Jokers Cave of Games

The electrical wiring of places like this puts a different standard on the table than what we perhaps tend to be used to. Facades of buildings are withered and broken with garish signs attempting to cover it up.  A concept that tends to fascinate me as a Westerner, whenever I go to Asia, Africa or the likes, is the local market. The way people in the destination actually live their everyday lives. Of course, it is sometimes hard to reach beyond the tourist market and find the real ones, but that is also part of the challenge of experiencing the other culture. We go to other cultures, other countries and try to get a sample of how they live their lives, but the more the destination is adapted for tourists, the less of that we actually get. When I looked through the travel agency's recommendations for eating out, for instance, one of the most highly recommended places was Viking Pizzeria. Yep, for that ultra-Swedish feeling, it was the place to go if you were Scandinavian, ...

Vacation. For me, it's always been hard to relax, to take a vacation and really enjoy it. Guess I am tense that way. Still, to arrive way early in the morning, just after sunrise, and feel the 35-degree heat blasting down with palmtrees of the jungle swaying all around you and the gentle seasurf rolling across the beach, that helps a lot. The Apsara Beachfront resort left something to be desired, for sure. The rainforest is aptly named and rain will quite often crash down unlike anything we are used to in Scandinavia. And it eats buildings up. The locals tend to have very waterresistant houses, putting energy into the lightweight roofs, while walls are very often totally non-existant. A hotel can't really have that luxury, since we tourists tend to keep valuables and a sense of privacy with us, no matter where we go.  The first room we got lasted for the day. During the night, we slept very poorly and awoke to strange, pattering sounds. Vendela thought the room was swarming w...

There will be no order to the pictures or how they are presented. Just basically spur of the moment and the story will unwind with no regard for narrator thread.  This first picture is from the first surprise, from the room. Imagine storming in and rushing into the bathroom the first thing, like you do, only to see the dark wall light up as your roommate starts to unpack. And around that time, you're surely not able to lift yourself off the porcelain throne :) Who has a full-wall window between the bedroom and the toilet? One-way mirror would be something else, but this? And to make matters more interesting, our friends Darren and Kelly were actually upgraded into a room that was more or less the same, except there was no window! No… how shall I put it… soundproofing. The next picture is the Ila Lounge, the bar for us who went All-Inclusive. Truth be told, we shouldn't have. It wasn't really cutting costs and you did get somewhat tired of the food in the rest...

Just a little thread, a little reminder, about what life is all about. Never forget, it's about being happy. Here are some thoughts on how to be just that... For all of you who need it...  ·           Social bonds. I happen to be somewhat, if not overly, introverted by nature. Some would perhaps disagree but considering the definition of introversion, I am. That doesn’t mean that I don’t like people, or interactions. In fact, even though I am introvert by nature, good relationships provide the strongest base for life satisfaction. Instead of surrounding myself with innumerable friends, I choose to have a few deeper connections and really nurture them. Like my family! ·           Make a difference. By making a positive difference in the life of others, I allow them to make a positive difference in mine. By helping and reaching out, I increase my own feeling of self-worth and add meaning to my pitiful lit...

The breakfast. Breaking the nightly fast was something we were looking forward to. Denied the opportunity to eat in the Bistro, we were somewhat starved when the morning finally came. Interestingly, there had been several notes celebrating the splendor of the breakfast, but surprisingly little information providing practical details. In fact, when we went down and started yanking the door, a young lady provided us with the information that it would be another 15-20 minutes before breakfast was served. And then she looked at us and tried to lock the door, as if we would decide to sneak in while her back was turned to snatch a scoop of Kalles kaviar perhaps. Unfortunately, the door wouldn't lock, even after her insistent attempts, so she instead placed a small ashtray outside the door to stop us. Let me just add, for a moment here, that I live in a modern world. I have seen zombie movies, alright? This barrier wouldn't really suffice to stop a horde of ravenous proles, clawing to...

