Sunday is clear, I see. Good. It’s staying that way (if the world knocks, let it know I’ll be unavailable for comments until Monday morning).

I said. Ha ha.

Well. It appears I’m going sailing Sunday. Good. I think.

(20 minutes – more since the painkiller – and my head’s no better. This is fun. Not.)

Yesterday I took an anti-histamine, which meant that in the afternoon I was really drowsy and had to warn the karate teacher that I might be a little unfocused (I did alright, though, I think). Today I didn’t taken an anti-histamine, though I probably should have, but instead I seem to be reacting to the changing athmospheric pressure or something. I’ve had this almost-headachey feeling in my forehead all day, and my eyebrows keep twitching uncontrollably whenever I look at the screen, which makes it darn difficult to concentrate. I’ve succumbed and taken pain-killers, despite there being no actual pain, just a vague discomfort, in the hope that it will help in some way. So far today I have edited one (1) line of code and spent ten minutes explaining how a function works to one of the guys in support. Unless it clears up in the next half hour or so – which would allow me to put in a good, oh, 90 minutes’ work before I go – the day will have been a complete wash-out. Not good. One of the guys in the office is 60 today and there is cake. I don’t want any. That’s how icky I’m feeling.

I’ve got way too much on my plate at the moment. It’s this social life I seem to have suddenly aquired, it’s going to be the death of me, I swear. A quick glance at my calendar, and I seem to have Friday night free (potentially), except I’m making Tapas for Saturday night, so I guess a bit of preparation may be in order. Sunday is clear, I see. Good. It’s staying that way (if the world knocks, let it know I’ll be unavailable for comments until Monday morning). The following weeks all seem pretty much packed already. In fact, the first week with nothing planned is the one starting 14 July. And I am not the sort of person who plans stuff ahead of time, so this really is extreme.

In the meantime, half a minute of relaxation reading the daily Pondus:

(“I wish I could talk, then I could explain everything.” “I was insane at the moment of action.”)

Voice in my head: Macy Gray – Relating to a Psychopath

One year ago today we were told the office would be downsized.

So we’re going for a drink this afternoon to toast our old boss (thanks for kicking us out, we pretty much all wanted to leave anyway).

And afterwards there’s the NMWL meeting. I’ll be in a right state tomorrow morning unless I can exercise (correct word) some self-control.

We’ll see.

Voice in my head: Lillebjørn Nilsen – Fort gjort å glemme

This made very little sense to me (and the extrovert part is blatant nonsense), but what the heck.

Conscious self	Overall self

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And how did we get here? (Though Grumpy Bear is kinda cute.)

Gay Bear

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I can see this. I think. (*grin*)

You’re the Cheshire Cat. Your mysterious aura and your penchant for riddles keep your friends guessing. You dislike staying too long in any one place. Your advice is always sound, if somewhat enigmatic. The sum total of this is that people are always following you and you just WANT TO GET AWAY!

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But this? This I can definitely live with…

You are the Figher Femme

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More potpourri this or that

1. Large or small family?
Preference or actual? Going with actual: My family is small. Both my parents are only children and both my mother’s parents are dead, so when we all get together there’s a whopping six of us. To extend it beyond grandparents would be ridiculous in the other direction, my grandparents all have at least 5 siblings, and most of those have kids and grandkids and great grandkids. Preference? Well, I wouldn’t know, would I?

2. Potato chips or pretzels?
Popcorn

3. House or apartment?
I’d like a house with a garden, but I’d have to have the money, not just for the house but to pay a gardener (my motto as regards gardening: The easiest thing to grow in a garden is tired).

4. Zebras or giraffes?
Giraffes. One of the (many) things I collect is giraffes, but only specifically the kind that are made for very small children out of rubbery plastic.

5. Candles or potpourri?
Candles.

6. Flowers or trees?
Both. I love trees, though.

7. Right or left-handed?
Right-handed.

8. Model trains or dolls/stuffed animals?
For what? I guess the latter, I’ve never even had a model train.

9. Comedy or drama?
Depends on my mood. And on the piece. Bad comedy or good drama? Obviously the latter. Good comedy or bad drama? Take a wild guess…

10. Thought-provoking question of the week: The city of Boston has recently banned smoking in all restaurants and bars. Would you want to see such a law passed in your city/town/country, or not?
Well, they’re talking (the Storting, that is) about such a law for the whole of Norway, and it looks like it might come into force from the new year. I’m in favour for purely selfish reasons. I don’t even care much whether passive smoking is damaging to health or not (I mean, I’d care if it were proven that it were, but I’d still be in favour of a ban if it weren’t), I think breathing cigarette smoke is uncomfortable, it makes me cough, and it makes your clothes (and hair and skin) stink, and I can’t see why I should have to put up with it. Of course, I also think they should ban mobiles set to anything but “silent” in restaurants and on public transport, and I’m sure I can think of other reasonably harmless but annoying things that I think ought to be banned…

The BBC (you’ve gotta love it) have been doing something they call “The Beeb’s big read”, and people have been voting for their best-loved novel. The resulting list, as Tinka observes:

Unlike most lists, this has been compiled not by experts but by the viewing public. That alone ensures some hiliarity: Joyce’s Ulysses next to Jeffrey Archer’s Kain and Abel?

