Late in November

Though it is actually “Moominvalley in November” in English, the original title has stayed with me as a long echo of the closing nineties; memories of an approaching winter in that student apartment on Nygatan, back when everything “was simpler and more confused”...

If the Swedish “Sent i november” does a better job in capturing the melancholy of the final days of autumn, so does walking down Köldgatan (sic!) to collect the laundry in the rain. This is as far away from international first class terminals and desert drives that one can get. This is “real”, at least some would insist.

The Manuscript is due in 7 days. After that, more updates will follow, including a planned escape from “reality” to the U.A.E. over New Years.

Riverside

Finally back at LAX after another two days of post-doc scouting, this time in Southern California. Tomorrow morning I am off to Europe. Have a lot to write so I will leave you for now with a picture of the San Bernardino Mountains, as seen from my hotel room.

San Gregorio

12 hours of uninterrupted sleep later and I am still reeling from the cold, maybe not that surprising after all the flying. But visiting the pharmacy in Half Moon Bay helped, and so did a walk on the nearby beach (picture). Afterwards I continued down to San Gregorio State Beach along road number 1, my own tiny interpretation of the classic road adventure. Now Menlo Park and work.

Canadian airspace

It has been ten months since I last flew a long-haul and since then I had almost rubbed out the physical memory of how far 5358 miles really is, even if one now happens to be enjoying a courtesy upgrade to Economy Plus (the same as the regular Y-cabin but with a lot more legroom, indispensible for those of us who are 1.85+).

Anyway, all those inseparable hours in the air. I listen to Annika Norlin, songs about evaporating life trajectories, thoughts that have grown upon me ever since that hike along Côte d'Azur: that it gets more difficult from here on. Though life of course always has been absolute I am surprised by how tangible the process has been recently.

That it is really make it or break it.

In a shallow sense I am of course thinking about the dissertation, due for its "final seminar" at the department on 16 December. Or the course papers, the article for Environmental Politics or the Wallenberg post-doc application. But obviously there is more to it; the bitter-sweetness of actually growing up.

Seasonal cold

Cold to the bones I left Gothenburg in a hammering rain. With the weather forecast talking about 20-25 degrees in the Bay Area I guess it is only fair that Murphy endowed me with a decent seasonal cold.

Having spent the last two three days in utter slow-motion, reading good books like this one in bed, I have at least recovered enough to be able to travel. So now I am checked in for the first segment tomorrow morning, SK CPH-LHR and from there on UA all the way to SFO.