New Toys!

Today I got a new cell phone, David got a cable box to play with, and Jenny got a new house phone. We all had new things to play with! We also finally managed to track down a priest for the final signature needed for my passport. Tomorrow we are going to Stockholm to visit the Irish Embassy. I'm hoping that I have all of the paperwork in order.

School starts Monday. I can't believe it's almost the end of summer already. We've been running around like Chickens with their heads cut off for the last couple of weeks. If it wasn't buying something, it was looking for something, or visiting someone for a signature, or trying to organize the apartment. Speaking of organizing, we got a compliment the other day from Peter. He said that the room looked the same as it did when David lived here despite adding all of my stuff to an already very full room. So our organizing did pay off.

Yesterday we painted and then baked some cookies. It was only David, Peter, and me since everyone else decided that they had better things to do. We still had fun making then painting flowers, stars, and feet. David made several red stars. Something about a political statement. Unfortunately with this latest round of baking we've completely filled up our portion of the freezer. I think we have like 2/3rds of this VERY small freezer. We probably should only take half though since we do share a room even if we do pay 2/3rds of the rent or something. If we use much more than half it doesn't give Jenny any room to store anything! And two people who are sharing shopping shouldn't need any extra room! It isn't like we need to store twice as much meat as before! If we store much more we'll be even less able to find things!

I hope I get my passport soon. I want to go get a Personal Number, start working, get a bank account, etc. I really want a bank account so that I can pay my own bills. Right now David is paying them and keeping track of how much I owe him. I hate owing people money, makes me feel like a free riding lazy person. Oh well. I'm doing the best that I can with my available resources.

I'll try and remember to update more often. Right now I've been busy constantly and when I'm not busy, I'm busy resting and relaxing! Those are important too!

Unknown Title

Thinking of a blog title was too much work this morning. Today we don't have a lot of plans. David is doing some of his own laundry. We might go by Tobbe's moving in party tonight for awhile. We might go visit some friends and get someone's dad to sign my passport papers that require a priest.

Later today, when my parents wake up, I might give them a call. Let them know I'm still alive and everything.

Last night we went with some friends to another of David's friends. We sat there and talked for awhile. It was quite relaxing. He actually like owns his own apartment and has a real job. It's crazy. That weird life is waiting for me out there. In one way, I fear the growing up part. In another way I look forward to the time when I might actually be able to afford to have nice furniture in an apartment that isn't a bit too small. Imagine... furniture that isn't left over from previous student generations! Furniture that isn't made only out of plastic and white plywood. Maybe even an odd piece of furniture that isn't from IKEA! Except that would be worth way too many adult points I'm afraid. Oh well... I guess everyone has to grow up eventually?

Papers located!

So my mom has found the papers and is going to mail them to me. Next step is to get the police report, the cash, some photos, and go visit the embassy in Stockholm. I think I can just mail things in, but I'd rather not. It took me long enough to find the papers this time. I'll start on this stuff on Monday. Today I don't think either David or I are really feeling very well. David is feeling much worse than I am. I am just feeling a bit slow after our night of drinking and partying. Pub crawls are so much fun. Well... while you're doing them... afterwards they aren't so much fun. Poor poor David!

David managed to get the gears on my bike working a bit better and he fixed the kick stand so that the bike doesn't fall over when you park it. He also put lights on my bike yesterday.

We're supposed to go visit some friends this evening, we'll have to see if David is feeling up to it. I hope so! I think I'll go wake him up again and force some more water into him.

The Crazy Life in Sweden

It's been just crazy here with one thing after another. We've been to IKEA and got about 130 dollars worth of stuff for the apartment. MUCH needed stuff like clothes hangers for me to put things on and boxes under the bed for sweaters. We've cleaned and dusted our room from top to bottom. We've also found a bookcase at IKEA that we want to get. Only problem is getting it back to the apartment.

