Fucking neighbors

I live in an apartment building, facing the back yard and another similar building. Almost every sound of what's going on reverberates and is heard if you have a window open or sit on the balcony. For instance, if the guy opposite to me is on the phone, I can hear it.

It's a beautiful serene and quite night and I could hear the blackbird singing at twilight. Maybe people are exhibitionists and like the fact that others can take part of what they're doing, but this, I don't think I've ever experienced. A couple on the top floor in the opposite building just fucked. With their balcony doors wide open.

Deduction

Did I mention I'm on vacation?

Obviously, time off from work means blog slacking? I've been visiting with my family in Skåne. Seriously, I thought the internet connection would be better and that I would have all the time in the world. Ha! It's been very intense days and surfing the internet has been a bit nostalgic, like in the good old days on a 56.6 kb modem.



I've had some issues with parts of my family in the past. Actually, I still have, but it's easier these days to ignore it and be thankful for what I do have with them. It's quite special to be together this much for several days. Somehow, these people are the ones I can always be myself around, and most importantly, they are the people I care most about in the whole wide world. They will always be there, no matter what. Cousins and second cousins may seem a bit far away. But really, when we are all together like this, three generations, you realize how important family is.

It's also at times like this I miss my grandmother the most. On the other hand, it's fantastic to see that life has moved on even though she's no longer among us. We're doing good, we take care of each other, we enjoy each others company and all the kids love to get together. They fool around and play all the time. The older ones take care of the younger ones, no matter who's sister or brother it is. Just the same way as when I was a kid, growing up with my cousins.




Centre of attention, though, was of course Bumblebee. She's charming everyone and seems to be safe and snug in the arms of almost anyone. It's been such a delight to spend so much time with her.



Another center of attention, as always in my family, is good food. How can one family end up with so many good cooks and bakers? Everyone seem to have their specialty. At lunches and dinners, we all bring something to the table. Like this dessert. Yum!




WTF, I might as well turn this into a photo blog instead ;-)

Where my heart belongs

Reluctant posting

I know I haven't been a very active cyber shala mate this last week... Work has been sucking out most of my energy for the last couple of weeks. Since I'm so annoyed about my work situation and it seeps into every other part of my life, it feels like I haven't got many positive thoughts about anything right now. I don't want to appear as a whiner and I have few other things to write about. Therefore, very low-key in posting and commenting at this point. Sorry! Don't know whether this post will turn out on a more positive note, but hell, I'll give it a try.

Due to the Paris trip I didn't have a decent practice for over a week. My left shoulder broke down after long days and a bad bed (and no practice?) in Paris and here the shala is closed Friday through Sunday in the summertime. I did only some sun sals and a bit stretching last weekend. On Tuesday I got to see my wondrous body worker which was really great! Helped to relieve some of the pain in shoulder and between shoulder blades :) I'll see her again at yoga camp in August.


Isn't that at terrific combination? Daily practice for a week (uhm, six days) with Morning Star, in a beautiful place, fantastic nutritious food (Morning Star is a Cooking Goddess!), body worker available, and on top of that, Gemini will be there too, assisting as well as offering acupuncture. That week will be the prime of my vacation. I'm so much looking forward to it!

Anyway, this week with Mercury has been good, though, I been cautious and not doing full practice every day. We've been working a lot with opening chest (thorax?) and strengthening abs. It's funny, at my other (old?) shala, they are all against using props and modifications in order to build strength or awareness in different poses. Mercury on the other hand, who is authorized from Mysore (which they are not at my other shala), has no problems at all using different props and methods to help you open certain things in your body or build awareness. She's very caring and considerate, and at the same time she make's you work your butt off. She's now on her way to Mysore for Guruji's 93 year celebration! Hope she will have a wonderful time, even though I'll miss her. However, it's only for a few weeks and there will be a very good sub at the shala, so i'm gonna be ok. She'll be back when I come home from yoga camp.

This morning, almost asleep while doing the morning poop, i had a huge yawn and BAM! something snapped in the back of my neck. The immediate pain went away pretty quickly, but there was still an achy stiffness down between my shoulder blades. Luckily, the first thing I was going to do this morning was a visit with the chiro! She adjusted my neck and gave me a little massage, besides treating the shoulder and putting on new tape. Feels better now, but still a bit stiff. I need to move around a bit, not just sit here... Any suggestions on how to walk and read at the same time? Oups, and I need to get myself some lunch as well, I'm starving...

