More photos from Sweden. Mainly of Chris and me at the Vasa museum. I'm too lazy to put them in an acceptable layout right now. I'm tired. Chris wanted me to scan in the funniest photos thus far. I have four more rolls being developed.

The last two of the lot: 1) peering into a cannon at the Grippsholm castle; 2) tossing my cap a la Mary Tyler Moore while straddling a stone lion. You can't see the lion, though. It took much convincing for me to straddle the lion, as it didn't seem like something people were really doing. See, on this one street, there were two lions at each intersection, presumably for resting on. Chris would point out people who were straddling the lions and say, "See? He/she's straddling the lion. You have to." Ultimately, I did.

File under DAILY. Posted at 12:00 AM

This is what I looked like in Sweden. I just walked around and struck poses at will. Seriously.

At the time this picture was taken, I'd say about 97% of me was soaking wet. There is a small patch of dry sweater under my left breast. The rest of me, not including some of my hair: completely wet. Chris and I were lucky enough to stumble upon that license plate during one of our lengthy walks around Stockholm. I think we were on our way to the Vasa Museum at the time.

Stockholm, as I have been telling everyone, is mostly beautiful. I could see myself living there, sort of; I'm not sure what I'd do. I've decided to become a hunter/gatherer, though, since I'm reading Fast Food Nation and realize I can't trust the food industry. Or I could buy things straight from independent farms. That'd make more sense than becoming a hunter/gatherer.

Now that I'm back from abroad and didn't die in a tragic plane crash, I need to get my arse in gear and do the following:

- make a dentist appointment
- redesign this here web site + post Denmark stuff + Sweden stuff
- stop spending money
- apply to Villanova's graduate program before the fall semester starts
- finish a painting for the living room wall (roommate is probably peeved about my slackerness)

Those are the immediate things. There are, as usual, numerous other projects and tasks on the boards.

File under DAILY. Posted at 12:00 AM

I'm going to Sweden tomorrow. Tomorrow! I am utterly not ready.

Spent the weekend at the beach, or more appropriately, at the shore; my feet didn't touch sand once, not even the sand stuck to the shower curtain at our motel, whose great Mexican name I just erased because I don't want to be contacted by the owner and accused of slander or something, even though I'm not going to slander the place. When we first checked into the motel, I showered and thought about Janet Leigh in Touch of Evil and Psycho at the same time. Greg had gone out for beer and ice, leaving me alone and vulnerable to a gang of Mexican molesters. Not really, though. The place wasn't bad. It wasn't super, either, but the bed was surprisingly comfortable.

I lost $60 to the slot machines at the Taj Mahal. Greg won $80. He beat me in mini-golf, too. But I found a stylish hat to protect myself from the sun in Sweden. It's black and kind of Audrey Hepburnesque. So in truth, I'm a winner.

Meanwhile, I was supposed to secure rooms in Visby for when Chris and I go there next weekend, but everything seems to be booked. The task is back in his hands, now, since he's in Sweden, where calls are at least slightly more local and in the same time zone. He'd gone to Finland this past weekend and couldn't be bothered.

The next three days are going to be very, very long.

File under DAILY. Posted at 12:00 AM

I've kicked off the long weekend with a bout of productivity. Here is what I have done (I am obsessed with listing what I have done, sorry):

1. Washed my car. It really needed washed, to use a Pittsburgh phrase. I was fortunate enough to land a parking spot at my apartment right under a tree that poops on my car. And birds poop on my car, too. So my car gets really dirty with all the poop. There's probably poop on it right now. But the wheels, the wheels look super now. The tires are low, though, so I will probably end up like those people in the commercial who are driving an SUV on the highway and think they're safe and perfect but their tire blows out. They swerve, and there is a moment of tension. Will they make it, or will they plow into a tractor-trailer? They will pull off safely to the side of the road. I will not, though; I will plow.
2. Rearranged my bedroom furniture, plus opened window that was heretofore unable to be opened, plus planted dirty old fan from K-Mart circa 1983 (it's called "The Kool One," with the K being the logo K) in window. Room is much cozier now, and much cooler (in temperature and in vibe), but needs art for the walls.
3. Paid bills and updated expense spreadsheet thingy. It is satisfying to get money stuff out of the way. I really want to spend spend spend today, but I shouldn't, because I'm pretty much broke for the next two or three months. Maybe I should start an internet porn site; they're all the rage these days among the young ladies, I've heard.
4. Learned that tickets to Sweden, if I decide to go, are still $901, which is good news, if I decide to go. Can't decide, still.
5. Dyed hair. It was supposed to become a really bright "Reddish Copper," but instead it's really dark, which is fine. This hairdye was one of eight miscellaneous bottles I bought at a discount store for $1 each. Quel deal, n'est pas? Except that I risk turning my hair dark red instead of bright red. Luckily I don't really care. I just thought bright would be more summery.

