Welcome to Anna’s Diary
On life, health and nature
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A blue-red mess
In a few days, we will have elections in Sweden. Today I am going to the polling station in the library to make sure that my civic obligations are fulfilled. We live in a democracy, and it is worth defending. I sometimes go by subway, and the photo below is so representative of the situation in Sweden right now. You either vote red, or you vote blue. Balance-of-power roles in politics are dangerous for democracy.
In the countryside, the election campaign is underway, but I cannot vote there. I can only note that the current municipal policy has decided to turn off the little lighting that was on the roads. The countryside became even more the countryside. The stars certainly shine even brighter when I walk Molly in the evening. I can always find the Big Dipper/The Plough, and sometimes Orion’s belt is very clearly visible.
I already like Nepal so much. I get upset when this humanitarian disaster is overlooked in the news. Nepal is a rich country with beautiful landscapes, but some people live in simple conditions and have been hit very hard by the floods.
I now have a tourist visa for Nepal and Sri Lanka. But India is still not ready. There, I had to choose a religion, and it was “Christian”! I like all religions. I am waiting for a response from the Indian embassy on how to fill out the form. I will probably travel to India by bus. Not by boat or plane.
I am preparing for lots of photos on the trip to Kathmandu. Should I bring my digital camera? My mobile phone takes better pictures now compared with my camera. However, it feels so good to hold a real camera because it clicks when I take a picture. A Western dilemma.
Election in Sweden -
Algorithms and the Kuala Lumpur Petronas Towers
I am now starting to be able to visualize my trip. It will be an adventure, and I must be prepared. There is a certain freedom in traveling alone even though I will now be visiting friends. People tend to be curious and want to speak with me. And I with them! If you travel in pairs or in a group, you mostly end up talking to each other.
Sometimes unexpected events appear on my computer. Like today, when some kind of algorithm found music for me that I really loved right away. The small symphony orchestra, and especially the piano, reminded me of a concert I went to in Malaysia under the Petronas Towers. Yes, exactly, under the two towers on a Sunday morning. There were many of us waiting in line for the performance, and a couple from the Philippines started talking with me while we were waiting. They studied architecture. We became friends on Facebook, but after my ID was hijacked, we lost touch.
Today, I am curious about what kind of music and theater I will experience during my trip. This song is in French. It will also be exciting to see if there are French influences in Nepal and India. In Vietnam, France has left their mark.
A perfect song for the people in Nepal. When you do not have a house anymore 🙏🏼
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My new routines
Finally! I have started both theoretical and practical strength training. It is really great to get help from a PT. I am learning more and more. He teaches me the right technique and also how to think when it comes to weights. The summer ice cream days are over.
The book I am reading reminds me of studies that years ago were called biochemistry. Aerobic and anaerobic metabolism to gain strength. I remember Coenzyme A, which helps to form Acetyl-CoA, which in turn fuels the so-called citric acid cycle. That is the biochemical explanation for why I can lift weights. When there is not much oxygen, lactic acid and less ATP are formed, which I notice so well every time I exercise. The acid tickles my nerve endings.
Now I am halfway through the book, and the more practical parts will be described. The ones that I am actually interested in. A lot of willpower is needed, and I need to be a little disciplined.
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Central Nepal floods 🇳🇵
A glacier has caused great devastation in Nepal. Several thousand people have died. My friend in Kathmandu is unharmed. Thank goodness. He told me that his friends in the military are doing massive rescue work. The new government is working very intensively. A similar incident occurred a year ago in the European Alps in Switzerland, where part of a glacier broke away.
I received a message today that they have made a lot of progress in the rescue work. The irony of fate. Professor Thapa’s field of study is anatomy. I did a little research on his scientific work, where I found a publication about how important it is to show respect for dead people who donate their bodies to science and education. A symbolic ceremony for reflection, please see Professor Trilok Pati Thapa’s work:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38196216/
Maybe I will write an alternative resume for my book “Generations” when I am in Nepal. One of the characters in the book receives a donated kidney. The main character, Greten, suffers from chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Many people come to Nepal to climb mountains. Perhaps because a near-death experience makes them feel more alive. I am more interested in catching a glimpse of mountains that reach above the clouds. How is it possible that they are so high?
I hope that I will be able to find a way to contribute to Nepal. It has been almost 10 years since I was in Asia. A lot has happened. The Internet helps to make the world feel so small. News spreads instantly.
Stay safe 🐾
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Athleisure
There! Then I am on again. My every other weekly Saturday workout between 10 and 12 am. One hour of strength training and one hour of pulse training. It is deluxe to go for exercise in a comfortable temperature outdoors. No extra jacket. No gloves or hat. The bike lock does not need to be defrosted. Everything becomes so much easier.
Sathurday routine. I really should have gone to the gym. Tomorrow I will. I am trying to teach myself some new routines. These machines that are so popular. Always a lot of people going to the gym. I made my first step this spring, and now I am getting help from an expert on the subject. I know that muscle mass decreases with age, and since I want to live an active life, it was only natural to start strength training.
After a few training sessions, I was surprised at how out of breath I got from a strength exercise. I needed a few minutes to catch my breath before the next muscle group was trained. Of course, I wanted to delve deeper into the theory, and now I am reading about strength training. Strangely, I always want a theoretical background regardless of the subject. In this case, strength training.
Now my goal is to improve my muscle strength by the New Year. I have a few months. Let’s see if I manage to get out of my comfort zone. I like to train to music, and here is some of Agnes’ energy.
Time to wake up!
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Can I blame everything on the Strait of Hormuz?
It didn’t quite go as I had planned. I never got that cozy feeling of reading and preparing for the trip to Nepal and India in peace. I am so used to reading up on different subjects that I hesitated for a second, but then I realized that I can read while travelling. Life doesn’t always turn out the way you want it to. There are no government guarantees – like in so many other life situations. The Strait of Hormuz, I thought, I blame the Strait of Hormuz. It already felt a little better.
It is a bit absurd to set off on a trip and think about how you can travel without crossing the war. Ukraine is very close to me. Sometimes I travel by bus and meet refugees from Ukraine who travel for free. A distributional policy issue was brought up by a friend who believes that all refugees should be allowed to travel for free. Without thinking, I replied that Sweden is very close to Ukraine and that it might as well have been Sweden that was invaded. It is a very unique situation.
I am starting to look forward to my voyage, and I have a lot to prepare. There is no train from Kathmandu, so I am traveling by bus or plane to India. What should I do for Professor Thapa? I got this nice gift below a little over 20 years ago. Dala horses are nice, but I have rarely been to Dalarna. I still have a few weeks to look.
I hope I will find the plant that contains Reserpine. How come it grows in India? It is nowadays sold in health food stores. It is fascinating that plants can have such powerful pharmacological effects. However, there are much better pharmacological alternatives today than Reserpine to lower blood pressure and also for various anxiety conditions.
Stay safe 🐾
Gift from Professor Thapa. -
As if it were raining
It has been a fantastically beautiful summer with mixed weather. Personally, I now count August as a summer month. June can usually be unsettled in terms of weather. I have had a short break in my training, and next week I will start again. An intense and exciting autumn awaits. Finally, I have an idea of what I want to continue writing, and it feels good to let it mature. At Heathrow Airport I saw this sign below:
Multifaith at Heathrow Airport. I would like to see a common path forward. However, the reality is not like that, and I continue to discover. I hope that my upcoming trip will give me more insight and, above all, hopefulness. I will end with this beautiful song, “Teardrops”. The pace and the rhythm are something like a slow, long-awaited summer rain outside my window in the evening.
