Just things

Q1 2009 report

2009-03-21T10:39:00.002+01:00

January: Back at the office. They gave me an offer I couldn't refuse and then told me I had to reduce my rate/hour due to the financial crisis. Lost the final 3,5 kg so reached the goal of -10kg in total.

February: Worked (well, tried to as new project manager joined and all seemed a bit chaotic but should be sorted quickly). Met with friends, enjoyed my family, exercised, got a new smaller car.

March: Realised the chaotic period at work was not calming down. Stopped seeing friends, stopped regular exercise, started eating crappy food and realised this is what I've been doing for the last 6 years. Still enjoying my family and I'm really happy I've now realised what I'm like. This time I'm not going to stay unless changes are made to the project.

It's been a while...

2008-12-08T22:33:00.002+01:00

Been cooking tonight and while stiring the chocolate fudge and frying the tiny xmas meatballs I realised I haven't posted in ages! So here's a brief update:

August: Got back with ex-boyfriend. Works well as we've decided not to move in together for a very long time. I figure we might do so if we stay together for another five years. Works for us at the moment.

September: Worked. Sort of. Didn't put my heart in to any of the work I did. Basically I just sat my hours, had lunch with the nice people and surfed a lot! Never billed more than 30 hrs/week. Was OK. Glad when it was over.

October: Slept. Every other week I got up to see my kids off to school. But the other weeks I could sleep until 2.30 PM. When I got up I grabbed some coffee, icecream and watched telly. Saw more movies in four weeks than during the entire year.

November: Turned 40. Did a health check which was an excellent wake-up call. High blood pressure, overweight and terrible scores on blood test. Decided to sort that out and spent the rest of november on a strict diet, cut down on my nicotine and took walks that lasted from 1 to 3 hours a day.

December: Still on the diet and haven't had a drink for over a month. Which I thought would be tough, but has been easy. I've lost 6,5 kilos and aim at losing another 6 within the next year. Not in any rush now as I'm not "overweight" in kilos (BMI) or waist. Also my blood pressure is normal and my new blood test result show I've done really really well in November. All values are perfect.
On Saturday we'll be celebrating Christmas with my kids and my side of the family as the kids will be with their dad on the realy Christmas this year.
On Sunday me and Ed are off to Tenerife. Hopefully there will be lots of walks, nice weather and a very relaxed week away.

To anyone reading: Merry Xmas!

dotmug389 is born

2008-08-14T15:47:00.003+02:00

Was sitting around doing no good and remembered I never checked out how to blog from my phone. Tried it out and decided I want a pure picture site so another blog is now up and running.

Silly thing is I can't post while in the 3G network but GSM works fine. Not sure who's to blame though - blogger, my operator or my phone. Integrations! Hate them. And made me think of work.

Running dry

2008-08-04T16:32:00.002+02:00

I feel more and more I have nothing or very little to post. The stuff going on in my life is mostly good but not very exciting. Stuff going on i my head is not very happy. I need to re-boot I think. I hope I'll spend more time outdoors and less time infront of the glowing screens.

I've got two weeks off now. Then there'll be roughly six weeks of work before my real time off will start.

Tomorrow I'll put air in my bike tires and take it for a ride. It'll be the first in over a year. Might stop in a forrest and look for some early chantarelles or just pick some blueberries and eat them right there. I might bring a blanket and a book and sit under a tree reading. Typing this makes me want to do all that now so will probably be just what I need.

Sick of work

2008-07-22T17:03:00.003+02:00

I now wake up every morning trying to find an easy solution to an impossible problem. I've been here before and I know there is no easy fix, still my mind seem to try finding one - every night. I wish I knew how to stop it.

It is now July 22. At the end of September my contract ends and I will not renew it. Been with the same client for over 5 years and been doing this boring job for 10+ years. It never gets any better. Same problems in every project. Same agressive time plans and lack of understanding when we run late.

Come October I've promised myself to have at least 6 months off. I am going to do nothing. Or at least I won't make any special plans to do anything. I hope to wake up every morning and wonder what I'll be doing that day. I might get sick of doing nothing. I might start looking for new careers or things to do but I think it will take a long time before I do.

I am soooooo looking forward to this fall!

I should be packing

2008-06-22T11:27:00.002+02:00

Don't know why I end up here instead of getting going. So much to do, and so little time. Birthday party for my youngest tomorrow and leaving for Greece on Tuesday morning. I have no idea what to pack.

The first birthday party

2008-06-14T12:10:00.002+02:00

Digging around in my picture archive I found this one. The perfect look for a mother organising the first birthday party for her daughter. The party was grand.

Pictures from the past

2008-06-12T20:47:00.004+02:00

Found these when poking around today. I look like I'm twelve years old! I so miss my mohawk. And yes... for the hawkeyed viewers, that IS a waistbag. My only defence is that I'm at the Roskilde festival and all valuables had to be carried at all times.

Pictures on my computer

2008-06-12T12:13:00.002+02:00

I've got loads of pictures on my PC. Or my PCs to be honest. I've realised recently that I lack structure to almost everything I do. I might change that eventually but not today. Today the sun is gone, the temperature has dropped to only 15 degrees and I'm still on a weeks vacation. I think I've almost had all the sleep I badly needed and today I'll give my pictures a go. So I've logged on to Flickr (managed to log on after only failing to find the right user ID 5 times) in order to upload a bunch of stuff there and then post pics from the reunionen held May 10 with my old punk friends. They've given up hope seeing my pics I think...

When I logged on to Flickr I found this picture which was the only one I managed to upload months ago. I love it. Makes Becca look like a doll in a toystore.

Balance missing

2008-05-25T17:36:00.004+02:00

Had a nice coffee and walk today with an ex from ages ago. He knows me well eventhough it's been almost 20 years since we split up. After the normal how's it going, what are you doing, how's the kids and family we spoke of what we occupy our lives with. I have kids and I work. Every now and then I manage to squeeze in some hours with friends but overall I realize more and more that my balance is off.

He, involved in some magic community, claimed he'd go insane if it wasn't for belonging to that group. He's sure there are several groups he could have joined but he strongly feels the group he chose is the one for him. Good for him. I can tell it is good for him. And I wish I could feel even the teeniest bit of real interest in the group but I can't. Not now. Too much mumbo-jumbo going on there that I can't relate to.

After nice foods and a fantastic coffee I think we agreed that I would benefit from picking up something non-work related. Something I really would like to do.

Easy to say. Could be easy to find. If I took the time.

Now back to finalizing (boring) work artifacts.

