E: End of year droplets

The number of days left of 2007 are two. The number of hours left at home with my family in Brøstadbotn is few. The pace of life has decelerates around Christmas with time off, many meals, and a bunch of family and friends. The business sense of being productive is distant, but efficiency can be measure in many ways. For my own mind, it has been healthy to tune out a little. It is in times like this one realizes that real creativity or inspiration often comes once you stop thinking too much.

For instance, I have not had so many ideas since I started my job (I had plenty coming into it) as I have had after I went on a break. This will hopefully rub off on the coming issues of Agenda 3:16.

Here are some others bits of my thinking the last couple of weeks.

There are two extremely vital questions in everyday life, about which we (I) spend far too little time thinking:
1) How am I - really?
There is a difference between asking what’s up and figuring out what is really going on on the inside and why. This I want to spend more time thinking about for the time to come.
2) What do I want to do with life?
What to study? Where to work? Many many many a time I hear people tell me that the reason for them to educate themselves to whatever they do is coincidental. When comparing the amount of time people spend choosing high school, university etc with the number of years of given subjects the choice leads to, it is almost scary. Of course there are chances of swapping, withdrawing, changing etc, but often it does not happen. I think it should be far more mandatory presence and scheduled meetings with school counselors to assure that people give their choices proper thought.

When being employed, many stick to their job for a while. But some maybe stuck too long. If people enjoy themselves and get enough challenges, that is all good. But I believe there are others who do not properly assess their own satisfaction and qualities in terms of thinking ahead. One does not have to stick to the profession one starts out in or is educated to do. At least not in my mind.

This brings me to the discussion I have had for some time regarding what I will do in the future. I am still trying to figure out. For now I know I will work as a journalist at least till this summer, probably for all of 2008, maybe longer. But in the back of my mind I have a notion that journalism is not what I do (or can do) best. I think my qualities are more in terms of counseling, coaching, leadership, motivating and analyzing – putting creativity into the formula. Other than consultation firms (HR, strategy, leadership, maybe media), I have given (police/crime) investigation some thought.

Another writing thought: My writing tends to be annoying complex – at least for other people. I have never been accused of writing too simple. A vague theory is that it is a rebellious act. I never really had a big period of provoking and uprising in my teens. Thus, I thought my way of composing text could be a subconscious way of protest. I have been working with an anxiety of repeating words/phrases/myself. At least up till now. From 2008 I will do my best to write things the way they are. Period.

Barns herlige formuleringsevne 2

Her kommer 11 gullkorn til, som en oppfølger til Barns herlige formuleringsevne.

1) Gamle damer har nesten brukt opp kroppen sin og de er ofte så utbrente at det lukter svidd av dem.

2) Hvis du går en tur og hjernen faller ut, så finner vi ikke veien hjem for da kan vi ikke tenke klart lenger.

3) Kneskålene er to skåler som sitter under kneet, i tilfelle man får vann i kneet

4) Hvis du vil bli tynn i en fei, kan du bare gå til legen og bli støvsuget

5) Fordøyelse er noe man gjør i fordøyelsesparker

6) Hvis det er like strevsomt å være forelsket som å lære seg å skrive, vet jeg ikke om det er verdt det

7) Nå er det blitt ozonhull i himmelen. Det gjør gulvet til Gud ikke helt tett lenger. Det kan bli et problem.

8) Hvis man er støl i huden kan man bare smøre seg med tigerbalsam. Den virker fort, for moset tiger er ganske sterkt

9) Kona til Gud heter Gudmor. Hun er moren til alle barnebarna hans: Moses, Jesus og Julenissen

10) Øl gjør ofte at kroppen blir usymmetrisk

11) Å være engel er et typisk kvinneyrke.

E: Merry Christ’s mass!

We have just entered the most discussed and advertised holiday in the year. Christmas is here. Although my childlike excitement toward the season has lessened over the scope of the last few years, I treasure it greatly as an important tradition and family get-together. This appreciation was strengthened this year due to the airport chaos from Oslo, which kicked up a fuzz regarding my traveling up north.

December 24th, Christmas Eve, is the big day in Norway. Candy, children’s TV, church, dinner, cakes, singing and finally opening presents is our routine. This is similar to the one of others. We had the entire core family present, including sister-in-law, brother-in-law + his mother and sister. My uncle, cousin and his son also came for dinner. It was a happy dozen for dinner.

Commercial interests have in many ways transformed the last week, or month, of the year into a materialistic mess. Yet, the Old English origin of the word is literally Christ’s mass.

I do not oppose the parcel exchange, as long as the aim can be the giving side of things, not the receiving. Serving, giving and sacrificial behavior is Biblical big time. After all, John 15:13 states: ”Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends”. I am personally very found of providing people with gifts of various kind. In recent years, to give when not expected (outside of Christmas, birthdays etc) I find a cooler thing to do. Two challenges with this: A materialistic focus increase and possible wrong interpretations (particularly when (a boy) giving to a girl) c,”). I also have an increased desire for giving gifts that can change the world or make the difference (i.e. financial support to various charity/development work with a symbolic card/present given to the receiver). There is not all that much stuff one needs when having the privilege (or curse?) of living in the wealthiest par of the world. Having said that, I keep being amazed of all the creative solutions and gifts I receive from friends and family every year – this year included. A big thanks to all.

Christmas is also an “excuse” to get in touch, say hallo, send a greeting, meet up etc for both family and friends. This is also the case for me, Christmas normally being one of the two times a year I go home north.

But, like I wrote in the beginning, the holiday is originates from a holy day – the day Jesus was born. What I found chiefly nice this year was that my mother, father, brother and sister-in-law sat up till nearly 3 am talking and praying – drawn together around the person who was born as a fragile, vulnerable human, faced the challenges with opposing the current religion leaders and eventually dying for the sake of mankind.

Enjoy the holiday!

Pictures of various things will be coming.

Teipet sterk mening

I dag var jeg på trykk i Dagbladet - med følgende kommentar på Sterke Meninger:

Bortkastet teip
Hvorfor i all verden bruker hopptrenerne- og lagledere masser av tid og energi på å filme sine utøvere med dårlige handholdt utstyr? Er det noen som kan tipse dem om at det går an å ta opp TV-sendingene på video og heller be dem nyte rennet?

Her er noen andre ytringer jeg har klapret i dagboka mi den siste tiden:

Bakskjermraseri
Til deg som har stjålet bakskjermen på sykkelen min to ganger i løpet av to uker: Kan du vennligst si fra på forhånd neste gang du planlegger å gjøre det en dag det høljeregner, etter at sykkelbutikken på hjørnet har stengt? Vær på vakt for en gjennomvåt, gjennomprovosert mann med balltre og hevnlyst.

Grønn glede
TV2-nyhetene melder at FEE Norge (Foundation for Environmental Education) deler ut grønne flagg med logoen sin på til alle skoler som satser på miljø. Oj oj oj så inspirert og supermotivert jeg ville blitt for en bærekratig utvikling for kloden om en privat stiftelse hadde drevet høyreist reklame og markedsføring ved hjelp av flaggstanga mi!

Misvisende reklame
Gebyrfri.no reklamerer disse dager med at de har 98 % tilfredse kunder.
Wow, liksom?! De som misliker tjenesten har selvsagt funnet andre leverandører av banktjenester. Det eneste oppsiktsvekkende for meg er hvem i alle verden de to prosentene er som ikke evner å melde seg ut.

E: Grounded in Oslo

I am supposed to be in my home town Brøstadbotn for Christmas preperations. Instead I just finished an extra day of work in Oslo. Fog and ice have caused chaos (see article from VG (in Norwegian)) at Oslo Airport Gardermoen, which have lead to numerous flight cancellations yesterday and today. Unfortunately for the airlines and us passengers, this Thursday and Friday are two of the busiest travelling days a year, with 70,000 people paying for airborne transportation.

My flight SK 0397 was scheduled to take off at 10:10 PM last night. I came ready and excited as early as 9, just to see a crowd of travellers and bags. My immediate thought was that «this will take a while», but felt slightly more concerned when revealing that all self-check in counters were closed and the lines were at standstill as there were no staff admitting luggage or tickets. Instead of information, there were journalists and cameras. Many newcomers, including myself, made a few phone calls to try to figure out what went on. After a bit the loudspeakers advised all passengers to check on the screens for updates. Many were delayed, a few cancelled, but so far nothing regarding my flight. A chapter of reading later (Stephen Baldwin – The Unusual Suspect), the next message declared that all flights with the airline SAS were negated.

I did not care to be frustrated – the airlines cannot change the weather – and headed back on the express train. And I could not help smiling at the irony of the train hostess making the mistake of saying «have a nice flight» before correcting herself to «have a pleasant stay» as we arrived back at Oslo central.

I booked a new flight for Sunday at 6:20 pm, but still await possible changes in flights and times, in case it is possible to head home earlier. Time will tell. I just got through to some information centre, telling me to show up at the airport tonight and hope that I will get on some flight. I highly doubt I care to wait for hours and hours for something maybe, but will rather be in touch if a larger flight is put into traffic.

I feel all right about the situation, although I would very much like to be home with my family. As long as I get there before Monday, I will be all right.

