Monday, September 30, 2002
Well I haven't posted for absolutely ages but good news! I now have ADSL and will be able to post from home instead of the usual sneaky blog from work tsk tsk. This means that maybe the quality or the quantity of my blogging will improve and, who knows, maybe both.
As well as the excitement of coming online (the filth) I had my first (and maybe the last) german lesson tonight. Only 3 people turned up and they want a minimum of 5, so if you're reading this and you live near or in aber LEARN GERMAN - IT'S GREAT. If not I'll just have to bump up to the advanced class and work super hard. I've always loved a bit of a challenge. Anyway it was pretty scary as I hadn't really prepared for it like I intended to and although I was impressed that I could understand a lot of what the teacher said and could remember a lot of the theoretical grammar stuff I just couldn't seem to speak it. Every time I tried to form a sentence in my head it failed. This resulted in a lot of awkward silences and me going, "Was ist die Worte fur..." and "Wie sagt man...". It's pretty weird having homework again!
Tuesday, September 24, 2002
Haven't posted for a while. Well not if you don't count the ongoing updates of my holiday report. Not only that but I've been quite ill so I haven't had the opportunity to write much or even do much to write about, sadly.
Tuesday, September 17, 2002
Norway
Well what can I say? A great country and a fabulous time was had. Good job really considering what I paid for it. Anyway I tried to keep notes of my travels because I knew I'd get here and not remember any of it and not be able to write anything. I'm not sure how jumbled these notes are because I haven't looked at them yet but I'll try to translate them to some sort of english here throughout today while also trying to catch up with my work. This is the problem with holidays - you get stressed out trying to get up to speed with everything you missed so you instantly get to the point of needing a holiday again.
Sunday: Bergen
My first glimpse of Norway was in the dark. Looking down from the plane (I got a window seat yay!) I could see many many many dark islands, some with lights on them from a lighthouse or a group of houses and some even connected by illuminated bridges. Some were just dark patches of land jutting out of the water. It was like nothing I'd seen before. Pretty eerie but really cool and beautiful.
I didn't notice much on the journey from the airport to the hotel in Bergen as it was by then very dark and I was knackered from a day of hard travelling (about 12 hours in all). I do remember what looked like an illuminated tower just floating in the air but it was actually on top of a mountain
Monday: Bergen - Lavik - Skei
Another day of hard travelling but more interesting than travelling through Brum and London. We pooh-poohed the 250 kroner sightseeing tour of Bergen deciding to have a mooch round ourselves to see what we could find ferfree. We found the Vernicular Railway which took us up one of the mountains to a national park overlooking the whole town. The view was breathtaking and I took billions of pictures (felt quite pleased that I'd took 7 - yes 7 - rolls of film with me). Being very far oop norf we were expecting Norway to be pretty cold and rainy so we were completely unprepared for the weather we actually got which was more what you'd expect from Spain. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and I was forced to make my first purchases of some sunglasses and sun cream. We also had a gander at the fish market by the harbour which was full of fish that's about as fresh as you can get. There were prawns bigger than your hand, whale meat, live lobsters, huge catfish and goodness knows what else.
In the afternoon it was time to travel to Skei which is some way northeast of Bergen. This started off with a splendid cruise through some fjords and lots of pointing at particularly picturesque mountains and going "ooh". Also being the mature people we are, we did not titter when passing various signs saying "fart" on the banks. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get my camera out in time to photo any of these signs but I'm sure noone's interested in these peurile things anyway ;) We got off the boat at Lavik and then were taken by coach the rest of the way to Skei. The coach journey was pretty cool. Lots more pointing at mountains, lakes, waterfalls and fjords and a brief introduction by the rep who challenged us that if we could ask him a (sensible) question about Norway that he couldn't answer he would buy us a pint. He did seem pretty knowledgeable but I suspect him of making half of it up because we wouldn't know any better if he did. Apparently the bus driver had taken part in the International Bus Driving Championships (!?) and had come second so we were in "safe hands" round the mountain roads.
Tuesday: Fjaerland
This is where I got to see My First Glacier [tm]. We had a picnic near a huge glacier and while we were eating there was a thunderous roar, kind of like the sound when there are fighter planes flying low overhead and a huge chunk of the ice tore off and plunged straight into the icy lake below. It was awesome. The lake had little bits of ice similar to ice cubes floating all round the edges and continuing on the mature theme we did not try to put any of it down the backs of people's jumpers or trousers. At the glacier museum we went to afterwards they showed us a film of people doing various things on local glaciers which was not dissimilar to "Vertical Limit" only it had a better plot. There was also lots of information about øtzi which I found particularly fascinating.
