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I’m in Sweden!

christinahopgood

On Tuesday morning, I left on my epic journey to Sweden to have my holiday with Charles!  I travelled for 34 hours in total!  It was crazy!  I was all worried about my flights and all of my worst fears came true.  It was the most horrible experience ever!  I felt like total crap for days!  However, I did manage to meet some wonderful people on several planes who were kind to me when I was sick.  So that’s one positive.

Wednesday morning, I arrived at Lulea airport to find Charles waiting for me.  It was the best thing ever to see him!  I was kind of jet lagged but we had to go and do stuff together!

He had a rehearsal for the School’s Christmas Concert, which I sat through with him.  The two other percussionists here are good friends with Charles and have been hearing about me nonstop for months, so they were happy to meet me finally!  After the rehearsal, Charles and I walked into town and had a hamburger for his lunch and my dinner.  We went back home to his apartment and I fell asleep instantly!  My body clock was all wrong!

Thursday, there were two performances of the Christmas concert, one at 2 and one at 7.  I attended both!  It was a great concert.  After the second concert I was falling asleep in my chair so I had to be taken home.

Today, we went into uni to play some pieces for a composer friend, and then a group of us walked into town.  I was intending to get Charles some curtains and myself a jumper.  Double fail!  I got a pretty top though.  Now we’re home, having baked a cake and dinner and now we’re watching episodes of Xena!  It’s way late and I’m still awake, so I feel I’m doing pretty well.  Tomorrow there’s big plans for group hangouts with all of Charles’ friends yay!

Weather: when I arrived, the weather was clear but super cold, like -16.  The past two days have been really snowy and windy but relatively warm (only -4).  It’s kind of fun!  A little annoying to get snow in my face but not too bad.  I enjoy the novelty of this weather.

Okay back to Xena!  Photos when I take some!

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Knitting is the New Thing

christinahopgood

So as you all know, I’m going to Sweden in less than a month! (OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG)

As you may not know, Sweden has OPPOSITE weather conditions to Australia.  When it’s hot and bright here, it’s cold and dark there.  So I’ll be going from mid-Summer right into mid-Winter!  I am okay with this because I really dislike hot weather!  I don’t love freezing my toes off but I do love being able to sleep at night.

SO I’ve been knitting myself a pair of long johns, following this free internet pattern from Drops Design.  It’s the only pattern for tights I could find anywhere on the internet.  My yarn is a wool/acrylic/alpaca blend which feels quite soft to touch on my hands, but it’s a different story on my legs.

Anyway here’s progress pics:

So I started knitting from the waistband down.  I had to alter the pattern a bit because I’m a tiny person.  When this photo was taken I was just about to start the legs.  Looks a bit like high-waisted wooly underpants.

It’s knitted on a circular needle, which is really awesome and easy to use.  It’s just a spiral!  Here you can see how it’s a tube.  Soon I’ll upload more progress pictures!  I’ve knitted a bit of legs since these photos.
Since it’s a bit itchy on my legs (like it makes me want to pull my skin off), I’m going to have to wear another pair of tights underneath these.  So it’ll be tights, leggings, jeans.  I do quite like the colours so I might also wear them under a skirt with boots.
Where I’m going, I’m pretty sure the temperature is not going to go above -5 at any point, so maybe tights underneath my leggings would be necessary even if they didn’t make my legs feel like there’s ants in my pants.
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Update!

christinahopgood

So I have lots of blog posts with pictures planned, but they’re going to have to wait until after my exams!  I have one on Thursday and one on Saturday.  Exams on Saturdays are weird!

I’ve booked my flights to Stockholm for the holidays!  I’m leaving mid-December and coming home mid-February.  I’ll spend a few days in Sweden with Charles and then we’ll go to Paris for Christmas!  I’ll get to visit BTSSB and AP in Paris!  I might buy myself a Christmas present there 🙂

Then we plan to go to London for New Year’s and some tourism.  Then we’ll head back to Sweden and hang out.  I’ll get to practice at the School of Music with Charles – we might do some duets, or some ensemble pieces with the guys there. I’m excited about finally playing some percussion again after all this psychology study!  But mostly I’m looking forward to seeing Charles again – it’s been over a month since we were together in Perth – so I’m halfway through our separation.  It’s going to be the BEST.  We are doing really well, but lots of stuff is different.  I realise that I haven’t been single since I was 16 and I don’t know how to go out to parties alone, especially at clubs… it’s just weird.  Lots to learn!

Does anyone know what to wear in really cold weather?  I’m talking REALLY cold weather: a maximum of -5 degrees in the day.  I don’t want to have to wear ski pants.

Plus today I saw a full rainbow!  It was awesome.  The pot of gold was obviously in the lady over the road’s backyard.  I think she’s a leprechaun. 

