I'm alone!

I'm home alone this weekend, and so far I've only really been alone for like two hours, because I spent almost all day walking around Oslo and had ice cream with my friend!

So I wasn't given much opportunity to miss Helge, but bizarrely, I suddenly did! It is weird, because I suddenly missed him a lot more intensely, and I realized that it was because of the time of day. The exact time he comes home from work. Haha! That's really weird! Like my brain was suddenly expecting to see him!

:(

I will on Sunday though!

Here are some pictures from the summer!

Pizza! Before the cheese!

I washed the windows!

We made cupcakes! I forgot to take a picture with frosting on them. And they weren't that amazing, so for most part they have been chucked away in the fridge, so I threw them out this morning. What a waste :<

Never quite old enough

The clubscene in Oslo is not exactly what I would call universally vibrant, it can be really stale, and serves such a wide diversity our sparse population can't abide to fill the clubs up. So what happens is that you have to be at those five or six places where things "are going down", or you will be in one of the places that have echoes in them.

Nooo, - I exaggerate. But because all clubs are terrified of being the "deserted" club, they try to be as exclusive or eccentric they possibly can, so they can attract enough people. They are also so scared of losing their alcohol licence, they make sure they get a clientelle that can stay up past bedtime, but also has legal rights to buy alcohol. This means outrageous age limits just to get in, Horgans, I remember, had 26!

 I will tell you a story, anyway, concerning the topic. It's not really that enthralling, but now that you're here... I might as well share it.

Tink (as you may know, one of my few friends of the female persuasion) and I, have worked our entire youth to crack the code which is Oslo nightlife. Even at a time when we both were blonde, and slender (Tink, still is, it is only I that seem to inflate at a frightening rate) we had a tough time getting in anywhere, and though we have never climbed in any windows, we were at one point, quite desperate.

I flaunted my sister's fake ID from when I was 16 (pretending I was 20), and that worked for most part, we got in at a lot of places and had... mostly good times, but, obviously, we also had our share of strange ones. Like when that bald guy approached us and really looked us up and down and said "Whoah! You girls deserve a diploma!" and we asked him (quite naturally, I mean, he must've seen that coming) -"What for?" And he, caught completely off-guard, said -"Um. I... Have to think about that". And this terrible awkwardness ensued and I wanted to grab his shoulders and shake him, and yell something. "Jesus! Man! You could have said ANYTHING! You could have just said 'diplomas for drinking the right friggin' beer' it wouldn't matter! Oh my God! Whyyy?! Why are you sooo dumb?!" In retrospect that is probably the way I feel about it now, while as my younger self probably just wanted to die, quickly and make the AWKWARD go away. Yes, those were the days...

Truly. But we also made it in to Café Mono, which I always regarded as some kind of perfect indie hangout, where they played Arctic Monkeys sometimes and the crowd wasn't so young. And I mean, we were there quite a lot, it was our go-to place for a long time. But fake-ID wasn't all a dance on roses, we had a couple of sweaty situations - including one when the bouncer of some other place said he would call the police on me! - made me hesitant to use it. It is, after all, illegal to use.

2008! We were like 19. I look more like I'm 12 though.

So we got cautious, and we stayed away from places where we had to use fake-ID for a while, until we could use our REAL ones. This meant going to lots of concerts and going to clubs where people where our age. We had a lot of fun, but it wasn't quite the same. So when we at last turned twenty, we thought we could stride right in to any shop and own it. Er. But we were so mistaken, it is... Um, it is almost embarrasing. We were turned down at Mono like a thousand times, because, for some reason, the place we had grown up in (well, not exactly, but we were there a couple of times even if it was lame, because we were loyal, right! We were so loyal!) wouldn't accept us when we were trying to enter under our real names! Because, as the huuge anal doorman so vigilantly kept reminding us, we had to be 22 to get in at Mono.

My 22nd birthday only just passed, I feel matured to the point that I just want to go in there just to har-umphh and snort and stride right back out again. Bah!

I had got the strange idea of hanging out at The Villa this season though, because it's Oslo's electronica scene, and it was outrageous that I hadn't even been there. But yeah, so. I was very ready, and I thought I'd better Google it, to see where it was, because, like I said, I never been there. Well. Guess what?

