All drains lead to the ocean. To my dad. Wherever he may be and whenever he may be reading this. I’m proud of who you are and what you’ve become. I just think I am not able to say it. We all long for love and acceptance and still it’s so hard to express it….

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Anticipation. I am getting ready to go. Two more days for me to endure and then I’m off. It seems like I should have forever to wait yet this is all just around the corner. I am nervous and anxious and calm all at the same time. It is a crazy feeling. The plane ride…

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Inner smile. My family has a tendency to create desasters at any big occasion available. Birthdays, christmas, new year’s eves seem to be the most favourite of them. Sanna got a full-force taste of it all yesterday. I have always been between two worls. Christmas for example has always been two-split. For 23 years I…

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La Vita è bella! After the homesickness recently, somehow the last two days have chased all those bad feelings away and everywhere I look I am reminded of just how wonderful life is, wherever I am. Today I spent Christmas Eve with just a few people: one of my housemates, a friend I have known…

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The joy of cooking. Even after almost 2.5 years, America is a strange place to me. We might share the same language, but in the end I am not convinced that we share the same culture. Never is this so evident as when food is involved. Don’t get me wrong, the food in this area…

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Around the world and back again. I used to think that the longer I was away from home, the easier it would get to cope with not going home for the holidays. However, no matter how I try to forget what it going on, everywhere I go I am confronted with it, the shops are…

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Turn around, say goodbye, to what is gone. Sann’s arriving tonight and it will either mark a new beginning or an end. I do love her. It’s decision making time now and for my part, the wait is over. I don’t want to and can’t wait any longer. What I need is the same commitment…

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Colorblind. I am ready I am fine I am covered in skin No one gets to come in Pull me out from inside I am folded and unfolded and unfolding I am colorblind Coffee black and egg white Pull me out from inside I am ready I am fine I believe.

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Finals. Whoever quoted ‘hell week’ must have been talking about college finals week. I just finished my last test today and it took me three hours. I am thankful it is over but dread finding out how I did. Even if I think I did well, there is still some part of me that harbors…

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Rays of the sun. “Below him was the multitudinous river, and, where the rock had parted it around him, big-grained vapor rose. The mini-molecules of water left in the wake of his line made momentary loops of gossamer, disappearing so rapidly in the rising big-grained vapor that they had to be retained in memory to…

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And he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; This post has only one single purpose. To tell Sanna how much I need her here. How much I envy those couples that can happily walk home after a hard working day. It’s not only the girl I’m missing, it’s the friend I miss most….

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Disengagement. Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you. – Maori proverb

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It has been too long. I’ve missed being able to come online. I’ve been sick for the past week and a half. I thought I was being smart and got a flu shot. Well low and behold I would be the one to react to it. I’m finally looking on the upside and feeling a…

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And Anna begins to change my mind. She’s talking in her sleep It’s keeping me awake and Anna begins to toss and turn And every word is nonsense but I understand and Oh lord, I’m not ready for this sort of thing Her kindness bangs a gong It’s moving me along and Anna begins to…

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A long december. Looks like we’ll soon be able to welcome a new member onboard mindwork.net. Uhm, where should I start. I met Patrick a long long time ago (I guess 1997?) online. We both were quite new to the net and I think both fascinated by the possibility of just chatting online with people…

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17 minutes. That’s how long it usually takes me to ride home from work. That’s about half the time it takes to drive, or one fifth of the time it takes to walk the whole way. It’s about more than the time it takes though, but rather about what these 17 minutes, when I am…

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Lied Vom Kindsein. It’s been a strange, but wonderful weekend…While some others in my life want to focus on me leaving this place, right now I just want to live life more than ever. To feel alive and savour every sublime moment. Now that I finally have a copy of one of my favourite movies,…

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The art of how to fall. Thank you Rebekka. I’m not sure if it was for the small place, the soft guitar chords or your lyrics, that sent shivers after shivers down my back. It felt so authentic, so natural. I guess neither you nor the crowd wanted to be in any other place that…

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Love actually is everywhere… On Sunday, I was privileged enough to see the movie ‘Love Actually.’ The way the movie started out brought tears to my eyes. It talked of how love is really everywhere, not just a specific kind of love but every kind. The setting was the Heathrow airport in London. There were…

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Brothers, sisters where are you now. How free are we? Liu Di, dubbed the “Steel Mouse” might say “we aren’t at all”. The 23-year old Chinese student had been imprisoned for nearly a year after she had been accused of being a “cyber-dissident” by her country’s government. Freedom of speech is relative, you see. I…

