A new favourite song

I was reading a post on Su's blog "The Journal of a Girl who Loves to Cook" today and she had posted a song by Jason Mraz that I'd never heard before called I won't give up. 

I've never heard it before, but I really liked it. The version on Su's blog was one with lyrics, and I liked it. Espcially since sometimes when you listen to a song you don't always get what all the words are, they can get a bit blurred or they're sung too quickly. Anyway. I loved the lyrics and I loved the video they made with the lyrics. I also looked up the official music video on YouTube afterwards, I liked that one as well, I'm not sure which one is my favourite.

First the Official music video....

Here's the Lyrics video...

Which one is your favourite? Have you heard the song before?

One week in...

Well, I'm one week into the new job, and I have to say, so far so good.

It's weird though. In a way it doesn't quite feel real. It feels very temporary, as if I'm just going to be there a few weeks or something. I don't know, maybe I've felt like that with all my jobs when I've just started. Maybe it's because I'm so focused on the fact that I'm only working to save up money for America and then move back to the UK. I shouldn't feel this way though since I'm still going to work there for about a year, which is how long most of my jobs lasts before I decide to move on to something new.

The job is nice though. I have to get up early which doesn't bother me, I usually wake up early anyway. There's ALWAYS something to do, so time moves fast and since I finish early I still got the day to myself.

But having the whole day to myself is also a bit boring. I don't know that many people in Oslo except for a couple of my aunts. I don't have anyone in Oslo I consider a close friend. I think I might see if there are any nice gyms or something nearby once I get my first pay-check. It would be nice to have something to do during the day as well. Right now all I do is go home and sit in front of the telly. Once I get my first pay I'll be able to see what I can afford and I'll see if I can find anything interesting to do during the day.

I'm the only girl on my team, the storage team. It's quite nice. A lot less gossip and trash-talking than what you get with women. More talk about football and stuff that I don't know much about though. The guys are really nice and I really do feel part of the team, I don't feel like they're treating me differently because I'm a girl or anything. I have wondered if maybe I got the job just because I'm female though (not that I mind) because I guess storage work is a job mostly dominated by men. I don't really understand why though. There is some heavy lifting but I think it's only twice so far that I had to ask someone to help me lift something, but those things were so heavy I doubt even most men couldn't lift them on their own.

Anyway. I'm enjoying it so far and I hope the "temporarity feeling" goes away soon. I probably just need to work there a little bit longer so that I kind of get used to it.

Bubbles!

I was just looking at the water jug today and I thought the air-bubbles in the water looked quite cool, so I had to take a picture. Then I played around on Picasa and tried out a few of the effects...

Which one is your favourite?

Getting political

In Norway we have compulsory military service for the men. They get called in for a session, I think it's the year they turn 18 or 19, they have a physical test or something and if they're fit enough and everything, they have to go into the military/navy/whatever.

A few years ago they also started sending out the letter to call people in for a session to the girls, but the girls can choose if they want to go into the military or not, they just send the letter out to kind of try and make more girls choose to go into the military I guess.

A few days ago I was listening on the morning news, and this guy was saying that he wants to introduce compulsory military service for women as well! The guy that was talking about it was saying that in 2012 it shouldn't be mandatory for one sex and not the other.

Fair enough, it should be fair to both sexes now that women are liberated and all that I guess, but I've always been against the compulsory military service anyway. I don't think people should be forced to do a job where they might get killed! Just look at the U.K. for example, their military is massive, but it consists of people that have actually chosen to join. And I think the same thing would happen here. I think people would still join the military even if it was optional.

When I read in a U.K. paper (or any other country that has OPTIONAL military service) that some military person was killed in battle in Iraq or somewhere, I feel sorry for the person, but at the same time I think that this person knew what they were risking by joining the military, and I don't understand that people get so angry that someone in the military was killed. Yes, it's horrible, but it was their job, it's something they chose to do, they shouldn't be shocked that a soldier dies, do they not know what happens in wars?

When I read about a military death in a Norwegian paper (or any other country with COMPULSORY military service) I can understand the anger. A person that was forced to risk their life for their country when they might not have wanted to has died. I feel a bit more sorry for them.