Yes.

You have to be 23 to get in.

...

Rest in Peace Cleo :(

I love you so much. And thanks everyone for your support! And mama I am so sorry, I wish I could be with you and hug you all day.

Cleo

Cleo, the best dog in the universe

I don't know how to say this.

Cleo's liver is failing, and she doesn't eat much. She weighs less than 28 kilos now.

She is on a liver-improving diet and she's getting some pills, but she wont eat much, and she wont consistently take the pills. Whenever she gets up, Ulla gets all excited and starts licking Cleo's face as much as she can. Cleo doesn't even have the enthusiasm to tell her to piss off.

I am getting pretty certain that this is the end for her, and I wish it wouldn't be so slow and humiliating. Starving herself to death. She really was meant to eat herself to death. Salmon and waffles and all the love she could handle.

I try to tell myself that she is only a dog, but she is so much more. She is family and such a great friend, and I know she's had a good life, and I know it can't last forever. But I wish it could.

I will keep you all posted!

Happy Birthday!

Thank goodness there is nothing good on tv in the middle of the night. If the distractions of the insanely addictive internet weren't bad enough - well let's just say I'm grateful. And I should be sleeping.

Today has been my birthday! And my 21st. one at that! Turns out my boss had given me the day off because it was my birthday, even though I hadn't asked for it! It was a lovely thing to do, but I should've known sooner and I could've made more exciting plans for the day!

We had a lazy morning, then met Tink for lunch at a Korean-Thai (Asian fusion) place. (No wonder everyone get so confused by the differences in Asian cuisine when all the Asian places serve food from all over their continent but are usually only named after one or two random countries). But either way - Helge and Tink had sushi while I had some really nice spicy green chicken curry with lots of mysterious vegetables. Tink and I then shared a fried banana for dessert, which was luscious. Nom nom!

We then proceeded to do pretty much nothing. I fell asleep at some point. Then I was awoken by Helge and that we had to leave for our table reservation at six thirty. It was a completely random idea grown from the discovery of a tiny restaurant called "Smia" ("The smithy"), which is not far from us and that we found randomly once when on a walk. It was the menu that got us interested. A very short, seasonal menu with some very ... different flavour combinations. And, obviously - covered in snobbery, serving desserts like "Pineapple carpaccio" which was raw pineapple thinly sliced on a plate (but delicious!).

And yeah, so - we had dinner there! Helge had the entrecôte, while I had whale, he had the carpaccio for dessert while I had the pavlova. Honestly - it has been a long time since I've eaten something so expensive, but at the same time it was a lovely place, the mood was right, the service was great. And the food was different, but delightful. Very inspiring. And because it was my birthday I was given a wrought iron rose! What do you know?

When we came home we were so full we wanted to die, seriously. I played Deathspank! Which was awesome, and I got to answer all the greetings on Facebook and we listened to the rain outside. Thanks everyone for having my phone buzzing practically all day, absolutely lovely.

Happy birthday, Tora!

OOooh Suuundaaay

Yeah, I'm sorry, it's just so awfully funny.

My closet has performed ritual suicide again. A perfect seppuku that could pride any samurai. I would take a picture for you, but there are levels of decency. It's all been put back to normal though, it's just that the shelves cave in on themselves sometimes because they're held up by these tiny pegs that they are just barely touching on each side because they're a little narrower than the cupboard. But anyway!

Hey! Trysil-Knut is on tv! Too bad I have to make pie. Haha! It looks bad, even from here.

Yes, today we are having dinnerguests! What do you know? That's only like the ... err... fourth time or something! So that ought to count for something. Such beautiful weather today, really stunning, sunny and delightful and all the leaves are starting to pop. Looks like it might be summer here after all. In other neeews, next week is the last for our annual project at school - we're lagging behind so it's going to be dirty, but there you go - it's not so easy to make games as what you might think! But then, we are hopefully finishing it one way or another, which means in turn, you can play it too! If you want.

Now where was I? OH! Yes, I have been so busy interneting that I have completely forgotten about breakfast. Can't survive on tea alone you know! Aaaand last but not least - before I go and ravage the fridge, here are the books I've bought this week:
(Of which, I have started three, but not finished one of 'em!)
"The Satanic Verses" by Salman Rushdie
"The Unbearable Lightness of Scones" by Alexander McCall Smith
"The Careful use of Compliments" by Alexander McCall Smith and
"Mistress Oriku, Stories of a Tokyo Teahouse" by Matsutaro Kawaguchi.

Here's what happened

I can't seem to concentrate on blogging. It used to be something I really WANTED to do, like I had a need to get my mind down and out! Now I'm really squeeeezing my own brain dry just to jot down something like this.

Fictionally I could write page up and page down here, without a problem. But when it comes to my life there really isn't that much to tell that I don't feel I haven't said before.

Tink and I was out one night, painting it red or whatever you kids say these days. As usual, we couldn't get in at Mono, which is still very ironic, because we used to when we used our fake IDs when we were 15. We didn't even try this time, though. We just looked at the sign saying "22 years" and then left.

Some idiot tried chatting me up at Fridays, he had a Kristiansand accent but for some messed up reason tried to convince me he was from some tiny dump in Trøndelag. He invited me to Kristiansand for the summer, but I said I was afraid of flying. He then invited Tink to come along, and I said she was afraid too. I ignored most of the things he said, but sadly, he was too drunk to understand ice-cold rejection. We met ONE nice guy, ditched Sikamikanico because there was a cover of 100,- and went HOME. We call that a FAIL.

I was at work, then I was at school, it smelled like sweaty nerds and we had an interesting lecture and on Monday one that made me want to kill myself. I was on the bus, then at work, then at school, home, did laundry, then at home again drawing then watched Brüno and my embarrasment-muscle actually broke.

How interesting is that?!

Now, I'd rather hear about your life!

Must haves!

Tink was over tonight, we made pizza and watched "Cashback", we also had some lemon jelly that I bought on sale. Very lovely. Superlovely!

Frost has arrived, and there are iceroses on all the parked cars on the street. I suppose you call them ice patterns or something, but we Norwegians call them "isroser". That is what it looks like, so I think it is a much better word for it.

Aaaand ---Hi, I'm here to give you this months' must haves, baby!

Movietickets for Disney Pixar's "UP" - I truly adored this film, even though Helge said he would never take me to see a Disney film again. I guess he has the right as I was crying my heart out after about three minutes. Still loved it though!

Kings of Convenience newest album "Declaration of Dependence". Definitely. Even though you will say; heard this before, this sounds just like all their other songs. True! But wrong! It does, but doesn't! This is something new, there is something very different about their sound that I have not yet been able to put my finger on. But it's still there. And you need to have it.

First season of British series "Skins". I am extremely hooked on this right now - while you're at it you should probably get the following two seasons as well. It's brilliant!

Mittens, kitten! It's cold right now. Keeping your hands warm makes every day brighter. Guaranteed.

Other than that - have some orange juice and snog your toes into a pair of warm slippers before you go to school or work. Never fails. Don't forget to brush your teeth!

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.

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!

Roskilde '09

Was very very very hot. The sun was scorching and we were awakened by this brutally each morning before nine when the tent was suffocating us. Actually every morning proceeded something like this; the other three in our camp, that slept in different tents from us woke up first and initiated rolling the days first joint. Tink has already somehow managed to poke her head out of the inner part of the tent so she manages to breathe normally. Unlike the rest of us. Helge half-runs out of the tent to get air, and I follow half-running, half-falling out of the tent that is now boiling as a sauna. Kristin and Eivind wake up last, usually managing (miraculously) to catch a few more minutes than the rest of us.

The days were spent searching for shade and anything to cool us down. People are everywhere, dirty, tired, hungover, sweating, crippled by the heat. Still music is thumping from assorted speakers throughout the camp-areas, and most start to drink immediately to chase away the thudding discomfort of searing heat in combination with numbingly painful hangovers. In the clearings big shading canvases are set up, underneath which people are napping and drifting off all day in the shade. The "forest" areas looked undisturbed from a distance, but if you lifted the branches away you could see how the cool, moist forest ground was covered with desperate souls. Like a patchwork blanket of shiny, sweaty people, sleeping the pain and heat away.

We too spent one day shielded underneath the trees, but lucky as we were, we had access to a car, and so escaped to Copenhagen and Roskilde by most of the days. We went swimming in the indoors swimmingpool and went shopping and had bagels and chewed on licorice roots (that tasted like sticks with a bit of very strong licorice in them) fun at first, then sickenigly disgusting. Poor Eivind's foot was injured badly before we went to Roskilde, so he had to limp around everywhere.

The evenings were the best. We raved out by one of the bigger camps in our camp (J), and we had some licorice shots and lukewarm beer. We kept getting lost in translation with all the danes and that was really awesome. Like I'd ask someone by the bonfire if they had marshmallows, and they'd go "What's that?" and I'd repeat my question saying "MaaAwRshmellOHyws!" and then they'd be all "Aaah! MEYRshmEllOHws!" XD Classic.

Concerts! We saw all kinds of different stuff, but at least I got to see Whitest Boy Alive, La Coka Nostra, White Lies, Oasis, Coldplay, Haakon Hellström, Röyksopp (which was AMAZING), glimpses of Den Sorte Skole, some Kanye West, and some random DJ's in the lounge. And I mean random. Loads more played, but the ones scheduled before four in the evening were too hot to attend, and occasionally there were better things to do than to rock out in the festival area. Believe it or not.

The food was great pretty much everywhere. Yummy nachos and sweet mangolassi for the spicy indian food, we went to two different tex-mex buffets, probably to the hosts' great despair. When I wasn't sunburnt I was filthy, though it was usually both. But really being clean isn't what it's all cranked up to be. There is a certain charm to not bothering whther you look like shit or not, I stress that it's probably healthy to kick back and don't care sometimes. Though the icky thing is that I got sick during the last day, and it wasn't because I caught a cold, I'd got it from someone else, that place is like a bacteria-theme park. I mean, I am still sick to this day, eleven days later. But I definitely don't mind, was totally worth it.

Tink bought this awesome beachball that we covered in glitter-tape, it was beaaautiful, though unfortunately it got stolen :( It was too pretty to be left alone.

Thanks so much everyone for a really fun trip! Thank you for the music :D

White Lies

Eivind and Kristin with diamonds! O00ooOoh!

Helge and me at Whitest Boy Alive

Tink drew wiskers on me. Beeaaauuutiful!

Bye bye baby!

I'm leaving for the Roskilde festival in Denmark tomorrow morning. Yes parents, I'm going to be careful and take care of myself and drink responsibly, and then we'll party our brains out. Wheee

I'm totally excited, I've never been there before, but hopefully it will be a wicked blast and everything will be kachoom! Oh yes. And we'll be all sorts of funky people sharing a tent, so very it's going to be pure sweetness. We'll see Den Sorte Skole and Friendly Fires and Ginger Ninja and Røyksopp and Oasis and White Lies and Coldplay and The 20Belows and Håkan Hellstrøm and the Whitest Boy Alive!! Ooooh. I know, it's amazing.

BINGBINGBING.

Where would you go, where would you go with a lasso?

Lasso by Phoenix from their most recent album. Give it a listen, pumpcake.

This is a duck from a very beautiful Portuguese garden in Lisbon.

Today

I've had the wine-flu all day actually. It's weird how it doesn't go away for a long time, that even though you're feeling a whole lot better, it still kind of distantly feels like someone'd tried to chew you and then filled you up with cramp-juice. I've been eating digestive biscuits with sour cream and limped around like a pregnant puma.

Turns out, starting May 17th with (according to Helge) at least six glasses of champagne before breakfast and then drowning in sangria and cuba libre at Elin's for dinner, was not such a good idea after all. Carlos'd hired caterers for the most extraordinary breakfast buffet with steamed mussels, roastbeef, smoked salmon, roasted chicken, big loaves of freshly baked bread, a tower of strawberries, champagne, chocolate treats and even the traditional kransekake. There was even more, but I can't recall everything. Needless to say, it was delicious too.

