Sunday, June 29, 2014

United!

Pride is one of the greatest feelings. As a Fred Hutch employee I have the privilege of being proud pretty much every single day I go to work, and today I got to share some of that pride with my fellow colleagues in Hutch United as we joined in the 40th annual Seattle Pride Parade, honoring those who fought the early battles and those continuing to advocate for equality in changing times”.

Last year I was watching the parade in awe, smiling and sweating in the beaming sunlight. This time, my smile was even wider as I danced along the route proudly wearing my bright blue Fred Hutch tee and waiving rainbow-colored ribbons, completely embraced by the loving, accepting atmosphere this fantastic city is all about.

And trust me, my friend Tony was not overly grieved as he lead our way in the black Tesla, an electric sports car graciously lent to us by one of the FHCRC faculty members. To be honest, I don't know where he went after the parade; I think he might have just taken off into the sunset, never looking back.



 
 


Seattle, I love you! Happy pride!

Saturday, June 21, 2014

A midsummer night's dream

Under my pillow on midsummer night: seven different kinds of flowers, picked in absolute silence. Some old-timey Swedish folk magic in the heart of Fremont.


Whatever works, eh?

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Happy heathen holiday!

It's that time of the year again when Swedes go bananas over new (immature) potatoes and pickled herring, paired with copious amounts of beer and chilled snaps (nubbe), topped off with more nubbe and strawberry cake. (And then some nubbe.)

Although I'm not a huge fan of this somewhat overrated Scandinavian holiday we had a really great time last year, celebrating summer and friendship on David's rooftop.

Someone was rather pregnant at the time. (Hint: it wasn't me.)



This year no solid plans are made, so I'll just have to wait and see what comes up. It is a magical night after all, so I'm assuming that anything can happen...

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, here's a short tutorial:


Happy Midsummer everyone! Glad midsommar! Be safe, sit down in the boat, and don't forget to use protection.

Sunday, June 15, 2014

For the pops

Today is the third Sunday of June, which means Father's Day in the US (and about 75 other countries). It also means stupid commercials for smartphones, grills, cars, lawn mowers, and various power tools, featuring a plethora of gender stereotypes that should have stayed in the 1950s.

Anyway. My own dad is probably not seeing this as he is currently enjoying one of his favorite activities: sailing with my mum. I wish you fair winds and following seas, pappa!


And just to conclude, some wonderful Hallmark Father's Day wisdom: “Happy Father’s Day to the man who taught me how to step and throw, how to field a grounder, how to follow through and pretty much every other important thing I know about baseball and living!”

Yeah.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Staying put, kicking back

Oh my, how lovely it is to be back in Seattle! The meeting in St. Louis was massive, and I feel completely drained of energy after five intense days of listening, learning, reading, networking, and chatting - not to mention fretting about my presentation that I had to wait until the very last day to get out of my system. However, everything went well (really well, I think!) and I had a great time, especially as I was lucky enough to spend a majority of the conference in the company of dear old colleagues from Gothenburg.

But now I'm back to regular life and look forward to staying put for a while; working on my papers, planning new studies, and maybe even slowing down a little during summer. I can't even begin to describe the joyous feeling that filled me as I realized that I'll actually be able to just kick back and relax this weekend. I don't have to work or stress over anything! Amazing.

Walking to Fred Hutch this morning was pure bliss; the sun was shining and the weather was mild. I even had time to pause and smell the roses. (And what a rose I found!)


It gets even better: tomorrow night is going to be my night. Awesome plans include:
  1. Drinking tea
  2. Solving crossword puzzles
  3. Eating carrots
  4. Listening to radio
It sounds profoundly mundane, but trust me: it's all I want to do right now. Saturday and Sunday will be full of fun and games, but Friday night is going to be all about me and my comfy chair.

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Under the arch

Dr. Frost presents: A bona fide St. Louis selfie.


Enough procrastinating; I seriously need to work on my conference talk... (Seriously as in seriously. Ugh.)

Thursday, June 5, 2014

I'm all right!

According to the Seattle Times and KING5.com, there has been a shooting at the Seattle Pacific University campus this afternoon; at least four people have been shot, and the police have taken one person into custody.

SPU is located right across the Lake Washington Ship Canal from Fremont, basically five minutes from where I live, but I have been at work all day and have not seen or heard anything.

I just wanted to let you know that I'm all right, so there is no need to worry about me. Take care, everyone!

Back! And then gone again...

Sweden was great. The sun was shining, birds were chirping, and flowers blossoming. Spending some time with family and friends was just what I needed, and I think I managed to make the most of the precious days and hours (sometimes merely minutes) I had with them all. But oh, how I wish I could have stayed longer! The thought of missing out on another summer back home hurts; no sailing with mum and dad, no relaxing with my grandmother at the summer cabin in Rådmansö, no late-night boardgaming with my brother and friends, and no evening swims in the salty sea.

Even though I brought my camera I hardly took any pictures at all; being in the moment felt more important. I managed a few snapshots though, like this postcard classic from my hometown Halmstad depicting the ship Najaden and the castle.


Complete stillness on a morning walk.


In Halmstad I also met up with my girls for a fabulous slumber party, including fika (featuring an outrageous chocolate cake by Vivi), spicy dinner at a cozy Indian restaurant, copious amounts of candy, wine, gossip, and a wonderful breakfast the morning after. In addition, I watched my popstar parents perform at a gig by the docks.



Gothenburg offered a sweet barbecue with a bunch of good friends, supportive coaching by Patrik during a fun run in Slottsskogen, lunch and coffee with old colleagues from the university, more fika and planning with a dear friend that will visit me later this summer, and some quality time with this little guy (and his sweet parents).


Being back in Seattle feels okay, albeit a little stressful; I landed on Tuesday and will take off for (another) conference in St. Louis, MO, already tomorrow. To say that I'm concerned about the talk I'm giving is a severe understatement, but I still feel rather confident that I will survive the ordeal. Somehow.

After my return on Wednesday next week things will slow down a little, which is something I dearly look forward to. Being able to focus on manuscript writing, and perhaps enjoying some of that lovely Seattle summer weather, are thoughts that sooth my worried mind. I'm sure it will be great. And after all, Christmas isn't that far away, right...?

Right.