Monday, February 22, 2010

Every Swedish blog today will write about the same thing... snow

I broke my own record. I started writing a post 4 times in a row, and left it midway. Which is the maximum number of times I have done this in a row. The earlier count was 3. I know, I am rambling, but allow me the liberty, otherwise the number will go to 5.

I am a bit pissed. Maybe that’s an understatement, but I am not in the mood for extreme statements, otherwise this post will tend to move towards profanities which are better left out of a blog. Don’t ask me why, there’s never one single reason for such mood swings. And I am too lazy to write all of them down. Oh, maybe I can tell you one of the better ones. It is minus 22 degrees today. And as I am not big on winter sports (the maximum participation it inspires from me is watching the winter Olympics on TV), this is not such good news for me. Especially because I still have to go to work, and the dogs and sled that I keep for such occasions was lent to Santa in December and he never returned it. And in this weather even Stockholm’s super duper hi-tech transport system has given in. Nothing, nothing survives minus 24 degrees and such incessant snow. Maybe polar bears do.. and sometimes I feel that God made this side of the world for them. It is certainly not for us humans. We seem to be fooling ourselves by living here with artificially heated rooms and imported frozen food. And getting super depressed because its such a pain to go out. Yes, you are right, I AM in a mighty sour mood.

I amused myself with watching numerous sitcoms on TV. My favorites actually, when you are pissed I guess that is the only consolation. 2 and a half men, How I met your mother, FRIENDS, SCRUBS and the like... I was never keen on TV, till I landed in this polar bear country. Here you have to be big on TV. Else you die. And I so want to live. I am tending to take the way of the abominably irritating NRI (Non resident Indian, for the uninitiated, don’t even make me go into the puns for that) and feel like starting every other sentence in a conversation with the typical Indian accent (you know what I am talking about if you have ever watched Russel Peters), the irritating drawl and “You know, in India...” Never done that till now, but now I really feel like it. “You know, in India” when we feel suffocated we can put on a t-shirt over the shorts and take the bike and go out for a long ride. Or go for a walk. Or sit at the outdoor Café sipping some cool lemonade. “You know, in India” we can start a conversation with the person standing next to you at a traffic crossing and not be considered weird. Or start humming loudly in the middle of nowhere and be considered very positively cheerful. Wear a bright red shirt and bright blue shorts and sit in a café and not be considered abnormal. If you didn’t notice I am bitching about Sweden. I think it is a first on this blog, I usually am all praises about this adopted country. But today I am getting a pleasure out of bitching. Always wondered about what pleasure the girls derived out of having those crazy bitching sessions in school. Now I know.

Lately there has been a trend of some Sweden lovers attacking blogs which do not speak highly of the country. Lost in Translation and HairySwede are some blogs which have faced these attacks. Of course, my blog is not half as famous as them so maybe I am safe, if not, a message to the all Sweden lovers (:goes down on his knees:), I love Sweden and Swedes, but please pardon me for finding it difficult to love the minus 22 degrees (:sob:) and being captivated in my apartment for so many days. I am in awe of you because you guys have managed to spend a lifetime here. Quoting LostInTranslation words about the Canadians, maybe you guys are not afraid of the winter, the winter is afraid of you. But me, this lost Indian guy, who is more used to the plus 50 degrees of Delhi, Nagpur and Jamshedpur, finds it just a wee bit uncomfortable when the needle dips below minus 22.

I just reread the post and it sounds horrible. Yes, I was right, I AM in a crappy mood. I have a good mind to scrap this post and not put it up. But its probably much less crazier than the other ones, and then again, who cares :). Talking of crazy, and keeping up with my tradition of recommending good blogs, here are two other good crazy ones I bumped across. In case you have assimilated the craziness of my blog and want to move one notch up, this should be able to satiate your appetite for craziness. And would give you another glimpse of an impossible life of a non-swede in Sweden.

And yes, you will notice, that nearly all Swedish blogs today will write about the same thing... snow :)

1. Lost in Translation
2. A Swedish American in Sweden

Happy reading!

11 comments:

  1. Today I had my iPod on and started singing out a little loud to a really peppy song and suddenly noticed strangers on the road giving me weird looks, I totally miss being able to hum anywhere in India and coming across as nothing else but cheerful.. as for the snow, somehow after living here for more than a decade it doesn't bother me as much - OK, who am I kidding? It's just that this year we have been blessed to not have as much snow..

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  2. ^ lucky you, my ipod froze last night.

    Merlin you poor thing, i know how you feel. totally and utterly.

    oh and I lost my phone in the snow.

    so you can imagine how pissed off I WAS. hahahaha

    ps, blog sharing is fine by me :) thanks !!

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  3. PS merlin, check out my tv list on my facebook!! filled with awesome tv names hahahahahahah !

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  4. This year it has been mild, at least in Ontario...however the dreary weather makes you feel like ending your life...nothing helps...
    Calgary wa much colder, with wind chills up to -51, but the days were 99% sunny, so I didn't mind the cold as much...this place is killing me honestly...I am counting days till the day I start driving back to Calgary...

    I am not helping you overcome the winter blues now, am I???

    Be warm, be cheerful, it won't last for long!!!

    Take care. :)

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  5. hope u see the sun soon...or at least temperature come down to positive digits..

    btw, I liked that Angry Merlin image :D

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  6. @Miss Overthinker: Havent been abroad for that long, but dont think I will ever get used to the gloomy weather of Sweden even in 10 years!

    @Lost: So sorry for your ipod and phone... And your FB TV list is actually a mini TV guide, I can decide which shows to watch by looking at it :)

    @Jas: Completely agree... the darkness and the dreariness gets to me more than the cold. Unfortunately here its cold AND dark :(

    @Neha: Thanks Neha... hope to see the sun soon too... and Merlin is not angry anymore :)

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  7. when the needle dip down keep your sunny side up :))
    i can totally relate to it..just 2 days of incessant rain and the above pic you posted(cute) describes me!!!
    stay warm and run to india!! its spring time here:))
    my blogger is acting strange,,not showing ur updated entry!!

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  8. @Wishes: If I could have one wish now, it would be to be teleported to india :).. half my posts are about running to India anyway :P

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  9. aww poor you, i can imagine ur plight! and here i start feeling insecure when thr is nthin to do on weekends! yes, india is lovable, it only snows in the mountains here :)
    sitcoms are the solution and u know it, so dunno how to cheer u up further..but tell me, are u nt goin to wrk even? wheeee!!! :D

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  10. @ Mrinalini: Thanks for your comments... just blogging and reading comments and others blogs makes me better... I call it blog therapy!
    I always have to go to work.. the Swedes wont stop working because of snow and cold, its a part of their lives! Thanks for dropping by!

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  11. Bitching is therapeutic. You should perhaps start wearing red shirts, blue shorts there and heat up the place Indian style ;)

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