Monthly Archives: March 2019

It is a sunny Sunday in Stockholm. I am staying at home doing things that need to be done. These little things, like planning my week. I don’t have time to write here every day, therefore I do some mini blogging on Instagram now and then. A picture says more than a thousand words. Maybe that is not true, but I like photography. However, today I write some here.

These two weeks I have been doing quite a lot of exercise, and I have also tried new sports. I have had lessons in tennis and swimming because I need to do something different. It is good for the body to do various sports. So this week I am planning to practice my new swimming technique that I have learnt. I don’t like to wear a swim cap, but I have to, and also to wear swim glasses since there is too much chlorine in the water. I am really looking forward to do better swimming. I hope there will be a possibility to dive.

Today we have summertime, and it actually is a little warmer and no snow in Stockholm. Therefore I could start my running this week. Other muscles are active than usually, and that means that I am not in perfect shape for running. Slow running. Muscle pain today, so an additional reason to stay at home. Last summer I did 10 km on 60 minutes. That is my goal this summer as well. Not 70 minutes like yesterday. But my goal is not to run fast, but to enjoy being outdoors, have fresh air, sunshine and let the heart beat. To have pulse.

Today’s headline/hypothesis demands some thinking. I will also think about it. Maybe elaborate on it later since I also need some time to reflect on this philosophic view of life. Sport will however always be a part of my life. I like to keep my body active. Last summer I ran a lot and I got a little injury in my hip so I have done other sports during some time. Now it is soon time to get back on track. I will continue to develop my hobbies, so today I bought some swimming equipment. I need glasses when I swim, and I also need a hat to cover my hair. I actually learnt to swim by myself when I was four years old, but of course I took lessons when I grew up. Swimming techniques have changed since then. And I learnt new techniques last week that I need to practice. Great fun. But also demanding since I need a lot of practice.

The writing I have done is also a kind of marathon. That is why I need some time off to gather new energy. Maybe I need to travel somewhere to get new inspiration to write, but first, I need to focus on my books. It is a little chilly in Stockholm today and I went to Old town to see some bookshops. I found a book by JM Coetzee that I will read. Since I have written a lot, I will read other authors from a different angel. Languages are one of my favourite hobbies and is very interesting to read again. Not the least, developing at a personal level.

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.