Irish company

I just spent the evening with my Irish colleague Anndrea, who didn’t have a flight out of town until tomorrow morning. We spent the better part of the day in a very frustrating and "not going anywhere meeting", so when the meeting was over we just looked at each other and said: Drinks? Yes! We ended up at S.o.H.o., one of my favourite restaurants/bars in town. As main course I had giant tortellini filled witth asparagus and ricotta in a grilled vegetable sauce. Andrea had corn feed chicken with risotto. Both very delicious dishes. When the waiter came around and asked if we wanted desert we didn’t needed much persuasion and went for Crème Brule and Glace au fore. Very yummy!

While dishing the latest office gossip in Sweden and Ireland we also managed to drink some excellent wine, which made our frustration disappear very quickly... Talking we both realised that we share the same love for London and like going to musicals and plays. So the next time we’ll be in London for a meeting, which will be in late March, we are going to gets tickets to a play. One of the girls in the London office also likes the theatre and so do our Danish colleague so it looks like will be planning a bit of a girl’s night out.

Swedish off English on

For a long time I been lucky to have the ability to automatically switch over to English when I arrive in the UK, the US or any other place where the preferred language is English. I just start talking and a couple of hours later I’ve also gone to think in English. It hadn’t really occurred to me what amazing ability this really is until last week when I was told this is a sign of being fluent in a language.

What really hit me on Friday morning while catching up on emails was that how easy and natural it came to me when writing in English. Otherwise back in Sweden when writing in English I always pause after a couple of sentences. (Just like now. And now. And now.) But there I was typing away like I always been speaking English. A very pleasant feeling. Evidently my mind liked it too. Back on Sunday I went to the shop to buy some food and did the classical mistake. When receiving the change I said "Thank you". The cashier lady looked at me like I was some alien from outer space. And I was brutally brought back to Swedish reality.

About in The City

I spent most of Saturday walking with Philip. My favourite way to see London, even though it probably turned out to be a lot longer than we expected. We started out on The Strand walking pass Alwych and Royal Courts of Justice on to Fleet Street. While on Fleet Street we also did a small detour to see the statue of Dr Johnson’s cat. The buildings on Fleet Street were a very eclectic mix of Tudor, Gothic, Imperial, Modern and Post-War Era. On some of the old buildings one could still see remains from the newspaper area, but barristers and other legal professions has mostly taken over the area now.

Continuing towards Ludgate we turned right to have a look the Old Bailey and from there St Paul’s Cathedral was just around the corner. I’ve been to St Paul’s twice, but never really seen the magnificent building from other sides than the front side with its major entrances. The building really is a masterpiece!

10 minutes more walking and we had passed Bank of England and The Stock Exchange and was truly in the financial district of London. As always I was reading street signs and found the address Pudding Lane being sort of cute. Maybe a bit weird though for being right in the middle of The City, but hey someone could have been in a good mood the day they named that lane. But it wasn’t really like that. Philip being the excellent guide told me that the great fire of London had started in a bakery on Pudding Lane. Probably one of those trivia things I now will remember forever.

Having walked around Fenchurch Street and Mincing Lane looking at different kind of buildings it was time for a short stop (or quite long as it turned out) at a pub. With two chatter mouths what else can one expect... Well-rested and happy Towern then was the next thing to see on our walk.

Still wanting to walk some more after Towern I came up with the idea that we should walk out to the Docklands. It’s not that far on the map… After passing Wapping we decide to walk along the Thames. It might not sound very exciting to walk along the Thames a Saturday afternoon in January, but the seaside girl in my always appreciate the sight of water.

An hour later it was starting to get dark and cold (Not everybody comes prepared from Sweden with gloves…) and it was time to find another pub. A pub where we ended up spending the better part of the evening until we realised the neither of us were very sober (OK, I admit it we were drunk… Not eating and drinking has never been a good combo.). Some food was really in order.

Limehouse didn’t have much to offer when it came to restaurants so on the Docklands Light Rail we went back into the West End to find a place to eat. Seemed like the rest of London had the same idea and after having visited two full booked restaurants we played a safe card and walked over to Bloomsbury where Malabar Junction is located. A south Indian restaurant that has both great food and ambiance.