In passport news, I've heard nothing. I've worked with embassies, airlines, and airports. In order for me to get a new passport, I need my mom to get me some paperwork. She's having problems finding it, which means having to order the papers over again and face more delays. Without the passport I can't get a personal number, without that I basically don't exist. No healthcare, no work, no cell phone, no bank account, no nothing. UGH! Now if I could just get my mom to understand how important this is and to stop quilting for an hour and try to find the paperwork.

Oh well... Hopefully this gets all sorted out so that I don't have to go home in two months in disgrace.

Another day in Sweden

It seems like I am always tired, I guess that is the jet-lag though. I know I'm tired because absolutely anything upsets me, no matter how small.

Anyways, my bags finally arrived yesterday. One of them looks like it was ran over by the plane because so many things inside were broken. I spent more than 5 hours picking bits of glass out of everything. Anything plastic had to be washed, anything out of fabric will be washed tomorrow, and a few things had to just be tossed because I couldn't get the glass bits out. The final result of damage was a destroyed glass pie pan, a dented muffin tin, a broken tic tac toe puzzle game, a broken hairband, a tossed binder, a dip mix with a whole in it (and a bag smelling of spices), a slightly bent out of shape suitcase, a leaky bottle of cough syrup, a shampoo bottle without a lid, and a much abused mandolin. The worst part of all of this was the cleanup. It took me forever to pick up the glass bits. And the glass bits that were stuck in cough syrup... ugh. I've got to admit, my bag has an interesting aroma now... dip mix, cough syrup, and shampoo. Even though the shampoo stayed in the bag, the scent was just lovely. I'm surprised with the cough syrup though, it is still safety sealed and was in a plastic container.

My goals for today include taking a long bath, going for a walk, going to ICA, finish unpacking, and maybe remember to eat. The long bath is because every muscle in my body still hurts from the airplane. My leg muscles hurt especially much, probably due to going from sitting for 11 hours to running to catch a plane, followed by more sitting. If it holds off raining for awhile going for a walk in the sun will help me adjust time zones. I want to buy David some stuff for breakfast from ICA. And maybe something other than cornflakes for myself to eat today. Maybe I'll splurge and buy something with protein in it... like falukorv. Unpacking needs to be done so that I can see the floor of this room. It's a disaster right now. I've managed to trash the entire apartment with my junk. I need to clean it up today.

Well, that should give me enough to do to keep busy. Yesterday I didn't have much to do until the afternoon since I was stuck in the apartment waiting for my bags to arrive.

Day 1 in Sweden!

Well, I finally made it. I'm starting my first full day in Sweden. I'm tired though. Also, my bags have not arrived. And I think I lost my Irish passport in Germany. I am not the most collected girl. If I can't find my passport then the replacement fee is 75€! That's a LOT of money considering the circumstances of how I lost it. I was running in Munich to catch a flight and I handed the lady by the gate my passport and boarding pass. Instead of giving either back she ran down the walk with me opening gates. She handed something over to the next guy in line. I'm not sure if my passport ever left her desk at the gate. But sometime between there and the plane I lost it. So it's likely either at her desk or in that tunnel thing on the way to the airplane. I'm hoping it arrives with my luggage today.

Oh, and I'm going to be soooo bored today! Jenny is gone for the next 8 hours or so and David doesn't arrive until Friday evening. I'm going to try not to sleep during the day. Once my baggage gets delivered, which should be sometime in the next 2 hours, I'll go for a walk somewhere. At the very least to ICA Väst. I might walk to ICA Maxi instead to buy some cornflakes. A walk in the sun should help me adjust time zones a bit easier. We'll see though.

For now I might get dressed and go sit outside near the front door. Anything to keep myself from falling asleep. Maybe read outside or something. It's a bit wet out, but the sun is out right now.

1 day to go!

