The Plump Penguin

Back to work...

2011-08-08T19:04:00.002+02:00

Today was my first full day of work since... last year. Pingu is seven months old today. Husband of feitpingvin has his work cut out for him for the next four months... muwahahaha... As expected, work was a bit chaotic. After reorganization and my group moving floors, I had no workspace and all my crap was missing. By the time I left, I had a desk and I found a good amount of stuff but I'm still

six months

2011-07-09T10:29:00.004+02:00

Our little Pingu turned six months yesterday. To celebrate, he got his first taste of meat. It went down very well :-)He started solid foods at five months. There is a lot of debate as to when to start babies on solids; some say four months others say wait until six months. Pingu was very ready for it at five months. He was showing great interest whenever he watched me eat something and he was

Pingu shenanigans

2011-07-06T15:24:00.000+02:00

Pingu is not allowed to play with power cords. This means that playing with power cords and especially pulling them out of the plug is the best thing in the world to do...I'm pretty good about keeping an eye on him and making sure he stays away from the power cords. But he tries to find ways to sneak his ways to the forbidden fruit... er, power cords. He has discovered that if he "tosses" his

Eurovision...

2011-05-14T22:58:00.001+02:00

I normally do a snarky blog entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, but due to other distractions (Pingu), I decided not to do it this year. It's just as well as this is the worst Eurovision I have ever seen. Usually, Eurovision is "so bad it's good." This year it's all just plain awful...It's a shame that Dana International didn't make it to the final. I would have SMS voted for Dana

Salma colada

2011-04-25T20:51:00.006+02:00

I made this the other day using some of the salmalaks we hoarded; it was a very random experiment. I'll formalize the recipe some day, but in case you're good in dealing with haphazard recipes you can try it yourself...Start cooking the sauce:- 200 ml coconut milk- juice from 1 can pineapple chunks (from those 3-pack things you get in Norway, can edit with more info later) - ca. 100 ml. Be sure

annoying...

2011-04-25T20:48:00.002+02:00

There was this dude at the gym who was lifting up his shirt to check out his "abs" in the mirror. All he had to offer was a round belly, even when sucking it in...Now why couldn't this have happened when I was 30-something weeks pregnant, so that I could carry out my evil plan? The one where I whip out my pregnant belly and admire it in front of the mirror each time I see some dude lifting up his

salmon and vegetables in spicy Thai-style blood orange sauce

2011-04-19T19:19:00.004+02:00

One of the grocery stores here had this really fancy salmon (Salmalaks) on special and I bought a few pieces. We usually use it for sashimi but it's nice for other dishes as well...Tonight I made a sort of Thai-like curry with the salmon. And some blood oranges I had to get rid of. Here's what I did:- Squeezed out the juice of three blood oranges. Put the juice in a saucepan, boiled, and allowed

100 days

2011-04-18T19:11:00.003+02:00

Pingu has now been the Emperor of our household for 100 days now. His first 100 days speech started with some cooing and gooing and aahing, ending with some shrill screeching. A revolution in the midst? Hmm...

getting there...

2011-04-17T17:14:00.002+02:00

I had a really good workout this morning. I seem to be getting somewhere with the squats now, and managed 3 sets of 8 reps at 60 kg. Again, it seems like a weak core is my nemesis. It's the showstopper. And admittedly, I have been bad about training my abs since having the baby. I'm bad about training abs in general; it's so boring. But if I want to get back to the truly heavy squats, I really

"vaccine thighs"

2011-04-13T21:00:00.003+02:00

Vaksinelår in Norwegian. Pingu had his three month control today and, among other things, got some vaccines. His nurse said he had "vaccine thighs" - nice plump thighs that were perfect for sticking a needle into :-DI'm so proud of him too with regard to the vaccines... he got two shots, the first one while he was asleep (rude awakening, the poor thing), and after some screaming and squealing, he

sharp dressed baby

2011-04-11T14:29:00.005+02:00

It was nice and warm and sunny out yesterday, so we all had lunch at a local pub. Unlike his Mamma, who is looking tired and flabby due to lack of sleep and exercise, our little Pingu is looking rather spiffy at the tender age of three months...Of course, it was Mini Wolfgang who taught him how to dress... ... and how to hang out at pubs hehe... which only results in Mini Wolfgang's favorite

three months

2011-04-09T12:02:00.003+02:00

Pingu turned three months yesterday. I was going to post this yesterday too, but I couldn't log in... boo!Anyway, I took him to the clinic to get weighed and he was 6550 grams, meaning he weighs a little over twice his birth weight. Damn he's gotten big :-)He's also changed quite a lot over these past weeks too. He's more curious about the world around him. Some of his signals - cries, facial

stupid calves...

