Work = enjoy
It's over three weeks that I am in Uppsala and I am not able to move out in the city. It's only the right turn that I take from my apartment, the road that leads to my laboratory. But I have absolutely no problem with it. Just because I like to work in the lab, more than that the anxiety of getting the anticipated results keeps me going on and on. It's now I know why Sweden is called the home for all. I see so many scientists from all over the world. All their superb work and thinking makes me think I am a fool and at times I feel like running out from here. One thing I have realized that I need to be good in maths if I have to continue my career in biology. At times I fear I may over dose with the antibiotics. Good that bacteria and plants don't squeak like the mice. Being a workcoholic makes things worse for me. I want the results and when they don't turn up I get depressed easily, but now I am learning to be have more patience. I guess it will take me some more time before I learn to figure out what permutations and combinations I can use to get my experiment running.
I make so many silly mistakes at times, just unbearable for me but my guide is quite cool about it. May be he is confident that next time I will be more careful with the things, but it's the work that I loose. When my gel fell on the floor I was almost on fire. My 3 days of work was on the floor lying by my footsteps. Not less than 24 hours ago I set my gloves on fire, happily did not invite the brand alarm. It's a long time since I started working all day long and in spite of having my breakfast, brunch and lunch I am always hungry. My snacks weigh more than my reference file. Mostly the noodles make up my evening snack. My misconception that I may shed off some weight is wrong. I walk, work and eat almost the double of my requirement. May be it has to do something with the summer.
My other adventure was shopping in the city. My though that the shops open in the mornings on Saturdays as in Skövde was wrong. Until noon I was wandering around but nothing but the birds made a great time pass for me. Some kids were feeding the birds and it was so lovely so see them run behind the birds. I hear that peacock's are best chasers with their long outstretched neck and pointed beak they can make you run for the safety of your thigh muscles. I am on my way to the jungle trip. Good there are no big cats and poisonous snakes in Sweden.
The right road Summer swim My favourite quaky
Vem bryr sig om Kartago?
Årets andra provtur med mopeden resulterade i att jag fick skyva den i drygt en kilometer. Nog för att det var trist att mopeden gav upp, men värre var den sargade självkänsla man får av att behöva rulla förbi alla grannar som sitter och smuttar på sitt kaffe ute på sina verandor. Moloken rev jag isär mopeden utan att hitta några fel, eller i alla fall inga fel som skulle kunna förklara motorstoppet. Bitter gav jag upp felsökandet och bestämde mig för att det nog var dags att lackera bensintanken. Det får bli ett projekt för nästa helg.
Projekt ja, för er som börjar med något av högskolans ingenjörsprogram till hösten, ni lär få höra om projekt som arbetsform tills ni drömmer om budgetar och gantscheman. För all del, det kanske är jag som är lättpåverkad, jag minns från gymnasiet både hur jag drömde om derivata och tyska prepositioner. Jag tror till och med att hade någon mardröm inför nationellauppsats provet i svenska, vilket förövrigt har varit det mest påfrestande provet jag har gjort vid en skolbänk. Inte för att provet som sådant var svårt, men så galet stel jag var efter att ha suttit i fem timmar och skrivit löptext för hand, det kan jag inte minnas att jag varit någon gång vare sig före eller efter.
Nu ska jag packa ihop min dator, jag är snart framme vid fabriken.
//Valross - Ceterum censeo lex FRA esse delendam
En hyggligt stor padda jag nästan trampade på, lite midsommarfirande, en mjärde med ett fågelbo och två semesterbilder från jobbet. (Jag fick dem godkända.)
New experiences !!
It's so many days that I actually got time to blog. I am bit puzzled by Uppsala city and also still not able to adjust too much to it. The place is quite big and really one needs lots of stamina to walk the entire place. Skövde is a nice and cozy place where all the necessary stuff is near-by. Here I have to walk for more than half hour at full sprint speed to get to my laboratory. That's only the one way trekking time. It's more than the schedule exercise for me. But then that's the way things are here for me. Till date I am making new discoveries daily.
The language slang is very different in northern Sweden. So I ultimately keep my little bit learned Swedish in a lock. I always converse in English. If anyone talks to me in Swedish I just raise my hands. There is good bus service over here, rather I was amused to see the bus designs, and some are with the connectors. It was not until I got lost and was really drenched that I decided to board the bus. Luckily I happen to remember the bus stop where I needed to get to. That sounds so stupid but not really when you discover that you are lost and are on the centrum, a bit far away from your apartment. But that was fun in its own way. The weather is just unpredictable; mornings you have the bright sun and evenings it starts pouring down and gets cold as well. I hate the sun but neither do I love the rains. On my route I find a small jungle and I manage to get some four legged animal stare at me. I am not that good with sheep, lamp and goat, take whatever you want. My walking route is a great place for snail lovers. You will find a snail every 5 cm, not small but huge ones. I was nice to watch them first but the day they started coming on the cycle path it was a mess. Good they do not have any back bone to break. They are just smashed into jelly. At times it's so annoying to walk that I actually feel like kicking then back into the grass. Their population density is so high that I have stopped picking up the wild berries as well. May be that's the same condition in Bellingen.
