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[Kagus]

Well, I'm back.  Apparently, it's now my turn as slave for the week.  Clean up after each meal, take out the trash, restock the plates and cups, and go around school shutting things down for the night.

Mind you, it's really not that bad.  The kitchen staff is a blast to work with, and the stuff they put us up to isn't all that demanding.  The rounds are relatively easy too, just go around locking doors and turning off lights and jam your foot in the occasional trash can to mash the contents down into a smaller-looking pile so you don't have to take it out just then.

And I get to do all this while travelling around with a couple relatively nice gals, and playing Scorpions, Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin off my phone to ward off the downright creepy silence of making the rounds (mind you, I get a kick out of creepy stuff.  However, I am highly courteous, and would never allow two young damsels to get creeped out just for my pleasure.  ...  Well, alright, maybe just a little...).

Only unfortunate aspect of this is that I seem to have lost my keys somewhere along the line.


Got a package of Inka Corn shipped over from stateside.  I've managed to get a couple folks snagged on it, and I've been handing out some bags to set the hook even more firmly.  With any luck, I'll be able to control them utterly through the use of my addictive corn snacks...  MUAHAHAHA!

Only problem is, I've only got six bags left now, and I'm hooked too.  Should start charging to fund my own habit.


Class today was mildly dreadful.  We had our secondary teacher today, since he switched some days around with the primary teacher.  Focus was centered on the films, and on showing them to the rest of the class so that those who hadn't been involved could give their thoughts.  First up was the five-minute film, which I think everyone had already seen.

Time to talk about it.   Or, rather, time for teacher to talk about it.

...

Good lord, has he really been talking about the possible morals, hidden meanings and advanced narrative techniques in a plotless five-minute gore flick for FORTY-FIVE MINUTES?  Egad. 

Anyways, next up was our film.  Coming back to look at your own work after a long period is one thing.  Coming back after a long period and looking at work you completed at 3:00AM is another.  Coming back, converting something you completed at 3:00AM into a workable video file (which makes it look even worse) and then playing it using the notorious Windows Media Player coupled with an evil sound system which delights in screwing everything up is something completely different.

Luckily, when it was finished we only had eight minutes before class ended so he didn't get a chance to talk our ears off again.  And, we had an entertaining question and answer session with the other classmates (including one guy who saw a chronological error that we had joked about throughout the editing process because it was so dreadfully obscure and difficult to notice that it was hardly worth mentioning)

Un-luckily, we're going to be continuing tomorrow right where we (he) left off.  However, we've got one more film to see...  One that I am very, very keen to hear his comments on.

Also, the planned screening of these features is tomorrow at 8:00.  Should be fun, showing something that you are NOT proud of to 90+ people.  We need to work out what we're going to say beforehand...


We also had a little prescreening yesterday.  Things didn't go as well as might have been hoped.  Of the three people who were brought in, one left without saying anything and another came back later (after the screening) to ask if we had finished it yet.

But I wasn't there to witness that.  I was mopping the dining hall floor.  And dammit, I was proud.


On a completely unrelated note, someone found a creepy gas mask around here and used it to scare the daylights out of a gal who was stepping out of the shower.  Later, I got to try it on.

Naturally, I had to go and put on some other things as well.  A few moments later, I'm decked out in my black leather trenchcoat, black leather gloves, black fedora and black CIA boots.  The main point of contrast was the pale gray of the rubber gas mask.  Seriously freaky, if I must say so myself.

Unfortunately, the mask is completely ass-backwards.  The valves are reversed, so you breathe in through the unfiltered side and then filter your exhalations.  Really useful.

Also, there was no one around to show my costume to.  I'd even managed to acquire a black-and-silver cane to add to the effect...  Ah well, always another night.

Gas masks make awesome noises when you scream psychotically through them.  At least I assume they make awesome noises, because the reactions were certainly awesome.  Belching also illicits favorable reactions in others, but may cause minor suffocation depending on what you last ate.


I am seriously tired right now...  Have been all day.  I had intended to go to bed as soon as possible, but now it's quarter to 2 and I'm blathering this nonsense instead of sleeping.  Good night.

[LASD]

What happens to Sandy Fjord when the school ends? If it ceases to exist, I'm going to miss it as it's always great fun to read.

