Those were the best of times..

I'm sorry I haven't written anything in a while, but I am now a med student and it involves lots of social activities as well as remote studying/completing assignments. I've had a fun week and I think I'll try to squeeze in reviews later (probably sometime in the weeks to come) about what I've seen/read these last couple of weeks.

The reason I felt the need to write right now, however, is that I just started processing that my now-ex-classmates (from Gymnasiet) are never going to be my classmates again. I won't ever be in the same class as my Twiin (one of the most important people in my life), which means not meeting her on a daily basis. And it just hurts so, so bad. I met her and a couple of friends (also ex-classmates) for a sleepover last night and we parted, what, 3 hours ago maybe? And now I just miss her so much it physically hurts. So now I'm processing graduation.. I'm sort of glad I didn't process it when it happened, since crying this much on the actual day might have been a bit of a downer..

So, to all my friends: I love you and miss you, and I am so, so, so enourmously happy that I ever got the privilege to meet you, and get to know you. To my ex-classmates: I miss all of you (yes, that includes the most annoying of you too, that I seriously disliked), because together we were a class, and there is so much from our last three years together that I will look back to with a smile on my face. Even though it hurts now that it's gone, I am happy that it ever happened. Now I'm ready for new experiences, and I hope something as amazing as my last three years will happen again.

xoxo
Frida

Movies, Plays and Books

This past week, during which I have been as awful as ever at updating this blog, I have read Alice in Wonderland, seen Captain America (twice) and Hunger Games (for the second time) as well as seen the play The Greedy (L'Avare) by Molière and in the writing moment I am watching Wuthering Heights. So, as you see, there's quite a lot to comment/review.

For a review on Hunger Games, see my previous post on the matter; Hunger Games - The Movie, but if you want to know more about the others, please keep reading.

Captain America

Upon the request of one of my dear friends I rented Captain America for our "movie afternoon" last Thursday, and that was the best suggestion I've had in a long time. It was a fantastic movie with action, comedy and a wee bit of love and tragedy. And lots of hot guys! At least three of them (Dominic Cooper, Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan). ;) I also loved the character of Agent Peggy Carter. I mean she's a kick-ass, beautiful British woman, what's not to love?

A definite 4 out of 5, maybe even a 4,5. If it wasn't for the fact that I'm not too into super heroes, and some things were just a little bit.. I don't know.. off? I would totally give it a five. I really recommend it to pretty much anyone who likes a good movie. :)

The Greedy
A great play by Molière, that I saw with my father Saturday night at The Royal Dramatic Theater (Dramaten) in Stockholm. There's something special about going to a play instead of a movie. The talent of the actors is so much more captivating, somehow. And if you're under the age of 26 like myself, a ticket will only cost you 100 SEK (less than a 3D movie at the cinema!), no matter where you sit. For anyone in Stockholm, I really recommend that you go see the play!

Alice in Wonderland

I read Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
this week, and have just started reading Through The Looking Glass. It's not a very long novel, in fact it might be short enough to qualify as a short story with just about 100 pages (in the edition I have). However, it is quite an interesting read, and it is quite a lot like a dream (which is what it is I guess). Also, there are quite a few things that are present in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (duh!).

If you have nothing to read and have this book available, you should definitely give it a read!

Wuthering Heights
Well, just finished it, and boy was that I waste of time. Hundreds of shots at nature and dying animals, and the interesting part of the story started more than halfway (an hour) into the movie. I was hoping that it would motivate me to start reading the book that it's based on (which I got for Christmas last year, or maybe the year before..), but it didn't.

It would be generous to give the movie 2 out of 5... So, settling for a tiny 1, and NOT recommending that you see it. If you don't love the book that is, then you might like the movie too, I don't know..

xoxo
Frida

Just One Look

Just finished Harlan Coben's Just One Look, which I started reading Saturday afternoon (after finishing Dalton). If that time frame (which includes lost time due to spending the weekend with my Twiin - and during the time I spent with her I didn't read anything, and taking a break in reading the book yesterday to read more fanfics, as well as normal sleeping yesterday) is not a hint to how nail-biting the book was, then I don't know what is. Like always with Harlan Coben (who is one of my favourite authors - did I mentioned he tweeted me?! Some time ago I wrote something about the opening line in The Innocent, "You didn't mean to kill him", which possibly is the beat opening sentence I've ever read, and he responded with something like "enjoy the rest of the book"! Ok, enough rambling..) the language pulls you forward and the plot unfolds in such a way that it's difficult to stop reading. If you've ever read a stand-alone novel of Coben, you know what I mean. There's also the way he has several characters in focus and you won't know how they're all connected until the last couple of pages (and it's often a very surprising connection at that). I love it.

The difference between the previous novels of his that I've read and Just One Look, is that the main character (if you can say that there is one, which I think you can) is a woman. Ok, scratch that, I just thought of two other novels where you could argue that the lead character is a woman. Anyways. Grace Lawson is this suburban mother and painter with a nice life and then her husband goes missing after seeing a photograph from his past, and she's determined to find him. Grace's wit, if you could call it that, is a great contributing factor to the book, and it gives a fun edge to even serious situations. Also, her annoyance with perfect housewives and suburban mothers is hilarious.

It is not my favourite book by Harlan Coben (that is and will probably always be Hold Tight), but it was very good. I really recommend that you read it, even though I don't quite know how to grade it (I've found that grading stuff really isn't my strong suit). Maybe a 3,5 or 4 out of 5.

xoxo
Frida

My Tardiness, and Dalton

I must apologize for how bad I have been at updating lately (well, in the last week), and I blame it solely on the existence of a certain fanfic. You see, while I have been working out and then spent time just being lazy, most of my time was consumed by Dalton by CP Coulter. It is an absolutely fantastic fanfiction, which sadly isn't complete yet (but it's getting there I hope), and I have been reading it this past week (finished it yesterday morning, and then went to Twiin's house).

If you're in to fanfics, or at least good ones, I really recommend you read it (if you have the time). It can be found here, and the author CP Coulter has a blog (where the last published chapter can be found, among other Dalton-related stuff) on cpcoulter.com. The fic is about Klaine, and Kurt's life in Dalton after he transfers (in Furt).

The review I sent to CP Coulter (slightly revised to remove big spoilers and to make sense):


This last week I started and finished Dalton (incl. the latest update which I only found through cpcoulter.com), and it's kind of been an emotional rollercoaster. Let me start by saying that it is one of my favourite fanfics and probably the best written one (with no offense to other authors of course) with an intricate plot and interesting and developed characters. It is, to say the least, amazing, and I am in awe of your talent. It is literally awesome.

I am surprised that I hadn't read Dalton before (though I've certainly seen a lot of references to it throughout the Klaine fandom, which is the one I mainly belong to at FanFiction.net) and I just marvel at how it has expanded so much that it now has its own little fandom. Which it deserves of course. The plot, how the different relationships are built up, and different parts of vital information is given at the right time to build the tension even further, making it difficult to stop reading (I got cramps in my hand from scrolling since I was reading it on my iPod touch). How the relationships developed and the introductions of new characters is what I liked the most, I think. Oh, the characters. Well, that calls for a new paragraph.

