Happy (belated) Leap Year!

Only once every four years does February 29th occur. So Happy (belated) Leap Year! Or Skottår, as the Swedes say. I tried to post this actually on February 29th but for some reason blogger just would not upload my pictures, so I thought I would wait each day and try but to no avail. A couple of days now, however, we haven't had "real" internet, as I'm using my phone as a wifi hotspot currently to be able to get online. J's cousin's internet that we had been using was cut off and for some reason our service isn't working - a technician will be out sometime this coming week.

I spent Leap Day feeling productive by cleaning the apartment a bit, as it's finally manageable to be able to clean rather than just feeling like there is clutter everywhere. Everything is just about put away now. Hooray! I also finally got around to repotting several of my plants, as they've desperately wished for more growing room. I did the laundry, and went on a lovely walk in my new neighborhood. I couldn't pass up the chance to get outside when it's so beautifully sunny, as well as warm outside! It was 8C (about 46F) and it felt like spring just arrived. A few weeks back it was bitterly cold with temperatures reaching -10C or so I recall in Skövde. I was delighted to switch out my winter boots for Converses and my parka for a spring jacket. On Thursday I decided to try my luck at the local public transportation and go shopping for some jeans, and I succeeded! Coming from a Midwestern city in the US, public transport was never the way to get around. You basically need a car to survive where I come from. Thus, I am proud of conquering the bus/tram system here.

The weekend has been nice and relaxing. Yesterday I saw a friend from Korta Vägen was in town (he posted it on Facebook), so J and I decided to meet up with him and have a couple beers. It was nice to go downtown and see some of what there is to offer. Having lived here for a couple of weeks now, we still haven't gotten around to really exploring downtown. It's pretty near the top of my agenda, though! Today has been spent watching cross country skiing just about all day, while I read my Göteborgs Posten. I decided to order the paper for a month for only 30:-, which is about $4.50. New customers can try it for that cheap price. At Högskolan i Skövde I could get the paper for free every day on campus, so I've missed being able to read it. After the end of this month I'll probably be hooked again, and be forced to pay the much more expensive price for a subscription.

As for the cross country skiing, we turned on the TV this morning and watched the Vasaloppet. It's a 90km long race on skis. Very hardcore. What's different about this race is that any person can enter it, even you and I! Most people take around 10 hours (or so I've heard) to complete the race, but the people who win usually do it in around 3 hours and 30 minutes. They do cut people off who can't make it within a certain amount of time, though. It's not just a Swedish race either, many from nearby countries like to come and give it a shot, as well. I noticed today that many Norwegians were on the roster in the top 15 or so racers. A neat thing to watch the first weekend of March every year.

I thought I would finally get some pictures up of the new area, especially since it's been a while that I've had any sort of photo documentation of my life. As stated, however, that will unfortunately just have to wait until I have real internet again and am able to upload some pictures!