Exciting life

I have a very exciting life. I'm single so can you blame me? No. So that means I can do what ever I please at any time. Almost. Still have to bring home the bacon to feed my kids every other week, but part from that I am free to do what I want.

That in mind I was sitting on a rock today going over all the excitement I've managed to squeeze in during the last week. Being the last week of my vacation you can imagine I wanted to make the most out of it. Right? And what crazy stuff have I've done you might wonder. Well, för starters I've been doing laundry. It's so exciting looking for that one sock that mysteriously disappeared between the laundry basket and the washer. But that's not all! I've also been reading work papers as I skipped reading them during the week when I decided I would work from home. It was the week before my vacation started, and for some strange reason I decided I didn't have to read them now. I could read them laaaater. Well, later it is and come Monday I'd better know the content of them or I'm toast.But back to the excitement!

I did take my kids in to the big city where the Stockholm Culture Festival is happening. Good fun. Art, theater and music spread out over the city. In the music section the top act was 10 Japanese drummers, Yamato, banging away on all sorts of drums.Very cool, but the kids were moaning. They were tired and couldn't see a thing going on up on the stage as grown, tall men realised standing infront of my kids were the best place ever. We also went to the movies (american shite Evan Almighty) and watched beautiful photographs of animals.


I've been properly fed. Greek food, Thai food and at home it's been chicken, chicken and chicken. Oh, there has been seafood as well! I forgot that my mom swung by and dropped off massive amounts of seafood. She was having a party and realised she'd gotten too much food so in my freezer I now have ridiculous amounts of lobster, shrimp, scampi and tiger prawns.


I've been drinking! Black tea, Green tea, Red tea and White tea. I've had coffee and water. There was one pint of Kilkenny on the day of the Japanese drummers but part from that it has been like a detox week. I suppose that is partly the reason for me going down to the kitchen last night looking for *something*. Came back upstairs with a box of vanilla ice cream. I was only going to have a couple of spoons, but watching My Name is Earl my attention dropped and all of a sudden the whole pack was empty. Magic.


Waking up this morning I wanted to toss my alarm clock out the window. Who was the smart ass setting the alarm for 8 o'clock on a Saturday morning? Oh, right, that was me. I realized I'd be a wreck on Monday if I keep falling asleep at 3 and waking up at 11, but ffs... 8 doesn't really put me in my best mood. But I was alone so decided to have a go at the exciting laundry thing again. And what do you know. All but one sock came out of the washer.


After spending 2 hours basically doing no good, and not managing to fix me some breakfast even, I decided I'd have breakfast out. As in out in the forest. Packed my daypack with apple and tea and stepped outside to find it being a great day. Sunny but not hot´which is perfect for a walk in the forest. I'm blessed with a huge forest within walking distance from my flat, so 10 minutes later I was feeling my anger slowing down and a nice mellow feeling sipping in. Forests are great places.

Never having entered the forest from this side, I tried to locate the sun in order to be able to find my way back (Which I managed very well, as I came back to the exact same spot I started on. Mostly luck I feel.) and then I just walked and walked thinking about all and nothing until the hunter woke up. I get that way in forests. I know they are out there. I know they are hiding. And I know I will find them. It's like hide and seek. So soon enough I stopped following the path. I stopped paying attention to the butterflies, the views, the blueberries and the flowers and instead I had started to look for moss and open spaces in between the blueberry bushes. That's where they hide, the little fuckers. And sure enough, after 5 minutes I found the first patch. Then another. Then another. So having filled half of my paper bag with chantarelles and feeling very satisfied with the hunt, I sat down and had my tea and ate my apple. Sitting there in the forrest listening to music (I know it is a bit sad that I don't listen to the forrest, but I was in mood for music) I was quite annoyed seeing a fellow out walking his dog. We sneered but presented semi-polite 'hello's as he passed me sitting on my breakfast rock. I sipped my tea watching him walking away, and then I found myself thinking 'I wonder if he is married'. FFS!

I guess Monday with work starting will be good for me... I simply can't live with all this excitement.

Taxi vs Flying

Was just discussing flying to London with my co-worker and stopped by to check flight availabilities in November. And doing that I saw that Ryan Air now flies Stockholm-Dublin (news to me) and checked the prices just for fun. That's when it hit me: I can fly to Dublin for less money than what a cab costs from downtown Stockholm to my house. How fucked up is that?

