Work hard, party hard. Upstairs at the Friday night party

The AIESEC Conference

On Monday morning, after seeing Stephen off at the trainstation, I spent a long (sleepy) day at work trying to work my way through the intricacies of investment methodologies. I had a quiet week,not quite making up for the lost sleep over the weekend. I was absolutely looking forward to going to Amsterdam on April 9th to see Stephen's mates, join them on a party, and go on a flight simulator test with Steve.

Instead, I spent friday and saturday helping out mnake lunch for 140 AIESECers who were at the national conference of Sweden. How come? It was bad timing at the office, as their interim report was due in a few weeks and the web project was due to be launched in two, and in my boss' sweet words "it would be very nice to have you here". (Sigh) Okay, so Saturday morning in place of a nice sleep-in I found myself seasoning potatoes and watching 140 potato halves bake in the oven. The afternoon was cutting 10 kgs of carrots ( yes Maria, I won) and then attempting to somehow whip up chocolate and vanilla mousse. It turned out like soup.

But, on the bright side, I had a great time conversing with the chicks in the kitchen, and found my new German - Stockholm enthusiast, Sina (no, save it. not warrior princess) . And besides, there's a fun side to tossing salad for 140 peeps.

The Ice Bar.. Next day, and no hangover (really!)

The next day, having sacrificed a few brain cells from the night before we went and visited the Ice Bar. Entry fee of USD15 covers the first vodka cocktail, a Jedi outfit, and huge gloves. Unfortunately it didn't cover snow boots which would have been handy given my tootsies were freezing.

Litterally, drinks on ice. Or in ice rather. The architect of the Ice Hotel actually got his inspiration from carving out a hole in one of the ice blocks in the streams flowing from one of the glaciers in Noorland. I considered ordering an espresso.

The Ice Bar's actually a miniature version of the Ice Hotel near Kiruna, a town in Norrland. Rebuilt every year, tourists go to the Ice Hotel with reservations made a year in advance. The weddings in the Hotel's church have been a developing trend in the past years. Although as cool as it sounds the concept of paying close to USD500 just to sleep on an ice block with deer skins still escapes me. I'll try it some time in the big factory freezers with a couple of blankets and a vodka bottle.

Saturday Night Fever

Please view left for a reason for why my parents (and Tante Lan and Om Tjong Ham) are not invited to view this blog. We went to one of the pubs called The Mill in town centre. This was an awesome spot, for starters, sensitive to the depleting wallets of students (and interns) no cover charge, thus allowing more for beer. Please note that dur to the quality of this picture that gives away our state of inebriation, I am actually going to take it off within a couple of days. So look, and scroll UP!

After 2 AM Hulda left us (lightweight)... but of course the hard core party people pushed on to
the Yuppy part of twon (Stureplan). And alas to our great disappointment we had to stash out close to 100SEK for entry fee. Then of course, we were simply obliged to make the most of our entry fee, and party on till 6. Who said I've left my party days back in college. 22 and rocking on baby.

I dragged Stephen to the riverside on the way home to make a picture which would serve as hard evidence and testify to our fantastic party animal stamina for all those of you who happen to doubt. Hell yeah..



In retrospect I have to say, Stephen, you're a champ . I'm impressed. Not many can stay standing (and drinking) for almost 12 hours without their heads in the toilet bowl the next day. And may I add, I received many compliments from the girls of how well you danced. YES, BLOKES, MY COUSIN DANCED PROPERLY. And impressed everyone. Guess the ballroom dancing lessons paid off. (ok, Jules, you too)

Okay so I'm a sucker for churches. I was actually trying to catch the gargoyles on the tower, but my zoom didn't go that far. I thought it was cool anyway. Reminded me of that church in the Hunchback of Notredamme. Maybe we should make a stockholm version yeah.

Unfortunately you can't see the sign above Stephen's head saying "welcome to our 400 year old cellar"! Judging from their cappuccinos, they must be using the same age coffee beans as the cellar.

Stephen's politely smiling after an introduction to Samla, a winter snack basically made of a bread roll with a hole cut out in the middle, with a dab of marzipan and filled with thick whipped cream. Not the most low caloric of meals.

