Games for Wii - and stalking

As you all know I bought a Wii! And I finally got to give it a spin last night - I do have a lot of experience with Wii previously - but not with the games that I've dutifully played the last few days!

I tried "Eledees" first, which had me at hello with its adorable packaging and delicious colours. The game in itself however lacks charm in every way. The Eledees are electric creatures that you search for, find and collect using a "gun" of sorts - pointing at the screen with the Wii-remote. You can use the power (in Watts) from the Eledees to turn on lights and electrical appliances. And this is about as interesting as it gets. The house has zero personality, like the characters - and it has about as much depth as the vague, slapped-on story that is so extremely lame I wont even bother retell it.

I did find pleasure in wrecking the place completely in my desperate search for more Eledees. This meagre pleasure was ruined though - when the game then for no reason required me to be quiet and handle anything breakable with care. If I exceeded the noise limit or broke six things - the game ended. Thanks a lot. How to make a slightly fun game, a completely lame one. The wonderfullness of the packaging was clearly outsourced as the game reflected only some kind of nine-to-five teal-coloured retirement home.

But then I played "De Blob" and I was excited beyond reason. As the lead of a colourful revolution against the reign of the black and white, evil "INKT" - De Blob (a blob taking on any colour) bounces around the pale world and brings colour, charm and happiness with him by colouring everything -- buildings, trees and citizens. His likewise oppressive crew "Color Underground" helps him along and gives plenty of challenges along the way.

This is easy, straightforward, nothing amazing - with excellent little clips in-between levels that convey a simple story in a slapstick-charming way. This is a wonderful game for children, needless to say - a perfect game for me too! This totally sucked me in and I'm enjoying it a lot. Progress is clearly visible and you get special achievements for having coloured all the trees, all the landmarks or completing all the challenges etc. The controls in combination with the occaisonally straying camera can be a little disheartening and unprecise at times, but that usually is the fate of most Wii games - and when something doesn't work as intended - it's usually my own fault.

I kept waiting for the Achievement screen to pop up, but then I remembered I wasn't playing on the Xbox! Silly me.

So yes, there you go - one definite "stay away!" and one "warmly recommended!"

And when it comes to stalking, I was only going to say that I find myself stalking Helge almost every day. I put his clothes on so I smell like him and then I feel all warm and fuzzy walking around the apartment. Pretty scary you think? I'd be scared of me, too. Trust me. I actually am, a little bit.

Tummy diet

Ok, so this is very weird, I know. But it is weirding me out, too (MORE than it will you) and I just need to vent it a little bit.

Because I went to the doctor because of my achy stomach, and he took a lot of tests, and will take some more next week - so until then I am on a restrictive diet.

Okay, I get it. A billion people are on a strict diet every day - but I'm not! I've never had to think much about what I eat at all, as long as it's not hairy in places it's not meant to be hairy. Hell I even eat from the ground. But I'll tell you something, it's not at all bad this diet, it is just the principle of having to check ingredients and having to mentally prepare ahead for every meal that freaks me out. The doctor also recommended that I eat small meals, but often, grazing, if you like.

And that's fine, yeah.

YES	NO
Lots of fibre (with every meal)	Red meat
Pork	Liver, Kidney
Chicken	Dark fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel)
White fish (cod, flounder, halibut)	Cauliflower
Cooked vegetables	Horseradish
	Raw tomato
A LITTLE	Radishes
Uncooked fruit and vegetables	Melon
Dairy	Banana
Cooked meat in sandwiches	Soybeans
	Alcohol

But I can't have banana!! Or melon! And I JUST bought a lot of golden bananas and a perfectly sweet melon, and some lush tomatoes. Well done.

In other news from a grown person getting totally freaked out because she can't eat bananas - I'm wondering why my neighbour is up at eight in the morning to watch the tellybox. M, there we go, just to have a fairly gay smoke out the window in his wifebeater. I get it.

