Trondheim

Nidarosdomen - stone church from the 1200s in Trondheim

Train station in Hell

Rock carvings in Hell

I'm finally back from Trondheim and Bergen, have had an awesome time!!

I left for Trondheim on the 14th, and got seriously delayed as the departure that I was supposed to travel on got cancelled due to technical problems. The next flight didn't depart till 8pm - 10 hours later!! So I changed my return, and stayed a week rather than just 5 days. No regrets there! I stayed at my Grandma's, and I feel that I got to re-establish the connection between us like I wanted to, I've talked to her as much as I've never talked before. :) She told me heaps of cool things about what it was like to live in Norway during the war, stuff about my family that I never knew, and updated me on relatives and so on. I also learned heaps about her. Man, she's cool. She'll be 95 years old in May, and is still going strong! She won't have one of those walker-thingies, because she's afraid of her back getting all crooked, so she goes out every day and just brings a staff with her. She believes in kinda new age stuff as well, which is a bit surprising, he he. Only 1 thing was nice about leaving: I finally got to sleep in a separate bedroom again, lol. Her apartment is really small because she claims not to need a big one (ok, fair enough) and my family's always been very.... (insert proper word here). If anyone is visiting and decides to stay in a hotel while there's a spot free on the floor in someone's house - that's seen as a defeat. At least she had replaced the crappy old couch with a new bed, so I was very comfortable.

I also got to catch up with my friend from Welli, Anette. One of the days we went to Hell - something that I've been wanting to do for some time. I've been through Hell every time I've visited my Grandma, and I really wanted to stop and have a look around but never really had the time. We got real surprised when we discovered that some of the most known rock carvings in Scandinavia are there! We went up to the forest and had a look (not much else to do in Hell, really) and took some pictures, I was kinda amazed to think that maybe 6500 years ago someone was standing at the same spot, drawing raindeer on the mountain shelf. amazing... After that we went to Hell mall, and had lunch, before walking around a bit and taking extremely dorky pictures. he he

I also finally finished upgrading my teeth at the dentist's when I got to Bergen on Wednesday. WHEEE!!! Thursday I was so scared that I near fell apart in the waiting room, but the dentist managed to get through to me and calm me down, and I finished everything without nerve-calming medicines. Man, I was so proud of myself that you wouldn't even know! When I finished I was walking through the street as if I was a queen, ha ha. Friday I had my two wisdom teeth pulled out, so now I'm kinda swollen and sore, but very happy that I finally have no more dentist appoinments, and my teeth are happy and healthy again. :)

Not much else to report, really. I guess it's all a bit distant to you guys, I know that some ppl (that's YOU, Manu!) don't even have the stamina to read these emails. Oh well

Only a bit more than 2 weeks till I go travelling now! wheee!

Happy New Year

It's now a whole new year! Exciting - the last year of being a broke student! I guess I really have to make the most of it. :)
For NYears I ended up at my friends' place in the middle of nowhere, we were about 10 ppl there and it was awesome. Went out around midnight and sent up some fireworks... I must say that it was much quieter than previous years, as they just banned fireworks with a steering stick (those that have a wooden stick strapped onto the little rocket thingy). That's allright though.. we had a clear sky, and there were a billion stars out! Even saw a real shooting star. :)

The last three days I've spent in Bergen, shopping, spending some quality time with my friend and watching movies every night. Went to a party on Saturday, packed full of ppl, was really cool except that I was sick and kinda fatigued. Still met some really nice ppl and had a good time, it must be about 5 years since I went to a really big party here in Norway. It struck me that Norwegians aren't as interesting as foreigners. I had no edge! Being Norwegian in Norway is okay, but it's just awesome outside Norway. lol
I'm also starting the year by going to the dentist and fixing my teeth up so that they'll keep until they fall out. It'll cost me a fortune... or, it'll cost my poor parents a fortune - every now and then I'm grateful that I'm their only child who is still studying/poor at times. The estimate is absolutely devastating though - It'll cost $2400, I got a $500 student discount, so yeah... Gotta pull out two wisdom teeth, fix the fillings that I had done in Welli cuz the dentist there did such bad work that I now have even larger problems than I went there, and take care of 2 small holes. I'm sure this is a very fascinating read.. hehe. ;D Anyway: Stay away from Symes de Silva dentists!!! That's my advice. I felt kinda proud of myself for making it today in spite of being shit scared, but I got some drugs so I didn't feel that afraid. Weird huh... I didn't feel knocked out like last time, just ... unafraid. Perhaps it was just a placebo?.. He's a specialist in treating ppl with fear of dentists and says that he wants to get rid of my anxiety, so after today we'll be drilling without 'mental sedation'. ok.. if he can do that, then he's a f'in genious. But I have faith after today.

Now I'm in the process of finalising my plans for travelling in February. I'm going to London for two days, then to Singapore for three days (Feli and Regi: arriving on the 13th which is a Friday, staying over the weekend, yayy!), Malaysia for a quickie (Jo: I'll be arriving on the 16th and staying the night in KL, my flight to Cambodia is at 7am on the 17th!! But will be in KL in the afternoon on the 16th.), then Cambodia for another 4 days and then Thailand before returning to Singapore and flying back to good ole Welli. Yayy!! Bali was a bit too expensive, so I'm gonna travel from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh on a river boat and see the capitol of Cambodia instead. Probably just as nice to get to see more of Camb than to be stressing my ass off trying to get to a beach to relax... I'd survive 3 hours on the beach before getting bored. Also going up to Trondheim soon - my other fav city in Norway just after Bergen. Wheee! Holidays ruuule!

Summer

Been walking around Wellington these last few days, and man, it is summer already! Saw the beautiful sunset that coloured the sky pink and purple, a huuuge moon, the roses that are in full bloom and smelling just fantastic, cabbage trees in full bloom smelling great, the smell of weed coming from the bushes in the botanic gardens (lol), packs of tourists taking pictures on the platform by the top of the cable car... a gentle breeze.. I'm broke again.. all sure signs that summer is here at last. :)

I <3 Wellington.

I started my job for the Department of Labour this week, and it's pretty allright. Seems I can work as much or little as I want to, as long as I get the work done - which is great. I need to work now though, just so I can pay the rent and the bills that are towering up.. --" I must say that it's nice to be working with something that is project based rather than just answering phone calls or cleaning up after ppl. And the pay is great too! :D But I don't have much free time these days, seeing as I'm working till 5 every day (for the time being). Feels good to have something to do again though. Will be working till sometime in december, probably right up until two days before I leave! Looking forward to the weekend. It'll be great to be able to laze around a bit, I'll need it!

FREEEEEDOM!

I've finished my Honours Thesis!!!!
Have had such a nice day, with no worries, just hanging out with my classmates and then with my flatmates, drinking and relaxxing. Whaaaa..... I have an exam on Friday but I am not stressed about it at all. Right now I am sooooooooo happy.. blissful and really at peace. :)

*love*

Music and studies

I've discovered that schoolwork goes really fast and effective when I listen to drum and bass. Getting more heavily into it day by day, it's just so ... cool! :D Becoming worse of a music geek every day now, at least I stopped listening to dance music for a while! Like, really low qual dancehits that haunt the clubs in town.. now it's all about drum n bass. ^^ If you wanna check out a track that is hunting my brain nowadays, follow this link that will take u to the song on youtube: Pendulum - Still Grey. It's really good. :)

School is super hectic atmo, I'm running all over town doing data collection, at the same time as my thesis supervisor is demanding some written work this week (Which means I have to complete it TODAY since I am going to Auckland tomorrow and then skiing on the weekend, yayy!). I'm gonna be sooooo happy when I finish!

Tiki Taane

I just love this song! I'm becoming a technohead, I think...

Moving on

Now that I am done with the fitness competition, I feel a bit less pressured. I'm still gonna push myself to continue the good lifestyle that I've started, but now at least I don't have to stress if my weightloss goes at a slower pace. Miss my fitness blog though...

School is going ok at the moment, I'm beginning to get some motivation again. Maybe I just don't like holidays much, because I have to little free time, that when I don't have classes I just feel very very alone. It's weird, but definitely the contact with my classmates are highlights of my week, people who know what we're dealing with, and who offer some mental aid in terms of encouragement, and sharing fears about bad marks and evil professors ;). And when it's holiday time, I don't see them, and I am still too busy with all kinds of studies... it just gets me down. Now I am starting my data collection period! Scary.. and I am still behind on the other work that I am supposed to have done during the holiday.. but I've decided to look ahead, and just be happy for the things that I manage to get done every day, instead of beating myself up over things that I should have done, or could have done. I was so stoked that I got an A- for the essay that I regurgitated in a depressed and unmotivated state during the holiday, that means that the C+ I got was the only huge dip that I will have, if I only toughen up and face what is coming with a positive attitude! Easier said than done.. but for goodness sake! I am quite elevated at the moment. I look better than I've done in aaages, I am fitter than I've been for years and years, and I have found new interest in my dissertation. Let's hope this high lasts for 6-7 weeks!!!

