Time to move on

You'll now find me at suchelaboratelives.tumblr.com

School starts again in a few days

My last semester.

or, at least my last at UPS. Not gonna let myself get all nostalgic quite yet, but I really can't believe how fast the last three and half years have gone by.

I'm excited for things to get going again. It will be nice to have people on campus again and be able to call someone up when I am lonely and bored and not rely solely on my laptop for companionship. I am taking three classes for credit, as well as auditing the 310 fight lab and STF (my thesis) of course. So in total that makes five classes, work and once we get going, rehearsals. Woohoo, welcome to real life once again. No more sleep for Alyson! Nah, I like it better that way. I get so lazy when I sleep in. I have not done anything productive for weeks now, its time to get back to normal.

On top of all this, I have fully completed my graduate school applications for The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago and the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. Now, I wait. I have a better chance of getting into UA, though DePaul is perfect. So perfect in fact, that they only accept two people each year. And I'm good, but damn. So Tuscaloosa it is. Guess I better learn how to like football, apparently its like air to them down there. So much for never being dragged to another game against my will ever again.

In the meantime, to take my mind off of admissions committees scrutinizing my applications and resumes, I am in full research mode for Terra Nova, the show I am working on for STF.

Soon I will be a walking encyclopedia for all things Robert Scott and the South Pole. Penguins, seals, sled dogs, ice floes and burgs included. Ship and Royal Navy procedures as well. Oy.

I am excited for this thing to stop being research and start being a show though. I can't wait for auditions and then rehearsal. I need to be involved in something again, I'm going a little stir crazy.

I still think of London often. My friend Katrina is there now and I am devouring her blogs and photos like crazy. It just stirs up in me the renewed desire that I have to return. Take the West End by storm perhaps. Wouldn't that be something.

sigh.

time for bed

So, after days of anxiously waiting to get home to Tacoma, I am finally here and now wondering what to do with myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving being back in my own space (and bed), but there is nothing to do. I've been swearing up and down that starting Monday I will lock myself in the library and go into serious Terra Nova research mode, but that still leaves this weekend and me with nothing to do. Ugh. And I thought things were supposed to be more exciting now that I have my own place and have turned 21.
I already cleaned, changed out all the burnt out light bulbs and deChristmasified (meaning to take down the decorations). My laptop has basically been on since I woke up this morning, but even it can only hold my attention for so long.
I was so desperate to get away from my family (that makes me sound like such a horrible person) and come back home I didn't think about the fact that I would be totally alone. At the time that sounded like the best thing in the entire world. And its not like I haven't done it before, I lived alone this summer. I'm now remembering how lonely that was. At least I had work everyday to at least relieve some of the boredom.
Oh well.
My time in Portland was quite nice. I got in the day of the freak snowstorm and stole outside once it got dark to snap some shots.





If you like these, be sure to check out my deviantArt page, where I keep all the stuff in my portfolio. scarletsaigon.deviantart.com

Happy new decade!

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
Lived entirely by myself. No roommates, no parents, just me. It was lonely at times, but nice to know that I can be completely on my own and be ok.

02. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I've decided I am no longer going to be in the habit of making specific resolutions, but instead generally try to improve on the things I already do on a regular basis. My last years resolution however, was to be less boring. Not sure if I actually achieved that or not, you'd have to ask my friends.

03. Did someone close to you give birth?
nope

04. Did anyone close to you die?
Yes. RIP Heather, you are continually loved and missed

05. What countries did you visit?
Since I went country hopping in 2008, I took 2009 off.

06. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
I would like to have a lack of depression in 2010

07. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Oh man, there were so many. I returned home from being abroad on New Year's eve last year, so that was pretty momentous. Others include doing Celtic Cross, my directing class one-act, turning 21, wandering the streets of Seattle with my intern family, wandering the streets of Seattle with Bryan, buying my car and signing the lease on my apartment.

08. What was your biggest achievement(s) of the year?
Getting out of my after-abroad funk. It took awhile, but I finally feel like I am back to myself again.

09. What was your biggest failure(s)?
Not being more bold. I need to just suck it up and take more chances sometimes.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
oh yes. i had a crash course in Living With An Incurable Disease 101. not great fun I'm afraid.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My car

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Well this is hard because so many people have done such wonderful things for me but I must say Michelle Jones, fearless leader of the PBL crowd has been one incredible influence on my life and the lives of those around me.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
My dad, but that's no surprise.