I can really start to see how living in these apartments awake a primal need for slandering. I'm the worst of them. The pair across the street even got full-covering blinds eventually, I thought I looked quite inconspicuous hiding behind my curtains and scrutinizing their odd Disney-fondling (I don't know how they do it!) or their strangely romantic way of cooking together. I call them the Disney couple. There's not a lot of action going on at my wall-to-wall neighbours, especially since I can't peek through their windows without climbing the façade.

Lot to do lately? Yes, seriously. All the prepping for our Bachelor is going to wring me into a sock. I don't know how, but soon you will meet me on the street and you'll say "Tora, what has happened? You look like a sock" and I'll say -"Yes" and look at my foot, my one big foot protruding from my neck, and add "it sucks".

Hate each other!

A sunny day from the bus to work.

Mr. Snorky is still mumbling and grunting comfortably in his duvet and it made me realize something that it appears a lot of people have trouble with. I've just joyfully scrambled through the NaNoWriMo forums and I'm left with so much inspiration I definitely have to pop some new ideas into this weeks school assignment. It was getting a little dry and realistic anyway - I might be losing my touch.

Oh you should really see him sleep. It is the most heartbreaking thing - because, as he's lying there snoring sporadically and having the time of his life, you sit there knowing it has to end at some point. The poor thing!

And I guess that really takes me back to where this post started, though I will just say this immediately first - I have only lived together with my boyfriend for 20 days, which means, in a way - I am by no means qualified to make such a statement as the one I am about to utter. I've read some depressing things on relationships, and, prior to my "stunt" of moving out - these theories, this good advice on how I am doing such a big mistake occurred ever so often. I can't say it didn't tear me down like a sandcastle, but it was so unfair - as the decision had already been made and I should've been given support instead of hassle. At least that is my opinion - okay "I'm screwing up", but let's make the best of it!

I can be a really moody person it appears. Without realizing I have set the bar as I crawl out of bed in the morning to be this or that. Happy or sad. Joyful or unpleasant. And this must be a dreadful thing to witness, I think so, even I, in the eye of the storm, I can see how horrible it must be. But that doesn't help the least bit apparently. However what does help is how effortless this relationship works. If there's something bothering us we say so right away. We have our hiccups but in the end I fail to understand how people manage to distance themselves so much from each other. If you're simply being nice and not being lazy - that means you've both tried, and you can't be bitter. Besides, it's exra good if you neutralize each others mood and laugh at things.

Whenever someone asks: "Will you please do me a favour?" You'll answer "yes" without even knowing what it is because you'll always be delighted to help others. If you can't help them, well at least you entered the situation with a positive attitude. And when you help others out they will help you when you need it. It couldn't be more of a win-win situation. I really have trouble understanding what the problem seems to be. I might kick myself for saying these things in the future, but my experience so far has made me curious on how people must behave towards each other to hate each other so much. How do you do it? I think it requires a lot more effort to be spiteful than to just be a pleasant person. Fight, for God's sake, get it out. But what's left after the battle better be two people ready to give it all to make it work. Well, if not - I guess you deserve each other.

Ga-BLAH!

We made this huuge salad today with apples and tomatoes and cucumber and salad and lish - with crisp chicken and some rice with sour cream. Yum! I also bought some ridiculously cheap imported mango juice that's really rich and delightful.

It's so cold outside and everyone hates it. It's so unfair because the last few days it's been bright and sunny which makes you want to go out and then the wind bites you in the nose and it hurts. Ow!

The weirdest thing about moving out is not having dogs anymore. I was prepared for missing them a lot, but not THIS much. You know. I miss them loads! :( It just seems strange and empty, so maybe I'll get an electronic robot-pig, you know the cheap ones and just stuff a battery in it and throw some cheese at it to see if it helps fill the void. It is the weirdest thing how much a dog means to a family. I couldn't quite imagine mine without one! (Or two).

In other neeews, any good ideas for what to dress up for on Halloween? I was thinking Old Gregg at first, then maybe someone else out of the Mighty Boosh, Tink wanted to be Mr. Susan, which is a great idea, really. The mirror wooorld!

This is the view from our bedroom window, with creepy clouds.

Autumn in Oslo, the leaves are so beautiful.