The Ferry...30th March

Saturday of Stephen's visit to Stockholm we spent walking the town (again), and took the ferry from Old Town back to Djurgarden and on to Skepsholmen, one of the islands in the Archipelago. Spring wasn't really living up to its expectations, but certain glimpses of it were visible.















Signs of swedish spring emerging:

1. They stop rushing by in the streets at 60 km/hr and actually seem to know the meaning of "stroll". But then again I can't blame them, walking slowly in -13 degrees isn't very conducive to preservation of body heat I suppose (unless you're trying to take pictures of a blog)













2. Lovers in springtime - apparently they tend to break up in winter: I saw the first two lovebirds kissing on the ferry...
what - i wasn't stalking.




















3. Ice starts melting, and low and behold, you can actually see WATER!

End of the journey.. finally.. we got to Slussen, right next to the Katarinahissen ( a huge lift that takes you up up up and away) ..

Still going strong... pushing on to Gamla stan.. for a person with 5 hours sleep I did pretty well

The morning after....Kai and I had a coffee at the Ahlens department store and walked on to Gamla Stan. I didn't realise Stockholm could be walked in such short time. Now that winter's coming to an end the Stockholm inhabitants are taking to the streets, and I never thought the town had so many people. I walked the main areas of STockholm in less then 3 hours with several stops...

And again...

Ladi, I and Kai

Two weekends ago.. Saturday night .. Ladi from Nigeria, Hulda from Iceland, and Kai. I think we spent more time at my flat than at the pub.

"We cannot fight for love, as men may do; We should be wooed, and were not made to woo. "
- William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Helena at II, ii)

Not today we don't, dear..They had it good those chicks back then

Pissed off

Been very tired in the past few days, trying to finish off the last of the job apps. Australia is beginning to seem like a long long way away...especially when you don't speak to people you care about

Walking over the bridge from the City centre to Gamla Stan (old town) with Kai Feng.

Still at Sturehof..

Is it any wonder why Swedish chicks are called the most beautiful in the world?? (Guys, her name's NOT helga, and she doesn't wear blonde pigtails so there goes our stereotype)

Finally... a picture of two tall blonde Swedes. Maria, at the Sturehof Bar with a very interested young man..

my cousin stephen visiting from Amsterdam..

I'm sitting here in my apartment listening to Ella Fitzgeral and a good bit of Louis sucking on the last bits of my cigar. . I'm a sucker for Jazz what can I say.. The whole cigar smoking reminds me of my last summer in Perth sitting in the backyard of my old shared-house with a glass of white and with Bille playing in the background while dusk was just about to settle (remember that Jules)

I think that'll go down as one of the best times .. Apart from the fact that the last summer in Australia a special person came back from Mauritius around January and made me absolutely smitten. But I'm not one to share personal details on a blog.=)

It's been bloody ages since I posted-mostly because I can't be bothered pasting any more photos that take so long downloading. Work at Investor AB is exciting - a hell lot more than sitting in my lecture rooms. They figured using my marketing background and my English (yes that's right you forget that's quite an assett in a country like Sweden), I have quite few functions! We've been doing a new corporate website, seeing as the current one doesn't really live up to their prestigious reputation of the largest Nordic holding company. check out their old -and soon to be revamped-website at http://www.investorab.com


Many friends have asked what InvestorAB is. Unfortunately thsi company has little publicity outside the Scandinavian region. It is admittedly the largest Nordic industrial holding company, and on of the largest in the world. Wikipedia states its market value at somewhere near 10bn Euros. That's a hell of a lot given the core employees only number 174 . That's including cleaning service, postal service, and catering employees. Yep, you guessed it-it's a pretty sweet deal to be working for InvestorAB (lunch vouchers, health benefits, in-house medic, a great working tean - oh did I mention they have several SUMMER VILLAS including one in the Canary islands- gasp). It's now a standard expectation to see eyebrows raised when you tell them you're interning with Investor.

The owninga nd founding family - the Wallenbergs, have owned a controlling stake and assisted in the management of the company for five generations. That goes back to 1916. Let's just say it's the equivalent to the Packers (apart from the fact that Peter Wallenberg Sr isn't known for frequenting any casinos or making his fortune at the roullette table) and the Murdochs in Australia. They're pretty much royalty in Sweden, and Marcus' last birthday was attended by the King of Sweden (I'm not going to pretend to know his name).

