Festive Tunes

I'm a sucker for tradition, and there's no x-mas without a few good tunes. I've been singing All I want for X-mas to myself all day long, so I figured it's about time I share it with you. Happy X-mas!

Merry Christmas!

Ho, ho, ho! Season greetins to you, my friend! I trust you've had a very merry holiday so far? Christmas eve has come and past here in Mandal. I'm at my father's house; just him, my brother and I for christmas this year. Mommy Dearest is still in South Africa with the family, and the latest update says they are all fine.

It's been a rather quiet holiday so far for us. Been a bit behind on the holiday preparations. Only decorated the tree & the house earlier "today"! He, he, guess we're a bit helpless without Mommy Dearest ;) ! Other than that everything has proceeded according to family tradition.

Woke up early this morning to watch NRK's annual screening of Tre nøtter til Askepott (Three nuts for Cinderella). Like many other people I know, it has been a x-mas tradition since I was a young girl to watch this Czech movie from the 1970s. Though this year I made a compromise with Chaz, half of my movie and half of Home Alone. Then followed a long day in my PJs; we decorated the tree, had julegrøt (rice porridge) for lunch, and watched way too many stupid movies on the telly. Even had time for a nice long nap followed some reading in Pratchett's Hogfather.

Dad & Chaz at the table ready for dinner

Dinner was delayed this year. We usually eat at 6pm, though we only had dinner around quarter to 8. The Lemley/Nilsen christmas tradition food-wise dictates that there's boiled cod, served with potatoes, veggies and buttersauce. Quite common option in this part of Norway. Afterwards there was a short break before dad did the dishes, while we readied the platters of cookies & chocolates to be enjoyed while we opened the presents.

Our tree in all its glory ready for the fun part of the evening ;)

Perfect catch this year with quite a few surprises! Wollen socks & a cocktail-book from Chaz; first season of The Tudors from my dear roomie; money from both mum & dad - very, very handy as I'm off to London in less than 3 weeks!; things for the kitchen and some more. The biggest surprise of all came from my beau. He's been torturing me for weeks - well, that's completely my own fault since I've been trying to get his giftplans out of him for a while - and after much anticipation and pondering of the oddly shaped gift (shape and weight of a bottle + something that rattled like a puzzle), I'm happy to report it's one of the all time bests! A trip for us to Copenhagen in the spring!!! Thank you, darling!!!

Thank you for all the wonderful presents!

...and a merry Christmas day to all!

X-mas F-U-N!

Happy Weekend! Hope you're having a fabulous Saturday - the last one before X-mas. I've been working, working & working all week long, and it's been really hectic! Doing my last shift before the holiday now, and later tonight it's time for some much needed fun.

My beau & his roomie have invited friends & family over their annual, pre-x-mas celebration. According to tradition they're serving Julegrøt (traditional norwegian rice porridge) & screening Nightmare before Christmas! Beer & akevitt in bucket loads and a few good laughs is just what I need.

It's going to be a blast!

Grim Prospects for the Future

Dear World Leaders,

Get your ass into gear and save our planet!!!

Best regards,

Shekira

Friday Fling!

Back in Black! Wishing all a happy Friday even though it's now 1:09 Saturday morning. So, what have I been up to today?

Pretty much nothing at all. Spent the morning and early afternoon at home catching up on some sleep. Really needed that 'cause I'm still jetlagged from all the criss-crossing to & from the south! More on that subject later - I need to process the whole experience & situation first. While this evening has been spent at the restaurant working my little a** off with the other girls! Hoards upon hoards of people out celebrating an early x-mas, yes it's julebord-chaos indeed. Anyways, all went fine & we didn't run into any big problems with the service. In fact, all the jackets have been fetched which means I'm out of here!

Have a great night!

Friday Fling!

Friday, welcome to another one. A different one as it's not quite turning out like I thought it was when I first started formulating this entry in my head yesterday. I was going to tell you about my plans for the weekend: that I was working tonight and tomorrow morning, that I was going to a friends birthday party with a 90s theme, and that E is celebrating turning 25 tomorrow too. However, there's been a change. Yes, I'm still working tonight and early tomorrow, and I might meet up with E & the girls for a celebratory drink. The diffierence lies in my plans for the next 10 days.

My granny's very, very sick. She's had a brain hemorage and they think she will pass away within a few days time. So on Sunday me & Mommy Dearest fly out to South Africa via London & Dubai. Berni, my dear aunt, is meeting up with us in London. Good meeting up with the S.A.-branch of the family, though I dearly, dearly wish it was under happier circumstances.

