Wednesday, December 27, 2006
confronting fear of flying
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
blog nr 50
Friday, November 17, 2006
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Love actually
Would you wait around to find out if it's just a necklace, or if it's sex and a necklace, or if worst of all it's a necklace and love? Would you stay, knowing life would always be a little bit worse? Or would you cut and run?
Friday, November 10, 2006
My teenage hero!
Thursday, November 09, 2006
remembering chrystal night
Crystal Night took place on 9th-10th November, 1938.
During Crystal Night over 7,500 Jewish shops were destroyed and 400 synagogues were burnt down. Ninety-one Jews were killed and an estimated 20,000 were sent to concentration camps. Up until this time these camps had been mainly for political prisoners. The only people who were punished for the crimes committed on Crystal Night were members of the Sturm Abteilung (SA) who had raped Jewish women (they had broken the Nuremberg Laws on sexual intercourse between Aryans and Jews).
After Crystal Night the numbers of Jews wishing to leave Germany increased dramatically. It has been calculated that between 1933 and 1939, approximately half the Jewish population of Germany (250,000) left the country. This included several Jewish scientists who were to play an important role in the fight against fascism during the war.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
1) feeeding fish
2) waitress (oh, at some many places)
3) selling books over the phone
4) babysitting
B) Four Movies you would watch over and over:
1) Stranger than fiction
2) Love actually
3) jallajalla
4) Paris, je t'aime
C) Four places you have lived:
1) perth
2) copenhagen
3) Washington DC
4) Oslo
D) Four TV shows I love to watch:
1) csi
2) coupling
3) smack the pony
4) migrapolis
E) Four places you've been on vacation:
1) mallorca
2) Sharm el sheik
3) Turkey
4) Sweden (Göteborg/Liseberg - juhui)
F) Four Web sites I visit:
1) youtube.com
2) aftenposten.no/politiken.dk
3) blogger.com
4) amiright.com
G) Four of my favourite foods:
1) seafood - anything goes as longs as its well prepared
2) green, red and yellow curries (with lentils or chicken or lamb and lots of crunchy vegetables - I think I'll have this for dinner tonight - yummy)
3) well done fruit smothies with berries and a crunch of ginger (I know, it may not constitute as food, but a good smoothie brightens my day - yes, I'm simple)
4) korinader (yes I know its a herb, but I get tiny little orgasms when I eat koriander flavoured food - especially when its Thai.. Oh - no - now I have en incoming dinner-problem)
H) Four Places I'd rather be right now:
1) any good thai restaurant
2) at the movies
3) in never-neverland
4) in a spa
Monday, November 06, 2006
compliments 101
On saturday we had a bachelorette party for one of my friends, the point was to drink her under the table and she ended the evening on the floor just wearing a rudolph-the-raindeer red nose, a tiara, and a micro-skirt so I think we succeded. But my story is not about her. Its about Tina. She was one of the 12 girls partying with us that night. 6 of the girls I knew quite well, the rest I briefly met ant Tina I met once a long time ago. Tina has some real wicked eyes. (And I mean wicked, not beautiful, cause beautiful might get you thinking of a maybe-its-maybelline classic poster girl eyes). her eyes have this almost see-through grey-green colour that reminds you of a cat or an emerald or both at the same time. I guess I thought about telling her right away (according to my own compliment-principles) but I got caught up in the champagne-drinking and salsa-dancing and forgot somehow. During the day Tina and I had tons of fun. We ran around Oslo looking for brooms, old schoolmates and Orlando Bloom (loong story) and got drunk all the while. In the evening we ended up using straws and flags as microphones and ran on the couch singing to dirty dancing.
Closing in on four o'clock we find ourself on the tiny freezing cold porch, but our salsa-feet held us warm while we were hunching over our cigarettes and giggeling. Then she turns to me and says: wow, I think you're the absolute coolest girl! And what do I do? I say:
Oh, you're so cool too - and you have wicked eyes! Rooky mistake - big blunder! Only time you can get away with returning a compliment like that is if you're a guy and the gilr you're returning the compliment too wants to sleep with you. Otherwise, one of two things will happen: 1. the other person will think you're undermining the trust you've been showed by being giving a compliment (often giving a compliment is based on trust and courage - at least in Norway) or 2. the person will think you think you HAVE to give a compliment. And thats bad - there's nothing worst than a forces compliment.
