This week was great. When I scouted out Mexico City last year before moving here, I ran into Daniella. To be more accurate I was coming out of a bathroom when I hear someone asking “Are you a Psychonaut”? I was wearing my Psychonaut hat that I guess gave me away. Long story short, we have stayed in touch after she left back for the US. She was back in town for a week so first I dragged her wig shopping with me to Downtown. Also pimping her out in a Psychonaut hat 🙂
Next day I put a Psychonaut jacket on her and said – model! I thought the big dog was going to knock her over LOL…
Daniella also happens to be probably the most social person I met. In an hour she had put together a dinner party at my place for later on that night. Met 3 more awesome people who all one way or another had been befriended by Daniella. Forgot to take pics 🙁
Then it was time to shoot with Alberto again. Hence the wig shopping with Daniella earlier. I love creative shoots and it’s a luxury when you get your makeup and hair done by professionals. Here’s some BTS pics…
Compared to shooting at home 🙂 Just as fun, but it’s nice to be spoiled at times!
Worked on the pictures we shot last week of some clothing. Almost got a fear of heights sitting up there 🙂
I think I told you I met a fellow Finn at the gym. Gorgeous, tall, and strong as a bear. She hit me up on Friday evening asking what I was up to. We decided to go for a couple of drinks at some bar. Yeah right! We came home at like 04.45am – oooops. Finns don’t half-ass things! Again, I forgot to take pics 🙁
Tonight I was suppose to participate in a special ceremony here. But it started pouring rain and there was hail so I decided to stay home. This ceremony was to be outdoors and last until morning. A bit disappointed, but there will be other ceremonies 🙂
Hope you enjoyed your weekend and grab the next one by the ___________ 🙂
Got a lot of stuff done this week, but the week feels mediocre. I think it’s because I’ve been having this annoying pain still after my tooth removal. Can’t sleep a whole night, and wake up a couple of times and I either need painkillers or an icepack. I don’t like taking painkillers daily and I hope it will pass soon!
It was about time to get my roots fixed and I visited a new salon that’s run by 2 gringo sisters. Happy with the results mostly because the hairdresser’s assistant was awesome. The hairdresser herself didn’t even bother to come out and check the final result. Maybe she just knew how good she is 😉
Been feeling lazy at the gym. Like I would need a gallon of pre workout to get through it. At least the coffee before makes me believe I’m caffeinated and ready…
Shooting the usual smut…
Also some new Psychonaut stuff coming together…
Talked to friend back in Puerto Rico and she asked me how Mexico is. I always believe ‘showing’ is better than ‘telling’ so I brought out the Lucha Libre masks and shots of Mezcal went down. She was impressed and they’re hopefully coming to visit in July 🙂
The other day I also found 1 stitch left above my ear after the face-lift. Hard to see it because it was hidden amongst the hair. Obviously it had to be removed. Googled plastic surgeons and found a place. Was done in 5 minutes – awesome!
Finished the book ‘Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande’. I recommend everyone to read this. I personally wish I would’ve read this book when my mom was getting very ill. What questions to ask her, to find out what was important for her in the end. Great and informative read!
That was pretty much my week. I hope this coming week will be very productive 🙂 Got a cool shoot planned for Tuesday that I’m very excited for! I also hope to attend a special ceremony they have here in Mexico next weekend, fingers crossed!
I think this quote by Janis Joplin fits me great – “My business is to enjoy and have fun. And why not, if in the end, everything will end, right?”
Death, pretty much the only certain thing we get in life. And still so many people are uncomfortable talking about it. I’ve pretty much come to terms with death a few years ago. This happened during a psychedelic experience. During the ‘trip’ I just came to accept that I’m going to die and I don’t have any fear of it. Of course I don’t want to die yet 🙂 And I’m sure if a plane is crashing when I’m in it, I’d be poo-ing my pants!
