Settling In

I've been in Lund for about two weeks now and feel quite guilty about not making a new blog post. I still don't feel quite settled in yet but I'm getting there. I'm in my new house now and loving my new neighborhood. I'm also learning a lot from the Swedish class I enrolled in. It's only been four days and we are already covering material that's new to me. What's also great is that the UC students I met in the course are pretty much up for anything--so now we are planning even more adventures!


Some shots of my new neighborhood...

My place!

Swimming in the quarry in Dalby on Wednesday...

At Lomma Beach with Klara on Tuesday...

WB Meet and Greet

This morning I had a meeting at Warner Bros. with the Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, Vice President of Corporate Responsibility, and the Director of Sustainability to discuss WB's corporate social responsibility strategy, future goals, and the various avenues of getting into the CSR field. I can't believe they all had time to meet with me!

I was nervous about finding my way so I left early. I got to Gate 5 to get on the lot and the guard told me that I was not approved for a pass to drive on the lot, which is what the office had originally directed me to do. So things got a little bit complicated, but I called the office and everything was sorted out. I was really glad I got there early!

The next challenge was finding the right parking space. It was kind of crazy because all the spaces I passed were either marked with executives names or were marked for specific TV shows. So since I'm not an actor on The Big Bang Theory or Mike and Molly, I was pretty confused about where I was supposed to go. I finally figured it out, made it to the building, and found the Senior VP's assistant who then led me to the conference room with five minutes to spare.

I had five questions in mind for the meeting, so I started by saying why I was interested in having the meeting in the first place and then things just started moving forward from there. It was great to get a perspective from a company like Warner Bros because it has really unique issues when it comes to branding and in employing environmentally-conscious strategies. They really reiterated that for them it comes down to the WB business strategy as well as profitability, but they do have goals for expanding their environmental and philanthropic initiatives. They also pointed out that there is really no standard way to get into this field so it's all about working with your specific background and the resources and relationships available to you...kind of like the ones that get you a meeting with the heads of  Public Affairs and Corporate Responsibility at WB.

It was a great opportunity and I'm really glad I had the chance to meet with such motivated, driven, and encouraging people. I'm feeling inspired!

SD Reunion

After an incredibly mellow week, Mom and I spent the weekend with a girly trip to San Diego. After having been gone from SD for more than a year, I was dying to go back. Once we got there, I was quickly reminded of how beautiful this place really is. I was so lucky to have lived in such an amazing place. It was hard to leave! Especially since the sky was a perfect blue and the ocean was 70 degrees (yes, that was the WATER temp!) and crystal clear.

Road trip pic

After brunch with Grandpa Bud and Trudy

Finally got to have Roberto's!

Torrey Pines...

After hiking and dinner at Solace in Encinitas (so good!), I met up with my old friend Jimmy for a drink at Jimmy O's in Del Mar. I realized that we have known each other for 10+ years! Even though I couldn't stay for long, it was fun to have a mini reunion.

Me and Jimmy, Prom 2007

Me and Jimmy, Summer 2013!

Sunday morning, Mom and I started the day off with breakfast at Stratford Court and a walk on the bluff in Del Mar. I completely forgot how gorgeous it is. After that I couldn't wait to get down to the beach! It was a perfect beach day and was made even better when I ran into my other old friend Ari, while she was lifeguarding. The only downside was that I left SD with one of the worst sunburns of my life! That's the major problem with being such a devoted sun worshipper. Ouch!

Stratford Court

Grandma Dorothy/Nanny/Doron/Farmor

One of my favorite things to do while I'm in LA is to hang out and have lunch with my grandma, who goes by many names. Probably not many 20-something year olds say that, but we have so much fun together and are so alike. During our lunch today (at Sweetsalt in Toluca Lake) we even discovered that we have each been approached by strangers this week telling us how beautiful our hair is! We also discussed the value and difficulties of eyeliner, as well many other subjects. I will definitely miss our lunch dates when I am back in Sweden.

Today's sunset from Mom's balcony