Communities. Society. Collectives. Social gatherings. For some people, these words give comfort and meaning. Together is the banner under which we all gather. There are enormous advantages to be had from a gathering of people, to be sure, and I will laud these in time. Presently, however, I wish to comment on the Towel Event. Towels - are they a sodalitarian resource or the individual's property? I have lived alone for most of my life, and thusly come to cherish the bastion of sanctity constituted by the comfort of my own towel. It smells of me, and I know the creases and wrinkles like the back of my hand. That towel is part of a elite selection of towels that serve only me, personally. Enter the Dames. Yep, that's what I will call the two ladies who govern my life. These Dames seem to consider towels a form of common amenity. You come out of the shower, you grab the one that is free. It's that easy. And the situation grows even more complicated when you consider the fac...

Let us start where we left off. Slow train bed and breakfast. We passed Kutens Bensin, the designated waypoint for turning off the main road (wherein is meant a small asphalt road, barely enough for two cars to pass each other. Then there was a small metal ball on top of a stonewall, a sign that with a shaking handwritten scrawl declared "Slow Train". Turning it, we came upon a garden no less. Parking on the grass, to one side there was a barn with a side that said "Eater" and to the other, a standard residence. The garden was in rickety shape, overgrown and ignored. The cellar entrance to the house had been opened, or swung open by itself, with a sign plastered over it that said "Jimmy Polke Välkommen Hem". For some reason, it brought to mind the return of a lost love one, who spent the last years in jail. Anyway, we moved around the residence to the main entrance and peeked suspiciously at the door. It looked just like somebody lived there. No signs o...

The trip to Gotland turned out to be fascinating and interesting for several reasons. Some of the more surprising travel memories were constituted quite incredulously. We started from the house in Svalsta in the wee morning hours, actually quite some time before the Sun even pondered getting up. I wouldn't say I was flabbergasted by the mood in the vehicle, but not far from it, as all were sparkling happily and busy chatting away. Except for the ones snoring, but I think that's only common sense. Anyway, Nynäshamn, where the ship arrived at the break of dawn for boarding.  The first stop, after landing on the island and having been forced through the mandatory smoking pit-stop, was Lummelunda Grottorna. There are some really famous caves on the west side of Gotland, something the explorer in me just had to see. If you go there, I recommend you bring warm clothes. Temperature outside was about 30 degrees C in the shade. Inside, it's around 8, and you will be there fo...

As many might have noticed, it has been some time since my last input here. This has not been due to lack of events that have transpired, but rather the opposite. In fact, I have a somewhat horrendous backlog of things to write about, if I could just find the time! Some of the happiest moments of my life thus far have transpired, and some of the most sad ones. I have wed my beautiful wife (she helped a bit, naturally... I mostly said... "I do") and been on a very interesting honeymoon... week. Matters have not really calmed down yet. Even though the touching ceremony of the double funeral is now behind us, there remains a lot of stressful matters to attend to. Papers, papers, papers everywhere dealing with debts, accounts, bills and other economic matters. Add to this the more physical things that need to be sorted, moved and so on, and it amounts to a lot. Such a thing is rarely discussed, so it's new for everyone who has to go through it, unfortunately. Death is somet...

Let's just sum it up to say that it has been an emotional weekend, the equivalent of a huge rock hitting a little pond of water. I expect the ripples with carry for a long, long time before things start to quiet down again. Sadness will strike a life, and like everything else, it has to be turned with a conscious act, into something positive. Which is not easy at all. A symbol of how we sometimes feel, this picture was shot on a deserted, tiny road in the countryside somewhere between Kiruna and Luleå. Really, smack-dab in the middle of nowhere! As the ones close to us already know, there has been a great tragedy in the family. Vendela's father, Staffan, tragically passed away, and only two days after, his mother in turn also passed. A sorrow such as this cannot really be described and it is a great mystery of how to incorporate it into yourself, and yet life must go on. Somehow. We do our best to try to find the strength to carry on and sort the madness and chaos into or...

The installation phase is now slowly but surely drawing to an end. There are flowers in the garden and I have my own little spice garden with fresh herbs for cooking. True, I hardly even picked them out, and I sure as hell didn't plant them (to my defense I WAS cooking at the time) but now they are mine, mine, MINE! There is a certain to joy to the basic pleasures in life. Physical labor cannot be overrated - which is of course the main reason behind the healthtrend and the fashion for working out. For most types of depression, physical exertion has been proven to be as effective as anti-depressant medication. Which is, of course, to say that one of the main reasons for depressions can as easily be attributed to the fact that people don't exert themselves enough.  This is, when I look at it critically, the last day of my life as it is now. There are some major changes ahead. I am assuming the cape of plastic fatherhood, charging myself with the responsibility of caring for ...