I haven't seen much of student life in Uppsala as yet. The summers are there and most of the students are out on their vacations or for a job in some other place. In a way the city is emptying out. Maybe Sköde must be half empty by now. I really miss being in Skövde. The mid summer is making me feel so fresh. I wake at 2.30 daily, courtesy Mr.Sun. May be this weekend they have a small show about traditional farming in Sweden and I think that will add a bit of spices to my stay in Uppsala. Come on; please keep me updated about the happenings in Skövde. Happy midsummer !!
Attention !! Slimy berries Hej Mr Slug !!
Stora skor och någonstans att hänga hatten.
Kollegorna är riktigt trevliga, även detta över förväntan. Det verkar som smörjmedlet i personkemin är två deviser: ”Det går fint” och ”Du ska inte va' blyg”. Att inte vara blyg vet jag inte riktigt när det är viktigt att tänka på, men att det går fint är svårt att släppa tanken på. Frasen står att finna på små etikettremsor uppsatta lite här och var, uppfört med spritpennor på plåtskåp eller skrivet i dammet på en smutsig I-balk i taket. Egentligen hade jag velat lägga ut lite bilder på det, men det är visst så att ur konkurrenssynpunkt så var det inte helt hundra att jag tog foto inne i fabriken, men jag ska se om jag kan prata med lämplig chef i detta ärende.
Jag bor nu i en mycket trång trea hos ett syskon till en bekant. (Fantastiskt vad man kan åstadkomma med lite kontaktnät.) Synd bara att det kommer flytta in ännu fler i den lilla lägenheten, rummet jag bor i tillhör en sjuårig tjej, att maten i affären i Hällekis är dyr och att tåget dit och därifrån går precis så att det inte funkar med mina skift på fabriken. Men jag är inte bitter.
Midsommarhelgen har skapat en lucka i mitt arbetsschema och jag kommer lufsa hem till mor&far för att meka klart min kära moped. Den ser bättre och bättre ut för varje dag jag mekar med den, men hade jag varit duktig hade den säkerligen varit ännu snyggare. När man inte är i garaget kan man roa sig med att designa dekaler eller prova olika sätt man kan lacka i en bildbehandlare. Sist gång jag var hemma och mekade, fick jag för all del ihop mopeden, men när jag skulle fylla på lite soppa i tanken visade det sig att jag hade glömt nycklarna i Skövde. Ett mopedmekarantiklimax så illa som något.
Det pågår som kanske bekant en antilangningskampanj nu och med det i åtanke tänkte jag citera min gamla tyskalärare:
Det är en såndär spritpenna man blir blind av! - G. Lossman, 1999
//Valross
En gullig liten sak från rummet jag bor i, djuret som sover ca 2 meter från mina fötter och till sist men kära moped.
Moving around !!
It is time for me to relax a bit. I planned to shop for some cotton stuff to keep me cool from this heat. At times I feel that the heat is too intense and I should sit down in the shower during the entire afternoon. To my surprise I got to see a XXL mega size T-shirt and jeans. Not that it was meant for some one to use but it was an advertisement. Great brains to attract small brains like mine! The advertisement industry is a place where you can actually give way to your creativeness. No full stop to it at any point. There was a Barbie doll dress designing competition. A serious stuff where there are judges from the fashion industry and one after the other is eliminated. If you have an advanced and a happening thing going on you are in or else you are out. This is the rule all over the world for all the things. Be it software, education or medicine. Just a rush!! So I decided to crouch on the sofa and relax before I start my packing. It was then I knew about the most energetic person; Granny D.
At the age of 85 and above she walks the USA right from skiing and going around in the dessert. I guess that is really a great spirit for that age. For me walking down the town in this summer is a task in itself. The only thing I think of is having a cool refreshing energy drink and some good massage. What joy if it is accompanied by some aromatherapy? You think I am having a fantasy? May be yes!! But even the sight of fresh flowers soothes my nerves and muscles. Nature has its own way to refresh our minds. That's why sometimes it is recommended to do gardening in the leisure time. The not so bad thing in it is the deafening sound of the mowers. The really intelligent thing that I observed over here is that the public gardens are always colorful with different flowers. Potting the already flowering plants gives you a variety of flowers to see within a short summer. It is said each flower has its own significance, but my guess is it depends upon person liking as well. What if someone likes lilies more than a rose?