There are Shibas in Paris!

Home again, and I'm completely worn out, mentally as well as physically. It's been a very intense week with a busy schedule at the conference. Many interesting sessions, a lot of people to talk to and make connections with (mostly Americans! got to practice my verbal English quite a bit :). My closest colleague and I now have a lot of ideas about what we'd like to focus on in our work for the coming year or so. (IF I stay that is! I AM looking for a new job, but it could take a while and I need to make the best of my time as long as I'm still there. I got some good input at the conference and my job search can definitely benefit from it as well.)


The conference was held at one of the universities in Paris. It's a really cool building. Architecturally it reminds a lot of my own workplace, but the French are definitely more daring. Lots of details painted in luminous colors and and other intriguing decorations.




Spent the rest of the time with my colleagues who are really a lot of fun to be with. We had a great time together :) I think it's a good thing to be able to have fun besides the work we do, just being ourselves and playing around.

We wandered the streets of Paris, looked at some of the typical Paris sights and were amazed by all the different kinds of shops that are to be found in the small, winding streets. We ate at local restaurants or tried out the food stands we came across. Mostly galettes, crepes and different sandwiches. In the mornings we grabbed a coffee in some bar and bought croissants and pain au chocolat at the 'boulangerie'. YUM!



Unfortunately the only Mysore class at Caroline Boulinguez' studio in 4th while I was there was at the same time as the conference reception! And my hotel room was small as shoebox. Doing practice there was completely out of the question. When getting out of bed I could almost step right into the bathroom. So, no practice in Paris...



I probably should've planned better ahead and been more focused on which sessions to go to and maybe then I would have been able to get more time to myself. Anyway, I've had a great time so it doesn't really matter. Shopping and practice were the two things I didn't really get to do and I can live with that. Did a lot of window shopping though, when we walked around the city. Can't say I had any particular things I wanted to shop just because it's in Paris. Or should I say, the things I'd want to buy were so expensive and I don't think it would've been worth it. I don't need more stuff as it is.


Instead I just enjoyed the city. I love walking around, looking at the architecture and all the details in the surroundings that differ from what I'm used to. Listen to all the sounds and the noise, and the FRENCH! I don't understand much, but I love the language, listening to people talking is awesome! Although, I'm amazed how well you get around speaking English nowadays. When I visited last, 18 years ago, if you'd ask something in English the French would just look at you like you were an oddball and then ignore you. Now people gladly spoke English or at least tried to communicate. I do like to adapt the usual phrases and try to speak a few words. I think, since I do know a little French, I could do the effort and also - it's fun :) Lots of s'ill vous plait, merci beaucoup, aujourd'hui and au revoire in other words.



We also got to take the Metro several times, which is an adventure in itself. The Paris Metro is pretty awesome with all it's different crossing lines, connected by stairs and passages all over the place, often decorated with tiles covering the arched lanes. Sometimes VERY crowded carriages, with lots of smells.




Not only were you all with me in spirit, some of you actually appeared physically! Even though this is not a lioness, I immediately thought of Annabella when we came across this proud, noble lion in a street crossing.

And Owl is alive and well at a book store near Saint Michel!

I didn't see any Shiba Inus for myself, but a guy I spoke to one evening, when a bunch of us from the conference went to a restaurant on Bd. Pasteur, almost immediately told me he had seen one, when we started talking about all the dogs in Paris. He was very excited about it and it made me feel safe and happy to know there are Shibas in Paris :)

Can I stay? Please?

It's hot and today it's raining (thank God!). Had lots and lots of croissants and cafe crème :) Some brie, galettes and omeletts too. Paris is lovely, so many visual impressions, different smells (not always delightful!) and sounds that I'm not used to. So exciting!

Leaving on a jet plane

This time tomorrow I'll be in Paris. Don't know if or when I'll get access to the internet once I'm here, but hopefully I'll be able to post and put up some pictures. I should get myself a garden gnome?

Miserable, huh?

