Cold and rainy in a tiny town

Ika took me to her school and showed me around today, then I took off on my own and went to Kupolen (the dome-like building). I walked around for a while then walked back to meet her. After lunch we hung out for a while before going to meet her friend Johanna. We met her at a different grocery store (where Ika put her plastic bottle into a machine and got paid for it!) before walking back to her apartment. It's actually a student living space. She shares a kitchen and living room with 7 other students and they each have their own dorm-type room. We hung out with Johanna for quite some time. We had SUCH a good time talking and laughing. After we left her place we walked back to Ika's and changed so she could go to practice and I could go run. Today I went to a gym and ran on a treadmill (door with the red sign). It's sooo cold and wet right now. Unfortunately I pulled my Achilles heel! Who knows what caused it (riding a bike, running in the cold, the plane, the list goes on). So I'll be icing and resting for a few days before we take off on our road trip (which we are soooooo looking forward to). Luckily it is supposed to be sunny tomorrow afternoon. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed.

Grand opening and the store.

Yesterday we decided to go to the local mall to eat lunch before grocery shopping. The mall is called Kupolen. It's the one big thing in this town. So obviously one may infer that Borlänge is a very small town. After lunch we didn't get to grocery shop because we had to race back to her apartment so she could change and make it to a "grand opening" of something called the Banana Field. It's a new outside multisport field which accomodates Basketball, Handball, Football (Soccer), and Floorball (a game played with a hockey-type stick and a pickle-type ball, very popular in Skandinavia). Ika and one other girl from her team were the representatives for handball.

After that, we got to go grocery shopping. We went to a place called Willys. Ya know, a grocery store is pretty much a grocery store. BUT we came across the coolest thing. The largest section of Wasa bread I've ever seen!! The wierdest things entertain me, who knows what will strike my fancy next=). I was also involved in my third Swedish tranaction yesterday. The groceries that I bought were 149.00 Kroner, or about 15 Euro, or about 18 or 19 US dollars. I'm very below my budget by the way!

Today Ika has to go study for her Math exam she has on Monday so I'll be on my own for a bit. I think I'll go for a long run today, and then who knows. I'll probably go explore that mall a bit (don't worry those of you who are concerned -you know who you are-I'm not going to buy anything!) I'll keep you posted on what I do!

Much better

I slept from 11pm to 10am! Hopefully that kicked the jetleg. Yesterday evening I went to Marika's handball practice. That's a pretty intense game! They use what look like little soccer balls and they put glue on their hands so they can grip the ball. It's actually alot like soccer, however you carry and throw the ball instead of dribble and kick.

This morning I finally woke up and Ika made us oatmeal. I went for a run, which was cold rainy. It's been a very long time since I've run in Washingtonesque conditions! Now we're going to go to the grocery store. Wahoo!

Borlänge, Sweden

Well, I got here safe and sound! I'm a little delerious right now, due to lack of sleep=) My flight was great, however long. The food was decent, the people I sat next to were pleasant, and there were a few movies. The slight nervousness I had subsided the moment I spotted Marika at the exit. We sat at the airport for a few hours and chatted over coffee while we waited for our train. Then we chatted for another couple of hours while on the train. This place is vast, and green, and beautiful and I can't wait to explore it. Marika made me a fantastic dinner of salmon, potatos, and salad after we got a ride home from the train station from her friend Kajsa (in her Saab). Now I've got to keep busy so I stay awake! I need to kick this jetleg!

Officially Excited

WEDNESDAY MAY 23, 2007

Yay! My passport was delivered via FedEx this morning at 8:30! *giant sigh of relief* I thought for a day or so that my passport wasn't going to make it in time so I was almost trying not to be excited. However, now I can officially be excited!! My practice pack went beautifully, everything fits...snuggly. I can't believe I leave in 5 days!! Time has flown by, just as predicted.

P.S. I'm putting everything in one place so it's a true blog =)

Two Weeks from Monday!

