My sin of choice is sloth. Well, choice and choice, it's the one I suffer from. When I do not have anything specific to fill my days with I don't do anything. There are lots of things I could do (write that article I have to write before September, start packing, cure aids, save the world etc, etc), but since I don't have to do them, there are no specific deadlines, I don't even get started. When I have something specific to do, i.e.. work, I have no problems jumping out of bed, feeling cheerful, refreshed and ready to start the day (well mostly). Now, I wake up at wake-up time 6.15 -since I am a morning person in my heart- and just stay in bed, napping, reading, napping. On a couple of occasions I didn't crawl out of bed until mid-afternoon. This constant oversleeping makes me lethargic and gives me a constant low grade headache.

I need something to organise my days, because I am hopeless at doing it myself. I know that that is one of the reasons why I had problems writing my thesis (combined with the absent supervisor and the fact that my two fellow students were decidedly introvert).

Also my computer has had problems lately, and I had to to things&tm; to it. And now I have no virus programme, and no Microsoft. Openoffice is probably all right, but why is it using to much memory?

In house-related news; Friday I met with the bank, and signed thousands of papers filled with words like "loan", "mortgage" "payment", "soul", "interest rate"... And at 5 pm today I am meeting with the house broker to sign the contract and stuff.

I am sure that this domesticity is what have made me have worrisome dreams lately, like tonight I dreamt I got pregnant with one of my former students (ew), and we were so happy (although we had this serious discussion that we had to stop with the orgies). We spent the rest of the dream expanding the flat to make room for the child. Because dreaming of painting and hammering is so fun! Well, at least we didn't get a dog, which dreamt the other night, a irish setter. And I don't like dogs! Although the exercise would do me good.

I am not alive, and not in some Cyprus hospital after an ill-fated attempt at driving on the wrong left side of the road. Actually I was rather amazed at how civilized the traffic was, well, since my points of comparison were Norwegian, Italian and Greek traffic.

I will not say so much about the holiday, because holiday it was - at least by my standards, sleep late (until 830!), go for a swim in the ocean, have a long an leisurely breakfast. (optional; place mother at the beach) relax (two hours in a bus across the island to have a look at some ancient stones), lunch (eat fast before the bus leaves), home again, (optional - pick up mother from beach) leisurely swim, beer at the balcony, dinner (and football), sleep. The relaxing was done in the Troodos mountains (which I'd love to go walking though in early spring), and two days in North Cyprus; one day in Salamis and Famagusta, one day in Nikosia (where we had the best lunch ever). We would have liked to go to Pafos too, but that would have made the itinary to busy. And then I spent a day trying to get to Larnaca, but forgetting the thing about driving on the left, losing that morning's bus, and decided to take the bus in the opposite direction instead, ending up (via the infamous Agia Napa) in Paralimni, where I had lunch. And one more lunch, before going back.

In other news, I am kind of broke at the moment. Since I have taken four weeks holiday this year(one week in Marrakesh, two weeks now, one week in October), I am not getting much wages this month. And since I went form one contract to another in December I got my holiday money then, instead of in June. And I didn't even think of that. And since I was thinking I'd get 25.000 kroner this month I went ahead and paid my ticket to St. Petersburg. In October the choir is going to St. Petersburg. I have now paid the ticket. And I am currently waiting for yet another house broker to call me and tell if my bid has been accepted. As if I wasn't broke enough already...
(ETA: Bid was rejected. Too low.)

There was something more I was going to say... hmmm... I can't remember, it must have been important.

Phew. All the written exams have been graded, and the students mostly did well. Tomorrow I'm holding the last of the oral exams, and after that it is time to relax. And write those ground breaking articles I have been planning. But before that I'm going to Cyprus, where I have never been before , for a week. With my mother. Brushing up on my Greek (or whatever they speak there), relax, and yes, write postcards.

Some of you are already on my postcard-list, and will receive (or not) a postcard, even if you don't want one. But if have moved since March, or really, really want a postcard, leave your address in the comments. This goes for those of you with book-recommendations too. Not the address, but "leave" and "comment"

Comments are screened.

This one is for niora A floorplan of 221B Baker Street, via Strange maps

Slightly decompressed now, after some therapeutic teaching. And having contemplated and recounted the strange story about my mother and her idea that I wanted to move to the suburbs to everyone and their grandmothers. According to all the people who've been listening to my whining today (thank you!), it may have something to do with the fact that she lives about 10 minutes walk away.

And I am wondering how people in India are able to do yoga. It's 20°C outside, and I even the thought of doing yoga is repulsing (but it's yoga-practise day today...)