2011-04-02T16:40:00.002+02:00

Don't you hate it when a pulled muscle ruins your workout? And the rest of your day? Grrrrrmf!I did manage to do a set of Tabatas though. I tried to do back and abs exercises after I limped off the treadmill, but my mood was already killed... bah...

I haz shiny new passport!!1!!1!

2011-04-01T17:41:00.001+02:00

Wow, the new passports are really nice. I really like all the different pictures and quotes on the pages as opposed to that old boring design.What's also great is that I could order a 52-page version right away, so that I won't have to deal with getting extra pages well before my passport expires...

comfort food

2011-03-31T19:11:00.004+02:00

Today is one of those not-so-nice spring days. You know, the one that is more of a winter day than a spring day...I'm making meatloaf for dinner tonight, served with mashed potatoes, green beans, and brown gravy. I haven't made meatloaf in ages, and it's the right kind of day for a meatloaf meal...What comfort foods do you enjoy? And what's for dinner tonight?

lazy Thursday

2011-03-31T16:31:00.005+02:00

The weather has suddenly turned from nice to total crap. It was snowing earlier, this wet snow that gets nasty when it hits the ground. Now it's raining. Bah. Indoor weather for sure...I did manage to force myself to go out while it was snowing since I needed to buy diapers and some groceries for dinner. Rather than use the pram, I used our baby carrier. He was awake at the start, and was rather

I hate daylight savings...

2011-03-27T15:06:00.004+02:00

I really need the hour that I have now lost. Because of it, I probably won't be able to take Pingu out in the pram so that he can get some fresh air. I'm off-schedule and in a bad mood because of it. Everything feels so wrong today...I didn't make it to the gym until noon; I had been hoping to go between 10 and 11. Grrr. I did mostly upper body work and I'm still pathetically weak since I'm only

cute and cuddly...

2011-03-25T21:11:00.003+01:00

Taken using my mobile phone. I really should use my proper camera for shots like this...

10 weeks of Pingu-related facebook status messages

2011-03-21T16:51:00.003+01:00

Not all of them, but most of them ;-)Jan 9: Pingu is here! He decided to show up 8th of January at 23:17. He has blue eyes and lots of dark hair, is 49 cm long and 3232 grams. Now... to find a proper name for him!Jan 10 feitpingvin loves the smell of newborn baby ♥Jan 13 feitpingvin walked into the bedroom to see Pingu and husband of feitpingvin sleeping in the *exact* same position! ♥Jan 15

squats

2011-03-20T11:46:00.002+01:00

My postpartum hips are messing things up for doing proper heavy squats. I can only go up to 50 kg and then things start feeling really weird and wrong.At the same time, it seems like doing deep squats while holding the baby is a good way to calm him down. So while it's not the same as having 80 kg on my back, I don't think I'm going to lose too much leg strength. Especially since I'll get more

postpartum - getting back into shape

2011-03-19T18:59:00.003+01:00

Well... it's been 10 weeks since my little Pingu was born, and I need to whip my fat penguiny ass back into shape. Not necessarily to lose those last pregnancy kilos per se, although that is a desirable side-effect. I really need to 1) get my energy levels up, 2) avoid destroying all the hard work I've done before getting pregnant. Plus, Pingu will only benefit from an energetic Mamma who can

Excellent...

2011-03-19T18:30:00.002+01:00

At this moment, my 10 week old son is happily playing with a big plush penguin that I placed in his crib. He's grabbing the penguin's flipper and stroking its back and making these really cute cooing noises...This is a good thing. It's now possible for him to be awake without either me or husband of feitpingvin having to constantly entertain him. I might be able to start getting stuff done now :-)

10 weeks ago...

2011-03-19T16:03:00.006+01:00

...my son was born. That is, he was born the 8th of January, at 23:17. He weighed in at 3232 grams and was 49 cm long, with a head circumference of 35 cm. As you can see in the photo below, when he was about a day and a half old, he was also born with a rather impressive head of hair, and this is something which draws a lot of attention. I love his hair; it's very obvious who he got that from ;-)

@ 32 weeks - and it's a Pingu

2010-11-30T17:30:00.004+01:00

Here I am, taken last Sunday, 32 weeks pregnant: We also found out we're having a little Pingu! We went to a 3D ultrasound at 29 weeks 6 days. So creepy, yet so nifty! I think he looks more like husband of feitpingvin than he does me hehe...

