Day 20: Nicknames

So they say a beloved child has many names. Seeing as I have many nicknames (probably many of which I will forget to write the origin of) I guess that means lots of people love me :)

Here are some of the ones I've been called:
Yllis, Ylle, Y, Ylla, Ylvis, Ylvis Presley, Ylv, Ylvgott, the Ylvster, Yllevante,
Schwatzenegger, von Sverigebeck

Sunflower - that's what Jimpy calls me
Lemonhead - I got that name during a night at CVS/Walgreen's or whatever store it was - one night goofing off with Babycake and Anna Banana
Helga - Jake & Jessie's name for me when we play games
Althea Smorgasbord - Ad's imaginary name for me
Babyface - I think there's a pretty obvious reason why ppl call me this
Sweet Y - from IASIP ;)
Precious - LOTR marathon w Lee
Gigglebox bandit - Hallie and my nickname after a very giggly night
Moufftard - My bro and I call each other this after our trip to Paris
Valle - Mathilda used to call me this because of one of my old usernames (ValvY). It confused ppl to think I was actually her bf
Lil sis - by Jimbo & Graeme
Vargen - Rödluvan (little red riding hood and the wolf). Louise is little red after a night at 7eleven and I'm the big bad wolf (Ylva means shewolf in Swedish)

I know I've probably forgot some that I shouldn't have.. But hey - Let me know ;)

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Day 17: Something you're looking forward to

Ha, I think you all know what I'm looking forward to by now!! Australia - what else?? If you have missed this episode by any chance, I obviously don't talk to you enough.

So here is what you missed: I am going to study in Australia for a year as a part of my bachelor's degree. VISA, money and well - everything else has been taken care of (by moi) and I'm now in the packing-all-my-stuff-together-phase. Which is quite the time-consumer if you ask me. I have found a place to live in Surfers Paradise and I'm hoping the boys will wanna sign up for another 6months once I get there. From what I've seen the place is preeetty dope. Speaking of places to live, I'm moving out of the apt I've been sharing with my two lovely J's for the past 10 months. Feels weird. But I need to save in on rent for the last month I'm spending in Sweden. I have a few more things to take care of before I leave but mostly I'll try to see my friends and loved ones as much as I can for these next few weeks.

Here's a few things people have told me about my trip:
"You're gonna LOVE IT and never come back to Sweden"
"You're gonna find a new guy/s* and not wanna come back - trust me" (this one is wildly used and I guess it has its grounds - as people point out - I've done it before..)
"You're never gonna get settled here, are you?"
"Do you do ANYTHING else than travelling?"
"Oh great, I'm never gonna see you again, am I?"
"If you don't come after a year I'm coming after you - and it's not gonna be a social call - I'll drag you out of there if I need to"
"Wow, no one's gonna visit you - I mean, I would love to - but seriously - no one will be able to visit you"
"Oh yay, then we can all meet in XX - oh wait, I guess you can't Ylva...."

"But it's so faaaar away.... :( "
Other than that, people are pretty supportive..... Haha.

For anyone of my friends that wants to come out and party with me, Marina and Nurps one last time - the GOODBYE SWEDEN party is on the 11th of June. Important date. Don't forget! See you all out there! :)

Day 16: Dream house

I know I haven't kept my promise and written every day as I should have in this challenge, but here is the challenge topic for Day 16 - Dream house. Kind of fitting as I was working with a realtor and showing off fancy houses in one of the burbs today.

