Totally Wicked...

Last week Tord and I celebrated ten years of being married and we celebrated this week by going to London to see the musical, Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. What? You never heard of Wicked? Well, crawl from under that rock and rush to your nearest box office and find out if it's playing in a city near you. This musical was fantastic...it was totally wicked!

Based on the Gregory Maguire novel of the same name, Wicked tells the behind-the-scenes story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and how she went from being your average green-skinned girl to the most feared woman in Oz. Along the way, we find out about the Wizard and his true intentions and whether Glinda is as good as she seems.

I liked it so much, I could see it again... Tord and I have now decided that we want to go to London again and see another musical. We're veering towards The Lion King. We're not sure when will do this again but I think it will be sooner rather than later.

So we were in London and we stayed at the Rockwell in Kensington, which was a very nice neighborhood to be in. Our room faced busy Cromwell Road but with triple-plated windows we didn't hear any traffic at all. Perfect! My only complaint about the hotel is that I wish there'd been a thick mattress pad on the bed since the mattress itself was a bit too firm. Our hotel was a short walk from the Hummingbird Bakery (such yummy cakes there!) and Harrods. Yes, we were touristy and went to Harrods--but only to buy tea for my father-in-law and Bendicks Bittermints. And we had a great pub, the King's Head, just around the corner. They had great burgers there...and the London Pride I drank was perfect...

We were supposed to cap off our belated anniversary festivities with dinner at Quaglino's. It's been ten years since the last time we were there and we thought it would be nice to go there and eat their infamous saddle of lamb--sans the annoying people who were with us the last time we were there. Unfortunately, Fate (or maybe someone famous, who knows?) stepped in and--when we arrived at the restaurant, there was a sign on the door stating the restaurant was closed "due to unforeseen maintenance issues". Sounds cryptic, right? Now, we started wondering...why such a cryptic sign? Why didn't the restaurant call us since they had Tord's cell phone number to let us know they wouldn't be open? Interestingly enough, on the same day, the Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, announced his retirement following the big MP greed scandal. We started wondering if this had something to do with it...then we wondered if some Royal was having a "do" there... then again, maybe there was a maintenance issue--but we could see the staff in the restaurant and they were putting up what appeared to be decorations...hmmm...

In the end, we went back to our hotel. We ate at the restaurant there and the lamb rack and minty potatoes I had were fantastic. Tord had fish and chips that were also yummy. So the day was saved by the Rockwell's restaurant and yummy food, and we went back to our hotel room feeling sated and happy.

And if you're on the King's Road in Chelsea and you like ballerina flats and beer, then here are two places you should visit: for the ballerina flats go to French Sole and for the beer go to the Cadogan Arms and have a pint of Broadside.

And now when it's cloudy in Stockholm...man, I wish I were back in London...

Where in the world is Kim...?

I know, I know...it's been a while. And what have I been up to since I last posted? Well, I went to Madrid for a long weekend. Madrid was great--I have fallen in love with Valencian paella and jamón ibérico de bellota...I still dream of it...ooooh it was so good...:9 I think I will have to make another trip to Madrid soon...

I also moved from Vasastan to Frösunda. A lot of people thought I would not like living in Frösunda since it's not "in town". Apparently there is this assumption about me that I will melt or self-destruct if I don't live in a downtown area. I guess it's because almost everything I like is in town or because--until recently--all of my friends lived in town. Or maybe it's because they know that when I lived in the US I lived within walking distance of Center City in Philly and I lived in downtown Richmond.

