Take a Break!!

Been meaning to write a decent post --not a repost.  But first, I have way too many posts here and many of them do require reposts.   

Second, I am writing continuously on other sites.  And for the last few weeks have felt intense exhaustion.  Mental and emotional. 


Just got an academic paper accepted for publication, after 7 year of first having written it, 6 years of having refined it, five years of having presented it at the conference and nearly two years of consistent work it as a proper journal article.  Most of my work I keep creating new concepts and ideas.  It takes time and therefore takes longer top publish because it does not fit into any specific area of research. Its hard, but every time I do it, I ask myself, why am I doing this. Because after this if one gets no citations....then all of the work is not considered worth it.

I will comment more on this phenomenon and life.  


But I found this tweet and it just made my day.  And thought would share it with you all, to make you smile and share a mid-week post!!  Have a happy sunday!!

Sun in Scandinavia: Welcome, Oh Spring!!

First published on March 31, 2012, when I was fairly new in the country--I just found this one, as I was browsing through the blog....oh, you need to read this...the joy I feel at the light, even though change of seasons is really hard on me, especially in Sweden. 

Every year, right before it happens, I think, 'So what, it is all the same, the same cycles, the same turning of time.'  Yet when the signs appear, I am still amazed by its magic, by universe's inherent intelligence, that takes no pride and is not associated with any ego.  It is, like technology and fire, neutral. It hopes, I assume, to evoke a sense of wonder in us, year after year, time after time. Or may be, the universe just is, not hoping or expecting anything from us. Neither reverence nor fear.  Neither praise nor lament.

On those rare days when the sun is right above us, we realize that there is something special about the sun in Scandinavia. The sun is just as close to us in Spring, as it is far from us in winters.  So, its presence is experienced with just as much intensity as its absence.   The sudden appearance of sun can sometimes be experienced as pain and depression, just as much as the darkness is in winters.  The above picture was taken by iphone.  Blinding sun--early morning.  Karlstad, March, 2012.

All that, still does not stop people from sitting out in the sun in their lunch break.   While it is hard to find anyone outdoors in winter....come early signs of spring, we find people without jackets and sweaters... hoping to manufacture some Vitamin D.  Both to make up for winters and to store some vitamin D for next winter. 

I could not help but notice the brightness of daffodils, the early signs of spring, amidst the still brown and dead shrubs around it.  Daffodils, called Pask Lillies (easter lillies), are the first flowers that show up in spring.  You can buy them everywhere at one third the price of tulips and roses. March, 2012.  

New sprouting daffodils, awaiting their fruition!! Awaiting to reach their fullest potential --merely to provide us that one moment of unadulterated experience of bliss.  March, 2012. 

Spring time is Semla Time (Våren är Semla Tid)!!

And there are never enough posts about Semla.....First published on March 9, 2014--Here it is--as it is  that time of the year...

And its Semla time again.  

Semla: Singular

Semlor: Plural

Spring in the US meant Crocuses and eggs. I can speak of the east-coast.  The bite in the air is much milder, you are likely to forget your gloves at home, and when you step out, your car takes less time to get started.

I used to love seeing Daffodils everywhere.  

Its not that different here.  Crocuses are showing their heads, and daffodils are in the stores.  Its still a few weeks before we see daffodils in the ground.  

I don't have a car, so I do not need to worry about starting a car.  But I do need to worry about how well am I dressed, how warm am I? Have I taken my gloves and hat, even if I do not need it as I step out the door. I know I will need it in ten minutes.

For us though, come Spring, especially 'Fettisdag' Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, we flock towards 'Semla' the delicious bun filled with cream and almonds and sugar (an earlier blogpost was dedicated to it and spring time rituals. (Click here to read).

Although now we start to see Semla shortly after Christmas, about thirty years ago, Semla was sold only on one day.  Fettisdag!!  Fat Tuesday.  The tuesday before Ash Wednesday.

Then it started to be sold between Fettisdag and Påsk (easter).  Today, as is the case around the world, we want instant and prolonged gratification----so we get Semla between Jul and Påsk (pronounced Pausk) (Christmas and Easter).  Yet, Sweden has  maintained certain old ways, and therefore restricts (traditionally and not via government policies) the sale of Semla to three months. 

Even then, there is some excitement.  Semla is associated with Spring. Its associated with lightness and brightness and sweetness that is revealed in nature during Spring---

And it is customary to eat Semla both on Fettisdag, and Påsk.  After Påsk, we wait until next year!!  

This year Fettisdag was March 4.  And Påsk is April 20.