Dreamdayproject Sneaks Backstage to Meet Celso Piña

Every dreamday has a different story. Sometimes I have been very humble in my approach when trying to capture another dreamday to my collection. Other times I have decided to withdraw my question to avoid an uncomfortable situation. But there has also been times when I have done the opposite and when I have played my dreamday cards with unforeseen skills and strategy. When nothing could stop me from reaching my goal; To conquer yet another dreamday.


My last story about Leif Elggren made me remember this day in Monterrey, Mexico, almost exactly three years ago. But the story behind it began a few months earlier, on the night of El Grito, the 16th of September 2005. I was sitting in the backseat of a car going to a birthday party with my new found friend and colleague Katy, and her boyfriend Carlos. This was almost a year after I had bought my accordion in Warszaw and I was very excited by any accordion music. I had just arrived to Monterrey about a week earlier and this was my first visit in a long row to the country.

While cruising down the streets of Monterrey this night, looking at all the people that were out celebrating Mexico´s independency, I suddenly heard a song on the radio. And I was immediately thrown into a music video, where the people and the buildings that we passed, were like scenes from this song. Or maybe it was the other way around. But there I was, right in the middle of it all. I was very far away from home, but still everything I saw just made perfect sense in that moment. It almost felt familar. I leant over to the front seat and asked who was singing. He is called Celso Piña and he is from Monterrey, Katy says. "Piña" as in Pineapple, she adds. "Celso Pineapple" I thought, it sounded nice...

And in that moment I knew that Monterrey was filled with many surprises waiting to be discovered.

After that night, Celso Piña´s music was the soundrack to many of my experiences in Monterrey. I listened to him on the subway to work in the mornings and in Katy´s car whenever I could. And through the music and the lyrics I felt I got closer to a culture very different from mine.



I ended up staying in Monterrey for almost five months. And by the time I was about to leave I was happy with everything except for the fact that I neither got to meet, nor see Celso Piña playing. I had to meet him before leaving! But how?



I spent my spare time visiting places like Café Nuevo Brazil, reading short-stories and thinking of a plan. I had almost given up when one day something unbelievable happened. I heard a rumour that Celso Piña was to perform on the main square in Monterrey; the Macro Plaza, just a few days before my departure. Could the timing be better? The circle was to be completed...



I asked my friend Roberto to come with me on the big day. We met up early and spent the day visiting markets and eating tacos, preparing ourselves for the big night. I had my video camera squeezed into my litte bag, just in case a dreamday question would pop up at some point.



In the late afternoon we headed for Macro Plaza. The concert was outdoors with some other bands playing as well, but of course we were mostly interested in Celso Piña. The concert was good, except for a big cowboy hat (of course) that was in my way most of the time. (you can see it in the picture below). But I must also say, without putting any blame on the hat, that the concert was not exceptional in any sense. Celso Piña had filled a much more important purpose in my life through my headphones on my way to work, than he did at Macro Plaza. But I guess I needed to see it myself to discover that.



When the concert was over, or so we thought anyway, we took a short walk around the square. We passed the stage and the tents and were just about to leave. But then an idea came up, as they always do, when you least expect it. Roberto, my dreamday camera man of Monterrey, was there. And so was the film camera, along with my dreamday question and most importantly; Celso Piña, somewhere on the Macro Plaza.

It was obvious what had to be done.

I walked up to one of the guards by the fence to the stage. I did not know exactly what to say but I started asking something about Celso Piña and where he was and if the concert was over yet. I chatted with him for a little bit and then I finally said: Well, you see, I have come all the way from Sweden to interview Celso Piña. I work for a magazine. You have to let me in! The guard shook his head.

But I wasn´t giving up that easily. We continued walking down along the fence and just a few meters later we walked into another guard. I told him the same story, maybe with even a little bit more empathy than the first time. He looked nice and smiled to me. I did not need to persuade him any further.

And a few seconds later he opened the gate to me. But only you, he said, your friend has to stay outside. Roberto told me to go anyway and I ran over to one of the small tents. I walked into a man from Piedras Negras and told him I was going to interview Celso Piña but that my camera man was stuck outside. He went with me to the fence and shortly after Roberto was in there as well.

We looked around for Celso Piña and there he was, just infront of us, coming down from the stage! I went up to him and in my broken Spanish I tell him I came from Sweden to interview him. I have to perform another song,he said, but you just wait here, and I will be with you in a second.

He went up on stage and there we were, me and Roberto, backstage! We looked around and noticed a couple of camera men and journalists looking at us. We waited a bit and then when Celso got off stage for the second time, Dreamdayproject could finally get down to business...



Celso Piña treated us as nicely as any of the other professional journalists. I asked him about the music he listens to and where he gets inspiration to his songs. And after some small talk I could finally ask what I really wanted to know:

-Como seria un dia de un ensueño, un dia perfecto, para usted?

He took the dreamday question as seriously as any other question and replies:

-Un dia perfecto es un dia normal!

After all the hassle, crossing fences and getting past security guards to reach Celso Piña, it was a relief to find out that even for him, a perfect day was just a normal day... Continue Reading

How to be a Dreamday Worker - Part 2 (Featuring Leif Elggren)

My last post ended with the poem Ithaca written by Konstantinos Kavafis. The poem has been a great source of strength in my life as a dreamday worker and can be seen as the first lesson in this introduction on how to become a dreamday worker.