Shutting down on time

2008-05-23T00:06:00.002+02:00

Living with kids is great. Living with teenagers is interesting. Both of them are now sick of school and constantly whining about how they don't want to go to school the next day.

I understand completely how they feel, and I wish we could go away on vacation tomorrow. We all need some rest now. The winter hasn't really been a proper winter as we had so little snow this year. We've all been ill multiple times which is very rare in our family. All in all we're tired and need some time away.

I badly need more and better sleep. But when kids are sent off to bed, I'm still up doing things (like this) that I really could live without. It's just that if I don't get to do my stuff in the evenings I feel like all-work-and-no-play and that is no fun at all.

Back at the Gym

2008-04-28T18:09:00.002+02:00

Can't say I was thrilled getting out of bed 6 AM this morning. First of all I couldn't really sleep. Couldn't fall asleep properly and the whole night was more like snoozing than sleeping. I kept waking up for no appearant reason and was like a zombie when the alarm sounded.

Got in to the gym on time, and a very healthy looking person met me inside "All awake and ready for the work-out?" to which I grunted "No, but I'm here".

It's been over a year since I did any regular excerise. Been too busy, then too lazy, too busy again, too bored and too full of it all. But now I can no longer put things off. I have to get back into something more human looking. My behind is actually starting to look like the seat at my work. It works, but it ain't much to use when outdoors walking.

So here I sit in my office chair feeling the pain come. I know it'll be at least a six weeks long period of pain until I'm back in a more decent shape. There will be pain and painkillers knowing that on the other side of those initial six weeks there will be more pain, but more normal muscle pain. And it's OK. It will be much better than where I am now.

Things I could do (#1)

2008-03-29T17:46:00.002+01:00

Travel
- so many places, so little time(?)

Study: Languages
- Learn new: Greek, Arabic
- Improve others: English

Study: Science
- General, high level studies

Study: Religion and Cultures

...and then there is work

I am a perfectionist

2008-03-29T16:15:00.004+01:00

There. Now it's been said.

Some people call me control freak and others call me obsessive. My friends call me bitch or freak and I love them right back.

Freaks like me love chaos since it is a challenge to us. We often seek challenges since we tend to become obnoxious when bored. I believe our worst enemy is insufficient resources (be it energy or tools e.g. skills and equipment).

Given the right amount of chaos along with the right prerequisites and conditions we'll provide whatever is needed to bring clarity. Upon analysis 'the chaos' is usually easily sorted by simple stuff like common terminology, checklists, defined routines and rules.

So being a perfectionist, would I:
- fly knowing the pilot skipped the take-off routine?
- eat meat turning green?
- steal?
- cut corners?

Somebody give me a brake...

2008-03-22T23:49:00.003+01:00

...cause I'm a speed freak!

Workwise I am. It is truely a drug. At first, when I pick up speed I get really thrilled. I find it amazing and energising. It it so much fun!

But after a month, things aren't going so well anymore. I miss stuff I wouldn't miss if I wasn't doing 180 mph. And then those things that I miss start bothering me. That's when I start looking back, not focusing on the road up front, still doing 180 mph.

Stupid really. Cause I know there are speed bumps ahead. I know I should go slow aproaching new areas, but I keep going fast. Luckily I haven't had any major accidents yet. Some bumps and bruises is all.

And here I am again. Tired and a bit sad (which is the normal state I end up in). I've been running on fumes for the last couple of weeks. But when I almost yelled at my main project manager the other day I realized it was time to go home and have a rest.

People won't die. I too can have some time off. Easter is a great long holiday.

Timestamp: 2008-02-14

2008-02-14T02:40:00.004+01:00

Valentines Day today! I'm sure I'll be covered in chocolate, flowers etc... Yeah, most likely so. That is actually what happens to me *any* normal day. Really. Or not.

I haven't been around for a long time. First post in 2008. Lazy & Crazy. First I had nothing to say, and when I did, I had no time to type. (Not that I feel anyone would have enjoyed reading up on what's been cooking in my head.)

These last two weeks, or could be three, I've managed to; think, feel and do more then I've managed in the last two months. Would have been more exciting if it had anything even remotely to do with sex, but for now it is all work related. So I will not bore you further.

Thanks for stopping by. I'll make more of an effort over here if you're interested in more.

Boring, but surprised

2007-11-05T22:00:00.000+01:00

Boring boring boring FRIENDS boring boring boring MUSIC boring boring boring FRIENDS & BEERS boring boring boring TRIP boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring BIRTHDAY boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring boring GOOD BOOK boring boring boring boring boring boring ...

I'm not bored. I am boring.

Anyway, today I was contacted via LinkedIn by one of my Texan buddies from High School. Haven't heard from him since 1985! That's insane. 22 years. I'm old. He's old. Seems like 10 years ago. So strange.

It's so cool that he managed to find. I've tried (and failed) tracking them down. I have started to realized that a lot of people live in the US(!) and that my mates all have (or had) quite common names. So using the search engines without knowing what they do for a living... well, I was never lucky. I hope he's still in touch with some of the others. Would be so much fun to see them again.

I'm drinking mud

2007-09-09T22:15:00.000+02:00

Honestly. I am drinking mud. It was sold as herbal tea, but it looks, smells and tastes like mud. It came in two big bags filled with what can only be described as dried leaves, strange red berries, sticks and dust. It smells terrible when dry and absolutely vile when cooked. It has to be soaked, then boiled for 40 minutes and it stinks up my kitchen. And then I have to drink it...
I got it yesterday when seeing a Chinese doctor. I have been going to "normal" doctors every now and then for the last 14 years, but the last time I went I got a bit annoyed since the doctors hardly takes a look before subscribing pills. The pills work. No doubt. It is just that they bring bad stuff with them. Like stomach ache and a strange metal taste in my mouth for the entire period I'm taking them - and it is a periof of three months. So for now I'm sticking to mud. It is only for 4 days. I started yesterday, and waking up this morning I could not believe the difference. It really looks as if the mud shite is working as the face rash is actually calming down.

I should be sleeping

2007-09-04T00:17:00.000+02:00

I'm not sleeping properly. I feel it is partly due to the pressing fact that I should sleep more. Cause if I did I probably would not spend my working hours in a coma, just looking at the watch wondering if I can take off. Work is not much fun at the moment, and I know it will be another 3 months until stuff really starts happening. So 3 months of transportation. And most likely I will be going crazy for not having done what I could have done in advance...