I'm hoping for dear life that granny will pull through, though like I said, the prospect is grim. In any case it will be good to see her again as I haven't seen her since March 2007. Even if it is just to say good-bye.

Good thing I'm working tonight. At the moment I'm feeling empty on the inside and utterly useless.

Hope you have a nice weekend.

Empty

Games upon games of mindless playing of Mahjong sort of took the edge of the pain away & lulled me into a stated of emptyness. Tired, worn-out and completely empty. No more thoughts in my head nor any more tears to cry. It feels somewhat comforting...

Photo of the Week: #16

Week 47: "The Delicious Smell of Streetfood"

Time for a Photo of the Week update, and this week's photo is from my trip to Hong Kong in August 2007. What an experience, 4 days in this hustling & bustling metropolitan. I spent most of my time exploring the main island: visiting the museums, window-shopping + real shopping, exploring the many criss-crossing streets, and the delicious smell & tantalising sight of food being prepared in the street. Wow!

Here's my fondest memories from the trip:

• It was raining for 3 out of 4 days, so basically I was either wet from the rain or damp from the high level of moisture in the air. Hello mowldy shoes!
• Getting lost on my first venture out of the Hotel Cosmopolitan (located near the horsetrack) while looking for an ATM. Very interesting experience
• My fascination with all the tall, tall buildings literally tripped me up once in a while. I don't recommend looking up while walking down a street.

No Choo

Rather than getting up at the crack of dawn to head downtown to queue for Choo's, I went for the comfortable solution and set up the computer to try to get the Choo Zeebra-print bag online. Pandemonium!

Because of the lines popularity, it was impossible to even get on the site until a good 15 minutes after the launch. Probably not helped by the fact that half of Norway was pressing the refresh buttion every 2 seconds. When I at last go onto the shopping site & found the bag, it was impossible to buy it - no button to press, and no where to find on the rest of the site. A deep suspicion that something was wrong started to surface. Pushing this button and that, about 10.35 I finally found the right spot - it turned out that you shopped via the ad-campaign, by viewing the whole collection...

Luckily the bag wasn't sold out, so into the shopping cart it went & off to pay. Just after pressing the button to complete the sale, a box saying "order cancelled" pops up. It turned out it was sold out by the time I'd put all the details in. Arg, the frustration! Not because I didn't get a bag, I always knew the chance was slim either I queued in the cold or went only, but because the site just didn't make sense. For one thing the "Jimmy Choo"-photo/button took me to the wrong page, but mostly because nowhere - including the instructions on how to buy Choo - did it say that you needed to go to the ad-campaign to shop. Arg!

Friday Fling!

Happy Friday! Hope you're having a fabulous Friday so far. It got pretty late by the time I crawled in to bed last night, so I've been enjoying a lazy morning so far. I've decided it's well deserved as it been pretty hectic at work (x-mas season has started, you know).

So, what's up this Friday? When I'm finished writing this, I've sort of planned a rapid (or should I perhaps say rabid?) spot of cleaning. T's folks are coming to visit this weekend so the flat needs to look great. And afterwards I'm meeting up with Elisabeth for some shopping. We're going to a party with work tomorrow (the books store), and apparently I'm not the only one in need of some new threads. I've decided to allow myself a clothing budget of about 600 kr this month, even though I should be saving for London in January, simply because there are certain things one needs. So far half the budget's spent on a jacket from H&M. It's the one I wrote about back in September. Found it in my size and it was on sale - it was meant to be!

No plans for later this evening. Probably meeting up with the beau - haven't really seen him all week even though I hung out with him yesterday when he was working from home. It's going to be nice.

Tomorrow, the parents arrive! No problemo 'cause I've planned an early start. There's this Jimmy Choo for H&M clutch I have my eyes on, and the launch of the line starts tomorrow! Oh shit, there goes the budget! And as mentioned, later in the evening there's the work party, this year located just around the corner from where I live - nice! I wonder when that starts?

No plans for Sunday. Ah, my favorite kind of Sunday, the one's where I'm free to do whatever I want! Perhaps a nice & long walk around town (I'm not really a forest girl) or a trip to a museum. I still haven't been to Astrup Fearnley to see the Nate Lowman exhibition, though that might have to wait 'cause I promised AC that we'd go together. Anyways, there's loads of stuff to do in Oslo and I'm pretty sure it'll be a fab day!

Have a ridiculously fun weekend!

Does an Apple a Day Keep the Doctor Away?

