T-T-Tuesday!

Tuesday was an incredibly chill day :) I don’t remember whose idea it was but the decision to have an ocean side BBQ was the plan for the evening. As per usual Le Master Chef Emil was in charge of the food. I’m not sure if it’s because everyone else is so damn lazy or what! Emil always does a great job though so maybe that’s more the reason why :p 

Le Master Chef à la bike

I don’t really have too much to say about the BBQ other than the food and company was fantastic! We camped out on this beautiful spot away from the roads so it was nice and peaceful. There were lots of uncomfortable rocks everywhere but we managed alright, heh heh. We found a huge log that we utilized for sitting and later we tried to ignite it XD

Probably the most exciting thing that happened was when Marcus broke the gasoline container, haha. It went all over the rocks and unfortunately onto Simon as well. Needless to say he kept his distance from the fire we had going XD Lots of exploration and picture-taking occurred so instead of trying to make this post interesting, I’ll just show pictures :) 

This pretty much sums up these three rascals.

Fuego!

Blondies :D

Explorin' the campsite.

:)

Nomming away on Emil's feast

Dessert :p

When we had finished eating we squirreled around the campfire for a little while, setting random shit on fire and just being hooligans :p The log was shockingly difficult to set on fire and we gave up on that after an hour or so of trying. We were determined to return soon and burn it before my trip was over. (We never did though XD)

Attempting to set the log on fire

  

On the walk back home I got a chance to talk to Emil and Simon personally and find out more about their personal lives, school, aspirations, etc. It was nice since usually whenever I would talk to Simon over MSN, we would never act seriously and talk about the silliest and strangest things XD Simon told me about his job and what he does there and Emil and I talked about what he was going to school for and hoped to do in the future.

Along the way home, we found a huge open field surrounded by a forest. In the field was a strange arrangement of rocks which I was then informed was a Troll Ring. One of the boys explained it to me but, go figure, I’ve already forgotten it XD We let ourselves get side-tracked and run around for a while and try to figure out the Troll Ring maze. It was a lot of fun :D Someone mentioned coming back and playing tag later that night but we never ended up doing that either. I was kind of disappointed since that sounded like a lot of fun! Ah well, there’s always another time! 

Troll Ring O:

Simon's photo-bombing XD

Emil cheating at the maze, heh heh

Victors of the Troll Ring

I love this picture merely for the bug in it XD

When we finally emerged from the forest, I believe Simon decided he needed to go home so that he could get some rest for work tomorrow. The rest of us went back to Marcus’ house and there ended up being a folk music session between Marcus and Emil. At some point in the night Thomas went to bed as well and us three remaining watched The Sunset Limited before calling it a night. 

Good movie :D

This day may seem very boring to some who are reading but it was definitely a memorable night in Sweden for me :)

Måndag

As per usual, our day started late in the afternoon. We were originally supposed to go fishing with Jonas but some unforeseen events prevented us from doing so. If I remember correctly, the boat required some maintenance before we took it out for a fishing voyage. Which ended up working just as well since that was the day that Mother Nature decided to bestow her lovely monthly gift to me. I absolutely hate this time of the month not because of what happens but because of the incredible pain and cramping that I experience during this time. The first day always feels like I’m eaten alive; I could safely relate the pain I feel to death, haha. Because in all honesty, that’s all I do for a whole day: I lie in bed feeling like I’m going to freakin’ die all day! XD I really have no way of describing the massive pain that I’m so lucky to experience when this time rolls around for me. *le sigh*

 

Yup...

As it turns out, Swedes have magical medicine! Marcus gave me some pills to kill the pain but shortly after, his mother gave me another pill to take right after the first one. It apparently boosts the effects of the first pill. I wasn’t sure how it worked but if it made the damn pain go away, I wasn’t going to turn it down! Anywho. After breakfast and my medicinal cocktail, I decided to take a short nap to hopefully sleep off some of the pain until the pills kicked in. When I woke up, holy hell did I feel better! I almost wondered if I really was still on my period due to the lack of pain of any kind! It was wonderful! 

