I hate the world today. Called my phone company, 3, to get their so called 'international roaming' going, in order to be able to use the phone while abroad. Well, they had to run a credit check (again!), and came to the conclusion, that we had to pay a 150 pounds deposit for it! Are they insane?! Yes, I accept we had to pay a deposit for the phone. They ran a credit check, and although we both know that we have a perfect credit rating, the system checks everyone on the address; so if someone else has bad credit, then it affects you as well. But this time?! Give me a break! Alternatively, I could wait 2 months, and it would be activated. Yes, I'll wait... but isn't that just insane? What did they expect me to do with the phone, anyway?! Part of the reason why I chose this company, was because they have deal with the same network abroad (i.e. use 3 in Sweden, and it'll be the same charges as if you were in the UK). Gaaaah!
Strangest sight of the day 2
Ok, good day for this kind of stuff: two great spottings today.
1) Woman walking through the British Library with a pillow (!) under her arm.
2) At King's Cross tube station: young girl, dressed in pink, sitting in a buggy, being pushed by her older sister. The sister, c. 10 years old, is dressed in a shocking neon pink coloured tracksuit. After them comes their mother (very blond), in her late 30s, in a matching tracksuit (same colour!), in a pair of even more matching furry (!) pink flip flops, decorated with glitter! Pink overload, anyone?!
More tech stuff
Well, I can't just write a really negative post like that, but have to add a piece of good tech news as well. Finally, on October 31st, LocoRoco 2 is being released! It's probably the best game ever made for the PSP (well, at least a good tie with Patapon):
The songs are so catchy it's untrue! Ever since getting - and finishing - the first game last Christmas I have wanted a sequel. So now I know what I'll be doing as soon as the thesis is finished...
And good news for Tim: big sale coming up, and he's being interviewed by one of the big national papers tomorrow. Cool!
Technical difficulties
Hm, well, the phone sure is doing it's job (and more), but the laptop truly has a mind of its own. Both bluetooth and wireless decided to give in today, although not completely - the wireless found the server, just refused to connect; and the bluetooth could be found by other devices, but not the other way around. Very frustrating. Also, in a brave moment when I thought I was able to create my own vpn network, I somehow managed to unregister the University of Oslo's administrator, who set up the computer in the first place. I can still connect to UiO's server via vpn, but I'm not sure whether they can access my computer any longer?! Very complicated. After two restarts, one anti virus scan (3 hours!), one spyware scan (1 hour) and cleaning up all the temp files (much needed, I fear), the wireless is finally up again. Computers really do their own thing, don't they?! What I really need is a pro to go through everything... (And this is when I would normally call Tim's friend Peter, who is a computer engineer, but I'm afraid everything on this laptop is in either Norwegian or Swedish... not very helpful!) Needless to say, I did not get much done today, and I am starting to panic a bit. But I'm looking forward to going to Stockholm on Friday... Yay!
Pure joy
So, here it is, my new little baby:
Oh, it's such a super toy (yes, the geek alert is on)! I had been rather jealous of Tim's Blackberry for days, but we were both about to cancel our old contracts (lousy Vodafone!)... so, there was nothing to stop me, really. I'm in love - step aside, Jim (now also known as Stinkface, aka Puke-atron [his Transformers name])! There's nothing this baby can't do (except making coffee, possibly).
I still have to work on the camera, the pictures come out fairly blueish (although that might just be on the screen, I'm experimenting by sending stuff to Flickr, but haven't had time to check it out yet), and the Sync application won't work with Thunderbird (bloody Outlook!), so transferring contacts have proved to be a long, slow process. Finally found some weird application that could sync both with Thunderbird and Lightning. Yay! (Although, admittedly, I somehow ended up with double or even triple entries of most contacts - I suspect it also synced with gmail...) Also, obviously no Scandinavian characters. Worked out how to get most of them, but am still without a decent 'å'. Tried to work out how to add on new fonts, but got a bit bored of it.
Yes, there are loads of features that I have no idea what they are for, or I doubt I'll ever use (voice dialling being one of them), but some of them are just too cool for school. My favourite is the remote control. It can be used to navigate the 'pointer' in Windows, and I am sooo going to use that when giving my lecture in Linköping next week. Hi tech power point, here I come! (Oh, should probably write that lecture...)
Hi tech heaven
Ok. I'm the first one to admit it might seem a bit over the top, but I just cannot help it. This is written on my new toy, and I am completely in love with it! Although no longer in love with Jim who just puked all over our carpet... Biblical proportions! But my new super duper mobile phone is wonderful, and I'm in love!!!