14. Where did most of your money go?
rent, utilities and my cell phone bill

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Everyone coming home after a summer in Tacoma alone

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
oh goodness, so many. Sons and Daughters I think, it was a summer anthem for Megs and I and then used for Skin. or anything by Kate Nash

17. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
100% happier.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
i wish i had been more spontaneous

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
worrying what everyone else thinks

20. How did you spend Christmas?
my mom, dad, brother, grandmother and uncle. it was nice and low-key

22. Did you fall in love in 2009?
I did not fall in love, but I did love.

23. How many one-night stands?
none, and its gonna stay that way. just not a one-night stand kinda girl

24. What was your favorite TV program?
How I Met Your Mother, hands down

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nope

26. What was the best book you read?
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
The Once soundtrack

28. What did you want and get?
A better grasp on what's to come next

29. What did you want and not get?
respect from a few people

30. Favorite film of this year?
Up In The Air

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I spend the day before my birthday at Sasquatch with Whitney and then spent my actual birthday driving to and from Spokane, though I did get to have lunch with the wonderful Matthew Jackson.

32.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Not falling into depression after coming home from abroad

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
I got slightly more fashion conceious after living in London, but still mostly jeans and hoodies

34. What kept you sane?
My amazing group of friends, I love them so much

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

I'm pretty taken with Jonathan Rhys Myers, I have to say

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Prop8

37. Who do you miss?
everyone who's not with me now

38. Who was the best new person you met?
I would have to say Emily Leong or George, i pretty much adore them both

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009:
Just because you’re good at something it doesn’t mean that you are passionate about it. Always follow your heart. Thanks PBL

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

Hello Seattle, I am a manteray
Deep beneath the blue waves
Ill crawl the sandy bottom of Puget Sound
And construct a summer home
Hello Seattle, I am the crescent moon
Shining down on your face
I will disguise myself as a sleeping pill
And descend inside of you a

or

sitting in restaurants
thought we were so grown up
but i know now that we were not the people that we turned out to be
chatting on the phone cant take back those hours
but i wont regret cause you can grow flowers from where that used to be

sometimes I feel like I am loosing sight of all the people I thought I knew best in this world. Why do people have to change? Or at least, why can't I seem to change along with them? I feel like I am continually the same and am just watching the world change around me.

Where did he go? I don't recognize him half the time anymore. He's hanging out with people he never would have been caught dead with before and whom he has no business spending time around. He's picked up habits he never used to have and says things that sometimes just leave me speechless. I look at him some days and have no idea where he went and who is left in his place.

and it breaks my heart. Can't he see that? Can't he see that he is breaking my heart?

baby, it's cold outside

well, the last time I posted was the first weekend of senior year. Now is the last. my how time flies.

This semester was...different. I encountered many things I never thought I would. And am still going through many of them. We've made it through the first part of STF, announced and managed not to kill one another. That in itself is an amazing feat. I am working with Matthew and Bryan on Ted Tally's Terra Nova as dramaturg. Should be quite the experience.

I am learning how to manage my disease and not overload myself. Saying no is hard, but I'm working on it. Gotta keep that stress level to a minimum. Ha. Got through a nasty bout of flu without landing myself in the hospital, still pretty proud of that accomplishment. Still on a wide assortment of medications, but am managing them well. No liver or kidney complications so far!

Worked on four shows so far this year, so that has been keeping me busy. Did lights for both Town Crier and the UT Sketch Show, did props for The Skin of Our Teeth and directed my first show through the Directing Class One-Acts. All went very well, but am glad to have a bit of a rest before STF is in full production swing. I will probably do the sketch show again and may work on IMF but am not doing the mainstage this spring, which is our once-every-four-years musical.

My next big thing (after finals this week) is finishing up my grad school applications. I am applying to arts leadership/admin programmes at The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago, IL and the School of Theatre and Dance at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL. Both will provide me with a nice culture shock outside of my beloved PWN and have great MFA programmes. It's utterly terrifying to think about next year, and as much as I love being here right now, I'm excited about what my future might hold. The thing most holding me back right now is the thought of all the people I will leave behind here in Tacoma. It breaks my heart to think about not having my beautiful friends around every day. I have been so blessed with the people in my life here.

