Ikea Shopping Day

We bought tons of stuff at Ikea today. I'll post the official list tomorrow when I'm not quite so tired. We got almost everything we needed for 8,700 kr. We also spent 1,000 kr at Duka for really quite nice kitchen chairs. There were a few things we needed/wanted that we didn't buy this time, but I'm sure in another week or two we'll have quite a few more things that we realize we are missing. They will deliver the stuff that we couldn't take with us tomorrow.

Oh, and we went to Skatteverket today. Apparently at anytime in the last few months I could have gone there, claimed I was here looking for work, shown them my passport, and gotten a personal number. So I will have my p-nummer in a week or so. And it will let me study Swedish for Immigrants too! A very productive day today.

For now, Sleep!

Day 1 of our Own Apartment!

Jenny gave over the keys yesterday, so now this apartment really seems more like ours. I think for it to really feel nice though... we need to do some cleaning and buy some furniture. Today we are going to clean and take some pictures to show how empty the place is. The only room with much in it is David's room. Soon it will be an office, but we haven't wanted to move the bed into an otherwise completely empty room that echoes quite yet. Jenny's old room has only a desk in it. When David made coffee this morning every noise was so loud because the living room/kitchen area echoes as well! Every noise was louder than it should be because the rooms are so empty. So tomorrow we will go IKEA shopping!

To Buy Tomorrow:
a couch
chairs - from Duka?
wardrobe
bookshelves for books (4)
shelf for living room
light for hallway
light for entry
light for kitchen table
light for bedroom
floor lamp for living room
floor lamp for office
computer chair
And anything else I've forgotten.

The rest can wait a few days while we look at other stores too.

Life is Busy!

Life has been really very busy lately. Last Saturday was David and Jenny's birthday party. It was HUGE! There were 52 people at the party. Keeping in mind that we held the party in the apartment that only has two bedrooms, the living room, a hallway and the kitchen. It was quite crowded. There were balloons, presents, and people everywhere. It was great fun though.

Then we have today, which is Jenny's moving day. She has been packing stuff for the past week so that she wouldn't go too crazy with work today. Jenny moving out means that we have almost no furniture left in the apartment. Once they have completely finished moving, I will take some pictures. At the very least we need to get a couch, some bookshelves, a shelf for the living room, kitchen chairs, a computer chair for me, a wardrobe, some lamps, some kitchen stuff, and some other items as well. We bought a vacuum and a coffee table from Mattias, so that is a few less things to buy. Jenny has given us the kitchen table and her desk. Neither of which are in the best shape, but they will work. We are going to check used places for things like rugs and small items. We spent about a month trying to find a used couch, but everything is too far away or too expensive. Without a car we don't really have a way to move something we buy. By the time we borrow a car, rent a trailer, and pay for gas and time... we might as well just have bought something cheap at Ikea since they deliver.

We will also need to get some rugs, some paintings, and some curtains. Those things aren't very high priority though. We might get those downtown so that they aren't quite so obviously Ikea items. Thursday we will have our Ikea trip. On Wednesday we might go see what is available downtown first. If we have time. David has a large paper due this week, and I have a seminar and a paper topic due. Saturday we will be going to a Julgask at a nation. That is a fancy Christmas dinner filled with tradition. The food isn't great, but the entertainment makes it worth the money. Plus David and I don't get to go out as a couple that often. We're both so busy!

So in the space of 10 days we have had Thanksgiving, a BIG birthday party, cleaned the apartment three times (before the party, after the party, and after Jenny moves out), have had to plan out furniture to buy, have to buy furniture, assemble it, go to a Julgask, help Jenny move, go to the immigration office, visit the tax office, get the apartment moved into David's name, visit the people in charge of social payments, and do the usual school work and classes. We need to add like 10 hours of time to each day!

