Wednesday 31 January 2007

When I was 21

Today during the afternoon coffee break at work we discussed body hair and shaving (yes, I know it's weird, but we ARE a weird bunch).

I came to think of that when I was twenty one years old I had never shaved my legs.

Imagine that! What a blessed, protected and wonderfully free world I had been living in until then.
I'm pretty sure I started the underarm shaving much much earlier. But I had never really looked at my legs until that day.

I remember it like yesterday.

I was visiting a girl I used to be friends with at that time and we were sitting in her lounge watching telly and talking. At some stage my eyes fell upon her legs next to mine.
Not only were they taller, skinny and tanned - they were absolutely perfectly silky smooth! I remember looking at her legs, looking over at my legs, looking at her legs, looking back at mine, and oh-my-god-I-can't-move-what-if-she-realises-how-hairy-my-legs-are?!

Mine probably weren't too bad. Pale for sure. But I mean, the hair was still light and thinly spread. But gosh. I just wanted to cover them. I remember having issues continuing to focus on our conversation.

I was SO innocent until then. I had spent all my time in the stables. Horses don't care if you're hairy.
Had I been a different person if I never discovered that difference between my legs and other women's legs?

*sigh*

Tuesday 30 January 2007

Tomorrow

Tomorrow I will sit down and experience an organisational consultant who (with a bit of luck) will help us organise our work in new and improved ways.

Wee...
*yawn*
Again an embarrassingly obvious example of whatever it is that is wrong with me. Why haven't I gone to bed to prepare for tomorrow?

Oh why?

Why am I still awake?? :-D

I had a night off work, and what do I do? Instead of kicking back in front of the telly I spend it in front of the computer... (and I washed three loads of laundry). 8-)
But believe it or not, I didn't play warcraft, I wrote down all reasons I could think of why self defence classes for girls is a good thing.

And I kept surfing the net - surfing on "self defence" brought me into a world of police bloggers:
http://blaljus.com/ and a cute/funny and interesting blog written by a police dog http://blogg.aftonbladet.se/5240/ and finally a little bit darker, but written by a dog handler/officer http://blogg.aftonbladet.se/8003/

Very interesting, and educational.

With a bit o' luck S will come home shortly and trigger my "go to bed before it's morning" impulses...
Oh dang it, I just have to log on to warcraft now that I started thinking about it...

Monday 29 January 2007

Oh the love

Amazing love.
I don't know about you, but I tend to get extremely self-conscious when looking at photos and snippets of film of myself. Probably pure vanity and self-obsession.

But I love this little girl so much I manage to forget to look at my self and was completely enthralled by her little being. What was she thinking of the whole thing? What was going on in her head? What did all this seem to be to her? Amazing.

Been editing photos from her younger brother's baptism.
And I love her SO much, my little niece.

Sunday 28 January 2007

The Devil Wears Prada

He he! I was surprised by a film which was not just a story about a girl with a bitch for a boss, but they managed to squeeze in a sweet little story about "choose carefully what you do and why". I like that. All actors did a decent job and I am partial to Emily Blunt for playing the "underdog" (the true underdog) in an absolutely crisp way.

I have conflicting emotions caused by the fact that there are lots of realllllly nice clothes and shoes in the movie (read: "Sex and the city") but I'm not at all fond of the idea that you fail yourself if you dress well.

Enjoy!
(imdb link)


Meryl Streep .... Miranda Priestly

Anne Hathaway .... Andy Sachs
Emily Blunt .... Emily

Stanley Tucci .... Nigel

Simon Baker .... Christian Thompson

Adrian Grenier .... Nate

Larry O

Amazing, one of my old classmates and former colleagues made it into one of my dreams last night. :-D

I received an email from my old boss a couple of weeks ago, where he complained that Larry was going to leave - did-I-know-anything-about-it??? Obviously I don't, I haven't been in touch with Larry since the day I left my old job, roughly 12 years ago.

But we did get along really well, seeing we had been classmates and all. But I never would've bet on him making it into one of my dreams. :-D
He turned up in my dreams, wearing skimpy sport-shorts, just like he did on occasion back in the days (avid runner as he was). He turned up in my swanky office (with a lounge and a kitchenette!) wanting to have a gossip, as that was something we actually regularly did. [<-- this is the dream I'm describing now]

What a dream. :-D A blast from the past.