Competition for Tim
I've got a new boyfriend. He's great. Beautiful, black, thick hair (none of Tim's thinning). Never a hard word. Likes a good meal and relaxing with me on the sofa. Is always really happy to see me when I get in. His name is Jim.
Yes, we are cat-sitting this week. And it is quite nice! Tim is working a lot, so it feels good to have someone to come home to. We both like Jim, really. And I fear we spoil him quite a bit (I'm not sure he'll want to go back upstairs after this stay). We even let him sleep on our bed... (I happen to know he's not even allowed in the bedroom upstairs.) But it takes a little time to get used to having 'something' there. Although Jim is more like a puppy than an old cat. This morning, Tim complained about Jim following him around all the time.
-Well, have you fed him? I asked
-Oh, yeah, that's why he kept staring at the kitchen!
Well done, Sherlock!
Advice
Some pieces of advice for all the ladies out there...
1) Do not believe your husband when he says he will clean the pan in which he roasted a whole duck.
2) Do not leave a pan, in which you have roasted a whole duck, to stand for a week.
(Alternatively, do not cook duck.)
(No) more meatballs
After last nights embarrassment, things got even worse. We both got home late (obviously) and Tim decided to cook something nice and quick. The last meatballs! Perfect, really - fast and tasty. The workers had been in, changing one of the window panes, so it was a bit messy, but we were both too tired and hungry to do anything about it before dinner. Tim started frying the meatballs, but it was not long before one of them escaped, and jumped down on the sideboard. No problems. Not wanting to pick it up (don't ask me why), he simply rolled it down to the pan he held out below the bench. Then he remembered! There was saw dust and glass splinter everywhere. And all that had now been shoved in to the pan... Needless to say, we did not have any meatballs for dinner.
So, to cheer me up:
Embarrassment
I guess it's been a bit naughty of me to call Tim all these names (although he certainly calls himself a lot more - and a lot worse than this), so it probably serves me right, that I now call myself tomato-face! Oh, the embarrassment...
I had spent the day in the BL, being rather good. Had gone through all my old notes, to make sure there were no question marks I had not followed up. One minute to eight, and the library is on the edge of closing. I pack up my things, shut down the computer, return my books, and... no, do not unlock the laptop. I normally use a laptop lock (which is attached to the laptop, and then bound around the lamp above the reading desk). Well, the lock has a simple four-digit combination (which happens to be the same as the pin to my Visa card, so nothing too tricky) but it just wouldn't open! Tried over and over again! No, still locked. In the end, had to go to security, and they called for a janitor to come and cut it open. Before the janitor arrived three of us managed to pull the thing over the lamp. I was absolutely mortified! And really stressed. I mean, now is not the time to have to find a lock smith.
Got home. Tried again. Oh, yes. Wrong combination. Tadaaa! Lock opens! I am sooo embarrassed!
Music discoveries
One of my fairly recent discoveries is that you in iTunes can access other people’s music libraries. (Stupid people who let complete strangers do that!) This is a great feature, as I am bored of my own music — and too busy to upload anything new, and too poor to buy new stuff. So, when I want new music I just surf around other people’s iTunes. The music is only half the fun, though. The greatest part is to see what weird taste in music some people have (classical and hard core house and Britney — must be someone who shares the computer with a teenage son or daughter), and also to try and guess whose library it is I am listening too (which is really hard, because there are too many people in the library) and what kind of person it is. Today I listened to a library which definitely belonged to a Swede... And a person whose taste in music is more or less the same as mine! It was actually quite scary — it was like looking at my own library, plus/minus a few! Who can it be...?
Work update: polishing on my summary, and waiting for some proofs. Thesis now 555 pages long...
