07 janvier 2007
...
A day of "nonchalance", one of those that people wish for during the long working hours, resting in Oslo, me 2 computers, the rain bashing against the long glass panel, fog envelopping the city as far as the eye can see, french music running. Nothing to add, nothing to ask for, a first week evaluating the coming year...and leaving tomorrow, another plane, the first of many.
Quote of the Day: Be master of your petty annoyances and conserve your energies for the big, worthwhile things. It isn't the mountain ahead that wears you out-it's the grain of sand in your shoe. Robert Service
Background Music: Carla Bruni- L'excessive
02 janvier 2007
Day2
New Year was a 2 diner course, the first half was spent on tjome; having dinner norwegian style;huge buffets of potato salad, smoked ham,salmon, omelette with dill...and at 9 sharp we drove into Oslo, arriving for the traditionnal midnight bang. The midnight bang as I call it is a display offered by your average norwegian citizen from 23:40 til 00:05, half an hour of firework display, paid for and organised by you and me basically. A lavish of colours and light that cost so much money, I would rather not think about it. As we stood on the roof top of a friend, on the outskirt of town, drinking champagne in -3 weather, frozen fingers hugging a glass while mesmerised by the lights...God Nytt ar...the cold got hold of us and we gave up around 12:30, to finish the evening, dancing on old 90's music until everyone left and we, the magic 4, stayed up til 6 chatting and dancing on ministry of sound 2007...while our favorite little man was sleeping in the bedroom.
The first day of the year was as uneventful as can be after a few drinks and a long night sleep, adding the drive back to the island.
Espen is leaving for germany tomorrow and I shall hang around norway til sunday, mainly Oslo, borrowed a flat, so I shall enjoy a little quite time in the big city...
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE.
Background Music DUNE "Around the world":
I wanna sail around the world
Just to know where I can stay
I wanna go where I can see
How people live in harmony
I wanna sail around the world
Just to know where I can stay
Cross every water in the sea
To keep my dreams in motion
Saying of the Day:
Happiness is too many things these days for anyone to wish it on
anyone lightly. So let's just wish each other a bileless New Year and
leave it at that.
Judith Crist
29 décembre 2006
Little pieces of Norway
Glistening jewels dangling from the tip of frozen branches, diamonds reverberating sun's amber light. Norway in the winter time...
30 août 2006
Willing Hostage
Been taken hostage by a wonderful 93 year old lady. Do not call the cops or worry. Everything is fine, I cook for her, make conversation and in exchange I get free knitting sessions and norwegian language courses.
On my way to the store to buy ingredients in order to make a North African couscous and avoid watching the bold and the beautiful with her...
Will be there indefinitely.Let you know when I am allowed to go home;)
27 août 2006
Evasion
Cutting my own hair this morning, the scissors went quickly through the mass, I refrained myself from cutting more, might do that next time.Then a cycling tour round the island to Hvasser, avoided two downpours by hiding under random porches. Sun, sky, rain, a mixture that left me at peace. Was unsettled when I left and it cleared everything away.
Ever stood with your feet half deep in the water, toes sinking in the sand, while menacing clouds linger in the sky? Prawns nimbled at my feet, cleaning my toes and nails, mainly the left foot, strange. I stood for so long, observing the blennie, flat fish laying on my feet and swimming round my ankles, that my feet were completely numb by the time I got out. My thinking mind was on pause for half an hour and I was in the now, feeling their little mandibules plucking my dead skin.
Back home, slightly wet and a grin on my face:)
26 août 2006
Eastenders
Last night I experienced what being in Eastender would be like (not a figure of speech). You know that local pub, only place where all the locals meet up may they be 18 or 60.