I went to the doctor earlier this week and the news is dire.

I'm the lucky "winner" of a high blood pressure (think I mentioned this earlier this autumn). In fact it's so high that a lifestyle change is desperately needed: more excercise & a drastic dietary change. No salty foods/products; no sweets, treats & snacks (bye-bye licorice!); no rice, pasta and potatoes (what on earth do you eat with your dinner); less fatty dairy products (not a problem except for my love of cheese), and no red meats. Most likely more stuff on that list... Basically the change is designed to make be lose a pound or more. It's no secret that I'm a bit overweight and it seems my petit full-figure might just be the death of me - ha ha, as if! I'm sure it's all for the better!

As I'm way too young to have a hight blood pressure, so they're running a whole load of tests (the doctor was literally crossing out test at random), and there's probably more appointments & tests to come in the near future. That's not a good thing 'cause it's notoriously difficult to get a blood sample from me (can't be more than twice, at the most, that they've drawn blood on the first prick). This is where the photo comes in. The latest attempt left me with 3 pricks and only 2/3 of the blood sample needed. Well, at least it's better than the last score with the same technician: 6 pricks, major bruising and no blood sample at all.

The point being (note to self): Never, never ever let them draw blood from the back of my hand again! I was told it would sting a bit, but I'd have full use of my hand afterwards. Man, was she ever wrong! Typing on a keyboard for a couple of hours combined with coat-check duty (evening shift at the restaurant) left me feeling like I'd really damaged something inside my hand - Ouch!

Luckily the pain's gone now, and I'm just left with purplish marks on the right arm and a bluish skintone on my hand. Nice!

Pardon

It's been quiet here for a few weeks now. I apologise for that. Let's just say my life isn't very interesting at the moment. Sleep, eat, read and work ... that's about it. Sort of feel bad for not even having posted my so-called mandatory updates (FF & photo), but there's been a lack of inspiration & motivation. Will strive to do better - if anything for my own sake (so that I can pretend to be interesting ;P).

On a good note: had a nice & quiet weekend. Worked both Friday & Saturday, but it was easy-peasy. Very social weekend despite my roomie cruising Skagerak. AC was in town and we hung out. Dinner on Friday evening (thanks for the dinner!) and milkshakes @ Ryes on Sunday. Even managed to squeeze in 20 minutes of quality time with E before work Saturday afternoon - a walk to Aker brygge and a quick look at H&M.

Best of all: WE'VE BOOKED OUR TICKETS FOR LONDON IN MID-JANUARY!!!

I'm SO excited I'm just about to burst with anticipation!

Friday Fling!

Happy Friday! This is going to be a short post 'cause I've got too much stuff to fix and too little time. So right to the point! This weekend is all about Halloween! Yes, the dynamic duo (aka T & me) are hosting an All Hallows Party tomorrow night and the preparations are well under way. Decorations are up, costumes (soon) ready (typical me to not having the costume finished yet), and the treats are all planned. Yeah, it's going to be a blast, though the hours until the gouls & gals arrive feel too short.

Oh, and Mommy Dearest is in town with her friend Eva this weekend. Went out to dinner at Rice Bowl yesterday, and as always the Thai curry was delicious! Yum! Now, back to work!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Friday Fling!

...even though it's now SATURDAY! The weekend is on and this one's going to be a quiet one. Was working until 18:00 yesterday, home for some relaxation before F & I went looking for some comfort food. We ended up at a fully packed Cafe Sara. Lit for romance, though too noisy. At least the food was yummy. Topped the evening off with TV & ice cream from Ben & Jerry's! Superb!

So far it's been a lazy Saturday. We slept in and had a late breakfast. Home-made omelette, orange juice & freshly made coffee. Couldn't ask for a better start. Especially since I've been incredibly tired lately and just feel like sleeping. I think I'm gradually going into hibernation mode. Typical for me during the late autumn/winter months when the days are short. To make it even worse it's time to reset the clock to wintertime tomorrow (3 am), so there goes another hour of light. How depressing. I think I'll stop writing now.

Have a fabulous weekend, y'all!

A Shoe from Choo

This hardly comes as news to anybody. Fashionistas & bloggers have been raving about this collaboration for months already. I'm a late arrival having just jumped on the bandwagon, but better late than never I say. Well, almost.