Today has been a good day, even though it hasn't really started yet. Still a couple of hours to go before I go to work like a faithful and diligent little worker bee. With the day spent mainly in the garden, fixing the pool, grilling and then watching some TV, reading, napping or writing, I have to say it has already been a good one, and can now only get better. Just watched a show called MegaWorld about South Korea. Man, that's scary. Sometimes previously I tended to wonder about the mysteries of the world, and where they have all disappeared to. Imagine living in colonial times with strange mysteries and creatures hidden in exotic continents that could only be reached by arduous journeys. Personally, with the world at your fingertips as it is today, I thought the adventure and discovery was gone. Then you go and watch something like MegaWorld. Afterwards, I can't really say which of the projects that were emphasized that impressed (or scared) me the most. Korea, where a...

When is the moving really, really over? It is starting to feel as if it should be, yet now all that remains is to retain a measure of control. The crates have been unpacked, all the furniture is in place. Some new flowers have been added to the house, and the grill is mounted and tested. The money has gone through, and boy did it ever go through. The amount of loans and money transfers when selling one apartment and moving into a house is nothing short of staggering! Fortunately, I got around most of them and now, the economy has been cleaned up and in fact, looks to be cheaper living in the house than in the apartment. Will remain to be proven, though...  One of the more interesting thoughts that struck me today, on the topic of the picture above, was that I have never really added anything to a place where I lived. Sure, that is not entirely true, especially not since we built the house in Skåne, but that wasn't really ME. I, personally, don't do anything like build or m...

When moving, you come across the weirdest possessions... There is always the question nagging, and once again it has popped up: Why do you write in English? This is actually for the benefit of any who happen to stumble across the blog on Google, by the random function. Of course, odds are that YOU are reading and writing English, so why shouldn't I? In other words, ask not why, ask why not? Our "main paper" in Sweden, the Daily News or Dagens Nyheter, today carried a very interesting notice. It is actually something that has been concerning me for sometime, but whenever I bring it up people seem to coincide it with a sober drunken rant, as it were. For the Swedilinguent, you can check it out in it's full riches here: DN debatt om bristande social kompetens hos ungdomar It is about our dear young, the workforce of tomorrow and the carriers of our legacy and how they are mysteriously not getting jobs. Seems like, according to the article and the ravings of a mov...

Another one from High Chaparrall. Well, those of you who regularly check out my Flickr-page have probably already seen it. Personally, I can hardly understand how anyone can have the energy to move. It really takes a toll, and there is just so much to handle. Now, it's not that I am not used to it - I really have moved quite a few times during my days - but this time it is really complicated. There is the deal with the moving, and there is the deal with the selling of the apartment and there is the deal with the purchase of the house. Or mansion, as a dear friend of mine put it. Now, I am packing and going through all the stuff that needs to be thrown out. I constantly move to larger and larger spaces and throw out more and more of my possessions. Clearly, I tended to be a really cluttered person before. This time, it's of course not just me. There will also need to be space for Vendela's and Amanda's stuff. Space allocation for me is thus at a premium, sharing ...

Next New Year's celebration will be held at the house, with the new family. And there will be rockets. And I will not be working. It will be the best new year's yet! Hopefully, there will be guests as well, like mom and pops. Now, things are coming together. In one week today, the keys to the new house will be placed in my greedy little paws, and THEIR greedy little paws will be overflowing with almost three million Swedish playmoney. Still, a fair exchange I would say. And now, when things are drawing to a close, I am reaching the brim of my proverbial stressbeaker. This week, I am packing everything in little crates and dismantling furniture and so on. On Monday, the deed goes through, and we will inspect the house and so on. Perhaps even move some smaller things. Tuesday will be the big moving day, and it will be a haul, let me tell you. Wednesday will be for putting things in their place, and also to allow the cleaning crew to handle the apartment. Thursday then... Well...