Since our fishing plans had been changed, Marcus suggested going down to the harbor to have pizza with Emil and Simon. We tried to get Thomas to come with but he was lame and wanted to sleep instead ;) Also, if I haven’t said it yet, I fucking loved the fact that we could walk to our destinations! Where I live, you could try to walk everywhere but it’d take you about half the damn day to get there. So on we went to the harbor. Now, for some reason, I was really insecure in conversing with anyone outside of Marcus’ family or friends in English. Marcus constantly assured me that anyone could understand me but I felt really anxious for whatever crazy reason. Anyway! Marcus ended up ordering my pizza for me. I noticed something rather amusing that day as well: the longer I was in Sweden, the more Marcus would mix up speaking to me in Swedish! I’ll never forget him talking to the cashier in Swedish, then turning to me to ask me a question… in Swedish XD I just stood there with my best “Deer-Caught-In-Headlights” look as he yammered on. 

Probably how I looked to Marcus and the others.

Since Marcus is a gentleman, he paid for my pizza. I think I paid him back… I can’t remember… I hope I did! Despite the fact of ordering a small pizza, I could barely finish half of mine! Marcus couldn’t either but then again, I wasn’t too surprised by that ;) Simon and Emil harassed us about not finishing our food which resulted in Simon getting dared to eat the two halves of Marcus’ and my pizza. Which he actually accomplished! Gotta’ say, I was impressed; especially since he had a whole pizza in him already! I don’t even think the kid got stomach pains of any kind after that either XD 

On nom nom

After pizza, we decided it would be fun to take Simon’s boat out on the ocean and do some island exploration. Unless I’m getting two times mixed up, I believe we had to walk back to Simon’s house for keys to the boat. And whilst he was inside his house searching, Emil and I dared Marcus to climb up into a tree that had an old clubhouse in it. Even for a skinny little stick like Marcus, he had trouble getting in-between the branches, heh heh. Emil and I both concluded that even if we wanted to, neither of us could get in there if someone like Marcus was having trouble!

Skinny boy! I swear, I must be twice his weight :p

After collecting the keys, we ventured back down to the harbor, got in the boat, and headed out onto the water. There was some debate over whether we should visit the haunted lighthouse or some random, unpopulated isles. I was rather stoked to go see the haunted lighthouse but for some reason, we never did! I think a certain someone was a little too scared to go ;) But we ended up choosing a nice little isle to go run around on. Unfortunately, because there was no anchor, someone had to stay on the boat. Poor Simon ended up being that unlucky fellow :( He said he didn’t mind but it would have been fun to have him there!

I can’t remember how long we scurried around the isle for but at one point, I ended up crawling around the outermost edge, teetering over the water at precarious angles. It probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do since I was on my own and if I fell, I don’t think Emil or Marcus would have ever known until it was time to leave, haha. But I managed my way around half of the isle before coming to a section of rock that was so smooth, I couldn’t climb up back onto the isle. It’s for reasons like this that it’s dumb to venture alone! My only option was to slide down and aim for some rocks that were barely emerging from the water. Again, this was dumb because the rocks were slick with algae and if I landed wrong, I’d be taking a salty ocean bath!

And of course, it’s always when no one is watching you that you do things perfectly! I landed on the slippery rocks with no problem and managed to scramble my way back onto the main—and dry—portion of the isle. I ended up running into Emil and Marcus who were in the process of finding a good place to use a rock they had found to write with. Instantly, I thought of the smooth precipice that I had just come from. Of course, I’m eager to show them and I wanted to carve my name onto the isle to mark my presence ;) 

Emil ended up coming with me but refused to try to follow me to get near the smooth rock face. I tried to convince him otherwise but he’s not Viking enough to follow my footsteps :p Anyway. I made my mark and threw the chalky rock back up to Emil who made it clear that he doubted my ability to get out of my precarious perch without taking a swim. And of course, I bragged to him how I had done so earlier by sliding down the face of the rock. Emil remained unconvinced of me escaping with dry clothes. So, of course, I decided to show him how pro I was at MacGyvering my way down the rocks. And as is per usual with life, trying to be a show off will turn you into a jackass. I ended up slipping on the wet rock and emerging my entire left leg into water…  Much to Emil’s evil, cackling glee. 