Everybody knows Mr.Choo makes dreamy footware for the ladies, and so naturally the collaboration with H&M is pure genius, bringing high level fashion to the "man on the street", but even though I'm a lover of shoes (it's in my blood) I had a hard time understanding all the raving. The first thing that came to mind was the massive queues of fanatic women battling to get hold of the goods; pushing, shoving, elbow in the ribs, and shoes there the one moment and gone the next. "No way, José", I was thinking.
Well, that was until just now when I fell in love with a bag - not my first time mind. In fact, I fell head over heels (lol) for the amazing zebra-print clutch you see in the picture above. I. MUST. HAVE. IT...or else I just might die!

Get in my closet ... Now I say!

(Click the picture to go straight to the webshop)

There's nothing better than some funky accesories to bring one's outfit up a notch. Boring outfit perhaps, but with the right bag, shoes or jewellery you'll be chic'er than America's next top model. And the good news is that you don't even have to spend a fortune! Like these perfect pieces. I came across them on Mango's website when I went looking for a ring with a bird on it.

Me likey. Me likey alot!

Friday Fling!

Happy Friday! Back with the weekend report after two weeks pause. Not because I was major busy or anything, just because I haven't been able to get my hand on a computer the past week. Last weekend was a good one: home-made lasagne last Friday (courtesy of F) and a housewarming for Hanne & Morten on Saturday, and a dinner with F's parents on Sunday. Nice weekend indeed!

But, lets talk about this weekend. I actually shouldn't be bloggin write now as I'm supposed to be at my beau's house very soon for fårikål. That's a traditional Norwegian dish made of lamb & cabbage (typically eaten in the autumn) for non-natives. It's doesn't look very appetising, but if you love meat & cabbage it's heavenly. Second fårikål-lag in a week - lucky me!

Tomorrow, you'll find my in my working-girl guise from 9 to 4, and then it's time to find my alter-ego, Party-girl! In other words, the girls are off this wekend and yours truely cannot miss out on the fun. Lol. Too much time has passed since our last night on the dancefloor, so it's definately about time to rock it up! Shake that booty! ...and perhaps break a leg ;)

Alternatively there's a free concert at Blå tomorrow evening with the American band Handsome Family. Concert start 21:30. Okey, I'm off.

Have a superduper weekend!

♥ 15.10.2009 ♥

Today is a day of celebration. Frode & I have been in a relationship for 6 months!

Lucky-lucky me to have the greatest guy ever as my boyfriend. In the last year he's become a very important part of my life, and I frequently find myself thinking I am the luckiest girl on the planet earth to have found him. He's kind, intelligent, caring, handy, funny, handsome & cuddly. And let's not forget extremely patient - especially for having lasted this long with yours truly! As my brother answered this summer when daddy dearest asked him what he thought about F: "He's still alive, isn't he". I really hope I'm not that terrible, though there is some truth to it.

Photo of the Week: #15

Week 41: "Placa Reial, Barcelona"

Memento of a good time spent in the beautiful city of Barcelona.

Placa Reial, an open and lively space just of busy & tourist-packed La Rambla, has been one of my favorite places in BCN since my first visit there in the summer of 2002. That time AC & I stayed at the Kabul Hostel, which is located just to the left in the photo. It's still there; a lively hostel, exceptionally popular (we were lucky to get rooms there that time), and oh so worth it as it's basically at the heart of Barcelona (short walk to the beach, harbour, old town and much more).

Placa Reial; Palmtrees, pidgeons, fountain, Lamp posts with a touch of Gaudi, pleanty of restaurants & tourists. Ah, Barcelona...

LOL

In need of some entertainment or a laugh? Here are a few hillarious sites that are bound to make your day. Check them out for some easy entertainment!

(1) There's few things I like to read more than so-called "broken" English, and if you, like me, find great enjoyment in reading signs with horrible spelling, then you're going to think this is a blast: Engrish.com

(2) On this page there are some deep & dark secrets shared. People send their secrets via snailmail to a guy named Frank. Check out Postsecret for a new perspective.

(3) My third tip is bound to make you laugh out loud! Featuring loads upon loads of really awkwad family photos, which is also where the page gets its name (surprise, surprise!). Check it out to learn "what not to do" when there's a camera about!

Friday Fling!

Happy Friday! ...and a lazy Friday it is! I'm still stuck at home still trying to get organised. Got some studying to do today, and I need to pop by the post office to pick up a book I ordered - study related and desperately needed. Need to do some cleaning & tidying up, and I've been craving oatmeal cookies so I might have to do some baking too.

Later this evening one of my best friends, Aase Marthe (I met her during a family vacation to Turkey, and we've known eachother since we both were in our mid-teens), is coming to town. Yeah! Looks like we're heading off to town to catch up over a beer or two. Good stuff!

