Annoucing: My summer song of 2007!

Every summer people look for the new "summer song", the tune that'll pop up just about everywhere and drive everyone utterly and truly bonkers. And every year I do the same on a more personal level, I find/ dig up a new happy-summer-song which I can bug everyone who's unfortunate enough to know me with. And today I found the one for 2007.
I've gone back 26 years, 4 years before I was even born, to the wonderful era of synth, big hair and pink bubblegum. Usually I don't like much about the eighties, but this! Wanna know what it is?
*silence*
*drumroll*

Depeche Mode - I just can't get enough!

If you don't know it, download it, get into super-80s-synth-nintendo-happy-go-silly-mode and bounce around! Preferably drunk and hopelessly in love. Enjoy!


Speaking of Depeche Mode - I got a 1-year-anniversary gift from my schmoopsiepooh, and it was something I've wanted ever since we met; a Depeche Mode concert DVD. So I got the "Touring the angel - Live in Milan" DVD, 3 discs of Depeche Mode goodness! Weeee! I've just been watching through it and am all in flames, so here comes a happy music rant!

Usually I'm a person who generally likes a certain percentage of songs, and it's rarely a very high percentage, a defined sound can get boring pretty quickly, and I'm a restless listener. But I love every damn song performed on this concert. Sometimes I think "bah, I've heard this thousands of times, maybe I'll skip", but I'll keep watching and I discover something new every time. I'm sitting here with a high pulse and butterflies everywhere, and I want to go to a concert so baaaahaaad! Preferably Depeche Mode, but anything would be ok right now. (Which reminds me; the fact that I didn't go to Quart last year to watch Depeche Mode is a fact I'll have to live with, regret and remorse every day of my life - unless I get to see them later on. They better not be splitting up anytime soon!) And I think I'm getting a 15-year-old-giggly-crush on Dave Gahan (sorry honey, it's purely musical). He's scrawny, thin, sinuey, not particularily pretty, but DANG he's sexeh on stage. He does look like the ex-drugaddict he really is, but I don't care. He's spastic, chaotic and wierd, but I still don't give a rats ass. He looks like a wannabe-latino-lover with that sweaty greasy hair and tight dress-pants, but I still don't give a fuck. Because he pulls it off, he's just himself and again; damn sexeh. Shake that non-exsistant butt, honey!

... right.

I'll go take a cold shower now...

And watch some more DVD.

Bah-bye.

Acupuncture, homeoopathy and crooked bodies!

In an attempt to do something with my backaches without having to go to a doctor and inevitably a physiotherapist, I called up a clinic here who do lots of alternative medicine. Homeopathy, chiropracy, acupunkture and so on. I've been there before many years ago, and that helped, so why shouldn't it now? Besides I like the homeopath, Erland, he's such a pleasant guy.

I had my first appointment today, and all I said was that I had a backache and pointed to where it hurts, how long I've had it and how often it pains me. I thought he'd prick me with a few needles and that'd be it. But no, he checked my walk and posture, and quickly discovered that I'm crooked! Apparently it stems from my jaw, which makes my whole body fall out of balance. He asked me to stand normally and relax, and to put my arms in front of my body so my hands met. My right arm was 5 cm shorter than my left! Here's where it gets spooky; he rolled up a wad of paper and stuffed it between my teeth on the right side, and asked me to hold it there. When he checked my arms again, they were the same length! Sounds utterly unbelievable, but I saw it. He then explained that this unbalance caused me to walk wrong, putting strain on pelvis, hips and back. It was also the cause of an ulcer I've had on the inside of my right cheek for ages, and which the stupid dentists never found the cause of. Argh. And when I think about it, everything that's bothered me over the years has been on that side.

When he was about to pinch me with needles he looked at me an asked if I've had troubles with mood swings or depressions. "Uhm.. only for the last 10-11 years". "Yeah, I can see that". So he stuffed a few more needles in my ear claiming I'll have a more stable mood, and that I had an area on my ear that indicated that I had emotional psychological scars that I'm not done with, and poked a needle in there too. Seriously, if this guy fixes my body AND my mental health I'll marry him. Or at least send him a 100 roses.

Another thing he recommended was that I bought a special pair of shoes. The soles are not flat like regular shoes but bent, so they force the body to keep it's own balance and "roll" your feet when you walk. Apparently I put my right foot down wrong, and all the pressure ended up on the inner parts of the foot, not the outer. These shoes would correct that, give me a better posture and straighten up my back.
Apparently they mimic walking barefoot on a soft surface (grass or sand).
They cost way way way too much (225 £ or 1800 NOK :S ), but I've chosen to see it as an investment. If it'll help my back it's definitely worth it. Walking on them takes some getting use to, it's wierd to "roll" like that, and you never stand completely still but always sway a bit. But I wuw them already, they're really comfortable!

Now I'm going to bed with 6 acupuncture points in my ears. That'll be a challenge, some of them really hurts! But I have faith!

Naughty blogger!

I'm such a bad blogger! If one has a blog, one should make an effort to keep it updated! Or so I've been told.

Not much is happening in my life, unless you want 5000 words on me complaining about my back hurting. I've set up an acupuncture appointment and am going to stock up on pain-killers and hopefully it'll magically vanish like Harry Potter in a fire place!

Otherwise I'm trying to get used to working again - not easy when you haven't been doing much for the last year or two, except some feeble attempts at school and work. I only work three days a week, but bad habits'n'all of that... I'm hired as an extra in addition to those who already work there, and that combined with the fact that nurses don't have to clean rooms anymore (they've hired cleaners in stead), I sometimes feel like I have to walk around looking for something to do. May sound like a dream job for some, but the hours go by so much faster when you have something to do. I'm actually glad I have more time to talk to the patients, which we didn't have at all the last time I worked at an old folks home, but still... I spend most of the day walking the corridors, waiting for the washing machine to be done and looking at my watch. And it never seizes to amaze me how wierd old people are. Let's just say I'm not planning on a career working at an old folks home. But it's an ok job for a while.

