Halloween and Haircuts

I mean to be writing something here daily, but I was really busy this weekend. Friday I met some girlfriends for dinner. It was my friend Liz's birthday. She is one of the first women I met here, American, married to a Norwegian. We went to a middle-eastern restaurant and ate lots of yummy food, then to TGI Friday's for dessert. When I got home, Andre commented on my garlic breath, so it must have been strong food!

Saturday Andre and I went to a pumpkin carving party at another friend's house. There were a lot of foreigners there (note: I am a foreigner here), and a lot who had never carved a pumpkin before. We brought 2 pumpkins and our pumpkin carving kit, which was a hit (hint to family: if you see any carving kits 50% or more off at the stores, snatch a few up for me!) We brought our pumpkins home, then cleaned up for another party, this one a combination housewarming-engagement-birthday party for a girl from my Norwegian class.

Then Sunday was the annual Halloween party for the American Women's Club - well, for the children. I went to the location to help set up, and found that they had double-booked the room for that day. Fortunately we had another place to have the party at the last minute. I called as many of the party-goers as possible, and I think it ended up being a hit. Little kids don't realize when there is a crisis like that, and it appears they all had a great time.

Tomorrow, of course, is Halloween. Our carved pumpkins are starting to stink, and I have a small bag of leftover candy from the party to give to any trick-or-treaters we might get. It's dark by 5 now, so they might come early while I'm at the gym. But at least I'll be a bit prepared.

And finally, on Saturday we have a "grown up" Halloween party. It was going to be on the top floor of a cafe, rented out at a cost of 100 kroner per person, but there were not enough people coming to make it that affordable. As of today, I'm still waiting to hear where the party will be. And I still haven't decided on a costume.

Got my hair cut today. I just wanted the ends trimmed and the layers redone, and that's pretty much what I got. I don't know about all places, but the last two times I had my hair cut here, I was asked if I wanted it washed. It's not something they automatically do. I said no, because it probably costs more. No joke. So she cut my hair dry, with a little help from a spray bottle. It's still wet from my shower now, so I'll let you know how it turned out later. Who knows, if it's really horrible, I might have my Halloween costume problem sorted out.

Weather, fires and the gym

It's getting cold here. How cold? About 4 degrees Celsius, or, hmm... 4 multiplied by nine-fifths, plus thirty-two...carry the one... well, it's cold. I have been getting away with wearing a long-sleeved shirt and my jacket, but today walking home I realized that I probably need to start throwing one more layer in there somewhere. I haven't worn my hat or gloves yet. I sure don't want to be the first one wearing them, screaming "foreigner!" I would rather freeze.

I've read a bit about the fires in Southern California. I hope all my friends and family there are safe, and don't have to evacuate. At first, I only heard about the Malibu fire. I went to read an update, and it was all about San Diego. Then I checked a map, and holy cow! Is there any part of So Cal that isn't burning? It looks pretty bad.

I have been going to the gym. I joined in January, went off and on, but have been going pretty regularly for the last 6 months or so. The gym is called SATS, and is the largest chain in Norway, presumably the largest in Scandinavia/the Nordic region (Finland isn't really Scandinavia). I signed up for a class called "SATS Dans", "dans" meaning - can you guess? - dance. It's a half-hour class, with about 5 or 6 different songs and routines. It's all in Norwegian, but I just follow along with what everyone else is doing. I try to go to the gym three times a week, and as a result of going at least twice in the last 8 weeks, I got a free travel coffee mug.

At least now I'll have something to keep my hands warm before I pull out the gloves.

New Phone!

I got a new mobile phone, finally! I have been using my husband's old phone from way back when. He's upgraded at least twice since he bought the one I was using, back when Jesus was a boy. His has GPS and other fancy stuff. Mine is a Sony Ericsson something-or-other. It's so cute!! It takes pictures and plays music. I feel part of the 21st century at last! Of course, by tomorrow my model will be outdated, and the punk 10-year-old kids will have better phones than me.

The water "crisis" is over. We can drink the water again, without boiling.

I went to brunch with some American girls on Sunday, to a place called Collett's Cafe. It's a really cozy place. It's always nice to go to brunches with the American girls. I think most of us have moved past the "complaining about Norway" conversations, and talk about other stuff now. Unless there's a new girl, of course, then we all share our experiences with these "rude" people and the "small" grocery stores and the hundreds of mothers with strollers walking around all day. (Note: Norwegians are not rude, they are very warm and friendly people, just not so much to strangers. And the grocery stores aren't THAT bad... really... But the bit about the mothers with prams, it's true!)

How to Boil Water

On Wednesday, they announced that there was a parasite in Oslo's drinking water. Giardia. Can you say that ten times fast, "giardia"? It's not deadly, but symptoms include diarrhea, malaise, excessive gas, nausea, vomiting, and weight loss. The other thing that was announced was that the water had been contaminated the previous week, but we weren't told. So we've probably all drunk contaminated water by now. Well naturally, there was a run on bottled water. Almost all the shelves in all the stores were empty. It was a little post-apocalyptic. Yesterday I was walking home from the gym and shopping, and there was a sign outside one of the stores announcing they had water. Ironic that something that is free and abundant is in short supply. I, for one, am not giving in to the hype and hysteria (well... there isn't any hysteria, but I liked that phrase). We do boil water for 3 minutes, as recommended, before funneling it into bottles for drinking, but I brush my teeth in tap water. Hey, I can afford to shed a few pounds.

Hi!

I have no idea what I will do with this space. But watch it for future ramblings.