Working at the restaurant tomorrow evening, but first AM & I are heading to Gamlebyen for a flea market. Bound to be fun 'cause you never know what you'll find at the market. Finally, I've got Sunday off (the restaurant's closed every Sunday until March) - jippi! I'm hoping the weather will be nice so I can drag my beau off for a walk, coffee in the sun or perhaps even to a museum. In my world Sundays are best spent relaxing & having fun with people you love.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Sunday Afternoon Challenge

My "blind" kittykat:


Sunday afternoon in the office and it's very quiet. Not much to do, so I went lookin for some fun on the internet and came over this amusing challenge. Now, I'm challenging Marte, Mari & Erle to a draw-off. Whdoes YOUR cat look like?

A Breakthrough

Turned out to be a late night up at uni. Though can't complain 'cause I haven't been as efficient as I should be. Not least to say as efficient as I need to be! Time seems to be running out for this tired, old student - again...! But - I've had a breakthrough!

For the first time in like almost a year I've actually written something. It's not very long, just a page, but it feel very, very important to me. Like a new begining (which it literally was too). In fact, even though it wasn't much lengthwise, it seems as a giant contribution to the end result. To be cliche, a begining to the end my status as a student. Gambatte!

Friday Fling!

Happy Friday! It's just past 10 am. I'm on the couch, computer on lap, enjoying a cup of steaming hot Colombia Supremo coffee (from Kaffebrenneriet) and home-made oatmeal cookies. Yummy! Nothing like fresh coffee & cookies in the morning - the perfect start to the day!

I'm actually liking the fact that it's Friday again, even though I have to admitt that the days are going by way too fast. It's hard to believe that September will be over in just a few days time!

What's up this weekend? For once, I know I constantly say this, I haven't got any fun or wild activities planned - at all. There's work tomorrow morning + Sunday evening, but otherwise there's nada on my calender. So I'm thiking perhaps I should make time to sew the curtains for my room, a thing I've been plaing on doing like forever. Testing out the tempura-mix I bought a few weeks back at an Asian supermarket also seems like a fab idea ... just need to translate the instructions from Japanese to something understandable (lol).

However, there are quite a few cultural options to take advantage of in Oslo this weekend. Here's my top tips for some weekend fun. Keep on clicking to get the down & low on Oslo:

• Høstutstillingen 2009: This annual exhibition, arranged by Statens kunstustilling, is the main arena for contemporary art in Norway. This year exhibition is the 122nd since it's start in 1882. The works showcased here are picked by a national jury and usually centre around a common theme (though so far I haven't been able to find out what that is, so maybe I'm wrong), and genreally speaking høstutstillingen exhibits a vast range of art forms, such as sculpture, paint, photography, performance, video installations, machinery and more. I know this years exhibition hasn't received glowing reviews, but there's only one way to know and that's by checking it out yourself. I know I'm going to. Check out the pictures from the event here.
• Oslo Open: This biennial artfestival, from Wednesday 23 - Sunday 27th of September, is the fourth festival in a row, where artists living in Oslo open their ateliers to the public. The festival aims to be a meeting place for contemporary art in Oslo, the artist living & working here, and the genreal public. Well worth checking out!
• Costume sale: The Minken Fosheim Childrens Theater is having a costume sale on Saturday at 16:00, so if you're looking for halloween costume, a gown for a ball or just a unique dress for yourself, head on down to Josefinesgate 7 for a bargain (P.S. Cash is king)!
• Nate Lowman's "The Natriot Act" & Rotations #2 (showcasing the museums own collection) also opened at the Astrup Fearley Museum of Modern art on Wednesday. This is one of my favorite museums, so I'm definately heading there sooner than later.
• Movies galore: There's soooo many good movies on the silverscreen these days: Inglorious Bastards (I'm a big Tarantino fan), Jenta som lekte med ilden, Up, District 9, Hangover, Coco avant Chanel, Upperdog... all movies with great reviews, all movies I want to see, but nowhere near having the time to check them all yet. On my to-do-list as of now!
  

Perhaps I'll run into you somewhere in Oslo this weekend!

Happy Birthday to You!

It's my father's birtday today, and this year he turns 49 and is still fit as a fiddle! ...I should perhaps say fiddler, 'cause boy is this man active! Publishing books, fixing up motorbikes & doing karate, all of it next to working a whole lot (how does he find the time?)!

Happy birthday, daddy!

Hope you have a fabulous day!

Photo of the Week: #14

Week 39: "Lady in Red"

This week's pick was a tough one. Lately I haven't been feeling neither inspired nor motivated , and when you feel that neither colourful, adventurous nor beautiful shots do anything for you, it's really hard. Especially since most my photos are either full of colour or depicting some element of travel and adventure.

Therefore, this week's photo is of a person that inspires me. Top of my list of my favorite & most loveable people: my dearest granny!
This funny, happy, well travelled, kind & lovely sweetheart rounded the ripe age of 82 on the 24th of August (Happy Birthday, Granny!) - and she's still going strong. I don't think I know anybody who is as strong & independent as her, and I can think of no better role model when aspiring for greatness.

Granny & I on the bus heading off to Seapoint, Cape Town in 2006

Granny @ Pascal's in Drammensveien back in 2004

Friday Fling!

Happy Friday! I've got the whole weekend off and o'boy is this gal planning to have a lot of F-U-N!!!

For one thing, this evening it's kick-off for a major cultural happening in Oslo, Oslo Kulturnatt 2009! Unfortunately I missed out last year 'cause I was working, but this year I'll be there for sure! There's so many fun, spectacular & exciting things going on all over Oslo, and it's all free - yeah, you heard me - it's FREE!!

------------------------------------------ { UPDATE } ----------------------------------------

Writing this bit Monday evening as I was nowhere near a computer during the weekend. Quite a few of my posts lately have been pre-planned & ready to hit cyberspace on a given time & date. At the momtent I'm finding it hard to remember what I did on Friday. Lets see ... I had the day off, and as I was feeling completely knackered and quite out of my element, I opted for the easy "route" and slept in. Late afternoon, after some "quality time" on the couch with Mr. TV, I headed downtown for a luncheon with a certain miss Elisabeth. Post-lunch window-shopping resulted in a mini-"presskanne" (no idea what that's in English, it's a coffe pot with a filter you press down) & a few pens from Muji @ Åhlens. Ah, also found this stunning autumn jacket in a two coloured tartan pattern (dark-blue with red) at H&M. It fitted perfect and it was a very flattering shape for me - gave me a tiny waiste. The style was reminescent of a vintage flight attendant uniform, so I felt very glamorous in it.

My beau came downtown to meet me after work. Nice to have company on the walk back to Løkka. For dinner we made pesto-marinated salmon fillets baked in the oven. Deliciously yummy! As we both were feeling low on energy, we turned into couch-potatoes for a few hours, while we worked on a plan for the evening. Amazing enough we actually did end up going to one of the Oslokulturnatt events: Greetings from Chaincity + 9 at DogA (The Design & Architecture Center), an exhibition exploring the authenticity of a city. The departure point of the discussion is Venezia and the many copies found around the globe; which is more authentic: the real, material city or the idea of Venezia? The discussion is relevant for Oslo, and thus the discussion is carried on in a video installation on public spaces in Oslo. It was a nice evening, so the walk down to the DogA was worthwhile itself. Sort of mandatory to enjoy what's left of beautiful days & evenings this year!

Finally the evening ended with a couple of episodes of Mad Men, thus making the day simply perfect!!

Quick summary of the rest of the weekend:

• Saturday: Late afternoon coffee with T & AC; sashimi @ Namkang (I was too chicken, so T eat the oyster that came with my sashimi appetizer - major kudos is in order!) & some booty-shaking @ Mono + Internasjonalen (the latter was slow early on and thus replaced by a trip to our favorite club, but horrible music rendered the evening short, until T & I heard the funky music coming from Internasjonalen's 2nd floor. Quick stand in queue and we were set for our last hour of boogie that evening)!
• Sunday: Slept in until late, late afternoon; lazy day infront of couch; a very energetic burst of housework by me & T even later; opted for easy solution for dinner: eat out. Delicious curry & nan-bread @ Cafe Stolen with Frode before evening ended yet again on the couch.

A Public Announcement: Oslo Kulturnatt 2009

Just an update on what's going on in Oslo. This Friday yet time again for OSLO KULTURNATT 2009, an evening fully packed with cultural events of all kinds all over Oslo. Museums, the library, cinemas, dance studios and more going on all evening long - and it's FREE!!!

I only got my hands on the program yesterday afternoon so I haven't looked through it yet, but I'm definately planning on heading downtown to check it out! ...and I recommend that you do the same! Check out the program here!

Don't miss out on Oslo Kulturnatt 2009!