So I think that they should make military service optional for everyone. They can do like the U.K. and put ads for the military on the TV, or they can keep sending out the letter for the sessions but let people choose what they want to do with it. I don't mind the letter for the sessions, many people that might not have thought about a career in the military might get it and realise that that's what they want, which I guess is why they send it to the girls now. But some girls joined before they started sending those letters out, shouldn't that prove that they don't really need to do it?

The session letter to the girls started too late for me to get one. I think it would have been fun to go in for a session. I don't think I would have wanted to join the military, but it would have been fun to go to the session just to see if I would have passed it.

What are your thoughts, and does your country have compulsory or optional military service?

I GOT THE JOB!!!

Yay! I got the job at XXL, the warehouse type shop I was telling you about. I went in for a trial this morning and after we were finished with morning stock they told me I got the job if I wanted it! Since it's one of the jobs that I looked at that I actually want and didn't just apply to get some sort of job, I said yes straight away.

They pay a bit more than just minimum wage and there are a few bonus systems that makes it easy to make some more money. Since I will be working mostly before the store opens I also won't have to deal with annoying customers.

XXL is a massive shop that sells sports and wildlife stuff. I have to go in in the mornings and sort the stock out before the store opens. My hours are 6am to 11am/noon ish, depending on when everything is done. I did think about maybe getting another job for the afternoons, but since I will be earning more than minimum wage (it also goes up if I prove myself to be good), and there's bonuses, AND they said I might get more hours if I prove myself and if I want it, I think I will just stick to this one job, at least for now.

The other people that work there that I met today seems nice and I am actually looking forward to going back on Monday.

It's a good thing I'm a morning person!

Trying something new...

My dad's girlfriend and I had some fresh pineapple for dessert today. I LOVE pineapple. Then MDG put salt on it! I've never seen anybody do that before! MFG said it was usual to do it in Asia (she's from the Philippines). So I decided to try it.

It was really tasty actually, after I tried it on a small bite I put it on some more pineapple as well.

I still prefer just plain fresh pineapple, but it was interesting to try, and nice to eat something in a different way than what I'm used to.

Have you tried fresh pineapple with salt on it? What did you think? If you haven't tried it you should, and then let me know what you think!

Fingers crossed...

I walked to a nearby shopping centre today that consists mostly of big warehouse-type shops, or manly men shops as I sometimes think of them, and handed in a few of my covering letters and CVs.

In one shop I met the manager, who din't smile at me at all to begin with. He started reading my covering letter and CV right there and asked me a couple of questions but mostly he was just quiet. It made me really nervous. Then he finally gave me a smile and told me he would look closer at my  later and give me a call.

At the last place I handed in my covering letter,XXL, they actually have a job advertised. I talked to an employee first who told me that they recommended that I just apply online, but I asked to see the manager anyway just so that he could see me since that's usually a positive thing. Then when I met the manager he actually gave me a mini-interview! I never know what to say at interviews and it was even worse when I wasn't really prepared at all so I was very nervous and I didn't think I went very well...

I'm going back on Friday morning for a try-out!!!

The position is Monday to Friday 6am-11am/noon, just to get the store ready before opening. The shop is only half an hour walk away but I think I might get the bus there in the mornings, especially in the winters when it's dark in the mornings, but it will be a nice way to get some exercise every day. But before I get too ahead of myself I just need to impress them on Friday.

Wish me luck!

Salad and trousers

After I handed out my application letters today I went to visit my Aunt D. She was going to shorten a pair of trousers for me. I haven't been to visit her since she moved about a year ago, and when I looked up her address online before going, I noticed that she's actually within walking distance from my dad's! So I walked. I changed my shoes from what I had worn earlier first so that my feet wouldn't die. I forgot to look at  the time, but I think it only took 15-20 minutes to walk. It was nice to see her again, it's been over a year since the last time. And of course I really appreciated that she sorted my trousers out. They were 12cm too long! At least now I've got something to wear if someone asks me to come in for an interview.

After I had been with Aunt D for a few hours Aunt E picked me up. I was going to have dinner at her place, but first we picked up my grandmother who arrived in Oslo today. I hadn't seen Aunt E in over a year as well and it was very nice to see her. It's nice to know I've got two aunts really near by if I need them. I had kind of forgotten how much I get along with these two aunts. We are planning to all go out for dinner one night while my grandmother is here, and also maybe go somewhere this weekend, we'll see what the weather's like.