I have clearly told a couple of people closest to me what I would wish for in certain situations. Like what if I go into a coma? I have been very clear that I don’t want to be kept alive if a machine handles my breathing and all I’m doing is being bedridden. If I’m in a coma for 6 months, it’s OK to say bye to me. And I want to be cremated and I don’t really care what happens with the ashes. Do what’s convenient…
Probably like 20 years ago one of my friend’s mom died of cancer. She said they had never talked about funeral arrangements. It’s not something you want to bring up when you know someone is facing death. She said she wishes they’d talked about it so she and the rest of the family would’ve known if there was something special her mom wished for. Burial in a coffin, cremation, prayers, songs etc… I remember she told me after to talk to my family about these things now. Not to wait. So we all did. My mom passed almost 2 years ago and it felt good to know exactly what she wanted for her after death.
I’m also reading a very interesting book now that was recommended to me – ‘Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande’. This is what Wikipedia says about it –
“a 2014 non-fiction book by American surgeon Atul Gawande. The book addresses end-of-life care, hospice care, and also contains Gawande’s reflections and personal stories. He suggests that medical care should focus on well-being rather than survival.”
I haven’t finished the book yet, but I really like it, and even though I haven’t finished it, I’m pretty sure I’ll recommend it when finished.
Another great book I can recommend when talking about death is – ‘Tuesdays With Morrie: An old man, a young man, and life’s greatest lesson by Mitch Albom’. It’s a very famous book and you can easily Google it. But one thing that I read in the book that really affected me was when the main character, Morrie, has a living funeral. As in having a funeral when you are still alive. It made so much sense to me. Like what’s the point of people (hopefully) praising you when you already are dead? And bringing big flower arrangements that you won’t even see? So in the book it’s basically a funeral were people tell Morrie all the stuff they would be telling at his funeral when he’s already dead. Ever since reading it I’ve been thinking about having a ‘living funeral’, but haven’t got to it yet.
My friend in Sweden just wrote me on WhatsApp and asked me what I was up to. Told her I was writing about death. She then recommended me to watch this clip on YouTube about a young Swedish woman named Elin fighting cancer. The clip starts by Elin saying she should be dead by now… It’s 13min long clip from her TED talk and really makes you think about how you are living your life. I highly recommend watching it and it’s in English.
OK, enough talk about death 🙂 I hope you are healthy and kicking ass out there!
Felt it was time to get back to the grind this week. Can’t use the facelift as an excuse to take it easy anymore 🙂 Sooo, first taking care of custom video orders. And while the makeup was on, I made sure to make the most of it. I’m too lazy to put makeup on daily, and mostly do it for shoots or when going out. So when the face is painted, you have to get your money’s worth! I don’t think any guys understand or think about this. Guys pretty much take a shower, put some product in their hair, and are ready to go. Girls – shower, shave, moisturize, make up, do hair, select matching bra + panty, choose outfit and 2h later we’re ready to go hahahaaa….
Then Joselyn helped me shoot some of my Psychonaut Explorer clothing.
I also did an interview for the biggest newspaper in Denmark. It was a fun guy who interviewed me and I think it will be a few different articles. He told me something I didn’t know about the Danes. They make fun of the stuff Swede’s do, but then they copy that stuff a year later and do the same thing. One example he brought up was when Sweden wanted to remove gender identities like he or her and everyone was to be called ‘hen’. Danes laughed, but then wanted to apply the same in Denmark.
I have discovered a new amazing restaurant here in Mexico City. They pretty much only serve boar; ribs, tacos, soup etc. and it’s supergood. I also like the fact that the boars live and roam freely until they become food. Not stuck in some small stall and fed antibiotics. It’s called Jabaleria, and I can really recommend the place.
Now sitting writing this at a new cafe I also discovered a couple weeks ago – Fruto De Raiz. The owner has this Shar Pei and he’s so wrinkly and cute.
Yesterday I also let my mind make a trip and it was amazing. One thought/question that entered my mind during this was: am I good person? I kept analyzing this and I think my conclusion is that everyone is good to start with. In my case I believe that most of the ‘bad’ stuff has been conditioned from media. It has to do with having prejudiced thoughts about some things that I really personally haven’t even encountered. It mostly comes from what I’ve read. Most of the time I consider myself a person free of judgment or prejudice, but I realized it’s not completely true. As always these mind explorations are very insightful and teach me something about myself!
