When Irish Eyes are Smiling...

My social life has always been decent, and I have made sure to maintain friendship and keep in touch with people even though I was in a relationship. Some people don't though, it seems. Some of the friendships that were formed during that time were with other couples, and it's a different story today. Today I find it freeing to avoid being the third wheel.

A month or two ago, I found myself still doing things the way I was used to. And my friends acted no different than when I was in the relationship. But now the rope has loosened a great deal, and I find myself meeting alot of different people in places I wouldn't have met anyone before. Friends of friends. Someone I met online. Old friends that I haven't talked to for 5 years. It's very rewarding and also, I must say, very refreshing. It's as if things are happening on their own almost.

Yesterday someone wrote to me. A girl I met in Dublin, over a weekend, 10 years (or more?) ago. We share the same taste in music and we met through talking online about a band that we both like. We met, only once, but had one hell of a good time, along with another new person from Australia. We lost touch after that, but as she wrote yesterday the thought of popping over to Dublin for some Guiness and fun occurred to me.

Glory glory hallelujah for Ryan. (and Guiness, needless to say)

I'm spinning Around

Yesterday saw the light of another spinning season for me. I used to go spinning on a regular basis and it's a good way of staying fit. It also serves as a good means of distraction. I admit I really love heavy techno with spinning. It's quite cool to just have a pumping beat and a voice telling you: "keep steppin at your own pace!" You find yourself in a trance-like situation and it's fabulous, you can do your thing and free your mind from all distracting things around you in your everyday life.

Thoroughly recommend it!

I'm on top of the world

Quick note to myself:

I will never, ever, allow anyone to tell me how to do things, how to say things, and how to live my life.

My life is MINE and MINE alone. I decide what I do, say, wear and feel. Nobody else but me has any say in the matter. Slightly self-centered, yes, but everyone should consider caring about themselves a bit more, rather than spending time and energy trying to live their lives aiming so hard to please others.

Over and out.

Me, Sara & Carrie - together at last.

I have changed alot of things in my life during the past 5 months. I've gotten to know alot of new fun people and I've started doing things I hadn't even dreamt of trying before. Like dancing, like loving music to the fullest again. Like going on a wild shopping spree (like a girly girl, when most of my life, I've been a bit of a tomboy.) Talking to different men in differerent places, I find it to be a bit of a Carrie-situation actually. Quite enjoying it!

Sara and I went shopping in true Carrie-fashion today. Recently, I bought a few pairs of shoes and boots, a nice jacket and some dresses. And boy does that make me feel like the hot mama I deserve to be! :)

Enough said. Sunday bloody Sunday - work tomorrow. I may go to bed with my new shoes on, they are just so gorgeous!

Back to basics and complete efficiency

This weekend I've pulled myself together and dealt with loads of stuff that needed doing. Took the banjo in for service, did the dishes, took the ipod speakers to ONOFF so I can now listen to Elvis, full blast again! Yay! Friday, I went to BAKFICKAN, a pub nearby - very very nice place indeed! I really liked it! I picked up my new Stig Lindberg fabric for the wall on Friday. Gorgeous and so cool - it totally makes me feel like Im in the right era. :) Managed to fix the vinylplayer I think, but not the hum in the speaker system. Someone claimed you need a small transformer box attatched with rca slots on both ends when you play music from the computer into your hifi system. Well, I don't stream from the computer, but from my mixer. So, I don't know, basically, whether or not I need to buy one. Hmmm. Tricky.
This weekend saw the light of a couple of new things in my life: watching TV, going to the movies (first time since May) and cooking a fab dinner for a friend, complete with candles and wine. Lovely!

And once again...

Once again, I have come to the conclusion that I am not ready for any type of relationship. Why don't I learn? I had to tell the two guys that are chasing me on Match to stay away, this morning. Can't deal with it, it makes me feel like I can't breathe. A shame really, but I hope it has to do with what I went through 5 months ago.

So, free like a bird. Again.

Technical failure

Murphy's Law struck, once again, this week.

In preparing for the party, my graphics card went bezerk, and Hugo who was then in the kitchen, at that same moment happened to crash my ipod speakers. (They are now stuck on max level and you can't turn it on or off.) As if this weren't enough, my vinyl player (new) isn't running, and the massive hum in the speaker system has returned, despite the fact that I bought a new, fancy audio cable for it. Mhmmm. Gets quite frustrating. Patience, my friends, patience is key. I changed my tyres this week, finally, and one of them was a spare. Turns out that winter tyres are fucked, so I need to buy 2 new ones.

