So I have tried to do a better job with the LiveJournal posting thing. I have been moderately successful.

I communicated with the relocation agent today, and she told me that she would charge a flat fee of SEK10.000 to help us find a new place. However, what that did not include was whether that was payment which was required in advance, or whether that was payment only if I selected a place that she showed me. So I need to contact her on Monday to get that clarification.

Work today was a little bit crappy…I would like it to have turned out better, but I learned today that I can’t please everyone — nor should I try too hard to do that.

Caroline and I were supposed to hang out tonight, but she was too tired, so Robin and I (and maybe Steve) will hang out instead. It’s all good, as we have a good time when we are out and about.

I also decided that 12 days into my new workout life, I am still unacceptably fat. Time to take severe action to correct severe fatness.

And finally…Marriott Hotels decided to grant me a free year of platnium membership, even though I had not met the requirement of staying with them for 75 nights. That was nice of them. American Airlines downgraded me to Gold status instead of just letting me stay platnium. No worries. The bastards. Their service was beginning to decline anyway.

But this weekend will be good. I will make something good of it.

I am feeling in such a good mood. Some big projects are due this week, and I feel like I will be able to accomplish them. It’s 8:30pm and I should be at Steve’s place now, but I just had a great avacado salad and feel so drowsy. I wanna sleep. But thanks to the song “Toxic” by Britney Spears, I think I am getting energy.

The customer wanted to go out for dinner tonight. And Markus and Maria wanted to meet for drinks. So I will hang out with Steve for a while and then go and meet them out. I feel for a night out followed by a really bad morning wishing that I had stayed in and worked on that customer report and presentation 🙂

On the bad news side…I sw my bonus for last year. Fucking sucks.

Hey everyone!

I hope that everyone is doing ok. I am fine, but it has just beena very busy couple of days. As I told you, Steve recently came over here to work for a few months, so it is good to have another American around, especially because Rob and Caroline (from the UK) are leaving and the number of expat friends are dropping.

So anyway, Steve found an apartment which supposed to be really nice and better than mine. I haven’t seen it yet, but it is probably true. So what it has done is to fuel my desire to find a new, better apartment.

At first glance, it seems to feel like a competition, but those who know me well know that this is very little to do with Steve at all. Fact is, I have been talking about moving since January. Steve’s apartment was just the final straw that caused the motivation.

Mainly what it is is that I pay more than Steve (and a little less than Caroline and Rob) and get less. For example, no community washing room, no sauna, no fireplace.

However, the location and convenience is pretty hard to beat. It’s 30 seconds to the t-bana, I have a choice of 3 supermarkets, Åhlens’ Fridhemsplan location is just down the street, as is my bank, and the gym is just around the corner.

So here is the gamble…I can give my landlord the three months notice this week, and then have to move out in three months. So I have a window of opportunity, and I already have five apartments to view that I am interested in. However, once I decide to move, I have to move (it would look bad to change my mind). In a pinch, I can use IBM’s relocation service and pay the fee, whatever that is. So I know I have plenty of opportunity.

But I think that I am prepared to move. It’s the right thing to do for a couple of months now — even before Steve arrived.

What do you think?

Greeting everyone 🙂

Well, Robin and I are having Caroline and Rob over for dinner. They are arriving in 19.30. We have just started so dinner won’t really be until about 20.30.

We are having homemade guacomole and chips for a snack, homemade mushroom soup for a starter, moose with blackberry and red wine sauce for a main course, and homemade pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream for a dessert.

We will see how this goes….

Hej Hej….

How is everyone? Work has been really busy lately and I haven’t had a lot of time to post anything, so I really apologise because I like to keep everyone updated.

Well, this week is shaping up to be one of my busiest week. As it turns out, after this week, my life becomes a lot more manageable because most of the work items that I have been struggling to get completed will be over by the end of next week. But the major deliverables are this week.

Last Thursday I went to go see Scary Movie 3 with Robin and it was so funny. I haven’t laughed that hard in a very long time. I then went to Gothenburg to party on Friday. It was a good time, but I drank too much and was really sick on the return ride home to Stockholm on Saturday. I took the X2000 train and I have to say that I really enjoyed taking the train. I would do it again if the price were a little cheaper (note that one can get from Stockholm to Gothenburg for SEK2,000 by train or SEK700 by flying — but the new carrier providing the service didn’t start until just yesterday).

So anyway, Steve is in town for a few months now, so this should be interesting as well. And I have to buy a new gadget (think lots of power in a strong package), and then we are going to dinner.

Should be an interesting night.