New Year, New Adventures

Hello, and happy new year!

On December 21st Dolly and I left for Santiago de Chile, to attend Catherine and Diego's wedding. We left the apartment in the morning at 6 AM and flew to Oslo then to Frankfurt for our connection flight to Sao Paolo, Brazil. As we were ready to enter the runway in Frankfurt, it suddenly started snowing heavily and literally 5 minutes before our scheduled take-off the airport closed down. It was about 8 PM and now we were told to wait in the plane for updates on the weather conditions. Dinner was served, and hours passed as we sat in the plane watching movies and playing chess. Finally at 2 AM the storm had passed and the runway had been cleared, and we took off for the 12 1/2 hour flight to Sao Paolo. Seeing the positives, a total of 18 1/2 hours in that plane has done service to our patience and increased our tolerance for long flights!

We missed our flight from Sao Paolo to Santiago de Chile, and had to spend the night at a hotel in Sao Paolo. At least we got a bonus visit to Brazil, though most we saw was the hotel, a great many shacks and Super WalMart. Buying a bottle of water took us about 40 minutes waiting in line, and combined with other experiences we began to sense that services and systems could need some improvement in Brazil. After 60 hours on the road we arrived in Santiago de Chile on the 23rd of December around 2 PM. Our first trip to South America, and our first Christmas in a tropical climate. Videos of the magnificent adventures to come!

Back in Norway on the 12th of January, and I had no particular plans for my upcoming 30th birthday the 15th. When I came home from work that friday around 6 PM, Dolly told me to sit down in the Stressless and wait for the three course dinner specially requested by me - onion soup, entrecote with mushroom sauce and caramel pudding. She served me champaign and I suddenly heard a faint miao, an unmistakable utterance of our cat Josefine, who spent Christmas in Volda with my parents. As I asked myself how she could be here and not still in Volda, and as I turned around to see if it was really her, I was suddenly met with a jubilant, whiste-blowing parade comprising my parents and grandfather with birthday hats. A great surprise and it made the ensuing weekend more than worthy a 30th birthday celebration! We had a great party with friends in our apartment Saturday night.

My New Year's resolution was to start writing a diary, so I can remember more from every day. Dolly gave me a small red diary for my birthday and so far I've been writing regularly, and enjoying it very much. There will be plenty of adventures to write about this year, such as a trip to Japan in the end of March, to Egypt in June and Stockholm in July. And then there will be all the unforeseen events that make up the essence of everyday life. Those I will resolutely treasure in my diary.

Simon

Life is a moment™

Wow, I just realized it's been 13 months since I last updated my blog!

It's amazing how fast it feels like time has passed. I guess that's what comes with being busy thinking about research matters, to the extent that I have done.

I was still writing 2008 by mistake in February. I've heard of people who remember in detail what they did almost every day of their lives. Lately I've been struggling to remember what happened last week or even yesterday!

My New Year's resolution was to take pictures of memorable events every month and make an album of the memories. This would help me remember more of the valuable moments that seem to pass me by too fast. I think that is a good idea, and I will make sure to do that in December and follow up in coming years. There are indeed many memories - for example several trips to Oslo seeing two friend couples becoming parents and getting married.

I have been contemplating a lot in recent years why it feels like time flies by at such lightening speed. When I was a young little child one year seemed like ages, as though my brain processes were slow or efficient enough to absorb any "trivial" event. I was "with it", soaking up the moments in much more detail than in present time. Back then I had a need to learn about the world in an entirely different way than today. I was better at living in the moment, I suppose. Have I now lost concept of time because too much of my time is spent solving puzzles inside my brain, rather than connecting my brain with the details of the surrounding environment?

I think the answer is yes. No more a child who naturally absorbs the world around me, I must make more of an effort to live in the moment, to better connect my thought processes with the actual world.

As poet Nils-Fredrik Nielsen wrote,

"All these days that came and passed, little did I know that they were actually life."

Stated as my newly conjured motto:

Life is a moment™

Summer stories

What an eventful summer!

I left Bergen for my summer adventure on Friday the 13th in the month of June. The destination was San Francisco, where I attended a conference on hormones arranged by the Endocrine Society. The conference was massive, probably among the largest annual international conferences in medicine, with more than 15,000 attendants, held in a different city each year. I presented a poster on one of my research projects for a few hours on one of the 5 days. I believe there were more than 500 posters on display at any one time!

Dolly, my parents, Gisle and Elisha and my grandfather came on the 16th and toured San Francisco. On the 19th we left San Francisco in a rental car for Sequoia national park, where we saw the General Sherman, the world's largest tree!

