From the inside...

The summer of 2011 was special.

1. I spent more than two weeks in beautiful South Africa!!! Pictures here!

2. Norway was attacked on 22. July.

I prefer talking about the first part, obviously! Here's what we (my friend and I) did:

• Safari at Tshukudu Game Lodge where we played with cheetahs and lion cubs (!), including a day at the Kruger Park
• Drove the Garden Route from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town
• Spent 8 nights in Cape Town
• Walked on top of Table Mountain
• Visited Robben Island
• Went cage diving with White Sharks!
• Drank local beer at a shebeen (in a township)
• Spent a lot of money!!!

Would I recommend South Africa as a vacation? Oh yeah! It's beautiful, it felt safe, and the people are really friendly! :

Just wrote my 7000th post on My Opera!

It's been more than 6 months since my last blog post, and that's very close to neglect!

I'm still working with Opera Mini, but I'm also taking over as a project manager for another project that is related to Opera Mini on many levels. I'm not going to hang around as much in the Opera Mini forum as I've used to, but I will try to keep up to speed (at a certain level). There will be others taking over for me, though.

So... I'm still at Opera, and still involved in Opera Mini, but when I have some spare time, I usually don't spend it in here.

My photos will still be on My Opera, though.

I got this e-mail earlier today, and I liked it!

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It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's, arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound.

On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound. While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now. I was surprised, and asked him, "And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?". He smiled as he patted my hand and said, "She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is...".

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, "That is the kind of love I want in my life". True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

With all the jokes and fun that is in e-mails, sometimes there is one that comes along that has an important message. This one I thought I could share with you.

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

I hope you share this with someone you care about.

"Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!"
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Thanks to the person who sent it to me. You know who you are, but you probably don't read my blog...

I had a great vacation this summer!

First I went on a sailing trip in the Caribbean, going from St. Maarten to Martinique. It was great! There are some photos coming soon. Photos in my album section. We spent 11 days on the sea, and we saw a lot of interesting things. People are so great on the islands! We also got to dive some, and during the dives we saw barracuda, stingrays and sea turtles, among other things. I also got to eat barracuda. It was very tasty! Unfortunately (?) there were no anywhere... We always kept a bottle of Rum in the boat, just in case Captain Jack Sparrow would show up.

I came back to Norway, and after about 12 hours at home, I went to the southern part of Norway to visit family and friends. The weather was wonderful all the time, and I got to enjoy more sea life, bbq'ing, sea food, and a lot of time spent with people I care about. Really great!

Now I'm back in Oslo, and Opera, trying to catch up with work. It's hard returning to work after such a great vacation, but I'll have to manage.