september 5 : 2006

this might just be the fifth day of the ninth month in 2006 but to me it signifies my 2nd year here in pine tree heaven or sweden!

yes. two years ago today, i arrived into our apt. with my husband JP to what I call a step up in life. and this image illustrates the saying 'when in sweden, do as the swedes' and that is to enjoy 'fika' which is a term used to have coffee and a pastry as many times in a day as necessary. its just the way of life. and no, we have no starbucks here, just small konditoris or bakeries. today, after swedish class i went to the best bakery, Birgers and picked up 'weinibrod' (vanilla pastry) which is by far the most common and delicious item here. although they make a mean cinnamon bun - can anything really beat the over caloric Cinnabon cinnamon bun? i also bought 2 slices of some local cakes (in box), a maccaroon for JPand a petit chocolate bit for me. can't get simpler or better than that.

so whats happened in 2 years?

- im much better at speaking and understanding swedish and getting paid for it too!
- i've gone down in weight by 20lbs. overall, which i think is fabulous. all thanks
to a happier dispostion, walking-cycling everywhere, eating well and being loved
- travelled to paris, london, helsinki (first ever cruise) and brussels..thanks ryan air!!!
- had a awesome first ever interview for a design job here, a really good thing as even getting an interview here is difficult. my swedish needs to get a bit better for me to be completely competent here, but it was a great boost to my confidence and she loved my work. and now its a possible freelance contact.
- got my swedish permanent visa, which means i can apply for citizenship next year.
- have become a really good cook and baker thanks to it being too expensive and few options to eat out. and tracy's shipment of crisco and choc.chips!!!
- have some good swedish friends in a place where making friends in hard.
- become very observant of the environment and learnt how important it is to recycle and avoid using the car (with gas at $6-gal, not driving is easy)
- got interviewed by a swedish newscrew while out in stockholm one afternoon, i was on tv for a bit answering a general ques. they were asking people around. i've never been on tv in the OC, so i consider this a big thing.
- realised that as a life long pop music lover that its fantastic to live in a country where pop music is their biggest export ( madonna, britney etc. have all had swedish song writers)
-really, really enjoy having 4 seasons! i never knew growing up in the OC- how great seasons are, especially winter! it is a wonderland and i had two arizonian guests who can back me up on it- coming here in the dead of winter to experience something they will NEVER get in the desert.
-travelling to visit family in india is nicer as its closer, 9hrs. vs. over 20 hrs. from la.
- and i become more and more in love with my bollywood bono..lucky me!!!

i think thats it. are you still there? heh heh

anyway...anniversary's come and go, im just happy to have taken the chance and made the move all the way here and have it be everything i never even thought of and more! thats the beauty of life, it should be ever changing as stagnation is boring. live life and enjoy every moment!

skål!