A tiny Festival in a tiny Town

Judging by today's headache, I seem to have had a lot of fun last night.

Nice people, nice music, nice weather - and entertainment consisting of a guy playing a grand piano, and watching a game no one seemed to agree on the rules of.

It's quickly becoming a tradition - a music festival they call it, far up the valley one summer night in August. Although fewer guests than last year, it seemed everyone had a great time.

Including me - except when I at one point got stuck between four women talking about the size of their butts for twenty minutes(!). Fortunately  I was rescued by a couple guys who had no interest in butts. At least not in talking about them.


All in all a great night - even down to the half hour walk home at 5am with a bunch of people in various stages of inebriation, two of which fell four feet into a ditch and seemed to think it better to sleep there than actually get up and go home.


Now if only I could figure out where my earrings disappeared off to...

I sold my soul and got an iPod

No, of course I didn't, what do you think of me?


But I came close - the iPod Touch is rather gorgeous, and I do still want an iPhone.


If it wasn't for the whole locking it to one (or two) operating systems, not being able to connect it to the eee, having to install stuff, and not being able to use it whenever, wherever...


In case you're one of those who think "apples" comes from Apple, you're sadly mistaken. apples came about before I'd ever heard of Apple. Probably before I'd used a laptop and long before I owned a cell phone or an mp3-player.

I'm not too fond of the company's policy, which is looking more and more like that of Microsoft - it's not enough to get the costumer to stop by for a visit, you need to lock them in your attic until they scream for mercy. Well. That's how I think of it some times.


Still, in spite of my fondness of freedom and commitment phobia, that iPod Touch does look damn good...

Creative Zen X-FI2

I'm in love again!

With a Creative Zen X-FI2 mp3 player, 32gB storage space and a touch screen.

The screen is 3'', perfect for watching movies, with a battery that lasts up to 25 hours.


Only sucks it's a bit too expensive, what with me not having the greatest record of keeping mp3 players alive for too long at a time...

David Hasselhoff - Hooked on a Feeling

Oh..my..gosh




Thanks for the tip Adrian, definitely worth it :P

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson appears to be dead.

It all depends on which newspaper you read.. they say different things.
[English: CNN.com, BBC.com, Foxnews.com]
[Norwegian: VG.no, DB.no, Nettavisen.no]

One of Jackson's biggest hits, Thriller, was out in 1982, two years before I was born. So he's always kinda been, to quote BBC, "an odd-looking middle aged man". And, according to CNN; "the most famous person in the world".

Michael Jackson was one of very few people who were truly huge while I grew up. Someone the whole world knew. And no matter how I personally felt about him... it feels strange to let him go.


"Michael Jackson".

How long will people remember that name? Will he become a legend, like Elvis? Or will he simply become "that strange guy"?

I guess I'm just too young to have seen the good times.

And knowing the way the world works... I'll definitely go with the first.

Last ESC post for now

Last weekend I wrote a post about how we won the Eurovision Song Contest. I also wrote "Expect more tomorrow - I'm not done yet!!".

Well guess what, I was done after all.

It was fun and the guy is still so cute you just want to fold him up and put him in your pocket. And I can't believe he seems not to be gay after all.

But right now there isn't much more to say...

We won, We won, We won!!!

He did great at the ESC, better than in the semi, and Europe loved him!!

I did my best not to jinx it (not that I believe in that kinda stuff), but it could not matter any less.

He won by a landslide!

I honestly don't know what did it; when I watched him perform this night it was just... right. Everyone else said it was bad, he messed up, but I couldn't quite take my eyes and ears off him.

That has to be a good thing. And it was. I thought it was just my being Norwegian, but apparently there was something more there. Something Europe loved. Some kind of dream. Some kind of fairytale.


Expect more tomorrow - I'm not done yet!!

Eurovision Song Contest 2009

For the first time ever I'm going to a ESC party. Usually I do my best to ignore the whole thing (which has been harder than ever this year), but I do love to watch the points come in.

This year it could get exciting. Norway is one of the favourites, and we might actually win [*don't jinx it don't jinx it don't jinx it*].

We're having a party, going to drink lots of wine and laugh at all the other contestants (and there's plenty to laugh at!). Then we're gonna try not to get too nervous when the start handing out the points!


Check out Alexander Rybak and his song Fairytale:

Happy Hardcore

It hurts, make it stop!

Seriously, why would anybody put themselves through this?
- according to Akaí; "cause... it´s pure awesomeness?"

*love* the pic though!

I can't believe I never heard him sing...

Just knowing that the world is round
Here I'm dancing on the ground
Am I right side up or upside down
Is this real or am I dreaming

Fields of Gold

See the west wind move like a lover so
Upon the fields of barley
Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth
Among the fields of gold
I never made promises lightly
And there have been some that Ive broken
But I swear in the days still left
Well walk in the fields of gold
Well walk in the fields of gold

Many years have passed since those summer days
Among the fields of barley
See the children run as the sun goes down
Among the fields of gold
Youll remember me when the west wind moves
Upon the fields of barley
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky
When we walked in the fields of gold

Fields of Gold by Sting
..who seems to turn 56 today
happy birthday!

