Yesterday, in the car on our way back from a beautiful picnic at San Gregorio State Beach, I asked my daughter Sun if she wanted to send a message to her friend Indra. I had just gotten a text-message from her mom (Hi Annika!) and I was about to answer it. "Tell her everything is great," Sun said. "We have bugs and hummingbirds and the sun and everything is green".
Her answer referred to what we were seeing at that very specific time and it made me think of the importance of staying in the present, here and now. That was also the theme of an yoga-class I had taken the same morning, so I figured life was trying to say something.
The days before had been really intense (but fun) and I found that my mind was constantly drifting, thinking about the paper I had to writer for the innovation journalism-conference or what I actually should be covering at PodTech or how we should manage our life here so both A and I got the best out of it...
I decided to learn from Sun and watch the beautiful hills and the lush forrest we were going through. And I decided to learn from Ida who slept the sweetest nap in the car (I wish I could just close my eyes and doze off some times....
måndag 30 april 2007
måndag 23 april 2007
Flashes from Sweden
Just got a flash from TT, my newsagency. The strike among construction-workers in Sweden has been halted, in the last minute. It feels strange reading about Swedish domestic policies when the stars are shining and the garden is full of mandarines. The previous flash today, on the death of Boris Jeltsin, was easier to relate to because it was big news here too... I guess I´m adopting my media-habits to where I am. Right now I tend to spend a lot of time at techmeme.com (on tech-issues) and memorandum.com (on politics) when I dont slip away to style.com (for the daily dose of fashion)...
Yoga and lipgloss - how to balance the tech-world
So we finally went on the Golden Gate bridge (beautiful!). And we hung out at a café in Mission in San Fransisco. And we shopped for Buddhas and lucky cats in Chinatown. Meaning - we´ve had a weekend (without putting together Ikea-furniture or looking for bargains at Best Buy) and we´ve actually visited the big city.
However, writing about it makes it sound more romantic than it actually was. It rained the whole day, we spent lots of time on the freeway and the kids got tired of walking. I got tired of having wrong shoes (ballerinas are not good for rainy walks) and A got hungry. Traveling with kids is rewarding and fantastic but it also makes you feel like you are a service-institution...
We´ve also been very social this weekend - we´ve seen friends for dinner twice, we´ve seen friends in cozy Mill Valley north of the city and tonight our neighbours had a coctail with desserts to introduce us to the street. Everyone seems to have something to do with what I´m doing here. They´re either at Stanford or in the mediabusiness or at some interesting company in the valley. One is a scientist and an expert on climate change (that I´m suppose to cover...).
Work is still fun, read more about it here. However, it´s very tech-oriented. This morning I told my nice cubicle-neighbour that I need lot´s of yoga and to shop for lipgloss often in order to balance it. My other college showed me that she actually keeps Harpers Bazaar at her desk for that reason. And a third college revieled that she loves shopping, we talked about doing some on a lunch soon. So, I guess it all levels out. Also, I love the athmosphere at work and its fun, challanging and interesting to write in English.
Yesterday Sun (6 years) said that she thinks that Americans are smart with kids because they make fun things to brush your teeth with (she's got an electrical Cinderella - hua, I know...) and they hide answers to a riddle within the ice cream, so you actually finish your portion. Maybe she´s right.
However, writing about it makes it sound more romantic than it actually was. It rained the whole day, we spent lots of time on the freeway and the kids got tired of walking. I got tired of having wrong shoes (ballerinas are not good for rainy walks) and A got hungry. Traveling with kids is rewarding and fantastic but it also makes you feel like you are a service-institution...
We´ve also been very social this weekend - we´ve seen friends for dinner twice, we´ve seen friends in cozy Mill Valley north of the city and tonight our neighbours had a coctail with desserts to introduce us to the street. Everyone seems to have something to do with what I´m doing here. They´re either at Stanford or in the mediabusiness or at some interesting company in the valley. One is a scientist and an expert on climate change (that I´m suppose to cover...).
Work is still fun, read more about it here. However, it´s very tech-oriented. This morning I told my nice cubicle-neighbour that I need lot´s of yoga and to shop for lipgloss often in order to balance it. My other college showed me that she actually keeps Harpers Bazaar at her desk for that reason. And a third college revieled that she loves shopping, we talked about doing some on a lunch soon. So, I guess it all levels out. Also, I love the athmosphere at work and its fun, challanging and interesting to write in English.
Yesterday Sun (6 years) said that she thinks that Americans are smart with kids because they make fun things to brush your teeth with (she's got an electrical Cinderella - hua, I know...) and they hide answers to a riddle within the ice cream, so you actually finish your portion. Maybe she´s right.
onsdag 18 april 2007
My first blog ever...
