"I'm not even supposed to be here today!"

I finished my year with a muntlig (oral) exam on Thursday.
I have to wait three weeks for results (written and oral) but I may have managed an A without really trying. If so, that's two for the last two -- calc II UMassB AUG06 -- but I had to work on that one a little.

Anyway ...finished and wanted to get away. The last weekend here for a few people I know. My friend (An)Toni(a) and I got up really early to stand in line for cabin reservations on WED. morning. We weren't early enough and didn't get the cabin we wanted but got another one that would be tight and cozy but further away. Three of us were supposed to go on Friday afternoon. Another three to five to come on Saturday afternoon and just Toni and I were going to stay over Sunday night and come back Monday some time.

Toni and I spent a good amount of time Friday morning preparing a few days worth of lunch -- a major egg and potato salad: small farm strong eggs bought that morning from the gas station, potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, red pepper, lentil sprouts, onion, leek, garlic, light mayonnaise, bunch of spices -- all in a strong plastic bag to massage-mix while we hiked the two+ hours from the bus stop to the cabin. She left and I spent another hour or so making dinner (with intentional leftovers) for Friday night -- again a big veggie hash-up -- fried and spiced differently with some beef patties on the side. Pretty much all of the vegetables I had left in the house.

I packed my bag full: annoyingly puffy sleeping bag, some card games, headlamp, toothbrush (yup), extra this-and-that and all the other junk. Laced my boots up nice and tight. Caught the local bus down to the center. Got off the bus and crossed a large street to meet a friend. Realized in time that we had to walk another block and a half or so to the pick-up for the commute/distance bus. In that block and a half my ankle freaked out.

I tweaked it in Oslo back in April at Norwegian Mesterskap ultimate. I then went to København and played the WCU outdoor tournament for three days. My knees proved the limiting factor there. My ankle felt fine for a month and then Wednesday night started to ache a little inside my rubber dumpstering boot. I got home, got the boots off and it at least felt better. I thought maybe I could still do the trip and hike the hike if I got into the big boots Ethan sent me but nope. If anything I think that I cinched them up too tight and that contributed to the breakdown.

So standing there minutes from getting on the bus I had to just say goodbye to my friends. I had to unpack my bag on the sidewalk and dig out the dinner. Had to get back on the local bus and just come back up here to this room I sit in all the time (and am sitting in now). So -- no fun, no food, some pain, and I won't get to see a couple of those guys again (not folks I am so close with so that is actually not the worst of it). Mostly I just really needed to get out of here for a little while.

I found other stuff to do and it has been as okay a weekend as any. Just not as good as if I had gotten out of here for a while. So. Now I have one more reason to actually go to the doctor.

TO DO?

I smelled something today that reminded me of bowls of duck noodle soup at Rod Dee and/or the now defunct chinatown mini-FOOD COURT. For about five minutes I would have all but killed someone for a bowl of SPICY DUCK NOODLE SOUP and an order of f'n greasy scallion pancakes. Kanskje (maybe) I can make something of the sort here but I think duck would cost me a pretty penny.

Talking to Ethan on GTALK right now and tearing up at the memory of the dance flurry last february and how amazing it felt that ya'll wanted me there to the point of paying my way for the weekend. I haven't had a real hug in so long. Now I'm just crying. I don't think they make J.P. flavored friends here. My american classmate paid something like $5.00 for a can of pumpkin.

I rode to class today. The temperature dropped drastically and there were waves of snø. Den første store(=big) snøfallet. It was bloody cold but none of it stuck but my hands were freezing on my ride home. Tonight I can either go to a casual norsk conversation (practice) group or I can stay here in the student village and borrow a sewing machine and try sew gloves out of a blanket that I got from the overnight train that I took here from Oslo. It's a sort of stretchy material so I think I can make some half-decent gloves (I scratch-made a halloween costume a few years ago with built-in glove things that turned out great...) maybe make them longish so if they ride up they will not leave my wrists too horribly cold. Some sort of over-mittens so I can have two layers when I don't need finger separation. Maybe with a drawstring in the bottom... Or should I make "glittens" (gloves with a mitten flap) or lobster gloves (1-2-2) or index finger mitten things (1-1-3)? Send votes if you like but I shouldn't really wait for them - I'll post pictures of my successes and failures.

I wish I could be bothered to take out my camera now and take a post-cry smiley picture of me smiling at you all. I wish I could take care of people here as much as we all took care of each other but I haven't the resources right now. I am really going to miss Halloween. Please take lots of Halloween pictures. I was going to write more but I got into too many chat conversations and I should just post this rather than saving it to finish later.

SMILE! CRY! I wish I had some Katamari to play.

This is what I will be doing this weekend.
http://www.matchmaking.no
Pretty faen impressive for altfor nør norge.