Friday 30th November 2012

Not much difference in today's events. Managed to have breakfast though after buying milk yesterday. While listening to the radio on my tablet I realised I'd left the charger at the Swamp.

Bugger.

I had ordered a spare from Amazon but don't remember receiving it yet. Also thought I'd put it in the tech bag with all the other chargers cables etc but obviously not. Will need to see if I can find one in Oslo tomorrow. It'll need charging if I'm to Skype on Sunday as usual.

It was colder this morning, than before I left for the UK. Managed to hold onto breakfast.

The sun made a weak appearance during the day but not strong enough to tempt me into a sun break.

Finally got my finger out and ordered a ticket to Eddie Izzard at the Oslo Spektrum,

http://www.oslospektrum.no/eddie-izzard-force-majeure-world-tour-2013.5049361-133570.html

Lucy asked me if I wanted to go and get some refreshment later in the day. Eventually agreed to go to Lancelot's tonight and maybe Oslo Sentrum next week.

Managed to get the first weekly email out with a help file for the AMOS users. I really hope it'll be positively received. Planning on sending them out weekly obviously.

Spent a bit of time looking at the IKEA website to create a shopping basket to take with me next time to see what I'm after rather than just wandering aimlessly.

Managed to get to Lancelot's for just after 1700hrs.

Nobody else was there. Lucy didn't arrive too much later though. She told me she usually works til 1900hrs and coming out this early felt decidedly wicked.

Managed to spend about 45mins catching up since we'd worked together on the Western Regent, before some of the others arrived.

She and her boyfriend have decided to move out of Brighton which I never thought I'd hear. Also she told me that the spray on bathroom covering wouldn't be repeated good a system though it is. She also told me that I could probably get my Izzard tickets from one of the local Narvesens. Will have to check that out. I thought they'd be sent to the house address.

Grant did me a favour by looking on his smart phone to see if there were shops selling my ASUS chargers in Oslo.

I had a burger for supper. Left after that and three bottles of Bulmers cider. That's quite enough at £9 a bottle.

Very cool in the evening on the walk back. I tried to buy a loaf of bread at the REMA1000 but got frustrated by the couple who seemed to be buying the weekly shop in front and only one person on the tills. I left without the bread. Can buy some tomorrow.

Got to bed reasonably early, but did have a small glass of Jameson' whisky.

Thursday 29th November 2012

Not an overly good day today.

Woke up as usual but didn't feel like getting out of bed but I guess that's not unusual.

The weather is definitely cold. Looked at the weather website today www.yr.no and saw it was going to be cold but sunny. Below zero all day.Hopefully will be clear enough for a sun break. I do feel better after a bit of sunshine. Seriously thinking about getting a S.A.D. light for the office.

Didn't have any breakfast except a couple of crips breads. Hadn't got any milk in apart from the stuff I'd left when I went home. Seeing as there's no Marmite in the house the chances of me drinking that was zero.

Tried to do work today but things kept getting in the way, the biggest was that the computer didn't want to play ball.

Not clear enough for a sun break.

Computer finally got a kicking by me killing everything and shutting down at 1600hrs. It doesn't take much for me to do that anyway, but for it to actively piss me off was just too much.

Did a bit of shopping to get something to go with the defrosting chicken, some pickled ginger, eggs, as well as some milk.

During the two weeks that I was away at home, the TV schedule has changed. There goes my plan of having a schedule.

This tablet is having some trouble keeping up with me this evening. Same symptoms as with the PC at work?

I have noticed that the vari-focals I currently have on are a lot better than the last ones. It would appear that the Norwegian optician dude seems to know what he's on about.

Some time in the future I will try and update the blog for the days I was in the UK. See how the memory goes.

Wednesday 28th November 2012

The keys debacle was worse than thought yesterday.

The hotel had been cancelled last night. I decided to wake up whenever rather than waiting fo an alarm. Just before 0900. Took meat products out of little fridge in the room. Not sure how well that worked but we'll see I guess. Just had time for breakfast.

Taxi took me to the office. Looks like it has been snowing recently.

All changed around as some more people have now joined us on our floor. The PDN mob have dropped a floor as the Nessie6 people are breeding or splitting, or whatever microbes do to take over an organism.

Not really feeling rested. Completely wasted in fact. Meat products transferred to work fridge.