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The Savvy Salesperson

christinahopgood

She got me! Today I spent $150 on beauty products that I didn’t intend to buy.

I was walking in the shopping centre to get some groceries, when this girl stopped me. I’m polite, so I stopped to hear her out for a little while. She sat me down at a beautifying station.
“What is your name?”
“Christina.”
“Ah! Christina! It’s a princess name! Princess Christina! And how old are you?”
“23”
“23!! You look 17! You are amazing looking! You are a beautiful woman! But you look like you have dry, sensitive skin, especially under your eyes. You have darkness under your eyes.”
What can I say? I do have sensitive skin, and I do have dark circles under my eyes. “Yes.” I agreed. She told me the stuff they were selling has minerals from the Dead Sea, which apparently makes you beautiful.
She rubbed some exfoliating stuff on the back of one of my hands, and then some moisturiser, and it came up looking amazing. “See, compare your hands. Which one would you like your face to look like, Princess?” Obviously the shiny, glowing, smooth one. So, how much is it?
Only $140 each. What? I tried to excuse myself… “That’s too expensive, I’m just a student!” But she had another discount up her sleeve! For students they throw in an extra eye cream that will make my dark circles disappear!
“But that’s still really expensive.” I had her there. She told me she’d do a secret thing, that I must not tell anyone, because she likes me and wants me to be beautiful. She made the eye cream and exfoliating thing $75 each. That’s like half price! And she made me promise that in two weeks I’d come and show her the improvement in my eyes. She kept saying “Look into my eyes, Princess Christina” before telling me some home truth. So I bought them. $150.
She saw me coming and thought, there is a girl who has bags under her eyes. She must be sensitive about her eyes. I will target that sensitivity and get her to buy the eye cream.
And now that I think about it… the bags under HER eyes were much worse than mine. Why is she telling me about that when she hasn’t fixed her own? Maybe the stuff doesn’t work? I don’t know. Even if this stuff is miraculous, I feel really dumb. They preyed on my insecurities and made me feel obliged to buy it.
Moral of the story: Just keep walking, even if they call you a beautiful princess. Find out about beauty products for yourself, instead of being hoodwinked. I learnt this the hard way!
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Plans for the FUTURE

christinahopgood

So I seem to be at some kind of crossroads. I need to start thinking about my plans for next year!

Charles is moving to Sweden in a little over a month. This sucks for serious! But I have to remain positive or else he’ll get upset. Nobody likes a weepy Chrissy!
I want to visit him there in my summer holidays, which means the dead of winter there. This could be problematic! He won’t be in Sunnytime Stockholm-ville, but in Arctic Circle Land Freezyhole. Do people really live there in winter? I’ll find out! I’m also going to visit my friend in Paris!
Anyhow, since he’s moving away, he’s leaving behind some percussion students I can perhaps teach. That would be a good bit of income – but – I think I have to promise to be around for at least a year before they hire me. It’s fair enough – you don’t want to go through too many teachers, it’s not fair on the students. I taught them for a few weeks while Charles was in America, and it seemed like a nice kind of job.
But then there’s the question of next year. If I want this job I have to stick around, which I’m quite happy to do. My options are:
1. Go to where Charles is.
2. Get a … job???
3. Clothing Construction course (CIT, Canberra).
4. Master of Music Therapy (Melbourne or Sydney)
5. Honours in Music (ANU)
Obviously my parents are not keen on my going to where Charles is. That is just not SEEMLY. Also it would be better for me to advance my own education or career instead of waiting around for him, in a place where I *can’t* do anything productive. So as much as I’m probably going to miss him, that’s not an option right now.
A job … what IS a job. I have a job! At the library! And I’d get a job teaching! But what this means is…. going into the Public Service. What. My parents suggested this one. The only good thing is that I’d get lots of money, but I’d also probably lose interest in all the rad things I’m interested in. I’d earn enough money for a marimba… but I’d probably just do something boring with my money instead. And I’d be too busy to play.
Clothing Construction would be so cool. I would love to do this. Apparently it’s a great course.
I haven’t done much research on the Music Therapy programs. They could possibly be lame. I’ll look into it. If I did this, I wouldn’t be able to take on teaching or continue working at the library, and I’d have to move cities. Away from my family and friends and percussion at a time when I will possibly need them badly.
I think Honours in Music is the go. I just need to convince my parents it’s a good idea. I played in a concert this afternoon with the percussion department and my Dad came… and Gary (my teacher) announced me as “Christina, who graduated last year and is hopefully doing honours next year!”. I nearly died. Dad was all “What’s all this nonsense about Honours, Christina???”. Oh Gary. THANKS.
TL;DR – Options! I has them.