William turns eleven

On a cold December morning in 2014, Anna and I had the privilege of becoming parents to William. From mastering parkour well before he turned one, he has always been both daring and grounded – quick to excel, yet just as quick to offer kindness to the people around him.

Last Friday, he celebrated his birthday at Jumpyard, and it was wonderful to see him bring together classmates and friends from the chess. And tonight, dropping him off for his Chalmers math class, I could not be prouder, even if it hurts that I am no longer able to be there for him every day. But already on Friday I will be back in Gothenburg, cheering him on as he takes part in the U1800 chess championship over the weekend. Eleven years on, he still amazes me – and I feel grateful for every moment we get to share.

Annual goals

After a long day of thesis supervision, I passed by Nordic Wellness on Kyrkogatan where I finally completed my annual rowing goal. Having decided to cut short my volume targets for both running and swimming this year, I am at least happy that this is one goal I have managed to meet. As for the running, I am now aiming for 3,500 kilometres rather than my original 3,650. With 21 days and 160 kilometres left, this should not pose a problem – as long as I do not get sick or anything.

Instead of pushing Strava to its limits, I have been focusing more on my academic work and, this morning, I submitted yet another manuscript for review. Following the remarkably swift publication of my aviation paper, I feel like I am in a creative streak, one I intend to make the most of while it lasts, knowing there will surely come other days when writing will not feel as easy. For tonight, however, I am just pouring up a glass of Sicilian red wine over a Walt Whitman classic.

Take Me Back Tuesday

Academic writing

Back in July, I submitted an abstract for a co-authored book chapter that went on to be accepted for publication with Routledge in an edited volume entitled Ideology and Environmental Politics: Rethinking Sustainability. Since July, Jon and I have agreed that I will take the lead as single author and, over the last week, I have more or less been glued to my laptop screen. As the week now draws to an end, I find myself with a 7,000-word manuscript ready for submission which feels incredible as I have a long list of other things I need to do before Christmas.

Sourdough bakery

To my great joy, I stumbled upon a sourdough bakery called “Bärlin” just around the corner from my new apartment. Obviously, I had to stop for some bread and an extraordinarily tasty lussekatt–cinnamon bun crossover that I can wholeheartedly recommend.

In print

To briefly follow up on my previous post, I am happy to report that my new article “Biofuel bottlenecks and synthetic fuels: Leveraging aviation for global climate action” is now in print and published online as open access. Feel free to read and learn how the aviation sector can go from climate villain to climate hero!

Biofuel bottlenecks

In January this year, I learned that I had received my first major research grant together with my colleagues here in Halmstad. As part of this three-year project, I began working on a manuscript entitled “Biofuel bottlenecks and synthetic fuels: Leveraging aviation for global climate action”, which I managed to submit in early October. Six weeks later, encouraging reviewer feedback landed in my inbox and, after a few revisions, I was thrilled to receive a formal acceptance e-mail this morning.

Normally, it would then take at least a couple of weeks if not months before the proofs appear. But in the exact opposite of the drawn-out publishing drama that I endured with my previous article back in August, I was genuinely stunned to find a PDF with the proofs waiting for me as soon as I returned the rental car. And so, to top up the fish tacos from August, I am ending this Monday with a High North classic: moose meatballs with that glass of Ceniciento from coastal Chile.

The ley is not the land

With Kjellvander’s song “Portugal” playing in the car, the kids and I started the day by driving south to Mellbystrand for some beach time and the taking of the traditional Christmas calendar photos.

Walking back to the car, the colours were simply incredible in a way that brought me half across the world to San Gregorio State Beach. In fact, with funding now secured and my two submissions accepted, I will travel to California once again in April, although to San Diego and the great deserts this time around.

La table ronde

This semester, I am supervising a student who is writing about Congo and pan-Africanism in the 1960s. Thanks to Historiepodden, I was able to catch up a bit on the history myself, so it was with a bit of a smile that I picked up a round kitchen table at Erikshjälpen earlier today. There is, of course, no real link between a second-hand store in Halmstad and the tumultuous negotiations leading up to Congo's independence in Brussels – but something about the “round table” made the whole errand feel like an inside joke. In any case, it will be perfect for weekend breakfasts, a glass of late-night Ceniciento from Chile, and the supervision of essays on pan-African dreams.

Hokkaido pumpkin

Having been to Kyushu and Honshu in the past, I have never made it up north to Hokkaido, though it has long been on my list. While the snow keeps falling over the interior of Halland, I am going for a culinary stand-in in the shape of a Hokkaido pumpkin as I try to recreate Pontus’ divine miso-glazed salmon with pumpkin purée and oven-roasted pak choi for dinner – but this time with a Pinot Grigio from Südtirol rather than the Chardonnay from Emilia-Romagna that I had at Arlanda.

As the pumpkin softens and the miso begins to caramelise, I am reminded that travel is as much about anticipation as geography – through flavours, scents, and small kitchen experiments in the November darkness.