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Now the sun’s gone to hell and the moon’s riding high. Once again thinking of Finland. The good and the bad times I had there. Was having dinner with a co-worker last time. It’s amazing once you slowly make a transition from being an outsider at the job, in your hockey team or wherever. You…

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Something to think about. You say you want a war- But do you understand, What can really happen, If we don’t go hand in hand? As people we’re divided, Against the greater cause. Who’s to say what’s right or wrong, When relying upon God’s laws? We don’t always take the time, To see what’s really…

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The Iceman. Today Steve Waugh announced his retirement form international cricket, to take effect from the end of the Australian summer. Although it is probably the right time, his retirement marks the end of an era for me. He’s definitely the toughest and most talented player and captain to play for Australia in my lifetime…

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It’s late in the evening; she’s wondering what clothes to wear. So Marie is getting married. Actually I am not surprised. She’s probably more ready for it than anyone else I know. Weird, how this protective way of thinking kicks in. (is she really ready, isn’t she too young…) – blah, I guess everyone’s ready…

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Defining my life. What an emotional rollercoaster the last year has been for me, but now I finally feel some stability returning to my mind and my life. As much as I love so many things about where I am now, I have finally realised that this is not the place for me to be…

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Well I try to say there’s nothing wrong. But I hate going home alone in the evenings. Somtimes I watch how couples behave, yesterday was such an evening. In a way I just envy them. I’m here and Sanna is at the other side of Europe, 2200 km away. It’s not just the feeling to…

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Any given day. Working at a newspaper is amazing. If you’d walk in our office before 11am any given day, you could think it’s Sunday. It’s probably the most quiet place in the world. After that (or better after lunchtime), all hell breaks loose. Yesterday was such a day, it’s like on a command all…

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No comment. I’m at school once again, past the time I need to be here. I’ve been doing this all week. Maybe I’m obsessed… I have been so busy lately that I sometimes forget to sleep as I should. Oops, but I’m loving every minute of it. I like to stay busy for then I…

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An Austrian state of mind. Was driving to Graz (about an hour away from Klagenfurt) on the highway that goes straight through the mountains to the north of carinthia. The ride there was pretty okay, but when I drove back in the evening the whole beauty of this place dawned to me. The sun dipped…

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Music for the soul. “I wonder if you can pick up my accent on the phone When I call across the country, When I call across the world. I can see you in my kitchen I can picture you now, as you toast to your small town and you drink the happy hour…” It’s Monday…

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As far as my feet will carry me. When Clemens Forell left his wife and daughter in 1944, he didn’t know that the train that would take him to the eastern front would never bring him back to his native of Munich, Germany. The book “As far as my feet will carry me” has sold…

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For the love of the game.

It started when I was a little kid. In mid to late december the first lakes would start freezing here and as soon as the ice looked strong enough to carry a couple of people and their hockey sticks we’d go out and play until dawn. When I started playing in a “real” team the…

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Against the odds. It’s late here, way past my bedtime, but I’m wide awake after just watching Australia beat New Zealand in the rugby world cup semi-final. This was the game that the All Blacks were meant to win, this year some would even say that they were destined to win, but as so often…

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If she’d only know. Either it’s me or her. Sometimes I can’t believe how my mom gets into little details of problems and freaks out about them. It’s an ongoing battle, she just seems to be unable to step over those little things and try to build something betweens us. If we’d be constructing a…

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I still call Australia home. Today I really feel like I’m an Australian. This may seem like a funny statement to most of you reading this, but being away from home for so long and being around so many different people from different places, can dilute this feeling most of the time. As much as…

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In the middle of the night you come to me, There’s a smile on your face. I recognize this scenario, Yet I do not know this place. You speak to me with rhythm, To which my heart beats the same. I know you just by movement, But still I don’t know your name. Why do…

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écoutez moi: je t’aime It’s something with intensity to survive distance, time, anything. Through all, it prevails. Love. This is the greatest thing that anyone can ever experience. This includes self love. Love yourself before others can love you. If we all had a bit more love, we’d have a lot less war. Such a…

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A waterfront for everyone. A few weeks ago my Mum sent me a great article (from the Weekend Australian) about Hobart, my dear home city. One of the things that stuck most in my mind from this article was a comment from Michael Field, former premier of Tasmania. He claims that one of the greatest…

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The big zero. Wasn’t able to write for a couple of days. It’s weird of how this thing of “being able” to write comes and goes. Vladimir Putin is all over the media here. Seems he underestimated the trouble he got himself in for the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russia’s richest man. (The Economist titled…

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Peace is not a question of legitimacy, but humanity. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/11/05/1067989611611.html

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