I have to start by saying that I'm not really a house person. Way more of an apartment-girl (if you can actually claim to be such a thing). I'm too paranoid for living in a big house. A big house in the woods? Even worse. I think watching too many movies and well - cop shows - has ruined it for me. So to start of the description of this "dream apartment" aka fake-and-absolutely-out-of-my-prize-range-apartment I would like to have a doorman downstairs greeting me whenever I come and go in the building. The apartment building in itself should be well-lit (yes, I can be scared of the dark sometimes). There has to be a big elevator so all my things can get in once I move in. I don't want my friends hurting their back trying to get all my furniture up the steps! I would like to have a big sturdy door, a nice wooden one with frosted windows and a nice knob. I know they don't exist in real life in apt buildings but this is a dream and this is the last time I will mention it being so. I want as much as possible of the apt to be with an open floor planning- meaning not a lot of walls screening off dinning room and living room from each other. Wooden floors, no doubt. I love wood. A big sturdy dinner table to fit all my friends. I want a big ass couch. Really comfy one that you can fall asleep in (and that wont fuck up your back once you wake up from such an incident). I want high ceilings and exposed brick on at least one wall. There should be a fire place for all cold nights in the city. I want paintings all over the place. And pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. Another wall is going to be with a big world map. I will mark all the places I've been and all the places I want to go. The place will be pimped out with a great entertainment system and I'm planning on having many friends over. So the place shouldn't be too small.. But not too big either. The whole apartment will be my sanctuary, but the bedroom mostly. The bedroom is a whole another story and I wont get into details about it. The only thing I'll say about it is that I wouldn't mind it being upstairs. There should be a staircase in the living room leading up to it. The kitchen should be clean and elegant. Lots of closet space. What else? Ohh bathroom. I want both bathtub and shower, but if I had to choose I'd take the bathtub. I love bathing. It really soothes me!

I feel like I can go on and on like this forever. The pickier I get, the harder it will be to "settle" for anything less. But I know there's a long way there.. If I ever get so fortunate. Cross your fingers for me, aye? :)

Day 15: Qoutes that stuck with you

(it's supposed to be favorite Bible Verse, but you all know I don't read that thing)

I'm going to talk about the quotes I have posted on my fb profile:

Quotations	Utan spaning, ingen aning. (Svenska flygvapnet) Sarcasm is not a lifestyle - it's a way of life! (Steven) "Labels are filing. Labels are for clothing.Labels are not for people" Martina Navratilova "Never regret something that once made you smile"

The first one is pretty self-explanatory when you know me. I can be such a little stalker - not in the creepy way - OK well mostly not. But I believe unless you find things out for yourself you're left clueless. And I, for one, does not like that feeling of being the last to know. It's also the slogan for the Swedish Air force.

The second one was said in a conversation one of the first weeks of my time in the US. Steven, a friend to the family I was working for, is a really funny guy and well - he's a sarcastic sob. He and Ad made me realize more than before how easy-going you can be even when you're no longer 21.

The third one I love because I don't like the labeling that we all take part of on a regular basis. I work hard not to succumb to labelling myself, and I hope other are too.

4th one - kind of my motto in life. No regrets. You'll learn and evolve from all your experiences. Don't you think? :)

Day 14: Goals

This one is quite easy to write about, but what kind of goals should I write about? The short-term ones or the ones I have in the long haul? I guess I could do both, just for the hell of it.

Short-term (next 3 years)

Do well in school this semester, while juggling work and having a busy social life in Stockholm.

Get everything together and move to Australia for a year.

Make sure my brain stays healthy.

Possibly do an internship abroad for the fall of 2012

Get back to Sweden and do my bachelor papers (C-uppsats) spring 2013

Work and save money for 9 months, so I can go to Brazil in Feb 2014 and live there for 6 months, experiencing Carneval as well as the World Cup in Soccer - which will be hosted in Rio that year! But maybe most importantly, it will give me the chance to finally visit Mary’s home and meet all her friends and family! Hopefully I’ll be able to travel around South America during these 6 months as well.

Long-term

Find a rewarding job, working with event planning. I would like to work with global, or at least, international events all over the world.

I want to see the wonders of the world, not just the famous 7. There’s so much to see, and I don’t want to miss a thing. Another goal concerning travelling is to keep the v Z tradition alive and travel as much as I can with my kids and family. Growing up with two generation of v Z-women always taking me on trips have been a big influence on how I see the world today, besides forming my personality for the better.

Oh god, there's so much I want to do long-term!! These two goals (above) don't cover all bases, but right now I'm too tired to write about all the things I want to do in my life. So be nice.

Day 13: A picture of you from last year - how have you changed since then?