Compliments 101 says: give your compliment when you think it - DO NOT WAIT. The lesson is also: take a compliment, compliment the other person for being brave enough to give you a compliment, do NOT shove it away, undermine it or say: you too! you will always appear false. Its better to recieve it with grace and greatfulness.
Class dismissed
Compliments
I even have my own personal feel-good buddy at work now: she's this cute little chinese woman with huge, oversized glasses, way tooo much make-up and flowery dresses and she compliments my clothing almost on a daily basis. I love her - I really do.
But the best compliment I got (besides for the nose-thing off course), was from someone I have not paid a compliment in a long time, and that was a compliment in the form of a blog- post: Ben
His memory of our encounter made me blush - mostly because it was so weird to think that anyone would consider me "out of their leauge" (especially when I had the biggest crush on him) but also because its great to know that somebody have fond memories of me. Fond memories are the best compliment I think cause thay can never really fade. This inspires me.. Really, it does, now I have to go out and give everyone I meet today a compliment. See - thats how good karma works. And this is how powerful compliments are - they start a chain reaction of selfless goodwill... (oh my, i'm preaching! Stop! Now!)
Sunday, October 22, 2006
my contradictions
I'm so overconfident and peaceful in my own body - Do you like me? why not? will you please like me?
I follow my emotions up and down - Can this be justified logically and rationally?
I love you - I hate you
I love me - I hate me
Hold me close - Let me go
I long for some peace, quiet, a vacation, relaxation - Doing nothing drives me crazy
I'm a wanderer - Stability's key to happiness
flirt with me, I'm playfull - How come you're so shallow?
Last night I cried myself to sleep - This morning I woke up smiling
I'll tell you all - Respect my privacy
I'm naked - don't undress me
I'll stay right here - Lets go
Friday, October 20, 2006
check out line two of this beautiful song!
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Nobel peace price
Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank
recieves the nobel peace price.
The fact that a peace price is given to a development project says something about how the world is more and mores percieved to be interlinked, how fighting poverty and empowering the individual through the possibility of making their own future is linked to the fight for peace.
I once visited some of the micro-projects in Togo and Benin and saw the impact they had especially on women. The way they talked and walked with more pride. They had espablished small cliniques and small businesses and they no longer felt left at the power of the man, or the wims of an unstable government. The interesting thing was that empowering the women also had the positive unintended consequence that the HIV rate tropped. By empowering women they were enable to say no to sex with more men if they did not want to, and they stood up to their husbounds cheating on them. And they actually started using birthcontrol. This is good work! very good work!
(these are the only pictures i have from Togo digitally - in 2003 i had all my pictures in print - i will definitly scan them in someday!)
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
today
I just started to love my job today. I knew this is somehow what I wanted to do, but since its only been a month here, I've been confused and a little freaked out about the responsibility. But today I fell in love witht he possibilities of the job.
I went to a conference about integration of multucultural youth (this is my work now - and a subject highky present in the media) and I was introduced to the finest bunch of entrepeneurs I've ever meet! It was young and enthusiastic people with the heart in the right place and with a wish to change our society and to give young people with a migrant background a future.
Oddly, I felt proud. In so many ways I have nothing to do with their achievement, but still I felt proud. And I could not really define why. I grew up not knowing their world existed, as I grew up pretty protected and without an immigrant in my classroom (except for a polish girl). At University and in my travels I took an interest in different cultures and I wanted to change they way minorities are treated in western society. But this self-rightegous idealism does not earn me the right to me proud. But read your self (if you understand norwegian) and you try not to feel proud of them:
Dilan Ayhan
Marco Elsafadi
Elyas Mohammed
I sort of realised what you could do in a job like mine; you can meet people like this and you can create a ground for them to build their ideas on, or more acuratly a place where ideas no longer are ideas but reality. I hope I will manage. And if I don't these people WILL manage.
