Jokers Cave of Games

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...