cue the horns

Scott and I are trying to assemble the most outrageous band Tromsø has ever seen. We have selected the song (that was the easy part) but we are currenlty lacking drums, cowbell, bass guitar, maybe another electric guitar, and if my lips are in as bad shape as I think they are, someone who can crank out some riffs on a trumpet. (I'll see what I can muster, though.) Oh, and organ/keyboard and back-up vocals.

So for those keeping score, we have one guitar, lead vocals, and some dude Scott knows who apperntly plays the trombone. We're getting close!

from bottomless pit to complete loss of appetite

Just about a week ago I felt like I could eat anything. And everything. And did. [Recall the hickory burger with a side of mac and cheese, a popover, a slice of pie, and two margaritas....a very hungry caterpillar, that's for sure.] But for the past five days I have had absolutely no appetite. This is a kind of scary feeling for me 'cause I have never lost my appetite to this extent before. Sure, for a day or so because I had the flu or something. But this is just plain weird. So I am forcing myself to eat food despite its complete lack of appeal. Perhaps I need someone to make me a hickory burger. Mmmmm. It actually sounds sort of good, so that might just be a good sign.

stateside

the bottomless pit

I've been in the States for 48 hours and have already consumed enough comfort food to last me until June...or tomorrow, when I plan on eating some more comfort food. Tove and I and our friend/co-worker, Randi, went to Threadgills for dinner last night. It's apparently quite the Austin establishment. Here's what I ate (and mind you, I had not eaten much at all during the previous 48 hours, so I was kind of hungry) : A large hickory burger with loads of bbq sauce, cheddar cheese, and bacon, and instead of fries on the side I opted for something else from the "vegetables" category on the menu: macaroni and cheese (they really do call it a veggie). Plus two margaritas, a popover, and some strawberry/rhubarb pie. I ate it all and had enough energy left over to sing along with every song the Bealtes cover band played. It was delightful.

I gave my presentation today and was very pleased with how it went. It was a relatively small group, but the three of us presenters complemented each other very nicely. The people in attendance seemed to enjoy it.

I head to Arizona tomorrow and can't wait to see my family!

the brakes

I got up at 4.30 this morning, was delayed almost two hours in Tromsø, and made it to Oslo knowing that I had already missed my flight across the Atlantic. But wait! I hadn't missed my flight cause it was delayed for three hours because of the brakes! Just my luck. But then they couldn't fix the brakes at all, and by 6.00pm I was on my way to the airport hotel for the night. Let's try again tomorrow.

I'm exhausted. Sick of standing in lines ALL day long. Haven't had anything to eat. And just want to get to the warmth. Get me out of this country!

It's 8.00 pm or something and I'm going to bed.

disqualified!

Today was the day: the Norwegian reindeer racing championships down main street in Tromsø. I'd waited for this day for a year. Despite the fact that I'm trying to get myself on a plane to the U.S. tomorrow morning and have packing and tons of other stuff to do, I HAD to see the races. And this year I got video footage! It's incredible!

I also found out from Tove that her favorite reindeer from last year had been disqualified. What? A reindeer disqualified? I assumed that it must have done something bad...like hired a hit man to smash the other reindeer's knees. Or taken steroids.
Nope.
It was a Finnish reindeer. No Finnish reindeer allowed in the Norwegian championship, duh.

So I'm off to Texas tomorrow. Wish me luck. I still haven't finished my presentation and have nothing to wear. So I guess I'll just stand naked in front of everyone and sing them some Roxette.

the jets/rockets

I had an experience yesterday that reminded me of my soccer coaching days. (My friend Sarah and I coached a team of 8 and 9 year old boys back when we were college students in Iowa. I'll get back to that later.) The experience that reminded me of this was a free-for-all in a small gym with 30 kids and two shell-shocked adult figures. I have signed up to do this "homework help" thing at a local elementary school through the Red Cross and Save the Children, and yesterday was the first day. After the tomato soup had been consumed and the rules and schedule had been thoroughly discussed, one of the leaders made the mistake of asking the kids: "So, what do you guys want to do now?" to which the ENTIRE group responded with a resounding: "GYM!" and then promptly launched themselves out of their seats, through the door, and down two flights of stairs. They then proceeded to take out every ball they could find in the equipment room and turn the gym into a battlezone. I covered my head and ran for safety.

After approximately 15 minutes of ball insanity, I managed somehow to get their attention and told them that gym was over.

At times, this soccer team - who couldn't decide if they wanted to be called the Decorah Jets or the Decorah Rockets and ultimately landed on the Decorah Jets/Rockets - was equally crazy. Sarah and I would often find ourselves laughing hysterically at the out-of-control-ness of the situation and would make up some ridiculous drill involving pile-ons and traffic cones in order to tame the beasts.

I could have used some traffic cones yesterday.

in front of the kebab seller

In Front of the Kebab Seller - a poem

Yes. Wear that jacket.

Even though it's a windbreaker and it's cold outside.

Wear that jacket cause you look awesome in it.

Awesome.

No. We don't want kebabs.

Even though it's cold outside and we're kind of hungry.

We don't want kebabs cause we're afraid of mystery meat.

Afraid.