Favourite Quotes (6)

"The best way out is always through".
—Robert Frost's A Servant to Servants

Mood: happy

Song of the Day: Songs On 12 Play by Chris Brown feat. Trey Songz

What a fun song :)

Song of the Day: Heavy In Your Arms by Florence And The Machine

An utterly gorgeous song not diminished in the least by having *just* discovered that it was made for one of the Twilight films.

"This will be my last confession
I love you never felt like any blessing 
Whispering like it's a secret 
Only to condemn the one who hears it
With a heavy heart"

Song of the Day: Selah by Lauryn Hill

I've liked this song for years. It's a song I like to listen to when it's gloomy or melancholy. I have a memory of coming down with a cold one day early in my exchange term and just shutting off from the world for hours in my darkened room with the curtains drawn and this song on repeat while intermittently sipping tea.

The thing with music is that sometimes a song simply serves as an indulgence ... and then there are nights like tonight when I feel the lyrics very deeply. 

I’m Sorry Part Deux

Ok so while my thoughts on “I’m sorry” have definitely come to the fore in my time abroad, it also seems to be a nice segue into a discussion on blogging and guilt. Clearly, a pattern I have is that I don’t post often as I’d like, then I post something along the lines of ‘whoopsie! I’m back and I’ll try to be more regular’.

The truth is that while I get random passers-by, I actually know less than a handful of readers of this blog. Intentionally. From the go, I wanted this to be a repository for my thoughts, so to speak, and it has remained mainly for me, as I want to. And yet, it is almost incredible that I can feel guilt about something that has no deadline and no one to whom I am responsible. It is most definitely not high on my list of things I feel guilty about but that it’s there is, I feel, a reflection of my nature.

And so, I’ve decided to approach blogging differently. Until now, I felt such guilt for not blogging about my big move as I wanted to, but to hell with it. Instead of it being a journal on my time abroad, it shall now a reflection after the fact. I shall no longer think about to what extent and to what detail I write, but simply post without guilt.

To myself, I’m no longer sorry ;)

I'm Sorry

So here’s a story. Yesterday, a Scandinavian I was strolling with dropped his umbrella and I reflexively said “I’m sorry”. It’s only too true that Canadians have a special relationship with the phrase “I’m sorry”.

Sometimes, like anyone else we mean it and we are genuinely apologetic. But sometimes, like in the above scenario, it just comes out of our mouths before we know it.

Other times, it’s just something that’s said in certain situations. For example, should you accidentally come into contact with strangers (i.e., they bump you or the other way around), in either scenario you would say “I’m sorry”. This can certainly seem strange to non-Canadians - “why would I apologize when clearly he bumped into me?” The thing is, 99% of the time, it’s accidental and both of you saying you’re sorry is just a quick way of acknowledging the accidental contact and saying it’s ok. So, to translate, the person who did the bumping - the bumper, if you will, is actually apologizing when they say “I’m sorry”. And by also apologizing, what the bumpee is saying can be roughly translated to “oh, no worries, it’s ok!”

Truly, I did get frustrated when living in Norway (especially in the beginning) where people bump into you with nary a word. And I was pretty ticked that time after time I would reflexively apologize for them bumping into me and get nothing back. I know that it’s just cultural and not personal, but it was still annoying to deal with.

A German friend once pointed out that I said “I’m sorry” a lot. My immediate response was to say sorry. I swear, I was not being an ass. Once more, it was just a reflex and it came out of my mouth before I knew it. Again, I wasn’t truly sorry that I said sorry a lot. That is not something I’d like to change, even after living abroad. Especially after living abroad. It’s something I very much like about Canadian culture.

The thing is, most of the time when we say we’re sorry we don’t really mean it, it’s just a social politeness that’s quite nice. It greases the social wheels so to speak. You can never go wrong with saying sorry as much as we do because even when you don’t necessarily mean it deeply, it’s not a “bad” thing to say.

Better said than unsaid.

So, when the aforementioned Scandinavian noticed that particular Canadian-ism and remarked that it made him miss Canada, I was definitely pleased to hear it. After so many frustrating moments (this very morning I was pushed aside just so someone could enter a bus before me), it was nice that our “apologetic” nature was appreciated.

So, go forth my chickens and grease those wheels.

Favourite Quotes (6)

I don't think I would consider this one of my favourite quotes, but at the moment it rings true:

It's better to regret what you've done than what you haven't.

The Beginning Of A Norwegian Adventure!

 

It has been so long since I blogged that I actually really miss my blog. I occupy a tiny, little corner of the internet that doesn’t matter much. This blog is not “publicized” and it isn’t particularly focused with a theme and so I am often surprised that I even get page views. I honestly don’t know a single soul beside my siblings who reads my blog. The point I am trying to make is that I blog simply for myself. I consider it a time capsule of sorts, capturing whatever random thing amuses me for the moment. I stopped blogging back in March of 2012 because I left on a three week trip and I just haven’t been back because quite a lot happened in my life that I was hoping to eventually document in some way here. So, I am back to blogging and I hope my posting can be somewhat regular again.