Twelve weeks to go - YIKES!

2010-10-31T19:31:00.002+01:00

I'm now entering the third trimester - twelve weeks to go until miniPenguin is due to arrive. Twelve weeks! I can’t believe how quickly things have gone. It’s so unreal. In some ways it still feels as if I had just found out yesterday, although not quite, as miniPenguin is giving me quite the kicking treatment as I write…Things have been very easy-going for the most part; no real problems or

100 days to go!

2010-10-15T16:30:00.001+02:00

Wow, time flies!

The Ball of Baby groweth...

2010-10-12T18:50:00.004+02:00

I have been really busy lately. The last time I posted was after I got back from a business trip to Sao Paulo and before going on a family visit and sort of vacation to the US. My Ring of Baby has turned into a good-sized Ball of Baby, and it seems to be getting bigger all the time. We had an ultrasound done about a month and a half ago, and everything looked great - healthy here, healthy there.

"5+5+5=15"

2010-08-22T11:38:00.002+02:00

Today's workout:Warm-up: 10 minutes run/jog on the treadmillFor 15 minutes do:5 push-ups5 chins/pull-ups (assisted OK)5 dips (assisted OK)15 Bosu ball squatsIf you're pregnant, do this at a comfortable pace. If you're not pregnant, do as many rounds as you can.

(almost) barefoot, pregnant, and still running

2010-08-06T20:11:00.001+02:00

As most people know, I'm pregnant. Sixteen weeks today. How... interesting...Things have been relatively good so far, at least compared to what many other experience. I haven't had any major nausea/morning sickness, for example. Sure, food doesn't taste quite the same and I'm for the most part not really interested in food at all, but I can still eat. I've had some bad fatigue and nasty headaches

Hah!

2010-06-25T19:51:00.001+02:00

I'm finally able to do unassisted pull-ups (or chin-ups?) again. With my palms facing away from me. OK, it's just one or two at a time, but I can do them!

Eurovision 2010 - my comments

2010-05-29T23:04:00.001+02:00

This post will be updated from time to time, as the show goes on and as I get more inebriated...The previous post has links to the songs. This is just the commentary. I don't have any proper predictions as to who will win this year; a lot of it will depend on how the artists do tonight. Nothing really stands out. I do like Ireland, Israel, Greece, and Portugal, and I think France has a “fun” song

Eurovision 2010 - the finalists

2010-05-29T18:41:00.001+02:00

Here are this year's finalists, with a link to their song. Commentary to come later on...01 AZERBAIJAN 02 SPAIN 03 NORWAY04 MOLDOVA 05 CYPRUS06 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 07 BELGIUM 08 SERBIA09 BELARUS10 IRELAND11 GREECE12 UNITED KINGDOM13 GEORGIA14 TURKEY15 ALBANIA 16 ICELAND 17 UKRAINE 18 FRANCE19 ROMANIA 20 RUSSIA 21 ARMENIA 22 GERMANY23 PORTUGAL24 ISRAEL25 DENMARK

nosy... (with icky pics)

2010-03-21T18:52:00.002+01:00

So, as most of you know, my poor nose was broken during Krav Maga training on the 4th of March, and got it snapped back into place on the 11th. I'm not going to get into the details about what happened. Getting too hung up will only make me unable to continue training. Things get crazy and out of control sometimes. The experience will only help me in future fights anyway. I'm going to be way more

(almost) barefoot Tabatas

2010-03-01T20:17:00.002+01:00

I am now able to do Tabata intervals on the treadmill with my Freaky Fives. I did two sets, with a four minute jog between sets. I was going to do a third set, but I felt my calves getting stiff when starting the jog after the second Tabata set. I still have to figure out how to get them more loose...

delta males

2010-02-21T17:47:00.000+01:00

Normally, I don't pay that much attention to other people at the gym. I'm often too busy doing my own thing to really care about anyone else. The times I do notice other people are when they make themselves so conspicuous in some way or other that you can't help but notice them. Sometimes it's some freak or other with some extreme choice of clothing or footwear (yeah, I know, my freaky fuschia

(almost) barefoot running - getting faster

2010-02-20T16:55:00.002+01:00

Monday and Saturday seem to be my cardio days for now. It fits in well with the rest of what I do - Krav Maga on Tuesdays and Thursdays, weightlifting on Fridays and Sundays, training-free on Wednesday...Anyway, I started working on faster intervals on Monday. I did a 10 minute walk/jog warm-up, followed by intervals of 4 minutes fast jogging/running and 1 minute walking. I started my 4 minutes