After some contemplation I have (almost) decided to push the serious flat hunting forward in time about 6 months until I know whether or not I have a permanent position at NHH. Currently I have a temporary position going until the end of December. So I could stay where I stay now, and save a lot of money, Furthermore I will receive some back-pay for the administrative work I did initially, since I worked on a per hour-taught basis last year. So, since the house marked is slow, and I could save up rather a lot of money in a short time. Of course, this resolve is occasionally rocked by dishes towering up in the kitchen and flatmates wanting to talk when I want to be grumpy.

But this entry is again brought to you from by mother. You see, I told her about my decision, which she thought was a good one. But just now I got en email from her. She had found a perfect little house for me, she said; kjempebra og sentralt "great and centrally located" also referencing acquaintances who live there.

What totally confused me is that this house is not central at all, it's in Åsane, the suburb I grew up in, and still detest. I have absolutely no friends there (since she (one person) moved abroad several years ago), and there is nothing interesting to do there except hang out on Ikea, or the other huge shopping centres, or play handball (which is another bad hangup from my school years, everyone in Åsane played handball. Except me.)


On top of that she also wrote that she'd be out of office until the afternoon, but I could call her later.

I just feel like the ground was pushed out under me. Even the idea of moving to Åsane is so totally impossible to me, I don't understand how someone can even contemplate for it themselves, mush less recommend it to me. And my mother!!

Don't get me wrong, I love my mother dearly, but I have realised that bring my mother on my house viewing stunts is really, not so much a waste of time as totally detrimental to any attempts at house-buying. Whereas my insights into the house market, and what one can get for my allotted sum of money, is fast expanding (as the possible number of flats dwindle), my mother's idea of how my flat should seems somewhat inflated to me. Whereas we have the same ideas concerning how the flat should be organised, my mother seems to stuff at least 10 extra square metres, a balcony, and preferably an extra room into it. Of course, any of these accessories puts the flat outside my economic reach. It should also be newly refurbished and repainted, Although she scoffs, loudly and occasionally embarrassingly, at anything she deems overly fancy, which is well... a lot of things.

In one way I can understand why she scoffs this way. Many of these apartments are styled with trendy rented furniture, but still the walls have holes after nails, the floors are badly put down and millions of other details. On the other hand, chances I will find something that is perfect in her eyes, within what I can afford is highly unlikely.

Of course, it is probably my own fault for bringing my mother along, but she owns the car, and all the viewings are at the same time, so a car to zoom between places is a good idea.

On the other hand, the longer I stay in the shared flat, no matter how it can stress me out, I have a lot of money to spend
save for the extra 10 m².

In other news, I have understood why people who blogs occasionally write blog posts on the strange hits and weird search terms people have used to get to their blog. I have a small wordpress-blog where I occasionally write about strange words I encounter. Lately i have been rather amused by the search terms people use; Some people seems to be obsessed with "pretty words in X language", which I have several hits from. "Italian words on m" is also a favourite, along with "hooker in latin". People are weird. Today I have been linked to from a wikipedia-debate article (along with 8! hits). Will I be famous now?

Well, time to return to the exam grading...

The first chick has hatched for the oyster catchers living on top of the science building at the University of Bergen - just across the street from my house.

Have a look at them at tjeldcam - (Tjeld is the Norwegian name for oyster catcher.)

Cuuuute!

Thank you everybody for your birthday wishes. And a specially big thank you to hierophantrix for the birthday cake! And to niora for the calorie-free cake :)

Birthday was spent in the office while the students on the beginner's level wrote their exams. In the evening I had extra choir practise for our 17th of May concert, and afterwards I went for beers with my friends, quite successfully (compared to some other attempts) trying to mingle new colleagues/friends with old friends (all language nerds). I came home late and somewhat drunk, but not feeling particularly older.
( 17th of May, experiences with bunad, and more about dead Norwegians than you want to know )

So, life is busy, but good. I don't feel older, and I have got a new mobile phone. It is a Nokia E51, and so far I quite like it.

Some months ago my old mobile stopped feeding, and and since the warranty had expired I had to buy a new reasonably cheap phone fast. After all I can't live without one! So I decided on a flip phone, since they looked kind of cool. So far I had only owned candy bar telephones. Now I have had my flip phone for about four months, and to tell you the truth, I do not like it much. I can't say I hate it, but unlike the old ones I wouldn't be sad to see it gone. I find the endless flipping annoying. And since I live in a country where text-messages is the normal way of communicating (gossip, making arrangements, getting job-offers, sending in tax reports....), there is a lot of flipping during the day. So, since I at the moment is slightly not-poor I planned on using some money on a new phone, which I really do not need, but would very much like. I have contemplated a slide phone, but am worried that the sliding will annoy me equally much as the flipping. So I turn to you my wise LJ-friends, slide or bar? Or is it just me who hasn't understood the beauty of the flip phone?

Poll #1185250 Phone-shaped poll
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

I think it is important to vote - even in a mobile-shape poll

Which shape is your mobile phone?

Which shape do you prefer

Why do you prefer a ...-shaped phone?

Can mummimamma buy herself a new phone?

Recommend a phone

As you understand - my life is really hard at the moment...

ETA: Perhaps I should go for this lovely Buddha-phone? Although I need to brush up on my Chinese (if that is the language it uses) first...

This last week my house hunting has been seriously impeded by an attack of witches, that was the learned opinion of the learned doctor at least. Hekseskudd in Norwegian, Hexenschuss in German according to my students - which is called something as boring as lumbago in English. So what can you do when attacked by witches? Not sitting I have found, but it is all right to lie down, walk or stand. While listening to Terry Pratchett's stories about witches of course.

But in better news, my article has at long last been published!

Happy author

And since the wonderful place I work for have this incentive to write articles, I will get a nice bonus for it by the end of the year. Obviously it works, because I plan to write another one now, to another and even more famous journal (more money!). Of course I've forgotten everything about long harrowing evenings of lonely writing...

Also I've finished teaching for this semester - now only I only have to make the exams, correct the exams, prepare the oral exams and hold the oral exams. And scare calm the panicking students of course.

Currently I must be the most boring friend in the world. Whereas I usually am an enthusiastic and spiritual conversation partner in topics as varied as my students, languages, Norwegian language, Latin language, Greek language, etymology, Finnish language, second language acquisition, science fiction books, science fiction films, lack of women in science fiction in general, badly written woman roles in science fiction films, badly written women characters in science fiction books and science fiction and languages, I currently have only one topic; house hunting.

All right house hunting topics can be broken down into various topics;

Economy; How much capital do one have, including debate on BSU, a Norwegian home investment saving scheme with tax deduction for young people. How big a loan can one get. And even more important, how much will the interest rate increase, or will it decrease? Discussion of national and international financial politics may ensue. Also I get to talk union politics, since I get a lower interest rate as a union member. Related topics, renting versus owning.

The house hunting itself; Currently I think most of my surfing time is spent here, browsing for apartments. When I have found some that seems reasonable, well not too unreasonable, I make a list and go to the viewings. I have realised that the people who take pictures for the brokers are really fond of the wide angle lens, there is also a photographer who likes to take pictures of the bathroom in a bird perspective. Most of the flats I have a look at have been styled. Which means that it in no way resembles a flat I would ever inhabit. I have seen one - ONE - flat where they had bookshelves. Some of the stylists have certain strange ideas, one likes to have a guitar in the room, one likes to arrange pillows on the floor in a corner, and there is this one stylist who obviously likes dragging the hide of a dead cow around. I am also slightly puzzled by the fact that most flats seems to have been refurbished within 12 months of selling it. In general I think many of the new refurbishments are ugly and boring. Current trends are the colour white, downlights and open plan kitchen/living room (is that what you call it? When the kitchen is a part of the living room). I am not a fan of either.

What I want; After three months of viewings I have decided that I have a lot of things I want in a flat, but I have some thing that are absolutes:
* I shall be able to walk naked from my bed to the bathroom without meeting or being seen by anybody. This is the result of sharing a flat for 8 years. I do not want to buy a new bathrobe.
* I want a separate kitchen. It don't have to be huge, but I want a separate kitchen, preferably with a door I can close and a window I can open. I like to cook, I don't like cooking grease on my books.
* I want a separate bedroom. I have had too many people occupying my bed without offering having sex with me. Friends should sit in the sofa, at the kitchen table, not in my bed.
* I don't want to live in a cellar. I have lived in a way to humid flat where I never had to water my flowers and I got systemic pneumonia. I don't want to live below ground. Preferably not at ground level either, but this is renegotiable.
* It should be within walking distance to the centre of Bergen, but preferably not in the centre itself. And accessible to my workplace, NHH, without changing buses

Obviously these are difficult demands, especially the kitchen one it seems. Mostly the market is going slow, excepting just the kind of flat I am looking for, I've found two that where great, both in the same area (Solheimsviken, an area built 1930-1960, which means a separate kitchen is the norm), and the same price 1.2 - 1.4 million kroner i both went approximately 200.000 kroner above the estimate, whereas most of the other flats are currently going below, if at all. 1.2 seems to be the loan one gets without any savings.

So I was contemplating, what are your absolute demands in a flat - or do you demand a house?

Poll #1170432 Absolute house
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

I must live in

Absolute demands

I would like (but must not have):

I want to live (check all that sounds reasonable)

What have I forgotten to ask about?

Is mummimamma too demanding?

In between my trip to Morocco and Easter break one of my best friends has planned to have his wedding. He, and his wife to be (which is also a friend, since the world of classic philology is rather incestuous) are people who've been reading wedding magazines since long before they had anyone to wed. So it's going to be a rather big affair. (He also finds it hilarious that their wedding day is the Ides of March.)

Whereas I love the food, gossip and dancing at the wedding itself, I'm not very fond of everything I have to do to get there, which is one of the reason why my, purely theoretical wedding, is going to be a informal affair with lots of food and friends. So today I've had my hair cut, and had to buy some stuff like a black underskirt, a couple of extra pantyhoses, and a new black bra because I haven't gotten around to wash the (nice) one I have yet, new lipstick and a million of other things that I only wear at weddings. Thankfully I bought my outfit before I went to Marrakesh, I just went into a shop and said "I'm going to a wedding. I hate shopping. Dress me." It worked I think. At least I got clothes. And my friend Liv, whom I travelled with to Marrakesh, is the Shopping Goddess, and she found me some nice accessories in the souqs.

All right, I have to be in the church in two hours, time to hit the shower.

I just made a bid for a house - well a flat to be precise. It's really scary.
But I am totally fed up with sharing a flat, so it is about time.

In other news, Monday next week I'm going to Marrakesh with three of my friends, two of those I was in Konstantinopolis Byzantium Istanbul Miklagard The City with, and another friend of us.
So, if you think there is anything I must see and do there, this is the time to tell me. Also, if you really long to tell me about the book I ought to bring, no time better than the present.

ETA: Urk, if the seller/broker calls me one more time now, urging me to raise my bid I will scream. Don't they learn in broker school that some people don't like aggressive sellers and reacts negatively when wheedled, urged, - pressed - into decision? I suck at this house buying business.

20 dollars? That is 106 kroner by today's exchange rate. Except that I will probably have to pay about 60 kroner in exchange fee. So for the 46 kroner that is left I can buy a big plate of chocolate (24 kroner; frivolous), a newspaper (15 kroner; own choice) and a pencil (3 kroner; practical) so I could do the crossword while eating chocolate. Then I have 4 kroner left. I'll put them in my piggy bank.

In other news I talked to the bank yesterday and have a loan limit on about 1,4 million kroner - about 260000 dollars/178000 euro. Now I only have to find a flat...

Lately I've been wondering, maybe it is the Norwegian media coverage, maybe it's not, but I find the coverage of the USanian election confusing. First of all, they are more or less only talking about Clinton and Obama, and which of them are going to win. But they are both from the same party, and is it definite that the Democrats are going to win the election at all? Furthermore, this popularity contest between Clinton and Obama, is it a good thing or a bad thing for the Democrats? The USanian election system is confusing to me.

Else, nothing much happens, at least not today since I am rather hung over. One of my flatmates celebrated her 30th birthday yesterday. There were about 40 guest, lots of food and several litres of alcohol. Some time during the evening there even came hardingfele-player, who played for us. That was really great. I threw out the last guests at about 630 this morning. The flatmate whose party it was had withdrawn a couple of hours earlier (for some bed-related activities). Also I think our land-couple aren't very happy with us...

Tomorrow I have an appointment at (with? in?) the bank to talk about loans. Yay?
Also I am now a member of the NHH curling team. Yay!

One of the big laws of the universe is that The neighbours always has bad taste in music. But my neighbours? Quite often show good taste in music - or perhaps the same weird taste in music as me. But now, the last 15 minutes they've played what could be one of my mixtapes from the eighties (although without the occasional radio-jockey voice on top), it is almost scary.


But really, it's time to go to bed, since I have a concert tomorrow, and need more of my beauty sleep than usually. (Also I've had enough beers for today.)

It's Friday, so I must be in the office. I am currently checking and correcting the corrections to the article I believed I saw the last of last Friday. It never ends! And I've realised something horrible - here at the school of economics we only have access to really boring magazines and periodica! If I want access, online or physical access to fun (and/or useful) magazines I have to go to the library downtown. Woe!

But I have chocolate. It was a gift from one of my students. That is the upside of using the word "sjokolade" (you can guess what it means) in almost all and every example, the students occasionally get good ideas. Namely to bribe their teacher with chocolate.

This chocolate is from *checks paper* Latvia. It certainly doesn't taste like Norwegian chocolate. Chocolate is one of those things that taste differently in the different countries. I wonder why. Habit perhaps? I often find that foreign chocolate taste all wrong. Often it's too sweet, or too fat, of too much milk in the milk chocolate. Sometimes the texture is wrong, to grainy or too smooth. I have sent enough Freia Melkesjokolade to friends in exile to know that I am not the only one having this feeling about my national chocolate. Is it just us Norwegians, or do you have feelings for you strange foreign chocolate too?