Sesame Seeds

shook the bread out of the tin
first there suddenly spread
across the counter
in the carpet
under the sink lip
on the tiles
grinning at me

tried something new
now know what not to do
must add seed
when bread maker goes beep
and not later.

One small step forwards

A 'D-nummer' is the Norwegian equivalent of a National Insurance number and you need one before you can open a bank account. In late August we each filled in a form to apply for a D-nummer at a bank in Oslo. Recently we got an email from the bank informing us that they had received our numbers from the Tax Office.

One small step forwards.

A quiet Sunday morning

The air is still,

the sun shining through an orange clad tree.

A family gather, re-arrange themselves and then leave: one car in two cars out.

A young father with dog and child pass the windows of this house

followed by

two joggers brightly clothed,

just warming up.

I wonder,

Will I ever miss this place with the longing of unrequited love?

Or

Will I just remember the orange clad tree lit from behind?

A quiet Sunday morning.

Clarified

I am qualified
and thus dignified
I have been verified
and now am classified
I am a little electrified
and maybe a little stupefied
but I am
certified

Patience is a virtue they say.

I'm not convinced that patience is a virtue, more a necessity. Life is full of things that don't go right the first time or as quickly as you would hope. I am sure that learning to live with and enjoy boredom should be taught at school.

So what are the things taxing our patience at the moment? Well the job in Trondheim is not mine and the house has so far not been viewed by anyone. The nights are drawing in and it looks like we're just going to have to wait until they get longer again before we can move to Norway.

Time to batten down the hatches and do all those little jobs that we could do with doing before we leave.

Patience is a virtue they say, though I am not sure why.

Milestones

I've passed for my Masters in Education; Graduation in September. I have finished what I started. My mother would like to come from Canada as well as other family in Holland and some of my favourite colleagues. The congratulations already received have been heartwarming. Besides being delighted to be finished, I am also free to move to Norway now.

The Masters is also a milestone. I've four Bachelors and two Masters all together now. We seem to like milestones. We take pictures of the ones on our cycle tours, we've been together for eleven years, we've discovered Holland together and the next milestone will be moving to Norway. It's time to move on and collect stones from another beach.

This country hop will be different from the last for both of us. We skip knowing the language, being familiar with the culture and holding each others' hands.

Interviews and presentations.

Whilst Damae was in Holland for two days, successfully rounding off her M.Ed with two presentations, I trundled up to Trondheim on a night train for an interview. The trip was interesting as was the interview, and the company seems like it would be a great place to work. A milestone in the sense that it was my first job interview in Norway.

At the moment I am not sure that it will lead to a job. I don't really have a portfolio of Technical Writing (most of which was written under Non-Disclosure Agreements anyway) and I don't have experience of CAD programs. The latter though should not be a big problem though as I have learned to use programming tools in the last ten years. The former is a bit of a problem in general if I wish to get work in this sector.

Still, besides sampling NSB Sove (the name for sleeping compartments in Norwegian trains) I got to fly back on a small turbo-prop powered plane from Trondheim to Sandefjord, the smallest plane I have ever sat in. We now know that the Larvik/Sandefjord area is well served with public transport to get around Norway easily and out of the country if needs be.

Certainly not a waste of time. Fingers crossed.