Going through my emails I found a confirmation that the keys had been left at the office reception by Team Relocation Asker. Bugger. Could've been in the flat a bit earlier last night. Oh well c'est la vie.

Found an email from Ken with a picture of the keys I'd left at The Swamp.

They were in a jacket I'd used going home but didn't bother bringing out this time. Oops. Oh well at least they're around.

Just tried to go through some tickets and catch up with new training modules etc.

Got a bit irate with somebody on the MOC, which I shouldn't've done really. Definitely not with it.

Lucy said hello. Sounds like they're finally making some headway with engineering out the possibilities of cocking it up.

On the way home (well the apartment) I decided to order a taxi rather than risk carrying my bags across potential icy paths etc. Didn't have the spikes available yet either.

Got the meat products split up into portions before transferring to the freezer.

Had a quick pizza for supper and was in bed before 2000hrs.

Tuesday 27th November 2012

Well here we are again.

Finally on the airport train from Oslo to Asker.

It's been a trying day to say the least. Got up this morning thinking I had left plenty of time for the train to Gatwick. Even allowing for a bus between Exeter and Taunton due to the flooding, a 0925 start was early enough.

Called for a taxi at 0830 but they said they were fully booked but could do one later at 0900. That was pushing it a bit and asked for anything earlier. Yup ten minutes. Bit of a rush to get dressed but I made it. Loaded up the bags and checked to see if I had my travel documents. Yup. All there, lets roll.

Got close to Morrisons when I missed my phones. We pulled over to check. Nope. Had to quickly go back and get them off the chair. Idiot boy.

No worries now mate.

Any train to Exeter will do they said at the counter as I checked the routing. Train left on time.

There was an awful lot of water still on the ground. I was actually surprised more of the network hadn't been affected by the very extensive flooding.

Got into Exeter St. Davids to get on a bus for the trip to Taunton. This normally takes about 20-25mins by train but took just over an hour by bus. Actually went by quite quickly.

Once off the bus, one of the fat controllers shouted 'platform 5 for London'. Off I trotted probably doing lots of damage to my knees in the process. At platform 5 I asked a couple of uniforms if they worked at the station to confirm the platform was correct. Nope they said, we work ON the trains not the stations. Looking up at the departures board I saw the London train was in fact due to leave from platform three.

Off I trotted again.

Starting to wish I hadn't packed 1kg of cheddar, two jars peanut butter, two packs of bacon, two packs of sausages, two packs of instant gravy, and three litres of cider.

Got into the first class section before the train was due to leave. Just taking my jacket off when I saw the two uniforms from platform five enter the galley.

This train did not leave on time coz the driver was still on his way from Exeter St. Davids by taxi?

About 20mins late we departed. No trolley service today so had to go get my complementary drinks myself! The cheek.

Was feeling a bit peckish by the time we arrived in Reading. We were slightly delayed due to a maintenance train in front only doing 5mph for a short period.

As I had about 45mins til the next Gatwick train at 1435hrs I got a Subway.

Drinking a cup of tea I suddenly realised I didn't actually know where the temporary apartment keys were!

Bugger :-X Not good.

I thought I'd left them in my laptop bag as is normal for house keys I am not currently using. Nope. Not in the usual place at all. It is getting close to the train departure time but I am now very concerned and start taking the bags apart.

More fretting had to wait until I was on the train. Sent email request to Ken to see if he could find them. If I have lost them it means a change of locks at the flat.

Called the boss and appraised him I'd need a hotel overnight and could he contact the

Team people in Asker to see if they can bring me a set of keys tomorrow. No problem.

Got a text confirming booking by Randi a few minutes later.

Got a call from Team saying they'd drop a set of keys to WG reception so I could pick them up from there and go straight to the flat and not bovver wiv da otel.

Further updates arrived from the boss, to say the keys wouldn't be available until tomorrow so the hotel was back on.

Had a brief meeting with Gordon in Gatwick. Had to use a trolley to carry all the stuff I had got. Thinking about how I'll need to travel in the future.

By the time I got to the airport I was feeling very tired indeed. Had a quick sandwich as I didn't feel I had enough time to sit down to something more substantial.

The flight over was uneventful. Bought a bottle of Irish Whiskey to allay fears from customs about what else I might have in the bags. Would look a bit suspicious going straight through without buying something.

The train took me to Asker. Got a taxi to the Scandic hotel. As expected the room had indeed been cancelled. I eventually found the booking reference on my phone by booting up the laptop. Long story don't ask.

