I sold my bike today.  It feels... weird. I've had it for two years and now the garage is just empty. So many memories with that thing. Well, I'm glad I got it done before I leave the country (tomorrow) again, and these £650 look really nice on my account. They will be spent on a car sometime in a hopefully not too distant future.

And yes. Tomorrow. In 25 hours, 8 minutes and 36 seconds to be exact... I'll be landing in Liverpool, where I'll get to see Bryony again. Big bang theory do I miss her. Wrapping my arms around her and kissing her again is going to feel beyond amazing. I can't wait to get back to Lincoln and see everybody again, I've missed everything so much. My placement at F1Group should be pretty fun, too. Seems they're doing some quite advanced stuff and getting a chance to poke around in computers that need fixing is never a bad thing if you ask me... 

School's still a bit of a mess, but it's working out okay. Did a social studies test (politics and mass media) today, went quite well. Got an IT Management test tomorrow, as well as a presentation about business system software with Oskar. That's going to be a major pain in the ass, but whatever. I'll do what I can, head to the airport and forget about it all for five weeks. 

Right now, I'm packing. I really thought I had more clothes than this. Oh well, might need to get a smaller suitcase or something?

So much to do before those 25 hours are up.

Things are quite good right now. Despite having a gaping hole in my mouth where one of my teeth previously resided. Yay for getting braces in the lower jaw, right? ^^'; I'm going to have another one pulled out on Friday. That'll be the last one, then I'm getting the braces put in next week. Everything went surprisingly well; the tooth came loose in ten minutes, the bleeding stopped within an hour and it's not been too painful. I was even able to talk to Bryony on the phone on my way home. ^_^

This weekend was spent in Uppsala with Anden and Sofia. I had a really great time. We went to a recently opened Internet café thingy where they arrange nightgibs in the weekends. We got there at midnight and left at six in the morning. We played mostly TF2 and Left 4 Dead. The only ones with any real experience of either were me and Fredrik. So, it was interesting but quite fun!

Also... I really, really, really miss Bryony. Getting Skype is helping, because now we can text and call each other all the time for free, but still... 835 miles. 835 picometres would be too much. I still wake up every morning expecting her to be there when I turn around. Well... seeing her again is going to be all the more wonderful. <3

Goodnight, reality that isn't quite as monotonous and horrible as I once thought. ^_^

That's a bad word now, isn't it? ^_~

Well. School was quite  fun today. Swedish class went by rather quickly, after which I had some lunch and then proceeded to call a certain English girl who sounded very sleepy. So damn cute. Anyways, that really made me happy and energetic and just... happy! <3

Afternoon class was IT Management/Projects. Actually getting started on the project is great! I banded together with the more talented people in my class, gamesdev-wise, and we've decided to make a semi-3D roleplaying-game in Microsoft's XNA environment. This is amazing, because not only will it be an invaluable experience, but it'll also be quite nice to have on my CV and such for future endeavours. Mentioning it to Uni surely can't hurt? ^_^

Tonight was quite fun as well. Played L4D with Bry, Dan and Ollie again, and we got through this really epic custom map. It was great fun. Now I'm off to bed because Bry is counting down!!!

Yes, the first day of my last year of school has concluded. It wasn't much, a surprisingly short speech from the headmistress, followed by me and my classmates being given a bunch of papers from our form tutor. The schedule is looking a lot better than expected, and it appears that I will be allowed to take all my chosen courses except for Photography B. Not a huge loss, to be honest. ^^

The Games Development course is also more promising than I originally thought; it seems I'll be able to study both C# programming and 3ds Max 2010, despite the norm being choosing one of the two. I'll also get two half days! It may turn into one half day and a day off, depending on whether I take Mathematics C or not. >_< I really don't think I'm up to it, but we'll see. I'll go there tomorrow and see how things are. 

Also, mischievous rabbit is mischievous? =D When I got home from school, her damn cage was open and she was happily hopping about in the living room. ^^'; So, she now knows how to open her cage herself from the inside. Basically, the only thing keeping the cage closed is friction between two thin pieces of metal, and I guess it's been bent out of shape throughout the years? I shall investigate this further~

Anyway, this day's been quite good so far. Happyface!