In the evening we didn't get up to much, it being about a fiver for a beer. Instead we watched telly which luckily is mostly programmes in english that are only subtitled in Norwegian, not dubbed. For some reason Jamie Oliver and Hollyoaks seemed very popular for that Worst of British feel. Now I have always though that Jamie Oliver is a bit of an annoying git. This conclusion came from only seeing his highly slappable, gormless, smiling self on the sainsburys adverts and I grudgingly admitted that it might just be the adverts that made him out to be this way and he might be actually really cool. Anyway I watched the whole show just to make sure and can now definitely say that he is a smug irritating git of the highest order. Didn't find out the norwegian word for pukka though unfortunately - malarchy.
Wednesday: Geiranger
Saw an interesting piece of history today on the way to Gerainger. The bus driver stopped at this small bridge over a stream. At each end of the bridge were two blocks of stone which were apparently all that was left of two arches. Then at one end of the bridge, slightly to one side was this large stone with a hole in the middle. Can anyone guess what it is yet..?
..well apparently it was another olden way of blokes being able to shag whoever they liked scott free while making sure their woman remained faithful. Basically it was a wedding bridge. Before she got married the woman had to crawl through the stone and if she fit through she could go onto the bridge and get married. If not she was deemed to be pregnant and had her head chopped off. Nice eh? Not only is that a great incentive to not get pregnant but it would certainly make you stick to that diet. Not that I imagine that women who in the winter had to go out in freezing cold blizzards and kill a yak with her bare hands just so she could eat would have an obesity problem but I bet Weightwatchers are trying their hardest to get that custom reinstated everywhere.
Then we went on a cruise through a Geraingerfjord with stunning views of many waterfalls and mountains. Some of the mountains had farms on them, and I'm not talking about at the top either. Half way down what seems like a vertical drop would be one small building and a few fruit trees. No road leading to it or anything. Apparently in the olden days [tm] they could only be reached using a ladder and people had to walk (or row across the fjord) miles to sell their goods. Then when we arrived in gerainger we were driven up one of the mountains in a bus. This was quite nervewracking - try to imagine a huge, packed bus driving up a narrow, windy road with incredibly sharp bends (at some points one wheel of the bus was hanging over the edge) and a very sheer drop at one side! Eek. Well worth it though - the view was amazing. I could see mountains stretching for miles, some of them with glaciers and I could see the fjord at the bottom of the mountain. Lovely. We passed a lake which had an almost immaculate reflection so that you didn't know where the trees ended and the reflection started.
Got talking to a couple of americans today too. One of them couldn't understand a word I was saying (?) but her husband kept saying "I can understand her perfectly dear". At least they didn't think Wales was in England although they did ask how far it was between the two.
At night we went outside for a bit of star gazing as it was incredibly dark and a clear night. I saw 5 shooting stars which is more than I've ever seen before in my whole life. I also saw two satellites drifting across the sky. Gorgeous.
Thursday: Briksdal
Went to the Briksdalsbreen, a part of Europe’s largest glacier, Jostedalsbreen. It was pretty cool. There was this amazing, powerful waterfall that you could feel the spray from from several yards away. This is where the fate of my ring was finally decided. This ring used to be my engagement ring and as such is a bit of a bad thing to carry around. Like a bit of a jinxed omen or something. I didn't want to sell it, nor did I want to keep it, nor did I want anyone else to have it because who wants someone elses ex-engagement ring? I wouldn't. So I deftly threw it over the waterfall listening for any cries of "Nooooaagghh - my precioussssssss" as I did so. Now the 9 nazgul shall ride and it'll all finish with the ring coming to its fiery end in Mount Doom (possibly in Germany somewhere?).
The glacier was great, you could walk right up to it and touch it. It was luminous blue and looked like something from a fairytale. They even had expeditions where you could climb up part of the glacier but our party did not partake of any of that shennanigans unfortunately. One of the group did end up slipping and fracturing his arm in 3 places though and had to go to hospital on the bus which pissed a lot of people off as the rep didn't go with him or arrange transportation or help in any way whatsoever as far a we could tell.
That evening I sampled reindeer meat. Leave them to pulling sleighs at christmas I reckon. Not too fantastic tasting.
Friday: Sandane
Couldn't be arsed going on the day trip today as we wanted to have a bit of a lie in and wanted to laze about in Skei. We spent the small part of the morning that we were up swimming in the hotel pool which was lovely as we had it all to ourselves and they had some cool bendy polystyrene type floats that you could bend round yourself to use like an armchair. We did then plan to go for a walk up one of the local mountains but it was really misty and we had no plans to get lost, never to be found again so we did more lazing about and watching Jamie Oliver and Hollyoaks. This is when we heard most details, from angry members of the party, about the rep and the hospital incident. Everyone in the group was getting all indignant about it as the guy was still in hospital and it looked dubious whether he would make it back home with the rest of us.
