I had the pleasure of spending this weekend with Olander and bSL playing at a film festival in Trondheim, Norway. Although I have played shootouts before this one was different because it was the first time I would take challenges from people in DoA4! How would I stack up against them? It was all a big mystery. Also this was the first time I have ever even seen a film festival which was really cool in itself!

The stage was set up really nicely, I got to sit on a comfortable couch all day playing on a huge TV Everyone around us was very hospitable and kind so i’d like to say thanks to everyone who was involved in this You can view the pictures here.

What really surprised me was the reception we got. People really were excited to come and play with us and just to meet us. It’s really cool to see that Berliners are everywhere And the tour that bSL took us on of his town was just…… adoreable LOL.

So today Olander and I are going back to Sweden and back to “normal life”. Which means… a small break from DoA for me and its Burnout time!! WATCH OUT SWOOZIE!!

Ok, time for breakfast then onto the plane!

Early, EARLY yesterday morning Olander and I left the warmth and comfort of our homes and flew to Trondheim, Norway where we are going to be playing a shootout at a film festival called Kosmorama.

Film festival shootout coverage can be found on the Berlin Allianz Website here. Olander wrote about our first day in his blog. However, its mainly whine!! But I agree with the nice food and the cool-looking stage. Can’t wait to see it later today!

I’m trying to make the most of this super cold weather but im still convinved polar bears are going to eat me. If I look at the surroundings of this town its like surrounded by snow and tree covered mountains, isnt that where polar bears live??!?!

BSL gave us a thorough tour of the town yesterday and mainly its traditions seem to be about people getting drunk and throwing rotten or smelly things at each other. Nice!! I think its a cute town though. But does it really matter, because OMFG the guys and chicks here are good looking! Its like ken and barbie walking around everywhere!

We got back to the hotel around 20:00 but it seriously felt like 23 or 24. I got into bed with my laptop (yeah its cute, we spoon sometimes) and planned on writing this blog but within 5 minutes I was in a really deep sleep. Now at 0700 I think im up a little too early! Oh well, i’m gonna go wake up David (heheh) and see if he wants breakfast cos i’m hungry!

**Photos by David Olander

Want to see more pics from the first day? Go HERE!!!!!!!

Yep, I know it’s pretty late (ok, 2 weeks late) but at least I got the month! This month is the 1st birthday of www.helloliefje.com …to come to think of it, it also marks that the gaming house ended one year ago.

I’m happy to say that it’s been a really fantastic year for me. I started this website basically when everything was up-in-the-air for me… with the end of the gaming house, I didn’t really know where my life was going. But it ended up taking a really good turn, where I started writing for Pro Gam3r Magazine, then finally I got drafted into the CGS. And on this first anniversary, it seems like i’m back to square 1!

Yep, my contract with the CGS is ending in March and me backing down from writing for the magazine, it seems like it’s complete shambles. Basically for the next 3 months I won’t have anything to do (gl finding a job in Sweden, HAH) and i’m anxiously waiting on the go-ahead from the CGS for me to be able to make new video blogs. I have a lot of really fantastic footage from New Zealand which I am totally itching to share with you all!!!!

The previous video blogs I did for the Berlin Allianz can be found on the Allianz website.

So keep your eyes peeled for my new videos, i’ll be posting each one on here as I make it so comment if you want to see something in particular

Another thing… To mark the anniversary i’ve changed the look of the site! What do you think? Mmm, pink Also i’ve updated the media section, where you can find links to recent interviews. I recommend watching the Epileptic Gaming one.

Until next time… puss o kram!!

dun dun dundundun dundundun dun dun dun dun dun…

Ok that’s super dorky for those of you who know the song (if not it’s “Insomnia” by Faithless) but I really can’t get no sleep! I’ve been feeling a little under the weather lately due to the winter weather and I ended up sleeping the day away today and now I just can’t get to sleep again! It’s 7:40am and I figure i’ll just pull an all-nighter and head to bed early tomorro.. tonight?

I’ve been playing DoA a bit lately and I feel like i’ve been improving. It’s really nice to hear when people say “oh I saw you on CGS, you’re a lot better than I thought!” I know my results at the world finals were bad but I don’t intend on letting that happen again

I think that the next combine will be really interesting. I think that everyone currently involved in the CGS really wants to do it again for another season so they will have the drive and motivation to practice really hard because they know exactly what they’re playing for.

