God Jul och Gott Nytt År!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Lompoc!

Sunday evening

On Thursday I passed my driver's test, so my California license will arrive in the mail within 30 days.

But even better than that: I am starting my new job tomorrow in Santa Maria! Santa Maria is a city about 25 minutes to the north of here. At the moment we are considering moving there but nothing is decided yet.

The weather is getting a bit colder here even though it is still sunny. I hope you all had a nice weekend and that your week will be a good one!

Sunday evening

This Thursday the driver's test for my Californian driver's license is taking place. Up until then they have given me a temporary license. I am glad they did since it is rather difficult to get around here without a car. There are some bicycle lanes but this entire state is built around the car. But I have taken the family mountain bike out for a few airings. Not that long ago I rode down to the almost completely dried up river bed where there is a dirt track. People drive down there with there dirt bikes and ATVs, but part of the track is hard packed enough for a mountain bike. So far no accidents or falls. In the riverbed are these old car skeletons that give the place a bit of a half-life feel.

I hope all of you will have a good week!

Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and the house is already filled with the smells of orange, cranberry and spices. Linda is making her own cranberry sauce and chicken broth. It smells like Christmas. The Thanksgiving holiday reminds me a bit of the Christmas holiday, maybe it is the similarities in the food, or maybe it is all the preparation for tomorrow when the family is coming over.

It's sunny and warm outside, with the birds singing. If anyone is looking for a book to read I can very much recommend "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. That's all for now.

November

It's November and it's sunny and warm. Shorts-warm. In November. That's nice.

Today I drove to Santa Maria for a job interview for a temporary holiday job. The drive is around 30 minutes. Speaking of driving, I'm thinking that it's time to get my California driver's license. I'll see if I can get that done this week. Compared to the mega-undertaking that it is to get a license in Sweden this seems to be a much shorter process. And a lot cheaper. It will cost me all of $27. Unless I fail the driver's test, in which case I will have to pay...$5...for each new try. And then the Department of Motor Vehicles gives me a brand new Audi. Well, last part about the Audi not true, but the rest is.

Sunny greetings!

Sunday afternoon

Even though there are still 9 uncontained fires in California it seems like the situation is gradually cooling down. Yesterday it rained here in Lompoc, and it was more than a drizzle. Today, after the rain, the juniper bushes in the back garden smells stronger than usual in the sun light. It's a warm, sunny and lazy Sunday.

Tomorrow I'm going down to LA for an interview. I will be taking the train from Goleta, which is a way for me to avoid the traffic and not have to worry about parking.

I hope you are all doing well!

California Wildfires

The California Wildfires have now forced the evacuation of almost 1 million residents. There are some videos here.

The fire closest to us in the Santa Ynes valley is contained, according to this article, but the sky is hazy from smoke and you can still smell it in the air this morning. For an overview of the fires go here.

It has been very dry in California for a long time and the strong Santa Ana Winds have caused the fires to spread rapidly. Hopefully there will be a change in the weather soon.

I will keep you updated.

Babies

A State Observed would like to issue a big and heartfelt welcome to Abigail and Eleanor!


And congratulations to Ben and Nicki! I hope you are all doing well and that you get some sleep in between feeding and diaper changing.

Day of the Cinnamon Bun

Today the 4th of October is the Day of the Cinnamon Bun. So in celebration of this tasty treat I invite you to have a fika with me, even though it might have to be in spirit. We can call it a long distant fika.

I have it!

Yesterday I got my Green Card in the mail! I am now officially a Permanent Resident in the United States of America!

With the letter I also got a folder pointing me to a guide called "Welcome to the United States - A Guide for New Immigrants". I am now officially an Immigrant.

In the folder, under the heading "Getting Involved in Your Community" I read:

The U.S. government is a government of, by, and for the people. This means that people can shape the government and its policies. Each person has an important role to play in his or her local community. You can get involved in your community through local organizations, your place of worship or work, your neighborhood, or your children's schools. Welcome to the United states gives ideas for getting involved in your community and learning more about life in this country.

