DEVASTATION!!!

I have just read my University Application in full, and...
Yes, I have until April 15th to finalise my application, but, NOOOO, I do not have until the 15th to submit my previous academic transcripts. The deadline was apparently February 15th.

Which means, I have spent hours, and hours trying to find the perfect program.
I found it. See here or here. And now I cant do it.
(I swear to god if you mention anything about being organised O'Brien.... I'll... I dont know what I'll do... but I'll do something!!!)

Honestly I cant believe this. It feels like a really bad joke.
(I applied in December, changed my preferences in March. Applications close April 15th. DAMN DAMN!!! )

So now this means, I cant start until next year, which means I don't finish when Nat comes over next Summer. It means I will have finished one semester, and I will have one semester to go....

SOMEBODY FIX THIS FOR ME.
Please. Pretty?
With sugar on top???
No? (God damn it I would know how to fix it if I was in Australia).

Fine, I'm going lay on the couch and sulk, eat lots of chocolate and not exercise all weekend!
(Man, when did I get so old I turn to chocolate before beer or wine???)

Trevlig Helg!

CHECK IT!!!!

Hello!

Just a shameless plug for my sister.
Her new website is now live. Go check it. It's fabulous, and yes I am biased, but I'm also honest!!!

http://www.fionacarsonphotography.com.au/

Now if you would all go and order thousands of dollars worth of prints, so that she can come visit me that would be fabulous!!!!

enjoy x

Hope + Cas = Delusion.

Hope. It's what gets us up in the mornings, even when it feels like things couldn't possibly get any worse (yet invariably do!).

It's also what gets most Swede's through their entire lives.

"I hope it doesn't rain today".
"I hope I get to see the sun tomorrow".
"I hope will be a little nicer weather next week".
"I hope the summer will be much better next year".

Which means right now it's now a big part of how I live my life.
Currently, my misspent energy is focused on "hoping" that the glorious spring time is here and that the evils of the "wicked winter of the west" are gone! This led me to toddle off merrily to work yesterday wearing only my jeans, boots, one pair of thin wool socks, no thermals and only one cotton singlet and a thin jumper. (Jacket for outside obviously).
Sound ok? OMG! It wasn't, it wasn't even close!

You see my hope convinces me that if yesterday was lovely spring weather, (and I can see the tulips and daffodils flowering) that today has to be spring weather also. I had convinced myself it was Spring. (stop laughing). (now). (seriously). (I was almost in tears I was so cold while walking home).

ergo....
Cas + Hope = Delusion.

Most people who know me will attest to this theory. You see, I can be a bit of a dreamer. I don't know if this stems from being a very lucky child? I won most competitions I entered (non scholastic) which perhaps means that I didn't learn the valued lesson and bitter disappointment that follows those types of losses? (My parents even benefited from $12000 worth of furniture in 1988 thanks to my luck!) (In hindsight I have no idea how winning stuff would enable my delusion???? What on earth was I thinking when I wrote that??)

Or could it just be the result of sheer stupidity? And that the stupidity is actually what causes me to believe that tomorrow will always be a better day??

I dont know what you think? I'd say the words delusion and stupid are both springing to mind??
But, do you know what, I don't care!
I quite like my delusional state. I'm keeping it.
Without it I would hide from the world even more than i do now :D

(and i know this is kinda about the weather which I said i wouldn't talk about any more, but it's not about the weather, it's about hope!!!!)

Would google lie??

Do you think... Is it possible, really?? I mean I know they stalk, but lie.
Noooo, that would be too much?
Maybe??

I say yes.
It's the only explanation.
Googleanalytics.com say I have had no visitors to my site for 4days, even though people have left me comments.
Oh wait. Do my friends have super trooper ESP internet posting powers?

Maybe? Yes! that has to be it!
Google would never lie.
Phew.
Go back to work people.
x

So it goes a little something like this....

Big thanks to Lib, Ben, Fo and Nat who seem to be the only people who care for my sanity :D

Over the next 3weeks, my projects include:

A photo/word of the day for 2 weeks.

A combination of Fo and Nat's suggestions. I only have 7 polaroids left, so the photos will be both digital and polariod. Day one was friday (4th), so I will post the first week next friday/saturday....

A trip to the Ale Stones. Apparently I have ALMOST been to them... The story goes that we didnt go the extra 500m because I couldnt be bothered.

(Sidebar people: when there is room for communication error, the non local ALWAYS gets blamed for not wanting to do things, its so easy to say, "Well we told you but you didnt really feel like it". Didnt really feel like what???? I had no any idea they even existed!!!!!)

A trip to Dalby, Sverige, with photos and exploration and everything... and I will compare it to Dalby, Qld, 'Stralia!

An indepth review of why Swede's are obsessed with Salmiak aka Ammonium Chloride - Just for Benji!

So there you go... keep thinking of ideas for me... i'm enjoying it. Will start with the Dalby trip tomorrow if there is even a glimmer of sunshine.

VOTE FOR MADDIE!!!

Can everyone reading this head over to
http://vfestbeta.com/author/mads
and read/comment on mads blog??? She is blogging for VFestival and is in the running for a trip to all the V Festivals next year....
SO DO IT FOR ME!!! (cause then she will take me to the UK ones.....)

Challenge mania.... Insane in the membrania!

Yeah I read that title, get over it, I got bigger fish!

