…but where would they live?
Lately, I've been struggling with what will become of me when I grow up. I'm 32, I don't own anything that really is mine other than a windowsill of succulents and a very soft blankets that gives me more comfort than I care to admit, I don't live with my husband which, believe it or... Continue Reading →
Twelve years ago, by chance, I discovered Shel Silverstein's 'The missing piece'. I gravitated towards the simplicity of it, a few lines, a few words, a whole new way of describing the most basic principles of what it means to be human in a world where everyone tells you that you're never enough. If you... Continue Reading →
I have been contemplating what to write for the past two months - not for the lack of things happening, if anything there would be so much to tell, but honestly between work, workouts, and questionable work-life balance, I have no idea how to form any words beyond my usual everyday jibberish. So, as it's... Continue Reading →
People ask me what the hardest part about living apart from my partner is. It's difficult to explain and in many ways I think even more difficult to understand. But I'll try anyways. So, here are a few things that we've found help us when things are really getting tough. Decision. When A and I... Continue Reading →
Few things in life come easy to me. I'd almost argue even the opposite, that compared to the average person everything feels twice as difficult for me. Anything, I will immediately fail at and no matter how often you explain anything from how to cook a simple meal to how to determine the differences in... Continue Reading →
They say the first step of recovery is realizing that you have a problem. I have an immense problem and it's that not more people love the ocean as much as I do, it's a real struggle and painful to see how little knowledge people have about our most important life-line. I've always been incredibly... Continue Reading →
Lately A and I have been playing a little game we like to call "remember when...?". It's our way of reminding each other of all the horrific, embarrassing, and love-filled memories we have made over the past decade. Versions of some of our memories I've retold on this blog, but to be honest, most of... Continue Reading →
When I was younger I felt invisible in every way possible. I'd say part of it was my upbringing and part of it was my personality. While I'm very sociable, I never enjoyed meeting people until I was able to do smalltalk, which to this day still always end in mind-numbing silence two sentences into... Continue Reading →
Humans are excellent storytellers, we fabricate ideas, formulate story lines, interpret and analyze every little detail, of what ever is happening before our eyes just to make sense of it in our the picture of the world we create for ourselves. To date, I am not aware of any other species that does this, so... Continue Reading →
I think we all can agree that nature is really awesome. From tiny little critters to majestic creatures of the sea and everything in between, planet ocean is simply magnificent and there is really no place like it! But you know what's even more awesome? Human knowledge being passed down from generation to generation, from... Continue Reading →
Who says you have to travel far and wide to see all the magic that this world has to offer? The truth is you don't, you just need to know where to look or rather you just need to be ready when it magically appears. It may be over in a blink of an eye,... Continue Reading →
A couple months ago I was invited to work on a research vessel as a marine mammal observer - which to simplify means that I'll be professionally whale watching (of course there is MUCH MORE to that than just gazing at beautiful marine mammals - I'll actually be making sure that they're not hurt in... Continue Reading →
I sometimes forget that not everyone gets the chance to experience the things that I am fortunate enough to experience. I keep telling myself (and anyone who asks) that everything I do, everyone else can do to. And while that is true in theory, I know that in practice that this is not true. So,... Continue Reading →
A and I moved to Norway almost eight years ago. I'd like to say that we both knew what we were getting into, but the reality is, we didn't have the slightest idea of what that actually meant. If I had to describe it, I'd say it's like the scene where Dr. Strange for the... Continue Reading →
I went diving for the first time ever in the cold Irish waters, it was a very secluded spot, very quiet, very calm, and not very deep. The perfect spot for a nervous beginner such as myself. It took forever to weigh me down, because I am a floater, but eventually we got me down... Continue Reading →