I think it is a great interpretation of Kurt and Blaine as characters based off of Glee, and they're amazing and all that, but what's really great about Dalton is all the OCs. The Tweedles (I love the Alice in Wonderland-theme, just as a sidenote), Reed, Dwight, Chaz, Logan, Julian, Derek, creepy Adam (great character study, even though he creeps the living daylights out of me and I therefore hate him), all the parents/families, and all the other students (like the Hanovers - oh, and I also love the houses). Oh, and Shane and Micah (and the rest of the Fab 5). And the teachers! There are just so many great characters that you created yourself and I just love (almost) all of them. It's so hard to choose a favourite! (The Tweedles and Reed are definitely up there, but I don't know, so is Shane and Chaz and Dwight and Han and... oh what the h*ll, they're all growing on me in their own ways). Their own stories are moving and inspirational and even though I might not be very able to relate to any of it (at least not yet), I think you're so fantastic for writing their stories, because some people actually reflect themselves in that. I also adore your version of Wes and David (and Katherine, love her), and the "brief" participations of New Directions. I am just so moved by all your characters and this story in its entirety.

I did say that it has been somewhat of an emotional roller coaster. The plethora of feelings that the reader goes through while reading (because I doubt this is just me) are so versatile, that sometimes it is difficult to figure out what you really feel (sort of like Reed at times I guess). The twins and all the shenanigans and randomness in the Windsor house (well, not just the twins, but all Windsor boys really) just makes me smile and often laugh out loud in astonishment of their stupidity (and the casualty it is met with). They keep me amused (and often chocked), while deeper feelings and past storylines of many characters have me cry, feel compassion, anger and annoyance, they have me sit on needles and even makes me scared at times. I think I've felt every possible emotion to some extent when reading this fic, and that is absolutely astonishing. I must admit that during parts of the story I cried like a baby. And upon hearing songs "featured" in the story the waterworks can start up again (which happened yesterday morning).

I did say that I can't quite relate to anything in the story, but I found that now, towards the end, that I can. To some extent at least. I recently graduated from the swedish equivalence of High School and now me and my friends are scattering. Most will remain here in Stockholm but it will never be the same again. Me and two of my best friends were probably a bit like the Windsors in school, we were definitely the kind of crazy girls. And through reading Dalton, I think it has helped me somewhat to realise that we won't be the same again, and it has definitely helped me cry about it (I often find it difficult to process and cry about things in my own life, but can project the feelings and cry to a good but sad book or movie - or in this case a fanfic). So, thank you (CP Coulter), for giving me that.

xoxo
Frida

The Fry Chronicles

I finally finished The Fry Chronicles! It's Stephen Fry's autobiography of his twenties (late 70s and the 80s in Britain), and I don't know how long I've been reading it (two or three weeks maybe?). Why did it take so long, you may wonder? Well, I cannot say that Fry is a bad author, he certainly has a way with words, but I'm 18, and I think the is equivalent of being too young to really understand what the hell he is on about. I have virtually no knowledge of the humor scene in Britain during this time (well, I have a much better understanding now than before I started reading the book), and I think that is a very contributing factor to why I struggled to finish the book.

Fry writes "... but the business of autobiography is at least to strive for some element of self-revelation and candour" (pg. 224), and let me tell you, this book is filled with self-revelation., and in some cases revealing things about other people (such as Hugh Laurie, which, I must admit, interested me). So, in the case of it being "gossipy" as proclaimed by The Times, there is much truth.

If you have any interest in the subject of British college life and Fry's career in his twenties (and all that comes with it) or you're just interested in broadening your vocabulary, I do recommend that you read The Fry Chronicles. I don't know how to rate it though, because I haven't made up my mind of whether or not I like it.

Now, on to the next book!

xoxo
Frida

Great Expectations (and pictures)

Right now I am HAPPY!!! :) I'll talk to one of my best friends soon on Skype (she's in China, and I miss her terribly), and there's a new episode of Pretty Little Liars, which I'm going to watch later. Good things to look forward to indeed! :)

Also, I just have to add a quick note that all the pictures that I've "published" on here that are "official" (such as book covers, pictures from TV-series etc.) and don't look anything like being mine, well, they're not. I don't own the rights to any of those pictures, just using them for entertaining purposes to the few people who might come across this blog! All rights belong to whomever (that's not me)!

xoxo
Frida

Madagascar 3

Today me and my brother went to the movies to see the relatively new Madagascar 3. In this one they try to get back "home" to NYC again, leaving Africa and catching a train with circus animals in France. The train is heading to London (with a stop in Rome) where the circus is auditioning for a contract to tour the states. All the while they're hunted by some crazy ass woman with a desire to kill and behead Alex (the lion). It is a fairly interesting story with some great twists and turns, and I must admit that I was a bit worried about how it was going to end, which means the end was a bitg unexpected and I love that.

Madagascar 3 definitely passed in the category of a good children's movie. I think I give it a 3 out of 5, because of nice jokes for adults, keeping the kids entertained and some really cool 3D effects (which I haven't seen in a while, so I almost recommend that you see it in the cinema if you want to see it). It absolutely made for a nice afternoon with my brother! :)

xoxo
Frida

Ryan Murphy

Ryan Murphy is one of my favourite men right now! He recently published two more never-before-seen-scenes from Glee! :) One from the episode Hell-O in Season 1 (Hello Twelve, Hello Thriteen) and the other from the latest season's Michael episode (I Want You Back). I just gotta say that I love sassy Blaine in the end of the latter, and the former made me hate Jesse a teensy bit less (I do like JGroff though, so no hating!).

If you've missed this awesomeness of newly-released-scenes, here you go:

The "Hello 12 Scene"
The "Warblers I Want You Back Scene"

Also, I recomend that you follow Mr. Murphy on Twitter: MrRPMurphy

xoxo
Frida

TV-series Addict

Hi, I'm Frida, and I'm addicted to TV-series.

(This is where you all reply: Hi Frida, and I sit back on my chair in this imaginary circle of addicts)

No, but seriously, the amount of TV-series I've seen or am following cannot be healthy! I decided to make a few lists just to see how crazy I am.. (also including reality shows)

TV-series I've seen all (existing) episodes of:
America's Next Top Model
Bones
Glee
Grey's Anatomy
Once Upon A Time
Pretty Little Liars
Revenge
The Big Bang Theory
Ugly Betty

TV-series I've seen the majority of the epsiodes of:
Desperate Housewives
Friends

TV-series I've seen several episodes (but not sure how many, often a few seasons) of:
House
How I Met Your Mother
Project Runway

TV-series I've seen at least one full episode of:
Everybody Loves Raymond
Jim
Midsummer Murders
Navy CIS
NCIS Los Angeles
Scrubs
The Mentalist
The Nanny
The Simpsons
What I Like About You

I was like this when I was younger too, but then it was all about the Disney Channel Original series (without actually minding the compltely suckish acting), such as Phil from the Future, That's So Raven and also Hannah Montana (like the first season) and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody (those two kids grew up good, saw a picture of 'em a while back).

Ok, so these are the ones I could think of right now.. I think I've forgotten a few, but you get the point. Might add to it later..

xoxo
Frida

The Klaine "Box Scene"

The Klaine scene that didn't air in the last Christmans episode (season 3) of Glee has now been released by Mr. Ryan Murphy!! I saw it this morning and it is SOOO awesome! I love it, and I might have died and gone to Klaine heaven ;) It is absolutely gorgeous! So, here it is:

The Klaine "Box Scene"

Why is it that all the best guys are gay, taken or fictional? Or in this case, all three? Gaah! Give me a decent  straight guy please!