UPDATE 8:20 PM (Friday)
I will fly out tomorrow (Saturday) at 1:35 PM if the weather allows. An extra plane will be taking off, as long as the fog does not reappear around that time. The forecast is not the best, but I am optimistic. Yeah!


PICTURE TAKEN FROM VG

X: Divine drip/Himmeldrypp 14

My notes after the sermon on prayer in church Sunday.

What: Sermon in Storsalen (Church in Oslo), December 16, 2007
Who (preacher): Egil Elling Ellingsen
Scripture (part of the Bible): Matthew 6,7-13 + Deuteronomy 1,30-31

* The Lord’s Prayer can be seen as an instruction or key to prayer.
* It was, as it would be today, fairly controversial to told people to pray and particularly NOT to pray certain ways – as Jesus did just prior to and with the Lord’s Prayer.
* Prayer is not about performing, but to relate to God – in a way that God can act. One is to strive for word shortage as the words themselves do not matter all that much. God already knows what you need in advance of your prayer.
* The first sentence, Our FATHER in heaven (or: who art in heaven), establishes lots in terms of the frame of mind required when praying, rather than praying to a abstract power or wrath. This is also point of a little distress, as it will also make God into a best friend position Jesus already has. How do we make room for two?
* No one has experienced a perfect (earthly) dad. The Biblical father is as follows: loving, close, but also firm and strong. And one who ALWAYS cares.
* When you pray, the order is God first (name, kingdom, will) and then ourselves (bread, forgiveness of sins, salvation).
* Suggestions for ways of praying:
1) A straight forward Lord’s Prayer (LP), calm with related aspects in life for the various segments.
2) Prayer with perspectives related to life (as you find them in LP)
3) Study one segment of the LP in particular.


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Mine notater etter preken om bønn i helga.

Hva: Preken i Storsalen, 16. desember 2007
Hvem (taler): Egil Elling Ellingsen
Bibeltekst: Matt 6, 7-13 + 5 Mos 1, 30-31

* Fader Vår kan ses på som bruksanvisningen eller nøkkelen til bønn.
* Det var, som det er i dag, kontroversielt å si til folk ikke be slik, men slik, noe Jesus gjorde med akkurat Fader Vår.
* Bønn handler ikke om å prestere, men å relatere til Gud – slik at Gud kan handle. Man bør etterstrebe ordknapphet, det er ikke ordene som betyr noe. Gud vet hva du trenger før du ber om det.
* Første setning, vår FAR, avgjør mye om hvordan man er når man ber, i motsetning til om man skulle bedt til en makt eller vrede. Dette er litt skummelt fordi det gjør ikke bare Jesus, men også Gud til noen nær som en bestevenn. Har man plass til enda en?
* Ingen har erfart å ha en perfekt far. Den bibelske far er som følger: kjærlig, nær, men også myndig og sterk. Og sørger ALLTID for oss.

* Når man ber , er rekkefølgen først opp til Gud (navn, rike, vilje), så ned til oss (brød, skyldsforlatelse, frelse). Dette gir riktig fokus: Han først.
* Forslag til måter å be på:
1) Fader Vår rett frem. Rolig og med (dags-/livsaktuelle) relaterte aspekter til de ulike leddene
2) Be med perspektiver relatert til livet (som man finner dem i Fader Vår)
3) Studere ett og ett ledd i Fader Vår

X: Valuable elements/Verdifulle elementer

This English bit is more a brief synopsis, to give you an idea. Recently I have discovered various aspects of life I cherish.

1) Value of sincerity.
You cannot measure the value of a mother’s song or a child’s play the same way one criticizes contenders at idol or professional soccer players. Friday I viewed a gospel choir of youth where everyone was allowed with their own voice and style. Everything was run by the youth themselves. Great stuf.

2) Value of a cross-country ski trip
More valuable than hours of counseling to get back on your feet I believe, never having tried counseling. But Saturday I went skiing, and what a renovating and recreational joy it is to ski in excellent sunny weather with glittering snow.

3) Value of silence
Is underestimated. I am not talking about the quiet you need to write an exam or sleep, but the pursued absence of sound in an everyday. It will be, and might already be, a sales product in a gradually more sound-filled society. A recent positive example was the absence of music at a birthday party I attended. Yes there was talking, but the atmosphere was a particularly good one, I thought.

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Om det er den forestående høytidens salighet som slår inn vites ikke, men den siste tiden har jeg tenkt en del på hvordan jeg verdsetter visse begivenheter og perspektiver. Det er mye å glede seg over, og det er mange måter å glede seg. La meg illustrere med tre eksempler.

1) Verdien av ekthet
Generelt finnes det ofte viktigere og større kriterier for å vurdere noe, enn de åpenbare ”objektive” mål for kvalitet og innhold. Om en mor synger til sitt barn, oppstår det en umålbar kjemi mellom mor og barn som er mange ganger mer sjarmerende og ekte enn hvordan man måler deltakerne i idol. Dette bildet er inspirert av tanker fra venninne Gunhild. Et annet eksempel er konserten jeg med på sammen med henne fredags kveld. Heggen gospel er et kor av godt over 50 tenåringer som velger sanger, øver, spiller instrumentene og dirigerer selv. Den autonome gruppa med kristen profil har en voksen tilrettelegger, men ellers skjer ting på eget initiativ. Musikken som strømmet ut i Modum menighetssenter var stundom av høy kvalitet, men enda mer inderlig var gleden av deres særegenhet. Tenåringene fikk være akkurat så aktive, bevegelige, finkledde og aktive som de ønsket. Og alle som vil får være med, uavhengig av hvilken stemme man har.

2) Verdien av en skitur
Lørdag foregikk sesongens første ferd med ski på beina. Norefjells terreng bydde på vindestille, sporpreparert snødekke overøst med sol og en vindstille blå himmel. Slike turer gir meg rekreasjon i store mengder. Jeg er nokså sikker på slike turer kompenserer for ganske så mange kontorterapitimer for de som trenger å få lufte ut vanskeligheter i livet med profesjonell assistanse.

3) Verdien av stillhet
Forrige lørdag var jeg med å feire venninne Meretes 30-års dag sammen med rundt 15 andre i hennes leilighet på Sinsen. Her var det mat og drikke, prat og hygge som ved andre festligheter. Men det var også bevisst fravær av musikk. Det at det ikke var annet lyd enn summinga og latteren fra folket satte sin dannethet på arrangementet, men også en behagelig atmosfære som jeg synes frister mer til gjentakelse enn hva jeg antok på forhånd.

Lyden av stillhet er dessverre mangelvare anno 2008. Sjelden er man utenfor larmens sfære. Fred og ro er i ferd med å bli, eller burde i alle fall bli norske eksportartikler, selvsagt kombinert med de herlige naturopplevelsene som finnes. Om man ber eller ei, tror jeg det å aktivt oppsøke eller klargjøre noen minutters stille forum i ens hverdag vil betale seg i tilfredshet. Og da tenker jeg i løpet av dagen, ikke i forbindelse med sengegang eller oppvåkning.

X: Volleyball loss/Ikke helt som adventet

The final volleyball match for the year (not the season) ended with a bitter 2-3 loss against the division group leader Akim. I got to play outside till halfway through the second game before being swapped.

Match report, on the close battle, can be studied (in Norwegian) here.

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Nok en gang skulle OSI tape for puljeleder Askim. Undertegnede spilte første 1,5 sett, uten å gjøre det fremragende, men samtidig ikke håpløst på kanten. Jeg er ikke nødvendigvis helt fornøyd med ikke å komme innpå igjen når det buttet i mot med høyere feilprosent senere i kampen enn det jeg presterte, men det var uansett en underholdende kamp med mye liv.

Kampreferatet leses her.

E: Missing links 5 – travel

There are so many web pages out there related to traveling, an acvivity which gives me the kicks. I will quickly list a few links I have come across.

The best and most extensive travel guide on the planet, is lonely planet. The web page is also very well done. Nifty facts are also given in the CIA world factbook.
If you wanna see what language they speak where, click here. Or you may wanna check on the country code for phone calls

By the way, this is how you pack: in one bag.

After you go, you can update a map of how many countries you have visited at World66.

If you wanna go abroad and have not been to Norway, this introduction from VisitNorway.com may inspire you. This fun list of things I do not miss about Norway may not.

For you traveling from Norway, going abroad, here is a collection of cheap flight ticket sites.
* Fly billigst
* Omindo
* Kilroy Travels

The remaining list are sites of which I am not as familiar.
* Travellink
* Supersaver
* Reisefeber
* Ticket
* Lavprisfly
* Reisbillig
* Travel Partner
* Restplass

E: Misleading web pages

Every so often people post a web page without thinking about possible double meanings. As URL addresses ain’t case-sensitive (it doesn’t matter if letters are small or capitol), you can easily read different meanings – also by mistakes.

A few known ones from the web are the following

nowHere.com -> noWhere.com
ChooseSpain.com –> ChoosesPain.com
PotsOfArt.com –> PotsoFart.com
ViaGrafix.com –> ViagraFix.com
Speed of Art -> www.speedofart.com

I chose not to refer to the more obscure mistakes made. Other times, addresses you type do not lead you to the content you are seeking.