They say the beginning is always a good place to start telling a story. Most stories, however, don't have one distinctive moment where they start. Most beginnings are creeping in, it's when you're nearing the end, that you're realizing that something has begun. If I had to pinpoint the date, I'd say my journey started... Continue Reading →
Recently I've been reminded that relationships take a lot of work. Sweating-bullets kind of work, where you could be working relentlessly for what seems like an eternity and still are getting nowhere. Most relationships aren't like that, in fact, I'd even say, most relationships are the opposite of that. We ignore a lot of red... Continue Reading →
If you throw a stone into a body of water, it'll create ripples with far reaching effects. Also, if you put an object into a glass filled with liquid, the object will displace the liquid. - So, no matter what you do with water, most likely you will notice some sort of change. And if... Continue Reading →
In our everyday lives, there is not enough room for dancing. As a child you'll break into a dance any chance you get. Who needs to set one foot in front of the other, when you could just as easily twirl, skip, hop, side-step, and whatever else your preferred method of moving forward was when... Continue Reading →
The golden rule in scuba diving is to always breathe or rather not to ever stop breathing. If you ask me, this is a pretty good rule in life regardless of your environment. In recent months, however, I found it increasingly more difficult to just breathe. It's such a minor thing, really, you don't even... Continue Reading →
This year has been one crazy roller coaster after enough. Self-inflicted I may add. I've decided to leave it all on the table this year and just put all my fears, all my comfort zones, everything cozy and easy aside and off I went fighting for every inch of a path non-existent. Well, almost anyway.... Continue Reading →
Yesterday morning, as I was balancing my laptop bag and backpack in one hand, my car keys, my jacket, and my travel mug in the other, for the first time ever I saw a shooting star. I have the habit of putting my travel mug on top of my car as I leave the house,... Continue Reading →
From a very young age the one thing I could not stand where empty walls. I guess it was my parents really, that inflicted that onto me, I remember this picture of a large ever-green tree in the hallway whenever I'd close the front door. My parents had beautifully drawn people, hands, and - oddly... Continue Reading →
I remember the very first time someone winked at me like it was yesterday. I was much (much) younger, in a very different place (mentally and physically), no idea of the bright future that was yet to come. It was late on a Saturday night, I was at a discotheque with my friends, and there... Continue Reading →
It seems just like yesterday when I sat in my new home, wondering if I was really going to be able to do all of this. Wondering if I could handle my workload, living in a new country, taking care of myself (i.e. cooking for myself!) all starting now. I wondered if all of this... Continue Reading →
This past week has been a new level of everything in the most awesomest and most exhausting ways. I am soooo tired, like ridiculously tired, as in, I'd like for time to stop for a week straight just so I could sleep without skipping a beat. I'm not complaining (well, maybe I'm a little) but... Continue Reading →
Putting on a dry suit was among the most physically uncomfortable situations I've ever been in. Compared to a wet suit, you put on a dry suit to stay dry (naturally!), which is especially important when you're in cold water where you're otherwise running the risk of getting hypothermia. A dry suit is quite heavy... Continue Reading →
When I got to Ireland, I needed something to distract me from the journey that got me to moving to Ireland and from what yet lies ahead (bear with me, this makes more sense in a minute or two), so I looked through my landlord's bookcase and found Roald Dahl's Matilda. If you're not familiar... Continue Reading →
My Ireland move is only a few short weeks away and I can honestly say, I have never felt so terrified and equally excited in my life. It's like sitting in a plane for hours and hours and shortly before you are set to arrive, you hit the worst turbulence and you drop a few... Continue Reading →
A bird may love a fish and honestly, it never really mattered where they lived, because when you love someone that's all that really matters...Â
It's odd really, words are so powerful when spoken, but I believe that they're even more powerful when written. Written words can mess with your brain, because you read into them whatever emotion you want them to have. If you're feeling happy, whatever words you may read may be happy words, if you're mysterious, that's the meaning they will carry. Simple as that. Written words where my escape and my sanctuary at the same time. So it may not come as a surprise that all I ever wanted out of a career was being able to read and write.
