Valborg: A Chronological Timeline

It's the last day of April, also known as Valborg in Sweden, and an absolutely big thing in Uppsala. I don't think they celebrate this day as fervently elsewhere as the people in Uppsala do. Concerts, boat competitions, bonfires, and tonnes and tonnes of alcohol.

It started at 0400hrs for me when a few corridor mates and I got up to prepare a breakfast of sandwiches, porridge, apple cider, strawberries, grapes and the all important champagne. Almost the entire corridor woke up at 0600, and we left at 0700 to the river to sit by the banks and have our champagne breakfast.

Can you believe this? Champagne in the morning? Alcohol before 1200hrs?

The original plan was to go to the starting line, but somehow it changed to the finish line, then to the first waterfall that the boats have to pass. In the end, we ended up right outside the Catholic Church, possibly because I have a breakfast appointment with the student group at 1000hrs there.

Breakfast Number 1 was wonderful. It had to be. I was the one of the persons preparing it. Even then, there were hot dog carts all around. People selling drinks, balloon, T-shirts, and all sorts of trinkets. And an air show. Hmm... If you have an air show, it only means that this is important. Unimportant events will never have air shows, only super important events will have it. See, this is how important Valborg is to Uppsala. People from all over Sweden actually come down here to celebrate this day. This IS the first time I've ever seen such a crowd in Sweden.

At 1000, I left the corridor group and went to meet the church group. And that was Breakfast Number 2. Porridge, sandwiches, strawberries, grapes and champagne. Almost identical to Breakfast Number 1. With the exception that the porridge was Swedish style. I have to say I don't like that at all. It was as though the porridge was left out for too long and the water had been soaked into the rice making it lumpy and sticky. It was bland and tasteless. The only thing that made the porridge palatable was the apple sauce that came with it. It had to be eaten with plenty of the apple sauce. Plenty.

The strawberries today were excellent though. Both breakfasts. There was no need for cream to take away any acidity that some berries possess. They were perfect as they came. Excellent stuff. Neither sour, nor too ripe. Just perfect. Needless to say, I had plently.

The boat race took place when I had a vantage point - an unobstructed view of the river. I was on the second level of the church building so the view was nice. I miss seeing the King and Queen of Sweden when they were supposed to come to Angstrom a few months ago, but I had my change today. The 'King and Queen' came down the river in a raft.

*grin* And this time I didn't have to stalk them.

Coincidentally, it's the King's 60th birthday today, 30th April.

After the race, we took a slow walk to the town centre, then to a Nation. My goodness, it was only 1300hrs and there were already drunks. Yup. That was how much alcohol flowed today. The floor of the pub was wet with champagne and the place was packed with people. Now, I know for sure that this wasn't the only pub like that. Some other friends who went to other pubs said the exact same thing. Very disgusting.

We headed to the Jesuits' building at 1400 and had this cocktail of vodka, sprite, cucumber, etc. Puke-inducing. I guess I was a little drunk after that. The vodka cocktail was rather strong. The many glasses of champagne before that didn't exactly help at all.

At 1500hrs, we were outside the Carolina Rediviva Library where the Swedes, young and old, took out their white caps that they received during their graduation from senior high, and waved them. Rather odd actually. What was the whole purpose of the few seconds of hat waving that got everyone so excited that even an 80 year old grandmother couldn't miss? I'm bewildered. It seems that the cap signifies their ability to enter the university. Sort of like a coming of age ceremony. The bands on the caps represent different things. Just like the colours of our hoods on our graduation gowns. For them, the green ribbon means that they studied natural science, purple for something else, etc. Even the Universities have their own hats. Velvety looking, with colours representing your major. You can add badges at the top of that tassel and hang beads knotted from thread to represent your year of study. Seems fun really. Insignificant, but fun. I want that. Why don't we have this sort of thing back home?

Break time. Went back to the apartment, met some neighbours, had tea, took a nap and shower before leaving for Church at 1745hrs for Mass.

After Mass, it was a tortilla dinner with the Church group again. Rather good. Not excellent but good. The chocolate pudding was from a box, so... I'll leave that to your imagination. Then it was up to the castle where they had a choir singing traditional Swedish songs. Rather good. And of course, the choir members and some of the audience were wearing... the white caps lah. How could they leave that out?

After the concert, I left the Church group to go down to Gamla Uppsala to meet the people from the Bible group. They were at the largest bonfire in Uppsala. But my shitty camera had to run out of batteries or something. So I didn't manage to take any pictures at Gamala Uppsala. What a waste. The bonfire was excellent. Huge really. No wonder they needed to have that so far away from civilisation. Had a good time. We sang. Drank champagne. Ate. And drank even more champagne.

But by this time (by 1800hrs really), there were not only staggering drunks but all-out-flat-on-the-floor drunks, passed-out drunks, rowdy drunks, etc. No wonder they had such a huge police presence today. I wonder how many people they arrested today.

Funny. This morning when I walked down to the finish line, two policemen stopped two boys, one of whom was pushing the other who was sitting in a supermarket trolley. And guess what. The police asked the boy pushing the trolley for his driving license! Were they joking??? Driving license to push a trolley???

This is the one day I will remember Sweden. I've had my whole impression of Sweden smashed in a day. The place is freaking dirty. Trash everywhere. And I don't mean the drunks. I mean litter. Paper, bottles, cans, broken glass, etc. Absolutely dirty. Even Eleanor's mother joked that I should take a photo of the trash and put a poster in the Little Red Dot with the caption: "You can litter in Sweden without worrying about a fine." Actually I had already taken a photo of the trash filled grounds before that. Hey! It's still part of Valborg. Not pleasant, but still part of it.

And they tell me that ALL the trash will mysteriously be removed by 0800hrs the next day. Swedish efficiency at work?

I think I'm drunk. I've had too much alcohol today. Not to the point that I can't think or walk straight. But to the point of a throbbing headache. The worst part of being drunk. Personally I think you should either pass out drunk or not get drunk at all. The mid way point where I am now feels terrible.

It's 0300 in the morning. And except for a half hour nap that I had in the afternoon, I've been up for almost 24 hours. Amazingly I don't feel tired. But I do need to rest. A panadol for the headache and a good rest in bed.

Pictures later.

Thought of the Moment

If a material scientist creates LOC devices for bioanalytical applications without input from biologists or microbiologists, the devices may not be practical for real biological applications.

Why did the duck cross the street?

