The day of the very expensive walk and the deer that got away

When the government and health gurus tell you that walking is good for you, they don't give you the whole picture. They go on and on about how you should walk half and hour each day, and the great benefits this will give you. They also claim that this is a costless activity that rich and poor alike can partake in. I am here today to tell you that this is just plain wrong.

It started out innocently enough. Yesterday, the weather was nice - warm and sunny, finally feeling a bit like summer. So, to take advantage of this, my boyfriend and I decided to go for a walk.

Marius had ordered some tailor-made clothes, and so we decided to walk to town and pick them up. That sounds like a good, efficient idea, right? WRONG!

At the tailor, Marius was quite pleased with the result. A couple of the fabrics were really gorgeos. And, before I knew it, I had suddenly been talked into buying tailor-made clothes for myself! Between two persuasive tailors and an even more persuasive boyfriend I really had no choice. And the price for this whole ordeal was conveniently kept a secret until I was done being measured and had ordered several pieces.

So, I'm here today to tell you that walking can in fact be a very costly business. Don't believe for a second those tales you hear about free exercise. Remember, there is no such thing as a free lunch!

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After I had recovered from the shock of spending more money on clothes than I have ever done before, I went to a friend's to play boardgames. She lives about an hour outside of Oslo. It is just a whole different world out there!

We were sitting on the porch eating dinner, when we noticed several deer just across the road. There was a large field which, apparantly, is a meetingplace for the deer. My friend sees them each day!

Well, this was not an everyday experience for me. So naturally, I wanted to capture the moment. I skolded myself for not bringing my camera, and was resigned to use my crappy cellphone camera instead.

I tried to take a picture, only to find out that there wasn't enough space left on the memory stick. Some frantic deleting of old photos (for instance several demonstrating my poor parking skills) later, the deer had vanished! I kept looking for them the entire visit, but alas, they seemed to be gone. Until the very last moment, just as we were leaving. I spotted a single deer! Finally I would get my souvenir!

My cellphone, however, had different plans. This was apparently a little too late in the evening for the poor thing, because now it had run out of battery!

I have to say I am really annoyed that I was about 50 meters away from actual, live deer without being able to take a picture! Very, very annoying! :(

Just so you won't be bored, I've included a picture of a different deer here. It'll have to do for now....

Another attempt at driving solo

Contrary to what I promised myself the last time I blogged about driving, I haven't been practicing as I should. Come to think of it, I don't think I've been driving AT ALL since then. Until today, that is.

I was home alone, and decided it was time to get over my nerves and try driving alone again. This time a little bit further than around the block. :P

I needed some groceries, so I decided to drive to a store close by that had plenty of parking spaces available. That would mean a whole of two minutes of driving alone. AND a roundabout! Good place to start I thought.



Lucikly, when I reached the store, the parking lot was almost deserted with lots of available room for me to practice my parking skills. But it seemed like I had forgotten everything I had ever learned. I just could not get the car parked between the lines. I tried twice, then just gave up and parked across two spaces.

When I came into the store, I noticed that my legs were trembling. Probably both from the scarey thought that I had driven all of two minutes on my own, and the shame from not being able to park well. I rushed through the store, afraid that someone would come and tow my car away because I was occupying two spaces. (Yes, I realize that this is not a rational fear, but I was stressed out and not really thinking clearly).



When I got back out, I decided I just had to take some photos of my first (well, technically second) drive on my own. I only had my crappy cellphone, so the pictures aren't that great.



On the short drive back home, it seemed like I had forgotten how to drive as well. I stopped in front of a pedestrian crossing, and when I tried to start driving again, the car stalled. AAAAARG!!!!



Well, I did manage to get home and park the car (there were lots of easy parking room there, I checked before I decided to go :) ). And throughout the whole trip, I never hit anyone or anything. So that's something I guess. Other than that, I have to say I feel like the world's worst driver at the moment. :P

Spotify invitation

I just got an email inviting me to join Spotify. I already have an account and I don't need another one. So if anyone wants a Spotify invitation, let me know and I'll give it to the first one who cries out.

I don't know if you can actually "transfer" your Spotify invitations this way, but we'll give it a go and find out. :)

Christian the lion

A couple of days ago I got the pleasure of watching the full length movie about Christian the lion. I had already seen the highlights on youtube, and so I didn't waste the opportunity to watch the whole thing.

I'm not going to tell you much about it, but you should definitely watch the "highlights version" (or one of them anyways) here:

Christian the lion

For those of you who haven't watched it, you're in for a special treat. And those of you who have already seen it, well, you know it's well worth watching again!

I, of course, bawled like a baby pretty much throughout the entire film. And the best part is that it is a true story! :)

Enjoy! :)