Personally I recall being surprised three times this year.
1) www.kirken.com (church dotcom in Norwegian) refers to an anti-abortion site.
2) kyrkan.se (The Swedish church is named Svenska kyrkan) links to a casino site. The correct site is www.svenskakyrkan.se
3) Finally, www.duo.no will take you to a semi pornographic site instead of the University of Oslo publication system named Duo, short for Digitale Utgivelser ved UiO (www.duo.uio.no). This is wehere my thesis is published.

Beware of what you type :)

E: Booked December

The present couple of weeks exemplify a lifestyle I am trying to avoid. I do not oppose any of my current activities, but I am short of flexibility with fully booked days and nights. This is an important reason for being slack with the updates. Fortunately this is temporarily.

In general, though, work engages my everyday. Tuesday and parts of Wednesday and Fridays are locked to volleyball practice. Tuesday I coach a division 2 men’s team after my own practice. Furthermore I am still undertaking French classes, which is Monday nights. The coming Monday is the last of the course, however. Most other activities are event-based.

This is my December 2007 outside of the regular activities
1) French reading + meeting my father, brother and sister-in-law
2) Volleyball tournament with the div 2 team I coach + dinner and hanging out with my father and a mutual friend Rune.
5) Dinner visit from Signe before practice.
6) Christmas dinner party (julebord) with Aller Internett, the owners of DinSide.no, the consumer web page I have worked for since 2003. I am know am nearly out of. It took place at Frognerseteren (Sporten), Oslo. I do not know many as I have been doing most my work online, but I had lots of fun with old friends and new acquaintances through lovely food, all right music, a cool music quiz, chatting and dancing.
7) Christmas dinner party with former journalism students (class of 2002-04), eating tapas at Youngstorget (Cafe Tenerife) and clubbing a little at Grünerløkka (SüdÖst), Oslo. It is fun seeing where all the guys wind up, and how many that are still studying various new subjects. Moreover, I much appreciate the fact that we have a big turn-out every year. The intake was 60 students. This year we were 20+. Last year we were 35.
8) Today: 30-year birthday party at friend Merete.
9) Church and lunch with friend Mona + birthday taco at friend Maia’s place.
12) Last volleyball match this year: Home vs Askim

The days following will contain meeting various friends, practice, church, volleyball tournament ++. Everything is not completely set.
20) Heading up north, for Christmas in Brøstadbotn.
This will be the first break in years when I will not be working, as working is what I normally do nowadays (opposed to studying).
30) Return to Oslo.
31) New year’s eve with best friend Thor Oskar and wife Kristin.

Barns herlige formuleringsevne

I påvente av litt tid til å skrive ut mange av de tankene jeg har om alt det som skjer i og rundt meg for tiden, gjengir jeg et dusin gullkorn-uttalelser fra de minste jeg fant i en liste

1) En bestemor er en som hele slekten har kommet ut gjennom. Da er det ikke så rart om hun blir litt slaskete i skinnet.

2) Jeg vil ikke begraves når jeg blir gammel, for jeg klarer ikke å ligge så lenge under jorda uten å puste. Og så er det så ekkelt å få jord i nesa. Da er det nesten bedre å bo på gamlehjem.

3) Bestemødre har veldig store behåer. De er så store at jeg får hele rumpa og to knær inn i den ene rundingen. I den andre kan broren min sitte

4) Hvis Gud hadde holdt det han sa om å la alle barna komme til seg, hadde vi ikke trengt barnehager

5) Først blir man celle, så blir man barn, så blir man mamma, så blir man bestemor, så blir man oldemor og så blir man tippoldemor. Til slutt blir man gjørme.

6) Faren min sier at moren min er bevisstløs når hun kjøper klær.

7) I gamle dager var det ikke lov for faren å føde barn. De syntes det var umusikalsk. Men i dag er det vanlig at moren og faren føder barnet sammen.

8) Babyer blir til i gjerningsøyeblikket

9) De som tror på Allah er muslinger. I Kina tror jeg de tror på noe annet. Der tror de på drager.

10) Det går ikke an å gjemme brokkolien i melkeglasset

11) Blåbær er innmari godt, fordi det er syltetøy inni dem

12) Folk som er forelsket holder hverandre i hendene så ikke ringene skal falle av, for de koster mange penger

E: Mali voyage set

This week my Mali journey was finally booked and confirmed. At the end of January I will spend over two weeks out of office, heading to a cultural junction of West Africa. The republic populated with 11.2 million inhabitants is in a cool season at the time, the temperature dropping to close to 30 degrees Celsius daytime :). Exactly what I will do from arrival to departure is not all set, but chances are great I will visit the cities where Normisjon, the mission organization owning the magazine which employs me, has most of its work: Bamako (capital), Bafoulabe, Tamaga and Oussoubidanja are situated from south central to the west side of the country. More details will be given as departure is nearing.

Flight itinerary:
19. jan: Oslo - Paris
22. jan: Paris - Bamako (Mali)
5. feb - 6. feb: Bamako - Paris
6. feb: Paris - Amsterdam
7. feb: Amsterdam - Oslo

The weekend upon arrival I will be spending in Paris. I have never been in the French capital. Other than seeing a few of the sites (like the Eiffel tower and the Louvre), I will be hanging with my very cool former French housemate Alix (in the middle, pic on left. Devan and Jackie are two other awesome aussies with whom I shared house), whom I lived with in Melbourne at the beginning of last year. I also get to practice and learn some more French. The course is still running, and I gradually pick up more and more as the weeks go by. But as I do not have much spare time in between the couple-of-hours class every Monday night, I do not progress as quickly as I would like. I do not struggle to understand the grammar, but more to remember all the words and the various pronunciations – as the words and sounds do not really correlate all that well :) At least not in comparison with Spanish, a language which I mix some things with now and then. But all in all I am getting somewhere.

On the way back, I will have a day of stopover in Amsterdam. Here I will meet Arosha (pic on right), a bright and beautiful woman from Sri Lanka. She is currently working in the Netherlands, but this is also a lady I made friends with Down Under.

I was able to get the stopovers for the same price as the initial non-stop ticket, after a bit of negotiations and a bit of travel research. This way my traveling is covered by work. I am excited to get traveling again, but normally don’t take off before the plane does :)

E: Online clips 25

Michael Moore’s Sicko attacks the American health system. I have not seen the movie, but I believe this segment about Norway was left out. Although he ridicules a bit with the way a few (far from all) prisoners are treated on their way to readjust to society, Moore idealizes our national advantages.

Britain got talents. One of them is the opera singer Paul Pott. A recent one is 6-year old Connie. She impressed me during her first appearance. She made it through to the final, and this clip shows her singing there.

A little less serios is this farting fellow appearing in a the Norwegian Friday night entertainment show "Senkveld med Thomas og Harald".

Another incident is this big parade-like happening where a pigeon is supposed to take off in the end. I could not help crack up, although things do not go as planned.

There are thousands of items sold on various tv-shop programs. Most presentations go really well, but every so often something is bound to fail. And when it does, it is repeated over and over again. Enjoy the ladder.

E: Another volleyball loss

5 losses in 7 season matches is horrible. Other than a second place in a league tournament a few weeks ago, there has been very many almost-but-not-good-enough games. I cannot remember a worse beginning of the seeason with OSI before. Saturday we lost 1-3 against Kolbotn.

Personlly I did not get to play until close to halfway in the fouth and final game. For the 20 points or so I was on the court, I had very good passing and no mistakes in offense. Sadly, it was not enough to alter the outcome.

My match report in Norwegian here.

X: Uncle-to-be/Snart onkel Sindre

Finally, I am allowed to share the happiest news in a long long time. My sister-in-law Ingunn Sofie, is pregnant! My brother called me Thursday to share the most uplifting news. There is close to two months since life begun, and the big introduction to the world will take place next summer.

It is hard to explain the reaction of the joyous news and tough to provide really insightful data at this stage. I am happy to become an uncle nontheless. YEAH!

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Endelig har jeg fått lov til å slippe munnkurven: Min svigersøster Ingunn Sofie er gravid! Min kjære bror ringte torsdag for å dele den svært så gledelige nyheten. Det er snart et par måneder siden livet begynte, og verdenslanseringen er satt opp til sommeren 2008.

Det var og er vanskelig å finne ord som beskriver gleden over at den nære familie vokser, og vissheten om jeg til sommeren kan kalles onkel! De viktigste begivenheter er oftest de vanskeligste å sette gode ord eller tanker på.

X: Insurance hilarity/Forsikringsleven

It is Friday, weekend and time for a bit of insurance claim humor. Below are 20 selected highlights from a list of quotes from actual traffic incidents, snitched from the net.

1) Going to work at 7am this morning I drove out of my drive straight into a bus. The bus was 5 minutes early.
2) The accident happened because I had one eye on the lorry in front, one eye on the pedestrian and the other on the car behind.
3) I pulled into a lay-by with smoke coming from under the hood. I realised the car was on fire so took my dog and smothered it with a blanket.
4) Q: Could either driver have done anything to avoid the accident? A: Travelled by bus?
5) I knew the dog was possessive about the car but I would not have asked her to drive it if I had thought there was any risk."
6) Windscreen broken. Cause unknown. Probably Voodoo.
7) The car in front hit the pedestrian but he got up so I hit him again
8) I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law and headed over the embankment.
9) A pedestrian hit me and went under my car
10) In an attempt to kill a fly, I drove into a telephone pole.
11) I had been shopping for plants all day and was on my way home. As I reached an intersection a hedge sprang up obscuring my vision and I did not see the other car.
12) An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car and vanished.
13) Coming home I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don't have.
14) I had been driving for forty years when I fell asleep at the wheel and had an accident.
15) I told the police that I was not injured, but on removing my hat found that I had a fractured skull.
16) I saw a slow moving, sad faced old gentleman as he bounced off the roof of my car.
17) The gentleman behind me struck me on the backside. He then went to rest in a bush with just his rear end showing.
18) When I saw I could not avoid a collision I stepped on the gas and crashed into the other car.
19) The pedestrian ran for the pavement, but I got him.
20) The accident was caused by me waving to the man I hit last week."

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Litt fredagshygge. Her er 15 utvalgte utrolige skademelinger fra den norske trafikkvirkeligheten. DinSide har et lengre utvalg av listen for verserer på nettet. Den engelske oversikten overfor er helt andre hendelser.

1) "Hunden var sort og lite synlig i mørket. Etter sammenstøtet oppførte den seg litt merkelig, men hundens eier opplyste senere at den aldri hadde vært helt god."
2) "Plutselig grep brøytekanten tak i forhjulet mitt og dro bilen rundt så den traff en stolpe."
3) "Jeg kom kjørende mot nevnte kryss, senket farten, så meg godt om, kjørte så ut i krysset - og traff hr. Pettersen. Dette er for meg en helt vanlig prosedyre."
4) "For et valg! Skulle jeg treffe bil B eller bil C? Jeg traff begge!"
5) "Jeg er ikke ute etter å forskyve skyld eller fraskrive meg ansvar, men kan bare konstatere fakta, og det ser svært dårlig ut for min del."
6) "Det var akkurat ikke plass til to biler i bredden. Oppdaget vi."
7) "Jeg vil si at jeg har 50 % skyld og motparten 75 %."
8) "Det hele var min skyld, men fører B sa at det var OK og at jeg bare skulle glemme skadene på hans bil. Det skulle han få fikset selv, sa han. Det viktigste for ham var at kona aldri fikk vite at han hadde vært akkurat der akkurat da."
9) "Det går ikke an å påstå at jeg holdt for stor fart. Bilen ble dyttet av min 72 år gamle søster."
10) "Vi kolliderte bare litt."
11) "Jeg vil gjerne gjøre oppmerksom på at vanligvis kjører jeg alltid veldig forsiktig i den svingen."
12) "Jeg kjørte aldeles ikke for fort. Jeg hadde jo to koldtbord bak i bilen!"
13) "Jeg fullførte svingen etter at veien hadde rettet seg ut."
14) "Ulykken kunne vært unngått hvis begge hadde klart å stoppe."
15) "Beklager håndskriften, men det at jeg skriver som en gris betyr ikke at jeg kjører som en."

Krakilsk nederlag

Det endte håpløst dårlig i gårdagens midtukekamp mot Spirit Lørenskog i 1. divisjon herrer, avdeling 1. Jeg var svært så innstilt, men samtidig ikke helt til stede. Jeg manglet også roen i kroppen til å stå så støtt i forsvar som jeg ønsket.

Det korte kamprefereratet er i alle fall her.

E: Divine drip 13

Here are some more insightful memos from purposedrivenlife.com.

God is like a dad who when playing “hide and seek they always get found, but they have a hard time finding you”. That is, God know exactly where (and how) you are, but keeps his distance for your dignity if you do not wanna be with him. At the same time he is like a dinosaur behind a palm tree for those who are actually searching. Read devotional.


The devotional “Putting ‘fun’ back in dysfunctional” list a range of uplifting Bible verses good to read when the going gets tough.

We can and ought to strive for being like Jesus. But we are never ever able to fully enter His world. But he already came to ours. Being Christian and being human is not about always praying and reading the Bible. It is about including God in your everyday activities and as for His guidance in everything you do – be it volleyball, work or studies. Full text here.

X: Mentorinput

Last Sunday I spoke about my life with theologist and friend – in a mentor type conversation. Some of the thoughts generated in my head that day are put into text below:
* Can time usage be normative? Can the amount of time spent on something be characterized as right or wrong?
* I sometimes stress, which is not good. But in general I do not need to be less active, but rather reduce the number of activities (and spend more time on these). This is probably also valid for my friends. I should be better to contrast with spending much and little time between different individuals, so that not all feel semi-included as I am all over the place a few times too many.
* I believe being with a girlfriend (and hopefully a wife down the line). But do I have sufficiently tranquility within to really see people these days? Moving rapidly allows you to see much, but what you see is less nuanced.
* What is my drive of motivation: do I go for what I want or what I feel I should? It does not have to be a contradiction, but can be.
* An overall analogy for my relational practice: I am a foundation wall builder. I meet lots of people and establish a good creation. But because of my long row of friendship monogamy, I have too little groups of friends outside of volleyball, I do not get sufficiently with time to furnish the place. A parallel example is going a abroad for exchange; it takes about one semester to get established and make friends. The latter half is where one can really benefit/gain from it – and enjoy the stay to the full.

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Forrige søndag var jeg i Halden for å møte Sigvald. Jeg møtte den nordnorske teologen til samtale om livet – i en slags medvandrer-, rådgivnings- og/eller mentor-setting. Sammenkomstens refleksjonsspørsmål genererte en og annen tanke jeg satte pris på å ha i hodet. Da du allerede er inne på en nettside hvis motivasjon er å finne skriblerier med min signatur, tar jeg sjansen på å dele litt selvinnsikt.
* Kan tidsbruk være normativt? Er det riktig eller galt å bruke mye/mindre tid på noe? Travelhet trenger ikke å være negativt. Men kan den blokkere for å bruke/ha/finne (nye) sider med meg selv?
* Jeg har ikke nødvendigvis behov for å bruke mindre tid på ting, men vil gjør færre ting mer skikkelig. Mengde aktiviteter og intensitet må ned, men jeg har ikke behov for å ha mer tid uten at noe skjer.
* Jeg tror jeg vil oppnå mer ro i livet ved å finne en kjæreste. Men har jeg nok tid/ro til å finne noen? Om man går fort frem, får man sett mye, men det meste mindre nøye.
* Hva slags drivkraft har jeg; lyst eller lurt? Disse behøver ikke ha motsetninger, men kan ha det.
* Jeg har levd et relasjonsliv som har vært mye i øyeblikket, men lite til stede før og etter. Brukbart med kvalitet, kanskje mindre kvantitet enn det som sunt er. Billedlig talt er jeg grunnmursbygger, men sjelden hatt tid til å kle huset. kanskje får tatt skikkelig del i ”avkastningen”, å kle/innrede bygget, av å bruke mye tid med folk. En parallell er det å flytte til et nytt sted (f.eks på utveksling til et annet land). Det tar rundt et halvt år å komme skikkelig på plass, som gjør at siste halvdel kan brukes til å virkelig få avkastning for innsatsen. Men om man bare er et halvt år...
* Kanskje jeg må bli enda flinkere til å variere type relasjoner; fra de nære, intense, til perifere, fjerne.

X: List itch / Listekløe

A weekly written challenge pops up on the wall in the bathroom in the apartment, in which I live. This is to inspire creativity and trig the humor amongst the flatmates. Starting now, I will refer some highlights from the former lists, beginning with last week. Lists are cool.

Challenge posted week 45:
Interesting places to run (fake) ticket controls

1) In an airplane (after takeoff)
2) In the movie theatre
3) At a church service
4) At the parliament
5) At a nudist beach
6) In front of the ticket boot
7) The local prison
8) In our apartment
9) Oslo main street (Karl Johan)
10) At the bathroom
11) Day of the volunteers
12) During an army exercise
13) Marinas Trench


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Jeg bor med to flotte, omtenksomme og reflektere karer. Ikke minst er det mye moro med oss tre i andre etasje i Anton Shjøths gate 10a. På badet/do henges hver uke opp en ny utfordring for å pirre kreativiteten og trigge humoren hos beboerne. Noen uker fører til ekstra mye skriblerier, og jeg kjenner det er dags for å begynne å gjengi noen høydepunkter fra ukene som har gått. Jeg starter med å gjengi et uvalg av svarene fra forrige uke, uke 45. Lister er kult.

Utfordring uke 45
Interessante steder å ha (liksom) billettkontroll

1) I et fly (etter avgang)
2) Kinosal
3) Gudstjeneste
4) Stortinget
5) Midt i Oslofjordtunellen
6) Nudiststrand
7) Foran billettluka
8) Oslo kretsfengsel
9) Anton Schjøths gate 10a
10) Karl Johan
11) På do
12) De frivilliges dag
13) Forsvaret (på øvelse)
14) Marianagropen

E: upstanding thoughts

Tonight my two housemates and I went for a stand-up show at Latter at Aker brygge in Oslo. The last comedian standing, Jonna Støme (pic), really had the laughter going for me, for all, while the other three had mediocre performences.