Now, warcraft time! *off*

Saturday 27 January 2007

Parental control

I just realised I share exactly the same opinion on guns as my dad, hmm...

I like it when it happens! :-)

That means, that without trying (important to know!) he has transferred a moral and emotional standpoint to me, his child. And I enjoy being able to argue with the morons who like magnums and black powder guns, to actually _have_ an opinion on such an obscure matter is, I don't know, fun! :-D

Friday 26 January 2007

Compulsive behavior

I got home at 22:30 (from work). That means I've got the night off, no after work stuff, and S isn't even home. What do I do then?
  • Turn on the washing machine (while taking my shoes off)
  • Log on to Warcraft (checking AH)
  • Pour myself a glass of yoghurt (to accompany the penicillin)
  • Switch on the iron
  • Go back to Warcraft
  • Back to the iron, iron and hang curtains in the kitchen
  • Dress out of work, into home, prep something more to eat
  • Warcraft again
  • Empty the dishwasher
  • Hang the laundry
  • Get seated in front of Warcraft with enough food and drink to last for a while
Yesterday, when S had a "night off" from work, he came home, made something to eat and sat down in front of Warcraft. For the rest of the evening.
OK, yesterday he actually hung the laundry, because I asked him before I left... but still. No curtains ironed, no pre-cleaner cleaning up, no he just relaxes.
Damn him.

Thursday 25 January 2007

What am I? (Geek or Nerd)

These are my test results:

Pure Nerd
73 % Nerd, 39% Geek, 30% Dork

For The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.

The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.

Congratulations!

Nerd, or Geek?

Vital questions asked at work this wintery Thursday afternoon... :-D

The definition:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2754399

How to tell the difference:
http://www.wikihow.com/Tell-the-Difference-between-Nerds-and-Geeks
(...because "
One often has heard the term Nerd and Geek. Often these terms are used interchangeably. This is not acceptable in polite society. To avoid further offense here are some foolproof ways to tell one from the other."...)

The test:
http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=9935030990046738815

Monday 22 January 2007

Communication

teapot says:
Language issue: This is where you escalate your "CS Project" cases.
teapot says:
Doesn't sound right.
teapot says:
Ideally I'd like to say: "Det är hit du skall eskalera dina "CS Project" case." (Swedish)
S says:
casii
teapot says:
casii?
teapot says:
Ha ha ha
S says:
As virus in plural becomes virii
teapot says:
I was thinking I'd like a "to" somewhere in that sentence...
S says:
"Herewithin your CS Project cases will face their bane and see their days come to an end"
S says:
Added a "to" in the end there.

Children of Men

Dark, dirty and depressing - as many of it's predecessors.

"Children of Men" (imdb link) is a near-future sci-fi movie directed by Alfonso Cuarón (not that I generally memorise who's produced a movie, but hey - thank imdb for that).

Neither of the actors did "their best performance", although Michael Caine shone as the hippie we all know he is. ;-) But the scene design! The animations (hardly visible) and the environment!

It gave me the chills. And the core message (what was the core message??), or the part that got to me; the children, the future - our future... got me to a point where I had tears in my eyes. 8-)

Go watch it.



Clive Owen .... Theo Faron

Julianne Moore .... Julian Taylor

Michael Caine .... Jasper Palmer

Chiwetel Ejiofor .... Luke
Claire-Hope Ashitey .... Kee

Saturday 20 January 2007

The Burning Crusade

Yehey! It's fnastastic!

It's pretty much just more of the same, but hey, when "the same" is so darn good it's hard to not like the new bits.
I got hold of a collector's edition the other day, going to have to work out if I can still get the extra in-game pet despite first entering the non collector's edition serial numbers.

The expansion came with two new races, "dranei" and "blood elves". The dranei are supposed to have crash-landed on Azeroth with their space ship(s), so they have a slightly more high-tech version of start-up area than the other World of Warcraft races. I just had to roll one to see for myself, despite it being an "alliance" character (two fractions, fighting each other - alliance and horde). :-)

I best log on and continue to play.

Arn, part II

Arn, the movie - they have now selected the female lead actress: Sofia Helin (imdb info)

I like it! I like her a lot from what I saw in the film "Masjävlar" (also called "Dalecarlians").