To me Ithaca has been a constant reminder on how to keep my own dreams alive and to let them go when necessary in preference for living and experiencing life. It is about keeping that dream alive in the same time as you also let it go. But it is not about forgetting the dream at all. It is about finding it again, unexpectedly, with a new meaning.

In August, almost six months ago, I got an impuls to write an email to a Swedish artist. His name is Leif Elggren. I hope he doesn´t mind me telling this story. I had interviewed him over the phone a couple of years ago for my thesis in museum studies. My question to him back then was what he, as a living and contemporary artist, would like a contemporary art museum to be like. This time around I had a completely different question and with a different purpose.

This day in August I was about to write an email to my friend Linda. When I wrote the first letter in her email address, the address to Leif came up in the yahoo window instead. In that second I got an impuls and followed it.

Hej Leif!

Jag hade dig i min kontaktlista sedan min uppsats som jag skrev för ett par år sedan.
Jag hoppas jag inte stör dig med det här mejlet, men jag skulle bara vilja fråga om du har lust att medverka i mitt lilla Drömdagsprojekt. Jag har det under uppbyggnad men håller ständigt på att samla in olika människors drömdagar och jag skulle tycka att det vore intressant att höra även din.( det går bra att vara anonym också om du vill...)

Det går bra att läsa mer på www.dreamdayproject.blogspot.com,

eller kolla på fler filmsnuttar på www.youtube.com/dreamdayproject

Med vänliga hälsningar!

Krystallia



It took a few weeks, but then I got a reply...

Hej!
Tack!
Sorry för sent svar!
Vill gärna vara med!
Superprojekt!
Bästa!
L


I was of course thrilled by his reply and the fact that he wanted to participate. In the same time I also got a little worried. How would this actually happen? Would he send his dreamday to me by email? Would he maybe make a video recording of himself and send it to me? I doubted it.

I decided to write a reply and ask him if he would like to meet me for an interview.

Hej igen!

Jag kom på en annan idé! Det skulle vara kul att ses och kanske göra en dreamdayintervju med dig på plats! För när jag tänker på det så varje gång när jag samlat in drömdagar så har det varit personer som jag träffat direkt. Det blir ju mer personligt och roligare!

Om du inte har något emot det så skulle jag gärna träffa dig och få möjlighet att ställa frågan då. Om du har tid och möjlighet så skulle jag kanske kunna möta dig i Stockholm någon gång?

Jag såg att du skulle ställa ut på Mors Mössa i Gbg förresten, kul!

Trevlig helg!

Hälsar,
Krystallia

He was positive and I told him to let him know next time I was going to go Stockholm so that we could set up a "dreamday date".

I went to Stockholm two or three times after that. The first time I got an impuls to write to him the same morning and asked if we could meet up. Unfortunately it was too short notice and we never managed to meet. The second time I did not even write to him. Maybe I was afraid to actually carry through with the plan. After that I wrote an email telling him I keep wanting to interview him but that the timing always seemed to be bad. He replied that I did not have to worry. We should take it as it comes, he said, and that it was a nice project that I was working on.

A couple of days ago I got an impuls (again!). This time I thought I would be able to catch up with him during a two hours stop over at Bromma Airport that I have next week on the 22nd of December. I thought I could probably make it by taking the bus from the airport to the central station, meeting him for like 10 min and then take the bus back to catch my flight. I wrote to him and suggested the time and date...

Hej Leif!

Hoppas allt är bra med dig!
Jag gör långsamt små framsteg med mina drömdagar och har fått ett par nya från lite olika kollegor här på Gotland. Det bästa med att jobba på andra jobb än med egna drömdagsjobb, är att man hamnar i så många lustiga situationer och möter en massa olika personligheter som man sedan kan kasta över en drömdags-fråga till....

Men nu har jag ändå bestämt mig för att sluta jobba med kulturadministration och bara göra egna små projekt och kanske ta lite olika ströjobb, så det ska jag göra i Mexico:-)

Jag flyttar dit i januari, till en stad som heter Puebla, ca 2 timmar från Mexico city. Jag hoppas det ger nya drömdagar och tid för att förverkliga många planer.

Men i alla roliga planer sitter en liten tagg i mitt drömdagshjärta och det är att jag inte fått möjlighet att fråga dig om din drömdag ännu, trots många mejl fram och tillbaka...

Jag har en kanske lite galen tanke och det är om man kanske skulle hinna ses mellan mina två flyg den 22 dececmber. Jag landar 16.35 på bromma och flyger till Gbg igen kl 18.40. Kanske skulle jag hinna in till typ centralen så skulle vi kunna ses där och ta en kaffe ihop? Jag måste kolla flygbussar och så, så det verkligen funkar, men skulle du ha tid att ses då en sväng? Eller har du kanske rest bort över julen då?

Annars har jag kanske kanske möjlighet att åka till Stockholm innan Mexico någon gång i början på januari. Eller så får du helt enkelt kasta dig på ett plan till Mexico;-)

Ha en bra dag!

Med vänliga hälsningar,
Krystallia


A few days later I got a reply saying the 22nd of December was fine with him.

Hej Krystallia!
Tack!
Mexico låter super!
Hade lite planer på att åka dit nu i januari tillsammans med ett gäng kollegor men det funkade tyvärr inte, så där fanns en chans tidigare faktiskt att vi skulle kunna ha mötts där :)
Kul!
22 december låter bra, om du verkligen hinner, men ingen stress!
Om inte detta funkar så blir där andra tillfällen.
Allt gott!
L


At first I was very excited. After all these emails back and forward over the last couple of months it was now time to meet at last! But then I started to hesitate...

