random monday musings

:: after two pretty intense, but frightfully fun, weeks of computer classes I'm now allowed to breath and reload for some holidayic weeks, before it continues in August. If I could have chose I would have continued with the course for at least a couple of more weeks and postponed my vacational time. It has been such a fun learning process, that perfect mix of rekindling with stuff one already knew and eureka problem solving moments.

I'm so pleased there's no forced socializing involved, that you're actually allowed to be a completely absorbed by learning nerd, that hi and goodbye is pretty much all you have to utter during the day, and if you have any questions there's always teachers around to ask.

I love that I after a short introduction have been left to my own devices and it's been a blast to read, practise and solve tasks. And as I did finish the first project just before vacation time I can't wait to continue with the next one.

It would also be awfully nice if all this learning could actually lead to some great challenges with a pleasing income attached, and not just another nifty thing to add to the CV...

:: Finally. I'm now a (somewhat) proud owner of a bicycle helmet. I do wonder how we survived all those years riding bikes without one. But as we live in Sweden, the land of safety addiction, it's the prudent thing to have. As I really didn't want one of those butt-ugly Darth Vader style helmets it took for ages to get one.

But the perfect one revealed itself recently and I opted for not a pink (not because it looked like I was wearing a giant strawberry ice cream cone on my head, but because it seemed to get dirty within a blink of an eye), not a black (reasonably nice, but somewhat bland, as usual with black) but a khaki green. The shade is apparently called dirty, which will team well with my all pink bike.

My pink bike that I actually inherited from my grandfather. He was not only a man with green fingers and a passion for art, he also rode a pink bike. I like that.

:: One would think that being a busy bee these past two weeks would have made me read less, nope, quite the opposite. As commuting is usually such a dull thing the reading has been very scheduled and an as always very helpful relief from dullness. I've finished not only one, but three, soon to be four books. Reviews to come. All quite, quite good, one even brilliant and of course the latest entry on my-favourite-read-ever-list. Hint - PopCo.

:: I haven't felt very inclined to try new recipes for quite a while. Suddenly I have an inclination again. If they turn out plus edible there might be some more recipes posted in a blog near here. Still this is not, nor will it ever be, a food blog. But still, I do love to praise vegetarian cooking whenever I can. As the benefits, both ethical and health wise, are endless.

:: I've never been much of a history buff, it might have something to do with less than engaging school teachers and more than a sneaky suspicion that historical "facts" are very less than reliable since history is infamous for being written by "the winners". Now and then I do find history and its "facts" quite fascinating though.

One such example is the TV-series - and book that I just placed an online order of, I think I deserve a refill on the heap after being a such a diligent little reader these past weeks... Every excuse is a good excuse - Terry Jones' Barbarians. Which shows quite another truth than that claimed by the ancient Romans. Interesting glimpses of the bloody European history presented in an easy and humorous way. I wish I had had history teachers like Terry Jones in school.

Btw, I never knew goths were suppose to have originated from Swedish island Gotland. Go figure.

:: Now. Bedtime. To spend some quality time with new books. Who could ask for more a fine summer night like this? (Yes, there were red berries involved in dinner.)