COP: a feel

the lonely wolf is out of oslo and into copenhagen. københavn!
I have re-explored the city and christiania. still no tivoli, but it will be open when I return with SUST. I love this city. Def a fave. Its like Oslo, but cubed. CUBED!
Except for the prices, which are halved. And no forest.
But CUBED!

Only one day here though, I leave tomorrow early in the morning for Vienna.

bruce

Well I never thought I'd say it. I think it had to do with my connecting Reagan with "Born in the U.S.A." Springsteen resided in my mind somewhere between Reagan and John Candy and friends singing "I was born in the U.S.A." repeatedly in Canadian Bacon.


But then my misconceptions had to be ruined. Sometime in the last year or so a friend lent me a copy of Nebraska. I loved it.


Then I actually bought (bought!) a copy of Darkness on the Edge of Town. I loved that too.



Last night and today I've been listening to Born to Run.

In the day we sweat it out in the streets of a runaway American dream
At night we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines
Sprung from cages out on highway 9,
Chrome wheeled, fuel injected
and steppin' out over the line
Baby this town rips the bones from your back
It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap
We gotta get out while we're young
`Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run

Wendy let me in I wanna be your friend
I want to guard your dreams and visions
Just wrap your legs 'round these velvet rims
and strap your hands across my engines
Together we could break this trap
We'll run till we drop, baby we'll never go back
Will you walk with me out on the wire
`Cause baby I'm just a scared and lonely rider
But I gotta find out how it feels
I want to know if love is wild
girl I want to know if love is real

Beyond the Palace hemi-powered drones scream down the boulevard
The girls comb their hair in rearview mirrors
And the boys try to look so hard
The amusement park rises bold and stark
Kids are huddled on the beach in a mist
I wanna die with you Wendy on the streets tonight
In an everlasting kiss

The highway's jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive
Everybody's out on the run tonight
but there's no place left to hide
Together Wendy we'll live with the sadness
I'll love you with all the madness in my soul
Someday girl I don't know when
we're gonna get to that place
Where we really want to go
and we'll walk in the sun
But till then tramps like us
baby we were born to run

Goddam it, I officially am a fan of Bruce Springsteen.


I blame Bri, Aaron, and the Hold Steady.

BTW, the last of those three's Boys and Girls in America has received the most spins on my I-Pod over here.

jeg studerer ikke norsk

So, I suppose I have a big update for y'all.

Lots of ups and downs over here. Tim, the program director, was gone for 10 days so I was in charge. I thought it went pretty well, all things considered (and there was a lot to consider). He is back now, which I am thankful for.

We have our break coming up next week. I'm very much looking forward to getting out of Oslo. I've felt pretty cooped up here. It will be fun to explore Prague and Vienna for the first times, and re-connect with my old fave Copenhagen.

I've decided to shift a few things in my life here. The workload between TAing and my norwegian language classes has been more than I anticipated it being. I'm also finding that both are demanding ever greater amounts of my time. Now, I don't have a huge social life here or anything, but it has been difficult. Part of the difficulty lies in having to do norsk after long days with SUST. I'm doing TA related work for 7-8 hours, then study for norsk and have dinner at my office, then go to Norwegian class for two hours. I do this three days a week, being on campus for about 12 hours, plus I work three more days part time. I've had this kind of work load all last year and mostly loved it. I was really looking forward to having more free time here, though. I feel like my work load has contributed to my not being happy with my life here. Plus, I don't really like studying language. It is tough to devote energy to norsk, and even more difficult is recognizing that I need to devote even more time and energy to the course. And, there have been some SUST-related issues that are demanding me to make a sustained and increased effort in TAing. Soooo, I've decided to drop my Norwegian language class.



I feel positive about that decision for other reasons beyond those alluded to above. I didn't come here to learn Norwegian, and I don't see myself living here. Home is Minneapolis. Not knowing Norwegian is really not a problem here. I came to work on teaching, and I need to focus on that.
It is a disappointment, yes. But I'm not paying for the course, and I believe my dropping this will have absolutely no long term effect (except to make me even more cautious of learning other languages). I had looked forward to learning norsk, yes, but I have to prioritize. My happiness and teaching are more important than I third language I will almost never use.

