Christmas time coming up

I have to say it is a little bit hard to get that nice warm Christmas feeling when it's summer outside and snow and family are far far away. And we Norwegians are quite fussy about our Christmas feeling. In the the weeks leading up to Christmas, it's all we talk about. 'Feeling the Christmas spirit yet?' we walk around asking each other. Like it's a drug, we crave it. Like drug addicts we do everything we can to get it.

I asked Sean if we could make each other Advent Calendars, with small presents everyday. He had never heard of it, but thought it was a good idea. Lucky me.

When he was serving me delicious breakfast in bed yesterday, the day of my graduation, he brought me my Advent Calendar. The first day I got one of those chocolate calendars my nephew might be a little bit jealous of because it's got Thomastoget on it. One of those where the chocolate taste a bit like paper, but as kids we used to eat them and enjoy it anyway. I ate the first and enjoyed it. Growing old can surely be avoided.

Today I got Paulo Coelho's book Veronika decides to die, one of my favourite books. Buying books in Opportunity Shops or Opp Shops as the Aussies call them is such a good idea. They are second hand stores like Fretex in Norway, all money goes to charity, and you can get books in good condition for a dollar or two. I love it!

A job or two

I wrote I needed to work all summer. I don't have much money left and I started to get worried. I decided to hand out as many resumes as possible. I don't rely on good things to come my way, I do my best to make it happen. I handed out 12 resumes.

Now I've got two jobs, given that my trial tomorrow goes well. I've started work on the café across the road from my house and tomorrow I have a trial at a restaurant down at the waterfront. I might end up working 24/7, working in the café in the mornings and the restaurant in the evenings. Pretty full on, but I am ready for that. I think I need to feel useful again. So life, bring it on! I am ready!

My good friend A

I call her A, she calls me Ma, together we plan to save the world.

Op-shopping, time machines, Clumsy Chefs, dinners for homeless people, literary journalism in bite-sized pieces, books of inspiration for writers. Our list of ideas goes on and on. Whenever we sit down to talk, thoughts and ideas fly between us. There is no way of stopping it and the word 'no' has ceased to exist.

I am lucky to have a friend like A.

To travel is human, to journey is divine

You can travel to every corner of the world without ever having been on a journey. You can see all the world's wonders without ever learning anything about the world. And most importantly, you can be on the journey of a lifetime without ever leaving the town you grew up in. As I see it, travelling is an external physical thing, while journeying is internal, it's emotional. Naturally, I'm into journeys.

Sometimes travelling can force us to journey. We arrive at a new place and the place somehow forces us to look at ourselves differently. I travelled to the other side of the world and journeyed towards a person I never knew I could be. Sean commented on the surreality of him suddenly finding himself in Sydney with four Norwegians he had no idea existed two months ago. I knew very well what he was talking about. Life can take some very sudden and interesting turns sometimes. And when it does we can't help changing with it.

You don't have to go to the other side of the world to start the journey of your lifetime, you just have to accept that life sometimes has something to tell you.

When each day is the same as the next, it's because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises - Paulo Coelho

Beware the ordinary life

On the arm you wrap around me is written in ink: "Beware the ordinary life".

February last year I wrote a blog post called How routine kills the passion. I wrote about how scared I was that my life would turn into routine, that I would have a job that no longer inspired me and live with a partner who no longer surprised or challenged me. That I at some point will stop dreaming, stop journeying towards a better person. And that I will be totally comfortable with that. That is what scares me the most.

I did not know you back then. Maybe I passed you in the streets without knowing that you two years later would change my life. Who knows. It simply was not our time to meet.

We met on September 25. It was this year's first Grand Final Day and despite the lack of results, the people of Geelong were out partying. Luckily, so were you and I. I saw you in the crowd, you had a cool jacket on, Beatles St. Pepper kind of thing. So I turned to look again.

You showed me your tattoo and maybe I knew right there and then. Beware the ordinary life. Four words that managed to incorporate everything I for so long had tried to express.

Thanks to you I am now rereading my own essays and short stories and I'm rediscovering The Alchemist, 1984 and Extremely loud and incredibly close. Three books I gave to you because they changed my life and mean a lot to me. Three books you're reading with a passion I hope you'll keep forever. Through you I have rediscovered my passion for my work and frightened I look back at how close I was to embracing my biggest fear. I had forgotten why I became a writer in the first place and I allowed my creativity to be governed by others, by should do's and must do's. It is time to write for me again. I thank you for reminding me of that.

On the arm you wrap around me is written in ink: "Beware the ordinary life". The four words that made me fall.

