...or the other way around.
Wrote a list on facebook today (still cannot believe how addicted I am to it). It was basically one of those 'chain mail' like things, when you list some stuff about yourself, and then pass it on, expecting all your friends to write about themselves back. If I get that in my normal mail I occasionally do it, but not always. But this time it was a list of 25 completely random things - making it really hard to 1) think of 25 things, 2) think of 25 things you want to share with others, and 3) think of 25 things you want to share with others but might still be fun or interesting for them to read.
Anyway, since not all of you are on facebook, and since I cannot for the world think of anything to blog about today, here's my list:
1. I really dislike my eyebrowes.
2. I got secretly engaged to hubby after having dated only 3,5 months.
3. Something must have happened to my brain when I was 16, because ever since then I cannot do maths. Used to love it when I was younger.
4. I cannot stand the taste of coconut after getting really drunk on piña coladas.
5. I was allergic to all dairy products as a child, and still do not drink milk (and will therefore probably break all my bones by the time I’m 60).
6. I will, at some point in life, adopt a cat.
7. I have a very serious conscience, and will fret about tiny things for ages — I teased a girl in first grade and still feel bad about it (sorry!)
8. I lisped as a kid, and had to have tongue surgery — I still cannot roll my r’s.
9. I never liked NKOTB, although pretended to have a crush on one of them, just because as a girl you had to.
10. My motto is to never regret anything, but there are, in fact, a few things I do regret.
11. I have quite a temper, and once tore up a love note hubby had written to me, just because I was so cross with him. I regret that!
12. I haven’t skated on ice since I was about 10 or 12, when my mum refused to buy me new skates, but insisted I’d use her old ones. They were brown and orange, and I was too embarrassed to be seen wearing them.
13. 10 years old I crashed with my bike, and completely freaked out — not because of the blood and the pain, but because my friend was hysterical, crying that she could see the brain running out of my head!
14. I keep a journal for depressive thoughts, but never go back and read the entries. It probably saves me from having to see a therapist, though.
15. I’m allergic to liquorish.
16. I love cookbooks, but can’t really be bothered to cook myself.
17. I think chocolate is overrated.
18. Taking political science at university was a complete waste of time. I wish I had done history or art history instead.
19. I spend far too much time in front of the computer.
20. My best subjects in school was history and all languages, but I somehow also managed to get an A in science. Probably because everyone else in class was so lazy.
21. When I moved away from home, I once dreamt that my mum screamed she hated me, and never wanted to see me again. The next morning I had to call her to make sure she still loved me. She sent me a postcard the same day, saying she does. I still treasure that card.
22. In high school, I really hated philosophy, and used to spend the time in class at the back of the room, reading girly magazines and gossiping with my best friend. At the end of the year, I managed to talk myself up to a good grade, by claiming that the teacher had ignored us.
23. I don’t believe in astrology, but am sometimes scared to see how much said about cancerians that fits my personality.
24. If we ever have kids, I will definitely be the strict and boring parent. Hubby will be the fun one.
25. I’m basically always cold, and do not miss Scandinavian winters at all.
The blog goes facebook
Not dead yet
Just remembered the highlight of my Christmas, the one thing that really stood out: I had to show my ID when buying alcohol in the local liquor store! I'm going to live off that one for years... (Some might say it's possible that the young male cashier was just trying to be nice, but no. I refuse to believe that! It's so obvious - it must have been my young looks!)
My husband, the famous author
So, don't just sit there: run and buy (alternatively, get it online). I promise, £95 is a bargain; there's a lot of blood, sweat and tears behind that book! (I'm sorry to inform you though, that we have no free copies to spare. But if you are really nice, you can probably get the unrevised version as a pdf - Tim will not get any royalties anyway. In fact, the pictures in book has costed him more than the publisher has paid him. Oh, the cruelty of the academic world!)
Hallelujah!
I have finally pulled myself together and joined a choir! I had actually thought about it since I moved to London 1,5 years ago, but never got around to do it. So, I figured it was now or never. I've never had more spare time than now, and need to make some new friends. Also, it would be nice to do something with music again - it has been far too long without. So I sing in the choir of the Swedish church every Thursday evening (and once a month in Sunday mass). It is great fun to sing again, but my, has it been long. When was I last in a choir? 1997? In the USA? 12 years... No wonder it is tough! Reading music isn't the problem, it is finding the right notes (without having to tune in after someone else). And I, who always thought I was a first alto, was more than happy to sing second. Oh, those high notes did not make my throat happy! Maybe it is all the drinking over the past 12 years? A few more and I'll be singing with the baritones.
