Random Fact #321

Strepsils in Norway are known as Repsils...

1 Week Later..

I've been here for a week now. I had three really fun days at work - Wed till Fri. I also managed to get 2 small programs working - which means I'm making small but some progress. Hehehe.

I actually made fried salmon yesterday. Seasoned it with Indian chilli powder, turmeric and some garlic. Turned out pretty good, if I may say so myself.

Its Saturday afternoon here - 1.31pm and I'm wondering if I really need lunch because I had 2 chicken sausages for brunch at 11 something earlier. Just took out the trash - the chores never stop. I have to do some laundry soon.

I also have to read more about work-related stuff. Not that they asked me to or anything, but I work best at home, where I have the time to read things slowly. At work its - go in, get coffee, start work. The tension is there - considering my boss and I share an office. LOL. Yes, it can be quite awkward :)

I might be doing a bit of sightseeing tomorrow - there's a famous park in Oslo that I thought I might visit. We'll see if I actually get around to doing it or not :)

Take care guys.

P/s - My Malaysian mobile number is still active, in case some of you kind souls are intending to text me (to those of you who have been texting me - thanks, I do feel loved; to those of you who haven't been texting me - grrrr). I also got a company phone - simple, featureless one I asked for with a Norwegian SIM card.

First Day @Work

My first day at work was great. Really, I find it difficult to believe that I have such a nice environment to work in. However, I feel rusty - like I have stopped thinking like an engineer/computer-freak since I handed in my thesis. That part of my brain feels...dead. So, I think its time to really, really work on brushing up my technical skills.

I got a bag full of little chocolates on my table as part of the "welcome" gift. There was a company t-shirt and a cap too. I also have a 20-inch monitor and a small, cute CPU :)

Sounds fun. My boss treats me like his friend. It's so odd - the difference in work culture.

I got a small desk and a chest of 5-drawers today. Bought them second hand from my colleague. They look really new - its so nice to have some storage and working space because I've been lying on my bed trying to do some stuff on the laptop and it is so not conducive.

Well, I have to start reading this work-related book now...

Till I write more, Ciao!

Living in Oslo

Well, trust me to get a job in supposedly the world's most expensive city :) Did you know that they don't sell a single carrot in the supermarket? You have to buy a whole bunch unless you got to a fresh market or something. I should go, but I'm lazy. Hehehe.

Besides, who eats a whole bunch of carrots? :) Sorry, just being random.

So, what is Norway like, you ask?

It's cold. When I landed it was +3 degrees and the taxi driver, pretty nice guy, was telling me how that is not really considered cold. I was a bit irritated and wanted to ask him, "Then what IS cold?!?!" Well, so I landed in Vienna, spent over 4 hours sitting at the airport reading a bit and daydreaming, took the flight to Oslo, landed and took a taxi to my office.

Then I met up with some colleagues (people in the office are soo nice!) and one of them took me to me my apartment to look at it and put my luggage there. Then she took me to Ikea to get all the necessary stuff - bed, chair, bedsheet, bedspread. Then we went back to the apartment to put all these things in. Then we went to the office to get me a map of the place and then we went to the mall next door where she left and I bought some groceries and then went home :)

Today I got the other half of my bed (took the mattress because it fitted into my colleague's car, the bigger part was delivered today) and then set it up with the help of a screwdriver. Then I set up the chair too..and a lamp. I went to Ikea again to get the lamp - the box was so small, some cooking stuff etc. They have this huge blue bags at Ikea so I got one and put everything into it. Then I carried all back on the bus.

I actually wanted to get some shelving or like a chest of drawers but the box is huge and I also need to stop spending so much money :) so I think that is for later.

So yeah, the bed is sooo comfortable. I'll take pics soon. Let me unpack properly first. Hehehe :)

Pondering...

I sit and think a lot. There, that's what I do most of the time when I am in my room. I wonder about a lot of things but sometimes the most common question I ask myself is - "Am I living my life to the fullest?"