Last week I was asked to be an interviewee for a friend who is writing about the social phenomenon that is blogging. Many of the questions were in regards to, why do I blog?

..... Well obviously because i'm hilarious and everyone wants to read what i have to say!

No??? Ok well how about... I dont really know why. (Not the answer I gave by the way!) I think my original thought process was because I am crap at keeping a travel diary, so I decided to keep a public one? Makes sense huh? I also wanted somewhere to keep copies of my lonely planet blogs, so it seemed natural I start my own blog.

But.... and there is always a but.. now i'm thinking I should put a little more effort to it. I want to use this blog to talk about the new and amazing things I should be out there experiencing. not to complain about the cold. I mean, come on, I live in Sweden, what did I think the temperature would be like????

Unfortunately, 12months of living in Sweden has left me pretty uninspired to be honest. But, do you know what? I am my own worst enemy. I often hide from my life in Sweden, mostly because I am embarrassed that I am not fluent in Swedish, or even close to it. Especially now as we are the point where people are starting to ask why I don't speak Swedish. Thats when I get all, howabouts we stay at home, and then no one will ask me, and i'll offend no one! Can we huh???? huh huh???

I'm pretty ashamed that I this is who I have become. I really and truely need hand holding in this country. Somehow I have gone from being a hand holder (of anyone who would come along for the ride) to needing some constant gentle persuasion READ: someone to bloody push me - but, obviously in a way I will respond to well i.e. don't TELL me to do it you moron, suggest it in a round about way and let me think I thought of the idea!!!

Ahhhh man. Look i've gone and done it again. What i really wanted to say was. I think it is time I used this blog more effectively. I look at all the photographic groups Fo belongs to and I really wish I had something like that. They are constantly being set challenges which not only get their creative juices flowing, but it pushes them to keep their craft evolving, experience new things, and to look at everyday aspects with a new perspective! So that's what I want to do.....

So, I want EVERYONES help!!!!
And, I know who you are, googleanalytics.com tells me.

I want you all to think about one, (or two or five if you like) things, ideas, perspectives, whatever, that I can write about.
It is best if it is Sweden relevant (wikipedia is the name of the game for you) and off i will go adventuring and exploring new things.
Honestly I dont care if it is a spring flower that you want to know about, OR you could set me a WHOLE challenge!!! Like I want you to go out for the day pretending.... and then tell us about it!!
Please please please help me stop myself from going insane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So just do it, leave a comment at the end of this please please please! I dont think anything is too crazy??? Although I am a little worried about what O'Brien might suggest?????

(and just to clarify, I was NOT earlier comparing my blogging with Fo's talent!!)

Snow snow go away.... come again at Christmas!

See it didnt take me long did it.
I will admit it. I am sick of the snow and the cold.
My defense = it's almost April and it has been cold in Sweden since the very begining of October. So count it out with me people.
That's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 MONTHS!!

So while I still heart snow, I hate the damp, I hate living in an apartment that feels damp all the time, and I hate having a boyfriend who is getting more depressed by the day as he hasnt seen any decent sunshine, and hasnt felt the warmth of the sun since September.

Ok, whining out of the way.

Easter was fun!!
I am struggling to recover. Lib came over.
We had Champagne, and champagne and well some more champagne.
I can still only talk in small sentences.
Ok i'll stop it now.

I love Lib's visits, we usually cook lots and lots of very good food, we discuss lots of food, mention how Jesse William should be here to entertain us after we have eaten and drunk far too much to be sociable. The weather is usually disgustingly bad, even by Sweden's standards. And this visit was no different! We did it all by the book!

I love when Lib first arrives and we both chatter at 100miles and hour and the Swede just nods and laughs in appropriate gaps. While his English is amazingly good, he struggles for the first hour or so until we pause for breath!! Hard to believe I know??







I have lots of things I need to blog about at the moment, so watch out to see if I can keep to my word and be a good blogger :D

Trevlig helg! (happy weekend!)

And a white easter we shall have....

After that wonderful snow melting in just a few hours on tuesday, I feared we were in for a very grey dull weekend weather wise. To my suprise, as I have no idea when it started snowing, but everything is wonderfully white again today. The sun is up and it is still -2degrees so I imagine that the snow should stick around today!!
Oh and the best part... It is predicted to snow for the next two days.
I can feel a snowman comming on!!!!

I wish everyone a very happy easter, travel safely, and enjoy the break!

Glad Påsk!

See, I really do live in Sweden.

And here's the proof.
After everyones hopes for a white winter were long gone and we started anticipating a nice long summer (yeah right!) winter decided to arrive in Spring, much the same way summer arrived in Autumn in Australia (ok, not in Qld!).

Snow is beaútiful!

Just in case you didnt believe me look at the difference a few hours can make...



This is the view from our balcony. The first photo was taken at 2pm on monday when the snow started, the second was taken when I woke up on tuesday morning. I'm sure you will agree with me what a difference a few inches of snow can make. Everything looks beautiful and makes me feel happy. When there is snow, I see the world differently. A tree or a little house covered in snow, whatever, they all make me smile. Oh and especially the children playing with their little toboggans and making snowballs. I could honestly get through the 7 months of Winter with no complaints if at least 3 months of it was white!! (not the 7!) If say December to March was white, I'd be a happy happy person. Oh well maybe we should move to Stockholm?????





This is just outside our apartment.. I intend on taking this same picture at various times of the year so you can really appreciate the change of season we experience in Sweden.