Though I am doing almost 100% better than before, I still have these massive bouts of missing London. It comes over me in a wave and makes my heart ache. But all this tells me is that I must return someday, I really have no other choice. I left a piece of myself there and must one day go back to reclaim it.

Christmas is nearly upon us once again, and I am excited to spend it with people who speak English this year. I have been baking like mad and got my flat all gussied up with decorations. I'm even looking forward to going home for a week, though am sure will be glad to escape to Portland once New Year's rolls around. I am heading up the 29th or so, to spend Bryan's birthday (the 30th) down there with him and Jenny and then will probably stay around for another week or so before heading back up to Tacoma. I figure that if I am going to pay rent for January, I might as well actually be here. I will spend those two weeks doing intensive research for Terra Nova.

Not too much else to report at this time. Will try and be better about updating this thing, though I doubt anyone reads it anymore.

[massive] life update

it's raining.

hard

and though I've had fantastic music playing for most of the night, this is, currently, the most welcome sound.
i love the rain. I wouldn't be a true Pacific-Northwestern girl if I didn't. Now, thats not to say that I enjoy being caught in it unexpectedly (though that can be fun), but I love sitting in my living room or laying in bed, listening to it hit the roof, pitter-pattering away. I'm always reminded of that rain song in Bambi.
We had Log Jam (club and activities fair here at UPS) on Friday and it rained on and off throughout the whole thing. Most people were [understandably] upset. It was ruining their posters/signs and the blow-up toys needed to be taken down. I, on the other hand, loved every second of it. I felt that Tacoma was just giving a true welcome to all our new freshmen, and reminding them that this is what normal is like and not to get used to the sun.
___

Holy freaking-a.
I am a senior.
No more denying it. the shite has hit the fan. I am a week into my senior year of undergrad.
where, oh where did the last three years go?
my very first class this semester was our Monday STF meeting and that just completely cemented it. Though the majority of us have worked on STF shows before and basically know how it all works, there is something so very strange about being on this side of the process. And we have barely even begun!
I only have classes on Tuesday/Thursdays this semester (plus our two hours on Monday afternoons for STF). It's very strange. And long, as I have all three in a huge block from 9:30-14:00. That is a large chunk of time to be sitting and taking notes, let me tell you.
But, I am uberexcited about said classes this year. I am taking Directing, Theatre History III (we are focusing on Suzan-Lori Parks and August Wilson) and Passion-Based Leadership. It should be a good term.

____

I should have mentioned it a while ago I suppose (but then again, does anyone actually read this thing?) this summer I spent with a bunch of doctors, getting tested for various auto-immune diseases. It has been confirmed that I do have one, but since my blood results keep coming back either negative or inconclusive, I still don't have a firm diagnosis. Which has been exceedingly frustrating. I am on 5 different kinds of medication and as far as I can tell, the doctors keep going back and forth between early-onset RA or Lupus. Both suck. but what sucks more is not actually knowing which it is. People keep trying to tell me that simply having a name for it won't make a difference, but for me it will. It would put my mind so much more at ease, being able to name is awful thing that is (both literally and figuratively) tearing me apart. I am a 21 year old in an 80 year-old's body. and it SUCKS.

____

because of said aforementioned disease, I had to take an early leave of the internship I was doing this summer, which was awful because it was so much fun. I worked as the props master for the Taproot Theatre Company in Seattle (Greenwood area). I made so many amazing friends and really enjoyed doing theatre that was outside of UPS. It was nice to see that theses guys are doing what they love and making a living off of it. They were also so very supportive when I broke the news to them. They have my unending love and gratitude for all the compassion they showed me and all the great things they had to teach as well. I miss them everyday.

____

I can't tell you how excited I am to have all of my friends back on campus finally. Being in Tacoma without them here just constantly felt like something was missing. I kept in good touch with everyone, but it wasn't the same. I hated having my best friends so far away. Though V was close, I sadly didn't make it down to Portland at all. And Bryan wound up all the way on the East Coast, working at a boy's summer camp near Boston. Emily went home to California and Matthew was chilling in Spokane. Claire made it back to Northern Ireland, and though I missed them all terribly, I loved that they all got to have such exciting summers. I am also thankful that I had Megan here with me the whole time. We had many frozen-yogurt adventures. I would have gone crazy without her.