Anyways, here's another deleted scene from season 3 of Glee, the "Bridesmaids  Scene", also courtesy of our beloved Mr. R. Murphy (who right now happens to be one of my favourite people in the world), where Rachel and the girls are looking at wedding and bridesmaids dresses.

"Bridesmaids Scene"

Not nearly as good as the Klaine scene (which I am still freaking out over), but there you go. All the love to Ryan Murphy right now!

xoxo
Frida

Injuries and Pain

Well, it would be typical that today's post follows what I wrote yesterday.. I totally need some of those feelings right now. You see, I just came home after having removed a birth mark/mole on my chest, and by removed I mean; they cut it off and stitched me up and said off you go, see you in five days. It was kind of a shocking experience since I went in to have it checked out (it hurt a bit yesterday and the day before) and the doctor was all like; well, we can remove it and send it for testing. I was not really sure what he meant (whether he meant to do it today or book a new time or whatever) so I weakly responded with an OK, and he just said that he had some time over, and we went into this other room. A nurse came along, they put some spray on the birth mark (to numb it I guess, which didn't work very well), cut it off and stitched me up. It all happened very fast so I didn't really process it until I was on my way home. This was the first (and hopefully last) time I got stitches.

Considering how prone I am to hurt myself (not in a self-destructive way, I'm just very clumsy), this was a surprising realisation for me. I've broken my arm, had splintered bones in my feet and one tiny fracture in my little finger. I've also fallen and severely hurt my caudal vertebra (tail bone for muggles), and also hurt it on other occasions. Additionally I've cut myself while shaving or doing something else with a knife/razor blade on so many occasions I cannot count them, not to mention the amount of blisters I've had (for whatever reason). Also, I've fallen and hurt my knees on several occasions (once I had seven pebble stones in my knee, and another time I fell over a nail that stuck up from a boat and there I now have a five cm scar (two inches)). When I was a toddler I even fell with my head into the corner of a piano, so I have a scar on my forhead (they didn't use stitches then, since it was in my face and I would've looked ugly). To top it all off I have had glass or other things stuck in my feet and hands a lot. Oh, and my hair caught fire once. So, you see why I'm surprised I haven't had the need for stitches before?

I hope you've had less accidents in your life (and to think, I managed all of the above, as well as severely burning my foot on oil from a frying pan, in eighteen years)!

xoxo
Frida

The Best Feelings in the World

Here's a list of my favourite feelings (with the other senses somewhat included) in the world (in no specific order):

Laughing (like a real laugh, when you forget about everything else)
Making it through a really tough workout after which you feel so tired you're about to pass out
Taking a shower after such a workout
Being on the receiving end of a sustainable hug (aka being hugged from behind - for the muggles that don't understand what a sustainable hug is)
Reading your favourite book or watching your favourite movie and drinking Whittard's Instant Tea (or even better a big cup of coffee)
Drinking a huge cup of coffee which has the perfect temperature and just the right amount of milk (I'm a deprived coffee-addict...)
Not worrying about anything, if just for a few minutes (best achieved when you're with friends)
Sleeping for however long you want and not having to worry about what time it is and just lie in until you want to get up
Listening to one of your favourite songs, maybe singing along, dancing and just not caring (because no one can see or here you)
Doing the aforementioned in your underwear/PJs in your bedroom, like a crazy lunatic (not necessarily a favourite song, but a great one nonetheless)
Watching a movie or reading a book that you've looked forward to for like ever, and it being better than your expectations
Discovering a new favourite thing (e.g. a book)
Bathing in crashing waves (during sunset), preferably with your best friend

Anything you feel like I've left out, feel free to comment! Might think of something to add later too :)

xoxo
Frida

Up to date with Pretty Little Liars

Yesterday I caught up with the last episode of Pretty Little Liars, and I'm now anxiously awaiting the next episode (only five days to go!). I really like it, but it's very creepy (I don't think I can ever view a doll the same way ever again). Anyways, in my last post about PLL I said that Emily was my favourite, but I am no longer sure about that, as I've taken a liking to all four of them in different ways. I think I'm most like Spencer (academic, and striving to be the best and blahblah), even though my family is nowhere like hers. 

Also, boys. Pretty Little Liars have some of the hottest actors ever mashed together in one single TV-series. Wren's accent makes anything sound hot, Ezra is hot no matter how much you squint (I'm a bit worried about the money-situation though), Toby's abs, Caleb (enough said, I LOVE that character). Seriously?! Send at least one of them my way!! ;) Preferably Wren, 'cause of that accent and his not as enourmous emotional bagage as the others (and the fact that he's a doctor, which put him miles ahead in my opinion). 

So, bring on the next episode!!

xoxo

Frida

Breathe

Kind of obsessed with this song right now! I don't now why either, but I just love it! I know there are a lot of songs called Breathe, but the one I'm referring to is the one sung by Chyler Leigh (Lexie Grey) in the Musical Episode of Grey's Anatomy (original by Anna Nalick).

Breathe (Chyler Leigh)
Breathe (original by Anna Nalick)

The latter has a good video from Grey's Anatomy that I liked :) Enjoy!

xoxo
Frida

Forrest Gump

Yesterday I read Forrest Gump by Winston Groom. Well, technically I guess you could say I started it a week ago, but then I only read the first couple of pages. We went back home yesterday and for the ferry I had to pick something to read (it's a three hour trip) and I didn't want to read what I'm currently working my way through: The Fry Chronicles. No ofense, Stephen Fry, but I wanted a made up world to live in for a while, not this thing called reality. So anyways, I read almost all of Forrest Gump yesterday, and finished it around 1.30 am this "morning".

I can't quite make up my mind on whether I like the movie or novel better. I think it depends on if you saw the movie before reading the book or vice versa, becuase in the few cases where I like the movie better, I've always read the book after seeing it. So yes, I think I like the movie better (I definitely like that ending better, without spoiling anything). They've boiled a few of the novel's characters together but I don't find that to be something negative at all. On the other hand, the movie is missing a lot of events, such as Forrest going into space, and then barely getting away from cannibals..

The movie is more realistic, and I think that's why I'm leaning more towards it, but as I said; I don't really know. However, a really nice detail about the book is how it is written. It is written in first person, as if Forrest himself had written it, and to make that authentic the writer ignored every possible grammar rule there is, and messed up the spellin A LOT. As I said, it's a nice detail, and I did really like it, but some times it took a few seconds extra to figure out what he meant (for instance axe instead of ask). And being the besserwisser that I am I often corrected the grammar in the beginning (but then realised it took too much time and gave up).

I really recommend that you read it, and it probably gets a 3 or 3,5 out of 5 from me. :)

xoxo
Frida

The Man In The High Castle

I've just finished reading The Man In The High Castle, written by Philip K. Dick. I got the book from my mentor after “winning” it in a lottery during our last basegroup of the year. Apparently it’s one of his favourite authors, Dick, and it is what is considered to be Dick’s best work. Now, I haven’t read anything else by this Dick person, and sci-fi isn’t generally the genre that I turn to. I have taken a certain liking to dystopian novels though, and this definitely makes the cut. The book is not futuristic per say, but takes place in “an alternate universe” (AU in fanfic lingo) where the Axis won the Second World War and the world is split between the Germans and the Japanese. In this unsettling scenery the reader gets to know several characters of different origins, occupations and thus positions in the power play of a split U.S.

