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by Philipina A. Marcelo
Uh-hmm, yeah... it was around the "ber-ber" months of 1999 (whoa! 12 years ago already!) when somebody took this photo of myself...
...yep, I did live for a year in that lovely Scandinavian country - Sweden - with a population of 9 million (way smaller than the population of Metro-Manila!), including he who is the all-time "clay specialist" of men's tennis, Bjorn Borg, they who made us equate videoke with "Dancing Queen", Abba, and he who is the current tower of terror on the football pitch, Zlatan Ibrahimovic! :) It was there where I first attempted to specialize in an engineering area that is more benign to Mother Nature's faltering health, long before "green technology" has become the "it" thing in processing technology.
So, yeah, I went to Lund University, the pride of Skåne, with the idealistic hope of meeting "the next" Norman Borlaug
The little studio that I "shared" with Vincent van Gogh during
my Lund University days (1999 - 2000).who seeks to feed the world, this time, through the wonders of processing technology. No, I didn't meet the next NB. But I did meet 1/3 of that trio that wrote what an MIT grad student described as "the bible of membrane fouling". It was there where I shared a well-kept office pantry, coffee table and a few ideas with Gun Trägårdh of the "Marshall, Munro and Trägårdh" membrane fame! :) Therefore, I could say that I learned membrane technology from one of the very best in the world! Boy, it feels good just to be able to say that! :) Of course, I have yet to maximize the benefits of that learning, and help spread the joy of that experience - skimming Gun's head. Therefore, time to move on from where I am now.
More on Lund University, the wonderful people I met there, and the beauty of Scandinavia some other time... 'cause, yep, work beckons - again! Tsk!
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BTW, have you ever looked forward to some big event, worked so hard so you could be a part of it - day and night, even on weekends, foregoing what could've been "life-changing" social events (and giving up blog time, too, hehe...) to do so - and really happy about it, too, just because your effort seemed to be paying off with excellent results, and that heightened your excitement about participating in that "big event"... and then when the big day finally arrived, you weren't even a part of that event? That you were reduced to just a mere spectator - an outsider - rather than an active participant? And the only excuse people could offer is a "glitch" in communication line... yes, in this day and age of ridiculously advanced communication mega hi-ways, too? Did you feel crushed? Yes? Well, I know how that feels now.
Uh, nah... that has nothing to do with Lund University... I had a great time there! :)
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