Surviving in the world of blogging

Ive been trying to think of ways to resurrect my blog. Its not the first time this thought has crossed my mind, as I am an infrequent blogger. I blog when I have excess energy, and unfortunately that is not something I have been blessed with lately (lately being several years…). I found that once I was done with my studies and was forced to wear the chains of adulthood (generally referred to as “fulltime job”) my spare time was reduced to almost nothing. Suddenly I found myself exhausted come Friday, and going out or sitting down with the computer to write, was unthinkable. Also, sitting in front of a computer all day at work doesn’t exactly render spare-time computer work arousing. At least, these are the excuses I am giving myself…it could of course be that I am getting old and lazy…or just lazy.

So the result of all this is what you have now stumbled upon. A half-dead blog.

“Why don’t you just delete it or leave it be?” you ask, and it is a perfectly valid question. I have asked myself that as well and I think my answer to it is that this blog holds a special place in my heart. It contains all, -well not all, but quite a few, of my thoughts and rambles over the past 6 years and also quite a few memories. Almost like a diary, except this one is far more public. I also still enjoy writing a little here and there, and can’t quite accept the idea of leaving it completely behind.

Instead I am trying to think of ways to give it a new voice. If I have ever had a theme on this blog it has been the total lack of one. I have enjoyed not having to write about one specific topic or from a certain viewpoint. And I guess this very thing is also what has made it difficult to keep up. –Almost like a vicious circle. I have no specific topic because I don’t want to have one, and hence I have problems writing.

– Quite the pickle Ive gotten myself into, huh…?

I did try the theme blogs though…photo and film, both interests of mine, but I found it too time consuming. And although I haven’t quite given up the idea of maybe getting back to ‘em, I have left them idle for even longer than this one (bad girl). So that leaves me with a conundrum;

What to do?
-give up?
-find a theme?
-write once a year? – And if so, what about?

I know that a blog, in order to be “successful” (I guess success can be measured in many ways) in the world of blogs, needs a theme. Or at least that is what they keep telling me. It needs a theme to attract readers and mostly, to keep readers. But how do you get around this if it is the writing in itself that interests you, and not necessarily the topic you are writing about? I find it amusing that one of the entries that get the most hits on this blog is a ramble on flies in the rain…I had a silly thought and decided to put it down on paper…or screen…

So whats the key? How do I survive in the world of blogging? How do I resurrect my blog?
Any ideas?

I welcome any with gratitude.

App addicton

So...When you are stuck in the Saharan desert (work not pleasure), you suddenly find yourself bored at night. Not because the Sahara in itself is boring...but because there really isnt that much to do after working hours.

You can always turn on the TV, and watch one of the 20 arabic satellite channels, but somehow that isnt as fun when you dont speak the language...Nor is it stimulating watching other foreign shows (spanish, french, german) with arabic subtitles. -Although I will admit that getting TV signals in itself is impressing enough! I can also concede that arabic is a beautiful written language...

Anyway, my point is that you have time to kill in the evening, and this is where my latest app addiction manifests itself.

I wrote about wordfeud in a previous entry and although fun, I quickly lost interest. It just wasnt amusing enough to hold my attention. Draw Something, on the other hand, has what wordfeud is missing...It has the laughing factor.

The game is simple; you draw a word, your friend guesses and finally draws a word for you to guess. And so it goes. You get points and I assume someone wins in the end...But who cares? It lets you laugh out loud while watching your friend draw "Madonna"...or "hurt". It also lets you snicker while watching your dad trying to guess your drawing of "plague". In fact, I have so much fun drawing and guessing that Ive never even bothered to learn the rules. I just play and laugh.

Its a fun way to pass time.
Enjoy. I know I do.

Carpe Diem et Anno

I was almost hit by a car this morning.

As the environmentally conscious person that I am (and lacking a driver’s license) I take the bus to work every morning. It is not a long walk but it does require that I cross a three-lane street. Two of the lanes go in the same direction while the other is in the opposite direction. I was going to cross the street at a pedestrian crossing and a car in the first lane stopped to let me pass. As I was crossing I noticed another car approaching in the second lane, so I reduced my pace while waiting for the car to slow down. I continued to walk, although slower, realizing a little too late that the car was making no effort to slow down. It approached me in an incredible speed and if I hadn’t already noticed it, I wouldn’t have been able to turn to the side just in nick of time to save my toes. I had to support my weight on the hood of the car as it came to a halt. The tires grazed my boots and my knees were shaking.

