Little strawberry (jordgubbar) plants.
Friday, April 25, 2008
We have always known these anchors fall with a thud
Jake left early for the airport this morning, at 4:45. At least it was already light out. Today I'm consoling myself by eating strawberry licorice and watching trashy American shows on Swedish TV. It's sunny and 17 degrees Celsius today, which seriously means spring for Stockholm. There are picnic-ers lining the grass by the water downstairs along Bergsunds Strand, and I wish I had someone to drink a beer with on my balcony!
Some pictures from Strandvägen and Djurgården from last week. I managed to get a cold a few days before the marathon, hence the large orange juice.
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Some pictures from Strandvägen and Djurgården from last week. I managed to get a cold a few days before the marathon, hence the large orange juice.
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Saturday, April 12, 2008
Let's hope these wheels have what it takes
Here's a song I like. It's called Måndagsbarn (Monday's Child) and it's by a Swedish singer, Veronica Maggio.
And my favorite Jens Lekman song, which reminds me of driving home from Mills on 580, with the Bay spread out to the left.
My second favorite Jens Lekman song, but my favorite video by far. He makes me laugh.
Also, two of my favorite Swedes, Suburban Kids with Biblical Names.
Why am I doing this, instead of writing up the results of the univariate analyses I did - the results of which were laughably insignificant (statistically) - for birth weight, birth length, etc., and suicide in adulthood? Maybe because suicide is a really depressing outcome to write about. I'll be so happy to finish this paper and move on to the much lighter topic of affective disorders.
And my favorite Jens Lekman song, which reminds me of driving home from Mills on 580, with the Bay spread out to the left.
My second favorite Jens Lekman song, but my favorite video by far. He makes me laugh.
Also, two of my favorite Swedes, Suburban Kids with Biblical Names.
Why am I doing this, instead of writing up the results of the univariate analyses I did - the results of which were laughably insignificant (statistically) - for birth weight, birth length, etc., and suicide in adulthood? Maybe because suicide is a really depressing outcome to write about. I'll be so happy to finish this paper and move on to the much lighter topic of affective disorders.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
April April, I do what I want
Just got back from Berlin, which I thought was cool if semi-drab. Our flight was delayed because of a computer issue in Berlin but our Scandinavian Airlines pilot apologized profusely at least ten times, literally, even though it was something he had absolutely no control over. I liked that. I'm happy to be back in the land of the Swedes.
One of the people we met at the conference was a guy from North Carolina who's doing a Fulbright in Germany this year, and while we were at the Pergamon Museum this afternoon he told me that April Fools's Day in Germany is just called "April April," and that there's an associated saying, which I would like to adopt as my personal motto for this and every April to come - "April April, I do what I want."
There were some good April Fool's Day jokes in the Swedish newspapers this year. In one city they wrote that they had decided to switch from regular tap water to carbonated water, and there was a whole thing about reassuring people that it wouldn't be weird to shower with carbonated water but that in fact it's been shown to have certain therapeutic properties. A newspaper in another town had a story encouraging people to stop by Systembolaget, the state-run liquor store, at lunchtime because Systembolaget was having a fire sale of their inventory because they were about to renovate the space and this was cheaper than moving the inventory during the work. The higher the proof, the more the price would be slashed. Maybe this is a sign that I've been in Sweden too long. If you know Systembolaget, this is very funny.
I saw my current name and my soon-to-be-name in Berlin. At the Pergamon Museum, the Pergamon Altar from the 2nd century BC has a vast frieze with a representation of Phoebe - Phoibe in Greek - with her daughter Asteria, attacking a giant. This picture is from some Australian University but C. took a picture of me in front of it, along with some people who stood there for bloody forever ogling a map of the ancient world on the wall. Also, apparently Phoibe/Phoebe was the 3rd goddess to hold the Oracle of Delphi. I didn't know that. In the picture below, she's the one holding the large spear or ramming object or whatever it is, naturally.
And I saw the street with the name that I'll get in approximately 2 months - DANZIGERSTRASSE. Now that's a mouthful. P. took a picture of it for me. This was shortly before a waiter spilled an entire stein of beer on me at the bar we were at in Prenzlauer Berg.
One of the people we met at the conference was a guy from North Carolina who's doing a Fulbright in Germany this year, and while we were at the Pergamon Museum this afternoon he told me that April Fools's Day in Germany is just called "April April," and that there's an associated saying, which I would like to adopt as my personal motto for this and every April to come - "April April, I do what I want."
There were some good April Fool's Day jokes in the Swedish newspapers this year. In one city they wrote that they had decided to switch from regular tap water to carbonated water, and there was a whole thing about reassuring people that it wouldn't be weird to shower with carbonated water but that in fact it's been shown to have certain therapeutic properties. A newspaper in another town had a story encouraging people to stop by Systembolaget, the state-run liquor store, at lunchtime because Systembolaget was having a fire sale of their inventory because they were about to renovate the space and this was cheaper than moving the inventory during the work. The higher the proof, the more the price would be slashed. Maybe this is a sign that I've been in Sweden too long. If you know Systembolaget, this is very funny.