(almost) barefoot weightlifting

2010-02-14T17:17:00.003+01:00

In addition to my freaky fuschias, I have a pair of black KSOs. I've been using these for my past two weightlifting sessions...All I can say is WHY HAVEN'T I DONE THIS SOONER? Oh yeah, I did have a few sessions here and there between acquisition of my five fingers and now, but at that time I had injury issues and wasn't really "into" my lifting. But now... wow! I'm not sure how to explain it. I

pink and punchy

2010-02-14T16:29:00.002+01:00

In honor of that ridiculous fake corporate holiday designed for mass consumption and making the weak-minded feel inadequate, I bring you the following:Roses are redPunches are pink.Beware of my penguinsThey'll make you extinct.

(almost) barefoot running update

2010-02-13T15:42:00.003+01:00

The (almost) barefoot running with my freaky fuschia Five Fingers has been going quite well. Aside from one training session where one of my calves was stiff and didn't want to loosen up, and one training session where I used my black KSOs instead of my freaky fuschias (these were inducing blisters on the sides of my feet), I've been progressing quite nicely.Today's workout:- 10 minutes of mixed

(almost) barefoot running

2010-01-29T20:52:00.002+01:00

So I did a session on the treadmill with my freaky fuschia Five Fingers!I normally don't do cardio on Fridays, but we had a rather taxing Krav Maga training last night. Among other things, we did lots of groundwork, followed by 20 minutes of doing as many rounds of 7 squats + 7 sit-ups + 7 push-ups as possible, followed by 200 squats. I just couldn't handle doing strength training today...Anyway,

my name is feitpingvin, and...

2010-01-27T20:36:00.001+01:00

...I'm an exercise addict.Today is my day off. People struggle to go to the gym; I struggled to not go to the gym today. I'm still obsessing about what I wanted to do...It's Time Magazine's fault for this article about barefoot running. It made me want to test out my Vibram Five Fingers on the treadmill. I didn't get to play with them much last summer, due to an injury. And injuries happen when

Chest out, stomach in!

2010-01-18T20:20:00.000+01:00

Argh, am I the only one who gets really bothered by people who slouch? What ever happened to good posture? You know, the whole chest out stomach in thing, keep your back straight, blah blah... now all you see are people slumped here and there, curved spine, hunched up shoulders, looking down... what gives?Ladies, slouching makes you look fat and dumpy. All the fancy clothes and shoes and whatnot

birthday RoF stuffing - Statholdergaarden!

2010-01-10T21:16:00.008+01:00

As tradition dictates (gourmet RoF-stuffing rather than gifts), husband of feitpingvin took me to Statholdergaarden for my birthday dinner. Statholdergaarden has one star in the Michelin Guide; they are located in the city center, in a building originally built for the Master of the Mint in 1640...We had quite an

As 39 approaches...

2010-01-03T15:21:00.002+01:00

Yeah yeah. So I'm turning 39 very soon. Which means 40 is just around the corner. Which means the usual “40 things to do before 40” crap (in the same style as those “30 before 30” and “50 before 50” lists). I found this 100-item list on some random website. It seems to be slightly US-centric, which is OK since I grew up

10 for 2010

2010-01-01T21:47:00.000+01:00

I don't do resolutions for the new year. I find them rather asinine. The typical example of new year's resolution asininity (is there such a word) is the gang of wannabes who join the gym, hog all the equipment and otherwise pretend they know anything about training (every year, at least someone tells me that lifting heavy weights will make me look like a male bodybuilder), and then disappear in

chondromalacia

2009-07-17T18:11:00.003+02:00

The evil left knee has chondromalacia.I've had the same problem with the right knee a long while back, and the right knee is, for the most part, fine now. After lots of hard rehab/physiotherapy work on it, of course. So it is possible to fix the problem. The advantage I have now is wisdom gained from previous experience (I know what to do and what not to do) plus knowledge on nutrition for

Krav Maga update...

2009-06-18T17:26:00.000+02:00

Husband of feitpingvin and I had grading on Tuesday, and passed. We're Graduate Level 1 now. I have a shiny new blue patch and a gorgeous new diploma. The diplomas for graduate level are far prettier than the ones for practitioner level :-)It was an extremely difficult grading, both physically and mentally, and I'm lucky I passed at all. Seriously. I just "wasn't there" the way I should have been

freaky fuschia five fingers - so far so good (I think)

2009-06-01T22:06:00.003+02:00

A little while ago, in some conversation with one of my net buddies, I learned about the existence of Vibram Five Fingers. Being the kind of freaky person I am, I was immediately fascinated by them. Husband of feitpingvin was equally fascinated (you see how perfect we are for each other haha). We wanted to know where I could get them in Norway. It turned out it was not possible to get them in

my tits are blue...