The audience at a stand-up is generally easier to please than other crowds, as people come to laugh. They are tuned in for jokes. Thus, there seems always to be someone out there laughing – for any witty comment, or seemingly any comment at all. Alcohol probably helps the already fully wired laughing machines around the locales.

At the same time, the audience has paid to be entertained. They demand to crack big smiles. I admire the characters who enter the stage, trying to charm a herd they do not know who are, nor their humor. There is no universal rule for what funny is. Also, the different comedians are automatically compared. To the be first seems to require most guts, but winding up last or right after a really good one must play with the minds of the performers.

Furthermore, there seems to be an unspoken rule that the overall amusement must contain sex, foul language and body sizes or other features for certain groups of people. This can be done in a funny way, particularly for the comedians with a good dosage of self-irony.

Overall, us lads had a good time together, and it may have lead to a stand-up gig concept at our apartment (for us living there only).

Helsemirakelet Erlend

Da jeg kom til Oslo i 2002, flyttet jeg inn i Lagskollektivet. I hus A (nærmest på bilde) bodde jeg sammen med blant annet Erlend Hareide. Han var en råenergisk sjel med mye liv, humor og kunnskap. Studiene gikk til jus og historie, mens mye av fritida innebar kristent engasjement. I løpet av tida bemerket han stundom et nedsatt energinivå, uten at han selv eller oss andre tenkte det var en overbelastning og får mye innsats. Det skulle dog vise seg å være ME (Myalgisk Encefalomyelitt) – kronisk utmattelsessyndrom. Erlend var hele tiden optimist, men tross ulik behandling, ble han stadig slappere. Etter å ha flyttet hjem til Mandal, hadde han etter hvert ikke engang krefter til å sende/motta SMS. Han ble etter hvert isolert, uten lys, lyd og aktivitet. Selv om jeg ba – var jeg mest trist fordi jeg ikke så hvordan ting kunne ordne seg igjen. Som et av mange forsøk, havnet han hos en australier med noen kinesiske metoder. Og dette skulle vise seg på uvirkelig kort tid å få Erlend opp på fote igjen. Amen. Han har fortsatt mye igjen til å bli helt på høyden, slik han var før det hele begynte, men at han faktisk er i virke igjen, og kan gå og trene selv er helt utrolig.

Jeg håper å snart få møte ham igjen, når han er klar til å ta imot besøk.

Les historien om Erlend i Dagbladet.

E: I have learned...

Today I received an e-mail of this list of gained experience, with which I can associate myself.

All sentences are to begin with ”I've learned....”
* That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.
* That when you're in love, it shows.
* That just one person saying to me, 'You've made my day!' makes my day.
* That being kind is more important than being right.
* That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.
* That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.
* That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.
* That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.
* That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.
* That love, not time, heals all wounds.
* That the a good way to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

E: Music break-through warning

The Fernets is a up and coming rock band from the city of Tromsø, in the north of Norway. After a couple of years of getting a name and staging various concerts around the country, it was finally time for a debut album. A Norwegian critique gave them 5 out of 6 points. I was at their release concert in Oslo and liked what I heard. Although some of the songs are a bit too sound-loaded according to my taste, there is no doubt about their ability to play, sing and live music.

I must say I am semi biased by the fact that the drummer and bass guitar player are (brothers and sons of my mom’s sister, therefore my) my cousins. Thus I encourage you to listen to some sample songs on their myspace page to judge for yourself.

Recently a semi-professional, but very amusing music video was made, and it is now available at YouTube.

Syndsbekjennelse i sju episoder

I går sendte TV 2 første episode av «De syv dødssyndene» ut på eteren. Som kristen og medieviter (per definisjon; dette skjer når man har mastergrad i medievitenskap) følte jeg det ble uriktig å mene for mye om konseptet før jeg hadde tatt en titt selv. Kristopher Schau tester om helvete finnes ved systematisk å bryte de moralske hovedreglene satt opp av kirken på 600-tallet. Forfengelighet var først ut, som ble utfordret ved å ta plastisk kirurgi (tukle med skaperverket) og sprøyte inn antirynkemidler i panna (dyrke evig ungdom) i Los Angeles, og deretter kle seg opp som drag-queen (hengi seg til pervers synd) i Las Vegas.

Jeg klarte ikke å la meg provosere, selv om få vil betvile at dette kan kalles blasfemi eller brudd mot det andre bud (de Moses fikk på steintavlene, ikke kirkas sjupunktsliste i etterkant) med at man ikke skal misbruke Guds navn. Fra kristendommen ankom landet, har den vært utsatt for ulike former for verbale, fysiske, kunstneriske, psykiske og åndelige angrep. Særlig i kunst og meningsytringer har troa, ofte symbolisert med korset eller Jesus, blitt fremstilt og spottet i alle mulige formater, fra karikaturer og stand-up til utstillinger der Jesu død på korset har blitt presentert både med urin og sæd. Kanskje er det derfor jeg ikke reagerer mer enn jeg gjør. Og kanskje dette er grunnen til at produsentene kan gå trygt på gaten uten frykt for å bli stukket ned slik Theo van Gogh ble det i Nederland etter kortfilmen Submission om islams kvinnesyn. Når man kødder med Gud skal ikke alltid det andre kinn vendes til, men vold vil ikke forbedre syn på troende eller toleranse for ytringsfriheten.

En annen grunn til mitt lave utslag av provokasjon er kanskje fordi jeg ikke kjenner at mitt trosfundament rikkes av en slik serie. Jesus er, var og blir akkurat like reell. Samtidig vet jeg at andre egges grenseløst over serien – lenge før den kom på lufta. Det skal mye til at sinnet mitt settes i kok, men jeg vet at en tilsvarende serie om rasisme eller annen form for diskriminering ville hatt mye større sjanse for å få meg med ut i protesttog – av grunnene nevnt over.

Når det er skrevet, mener jeg absolutt at dette er alvorlige saker med tanke på konsekvensene et liv uten frelse har å si for evigheten. Likevel blir blir Schau for meg en slags moralist, bare at han går mot den kristne moralen. I motsetning til samfunnet ellers, kanskje særlig underholdningsbransjens fester, filmer, tv-produksjoner og blader, stiller han spørsmål ved moralske aspekter av samtidens livsstil som mange er likegyldige til. Selv om han møter det syndige med en skøyeraktig mine, virker programmet å ha en helt klar oppfatning av at dette er kjøreregler noen holder høyt og dermed blir det tabuer og grenser som kan brytes. Det blir som en filmatisert syndsbekjennelse, bare at det syndes med overlegg og at snakk om tilgivelse tidligst vil komme i siste episode – selv om jeg ikke tror Schau har tatt imot frelsen, i alle fall ikke ennå. Om ikke annet, kan denne ukas snakkis faktisk føre til gode og viktige samtaler om moral, synd og fortapelse.

X: Silver play/sølvspill

We became second this weekend at the volleyball ranking tournament in Sandnes, close to the west coast city of Stavanger. I played a couple of the five matches, and am satisfied with my own outside hitting. It was nice combining a social volleyball weekend with a few journalistic tasks for work at the nearby town of Vigrestad. This gave me the opportunity to walk through downtown Stavanger, for the first time in my life, before returning home Monday night. A much viewworthy city, it is.

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Vi ble nummer 2. Jeg spilte første kamp og semifinalen, og er tilfreds med innsatsen. Turneringsreferat her. Helga var for øvrig fin med sosial volleyballtur kombinert med skriveoppdrag for Agenda 3:16 på Vigrestad. I tillegg fikk jeg mandag sjansen for første å trave rundt i Stavanger sentrum – en svært flott en by.

X: Volleyball loss/Sportslig askeonsdag

After a strong 3-1 win over Koll on the weekend, it was highly disappointing to lose 3-1 in the league match Wednesday. I came in towards the end of the first game, just to show over the scope of the second, that I should have remained on the bench. Although my ankle is gradually improving, my play has been very random recently. Match report in Norwegian here.

Hopefully this will pick up on the weekend, as we head for Stavanger for important ranking tournament points (for the league).

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Etter å ha slått Koll 3-1 i helga, var det ekstra surt å tape 3-1 på hjemmebane i seriekampen onsdag. Kampreferatet har mer om det forKollete forløpet. Jeg ble byttet inn på slutten av første sett, bare for å bruke det og andre sett til å vise at jeg burde holdt meg på benken mot de sortkledte motstanderne. At jeg ikke fikk ta imot hemmer nok min involvering i spillet og ankelen min er ikke 100 % i orden. Men jeg har ingenting fornuftig å skylde på for en laber innsats.

Forhåpentligvis kan dette forbedre seg når vi i kveld setter kursen for Sandnes (ved Stavanger) for å spille rankingturnering i helga. Søndag kveld og mandag skal jeg også gjøre et par skriveoppdrag for jobben (Agenda 3:16).

Nordnorske setninger – del 6

Etter en tid med fravær, kommer her en ny ti-rader med setninger krydret med begreper jeg tror hører hjemme i dialektene for de tre nordligiste fylkene, særlig Troms.