Was in Düsseldorf last week and had an experience work shop using the last project as input. What a joke. Out of three projects in three countries the learnings where all the same. We all struggled with the same issues, but no one had the time to crosscheck with the other, so the solution is now different in all three countries. It is 2007. We never learn. Good thing it is not in my role to make sure these kind of things don't happen.

Anyway - back to not sleeping; I'm also not sleeping because I am wondering how I will fit myself and my daughters into an apartment only half the size we have today. A new flat is now a possible for the three of us. It is much closer to the city and it is less expensive. Close to buses and subways so it is a good candidate if the other two parties involved are interested as well. The "challenge" with the flat is not only that it is half the size of our current, it is also a modern flat meaning it has two bedrooms and then it is one of those open combined living room/kitchens. And that is likely to be my bedroom as well. So, here I am thinking of various possibilites on how to make the most out of that space. Also thinking about how to get rid of all the furniture we will not bring.

What makes everything a bit harder, when spending my nights moving/designing furnitures around (in a flat I don't even have), is that there is no map of the stupid flat. I'm going back there on Wednesday to do proper measurements and then I'll have to sit down and draw the map myself.

Exciting life

2007-08-18T15:43:00.000+02:00

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

2007-08-16T14:26:00.000+02:00

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

2007-08-11T00:07:00.000+02:00

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

2007-08-08T22:55:00.000+02:00

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!

2007-08-02T14:41:00.000+02:00

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?)

2007-08-01T16:22:00.000+02:00

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.

Darkness in people

2007-07-31T23:55:00.000+02:00

I rarely meet people that I do not feel comfortable around. At least I usually somehow understand them in some way, but during this trip I've met quite a lot of people that I would avoid should I have a second chance.

Like "Grumpy" on the train to Copenhagen today. Whenever he was offered any kind of help, or if someone asked him a question he would pretend he didn't hear or that he heard but wanted to ignore the question or offer. This one guy from Australia tried so hard to be nice to this (Danish) man, but he just would not be charmed or even decent. The decent thing to do is at least not to be rude, right? I can only guess he felt superiour for being old and not interested in making new friends. To me he just feels poor. And silly. But I can't understand why you'd chose to be rude for no reason.

Another fellow I met on the trip was a good looking guy. He was also funny and seemed alright for most parts, but every now and then he sort of showed another part of himself. Scary as hell. Complete darkness. Like pure evil. And then he'd snap out of it and be nice again.

What does it take to change these type of people in to nice(r) people? They must be able to change. Right?

Edinburgh (#2) and Inverness

2007-07-29T19:23:00.000+02:00

Still in Edinburgh. Only have my mobile pics for now, but hope that some of the ones on my camera are better. Here are some random ones:

Surprisingly good weather. I expected it to rain constantly. Still is fkng cold though. I don't understand why everyone is walking around in T-shirts. I'm wearing a sweater and a coat...

Thursday I went up to Inverness. Train ride started 06.53 (gasp) and was a good one. I enjoy sitting in the BusinessClass section of the train except for the business *people* constantly on the phone going "What? What? Hello? Can you hear me? I'm in a tunnel. Oh, you're back! Right. I was just saying - hello? ..." Amazing how they ignore the signal bar in the phone display showing there just isn't a good enough signal for having a phone call.

Anyway, the trip as such was great. There is a part just north of Edinburgh which is beautiful! It stretches from Pitlochry up over Blair Atholl. Hilly, lush and dramatic landscape. I want to come back with a car and drive around. Especially Pitlochry looked like a one-pub-only kind of place.

Inverness as a city wasn't that impressive though. They've knocked down too many of the original buildings and the modern ones are plain ugly. The atmosphere so present in Edinburgh is no where to be found in Inverness. There is a nice walk to do, following the river and then passing over two small islands. There were a couple of trout fishers standing in the river, but none of them had any luck catching one. Overall the day in Inverness was a bit disappointing: The castle allows no visitors (but it is possible to walk around it), the town tour bus was out of service, the cathedral had a wedding dress show (and wouldn't pay to see the church), the cathedral tea room looked like a waiting hall, the pub didn't have any salt&vinegar crisps... Ah well. At least I've seen the city now.

Coming back to Edinburgh I had a very nice meal at a Fish & Seafood restaurant. And not only was the food good, I also had an excellent time watching French people coming in there and not speaking english. They seemed very upset too when the waitress couldn't understand what they wanted. Good fun. I'm thinking about ordering in Swedish from now on. I did like the waitress though, she went over to the bar and fetched the barman who spoke french. Then she took their orders while he translated.

Friday I "did" Edinburgh:

Glanced at the Castle (too many tourists there for my liking)
Had a quick tour inside of the Tartan Weaving Mill (soooo many nice wool stuff)
Had really nice whiskies and a tour at the Scotch Whisky Heritage Center
Knocked over a few tourists on my way down the Royal Mile (what is it with people? why do they just stop in the middle of the road instead of on the side?)
Visited the Queens Gallery which had an amazing show on called "Amazing Rare Things". Leonardo da Vinci sketches, and other beautiful pics
Walked up the *wrong* path on Arthur's Seat so didn't get all the way up to the top (duh)
Had me some nice pints in one of the most comfortable chairs I've ever sat in. Sitting there I realized how much more fun the Scottish, English and Irish papers are compared to the boring Swedish papers.
Oh, and at the Whisky center I had a Macallan 18 yrs old (heaven). I like the Whisky center, and might go back just to visit their bar. Amazing assortment!

Yesterday I visited 4 (four) museums... Art mostly, but they are all cool, and with free shuttle buses going in between them it is very easy and comfortable getting around. In the evening I joined one of the many ghost tours. The terror tour. Excellent tour. Lots of Edinburgh history and scary as you go in to a torture museum and then you visit some of the vaults going under the houses. Scary places.

Today I'll be packing up my stuff as I am heading for Copenhagen tomorrow. First train to London and then on from there over to mainland europe. I'll be in Denmark 26 hours later.

Edinburgh, Scotland

2007-07-25T21:51:00.000+02:00

Arrived here just yesterday evening. Got to the hostel fine (only one wrong turn) and then I had the great pleasure of having to stand around in the reception, where I was building up an urge to punch the receptionist in his (american) face for taking *forever* to find my reservation. But of course he found it, after deciding that it probably was quicker if he spent time looking at the screen instead of asking me questions like "was I sure I was in the right hostel?", "had I really booked via their website?" and "what do you mean you had the reservation from yesterday, but you only arrived today?". Yeah, well, anyhow... Got the keys...