There is some sort of amusing irony in the fact that the story centres around a fictional book which pictures a different ending to the war. That is a, for us, almost historically correct  book about how the Second World War ended. The author of this book is “The Man In The High Castle”, and thus gives the novel its title. It is somewhat confusing to explain about a book in a book, what with both being books and all. Anyways, the book in itself is also quite confusing, so I guess it's appropriate that the explaining of it is so. 

I think I recommend it, though I'm not sure of it. It is a very odd book, and the ending - without giving away too much - is even more so. There is a fair bit of German, and some Japanese in there, and there is reference to the culture of both ruling nations. I know German pretty well, so that wasn't a problem for me, but Chinese and Japanese culture and language are both very foreign to me. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book, and I guess if you have nothing (or as in my case, too much) to read, you could end up with a lot worse. 

xoxo

Frida

Othello

After my completely failed visit to "Summerland" yesterday, me and my dad went to see Shakespeare's Othello on the Roma Theater here at Gotland. The Roma Theater is a stage in the ruins of an old convent, and the audience sits beneath the open summer night's sky. On a day like yesterday it is very beautiful, even if it gets very cold as the night progresses (the play ended around 11 pm). 

I hadn't seen or read Othello before last night, so for me it was an unexplored play by Shakespeare, and I really enjoyed it. It might be hard to really relate to any of the characters, but I think the subject of jealousy never gets outdated. Having seen or read other plays by Shakespeare, such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, A Midsummernight's Dream and Twelfth Night, I must say it is the most morose ending of his that I've experienced. Romeo and Juliet is sad, but at the same time bittersweet. They love each other. Two of the aforementioned plays have happy endings, and Hamlet, well he gets his revenge.. I do recommend you see, or at least read, Othello though. I want to read/see as many of Shakespeare's plays as possible, and we have his collected works at home, so hopefully I'll get around to it soon (I just have another ten-or-twenty-something books to read before I start Uni).

xoxo

Frida

Would you like a side of EPIC with that FAIL?

I made one of those completely epic fails yesterday.. I went to "Summerland" (an amusement park for little kids with Pippi Longstocking) with my baby brother (he's eight) yesterday, and in the middle of the park is a big pond  with boats and kajaks to borrow. After a lot of nagging on my brother's part we took one of the tiny rowing boats and I started "rowing" around. Well, my rowing resembled ugly flailing without any "flail-cause", and we got quite an amount of water over us, especially when I managed to row under the huge metallic flowers which splashed water.. And I haven't even come to the part with the epic fail yet....

Anyways, when we were about to park the boat I had some trouble and a nice man asked if we needed help. I turned around to give him the tiny string that held the boat, and guess what? I fell in. Into the pond, that is. It was about one and a half metre deep, so with bended legs all of me got completely soaked! I dragged myself out of the water, and everyone just stared at me. I was wearing sweats so my clothes became what felt like four times as heavy! After that my brother was terrified of leaving the boat, but I managed to coax him out of there. Then I stripped out of my wet clothes and shoes (except for my T-shirt and underwear) in plain view of everyone walking by, just because i wanted to get out of the clothes.. After that I spent maybe half an hour walking around in a raincoat and underwear, waiting for my dad to arrive with dry clothes. Talk about embarrasing!!!

xoxo
Frida

The Dry Spell

I would apologize for not posting in a while, but that would imply that I'm sorry and frankly I'm not sorry at all. You see, the reason I haven't posted anything is that I've spent the last whatever-amount-of-days with my twiin. She came and stayed with me here at Gotland, and we just had a lot of fun, doing lots of stuff. She stayed here from Thursday last week until yesterday, and I think it was definitely one of the best parts of this summer. We ate stuff I certainly shouldn't, and finished off with a huge banana split yesterday, just before she left. It was just great! We also bathed in the ocean a lot, and the waves were completely awesome!

Another thing we did was watch movies. I think we saw four movies, or something. The ones I can remember, however, are:
The Ugly Truth - Second time I saw it, and I think it's kind of funny, a nice romantic comedy, even if it is really predictable
Alex & Emma - First time I saw it, and really didn't care for it. I mean, it was not good. At all.
P.S. I Love You - Second time, still a great movie, I cried.
The Prince & Me - First time, nice romantic comedy. Some corny moments, but overall I liked it a lot. Like Julia Stiles, and the med school part.

On the subject of med school: I got in to the Uni I wanted!!!!! KI here I come!! :D

xoxo
Frida

The Beach at Sunset

Recently came back from the beach were we watched the sunset. It was beautiful, even though we couldn't see the sun set completely because of the clouds by the horizon. It was super cold though with a lot of wind. If you've never done it, please put "Watch the sun set in to the ocean" on your list of things to do before you die.

xoxo
Frida

Motherhood according to my eight-year-old brother

Walking home from the restaurant tonight me and my brother "discussed" what makes you a mom, and what, according to him, I need to do to get there.

How To Be A Mom:
1. Have A Boyfriend (and marry him)
2. Move Into A House
3. Have A Kid
4. Take Care Of The Kid
5. Get A Job

Also: You need a car, toys for the kids, and you need to mow the lawn.

Well, he obviously has some things to learn.. I mean poor single or stay-at-home-moms, or those living in appartments without a lawn, or don't own a car! Why not just have a baby, love and cherish it, and take care of the child so that they can succeed in this world, and live their dreams? I think that's all it takes.

xoxo
Frida

Pretty Litlle Liars

A while back a friend of mine recommended that I'd see Pretty Little Liars, and I haven't really gotten 'round to it until now. I started earlier this week, and am now on episode 12 (still season one though). It is really good! And thrilling! If it was a book, I guess you would call it a real page turner.. Anyways, I love Emily (I always seem to like the gay characters the best for some strange reason), and haven't really made my mind up about the others. I like them, but don't know just how much.. It seems as if they do more stupid stuff, but we'll see. Also; Ezra and Wren - yum!

xoxo
Frida

Physics dreams

I thought I was done with Physics, especially the boring electricity parts, forever. But what do I dream of? Physics. And not just any kind of normal Physics lesson or whatever (yeah, I know Physics is all around us, but I'm talking about the subject), but a presentation about electricity, where we have to use water to determine how fast it travels or something, which makes no sense. My Physics teacher was there, as was Erika, who was my partner (as usual) and Mads, because she did her presentation before us, and my dream self just had to understand how she did it. Well, she gave herself electric shocks, counted the time between them, and explained in some way that I don't remember now that I'm awake (woke up about ten minutes ago). And after her presentation me and Erika did something on how sound travels in water, with cans. Very confusing. Maybe the assignment was how anything travels in water? I woke up before I got an explanation..

Has anyone else had weird dreams about school now that summer is here, or am I the only one?

xoxo
Frida

I want to be 17 forever..

Honestly, I do.

After you turn 18, no matter what anyone says, things change. I don't drink, so basically there're no perks to me being an adult, just more stupid responsibility. Admittedly, I've always been a responsible person, but when you're 18, you have no one to turn to, and no one to take the hit for you. It's completely rotten!

In two weeks, my entire life can change (the parts of it that haven't changed already that is). Because, when you're an adult you have to make decisions about your life, and what you want to do with it. I want to study medicine, more than anything, and that's a decision I've made. However, if I don't get in here, in Stockholm, I need to move, leave my family and friends and live by myself in a tiny appartment somewhere else in Sweden. On the other hand, I could take half a year sabbatical, maybe work or something and apply again for next semester, but that would just set my life back a few months.. I just don't know what to do, and I really, really hope I get in here.