1. Det va no en snasn fangst du fikk høtta i går
2. Eg skeisa bra då eg va ute og loda i går
3. E dæ rart du bli vrangsøvd sånn som du akkodere kvær bidige natt? Heps på deg buksa, så fer vi.
4. Isj, sa ho, då eg hadde skorre i fesken og dæ mæste kom tytanes ut.
5. Eg får fnatt av ailt pjæsket dett.
6. Han e en bisk en skjettlugg
7. Dæ va go knaill i går, sjøll om eg e heilt læmster i dag.
8. Eg digge lærarjobben mæ aille de ørtn rabagassan.
9. Gidde du å tømme moillfatan?
10. Han e skikkelig kjetti uinner pailabban.

Forklaring/fasit på forfinet bokmål

1. For en vakker fangst du tok i går med det spisse stikkredskapet som brukes i fiske.
2. Jeg fikk en skikkelig sleng da jeg rånekjørte (bevegde meg uforskammet raskt eller uforholdsmessig sakte i trafikken med bilen, gjerne med høy musikk) i aften.
3. Er det rart du er i ulage med nattesøvnen så mye som du krangler og kverulerer hver eneste kveld? Ta på deg buksa skikkelig, så drar vi.
4. Æsj, sa hun, da jeg hadde skåret i fisken og det meste (av innvollene) kom til syne.
5. Jeg blir rastløs i mitt indre av alt av uvesentligheter du tar deg til.
6. Han er en sinna dumrian.
7. Det var svært så gøyalt i går, selv om jeg i dag er kjempeutslitt i kroppen.
8. Jeg har stor sans for lærerjobben min med alle de små, ivrige barna.
9. Kan du være så snill å fjerne innholdet på tallerkenene vi benytter til skall, benrester og annet ikke-spiselig middagsmat?
10. Han er særs kilen under de store beina.

E: Cup champion impossililty

Only one win in two qualifying matches ain’t good enough to repeat last year’s advancement to the Norwegian volleyball cup quarter final. We met good teams yesterday, but did not play to the maximum of our ability.

The match report (Kvartfestivalen avblåst) on how we beat Koll and lost to Askim, is (as usual) in Norwegian.

There is always next year :) Personally I loved being back on the court with the jersey on, as I have been injured and away for the first three this season. I played fair, but my ankle is holding me back a tad more than what I like, probably mainly mentally. I go to training as usual, but hope to be able to train without restrains soon.

E: Online clips 24

Weekend is coming up, and what better way to celebrate than by a list of fascinating and humorous clips?

The last activity I have seen, executed on a board: ropeboarding.

If you want to continue to be impressed with ropes, I would advice watching this jump rope performence.

In Sweden, a program host once vommited on live TV. Poor girl.

The last three takes are made in Norway. Watch a life pass in 40 seconds, on this Norwegian ad for social security.

Kristian Valen is a Norwegian comedian, here doing impressions of various national artists.

Finally an evidence of how tough the TV journalist job can be. For those not knowing Norwegian, the inteviewed gets upset over the simplest, most logical questions of all, i.e. what is the book (of poems) about?

X: Life renovation? / Livsrenovering?

I totally enjoy myself, my life, my friends, apartment, volleyball, and my job nowadays. I am healthy and happy.

But at the same time, I go through motions of uneasiness of being misplaced. Not misplaced, just not exactly in place. Through my upbringing, being there to listen and chat to people/friends in need was always something I appreciated. To be able to listen, analyze, solve problems, present, speak, lead and give advices have been rewarding tasks for me. Thus, the thought of maybe becoming a consultant one day has crossed my mind many a time. A job somewhere in between being a psychologist and a profit maximizer. Monday I have a scheduled appointment at the so-called career center at uni, and later I will confront actual firms to quiver about what they need. I am willing to consider going back to full time study for this – I still fancy the idea in spring and fully wants to do this.

Another issue is time priority. I have a minimum of four volleyball practices a week + games every so often. In addition to friends and church, there is not much time off outside of working hours. Therefore, considering stepping down in favor of more interest courses or a bible group, have been on my mind. I do not struggle to get input or share my faith, but I have not had much of close, regular Christian fellowship in some time, which I had during time of going to camps and/or attending the Christian youth/student groups.

I cannot stress enough that these are thoughts about options, and that I am doing well.

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Jeg har det bra for tida. Veldig bra. Jeg er frisk og tilfreds til sinns. Leiligheten jeg bor i er stor og sentral nok, og innehar to fremragende medboere. Volleyball er gøy. Videre trives jeg godt som journalist i arbeidslivet, og setter pris på Normisjon og Agenda 3:16.

Men samtidig er det en nagende følelse at jeg kanskje burde gjort noe annet. Gjennom mye av oppveksten har jeg satt stor pris på å kunne være en person flere kom til i vanskelige tider. Det å være med å lytte, analysere, problemløse, presentere, tale, lede og gi råd har alltid vært fengende gjøremål. I mange år har jeg også tenkt på at en gang i tiden kunne jobbe fulltid med noe konsulentaktig. Jeg vil ikke være sjelesørger på den ene siden, eller profitt-maksimerer på den andre. Men nærmere det psykologiske enn det økonomiske felt. Derfor har jeg bestilt en time på Karrieresenteret på universitetet (mandag) for å høre litt med de om hva jeg bør tenke i forhold til erfaring og mulig videreutdanning – om jeg skulle bestemme meg for å tenke i andre baner. Og om jeg skal, har jeg lyst å hoppe litt ut i det, kanskje bli fulltidsstudent igjen om nødvendig, for ikke å la ting drøye så altfor lenge.

En annen utfordring er tidsbruken i min hverdag. Med minst fire treninger i uka, fordelt på tre dager, og ofte kamper i helga tar volleyballen mye av fritida. Jeg har lurt litt på om jeg burde tenke annerledes jamfør det å prøve nye ting, kurs etc. I tillegg har jeg vurdert behovet for å være med i en form for kristen smågruppe. Selv om jeg følger en Bibelleseplan og leser andakter på nett, får med andakt på jobb, gudstjenester på søndager og ber med en del venner, har jeg ikke et fellesskap av typen jeg fikk på kollektivets samling eller på leir. På den andre siden har jeg ikke problemer med å snakke om og dele troa mi med andre. Det er også litt av tanken med å være en del i sekulære miljøer, for å få de møtepunktene med ikke-kristne for å vitne med handling og kanskje til og med ord når samtalesjansen byr seg.

Jeg vil understreke at dette enn så lenge bare er tanker.

E: Volleyday

PS: Norsk kampreferat fra 3-0-seier mot Mosjøen.

Saturday was a full-on volleyball day. It began around 10:30 am with being a part of arranging the practical tasks for the elite women team in the club. My team helps them, and the other way around.

At 2 pm the men’s game was happening. For the third consecutive game this season, I was unable to play. That is, my ankle has been good enough to train all week. But my coach would not let me play to prevent any worsening of the situation. I did not support that decision emotionally, but rationally I would have done the same for any of the players in the second division team I coach. While my team warmed up, I hit the gym. We beat the opponent Mosjøen 3-0 fairly easily, and I wrote the match report (in Norwegian).

After a few hours at home, it was the social aspect of the team’s turn to shine. The player Håkon invited the entire team to his apartment for a pre-party happening from around 7pm to closer to midnight. After lots of celebrating the win, fun, music and some good conversations, we left for the city. I had plan an early return as the pile of tasks for Sunday was big enough already, but winded up going out with my team, plus an additional bunch from the elite women’s team + a few others in the volleyball club. A few happy hours at the night club Süd-Öst (South East) was an amusing memory with dancing, laughing and a good atmosphere. I do not go out much these days, but after returning before 4am last night, I may reconsider that routine :)

X: Parlez-vous français?

One of the cool things about working in Agenda 3:16 is the many projects countries around the world. Mali is one of them. If all goes according to plan, I will be spending two weeks of January or February between savannahs and desert. I am most content with an opportunity to once again go seriously abroad.

I only know a handful phrases of their official language, French (and not a word of any of the tribe languages). Thus, I seriously consider taking a language course starting at the end of this month. This will take more time than I like, it is not for free, but it will probably be worthwhile. It will be most beneficial for me to learn a bit of the world language, at least sufficiently to ask if someone mind me taking their picture and how much an item costs :)

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Agenda 3:16s siste blad kom fra trykkeriet her om dagen, og vil være i folks postpakker neste uke en gang. Les noen smakebiter. Det er gøy å kunne ha ledet an hovedsaken, om fordommer om eldre, og tatt forsidebildet (for øvrig en nabodame som bor i etasjen over oss).

En annen gode med jobben er reisemuligheter. Det er mye som skjer innenlands, men med flere prosjekter ute forbi, er det innimellom behov for å ha journalister ute i felten. Tidlig neste år blir det høyst sannsynlig tilfelle. Mali er et av Normisjons samarbeidsland, og her vil jeg trolig tilbringe to uker av januar eller februar. Det er ikke sikkert ennå, men store sjanser for at jeg sendes avgårde.

Det vestafrikanske landet har mye spennende skrivestoff og er meg personlig et særs attraktivt reisemål. Marit og Ingvill er to av mine venner som har hatt lengre opphold mellom ørken og savannene. Jeg kjenner meg skikkelig klar for et nytt utenlandsopphold.