I've actually done more than this, because I am just that productive, but the rest of it is even more boring (boringer should be a word) than what's listed here. So now I have to hang things on the wall, file some classified documents, and work on drive-in article. And brush my teeth.

File under DAILY. Posted at 12:00 AM

I'm sweltering in my apartment, but I'm also trying to kill time before I go to my parents' place. My parents' place is air conditioned, but I don't know if I feel like being around anyone right now. Soon I will be around a lot of people.

From M&D's, we'll go to my aunt's and eat food. It's going to be boring, and they're going to have generic soda there, as always.

Why does anyone buy generic soda? Particularly for parties—that's downright insulting. It tastes horrible. There must be better options for inexpensive non-alcoholic drinking pleasure. There's tap water, for instance, or powdered iced tea. You can buy plastic containers and carry these things around with you.

I should wear sunscreen. Weather.com said that the UV index is 10 and that with me being fair-skinned, it is 4 times more dangerous than usual for me to exist outdoors. Or 4 times more something. They recommend a minimum of 50 SPF. Luckily I have some of that.

This entry ranks as some of the most boring stuff I've ever bothered to record, let alone publish. But who's reading?

I wonder if I can wear jeans to this thing. Currently I have on a jean skirt. Maybe I should call my mom and ask. I don't care how I appear to my aunt and cousins, but Mom always seems to care. And I'm 23. My appearance is beyond being a reflection on her parenting prowess.

Chris is lucky for being in Sweden all summer. He gets out of so many stupid things for being far away. I'm sure, though, that sometimes he misses stupid family things, or would trade the boringness of the family things for some familiar faces. He probably appreciates this kind of stuff more now that he doesn't have to deal with it all the time.

Seriously, I've thought of moving away just to escape all the family obligations. Then I feel guilty; why do I hate being around my family so much? I think it's more just that I hate feeling that I have to do anything, that feelings will be hurt if I don't make an appearance. That's bollocks. I hope that when I start hosting things, if that ever happens (and I hope it does, if I ever find local friends), that people will show up because they want to and not because they feel like they have to, and that if they don't feel like showing up, they won't. I will be okay with that.

File under DIARYLAND. Posted at 01:09 PM

I am finally using my new computer, with its speed and its software and all of that. It feels good. I have plans for you, little computer. You're gonna make me a star.

Yesterday I drove around and thought of many things to share, but now it's in the 6 a.m. hour and all I can think about is taking a shower. And I'm rhyming inadvertently.

I am on the fence about going to Sweden in two weeks, because my office manager is leaving the company very soon. He's not sure exactly when, but it'll be some time in July, and if I go to Sweden near the end of the month, chances are I'm going to miss his last day or week and any associated farewell celebrations. I should go abroad, though. Maybe I'll talk to him about it.

Oh, I know what I can tell. You know how in the first paragraph I talked about becoming a star? Well, my mom frequently comes up with ridiculous schemes that will lead me to fame and riches. Some of her schemes:

• Take over an old local movie theater and put on concerts there (she wanted me to do this when I was 15 because she wouldn't let me go to a Beck show in the city).
  
• Start a non-gender oriented magazine for pre-teens (this isn't a bad idea—though not really my bag—but regardless, I can't imagine how to fund it, let alone where I'd find writers).
  
• Become a screenwriter, because one of John's clients is a screenwriter and he only sold one screenplay but they keep paying him to write more, so that's what he does all day.
  
• Become a university teacher, because she was just talking to Colleen Something who teaches at Villanova and Colleen said that the people in the English department there devote about 20% of their time to teaching and 80% to writing. And you have to get published so it will motivate you to get published.

File under DAILY. Posted at 12:00 PM