Tomorrow is the last day before my flight! It's the day I'll be doing all the packing and everything. EEK! Today I went shopping with my mom. I bought lots of stuff. I bought two new pairs of pants, lots of new underwear (time to trash the stuff with holes!), a new swimsuit, and lots of other little things. The new pairs of pants are so nice and soft. They aren't jeans like I usually buy, but instead they are corduroy. My mom was trying them on and was saying such nice things about them, that I went and found the smallest size and tried them on. I loved how they felt. So I bought two pairs. They were seriously on sale so each pair was a mere 15 dollars. Maybe I can wear them around the house instead of PJ pants all the time. That way I embarrass fewer people. Tomorrow I get to spend lots of time doing laundry. That way I can avoid packing as much in the way of dirty clothes as possible.

Loki is doing pretty well. He mostly hides in a box that my dad set up for him. He comes out for food, water, and litterbox. Other than that he just stays hidden. I think it might be instinct to hide and stay quiet when you hurt. Easier to avoid becoming food that way.

My mom ordered Chinese food today. And my Uncle Dave and his family all came over. It was nice to say good bye to everyone.

It's crazy when I think of everything that I have left to do. Most of the things I couldn't do ahead of time either. Packing has to be done the last day, as does laundry if I want to avoid packing dirty clothes. My new contacts don't arrive until tomorrow either. I also have to make a quick run to the bank and the grocery store.

My thoughts are so disorganized. Maybe I'll go talk to my mom for awhile and write a list. I like lists. I should add updating my other lists to my list of things to do. I need mental help don't I?

3 days!

Just 3 days until the big move now. I have my flight nicely changed. I'm still nervous!

The cat should come home today. He was supposed to come home yesterday, but the he had a fever 1.5 degrees F over normal, so the vet offered to keep him overnight again for free. My mom wants to trade a cat quilt to get 100 dollars off of the vet bill. I hope she can do it. When we do get him home we have to keep Loki from running, jumping, climbing, or going up stairs for at least 2 months. My only idea is to crate him when we aren't home. This surgery at like 1,000 USD is way too expensive to have go wrong. If something happens, he'll lose that leg.

Today I have the choice of wandering the county fair in the heat, or taking it a bit easier and working on packing and organizing. I'm leaning towards the second idea because I'm a bit tired and nervous. Tomorrow I'm going to spend the day mall shopping with my mom. So can't pack then. That leaves me with Monday to run errands and pack. That's a lot of things to do in one day. We'll see. I could always do a half day at the fair if I want.

Flight Changed

I called Studentuniverse this morning. After about 20 minutes on the phone, mostly listening to music, they got everything straightened out for me. They moved me to the flight I wanted. They had to call United to see if they could do it for free, and they could. But if I went for the lowest price ticket then it wouldn't be refundable. If I paid 20 dollars more (the difference between my old ticket and my new ticket) then it would be as refundable as my current one. I paid the extra 20 dollars. With the current situation, I figure it's worth it. I no longer fly through London! As soon as I get my new itinerary, I'll forward it to whoever wants/needs it.

Airline changes?

First thing tomorrow I'm going to call my travel agent. For 75 dollars I should be able to change my ticket. If that doesn't work. For 175 I can cancel completely and book a flight that's actually cheaper. Total cost of canceling and rebooking should be around 50 dollars. Doing that will get me a flight out of the same airport on the same day and land me at the same airport on the same day. In between there I'd go LA then Germany instead of San Fran and London. Avoiding London is worth a hundred or so right now. I don't have a lot of money, but I'd really like to not check my laptop to leave London. I'd end up landing in Sweden about an hour or so later.

I'll give them a call first thing tomorrow. Right now there are 4 student seats left on the flight I would like to switch to. Tomorrow I'll know more. If I do switch the flight will land at 3.25 instead of 2.10.

And 4 days to go. Someone should really explain to the terrorists that they aren't allowed to do bad things. It messes with too many peoples' lives! Hmph!

The 4 legged kitty!

Well, Loki made it through surgery fine today. He has 4 legs and masses of metal wires and pins in him. I don't think he'd make it through a metal detector. We'll probably be bringing him home tomorrow. He's not completely in the clear yet, but I'm keeping my hopes up.