What most people forget is that the majority of the time I've spent in Sweden has been spent living outside of Stockholm's downtown area. When I moved here in 1995, I lived in Norsborg. After a year, Tord and I moved to a sublet in Bagarmossen, and we loved it there. It was close enough to town (within 15 minutes you were at T-Centralen) and we had Nacka Nature Reserve just around the corner from our apartment. Our apartment in Bagarmossen was well-planned and was in a quiet area that was just a five-minute walk from the subway. We had three great years there and then the lease on our sublet was terminated. From 1999 to 2002 we lived in Storvreten in Tumba. In fact, we moved into our apartment a month before we got married. [By the way, my 10th wedding anniversary is on the 12th so feel free to send presents...;)] We didn't love Storvreten but it was nice until we started having problems with insane neighbors and crime. We were also tired of dealing with commuter train delays, falling on icy hills that were never sanded during the winter and having to spend oodles of money on taxis when we missed the last train home.

So it wasn't until May 2002 that we moved to Vasastan. We loved Vasastan--it had (and still does) everything we liked. The only thing Vasastan didn't have was a two-bedroom apartment we could afford. We settled for a one-bedroom that was fine initially. It was in a good location on Västmannagatan, had lovely crab apple trees in the garden and was in close proximity to my favorite cafés, my job and my friends. What it didn't have was closet space or a room where I could write. Eventually we decided we needed to move but we couldn't afford anything in Vasastan since the prices had skyrocketed to the point of insanity.

We decided to check out Frösunda, and we both fell in love with the area. We have a nice-sized 2-bedroom apartment with a large balcony and it's just a 5-minute walk from Hagaparken, which is quickly becoming my favorite place in Stockholm. And we have found a café called Sjöstugan (Thanks, Marti, for introducing me to this place when you had all of us writers at your house for a retreat!) where we love sitting outdoors in the shade of a lovely old tree while Brunnsviken's lapping waves lull us. They make yummy cinnamon buns...

So have I gone insane because I no longer live in town? Nope. On the contrary, I think I have become much calmer. And both Tord and I agree that we can see ourselves living here for a long time. We've even said that--should we ever decide that we need a new apartment--we want to find one here in Frösunda. So I think it's safe to say that we found our happy place.

But there is one thing that I will miss and that is New York Stories. Sadly, my favorite bookstore (owned by my friend Margaret) is closing. Today the shop is closing its doors for good. This saddens me because I know how much of Margaret's heart and soul went into the store. I know that those of us who were regulars mourn the closing of NYS but we wish Margaret well. And I have the feeling that sooner or later she'll have something new planned for us...at least, I hope she will. But I will miss sitting outside NYS during the summer and eating icecream, and I will miss taking care of the shop when Margaret had to go out of town or had something else planned. And I'll miss gossiping with Margaret across the counter. But I think we'll just move the gossiping to Caffé Como.

Where have you been, Kim?

Well, the answer to that question is very simple: I've been preparing to move.
In two weeks, Tord and I will be leaving Vasastan for Frösunda. A few weeks ago, we sold our two-room apartment for a good price. Preparing for the openh ouse was insane. Our real estate agent told us to remove as much clutter and personal items as possible--which sounds simple enough until you're actually in the midst of it and you feel like you're having a nervous breakdown.

It started off with getting rid of lots of old magazines and books I hadn't read in ages. That part was not so difficult. It didn't take longer than an hour and it was cathartic to send them to the recycling bin.

Then came step two: going through old clothing and letting go of things you know you'll never wear again but just can't seem to get rid of...somehow in the midst of this I lost one of my favorite ballerina flats--yes, I have one shoe left. I don't know where the other one is. This veered me off track for over an hour as I went through all the bags looking for the missing shoe. Did I find it? No. Do I think I'll find it once I've given up and thrown away the other shoe? Yes. Most likely.

While I was making a huge mess that eventually had to be cleaned up, Tord was trudging up and down the stairs to our storage unit in the attic. I don't know how many trips he made, but at one point he said,"I am NOT going back up there again..." I knew from the stern expression on his face not to press my luck.

Now while all of this was going on, I was also attempting to paint the hall white. When it was done, I wanted to cry. It's such a boring color--can you even really call white a color when it is so god-awful bland? Even now, a month later, I still walk into the hall and think, "Usch...white."