Where should I begin? :)

*presses "IGNORE" and continues playing the banjo as if nothing happened" Oh, I'll be damned if the strap hasn't come undone because of a lose screw which is now caught inside. Music shop, next! *sigh* :)

Housewarming

The housewarming party last night was splendid! People arrived around 7 and the last guests left the building (not Elvis, unfortunately) at three. Martin helped me in the kitchen, as any good, modern man should :), and for that I am very grateful.
Annika, my old colleague came along with her husband Christer. It was fun to meet him, because I'd never met him before. He seemed very nice. My cousin Johanna came along too for a bit. Therese Björk, an old colleague of mine was there. I hadn't seen her for several years so that was cool. I have decided to go to her salon and cut my hair next time. She is a hairdresser. Jessica, Eddie and Glen were there, so of course we had to play and jam some! Per almost fainted when i took out my new banjo. We did a cool version of "pay me my money down" and it was so cool. I want to play in a bluegrass band! How awesome would that not be?

Dimman brought Laila along as well as an expensive Cuban cigar for me. Quite enjoyed that! Some colleagues from work showed up too: Anna-Karin, Krille, Erik and Martina. Most of them are now working elsewhere, but I thought that was good, otherwise there would be too much job-talk!

Around midnight, we recorded what will possibly be an award-winning version of We Are the World! It was magnificent and great fun! My neighbor (mean old hag!) came down in her nightgown at 2 and told me that she could hear the "dunka dunka" :) so we had to keep it down.

All in all, a great night with lots of fun! Thanks to all of you who came along and made this a fun evening / night to remember! Will put up a video for We are the World asap.

What a day for a Daydream

I have always been a bit of a dreamer. Daydreaming was one of my best subjects in school actually. Don't know why. I find myself doing it even now.

I will from now on try to stick to what is real, nothing more, nothing less.

The Love that Never Died

I am in love. With music. It's been awhile since I was this hooked. I can't stop dancing, singing, moving, playing... It's incredible. I haven't done that for a long time with the passion that I'm feeling now. It's also a cool feeling to be alone in a room and dance around without anybody there. Try it, if you haven't. I recommend some Elvis tunes for that purpose: Hound Dog and Trouble are my two favourites right now. Despite the fact that I get revitalised by 50s rock n roll, my choice of music took a complete turn today when I have only listened to Fred Astaire and Ella Fitzgerald. I always loved those two. Nice scraping 40s sound in my Bose speakers! :)

I love the Springsteen album where he plays American classics like "We Shall Overcome" and "Pay me my money down", and apparently there is a live version of this: Live in Dublin! I must must must have that!

Music fills the hole in your soul if you ever had one. I thoroughly recommend it for anyone who feels like something is missing in their lives.

Light a candle. Turn out the lights. Listen. Carefully.

Can you feel it? The power of music is greater than I had ever realised.

Fuck! I must jump up and dance! AGAIN Dammit!

A sign?

I couldn't resist posting about something I saw in the shop today. I am slowly getting used to using the washing machines here and remembering my washing times, after having had the luxoury of washing whenever I wanted. (Dagens I-lands problem!)

I think that maybe this detergent will perhaps inspire to wash more often. Or maybe it's just a sign that I should do the washing more often??

Ms Carling sent me to Heaven and back!

I have to share this videoclip with you. Yesterday I saw Gunhild Carling perform, and it was one of the coolest things I've seen. She totally blew me away. I was curious and have listened to her music alot today. Bagpipes rock! For those of you who don't know, if I ever get married, I would like it to take place in a Scottish castle with pipers, and with kilt dresscode! :)

Lindyhop at Heptown

I have tried something extraordinary. I managed to challenge myself and try out lindyhop at last night's crash course at Tangopalatset. I brought some colleagues with me: Marga, Marie and Göran, and Anna Karin. They were all fascinated by the fact that you actually feel like you have moved back in time to re-live the 20s and 30s - the dancers were amazing too. You can read about lindyhop in Malmö and retro living here. In the course, we had to switch partners every minute or so which was really good I think. I danced with someone whose name I cannot remember. He was indeed a very good leader and he claimed that he knew me from somewhere. Didn't have a chance to ask from where... We learned a basic routine, and I thought it was really fun!

Afterwards, we had a chance to practise what we had just learned to a live band and the splendid Gunhild Carling. I had never heard her before, but I'd say it was one of the best performances I've seen. That woman can do anything on stage! She is a multi-instrumentalist and even got the megaphone out for that true Billie Holiday sound. Amazing. I wanted to snog her, but since I'm not gay, I decided against it.

My friend Mårten (who got me into this in the first place) was there too, looking fabulous I must say. Very cool retro-style clothes. Who needs Harry's? Who needs Hipp? Who needs Etage? I really don't know what I've been missing. Mårten claims that once you've tried it you're hooked. It may be the case here too. Anna Karin was so fascinated by this and loved it so much that she's decided to come along to the course in February! Yay! The more, the merrier! Mårten showed me some moves afterwards. It's so much easier when you try it at your own pace and get someone to tell you how to do things. That was really nice. Below, you can hear him sing "I found a new baby". Very brave!