I realize that it was dark and rainy and the visibility was probably poor, but still, as you approach a crossing and the car in the lane next to you has stopped, it should be a sign for you to stop as well. –Or at least reduce your speed.

I got away with a scare and a joy of being alive and well. It also reminded me of how easily everything can come to an end. How quickly life can change. Ive always had the “live now” philosophy to life as opposed to delaying everything for later. Ive met too many people in my life who keep saying “I’ll do it later.” Or the standard: “One day I want to do that”. People take for granted that you can delay dreams and do it some other time.

It probably comes from having medical issues in my closest family. Medical issues related to the heart and nerve system. I have grown up seeing how fragile life is, and how easily the body can change from fit and healthy to weak and helpless. You can go from perfectly healthy and above average fit, to immobile and dependent on others in only a year. -Without the possibility of improvement. There aren’t medicines for every condition. Not everything can be avoided or fixed. And yes, it can happen to you as well. -Just as easily as anyone else. Instead of thinking: “That only happens to others”, I’ve changed it to: “That could happen to me as well”.

I have learned from this that life is what you have today. Your health is what you have now. Do not put off things you wish to do. Do not wait. Do it now. –Today!

For this reason I try to make the most of it. I move out of my comfort zone at work to try new things, I am continually trying to and working on becoming more spontaneous (unfortunately Im still very fond of planning), I travel to the destinations I want to travel. I don’t have a perfect economy, but I make different priorities. We don’t own a car, although it would be a great benefit to have one. Instead we spend our money traveling. People wonder how we can afford to spend two summers in a row in the US, driving from coast to coast, living in nice hotels and eating great food. We can because we buy our furniture at IKEA and take the bus to work instead of driving. We can because we buy our clothes on sale and in the cheaper stores. There is plenty of time later to buy a car or an expensive chair, -you can do that even with cancer. But the chance to travel far, to a country you want to visit, may not ever come again. You may have a child (blessings!) and suddenly a major roadtrip becomes economically and practically impossible. You may lose your job. You may get sick. You may get hit by a car...

We all live our lives differently. We make different priorities. –And there is no right or wrong way. I just wish and hope that everyone will remember that a chance may not come twice. An opportunity may have en expiration date. Don’t tell yourself that “I will do that when I retire” or “one of these days I will have to try that”.

It is far better to regret something you did, as opposed to something you wish you would have done but never did.

I for one, am planning to make 2012 a magnificent year. -A year of travels and play. -And a year of new, scary and hopefully educational experiences. I can only hope that I will be allowed to do so, and that I will leave this year even happier than I am today. This year will never come again. Imagine the opportunities!

I wish you all an Exciting and Happy 2012.

Wordfeud

Don't start with it... It is dangerously addictive. Since my other half and I first downloaded it, we've hardly said a word to eachother...Only typed it on the board,-for points!

The art of growing up

You hand me the envelope that arrived in the mail today and sit down by the kitchen counter to play with your ipod. I look at the envelope and recognize the logo as one of several credit card companies. I open it slowly, with a knot in my stomach, just to discover that the amount is a tad higher than expected.
I sigh.
You look up from your 'angry birds'-game and ask; “is something wrong?”
I look at you, the piece of paper and then you again. I sigh.
-“Growing up sucks.”

There. I said it. It sucks. Simple as that. I think sometimes you just need to say it out loud. Get it out of your system… although saying it out loud tends to make people frown. They call it “whining”… and nobody likes that. To be honest with you, I don’t like whining either…

2011 was (and still is) the year I turned 30. 3-0… a combination of numbers that frighten me. The safe, comfortable “2” that used to be first, is now gone…

With the number thirty, comes great responsibility. There are certain expectations that follow the number. And I think it is those expectations more than the actual number that bothers me. ‘Cause lets face it; not turning 30 would be far worse.

You look up from your game, raise an eyebrow and ask what kind of expectations I am talking about. I look at you… still 29 and innocent…I shake my head and put the bill down on the counter.

