G-Elín

Unimpressed

2009-09-26T15:26:00.003Z

Usually when I get to know new people I would like to learn a few things about them. Like their name, what are they studying, and so forth and so and. Not least I want to learn where they are from! So when I meet bright people that answer back: 'Oh, I am from the States!' and nothing else, I am left seriously unimpressed with their intelligence. That you are from the 'States' is quite obvious by the very American accent you have, it will give you away every time you open your mouth!!! But which freaking one are you from, there are 50 States and I am not going to just randomly decide which one you are from. If I would I would either choose Texas or Florida, neither which are a compliment. When I am asked where I am from I usually don't respond 'Europe!'. Why not be really clear and just answer; 'I am from the P-L-A-N-E-T EARTH!' and speak real slow in case my alien intelligence is slow to catch up.

I am GUID to go

2009-09-25T14:52:00.003Z

It is now nearly a month since I am back in Glasgow and quite a few things I have needed to sort through. Some things that I didn't even start to sort through until last week. For example my GU-ID card, or the identity card that allows me access to the Glasgow University Library. For some reason my card was only validated for 1 year when I got it last year, but just earlier in the week I noticed that the card belonging to my friend was validated until 2011!!! I thought that this might be because I hadn't enrolled on the same day as she, I didn't enroll until early October. So yesterday I headed off to Registry to get a new card. After waiting in line for about fifteen mins or so it was my turn. I told her that I needed to apply for a new card since mine was running out, and that I thought this was a mistake. 'No' she replied, saying that these cards should only be issued for a year at a time. So in fact my friend had just been ridiculously lucky. But no matter, it only took her a matter of minutes to print out a new card for me and hand it to me. It was only when I was walking away from her that I noticed the date on the card and could barely contain my grin. It is valid till 2012!!!
In a way I hope it is not prophetic and that I will still be here as a postgrad student in 2012, but on the other hand, I will have access to the library for a good number of years now ;)

Back and ready for action

2009-08-31T22:36:00.004Z

I learned today that it can be tricky to mail letters! Only just arrived yesterday I hurried into city centre to pick up a few things I was going to mail home directly. When I had the things intended for the mail ready I entered the Post Office as one does when they want to send a letter. I made my way over to the envelopes but before I even got half way across the floor I was stopped by this rather determined woman. I swear she must have worked at airport security at some point in time, she was that direct. Basically asked me what I was doing in here, I was rather flabbergasted over such a welcome. Naturally I replied that I wanted to purchase an envelope. 'To be mailed today?' she asked in the same direct no-nonsense kind of voice. I nodded and she then started to direct me through the process. 'Pick up your envelope and pay for it ...(like I had any other intention)... then bring the letter back here once you have done that and I will tell you what to do next!' Sheesh, the only thing I felt at this point was the enormous pressure of picking the right envelope and paying for it right away. I swear she was likely to pull up a gun if I didn't behave accordingly. Once I had picked up what I hoped was a large enough envelop I paid for it and proceeded to preparing the wee package for delivery. So naturally not wanting to face the mad woman at gunpoint I dutifully turned back to her to find out 'where I should go next'! Thankfully the woman had disappeared probably being carted away to a loony bin when I had finished with the package but this rather nice fellow directed my to the newest gizmo in the store.
I finally started to understand why there was a crossing-guard stationed in the middle of the floor of the Post Office. They wanted to show off their new gadget. Like so many other businesses in Britain they are taking away consumer choice, customer - service provider interaction, and jobs!!! Now everything is done by kiosks. When you purchase cinema tickets, pay for your groceries, checking into flights and now when you post an item you are faced with talking to a computer. Because this was a new gadget they had a person there situated to help with working this wonderful machine. I must say I am not sold on this idea. Even before the age of know-it-all computers people were struggling with putting enough postage on the package or even basic information, like an address, on what they were posting. People vs people interaction often caught those mistakes before they came to a dead end. Having been at all the turns and ends a letter can go through in the receiving, sending and delivery service this is not winning any prizes in my book. That they have to have a person to assist in the workings of this gadget prooves that they will never get rid of the human element of customer service, so why bother with expensive machiner as well as personal, when the human can to the work of both. It also prooves that obviouslay a machine can never be so idiot-proof that you won't need more detailed instructions than the ones that 'pop-up' on the screen!
In the end I managed to maile my package but it took much longer than if I had been allowed to talk to a human Post Office person instead of a kiosk, luckily it wasn't that expensive that I had to pay with a card .... then it would have gotten complicated, because you can't yet!!!

30 years of Me

2009-06-06T15:06:00.005Z

I just had my birthday a couple of weeks ago, and again and again. I think I set a record this year of having no less than four birthday parties. All of them filled with wonderful friends and family and of course amazing food too.
I have uploaded photos from each one of my parties and I post them here to the right on the webpage.

Birthday party nr. 1
May 16th, just before I leave Glasgow to go home for the summer. It was Eurovision night and with the help of my friend Catriona was able to have a great night with the girls. Claire came all the way from Dumfries, and Jo came from Gourock and both stayed over at Catrionas so that they wouldn't have to travel at silly times back home. Sadly Anne couldn't make it, because she was ill. I held the party at Catriona's and we had cakes and food galore to nibble on throughout the night while watching Eurovision and gossiping like we do best. We enjoyed watching Eurovision and it didn't spoil the night that Iceland finished in 2nd place (although I still don't like the song) and UK didn't do that bad either. So in true Eurovision tradition every time our countries received points we cheered both out loud and by taking a sip of wine. When Eurovision finished the gossiping started and lasted well until four o'clock in the morning when I made my way home in a taxi, so happy after a great evening. I got great presents; from Catriona I got my birthday party and a beautiful scarf/shawl. From Claire I got a book (I always like getting those) and a wee hippo-bear named Thomas ;) Jo gave me a wonderful picture to hang on a wall, with the words 'Cairdean' for 'Friendship' in Irish. It is beautiful. Last but not least I got a wonderful jewellry box from Anne as well as a surprise gift that involves humor only Anne and I understand.

Birthday party nr. 2
May 24th, my birthday! I arrived home on May 20th and had little time planning anything, I decided to divide my birthday between family one day and friends another day. Sunday 24th, was going to be cookies and cakes for my family and close family friends. Friday evening I baked some ham and cheese croissants, and during Saturday my mom magically created loads of cakes and great stuff for us to munch on come Sunday. The table was groaning from yummy cakes and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. Of course my parents were there, I got a wonderful pair of necklace and ring from them (as well as my new mobile phone, which I had recieved a bit earlier). My brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew were there of course as well. They were wonderful and generous and gave me a gift certificate for Icelandair that I can use to travel to and fro Glasgow (or London at least). My grandmother gave me few quids to spend as well as my uncle and his wife. Another uncle and family gave me a wonderful handmade silver ring. Later in the day I heard from a friend of mine and suggested that if they wanted to come they were more than welcome since there was still more than enough cakes to go around, and we needed help getting rid of them. My friends Hrafnhildur and Þurý, used the opportunity to bring their present for me with them. From them as well as Hrafnhildur's boyfriend, and Guðný Stella (another friend) I got a most beautiful silver hair pin. It was amazingly beautiful and 'so me'! My day was perfect and it was wonderful to be able to be home for this occasion.

Birthday party nr. 3
When I turned 25 I was in Scotland and didn't celebrate it in style. When I graduated both in 2007 and 2008 I never celebrated except with my family who was there at the time. So I decided that this year, since I was home for my birthday to do it in style and do it proper. My friends were great enough to 'donate' their appartment for the occasion, which was great. This meant I wouldn't be keeping my mom up for all hours of the night while we partied (sometimes there is a downside to still living with mom and dad :)). I decided to have the party the week after my actual birthday, since I hadn't had enough time to organise and let people know.
Because of unseen circumstances my friends weren't at home during the day, but Þurý was the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hrafnhildur and Gummi's place, so we were free to wreck the place for the party that night. We were running around Reykjavik, picking up goodies for the BBQ and ended up raiding a store for their entire contents of ice cubes ;). But everything was ready when the party goers came and everything went perfectly.
My friend Gummi played the cook to perfection and everyone was well sated after a huge hamburger and hot dogs. Enough alchohol was on offer as well, proof by the large tub in the back yard filled with ice-cold beer, and a fridge filled with Breezer and Smirnoffs. We also made a huge bowl of coctail usually called a 'bolla' in these circumstances. To keep the party going we had Sing Star going full blast for quite a while and everyone having so much fun watching, listening and some even participating, lol. Although we had loads of songs and songstyles to choose I was facing a conundrum. I am terrible when it comes to modern music and therefore only knew a handful of songs and even them not very well. What was desperately needed was Sing Star Bollywood ... I will have to acquire one before the next party. We ended up dancing and partying until 3am in the morning. It was a fabulous party and I felt so lucky having such wonderful friends.
After I had made my way home I was still too happy and excited and wasn't able to fall asleep again, so I read a few pages in a book. It was so bright outside and in my room (since I never draw the blinds during the summer) I was able to read my book without putting the lights on!!!

Birthday party no. 4
Not everyone made it to the party, so they had a special party for me. My two friends (and twin sisters) Margrét and Guðbjört came to pick me up on Friday 5th of June and brought me to Margrét's place where they were planning to cook me dinner. We all helped with getting the food going, Guðbjört and I took care of the salad. Guðbjört also took charge of the rice while Margrét prepared the chicken and bread. Half the time Margrét scared us nearly to death by being half inside poking hot things. She has teflon-fingers I am sure. The food was absolutely delicious and I am sure I am going to try it again someday, it was amazing. Chickenbreast covered with pesto, cream-cheese and sundried tomatoes and then folded together and fastened with a toothpick, boiled rice, salad and garlic bread. I couldn have continued on forever muching on the goodies, it was so amazing.
But that wasn't the entire surprise they had in store for me. They had bought a bottle of bubbly to celebrate my high age and wisdom :) as well. It was amazing and Guðbjört got to pop the cork and it took us a good minute to find the cork again it exploded with such a bang. For dessert we had icecream, hot chocolate sauce and sweets to go with, mmmmm.
We even got a surprise visit. Krissi, Margréts boyfriend, had been planning to go meet aquaintances but in the end they came over to theirs and joined the party. They brought with them some red wine and we kept on toasting and chatting through the evening, they left just around midnight and I left a short time later, with my private chauffeur and bodyguard, Margrét and Krissi, giving me a ride home :)
Fabulous evening and I thank them very much for a great evening.

Exams, never again

2009-03-22T17:20:00.001Z

1. Get a copy of the exam, run out screaming "Andre, Andre, I've got the secret documents!!"

2. Talk the entire way through the exam. Read questions aloud, debate your answers with yourself out loud. If asked to stop, yell out, "I'm SOOO sure that you can hear me thinking." Then start talking about what a jerk the instructor is.

3. Bring a Game Boy. Play with the volume at max level.

4. On the answer sheet find a new, interesting way to refuse to answer every question. For example: I refuse to answer this question on the grounds that it conflicts with my religious beliefs. Be creative.

5. Run into the exam room looking about frantically. Breathe a sigh of relief. Go to the instructor, say "They've found me, I have to leave the country" and run off.

6. 15 min. into the exam, stand up, rip up all the papers into very small pieces, throw them into the air and yell out "Merry Christmas." If you're really daring, ask for another copy of the exam. Say you lost the first one. Repeat this process every 15 min.

7. Come into the exam wearing slippers, a bathrobe, a towel on your head, and nothing else.

8. Come down with a BAD case of Tourette's Syndrome during the exam. Be as vulgar as possible.

9. Bring things to throw at the instructor when s/he's not looking. Blame it on the person nearest to you.

10. As soon as the instructor hands you the exam, eat it.

11. Every 5 min. stand up, collect all your things, move to another seat, continue with the exam.

12. Turn in the exam approx. 30 min. into it. As you walk out, start commenting on how easy it was.

13. Get the exam. 20 min into it, throw your papers down violently, scream out "Fuck this!" and walk out triumphantly.

14. Arrange a protest before the exam starts (ie. Threaten the instructor that whether or not everyone's done, they are all leaving after one hour to go drink.)

15. Show up completely drunk (completely drunk means at some point during the exam, you should start crying for mommy).

16. Comment on how sexy the instructor is looking that day.

17. Come to the exam wearing a black cloak. After about 30 min, put on a white mask and start yelling "I'm here, the phantom of the opera" until they drag you away.

18. If the exam is math/sciences related, make up the longest proofs you could possible think of. Get pi and imaginary numbers into most equations. If it is a written exam, relate everything to your own life story.

19. Try to get people in the room to do a wave.

20. Bring some large, cumbersome, ugly idol. Put it right next to you. Pray to it often. Consider a small sacrifice.

21. During the exam, take apart everything around you. Desks, chairs, anything you can reach.

22. Puke into your exam booklet. Hand it in. Leave.

23. Take 6 packages of rice cakes to the exam. Stuff at least 2 rice cakes into your mouth at once. Chew, then cough. Repeat if necessary.

24. Masturbate.

25. Walk in, get the exam, sit down. About 5 min into it, loudly say to the instructor, "I don't understand ANY of this. I've been to every lecture all semester long! What's the deal? And who the hell are you? Where's the regular guy?"

26. Do the entire exam in another language. If you don't know one, make one up!

27. Bring a black marker. Return the exam with all questions and answers completely blacked out.

28. Every now and then, clap twice rapidly. If the instructor asks why, tell him/her in a very derogatory tone, "the light bulb that goes on above my head when I get an idea is hooked up to a clapper. DUH!"

29. From the moment the exam begins, hum the theme to Jeopardy. Ignore the instructor's requests for you to stop. When they finally get you to leave one way or another, begin whistling the theme to the Bridge on the River Kwai.

30. After you get the exam, call the instructor over, point to any question, ask for the answer. Try to work it out of him/her.
31. In the middle of the test, have a friend rush into the classroom, tag your hand, and resume taking your test for you. When the teacher asks what's going on, calmly explain the rules of Tag Team Testing to him/her.

32. Bring cheat sheets FOR ANOTHER CLASS (make sure this is obvious... like history notes for a calculus exam... otherwise you're not just failing, you're getting kicked out too) and staple them to the exam, with the comment "Please use the attached notes for references as you see fit."

33. Stand up after about 15 minutes, and say loudly, "Okay, let's double-check our answers! Number one, A. Number two, C. Number three, E...."

34. Fake an orgasm. When interrupted, apologize, and explain that question #__ moved you, deeply.

35. Wear a superman outfit under your normal clothes. 30 minutes into the exam, jump up and answer your phone, shouting "What? I'm on my way!!". rip off your outer clothes and run out of the room. strike a pose first for added effect.

36. Tailgate outside the classroom before the exam.

37. If your answers are on a scantron sheet, fill it out in pen.

38. Bring a giant cockroach into the room and release it on a girl nearby.

39. Complete the exam with everything you write being backwards at a 90 degree angle.

40. Bring one pencil with a very sharp point. Break the point off your paper. Sharpen the pencil. Repeat this process for one hour.

41. Make Strange noises... get people to stare... look at the person next to you as if heshe did it.

42. Dress like the professor or better yet; cross-dress

43. Use Invisible Ink to answer the whole exam.

44. Order catering. The catering company should come in about halfway through the test, and should include at least three waiters, eight carts of food, and five candelabras.

45. Bring a pillow. Fall asleep (or pretend to) until the last 15 minutes. Wake up, say "oh geez, better get cracking" and do some gibberish work. Turn it in a few minutes early.

46. If it is a math/science exam, answer in essay form. If it is long answer/essay form, answer with numbers and symbols. Be creative. Use the integral symbol.

47. Make paper airplanes out of the exam. Aim them at the instructor's left nostril.

48. Bring cheerleaders, or bring pets

49. Do the exam with crayons, paint, or fluorescent markers.

50. Walk into the exam with an entourage. Claim you are going to be taping your next video during the exam. Try to get the instructor to let them stay, be persuasive. Tell the instructor to expect a percentage of the profits if they are allowed to stay.

51. Do the entire exam as if it was multiple choice and true/false. If it is a multiple choice exam, spell out interesting things (DCCAB. BABE. etc. . ).

52. Go to an exam for a class you have no clue about, where you know the class is very small, and the instructor would recognize you if you belonged. Claim that you have been to every lecture. Fight for your right to take the exam.

53. Upon receiving the exam, look it over, while laughing loudly, say "you don't really expect me to waste my time on this drivel? Days of our Lives is on!!!"

54. Bring a water pistol with you, or start a brawl in the middle of the exam

55. Come in wearing a full knight's outfit, complete with sword and shield.

56. Bring a friend to give you a back massage the entire way through the exam. Insist this person is needed, because you have bad circulation.

57. When you walk in, complain about the heat.

58. Bring balloons, blow them up, start throwing them around like they do before concerts start.

59. Play frisbee with a friend at the other side of the room.

60. Get deliveries of candy, flowers, balloons, telegrams, etc. . . sent to you every few minutes throughout the exam.

61. Bring a musical instrument with you, play various tunes. If you are asked to stop, say "it helps me think. " Bring a copy of the Student Handbook with you, challenging the instructor to find the section on musical instruments during finals. Don't forget to use the phrase "Told you so".

62. Answer the exam with the "Top Ten Reasons Why Professor xxxx is a Terrible Teacher"

63. Call the teacher over. Repeatedly call him/her. When he answers, wait 5 seconds, then say "We're taking a test teacher!" (Kind of like Charlie the Unicorn "We're on a bridge Charlie!")

64. go into the exam room. sit down, put on a helmet with the blast shield down and tell the professer the Force will guide your pencil.

65. When the end of the test is near and the examiner starts to look at the clock. Wait until the the seconds hand reaches 6, start singing the Countdown theme tune.

66: leave the whole exam blank after writing THERE ARE ALWAYS MARKS FOR NEAT WORK

67. In the middle of the exam stand up and yell 'they’re coming for me!' and run out

68. Cough really loudly every 5 seconds

69. Make out (or go further than making out) with your boyfriend during the exam when the instructor tries to get you to stop, look the instructor in the eye and tell him/her in an annoyed tone "EXCUSE ME!!! We're a little busy here, GO AWAY . . . "

70. colour in the letters that have a closed of space i.e. a,,b, c,,d etc

St. Andrews Conference II

2009-02-27T19:52:00.002Z

We woke up early on Saturday morning and prepared to show up for breakfast which was included in the booking, I got this very nice plate of bacon, eggs, tomato and hash brown and we could also choose from an assortment of cereals. I was truly impressed with their reception and how much they made us feel welcome almost into their own home. Abbeyview cottage gets ***** from me, cannot praise them enough. We finished getting dressed got our luggage together and paid for our room and off we went on to find where the conference was being held.
We made it into the town centre and made our way in the right direction from there. The problem with getting around St. Andrews is that it is soooo small everyone thinks you know where you are going! We were real tourists with maps pointing and hmmm-ing. We made it eventually to the place where the conference was but now the question was WHICH BUILDING, because there were a few around and non properly signposted. Well we found signposts in the end but they didn't indicate which direction you should go so that was a bright idea, but in the end we found it. It was held in the Purdie Building, North Haugh and when we came into the foyer most of the people were there already. We signed in and went browsing about the tables they had set up. They were offering books and booklets on sale, and I was incredibly lucky. I got my hands on ECMS (Early Christian Monuments of Scotland) for 20P, which is not bad considering this is very hard to get your hands on. It didn't take me a long time to decide to buy it. We also found Jo from the Music Department who was going to be so sweet to us and give us a lift back to Glasgow. Then Alex Wolf climbed up on a table to get our attention that the conference was starting and that we should start moving towards the lecture theatre.
The first lecture started at 10:45, speaker was Barbara Yorke from the University of Winchester ''Scottish Northumbria' as an Anglo-Saxon Province', which was about the Bernician dynasty around Bamburgh and Lindisfarne. Interesting but since I am not very up on history this late, I have no idea what she was talking about.
Then it was Dr. David N. Parsons from the Centre for Advanced Studies, University of Wales, 'Place-names of the Southwest revisited' which was very interesting and I enjoyed it very much listening to him. And then it was lunch. The buffet was very nice, although not very organised, so I had no idea what I was getting, also the problem was because you weren't really able to recognise what was on the sandwiches Catriona couldn't take a chance, so it appeared that the vegetarian choice was finished when we finally got there (if it ever was there). All she did get was a muffin and a bowl of fruit, I was lucky though, because I got a sandwich with ham and tomato (only one slice of tomato though), chicken, muffin and fruit.
After the break it was Alice Blackwell's turn from Museum of Scotland, she was talking about 'Reassessing the Anglo-Saxon material culture from Scotland', and I love hearing what she has to say. This is the second time I have attended a lecture with her and it's always fabulous. One of the highlights of the conference I must say. Following her talk was Dr. Nicky Toop, Field Archaeology Specialist from York, talking about 'Northumbrian Monuments in Southern Scotland: carving a Christian territory', and I must admit I was not impressed. She used so much out of date data for her talk and relied to much on what others had done it didn't give any clear focus on what she was really on about. It felt too much like she didn't know what she was doing there, not good at all. Then it was time for tea.
Tea was a lovely time, we got loads of cake and Catriona got tea so she was happy. I managed to wrangle a coke form a vending machine so I was happy too.
The conference was almost finished at this point but three speakers were still to left. So the opening act after coffee break was none other than Alex Wolf himself, speaking on 'The Sain'ts of Anlgo-Saxon Scotland'. It was a very brief talk, but fun. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing him recite a poem in Old English fluently, it was lovely, and his saints were fun too. Then we finally got an archeologists perspective on the Anglo-Saxon culture with Erlend Hindmarch from AOC (I have no idea what that is) who told us about 'New Discoveries from Auldhame', and I again enjoyed that talk immensely. He was telling us about an excavation of a graveyard dating from late 8th century until 15th century. It was amazing and great to hear of the work being carried out there. I don't know why but I always like listening to Archaeologists share their discoveries and listen to their lectures. Probably because they use a lot of photos!
Then it was time for our very own Professor Dauvit Brown to sum up the conference and give a closing speach. All in all the conference was a great success and I am so happy to have gone. I had also managed to get my hands on a couple of other booklets from previous conferences about Scandinavian studies in Scotland so I was mightly pleased.
After this there was nothing more to do than to take off home. Guto joined us as Jo had promised to give him a ride as well and when we were all there we headed for her car and she drove us all the way to Glasgow and home to our doorstep as well. She was so nice and it was a very nice journey to make all in all.

