Arrival!

Well I made it. I realized after sitting on a plane for 9 hours that I dislike flying more than I originally thought. I ended up with a huge headache, upset stomach, and some hot flashes. No idea what brought these on but they were quite annoying.

Anywho... On the drive from the airport to Stockholm I saw what amounted to an American truckstop - a Shell gas station with a 7-Eleven and McDonald's attached. Sigh... Apparently America is everywhere. I mean on some level I knew that, but still... Ugh.

Oh speaking of 7-eleven, I've seen at least a dozen here so far. I had no idea they were so big in Sweden!

Aside from that I've also seen a Subway, a Burger King, and a Tully's. Additionally there have been as many Swedish restaurants as ethnic ones. That's about par for the course I suppose but I expected more national eateries - not that I'm complaining just noting.

I may have mentioned this to some of you before but today helped solidify the statement for me. The Swedes don't really drive. Its winter, which means cold and snowy, and I saw as many taxis as regular cars. Lots of people still walking and even some on bikes! Good stuff!

More later. Typing from my phone is rough.

The start of something new

I've moved a few times in my adult life. First from New York (upstate!) to California, then to Washington, and briefly back to California. It allowed me to see a lot of these great United States and helped me attain a certain level of internal peace. The original move was a way to shake things up and try something new. To be honest I never thought it would be the catalyst for some great life experiences, and not to mention some great friends.

Now, with a new job, came the opportunity to move far from home yet again. This time, across the pond to Europe! Originally my choice was between Stockholm, London, & San Francisco - being an English speaker and someone who loves football (soccer to those of you in the States) my first choice was obviously London. Turns out the job is located in Stockholm so I would have needed to make very frequent trips there. As you can imagine, London, while great, didn't make a whole lot of logistical sense.

One city down.

Having lived in the US of A my entire life, the prospect of living in yet another new city, even a unique and fun one, didn't quite interest me. Add to the fact that I'd be making a lot of international flights to Stockholm (I don't like flights over 3'ish hours), this move would make even less logistical sense than London!

And that brings us to...

Stockholm! In all fairness Stockholm was my second choice for 2 reasons. First, language/culture barrier. Second, it was still in Europe. I mean, lets be clear here - it's a chance to live in freaking Europe! Not many people get that chance and I would have been a fool to pass up the chance to see more of the world.

SO, all that being said, I'm now just over a week away from the move and I feel unprepared for a move of this magnitude. Moving between states is easy; just drive on down with my crap (and my cat, Riina!), fill out a few forms, and BAM! hello new city.

Not so much this time around... Which reminds me, I have more forms to fill out and some phone calls to make before I leave. Best get cracking!