True or False

I was having a chat with an old friend the other day, and the direction of our conversation turned to people we both have known for a long time. In my experience there are two kinds of people you meet in life; those who are truly genuine and those who seem to be nice to you because they want something. It could be sex, popularity, or a myriad of other reasons, but what it is they want is irrelevant. To me, people either ring true, or false.

This is my perception of people, and maybe it is very narrow. I suppose it is true that every person probably has a bit of each in them, and it would stand to reason as none of us are intrinsically one thing or another but a combination of many attributes, however I think that it would be unusual for me to see both "true" and "false" in the same person. What puzzles me is when people who I feel are true, obviously click with someone who I find false. It makes me question my entire opinion of all parties involved, including myself.

When this happens I wonder if I am too harsh on people. Do I limit myself by not giving people more of a chance to prove themselves as true? Often there are things about that person that just rub me the wrong way, and I get wedded to that opinion, and when that happens my opinion is not easy to change. Another odd thing is when someone who I feel is true clicks with someone I feel is false my opinion of that true drops a bit.

Relationships of any kind are complex. I am not sure what all of this says about me, other than that I can be judgmental, but I truly feel I give people ample opportunity to show me who they are. Maybe, I'm just a butthead.

The upside and downside of 'social networking.'

Twenty-plus years ago my sister moved from Indiana to Qatar with her husband and children for her husband's job. They stayed abroad for about 12 years if my memory serves moving to Norway, and then to England before returning home. My Mom would get a phone call from my sister about once a week and my Mom would filter the information obtained to the rest of the family. Also, my sister would come home with the kids in the summer for a few weeks. This was before Skype, Facebook, Twitter, and even before email was used as widely as it is today. When my sister learned that Carl and I were about to venture overseas she and I had a long talk about what I might expect as a trailing spouse. The one thing she said that would have made it easier for her was if Skype had existed at the time to make the distance seem shorter.

Fast forward to today. Every morning I check Facebook to see what all my friends around the world have been up to while I have been asleep. I make comments on posts from friends who I have met in person via the Chumley's Bear Cruise, or places I have lived such as Chicago, San Francisco, or Ottawa, not to mention the people who I have only met in the cybersphere. The number of people I know, and follow on Facebook greatly outnumber those people who I know and hang out with here in Stockholm. As nice as this all is, and as much fun as it is to stay involved in these peoples lives, I miss them. I love to see gaggles of people meeting up and going to Gay Days at Disney, or meeting up for brunch, or off to the movies together, but sometimes it makes me sad too. These are all people I used to do those things with in person, both myself and Carl. We both miss it. We miss the friends we have made all over the world. We miss spending time with them, and doing things with them.

We both appreciate the fact that we have the opportunity to live in amazing places like Stockholm, but it also puts us far away from those who we call friends, and our families. Just in case you ever wonder, we do miss you. A lot, and we can't wait to see you all again.

Melodifestivalen Round 2!

So tonight is round 2 of Melodifestivalen. Tonight I would like to see Erik Segerstedt & Tone Damli advance directly to the finals, the song is basic and catchy and I think far better than the rest of the entries tonight. You can catch clips of them on the SVT website.

In addition Norway and Finland choose their entries to Eurovision tonight and that can be found later on the Eurovision website after the announcements are made.

"I'm good enough, I am smart enough, and doggone it people like me"

Stuart Smalley. Wiser words were never spoken. So often we are way harder on ourselves then we would ever allow anyone else to be. A friend of mine on FB posted the quote in the title today and I just had a brain flash (thanks Mike!) in realizing that I have been just down on myself the past week. Since we came home from Canada just before New Year Eve I have not been to the gym, I have had some foot problems that have kept my mobility at a minimum and the generally feeling of 'bleh' that accompanies this time of year has made me look in the mirror and think; "wow, what a piece of crap."

Is that true? No way! I know that, but it is so damn easy to just take a detour down the familiar road of self-loathing. When that happens I try to recognize it for what it is; a brief pity party that is due to current circumstances that will soon pass. I do need to get out and exercise, and as soon as this foot thing is figured out it will happen, but in the meantime I think I need to focus on what is good about myself. Reaffirmation can sound corny but it does work.

Not much going on

The past couple of days I have been laid up with pain in my foot. I haven't been able to put much weight on it and sleep had been elusive a few times due to pain. I have an appointment at the doctor on Friday to have this checked out.

Now because of this, my days have been even more quiet than usual. I am used to spending my days alone but I can generally find something around the house to keep me busy; I bake, I cook, do laundry, vacuum, play with the dogs, and go grocery shopping and a myriad of other things that make my day go by. The past few days have made me realize how much I actually do to keep myself busy.

This past week I have spent more time on Netflix and watching stuff on iTunes that I have on a long, long time. Hell, I even watched "Chitty Chitty, Bang Bang." It was 2.5 hours long! Way longer than I remembered! I have also played a bit with the camera which has resulted in an awesome pic of my dog, Sierra.

So that is what is happening with me right now, nothing exciting. I am sure all will be fine and I will be 'back on my feet' in no time!

Melodifestivalen Begins!

Tonight is the first night of Melodifestivalen, the Swedish song contest that chooses Sweden's entry to Eurovision. The first semi-final is tonight, then 3 more semi's over the next 3 Saturdays. There on the 2nd of March there is a "Last Chance" where songs who did not make it to the Final from the Semi's are given another chance, and then the Final on March 9 which we have tickets to. The one entry I am really interested in this year will be up in Semi 4, the reunion of "Army of Lovers." I will post more info as these things happen. Have a great weekend!