The long walk, the drinks and finally having something to eat made us extremely sleepy and looking at the watch we had been on the go for more than 11 hours. No wonder the bed sounded so tempting!

After having said goodbye and walking down Charring Cross Road (Northern Line was down) I thought about what a great day it had been and how much I had enjoyed walking, talking and just being very carefree. And not to forget the excellent company. All and all an amazing day in many different ways.

So I’m home

But per usual I left a big chunk of my heart in London. The more I go there the harder it is to leave. So either I stop going there or I make up my mind and decide to get a job and live there. Pretty easy when you think about it. But… Yes, always those buts…

The last couple of days have been quite interesting in many ways and maybe something good will come out of it. It has certainly made me think that it might be time to take the plunge and just do it. Do what I’ve wanted to do for the last seven years or so. I guess some serious thinking is in order. I know I can do it if I really want to.

Back in London

Two and half months without some London air (and pollution) in my system I got back into town last night. Coming here was a total nightmare with delayed flights, prepaid train tickets that couldn’t be collected, severe delays on all tube lines etc. All in all just stuff you don’t want to deal with when having decided on a place and time to meet up with friends for drinks and dinner. But only being five minutes late I managed to meet up with Florida friend Katie and her husband Dan, with suitcase and all.

After having catch my breath and checked in to my hotel we ventured up to Soho. At Old Crompton Street we decided on an Italian restaurant called Piccolo Diavolo. Good old fashion home made Italian cooking. Katie and Dan had ravioli and meat while I had risotto funghi of course. (One could never go wrong with risotto…)

After a meeting at the office today I will do what I do best, enjoy London. Friends, food, drinks, shopping and some sight seeing until Sunday. Somehow there is always something new to see or do in this city…

Amara’s law

We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.

~ Roy Amara, past president of The Institute for the Future ~

A month too early

Surfing by Yahoo the other day I found a feature about Valentine’s Day. Isn’t that kind of early? With three weeks away I haven’t even realised that the day is coming up. (I have another dreaded dentist appointment the day before which I’m very aware of though). The article continues to tell all singles without a date what to do on this day of romance – love yourself instead. I believe very much in loving yourself and being nice to you, but that’s something one should do all year around. Not only on Valentine’s Day because one doesn’t have a date. Sort of rubbish to me, but then I’ve only been one Valentine’s Day date in all my life. So my view is probably way too pragmatic.

It’s all about the oil

In an Op-Ed in the United Arab Emirates Khaleej Times Online former US Secretary of State Henry A Kissinger admits that the US occupation in Iraq is just for oil.

But under present conditions, withdrawal is not an option. American forces are indispensable. They are in Iraq not as a favour to its government or as a reward for its conduct. They are there as an expression of the American national interest to prevent the Iranian combination of imperialism and fundamentalist ideology from dominating a region on which the energy supplies of the industrial democracies depend.

Hm, I always thought the US were there because of the WMD we all heard so much about before the war; because of the war for freedom and because the fight against the Islamic extremists... I could never imagine the US being there for the oil…

Via Wonkette

British tabloids

I loath tabloids, I really do. I hate that kind of sensational journalism, which is only out to sell extra single copies. But then everybody has to make a living…

Martin Fletcher, NBC News Tel Aviv Bureau Chief, writes:

When I got the assignment to come to work out of the NBC London bureau I was delighted. That should make a nice change from war and mayhem in the Holy Land, I thought. After ten days, I can't wait to get back to Gaza.

But he hadn't met the British tabloids... First there was the story about Posh and Becks, then came Kate Middleton the next queen and for the last couple of days the Celebrity Big Brother. The British tabloids do know how to put things in perspective compared to other more important world events.

Happy birthday Wikipedia!

On January 15th Wikipedia became 6 years old. Created by Larry Sanger and Jimmy Wales in 2001 Wikipedia is now one of the most visited sites on the Internet. I find myself using Wikipedia quite often, even though the site has been criticised for not always being accurate. I find its articles very good when it comes to facts regarding current affairs and modern phenomenon, but if I’m doing some real research I check the facts on other sites as well. But still, here's to another 6 years!