Speaking of metal detectors... anyone have any idea what is and isn't allowed going through London? With all of the recent high alerts there, it is going to be a pain in the neck to get there. I'm hoping the security relaxes big time before then. I've read so many different reports of things to bring and not bring. Ick!

Oh, and I got my hair done today. It's only 3 inches shorter, but it looks much nicer.

Poor poor kitty!

The big news today is that our cat is pretty badly injured. The vet thinks he fell out of a tree. His back leg is broken in two places and he is pretty scraped up and bruised. He'll probably be going in for surgery tomorrow morning. He's just been lying in a box we made up meowing sadly when he moves too much and it hurts. He can't get up and move at all really. He tried to climb out of a smaller box earlier today when he wanted a litter box. He can't use one since he can't stand, but he wanted one anyways. He tipped the thing over and cried. My mom is going to sleep on the couch next to his box to keep an eye on him. Actually... she usually sleeps on the couch sometime during the night when my dad's snoring gets to her. Not a big change.

With the exception of the cat, today has been a pretty relaxing day.

I'm just going to think happy thoughts that the cat will be better soon!

Oh, and 5 days to go.

6 Days... and a new DS game

Well, I didn't get much done today. I helped my mom clean, took a 2 hour nap before lunch, and spent the rest of the day playing my new DS game. Lost in Blue. Way too addictive. It took me a long time to figure out how to even play the game. Oh well! I'm having a lot of fun.

Tomorrow I will help my mom out with the fair. Not sure what else is planned. I'm tired so off to bed! Night nights.

7 days!

Today I got all of the books mailed. It cost me less than I expected at 93 dollars. Expensive, but required for me to feel more at home.

I also got my eyes checked. I have a new pair of contacts that I'm trying out for the next couple of days. They're a newer type, cooler and stuff. They're supposed to let 5 times as much oxygen through so my contacts function more as contacts and less as suction cups. So far the test pair is quite nice. They also cost a bit less than the previous contacts I've been using. They believe those were just a size too small in the curve so that's why they weren't fitting well. The catch? The new contacts don't come in colors. I'll have to settle for my original eye color. Small price to pay for being able to wear my contacts all day.

And it looks like my schedule is just going to be way too busy to fit in driving lessons. It's not like they're likely to do me much good anytime soon anyways. Since I don't have a car to practice driving on in Sweden.

This next week is going to be so busy... but Wednesday next week... I'll be in my new home in Sweden. (My count btw does not include the 15th which is the day I leave... so it's actually 8 or 9 days until I'm in my new home, but still... weeeee!)

Only 8 more days!

Today I weighed and organized more things. Lots more things. Tomorrow I'll mail books. Somehow I need to find time for driving lessons and mall shopping. Life is always so much fun! This next week or so is going to go by both very quickly and very slowly. With the county fair starting on Wednesday, 3 appointments, and lots of other things, I should be very busy. At the same time it's the final countdown (sung of course) and that part seems quite slow.

Even these slow days though do seem to go by quite quickly.

9 days!

Today's big progress is getting all of my books boxed up. I have 9 boxes of books totaling 99 pounds. That isn't too bad. If I ship them all, it will cost me around 100 dollars. I'm seriously considering it. With my luck they'll arrive in like 4 months. By then I should be feeling a bit homesick and will appreciate getting books. Originally I was planning on only shipping a couple of boxes of books, but after talking with my mom, I think I might ship them all. I can always put them into some sort of storage if there is no space. I just think they'll make me feel more at home in Sweden.

My dad's worry is that they'll be difficult to ship back if I ever want to move back to the states. That is true, but I can always buy them again or just pay the extra to ship them over. I think they'll be important to have. That's one of the things I miss the most while traveling, my books!

Oh, and I spent like 60 dollars today on makeup. I threw out everything that was old, separating, or ugly and bought new stuff. I think this was much needed. Some of my makeup was from highschool! And while I liked the colors then, and still do, I don't wear them. The oils probably aren't great to put on my skin anymore either. So I am now the proud owner of new foundation, powder, blush, concealer, mascara, and eyeliner. I'd like to get some makeup remover too. I use waterproof stuff near my eyes so that it won't mess with my contacts, but it also requires a special remover if I don't want to wear it for the week following application.

