Date: 2010-03-17 21:15:18 Created: 2010-03-17 17:14:50
I am now well into the second half of my second week as a citizen of Gothenburg and all is well. I have just gone through the final box so now everything is unpacked, except for clothes, sheets and similar things which I need to buy a cupboard for before I have anywhere to fit all of them. Now it is time to let things settle down and find their proper places.
And perhaps throw and give some more things away. I have bravely discarded a decent amount of electronics, ancient cabling, adapters and such, and also picked out about a shelf's worth of books and some other things to give to a second hand store.
But first a flashback: I spent the weekend in Lund. I went down there on Saturday and attended a really nice birthday party for T in the evening. Most of Sunday was spent in a post-party haze with a sort of post apocalyptic feeling. I took a long walk in the sharp sunshine and found the whole world rather 28 days later-ish (before the zombies appear). Sharp, sunny and somehow deserted (despite the fact that I saw plenty of both cars and actual people).
In any case, all the haze evaporated around nine in the evening when Kent took the stage in Malmö arena and filled up my mind and body for close to two hours. We were really close to the front and centre of the stage, just where we wanted to be. I jumped, sang, screamed, clapped and whatever else enough that I had patterns of salt on my shirt once it had dried up.
I was probably my best Kent concert ever, and if it is not clear I can live for quite a long time on that alone. When Mannen i den vita hatten (the given final song for the past few years) started I removed my ear plugs to make sure I got every last drop of energy out of it.
Become a huge fan of some band
go to their concerts
go wild.
I doubt I can recommend it enough.
I am still thinking about the very ephemeral, intimate and yet completely anonymous relationship you form with the people right around you in a situation like that. Fascinating in its own way.
Work is rolling on great too. I think I have got into the group and place really well (and I have fortunately not heard anyone even hint at thinking differently). I feel really energised by the changes, it is simply fun to be at work.
Of the time left between working and unpacking, a pretty large chunk has gone to running. I have been slipping around the ten kilometre track in Skatås regularly. Even with all the ice and snow (which will probably be gone soon) it is pretty great to have a forest track to run on again. With, you know, trees and hills and stuff. Skatås is about two kilometres from home, so I have taken to running/jogging there untimed, clocking myself running the track and then running/jogging back home untimed. That makes each run pretty long in total, but more importantly it means I do a lot more untimed warming up and slowing down than I ever have before. The past four years I have timed myself right out the door, but now I can feel at ease and let my body get warm properly even if I feel like competing against my past times. I think that is a really good thing, and will be even more so once the snow and ice is gone so I can run even more unrestrained on the actual track.
To top that off, tomorrow I, J and M from work will go for a run on the lunch break for the third time. We have been out for about half an hour each time and kept a nice and easy pace. I think more social and relaxed running is really good for me too, keeping a speed where I can chat with others is nothing I usually do. And the feel of exercising without being out to totally drain yourself is actually quite nice too. You keep going easily, feeling that the machinery is working and ready to switch up to full power if you wanted it to. Feeling your body telling you
"I can do this forever. Just think the thought if you want more. I am up for it. Any time, any place. Just bring it on."
in a calm and deeply confident tone.
That it is in the middle of a working day and you will get back to a nice lunch certainly does not hurt either.