40+!!!

I've completed the required 40 client sessions, and plus! The Nike strategy proved to be working. From the moment I decided to go through with it, I concentrated as much as I could on "just doing it", tried not to be worked up about how little time I had, or how on earth I should reach out to any clients to start with. Quite difficult to market yourself actually. I'm so glad I had a manager who did a splendid job while I was in Trondheim last week. So much easier for him to tell others how fantastic I am.

Due to my head being elsewhere I made a mistake regarding the last course weekend, which left me only 2 days in Sweden. These have been very well spent so far, and I'm heading back for Bergen tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully I'll find enough peace on the train for some writing, 'cause I do have a message or two I'd like to express in a not too obvious way. Me advertising it perhaps wasn't such a good idea. Antennas out, I guess! Ah well, we'll see. I might change my mind anyway.

Santa Claus is coming to town! :)

(Wo)man's Best Friend

"Two women sat at the coffee house, discussing life's bigger issues. One said: And you know what? I prefer dogs I think, over men. They're far better company to keep around. Actually performed an experiment yesterday, and locked them both out of the house. And when I opened the door this morning - guess who was happy to see me?"

(Shopping) Spree

As mentioned Saturday wouldn't involve any obligations, and accordingly we did just as we pleased the whole day. (Not that much different from the other days, but there were distinctively less mail and job related calls coming in...) Lazy morning, lazy breakfast and then off to town by bus. Stepped off at the Cathedral , where the Mustang Club had a meeting. There must have been at least 50 old and new cars, but all meticulously cleaned and polished. A nice burgundy 67's cabriolet perhaps? Or a newer model painted in a cool blue metallic?

We paid the Cathedral a visit too, which was a first for me. I doubt anyone could enter that building without being touched somehow, and I'm no exception. There are a lot in there to be impressed by, like beautiful stained glass windows and richly ornamented stone sculptures. But as I'm a sucker for church organs, I couldn't help but being blown away - there are 2 of them in that Cathedral!

After the we continued our walk, and went over the The Old Town Bridge. Then strolled down the streets, and next goal was lunch and refreshments. But before that we had some shopping to do. Gadget freaks as we both are we found a shop which could offer just about everything for silly minds like ours. The young girl behind the counter looked more puzzled for every strange question she got. We left the place with a bag filled of fun stuff.

The weather was absolutely beautiful, and a day like that should be spent as much outdoor as possible. Evidently everybody else in Trondheim thought so too, and the restaurants by the river bank were overcrowded. But as we were in the flow, miraculously a few seats became available when a group left the table next to where we were standing with our drinks. We asked the two oldish ladies at the end if we could sit down. We could, and we started to chat with them. The funniest thing happened then. A man and three women approached our table, and these turned out to be friends with my host here. But the surprising thing is that these ladies at the table turned out to be the mother and aunt of one of the new arrivals! What are the odds?

The afternoon went by in the sunshine, with lots of laughs and giggles. There were plenty to talk about around the table, even without the gimmicks and gizmos from the Bag'O'Fun, but they sure did help. Nice to be a grown-up, so you can act like a child again.

Saturday Lunch

We're enjoying the sunshine at the restaurant right by the riverside...

Near The End

Friday, and I can see the end of it now. I have no more than 4 client sessions left now, out of the required 40. So proud, if I must say so myself. And tonights reward will be a total absence of obligations. Just have to be me. Which I'm actually getting pretty good at, after some well coached training. So - no specific plans, just do whatever I please. Perhaps look into how the universe is regarded as the divine play of shakti and shiva?

Honey, I'm Home!

Dinner's cookin' on the stove, and the table is set. Apart from the missing hair rolls I'm the perfect image of a housewife. But I guess it's like riding a bike, and old habits are hard to get rid of anyway. I'm like a fish to water here, even if it's only for a short week of pretend play.