Jeg kan bare en håndfull franske fraser, og vurderer derfor seriøst å ta et og har tenkt seriøst på å ta et språkkurs før nyttår på folkeuniversitetet. Dette vil ta litt tid og koste litt, men er en god sjanse og anledning til å lære meg litt av verdensspråket – i alle fall nok til å kunne spørre om det er greit å ta bilder og hva ting koster :)

E: Divine drip 12

I have not been very good at updating these drops, despite a bucket of valuable input in all types of settings. This time around I will give a selection of a few ideas that I have found valuable and/or increased my brain activity.

* Jesus never asks for improvement and increased activity. All he wants is for us to love him. This will most likely cause our behavior to change also, but first and foremost we are made to love (listen to TobyMacs song).

* If you want to live with someone, you need to be willing to die a bit yourself. Love is sacrifice, letting someone else be for whom you live.

* God chooses special characters as his followers, few which are ranked particularly high in the current society. Fishermen and shepherds are obvious examples, but most of the Jesus handpicked people are unknown nobodies till the Lord came along.

* God used the worst happening in history (the crucifixion of Jesus) as the greatest victory.

* Jesus did not promise lack of suffering, but presence whilst it happens.

* When resurrecting, Jesus opened what had been an inseparable connection between sin and death. There is no point in Christianity if not for the ressurection.

* We are not to discover our gifts or get highly trained to be ready to serve for God. Being a servant is accommodating the person in need, not seeing what we ourselves do best. We can all devote our lives in service for others.

Leselyst

En effekt av å slutte å studere, er fravær av lesekrav. Lesing i seg selv er noe av den mest givende aktiviteten man kan finne på alene. Den krever en viss innsats i motsetning til passiviserende tv-titting, men betaler seg i mental utfoldelse og fantasibruk.

Det å lese for hverandre er for øvrig noe ganske så undervurdert. Det er trist at det stort sett forbeholdes foreldre-til-barn relasjonen. Jeg har hatt stor glede av høytlesning mellom høyt utviklede venner (les: ikke lenger barn).

Alfabetet har vært uforandret i lang tid. De aller aller fleste ordene mellom nye permer har vært brukt før. Likevel blir ingen tankerekker de samme. Ingen avsnitt identiske. Ingen bøker like. Men hvilke skal man velge?

Nå for tiden er jeg mest i ferd med å endelig få lest alle de bøkene jeg faktisk har i bokhylla – og det er egentlig relativt få sammenlignet med mange av mine bekjente. Det er de skjønnlitterære jeg ikke har lest samtlige av ennå. Når disse er gjennomlest, er dog listen av uleste verker verkende lang. Jeg har sett oversikter både i Dagbladet og VG av utvalg man ikke kan gå glipp av, men er ikke nødvendigvis sikker på at jeg vil ha like mye igjen for alle sammen. Dette vet jeg av erfaring, samt lang utprøving av å se anbefalinger på filmlister. Selv forslag fra kjente og kjære kan oppleves som noe upassende for egen hjerne – til tross for at de har hatt sterke leseropplevelser av forslagene.

Her er noen bøker jeg har fått anbefalt å lese etter hvert (nei, jeg har ikke lest de):
Beatles – Lars Saabye-Christensen
Iditioten – Dostojevskij
Genanse og verdighet – Dag Solstad
Da Vinci-koden – Dan Brown

Jeg har ellers lyst å lese mer/noe av følgende norske: Jan Kjærstad, Jens Bjørneboe, Knut Nærum, Erlend Loe, Jo Nesbø, Owe Wikstrøm (svensk).

Jeg leste nokså mye som barn og tenåring, men etter hvert som pensumlistene økte, har det ikke vært den enkleste måten å koble ut på. Og har det vært noe, har det stort sett dreid seg om kristen (fag)litteratur. Jeg har hele tiden jevnlig lest min Bibel og brukt noen bibelleseplaner/andaktsbøker, men det blir for åndelig formål. Skjønnlitteratur er dermed noe det har skortet på. Les faglitteratur for å forstå, skjønnlitteratur for å skjønne har jeg tenkt på selv eller ubevisst snappet opp. Hva det betyr, er jeg ikke helt sikker på, men at det er mye å hente i fiktive historier er jeg helt overbevist om.

Gi meg gjerne noen anbefalinger, eller kvoteringer jamfør Dagbladets liste av bøker man MÅ lese.

E: Heavenly man encounter

Liu Zhenying aka brother Yun aka The Heavnly Man came to the church Filadelfia in Oslo on Saturday, september 29th. I was there, of course, to watch one of the most fascinating individuals alive. I was so fortunate to get my copy of his book signed and taken a picture with him the well known Chinese - who for long was of China's most wanted. The Norwegian/Swedish couple Evie & Pelle also sang and bore their testimonies.

Brother Yun was more animated and more charismatic than anticipated. However, if I did not know his story on forehand, all the things he has said, done and been through, I do not know if I had found the event as extraordinary as I did. One reason is probably the fact that I do not speak any mandarin, thus being in great need of hearing the message through his Swedish-speaking Finnish interpreter. Furthermore, Yun only gave a away a few details from his own life. Still, to me I am most happy with paying the visit.

I so recommend you to read his book.

Click here if you are unable to view the slideshow on top of some of the pics I took during the evening.

E: De-ankled

After one week of volleyball absence, due to my one week up north, I was more than eager to get back at practice last night. After about 40 minutes I landed on an oncoming ball during spiking warm-up. Exactly how my ankle moved I do not really know, but that it touched the floor quickly and in a no-good fashion was obvious to me and anyone around me. I have had problems with my ankles in the past, but there has been years since I twisted any of them - as I have learned to “collapse” when my ankles have encountered real uneven surfaces.

But yesterday history caught up with me, as my scream proved. X-ray at the medical depot/central in the city fortunately did not show any fractures. I did, however, probably pull a few tendons beyond the already loose ligaments. The next couple of days I am using crutches, support bandage and need to keep my foot elevated above heart level. Furthermore I will need to wear an ankle support kit for a month to come.

I am mainly annoyed with losing out of the volleyball matches. I returned to late to play our opening match last weekend (which we lost 1-3), and was super eager to go play this weekend. Instead I will spend the weekend with the division 2 team I coach for their season opening. When I can actually go back to play volleyball myself, I do not know, but hope I can start in a couple of weeks.

I tried to avoid thinking about how things could have been different if only this or that, but it is not easy. I am fairly annoyed although there is noone to blame. Things could have been worse, and I will be all right again.

E: Mainly English language mysteries

I was just sent this row of humorous questions from my friend, Mabs. Many are about the English language, some are just general queries. A fun thing to share, as my own text creations needs more time than what today gave me.

1. If you take an Oriental person and spin him around several times, does he become disoriented?
2. If people from Poland are called Poles, why aren't people from Holland called Holes?
3. Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery?
4. If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?
5. If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?
6. Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?
7. When cheese gets its picture taken, what does it say?
8. Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist but a person who drives a race car not called a racist?
9. Why are a wise man and a wise guy opposites?
10. Why do overlook and oversee mean opposite things?
11. Why isn't the number 11 pronounced tenty one?
12. If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it
follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed?
13. What hair colour do they put on the driver's licenses of bald men?
14. I thought about how mothers feed their babies with tiny little spoons and forks so I wondered what do Chinese mothers use? Toothpicks?
15. Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office? What are we supposed to do, write to them? Why don't they just put their pictures on the postage stamps so the mailmen can look for them while they deliver the mail?
16. Isn't making a smoking section in a restaurant like making a peeing section in a swimming pool?
17. If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrhoea. Does that mean that one enjoys it?

E: Traveled impressions

There have been many an impression making an impact for my thoughts, opinions, feelings and possibly future lately. As I may elaborate on one to all of the following points, I make it short and salty for the time being.

a) Reading joy. The amusement of reading has picked up after allowing myself time and space to read for the sake of reading. I am rarely uninterested in text my eyes scan, but to embrace a book as entertainment has been an atypical activity the last years.

Sommerfugleffetker (butterfly effects) by Norwegian journalist Jan Zahl is the first book in this streak.

b) Traveling journalist. This week was my first as journalist traveling, but not writing travel journalism. I have collected materials and interviews for three stories, one of which will appear in the coming issue of my employer; Agenda 3:16 (deadline Thursday). I aslo found time to meet friends and family in the city.

c) Global focus locally. Before returning to Oslo today, I have been three days back in my home town Brøstadbotn to attend a seminary, Forskningsdagene, regarding studying/traveling abroad and how business life can work together with the community and youth to have youth and graduated students return or move to their rural origin. I was asked to come to inspire, but winded up being both challenged and inspired (and a tiny bit discouraged). More on this later.

d) The Heavenly Man was in Oslo today. I finally got to met him.

X: Blog north/blog nord

I am in Tromsø (north of Norway) and am having a blast with working and meeting friends I have not seen in a while. Sigmund is my good host. My thoughts are floating, but the days are just too hectic to give me proper amounts of time to update my blog. Overall I take great comfort in being in the north again. Tomorrow I will head for my home town Brøstadbotn to be a part of this research seminar week, which runs all over the country (as far as I know). I will be participating in sharing the importance of being studying abroad.

Saturday I will return to Oslo.

Have a marvellous week!