Had a quick shower and went to bed without an alarm.

Friday 23rd November 2012

My birthday today! Yippee. Working in the office at The Swamp. Chris and Vicky have invited me to supper tonight.

One of the bonuses of working from home is that you can do things out of the normal order. Straight out of bed I started the PC and checked some emails before getting into a shower.

After finishing my toilet I got back to the ball and chain. Round about 10 or 11 o'clock the computer decided it was going to let me play ball anymore. Toys well out of the pram. Something to do with the security certificate not being recognised any more. I sent a ticket in to IT support.

Tried to reboot the machine etc. and sent an email to IT support.

Called Vision Express to see if they had the glasses in yet? They said they'd had a delivery but hadn't sorted through it yet.

After an hour I decided enough was enough. No replies from the IT support guys in that time so decided to take the rest of the day off! Didn't need much pushing today as you might have realised.

Webster had asked if I was available to go to QAB for lunch but I'd said I didn't know where I'd be because of the glasses. I headed into town and diverted to QAB on the off chance that Webster would be there. He wasn't so I sent a text asking if he was coming. The queue was going to take too long so I headed outside again. Before I started I asked Vision Express about the glasses. They said they'd be about 1hour.

Took a while to get from QAB to the mall car park. The signs indicated there were only 9 spaces left. As was my usual trick I just headed up to the upper floors. As you use the elevator anyway I think you're better off heading to where there are usually loads of spaces. I actually had to wait for somebody to leave before I could park. First time that's happened in a long while.

On the way down through the mall I stopped into one of those shops which sells small knick knacks. Found the following. I'll leave the comments to your own heads.

I still hadn't had any lunch so headed for the food court level. Longs queues here as well. As I was walking to the other end of the mall I spotted the Yo! Sushi place.

It's my birthday so I decided I'd give it a go.

I thought I knew how it worked with the conveyor belts etc. I didn't understand everything. You don't have to take anything off the belt as it is possible to order off a menu.

I was quite surprised at how few dishes it took to fill me up despite the apparent small size of the portions.

After lunch I headed to Vision Express. The glasses were great. They seemed to be better than the previous set certainly. Will give them the full 90 days. A lot happier with them. It would appear the Norwegian optician knows his stuff.

By the time I left the mall, the car park was almost empty. Must have been a lunch time thing.

I went to visit Maison for a cup of tea. Had a chat about this and that and things I'd need for the Norwegian apartment. As the bedroom wouldn't be big enough for the large double bed I have I'd have to take a single. Maison convinced me to go and buy a new one rather than have the chatty mattress from Staff' old bed.

Good idea.

I thought I'd have enough time to visit one place before I'd be expected at the Shelley's for supper. Went off to Just Beds on Valley Road. Quickly found a single bed base with a foam mattress, headboard and pillow totaling about £280. The bed base was in a fairly chatty brown plaid design but I thought it'd at least be clean.

Got back home and had another look at the base in the spare room. It was the same design but in blue which I thought was  much better, and still relatively clean and solid. Seemed stoopid to buy another one, especially as it was in a colour I didn't like.

Got some clothes together to take to Chez Shelley as they'd quite kindly offered me the bed for the night rather than trying to get home.

Victoria was cooking a victoria sponge for a birthday cake when I came through the door. Simon was also invited for the evening. He bought me a bottle of port. Very nice.

The food cooked by Mr Shelley was very good. Starter consisted of artichoke hearts. Not something I think I've had before but lovely. Main course was steak and chips all round. Veggie steak obviously for Chris and Vicky. There was also homemade bread and tomato ketchup. Chips had been double fried and delicious. We had a break before dessert. Through the whole meal Chris kept plying Simon and I with red wine. We didn't manage to finish the third bottle.

The port went untouched as we'd had too much red wine. Will have to keep it for later then.

All in all a very good evening.

Saturday 17th November 2012

As usual on a BBQ day it was all go go go all day. Never seem to have enough time but it always seems to come off great.

The plan was for a fairly early start because of the early sunset and not knowing how well the weather would be.

Had to tidy up the garden by removing all the fallen apples & leaves from the grass and path. Was annoyed that I couldn't seem to find the large garden hands I'd  bought. Couldn't find them in any of the sheds or the house. The BBQ area needed sweeping up of leaves as well.