Now I get to read more. I get to have dinner in my flat. I get to come home and not be burnt out exhausted. It was different when I've done this before. I was working with YF kids, or working with Somalis at JAS, or bringing in students for HECUA. My working life was very positive, all aspects of it. I was able to come home to Cate :) or go out with my friends :) or spend time with my family :)
I could handle working 50+ hours for a year when I had so much positivity at work and at home. I can't handle 50 hrs when there is neither.

In other news: new photos posted on flickr.

quick note on rand and greenspan

Late night perusal of the NY Times found this "gem" of a quote from our former chair of the fed:
“‘Atlas Shrugged’ is a celebration of life and happiness. Justice is unrelenting. Creative individuals and undeviating purpose and rationality achieve joy and fulfillment. Parasites who persistently avoid either purpose or reason perish as they should." (bold mine, ja) Scary that this person arguably held the most power over the U.S. (and therefore world) economy. Mind you, Greenspan wrote that in his twenties. But good lord!


I had to share that from this article. Also this: "Every year, 400,000 copies of Rand’s novels are offered free to Advanced Placement high school programs. " This is such a TERRIBLE idea. Perhaps soon I will write of my relationship with Atlas Shrugged and Ayn Rand? You better hope I don't...


I also have a posting on populism in mind, comparing historical trends in U.S. and Europe with present trends. It is in mind, percolating.

from me to whom

In the midst of my excellent weekend, I have a mix to share. I will write more about these days soon, but I have little time as I meet Knut Erik soon.

This mix is named after a Tom Waits song. Originally the name was gonna be related to clouds or cloud formations or something, but I decided to go with the Waits. There is no real theme to it. Its just stuff that I've been especially enjoying the last few weeks. I've also kept out a few songs that are going into the next mix, which is in development and will have a bit more of a theme.

And so, I give thee Emotional Weather Report.


1. Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Max Roach - A Little Max (parfait)
2. Tom Waits - Emotional Weather Report
3. Bob Dylan - Meet Me in the Morning
4. The Beta Band - Dry the Rain
5. Andrew Bird - Simple X
6. Pinback - Fortress
7. The Clash - Jimmy Jazz
8. Charles Mingus - Better Get in Yo' Soul
9. The Velvet Underground - Who Loves the Sun
10. The Hold Steady - Citrus
11. Neko Case - Dirty Knife
12. Tapes 'n Tapes - In Houston
13. The Smiths - Shoplifters of the World Unite
14. Old 97's - 4 Leaf Clover
15. Neil Young - Love is a Rose
16. Wilco - On and On and On
17. Bruce Springsteen - Something in the Night
18. Tom Waits - Hold On


I hope you can put it together. I think its quality

looong week, but a light at the end

Things have been happening! Some good, some bad. Work has had plenty of ups and downs this week. Tim is now in the U.S. for a 10 day recruiting tour, which means I'm in charge. The first day went well. Other work stuff has not been so great, unfortunately.

I made some travel plans! I wish I could be more excited about them!
Yesterday I booked a couple flights, but when I got home that night I realized I booked them for the wrong week. SO, I had to rebook them today, which I was able to do thankfully. Unfortunately, half the reason I made the plans was so I could save some money. With the rebooking I'm not saving much and I kind of have a pain in the ass travel arrangements.
Here is my plan:
On Friday Sept. 28 I'm taking the overnight train to Copenhagen via Swedish Rail. I have a voucher that will cover that part. I'm spending two nights in Copenhagen. Then I'm flying via Air Berlin to Vienna. A few days there, then take the train to Prague. Kick it in Prague for a few days, then fly back to Copenhagen via Sky Europe then hop on a train back to Oslo arriving Tuesday October 9th. I'll miss a couple days of class there at the end, which is unfortunate, but it was a money saver.
Unbelievable, that same week I get back I go for another trip. Saturday the 13th our trip begins its field trip to Stockholm and Copenhagen, returning on the 21st.
Photo from my last trip to Copenhagen two years ago.

After not traveling at all so far (to my chagrin), October will be crazy. I think its gonna be blast! I just hope I have enough money! Argh!

a strong cold wind

The leaves have begun to change here. The cold nights of Autumn are upon us.