____

though there is a ton more to fill you in on dear readers (ha), it is now nearly 2:30 and I should get some much-needed sleep.

fresh dreams to you all.

holy crap, July is almost gone...

Highlights of the last week or so:

• Amelia and Travis are all moved in. I like having people around again, its nice to know I'm not going home to an empty house, yet again.
  
  
• My brother came for a short visit- he will not be invited back. what a little brat
  
  
• I got a new bed! It's a queen, which I am super stoked about as I have slept in the same twin for the last 15 years or so.
  
  
• Had to get a new distributor for Gloria (my Camry). 4 hours, $400 and a missed day of work later I was on my way. that is the second time this car has left me stranded in Seattle when I really needed to get back to Tacoma. Ugh
  
  
• Had a bunch of blood drawn and sent to a lab for a panel of screenings to find out what the hell is wrong with my joints. Hopefully it won't be anything too serious. I'm starting to get really scared.
  
  
• LOVING my Taproot intern family. We've been making an effort to spend more time together as interns outside of working with the kids and its been a blast. I could not have picked a better group of people to work with. I love them all. It will be sad to see the summer come to a close and have us scatter around the country again, back to our respective schools.
  Last Saturday we bummed around the Seattle Center for the Bite, then saw Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming at Taproot and finished the evening at the Pig'N'Whistle for a drink with Debbie, one of the musical teachers and the SM for SOTMH. Last night we walked in the Greenwood SeaFair parade with some of the little kids and then went down to Gasworks for a show that was celebrating the new moon. It was so much fun! We had a wild and crazy adventure getting down there, which involved much yelling at a GPS system we named Bernice. We finished up the night with burgers, fries and chocolate shakes at Dicks and quick visit to the Freemont Troll (though we need to go back in the daylight). All in all an excellent night!
  

long time no type

If anyone is still actually checking to see if I update this thing, I once again humbly beg your pardon and offer up the only excuse I have: I suck at this. I [once again] promise to be better. Now that one of my jobs involves a lot of computer time, I should be better about it.

Things that are new/have changed since I updated last:

• think I have finally adjusted as much as possible at coming back from London. [About time, huh?] I still miss it every day, but I am not pinning like I was before. and I was even able to sit through an entire movie set in London without needing to turn it off and go cry into my pillow.
• finished my junior year of college and watched as a ton of my friends graduated from UPS and entered the real world. now I'm the senior, and boy-howdy, does that feel strange to say.
• turned 21, went to Sasquatch with Whitney to celebrate and got a new [to me at least] car from my folks. Aaron got me a toaster (which i was actually quite excited about as Tiffany took hers when she moved out).
• as stated above, Tiffany moved out and I have been living by myself for the last month or so. Amelia and Travis will be here in about a week though, so a new roommate adventure will begin.
• I'm [obviously] living in Tacoma for the summer for the first time, which has been interesting so far. Very weird not to have everyone around. Campus is empty, but not (camps coming in and out). I miss having my friends around, not scattered around the country/globe. I will be very excited for them to move back at the end of August.
• have two on-campus jobs and an internship up in Seattle. I work 20 hr/week at CHWS and 10 hr/week at the bookstore. Then four days a week I commute up to North Seattle for my props internship at the Taproot Theatre Company. So far I love it, but am already tired of all the driving. My only downtime during the week is on I-5. It's nice, albeit strange, to have weekends free though.
• my laptop broke, and my mother informed me that she ordered me a macbook this morning as a [very early] graduation present. Sometimes i forget how much I love her.
  
• my baby brother turns 17 in four days- totally freaking me out. The fact that he will be a senior is scarier than that I am going to be. We will graduate within 3 weeks of each other next spring.
• I am still researching grad schools. I think Alabama is out, as they broke off with the Alabama Shake, which is what really drew me to the programme. Instead I am looking more closely at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts school of Production and Design. I still feel quite pulled to go south. But I am also really drawn to The Theatre School at DePaul in Chicago too. Guess it will come down to who wants to give me more money.

Can't think of much else at the moment, but will be sure to let you know when I do.
Excited for the long weekend- Megs and I are road-tripping over to Spokane to hangout with the Jackson family for the 4th. I'm excited.

happy fireworks to you all!

