Yes, I have a few days off, but it feels like I am rather busy. No vacation. I am not traveling anywhere but to the countryside to my parents. Today both day and night are equal, and it feels in the air since it was the first time in a long time I saw sunshine. I spend some time with my parents but also, I do some sports. Training is one of my main hobbies in life. I like to do different kind of sports because that is the best for the body. Exercise like yoga, weights, running, swimming etc.

Since I have some time off I have finally had a lesson in tennis. I have thought of that for such a long time, but I haven’t had a good occasion to try and practice. When I grew up I remember I watched John McEnroe on TV. I learnt the way they counted the points. 30-love. Zero (love), when a player hasn’t scored any points. McEnroe didn’t like that I remember. Of course, I don’t forget Björn Borg and Boris Becker. I have tried to play some tennis for fun previously, but that was very difficult. So, I must admit that I was a little uncomfortable not knowing how it would turn out. I tried to think positive and I thought of badminton. I was rather good at playing badminton, but that was also a long time ago. However, it turned out very well. I had a good teacher and I learnt forehand- and backhand grip. Now I will watch some tennis on youtube with Roger Federer before I continue. My first step is to learn basic techniques.

This sunny day made me think of running so I went for my very first run this year. It is several months ago and I had to remind myself of my steps. I got some advice that I have to be careful when I make my steps since I easily get inflammation in my hip. It was a very nice run and I could enjoy the sunshine and not get to exhausted. My little sweetie has a little pain in her paw so we could not go for a long walk. She was very happy but not so happy later because she had to have a bath.

Tomorrow I will continue with sports. Water sports. I have always liked to swim but I have never been able to go fast. I will learn some new techniques, and hopefully, I can go swimming in the future. Good to do different kind of sports. Variation.

Sports need energy, and today I made some cinnamon rolls. Healthy ones with raisins. My mother loves them.

I have been very busy this week so I haven’t had time to write. The days passes so rapidly and suddenly it is Friday. My life consists very much of work and exercise. But sometimes also of enjoying eg art and photography. I was very lucky that a photo exhibition by Axel Ahlsén was very close to where I live. I have followed his work during many years and it was fun to see that he continues to do such nice work. Photograpy is difficult. Since I am very bad at painting, I like photography. That is my way of expressing myself.

Yesterday, I had a few colleagues from pharmacy at home. It actually is good to meet at another place than at work. I will now be off for a few days, so it was a good start of my vacation. I will dedicate these days to sport which is my favourite hobby. Will write more about that later. Sharing beautiful flowers from my colleagues. A taste of brighter seasons.

I try to follow the news, but I must admit that the meeting Trump and Kim had in Hanoi, Vietnam, passed by rather quickly. It was a historic meeting since only a few years ago the tensions between east and west were rather tense. Actually, affecting the whole world. So it was very good that they met and had denuclearisation talks. For world peace. I don’t remember that much about general Asian history, but I thought of a famous leader Mao Zedong. He ruled China from the 1950s to his death in 1976, and was the communist party leader of China spreading his ideas through Maoism, including military and political ideas.

I am interested in history and politics and try to follow some, but my main focus is pharmacology. And MAO is for me something completely different. MAO is an enzyme regulating monoamines. An enzyme enhances various chemical reactions in the body and is related to energy. A chemical reaction always demands energy. Monoamines have been studied during decades and have important functions in the body such as mobility, and also various moods. If we feel happy, angry, sad etc. Interestingly, this enzyme, MAO, has also been located in blood platelets and not only in the central nervous system. There are different MAO enzymes and it has been shown that the MAO-B enzyme is in a way associated to various personality traits such as impulsivity. MAO-B serves as a behavioural biomarker and has been associated to sensation seeking and also drug dependence. This interesting area has been well studied by Oreland and Hallman in Uppsala, Sweden. They have presented several systematic reviews.

Neuropharmacology has always been a very interesting area, and I have a particular interest in Alzheimer´s disease since my mother is affected by memory loss. It is a disease affecting the whole family and I try to follow, and also support, latest science. To make science a little easier, I found this presentation from The Jackson Laboratories website. Here, a more clinical view of Alzheimer´s disease is presented.

Vasaloppet is currently taking place in Sweden, and it seems to be very popular every year. I like to go skiing but this year I have been lazy. I do my ordinary work out instead. In a way, I am boring since I like to go to the same exercise when I go training. I like to be trained by the same persons. Don’t know why. Yesterday, I did two hours training and I had a little muscle pain today. It started to snow in the afternoon so it was very tempting to stay in the sofa reading. But no. I went for exercise again. Someone has said that when you have muscle pain from training it is good to do exercise again. And it worked out well.

It is still a little chilly, but soon I will go for running again. I am curious to see if I can go jogging for 10 km at a time of 1 hour. The evenings are getting brighter, and I am looking forward to spring. Today it was difficult to imaging, but soon the light will return and birds will sing again.

Monday, and a it is the beginning of a new week. I am still collecting inspiration to continue to write my next book. Therefore, I do a lot of work out right now. I love exercise, and I cannot live without training. However, this evening I am just at home, writing here instead.

About a month ago I met Carola Blank from a local newspaper, Sala Allehanda, where I grew up. Carola works as a journalist and she made an interview with me. It is a little fun since we went to the same high school. She is interested in literature and I had the possibility to present my writing. And she is right, it took a lot of time to find my own way of writing since I have been writing scientifically for many years. To write a novel is different from science. Definitely. In addition, I must say that I have had support from my colleagues who have been very interested to follow my writing. I cannot share Carola´s article due to copywright. However, I can share this photo taken by her. It doesn’t happen very often, but this time I know who the photographer is.

When I have traveled, I have often been on my own. But, of course, this does not mean that I haven’t met people. On the contrary. I have had help with photography, what I call “dogma photography”. Unknown photographers. But this nice photo above is from Sala where I went to school. Where my interest in reading and writing started. And the photographer is Carola Blank.

I have been working this weekend, but I missed my sweetie so I had to go and see her. She is on a diet, but my father spoils her by giving her hamburgers. Not so good. That means that she gains weight, and 1 or 2 extra kilos is quite a lot for a little dog.

I am focusing on exercise right now, so this evening I have been on work out. I also need to get rid of my extra kilos. To stay in shape. I have always liked to do different kind of sports. Spinning tomorrow.