... in both space and time.
Woke up on the floor of a camper at 5.30 am somewhere between Tännäs and Funäsdalen. I slept directly on the floor in my thin sleeping bag (the space was too narrow for a... bah, my dictionary sucks... for one of those things you sleep on in a tent) which can probably account for why I woke so early. Not feeling like trying to get back to sleep I wrote a note to my brother (wouldn't want to wake him at such an hour) and started out for Uppsala. Stopped after about an hour to wash my face in a small mountain stream to clear my head and eyes.
The road between Tännäs and Särna is narrow and winding, but it's fun to drive when there's little traffic. Stopped in Rättvik around ten or eleven to eat. Called my brother and heard that they hadn't even started out yet.
There is so much that's not quite right with the Volvo (this is its last year, repairing it would cost more than the car is worth), but it held together all the way home again and I managed to push the fuel consumption down to about .75 liters per ten km. Not bad for an old 740.
Anyway, I'm home again and should stay home for a few days and get things straightened up here before I come up with someplace else to go. Not much straightening has been done today though, I've just been bumming around picking with random stuff until now when it's almost 3 am, guess it's time to sleep.

Really just wanted to point out that I'm home again... again.

listening to: The Pillows - Hybrid Rainbow

I've spent much of the afternoon putting together a lengthy account of my trip, maybe more for myself than for you. It's probably got much more text than most of you are interested in, but there are also pictures to be seen.
To avoid putting way too many links to pictures in my blog I've made it as a simple pdf document. So if you want to know and see, download it (1.2 MB).

Listening to: A Camp - Song for the Leftovers

edit: removed the pdf file due to limited web space

I'm back. Actually I came back yesterday morning, but I didn't turn my computer on until today since I spent most of yesterday sleeping (and that still didn't interfere with my getting a good night's sleep afterwards). It's been a good trip but I'll tell more about it once I've got the promised pictures up.
To those who have gotten postcards: Sorry if they're a bit weird, I wrote most of them late at night after driving most of the day. And I'm not used to writing postcards in the first place.
To those who have not gotten postcards: I either a) didn't feel like writing another card (the twelve I did write outnumbers the cards I've sent on any other trip by about eleven), b) I didn't have your address, c) forgot to bring your address, d) couldn't read your address due to handwriting issues, e) wrote you a card but then forgot to mail it (I think this only happened to one card, I think I'll try putting it on the box here and see if they'll deliver it even with a Finnish stamp). If you want to get a card in the future do e-mail me your address, this is especially true for those of you who have moved lately.
And since I'm on the subject of postcards, if you ever go around in Scandinavia, send your cards from Finland. They've got the best price for postage to faraway countries (I think sending cards to Sweden was cheaper in Norway though).

Listening to: Azumi Inoue - Tonari no totoro

Finally I feel like I've got everything prepared. Or at least I don't think I've forgotten anything critical.
I think audio casettes weren't around long enough to make a very large imprint in the historical junk spectrum. Since the car I'll be driving for 4000 km or so doesn't have a cd player I've been digging through the ancient strata of broken toys, floppy disks and things too dull or just too bizarre to ignite even the faintest spark of nostalgia. The fruits of my labors is a dishearteningly small pile of unlabeled casettes with music that might or might not have been popular 15 years ago.
In any case, I'm leaving tomorrow morning and will be back in a couple of weeks or so. I shall post again when I come back. There will be pictures. Look forward to it...

...or else.

Listening to: Willie Nelson - On the Road Again

The exam today went well I think and going down to Stockholm to talk to my professors for my final project (the Jupiter zonal band thingy) also went well. Now I'm well and truly exhausted and shall get some well deserved sleep. Or I shall try to, I'm currently a little jumpy.
I read a short story called One Thing About the Night by Terry Dowling an hour or so ago and it just won't leave my thoughts. While it wasn't exactly frightening it disturbed me. Instead of trying to scare the reader with made up monsters and ghosts it reaches out to the very real fear of the darkness and the unseen that lurks in all of us and tells us that we were right all along; there is something there and it's worth fearing. And even the last lines warns the reader to always be careful of what's happening behind his back:
"Janss didn't know he had to turn around," I told them as I climbed into the back seat. "He never turned around."

Listening to: The normally so comforting noises of my basement.