Were all these emails that we had been writing to eachother going to lead to a 10 min chat in a rush at the central station in Stockholm? Was this it?

I went through the old emails that we had written to each other and realized how happy they had made me. That someone who was established in the art world would be encouraging to me and willing to participate in this little dreamday project. I realized that was what had really mattered to me.

And by now I was also pretty sure that Leif had already given the dreamday question some thought. Maybe one day in his life had been slightly different thanks to the question. Maybe he woke up one morning and did something he really wanted to do. Or maybe not. Nevertheless, I wrote a reply to Leif to cancel our meeting on the 22nd.

Hej Leif!

Gud så märkligt livet är!
Jag tror att det blir ett projekt i sig faktiskt att få en drömdag av dig:-)
Kanske ska jag skriva om det också:-)

Och kanske var det inte meningen att jag skulle få din drömdag heller, för det har varit en mening i sig självt och ett nöje bara att få skriva till dig så här fram och tillbaka... Kanske räckte det så här med just jakten på den här drömdagen. Kanske har du redan hunnit tänka på din drömdag också, och det är ju halva meningen med projektet, inte att jag nödvändigtvis måste få veta den heller...

Med detta tror jag vi gör bäst i att avstå från den 22 december, det blir för stressigt som du säger, jag hade bara hunnit fram och tillbaka med bussen i princip. Och på ett sätt så är jag faktiskt nöjd så här. Möts vi kanske i Mexico längre fram så är det nog meningen. Rätt tillfälle kommer nog, eller så gör det inte det.

Dessutom har jag startat både ett skoprojekt och ett "Huvva för en jul"-musikprojekt som du också kanske vill vara med i... Det tar kanske aldrig slut det här!

Jag önskar dig en riktigt God Jul och Ett Gott 2009!

Och tack för att du tagit dig till att svara på min mejl, det har betytt mycket!

Många hälsningar,
Krystallia


Meeting Leif Elggren or not was in the end not so important anymore. I got to talk to a stranger and sneak a question into his life. It could have a life changing effect for him, or maybe not. I guess I will never know. But my mission was once again completed. Continue Reading

How to be a Dreamday Worker - Part 1

It´s not easy to be a dreamday worker. So I´ve discovered throughout the years. At first my dreamday work was never even meant to be a project at all. It wasn´t until years later that I noticed I was actually working on something that could be called a "project". Maybe a documentary project, maybe an art project, it did not really matter, at least it was a "project" of some kind...


It was a bit of a relief I think to discover that. All those small "ticks" that I have had for many years, like asking everyone around me about their dreamday for example, were not just a silly side of my personality to be ashamed of and to be polished away as I grew older. Instead they were the fundamental key stones in a project that was existing even before I knew it myself.

Parallel to this I was buying one colourful notebook after the other, even started a blog a couple of times. But the problem was I had absolutely nothing to write about. Then one day I just realised the most obvious of all. I was going to write about my dreamday project. I was going to write about the process and let the project grow into something new and undefined. I am somewhere on that journey now.


Ithaca

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon -- do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would have never set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.


Written by
Konstantinos P. Kavafis Continue Reading

Rock Star Goes to Cadaqués and Liza Minnelli Does not Like Planning!

A couple of days ago I went with my colleagues on a study trip to Stockholm to visit a couple of museums. After a long day with many interesting exhibits we went to Wasahof where we ended up having a nice and tasty dinner.


After a series of conversations with the waiter who in the end asked us if we don´t usually go out to restaurants very often, we finally got to order both a three course meny and wine to go with it. Lisa and I went for this one after another long discussion about Bearnaise sauce:

Teater Meny

Örtgratinerade ostron med citron,
Biff Minute med Bearnaisesås och pommes frites,
Vaniljglass med bärsås



During the dinner I was sitting next to my boss Göran ( to the left in the picture). We have worked together for a few months now but I hadn´t gotten close enough to him to ask him my dreamday question yet. Not untill now. However I must admit I had been curious to ask him since I secretly imagined him dreaming of being a full time rock star.

Before the first course was served and after half a glass of wine I took up my mobile phone and turned to Göran...



Göran did not seem to be at all bothered about the question. He answered directly with a dreamday that was well thought of and described into detail. To my surprise he did not mention anything about being a rock star in Nashville. Instead his dreamday would be spent in Cadaqués, Spain. He would start his day by taking a swim in the sea. On his way home he passes a bakery. After that he spends a pleasant day built up through nice and calm activities such as strolling the streets, people watching, wine drinking as well as a nice dinner in the evening.

After receiving this new contribution for my project I was once again struck by the different answers I had received from men and women during the building of this project. Or more specifically, the lack of answers that I have received from women. Lisa realized she was one of those women.

Do women need to think more before responding? Are we less aware of our dreams? Or are we not used to putting our own wishes first? I don´t want to generalize but it is an interesting coincidence. At least it explains the lack of women participating in the project.

Nevertheless, as the conversation continues, Lisa uses her alter ego, Liza Minnelli, to finally express her dreamday:



It turns out to be unpredictable and short. Liza (Lisa) would like to wake up to a long and unplanned Sunday. That is all.

That gave me another conclusion. Maybe it is not the dreams that separate us, but the way we express or strive for them? Maybe Lisa ends up in Cadaqués without even planning for it...