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Jeg er i Tromsø og stortrives med jobboppdrag og treff av gode venner jeg ikke har sett på lenge. Sigmund Augdal er en miskunnelig vert. Tankene strømmer, men dagene er for hektiske til at jeg også får produsert tekst fra bloggen. Men det er behagelig å være nord for en ukes tid. I morgen drar jeg til mitt hjemsted Brøstadbotn i Dyrøy kommune for å være med på forskningsdagene torsdag og fredag. Fredags kveld skal jeg ha andakten på møte til Laget. Lørdag er det retur til Oslo.

Ha en strålende uke!

Ordvask

Ord på en lørdag

a) Vaskemaskin er tingen i dag, og det å legge vaskepulveret sammen med klærne skal være miljøvennlig. Å innta seks flasker øl er usunt og anses som lite sofistikert. Er det flere som ser ironien i hvorfor jeg da svetter ut klærne mine for få vaskebrett og six-pack, og for alt i verden unngå vaskeball?

b) Man får ikke overskudd av et skudd med overdose.

c) Man kan bli nedbrutt av oppbrudd.

Fra høykultur til falsk identitet

Hverdag. Hver dag. Rutinerte rutiner. Men nåtiden har ikke vært før.

Høykultur. Breaking the Waves ga brytning av inntrykk. Oslo nye teaters oppføring lørdag fløt av sterke uttrykk. Frihetsproblematikken var tykk, under verdens drifter eller kristenpietismens trykk.

Tanken. Kverner. Pulserer. Et maraton av kortintervaller. Et paradoks er at blogspinninga kanskje må reduseres for å åpne for nok muligheter til Agenda 3:16s skråblikk og andre innspill. Men arbeidslivet er tilfredsstillende.

Feature. En organisme innen journalistikken. Et skriftlig dyr hvis adferd påvirker andres tankebevegelser. Men som uten trening blir slapt og dovent. Min reportasjepenn har fått svettet litt disse første ukene, men ikke forgjeves. Hastigheten på det å tilvirke flere tekster samtidig har også økt.

Rolig nå. Ønske om økt alkoholdebut. Kampanje fra Av-og-Til. Personer spilte søndag lokaljournalister for å teste medieteften til agentene. Min engangsarbeidsgiver søndag ga en interessant journalistbetaling med god timesbetaling.

E: Unreliable company?

Can you imagine working for a company that has a little more than 500 employees and has the following statistics (in 1999):

- 29 have been accused of spousal abuse
- 7 have been arrested for fraud
- 19 have been accused of writing bad checks
- 117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
- 3 have done time for assault
- 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
- 14 have been arrested on drug-related charges
- 8 have been arrested for shoplifting
- 21 are currently defendants in lawsuits
- 84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

Can you guess which organization this is?

Give up yet?

It's the 535 members of the United States Congress. The same group that cranks out hundreds of new laws each year designed to keep the rest of the country in line.

A detailed version of this can be found at Snopes.com.

X: Thesis to download / Nedlastbar masteroppgave

A few weeks back I collected my final diploma, proving my media studies and master degree. It sure felt good. Half of it consisted of my thesis on media coverage of Christianity and Islam in the secular print press.

The thesis is now available from the University of Oslo’s website, as a PDF. Only the abstract is in English.

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For noen uker siden var jeg og plukket opp det endelige vitnemålet som viser at jeg har fullført en mastergrad i medievitenskap. Dokumentet gjorde meg ikke mer sikker på at jeg faktisk hadde utført noe de siste to årene, men ble mer en hjelp til å innse at en epoke er over. Det å studere er et tilbakelagt kapittel for meg – i alle fall for en stund. Denne uka har jeg både tenkt tanken på å studere så ulike felter som utviklingsstudiet, organisasjon & ledelse, og sjelesorg.

Masteroppgaven er halvparten av mastergraden. Den er nå tilgjengelig for nedlasting via UiOs nettsider.

E: Online clips 23

There are two clips featuring the classical song Pachelbel's Canon in D, which you just cannot miss. One is an amazing el-guitar performance. The other is a hilarious stand-up gag with a slightly sarcastic approach.

Basketball slam-dunking is cool. The player in this clip does not feel the same way after knocking down the living marker in his attempt to impress the crowd.

Watching a compilation dishonoring fair play by looking stupid when faking injuries, can also be fun.

I can’t help be impressed by the effort people lay down mock some of the outburst of the American president.

I do not watch the singing contest Idol, but operasinging Paul Pott’s breakthrough actually moved me to tears. This is a real-time real-life small outsider's story to success.

More clips here.

E: 2 teeth & stuff

Today my mouth became a site for exchange. I had two wisdom teeth removed free of charge, while researcher’s at the uni hospital of Oslo (Ullevål) got test result for my sense of pain after taking an unknown (to me) type of analgesic. Local anesthetics during treatment is a new experience to me, which generated some thought activity while underway.
a) it is odd when your tongue and chin go numb. You can touch your face, but your nerves in the targeted area are temporarily shut off, and pressure towards the head is all you can feel. This dispatches admiration to science and vast gratitude for not having to go through the operation without.
b) it is weird listening to the sound of drilling. It sounds much like renovation in the next room, yet you know it originates from your own teeth.
c) after having laser surgery in Bolivia in the beginning of 2007, I break no sweat for most other forms of operations upon my anatomic self.
d) one day I would like to purchase one of the chairs used by dentists or even better; the one from the blood banks.
e) there is so much detail, creativity and amazingly fine mechanisms and detail in our bodies. When thinking about the growth, usage and strength of the (could have been) white rack in our mouth, I cannot help being impressed.
f) will it be very different to chew now with two teeth less on my right side?
g) will brushing me teeth go faster?

Related: 25 words of wisdom

In other news, the latest issue of Agenda 3:16, the magazine for which I work, came from the printing works today. This is the first in which I have taken part, and it was pleasing to see the final product. Being used to the newspaper press, the quality of the paper and colors is an upgrade worth smiling for – at least for this first issue around.

Tuesday I attended a combined photo exhibition at Stenersensmuseet in Oslo. Sally Mann’s black and white exposures of her own children, was the primary target for my culture companion Signe and I. Many pics were real insightful, some abstract and others again provoking or stunning. A basement street art display also inspired greatly for creative photography. Read about the expos and museum here.

Picture from: www.corcoran.org

I made the volleyball cut. Towards the end, I was no longer in doubt, but it still felt good to have the final confirmation. I thought I would miss out of our opening match, September 29th, as I would be up north the week up till the game, and just miss the return. But now my coach is strongly considering if he wants me to purchase a new ticket to be able to play – although we have an outside hitter surplus.

I play for the first team and coach the third (with my friend Linn Eva). It is good fun being back in the trainer role, but tough when having to let people off. We just made the final draft, and have sent more than 10 players away in total. The remaining 14 have an interesting potential.

Valglekene 2007

Kommune- og fylkesvalget er over. Som med OL er det fire år til neste gang. Også valget fikk sterk fokus på individers enkeltprestasjoner og/eller -fadeser, som virkelig minnet om organiserte leker til tider. To nyhetsoutsidere til årets kamp var at SV skulle vinne så få edle stemmer at egne lagkamerater ønsker å fjerne to av statsrådskapteinene. En annen liten sensasjon er at det revolusjonistiske RV fikk sin første ordfører – i Risør. I en ideell verden mener jeg at det kommunistiske tankegods ikke er tidenes mest håpløse i det, men i praksis er det klin umulig å tro at alle bidrar med det de kan og lederskapet vil holde seg unna maktsyken særlig lenge. Jeg hadde håpet at høyrefløypopulisme ikke skulle få slik medvind som det gjorde, men prognosene slo til for Høyre og FrP. Arbeiderpartiet sto igjen støtt som størst.

Alle har rett til å heie på den deltakeren man ønsker uten å måtte fortelle det til andre. Og valgdeltakelsen i år var ikke håpløs, med nærmere 60 prosents oppmøte. Men for de mange som ikke løste stemmeseddel for å komme inn på valgstadion, tenker jeg på mange måter er med å undergrave den demokratiske arena vårt politiske system er bygget på. Og min personlige mening er at de som aldri bevegde seg ut fra sofaen for å bli med på leken, egentlig kan holde kjeft for alt som gjelder politiske beslutninger fremover. Munnbindet bør i alle fall sitte godt til neste tevling om to år; Stortingsvalget.

Et lite apropos er spørsmålet om hvorfor man ikke for lenge siden har inkorporert en stemmemulighet via internett for dem som ønsker det. Altinn.no og MinSide.no skulle jo bli slike portaler. Selv om det nok er sikkerhetsmessige hensyn som forsinker prosessen, mener jeg det er verdt risken om det kunne økt valgdeltakelsen med 10 prosent eller mer (egne anslag).

E: Animazing

For an easy, yet chic way of presenting photos with music, I strongly recommend animoto.com. The new online presentation tool is still in its beta version and only has limited options available for free. But it is still worth a go.

For those of you understanding Norwegian, here is a presentation of Animoto from DinSide Data.

The results can easily be shared in for both Faceook, Live Space, Blogger etc.

Here are two examples generated within a few minutes:
Dyrøy kommune (my home town)
Talk a cheap

Read more about the break dance battle event here.