Earlier in the month, the number of English articles on Wikipedia crossed 1.5 million. This number grows by almost 2000 every single day.
…
More than a million people visit Wikipedia every day (half of whom visit the English pages). Five out of every 100 Internet users visit Wikipedia daily. Only 11 other sites are visited by more people.

Economics 101

I’m no economist, nor am I good with economical figures, but I get by thanks to a lot of common sense. While reading the Daily Telegraph even an amateur as me couldn’t help wondering if the British economy is heading the wrong way.

Figures published last Tuesday showed that the Consumer Price Index grew by 3 per cent during the year to December, an 11-year high. At the same time, the Retail Price Index jumped by 4.4 per cent, a rate of increase not seen since the country was in recession in the early 1990s.

This sharp rise in living costs wasn't entirely unexpected. After all, having seen a preview of the data the week before, the Bank of England imposed a "shock" interest rate rise, increasing borrowing costs from 5 to 5.25 per cent.

While expected, these eye-popping inflation numbers are significant none the less. After a year of ballooning domestic utility bills and burgeoning housing costs, price pressures are now really cranking up.
…
Little wonder, then, that the CPI inflation index has now exceeded its 2 per cent target for eight months in a row.

Very obvious signs to me that something is rotten in the economy of Great Britain.

Wicked weather

Once again the country was hit by gusty winds, rain and snow last night and early this morning. It stared out with snow here, but turned into rain later on, which I’m very happy for. The wind continued and during the night it was time for rattling windows and howling winds again. Quite nice to hide under the duvet, but the wind kept waking me up. Yawn! Now the rain and wind is gone, but the temperature has dropped below zero and it’s freezing outside. Ugh! And according the weathermen it is suppose to be like this for most of the upcoming week. Brr! So I guess it is time to bring out the good old parka again. On a brighter note though, more than half of January is already gone so it can’t sty like this for more than maybe three more months. A lot better than the usual four or five months.

What was I thinking?

Friday is the day when I treat myself with going out for lunch and maybe have a glass of wine in the evening. It has worked in the past and should work if I think before ordering. Happy it being Friday my colleague from IT and I decided to have a lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Today’s special were five different dishes including fried shrimps with sweet and sour sauce. Something I love, but don’t eat any longer since my system thinks deep fried things are too oily and greasy. After debating with myself for a second or two I still ordered fried shrimps with sweet and sour sauce. Enjoying the conversation with my colleague from IT I really didn’t that much attention to how much I was eating and suddenly I had cleaned the plate. I then finally realises that I was going to be in trouble. Sure thing, a bellyache out of this world that wanted me to just bend over in agony, but I was chairing a meeting. Some nice person had bought muffins from my favourite coffee place to the meeting since it was Friday afternoon, and in a weak moment I thought that eating one of those gigantic things would help. Not really… Who was I trying to fool?!

Two hours later I was finally home and by then I had also wolfed down an XL Mars bar. Needless to say I spent the rest of the evening on the sofa digesting my intake of food like a snake. Coming out of my food-hazed coma I started to wonder what the heck was I thinking. And honestly I still don’t know, but probably too cocky. To defence I can only say: One lives and learns and Tomorrow is a new day.

Quote of the day

I found this quote on a bag from Waterstone’s the other day. I like. I like very much.

Some books are undeservedly forgotten; none are undeservedly remembered.

~ W. H. Auden ~

10 days and counting

My journey towards a healthier life continues. On Monday, 8 days after becoming serious again, I had lost 1,4 kilos which is very close to half of what I gained during the weeks running up to the holidays and during the holidays. Seeing that the scale actually could go down instead of up (the last six months or so) was an incredible kick. Something that I hadn’t felt in a long, long time. But right now I’m just worried that this feeling will wear off and I’ll give up halfway there. Losing another 5-6 kilos seems a lot harder than losing 23 kilos.

What I’ve noticed over the week is that I’m back to planning and journaling. I’m planning what to eat, when to eat and sometimes even where to eat. I’m also back to making weekly menus, go grocery shopping once a week and stick to the plan no matter what. I’ve kept a food journal for the last 4½ years, but for the last six months or so I haven’t been that diligent. I.e. just writing down the major meals and not all snacks, licks and bites that goes down as well. But now I’m back to writing down every single bite.