I know I'm the worst at this, I don't follow the plan at all and I make the rules up as I go, but now I've reached no. 13, and instead of "Goals" that I was supposed to write about, I'll do no. 14 instead and do the whole Goals-thing tomorrow. How do you like those potatoes? ;)

So back to the task at hand. Today I'm supposed to show you a picture of myself from last year and tell you how I've changed since then. Here you go:

This was taken on Patty's Day last year when I was celebrating with the Tourists. I think we partied a lot more last year, to be honest with you. There has been so much going on for the past few months we haven't been able to let loose as much as we used to during our Freshman year. Maybe we've become more mature, but I highly doubt it. Not the way La Familia is running around like crazy chickens. To a certain degree we have changed though, and most definitely seen who are true friends are - for better and for worse.

Day 12: Favorite TV-shows

Ok prepare yourself to realize how much of a TV-show nerd I truly am. I will present some of my all-time favorites, as well as the shows I have seen EVERY freakin episode of. Trust me, there are more than you thought possible. There’s a reason I call myself a TV-show neeerd. Just saying..

Favorites:

FRIENDS

This show is soooo so dear to my heart. I started watching it when I was only 11 years old, and I couldn’t stop watching it. It’s such a classic. It’s true what they say: “I’ll be there for you”. They’ve always been there for me!

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

So stinkin hilarious!! It started airing while I was living in Philly, and it shows just how stupid people can be, yet lovable. If you haven't already seen it, you better start watching it now!!

Entourage

Well what I can I say about this one, huh. Started watching it after watching one of the newer seasons and realized how freaking awesome it was. Then I saw everything back to back until I was up to speed. I heard they're working on another season. Can't wait!

Californication

Their lines are incredicble! I love it. Also reminds me of a certain someone..

Sons of Anarchy

This show is unfreakinbelievbly heartbeating dramafantastic.

Glee

My newest favorite. I love all the singing, dancing and high school drama :)

Shows I’ve seen EVERYTHING of (excluding the ones from above):

24 30 Rock 90210 (the new edition) Accidentally on Purpose

American Idol Americas Next Top Model An Idiot Abroad

Breakout kings (fairly new show) The City Community

Cougar Town Criminal Minds CSI CSI: Miami

CSI: New York Desperate Housewives Dexter Eastwick

Freaks and geeks Gilmore Girls Gossip Girl Hellcats

The Hills Heroes Hot in Cleveland Hung Jersey Shore

Law and Order: Criminal Intent Law and Order: SVU

Lie to Me Life Unexpected MAD Mad Men

Melrose Place (New Edition) The Mentalist Mr Sunshine

Nikita (new edition) Nip/Tuck Numb3rs

Nurse Jackie One Tree Hill Parenthood Party Down

Popular Pretty Little Liars Prison Break Privileged

Scrubs Sex and the City Shameless Shark

Sherlock Sopranos True Blood The Tudors

Ugly Betty United States of Tara V Vampire Diaries

Veronica Mars Weeds White Collar Who do you think you are?

Let it be known that these are the ones I’ve seen from back to back! I have subtracted all other shows that I have “only” seen a couple of seasons of. Still feels like I’ve forgotten a few, but who cares… Give me some suggestions of shows I might have missed!

Day 11: Something you don't leave the house without

Hmm, well it's pretty average stuff actually. Nothing too interesting! I can't leave my apartment without music blasting in my ears, fingering on my phone and some reading material for the road. I usually always have my camera on me, but lately I haven't, because my phone's camera is pretty god damn good by itself (12,1 megapixels). That's it, I think. :P

Day 10: Something you're afraid of

Ok, I tried to google the thing that creeps me out the most (Spiders), but I couldn't keep myself looking at the pictures for more than a split second, so I refuse to have a picture of one on my blog! Anything that has more legs than I do (ie more than 4 legs) creeps me out. I'm not an insectsfan. Far from it.

Something I am afraid of (I realize insects are more of a freakish-disgust-issue than actual fear) is to be left alone. It's not that I have a problem being alone, it's the LEAVING part that freaks me out. I don't want to be the last person standing - unless I'm winning a prize because of it. It's like what Peyton said: People always leave.