Now I'm off to read FMA.

I figured I really should learn how to make smaller entries that don't take half a life to read. So, here goes~

The past few days have been pretty uneventful, mostly? I've been playing loads of guitar, but now I can't because the strings are skinning my fingers. T'is what happens when you don't play for two weeks? 'Been online a whole lot, too. Talking to the English folk. Speaking of which, hugs to you all and kisses to a certain someone. <3

I've also been calling and voice chatting with this someone a lot, just to feel a bit closer. Bryony makes me smile so much it hurts! Thank you, sweetie? Dad may not be quite as delighted when he sees my phone bill, though. I've gotten a global call thing activated though, so it's a whole lot cheaper now!

Today I helped dad prep and deliver another boat, which got me out of the house for a bit. 'Was quite fun.

Now I'm off to play Left 4 Dead again, since I've got nothing better to do?

So I'm finally going to make what will likely be a rather huge update. Three days (four perhaps; it's past midnight after all...) ago, I came back home to Sweden after having spent two weeks in Lincoln, England. Which, I might add, feels just as much as "home" as this place ever did.

So much has happened. I guess I'll just start from the beginning. Sis gave me a ride to the airport and helped me with the checking in, bless her. Quite boring flight, then much yay upon landing at Manchester Airport.

( Epic story of wonderful times~ )

That's my two weeks in England. I now have many new wonderful friends, but most important of all... I have Bryony. This wonderful, interesting, cheery and unimaginably beautiful girl who I can now call my girlfriend. She says she loves me. I know I sure love her.

So, thank you. Thank you Bryony, simply for being you, for always having been a support for me in the past, for these wonderful two weeks with you, and most of all for loving me. You have no idea how much it means to me. How much you mean to me. I really am the luckiest man alive.

And thank you to everyone else who has been a part of this amazing adventure and been around for all this time. I cherish the memories we've made, and I'm sure we'll share many more in the times to come.

I'm about to shut down this computer and go to bed for what'll be my last night in Sweden for some time. Tomorrow, my sister will be driving me to Arlanda airport, from where I'll get on a flight to Manchester, England. There, I'll meet up with Bry and get on the train to Lincoln. Excited? Beyond words. Like I told Bryony a while ago, I probably won't get this whole thing through my head 'till Thursday.

This has been a long time coming. I've known Chris for more than five years now, but during this last year I've gotten to know everyone so much better, which I think I should thank Bry for. If you hadn't sent that e-mail a year ago, this probably wouldn't've happened. Thank you!

Well, I shall be off. Tomorrow is going to be an eventful day, and I'd hate to be physically drained before it has even begun! Goodnight, Sweden. 

Whoa, I'm tired. But this has been a very nice day indeed. Me and Dad got our boat out of the water, since there's a minor leak in a screw hole which has allowed nearly three hundred liters of water to get in between the outer and inner hull during the past week of heavy rain. We got the water out, put on a new propeller, ordered a new impeller bilge pump and then I swabbed the entire boat, which was fun. And I'm very satisfied with the result. In short, this boat is going to be a fracking rocket on the waves!

I got to drive home, which was nice. Haven't practiced driving in a while. I love the transmission on Dad's car, you can almost flip in the gears with your little finger. It's bloody huge though, so there's a lot of metal to keep on the road... but I figured that's good practice. Driving a "normal" car should be a breeze after a few months with this one...

For the first time in more than a year, I don't feel entirely lost regarding my future. Chris has my heartfelt thanks for this; while talking to him a few days ago, I suddenly felt a fresh wave of interest in games design and general programming wash over me. I'm doing a tutorial on XNA (though Microsoft keep demanding my money for all the exciting features, damn them!) and I'm currently installing Blender (supposedly kickass 3D design application, and it's free), which I believe could be an interesting experience. It feels good to be doing something worthwhile, and the more C# I know when school starts, the better. 