I felt the need to comment as I noticed the comment to blog-post ratio at the start of the thread and your nights spent without adequate sleeping. Let's just admit that we're afraid to comment as our posts are bound to be absolutely inferior to yours, Kagus.

[Kagus]

Well, yes, Sandy Fjord will most likely be finished when the school ends.  I may decide to resurrect it when it comes time for my turn as visitor in the "last year" party event, but that's gonna be it.  Same as how the India thread strangely stopped updating after I left India.

But the future will likely hold other opportunities for me to rant late into the night about.  I will probably go to some establishment of even higher education after Skiringssal, and due to the increased stress levels of a "real" school, I'll have even more interesting stuff to say and even less time to say it.  Woohoo.

Speaking of he future, a rather amazing opportunity has been plopped on our doorstep...  NRK, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is holding a comedy competition.  We, the fine students of this fine establishment, have been finely invited to join in with our own fine material.  Fine.

This would just be cool, but the prize is beyond belief.


Winner gets their own program.


Right here is the opportunity of a lifetime.  And it was on a piece of paper that was just lying on top of a stack of college magazines that nobody ever reads.  It had a little note on it that said "HANG THIS UP!", but that obviously hadn't happened.

If we manage this, and I honestly think we've got a shot at it, that pretty much does it.  The chances are certainly not favorable enough to count on, but hell...  If we somehow pull it off, we're set.


If not, oh well.  I'll probably find something else to do.  I can learn how to do those full-body painted costumes.  And forget to bring the brushes, naturally.

Yeah.  Don't know what I'd be willing to do, really...  I know!  I'll be a writer!


Only problem with that is that it means I wouldn't be doing any other stuff interesting enough to write about.  There's only so far you can go with describing just how terrible your grandfather's dog smells.  After that, you're reduced to posting pictures of cats, and then you've just degenerated into the lowest form of self-expression; The Net Blog.


But that's much too far into the future to think about.  I mean, hell, I've still got a couple weeks of my life left before I have to get on with living it!  Speaking of which, Film class just got back from talking with Clothing about the upcoming elevkveld. 

I'm going to be Jesus.

[Kagus]

Okay...  Tonight was film night for us dudes in F&TV, where we got to show off all our poorly-made amateur shorties to the rest of the school.

First up was the five-minute wonder, with its utter lack of plot and acting talent.  This was actually a good start, because it was easy to watch (no complicated storyline to figure out), was edited professionally and was just downright stylish.  Much enjoyment ensued.

Then we went up.  We introduced the film, mentioned that there was no dialog in the film, that we didn't have enough time to make it the way we wanted and just gave a little background on the basic premise.

The silence in the film was matched by the silence in the audience during the screening.  This was at first just because we had caught their attention, but later on it seemed like it was due to a lack of things happening.

The player also decided that our film was the only one that needed to have its transitions f*ed up, so much fun was had cursing at the thing for ruining the already fragile atmosphere of the film.  The spook scenes, however, remained intact.  This did not make them elicit any greater response from the audience, however.

And finally, it was over.  We received applause, and we went in front of everyone to answer some questions and say a few words.  It was actually alright, managed to sneak in a few appreciatively humorous comments in the las segment, and the applause sounded at least somewhat heartfelt.

Lastly, the Drops movie.  We had been waiting all evening to hear what the response was to this truly horrific production.

Well, we heard it.  The very first spook scene (which, compared to the rest of the film, is actually well done) caused a massive screech to rise from the assembled.  The second, which was a transparent me popping up from behind a wall (accompanied by a truly grating violin screech that is so dreadfully cliché that I can't help but wonder why anyone could possibly imagine using it) pulled forth yet another scream.   The third, which was a repeat of the second, got them again.

And it continued on like this, with roars of laughter followed by howls of terror.  All the way to the end, which received a cacophony of applause from the assembled.


This film, which is the epitome of "Teen Horror" films, somehow managed to supremely entertain the collection of, well, teens.  How strange.  Much as I am unsatisfied with our own film, I still think it's better than that debacle.  And I bloody well made it, so that means I know (and see, each time) every damned shortcoming that the film possesses.  I see the editing mistakes, the continuity errors, the chronological goofs, the acting failures, the camera movement that looks like it's being handled by someone with cerebral palsy, the poor transitions, and all the other delightful subjects in the court of pain that is our movie.  And I still think it's better than theirs.