To get to the other side? Beats me. But that's exactly what I saw this evening on Bus 20, just after the Slottsbacken bus-stop. This cute little duck, oblivious to the danger it was in, waddling acoss the street, causing all vehicles to come to a complete stop until it had cleared out of their paths. Amazing! One duck halted traffic.

Now if only this happened back home. I once changed lanes to avoid a bird (during one of my driving lessons) and was given a tongue lashing by the instructor (Kwan. I can still remember his name. Good instructor. I highly recommend him. Very patient.) for doing something that stupid. Oops.

Remember about the cat-crossing sign? Well, I've found out about its origin. It seems that there is this very popular childrens' story book about a cat without a tail. And long story short, somehow the book become intertwined with reality and voila, The signs came up. Amazing! Only in Uppsala it seems. I should take a picture of it before I leave. If you happen to pop by the place, do remember to run down to the Carolina Rediviva Library to take a look at this signboard. And if you are driving and see a cat without a tail, that's the cat on the signboard.

I've been cleared to take my off from 3 - 5 May. That means it's a 5-day holiday for me! Woohoo! Just nice. I can spend some time with my friends and family when they are here and go down to Stockholm with them for a few days too.

That would mean missing the second part of the movie that I saw this evening though. I can't imagine my bro going to the Students' group meeting with me, or dragging my non-Christian mates to that meeting as well. Can I leave them to enjoy the evening without me next Thursday while I finish the movie?

Do you know that in 6 months, the Swedes are supposed to have 3 weeks leave? That's my entire leave allowance for the whole year! And most other Singaporeans only have 14 days of leave in one year! Imagine that. We must be robots. Now, don't give me that crap that we have to maintain out productivity and edge over others. Sweden doesn't seem to be doing too badly with such a generous social benefit system.

It's Valborg this Sunday. Boat races, tonnes of champagne, bonfire, music, etc. Sounds fun. Will keep you posted about my experience on this important Last-Day-of-April day.

Coincidently, Lucie (from France) keeps a blog about her experiences in Uppsala as well. If you understand French, do take a look. Otherwise, there are always pictures to entertain you. Click this and it'll lead you to her blog.

In the meantime, enjoy yourself while I continue to torture myself by being the last person to leave the lab (At 1810hrs??? Amazing!), and one of the first few to arrive. OMG... Am I turning into a PY?

My Anti-Social Behaviour

I've really never thought about that before, but after this morning (and afternoon) and after some reflection, perhaps I do exhibit some anti-social behaviour especially in the labs.

Let's turn the clock back a few years, back to the ancient past when I was working on my Final Year Project in the Concrete/Structural Workshop. Sure, I appreciated help when I had to cast/demould tonnes of concrete or mortar, but if the quantity was manageable, of which it was often since I was dealing with mortar most of the time and rather dangerous wastes (health issues are rather suspect with those things), I would prefer to be left alone. That's not saying that there wasn't any one else in the workshop, just that it was big enough for me to find the personal space that I wanted.

Fast forward to the not so distant past when I started work in the environmental lab. Did anyone ever notice that I would always try to work when almost no one is around? I didn't realise that. But it's true. Somehow my sub-conscious made me work when the lab was almost empty. Almost, since PY practically lives in the lab, she would be there. I'm fine if there's one or two other people. I'm glad for the company, but any more in that cramped space... No way. I would rather leave what I had to do until some time when the lab would be empty.

Why did I reflect on this today? Ah... Simple. The lab was full. Other than myself, there were about 4 other people. Not comfortable. I don't like that. Not a single bit. I hate it when someone peers over my shoulder to look at what I'm doing. No one did that today though. But even then, I don't like working in crowds.

Anti-social? If you take it that way, I guess so. I just prefer to work when almost no one is around. Sure one or two people to talk to would be nice. But there's always music to accompany my work. And I hate it when people see me talking to myself when I think. Yes, it's true. I'm wired wrong. I talk to myself when I think, especially when it's about experiments. Somehow, I think better that way.

So... Did anyone else notice my 'anti-social behaviour'? Or am I just making something so small seem more important that it really is?

Lights Out

The bulbs in my bathroom have fused. I wonder if I need to buy new ones and change them myself.

If it's not A, it's B. My problems never seem to end, don't they?

Busy Busy Sunday

Rather pleased with myself today. I did a real thorough cleaning of my room this morning.

Oh... give me a break. I know some people will go, "You mean you don't clean your room? You haven't cleaned your room these past months?".

Of course I do. Just not the mopping and scrubbing parts. My weekly cleaning usually involves sweeping, wiping the tables and surfaces, and washing the sheets. This morning, not only did I sweep, I mopped. Oh yes, with a mop and also down on my knees with a piece of cloth. Ah... Sparking clean. I can eat off my floor now. Same with my toilet. Clean, clean, clean.

*pat myself on the back*

I made a good lunch. No recipe today though. I don't even know what I did. I just threw in whatever was available. Cheese, pasta, meatballs, bread, vegetables, etc. Made tomorrow's lunch as well.

After I emailed them, C and S are kind of shocked about the change in my tastes in food right now. I actually like the 3-minute eggs that I used to abhor. You know. Those that are neither fully cooked nor raw. The protein (egg white) is slightly denatured. The yolk is not cooked. You eat it with soy sauce and pepper. That type of eggs. I like them now. Wonder why. I've also taken a liking to cheese. Yup, cheese. I didn't like that very much back home, but the cheese here is... Umm... Heaven. Those round blocks - soft and light tasting. And feta cheese... Maybe the cheeses in Singapore are... suspect?

Perhaps my own cooking tastes so bad that these things taste so good now? Nah... I know my cooking can't be THAT bad. Otherwise I wouldn't eat it in the first place. Plus I'm using so many pre-mixed spices so the work is already half done before I even begin to cook.

I'm blabbering. Time to beddy-bye.

Oh my god... Did I just type that? Kill me. Just kill me before I degenerate into a baby.

Perhaps I should be happy

That's right. Your eyes are fine.

I should be happy. Not achieving the results I wanted, both in fabrication and in the Machine, doesn't mean that I failed. Well, maybe to Boss, but that's another story. I learnt many things in the process, most importantly the limitations of the 'quick and dirty' fabrication methods. That's going to be really helpful when I return to work on my other projects. It's always different between reading and actually getting my hands wet. On paper, anything is possible. But this is not always true practically. I'm pretty sure what I've learnt by not being able to get what I want so far will hold me in good stead in future. Not everything will go right. That's what research is for, isn't it?