SATURDAY MAY 12, 2007
I'm so excited I could burst! The plans are coming along beautifully. Marika and Co, and I have got a nice itinerary, which now includes bungee jumping! This week I've got to do a dry-run pack-hopefully everything I need fits! Oh, and everyone needs to cross their fingers and think hard about my passport-let's hope it comes in the mail soon!!

Mission accomplished, and then some

My goal of running a 10 miler was met, and exceeded. A couple weeks ago Justin and I decided that it would be fun to run my first real 10 along the Bridal Path, which the Fenzl's live along, so we started at their house. I wanted to run it in a place where I had no idea of how far I'd gone. Me not knowing the distance paid off...again. After returning, Justin told me, that we ran 12 miles. I was actually hoping that we had run more than 10 because it was substantially more painful than that previous 9.5. That previous 9.5 was actually unplanned and therefore and an exploitation of a good day of running. Contrary to that day, yesterday was planned weeks ahead of time, so I was going to run it regardless of how I felt (which actually wasn't all that great to begin with). At two points during the run we stopped and *borrowed* some Gatorade from the lovely Aztec Architects Team in Training Stations (hey, it was out of paper cone cups...that makes it game).

I probably should not have stopped at that second station because
it was at that point that I actually had the "I don't think I'll
be able to finish" thought. I was shaky and nauseous and I really had to pee. But...I kept going and finished on my feet =)

These 12 miles were not run quickly by any means. I averaged between 13.5 and 14 minute miles. Yes, very very slow. So we were out for almost 3 hours (Justin informed me that he usually runs that same route in about 2 hours)



After we realized that we had forgotten our swimsuits, we decided not to jump in the pool as planned (I'm all for a skinny dip, but not with my brother, awwwwkwaaard). Instead we went to the Eggery for breakfast. I had such a delicious omelet with spinach, broccoli, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, water chestnuts and brie. I put that away real quick!

Now, there was a second part to the 10 mile goal that I wasn't about to skip. The second part was to go to the dive bar that is 2 short blocks from the house to celebrate the glorious feat. Justin always intended on going there just to see what it was like because it is a 1 minute walk from the house. So this gave us a reason to go. This part of the goal was met as well =) It was actually a rather charming place inside, considering its weird location and horribly unattractive exterior.

In the words of Justin...nothing can replace the glycogen quite like beer.

Photos are courtesy of Justin ;)

Strings may have been pulled

My passport is on the way! Lovely Sonya called me this morning while I was out on my run and left a voice message...which contained a FedEx tracking number. Now I know for sure that my passport will be in my hot little hands tomorrow morning at 10:30 in the a.m.! Luckily my application was done being processed so the string pullage helped with the transportation process. Ummmm, passports aren't usually sent via FedEx overnight. A little birdie told me that it would not have made it in time, had I not fussed and gotten in touch with these fabulous people. I feel relieved and extremely grateful.

Now if you'll all excuse me for a few hours: I must now write some crazy awesome thank you notes and bake some brownies a for a few people.

p.s. I got my hair cut (again), hence the photo, however awkward and fuzzy.

Use of Connections 101

As many of you know, I am still waiting breathlessly for my passport. Everyday I search the mail as if I were Ralphie looking for his decoder pin...really. So instead of participating in the same old run-around that I have for the past week: check online, call, check online, call, etc; I decided to go to what I thought was the source.

I actually left work this morning to go to the post office in order to ask what was going on with my application because it has been 11 weeks--suddenly my priorities sharply changed (sandwiches? bah!). Let's just say that the only thing this visit did for me was give me a break from work. I felt bad for the guy behind the counter as I stood seemingly helpless with tears welling in my eyes because there was nothing he could do for me (he gave me the same phone number and email address that I'd already been trying to utilize without success).

