COLD

How the heck is it this cold in August?!? On Tuesday when I biked to school people were wearing gloves, jackets, and scarves. That's just not right. It's still August! I wished I had gloves on then. Wednesday was a bit warmer, but still quite chilly. Today the high is supposed to be 11C and the low is 4C tonight. That's 52F and 40F. And it's still August! We're losing sunlight at a pretty fast rate too. The sun rose at 5.11am and will set at 8.02pm. By Monday the sun will be rising at 5.23am and setting at 7.48pm. That's quite a bit of time to lose in just 5 days. I'm starting to miss California weather already!

In other news, studying at the adult education center is slow and boring. I met with the counselor at CV yesterday and he came up with lots of ideas for things I can do. So I've contacted people at Umeå university about the option of starting something in the spring. Semester hasn't started there yet, but I'm sure that I need to have at least finished elementary school Swedish first. I'm trying to see about getting into a teaching program or something. Then at least I'll be educated to something and get nice long summer breaks. Teaching pays pretty well in Sweden too. Starting monthly pay (before taxes) is about 20,000 kr a month David says. Or about 2,800 USD a month. But taxes take a BIG bite out of that. On the other hand, you don't have to pay several hundred dollars a month towards health insurance.

I'm not completely sure I want to be a teacher yet, it's a LOT more time spent studying. And since this town isn't really a university town, I'd be commuting to Umeå. It's not a short trip. It looks like it takes about 2 hours one way. But the county (kommun) pays half the travel costs, so I'd just buy a month card and use that. It is possible, but it isn't exactly the best option in the world. I do want an education and it isn't something offered at the local campus.

Well, I've got lots to think about. Meanwhile I'm going to try and see what things I can study on my own. If I want to study for a grade in a subject that I'm not enrolled in, I can. Then I take a test and if I pass it is as though I took the course. It costs money to do it this way, it doesn't cost money to take classes. Odd, but true.

Apartment Stuff

Well, the living room has wallpaper now, so does most of the hallway. Most of the floor and ceiling boards have been cut and now just need to be installed. This leaves putting wallpaper up in the staircase and finishing the last bit of the hallway. We've started moving stuff to the apartment too. I'm almost done washing all the dishes that sat out in the garage collecting dust. Some of them we could write in the dust. ICK! The apartment has enough dust (despite my efforts at cleaning) and I don't want to add more dust to it! Today's plans is for me to bike to the wallpaper store and buy our missing roll. Also I've got school at 12.30-13.50 and I need to eat lunch before hand. So thinking wallpaper store, food store, apartment, eat instant pie or something, then to school. Then back to apartment. Then wait around there cleaning and stuff until David or whoever else shows up. I think the plan is to finish the wallpaper tonight, so the more preparation work I can do before they show up, the sooner we all get to go to bed!

Meanwhile, I think I'm going to go finish up with the dishes in the kitchen so that maybe we can move them out to the apartment tonight or tomorrow.

Oh, and we only broke one glass so far in the move. Not bad really!

New website!

I've started a new website. You can find it HERE. It's a page where those who are learning Swedish in Sweden can write something about themselves. I've heard so many of my friends and David's friends say bad things about those who study Swedish as a second language that something needs to be done to rid the world of the myths. So anyone who has studied Swedish as a second language in Sweden, or is continuing to do so should send me a little blurb about themselves and perhaps a picture as well. If anyone is REALLY bored they can try to get their classmates to submit things as well. This project will start small, but if I don't get bored or distracted, it might be nice to have something like this! Heck, for all I know it already exists, but I didn't find anything when I searched Google.

school

Well, I had my first day of school yesterday. It was quite nice. I think I'm going to enjoy my classes. Thankfully they expect a bit more out of us than SFI in Uppsala did. There we didn't do anything. My two classes are Swedish and Swedish 'extra'. I have 8 hours total of lectures a week. So that's about equal to the number of lectures I'd have a week in the US if I was studying 8 of the 12 points that are needed to be studying full time. So 75% is pretty equal.

Also, yesterday I went and spoke to some of the English teachers at the VUX school where I study. (Vuxen means adult in Swedish). I'm going to try to help them out with their classes. That way I have something more to do with myself since I still haven't found a job. In another week or two once the regular schools calm down I might go leave some CVs and notes at the schools near where I live offering to help as well. I don't expect pay for this, but it's something to with myself. And since it's volunteer work, I can always stop if it becomes too difficult or if I do get a job or something. But meanwhile, it's another thing I would be able to write on my CV.

Speaking of CV, I went and made myself an appointment at the CV leading place at the school. They're like counselers. You come to them and say 'I don't know what I want to do with myself' and then they can help. I'm going to discuss what I need to study next semester and stuff if I don't get a job so that I can get a job in the future. That meeting is a week from today.

Today, I've got classes from 8.30 until 11.30. Then I'm going to go find lunch. Then go into town and visit the library and the bookstore. Then back to the apartment and do some serious cleaning. We're hoping to be able to move in this weekend. Everything won't be done, but enough will be done that we won't be throwing large amounts of dust into the air and the main rooms will be wallpapered. We'll still have some painting to do, but that can be done once we move in. Just shift the furniture out.

hehe

Well, I was checking the unemployment board today and now O'learys is advertising for more personal. I don't think I'll be applying since they already have my information. I guess I just got my application in at the right time. I just wasn't the right person!