St. Andrews Conference I

2009-02-26T23:10:00.005Z

Catriona and I went to a conference in St. Andrews last weekend. It was hosted by St. Andrews University, Committe for Dark Age studies & EMERGE (I have no idea what that is). The title of the conference was 'Anglo-Saxon Scotland' and some questioned the validity or the apropriateness of this title.
The party started on Friday so Catriona and I made our way to Queen Street station early morning to catch the train to Edinburgh. I always like going on trains. We made it into Edinburgh shortly before 11, and I just managed to grab a sandwich, bottle of coke and a bag of crisps before we jumped aboard the train to Luchers. We had enormous amount of fun on the trainride to Luchers all thanks to Walkers Vote for Me crips. I had grabbed a bag of a new trial crips 'Builders Breakfast' and they truly were magical. I recommend them to anyone who want's a bit of Harry Potter feeling. It was like eating Berti Botts Every Flavour Beans, except crisps. 'Builder's Breakfast' was supposed to have, eggs, toast, beans and bacon, and the weird thing was, you picked up a crips and bit into it and maybe you got eggs, or eggs and bacon, bacon and beans, beans and toast! The point is you never knew and it could be any flavour, which made this incredibly fun. We are so easily entertained.
We made it into Luchers around noon and hurried to the bus station where a moment later a bus came to take us to St. Andrews. What a journey. We had no idea where we were or where we were going but alighted at the first viable spot, and landed basically in the heart of St. Andrews not bad. This was the start of a long day of walking ... and walking ... and walking. We went to the St. Andrews Cathedral, which is probably one of my favorite ruins of all time. Looking at it just makes you wonder what used to be there and makes you want to weep, it is beautiful. Next to the Cathedral is St. Rules tower and Catriona can tell you all about it. I only know a bit, that it is one of the oldest square tower in Scotland! We went up, but oh boy, it was difficult. The stairs were circular and tiny, these really were tiny monks, but I made it up and Catriona too. I took a few photos to prove it and then we descended the stairs again. I still don't know how I managed this and both my knees get nightmares thinking about this trip up and down. (My knees are magical and can think for themselves.)
Next on the list was finding the Bed and Brekfast, and after what felt like wandering around the desert for twenty minutes we found it. It was a lovely place in the middle of the suburb of St. Andrews (which is not big). The welcome was wonderful and the room was amazing, felt just like a hotel only smaller. After stopping for a short while where I was able to allow my feet to breath for a bit, we were at it again ... walking ... and walking. We went back to the city centre where we sat down at Costa Cafe to find out where we were going next, but in the end we mostly just wandered around town aimlessly looking for a place to eat. We basically ended up at the same place where we had lunch, at Victorias Bar. We knew we would get good food there so we weren't to disappointed of not getting to sample more of the local cusine. Also most of the places in St. Andrews are rather expensive.
We left the diner when it was still roughly more than half an hour before the seminar started. The seminar tonight was sort of the opening act to the weekends conference, The Anderson Memorial Lecture. It took us for ages to find the place, and its basically because I screwed up! I was so caught up with the street names there that I didn't really pay much attention to the map or address. So we turned down a road we shouldn't have, if we had basically moved half a meter more and into a courtyard we would have been there, but I wanted to go down Butts Wynd (which I renamed Farts Alley) and from there it went all down hill. We made it back but it was quite frustrating that we could have avoided all this walking, on the other hand there were people about now so we felt more assured that we were at the right place. And so we were, we found the lecture theatre and sat down, which was a relief for my feet.
The speaker of the evening was a Professor Nick Higham and his talk was titled 'Anglo-Saxon Scotland?' (very imaginative title as you can see). I had heard that not everyone was pleased with having him as opening speaker for the night, and I must say I can understand why (although I didn't until Catriona explained it to me). I didn't take the same history courses as Catriona did so she was much more up on things than I was, but basically this guy was spouting nonsence which no 'sane person thinks anymore', and that it had felt like stepping thirty years back into the past in scholarship. He was an entertaining speaker though, it must be said. There are probably not many that can actually get the sentence: 'Not that I am insinuating that Bede was a Dalek' into a lecture.
After the talk we were invited over to a reception given by the University and sponsored by Glenmorangie! They offered us whiskey, red wine, white wine and some other beverages that I wasn't exploring to much of. They even had snacks. I had a glass of whiskey but because I had been walking so much and had an early start to tomorrow I didn't imbibe too much, although Catriona got a bit mellow with a glass of red wine. We mingled, although just barely, we met a guy from Cambridge, named Paul (I thought his name was Bob, but found that odd for a Cambridge boy), all dressed up in tweed! He knew Geraldine our teacher so we had something in common to talk about. Then we spent a few minutes talking to Dauvit and Thomas before splitting. It's a good thing I am good at finding my way around places because I would not have trusted Catriona in her mellow state to get us where we were going, we walked back to the B&B and were very happy when we were finally in bed exhausted after an eventful day.

To be continued ...

Friday 13th

2009-02-15T21:03:00.002Z

Feeling unlucky ... not really!
But it's one of those days that seems to creep up on you every once in a while, like so many others. It's also a day that seems to be dedicated to bad luck and horror films. What this has in common I have no idea, probably that if you walk under a ladder you aren't going to have a bucket of paint fall on you, not it's probably going to be a pshyco piano that is going to run after you down the entire lenght of the street before hurling you off a cliff into a piranah infested Amazon river, which there is no logical reason why it appeared there. Horror films just don't work for me.
I went to the cinema once with a friend of mine, a real horror film fan and did something you shouldn't when watching a horror film. I laughed!!! And not just that I laughed outloud, it was a real bellywrenching loud hysterical laughter. Because the scene was so prepostrous I couldn't help myself. Apparently I should have, considering the look I got from her. I had managed to laugh at the worst moment in the film, I swear I really couldn't have picked a worse time. Oh boy, I guess I ruined the experience for all who sat next to me. After the film she calmly said to me that she was never going to take me to a horror film ever again. It was at that moment and not a second sooner that I actually realised that it had been a horror film we went to see. Up until that exact moment I had had no idea that was the case.
I am bad that way, like some people can't watch an adventure film without commenting 'that's not possible', and 'that's so unrealistic', I am 'why did he do that' or 'how come he/she/they didn't do that instead'. So I tend to completely miss the point ... get scared! For me I just see stupid people end up dead and maybe in a very bad film ... [put some drama in your voice] with the last breatht they possess the 'goodies' of the film manage to kill the 'baddie'.

Seminars

2009-02-10T20:22:00.003Z

I don't know why but seeing my professors falling asleep during a seminar is oddly comforting. Of course some of them do it more than others and sometimes I do it more than often, hehehe. I managed to stay awake for this seminar, and I have been pretty good at staying awake, except at Alex Wolf's seminar. That's when I was completely out of it, although I was still pretty ill so that does count towards something. The lectures that have been presented this year, have mostly been 'internal' as in those presenting them have come from Glasgow Uni, although there have been a few 'outsiders'. Although, even though Alex Wolf is technically an outsider, it's not possible to define him as such, seeing the close ties between him the the Celict medievalists gang at Glasgow Uni.
I am actually starting to look forward giving another lecture, I don't know what is wrong with me. Although I hope it proofs right that 'practice makes perfect'. Hopefully as year two approaches I will actually have a chapter in the making that will make for a good seminar paper. I think I might really be getting into all this academic stuff, although it might just be exhaustion and halusinations of grandeur getting in way of logical thinking. Yes I am such a Vulcan of all things!!! Halusinations are my forte rather than logic and rational thinking, god forbid I get boring!
Well I am off to bed soon, am watching Taken with Liam Neeson right now, it's been a while that I have seen a film where so many people get dead in so few seconds, it's like 24 on speed!

A night at the opera

2009-02-07T21:58:00.002Z

I went to the opera last night with Catriona. We went to see La Traviata by Verdi. It was amzing, so beautiful and fun and tragic! Two hankies worth!!! I cried in the middle and at the end. I also laughed but that was because of the impromptu ballet performance of the night! As anyone who knows me will realise that I can not by any means watch a ballet with a straight face, and this performance took the cake in badness. Because the backdrop of La Traviata is the sort of a night-club scene we are used to today, they went a bit far with the bawdiness and lewdness in some cases and especially the ballet. A man dressed as a matador twirling around the stage and then strangely enough way to often gripped in weird spasms and grinding of the hips in the most obscene and suggestive movements was ridiculous and hugely funny. Catriona was surprise by the restraint I showed of not howling with laughter, but that was because I nearly rammed my fist into my mouth to prevent any sounds escaping. I hardly noticed the guy dressed as 'the bull', yes of course, the matador had to have his fight with a bull, but it just turned out to be this strange on-and-off gayness of a dance, when they were embracing on the stage in between the matador peaking under the skirts of the ladies. The bull was mostly preoccupied with writhing on the floor more like a fish on dry land than a macho beef on two legs. It was hilarious, I wish they allowed camera, although you wouldn't have seen anything because I was laughing too much to have been able to hold it steady.
But the opera itself was quite nice and very emotive, the soprano was fabulous and very talented. The lead tenor was a cultured voice, reminded me of Domingo with his technicality and Careras with his voice. Not a bad combination but it also lacked the force the presence these two tenors exude.
I don't know if it was because we were sitting near the rafters and were looking down on the scene very literally but the ladies of the performance all seemed to be extremely well endowed and the low bodices of the gowns, revealed to us the answer to why there were so many men present in the audience ...seemingly willingly and often without a female partner.
Yes, the audience was just as much fun as the opera itself. Beside us sat two ladies, who shortly before opening act brandished out a pair of fans!!! Suddenly I felt like an extra in Gone with the Wind! It became apparent that they had some sort of 'heating' problems because they used these fans regularly as well as some cooling sticks but this was still hilarious. After the first act I switched places with Catriona and in the second interval I asked her how it was there in the hurrican section, she replied quite modestly 'its a north easterly direction'.
A fabulous night in all! I hope I will not have to wait another twenty years to go to the opera again.

Keeping it short today

2009-02-05T23:28:00.002Z

I almost slept in today. I meant to wake up at 9 and study before meeting Catriona and Claire up at Uni today. For some odd reason I woke up around 7 and was not ready to go study then so I went back to sleep. When the alarm went off at nine, I was not ready to get up, due to the interruption I had had during the night. So I meant to just doze for a few more minutes, not falling asleep per se. So I reached for my phone and as far as I know, I added the few minutes more I wanted to the alarm, but apparently I didn't confirm or something because I can't remember. Apparently I fell asleep like a log again. When I came too I thought those few minutes are taking an awfully long time to pass, so I grabbed the phone to check what time it was. It was 10.20!!! I got a mild shock. I was meeting the girls at 11. So I jumped up and got dressed in record time and was out the door at 10.29. It had been snowing and I didn't wear my brace today, so I got a taxi to drive me up Great George street so that I could return a book to the library as well as wait for the girls inside in the warmth. They came and found me and in we went to the Hub or what is now called the Fraser building. I think it is always going to be the Hub for us geriatrics at the Uni. Claire was very impressed but this was her first look at the new look. We remember it fondly from our first year and have missed it through our subsequent years. Finally we get to use it again and for the thing we love most ... eating! They will also move the John MacIntyre Bookshop in there so it's going to be an added incentive to climbing up the hill.
We had cake and had a long and good chat before Claire had to abandon us. I went with Catriona to the library, anything to postpone going home to study. But eventually reality set in and I went home, but not before sending off a wee care packet home to mom and dad. I sat and read Kim McCone's book Pagan Past and Christian Present from half past two - six, and now I only have one chapter left to go. Oh boy, will I be gald when that happens. It feels like I have been trapped in the Never Ending Story, it was so meaty.
Well not much more has been going on, but tomorrow is another story. Aside from going to Uni tomorrow, I and Catriona of course, we will be going to the Theatre Royale. We are going to see La Traviata by G. Verdi. I am soooooo looking forward to it, becasue I have been wanting to go to an opera for ages. The last time I went I was 9 years old and saw Hoffman's adventure, (Kristinn Sigmundsson was amzing in the role of the devil!) And I still remember it vividly. I can't wait. So hopefully I will have something more to tell tomorrow. G'night.

Tuseday busy, Wednesday not so much

2009-02-04T22:27:00.002Z

I was at uni just after nine o'clock in the morning. Going to meet Catriona before heading off to Old Irish class. We managed the impossible today and actually finished translating Compert Con Cúlainn and are next going to tack Esnada Tige Buchet, which I am actually looking forward to, Greens glossary is so much better than Van Hamels, his is crap. After class, Catriona ran home to take care of puppy, but she was going to come back just before one o'clock. We had reading group today! I, on the other hand went over to the Post-grad club where I had my usual (I am having a fave right now), a baked potatoe with chili. So when Catriona came we headed over to 10 Uni gardens up to the third floor were we were meeting the reading group. We are still a bit unsure about this venture of ours. The people are all from the medieval history department, but usually European side of things and much later than either Catriona or certainly me. Andrew, is the only one from the Scottish side so he is sort of a link between these two worlds. But it is obvious that us Celtisists have little to do there just yet. These people only like to talk about Eleanor of Aquitane and her ilk. Catriona and I are thinking of making up our own Celtic reading group next year, just to counter balance this, also because Celtisists are a much nicer bunch of people, all very happy and confused, not so imbued with german efficiency and criticism. I hope we get some of our old peeps back, I miss our little gang.
Well after the reading group, Catriona and I had a workshop to attend to, at the Libary. We were actually looking forward to this one, unlike all the others we need to this was voluntary. It was a manuscript workshop and the person hosting it had asked us to e-mail her our areas of interest so that she could have some maunscripts relevant to our studies at hand for us to look at. I wrote to her and got a very nicely worded reply that they would probably not be able to have manuscripts for me to look at, because they didn't have anything that old in their storage. Yeah, most of the good ones I would like to see are in Oxford or Cambridge or Tritinty College Dublin. We had already gone to a mss workshop last year, that was fabulous and we were really exciting of what was in store for us today. Oh, boy, we nearly fell asleep. She made us watch videos!!!! MADE IN THE 1980'S!!!!
- 'How to operate a book!' You flip the cover and pages are revealed!!!
- NO, shocking, I never knew that. About time I learned, I will turn 30 this year!!!
Bwahahaha or buhuuuu, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. The only interesting thing was when she actually did show us some mss, but she didn't reveal anything we didn't already know. The only interesting part was getting my hands on a charter from 1642 written on vellum skin!!! When there was about half an hour left we left, before coma set in, and we skedaddled down to 9 Uni gardens for the seminar in the Scottish Medieval History section, this time it was '15th century Scotland: a view from Burgundy', it was really interesting but I still wish there hadn't been such a lengthy question and answer session after because Catriona and I were totally exhausted after the entire day and having to sit for so long. We really just wanted to run out, also she needed to get home to take care of Jassy. But all in all a very nice day.
Wednesday was a much calmer day. I woke up at nine, did some work, then went into Uni to meet Catriona for lunch. She had a meeting with Thomas at 1 and needed some moral support. Thankfully her meeting was fine and after we had sat and talked a bit at the QM we headed home to do some more studying. Which I did, I just had to take frequent breaks because my leg has been bothering me awfully much since Monday, well, my leg, my hips and my back have all been bugging me. Catriona summed it up perfectly, I am falling apart!

completely 'done in'

2009-02-02T20:52:00.002Z

When I woke up this morning I looked out my window to see how the weather was and everything was WHITE. Not terribly so, just a slightly covered ground. But from my experience at graduation I was taking no chance so shortly before nine I left the house and walked to Uni. We had a very nice class in Medieval Literacy where we got to try our hand at vellum calligraphy, not on actual vellum but the idea behind it, how it would have worked and such. I think I could be a nice little scribe. After class Catriona and I went for lunch. I had a nice wee chicken salad and chocolate cake for desert. Then we had to skedaddle because Catriona has an over-excitable puppy at home she needs to take care off. So off we went and when we came outside it had started snowing again. Big flakes!!! We walked down to Byres road where our journeys split, she took the subway home while I walked. Because of the big flakes, I very soon took on the appearance of the white snow(wo)man because the snow stuck very well to my coat and hat. It was a relief to come home and get warm and ... dry again. I didn't think I would be going out there again, at least not today.
About an hour later when I had dried up well enough and was all geared up to start some serious studying I went to look for my phone. ... Nowhere to be found!!!! Panic slowly setting in. I saw that Catriona was online and asked her to phone me and see if I could hear it somewhere around me. No such luck! No in full panic mode I run out the door, and hurry back all the way to Byres road keeping my eyes glued to the ground searching on the way. Nothing. When I reach Byres road I keep on searching and when I reach the spot where I think I lost it I still can't see anything. I then go into the nearest stores in hopes that someone might have dropped it off there. Nope. So I climb Great George street to the top in record time and back into the Hub where we had lunch. Hoping fervently that someone handed it in at the shop. I first took a quick look at the spot where we had been sitting and nothing there, go into the shop and ask around. I asked the guy there whether someone handed in a phone that got lost and he was like 'yes, several. Do you mean today?' Yup, 'and was it in a foreign language?', YES!!! He went and got it and there it was. I never thought I would be so happy to see it again, but I was. Even though it is a big hulk of a thing it is my wee friend that gets me up in the morning and to the right places, so I was extatic. At this point my back and legs had seized up and I could barely walk any longer. I hadn't taken my medication yet, and having walked to and from Uni already had put a strain on me. I made it down to Byres road again, and jumped quickly into Marks and Spencer for some microwaveable food for tonight, no way I was cooking after this. I didn't find a taxi until I came to the top of Byres road but as soon as I did I jumped in and asked him to take me home the last few metres. Stumbled home and into my room and collapsed on my chair. As soon as possible I popped some pills and a short time later I started to get better. I even managed to study before my back gave out again.
I liked the microwave food though, it was stroganoff with rice. I am used to getting a few tiny pieces of meat in sauce so when I was fishing the last bit from the sauce I was expecting a wee thing. No, I caught a steak!!! It was huge, it was half of the tray, it was great and quite yummie as well. Well, I think this is my excitement of the day! I wonder what will happen tomorrow, it's still snowing.

Vote for me!!!

2009-01-17T23:13:00.004Z

Hello peeps!

Soon I will have to write a bit about me and my research as well as give my department a photo of me to accompany this wee report. So I am in a bit of a conundrum and am seeking your help in choosing a photo of me to send along. I have chosen 10 photos from the time I spent in Orkney and I would like for you to take a look at them and vote which you like best. I think it would be most helpful if you just left a comment here on the blog rather than with the photos. Have fun and enjoy.

Photos: Academic with an attitude!

New Years baby?

2008-12-31T22:47:00.002Z

As I write this wee blogspot my sister-in-law is at the hospital possibly giving birth to my wee nephew. Expected but not. She had been scheduled for a c-section on January 2nd of the new year, but it was obvious well before Christmas that the baby would be well done by that time. My sister-in-law's bump was so huge she could not bend down to pick anything up or even some movements were very difficult for her and she very often had problem catching her breath so we were certain it wouldn't be a long wait. But Christmas came and the baby didn't show no matter how much we wanted a wee parcel kicking and screaming to be placed under the tree. But we were certain he would show up to see the fireworks especially if he is anything like my brother!!! And it looks like it's going to happen now, and hopefully we will be getting good news soon.

Good luck and best wishes to Júlíus and Svala, and looking forward to meeting you little nephew!

Happy New Year!

The Yuletide lads - part 15

2008-12-24T01:16:00.001Z

On Christmas night itself
- so a wise man writes
- the lads were all restraint
and just stared at the lights.

Then one by one they trotted off
into the frost and snow.
On Twelfth Night the last
of the lads used to go.

Their footprints in the highlands
are effaced now for long,
the memories have all turned
to image and song

By Jóhannes úr Kötlum / Translated by Hallberg Hallmundsson
Pictures/Copyright©Olafur Petursson

The Yuletide lads - part 14

2008-12-23T01:46:00.002Z

Candle beggar

( Kertasníkir )

The thirteenth was Candle Beggar

- ´twas cold, I believe,

if he was not the last

of the lot on Christmas Eve.

He trailed after the little ones

who, like happy sprites,

ran about the farm with

their fine tallow lights.

By Jóhannes úr Kötlum / Translated by Hallberg Hallmundsson

The Yuletide lads - part 13

2008-12-22T00:46:00.000Z

Meat Hook

( Kjötkrækir )

Meat Hook, the twelfth one,

his talent would display

as soon as he arrived

on Saint Thorlak´s Day.

He snagged himself a morsel

of meat of any sort,

although his hook at times was

a tiny bit short.

By Jóhannes úr Kötlum / Translated by Hallberg Hallmundsson

The Yuletide lads - part 12

2008-12-21T12:46:00.000Z

Door Sniffer

( Gáttaþefur )

Eleventh was Door Sniffer,

a doltish lad and gross.

He never got a cold, yet had

a huge, sensitive nose.

He caught the scent of lace bread

while leagues away still

and ran toward it weightless

as wind over dale and hill.

By Jóhannes úr Kötlum / Translated by Hallberg Hallmundsson

The Yuletide lads - part 11

2008-12-20T10:43:00.001Z

Window Peeper

( Gluggagæjir )

The tenth was Window Peeper,

a weird little twit,

who stepped up to the window

and stole a peek through it.

And whatever was inside

to which his eye was drawn,

he most likely attempted

to take later on.

By Jóhannes úr Kötlum / Translated by Hallberg Hallmundsson

The Yuletide lads - part 10

2008-12-19T09:52:00.001Z

Sausage Swiper
( Bjúgna krækir )

The ninth was Sausage Swiper,

a shifty pilferer.

He climbed up to the rafters

and raided food from there.

Sitting on a crossbeamin

soot and in smoke,

he fed himself on sausage

fit for gentlefolk.

By Jóhannes úr Kötlum / Translated by Hallberg Hallmundsson

The Yuletide lads - part 9

2008-12-18T19:07:00.001Z

Skyr Gobbler

( Skyr gámur)

Skyr Gobbler, the eighth,

was an awful stupid bloke.

He lambasted the skyr tub

till the lid on it broke.

Then he stood there gobbling

- his greed was well known -

until, about to burst,

he would bleat, howl and groan.

By Jóhannes úr Kötlum / Translated by Hallberg Hallmundsson

The Yuletide lads - part 8

2008-12-17T10:06:00.001Z

Door Slammer
( Hurðaskellir )

The seventh was Door Slammer,
a sorry, vulgar chap:
When people in the twilight
would take a little nap,

he was happy as a lark
with the havoc he could wreak,
slamming doors and hearing
the hinges on them sqeak.

By Jóhannes úr Kötlum / Translated by Hallberg Hallmundsson

The Yuletide lads - part 7

2008-12-16T19:35:00.000Z

Bowl Licker

( Askasleikir )

Bowl Licker, the sixth one,

was shockingly ill bred.

From underneath the bedsteads

he stuck his ugly head.

And when the bowls were left

to be licked by dog or cat,

he snatched them for himself

- he was sure good at that!

