It`s all in the feeling

What makes a season for me has always been the smell. I love the smell of rain on dry asphalt, of pollen (I guess that`s what the Spring smell is), of freshly cut grass, of clear Autumn air and rotting leaves, the smell of fresh snow and of melting snow and rotting grass. They all smell like a season. But then you have the smells that belong to seasons as well. Smell of ski wax, of oranges and cinnamon and of sunscreen.

I haven`t worn long pants or tights in three weeks, I think, even though it isn`t actually that warm outside. But when I`m actually just inside my office and always have a sweater or silk scarf close by, then it works wonderfully.

Summer upgrades this far:

Summer 1.0: sun bathing during Easter

Summer 1.1: BBQ in Horten

Summer 1.2: always bring shades

Summer 2.0: shorts or skirt every day

New upgrade:

Summer 2.1: changed my usual lotion with sunscreen. It moistiourizes and smells like summer

I <3 katykelley.tumblr.com

I have mentioned her before, I’ll do it again. These were just lovely enough to repost.

Most of all, this is just a beautiful picture. I would have loved to see the rest of this ballet.

This is a genius idea! A cup with room for cookies! And it’s the cookie monster 🙂

Biology nerd meets music nerd. Just my cup of tea.

I will not say how many people I know that fall into this definition of nerd 😉

Saving

You know my best method of saving money? Being so busy that I don’t have time to go shopping. Not even window shopping, because I literally only spend time at the office and in my bed, sleeping. This is what I would have bought, had I had the time to roam the shops:

 

 

And a nice pair of colorful, chunky, high heels

And a dead tough jacket like this one

or this one (both Burberry)

I think it is wise that I don’t have time to stop by that part of town with the shops that deal Burberry and that I rather spend my time working and earning some money…

Self-repair manifesto

As you know, I fix m own car. Both because my father only gave it to me (yes, he gave it to me, I’m spoiled) for me to learn how to fix cars and because it is terribly expensive if anyone else should do it. A friend gave me this manifesto:

You can find it in a larger version here. I really recommend reading the whole thing.

What it’s all about? That it’s better to fix it than to buy something new. That it is cheaper and better for the environment. That you learn something by fixing it and that you care for something you have fixed and that you know how works. It has to do with sense of ownership and responsibility. I think it’s the same for clothes, boats, cabins and electronic equipment, if you have participated in restoring it, you will feel ownership for it and wish to keep it working and whole. The fact that all small things (especially electronics) have no guarantee past two years totally destroys this. You are not allowed to try to fix it yourself. You are not allowed to open it and look inside. And you should not expect anything to last more than two years. Even though it costed a small fortune. I hate the thought of having to buy new stuff every second year. I’m the kind of person who mends her clothes and waxes her leather shoes. Take responsibility, be curious and FIX YOU STUFF YOURSELF! 🙂

Sex roles

I got this quote off this blog:

“Would the abortion debate be a different landscape if, every time two people had sex, it was a surprise who might end up pregnant?”

I don’t know if she had women’s rights, abortion laws or just philosophy in mind, but I just thought of the biological implications, the surprise part. Or rather, how it would affect parental investment. The reason why female humans are pregnant, is because already from the beginning they have more to loose. An ovule is very much larger than sperm and so from the start, a female has put much more energy into the offspring. Depending on how much care the young need, the parental investment can be large or small.

But just a few facts before I continue. Most of the animals on this earth leave their young to care for themselves. It is quite uncommon to be a parent at all. After that, most animals with a spine (just like us) live in water and of those who do look after their young, most of them are fishes and there the male cares for the young. Or maybe both, but then in equal amounts. So don’t think that female humans are pregnant just because all females are pregnant.

Because we were stupid enough to leave the water, we still need to keep out eggs wet. But when frogs keeps their eggs in the water and birds make shells to keep the water from evaporating, we just keep the eggs inside us. But what if we exchanged heritable material on the outside and the one individual in better condition was the one to be pregnant? That sounds much smarter to me. But then everybody needed to be able to make both kinds and basically be hermaphrodites (have two complete sets of reproduction apparatuses).