Deeeeemotivation

I am facing the hard facts... being demotivated can be pretty serious. I got a C+ for one of my assignments! I don't know what is wrong with me!!! I just have no joy in studying anymore, I get really down and grumpy whenever I sit down to do anything related to uni, and I put things off till the last minute and don't even care if it's not good work, as long as it is done. Man... this is pretty bad. I wrote an email to see if I could go see a counsellor about this, but they are booked out till end of September, and by then I will have screwed up my studies anyway, so I might as well just try and find a way of dealing with this on my own. I kinda just have to.

My thesis supervisor is just making things worse.. he is badgering me for not starting my work (fair enough I guess) but he is not giving me answers to my questions! And all the while he is just saying you have to decide this and that and I am just not at all interested... even though my topic is interesting! :'( How am I ever gonna get to masters with this hanging over my head?

HEEELP! Please.. nice, sweet universe, send me some motivation!

Essays... I thought this was a holiday??? oh, who am I kidding..

I've been trying to crunch out my essay that was due today, so far I have 1920 words, and before I go to bed I need another 80. I have decided. I have to hand it in tomorrow, otherwise I'll get 10% off, and that is maybe a bit too much... dunno what is wrong with me, I've been so unmotivated lately. Just don't wanna study at all, thinking of getting a job, getting on with life... I dunno. I am still super motivated to go to the gym every day though! Becoming so attached to my fitness diary and blog, and my trainer.. my my, what will I do when I don't have a trainer anymore?! It just makes life so much easier... To have someone who motivates me and who pushes me to achieve more. He's a good kid. It's only about one and a half week left of the competition now.. I'm getting up at 5 tomorrow to go to the gym!! yes.. I know it is extreme, but I really need to finish my essay!!! So I am writing hard out from 8 till 1pm, and then whatever happens happens, really. If I'm not finished, I kinda just have to hand it in anyway...

Oh, and the play is finished now!! We had 4 performances last week, which was pretty hard out as I was sick, writing assignments and going to the gym at the same time as having classes in the morning and performances in the evening. I don't even know how I survived that....

Bad Dream

I have this dream several times a year, and it is super annoying, and I don't know why it keeps reoccurring in my sleep! I am at an airport (usually a different one every time) and I am in transit between two destinations. For some reason I get lost at the terminals, and can't find the gate for my flight anymore. Then I need to get help from someone, and by the time I find my gate the flight has gone by no more than 5 minutes... but it's still gone, and I have to get a new flight. Why do I keep dreaming this??! It has never happened! This time I was in transit in Singapore, but the terminal numbers were weird, and different floors of the airport had different terminal numbers... and I was flying Qantas. Hmmmmm....

Haircut

For a few hours, from I finished at the hairdresser's till I went to the gym, I was looking fabulous. *sigh* At least I took a picture so I'll remember.

Grøtfest (porridge party.. heh)

Today I filled my little lounge with Norwegians, and made them Norwegian porridge, called "Risengrynsgrøt" in the native tongue. It was great! Didn't meet that many new Norwegians (i did meet one though, and Rebekka showed up after being away for months!). I guess we didn't advertise very well, but it turned out to be a very nice evening anyway with the nine of us. My flatmates even came out to taste the porridge and listen to weird norwegian words.. lol.
Really tired now... gonna have to finish tomorrow. Zzzzzz

Feeling good

Man, I haven't felt this good in... forever, I think! At first it was a bit of a hassle going to the gym, but I knew in the back of my head that I would feel better if I just stuck to it, and now I have so much energy! I want to go to the gym every day, I even sometimes want to go back to the gym after I have eaten dinner! Crazy huh..

Gonna bake a cake for Christine now, that I won't be able to taste. I guess I've become a bit of a sadist... I like to test myself, see if I am able to resist temptation. Man.... Decorating the cake with M&Ms, not being able to munch... But if I manage not to, I know how proud of myself I will be, and probably that is the reward that I'm after.