In March/April of 2012, I went on a fantastic vacation with some pretty awesome people – my sisters. We’ve all been to England but never together. So, with this trip we started in Ireland, seeing Galway, Killarney and Dublin; made our way to Edinburgh, Scotland; and finished in England, visiting York, Bath and London. It was quite a trip, but it was amazing with so many memories that I am so glad to share with my sisters. What made the trip even more special was that we got to visit York, which is where one of my sisters was studying for the year. More importantly, we visited Bath, which is very special to me. I studied abroad at Bath during my undergrad and ever since I left, I felt that it was a distant home of sorts. Since my time there 6 years ago, my desire to go back was getting progressively stronger and it was incredible to show what I considered ‘my city’ to my sisters who had never been there before. Overall, I can’t say enough about how great this trip was and I have to give a special shout out and tusen takk to my Badodo :)

***

On this trip I received news that more or less began a new chapter in my life. To be precise, I was sitting on my hostel bed in Dublin when I got the email that I had been admitted to a masters program in Norway. I was admitted to the same program the previous year but for many reasons I was unable to go – and, more importantly, I was very unsure as to whether I wanted to go. So, I declined my admission with the intention of thinking it over and reapplying. I, unfortunately, am one of those people who can take forever to make a decision if it is an important one and this was a particularly difficult one to make. Needless to say, I still hadn’t made a decision by the time I applied and by the time I was accepted I was in only a slightly different position than the year before. This time I was able to attend but I was still very unsure if I wanted to attend.

This was a somewhat difficult time of my life because it required me to make a decision that required significant commitment of effort, resources and time (2 years) that once started I couldn’t really back out of and it could potentially shape my future into a direction that I was not entirely sure about.

Before I knew it, I accepted admission and the entire summer before I left to Norway I was wrought with uncertainty and unease – the kind I was not used to. Anyways, it got to the point where my family and friends were pretty damn annoyed. At first they we’re like ‘just make a decision’ and when I did they were like ‘it’s going to be better than you think! It’s going to be great, just you see’. In the end I think I made the decision for some right reasons and some maybe not-so-right reasons and it’s fair enough that there are some things I like about my life in Norway and other things I don’t.****

A common question that Norwegians ask is “why Norway?” and it’s a fair question. Norway isn’t a particularly common destination for many people, which is why I guess Norwegians tend to be a little surprised and curious about one’s reasons for coming to Norway. Every time I answer that question I think back to that time from January 2011 when I first applied up until I boarded the plane. In fact, the first time someone asked me that question I didn’t expect it and all I could think was how the fuck did I end up here? And I can’t tell you how often it happens that I look out the window of my room and wonder about the series of events that led me to Norway.

So, on the 11^th of August, 2012, I began my unexpected Norwegian adventure.

***Addendum: I started writing this post about a year ago and my feelings have since evolved.

Everybody (Ikarus' Back)

In recognition of my terribly long hiatus - here is a wonderful blast from the past :)

Song of the Day: Du hast by Rammstein

Let's just say I shocked myself by liking this song.  This kind of rock *ahem* shall I say 'scares' me...  As the song went on, I couldn't help but like the song especially the guitar riff (riff? is that the word I'm looking for?)  But that doesn't mean it still doesn't scare me.  So, 50% of me likes it and the other 50% remains scared shitless :P



In any case, the lyrics are interesting which is not what I would've thought given the tone of the song.  According to wikipedia, the title Du hast is German for "you have" and a play on the homophones hast/haben and hasst/hassen ('have' and 'hate').

"When conjugated in the second person singular form (i.e. "you"), the verbs haben and hassen become respectively hast and hasst. There is no phonetic difference between these two words ...

"... The song is a play on German marriage vows. The refrain "Willst du bis der Tod euch scheidet, treu ihr sein für alle Tage?" translates to "Do you[singular] want, until death separates you[plural], to be faithful to her for all time?" Instead of answering with "ja" (yes), the singer says "nein" (no), finally breaking his silence earlier in the song: "Du hast mich gefragt, und ich hab' nichts gesagt." This is in the present perfect and translates to "You have asked me, and I have said nothing," but is usually translated in the past tense to, "You asked me, and I said nothing."

 "One time in the song, the refrain is sung with different words ("Willst du bis zum Tod, der scheide, sie lieben auch in schlechten Tagen?"). This translates as "Do you[singular] want, until the death that divides, to love her even in bad days?". Again, the singer responds with "Nein!".

Awesome Name Award: Obadiah Stane

 I don't need to go into why this is such an awesome name ... it's rather obvious, no? But I will say that if I ever become a comic book villain - this is the name I will choose for myself.

Jeff Bridges played Obadiah Stane (Iron Monger) in the film and he was great at it.  I love that they went with a shaved head and full beard as it only added to his coolness.  And even though I watched the film a long time ago, I remember being struck his impeccable suits (but my love for a good suit is another topic for another day).  Robert Downey Jr. was great as Iron Man but for me Obadiah Stane made the movie.