Not much to report here, honestly. I work much. I study some. I surf the net too much. I read a bit. Right now John Updike's Pigeon Feathers, a collection of short stories. The city beckons, but I have ignored it since my pocket was light. Not too many weekend plans. Sierra is back, and we're having dinner together tonight. I hope to hike around Nordmarka on Sunday. Beyond that...

Who knows?

rememberances of things past

I am contemplative now.

This morning I awoke at 10. Made some coffee in my french press and read a few months worth of Achewood.
Left the house with the clock nearing 14. iPod for company.
Off at Majorstua: Oslo's west side. Fancy boutiques and fancier people.
Wandered looking for a radical left bookstore I'd heard was hidden in the neighborhood. No luck.
Even as the rain started falling I refused to ride on the trikk. I slowly made my way east, staying just north of the city center and the nucleus of Karl Johans.
In and out of back streets, I found myself at Oslo's library. The rain was picking up so I stopped in. Found the English section and picked out Bradbury. Spent the next hour reading Fahrenheit 451. How have I not read this before? A comfy chair in the library was the perfect setting to begin.
Closing time forced me out again. I made my way past the Rockefeller and John Dee to Torgata. Found my destination: Big Dipper Records. Barely ignored Velvet Underground on vinyl. Found what I was looking for: Tom Waits, Small Change. On sale for 100 kroner (~$18...on sale). I'm already on borrowed money. Tom will wait.
Wanting a sit-down and a coffee I followed Torgata back to Youngstorget, then back to Grensen. Sentrum. Swung into Bare Jazz: through their wet courtyard, through their ground level jazz store, and up to their cafe. Coffee and Ghandi.
Mingus brought me home.

This is what made me contemplative. Sitting on the T-Bane, not making eye contact with the person sitting right in front of me as the typical Norwegian shouldn't. Remembered NYC. Remembered a certain subway ride.

Many of you have heard this story. In many ways it summed up my experience in New York. It was a turning point of sorts, but one that I don't understand and never will.

I think it was October. It was cold enough for Steve (RAJ!) and I to wear hoodies. Steve and I were in the Jamaica stop. We were gonna ride the L through Brooklyn down to Manhattan to meet some folks. As were getting on a fellow rider began engaging us in conversation. Soon she asked us if we were together. Then asked if we were brothers. She began complimenting us, saying we were good guys, we were cute, etc. She said she wasn't good enough for us. I. don't remember how we responded, or even if we did.
She asked if she could confess something to us. That morning she had found out she was pregnant.
She asked us if she should keep the baby. If she should get an abortion.
She cried.
She told us she was a drug addict. Heavy stuff. She was on her way right then to get a fix.

I don't remember how we responded. I don't remember how the conversation ended. I remember she got off, because more people were to come.

We were already in a bit of shock when he sat down across from us. Where the woman had sat. He just started talking to us, asking what we did, where we lived, etc. He started talking about his church. He continued for a while, I was checked out but Steve was a believer so they talked. Dude invited Steve to his church. I remember it was in Forest Hills. He gave Steve an invitation and his card. Then he left.

A haggard looking man came around asking for change. He ignored the drunk passed out in the corner of the subway car. I don't think we gave him anything. We were pretty broke ourselves.

A couple stops later a father and daughter came in. The dad was young, early 20's. His daughter was under 5. Probably 3 but I don't do age well with kids. The dad was flagged out. A blood. Thumping hip-hop coming from his headphones. We could hear it clearly and it held near constant swearing. Gangsta rap? Does it matter? Daughter curled up on bench with head in father's lap. Asleep, somehow.

The train finally finished clattering through Brooklyn. We got off and met our party. Another corpsmember and a couple art students he had met at a music festival a few months prior. We hopped back on the MTA network. This time the booze cruise: the Staten Island Ferry. $2 Bud tallboys sold on the ferry and cigs brought us past the Statue of Liberty. We smoked American Spirits when we had the money. That was a Parliament night.
We ended up at the students' place in Brooklyn. Cramped and awkward forties.

Somehow that night defines my New York. What will define my Oslo? Will it be today? A lonely rainy day?

One month done. Nine to go.