Yesterday the invitation to the annual women’s 5K spring race arrived in the mail. My immediate thought was that I couldn’t’ be able to participate this year since I’m way out of shape. But right before going to sleep I realised that it was just a bad excuse. If I’ve done that race for the last three years, why shouldn’t I be able to do it this year too?! So I guess I just set a goal for myself. Back to the treadmill it is!

How to be remarkable

Just being average won’t cut it this year. According to The Guardian and marketing guru Seth Godin you have to be remarkable to stand out from the crowd. Here’s how to do it.

1. Understand the urgency of the situation. Half-measures simply won't do. The only way to grow is to abandon your strategy of doing what you did yesterday, but better. Commit.


2. Remarkable doesn't mean remarkable to you. It means remarkable to me. Am I going to make a remark about it? If not, then you're average, and average is for losers.


3. Being noticed is not the same as being remarkable. Running down the street naked will get you noticed, but it won't accomplish much. It's easy to pull off a stunt, but not useful.


4. Extremism in the pursuit of remarkability is no sin. In fact, it's practically a requirement. People in first place, those considered the best in the world, these are the folks that get what they want. Rock stars have groupies because they're stars, not because they're good looking.


5. Remarkability lies in the edges. The biggest, fastest, slowest, richest, easiest, most difficult. It doesn't always matter which edge, more that you're at (or beyond) the edge.


6. Not everyone appreciates your efforts to be remarkable. In fact, most people don't. So what? Most people are ostriches, heads in the sand, unable to help you anyway. Your goal isn't to please everyone. Your goal is to please those that actually speak up, spread the word, buy new things or hire the talented.


7. If it's in a manual, if it's the accepted wisdom, if you can find it in a Dummies book, then guess what? It's boring, not remarkable. Part of what it takes to do something remarkable is to do something first and best. Roger Bannister was remarkable. The next guy, the guy who broke Bannister's record wasn't. He was just faster ... but it doesn't matter.


8. It's not really as frightening as it seems. They keep the masses in line by threatening them (us) with all manner of horrible outcomes if we dare to step out of line. But who loses their jobs at the mass layoffs? Who has trouble finding a new gig? Not the remarkable minority, that's for sure.


9. If you put it on a T-shirt, would people wear it? No use being remarkable at something that people don't care about. Not ALL people, mind you, just a few. A few people insanely focused on what you do is far far better than thousands of people who might be mildly interested, right?


10. What's fashionable soon becomes unfashionable. While you might be remarkable for a time, if you don't reinvest and reinvent, you won't be for long. Instead of resting on your laurels, you must commit to being remarkable again quite soon.

Dentist appointment

I have dentist appointment tomorrow morning and I’m already feeling worried about it. To me there aren’t many more things worse than going to dentist. I just dread it like the plague. My dentist is a nice man and the ones before him have been nice too. OK, I guess back in elementary school there was one who wasn’t that very nice. He smelled of stale smoke and old coffee. He had to pull one of my milk teeth (which hade decided not leave my mouth voluntarily) and when tears slowly came down my cheeks because it did hurt and I was scared he just old me to stop being such a crybaby. When I didn’t stop immediately he kept calling my crybaby while he kept working on my tooth. When I finally got out of his surgery I told mum who’s was sitting in waiting room that I would never ever go back to him. (I had strong opinions about things already as child…) And I didn’t. But being there in the dentist chair I feel the exact same fear and helplessness as I did back then. It will never go away.

Want your own country?

Well, here’s your chance:

Apply to Prince Michael of Sealand if you want to run your own nation, even if it is just a wartime fort perched on two concrete towers in the North Sea.

You will also get the world's smallest country with its own flag, stamps, currency and passports. And according to Prince Michael the neighbours are very quiet and there is a good sea view.

Hurricane Per

Since early this morning we are right in the middle of a hurricane. I’m very happy the bad winds didn’t pick up until daylight. Rattling windows, things flying around outside and howling are bad enough. Add some darkness and one hasn’t got a clue what’s going on outside. I know I’m safe and sound inside, but still it makes me feel a bit uncomfortable.

This is the second storm in less than 48 hours, so needless to say one can wonder what’s going on with the weather. No snow, only rain, extremely mild temperatures and storm after storm. Some people says it’s because of El Nino, who is messing around with weather systems pretty bad this year.