By Jóhannes úr Kötlum / Translation by Hallberg Hallmundsson

The Yuletide lads - part 6

2008-12-15T21:07:00.001Z

Pot Scraper

(Pottasleikir)

Pot Scraper, the fifth one,

was a funny sort of chap.

When kids were given scrapings,

he'd come to the door and tap.

And they would rush to see

if there really was a guest.

Then he hurried to the pot

and had a scrapingfest.

The Yuletide lads - part 5

2008-12-14T12:31:00.001Z

Spoon Licker

(Þvörusleikir)

The fourth was Spoon Licker;

like spindle he was thin.

He felt himself in clover

when the cook wasn't in.

Then stepping up, he grappled

the stirring spoon with glee,

holding it with both hands

for it was slippery.

The Yuletide lads - part 4

2008-12-13T11:38:00.000Z

Stubby

(Stúfur)

Stubby was the third called,

a stunted little man,

who watched for every chance

to whisk off a pan.

And scurrying away with it,
he scraped off the bits
that stuck to the bottom
and brims - his favorites.

English translation/Copyright © Hallberg Hallmundsson.

The Yuletide lads - part 3

2008-12-12T12:14:00.000Z

Gully Gawk

(Giljagaur)

The second was Gully Gawk,
gray his head and mien.
He snuck into the cow barn
from his graggy ravine.

Hiding in the stalls,
he would steal the milk, while
the milkmaid gave the cowherd
a meaningful smile.

English translation/Copyright © Hallberg Hallmundsson.

Yuletide lads - part 2

2008-12-12T12:13:00.000Z

Sheep-Cote Clod

(Stekkjastaur)

The first of them was Sheep-Cote Clod.

He came stiff as wood,

to pray upon the farmer´s sheep

as far as he could.

He wished to suck the ewes,
but it was no accident
he couldn´t; he had stiff knees
- not to convenient.

English translation/Copyright © Hallberg Hallmundsson.

The Yuletide lads - part 1

2008-12-11T10:14:00.001Z

Let me tell the story

of the lads of few charms,

who once upon a time

used to visit our farms.

They came from the mountains,

as many of you know,

in a long single file

to the farmsteads below.

Grýla was their mother
- she gave them ogre milk -
and the father Leppalúdi;
a loathsome ilk.

They were called the Yuletide lads
- at Yuletide they were due -
and always came one by one,
not ever two by two.

Thirteen altogether,
these gents in their prime
didn´t want to irk people
all at one time.

Creeping up, all stealth,
they unlocked the door.
The kitchen and the pantry
they came looking for.

They hid where they could,
with a cunning look or sneer,
ready with their pranks
when people weren´t near.

And even when they were seen,
they weren´t loath to roam
and play their tricks - disturbing
the peace of the home.

English translation/Copyright © Hallberg Hallmundsson.

Graduation Blog

2008-12-04T21:52:00.002Z

Wow it's been long since I have sat down to write anything on this blog, but the wait is at an end.
It was my graduation yesterday, December 3rd, 2008 on a Wednesday of all days of the week to have it on, and it was at 11 o'clock AM as well. Which meant that I had to wake up EXTREMELY early or 7 o'clock. I'm a lady ... I don't do mornings. But the weirdest thing was that I managed to wake up all by myself at 6:30. I was not happy! so I stubbornly stayed in bed until 7. Then I finally dragged myself out of my nice cosy bed onto the not so warm floor and got dressed and ready in my graduation outfit as soon as I could and phoned for a taxi well before eight o'clock. I had to be at registration at 8:40 and I had stressed with the girls of not being late. I was hopeful that I would be there about twenty minutes early. But now, no such luck, in fact a big let down. I waited for the taxi for 50 MINUTES before in state of panick I started hurridly walking into Uni. Usually that would not have been such a problem, I had my good shoes on and was meaning to change once I got to Uni but this morning was SPECIAL. My bit of Glasgow was completely covered in ice (fljúgandi hálka) and I could see the cars skating about outside and the people falling about trying 'ingeniously' to walk to Uni in these conditions wearing sneakers and jeans. But I basically skated up to Uni in record time, flying on the ice past people with limbs flailing about them all around me. There was nothing else to do. I finally made it about 10 - 15 minutes later than I would have wished but I made it and my toesies were quite frozen at this point. I still had stuff to do. I needed to register and get tickets for my guests for the ceremony, I also needed to pick up my robe and hood. When that was finished I had to find my way on my frozen toesies to Catriona's office to warm up a bit before going to meet my guests and getting them to where they were supposed to go.
I found Catriona and Sandra already in the office and both of them were rather worried that I was so late and were quite shocked that the taxi had never come to pick me up at all. I was sooo lucky to have worn my leg brace this morning because I had been thinking of not putting it on right away. We changed into our robes and got ready to go over to the main building and met up with Catriona's folks shortly, the Sandra's peeps joined us as well and finally my parents showed up as well. I showed them where the elevator was and how to get to the Bute Hall where the ceremony took place. I then had to run to Randolph Hall at the back of Bute Hall (and of course I had to go back down to go across the university and go back up, no cutting straight across there) Then waited for the girls to join me because I had completely lost sight of them in the crowd. We had to wait a bit before the started calling us into our seats in the correct order, we were quite early on so it was nice. The funniest bit though was when they called me to my seat. Elin Ingeborg ELFSdottir is as close as I can get to pronounciation.
However the Hall itself was bloody freezing and didn't help my wee toeses at all to get warm, in fact it just got worse. I really wished I was wearing my Icelandic National Costume because at least it has a woolen skirt and a shawl, brrrr, it was soooooo cold even the Icelandic Viking was complaining. (Although I have been complaining about the cold in Scotland for six years, they just don't seem to understand that we are used to cold OUTSIDE not INSIDE!!!) The ceremony took an hour and a half to finish and since we were quite early receiving our degrees we had to entertain ourselves by giggling over the various strange names that were called out.
When the ceremony was finally over we had to do the 'graduation walk' around the east quadrangle before stopping outside in the frost. We were greeted by Robbie O'Maolalaigh the head of the Celtic department who came to congratualte us, and later we ran into Dauvit Broun our course convenour. I sent my mom and dad into the photography room to wait for me because I needed to go pick up my things from Catriona's office but when we got there there was no one there to let us in. So I went back to mom and dad and we decided on a graduation photo pack and while I was waiting in the queue Catriona came running with all my belongings and bags because the secretary had come back and Catriona and her parents needed to leave as early as possible. So mom and dad guarded my things while I stood proud and a bit silly looking while they snapped some photos of me. Then finally I was able to change shoes ... ah HEAVEN.
We took a taxi home to my place so I could show them around my new room with my many many windows! And when we had sufficiently recovered and warmed up a bit we went back to mom and dad's hotel room. I ran out to Burger King for some lunch and this was just before three o'clock in the afternoon now. We watched some news on the television and I phoned TGI Friday's to book us a table for tonight, got a table for four people at 7:30 no problem. While I was on the phone mom decided not to take any chances, like this morning. The weather forcast was predicting more snow and ice and because it had taken so long or not at all for a taxi to come to me early in the morning it would be best if I stayed in town with them so that I didn't have to worry about going home in bad conditions or getting into Uni tomorrow morning, because I had a meeting with my tutor. So we booked a room for me at the hotel, and I got a lovely room on the next floor with a double bed and it was just perfect. So I had to go back home and pack my wee suitcase before going back to the hotel. I managed to chat a bit with Catriona online before going back and told her I had booked the table so she would be able to find us and I told her that I had borrowed her name and booked the table under the name Eileen Gray and that she had apparently adopted me for the time being. She told me she would adopt me anytime anyway ... that made me happy! I phoned for a taxi and it took half an hour to show!!! So good call from mom about having me stay the night at theirs because it is much easier for me to get from there to Uni than from my actual residence. It still took me twenty mintues to get from mine to theirs because the traffic was horrific but I did finally arrive and I managed to rest a bit before we went out again and now for the actual Graduation dinner.
Shortly after we arrived at Fridays and got a table Catriona appeared. We ordered some lovely food and while we were waiting I gave Catriona her graduation present and I got one too!!! She is so lovely. I loved my present, it was so thoughful and wonderful and I got the best book EVER. 'The Perfect hostess' and it is so much fun. I am going to place quotes on here most likely, they are the best ever.
When we had finished dinner and desert and were just chatting away I looked out the window and none other than Anne and George were outside there, and I just started pointing and hmmmhmmm-ing like crazy because I couldn't come a word out of my mouth. She noticed my absurd behaviour and came in to say hello they had to run because their train was leaving in ten minutes from Central Station. They were just back from Edinburgh where Anne was graduating as well. I managed to give her her Graduation present and Christmas present before she left. I will have mine too look forward to when I get back. We had planned to see Sandra later in the evening and after we had finised our sizeable meal we went over to Waxy O'Connor's and waited for her to show up. Mom and dad went back to the hotel though, so Catriona and I got us some beverages and enjoyed a chat while waiting for Sandra to show up. They only showed up then when we were about to leave, but thankfully I managed to give her the Graduation present before they left and so did we.
Catriona then phoned me when she had reached home which made me feel so much better because you never know when you are riding on the bus in Glasgow what you are going to get, but thankfully it was a smooth ride. I was already tucked in my bed at the hotel in the wonderful double bed. Mom and dad were as tired as I was and understood very well that I just wanted to crawl into bed, they wanted to do the same. So I had said goodbye earlier and gone to my room. It was very nice and cosy and I started reading my book 'The perfect hostess' so that I was able to tell Catriona again that I absolutely love it. I managed to watch a few minutes of Top Gear and then I was completely dead to the world. It was very fine day indeed but totally exhausting as well.

A Vulcan Man

2008-10-26T00:12:00.002Z

'Tuvok, I understand
you are a Vulcan man,
You have just gone without
for seven years about.

Paris, please find a way
to load a hypospray,
I will give you the sign
just aim for his behind.

Hormones are raging
synopses blazing,
it's all so ... very illogical
illogical
....illogical!'

Looking for a new car???!!!

2008-10-14T21:22:00.002Z

I got just the one! I wonder if they are going to try to put this one on market back home in Iceland?

Ford Kuga

Pronounced 'Kooga' or more importantly in Icelandic orthography 'Kúka'!!!!
I wonder if it comes in brown?
Die laughing!!!!

Photos

2008-10-12T23:00:00.002Z

I just put in some new photos. Both from when Hrabba came over to help me move and then from an Orchid fair that I went to today.

Aside from that not much is going on here. I have been taking it rather easy these last few days, mostly because I still haven't seen Thomas so I don't know what I am doing or where I will be taking things from here. I am slowly getting more and more comfortable in my room, although I ended up turning my sleeping arrangements competely around so that my feet are now where my head should be. It works and I feel that I rest a lot more comfortably like that too.

Catriona went home over the weekend so I am all alone here and was too much of an idiot to contact Sharon and see if she had some time to spare. But since her daughter has been feeling a bit poorly and she herself has been battling a cold I rather doubt it. Although I hope to see her sooner rather than later. I will be seeing Catriona tomorrow though, at least I hope so, becuase we are planning on doing some Old Irish study before class on Tuesday. I am also going to finally be seeing Thomas tomorrow so that should be fun. At least then I will feel like I can start doing something sensible.

Stay tuned for more adventures of Elin

Subway the way of the student

2008-10-09T22:21:00.002Z

Ooo it was obvious that the Subway on Byres Road is run by asians. When I entered the establishment to purchase some student substenance I was greated with blasting Bollywood music. And how lame is this, I knew the song!!! It was the title song from the film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (Something is about to happen) and of course I started humming and nodding along to the tune. And no Þurý, you don't have to worry I made a spectacle of myself, there were no shoulder movements accompanying the humming... at least I don't think so! But it was fun, and the subway sandwich was very tasty.

Before I made my way to the Subway though I went into Uni to attend a seminar lecture in the English medieval language department. Alistair McLennan who was my tutor last year was giving a lecture on the ghost of Skarphéðinn Njálsson in Njáls saga, called 'Ghoul, Interrupted: Society and the Undead in Njáls saga'. It was hilarious and fun, but also informative and interesting. For the last three years he has been working on his definitve work on ghosts and monsters in Icelandic medieval literature. Very exciting stuff I really want to read it when he finishes.
There was also a talk about verbal phrases, but that wasn't as interesting. In fact it was quite boring. It was basically about a woman who needs a life. She had spent I don't know how many hours comparing and searching through the letters B and G of verbal phrases and how three compilers of dictionaries regarded the phrases. This was confined to the later modern English period of 1750 - ?, the work she used was Samuel Johnsons first English dictionary, Websters American English dictionary and the first edition of Oxford English Dictionary (OED). And yes, this sounds as exciting as comparing three phonebooks between years and see who changed their number!!!
But I might be going to the next one, it's on the Canterbury Tales, and although I am not a fan, it's medieval and that's enough for me, depending on if I can wheedle Catriona with me.

I am unique!!!!

2008-10-08T19:41:00.002Z

Thihihi, my University just gave me an e-mail alias because of my post-grad phd status. Instead of being @student.gla.ac.uk I am @research.gla.ac.uk, but the joke is that my account name is e.eyjolfsdottir.1@..., and they say expressely that the number in my name is to differentiate me and make my name more unique in the e-mail world of Glasgow University. I must say I find that hillarious, I don't think they have come accross my name before since I am numero uno.

In other news today, I managed to become a saint in the eyes of a friend of mine, and no not the one who is actually actively writing my saint's life as we speak, but another one. My dear dear friend who flew all the way to Glasgow to help me move. When she was here she fell in love with a lovely green dress, but was trying to be practical and bought a serviceable black dress instead and left the green one behind. Well, she regretted her decision, but cursed and fated she decided to buy it online instead, and luckily the dress had just gone on sale!!! For some reason the transaction never cleared so as soon as I came back to Glasgow I was sent on a mission to purchase the dress in store. Although I didn't really know of this course of action (and neither did she) until Monday. I had made plans with Catriona for Tuesday so I couldn't go yesterday, but managed to go into city centre today and guess what? I am brilliant. I managed to get my hands on the last dress in the right size in the store!!! Whoohooo and at a bargain price as well. My friend is very happy now, although I have her dress heheheh, but I think she know it is safe in my hands.

I am currently getting more comfortable here in my wee room. I have done a few minor changes from when I first shoved my things in here. I fully expect there to be some more changes going on in the near future. My little home is still forming, but it is getting warmer by the day. The boiler has been broken, and is currently on constantly now to get us some heat because he will go on and off randomly, but this means we have some heat which we didn't have when I first got back. Which meant a very cold first night, I am talking pajama bottoms and socks and a blanket!!! This room is a bit bigger than the ones I have been staying in and therefore my little radiator isn't powerful enough to manage to heat it completely if it is very cold outside. That is also the reason I went to IKEA yesterday with Catriona, but that was to buy a thicker duvet for my bed, and I imagine I will sleep well tonight in my warm bed in my very warm room right now. The reason for the room being so much colder, is because there is an extension on it that only applies to my room, and so there is no extension on the room below me in the block, so there is basically nothing below the floor, hence cold floor and cold in general. Then of course the multitudes of windows do not help either, but I still love me room and while I am armed with blankets and socks I am not complaining!

Phd .... what am I getting myself into?

2008-10-06T14:58:00.002Z

Where did the time go? It seems such a short time ago since I started my first year at Glasgow Uni and now ... dududrudu Phd! And I have no idea what I am getting myself into. Thank God I still have Catriona to lean on for sanity, although I might drive her towards the loony end of sanity. I have yet to meet my professor so I still don't know what they expect of me this year. But I already have homework to do. But that is self-imposed homework. I decided to take more Old Irish courses ... yes, I am a sucker for punishment some would say.
However, it is debateable whether this is the best or worst time possible to be starting a phd. With the krona as weak as it is, it is disturbing to be in Great Britain.

I am so poor I can't even fart as to prevent my underwear to wear out too quick!!!!

But I am still determined to enjoy the time and just learn to live frugally ... very, very frugally. I should be able to do it, I watched Sandra do it last year. I miss her! There was definitely something missing when coming back. I think Catriona and I are thinking of trying to enlist some of our friends to join us in Phd-land support group!

The new Orkneyinga Saga - an excerpt from the Annals of Elin

2008-07-06T17:13:00.000Z

June 12th 2008, Thursday

Our trip began very early in the morning of June 12th., although not as early as planned and I was left feeling like an orphan at the side of the road waiting for my ride. Finally Catriona and Sandra showed up and I finished moving the last of my things to my new flat before leaving Glasgow.
We went straight to Glencoe and the visitor center there to have a cup of tea (coke in my case) and a bit of cake. We were able to stop for a few minutes before we had to head off in search of the place that was going to take us horseback riding. Yes, I know what you are thinking, ME ON A HORSE, hillarious. Well it worked, I got up, the horse was huge, I had to take two steps up the mounting block to get there, but on I went and I went first too. After fifteen minutes I was thinking, 'why did I agree to this', then I started to enjoy it a bit and especially the very soothing massage my behind was getting, so I just relaxed as much as I possibly could and prayed that the horse knew what it was doing. (Calling a horse IT is just wrong, I will introduce noun genders into English even if it kills me). Then we got a nice treat, on the way we saw a castle and not just any castle either, apparently it is a castle that was made famous in the Monty Python film 'The Holy Grail'. We even stopped by it and the horse keeper snapped some photos of us with the castle in the background, fabulous. Now there is photographic evidence of me on a horse, now no one can doubt me!
After this little adventure we returned to Glencoe for lunch, although we bought our lunch in a nice little village called Ballachulish (hehehe). While we were munchin in Glencoe a fither jet zoomed passed us so fast that I barely registered it but still got a good view of it before it disappeared in between the peaks in Glencoe. Thrilling and very very noisy! When we had wetted our appetites we drove to Loch Ness and found the Youth Hostel we were going to be staying at. We were a bit early and it hadn't opened yet, so we went on a wee treck down by Loch Ness before getting the keys to the room. Boy, I nearly turned around and said I would be sleeping in the car, but decided to be brave and stayed. The place was minging, I really don't recommend it, not nice at all. The only nice thing about it was the common room. Thankfully we were here for only one night and I was sure I could manage that and I did.

June 13th 2008, Friday

We left the hostel as soon as we could, and drove up to Urquhart Castle by Loch Ness. Spent about two hours there running around ruins, and I promise they were ruins when we got there. Before we headed off we had some tea and cakes and then headed over to Inverness. Spent a few hours there browsing in the shops before we headed off again. We were headed to John O'Groats were we were staying the night at another Youth Hostel, and hoping for a better one than the one we spent the previous night in. But on the way there we were going to try to find my land! Yes, finally this Lady Glencairn was going to visit her land in Scotland and take a photo of it. I had a map and I even had GPS co-ordinates for it so what could go wrong. Well, everything! The map wasn't very detailed so it didn't help very much, our GPS man Tim the leprachaun (whose name is Sean but is called Tim) showed us that it lay quite far out in the sea. It only worked if while we were driving reconfigured our co-ordinates every few minutes that we were nearly able to find it, we came close ... to the co-ordinates anyway but not the place. So we had to go back and finally we decided that we were close enough that we could with good conciousness take photos of me on my land. So I selected a nice piece of land with ruins on them and planted myself down with the Icelandic flag and my friends snapped some photos of me there, in a howling wind! Then we headed off to John O'Groats doubting Tim when he showed us the nearest petrol station in DUBLIN, IRELAND!
Finally made it to our destination and this youth hostel was so much nicer! We had a very good time here and even though it was a large room, intended for at least six persons we were alone through the night and were able to double up on duvets for the night! Played a game of Scrabble before going to sleep. Next day we were headed off to Orkney!

June 14th 2008, Saturday

Woke up extremely early because we had to take the ferry to Orkney at nine o'clock. We got on the ferry and everything seemed to be all right until about ten minutes of the hour and fifteen minutes journey I went green and then horizontal and was quite seasick the entire way to Orkney. Rubbish Viking! I managed to fall asleep, which I am very thankful for and very thankful when we came back on terra firma. We drove straight to our chalet that we had rented for the week and it was such a nice and cosy place we instantly fell in love with it. Poor Sandra had a difficult time though dealing with the Orcadian speak, although I found it to be very nice and sing-song like, very interesting. We got chalet nr. 5, a cosy place with a foyer. On the left hand site was the bathroom, on right hand side a room with two beds and straight across was the living room area. There to the left was a tiny kitchen and dining room, and to the right was a sofa that was also a bed and a dresser with a television on it. The great thing I found about this was that we had to put a coin in a meter to get things going like heat and electricity, I am such a city girl I had never seen anything like it.
When we had sort of settled in we set of again and this time we went into Kirkwall, found a parking space and hopped out. Found a tiny little pub for some grub and then headed off to the Tourist Information centre to find out where we could do our grocery shopping. We found Lidl and managed to do some basic shopping although I was quite shocked to discover that they didn't have Coke Cola at all, they only had Pepsi! Suddenly I just wanted to go back home, but then I figured that there must be a place where I could get Coke so as it was an emergency I took two 2l Pepsi bottles just as a precaution!
By this point we were very tired and just went back to our chalet and settled in more comfortably. Around five we broke out the Trivial Pursuit and entertained ourselves with trying out our wits and wisdom before breaking for Dr. Who! Catriona won the first game! We then settled down in front of my computer and watched a film before going to bed, I talked to my mom for a bit before going to bed as well. We had meant to go to bed a lot earlier but in the end it was somewhat passed midnight when we finally made it in.

June 15th 2008, Sunday

We decided to take it easy today as it was Sunday and not a lot is open on Sundays here aside from Historic Scotland sites. We decided to go to Skara Brae. Of course since we were only travelling around a small island we decided not to use Tim and just follow signposts. Seemed like a good idea until we discovered that Orkney doesn't seem to like signposts all that much. And we kind of went into the wrong direction.
Quote: 'We are going the right way ... roughly!' Catriona
Yes, that was true, because we were on a very small island it is quite easy to get back on track, but that doesn't mean it isn't extremely funny. In the end we made it and parked the car outside the visitor centre. Then we proceded to step 5000 years back in time, to a neolithic village incredibly well preserved. It was very windy but we still managed to take a very good look around the place. Until 1850 the settlement had been hidden under the earth, they were unearthed in a heavy storm and the owner of the land helped with the excavation of the village. It was amazing to see it and to hear the story as well, at the end of the tour around Skara Brae we were allowed to go to Skaill House, that used to belong to the one who found Skara Brae village. It had been turned into a museum both in relation to Skara Brae but also to the family that lived there. (It was very much like going through the houses at Árbæjarsafni to see how time stood still in the house, it was quite amazing). We then had to brave the wild wind again and made it to the visitor center just before it closed down for the day and managed to grab tea and cake before setting off for home.
After tea we went for a short walk around the place we are staying at, took some postcards to the postbox and went out onto a pier we can see from our windows. It was a very nice evening and the wind was not as bad as it had been during the day. We returned back to our chalet and watched a couple of Mock the Week shows before turning in for the night.