2009-04-12T17:56:00.000+02:00

our babies!

2009-03-09T21:59:00.005+01:00

We have babies! Sweet little babies! Husband of feitpingvin and I have adopted FOUR African penguins from SANCCOB! Wheeee!OK, we don't actually have them with us (duh), but by contributing to the care and rehabilitation of penguins and other South African coastal birds, these penguins are "ours" :-) Too bad tourists can't go to see the colonies at Robben Island or Dyer Island. It would have been

battered and bruised

2009-01-31T20:36:00.000+01:00

We had a seminar with *the* Eyal Yanilov today, from 9 am to 5 pm. OK, our lunch break was for an hour and a half, and we really didn't start until 9:30, but we ended after 5 pm. The last thing on the agenda was kind of a mind-over-matter 10 minutes of nastiness where we had to hold a certain position for those 10 minutes... ugh... and everything in between, well, it was up to us really, but in

quack quack nom nom

2009-01-11T21:44:00.003+01:00

As tradition dictates, husband of feitpingvin and I celebrated my recent birthday by going out to eat at a gourmet restaurant. This year, we went to Le Canard (anda/the duck), which has one star in the Michelin guide.The restaurant itself is located in Briskeby, one of the posh parts of Oslo. The dining room is spacious and airy; there is ample space between the tables. The tables are also

the war on pink

2009-01-08T20:19:00.001+01:00

So pink is damaging for girls but blue is not damaging for boys?I think some of these "commentators" take themselves too seriously. They go on and on as if every single thing out there for every friggin' female is pink. Sheesh...

29...

2009-01-07T22:21:00.000+01:00

After the 9th time, I think I have the hang of it :-P

may you have a pink and floozied 2009!

2009-01-01T12:58:00.001+01:00

when evil pomelos meet their match

2008-12-30T21:52:00.001+01:00

Alternativ jul

2008-12-26T17:28:00.020+01:00

It was the same procedure as last year - husband of feitpingvin and I spent julaften (Christmas Eve) and 2.juledag (Boxing Day) at Alternativ jul doing the dishes. Husband of feitpingvin sent stuff through the industrial dishwashing machine while I did a lot of manual washing, mostly of pots and pans, and cleaned up the dishwashing area every chance I could. At one point during julaften, husband

ah yes, the usual "holiday food will kill you" stupidity

2008-12-25T17:59:00.002+01:00

As usual during this time of year, lists like this one show up and tell you that you are going to get really fat and all kinds of nasty health problems and die if you eat typical holiday goodies. Well, geez. I thought a good part of helping people lose weight and get healthy and fit was to give them a healthy, angst-free attitude towards food. That is, for example, that you don't tie in negative

god jul!

2008-12-24T11:46:00.002+01:00

today's good deed...

2008-12-23T18:11:00.004+01:00

Husband of feitpingvin and I had just finished a workout at the gym. When we were going to cross a rather busy road to get home, we saw a young gull - one of this year's chicks - on the other side. Something wasn't right about it; it was holding its left wing in an awkward position, and it wasn't flying away when people walked by it. When we crossed the road and approached to take a closer look,

as to not be outdone by Pooty Poot...

2008-12-23T10:52:00.003+01:00

Barack Obama...And in case you haven't seen Pooty Poot...

Do NOT give money to street children!

2008-12-22T23:04:00.004+01:00

Sure, there's an "economic crisis" and you may see more beggars on the streets, including child beggars. But before you give that urchin with the big, sad, hungry eyes your loose change, keep the following things in mind.Money given directly to street children:promotes a lifestyle of beggingis frequently used to buy harmful substancesis given to adults who force the children to beg for

oh, and speaking of cluelessness...