Still, I would like everyone to continue cheering me on, okay? I need your prayers (if you are the praying kind), and your support. Thanks for the care and concern you have all shown me. Tack så mycket!

Retail Therapy

Yup, shopping made me happy today. Heck, it's the bargain that sealed the deal. And it's also because of the weekend. I love weekends. No work to bother you, only relaxation, peace and quiet.

Queueing for sales is not a Singaporean thing! It's amazing how international bargain hunters are. The shoe shop opens at 1000hrs, and there I was taking a slow stroll towards it just before the opening time. 100 metres away, I saw a huge crowd in front of where the store entrance is.

'WTH??? What's going on?"

As I approached, the doors opened and the crowd migrated inwards.

Oh... My... Goodness... The Swedes are also into sales! Given that the crowd is not as big as it would have been in the Little Red Dot, but it may also be due to the fact that they are offering only 10-20% discounts. Ah... We wouldn't really bother with such sale techniques.

But surprise, surprise, I found a really good deal. An Ecco shoe going for about half the original price! Granted that it's not as nice as the one I had on, it was still rather nice. But at that price, it's cheaper than what I can get back home! Whoopie! Ah... I love retail therapy.

Oh joy, I noticed yesterday that my new rosary (the one blessed by Pope JPII) has the JPII's coat of arms on the medal. Woohoo! I like.

I was watching CSI last night and there was a scene where a tape recorder was played. What came out was gibberish, to which the detective asked, "What kind of language is that? Swedish?". And the forensic scientist replied, "It's backward." lol! Ah... the intricacies of Swedish are lost on English speakers.

Oh well, wish me luck with my work, you guys. I certainly want to leave with something, with some good results. Thanks for cheering me on! I will 加油!

Talk to the hand

I just want to scream. It's so difficult to adjust my moods without my bunch of friends and kakis back in Singapore. Since the offices bar the use of MSN and such programmes, calling them would be the only option. But, calling them would be too expensive. Can everyone just get skype??? Has anyone tried GoogleTalk instead? It's not as big as MSN, so it is possible that those offices have not caught on to it yet.

I'm just thankful that PY MSNs me enough to allow me to vent my frustrations. Thanks!

Without my kakis, my moods are simply consuming me. Every little thing is amplified many folds. If I'm happy, it'll be heaven, but when I'm depressed...

I want to go shopping... I saw a shoe sale. Ecco is offering 10% (Only 10%. It's like not having any discounts!), but the shoes still cost more after the 10% rebate than what I would have gotten back home without sale. I want to get some gadgets, but I don't know what I want. I want to get an iPod Nano, but it would make more sense (cheaper) for me to get it from home, since I want it to be engraved.

*sigh* Even the laws of retail therapy are against me.

Mood: Irritable (Not so much angry or depressed, but any little thing can just trigger an eruption.)

Lost and Frightened

Research wise, I'm lost and absolutely fretting about what I should do next. I've really reached my limits of patience, and I feel I am already a very patient person.

Machine wise, nothing I do seems to be able to get it working the way I want it. I'm lost. We think we know the problem, but would what we are trying to do next help in any way? I believe we've already reached the practical limits of what is possible. Adjusting the reagents is no longer the way to go, unless there is some other wonderful method that I haven't heard about.

Fabrication wise, nothing I do seems to be good. The holes in the middle of the master-master-mould are trapping air, and in the process of curing, the air escapes creates the most irritating bubbles in place of structures, and ruins the entire mould. Even if I manage to get a master mould that is usable, clearing air pockets is another issue. I can NEVER manage to clear all of them. NEVER. Oh sure, I can suck out the macroscopic bubbles, but what about the microscopic ones? The ones that cannot be seen with the naked eye. I'm lost. I spent enough time on this. I need to move on to some other method that may have a chance of succeeding. I believe I've reached the limits of the current method with my high aspect ratio and minute outlets. What else can I do? Mill the whole damn thing out? Do you think that is a good possibility? The material seems to be able to withstand the harsh temperatures required in the actual application. Or are there some other methods/materials that I can/should try? I've spent way too much time on this already.

I'm lost. I'm lost.

On the bright side, I received a new rosary from Fr. Philip on 12 April. It was blessed by the late Pope John Paul II, so that makes this my second rosary blessed by him. Ah... I'm so lucky.

Just not work wise. Perhaps I'm really in the wrong field...

I'm lost. Think I'll use that rosary tonight.

Mood: Lost and frightened.

Midday's Random Facts

I'm not a perfectionist! I'm only meticulous.
But do you think I'm too obsessed in achieving perfection?

It snowed for a few minutes this morning.
Can you imagine that? It's already the middle of April. Am I that far up north?

1000 different chemicals can be found in one cup of coffee.
Imagine that. These coffee drinkers are putting so much chemicals into their bodies unknowingly.

Daniel Powter's 'Bad Day' and Simple Plan's 'Welcome to My Life' have been on repeat mode in my laptop and my head these days.
Work issues are still affecting my mood I guess. Just this morning, nothing turned out well. *sigh*

I hate the number 4 and its multiples.
No particular reason. Just that bad luck seems to be extremely apparent on these days or when I'm assigned to such numbers.

I made a new dish for lunch today. I wonder how it tastes.
Given my spate of bad luck... But, for some reason, people seem to like my cookies a lot. I've been asked for the recipe a few times now. My newly minted cornflake cookies are more popular than my Famous A's Chocolate Chip Cookies. Hmm...

Photos!

01 April

View of the cathedra - Domkrykan.

08 April

Beautiful day from SLU office window.

12 April

Horrible office chair.

Morning Walk (13 April)

Marieudd cottage.

Morning Walk (13 April)

The frozen lake looks like a choppy sea.

Morning Walk (13 April)

Woodpecker.

Afternoon Walk (13 April)

Chapel Island.

Afternoon Walk (14 April)

First sign of spring.

Afternoon Walk (14 April)

View of the lake.

Afternoon Walk (14 April)

Evening Moose Hunt (14 April)

Lights from Stockholm.

Afternoon Walk (15 April)

A boat out in the waters cutting up the ice.

Early Sunset (15 April)

Budding of spring flowers

Experiencing Tonnes of Scientific Difficulties

Oh yes, I am... To the point that the Big Guy here said, "I have to admit you are facing a lot of scientific problems. If I had know there would be so many of them, I wouldn't have lured you here in the first place."