I saw my current name and my soon-to-be-name in Berlin. At the Pergamon Museum, the Pergamon Altar from the 2nd century BC has a vast frieze with a representation of Phoebe - Phoibe in Greek - with her daughter Asteria, attacking a giant. This picture is from some Australian University but C. took a picture of me in front of it, along with some people who stood there for bloody forever ogling a map of the ancient world on the wall. Also, apparently Phoibe/Phoebe was the 3rd goddess to hold the Oracle of Delphi. I didn't know that. In the picture below, she's the one holding the large spear or ramming object or whatever it is, naturally.
And I saw the street with the name that I'll get in approximately 2 months - DANZIGERSTRASSE. Now that's a mouthful. P. took a picture of it for me. This was shortly before a waiter spilled an entire stein of beer on me at the bar we were at in Prenzlauer Berg.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Ich bin ein Berliner
+I'm going to Berlin from Sunday-Thursday, for some Fulbright conference that I don't entirely understand the point of. I've never been to Germany, except randomly to the Frankfurt airport multiple times, so I'm not complaining. I think it may be tremendously shallow of me that one of the things I'm most excited about is getting to go to the Berlin location of Galeries Lafeyette, the incredible Paris department store.
+I don't know what the current dollar/euro conversion rate is right now, but I will probably not be able to afford anything at Galeries Lafeyette, not even some of the French cheese I've been dreaming about. The Swedish krona is now at 6 to the dollar - 5.99 the last I checked, actually! - which is just dismal. When I got here it was still closer to 7, and people here tell me about the times when it was 12 kroner to the dollar.
+My foot has made a miraculous recovery, and it looks like me, Jake, and my lingonberry-stained shoes are going to be able to run the marathon after all. I had been feeling so crushed, and the pain was horrible and constant for almost a week, and then yesterday morning, all of a sudden, it was like 80% better. I'm not running on it this week but I've been doing as much cross-training I can. This is a huge relief. At the peak of the injury I was having horrible visions of hobbling down the aisle at the wedding in one white Marc Jacobs shoe and one white cast.
+Last week, on March 25, it was Våffeldagen (waffle day) in Sweden. For me, this meant that I got to eat the heart-shaped waffles they made at work for fika, with cloudberry and lingonberry jam, and whipped cream.
I just looked it up and apparently the day has its origins in Jesus/a pun. March 25th is precisely 9 months before Christmas - hence it is Vårfrudagen, or Our Lady's Day. However, when you mumble this, it sounds just like Våffeldagen.
+On Sunday, P. told me about something called "Mördarsnigel," or "murder snail." The name cracked me up, it's so incredibly dramatic. In English it's known as the Spanish slug, and because of rising temperatures it's become a big problem in Sweden because it invades and destroys gardens. I can't get over the fact that instead of calling it "Spansksnigel" or something, which I guess would be totally unacceptable because it might possibly affect people's attitudes towards Spain or the Spanish, which would be unfair, the Swedes choose to call it a murder snail. Regardless, it sounds nasty.
+I saw a flyer for some program at the University of the Arctic at work today. Now that would be an interesting place to study. There's a program called "circumpolar studies." I love that.
+I don't know what the current dollar/euro conversion rate is right now, but I will probably not be able to afford anything at Galeries Lafeyette, not even some of the French cheese I've been dreaming about. The Swedish krona is now at 6 to the dollar - 5.99 the last I checked, actually! - which is just dismal. When I got here it was still closer to 7, and people here tell me about the times when it was 12 kroner to the dollar.
+My foot has made a miraculous recovery, and it looks like me, Jake, and my lingonberry-stained shoes are going to be able to run the marathon after all. I had been feeling so crushed, and the pain was horrible and constant for almost a week, and then yesterday morning, all of a sudden, it was like 80% better. I'm not running on it this week but I've been doing as much cross-training I can. This is a huge relief. At the peak of the injury I was having horrible visions of hobbling down the aisle at the wedding in one white Marc Jacobs shoe and one white cast.
+Last week, on March 25, it was Våffeldagen (waffle day) in Sweden. For me, this meant that I got to eat the heart-shaped waffles they made at work for fika, with cloudberry and lingonberry jam, and whipped cream.
I just looked it up and apparently the day has its origins in Jesus/a pun. March 25th is precisely 9 months before Christmas - hence it is Vårfrudagen, or Our Lady's Day. However, when you mumble this, it sounds just like Våffeldagen.
+On Sunday, P. told me about something called "Mördarsnigel," or "murder snail." The name cracked me up, it's so incredibly dramatic. In English it's known as the Spanish slug, and because of rising temperatures it's become a big problem in Sweden because it invades and destroys gardens. I can't get over the fact that instead of calling it "Spansksnigel" or something, which I guess would be totally unacceptable because it might possibly affect people's attitudes towards Spain or the Spanish, which would be unfair, the Swedes choose to call it a murder snail. Regardless, it sounds nasty.
+I saw a flyer for some program at the University of the Arctic at work today. Now that would be an interesting place to study. There's a program called "circumpolar studies." I love that.
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