What a day! Stockholm trips are always special, as seeing faces you’re used to working with in 3d, instead of through a screen is a little jarring. We interact differently through computers and it’s always great to meet people irl.
Yesterday was extra special for me because I also had a client meeting with my favourite client. To show their appreciation, they gave me flowers with a card! Literally the largest flowers they had in the store to show the biggest amount of gratitude possible.
I’m kinda boasting, but also sharing my enjoyment of this. In my now 15+ years of web development work, this is the first time a client has given me flowers. Come to think of it, I don’t remember anyone gifting me flowers ever.
I mentioned this to my client and she was very surprised. In Sweden it’s pretty common to gift flowers even to men. However I’ve never seen it done in Latvia or England.
The day wrapped up with a traditional Swedish Christmas dinner, the whole company went and good times were had by all.
This is my now third xmas dinner in Stockholm in a row and I gotta say it’s interesting to reflect on how my eating pattern has changed throughout the years.
The first one I went to — I had already stopped drinking alcohol, but my eating was still chaotic and driven by desire with no breaks applied. I ate till I felt bad and then ate some more. Sampling everything available multiple times and then having difficulties breathing. Then came the sweets to finalize the evening.
The second one — I was well on my way to sanity and had some control in place. I prioritised meat (while still piling on potatoes), had multiple smaller portions and ate “with everyone”. So my nearest table neighbours were my anchors — if they went to grab a plate, I’d go too and stopped when they stopped. Sweets were still a must.
The third one (yesterday) — not interested in potatoes or pretty much anything high in carbs. Piling on the duck meat, eggs and salmon. I ended up having 1 and a half reasonably sized plates, full of fatty and lean meats and fish. Water was my drink of choice. No sweets of any kind.
I didn’t feel restricted or hurt by my choices. This is just who I am now. This is just how I eat. I felt light and went to bed happy. Woke up reasonably fresh and was ready for my morning exercise.