In our society today, being 30 usually means that you should have fulfilled a certain list of tasks. If you have not fulfilled this list, you have, thanks to our wonderful society, reasons to be concerned. The list, which I admit may be different from community to community, usually comprises the following (to a minimum):
- A fulltime job
- A privately owned apartment or house
- A partner

Although I do currently possess all of these things, and thereby shouldn’t have to worry, I still dislike the word ‘expectations’. I disagree that you are falling behind on anything if you miss one or several points on the list. In fact; the freer you are from the list, the more you can truly live!
Let me explain.

A fulltime job is necessary to pay the bills. And more importantly, to pay back the humongous student loan you’ve built up. However, having a full time job makes it very hard to be spontaneous. Everything needs to be planned weeks and weeks ahead. There will be no sudden weekend getaways with cheap flight tickets, unless you have cleared it with your boss first…2-3 weeks ahead (when the flight tickets were expensive and out of question). The irony here is of course that when you were a student, and actually had the time and opportunity to be spontaneous, you had no money to go through with it…

An apartment or house is something that usually follows the fulltime job. Without the job you won’t afford the apartment. Nor will you get a loan to cover the expense. Owning your own home is also great in that you can do whatever you wish with the interior. Paint whatever needs to be painted, buy furniture that is meant to stay in the same spot for years to come. However…(of course there had to be one) with a home comes stress. Suddenly it is your and not your landlords problem if something goes wrong. Suddenly you need to take care of leaks, mold, cracks and whatever unforeseen problem that may arise. There will be worries, there will be large amounts in your bank accounts, written in a nasty red color with a minus in front. Don’t misinterpret me. I still think owning a home is wonderful…it just tends to be a little stressful sometimes.

A partner is something most people would like to have, regardless of sexual preference, religion and social status. I am not going to say anything bad about having a partner, since I do find not having one worse than the little annoyances that comes with having one. Besides, I think it is good to have another person around to relate to… whether it is a partner, a friend or family. Living all alone for too long makes people eccentric. The problem I have with this point on the list is not related to having one, but the stress that comes with not having one at this stage in life. People tend to get married and start families once they reach the end of their twenties and beginning of thirties. Not having a partner in all this mess, when everyone around you start popping babies and invite you to couples dinners, is a situation I do not wish upon my worst enemy. The horror of having to sit through an entire dinner with only one topic (babies, babies and more babies) without being able to relate to it, is like watching a foreign movie without subtitles.

Don’t get me wrong. Im pretty sure that when the day comes (if it comes) that I decide to breed I too will become obsessed with this tiny, wrinkled, drooling individual that is incapable of doing anything else than eating, sleeping and move bowels.

So what would be the alternative?

This is where we have reached the main issue with getting older. There is no alternative. You will get older. You do eventually need a fulltime job. You will need a home, although it is perfectly ok to rent and not buy, you will save a whole lot of dough by actually buying. - And the older you get, the stronger the needs become. You are expected to be responsible. If you wish to have kids at some point in your life, you need to start thinking about it…the clock (which I have heard so much about and never paid attention to) is actually ticking! Suddenly it becomes apparent that if you want more than one child before you reach 40 (when the chances of complications increase) you better get busy! Can you hear the clock? Tick…tick...tick. I want to smash it.- With a Barbie-pink bat covered in rhinestones and glitter.

It is starting to dawn on me why earlier generations always claim the twenties as the best years of their lives. They were years filled with no expectations and reckless living. Although I’ve always been aware that life happens today and not tomorrow, I’ve still found myself twisted up in the web of maturity…thinking ahead, dreaming of having a fulltime job (instead of being a poor student), owing my own place (instead of living in a mold-infested closet sized dump). And I worry that the years of dreaming is now behind me. I worry that I soon will start looking backwards instead of ahead. I worry about things I didn’t know you could worry about. And I realize that ‘worry’ and ‘mature’ are two words that go hand in hand.

The way I see it; I can do one of two things. I can be miserable and long for the carefree years of being a student, being poor but being free. Or I can embrace the future. I can continue to look ahead and dream of things that will be instead of what was. I can remind myself how stressful exams, grades and uncertainties were and embrace the comfort of a steady income.

And most importantly; I can take advantage of every opportunity I get to experience something new. ‘Cause lets face it. Opportunity knocks on everyone’s door, regardless of sex, nationality and not to forget; age.