Doesn't look natural at all, really

And this is another romantic autumn picture I took.

Weirdos and Children

A strange man with a walrus mustache (it really made him look like a walrus!) was peeking into the shop today, while talking to himself. This side of town surely has its rich selection of originals, I must say. There's the one-legged guy playing fetch with his invisible dog, the hairy one who sits in the park and drinks beer, the one with the glasses taking the bus back and forth all day, drinking chocolate milk - and there's the creepy lady with the shopping bags that really does look like a living dead, but who surprisingly talks and behaves frighteningly sane and actually quite nice. That is, when she is not wandering around slooowly, staring right ahead. So far on the other side to where I have moved now, I have noticed nothing weirder than the old drunks sitting on the railroad-bridge far up the main street.

But I suppose I'll find them soon enough, and I mean, the stereotype football-supporters are definitely there, and I think they are quite weird. I do. Speaking of weird there is also a primary school near us and all these first graders are walking alone to school - which is fine, but it hit me how small they are. I mean, this might seem like an outrage to you, but - children are tiny! They really are! I don't know at what point I was supposed to realize - because as a child I always thought grown-ups were so enormous - and obviously I am one of them now. But it just hasn't quite set previously.

I remember as a child whenever I was with my dads side of the family who are all part American or American - or Norwegian and they would often speak English to each other. I guess sometimes you can just express yourself a lot better in English, but I was always frightened when they were talking over my head like that, I never told anyone but I was convinced they were plotting to eat me. I was actually really scared.

That's a way growing up, huh? Later I have discovered that they usually just say uninteresting things when talking above the childrens heads anyway, well - at least not half as interesting as it would be if they were planning to eat someone.

The clouds from the car.

Efterklang at Chateau Neuf, it was lovely.

Shared two buckets of beer with Ulrik.

Random grafitti about the bird flu.

Hai hai

I need to show you something, okay? It's a drawing that Tink's made a long time ago and it's genius. Really. You have to check it out in her blog http://fishinmyshoe.blogspot.com/2009/10/just-for-tora.html

It's extreme sweetness.

In other news, not much to show, not a lot of furniture either. Done schoolwork mostly, gone shopping in mysterious and dingy grocery-shops all around the neighbourhood of school and I've been walking to school every day. I'm still looking for the turkish delights of such scrumptious proportions as those in Narnia. Actually I did find the website of the (uncredited) producers of the Turkish Delight which Edmund eats in the film (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe). However it appears that attempting to get those to Norway from either New Zealand or the states seem pretty hopeless. But I did find some massive Turkish Delights filled with walnuts and covered with coconut that you can barely eat one of - and they were awesome. Really different from everything else we stuff in our face.

Houses down the road, such beautiful and bright colours, there are purple and baby blue and orange ones too!

That is the stalks of a turnip, or a nepe actually sticking out of an empty tea-cup. I couldn't find a good word for it in English. But it is a root-vegetable related to the turnip, it might be called rutabaga, who knows?

That is a tree near our summerhouse.

These are the woods surrounding the summerhouse. Early in the morning.

Breakfast in bed!

Actually we're currently eating every single meal in bed. It sounds more fun than it is, but we try to make the best of it.

We're getting help all around and everyone's been so wonderful. The bathroom is coming together and we almost have everything we need in the kitchen, well - except for a dining table, and a casserole we could make Fårikål in. Yum. It's cheap you know, cabbages are like 2,- pr. kilo. Today is laundry day, we're gonna clean our new bedsheets and the dirty clothes we have. Really would like to get a few shelves in, everything we own is in boxes!

The sun shines through our window in the morning and also bathes the kitchen in warmth, which is nice. It is important to remember to appreciate those rays as when winter comes we wont see it that much. We're trying to get more familiar with the neighbourhood, we have several shops and a post office just around the corner. The busstop is really near too, and if we're late we can take it to school instead of walking. It only takes like five minutes on the bus, and we'll be downtown in about seven! I'm so pleased, I really like this place, it still feels like I'm on holiday though, but I'll probably get used to it eventually!