Wonderful quote on eccentricity at Ten Seconds to Midnight. Go read it. Shuh.
All about mornings
Which is kind of appropriate considering this one came way too early. The Friday Five:
1. What time do you wake up on weekday mornings?
Between six and seven. The alarm (the radio) is normally set for about six and I normally need half an hour of half-awake listening before I manage to persuade myself to get out of bed.
2. Do you sleep in on the weekends? How late?
I sleep in compared to weekdays, yes, but I’m normally up around nine on the weekends unless I’ve been up really late the night before.
3. Aside from waking up, what is the first thing you do in the morning?
Put on my glasses – go to the toilet – put the kettle on for tea. Ok, so that’s the first three things.
4. How long does it take to get ready for your day?
Depends, if I’m in a hurry I can do it in 5 minutes, but on a normal day it takes me around 40 (more if the book I read over breakfast is a captivating one).
5. When possible, what is your favorite place to go for breakfast?
I hardly ever go out for breakfast unless I’m forced to when out travelling. I prefer having my breakfast on my own couch and start the day off with a couple of chapters of whichever book I’m reading at the moment.
Voice in my head: Michael Wiehe – Hemmet
Mobilt ordforråd
Er det bare meg eller er Nokias prioriterte rekkefølge på ordene i ordlista en smule snodig? Rent bort i fra den nå så berømte jødedoen, så er det for eksempel gresselig komplisert å få skrevet det ordet jeg oftest skriver når jeg skal sende en kort melding, nemlig “ok”. Da må jeg først gjennom “øl”, “ml” og “ol”. Jeg kan forstå “øl”. Selv drikker jeg ikke øl, så jeg skriver det ikke så ofte, men man kan jo forstå at det er et ord folk har bruk for. Men hvor ofte føler du behov for å bruke “ml” eller “ol”? Irritasjonsmoment nummer to er “du”. Nokia synes jeg burde skrive “et” mye oftere enn jeg gjør, og i hvert fall mye oftere enn jeg skriver “du”. Hvorfor? Og “takk”. Nokia stemmer for “tall” i stedet. Den eneste setningen jeg kommer på akkurat nå med ordet “tall” er “Hva er dagens tall?” noe som høres ut som en linje fra Lekestue (eller Sesam Stasjon). “Takk for i går,” “Takk for hjelpen,” “Takk for den fine genseren jeg fikk til fødselsdagen min,” vel lever vi i et uhøflig samfunn, men det hender da at man bruker ordet “takk” for det? Eller “gå”? Siden mobilen i stor grad benyttes til å koordinere møteplasser (“Gå til The Dubliner, du, så kommer jeg dit”), synes jeg at å måtte bla seg gjennom “ha” og “hc” (“hc”? Hva i alle himmelens navn er “hc”?) for å komme dit er en plage. Med “går” må du bare forbi “har”, men det er greit nok, “har” skrives relativt ofte. Og når jeg skal skrive “Solør” må jeg trykke meg forbi “Solop”. Sikkert et veldig nyttig ord.
I tillegg har vi de ordene som manglet (men ikke nå lenger) i ordlisten, bl.a. “pepperkvern”, “cider”, “The” og “Dubliner” (ok, skal innrømme at Nokia kan unnskyldes for de to-tre siste…). “Sunniva” var ikke i ordlisten heller, det var derimot “Sunnhua”, hvem eller hva det nå er.
Saints and such
I have found myself a patron saint: Expeditus. It sounds like a bad joke, really, but it seems genuine. I should build a shrine to him, I could do with some help. Now if only I were a catholic. On the other hand, what I really need is a patron saint that actually blesses those who procrastinate rather than tries to help them change. I like my Procrastination, he’s an old friend by now, and I don’t really want to be heartless and throw him out in the cold.
On a different subject entirely, Dragonium Major is doing well on Civil Rights and Political Freedoms, which has to be good.
Aaaaw
I want a dog. I really, really want a dog.