I've always felt like life was living on a boat, always trying to get through the storms, slowly making it from island to island, sometimes you'll get seasick and sunburned but no matter where, you'll always have an amazing view. Little did I know that turning 30 would mean that that's exactly what I would... Continue Reading →
The very first time I got an a zodiac I was sick to my stomach. In my defense, it was an extremely bumpy ride, I was getting sprayed with buckets full of water from all sides and angles and no matter where I was on the zodiac, I couldn't see squat because there were so... Continue Reading →
I am a planner. I have three calendars (two online, in case one fails to back-up) and a physical one, because there is a whale on it and I absolutely loved the design. I use them rigidly, they structure my day and I love spending time updating them (that being said, also a huge-time-waster...). That's... Continue Reading →
The older I get the more I realize that I did not have a normal childhood. I had a good one, but not a normal or rather average one. Obviously, I have not suffered because of it, I grew up just fine and had everything I needed and for that I am eternally grateful, but... Continue Reading →
I've watched the talented Mr. Ripley about a million and a half times in the past almost twenty years since it came out in 1999 (I added this last part of information just to make you feel old). The story never changes but it's an incredible one. Man from lower middle class (Tom Ripley played... Continue Reading →
We define ourselves not by the magnitude of the things we've done but by single handpicked moments. Moments that mean the world to us, like the first kiss, the first time driving car, the first time ditching a class... Or maybe the first day on a new job, the day you got your degree, or... Continue Reading →
I had a rough couple of days, not going to lie, I almost contemplated not leaving bed today, but I did it and yes, I deserve praise for that. Nothing particular happened in the last few days, you know, other than me coming so close and yet so far from what I wanted for so... Continue Reading →
When I was young, I always imagined to one day own a house sitting on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Listening to the waves every waking hour, opening the windows whenever I wanted to feel and smell the ocean breeze. I was ten when this idea first entered my mind and after nearly two decades,... Continue Reading →
Recently I had a very interesting Skype call, a blast from the past and a look into the future, all at once. It was a gentle reminder with a nervous energy and suddenly it felt like I was 15 years old again. I was reminded of the person I once used to be, the person... Continue Reading →
Throughout my plentiful journeys I have found myself often looking to my right and left and realizing that I was by myself. I'm not heartless, of course, every now and then I would feel a small tug on my heartstrings but for the most part you will find me standing tall and proud. Taking in... Continue Reading →
I am an endless optimist with a small inkling for realism, a very small at best. A on the other hand is an eternal realist with the ability to see the greatest potential in any situation. So, when we went to a grocery store in the middle of nowhere up the coast somewhere in Australia... Continue Reading →
Two weeks in and I can honestly say that this year has been the best one yet (but with A by my side, every year gets better). We've traveled far and wide, literally and especially in these past four weeks. But it's time to return to Norway and pick up where we left of. Although... Continue Reading →
I cannot believe that a month has gone by so quickly! It feels like we just packed our things and started our world trip and now we're already returning back to Norway. What a trip it's been, a once in a lifetime experience (for now). Even though I could stay on the road for much... Continue Reading →
Yesterday was a crazy adventure! We had a late start and went to Chinatown for lunch at possibly Singapore's most famous hawker: Hawker Chan and it was truly mind blowing. The line seemed endless, although fast moving, but you need to come early, they tend to sell out and for good reason. Two people after... Continue Reading →
Ever since Hong Kong I've been fascinated by street markets. The noise, the color, the smells, street markets are just something else. I'm not much of a haggler. I enjoy other people doing it but in general I'm either thinking I'm getting the best deal ever and the seller is super honest with me or... Continue Reading →
A and I have been enjoying Singapore as much as possible. Of course, like most travelers, we prefer sunshine over rain, but that's not holding us back (that's why they invented umbrellas and roofed areas). Yesterday we headed for the southern most point of continental Asia: Sentosa. Sentosa can only be described as an island... Continue Reading →
It's been raining so much in Singapore, A and I have been swimming from one place to another. But a little rain never hurt anyone, right? Especially in a place with as much greenery and diversity as Singapore. So, on one of our daily excursions we were ducking for cover at the gardens by the... Continue Reading →
A and I are enchanted by Singapore. A concrete jungle, mixed with Avatar-like concoctions, excitement pouring out of every fiber. You could call it love at first flight! From how easy it was to get through customs, literally took mere minutes and I got candy at the end, to how easy it was to get... Continue Reading →
Our time in Australia has sadly come to an end, but I couldn't leave without giving Sydney one last chance. When we arrived a couple weeks ago, we were greeted by cockroaches, heat and the oncoming of my sickness. Neither A nor I particularly enjoyed the 48 hours we had given ourselves, between coughing and... Continue Reading →
A bird loves a fish 