I've Been Everywhere, Man, I've Been Everywhere

I've been to so many places.

Gothenburg

Gothenburg has the appeal of a big city while mixing it with an old-world charm. It's an old seafaring citiy on the western coast. Lots of grand statues as well as nice malls and restaurants. Me and the girls and Ben spent the day there walking around and taking pictures with the statues and looking at old buildings.


Kalmar

I spent Valentine's Day in Kalmar with the girls. Located on the far eastern coast of Sweden, Kalmer is a very old town, as small if not smaller than Växjö. Lots of very old buildings, including a castle! Of course the castle was closed when we were there, which was really dissapointing, because we arranged the trip around the assumption that the castle would be open (it's a long story). So we wound up with a couple of hours to kill so we walked until it was just too cold and we held up in a pub until or train came. A pretty good day.

Distraction

Process

Writing a paper on Scandinavian film is a complex process. Here's a step by step guide to help guide you through.

1. Write a paragraph.
2. Make a snack.
3. Go downstairs, watch the girls play Super Nintendo.
4. Come back upstairs.
5. Get a glass of water.
6. Check facebook.
7. Check blog. If bored enough, write a blog.
8. Start over.

As you can imagine, it's slow going....

Circuits of Fever


-5 today, Celsius. Snow falling. Footprints on a frozen lake. Ice fishers sit on icy stools and wait for bites. Children skate the ice behind our building in the mornings: slipping, gliding, not even 3 feet tall.

Spanish dinner tonight. Paella and Spanish omelets. Spaniards love to cook, and we have 4 on the floor. Lucky me.

All The Small Things

So I woke up this morning to one of the best surprises I've ever had. A video posted on my facebook wall proclaimed the impossible : Blink-182 are back together.

This is the band that basically sum up my entire teenage experience. Their lyrics and music always seemed to fit in perfectly with what I was feeling at any given moment. Their radio-friendly (some would say "commercialized", but they would be wrong) brand of pop-punk was the soundtrack to my generation. My connection to their lyrics is hard t express in words, but suffice to say that much of who I am today comes from the steady diet of Mark and Tom's lyrics I digested when I was younger. Love, lust, anger, frustration, angst, and good times with friends, their music had it all. Teenage therapy in audio form. They effectively broke up in 2004, right as I had just started to understand (and obsess over) their music, but drummer Travis Barker's recent brush with death has brought them back together, both as friends and as musicians.

While I love Tom's newest band, the epic Angles and Airwaves, and I hope that they will continue to put out great records, I am utterly elated that Blink-182 are a band again. I will pay however much I have to to see them live, since I never got to do that while they were together.

Essential Songs : Dammit, The Rock Show, Story of a Lonely Guy, Adam's Song, All The Small Things, What Went Wrong

Made For Each Other

Over The Pond

I am convinced that some things in life are made for each other.

I have already been quoted as making that statement referring to Salinger, The Album Leaf, and dimly lit European apartments, and I meant that. I could simplify that even more to just The Album Leaf and Europe. Something just clicks here. I was thinking about this as I was pedaling around the back streets of Växjö today (tonight?). Their music seemed to fit so well with the Victorian style buildings, the cobblestone pathways, and old houses covered with vines a la Madeline.



I stopped beside of the old church that towers over the rest of the city. One of the great iron doors was open, so I slipped inside only to find the sanctuary was full. On the stage, the youth orchestra was performing assorted classics. I stayed long enough to catch the last 3 songs, much to my delight. The violins swirled as the violas and cellos bubbled underneath, with the conductor stirred the brew like a medieval witch. A beautiful and powerful spectacle. The 20-something girl I sat with in the very back row cried at one point.

By the time I left it was completely dark, and all the street lamps were lit, bathing me in a yellow glow as I biked back to my apartment.

The Last Man On Earth

At midnight, I sit in the common room, alone. Almost the whole floor is empty (trips, club) and I’m entertaining myself with old Vincent Price movies and Smashing Pumpkins music videos. A dinner of green beans, toast, and half a can of ravioli. I don’t expect anyone home for a few hours. I’m completely isolated, and I don’t mind.

Fear

Walking across frozen lake at night.

Quiet

Peppers and Pepperoni

Tonight the highest place in Vaxjo is essentially empty. Took the night off from the club. The older exchange students left for their ski trip tonight. Sarah is in her room sick and Wade is with his Buddy. So I walked in to town and got a take out pizza, which, due to a miscommunication (yet again ;-) ) ended up having both pepperoni and peppers. Ended up being pretty good. Ate it while reading a book.

Without all the exchange students from last semester, there’s only going to be four of us this week. Classes don’t start till Tuesday or Wednsday, and the student pubs/clubs/discos are closed Sunday and Monday nights, so we’ll have to come up with something to do.

Like organizing our cleaning schedule. Or buying groceries. Our printing out pictures for our common room walls. Or maybe having a nice dinner. We’ll see.

Journeys

“Here we go, life’s waiting to begin”

In Flight

I left. Behind me, Atlanta stood in flames. After roughly 6 hours of darkness, the red glow of day appeared on the horizon. I’d never seen the sun come up over the clouds. There was no clear sunrise, no oversized star creeping over the edge of the world. The sky just gets brighter. “My eyes are opened up with pure sunlight.” Beautiful.

I wanted to see the ocean.

I never did.

By Train

Sweden looks like the Midwest. Amber waves of grain, evergreens, and farmhouses. A lone horse. Lost of lakes. Except all the lakes in Sweden are frozen over.

My lunch consists of bottled water and an overpriced Panini. My stomach still feels funny. I probably just need more sleep.

The sun goes down around 3:30. By 5, it is nighttime.

Revelation of the Day : “I was raised a Chrsitian. But I have not found the Church structure to be something I feel comfortable with, so it’s a personal relationship.”
-Billy Corgan

As if you needed one more reason to make him your idol.

Vallgatan

My home for the next 6 months is a dorm near the center of town called Vallgatan. My room is fairly Spartan. There is a bed with no linens or pillows. A table, 2 chairs, and a bookshelf. I have a private bathroom, which is nice.

Ate pizza with my new friend Sarah, who is another exchange student from America. We stumbled in to the pizzeria only to find all of the ingredients and recipes in Swedish. Ordering was an adventure in and of itself.

Now it’s 8:10 pm.

And I’m tired. The past two days have felt more like one long marathon in which I took a 5 hour nap. I have been going non stop for almost 48 hours, and it’s time to sleep.

I hope I can get some power adapters tomorrow. Because everything I own with a battery is dying.