So there you go. Don't leave me! It's as easy as that ;)

Day 9: Favorite pictures of some of your closest friends

There's something you need to understand, I have toooons of pictures that I would love to post, as I love my closest friends very much and I want to show them off as much as humanly possible, but I've narrowed it down to one for each person, from days/nights that are special to me in one way or another.

Me and Mathilda

Me and Rödluvan

Me and Ibell

Me and Em

Me and Marina

Me, Jen & Jess

Me and Sandy

I'm sorry if you feel left out, I know I probably forgot some people I shouldn't have, but I needed to have some kind of limit (and Babycake, I tried to find a good picture of us, but I couldn't settle for which one). To the rest of La Familia, don't believe I have forgotten about you, but I feel like my other friends think I've been showing quite a lot of pictures of you for the past few posts)

Day 8: A place you've traveled to that is dear to your heart

Ok, now you've seen some of the places I long to see. In this next segment you'll learn more about the places that are dear to my heart. I've been fortunate enough to been able to travel a lot during my upbringing, and because of that there are many places that are dear to me - but I'll try to narrow it down. Also, I'm not going to write about Gotland, but it is a place that is very dear to me because of pretty obvious reasons. I'm also not going to write or show pictures of Stockholm, even though it's an amazing city as well...

First of all, I want to come back to my favorite city New York.. I wish I was walking the streets of SoHo right now...

Or be back in Zanzibar, playing in the water..

or walk in the desert of Wadi Rum, Jordan

There are so many places I wish I could go back to, but I know my experience would never be the same as it was the first time I visited. Maybe it's better to keep those memories dear to your heart instead of chasing the memories and be let down by the fact it's not going to be as amazing the second time around..?

Day 7: Places I long to visit

So I know I'm falling a little bit behind on this 30DayBlogChallenge, but I blame St Patrick's Day. Either which way, I'll do Day 7 and 8 now, so hold on to your hats - here we go :)

Places I long to visit is a pretty easy one for me to write about, or at least show you pictures from. Seeing as I want to visit pretty much every country in the world, there's no shortage of ideas. But some places have been stuck in my head for many years, and here are some of them:

Fiji

Brazil

Vietnam

These are just three of the places I would love to see, but they are the ones that I always come back to when I'm thinking about where to go next.. Just thinking about all the traveling I want to do is more than I can handle right now... The snow has come back to Stockholm, and there's nothing I'd rather be doing than travelling..

Day 6: A picture that makes me smile

There are many pictures I could post here, but today I've chosen one from yesterday. A picture with all members of La Familia :)

Day 5: My favorite holiday(s)

Soo this one is easy! Well, actually, I would like some categories to this one. You see, I have different favorites depending on what I’d like to do on the holiday, or where in the world I am. Favorite Swedish one: Midsummer’s Eve, followed by Lucia. Other favorite holidays are: Thanksgiving, St Patrick’s Day and after living with a Jewish family for over 2 years, I’d say one of them is Passover. So why do I love these particular ones so much?

Midsummer’s Eve is so typically Swedish. It’s a holiday I’ve loved and longed for every year (well at least as far back as I can remember). We celebrate by singing and dancing around a maypole, doing silly things, drinking (when you’re older) and get completely and utterly jittery. There’s this magical feeling surrounding Midsummer’s Eve – like you were in the middle of a fairy tale. Maybe that’s why I love it the most. It reminds me of childhood and a simpler world.

Lucia is not originally Swedish, but I don't know if they celebrate it like we do, in Italy? What we do, since we're toddlers, are to dress up in different costumes and sing beautiful songs about Christmas, gingerbread men and other fun things. Taking place just before Christmas, it has a very warm and cozy feeling to it. Here's a picture from when I was in kindergarden, having a "Luciatåg" with my fellow youngsters:

Thanksgiving pfff - do I even have to say the reason?? The FOOD of course!!! I do like the whole thing about getting the entire family with relativs together though. I wish we could have a big Thanksgiving dinner here with all of my family. Last year we had a huge feast with the internationals. That was a lot of fun! Here's some pictures:

St Patrick's Day - tomorrow to be exact. Why? Well, I know it's lame (I love being lame) but it's such a fun day to celebrate! Drinking and having fun with your friends - and the Irish. Gotta love those Irish boys! Haha. Last year me and the other Tourists decided to celebrate it along with the others, since I (ofc) couldn't miss celebrating it for the 3rd year in a row..

