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Queen Messy's Blog

My innermost secrets and my uttermost fears

Long time no see

Sunday, August 24, 2008 3:32:44 PM

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Hey all. I've been quite quiet the past months, so here's a quick recap of what I've been up to:


Don't be scared by the tiny tiny scroller, 95 % of the length of this blog is pictures. For those of you hoping to se pictures of me in all these places, (oh aren't I flattering myself) I hate to disappoint you but I'm the primary photographer on this trip, and as much as I'd love to be in two places at once I can't wink
First we took 2 weeks and drove through the southwest of the US, with our first stop in Rocky Mountain National Park. It was very nice, and a marmot chewed on my shoe.





Our next stop was Mom's Aunt Mikey and Uncle Marty, at their place in Aspen, Colorado. Stayed there 3 days, went for walks and all, very nice. Rode in ski-lift that also goes during summer. Went to rodeo too, saw very much scary things. Did you know, they get the bulls to jump like that by tying their balls?






Not far from Aspen is one of the most photographed locations in the US, Maroon Bells. It is over the top gorgeous, and v. v. amazing.






Our next stop was Arches National Park. It's a desert, and when we got there it started raining. Then everyone else disappeared form the path, and when it stopped raining 5 minutes later we went out, and were the only ones out there. It was very very red, and very late, so we had to hurry and get home before it got dark, cause of snakes and scorpions. Our tent was sweltering. I almost lost my camera.






Driving from Arches to Zion we saw something mildly interesting on the highway. We assume it was some sick people joke.


At Zion, we met Danny! We stayed at a very nice hotel called Desert Pearl Inn, and we went hiking, tubing, wading, and watched Edward Scissorhands. There was a shop just up the road that had a very nice selection of everything labeled Life is Good. Tubing was the most fun thing I have ever done, I think, and I really want to go rafting now.








Then we went to Bryce, geologically speaking my favorite from this trip. Very steep, very tiring, but so so so amazing and unbelievable. Were only there for half a day, but very happy we went still.





On our way from Bryce to Grand Canyon we took a tiny tiny dirt road for a couple of hours. We drove past the last water system to be discovered in the US, so this was as middle of nowhere as you can get. According to our GPS, our destination was Lickwash. Solveig picked something that looked like a sunflower.





Up comes the grand canyon. Quite disappointing view, we drove and drove and drove and them got to this woods, and there was no canyon, and after we set up tent and all we went for a walk and then found it, but there were too many trees so we couldn't really see much. But the day after was better, we went down a little bit and then up again. The place seriously smells like horse shit, due to all the mules that carry the lazy people up and down.






Then we drove on towards Flagstaff, Arizona. Right outside the National Park Boundaries of the Grand Canyon we stopped and bought a trmendous amount of jewelry from Native Americans in their sales booths. Then a big bug came and landed on a ceramic jar that had paintings of big bugs on it. Then the big bug jumped onto my camera (which was really not far from my face) and that was no fun at all. Well maybe it was a little funny afterwards smile

On the way to Flagstaff we visited Wupatki National Monument. That's a really really old indian city, and they even had natural air conditioning (very much needed in that area).




Upon arrival in Flagstaff we drove around and looked for hotel. In the end we found Super8 motel, which was really cheap, and really nice too, so if you need a hotel in the US find a Super8. Then we ate a nice Chinese restaurant run by Mexicans. The next day we suddenly remembered we needed shoes, so figured we'd stop by a store we'd seen along the road (oh we drove on route 66 by the way) called Shoe Pavilion. We went in, and there are SO MANY NICE CHEAP SHOES. We went crazy, well especially me, and I bought 3 pairs of shoes. The rest of the family got 5 altogether.







Then we went to meteor crater, which was big but not as big as I had imagined. And it was very touristy. Then we went to Montezuma National Monument, where some Native Americans had built a house/town in the wall of a cliff. Here I threw away my old puma shoes that I bought in China. The squirrels in Montezuma carried the bubonic plague (svartedauen) and we saw one in a tree but luckily it didn't try to break into our backpacks like the squirrels in Zion did.






Then we drove over the Hoover Dam (Vegas' power source) and then to Vegas. Vegas was broiling, and there were guys on the street carrying prostitute adverts on huge lit up boards on their backs. Very strange out of this world kinda place that I don't want to go to again.





California, here we come!
Far far up in the mountains, to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. Very very old (almost 5000 years) old trees that are very twisted and gnarled, and lots of pretty flowers, and beautiful sunsets. We met Mom's exboyfriend Peter and his family there smile They are awesome people smile










Stopped to buy cherries, the people had a cute baby. Cherries were very very good. Went to see the Harbor Seals at Point Lobos (which also has nice flowers, rocks, and seaweed) Also went to see the fugly but cute molting Elephant Seals at Año Nuevo.










Nearing the end of journey now! Arrived at Don and Tina Baird's (Dad's mom's mom's sister's daughter and her husband) place in Redwood city. I was given final proof that my messiness is genetic. Yesssss (not my fault) bigsmile bigsmile bigsmile
Mom calls this picture "Goldilocks and the 3 Bairds" p


After this, everything is a big blur, we were constantly busy. I remember trespassing, eating lunch on a big boat, taking lots of pictures of Golden Gate Bridge, seeing alcatraz, drinking lemonade, running away from wasps, visiting an awesome little place I'd love to live called Sausalito, going to Apple Headquarter (and enduring many crazy-taunts for it), enduring yet more crazy-taunts for buying all the Mocca Frappuccino bottles in the local Starbucks, eating at a very nice restaurant at half-moon bay, and taking a boeing 747 to Heathrow (where nobody lots any luggage(!)).














Well hey! That was my vacation in the US of A! Now for the Norway part of it, which is really not that long so you don't have to suffer much longer under my blabbering/photography.