Needed to make the BBQ back up after it had been dismantled last time after cleaning. The pizza oven was cleaned out and setup.

Bought a load of supplies from Morrisons as usual, although I did tend towards stuff for a colder party this time. Couldn't find any of the vanilla cheese which had gone down so well at the previous two events. Only bought 1 box of cider this time as I knew we'd drink more if it was available.

Maison & Jane said they'd be bringing some baked squash soup. Jane worried about the quantities. What if we end up with too much or there isn't enough for everybody. What can you do?

James, Pip and Ollie arrived just as I was taking a break before the main people arrived. They said they couldn't stay because Ollie wasn't up to late evenings. Shame. I showed James around a bit.

Almost on time other people starting arriving. Richard L arrived with Issy early on. Alastair arrived with Sam on the back of a bike. Not too long after that more and more people arrived.

As is usual these days there were plenty of rugrats flying around. I had some light sticks I'd bought some time ago. Couldn't remember where from though. Might've been Marine Bazaar. They were of some interesting colours, pink, orange, purple etc. with interesting patterns on them, such as spots and stripes. Each child got one, and it was great to see only light sticks flying around the dark garden.

The soup that Maison & Jane brought went down very well. no worries on a chilly evening.

I thought the evening was one of the best we'd had.

Wednesday 14th November 2012

Had trouble sleeping last night. Got up this morning and found out why. I had gone to bed wrapped up for temperatures below zero, but looking at the thermometer it's way above at 8 degC. Usually have the window open a crack for the fresh air.

I am having to check the weather websites to see what the temperature will be and actually adjust my clothing accordingly. Never had to do that before. I am mainly using http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Akershus/Asker/Asker/hour_by_hour.html.

Today is the day I get the keys for the new flat. Well hopefully. I have had trouble getting into the online bank and have not been able to setup the bak transfers required. Will concentrate on that this morning before going to the flat.

Thought about the fact that I vomited my breakfast the last two mornings. Could be because I was in a rush both mornings and left not too long after eating. I will try getting back to previous routine of getting up a bit earlier and giving mysself some sitting time before leaving for work.

Monday 12th November 2012

Got out of bed late. Was running late after that. Didn't leave the flat until 0800hrs. About 15 mins late.

Bloody cold this morning and I forgot my neck scarf. The wind was blowing as well. All the flags were straight out. The air was so cold going down my throat I brought up my breakfast. Not a pretty sight. Luckily I hit the verge of trees so it won't be frozen to the path for the next 6 months.

After getting into the office it seemed to take quite a while to settle back into the routine.

Didn't manage to answer many tickets, actually it might have been near zero.

Lunch time came around rather quicker than I expected. As the sun was out I had a sun break after lunch for 10-15mins. It was cold but I felt okay in the sun trap. Was quite chipper for the rest of the afternoon after that. Must remember to try and get out in the sunshine at every opportunity.

Got back to the flat about 1730 hrs.

While I was just about to start eating supper I heard on the BBC Radio 2 travel report that there'd been an accident in Bridlington. Mum had said she and Dad were going there for a cheap few days. I was now nervous and thinking about how to get to the airport quick. Left a message on Mum's phone then tried Dad's. Thankfully they're okay and should have a great few days.

Sunday 11th November 2012 - Remeberance Day back home

Weather was totally shit all day.  Rain and wind. Spent all day inside the flat sat in the kitchen with the lights on.

Continued with the letter to Luke. Got up to 15 pages of A4. It does contain lots of pictures though, and still haven't finished.

Spent an hour on Skype with Maison and Rose. Jane doesn't like it so only waved a dog at me before going somewhere else.

Did the usual set of ironing for the weeks shirts.

Completely missed the two minute silence for Remebrance Day today. How pants is that?

Saturday 10th November 2012

Didn't get out of bed til quite late. I guess that's what weekends are for. Didn't feel like going out anywhere today. Spent most of the day getting a letter started for Luke.

Late afternoon I went down to the Ultra to get some supplies. It seems that Saturdays are the sale days for food. Makes sense I suppose seeing as they're closed on Sundays. Getting rid of the produce which won't survive the weekend.

Not long after getting back I got a text message from Eileen asking if I'd like to go see the new James Bond movie 'Skyfall' with her and Henry. Initially I said probably not. Didn't feel like doing anything else.