Hostel is located in a good spot. It is in the Old Town and it is only a hostel during the summer period, as it is a student home other times of the year. This means the rooms are big, lockable and best of all - very clean!

So having made my way to my own nice single room I decided to have a little nap. Just for 5 minutes. Turned out to be an almost 2 hour nap, and I really had to force my self to get out of bed. Looking back it was both good and bad I went out. Bad thing is I got home 5 o'clock in the morning... Good thing was I enjoyed the company of bunch of Newcastle people, working here and just popped out for a pint. I'm not sure they went in to work this morning.

Bonus from the evening: I now have a much better idea on how construction cranes are errected! These guys knew what they were talking about! 3 were iron construction guys and 1 was a chef (with bonus skills: car theft).

Well, I got to go now. More from this beautiful city later on.

Beccas 1st Birthday

2007-07-21T11:15:00.000+02:00

So the first year went down very fast, didn't it? And today is the big day. Balloons all over the house. Kitchen filled with fairy cakes, jelly and pies (and mom is going out to get more food?!).

The first birthday gifts have already been played with. (Making a lot of noice one of them is). Mom is trying to get all things done before the guests arrive and dad's having fun with the new toys. Becca is doing alright despite the cold she's got. So not 100% but doing fine.

The toys were fun, but the balloons - man, they are so much fun! Was walking around with one of them for a good 20 minutes! Mom's not as excited as it means she has to be on her knees supporting the wee one "walking around" and also struggling a bit as she is terrified of balloons herself. But being the excellent mom she hardly even blinks when the balloon is bounced in her face or gripped tightly but little kiddy fingers.

(Sorry about the blurry pics, but she is not really in the mood for posing today.Can't blame her.)

Ireland and animals

2007-07-20T23:26:00.000+02:00

So, I've arrived in Ireland, where it was of course raining, and are now happily seated in a nice couch in Bray. And what do I hear but complaints regarding the frequency of updates to my blog?! So this one's for you, John!

Coming over to Ireland today was OK. Part from the stupid cow sitting in the seat next to mine. I had a nice looking guy sitting in the aisle seat, and me at the window so seemed good until the cow came and filled up the mid seat. The cow title was earned by (1) smelling of beer then (2) falling asleep breathing my way (probably to really allow me to smell that fine beer breath of hers) and then finally when waking up (3) she read her news paper holding it over my space while I was trying to eat my sandwhich, and when asking her - kindly - to remove her paper she just snorted and did NOT move it. Interesting lady. She is not invited to my next party.

I read an evening news paper on the plane over. I usually don't read them as they are filled with crap, but today they were right at the gate and free so I had one. Jeeeeeeezus! They ARE filled with crap, but there was one story I really liked. A seal escaped from the stockholm zoo yesterday. It jumped out(!) of the little pool, then made its way to the real sea 500 meters away!!! But the little rascal was not clever enough. After a bit of swimming around, it got lonely, found some kids out sailing and was caught.

A more sad story was about a kitten some New York girls found and decided to have some fun with. By pouring gazoline over it and then set it on fire. Yeah, go girls. What fun...

Made me think of the camel found in a ditch in Sweden this summer. Yes, in Sweden. Big news of course. It lay there dead by the side of the road. Story behind it was it somehow was dragged after some vehicle, hurt badly the owner (some circus) put it out of its misery by the side of the road and then went to find the local police.

Ha, and that makes me think of the odd things I saw the other day. Was driving from mom's summer house out on the country side, and I passed a field with horses. Common. Then a field with cows. Yeah, right, country side. Then a field of camels. What? And then a field of elephants! Aaah, and then the circus tents were spotted. I hate circuses, but I'll leave that to another day. Now I'll go see if there is any wine I can help my nice hosts to finish, and then I might help hanging the balloons even!

Tagged

2007-07-08T20:29:00.000+02:00

I've been tagged. Thx a bunch John... But as I do blog, and have enjoyed reading the other victim's blogs, I don't mind pouring out some random facts and habits about myself. However, I will not follow rule #3 (and obviously 4).
Will I be unfortunate for life breaking that rule? Let's see.

OK first the RULES
1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules.
3. At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

So, you know the rules - then here we go:

Not surprisingly the first random thing up on my list is about sex... I just realized yesterday that I have never had sex with someone with brown eyes. Seemed a bit odd as only 10% of the worlds population have blue or green eyes. Then again, I haven't had that many partners.

I get on peoples nerves. People get on my nerves.

I love making people laugh. I love people that make me laugh. I laugh every day. And I love a lot of people.

I like drugs. I am addicted to nicotine and caffein, have seriously considered to cut down on alcohol and am glad I no longer hang out with people who frequently uses other drugs.

If I could meet anyone in the world I'd pick Jesus. If I could take only one person to a desert island he'd definitely be my choice: fantastic conversations, seems he was not in to celibacy and when bored (or hungry) he could walk off to get help.

Once I was convinced I finally had had my first one night stand. But then I ended up having a one-year long relationship with the guy. (And yes, he had blue eyes.)

I look up words and then I rarely remember what it said 5 minutes after. I have a distinct feeling of getting more and more stupid.

I am sorry I couldn't stay awake until 07:07 yesterday. Now I have to wait until 08:08 August 8, next year.

Erase and re-wind

2007-06-28T23:55:00.000+02:00

So much to say, and so little time. Anyhow. I'm here - obviousloy - and have just left another cheerful message to dave, who seem to have fallen off the face of earth. John posted a great series of shots today which made me remember it is my youngest daughter's birthday today. Congrats Isa! Unfortunately she is away on vacation so I'll just have to hold on untill she's back again.

Some of you know that I've been working working working working a lot for a very long time now, and as I am typing, we are deploying *the* last release in production, meaning the project (in which I have spent 2 years) is now ready to close.
And, for all of you who out there who can relate to (too long) SW dev projects, the complete irony is that today is also the day when it was confirmed that the company, for which all of this has been done, is being sold. Ha!

Well, I'm looking forward to the project "kick-out" next week. Purpose: Re-boot. Goal: Erase all traces of project related memory. Budget: What ever it takes to achieve the goal.

Mixed tapes (those were the days...?)

2007-06-21T22:55:00.000+02:00

Just came here after a quick stop John's site (one of the few virtual trips I do take during the 24 hours of the day) Today he's got a cool picture of casettes. And it made me miss making and receiving mixed tapes. It was the perfect excuse to meet again, to show you were interested and even that you were falling in love.