The United States presidential election of 2008 is scheduled to be held on November 4. The average voter turnout in the US is around 50 % depending on what source you quote. These statistics puts it at 48.3% which would land the country a 139th place in the World Cup of Voter Turnout. So right now it seems like the U.S. government is a government of, by, and for half the people.

The short of it: I wish I could vote as a permanent resident.

At the Immigration Office

Our interview yesterday went very well! The interviewer was easygoing and we talked for a pretty short time and he asked us some questions, and that was basically it. Autumn had spent quite a lot of time preparing these photo albums with a lot of photos showing the two of us together and with friends and family. Did they guy even look at these!? No. When the interview was almost over and we realized that he was not going to look at our super nice photo albums, with pictures of mostly us, I pointed it out to him that Autumn had prepared them. He still did not look at the photos.

I had an appointment for the 19th of September for my biometrics (basically fingerprints), but during the interview the officer gave us a new appointment for the same day. So after the interview we went and got the biometric scan done, which saved me a trip back down to LA!

The officer told us that I will have the green card in about 3 weeks. All in all my experience with the immigration authorities here has been surprisingly smooth. The paperwork, rules and regulations have not been that much fun to deal with, but when we have met a person behind all that bureaucracy they have actually been pretty friendly and human.

Thank you for all your support during this time!

Today has been a very warm day here in Pasadena, where we are house sitting until Saturday. I walked to the library and got some work done and now I have just come back from boxing at the YMCA. It was good to see some of the old boxing gang.

Tonight we are going out for dinner to this place with some friends of Autumn that I have not met yet. It is nice that it has been cooling down a bit since the heat of this day.

This is all for now from Pasadena.

Bona Fide Marriage

On Tuesday the 11th of September(!) we are going to our interview at the immigration office in down town LA. The interview is to prove/show that our marriage is a real one. We are putting together all the information we need to bring with us, and it is quite a lot of stuff! And some of it is what I would call 'private'. Such as our email correspondence from last summer when we had first met. But if this is what they need I guess that this is what we will give them in order to show that we have a Bona Fide Marriage. So wish us luck for next week!

Sunny Saturday

We just came back after a sunny day at Refugio Beach. It's a nice weekend.
I hope you are all doing well!

Ps. I will have a headset pretty soon

Great photo, as always.

At the library

Not so many days ago I got myself a proper Library Card in Lompoc. Right now I am sitting in that library, using their wireless connection to look for jobs. Some ten meters in front of me there is a glass wall/sliding door to the outside. It is sunny. I can also see posters with famous people such as Mel Gibson, Antonio Banderas and LL Cool J telling me to "READ". It is quite in here. Which is not something to take for granted in a library.

Outside the window there is a (to me) strange collection of trees. I think it is the birch mixed with the palm trees that does it.

Yesterday we watched Hitchcock's Rear Window. Good movie.

Back to work.

Stieg Larsson

I just finished the second book of Stieg Larsson's Milennium trilogy. And I am surprised that no one has mentioned his coffee hang-up. The characters seem to be drinking coffee without any regard for the hour of the day or what all that coffee will do to the general well being of the stomach. If that is any sign of Stieg Larsson's coffee habits he must have been a rather energized person.

So which book is the best? I guess that if the first book is Alien then the second book would logically be Aliens. Both good movies but in quite different (and similar) ways.

Back in the US

After having had our flight canceled on Friday we finally left from Stockholm on Saturday. Arriving at Philadelphia we then missed our connecting flight to Los Angeles due to the fact that we were delayed from Stockholm. So all in all it has been a rather long journey.

US Airways...what can I say except, do NOT fly with them! That cheap price might look tempting, but then ask yourself "What have they cut down on to be that cheap?". The answer seems to be: most things, including all the organizers.

But now we are finally here. Last night we spent in Pasadena and drove up to Lompoc today. It's sunny and it's great to be here!

I hope you are all doing well!

In the moving business

Yesterday we moved out from our appartment here in Linköping. We had plenty of help so it did not take us that long. Today, and probably tomorrow, we are going to clean out the place and take care of the last things that are still there.