Argh! I have like a ton of papers to read and assess this week and I'm procrastinating, severely. Should stay off the internet completely, but may not be totally able to? These papers are a part of my work that I really hate having to deal with. It's so bad that I'm seriously considering to jump ship. It's NOT what I enjoy doing and it's not a part of what I'm either good at nor educated for...

Woke up this morning and was actually on my way out of bed and go to practice when my whole body just screamed "GO BACK TO SLEEP!". So I did... for another two hours. I'll be there tomorrow. Promise.

Shoulder is bugging me again. Need to take care of it! Last week I saw my massage therapist, or should I call her my body worker? Whao, did she work my shoulder! She is an ashtanga practitioner herself, which makes it so much easier for her to know what the problems are and what is causing them. As opposed to the bitch naprapath I saw last fall when the problems first started. She had never tried any form of yoga and the first thing she said after I told about my problem was "We DO get a LOT of YOGA related injuries now, you know" - fucking bitch... Anyway, she (my beloved masseuse, that is) gave me a few more good tips for stretching exercises and advice about practice. Upper pecs seems to be a part of the chest that is often forgotten or neglected. I can totally relate to that! When my shoulder is killing me I often also feel a kind of tension below the collar bone. I've written here before of the notion that I need to lift and open the chest and let the heart strive towards the sky, which seems to be an accurate image. Another little muscle that often cause, especially women, problems is infraspinatus. She confirmed Gabis advice that I should be working more with lats since we tend to compensate week lats in sun sals by overloading infraspinatus. So now I need to find a way to train and build those lats. I need to go to the gym? Anyway, I must see body worker again, soon. She's good :)

Well, aren't we cheerful today?

Midsummer's Day

Today is Midsummer's Day and this year is a bit special since summer solstice happens to fall on this particular day. It doesn't always do so. I've said it before, this time is the most glorious time of the year. Today is the longest day of the year which on my degree of latitude means the night is only a few hours and it doesn't really get dark during this short time. This is the time we Nordic folks live for during the cold and dark months and Midsummer is the point of culmination, which you realize if you read this little quote from Wikipedia:

"Midsummer rivals Christmas as the most important holiday of the year due to the copious amounts of alcohol consumed."

You can easily distinguish the pagan holiday, no? Delirious partying until broad daylight. That is what's been going on here last night.

For me, though, this is a day of mourning. As from today the days will become shorter again. Sure, it'll be yet another couple of months before it's obvious, and it isn't until mid-October that I need to start my treatment again. So why the woe? Maybe it's just the knowledge that this is where it turns? And still, there is a stroke of sadness somewhere deep down inside of me...

Flowers and Bumblebees

Moonday today, and ladies hols, no practice... Tomorrow I'll see Humming Finn and I'll kick ass!

And now, for something completely different. I couldn't resist buying these lovely peonies yesterday. I thought of Anna, who once talked of peonies, and I thought of dear Eeyore, who needs lots and lots of warm thoughts and good vibes right now. So here is to you!

And once again I will torture you with pics and talk of my adorable little Bumblebee. Saw her last night and sheesh, things moves so fast! I saw her less than a week ago and there's already a bunch of new stuff in her repertoire! Her new thing is to grab stuff and put it in her mouth (see proof below). She's even found out how to put her thumb in her mouth, not the whole hand, like before. She is actually sucking her thumb, so cute!

I should post...

...I know, even just the shortest post. It's just that I don't seem to be able to put down one single word in writing or put them into coherent sentences. It's not like I have nothing to write about. There have been at least ten different posts twirling in my head all weekend, and yet I couldn't get any of them out. None, nada, zilch.

At least practice has been good. Strangely enough, I've felt strong and quite bendy over the last coupe of days. Yesterday I was just a teeny tiny bit from getting my head on the floor in prasarita padottanasana A, all by myself. As if that wasn't enough, I also bound the right leg in ardha baddha padmottanasana - by myself. None of this has ever happened before without assists. My surya namaskars are coming along as well, slowly, slowly. None of my teachers has said anything out of the ordinary about them since I practiced with Gabi, which I think prove my decision to practice with Mercury for a while is a good one. Beginning next Monday, I will be going there Mondays through Thursdays. Fridays and Sundays will be self practice - if I'm not to lazy ;-)

Oh, and in two weeks I will be going to Paris on a conference. I'm a bit curious to try out a shala somewhere else, and also a bit terrified... I've found this shala not far away from where I'll be staying and they have two morning mysore classes during the time I'll be there. Anyone know anything about it or have any other shala to recommend in the vicinity?

