Live it up

That's my advice to you this weekend, amigos. "The road goes on forever, and the party never ends."

I'm sitting here listening to "Blues for Inga-Maj" as sung by its original artist, Cornelis Vreeswijk. He was born Dutch, but his Swedish is impeccable and he was (may he rest in peace) the unofficial troubadour of Sweden. I got his two disc "Basta" (greatest hits) for just over $15. It's already one of my favorite CDs, and I can't understand a word of it. It's unmistakably Swedish though, and that's what makes it so cool. So far I have learned two things from listening to Cornelis:

1) The Blues truly are universal
2) The Swedes love to sing songs about the sea

Cornelis really is a legend in terms of traditional Swedish music. He gets a whole row of CDs in the folk section at the music stores here, so he must be popular, right? I barely got out the first syllable of his first name today at lunch when the two receptionists I was eating with both clasped their hearts and said "Kor-nellis Vreeeee-swick?!, you have chosen wisely if you are looking for good Swedish music." I appreciated their vote of confidence.

Today's lunch was BBQ chicken, pork ribs, and potatoes. Yesterday was salmon, pea soup, potato pancakes with lingonberry jelly & whipped cream. Dinner tonight was Schnitzel with potatoes, peas, and a smoked salmon appetizer. I have not been able to stick to my "fish at every meal goal," but I have eaten well, no less.

My dining partner at lunch today was especially noteworthy. In addition to our lovely receptionists, I ate with Ralph, who is a really funny guy. Ralph also happens to be blind. He eats with the receptionists each day, and they set the same place for him at the same table. Ralph has a guide dog named Keshvik who helps him around the office. Ralph mostly knows his way around the office though, so once he's in and settled, he takes the "working" harness off the dog, and at that point Keshvik becomes the official office mascot and pet. Keshvik, a LARGE German shepherd, also knows when it's lunch time. Ralph told me he opted for a kebab for lunch because pork ribs are hard to eat if you can't see. Makes sense to me.

Tomorrow I'm off to the islands again. I could go to Copenhagen, but it's $200 and 8 hours on a train. The islands are $30 and 2 hours of travel. With only 7 hours of daylight up here, this is a pretty easy proposition for me. Plus I didn't get to the southern most islands last weekend, which are the ones with lighthouses.

The Texas A&M marching band marches in a 2-step military formation. Apparently not many other bands outside the military academies do this. I learned this tonight because my dinner companion went to A&M. Teddy Landry is everything you might expect from a Texan, minus the arrogance, which is nice. Teddy is a tall slim guy with a Stetson hat and a great accent. He grew up working (among other places) at a service station his father ran outside Beaumont, TX. He told me stories about how when LSU used to play Rice, he'd get caravans of French Acadians rolling through Beaumont in mink coats and Cadillacs, and none of them spoke a word of English. Man I miss those crazy Cajuns.

Today after work I went out to take some pictures, making the most of only the 2nd or 3rd sunny day we had here. I stumbled into the Goteborg city market which was buzzing with activity. 20 or 30 vendors there and it reminded me a lot of the French Market in New Orleans. The difference was, this place sold nothing but food. There were maybe 4 bakers, 6 butcher shops, some lunch counters, some candy stores, and a slew of Mediterranean, Italian and French specialty stands. One entire corner of the place was full just from the line for the fish market. There were two or 3 cheese stands, all giving out free samples. It was really an experience - I wish I had gone there hungry and with some friends so I could make the most of it. It was all I could do to eat some truffles, cheese samples, a fresh baked roll, and a slice of sausage :-)

So maybe you see what I'm getting at here. You don't always want to be spending time in a cold, dark town where they don't speak English, but make the best of it. Among the other things I've changed for 2007 is my attitude towards situations I cannot control. The truth is there really is almost always something to be learned from adversity. Don't get me wrong, I'd still rather be back in the Bluegrass with my wife, my dog, and a nice glass of Bourbon, but while I'm here, I like to think I'm making the most of things. It sure is different here, and I've already learned a thing or two. For now, Cornelis and I are having a good old time.