Crappy picture, but here is my left ankle.

Of course, it wasn’t really MY fault that I slipped. It was Emil’s doubt that caused me to screw up my would-be perfect landing! 

Anyway ;)

With far less grace than the first time, I managed my way back onto the main part of the isle where Emil eventually caught up with me. I can’t remember if he discovered the blood all over my ankle or whether it was me… Either way, blood was dripping down my left ankle, staining my sock, and seeping into my already smooshy shoe. I think it was at this moment that Emil and I decided it would be in our best interest to head back and signaled for Simon to come get us. Marcus at this point had discovered the place where I had carved my name and was busily scribbling away in large letters: SIMON SUCKS.

Upon seeing this, Simon had the most distraught and offended expression all over his face XD With an evil glare, he put the boat in reverse and proceeded to motor away, intending to leave us on the isle, haha! Of course Emil and I put all of our skill of negotiation into work and manage to convince him to come back because of my injured leg. He did so reluctantly but at least he came back! As he got closer, I noticed that Marcus was still writing away on the rocks. Emil and I yelled at him to get his butt on the boat or we’d leave him there. “I’m almost done!” He yelled back at us. There was something unmistakably mischievous in his voice which piqued both Emil’s and my interest into what he was so devotedly writing. It was then that I caught the last few letters of what Marcus was writing: OO-GIRL!!

My rage was instant. I darted over to him, cussing and shouting, to which Marcus responded with the most impish laugh. He somehow managed to monkey his little butt up the smooth side of the rock before I got him into my clutches. I did manage to get his cane though, heh heh heh. At this point, Simon had arrived as close as he could to the isle without damaging the boat. As I muttered to myself about what Marcus had written, Emil whispered to me: “Wait to get him back in the boat. He can’t escape then!” A most excellent plan, indeed. Bwuahahaha. And so, that’s what I did! As soon as we were out of the safety of the isle, I began to relentlessly tickle—or as many say, burrow—him. I had the kid on the bottom of the boat, flailing and trying to escape but failing to do so successfully >:3 

Finally, I had had enough and was feeling rather victorious with myself. I turned to say something to Simon and when I turned back to face Marcus and Emil, the damn kid had picked up a scoop, filled it with some nice, salty ocean water and launched it at me, dousing me completely. Needless to say, there was more rage on my part XD We ended up wrestling—in the freakin’ boat, mind you!—for possession of the scoop. We made that damn boat rock back and forth so much that Simon and Emil were clinging to it and trying to even it out with their own weight, haha. Eventually, I got the scoop and poured some water onto Marcus. But of course, paying someone back is never enough for me… I have to double it ;) 

I can honestly say that I don’t quite remember what happened after I had splashed Marcus twice. Either he managed to get the scoop again and get me once more or either Simon or Emil confiscated it to prevent us from capsizing. But of course, Marcus and I just resorted to splashing each other by using our hands to collect the water with. We ended up splashing the others as well XD As if we all hadn’t been close enough to getting dumped into the water, heh heh. When we got back into the harbor, Marcus and I were pretty cold. Though it’s not freezing in Sweden during the summer, it doesn’t exactly get as hot as where I’m from either!

At some point during the walk home Emil made the statement: “Melissa’s angry at everyone.” I don’t remember why exactly but it makes me chuckle XD I do remember picking Marcus up and acting as though I was going to toss him into the slimy harbor water. Which, I would have been JUST fine with if I only knew how deep the water was. And since I wanted to prevent being the cause of any serious injuries, I decided not to. We stopped by Simon’s house on the way back so he could get his bike to ride back home after hanging out with us. 

