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Archive for the 'private life' Category

A Woman and Her Handbag

Published March 13, 2008 private life , women 3 Comments

My girlfriend is usually angry with me because I spend too much time in front of the computer. As soon as we come home from anywhere, I always go “I wonder what’s happened on the Internet?” and disappear for an hour.

But now she’s found a website where people talk about their true love, their passion, their raison d’etre - their handbags. When I came home yesterday she was typing away in their forum, chatting with her new friends and discussing the best sized Hermes bag out there. And she refused to give me back my computer, using my standard phrase “just give me aminute…”

And then I fell asleep.

Headaches of a Global Startup

Published March 7, 2008 business development , kindo , private life 0 Comments

Working with people from all parts of the world is fun, but sometimes requires sacrifices. Fridays should be spent relaxing with friends and families, and usually that’s what I do. But tonight I have a conference call scheduled at 10pm GMT, and then phone interview with a US podcaster at 11pm GMT. Better stick to water, then.

My Cousin - the Ape?

Published February 27, 2008 friends , kindo , private life , random 1 Comment

I’ve always been fascinated by apes and monkeys, without quite understanding why. The opening chapter of Jared Diamonds book “The Third Chimpanzee” presents one explanation.

According to him, and according to other studies, there are good reasons to put the chimpanzee in the human family tree. Scientists claim that the chimp is more closely related to humans than they are to the gorillas, and should be put in the same genus as us.

According to an National Geographic article about the same subject, “studies indicate that humans and chimps are between 95 and 98.5 percent genetically identical”, and “researchers argue that humans and chimp lineages evolutionarily diverged from one another between five and six million years ago”.

I know this is an explosive subject, and I’m not enough of an expert to really say what’s fact and what’s fiction. (Gareth probably could though, since he’s a trained zoologist).

But when I study photos of chimpanzees, and my own cousin living in here London, I clearly see similarities.

4 Years with the Queen

Published February 2, 2008 private life 3 Comments

Gareth wrote a great story about his 6 years in London, which got me thinking.

When I was studying in Sweden I had no idea where I was going, but I knew I wasn’t going to London. I didn’t like the combination of bad weather, bad food, and single-glassed windows. I used to scorn at my banker friends destined for excel-sheets and suits in the city. Yet, here I am, having spent the better part of my 20s on the district line.

I’ve made a few serious attempts to escape, first moving to San Francisco, and then back to Sweden, but for different reasons (such as Ebay, Pema, and Kindo) I always got thrown back here.

Do I regret it? Of course not. But I really don’t think that I’ll be here in 4 years time. Hopefully I’ll live somewhere closer to the nature, where you don’t have to use wikipedia to get the idea.

On the other hand, that’s what I’ve been saying for the last 4 years, so don’t listen to me.

A Brilliant Idea

Published July 26, 2007 office space , private life , random ideas , sailing 4 Comments

A friend of my told me about his plans to sail around the world a while back. I suggested that instead of “just” hitting standard destinations along the route, he should visit the best surf spots around the globe.

Westcoast of Europe (UK, France, Spain, Portugal), Morocco, Canary Islands, Cap Verde, Caribean, Panama, Costa Rica, Australia, NZ…All of them are along the route most sailers take, and full of world class surf spots.

The trip would probably take 2-3 years to do. And at least 2 years of preparations. But what a trip it would be!

I wonder if he can get back to Monday mornings in the office after such a trip.

The Stockholm Syndrome

Published June 9, 2007 private life 2 Comments

I was back in Stockholm again this week, and realized why I never really liked it. People are too pretty. It’s one big army of tall, back-slicked, ultra-trendy, aerobic-shaped humanoids. When I’m in Stockholm, I get this instant urge to cut my hair, shave, and go on a week-long shopping session at NK (the Swedish equivalent of Selfridges). But then I go back to Pimlico, and it’s ok again.

After school

Published May 2, 2007 private life 1 Comment

I’m presenting my master thesis this week at Stockholm School of Economics - Skype: Reasons for Growth. Since I originally joined SSE in 1998 I was supposed to present my thesis in 2002. But something got in between. Skype.

To celebrate, I’ll be drinking Pina Coladas at “Hotellet” in Stockholm on Friday evening. Drop by if you’re in town.