Sweden vs USA: Passport Applications

Subtle User Workflow differences of a well-run government operation:

Applying for a Swedish passport for Astrid: Go to website, download a single 1-page document, make copy of Swedish passport and birth certificate, drop off at Consulate reception (Total time spent: 20 minutes)

Applying for a US passport: Go to website, print 2 redundant documents, hunt for drop off agency on poor navigation, call 5 places, none answer the phone, finally get through, wait on hold for 20 minutes to get appointment, fee pricing is impossible to predict, $165 or $300, photocopies not allowed, must request duplicate authentic birth certificate, actual government agency indicates an expected wait time of 30min to 1 hour, while passport expedite agencies offer 24 hour turnaround for a $200+ fee (Total time spent: 1.5 hours so far, who knows how many more to go).

I'm proud to be a citizen of both countries, but the US should take note of how to streamline their operations a little better.

Disclaimer: This could just be a San Francisco thing, which caters to a wide set of international populations.

This is not a fire drill

As any parent will surely tell you, there are nights you wish you could forget but will be seated into your memory. Our first came 4 days into Astrid's young life.

Earlier in the day, a nurse had come by to check on Astrid at home. She saw a touch of yellowing in the skin and wanted us to check the bilirubin levels, as she was experiencing some jaundice. As we got the results around 9 PM, the doctors said that the jaundice was due to the baby's blood type being different from Jens and that some of Jen's antibodies has passed the placental barrier and was attacking Astrid's white blood cells. 

We were instructed to undergo UV phototherapy as soon as possible, so we packed our bags and headed to the hospital, uncertain of what this treatment entailed. At the hospital, Astrid was placed in an incubator under an UV lamp that would reduce the bilirubin levels in her blood through skin exposure. We could not swaddle her, or comfort her most of the night, but only feed her in between bouts of UV therapy. We had to camp out on the lone couch in the room for the next 15 hours.

Needless to say, it was a long night and surely not the last. Everything was out in perspective as we saw some infants that would surely be there far longer than our stay. 

When two becomes three..

Say hello to Astrid Lucia Steene-Connolly. She came into the world 2:50 PM on October 25th, 2015.

The name Astrid is a Norse baby name. In Norse the meaning is "Divine Strength" or sometimes "Divine Beauty"
I'd like to introduce you to the newest lady in my life. Astrid Lucia Steene-Connolly was born October 25th (8lbs 1oz) after an impressive 12-hour labor from the beautiful, healthy and happy Jen. 


Astrid entered the world healthy, bright eyed and squeaky. She is a joy to have and hold. She's a giggly, not too fussy, beautiful little bundle of love. 
She bears a tiny mole on her cheek similar to her mother, loves her daddy's voice and has a powerful little sucker that her mother can painfully attest too. She has already been spoiled in person by some family members and even more love continues to pour in from around the world. 
We're excited about this new adventure and look forward to including her in our lives forever more. We hope you'll share it with us in due time as we get adjusted to this new and exciting chapter of our lives. 

Christmas in San Francisco 2015

The holidays are always a wonderful time to spend quality time with those that matter most. This year, Jen and I decided it would be best to stay local while we figure out our newborn schedule and routine. Luckily, so many of our relatives decided to come visit and help celebrate the best way possible.

My mother arrived a little before Christmas and stayed for 10 days in the apartment down the hall, so she could have her privacy. Farmor (Father's mother in Swedish) became her calling and she was all too ready to settle down with Astrid and keep her entertained. She helped out around the house and kept me company on my morning walks with Loulou and Astrid, while Jen catches up on some sleep. We took in some of the sights and walked all the nearby parks. We celebrated a Swedish Christmas dinner celebration (julbrod) at the nearby Plaj restaurant.

My father also joined us in San Francisco for two evenings and we prepared a typical Swedish Christmas Eve feast for the 5 of us.

Co-ed Baby Shower in Sausalito

So this baby is getting quite the welcome from families all over the country. First, there was a baby shower in Buffalo, NY for Jen, her mother, her sister and close friends. Second, there was a baby shower at Jen's office held by her co-workers at Google. Third, there was the baby shower for our San Francisco friends and California-based family.

Michelle & Julie did a phenomenal job of planning the event, by finding a gorgeous location in Sausalito known as The Trident. It's a legendary restaurant from the 1960's that has a reputation as a watering hole for some of the biggest bands in history before they became superstars. It's easy to see why the place has a special ambience about it, as the view of San Francisco is something unlike any place you'll find in the entire Bay area.

The view of San Francisco

We had about 20 of our closest friends and family to help us celebrate. With so many busy schedules and out of towners, it was really an honor to have many of the attendees there. John flew into San Francisco for a 24 hour trip to see his kids and grandkids in one place. Julie and her family made their way over from Sacramento with a stay at Alaine's in Berkeley. Michelle drove up from Bakersfield earlier that week, but had an early day the next morning and spent 5 hours on the road after the event.

Alaine & Corey

Boatside views 

Our custom diaper collection

The Connolly clan

 The next picture shows just what the guys in the crowd can bring to a co-ed baby shower. For all of us men, it was our first shower and my sister arranged a little guy's only game for us. Our job was to suck a beer out of a baby bottle and it's certainly not easy. The tiny drip hole doesn't let much get through and it took most of us the better part of 5 minutes to empty the thing.

Guy's Baby Bottle Beer race

Jen's homemade jams

Jen & Cait

Grandpa again soon

So very happy to have such wonderful family and friends to help us celebrate. Thank you all!