As I sat mostly sober (only mixed very light drinks before going out, I knew what I was getting into) , I slowly shifted my gaze and wondered what were the intrigues and scandals that rocked the world of the varied characters I layed eyes onto. I had been warned not to adress the man with medium length black hair in a vivid blue tee-shirt or else. A gentle tall looking blond man, persevered discussing hiking with me, monologuing his way through repeating the same unintelligible sentence about a special place and what you could do there and what he actually did there. Mesmerising really and I do not like taking the piss, It was surreal, I got up when he asked if I wanted another drink. Stashed away at the pool table with my friend, who was damn good at pool for her drunken state!!!, she told me more of the people she knew and I got a glimpse of their real and hidden life. From dancing alone, 2 crazy girls living for the beat, to being chatted up by a dark haired seraphin who must have been 20 but pretended to be my age , I could feel his insistant stare and I simply ignored him while discussing with a sosie of Russel Crowe, who knew my husband' cousin, as they used to be in the same class. Damn this island is small.
At 2:45 the 3 girls slowly smoked, minus 1, and left the scene of the non committed crimes, walking home in the stary night.
05 août 2006
Endless summer- Scooter 1996
There is a definition of summer, a sense of bright light, clear water, friends, jokes and general good times that I have had since early childhood. I used to loop back to this beach in the South of France, meet the same friends, go crab fishing, swim to the rocks with my books wrapped in a plastic bag and lay there (away from parental supervision allday, still able to see them if they called me or decided it was time to head back home), star out to the mediterranean sea and snorkel, observing life, fish, dead gulls in the depth of the water, crushed by stones, dismantling their bodies and laying them on the rocks to dry out in the sun...Norway is very similar in shape...people, regardless of their age, still go volleyballing (though I prefer watching them from afar with a book), crab fishing has stopped but they still snorkel and lay down on the rocks...I draw similarities between then and now, the past and this present, RPG in Paris and on Hvasser. Activities do not seem to have changed over the years, summer activities are endlessly repetitive and it is comforting...So comforting that I will hang here longer then planned, until end of september to enjoy the transition from "sol" til "grå", summer to autumn.
20 juillet 2006
Diving In Norway
I came across those great pictures from our dives last year in Southern Norway. Click on the pic to get there...
As we are heading back there in one week and will most likely enjoy the beauty of becoming a breathing apparatus palmipede once more, I thought it would be great to include you in our watery world from TONSBERG DYKKE KLUBBEN.
Just click and watch....you never guessed it looked like this under those fjords, eh....
21 mars 2006
Week-end eclair
This was a hell of a trip, 48 hours in a frantic state. A 3 hours drive to the airport in our little go buzzing, a 30 minutes flapping around in circles desperately looking for the long term car park called in germany the HOLIDAY, mmmmhhh...Who would have known we didnt't, check in and a bite later, we land safely at midnight, a train directly to oslo sentrum, a walk up the icy streets with gigantic piles of snow, pinguin style to avoid slipping, white fluff of my dreams, and we arrive at a staggering 1 am at Kegg. Few beers, an american cartoon serie and a chat later we crash at 3ish. Get up at 9, raw, in the bright light of scandinavian winters, blue sky, sunshine, white all over, we have breakfeast with Espen's dad after a tour in his suite at the Bristol Hotel where he stayed...
...we blurrily inject ourselves with caffeine, around 11 am,and I get my one hour of strolling amongst a packed crowd in Karl Johans gata, the main street of oslo, as there is a St-patrick's day celebration going on with bands, banners, another very norwegian thing to do, any occasions is prone to getting their poles out, brass instruments and marching. I kinda like it in a strange way.
A few shops later, I'll pass on the window shopping and simply extend on our buys, SF books in English including the last robin Hobb ~SHAMAN"S CROSSING for me and another Cherry- FORTRESS OF EAGLES, 2 tee-shirts, violet and beige, and a DVD- REALITY BITES, old 1994 movie from Ben stiller about a wanna documentary maker, Winona Ryder, The type of movie that makes me feel right about where I stand in my life right now more less (take away the relationship troubles).
