Horten, Norway

The day after my last exam, June 7th, my boyfriend and I went back to his home town. It was a cute little city called Horten on the east coast of Norway. No mountains but one hill and a lot of ocean (although not as far as the eye can see).


This might sound strange, but my favourite experience there was the first night when his family (mother, aunt, uncle, grandparents and others) came by for dinner. They were nice people and it reminded me that the best experiences you have almost always include other people. It's something that's easy for me to forget.

more photos on appleshots

An aquired taste

Is it just me or does Gunhild Melhus, part time model, medical student and girlfriend of Norwegian hotel magnate Petter Stordalen look somewhat like a drag queen?

Strange U.S. Sex Laws

Oblong, Illinois
It is punishable by law to make love while hunting or fishing on your wedding day.
- while hunting or fishing? I should certainly think so...

Nevada
It is illegal for any member of the Nevada Legislature to conduct official business wearing a penis costume while the legislature is in session.
- I feel very strongly I should comment on this one, but I'm trying my very best not to burst out laughing while imagining a Nevada governor wearing a penis costume..

Tremonton, Utah
No woman may have sex with a man while riding in an ambulance. If caught, the woman can be charged with a sexual misdemeanor and "her name is to be published in the local newspaper." The man isn't charged nor is his name revealed.
- need I comment on this one or do you already know what I'm gonna say?

Merryville, Missouri.
Women are prohibited from wearing corsets because "the privilege of admiring the curvaceous, unencumbered body of a young woman should not be denied to the normal, red-blooded American male."
- it's strange to see lust as a good enough reason to pass a law... I agree to some extent though - curves are wow!

Romboch, Virginia
It is illegal to engage in sexual activity with the lights on.

Illinois
All bachelors should be called master, not mister, when addressed by their female counterparts.
- bite me.

Newcastle, Wyoming
An ordinance specifically bans couples from having sex while standing inside a store's walk-in meat freezer.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota
In hotels every room is required to have twin beds. And the beds must always be a minimum of two feet apart when a couple rents a room for only one night. And it's illegal to make love on the floor between the beds!
- because two people can't have sex in a single bed? Fine, it's hard to sleep in one, but you can have sex pretty much anywhere so..

Minnesota
It is illegal for any man to have sexual intercourse with a live fish.
- no arguments there!!

Bakersfield, California
Anyone having intercourse with Satan must use a condom.
- !!

Adapted from Lectlaw.com

June

It's so friggin hot!

How do you even sleep in this heat? (I don't know cuz I don't).

But I'm not complaining. I'm enjoying every second of it. Being able to think it's hot in Norway is something you cherish, because you know soon enough it will be raining non stop, yet again.


It's just so friggin hot and my windows aren't big enough to let the air in! I am so loving this!

Kiss sound test

Kiss came to Bergen on Sunday and the city was filled with people wearing black t-shirts and painted faces. The BF and I went for a walk through a park and came across the stage being put up.

It was huge! We stuck around for about an hour, watching them build it. There were hundreds of builders, all wearing different coloured hard hats. Then hundreds of teenagers joining up as staff to get in for free. Then another 20 or so ambulance personell. Not to mention all the security guards - they were everywhere!

In the end some guys from the military came and chased us away. They were closing the park all around the stage, so no one could see anything for free. Even people sitting 250 meters away, playing with their kids, completely oblivious of what was going on on the other side of the park, behind several buildings and trees, had to leave.

I heard the show was good though, much better than the night before in Oslo.

Dooooaaadooooaaa: part XLVII

Fire alarm. What else is new?

- I'll tell you what else is new. -

Last time the alarm went off I went downstairs, checked where the "fire" was and waited for the firemen to show up. When they did, they waited a bit, then asked - very loudly, and very angrily - "aren't there anyone responsible here?". One guy stepped up and said "I am". I assumed he lived in the apartment where the "fire" started, and that he, for some reason, didn't walk up to the firemen right away, and instead waiting a couple minutes.

The next thing that happened was one of the firemen started yelling at this guy. He was shouting; how could he not tell them right away, what was happening, how were they supposed to know? The person responsible should come right up and tell them. "But I...." was all I heard from the other guy.

I realized by then it was not the time for me to declare that I was the elected representative for the apartment building, that I should be told what's going on. I went back upstairs and after 20 minutes the alarm stopped.


So today, when the alarm went off, I went outside to look for smoke. When I didn't see anything, I went downstairs. I saw the alarm was set off by one of my neighbours and went back upstairs. On my way there, the sad girl in the wheelchair asked what was going on. I told her I was going to check on it. When I got to the door, knocking a few times, a guy I see all the time, who I thought lived on the 3rd or 4th floor came over, telling me he lived there.

I asked if he knew what it was, he said just cooking, with a bit of smoke. I went back downstairs, making sure to tell the girl it was just cooking. The firemen came, I told them what was going on. They asked if I knew for sure (no, I'm just making an educated guess.... which I would be quite qualified to do by now). I told them I'd just talked to the guy who lived in the apartment (which I can't quite understand since I know for a fact that it's another guy (who looks like a lot like this guy) who lives there).

They told us to stay downstairs for a while. Then they tried to stop the alarm, but it kept going for twenty minutes. One fireman came back downstairs and told us we could go back upstairs ("just someone cooking... guess this isn't too uncommon, eh? heheh"). And we all went back to our rooms. Nothing scary. Never anything scary. Except the one time I wasn't home.


Just an ordinary Monday evening. I'm glad it's not like when we first moved in though - this was a three-times-a-week occurrence.