Oh yes, I am facing tonnes of scientific difficulties and I know these problems are affecting my mood terribly. So much so that I feel tired whenever I'm in the labs. There is no motivation for me to continue other than to see things through and hope for the best. So much so that I have been going back later than usual the last few days (trying to make up for missing work on Thursday) that I missed Mass - the one thing that can lift my spirits right now.

I miss my kakis. The ones who can make me forget all my problems. The ones who love me no matter what. Not that the people here are not nice or anything. It's just that I know those kakis for such a long time now that we can share anything.

Coincidently, the Big Guy thinks I'm not socialising enough. lol... It's so unlike me to sit at the coffee table during those breaks and just talk. Given that all of them are Swedes and my limited knowledge and experience tells me that they will naturally converse in Swedish, is there a point for me to be there? All the exchange students I spoke to told me of the same problem. Fika is a chore simply because they cannot understand Swedish and have to sit there and smile. It's not like I don't want to know the people in the lab though.

But don't worry. My socialisation occurs outside of the lab. In Church. In the Catholic Students Group. In the International Bible Study Group.

I've met many many nice people. If I wasn't lured here, I wouldn't have a chance to meet all the wonderful people I've met so far. So even though work is not progressing as smoothly as I'd like, I'm still grateful I've had the chance to come. I certainly want to keep these people as friends.

Funnily enough, Boss emailed the two supervisors here - Big Guy and Lady J - and asked how I was doing. Interestingly enough, both of them didn't think of how I was doing work-wise but how I was coping in the social aspect. Lady J was especially worried that I spent all my time here working and not having fun at times. That's so sweet. They have such a balanced lifestyle that I absolutely adore. But I think Boss wanted to know how I was doing in my work. Oops...

I really can't tell what my mood is right now. On the one hand, the break did me good. I feel relaxed and the Easter Liturgy did lift my spirits. But when I'm at work, I feel depressed. My mood is like the weather.

It can be very cold in the mornings and at night (4 -5C) and very warm in the day and evenings (11-15C). How am I supposed to dress for such weather? I need a pretty thick jacket to walk to the bus stop in the mornings but in the evenings that same jacket is way too thick.

Anyway, my mood is somewhere between depressed and pleasant right now. I want to smile but I can't bring myself to do it. And at the same time, I'm not feeling that bad to the point that tears flow. I'm just numb...

Help me, please?

Back and Re-energised

Happy Easter! I'm back from my short 4-day break-cum-spiritual holiday. Man, I'm just so relaxed now. It's excellent. I'm ready to work hard now.

Wednesday
Left for Marieudd at about 1500hrs from Church but we made many, many detours along the way. First we had to go to St. Johannesgatan to get Fr. Philip. Since we had to wait for him to set up his LAN network, we made a list of the menu of what we would cook for the days we'd spend at Marieudd. Next, we went to ICA Maxi to get our groceries and back again to Philip's place to get his luggage. Back to Church to get the English hymn books, and finally at 1900hrs, we were one our way to Marieudd.

We had a pancake dinner with tonnes of different fillings; from whipped cream (excellent) to raspberries; from Nutella to peanut butter; from cream cheese to rasins. The amount of food was simply decadent.

Because I ate my pancake so methodically, Philip and Lucy took the opportunity to play with my food. Yes. The pancake was a battle field with journalists, the Red Cross, enemy, the enemy flag, floods, bombs, etc. They even made up the strategy of which I was attacking the enemy though eating the thing. Oh yes... now they have a new term for my way of eating. The A****t. An oft repeated phrase over the weekend.

After which we went for sauna and a dip in the ice cold lake. The amazing thing was even though the lake was less frozen than before, we could still manage to get to the ice hole that was made the last time.

Maundy Thursday
The day started off with a typical breakfast of bran and muesli. After which Philip went to Stockholm for the Chrism Mass and to get Maru and French Lucy. The rest of us stayed back, so I went for a walk in the forest. Saw a woodpecker, and the rat-a-tat-tat sounds it makes. Amazingly fast, like a machine gun.

We had a tuna pie for lunch. It was excellent stuff, and after which it was our own activities again until the rest returned at 1500hrs. We then settled on what to do for Mass, and dinner.

Christof arrived at 1800hrs just before the start of Mass at 1900. Perfect timing. Dinner after the Mass was roast lamb. Yum... It looked so simple to make. Yet so time consuming.

Good Friday
We started Good Friday with our normal breakfast. This was my one full meal of the day. Lunch was OTOT sandwiches if you wanted and dinner was vegetable soup.

We had our Mass at 1500hrs, and this time I was roped in to be the altar server. Oh. My. Goodness. I had to wear the ugliest of things ever! Long white Mortica Adams dress with lace at the end of the sleeves and on the collar. Yucks... Good thing there were no pictures of me wearing that. No pictures of the Mass.

We went for a walk after Mass and passed a moose hunting/watching tower. Imagine that! It was really beautiful in the forest. The first spring flowers were indeed starting to bloom and the air was just so clean and crisp. The only sad thing was the mess on the ground because of the fallen trees and some cut trees. Certain groups of conservationists prefer to cut trees down and grow others in place. This reduces diversity but they don't seem to care. But the untouched places were absolutely pretty. These are the images you see of Sweden, be it in your mind or on pictures, when you hear about it. Absolutely beautiful.

After dinner, we went out to 'hunt' moose. These huge animals with spindly legs are supposed to come out during dusk. Sad to say, we didn't see any. It was a good walk though.

Holy Saturday
It was again another typical breakfast, and again I was roped in to be the altar server for the Easter Vigil Mass that night. Horrors! I had to take a reading, and also perform the altar-boy duties??? Busy, busy night. It was really tough running around like that. But I have to admit. I had a good time. Although I hated wearing that horrible dress.

The altar-servers training took place immediately after breakfast, so I didn't have much time to walk around the forest again.

However, it was an extremely beautiful day. The sun was shining and the wind was mild. Maru and I suggested to have lunch outside, and of course Philip agreed. Perfect! A simple but good lunch of toasties (pieces of bread baked in the oven with ham and cheese on top) and this odd drink the Swedes have for Christmas and Easter. I don't fancy it that much. Neither did the American Katie. OMG! I have the same taste as an American??? Horrors! The best description I have for it is 'root beer gone bad'.

Although we had tonnes to do. More training for the readers, it was impossible to ignore the call of the sun. We had to sit there and enjoy the warmth that was so sorely missed during the long winter this year. In fact, we just laid there from 1300 to 1500hrs, and went for a walk to the rocks after that until 1630.