Thanksgiving

Our little thanksgiving celebration went amazingly well last night. We ate quite late since it took forever to get everything made. We made almost everything from scratch. We made a pecan pie for dessert, although we bought the vanilla sauce to have on top. The leftover pie crust I had David roll out and I sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and baked into nice treats. We also made some rolls from one of my mom's recipes. I learned something with those though... I should not put egg on top of them, because the color ends up very weird. Instead, in the future, I should use butter. We had some extra dough leftover so we made some small little balls and baked those. We ate those before dinner too. They turned out really well though. Both David and Peter were impressed. I know I could have bought the rolls from ICA 5 for 10 kr, but making them from scratch was more fun. Peter made mashed potatoes from actual potatoes. They had lots of cream and garlic in them and were very good. And we baked two turkey breasts in the oven. David said it was the first time he ever had turkey besides in sandwiches on airplanes. I think everyone was happy with how everything turned out.

Today I might see if I can buy tickets to a nice dinner next weekend. This weekend is David's birthday party. He and Jenny drove to Systembologet and are going to the grocery store to buy stuff for the party as well.

The immigration office (migrationsverket) ended up being quite boring. Basically they were confused and just had us in to explain our options. It wasn't the interview we expected it to be. Instead they told us to go talk to the tax office (skatteverket) and the place that deals with health issues (forensingskassen?). After we figure out what they think of me, we're supposed to contact our lady at the immigration office and decide on how I wish to apply. The original method of a relationship is the most difficult and most complicated, but if that is the only way to get health insurance, we'll go for that one. The lady seemed to think I should apply as a student or someone who is looking for work. She was really nice, but I got the impression that she didn't know that much more about the situation than we do! It was all quite confusing, and in Swedish!

Swedes are officially strange! (not like that is a new thought though.)

Preparations for Thanksgiving

I've decided to do a small dinner for thanksgiving. I think I would be sad if I didn't do something. So I managed to track down some turkey breasts. I've also managed to find some pecans. Pecans are very expensive here. The cheapest I've managed to find them is 180 kr per kilo. I bought a kilo of them anyways. I've decided that this holiday deserves something nice. I'll want something nice after dealing with migrationverket on Thursday anyways. I've asked my mom for her recipe for rolls and how the heck to make mashed potatoes from scratch. I'll probably make some vegetables to go with dinner as well. Now I wonder if I can do dinner at the proper time (1 or 2 in the afternoon) or if I'll have to wait until 5 or 6 when people are off of work. We'll see!

I plan to try and mail my package with Christmas presents tomorrow. The only one I don't have a present for is my brother. Not a clue what to get him. Trying to get presents for around 17 people into a blue shipping box and weigh under 5 kilograms total is quite a lot of work! Especially working on a student budget. I think I've done pretty well though. I was originally planning to mail the box today, but I haven't finished wrapping everything yet.

Tonight, we will have a chicken casserole for dinner. Chicken, pasta, cheese, cream sauce, spices, celery, and maybe some freezer veggies. I'm trying to empty out the freezer some, but every time I take something out, I buy something new to put in. The fridge works the same way!

migrationverket

David called the lady at the migration office who is handling my case today. She knew who he was and who I was. That is a good sign. She also scheduled our interview for next Thursday. Then we will have to go down to the office and convince them that we really are in a serious relationship. I really hope all will go well! It should go well!

David and I are probably going to go to IKEA tomorrow and look at stuff so we have a better idea with what we are looking for on Blocket (an internet website for buying stuff locally).

David and I also need to go visit Skatteverket next week and perhaps go in to Stockholm to see about getting some stuff I want for Thanksgiving.

Another Bike Fall

I managed to fall from my bike again today. Just crossing the road where all the bikes have to cross... I slid most of the way across the road. While I was still on the ground feeling quite confused, another biker did the same thing and landed next to me. As I was starting to get back on my bike, a third biker crashed. EVERYTHING was very slippery this morning because it rained during the night but froze as well. Everything just looked to be a bit wet, but it was icy.

