Entries tagged with “sweden” from kotaraindustries.com, the helsinki branch

A few weeks ago, I went to Sweden to visit friends and completely neglected to write about it.  I look the Viking Line cruise over to Stockholm (which was amazing to crush through the frozen sea and navigate all the thousands of little archipelagos), and took the train to Gothenburg.  It was sort of a low-key weekend, and we mostly just hang out at their apartment.  This was my third time to visit Gothenburg, so I didn't really need to see all the sights again, and I was happy to just have a quiet/giggly weekend with old friends.

Jeanette kept asking if there was anything special I wanted to do.  And really my only objective was to see them, but I did think up one little request.  You see, I am a huge fan of Björn Borg, the 70s tennis god.  Björn Borg is Swedish.  And Björn Borg is also a brand...they make shoes and bags and athletic gear and panties with his name all over them.  And although they have Björn Borg stores here in Helsinki, it meant far more to me to buy some Björn Borg goods in the man's home country.  So that was my only request: to visit a Björn Borg store to buy a new bag, or possibly....a headband!



So on my last day in town, we headed to a shopping area and went to an official Björn Borg store.  Here are the events as they occurred:

1. I immediately noticed there were no bags at this particular store, and tried to hide my disappointment.
   
   
2. I went to plan B to look for a headband, but there were none.  Disappointment was steadily rising.
   
   
3. Feeling pressed for time and like I was being annoying, I just decided to buy a pair of Björn Borg panties and call it good.  I found a pair of red boyshorts, and went to the cashier.
   
   
4. As the girl was ringing me up, Jeanette noticed a clearance table with a bunch of polo shirts...with bonus headbands attached to them!!  She asked the cashier for me if I could just buy the headband and not the polo, and the girl said no.  They were a package deal only.
   
   
5. Right after the cashier girl denied my request to purchase the headband separately, she grabbed some scissors, went over to the table and cut the headband off the shirt, and gave it to me with a little wink....for FREE!  Disappointment reversal!
   
   
6. After profusely thanking her, on the way out of the store we had to pass through the men's section, which I had completely ignored.  Near the front was a table of tshirts made to look like retro iron-on tshirts that said "I LOVE BJORN BORG."  I flipped out, grabbed one, and went back to the cashier.
   
   
7. Converted total disappointment into total elation!

For your review...

I made this for my friend Jenni the other day when she asked how I was doing, and wanted my answer to be phrased in Excel.  Click on the thumbnail below to view the detailed version, and keep in mind the happiness levels are based on a scale of 1-10:

1. Extraordinarily, unnaturally, suicidally unhappy
   
2. Very unhappy, despondent and inconsolable
3. Unhappy
4. Sorta unhappy
   
5. Not happy, but not unhappy
6. Relatively happy
7. Happy
8. Very happy
9. Extremely happy
10. Retardedly happy

My average was 6.74 at the time of making this graph.  I am happy with that result, and therefore would have ranked the day that I realized that at a 7 or 8.

Linguistic findings from my trip to Sweden a few weeks ago:

• The literal translation of the title of the Swedish version of "Cinderella" is "Ash Kid."
  
• In Sweden they weren't called "The Golden Girls."  They were called "Panther Ladies!!!"

Tally of various celebrations I attended in Sweden a few weeks ago, despite only being there for 6 days:

• One 50th birthday party in a barn
  
• One 1st birthday party on a patio
• One 26th birthday party in a regular house
  
• One wedding party in a big Valhalla-style banquet hall
  

Photographic findings from my trip to Sweden a few weeks ago:

• Go to my Flickr photo set, and note that I went to the trouble of making it into a bit of a narrative so you'd know what was going on.
  

Videographic bonus from my trip to Sweden a few weeks ago, where my friends surprised me at their wedding by forcing the band to learn how to play the theme song from "Dallas" in my honor: