Why I didn't become a Baker:

Nerd

In these relaxing Christmas-times, I decided to take up knitting. After going through all the yarn I could find in the house, I ended up deciding to knit myself a vest. OK, so since I didn't have a pattern, I thought I could google "knitted vest" to get some pictures of inspiration. The search result was a little revealing; surprisingly many hits connected the words "knitted vest" and "nerd"... Hm, maybe I should take that as a hint..

Still dreaming of a White Christmas...

When I got home Monday night I got home to snow on the ground. I was so happy. Seemed like signing underskriftskampanjer and dancing snowdances (although in secret and not in Tromsø sentrum) had done the trick after all. Yesterday was cold, there was snow on the trees and a blue, sunny sky. Yes, yesterday was a Christmas card. I was telling people that the white Christmas was there after all. Then I woke up today. Almost all the snow was gone, it was raining, and the thermometer showed +6 degrees. Argh!!! After 25 years I still haven't learned that whoever laughs last, laughs best. The weather-gods must be having a blast ringt now.

I tried to keep the Christmas spirit after all. I have been practicing my housewife skills - cleaning, decorating, writing Christmas cards, and baking. I had asked my mom to not bake my favorite Christmas cookies before I got home, so that I could do it instead. Because, to be honest, the cookies are good, but they are nothing compared to the dough! I went like it had to - I practiced my eating skills more than my cooking skills, and ended up on a sugar high with a terrible stomach ache. And the cookies.. Well, I burned the first tray, but after that managed to produce three good trays. Man må regne med litt svinn!

It's Over

Finally! It's over! I can't believe it, but I have finally handed in my last exam. EVER! It is too recent to say how wonderful it actually feels, but I can at least say one thing for sure: I am so not going to miss them!! The weeks with lack of sleep, where all the dreams are so stressful and exhausting that I wake up more tired then I actually was the night before. The weeks with lack of appetite where nudles seem like a culinary treat. The weeks where I have a constant taste of old coffee in my mouth after desperate attempts to reach a coffeein level that would keep me somewhat awake. The weeks of getting weirder and more absent minded by the hour. The weeks where I feel more sorry for myself by the second. The weeks when organising old papers or cleaning my room seems not only of outmost importance, but actually fun. Nope, strangely enough, so not going to miss that.

Now I am going home to sleep. And then - out to eat some Chinese food and have a huge glass of cold juleøl. I think I deserve that.

You know it's Exam Time when...

... your priorities for the day look something like this:

1. check e-mail
2. check blog and everyone else's blogs
3. hmm.. maybe someone got up early and sent me an e-mail. I'd better check.
4. read newspapers online
5. make coffee
6. drink coffee (cannot be done while working!)
7. open the book
8. get frustrated, and close the book
9. write a few lines
10. check e-mail
11. check blogs
12. time for a proper coffee from Mix
13. newspapers
14. maybe now I got an e-mail...
15. I haven't really organized my desk this year. It really needs to be done. Today.
16. Well, why not go through and sort all the papers on my desk while I'm at it?
17. I'm hungry. Time to eat.
18. I have to check e-mail. And blogs. Maybe update mine.
19. OK, I'll write a few lines..
20. Oh, how frustrating. The words just won't come down on paper. I need candy. Time for Mix.
21. Did someone comment on my blog? Only one way to find out.
22. OK, now I really have to write something..
23. It's so dark outside. I must have been sitting here working forever! What? it's only 4 o'clock? well, I'm getting so tired I just have to go home for a nap. I can write more tomorrow.

Humf!

Oh, julebord-season...
I am trying to apply to a school in Oslo to take one course there after Christmas. Then they suddenly told me that application dead-line was today. OK. No problem. They sent me the link to download the application form. OK. Only it won't open. So I called them. And called. Called. And called again. In desperation I finally called the front desk at the school. They told me that unfortunately, the study department could not be disturbed today, because they are using the whole day planning their julebord!!!

I can just see them sitting there folding napkins or something, while I desperatly have to realise that my possibility for a studyplace is getting slimmer by the minute..

Arghhhhhhh!

Snowdance Anyone?

OK, so I know that there are raindances. Funny dances that will make the rain pour down in seconds. But do any of you know any snowdances?? I am getting desperate. There are only 17 days until Christmas, and there is NO SNOW! Unlike the Namibians, I do not dream about a green Christmas. They need this rain, we don't. We need snow. I simply refuse to accept a green Christmas. Besides, all this lack of snow and high temperatures all over Europe causes wintersport event after wintersport event to be cancelled - and my beloved sportslørdag and sportssøndag on NRK suffer with it.

So. Desperate times call for desperate solutions. If anyone has a snowdance to teach me - one that they know will work - I will overlook all my lack of rythm and poor dance skills, and perform it in the middle of Tromsø sentrum if that is what it takes. Så det så.

Darkness and Coffee-Hunt

Wow wow wow!! Hold on a second. Is this as light as it gets?? Needless to say, I am back in Tromsø. But I am not the only one to have arrived - so has mørketid. The couple of months in the year where there is no sun, and when it basically looks like it's midnight all day round. I have tried to prepare. I sucked in every bit of sunshine that I could from Namibia, and I hope they will keep me awake for a few days extra.

I am not so sure my tactic worked, though. Because after looking out of the window of the reading room only for a few minutes - out on nothing but darkness - I felt the desperate need of coffee to be able to keep my eyes open. Apparently I am not the only one. Because we went to Mix - but they were out of milk. OK, so we tried the cafeteria. Nope, their machine was out of order. Hmm, the pharmasy building is known for their good coffee, right? Well, not today. Their machine was tired and waiting for reparations! (The pharmasy-cafeteria was forgiven, though, after offering us some free gløgg and christmas feeling). But to wake up, I had to go back to the reading room to make myself a cup of strong, but yucky-tasting instant coffee.

I wonder if anyone has done a study of how much the coffee-consumption in Tromsø goes up during Mørketid. It would be really interesting to know.

Looking Young

Today, I went to a cafe in Windhoek. I ordered a coke, and the lady working there told me it was a good thing that I didn't order a beer, because she couldn't sell them to people under 18... And the worst part of it is - the place was only selling light beer!

It isn't Only-Only

The last couple of weeks I have gotten used to driving on the wrong (read:left) side of the road. I realized that I am getting used to it when I said to my mom yesterday that "have you noticed that now I am almost always choosing the correct side of the road after turning in an intersection??". Yesterday I also practiced my driving-in-a-city-on-the-wrong-side-skills, and it was OK. But today I am returning the car to Hertz. Kind of sad actually. But I do agree with the Norwegian rally-driver Petter Solberg - famous for his Norwenglish - that it isn't only-only to drive in the desert! (This probably makes most sense for those of you familiar with the great Norwegian expression "bare-bare", it doesn't translate too well...)

It has been great to be back in Namibia, and to see the people again. But summr here is HOT! I am looking forward to going back to Norway now, to some decent winter temperatures! Guess I am a winter person after all!