Korea?

Sometimes I just wonder if GW II thinks at all before he speaks. I know most people will say the answer to that question is obvious. It just doesn't make sense how he talks about how our troops are going to stand down while the Iraqi police stand up and then say we will probably follow the model of Korea for the future in Iraq. Which would be soliders there for years to come. Needless to say that the situation in Iraq is nothing like the situation was in Korea. Just another in the long line of things this administration says that makes you go huh?

On a ccompletely different subject. The soon to be parent thing is kind of strange. At times it seems completely unreal. Like it is never going to happen. On other occasions it really exciting and a I can't wait moment. And even another moment it's a holy crap Im going to be a parent moment. Then there is the entire will the relationship with the significant other change for the worse when the wee one comes alone. Maybe everything revolves around change and the uncertaintity that goes with it. I know these are all probably normal feelings but its still strange. What is even stranger is Koogs stomach looking fake. She isn't showing very much but what she is showing doesnt seem real. It's hard not flabby and soft like you would expect a large stomach to be like...Im sure she surgically put something under there because you know all women like to have a larger stomach right???

Twins 3 Sox 0 for this series....We will see how it ends. Lots and lots of games to go........

Long Time

Been away a while. Not sure why but just decided to post today. Maybe it is because Chaz linked here reminding me that yes I do have this blog.

So was at the cabin over memorial day weekend. Fishing was good on Saturday. The rest of the weekend the fishing was good but not normal Kugler cabin good. I mean I cant complain I probably caught 10 bass around 18 inches and J-man pulled a 15 inch crappie out of the water. Not bad it was no bowfin though....Looking forward to going back and looking forward to Dan moving here...Just means more fishing and thats a good thing.

I've been noticing lately that it seems to be exceedingly windy out. Maybe this has something to do with riding my bike to work almost every day but I don't think it does. After I thought this I saw someone ask the a weatherman(or is it weatherperson?) the same question and it was a non answer. The weatherman said well we have been in an unsettled weather pattern and that is why there has been wind. Like no crap. How about is that normal or not normal? I imagine you could do an average wind speed calculation with standard deviation for the month of May and then compare it to what it is now and say wether it is close or not to normal. It just reminds me that most weatherman on tv is not a metorologis but a communications major.

Ok enough for now perhaps I will post again in the next 6 months..

Santa Claus

Drobak, Norway has the great honor of officially being recognized by the national government as the hometown of Santa Claus. With the holiday spirit all around, I had to pay a visit to Old Saint Nic myself. So I hopped on the 541 bus from downtown central station, paid 63 NKroner for my one-way ticket and I was on my way. I was pretty excited about going and had images of many gifts, food and good cheer everywhere. I was particularly excited and interested in visiting the Santa Claus Post Office, which handles as many as 300,000 letters from chidren all around the world, all addressed to Santa Claus.

When I got there, I walked down Main Street (a few blocks long) and noticed the Julhus-the Christmas store open all year long. After purchasing a couple of things for some good little girls and boys, I crossed the street to find the post office and the home of Santa Claus. I was a little disappointed when I entered and found a replica of Santa behind the post office teller window, but was pleased to see many families in line with children scribing their "Dear Santa" letters. I was tempted to write a letter of my own, but then I thought the other kids might think I was weird and selfish and too old, so decided not to. I did take some pictures of my excursion that I hope you will enjoy. Happy Holidays!!

The Silo

I forgot to mention that I live in a converted silo building. It was renovated in 2000, I think, for student housing. You might wonder if the rooms are actually round and the answer is 'Yes' (see Humble Abode entry below). Apparently they had a designer come in and specifically create furniture and cupboards for the round-shaped rooms. I was worried when I moved in that I would get dizzy from all the roundness, but really, it doesn't bother me any more. I walk in and think, 'Hey, here's my round room. Now where did I leave my slippers?'.