We then drove to the coast and enjoyed the Scenic route (Highway 1) going up through Big Sur to Carmel and Monterey. A very nice fireman we randomly met on a pit stop told us to drive up to Carmel on the coast and then take a route more inland to go back down (a loop day trip). Coming down Highway 1 when it's dark would be a very difficult drive, he said. Amazingly, as we observed intense lightening and got drenched on the beach in Carmel, the famous state park Big Sur had began catching fire, only a few hours after our passing through. Highway 1 had closed, while we drove back on the inland route knowing nothing about this until the next day. The fireman we had met had unintentionally steered us away from the fire, the most devastating seen in Man's recent memory in the Big Sur area affecting 240,000 acres.

Our trip continued through Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and ultimately to La Jolla by San Diego where we stayed with Alan and Nora (Nora is Lee's (Dolly's grandmother's) cousin). They have a beautiful home on a cliff by the ocean - we enjoyed every minute in amazing surroundings and with such wonderful company.

Our three days in La Jolla were followed by a trip to Alan and Nora's new cabin in Montana, The Thunder Lodge. What a cool place! The cabin is right on the lake and there is a rowboat and kayaks and fishing gear. Dolly and I bought two day fishing licenses for $25 each, and were determined to have a good return on our investment in the form of a good catch. After about a hundred attempts Dolly had one on the hook, reeled in and proudly lifted up a trout telling me to bring the camera out to preserve this moment for the benetit of posterity. My ability to act, meanwhile, was locked between a frantic concern that the fish would slip away ("bring the fish into the boat first!") and consideration on bringing out the camera from my pocket. This frozen moment full of anticipation and fear instantly thawed as the fish jerked itself off the hook still on the wrong side of the boat's side. A devastating moment, for Dolly especially who was clearly shocked. All of us in the boat – Dolly, myself, Gisle, Elisha and Laurent (friend of Alan and Nora’s) – of course agreed to tell the people on land (Nora, Alan and Johnanna, Laurent’s wife) that we caught one but released it back in the water because it wasn’t big enough for our standards. Fortunately, just as we were taking the rowboat in on the last licensed night, Dolly and I, in the midst of a swarm of barely visible bats, pulled up a nice “50 dollar” trout which we grilled and thoroughly enjoyed for dinner.

Another good memory is our building and playing of “Kubbespill” with Alan and Nora, a game created by my grandfather in the summer of 1926 when he was 14 years of age. Points are scored by throwing 12 mini logs into a target area of two circles of logs and a center log that are hammered into the ground. We had a few exciting pool tournaments too, and of course great excursions to the Glacier National Park and other nearby areas. We washed (one side of) the rental car in waterfalls falling onto the “Going to the Sun Highway” up in Glacier National Park! (Just as we were saying let's hope there are no loose rocks, there was an unmistakable (but fortunately harmless) *thump*...)

After a week in Montana off we went to Austin, Texas, for the highlight of the summer: Hilde and Jacob’s wedding which turned out really well and was great fun. It was great to have so many from our respective families gathered, and especially great that both Erling (grandfather) and Ingrid (grandmother) were there. The wedding found place at a Swedish Lutheran church and the reception was held at a Texan ranch owned by a Texan couple, Marsha and Clayton.

Following the week in Austin Dolly and I went to Massachusetts where Dolly still remains on a 3 month research experience. I spent the first month with her and helped her settle in, and had office space where I studied literature related to my obesity research. We had a great time there going to Woods Hole and other areas of Cape Cod, as well as to Boston, Newport in Rhode Island and Martha's Vineyard. On Martha's Vineyard we met up with Jono (George's (Dolly's grandfather's) nephew and Dianne (Jono's wife), who treated us to the most humongous (24 ounce) prime rib and a variety of delicious sides, at their really fun and authentic restaurant Smoke'n'Bones. I'll post a slide show here soon.

So now I’m in Bergen working away on my research projects. Since both Dolly and I are so busy with our research at the moment, we’re OK being apart for the time being. Neither of us can’t wait for her to return on October 3, though. Meanwhile, I’ll be going to a conference in Seefeld in Tirol, Austria, next week, where I’ll be presenting a poster and handing over my first manuscript for publication.

So long,

Simon

Digital drumset

I bought myself a digital drumset a few weeks ago, and have finally set it up with a webcam and a connection to the computer. This makes it possible to practice without making too much noise, and to record the sound while filming too. Check out a sample video of me playing the song Everlong by Foo Fighters! (For a full screen version you can go here).