Note to self

Do not lift any heavy boxes or bags because then your back will go out. Again.

It’s gone

Christmas that is. January 13 is the day when Christmas is officially over here in Sweden so today all the decorations and the tree came down. I love putting up it up in December, but it’s such a pain to remove it all in January. But I feel pretty proud of myself since I also cleaned my flat from top till bottom at the same time. There shouldn’t be a single needle in sight anymore… With all the lights gone it means I’ll leave a dark flat in the morning and get to home a dark flat in the evening. Ugh! This freaking darkness. It drives me nuts. Even though I can see a slight change in the mornings and the evenings if it’s a clear day. It doesn’t get darker it actually gets lighter. I also feel better, which is such a relief. I guess the big black cloud over my head has shrunk to small grey one instead. It’s the small things that count.

Designer babies

The "perfect" designer baby is almost reality in prenatal testing, but what if doctors started doing the opposite? USA Today writes:

Creating made-to-order babies with genetic defects would seem to be an ethical minefield, but to some parents with disabilities — say, deafness or dwarfism — it just means making babies like them.

And a recent survey of U.S. clinics that offer embryo screening suggests it's already happening.

Three percent, or 4 clinics surveyed, said they have provided the costly, complicated procedure to help families create children with a disability.

It is an ethical minefield indeed. Call me old-fashioned and/or orthodox, but I don’t think it’s right. I do not believe in procedures for “fixing” things in either way. What is there is there. Genetic manipulation is just very bad and when we start going down that road no one knows where it will ends. In my opinion the money used in this should be used on finding cures and treatment for diseases and disabilities that already exist. Not creating some kind of super human race.

Back on the wagon

I’m back on the healthy wagon again after the holidays. Fourth straight day today. And I've been to the gym twice already this week. Yeah! But dang it’s hard and I keep wonder how the heck I managed to lose almost 23 kilos the last time I was being serious about losing weight. What was my motivation and what kept me going? I’ve tried to remember, but I haven’t got a clue. I’ve also tried to remember what I thought about myself back then and see the difference to how I feel now. Tons of things have changed in those 3½ years, but I can’t for the world remember any of those feelings either. Suppressed maybe?

My friend Laura in Atlanta passed on this link, which shows what 200 calories look like. A great reminder that 553 grams melon is much more worth than 40 grams M&Ms.

Techie girls and dating

I don’t consider myself super-smart or being a techie/geek girl (Ssh, don’t tell anyone but I do know how write code and put together a computer...), but I think Hugh MacLeod is on to something here:

Females are generally not encouraged by society to be super-smart, at least, not overtly. And ESPECIALLY not in the techie/geeky super-smart way.

So as a result, by the time these super-smart young girl geeks have grown up to be women, society will have managed to inject them with all sorts of serious self-esteem issues. Which rarely comes in handy in the mate-choosing department.

No it’s not, and I find it highly intriguing that instead knowing her stuff makes a woman scary. Why is it that men are afraid of women who know more than they do? I see it more or less everyday and honestly I can’t stop wonder, because I’m just being me and I’m definitely not scary. Or am I?

Mates vs. flings

Looking at a man’s features I know immediately if I like him or not. A bit superficial maybe, but somewhere deep inside my head there is something that tells me he’s nice or not. Something built in and passed on for generation in my female psyche. A study at the University of Michigan's School of Public Health now shows that this is true.

Women seem to judge potential mates by how masculine their features are, new research shows. Men with square jaws and well-defined brow ridges are seen as
good short-term partners, while those with more feminine traits such as a rounderface and fuller lips are perceived as better long-term mates.
…
Overwhelmingly, participants said those with more masculine features were likely to be risky and competitive and also more apt to fight, challenge bosses, cheat on spouses and put less effort into parenting. Those with more feminine faces were seen as good parents and husbands, hard workers and emotionally supportive mates.

Hm, interesting. So in reality that means that I should only have an affair with George Clooney, not marry him…

Shopping sabbatical

Imagine going a whole year without buying anything. I personally can’t imagine doing it. But that is just what 10 environmentally conscious friends in San Francisco did last year.