But even with all the sneezing from dust and sore muscles from lifting heavy boxes and grumbling about how all of this was the world's biggest pain in the ass, it's amazing how different our apartment looks. I would take a picture and post it if I knew where my digital camera was. It feels like a completely different place and I think the new owners will be very happy here.

And the great thing was that we didn't even have an open house--the couple who bought our apartment requested a private viewing and the deal was done within a matter of hours! This pleased me immensely. I wasn't looking forward to the open house and the usual crowd who turn up. I've been to enough open houses in Stockholm to know how little regard most people show for your furniture, etc when they're there. They cock their feet up on your coffee table, sit on the arm of your sofa, lounge around like they own your place and it annoys me. Granted, I am easily annoyed but bad behavior is not something I can stomach.

I will miss living in Vasastan--it's a fantastic place to be, but the real estate prices were just too high when we decided we wanted a larger apartment. But every time I go to my soon-to-be-home of Frösunda I get a good vibe from it. I think we'll be happy there and I can't wait to finally have a room where I can write...

And, by the way, I was too busy in November to even come close to finishing Nanowrimo. Maybe next time...

Time to Nanowrimo

Every year it sneaks up on us--the first day of Nanowrimo (or National Novel Writing Month to the uninitiated). I signed up for it weeks ago and then got so busy at work and getting my submission packages ready for agents that I forgot all about sitting down and thinking up a plot. Pretty smart, right?

Well, this morning I woke up at six and was unable to return to dreamland. Suddenly I realized I'd dreamed the plot of my novel--my Nanowrimo bonanza! I got up, pulled out a notebook and began scribbling down a synopsis of the first three chapters. Then I turned on my moody computer (it's been moody since I went to Matera with it--I forgot lock my hard drive and it keeps beeping at me now when I turn it on or it takes forever to get going) and wrote 1500 words. Yay me!

So now I shall keep chugging along with my Nanowrimo novel, which will be called Be Mine. I've got my iPod playlist ready for when I am writing and it features Robyn, Kate Nash, Maria Mena, the Whitest Boy Alive and Moloko, just to name a few. :)

Now the question is will I be able to write 50,000 words by November 30? I don't know but I will damn sure try.

The rest of you can follow my progress if you like. I am going to put a widget on my blog with a word count update. I'll fix it either today or tomorrow.

Of course, you could always sign up now and try Nanowrimo yourself....

Catching up...

I haven't posted in ages--partly because I have been very busy but als0 because I just wasn't in the mood.

Since I last posted, I have started a new job, attended the Women's Fiction Festival in Matera where I met a lot of new people like Brenda, Aleka, Cassy, Lori, Sarah Jane, Cynthia and Regina--just to name a few. I've also started outlining what may be my Nanowrimo 2008 novel. I need to tweak the outline a bit, but it has a good feel to it.

So where do I work now? I work for a cosmetics firm called Oriflame as the copywriter for the fragrances section. I started in September so now I've been working there for a little over a month. It's a great place to work and I really like my colleagues. Annika Shelly, a former member of SWG, told me about the position and really rallied on my behalf. I think I owe her loads of Belgian beer for that. :) Now Karin, who is also an SWG member and my writing buddy, has joined the team as the copywriter for the accessories line.

Now while I was in Matera I met Lori Avocato, who writes romance and mysteries, and her cousin Alice. We had dinner together the first night I was in Matera. She's such a nice person so I urge anyone who reads my blog to check out her website and blog! One of the other writers I met while in Matera was Aleka Nakis, who is just too funny. :) We enjoyed many meals, glasses of wine and loads of coffee at Bar Sedile (aka Franco's) together. Visit her website and get to know her!

Finally, I pitched my novels to agents and editors while I was in Matera. Several requested partials from me, which I will be sending out this week. One agent, Sarah Jane Freymann didn't request my work but we had a great time chatting and I hope we can meet when I am in the US in December for coffee-talk.

That's it for now. I need to get back to writing.

P.S.
Maria Mena has a new album out. You should buy it.

Rain, rain go away...