And perhaps the biggest news of all: my upcoming trip to Lincoln, England, is on the verge of booking! Just a few minor details and a bit of thought and things will be settled. I seriously can't wait! Since all my Swedish friends are completely ignoring my existence, hanging out with a bunch of kickass English people sound simply... kickass? 

I'm totally overusing that word these days. 

Midsummer has come and gone. I spent it with the family at our summer house, on Ljusterö. I went out there on Thursday, so I could help Dad assemble the party tent. While I was lying awake around 2 AM, I stumbled across two episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist on TV. Long story short, I'm downloading the entire anime as I'm writing this, hehe. I might try to get hold of the manga later on. 

Most of my cousins joined us for the festivities as well, which made for a lot of catching up, lack of places to sleep and, obviously, a lot of alcohol. I had a great time, and I believe everyone else did as well. It has been far too long, really... some of them I haven't seen in a year. But, what with the younger members of the family growing up and such, I guess spare time is becoming increasingly scarce. Thus, I welcome celebrations such as this one, even if the Swedish way of celebrating Midsummer probably seems a bit retarded to the rest of the world.  

Me, sis and the cousins agreed that we should all have a night out in Uppsala sometime, without planning everything as thoroughly as everyone always does when the parents are to come as well. So, just the younger part of the family, on a nice night out in my favourite city. I'm looking forward to that!

So, what about me? I'm doing just fine, although I'm becoming increasingly introverted again. I'm spending more time alone at home, without so much minding what everyone else is doing. It feels good, in ways. I wouldn't mind partying somewhere with everyone, though. It's only been a week since last time, but I guess I've grown rather fond of parties and the like. Wait, an introverted and at times asocial gamer who enjoys parties and other equally sociable events? That doesn't make much sense. But then again, as a dear friend so strikingly put it, making sense is such an outdated concept...

So, the summer holiday of 2009 (officially my last real summer holiday) has begun. The past few days have been nice. Particularly today. This day began with playing guitar, since I was awake 'till 5 AM doing just that. I've learned pretty much the entire Call of Ktulu (by Metallica), which is quite nice. Haven't learned the solo though... might tackle that sometime soon. I was planning on skipping sleep that morning, but mum stuck her head in 'round five and told me to go to bed. 

I just came back from a party at Oskar's cousin's place. It was the best one in a while. Quite nice people around. All of them were older than me (between 19 and 24), which suits me just fine. Tends to make for a far more civilized atmosphere. People did get drunk, though, hehe. We played Twister! That was awesome. I just barely lost to Johan, soo close! Music was alright (Dr. Bombay, hell yes) and there was a lot of dancing. There was a nice girl there, too. Apparently, she's a gamer, which I never would've thought by looking at her. Anyway, she was cool and we talked a bit.

Walked home with the aforementioned girl and Johan in the warm morning rain. Oh right, forgot to mention I've re-discovered my love of rain and wind. I went for a long walk in the rain yesterday after school, went through the nearby woods and to the top of the mountain. Seeing clouds float by around you, as opposed to above you, is so awesome. Me and my nice shirt (yes, I'm actually dressing up a bit these days) were soaked to the molecule, but I really didn't mind. I laid down on a nice part of the mountain for a few minutes and just let the rain wash everything away. 

I also went to a rather odd "party" with Oskar and Johan later that day. It was at Paulina's friend's place. They were already very drunk when we got there. The music was some of the weirdest stuff I've ever heard and Paulina entertained herself with dissing me as usual. Oh well, it was fun for a while. 

Not to be forgotten, I've played tons of Team Fortress 2 lately. Thanks again for a lot of fun, people~

So, yes. I'm progressing nicely with the guitar, I've had fun lately and things are just going overall well. I'm feeling good.

P.S. For some reason, I was given a diploma for being an exceptional student who "always hands everything in on time". I really can't see what they mean? It was only two days ago that I gave up on an assignment that was six months late. Whatever, I'm getting good grades and I guess the diploma means that I'm capable when I try. 

I'm getting really annoyed by my fingers. They're not progressing as quickly as my brain when it comes to guitarplay. Meaning, I can play a song perfectly in theory, but my damn hands just can't do it. And believe me, few things are more boring than accuracy and speed exercises. 