I went back to my hotel room. In bed I looked at the short video clips while throwing an eye on an old movie shown on TV. I felt happy and content. Another day had come to an end and another mission completed for a dreamday worker.

Continue Reading

Pyjamas Dreamdays

Almost exactly three years ago I was working at MARCO (Museo de Arte Contemporaneo) in Monterrey, Mexico for a few months. My supervisor was a very strict woman and she was also the head of education in the museum. I must admit that from the very first day she scared me a little bit. She was tall and had a strong voice. Standing beside her I felt like a 12 year old girl.


I think it must have been at the same moment as I read her dreamday that I saw another side of her. And I started to like it. In that sense this dreamdayproject has become a tool for me to change my opinion about people by getting a glimpse of what is beneath their thick shell. My supervisor´s dreamday was simple and direct: Her only wish in that moment was to stay at home all alone and walk around in her pyjamas.

After reading that I could not help thinking about it whenever I would see her stressing to some meeting being dressed in an uncomfortable suit. It was so bizarre to see her doing all that when I knew that the only thing she really wanted to do was to stay at home in her pyjamas...

I thought about that story when I recorded another dreamday today. It was in the car back from lunch with some of my colleagues at Riksutställningar. The man that I am interviewing is the project manager of two projects that I have been working in. When hearing his dreamday I was struck by the similarities with my supervisor in Mexico. I was also once again thankful for the dreamday question making me discover another side of someone I realized I hardly knew.

Continue Reading

A Dreamday Worker´s Day

This is what the view from my desk at work looks like in the late afternoon.





But this is not where I do my dreamdaywork. At 5 pm I leave to go to my other "office"; Hedbergs Bok och Musik Café...







A dreamday worker also needs something sweet after lunch to keep the dreams flowing...



It is a tough job being a dreamday worker! Continue Reading

A Chapell + An Auction + A Nun = My Dreamday

Often when I ask someone about their Dreamday I get a question back about what my own dreamday would look like. It is a fair enough question I guess, since I have asked it myself quite a few times by now...


However the question is not an easy one to answer. And it is not because I haven´t given it any thought over these last seven years. As a matter of fact it is quite the opposite. Throughout the years I have thought about the question almost every day and I have seen my dreamdays change over and over. That is why I can´t really pick one. I guess my conclusion is that dreamdays vary. They depend on the day before and the one after. They depend on your expectations and your needs in that particular moment.

This dreamday of mine took place on a Sunday almost two weeks ago. The night before I had received a message from a friend from work asking me if I wanted to join her and a friend on a short road trip. I didn´t see the message until early Sunday morning. My first thought was NO! I had not slept very well and had woken up way too early for a Sunday morning. I was in a sad an melancholic mood and just felt like staying at home in my pyjamas all day. Besides it was grey and rainy outside, not a perfect day for a road trip either.

But I guess it is in those moments that you actually choose what you want to make of your life. I texted my friend back and said: Sure thing, I will come along...

A couple of hours later we were on our way towards the south west part of Gotland. Alessa and her friend Didi had read something about an auction in this place called Tofta. We headed in that direction and made a few stops along the way. Slowly my mood was getting lighter.

We looked out for the Tofta sign that would lead us to the auction but nothing came up. Eventually we saw a church called Tofta Church on the left hand side but a couple of meters later there was a sign saying we had just drived through Tofta. We got in a short moment of crisis. Should we turn back or just keep going? We decided to make a U-turn and go back...




Then just around the corner, next to the church, we noticed a big sign saying CAFÉ. We wouldn´t have seen it if we hadn´t turned back. We got an impuls to wait with the auction and go for coffee instead. The auction could wait! We drove over to the parking lot and parked the car. For a second we got worried it might not be open, but false alarm. The door was open and we stepped inside a warm and cosy place. It looked like a small church which I guess explains the name of the place: Kapellet, ( The chapell) In that moment I knew this would be the beginning of my dreamday.




The room was empty and quiet and on every table there was a candle burning. We passed on to the next room and spotted a plate with freshly baked buns. I got so excited! We ordered coffee from the woman just peeking out from the kitchen and then we sat down. I felt like a child jumping up and down from excitement.



Then something magic happened. While drinking our coffee we started telling each other these odd stories about our grandparents. Didi told us about his grandmother and that she would have been a hundred years old today. Alessa told us about her grandmother who spoke to her after her death. She had travelled all her life around Sweden with her children and one day she came to Gotland, where Alessa just now happened to be living for a few months. I told them about my grandparents in Greece. About my grandfather who fought in the first World War and died during the second. How his foster parents died from grief when it was reveiled he was adopted and he left home to fight in the war. We spoke about how stories keep repeating themselves and patterns start forming.




After finishing our coffees we went over to look at the small things that were for sale. We saw some candle holders that were white and fragile. They looked like old broideries but made out of ceramic. They were like frozen memories of a grandmother. When we saw them I think we all started to shiver. Then one sign after the other came to us. There was an old picture of a grandmother and her grandchild. There was a poem on the wall that spoke of the memories of your grandparents.



Suddenly the woman came up to us. We could not keep all these coincidences to ourselves and so we started to tell her about the stories that had just come to us. As if the spirit of the house had given them to us.



When we left we felt excited and joyful. Eventually we got to the auction. We looked around and it was nice. We looked at the people and the things, took a few pictured and left.



After that the day went on with this really comfortable flow. We took a walk by the sea in the cold and grey weather. It was windy and cold. But we felt alive and touched by the moment.





