I'm back! But I don't want to be...

Lisbon was quite simply fantastic! I'll get back to the details later, as I will definitely be going back to Lisbon later... Tonight I'll just show you some pics to give you a hint!


Oh, and to any who may have noticed - yes, my practising Portuguese was indeed Brazilian, but that's the course I had, and it would be understood in Lisbon too, if only I'd learnt some.. Besides, I might be going to Brazil some day too, right?

My friend Børge and his Daniel were the perfect hosts, as expected - thank you for having me! Lisbon was spring-clad and I just loved the whole experience. Stay tuned for more... And if you ever have a chance to go to Lisbon, just go, no jump at the opportunity!

All that being said, it was really good to see my kids and hubby again! (The snow I really could have done without, though... And I'm still waiting for my suitcase to arrive.)

Ready, set, go!

My dad has lent me this:

- his 5 day-old digicam, 7.1 pixels, zoom, the works! (I'll pass time on the plane reading the manual...)

Hopefully, it will enable me to bring back a few good shots for y'all to enjoy!

Apparently Lisbon is cold and rainy these days, but that's really not very important. I can't wait to spend time with Børge again, and to be - it must be admitted - free from kids for a few days. Of course I'll buy them tons of stuff in return, and I'll miss them a lot! But I will also enjoy Lisbon like mad...

Next week, dear bloglings, I'll have work-related news. Stay tuned ;)

Bits and pieces

A few quick notes:

Visitor no. 5,000 stopped by last night, turned out to be my mum! Congratulations :)

Congratulations also to Christine - who scored highest of all on my test, despite being a relatively new blogling. Well done to you too!

And about the test... Yes, I've worn make-up. Three times. First, when I was about six, my older sister and her friend held me tight while force-putting-on-make-up. Next time, on my wedding day. It turned out quite well, I must say, but I really can't be bothered doing it every day. (Not the getting married part either, for that matter - as much as I love being married, getting married was exciting, fun and then exasperating. We left early...) Third time, I 'won' a make-over in a magazine "tired quad mum gets pampered" or something of the kind. The make-up looked fine in the pictures, looked really awkward IRL...

I should have written my current favourite computer game (= Blast billiards), because I've spent hours and hours on Tetris, Minesweeper and BackGammon earlier. In the days before I knew blogging...

And oh, yes, I'd definitely be studying something if we could get by on just one salary (= my hubby's...) - but I guess I'd be blogging too. Only maybe 23/6...

The sleep level alternatives were ripped right out of Dave Barry's Parental Aptitude Test (that goes with his Natural Childbirth, a hilarious piece, by the way!). Alternative names for my blog were none - the options I gave you were only rewrites of bluddies' blogs!

Just to rub it in...

Remember this?



It's not long now, and I can't wait to go there!! Børge tells me to only bring my toothbrush and tinsel for my hair... Friday night we'll go to a Fado club, and I'm sure we'll think of something to do the rest of the time until Sunday night as well!

And this is me practising Portuguese... I know, I started a little late - yesterday! - mostly just to get in the mood... (What, you haven't all got Portugues language tapes lying about? Oh, but you should... Ok, I do because I've got friends in Brazil and Portugal and always thought I'd do something about it, I just never got past Greek...)

- For some reason I can't make this work right now, even though it tells me it is working. I'll have to get back to this when I'm awake some time... In the mean time - try this. Boa noite!

I'm a book

Umberto Eco: The Name of the Rose. You are a
mystery novel dealing with theology,
especially with catholic vs liberal issues.
You search wisdom and knowledge endlessly,
feeling that learning is essential in life.

I still haven't gotten around to write a book, so I may as well be one. And this is quite correct inasmuch as - unlike the film - neither the book nor I have got Sean Connery in us ;)

Which literature classic are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

21st Century farewell:

"Hi, nn!

I have come to the conclusion that it's impossible for us to live together. It's sad, but I see no other solution than us breaking up.

I wish to stay in my flat, so I have rented a terrific flat for you from this Sunday. It's in … and I've rented it for a month. I hope and think you'll like it.

Of course you'll have a fair economic settlement as well. I've paid your debts of X kroner and have deposited Y kroner [=a lot!] in your account. You can use the car until the end of the month, where I suggest you return it against the sum of Z kroner.