I also finished a good sci fi novel – ‘Ender’s Game’ by Orson Scott Card. I’m really bad at writing a short description about what I read, so I copied this text from Wikipedia about the book.
“Ender’s Game is a 1985 military science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. Set at an unspecified date in Earth’s future, the novel presents an imperiled humankind after two conflicts with the Formics, an insectoidalien species they dub the “buggers“. In preparation for an anticipated third invasion, Earth’s international military force recruits young children, including the novel’s protagonist, Andrew “Ender” Wiggin, to be trained as elite officers. The children learn military strategy and leadership by playing increasingly difficult war games, including some in zero gravity, where Ender’s tacticalgenius is revealed.”
I liked the book, but not sure if I will read more books in the series.
Tomorrow it’s been 3 weeks since my surgery and I can start exercising lightly. I miss working out so it’s going to be good.
How has your week been? Here in Mexico it’s summer and I’ve almost beat my jetlag!
I thought I’ll share some pics and a video of my surgery I had in Sweden. Hope I don’t gross anyone out hahahaaa…
I felt my face was sagging on the bottom half and it was starting to look a bit like a raisin. I especially didn’t like the deep creases from my mouth down that I felt made me look like I was always miserable. I was recommended to see Dr. Maximilian Otte. Supposedly a perfectionist out to his fingertips. I felt confident after my consultation with him and we decided on a lower facelift and some injections of my own fat in the hollow areas. Surgery was then booked for April 25th.
These are the pics I took before and I circled what I was not happy with. And the last picture showing expected results 😉
I was to be at Akademikliniken at 7am on the 25th. Very excited and not nervous. I kind of like anesthesia for some weird reason. Like a supergood nap. Met with the anesthesia doctor or whatever he’s called, and he asked some questions and explained what he was going to do. Then with Dr Maximillian who pulled my face, tapped on the hollow areas, and drew marks on where he was going to pull, suck the fat out of me (inside my legs and belly) and where to inject it.
I was second in line to be operated on. Finally it was my turn, and the last thing that I remember is the anesthesia doctor asking if I felt anything. I responded “It feels like I’m at a club and had 2 tequila shots, amazing…” and then I was out.
3.5h later thanks to all of the painkillers I felt amazing and a bit groggy when waking up. My whole head was wrapped up. Had an ice pack around my lower face, my legs had some kind of massage things to prevent blood clots, and I had a catheter so I didn’t even have to get up to pee 🙂 Also some tubes behind my ears that let out any excess blood. Oh and my favorite part is when they feed you when you wake up! Tastes sooo good!
Felt pretty good to get it all removed the next day. Except for when they pulled the tubes out that was under the skin. See in the video 🙂
Took a shower and was released to go home. I thought I’d be more bruised and swollen, but I think I looked pretty presentable right after 🙂 This pic is when I got home the day after.
3 days after…
Hardest part was sleeping on my back, face-up. I like to sleep on my side and on my face. A week after I went back for a check-up and removing the stitches in front of my ears. The stitches behind my ears are stitches that dissolve by themselves.
I also had to take shots for 10 days to prevent blood clots. I really do hate needles. Thankfully my sister didn’t mind stabbing my legs 🙂 Here are pics I took this Friday. I’m so happy with the results. It’s still healing, but I can see a huge difference. Bye bye raisin-face!
And here’s a video if you still want more… Oh, and for some reason I had to show my titty in the middle of the video so be aware if you watch this in the office (NSFW) hahahaaa… Or are offended by tits 😉
Pretty much it. I feel great, but have to take it easy for one more week before exercising. Now I’m going to take a nap because jetlag just refuses to give up!
Damn, time went by way too fast in Sweden. I got back to Mexico last night. It felt like I came to Sweden, celebrated Easter by visiting different friends and eating lots of candy, jetlagged, more friends & family time, had surgery, recovered pretty much, and then jumped on a plane back home again.