Wanted to go see the movie however so decided to make a bloody effort. Cooked some supper, got a shower, trimmed my hair, had a shave and felt 100% better. The showing diidn't start until 2130 hrs.

I was in such a rush when I left the flat I forgot my wallet. Thankfully I met Henry at the cinema first and he agreed to sub me some money.

Didn't go for anything other than a bottle of diet coke.

I thought the movie was excellent. If you haven't seen it yet and don't want to know the spoilers don't read anymore.

Liked the lack of gadgets. Shame about M and the car. Liking the new Moneypenny. Good setup at the end for the next two movies Daniel Craig has ssigned up for.

We got out of the cinema about 0020hrs. Henry wanted to go get a drink so we headedto the usual Lancelot. This time they were being a disco. There was a charge if you wanted to hang your jacket. Needless to say we didn't go for that option.Felt a bit uncomfortable actually. Didn't really want to be there with all the loud music etc. Felt like a granddad.

Got back to the flat about 0100 hrs, but didn't feel very tired. Sat up looking at the news etc on my tablet til about 0300hrs. Gods I thought, luckily today is Sunday.

Friday 9th November 2012

Gods I was up early today. The guilty feeling from yesterday made me get sorted quite quickly and I headed into the office very early. I wanted to try and get a movie file sorted out  to explain the process of counters.

I actually got to my desk before 0700hrs. Wasn't really awake really. Got my foot tangled in the headphones as I stood up and broke the USB connection. Bugger bugger bugger. I managed to shout down to the laptop microphone okay, and luckily the rest of the office was empty.

Wasn't really looking forward to the second day of AMOS training. Felt even more like I needed to be at the InTouch desk answering tickets.

As I went through the manual I actually found some useful stuff in it. Not sure I am going to remember it though, after only 1 go through the course manual.

After the course finished I headed down to the office to try and get something else done, before heading off to the post office. I had signed up for some broadband and TV from a local company and they have sent them to the local office. I received a text message with a code in it. Didn't leave the office before the free cake though.

Had arranged to meet Weasley  in town for a beer or three.

Got home about 1545 hrs but didn't go out again until just before 1730 hrs. The parcel was quite big. Bit of a bummer really as I didn't want to drag it around all night. I went and bought a new set of headphones from Clas Olson.

Met Weasley in Lancelot. They were actually setting up for a band. Looked quite big for a pub band. The regular work crowd told me that Lancelot was a Jazz club first and bar second. The band would charge an entry fee for those coming in after the start but ask those in beforehand to payup at their seats. We just said we'd be leaving before the start. Three ciders later that's what we did.

We went off to another bar near the cinema, to meet up with Martin. Had a burger and three pints of Murphy's.

Left after that. Unfortunately the Rema1000 was closed by the time I walked home so couldn't buy more milk.

Got back to the flat and thought it'd be a good idea to have some Irish Whiskey. Muppetry. I spilt the second glass on the sofa. Luckily the cushion covers are removable so I flashed it into the washing machine.

Thursday 8th November 2012

Thursday. 1st day of my training in AMOS, the same system I've been using for the last 2 months.

The course started at 0830 hrs. As with the previous course we're getting people who won't be using the system for a long time to come.

As part of my remit as rollout coordinator I am trying to get as much training material out there as possible. All the course members will get a copy of the USB stick which has the stand-alone system on it.

After a rather disjointed introduction we got stuck into the course manual. The has been mis-named User manual. Must remember to get the title changed so people don't get confused by that.

The 'course' just consisted of us going through the manual which lead us by the hand into all the aspects of the AMOS dbase.

I went through it but initially thought it was a waste of timee and I could've been doing tickets to help the offshore guys.

By the end of the day I was quite knackered. Had a quick look at the emails from InTouch and saw one which made me feel a bit guilty. There was one from the seismic side about counters which needed doing straight away and it'd been in the inbox for a few days already.

Wednesday 7th November 2012

Another cold morning but no sign of any fresh snow. Could be tricky on the ice.

On the short walk into the office my up legs got very cold. Never known that before. In the UK I can wear shorts almost all year. Might have to reasses the clothing for the walk into the office once I've moved.

Today I spent the day creating a new work instruction for installing a standalone database. Took longer than expected and I only just managed to get it done before the course attendees left. Had to get it done though as part of my remit as rollout coordinator. Can't have people attending a course without some way of playing with the data. They get the course but they might not see the PMS for a long time.

Didn't get anything else done. Tomorrow will be worse as myself and Morteza are on a course for AMOS. I suppose it'll help in the long run. I might be able to create more help files for the offshore users at least.

Found out today we're going to be losing Baard once Morteza is installed and the ticket level has dropped a bit.

We had an unannounced fire drill today. Been here since mid Sept and this is the first. Bit of a change from the vessels where we get a drill at least once a week.

Some people wind me up by trying to lead me through their thinking to arrive at the idea they'd had by asking me questions. Gods that is so bloody annoying. How can I answer questions when I don't know what the route or the destination is going to be?? Tell me the idea and then I'll get more into the thinking behind it.

Realised today that I might have to buy another flight for Norway after sorting out the moving of my stuff. The original plan was to come back on the 26th, but the team relocation people in UK have indicated that they'll be trying to pack my stuff that day. Oh well.

Managed to remember the builders final payment for FFA. Couldn't work out how to setup a direct debit for the rent at the new apartment though.

In Norway they don't seem to use name, account number and sort code but just the bank account number. Have to make sure the number is correct or else the money could go to the wrong person.

Trying a baked potato for supper tonight.

Tuesday 6th November 2012

Woke up this morning and feel really rested. May not last all day but so far it's good. Could it be the relief that I've got a flight home booked? Lots to do before getting home and when I get there but that's in the future.

Fairly simple day.

Started snowing late in the morning. Finished before leavng for home though. It didn't melt, and I had to take care while walking into town for some shopping. Not slippy enough to get on the spikes, but close.

Had a rather rushed supper with even quicker two cans of cider.

Monday 5th November 2012 - Bonfire night back home

Woke up feeling like I hadn't had any sleep at all. Insides were in turmoil all night. Can you get caffeiene poisoning? Was it all in my head? Maybe not. Had a quick look at the following website and definitely felt some of the symptoms listed.

http://www.energyfiend.com/caffeine-overdose-facts-and-fiction

Getting more and more wound up with Blogger on the tablet. You select where you want to paste something press paste and it appears somewhere completely different. Might have to write these posts in a text editor first and then copy/paste afterwards. Problem with that is that I'll probably get behind again.

Felt like a good day today even though didn't get an awful lot completed. Gordon turned up with plenty of supplies. A bottle of brandy, 2 bottles of red, and 3 packets of sausages. The sausages weren't quite what I was expecting. I'd said to Gordon that chorizo would be a good idea and he obviously took that to mean the sausages should be chorizo. Quite a smell is pervading the office. Got them divided and in the freezer.

Felt a bit bad in the chest all morning. Still being affected by the coffees I had yesterday. Didn't feel better til after lunch.

The instructor for AMOS turned up today and presented me with a bottle of Latvian booze. At 45% it's quite strong. Might just keep that for Christmas back home. Set him up in an office and setup the laptops and printed out the massive user manual. Will need to set aside some time to fix that as it is currently far too big.

Booked my flights home to sort out my stuff to bring to Norway. It is early morning on the 15th Nov until 27th Nov 2012. For soe obscure reason had to create a new user on the website of Norwegian.no.

Tried to order some broadband and telly for the new flat. Not sure it worked as they didn't ask me for a payment method?

Sunday 4th November 2012

Gods, the coffee from the cafe this afternoon is having a weird effect on me.

Today was another washout. Too damp and cold to try and go out on the bike. Will wait for better conditions. Can probably handle the cold with the current stock of clothing but not with the damp as well. Feeling tired.

After an early (for a Sunday) breakfast I went back to bed to read a book, H2G2 - 2. Had a siesta til about 1100hrs. Got showered and dressed. Feeling a bit depressed. Have to get out or else I'll just veg all day with no interaction with anybody. Not a problem every now and again but should probably be avoided too often.

Went down to the cafe again thinking I'd be out for an hour or so. The weather initially felt not too bad and I thought I could've gone out on the bike, but after a short time the cold was more obvious. Am I just making excuses? Don't know!

Met Hans-herman in the cafe. During our chat I was about to send Victor a text about the new workboats tractor jets, coz my memory is poor and if I don't do things as I think of them I tend to forget. Hans pointed out that the etiquette was not to send anything at the weekends unless it was very very important. I sent the text to myself as a reminder instead.