Then we got hungry. We saw a pizza place out in nowhere and they just happened to be open for a few hours in the late afternoon. We bought three of them to go and drove off to a small fishing cottage that Alessa and I had seen some other time a couple of months ago. It was getting dark and inside the abandoned cottage we found a couple of candles. We lit them and ate our pizzas.



In this house other stories came to us. They were all about houses and I told them about a house that I have dreamt of all my life. This house is in Greece, on a small island. We spoke about our dreams and what we feel is our destiny and mission in life. Once again I was reminded about my dream to fix that house. How I felt it is my only mission on this earth.



One candle after the other went out, when the last one was almost dead it was completely dark outside. We packed our stuff and went back to the car.

I thought the day was over there. And I was happy and content. We drove back to Visby listening to some songs on the radio and I went through the day and the stories in my head.

When we got back to Visby we rested a little bit at Alessa´s place. I was almost on my way home, starting to get tired. But then we got hungry for dessert and an hour later the three of us were walking down the dark and narrow streets of Visby towards our new goal.

We got to the main square and noticed a sign saying "Jam session-tonight". The place was called The Nun. We stepped inside and were immidiately welcomed by a warm and cosy atmosphere. A couple of people were sitting and playing together. On the wall behind them I noticed a greek flag and the name Vasilis written in Greek. I asked the young waiter if he was Greek and he replied that he was and that his dad is called Vasilis and he is the owner of the place. He pointed towards one of the guys playing the guitar in the corner of the room. Vasilis waved to us to say hello.



We ordered saffran pancakes and beer. A strange combination but it was nice. Then we were slowly drawn into the atmosphere. Wasn´t in fact this a dreamday to all of us? I could not prevent myself from asking my same old dreamday question...



After that the night continued and all of a sudden I was sitting with a guitar in my hand and Alessa was singing a song from Tyrolen. Everyone was in a really heartly and friendly mood. We clapped our hands and sang along. I remember thinking that when life is like this I don´t care about the day before or after. I was living and existing in the moment and felt no worries or anguish. I wanted to seize the clock. To be in the middle of something where no past or future exists.

When buying another beer in the bar the young waiter shows me a book. It was about people living in Gotland and he showed me the page about his dad. I started reading and I shivered for the second time that day. This man was born in Athens in the old town, just a block away from where my grandmother used to live and where my dad was born.

I continued reading. His story was dramatic and romantic. When he was 28 he wanted to travel and experience the world. He jumped on a truck and aimed for Vienna. ( Where Alessa and Didi are from) But he never came to Vienna. Instead he travelled every where else in the World. With the dream of Vienna he finally found the love of his life on Gotland. I was touched by the story and felt how every detail during this day was mysteriously connected. I got back home at about 1 am and I fell asleep with a smile on my face. How beautiful isn´t life after all? Continue Reading

High and Low and Inbetween

I recalled the phrase from a song while reading these following dreamdays. For some reason they are also related to one other, by a coincidence I guess. Or maybe I saw this relation just because I happened to recieve them at about the same time (by email). I have sent out a bunch of dreamday-emails to my colleagues here at Riksutställningar in Gotland and about four people have responded so far. I am hoping for more!


What the song and these two dreamdays point at is what is "inbetween", the "waiting room", just after or before something is going to happen. It is a beautiful thought that the nicest moment is not actually when we are in the middle of something but rather in those moments that we usually forget...

The first one took some weeks for my colleague to submit. I had almost given up when one day when I got back from lunch I saw an email with the title Drömdag in my inbox.

I was happily surprised, and even more when reading it. It was one of the most sensitive and thoughtful dreamdays I had recieved in a long time. I can tell the amount of thought this person has put into it. It is not a spontaneous dreamday caught from a bypasser on the street. It is a dreamday which is as result of both thoughts and dreams.

Well enough analysis now. Here is the dreamday: There is also a picture attached to it. Read and enjoy:



Drömdagen är från två drömmar som jag burit med mig i många år. Den ena är en lyckodagdröm som vill att det ska kännas en dag. Den andra är en märklig nattlig dröm som jag minns.
Jag vaknar i ett stort trähus på landet en kall solig höstlig söndagsmorgon. Fönstret står lite på glänt och den stora sängen är fylld med kuddar, täcken och ungar och kärlek. Det är mina barn och hennes barn i en salig blandning. Just nu är det nästan helt tyst på ovanvåningen. Bara hunden som rör sig där nere. Jag ska snart sätta på radion och göra frukost innan larmet och all livsvilja vaknar till liv igen. Bara ligga sked en stund till och lukta i hennes nacke innan allt ska göras.
Jag känner mig lycklig för allt är i ett enda ögonblick helt perfekt. För mig.
Senare på eftermiddagen ska jag dö. Jag vet inte hur jag dör. Och jag är inte rädd och det gör inte ont. Men jag följer med någon ner under jorden och vi står framför en mörk dörr. Det är en fest därinne. Och det är min fest. Alla. Precis alla som jag träffat i mitt liv är där. Och alla är på världens bästa strålande humör. Och alla är så snygga som dom bara kan vara. Snyggaste och bästa dagen i sina liv. På min fest. Och jag hinner bara gå runt och hälsa på alla. Och alla tar i mig och kramar om mig och ger mig komplimanger.
Vilken märklig fest under jorden. Att alla är där? Vilket märkligt sätt att dö.
/Tore

PS Bilden är en sån där nyckfull bild som tillkom när man följer med på äventyret. Eller nu var det min mellandotter som träffade ett gäng fotgrafer på kulturnatten 2007. Jag var inte med. Kanske är hon den någon som visade mig vägen till festen under jorden…

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And here is the other dreamday that I got from work. It started off quite mysteriously with just an image: "Open for interepretation", it said.