How is this done today? Do they share play-lists over the web? How special does that make you feel?

I'm getting old.

work work work work

2007-06-16T21:29:00.000+02:00

work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work work ...

i'll be back :-)

Dreams (2)

2007-06-13T01:04:00.000+02:00

I was extremely angry when I woke up last night/morning. (Having had only 3 hrs of sleep I hope you can cut me some slack. And no, I didn't get home late, I woke early. 2 AM) I woke up realizing that it is all *my* fault. Again! I really must work on being more of a b*tch. For real. I'm too nice. I'm too much of a push-over.

So, IRL I'm seated facing 3 of my project members. 66% of them I really like. (Not sure why I am sharing this non-important info, but I claim it is due to brain damage, ehrm, nah. More likely, lack of sleep so cannot separate important/non-important info. That'll do for now.)

In my dream I had just turned my back to them and I was facing a huge fkng truck.
My colleagues asked (sort of all at once) "OK Cecilia, so are you sure you can handle of this?" To which I grumpily responded: "Well, as I've been saying for the last 2 months, this is far too much. You really should be removing instead of adding, so I'm guessing: NO! I can't."
So they are silent for a minute and then "Ah, well, it is all done now. Let us know how you're doing. Here it comes. It must be managed you know."
So I face the truck which now is tipping over, releasing its load for me to catch - and out pours sand. Try and catch a truck load of that...

Monday blues

2007-06-11T18:18:00.000+02:00

I'm at work just waiting for rush-hour to end. It usually is heavy at this hour, but now it has become insane. The infamous road construction period started yesterday and now all roads leading to/from work/home are jammed. I've just decided to leave my car at home tomorrow and enjoy(?) the company of morons commuting instead.

I'm fed up. With traffic. With work. With living on the other side of the city. With having an oversized flat.

How fun am I? Well, tbh, right now I'm not very much fun at all. And worst thing is I cannot even think of what would be much fun. I guess it is a sign of needing a long vacation. Or more money. Or maybe just change in general.

Hmm... I just failed luring Keith out for a beer. (Can't blame him really). Worse failure however is that my standard Monday-evening-beer-drinking-buddy seems to consider driving his car home instead of having a drink with me. But NO! Excellent, he came to his senses and is now about to put his *ss on the train and head for the city.

Dreams

2007-05-27T00:47:00.000+02:00

I have weird dreams. And I usually remember one per night. This one is a bit strange though, even for me, but if any one of you out there feel like Dr Freud, and would like to do an analysis, be my guest.

Background: The dream involves my Irish friend Niall, who every now and then visits Stockholm when here in business. We met just over a year ago on a plane from Stockholm to Paris, where he transfered to Dublin and I to Lisbon. Good laugh he is. Our evenings usually end up being early mornings and although we both agree that *this* time (it being a working day tomorrow) we'll go easy on the drinks, and make it an early evening. Yeah. Right. You know, blah-blah-blah *drink* awh-sleep-is-for-whimps *drink* want-another-one *drink*. Right?

Aaaanyway, here is the dream: - eh, no. Forget it. It was too strange when I saw it typed out. I'll just toss in keywords: Lounge, music, smoke in acid green colour, inhaling fumes, no buzz, hyper active and paranoid (and not me mind you), a joint the size of a cigar, 100 travel bags and a conference center. So I guess an analysis will be tough. Instead, enjoy this clip!

OK & Cranes

2007-05-26T15:35:00.000+02:00

I've finally done some research on the term OK. Been meaning to do it for years. Just never had the chance to do so when I remembered, and never remembered when I had the chance to do it. Ah well. So now I know. At least one story.

Now on to another subject I've been pondering over for years; how the f*ck do they manage to assemble/mount the huge cranes used at construction sites? Anyone knows? Not only are they tall monsters, but they usually have a massive counter balance block hanging at one end. Must weigh a ton!

JFGI? Yeah, well - I have. And this far I've only come across a bunch of pictures of cranes. Soooooo, easy to transport (yeah, all folded up they are) but no nice movies showing them being mounted. I did find a local company close to where I live that claim that cranes is their area of expertise... so, maybe I'll give them a call and ask to come watch next time they've got a job to do.

Strange? Me? Wait until I post one of my latests dreams.

Cats, Hair & Weddings

2007-05-22T21:21:00.001+02:00

Came back here to post a tribute picture to John as he posted a nice lazy picture today.

If you can't understand why I posted this picture. Look again. Closely.

And, for all you people out there that probably couldn't care less, order is restored, I'm no longer a brunette! Simply discovered how very tiresome it was, having the world believing I actually had some brains, so I decided today to quit the Artificial Intelligence thing I've had going for some months and went back to being blonde. Let's see what effect this will have at work. I might get away with just taking minutes during meetings and every now and then I might have to bring coffee for the clever (non-blondes) in the office.

Part from this, nothing exciting seems to be going on. Ah, well, my brothers wedding party is coming up. Will be a laugh. I hope. Last wedding I went to (my sisters) was truly embarrassing. My bad. *burr* Lesson learned, so will behave this time. (OMG... I just realized the jokes they'll tell on my expense. But wtf I deserve it. If I'm lucky I'll come down with a flu or something as good.)

Sunrise and fishing

2007-05-17T04:02:00.000+02:00

Walking out from work today I was reminded of how much I enjoy the changing of seasons here in Sweden. 2 o'clock in the morning, I could see the signs of sunrise in the east. And now, 4 o'clock, it is daylight. Sun is up in 7 minutes and I really should go to bed (but bank holiday tomorrow so I can enjoy this morning first.)

Oh, and now I also want to go camping! It is a great thing to do in June. Set the alarm for 3 AM, go up, watch the sun rise and then crawl back into a tent where the warm sleeping bag awaits.

And where have I put my fishing gear? Fishing is a perfect excuse for being up very early. No one really notices if you just sit around and watch as the world wakes up.

Summer is fantastic!

So... Now I've visited Switzerland

2007-05-12T18:28:00.000+02:00

Had no idea I would spend part of my weekend in the land of clocks and mountains. But I did. We missed the conneting flight to Stockholm in Zürich, due to delayed flight out of Lisbon.

It wasn't much of a surprise to us that the Stockholm plane left Zürich without us, as we, already sitting at the gate in Lisbon, had seen the departure time change every 30 minutes. Second time it was delayed we realized we were toast.