But, hey, why not.  Let the last glory go to the group with the asylum reject.  Let them control the excited discussions and the taglines supplanted firmly in the memory of those who watched.  Let them have their pedestal of worship.

I have succeeded in scaring the entire, damn, school.  I am an icon of terror.  My soulless stare has chilled the hearts of all those who dared glance at it, and my shadowy exploits have caused those who witnessed them to look over their shoulder every so often as they walk down the corridors of this school, just to clear the suspicion that I am there, watching them, following them, counting the last moments of their lives...


In other words, my lack of acting ability was apparently not noticed.  Cheers.


I still haven't found my damn keys yet, though...

[Kagus]

Friday today, which means philosophy.  Started out by having a little explanation of drama and dramatics, and we were then supposed to group up in twos and try and tell each other the beginning of something in such a way that they would get interested and want to hear more.  Didn't have to tell all of it (in fact, it was recommended against) and it didn't have to be truthful.

I figured this would be a piece of cake.  But after a remarkably lackluster start phase (as most of our philo assignments tend to go...), my partner took off to take a phone call and I was left playing a guitar I had brought up with me.  Everyone else was busy recounting stories in one group.

When the time ran out and the teach returned, he began asking people how they had started their tales. 

After going one-by-one down the line, he ended up with me.  I hadn't been talking with anyone, and since he had just heard about how the phone conversation went with my partner, he knew it.  He mentioned that I didn't tell any story, and was about to move on.

That's when I said "actually, I started off a little like this" and then started playing what I had been doing on the guitar.  Hey, I'm sleep-deprived.  I thought it was funny.

Well, the thing I played sounded a little exotic, and was actually pretty interesting.  He commented on how it sounded like Flamenco, and how Flamenco generally follows pretty much the same pattern as I was playing (intro, slower period, intro repeated with more energy, so forth) in order to tell a story.  So, since I had started "telling a story" in a fashion that got people interested in hearing how the rest of it goes, I had completed the assignment.

Man, guitars fix everything.


After that, we watched the Drops film.  The philo teach had heard a bit about it since he had subbed as Film teacher back when it was being made.  He had made several assumptions about the film, and seemed to have relatively high expectations for it.  He was using it as an example of standard film storytelling techniques, which is why it popped up in class (to illustrate some more dramaturgy).

Well, we watched the whole bleedin' thing, now didn't we?  I think the teacher was slightly shellshocked afterwards...  I think he was expecting the latter half of "so bad it's good", instead of the whole package. 

Anyways, while watching, I thought again about how it'd be kinda nifty if the story told in this movie actually happened (at least in some degree) previously at the school.  I'm pretty sure the only reason I thought this is because it was the only film that actually took place at Skiringssal...


Well, after the viewing, the teach stood up and started discussing the film with us.  What was nice was that he sounded more like a viewer than a teacher, and could thus more effectively speak with us instead of at us.  Probably a side effect of finally figuring out what the film was actually like.  There was really no reason for saying that.  I'm tired.

Anyways, after some smalltalk about getting spooked and how scary I am (not was, am), the teach jokingly said how he probably shouldn't tell us the real story about the janitor.


Speaking of how to start a story and get people interested...

Turns out, something did happen here a long time ago.  I don't know exactly how close the story is to the one depicted in the film, or if there is any relation at all, but still...  Saying that there was indeed a "true story" about the janitor got everyone on their toes.  He semi-promised to bring along the VHS with the interview telling the story sometime.  I eagerly await that moment.


Well, that's pretty much that.  Not a whole lot happened today otherwise.  During the evening lockup rounds, I showed the script written by Drops to my two week-slave companions (always three to a week).  I delighted in showing off the madness inherent in the system.

Also, I took a trip down into one of the basements in order to shut off a couple lights.  The reason *I* went down there was because the two gals accompanying me refused to go down there.  "Too creepy".

Admittedly, the place is pretty freaky.  That's why it was used in the film (and on Halloween).  I don't think the added spook-factor the film provided made anybody more intent on going down there, even if the "scary ghost" happened to be doing your job along with you while wearing a "Kiss me; I'm three-fifths Irish" t-shirt and holding a couple trash bags.  Ooh I'm shakin', I'm shakin'.