The evening was wonderful. Went to the Gamlestova which is norwegian for "old cottage" and was a 240 year old cottage which was still how it would be all that time ago. The place was lit by candles and there was a log fire in the corner. It was beautiful and I really felt like I'd gone back in time. There we were greeted by the owner of the hotel who told ghost and troll stories and stories of Norwegian history, how they would have lived etc. and about the history of the hotel including when it was burned down in the second world war when he was just a boy. He could also play the accordian and I've never seen someone play one properly before. Something quite spectacular to see!
Saturday: Skei - Norway in a Nutshell - Bergen
Tour over the Gaular Mountain to Balestrand, then the famous Norway in a Nutshell excursion including a cruise along the Sognefjord to Flåm (approx. 2hrs) and the Flåm Railway, spiralling up 900m to Myrdal. The tour is completed by a train journey to Bergen and overnight at the Bergen Hotel.
Cuthbert is dead, poor thing. Killed by predator ClickClone apparently after doing not much at all. Carnie is doing ok (i.e. not dead yet). He seems to only try to mate with everything though - disgusting.
Friday, September 06, 2002
Morning all(?).
Well I didn't post yesterday because I had a non-hangover - i.e. I felt like I had a hangover but hadn't been drinking the night before - and frankly couldn't be arsed. I'm sure you didn't all miss it too much anyway.
Yesterday was cool. Made tons of l337 progress with my project at work and topped off the day by watching a couple of flatmates compete in a pool competition. Both of them got knocked out in the semis but it was only 9 ball which seems to me to be more a game of fluke than skill. Also I am aware of Norway looming ever nearer (not literally - too much sea and rock in the way) and I still have loads to do. Haven't started packing yet or anything.
As I shall be gone for it, and believe me I intend not to go anywhere near a computer during my holiday, I want to speak a bit about September 11th. Now I have many Views[tm] about Dubyuh using it as a political tool to try to get everyone to declare war on countries he has a barney with while simultaneously screwing everyone with import taxes etc. Not to mention the USA's completely ignoring (and sometimes even funding) terrorism while it was just this thing that happened to other countries, but I'm not going to go into that today...
No. Forget the politicians and the power struggles. Today I want to think of the victims and their families and friends. Noone who hasn't experienced this first hand can imagine the horror that it must have been and watching documentaries and news items can only partly convey what it must have been like. Ever imagine being one of those people who jumped to their deaths because they were so desperate and there was no way out? Or one of those people desperately trying to search for their lover who they shall never see again. I still don't think the full horror of what that implicates has dawned on some people - including me. Life is precious. It seems inexhaustable, especially to the young like me and yet it can be taken away at any second without any warning. It just takes some idiot who decided to have a few pints and then drive home or some jealous boyfriend with a knife or some natural catastrophe or in this case some very evil people who decide that it is "just" and "holy" to rob innocent people of their lives in the most brutal and sick way possible. One day, thousands of people were going about their daily lives, all their loves, hopes, sadness and dreams, like any other person. The next day they are gone. Their loved ones left to wonder every single day of their life why their lover/parent/sibling/friend/whoever was so suddenly and needlessly taken away from them. That is an absolution that will never come.
I think this should be a lesson to all of us - to not blindly go through life just merely existing and ignorant to the world we really live in. We must live and make the most of that precious gift that is also so vulnerable. We have the chance to make every day count. We must seize that if only for those people who don't.
My thoughts are with the victims' families. I hope you all find peace.
Anyway I'm not going to write any more today. It all seems very trivial after this. I'll see you when I get back.
Wednesday, September 04, 2002
Just found what I want for christmas. Take a look at this! Only a mere 60 quid for what I predict to be hours of geeky fun. Hmm can I wait until christmas? Nah probably not. *grin*
Last night, through some amazing force of will, I managed to drag myself up the hill to go to circuit training. Last week I went to circuit training for the very first time - although being fun in a masochistic type of way, I ached for 4 days (!) afterwards which must mean I really need it. Anyway today I ache a little bit but not nearly as much as last week so I must be getting better already.
I'm off to Norway on Sunday which I'm really looking forward to. I realise I've been banging on about it a lot to my friends *bang*bang*bang* and it's probably pissing them off so I'll mention it one more time to them to collect addresses for postcards and then keep schtum. I've never been anywhere like that before and I've certainly never spent that much money in one go before but I did save for about 9 months to be able to afford it. It feels pretty cool to be able to go on such an extravagant holiday that I paid for all by myself. Oh the luxury of independence :)
Tuesday, September 03, 2002
Yet another strike *sigh*. The sooner I'm out of this country the better
Some people really disgust me. I really can't deal with stuff like that. How can people do it?