Philip had his crazy idea about walking on the ice again. Oh man... He just can't seem to give that up. Oh well. He took a nice little swim in the ice cold lake after a while. Hilarious!

Dinner was brown rice and diced chicken cooked in Uncle Ben's Chinese sweet and sour sauce. I do not recommend trying that. It wasn't horrible, but it certainly wasn't good. We had chocolate mousse (made by yours truly) and ice cream for dessert.

Mass took place after sunset when it was totally dark. The lights of the houses were all put out, and we had a fire made outside for the procession of the Easter candle into the Church. After which were the readings, renewal of bapismal vows and the eucharistic celebration.

After Mass, which took more than two hours, we went back and gorged on tonnes and tonnes of chocolates and candies. Goodness... This was terrible. I never thought I would ever say I got sick of the sweets. No one, and I really do mean no one, should try this. Ever. Serious. 5 of us decided to take a walk to burn off that feeling. Nice walk. Went back, showered, talked until about 0230 before going to bed.

Easter Sunday
We had a late breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast and grilled tomatoes. English breakfast, they call it. Hmm... I don't know why though. But it was a day of cleaning and clearing, with a Mass held at 1030hrs. Lunch was leftovers from the previous days and after that it was more cleaning.

In fact, it's the cleanest Marieudd has been in years. Great. And this was done only by four people; Maru, French Lucy, Christof and me. The sense of satisfaction after seeing the transformation is simply overwhelming.

Philip drove us back and dropped us off right at our door steps. That was so kind of him. Got back at about 1700hrs. I'm bushed. Will arrange and post some photos another day.

This was great. Spiritually, mentally, physically and emotionally.

Time to Kill

Left SLU rather early today; just after lunch. There just simply wasn't any point in staying longer since I didn't have anything else planned for the rest of the time before I needed to leave.

Oh well, more time to rest before I leave the apartment to shop for groceries for the next 4 days at Marieudd, which will be another restful weekend.

We think we have the source of the problem nailed, but not solved. I have my experiments planned for the coming Tuesday after the holidays, so hopefully we'll be able to see what we actually need to do in order to get the right results out from the Machine. I'm positive. CM clone is optimistic. SLU's Joakim is hopeful. So we are all waiting for everything to just suddenly fall into place. Just like that.

*SNAP!*

On my way back, I passed the river. Doesn't seem clean. Very turbid. Heck, the water's so turbid that I can't even see into the river. Just a mess of mossy green flowing liquid. But the scene was nice. People sitting by the river banks, hanging their legs over the water, eating lunch and talking to friends. Really cool. I wish we could do that in the Little Red Dot WITHOUT BREAKING INTO A SWEAT! Of course, we can so that. Just not as comfortably.

I saw my first spring flowers today. Little flower buds rising from the ground. I guess spring is really here. Or at least here very soon. I can't wait. The Botaniska is now in preparation for spring, I think. The main bushes are trimmed and green, the plots of land seem tilled and have some sort of sticks in them. They must have planted some seeds already. Woohoo! Flowers!

I've seen snowscapes a few times now, with this being the most extended period. I've seen summer in Europe (Finland, The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and France) before. Mid spring in Japan; now here. All I want now is to see the myriad of colours in autumn - the fiery reds and oranges, the bright yellows, and the somber browns, all mixed together to form one beautiful picture.

Must start planning for an autumn visit. Perhaps Japan. Heck, anywhere pretty will do. With waterfalls. I like waterfalls.

Current mood: Pleasant

Are Things Looking Up?

I didn't get any good results today. Disappointing, but at least I think we've found the problem. And it seems to be highly likely that THAT IS the source of all our troubles with the Machine.

Can it be solved without hurting the final goal? I hope so. We need more light on each sample. I know this doesn't make sense, but no one has done this yet and IF successful, this can result in a research article in itself. I hope it'll work, not because of the publishing possibility, but because I spent so time and effort on it. Not only that. Today, I heard that the presentation on Monday went really well, and the funding looks set to continue for this work.

This pieces of good news came at just the right time. I'm optimistic that the problems can be solved.

I went for my first haircut in Sweden today. My first in any European country. While I cannot say this is the best ever, but neither is it the worst. At least she didn't butcher my hair. Now, my face looks less round, and I don't have such a huge head of hair that explodes without wax and tickles my ears. It's a rather pleasant feeling, actually. I feel so much lighter now, and seem to be able to think more clearly. Ah... the wonders of a haircut. That's why I insist on getting one just before just before the study week. More space to absorb information by diffusion.

I'm rather optimistic now. I hope this feeling continues, and my work here improves and progresses.

I'll be leaving for a short break for recharging my batteries tomorrow afternoon, until Sunday. There will not be any internet or TV so I will not be updating anything. A Good Friday-Easter break.

Coincidently this week is known as the 'silent week'. Rather apt, since the students are all on their breaks and for some reason the streets in the mornings are rather empty. No students, lesser workers. I guess everyone has gone or will be going home for Easter celebrations. Not church celebrations I think, but celebrations nonetheless, with tonnes and tonnes of sweets and chocolates. Woohoo!

You wouldn't think this is the silent week if you hear me in the labs working during the last two days. Curses aplenty.

Current mood: Pleasant

Lower Than Rock Bottom

Did you know that rock bottom is not the lowest level you can go? With modern technology, you can actually go much deeper, much.

I ought to know. I've found out about the level below rock bottom.

Welcome to Hell, Level 1.

DAGNABBIT!!!

Kill me, just kill me now.

Everything that can go wrong HAS went wrong.

Tidbit

Farewell Zairis
Just said my goodbye to Zairis. She'll be leaving tomorrow morning at 0400hrs. That's 4 o'clock in the morning! The taxi is going to pick her up from here. Wished her a safe flight back and of course, the customary good luck wishes. And gave her a huge bag of freshly baked cookies to munch on while waiting for her flight. She'll return in September, but I won't be around. It was my pleasure, good fortune to have met her. Oh well, we can always keep in touch via email.

Evening Fika
Made three types of cookies today for the fika; chocolate chip, cornflake and rasins, and cornflake coconut cookies. And I have to say they were rather well received.

"Umm... Delicious."
"These are great!"
"Can I have one more before I leave?"

I'm glad. But as usual, I made too much. Somehow, I just cannot seem to estimate the right amount to make. There were too much left over. My cookies plus Jana's two cakes were simply too much for the people at fika this evening.