I had dinner at Aunt E's today. Her husband is from Bulgaria, and Aunt E made me a Bulgarian Shopska salad. It was really tasty.

A small rest...

Today I printed out some application letters and CVs at my dad's work. It's been about 10 years since the last time I visited his work and it's really changed, but it was nice to meet a couple of the people that I met back then again.

I walked around the city to about 50 places and handed in my CV and letter. Out of the fifty, 12 of them wouldn't take my CV because they either didn't have anything available until the autumn or they only took applications online. But 38 applications in one day is still quite good in my book. I've also got a few that I'm going to deliver tomorrow.

One of the places I visited didn't have a position available on their web-page but when I walked in and asked if they had anything the manager said yes. It just proves that you shouldn't always only apply online, or  get discouraged if they don't have anything online. That manager also put a smiley face on my application because I smiled when I came into the shop to see her. Sounds promising....

I am hopeful that I am going to get something. One of the Body Shop shops wants someone part-time for the summer and I've already got some experience from the Body Shop at Home in England, so I'm hoping I might get that, it's only part-time but at least it's something.

In another place I went in there was only one girl in there working. Only she wasn't really working... She went to one of the mirrors and started checking herself out. So I thought that I would wait until she finished with asking her if the manager was there... I think she stood in front of the mirror just looking at herself and touching her face for a full minute! This turned out to be one of those places that didn't have a position available and also I had to apply online. I felt like saying I could just swap with her since she didn't seem to care about customers anyway.

After all of today's and yesterday's walking I can really feel it in my legs, shoulders and neck, I've also got a big blister on the side of my right heel. I am now having a small sit down before I am going to one of my aunts to deliver a pair of trousers she's going to shorten for me (12cm!) and then I am going to one of my other aunt's for dinner afterwards. I'm a busy bee today!

Wish me luck!

This morning I walked in to the city with dad when he was heading to work. It took us just under an hour to walk, he usually walks to and from work every day, I might do the same if I get a job in the city.

I hope they're fixing the roof of the palace or something, because that's not a good look...

After my dad had gone to work I walked around the main parts of the city (Karl Johan and a couple of the shopping centres) and looked at what shops there were and wrote them down. A couple of them actually had a note in the window saying they need people. It was still quite early so most shops weren't open. My plan is to write applications for the places that I wrote down today (I think it's over 50!), go down with my dad to his work again tomorrow to print the applications and CVs out and then that should probably take long enough for the shops to open so that I can hand them in.

I managed to find my way back to my dad's flat, and on the way I also found a post office so now I know where to go to post my letters. I've not walked as much as I have today in a while now so I can really feel it in my hips and shoulders. I might treat myself to the bus back from the city tomorrow.

So now I am going to spend the rest of the day, first checking online to see if any of the places on my list are advertising positions, and then writing applications for all of them. It shouldn't take as long as it sounds, I've got a generic application letter that I just need to tweak a little for some of the places and then add recipients.

Time to get typing. Wish me luck!

Holiday?

It's been 10 years since I moved from Oslo after having lived there for 5 years. In those 10 years I've only been to Oslo a handful of times. Only holidays. Coming here again feels like a holiday...

Since my mum and dad got divorced almost 10 years ago I've only lived with my mum. I've never lived with my dad, just visited. That's another thing that makes this whole thing feel like a holiday. It doesn't feel quite real that I'm actually going to live here now, maybe for a whole year.

It's the first time I've seen my dad's flat. And met his new girlfriend. The flat is small. The girlfriend seems nice.

I'm not quite comfortable here yet. But I've only been here a few hours. I'm sure it will feel a bit more like home once I've been here a few days. It's like when I've been an au pair.... I'm very aware that it's someone else's house in the beginning, but as time goes along and I get used to the idea of living there I manage to make myself more at home.

My dad is going to show me the way he usually walks to work one of these days, that way I can walk to and from wherever I get a job, at least in the beginning, so that I can save some money. There is a food shop right around the corner from the flat as well, it would be handy if they need someone to work there... I'll have a look at what options there are nearby in the next few days.

This is my suitcase by the way, I'm looking forward to travelling even more and get more stickers on it!

 

James and the giant peach

James and the Giant Peach
By Roald Dahl

Outer back cover: An enormous escaped rhinoceros from London Zoo has eaten James's parents. And it gets worse! James is packed off to live with his two really horrible aunts, Sponge and Spiker. Poor James is miserable, until something peculiar happens and James finds himself on the most wonderful and extraordinary journey he could ever imagine...