But I'm also working. I had three clients today, and another two tomorrow. Practically done, so to speak. Which means there will be plenty of time for sightseeing in this beautiful town. And perhaps a trip down to the jazz café on Saturday.

Haven't done much thinking lately, guess I've been too immersed in the flow. Now I sit here with my whisky and try to be creative with my writing. Hard, since the previous mentioned thinking is absent. The frustration too. You see, that's a killer combo for creativeness. A hard thinking frustrated mind. But knowing myself, I'll probably reach a peak in mid May which could result in some glorious scribblings. Then my course will be finished, and I have to deal with the rest of my life. Job? Master thesis? Where should I live? Bergen? Sweden? My kids. My parents. Student loans and decaying teeth.

And will they ever understand?

Night In Trondheim

Tigger!

It Runs In The Family

It seems like my daughter inherited the appreciation and aptitude for crazy projects. Right now she's sitting on the kitchen floor with massive amounts of orange fabric which is sewn together like a giant jumpsuit. Fitted with a hood with ears, and from the back there will be a long tail hanging down. The belly is light yellow. To finish it off and really make it distinct she's adding black stripes. You get the picture now? Yes, its Tigger!

But what you probably are wondering is why? The answer to that is the crazy part. (If not putting the whole thing together is...) It's for her boyfriend, and he'll be wearing it out on the town tonight. For no other reason than to see how people will react. Now, can you picture that? A big, strong man, tall as a lamppost, dressed up like a toon. If not, I wouldn't be surprised if you can watch it on YouTube in the morning.



There's a pic at my mobile blog now...

Surfing Around

Have you ever seen a happier little dude? There he is - carelessly surfing just below the rim, oblivious to any waste matters that sooner or later will come his way. During his life span his juices slowly will be sucked out of him, leaving only an empty, faded shell. But he'll probably still be wearing his Alessi designer smile on his way to the trash, while a new Fresh Surfer is getting ready to enter the bowl...

Last Day Of Easter

Lovely, lovely spring. Who can be sad on such a beautiful day? Sorry, didn't mean to be shallow or insensitive; there are many people who are sad today, for good reasons, and I even know some of them. (Hopefully I can do something to help.) I could be quite sad myself actually, but I won't let that spoil a wonderful day. Cry I can do later.

I grabbed my camera and took a little walk through the forest. Went down to the old church. Well it used to be old anyway. Originally built around 1150, moved piece by piece to Bergen in 1883, only to be burned down about 100 years later. Now there's a copy on the site.

Felt almost like a tourist myself with my Pentax, where I strolled around the building, hearing foreign languages as I passed others. And being a tourist is a fantastic excuse for silly positions to get that perfect camera angle. Or near perfect, I should say. The fence isn't only keeping arsonists out, even "photographers" like me are prevented from getting real close to the church.

Here are some of the pics...

Good Friday

Sorry, I think I promised you stories; and I really had the best intentions of telling about one or two things that happened while I was in Sweden. But now I can't seem to find a suitable angle, at least not in this forum.

Another thing is that I don't have the urge to write for the moment at all. I'm more in a down-to-earth phase I guess, busy with completing my practice for the Angelos method. That is going quite well by the way, and I truly feel blessed to be working with this. Next week will be the last in Bergen before "graduation" since I'm going away again the week after. If everything works out as planned I'll have hordes coming to see me in Trondheim, and then a few already known "coming back for more" in Sweden.

Nah, this didn't work, just as I thought. Not much spark in this writing, I can see that. But I can tell this much - I'm really beginning to see me now, the Karin I should be. Doing things out of her own will, and not trying to please others all the time. Free.

Still Here...

...in Sweden, and no time for writing lengthy posts. But there's always room for a laugh:

"Today there's more money spent on silicone implants and Viagra, than on Alzheimer research. In 50 years we'll be sitting there with giant boobs and massive erections but no one can remember why."

I'll be back posting next week, The April Witch have lots of stories to tell...

Morning Coffee In Gothenburg

...at one of those places that's been there forever...