Not a lot has really happened in the beginning of 2008 for me but that doesn’t say that that’s how it’s going to be for the whole year! I think most people are still kind of in “holiday mood”. I’m more in the mood for change. I want to join the gym (but am having issues doing that right now), move apartment and redecorate. I think I need a change of scenery… perhaps involving a bigger place with more room for my ever-growing wardrobe ;). Don’t be alarmed though, I still fully intend on staying on top of my game!!

Ok enough about me, since I can’t sleep i’ve looked up some tips for you other insomniacs out there (and I know there’s a few of you!) to help you get sleep:
* Take a warm bath
* Listen to music (soothing stuff, none of this deathmetal!)
* Drink warm milk (this relaxes your nervous system)
* Avoid caffine, alcohol and tobacco
* Get up earlier in the morning (this way you are more tired in the evening)
* Keep a regular bedtime
* Exercise during the day
* Avoid naps!

And now, back to the most mundane thing you could ever do on your PC…… organising files!! WOO! hahaha ohh I want sleep!

So i’ve been back for almost a week now and I still can’t get my time right. For the first few days I was waking up at like 2100 and I figured the best way to remedy that would be to stay up the entire day afterward. It didn’t work out and I would always end up sleeping around midday. Now I guess it seems to be a bit OK, i’m up at like 7am but it’s better than waking up at nighttime! I can’t even tell the difference here in Sweden anyway, it seems to be dark 24/7.

I haven’t really done a lot since i’ve been back, mainly just chilling out and playing a little. It’s weird, after I lose at a tournament I always am more motivated to play (even if I have been doing nothing but playing for the past 3 weeks) so I can rock the next one.

Another weird thing I found is that I actually didn’t want to play UT3 when I got back. In all honesty I thought I would install the game right away and that would be that. But I didn’t! I tried one map (just running around.. deck of course) and it just didnt seem like anyone was playing online! Shocking!!!! I think i’m afraid to install it because I pretty much know that it won’t run nicely on my PC. Maybe a new PC should be my xmas present to myself…

Many people at CGS have written blogs thanking and recognizing various people, but if I were to do that I would just list everyone that I came into contact with Everyone was great, what a world-class bunch of people I got to spend 3 weeks with.

I guess a lot of people underestimate one big thing about gaming and that’s the people that you meet through it. Online of course there are always those assholes but at tournaments everyone seems to be cool! Over the years now it seems like I can travel almost anywhere and have someone I know in that place, I think that’s pretty amazing

It’s been a while since i’ve written a blog, I guess due to the reason that I don’t really have anything super interesting to write about. A few days ago I got a big heavy box delivered to my door. Hmmm… a late birthday present? BETTER! It was a bunch of copies of the second issue of Pro Gam3r Magazine!

If you don’t know already, i’m a writer for this new publication. The first edition was a collectors one that was released at QuakeCon earlier this year. It’s a quarterly, meaning it comes out every 3 months. This time the magazine was a lot different than the collectors edition released. Instead of focusing on the pro leagues like the first issue it’s a lot more focused on the professional gamers themselves!

Theres a really nice piece in there about the game commentator Paul “Redeye” Chaloner (a fascinating individual) and also the unstoppable Vanessa Arteaga. Also, find out about a 6 year old gamer that has bragging rights of his own.

I was really excited to get this issue because while I write for the magazine, I don’t put it together or see what other staff have written! If you’re interested in subscribing, go here.

Oh hmm now that I think about it, i’m an internationally published author! hahaha!

Hell yeah, the Unreal Tournament 3 demo was leaked today. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. As soon as I woke up I had it installed and ready to go. But now there’s been a problem, at first it just bluescreened when I started it so I installed the latest nVidia graphics drivers. But then now it gets past the intro ads and it crashes again! GRRRR.

I guess this could both be a good and bad thing, because since I can’t play it means I won’t get hooked. I do get hooked on games easily and the release time of the full version of UT3 is at a dangerous time as it’s right before the CGS world finals. Many people tell me “oh you can play both, just spend MORE time on DOA!”. Obviously, these people don’t understand my profound and undying love for the Unreal series.

It breaks my heart that I can’t play the demo so i’ve been releasing steam playing DoA4! But i’ve had my first bad day in the game today. For some reason nothing I try seems to be working. I’ve been practicing juggles and combos and yesterday I was nailing them (after almost an hour of spending my time on one move hehe :P) but today it’s as though my controller is cursed… cursed with my frustration of not being able to even try UT3!

I will need a lot of panda videos to cheer me up.

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