Parents to be

Jen's Baby Shower @ Google

In her last week of work before taking maternity leave, Jen was pleasantly surprised by her two close associates, Helen & Yasi, who share 4+ years of working in the same corridors and many a trade secret I'm sure.

The best secret was the one they were able to pull on Jen, inviting 20 of her colleagues to a little table of champagne, cupcakes and some lovely presents.

Following up our surprise, was a fun artistic endeavor of making some unique onesies for the little girl. The team really showed their creativity and we love our truly unique wardrobe. Hopefully she will fit in them for more than a week.

 So thrilled with the amount of support and love coming from all directions. Jen's last day was this Friday, so now it's time to get down to some prepping and relaxing before the big event!

Metaxa - Sung Wedding

What crazy people would have a destination wedding in a Greek Island? Only our fantastic crew and love-her-to-death Alexandra could make such a thing happen.

Alexandra & Charles must have felt the love after their previous trip to Paros, because they were shortly engaged afterwards and made some quick actions to get another fantastic Paros wedding in the works. We lent them our wedding playbook and shared what little advice we could give to a true native. Seems we liked a lot of the same things, as there was a Captain Ben's day boat trip, something that Alexandra and I took our first of many together nearly 10 years ago. There was a gorgeous lunch along one of the best beaches on the island. The only difference was the exact locale and beach, but the energy and great times were still running high.

Then came the big finale, the Metaxa family blew us away with their stunning ceremony and amazing reception. The wedding felt like a royal celebration with only a few hundred of your closest friends.

There were stunning speeches, songs, dedications, food, champagne, dancing, love, laughter and so much dancing. The night carried on late until the sun began to peak out just a little. Charles & Alexandra had raised the bar even higher for a Paros wedding and will surely be talked about for decades to come.

The Title of Newest Newlyweds didn't last long.

Dubrovnik, Split and Vis

After a short, uneventful flight from Prague, we headed to the Excelsior Hotel, where we entered a beautiful luxury suite courtesy of our friends Corey Krehel & Katy Fox. After rinsing off the travel, we soaked in the waterfront lounges atop what felt like an extension of the Dubrovnik fort nearby. This hotel was a stunning example of combining the ancient charm of the Roman fortifications, the Venetian aesthetics and the modern luxury that offered a unique and inviting hotel, a lovely break from the recent accommodations. 

Later that night, we walked to the nearby Old Town of Dubrovnik, renowned for the beauty of its monuments, its magnificent walls and welcoming atmosphere. Dubrovnik was founded by the Romans in the 7th Century and came under Venetian rule in the 12th. It flourished as a trade port that reached as far as the Americas. The artistic influences of the Venetians and Romans are still present everywhere, despite some items being rebuilt after withstanding several heavy bombing campaigns during the Yugoslav wars in the early 90’s. 

Jen quickly fell in love with Dubrovnik and its charming alleyways stuffed with restaurants offering fresh fish dinners and little cafes at the foot of ancient ruins. We could have spent several more days in the vicinity, but the islands were calling. We made our way to Split; just 3 hours drive north of Dubrovnik, situated in the middle of the Croatian coast. The long drive was enough to send us to bed early with a belly full of the Croatian specialty, lamb from the hillsides grilled in lots of garlic and savory onions. 

The next morning, we boarded the boat to Vis, a sleepy island founded by the Ancient Greeks that offered a quiet reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the mainland. We were particularly looking forward to this leg of the trip, as we were due to stay a couple of nights in a single place. We wanted to be lazy among the many white pebble beaches the island has to offer. When we arrived, we found our hotel, a lovely boutique established by some Italian women who welcomed us with smiles and answered all our questions. They offered to do some laundry and make reservations at local destinations. 

We quickly set off to find the highly recommended beach of Stoncica, which was accessed by a short drive down a rocky road and then a 10-minute walk through a ravine to the beach. There we found a lively restaurant packed with sailors and their guests. Jen grew enamored with the resident “stray” dog that had a leash but was covered in ticks, as sure a sign that Jen needs to bring back a friend for Louloudi. We had a lazy lunch and then headed to the beach, a slightly dirty beach with shallow waters that extended 50 meters. 

The next morning, we made our way to the town of Komiza on the other side of Vis, that connected to the famous Blue Cave, a short boat ride away. While we passed the time exploring this little village, our boat finally came, and we were off. It was quite spectacular, but a bit of a tourist trap, as we waited nearly an hour in line to see only 10 minutes of this cave. We paid handsomely for the privilege of a boat ride to the island and tickets to the cave. The cave was quite spectacular as it requires everyone in the boat to duck towards the middle as the captain steered the small motorboat through a tiny, jagged opening. Then we turned into a dark tunnel that opened into a glowing blue pool that begged us to swim in it. The Blue Cave is supposedly “famous worldwide” for its ethereal blue water that appears from a sunlight opening below a submerged cave.

Later, we headed to the beach of Miljne Podje and caught the afternoon sun. We returned to town for a few hours of emails and project management, before having another fresh fish dinner, as there is not much else available. The cuisine is tasty, but still far from the excellence we know within the Cycladic islands. There are dishes that seem to be distant cousins of saganaki, boiled octopus, briam, moussaka, Greek salad, but just don’t compare in taste and freshness. Perhaps it is because Vis is about a fifth the size of Paros, or perhaps the country’s cuisine is just not as well developed as it’s Greek and Italian influences. 

Now, as I write this, we are headed back to Dubrovnik for a short nights stay before our flights to Athens and then to Paros by way of Mykonos. While our stay in Croatia was marked by unusual light rain and heavy overcast; we would gladly return to explore more of the some 200 islands in the Adriatic Sea belonging to Croatia.