Tomorrow I have no plans at all, but Monday I will hopefully mail my books, get new contacts, and maybe go visit Bill to get driving lessons.

Exhausted, but 10 days to go!

I spent 8.5 hours helping my mom at the judging today. It was SOOOO boring. I was completely drained when I got home. Right now all I want to do is sleep for the next week. It's not even 9 yet and I'm ready for bed. *yawn* Thank goodness my eye appointment was moved until Monday!

Now I'm going to read then sleep. Night night. Note to self: Do not let oneself get volunteered for things again. Oh, and my mom won three ribbons on her four quilts. A first, a second, and a third. Not too bad considering it's only her third year quilting.

11 days to go!

I'm not actually sure what I'm planning on writing right now. I just wanted to boast that I am down to 11 days according to my fancy date calculator. Isn't it pretty nifty? Anyways, I'll be gone most of tomorrow helping my mom with her quilt judging. After that I expect to go pretty much straight to an eye examination. Hopefully I can get better contacts that irritate my eyes less. We'll see.

I hope everyone is having a nice day. Anyone have any 'last minute' advice on things to do before I make the big move?

Progress!

My room is vacuumed, I've registered to vote, I took my pants in to get hemmed. I've made progress and it's only a bit past noon. It's good I made so much progress today because tomorrow I've somehow been volunteered to sit at the quilt judging for the county fair for 6 hours taking notes. Oh well. I think that leaves me with more packing type stuff and the bank left to do. I'd still like to go shopping next week and I need to get driving lessons in eventually. Somehow I don't have any spare time, despite not getting anything done. How does that work? Oh well. I'm still getting to spend time with my mom.

Speaking of my mom, she's currently busy making something for my brother to take to his pot-luck at school today. Really he should make something, but he's too lazy. He also rear ended some doctor lady while she was stopped at a stop sign yesterday. Of course it can't possibly be his fault, since he's little mister perfect. Oh well. I'm really trying not to fight with him, no matter how stupid he is. Like I didn't say anything mean to him this morning. I had the vacuum upstairs and he walks by and asked me what it was for. I don't know about the rest of you, but I usually vacuum with a vacuum. I think he was amazed that I'd actually bother to take care of keeping my room clean when no one but me sees it. Anyone want to make him disappear for the next couple of weeks. You could just abduct him back to Berkeley again or something?

A failed day - 12 days left

I didn't get very many things done at all! I did have a nice long conversation with David and Peter, helped my mom with some stuff, took a nice long nap, and got my room almost completely picked up. I also worked on figuring out what to pack. Right now I have all of the boxes of things that I'm not bringing to Sweden in the closet. That's a big step. Tomorrow I'll vacuum. I got a lot of reading done too. Tonight before bed I'm going to try and read a bit more about Swedish grammar. The big move is coming up way too soon for my Swedish level. EEK!

I also ate two big bowls of chocolate ice cream.

Today's To Do List

Here are my plans for today. We'll see at the end of the day if I actually managed to get any of these things done!

1) Register to Vote from Sweden
2) Get two pairs of pants hemmed
3) Go to the bank and argue about checking accounts
4) Vacuum room
5) Work more on what to pack
6) Take at least one nap (This is most important of course!)

I'll try and remember to report in tonight with which of these things I actually accomplished!

13 Days and Counting!

Well, I'm back from Reno! It was a lot of fun. Somehow we got our room for free. Something about visiting often enough. My mom is an excellent video poker player. She started with 5 dollars in the machine, playing for nickels. 2 hours later I woke up from my nap and checked on her. She still had 5 dollars. I played the machine next to her for awhile and when we stopped she was up to 15 dollars. I had 6.25 off of my original 5 dollars. The Casino didn't make a lot of money off of us. Only money they got was for our steak dinner.

I'm really going to get my room organized today. This time I mean it! Maybe after dinner when it cools down?