The interesting thing though is that a bit of humanity is what I'm left with today. In my job I speak about what we can do for a specific group, but today I talked about human ideals; what makes us feel selfrespect and what makes us value ourself and our lives. These people work with a basic human principle: building selfrespect in youth who has lost that and so much more. They talk about giving young people courage and belief in themself with as simple methods as hugs, smiles
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Hands off
It begun with a handshake. Over the table the pulse of his fingertips touched the pulse of her wrist and the beats coincided, the warm blood lifted the veins towards each other as if the bodies collided. Afterwards the moment didn't exist, as if the touch was like no other touch, the pulse like no other heartbeat. They sat down opposite each other and wore the masks required inn offices, in hallways of grey and suits and reason over emotions. He decided as always to let go of questioning what his body did, it was always a riddle to him anyway, and focus on what his brain brought to his lips, the words of form and etiquette. His fingertips burned against the paper he held, the piece of paper she gave him just a second ago and his eyes focused on the letters, demanding the body to take away this feeling of a moment he had to decide had not existed anyway. She smiled, and he knew she hadn't noticed. The pulse had been inside his head, or more accurately, in his fingertips. He talked. He had already been talking for a while he realised. And he praised his ability to function disconnected from himself. Years of bureaucracy had taught him the words to say, the attitude to convey in any situation that challenged his judgement. He had asked a question and she embarked on answering, her soft voice floating between him and her and the walls and the third person he almost forgot was there. What was his name? He quietly rubbed his fingertips against the wood of the desk and suddenly realised the lines in the oak and the rounded figures his coffee cups had made. She stopped talking and his fingers wandered back to the paper and his lips read what they pointed at and he smiled as his question faded out. He noticed that the second his eyes left her face he forgot what she looked like and the moment she stopped talking he forgot what she said. If he had felt it was appropriate he would excuse himself and leave, say something about toilet or coffee or anything that would relate vaguely to a decent excuse. But he kept his seat. What was so different about this handshake he thought, and the answer of course was nothing. The amount of hands he's been shaking over the years, he always pulsated then too. He was always alive and the veins and heart would to their job as blood pumping vehicle then too, right. Nothing was different, I had a pulse then, I have a pulse now he thought, and questions her again, gaining more confidence. The moment was passing he knew. He was regaining control again. He could hear himself now, and he heard himself saying: "So how do you feel about working long hours?" and she answered smiling: "I have the energy to work long hours as long as I love my work, and I would love to work here". His colleague, who he now remembered the name of, said something important about the pay and the opportunities of promotion and the interview was over. They shook hands and he gave her his hand again. This time he did not take her whole hand, did not let his fingers touch her pulse, instead he wrapped his fingers around the top of her hand. And was shocked to find that her whole hand pulsated in the same way his own blood flooded to his palm. He let go as quick as possible and sat down. The dizziness overwhelmed him and his anger with the weaknesses of his body rose. The colleague looked quizzically at him when she had left.
He was quite rational in his arguments. The fact that she was young and lacked authority. She could not be hired. Naturally. The two men nodded with mutual understanding in the room of grey and routine. As he left to go home that day a chill of relief came over him. He rode that storm off pretty well. He was proud of himself; he had let nothing get in the way of his ability to control a situation. He could continue business as usually, and soon, very soon, his blood would stop feeling so warm and the memoirs of a raising vein would disappear again, he thought with pride.
intimacy
Is it true, what somebody told me: that we are today, in our time and day, so deteached from real intimacy that when we see it we do not recognise it and instead of understanding it we interpret it in sexual terms? Is it so that closeness in spirit and soul, the so called friendly, friendship intimacy has lost resonnanse with us because all we see is intimacy in sexual terms?
