Whatever, my monday mission:

1. Now that the weather (in America, that is) is getting nice and warm, what have you been looking forward to doing the most?
The weather is nice and warm here, too. In fact, it’s almost too nice and warm. What have I been looking forward to? Barbeques. Someone please invite me for one?

2. On Easter, I had to run around all day visiting family. It turned what was supposed to be a special day and turned me into one big stress-ball. Do you enjoy spending time with your family (parents, siblings, etc.) or do you prefer to see them now and then?
My parents and brother, yes. The rest of the lot, I can contain my enthusiasm. It’s nice to see them, but not for too long in one go…

3. Did your parents play along with the whole “Easter Bunny” legend? Did you eventually figure it out or did someone tell you? How did that make you feel?
It’s not something we do (or did) in Norway. They probably wouldn’t have anyway, they never played along with the Santa Claus thing.

4. This isn’t necessarily a religious question (although it certainly can be if you’d like), but what does “Easter” mean to you personally?
Time off. Very secular. But then I do also believe in the whole “Died on the cross for our sins” and “And on the third day…” schebang, so, not so secular after all…

5. When I was a kid, we didn’t have plastic Easter Eggs (except for those that came with Mom’s L’eggs pantyhose), so we always hid real eggs. One Easter I remember I threw away a broken egg in my bedroom trash can and it took me weeks before I realized why my room smelled like something died in there. Do you have any funny or memorable Easter stories?
No. I still have the egg (plastic) I got for my fifth birthday, though. It was kept and refilled every Easter until I moved away from home. Now, unfortunately, I have to fill it myself if I want something in it.

6. I currently watch way, way too many TV shows. In fact, I feel some relief that some are being cancelled or are ending because I just can’t give any of them up. Is there anything you do too much of and just can’t stop?
Eat chocolate. Drink coffee. Procrastinate.

7. Long ago, I took a leadership seminar. At one point the leader gave his philosphy on life: the three things that matter most in life are “your family, your religion and your job, and what they mean to you.” Would you agree? What are the three things that matter most in life?
I agree, sort of. The only qualification I’d add is change it to “Family and friends”. Oh, and books. Books are important. I suppose you could call it “Art” rather than books, but it’s important.

I’ve found a way to beat my parents at Trivial Pursuit: Play the US edition and get this question for the green (Sports and Leisure) pie: What sport has games that may last three days and has breaks for tea? Just playing the US edition seems to work quite well, as they have problems understanding the questions, it’s something about the way they are phrased, but I need to get the green pie to win and, let me tell you, “Jo DiMaggio” is not actually the correct answer to all the baseball questions.

Aside: I’m more nearly convinced that I might be in love when he’s not around. Is that good or bad? I certainly seem to spend an disproportional amount of time thinking about him. So if you’ve seen me over Easter and I’ve seemed to be largely absent, that is why. Nevermind. Back to the here and now:

Jane and I are in the middle of watching Bridget Jones. We went for a walk last night and somehow ended up in The Churchill, so by the time we got back our plans for seeing the film were a bit hampered by the amount of alchohol consumed combined with the fact that, as mentioned earlier, we’ve both been exhausted by ten every night and it was now closer to midnight. So. We’ll have to try to see the rest today. Mr. Darcy was just gearing up to be dishy (no pun intended) in the kitchen helping with the blue soup, and we don’t want to miss that.

Prior to that, though, we are planning to get some fresh polluted air. The weather is still amazing (it was still 18 degrees out when we went out after eight yesterday evening, it looks like we’ll have the same sort of temperatures today), there is a possibility that this is the Norwegian summer this year (I’ve known summer to come in May and stay for two weeks and then degenerate into something resembling autumn for the rest of June, July and August, but April is quite extreme, even for Norway) so it’s best to enjoy it while it lasts. Besides, it’s back to work tomorrow. So we’re going to attempt to get a bus up to where the Akerselva starts at Maridalsvannet and walk along the river for as far as we can be bothered. It should be quite good.

Voice in my head: I woke up with Ainsley singing Don’t Get Me Wrong in my head, and he hasn’t stopped yet, despite VH1 being on in the background.

Ah, how lovely to be back in the city and breathe some exhaust… The weather has been criminally good over Easter and we’ve been trampling around in the forest and breathing unpolluted air so that by nine in the evening we’ve been well and truly ready for some sleep. Of course, going to bed before ten means waking up before seven (at least it does if you’re me) and so the next day, eight in the evening sees me yawning my head off. Oh well.

Voice in my head: What a Girl Wants (who sings it? Don’t tell me, I don’t really want to know. Going to put some music on now to (hopefully) supersede it.)

This or that?

1. File taxes as early as possible, or wait until the last possible minute?
I do everything at the last possible minutes, so why not taxes?

2. File electronically, or mail paper forms?
Electronically, of course.

3. Prepare your own taxes, or have someone do it for you?
Well, the authorities pretty much does it for me, I just sort of glance at the numbers and check that they look allright…

4. Are you a saver or a spender?
Oh, spender, definitely.

5. Do you prefer to carry cash, or pay with plastic (credit/debit cards), or by check?
Plastic.

6. You’re broke and desperately need a job, but the only places that are hiring are retail or fast food places. Which would you pick?
Retail. Fast food, urgh.