June 16th 2008, Monday

We woke up at eight but none of us was very ready to move yet. Shortly after nine we contacted the Orkney College to enquire if they had any scheduled archeological guides around sites presently being excavated, but unfortunately we weren‘t lucky enough. They were going to start at Gurness the next Monday, we were quite sad that we missed it, but unfortunately nothing we could do about it. Thankfully this didn‘t mess up any our plans for the day or for the rest of the week, it just meant we had an extra day to do everything we wanted to do.
Today we started at Maeshowe, an ancient burrial place dating from around the same time as Skara Brae or 5000 years old. Unfortunately they didn‘t allow us to take pictures in thankfully there are guide books available and of course I got one. The entrance into Maeshowe is not very high, only just over a meter high and about 70cm wide, not very easy access for tall Vikings, but I made it and the entrance into Maeshowe was definitely not the most challenging on this trip. Inside Maeshowe were runic inscriptions left by Vikings that visited there about 1000 years ago, and some of the things they wrote was a bit naughty! When we came out from Maeshowe we had to sprint to the car and drive as fast as we possibly could up to the Rings of Brodgar where we were going on a wee walk with a site ranger who was going to tell us about the site.
The Rings of Brodgar are similar to Stonehenge, although a bit more ‚henge‘-like than Stonehenge apparently, originally there were 60 stones in a circle spanning 104m in diameter but now there are only about 28-29 stones left standing. It was so much fun walking around the stones, which incidently are about 5-600 years older than Stonehenge and is also larger! Of course the Vikings had stopped by here as well and left a note, saying ‚Björn was here!‘, and of course I have a photo of myself by this stone, to prove that ‚Elin was here!‘ ... I didn‘t leave a note. We also stopped by the Stones of Stenness, a much smaller ring of originally twelve standing stones but now only about a half of them standing.
Afterwards we went into Kirkwall and stopped at the Co-op and grabbed a few necessary items, including a Coke Cola for me!!! Watched television for a while before turing in for the night.

June 17th 2008, Tuesday and the National Holiday of Iceland

It was a cold and dreary day so we decided to keep near to Kirkwall today. We got into Kirkwall around 10 and started with a tour of St. Magnus Cathedral, a very nice looking church. From there we went on to The Bishop‘s and the Earl‘s Palace that are just around the corner from the cathedral. The Bishop‘s Palace dates from 12th century and the Earl‘s Palace dates from 1600, although magnificent they are only ruins today sadly. I went up to the top of the Bishop‘s Palace and the view over Kirkwall was amazing. Kirkwall is also a surprising town of around 8000, it was still quite easy to navigate it. We managed to find a coffeeshop that wasn‘t packed with the entire population of Kirkwall and had a nice lunch before heading off to do more exploring.
We headed off to Orphir to take a look at the Orkneyinga Saga Centre and boy did I learn a valuable lesson there. The word ‚Centre‘ doesn‘t necessarily mean a centre, that it can also just mean A ROOM! I was quite disappointed and annoyed. The trip wasn‘t a total disaster though because just outside the ‚Centre‘ there was the Earl‘s Bu, the ruins of a 12th century farm of one of the Earl‘s of Orkney. Beside that was a cemetary where the ruins of a church from around the same time as the Earl‘s Bu and inspired by a church the Vikings saw in their crusades to Jerusalem.
For the third and last leg of our journey of discovery this day we decided to head over to the Ortak Jewellery shop and Visitor Centre. Ortak is an Orkney based family of designers where it is possible to go and have your own design made into fabulous jewellery. This was also an opportunity to go visit a Iron Age grain earthhouse, and the key to get into the earthhouse is kept at Ortak. Let‘s just say I made it to the bottom but not to the actual grain storage space! Not really thinking of tall Vikings when they constructed that thing. Sandra made it through though by crawling on all fours, she deserves credit, she is quite determined to see these things once she‘s actually there. When Sandra finally made it up again we were all quite tired and decided to go home. I got a phone call from my mom and got to talk to my niece and brother as well. My niece had to hear about me going horseback riding and of course she also needed to know what kind of horse it was, what colour and the name as well. She was all dressed up because of the National Holiday and had gone to the city center to get a balloon and candy. Before we went to sleep we played another game of Trivial Pursuit which I actually managed to win this time round, a good end to a good day.

June 18th 2008, Wednesday

We headed towards Tingwall (Þingvalla) today, I don‘t really know what I was expecting but definitely not what we found ... which was nothing. It seemed a very un-tingwall-y-like place. But it wasn‘t all for nothing, we booked a ferry for Friday to take us to Rousay from Tingwall. Having done that we headed off to the main atractions of the day. First we stopped at Gurness, where there is a Broch and an Iron Age village, incredibly large and it is still possible to see how the village and the landscape looked, it really is quite extrodinary to see this and very hard to explain. We spent quite a time there taking a good and close look at the settlement, just outside the settlement there was a 12th century norse burrial site, where they excavated a skeleton of a woman and some artifacts. Around noon we headed off again and this time towards Birsay. Birsay is a tidal island just of the mainland of Orkney and is only passable on foot two hours before and after low tide. The tide was around four in the afternoon but we still had to get there and we were also thinking of having lunch somewhere ont he way. We came to the Brough of Birsay around one-ish and had lunch in the car, we were so sensible that we packed some sandwiches. Because we still had time we popped into the town of Birsay and took a look at the Earl‘s Palace there, which as most of the things we have seen so far has been, was in ruins, but still very beautiful. We then moved the car closer to the pathway across to the island of Birsay and walked across, the walk took about five – ten minutes accross beach sand, stones and a bit of a walkway and then we were there. We made it up to the Visitor Center and entered the site ... at which point we discovered that there is no Brough at Birsay! Nope, there was one at one time but there isn‘t any longer. Instead there is the remains of a 12th century norse village. An incredibly large village and very well developed. The houses had indoor heating and they had a sauna as well as an impressive drainage system. Even from the earlier settlement site dating from around 10th-11th century there was visible remains of drainage system. It didn‘t take too long to walk about the ruins and examine the settlement so we decided to take a tour around the island and tried to spot some puffins although we were not successful in that. Sandra more than once went a bit too close to the edge of the cliffs to try to find the puffins, so much so that Catriona and I were positively ill watching her. But she made it back always in one piece so it was fine. When we came home Sandra was exhausted and she aslo had a headache so we allowed her to fall asleep in the bedroom while we were busy in the kitchen, well ... Catriona was busy in the kitchen making potatoe wedges and stuff while I was sorting through the photos of the day. The personal best I think so far, 409 photos in a single day! When Sandra woke up we sat down for a bit of television before turning in and wrote a postcard to Carol at the Celtic Department, but after this we were all exhausted and were quick to fall asleep.

June 19th 2008, Thursday

We didn‘t rise up as early as we have done the past few days but that was all right as we thought that this day wasn‘t going to be very strenous, right! We were heading towards the Tomb of the Eagles where we were going to let Sandra go crawl into a small tomb while Catriona and I waited for her at the coffee shop ... if there was one! When we came there, we saw that the possibility of a coffee shop were non-existent. This was actually a private property, the government had not taken an interest in the site so after having been ignored for 30 years the ownership of the site reverted back to the family who owned the land. The story is incredible. We came into an area that had been modified to accept visitors where we got a small tour of the saga of the tomb and how it was discovered. Not only that we actually got to see how the people lived and how they worked the stone, it was incredibly. They showed us three skulls of people who had been found in the tomb, the scull of an old woman, a man and a young woman who had a genetic disorder which left her face distorted and most likely suffered from blindness and other forms of illness because of it. Today there are 6 individuals on the Orkney island with the same disorder and deformed skulls. Incredible! We even got to handle some of the items that had been made and used 5000 years ago! That was most definitely the highlight of the tour, to see how perfectly everything was made, you could not even imagine how it is done today with modern tools how impeccably perfect the items were. We also got a tour in the next room that dealt with the ruins of a bronze-age settlement found near the farmhouse itself. It is only a small farm but the outline is still visible. To get to the tomb of the Eagles we had to walk around a mile, and because it had been raining they lent us wellies and the girls also got water proof trousers, but since I didn‘t intend to go into the tomb I decided to just get some wellies. When we came to the tomb we were amazed at how low the entrance was, it really was low, probably only around 50 cm in hight. There was a rahter largish skateboard there and a rope had been stung from the ceiling of the entrance into the tomb where people could if they lay on the skateboard propell themselves into the tomb. Sandra decided that it was easiest to crawl in. But as I do not have the physical ability to do that because of my knee I used the skateboard and actually went inside ... and made it. I didn‘t even get stuck. Catriona then crawled in after me. Inside the tomb we one chamber where they had left some skulls behind to show us how it would have looked like at the time of the excavation and what it actually was used for. When the tomb had been excavated it contained thousands of bones and also a multitude of bones belonging to the wite-tailed eagle which gives it‘s name to the tomb. The bones indicated that the tomb had been in used for at least around 800 years, but why there were eagle bones there as well, no one knows. We made it out of the tomb again and went over to the excarnation site nearby. It is believed that the neolithic people practised a so called excarnation in regards to their dead. Where they left the bodies out to rid the body of flesh and when it had decayed they placed the bones in the tomb. Not a very nice thing to think about but to each their own. We decided to go home for a short lunch before heading into Kirkwall to do some shopping. When we came to Kirkwall we hit the stores but unfortunately I couldn‘t find anything nice to buy not for anyone I knew or even myself. I went home empty handed and very disappointed. We spent the evening watching Mock the week and I spoke to mom for a few minutes before we turned in for the night.

June 20th 2008, Friday ,Catriona‘s Birthday‘

We woke up really early today because we were going on a ferry to Rousay and had to be there before eleven. We wished Catriona a happy birthday but I was saving the birthday present for tonight so she just had to wait for it, hehehe. Sandra on the other hand gave her half of her present but the other half was going to have to wait until we came back to Glasgow as they didn‘t have what Sandra had intended to buy for Catriona unfortunately. It was really not a very nice day to travel to Rousay but since we had already booked and there were sites there that we wanted to take a look at so we went nonetheless.
It was a tiny ferry, so tiny, we had to back up onto the deck and stay there for the remainder of the journey as it was so tight all around us that we couldn‘t even open the car doors. It only took about 20 minutes to cross over to Rousay and we were quite thankful when we were back on terra firma. Be began visiting the chambered cairns of Taversöe Tuick and the Blackhammer cairn before giving up before the elements and seeking shelter at the Taversöe Hotel for lunch. The rain-ponchoes from Historic Scotland really came in handy here but it didn‘t completely shelter us from the rain or the wind so we were very happy to be inside for a while and dry out before heading back out into the unknown. Next on the map was Midhowe chambered cairn and broch. When we arrived I saw that it was going to be a downward walk to the shore and my shoes were definitely not up to it so I was left behind in the car while the girls absconded down to the broch and cairn. I really wished I could have gone there but there was no way with my shoes and the condition my knee was in at that moment. So I sat behind bored trying to see if I could catch a glimpse of them every so often scampering about the sites. Thankfully the chamberd cairn was inside a building that had been erected over it to protect it from the elements so they got a bit of a respite from the weather. They then came back to the car nearly drowned on the way but very happy to have been down there to see it. I kind of envy them, but when they came back they told me that it was a bit of a climb and I knew that that I had done the right thing and stayed behind. Again we sought shelter at the hotel for a while before one last trip out and this took us right around the whole of the island, and we figured out that you can basically travel around the island in about half an hours time, it really isn‘t big. On the way we passed a lake where there were some crannocks, which are basically iron-age settlements made on a man made islands in the lochs, but we couldn‘t go any nearer to see them more up close so we only snapped a few photos of them before heading back to the ferry. The ferry wasn‘t there yet, so we popped into a small cafe where we got a delicious scone with butter and jam before heading home on the ferry again. Stopped in Kirkwall on the way home to grab some stuff and then headed home to cook some potatoe wedges and watched some tv as well. Then we went to sleep, our final night at the chalet before heading home tomorrow.

June 21st 2008, Saturday

Woke up at 7:30 to finish packing and tidy up the chalet before we left around ten. But we weren‘t ready to go home yet, the ferry didn‘t leave until six so we headed towards Minehowe but were a bit too early as it didn‘t open up until elleven so we popped into Kirkwall for a few seconds where I actually managed to make my first kill so to speak ... I bouth a bracelet from Ortak! We then headed back towards Minehowe, it‘s a much smaller site than the others we took a peek at, it is basically only one chamber about 30 feet down. We were handed some wind-up flashlights and hard-hats because the only way to get down there is to go backwards as it is a very narrow passage. There is a real mistery as to what Minehowe is, it dates somwhere between 1000 – 3000 years ago but well worth it to see even though you don‘t really see much at all when you get to the bottom as it is only about 2-3 meters in diameter when you get down there. Which is why only two people can go down at once. Sandra of course was the guinea pig and went first, then I descended and boy it was a tight squeeze sometimes. When I made it up, Catriona decided to have a go as well and she was very happy in the end of having gone down as well.
Now we had done all the major sites we had planned to take a look at only a few smaller ones left that we were saving for this day really. It was the Unstan cairn near Maeshowe and the Barnhouse near the Stones of Stenness which coincided nicely with the start of the St. Magnus festival in Orkney. So we went first to Unstan, which as so many of the historical sites in Orkney was on a private land but they had made it so that visitors were able to get to it without playing havock with the livestock or the land. The builders had obviously met up with some gruesome vikings so they made sure that it wasn‘t not accessible to tall people. I basically got stuck in it so I didn‘t go in. Whenever I tried to maneuover my body in, my shoulderblades got caught up in the ceiling and I couldn‘t move my legs back or forth so there was no way. The girls made it in though, I guess a few cm do matter when building a cairn, they took some photos and I got to appreciate it from them instead.
We then went over to the Barnhouse and took some photos, the Barnhouse is basically a iron age village recently excavated and very nicely situated between the Rings of Brodgar and Maeshowe.
Since we thought that the musical performance was supposed to take place at the Ring of Brodgar we hurried in our car there to see if we could get a good spot to park and then waited for the people to arrive. They never came, we walked up to the ring and saw then that the gathering seemed to be at the Stones of Stenness ... basically where we had been parked a few minutes before so we hurried back and thankfully found a place to park. I must say I was expecting something a bit more than what we actually got. A woman playing the violin and a man beating a drum were playing reels and other country-folk music before the kids joined the woman. Not really my cup of tea regarding music, especially since they had been hyping it up a bit, saying that the stones provided great acoustics which in fact they didn‘t do at all.
Well, in the end we had to leave, I was able to pop into the shop near Maeshowe to pick up some monkshaped book ends and then it was on to the ferry.
It was a much smoother ride home this time around and I didn‘t get sick at all although Sandra was feeling a bit green. I climbed up to the 2nd deck and took photos like crazy all around me. It was so much fun and so nice to feel the wind in your face while cutting across the waves. I was having a marvelous time and didn‘t really want to go in but in the end it was either that or freeze. Then it was only about ten minutes until we docked so it was ok.
We headed straight for John O‘Groats before going to the youth hostel because we wanted to take a photo of us by the Last House in Scotland before retiring for the night. We got to stay in the hostel room alone for the night which was nice as it means more duvets to go around. These rooms are usually made up for six so, it was two duvets a person, which meant a warm night!

June 22nd 2008, Sunday

Today we basically didn‘t do much else but drive straight home. It was a rotten day, rain pelting on our window as we drove down to Glasgow. After about two hours of driving we stopped at a hotel to get something to eat and drink and straighten out a bit before heading off. Thankfully we had David Tennant reading Dr. Who for us so we weren‘t bored on the way. Stopped in Wick to pick up some petrol and then headed to Portmahomack, an archaeology site of a recently excavated picitsh monastery. We got to see what they found and how the excavation progressed but we were unable to see the site itself and most of the things that were on display were replicas of what had been found, but it was still nice to see it even though we were a bit disappointed. We stopped at a hotel for lunch, where I had a very nice beef stake with potatoes and vegtables and sauce, all very nice. Next we stopped for a few minutes in Inverness to pick up another audio book with David Tennant before heading off. Around six we were getting a bit hungry and wanted to stop somewhere for food but since it was Sunday not many places stayed open so we were unable to find any place until we were basically at the outskirts of Glasgow and then we just decided to hightail it home and get food later. So we finally arrived in Glasgow around eight in the evening, very sad that the holiday was over but also very happy of having gone and we really enjoyed ourselves the whole time. It was really one of the hightlights of the year for me and I couldn‘t have done it with a better company as the quote book is a good testament to!

Photos from Orkney Trip

2008-07-04T21:21:00.003Z

I have finally put in all the photos from Orkney, it's in three installments. They are categoriesed after the camera that took them! The travel tale will follow soon, hopefully! Still, enjoy the photos and I have tried to do my best to put some explanations along with the photos to make things a bit easier. The ones from my camera are probably the most detailed as they were uploaded first, but do take a look at all three sets as they give a different view on the same thing and some are just hilarious!

Smurf smurf smurfy smurf

2008-04-09T23:11:00.001Z

What Smurf am I? You are Painter Smurf. You are creative, expressive and always expanding your ways. You definitely have an artistic soul. You admit that you can be moody at times, but that just shows what a passionate person you are! You are quite imaginative and wish you had more time for creative pursuits. You are an original.

Sorry for my absence

2008-03-23T23:49:00.001Z

So sorry I haven't let you know how I have been doing for the past .... few ... weeks / months. A great many things have been going on and I have a lot to write about. So where to start?

On March 12th I went with my good friends Anne and Catriona to a Ladies Talk, where little old ladies meet together for a talk on all sorts of interesting subjects. This time it was on a bawdy house in Glasgow. One of the oldest surviving music hall in Britain. It was a fascinating talk and the one giving the talk was such a performer that she made the whole house and its story come alive. Such fun, so in the end we ended up sort of signing up to more of these Ladies talks. Ooooooohhhhooo!

On March 14th, Catriona, Sandra and I went to Edinburgh and that was a trip worth taking I tell you. We had so much fun, but dear me we walked so much we could have ended up in Glasgow again when we stopped. We went to the National Museum of Scotland which is also the Royal Museum of Scotland (handy that) and spent the day there going over all sorts of stones with inscriptions on them and other ornaments, so much fun. There were all sorts of interesting ornaments and things at the museum we found so interesting. We are such nerds and so loving it. Me and Catriona went all the way up to the 7th floor of the Museum where we could go outside and take a good look over Edinburgh from a viewpoint seldom seen. We were also very lucky that it was a wonderful day so it wasn't as breezy as it sometimes can be in Edinburgh. When we had combed through the Museum we headed up to the Castle, yes we walked. It's not far but there were two lame ducks in this journey so it could have been worse, but at that time it hadn't gone that bad yet. That was yet to come. When we came to the Castle we joined up with Historic Scotland who are the caretakers of many of the national treasures that are open to the public in Scotland. So now after paying a minimum of fee we can go to all of them for free, which will save us a lot of money in the long run. So since we were on a mission on finding the last missing stone with inscription we kind of ran through the Castle grounds looking for it while taking in the sights as well. We didn't find the stone at the Castle but thought it might be in the garden below. So down we walked and now we were starting to be very very tired. We ended up at the lowest point possible in Edinburgh in relation to the highest point being the Castle and we walked through the entire garden almost killing ourselves in the process. We barely made it up to Princess street again and at that point we just wanted someplace to sit down on, didn't matter if had been a mattress of pikes everything would have been preferable to more walking. We ended up in Hard Rock Café where we had a nice enough supper, could have been nicer. Bad thing is that they don't really cater to Vegetarians so the poor girls only had bowls of chips, while I had a proper meal. Then we took the train back home and were back in Glasgow around nine in the evening. Eleven hours in Edinburgh and probably nine of them spent walking about. Eeeeks.

Then came Sunday 16th of March and I went home. Oh my I had been looking forward to going home for sooo long it was wonderful to be finally on my way. And much sooner than expected as well. Because I originally wasn't going home until the 20th, but unexpectedly I was able to go home sooner, so I phoned my mom as soon as I knew and asked her to change my flight, as I was still at Uni and I didn't want to wait until the next day to work things through.

The next three days I was babysitting my niece. We didn't tell her I was coming home early so she had a bit of a shock when she saw my asleep in my bed when she came on Monday morning. I don't think she still know how her grandmother managed to wave her magic wand for me to appear at home, but she was very pleased. I managed to get some work done on Tuesday and on Thursday as well and hopefully most of my essay is finished.

Hopefully soon I will get a chance to see some of my friends, I have been completely cut off from anyone since coming home, because I have been so busy studying and taking care of my niece. Also my brother invited us for dinner on Good Friday.

I hope it won't be long before the next blog entry appears but you never know with such a busy lady as I am!

Lets face it!

2008-02-23T22:04:00.002Z

Facebook is scary! You try to stay true to yourself throughout all the quizzes and they turn you into a freak. According to Facebook and their friends equipped with applications I will get married in 4 years and just shy of a month now. So look out for wedding invitations in the year 2012. I will also be having 2 boys and 1 girl, so who knows if you will get invitations to their baptism at the same time, because no one warned me when they were likely to show up. Just a moment ago I was trying to take the quiz ‘How much of a Drama Queen Are you’ and it turned out I am a tragedy as it didn’t work. But Facebook isn’t all bad. Thanks to Flixter I am now capable of picking the right friends to ask to go to the cinema with me. Because they match you with your friends who have similar taste in movies, you don’t have to think with whom you want to sit next to for the two hours because they have done the work for you. Handy! I can finally be poked without feeling it, a friend of mine used to like poking me but I didn’t. It made me turn black and blue; I am a sissy and bruise easily. Thank God or multiple Gods on Facebook I can start Mob wars on people without the side effect of turning up dead or worse very badly injured. I can join a lot of causes without having to do a single thing, which makes it easy to take a stand on issues that are close to your heart! I can add all sorts of applications that make it easy for me to know where I have been in the world, in case I get lost it makes it easy to find me as I haven’t been to that many places yet.

Because of Facebook I now know who I really am: 17 years old British landed gentry whose life is 77% perfect whose birthday is apparently May 24th, with brown eyes, only 62% normal and who will fall for a gentleman. I can learn to understand who I am on the inside: I am the ultimate nerd, ambitious and yummy, with 49 on Dr. Phil’s personality test (although I have no idea what that means ... the average intelligence I am equipped with is kicking in), I am a bit of a devil and not much of a drunk. But as a Greek Goddess I kick ass! For future hopefuls I have a purple passion, which goes hand in hand with the purple latex gloves I already possess. But just as a precaution I apparently also have a purple heart, so if anything happens in the heat of the moment you know what to inform the doctor of. I also understand from all of this that I have a split personality: I am Jack Sparrow and Piglet and Bart Simpson and Fred/George Weasly (makes sense as I am a Gemini) and Mulan and Zeus and Hera (explains all the family squabbles). Apparently my life is like Pirates of the Caribbean with the Disney theme song being ‘Someday my prince will come’. Although I am incredibly happy that it didn’t turn out to be ‘Chim Chim Cher-ee’, can't say I forsee me having a future that has me crawling up small, dark and dank chimneys ... claustrophobic you know. On top of that pigeons are know to hang around rooftops.

