Christmas Feeling...

The Christmas feeling in Dublin is very different to what I am used to. Blinking Santas everywhere, more lights than you could possibly imagine, all multi-coloured and blinking. Even the cranes are lit up. In a way I guess it is rather tacky, but on the other hand it has a sort of innocent, childish feel to it as well. The more the merrier kind of thing. It is like a child deciding what to wear when they go out. Not thinking about the latest fashion but rather adding as many colours and textures as possible. ;)

Anyway, I have managed to buy a few of the Christmas gifts already, but I'm a lot worse off than usual, and will most likely be having to buy the last ones at the airport heading home to Sweden.

Talking about Sweden btw, was over last week for business. Good stuff, very much Swedish late autumn/winter feeling to it. Drinking lots of tea, cuddling up in the sofa and very, very dark outside. No snow yet though and I doubt there will be any for Christmas either.

Have started working properly and am rather busy again, which feels great. Looking forward to some time off and finally moving in with Diarmuid in OUR place, so that I can bring my stuff and make it my home and not merely a place where I sleep.

You guys are all very welcome over and I swear that I am now looking at when I can come over and visit. I am craving nakladany hermelin so badly...plus the company of my best friends of course. ;)

Take care everyone and have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

Very Long Time No Blogging

Well, what can I say, I'm a busy person. A LOT of things have happened the last few months and I simply haven't had time to update this blog. Now when things have calmed down I would like to start writing more regularily. And well, I have to get a proper digital so that I can upload piccies.

Anyhow...a bit of an update then.

1. I quit Moravia and joined Oracle as Account Manager in mid October working towards the Swedish private sector.

2. I am still seeing Diarmuid and it's getting serious. If all goes well we're moving in together in January. I'll keep you posted.

3. I have bought a car, a nice little red (burgundy) Ford Ka. It's one tough little thing...

4. I have started (ish) going to the gym (but not yet managed to improve my motivation...)

5. Had my mobile stolen a few months back and thus lost all my numbers. If you feel that you haven't heard from me in a while, just drop me an sms and that should sort it out.

So, all in all, I guess I'll stick around Dublin and Ireland for a while longer. If Diarmuid gets his way (which I unfortunately have to admit that he usually gets...) I'll stay here until I'm worm food. I'm not overly keen on the idea yet, but I guess it could be worse.

Am going home for Xmas to mom&dad. Really looking forward to a few days off and keep my fingers crossed that we'll get some snow.

Keep in touch my dear friends and talk to you soon!

(Off to the pub now for a little one...some things don't change you know.)

Diarmuid and I looking rather much in love or something. ;)

Diarmuid and I at Porterhouse in Bray.

I think it is me closest in jeans...right hand side. Grrrrreat fun!

Funfair in Bray, day out with Diarmuid and Alan.

Although you can't really tell, I've just been down in the water for this year's first swim in the sea...

Beach feet.

Morning walks on Killiney Beach

One of the best things with living in Killiney is the beach. I have never lived closer to the beach in my entire life, not even in Edinburgh...It's a mere 2 minute walk and there I am, strolling down, enjoying the breeze and the magnificent views.
Only pity really is the cobbles as they are rather unpleasant to walk on. Well, what do you do when you have serious problems with erosion. :(

Anyhow, I try to go for a walk at least once a day, preferably twice. Sharon and I have been really good going for our morning walks with Marley and now when she's off to the sun and lazy beach and coctail life I've been taking him out myself. He's a funny dog, loves running down the beach barking at the birds, stalking them and then running out in the sea, swimming for a while and then up again on the beach. For some reason he loves to chew on sea weed...guess it's like us and chewing gum.

Well, am on my way to Diarmuid's now for a lazy weekend. Take good care of yourselves my dear friends!!

Another picture of Marley chasing birds and eating sea weed.

"Mmmmm....I like sea weed...yummie yummie!"

One very happy Marley.

Marley on our morning walk, Killiney Beach, Dublin.

Killiney Beach early this morning.

Holiday in Asia

In the end of March until the end of April I went with my family on a long nice holiday to Asia. First I traveled from Dublin to Malmo via London, where my parents and my brother met up with me. The day after we flew up to Stockholm where we spent the night at my sister's place. From Stockholm we took the ferry over to Helsinki and then train to Moscow. From Moscow we traveled on the Trans-Mongolian to Ulan Bator were we spent a week (in the city and out in the Terelj National Park in a Ger camp). After Mongolia we went to China (first Beijing and then the Yunnan province in the south) and finally Tibet.
Below you can see some of the pictures that my brother Martin took with his mobile phone. Not the best quality, but hey... ;)

Enjoy.

Me doing some serious shopping in the silk market in Beijing.

My bro and I.

Mom and dad...

Mom enjoying a few.

Even more summer palace.

More summer palace.

The first car in China.

Summer palace.

My dad in the Summer Palace, Beijing.

Beijing.

Beijing skyline.

Map of Lhasa and surroundings. We were in Yangpachen traveling up along the mountain range.

It was cold, windy and quite dramatic.

We were high up. The mountains around us being at around 7000 m.

Something different than the Alps.

Prayer flags.

Place for worship.

Hotsprings in Tibet.

Out in the wilderness of Tibet.

Lhasa skyline.

"Can you please put on the kettle sweetheart?"

Another picture of me in Drepung.

Me in front of one of the buildings in the Drepung monastary.

Mountain view, Drepung.

Doing some step aerobics in Drepung.

Drepung monastary with view of the mountains.

One of the largest buddhist temple in the world, the Drepung temple just outside Lhasa city.

A typical Chinese "joint" in Lhasa. Nice, extremely spicy food, lots of chili.

Traditionally painted house in Lhasa.

More markets in Lhasa.

Marketplace in Lhasa. "Lookie lookie, very cheap!"

Lhasa roofs. In the top right corner you can see Potala, the most sacred place in Tibet, the palace of the Dalai Lama.

Jak Hotel in Lhasa, Tibet. The hotel personell had the morning "wake up call".

Valley in China, Yunnan province. Looks a lot less green than it actually was.

Huang Hu river. It was big, it was green and it wasn't actually that dirty. Yet.

Folk dance at the Lugu Lake, one of the few living matriarchical societies of today. They don't even have a name for "man" or "marriage". ;)

So that nobody would forget the beauty of the Mongolian national anthem they cut it in stone.

The 13th hole at the golf course in the Terelj National Park. (My brother Martin met the owner, an Uzbek with whom he had a long and fruitful discussion in Russian.)

Irish pub in Ulan Bator, early March 2006. Really good gig and nice beer. ;)