Last but not least: Passover. I think I've realized I have an reaccuring theme with all of these holidays: putting something in my mouth - or being allowed to become a child again. With Passover I love the story telling and the little plague box we always got while everyone was reading. It's one of those holidays which brings you closer to your family. My hostfamily in this particular case.

Sooo, now when you learned more about my favorite holidays, what are yours?

Day 4: My parents

Ok NOW it’s time to talk about my biological family – my parents to be exact. Day 4 here we go!

I would lie if I told you I’ve always expressed my deep love and regard for my parents in a good way. I’m sure I was pretty difficult and self-centered as a teen (I probably still am to some extent). Luckily, my parents have been able to pull through all my crap and still be with me to this day. I’m glad they did.

My dad is probably one of people with THE most social skills I’ve ever known. He starts talking to EVERYONE, and always has (from what I’ve learned), and can make them laugh in just a few seconds. When I was a teenager I wasn’t as impressed with this asset as I am now. But as I said, I was a teenager. Most of my friends thought their parents were embarrassing at some point or another. At this point in my life I see it as a great asset and strive to better myself into becoming just that; someone who can make random people happy in just a few seconds.

Growing up I was a real daddy’s girl, but things change, and now I’m very much a Mama’s girl instead.

My mom is my rock. She’s so ambitious, generous and well – she’s my mommy. I could probably describe her in a thousand different ways and it still wouldn’t be sufficient. She always pushes me to be a better version of myself. Not in the crazy: I-want-you-to-be-someone-else-kind of way, but the: I-want-you-to-reach-your-goals-and-succeed-way. She has taken a lot of crap from me and my brother because of it, but I am thankful for all the hard work she was put into making me who I am today. It’s also thanks to her I’ve been able to travel the world as much as I have.

I want to say more, about both of them, but I feel as though it would be too personal and bring up too many memories. I hope you respect that this is as far as I will go as of right now.

Just one last thing though: Whatever I have felt, or will feel over the next 50 years, doesn’t really matter when it comes down to it. They are my parents - for better or for worse. I will love them till the day I die!

Day 3: La Familia

You might think that I’m going to tell you about my biological family, but I’m not. La Familia is the 4 people (including myself) who always come up w crazy shit together (and yes, everyone in La Familia is a little crazy themselves). Besides me, there’s Margarina, Nubie Call center and ass-flasher Munteriño. The four of us run around school making MTA+B more fun than it should be. We come from different parts of the world, but when we are together it is like when Sailor Moon shifts into her costume – unbelievably freaking good!

I’m extremely happy to have these three people in my life. They constantly brighten up my day and give me a stomach ache (and I’m not talking about the bad kind). Knowing I will see them makes me want to go to school. I know it sounds silly, but have you ever had that one friend that can change your entire mood swing just by the fact that they are there or not? Even if you have a bunch of friends in class there’s always that special someone that you really don’t want to be missing in school..? Tell me if I’m out of a limb here. The point is, when one o

f us is missing, it’s noticeable (even if we still have fun). Whenever I go to work and miss out on school, I miss them. We’ve grown so incredibly close over the past few months and I hate the fact that in only 3 months we’re splitting up..

I could write pages and pages about La Familia. Trust me. But I will be difficult to capture the essence of our relationship. It’s a relationship filled with passion – that’s for sure!! ;)

Munteriño, Margarina and me

Day 2: Meaning behind your blog name

I don't think the name of the blog confuses many of you, since it's all about my thoughts; Funderingar is Swedish for thoughts, and well "Fundileringar" is always what I said instead of it, I think it sounds cuter.. There's not really too much else to say about this one :P I almost want to go ahead and do another "day-challenge" just for the hell of this, but I know that would be cheating..