Happy alarm

How about making Jimmy Soul's If You Want To Be Happy my new alarm sound?

I love the song but how would it be to wake up to this every morning?


If you wanna be happy
For the rest of your life,
Never make a pretty woman your wife,
So from my personal point of view,
Get an ugly girl to marry you.

A pretty woman makes her husband look small
And very often causes his downfall.
As soon as he marries her
Then she starts to do
The things that will break his heart.
But if you make an ugly woman your wife,
You'll be happy for the rest of your life,
An ugly woman cooks her meals on time,
She'll always give you peace of mind.

A beautiful day

I'm in love... It happened as I was walking to my Middle East class today. Not quite one in a million, more like one in a thousand ninety seven. It was The Zephyr Song and it was the one my mp3 player randomly selected for me to listen to.

I liked it so much I dug through the album lists looking for Red Hot Chili Peppers' By The Way, assuming that there must be more songs from that album I really like. But nothing is like The Zephyr Song and I'm in love with the chorus...


Fly away on my Zephyr
I feel it more then ever
And in this perfect weather
We'll find a place together
Fly on my wing


Not quite like the Noodle song but still very much worth listening to.


As for my other kinda love life... it stopped. It's been a few months now and there's nothing I can do but wait. If I'm waiting for nothing or everything, I don't know. All I know is it stopped.

Psalms and Dreams

There's this psalm called 'Måne og sol' - Moon and sun. That's the only psalm I like, not that I ever sing or hear any psalms. But I liked this one when I went to Sunday school and put sticky giraffes in a book. Yeah, I went to Sunday school. With my brother. Hated it too.

But this song, Måne og sol, is one I've always liked. I don't know it though, only the first lines and the tune. Or so I though. See, I've always thought the first line was

Måne og sol, vinder og hav
(Moon and sun, winds and oceans)

Well, today I did a search for it. And I found out I've been wrong all along. There's no ocean. The real version is

Måne og sol, skyer og vind
(Moon and sun, clouds and wind)

Where did I get the ocean from? When did I take the clouds out?

I've always loved the ocean. Growing up in a small town with a big lake, mountains all around, summer always meant going to the island where my mum grew up further north. I can see the ocean from my window now, but it's not an ocean, not really. It's a fjord creeping between islands and mountains. A month ago I was able to see the sky touch the sea in the horizon for the first time in... probably for the first time since I was there last, over 5 years ago. That's one of the most amazing things I can imagine... Just looking straight ahead, knowing there's nothing there for miles and miles.

I am gonna get on that boat one day, and I am gonna sail around the Caribbean.... Or the Mediterranean.

Not or - and.

Dreams...

What 2004 Hit Song Are You?

100 Years by Five for Fighting

"Every day's a new day... 15 there's still time for you Time to buy and time to choose Hey 15, there's never a wish better than this When you only got 100 years to live" 2004 was about thinking and reflecting - but isn't every year?

What 2004 Hit Song Are You?

I can't believe this is supposed to be my song... Someone sent it to me last spring and I listened to it over and over again. I've never heard it on the radio or TV or anything so I thought it must have been one of those great songs that aren't 'pop' enough. Like Little Blue. But then it appears to have been a hit. How strange...

Good choice, Blogthings :)

Back

I got back to Bergen at 10 last night. I took a cab from the station, the radio on and Elvis' Crying in the Chapel was on. As we were driving across the bridge In the Ghetto came on. That is one of my favourite songs although I don't really have favourite songs. It was just weird hearing that song while driving back to... where I live. I can say I live here by now can't I? The song must have ended just as we came here because I heard the woman on the radio talking when the driver took my bags out.

I waited for the elevator, rode it all the way up, and walked down the hallway. I opened the outside door, got my bags inside, then the door to my room. As I opened it, it smelled... a lot like wood. A lot like the way it did when I first got here five months ago. And kinda like my uncle's house on the island up north, but I think that's because it smelled like wood. The walls looked so white and empty, it was like they were staring back at me. The light was odd and I didn't have time to clean it before I left so I'm gonna do that today. We're not allowed to put up posters or put any kind of nails into the walls to put pictures on there. I've respected that so far but I don't think I will for much longer. They only have those rules cuz they don't want people to put lots of ugly nails and big holes in the walls, which I won't dream of doing anyway. I just need to find some pictures.

I'd love to get some of my photos up here. Not that I'm good at taking photos or anything (as my appleshots will prove), but I've got a few lucky ones. But I'd have to have them printed A4 size plus I'd need some kind of frame... I'm just afraid it'll cost too much. I don't have ANY money right now, I've spent more than I can afford and I won't be buying food or anything else the next couple of months. Well, maybe food. Bread and water. But not much else. I'm fine with that, I knew that was gonna happen before I went home for Christmas - gifts and going away kinda decapitated by budget (not that I have a budget) but that's ok. I had a good time and now it's time to pay the price. But my walls do look horribly empty.