My cornflake cookies seemed to be more well received than the Famous A chocolate chip cookies. Don't really know why. But I'm glad as well, since the new (and better) recipe was created only today by yours truly. Then again, the base for most cookies is the same; flour, sugar, egg, butter, and of course, the all important salt. It's amazing what that tiny little bit can do to enhance the taste. I have to thank my grandmother for teaching my mum that, who then in turn taught me.

There were lesser people than usual. Only about 12 compared to the 18 and more usually. Plus, half the the 12 who turned up today are newbies. And they didn't eat much. Good thing some so kindly took the cookies back with them. And I only had to a little left to take back to the apartment. Well, that meant Zairis had a little more cookies in that already huge bag I gave her.

Sunday Mass
Today is Palm Sunday. And I took the first reading and the Passion as well. I was the 'People' in the Passion; the one who took all the speaking parts except those of Christ; the one who shouted "Crucify him! Crucify him!". It was fun really. My first time doing the Passion like that. I never would have the chance back home. Only the official lecterns can read.

Research
Well, those who follow my posts will probably know thing aren't going very smoothly, but I'm still cautiously optimistic. For fabrication, I think things will turn out ok. I hope. While for the Machine... It simply didn't read the in-house ladder (IHL). I checked it and the commercial ladder on conventional gel and both looked good except that the IHL bands were weaker. So maybe it's the concentration that affecting the Machine. Hopefully, it can read the IHL when I increase the concentration of the rungs. Fingers crossed. Otherwise, I really don't know what I should or can do.

Weather
It's much warmer now, mostly above 0C. This evening it was 10C when I left for Church. This is considered freaking hot to me now! I even brought out my thinner jacket to wear, instead of using the thicker fleece jacket.

I noticed one thing though. Almost everyone here wears jackets of only these colours: black, dark blue, some brown, a few grey. No one seems to have what I have - beige. I stand out so much wearing that. Feels odd. But, who cares. I've grown to be thick skinned here. Thicker...

Not thick enough to request for a new chair at SLU. The one I have now is so uncomfortable. It's like sitting on a horse. Very bad for your jewels. I've managed to find a position that is slightly more comfortable, but still... I ought to take a picture of it and show how bad this chair is for men. Heck, even the women there don't like sitting on those chairs. I seem to be the only one using it. Maybe it's because I haven't made any complaints about it.

I digressed.

Most of the snow has melted away. In fact, I don't see any snow on the steets at all now, and the gravel is also almost all cleared off. Excellent.

I kind of miss the snow though.

South Park Mood Characters
Seeing how I've been entertained by South Park here, I present... My own South Park character. Modelled after me, of course. I'll place one at the end of each post (if appropriate) to reflect my current mood. Today's mood is 'Happy'. Pretty obvious, ain't it? The angel wings, heaven. What else can that possibly be? Died and gone to heaven? That's a happy thing as well!

Shalala...

Three of my friends have teamed up with my family to come down at the same time (3 May to 5 May) to visit me before going on their own ways for the rest of their vacations.

Woohoo!

More clothes are coming soon!

Good 'ol friends!

Family!

I wonder if I can take a few days off while they are here...

Just Read

"Conducting experiments (especially for cell and molecular biology) is akin to following recipes in a cookbook."

How true.

But when things go wrong, you'll still need your fundamentals to figure out the problem. Plus optimisation of processes is not a walk in the park. Neither is the design of the experiments.

I'm an EDUCATED lab-rat/slave. I think I'm fit to do more than wash pipettes. I hope.

Over S$100 Wasted

A phone call to Boss, and that amount of money just flew out of my pocket. Horrible, simply horrible. Who's going to pay for that? Lil'ol me! That's who. Why didn't his msn link with mine work? Why didn't he agree to use Skype when I suggested. At least after the call, I tested and it works. This could have saved me some money. I've already emailed him about my Skype account. Hope he'll use it next time. I don't need to spend unwarranted money like that.

Looks like my iPod Nano is not going to happen this month. Dang!

And his msn nick is just so... You'll never guess what it is. What's with the smiley faces and all? Man, oh man. His nick is... :) high lander :D

A surprise for everyone awaits. IF you know how to find it.

And running over to SLU after the call certainly didn't help me progress in my work. I kenna bluffed! The last primer hasn't arrived yet. He thinks it'll come today. At 1530hrs!!! What the hell?!? I could have stayed at Angstrom and worked on the new design. Dang! This is just so wrong. They want some results but how am I to give them results if they keep wasting my time like that??? I want to return to Angstrom but that would mean wasting my time travelling again. How can they do this to me???

I'm rather optimistic about the new design. It makes more logical sense than the old one. Plus it is much thinner now so thermal conduction to heat the buffer will not be so much of a problem anymore. Sealing a curved and rigid substrate with a flexible substrate also seems so much more possible than to seal two rigid substrates that curve differently. Fingers crossed.

What a waste of time waiting for the primers to arrive.

Boss has also called for my qualifying proposal once more. Seems like he wants to settle this while I'm in Sweden so that upon my return I'll already have the date for my presentation fixed. I foresee tonnes and tonnes of shit from him about this.

My eye popped, so I have to SCREW IT back.

Good thing I have distance as my buffer at this moment. Reading "Your English is not good." certainly beats hearing it from the horse's mouth. Not good meh? I is Grammar God leh. Let's hope what Douglas told me is true. His rejected proposal was not much different from the accepted one. Depends on mood I guess.

This is just not a good day. I forgot my fork for lunch. And no, I don't have a spoon with me now. I guess I have to go to the pantry to get something to eat my lunch with.

The situation must get better, musn't it? This is already pretty much rock bottom, isn't it?

Update:
As of the end of the day, the primers have not arrived yet. I'm told the package just across the street, yet we can't collect it ourselves. We have to wait for the postman to send it over.

What. A. Bloody. Waste. Of. Time!

Instead of accomplishing something, I ended up with more doubts because of the idiotic Nanodrop!

Smörgåsbord

Plan Update
Wednesday
Morning
1. Cast and cure the mould in the morning.
2. Demould after tea break.
Afternoon
3. Cast one layer in the afternoon to determine if the mould is good.
4. Try to find some way to get the outlet holes and a way to bond the inlet to the rest of the layers.

Status
1-3. The mould is working fine. The one layer made with the mould turned out well. But...
4. I've changed the design of the chip... The mould I made, while not totally useless, is now redundant and will not be used. I'll be starting from scratch. I still haven't figured out how to get the outlets produced though. Dang...

Two steps back. At least I know what to do (mostly) now, so hopefully I'll be able to make things move faster. I can only hope the pieces of shit will pick up tomorrow.