Anyways, turns out the light switch wasn't even IN the basement.  I was just wandering around in there for nothing. 

On the upside, I actually find such spook places invigorating.  Guess I just feel at home.


Well, Saturday tomorrow.  But is it a free day for me?  Hell no.  I've still got the same duties as the other days, plus a seminar after breakfast (again, the term "seminar" is used very lightly.  It's a Texas Hold'Em mini-tournament.  I expect to lose all my money in the first round), and quite possibly some elevkveld work after that.  Same deal for Sunday, except no seminar.

Ah well...  No rest for the wicked.

[Kagus]

Actually, I may end up getting to sleep in on Sunday after all.  The kitchen staff are nice enough that they're willing to do all the jobs themselves on Sunday so that WE get a break.  Sweet deal.

And since a lot of the gals from Clothing have got the seminar on Sunday, it's been decided to meet up after the seminar and just do everything then.

Means I get to sleep 'til the end of the seminar.


Anyways, poker tournament today.  I didn't lose it all in the first round, but the second one took my chips quickly enough (well, two hours).  Still though, that means I was second place in the finals.

Yes, "Mr. Las Vegas" lost at poker.  Imagine that.

Still though, since I won at my first table, I do get a small prize.  Don't know what it is yet.  Probably candy of some sort...


Not bad for a first time though.  Never played a real Hold'Em game before.  My only experience has been online, where I lose every time.

[Kagus]

Had a little talk about what we were going to do for the broadcast, and I ended up working with my old partner-in-crime, the one I made that mildly dreadful "ten minute" film with.  We decided to make an insane music video based on an equally insane song ("Lie To Me" by Tom Waits).  The result was fun to film, fun to edit, fun to watch, and was completed in a day.

I'd say we're a hell of a lot better at comedy than drama.


As a side not, we were chatting last night and he started telling me about a film idea he and a buddy of his had thought up a long time ago, and were planning to get official funding for so that they could make it into the real deal.  It was a completely original film idea that they had come up with, and he was very proud of it.

He then began to outline the synopsis of "He Was A Quiet Man" (2007), starring Christian Slater.

The news of his idea's contested originality was met with a less than joyous response.


Anyways, the big deal is something my roommate just informed me of (and, of course, he wasn't the first one I heard it from.  Word travels fast between the people who have no business talking about it), namely that he had talked with the social director here at school and had arranged for a single room.

This means, regardless of where he goes, I get a room to myself.  As in, without him.  Or anyone else.

I feel the desire to put on some loud music, rip off my clothes and dance around while bellowing excitedly.  However, I have deemed it prudent to only do so after he's left the room.


Now I just have to figure out where I want to go.  The open room is in the other housing block, and it's my choice if I want to stay in this room or move to the new one.

Although there are some very nice things associated with this block, I think I'm going to have to choose the new room...  The reason being that the sink in here is STILL clogged.  Utterly.

Don't know...  Gonna chat with a couple other folks to see if they have any opinions. 


In other news, I'm officially off week-slave duties.  Woohoo! 

I do feel kinda sorry for the kitchen staff though...  Due to the setup, they went from having me (a guy who, although inexperienced, takes pride in his work and tries to do things in the most efficient manner possible.  Also very willing to help others and make things go as smoothly as possible) to Drops (... Yeah).  I have yet to hear how many times the various tasks need to be explained to him, and I'm still waiting to see a fork show up in the spoon basket.

He's also remarkably lazy and brutally stubborn.  Whee.


So that's that.  I need to give an answer as to where I'm going by end of today, but that shouldn't be so big a deal.

[Kagus]

Picked the new spot.  The sink works.  Awesome.

Y'know, you really have no idea how much useless junk you have until you try to move it from one place to another...  I've got a box of Kransekake that's been sitting around for a while (I've got loads of the stuff, and I don't spend a whole lot of time eating it by myself).

Opening it up, I discovered that it had taken on the aroma of skunk droppings.  Figuring it was just something weird with the plastic box it was in, I sampled a piece.

Although that experience was not entirely unpleasant, the clove aftertaste was a bit disturbing as I don't believe the recipe includes cloves.  Hmm.