What’s missing from the description of me is not imperative to this blog because I know that I am probably capable of finding out how tall I am (in case I didn’t know), when I will die and how that will come about. It will probably also tell me what I will have for breakfast, lunch and dinner but something you just want to discover on your own.

I also get to know a thing or two about my friends, mostly that they are heavy drinkers! They keep sending me shots, booze, beer, basically any alcohol that they can get their hands on. My friends also like to send me pictures of cute cuddly things, especially pets, which is nice, as I don’t have to come too near them. The downside of this is that my friends send me pictures of food as well. I would much more like to get the food than the photo though!

But we really shouldn’t vilify Facebook, thanks to them, my life is completely mapped out and planned, I know what to aim for and what to avoid so I can just sit back and enjoy the ride (while dodging Vampire and Slayer and Were-wolfs on the way).

Don't expect Shakespear!

2008-02-07T23:38:00.000Z

There once was a viking

who had a good liking,

to plunder and pillage

any Irish village,

his name was Sven

and like all his men,

he was burly and blond

but was unceremoniously pushed into a pond..

When Sven nearly drowned

he got angry and frowned,

but the lady stood there gloating

where he was a-floating,

he had a fish in his hair

which he flung with a flair,

straight at her face

so she quickened her pace.

After her he went

and he didn't relent,

until he caught er to his chest

that's what a viking does best!

he flung her over his shoulder

with the intent to hold her

he carried her away

all the way to Norway.

She ended up in his ship

where she gave him a split lip,

he tried to kiss her

but she made sure he missed her,

when his lips aproached her chin

she kicked him in the shin,

so now Sven was limping

and his ardor was rapidly sinking.

She thought her father would miss her

not to mention her sister,

but indeed he didn't mind

that he could ner not find,

he had tried to marry her off

but she said no to all the toffs,

her mind was quick, but her fist was quicker

and that in the end made men not particularly like her.

Now Sven is stuck with the shrew

and this part of the tale is true,

in the end she succumbed

and in a few words it can be summed

of an amarous viking

it is easy to develop a liking,

now finally she rests her fists

as she is busy being amorously kissed!

We'll see

2008-01-26T22:32:00.000Z

I went shopping yesterday, yes, big surprise there and not worth the telling of it except for this.

At one of the till where I was paying for my purchase the sales woman struck up a conversation with me and asked me what I did, as in did I work or attend university. I answered that I was a student at the University of Glasgow. She then inquired what it was that I was studying and I replied that I was studying medieval scottish history. At this point this huge smile spread over her face and her eyes lit up and then this: 'So when you get married you can have a medieval theme going on!'
SPEECHLESS!!! That's what I was and could only stare at her. Yes, that's my ambition in life. But on the other hand if I ever do get married it is going to be a HISTORIC EVENT. So never say never I say. But all I could see in my head were these really strange people dressing up like the characters of Monty Python's Holy Grail. Please God, NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Peep Peep at Anne's

2008-01-20T21:04:00.000Z

Last Friday was the best day yet of this year and I truly hope I will be experiencing many more like this one. It began rocky enough, Catriona, Sandra and I had to give a presentation for our teachers and anyone who wanted to come. Luckily for us, it was only nice people whow showed up, Anne and Claire. Anne was also gracious enough to invite us bunch to her home for dinner. She is such a brave woman. Well, we made it through our presentations and headed over to the post grad club for lunch where we had high time laughing and talking like we hadn't seen each other for thirty years. We even managed to run into Matthew from forth year (now he's doing forth year) and kidnapped him. After lunch Matthew and Anne abandoned us but we were of course going to Anne later in the day and Matthew was going to meet us at the train station to go to her home.

That left me, Claire, Catriona and Sandra on our own so we headed over to Byres Road and to Somerfield where we stack up on sweets and all sorts of ymmie stuff and wine and headed to my place where we camped out for the next few hours where more laughter and talking followed.

We then made our way to Central station at around six and waited for Matthew and Jo to show up. When they arrived we hopped aboard a train to Muirend where we expected a warm welcome from Anne, but when we arrived there was no one there we recognised which made us doubt our sanity and ability to read instructions. But not a minute had passed when we saw Anne come running down the ramp to meet us and she then escorted us to her home.

The evening was filled with good company, good food and good wine and so much laughter I could barely follow the conversations that were surrounding me. But it was obvious that everyone was havins such good time. We took two rounds of Scottish Quest after dinner and the discussion and almost arguments some of the questions evoked only livened it up. It was amazing and exactly the kind of game for us to play.

Note: Next time we play the game do it while still sober!!!!

Ps. a more detailed blog of the evening is on the way, am just trying to see if it works uploading a video.

Classy lady

2008-01-06T22:22:00.000Z

I'm back in Glasgow now. Flew back today. It's nice not having to wake up so extremely early as I used to have to when coming back to Glasgow. It was positively making me ill. As a good bye present we were going to stop at a hamburgerjoint close to the airport and sort of before you turn into Keflavík, but no luck. Something or someone had happened, so that the place was closed down and the police were there taking statements and so on. So no hamburger there for me. So mom, the extreme optimist she is, drove into Keflavík, and we tried to find a place that sold hamburgers but couldn't find any place that was open, unless there was absolutely no way of parking near it or putting your health at risk. So I was just going to compromise and have chips at the airport. When we arrived at the airport we ran into my uncle and his wife who had been seeing off their son and his family. The airport was very busy but I was cunning and went and upgraded my ticket to a Saga Buisness Class so I didn't have to wait for a very long time in a cue to check in like everyone else. So I said goodbye to mom and dad and went in search of my chips and cocktail sause. They were out, I couldn't believe me. Right now the crappiest place in Iceland is by my vote Keflavík and the Keflavík airport for not being able to have a hamburger or even chips available for travellers leaving Iceland for a period of time. Very bad indeed Keflavík! I took a peek at the Saga buisness lounge but it was sooo overcrowded that I couldn't even find a seat so I didn't spend a lot of time there. Actually because there was enough time to pass I went back to the duty free section of the terminal where I met my cousin, whose mom and dad I had just met outside. I was seeing his wife and 5 year old son for the first time. They were such a delight and very nice to talk to. They were heading back to Liberia where my cousin is in the United Nations peace-corp. We had such good time talking that I almost ended up going with them to London, but in the end we said goodbye and they went to gate 26 while I went to gate 28.
I got this terribly comfy seat in Saga Class, leather chair that's at least half a size bigger than the economy seats, with enough leg room to have a male lap dancer entertaining me, but unfortunately they were unavailable. Why do I mention a lap dancer in this report (because that is so totally out of character for me), is that in the seats two rows behind me, was none other than the infamous Geiri in Goldfinger (which is a lap dancer joint in Iceland and he is the owner). Boy, he looks like a Russian mob boss, bit on the huge side. I was not impressed, I must say. But I didn't actually know it until we landed because he came in(to the airplane) after me. When they served dinner I got to choose from a fish course or beef-fillet which I accepted. It was delicious! There was smoked salmon for appetiser, the beef-fillet with vegetables for main course, a skyr-cake for desert, and chocolate for good measure. I also had red wine with dinner and enjoyed it very much. I like flying Buisness Class, because I am clearly a classy lady.
I came home shortly before nine o'clock and among the first things I did, aside from putting my computer up was contact my friends and plan a coffee-get-together tomorrow. All of us are suffering freaky withdrawl syndrome from our coffee and cakes. I will be taking it easy for the rest of the evening but tomorrow the real horror starts where I have to start preparing for the presentations and exam. Wish me luck.

Concious ... barely!

2008-01-03T19:49:00.000Z

I can't believe that the holidays are over soon. It's never a good thing to take such a long break away from studying and this has been a long break for me. I was planning to be so diligent, studying for an exam and doing work on my presentations, but have I done a single thing. NO! I'm not very anxious about it but when you tell yourself you are going to do something it's annoying when you haven't done it. The fact is that I have not had a single opportunity of doing what I wanted, I haven't been able to see everyone I wanted, or do everything I wanted to do while here for these three brief weeks. But to be honest, right now, I can't wait to get home (to Glasgow) and start some sort of routine again with my studies. When you have your family around you are much more restricted from doing stuff that you would normally do. On days that I was banking on having piece and quite and to actually be able to do something, family members had an uncanny sense of showing up and disrupting everything I had planned for the day. So I say that although it is very nice to spend the holidays at home, family can sometimes be too much.
Still, my Christmas here at home have been incredibly nice. Christmas Eve was perfect. It was White Christmas, shortly before seven o'clock it started snowing and from then on it snowed for the next few days. While it snowed outside the presents rained inside. The presents nearly drowned the christmas tree (which is not a small tree) and as soon as we had delivered each present to its receiver the blizzard of wrapping paper hit the living room. It was amazing and so much fun watching my niece open one present after another, she enjoyed it so much. Thankfully they had arrived in a pickup truck type car so not difficult to ferry all the loot back home.
On Saturday my friends Hrabba and Gummi invited me over for dinner along with our friend Guðný Stella and her guy. It was so much fun, good food, good wine and great company. After dinner we took two rounds of Carcassonne, I can't remember who actually won the first round but I definitely remember who won the second. ME! I totally remember that because that doesn't happen too often. So me very happy bunny be. But even better, I was back at their place last night and we were trying out a new version of Carcassonne and I actually won that one too (I actually think that was pure dumb luck because Gummi wasn't trying very much) but what a way to start the year. Mwhuhahahahha!
Am tired now and want to do something else than blog, my fingers are hurting from being under used so I have to take this in strides.

Smelly fish day!

2007-12-23T11:00:00.000Z

Also known as the Mass of St.Thorlak! I must humbly beg my loyal subscribers and avid readers of this blog my neglect of it in the past week. The saying goes that time flies, but in my case it just completely disappeared. I came home past midnight on Sunday 16th and it's been caos since. It wasn't until this friday that I managed to sit down in front of my computer before midnight struck. I have been spending my days shopping, presents and delicious Christmasy food. I have been wrapping presents (for seven hours on Wednesday), I have been putting up and decorating the Christmas tree (I put the lights on all by myself ... and it shows!).
But it's Christmas time and I am loving this, all of the crazy stuff we have to do and have done, and I have been managing even though I am as bruised and battered as I am. I am sporting a huge bruise on my knee where I landed on it on Friday a week ago, but on top of that I sport a huge black and blue bruise on the right side of my bad knee from the fall as well.
And to day is the last day to go shopping and the first day to mark the Christmas period for real. St. Thorlak's Mass, also known as Smelly fish Day because some think it a good idea to eat a very bad rotten smelly fish, while the rest of the lucid and more logically thinking (I) dine on smoked lamb with potatoes and white sauce and leafbread. Much nicer and smells yummie. Then tomorrow is the big night. The main festive day of our Christmas. The family comes together for dinner. Smoked pork with potatoes, pinapple slices, brown sauce, red cabbage, pickled cucumber, and all sorts of wonderful yummie things. After dinner there is the rice pudding with a tiny mandle put in and who ever gets the mandle receives a wee present. When dinner is over and most of us have recovered from the feast we distribute the presents from around the tree and it's a free for all in ripping paper to reveal the surprise inside (if there is anything in the package, heheheh).
I will have to leave you here and tell you how it all goes in the next few days if I find the time or time finds me.

The Yuletide lads - part 6

2007-12-15T20:40:00.000Z

Pot Scraper

(Pottasleikir)

Pot Scraper, the fifth one,

was a funny sort of chap.

When kids were given scrapings,

he'd come to the door and tap.

And they would rush to see

if there really was a guest.

Then he hurried to the pot

and had a scrapingfest.

The flying Icewoman

2007-12-14T20:31:00.000Z

Yes, yours truly took a flight a few days too early than she wanted to, and no I am not home yet. It was more light a short few second flight in the air and then a devastating crash. Thankfully no one got mortally wounded, but it hurt like hell!
I was in Boots of all places (where I usually go to get something to make me feel better like PAINKILLERS, but ended up with a pain this time around). I was walking into one aisle of the shop and then whoooosh ... crash ..... ooooooouuuuuuuuuucccccccccchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Straight down onto my right knee. RIGHT knee, not the left one, so don't worry it could have been worse. Although I didn't feel that at the time, I was scared shitless if something might have gone wrong but thankfully I was wearing my brace so that minimised any damage that might have happened. But it wasn't fun, my left ankle hurt but probably for doing that weird dance step you tend to take just as you are falling down, but the main impact was when I landed on the floor with my right knee. I now sport a huge bump and red skin and a promise of a wonderfully colorful bruise.
But don't worry I am fine, nothing got broken and I didn't hit my head either, I almost gracefully sat down on the floor after the first impact on the floor. That's me, first it's like 'Send in the Clown' and then 'My fair lady ... on the floor'. Apparently a puddle of some sort had formed in the middle of the isle and I was just the lucky 1000 customer to find it. I didn't get a prize though, didn't really want one to be honest, I kind of just wanted to go home and cry. What a wonderful way of starting Christmas shopping for real. But of course I wasn't going to let this stop me, as soon as I found out I could walk I left after the ladies in the shop had made sure I was fine and didn't need any further assistance. So I actually despite all this managed to bag another present, maybe even two or three. I truly hope that tomorrow won't have a building come down on me or something so that I can do a bit more shopping before coming home on Sunday! Can't wait to say hello to everyone and especially my bed.

The Yuletide lads - part 5

2007-12-14T20:26:00.000Z

Spoon Licker

(Þvörusleikir)

The fourth was Spoon Licker;

like spindle he was thin.

He felt himself in clover

when the cook wasn't in.

Then stepping up, he grappled

the stirring spoon with glee,

holding it with both hands

for it was slippery.

The Yuletide lads - part 4

2007-12-13T23:26:00.000Z

Stubby

(Stúfur)

Stubby was the third called,

a stunted little man,

who watched for every chance

to whisk off a pan.

And scurrying away with it,
he scraped off the bits
that stuck to the bottom
and brims - his favorites.

English translation/Copyright © Hallberg Hallmundsson.

The Yuletide lads - part 3

2007-12-12T10:38:00.000Z

Gully Gawk

(Giljagaur)

The Yuletide lads - part 2

2007-12-11T10:13:00.000Z

Sheep-Cote Clod

(Stekkjastaur)

The first of them was Sheep-Cote Clod.

He came stiff as wood,

to pray upon the farmer´s sheep

as far as he could.

He wished to suck the ewes,
but it was no accident
he couldn´t; he had stiff knees
- not to convenient.

English translation/Copyright © Hallberg Hallmundsson.

The Yuletide lads - part 1

2007-12-11T10:01:00.000Z

Let me tell the story

of the lads of few charms,

who once upon a time

used to visit our farms.

They came from the mountains,

as many of you know,

in a long single file

to the farmsteads below.

And even when they were seen,
they weren´t loath to roam
and play their tricks - disturbing
the peace of the home.

English translation/Copyright © Hallberg Hallmundsson.

I got a brain-cell today

2007-12-08T00:25:00.000Z

Yes, I was a bit more scatter brained today than most days, my friends noticed. So one of them very considerately gave me a brain-cell. I still have it but it is in my bag, maybe not the best place to keep it if I don't want to loose it. I might need it.
This has been a very active week to be honest. But a wonderful one and now it is only about 8 days until I go home for Christmas. First thing first.
I got an e-mail last week from my friend Shammi (my friends Dinesh's girlfriend) who is in Sri Lanka. I got so excited about the e-mail I contacted my friend Laura (their friend as well) and we decided to meet up on Wednesday and I would tell her the content of the e-mail. So I picked up a wee Christmasy present and a bottle of red wine and headed over to Lauras. I had barely said hello to her when I told her the news. Dinesh was flying to Sri Lanka on the 4th and they were getting married on the 6th! I am soooooo happy for them, they so deserve this and its something everyone of us have been praying for and waiting for. Although I was a bit sad that I couldn't have been there with them, they had said that when they would get married I was definitely invited. So now I just have to get them to marry each other again when I see them so that I can take pictures and say that I was at their wedding. But it was just such amazing news and wonderful that Laura and I were able to sort of celebrate with them, even though it was on the 5th we got together.
But it was so nice to see Laura again, because of the hectic schedule we both had last semester we didn't get an opportunity to see each other then, so it was almost a year since I last saw her. But it was still like no time had passed except we had a lot of things to talk about, it was great. She had been to India for a replacement thingy as she is studying to become a doctor. This is her fifth and final year and she is very very busy. She cooked a wonderful meal for us, she is such a great cook, you will never be diappointed with her cooking. So we just sat around drinking nice red wine and enjoying ourselves immensely talking about this and that for hours and hours and could have kept on going except that I had to go home as I had Old English class at ten in the morning.
I hope it will not have to be a year until I see her next.
Then today we (Sandra and Catriona and I) had decided to make it a night out before calling it quits at Uni before Christmas. We were to meet up in Buchanan Galleries af 4:30 where Sandra was shopping for a birthday present for her sister. She went to the Bear Factory (a wonderful place) and got her a teddy bear that says Happy Birthday in three languages (Welsh, Icelandic (that's me!!) and English (with a Scottish accent)). It was great, I almost lost myself in there. Then we went to get something to eat and we were going to worry about getting cinema tickets later. We ended up in the all familiar place of All you can eat Chinese Buffet place on Sauchihall Street and ate and ate and ate. The problem was that when it came to the deserts it was a toss up between staying and going to the cinemas. In the end we crawled out of the place (I want to say stuffed but Sandra said that it was rude, so I won't) and headed for the cinema, where we got tickets to see the Golden Compass. Nice enough visually, storywise hmmmm, and if ever there was a film screaming SEQUEL this is it. Even though I knew nothing about the movie itself I knew it was a part of a trilogy of books so I knew there were more movies to come but this was way to sequelly-endy for me.
But I just loved it, and for some reason I was having one of those days where my brain just didn't connect with anything so Sandra very helpfully drew a picture of a brain-cell and gave me. Something tells me it is not working properly, because here I am writing a blog when I should be in bed. I just had to get the news out that I am now an official owner of a brain-cell, a portable brain-cell!
Well, I am now off to bed and hoping for snow so that Catriona will be happy!

Quotes of the night: 'I have to go to the wee room', Catriona: 'It tastes very Christmasy' Elin responds 'I have never tasted Christmas, is it good?', 'Where are the tickets ... this is not funny!', 'Facaib (that sounds rude)!', 'That giggle!'.'The buses...', Elin: 'I went to the ballet and saw hihihihi' (and a bit of a twirl), Sandra responds: 'That's the best representation of a male ballet dancer I have ever seen!'.

Just me

2007-11-27T22:41:00.000Z

I think I am a very bizarre person. Someone who is very keen to learn and study I can sometimes put a different spin on things (or like we say in Icelandic, I certainly am good at making útúrsnúninga!). For todays terrifying lecture on excavation reports we had to log onto the Royal Comission of whatever for certain reports. Basically because we had no idea what we were doing there and no one told us how to actually use the very complicated website I gave up after a few minutes of trying to find the excavation reports. What did I do instead? I didn't want to say to the guy that I had only spent a few minutes there without finding anything out, so I started househunting instead. Yeah, I know there are not many like me in this world which is a sad thing for those that don't know me and a comfort for those that do. I found out that if you were lucky you could find images of the site and very often there were architectural plans or archaeology / architectural drawings of them as well, so if I can't actually buy it there is a chance I can have it built in Iceland in the coming future and when I have become immensely rich from my very lucrative research into Welsh and Irish medieval literature, 'ralh' (rolling about laughing hysterically).

On another note, I went on a field trip on Sunday. I went to Silverburn which is a new shopping center, I mean, why would I go anywhere except where I knew I would be able to shop. It is a new shopping centre and it is actually situated in Pollock so a bit out of the way. Both cab drivers asked me what I was doing so far away from the West End. Hmmm, could it be because I don't have my own car to ferry me there so that I can skip these questions. I would take the bus if I knew where I would end up or if I didn't have to walk half a mile to be able to catch the bus. So I let the taxi drivers chaufer me around. Bright people!

Oh, and another taxi story before I continue with Silverburn story. I took the cab to Uni today and oh boy, I mean you could probably excuse it back home in Iceland but here, I didn't think this was possible. The guy like so many others asked me what it was that I was studying at Uni and I told him Medieval Scottish History. He found that impressive and recognized that a person would have to specialise in an area of history as no one could know every history in the world, very enlightened of him. Then he told me he had been driving a girl from the history department around and asked me if I knew her, she was Canandian! That was the hint I got. I was like, in Glasgow there are 660 000 inhabitants + a few turists, in Glasgow University there are 17 000 teachers, students and staff + a few guests and turists. In the History Department, there are hundreds of people, more than a hundred in first year, more than a hundred in second year, quite possibly around hundres in third and also in the fourth year. Then we have the postgraduates, doing their masters and doctorates. And I was supposed to know a Canadian girl doing history! Why do I always get these strange questions!

Anyway, back to Silverburn. It is a very new shopping centre, only opened about a month ago, and there is definitely a lot left to do. Only half of the centre is about open and the other half that has shops has only filled every other space. It's only one level, but huge and very long, almost never ending. But you also get these huge department stores like Marks & Spencer and Debenhams which are on two levels and. Then next to this or sort of annexed to it, although you have to go out to get in is Tesco (of course, where isn't a Tesco in Britain). It is really huge. I spent more than an hour in there going from lane to lane to try to figure out what was not there and what I needed for lunch and dinner. (Comparing it to Hagkaup in Smáralind back home I would have to say this store is about twice or more the size of it, so that is saying something). But it only took me about three hours to go through the shopping centre and Tesco and back home. I didn't manage to find any other Christmas presents except maybe one for myself. And since I have yet to receive it (as in at Christmas) I can't tell you anything about it.