On Wedneday we are going up to Stockholm to stay with my sister for a few days. Then on Friday it's time for the flight back to California.

At the moment we are staying at Emil and Linda's place, with their two cats. Now it's time to go over to our appartment. I hope you are doing well!

Short update 2

We are back home after a sunny canoe trip, with lots of good food. Pictures will be coming up.

Today we are preparing for the wedding party that we will have tomorrow here in Linköping. It's a little bit rainy today but we are hoping for sun.

Now it's time for me to go back to preparation business.

Short update

After our trip to Alfta (pictures will be up later on) we drove down to Västerås for a short visit to Ola. Since then we've been in Linköping most of the time, but we also made it to the east coast and S:t Anna's archipelago, where we were caught by a summer tempest and rain that seemed to fall sideways.

On wednesday we are going for a trip with some of our friends here. We will be gone for a few days and don't really know where we are going, this trip is a wedding present from them.

I hope summer is treating you well!

Back in Sweden

We have been back in Linköping for a few days, and it's been very good to be here. Tomorrow we are driving up to Alfta (population about 5000), a drive that will take us about 6 hours. We have borrowed a very small car with a 1.0 liter engine that hopefully will take us all the way. The car actually has a surprising amount of spunk.We are both looking forward to this trip, seeing the part of Sweden were my dad's part of the family is from.

Our time in Linköping has been busy with meeting up with friends and family. It has been quite rainy so far but that doesn't bother us that much yet, the change is actually a bit nice.

I hope you are doing well.

Tickets

Today we took a drive to Los Olivos and had some ice tea. That area is incredibly beautiful with all it's vineyards and orchards. It was really hot. So hot in fact that it made me wonder if this might be the hottest weather I've been in. Or at least up there among the hottest times.

We have the tickets to Sweden. We are flying out on the 11th of July and going back on the 17th of August. We are very much looking forward to going!

This Wednesday it's Independence Day, and I don't think that means that Will Smith plays a major role.

I hope you are all doing well!

I have an Advance Parole!

Yesterday we had some great news. I will get the travel permit within a week or so! This means that we were able to expedite the case, something that we had more or less given up hope of.

So friends and family in Sweden, we will see you soon!

Today we are moving back up to Lompoc, after about three weeks in Pasadena. So anyone that wants to call, you know the number.

I hope the summer is treating all of you well!

Short update

The first week here in Pasadena has been pretty low key since we both managed to catch a not so nice stomach bug, buy we are now up and about again. It's very sunny and warm down here. I'm thinking of taking a drive to Malibu over the day.

Still no definite news on the travel permit but we are going to the immigration office on Tuesday. Hopefully we are able to expedite the case.

Next Friday it's Midsommarafton (Midsummer's Eve), and we will celebrate that here with the traditional pickled herring, and hopefully new potatoes. We will also have a traditional American bbq with hamburgers and all so people don't have to go home hungry, since neither Autumn nor I think that the pickled herring will be a grand slam.

"Ask a Swede what the most important holiday of the year is and Midsummer will come up as often as Christmas. Get older Swedes talking and their eyes will well up as they reminisce about community spirit, songs, barn dancing and the mystical atmosphere surrounding the Midsummer gatherings of their youth. Sure, there was a lot of drinking, fistfights and frolicking, but everyone shook hands in the end."

The Wedding Photos are Up

I finally took the time and uploaded some pictures from the wedding. Our photographer, Kevin Rolly, shot almost 900 pictures so I had quite a few to chose from. He did a great job and we are very happy to have all those photos!

The pictures are compressed into smaller files since the originals were pretty large, I hope the quality hasn't suffered too much. For some reason it is only possible to see the first 50 pictures if you chose "slide show". So instead of viewing the pictures as a slide show, click on the first picture and then browse through them manually with the "next" button.


I hope you will enjoy the photos!

Wedding

Our wedding day was beyond our expectations. A big Thank You to all of you making it into an incredible day for us! It was great to see our families and friends and to spend all that time together. Pictures from the wedding will be up soon.