So much to be grateful for

I like my blog. I like that I can type with my heart on my fingertips and have people understand and not judge me for it. I appreciate that. And I appreciate that I've found a man who understands how important this blog is to me. Thanks.

This morning I woke up to a bit of online activity. I think many people back in Norway had read my midnight rant and I got a couple of messages from people I have not spoken to for a while. And I got a simple yet powerful message from my sister. A simple heart under comments to my blog post. We've both been so busy this second half of 2010, we've barely spoken.  That's why it meant so much. Just a simple message reminding me she was still there. Thanks.

I wrote in my last post that I would like to drink inspirational coffee with Anna everyday this summer. Today I spent the day at Uni, preparing my resume, because I am starting to get very worried about the whole money situation. As I was about to leave, guess who I walked straight into? Well, Anna of course. We had coffee and she helped me with my resume. And tomorrow we'll have coffee again. I appreciate that I have someone like her in my life. In addition to her insight and ideas, I appreciate her non judgemental, positive approach to life and other people, I appreciate that I can tell her just about anything and she won't judge me. Thanks.

And I am grateful that I have been given amazing parents who are strong enough to support a daughter's decision to live on the other side of the earth. They are the least selfish people I know, and I hope that they someday will get the appreciation they deserve. I can only give them my thanks, and I hope they understand how much their support means to me. Thanks.

Late night insomnia and an urge to confess

It's 2am, I'm awake. I guess it is just one of those nights when you can't fall asleep. Although I did, I just happened to wake up again an hour later. These nights happen now and then, and I figured I might as well do something more useful than tossing and turning in bed, and I thought you deserved a few words. Although first I made a cup of warm milk with honey and cinnamon. Perfect remedy for just about anything. It's like mixing raspberry and white chocolate; you just can't go wrong with that.

So, what can I share with you on this late night in November? Well, I would first of all let you know that life is good. Yes, apart from insomnia, life is indeed good. I have finished my Masters of Communication, with the results I was aiming for. I have to share with you, I honestly did not think it would happen as I was slightly distracted at the end of semester. But slightly distracted is good, especially when distraction comes in the form of a tall, good looking guy. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, Uni.

Uni is done, but not dusted. I am being encouraged by my teachers to continue studying. They want me to do a PhD. So do I, in fact. Not sure I'm ready for that sort of commitment yet though, and also I need to do an Honours degree first, as part of a thesis preparation for my PhD. I'm happy to do that, because as soon as I am enrolled in an Honours degree I am allowed to teach at Uni. Professor Mari? Professor Nilssen? Either way, I like the idea. I love it, in fact.

However, in front of me are five months of summer break.

Here's a list of what I would like to do: write a novel, write short stories, go to the gym everyday, cook some awesome food, produce some seriously innovative journalistic work, travel somewhere nice with Sean, read an embarrassingly huge amount of books and have inspirational coffees with Anna everyday.

And here's a list of what I need to do: get a job and earn a lot of money.

Unfortunately what I need to do will take most of my time, there won't be much left for my wish list. However, there will always be some light shining through here and there, like good writing, reading and conversations. It will always be part of my life, in bite-sized pieces, just the way I like it.

In fact, in less than two weeks me and Sean will be going to Sydney for a couple of days to meet up with Trond, Robert and Stine. A bit of Norway time. Looking forward to it.

Let's try again, maybe sleep will be ready for me now.

Revelations of an aspiring writer

I have realised many things over the last couple of months:

Most importantly, I've realised it is time to start writing my blog again, this time in all honesty.

Secondly, I've found out that being an emotional writer is a good thing. Like my good friend Anna said: 'We wear our hearts on our fingertips while typing'. I like that thought. A couple of weeks back I handed in a piece at Uni called 'What Truman Capote could not teach me about writing'. It was the most personal piece I had ever written. It was a piece I wanted to write, a piece I needed to write. I had no idea whether my teacher would like it or not, and for the first time I did not care. Two days ago I got it back with the best mark I had ever gotten on creative work. My teacher wrote it was 'an outstanding piece, it's quirky and original and warm and funny and mad'. She encouraged me to publish it. I was stoked, honest and vulnerable writing had a place in academia. Sincerity is not dead.

Which leads me to another recent revelation of mine: chivalry is not dead either. More about that later. Maybe.

I've realised life is too short to spend it writing about things I don't care about. Wear your heart on your fingertips or don't write at all.

And finally another thought (or rather opinion) I would like to share is that there is no such thing as a realistic take on life, we are either pessimists or optimists. I honestly believe that finding happiness is a matter of choosing the right truth. I don't believe in an objective truth, and many so-called realists and believers of one truth or no truth would claim I am delusional or naive. That's fine, but I'm not willing to spend my life in misery just because the world is a tough place to be in. I believe realism is the condition we're given, pessimism or optimism is our choice. A choice which in turn determines our happiness. But then again, all that is my truth.