Stress and Hair
As friends know, whenever I'm stressed or unhappy, I'll make a drastic change. Usually it'll be to the hairdresser and I'll get a different cut or to dye my hair. I'll be doing something similar now. I just made an appointment with a salon here for Tuesday. Just as well though. I haven't had my hair cut since I came, which makes it about two and one-half months since my last visit to the salon. I totally hate the length of my hair. This is the longest I have my hair in my entire life. Totally unmanageable. Hate that.

However, I won't be colouring my hair this time. It'll just be a cut and wash. Pure and simple. I hope they do it well. Even my regular hairdresser is of the opinion that the stylists in Europe, America and Australia (basically in places where Asians are the minority) are unable to cut Asian hair well. Fingers crossed. I picked that salon purely because they are using the same brand of hair products as mine back home; Redken. Must be an ok place, otherwise they won't be using that.

Coincidently, when I'm stressed, I break out. Yes, I know how stressed I am by the number of pimples that appear.


Stress and Shopping
I may get something this weekend. Some retail therapy always helps in dealing with stress. While it's not going to be a shopping spree, but an iPod Nano seems like a good idea right now. We'll see.

Music, especially playing it (No wiseguys, not on the radio or some mp3, but physically playing it.), helps too. Too bad I don't have my instruments with me. Tapping my fingers on the table doesn't help a toot.


Dinner Party
The farewell dinner for Zairis went well. I made some pasta and one simple dish of meatballs and cheese. Not everyone on the corridor turned up, but those who did are basically friends of the guest-of-honour. Dinner was pizza (Felix), salad (Ludwig), roast chicken (Vera), and those who didn't prepare anything, brought ice cream and stuff. Chips, drinks (non-alcoholic), beer and wine flowed like water. All in all, dinner was good. Not excellent, but good and totally filling. I'm glad I decided not to attend the other party. I'm sure I wouldn't have had as good a time there.

Do you think I can find Yakult or Vitagen here? I can't find any, but I distinctly saw a Swedish sports team on TV wearing jackets with Yakult's logo on them. I need something for digestion.

I'm getting hooked to the Coca-Cola here. I don't know why, but I've been drinking a cup everyday for the past two weeks. Do you think they still have cocaine in it? I doubt so, but why am I addicted?


Food
Can someone tell my why Swedish meatballs taste so good, even without sauces over them? I just can't help comparing them with our meatballs. They are miles apart, and truth be told, one belongs in heaven, the other in hell.

Just like those orgasmic chocolate cream puffs from Japan that CS used to give me whenever his ex-girlfriend flew to Japan. Ooo... I miss them so much now. And when you comapre them to the store-bought frozen cream puffs... No other chocolate cream puffs I tasted come close to the ONE from Japan.


Sleep
Perhaps it's the coke I drink that's keeping me awake. I'm in serious need for some good, solid sleep.


To a stress-free talk with Boss tomorrow. To good results at work. Cheers!

*hic*

*burp*

Shit has hit the fan

and flung to the far corners of the room.

I predict a busy, busy week ahead without much progress on my crystal ball.

The mould I used has miraculously resulted in a disjoint channel structure this morning, which only means I have to recast the mould. The last primer will arrive tomorrow afternoon, latest by 1430hrs, and SLU is now rushing me to get back to produce some results so that the Prof will have something to present on it coming Monday.

Let's see now. It's already the end of Tuesday, and I can't do anything else really. So that leaves me 3 days to produce anything, otherwise I'll have to be back on Saturday and Sunday. No, no, NO! This can't be happening to me!

Plan
Wednesday
Morning
1. Cast and cure the mould in the morning (hope it turns out fine this time).
2. Demould after tea break.
Afternoon
3. Cast one layer in the afternoon to determine if the mould is good.
4. Try to find some way to get the outlet holes and a way to bond the inlet to the rest of the layers.

Thursday
Morning
1. Call and 'talk' to Boss at 1000hrs (1600hrs Singapore time).
Afternoon
2. Head to SLU to work on the first three ladder rungs.
i. Anneal the complimentary primer strands (Heat to 94C and cool slowly. How slow ah? 5C drop every minute can? Until 40C, hold for 5mins, then hold at 4C.)
ii. Check for bands.
iii. Purify and check for bands again.
iv. Quantify concentration (hope the equipment works fine like yesterday).
3. IF there's sufficient time, form the ladder and test on Machine.

If I leave immediately after the call to boss, perhaps there WILL be time. That means I have to spend extra money for the bus, since my card only allows me two trips a day.

Friday
1. If Point 3 was not completed on Thursday, proceed to SLU and continue working on the Machine. Else head to the other lab and try to figure out how to bond the freaking layers together.

Potential Problems
Wednesday
1. The freaking mould doesn't turn out fine (I hope not.).
2. I can't figure out how to bond the layers (Very likely!!!).
3. I can't figure out how to create the outlets (Potential killer as well!!!).

Thursday
1. In a bad mood and unable to work after 'talking' to Boss (Potential hazard!).
2. Largest 1500bp rung doesn't work as it should (I already saw something odd yesterday. The length is mostly 950++bp with a little at 1440++bp on the Machine. But on gel, the band looked fine. Much higher than 1000bp, so it should be of the correct length. So... Fingers crossed.).
3. Even if the ladders are produced properly, can the Machine read it without the commercial dye supplied (Since the Machine seems to be able to read the dye, maybe this wouldn't be an issue.)

Friday
1. I still can't stinking figure out how to solve the problems of bonding and creating outlets.

As one so kindly pointed out today, the problems only increase in power with each preceeding predicament overcome.

I'm wading in the sewers, surrounded by SHIT.

Just listing the issues made my eyes pop out of the sockets, so I had to Screw Them back.

I'm so looking forward to next week; Good Friday and Easter. Off on Wednesday afternoon and back only on Tuesday. I can only hope I'll be able to enjoy the holiday without lingering thoughts about work.

Sigh... I wish my mates and shopping kakis were here. I'm in such desperate need for some therapy now.

Mood: Depressed

Oh, how their wings have spread...

Scary fact to all back home. The founder of City Harvest Church came over to Uppsala, Sweden to give a talk.

OMG!!! OMG!!! This can't be true!!!

But it is. Ed told me that this evening.