Warm and Sunny Day in Pasadena

Today is a very warm and sunny day. It's the kind of day when I wish the ocean was closer or that we had a porch or a balcony. But at least I had a fresh lemonade at Il Fornaio, which is not that bad either. On my way back home I went in to this martial arts gym that I walked past. The first class is free, so maybe I'll go there this afternoon or tomorrow and do a test run. But training in a new place is always a bit...well new, and it usually takes a while to know what level people are and how hard they are training etc. I guess I feel that having a black eye a week from now is something to avoid, if possible.

I hope the shopping went well in Linköping today. Here the wedding is getting closer with seven mile strides. Still some things to plan and do before the day but we are getting there. I wish you all a swift and safe journey next week!

Now it's time for an ice coffee.

The picture is taken from the hill by the Mission and shows the Lompoc area.

Sunday evening

It is now less than two weeks to the wedding and the preparations seem to be going in the right direction. Next Sunday Autumn and I will be going up to Lompoc. Soon after that family and friends will arrive from Sweden. It will be good to have you all here and I am looking forward to seeing you!

So let me tell you a few short stories.

Last weekend when Autumn was away for her hen party I managed to lock myself out of our apartment. When I closed the door I realized that one of the key wasn't on my Puma key chain. What are the odds?! Looking through the living room window I could actually see it, maybe a meter inside the door. For a while I was contemplating the idea of giving the door one of those tackles that you see people doing in movies, in order to force it open. But my better judgement kept me from going ahead with a plan, that indeed didn't seem to have any down sides to it. Instead I got helped by one of the neighbors to get in contact with the owners of the building. That neighbor even printer out maps for me so I could drive and get another set of keys from the owner. So neighbors can actually be good for something else than not making too much noise.

I realized today that I haven't tried "Fish Tacos", and don't particularly feel like trying it either. But on the grounds of that I can't really say anything about any kind of food before I have actually tried it, I guess that there will come a day, even for Fish Tacos.

We went to a Cafe yesterday here that reminded me a bit of Åbacka in Linköping. Nice place.

I hope the weekend find you all rested and prepared for a new week.

How Happy are the Elephant Seals?

This is how happy the Elephant Seals became when they heard that a certain Schultz family has recorded some songs! Now they can't wait to hear them. Brrrrruuuurrrp!

The lone cypress

And here is another photo. This time of a 250 year old cypress tree. This photo is taken where we parked our car. We then walked down closer to the tree but the area closest to the tree and that cliff is closed off to the public.

Today it is raining! It's been raining through part of the night and it still is. A rainy day here is a rare thing, and when it does, at least I feel like it is a welcome change.

Today it is about 2 weeks to our wedding. I am really looking forward to having family and friends from back home here during that time.

Another photo from highway 1

On our trip down highway 1, on one stretch of the coast there were these big blobs, literally covering the beaches. They were Elephant Seals and they just laid there not having a care in the world. Mostly busy with making loud "brrrrrrrrurp" noises. Here I am with the seals in the background.

Silver to LHC

LHC lost today's game and thereby also the finals with 2-4 in games. It was a great job getting to the finals in the first place but a gold would have been sweet. Maybe next year.

Well, I'm off to the gym. This weekend I am what we in Sweden call a Grass Widower (Gräsänkling) since Autumn is away on some kind of hen party shenanigans.

A breathtaking drive

The Friday before Easter we drove about 6 hours up north to Fremont, which is close to San Fransisco. In Fremont we visited Autumn's friend Sara and celebrated her ordination. We stayed up there until Monday. On Monday we started our drive down south, to Lompoc, but this time we took the coastal road, Highway 1. This highway runs for a large portion of the pacific coast in California. And the view was breathtaking! We really took our time driving down this scenic route and it was fantastic. If you follow the link above and then zoom in on the map to the right you can see the outline of our drive. On the picture I am standing right next to the edge and behind me you can see part of that winding coastal highway - the road that had taken us higher and higher, and then gave us this incredible view.

Drive thru [sic] state

After a while in California you start wondering if it would be possible to live your entire life in a car. To help you do this there are: drive thru dry cleaners, drive thru pharmacist, drive thru banks, drive thru restaurants and even drive thru weddings (even if that is in Las Vegas).