Another sucky part about turning 18 is how darn expensive it is. Seriously. You can't really turn to your parents for allowance, and you have to do your own shopping, so you have to get by on the money you get from the state for going to school (which you don't get in July and August). I went shopping today, or rather I needed a bikini, a pair of sandals and new knee supports, since mine are starting to break, but everything is so incredibly expensive. And that's just when it comes to regular shopping, things you can live without. When/If I move out soon I'm going to have to buy my own food and stuff too, and good food is more expensive than you would think. I'll have to resign myself to a few years of noodles, if I need to move out this year..

Lastly (or the last thing that I have the energy to complain about today): driver's license. Sure, it's my own fault for failing the two first tests but lessons, and new tests costs a fortune! And it's not even as if I really want a license anyways! It's just expected of me.. I had the unfortune of being stuck with a completely crappy instructor for a year, who can't even do his job right, and now, because of stupid rules, I can't retake the test until August, ande then I'll have to use the instructor's car, and with it comes the stupid instructor. It's all very frustrating.

The sum of it all, however, is that it would have been a whole lot better if I could have just stayed seventeen. Forever.

xoxo
Frida

Ice Age 4 - Continental Drift

Went to the movies with my baby brother today (despite it being such a warm summer day) and we saw Ice Age 4 - Continental Drift in 3D. It was actually quite good, and I prefer the fourth over the third movie, and it might even be better than the second (since I barely remember that one).

The world (as it was) is "falling apart" to form the continents as they are today (not exactly in a scientific manner, which annoyed me a bit, but whatever it's a kid's movie..). Manfred, Diego, Sid and Sid's Grandma (I saw it in Swedish, but I guess they call her Mamaw - you know, like Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory?) drifts around at sea after being separated from Ellie, and Manfred's now teenage daughter Kiwi (whom I like as a teenager, just sayin') and "run" into some pirates. Hilarity ensues, with a healthy dash of adventure and action to keep the kids interested. Meanwhile, Ellie and Kiwi, and all the other animals "back home" try to escape the moving mountains, and Kiwi has some teenage problems (friends, boys, you know the drill).

There were some great lines that had me laughing, and it might be even funnier in English (since all the jokes don't translate). One of my favourite parts however was the song in the end;
We Are (Ice Age 4 Theme Song) - Full Song
Ice Age 4: Continental Drift 'We Are Family' Music Video

In my opinion the music video version of the song is better but I couldn't find the full version of it. I do recommend you watch this movie though, but you could wait until you can rent the DVD (or download/stream it, if you'd rather do that).

xoxo
Frida

A part of my project: Sexuality in Media

This is a part of my senior year project. It's an article I wrote about how media portrays sexuality. I should add a part on Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty, but I don't have the energy, so I might do that tomorrow.

Sexuality Today: What do media tell us?

By: Frida Hellström

Today’s society, at least in the western world, is very technological, and this creates an entire new way of receiving information. From the TV we get impressions from all over the world, via the news but also through TV-series and movies. Listening to music has been available for centuries, but thanks to the Internet it is done fast and easily and everything can be found with just the stroke of a few keys. All these sources of information create places for influence. This mostly pertains to youths in today’s society but adults are affected too. This article deals with how sexuality is portrayed in a few media outlets today.

Starting off with movies it is easy to see that heterosexuality is still the focus of the majority of all movies, and few movies even feature any other kind of sexuality. However, homo- and bisexuality is making its way into the movie industry. Three Swedish movies in particular have received a lot of attention for this; Patrik 1,5, Kyss Mig and Fucking Åmål, the latter being close to 15 years old, was one of the first – if not the first – of its kind. Another movie in this category is the world-renowned Brokeback Mountain. Homosexuality has also been portrayed as a side-story in movies like Easy A, Valentine’s Day and Mamma Mia!. Even though the movies may be in minority, they are rising in numbers and they all make some kind of influence on their audiences.

As TV-series are much better at illustrating characters, and letting them grow, they are also better in portraying relationships than movies. TV-series are therefore thought by many to be a great influence on today’s society, and a great way to convey messages. There is a great deal of TV-series out there, but this article will deal with those of best knowledge to the author. Thinking of sexuality and TV-series an immediate leap to Glee is probably made. With it being a drama/comedy series about teenagers in high school, it contains a lot of relationship issues, and deals with really important issues surrounding coming to terms with one’s sexuality. In season one, the viewer got to know Kurt, who was then in his sophomore year and coming to terms with his sexuality, struggling with sharing his feelings with the world. A strong portrayal of the relationship between a homosexual boy and his father was made, with the work of Chris Colfer and Mike O’Malley. A brief mention of the character Rachel’s gay fathers was also made during this season. In the second season, however, a lot more focus was put on the issues with sexual orientation, and other relationships in the series. Some seem to think that Glee is only about gay kids – which it is not – but homosexuality, and bisexuality, was a major topic of the second season where Kurt found a boyfriend in Blaine, played by Darren Criss, and the bully Karofsky (Max Adler) came out of the closet. Another story line was that of Santana (Naya Rivera), falling in love with her best friend Brittany (Heather Morris) and realizing that she was lesbian. Another issue was raised at this point, when Brittany was in love with a boy in their show-choir, but in love with Santana as well, claiming to be “bi-curious”, portraying the difficulties of bisexuality. Glee does not only deal with coming to terms with one’s sexuality, but also with what it means to be different in today’s society. Kurt is bullied to the point of transferring schools – another reason that Santana wishes to stay in the closet – showing that it can be tough, but it gets better if you do not let yourself be pushed down.

Even though Glee is one of the leading stars in the area of TV-series portraying different sexualities there are several other well known series out there that deal with similar issues in one way or another. In the genre of medical-series the most known considering this subject is probably Grey’s Anatomy, which is a relationship drama series in every sense of the word. In it Sara Ramirez plays the bisexual surgeon Callie Torres, who falls in love with Dr. Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw). Callie also had an on-again-off-again with Mark Sloan (Eric Dane), marries George O’Malley (T.R. Knight) and has a brief relationship with Dr. Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith).  Robbins claims to be lesbian, or ‘exclusively homosexual’, showing two different sides of the topic, with both bisexuality and homosexuality. The series has not, as of yet, had any displays of a homosexual relationship between two men. A series in a similar category is Bones, where most relationships admittedly are heterosexual, though one of the characters, Angela (Michaela Conlin) had a brief relationship with a woman named Roxie (Nichole Hiltz) in season 4, before marrying Jack Hodgins (T.J. Thyne).

In the comedy genre we find a plethora of TV-series, two of which some people would call particularly brilliant; The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother.  Admittedly, no exact portrayal of same-sex relationships occur in The Big Bang Theory as the extent of relationship drama is between the heterosexual couples (and Raj’s (Kunal Nayyar) attempts to talk to women). Nonetheless, Amy (Mayim Bialik) seems to have some kind of sexual attraction to Penny (Kaley Cuoco). Additionally, Raj and Howard (Simon Helberg) are frequently assumed to be in a relationship with each other. In How I Met Your Mother it is also true that most relationships are heterosexual. However, the womanizer Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) has a brother (Wayne Brady) who is gay, and there is one episode where he gets married and adopts a kid.

