It’s dreary and cold in Stockholm, with the odd snowflake falling. Quite the change from last week’s sunshine and relative warmth. I’m struggling this morning, because it’s one of those days where I have to work in the evening, but it’s hard not to sit down and just get started right away. Putting in too many hours isn’t a good habit, as I’ve preached previously, but Mondays are particularly hard not to just get on with it. The todo list is long, after all.

But no. I’ll stay put for another hour or so, then have lunch, and head out for my first meeting of the day. After that it’s back to the words mines. So much to write, so little time. Literally.

I’ve got a ridiculous amount of words to write today, and some admin duties that I’ve neglected. Staying at home and focusing on these things, which might sound like a boring way to spend your Sunday, but the weather is gray and dull, and I’m looking forward to ticking off these todos. The coffee’s brewed, timer is set for 40 minute sessions, so let’s do this. Wish me luck!

I’m taking it easy today, enjoying the sun and nurturing the headache that’s been bothering me all week. It’s getting better, from truly bothersome on Monday, to something that’s just lingering. Sunshine and fresh air does wonders, or at least that’s what I’m betting on.

I have a ridiculous amount of words to write this weekend, but that’s for tomorrow. Today’s my first day off in two weeks, and I intend to keep it that way.

It’s been a beautiful day. I’ve enjoyed it, had great conversations, and recharged a bit. It was necessary. Another drink, and then I’m off to bed. Lots of things lined up for this weekend, but I’m looking forward to it. I hope you’re in the same place, in your own way, whoever you are.

No matter where you are in the world, it seems official instances are understaffed, and citizens are banished to the Queue of Boredom. That’s where I am right now, waiting for a new passport. There are some trips coming up, so I’m glad I got this done in time. That is, if this bloody queue ever moves forward.

I’ve got too much on my plate at the moment. There’s not enough hours in the day. Dangerous times, because it’s so easy getting stuck working long days. You go from eight to twelve to sixteen hours, and suddenly you’re depressed and sick. I’m having none of it. Things’ll get ready when they’re ready, and other things get pushed. It’s the better course of action, to be honest about these things with yourself, and your clients too, if that’s what’s stressing you out. I wish I’d known that fifteen years ago…

There are small stacks of books littering most flat spaces (not including the floor, and the record player dust cover) in my apartment. It’s nice, I like seeing books, picking one up at random rather than opening my Instagram for the fiftieth time. It’s a bit of a surprising development too. Not that I have a lot of books, I’ve always had that, even though I gave away boxes of them when I got divorced a lifetime ago. No, that they’re physical editions. For a long time, I almost exclusively read books on my Kindle, or in the Kindle app. Now it’s more a 50/50 kind of a thing. I like this development, Kondoism be damned.

April Fools is a ridiculous day. You can’t trust anything you read online, which might be somewhat true every day, but especially so on April 1st. While I have pulled a prank or two back in the day, one even ending up as a story in a games trade paper, I feel I’ve outgrown it. I won’t even rickroll you. Look at these photos instead, because I can’t be bothered to put them on my Instagram.

Went to see Kite with Helena last night, and it was amazing! I’ve seen a lot of shows over the years (I’m old now, remember?), and this one blew me away. Such an energetic performance, and those songs really do grow in a live environment. Not many bands can pull that off, but they did. Go see them if you can.

Oh, and if you live in Europe, remember to adjust the clock on your microwave and car dashboard, one hour forward. Or maybe don’t, it’ll sort itself out in a couple of months anyway.

There was wine and vinyls, a boxing glove, a plant, posing with pipes, a death (luckily not among the guests), and a mess to clean up in the morning. All in all, a good night with friends.

I’m thirty-nine today. Birthdays have little bearing for me. Part of me wish that I wrote something profound about the year that has passed on these days, because that would be interesting from a historical point of view, but I rarely (never?) do. I prefer to look forward, rather than reminiscing on the past. Not that there aren’t lessons to learn, from both failures and successful things, the latter being a lot harder to remember than the former.

No matter. In a couple of hours there’ll be wine and vinyls, and then this day will be replaced by the next one. Much like yesterday became today, if you will.

It’s been a long day. The thing with meetings, of which I had none today, is that they leave a wound that has to heal. It doesn’t matter if the meetings are good or bad, I’m exhausted afterwards no matter what. I’m still feeling the Tuesday meeting madness. It’ll be good to work from home tomorrow, I think. That is, before my apartment transforms into a wine and vinyl den. That sounds pretty fun too.

I generally go to bed fairly late, but yesterday was tough, so I gave up early. It was one of those days that just had to bloody end, despite being both productive and overall enjoyable. I set my alarm for 8,5 hours later, because who cares when that actually is, read for 30 minutes or so, and then fell asleep. That means that I’ve had time to get ready, do some chores, and now I’m enjoying coffee at home before heading to the studio. It’s nice, being able to do that, and get that kind of head start to the day sometimes.

I used to get up at 7AM and bang out some words before starting my “day job”, but these days my schedule is so fluid, it just doesn’t make sense. I can’t have a meeting that ends at 10PM, unwind, sleep, and then get started on something at 7AM. That’s just not healthy.

I’m at home, with a short breather between meetings. It started early this morning, and it’s been one after the other since then. My brain is mush at the moment, so I’m going to take a break for 45 minutes, before the second to last one begins. I do like to get all my meetings done in one day, but this is pushing it.

It looks to be a beautiful day in Stockholm. Not warm perhaps, but the sunshine seems to win over the odd snowflake. I’m going to try to hold on to that, after a horrible night’s sleep. My body isn’t agreeing with me this morning, and you should always listen to your body. There’s harmony there, somewhere. I’ll find it, possibly after another cup of coffee.