However, there still are a few drive thrus that I am missing. Where are, for example, the drive thru therapy sessions, night clubs, hair saloons, boxing events, church services, spas, Costcos (Great store!) and libraries? But maybe they are out there, and I just haven't looked close enough? Let me know what would be your favorite drive thru.

Back in Pasadena

We came back from Lompoc around 10pm on Sunday. The drive down to Pasadena went well and The Jelly Bean (the -91 Honda civic) kept her head high, even though she has a missing tooth or two. As we came back we were greeted by an empty mailbox and one of the messages on the answering machine letting us know that there had been suspicious activity on a credit card that should have been in that empty mailbox. The realization that someone had stolen that credit card and been spending with it, was rather worrying.

So, Monday started off with damage control: freezing accounts, going to the police etc. What's good is that it seems that we will not be responsible for the spending on the card, but we could have lived without the hassle. On top of the credit card, papers sent to me from Sweden that I need for immigration was also probably stolen, something that sets me back in that process.

In addition to focusing on the immigration paperwork right now there is also the wedding planning. The details are falling into place but there are still some things to decide and plan.

Now I am looking forward to the hockey game on Saturday, a game that LHC has to win. The difference is that this time they will play it in Linköping.

Next game in Linköping

5 games played.

LHC: 2
Modo: 3

Next game will be played in Linköping.

Not the best game

LHC lost today's game with the score 5-1. The first period was very weak and ended with MODO in a 3-0 lead. The second period was stronger and ended with LHC scoring 3-1. But in the third period MODO scored 2 more goals and that was too much for LHC. So I am looking forward to a better game on Thursday at 10am (7pm in Sweden). The game can be seen on www.kanal5.se.

2-1 LHC!

After today's game LHC is ahead of Modo with 2-1 in games. LHC started off somewhat slow but got stronger as the game progressed. And in the third period Sami Torkki scored the winning goal. Now we are looking forward to the next game on Tuesday up in Örnsköldsvik.

Kanal 5 seems to be doing a good job covering the finals. This time a got Autumn and Linda to watch the 3rd period with me. On the picture we see Ivan Majesky congratulating Sami Torkki after the winning goal.

The third game

So LHC lost the second game of the finals, resulting in the score 1-1 in games. Tomorrow, Sunday 8 April, the third game will be played in front of about 8500 people, in Linköping, as the game is sold out. I didn't manage to see the second game but will get up early tomorrow to see this game. It starts at 8 am here and 5 pm in Sweden.

Otherwise things are good. We are in Lompoc at the moment, spending some time with Autumn's family. I hope Easter has treated you well and that it has been a restful week.

Whoooooooot!

What a game LHC! They just won the first game of the finals, played best of 7 games. LHC won this game with 5-1 and took over more and more as the game progressed.

I listened to the first period on webbradio and then read Daniel's comment on this site about that I could watch in on Kanal5.se. And it worked! Thanks a lot Daniel. Du har förtjänat en bamsekram!

Here are some comments from the two guys on the webbradio in the first period:

-Ska se om jag kan göra ett diagram över utvisningarna. Det ar 1-1 nu.
-Det där utrymmet kommer inte att räcka för det. Nej nej.
-Ja, det är ju bara 10x20cm.

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-Det ar en match i matchen mellan de här två slovakiska målvakterna.
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-Han har inte 2.30 m långa ben, vi överdrev lite grann. (om Stanas ben)
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-Har kommer Emvall som en väderkvarn i kombination med atlantångare
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-Är det Linköping som dominerar?
-Inte dominerar, men hanterar...
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-Pucken åker som i en halveliptisk bana i plockhandsken
-Nu heter det ju forstås inte "halveliptisk bana"...
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LHC in the Finals!

Bergman Schmergman

I admit it, I am not an Ingmar Bergman fan. The truth is that I don't think I've seen an entire movie of this most famous of Swedish movie makers. But, I am now going to give the guy a chance. I got "Det Sjunde Inseglet" (The Seventh Seal) from the Pasadena central library. I did have to order it from another library close by, but as I said before, I like this library. I've also found a Swedish copy of Dag Hammarskjölds book Vägmärken. The place has a nice selection.