P.S. All locks in the flat have been changed. Your things have been neatly packed and put in the basement storage room where you may still use your key. I have also put a suitcase there with things I expect you might need in the flat that I have rented for you.

Hugs"

This is the actual note left by Mr. Anonymous a few weeks back, to his wife of less than a year. Now - I'd never suggest either of the two are simple persons to get on with, but is it just me, or is this rather tastelessly devoid of sensitivity?

(A true story, albeit not from any of my closest friends... And the original did have names and figures...)

They could have been mine!

Possibly I have now managed to create my first video post... Let me know if you can see / hear / play this!

- Incidentally, I don't know these babies, but I wish I did!

Really cool dudes (and dames)

I've had the chance to observe this phenomenon quite closely lately - it's been about -15 c (about 5 F) for days now. And what I've seen is mostly this:

Whereas this would be correct...

Now, I can understand insecure teenagers don't want to wear woollen hats and mittens and sweaters when they think it looks better wearing practically nothing - or at least baring their stomachs. And I consider underdressed toddlers the fault of their parents.

But why do grown people - men and women - go out in this cold without gloves? And hats?? And scarves??? Or even with scarves - but just loosely hanging around their necks, revealing their open shirts (and goosebumps)? I really don't get it. Now, I would have thought that by the age of, say, 40, people would be self-assured enough to dress like whatever they wanted. Why would anyone want to freeze?

Actually, the same thing happens during summer. People look out, see the sun, and walk out wearing practically nothing. It may well be 10 degrees (50 F).

Me, I'm boring, incredibly boring and sensible when it comes to clothing. Even at the age of 15 - at my mum's suggestion at buying new clothes - I'd say "why? I've already got clothes!" I just hate being cold. (I ventured out of my mittens to take this photo in the lift at work.)

If I want goosebumps, I listen to Die Zauberflote: Act II; Der Hoelle Racht kocht in meinem Herzen or read something.

Didn't you just know it...

I ripped this off Graham's blog (but it's my score..)
So, it's just another test thing, and nothing really interesting. But I ticked off that I wouldn't post it if I came out a loser, so now I didn't I feel kind of obliged (to a machine-made quiz?) to post it after all...

Speaking of quiz - yes, I have been scared by a crocodile in China Town NYC. The croc was green, plastic and about 4 inches long - and possibly the woman holding it scared me more (I was only 5!), but it's a genuine memory... If you haven't taken the test yet, run!! All will be revealed soon...

Monday

Just outside his school, Jakob and I saw two squirrels playing Tag.

This one stayed long enough to be photographed.

Down at the quay, there was no room for all arriving buses.

Hopefully, noone had been seriously hurt.

*****

Now, work was no charm, though. One of my colleagues has taken this week off, so there was enough waiting! By the end of the day I'd managed working through this pile:

Yes, it's an old-fashioned thingamajig, but no, they haven't all got computers (sic!) so there's me typing it all out...

Possibly the Kalahari Typing School for Men would also do well over here!

Quote of the day (9):

Someone said:

Bringing up children amounts to just one thing -
teaching your children to be
able to postpone their needs.

Basically, if your child knows how to wait, you're home free...

I've been listening to 5 x "muuuuuummyyyyyyyyyy, you've got to ..." all day, I can't see it changing in the foreseeable future. Obviously it's going to take some more upbringing.

Patience to spare, anyone?

Oops, they did it again

Transmitting my blog into space, that is. Apparently the aliens responded "Tell Scholiast their blog smells like eggs". Do aliens eat eggs? Is this a compliment?

Oh, I so love nonsense...

I admit it, I'm a thief

But I know so many brilliant lawyers, they'll help me out...

Anyway, I stole this quiz idea from Chloe (which probably was the idea!), so here it is! Should anyone (at all) wonder - the quiz is about yours truly.

Take My Quiz - on - QuizYourFriends.com!

If anyone ventures, and indeed, gets it right, I'll, erh, promise you something. Later. Alright? Sounds exciting enough...?

Apparently, there's at least one question, or answer, rather, that I'll have to get back to after a couple more of you have taken this quiz. Anyone?

From the land of eternal snow...

It certainly feels like it at the moment, anyway. This was last night, it could have been tonight!