I took the bus back from town because my knee hurts to bend it too much. You can already see the nice pretty bruise on my knee.

In other news, I'm thinking to try and take my laptop to school more often. It is useful to have. Be even better if I had internet in class, but then I don't think I would listen at all.

Wireless

As of today, I am now wireless! David and I bought a wireless router for the computer today. And we bought a wireless card for my laptop. Jenny also wireless now because she has a new laptop. So soon there will be many less wires running through the apartment.

Today I also did some of my Christmas shopping for my family. It takes longer when things must be mailed to the states, so I will have my presents mailed by the end of this week I think. It is hard to find nice presents for many people that don't cost much, are cool, and don't weigh much. I think I'm doing ok though.

Photos

I've uploaded a lot of photos to the website. Or well, I'm in the process of uploading them. It's been an hour and I'm only about halfway done. All of David's China photos will be up, the Halloween photos, and the photos of snow from our short lived snowstorm in Uppsala.

Last night David and Peter carved pumpkins while I took photos. It was nice to just relax and talk with such good friends. We also met for lunch today between my lectures just to relax a bit.

Besides that, there hasn't been much going on around here. I've been studying whenever the internet feels like working and going to lectures. David has been taking it easy and recovering from his trip.

The only other thing of interest going on right now is the fact that I feel like such a boring adult! Trying to figure out about things I want for Christmas... it is all boring stuff! Furniture, a new router, a grillpan, money for things like getting my hair done. BORING! And yet I can't really think of anything else I need right now. It's a sign you're growing up, when your list is more about things you need and less about things that you want. I remember the years of going through the toy catalogs and dreaming about all the brightly colored toys! Now I look through the IKEA catalog and dream about a new bookshelf or chairs that don't wobble! Life changes sometimes I guess.

David is back from China!

David is home again from China. It's quite nice to have people living in the apartment again. Although I must admit, I was starting to get used to the quiet again! Now I only get two pillows and one blanket at night too. And I shouldn't leave a mess everywhere since others live here too. Oh well, a bit of organization shouldn't kill me.

Today David and I bought our tickets home to his parents' place for Christmas. We will leave December 18th and come home again January 2nd I think. Now I just need to get Christmas presents for everyone. I need to send out Christmas cards soon too.

I've been studying like crazy lately. This course is much more effort than my last one. Although I did get a VG (Very Good, highest grade in the Swedish system... it doesn't actually say very good, but it translates nicely that way). I have a seminar tomorrow and I want to be prepared for it by at least having read through most of the required readings from the last three lectures.

David and I mad a yummy Potatis Gratang for dinner tonight. We made an extra one so that we would have leftovers too. That way I don't have to make lunch tomorrow and can study a bit instead. Peter will come over in the evening to carve pumpkins again I think. And maybe we will eat some chips and just relax and hear more about China.

The Halloween Party

Last night I finally had my Halloween party. It ended up being a lot of fun, despite getting off to a rough start. Everyone showed up late. I was getting phone call after phone call about people having problems with the bus, or the pumpkin, or worrying about the ice, etc. Everything worked out though.

We sat around, talked lots, carved pumpkins, etc. The pumpkin carving ended up being quite a bit of fun. I was the only one who had ever carved a pumpkin before. Swedish pumpkins are NOT very good quality. Some of them started to go bad even before we could carve them! And my pumpkin had started to get green sprouts inside it. ICK! It still looked nice for one night with a candle inside though.

The annoying thing about parties is how much of a mess they leave. Took me about 2 or 3 hours this morning, WITH Aile's and Oscar's help to get the apartment looking respectable enough to eat breakfast in. I'm still not done cleaning either. I need to put some more things away, scrub down the tables, vacuum, take recyclables to the store, and mop. I needed a break though.