I read a lot of blogs, books, newspaper articles (not a big fan though) and stuff like that and realise that most people have pretty interesting lives. I don't know why but I think my life is boring. Maybe I should do more in a day. Well we'll see. I start my next chapter this time next week actually...

By this time, next week, I would have landed in Norway, signed the lease for my apartment, and probably be eating something quick for dinner. Oooh, I might even be on my laptop trying to scout for free wireless Internet. Hahaha ;) Shhh, don't tell anyone!

Hey, I might have even unpacked.

So yeah, maybe I am lucky in that sense.

Oooh, I'm meeting an old college mate tomorrow, for a chat at the nearby mall. Will try to post some pics ;) No promises though...the blog world scares me these days - becoming less and less personal. That's why I am more and more reluctant to blog and post pictures online.

Wondering...

Are you self-centered if you want a life for yourself? If you know you can do better in a different situation? If you actually did create/seek out an opportunity just by sending in a resume? I sometimes wonder if I'm selfish, for wanting to move far away.

It's empowering, gives me some kind of a high (haha, I know, sounds weird huh), knowing that I am at this point in my life where I can make a lot of life-changing decisions. Sometimes you just want to break free...not to do wild things, but to do something good for yourself.

The kind of job offer I received...is something I dreamed of in Australia but it was so far away at that time. Didn't seem possible at all and I hit a dead-end. So I came back to look for other opportunities.

Now I have one...and I am taking it. But when people comment on this and that, and you realise that your parents are not as invincible as you thought they were...you begin to question your actions again. I always think my parents are invincible...they somehow always overcome everything - very resourceful, intelligent people, I must admit. But they're getting old...and after watching my grandmother waste away in a hospital bed, one of my worst nightmares is actually knowing that such a thing is possible.

But we do what we have to do - right? After all, I am no doctor. By being good at what I do, I might be able to help out more when the time comes, right? I know, but I still have illogical worries...can't help it.

Relocating #2

Went shopping today - for luggage, toiletries, electrical appliances. *Sigh* I am 70% done packing. So, so, so tired. Nobody tells you how tiring it is - just that it is exciting, but it is also depressing because you have to borrow what my friends call "start-up money" from your parents, just after you promised yourself that you will start relying on yourself alone and nobody else once you have graduated.

Well, I'm leaving on 23rd. Kind of in the final phase of negotiation - regarding an apartment. Contract, flight ticket all settled. Feels weird still - that I actually got hired. Kept thinking it will only be one of those fleeting dreams that vanish when you are just about to grasp them. Looks like this is permanent - contract has no time limit.

We'll see what happens.

Relocating

Wow, there's heaps of things to do yet I can't seem to get all of them done. Most of it is shopping and packing. I sooo don't want to travel with tons of stuff like I did when I went to Australia - its cumbersome and you don't end up using everything you take. Then you have to send everything back when you leave. Urgh, tiring.

I ordered a new pair of glasses (don't think contacts are helpful in that weather)...did a bit of shopping (not as much as I'd like but I'm terrified of having too much stuff..).

I picked my apartment - its tiny :| Nothing great, really...but its walking distance to work..so that's cool enough.

I'll write more. Right now I'm just bored :)

End of March..

Well most probably I will be leaving in the last week of March. Started some research on the systems I might be documenting/writing for. A bit scary to find out that one of the guys who interviewed me actually wrote a book on the system. Whoa, this is scary. Makes me feel like an unaccomplished worm. Hahaha. Seriously, he looked so normal! He didn't look like a book author at all - let alone a programming book author. Okay, book authors are supposed to at least have an air of importance about them - this guy was in jeans, a t-shirt, pullover, glasses, spiked up hair..so...NORMAL.

Weird :) It would be exciting to work with people who are so good at what they do. But then again, I never considered myself a good programmer. I get really really nervous and panic when I cannot do something. Perhaps its time to change and learn new ways? We'll see...would be great to excel in my own field, rather than in finance.

I quit the job at the financial institution by the way - could not believe the sense of relief that I felt after handing in my resignation letter. PHEW, felt sooo light on the inside.