After going through an initial period of retail withdrawal, discovering just how easy it was to score pretty much anything with a little time and effort was an eye-opener, according to participants.
…
The pledge provided unexpected dividends as well, such as the joy of getting reacquainted with the local library and paying down credit cards. Gone, too, was the hangover of buyer's remorse.

Impressive! Maybe one should start doing it for a month or so?! Especially now right after the holidays…

Don’t watch, blog!

As we all know by now Time magazine named YOU as the person of the year 2006. But really what was so special about that?! Yes, the 2006 were the year when the Internet became a tool for bringing together the small contributions of millions of people and making them matter. And yes, the online world is getting bigger and bigger, but it’s not as big as we might think. We, the online people, are still a minority, even though we like to believe that we are the biggest, brightest and boldest there is. Maybe in a couple of year or so…

Ed Caesar at The Independent:

So don't tell me, Time magazine, that we are all your people of the year, because when you said that we had framed the new digital democracy, you weren't talking about my mum. The digital democracy - the girl with her videophone at the Nutini gig - is still a niche constituency, albeit an increasingly influential one. The podcasters are still outnumbered by the people with analogue radios listening to The Archers; the old narratives are still pulling the biggest crowds; and, the odd internet start-up billionaire aside, the old media powers are still the ones making money.

But there has been a shift in vision in 2006 - one that can only redouble in 2007. And, in one sense, it is a democratising tendency. It is that we can get whatever we want, wherever we want.

England whitewashed

Many Englishmen are now in mourning since England lost to Australia with 5-0 in the prestigious cricket tournament The Ashes. I really don’t know that much about cricket besides that a match could go on for days and that they break for tea (Or is that just a bad rumour?) But I do understand that losing with 5-0 is terribly and I’m pretty sure the English newspapers are having a field day. If I was the English cricket team I think I would stay in Australia for a while…

A time of peace and security

Or at least relativity… The Human Security Brief 2006 was released right before the turn of the year. The report follows up on the positive trends reported in the 2002 brief. So somehow I think there is hope.

• Between 2002-2005, the number of armed conflicts in the world was reduced by 15 percent, from 66 to 56.
  
• Between 2002-2005, the number of battle-deaths was reduced by almost 40 percent (see graph below).
  
• In 1989 there were 10 ongoing genocides worldwide, in 2005 there was one (Darfur).
  
• The number of displaced persons declined by 6 percent between 2003-2005. At the same time, some problems have grown worse, especially attacks on civilians:
  
• Between 2002-2005, the number of international terrorist incidents increased threefold (mostly in Iraq), and is now back where they were before the Cold War ended.
  
• Campaigns of organised violence against civilians have increased by 56 percent since 1989.

Back is out (again)

On Wednesday before Christmas we had frost in the morning. The first time actually since the unexpected in snow in late October. Behind my building there is a path down to the street and my bus stop. A way I’ve been walking that more or less everyday since I moved in here 10 years ago. During the winter the path can become a bit slippery with snow, but with no snow not slippery. Or at least that’s what I thought… I might add that’s there are no lights on this path. The lights from building behind and the street make things visible and since it’s only a couple of meters it’s not a problem…

So on Wednesday morning I walked down the path half a awake as usual and bang there I was flat on my back. I probably got more surprised than anything else and cussed like a sailor. Stumbling down to the bus stop I realised that my left elbow hurt and my back was a bit sore. The next morning I could hardly get out of bed and I had a big bruise on my lower back. Thank God I’m a girl with extra filling in that area. Otherwise I’m pretty sure my behind would have been black and blue as well. A couple of day later and muscle relaxers I was fine again. Then on New Year’s Day I dropped something on the floor and when I bent down to pick it up my back had a fit again. More muscle relaxers later and slepping with a pillow under my knees I felt better until last night when I went grocery shopping. Apparently lifting five heavy bags didn’t agree with my back…

I’ve been told that I need to relax and slow down for a while and with today and tomorrow being holidays I really should take the chance of doing nothing. Soon enough life will be back at its super fast pace again. Just looking at my calendar for next week makes me stressed. Monday-Wednesday all day meetings and Thursday-Friday morning meetings. When am I suppose to do some real work?!

I also need to decided if I should go to London two times in less a than a week. But sleeping in my own bed is always nice. And adding more miles to my frequent flyer account. A free roundtrip ticket to the US is getting pretty close now. Can’t wait!

