"Oro är när man betalar ränta på problem innan de förfaller till betalning"

This has been a so-so week. A lot of rain. A lot of headache. A lot of work (which is quite positive though). This morning I went to another session of massage. We'll see if I can get rid of these tensions in my neck. But to do so I have to change my way of living. I cannot get all stressed up and worried about small things. For you Swedish-speaking I have a proverb (from my friend Anna Widh): "Oro är när man betalar ränta på problem innan de förfaller till betalning". I'm an expert of worrying about things that have not happened yet. I make up stories of how things will turn out. I'm certainly going to change this.

Midsummer's Eve in Jämtland

I arrived Friday morning at 7.00 and walked over to my friend Anna's place near the Central Station. She had prepared breakfast and we got three hours to catch up. At 10.00 Matilda, Julia and Martina picked me up and we went to Odensala for a second breakfast.

Anna and I

They packed their bags and we went off to Oviken to celebrate Midsummer with my parents. Martina and I arranged garlands of flowers for the girls. We went directly to "Hembygdsgården" (a sort of village run by the local history association). When we were kids we always celebrated Midsummer there, dancing around the maypole. They sold coffee and cookies (eat as much as you can) for 40 SEK and we had a lot before the dance around the maypole. My mother and I tried to inspire Matilda and Julia by dancing with the other kids (and adults) but they didn't feel like making a fool of themselves. What's with kids nowadays?

Midsummer girls

After the celebration we went home for a drink and later on to Isberg's in Borgvik. We had heard that the Isberg Sisters were home so we stopped by to take a look at the babies.

Bonding with Casper

I hadn't seen Jenny since I don't know when. We were supposed to visit them in May but they got sick so we canceled the trip. Gunilla and Torbjörn were also at home with their babies Filippa and Signe.

Jenny, I really miss you!!!

Barbecued at home and spent the whole evening at the Veranda as always. This is the best place to be in summer. We were all pretty tired so the Midsummer's Eve ended quite early.

By the end of the day I was feeling peaceful, Oviken is balm for my soul.

Take a look at the photo album in flickr.

Gothenburg - Östersund by train

Last Thursday at 19.00 I took the night train to Östersund to celebrate Midsummer (San Juan para los españoles). When I walked in to my compartment I met a girl of my age and a little boy of two. I thought the girl looked familiar to me and it hit me that she is my second cousin. She also lives in Gothenburg (Lerum) and works in Alingsås. It's a small world.

Maria and Lukas

The week so far...

Last Sunday afternoon Lillemor and I went to Allum shopping mall and I bought 4 pocket books for only 88,50 SEK. So cheap!!!!

• The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (Vol. I and II)
• Deception Point (D. Brown)
  
• Lyckans Son (Herbjørg Wassmo)

Since I just started to read "Los aires difíciles" by Almudena Grandes and I think it has 700 pages it will take a while before I can start reading my new books. I just LOVE BOOKS. Yesterday a girl at work gave me a gift certificate of 150 SEK (at Bokia) only because I helped her out in Seville when they robbed her. I will pick out a nice book, maybe about cooking. Thank you Karin!

On Monday and Tuesday I attended a course of Requirements Specification ("Praktisk Kravhantering") at Astrakan. It was basically focused on how to work with Use Cases. They gave us a gift after the course and I'm very glad about it. Take a look:













It is a combined pen - pointer. Perfect for presentations.

Saturday fun: Pension savings!!!!!!

HELP!!! SOCORRO!!! HJÄLP!!!

I have finally sat down to start sort out this pension mess. My New Year's promise (for two years now) has been to activate myself in my pension savings. I get panicked when I see all the commercial on TV and all the mail I get about the PENSION. After two hours of reading I'm still super confused but determined to keep going.

Do you have any recommendations for a new beginner?

Ciao!

Maria visiting Gothenburg

Maria my friend from Östersund had a presentation here in Gothenburg about her research yesterday. I'm so glad that she stayed over the night so that we could have dinner (and breakfast) together. We went to Da Vinci at Nordenskiöldsgatan and had pasta and pizza. I had heard just good about this restaurant but I cannot say I got impressed. Maybe I'll give them a 3/5.