I am thankful for the people who have recently come into my life to remind me of why I became a fiction writer in the first place.

When life happens all at once

You look at the girl in the library, crying openly, for hours, stripping her grief naked for the world to see. She is worried about a job, Uni? You don't know, but the whole world knows she is going through a tough time. You look at her and feel jealous.

It has been decided that some people are the strong ones, the glass-is-half-full people. You are one of them. If something happens in your life, you are meant to tell everyone it will be fine, you are meant to push through. And you always do, because people usually do act the way people expect them to. Good or bad.

The girl in the library does not care about what others think about her, she needs help and she ask for it, with all her tears and sorrow. You look at her and think you wish you were her. You look at her and wish you can fall. You wish you can fall and know that someone will catch you. Fall and depend on others.

Your life is falling apart, you have to be in two places at once, and you don't know what to do. You are falling but keeping yourself up. With energy you wish you didn't have you are holding yourself up.

You are looking at the girl in the library, wishing that you can just fall too.

The noble art of procrastination

I decided it was time to update my blog. Needless to say, I have an assignment due this week. My room was already tidy enough.

So here goes... I am working on a feature article about how Aussie businesses use web pages and web in general to promote themselves. Just between the two of us, they are not that updated for a country with an average of 16.7 hours spent online per week and 9 mill Aussies interacting on social networks. However, businesses are catching on amazingly fast.

We're talking SEO, Smartphones, Ping.fm, WordPress, Youtube vs Vimea, Facebook vs LinkedIn and all that jazz. And my attempt to discuss Web 1.0 vs Web 2.0 and possibly even Web 3.0.
I realised I know a fair bit. Luckily.

In my hand I have a cup of green tea, under my feet I role a rolling pin. I've heard all that's supposed to be good for you. Pull an all-nighter maybe?

Goodbye USB pens

I have found yet another online love of mine. This one is called Dropbox and I am all in baby. This is long term for sure. Dropbox works like a folder on my computer, but all my files are stored online. Now I just save all my work in this folder and I never have to worry about where I put the latest version of an assignment or if I remembered to bring my USB pen to Uni. Every time I change any of the files Dropbox will sync it with my online storage and I never have to worry about a thing. Cause every little thing is gonna be alright. User friendly, accessible everywhere, fast and more importantly free. What more can you want from an online lover?

The day I read Animal Farm

Sometimes, as a writer, you lose your voice. Not your ability to utter words through your mouth, but the unique language you express yourself through. Your persuasive tone is gone and left are childish and trivial words put on paper. Toothless words you cannot use. Most of the time we refer to this stage as writers block. It hit me at 11pm last night. Not the condition, but the realisation.

I believe in one remedy to help this condition; reading. No input, no output. It's that simple.

Today I consumed Animal Farm in one day and started my short story, relieved to have my voice back.

Help at last?

I have known for a long time that I need to write more. I need to get over my reluctance to write. Every word put on the page is a struggle. And I am supposed to be a writer? The reason, I believe, is because I am so critical towards my own writing. But also, I cannot seem to find motivation to write unless I know for sure it is for something, like an assignment. Writing just for the sake of it doesn't appeal to me.

I think I have found help, at last. A web page called 750 words might provide the solution. The idea is to write 750 words every day. Your rants do not have to make sense and will not be accessible to anyone but you, and you get points for every day you finish 750 words, and more points if you write for days in a row. Ah, a competition aspect. I am in!

Things you do not want in bed

This little fella had made his way into my bed last night. Dead when I found him. Maybe I crushed him or maybe he knew he was dying and had only one last wish, do die peacefully in my bed. Either way, beddings and pajamas was changed immediately.

Long Friday or Good Friday

After a discussion with a friend's mum I realised I did not know much about what the different days of Easter mean. Neither did she. The thing is, Norway and Oz have different weeks off. Why, we wondered.

In Norway it all starts on Palm Sunday, the day Jesus came into Jerusalem some years ago. Then the world cuts these frozen people some slack for a week or so. Aussies have to wait another week to get the same reward. In Norway we call the week building up to Easter Day, The Silent week, in English is called The Holy Week. Fair enough, but I must say I wonder why they call the day of Jesus' crucifixion Good Friday. At least in Norway we have the decency to call it Long Friday.

My research did not exactly answer the question as to why it is different, but it did reassure me it is different.

Art by coincidence

I'm back

I realised it's time to pick up the old blogging habit again.
Life is way too long to spend it hibernating.