Over to abortion debate. I think the debate definitely would have been different if both could be pregnant and you never knew who it would be. But I don’t think it has that much to do with guys being pregnant, but rather that both sides could be. Now it is an issue because girls always get pregnant, they always end up paying the price (in time, not money necessarily). And everything is different because of it. Imagine if guys could get pregnant if raped. Or that the rapist (no matter the sex) could get pregnant? Right now it is impossible to separate the effects of being pregnant and the effects of being a girl on your life (just hear statistics talking here), so it would revolutionize our legal system, parent’s rights to their children and everything.

Now you just think about that for a moment.

What to do

Fordi man kan kjede seg selv når man jobber (og ikke bare når man leser til eksamen), så bladde jeg meg litt bakover i bloggen min og i mars kom jeg over en gjøreliste. Gjørelista var lang som et vondt år og da jeg leste gjennom kom jeg fram til en del ting som jeg fremdeles ikke har gjort, to måneder etter. Heldigvis var det noen som hadde endret seg også.

  • ringe gruppeledere om roverhjelp
  • stramme brillene mine
  • gjøre DNA-ekstraksjon pÃ¥ 100 prøver
  • apoteket
  • middag pÃ¥ Emilies med Pia
  • jobbe for Kristian sÃ¥ jeg fÃ¥r penger
  • jobbe med GeneMapper
  • sende Norrønabuksa mi pÃ¥ reparasjon
  • sy nye merker pÃ¥ speiderskjorta mi og leirbÃ¥lskappa
  • vaske gulvet
  • kjøpe ny ryggsekk
  • kjøpe nye vindusviskere, kalipperpakninger, motorolje og sÃ¥nn ting osm man tar av oljefiltere med
  • fÃ¥ oversatt all prøvene mine fra russisk/kyrillisk
  • trene to ganger i uka!

Dette er alt jeg skal gjøre. Jeg har seks uker på meg. Det kommer til å gå kjempefint. Nemlig.

Snapshots of life

This was inside a bus stop in Trondheim. The two other pictures are from here.

This made me smile.

While this made me sad. And guilty. I am definitely too young to feel this tired. The people around me keep reminding me too slow down, but I never seem to manage. An I know very well that I can’t keep up this pace forever.

Airports

This is a wonderful article about airports. About airports you say? Well, on what should really be in an airport. Lonely Planet had this thing where they asked what people would most like to find in an airport and some of the suggestions I totally agree with. I have travelled both far and often the last couple of years and there are some things I don’t understand why they don’t have.

These are a mixture of my own thoughts and ideas from the article, just so you know.

Places to sleep. Not just a hard chair, but ordinary beds. When you have travelled from early in the morning (or late in the night), you have changed between airports and planes for more than 14 hours (easy if you want to go from Trondheim to anywhere not very central in Europe) and you are dead tired. Just think about how nice it would have been to have a decent place to lie down. With an alarm clock and maybe even a possibility to charge you phone/computer/iPod/whatever.

Thats the second thing. When you travel for meetings you usually bring more electronic equipment than garments, and all you need is somewhere to charge it all. And it is impossible to find. I have myself swapped well hidden secrets of where to find a place to charge your phone in what airport with equally well traveled friends.

The third is a bathroom. Not just a toilet, but a shower. A real shower. Having the possibility to brush your teeth and wash your hair. Someone in the Lonely Planet article suggested a hairdresser and barber. I would definitely like that. In Singapore they have a spa at the airport. I wouldn’t mind being pampered with if I had five hours in an airport between two 11 hour flights.

In the article someone had also wondered why there are no grocery stores in airports. I have no idea? Is it because you earn so much more by having a restaurant? There are many more things that would have been nice. A quiet place. Good sofas and good light, not only for those with lounge rights. A library. Internet cafés of course (at least free internet).

Just think about it. It would have made life so much better.

Parade, top – down

I spent 17. May, our constitution day at the office, but as the office is in the city centre, the parade came to me, without asking me for permission. So this is the parade seen through my phone and the window of my office. As you can see, marching bands are a big part of it 😉

They look different from the 2nd floor.

 

 

Children with flags are also important. Maybe even more than marching bands.