Among more recent series one can find, for example, Revenge. Here, too, are heterosexual relationships the norm, even though the relationships are not the focus of the series. However, some plot is created around the character Nolan (Gabriel Mann) trying to blackmail and consequently ending up in bed with Tyler (Ashton Holmes). The actual sexualities of both of these characters are questionable, but thought to be heterosexual until aforementioned event. Without revealing too much of the plot it is latter revealed to be a plot from Tyler’s side and the entire thing is rather fishy.

One could definitely argue that it is not important that homo- or bisexuality to be the main issue in TV-series or movies. In all actuality, highlighting the fact that someone is of a different sexuality than the norm could backfire. Having an entire series focusing on the fact that some character is gay implies that they are different because they love someone of their own gender. To show that homosexuality is not wrong, homo- and bisexual characters should be included but not exclude all other characters in a series. Sure, they have to deal with issues other couples may not have to deal with, such as being accepted by society, but they are also normal. What sets them apart from the masses should not be who they love, but rather who they are as people, and therefore series such as Glee and Grey’s Anatomy, where only a few characters have other sexualities, and they are not always the centre of attention, are great in giving the message that “it does not matter who you love, what matters is who you are”.

Another influential part of media today is music, being an important part of many youths lives, as well as one can assume it is important for adults. Music is a great way of letting out emotions and all the great songs come from a place of pain, something that everyone can relate to. However, issues such as sexuality are much less obvious in songs, as they, if they concern love, often can be sung by both genders to both genders, one example being Songbird by Eva Cassidy. However, there is one song in particular that rather obviously concerns this issue and that is I Kissed a Girl by Katy Perry. The song is mostly just a catchy pop song but also deals with at least bi-curious feelings for the same gender, expressing an interesting view-point.

The song Born This Way by Lady Gaga has also been mentioned in similar contexts and has been referred to as the “gay community’s anthem”. It deals with accepting yourself for who you are, and is probably aimed towards minorities in general. Another song that comes to mind when writing about music in this context is the song My Best Friend by Hello Saferide. Like Katy Perry’s I Kissed a Girl it is very much just a catchy song but also deals with bi-curious feelings in some ways. A part of the lyrics is “I wish I was a lesbian and that you were too” actually rising the point on this issue of Gay Today’s front page. Why am I not gay? The song implies that is not a choice; she was born and there is nothing she can do about it. That is actually a popular message in today’s society, and a common belief; there is nothing we can do about who we love. We will find out if this is true later.

Looking western media today, and especially TV-series, one can see that our society is becoming more and more accepting of sexualities that do not necessarily belong to the norm. Hopefully this also helps with invoking better rights for the LGBT-community (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans-community) as well as showing youths that “Gay is Okay” – and thus lessening bullying etc. for such reasons. One likes to think that we are moving forward with our level of acceptance and that the media world is helping us do so.

Handle With Care

Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult took me approx. one week to read. It's about a girl with osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bones disease, called Willow and her family. The entire book is written as if it's for Willow to read, with different character's being in first person. Mostly, it deals with Willow's mom Charlotte suing her best friend Piper (who was her OB) because Willow's disease could have been diagnosed in utero, and given Charlotte the opportunity to terminate the pregnancy.

The book was ok. I mean, it wasn't bad, but I didn't really like it either. I guess the concept got a bit old after a while, and the only parts I really enjoyed reading where those of Willow's sister, Amelia, and sometimes those of the lawyer, Marin. I really like Jodi Picoult as an author, but out of the six of her novels I've read, I think I rank this the lowest. But some of the others (like My Sister's Keeper) are among my favourite books, meaning that Handle With Care still gets a decent grade. Maybe a 3 out of 5. (5 or 6 out of 10) 


I do recomend that you give it a read though. It's good to learn about things like OI, and other issues that are discussed in this book. I think you should always try to broaden your horizon and try to be more understanding, even though I barely try to do that myself.

Glee - Season 3 (and Goodbye)

Yesterday I finally saw the last episode of the third season of Glee - Goodbye. I know a lot of people complained about it, and were really mad about how everything ended, but I don't have too many issues with the final epsiode. I mean it wasn't my favourite, but it wasn't bad either. It was ok, and parts of it even great (Burt Hummel - how I adore thee). Several tear-alerts throughout the episode and a little too much focus on Rachel, but otherwise good. I'm nervous about season 4 though.. How do they keep this going in a good way? And, my constant worry; what about Klaine? And throughout the season I've also grown almost as attached to Tike. And I think I ship Brittana as strongly as I ship Klaine. There are just too many worries, and the ever present threat of a new cast (that I might not like) for me not to be worried.

Few things in general about the season before I go to bed:

Favourite episode(s): Nationals, On My Way, Hold On To Sixteen, and The First Time (in that order I think). I need to rewatch all episodes to be sure, so I might get back to you on this one.

Least favourite episode (or worst/most worthless episode): The Spanish Teacher

My favourite songs from this season (though I haven't processed the ones from yesterday):
We Are Young
What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)
Here's To Us
Cough Syrup
Fly/I Believe I Can Fly
Edge Of Glory
Rumour Has It/Someone Like You
Perfect
Last Friday Night
I Kissed A Girl

Hunger Games - The Movie

Yesterday was a great day indeed. I went with my twiin to the movies and we saw Hunger Games, after which we made dinner for her parents (with garlic bread - yum!), and before we went to bed we watched the last Glee episode (finally! And more on that later, this is a Hunger Games centred post).

The movie (based on the first of the three Hunger Games novels) was really good! I know movies based on books never can be exactly the way we imagine them, and all the details can't be there and blahblahblah, and with a very few exceptions I always like the book version better, it was a great movie. Josh Hutcherson (whom I've liked since I saw that movie where his character's name was Laser or whatever, and liked even more after finally getting around to watching Bridge to Terabithia) is absolutely fantastic as Peeta (nothing but love for this character). Even though Gale is not very present in the first story, Liam Hemsworth portrays him really well, and I love that they had little sequences of his reactions after everything between Peeta and Katniss. And without any previous opinions of Jennifer Lawrence, I really loved her as Katniss. Truly a great cast! One thing that surprised me was Cinna. In a complete non-racist way I did not expect him to be black. On the other hand, it took me some time to realise that he was a man too when reading the book.


Three things disturbed me, two of which were really irritating, but otherwise I really cannot complain about their accuracy. It probably helped a lot that Suzanne Collins helped in the script-writing and stuff. Okay, first thing (that wasn't too major): Katniss is supposed to answer "No" when Peeta asks her if she gets that he wants to die without changing, without being a part of their Game, and not "Yes, but I can't afford to think like that". Second thing: The Cornucopia. I always imagined it to be golden, and not iron/silver/metallic. Talk about disturbing! And third: The muttations were not nearly as terrifying as in the book. The entire thing about them "being the dead players" ws not even there and that was the part that was the most freaky in the book. Oh, and a fourth thing! The Mockingjay pin! I kind of liked Madge, but her entire character is removed from the movie..


A thing that I really appreciated though was how they solved things for those in the audience that hadn't read the book by showing the gamemakers' thoughts/ideas etc, and showing how the Districts and the Capitol see the Games. I don't know what more to write about it, except that I really liked it, and truly recommend that you see it (read the books too though).

xoxo
Frida

Today's fashion.. Sort of..

Okay, so today I decided to go with my mum to central Stockholm and do some shopping, since that's just how nice I am. Hah! No, I don't really know why I was stupid enough to go along with it, but there you go.. I mean I love my mum and all, but she can be sort of annoying..