I had two double cafe au-laits. That was a bad idea as they went straight to my system. Head was buzzing on the walk back, up the hill and doing the ironing. After doing the work shirts I sat and tried to get onto Skype for the weekly comm session back home. Buggered. The tablet has forgotten the password or I did a reset of all the settings, not entirely sure which. Unfortunately I don't yet have a password safe on the tablet and even if I did, the file is in the office. Will get that sorted tomorrow as I need the file for other passwords as well, not just skype.

In attempt to relax I thought I'd listen to some music with headphones and the lights out. Took me about an hour to find an app that'd look outside the tablet directory structure to see my external HDD. Was most frustrating. Lots of music pllayers out there with varying degrees of approval. I insstalled and removed three apps before settling on Folder Player

My insides still didn't settle down as I went to bed. Still blaming the coffee in the afternoon.

Saturday 3rd November 2012

Getting a bit bloody annoyed with blogger on the tablet at the moment. Can't seem to cut and paste, sometiimes the backspace button and the arrows keys stop working and won't do anything until I touch the screen first.

I have already had to delete the previous attempt at this post because I got wound up by it.

Going to prepare some supper before attempting any more.

Unfortunately a bottle of wine later and I wasn't in any mood to continue.

Woke up late which was good. Weather looked pretty dismal from the window and was confirmed by the weather website www.yr.no.

Saturday was a bit of a washout really. The planned expedition to visit three furniture stores by bike were soaked under the table. Could've probably coped with the cold but not the damp as well. Decided not to bother. Was feeling pretty tired anyway.

Took a long time over breakfast and getting ready to go to Oslo. Decided to go and buy a ticket for Eddie Izzard event next year at the Oslo Spektrum. Also wanted to see if an umbrella could be bought at a reasonable price.

Wasn't wearing the warm jacket as I thought it'd be warm enough with the windproof and a vest with a shirt. Didn't work at all. Got very chilly.

Getting a bit bloody annoyed with blogger on the tablet at the moment. Can't seem to cut and paste, sometiimes the backspace button and the arrows keys stop working and won't do anything until I touch the screen first.

I have already had to delete the previous attempt at this post because I got wound up by it.

Going to prepare some supper before attempting any more.

Unfortunately a bottle of wine later and I wasn't in any mood to continue.

Woke up late which was good. Weather looked pretty dismal from the window and was confirmed by the weather website www.yr.no.

Saturday was a bit of a washout really. The planned expedition to visit three furniture stores by bike were soaked under the table. Could've probably coped with the cold but not the damp as well. Decided not to bother. Was feeling pretty tired anyway.

Took a long time over breakfast and getting ready to go to Oslo. Decided to go and buy

As the snow has all melted the river through Asker is looking higher than before.

Got to Oslo and went to the wine shop at the central station for a bottle of wine for supper. Found the Spektrum ticket office after walking through the Oslo City mall. It was closed on Sat/Sun? It was also closed after 1700hrs on a weekday. This means that I'll have to look for them online. Bit of a bummer as I'll have to pay an admin fee and credit card fees.

After that I went for a bigger look through the Oslo City mall. Bit of a rat run by the look of it. Wandered around a bit to see what was what. Nothing of real interest for me.

Found a cheap umbrella at G-sport. Tried to find a hobby I could do during the dark and damp afternoons or weekends. Didn't see any plastic model kits which I thought was odd. Thought about painting, but didn't see a starter kit which I know I can get at CDS for a cheaper price.

Walked back to the station via the old door to see if I could find the Dressman store for larger people. It was call Dressman XL, and did clothes from 2XL all the way up to 9XL. My gods but that's big. Bought some more underwear as a test to see if I could avoid buying them in the UK. 3XL as the 2XL I bought last week were a bit snug to say the least. There are all sorts of clothes available for the larger gent. They are at a bit of a premium though. The undies for instance were abut 2x the price than in the normal store.

Got back to the apartment and started to write the diary. Got frustrated with the bloody thing as it didn't do what I wanted it to. Cooked my steak, with steamed veg and mashed potato. The gravy wasn't too bad either. Wine went straight to my head which was a good thing.

Friday 2nd November 2012

Bit odd today. One guy left and another took his place a bit more.

Got the plastic bottles sorted for returning to the supermarket on the way to the pub this evening. They also accept cans if they're in perfect nick. Not sure why they need to be perfect though as I can't see them being refilled? Plastic drinks bottles are a bit thicker in Norway because they are recycled but the cans feel just as thin as back home.