Today we were also invited to the annual Angus Matheson Memorial Lecture in the Celtic department. Anne joined us but was sick so had to leave after it, but we still managed to have fun before the lecture. Well sort of, I nearly finished her off with my Christmas present to her. She kind of dared me to it when we were coming back on the train to Glasgow last time we saw her, so I couldn't resist. I acquired a copy of Thomas the Tank Engine book and went online and nicked some departmental staff photos and started printing and cutting and putting it all together. I ended up with Thomas Clancy the Clever little Tank Engine along with his friends. I truly hope that he never finds out but it is hilarious, she loved it. The Lecture itself was fine but we couldn't help giggling a few times. Like when one of the speakers kept mispronouncing Robert O'Maolalaigh's name and when the guy in the row behind us when to sleep and actually snored on a couple of occasions. But there were good news there as well. They are starting a new iris or a journal of Gaelic literature and culture, published with articles in English, Irish and Gaelic and I am definitely going to subscribe, there were quite a few articles in there that I would like to read so as soon as it is published I will contact the department. There articles there by Dereck Thompson, Michel Byrne, Donald Meek and Kathrine Hollo, all very good scholars in their field and so it promises to be quite the worthwhile read.

I'm happy!

I have discovered that I have superhuman powers

2007-11-24T19:33:00.000Z

For the past few days I have been "entertaining" myself with reading excavation reports in archaeology for Tuesday class and almost putting myself into a coma. Which means that most of the things that I read went in one ear (as they say, although it should more likely be an eye) and went out the other. But while my brain was so completely unoccupied I managed to have the weirdest conversations with myself and I came to the conclusion that I might have the power of making therapists retire early. Because no one could listen to the stuff that goes around my brain and stay sane, which explains a lot but gives not comfort.

When I started this blogentry I actually thought I would have something to ramble on about, and I don't. It's the end of week 9 at Uni and I think that is affecting me in some way. Like this weekend I am totally in denial that I have homework, spending my time in the shops (+ spending more than an hour to try to find a taxi to ferry me home) and watching television. I managed to finish my Latin translation on Thursday ... does it make sense ... no! So I will have to use some time to make it into readable and understandable english and not just word babble. Then I also have that stupid archaeology reading to do and I am just going to ignore it, can't be bothered with it at all, it is so flawed and in so many ways that it is driving me nuts.

I managed to bag another Christmas present today, which makes it a grand total of two. What will happen if I run out of ideas, huh? On the other hand it is not so easy to find presents today because the likelyhood of people actually owning the things that I think up for them is pretty good. Even Makini!!! Not that I would ever every buy one, but I thought it would be a great gab present for a friend, or at least a friend of a friend. Met him on MSN when I came home and told him that you could actually buy a Mankini (like the one Borat so famously wore in his film) and what do you think his reaction was. "I already have one of those!" Do I have weird friends or what? I gatered from him that he had actually bought one for HIMSELF! His poor girlfriend (my dear friend who will remain anonymous for this post), actually witnessed him trying it on. ... I wonder if there were any photos taken? Okay, really going down the wrong road here ... and you wonder why I am a basket case. Things like this don't help! Which makes my headache of finding presents seem like a month of migranes.

Tomorrow, marks three weeks until I go home to Iceland. I really can't wait. As much as I have been loving my time here, I am really wishing for some Icelandic company as well. I was so on my onesome yesterday that I texted a friend of mine here in Glasgow who is babysitting a cat that I was in the city center drinking mulled wine and already having had my first chocolate covered banana of the Christmas season! I miss you Árdís. It is strangely bizarre of not having you here, I can't shop. I need inspiration. Can't some of you guys come for a shopping trip for Christmas because I am failing here. Soon I will be a shopaholic without a job and the economy will suffer! Don't let that happen!

Okay, I have to go to my own little world now to talk to all those funny people in white coats. See you later, guys.

Nerds on the run

2007-11-18T23:26:00.000Z

I am such a good friend, I am such a good friend that I actually woke up at seven in the morning on Saturday to take a trip with my friend to an Archaeology Conference! I was on time at the Queen Street Train Station and one by one they appeared. Catriona first and Anne (the reason for waking up) showed up just before eight. We grabbed our tickets and then our seats and sat chatting happily away all the way to Edinburgh Waverly Station. Then we had to find our way to the Royal Museum of Scotland, and finally I was where I belong ... in a museum! It was a beautiful building, not very interesting looking from outside, but once in, it is amazing, and sooooo big. The conference was just starting so we just managed to grab seats in the third row to the right in the conference room, but it wouldn't have mattered where we sat because the seats were crap. The architecht was clearly stupid, because he didn't figure it out in his little drawings of the place, that those that would be sitting in these seats would have legs! Let alone that anyone as tall as I am was ever going to enter the room. Front row seats is not my thing. So I basically occupied two seats, as in I sat sideways, fun fun fun for hours on end. Thankfully there were breaks at an hour or hour and a half interval so I was able to strech my legs between talks. The conference began at 9:30 and finished at 17:00, each lecture was about half an hour long.
The lectures themselves were really interesting. The first speaker was obviously from Scandinavia (either Norway (the most likely option), Denmark or Sweden) and he was sexy as well, who would have thought that of an archaeologist? His topic was on the late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic period of Southeast Scotland and he made it sound interesting! Then there was something on Elginhaugh, which apparently is a fort and that is interesting somehow. I kind of zoned out of the less interesting bits. The only thing I remember was when he was talking about a hoard of coins in the Roman fort. One of the coins was marked Borinianus. His emphasis was on the -anus part, hilarious. (Also, if you are Icelandic think of the first element of the name Bor- it makes it even more hysterically funnier. Then we had a break for snacks.
After break was over there was a talk on some archaeological work being done at Colstoun, which some people found interesting. The fourth lecture was on Edinburgh's Tron Kirk followed by a talk on the archaeology of the siege of Leith and other 16th century conflicts. And then it was time for lunch! That was great, I ordered a potatoe and they messed it up. How can you mess up a potatoe. I ordered baked potatoe with a chicken, tarragon and lemon mayonese filling and I got a pesto one. Really didn't want that so that the dinner lady was kind enough to make the filling especially for me ... and then when I finally got it it wasn't nice at all. I felt soo mean, but on the other hand I wasn't even that hungry, because I had eaten a sandwich in the tea break, because I hadn't eaten anything before we left Glasgow. So feel sorry for me, don't notice what a picky eater I am. It is better to be picky than eat everything in sight! Anne and Catriona were having fun watching me struggle with my potatoe disaster and Anne was starting to worry my Viking blood might rise to the occasion and I would start gnawing at her leg. It didn't happen, she still has all of her limbs intact (even though she made me get up very early)!
So after this very nice lunch, the girls and I, sort of unintentionally got our siesta break. The two lectures following the lunchbreak, really were coma inducing. They could have been interesting from the historical point of view, but when they started talking about this kind of flue and that kind of wall we just lost the will to live. The first one was a talk about a late 18th century distillery (and When is Whiskey boring? When you are not drinking it!) The second one was on the Caltongate Gasworks (I really was tempted to ask how they passed gas in the early 19th century but thought that would get me thrown out, so I refrained from asking. Then in the discussion session someone beat me to it but he worded it differently). And again we have a coffee break, the last of the day.
Instead of going for coffee we went shopping. This was of course at a museum and they are never without a gift shop, where you can buy things that have absolutely nothing to do with history or art, but are just enought to tempt shopaholics (like me) to depart with their money (like me).
The eighth lecture of the day, and the one we were most interested in was on the Lindisfarne Manuscript "Early Christian East Lothian, linking the communities of Columba and Cuthbert", we really perked up at this lecture, and would have gladly wanted it to last more than just half an hour. But that's us, we like that kind of things.
The last two lectures were kind of all right, but I was kind of wishing to be somewhere else at that point .. like in the shops. But we kind of had to stay, because the next lecture was on house conservation and things like that and this is what Anne is studying this year. So for her it was the reason to be there mainly. The last one was on how to do something about a historical site that is currently being neglected. This was also the lecture where the minority complex of archaeologist shone through the brightest. The girls and I have been laughing at the archaeological texts we have been sifting through this semester and they really do suffer from the paranoia of the Historians. It's almost like a phobia for them. I only have to reach across the table to grab the book I am currently reading to find this:

few historians saw the value of comparing their maps and documents agains what
could be seen in the field. Collaborations between historians, geographers
and archaeologists were still rare and restricted to a tiny number of
individuals who were widely scattered in different institutional guises with
little philosophical or methodological focus to their effort.

(Medieval Archaeology; Christopher Gerrard, p. 87)

Even thought the text is written in the past tense the archaeologists are still writing that this is how their work is looked at, secondary in nature to historical work.
I sort of feel sorry for them, but when people get excited about a wall, I kind of find myself at crossroads of whether to pity them or congratulate them. Their sense of style also leaves a lot for the imagination. Just because you are an archaeologist and you dig things up for fun, there is no reason to do that with clothes as well. They do have clothingstores readily awailable near you today, it's called progress. Aside from their pitiful nature I don't look down on them, they have their uses. I for one would never dream of getting down on all fours, just because someone got excited about Roman pottery ... or a wall!
But I have gone off topic. After the conference finished we headed into town and managed to take a quick look at Jenners at my behest and then headed towards Hard Rock Café, because I had sort of twisted and turned the arms of my fellow companions until they agreed to feed me. I had the classical Hickory-BBQ Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich, boy this just seems to go on and on, and Anne had herself a sandwich and Catriona munched on some chips. Of course we ended the evening with a dessert, a sorbet and two fudge sundae's, but they were more like just sundae's with no fudge at all. But still we ware happy and nourished and when we could finally manage to stand up we made our way to the train station and caught the train back home to Glasgow just shortly before eight o'clock. Which meant that I had been in Edinburgh for something of ten hours and still going. We had all been threatening to fall asleep on the train but we still managed to entertain ourselves with our very nerdy wit and wisdom. In Glasgow we said our goodbyes on the subway and Great Western Road and I went home to fall asleep way before my usual time.
This was the best day in a long while. Thank you Anne for making me wake up very very very early on a Saturday.

Gone with the Wind

2007-11-09T17:31:00.001Z

Hair dryers are the bane of my existence and soon to be developing pneumonia. They really should ban these blasted things from student halls, or at least my block. There are at least two persons here that just can not be trusted with these blasting windbags. I have lived here for four years, and never before have I had to be outside soooo often in just two months because someone can not grasp the concept of HEAT detectors in the room. Just now I was driven from my very comfortable and warm room out into the freezing cold because someone couldn't control her hair dryer and this is the same girl who forced me out last time. Both of these times, a girl was caught unaware in her shower and they had to run outside wet. The one tonight was only covered in a towel with a tiny jacket covering her wet hair. I don't think she will be thinking to warmly towards this girl in the near future. Maybe we should put a timetable for her to where we will know in advance that she is going to be fiddling with a machine she has no control over and just stay outside to save ourselves the trouble of having to hurry outside just to find out it was all for nothing.

Objectivity? ... huh, anyone?

2007-11-04T00:30:00.000Z

This is an update on my nerd status. I am getting nerdier by the minute. I am reading my schoolbooks and enjoying it. Actually it goes beyond that. I was actually laughing histerically today over my "educational" reading. It is especially the case when reading a book by Alfred P. Smythe called "Warlords and Holy Men; Scotland 800 - 1000 Ad" and I don't think he wrote it to entertain me, which makes it even more funnier. He really likes to call the people barbarians, no matter who he is talking about, basically everthing that happened before the 1950s is probably in his mind rater primitive and some version of barbarism that was going on.
Today, I was especially focusing on a chapter he wrote about the Vikings (WHY-kings), prettily named as "Vikings: Warriors of the Western Sea". If I didn't know better, and I don't, I would almost think two people wrote the chapter, because the introduction and the conclusion of the chapter are so bizarre. The main argument has merit and is a quite interesting read but it is the intro and conclusion that set me off today. See the following statements taken from the chapter.

'The images of Adomnán reflect the gentleness of a cultivated Classical Christian
civilisation, while the cut-throats and beer-vomiting heroes of the skalds
belong to a world of brutal barbarism.'

He goes on;

'The burning of the monastic library on Iona for instance, might have dealt a
greater blow to western civilisation than the destruction of the entire town ot
Nantes ...'

And on he goes;

'The Vikings returned again and again to centers such as Iona, which in western
Christian eyes were sanctuaries where it was sacrilege to spoil, but which to
the Vikings were shop windows crammed with the loot of centuries'.

No wonder we like to come to Glasgow on shoppin trips. Who would have thought that history books would or could contain such entertaining phrases. Granted this book was published 25 years ago and a lot has happened in the past few years. Sadly that is termed progress which means we don't get gems like this printed as often as we would possibly like.
Although one of his ideas has merit and really ought to be researched further through literature. We know that before the Vikings came to Iceland as settlers there were a few monks sitting around twiddling their tumbs on a rock and then they disappeared from there. That's not the interesting part of it. The Irish monks liked to go rowing about finding an island here and there to use for their meditation and such and Smythe presents the idea that the route to Iceland was well known by the Irish monks and that it was by their help the Vikings found Iceland and settled it. The Irish were probably very happy to finally be rid of the Vikings so they advertised an island in the north. (My thoughts at least). But it could have happened like this and should be explored further. Although that is as far as I am going with my taking Smythe too seriously in this, because in his conclusion of the chapter he sort of states that it wouldn't surprise him the least if the Irish had actullay been the first to find America as well and told the Vikings all about that too.!!!
Well, it shouldn't surprise anyone. He spent the last thirty pages going on and on about how the heck barbarians like the Vikings even managed to put a letter to a page anyway so why shouldn't he wonder how they managed to get to Iceland or let alone America without the help of the 'Classical Christian civilisation'.
His chapter concludes with these words.

'The study of Old Icelandic records presents us with a long line of apparent
historical accidents which require an explanation.'

In a bizarre way I like this guy, he really made my day!

Talk about dedication

2007-10-29T18:45:00.000Z

This has been a busy weekend for me. Big surprise ... I went home for the weekend! I left Glasgow early on the morning of October 26th, Friday and my plane landed just after 12 o'clock noon. We headed straight home, but had a short stop at a shop (try saying this five times in a row really fast) before I lugged my luggage in the front door at home. Which was as well, because as soon as we had closed the doors the weather went beserk. The closest I can come to describing it is ... it was a blizzard. Now, my dear friends Margrét and Guðbjört had had their birthday's earlier in the month, but I hadn't posted their birthday gifts because I just knew it would get lost in the post like everything else around here does, so I wasn't taking any chances and brought them home with me. But I didn't tell my friends that I was coming. So I had to cleverly engineer it so that they would come to collect their presents without giving it away that I would be there. Somehow I did manage it, but obviously they wanted to make sure someone was at home and that they would not be bothering any one, they phoned the house on Friday afternoon so I couldn't contain myself any longer and answered the phoone. It took my friend a while to figure out who it was that answered the phone, she was absolutely flabbergasted that it was me and demanded to know what I was doing on this phone. Wonderful. They dropped by for a few minutes and then headed off with their presents which I understand they are quite happy with. We decided to try to get together tomorrow evening and off they went. Because I knew I was only going to be here for a very few moments, I decided to use them as well as I could. I phoned up a friend of mine and asked if I could come visit (provided that someone would come and get me, I know, I am sooo cheeky) and then spent the remainder of the evening in good company with friends drinking mojito cockteil that my friend expertly whipped up.

On Saturday I lay in bed for as long as I could, I missed it so much. But in the end I had to get up if we were going to do anything fun today. Firstly we went shopping, not so much fun because I didn't find anything to shop so it defeted the purpose of going shopping. Then we went overe to my grandmother and I took the opportunity of getting my hands on a hamburger from a hamburgerjoint just accross from my grandmothers home. Oooh, that was lovely! After visiting with my grandmother for a moment we headed home where I crashed in my bed for a few minutes before we headed to my brothers. He had invited us over for dinner which was again very lovely. And this makes me ashamed of not having remembered to mention the wonderful dinner I got at home from mom on Friday. It was amazing, Icelandic lamb at its best ... on the table in front of me!
After dinner my friends Margrét and Guðbjört came to pick me up and we basically skidded down the hill to Guðbjört's new place, which is being made up or at least made inhabitable. So the next hour or so we spent discussing and commenting on what colour the kitchen cabinets should be in, sadly we didn't even come close to a solution. But on the other hand it will make it much more fun when I come hom for the holidays to see what has become of it. It was obvious that Saturday marked the first day of winter, because ice was forming on the roads and making driving more difficult but we managed.

On Sunday, I didn't do anything really, or nothin interesting at least. I woke up around ten, or half past and just lay there taking it easy. Around noon I got up and dressed and was just starting to pack when my brother and family came to say goodbye. Probably the worst thing of being here in Glasgow is not seeing Katrín, my niece, more often, but it is only about 6 - 7 weeks until I go home for Christmas so that's bearable. I finished packing around two and shortly thereafter we left home to drive to the airport. We arrived there two hours on the clock before my plane was scheduled to leave, so when I had checked into my flight I said my goodbyes to mom and dad and headed off home ... again.

The flight was uneventful and I managed to get my luggage very shortly after arriving in the terminal and so I reached my room shortly after 8 o'clock pm. Almost as soon as my brilliant behind hit the chair I began my Latin homework for Monday. I didn't stop until I had finished my 25 sentences. Which meant that I didn't finish until quarter past twelve in the morning ... and that is when I unpacked my suitcase. So yes, talk about dedication. My friend Catriona was very impressed that I had actually managed to do the homework at all, with me being out of the country and all. She had barely managed but that is so understandable, most of the sentences I translated were just gibberish which I twisted and turned around until they resembled a sentence, and most of the time it wasn't 100% correct but it wasn't 100% wrong either. But we found out today at Latin that most of us had difficulty with this translation because we definitely weren't prepared enough for the excercise. But I am digressing, I finished unpacking in record time and got into bed. But I knew because I was so worked up from doing my Latin I wouldn't be able to fall asleep right away so I watched some television before switching off both the television and my brain.

This was a wonderful weekend which will sustain me until I come home for Christmas. It was great to be able to see my friends even though it was for such a short and unexpected time. But it is also good to be back in Glasgow and seeing my friends today was great fun as well. I brought them Kleinur from home to introduce them to Icelandic bakkelsi and they loved it we finished the bag. I promised I would bring more treats for them in the coming days so they have in turn promised to be nice to me.

Until next, behave!

Imaginary friends ... or I am hearing voices

2007-10-25T21:14:00.000Z

The disturbing news is that since starting my year at Glasgow again and this time with no Árdísi next door, I have started to have these very riveting conversations with myself. My friend Sandra, said that it was ok, the only thing I had to watch out for was when I would start answering myself as well, then I would have something to worry about. Well, I am way past that threshold, becuase not only do I talk to myself, it is almost more like having imaginary friends traipsing around my brain. Because I assign each and every voice sometimes a new voice, so that one voice sounds like Catriona, who is the more dominant voice right now, another sounds like Sharon, then there is Claire and I also have Sandra when I am feeling decidedly English. This is quite bizarre but quite entertaining and very exciting as well, and thank God no one else can overhear, that would be quite awkward. Don't worry, the voices aren't making me do anything dodgy or strange, and they never start the conversation, it depends on me. So I am hoping that is a good sign in this madness. But I truly think that my brain is distancing itself from me because that is the only other explanation I have or that I am going senile.

I have turned into the nutty professor!

Excuses, excuses

2007-10-24T16:00:00.000Z

Yes, I am sooooo using the internet as an excuse of not studying. Especially right now. I am reading through Economic Archeology and if anyone else thinks this is an oxymoron phrase, welcome to the club. This is more boring and painful than going to the dentist. I have not even completed my first chapter in the exciting book of Dark Age Economics, that I have come to the conclusion that archeologist are pompus assess, too full of themselves to even want to consider other fields of studies to help their research unless it is as boring and stuffy and them and that is ... whohey, you got it economics. These two groups work well together to try to fit everything in neat little boxes of organisation and administrative bodies. The statements of you need at least this many people in a community of planned streets and A MINT (here in the context of coins or coinage) along with religious center and judicial system to make an acceptable town to be worthy of their scrutiny. I am quite tempted to use a lot of adjectives describing the text and the author and other scholars mentioned in the text in very explicit and unflattering manner but because I like to keep things from being x-rated I will refrain from it. Just know that I am pissed off and in no way wanting to continue reading. But this will hopefully be my only day reading about economic archeology because I am going away for the weekend and am not going to be spending much time on my studies except, I optimistically state, on the flight to and from my place of destination!
There the rant of October finished and now I have to get back to work.

7 years of bad luck

2007-09-27T14:43:00.000Z

Do you have any idea of how many e-mails and "chain-letters" I have received over the years. Not in the region of hundreds but, quite a bit though. About 1-4 a month I would say. Now that may not seem a lot but that is not the issue here. What they contain does. Every e-mail promises the world and life filled with happiness and luck, but it also has a darker side. If you do not forward it to you family and friends you will be evoking years of pain and suffering by the hands of the unseen and unknown e-mail demon, that is secretly watching every bit of bite you send through the internet. Yeah, right. If this was true, I will have been cursed with bad luck, bad breath and bad karma since I started using the internet, will suffer the rest of my life and considering the amount of e-mails I have ignored and deleted I will probably suffer a lot through my next few years as well. But I wonder, if what I have been experiencing as a cursed or unlucky life I wonder what I should be complaining about.
I feel like I am as lucky as possible, but more than that, I don't consider it especially to be lucky, more like fated and blessed. And what could be considered bad luck or unhappy events, they so do not outweight the positive and wonderful things that I have gotten to experience.
I managed to get accepted into Glasgow University, where I spent 4 amazing years, studying a subject I truly enjoy, meeting and getting to know loads of people that I consider my friends and am blessed to have gotten to know. I graduated, I was lucky enought to be able to be surrounded by family when that happened. I got accepted again into M.Litt where I get to spend another year at Glasgow Uni, getting to know more and more people. I feel blessed with both a great family and wonderful range of friends from all over the world.
Now I ask you, why would I want to forward these things to anyone. Well, I might not forward all of them, only the really nice and sweet in the hopes that it won't scare the sh%t out of my friends, but mostly I don't forward them, because the e-mail does not dictate how my life will be.

Roald Dahls birthday

2007-09-13T12:27:00.000Z

So I thought it fitting to share this poem with you. You all know the tale of Cinderella ... or so you thought!

I guess you think you know this story.
You don't. The real one's much more gory.
The phoney one, the one you know,
Was cooked up years and years ago,
And made to sound all soft and sappy
just to keep the children happy.
Mind you, they got the first bit right,
The bit where, in the dead of night,
The Ugly Sisters, jewels and all,
Departed for the Palace Ball,
While darling little Cinderella
Was locked up in a slimy cellar,
Where rats who wanted things to eat,
Began to nibble at her feet.

She bellowed 'Help!' and 'Let me out!
The Magic Fairy heard her shout.
Appearing in a blaze of light,
She said: 'My dear, are you all right?'
'All right?' cried Cindy .'Can't you see
'I feel as rotten as can be!'
She beat her fist against the wall,
And shouted, 'Get me to the Ball!
'There is a Disco at the Palace!
'The rest have gone and 1 am jalous!
'I want a dress! I want a coach!
'And earrings and a diamond brooch!
'And silver slippers, two of those!
'And lovely nylon panty hose!
'Done up like that I'll guarantee
'The handsome Prince will fall for me!'
The Fairy said, 'Hang on a tick.'
She gave her wand a mighty flick
And quickly, in no time at all,
Cindy was at the Palace Ball!

