Know the song? “A long December and there’s reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last / And its one more day up in the canyons and its one more night in Hollywood /
If you think you might come to California…I think you should”
I love December, it’s long, dark, cold and yet it is the most enchanting month of the year. The Christmas lights, first snowfalls, sand on the streets, hot chocolate, warm duvets, and the increasingly short days makes me love the month more than any other. Maybe because I was born near to the Winter Solstice I am the winter child in all its glory and despair.
And tomorrow we say goodbye to December and 2007. What a beautiful month it has been. Here’s to seeing a lovely December close and a great 2008 arrive for everyone.
Okay, so I have to do a bit of bragging. I bought a red dress at Jessica McClintock a few months ago. At the time I bought it, I wasn’t sure if I really liked it. I took it out for a test drive for my birthday dinner/dancing and it proved it’s worth. Being Christmas and wearing red (and a santa hat too) had both guys and girls hitting on me at the club. There we go, more girls hit on me than guys. It’s too bad I’m straight as a nail, those were some pretty girls.
But, if I ever need to turn heads again, I know what dress to put on. Who says you can’t have a little devilishness in you?
And for those who are reading about my online dating adventure (or lack thereof): I finally changed my hometown address to Stockholm. I thought I did that earlier but I eventually found out it was just the “partner search” location area. Five hours down, and I found the place to change my own location. Yes! Charming Svenska killar don’t be afraid to wink…we know you got it in you. ;)
Wishing everyone a lovely Christmas and a good 52st week ahead before the new year. =)
This Christmas will be celebrated with a couple friends. I am not making anything spectacular (unlike the crazy Thanksgiving with 13 dishes) except for some cinnamon rolls and some jam cookies.
I have to thank everyone who came out for my birthday last week. Wow! What crazy nights. Hugs to everyone who came to the Liquid Kitty in Santa Monica and to the Supper Club in SF.
Okay! I officially switched networks to Stockholm and put up a photo a few days ago. Sadly, that has not stopped weird Spanish speaking people from “winking” at me…Maybe I signed up for the Match.espana instead of sverige? haha. And, let’s not forget the 40-60 year old males winking. Ewwwww…
But! Some profile observations on those Swedish guys:
* They begin their profile description: “I’m a nice and happy fellow” Someone should tell them, we’re pretty sure they’re nice…but hopefully they are not serial killers. =P
* There’s the “athletic” photo: Skiing, snowboarding, diving, swimming, running – because we have to see their great bodies and watch them being sweaty. (No complaints though)
* There’s a “party” photo: Yes, they have to prove they can drink öl…lots of öl
* Most are at least 180cm tall. Yes!
* They love sports, music, and the museum. Wow…sounds like an oxymoron if you were in America
* They all claim they are athletic and somehow I believe them
* And let’s not forget the “dress shirt” photo- hot tailored shirt on a swede…sounds good to me
* They like smart, athletic, women [how profound =P ]
What I’m really curious about is whether the Swedish male will “wink” first or if I have to do it. Does the internet make the connection more anonymous and therefore easier to initiate contact? I sent a few “winks” and we’ll find out.
So I asked my Icelandic friend (we’ll call him Gardar Holm) what they do during the eternally dark winter. Now we know what the Icelanders and the Swedes do in the winter. ;)
“I‘ll have to quote you a British tabloid who in the last century described Iceland this way: „In the summer there‘s fishing and sex, but in the wintertime there‘s no fishing“. While that’s partially just a good way to sell newspapers, we do have the highest birthrate of the Nordics and one of the highest in Europe. And more people born are born in September than any other month of the year :-) But that’s hardly the only thing we do during the winter. There’s actually a complex answer to this.
First of all it will depend on your age. Iceland is today a highly advanced society – I mean we just got ranked number one by the UN Human Development Index. But the cold and dark winters mean that we spend a lot of time online – 75% of the population have broadband access at home. It used to mean that we read a lot, but now I think a lot of that time is spent online. Since we spend a lot of time indoors, it shouldn’t be surprising that we have the world record in electricity usage, all of it produced by the clean renewable energy resources that we enjoy up here. And everyone has a mobile. So we are really well connected. Which means that you shouldn’t be surprised that online gaming is a factor here – just witness – EVE Online – http://www.eve-online.com/ an Icelandic online game.
But if you had asked me that question during the middle of last century or even just a century ago the answer would have been completely different. Iceland used to be one of the poorest places in Europe. Go back to 1907 and you’d have found something quite different from what it’s like today. This was an isolated and poor place. This was also a homogeneous place. I described it at one point as a large white suburb. That’s changed now and I’m happy that it has. But like the rest of the Nordics we’ve had this amazing emphasis on education.
What you may not know is that we have the highest use of anti-depressants in Europe (possibly in the world) and it may just be that natural selection took care of those that couldn’t stand the cold and dark winters. The winters also go a long way to explain why there’s a thriving nightlife in Reykjavik. My friends in the UK tell me that among UK clubbers we’re famous for being just a bit more crazy than the rest. The thing is that the winters here aren’t all that bad. It’s just that they are really dark and spring arrives late. Which means that you’ll experience far colder temperatures in Stockholm than in Reykjavik.
I think there’s a permanent colony of Icelanders in Florida and the Canary Islands during the winter time and actually it feels as if the winters were easier to endure, when you didn’t have anything else to compare with. It may be a false memory. Maybe it was just that I didn’t notice the effects.