Anyways, after we've done what we had to, and had some lunch she asked if I just wanted to check out some stores, and I was like "whatever/doesn't matter/I don't know" ('cause that's all I ever say..). So she took me to some of her favourite shops and asked me what I thought about some clothes and let me tell you: 99% of what I saw today is something not even Rachel Berry would have worn in Season 1 of Glee! That's how bad it was! Hideous patterns, not exactly flattering figures and crazy colours (and that's coming from me, Miss Rainbow-Wardrobe). I'm hoping the fashion world will change, and soon!

xoxo
Frida

Success!

Just wanted you to know that I've now learned how to successfully add links to my posts (which I couldn't do last year), and my posts about music might be a bit prettier this time around.

xoxo
Frida

For music lovers who need inspiration

Hi!

I used to post a lot of tips on music on here last year, and if I think of something I'll probably do it again, but I won't do it as often. Therefore I would like to recommend another blog for all you music lovers out there, where you can find a lot of tips, with daily updates. The blog is called The Music Screener, and you can find it right here at blogger, on:
themusicscreener.blogspot.se

I've found more than 60 songs on there that I really like, so you're bound to find something! A friend of mine started it as her senior project (and then she used to update four times/day), and decided to continue after graduation upon request. Please check it out, it's great!

xoxo
Frida

The Hunger Games

It took me less than 72 hours to read the three books in the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. I am a bit confused in my opinion of them, but I can say that they're thrilling, and it's impossible to put them down before you reach the end (or fall asleep from being exhausted, or if you're driving, then you kind of have to put it away). In one way I hate dystopian, futuristic novels, as they're so very depressing, and whichever way they go they cannot end in "happily ever after". On the other hand, I think  it's very interesting or fascinating to read, even though I do sometimes loose my faith in humanity. To share my thoughts on the books, this post will hold som spoilers, so don't continue reading if you haven't read them!

SPOILER ALERT!

The Hunger Games (first book)
After reading all three, I think this is the best, and had it ended differently (maybe not the berries thing, but the Peeta/Gale thing, which I guess it couldn't have), it could have been a stand-alone novel (not that I don't want the others). I think Katniss is a great character, she's a heroine, and how she deals with death is realistic to me (not that I've ever experienced any of what she has to go through, not even losing a parent), which contributes to my good opinion of the book. I'm definitely on Team Peeta, in this book, and sometimes Katniss behaviour aggravates me. Knowing Peeta is portrayed by Josh Hutcherson in the movie is not in his disadvantage. On a last note: Muttations are scary!

Rating: I think it's a 4 out of five, or 8 (possibly 8,5) out of 10. Better than the Twilight Saga, but doesn't quite do it for me as much as Harry Potter (this sentence goes for the entire triology). The ending, and I don't quite know why, drags down the rating.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Kind of feels like what it is, something to have in the middle. I liked it though, even if the ending was somewhat confusing. Still on Team Peeta, but am a bit more torn, Gale is kind of charming (and you know.. Liam Hemsworth, do I need to say more?) . The idea of a 75th Hunger Games bringing them back to the arena is horrible but brilliant, and I like the other characters more in this one (we know more about them in this book). And everyone kind of bonding is nice too. Cinna though! WHY?! I really liked him, and his death was not expected (at least not right then).

Rating: I think it's the same, though maybe half a point lower on the 10-scale (8 out of 10, 4 out of 5). Confusing cliff-hanger ending... I liked it a bit better than the first book's ending though..

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay
I think the word confusing sums this book up pretty well. You never really know what's going on. You think you do, but you don't. I don't like District 13, and the whole war is just sad. The whole book is kind of sad, what with Peeta and Finnick and Prim (and everyone else). I don't think I've really digested this book yet though, haven't really processed what really happened. And it's very clear that even though it could seem like a happy ending, it's not, and it never can be, not with all that happens. But I guess it's as good as it can get..
Again: I hate the stupid muttations! They. Are. Scary.

Rating: 7 out of 10, possibly 7,5 (3,5 or 4 out of 5). There's just something about it... Looking forward to seeing it on the big screen though.

Déjà Dead

I read Déjà Dead by Kathy Reichs when I was in London. Objectively, I guess it's a really good book, and the plot in itself is very nail-biting, with what seems to be a serial killer, and Brennan's friend moving around in the "wrong" parts of town. As a major fan of Bones (which Kathy Reichs has inspired, and the lead character is from her books), however, I compared it to the series repeatedly and I don't think it makes the cut.

The major differences showed in the character of Dr. Temperance Brennan (and the surrounding characters) as well as the setting of the book (Quebec instead of Washington D.C.). To me, Temperance Brennan is known as Dr. B, Brennan or Bones, and she is an attractive, brilliantly intelligent woman in her mid-30s, who lost her family around the age of 15 (and because of that has some issues). Booth, who she's destined to be with, is as important to the series as she is, but he's not even present in the novel. Tempe, the character of Kathy Reichs' first in many novels, is a mother (to a twenty-something girl), has a failed marriage and is a recovering alcoholic. She also has way too many emotions for me to be comfortable. Additionally, the French is bothering me. Mostly because I don't know French, and sometimes don't get exactly what they're saying..

All in all, a good book, somewhat lacking in the development or depth of the character's, and apart from the constant reference to alcohol I think I really would have enjoyed it if Bones hadn't been one of my favourite TV-shows (I think I'm too invested in the characters). Because of this I think I give it a 2,5 out of 5, or 4,5 out of 10, if you prefer that scale.

LONDON!!

As I'm writing this I am waiting for the pictures on my iPod to get to my laptop, so that I can share them with you. The week was so amazing and relaxing!

Monday
The flight didn't leave Arlanda until late afternoon so in the morning I relaxed and made sure I had everything I needed. When we landed at Heathrow we had to wait for my friend's luggage for about half an hour (mine took about 25 minutes to make its appearance) before we could head to the underground and take the tube in to our beloved city. We stayed in a hotel in Earl's Court (where, despite three earlier visits) I hadn't been before. During my first trip to London I lived in a hotel pretty close to there though (Gloucester Road). On our first evening there we mostly relaxed; we had dinner at Pret (one of my absolute favourite places to eat, in heavy competition with Wasabi), and went to Sainsbury's. 


Tuesday
Up there on the list of the best days in my life!! After a morning where we ate the hotel's mediocre breakfast, visited Fortnum & Mason (and other things around Picadilly Circus), Trafalgar Square, and looked around a bookshop there, we headed to Euston station. Wanna know why? Because we had to take the train to get to where we wanted (and had booked tickets) to go. Where was that, you might ask. TO HARRY FREAKIN' POTTER STUDIO TOURS, that's where!!! It was sooo AWESOME! (And took the entire afternoon, and sort of the evening too.) You could see Sets and Props, costumes and special effects. So totally awesome! You could also try riding a broomstick (and the Weasley's car) in front of a green screen, and try Butterbeer (which was disgusting!!). This is where like 99% of my pictures are from. We also got to see the model of Hogwarts they've used for sky-shots and stuff. Another cool thing was the digital guide with videos of Cast and Crew, shots of things behind the scenes and the audio-guide with Tom Felton (who was Draco Malfoy, for you less invested in he awesomeness that is Harry Potter). Such a totally awesome day, that I still have trouble processing.