2008-12-21T16:19:00.002+01:00

I saw this gem the other day. It's so full of fail it's unreal, and it's typical of "journalism" these days, especially in matters relating to science, nature, health, and medicine. And if that weren't bad enough, you should read the comments. People actually wash their produce in bleach. Fascinating. I'll bet these are the people who are sick all the time...It really makes you wonder how human

a cute little Yule robin

2008-12-21T10:07:00.002+01:00

Here's a lovely little wintery robin. However, the journalist has it all wrong, as journalists often do when writing about anything science or nature. (Yep, this is a big pet peeve of mine.) The robin is not albino. If it were albino, it would be completely white with red eyes. The worse part is that the journalist writes that the bird's condition is caused by hypomelanism, but doesn't seem to

Bigotry baiting under the guise of political correctness

2008-12-19T20:30:00.002+01:00

The more I read about something-or-other Christmas being banned because Christmas "offends" other cultures - the whole "War on Christmas," for example shit like this (OK, we're talking about housing association twats and they're by default a pack of dumbasses, and they took back their petty demand, but still) - the more convinced I am that it has nothing to do with "offending" other cultures and

January sales in December

2008-12-16T08:28:00.002+01:00

So there's this so-called financial crisis, and all the stores are having sales now. Yep, in December. Right before Christmas. Supposedly, this will get people to buy more stuff to give as presents or whatever. Just what we all need. More stuff. Yippee...I have never seen anything like this before, at least not here. Sales are for January, not December. I wonder what's going to happen in January,

Elephants 'die earlier in zoos'

2008-12-11T22:56:00.003+01:00

According to this article in the BBC, elephants die earlier in captivity than in the wild.Well, duh! Elephants are highly intelligent herd animals with close-knit kinships, and need a lot of space and intellectual stimulation. They get stressed out and depressed quite easily. Wouldn't you want to die sooner if you were stuck with monotonous days and boring routines, and perhaps even abuse, with

pepperkakepingviner!

2008-12-11T22:25:00.003+01:00

I just got done decorating this year's batch of pepperkakepingviner - Norwegian pepperkake cut into a penguin shape. I've been doing this for the past four years. My infamous penguins have sort of become an expectation now...I haven't taken any photos yet, and I'm really not sure if I will this year (unless I bake and decorate another batch). Circumstances beyond my control and all. I'll try but

the next best thing to penguins...

2008-12-10T21:15:00.000+01:00

Puffins!

midweek report, rants, raves...

2008-12-10T17:09:00.001+01:00

I can't stop eating pepperkaker and clementines...Martti Ahtisaari of Finland received the Nobel Peace Prize 12:49 in Oslo today. Congratulations!Last night was the last formal Krav Maga training until next year. Grading is tomorrow, but not for us. We have to wait at least a year until we are allowed to go for G1. This is a good thing, because I'm nowhere near ready for G1 grading now...High to

Mmm... pasta...

2008-12-06T15:16:00.004+01:00

We tried a relatively new restaurant for lunch - Brunello. I had ricotta and spinach-filled ravioli with three different sauces - pesto, butter and sage, and tomato. Husband of feitpingvin had pizza with different kinds of cured meat, mushrooms, and gorgonzola. The pasta was very good and cooked to a perfect al dente, and it was nice having the three different sauces for different kinds of tastes

everything is better with bacon

2008-12-03T21:06:00.002+01:00

Mmm bacon...The bacon and apple coffeecake looks especially interesting. I'll have to try making that sometime. Perhaps over Christmas/New Year's break...

99 things...

2008-12-03T19:03:00.002+01:00

This is some kind of "what have you done on this list" meme. I've bolded my "done" things; some have comments in parentheses. 1. Started your own blog (duh)2. Slept under the stars3. Played in a band4. Visited hawaii5. Watched a meteor shower6.Given more than i could afford to a charity7. Been to Disneyland or Disney world8. Climbed a mountain9. Held a praying mantis10. Sang/played a solo11.

long time, no writing here

2008-12-02T16:36:00.003+01:00

Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm a bad little penguinette. I've just had too much going on...To sum things up since my last post (the first of April):- don't know if I mentioned I started a new job in March. It offers new challenges and stuff, and although I had a really rough start, things seem to be going well now. I'm finally on an interesting project. Yay! Unfortunately, I can't talk about it... ;-)-

I'm going on holiday to King George Island!

2008-04-01T20:24:00.000+02:00

I can't wait to see these little miracles of evolution in real life!

Friday's fishy feast at Fjord

2008-03-02T17:58:00.009+01:00

On Friday, February 29th, we ate dinner out at Fjord, a new fish restaurant here in Oslo. Having only opened right before Christmas 2007, it's being touted as the best fish restaurant in Oslo. As we had an excuse to go out and do something interesting (ending one job to go to a new job), and as we love fish and seafood, we decided to check this place out...We started with a glass of Franck

the stick of pain

2008-02-07T21:44:00.001+01:00

You know you're in for a training from hell when the instructor says that he's going to whack you with the stick of pain if your tempo (when doing drills) is too slow...It was a good training though :-)

sure, give Norwegians another reason to hate foreigners...

2008-01-30T19:02:00.001+01:00

This really pisses me off.I need to calm down before I can write much more about my feelings about the matter. My guess is that the people who thinks this is a good thing are the "I'm from Oslo and therefore better than everyone else in Norway" elitist twatballs who want to force the Oslo dialect (a rather unpleasant dialect I must add), and it's a severe insult to everyone from anywhere else in

Sedentary life 'speeds up ageing'

2008-01-29T11:52:00.000+01:00

One of those "no shit, Sherlock" articles, this time from the BBC. It's still rather interesting...In dumping that sedentary lifestyle, keep in mind that low intensity aerobic exercise is NOT the way to go in the long run. You will get the best results, including significant anti-ageing results, from doing anaerobic exercise (weights) and high-intensity interval training as your cardio as your

Yay! Krav Maga!

2008-01-24T21:46:00.001+01:00

We just had our first training of 2008. Good fun :-DAt the end, we did this interesting variation of the bodyguard drill. The drill involves three people - the bodyguard, the atackee, and the attacker. Normally, the attacker attacks the atackee and the bodyguard tries to do anything to keep the attacker away from the atackee. This time, the bodyguard had to hold the attacker at the hips and

toothaches and gym freaks

2008-01-22T14:34:00.000+01:00

Well, it looks like I'm going to lose my root canal virginity tomorrow. Yay yippee yo. I want painkillers and I want them now...After I was through with the evil dentist and booked the appointment for the root canal, I went to the gym to do the workout I was supposed to do this morning but didn't do due to lack of sleep because of the damn painful tooth. Anyway, it was mostly hardcore-looking

UPDATE - Ms. Freaky Beaky

2008-01-13T12:34:00.000+01:00

NEWS FLASH!!!Nebbeline(*), otherwise known by her stage name Ms. Freaky Beaky, was spotted early this afternoon at her usual hangout at Aker River. She was seen with a handsome drake with a shiny green head; he seemed to be the jealous type, not letting anyone else go near her! Will he smash the paparazzis' camera lenses with his shiny yellow beak? It's risky business, the duck entertainment

Ms. Freaky Beaky

2008-01-06T19:42:00.001+01:00

Boyfriend of feitpingvin and I discovered this unusual female mallard while baiting the local ducks with bread, in order to take some photos of them. At first we didn't know whether she had somehow gotten her beak snapped off or whether it was some kind of birth defect. Upon closer inspection, it looks like some kind of birth defect. Her beak is very short and curved up, and her lovely pink

RoF-stuffing at Palace Grill

2008-01-06T16:01:00.000+01:00

We celebrated my birthday a little bit early, and the usual tradition is to go out for a no-holds-barred gourmet meal. (Not really something I want to do on a weekday.)This year's meal was at Palace Grill. The restaurant at Palace Grill used to serve more simple fare such as burgers. Now days, they serve an up to 10-course gourmet meal. But they do not take reservations. This means you have to

new year, new freaks... (where have we heard this before?)

2008-01-05T12:40:00.000+01:00

If only I could resolve to never be a freak magnet again *sigh*The first freak of the new year. 2nd of January, 2008.It's one thing if you're going to assume I'm a certain nationality based on my looks. I could pass for lots of things and I'm sort of used to people trying to figure out what I am. Not that I ever tell them (it's not their damn business) unless I have a reason to tell them (like in

lens lens baby!

2007-12-25T12:25:00.001+01:00

I got a lensbaby! :-DThe 2.0 to be more precise. I can't wait to start playing around with it...If you don't know what a lensbaby is or what it can do, click on the product link, or perhaps check out the lensbaby flickr group...I also got penguin jewelry - the silver one. Apparently, it was the (plush) penguin and owl families that insisted I get this ;-Boyfriend of feitpingvin got one of these,

moose news

2007-12-05T11:11:00.000+01:00

More crashes in the full moonStatistics show that a full moon really can "bring out the beast," at least in Norway, where the most collisions between cars and moose occur when the moon is full and the weather is cold.Norway's state statistics bureau SSB reports that 1,321 moose were killed in traffic accidents during the past year. Most of them occurred in the winter: Statistics reveal three