Otherwise I'm passing the days looking forward to all the things that are happening this summer. In the middle of july I'm going to Valdres with Mats. He can't stop ranting about it, where we're staying and how beautiful it is, and how we're going to sleep outside at least one night. One part of me thinks "aw, the mountains, clear air, starry nights, the crackle of a bonfire, romantic ey? Another part mutters stuff like "oh dear, I'll probably end up sleeping on sticks, getting eaten by mosquitos and it'll rain so bad we'll drown". Nice being bipolar, eh?

Assuming I survive the Valdres-trip, I'm going to a (very) local festival about 10km from where I live, mostly because of a band called Wintermare, which is a band I've watch evolve from 2 guys with acoustic guitars into what they are now. I know who they all are and has always loved their music, but it's been way too long since I've seen them live, so it's about time. Can't wait! The festival is called Tømmerfløtivalen, and here's Wintermare's new video:




And saving the best for last I've got Øyafestivalen coming up in August. Can't wait to sit in the grass with a cold beer listening to Tool and Nine Inch Nails, and ofcourse Sivert Høyem and El Caco. Plus a few others. Mutterings about rain and cold keep haunting me when I think of this thing too, seeing as we're going to sleep in a tent, but I shove them away. If it's too horrible I hope Fredrik has moved to Oslo so I can bribe him with a few beers and sleep on his floor. Perdy please with sugar on top?

Question of the day:

Am I becoming a boring grown up since I'm actually excited over the fact that I'll be getting a new kitchen oven?

In my defence I sadly need one. The old one is about as old as me, one of the hobs isn't working and I can't fry anything in it since the oven in it doesn't work anymore. And it's brown and green, the wonderful modern happy colours of the 70s, with about three hundred layers of cooked in old grease dating from 1981 up to today. *Shudder* I'm not that big of a cook, but I do miss having the ability to make garlic baguettes, pizzas, naan bread and bake snickers cakes! Yummie.

Today I did the most reasonable thing in days. I went out and bought a hammock. You know, the one with an own stand (mostly because I don't trust in those little hooks, they would come loose and I'd end up with permanent braindamage. I'm just THAT lucky!). Bought it cheap at this discount store, but it'll do for a while. I've discovered I have much love for hammocks. Just imagine, lying in one of those between to palm trees, sipping passion fruit juice somewhere on the coast of Madagascar. Or Namibia. Anywhere there's a tropical climate and palm trees, really.

I'm one of those new age types that'll carry my baby around in a African type sling and buy a baby hammock it can sleep in, and i'll have hammocks everywhere, inside and out.

Reunions, work and heat!

Wee! Yesterday we, meaning the Media and Communications-class of 2004 had a reunion! 11 out of 13 showed up, which was a nice turnout. Everyone looked basically the same, just a few new tattoos and hair colors. We had a nice barbecue/starter-party at a lake near Kongsvinger, and after we took a cab "downtown" and went to a few bars. The evening went by way to fast, probably due to my intake of cider, beer and Vodka Cranberry (thanks, Kim!). Amazing what that stuff does to the time, it's like magic! And I'm very thankful for the couch Frida so kindly lent me to crash on. Otherwise it would've been a night of sparkly water. Not very fun when you're sitting in the grass with lots of sunshine and friends!

Oh! Right! I've started work! And oddly, as this post clearly shows, I survived. But just barely. In an evil twist of fate Norway suddenly turned into Uruguay, at least temperature-wise. I'm not one for complaining about the heat, I love summer. I survived Uganda and Malta during heat-waves, Norway should be nothing! No? But working at an old folks home, in scrubs, old building, two stories... In about 30 degrees Celsius? Even I think that's a bit.. intense. And of course, the elderly still wear their jackets and refuse to step outside on the very slight off chance it might be chilly! *sigh*

Everything should be universal!

I've been running into a lot of minor problems lately, things that just annoy the heck out of me.

1) My hair straightening iron arrived in the mail. Usually I have a practical sense, but this time it shorted out on me. So when I opened the damn thing I noticed the british wall socket. Oh joy. "Ok, guess I'll track down an UK/European adapter online". But ofcourse, this socket says 250V, and I shouldn't use more then 240V in Norway. Oh great. Now I need a converter too. But did I find one? No. Ofcourse not. That would've been remotely simple. So what to do? Search more and spend ridiculous amounts of money. Or take the risk, buy a cheap "adapter only"-thingie that doesn't convert the voltage and hope I don't kill the wiring in my house? Or the precious straightening iron for that matter.

2) Speaking of the the iron; I ordered that together with the Tigi-stuff from lookfantastic.com. And my reason for buying the stuff online was to save some money. But those who shipped it divided it into two shipments due to weight, and of course I had to pay taxes and toll on both of them. Double toll, that is. 27£ worth of toll. 320 Kr. I ended up saving just about nada. PLUS I have to get that damn adapter.

3) My boyfriend is expecting a little brother sometime in august. And my sister has passed on some of her gadget geekyness to me, and she applied all of her gadget researching abilities when she was expecting her daughter. So I've picked up a few smart gadgets I loved and that seemed sort of practical when you have a newborn. Things like bath support seats so you won't have to hold up your baby, back seat mirrors so you can see the baby while driving, allergy and asthma safe teddies and comforters. And of course you can get all of that stuff on Amazon.co.uk. But can they ship these particular things to Norway? Noooo. Ofcourse not.

You see? Everything should be made universal and international! No tolls, no taxes, no funky electric sockets, no dvd regions and no shipping restrictions!