Wednesday
Shopping! Walking up and down Oxford Street, Regent Street and Carnaby Street resulted in aching feet, sweat dripping down one's back (because of the warm weather) and lots of shopping bags. I found a pair of fake converse on Primark (only £6), along with a T-shirt, a pair of tights and nail-polish, and a T-shirt for my brother. At The GAP I got a T-shirt, and was just thrilled! The extremely nice people at Lush got me to buy stuff for my mum, and HMV "stole" my money for the three Hunger Games books (they had the lowest price though, with only £15 for all three). I also got me some tea at Whittard's and enjoyed the trip to David & Goliath even though I didn't buy anything there. Some store for bathing suits made the day, however, by having their attractive male employees stand in the entrance in only bathing shorts - yum! (We didn't dare to go in the store though, they were kind of intimidating with their six-packs and all - not the greatest marketing trick) The day ended in Hyde Park with take-away dinner (sushi) from Wasabi - more yum! All in all, a very successful day.

Thursday
More shopping - at markets! We headed to Camden Markets, Burrough Market and Covent Garden, for clothes, accessories and food. Camden Markets was nice, though somewhat huge, and smelled weird. There I got a cute dress, and some kind of thing to tie my hair up. After that we headed over to London Bridge and Burrough Market where we ate lunch (I had only fries) and I bought my dad some fancy chocolate. For "dessert" we bought juice; I got Acai-juice (ass-eye-ee) with apple, kiwi and banana and what-not. It was brown and tasted funny. At Covent Garden I visited the other David & Goliath to get Erika a sweater that she wanted, and we headed to the Apple-house for my friend to check her e-mails and stuff. The day ended with bus-hopping and another dinner at Wasabi.

Friday
The sad day that we left London. I was quite content with leaving though, even though I didn't really wanted to go home. We relaxed in our room before heading to the airport (where I had to go through some weird machine in security, becuase I beeped in the first one). Lunch at Pret, got Cosmopolitan at WHSmith, and then I had no money left. When we landed in Stockholm again, where we got our luggage pretty quickly, I started reading the first Hunger Games while waiting for Arlanda Express.

Now I'm gonna eat some lunch while waiting for the damn photos to upload..
*leaves laptop to eat*

And here we go:

Entering Hyde Park

Harry Potter Studio Tour (almost all the following)  - The Great Hall

The Gates to Hogwarts

Inscription on the Mirror of Erised

Potions Classrom (as seen in the sixth movie)

Lily's letter to Sirius

Don't we all want one of these? 

Wish I could enter!

M&M world in London (end of Harry Potter Studio Tours)

I guess it is incredibly difficult to spell Linn and Frida (Starbucks)

View from the hotel room (what you see is the tube station, which  was noisy)

One last picture from the Harry Potter Studio Tour - Hogwarts

Coming up: The Hunger Games and Déjà Dead


xoxo
Frida

The week before last..

.. was somewhat uneventful, to be honest. It mostly consisted of me working out and sticking to my newly revised diet. It just feels so good to finally do some real workouts you know? My knees are not holding up too good though, so now I'm just trying to not "break" them again. (I have been having lots of trouble with my knees the last year).

Ok, not very exciting week, but Wednesday was a lot of fun, and Thursday held its own activities to brighten the day. I also managed to squeeze in meeting Sara and her boyfriend on the Friday. And on the Sunday I went bowling with my dad and brother (instead of packing).

Ok, so the Wednesday (aka. Chaos-day), started out as the previous days, I did Pilates and ate breakfast. Then I called to see if I could do my driving-test (for my driver's license) closer to where I lived instead of going across town. The only available times however, were the same day. So first I went there, flunked the test (doing it again after the summer), and then I was supposed to meet Sara before heading to a movie-night with my now-former-classmates. I was kind of depressed though, so I decided to head straight to the movie marathon (all Men In Black movies - ending at the cinema). We had a really great time (even though we were only six people, a seventh joining us by the cinema), and since we were five girls we forced the guy to go window-shopping with us before the last movie - so much fun! The day turned around to say the least. Afterwards me and Erika headed to my place and had a tiny sleepover which mainly involved sleeping. :)

On the Thursday I went to the pool with Linn, another one of my close friends. When we got back we bought grapes and strawberries at the local shop and ate until I could barely move - awesome and tasty!

Next post holds the awesomeness that is my week (five days) in London!

xoxo
Frida

Coming Up...

Okay, so I know I haven't written anything in two weeks now, but guess why?

The first week was pretty dull (even if it was pretty crowded) and last week I was in LONDON!! :) Also, when I got home on Friday I started reading The Hunger Games Triology, which I finished a few hours ago. But I promise, I'll start writing again tomorrow. Starting with a recap of the last couple of weeks and my opinions on HG, as well as the novel Déjà Dead by Kathy Reichs (which I read in London).

Now I shall move on to a new book, Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult I think.

xoxo
Frida

Weekend, 9th and 10th of June 2012

Saturday morning I went to Twiin's place and we had a Bones-marathon. We watched the last seven episodes of season 7 (which she had downloaded as they hadn't aired in Sweden yet), so now we're up to date with everything :)
Just a few notes on Bones:
Their daughter, Christine, is SO cute!!!
This season's serial killer = creepy!
Why did it have to end with a freaking sad cliffhanger?!?!

After the marathon (during which we ate chocolate and took a break for dinner with salmon and pressed potatoes) we watched Made Of Honour (the movie with Patrick Dempsey) and she tried to convince me to watch some Barbie movie. I got out of that, however, by insisting we watched something else. That resulted in me having to pick the movie, and I don't like to be the one making decisions. Anyways, we ended up wacthing The Ice Princess, and fell asleep about 1.30 am.

The following morning my dad picked me up so that I could practice driving in that part of town before my test on Friday. (I'm soooo nervous!)

When we got home I practically spent the entire day playing Tap Tap Glee on my iPod Touch, and let me tell you; that game is ADDICTIVE! In fact, I'm gonna get back to playing it right now ;)

xoxo,
Frida

Thursday and Friday, 6th and 7th of June 2012

Okay, Migraine has mostly passed so here it goes:

Thursday was the day of Dina's "running out" and reception, and also the day that we were to collect our final grades from school. So first I headed to her school, watched the "running out", laughed and screamed with her and then hurried back to my own school. Turned out the hurrying was useless as I got to school 45 minutes ahead of schedule, so I stopped at Wayne's and ate some scones and drank a latte. That was the first thing I ate since the picnic the day before, so I was kind of hungry. Anyways, Erika got there after a while and we went to school to collect our grades, and guess what? I aced every subject!!! 2600 points of courses with all MVG! On the other hand, I've barely had a life these past three years..

After collecting the grades we did nothing for a while (going to Erika's little sister's school, going to Wayne's again, waiting for Farry), and then me and Farry went to school again (she had to get her grades) and met a few of the girls. After that me and Clara went to Dina's place and her reception. It was quite fun actually.

This process was somewhat repeated on the Friday, but instead of going to school between Linn's "running out" and her reception, I had lunch with Erika at some Thai place, and then went home. I tried to piece everything together so that I could go to my friend Mikaela's reception too, but as they were at practically the same time in completely different places of town, it was somewhat impossible.

Friday ended with me going home and sleeping of my food-high. Eating constantly (or a lot in one time) for four days straight can do that to you.

Next: Bones-weekend and driving

xoxo
Frida