At the end of the day, I was lured away from my office and ended up in my traditional costume (bunad) after all.

For the gentlemen

I am really into fashion, but I don’t follow the trends constantly. And I like more to find things that suits my form than the fashions. As I have written before, I help friends go shopping now again when they need something new. And as I am quite the observer (at least when it comes to fashion) I also have an eye out for the gentlemen. I know a guy or two who might have use for some inspiration.

All the pictures are from Guerreisms. This is for the guy who wants to look decent, but not boring. Who wouldn’t mind an edge to his look. If you don’t feel as comfortable with hats, ties or preppy clothing as these do, see it a detail or two could turn your look. (and ask me if you want to 😉 )

Hat, double buttoned jacket, suspenders, bow-tie, high waist.

Contrast between suspenders, tie and shirt. Tie clip as a fine detail.

You don’t need strict lines and suits to look stylish. And colour has never hurt anyone.

Colours, details, match or don’t.

Combine patterns as here with checkered pocket square and striped tie.

You don’t have to look like a peacock, but jeans and sweat shirt will grow old in the end.

Coastal

So, I live in Trondheim, and as Trondheim is a coastal city, it has coastal weather. And because it is quite far into the fjord (Trondheimsfjorden) the weather is quite changing. A normal person in Trondheim will most of the year wear a gore tex jacket (or something that is water and wind proof) and sensible shoes (that can withstand water, frost, slippery ground of many sorts etc).

This is a prime example (sunshine in the front, dark clouds and heavy rain just over the fjord, coming our way, lots of wind). Photo taken with my camera. As you can see, not all summery temperatures in the far North these days. Just as well that I have to stay inside studying for exams.

Cyrillic FTW

I have already mentioned that I have to translate sample labels from Cyrillic in order to understand where the samples from Russia really are from. Here are some shots that my supervisor, Kristian Hassel, took while in Russia that I have selected that will give you an insight into the life of a master in systematics…

I love this next picture mostly because it has IZBORSK in it. As Borsk it one of my nick names back home 🙂

I have heard that someone here at the Museum is actually quite good at handwritten Cyrillic. Might come in handy…

My second favorite Russian location: Ayulyuyuzyuk (I didn’t know it was possible to put that many y’s in one word)

Little blown paper bags with moss (or really Bryophytes, moss is only one group of three in the taxa Bryophytes) in them are my life, and will be for a while. But they are definitely more fun when they are from Russia or Alaska.

Sara

Two weeks ago I did a little trip of Eastern Norway (Østlandet, as we say). Not only did I have myself a little BBQ on my parent’s terrace but I also visited Sara in Horten. And as Sara is one of my sweetest friends, she had a party in my honor. Nobody has ever made a party just for me before 🙂 Sara loves dressing up, dresses and shoes just as much as I do, so it was bound to be a good night.

All the pictures are from her Flickr site.

Saturday after I arrived we did some mandatory tanning
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We had company

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We are both the kinds of girls that talk a lot, smile a lot and laugh a lot.

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Sara did our nails. I’m wondering if I should actually buy some nail polish. I always feel so accomplished when wearing it.

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I had a new dress (bought in Germany btw) and even though it was maybe a bit over dressed we decided that I had to wear it anyway (it was new!). I love it. It is quite daring, but wonderful. And it has an open back, which I absolutely adore.

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Sara wore a wonderful flowered minidress and nude heels. I want a pair of those 🙂

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I met a ton of wonderful people. They all study at Høyskolen i Vestfold, mostly in Horten.

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I had bought a bottle of bubbly for the occation

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The party started off in Sara’s kitchen (as any decent student party)

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Hers are the yellow, mine are the pink (surprise!)

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All the pretty people

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BTW Sara has an Ida, just like I have a Tone, this is Ida (she is wonderful as well)

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It was a good party. It ended a bit messy, but I hope that Sara in time will forgive me. I love you, Sara! This autumn she will come visit me in Trondheim during UKA (the four week long student festival) in October. I can’t wait!