I was lucky that Sweden for once had pretty decent spring weather. The week before it could be sunny at noon and snowing a couple of hours later. Between all of the Easter meals my sister and I needed a walk. Something that runs in my family is that we can all sleep pretty much anywhere, at any time. This dock with a bench was a perfect nap spot 🙂
Right after Easter I had my consultation for a lower facelift. I probably could’ve waited a couple of more years for more saggy skin to pull up, but I’m not much for waiting when I want to do something. I was recommended a German surgeon whom my friend said he’s all about German precision. I was happy with the consultation and a surgery date was booked. All went great and I’m very happy. I will write a different post about this and show pics. Still have some bruising and swelling so waiting for final results 🙂
Something that’s great about Stockholm is there’s a lot of nature close to the city. I love being out in the woods. With my sister and 2 friends we hiked from Huddinge and checked out Tornberget. It’s a 10 meter high construction in the middle of the woods. It’s the highest spot in Stockholm – 111 meters above sea level, with great views from the top.
I always feel so happy when I’m in the woods and I try to make it a priority to spend more time outdoors hiking or camping. If I had to pick between a week hiking trip or say a beach vacation, I’d pick hiking and being outdoors any day.
After hiking we went to Karina’s summer house where they have a sauna right by a lake. Wow, perfect ending to the day and we actually got in the water too. I was going to write that we swam, but it was more like holding on to the stairs and dipping yourself and then hurrying back into the sauna. Obviously not before someone takes my pic!
Talking about sauna, me being a Finn and obviously loving saunas. But we’re also supposed to be very thirsty people, so my friend brought me 10 liters of vodka. Where and how she got it, probably is better untold hahhaaaa…
Spent a lot of time with my nephew, his girlfriend, and their “baby”. He’s 1 year and 3 months… is that a baby or a kid? First time for me meeting the little one and damn he is adorable. I’m not much for kids unless they are my friends and are cool to play with. One day we visited this incredible waffle place that feels like it’s in the middle of nowhere. It’s called Klockargårdens Våffleri. It’s about a 50 minute drive from Stockholm City in the countryside. It’s most definitely worth the drive if you visit Stockholm. So peaceful and tasty waffles!
It was great to be back in Sweden and seeing friends and family. Maybe I’ll make another trip there this summer. Now I’m very happy being back in Mexico City. Got some recovery to do and look forward to getting back to work 🙂 I leave you with the best thing coming out of Sweden after Puma Swede that is hahahaaa…
It’s been a couple of busy and fun weeks. First of all I received my Mexican Residency Visa, wohoooo! I feel a bit like I’m Mexican now 🙂 Considering it all, it was pretty smooth to apply and get it. Not like getting a greencard and then citizenship in the US. For me that included an expensive settlement with the idiot I was married to, and then going to court to get the citizenship.
Then there was April 1st. Do you guys do pranks on April 1st where you are? They don’t do it here in Mexico, but we always did it in my family. I had to go a bit easy on mom when she was getting old and didn’t want her to have a heart attack. One of my jokes to her one year was calling and saying there were riots in LA. I said I was hidden in a closet while fake crying. Then telling her with a panicked voice that they were breaking into my apartment. My mom started crying and I finally admitted it was April Fools… Mom was not too impressed. This year I posted this pic on my Instagram and claimed it was a drunken decision to tattoo some paws on my face. They kind of grew on me so don’t be surprised if I soon appear with paws on my face 🙂
I had a photoshoot with a new photographer. Supercool chick and who practiced her English with me and I tried my Spanish with her. There was some confusion and misunderstandings, but we got some cool pics of the Psychonaut clothing 🙂
Then a couple, Jared & Salma, that we know from San Francisco arrived here in Mexico City. So much fun with friends in town! The big thing was that Jared had planned to surprise Salma with proposing to her. It was all a big secret and I was involved in luring Salma to the location. First we went to get a mani + pedi. Very smart since there was going to be a photographer taking pics of the ring and you want a fresh manicure for that. Then I was to suggest drinks at the Four Seasons, where a bartender was going to come over with a key and ask Salma to go up to a room. I was to receive a phone call and just excuse myself. All according to plan and we had time to order some sparkling water before the bartender appears with a box, note, and room key. Salma was suspecting she had been tricked and there might be a proposal coming. I just played dumb and surprised. Long story short, all went great and she said yes 🙂 I was too excited to even remember to snap pics.
There’s been a lot of dinners when they’ve been in town. Lorea, a place we visited before, but great food and drinks.