The evening ended with Marga's 60-something-tango-friend dancing with me for about an hour. He was a bit odd. His beard was tied up in a braid and he had a feather for when it got too hot. None the less, I got to dance some tango to swing music! :)

50 First Dates

Yeah, that movie was ok. I am not a fan of Drew Barrimore though. I was getting ready to go on a date with Baker Boy today. Again, he cancelled. I am quite fed up, and the prospect of going out with him doesn't appeal to me at all. Thumbs down, and it's a no no for me. Bye bye! From now on he shall be known as Wimpy Boy instead.

I am looking forward to tonight's dancing. I am not good at dancing at all,(I haven't really done any dancing in that sense) but it just seems so fun! I mangaged to persuade 5 other people from work to come along too, which is super cool! Nice to look at some nice bums anyway, if nothing else.

Yesterday, I got a phonecall from my colleague / neighbour Theresia who wanted to have a drink or two so I spent a few hours at her place.

Universal Marimekko Syndrome (UMS)

I've been thinking about it alot lately. What's that?, I hear you ask.
Well, I have this hypothesis that people who lead unhappy lives quite often end up with what I've suitably named the Universal Marimekko Syndrome.

People around me are completely obsessed by interior design and buy tons and tons of decorating magazines. DIY programmes on television are more popular than ever, and people find themselves stuck with morgages they cannot afford to pay. I, too, found myself in that same trap whilst in the house with my ex. I admit. I really have no idea what happened, in retrospect. I found myself watching the programmes, buying the magazines, thinking about exactly what colour code I needed on which wall that was to be painted, so it would fit perfectly together.

As if to make up something that wasn't there. Maybe I tried to paint up a happy picture for others to look at, as if trying to prove something to myself and others. Everyone must have Marimekko on the wall and on the kitchen table. You now must buy retro style wall paper by Boråstapeter. How about one of those... whatsitcalledagain... oh yeah, FatBoy bean bags?? Only SEK 2000. Tempted?

If your answer is "yes", I say you are stuck in the trap and got a serious case of UMS. Beware! Your life may prove not to be as happy and cheerful as you are trying to show off to others when hysterically tidying your house for the guests whilst placing your perfectly ironed marimekko table cloth on your designer table.

Advice: Go back to basics. Find out what you used to enjoy. I now have a great stereo, the Berså plates, and ONLY things that I want because I feel good with them around me. Not things that I want to show off to others in order to create an illusion of happiness, when it's not there.

Have a good think, then GET RID OF THE BLOODY MARIMEKKO, get down to business with your loved one (or if you are single like me, find some hot person and snog a bit)and tell them and other people how much you love them and care about them. Spend time in real life with your real life friends. Make sure you make close friends that will be there for you no matter what. GET RID OF THE MARIMEKKO and start living your life today.

We will all die one day. I beg to differ, but I do not want my coffin covered with a marimekko flag. Neither do I wish for those attending the ceremony to sit on Fatboy bean bags. None of those things mean anything. Trust me. I'll go for the Berså pattern on the coffin instead. Oh the irony.

In the country!

Spent the weekend with my old friends Naemi and Magnus. For those of you who don't know, Naemi and I met around 1995 when we both took French in Folkuniversitetet. Our teacher was a weird character called Laurent Mauvais. Mauvais as in "bad". He was quite a bad teacher, so Naemi and myself spent more time at home playing and singing and dancing and drinking gin and tonic than studying French. Those were the good old days!
Magnus and I met in my hometown, Oskarshamn around 1992 I would think. We used to have alot of fun together way back when!
The two of them met for the first time in Malmö in my apartment, and now they have fled citylife for the quieter countryside town of Lessebo. They live there with their two adorable sons Hannes and Anton.
On the way home today, I got a flat tyre and Magnus came and helped me change it. Had to happen at some point I guess. Tomorrow I will change to winter tyres.

In Real Life?

In the future, what exactly will define the difference between different kinds of friendship? Thinking back on my social life 10 years ago, I spent alot of time with musicians, playing music together, doing what I loved doing. Then you had your true friends - friends you could call any time night or day to talk, if you needed it. Aquaintances was never a big thing for me. That, to me, also seems like a way of bragging to others how many friends you have, without actually maintaining the friendship itself. We all have aquaintances. But what I think most people want, are true, good, close friends.
Today, of course, there is the Facebook phenomenon. I signed up, being curious of the idea, but find it a waste of time sometimes. The idea of sharing a video on someone's FunWall is appealing of course, because that's what friends do. The problem occurs when you receive 10 posts from the same person (in my case, a person whom I haven't even talked to for twenty years). Those 10 posts are being mass-distributed to all the people on your friends list. You get so many of those things that it doesn't appeal anymore. The result? You have wasted an hour doing it. Instead one could have gone for a walk in the beautiful park. Or, god forbid, MET one of the friends on your list IRL!
Read an interesting article about Facebook in Swedish here.

Out of here, off to see some IRL friends now.