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Recipes from my Father

Recipes - (c) ML

Recipes. A half dozen of them. I can't believe it. My father actually sat down to write a few recipes for me! Hm .. goulash .. potato dumplings .. meatballs. Simple. Hearty. Good. It feels a bit strange to look at these hand-written pages. His handwriting. His words. Swedish and German. Sometimes mixing languages within a single sentence.

These are the notes from a professional chef. There are hardly any measurements. Only suggestions to add a little of this or that. I remember watching him cook a few times almost 30 years ago. He never followed any recipes — everything was in his head. Sitting here in my apartment, thousands of miles away from him, I'm trying to picture him writing these recipes, perhaps sitting at his kitchen table in his apartment in Stockholm. I wonder what he was thinking? He must have thought that this was a rather strange request.

Saturday

Warm summer day. Ice coffee. People watching. City life. Perfectly lazy Saturday afternoon.

- another post from my phone.

iPhone Withdrawal

iPhone

I'm on a business trip and I left my phone on my desk at home in Philly! It wasn't really my fault: the phone was charging, and I had to leave at the crack of dawn to go to the airport. In other words, I was essentially sleepwalking, and can therefore not be held responsible.

Anyway, what's interesting is how utterly naked and handicapped I feel. I have become so dependent on that device. Being without a phone is bad enough. And even if you, against all odds, actually find a working pay phone .. I can't remember anyone's phone number anyway. That iPhone is my direct link to all my contacts, my schedule, Twitter, Skype, everything!

Sure, I have my laptop with me, but it's just not the same thing. You have to find a wi-fi spot, boot up and log on .. that's just way too many things .. and try that while driving.

- not a note from my phone

Last Week

What a week! I spent my last week at the "old" job at the main office in Austin, TX, working past midnight pretty much every day trying to put some finishing touches on a project.

When suddenly Friday came around it was time to hand in the company phone, laptop, access card, security token, and credit card. Sign some paperwork, say a few quick goodbyes, and then race off to the airport to catch the flight home to Philly. On Monday I'd start a new project at a new job.

Of course, that's when the weather gods conspired to keep me in Austin for one more day. My flight was canceled due to heavy storms and I was now stranded at an airport hotel with essentially nothing to do. It really didn't feel like the "weekend" — it felt like "work" without being able to get anything done.

There will be very little travel in the new job, and most of it will be day-trips between the East Coast cities — a welcome change! I really won't miss the road warrior life at all.

- another post from my phone.

Brothers

Brothers - (c) ML

Two brothers on a nice summer day. Both so young. Their whole lives still in front of them — two completely different lives. Only a few years here and there will they even spend in the same country.

This picture is some 40 years old, and while I can't remember it being taken, I know where it was taken and therefore also roughly when. My brother and I are about 15 months apart, and this picture was taken when we lived with friends in Austria — a whole lifetime ago.

Over the years, I've been the one moving from city to city, and country to country, while he has lived pretty much his whole life in Sweden. I've lived maybe a total of 14 or so years in Sweden, and almost as many years in boarding school and with relatives in Austria. But even when we both lived in Sweden, most of the time we actually lived in different parts of town, or even in different cities. Then, 20 years ago, I moved to the States and we grew apart even more, both figuratively and literally.

More Realignment

Sitting at the airport waiting for yet another flight. This trip is different, though. I'm transitioning into a new phase of my life, and it's the last week at my "old" job.

I guess this "life upgrade" is really more of a "point-release" — the new "Martin 2.1" will travel less, and will work on some very exciting technology projects in an interesting and new (to me) field. This is another step towards an almost complete reinvention of myself.

- another note from my phone

Realignement

At the airport again. Have been traveling quite a bit lately. Early mornings. Late nights. So much time away from home. So much unproductive time spent in transit. So much time on weekends spent trying to catch up. So much time wasted.

Is it really worth it? What's the upside? No! It is time to realign my priorities. I know what matters .. what really matters! So now it's time to do something about it. And yes, I have a plan ;)

- another note from my phone

Why I Write

Writing - Photo by Olivander

Writing

— Photo by Olivander

Writing these blog posts is a bit of DIY therapy. It's similar to talking with a stranger in a bar over a few drinks — something that can be more liberating than talking with someone you know .. who may remind you later that you had that conversation, or worse, will try to "help" with a gazillion suggestions, when all you really want is to just talk and for them to shut up and at least pretend to listen.

I try to write as often as possible, and I get a bit itchy if I don't write for a while. Sometimes it even seems as if my mind can't move on to other topics until I've written about the ones in my head. The topics themselves can vary quite a bit, and I usually have several half-finished or unpolished posts lying around waiting for a bit of free time and for the writing bug to strike just right. Is there a general theme? I'm not sure; it's part venting (and admittedly some ranting), and part musings. It can be a short note posted from my phone, or an article written over several days. It can be whatever pops into my head.