Saturday, September 23, 2006
telling yourself a story
No seriously, I'm not trying to make a flower-analogi here in order to say something about how people grow and become better people, its not about better or worse, its about fate.
in a an overnatural, religious, spiritual way I'm rather doubtful that fate even exist. In the sense that we are destined for something, somewhere or even someone. Its so often an excuse or an explanation that, to me, only scrathes the surface. fate is somehow a responsibilty defier defice: "I can not help being who I am/doing what I do, its fate, I'm destined to be here, do this".
And then theres the boarderline coinsedence/fate incidences. "Wow, we met right here right now when I was thinking of you." "You called the second I thought I¨d call you". "It must be love at first sight, fate brought us together". How can anyone really say that the experience of something so spiritual or emotional is really just a coninsedence? When it feels more like the universe has taken over and guided you or showed you what you need, who you are.
But these are all things we can discuss and maybe never agree on, or maybe never feel the same about. Its all about the intensity of the experience I guess, and the framework you put it into, what you believe in... But one thing I've felt rather intensly lataly. Maybe its just growing up, I don't know, but my friends are turning into certain versions of themselves. I swear now, in the enlightend vision of hindsight, that I could have said all those years ago that off course that is how they would turn out. Its so obvious somehow, or is it just me? The caring personality traits of one friend turned her into a mother at an early stage. The restless, witty trait of another friend, turned her into a comedian without a job. The self-critical academic mind of a third friend, turned her into an ambisious, never-really-satisfies researcher. I look around myself and I look at these people that turned their lives into an expression of who they told themselves they were and i'm amazed. Is it fate, or is it just as simple as the theory of the narrative says. (shooo I could not find a good website explaining the theory.. Sorry... But if you do, let me know)
We all tell ourselves and others stories of ourselves (and others). We can distort our stories, lie and tell half truths. To a certain extent i guess we all lie. Or maybe we're just blind to ourselves? Cause looking at all my friens, thinkink "doh, off course thats who they should be", I, at the same time, cannot for the life of me understand how anyone can think the same of me. To me, I'm complex and living with opposites, torn between so many choices ant wants, that a straight line seems almost like a contradiction to who I am. And yet I know, I tell stories about me to, and maybe my story, my red line in life is my own desire to be complex. And therefor, I am simpe...
My friends took a side of themself, watered it, let it grow, and flowered. They are more happy, I see that easily. They are content with having left adolenscence behind, and the consant strive for the red line in their story. However, we loose something as we content ourself with the one story. We loose the willingness to explore the infinite possiblities of who we can be. I believe its a choice. If we stick with one story we might be contnent, even happy. Thats why Ibsen said: Take the lifelie away from a person, you take away his life as well. Or we can stick with trying to develop our story all the time. I believe it leads to frustration, to confusion. I believe artist, ideologists, visionaries struggle to develop the story but end up being discontent because the only truth is the one you tell yourself and believe it. I believe the great thinkings that suffered, did not do it for one idea, even if it might seem so, I think they suffered in order to dissolve, change and alter ideas. They might be in the search of truth, but (if we follow narrative therory), it does not exist outside oneself, and you're therefore bound to enter into a war you'll loose. But doing anything else is mediocrity. Its what we call a mediocre life.
I've had these thought for a while. i do not know if they explain themselves on paper as I want them to do, but feel ovwewhelmed at the idea of not expressing them. I'm a searcher for stories, and one the the ultimate story will dawn on me or occur to me. I know. And then you'll all hear it. And the world will be different. I know. :-)
Friday, August 25, 2006
men who love their wives
The morning had started bad... No energy - no lust.
three minutes extra on the pillow was stolen - as if they made any difference. The shower was taken with closed eyes and the coffee had no effect on weak limbs. Actually a few moments got lost on the way to work when the eyes closed in a desperate effort to regain strenght and energy. Normally mornings are filled with silence. Even in the crowd. The common haze of the crowd lies in thick layers between strangers on the bus and the mutual understanding of the morning blues turns the conversations on to a level of whispers. Sometimes the odd music of a neighbourgh breaks through the headphones and fills the silence for a moment with unknown words and melody. Sometimes someone brush up against each other incidentially and leave the air hanging with low excuses and the scraping sound of raincoat agains raincoat. everybody close their eyes for a minute and loose or gain a moment more of the dream they left behind.