Bring it on sister! Im ready for my thirties.

In the Wake of Terror, Oslo 22th of July.

The past week, Ive been wanting to write something about the recent terror attacks in Oslo, Norway. I’ve sat down a couple of times, reached for the computer and opened Microsoft Word just to stare at an empty, white page…

It is not that I don’t know what to write about, it is more a question of how to write. How do you express and put into words an emotion you’ve never had before?

I realize that alone is a testament to my protected way of living. The very fact that I now feel in ways I’ve never felt before, is a proof of the comfort of the society I’ve grown up in. I imagine that if you are from the US or the UK, and especially London, you may look at the photos from Oslo that has been circulating the media lately and wonder what is different from Oslo to what keeps happening all over the world? You may look at images of people crying, dust covering destroyed buildings and pieces of paper caught in the wind from the explosion and think that this…this is no worse than September 11th. This is no worse than terror attacks in London. And you are right.

Any act that takes the lives of innocent people is equally atrocious.

I think part of the reason why Norwegians are so consumed of what has happened, why we are so shocked by this particular incident, and why every TV station is running 24/7 on news from Oslo and Utøya, is the very fact that this has never happened before. Not only has it not happened before, we never in our wildest dreams thought it could happen. Not in Norway. Not in our small, somewhat naïve society.

To those of you who are not familiar with Norwegian customs and law, I can give a few pinpoints into our governmental system regarding crime and safety.

• In Norway the justice system is based on integration rather than punishment. This usually means short (in international standards) jail sentences in apartments rather than prison cells.


• Our police officers are not allowed to carry firearms on a regular basis.


• Governmental buildings are rarely fenced in and thereby accessible to the public.

In fact, the last time I was in Oslo, the only building I can remember being surrounded by guards and fences, was the US embassy! The royal palace on the other hand, the very neighbour to the US embassy, has no fences. This is just the way our society works. It is to a very high degree based on trust.

So when I sat on the bus on my way home from work, Friday July 22nd, and a young woman in front turned and asked whether any of us in the back had heard of “the bomb that went off in Oslo”, we looked at her with a frown wondering who this crazy person was. I got up to get off at the next stop and she looked at me and asked me if I had internet access. I shook my head and got off the bus. But the terror in her eyes worried me, and I made a phone call to my boyfriend, who was still at work, and asked him to check the online news. Words like “Al Qaeda”, “terrorist attack” and “car bomb” intertwined with “Oslo” filled the online media. The knot that grew in my stomach is indescribable. I told my boyfriend to use other means of transportation home rather than the new, much profiled and hyped, light rail he would normally use. I couldn’t help thinking that if this was in deed a terrorist attack, Bergen could be next.

Obviously, as the evening went on and new reports of shootings at Utøya ticked in, it became apparent that all of this was the result of, not extreme islamists, not Al Qaeda, but an ethnical, blonde Norwegian.

It was someone who had grown up in our society. Someone who had grown up and spent his life in the better neighbourhoods of Oslo, with a normal, Norwegian, standard education. Someone with a deranged mind. Someone who believes that by blowing up buildings and gunning down innocent children, will prevent Norway and its government from welcoming new citizens from other parts of the world.

I do not feel like mentioning his name. I do not want to take part in making this individual immortal. But he claims to be anti-Islamic. He is against multicultural regimes and “Muslims taking over Europe” and his delusional way of showing that, is by doing exactly what Al Qaeda is known for doing; car bombs, terror and mayhem. By being against them, he becomes them.

It makes no sense to me.

Someone who could very well have been my neighbour, anyone’s neighbour, has caused the biggest loss of innocent lives since World War II in Norway. In a country with 4.6 million people, nearly 100 lives is a very large number. It causes a sense of grief in the whole population. Everyone knows someone who has been, directly or indirectly, involved in this.

It is then a great comfort to see how everyone cares. To see the flowers that decorate Oslo and every other major city in Norway, in remembrance of the victims. To see people hugging each other in the streets and lighting candles. And to see Norwegian embassies all over the world decorated in flowers. People care.

In the wake of the terror that was meant to frighten us from being democratic and open minded, to make us build fences and close our hearts to others, the people of Norway, both Christian and Muslims alike, have done the exact opposite.

It makes me proud and very hopeful for the future of our open, free society that we love so much.