Yesterday, walking from the customers’ offices to the tube station at Røa, we met a spaniel of sorts out for a walk on his own. He was obviously not supposed to be out on his own, so we phoned the number on the name tag and told them where to find him (there was no answer at first, or we would have waited for them to come, but they rang back shortly after – “Oh, dear, is he out walking?”). Point is, of course, that he was adorable, and super-friendly. So I related to Dag how I really want a dog but figure it would be impracticable ( two of the main objections are: my flat’s too small and I’m too often not at home at all between seven in the morning and eleven at night).
But then, to spite my resolve, one of my co-workers has brought in his new boxer puppy this morning. At 10 weeks old most puppies are irresistable, and this one is no exception.
I WANT A DOG.
I can’t have a dog. I can’t have a dog. I can’t have a dog. (Repeat as necessary.)
At the back of my head there is a voice trying to persuade me that it would be possible, but so far my reason keeps kicking in with objections. I could bring him to work, couldn’t I? (Every day? Oh, come off it, girl?) I could sort some sort of space out in the flat where he could stay during the day. (Yeah, because there’s so much spare space there, right?) I could, uhm, bring him on holiday with me. (Because that’s easy, right?)
Voice in my head: Michael Wiehe – Allt vad jag begär
Definitions
It’s all over the papers this morning, of course, as Bush tries to grapple with the definitions of common words (such as “marriage”, “sin” and “respect”).
“I believe marriage is between a man and a woman (…)” Bush also urged, however, that America remain a “welcoming country” not polarized on the issue of homosexuality. “I am mindful that we’re all sinners, and I caution those who may try to take a speck out of the neighbor’s eye when they’ve got a log in their own,” the president said. “I think it is important for our society to respect each individual, to welcome those with good hearts.” (My emphasis)
Whoa. We will respect each individual while calling the relationship they have with the one they love a sin. Yeeees. I can see how that would work. No, hang on, I can’t.
Hurra, hurra
Nå skal jeg på IKEA fordi de har tirsdagstilbud på sånn dings til å sette tastaturet på som sitter under skrivebordet og kan reguleres og greier. Sikkert flott. Satser på at dette vil være veldig bra for skuldre og armer etc.
Dessuten har de köttbullar, og jeg vil ha köttbullar. Det er neppe bra for skuldre og armer etc. (men ikke dårlig heller, får man håpe) – til gjengjeld er det godt. Nam.
IKEA er vår venn. Må motstå fristelse til å kjøpe hele buttikken siden ikke plass hjemme og slett ikke nok penger.
Wow
And I mean: WOW!
During the holidays I splashed out on a CD-ROM containing a digitalised Book of Kells. Which is fine, I really didn’t mind paying for it.
BUT: The University of Texas have actually gone to the trouble of scanning the whole of the Gutenberg Bible and MADE IT AVAILABLE ON THE NET.
I mean, wow.
My left arm
My left arm is acting very strangely. Firstly, I have this rashy thing on my fingertips that usually surfaces when it’s warm and humid (which this summer has been, no argument about that), but which has been worse this year and has started to annoy me so much I went to see the doctor yesterday. His diagnosis: heat and humidity (d’oh), stress and lack of sleep (double-d’oh). Prescription: rather complicated. Firstly a potassium permanganate (KMnO) solution to soak my hand in for five minutes every morning and evening, then an ointment of sorts 3 times a day and additionally a course of pills, also three times a day. He also said: “Take vitamin C”, so I will have to try to remember.
The potassium permanganate carries a warning: “May stain skin”. You betcha. Well, the skin is noticably stained only where it’s very dry, so it’s not so bad (except, of course, it looks like I haven’t washed my hand for weeks), but my nails are a lovely brown colour… Nice.
Now, as if a highly irritating rash on my fingers wasn’t enough, my left arm has decided now is a good time to just plain hurt. It feels a bit like the pain I get down my left leg when the sciatic nerve is under pressure. Is there a similar nerve going down the arm, I wonder? I’m quite prepared to believe that my neck is out of joint and bothering all sorts of nerves.
Order of the day, therefore, is trying to forget about the excruciating pain in my arm and at the same time remember to get up and stretch frequently in the hope that this may help.
And I repeat: Nice.
Looking for the English name for potassium I came across this lovely periodic table, btw.
Voice in my head: Shania Twain – Dance with the One that Brought You.
Life, the universe and everything
Woot! Askdonna.org is up. Ish. Anyway, it’s cool.