Anyways, I've shoved all my junk (and some other junk that happened to be in the right place at the right time, and got to come along even though I don't explicitly own it) into the room and set up my bed.  There are a couple minor things with this room that aren't fully appreciable, but overall it's great.  It's bigger than the old room, I don't have to share it with anyone, it's got better light fixtures, I don't have to share it with anyone, there's a desk, and I don't even have to share the room with anyone!  Neat.

As promised, I ceremonially confirmed the room by putting on some music and dancing around stark raving naked.  However, seeing as it was half past midnight, I decided to leave the excited bellows for another time.

I've still got to unpack, as all my things are still in the bags I brought them over in.  I might find some time to do that in the future.

That's negligible, however.  More importantly, I have not one but THREE chairs!  I'm even sitting in one of them right now.  It's awesome.

Also, DOUBLE BED FUCK YEAH.  Only problem is that the mattress is missing from one of them...  Also, my bedding is wildly mismatched, so if I were to suit up a second mattress next to the one I'm using now it would most likely confirm the suspicions of schizophrenia surrounding me.


Now that I've got a room to myself, there's nothing preventing me from inviting over a few, shall we say, "feminine" guests... Heh heh heh h-

Ooh, buzzkill thought...  Ditto for my ex-roommate.  Hmm. 

However, considering he's about as observant as your average sea cucumber, I somehow doubt he'll be playing the market too expertly.

But then again, considering I'm about as observant as an above-average sea cucumber, I don't expect much more from my side of things.


So, yeah.  That's life as it is when you're a crazy person.  Speaking of crazy, I've taken a peek at the sketches being cooked up by one of the other groups.  It includes ninjas, Batman, snowballs, a Beastie Boys song, an abandoned burger that has grown up to be a small furry mammal, and a compilation of random stunts that are simply too far out there to adequately explain.  Loads of fun.  And I've never seen Batman look so good.

Think I might end up missing the big housing complex...  But I'm pretty sure I made the right choice.

[Kagus]

Well, the school was visited by some famous dancing/acting woman whose name I apparently can't remember.  I thought the name was Larene Vardell or something, but neither Google nor Wikipedia seem to have any idea what I'm talking about.  She appeared on the Muppet Show, and had a show of her own for some time.  Being from California, she didn't speak a word of Norwegian. 

She was visiting the theater class in order to talk with them a bit, give them some pointers on dancing and pantomime, and a few other things.  I really don't know the details.

Anyways, I ended up "meeting" her face-to-face at lunchtime when she as asking what the rice pudding was.  All I noticed was an English-speaking person asking one of the theater students about the food.  He was having a little trouble finding the right word to describe it, so I decided to step in with one of my expertly worded presentations.

"It's rice pudding...  -ish...  Thing.  I recommend the soup"


It was only later that I found out she was very famous.  How impressive.  She's also very old, apparently.  Now that actually is impressive, because she really doesn't look it.  Amazing what an active lifestyle can do to keep a person going.


Found out about it all at morning collective, where it was also announced that next Thursday the school will be visited by a psychologist/psychotherapist/psycho, who apparently has a lot of experience working with folks our age (our age...  18-27?), and has been coming here just about every year.

Uh oh...  Somebody hide me.  I am *not* going back...


*Ahem*...  Obligatory asylum joke aside, it should be fun.  Don't know if I'll be here though, as F&TV is taking off for a two-day trip in to Oslo on Wednesday so that we can look at cameras and stuff.

Work went really slowly today...  The five people who actually got out of bed were hampered by the secondary teacher telling them to stop working on their projects and write up an overview of what they're doing, along with a plan for what they're going to be doing, so that they don't have to go and ask him what they're doing.

His logic fails me from time to time.


Just came back from a practice session with Clothing.  About time we got into it, since none of us are dancers and we need to be ready by Saturday evening.

Which reminds me, we need to finish their films by Saturday evening...  And after about a week and a half of work, we're halfway through.  Doesn't really help having teach hanging over our shoulders and telling us to work on our own projects at the same time, so that everything's ready for the TV broadcast.  Which is in five weeks.

Gonna have to ignore him on that one.  That, and when he told me to write up an overview of all the stuff we've produced for the broadcast, all the stuff we're going to be working on, and the progress/length of each project.

