A great start of the end of the week! I decided to work from home today and started the day with a bagel, a coffee, and a book at Java House. The rest of the day was however dedicated to work. This period is really busy and so I just finished up one of the reports I’ve been working on for a while. This weekend is actually not going to be very interesting – I have a lot of things to fix in terms of school and work and other. But I guess we all have to take time to organize things from time to time so that we can spend the rest of the time focusing on living well.

It is kind of cold here in Washington right now. Not cold compared to Europe perhaps, and not with the snow that we had two years ago, but colder than we’ve had for the past weeks. Yet, this morning when I woke up, something was different. Not only did dawn seem to break already before 6:30, but the sun also seemed to be higher and the sunlight warmer. Almost like spring was on its way…

In little less than a month, I am going to Macedonia for a few weeks and I had hoped to meet spring there. I have only been to Skopje once in the winter, so somehow I think of it as eternally warm. But given that many of my colleagues in the Western Balkan were working from home last week due to the cold, and that several places had declared emergency situation due to harsh weather conditions, I probably have to pack my boots instead. It seems more likely that spring will get here first. And I hope it comes soon because spring and summer is so much more fun than winter!

In Skopje, late September, 2011

One evening per month, it is like I go back to Sweden. It is when the Swedish Song Group of Washington meets and practice. The group gathers in the house of the choir’s musical leader, little outside DC, and when I enter her house, it is like I walk into a Swedish home. The furniture, wallpapers, fabrics, and decorations all remind me of Sweden. I think we are around 20 Swedes and Swedish-Americans that meet to sing and socialize. I and a few others are the “newcomers”, whereas most have been here long enough to have adult American children or even grandchildren. We sing at Swedish events a few times per year and it is always fun. What I like the most about singing with this group though is that I learn Swedish songs that I didn’t know before, from traditional folk music to modern compositions. I guess keeping a bit of where we come from becomes more important the longer we stay abroad, and since singing is such an important part of my life, I am very happy that I found this group and get to know all this music. This evening we have this month’s practice and I can’t wait for the workday to be over so that I get to go to Sweden again for a few hours!

From a couple of our performances around Washington DC:

This is a lazy, lazy weekend again. Mainly because Mr. M is not around and that kind of limits my social life here in Washington. It does, however, give me more time for other things, such as writing. Today, I spent the afternoon at Le Pain Quotidien and made great progress on my book. I really like the main character so it is so much fun to write down her adventure! On the opposite side of the table sat a man who was also tapping away on his MacBook Pro (Le Pain Quotidien has a large communal table in the middle of their cafes, which I sat at today) and before he left, we talked a little. He asked it I was a student (as he said I looked young enough to be one – I took that as a complement!) and it turned out that he was an English professor who was in DC to give guest lectures. He gave me his personal card, which I thought was nice and I felt a little bad that I didn’t talk more to him, but my mind was a bit absent as I was so caught up in my writing. Anyway, I couldn’t resist googling his name when I got back home, and it turned out that he is a Harvard professor who published a couple of books. It’s pity that I didn’t take the chance to talk more to him – my loss! I rarely initiate conversations with strangers so I find it quite amazing how many nice and interesting people that so often start talking to me. I am really grateful that others are so much more outgoing than I am so that I still get to meet them!

This weekend was too short. Or passed to quickly. Not sure how to describe it, but I kind of wish I had tomorrow off too. Or I am a little ambivalent, since I have some interesting work to look forward to tomorrow, and then a ballet class in the evening. But I also have more things that I would like to fix with at home, and there is never any time in the week. Anyway, it was fun to meet up with my friend from Moldova and we had a nice lunch at Cafe Leopold in Georgetown. Since his girlfriend is Moldovan, he promised to invite me to some Moldovan events, which I look forward too. I then ended up spending the rest of the day, strolling around in Georgetown before going over to Chinatown for the Swedish cupcake and wine gathering that I was invited too in the evening. It is always interesting to meet other Swedes and to hear why they decided to move to Washington.

Today was a typical Sunday in DC with brunch at Trio, grocery shopping at Whole Foods (missed the farmers’ market today), skyping with friends, a few hours of reading for work, some writing, and a bit of ballet. I realized that I have become a person of routines, and I can’t decide if it is a good thing since I kind of like the things I do, or if it is just dull and a little pathetic? Fortunately, there is a bit of traveling scheduled for me this spring, so at least I will not have turned into Jack Nicholson’s character in As Good as It Gets before this summer. (There are otherwise quite a few of those in my neighborhood!) Thought maybe by next…

Back on point again!! It’s interesting how quickly I got back into ballet despite the almost 15 year break. Guess muscle memory does exist!? (Forgot my camera in NY last weekend so I am stuck with my cell phone camera, hence the poor quality of the photo.)

Am watching Inside Washington on PBS and eating a burger from Five Guys. Can’t be more DC that this! I have more inspiring plans for the weekend though. Among other things I will  meet up with an American friend that I know from Moldova and whom I haven’t seen since I moved here. So lunch in Georgetown tomorrow, and probably a bit of browsing in stores after, since Georgetown is the best shopping area in DC. In the evening, I am invited to some Swedish cupcake and wine gathering. (You’d might think cupcakes would be out of fashion by now, but not yet! And always delicious regardless!) And the rest of the weekend will be dedicated to writing and dance. Not too eventful but then again, DC is not NY. And I am glad to have some time to focus on my writing. The story, by the way, is not set in DC…

My sister Jessica in front of the Capitol Hill, from her visit in Nov 2011

I am in New York again. I felt like hanging out with Jenny and other friends up here, so I took the bus up Friday morning and am staying until tomorrow afternoon. It’s been a very cozy weekend, though a bit cold since the temperature has been below freezing. I have only been hanging out in East Village, where Jenny lives, Soho, and Williamsburg this time. Lots of dinners, brunches, parties, and interesting people as always! I have also had the opportunity to do a little research for my next project, which is to write a teenage novel. Part of the story will be set in New York, so I am trying to find suitable locations for various events. A quite fun task actually! I have had the story in the back of my head for the past two years, so I hope that 2012 will finally be the year when I realize this project! In addition to screening the NY environment, I picked up a motivational book and some information on self publishing. So at least a small step forward. The next step is to find some time to write….