Also, I finally got a new cast-iron pot and a frying pan. When me and XBF separated a few years ago, I lost my lovely cast-iron pot to him (and the frying pan was his in the first place). We divided our stuff and I chose a few things that aren't that easy to find and replace, so he got the pot. Even though I have missed it, things have been busy and a bit unorderly in my life since then and it's just in the last six months that I've started to cook at home again, now that I have a proper kitchen. Anyways, I've missed it more lately and needed to get a new one. On Saturday, after finishing up with the laundry, I went out to get the pan and the pot. Goddamn, am I freakin' happy to be strong nowadays! Carrying those back home made me feel invincible.

As the lucky owner of these fantastic cookware, I of course had to cook my favorite of favorites - the famous Chitta pasta sauce. Only problem was to find the bacon. THE BACON! Is that a fucking scarce commodity all of a sudden? I had to go to THREE stores to find ANY, and of course it wasn't the organic one that I usually buy. Had to settle for some poor stressed out pig from Denmark... But what could I do? Should I've fucking waited till today? I don't think so! The cookware had to be inaugurated, and it couldn't wait! Now there is pasta sauce that would last for a whole battalion in my fridge. I'll probably be sick and tired of it in the end of the week...

(Oups, seems my writers cramp disappeared :)

Touching the universe

Yesterday was a remarkable day, indeed! It started out pretty gray and there was a brief shower as I left home early to meet up with my work mates and go for a day in the Stockholm archipelago.



It's become a tradition that we do something together in the beginning of summer, before everyone leaves for vacation. This "something" has in the passed included more work-related activities, such as developing our working methods or competencies. But this year, due to the turbulence that's been going on, it was decided that we'd do something with a stronger focus on being and DOING something nice together that wasn't all that connected to achieving work-related results. Sailing seemed like the thing to do! Fun, being a bit of a team-building activity and definitely an experience to remember!



The boat that was chartered was in itself a remarkable one! There are three boats of its kind in Sweden. 45 feet long, weighing 12 tons and over 120 m2 of sail, fully equipped and good space for the eleven of us to work and sit comfortably for the whole trip. Our captain did a great job in keeping an eye on things and at the same time teaching us how to do what and when. Not everyone of us had been sailing before, and the ones of us that had, had never sailed a boat like this before.



Anyways, we arrived at the marina around 9am. The weather was still kinda gray, but warm and a little windy. Met up with the captain and he ran us through the safety routines. We all got these really solid rain/wind wear to put on. Felt a bit silly, since it was pretty warm, to put them on... but man! am I happy we did! We would have been totally drenched if we hadn't. We looked like a bunch of astronauts preparing for liftoff :)

The wind wasn't too bad as we went out in the first open space of sea. As we got closer to the island our captain had chosen for the lunch intake, the clouds began to crack up and flaps of bleu skies started to show. As we anchored in a calm, windless cove, the sun came out and glittered like gems in the water.


After lunch we set out again and now the wind had turned up a few knots! This was when the real fun began :) We had about five hours of pure sailing in winds between 9 to 13 meters per second. The "astronaut wear" came in very handy, since the sea decided to give us lots of showers. Even though the wind was warm, one would probably have been quite cold if one were to be soaked in cold sea water!

Oh, and Annabella has requested pictures of ME! First of all, there aren't many, because I was the one holding the camera most of the time! And secondly, I'm sorry if I disappoint anyone, I'm not very keen on putting up pictures of my face here, since I'm writing this blog incognito (for reasons I might discuss here at some point). Nevertheless, someone actually caught me on video (by mistake ;-) and it so happens to prove I ran the show, at least for a while. LOL! Please, make sure NOT to have your speakers on loud! The only sound is the wind blowing (hard!) in the microphone, which doesn't sound very pretty on loud speakers...



Sailing, to me, is in so many ways much like yoga. It can be very physically demanding and is totally relaxing since you need to focus and be in the moment. Also, being so close to the elements really bring that touching-the-universe-experience. As you can see, I'd just have to reach out my hand and grab that cloud :)