A walk back To ELise, Espen's sis place, lunch and a talk with her, a tram back to Kegg and ready to go KARTING, time BTW is 4 pm. Karting is something I did once back in France, in besancon actually about 3 years ago. This time the cars are way faster and the track is real...Adrenaline is rushing into me during the first round but my helmet is too big and I keep getting this type of sock, i pulled over my head, falling into my eyes, So my time is not too good...Pretty shaky when I get out of this metallic hellish thing but we get 10 minutes to breathe, rehydrate ourselves and get ready for round 2...Round 2...The sock has gone into the bin and the helmet fits, pressure is on as we are 14 and only 10 of us will get into round 3, I am 9, Yeahhhh....Starting to feel tired though, it really wears you out...Round 3...I drive as fast as I possibly can manage physically, my arms are killing me, my back is killing me (kegg hit me twice earlier), my spine is vibrating but I am not a loser so...I get out and feel sick, I will throw up or something,hold it in girl, I am dizzy like after a rollercoaster ride, I drink, sit, get out of the black suit, and do not even look at my score, How sick is that...oh well Kegg got the 2nd place if I remember and I am between 6 and 8...A few pints of water later, and beers for most of the crowd and we head back home to change, and prepare ourselves for the big night out. I am litterraly dead, passed out, my eyes are filled with sand, we order a pizza and I drowse off, Espen is fine, Kegg is ready for his big night... Taxi ride..
The club Raa, is awesome, dark, reddish room, Loads of people, music mix between trendy madonna and rappy songs to old school, 90's music, avoidance of disco altogether... I do not drink, don't feel like it and I enjoy talking to people being sobber, it is sooo much nicer. helena and paul are here, kristina too. my other excuse is feeling tired. As far as I am concerned: Alcohol+tiredness=sleepyhead...I wake up litterraly, bright eyed at 1am and hit the dance floor for 2 hours consecutively, Espen's joins me, Kegg is seen with pretty girls... 3 am we head back home... 2 hours sleep later, the alarm clock rings, we grab our taxi, head back to the airport and reach germany at 11am, 4 and half hours later we are back home after a nice stop at Mc-donald (that's the only restaurant next to the motorway, I am ashamed, promised I wouldn't buy corporate crap any more, Mmhhhh I din't pay for it so it is litterraly as if I didn't buy it, right:)
A wonderful week-end but will never do that again, going to Norway for a day is insane, it was a special occasion so that's fine but really...I have never felt that tired driving home, actually I am bluntly lying....Have driven in that state before in the states...but this time I had a partner next to me to nudge,poke, kick or bite me...Much better!!!
07 décembre 2005
Tønsberg slutt, jeg er på veien igjen
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh got to see the last one of those long lost friends my little french Girlie girl (just to make you jump sweetie) Aurelie....We met in town and went X-mas shopping, chatted for a few hours and left each other again...
So far I am pretty pleased with myself I got to see everyone, Sophie, Anna, Aurelie, everyone from the family, all sisters, pretty impressive in a week. I truly need to settle for a while and get time to relax, meditate, breathe and stop moving from one spot to the next. Don't misunderstand me I LOVE IT...and will keep doing it until next year as our plans for x-mas are set. We are going to Rotterdam this week-end to visit the boat, then to Paris to see the boatshow, then to Goupilliere for a B'day party and possibly back in Paris to a club. Monday will see us back in Germany...where I will get a week to pack our life oncemore and move to a new home, beautiful house with a pontoon where we will be able to keep the boat as soon as we get it...then we drive back to Paris for x-mas with my parents, back to a german Airport on the 27th and direction England...Then it's hectic again. We know we are going to Cornwall to visit 2 boats but the rest is unsure...I am eager to possibly try to surf in Cornwall if the weather allow it even if the water is freezing cold, Don't care want to do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! then most likely as all our friends will be outside of Uk we are left with Brighton as a new year option at Jim's place. Brighton is a dream come true, I love this place for it's wonderful House/garage clubs and great gay bars...The atmosphear is just unbeleivable and New year should simply be a kick off....Will let you know how all things go anyway...But so far a week in UK means I can at last taste Caffreeys again( my favorite beer), get drunk on cider, and go to a garage club!!!!!!!! and dance like crazy....looking forward to it.