Elin'd made a bathtub (almost literally) of sangria, loads of salad, her ever so delighful potato salad, loads of dip, crisps and cake! Ulrik was boss of the baaar-beee-queue - and I wont even list all the delicacies, because frankly my keyboard isn't *that* waterproof.

There you go. Today it RAINED, which was miserable, almost as miserable as my fragile state. And I can't wait to come home and relapse into a comfortable position and die a little bit more inside. YESS.

Another random photo I took the other day.

I don't like you!

I think Norway kind of overloaded as we won the Eurovision songcontest on the very night before our national day. Everyone were running around in the streets screaming, singing "Fairytale". On my way (running) late for work today, I heard it thump out of a taxi window. And on May 17th everyone we're just so excited that they almost talked to strangers. Which is extremely rare up here, we pretty much stick to our own.

The only exception is on May 17th, because nothing is such a grand display of unity and of loving thy neighbour as the disgusting behaviour of Norwegians on May 17th. It's almost unappetizing. But being a reflected young woman, being influenced by other cultures and lifestyles through the wonders of globalization I manage to realize that perhaps the warm and hearty approach we have to strangers on this exceptional day - should be how we always behave towards each other. We could obviously skip a couple of the overly gooey gestures, but keep the concept at least, of being pleasant to things we're unfamiliar with.

We can't exactly hide the fact that our "civilized" population ia absolutely packed with prejudices. Particularly racism. I don't think it shines through very clearly a lot of the time because the topic is so extremely taboo, and everyone are being so meticulous about disguising it as being racist is considered medieval and primitive - which is true, obviously.

It's just that some types of racism is difficult to cloak, Norwegians hate strangers, we really do. I wont say we are abnormally paranoid or hostile, it's just that we're so evasive. We avoid confrontations, just like we're avoiding the problem at hand. We wont trust anyone with anything, but if we do as an exception, we wont hesitate to say "I told you so" if it goes wrong. We get along with our neighbours just because we have to. And we're also positively the first to break out a prejudicive remark or crack a joke on the topic. It comes extremely natural to us, perhaps a little bit too much.

I'm not saying we're all like that, an extraordinary lot of us are enjoying the variety of people, food, music, work, art or whatnot that is brought to us from other cultures and adopted by our own. I wonder how often a Norwegian haves taco, or stir fry, or chicken tikka masala or even just kebab without actually considering how lucky we are to be able to enjoy this delighful variety of foods - and why. Well hello you, I tell you something - your grandpa sure as hell didn't dig the chicken tikka out of the ground at his classical Norwegian farm. This topic is actually quite hard to write about, because it's so moronically unlogical.

But anyway, a japanese couple came into the shop and bought a lot of cutlery from me, they were so joyous that they gave me a piece of chocolate before they left! Thank you!

Took this by the river. Norway is pretty in the spring. No?

About today

Ulrik was here for lunch, hope he catches his plane - because we got kind of extremely carried away with the eating, so he had to run out the door. Good times. Today I am going to work, then I am going to meet with Helge and hopefully we'll do something awesome. Yay!

I feel like I need to get back into a good rhythm again, I know I complained about everything feeling like a repetitive pattern (and that's not what I mean) seriously, I hated that. But right now it's like I'm not even touching the ground, the easter holiday just launched me into a wayload of relaxing and chilling and having a great time in general, so now I better shape up and get things done. Like I really need to tidy up in here, it looks awful. There's clutter everywhere. You know what? I think I'm going to finish this random gush of uninteresting information and tidy up instead. Here, take this random scenery picture I took in Molde instead. Thank you. I like showing off on how beautiful Norway is.

Now I'm going to eat your brain and gain your knowledge.

Books and my Easter

I'm back from Molde! (I came home Friday actually, but I have been way too lazy to tell you here, anyway). On your left hand you can see some pictures I took while there, mostly from the car though, but still! Whoptidoo.

Today the weather was really depressing, gray and wet, slight seeping rain clouding everything in a hushed mask of cold. On the positive side, I just finished the last book in the Twilight series! That means I read all four of them, "Twilight", "New Moon", "Eclipse" and "Breaking Dawn". I kind of liked them, they were a nice escape from reality (which means they have accomplished the most important task of a book). In some way I have been able to immerse in them, especially the first book - which made me feel all swoony like I believed in love, which was really nice. Obviously I don't need books to feel like that right now, so despite of their apparent ability to make your heart skip beats with the romantic spirit of a fifteen year old - there isn't really a lot to mention.