On the huge whiteboard.

In the editing room.

Which isn't locked or restricted in any way.


But enough about that.  I want to talk about something happy.  Like, for instance, the obligatory seminar on Saturday, which will prevent me from sleeping in.  Or the other seminar on Sunday, which will again prevent me from sleeping in.  Or the LARP double seminar next week, which claims both weekend mornings yet again.

Speaking of which, that's gonna be nasty...  First time I've ever been involved in an official LARP thingy, and we're going to be playing double roles.

That is to say, we're pretending to be someone pretending to be someone else.  And, knowing my penchant for perfectionism, I'm going to be stressing like hell to make sure I'm as deep in character as possible.  Whee.


Oh yeah, that reminds me, got to watch the "real" story of the Janitor.  But that's a story that has to wait for another time, since one of the gals from Clothing just put one the pressure to get me working on those half-finished films I mentioned earlier.  Cheers.

[Ryo]

Well, the school was visited by some famous dancing/acting woman whose name I apparently can't remember.  I thought the name was Larene Vardell or something, but neither Google nor Wikipedia seem to have any idea what I'm talking about.  She appeared on the Muppet Show, and had a show of her own for some time.  Being from California, she didn't speak a word of Norwegian. 

Karen Prell, perhaps?

[Kagus]

Nope.  Her first name was definitely Larene or Laureen or something to that effect.  I apparently just don't remember how it was spelled.

And besides, she was more famous-er than Red Fraggle.


It is currently 2:04 in the morning.  I've been practicing a couple dance numbers and editing films.  The practice sessions are tons of fun, and the content isn't generally that difficult to grasp.  The editing is editing, combined with amateur footage that is dreadfully hard to clip together.  That, and I have to put together a couple scenes with music that got completely F*ed up in the recording process.  I've done all I can do for tonight, as I need to get those songs before continuing.

Goddamn...  Film and TV: the art of slacking off until a day or so before due date, and then staying up all night editing.  Booyeah.

And to think I was silly enough to think I could go to bed at 7:30 today...   Ha.


To top everything off, WinAmp is being a bastard and smearing molasses on my Aerosmith.  I do not want molasses on my Aerosmith, thank you very much.

I am really, really tired.  I think it's beginning to show.  There is honestly no sane reason we should be allowed to have creative editing duties at this hour, the product is, has been, and will always be regrettable.

For example, I decided the best method to clip a particular aerobics scene (set to "Don't Stop Me Now" by  Queen) was to include an unintended clip which turns a relatively harmless lyric into a heavy drug reference. 

The problem is that no other clips really work in that space.


Storytime will have to wait.  Haven't got the strength to tell you about the ancient school video we got to see, nor can I do much of anything to describe the eccentric dude who told us ghost stories (quite professionally, I might add).


EDIT:  I don't think I have any plain white T-shirts...  This is actually unfortunate, not to mention relevant.

[Kagus]

Lorene Yarnell.  That's the one.  As you can see, my memory works exceptionally well after five hours of sleep.

Anyways, Thursday.  We got to watch a movie made several years ago here at the school which incorporated elements of the "real" janitor story.  Unfortunately, there's not that much of a connection...  That janitor simply burned alive, while the current janitor story included themes of unrequited love, tragic accidental murder, and exceptionally bad dialog.

However, the film was actually rather impressive (for us film-schooled folks who know what to look for), especially considering that it was made the old-fashioned way.  That is to say, snip-snip-snip with scissors x200, then tie it together with really really tiny thread.  I don't think I could ever bring myself to edit a film without the programs we have now...  Even if Premiere has a habit of nuking your project in some way.

The movie was a fictional piece, but it was "based on true events".  Just like a real movie.

After that, the lights were turned down and several candles were lit.  From the shadows emerged a dark, gaunt man wearing the garb of a privileged man.  He looked to be a man with several secrets, which he obviously took pleasure in teasing us with as he spun his tales of morbid deeds and the eternal fight of light against dark.

The guy was a damn professional.  He carried an air of theatrical performance that simply oozed out of his very being.  He didn't do anything silly during his storytelling, like pull a face and jump at the audience while shouting "Boo!", but damn did he spook them.  He would build everyone's tension and weave them into his story before suddenly changing his tone and mannerism.  All he was doing was telling the story, the shock parts were where he was embodying the tense or scared feelings of the victim in his tale, or simply explaining something quickly.

