Finally a new post

Sorry for the delay on the new post, but I'm busy, unmotivated, and scatterbrained so remembering to update a blog is not one of my many talents. Anyway...
Since last we left off I had just played at a club in Stockholm city. That night I went to a party which was fun, but on the way back on the bus was the real fun. Picture this: 50 drunk europeans on a crowded bus, me sitting on the floor becasue if I stand for too long I'll be sick...and given the circumstances, that would be a bad thing. Anyway one of them says "come on tennesse man (this is my new nickname which I am very fond of, too bad I can't keep it when I go home) play us something. So they start chanting, so I oblige. I played the whole way home, and they sang along, and it was freakin' awesome. My ego went up like 10 points. It would cap one of the greatest all around days ever!!!
On the subject of me rocking in stockholm (a subject I like) I played again at the club in Gamla Stan, but this time for two sets. I met about a bzillion people, alot of them musicians who are interested in playing with me more. But the coolest part by far was when I got off the stage the second time a guy comes over to me, gives me his card, tells me his name, that he ws just in memphis (to which I replied me too), that he works for the Swedish blues magazine, and that he'd like my email so he can ask me some questions...as in interview me. He's going to help me find places to play, people to play with, and places to hear music. It was pretty cool.

But, Stockholm specific stuff...I SAW THE SUN!!! It was glorious. All bright and in the sky. Anyway...still not much snow to speak of, but I leave for lapland which is the north on feb. 28th where I have a good chance of seeing the northern lights, and an almost certain chance of seeing snow. Speaking of upcoming trips, I booked my easter vacation with emily to Berlin, Brussels, AMsterdam, and Hamburg which I am really excited about. And, I almost wound up in Sicily this weekend. The story goes like this: My pal jen and I are looking for a place to go real cheap with ryan air. We find a cheap ticket to Sardinia (near sicily, islands off the southern coast of Italy) at first I'm real excited, but then I check the weather, and it turns out its not a real good time to go there becuase its a beach resort, and the weather is cold and rainy. Anyway, long story short, I look up and see the screen loading, and then jen says YES!! we're going to sicily. So I go home and think about it, and after doing some reading on it determine that it is a BAD idea, taking into account the weather, the price of hostels, the lack of prep time for a country where no one I MEAN NO ONE speaks english, the warnings that everyone tries to take advantage of non-italian speakers there, and about nine million other reasons. Anyway, ryan air doesn't give refunds, so I'm in this for 120 bucks one way or another. So in the morning I call customer support who were absolute a-holes, but I got the flight moved to London on April 3rd for only 7 pounds, so problem solved.

I have been cooking lots of pasta since I got here because pasta and dairy are the cheap things here. I've made some pretty awesome creations. We are having an international dinner tonight where everyone is supposed to bring a dish from their country, I'm bringing beer battered chicken and pickles with homemade ranch...its really good. Speaking of food, there is an International students dinner at the place where they give out the nebel prize on wednesday. It is a really big deal and its supposed to be a huge honor to go, plus the food is supposed to be the best in Sweden and the wine is supposed to be amazing too.

The swedish people, while they take a while to warm up to you, are not as rude as I once thought. Apparently I just had a couple of bad experiences. I've actually met a good deal of swedish people, some in my building, and a bunch at the club. They are very nice and hospitable once youget to know them.

Class is...well, class actually wasn't this past week. My professor cancels class alot because he is sick, but he usually wants to make them up. We're all probably going to bail on the makeup, cause this week was supposed to be the last class for the term, and we all planned trips and stuff. I have to write a term paper though which is due on friday where I will basically try to convince myself that the swedish system isn't too big brother for me, or essentially that the amount of Big Brotherness is infact a good thing the way it is executed. We'll see how that goes.

I will hopefully be going to coppenhagen in the next few days, so I will have more to share after that, but for now, love from Sweden,
ME