Then a few minutes later, a short complementary note arrived as well...

Vill man lägga till en text kan man skriva så här:

Jag njuter av övergången när nåt stort och viktigt ligger bakom mig och nåt annat viktigt väntar en bit bort. Mellanrummen i livet. I såna ögonblick kan nu vara ganska länge. En sån dag är min drömdag.
/MJ Continue Reading

A Dreamday Question That Was Never Asked But Still Answered

The other day I took a plane from Göteborg to Visby. I had decided to bring my accordion and was struggling to fit it inside one of the small luggage shelves above the seats in the plane. I found a spot and squeezed in the bag. Then I looked around for a seat close by and spotted one next to a man in his fifties. I sat down and a few seconds later he turns to me and says: That was a big bag you had there, what do you have in it?


-It is an accordion I respond.

Oh! He replies. Accordions, that is something I relate more to my parents in law or something. How come you started to play the accordion??

I start telling him the story that I have told to so many times before. How I for years had dreamt of playing the accordion and that then one day I saw one for sale in a market in Warsaw and just followed my instinct and bought it straight away. I could not play a tune, but slowly slowly I started to practise for myself. Not that I am an expert now, but it was just one of those things that I had wanted to do for so long and that if I wouldn´t do it I would always continue dreaming.

When telling the man this I was reminded, again, about my dreamdayproject.

We chatted a little about this and that and at one point I was just about ready to ask him about his dreamday. But I never got to ask him. And I am happy I didn´t, because it came all by itself. The man slowly starts telling me that he always dreamt of playing the flute but he never got around to do it. I got really triggered about it and start attacking the poor man about how he can just go home and look for one on the Internet. He laughs and says, you make it all sound so easy.

I keep thinking about him every now and then wondering if he got himself a flute or not... Continue Reading

An Apple Dreamday!

I got this "apple dreamday" from a colleague at work today.



This must be the first object based dreamday so far in my collection. It is a nice thought. It brings the dreamday closer to reality...

Also, this is the first dreamday that I could actually eat:-)


The apple dreamday goes like this:

Imorgon är det sol. Dimma på morgonen. Fia och jag hämtar vår nypressade äppelmust. Går runt i huset vi vill köpa. Hänga upp en hängmatta. Sen blir det springa i skogen, orienteringsträning med klubben. Hemma är allt snyggt och det finns god äppelkaka.

På kvällen får vi besök av våra spelkompisar och det blir dans med bra folkmusik och äppelmust, alltså fest i nya huset.


And this is another dreamday from a colleague.
(It came in digital form)

Skickat: den 7 oktober 2008 16:42
Till: Krystallia Sakellariou
Ämne: SV: Drömdagar!

Min drömdag ser ut som sådan: Det är en dag där alla använder humorn för att uppenbara och förmedla alla sina tankar och känslor. Humorn är alltså formen som visar upp sanningen för dagen. I utsägelsen, i skämtet finns allt det förborgade som inryms i en människa för stunden: tillit, kärleksfullhet, medkänsla o s v. Det vi ser, är det dolda budskapet i uppenbarad form! Continue Reading

A Long Story for a Short Dreamday

Yesterday I went for a coffee in a cosy café called Gula Huset here in Visby, Gotland.
Since I was right in the middle of finishing my last post about the couple in Göteborg I thought I would bring my computer along and finish it off with a cup of coffee.




The café is very small with wooden tables and old fashioned coffee cups. I take a seat by the window and unpack my computer. I get my coffee and begin to write. After a while the small room starts getting crowded. Since I sit by a big table I thought I would be nice and leave it for bigger companies. So after a while I take my things and move over to a small window table just next to a family with two small children.





I am just about to start writing when all of a sudden the man in the family leans over to me and asks: -Do you have wireless internet? Yeah, sure I do, I respond, quite proud of my new 3G-mobile broadband... Well, could you move a little bit further away he says. I got really surprised and looked at him. Oh ok...

-I got my dose of radiation at the library today, he continues, and it really disturbs me. It makes me feel sick. Actually I could feel the signal from where you were sitting at the other table as well, he says. Alright I say and start mumbling something about all the signals that exist around us today and so I say: Well, I can just move back to the other table then...-Thanks I really appreciate it, he says.

And there we go again, balancing a cup of coffee and the computer back to the old table by the window. I begin to write but my mind is unfocused. Why did I not just tell the guy what a stupid idea that is that it would be my computer giving away radiation? The radiaton or signals or whatever you call them, already exists out there, regardless if I am connected or not, or am I wrong?



Anyway, in a little while the family is gone and I can start writing again. I go for a second round of coffee and while drinking it and writing the last lines on my blog a woman from another table comes up to me and says: Is it OK if I take a picture of you when you sit there and write? It just looks so interesting with the combination of old and new, the old café and the modern laptop, she says. Sure I say and try not to pose while staring at the computer.

I finally finish my post on the blog and decide to put the computer back in my bag. I take up a little note book that I have decided to use only for writing down my dreams that I have at night. I start writing down a dream of mine that I had about a week ago about a house that my family owns in Greece. The dream had made such a strong impression on me and I wanted to write it down in detail so I would not forget it.