Stormberger

Jeg er jo over middels speidernerd og med mitt nye verv i Komité Speiding i Norges Speiderforbund, så får jeg ikke bare med meg mesteparten av det som skjer i speider-Norge, jeg får egentlig med meg alt. Jeg følger også med på hovedsamarbeidspartnerene våre (vi har flere) og en av dem er Stormberg. Det kule med samarbeidet med Stormberg er egentlig at de ikke samarbeider med NSF fordi vi er mye ute i skogen og er på tur, men fordi de liker formålsparagrafen vår.

“Norges speiderforbunds formÃ¥l er Ã¥ utvikle mennesker til selvstendighet og til Ã¥ ta aktivt ansvar i samfunnet i samsvar med idealene fra speiderløftet og speiderloven.”

Det har faktisk ikke noe med friluftsliv Ã¥ gjøre. I Speiderloven og i speidermetoden sÃ¥ er friluftsliv sentralt, men egentlig skal vi lage selvstendige og ansvarsbevisste mennesker. Det er vel derfor jeg fremdeles er med i speideren, fordi man “lager” bra mennesker.

Men altså, Stormberg. Steinar J. Olsen, sjef og gründer i Stormberg, har skrevet en bok, Stormberger, som kom ut i våres.

Etter å ha lest noen anmeldelser så kjenner jeg at jeg gjerne skulle lest denne boka. Jeg får se om jeg kan finne den noe sted. Og så kjenner jeg en gründer eller to som kanskje også kunne hatt godt av å lese denne boka. Kanskje noen sivilingeniører også? Jeg tror at det er mulig å gjøre en slik innsats i samfundet som Stormberg gjør. Ved å være åpne om produksjonen i Kina, jobbe med levelønn i Kina, ansette folk med gode evner og dårlig rykte og en del initiativ de har tatt på resirkulering av klær og annet så har de startet en helt ny type bedrift. Jeg liker at de bryr seg. Jeg liker at de ikke bare gir penger til barna i Afrika som alle andre, men at de både tar ansvar i Norge og i andre deler av verden.

Noe av det jeg synes vi har mest forbedringspotensiale på i Norges Speiderforbund og i speidingen i Norge er nettopp å ta samfunnsansvar i Norge. Ikke bare samle inn penger til Afrika (og andre steder), men tørre å ta tak i problemområder i Norge. Det er litt vanskeligere å finne noen som trenger deg og å finne ut hva du kan gjøre (for det sitter ikke underernærte barn på gata og trenger vann og medisiner), men vi vet alle at Norge er ikke perfekt. Det er mange ensomme mennesker i Norge. Det er mange som ikke har noen. Det er mange barn i Norge som lever i fattigdom. Eller med omsorgsvikt. Det er mange grupper som kunne trengt en ressurssterk person som et fast holdepunkt i et ellers turbulent liv.

Jeg mener det er viktig å være med på noe som er større enn seg selv. Både for å føle at man bidrar, for å vite at noen har det bedre på grunn av deg og for å utfordre seg selv og aldri glemme hvor godt man har det. Men kanskje også for å se at det er lov til å be om hjelp og at det er lov til å få trøst.

Friday

Yesterday ended up as 100% wonderful. I finally had my first exam for this semester and I did really well. Then I prepared studying for my next exam, molecular biology. At 14 I left the office and the rest of the day consisted of picnic blanket, two bottles of champagne (both real and cava), 66 strawberries, chicken and pasta salad, “Tro, hÃ¥p og kjærlighet” at Trøndelag theater and music.

This next week I will be studying every day (as everybody else), but I have dinners, game nights and fun every night, so I think it will end up being a good week. And after that, I will be standing in the lab every day until I’m finished with all the lab work for my master thesis. Oh joy.

1%-rule

I learn new things every day. I especially love to learn things from all my nerdy friends, because they teach me things I would never have known without their help. Now I have learned this:

You know what this is? This is the 1%-rule. It states that only 1% of those who use internet communities create anything there, 9% edit what is already there and the remaining  90% are lurkers. A friend mentioned it because we talked about wikipedia, and then I thought that it is true for blogs as well. I follow a whole lot of blogs, but don’t comment on any of them. And then I wondered how many who reads this one, and don’t comment. It just shows that even though the internet is a wonderful creation, it is a very different way of participating in public life.