I've spent the last however-long-it's-been-since-i-last-updated-thing-thing terrified to even read back over what I last wrote because I cannot stand the fact that I am not still in London.
I love my life in Tacoma- I have amazing, incredible, wouldn't-trade-them-for-the-world friends who surround me with more love and support than I will ever deserve, but it kills me every day that I am not still in London.
The transition back is the hardest thing I have ever gone [and am still going] through.
I spent a lot of time while over there wishing to be back in Tacoma and now I spend every day wishing I was in London.
Life is just a bitch that way.

I thank God every day for Megan, Matthew, Kate, Bryan and Claire. If I had gone on this programme by myself and not had people back home to share things with, I would not have been able to do this. They keep me going and I am so blessed to have them as my friends.

I was continually told that going abroad would change me. But really, I think it's coming back that has changed me the most.

I'm looking at grad schools now and have an overwhelming desire to go South. Because what conquers change better than even more change? Alabama here I come

Change is inevitable, right?

So I have been back in the States for exactly two weeks today.
And the entire time I've had it shoved down my throat how hard it is going to be to come back. How different things are/are going to be. How much I and other people have changed.

At the moment I feel like I am in some sort of strange limbo--nothing really has changed at home. So all of those warnings just seem stupid and like they don't apply to me.
But in three days (!!!) I return to Tacoma and pick back up on my real life. And I know things have changed there. I know people have changed. I know I have changed. But since it's not staring me in the face at the moment, I don't want to acknowledge it.

To be honest, I am terrified to return to school. I left UPS with firm sense of identity there. I knew where I belonged, who my friends were and what I did. And while in London, the first few weeks all I could think about was getting back to that life that I knew and felt so comfortable in. But slowly, London became my life. And now going back to UPS is scaring the shite outa me and all I can think of is returning to London and what became my life there. I saw the same 14 girls (plus matthew) everyday and its weird to be on my own again. Not to mention no longer sharing a room with Meg.

I guess I just don't know wethere I am scared about not fitting back into my life, or too easily slipping back in. Things did change while I was abroad. And I really like the majority of those changes, especially the ones in myself. I don't want to lose that by going back to who I was, as comfortable as that might have been.

Guess we'll just have to wait and see, huh? 3 days and counting....

Out with the old, in with 2009

So I'm not great at this updating thing. Not that this is news to anyone that actually knows me. But, that is one (of many) on the list of resolutions I have made for 2009.

• Update this blog and my journal faithfully
• Keep my room/house clean
  
• Go to the gym on a regular basis
• Write things down in my planner/ better time management
  
• Cut out all unnecessary stress (ha! we'll see how long this one lasts)
• Embrace the changes in myself and don't simply revert to who I used to be

New Year's was rather uneventful for me- mostly because I kind of missed it. I tried to stay up, but my jet lag got the best of me and I was out by about 9:30. But hey, there's always next year, right?

Going back in time a little bit; I never did write about my trip home. Thankfully, it was rather uneventful. I flew from Trondheim to Amsterdam and then on to London, where I actually went back to Harrow for the night. It was so good to see my English family again, even if only for a few hours. and nice to sleep in my bed again, instead of spending the night in Heathrow. The only down side to this was that I had to get up and be on the 140 bus by 5am to make it back to the airport for my 8:30am flight. Then they couldn't find my ticket info (stupid KLM; never flying with them again). It was a mess. Finally got it sorted out and I was on my way back to Amsterdam and then onto Seattle. It was a long flight, with me leaving Amsterdam at 1:30pm and landing in Seattle at 2:30pm, with almost 10 hours inbetween. And let me tell you, 10 hours is a LONG time to sit next to a very talkative Dutch lady. I now know just about everything about her life. Everytime I thought she was done and I would turn away and put my headphones in, she would tap my shoulder and motion me to take them out again. Ugh. She was nice, but very annoying.
I was so excited to finally land in Seattle; turns out I picked a perfect day to fly in. Sunny, though very cold. And it was so nice to see my mom again. We grabbed my bags and drove straight home. Not only did I pick a perfect day to land in Seattle, but a perfect day to drive over the pass. It closed again the next day, though it was dry and bare for us. It was about 7:30pm WA time when we got home, but 4:30am for me. I was wiped. But I stayed up until Dad came home and then we did Christmas presents right away before I passed out. Unfortunetly I was up at 6am the next morning, because my body thought it was three in the afternoon and time to get my lazy butt outa bed. ugh.
And here it is, a week later and I am still waking up early. at least if I keep this up, it wont be hard to get up for classes!