After writing for a little bit I needed to go to the bathroom. I left my cup and notebook on the table. The toilet is next to the small courtyard and I step outside. When coming back I pass the table where the ladies were sitting who took the picture of me. I smile for myself while thinking what a bizarre afternoon this had been so far. When I get back to the table I get another surprise. I have company. Across the table there is an old man sitting with a cup of coffee, a big sandwich and a book. -Now you have company he said! Ok, that is nice I respond and sit down.

He asks me what I am writing. I am writing down a dream I had some time ago, I said. He gets curious and I tell him about the dream briefly. Then he said: I have two dreams that I had a long time ago and that I still remember very clearly. They are about being lucky and being saved, he says. He starts telling me these dreams in detail and at the same time I remember thinking that right now I must be the luckiest person to get to hear a stranger´s dream, just like that, simple and unpretentiously over a cup of coffee...

That is when I get the idea: Maybe I can take this chance to ask the man what his dreamday would look like. I could not stop myself and a few minutes later I start telling him about my dreamdayproject. He was not overly excited about the question at first. But then he starts thinking and he says:

" Well, first of all, it involves a woman to accompany me. It is a day spent either by the sea or in the mountains. If it is by the sea there is probably a boat involved, and if it is the mountains maybe some hiking. The day is about the joy of spending time with a woman that you care for and to wake up together and fall asleep together at night."

After that we continue our small talk for a little while and eventually I open my note book and start writing it all down. The man takes up his book as well and says. -This is a good book, but it is really hard to read. But I try to force myself to read a little bit in it every once in while...

Hm... I think for myself. Why do we force ourselves to read difficult books when our dreams are so different? Continue Reading

Sleepless in Gothenburg

I really wonder what this couple said to eachother when they walked away this afternoon. One thing is sure though. One of them is not living his dreamday right now.


The video clip is from last winter. I was standing outside Biopalatset in Göteborg, Sweden trying to get some Swedes to answer the same question that I had asked so many times before. Göteborg was somehow more difficult than other places and many people seemed to be too stressed to be disturbed with such a trivial question. If I had been asking something more "serious", maybe something connected to global warming or so, then maybe they would have given the question more thought.

Nevertheless there were some really interesting answers coming up. Some very subtle but yet very honest. This is one of them.

Unfortunately the sound is not very good, but if you listen very carefully you can hear the man saying something very quietly just before he is interrupted by his wife. He mumbles something like " A day when you can sleep..."

In the meantime the wife streches out her arm and looks at her clock and says: We are a little bit in a hurry right now...He never gets to finish his sentence before they are quickly walking away to their set destination. But I hope he finishes the thought in his mind. Maybe maybe he even said it to his wife, and maybe the next day he would be able to change his day.

I also wondered what they were hurrying for that was so important that she could not even listen to what her husband had to say about his dreamday. She had the chance to peek inside his soul for a second, and she did not even listen. I think that is the sadest part of this dreamday. And also, who knows what time he had to get up this morning just to stress out on the busy streets.

Continue Reading

Beach or God?

I met these two guys in Mexico City in 2006. I was standing just outside the main square in Mexico City when I saw the two of them walking down the street. I suspected they were Jehovas Witnesses and I was of course very curious to hear about their dreamday.


The first guy is quick to respond that his dreamday would be to do what he is doing right now, which is to spread the word of God...

The I turn to the other guy. I ask him what his dreamday would be like. He responds something like this:

" Well, all those things that he said before, but also....just go to the beach or something..."

I love the honesty in that answer:-)


Continue Reading

Estar en la Casa Todo el Día

This Dreamday video was filmed in December 2005 in Monterrey, Mexico. My two friends Luis and Roberto helped me out and this was during the second day of Dreamday filming ever. We had taken a taxi on our lunch-break to one of the big fruit and vegetable markets in the city. This girl that I am interviewing is working in one of the stands there.

When I approached her and when she noticed the video camera, she looked really bothered as you can see. (And I don´t blame her...) I remember thinking in that same moment that the whole thing was a bad idea and that maybe I should just leave her alone. But the camera was running and I could not find a way to end the conversation...

So I finally get to ask my question in broken Spanish and I am wondering if she is going to ignore it or not.

But in that same moment something magical happens. And it is exactly those moments that keep me inspired to continue this project.

For a few seconds the expression in her face changes. You can hardly notice but a smile breaks through her face and then she reponds:

-To stay at home one whole day!

My dreamdayproject is not so much about the replies that I get, but more about what happens when you hear the question. When you are forced to remind yourself about your dreams and wishes...

Continue Reading

I just love this guy so I had to put him here on the first page again...You cant miss this:-)

Continue Reading

Today I met one of my oldest friends, Frida, and was reminded about her dreamday from 2003...

Here it is:

" I would like it to be September ( the month is just coming up now, so it looks pretty good for Frida).
It would be a nice autumn day with clear and fresh weather and blue sky. I would wake up around 9. Then I would go somewhere with a train, down towards central Europe, pretty unplaned together with good company. At night I would fall asleep in a new city and be on my way on a journey for indefinite time."



Continue Reading

This is a note from my friend Roberto. He helped me filming in Monterrey and Mexico City in 2005.

