JZ Blogger

The Graaf sisters, I remember them! Sort of. I remember the girls in my class, probably in second to third grade (98-99), talking about them. Their idols. Personally I didn’t really know who they were, and until recently I only had a faint hunch that they were models and singers. Never heard their music, though, or at least I can’t remember it. After I moved to Denmark, I never heard anything about them ever again. Until now.

This elderly woman I know (through BookCrossing, of course ) presented me to a book – a biography – she’d read. She said it was good and that it put Magdalena Graaf (the author) in a whole new light compared to that of media. Of course, back when she was in the light to begin with I was too young to understand, but still the name did say ”bimbo” even to me – until I read the book.

Allow me to be rude enough to summarize Magdalena’s life in a few brief points (SPOILER WARNING: If you want to read the book yourself, don’t read any further!):

(Läs mer…)

I love changing skin! But it’s been a while now…

So I stumbled upon (not through StumbleUpon, though ) this new skin which I haven’t used due to the autumn theme. But now autumn is almost here :O

The header is changeable though. But my skills when it comes to making a new one suck

Perhaps you can help me out? If you’re skilled with this sort of thing, I’d be thrilled if you could design a custom header for me! Just contact me and I can send you some personal photos or something for you to work with. Or you can surprise me, but chances are I’ll be disappointed

Image size: 760 x 190 pixels.

Anyone up for the task?

For now, however, it’s a new season and a new skin. And I kind of like the more simplistic yet sophisticated look

The Olympic Games in Beijing 2008 are over. In regards to this event, I wanted to write a post. But I’m not sure what to put the spotlight on…

Should I focus on the political façade China has put up in front of the world, the greatness of this nation, the superb games they’ve put together, the dedication and loads of money spent on the event, the wonderful show and how it has positively affected millions of people? Or should I have a look at the dark side, the events behind this façade, the millions of people in China suppressed and tossed aside to make China look good to the outside world, the political instability, the people who were forced to move to make room for the newly built stadium, the protestors who were thrown into work camps, the discrimination of the ‘unfit’ and ‘ugly’, the millions of people in China who struggle to get food to eat while the leaders of the nation spends its money on luxuries, the debate about human rights, minorities, ethical questions and the fact that China isn’t what it pretends to be?

Or perhaps I should focus on the sports, the core of it all, the amazing performances by people like Phelps and Bolt that will be remembered in years to come, the world records, the medals won and lost, the times, numbers, statistics and results, the diversity, the flaws and perfection in the individual performances, the detailed analysis of movement, physical and mental conditions, the effect of outside noise, battles and exciting moments, the positions, finals and quarterfinals, the commentators and their extreme knowledge, the media, the attention, China as the dominating nation when it comes to gold medals, or the US regarding the total medal count, the sports, from sailing to wrestling, from high jump to fast running, from tennis to table tennis, from water polo to horseback riding?

Or why not the emotions, the cries and loud cheers, the support of times and nations across the world, the patriotism, the unity between countries otherwise at war, the fight for peace and freedom, human rights and the lack thereof, the tears of joy and those of sadness, the hearts broken, the years of training which has resulted in dreams coming true or dreams being crushed, the little details that make a difference, the poor workers and volunteers standing in the rain but dedicated to do their job, the military-like organization and synchronization of thousands of people, or the funny sides, the humor, cows walking backwards, the edge-of-the-seat excitement, joy and happiness, strong faces and hardened hearts?

Or maybe I should get patriotic myself, talk about Sweden and the ups and downs of this year, the fact that this was one of the worst games for Sweden in a very long time, the lack of medals and the few actually achieved, the fight against neighboring countries and our position second last among the Nordic countries, the sadness in the many failures – or decent tries – among our athletes? Or should I rant about the bad luck when a swimsuit breaks minutes before start or when the first obstacle is the one to fall on, provide excuses or legitimate reasons, talk about the few amazing performances both in table tennis and sailing, as well as a very good try by a certain someone who could have won gold in her field but decided to switch to another sport in lack of challenges, the respect I owe to those who tried and those who stood up for what they believe in, to him who wouldn’t accept a third-place medal as a protest to the corruption within his sport, the hope provided by media and the vast sadness of failure to come as a result?

Or should I look into the future and talk about next time, London and the UK, the expectations and hopes, the years until we meet again, the possible results the games have left in China, my personal feelings and political thoughts, the amazing shows and non-sports aspects, the speculations in regards to how the Olympic flame will be lit next time, the political debates that may come or are already here, the importance of the games to the world as we know it? Or the history, how it started, the Greek, the modern games, the great names we still remember and those that have now been washed away due to new world records, old highlights and great moments?

Or perhaps I shouldn’t focus on anything particular at all except the games as a whole and the parts of it I will remember in times to come? Yes, that’s what I’ll do. After all, the Olympic Games are too large to sum up in a single blog post.

Today I was at the university, for registration. A lot of paperwork, as always. But I also got a lot done I now have my books purchased, registration is complete, and I’ve registered into the Student Union. I also know where the building I’ll be spending most of my time in is, and how parts of it look inside.

What am I studying again? English, basic course.

I’ve also met a potential friend. He asked a question about what papers we were supposed to take from a table (there were a lot, and which to take was related to which group out of five you signed up for). We joined each other to walk to ”studenternas hus”, and later had lunch at Nordstaden.