Weather a bit odd. Was a bit warmer in the morning but the forecast said colder in the afternoon. Took the warmer jacket but was also wearing a thin sweater on top of the work shirt. Bad move. It was a little too warm so will have to carry the sweater in the bag and just wear a shirt under the large jacket.

Tried to create a new spreadsheet template for the vessels to use in dry dock. Hope it'll be useful as we need all the help we can get.

At cake time, Ed the dude in charge of MGOS brought up the fact that Mick is crowing about the number of InTouch tickets that we've got answered. Must be down to Baard and Gordon coz all mine just got sent back to the vessels with requests for more information.

Tried to arrange some car insurance with NFU but they wanted a lot and then got concerned about the fact I'm away in Norway. Took me a while to find the direct dial number. Okay, post the freephone number, which most people would use coz it's free, but then also include a direct dial number on the website so that those of us outside the UK can still interact??

Cancelled a lift to IKEA from Minggus as we'd planned to go to Lancelot's again and I would be cycling to them in the morning.

Set up the bike gps with three routes for tomorrow's expedition using Bike Route Toaster. Printed a few screendumps from Google maps to assist in case the batteries ran out or I needed to plan a different route.

Walked straight to Lancelot from the office. Forgot about the plastic bottles.

Only had a couple of ciders and some 'dagens' which is the daily special which tonight was schnitzel and chips. Still cost a bit though. Each cider was 82NOK and the dagens 146NOK. A small glass of chilli nuts cost 42NOK? Won't be doing that again. Would rather take my own in future.

On the way back stopped off at REMA1000 for some milk, chips and tonic water for the gin I have in the cupboard.

Put the washing machine on for all the clothes etc except the weeks shirts. Spilt tonic water all over the floor when opening it straight from the fridge. Shouldn't have laid it flat as it fizzed everywhere.

Thursday 1st November 2012

The temperature is up and down at the moment. This morning the gauge is reading above zero. This just means the ice is melting a little bit. The road leading to the office looks very icy and could be a hazard.

Will try and remember to ask the office HSE lady about some larger spikes for us big footed people. Must be more than just me with 47+.

The road wasn't icy at all. just wet from the melt. The office didn't have any larger footwear spikes but they did have a Hi-viz jacket to fit me.

Managed to get a few more emails/tickets answered or thrown back at the vessels today. Not to shabby although not a lot of issues resolved so far this week. Just seem to be asking the vessels for more details. I am creating more and more help files which might be of some use. Hopefully can get Morteza into the habit as well.

After work I went to get an eye check. The optician said the vari-focal they'd given me in the UK wasn't quite right which is causing me to lift my head too much at the computers. It was actually quite quick and not too expensive. About 500NOK for the consultation. The lenses and frames are a different matter. I think a single pair of working glasses would cost about 2x what they did in the UK. Although saying that if they work it'd be worth it.

Stopped off at the 'Pakistani' shop on the way into town, and bought some more pickles and more Bombay mix. Still can't get over how cheap that is here. Might be cheaper back home but not sure.

After the sight test I went in search of an umbrella in the shopping mall, Trekanten. Didn't want a truly cheap effort from the 'pound-shop' but the only others of any quality I could see were in the region of £40-60 quid. The most expensive one had a carbon fibre shaft. I know a bit of investment is probably a good idea but that's taking the piss. Might buy one later if I can't find one elsewhere.

I did find a pair of spikes which fit over the walking-to-work footwear. Cost 299NOK but cheaper than a broken limb. Not slippery at the moment but it can only be around the corner now. Ice is more dangerous when it melts and refreezes quickly, so will have to keep them in my pocket. Thankfully they do come in a little bag so they don't tear your pockets to shreds.

Went into the hobby/toy store to see if anything jumped out as a hobby. Nah! Lego and jigsaws didn't appeal straight away.

On the way home it was raining. COuld've done with that umbrella. The hood on the jacketis a little too big and my head just turns inside it when I check out the crossings. Have to take down the hood. Definite bonus having the lights attached to my backpack.

Felt a bit knackered coming up the hill to the apartment. Thought I might've been a bit more used to it by now.

Had a good curry this evening from the freezer. Starting to feel like I'm coming down with a cold. Hope I'm not ill whie I'm at home. Maybe that's why I felt a bit shagged on the way home.

Forgot to call the car insurance people today. Will try and remember tomorrow.