A new place for us called Sud 777. That was a great tasting menu! Can highly recommend this restaurant if you are in CDMX! A couple of the dishes…
We also did a Mezcal tasting with El Tigre. They come highly recommended and people were writing on Reddit it was the best Mezcal they had in Mexico. And yes, I agree! Super smooth and tasty Mezcal. Good info about the procedure what goes into producing the drink. The wooden club I’m holding is used to smash up the plant. Got food too and before I knew it I was drunk and had to go straight home and sleep for 2h hahahaa…. But if you looking to have some great Mezcal, look for El Tigre!!!
A little bit of sleezing in between all the dinners and drinks…
I have had problems with my shoulder and wrist. Got recommended to go see Diego. He’s Colombian and they said it would hurt. No joke, he turned up the electricity on the patches until my arm was jerking off the massage bench and the massages he gives, is like being run over by a tractor. I’m so sweaty after trying to get through it all, but my shoulder and wrist feels better. He also goes through my legs and these ‘airbags’ were the most comfortable thing he let me try 🙂
Also found this great spot that’s kind of hidden – Traspatio. So nice inside. Small menu and great drinks.
I also made Salma put on a Psychonaut sweater and received some more clothing samples. We’re making progress 🙂
Here’s the leftover pics 🙂
On Tuesday night I fly to Sweden. I’m so excited! Long time since I’ve been back, so it’s going to be so good to see everyone 🙂 And eat Swedish candy. Oh, I might have some surgery too if it all goes according to plan. Nothing serious, just beautification heheheee….
I hope you all are great and don’t forget to #mute 🙂
I usually blog on Sundays, but I spent most of yesterday gathering back my strength after Saturday’s dinner party. We were 16 people with some Gringos, Mexicans, a Colombian, and get this, another Finn! Debating if I should write it was ‘so much fun’ or ‘too much fun’ 🙂 I am the type of person that feeds off the energy from other people. When I’m surrounded by fun people I tend to get overly excited and go all in! You never know, could be the last party so you better make the most of it! I had a plan to take some pics, but the Mezcal was flowing, and cigarettes had to be smoked. But this pic pretty much sums up yesterday for me LOL…
On Friday last week I shot with a new photographer here in Mexico City. A girl at the gym recommended him. We shot a lot, and I think we got some really cool stuff. Still waiting for the pics so here’s some behind the scenes pics in the meanwhile 🙂
And when you don’t have access to a pro photographer, you do it yourself. I think I do a pretty good job…
I have a great week ahead. Trying another photographer to shoot some clothing on Wednesday. Going to work out hard, get my Spanish lesson, some friends coming into town, and on Friday I hope I get my Residency Visa wohoooo 🙂
When Sunday comes it’s time to reflect over the week that passed via my blog. I hate feeling like nothing happened, and a week of my life just passed by. All of a sudden it’s all over, and you wish you’d done more with your time. Fortunately this past week did have some fun things 🙂
First I met this Mexican woman at the gym, and when she found out I’m from Sweden, she starts talking fluent Swedish to me. WTF! So cool. Turns out she studied in Sweden for 2 years and learned the language. We decided to get together for a ‘fika’ (having a coffee in swedish) and talk some more Swedish. We talked about all the foods, candy, and snacks from Sweden we miss. Made me miss it a lot and I hope I’ll make a trip to Sweden next month 🙂
Then there was work and threw in some St Patrick’s Day vibes as well 🙂
On St Patrick’s Day some friends and I got together for dinner & drinks at Estiatorio Nostos. It’s an amazing Greek restaurant in Lomas de Chapultepec. It was so much fun and I had waaay too many Carajillos. Carajillos being a coffee drink with just coffee and Liqueur 43. Soooo goood! I only managed to take a couple of pics when picking out our fish for dinner. Then I kind of forgot to capture anything…
I’m pretty proud of myself that I did make it to the gym the next morning and did a hard workout. Best way to cleanse the leftover alcohol out of your body!
