Alagaesian

The last time I used MS DOS was in our first year computer class in the university.  And since Windows and Apple have been making our lives less complicated – I did not find a need to get in on the command prompt again.  That is – until now.

I have a memory card I have to format and cannot seem to get it to appear on my screen.  Spent half an hour figuring out how to work it to no avail.  So I decided to return to basics and revisit the command prompt. 

I was just amazed that I remembered some of the commands (at least the important ones to get to format my memory card). 

So – if all else fail, it’s always wise to just go back to the basics!

Had some drinks with friends last Wednesday.  Zachen – the best piano bar this side of Norway and located right where the local fjord opens from Bergen.  We always sit by the piano right across the piano guy coz that way nobody would hear us hitting the wrong notes!

Apart from the fortune spent on drinks last Wednesday up to the wee hours of Thursday, I had another price to pay for partying too much.  I lost my trusty Sony Ericsson bluetooth perhaps while busting some moves to the tune of the Scissor Sisters’ I Don’t Feel Like Dancing (ironic that more people started dancing when the song was played).

Had fun that night – but what a waste.  Went back to the bar earlier hoping that someone might have found and gave it back.  Wrong.

I’m thinking if I should buy another one. 

The reason I got the earphone was because I use the mobile a lot.  It’s literally a house phone too as I did not bother subscribing to a home phone.

Technorati Tags: piano bar, scissor sisters, bluetooth

And so starts the season of Julebords.

Directly translated in english as ‘christmas table’, it is a Scandinavian tradition where people eat, drink, give speeches and be merry.  It’s a good time to meet up with peers in the industry, share ideas or talk a little bit of business before the cocktails end, and enjoy the rest of the evening with good conversation, good food, good wine, akevitt and entertainment.

Just came home from one and enjoyed a hefty serving of traditional Norwegian yuletide food.  It was a choice of lutefisk (salted codfish), pinekjøtt (dried lamb ribs) and ribbe (pork ribs). 

It is pretty early to have this in the middle of November (literally the first one for the season).  But with a series of julebords being held by literally all the firms around Norway, people really get busy – socially.  I still have two more invites over the next weeks. 

Technorati Tags: julebord, pinekjøtt, ribbe, lutefisk, akevitt, christmas

How do you see yourself in ten years? 

I’ve been asked this question probably a thousand times and gone through the cycle of wanting to be superman – spiderman – astronaut - president - doctor – lawyer… 

If someone would ask me now – I want to be doing something like this in 10 years -

“Within an hour of getting up in the morning, I had enjoyed a breakfast conversation with an Argentinian agent about the quality of coffee in Scandinavia and the dredged depths of the Parana River, a Chinese classification society representative anxious to tell me about shipyards in Dalien, discussed the prospects for Liverpool Football Club with a Turkish shipowner and chatted about family values with a Hong Kong ship manager.”

(Lloyd’s List, 31 May 2005)

I’d like to think that I learn at least one new thing each day.  It may be learning a new way to the office, or preparing a new dish, or making this blog, or learning that the world is not at all round… read on… 

There’s a 307 m high cliff in Nordkapp (North Cape in Norway which is the northernmost part of the European continent) where you can actually fall over to the… abyss perhaps.  I don’t think anyone has tried it yet. 

Anyway, before i get totally sidetracked - this post is not about the North Cape.  It’s about learning something new.  And tonight, I will sit in front of my laptop and google…

How to sew a button back to my shirt.

I do have an idea how to do it.  But I just want to make sure I don’t do anything wrong.  We did have this ‘home economics’ course back in high school where we attempted to learn how to sew things.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t paying much attention and actually had some projects (the complicated ones at least) done by my mom.

Bottom line is, I should have paid more attention – things i have not learned or done before are bound to be encountered again soon enough.

Technorati Tags: nordkapp, north cape

Cool pop music ‘Not Over’ by Erik Faber will perform in Kvarteret, Bergen Thursday night.

Something to look forward to this week!

Technorati Tags: Erik Faber, kvarteret

Erik Faber

Bryggen – World Heritage Site 

Originally uploaded by alagaesian. 

Living on your own in a foreign country gives you a lot of ‘alone’ time to think, relax and do things you never thought you’d do before – when you were busy juggling family, work, friends, associations and socials.

Like creating a blog!  I’m now getting the hang of this!  Thanks to a good Dutch friend Remco who sort of gave me this idea of how to kill time.

And learning a new language – as if knowing 5 of them is not enough!  I love learning Norwegian, i’m just too lazy to practice!

Jeg trives her i Bergen.  Det er veldig kult og nydelig byen.  Vakrest av alle er fjellene og fjorden som er område i byen.

Ok – all norwegians out there – post your comments to correct my norsk!

Technorati Tags: bergen

This is life.

Too many directions to choose from and yet this is what being free means. Uncertainty is the price you pay for freedom?

So, where do we go from here?

Picture from Geilo Train Station, Norway

Originally uploaded by alagaesian.

Technorati Tags: Geilo, NSB

One day while walking in London, I saw this advert on one of those red two-decker bus.

I’m famous!

No – my name is not Bond – it’s the other one.

Picture taken from the Strand, London.  August 2006

Technorati Tags: London