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September 20, 2004
A Doozy of a Lecture
Let me begin by stressing just how exhausted I am today. I biked approximately 30k during yesterday's arts show on the island of Aspo. The day started off gray and rainy, and since I didn't have any rain gear (a problem I am only too enthusiastic to remedy), I was forced to bike 7k down to the ferry in just a long-sleeved t-shirt, fleece vest, and running pants. It was uncomfortable, chilly, and well, downright unpleasant. But I persevered, and was rewarded when the sun came out an hour or so into our tour of the island. About a dozen people from our program went, although we didn't always stick together, and we took in 18 different homes/sites with handmade arts--including weaving, furniture, paintings, ceramics, and jewelry.
The highlight of the day, however, was seeing the castle, which was designed to be the main defense against the invasion of Karlskrona. Built in the 1600s and used for several centuries, it is now a tourist spot. I took lots of pictures, which I will post tomorrow.
The island was beautiful, with tiny cottages, and pastures with horses and sheep. We even stopped in a tiny church for part of their Sunday evening service to hear some violin and piano music. Lovely, lovely--but not enough to distract me from my growing unease. You see, I am a bit "saddle sore". That's what I get for not breaking in my bike with a few shorter trips first!
Anyway, I got back to the apartment around 8 p.m and dashed to the shower. I made a hurried dinner and went downstairs to Birte and Tomomi's place for a bit of "Candlelight Yoga". This exercise consisted of me putting my laptop at the front of the empty living room and playing one of my yoga DVDs. We chose the one designed for relaxation, so it was perfect for stretching out our sore muscles.
After that, I went back upstairs, ate the dinner I had prepared earlier, and went straight to bed. This morning, I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't too sore, and so decided to ride my bike into campus. What followed was three and a half hours of painful explanations of thermodynamics. I am going to take a picture of my notes from today to demonstrate the ridiculousness of it all.
Moreover, the room was freezing, and I have only just got feeling back in my nose, fingers, and toes. I'm hoping to gather my energy and run home (stopping, of course, at Marieberg to pick up my package!) to eat a warm lunch. For the rest of the afternoon, I plan on reading my textbook and taking a nap.
A note: riding my bike while carrying my laptop and its accoutermentsis tiresome, so I won't bring in my computer to school for the rest of the week. We're expecting internet service at our apartment on Thursday, so I'll update my journal then...