Simon

17. mai 2008

17th of May 1814 Norway got its own Constitution, and this date is passionately celebrated throughout Norway. People put on their fines garments (national costume, if you have one) and walk in parades through the streets, with bands playing and people waving their flags shouting "hurray hurray, hipp hipp hurray!".

There are different parades different times of the day. In Bergen the first is at 0700AM, and at this time cannon shots are heard all over Bergen. More cannon shots for the 11AM "procession parade". This year I walked in the procession representing the University of Bergen. All kinds of organizations are represented, including the local sports club (the pro soccer players of Brann are always popular to watch), the Bergen belly dancing club and the like, and even Bergen Scottish society who were playing bagpipes, and an Northern Irish flute corps p(l)aying tribute to Norway. There are also the war veterans, police, veteran firefighters/trucks, and I especially like the people who ride bikes and wear clothes from the twenties shouting Hurray! (some of them shouted convincingly enough to make it seem Norway had just won its independence!). There were bands playing on the back of trucks which were very energetic and lively. Next year maybe I can capture more on film. Here's what I filmed while in the parade that I enjoyed in company with our neighbors Øystein, Eline and their son Magnus. Bergen's 17th of May is famous for its "bow corps" - corps with drummers and carriers of bows - which you will see.

Josefine

Josefine returned this morning at 07:07AM, 14th of May 2008, after being gone for more than 3 weeks. I heard a soft miao from bed, and wondered what that was. It sounded unmistakably like Josefine (though she always had a characteristic louder, determined voice). I looked out but couldn't see her. I had given up on her a week ago. But I went outside anyway just in case, and I could hardly believe my eyes when I opened the door and she was sitting right there. She was ecstatic to see me! I was very "chuffed" as they say in Britain, and hugged her for several minutes. She is so skinny you can feel her entire skeleton. Unlike when she disappeared she now wants food. We were certain she had perished because she was so sick and weak when she disappeared. It's a miracle that she's returned!

Now she needs plenty of care and I think she'll be perfectly healthy very soon! What a joy for our home :) Dolly will be very very happy... We have all been sad. Even our neighbor cried when she heard Josefine was gone.

Simon

Dear Dolly,

Happy Valentine's Day! I love you more than you can imagine. Thank you for the rose that I received in my office this morning, that was an amazing surprise. Can't wait to have you back from Austria...

Your Simon

GOOD NEWS

Dear all,

I hope you've had a great summer!

I enjoyed my summer, especially the two weeks in Austria where I visited Dolly in late July. I got to meet some new colleagues of Dolly's, who were very nice people. We did some travelling in various groups to various locations. Nowhere have I seen such a density of massive "Roman" buildings as in Vienna. We also took the train to see the majestic city of Budapest.

When I returned to Bergen in early August I started in my nutrition/health teaching position at Bergen College, and I've enjoyed meeting the new students who are all very interested to learn about food. I just got new chef's clothing with the school's logo and my name on it, and it will be fun to be working in the kitchen with the students.

In the last weekend of August, we had a family gathering here in the apartment. Dolly came back from Austria only to leave eight hours later for a conference in San Fransisco. Gisle came from England to see my parents in Volda, and they all came down together with Erling to stay in Bergen for two nights. My grandmother Ingrid came together with Elise, Einar and Ingrid (aunt/uncle/cousin) from Haugesund, and we all celebrated Ingrid's 87th birthday with a delicious pork roast and cheerful conversation.

Think about this incredible crossing of paths for a moment:

First consider that Dolly, Gisle and Ingrid were all in Bergen the last weekend of August (Dolly only got time to see Gisle, missing Ingrid by 8 hours). Then, the following weekend Gisle travelled to Austin, Texas for a business meeting where he saw Hilde. Later in the week Ingrid travelled to the USA for the first time, to attend a White Ribbon conference in Indianapolis. Dolly went to Indianapolis from San Fransisco to meet up with Ingrid, and Hilde flew from Austin to Indianapolis to do likewise!

Terry and Grace came down to take Ingrid, Dolly and Hilde back to Kendallville, where Ingrid got to meet Wilma, Dolly's grandmother!

Dolly returns to Bergen tomorrow, 12th of September, only to leave for Finland next Monday. I trust that once she returns from Finland, she'll stay in Bergen most of the time before we go to Volda for Christmas!

Finally, I have some very good news: The University of Bergen approved my application for a 4-year PhD stipend! I will start the position the 1st of November, but only part-time because I need to complete the semester as teacher at Bergen College. We're almost done with the first paper and will submit it for publication within a few months.

Until next time,

Simon