Looking at Woodsta's blogger I came across the Technosphere webpage. I remember this from my first year of uni though I don't remember any of my creatures doing well. Nevertheless, being ever the optimist I have created 2 creatures - a herbivore called Cuthbert and Carnivore called Carni (yes, yes I was stuck for names..). They've just been let loose into technoworld and I wish them both the very best in their new home. Let's hope they last at least a week :)
*** possibly offensive material - don't bother writing to me to complain because I don't give a monkey's ***
Speaking of mothers and babies: one of my pet hates at the moment is pregnant women who insist on rubbing and patting their stomachs all the time in a smug fashion. Now I've never been pregnant and there may be some really good, rational reason for them to do this that is just unfathomable to anyone who hasn't been in that situation and if so I apologise but it just looks to me as if they're saying "look at MEEEEEEEE" and smirking down on us lesser mortals who know how to use contraceptives properly. Not that I'm saying that all pregnancies are accidents, of course they're not. I'm saying that pretentions of grandeur are not needed just because basically you've had a few shags and have something to show for it (except for the usual burn marks and the rest. hur).
All that said, I reserve the right to rub my stomach as much as possible if I get up the duff, just because I can. Ner.
Don't you hate it when people treat you like a baby? My mother, although I love her to bits and know she means well and it's just because she cares/worries etc, has this annoying habit of saying things like "take care" and "You will, be ok won't you?" *wring hands* whenever I go anywhere or do anything that she perceives to be dangerous (and this can be something as tame as walking to the shops). I realise that many parents find it hard to see their offspring as adults and to let them go and do their own thing but this only results in me feeling like she doesn't think I'm capable of looking after myself for ten minutes without unspeakable harm coming to me. It makes me feel unsure of my own capabilities. Believe me mum, I want to come to a sticky end even less than you want me to and I shall do everything in my power to avoid that end. It's not like you saying "be careful" suddenly causes me to think, "well perhaps I won't go jumping off cliffs onto large spikes after all". Ho hum. By far the worst one is the "you will be ok won't you?". I think I once upset her by saying "Actually, I'm not sure - I have a bad feeling about this, I might die" which I shouldn't have said - it's pretty bitchy - but that's how ridiculous I think asking me that is. There are no guarantees. I have no crystal ball that will tell me whether I will be ok or not. Trust me, if I thought there was a good chance that doing something would end in my own disasterous destruction I wouldn't do it but unfortunately I can't always predict when bad things will happen. It's probably some superstitious thing that my mum thinks if she doesn't say it and something nasty does happen then it's all her fault or something but that's just silly. I'm an adult now and have been standing on my own two feet for several years. I have to take responsibility for my own actions and live with the consequences. Cotton wool? Well I appreciate that you care but keep it away.
*yawn* I knew it was a bad idea to watch LOTR last night. Much as I love the film it is very long when you have to get up at 6am (although I overslept so it was more like 7 this morning! tsk).
Monday, September 02, 2002
Hmm. I've been wanting to set up a blog for some time now and now I've finally got round to doing it I have so much I want say that I don't know where to begin with any of it so I'll probably not put any of it - just write other stuff because if I start I may never finish.
I had a top weekend. Some friends were down for a semi-reunion thing and it was all rather manic with lots of alcohol involved which was probably a bad thing. My father also dropped a little bombshell about wanting me to be bridesmaid at his wedding. I'm afraid I shall have to politely decline for several reasons that I don't really want to go into, not least because there's no way I'm going to wear a pink, frilly dress!. Saturday I went to the Centre of Alternative Technology for some good clean, hippah, tree-hugging fun although it all made me feel terribly guilty because I know what a lazy un-ecofriendly git I am at the best of times and this just made it all worse. They had this huge, ugly pig in the farmyard bit. I didn't realise pigs got that big or had such huge teeth!
Just worked out how to change the time settings so the previous blog doesn't make any sense. Cool.
This being an american site (I assume) and me being in the UK makes me look like I'm a bit of an insomniac. I didn't really post my last blog at 12.37:04 AM. Hell no I was safely tucked up in bed then like the good, responsible citizen that I am. Hehe. It is now 8.42 AM and I am at work because coming in early means I can leave early (I try not to look too smug when leaving an hour before my colleagues) and go to the gym and stuff. Right well I'd best get to it I suppose.
Wow my very first blog. I wish I had something more spectacular to say really. Something to punctuate this occasion and to start this all off with a bang. So to speak. Instead I shall ramble on inanely about things that I find are important to me now. It's always interesting to look back on these things in a few years and laugh and cry and think, "wow did I realy do/think/shag that?" Which of course is the purpose of my blog. A record of my life in general for me to look back on, then if I get famous other people might read it.
