Mellow music

Lately I've been going through a bit of a mellow music phase. I'm sure it won't last for too long (it never does), so I might as well pass along some good songs while I have the chance. So, on that note, get this music:

David Gray - 'This Year's Love'
Matthew Good Band - 'Advertising on Police Cars (Acoustic Version)'
Alexi Murdoch - 'Orange Sky'
Green Day - 'Macy's Day Parade' (from the completely underrated 'Warning' album)
Imogen Heap - 'Hide and Seek' (overplayed? perhaps, but I still like it)
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah
Death Cab for Cutie - 'I Will Follow You Into the Dark' (I know, I've already recommended this one... but it's so good)

These two are a little more rock, a bit punk, kind of mellow, and all good times.
Tegan and Sara - 'Where Does the Good Go?' or 'You Wouldn't Like Me'

Don't worry - soon I'll be back to the hard rock and punk that I usually listen to. Maybe.

Right, to bed I go.

Today's vision from Norway: Matt on a cliff

Ian visits Stavanger!

I just realized that I never wrote anything about Ian's visit to Stavanger, other than to say he would be dropping by. Yes folks, my roomate in the greatest apartment that never was, dropped by for a week-long adventure in this fine city. And what an adventure it was!

Ian arrived with great timing - on the eve of a national holiday. This meant one thing: partying. We hit the town hard with Bjarte, Marius, Lars, and Pål and a few others. Even though the group spent most of the evening ripping into yours truly, it was still a fun night. At least I think it was a fun night...
Now, I should explain one thing about Ian: he's never been the best with heights. I learned this one the hard way when we took an ill-advised trip to the top of Blackcomb mountain on the 7th Heaven chair. I should also mention at this point that it was Ian's first time skiing. Never before have I seen someone with such a look of terror on their face. Because of this fact, the following picture is all that much more impressive:

The edge of that cliff is a 606 meter drop, straight down to the water. Not too shabby, eh?

We also visited the Norwegian Oil Museum. Doesn't sound like the most exciting place, does it? Ha! How wrong you are! Never under-estimate my ability to act like a litte kid. Oh, and Ian's, too.

Russia... wow

Wow, where to start? What an incredible trip! Everything about the last four days was fantastic: the orphanage, the travel, my travel companions, the hotels, the surroundings, the complete and utter culture shock...

I spent the Friday and Saturday of last week visiting an orphanage just outside of Murmansk, Russia. Because Murmansk is quite a distance from Stavanger, the trip lasted from Wednesday to Sunday. On the way there we flew from Stavanger to Oslo, then from Oslo to Kirkenes (about as far north as you can go in continental Norway). From Kirkenes we drove through the Russian border (in itself an experience), then for another 4 hours to Murmansk. I can safely say that highways in northern Russia are not the best in the world.

A group of Stavanger employees support the Kildinstroj orphanage by donating a portion of their salary each month. Once a year, a group of four or five make a trip to the orphanage, and this year I was included in the group. In terms of support, this year we chose to provide woodworking equipment, a new computer, monitor, and printer, various items for the children (a new CD player, CDs, makeup, toys, sports equipment, etc), and are contributing approximately $10,000 to renovate the kitchen in conjunction with another charitable organization. In addition, we took all of the children to a puppet show in town and spent the afternoon with them playing games and just hanging out. It's amazing how kids are the same no matter where you are in the world: they just want to have fun, play, laugh, goof around, and have some attention paid to them.

All in all it was an incredible trip. I was able to get out to see some of the restaurants and nightlife in the city, as well as the war monuments and other sights, but the most interesting and memorable part of the trip, far and away, was being around the orphanage and the kids that live there. I absolutely hope to be able to go back next year if I am still living in Stavanger!