We ended up walking to Emil’s house to gather his computer and to clean and wrap my ankle before heading back to Marcus’ home. After my ankle had been taken care of, we all sat around in Emil’s room and listened to a wide variety of music while talking. Turns out, Emil is quite good at playing the guitar :) It was really nice to listen to him play. He also has a pair of really cute dogs :3 I can’t remember what breed they were though… some kind of water dog, I believe. Their hair was so long they needed ponytail holders to keep it out of their eyes to see XD Eventually, Simon decided he needed to leave since he had to get up for work the next morning—he and Thomas were the responsible ones with jobs ;) 

I can’t remember what started it but Simon had found some CD in the basket on his bike and was harassing Emil with it. Somehow, it ended up being a squabble between Simon and I where the object of the fight was to hit your opponent and run away before they could hit you back with the CD. Highly intellectual game, I know… Anyway, at one point, Simon threw the CD at me and hopped on his bike to pedal away as fast as he could. Of course, me being me, I couldn’t be the loser and took off after him, intent on hitting him with the CD. And here, ladies and gentlemen, for your amusement is Melissa Schneider’s finest moment in life. *sigh* I didn’t even know how this was possible but somehow as I was turning the corner around Emil’s car, the gravel road caused me to slip and glide on my left leg for a couple feet before coming to a very noisy stop.

Now, normally in my life, I become mortified by situations where my balance is less than stellar and causes me public humiliation, but I just ended up laughing! And laughing rather hard too! Even Simon was short of breath from laughing so hard! I will always remember Emil’s words upon witnessing my display: “WHAT.” Marcus was rather confused as to what had happened as he was busily tying his shoe while I was off making a fool of myself. I was still on the ground laughing when they all came to help me up though. Now, from what I could see in the dark, my entire left calf was absolutely and completely covered in gray dust from the gravel. 

When we had all gained our composure and insight as to what had just bloody happened, Simon went on his way home and, once again, I was in Emil’s bathroom cleaning up. To hasten the process though, I decided to just stick my leg into the shower to wash off the dirt. What I didn’t realize, though, was that the gravel had done a most stupendous job of tearing off the first layer of skin on my leg. SO. When I stuck it under the pouring water of the shower head, I nearly fell over from the intense pain of it all. I still, at this point, had no idea how serious the wound was because it was so thickly covered in dirt/dust. I eventually gave up on trying to shower off the dirt and grabbed a cleansing wipe from the first aid kit that Emil had supplied me with.

Again, not realizing the severity of my injury, I placed the wipe onto the skin and gave a fierce rubdown. It lasted all of about .5 seconds before another wave of pain ripped through my calf. I couldn’t believe how painful it was! It was at this point that little pools of blood were forming all over my calf. It was also then that I began to understand that I had done far more than just dirty my leg. It was about 5-10 minutes into my pitiful attempts at cleaning my leg that Emil and Marcus called after me to find out what was taking so long. I told them how painful it was and Marcus ended up coming into the bathroom with me and helping wipe off the dirt from my calf. Eventually though, the pain ended up being too much to deal with so we gave up on cleaning it and decided the best option would be to get back to Marcus’ house and deal with it there. 

The only real problem was that it hurt incredibly so to walk and it was at least a 45 minute walk from Emil’s house at a regular pace. And at my pace, we’d be walking all night XD But we set out regardless and I tried my best to keep up and not focus on the pain but it was way too difficult for me. Eventually, Marcus decided to call his dad and see if he could pick us up instead. Marcus offered me the cane he often walks with but I didn’t think it would really help my situation. That or I was too stubborn to accept the fact that I needed help walking, heh heh. Morgan agreed to come pick us three up as soon as he could. We decided to walk as far as we could until we spotted his car on the road. It probably took less than five minutes for him to come get us but it felt like much longer with my leg hurting the way it was! 

Apparently when Morgan had pulled over, he scolded Marcus for not offering me his cane. To which Marcus replied with great fluster: “I did! She’s too stubborn to take it!!” Finally, we had arrived home where Connie and Thomas were up and waiting. I’m not sure what Connie and Morgan thought of my leg other than they weren’t quite expecting my injury to be as big as it was! They rummaged around the house for a big enough bandage and Morgan joked with a smirk on his face, “Well, it looks like we’re going to have to cut it off!”

After managing to get it covered in ointment and wrapped, Emil, Marcus, and I decided to go upstairs and watch Sword in the Stone. It was a nice way to end the day—minus the painful leg injury. But again, I wouldn’t know just how bad it was until I took the bandage off the next day! 

My leg after we bandaged it up. Ouch :(

Welp, that’s Monday for y ’all! Took me long enough to get this update on here! Hope it was everything you ever hoped it to be ;P Until the next entry!