:: Wednesday, March 31, 2004 ::

Deviate from the Norm

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:: posted by Rob 7:15 AM [+] :: 0 comments
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O Sverige!

In the interests of good karma, here is a poem I wrote in November 2002. It's basically an ode to Sweden, my (hopefully) soon-to-be home, and an expression of everything I hope to find there.
So keep your fingers crossed, and maybe I'll be able to see that midnight sun before too long!

O Sverige!

I see those mountains in my mind
And canals of icy blue
Beneath a northern sky so clear
A winter's dream of snow

A land of wood and water pure
And of the midnight sun
Beneath a gold-crossed azure flag
An Arctic Circle home

Where I'll find a girl, a flicka fair
With sparkling sapphire eyes
And skin as pure as driven snow
In the light of a warm sunrise

Blushing lips to brush with kisses
And hair of shining gold
I'll lose myself in her warm embrace
That drives away the cold

O majestic Hyperborea!
Home of Vikings bold
Who settled Rus and sailed beyond
To plunder Byzantine gold

Once an empire, now a realm
Where fair Victoria rules
Upon her brow a summer's crown
Set with winter's jewels

O Sverige, land of my dreams
I long to tread your shores
Where the midnight sun shines clear and bright
And the winds of winter roar

My heart beats strong within my breast
As I dream of all I'll own
When my life is cradled in your arms
And Sweden is my home

:: posted by Rob 8:02 PM [+] :: 0 comments
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31 bottles of beer on the wall...

Happy birthday to me. :)

:: posted by Rob 3:54 PM [+] :: 0 comments
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Cruel Fate

Ain't life grand? The very week I sell my Jeep (see my previous post), Mother Nature decides to finally embrace the concept of Spring. Yes, it's a beautiful sunny day with a temp in the 70s (the 70s!!). What's my point, you ask? It's perfect weather for cruising around in my Jeep with the top down, except . . . I DON'T HAVE A JEEP ANYMORE!!!

[sigh]

And this is one of the things that bums me out the most about selling the Jeep. I never got to put the top down one last time before I sold it, and now I never will. Bummer. Kind of puts a downside on this whole weather-turning-nice-again thing. Oh well. I can always open the sunroof on the Acura.

Yeah, like that's even close to the same thing

:: posted by Rob 9:39 PM [+] :: 0 comments
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Gone the way of the buffalo...

It's the dawn of a new era. After five fun-filled years, I just sold my Jeep.

[sob]

It was my dream car, the car I always wanted, and I was so happy when I finally got it. It was my first new car, my first "real" car in my mind. And it was a lot of fun, too - nothing beats driving around in good weather with the top down and the doors off, waving to other Jeep drivers as you blow past.

It is for a good cause, though - by selling my Jeep, I can pay off the vast majority of my gigantic credit card bill such that I should be completely debt-free in just a few months. Which is very important if I end up making it to Sweden at the end of the year. And assuming that happens, I would have to sell my Jeep anyways, so that softens the blow a little.
You hear that, Hogskolan Dalarna? You better accept me! I sold my Jeep for you!!!

So now I'm driving an Acura Integra with three times (thats 155k, baby!) the miles of my Jeep. It's sporty, but very low to the ground, and it only has a tape player, no CD!! Although, strangely enough, I'll now get to listen to tapes that I never got on CD, that I probably haven't listened to in 5 years, so I guess every cloud has a silver lining...

I don't want to get too optimistic, but could things actually start looking up? This is one of several first steps I'm taking to regain control of my life and get it on a track I'll be much happier on. Sell the car, lose the debt, apply to school in Sweden...only a few more steps until I'm where I want to be, doing what I want to do. Happiness, here I come!

Keep your fingers crossed - I need all the good karma I can get.

:: posted by Rob 10:14 PM [+] :: 0 comments
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