Anyways, the company itself is an investment company, founder and majority owner of SAAB Defence, Scania, Electrolux, Ericsson, and recently the 3G technology mobile company 3! It's amazing how low-profile they remain globally. The founder of Electrolux for god's sakes. damn.

The AIESEC trainees working for Electrolux in Stockholm: Olga from Ukraine, Ulrika from Hungary, and Anna from...?(forgive me if I wrote your names wrong guys)

The Swedish meatball dish with mashed potatoes and lingonberries certainly is not a mere stereotype that we resort to when thinking of the Swedes. If it is, you could blame the tourist restaurants in Gamla Stan for placing it under "Sedish Dishes" on their menu.

The changing of the guards..

Exploring the old town

As I said, the first Sunday in Stockholm was spent exploring the main parts of the town. After an espresso at the cafe by the skating rink in Kugstradgarden, I went on to the harbour to take the pictures below, and then took a train down to the old town. Stockholm is built on an archipelago and it's most captivating beauty is found in the oldest part of town, an islet south of the town centre. I took a train from the T-Centralen and found myself in Gamla Stan. As it was coming close to 4 pm (it gets pretty dark by around 5), I gave up on reading my guidebook and decided to simply walk the narrow cobble lanes and see where they would lead me. After turning a few corners I found myself on the outskirts of the Royal Palace (the winter palace) with a guard standing at attention a few metres away. Apparently they're not as immune to distractions as the Royal Guards in the UK, as I tried smiling and waving to him. He gave up after a few seconds.

Further away they were conducting the changing of the guards (except without the mounted soldiers and the drum band which accompanies it during the summer time). I'm guessing the tourism department didn't see it as worthwhile considering the limited tourists visiting at this freezing time of year.

This was definitely a shot worth taking! Especially considering it filled the entire window.. Intellectual reading is very important in Sweden.

A glimpse of the local traffic in Stockholm. The first Saturday was spent buying groceries to last me the week. The building to the rleft is the Ahlens (pronouced Ohlens) department store. Unfortunately I forgot that I was without the comfort fo my car, hence I started a loooooooong walk home with 5 grocery bags, one of which burst. This is not as pretty a part of town as it is more like the business district of Stockholm

Looking out from the bridge next to the T-Centralen... by the time I got the picture the way I wanted it, my hands practically frozen

Saturday Morning in Narvavagen. It's times like these that make me happy I don't drive a car

Looking past the harbour in front of Kunstragarden, onto the Old Town or Gamla Stan.

First week end here..

I spent the first Sunday travelling the main area of Stockholm, namely Kungstradgarden or the King's Garden, where the King's vegetable patch used to be. The area is now transformed into a park with a skating rink at the centre. The statue there is of the warmongering king, Karl XII. Probably the closest I got to a viking image.

tired...

The days before leaving for stockholm...

Yes, the night of my farewell ended with me sleeping on the couch at 1 AM next to a handsome young man and others still chattting away..

me

21st of January was my farewell party, where all of us convened in soberness and ended the night in a state of relative intoxication.left to right: briohny, christie, sara leigh, me, seanna, and anne

Stockholm in winter

Hey guys. Well, due to urgent and popular demand for me to update everyone on my adventures in Stockholm, I have given up trying to send countless pictures to separate receipients and instead have resorted to posting up all pictures of stockholm, tall blond swedish girls called Inga or Helga, and numerous other swedish amusements on this blog. Unfortunately for male visitors to this blog, I refuse to take more than one snapshot of blond chicks, I think there are plenty other tourist attractions in this city than the female inhabitants. Such as the "Fredriks and Oscars" whose towering body, strong build, and fair features have the unusual effect of causing your knees to buckle (alas, I have one of those kinds waiting for me at home in Australia so I have little need to shop around) . Finally, and most importantly, for those of you who are acquainted with or related to my parents I must request that no one direct them to this site, for fear of certain inappropriate photos which my parents may not take a liking to and which may cause my mother to frown or wonder what unusual object it is (I must at least attempt to maintain an image of the sweet innocent Indonesian girl). Thanks guys.. enjoy.