Hot Tip for Dry Lips

If you, like my, are plagued with dry and chapped lips during the cold winter months, I've got a hot tip for you.

Reputably a highly treasured product among models & stylists, Smith's Lip Balm is the best lip balm I've ever come across. I'm so addicted to it that I can't go anywhere without it, and I always have at least 2 at any given time - my way of ensuring that I've got a tin handy in case of a lip crisis. Smith's lip balm comes in several varieties/flavours, the ones pictured here (minted rose & rosebud salve) are my favorites, can be found in most VITA shops & farmacies in Norway and cost around 100 NOK.

I also find that it's superb for softening up cuticles, and I frequently rub it on my elbows to soften the skin there too. "Løp & kjøp" - that's my recommendation!

"Sita Sings the Blues"

Surfing the net earlier today, I came across this amazing animation movie based on the Ramayana (meaning 'Rama's journey'), an ancient Sanskrit epic dating back to around 400-200 B.C. and recognised as a fundamental part of Indian cultural consciousness. The epic is also well-known throughout Southeast Asia.

The plot centres on the characters of Rama (an incarnation of the hindu god Vishnu), his wife Sita (an incarnation of the goddess Lakshmi), and the evil demon king, Ravana. Sita is kidnapped by the demon king and Rama has to undertake a journey, helped along the way by his faithful companions Hanuman and Lakshmana, in order to get her back. The story finally culminates in a battle between Rama and Ravana on the island of Lanka, which ends in victory for the good guys.

Sita Sings the Blues (HD 720p)
Uploaded by Drakar2007 - Full seasons and entire episodes online.

Now I'm no movie expert, nor do I own the techniques to critique, so please do not read too much into this. Here's my thoughts on Sita Sings the Blues:

The story of the movie centres on the theme of lost love & heart ache. The main story is set in ancient times in India and plays out the story of the Ramanyana, parallelled by a second story set in modern day San Francisco-come India-come New York, and is based upon the real-life experience of the director herself , Nina Paley.

The artwork in the movie is really stunning. Highly detailed & colourful, and I think it has a true surrealistic quality to it. The director displays a great repetoire of animation techniques - did I mention that she's a self-taught animator! - mixing elements of photography, print illustrations, cartoonish animation and computerised scribble drawings. There's even sections where traditional-style shaddow puppets narrate the story of the Ramayana in a funny and highly informative way, and end up in discussions on what really happened (according to the FAQ on the film's website it's due to the fact that the people voicing the characters are from different parts of India and grew up with different versions of the story)(BTW, these sections are completely un-scripted!).

Finally, the story is accompanied by beautiful, heartfelt music. Especially worth mentioning here are the songs by jazz/blues singer Annette Hanshaw, who gives the voice to Sita.

Sita Sings the Blues is a stunning/beautiful/amazing movie - it's hard to describe in words what I think about it. All I've got to say is that I loved it! L-O-V-E-D it! ...and I wish I could force all of you to see it too! The movie's just over 80 minutes long, and as far as I'm concerned you wouldn't be wasting 80 minutes of your life (as you do with some movies). Though, don't start watching it unless you've got the time to see all of it.

Now, watch it, watch it I say!!!

A Saturday in this girl's life

Late Saturday evening (past 11pm), and I'm still stuck in the office, just waiting & hoping that it's soon my time to head home. I'm actually feeling quite fatigued today. Probably got something to due with me staying up very late last night watching movies... I'm more than ready to head home to laze in front of the telly, or climb underneath the covers and head of to dreamland. Basically, the only reason I'm even blogging right now is because I'm bored out of my mind! It's another quiet evening in the office (at least for me), but unlike yesterday it feel like time is standing still.

We need some pictures to spice things up! I'm not really into posting outfits &x stuff, but here's a shot of my outfit today. Can't be said to be representative of my usual office look - it's sort for strange, but I feel sort of hippie-chic. In any case it's by far the most unpractical outfit I've worn to work - long skirts really don't work in a restaurant, and I nearly had a fatal incident tripping on my skirt in the staircase - but it's such a COOL skirt, and really comfy too! I thrifted it when the fabulouse Jeni D was packing up her belongings to leave Norway back in May this year, but it's the first time I've been brave enough to wear it out. Note to self: wear it more!