Argh.  This is going to be a long night. 

Today was ace. Got up at ten, headed to Johan's and played Guitar Hero III for ten minutes. Then his dad arrived and we headed to the motocross track. The track was in a fantastic condition, Johan's driving was fantastic and I got some pictures that are pretty darn awesome, too. 



That's Johan, heavily shrinked by LJ.  He made some really nice jumps today! Also, Mike's letting us use his trailer for the bikes, which is great. It's actually built for the sole purpose of transporting MX bikes, two of them even. After the motocross fun, I went with him and his dad to help build Mike's new terrace. We made INSANE progress and it was quite fun as well. I was given a ride home, we said our goodbyes and I went inside to have some muchly-needed food. Breakfast and three hotdogs in ten hours kind of gets to you after a while, heh. 

And here I am. Watched The Ilusionist during dinner, then played guitar. Now chatting with Oskar and having a good time before bed.

Yeah, today was ace.

Starting with the school report... I did this term's very last test today. It went perfectly. As if I didn't know what the OSI model is.  I still have four essays that need to be done ASAP, but other than that it's time to start the relaxation.

In most other areas of my life, things are rather quiet. Though my wallet is growing all the more healthy, a motocross bike still seems so very far away. I'm not quite sure why, it just appears unreal for me to have one. I could easily imagine myself getting used to the idea, however.

Nothing much has happened lately. I've spent some time with Johan and Oskar and such. No parties or anything of the sort planned for this weekend, which is kind of disappointing. After the blast I had a few weeks ago, I was hoping such festivities would occur more often. I'm quite positive I'll get my fair share once school's out, though. Can't wait. I really want to be around people as much as possible right now, I feel kind of walled off whenever I'm alone.  

On a bit more positive note, Oskar and Josefine are celebrating their one year anniversary today. Or rather, it -was- today 24 minutes ago. Still, lots of congratulations and hugs to them!

Tomorrow, I'll go with Johan to the MX track again. That'll be fun, I hope I'll get lots of good pictures. I'm steadily improving, capturing a guy jumping ten meters with a MX bike isn't really hard anymore, heh. 

And on that note, I'm off to get some much-neglected sleep. 

And so, another rather weekend is at its end. It was four days long, which was nice. We got Thursday and Friday off due to this Jesus-related thing I can't remember the name of. I worked with Dad Thursday-Friday, which brought me yet a little close to a new bike. Other than that, it's been one slow weekend. Watched "Stranger than fiction" with Mum yesterday, brilliant film. Really odd, but good.

Then I made a new EVE Online account (shock!) and played 'till four in the morning. Somehow, I really felt I needed that. I've not seriously played a game in I don't know how long, and it felt weird, but kind of good, to return to my "roots", or what one might call them. Don't worry though, I'm not going back to being a complete geek. But it was nice. Still got twelve days on the trial, so I might pop in some more...

Today, I've played more EVE, some guitar and then I did some muchly-needed studying. Crap, I've got tons of shit that needs doing. Then I talked to Andrew (Novas) for the first time in... a year? He suddenly popped onto Messenger. Really nice to hear from him again, I've missed the guy. 

I've got tons more crap to do tomorrow, so now I'll get some sleep...

I did it. I passed the damn maths test. Required score was 12, I had 20 (!). How the hell did that happen? Apparently, I'm the only one in my class who passed as well. That's nice, but I feel really sorry for everyone else. 

Anyway, I'm really glad that damned course is finally over. This means I can do Mathematics C next term, which is ace. It won't be easy, but it'll be nice in the end. 

Now I have to study for what is going to be the failure of the week: tomorrow's Electronics test. <_<

P.S. This whole motocross-thing is on the verge of realization. Things are good. 

I've done the final Mathematics B test. It took such a huge burden off my back I feel like I could fly. Since I studied 'till 2 AM, it went alright. I think I'll pass. I really hope I'll pass. If not, I'll just do it again next term. I'll definitely pass then.

 I'm feeling really good. Things are quite nice right now. 