Now, contrary to many people's belief, there are in fact no polar bears in the streets of mainland Norway... (But there are in Spitsbergen etc.)

These were just so cute, though!

Polar bear tips on what you need for a great life:

Time for relaxation

Good sleep

Good looks

Good health and exercise

A bit of adventure

Someone to dance with

Bear hugs

Real love

But always - watch out for those bastard penguins!

Modern times. Part three: Enchantment

On my return to England I found, much to my dismay, that the typewriter just wasn't enough. We had to do our work on the computer. So I ventured into the computer room, reignited my Word Perfect knowledge, and became a WP wiz (if there ever was such a thing). I was beginning to enjoy it!

Then I caught someone giggling by the machine. Now, even though I knew the codes for bold and italics by heart by then, I didn't giggle. Not much. So I asked what they were doing?! They told me they were talking to someone on a different machine. In the same room. (Bear in mind this was still in the stone age.) I figured it had to be some kind of telexing... I felt vaguely attracted to it. Then someone told me that only overseas students (I was one!) with a tutor overseas (I hadn't got one...) were allowed to even have a password for this strange kind of mail contact. It was way too expensive for the university if everyone were to do the same. I felt a keener attraction immediately...

An acquaintance helped me create a name ("Mowgli") and a password. He also told me the thing was called "isca" and that the address was a multi-digit number. I had no idea what he was on about, but I did as he said. And suddenly I was giggling by the machine too!

Being there really late (well, actually quite early in the morning), to avoid the inspectors who were out to make sure we didn't waste university money, I found I'd connected with people in the States and Australia, who were supposed to be up at those hours... I was awestruck! Then it turned out my most trusted "isca friend" was in fact in the same room as me. I know that for a fact, as he got up and waved at me... I was confused. Was this telexing within a room, or some kind of magic instant writing contact across the oceans???

As you'll all know, it was both. I stayed in that room and learnt a lot about it. I learnt that sleep was no longer interesting. (In fact, sleep makes me very irritable even these days...)

I learnt that even if I send an Irish Monopoly board game to my isca friend in the States, it doesn't mean he returns an American one. (I'm still waiting!)

But I loved it.

Isca had no images, no colours, just plain writing, black or blue screens with white print. Still, it was like magic. And then I discovered chat rooms... We even convinced some invisible managerial person to make us a Python quote room! Thank goodness we only had 9 hours class every week, and practically no homework!

Now all I've got to do is convince my boss and / or my hubby that blogging through the night makes me a better worker / wife / mum. Easy...

February's finest...

It's the carnival season, but still..!

Monday two Norwegians showed up at work dressed as Klan members, waving the South State flag and all. Almost half of their colleagues are non-Westerners.

They were given till the end of the day to hand in their resignations...

At least they didn't require medical assistance!

Modern times. Part two: Enlightenment

I was going to work as a Manpower temp. So I got a crash course of Word Perfect. Remember it? (All I could find was a screen shot of an Apple version, I think mine looked the same.)


I rather enjoyed it. Then was put to work as a dishwasherette (for want of a better word), so I didn't use it. And forgot most of it. My friend M still had her computer - I still borrowed time on it for the sake of Paint...

Then I went to England again, for my MA. Time to change . . .

Modern times. Part one: The Dark Ages

My father was given a text machine. The screen was dark green, the writing light green. We were delighted... It couldn't do anything a typewriter couldn't, except saving. We wrote pages just for the fun of saving.

My friend M's family bought a computer. With DOS and some ancient Windows type. She taught me to use Paint. So I painted. And nearby fainted everytime the machine brought Dos back on...

I went to study in England. They had a computer room. I didn't go there - why should I, having brought a typewriter from Norway! (This was 1989, this must be said.) Still, the class was given an introductory course to computers. There were three of us for each machine. Huge, square, black-screened machines.
I learnt how to turn it on and off. So did the other two on my machine. That was about all we had time for.

I went home at the end of the year, still carrying my typewriter . . .

Home!

We're home! Which means here (Merujo, this does remind me of a house you once posted as your dream house, am I close?).

The view from the cabin wasn't precisely as I laid out in the previous post. This is what it actually looked like: I know. Even better!! (Yes, that's the actual view from the actual cabin while we were actually there...)