Who doesn't love Roald Dahl's books? I know I love them. I can't remember if I've read James and the Giant Peach before, I know I've seen the film which I also love, but it doesn't really matter because I can read Roald Dahl's books over and over again.

I love James and the giant peach, it made me laugh out loud a few times, and although I will still be scared of spiders after reading it I think this might be a good book to read to small children to maybe try and make them not be scared of spiders (or other bugs) when they get older.

If you haven't read it then you should read it!

Roald Dahl's books are nice for adults that fancy a quick and easy read, or for kids to start reading books, or for children that doesn't have English as a first language to maybe help with their English (except for all the made-up words), that was actually part of the reason why I bought this book for my sister a few years ago; to help with her English and because I thought she should read Roald Dahl.

This book is part of the You've got mail challenge and the What's in a name challenge (You can put a peach in your bag or backpack as lunch or a snack)

Not again....

I unpacked my things when I arrived at my mum's, obviously, no need to live out of a suitcase when I don't have to.

I'm going to my dad's on Friday, which means I have to pack my stuff again, I know that once I get to him I won't need to pack my suitcase again for a very long time, but I really can't find the energy to start packing again!

The clothes is easy to pack, I don't have much so I can just throw everything into the suitcase, but then there are all the other things that I have to sort through to find out what I need to bring now in the first round without making my suitcase overweight. And then I have to pack away the things that I'm not bringing with me somewhere. Urgh! It's not much work when I get started, I just don't want to get started!

Will they stay or will they go?

A Norwegian TV program is currently filming in the place that I'm from, Vestnes. It's a reality TV program about a bus-load of girls from the city being sent to the countryside and having a look around for a few days and then maybe one or more of them decide to stay.

The girls were supposed to make an appearance in the centre of Vestnes yesterday. They filmed in another place quite close to the centre so some people people went there, but my friend and I thought we might as well stay where the shops are and wait since they were supposed to go there as well.

Loads of people were there and people had put up stalls and some of the shops had special offers and were open late (late on a Saturday here means 6pm) because of it, there was music and performances from some people and competitions, it was quite a nice day out. It was nice to see the people here making an effort and having fun. I even got to try riding a Segway for free, it was really fun, I couldn't stop smiling while I was on it.

We waited and waited for the ladies that were supposed to show up, first we were told between 10am and noon and then we were told quarter past 3pm. No ladies.

Around 4pm the two hosts from the reality show arrived, they were talking to the mayor and walking around for a bit, so we all thought the ladies would be arriving soon. I actually didn't know the two guys were the hosts. I was asking my friend if the two guys talking to the mayor were the two single ambassadors from Vestnes that were supposed to show the ladies around or what, we knew it had to be something since the cameras were on them. Then someone asked for their autographs so we realised they were the hosts.

The mayor and the two hosts

The hosts came and left and no ladies. We stayed until 6pm. I had thought about leaving sooner since I couldn't feel my legs, it was a cold day, but it seemed silly to have waited to long and then give up. But at 6pm we all left. The lady that had been "keeping us updated" never actually said "oh, I'm sorry but the ladies aren't coming after all", she just kept saying how the TV channel doing the filming hadn't updated her properly and pretty much blaming them. Which she might be right in doing, I guess the TV people can't know exactly what will happen when they're filming something like that, but it would have been nice if they just popped by for 5 minutes.

Anyway, they are supposed to be filming in the municipality (that word seems ridiculous to say in English) until the 5th so maybe I'll bump into the ladies one day, but there won't be another day like Saturday where they get a whole day dedicated to them. I actually think it's a bit rude to not just come and say hi for a minute. The TV people knew it was going on and although I realized they have to do much in a short amount of time I think they should have put it into their schedule.

Anyway, it was a nice day out, it was just a shame it was so cold (what summer?), but the people preforming were great and it was nice to see the whole community doing something together.

There was two girls dancing that were especially good and, it might just be me, but I think the blond one really looks like Taylor Swift. She has some of the same facial features.

I don't normally watch reality TV series, but I think I will have to watch the episodes featuring Vestnes this autumn. Especially to see if any of the ladies will stay or not.