la dolce sustainable vita, bullet journaling and other cosmo geek week ingredients

Where to start? It's been such a busy week I don't know where to begin, or honestly if one post is enough if I'm going to tell everything I'd like to share. Or if I should simply keep every bit really short and if you want to know more, you can watch, listen and learn elsewhere. Here goes.



Last weekend I attended the annual Vegoforum in Stockholm. A day brimming of interesting seminars on sustainability, animal rights, health, ethics, science and politics. For you who've been following me for a while, you know I'm no great fan of fairs, festivals and big crowds. Team that with things I'm really passionate about and heartbroken over (ie how we treat our fellow earthlings), that's no place for me.

But a friend who volunteered coaxed me to go. And I'm so glad I did. Because of the various seminars I could concentrate on the practical, inspirational, important things for change rather than the matters that are painful. Thus science, plantbased food, vegan entreprenurship and politics for me.

I listened to a talk by WWF and how their One Planet Plate-project is one important piece of the sustainability puzzle.

I listened to a talk about the pros and cons for vegan entrepreneurs and business owners. From startup Nogue Foods, brilliant Oatly, crowd funding investor Kale United and vegan shoe shop Green Laces.



I listened to a talk by a professor and scientist from KTH about how crucial it is that we change (preferably yesterday) to a low meat society. Which, to be honest, most everyone knows but the politicians are still to cowardly and dependant on industry lobbyists to actually do something about.



And then a panel discussion with scientists, doctors and politicians on just that, why don't politicians act, despite all the research pointing in the same direction.

Apart from the odd bit of mansplaining here and there (sigh) it was a really enlightening and uplifting day. There are, we are, actually people who care and have the facts. Facts on which you can't argue. Well, unless you're plain ignorant, selfish or heartless.

And yes, the simple vegan food on offer in the restaurant that day was great too.

Plus all talks were filmed and are viewable on website and on YouTube. I really recommend a watch. In Swedish only.



Later in the week I attended a work shop in Bullet Journaling. Of which I honestly hadn't heard until last month, when I got a membership email from the bookstore in question that arranged it. But I'm big on making lists and using notebooks, so I thought it would be a neat way to learn more about productivity and structuring your life.



It was an inspirational evening, but not fully grasping the concept yet, I didn't dive in creating my own first bullet journal. But I've bought books to fully understand it, so any day now I will. Plus, to tell the truth, I'm not a great fan of the stickers, doodle, drawings, colouring, scrapbooking way of bullet journaling. Not my cup of tea, I prefer other types of creativity while keep my planning more focused and straight forward, as it was originally intended. But each to his/her own.



In this digital world, and working in it, I miss the analogue. Often. I now have my colourful, practical bullet journal to be, and my pens. So looking forward to learn and start creating my own journal!



March 13 is Source Criticism Day (Källkritikens Dag) in Sweden. A day when the tabloid Metro and its Viralgranskaren (The Viral Scrutinizer, which sounds alike a superhero, which I suppose it is in a less flash way) had an open seminar on source criticism and how vital it is to question things and sources on news and rumours. Especially in this day and age when it seems fake news are more prominent than ever.



The Swedish Minister of Culture and Democracy, Amanda Lind, presented the award Det gyllene förstoringsglaset (The Golden Magnifying glass) for the "Kolla källan" (Check your source) to two recipients, one person/organization and one person/organization within the educational system. Because source criticism is obviously essential for democracy.

The evening was filmed, and can be watched online. Partly in Swedish, partly in English.



I handed in five very very old of glasses of mine, to my optician, which no longer are of any use to me and my eyes, but can still change someone else in need's life. Recycling at its best. It's interesting to see how either my taste in glasses design has changed over the years (I think these pairs are about 10-15 years old) or what's on offer in way of design is much richer now than it was then.

Might have ordered another pair from their brand new collection. Possibly. Think I need to get some sort of snazzy shelf for the glasses I currently use, so I can have a clear view (no pun, promise) of my morning choices.