But then, if I extract the list of 47 that I have read (or even of somewhat less – 39 – that I have read and enjoyed) I still get Ulysses next to Kane and Abel. So who am I to complain?

I once had someone ask me the question “do you want to be my girlfriend” with the somewhat unusual wording: “I’d like to ask the question in song 9 on the Shania Twain album” – which might have been more effective if I’d remembered which song was number 9 (to his defense, in the circumstances it wasn’t quite such an obscure wording as it may sound, had I been awake, alert and totally sober I would probably have known).

On second thought, the question might have been meant a little more directly (“Voulez-vous couchez avec moi ce soir?”, or similar) as the song in question is “If You Wanna Touch Her – Ask“. It makes no difference whatsoever, as the answer was “No” in any case. Yet another perfectly nice bloke which, for some reason, completely failed to interest me on that level (sorry). At least I managed to handle it reasonable well (i.e. we were still talking the last time I checked).

That wasn’t the point, though. I’m sure I had a point when I started writing this. Ah, yes, I remember now…

I was listening to the song in question yesterday and thinking about the aforementioned occasion (as you do), and realised that, though Shania definitely has a point, there is something to be said for the somewhat more direct approach. Not that it would be advisable to disregard signals sent (if she recoils with a look of disgust on her face when you accidentally touch hands, you might want to give the whole thing up as a bad job), but I’m not sure that the bloke in question wouldn’t have been better off just attempting to kiss me rather than ask permission (in a rather cryptic way – which gave me a perfect excuse to say “can we talk about it tomorrow?”, close the door and sleep on the problem of how to say “No” nicely). I’m not saying we’d now be married with kids and a dog, but I might have been shocked into believing it could work for a while, whereas instead I had time to panic and realise that this was really not what I wanted (as usual I had probably been – in my way – flirting recklessly, so he could be forgiven for expecting a different answer). If you’re setting yourself up for rejection anyway, a “May I kiss you” might just result in a “No” and is pretty much guaranteed to stop the conversation dead, whereas an actual attempt will at least give you both something to say (“I’m sorry” and “Don’t worry about it, I’m flattered, really” or “How dare you! Never try something like that again!” respectively), and you might get at least one proper kiss out of it. Besides, I’ve never quite figured out how one gets from a “May I kiss you” – “Yes” situation to an actual, reasonably natural kiss, either. Who starts? Is one supposed to just stand there and wait for him to continue, or does one “prepare oneself”. How would one prepare oneself? Pout one’s lips? How ridiculous would that look? (Not enough practice, that’s what it is.) Asking for permission places the ball a little too firmly in the other person’s court. And if the court in question is mine, this is a bad idea. I am not a touchy-feely person. I don’t place my hand on people’s arm in the course of conversation. And though I like being hugged, I just don’t start hugs naturally myself, apart from situations where I’m saying hello or goodbye to my family or close friends (and even then I sometimes have to make an effort to remember that I’m “supposed to”). In any other situation, my brother is the only person I will initiate a hug with. So expecting me to handle a question like that with equanimity is about as realistic as – uhm, I was going to say snow in June, but that does happen in Norway – whatever unrealistic, when hell freezes over and pigs fly kind of thing you can think of. That’s how unrealistic it is.

And apart from all that, every girl likes to be swept off her feet now and again.

Voice in my head: Alanis Morisette – Precious Illusions

It’s monday, I guess…

1. This seems to be the year for movie sequels (Terminator 3, Matrix Reloaded, 2 Fast 2 Furious, LOTR: The Return of the King, etc.). Is there a movie you would like to see Hollywood make a sequel to?

I’d like to see the second Bridget Jones movie – The Edge of Reason – though I can’t quite figure out how they are supposed to do it.

2. What movie sequel do you think should never have been made?

Scarlett. I mean, I’m sorry, but EXCUSE ME? A sequel to Gone With the Wind based on a novel by a different author and with completely different actors? Not that I’ve seen it (I couldn’t bear the thought) so for all I know it might be quite enjoyable.

3. Are there any books (comic, novel, etc.) that you would like to see made into a movie? Who should star in it?

If they could make successful (as in good, not as in box-office hits) movies out of Robin Hobb’s Liveship Traders trilogy, that would be worth seeing.

4. When was the last time the you got a shot at the Doctor’s office? Do you prefer them in the arm or your backside? Or would you rather just take a prescription?

A long time ago. I’ve never had one in my backside. I don’t mind shots, though the BCG was nasty (the liquid being forced under the skin – that hurt).

5. Do you make friends easier in “Real Life” or online or is it about the same? Do you have closer friendships in “Real Life” or online? Why do you think that is? Are you ok with that or would you like to make a change?

I definitely have closer relationships in real life. I guess making friends is pretty much the same in RL or online.

6. When you first got your drivers license how did you feel ? Did you get it on the first try, second, third, more than that ? Do you have a license ? If no, do you plan to get one ? Why or why not ?

I don’t have one. I am not planning on getting one. I shouldn’t drive, I think it’s really boring and therefore I start thinking about something else and stop paying attention.

7. Have you ever had your tonsils removed? Did you ever come close? Tell me about that.

No. No. About what?

BONUS: Who’s that girl?

Madonna. Hey! I got the bonus for once!