After our first night we found these tracks on our terrace - we figured they were the tracks of a hare - but we never saw who made them... Still, the kids were thrilled!

We had a great week off, we really did. The weather was mostly excellent, the kids were mostly not killing eachother (the few attempts were interrupted), the not-having-to-go-by-the-watch was priceless... We all played outside for several hours every day. Which meant the kids weren't half as tired at nights as we were, as they're used to outdoor life whereas we really don't do that many off-to-the-forest-excursions during a normal working day...

Here's going up - long, long line... (One kid already on top of the hill!)














And here's Mathias going down. Get ye away from his path!

When we weren't outside we were playing good, old-fashioned board games. (As it turned out, they weren't bored games!) The kids even chose playing for children's tv, which is rare! This game in particular won them over - even though Jakob and Filip are extremely competitive and would be equally devastated (i.e. furious) whenever they lost - but they'd still play another round...

Winter break!

The world around me looks like this:

And for once, holidays seems well timed! We are leaving Saturday, and will be gone for a week. It's the first time we'll go off for our winter break. (I haven't had a winter break since school anyway, but even back then, we never went off anywhere...)
We'll be renting one of the cabins in this photo (sic!) and as you can see, there'll be tobogganing from morning till late night :) We'll even let the kids borrow the sleds if they've finished washing up... Noooo... The cabin's got a dishwasher, as well as two WC's (essential when you've got 5 kids!), a sauna, and basically everything you need for a perfectly relaxing holiday!

Oh, and we've even got a spare bed, so just give us a ring if you want to join in, right!??!

And for such a holiday, one needs to be prepared. Last time I bought skis (we're talking cross country - like every good Norwegian) I was in 8th or 9th grade. It's been a while...
So today I went out and bought a ski set - just look!
Let's just give that boot a closer look...
Yes, it's really loud, not exactly me... But it came with the set, it's actually horribly expensive (if you buy it separately, that is), it's water proof and it'll keep me warm.

And it'll be buried in snow most of the time anyway...

So, my dear bloglings, I'll be seeing you around next weekend or so, ok? The cabin doesn't come with a computer, which I think my family's rather happy about (and me just slightly nervous about)...

The kids have taken turn staying home from school / kindergarten this week, but we're hoping they'll wear it all off by tomorrow night, so we can set off fresh and well Saturday morning! Hope you all have a fantastic week and I'll see what photo opportunities this place will bring!

Chloe - you're it!

This time you were spot on, Chloe - my visitor no. 4,000!

You'll have to share this glorious honour with Merujo, as you were logged in at the exact same time last night, but I'm sure it will not take away that exhilerating feeling being someone's visitor no. 4,000 will give you . . .

And for both of you - the only flowers I could find this time of year - ice roses!

Valentine...

My feelings about this day is best wrapped up by this quote from a colleague:

"I will tell my wife I love her any given day, but NOT because it's expected from me!"

Unfortunately, my hubby's rather taken with the idea of Valentine's day. (Which is quite new in Norway. Not that he misses out on a chance of telling me about his feelings other days either...) And with all the attention that goes with it I guess I just might mellow in time!

Meanwhile, this little fellow turns 16 today! A little friend (or not so little anymore!) who was also enjoying Crete and the Harley back in '94...

Now you judge for yourselves, who is cuter - Ulrik, or St. Valentine?

That's it, I've officially joined!

What, you may ask? Well, I'll give you some alternatives:

a) the Foreign Legion
b) the Salvation Army
c) the Monty Python's flying circus
d) none of the above

Talk amongst yourselves for a minute now...

Yes, most of you got this right! I have, in fact, joined the Bluddy List of Great Novels. So from now on, you'll not only have Rarity's well-founded thoughts and philosophical meanderings around the bookshelves, you'll also have my odd post there, probably hailing a book you didn't know you wanted to read. Knowing you all I've even left a link on my blogroll so that you may find it without further ado also in the future...

So, what are you waiting for? Get yourselves over there immediately!

Oh, about c). Just wishful thinking, I'm afraid. Possibly spurred on by the fact that Mr. John Cleese Himself will be visiting Norway in May!

Roots = Routes?

The first time I ever went to Greece I was 13 years old. I went there with my dad, who'd been longing to go ever since he studied Classical Greek at university.