Christmas part II

I left off on the 26th...Boxing Day to some, Second Christmas Day to the Norwegians.
This time the family came to Grandma and Jan's house, about 20 people in all. Grandma cooked for at least 40. We had a whole extra ham that didn't even get cut into! Good thing I love left-overs! The highlight of this night was the white elephant gift exchange. I started out with a hamburger patty shaper (don't ask) and finished with a big box of chocolate bars, which I was more than happy with, as it just means less for me to buy! It was still kind of hard to be sitting in a room where you don't understand 90% of what is being said, but all in all it was a fun night.

The 27th was another shopping day: returning stuff that didn't fit and buying anything else that I wanted to take home with me. We had dinner at IKEA (such amazing meatballs!) and tried not to think about the fact that I was leaving soon. I spent most of the next day packing (and weighing and repacking and weighing again) and just hanging around the house. We had leftovers and oh, they were just as good. I don't think I will ever tire of turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberries and gravy. One of the best meals ever. Then it was to bed, as we had to leave the house by 10ish to get to the airport in enough time; no sleeping in until noon that day!

My flight went really well, but that is for the next post. All in all, I had a great time in Norway and do not at all regret going, though I did miss my family. Trondheim is a beautiful city and I can see why my grandmother loves it so much there.

God Jul!

So this is long overdue, but you can blame it on being busy with Christmas stuff.
Where to even start...how about with a belated God Jul (happy christmas) to you all!!

The perfect Christmas house, no?


Christmas is a lengthy process here. We started Christmas eve morning by meeting the family (when I say the family I mean Jan's kids and grandkids, the Norwegian family) at Adel's-Jan's first wife- grave. She died about 20 years ago from cancer. They decorate her grave with a christmas wreath and candles and wish her a happy christmas. its very sweet. After that we went to Tommy's (jan's son) for Risgrot and Glugg (rice porridge and a hot punch type drink). It was nice, but not exactly to my taste.
Then we went back to the house for a few hours before church at four. It was a nice service, but entirely in Norwegian, so I didn't understand a thing. But it was also very short, only about a half hour, so it wasn't too bad.
After church we went to Heidi's (jan's daughter) for dinner. It was us three, Heidi's family of 6 and Tommy and his son Dennis. All speaking Norwegian a mile a min and me sitting and staring at my food. I hate not being able to understand. And I always look like the grinch with no sense of humour when everybody laughs at something but me, because I have no idea what was said. Anyways, we ate a wonderful dinner of ribs and then opened gifts. It was nice, at least the part I understood.
Julinessen family

Christmas day opened with Grandma yelling at me to wake up- I remember when I used to wake up the adults, when did that switch?!? But I finally rolled outa bed and opened my stocking. She spoils me rotten, lemme tell ya. I love it.
We got dressed and ready for the day and then went to Nina's (jan's other daughter) for lunch. Basically a repeate of me staring at my food while not understanding what is said around me. Good eats though. After we left there, that was pretty much it for Christmas day. The big party was on the 26th actually, what they call "Second Christmas Day." Grandma started cooking up a storm, as everyone was coming here.

I am exhausted, so will finish this up tomorrow.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Happy shortest day of the year to you all; the sun started to set at 2pm today. Slightly depressing, but thankfully it will only get better from now on.

I am happy to report that after many weeks of awful brown grow-out, I am finally back to being a redhead again. I smell strongly of ammonia, but couldn't be happier- it's even curling nicely!!

At the moment I am sitting in Grandma and Jan's living room watching a massive snow storm outside- its beautiful! And if this keeps up, it looks like I may get my white Christmas after all.[The front of Grandma and Jan's house- though there is much more snow now!]

This afternoon I rode along with Jan and we played the Julenissen (Norwegian version of Father Christmas; basically the Christmas elf) and delivered gifts and doughnuts to Jan's two daughters and grandkids. Doughnuts are a big Christmas treat here and grandma out did herself and made them from scratch. Delicious!

The Julenissen is actually quite fascinating. Unlike Santa Clause, Julenissen can be a spiteful little bugger. He will gladly leave you a Christmas present in exchange for a nice bowl of Christmas porridge, but if the Norwegian kiddies forget to leave him some porridge, he will make their crops fail and their cattle barren. Or worse.