I have a seminar tomorrow that I am not quite ready for yet. I still have quite a bit of reading to do and I need to write another half page on my seminar assignment. That's all due tomorrow at noon though, so I have awhile left. Helena brought me the book that has the one chapter in it that I don't have a photo copy of. So that means I don't need to go to the library tomorrow morning before class.

Oh, and we ended up in a discussion about Nintendo DS last night... discovered that I think two others in the group have Animal Crossing for their DS. Wow, my friends are all just as geeky as I am! Sometimes that is a cool observation!

Studying

I spent most of today studying. I should have gotten a lot more done than I did. I didn't get much cleaning done either today. The Jello for tomorrow is made though.

Tomorrow I need to do a lot of cleaning. I want things to look really very nice before everyone shows up. So vacuum, dust, wipe off surfaces, pick up, and maybe do some spot cleaning in the bathroom. I also need to set things up for pumpkin carving and make sure my decorations look nice. I am really looking forward to the party tomorrow. I can't wait!

I need to make a run to the grocery store for chips tomorrow, and maybe pick up some folk-cider, and stuff for breakfast on Sunday. I also need to take a shower and get dressed up in my costume. Weee!

Snow chaos and school

It's been completely crazy here for the last two days. Wednesday I woke up to falling snow, a small layer of snow on the ground, and wind that kept throwing the snow back up into the air and rattling doors. I had to dig my bike out of the snow drift that had built up under the bike shelter in order to bike to school. It was not an easy ride to school due to the wind and the fact that nothing had been plowed. I allowed myself extra time, leaving for school more than half an hour before school started. Others did not do that. Buses were delayed, trains stopped, and just everything was crazy. More than half my class was late. The professor was not amused.

After class ended I went and got photo copies made of the chapters we need to read that aren't available at the library or online. That took forever! It was another hour and a quarter before I even was able to leave town. The bike ride back from town was complete hell though. The wind was making it so that there were snow drifts on the roads and bike paths. In some places I could not even see the bike path. As soon as someone walked or biked past, the wind would fill in the footsteps. It was as though no one had been on the path at all, even though I could see lots of people ahead and behind me. It meant I had to walk my bike a lot since the snow was more than 20 cm deep in places! It is hard to bike through that. It was long after dark before I finally got myself and my bike home.

Peter thankfully came over and brought food so that I had something to eat. I was too tired to even go to the store for food. He even made me a dinnerbox so that I have food tonight as well.

Today it dawned clear and cold. The wind had died down so that they actually plowed the pathways. Biking to school was much easier than yesterday. The one problem today though was the ice. It is everywhere! The temperature today got above freezing so there is this nice layer of ice a few cm thick everywhere. I managed to find a section of it on the way home from school today. I was cycling with a classmate and she slipped, I hit my brakes to dodge her and lost control on the ice. I ended up in a pile of snow. I have a few new bruises and so do her fruits and veggies I had in my basket.

School has been interesting. It is going to be a lot of work. There is lots of reading, writing, seminars, and seminar assignments to do. I am now four lectures behind since we had two lectures yesterday and two today. I am going to have to work really hard tomorrow so that I can enjoy Saturday and Sunday this weekend. There was one disaster though. Since the time when the class schedule was requested the professor changed the class. Originally our last day of class before break was supposed to be December 8th, now it is December 18th. There are about 10 students in my class who bought plane tickets and will be missing two seminars, a presentation, and the homeexam. She's having to work around them now, but it caused lots of panic for awhile. I now don't have any class after Christmas though. Only a paper due January 8th. It will be crazy trying to get all of the reading and writing done for the class. On the first day the professor said that she expected the international students to do well, but the Swedish students needed to understand that she was expecting a lot more out of them than most classes and that Swedish students have had problems in the past.

Another interesting thing about the class... it isn't a masters level. There are people who are doing their first semester of anything related to government and people in my group who have already graduated. The class moves VERY slowly at times. The thing is... the class has no prerequisites and no level. It is not an A, B, C, or D course. It just exists. It will be interesting watching who gets lost and who is bored.