But I tell foreigners that come here that it takes 2 years to figure out if you want to stay in Iceland. You just need to live through a couple of winters here before you realize if this place is really for you. :-) “
You know when it is Christmas in the United States for two reasons: 1) car commercials; 2) love can only be expressed through a diamond of some sort. DeBeers, Kays, Jared…the list goes on.
Men are told that they need to buy some shiny, hard, graphite object in order to show their love for their women. Women are told, they should expect expensive gifts so they know their men love them. How bizarre. Why is it that men in America must buy material goods to satisfy their women? They pay for dates, buy flowers, chocolates and jewelry, and hope for a little action in return.
Shouldn’t men just show their love by maybe…cooking dinner? giving a massage? going for a hike?
And shouldn’t women not have such have such high expectations?
Now, it is nice to get gifts. I don’t deny that. A guy buys me something I want is endearing. But, if he buys me stuff because he feels he needs to, he feels that social pressure…that is wrong.
My friend put it well, “both sexes need to take part in the responsibilities of dating.” Women should not expect the men to run around after them all the time. Women should do some chasing. Take care of the men a little.
Next time you see a diamond commercial, ask yourself “what is the benefit of him buying that diamond? Does society want him to? Or does his gf/wife/lover want him to?”
This is a beautiful song by the Japanese (J-Pop) pop group called Ketsumeishi. Their song Tabiudo is about someone finding himself in the world. I first heard this song while at a screening for the Asia advertisments for Toyota Motor company. The VP of international sales was there and they mailed us a copy of the DVD ads along with the lyrics from Japan! The Toyota video is way cooler I have to admit but since I cannot find the DVD, you all have to settle with the original video from Ketsumeishi, still awesome and taking place in Australia.
When I listen to the song, I envision driving in a car with the wind blowing and seeing all the wonders of the roads, bridges, people, cars and where my journey will take me.
And I normally don’t post lyrics but this song sums up everything that we struggle to find in life. Partial English Lyrics:
I start on a journey on my own
I take a step forward. I feel alone
I am like a free bird
I am standing on a hill and feel the wind blowing
I keep walking and will never stop
I go with a smile and keep going
To a real journey only for me
Imagine you are a little child. You are a bird.
You could fly in the sky
Now, open a map and toward the future
To the journey of hope
Now, you are free. You become yourself
So that you can go anywhere you want.
I wander to find out where I should go.
I get lost till I find out
Even though a journey is only of a roundabout route,
I choose my own way by myself
I think and think, on and on. Night and day
I think it over and I go
We go to the future in ever-changing days
We open the door for tomorrow and start a journey aimlessly
To our future
We live in the time that does not stop
Tabiudo lyrics in romanized Japanese:
Tabidatte hitori ni natte
Fumi dashite kodoku ni natte
Tori no you ni jiyuu ni natte
Oka ni tatte kaze ni fukarete
Akiramezu ni zutto aruite
Akiramezu ni chanto waratte yukou
Boku dake no ari no mama no tabi he
Oikaze dakare karuku fumi dasu
Muki au mirai jibun uchidasu
Kono tabi wa mienu saki ga
Dakara koso fumi dasu kachi ga
Todoku? Toonoku? Tama ni ononoku
Kaze ni osarete sono saki nozoku
Hito wa mina jinsei tabi shiteru
Sorezore ga eranda machi ni deru
Tooku hate nai tabi he
Yukou tomaru koto nashi de
Nanika aru kitto kagayaki masu
Shinjireba kanarazu kagayaki dasu
Nobashita te no saki aru ashita wa
Korashita meno saki nani aru ka?
Kaze makase hane maware
Kono saki no mirai yo hare watare
Chorus:
Ima kodomo ni natte
Tori ni natte sora mo toberu hazu da yo
Ima chizu wo hiraite
Susumu mirai he kibou no aru tabi he
Ima jiyuu ni natte
Boku ni natte doko mademo yukeru kara
Ima boku wo egaite
Tabibito ni naru nomo waruku nai
Itsumoto kawarazu fuku kaze
Kataru koto mo naku tooku made
Kyou mo bokura wa
Mie nai asu wo nozoku kara
Iro iro na katachi de mirai ga matsu
Sorezore yume wo kakae koko ni tatsu
Sono ashi de saa tabi he
Nozonda kotae ga nakute mo
Soshite ayamachi ka tadashii no ka
Ima boku ni wa wakara nai ga
Osorezu ikeba wakaru sa
Shinjite ikeba nanika kawaru sa
Kimama ni sora wo iku kumo no you ni
Jiyuu ni nagareru mizu no you ni
Ikiteru kara koso bokura mo
Kaze ni makase sorezore no tabi he
Yuku ate samayotte
Wakaru made mayotte
Mawari michi bakari no tabi demo
Jibun de erande
Nayamu dake nayande night & day
Nayande nayande yuku
Bokura wa mirai he
Kawari yuku hibi no naka de
Asu he no tobira wo hiraite
Ate no nai tabi ni deru
Bokura no mirai he
Tomara nai toki no naka de
Jiyuu na tabibito ni
Natte iku nomo waruku nai
Tabidatte hitori ni natte
Fumi dashite kodoku ni natte
Tori no you ni jiyuu ni natte
Oka ni tatte kaze ni fukarete
Akiramezu ni zutto aruite
Akiramezu ni chanto waratte yukou
Boku dake wa ari no mama ni
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