So I got Det Sjunde Inseglet right here in our apartment just waiting to be seen. And I think I will watch it, maybe even tonight. And I can see my brother being horrified by this. But I am going to see it anyway, if not tonight at least soon. (Sorry David)

So one of the famous scenes in Det Sjunde Inseglet, apparently is when the knight is playing chess against Death. One modern day nod to this is the Swedish band Kent's album "Du och Jag Döden" (You and Me, Death). The cover shows a person playing cards with Death. And since Kent is one of the best Swedish bands ever, maybe Ingmar Bergman isn't that bad, by association. Ok, I realize that this might be crazy troll logic, but even troll logic can stand to reason. When it comes down to a push comes to shove...

One thing that made me happy: I found the hilarious Norwegian movie, Elling, at the library too.

The picture shows me at the Staple Center when we went to see the LA Kings meet Chicago Blackhawks a while ago.

And one step closer

LHC is just one game away from the finals! They defeated Färjestad today with 1-4.

Linköping Hockey Club one step closer to the Finals

After defeating Färjestad in the third game with convincing 5-1, LHC is now one step closer to the finals. The semi-finals are played best out of seven games and LHC are now ahead with 2-1. I followed the game on webb-radio, but wish I could have seen it as well. It is possible to watch it on canalplus.se but that service doesn't seem to work here. If anyone has any suggestions how I could see the games please let me know.

Go LHC!

Let Me Present: You

I have taken the time and effort to analyze your specific personality type. I have written one specific for all of you coming to this site and you will only see the one that correlate to you due to the fact that I've coded them to your IP-addresses. I hope you don't mind me putting it here on the Internet, if you do just let me know and I'll remove it. Ok, here it goes:

You have a need for other people to like and admire you, and yet you tend to be critical of yourself. While you have some personality weaknesses you are generally able to compensate for them. You have considerable unused capacity that you have not turned to your advantage. Disciplined and self-controlled on the outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure on the inside. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. You also pride yourself as an independent thinker; and do not accept others' statements without satisfactory proof. But you have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others. At times you are extroverted, affable, and sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, and reserved. Some of your aspirations tend to be rather unrealistic.

So how did I do? Pretty good?

Well, as you all most likely know, what I said above about IP-addresses and so on is complete caca. In 1948, psychologist Bertram R. Forer gave a personality test to his students, and then gave them a personality analysis supposedly based on the test's results. He invited each of them to rate the analysis on a scale of 0 (very poor) to 5 (excellent) as it applied to themselves: the average was 4.26. He then revealed that each student had been given the same analysis, the one I gave you above. This is called the Forer effect. To make it effective, though, I really would have had to make you believe that the analysis was a result of some kind of test and therefore specific to you.

So, in conclusion: You are You, and I am happy that You are.

Hälsingland

"Hälsingland, farsans land"

Tomas Andersson Wij.

Saint Patrick's Day

This Saturday I celebrated my first Saint Patrick's Day. It also happened to be Jenny's birthday so a double cause for celebration. We spent the afternoon and evening at, from what I was told, the closest thing to an Irish pub that Pasadena has. I was also told that you have to have something green on, otherwise you might get pinched. And since I had no desire to get pinched by strangers I put on my partly green Ben Sherman. I found out that the shirt is indeed very fitting for Saint Patrick's Day, with white and green stripes. All in all a very positive first experience. The bagpipe band that came and played outside of the bar was a nice bonus.

Men ni fattades!

First dip in the Pacific Ocean

This weekend we went up to Lompoc. The weather was very pleasant so we spent a lazy Saturday on Refugio Beach with Autumn's older sister Aubrey, her husband Kirk and their four boys Winter, West, Scout and Piper, and also Autumn's dad, Domenic. It was a beautiful and warm day and as sure as a letter in the mail, I managed to get the mandatory sunburn. I also did go for a (very) short dip in the ocean. It was a bit cold but not too bad. And for those of you who know about my quite rational Sharkofobia: I came out of the water without any kind of blood loss. Must have been my lucky day.