Song of the Day: Dream On by Aerosmith

Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter and sing for the tear

TV Theme Songs: Psych & The Big Bang Theory

I've just gotten into The Big Bang Theory and, as it happens, I'm pretty much hooked.  It's light, funny and Sheldon makes the show.  In general, I'm not too big a fan of tv show theme songs but The Big Bang Theory's opener is quite catchy.  A quick search tells me that it's sung by The Barenaked Ladies which explains its lingering familiarity.



....which leads me to Psych.  Psych is one of my favourite tv shows of all-time and its standard theme song is a tad annoying vocally but it makes up for it with hilarious lyrics relevant to the series.  The theme has been remixed a few times, notably in Spanish and Hindi for telenovela and Bollywood themed episodes.  But the best version of the theme was sung by Boyz II Men and it's so good it doesn't even sound like a tv theme song ... just a regular song that's damn good.

You know that's right.

Favourite Quotes (5)

"Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world".
—Alfred, Lord Tennyson's Ulysses

Death Metal = Cantilevers

I knew I had a problem with wikipedia when I was reading about how balconies are supported and I had no idea how I got there.

Song of the Day: The Tracks of My Tears by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

A classic!

Awesome Name Award: Benedict Cumberbatch

Not so much awesome as it is astounding...

Oh, dear me.  You can't make that shit up.

Zombie Sean Bean Has Died Again

Wow, forget full-length tv shows and movies - the guy can't even survive a trailer....



1st thought: oooh, Sean Bean!
2nd thought (10 seconds later): oh shit, not again

NaNoWriMo November, Detox December and …. January Jones?

As I mentioned earlier, I took part in my first NaNoWriMo this past November and it was an interesting experience to say the least.  I swore I’d win and win I did…

…but not by the technical NaNo definition.  Granted, the NaNo rules aren’t very stringent but I didn’t approach NaNo as an attempt to write 50,000 words of a new novel in the month of November.  Instead, I saw it as an opportunity to push myself to write 50,000 words of fiction full stop.

I didn’t write all 50,000 words in the month of November.  I wrote 50,000 words in 30 days mostly during the month of November but about 5 days (less, really) weren’t in November.  Ok, so this may be “cheating” and some may say that I don’t deserve winner status.  But the reason I participated in NaNo at all was to write 50,000 words which I probably (ok, most certainly) wouldn’t have done if I hadn’t participated.  So, I see myself as ‘winning’ my goal even if it wasn’t the exact way I was supposed to do it.

NaNoWriMo November:

How did I feel about the NaNo experience?  If you are like me and you have difficulty getting yourself to write on a consistent basis then NaNo is for you.  It forced me to write 50,000 words in 30 days which isn’t an easy thing to do.  If you are the type of person who can consistently hack away at something then perhaps you don’t need the structure that NaNo provides. 

The problem with NaNo is that you need to write all the time (duh).  While this is what gets you to the 50,000 word count, the problem is that you write even when you don’t have anything (interesting) to write.  Some people are quite verbose and can write about anything easily.  I can’t.  I can’t write without knowing what to write or having an idea of where I want to go.  With NaNo you don’t really have the luxury of stopping for breath and thinking about the direction of your story.  So you write crap … a lot of it… which can be better than not writing at all.  So, I would recommend NaNo if you want to make headway in writing something.

Detox December:

As for December, you are supposed to spend it editing your newly finished novel. My story didn’t finish in 50,000 words which means I need to finish it before I can edit the damn thing.  I haven’t written much since NaNo ended (which I guess is further proof that NaNo works) and I won’t go into my love/hate dislike/really hate relationship with my story.  The point is that December was a detox from writing.  I barely wrote a word.  NaNo kicked my ass and I was done with writing after it was done with me.

In fact, I will share the dream I had on the night NaNo was over.  If this isn’t sign that I was done with writing then I don’t know what is.

I can’t say where I was with certainty.  It seems that was simultaneously in a resort in the Rocky Mountains and an old European city (think Prague).  I was in what appeared to be a doctor’s office in a really modern hospital in the old city and I was conversing with a man who magically changed from scrubs and a white lab coat to a spiffy suit.  The man looked like an older version of Liam Neeson with even greyer hair.  Anyways, I can’t remember much but at the end of the ‘conversation’ this man offers me an all-expense paid trip to Ireland.  This was a dream and I guess I wasn’t concerned about taking gifts from strangers so I was like HELL YES!  The man then asked for my name so he could give me the flight details but - get this - I couldn’t write my name down.  Seriously, in my dream I was physically incapable of writing my name on a piece of paper.  I kept on trying but the strokes of the pen couldn’t be put together to spell my name.

As soon as I woke up I knew that beneath the randomness and borderline phishing scam surface of my dream was a lesson.  The lesson was that I was done with writing and that I didn’t have it in me to write another word.  A detox from writing was definitely in order.

January Jones:

I know it’s ridiculous, but it sounded
nicely alliterative in my head…

***A massive thanks to my NaNo buddy Darcy who kept a crazy pace, kept me going and tried to keep me sane!

Lookalikes

Chris Rock     vs.     Harold Perrineau

I think it is in the cheekbones and smile.
By the way, I'm not the only one who thinks this.  Apparently, the internet agrees with me on this.