EDIT: Good thing is that all of you who want to fly cheap to Stockholm can do so. Go on - book a flight!

Insects

Insects freak me out. I don't really fear them, but if I can avoid them I do. Especially all the ones that can fly. Should someone ever make me choose between being covered in cockroaches or spiders - I'd go for spiders any day. I think the flying freaks me out for two reasons (a) the noice. And how, when it is dark sometimes, you only hear them and can't see them and (b) they have a tendency of flying close to my face and especially my ears, so the noice of the fluttering gets almost physical *brr* (and (c) when I had longer hair, they did get tangled up in it *brrrr*).

We were at the beach earlier on this week and I was snickering a bit as my youngest daughter would not lie down and relax after she noticed how many grasshoppers there were. I said they were so tiny, only 1-2 cm long, but she was not convinced and sat watching them. But I fell asleep. And woke up with a grasshopper fluttering in my ear. *yikes*

So, as if that wasn't enough insect-excitement for one week, tonight me (and again my youngest daughter) suddenly heard a very familiar sound. Both hoping it was from outside, but me realizing it must be inside as I was downstairs while she was upstairs. We had a noisy grasshopper in the house... You know what they're like, right? They play their little tune but as soon as you move towards the sound, they shut up. So did this one. It only played once, and though we checked around "everywhere" it just was not to be seen. So after a while we started believing that it had in fact been outside. Maybe on the balcony which would explain how both of us could hear it.

No worries. Off to bed. And there I was enjoying a new book, when suddenly I thought I felt a *thump* on my sheet. Not to get too excited, I decided just to shake it a bit with my feet, and that's when I heard a second *thump* but now on the floor. FFS! Freak out time! During the two seconds it took me to sit up, look the other way and wondering how to handle the thing I also had the time to think "this is what men are for!". When turning around I found a huge 10 centimeter motherf* grasshopper in my bedroom, which, sorry to say, is no more as I ended the poor creature's life when tossing 3 big books upon him. And then flushed it.

Not very cheerful

Been a bit tough to write for a while since most of what I type at the moment is just depressing. How did I end up here? Oh, right, I remember. I fcked up. Worked too much and spent too little time thinking about the important things and now here I am. Made my own bed, and yes sir, I will sleep in it, thank you very much.

So what did I learn? Well, I suspect quite a lot. As always. And what can I change? Quite a lot as well, but not what I want to change right now. Patience is a virtue... I will just have to suck it up and keep moving. And I can always change myself. (Yeah, easy in theory...)

The apartment swap collapsed. So I've spent part of the day trying to think happy thoughts about my current apartment. It is great. It is big. It is conveniently located next to my kids school...

And work starts in 1,5 weeks. Oh joy!
Not.
Won't go there now. Be gone evil thought!

So, where were we. Oh yeah, boring shite. Fck it. Moving on to happier things:

Had a great evening with my ex-could-have-been-mother-in-laws as they are visiting Stockholm. They had been on a boat trip the whole day and had decent weather all the way.

Where I live the weather was beautiful at nine o'clock this morning. I noticed there was not a cloud in the sky and hot already as I drove off to change my winter tires for my summer tires. (Tbh, I *had* them changed while I enjoyed a nice cup of coffee chatting away with the car tire shop owner telling me about his trip to India with his Indian wife). So *finally* I have the summer tires on! ...and can drive on them for 3 whole months as I was clever enough to book a change-to-winter-tires appointment in late October today. (Last year we had a crazy snow storm in early November and I spent the night in a hotel instead of trying to go home. It took people 5-6 hours to drive what normally takes 1 hour. Was nice to stay in a hotel, but I prefer my own bed.)

Anyhow, dinner in the city... Fanastic weather again. Warm, a bit humid, but sunny. I was surprised as at 11 o'clock, back home in my lovely flat, the sky opened and it was raining so hard it was just like watching a grey wall outside. Very cool. Thunder and lightning! I spent half an hour on my balcony having coffee and just watching the crazy rain. But during the day, it cleared up and during the evening it was a marvelous late summer evening. We had great food, nice strolls in the city and then ended up at a photo exhibition (which I will have to go back to cause it was amazing).

