Monthly Archives: November 2022

Burpees & Power step

Today was the premiere after three months of basic training. Scarry. Would I be able to make it through the whole session? What would happen to the jumps? The goal was more to complete the jumps with less focus on flow. Would I again feel harmony with body and music? When everything kind of just flows. No thoughts, you just do, without thinking. For a moment, forget all the evil and war going on in the world.
It’s a strange situation. People have fled Russia to live a more peaceful life. In Sweden, many nationalities unite. This is sometimes a strange feeling. Who is the enemy? What should I be careful about? Similar to when the pandemic started and people who had been through World War II started talking with suspicion. Who can be trusted?
This song kind of sums up my day. My wait for the Power step that I longed so for with both delight and nervousness. Three months of basic training. It was time to put myself to the test. Love the beat in this SNAP and it’s tough! Perfect after black week. Something is said about Sputnik at the beginning, Russia’s first vaccine against covid.

Shop til you drop or shop stop? 

What is the latest news? The upcoming black week will be dominated by shopping. A shop ‘til you drop theme’. In the whole world? I guess so. The USA has Black Friday, but what about for example Australia? How will inflation affect sales? Or vice versa? I have changed my shopping habits during the pandemic. You find everything online. A little boring perhaps.

Dear readers, you know that I love listening to music. And you also know that I studied last spring. Studying was a disaster for my usual exercise. I had no time for sports at all. After a few months of basic training this autumn, I have returned to a rather good energy level. Soon I will make a comeback for the step workout. Music and a mixture of dance with strengthening movements. My absolute favorite.

Sometimes I browse and search for new music. By chance, I found this nice tune by the British band “The Beloved” from 1993. Surprisingly, I found more music made by them that I like. Sharing this song “Sweet harmony”. Do you have anything to recommend?

TGIF 🎵

Wartime and king cobra Sir Väs

I guess that, and also hope, that everybody knows that there is a war ongoing in Eastern Europe. Historically, Ukraine and Russia have had armed conflicts, and I am in particular referring to Russia´s annexation of Crimea in February 2014. This war has engaged other countries in the world, and it also affects us as individuals through inflation and energy crisis in our daily life. A few weeks serious sabotage was found on the North Stream pipeline in the Baltic Sea which resulted in a huge release of the greenhouse gas methane. It reminds me of the Gulf war in the 1990s when Iraq invaded Kuwait.  I still remember the terrible sceneries on TV with all the burning oil wells set on fire by the Iraqi military. It also became an international conflict.  American president George H.W. Bush ordered Operation desert storm, and rapidly, Kuwait was liberated and humanitarian efforts could start.

Newspapers are coming with daily reports from Ukraine. Sometimes very detailed of what war crimes are ongoing. Is it good or not to report this in daily newspapers? We have learned names of weapons, that I never heard of. A few days ago I read about a king cobra that had escaped from its terrarium in Stockholm. A very poisonous snake. I am not so fond of snakes because I was bitten by a snake a midsummer when I was five years old. I had to stay at a hospital for a couple of days. The staff could not find the cobra that had escaped. I followed the news every day but they could not catch him. Where did he hide? Finally, Sir Väs returned by himself to his terrarium. I had a sigh of release.

I noticed that this event had a positive impact on me. It was good that the news focused on something different, even though I am not that fond of snakes. The media and newspapers do play huge roles in wartime, and I really wish that they are aware of this.

After Sir Väs returned to his terrarium, I got reminded of a memory 25 years ago when I strolled in a little town in France. I like to do that when I travel. No map and just stroll. I passed by a pet store and I noticed a little girl who had some kind of snake in her knee. What? I stopped and stared at her. I will never be able to do what she did. My camera documented this emotional moment. Last night, I searched for these photos and found them.