There is something unnerving about writing the first blog post on a new website. So I thought, why not use it to write all the things a proper biography does not or cannot contain, but which would no doubt help paint a more complete picture of who I am? While some of you have been following me for years, others are here for the first time, having just heard of me. Some of you know me well, others not at all. So, in no particular order, this is me.
I’m Swedish. I love picking flowers. I’ve always liked animals, sometimes a little too much; when I was a toddler I got stung by a wasp because I tried to pet it. I also nearly choked to death on a grape. I can never decide what my favorite color is. Also, I’m colorblind. I’m a somewhat accidental photographer - when I decided I wanted to become one I was actually pretty awful at it, but luckily I didn’t realize that until I’d improved significantly. Honestly, it’s pretty embarrassing to see what I based my self-assessment on ten years ago. I find foraging for mushrooms in Swedish forests very meditative. I’ve had malaria, but only once. My wife is just... wow. I’m very, very lucky. It’s pretty incredible to always go to bed knowing that if anything, you’ll be even more in love when you wake up. I have read the 7-book Masters of Rome series, some 5,000 pages, at least 5 or 6 times. And I think Harry Potter is pretty great, too. I have been to 70+ countries, and am always up for new adventures, but absolutely love being back in Sweden. I’ve run outside naked in the middle of the night to photograph lions, which wasn’t a terribly good idea. I enjoy cooking. Also saunas and skinny dipping. My parents are amazing, and it’s from them I’ve learned to value integrity so highly. Few things make me as angry as seeing them being treated unfairly. I find spiders fascinating, but also a little freaky, and can never quite get myself to be comfortable handling them.
I value critical, rational thinking. I sometimes wake up full of anxiety, worried that nothing I have planned will work out and that I don’t have much of a Plan B. But I’m generally a solution-based person, and something usually does work out. I love the sound of rain, and thunder. I prefer cliffs to beaches, lakes to oceans. I firmly believe that no dish is complete without mushrooms - except perhaps ice cream, and cinnamon buns. I don’t drink alcohol, but coffee is definitely growing on me. I have tiny ears, and they’re ridiculously sensitive to the cold. I like to think I’m wiser than I sometimes act. Cities and crowds make me tired. I have two very impressive sisters, who both found lovely partners, and I have one ridiculously adorable niece. I have a very strong sense of self-worth, and of right and wrong. Condescension and patronising attitudes make me furious, and I don’t tend to stick around if I don’t feel like I’m being valued as I should be. I am pretty sure a chimpanzee gave me parasites by kissing me. I scored top marks on my thesis, but I suspect that nobody other than the markers ever read it, and I never went back to my academic career after handing it in. I’m a flexitarian, and very okay with that. In fact, I’m pretty good at a lot of sustainability habits, but not great at any.
“I was once held up at gunpoint by an over-zealous goat herder in Ethiopia for three hours, but the only time that I have really feared for my life was during a storm in a tiny boat in the Solomon Islands.”
I love playing badminton, but have a habit of overdoing it and incapacitating myself for several days every time I do. I’m not sure if I’m either a morning or an evening person – how about a when-the-sun-is-up person? I’m truly awful at remembering people’s names. The only time since 2006 I’ve had any kind of normal employment was working in an outdoor gear store while studying in Tasmania, 2008-2010. I hate crumbs/sand/dirt in bed. I love dogs, but not dog hair. I would like to make mindfulness a bigger part of my everyday life. I’ve been peed on by wild gorillas. The fact that bananas are berries, and raspberries aren’t, is interesting, but probably not terribly important. As comfortable as I am in nature, I still feel uncomfortable being in the forest after dark – presumably because of childhood stories of trolls and witches rather than anything rational. For the same reason, I always feel slightly uneasy swimming across dark lakes, even when I know there’s nothing there to worry about. I like mountains, and I enjoy being atop them, but can’t say I tend to enjoy hiking up them, especially at altitude. I’m constantly annoyed about having to smuggle my (always too heavy) hand luggage onto airplanes when there are other passengers who clearly weigh much more than I do.
I’m not sure if I worry too much about the future, or not enough. I love hugs. Not a huge fan of heights though. Or pesky insects – flies, fleas, ticks and mosquitoes can perish for all I care, although I guess that would probably doom the planet somehow. I often feel like I’m trying to catch up, that my to-do list never gets any shorter. I’ve never tried any psychedelics but am very curious about their potential impacts on human wellbeing. I’m pretty sure a baboon stole my first iPhone. I find it very difficult to understand how anyone can take religion and religious texts seriously to the extent of questioning rationality, science and critical thought – I feel very strongly that nothing should be considered sacred in the sense of not being susceptible to revision based on new and better evidence. I like ABBA and the Mamma Mia movies, and not just because I’m Swedish. I wish money wasn’t necessary, but since it is, I wish I had more of it. No matter how fulfilling my life is or has been, I still won’t want to die. I’m a terrible musician, singer and actor, but a decent cook, driver, and putter-together of IKEA furniture.
I’m a very loyal friend. I once walked over 70km with an ankle the size of a tennis ball. I have zero tolerance for smoking, and while I have no issue with alcohol, I find drunkenness very tiresome. I’ve peed in a lot of wetsuits (but then, who hasn’t?). I like watching clouds – they make me feel appropriately small. I own seven DSLRs (four of which I actually use) and at least 12 lenses, the total cost of which I’d rather not think about. I find frogs, snakes and chameleons beautiful, while rhinos – majestic as they are – tend to be a bit… not so exciting to spend time with. There is definitely such a thing as bad pizza. Monty Python is very, very funny. There’s an awful lot of white in my beard these days. I sometimes wish I didn’t have to go out into the world at all, but the feeling normally doesn’t last. I can’t for the life of me understand how Instagram works. But I do love reading and responding to comments, messages and emails – they add a vital human element to this digital life – so, by all means, keep them coming.
