universality and headshots

You know that thing where you point and nearly or actually touch the front of a person's shirt, and you tell them they've got something there, and when they look down you bop them in the nose? Apparently that is universal. You know what is not universal? Dr. Seuss.

Admittedly, these things are probably not so black and white and a bit more situational. But it is a truth from my experience.

Dr. Seuss does have a Swedish wiki page, and the last line says approximately: In english speaking countries, he is the most widely sold children's author, even if he was never especially big in Sweden.

Onward.

Yesterday I gave Greg a haircut and he trimmed up his beard. (Happy birthday to my MIL, who is the one who appreciates this the most.) Then we spent a bit of time taking photos, because he needed a new professional headshot (think linkedIn, or an academic website, etc.). I think it was a good endeavor. I took 101 photos, 42 of which I think he has a natural or good expression. And of those, 7 are respectable and usable for professional purposes. There are also some pretty great outtakes, which I can only hope will one day make it to the interwebs via twitter or something similar.

Maybe it is rude to talk about it without showing an example, but unfortunately for you, the purpose of the photo taking was for his use, and not for my personal blog use. We'll survive the lack.

At any rate, I'm thinking that I'd like to do this more. It might be more difficult to get natural expressions from people who are not my husband. But it is a thing I enjoy doing, and I think it might be a thing people want/need but find difficult to ask for. Anyone in need of a professional headshot?

What does it mean?

Scene: A weekday evening. Greg has gotten home earlier than expected. Went food shopping. Meghan has gotten home later than expected. Stopped by the food shop on her way, thinking Greg wouldn't be home yet.

M: Hi Honey, I'm Home! (parts of this dialogue are re-created and did not actually happen) I didn't think you'd be home already.
G: Yup, I'm making dinner!
M: Oh good! I actually also just stopped at the store and bought dinner.
G: What did you buy?
M: Frozen pizza.
G: That's what I'm making! What kinds did you get?
M: Mozzarella and Gyros, you?
G: Mozzarella and Salami!
M: I see we also both bought bananas.
G: And did you also buy salad greens?
M: Yup.

In addition to buying three of the exact same items, the following purchases were made: fil (a swedish yoghurt-like food) by Greg and müsli by Meghan. Both also checked to see if the Peach-Jalapeño ice cream had been restocked.

7QT - less solitude, more påskmust

- 1 -

I think I had a race up the stairs with a stranger. I think I've always thought it would be so hilarious if a stranger ran up the stairs past me with the look of victory upon reaching the top first. The thing is, I didn't know it was happening at the time. I thought I was being mistaken for another person this man knew, and by the time I realized we might have just had a race up the stairs, it was too late for me to even laugh about it.

- 2 -

There is this thing called the Rule of Friendship, which a friend of mine invented. In Hanover, it means that if you are walking through town, you must walk on Main St. and not the back roads, even if those back roads might be more direct or faster. If a friend is also walking in Hanover and abiding by the Rule of Friendship, then you will cross paths and it will be so friendly!

On Monday, I applied the Rule of Friendship to Uppsala. The concept is still the same, although deciding which road is the equivalent of Hanover's Main St. is not always so obvious. There is a pedestrian road in town, where all the shops are, so I'm going to go ahead and say this is the number one road for the Rule of Friendship. Next would probably be to walk along the river, but that is beside the point.

Lately I've started to feel friendly again. For awhile, I was feeling not-so-friendly, and if I needed to go into town for something, I was sure to take the most direct route possible and walk really fast and avoid eye contact with everyone.

- 3 -

There was a little stand set up on the pedestrian road. As I walked by I saw this t-shirt being sold:

DOUBLE TACOS

WHAT DOES IT MEAN

Strange for sure, but also intriguing. Where does this t-shirt come from?

- 4 -

Last week I braved Ikea, and my reward was two of the cheapest bread pans ever. I think they were even cheaper than a thrift store would have marked them. Maybe. The thrift store was on summer holiday all of last month, so I can't be sure. So before Greg arrived I made zucchini bread, because I thought it would be a good treat for him. I followed the Smitten Kitchen recipe, because it is the best ever (no chocolate chips for me, thank you). I even managed to eat one full loaf before Greg even had any. Oops.

(smitten kitchen image)

- 5 -

Wednesday was the last summer evening folk dance. I really wanted to go and take Greg so that he could experience the joy that is the summer evening folk dance. And the waffles. The weather forecast was not on our side for the entire day, but in the evening it wasn't raining, so we decided to just ride our bikes out there and see if it was happening. And it was! We danced a little. Ate waffles. Then it started to rain so we took cover in a barn. Then it stopped raining, so we danced a little more. And then we headed home.

- 6 -

Now that I am no longer living the bachelor life and am sharing the apartment with my husband (novel concept), I find that I am talking about 100 times more than I had been talking for the past six months. I always manage to have an awful lot to say when there is just always another person there, eager to listen!

- 7 -

I was asking Greg if there was anything he wanted me to pick up from the grocery store before he arrived. His response was that he wished he could have Julmust, but he knew he'd have to wait until Christmas for it. Julmust is a sort of spiced cola type beverage that is consumed in large quantities around Christmas time. Well, since Greg had left at the end of December, he didn't even know that there is also a special spiced cola type beverage for Easter called Påskmust. So I bought a bottle and kept it a secret for MONTHS, which is a huge accomplishment for me.

P.S. Yes that image is a baby riding a rooster pulling some more babies riding an egg with wheels.

- The End and The Link-up -

Wednesday Wednesday Wednesday

I've always been a Tuesday person (if that wasn't obvious), but this week, I am all about Wednesday! On Wednesday Greg arrives in Sweden. To live! Here! With me! And you know what that means! Time to change my "About" page, of course!

I actually really enjoyed writing that page. Then I got to the last paragraph where I had to write that Greg and I live in different countries, and that, combined with just not being good at writing conclusions in general, led to a dismal finish. So I am glad I get to change that part, although I'm not quite sure what I'll write. I guess it is a good thing I've got another 1.5 days.

In the meantime I'll be spending the next two evenings on last-minute preparations. I spent all weekend cleaning, because I am lazy and let the apartment get incredibly untidy. I also have been gathering various surprises for Greg in an attempt to make amends for leaving him with an entire apartment to pack and clean on his own. Most of them are small, but I'm sure at least one of them will make a blog appearance in the future. So look forward to that!