In Norway, you do not screw with the nissen (the Julenissen is simply one of many different kinds of nissen).Still, we should pity the little Christmas dude, because he's being pushed aside by American cultural imperialism, and is turning into the Santa Claus, who is unbearably jolly and whose most interesting sin is leaving lumps of coal lying around. One interesting fact I have learned while being here is that the Norwegian people tend to place most of the blame for Santa on the Coca-Cola company and its Christmas comercials. huh



God Jul (Happy Christmas) to all!

Prepare yourself, this one is a bit whiney

When I first planned this visit to Norway, I thought about how happy it would make my grandma to spend Christmas with her over here. She is always begging us to come visit and it just seemed like perfect timing.
But I did not realise how much it would suck not to spend the holiday at home. This will be my first xmas without my family-ever. I know I complain about them a lot, but Christmas is time for families and I really miss mine. More than I ever thought I would. And not only them, but I miss all the familiar things about home, especially now at Christmas time. I miss how beautiful my house looks all decorated and having a real christmas tree. I miss baking cookies with my mom. I miss all the familiar things and decorations that come out once a year, for all of my years.

And there is snow in the TC! It hardly ever snows in December. Not to mention the snow in Portland and Tacoma too! I hate that I am missing the washington snow. Though there is pleanty of it here, its just not the same.

So as not to finish this out with all my negative nacy-ing let me say this:
Norway is beautiful. I know how blessed I am to be here and who knows how long it will be until I come back. It is also really nice to see my grandma in her reguarl habitat and the chocoalte here is WAY better than in the US. When you see me next, ask if I have any left, I will be happy to share, though I can't promise I won't have eaten it all ;-)

While there isn't a lot of light here...

the dark can be just as beautiful. Trondheim only gets about 4 hours of daylight, since its in the northern part of Norway, but they sure do know how to light up the night.


The Christmas decorations are so pretty. Not many people put lights on the outside of their houses, but every window has a star lantern hanging in it. They are made of tin and have the most beautiful designs. And while there is a very festive tree in the photo above, tradition states that families don't put up their trees until the 23rd.

We went to this little Christmas market downtown- mostly selling food and gifts. It was a lot like the Cologne market on the South Bank.




Norway is the land of trolls. I love trolls. Most people think them ugly, but I've always been fascinated by them. While this guy was way expensive, I hope I can find a little one to bring home.
As well as trolls, Norway also boasts several different nissen, which are more like elves. The most popular is the Julenissen, or what we would call Santa Clause or Father Christmas. There is a unique distinction between a julenissen and Santa, mostly that our Santa is much nicer and if you piss off a nissen you will get what you deserve in the end.
and I dont mean a pile of coal...


More pretty pictures:





the view from my Grandma's house- you can just make out the fjord in the background. Isn't it pretty? This was taken at about 2:30pm, just before the sun started to set, which is why the mountains are a bit pinkish.

And so it ends...

I am currently sitting in the guest bedroom of my grandmother's house in Trondheim where I will be spending the next two weeks before a last night in London on my way into Seattle.
Still hard to believe I am even here. Time in London went so fast. The last 72 hours were an amazing mixture of stress (ew, finals), drinks (yay, finals are done!) and sad goodbyes to amazing people (why can't you all go to UPS?!?)
Here are some of the highlights of our goodbye party at the Rugby, nights out at the Fat Controller (our pub in Harrow) and a last dance party:















I still haven't really had time to process it all. My time in London is over. Holy crap. And i have no doubt that these next two weeks in Norway will go just as fast as the last three months did. I am still sad to be missing Christmas with my family and friends, but I am already in love with Trondheim- its just so pretty here! (not that it holds a candle to my beautiful London-I shall return!!)

More as my Norwegian adventures continue. Love and miss you all

Two exams down...

one more and a play to write.
then i pack up all my crap
then two weeks in Norway
back to the states
two weeks in the TC plus a few days in Portland
move into my apartment in Tacoma on 15 January!!!!

what a fun sexy time for us

So one of the best things about being in London is sharing it with some of the most amazing friends a girl could ask for. They are also very, very attractive. Case in point:


















But no matter how ugly we may get, I love them dearly and wouldn't want to share this with anyone else.