Anyway, today we had our first 'performance' of the year, singing in church. I wasn't doing too well, suffering from a pretty bad cold, but wanted to participate anyway. Forced poor Tim out of bed to come and listen, but I think he was pretty impressed. Or he was being very nice. One of the two. (And he was also very shocked over how 'catholic' a Swedish mass was. That's the Swedish lutherans for ya!)
Shopping heaven!
I don't normally do a lot of shopping (believe it or not), because I don't want to spend the money Tim has worked hard for (it is our money, I know, but there are things that should be paid for first: rent, electricity, council tax etc.) on clothes and rubbish. But today, I went in to town to buy some more coffee (the flavour of the season is 'caramel', and it is divine!). But after having cashed in a check from the Swedish state (oh, sweet tax returns) I didn't feel too guilty stocking up on CDs at HMV (sadly I seemed to have been the only one who preferred to shop in Zavvi, because the went bankrupt right after Christmas). Wonderful! Came home with seven CDs - some an experiment (hey, they were cheap!) and some much wanted: Glasvegas, Fleet foxes, Kasabian, the Kooks, Muse, the Killers and finally Noah and the whale. [Feel free to guess what was what!]
On the way back I also just happened to pass GAP. And just happened to walk in. To see if there was still something good on the sales racks. And there just happened to be! Some absolutely gorgeous woolly sweaters! Down from £39 to £9. I bought three... I feel slightly guilty, but also a bit pretty, and very happy! There's nothing like a real bargain!
Back at home
We are finally back in the flat. It is a bit chilly, but not too bad (feared the worst). It took quite some time to get home from Stansted (no trains for two days, so complete panic with all the coaches - we were apparently lucky - earlier in the day the queue had been two hours), and I feel a bit bad for Tim who has to get up for work tomorrow morning. I will stay in, and unpack, and relax, and contemplate meaning of life.
Home by the flat, we were greeted by this beautiful scenery. Snow! Tim had to take a picture. (And yes, it is our house you see.) Absolutely wonderful, and absolutely gone the morning after.
Happy New Year!
Happy New 2009! As always, it feels really strange to say that year. It still seems really far away (just as the turn of the millennium feels like yesterday - I guess I'm getting old).
We spent New Years Eve with family and friends in Nyköping, south of Stockholm. They had friends visiting from Germany. Friends with a vineyard... So, both before and after dinner we had a great wine tasting session. ['Tasting' is here a bit of a loose term, since it meant 'drink a full glass', rather than the more common 'have a sniff and a sip and then spit it out'.] 12 different wines and one type of sparkling, of which 5 was before dinner... Well, if nothing else it loosened up any previous language barriers (although I'm really ashamed to notice how poor my German has become). It was quite an evening!
Having heard about how dressed up everyone was going to be (this is the one occasion every year that my dad wears his tuxedo!), Tim and I were a bit worried about what to wear to this formal event; not really in the mood (or having the economy for) buying or even renting anything new. In the end we borrowed clothes: Tim from my dad, and me from mum!!! (Yes, we are more than ashamed to say it fitted - and fitted far too well!) Tim had already borrowed a pair of formal (suit) trousers to wear at Christmas, and in the closets we also found a tuxedo shirt and a dark green blazer. A trip to the store to buy a bow tie, and Tim's outfit was complete! (He is very embarrassed about the fact that he could wear my dad's stuff, so I must add that dad hasn't been able to wear them for quite a number years. Just for the record!) I, on the other hand, went through mum's closets (or, rather, she went through them for me), and found a dark green ball gowny thing. Which, I am terrified to confess, fitted perfectly! Well, the skirt did. The top was quite a lot too big (hurray!), but a golden belt (also mum's, mid 60's) fixed that. So, there we were, dressed as my parents, very matching - both in green. Still not sure if it was a good thing or not. (And I'm really proud of Tim for putting up with all that - I'm not sure I would have appreciated going dressed up as his mum...) Well, turns out we didn't have to worry: Germans apparently have no sense of dress code! At least we made the effort.