I'm still here

Just had a lot on my mind what with getting sorted in our home, unpackning, finding a job, starting work, adjusting to some sort of everyday routine...
I can't claim to have that last bit sorted even now, but I'm hoping things will settle down soon.

We've had visitors. My parents helped get our stuff down here and stayed a few days. Then my sister and brother-in-law came down on a brief holiday and at the same time D's parents visited as well, but they stayed with D's uncle. Then my friend from Iceland came to visit me. We've known each other online for the past four years but never met in person before, so it was really great to finally see her. Unfortunately this clashed some with me starting work, so we didn't get full days to enjoy each other's company, but her coming to see me was still a success.

I invited my crafting group over for coffee/tea and crafting night. I have to admit, I love to entertain, to have people over at my place. These women are great. I'm the youngster, of course, but they seem to forget that from time to time, or at least they don't make a big deal out of it.
A few nights later we had a small house warming party, this too was a great event even though quite a few of our friends were out of town or elsewhere engaged.

In September we've had our friend C living with us, she got an extension on her summer job but nowhere to stay, so we offered her our spare room and inflatable mattress. It's been great having her here, she's one of my closest friends these days and I feel we've become even closer during this time. Her boyfriend who lived and worked in Gothenburg got a new job and moved even further south and C will now go down to live with him. It will be very strange not having her around every day, but of course I want her to go live with her boyfriend and make herself at home in their new place. She's applying for jobs right and left, but nothing has turned up so far.

Speaking of work, I got a job three months ago now. I'm employed by a temping agency and working at a pharmaceutical company as certificate administrator. In short this means that I write and compile documents that get sent out to medical authorities in different countries when we apply for approval of our products. Then the same or slightly different paperwork get sent along when the products get shipped to customers worldwide. I love it! This job is so right for me. I get to be organised and detailed and I can systemize all I want. *grins* Now I'm waiting for the company to sort out the papers in order to take me over from the temping agency and hire me. The contract would be until June next year and after that noone knows as it depends on so many things. In any case, for me to be employed by the company instead of the temping agency means that I get a bunch of benefits and above all better pay, so I'm very anxious for them to get this done.

I also joined a choir nearby. The main reason why I wanted to join this particular choir was that they are doing Rutter's Gloria this semester. It's so much fun! It took some persuasion before I was in since it's already a rather large group, but I think it tipped over to my advantage that I had done Rutter before. At this stage it's a plus that the choir is close to home, even though the choir itself isn't exactly what I hoped for. I have to start somewhere and work from there and while trying to figure out this life of ours with everyday routines and all I may as well make it easy on myself. I'm happy to have found a choir anyway, I've missed singing and I feel rather out of practise, I must say.

Life keeps happening here and it seems that lately there's been rather a lot of it.

*smiles*

keah

We have a home

And again I say unto you, we have a home, at long last. I'm thrilled and a little bit nervous.

*bounces*

It was a speedy business to say the least. We saw the place on Wednesday 18 April, bidding race was full on the morning after and we signed papers on the evening Thursday 19 April. Then we had a home loan meeting at the bank on Monday 23 April. Since then we've also been approved as members of the tenant-owner's association so now there is nothing standing in the way for us getting the flat.

We've been over there again to chat with the current owners and to take some measurements, look at the storage room and things like that. There are a few things that we want to do to the place, such as putting up new wallpaper in one of the rooms, repainting the walls in another, stuff like that. We won't rush it though, it'll be ours and we get to do things at our own pace.

Midsummer, usually quite a busy party weekend for all Swedes, will this year be spent preparing for the move. We'll move in the weekend before but all our things get there on the 25th of June. I will fly up north and help organise and load the truck. Then my parents will drive down and I'll ride with them, hopefully making it here before the guy driving the truck. It will be like getting hundreds of presents for Christmas, most of our stuff has been in boxes for three years!

This makes me feel a tad materialistic, I like my things and I have missed having them around. Quite a few items that we got as wedding presents we never got the opportunity to use before packing them away. We have a lovely wine rack that I hope we can find a good spot for, a beautiful table cloth that D's grandmother made us, and lots of nifty kitchen-related things and appliances that I've longed to be able to use again. It makes me happy just thinking about it all. Materialism is quite real, and beauty and happiness in objects has a lot more to it than I have previously thought. At this point I'm not worrying about it though, I'm just looking forward to moving in to our new place.

Home sweet home.

keah

New year, new goals, new life!

As the bells of the new year has tolled ...

Our new life is no longer just an illusion in the distant, it is here and now and everything seems to be happening all at once. *smiles*

I have moved down to Stockholm to my love. He goes to work every day and leaves me with a to do-list of insane proportions.

Accommodation - that's a huge project in itself, lots to think about
Work for myself - not exactly a smaller task, that one...
Getting acquainted to the PT system of Stockholm - can't make a judgement yet, but sitting here in the middle of nowhere makes me ache for a car
Buying useful stuff - we can't bring all our things down from Kalix just yet, this cottage is too small and hard to get to with all our things
Comparing prices for useful stuff - we have to manage only on D's salary for now
Planning what to do 2-9 February - Kat (and hopefully Sarah) is (are) coming to visit
Unpack - see how far down the list that one goes...
... and more

I'm sure everything will work out just fine. I'm optimistic, for a change. *grins* It feels good and we have managed to leave Kalix behind and that's huge - having a place to ourselves (albeit just a small cottage out in the woods, such a paradox as we're supposed to be living in the "big city") and planning our future together.

It is time for me to sound the bells for my new life.

*ding dong*


keah

Slipping back to dependent mode

Now that my darling husband has passed his last exam, *does a little dance of joy*, I'm feeling myself slipping back to a sort of dependent mode. Again I begin to expect him to be the one who gets us out of here when he finds a job. In June, after my semester of administration training at vocational school, I was all pepped to find work and be on my way and provide a new home for us once my darling would finish and follow. Now it's more dependent of where he can find work again. Sure, I can still go and do my own thing if I get a job, but his work will be a big priority since he's significantly more limited (and also significantly more likely to get a good and well paying job) than I am when searching for a suitable position. And no, I don't particularly want us to live in different cities, I feel we've covered that bit already in our relationship.

I'm not sure I like this. Not only is my ego taking another hit (see this post for some reference), but I'm also fearing I'll end up the "domestic matron" (PLH checking back in perhaps) with no career of my own. Not very PC or equal, something I've always thought myself to be, for better or worse...

Not much point in ruminating right now though, our main priority is after all to find work, preferably for both of us, but at least enough to get us out of here. I'm going slightly mad... to quote the forever fabulous group Queen.

*grins*

keah

Changing perspectives

I always pictured myself as an academic, uneventfully going through higher education and getting some relatively well paid job with career prospects. Now I'm beginning to question this dream. I'm not really sure what it was that I was setting out to achieve, except for the well paid employment. No doubt can you reach the long-term goal by other means than university and the fact of the matter is that university studies doesn't suit everyone. Maybe I am one of those people who should take another route to success and fulfillment. Even though the thought of giving up on uni takes a nasty stab at my ego and self image I'm not shying away from it. The path I'm on now with the vocational personal administration training is giving me a long overdue self esteem boost. And most importantly, I get to meet people who didn't consider the highest goal in life to be university studies...
The thought lingers, that if I could get work in a human resourse type position with this personal administration training I might actually get relevant work experience in the field of my choice as well as hands-on social work skills, a quality I have underestimated the necessity of for too long.

*keeps on ruminating*

keah