What might be even worse is that the place actually did smell almost new when I got back. I haven't made this place smell like mine. Maybe I should mark my territory by peeing in the corners? Or trying pot-purri? Mm.... I'll have to find out what kind of smells I like and then find something that smells like that and then do something or other so that the place smells like that. How do you do that? Does anybody know?

I wanna start another blog where I put those lucky shots of mine in... I just have to think of a name for it... Any ideas?

2005

We've been home for 12 hours, I've unpacked my bags and been getting ready to start packing again tomorrow; I'll be going back to Bergen on Saturday. I'm light brown now, my hair has light blonde highlights and I can still feel the warmth of the sun on my skin. I feel like a sun-kissed tomato... Not that I really got sunburnt even once. I did look like a fried lobster one day but that was just on a small area of my body and it was light brown the next evening. Nothing a bit of Nivea After Sun Lotion can't fix. Man I love that stuff... it's like summer in a bottle. And it smells so good...

Speaking of so good... One thing I missed since I was in the Canaries last time was feeling salt on my lips. Not just salt but swimming in the ocean (or splashing around anyway), having a shower and still tasting the sweet salty taste of the sea on my lips.

And emptying my bikini of sand. Yes, I wore a bikini! I never wear a bikini... Not because I have anything against bikinis in general, I just don't wear them. But I do have a green yummy looking one and why shouldn't I wear a bikini when everyone else is wearing one? Hmm? Well, I wore a bikini and I emptied it of sand. End of story.

I also took 225 photos, or probably a bit less since my camera seems to turn them both ways before counting them... I think. I'll have to find an online album thingy that will host many many photos in the same album. I've got an account at PictureTrail with a few pictures from my first album in it, but they don't give you a whole lot of space.

Now I've just got to knock a few crazy dreams out of my head and I'll be ready for another semester. I tell myself that daydreaming is a waste of time sometimes, especially when my dreams are completely unrealistic, but I think it's the telling myself off that is a waste of time. When nothing is happening around me I live inside my head. I wish I could write... I'd write for days on end about nothing and everything, about my life and dreams, about what could be and what can be.


I love you baby
And if it's quite alright
I need you baby

Those lines have been going through my head all day. I have no idea why. I figured it must be Frank Sinatra singing (the voice in my head couldn't belong to anybody else) so I pulled out all the Sinatra songs on my mp3 player and pressed 'play'. Five seconds into the first song I realized it had to be the one...

Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You

I think I love this song...
*sigh*

alright, I'll admit it, I can be a hopeless romantic sometimes (no really, my heart isn't made of ice. honestly.)

At long last love has arrived
I thank God I'm alive

I feel like fall in love... any volunteers?

The Church and The Wave

I'm going to church later. No, I haven't gone Christian all of a sudden but my sister is going to play today. She plays a trumpet like thing in the school band which isn't a school band anymore it's just basically everyone who wants to play. But they're good. It's sorta a Christmas concert and others will play, lots of singing and violins I expect. I used to play the violin, most kids here play an instrument. Music has always been a part of this town, people making violins, writing traditional Norwegian songs, the special way of singing these songs is called 'kveding'. 'Kved' is probably the same as 'Kvad' which was a song or a verse of some kind when the vikings where here. It's stuck around.

I don't much like this kind of music though, the singing really gets on my nerves. But it's tradition. Old songs being played again, old dances being danced so as not to be forgotten. Tourists love it. They can't get enough of it. When I played the violin we always had to play these old songs, old dance tunes like 'masurka' and 'polka'. I hated it. So did everybody else and most of us quit at the same time. I sucked at it, mostly because I didn't bother trying. Why? Because I didn't like those old songs. Over and over and over. We did get to play a Christmas song or two in December. If we were lucky. I wish they would put in some easy classical music, something more than just folk tunes from Honndalen.

Well, as I was saying, I'm going to church later. I'm gonna bring my camera and try and get a few pictures from there. I haven't been there in... probably two years... just go whenever there's a concert where my sister is playing or the school has a Christmas concert. I've left all that behind but it's nice when it's all Christmassy like today. Yesterday I was out walking with my sister, stopped by our grandparents and then went to rent some films. It was snowing and it was beautiful so I brough my camera. There must be something wrong with it, pictures are never clear anymore, they're either blurry or just... they don't look like they should. They look like they've been taken with a cell phone with a crappy quality camera in it. Of all the pictures I took last night, this one was the only one where you can actually see anything.

The picture is of a statue at the museum, just below our house. It's in a little fountain and they usually bring it inside for winter but this year they haven't. The statue is beautiful, it's a man standing and a woman sitting, looking up, holding onto him. It's called 'The Wave'. I'll have to get a better picture when spring comes. Must be cold for them though, no clothes, out there in the the snow...