really know what meal it was supposed to be, and then we went to bed at 7pm. We'll go back to do it right some day.

To continue two themes, we had a quick bite as early as the hotel would allow, then ran to the train station to get to the airport in time to run to a shuttle and then run to catch our flight. We made it and around 8am had landed in Sonderborg, my new home. My apartment is small but sufficient, though of all things the bedding made me wonder if I could survive here. The mattress is ok, but the pillow is just a loose bag of cottonballs, and the sheets are faded pastel patterns that look like they were stolen from a hospital. Anyway, we quickly checked off the requirements (ID card, bus pass, initial groceries) and took off for London, which was frigid but fascinating and will be a post in itself.

The goodbye was very hard for both of us, softened only a bit because we had already planned the next three times we would meet up and had sort of been saying goodbye for a few days already.

Here are just a few highlights and lowlights of life here so far:

* I like coffee a lot, and the coffee machine at work is an automatic espresso machine. Coffee is espresso and water (cafe americano). My favorite "dessert" after lunch is two shots of espresso and one small hot chocolate.

* Church- I found a good Bible believing church that has enough internationals to have a live translator in the back which feeds into sets of headphones at several seats. I've made a bunch of friends which is helping to overcome what has been a very lonely time for others in my shoes.

* Running has been a bit tough due to the cold and snow, but my longest run took me through a quiet stretch of forest with waves breaking on the rocky coast below, which was glorious.

* I work with a guy that helped rebuild a viking ship and lives in a 300 year old house with a thatched roof. He's helping me plan some cultural outings.

* Gripe #1- customer service that starts with "didn't you see the ___", as in "didn't you see the 'F' next to those bus times?" (which obviously meant only on Friday, duh) or "didn't you see the option to report the problem to the webmaster" (and no I won't help you with your plane ticket) or "didn't you see the information on cancelled buses under...", (and no we are not interested in reimbursing you for the taxi you had to take instead).

* Gripe #2- exactly 2.7% of Sonderborg residents shovel the snow on the sidewalks in front of their homes and businesses, and exactly 96.8% of drivers look at me like I'm picking my nose (while I'm not) and/or try to run me over when I run on the very edge of the road because only 2.7% of the sidewalks are shoveled.