Its the same every morning. The fog surrounds the routine, the dream comes to an end at the halt of the bus. But today something breaks throught the air as if no respect were paid to silence. The loud voices of two men who has left the wifes they love at home, because no two men who does't love their wives can laugh with the easiness of these two. They giggle as if they were 13 and just realised the wonders of oversized breasts and wine in small bottles. Never were such laughter heard so early. The bus turns its head, as if the line of drowsy morning people wear remotely controlled and laughter was the trigger. The men do not notice. They were shiny shoes and uncurled shirts. They have briefcases and if they closed their mouthes and looked down they would resemble men to recent for their shallowness. The mood in the bus turn, heads turn, eyes shine and someone says hello to an old aqauitaned he refused to acknowledge the presence of just a second ago. Someone opens their eyes and find it pleasent to escape a dream for the the vivid experience of presence, of being present.
I smile as I go off, actually I giggle a little. ¨
And so, as the rain pours down and I cannot leave the office till its stoppes - I still giggle. Just a little giggle at the thought of men who love their wives.
Chakra test...
This chakra is located at the crown of your head and represents the seat of the soul. The seventh chakra is associated with your connection to your spiritual self and to the divine. In your case, this chakra appears to be clear and unblocked so that positive energy can flow from it freely. Radiating positive energy from your seventh chakra indicates that you've cultivated higher wisdom concerning the important life lessons associated with this energy center. You're apt to feel a greater bond with the spiritual world. You're probably also more able to live in the moment than most other people are. The seventh chakra is the chakra of highest spiritual evolution.
Whether they're allowing positive energy to flow or preventing it from doing so, all seven of your body's chakras contribute to how you are feeling on a day-to-day basis. When they're balanced, you feel energized and at the top of your game. When they're unbalanced, you may feel tired or 'off'. While we have focused on identifying the one chakra that allows your positive energy to flow most freely, we have also discovered the ways your other six chakras are handling the passage of energy.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
forbidden fruit
Eve and Adam had a garden everything was great
Till one day a boy says pardon Miss my name is snake
See that apple over yonder if you'll take a bite
You and Adam both are bound to have some fun tonight
Go on and eat forbidden fruit
It's mighty sweet forbidden fruit
It's quite a treat forbidden fruit
Go ahead and taste it you don't wanna waste it
The Lord had said in the beginning everything is free
Except that apple that leads to sinning so let that apple be
But Eve got tempted so she tried it and as all chicks do
Teaser her man till he decided he'd just try some too
Go on and eat forbidden fruit
It's mighty sweet forbidden fruit
It's quite a treat forbidden fruit
Go ahead and bite it I bet you'd be delighted
I hate to tell you all what followed the Lord was most upset
Saw them making love and hollered what have you to add
And when they made a full confession the Lord said hm I see
I guess I'll have to teach you a lesson about not minding me
Go on and eat forbidden fruit
It's mighty sweet forbidden fruit
It's quite a treat forbidden fruit
You're all indebted now you gonna get it
The Lord made Eve Adam's madam have his kids and all
Placed some labour laws on Adam and he made the snake to fall
Ever since the days of Eden folks been sinful my
Nowadays they're even eating apples in their pie
Go on and eat forbidden fruit
It's mighty sweet forbidden fruit
It's quite a treat forbidden fruit
Go ahead and taste it you don't wanna waste it
Oh go ahead and bite it I bet you'd be delighted
You always did it now you'll gonna get it
Forbidden fruit
Monday, April 24, 2006
87% of the world to go
create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands
word of the day
rebarbative \ree-BAR-buh-tiv\, adjective:Serving or tending to irritate or repel.
Example from use in litterature:
Over the past couple of hours a lot of rebarbative, ulcerated and embittered people had been working hard at bedding their resentments down in sensory-deprivation tanks full of alcohol.