1% gone

Today exactly 1% of 2007 has passed. Time does fly! With only 99% left I better get cracking doing all those things I was suppose to do this year…

Via Diamond geezer

Why wasn’t I invited?

The Independent reports that my one of my old time favourites George Michael was paid £1,5 million for one-hour show at a Russian billionaire's New Year's Eve party.

Moscow's end-of-year parties are said to be among the most ostentatious in the world with gossip columnists ranking them according to the huge fees paid to the evening's main entertainer. But the $3m commanded by the former Wham! star for an hour-long performance is said to have made him Russia's highest paid act to date.

I only have one question: Why wasn’t I invited?

Cool site

Holly, my globetrotting Texas friend, sent me the link to this cool site Minimus – For all your travel size items. Makes me want to go travelling immediately. Travel sized products are so much more fun than those old refillable bottles that been with me for years. I like! I like very much!

From the other side

Tuned out the journalist who wrote former President Gerald Ford’s obituary in Washington Post has been dead for almost a year. Ooops! Guess it is true then that all newspapers have obituaries waiting for famous and important people just in case.

Via Kristine Lowe

Thoughts

I was rather upset and frustrated coming home from work last night. And feeling that way made me even more upset. It’s just not worth it!

It was quite slow at the office since most people are off until Monday, (Friday is another holiday here.) so I got a lot of things done. By lunch some colleagues and I went Wild n’ Fresh, which by the way is still blocked by the trade unions. Somehow the place has never been busier… Anyhow, my colleagues and I got talking and suddenly we all realised that nothing has changed. The holidays have come and gone and we are hopefully a bit more rested and have gained some perspectives, but nothing has changed.

We all admitted feeling crummy on New Year’s Day for having go back to work the next day. Not the normal last of holiday blues. But for having to go back to the stress and pressure of constantly having to check and check again that everybody knows what’s going on. And then still the next day or time being caught by surprise with decisions out of the blue and most of the time also being overruled. Lesser things could wear out people… We have all been recommended to take things to a higher level, but it’s big decision and we need to have real and not only emotional reasons for our case. Personally I want to wait until the end of January and see what happens after the executive board meeting. You never know.

One day at work

And this is how I feel.

By Hugh MacLeod at Gapingvoid

Not good and I’m trying very hard to not feel bad.

Cosmo for oldies

I somehow ended up being in charge of the welcoming drink at mum’s husband’s 65th birthday party yesterday. Being an avid wine drinker I don’t know that many good drinks so I decided to go with a safe card – Cosmopolitan. Vodka, Cointreau, lime and cranberry juice are bound to get any party going.

Even though it was only we Generation X:es who had had Cosmopolitan before mum, her husband and their friends loved it and some people even asked for a second glass. During the evening people kept telling me how much they had loved the drink and wondering what was in it. And talking to mum this afternoon she kept saying the same thing - That drink was just wonderful. So it looks like the ageing Baby Boomers never will give up trying new things. According to what I heard last night age is just a number...

Oldest newspaper goes online

The Swedish Post- och Inrikes Tidningar, founded in 1645 and therefore the world’s oldest still-published newspaper went out of print today. But not to die. The newspaper just moved online and will continue to be the official Swedish publication for bankruptcies, company and government announcements.

Windy first day

Just in time for the New Year a low pressure moved in from the British Isles soaking everybody and everything. Walking home from New Year’s celebration and mum’s husbands 65th birthday bash around 1:30 this morning I got soaked to the bones. The winds were so hard using an umbrella was out of the question. I had a head wind all the way home so the usual 15 minute walk from my stepsister’s place took the about the double time. When I finally got inside a caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and low and behold, it was very good that I had walked home from a party and not to a party. All of my eye makeup was halfway down my cheeks and my hair looked like a dark brown entangled mop.

The rain has kept coming all day and the winds are getting harder and harder. Now they are even talking about a hurricane. Let’s just hope the whole weather system has moved away tomorrow morning when it’s back to work for most of us. Getting soaked again isn't really on my agenda...

Happy New 2007

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

~ Lord Tennyson ~

Happy New Year from my neck of the woods to wherever you are. May 2007 be the best year to come!