7. Keeping track of your money: are you more meticulous or careless about it?
Careless…

8. What do you do if you find yourself with a lot of change weighing down your purse/pocket/wallet? Do you try to spend it to *get rid of it*, or do you put it in a jar or a piggy bank?
I make sure I pay with small change next time I have a chance, but I don’t go out of my way to buy something in order to get rid of it.

9. Which form of fake money do you like better…Monopoly money or those chocolate coins covered with gold foil?
Chocolate. Mmm. Chocolate.

10. Thought-provoking question of the week: You find a wallet containing $5,000 in cash, as well as several credit cards and the owner’s drivers’ license. Your rent is due tomorrow and you’re short $200. Do you take the money (some or all of it) and mail back the wallet anonymously…or do you return the wallet with all contents intact?
Return it intact, and hope for a finder’s fee…

It’s going to be expensive to be restless if my walks are going to start ending up at Bar & Cigar with a couple of whiskies. Oh, well. At least I got to read the Saturday edition of Dagens Næringsliv for free (though, granted, it would have been a lot cheaper just to buy the stupid paper).

I came back home to see the not unexpected but still disappointing exit of Ainslie from Fame Academy, and experienced a moment of panic as I realised next week’s showdown is the showdown. “But, but, but… I’m not going to be here! I’m not going to be anywhere near a tv, not to mention a tv with BBC Prime! And I don’t have a VCR! Help!” The panic subsided as I realised I’d be back here in time for the rerun Sunday afternoon. Phew.

There’s nothing on television tonight either. What’s up with that?

And I’m still restless. But no, I’m not going for another walk. Not today.

Voice on the stereo: Voice of the Beehive – I Say Nothing

55 channels and nothing on. I kid you not. There’s a Parky I’ve already seen and that’s it. And I am restless as hell anyway, so it might be that which makes every single programme seem unutterably boring.

Then again I got hold of Marc Almond “Treasure Box” second-hand today, so I can play Something’s Gotten Hold of my Heart over and over again at full blast.

Still. Restless.

Perhaps I should go for a walk. It’s not exactly warm outside, but I could wrap up.

Voice on the stereo: (you guessed it) Marc Almond – Something’s Gotten Hold of my Heart

Yesterday was good. Lots of people said Happy Birthday. I got things done at work. I left work at a reasonable time. I managed to book a table at The Dubliner, in the nick of time as they were almost full up. I bought myself a bottle of Ardbeg 17 yr old at Oslo City. Free Record Shop at Gunerius had started selling Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets a day early (are they allowed to do that?) so I now have the DVD. Yay. I almost walked on to the set of Mors Elling when I got home, and got to see one take, which was kinda cool (seeing it, that is, the take in itself was pretty boring). The new Nemi magazine was in my mailbox when I got home. Fame Factory was on and I had pizza and Strongbow. I did a bit of sewing and lounged around a bit. Had some birthday phonecalls. I even did the washing up. Great day, in fact.

The only thing that didn’t behave quite as expected was the weather. My almost perfect track record now has a flaw. Boo-hoo. It was fine for most of the day, but when I got home there was snow in the air. Not a lot, but still… Snow! I ask you! This is April, for goodness sake! Overnight the ground has actually gone white, and it’s snowing out now as well. It won’t stick, of course, but it’s a bit disappointing. Not only had I decided that spring was well and truly here, which I will now have to reconsider, but why did it have to start yesterday? The weather is always nice on my birthday. I can remember it raining a bit in the afternoon once in ten years or so. In Worthing three years ago it was ridiculous – it had been rainy and cold and sleety and windy and unpleasant for days. My birthday arrives. I’m on the couch with a cold, not stirring outdoors, but the weather? Bright, bright sunshine. Next day it was back to sleet and wind. But, as I said, that track record is looking less good following yesterday’s return to winter. Oh, well. One can’t have everything, I suppose. But if I am to go by the saying my grandmother insisted on, viz. “if the weather is nice on your birthday it means you’ve been good all year”, what, I wonder, have I done this year that is so particularly bad?

Voice in my head: Van Morrison – Brown Eyed Girl

From the American version of Pop Idol, some people are just fated to have their dreams shattered…

It may be wrong to laugh, but really, one can’t help oneself sometimes.

Voice in my head: well, you know… (please! someone! play something else before I go mad)

This week’s Friday Five:

1. What was the first band you saw in concert?
Band? Well, I saw Lillebjørn Nilsen on the Orginal Nilsen tour in, hm, must’ve been 1983 or something. I think I was twelve. Might’ve been earlier.

2. Who is your favorite artist/band now?
Pick one, you mean? Nilsen is still a favourite.

3. What’s your favorite song?
Favourite song, ever? These questions do not get any easier as we go along, do they? Possibly You Win Again (The Bee Gees)

4. If you could play any instrument, what would it be?
Guitar, it’s portable and good for sing-alongs…

5. If you could meet any musical icon (past or present), who would it be and why?
Bach. I’d like to hear him play his own music.

(Well, apart from the letter from the tax office.)

Sunniva sent me this:

Voice in my head: Billy Ocean – Love Really Hurst Without You