Before boarding the delayed flight in Lisbon we called our travel agency - alternatively we could have attacked the Gate personell, which the majority of our fellow travellers decided to be the ultimate way of managing the situation. I really really really would like to know if they honestly think that screaming at a person in Lisbon will make time stop somewhere else in the world. Anyhow, the sad news for us was that our ticket didn't allow the agency to re-book us from Lisbon, but there was a chance we could be re-routed from Zürich via Copenhagen to Stockholm.

By the time we arrived in Zürich I couldn't care less about making the Copenhagen plane, but my colleague was dying to get home. So we ran. Like crazy. With coats, computer bags and hand bags flying. Trying to be polite by informing the travellers, slowly making their way in front of us, to mind us as we needed to pass them. We did good. We made it to the transfer desk first of all. But no luck. The Copenhagen plane was full and gate closed (as if that mattered since the plane was full already). Part from that little piece of non-interesting information the Swisse staff impressed us with their efficiency and pleasantness. Coming in from Portugal I guess we were easy to impress as well.

Standing at the desk, my colleague took care of answering questions and sorting out the details, so I had the possibility of watching other people. And again I was amazed to see how angry people behave (and this time it was not me). What incredible amount of energy must be used to be angry. What little good comes out of doing business when being angry. And how different people under press behaves. One german guy was standing way back in the line screaming at us all to hurry up. Moron. Then I overheard another guy saying he was a bit nervous he would not make his flight to Copenhagen (the guy was now first in line, but no clerk available to assist him yet).
I asked: "Are you on the 20:10 to Copenhagen?"
He: "Yes, but I have no boarding pass which was informed I must get here".
So I asked our Swisse-clock-clerk if it was possible she stopped helping us for a minute, in order to give the guy his boarding card which she happily did.

So, all in all, the trip back to Stockholm was not all bad. We've had a *lot* of good laughs and I'm so glad I didn't end up doing this trip alone. (Partially cause I would have laughed, and seemed like a crazy person being on my own).

As soon as we had our hotel voucher, and the boarding cards for the first flight out Saturday, we decided to (1) have champagne - for fun and (2) do tax-free shopping - which we normally never have time to do and now my kids will be happy.

Things that made me laugh:
* Fellow travellers - an endless source of joy. Sometimes because of how they look but most times because of what they do.
* Swisse people - proud wearers of funky looking moustaches
* Portugese people - excellent ignoring upset people (which is amusing as this upsets them even more)
* Ourselves - surprisingly stupid but in good spirit (like having the champagne instead of picking up our bags from the belt, so had to claim lost luggage...)

Vacation - Crete

2007-05-05T16:38:00.000+02:00

Been to Crete for a week with my two kids, my mother and my brother's two kids. This was a Christmas Gift from her to the kids (without first checking with the parents, and I was told to join as she couldn't manage all four of them on her own).

We stayed in a decent apartments hotel, although I missed central heating as it gets freezing cold and damp at night. It had a nice pool, were the kids enjoyed some hours. And the hotel was right on the beach so I could spend my hours down there overlooking the sea listening to my walkman.

Great foods as always. Drank some fantastic Raki (the Greek version of Italian Grappa) but also had some *really* nasty Raki which hadn't been filtered enough and left a terrible oily aftertaste (I smiled happily at the proud maker of the shite as he looked like he'd gone through some hard work to produce it). Interesting, but not unexpected, weather: rain, 15 degrees and windy one day, then 25 and sunny the next. I was pleased I had brought not only my bikini but my padded windstopper jacket which I wore some of the days as well as every night.

So all in all a great holiday then? Ehrm, well...

I was 16 when I moved away from home and after 10 minutes with her I remember why. Being with her is like riding a roller-coaster filled with lunatic dictators. I do lover her, it's just that I cannot stand being around her for very long. She lacks important social skills, but is the first to point out if anyone else is in error. She is intimidating when addressing just about anyone, and gets offended if anyone doesn't address her properly. She doesn't listen to anyone, but expects all to listen to her at any given time. She has terrible mood swings and has no patience, what so ever, if anybody (and we're especially talking about *kids* aged 9-13 here) is acting up due to being tired, warm, cold or hungry.
If there is such a thing as Kharma, I am scared to think of what she'll be in her next life. And I feel sorry for her. All the time.

But it was a great holiday. I had some really good talks with the kids (not surprisingly due to some of grandma's odd outbursts during the day) where I was happy to hear what they'd felt (mostly that she was over reacting) and how they manages to cope with her.

I listened to some great music and realized that I need more time away from the office in order to be able to listen to some music as it requires me being relaxed in order to enjoy it.

I read The Wasp Factory and Complicity by Iain Banks. Both good, so will go hunting for more of his works.

We visited an old friend who used to run a restaurant, but now runs five of them in Rethymnon. I was delighted to see how happy he was to see us all again. Truly heartwarming.

And we all have a nice tan so winter felt far away until we came back last night only to find it was -1 degree and frost :-)

PS. the picture is especially for Anna

Dilbert

2007-04-24T22:54:00.000+02:00

This strip was waiting for me in my inbox today. Obviously Dilbert must have felt I had overlooked one of the consequences of my working too much.

In my defence, I can only argue that this exact problem did cross my mind when getting up for the millionth(?) cup of coffee Sunday night in the office.

All work and no play

2007-04-23T23:24:00.000+02:00

Still alive, but just had a revelation! => Working 40 + XXhrs/week creates a private back log. (DUH!)

Amazing how I keep overlooking the result of my prioritising work over life. (Well, not entirely true, but when needed, and once I get going, there's no stopping me from finishing what needs to be finished (...on time, and as cost efficiently as possible, and with as high possible quality and yada yada yada...).)

So, after spending a ridiculous amount of hours working last week (which (again) has proven to be a good choice given the fact that I am now really on top of things - and no one in the project can claim they are not aware of current status) I decided to go through some papers lying around at home - and YIKES: Declaring Taxes are due next week!!! And my kids' passports must be picked-up this week!!!!!!

Breathe in...
Breathe out...

OK.

Yes, it is late. I should be in bed. But these things must go in to a plan.

Taxes: hm...
- Impact if nothing is done (i.e. no extra effort at all on my part) = the pre-filled out papers state I will get €350 back.
- Sounds OK. So, effort needed in order to turn red numbers black. Cool.
- Then again, I could put in some extra numbers leaving me probably double that amount. ...Decisions. Decisions.... (So, if can I put in those extra hours, meaning placing some calls in order to get the amount´s right - then I can claim that extra €350.) Right...
- Do I have the time to do so during normal office hours? Well... yes, but... doing that will probably cost as much lost non-billable hours.
- So, should I invest the time to do so? Probably not.
Fine!
Plan = Do nothing but sign papers and send to Tax office.