I guess I've become a bit boring lately with the whole diet and exercise thing going on. I have to apologise for that. I'll never return to the old chocolate-binging me, but I guess when all this is just everyday life, I won't go on and on and on about it anymore. It'll be just normal daily life. Losing weight while gaining muscle is a bit of a challenge though.. I'm working my ass off (literally).. ;)

The ankle injury

I finally got the verdict, but I have NOO idea what it means.... According to the MRI report, "there is a minimal area of bone marrow oedema on the lateral aspect of the dome of the talus with no overlying chondral injury. There is tenosynovitis of FHL and also some longitudinal splitting of the peroneus brevis." ?? I've been trying to find my friend Odny online for 2 days to ask about it, but I suppose I'll just have to settle for the doctor that I'm seeing today.. hopefully he is good at explaining these things.. and hopefully it doesn't mean that I need an operation!!!! *fingers crossed* I can settle for walking with a dorky shoe for some while, or doing exercises... but I really really don't want to have to give up my exercise routine!

I GOT TO MEET THE MINISTER TODAY

Ok, I know that for normal people that is not such a big thing, but you all know how much of a geek I am when it comes to my subject, and meeting the minister of Tourism was really something... boy does he know alot about his subject! I suppose you kinda have to to be a minister..

21 days?

This is it, the so called amount of days it takes for the body to get used to a new routine. I've been trying to see if I feel a difference, but actually I don't. Maybe it's because I've been to the gym every day, so I haven't had a chance to just relax and revive. The fitness programme is taking up quite a lot of time though, yesterday I got so caught up in my veggie shopping that I forgot play rehearsals... (uh oh, they're gonna give me so much shit.. and I deserve it..)

Went to the gym yesterday for an hour, just to procrastinate. I have schoolwork to do, but I'm not really that motivated to do any of it. I'm still craving lollies whenever I sit down to do schoolwork. Which is making me bite my nails down even further than before. Not good. -.-

I don't understand why I am so grumpy! grr.

My new room

My new room is what I'd call freakishly small. I have about 2 sqare metres of floor space, that I have to use for my heater, my gym bag, my shoes, my laundry basket, my paper bin, my computer chair... when all comes to all, I don't have much floor space.
What is cool though, is that I finally managed to put up my wall carpet! Wehe! Today is extremely cold, so I've left the curtains drawn. It's windy as.
And here is my new view: I can see a bit of the Terrace, and I can see a bit of Dixon street. Pretty handy location. :)
The good thing about having a small room is that it is easy to heat up. Even with the heater at an extremely low setting I am happy and snug. The bad thing is that I don't have space to move.. And no space for my beloved gym ball. I wonder how I didn't see that this room would be that small...

What to do about the thesis

I think I've got it under control now... I guess what I would have needed from my supervisor was a bit more direction and a kick in the ass, but seeing as no one here at school is an expert at my field, things aren't that straight forward. gotta have it sussed by tomorrow at 4:30!

It seems that I am much better at managing my diet and my workout than I am at managing my studies at the moment, as can be seen from the eager posting on my fitness blog. The dieting is still pretty hard, but I am managing better than I though I would... Haven't had a lolly for 16 days! I'm thinking of all the things that I can eat when I finish the programme, but then I get to thinking that if I eat all the things that I want to eat, I'm just gonna put on all the weight again... better just keep at it. It's pretty easy when having a personal trainer though... just makes things so much more easy, and keep the motivation up. I guess the real challenge starts the day that I am on my own....

Sunday Market

This is one of my new hobbies: securing fresh produce for the rest of the week at the farmer's market in town. As my diet now consist of 2/3 fruit and vegetable, this is the best way to get the freshest produce and SAVE MONEY. It's unbelievable what the supermarkets are charging for vegetables... I just checked the price for green beans yesterday: $15 a kilo! Here at the market it is about $6, but prices vary from stall to stall. And you can get a punnet of cherry tomatoes for $2,50, compared to $6 at New World. Crazy, huh?

Oh yea, and I lost 3kgs already on the fitness programme, and still have 6 weeks to go. :) Life is good.

blogging

This is what blogging should be like. I'm borrowing my new flatmate's cat, Say. She is super friendly, and seeing as I miss having a cat on my lap, I don't mind her occupying my lap from time to time. :)

It's been a weird weekend, I've been quite moody, and therefore it was good to go out with Jo tonite and just watch a nice movie. We went to see the new Narnia film. It was good, although it was a bit heavy on the candy floss, but the special effects were nice (minus the water guy, that just looked very weird and reminded me of LOTR bigtime).

Now it's bedtime, and then to the market tomorrow! yussss.