It made the Ugly Sisters wince
To see her dancing with the Prince.
She held him very tight and pressed
herself against his manly chest.
The Prince himself was turned to pulp,
All he could do was gasp and gulp.
Then midnight struck. She shouted,'Heck!
Ive got to run to save my neck!'
The Prince cried, 'No! Alas! Alack!'
He grabbed her dress to hold her back.
As Cindy shouted, 'Let me go!'
The dress was ripped from head to toe.

She ran out in her underwear,
And lost one slipper on the stair.
The Prince was on it like a dart,
He pressed it to his pounding heart,
'The girl this slipper fits,' he cried,
'Tomorrow morn shall be my bride!
I'll visit every house in town
'Until I've tracked the maiden down!'
Then rather carelessly, I fear,
He placed it on a crate of beer.

At once, one of the Ugly Sisters,
(The one whose face was blotched with blisters)
Sneaked up and grabbed the dainty shoe,
And quickly flushed it down the loo.
Then in its place she calmly put
The slipper from her own left foot.
Ah ha, you see, the plot grows thicker,
And Cindy's luck starts looking sicker.

Next day, the Prince went charging down
To knock on all the doors in town.
In every house, the tension grew.
Who was the owner of the shoe?
The shoe was long and very wide.
(A normal foot got lost inside.)
Also it smelled a wee bit icky.
(The owner's feet were hot and sticky.)
Thousands of eager people came
To try it on, but all in vain.
Now came the Ugly Sisters' go.
One tried it on. The Prince screamed, 'No!'
But she screamed, 'Yes! It fits! Whoopee!
'So now you've got to marry me!'
The Prince went white from ear to ear.
He muttered, 'Let me out of here.'
'Oh no you don't! You made a vow!
'There's no way you can back out now!'
'Off with her head!'The Prince roared back.
They chopped it off with one big whack.
This pleased the Prince. He smiled and said,
'She's prettier without her head.'
Then up came Sister Number Two,
Who yelled, 'Now I will try the shoe!'
'Try this instead!' the Prince yelled back.
He swung his trusty sword and smack
Her head went crashing to the ground.
It bounced a bit and rolled around.
In the kitchen, peeling spuds,
Cinderella heard the thuds
Of bouncing heads upon the floor,
And poked her own head round the door.
'What's all the racket? 'Cindy cried.
'Mind your own bizz,' the Prince replied.
Poor Cindy's heart was torn to shreds.
My Prince! she thought. He chops off heads!
How could I marry anyone
Who does that sort of thing for fun?

The Prince cried, 'Who's this dirty slut?
'Off with her nut! Off with her nut!'
Just then, all in a blaze of light,
The Magic Fairy hove in sight,
Her Magic Wand went swoosh and swish!
'Cindy! 'she cried, 'come make a wish!
'Wish anything and have no doubt
'That I will make it come about!'
Cindy answered, 'Oh kind Fairy,
'This time I shall be more wary.
'No more Princes, no more money.
'I have had my taste of honey.
I'm wishing for a decent man.
'They're hard to find. D'you think you can?'
Within a minute, Cinderella
Was married to a lovely feller,
A simple jam maker by trade,
Who sold good home-made marmalade.
Their house was filled with smiles and laughter
And they were happy ever after.

-- Roald Dahl --

This is the month of Blog Quizzes apparently

2007-09-12T11:39:00.001Z

I am the bearded lady, or so it seems!

You scored as Albus Dumbledore, Strong and powerful you admirably defend your world and your charges against those who would seek to harm them. However sometimes you can fail to do what you must because you care too much to cause suffering.

Albus Dumbledore

85%

Ron Weasley

75%

Harry Potter

75%

Hermione Granger

70%

Ginny Weasley

65%

Remus Lupin

65%

Draco Malfoy

60%

Sirius Black

55%

Severus Snape

50%

Lord Voldemort

Your Harry Potter Alter Ego Is...?
created with QuizFarm.com

I think that is a fair view of my belief

2007-09-10T22:58:00.000Z

You scored as Classical Liberal, You are a classical liberal. You are sceptical about much of the historicity of the Bible, and the most important thing Jesus has done is to set us a good moral example that we are to follow. Doctrines like the trinity and the incarnation are speculative and not really important, and in the face of science and philosophy the surest way we can be certain about God is by our inner awareness of him. Discipleship is expressed by good moral behaviour, but inward religious feeling is most important.

Classical Liberal

64%

Emergent/Postmodern

61%

Modern Liberal

54%

Neo orthodox

54%

Roman Catholic

50%

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan

46%

Charismatic/Pentecostal

29%

Reformed Evangelical

18%

Fundamentalist

What's your theological worldview?
created with QuizFarm.com

Nothing new here...

2007-08-06T18:55:00.000Z

Elin, if you were a movie, you'd be a Groundbreaking Documentary

If you think documentaries are boring, think again. Like your movie match, you're an intelligent individual who makes people think. Documentaries span all sorts of topics, from the trivial to the profound. Perhaps your interests do the same, but one thing's clear — you're a smarty and you like to learn.

We'd guess you're the person at the dinner table or the water cooler who stirs up lively debates about the latest news or tidbits from the Discovery Channel. Part of you probably gets a kick out of creating controversy and getting people fired up about their beliefs. Another part probably likes opening people's eyes and sharing your thoughts. And for that, you get two thumbs up for trying to get to the bottom of things and making waves!

Lady Sphinx

2007-08-06T18:53:00.000Z

You are a mysterious being, Lady Sphinx, distinguished by your deep wisdom, strength, and royal power. You've also got a special something that draws people to you — even if they can't explain why. Maybe it's because you're always immersed in thought, pondering everything around you — your music, the fashion scene, or the latest movies.

It's not that you need to be on top of everything, it's just that you prefer to walk a stable path through this life, and that's easier for you to do if you know what's goin' on. But beyond your keen awareness of the world, you also have a strong intuition — which is probably why friends and family think of you as such a sage goddess. This natural ability to just sense things makes you a great judge of character when meeting new friends, or attracting a new crush. So don't be afraid to use these otherworldly goddess powers to spark some love in your realm, Ms. Sphinx! Work that intrigue.

Your gifts make you alluring, but not too revealing. You'll always hold the secrets of life and keep 'em guessing. You've got plenty to show the world — so get out there and show them what you're made of!

Tickle.com

I can be sarcastic ... really!

2007-08-04T12:00:00.001Z

You Have Your Sarcastic Moments

While you're not sarcastic at all times, you definitely have a cynical edge.
In your opinion, not all people are annoying. Some are dead!
And although you do have your genuine moments, you can't help getting your zingers in.
Some people might be a little hurt by your sarcasm, but it's more likely they think you're hilarious.

How Sarcastic Are You?

My brain is purple

2007-08-04T11:49:00.000Z

Your Brain is Purple

Of all the brain types, yours is the most idealistic.
You tend to think wild, amazing thoughts. Your dreams and fantasies are intense.
Your thoughts are creative, inventive, and without boundaries.

You tend to spend a lot of time thinking of fictional people and places - or a very different life for yourself.

What Color Is Your Brain?

I've got Simpsonitis

2007-08-03T19:36:00.001Z

Photo 1

Photo 2

It bugs me

2007-07-28T12:32:00.001Z

I was reading the newspaper this morning and I came across an article about an "artist"! He's an old guy but somewhat known here in Iceland and they showed a selection of his works. Oh, my god. They actually call him a master artist and the only thing I could do was stare. Out of five works they showed, three of them were horrible. Not something I would be proud to show off if I had been the one to put this mess on canvas. This was someting that could have been done by a four year old and the funny thing is that then I would have applauded because that would have shown promise of things to come, but for an old guy to paint this and for others to call him a master artist is an insult to children. At four years they have already shown that they can handle a brush and simple images like persons and their surroundings, but here we have people applauding a guy in his sixties plus for finally achieving the same level of maturity as a four year old child. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Photos

2007-07-18T22:21:00.000Z

Just to let you know that I have just added some photos to my blog. Both from my graduation and also from the evening the girls and I went out. The links to the photos are here to the right and you don't need to sign in to view them, or at least you shouldn't have to.

Lazy is the word of the month

2007-07-17T22:46:00.000Z

I always mean to be efficient at writing but then nothing happens. I think it's the heat, I can't do anything, can't even think one thought through. A lot has been happening lately. I was on TV, yes, as I wrote here before, but not only that I was on TV last night as well. And no, not the same program, now I was caught completely unawares. This is what happens when you show up early for a book signing. Norways most published author Margit Sandemo and the author of Ísfólkið came for a visit and signed books for hardcore fans. So of course I showed up, not one to let an opportunity like this slip from me and because I was there early I was caught on camera. It just isn't possible to show up for something like that and not be noticed. The nerd just got nerdier.
I went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on opening night. I think it is one of the movies I have to see again and again before I will be completely at ease with it. Obviously since I love the book so much I was disappointed with it in many ways. It was like watching a slide show at fast pace of the book. Not nice at all, some of the scenes I was particularly waiting for were hardly mentioned and some facts were distorted and the thread of the tale bent to suit the short cut through of the story. I am not saying it isn't good. It might be for those that haven't read the book cover to cover for months and it might be fine for those who haven't read the books, I just don't know how they viewed it. Many of the things that were alluded to showed obvious intent on the director and screen-writers that the audience should be aware of or know the story intimately so that they would know what was being hinted at. But all in all it was a quite short and shoddy work of an otherwise great book. In this instance the book is defenitely better than the movie.
On Friday night, I along with five other girls went out for a night. Enjoyed a lovely dinner at Hereford Steakhouse, and the company wasn't bad either. It was actually too bad that it had to end so soon, it was such fun. After we left the restaurant we made a short stop at the home of one of the girls where we continued to chat and laugh (some histerically and some more ladylike ;). I can't wait until the next time we go out. This is just too fun for words.
I am on my way to bed shortly, hopefully there will be peace and quite tonight. Obviously someone in the street has aquired an electric guitar and he has been trying it out in his garage. I mean he is somewhere in the street, and not even that close to us, but I can hear every fail note like it is screaming in my ear in this very room. Last night he was at this to almost pas mid-night, and I was not a happy bunny, and therefore a rather grouchy person when roused this morning to go to work. When I came home today, he started again and later tonight he was still at it. Right now, I don't here anything and I sincerely hope that someone has broken both his arms.
Until next time I can be bothered.

Now it's public knowledge too: I'm a nerd!

2007-07-09T16:47:00.001Z

Yours truly was on television yesterday, in Út og Suður with Gísli Einarsson and now it is official. Everyone in Iceland know I'm a nerd. It was an interview with Oddur Helgason genealogist, and the man who I am working for this summer gathering genealogical information. I wasn't at home, when it was aired, and didn't get a chance to see it a wee bit later in the evening, but dear me, I was mortified. Actually, it wasn't too bad, because I was watching it with friends of mine, who comforted me. It was just a shock to hear myself on television. I never knew I had such a squeeky voice, it was unnerving. But they said that I didn't sound like that usually, I must have just been unusually nervous. Which I was. The interview was recorded the day after I came back home from Skotland, and my Icelandic was a bit rusty yet. It always takes me a while to get comfortable speaking Icelandic to strangers when I come back. When I came home, I heard that loads of people had phoned to tell mom and dad what a good job I had done, and that it had been nice to see all this. I heard the same when I went to work this morning as well, from people who had been watchin. It is amazing how many people actually watch that show, when I consider it a bit on the old-people-interest-show.
The biggest shock came probably when I went to the bank today, where I was getting a check made ready for me, where a woman came up to me and thanked me for a good show yesterday. She was really very kind and said that it was so nice to see how truly interested I was in genealogy and family history. But, yup, now you can almost call me famous in Iceland .... well, at least infamous. ;) Let's see where this leads to.

Graduation

2007-07-03T21:10:00.000Z

There is so much to blog about I can't blog fast enough.
Well the main news is that I graduated on June 29th, Friday. It was a marvelous day, and a wonderful ceremony, very formal and festive. It was a day I never wanted to end, but that was after we got back to the hotel. Before I went up to Uni, I was so nervous I had upset stomach and nausea but after a few breathing sessions I finally calmed down and managed to finish getting ready. I met Claire up at the University where we collected our graduation wardrobe and tickets for family. Then we headed for a wee get together at the Celtic Department for drinks and to chat with some friends and teachers. At the ceremony itself, Claire and I got front row seats of the ceremony. I was in nerd heaven. My teacher of four years, Thomas Clancy and head of the Celtic department held a speech celebrating the life of gaelic poet Ruaraidh MacThómais who was receiving Honorary Doctorate from the University. Then the graduation walk began, 340 students receiving their degrees all one by one for more than an hour, wonderful. At the end of the ceremony Dr. Dauvit Broun got a reward for excellence in teaching and he so deserved it, he is such a nice man and a great teacher. He is the head of the M.Litt program I am joining next year, and he was even nice enough to enquire about me and if I would be able to study Old Norse next year. Such a sweet man. I also had a photography session after the ceremony with mom and dad as well, and then a few photos by my brother. Before we left for the hotel, we stopped by the gift shop where we bought a frame for my degree and a bottle of whiskey, that instead of saying The Famous Grouse, it says The Famous Graduate.
Then we headed for the hotel where mom served up a delicious cake before we went upstairs for a wonderful meal. We also got a glass of champagne to toast with and a bottle of fine red merlot from Chile. Five courses and I was beyond bursting. It was truly a great day.

It wasn’t until the day after that everything seemed to go down hill but that wasn’t until much later in the day and we had managed to do most of the things we had intended so there was nothing else for us to worry about. But the trouble at the Glasgow airport did put a dent in our last night in Glasgow. Because there was nowhere possible to get any kind of information from our airliner or media back home of what passangers of Icelandair were supposed to do or contact in case of something like this. Nothing at all. But no matter, we decided to just take things slowly, follow the news and not do anything rash. We finished packing and went to sleep. We all woke up at seven in the morning and the airport was still closed. It wasn’t until eight in the morning that they told us that the airport was finally open, but no matter where we turned we got no news from home if our flight was on or not. We did managed finally to see that the flight from Keflavik had left and so we decided to hurry to the airport in case they would be flying out as well. When we got to the airport, caoz was everywhere and all we were told to do was get in the queue, but they didn’t tell us how long it was or what the purpose was of us queuing at all. We had to walk a kilometre before we found a gap in the queue for us to stand in. Right next to us was a wee shop where I managed to buy some coke for the group because we had no idea of how long we were going to be there. Still we tried to reach Icelandair, Leifsstöð or anyone that might have some answers to us. I managed to find a wheelchair with the help of a very helpful police officer for my mom which made the wait a bit more bearable for her but it was still very difficult for all of us. Finally, by pure chance we got a phoncall from an acquaintance of my brother who told us that the Icelandair flight was scheduled to depart very soon. So I had to try to find someone to tell us what we were to do, finally found a guy who told me that we had to get there asap! We managed at the very, very, very last moment to get to the desk to check in for our flight almost having a heart attack on the way, then we had to go almost half the way back again to get to the International flight terminal. We had to walk across an inside bridge where the windows had been covered up, but it didn’t mask the intense smell of petrol- and rubber burning. We were basically walking right by where the car had crashed into the airport, not a nice thing at all. We made it to the gate where we were placed in a bus that drove us the last few meters to the airplane. At the gate we were even reproached for being so late, I was really taken aback by that. That was some cheek of saying that after everything we went through to get there and we even got there on time, but there was no assistance, no help, no guidance from anyone were we were supposed to go. Later we even got the news that the office back in Iceland couldn’t even reach their staff at Glasgow airport and certainly the staff at the airport had no clue what was going on outside. I was furious. But we made it to the airplane and home and I have never been as glad to come home as I was on Sunday July 1st.

But it is no lie to say that this was a historic trip. The first terrorist attack in Scotland! And the funny thing was, you wouldn’t have known about it if you hadn’t turned on the television, because it just didn’t phase anyone. Everything was business as usual, no hysteria, no panic, no it’s-the-end-of-the-world speech you know by heart from the Americans. Everyone was just as cool as ever.
But the main thing was that no one died and only one person got injured (and we can argue how much or not he deserved it) but we can be grateful that nothing horribly bad happened.
This did nothing to mar the memory of my graduation either, it was a beautiful day, which will live that much longer in my memory because of the events that followed.

Hmmmm, about time I let you know I am still alive

2007-06-25T18:51:00.001Z

Yup, alive and kicking, mostly kicking on another website, but that one is in Icelandic so it is not for all to understand. There hasn't been much happening in my life since my birthday except I'M GRADUATING from the University of Glasgow on FRIDAY!!! I actually got my exam results a couple of weeks ago, so lazy me not writing about it sooner. I will be flying to Glasgow on Thursday and will be coming back home on Sunday, so, not a long trip, but essential. Today I also got great news for a nerd like me. At the graduation a Gaelic poet, Ruaraidh MacThómais is going to be receiving an honorary doctorate from the University. And right now, I feel like an idiot, going; ''Like, I'm gonna meet him, like, see him there like. Wow, like that would ever happen, I'm just like tickled pink to be there with him, when he gets that thing!"

I am so looking forward to friday, well, even just to thursday. Of getting back to Glasgow, I feel like I am going to THE land of retail therapy. I have been in such trouble with finding anything at all in the shops here, and no, it's not all for me. I have been trying to find birthday presents like the dickens (it's a phrase not an author of several celebrated books) here as well.

! But for your notice. Some of my close aquitances have been inquiring about this website. I am not going to make it sound as if I am so important that they broadcast the graduation just because it's me, but for anyone, who would like to enjoy the opportunity of seeing me being whacked on the head with a hat and lassoed with a scarf, please feel free to check this out:
Graduation 29th June 2007,
it's at 4 o'clock in the afternoon local time, and that would make it at 5 o'clock in Iceland.

An old, lazy git

2007-06-02T16:40:00.000Z

It was my birthday on May 24th, and thank you to all those who sent me birthdaygreetings. I just turned 28 and I don't know if I can accept that.
It turns out I am a lazy git so it can't be true. I had a long discussion about the subject with a friend of mine and she agrees. Time flies and it flies really fast sometimes as most of you can relate to so I have decided not to follow time anymore and just go after my own intuition.
So I can hardly say I am older than 22 or there abouts which suits me just fine and is more in tune with my mental growth as well.

And since I have already confessed of being lazy, it will come as no surprise that it is my excuse of not writing anyting worthwhile reading recently.
There hasn't been that much to write about, except maybe my birthday. Nothing much happened on my birthday itself. I went to work, and got home. Then I invited my mom and dad out for dinner at Lauga-ás, which serves the most delicious food ever. Then surprisingly I went to the cinema with my friend and got to see Pirates of the Caribbean At Wit's End .. ooops sorry, that's at World's End. Enjoyed it immensely.

But mom and I decided, and because of a lot of phonecalls from family, to have a little get-together on Sunday, because there was not other time available.
Everyone is so busy these days, and we no less. So mom and I spent the Saturday preparing our feast, turned out we were baking for nearly ten hours, but it was so much fun. Then Sunday came and a whole lot of people came to see me. It was wonderful to see them. I even got a few presents and they were all very nice and thoughtful.From mom and dad, I got a nice picture to hang in my bedroom, and I also got from them 3 dishes (a dinner plate, a soup dish and a dessert dish) to collect for a set. The dishes are beautiful, elegant and very tasteful. They are completely white with no decoration but are sooo beautiful. They are called Nimbus and are the second down, on the right;

From my brother and sister-in-law I got a set of salt and pepper grinder and it also included curry. From my grandmother I got a nice wee statue of the Gemini, who never knows in which direction to go.

I got a nice necklace from my uncle and his family, with a small piece of lava rock in it. A box of chocoalte from another uncle and his wife. And my friends Guðbjört and Margrét I got a very nice little bag and beautiful earrings, of white glass pearls. The party it self was wonderful. OOh, I can't forget to mention that we had a chocolate fountain running which was a big hit. Must mention that it might not be the best thing to have in a party where little people are. My five year old niece was basically wearing the chocolate after a short while. It was hilarious but worrying if she got to close to you, you could easily have been drowned in chocolate in one of her hugs.

All in all I was very happy and it was wonderful to see so many come.
Now all I do is worry about my exam results. They are likely to be published on Monday and now I am not so sure I want them anymore. I have been checking on Websurf nearly daily since beginning of May and I just don't tink I want to know how badly I did anymore. They should just have phoned all ready and said "there's not a chance in h"#$$ that you are going to be gratuating from this University!!!" not drag this out for so long. So as of yet, I don't know if I am going to Scotland in 4 weeks time for my graduation or a hell of a retail therapy trip.

Dumber and dumberer ... is Bush an idiot?

2007-05-16T16:34:00.000Z

Me likey

2007-05-15T19:22:00.001Z

Star Wars Horoscope for Gemini

Like most Geminis, you are a playful little creature.
You tend to be extremely curious, craving knowledge but sometimes having a short attention span.
For the most part, you are charming and loveable.
But at times, you can seem scattered and high-strung.

Star wars character you are most like: Ewoks

What Is Your Star Wars Horoscope?

Unbalanced

2007-05-11T20:17:00.000Z

It will probably not come as a surprise to many of you that I am unbalanced, but now I have the diagnosis from the doctor to confirm it as well. Yesterday, when I woke up and tried to rise up I knew something weird was going on. I managed to get up but I could barely walk, my legs were like jelly and I had no control over them. I managed to get to the doorframe and grab hold on it and from there to the bathroom where I almost keeled over. Cold sweat sprung forth all over my body and I felt terrible. I managed to get back to my bed where I laid down and couldn't move. If I tried to lie on either side it felt like being in a merry-go-round at a 100mph nonstop even with closed eyes. I did not feel well. Everytime I tried to move to take a sip of drink everything started moving so I decided to just lie there on my back and try to get my world under control. I managed to fall asleep until lunchtime. When I woke up I tried to sit up and went into the kitchen to try to get some more liquid into me. About twenty minutes later I went hurtling into the bathroom where I threw up everything I had had since waking up. Not fun. Mom called the doctor and he though I might have a touch of 'vertigo' (yup, like the Eurovision song from Malta), but he wanted to confirm it in case I needed some more doctoring (... like shaking). I went to the docotor and he said that I had most likely caught a virus that attacks my equilibrium and should get better in the next few days and I might expect another attack like the first one in 2- 3 weeks time when my equilibrium is healing again. It is sort of a self-adjusting mechanism that goes to work then. But right now, I am feeling better, I just have to take care when I get up and avoid any sudden movements or looking up or down. When I get ... I call it attacks or a touch of it ... I sort of get a touch of a headache and nausea so I just have to take things easy for a while, but I am not completely vegetated, I am alive and mostly functional.