My humble abode

Attached are a couple of pictures of my place. Though I live in student housing, I have my own apartment which includes a kitchen, bathroom and one room. The room has two desks, a table with a chair and a lovely futon. The brochure says the size of the entire place is anywhere between 22-31 square meters; I would say it's slightly bigger than my living room at home. I don't want to give the wrong impression, so I must confess that the futon was upright only for the sake of these pictures. Typically it is down with my twin-sized white sheet over the mattress (barely tucked in on the ends) and my twin-sized down comforter with pillow in some amorphic shape in the middle. It's kind of nice to live this other life. For those who have visited my home in Minneapolis, you will know that 99% of the time, my bed is made right after I get out in the morning, much to Mike's disliking. I think he would more approve of my 'other life' here. For some reason, order is not as important when I am living on my own...or maybe it's that I am in another city!

Evening things out

I acquired a bike last Friday night. Actually it's a loaner for while I am here. A mountain bike that was actually purchased in Minnesota, it's sturdy, sits upright, has a 'wide-seat' and most-importantly--mud flaps, but bad brake pads. It's a little short for my frame, but since it cuts my commute in half, I am not complaining. Until this morning. A clear morning and near freezing, I wasn't too concerned about the conditions of the road as I rode slowly up the long hills to work. Today was a special day, though, as I planned to take a detour and visit my now-favorite bakery in Oslo--Apent Bakery (meaning Open Bakery) to pick up the close rival to the currant-cream scone sold at the May Day Cafe in Minneapolis. As I was happily biking, er coasting, down the hill from the bakery I made a right turn onto Sognsveien (street) and skidded right onto the right side of my body, now realizing just how slippery the roads were. A kind man on his bike, helped me pick up my backpack and bike and bring it to the sidewalk...and told me I should get spikes on my bike. Still stunned I had fallen and not sure I really wanted to move, I shyly agreed and proceeded to walk my bike the rest of the way to work. The only positive thing to this fall was that it was on my right hip and elbow (not my left, which usually feels all the pains of my falls). Now only if my white shirt felt the same way, as it now has a little blood stained elbow!

Tacos

Hmm, I'm not sure how this works yet. I haven't been given the tutorial from Mike and you all know how technically savvy I am (...not). That reminds me, I just saw the movie "Borat" the other night. What a hoot. If you haven't seen it yet, I would recommend, but just be prepared to sink into your seat a little when he, a Kazakh, encounters various people along his way through America. Okay, so take into consideration that I am terrible about remembering movies, let alone lines in movies, but I am going to make a stab at this. So one of the scenes Borat is meeting with somebody who is teaching him how to give a speech. The guy tells him that it's a good idea to open up with a joke. One of the jokes he recommends is to say something wrong, and then follow it up with a "not". Just like I did at the beginning of this entry. Okay, stupid story. Just go see the movie. My real entry...

Ja, I am in Norway, actually in the hubbub of Oslo--Grunerlokka to be exact, well, that's where my apartment is. I am told it's a trendy little area, an "up and coming" neighborhood. I can't comment on the trendy part, but I do know that within 5 minutes of my apartment I have a 7 Eleven, a Deli de luca (convenience store/bakery), two veggie stands, two cheap grocery stores (Kiwi mini pris and RIMI) and a nicer grocery store (ICA). Can you tell my existence is all about food? Last night I made tacos for dinner. Yummy! But being a vegetarian, you might ask what I put in the middle of my tacos. Good question. Given that I am in a new country with new grocery aisles and choices, it was difficult to decide, because my traditional "Morningstar" meatless crumblers were no where to be found here (yet!). So I first went to Kiwi (the cheaper of the grocery stores), but couldn't find any to serve as a filler...so I went to ICA (the more expensive grocery store) and located the aisle with canned vegetables; I figured pinto or black beans would suffice. Well not knowing any Norwegian, I spent a considerable amount of time distinguishing between kidney beans (rodo bonner) and baked beans. Then it took me a little bit longer to decide on the brunne bonner, thinking they were black or brown beans (no picture was provided on the can). Much to my satisfaction, when I got home and opened the can, I was happy to find out that indeed, I had picked pinto beans. The tacos were a yummy and a delectable success. I'll have to make those again.