Surely there is nothing else I can do right? Wrong! Use your connections! I never think to do this until I am prompted (thanks mom!!). Ashley's father ("T") is the chief of staff for Terry Goddard (Attorney General for the State of AZ). So, again after some prompting, I decided to call and see what could be done a bit further up the ladder. T was a fantastic sport and got me in contact with Sonya Moreno, a woman in the offices of Ed Pastor who is apparently in charge of such passport "things". I had to name-drop a tad and tell Sonya that Monica Goddard (wife of Terry Goddard) talked with Ron Piceno (Chief of Staff for Ed Pastor) about my passport problem. It must have worked since she called me back promptly after I left her a bumbling message on her voicemail--I could only hope that I successfully recited my script, with all the right names in the right places.

Unfortunately, after all this there STILL isn't much that can be done for me. She sent an email to the same place that I did and will call me with an answer when she gets one. *Sigh* Hopefully my passport will be in with all the other mail tomorrow and I will have freaked out for nothing.

I'll just try and stay on the path of positive thinking and hope for the best!!

Foodies and...no passport

The other night I had my first experience with "foodies". Def: Foodie: A person who has an ardent or refined interest in food; a gourmet. What a bunch of cool and quirky folks! I talked with several people in such a way that it seemed as though we'd known each other for years. It was great.

The reason for my encounter with the foodies was that Jacques Pepin was at my sister-in-law, Ashley's, parents' house for a meet and greet of sorts--her mother is a known southwest cooking chef here in Arizona. So, of course I took advantage of the situation and went along!

The "duh" statement of the evening would be to say that the food was amazing. I had my first ever pate and tapenade. Both were fabulous. I felt compelled to ask Jacques where I should eat in France. I felt it somewhat appropriate since I will be in the area in about three weeks. I asked him, out of the blue, where I should eat if I'm on a "budget". Uh...he laughed at me...alot. I suppose it would be a bit out of the ordinary for him to have some young dingdong asking him about cheap places to eat :P It seemed like a good idea at the time, however I brought nothing away from the conversation--all I retained was something about the Michelin Man. Really, I have no idea. All in all, he was a very nice person and seemed more than willing to give me advice.

And yes...still no passport. Everyone cross your fingers and hope that it gets here within the next 8 days!! (I plan to inquire at the post office tomorrow and cause a small scene if necessary)

Oh so close...

Today was a fairly big day for me. My parents have been in town from Washington for the past few days and there have been several social gatherings for my sister-in-law's graduation (she got her Ph.D. in Sociology on Thursday). Needless to say, it has been an insane weekend. In spite of all the craziness I've managed to still run at least 4 miles each morning. Today was the exception...

Last night was Ashley's grad party so, of course, I ate too much cake :) This morning I woke up with that super duper hungry feeling that you get when you eat too much food, too late the night before. So I decided to just go out and run without breakfast. Also, at the last minute I asked my brother, Justin, if he'd like to join me for a nice Saturday morning run before it started to get too hot (yeah, it's been over 100 degrees for the past few days). He did end up coming with and we both expected to run 3 or 4 miles and call it a day.

It was one of those fairly magical runs where everything feels really good. We decided to just keep going down the canal passed our usual end-point until further notice. As many people around me know, it has been my goal to run a 10-miler before leaving Phoenix. I didn't have the foggiest idea that I would almost accomplish that goal this morning-in spite of my hunger, my lack of sleep, the cake, and the heat.

I made a point not to ask Justin how far we had run on several occasions for fear that I would psych myself out and end up walking back. I was hoping that I had at least beat my personal record of 6.5 miles. So I asked as we were cooling down around the block, how far we had just gone. He told me he didn't want to tell me. My interpretation of this was that the last mile and a half to two miles were a bit of a struggle and we hadn't actually gone that far past my PR even though it sucked. I took a pessimistic guess of 7 miles and he told me it was just about 7.5. I have to admit that my heart sank a bit...then he told me that I had actually run about 9.5 miles (if you can't tell already, Justin knows distances along the canal very well...and I don't). He had also run ahead of me home to get us some water before cooling down. He ran inside and told everyone how far we had run and that I didn't know it yet. That was a fun secret to find out...

I've yet to reach my goal, however I'm much closer than I was before! The real 10 will be next week...