Is this what is to come

2007-05-10T20:44:00.000Z

+15°C / 59°F
This is as warm as it gets in Iceland, so we'll start here.
People in Spain wear winter-coats and gloves.
The Icelanders are out in the sun, getting a tan.
+10°C / 50°F
The French are trying in vain to start their central heating.
The Icelanders plant flowers in their gardens.
+5°C / 41°F
Italian cars won't start.
The Icelanders are cruising in Saab cabriolets.
0°C / 32°F
Distilled water freezes.
The water in Hvita river gets a little thicker.
-5°C / 23°F
People in California almost freeze to death.
The Icelanders have their final barbecue before winter.
-10°C / 14°F
The Brits start the heat in their houses.
The Icelanders start using long sleeves.
-20°C / -4°F
The Aussies flee from Mallorca.
The Icelanders end their Midsummer celebrations. Autumn is here.
-30°C / -22°F
People in Greece die from the cold and disappear from the face of the earth.
The Icelanders start drying their laundry indoors.
-40°C / -40°F
Paris start cracking in the cold.
The Icelanders stand in line at the hotdog stands.
-50°C / -58°F
Polar bears start evacuating the North Pole.
The Icelanders navy postpones their winter survival training awaiting real winter weather.
-60°C / -76°F
Myvatn freezes.
The Icelanders rent a movie and stay indoors.
-70°C / -94°F
Santa moves south.
The Icelanders get frustrated since they can't store their Brennavinn outdoors.
The Icelanders navy goes out on winter survival training.
-183°C / -297.4°F
Microbes in food don't survive.
The Icelandic cows complain that the farmers' hands are cold.
-273°C / -459.4°F
ALL atom-based movement halts.
The Icelanders start saying "it's cold outside today."
-300°C / -508°F
Hell freezes over,
Iceland wins the Eurovision Song Contest.

Going / Coming home

2007-04-21T19:31:00.000Z

Finally, this academic year is finished or at least close to a finish. I still have to recieve my grades and graduate (hopefully). But I am going home tomorrow. I finished my exams on Wednesday and have been working my way up to packing and moving home for the summer. There isn't a whole lot to blog about here, not that much has happened while I was studying for exams and a whole lot less when actually taking them. Except it was quite thrilling when a studen's phone went off an hour into my last exam!!! Almost every single day I was studying for my exams the sun was shining outside my window and for a few days I even skived off studying. That was when my mom and dad dropped in for a few days to celebrate my dads birthday on April 13th. Yup, Friday 13th, and the date of the exam I dreaded the most, but actually turned out to be not so bad. It was truly nice to have them here and be able to assist them and do stuff with them and it was also very nice for them to be able to have a change of scenery for a while.
So I am going home tomorrow and I am unemployed for the moment as well. Possibly I even have to crawl back to my former boss and ask for a summer job if the job I was hoping for turns out to be a dead end for the next forseeable future although I do not doubt that it will become what it was meant to be someday. Until I have talked the to guy in charge I won't know if I will be going to work in the middle of nowhere at the post office. Stay tuned for updates.
I fly home tomorrow and should land sometime around noon. Can't wait to see my bed ... uuuh, family ... again.

Loosening tension

2007-04-17T20:02:00.000Z

My final exam is tomorrow and trying to relieve some of the tension for it I went on the interent to check for a few QI episodes and I found one so hilarious that I have to share it with you.

part 1

part 2

part 3

part 4

Enjoy!

Oh, what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day!

2007-04-03T08:19:00.000Z

Yes, I think I am in a pretty good mood today. Although I do have a mountain of work ahead of me. I am back in Glasgow after two weeks back home, and boy it has been interesting. Almost every single day I spent at home it snowed, blizzard conditions and worse sometimes. Now that I am back in Glasgow, I am roasting. The sun has been shining like crazy since I came here and the temperature has been 12°c and above. Beautiful, except that the sun pays me a rather roasting visit later in the day, which means that if I am trying to study I have to block it out with heavy curtains.
But the reason I am in this lovely mood today is the news I recieved yesterday in my inbox. I got an e-mail from the Postgraduate Service at the University where they were informing me that they have accepted my application for M.Litt in Scottish Medieval Studies for next year, which means: One more year of 'wha gie's it!, and 'hughie-ing' and 'haggis, neeps and tatties'
Anyways, I am thrilled, ecstatic, floating on air.

A few highlights from back home;
March 20th - Had a wonderful dinner at my friends, Hrafnhildur's place, where I had the chance of seeing my friend Guðný Stellu, who is the busiest freak I know. I also met Bryndísi and Þurý, the two chicks that came for a shopping trip in Glasgow, with Hrafnhildi, before Christmas and who are still paying their visa bills from then! Brilliant guys.
March 23rd - I went to the movies, even though I had to pay the exorbitant fee of 950kr (7 pounds+)for the ticket. Went to see 300 and oh, my god, I loved it. I got so caught up in it, I wasn't aware of anything around me. I want to see it again soon.
March 30th - Then last friday was the pinnacle of my stay back home, where I went with my friends, Hrafnhildi, Bryndísi and Þurý for a girls night out. We started by going to a Witch shop in the city center where we had two hour lecture on various methods of 'the craft', we had lovely chocolate cake and herbal tea, along with the 'elixir of love' brewed especially for us, Bryndís and I imbibed 2 shots of that brew, just for extra ooompf. Then we were let loose in the store, where I bought a sack of runes and instruction manual, plus a dreamsymbol. Something that is quite appropriate for me. The friends were mostly into buying the herbal tea stuff, which is not me, although I did enjoy the tea they offered us with the cake. Well, after this experience we made our way to Austur-Indía félagið (The East-India company) where we had the most scruptious dinner ever, loved it. I was near to bursting but I still refused to leave a morsel left on my plate. Oooh, it was good. Then, as if this wasn't enough we went to The Celtic Cross, appropriate isn't it, a lovely wee pub on Hverfisgata where we had one cocktail. Again, I nearly had a heart attack because of the price, I was expected to pay for a wee (although wonderful) cocktail; 1300kr (10 pounds!), yikes. I just find it amazing that anyone ever goes out in Iceland to get sloshed. It's almost cheaper to just be a tea-totaller, although that can be expensive as well. But I had a lovely time, and my friends assured me that we will try something else and something just as fun during the summer. Can't wait. Guys, thanks for a lovely time, it was wonderful.

I'm home!

2007-03-16T22:22:00.000Z

Oh, it is soooo gooood to be home again. Can't wait to go to sleep in my own bed again, because I am dead tired. When I came home Iceland was covered with snow. Beautiful to see from the airplane but not so nice when you had to drive through it, with cars zig-zagging in front of you, splashing the windscreen with slush. But we made it home in one piece. +
I am writing this blog on my mom's computer because mine is at my brother's. He is transferring all of my data from my old computer over to my new one. So I feel sort of alone right now. I sort of don't really know what to do, I want to start studying, because I have become so used to being studying all the time that I don't know how to do anything else anymore. But I really should also learn to take a well deserved break for a while now. I will still have enough time to study for my exams.
I am also trying to get used to my new glasses, there are still a few kinks I have to work out about them. I have to take them in for fine tuning soon, because they sit quite low on my nose, so that it irritates me and later in the day I get tired wearing them, because they sit to tight at my right temple. So right now I am sitting in my room with my sunglasses on because they don't hurt. It sounds so crazy writing about wearing sunglasses when it is snowing outside, but sometimes it is necessary.
Anyways, am thrilled to be back home. Hope I get the chance to see as many as possible and managed to study hard as well.

My exam timetable

2007-03-12T23:29:00.000Z

It is finally here and it is a good one.

Medieval Welsh literature in translation - Tuesday 10.April, 9:30 - 11:30 in Hunter Hall East

Advanced Early Gaelic texts - Friday 13.April, 9:30 - 11:30 in Hunter Hall West

Medieval Welsh texts: Poetry - Monday 15.April 9:30 - 11:30 in The Bute Hall

Introduction to Medieval Welsh - Wednesday 18.April 9:30 - 11:30 in Hunter Hall West

What an irony it is that the exam I am most dreading is on the Friday 13th, but I am hoping that becuase it also happens to be my dads birthday that it will counter every bad thing ever said about this day. But this also means that I will be extra early home this year!!! I can't wait.

Breathing again

2007-03-12T19:20:00.000Z

I almost feel like I am able to breath again. This past week has just been getting weirder and weirder, but finally I am seeing for the end of it. I must stay, I am so thankful for having friends here in Glasgow, I don't know how I would have been yesterday if it hadn't been for my friend Árdísi. We had gone for a walk to Byres road for just a short shopping. On the way we had a bit of rain so when we reached Subway I was trying to wipe my glasses ... and they broke. I was blind. If she hadn't been there I would probably have sat down on the middle of the floor and howled. We managed to walk back home, she had to almost guide me across streets, because I wasn't too sure about up's and down's and un-evens, but we made it. Because I couldnt' see anything I couldn't find my spare glasses at my flat. But I obviuosly needed new glasses or at least try to get these ones fixed so I headed into the city center and luckyly Árdís came with me. They couldn't fix my glasses so I needed to have a new pair made. So I ended up being blind for up to four hours, and boy does it hurt. Thankfully, when I had picked out glasses and frames it only took just over half an hour to have them made so I just took a nap in the store because my eyes and head were hurting something bad at that stage. So now I have new specs, kind of cool, but I am still getting used to them, and I will probably try to have my old pair repaired. The company is still making them and they have a lifetime guarantee on them so it should be possible.
So you can probably guess that at that stage I was stressed and panicked out of my head, because I had only intended for an hour break from study yesterday and then this happened. So I had to rush home and finish two essays and my M.Litt application form and organize to do all sorts of things for the next few days, because I am coming home on Friday.
Boy am I rambling, you should all get a degree if you have understood a thing I have just written down.
But today, everything has been going according to plan. I did my laundry, made inquiries about my accommodations offer for next year, printed out my last essay, walked to Uni, handed in 1 homework and 2 essays, went to get my transcripts from the previous years to hand in with my applicaiton for M.Litt next year, did that, returned my library books and then headed into the cinty center.
Finally then am I getting my bearings and starting to de-stress a bit. Now the fun stuff begins, as in exams period.

Conclusion

2007-03-09T23:54:00.000Z

How the hell am I supposed to be able to write a conclusion for an essay, that I don't even understand. I don't even know how I managed to write the crap I did. I won't promise that it makes any sense, but I just so want this to be over. It is supposed to be 2000 words plus, that is not the problem. I reached 2000 words no biggie, but not going over 3000 is going to be. If I start one subject, I feel I can write a book about it, or at least more than I need and want in my essay, and if I leave stuff out I just feel that the essay isn't long enough. Arrrgh! This is hairpullingly frustrating. Ah ha! I am such a sad person, now I am inovating and using rhetoric, but writing about it is crap. Sometimes it is no fun being a nerd.

But I shouldn't be fealing like this. I am going home in a week and I just got a new computer. I named her Delline, which I think is just right. My little baby. As some of you might guess it is a Dell computer and all cute and cuddly. See, this is my idea of a pet. I don't need a dog or a cat. When I am an old lady I will be the one across the street with all those weird gadgets and not the one with the collection of cats.

Anway, I should get back to my essay, I promised myself I would try to finish the essay tonight so that I could try to finish some of the other stuff I have lying about waiting for my attention. Also I am thinking of staying up late to watch two episodes of the old Star Trek episodes. They are hilarious .... in a sort of sad way.

Tell me my fortune

2007-03-05T09:58:00.000Z

Sometimes you can't help but go over your horscope. Most of the time it is complete crap, but this time it was just brilliant. Now I am going to do my damndest to translate it into english; because this should be shared with as many as possible. Taken from Morgunblaðið, March 5th 2007.
Gemini (21.may - 20.june)

'You have been spending quite a lot of money recently.

But if you had bought everything you wanted

and done everything you wished to do,

you would have spent a lot more.

So, in fact, you come out richer!'

Soemthing like that anyway.
Here is the Icelandic version:
Tvíburi (21. maí - 20. júní)

'Þú hefur verið svolítil eyðslukló nýverið.

En ef þú hefðir eytt í allt sem þig langaði til að kaupa

eða gera hefðir þú eytt miklu meira.

Þannig að í raun kemur þú út í plús!.

How can you argue with such logic.
So no matter what I buy, because I always want to buy more than I do, I should not feel bad for spending all that money, because I will always be better off anyway. That works for me.

Maybe there is no wonder why I am a bachelorette

2007-03-03T23:24:00.000Z

The funny thing is that a while ago a friend of mine hoodwinked me into joining a blog-group of single women. It must be said that the blog is not working terribly well, as no one has written anything there for months. Now, I thought me being a bachelorette was because I am just too preoccupied with myself and my studying, last night I got a strange feeling it is not just that. My friend Árdís and I, went to a party last night hosted at the Central Service building for those living at Queen Margaret Halls and Winton Drive. It was quite good, and at the bar you got two drinks for the price of one. Not bad at all.
A small joke in Icelandic following; Árdís þurfti náttúrulega að reyna að vera fyndin og sagði að af því að ég væri búin með tvo Smirnoff Ice-a þá gæti ég sagt öllum að ég hefði dottið í það. Hún er alltaf að gera gys að mér að ég drekk ekki nóg, eða allavegana ekki mikið.
Anyways, back to english. My friend ran out of cigaretts so, because I am such a kind person decided to take a walk with her to the corner 24h shop on Byres road. On they way there I was moaning about the fact that I really wanted a new computer. I actually need a new computer, but it was all about delivery time, if I ordered a new one on the internet it would take 10 working days for it to be delivered and I will be leaving before that, therefor not a good option, so I didn't want to take the chance. Well the conversation faded away into something else. And on the way back she was telling me about a new guy her friend had in her sights, good for her. But, I, at apparently not the right moment burst out saying; 'but I really really want a new computer!'
My friend had a laughing fit over the fact that while she was discussing guys, I was obsessing about a computer. So maybe, there is a reason why I am still a bachelorette. I just hope that there is some hope for me, and that when I finally get my new computer will maybe look more around about me and see if any cute guy is sitting near me with a fancy computer too.
What a nerd!

Amazing and exciting

2007-02-28T23:08:00.000Z

I did a pretty amazing thing on Monday, or so I think at any rate. I sat down around noon and started my second essay and around dinner time I had actually finished it. 2000 words ... no biggie! It was actually a pretty interesting essay that I felt just clicked. Amazing ... since handing in that dissertation horror of 10.000 words, writing 2000, now, seems almost like not enough.
Today, I went to an M.Litt information meeting and boy, am I excited. I really, really want to take Medieval Scottish Studies, and I have possibly the opportunity to take Old Norse with it. That should be fun and strange. But I am just so interested in it and Dauvit Brown is just the nicest man ever to talk to. He was very interested in my ambition of going back home to Iceland to spread the word and translate old irish and welsh tales. I must say I am very interested in it as well, and can hardly wait for my opportunity to really dig into it for real. It is like my motto ought to say; A rof i a Duw, mi yw da! [Between me and God, I am good!] Ok, a small inside joke. That A rof i a Duw is a very popular sentence in Welsh tales! And I mean VERY POPULAR.

Þorrablót

2007-02-25T21:52:00.000Z

Oh, boy, it was sooooo good to be able to go out yesterday and not worry about work. Although I do worry about school work continually these days, I decided to leave all that behind at home. No time for that now. My friend Árdís and I made our way to Edinburgh yesterday to attend the Icelandic Society's yearly Þorrablót festival, with good food (depends on your taste) and good people (also depends on your taste). It was amazing to get Icelandic food again, it is not long since I was at home for a short stop, about two weeks, but in those two weeks I had worked up an appetite. And for dessert they gave us Skyr, ooo it was like being in heaven. I couldn't resist munching on a bit of dried fish but it didn't go well with my stomach so I grabbed the nearest bottle of Brennivín and after a short while my stomach was fine again. Brennivin cures everything (if taken in moderation). And then the singing started and all the fun that went with it. Also, there was quite a bit of dancing, and even I joined in. Imagine that. Although, the only music I actually moved at all to was the music that had enough beat and rythm for my to move my hips, which are almost the only moveable bodyparts I possess. But it was oh so much fun, but almost inevitably my leg did give out in the end and I didn't move much after that. During the evening we did part-take of the traditional Brennivín but didn't imbibe on it, so no worries there, only managed about 6 shots during the whole evening, but I still made it back to Glasgow in one piece. Because we stayed so late, we had to take the bus back to Glasgow and didn't arrive back until shortly after 1 o'clock in the morning. I didn't go to bed until 3 o'clock.

Guilt

2007-02-19T23:01:00.000Z

If I didn't know better I would think I was Catholic. I am riddled with guilt. I can not go out of the house without suffering from pangs of guilt of not staying at home studying. I can not watch television or read a book without regretting my few minutes of escape from studying. Even when I go to sleep I am constantly thinking about school work. This is so un-characteristic of me it is frightful. Usually I have no problem of talking myself into doing stuff other than studying. All of a sudden I am Hermione Granger. Help!
I nearly finished a Welsh Poetry work on Friday and I finished an essay for Old Irish today. Managed to find and read sources for it on Friday and Saturday and I started writing the actual essay yesterday, although the main body of the essay arrived today. Boy was it difficult. At one moment I actually felt like I was going to faint, so I ran outside for some air. Not a pleasant fealing.
I can not wait until I can convince myself that I can very easily not do anything school related work for a few hours. Which will probably be on Wedensday, hopefully I will be going to the cinema then and I know that I will not be working too long on Saturday because I have to go to Edinburgh for the annual Þorrablót at the Icelandic society.
Well, I am thinking of hitting the sack right now. It is just 11pm which will give me about an hour to shut my brains off and get to sleep. Hopefully!

An interesting discovery

2007-02-04T22:42:00.000Z

It is Sunday night and I am bored. So I made an interesting discovery. Since my computer crashed just before I came back to Glasgow in January I have had a very difficult time playing any sort of internet games, so I have stopped trying. Which clears up a lot of my time. I have since been concentrating on my studies and I found this out. Old Irish gives me a headache! It really literally and physically gives me a headache. Middle Welsh does not and now I know why. When I am translating Middle Welsh I know where to find the words in the glossary. When I see a word that starts with a o, I know that it doesn't necessarily begin with an o, but it only has three possibilities. It can either be an o, or c or g and nothing else. A word that begins with a u most likely doesn't start with a u, it could start with either a b or a m. Same as with the afore mentioned word. Not much trouble. And that is the extent of the headachy thing about Welsh everything else is quite straight forward. Old Irish not so clearcut. You find the word nírbo and you would think to look under n, but no that doesn't work. You either have to look it up under a:tá or is. The word do*raga is under do*tét and dos*fucaid you can find that under do*beir. There is no set rule on where to find a word in Old Irish, because it can go through so many changes depending on compound particles (words, or letters from more than one word, added to a word) to make up a new one. If almost every other word you are looking up in a dictionary gives you this kind of trouble wouldn't most people be suffering from a migrane.

Not bad!

2007-02-04T00:26:00.000Z

You scored as Blue. Your heart is blue. You are a very calm and relaxed person. You are very caring and like helping others. You're grateful for what you have in life, even if it's not perfect. People love you for who you are, don\'t ever change that- it's what makes you the great person that you are.

Blue

82%

Yellow

82%

Pink

79%

Purple

36%

Green

21%

Black

11%

Red

11%

White

Orange

~What colour is your heart?~
created with QuizFarm.com

In shock

2007-01-26T00:10:00.000Z

I am in shock right now. At least I think I am. I am apparently too numb to actually be aware of the shock. I think I just finished my dissertation. I don't know what to do now.
I have been working on it and thinking about it constantly for more than a year now, so I feel almost like an orphin now. I don't know where I belong. I just finished putting on the finishing touches to it. I probably have something more to do, but at the moment I don't know what. I have been working on it from 8 o'clock tonight and I didn't even realize what time it was until I closed the draft12.doc, 10 minutes to 12 o'clock. I was so absorbed in my work I hardly even took notice of Mock the Week, even though I specifically put my alarm clock on so that I wouldn't miss it. Now that is bad.
My dissertation ended up being 9670 words + bibliography of about 300 words. That is not bad.
I came home today in another shock. Clarie and I were almost reduced to tears in Medieval Welsh Poetry class today, when we realised what amount of homework we face for next week. But I feel a bit better now that I have finished the dissertation. That clears a lot of space from my calander. But for Tuesday I have to translate a page (about 40 lines) of middle Welsh text, for Wednesday I have to translate a page (ca. 40 lines as well) of Old Irish text and Thursday is the killer. I have to translate a poem Y Dref Wen (The white town), thankfully a short poem, but the teacher is actually wanting us to do some work on it of our own, and refused to give us a wordlist. How can I put this delicately. SHIT!

A note on the poem! The first line looks like this;
Y dref wenn ym bronn y coet
Now we know that y dref whenn means the white town, but also, from today I know that bronn means chest or breast. I am almost certain that the line is not 'The white town in the breast of the forest'. So I am hoping that bronn can be a middle of something as well, as in 'The white town in the middle of the forest'. We will see.

Burns Night

2007-01-24T17:15:00.000Z

"Tae a Fert"

Oh what a sleekit horrible beastie.
Lurks in yer belly efter a feastie.
Just as you sit doon among yer kin,
There starts to stir an enormous wind.

The neeps and tatties and mushy peas,
Stert workin like a gentle breeze.
But soon the puddin' wi the sauncie face,
Will have you blawin all over the place.

Nae matter whit ye try tae dae,
A'bodys gonnae have to pay.
Even if ye try to stifle,
It's like a bullet oot a rifle.

Hawd yer bum tight tae the chair,
Tae try and stp the leakin' air.
Shift yersel frae cheek to cheek,
Pray tae God it doesnae reek.

But aw yer efforts go assunder,
Oot it comes - a clap o' thunder.
Ricochets around the room,
Michty me, a sonic boom!

God almighty it fairly reeks,
Hope I huvnae pooed ma breeks!
Tae the loo I better scurry,
Aw who cares, its no ma worry.

A'body roon about me chokin,
Wan or two are nearly bokin.
I'll feel better for a while,
Cannae help but raise a smile.

"Wis him!" I shout with accusin glower,
Alas too late, he's just keeled ower!
"Ye dirty thing!" they shout and stare,
I don't feel welcome any mair.

Where ere you go let yer wind gang free,
Sounds like just the job fur me.
Whit a fuss at Rabbie's party,
Ower the sake o' wan wee ferty!!

I am going to a Burns night and ceilidh! Ligga ligga lái!!!