Nothing scary about that.  But he did it right.  He got people ready to jump, made them want to jump, and then simply gave them an excuse.  Damn professional.

Unfortunately, I was too busy observing how well he was performing to actually get swept up.  The only time I jumped during that entire evening was when my foot slipped during the movie and I hit a button which turned on a bright light right in front of me.  Luckily, I managed to spook a few other people along with me.

Very moving performance.  After all the entertainment was done away with, we gathered together again to get a status update on the LARP seminar which will be taking place next week.  Turns out storyteller man is the one presiding over most of the affair, as he has done at several other LARP occasions.

Oh, speaking of which, I need to write an email to him...  I haven't received a role yet, as I didn't get to talk with anyone that night...  Damn, I wonder how this thing is going to turn out.  Never been to one before, and we're getting double-layered roles.  I'm already schizo enough as it is, dammit!

...  But all depending on the role, that might just be a benefit.


Anyways, we got to watch a low-budget (but rather well-known) Norwegian film today.  Guess who was playing a supporting role as a an aspiring narcoleptic actor?  Storyteller LARP man.

Turns out he actually went to Skiringssal.  What major?  Why, Drawing and Painting, of course. 

Same as the star.


Look, the brochure just says it will open up more possibilities for you after taking a year here...  Never said that they'll have anything to do with your chosen major.


Did a load of laundry today, as I need a (preferably clean) hoodie for the performance tomorrow.  However, since this building has only one functional washing machine, I put my stuff in the other building.  This means I need a key to put in or take out laundry.  Three points to the person who figures out what the problem is.

So, yeah, all my clothes are locked away on the other side of campus.  And, unless someone else has done it, they're still sitting in the damp 'n' cozy washing machine.  All clumped together.

Did I mention that sweatshirts take a ridiculously long time to dry out?


Oh well.  I'll just have to remember to set them out tomorrow.  At least I can sleep for a couple more hours tonight...  Yay.


Not much stress regarding the upcoming performance.  We're still a bit hazy on the "coordinated" part of the coordinated dance scenes, but that tends to just add to the enjoyment.  Plus, all the films are done, finished, and packed up with a pretty little bow.  They even work, which is an added bonus.

And yes, the drug scene is still in there.  Managed to get a good chuckle out of the people who understood the joke.

Both of them.


I was ridiculously tired at eveningbreakfast today...   Could barely bring myself to eat one slice of bread.  Well, I naturally payed for it later by getting hunger pangs right before we declared the evening's elevkveld "test run" a success and started leaving.

No other food being served, so I did the only reasonable alternative.  Went back to my room and ate kransekake (the fresh-ish ones) and inka corn.  Yummy.


Had a discussion with the Brit about the theoretical Balance of Nature.  Damn it's fun to argue with him, it's like talking with a parrot that just keeps turning up the volume and urgency.  The guy has absolutely no idea how to ease someone into a different opinion, and he didn't even listen to what I was saying because it didn't sound like "Yes, I completely and utterly agree with everything you just said!" or "Whoah, awesome.", which are his two acceptable responses.

When I broke off the futile thing in order to get something done, he got seriously pissed.  He growled "Fine.  Have fun" at me before grunting loudly in exasperation and storming off.  Poor chap...  Entirely too easy to get worked up.  But, like I said, lots of fun.


I think he's still mad at me, actually. Quite impressive, seeing as how I even said that I wasn't trying to fight his position, I just have a bad association with one of the arguments he used due to the way a lot of people use it.


Well, ten over eleven.  Bedtime for Bonzo.  G'night, y'all.  Wish me luck with my roles as Jesus, a self-absorbed greaser from the fifties, and a dog.

Speaking of Jesus, my costume is a sheet with a hole in it.  I feel like a pillow when wearing it.  The really annoying thing about this is that there was a perfect robe in the Crappy Costume Closet earlier in the year.  As you can probably tell from the way I said that, it's not there anymore.  Medammit...