This was a long time ago, and Hersonisos, Crete, was a simple fishing village with the odd tourist added. We were adding to that!

As soon as I set foot on Crete - literally - I felt so exhileratingly happy! As if I'd been homesick all my life and finally had made my way back to my roots. You can see from this photo comment how I felt about it all...

Needless to say, it wasn't mine - or our - last trip. The other photo is from the following summer, taken on the boat going to Chora Sfakion from Agia Roumeli, where we ended up having walked down the Samaria Gorge. Again. (Daddy's girl, me...?)

I've only experienced the same homecoming feeling one other place. Not at home. But the first - and so far only - time I went to Dublin, the exact same feeling set in when I stepped out of the plane. The fog, the rain, the customs manager waving me past as an EU citizen although I insisted I wasn't (I came on a plane from England) - it meant nothing, I was home.

Go rabh maith agat and ευχαριστώ πάρα πολύ!

My kids sometimes ask where they were before I met their dad. I have settled for "in God's heart". But perhaps, more accurately, they were hopping between Greece and Ireland too?

Before going to a concert... Read this!

I wrote this after a de lillos gig in April 1991, but some of it's useful advice, I think... (Freshly translated into English tonight.)

We're at the doors a couple of hours before they open. First one's in. We tie our jackets around our waists to avoid any queues at the wardrobe. Then we make our way towards the stage. By common sense and natural selection (after all, this is not our first concert!) we're all 5'7" (170 cms). Which means our lower ribs will be pressed against the fence in front of the stage. This might sound painful (and indeed is, I broke a rib in one of these concerts), but is actually both smart and necessary for two reasons: If we were any taller, the fence would be pressed into our stomachs and leave no space to draw air. My good friend C, 5'10", knows what I'm talking about. She once had to be carried out by the Red Cross and revived with a few hundred litres of water during a concert... And were we any shorter, it would have been even more painful, as we're all girls (women? In our early twenties...) and there were at least two protruding elements making the fence less desirable for us than for our male co-concertees...

From experience we hooked one leg on each side of a bar in the fence so we stayed put as the crowd started to move. Two of our male friends, above the magical height, opted for going with the flow, which meant moving wildly back and forth. Afterwards they told us they'd actually only heard the first song... . We have had just enough to eat and drink. Meaning we wouldn't have to leave our posts to stand in endless lines at the rest room or at the bar. We were ready!

[...]

Later on, I scream without sound; "I'm so thirsty!" to my friend nearest by. The singing, shouting and increasingly smoke-filled air has left us with no voices. Her increasingly blue face implies that she shares my feelings, though. Two seconds later the lead singer swallows the last drop of something from a bottle. She and I stare at eachother, then at the stage floor. There's a rich selection of brown and white bottles there. Now, neither Farris nor beer is my favourite drink, but I was so thirsty! And it looked so good! I saw my friend repeat the moves in pure apathy as the singer opened a new bottle. He took a sip. We gasped. Then he moved towards the microphone stay. Past it. Straight at us. Then he gives us the bottle! We gasp again.
He starts playing, and we share the best beer ever. Moses in his desert was never more satisfied with a sudden well of water than we were that night...

Fairly accurate :)

You're a Stuffed Animal!
Everybody loves you, though most of them are truly ashamed to admit it. You love children most of all, though you're not really all that expressive of your emotions. You're not terribly active, and end up spending altogether too much time in bed, although most people secretly suspect that you really love to take trips and travel around. A kid at heart, you'd be a lot better off if no one ever grew up. You are most annoying when stuffed into the back of a car.

Take the Animal Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.

Culture week!

Another night out! Seriously, it's been a year since last time, now 3 times in one week.

Last night my hubby and I went to the Jamie Cullum concert. It was excellent! Fantastic musicality, and he's so much fun, so talented, so energetic - the whole 1,200 man/woman crowd were extatic. (Yes, he's also cute...) I loved it!

A friend of mine was right at the front row - her hair even more tousled than Jamie's even before the concert started - she's a huge fan!

Until I learn how to post a snippet, I'll just have to lead you on to my very low quality pirate recording of a Jamie song from last night! (I'm sorry, apparently it doesn't work on Macs and I have no idea how to change that...)

If you get the chance, go and see him! Oh, and listen, of course... (Try the "Jamie FM song player" on his website!)