Asa In The Middle’s 2012

Time for a review of the year 2012. It’s a bit strange that part of what has happened feels like it happened a really long time ago, while other parts feels like they happened yesterday.

My Superfighter Roine wearing a fitting crown on the top pf his head.

The Fighter of the Year: Roine
He has fought against different problems with the eyes since the autumn 2011. After that he has gone through many problems and it got even more difficult when it turned out that he also had high blood pressure. One bad surprise after another. I won’t write the whole story here, but Roine started a fight for better health and he’s still fighting it. It’s been a very tough year for him, he has won many battles and shown that he has amazing fighting spirit. He’s really the Fighter of the Year! I love you Roine. We keep on moving forward.

The Investment of the Year: Apple stocks
What is a year without ups and downs? In January I got the idea to buy Apple stocks. To start with it seemed to be a success, as you can read in this blogpost, but then the stock price developed in another way… Even so, it’s fun to own some Apple stocks. I will keep them for a while. In fact, I would prefer if I can keep them for many years. And I would be very delighted if they increase a lot!

Me and Niklas Myhr standing on a rooftop in Stockholm. Oskar Stenström is the photographer.

The Projekt of the Year: The BOOK
In January I and Niklas Myhr decided that we will write a book together. A book about The Good Rubbish in social media. Wow! Since then we are writing. I write here on Gotland, he in California and we maintain the contact via Facebook and Skype. We have also had one work meeting in Stockholm and two here on Gotland. It’s so fun and inspiring. In November I gave a lecture for a small group testing stuff from the book. Very exciting and rewarding. Thank you Niklas for lightening this idea- and writing-bonfire! We will soon finish the book, right?

The Birthday of the Year: my own 50th Birthday
2012 was the year when I turned fifty the sixth of February. Since it was a bit unsure with Roine’s health in the beginning of the year, I chose to make my birthday celebration simple and easy. I asked Anne and Stefan at Mavens Diner to help me with arranging a tapas-party on a Sunday afternoon. On the Saturday before Alice, Fredrik, Oskar, Dorty and Eddy had arrived so that we could have a more private family dinner together. The tapas-party was very easygoing. It felt so good to have others to help me while I could focus on socializing with the guests. The guests arrived and left and it was fun to see so many friends at Mavens Diner. I dared to take the decision to serve no alcohol, because it was my birthday and I don’t drink alcohol. Thanks to all of you that came and made my day!

The Social Media-suprise of the Year: Spreecast
In May I was invited to attend to a Spreecast when Mitch Jackson interviewed Niklas Myhr. I hadn’t got a clue about what a Spreecast was and I had no idea about who Mitch Jackson was. But, I dived into the Spreecast world and I’m so happy that I did! Thanks to Spreecast I have learnt to know Mitch Jackson and Debbie Elicksen, I got isnpired to read Chris Brogan’s and Julien Smith’s books and in a Spreecast where Murray Izzenwasser participated he suddenly said a couple of simple words that made me understand how we could make an issue more clear in our book. I feel like if I got a chance to mingle with persons in USA while sitting on my couch here in Kappelshamn.

Alice who has been Supercool during 2012!

The Achievement of the Year: Alice
Our ambitious and supercool daughter Alice has outperformed herself during 2012 with managing to take care of her studies at Södertörn University and at the same time being in charge for the marketing at SERO and together with Poina Shafiee arrange the freshmen week in the beginning of the autumn and somewhere in the middle of the preparations for that working as a marketing assistant for Drömstugan. She has not had enough with leisure time during the year, but she has also achieved a lot and made a difference to a lot of others. I wish that 2013 will become the year when she gives herself more time to breath.

The Peace Achievement of the Year: Ronny Edry
I can hardly write about this without getting tears in my eyes. This loving peace movement, Israel loves Iran, that Ronny initiated in March have spread like a epidemic of goodness from human to human, from  country to country. I had the honor to interview him via Skype, in June and afterward I felt like if I had talked to today’s Gandhi. I have huge respect for the work he and a lot of others put into the effort to awake the desire for peace in the middle east. Watch this movie to see how Ronny explains it all!

The At Last of the Year: Apple Store in Täby
How we have been waiting for the first Apple Store to open in Sweden! Me and Roine haven’t had the opportunity to visit any Apple Store abroad, so it was both our first visit in an Apple Store and our first visit in an Apple Store in Sweden. We went there six days after the grand opening and it was exactly so good that we had hoped, and even a little bit better. Friendly and skilled Apple Geniuses, groups with customers learning different things in the store – such an inspiring and nice environment!

The Shift in Cars of the Year: Volkswagen Tiguan 2010 TSI
So, time to get a new car again. A year ago I wrote that we probably would like to have 4W again and in the autumn Roine found this perfect car. We have never before bought a car that has made us so totally happy as this VW Tiguan. It’s almost like when we bought our first Mac in april 1989 – after that we never considered buying anything else but Mac/Apple. I don’t know if I will be that loyal to Volkswagen for ever or if it’s just the features in this car that I like and then it’s possible that I can get that in another car as well? Though, it might be stupid to try another? Volkswagen Tiguan – Wow!

Krister Dahlström, Eva Bofride and Rickard Söderberg at Clarion Hotel Visby.

The Breafast of the Year: Rickard Söderberg
When Rickard went to Gotland to give a lecture about cultural entrepreneurship he initiated a breakfast with me, Krister Dahlström and Eva Bofride. Me and Roine (Stenströms) have worked with the opera singer Rickard Söderberg since August 2011, but never met him, so I was very happy to at last be able to meet him face to face. The breakfast was so intense and inspiring and it was very fun to see how Krister and Rickard connected with their common interest in Japan, even if they come from different places: Krister practicing Kendo and Rickard’s role playing. In the afternoon both me and Roine listened to Rickard’s lecture. I feel so proud to have this wise and engaged man as our customer! Go Rickard!

The Dance Show of the Year: Swan Lake
Fredrik ”Benke” Ryman has once again managed to create a dance show in which he doesn’t only work with choreography, he uses everything to create an intimate teamwork in which every detail is a part of the dance. When Benke creates he can get both light, sound and coulisse to dance and the dancers executes such achievements that I barely thought was possible.

Happy New 2013!
The new year has begun and I am in a very good mood. I think this year has the potential for a very successful outcome. Let’s move forward!