I just got back from a party in Rydbo. It was kind of a birthday celebration-thing for a bunch of people in our happy little gang, me among them. It was really fun, much better than expected. I thought the whole thing would've derailed completely within a few hours, but it seems that people are starting to grow up a little bit. Nobody got too drunk, no vomiting or anything... which makes things a lot more enjoyable. '

Mostly everyone I usually hang out with was there. I also met a few new, quite nice people. Music was mostly not my thing, but for once I actually didn't mind. Did some dancing, or jumping rather, hehe... which was very fun. I usually stand in the sidelines when it comes to stuff like that, but it felt really nice to just go with the flow. And the classics Dr. Bombay and Rednex - Cotton Eye Joe was way cool!

I then walked home with Robin and Johan. Johan had his bike, but we didn't ride it until we got out of the central parts in fear of the police; they're usually all over town on Saturdays. He drove me the last few hundred meters to the house though, bless him... my legs are drained from all the jumping!

Another great night, to sum things up. Now... bedtime!

I just got home from a splendid night with Johan, Alex, Polly and Melinda. First we went to Täby to see Wolverine as a bit of a celebration-thing for Alex (t'was his birthday on the 2nd). Wolverine, I might add, is an excellent film. It was far better than I was expecting, in fact. I'll also have to point out that the company was, if possible, even more outstanding, if a bit tiring at times! While waiting for the train home, Alex made a rather brilliant imitation of a t-rex, which kept Polly and Melli laughing for a good fifteen minutes, heh... all good fun.

 We then proceeded to rent all three X-Men films and then got on the bus to Alex's and Melli's place. Since the night bus takes the long way around pretty much everything, it soon got filled with drunk people, which was a pretty irritating experience. We got to Alex's safely anyway, and Johan quickly fell asleep on the living room floor while the rest of us watched the first X-Men film. Wolverine seems really lame in that one compared to his own fancy film... oh well!

Then me and Johan walked home through an unusually serene suburbia, soaked by the recent rain and covered in a light fog. I really like rain, as does Johan, so we both felt right at home. I imagine the sunrise is going to be really beautiful. I might get up and take some pictures; leaves covered in dew being pierced by the early hours' sunlight is very pretty. We'll see how energetic I feel in the morning, though.

Now it's definitely bedtime though. I've got some studying to do tomorrow as well, so... ciao!

I'm so sleeping with the balcony door open tonight.

My birthday was really nice! I managed to avoid infection it seems. My stomach was a bit odd, but I'm pretty sure that's because I hadn't eaten much in a day or two.

 I went to the local Chinese restaurant with all the best friends and I had a really great time. We ended up sitting there 'till eleven in the evening! Then we went to Johan's place and watched... Shaolin Soccer? Quite, ehh... amusing film. xD

As far as presents go, I got two new stompboxes for my already über guitar rig, which now sounds perfect since I've also managed to learn how to actually use that wah I've had for over a year... Dad also got me an Orange Amps t-shirt, which is really cool. I got two films (Mark Tremonti: The Sound and the Story, and Metallica: Live Shit), Progressive Nation tickets, a really comfy and great-looking hoodie and... money!

So now I've got like... 3000? I'll sell my old amp for 1500 and the bike for 10-14k. So that leaves me with somewhere around 17000. That means I need to get a job for the additional ~10k I'll need for a motocross. Oh well, getting there!

Johan gave me a box of nice films and Oskar got me oldschool sunglasses. ^^

So, yeah. Even if my weird stomach made me kind of weak and slow, I had a good time, and I'm happy with that. 

So I might be getting a very unwanted birthday present: a stomach disorder. I'm feeling fine right now (other than a steadily weakening cold), but Mum's began vomiting like a Boomer two days ago and when Dad came home today, he went straight to the bathroom, feeling no better than her.

 So chances are I already have that shit in me. If not, I might soon catch it, since the whole house is probably contaminated by now. Spending my eighteenth birthday throwing up my intestines would be horrible; eighteen is something rather big that obviously only happens once, and I'd like to spend that day with my friends, not alone in a bathroom. I really hope I'll be okay.

Please... fingers crossed for me?