I am unable to put my finger on why I couldn't seem to devour them with the same thirst toward the end of the series, as the rhythm in the text was pretty much the same. I think it has to be because they were very chick-flicky and also extremely black and white. The good guys were very good (too good) and the bad ones were very bad, like evil. I thought the depth and diversity of the characters wasn't very impressive in other words. But I'm not going to critizise it for that, this is romance for goths and girls - a task it accomplishes perfectly. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone with many literary monsters beneath their belt, this is easily digested and easily enjoyed - unless you let yourself be annoyed by it's naïve blindness.

With an ability to let the defects fall through and with a little restraint - it's been a great read! Stephenie Meyer's writing can be very captivating at times, really. So thank you for that, Steph.

Right now I'm listening to "The Escape" by Harry's Gym - great Norwegian band. They have an extremely diverse sound, and many comforting elements to their songs. Wonderful. Definitely recommended. I hope everyone had a happy easter, too. I sure did myself! Sigrid was home for a bit, lurvely - and I met a lot of funky people out on Friday at Nicholas'. I think I'm still full from all the delicious food I ate in Molde (curtesy of Helge's mother) and the weather's been quite nice, so I am expecting summer even more eagerly than before!

Chasing the fuuuture!

I've always felt like I'm chasing the future one way or the other - there's always something ahead that I'm trying to chase further away, or chasing because I want to catch up with it. It's interesting how much of our modern lifestyle is based on goals and on preparations for the future. I know I always go on about this, but I got to think of it again today as I was looking at the sun - how we just keep rushing through everything without realizing.

Whenever I remember I try to be good at living in the present, but because I am also a dangerously good procrastinator I tend to enjoy the present a little too much sometimes. Often, actually. Living life like it's your last day is my favourite excuse to postpone anything I don't want to do. Lately I have gotten better at starting things that have a deadline far ahead though. Like a programming assignment – or painting all the nine Easter eggs for a diversity of siblings, parents and boyfriend before filling them with ridiculous things I’ve spent a long time hunting down. And this works quite well for me – as often the worst part of a task is to know which end to begin, so if you have the start settled – usually the rest kind of slips into place. I say usually because it makes it sound as if I have any experience on the matter.

In other news I’d like to present some music to you (again) now that everybody is more widespread than before (and that random strangers come up to me and say they’ve read stuff here) I find it satisfying to believe that someone might listen to some the music I feel the whole world should love. And please don’t burst my bubble, I am very easy to satisfy in my own land of self-deceit, I don’t really want to know whether I am able to staple some good music on to your forehead or not. If I believe it, then that’s enough – don’t question my religion.

Actually speaking of religion, I generate genuine satisfaction from raising the play count of the songs I like best on iTunes. So that I can sort all my tracks by “Times Played” and the best song ever will actually end up on the top. I suppose it sounds weird, but I feel like it means I have achieved something – which means I will be able to chase away another deadline while pretending to be productive on other matters.

Before I give you the music, I have to send out a happy birthday to Tante Bister, my most faithful reader! Happy Birthday to you!

Milky – Just The Way You Are (New video by Elin and me!!)
Static Jacks - Fire On The Bridge & The Tunnel Below (RAC Maury Mix)
Anya Marina – Move You
(picture is of Sangria in a restaurant in Lisbon, Portugal last fall).

Vorspiel

The term Vorspiel is derived directly from the German word "vorspiel" (yes, I did say directly) meaning foreplay (actually) so it is misinterpretated. It is a Nordic term (widely used in Norway as just "vors" (pronounced "Fores")) for pre-party. 

The vorspiel is the opposite thing of an after-party (naschpiel/nasch). A gathering of the people going out (or to a party (usually not too many people)) getting suitably drunk together. A vors is  usually held at a private place, like hiding in your parents bathroom with your parents stolen liqour at the age of 14, in a roundabout by the gas station with a couple of ciders at 16, in a comfortable basement with some beer and punch at 18, in your friends new condo with a short black dress and champagne at 20 - I guess. A vorspiel can be anything. Elin and I usually have make-up vorspiels, we show up raggedy and play loud, brilliant music while getting dressed, sipping some battery or red bull and putting make-up on. It's great, really.