This morning before I took her to the Central Station we did a little sightseeing tour. We went up to Masthuggskyrkan and saw these views:

The harbour (center) and Masthuggskyrkan

Maria and a view of Stigberget, Majorna and the harbour

Requirements Management

Just finished the book "Kravhantering för IT-system" by Ulf Eriksson, and this is my summary of the book (only useful for Swedish-speaking people):

Day 5 - Valencia -> Brussels

On my way home from Spain I had to fly over Brussels (Belgium) and since I had to wait for almost seven hours for the next flight I took a train into the city of Brussels. To see all the pictures from Brussels take a look at the photo album .

The first thing I did when I arrived at the Central Station (La Gare Central) was to jump on a sightseeing bus. The tour lasted 1.5 hours and I got to see almost the whole town. I saw: the Royal Palace, Cathédrale St Michel, The Chinese Pavilion, The Japanese Tower, Heizel, The Atomium, the Castle of Laeken, the European Center, the Cinquantenaire Arcades, the Parliament, Le Petit Sablon, and Old England.

the Cathedral and the Atomium

I went off at the Bourse (the Stock Exchange) and walked towards the "Grand Place - Grote markt". Had some lunch at place nearby and then I took off to explore the Grand Place. This medieval square is amazing. I had to buy a guide book to read more about it because it fascinated me.

the Grand Place - Grote Markt

Just a few blocks away I found the Manneken Pis, a tiny statue of a peeing boy. The legend says that this boy saved the city from a fire. Perhaps his peeing symbolizes the water that extinguished the fire. What do you think?

Manneken Pis

After 3-4 hours of tourism I went back the airport, exhausted. At 20.35 I landed at Landvetter Airport and drove home in our red car called "Ivar".

This trip has been a pleasant break and I recommend you to take a long weekend and leave your home for a few days.

Day 4 - Valencia

This Saturday morning we were supposed to go shopping shoes for Paco but since we overslept we had no time. At 14 we had lunch with (a part of) the Swedish-Spanish group at "La Tierra" at C/ Polo y Peyrolón. I really miss them all.




















The lunch lasted several hours and we had a lovely afternoon together. I had just received the good news that Magnus (first picture) and Natalia (not present) is going to have a baby girl. Of course that was one of the given subjects of the day.





After lunch we joined Paz (Paco's mum) to take the dog Thor for a walk in the park.








To end the beautiful stay in Valencia for this time the whole family went to a restaurant "La Ferradura" by the beach of Alboraya.

Lunch at work

I'm so fortunate. This company that I work for never stops surprising me. We have three different clubs for different taste and interests. Club Guide - for the younger ones who like to go to After Works. DaRide for the sporty type and finally Vintage for the gourmet lovers. Today Vintage have arranged a lunch at "Jungman Jansson" by"Önnered brygga" (among the rocks by the sea). We were served excellent food (from the sea) and I spent two lovely hours getting to know new people. The average age was about 40 but that doesn't matter. And all this for free (during work hours) :-)

Day 3 - Valencia

Friday morning, Paco and I went to the local where we have all the stuff stored. Picked out some books to send. After that we went to an ice cream bar and I had "Blanco y negro" and Paco had "Orxata". Blanco y negro is coffee slush with a ball of "Leche Merengada". Orxata is a tipical summer drink from Valencia made of tiger nuts.














At 14.30 I went to Capgemini to pick up Diana and Inés. Ana was already waiting for us at "Los Martini". We had lunch and I ordered melon and jamón serrano to start and then a small cuttlefish called "chipirones". After the lunch we carried on to "Daniels" for ice cream. I ordered another "Blanco y negro" but this time with "Mantecado ice cream" instead of "Leche Merengada". Delicious!!! It was so good to see the girls again. I really miss them.

Inés, Diana, I, Ana

After the lunch, my 2nd ice cream and 5 hours of gossiping Ana left me at home. We were supposed to play "Innebandy" with the Swedish-Spanish group but it was canceled. Paco and I stayed at home and had a romantic dinner (no parents at home...).

Photo Albums

New for today is the photo albums that you can see to the right. The links will take you to www.flickr.com and you will be able to see the chosen album.

Yesterday I recieved a brown envelope...

