Identity Crisis

 

noun: identity crisis; plural noun: identity crises

"a period of uncertainty and confusion in which a person's sense of identity becomes insecure, typically due to a change in their expected aims or role in society"

 

I logged into my bank to pay some bills. I do this from my computer, which allows me three alternative ways to log in. Normally I use a special bank card that I put into a card-reading thingy that I connect to my laptop by a cord. I also have a smaller cordless bank thingy that I'm not sure how it works, but somehow codes get sent back and forth by pushing the right buttons, and if I do it right, that works too. (I haven't been using the little fiddly thingy much lately though, as I find the card-thingy easier to handle.)The third alternative is Mobile Bank ID, which involves an app on my smartphone, and scanning of QR codes. The Mobile Bank ID is nowadays also used to access an increasing amount of other apps and websites where one needs to prove that one is who one claims to be. (I'm still a bit sceptical of the general idea of using my phone for Absolutely Everything, though, so have so far avoided using bank apps on the phone.)

 

Anyway. A week or so ago I received a message from my bank "reminding" me (I had no idea!!) that my current Mobile Bank ID will expire in a few weeks. However, the message also said I could renew it by logging into my bank. They made that sound easy, so I thought I'd just do that today in connection with paying my bills... 

 

Of course I should know by now that there's no "just" about these kinds of things - but sometimes I still let optimism take over...

 

It did seem simple enough to start with - until I was suddenly asked to now prove my identity by taking a photo (via an app) of a valid physical ID. And then learned that in this particular context, my driving licence, which in the Real World has served me as allround ID for around 50 years by now (renewed without much ado every 10 years), no longer counts as valid ID in this particular context. To prove my identity to the new Mobile Bank ID, I now need either a physical Passport or a physical National ID card (valid within the EU). And as I haven't travelled abroad for a very long time, and for all other purposes so far have got along fine with my driving license, I don't have either of those... 

 

So I had no alternative but to interrupt my application for the new Bank ID by clicking on the alternative "I don't have the right ID" ... 

 

For a while I feared that this might leave me without any identity at all within in digital world... But luckily it seems that the system reverted to letting the old bank ID tick on until the automatic expiration date. (Phew.)

 

So I hurried on in search of What To Do and Where To Go; and managed to book an appointment at our police station next week - to be photographed and fingerprinted and whatever else it takes to get the required National ID... 

 

To my relief, it seems that the physical police will still accept my driving license to prove that I Am Who I Am. (Because if not, it seems the only alternative would be to ask my brother to drive down here to confirm it in person. And I'm not actually sure if he has any ID besides his driving license to prove his identity either...)

 

The whole circus now makes me think I should probably also make sure to both renew my driving license next year (in spite of doubting that I'll ever actually take up driving again), and get a passport as well (even if I have no travel plans). On second thought, probably better to wait a year or two with the passport, though - or else the ID card and the passport will keep expiring at the same time...

 

I'm not going to ask everyone to describe your own country's ID systems in detail - but I do feel curious to know if you too are feeling the increased pressure/requirement to use your phone for Everything... As much as I love my smartphone, for the most part I still mostly use it as a combination of camera, audio book player, handy encyclopedia, and to receive text message notifications. For other online things, I usually prefer either my laptop or my tablet... But these days, it seems the goal is a separate App for "every purpose under heaven" * (but one Bank ID to join them all)...

 

* "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven..." 
(Ecclesiastes 3:1)

 

Not Ideal

 

To sum up the 22nd of February, 2026: 
The day was not ideal neither for walking, nor for a barbecue picnic.

 What gave these two the idea to even try, I can't imagine! (I zoomed them in from afar.)

Yesterday afternoon, it rained on the snow, and then the slush froze over night. I tried a  short walk around noon today; but even with my studded boots on, and two walking poles, I soon felt I had better make it very short... 

This afternoon, it has been snowing on top of the ice, and more is to be expected during the night. So my guess is that tomorrow won't be ideal for outdoors activity either.

 

Winter Skywatch

 

20th February at 07:16

Thursday and Friday were of the kind that kept me "busy enough" without blogging. Thursday was laundry day for me; and on Friday I had a delivery from the supermarket booked between 10-13. For a change, they had put me almost first on the list rather than last, so I got my delivery already around 10:15; which also gave me time for a walk around the cemetery after lunch. The weather forecasts for the upcoming week being rather gloomy, I thought I had better seize the opportunity. It wasn't as sunny as the previous day but also not quite as cold, so kind of nice anyway.

I did not make a lot of photo stops on that walk, but I noticed that a second bird feeder has been put up on the other side of the same tree as where the "little red house" one is. (Cf my "calendar photo" for February.)  I think the green one is meant for the bigger birds... 
 

I also stopped for a photo of the one family grave of ours in this cemetery - belonging to my maternal great-grandparents. (That grave is still officially in the care of my aunt, who lives elsewhere, but I keep an eye on it as I often walk by there anyway). The hares seem to have been visiting (actually, there are very few spots in the cemetery not covered in hare tracks!) - but I don't think neither old spruce branches nor dry heather is in their diet. The winter grave decoration seemed as intact as can be expected after nearly four months... 

Late last night, before I went to bed, I noticed that it had started snowing outside again - but very tiny snow flakes. There were weather warnings issued along the west coast, but the "warnings" not stretching quite as far inland as here. This morning, I did wake up to the sound of snow ploughs outside; but so far it seems we only got just about enough new snow to cover old footprints on the lawns. (2-3 cm)  

As it's hard to predict whether the next shower will be snow or rain, or the next few days predominantly icy or slushy, after breakfast I took out a couple of bags to the bins, and then "a few extra steps" (10 min or so) in the immediate neighbourhood in connection with that. I don't intend to go out again today; and tomorrow will depend on how the weather develops.

 Linking to Skywatch Friday

Frozen

 

 

 

Today was another of those rare winter days with the sun shining from a clear blue sky, making me want to get out there, in spite of the cold...

 

Having no urgent errands today, I did not feel tempted to walk all the way into town again; but decided to just go for a walk down to the river and make photograpny my focus this time - so also brought my Sony compact camera, rather than just the phone. 

 

In the first photo above, it's my own shadow you see, standing on the bridge, looking north. On the south side of the bridge is one of the dams where they regulate the flow of water through the city. And when it's as cold as it has been for a good while now, there are sometmes interesting ice formations to be seen.

 

 

 

I then followed the path on the other side of the bridge for a while, before going back up to walk across the cemetery back home.

 

Funeral chapel

For a change, I enjoyed following the tracks made by maintenace vehicles on some snowy paths that had not been ploughed. (I did have the right footwear for it.) 

 

It's been good to be able to collect a few sunny and enjoyable outdoors moments towards the end of this long winter, which for the most part has just been - well, "difficult"... 

 

Winter is not over yet, though. It's snowing again as I'm about to finish this post, and here's the forecast for the next nine days:

 

 

 

 

Mid February Sunrise

I happened to wake up just in time to catch the sunrise this morning... Photos taken from my kitchen at 7:41-7:42. (The sun soon followed my own example and went back to bed, though - and remained hidden the major part of the day...)