I’m excited for next week too. I’m shooting with a new photographer a friend recommended. Got some awesome stuff planned and think it will be very artsy and creative! Also putting together a dinner next weekend so I’m sensing more Carajillos coming my way 🙂
Now I’m going to go get a Cappuccino and read some. I’m reading the 2nd book in the ‘Gentlemen Bastards’ series by Scott Lynch. Very good and exciting. Oh, and if you’re like me, waiting for the 6th book in the Game of Thrones series by George R. R. Martin, I can highly recommend another book he wrote. It takes place before the events of Games of Thrones, but there are some familiar names – ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’. Very good!
That’s it! I hope you’ll enjoy your day and I’ll leave you with a beautiful rainy & sunny day pic and a couple of cute dogs!
Tepoztlan is one of Mexico’s ‘Magic Towns’ since 2010. In Spanish they are called ‘pueblo mágicos’ and there are currently 132 of them in Mexico. I’ve visited 4 of them: Sayulita, Valle de Bravo, San Miguel de Allende, and now Tepoztlan. It’s only about 1.5h from Mexico City, so it’s very convenient to pop by there. We went from Tuesday to Friday. I like going during the week when there are not that many tourists. The only downside to that is that some of the popular places are closed during half of the week and are only open from Thursday to Sunday.
Found this nice house on Airbnb. Really like that it was right by the mountains and so peaceful & quiet.
Threw in our bags and headed out starving looking for food. Since we were in the outskirts of town, it was about a 20-30 min walk to all of the places. It didn’t matter, because it’s beautiful walking around the town.
Went to this hotel and ate at their restaurant Mesa de Origen. I love fried pork fat and guacamole. It was a good restaurant, but I prefer more local joints than hotel restaurants. But when you’re starving, time is of the essence or I get hangry!
I continued walking towards the town center. By accident I looked up and saw a cool balcony. Decided to venture inside the building, and in the back there was a little staircase that led up to this great bar. The spicy Mezcalita was one of the best I’ve ever had! Unfortunately there was no visible name anywhere at the bar and I can’t find it marked on Google maps either 🙁 Just look up and if you spot the ‘lady’ on the balcony, you’ve found the place!
Next morning we headed out for breakfast. This place Tlacuacha Cafeteria was amazing and the food + coffee was delicious!
Then I wanted to enjoy the pool and catch some sun. Like an amateur I stayed out waaaay to long and my skin got fried! But it was so nice and relaxing to just chill there… Took some pics and had to filter the f*ck out of them or I could be posing as a stop sign!
More walking and it’s beautiful lighting during sunset. We came across these horses that just casually strolled through the streets. And this beautiful cat…
Tried the restaurant La Cueva Tepoztlan for dinner. It is a cozy bar and restaurant. Food was tasty and they had 2 for 1 drinks so we obviously had to try them out too. Muy bueno!!!
My favorite place was Cafe de la Milpa where we went for breakfast. Google directions were a bit off, but we finally found it. You walk this beautiful road surrounded by orange trees (at least I think that’s what they were) up to the cafe. The whole place is surrounded by their fields and we sat outside in the garden eating. And look at this cute dog that became very friendly when the food arrived 🙂
There is a famous pyramid on a hill that everyone recommended us to go see. The hike up there was closed now though, so we opted for a waterfall hike I found. We found the hike, but no waterfall. Instead we found this place that resembled a cave. So cool and there are beautiful views from there.
On top of our place you could see a cave in the mountains. I asked the guy who managed the Airbnb if we could hike up there. He only said “no, muy peligroso” and looked very stern so no exploring that cave. I wanted to know if it was dangerous because it was a steep hill or if there are like mountain lions or something up there. Admit it looks inviting 🙂
Time flew by and wish we would’ve had a couple of days more in town. Well, it’s not far so I can easily go back 🙂 Not many Ubers in the area so we had our Uber driver who took us there pick us up. Very smooth and can recommend a visit to Tepoztlan if you are around 🙂
Did the Crossfit Open workout scaled on Friday when we got back to Mexico City. Very hard, but it’s done! Otherwise a relaxing weekend and changed the mezcal drinks for coffee…
And I found this superfunny IG page that jokes about the Finns and theirs ways – @veryfinnishproblems.
Also watched Donnie Darko for the first time last night. Very good!!! Have you seen it?