Passports: hm...
- Impact if not picked up before COB Thursday this week: Critical!
- Consequence if fails = no trip to Greece on Friday for my kids....
- Cost for picking up passports during office (non-billable hours) = €200
- So, should I invest the time to go pick up the passports? Yes.
Fine!
Plan = Pick up passports.

And again, I have a plan. It still does not include cleaning my home, or catching up with friends, or going to the gym - but it will keep me and my important ones satisfied for another 2 weeks. Good enough for now.

Gift or curse - I'm still annoyed

2007-04-18T20:11:00.000+02:00

I love public transportation!

When abroad, it is my favourite way of getting about in the cities. (I've exposed my feelings on cab drivers here before, so will not go on about that again.)

And Stockholm has a decent system, if you're not prone to complaining everytime a small mishap occurs causing delays, but this is an issue I have no problem with as I feel I am partially to blame for not starting my trip early enough to allow delays. The fare is also amazingly cheap (eventhough I did grunt when being informed yesterday that it had doubled since I last used their fine services) so the price isn't a reason for my complaints either. I can afford it and I'm happy it is there for me when needed.

But here comes the problem: I have a tendency (curse of gift) to always look at things that, if changed, would optimise an existing flow.

Well, when it comes to the Swedish public transportations I have, countless times, realised that the biggest issue in the whole flow are the awful travellers. They have no brains! They have no manners! They do not acknowledge the fact that there are other people around with just as much right to exist in this public space as they do. And should they occationally acknowledge your presence, it is by grunting at you for them stepping on your feet, or elbowing you in your stomach, or them having to move out of the way in order for you to get out of the place (so they can get on/sit down).

Another favourite is that they may, on any given time and in any spot, decide it is a great time/spot to stop and rummage their bag for a lost piece of gum, paper clip, ringing phone... The best places for this is usually where the escalator ends or where the door just opened and people are now trying to get out.

But what gets me the most is that all of the parts mentioned above adds up to a nightmare when it comes to the escalators and even worse on those flat speedy transportation belts. These people probably don't all have drivers licenses - so fine - but ffs, plain common sense should be enough for them to at least try and line up on the same side as most of the others already standing still? Or if deciding to speed up (i.e. no longer stay put), could they not have a small glance back in order to see if there is someone approaching at higher velocity before just stepping out?

My cure: kill 'em all

On killing rabbits

2007-04-17T22:07:00.000+02:00

Picked up a new book today, and there was a part where the narrator is trying to kill a rabbit (which he probably manages to do, it's just that I haven't finished reading that part yet.)

The story brought back a very odd memory:
I, my kids and my bf at the time, came home to my house one day only to find that there was a rabbit lying in my driveway. It must have been hit by another car and I took it for dead. But then it tried to run away, which broke my heart as the crash obviously hadn't kill the poor animal but only broken its spine. Now the rabbit was just able to move the front part of the body while the back part was completely limp.

OK sad, but only one thing to do - put Thumper out of his misery asap!

I took the kids inside, suggesting whacking the poor creature against a tree or hit it over the head with a rock but the bf took command. He'd sort it out.

After two minutes he comes back in asking for some worker gloves. I gave him some. Another twenty minutes later he came back in saying it had been really hard to get a firm and tight enough grip around that thin neck, hence it had taken him so long to strangle the rabbit.

PS: None of you know this ex bf
PPS. The narrator in the book managed to kill the rabbit, also strangling the creature.

Spring is officially here

2007-04-14T22:55:00.000+02:00

Our barbeque was fired up for the first time this year which is the classic Swedish sign of announcing spring is here. Some nights it seems everyone in the entire neighbourhood fires up their barbeques and the smoke hangs thick. At these nights you might see the usually very reserved Swedes lean out over the balcony railings to spy on the neighbour's dinners and if spotted, a small nod can be seen. That's just how crazy we get...

Food was good as we were all hungry from our walk in the National park. Being another beautiful +20 degrees day, we were smart not to go in there until after park rush hour. Was great sitting on a rock by the water, drinking coffee and enjoying the sun. Was a laugh watching my kids playing with frogs! There were so many frogs just floating around in the water, and when the kids stuck their hands in the frogs swam up and hugged them. They acctually climbed out of the water clinging to the arms, probably enjoying the warmth from these creatures by the waterfront. Never seen frogs behave like that before.

Post edit: The following week we hade snow!

Trying to be positive here!

2007-04-13T23:07:00.000+02:00

Driving home today I realized that everything going in to this blog has been negative-ish. And today was a FAN-fckng-TASTIC day with sunshine and +20 degrees which made me smile. So I was thinking I should be able to blog something more positive. (Also thinking about Kharma and all that...)
Unfortunately I realized I was not only smiling due to the great weather, when driving through the city center, I was smiling (read: smirking) watching all these fools out in the sunshine. People look like such dorks, thinking they look good. Seriously, wtf is up with this years gigantic sunglasses? They look like the comic oversized glasses sold in toy stores 10-20 years ago - and NO they do NOT make you look hot. They make you look stupid as hell.
And all these girls wearing stupid shorts worn with leggings underneath and dresses over - couldn't make up their minds when getting dressed in the morning or simply had no light/mirror?

Anyho... I was a tad bit hungover today. Had a great evening last night meeting up with a friend. The plan was an after work drink. I insisted we needed food first. And so we ended up with way too much drinking. As always. Evening ended in the Vampire Lounge where two (dorky) DJs were playing 60's & 70's music which was unexpected but fun. Excellent drinks! So very likely to be a stop for my next night out.

As always the evening ended up with us music sharing (mobile bluetoothing), so I had my first listen to Porcupine Tree (in the taxi home). Never heard of them, but instantly fell in love with. Follow the link and listen to Blackest Eyes. Hope you enjoy it.

In closing I'd like to express my gratitude for Alca-Seltzers! I woke up 5.00 in the morning, and wanted to die since my head was about to crack open. But downing a glass of that fine potion, I could not only go back to sleep but also wake up feeling good when going to work 2 hours later. Amazing!

Taxi drivers - can we kill the bad ones?

2007-04-12T23:04:00.000+02:00

WTF is up with the cab drivers?

Shouldn't I as a paying customer be able to rely on the fact that their business is to KNOW addresses?
(I always seem to be guiding them when they are obviously struggling to find the right way/address. And the times I've decided NOT to (or tbh fallen asleep), they have messed up big time and been driving either completely wrong or chosen to take a route that is sooooo out of the way to get to B from A.)