The picture shows Winter and Scout at the beach.

Linköping Hockey Club in Semifinals!

Linköping Hockey Club (LHC) just made it to the semifinals in the Swedish hockey league Elitserien. They beat Luleå with a convincing 4-0 in games. The last game was played in the home arena Cloetta Center and ended with the score 5-2. Patric Blomdahl scored 3 of the 5 goals.

Man's best friend

If you like someone you should let them know. One way of letting your friends know that you like them is to give them a present. Everyone loves a treat. Pastry, chocolate or any of that sort. Now, as the saying goes "the dog is man's best friend". Therefore it stands to reason that a dog should receive some of the best gifts. And catering to that need, let me present...TA DA!... "The Dog Bakery".

The things they make there wouldn't look misplaced in any cafe. In fact they look really tasty. I took a few pictures yesterday and this one will show you a sample of their selection. So what would you think about a coffee and some nice dog pastries?

Day at the Beach

Yesterday we took the Honda out for a drive and went down to the beach. It wasn't a full blown sunny day but it was warm enough. We brought leftovers from our party on Saturday and some sandwiches. There were people surfing and others swimming. We spent the day at the beach and then drove back for dinner. There might not be any changing of the seasons here but it is on the other hand possible to be at the beach in early March. The picture shows how happy that makes me.

Laberinto del Fauno

I am not that interested in watching the Oscar ceremony. I much rather go and see the actual movies. So this Sunday I went and saw Pan's Labyrinth or Laberinto del Fauno which is the original title. It's written and directed by Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro.

The movie takes place in Spain, 1944, after the civil war has officially ended with the fascists now in power. Intertwined with this cruel reality, to the extent that there is sometimes hard to see where one world ends and the other begins, is Del Toro's Fairy Land.

Del Toro calls the movie a "fairy tale for adults" and that's a good description. There are some pretty disturbing torture scenes with explicit graphical violence and after a while you really start fearing for the life of the characters. Maybe that's part of what defines a great fairy tale, that there always is the potential for disaster and you really don't know if it will happen or not.

This movie is for everyone who loves a Real Fairy Tale.

Boxing at the YMCA

It's Wednesday evening and we just came back from training. I've been doing boxing for a few weeks now and I am having a good time. It's a fun group to train with. The age span in the class is pretty big. Two of the instructors are 63 years young and then there is one guy training who is 66, when he's not boxing he runs marathons and wrestles with bears in Alaska (only the wrestling part is a lie, as far as I know at least. You never know with this guy). There is also a girl who wants to box in the amateur league, she is 14 and has just taken up boxing. So needless to say it is a rather eclectic group of people that gets together for some recreational punching at the YMCA. But I guess that stands to reason since everyone probably has a need to hit something at least once in a while.

The picture is taken on our street.

Linda's Birthday

Big congratulations to Linda on her Birthday, today the 22 of February! In the picture she is sitting between Anki and David.

Semla

Today it is Fettisdagen in Sweden. Fettisdagen is the Swedish name for Shrove Tuesday. It literally means "The Fat Tuesday" and is the day when semlor (singular Semla) traditionally is supposed to be eaten. I am at the moment thinking of ways to have one here in Pasadena. Maybe they can be bought at IKEA or maybe there is a bakery that makes them. I'm sure they could be found in Solvang, but that seems to be a bit too far, even for a Semla. If anyone has any ideas don't hesitate to let me know.

I am now a math teacher

During my stay here in Pasadena I have quite frequently visited the Pasadena Central Library. It is a nice place to sit and read, and together with the libraries in the surrounding area it has a pretty good collection of books. On top of this there is also music and movies, which you can check out without a fee.