One weird thing that has happened is I get hungry very soon. Usually summer time not everyone feels the appetite. For the past 3-4 days I just sleep and eat. Not just small snacks but complete meal. I better start jogging when the sun is down or I may have to buy the XXL jeans and T shirt for myself.
I am leaving right now but will always miss the summer in Skövde. But that doesn't stop me from writing my experiences. Who knows what I have in store for me? I guess that will be a nice experience and more add to my experience about Sweden. But Skövde will always remain my home sweet home.
My future..nej An ever laughter smile !! Adding color to life.
...Cheers...
Namita
Same same but different
Jag tänker tyvärr inte bli så långvarig idag, anledningen är att jag behöver packa väskorna innan jag drar till Hällekis för att sommarjobba, men det är även så att jag ådragit mig en gruvlig nackspärr. Jag avslutar med ett par sommarbilder från Skövde och från trakten kring mina föräldrars hus.
Jag har gått igenom ganska mycket gammla papper i helgen, och jag skulle vilja avsluta med ett citat från en mycket klok datalärare på Östrabogymnasiet i Uddevalla (om han nu fortfarande jobbar där). Han beskrev här ett klumpigt lösningsförslag i databashantering.
Det kan bli väldigt komplicerat, som en tallrik spagetti ungefär... - SOA, 2001
//Valross
Perfect celebration
It was a perfect Friday. A short celebration of the National Day! All such celebrations make us really feel proud of our nation. I always get a self realization of my duties towards my country. Saluting to my flag is something that I really missed. But no worries! Sweden now being my home for more than five months I do realize that I feel for it no less than what I feel for India. May be when you are away from your home you realize its real importance. I may sound too sentimental but then that's me. The best and really energetic part of the ceremony was the parade and the dance. Different dance forms actually made me tap my feet. I remembered the International dinner; full of dance trains. I guess dancing burns your calories very quickly and also make you feel happy. No wonder all the dancers had the perfect smile and perfect the physic. I guess I was not that lazy about having doing a regular work out. The parade was other thing that I had to strain my neck with. The officers were really tall for my normal eye level vision. So I had to look up at them. The same goes with military officers. When I was traveling down to Gothenburg I looked like a tiny tot in front of them. I was nowhere even near their chest height. The different flags had their own significance and also they were caught differently. Its ten years since I have actually held a flag. I was the school caption and had to lead the entire school to the local municipal office where the entire town used to have a common flag hoisting on independence and republic day. We had to gather there by eight in the morning and then after the function had the entire day to ourselves. Since it is a happy occasion sweets are distributed to children and the entire town celebrates it like a mini festival.
I wasn't able to catch all the words but some how I could get a jest of what the announcements were about. The one song I liked particular was the ones sung by the children. None were shy rather they were eager to sing it out. They actually had lot of confidence. When I was in my school, I acted in a couple of plays. I always had a terrible start, but once through I was very comfortable with it. May be this is a way to encourage social contacts. I see that student social life is excellent over here. There are various groups as per the disciplines and also there are group parties. It's not just me but many praise the student as well as community social life in Sweden.
Last time I had promised to share a secret with you, not a really good though. I will be out for my summer. In a way I get to see more of Sweden but less of Skövde. May this is life. You gain and loose at the same time.
Happy summer !!! Time to pack back pack !!
.........Namita..........
Ut med de gamla, in med de nya
Tentor och sånt läskigt är över för ett tag, det kommer omtentor och sånt innan terminen börjar i höst, men det tänker jag blunda för i någon vecka. Jag har medvetet sökt sommarjobb i världens avkrok i syfte att få lite studiero, men risken att jag är för trött för att plugga när jag kommer hem från jobbet är överhängande. Jag satsar dock på att knåpa ihop två eller tre tentor till hösten - får se var det landar.
En sak som är lite sorglig med sommaren är att hela ens sociala krets sprids vind för våg över landet. Ännu läskigare är att sisådär en tredje- eller fjärdedel av alla ens vänner kommer inte tillbaka efter sommaren, de tar examen och ger sig ut och jobbar. Om ett år finns risken att jag är en av dem som lämnar alla underbara människor i Skövde och flyttar iväg. Inte för att jag vet vart jag kommer ta vägen, eller ens om jag kommer vara klar, men lite skrämmande tanke är det. Förmodligen var det lika skrämmande när man gick ur gymnasiet, men det var jättelänge sen. Så länge sen att jag behövde kamma mig på morgnarna.
Till alla er som tog examen och blev riktiga människor: jättegrattis och jag kommer sakna många av er! Till alla er som kommer i höst: jättegrattis, det är kalas att vara student i den här staden! Sen hoppas jag lite egoistiskt att några av er kommer sakna lilla mig när jag ger mig ut för att rädda världen som nybakad biståndsingenjör, men den diskussionen kan vi ta när den är aktuell.
//Valross
Lazy me!!
Gearing up to move
......... Namita.......