...and its content says that I'm a certified tester in Software Testing. Jippieeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The certificate

Day 2 - Valencia

I took the bus down to the city center to visit one of my favorite book stores, "Fnac" (www.fnac.es). I was looking for a map of Brussels, an EasyReader book in German and something good to read (in Spanish). The only thing a found was the last mentioned, "Los aires difíciles" by Almudena Grandes. Went on to the "Casa del libro" at C/ de Ruzafa and found what I was looking for. Minus points for Fnac :(






















Photos of the "Plaza del Ayuntamiento"

After a delicious lunch (as always) at the Esteve Aparicio's I went to Verónica's house. She has moved to els Orriols and I hadn't seen her new place before. Hopefully she won't have to stay there long.

We went off with here "mu mu car" to our favorite ice cream bar "Glasol" and I had a "Dulce de leche y yogur con frutos del bosque" as always. Their "dulce de leche" is incredible. After that we visited her friend Laura, who is a designer, and we dropped off some old clothes of mine that she can use for her creations. I bought really cool stuff, one purse for the coins (a so called biscuit) and a holster. I will get back with photos later on. Check out the web of Laura www.laurafrias.com











Vero and I, Vero (with one of my old jackets) and Laura











The "mu mu car", nice parking Vero!


Then we had dinner with the boys, Paco and Sergio. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures during the dinner. We ended the day with a nice walk home.

Day 1 - Valencia

Woke up at 3.45 on Wednesday morning. Took our fine red Volvo (called "Ivar") to the airport. I flew from Landvetter airport to Brussel airport and from there to Manises (Valencia). Paco was there waiting for me and it was so good to be together again. By the way, Valencia airport has changed since the last time I was there. The rebuilding is done and they have a new terminal and a new parking.

A small Brussel Airline plane

We had lunch at home with Paco's parents and then I went off to my old job to see my former work mates. It was good to see everybody but I got very nervous of being the center of the attention. Later on Diana and I made a visit at Pertutti (obligatory) and then for a drink (alcohol-free) at Los Martini.



Paco & Paco Padre picked me up and we went to the pharmacy to see Carlos (Paco's brother) and pick out sun glasses for me.

VALENCIA

Having the best time in Valencia. I have been so lucky to be able to see lots of friends and of course the family. Since Paco doesn't let me install the software for my mobile on his laptop I cannot download my photos (Paco, I will not let you touch my laptop in Sweden! ;-) . I will get back on Monday morning with loads of photos from the trip.

6.45 tomorrow morning...

...leaves my flight that the will take me to Brussel (BRU) and then further on to Valencia (VLC). I have to get up at 4.00 since I have to be at the airport at 5.15. I will bring the book: "Mitt förbjudna ansikte - en ung kvinnas liv under talibanregimen" (Visage volé) by Chékéba Hachemi and load the mp3 (yes I'm quite old fashioned and have yet not bought an ipod) with classic music, El último de la fila, David Bowie, Victor Jara and relaxing excercices.

I will land at Manises Airport (VLC) at 14.20.

Shopping and sushi

Did some shopping yesterday and to celebrate my new purchase I had some sushi in Bältesspännarparken.

Sushi (not the best I've had)

Self-portrait

Not without my bike

Blå Tåget at Volvo

On Friday the 1st of June we (in the trainee program) had lunch with some of the executives. After that we went on a visit to Volvo Car Corporation. We joined the Blue Train (Blå Tåget) and I must say it was pretty interesting. When we were waiting in the lobby I noticed there were a lot of Americans talking to vendors. Then the guide told us that Volvo has a concept that means that foreigners can come over to Sweden, buy a car, drive around in that car in Europe and then bring it back to Volvo Gothenburg who then ships it over to the States. They must be made of money!!!

The Blue Train (Blå Tåget)

Photo taken from the car (while driving)

My boss Stefan and my workmate Mattias

Workmates

Exhausted after 3 days of Test course

Yesterday I wrote my first exam in many years. I had forgotten about that horrible feeling of panic and tension right before a test. The course was ISEB/ISTQB Foundation Certificate in SW Testing. We have to wait 3 whole weeks to get the results. Hopefully we all passed. Have a look at the syllabus of the course: http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=nav.6942

The course was hold by Enea at Lindholmen Science Park at Hisingen.