Trouble.

So the night started out harmlessly enough. A little champagne, some good conversation, what could possibly go wrong?


Like I said, some champagne and good times.


Hey, Kenneth, watch those eyes buddy! The trouble has started already.


Yup, that's what I thought: trouble.


Things look like they're calming down a little. Time for a nice, relaxing dinner.


"Not if I have anything to say about it," says Kari.


"Yeah! Me too," says Kenneth.


He was originally going for the red wine, but diverted to another target.


Note that in this picture the wine is in the glass. Two minutes later, the wine, formerly of a location in the glass, came to rest on my suit, shirt, and face. Like I said - trouble.


What do you do when you're being out partied by some crazy Norwegians (and hilarious), have red wine all over your shirt, and can't remember what you just had for dinner?

You buy a $15 rum and coke and hit it!

Photos from around town

In Norway we cross the street in style.
















I walk down this hill to get to work.





















Matt lives around here.
















The view from my office (note the blue sky - a VERY rare occurance).
















The bridge to/from the surrounding islands.
















A ferry to... somewhere?
















Some more houses, this time with some sun!

Trondheim and Hell

I've been to Hell and back... seriously.

I actually went to a small town in Norway called Hell (and I have post cards to prove it!). It's just outside of Trondheim, which is bit of a trek North from Stavanger (you have to fly through Oslo or Bergen). My group from work took a trip to a small farm near Trondheim for two days of teambuilding. Lots of fun, and great to see other parts of Norway, but also extremely tiring.


The farm where we stayed dates back to the early 1500's, and in the spring and summer operates as a fly fishing lodge. It was very nice to be in a setting that was not your standard downtown hotel. The more time you spend in hotels and conference rooms, the more you realize they are all the same... so sterile and ordinary. This place was something completely different.



Part of the team building activity included a visit to a ship simulation center in Trondheim. Imagine a giant flight simulator... but for ships. If only I could get them to let me play some video games on there. It really was incredible how life-like the simulation was, because after a while you completely forgot that you were still on land. Then again, it's probably a good thing we were on land, because we managed to crash the simulator software after turning a vessel around in a very small port... that's probably why I work in the office, and not out on the ships.


More to come soon...

Tiger Hand always beats paper

http://www.richstevens.com/rockpaper.htm

Just ask Aziz.

Off to Trondheim...

Goin' North. I'm off to Trondheim for three days.

Where is Trondheim? Think 64th parallel.

In the meantime, here are a few pictures of Stavanger:



Old Stavanger:


See you in a few days!

Stavanger? I barely even know her...

Well, I've arrived in Norway. The flight over was good, and largely without incident. I had to spend a considerable amount of time explaining myself at the Norwegian border, as I do not yet have a work permit, but after 30 minutes of phone calls and discussion the customs office decided I was indeed allowed to enter the country. It would have been an awfully long trip back to Vancouver had I not been allowed in.

A pleasant and unexpected surprise was that I arrived to unseasonably warm weather. I stepped out of the airport expecting Vancouver winter weather on steroids (ie. Clouds, rain, and wind), but instead arrived to temperatures 8 degrees warmer than home, and rain no where to be found. My good luck was short-lived – today I awoke to colder weather and lots of rain. From what I hear, this is what I am to expect for the next 6 months.

I have yet to get an internet connection at my apartment, so this update is coming from work. HR has told me that they have ordered a broadband connection, but that it could take up to a month to arrive and install. Why so long, I have no idea. In the meantime, I was given a wireless card that is supposed to work on the mobile phone network here, but somehow has no reception in my apartment. It works great at work - where I don’t need it - and terribly at home, where I do need it. As soon as I get my connection at home set up I will post pictures - lots of pictures.

Back to work for me, there will be more to come soon.