I got to the luggage pick-up place, and then Torbjørn found me and I gave him a huge hug! Then the fire alarm went off and Torbjørn ran away, and as we all had to leave I missed the train ti Lillestrøm which didn't leave anyway I think. Then I sent my family off on the Eidsvoll train (man it felt good to be rid of them after 4 weeks of spending 24 hours a day with them) and took the red train to Lillestrøm. There I met Marius and gave him a huge hug too! And luckily the fire alarm didn't go off, so he didn't run away. So I sat with him by the riverbed until lots of cars started turning up. Then I took the Årnes train to Bodung and there Lisa was waiting for me and I gave her the hugest hug yet. And I stayed at Lisa's and had truckloads of fun and a very very very good breakfast, yumyumyum! And then I went home and I really don't remember anything after that, well at least I can't distinguish individual days anymore, so no need to write about it. But I think I spent more time in Lillestrøm than I did at home. Actually no, more time in Strømmen.

Oh! Had a gathering! Very very fun! We went to see the cows!







Oh and school! Yeah.. Todd is much better in Chemistry, well at least he teaches it much better. So that is wonderful bigsmile Vidar (physics) is very very different from Todd. Just about the oppisite. So that's positive and Negative. Trond (math) is very very very strict, but that'll make me do all my homework, which really is what I need to do more of in Math, so that fits just right. Plus, I seem to get things (especially derivation) much better this time around.

Lastly: Went to a job interview at Kiwi last Thursday, the guy said he'd call me sometime this week. That's exciting. Everybody must cross fingers for me even though the interview went totally crap. That was about it.

Toodles!

ARR!Kjapt, trygt, og billig! (Kiwikiwi)

Comments

Catzy Wednesday, August 27, 2008 6:50:23 PM

Wow! Your vacation looks/sounds amazing! So many things you have seen! And spectacular places and views! Unbelievable that someone would think of living in a vertical rock, I mean where do you start building? p And in the old tree, I thought I saw a snake, but it was just the tree itself, hahaha! I love the picture of Martin and the cow!!! Also sounds like school is good, though a bit different than before (but that may also have good sides). Crossing everything that can be crossed for your job thing, you probably will get it smile

Queen Messyennahoja Sunday, August 31, 2008 8:59:22 PM

It was fun yeah.. But in the end, it was kinda too much, so Yosemite (which everyone is supposed to think the most gorgeous place on the planet) wasn't really worth mentioning... So, for a vacation to see many natural wonders and all that, I recommend 2 weeks, anything longer and it would get boring (at least it did so for me). The old trees look veeeeery old yes, and weird and snaky too. The picture of Martin and the cow is one of those WOW, that lasted for 1/4 of a second but I got it, just by lucky coincidence. That was fun bigsmile

As for the good sides of school being different, the only one I can think of is we have less work to do. It's nice to be back but it's really so different.

Got the job, not very happy about it though. Hope I'll get used to it after a while, but now it's the most stressful thing I have ever experienced (wayyyyyy worse than exams) and considering my first day of work was 8 hours straight and no break and I wasn't paid cause I hadn't brought over my frikort yet, and I'm downright scared of my boss, the fact that I can't seem to understand what everybody else knows by heart, is very intimidating. But, money is money, and I can at least say I did try to get jobs I would have enjoyed, before I applied for this one. But, feel free to visit me and buy something at Kiwi on the other side of the train station, cause if you do you will most certainly brighten my day smile

Catzy Monday, September 1, 2008 5:48:20 AM

For your job : Relax! Youre just working at Kiwi! Not preparing a royal dinner! You take brakes when you want, you have the right to. At my work we have the right to take half an hour unpaid lunch, and 2 short brakes of about 5-10 minutes. I dont know what the rules are at Kiwi, but they cant be any worse. Nobody works for 8 hours without a brake. And you probably will get paid for that day, if you write it down on a timetable or whatever your system is. They dont pay you every day, so when the 15th or something comes that day will be included, and you will have delivered your card. Unless of course there has been an agreement that you will have "opplæring" without pay. But I dont think that is normal. Watch the others if there are some, and do what they do, they probably take a lot of brakes, so you can too.

Okay, so that was it for now, haha:p
Good luckat work and school, Im off to my exphil lecture - tjohoo

Thomassupertomtom Monday, September 1, 2008 2:43:59 PM

You should get paid during opplæring, but just to clarify what Sofie said: You do get payed every day, but you only get "utbetalt" once a month. And as she said, relax! After a while you get the hang of it, and nobody expects you to remember all the codes (if you have matkoder) after the first week. You're not expected to know how to do things nobody's told you how to do.

But your holiday looks absolutely brilliant! I have to go to America for a real trip some day!
That natural airconditioning looks awesome! I wonder how they did it? (That is what is happening on the picture of you sister's hair blowing upwards, right?)


Queen Messyennahoja Monday, September 8, 2008 8:02:41 AM

Sofie, Thomas, thank you smile I will write down that first day on my "timeliste" for October, even though the day was in September, and we will see what happens. I was supposed to have delivered the list of that one day before the 1st, you see, but I had no idea, I only found out when I asked Junaid on the 2nd p But I think it'll be OK if I include it for the month if October. I can take half-hour break if I want to, if I work more than 5.5 hours, and I will automatically be payed as if I took a half-hour break if I work 8 hours or more, which means I'd better take one or I'm working half an hour without getting paid. I remember much more food codes now smile

Under that hole is a HUGE underground cave, that goes quite deep as well as spreads out I think. Whenever the outside pressure changes, the inside pressure has to as well, and the only way the air can flow is though that hole. So, at this time, the air pressure outside was decreasing, and air had to flow out to equalize smile

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