Sweden Day Four

"Jag är en amerikansk tjur i ett svenskt porslinsbutik."

Translation: I am an American bull in a Swedish china shop.

Madeleine took me and Bobby shopping in the main part of town today. We checked out some fun stores and I bought a few things for our house. I bought a butter knife that says "sluta smörar" (stop buttering) and a big printed textile thing that says "din mamma jobbar inte här" (your mother doesn't work here). On the way back to Erica and PJ's, we stopped at the System Bolaget (state-run liquor store) to replace the beer we've been drinking. We also bought a small bottle of rum to take to Way Out West. As we were putting our purchases in my reusable shopping bag, the rum tumbled out and shattered all over the floor (and my pants). I turned purple and said "förlåt!" (I'm sorry), and was totally prepared to walk away without rum. However, the cashier told me to go take another one. For free! I love Sweden, even though it seems I can't come here without breaking something. Big, clumsy, stupid American, that's me.

We made it back to our home base without incident, and now I am updating all of you while Bobby takes a nap. I slept terribly last night because some stupid telemarketer decided to phone me at 1:30 in the morning. Of course, it's not 1:30 in the morning where he called from, but when my phone rings that late at night, all I can do is panic. The call prompted me to panic about my phone bill, so I got up to make sure I didn't have a zillion dollars worth of data roaming charges. Then I couldn't get back to sleep. My brain was going all over the place, half in Swedish, and thinking about too many things. Then the telemarketers called again. No sleep for me.

Earlier today, Bobby and I went over to Sandy's house for brunch. She cooked an amazing set of things, which are pictured below. We were joined by Madeleine, Erica, Sanna, and Håkan. Brunch looked like this:







Of course, I felt right at home when I walked into Sandy's living room:



Tonight, we will make some dinner and head over to Debaser for a free concert with a local band called Hårda Tider (Hard Times). Tomorrow morning, we leave for Way Out West!

Songs and things

So there's a 30 day song challenge that's been making the rounds on Facebook. I'm too impatient to bother following the rules, but I've seen it so many times that I feel compelled to participate in it in some form or another. PEER PRESSURE! Instead of posting one song a day, though, I will post several, probably just in conjunction with other posts. Why? Because I like to talk about myself. Isn't narcissism the whole point of blogging, nay, the internet? Read on.

Song one: your favorite song.

My favorite song of all time is Nirvana's "All Apologies." That's been the case since I was approximately 12 years old. Specifically the unplugged version:



Song two: your least favorite song.

Tough call. I have pretty broad taste, but there's plenty of music I can't stand. It's probably something like "Dare" by Gorillaz or "the Funeral" by Band of Horses. I hate hate hate both these bands to pieces. There, I said it.

Song three: a song that makes you happy.

"Down South, 10 Hours, I-5" by All Girl Summer Fun Band. It's about escaping rainy Portland on a road trip to LA. Just try to listen to this song without smiling.



Song four: a song that makes you sad.

Elliott Smith - "Between the Bars." I was going to pick "Fond Farewell," but that song makes me too sad.



That's all for now. We'll see if I make it all the way to 30 or if I get distracted by some shiny object midway through.

Summer fun!

I bought tickets for two days of Bumbershoot. Bobby and Tara coming too. Hole and Weezer are playing back to back on the main stage on Sunday, and I have to go to that. It's still 1995 in my heart, so I have a small amount of hope that they will play only pre-2000 songs and none of their newer abominations. That's customary for festival appearances, right? I also intend to see Chris Hardwick (twice), The Bouncing Souls, Meat Puppets, Jenny & Johnny, and The English Beat. So now you can follow me around the Seattle Center, I guess. There's a play about roller derby too, but it conflicts with the Hole concert.

I'm a little conflicted about going to see Hole, since they were responsible for one of the best concert experiences of my entire life back in 1999. Plus, Eric Erlandson and Samantha Maloney aren't even in the band anymore, so it's likely to be like the Veruca Salt reunion, which was Louise Post and a bunch of 19-year-olds. By some strange twist of musical fate, I've never seen Weezer. If they don't play El Scorcho, Pink Triangle, and/or Surf Wax America, I will be sad. Not holding my breath though.

Meanwhile, Freaks and Geeks is on TV, and I have an epic hair appointment in the morning. Headed out dancing for Andrea's birthday tomorrow night. Plus, Emily D. is in town for the weekend, and I'll be meeting her for coffee. Busy busy busy.