Will Self, The Sweet Smell of Psychosis
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Rachel Naomi Remen:
The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention…. A loving silence often has far more power to heal and to connect than the most well-intentioned words.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Varför skulle annars våren tveka?
Varför skulle all vår heta längtan
bindas i det frusna bitterbleka?
Höljet var ju knoppen hela vintern.
Vad är det för nytt, som tär och spränger?
Ja visst gör det ont när knoppar brister,
ont för det som växer och det som stänger.
nog är det svårt när droppar faller.
Skälvande av ängslan tungt de hänger,
klamrar sig vid kvisten, sväller, glider -
tyngden drar dem neråt, hur de klänger.
Svårt at vara ovuss, rädd och delad,
svårt at känna djupet dra och kalla,
ändå sitta kvar och bara darra -
svårt at vilja stanna och vilja falla.
Då, när det är värst och inget hjälper,
brister som i jubel trädets knoppar,
då, när ingen rädsle längre håller,
glömmer at de skrämdes av det nya,
känner en sekund sin största trygghet,
vilar i den tillit som skapar världen."
Albert Schweitzer
Me and Albert Schweitzer
Your Type is 40% Extroverted, 0% Observant, 37% Logical and 18% Structured
You are more introverted than extroverted. You are more intuitive than observant, you are more feeling based than thinking based, and you prefer to go with the flow rather than having a plan. Your type can best be summarized by the word "Healer", which belongs to the larger group of idealists. You have a capacity for caring that is deeper than most. You strive for unity, are fascinated by the battles between good and evil, and can be something of an idealist. Only 1% of the population shares your type.
As a romantic partner, you are usually supprtive and nuturing, however, you have a high need for individuality. Harmony is extremely important to you as you are very affected by conflict and tension, which also makes you resist confronting your partner directly about problems. When you get angry, you usually blame yourself, rather than your partner. You can also be stubborn and unyielding when you feel you are being criticized or mistreated. You feel the most appreciated when your partner listens to you carefully. You need to be understood. You need to hear your partner express their feelings, the more often, the better.
I stole this test from Åsa's blog ;-)
Friday, April 21, 2006
Have a very weird day
I'm a person of words and rational thinking. Some people who know me would disagree with that. But I am. I feel alot, but I do not trust my feelings to guide me. That would screw me up, being thrown from love to hate to indifference within seconds. So I rationalise. Afterwards, during, and before I feel anything. Its necessary. And so stupid. It turns out I do not know feeling from logic anymore and that also feelings can have arguments they just create themselves, if they're strong enough. SOunds weird. Why do I need to be logical about feelings. Because I'm a person of words and rational thinking. ANd because I feel better about my feelings if I understand them through logic. So all in all I'm rational to be able to feel better. And i'm sad when I can't explain how I feel. And I can't explain why I go from extreme to extreme. And maybe thats it! I'm not actually sad because I go up and down, but because I can't explain, and therefore if I just skipped trying to explain it would not bother me?
I don't get it. hmmm, that means, I don't get me.
“Hold on, hold on to yourself, for this is gonna hurt like hell.”
You say there ain't no way to scare you
Knock you down
Highwire routine is working for you
Ain't nothing there for you to hold on to
Highwire, so far to the end
So many chances to miss your step
If you stand up (all on your own)
If you fall down (always alone)
Hold On To Yourself baby
Cause no one else will
People gonna watchyour every move
You know there's always something therefor you to prove
Highwire so far to look down
No one to catch you when you hit the ground
If you stand up (all on your own)
If you fall down (always alone)
Hold On To Yourself baby
Cause no one else willI
If you stand up (all on your own)
If you fall down (always alone)
If you need help (nobody else)
Gotta hold on (all by yourself)
Watch your body,take a
Hold Of Yourself
You've gotta make it,'cause there's no one else
Keep your balance'til the end of the line
Gotta find a way to get it right
Hold On To Yourself baby
Cause no one else will