Hej from Silicon Valley!
Today I started working at podtech.net in Palo Alto as a fellow from the innovation journalism-program at Stanford university. My first assignment was to write a summary on what other bloggers wrote on Yahoos first quarterly result this year (that later was posted on my dear boss John Furriers blog...).
I have never, ever blogged before! And I´m used to writing in Swedish with lots of å, ä and ö:s. Anyway - I did my best and realised I had to make a personal blog as well (never let your professional life go ahead of your personal...). Here it is.
I´m Tina Magnergård Bjers, a 36-years old native Swede with a passion for storytelling. I came to Silicon Valley six days ago with my two beautiful daughters Ida and Sun and my dear husband A (love!). Together with our viking-roomie Leo we live in a small house full of Ikea-furniture up in the hills. We´re dying to get rid of our jetleg (the kids wake up in the middle of the night wanting to make puzzles and eat pizza) and discover the area.
At home in Sweden I´m a journalist with Swedens National newsagency TT. I mostly cover politics and economics and I also do a series of articles on trends and design. In 2003 I was TT:s acting correspondent in New York. When I dont work I like to be twisted on the yogamat - in Palo Alto I´ve so far discovered Yoga Source.
A few reflections on life in northern California:
-most people actually do wear fleece and I´m starting to understand why. The weather is really unpredictable (however, everyone is nicely tanned)...
-people are incredably friendly. On our second day on the street we were invited to a bithdayparty for neighbour Ilaria who just turned 3. It was a great day at Lemos farm with cake, ponyrides and hungry goats (!). And our landlords have given our kids lots of things to play with. And our neighbors gave us a sofa and some chairs. And my collegues are incredably nice.
-It´s easier being a vegetarian than in New York and you´re not considered strange.
-People laugh a lot. They use the words "fun" and "play" when they describe what they do - even if its serious academic research (like Mondays Media X-conference at Stanford).
PS. Curious about the name Bubble and Faith? It was a project I started (that never took off) with my dear friends Maria and Helena back in Stockholm. We wanted to start an internet-based shop for fashion- and designinterested mothers like ourselfs. In the end we decided to focus on other things but I love the name Bubble (representing that sparkling feeling you want to have in life) and Faith (what everything actually is based on).
Today I started working at podtech.net in Palo Alto as a fellow from the innovation journalism-program at Stanford university. My first assignment was to write a summary on what other bloggers wrote on Yahoos first quarterly result this year (that later was posted on my dear boss John Furriers blog...).
I have never, ever blogged before! And I´m used to writing in Swedish with lots of å, ä and ö:s. Anyway - I did my best and realised I had to make a personal blog as well (never let your professional life go ahead of your personal...). Here it is.
I´m Tina Magnergård Bjers, a 36-years old native Swede with a passion for storytelling. I came to Silicon Valley six days ago with my two beautiful daughters Ida and Sun and my dear husband A (love!). Together with our viking-roomie Leo we live in a small house full of Ikea-furniture up in the hills. We´re dying to get rid of our jetleg (the kids wake up in the middle of the night wanting to make puzzles and eat pizza) and discover the area.
At home in Sweden I´m a journalist with Swedens National newsagency TT. I mostly cover politics and economics and I also do a series of articles on trends and design. In 2003 I was TT:s acting correspondent in New York. When I dont work I like to be twisted on the yogamat - in Palo Alto I´ve so far discovered Yoga Source.
A few reflections on life in northern California:
-most people actually do wear fleece and I´m starting to understand why. The weather is really unpredictable (however, everyone is nicely tanned)...
-people are incredably friendly. On our second day on the street we were invited to a bithdayparty for neighbour Ilaria who just turned 3. It was a great day at Lemos farm with cake, ponyrides and hungry goats (!). And our landlords have given our kids lots of things to play with. And our neighbors gave us a sofa and some chairs. And my collegues are incredably nice.
-It´s easier being a vegetarian than in New York and you´re not considered strange.
-People laugh a lot. They use the words "fun" and "play" when they describe what they do - even if its serious academic research (like Mondays Media X-conference at Stanford).
PS. Curious about the name Bubble and Faith? It was a project I started (that never took off) with my dear friends Maria and Helena back in Stockholm. We wanted to start an internet-based shop for fashion- and designinterested mothers like ourselfs. In the end we decided to focus on other things but I love the name Bubble (representing that sparkling feeling you want to have in life) and Faith (what everything actually is based on).
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