Green vs. pink

I have so much to share, I am a bit overwhelmed. And I apologize, Annē, for not providing you with more procrastination reading material. I will get better, I promise. ;)

Updates have to start somewhere,... why not begin with two colorful nights of fun? For the first--our take on St. Patrick's Day: it's a wonderful green blur. And not just green beer and green outfits folks, but green veggies, green dip, green frosted cupcakes and even homemade green guacomole and salsa! Greentastic!

Knut was warned that he would regret coming to the St. Patrick's Day vorspiel without green clothes, but he took the chance anyway. Maybe he didn't take me seriously because St. Patty's isn't that big of a deal here in Norway, or at least not where we live. Knut got the pinch he deserved of course, plus the once in a lifetime opportunity to wear the green sequined vest that has been dying to get out of my closet.

He actually wore the vest out to Dirty Nelly's, our Irish bar of choice for the occassion although he wasn't too keen on taking off his coat haha.
I feel like Lars pulled off Irish well. Check him out, sitting at the pub, having a brew and reading the paper.

Dancing "Irish style" at Dirty Nelly was definitely a highlight, mostly because none of us can. But the absolute best might have been watching Marek (from Poland), uh, basically do anything. He is a hilarious, hilarious guy. Really wish you all could see his dance moves!

Needless to say, the night was a hit. In fact, Linda and I dug the color-themed party so much that we traded in green for pink when planning Linda's birthday extravaganza!

Originally it was going to be a pink girls night out...but Linda's German friends had mixed gendered visitors from Germany, so boys were allowed. Then Linda invited a Lars+1 from work and I brought along my new coworker Teodor. Have I mentioned it is a lot of fun partying with people you've just met or that you don't know that well? Don't get me wrong, it's great hanging with your best buds, but man it adds some spice to the mix when there's a lot of new faces about the place.

Also about the place was absolute pink-overload, language-overload and arguably vodka-overload.

Germans have this crazy tradition called vodka ahoy which involves a sugary soda powder packet dumped in your mouth followed by a vodka shot and then shake shake shake. Oh yeah, and then you yell vodka ahoy, of course.

When's the last time you were at a party where someone brought their own bar? It wasn't Iselin's, but she tried it on for size.

Or when's the last time you've been to a party where there was a spontaneous conga line on the way to town?

If it's been awhile, or if you've never been to such a party, I suggest you seek one out...even if you are just going to sit in the corner and watch. At the very least it will be entertaining...

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6-0, not bad

Here is Brumunddal 3rd division women's team that won the league opener 6-0 yesterday. Not bad right?

I think we played pretty well, but definitely not our best. We were a bit lucky that our opponent wasn't that impressive.

However, for it being the first real game of the season, I think we were all pretty pleased with the result, regardless of the means. It was in many ways a great game to build on.

Strangely, and irritatingly enough, I have started every single game up to this point. I am a bit bewildered as to why I only played the last ten minutes of this particular game (when it actually counts!) but I guess that's just the way the cookie crumbles. Back to the drawing board, right?

But since I have been named co-captain and am mature and put the team first and all that jazz, of course I am beyond satisfied that we won regardless of whether I got to play or not. Right? RIGHT?!

Yay.

But seriously, being undefeated just plain 'ol feels good.

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Birkebeinerrennet 2010

Birk-uh-bine-uh-ren-uh. Or Birkebeinerrennet. Or Birkebeiner Race.

It's a 54 km long competitive cross-country ski race that has been held annually in Norway since 1932. Check out my first impression and a brief history of the race from last winter here.

This year, we repeated the steps that resulted in a great day last year: drove about an hour, parked, skiied in, parked (metaphorically) again, cheered HEIA as people skiied past, nibbled on some kvvikklunsj and enjoyed the sun!

The night before the big race I made a sign with Fåset on it so that locals from Lars' childhood neighborhood could find us and get some fuel!

The most popular "energy drink" is a 50/50 combo of coffee and Coke. I still haven't tried it; I feel like it must taste awful. But the skiers swear by it, saying it gives them the perfect energy boost!

And it sure seemed like it worked! Above and on the right you can see Lars' dad skiing his lil heart out. He actually managed to beat his time from last year and finished in 3:45! I honestly cannot believe that someone can ski over 30 miles at such a pace...

But maybe it was because he got such good service at our pit stop. ;) Here you see Stine helping Jan with a fresh, warm pair of gloves while Lars is massaging some tight muscles. And then after a fresh cup of coffee and cola, he was off!

As we were skiing back to the car later on, all the Kindølshaugs in my company got numerous text messages from kjent folk (friends+family) telling them how cool it was to see Jan Kristen on tv! Right after he crossed the finish line, he was interviewed by a well known Norwegian reporter. We never got to see the interview but we did get to see him live! Haha!

Birkebeinerrennet has quickly become a tradition for us. I definitely look forward to March next year and another chance to spectate! ;)

Wave to that helicopter! You're on tv!

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I've been singing.

I'm alive.
I know it's been awhile.

My 2nd norsk Easter was good.
I could even say awesome.
I'll show you soon.

We Lars bought a new computer.

I've been working.
A lot.
5 day last week, 5 this week plus a double on Friday.
So far, so good.
Cool boss, cool coworkers, cool customers for the most part.

The weather is getting awesome.
Crisp, fresh air and sunshine.
All snow's melted.
This is good.

Yes, I am still reading Øya.

Lots of bruises on my legs from soccer.
Now, in addition to their it's-been-a-long-winter glare
they are shades of blue, yellow, green, and purple.
That's nice.
Makes me feel feminine and stuff.

I'm still broke.
Worried that I won't be able to visit home this June as planned.
Or anytime soon.
Or travel in general.
Or pay bills.
Uff da.

However, today I bought toothpaste.
Not sure why Lars packed all three tubes for his overnight business trip to Oslo.
He's not either.
But I had money, and I bought some toothpaste.
With my very own, hard earned money.
This is good.

Maybe someday soon I will be able to get my very own bank account.
That'd be cool.
Especially if I can keep my job
and put in more money than I take out.

Hopefully I can visit a doctor soon too.
Psoriasis is no fun.

Have been singing a lot lately.
No, I'm not good,
and no I don't want you to listen.
I've missed music.
Maybe it's spring,
maybe it's a sense of purpose,
maybe I'm in love.
Who knows?

All I know
is that I've been singing.

Catch up posts with pictures and stories to come.
I promise.

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