welcome back. practice tonight.

I had no more than stepped foot off the plane in Oslo and turned on my phone when that familiar beeping noise quickly whisked me back into reality from the "zombie-like, been on a plane for 11 hours and have two more hours to go" state I was in. Beep beep beep. "New text message," my phone was telling me. Now, I am always happy to get text messages, but I was not in the mood for one that asked me if I was ready for choir practice that night. Uhm, no, not really. I'd like to take a nap...or better yet, just go to bed. But alas, I couldn't go to choir, take a nap, OR go to bed. I had a party to go to!

Welcome back to Tromsø!

I told my director that I wouldn't make it to practice (which we will have tonight, instead) and I boarded the plane to the Arctic. Someone please remind me not to book Norwegian Airlines for the last leg of a long and tiring, four-plane transatlantic journey EVER again. There is absolutely no leg room and my left knee cap was already ready to fall off when I landed in Belgium. I was so crabby during the last flight that I started acting like a four year old. I actually sighed out loud and made little groaning sounds as I violently lashed from side to side while trying to ease pressure from one butt cheek onto the other. I really was all huffy puffy the way little kids are when they are crabby and need to take a nap. But as soon as the plane began circling the island for landing, I smiled and knew that I was gonna have a good year.

Like I said, I had a party to go to. I got to the apartment, hung out with Hanne and Vibeke, ate a little dinner (my first meal since Chicago), and took a shower. Mmmmm, good to be clean. Then Hanne and I walked to Driv to see our classmates and to meet the new class of MPCT students. This was very exciting. Most of my classmates are back in town, and the new class seems most excellent...many good people with varying backgrounds and experiences. We got free dinner and wine and then went to Blue Monday at Blå Rock afterwards. I think I was going on approximately 36 hours without solid sleep, but I simply can't turn down a Mack at Blå Rock.

Today I visited my favorite place. A place that has been the subject of a previous post (see June 14 to experience the rage.) Ahhhh yes, the beloved Utlendingskontoret (the office for foreigners.) After waiting in line for an hour, they yanked me around yet again with regards to my residence permit. There is simply nothing more frustrating than being told something, reaffirming that that something is indeed true before leaving because YOU KNOW that they are running a sketchy show over there, assuming that they will keep their end of the deal, and then listening to them change their mind while you stand there helplessly and humiliated. I KNEW THEY WERE GONNA DO THIS, which is probably the worst part. I'd love to include a bunch of swear words in this post, but my mom told me that swearing as an inappropriate way to express myself in my onjo. She's right, but the utlendingskontoret is seriously a gigantic piece of *&!@.

Well, enough of that. I have a plan, and I think it will work.
As for right now, I'm gonna finish up a little work, go home, make dinner, and then it's off to choir. And if Stig gets on my case for forgetting my music over the summer, I think it might just push me to tears. Either tears or swearing...whichever comes out first.

Snakkes!