On the subject of shopping. And identity. I've finished this book "Vi är vad vi köper" (We are what we buy), written by two Swedish professors. The book is about Homo Consumericus and consumerism. It's a both entertaining, enlightening and infuriating, sad read I'd say. Mass consumption is one of the imminent threats to our planet and yet there's no quick, viable solution to the problem since consumerism is such a huge part of society and our lives. How do we consume smarter, less, healthier and more sustainably?

Next week I'm having fika with one of the authors. We've been talking a lot on social media and realized we also share the love for Marimekko. Which is such a fun coincidence. Thus of course we had to have a Marimekko clad meetup, over coffee and talk about the most likely system breakdown we're facing plus other interesting cultural and anthropological observations.



And on the topic of glasses. On my way to doing the above drop-off of the old glasses I was waiting for the bus, when I noticed an elderly woman who looked so stylish, with red hair, green scarf and cool glasses. I thought to myself I should compliment her for her brilliant style. But instead when we got on the bus she sat down next to me and said I had super-cool glasses that suited me perfectly. How funny and brilliant wasn't that!

So of course I said the same to her and we got chatting on style and design, and how boring and uninspiring too many people dress. If more people dared to use colour, patterns and fun accessories, the world would be a happier place for it. It's so very nice when you just spot a stranger person who you're instantly drawn to because of their personal style. And it's mutual. Awesome. Plus age is just a number, style is eternal.



We're getting close to the end of the week now, promise. (And if you're getting exhausting by reading about all of this, think of how tired, but inspired, I am, as an intro/ambivert, experience it live...). And time for the annual sustainability forum arranged by Konsumentföreningen Stockholm (Stockholm Consumer Cooperative Society). Its name was La Dolce Vita, the evening was once again filmed, and should be up soon on YouTube. The sweet life as in how do we live the sustainable sweet life.

There was a wide and interesting range of people on stage, some better and more relevant than others, but all in all, a great, hopeful evening. The talks all revolved how we can work to reach the Agenda2030 sustainability goals, both as a society and as private citizens as in the Good Life Goals.

Participants were the former Secretary General for Naturskyddsföreningen (The Swedish society for Nature Conservation), now at Fossilfritt Sverige (Fossil-free Sweden), a vegan food blogger, the sustainability manager at CocaCola (if that's not a paradox, I don't know what is...) and the same at Coop, the Secretary General of ViSkogen (agroforestry) and WeEffect, the founder of CHOOOSE, the sustainability manager at Max burgers and the chief strategist at Futerra.

The one quote that stuck with me the most was "You can't chose where you're born, but you can chose whether you close your eyes or engage yourself." Are you the person you want to be today, on the right side of tomorrow?



Rounded the week off with an appointment with the physiotherapist, who said the mobility in arm looked great for a complicated fracture 7 months down the line. Unless I felt I needed support she didn't want to see me until a whole year had passed since the accident for review on the status and options. I should just remember not to lift anything heavier than 0,5 kilos until then... Which I obviously have already, a lot. Kitty litter and cat-food bags, there's no escaping. But at least it isn't like regular weight lifting at the gym and such.



Then I rushed to what was the third interview for the communication position I applied to a few weeks back. (No matter what will come form this, I have to say that it has been a very efficient and pleasant recruitment process.) As the company's headquarters are neatly situated in my suburb, I had thought it would take me about 5-10 minutes with bus and walk to get there. Sadly I was mistaken. The newly built industrial area it's located in, is poorly designed for people without cars and I had to walk about 2,5 x 2 kilometres in pouring rain. (There is apparently a bus, but it's not my regular bus a few yards away, and it only runs twice per hour.)

But for that little inconvenient, time-consuming snag, I felt the interview went well. Interesting company, where no doubt there would be a lot of work and structure to put in place, but also a lot of room for creativity, possibilities to achieve great things together and for personal development. They'll now chose from the three people left, will know more in a couple of weeks. Fingers crossed.



After this extraordinarily full week I totally deserved the vegan semla above. Teamed up with semla tea. And a snoopervising semla to cuddle.

Looking forward to a less hectic week, and time to collect my thoughts (in a bullet journal perhaps!) some more, and plan on my next steps. I do however have a little interior design workshop at IKEA of all places, by the end of the week, which will be fun I'm sure.

Other than that, March, keep impressing me, you've done such a great job so far! xox