On a fun note; Managed to squeeze in (I literally mean that!) a tiny bit of shopping today. Basically I opted for sleeping in rather than jumping up brighter & earlier to hit the street & burn a hole in my creditcard. It was actually quite hard trying to plan a route that would take me through a majority of the stuff I wanted to buy. Looking for tiki-mugs in a museum shop, buying a pair of ultra-cool earrings, stashing up on seaweed-snacks from an Asian groceries, and more, was on the top of my list. In the end my a choice was made when the #11 tram arrived and I sort of only had 40 min (incl. travel) before I started work. Besides, I just couldn't wait to buy these beautiful earrings until Monday. Also, I stopped by Kremmerhuset @ Aker Brygge to buy that glass & ceramic 'banana leaf' plate I've been ogling. Decorative & great for snacks/candy - okey, I'll admitt I had our next Tiki-party in mind when I bought it ... sorry, still hung up on the tiki...

*Ha ha ha* Just remembered something very funny. When I bought the earrings there was a long queue at the tills, and when it was finally my turn and the lady asked me if I wasn't going to buy anything else... after she'd scanned the goods and was waiting for me to pay. The answer was naturally "No" as I'm working on becoming new, better & more ecomic Shekira, which again is partly spurred on by the fact that I was broke all last month and still recovering from the massive load of bills, though mostly due to a magazine article I read: if you purchase a caffe latte (à 30kr) 5 times a week, you end up using 8100 kr on caffe a year! Now that's at least(!) one shopping trip abroad - tickets, hotel & shopping money included (crazy)! Besides, I don't see any reason to buy stuff that's not needed when I already a few select things that make me happy!

Friday Fling!

Happy Friday!

The week has gone by so fast it's almost difficult to believe it's Friday again. Unlike some lucky people I know, today's not a day off for me. At the moment I'm at work, and man I must say the day has gone by fast even though I startet at 3 o'clock - and it's been practically dead quiet all evening! The past few hours have been spent working on a table-map for a large group coming in December. I'm a perfectionist so I've hardly noticed the time while fiddling with the map details in Paint to get them just right.

Well, what's on this weekend? Pretty much nothing since my beau's off having fun with the boys in Prague (lucky, lucky guy), and my trusted buddies are all busy. AC's working nights in the hospital, it's T's wekend with her son, and who know's what E's up to (probably working). I guess it's just as well, because I'm working all weekend long, though luckily I've got the dayshift on Sunday since Frode is coming home in the afternoon. In any case, no worries, I'm likely to get up to some mischief on my own - for one thing, I can finally go shopping!!!

On another note; As mentioned, the week has gone by pretty fast. In fact I've hardly noticed that it's already September. Started off the week with a cold, which pretty much left me glued to the couch. Figured there wasn't any point heading up to uni to study as there's few things more irritating that a student with a cold (contagious & frequent sniffling and coughing). Not good!.

Last week's entry I said I was hoping for better weather, and we've been lucky. Oslo's had quite a few days this week where the sun has been shining from a clear blue sky and the thermometer has crept over 20 degrees! Nice! Also, payday finally came so I'm no longer broke ... yet! Got quite a few bills to pay, but there's also a few thing I have to invest in, like savings (on the path to a better, richer me) and a pair (or two) of jeans.

Finally, Monday 14th is election day in Norway; for Parliament. I haven't got the time to head down south to vote since I'm registred in that muncipality, but luckily one can cast a vote before the main date in Norway. So called "forhåndsstemming". I did my in duty as a citizen on Wednesday, so now I can just sit back and anxiously await the result on Monday. It's really exciting since the race is quite close between the left & the right. It should come as a surprise, but I'm crossing my fingers that the red/green government stays in power!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Photo of the Week: #13

WEEK 37: " Rural Backyard in Aceh"

Well into my 1st month of again working on my thesis, I find I'm in need of some "academic" related inspiration. This time in the form of a Photo of the Week from Aceh.

I shot this photo during my fieldstudies in Banda Aceh back in the summer for 2007, and it pictures the view from the DEMOS-office, then located in the Ulee Kareng area. As you can see a makeshift building has been constructed while major reconstruction after the 2004 tsunami is still ongoing - and the reconstruction is probably still going on.

To me this photo is a memento of exciting times in my life; a great travel experience and accumulation of academic knowledge. It makes me feel very grateful to have had the possibility go and visit and experience the area & the people I've studied.
It's a constant a source of inspiration in more ways than I can explain, a reminder of how interesting I actually find that it is to study & read about Aceh - the latest anthology I'm reading through, Aceh: The Role of Democracy for Peace and Reconstruction (2009), is a well written & very interesting - and finally it sets me in a peaceful state of mind, which always is a good thing as I gradually get more stressed the quicker D-day (as in deadline) approaches.