But today, today I'll write my GAME application and deliver it either today or tomorrow. And on Monday I'll see about getting myself into the substitute teacher pool for teaching English. Also today, in like another 1.5 hours I'll leave to bike into town and have a nice Fika with the other Americans in town. I got the invite last night.

No job.

Well, I didn't get the job. They really wanted someone who knew their way around the place and who took more initiative. I thought it was hard to do that on the very first day, but I tried. They wrote my number down for future use and perhaps I can try working again another day. I earned myself 30 kr (all tips) for my day of work. It's something at least!

Tomorrow I'll try applying for GAME. If it isn't raining I'll bike into town and drop off an application there. I've gotta keep trying and I'm sure that I'll find a job sooner or later. Plus school starts on Monday with an orientation meeting at 8.30am. And then Tuesday real school starts. That and working on the apartment should keep me pretty busy.

Mild Job Success!

Well, I've got some success with job searching. I left a CV at the American sportsbar in town and the called me back the next day. I went in for a short interview. And they gave me a trial day for this coming Thursday evening. If I do well I can work that entire weekend and the job has the chance of becoming a full time job if I want it to be and I'm good at what I do.

But, I need some more Vocab suitable for eating out. What people say when you arrive there, when they give you the menu, if they ask you how you're doing or whatever else! If anyone wants to help, please go for it! I could use all the help I can get. Dialogues, phrases, words! Whatever! I really hope I get this job! But even if I don't, there are more bars in town, and always more places to try to find work. Heck, the video game place in town is advertising and wants woman applicants. I couldn't really study while working there, but it might be fun too.

Sun burned!

Ow ow. I burned myself quite badly today. I noticed exactly how bad when I took a shower. I had to send david to the store to find me something to put on the burns which have really started hurting. Everyone says that it is much harder to get sunburned in Sweden. They obviously don't have skin that's as white as a ghosts! Everything feels soooo warm right now. I guess I'm paying the price for lazing around by the ocean today. 3 or 4 hours... and just OUCH!

Cleaning... again!

Well. David's woken up the last two mornings, having a hard time breathing. So yesterday David vacuumed and it seemed to help a bit for awhile, but now he's having problems again. So I've decided to clean the bedroom (and maybe the rest of the house depending on the time left) from top to bottom. I took everything out of the bedroom that I could move, removed all the sheets and bedding, and dusted everything I couldn't move.

I'm washing all the sheets (again) and putting clean ones on. I've also taken all the dirty clothes out of the bedroom. Some of those I'm sure we played with the cat in. So it's another laundry day. But the weather is so wonderful I'm able to hand things outside to dry. I'm going to leave the rugs to David to shake out, but the rest of the room I should hopefully be able to handle. We'll see if I manage to get everything washed and dried that needs to go back in there before we go to bed tonight. If not, then there's always the chance that we'll decide to sleep over at the summer house anyways. David's mom has tomorrow off and it'd be nice to spend the day there with her rather than sitting by myself at the house or going to the apartment to work by myself. I just need to make sure David will be able to breath out there since the kitten lives at the summerhouse.

Also, apartment is going well. A big thanks to David's dad on Sunday night! We got the bedroom wallpapered. All without anyone yelling at anyone. It looks so wonderful! I can't wait until we get the rest of the apartment done and we can move in!

Yesterday David and I ran a million chores since it was one of the first days David has had off in awhile, and it was also, thankfully, a weekday. We went to the library, signed me up for swedish classes, went to the unemployment office, dropped off a job application (mine) at a place in town, dropped off a job application (david's) at the school office, and did like a million other things.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to go back to the unemployment office at 13.00 in order to sit through a 1.5 hour meeting on 'how one searches for a job'. Except the unemployment place won't do anything for me, and they can't require me to do anything since I'm not getting any money. They seemed actually, to think it was really very odd that I even showed up there since there was no money attached. They said they can give me information, but 99% of the work in finding a job I'll have to do myself. So if I'm out at the summerhouse tomorrow, I'll just reschedule so that I do my group meeting on a different day. They seem to do 3 of them a day, most days of the week.

Nice Party

There was a really nice party last night at the farm of one of David's friends. It was pretty relaxing. We played some odd games involving guessing songs in teams, ate really yummy pie, and generally socialized.

Tonight we're supposed to finally get something done on the apartment. Wallpaper the bedroom. We still need to sandpaper the old paper off the walls in the living room. Then we just need to paint. After painting and wallpapering we need to fix the floor and ceiling boards. Then we can move in. I can't wait! I hate doing the physical work involved though. Perhaps around 1 or 2 this afternoon I'll walk out to the apartment or get David's brother to drive me. I didn't get much sleep last night because it was quite noisy when we came home from the party. Then I had the window open this morning and some stupid bird sat outside the window, singing as loud as he possibly could manage. We need to teach the cat to hunt noisy birds in the morning.