Another weekend gone
Great weekend with the Norwegians. Friday was mostly spent on Oxford Street, running in and out of all the shops. I was behaving well, and did not buy anything, although I found a new shoe shop which I will definitely pay a visit to as soon as I get money (that really sucks with being unemployed – there’s no way you can save up to anything!). Very late pub lunch and the obligatory pint, more shopping, and then heading home. Tim cooked us an excellent duck, served with all the proper English things (though we skipped the Yorkshire pudding – but I swear, one day I’ll learn how to make them. Mmmmm), especially my new favourite – roasted parsnips. We played board games (our new London game) and drank far too much wine. Saturday was spent in Camden town. Perfect, sunny day, and lots of crazy stuff to look at. Unfortunately, we had dinner in a very overpriced and not very nice restaurant in Covent garden (not our choice), but ended the evening on an upbeat – watching Blades of Glory (Tim’s favourite). Eili and Tonje left at an ungodly hour this morning, while Tim and I had the luxury of going back to bed for another few hours. Then we went in to town to pick up a few papers for Tim. Had a well deserved burger for dinner (ah, don’t you love Sundays?!), and a walk through St. James’ park on the way home. I was oohing and aaahing over the squirrels, as always. Also stopped in Zavvi on the way (hm, do we see a pattern here?), and invested in a few movies. Two each. Tim picked the latest two Alien/Predators ones. So we have now just wasted almost two hours on Alien vs. Predator. Don’t see it. Or, if you do, rent it – don’t buy it. I actually quite liked the Predator movies, but this was pure crap! Oh, well. At least I have a Harry Potter movie and Gladiator to look forward to…
Headline that makes one stressed
(Click to make image larger)
Ok, this is something you don't want to see when you enter a news page. I know Tim was going to Exeter. But he did promise to text me this morning (which he hasn't), and paranoid me - at home, miserable with a cold - started to think that maybe he was on a secret mission, and that he went to Brussels instead... Well, I'm not going to tell him this, because I'm pretty sure he'd think that was pretty cool, and start telling me how the Firm actually is a cover up story for him being an agent. And the story would never end. And I would deeply regret ever planting the idea in his head...
Visitors
Finally, close to lunchtime, Eili and Tonje arrived in Stockwell. We relaxed at home for a few hours (they had, after all, got up at 4 in the morning to travel), before heading to Leicester Square. Walked around there, and through China town, before grabbing two pints (and too many nachos) at the Two Brewers. Went on to Covent garden, and from there down to Strand and on to Trafalgar Square, and then Piccadilly Circus. Walked into Soho, and rested our tired feet with another beer in the Blue Posts. Tim met up after work (he had been working late) and we all had a lovely meal at Strada (you can't go wrong there). Took the slowest bus ever home, and then relaxed on the sofa. It is so great to have them here (and I wish every Wednesday was like today), and to get updated with everything. Tomorrow, Tim is going to Exeter, the girls are going to the Madonna concert at Wembely stadium while I'll be working - I am very jealous!
Bad day done good
I am so happy I am ready to explode! No, I'm not finished with my thesis, but we finally have lights again!!! Changing the wiring in all the fuses, we found the faulty one, and - ta daaa! I am just jumping up and down! Didn't think a little light could make anyone so happy. (Although, suddenly, we can see all the dirt in the corners...) This day couldn't have ended better. And at the moment, I am ready to do anything for my super husband: Fusefixer Spider-Tim!
Maximum frustration
Ok, I'm really on the edge now... I don't know how much more I can take! Suddenly realized we're having guests coming. Eili and Tonje are coming tomorrow morning, staying till Sunday. So, now very desperate to fix things. And I'm having one of those days in which everything goes wrong...
Headed into town to get a few things. Had decided to meet Tim for lunch, but he was too busy. Sat in the park at Hanover Square and ate a sandwich, pnly to get up and discover great mud stains on my new jacket. Finally got my coffee at Selfridges, only to discover that they've stopped selling my favourite type. On to John Lewis where I got en extra pillow and two pillowcases. BIG bag. We actually have loads of pillowcases, but were short on pillows. Unfortunately, English pillows don't have the same measurements as Scandinavian ones. Here they are long and thin. I'm used to square ones. You could by 'Oxford style' pillows, which are square, but they are almost twice the size of an Scandinavan one. Very frustrating. (I'm considering making a petition for an international pillow standard. Anyone interested?) Then bought four white espresso cups from Höganäs (!) on sale, which was really the highlight of my day. But not necessary according to husband, oh well. Fighting my way through Oxford street with the big bags, elbowing all the tourists. I hate that street. Umbrella broke on the way back, just as it started to piss down. We have very English weather at the moment...
At home, all windows open - the builders have been scraping the window frames, second day in a row. Paint dust all over the place... and very cold. Things are just not going my way today.
(Almost complete) darkness
the Boltons 2 – Technology 5000
This is driving me insane! 10 days, still no light... Tim has had a look at all the antique fuses, but they all seem fine! We will try and change the wiring in them all tonight (we have, however, great difficulties working out which fuse runs what), but at this moment we fear it might be a mouse that has bitten off some wiring somewhere... Aaaah! We made an effort last night though, and rearranged all the small lights we have, so that there's at least one working light bulb in every room (except for the bathroom, where candles are still the thing). I am frustrated beyond words!
Meatball miracles etc
Yup! We made it to Cambridge. I decided against buying a new dress, but opted for wearing the one I wore last year (little black thing). Upgraded it by getting a gold bolero and a matching clutch bag instead. Which, in the end, came to about the same prize as a new dress...
