stockholm, first few days

overheard at nytorget: (older lady to very young boy) "the same day my mom died, you were born". (young boy) "reeeaaallllyyy???". (older lady) "yes, at the same hospital. that's how i remember when you were born. the 24th of april".

today i spent the first few minutes like this, at ilcaffe, a cafe in the same building where i live, with reading material from the last seminar about pavlov's stuff. the dog, the bell and the food. could be an album title.

later on, on bus to brother, clouds were quite dark. the building to the left is the parliament y'all.

over all though, stockholm showed its brighter side today (the coulds were just a cranky morning behavior). i went to bondegatan where a flee market slash fashion show happened. here i was able to snap a pic of the trend that i now call the real stockholm syndrome. the men, they have all put on pants that are a, narrower toward the ankle b, often in a bright color c, has folds on the front and d, are worn rolled up.

and i should say d, often accompanied with a pair of bright socks.

e v e r y w h e r e you can spot a pair of these pants on a well groomed (or purposly un-groomed) stockholm lad. i decided to snap a picture of the first pair i saw. it took me three minutes. -- shama and paul, is this really a stockholm syndrome, or a belfast thing too?


pictures below are from my brother's new apartment that i saw for the first time on saturday. it's quite ridiculous.

other thoughts; a phenomenon i have not been able to enjoy the past few years is to run into a relative on the street. this happened today, and i was puzzled at why i thought it was so special, and kind of peculiar, to be honest. well, the answer is that it's a treat to someone who has been living far away from relatives for years. above is my aunts boyfriend of 30+ years. they are one of the happiest couples i know. they never lived together.

today was the girlfriend's birthday which we celebrated with cake.