And the Job Search Continues!

Well... yesterday I walked to the apartment from David's parents' house. It took me nearly 2 hours, but I figure it was good exercise. I removed the wallpaper from two walls. I still need to go through and remove any remaining small bits and sand the walls so that they are smooth enough for painting. It is hoped that this weekend we will either get the wallpaper up on the walls or else get something painted. I don't know when we're supposed to have time since David works both Saturday and Sunday and we have a party we're supposed to be at Saturday evening, but I'm sure we'll work something out.

Today I spent the entire day studying Swedish and writing a CV/resume and cover letter for another job attempt. This one is for some restaurant work. It is mostly evenings and weekends and it isn't a permanent job. This would be perfect for me since it would let me study in the days to improve my Swedish and since I'd be working in Swedish I could improve my Swedish that way too. It's just part time, but I think that'd be best for me. I think I could be a good waitress! Take orders, give food, wipe tables. I can do that!

Anyways, I'll be applying on Monday when I run all my errands in town, or perhaps later tonight if I'm feeling insane.

By the way, anyone have any job leads in the Skellefteå area? Or any tips on how to find a job besides waiting for the unemployment office to post them on their website? I would rather not have a cleaning or caring job. I'm not quite that desperate yet.

Long Post

Well... life has been just insanely crazy recently. Here is a quick recap and a promise to update more often and be a better blogger in the future! (Which should be easier now that I have an internet connection)

I went to the US, had a nice time. Visited my relatives.

David and I are now planning a wedding. We're engaged now. I bought the two rings while in the states. My ring has 3 diamonds and David's ring is a simple gold band. Swedish guys get engagement rings. The jewelery store seemed to think that it was a great idea and that American guys should also get engagement rings. The wedding is probably going to be in early June next year. I need to sit down with David's mom next week and figure out the guest list and get the exact date. Then my mom can start booking facilities and services.

The apartment fixing is going pretty well. David has ripped down most of the wallpaper and put a new floor into the bedroom. Now we just need to put new wallpaper up, paint, and do all the little details around the entire apartment. We might also have to remove wallpaper from one more room. Hopefully by the end of August at the latest we will have moved into our new place. My mom is being super kind and has offered me about 1,000 USD towards getting a washer and dryer. That will be just great! I just need to find something decent.

Peter was here visiting for the first week when I was back from the States. It was really fun. We went out and picked berries, sat around, drank wine, and generally celebrated David and my engagement. It works as a good substitute for the engagement party I won't get here in Sweden. I've pretty much resigned myself to not getting lots of the things here that I would get back home. But that's ok, because here is where I live and I've got a ton of things to do with trying to get the apartment ready.

Drivers' License. Apparently I have until I was registered in Sweden for a year to get my Swedish driver's license. So I've got until November or something. I've gone out trying to learn to drive a stick shift with David's car, but I've been having such problems with it. Then in the states I used my uncle's car to try learning. Man, what a difference. I figured out that most of the problems I had with driving are the fault of David's car. It's near impossible to drive I've decided! It's a good thing I've got 5 driving lessons from the driving school in town. I got them as a graduation present from David's family. At least this way I'll get some chance to practice in a car that is actually possible to drive! I miss my old car already. As soon as I get a decent job and have fixed the apartment, taken care of wedding expenses, and everything else that is really important, I'm going to try to find a nice automatic, easy to drive car for myself.

Oh, and the actual trip back from the states was hell. It ended up taking 3 days to go through 5 airports, and sit on 4 airplanes. I actually had British Airways pay for my hotel in Stockholm since their stupid flight delays cost me the last flight of the day. Then, of course, they lost my bags for awhile. I reported them missing on Thursday evening. On Saturday afternoon we got a phonecall that said they had my bags. When they came by they tried to give me one bag that wasn't mine. Yes, I was sure that it wasn't mine. I wanted a large green bag, NOT a small silver bag. The next evening (Sunday) they had managed to find and deliver my last bag. This time, despite the fact that my luggage ended up all over the entire world, only one item in my bags was broken. That is pretty impressive since I moved about half of my dishes here this trip. I lost one small bowl. I'll replace it at Christmas, so no big deal.

Now, I've still not managed to find myself a job. I've been applying for everything that I might possibly be able to handle, but no luck so far. So I'm going to study lots of Swedish in the next month and enroll myself in Swedish classes when they start up in the fall. Perhaps I'll sign up for math or economics classes or something too. Just something to get me out of the house and trying to improve my Swedish so that I have a better chance of getting a job.

Meanwhile... I'm keeping house. Cleaning, vacuuming, dusting, doing dishes, doing lots and lots of laundry, and then repeating all of this constantly. I swear, every time I wake up the house has been trashed again. I'm not quite sure how this happens. It's like magic! Now if only the magic worked the other way around and the house magically cleaned itself instead of magically becoming messy...

Now I promise I'll TRY at least to update this thing more often. I'll have all sorts of wedding plans, apartment progress, job searching, studying, and of course... cleaning to babble on about.

Oh. And I've decided that Sweden in the summer is a rain forest or something. It's only stopped raining for a couple of hours at a time since I got back.