[Egil]

Just finished reading this entire thread from page 1 to 18 in one go. Good stuff, often funny and always entertaining. I guess it might be extra interesting for me, being a norwegian myself. Getting a cahance to "see" your own country throught the eyes of non-native is always facinating.
I'm also a little surprised that I've never heard of this school. After all it seems like a pretty decent place.
I must also say I'm a little surprised by your fellow students apparent lack of competancy in english, pretty much all of my friends here in Oslo are at least capable of holding a passable dialogue in english.
Gah this post is really badly written, but hey it's 04.09 in the morning, I have the flu and I can't sleep even though I'm so tired my eyes are burning.
Anyway, keep up the good work, I'm looking foreward to your next post. (See, you've got another follower.)

[Kagus]

It's not so much that their English is that bad, it's just that my English confuses even native speakers more often than not.  I have a tendency to use multisyllabic and archaic terms in place of "common" words.  I've grown so used to speaking this way that I sometimes (particularly now, after spending so much time adapting to Norwegian) am unable to think of more understandable words to describe a thought.

That, and I don't enunciate quite as much as I should...


I've been trying to get more into speaking English with folks, just so I can get used to actually talking, but I just feel weird "pushing" them into a language they're less comfortable with.

By the way, are you aware if there was a big concert in Oslo on Friday?  One of the guys from F&TV had to skip the elevkveld practice round last night because he was going to a concert in Oslo.  He still hasn't come back, but we're hoping he'll be back in time to actually attend the damned thing.


So, we had a seminar today.  Obligatory for the whole school.  It was about Cuba.

A Norwegian gal who had been living and studying in Cuba for a while got up and talked for three hours about Cuba's history, Cuba's politics, Cuba's whatever.

Now this actually felt like a seminar.  Some of the stuff was interesting, but after three hours of "condensed" info, we were all a bit tired.  Especially with the thought that you forced yourself to get up early for *this*?

I did learn some things.  For instance, there was a rumor that certain pizza stands would melt condoms on (I'm hoping decorative) pizzas to make them look cheesier.  Also, in certain parts of Cuba, people who take a liking to you may follow you and jack off.  The gal told us about a kid who was cycling alongside her as she was walking through town.  One hand on the bars and one hand on the pole.

Aside from these interesting factoids, most of the stuff being described was a lot like India.  The hordes of kids (and adults) who will cluster around you, the insane traffic, the less-than-pristine quality of vehicles (however, all the Indian cars I saw at least had floors in them), and a penchant for ice cream.

However, the structure of waiting lines was noticeably different.  In India, people will squeeze as tightly into the person in front of them in hopes that, through some miraculous physics anomaly, they will pass right through and appear one spot ahead in line.

In Cuba, you may go to an ice cream shop and see five people standing around loosely in front of the counter, and about 20-30 people wandering around or sitting on a shady bench.  All of them are waiting in line.

Because of this loose structure, it is best to ask who the last person in line is, as it's quite possibly not the one standing at the end of those five people.


But that's all for now.  Gonna take a shower.  Really need one.  Can't actually remember the last time I took one, but that may be an indication of poor memory rather than poor hygiene.  Or perhaps both.

[Egil]

It's not so much that their English is that bad, it's just that my English confuses even native speakers more often than not.  I have a tendency to use multisyllabic and archaic terms in place of "common" words.  I've grown so used to speaking this way that I sometimes (particularly now, after spending so much time adapting to Norwegian) am unable to think of more understandable words to describe a thought.

That, and I don't enunciate quite as much as I should...


I've been trying to get more into speaking English with folks, just so I can get used to actually talking, but I just feel weird "pushing" them into a language they're less comfortable with.

By the way, are you aware if there was a big concert in Oslo on Friday?  One of the guys from F&TV had to skip the elevkveld practice round last night because he was going to a concert in Oslo.  He still hasn't come back, but we're hoping he'll be back in time to actually attend the damned thing.

Ah, that puts the whole english speaking deal into a bit more perspective I suppose.
And I was aware that Reel Big Fish had a concert yesterday, I found out a little late otherwise I might have gone myself. Beyond that the biggest thing playing in Oslo yesterday was apparently a famus ABBA tribute band. Hope the guy from F&T went to the former not the latter.
Oh, and I've been wondering, how exactly did you end up going to school in Sandefjord, Norway? I understand that you have some family here, but I don't think I've read any explanation beyond that (mabey I missed something).