Not visiting this time, or Welcome to the LotNM

So after a few weeks back stateside visiting friends and family and supporting the struggling airline industry through exsessive weight-overage fees on our luggage, we've made it to Sweden.

Through all the chaos of traveling for the past few months I really hadn't had the time to internalize what was going on. Sure, I managed to get a job (barely...GT Sweden put a hiring freeze in place shortly after I signed) and we managed to rent an apartment (our last day in Buenos Aires), but when we landed I found myself pretty well mentally unprepared for the move. It wasn't really untill about 2 hours left of the flight to Stockholm that it hit me. I was looking out the window thinking, "Gee, it's getting on to morning here and I can't see the sun rise". Then I realized, "You are moving to Sweden, Brad, land of the midnight sun". What the PR/Ad folks at the tourism bureau don't mention is that this also means that Sweden is the "Land of the Noon Moon" (LotNM as I will now refer to it during the winter months). This was the first time I figured out that this wasn't just one of the many visits I've made to the LotNM. I was here to stay.

Passing through Immigrations, the officer looked at my passport and asked if Cecilia and I were traveling together. "Yes." How long would we be staying. "uhhhh, we live here now", as in as of right now this minute, we just started living here. Crazy. It blows my mind.

Going to work for the first time on Monday to be present at the bi-weekly staff meeting to introduce myself and meet everyone briefly. They are giving dude a phone; a real fancy touch screen, pull out keyboard, microsoft mobile smart-phone, that I'm sure they expect me to do all sorts of "smart" things with. And I got notice that I'm going with the department on the annual ski trip to the French Alps in March. From almost not getting a job to all that, things seem to be shaping up pretty well.

Now if C can just land something we'll be set. Considering she's at an interview as I type this, we're hopefull on that front as well.

I'll keep updating occasionally, and I'm sure as I start to work and learn the language and get to know the LotNM a bit better there will be some humorous stories.

Later,

B