Skype + Jabra
I have been thinking of getting one of those nice bluetooth handsfrees or headsets to use with Skype. Nowadays those should work nicely with OS X and at the moment I am planning to get Jabra BT250 if I only could get one at a reasonable price. Bluetooth would allow me to Skype with my iBook a lot easier even from a distance.
2005-02-05O-Ball
Finally the long waited day and o-ball. I don’t actually know for how long and who had been waiting for it but I think long enough. Before starting the officiel partying there was official un-official ski jumping competition and the longest jumps were around 20 meters. Not quite that bad at all. And I am pretty sure norwegians are just crazy on skis. After two hours of intensive spectating it was finally time for sauna. The problem with the sauna was that is was more like bastu but what wouldn’t a finn do to make it better. Nice big bucket of water and a hose worked quite good. Though there is nothing you can do to the construction.
After washing up and freshing up it was time for the gala, ball, party. Nice and not so long speeches and singing performances and some good food and maybe good company.
While others started to settel down and maybe start looking for a place to sleep or to continue partying I did another choice and prepared to take a walk back home. It didn’t feel so long on the way up while running a test run but while walking down in the middle of the night the downhill just wasn’t going to end at all. And now I don’t know if I still want to run up there again. It is a huge hill.
I managed to take some nice photos of the ski jumpers.
2005-02-05Nidar Chocolate Factory
One of the good things around here is the local chocolate factory – Nidar . The chocolate though is nothing like Fazerin sininen I am used to get in Finland but it is still chocolate. The good thing is that they are willing to take visitors there to eat chocolate and also get to know how the products are made. I was able to get to one of those chocolate eating opportunities and it is one of those places I would like to be able to go with any of my possible guests arriving Trondheim.
The trip is just something you have to experience by yourself because it is really impossible to describe the atmosphere there with all the chocolate all around.
2005-02-04iBook back
Yipee! I got it back. My own white nice piece of cheap components packed in expensive apple case. Some problems cast a shodow over the happy reunion. The problem with the iBook in the first place was a crappy HD which then got replaced. That wasn’t supposed to be a problem because I had backups of everything I need on my server. But just a few days before I got my iBook back sad news from Finland darkened a part of my mind. There had been a water damage where my server is located and it is now offline until the damage is been repaired. One to two months.
And I also put some photos finally online.
2005-02-03Skisamling
This weekend helped me to bring back some memories. It was time for skiing weekend at Nordic Ski Center as they like to call their tracks at Funasdalen, Bruksvallarna and Tänndalen area, Sweden. Clamed to be the place for cross-country skiing. I knew that already before the bus with 40 other NTNUI orienteers hit the road because I had been there three years ago and for the NTNUI orienteers it is an annual tradition to have a skisamling there.
I am really starting to think that language limits my ability to express myself because at the moment I am trying to learn norwegian and that causes all the nice and actual words to come up not in english or in finnish but in norwegian or swedish.
Weekend stats:
fri: 45min fs
sat: 2h c + 30+1h30 fs
sun: 3h fs
The first training on Saturday was supposed to be something like 2h30-3h but without any kind of timepiece it’s sometimes difficult to make right choice at upcoming crossing.
All in all it was a really nice experience and I really can recommend that area.
2005-01-31Shoes indoors
I just started to wonder if Finland is the only place on earth where there it is possible to achieve freezing temperatures and still no need to wear shoes indoor. I don’t really think it is common in Finland to use sandals or slipers indoors but everywhere else where I have been it seems more like custom.
Just wondering
2005-01-26Koietur
During the weekend it was time to see what the mountains have got to give. It was time for a Koietur and to be more precise Sonvasskoia was the home for our little weekend in the woods. To get at the koia we first needed to drive a bit closer and on the way I experienced that norwegians charge and toll everything. Normal motorway tolls are something I am used to but not that much used to tolls on private mountain roads.
After getting the cars parked we put on our skiboots and backpacks and headlamps and started to find our way to the cabin. It wasn’t an easy task and while trying to get there we climbed up and down some hills in deep powder snow with your skis and packs. Finally after about 90 minutes of skiing and map reading we finally were there at the cabin. The cabin itself is just a big room with eight bunks on the sides, table and benches and a fireplace. And with lots of hinges and hooks to hang clothes to dry after exposure to mountain weather.
The problem with the fire was that all or most of the firewood wasn’t dry enough to burn nicely. It was possible to burn it but it needed most of its energy to its own burning so it didn’t really help us warming up the cabin or cooking. Everyone tried on their turns to get some kind of warming effect and finally after all the effort it started to create warmth.
On Saturday morning sun was shining behind some clouds and it seemed like a good day for a nice trip to some summits. On the way to the top the plans changed after two hours of skiing while the weather showed us what the mountain weather is all about. Rapid changes, wind, snow and zero visibility forced us to be happy with the nearest and lowest peak. Four hours to get there and one hour to get down from there. Going downhill wasn’t as fast as it could have been because of the snow, wind and visibility problems. We had to stay very close to each other not to get lost and all the snow it our eyes didn’t make it any easier to see where we were going. It was some kind of a relief to get back to the woods and start to enjoy the downhill still ahead.
Five hours at mountains was enough for the day and there weren’t so many ice fishers for the day. The rest of the day we spent inside eating a good meal with a more than decent dessert koiekaka, cabin cake and learning how to play the game of thrones. A board game with not so complex rules after all.
Sunday morning wasn’t as sunny as Saturday so we decided to send special ice fishing troops to get us some lunch while others took care of cleaning up the cabin. He didn’t manage to get any fish so we were forced to leave the cabin and head home.
It was really nice to be back home and what I have heard the weather on Saturday is not that kind of weather when norwegians usually ski on the mountains. They just wanted to show us their best.
2005-01-26International Students & Cooking
On Thursday and Friday there was an organized orientation for new students from all over the world. Eating pizza with others at this great tower restaurant at Tyhot and swimming and bathing at Pirbadet
Today I am responsible for making dinner for flatmates. What we do we cook and eat together and try to share the duties there is at our kitchen. And today’s dish will be Makaroonilaatikko
Hopefully I will get my iBook at some time to ensure more frequent and enjoyable updates and reports.
2005-01-18Training all the time
And today it was the day of circuit training. In Finland I am more used to do this great circuit program Jokkerin Ventti. It is more common among cross country skiers and it focuses more on legs with all those jumps. Today the NTNUI O-Gruppa training was almost plain sit ups. Complitely different from what I am used to but change is always good. I think I might have to try to do some Jokkeri-trainings at some point of my stay.
Now I am just waiting for tomorrow and the ache on all my muscles or at least the sit up muscles.
2005-01-12at Trondheim
Now it’s been a couple of days and all the things have started to sort out. The idea of train+ferry+train transport was ok but next time I should be night ferry and day train. Strong storm was trying to ruin the plans but it didn’t get in time to affect the ferry though the train never got from Gothenburg to Stockholm where it was supposed to continue all the way to Storlien. Fortunately the previous train was aware of the problems and waited for the passengers of other train. And there were even enough room for all the passengers to sleep.
Almost the first thing at Trondheim was to go skiing. There is actually no snow in town but just 15 minutes drive away there is a cross contry skiers paradise. I spent an hour just relaxing on skis. And that is not all. There are trainings all the time. Every day and even two times a day.
..and hopefully I’ll get my iBook this week.
2005-01-12