OMG

I fell in through the door after more than nine hours of hard labor today. This is the catalog season and Ellos hit us hard today with huge piles of 1.1 kg heavy catalogs. It was rough, not only due to all the heavy lifts and worn down fingers, but also mentally. After falling on the hall rug I rolled into the kitchen and curled up into a small ball. In this position I stayed almost thirty minutes before I was able to shed my clothes and take a long hot shower. Naked and clean I tumbled into bed and slept like a baby for a couple of hours. It was truly wonderful. Now there is rest. No work. But it is still there, in my mind, the heavy piles that waits in the darkness, waits to be delivered on Friday. And I also know that on top of that, another big load is on its way in. It is tough. The days off are not as sweet as they ought to be.

Temporary loss

I can not really explain it, but I lost my eye a while back. My photographic eye that is. I read in a book a couple of years back that a good photographer sees images everywhere, and even if that has never been true for me I have often been close. I have been able to push myself, to force my mind into the camera so that I see the world around me as possible shots. Sometimes I also think up projects that I can ponder for weeks before I try to realize them. But for some time now it has been hard. In part I think it is due to that I have become to critical of my own work. I can not produce images good enough for my own critical mind, and because of this it is not all that fun to pick up the camera. I hope that this is a temporary thing, that my standards change so that I can at least appreciate some of the work I produce.

No Cash

On the bus from the country side we were told that they accepted no cash. And since we did not have enough money on the card we were a bit stumped. 'After new year we will not accept any cash on the bus at all' he told us. But you don't accept cash now either I thought. In the end, we got a very cheap ride down to Gothenburg.

Then I was surprised. I was caught off guard you might say. The sun was shining with full force and I was not accustomed to that. Hence I looked into this strange bright light for far to long which of course led to partial loss of my vision for more than two hours. Luckily the vision was restored, unluckily it was replaced by a strong head ache.

It starts good

This trip starts on a good note. Going to my parents for the holiday and was rather satisfied with the rail road ticket, few and short exchanges, and it was rather cheap as well. But of course the first train is late, which means that the short exchange time in Arboga ain't enough and the entire trip changes. Now we are back home to wait for another train that will run on time (knock on wood). Well, at least this means that I can bring my headphones that I forgot... Travel is fun.

Catastrophic breakdown

One of the key components in my water squirt bottle, that I use to mist up my orchids, suffered an unexplainable catastrophic breakdown the other day. The spring that returns the pumping mechanism to the starting state broke. And not just once but in two places simultaneously.

How is that possible? The spring was never under any extreme conditions, there was no corrosion attack, it just gave up. The only theory I have right now is that the spring was made to do this - It is made to break after X number of squirts so that they can sell another bottle. The bottle has a built in maximal lifetime. I do give them credits for their sails tactics, but my orchids are not very impressed.

Bad ### day

You all know of the concept 'bad hair day' right? I hardly have them anymore, I do have the occasional bad beard day, but mostly my facial hairs behave. I did however have a different kind of bad day today. A bad underwear day. No matter what I did they returned to the most uncomfortable position within a matter of seconds. It is a bit strange, I mean, there was nothing odd with the underwear as such, they were of a kind that I clearly rank as A (if I would have been down to a C ranking pair I would not have been surprised), but today they just did not work.

Smoke or air-refresher smell

If I would have to choose between a stairway that smells of cigarettes or one that smells heavily of that bathroom air-refresher thing I really know which I would take. I have one of the latter on my Torshälla round and I hate it. (They have lots of signs forbidding smoking, hence the choice between cigarette smoke and the other thing). I get nauseous after one breath in there. Maybe the smell is OK in a toilet, maybe, but in a stairway where I have to go to perform my job it is really not. I am contemplating about leaving a note saying that if they want their mail they have to loose the refreshers.

Sick of being sick

After a couple of days with a cold when every waken hour was spent in front of the [insert downputting synonym for TV here], it was a nice change yesterday when we got the energy to do something else. So after the slalom/x-country/biathlon/x-country sprint was over we went out to buy some stuff to make Christmas candy.
Now we have Mozart kugeln and chocolate toffee that will last us a lifetime (or wait, no, My candystrike is over (I managed to keep my promise to myself not to eat any candy for two entire weeks (except for a snickers on one of my tough rounds, but I consider that one an energy bar)) so maybe it will last until Christmas is upon us), and tonight we will make Messmörskola and knäck. This year is the first time since I do not know when that I actually feel Christmasy!

Soup #32

It is back, the part of this blog that you have all been waiting for, the Soups!!! Found a pumpkin in the store, and thought 'why not', so today we did a Pumpkin and apple soup. Our expectations were not all that high, but it turned out that we were wrong. It was a really nice winter soup, one that will be done again.

Christmas presents

I know what I want for Christmas!!!
I was in the sofa, watching 'the big bang' and eating crackers with butter and cheese, and then it came to me. So here it is. Stilton. I want a huge Stilton. A big piece of Parmigiano Reggiano would be nice to.
Another thing I want is the game Fallout 3 (for PC).

This in addition to my original wish list.

Embarrassing

It is rather embarrassing to say it, but I feel that I have to. The most pathetic thing in existence is a man with a cold. Or if anyone takes offense at my dragging a comb over all men I am happy to rephrase that, 'the most pathetic thing in existence is me with a cold'.

tired

tired
oh so tired

Nice neighbor

Neighbors can be very helpful and caring at times, like this one who does not want anyone to get hurt:


(approx: Please do not step out on the balconies this weekend. They hang in the air right now and it is unclear how well they are anchored to the wall. Want to avoid accidents if possible. Have a nice weekend!)

I also tried to be a good neighbor. Knowing just how fucking useless UPS are, I accepted when they asked me to receive a package for the guy next door (he was not home, few people are in the middle of the afternoon) this Monday. I thought I was doing him a favor. Now the problem is that the guy moved and probably never got the note the ups schmucks left in his mailbox, and hence he has no idea that I have his package. Hopefully it is not lifesaving meds...

Followup

Yea, regarding the Non YKK zipper procedure. I hope you understand that the jury under no circumstances would approve the use of such a thing. Never ever. (Just as a sidenote, the zipper in my jacket fell totally apart today, when I was driving my moped, in the rain)

He did not want me to go

Met a cat today, one that I see from time to time, and I sat down to pet it a bit. Then he did everything in his power to stop me from leaving. Which basically means that he zigzagged in front of me as I tried to walk down the stairs and heroically/stupidly tried put his body between me and the ground I was trying to walk on. I was slowed down, but a mailman is not stopped that easily.

Speaking of words with z in them. If a designer of uniforms for some strange reason decides to put a Non YKK zipper in the clothes, he or she should be forced to motivate this choice in a three page paper that has to be scrutinized by a hard, ten men jury. This in addition to the previously mentioned demand that the designer has to use the clothes that he designs...