Ndihamba Nawe

2007-11-29T20:53:00.000+01:00

I love this song, and I finally got around to finding the lyrics:Chorus x2We bhuti we bhutiWe bhuti mina ndihamba naweWe bhuti we bhutiWe bhuti mina ndihamba naweVerse 1 x2Ngithanda na le wayUnguyo ngakhonawebhuti mina ndihamba naweNgithanda na le wayUcula ngakhonaWebhuti mina ndihamba naweBridge 1 x2Eh ndihamba naweHei ndihamba naweWe bhuti mina ndihamba naweWe bhuti ndihamba nawe, We bhuti

an addendum to that bear story

2007-11-17T16:04:00.000+01:00

owl in the city

2007-11-15T18:28:00.001+01:00

This birdie was in my neighborhood, but I didn't get a chance to see it :-(Be sure to click the link for photos goodness :)City owl gets helpA wayward and apparently ailing horned owl has been rescued from city perils in downtown Oslo.The Agency of Outdoor recreation and Nature management took the owl into care on Wednesday, after days of sightings of the endangered bird in the capital."It is a

karma is a bear

2007-11-15T16:37:00.000+01:00

Bear defends itself against poacherJust so you get that right. The poacher was the one on the attack. Not the bear. I also hope that the poacher's injuries are permanent, disabling, and painful. Just so you know how I feel about the matter...

mmm... wine...

2007-11-10T20:26:00.000+01:00

To celebrate over 400 wines in our tasting database, we bought a 400 NOK wine (well, 431) to celebrate. R. Lopez de Heredia Viña Condonia S.A. Cosecha Gran Reserva 1981 (Rioja, Spain)grape varieties: Tempranillo, Grenache noir, Graciano, Mazuelo/Cariñena color: clear reddish/dark coralish-brownnose: floral and aromatic, also earthy, cherries, and leather...palate: flavor of sour lingonberries,

when the news is good, it's REALLY good

2007-11-03T13:18:00.000+01:00

Beer after sport 'is good for the body'A beer after playing a game of football, a long run, or a strenuous round of golf can be good for the body, scientists say.In a rare piece of good news for those who like a pint, Spanish researchers say beer can help someone who is dehydrated retain liquid better than water.Prof Manuel Garzon, of Granada University, also claimed the bubbles in beer help to

hmm...

2007-10-31T12:36:00.000+01:00

Check out The Travelling Penguin as I have put lots of stuff there lately.In case you're wondering about my shoulder, I'm out for the season. That is, no Krav Maga until January. I do go to physiotherapy once a week and it's helping a lot...Not much else going on other than I really miss South Africa...

owie

2007-08-24T18:50:00.000+02:00

Well, I'm damaged goods for the next few weeks. Some asshat decided to do an entirely other defense against a headlock than what the instructors told us to do. I was literally picked up and thrown hard on the mat. Pro-wrestling style, only for real. Right on my left shoulder. All 67 kg. of me. That really hurts...What the fuck is it with young boys and their need to "improvise" like that? Do they

I haven't written much lately...

2007-08-12T12:37:00.001+02:00

I should do something about that.

the harbinger of things to come...

2007-07-26T13:21:00.000+02:00

Way back when I got my first passport ever, a friend of mine looked at the empty pages and said "this is going to get full of stamps..."Well, I'm on my second passport now. I just got back from the US Embassy because I had to get new pages put into this passport, as I'm running out of un-stamped pages. Just like I had to do with my first passport...

trying to figure out a strength+power routine...

2007-06-17T16:47:00.000+02:00

I'm on a Krav Maga break (for formal training anyway) until August. In the meantime, I need something to do, and after the strength drills from hell during Thursday's grading ("the Nazi" among other things), it's quite obvious I need to work on strength...I still want to work on power, so I figured I'll do this during the summer:day 1: legs + back (+ biceps)day 2: shoulders + triceps + chest (+

grading

2007-06-14T23:18:00.000+02:00

I graded tonight, even though I said I wouldn't. We both decided this afternoon to grade. We were very apathetic about the whole thing...We're both P4 now :-)My injuries, in particular my evil finger, weren't bothering me too much. And I was able to execute the most difficult thing in our pensum - defense against an overhead stick attack - almost perfectly. I couldn't be happier about that...My

support Amnesty International!

2007-06-14T08:55:00.000+02:00

Here's why.Amnesty International supports the rights of all women, including their right to abortion when their health is in danger or human rights are violated, especially in cases of rape or incest. This is essential for women's rights... for human rights..."We are saying broadly that to criminalise women's management of their sexual reproductive right is the wrong answer," Amnesty's deputy