And - tonight (again) - I ended up in a taxi where the driver obviously believed that the vehicle would not move forward unless he PUMPED the gas into the engine using the gas pedal. Which a) makes me annoyed as hell and b) makes me sick to my stomach.

But OK, maybe killing them is bit drastic, but can we at least think of new professions for these sad people? Please?

I want drugs

2007-04-08T22:02:00.000+02:00

I hate being sick. Happens very rarely, but it seems that when I go down - I go down hard. Been in bed for the last 5 days going through 2 packs of painkillers and I've used up 2 rolls of toilet tissue. My nose is flaky and my head feels like it is about to explode every time I cough (which is only every 5 minutes...)

Luckily it seems that noone I've met has caught this nasty bug. I hope it stays that way.

And oh, I do not want pity. I want drugs to get well. So if you got some, send them over asap. Cause I've got a concert to go to tomorrow!

Enjoyed 18 episodes of Heroes. (And now pissed cause the rest aren't available yet). Also read a book that made me both laugh and cry: Mark Haddon's "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time". Worth a read if you've got the time.

Friends - to do or not to do

2007-04-05T16:53:00.000+02:00

Some thoughts on terms related to friends and sex

:ex-partners
I know people who say they still manage to stay friends with their ex-partners. Now, that has never been me. Either I still wanted to shag them (i.e. I was dumped) or they still wanted to shag me. And never liked the idea of drinking my coffee with one hand while trying to guard my privates with the other. (Makes me think of dogs humping your leg. You would not want to be friends with that, would you? And even worse(!) you would not want to BE that dog, right?)

But, right now I am managing to stay friends with my latest ex. And I'm convinced it is partially related to the fact that we broke up due to lack of shagging. Well, obviously not the only reason but it was definately part of the problem. Anyhow, for the last 4-ish months we've enjoyed dinners and coffees, seen movies and helped each other out with everyday life things like shopping for new furnitures and feeding the cat when off skiing. Love it!
However, I am pretty sure this new friendship of ours will be affected when a new partner comes in to one of our lives. But I'm both happy and proud that we are managing to keep the friendship up. In so many ways he makes me a better person.

:shag-mates
Now this sounds too cool to be true. I have heard so many people speak of having/being "just shag-mates" but to be honest, there has always been something in those stories that turns out to be less cool. Such as broken hearts (one of them will fall in love), or disgust (for self or the other giving it up too easily) and even personality changing (not liking the person they shag, but manage to put that out of their minds just to get laid).
I still like the idea though. The whole no-strings-attached thing. Just can't see it working for me.

:friends
To me a friend is someone you love but do not shag. But after checking out what Webster says I realize I am more describing one of the many *activities* I would not engage in with someone I call a Friend.
The topic was briefly discussed in a hotel room two days ago. Two mates of mine (too tired/drunk to sit up) lay on the beds while I was enjoying the champagne I found in the mini-bar, sitting in the only good chair just watching them. And there they were discussing if it was possible to have sex with a friend or not. And it turns out one of them obviously used to think you could, but had changed opinion after talking to me. I wish I'd keep my mouth shut more often.

Came back to Stockholm - spent the night in a hotel...

2007-04-03T19:30:00.000+02:00

Sunday april 1st

Flew back from Dublin
(Had a grand 4-days long weekend with great mates, many laughs and lots of Guinness)

Stopped for a (one) drink
(Yes, only 1 (one) in a nice hotel lobby in Stockholm. I was in the pleasant company of a mate who happened to fly back to Sthlm from Dub with the same flight. Well, to be honest, it wasn't the fact that I would be working the day after that made me have only that 1 glass. It was simply the fact that the bar closed when we came in to the hotel, but the barman was a good enough guy to let us have that one drink. He then quickly packed up and went home.)

Got a cab back home
(Eeeeeeexpensive, but I was still happy as there was very little traffic so what the fck. Another 20 minutes later I paid him a small fortune and turned down his nice offer to wait until I was safely inside. Mvhahahaaaa, this is not a *dangerous* neighbourhood you know I told him and rolled off with my luggage.)

01:10 - stared at my apartment door holding 1 key of 2 keys to open the locks on the door
(So that's what I get for being a risk manager...The story to this is that as I was packing for my trip on Wednesday night and I realized that I'd be leaving the apartment very early in the morning, and by habit I might accidently lock both locks. By doing that I would have put my daughter in a tight spot as she reported one of her keys had stopped working during the week. So, being a good and careful mom, I took that one key off my own keychain and stored it in safely in my key cabinet. Now at 01:10 in the morning, I realized that my daughters key was indeed still working...)

Got a cab back to work(!)
(Had a moment with my tired head against my apartment door, eyes closed, teeth grinding and needed a) to go to the loo, b) take off my shoes and c) sleep in my own bed.

Options considered with head against the door:
- Go to my mom's and wake both her & my kids up, still not get any decent sleep since there's not room for more than 3 pps at her house?
- Go to ex boyfriend and spend hours catching up?
- Go back to the hotel I just left?
- Scream at the top of my lungs? (Tempting but insane, so no)
- Find a dark spot outside to relieve bladder?
- Call hotel near my office in order not to get stuck in morning rush-hour traffic?

I went for the last option. Only. Spent 10 minutes getting cold waiting for the cab. Then seriously considered picking a fight with the cab driver since he insisted keeping the speeding limit, when there was just us out driving. Decided to bite my tongue with fresh memory of picking cab driver fight abroad... And 40 minutes later I paid for the even more expensive cab ride.)

02:00 Biting my tongue, getting my room key
(Arrived safely at hotel, and spent, what at least *felt* like, 20 minutes at the desk waiting for the receptionist to get through the check-in procedure. Of course I added to the normal check-in time by claiming to be entitled to the T2-rate (which I obviously am *not* as not a T2-employee). The guy wanted to see some proof (good man). Like a T2 business card (duh, for employees only) or an business ID badge (yeah, I got one of those!) but it was safely left at home (behind the closed door) and obviously not brought to Dublin for risk managing reasons (and why would I need it until Monday anyway - right?). So spending 4 minutes trying to make him understand that I could not prove it, and would happily pay full price as long as he just gave me the key to the bleeding room.

At this point he just gave me a long sad look and said "why are you so upset?". So I took a deep breath, told my story and that magically made him produce the key to my room.
Checking out the next morning I noticed he gave me the T2 price. Thanks!)