So all in all I've had a good day. I'm not ill. My kids are happy. I'm very proud that my teenager worked up the courage and secretly pierced another hole in her ear using a needle and not telling anyone she was going to do it!

Blah blah blah. Time for a cup of tea. Here's a picture from the restaurant.
Yes it is dark. I wanted it this way.

Might be moving to new flat!

Today a couple was here and had a look at my flat. They are expecting a baby around Christmas and want to move in together. Today they have two smaller flats. Should this couple decide they like mine, then another couple will check if they are interested in moving in to those two smaller apartments (they are separating). And if yes, then I will go over to see that second couples flat. Which is just a formality as I've already been in one of those houses and I know I like them. So a nice little triangle swap, which means it is quite unlikely to happen - but that's how we got this flat so might be cool.

The good thing about this is that we'd move away from this neighbourhood which I never really liked that much. The other area is just five minutes away, but the house is older and I like the style better. The flat is also much closer to the commuters train meaning I could leave my car at home and use that in order to get to work. I'd like that. Reading on the train och getting a nice (and needed) 15 minute walk to and from work every day.

Another good thing is that this too is a 4 bedroom flat and yet €200 cheaper per month. Adding the saving on not driving to work it adds up to €300/month. Oh, I hope!

Bad thing is it is still not in the city, but I've sort of let that idea go for now. I can't justify the 40 minute trip my kids would have to do in order to go to school both in the morning, and then again coming back home... Not much fun for a kid having to do that.

But. But. But. When they stepped out of my door I started to look around my flat. It is big. 131 square meters and I've lived here for over 4 years. There is just sooooo much stuff in here! I only need a fraction of it all, yet it still is here. So, regardless of this flat swap happening or not I must get started cleaning up this mess. Oh joy...

Technology - I'm addicted (which is bad, right?)

Sitting on a train on my way home. By now you might know that I love trains. And I especially love this one! Getting on the train in Copenhagen, Denmark knowing that 5 hours later I'll be in the very center of Stockholm, Sweden. Having travelled 650 kilometers! Driving this route takes 7 hours (if you're speeding). Flying takes 4 hours (get to the airport, check-in, security... you know the drill). And here I sit in a craft doing way over 200 km/h between the many stations we stop at. The train leans in every curve so the drink on your table hardly tilts when you're in a curve.

Hydraulics! You've got to love it.

Oh, getting on the train was a bit interesting. Very Harry Potterish as platform 26 is found via platform 3 & 4. I suppose expanding an old and existing station means you usually make it wider, i.e. you add new platforms next to the old ones. But if you're out of space - which is the case in Copenhagen, where there just is no more room on the sides of the existing platforms (unless they start knocking down buildings) - you'll simply have to add the new platforms further *out* from the main central building. Brilliant.

Anyhow, back to my train. And back to my seat. Which is a very comfortable seat! It is of course adjustable so I'm half sitting here with my laptop, surfing away on the free internet connection they have onboard.

So without thinking much about what my main objective is (travelling 650 km to get home) I have now:

• Paid some bills
• Checked my emails
• Started hunting for a ToDo List gadget for the Vista Sidebar (no luck yet)
• Imported music from PC to Phone and then set up a new playlist on the phone.
• Charged my phone
• Charged my laptop
• Had coffee and fruit
• Seen some of the TV programs I've missed (available on the swedish TV site)
• Acted on some of the apartment ads I've had some positive responses to (we really need to move to some other area)
• Had some great wine and snacks

Amazing time to live in. And I truly enjoy it. I know I take it some what for granted by now (e.g. was a bit surprised none of the hostels/hotels I've stayed in didn't have WiFi), but all this is energy consuming. VERY energy consuming. And I seriously wonder how long we can keep this up. Will we leave *all* these problems for the next (or even the one after the next) generation to sort out? If yes, then we are bastards. But I'm addicted.

Also made me think about how come so many advance civilisations have vanished or faded in to nothing. Look at Iran/Iraq for instance. Once a highly advanced and admired center of skills and knowledge. What happened? I've got to look it up. So ttfn. I'll be back.