Getting Comfortable

Overall, we had a good week here. It was very busy though and the long hours finally broke out to a well-deserved weekend. Though Halloween is Oct. 31st, it's observed on a Saturday in Sweden--very nice. As I understand it, they observe an All-Saints Day tradition of visiting ancestral cemeteries with candles. With the influence of America, there is now a growing tradition which involves, of course, candy and costumes. I was surprised to learn that this has gained popularity in only the last few years. But, I get ahead of myself....

Out With Friends
I accepted Mille's welcoming offer to hang out in town last Sunday afternoon. His two children, Fannie and Felix, came along as well. After kebabs, we walked around the town until dark (which comes at 4 PM now) and had a kaffe at Steve's Coffee. I enjoyed the change of company and it was a terrific time for me--particularly because it helped pass the time.
I must have hit the friends jackpot because Tommy had a free evening on Friday and offered to get a pizza together with his son Oskar. Of course, I'm never one to turn down Norrlands Guld and a pizza at Fyra Årstiderna. It certainly beats cheese on crackers with fruit juice; not that there's anything wrong with that.

Errands
Saturday morning, after talking with T before she went to bed, I went out on the town for a few necessary items. First, I needed my fix; I've accepted the fact that caffeine is a necessity for working here. It's not to help span the long hours of the day, but simply a matter of cultural habit. With 3-4 strong cups on a given weekday, it's simply a matter of comfort to get a cup in the morning for carrying you through the weekend. I should also note that the Scandic serves up the best non-espresso coffee I've ever consumed.
Buzzing and satisfied, I strolled out in to the cool, overcast morning in search of that book store I half-recalled somewhere down the pedestrian shopping streets. I had decided I should learn at least a bit of Swedish; it would be a shame to not take advantage of this environment. I found a dictionary at a fair price; the grammar book would have been more useful, but I couldn't justify it's "textbook" price of nearly $100.
Stop number two was a store that sells sewing supplies. One of my pants wore a wide hole in the back thigh and another pair lost a button. I can't be down two pairs of jeans, let alone one. I have to admit that there's not much more interesting to this story though. I found a travel sewing kit at Åhléns and bought it. The end.

Macgyvering
I came home (the hotel) Thursday and plugged in my computer for the obligatory after-work work. There was a glitch, though; my computer could not communicate with hotel internet. I sourced the problem to a bent pin on my computer. It was horrific. I was 5,000 miles and 10 weeks from the nearest company tech support. A little background explanation may be necessary: I am stuck in the doldrums, dead in the water, and up a dry creek without a paddle without network access for my computer. Armed with my Leatherman (thank you M&D!) and the contents of my hotel room, I sacrificed one of the wire rings from my notebook. It's from T, so please don't make fun of me for the colors. Then I bent the wire to make a mini crook. I pulled the pin back in to place, more or less, and did a dance to celebrate. Crisis averted.


Photo Expedition
Saturday night, I had lots of energy and many tasks on my photography to-do list. Conditions were favorable with clear skies and relatively still winds. I took the bike out for 4.5 hours and 9.5 miles along the canal, from the south locks to the edge of Lake Roxen. The canal has a variety of decorative lights now and it was a good exercise in night-photography. The most interesting leg was near the lake. Several miles from the center of town, it's as far from light pollution as you can possibly get on a bicycle, by yourself, at night, safely. I was surprised at just how dark it was, compared to the city. On a gravel road, along the canal delta, surrounding by marsh grasses, and no lights except your own--it gets a bit eerie, to say the least. I have been attacked by feral dogs in similar situations before. Riding through the thick dark, alone (three times as far as I could scream from the nearest human), I contemplated which would be worse: a pack of hungry dogs or some yet unknown Swedish lake monster (link 2). Let's not forget that this was Halloween night in Sweden.
I mustered a few fleeting moments worth of bravery and pedaled on towards the lake shore. Just to be safe, I parked my bike pointing back down the trail and put my flashlight in my pocket. Setting up my tripod and zoom lens, warily, I was rewarded with some decent shots of Comet Holmes which is currently visible to the naked eye in Perseus. It's visible diameter in the sky is comparable to that of the moon--and growing! After that experience, I even had the bravery to ride out in the middle of a nearby field and frame a windmill against the big dipper.


So it's now the end of another weekend with a long, unknown week ahead. Let me know if you would like pictures or stories of anything in particular. I shoot from the hip, so...