Paint dry much faster when you drink beer while watching it dry. The second coat may be somewhat sloppier though. (Yesterday: Kitchen, sans beer. Today: Sitting room and bedroom, avec beer.)

Nuff said

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 own a flat!!!!

Lots of Norwegian text (dead link) or Head straight for the pictures. (Permanent location of pictures)

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...

Now I am just fed up with the house hunt, and am seriously planning to use my savings on whisky and trips abroad (to buy more whisky).

Flats are expensive - yes, I should have bought in 1992. But why are all the refurbishments so sloppily done? Fast and sloppy to earn more money. The walls are covered with plates of plaster instead of fixing up the walls, often the plates are rather badly cut and fitted with holes and crack. And in general all that the skirting is improperly done. In one flat they had just nailed one moulding on top of another without fitting them. And yes, that left a bent moulding and a crack a centimetre wide. Amazing.

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?

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.