That film touches a subject which is very close to my heart - choosing to leave home to live somewhere else and facing sisters who stayed at home.
I think I cried much more than what was called for when I watched that movie, just because it touched those feelings of betrayal and loss that's tucked away behind all the proud and satisfying choices I've made...

Anyway, I like that she's going to play "Cecilia" in the Arn story. It's going to make the movie even better!
:-)

Tooth-ache continues

Went to the dentist on Thursday, they put me on 10 days of penicillin. But the pain has not subsided yet. :-(

S and I just went to a birthday party, but since smiling makes it hurt more I had to make excuses and go home again.
Oh well, since the penicillin prevented me from drinking I wasn't going to enjoy it as much anyway so I suppose I'm better off this way.

I hope S gets home in one piece though. There's a blizzard outside and I left him with "the boys" so I have a hunch he'll be in "good form" when he comes home... 8-)

Wednesday 17 January 2007

Tooth

Oh, and my last remaining wisdom tooth aches like something truly EVIL.

Bleh!

The Burning Crusade

Oh, I'm probably only frustrated because I have a copy of the Burning Crusade, but no computer to play it on... ;-)

I went in to town on Monday night, in time for midnight. The two main game stores opened up at midnight for three hours to release the long awaited expansion for World of Warcraft.

In a queue of a few hundred I got my copy, and it wasn't even pre-booked. I had a great time in the line, with a group of people around my age (and I swear, someone as old as dad as well - gotta love this game!).

Will have to write a line about my first impressions (I am more than a little envious of S who went home in time to buy and install his copy on the same night).

Night.

The less bright

...side of me says "why don't I..."

Why don't I ask them, no, tell them why they have to move down south to me and S? (I mean, think of the enormous employment opportunities for both of them, the number of schools for the kids, the closeness to me and S and our dreamt up future kids, imagine not having to care for the older generation, imagine that!)

Why don't I tell them S and I are moving to his family instead?

Why don't I?

Why don't I go to bed and get over it? Why don't I?
Well, why not.
Sleep well, seeya later.

Home

We had such a great day and evening together, the kids were behaving their best and when they were put to bed we, the grownups, were relaxing in the lounge.

I made the mistake of bringing up the subject of buying a house.

And my dear sweet loved bestest sister and her husband spent the rest of the evening explaining to me why I have to move back home.
Softly softly, ever so gently, but still.

:-(


It's so unfair, it makes me so upset. I thought they had accepted my choice now, that I have chosen to live down south - AWAY from home, and that it's what makes me happy.
But no no no, it's all wrong, I have to see reason and find it within me to move home.

Home.
What is home?


I was once living in another country, then I came home. Am I not living at home now? I thought, that when they had travelled all the way to Australia and back they would realise how incredibly close I am now.
I am close.

I don't want to be closer. Do I?
GRRRRRR.
That's why it's so unfair. I don't question their choices, do I?
I don't want to do that to them, it's not my decision where they live. If they wanted to move to China - good for them. If it makes them happy to stay here, good for them.

Every time they question me, I have to go through the painstakingly unclear and dodgy logic which brought me to where I am now. And nothing in my life have been a set plan to do anything in particular, things happen, opportunities appear. I have chosen a path which has given me a great deal of satisfaction. I am very happy where I am at the moment, why must I defend that?

Thursday 11 January 2007

Communication

> teapot says:
> This one!
> http://www.volvox.co.jp/pict/p03000/hp02898b.jpg
> (text: teapot on a scuba vacation)
> S says:
> haha
> S says:
> http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/hippo/images/top_pic3.jpg
> (text: S (in the office) shouting to teapot (in the kitchen)

Wednesday 10 January 2007

I want Wii

More and more. Kinda scary.

Monday 8 January 2007

The Prestige

A rather dark tale.
Vibes of both newer versions of dracula as well as frankenstein, less most of the gore and violence.

It contained quite a few surprises and I enjoyed not quite knowing whether it was magic or technology or just human nature which would tie the story together in the end. It was probably all of them.

The film had romance, but far from enough to qualify as a romantic movie, it was very realistic, yet in costume. I thoroughly enjoyed all the actor's contributions, though I specifically enjoyed Christian Bale who surprised me with a very strong character. :-)

Go see!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482571/