Some time ago I was sitting at my table in the library, reading. As I get up to leave, this complete stranger in his mid-thirties comes up to me and asks if I could have a look at the papers he's holding. I'm thinking that it might be a survey of some sort and figures, "Sure!". But pretty soon I realize that it's not a survey but a collection of math exercises that he's doing as a preparation for a test. As we go through some of these questions together, me and this guy I've never seen before, I cling firmly to what I still remember: you calculate what's within the parenthesis first! And I realized that the math is in there somewhere just needing a bit of dusting off. Hopefully I didn't hinder this man's progress too much. Before he leaves he introduces himself, thanks me and asks if I'm a student. No, I said. And wonder now if that is why I kind of enjoyed this math lesson.

I also wonder if it says "This guy will help you with your homework" in my forehead. Not that I mind, on the contrary.

Autumn's 30th Birthday!

On February the 14th 2007 Autumn is turning 30! On this great day we will be home before 9am and probably sometime between noon and 2pm and then again late in the evening.

Lots of kisses to the birthday princess!

Weekend

We came back late on Sunday from our weekend trip up north. Having spent one night in Santa Barbara with Tara and Jeff and one in Lompoc with Linda and Domenic. On Saturday we met up with Autumn's family to celebrate a few birthdays (Autumn, Carroll, Jim and Celeste). Winter, Autumn's oldest nephew(fantastic names!), and I played some Pacman. Linda's cooking, as always, was very tasty. Lasagna.

On Sunday there was wedding planning. We went to the Coski's where we are having the wedding and then around to quite a few hotels for inspection.

Now we are back in Pasadena and I am staying in, trying to get rid of a cold. The picture above shows some of the Coski's grounds.

Weekend in Lompoc

Just a few words to let you know that we are going up to Lompoc for this weekend. We have some wedding planning to take care of and it will be good to go for a trip. Hopefully I'll manage to have a look at the different hotels in the area to see what would be the best one for the wedding guests.

Nice to finally catch up with Alf and Monika and to find out that it is now possible to ski in Linkoping. Good to talk to Stefan as well, hope you'll find your way here!

See picture above for details on life in Lompoc.

Photo Album

On the right there is a photo album with pictures of Autumn and me. Chose "Slideshow" if you want to see all the picture. The slideshow starts off with pictures from Labri in England where we met and then shows mostly Linköping, Åre, Rome and Surf Beach in California.

Ode on a German Automobile

As some of you know I sold my car last Friday. My German Automobile is leaving the nest. Hopefully the new owners will treat him well!

Selling a car on Blocket (Swedish version of Craigslist) you certainly get some real skambud (shameful offers). But in the end it worked out well. Thanks dad for all the help!

I'll sum up with the words of Liesl, Friedrich, Louisa, Kurt, Brigitta, Marta and Gretl:

"So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adjö!"

Kaffe Coffee Fika

I found a nice little coffee shop close to where we live. This is one of the non-chain cafés here in Pasadena and the picture shows the entry and some of the small tables on the sidewalk. The name is Zona Rosa and I go here quite often for a coffee. When being asked about what size I want I have learned to always go for the small one. A small size Californian coffee cup is more of a normal sized cup in Sweden. People do drink there coffee in larger volumes here, and it isn't that surprising when you consider that it sometimes is more of a brown watery drink than actual coffee. There also seems to be a lot more running around with a paper cup trying to gulp a few sips in here and there. The concept of Fika clearly needs to be exported.

"Fika is a social institution in Sweden: it means taking a break from work or other activities and having a coffee with one's colleagues, friends, or family. This practice of taking a break for a coffee and a light snack (some biscuits, cookies, or a sandwich) between more substantial meals like lunch and dinner is central to Swedish life, Swedes being among the heaviest consumers of coffee in the world." (Wikipedia)

The weather - a place to start

There is sun, sun and sun. But I am not complaining. Today was one of the few days of actual weather. It rained. Which was nice. But having said that: being able to wear flip-flops, shorts and a t-shirt (out doors) in January is to a swede something of a dream come true. Granted, you can't wear that all the days, but even so.

Having sunlight after 4 pm is also rather pleasant. Especially when you are used to the oppressive darkness of Vintersverige (Winter-Sweden). The cold might seem like the part that makes winter hard but it is the combination of cold with darkness that does the trick. A cold but sunny and snow filled winter day, with every snow crystal participating, is a thing of marvel.