The dinner was quite nice. It is Tim's old college that has a annual (more or less, there was a break between 1908 and 2003) audit dinner. Long story, ask Tim if you want to know more. Anyway, this was my third one, and I had a really good time. Knowing more people now, the dreaded mingling was quite fun, and I got to see lots of old friends. Key to having a good evening is of course where you get seated at the dinner table (this is, after all, a seven course meal), but I was lucky this time. The gentleman on my left never turned up (apparently that was a good thing), but next to me I had an undergrad student, and opposite his girlfriend, both medievalists. They were nice and easygoing, and it was good not to have someone too serious as company... The girl and I compared notes on faux pas at previous dinners. My worst one was to dip my fingers in a bowl of rose water (when you were supposed to dip your serviette), but she won by telling me how she managed to pour sherry into her red wine glass (a thing that was later publicly announced!), and putting fruit on what she thought was her plate, but was in fact a variant of aforesaid bowl of rose water!
Food and wine was very good, and I drank too much port, which I discovered the day after... However, I had made a great revelation on the Thursday - Sainsbury's sell Swedish meatballs (Scans!!!) for only 99p. The meatballs definitely saved my Saturday. Best hangover cure ever: meatballs and coke! (I have now bought two more packages, not because I am planning to get drunk, but because they were incredibly yummy!) And in the future, if I feel homesick I don't have to go all the way to IKEA, but can just walk to the store around the corner. Bliss!
Sunday, Tim went to Bristol to go to a birthday party for the owner of Uley Brewery... I haven't heard from him yet, so I assume it was a good party. He's coming back tomorrow, via some library somewhere.
I, on the other hand, met up with Mathilde and her friends, who were visiting London for the weekend. We strolled around Spitafield market, had a drink at Jaguar Shoes, and dinner at the Drunken Monkey. I felt like the most uncool person on the planet, not in touch with anything trendy, but had a really good time. Spent the last part of the evening watching 'Billy Elliot', one of my favourite movies. Found it for £3 at Sainsbury's! (I love that store!) Soppy me cried in the end, as always. (And I don't even like ballet.) A great way to spend a Sunday.
Good song
Spider-Tim, spider-Tim
removes all the spiders, yes that's him.
Will he hover or use a glass?
I don't know, but he saves my ass.
Look out, here is spider-Tim!
Panic!
Fancy Cambridge college dinner coming up tomorrow... Accommodation, almost check. Train tickets, check. Make up, check. Jewelery, check. Shoes, check. Shawl, check. Dress, absolutely not even close to a check. Oups! I think I know what I will be doing tomorrow morning...
Btw, today realized one of the greatest things with being an adult: you can buy any toilet paper you want to! Just so you know.
Photo report
I'm a bit too lazy today to write anything proper. Doing a lot of proof reading, and will soon try and head in to town for that dress I never bought. Also, need more coffee ('intresseklubben antecknar'). So, today's post is just a photo report from the past weekend (sorry about the poor quality, I used Tim's mobile). Tim really connected with his youngest niece, Ellie. She, who was born very premature and weighed less than a kilo, is now home, and is a healthy and very cute baby. Tim is in love!
We already have our roles set. If we ever have children, Tim will be the fun one, who always plays with them. I'll be the strict one, setting all the rules. (However, Tim is convinced that by the time any child is about 10, it will be too embarressed to be seen with its silly father.)
Tech updates
Technology 1 - the Boltons 1
Ok, I am actually quite happy. After a month without any internet I am now online again. And this has been celebrated with a day of way too much surfing. Things would be a lot better though if it wasn't for technology's resistance against us. I thought we finally had conquered nature: the number of moths and spiders have finally gone down (my mum claims it because it is getting colder, but I would assume that would bring even more of them inside) and we haven't seen any bugs for a week. However, last week we lost all light... Yes, all ceiling light died on us late on Thursday. Since we went away for the weekend, that wasn't really anything we had time to deal with. I came back at lunch time yesterday, but the electrical fuses are of an ancient kind, unknown to me. Apparently, you have do to some serious surgery and change some wiring inside of the fuse... Well, enough said. That means it is now Tuesday night, Tim has finally had the time to look at the fuses, and well, discovered he can't work out which one it is! So here we are: we can work all the rest of the electrical stuff - so the two floor lamps we have in the living room are fine - but have no light. I.e. all rooms but living room are completely dark. In theory it is quite cosy to sit on the loo in candle light, but in practice... no! To be honest, it freaks me out a bit to go around with a flash light in my own home (esp. with known spider problems). I am really close to give in to technology!