Despite some heavy reading, I think the coming half a year will turn out quite good

So, now I’ve completed Kungsbacka River. According to the official website, it’s the largest kayak/canoe contest in Sweden! Not sure if that’s true, but there sure were plenty of contestants!

We participated with two of our inflatable kayaks. My sister and I in one, our parents in the other. We called ourselves ”The Inflatables”, for obvious reasons

The fact that our kayaks are inflatable caused some weird looks even before we’d parked the car. A guy working at the starting location told us where we could park, and then he asked ”are your kayaks already here?” We responded with the truth: ”No, they’re in the back.” At first he thought we were joking.

Well at the starting location, we inflated our ”rides”. People must have thought we were crazy! But then again, others were dressed up as funny characters, and one pair even had a homemade log-canoe, so we were by far not the weirdest ones. The only difference was that we were serious while the others were just joking around.

In the water, ready for start. A horn was blown and everyone went mad. Imagine a large group of canoes and kayaks, and even more people occupying them, all cluttered up in the water under a bridge, fighting for a spot near the front of the starting line. They all knew where to go once they heard the horn, but they all want to get there before everyone else. Madness is an understatement in this scenario.

The racecourse can be divided into several parts. First, there were two smaller lakes you had to cross. After the first lake, there was a ”lift” where you had to carry or pull your chosen means of transportation on wheels for a couple of hundred meters.

Then there was the fun part: Rolfsån. A small river with several rapids, making out a large part of the race as a whole. Unfortunately, you had to walk past the most fun part (the wildest part), but then again, that’s understandable as most canoes would roll over several times if they attempted to pass that area. Our stable kayaks can handle it easily, though.

After the river part you got out to the sea. More wind, less fun stuff. And harder to paddle. Here you had to make your way around a flag placed in the middle of the water, and then go towards the town of Kungsbacka itself. A calmer stream, and on it the finish line!

My sister and I finished second last in our group (K2: kayaks with two people in them). Guess who finished last But then again, comparing our inflatable kayaks to ”real” ones is unfair. The real ones are a lot faster. Throughout the entire race, we held a speed about the same as the canoes. And if you compare to the group ”C2″ (Canoes with two people), we did okay. We finished somewhere in the middle.

On the funny side, besides all the fancy dress-ups and the log-canoe, several canoes tipped over. On the wildest part of Rolfsån still part of the race a very large crowd had gathered. They probably knew from previous years it was a funny spot to be in. As we came to this area, we could see the guys ahead of us had already in over. They were desperately trying to empty their canoe.

We, on the other hand, passed safely in our steady kayaks. The crowd booed at us, having been cheated on the very entertaining sight of two people falling into the water. They soon got their thrill, though, as the canoe right behind us failed to keep their balance.

Our parents also saw one canoe getting stuck up a pillar of a bridge. Apparently the canoe was filled with water, and the current was so strong it was impossible to get the canoe loose. Several people pulled and pushed, but it was unmovable. Eventually, they had to call a fire truck to help drag them loose. Later on we saw their canoe after they finally finished the race and it was quite messed up.

During the race we also had some nice duels. Every now and then you’d end up close to another canoe, and you’d battle to get ahead of one another. Sometimes we succeeded, sometimes we didn’t. In total, excluding the two lifts, we (my sister and I) passed 13 canoes. A lot more got away already from the start, though, and many of those we passed were among the ”unserious” ones dressed up in funny ways.

The most interesting duel, however, started just before we went out to the sea, by the end of Rolfsån. Two guys, maybe ten years older than me, were caught up by us. But they didn’t give in easily! For the entire sea part as well as the final part towards Kungsbacka, we battled closely for the lead. Most of the time, we were a few meters ahead of them. Every time they tried to make a pass, we would speed up getting further ahead of them. Then they’d slowly approach us to make another attempt, and again we’d speed up. This went on for a long time, and it started to wear us out.

Just before the finish line they were still with us. We simply couldn’t get far enough ahead of them! The crowd was cheering on from the top of a bridge, under which the actual finish line was. At this point, the guys in the canoe made a final, very strong attempt. By now, we were very exhausted having repelled their previous attacks. But they failed yet again. Trying to pass us, they accidentally hit our rear, causing our kayak to turn into some reeds. Unfortunately for them, they were caught on the inside, going further into the reeds than we did. That allowed us to get out quicker and make a stand towards the finish line. They finished five seconds after us.

Having crossed the finish line, we were greeted by a number of men from the military who were present both during the start and finish of the race to help out. Their job here was to get people’s canoes/kayaks out of the water while the participants could sit down and rest in the grass. We also got something to eat and drink, and a nice little ”Kungsbacka River” metal plate.

The entire race, for us, took 3 hours, 28 minutes and a few seconds. We finished about an hour and a half after the ones who first crossed the finish line. And still, we had plenty of others behind us.

At three o’clock (the race started at 10), prizes were given to the winners. Especially a few people from England stood out, mainly because of the language differences, but also because their team got two prizes (first and third in one of the groups, if I remember correctly). Prizes were also handed out to those in the best dresses.

A final prize was to be given to the guys in the log-canoe, but even at this time, they had yet to finish the race. Last word heard was that they had managed to get all the way to the sea! Still a bit left, but at least they were past the hard part. Most of us hadn’t believed they would make it, but apparently they did.

I had great fun on this day, and despite the poor time in our group, it was well worth the effort. To sum up this post: I’ll be participating in this race again next year, even if it means a new place at the bottom ranks! Perhaps I’ll see you on the course?