Vorspiel is so common in Norway because going out is so incredibly expensive. Alcohol in general is - but especially out on the town, so getting drunk before you go to the actual party or club or concert has proven economic and praises the works of Darwin. There's almost always some chick too drunk to ever leave the vorspiel at all, which keeps the weakest off the market - unless their friends are significantly strong and/or determined, obviously. 

This is an important factor to scandinavian nightlife and so a major thing to most Norwegians, which is why I thought you should know! But if you still don't understand, I'll give it to you in pictures:

Naschpiel: (After-Party, look - it's morning already!)

Vorspiel: (Pre-Party, though this is actually THE party, but you get my point)

See the difference?

Lighter than air

Everything is like a sugar high right now. My chest feels like it's so full of happiness it might explode! It's been so long since I've felt like this. I have felt sporadically happy the last few months - I have, but nothing like this. Not even comparable!

If you want to feel something similar I suggest you go listen to The Black Kids. Senseless, shameless happiness! Truly. Canned. Keep in handy for when you need some summer essence. Even though their music - and the glorious sunlight outside (and the fact that I babysat tonight and we made purple, turquoise and golden - glittery, feathery chickens for easter for hours) provides me with a great amount of happiness - I owe my current mood to the people I hang out with. Everything just seems so great at the moment. So, thank you!

I played the piano a little, and I "made" a song that I've called St. Prozac, it's quite short though, and I can't remember much of how to read notes so I just remember it in my head and in my fingers. That's quite incredible though, I think - that people are still able to create "new" music, at this pace - every melody should have been invented already. Pretty amazing. This world would suck so much without music. Speaking of which - I'm going to Roskilde this summer! Whoop! Yay! Forgive me for the complete lack of logic in this post. Here follows a list of books I have to read:

A Thousand Splendid Suns

The Da Vinci Code

The Inheritance Cycle (Eragon, Eldest and Brisingr)

The God Delusion

A Suitable Boy (both of them monstrous books)

My point precisely - Good night!

Hungrrhyyyy

I am at work. It has been a sunny day today, still is. The mall is light and quiet, not too cold - it's nice. I've been reading the papers, taken a few work-related calls, tidied up a bit and thought about stuff with an empty expression on my face. Though more importantly, I'm hungry.

Hunger, I think - leaves one with a pressing, gnawing feeling of restlessness. Nothing - or at least few things - can stop the creeping sensation that something is missing. My mind wanders, my eyesight goes unfocused, my brain is even more distant than usual - and I'd be satisfied eating just about anything. Candlewax, tea leaves, glue, paper - bits of wood, or maybe napkins. That's what my diet would consist of if I got locked in here. That's what I'm considering to eat right now.

The two most satisfying and delicious meals I've ever had have been those random late-night occurances when food have suddenly been presented to me unexpectedly and when I have not been able to fully realize exactly how hungry I was before I saw food. And actually both times it's been pizza. The first time was years ago when out partying with my sister in Bergen and someone behind the bar made frozen-pizzas and I was given a slice. It was a kind of sensation i have later been troubled to recollect at all. All I know is that it was wonderful. The second time was two weeks ago in a hostel bed in Germany when around midnight I split the best pizza I've ever had, with twice as much cheese as necessary - but with twice the delight.

In the end I often suspect that the media can make us want to remember less perfect moments though with more romantic credibility and forget the ones that truly leave an impression. Like in books and in movies the clichéed situations, the expensive ones gets highlighted, while the quirky situations are left unnoticed and without memory. What truly beats the romance in sharing a double mozzarella pizza on a beer infused double bed in a cold, smelly boys room late at night on a schooltrip to Germany? Watching the boats in the cold and dark at Aker Brygge during the autumn? Lying on a green sofa in the basement, listening to the same Mark Foster song over and over? Eating too much sweets - until our tummies ache and watch ridiculous machinima till late at night?

To me, I think... Nothing.