Roberto´s dreamday back then goes something like this:

To be able to spend time with my family, my brothers and Enid and enjoy the day as much as possible. To skate as never before. Go to a concert or play in one. Eat with my family and then meet up with every single person that I find interesting and that I love and to know that I leave something after me, at least a nice memory, like a small bag of candies.

Continue Reading

This is an old friend of mine who was one of the first ones to participate in this project. The note goes back to 2002 but somehow I think his dreamday is still pretty much the same...

Claes would like to wake up at around 9 in Warszaw ( where he is also living right now). He wants to have breakfast together with his girlfriend. The breakfast is pretty advanced: Fresh coffee, vegetables, cheese, ham (maybe pesto). After that they do their own things for a while. Claes has a coffee alone together with his books and note book. He is working on an article for pretty long, around 2-3 hours. (Roughly around 11-14). He takes a walk in the city and gets inspired by fresh fruits, smells from cars, people and buildings. He continues to the library ( he works as a journalist or as a PhD-student and is working on his dissertation.) He reads a book by Heidegger, Seinfeld or Letterman.

On his way home, he makes a stop in an espresso bar for about 20-30 min. After that he goes home and takes a long shower. Then his girlfriend comes home. They have a glass of wine together and talk about everything. They prepare some food, listen to music and then they have a long dinner together. After that anything can happen, maybe going to the cinema, stay at home, go to a bar, meeting friends, depending on the mood.

Continue Reading

This is a note from a class mate in Greece from 2003. It says:
" My dream day is to be on a beach with my friends and the beach to be beautiful."

Continue Reading

These are a two notes from a couple that I have known for many years, They are from Sweden but live in New York now together with a camel called Stan.

Notice how their dreamdays are pretty well syncronized!





Frida would like to get up pretty early, around 8 or so. Preferably with a breakfast outdoors. She would have sandwiches with (a strange combintion-but I have never tried....) honey and redcurrants and a cup of tea. No company except the morning newspaper. (if well planned, Jonas could have that morning swim right here...)

The day would then continue with different activities, like for example picking mushrooms in the forest, sewing or walking. Something simple really, but absolutely no shopping! Maybe together with the family.
Then lunch and after that take a rest and maybe read a book. Maybe also some afternoon "fika" ( coffee/tea and something nice to go with it)

The night would be spent together with friends and a nice dinner. Things that Frida does NOT want on her dreamday are: shopping and phone calls...



Jonas would also like to get up early. If it is summer he would like to take a swim and then have a big breakfast out in the sun with "filbunke" (hm, how do I translate that, a special kind of yoghurt made at home I guess.) and juice.

After that Jonas would like to play golf and have an expensive golf lunch at the club. ( I guess this would be while Frida is out in the forest picking mushrooms..)

After coming back home, Jonas would like to cut some wood and after that take a swim again. After that he would like to read a comic book in the hammock followed by afternoon "fika" with newly-baked buns.

In the evening: Preparing a bbq with marinades, sauces etc. Maybe also grill some corn. After dinner preferably playing cards, sauna and a swim again... Continue Reading

and more notes...

This is another note from Copenhagen. This girl i met in Athens in 2003. Her dreamday would be a day on the Greek Island Paros together with her boyfriend. She would also probably like to be pregnant, she writes. She would also like to see the sun rise and to go to the beach there.



This is a note from a former colleague of mine in Göteborg. I think it must be from around 2003. It says:

" To go to Carmel, California and visit a man who is growing wine there and whom I met a couple of years ago. Make new contacts, travel around and to really seize the day." Continue Reading

More dreamday notes!

This is a note from a friend of mine from Thailand. She lives in Stockholm now and this is her dreamday:

"Just being by the wonderful, lovely sea surrounded by the ones i love.
Opps! I forgot my cats"


This note is from when I went to Copenhagen some years ago. Unfortunately I can not remember who wrote this note and it does not have a name on it either. The note is in Danish and it goes something like this:

" I am at home. It is the day after a party, which has been great. My friends were here yesterday. I do not do anything in the whole day but look out from the window and smile while thinking of yesterday. "

I think this is a very interesting dreamday. It is a day that depends on the day before. It is about enjoying what has been rather than being right in the middle of it.


This is a friend of mine from Monterrey, Mexico.
His dreamday would be to go to Cuba with his family. They would all be together and without any worries or problems they would enjoy eachother´s company and laugh alot.



This is a note from one of my friend´s ex-boyfriends. It says:

"Making love on a sailing boat on the Swedish West Coast on a warm summer day." Continue Reading

Here are some dreamday notes that I have collected throughout the years

This is the note from my Greek teacher from when I used to study at the Athens Centre, Greece in 2004. Even though my teacher is maybe 25 years older than me, her dreamday is probably the one that mostly resembles mine! (except from that part with the kids perhaps) The note is in Greek and it says:

"I would like to wake up alone, without my alarm clock. I would be served breakfast in bed and read the newspaper while drinking coffee. Then I would talk and laugh together with my children. At lunch time the weather is nice and we take a long walk around the Akropolis. We would sit down at a small tavern where some old Rembetika singer with a harsh voice would sing and play. Together with friends we will eat, laugh and sing until the night...maybe even until the morning."



This used to be my supervisor in Mexico. She wants to spend her dreamday at home dressed in a pyjamas and reading a good book.At work she used dress very elegantly and would change clothes twice a day...


This is one of my favorite notes. It says: "To restore my dialogue with Dubravka, a lady who has broken up wth me,"


"My dreamday would be a day when I wake up without realizing it." Continue Reading