HAPPY NEW YEAR

I wish you a happy new year!

The year of 2006 was a very good one for me personally. It was a year of progress and transition.

I started the year working in the laboratory on my Master's thesis, which I completed with my presentation in December. It was a tough thesis that involved repeating the same experiments over and over, and it pushed my patience to the limit; in the summer I was bound to take an extended break to reverse the burn-out I was experiencing. When I returned to the lab in August I kept going and I'm pleased with what I managed to accomplish. It was a very educational year for me, and I gained both experience and confidence.

In the early part of the year Dolly and I were looking to buy a new apartment, which was an exciting process. There were some sleepless nights before the gruesomely nerve-wrecking "bidding rounds" - it's something I don't look forward to going through again. But it was a fantastic relief to finally win the bidding competition, knowing that the apartment we were buying indeed was the best option we had come across in our price range!

If you've seen Extreme Makeover of Lien 78 - Episode 1 you'll know that we remodelled the kitchen and brushed up about every surface of the apartment. Episode 2 was in the making but was lost when our harddrive crashed. I'm planning on starting over shortly!

In the summer, Dolly and I enjoyed trips to Ireland, Manchester (to see my brother Gisle) and Croatia (to attend the wedding of my cousin and be with family), which were all exciting experiences for us. After summer break, we enjoyed the visits of a lot of people in our new apartment. My parents came to see us several times, as did my grandmother Ingrid, my aunt&uncle Elise and Einar, and my cousin Ingrid. In November, Terry and Grace (Dolly's parents) came from the US to visit us for a week, and we had a great time together.

The year was topped off with a "cozy Christmas" in Volda where the whole family was gathered; Carl and Else (my parents), Gisle and Hilde (my siblings), Dolly (my wife), Jacob (my sister's fiance), and Ingrid and Erling (my grandparents). At Christmas time, we use the word "cozy" a lot; everything is cozy, from the cats resting in front of the fireplace to playing games together to eating great food.

Before Christmas I was also offered a part-time job as a teacher at the University College of Bergen, and two days ago I had my first lecture. We talked about science, what it is and how it works, and I think the students were enlightened!

Stay tuned for further reports! I'm on the look-out for additional employment, and you never know when something interesting is going to come along!

Simon