It's been raining almost non-stop since Sunday evening, and I am so tired of it. It feels like my brain is waterlogged it's been raining so much. So today's post isn't going to be particularly scintillating. I figured I'd keep you up-to-date on what I've been reading all summer...
So here it is--Kim's Summer 2008 Reading List (in no particular order):

• The Witches by Roald Dahl (read this with a ten-year old I was teaching)
• Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl (torn, don't know if I really liked this book)
• Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger (purely escapist reading that was sometimes fun, sometimes annoying)
• The Anonymous Venetian by Donna Leon (I love all of her books)
• Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs (lots of fun to read but you'll be very, very hungry...)
• How to Walk in High Heels by Camilla Morton (fun book on everything we chicas need to know)
• The Mission Song by John le Carre (fantastic, disturbing, highly recommended)
• Angels Fall by Nora Roberts (a little romantic suspense to get me through this rainy period in Stockholm)

I've probably read more books but I can't remember. I know I read two books while we were in Italy but I've forgotten what they were called and I left them at the hotel once I finished reading them.

Hmm...not much today. Well, maybe I'll feel more creative next time. But while I am writing, I can tell you I'll be in Italy again in late September for the Women's Fiction Festival. I'm really looking forward to it. Some of the chicas in my writers' group went to it last year and found it insightful. Now I'm sold--I'm going on September 24.

Happy Anniversary!

No, it's not my wedding anniversary--that was back in May. As of today, it's exactly thirteen years since I first moved to Sweden. Heja Kim! :) I can still remember how nervous I felt in the weeks leading to my leaving Richmond, Virginia and moving here. Part of the time I walked around in a daze. It helped that I was working at the time for a department at VCU that did tele-research for the various state authorities. Between 3 and 6 hours a day I called people, who found all of us who were calling them and asking them to answer health questions on behalf of Virginia's health department exceeding annoying or just too nosy.

In between phone calls, I fretted over if I had enough money saved up (I didn't), would I like my new job in Sweden (well, the first one fell through before I even arrived but another one eventually came along), would Tord and I be able to stick it out when we were finally together on a full-time basis or was it a case of absence making the heart grow fonder (didn't need to worry about that). In short, I was terrified but I think I did an okay job of pretending I had no doubts at all because sometimes I even fooled myself.

On the day I was supposed to leave the US, Andrew, Inge, Paula and Mona took me to Dulles and they kept me from sinking too often into my own thoughts. When we arrived, the KLM check-in personnel informed me my flight had been canceled and that everyone booked on the Sunday flight to Amsterdam was being put up in rooms at the airport hotel. This hiccup was enough to rattle me. I hadn't planned for this, didn't have any phonecards or credit cards (I'd gotten rid of all my American cards by that point) but Inge gave me her phonecard so I could call Tord and let him know I would be a day late arriving in Stockholm.

As it turned out, I was two days late arriving in Stockholm. The flight I was scheduled to take the next day was several hours late leaving Dulles so I missed my connecting flight from Amsterdam to Stockholm. I ended up having to spend the night in Amsterdam, which should have been fun but I was so focused on getting to Stockholm and to Tord that I had no real interest in anything else. Besides, by the time my flight landed in Amsterdam, it was nearly one in the morning and the only thing I wanted to do was take a shower and go to bed. So much for excitement and adventure!

I tried to sleep but I spent more time tossing and turning, reviewing the three years I'd spent in Richmond, my life PT (pre-Tord) and how I was embarking on seriously major change. I was twenty-five and I was taking this huge step--moving to another country and leaving everything behind--and I suddenly understood why my mother was so worried about me and what I was doing. I didn't know anyone else in Sweden other than Tord and his family. I didn't have a support network in case things went horribly wrong. If I fell, there was nobody to catch me. And it was both thrilling and frightening.

But thirteen years later, I can say I have survived a hell of a lot of ups and downs in Sweden. Tord and I are still together and I can honestly say that--if I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't change a thing.