Coincidently, CHC was also the church I was describing to him last week. Uber ostentatious (Come on, the excess money can be put to better use like helping the under-privileged instead of building an OTT building.) , over-zealous members antagonising members of public and other Christian faiths (Aren't they forgetting 'Love your neighbours'? Is attacking another person's beliefs the best way to start a dialogue or the spread the Good News?), other members attending services for all the wrong reasons (Christo-centric life, anyone?), etc. No wonder almost everyone I know, and almost everyone they know are against this type of movement.

Which leads me to wonder why the hell are they growing bigger? Maybe the numbers are made up of people who attend services for the wrong reasons?

BUT the comforting fact is... Even the Protestants in the group agreed with my views.

"I can totally understand how you feel."

Ah... I'm definitely in the right study group afterall.

By the way, Sun Ho came as well and sang. Now, I wish I were present for that. In spite of my bias towards the CHC (I still love them as individuals.), she is a rather good singer. Those who heard her agreed.

Late night today, early day tomorrow. How will I survive?

Dilemmas and Other News

Dilemma 1: Invitation to two gatherings on the same night.
2 microbiology teams at SLU are combining with each other and they are holding a party to celebrate the advent of their cooperation. It'll be a pot-luck thing with each person bringing something to the party, and will be held at the home of the Big Guy. His wife works in one of the microbiology teams and offered the use of their home. I'm invited.

Zairis from Honduras is leaving on 10 April and the corridor has decided to hold a farewell party for her on the same night as the previous party. This is also a pot-luck session, but will be held in the common kitchen of our corridor.

Which should I attend? I have to RSVP by tomorrow with what I'll be preparing. Don't tell me both. Read and register the term 'pot-luck'. It means I have to prepare something. Not two things to feed an army. My brain hurts...

I don't want to miss the first party lest they think I'm unfriendly and not sociable, which could in turn make my time at SLU more unpleasant. Neither do I want to miss the other party since Zairis is a really great girl. We shared many good meals together in the kitchen on Sundays. Although she'll be back in September, I won't be around then. So that means we won't be seeing each other anymore. So this party is also rather important in a personal dimension.

Social gathering for work or social gathering for friendship and fellowship?

Dilemma 2: Why are my cookies flat?
Somehow I just can't seem to get my cookies to attain certain height in Sweden. Maybe I'm too rusty. I used to have this problem back home, but I can't remember what I did to solve it. More flour? More butter?

Although I like my chocolate chip cookies flat so that the chocolate can be fully appreciated instead of being covered by flour, I believe cornflake cookies shouldn't be flat. And that's exactly what happened to my cornflake-coconut, and cornflake-rasin cookies today. They rose a little in the oven, but flattened soon after. Even then, I think they tasted quite good still. At least Zairis and Xuedong concurred. Hey, only the two of them tried the cornflake cookies today!

But why ah? I placed such nice rounded teaspoons on the baking parchment. Too much/little flour? Too much baking powder? Insufficient butter? Oven too hot? What? What? I don't want a trial and error situation here. Amateur bakers, help me out here. What should I do to make my cookies nice and thick (~ 1cm)? Please?

-----

In other news...

I think I'm really lucky today. Feeling rather lazy, I didn't walk up but took the lift instead. As you probably know, there is always a gap between the edges of the lift and the floor of the platform. Now, this gap is neither too small, nor can it be considered big. But it is definitely sufficient for a bunch of keys (only 2 flat keys) to pass through. And lucky me had to drop my bunch of keys directly into this gap. But heng man, the angle was wrong and the keys were just lodged in the gap, with just the tiniest bit (about 0.5cm) sticking out. Sia lah... heng man. I managed to get my keys back. I can't imagine what would have happened if they passed through that gap. I didn't have my mobile with me. Even if I did, and called Securitas to open to door for me, I would have to pay 800kr, and an additional of 200kr to get another set of keys. Lucky me. Looks like I have to keep my keys secured to the landyard that I have around one of the belt loops of my pants all the time, even when opening the doors.

I don't have my Singapore SIM card in my mobile all the time, so it's difficult to call me. I suggest all back home to email me instead. But it so happens that Yeo-ah-yeo SMS-ed me yesterday about possible mobilisation. He thought I was already back in Singapore. But lucky me (again), there was no mob, so I don't have to go back to camp next time and explain my absence. What's more I don't have the stoopid entry stamp in my passport (because of some idiot girl in France), so explaining will be difficult.

I've been rather lucky the last two days. Let's hope this good luck train doesn't derail and the 'l' doesn't change to an 'f' at any point in time. Perhaps the solution I thought of for the bonding of the different layers over this weekend will work? Fingers crossed.

Stuffed...

Great dinner today. Simply great.

Went home early yesterday since the lab was closed at 1600 for some reason. And I didn't have anything else to do, so my weekend started early. Too bad this early weekend is pretty uneventful. I had a rather slow day today, until I went to church for this meeting at 1630.

In the begining, all I heard was 'the movement', repeated over and over again. Oh god... What did I get myself into? A cult like thing? At the end of the session, I finally asked Eleanor what 'the movement' is, and found out that it's a catholic movement founded in the middle of the 1900s and the aim is to share personal witnesses of Christ. Oh... I... See...

What's with 'the movement' here and there. So cult-ish like.

Most of them are Italians, so imagine Marlo Brando in the Godfather movies (the accent) going, "The. Movement." and you'll know how I felt during the meeting not knowing what 'The Movement' was.

But the dinner after that was simply excellent! Two types of pasta (one meat, one vegetarian), two types of pies (both vegetarian), tons of delicious salad, bread and beer. For dessert, there were fruits and strawberry-and-cream strudel, and almond biscotti with coffee and tea.

Man, oh man... I'm stuffed. This was one great dinner. Up there on my list of good meals I've had so far in Uppsala.

I want more...

Good food, good company. What more can a guy ask?

-----

Coincidently, Mikael and Robert both have the same mistake of pronouncing my Chinese name. Somehow, they failed to grasp the four different intonations, and usually end up sounding without any of the 4. Eleanor and Maru, on the other hand, had the intonation right, but with the wrong pronunciation.

All however, had a very good laugh at me learning Swedish. Vowels are pronounced in a different way (There are 9; a, e, i, o, u, ä, å, ö, y). Yes, 'y' is a vowel. And the most difficult one to pronounce is 'u'. Absolute torture. Then there're the hard and light vowels, that will affect how the consonants sound, consonants like 'k'. And there are also the long and short vowel sounds depending on whether they are after two consonants or otherwise. These are the least of the problems I tell you. I tell you ah, headache ah. Give me two years, and I still won't be good at this.

-----

Great dinner. I'm stuffed.