Back to work, back to normal life, back to the everything that was so meaningless.
January 2011 was, for lack of a better word, shit.
I slaved through it, carrying the weight of my own stupidity didn't do me any favours.
But suddenly a blooming little girl from Bergen was to be my saviour. I decided to park myself at the local gay bar and wallow, once again, in my loneliness. I allowed it to wash over me as easily as i washed beer down my gullet.

"You wanna play with us?", a bubbly little voice tried. "We need one more player, it's just me and my friend".

This option seemed better than my busy night of slurping down my beer to the point that i would go home with anything that would take me.
We began to play some board games and got to talking. Now the phrase "it's a small world" never had much meaning for me before i moved, but it happened indeed to be a small world.
She turned out to be finishing her bachelor in photography in Glasgow, this was funny since i am from Scotland, she was a huge fan of world of warcraft (me being a huge fan myself) and the fact that i had gone to the same Folkehøgskule as a close friend of hers.
Serendipity aside, this was a great night and a great awakening from my current nightmare.
I don't care to mention much else about the on-again, off-again mess but it will crop up from time to time.
I spent the next few months working away, nights out with my new best friend and generally having a good time. We started the big count down to the 17th of May, the national day for Norway and a day off work. I was looking forward to the day so much, i could never have seen what devastation was laying just around the corner.

Summer Loving 2010

It was a whirlwind of a summer. Everything from the pain-staking slow process of registering myself with the local authorities to the lack of communication between the different agencies who held the possibilities of me earning even a penny to actually getting out there and finding a job put a huge downer on everything.
The immigration office spoke to/knew of the tax office about as well as a right wing extremist know of an open mind, as vica versa. After a marathon of trips between them, relaying information back and forth i eventually managed to sort out everything, including a job!

A summer romance happened to spring up in my way during all this rubbish. It was a welcome distraction from it all. I was a working woman, i had it all; a man, a job, a bank account. You'd be surprised how the smallest things make you happy, especially after you're forced to wait for them.

It came after the nondescript "6-8 weeks". Beautiful and burgundy. My very own bank card, complete with my picture, a hideous deformed picture, capturing all my flaws, but i didn't care! I was yet another step closer to being ingratiated. We went out to celebrate, me burning my card as much as i could, a rather welcome spending spree in the eyes of my friends who were of course more than willing to enable my peculiar card use.

I secured myself permanent employ in a kindergarten. Monday to Friday i would be the idol, leader, teacher and boo boo kisser of these impressionable minds. I got to stretch my musical muscles here too, which was a huge bonus and made the position all the more interesting. Twice a week i was to hold a "music time" with the kids. I settled into my new employment quite happily after a few initial humps and bumps.

The year seemed to rush on, October, November, December. This would be my first Christmas away from home. Nothing too daunting for me since i had worked Christmas Day for the past two years. I did have my ex-boyfriend to be with so i wasn't all too bothered. A rather calm ending to the year ensued and then i became ill on the 30th and my new years celebrations consisted of lying very still on the sofa, humming Auld Lang Syne into my cola bottle.

The new year came with a smash. Being dumped tends to put a downer on things. This was only the start in a long, on-going drama that luckily ended - if only two years later...

Recap.3

I boarded the boat. First leg of the mission done. The boat had an eerie feel to it, being empty. It usually held around 300 people, but on this voyage it was only to hold me. I was shown to my room by one of the skeleton crew and told that if i needed anything i was just to ask. He disappeared into the woodwork and i didn't see another living soul for the next 15 hours. 

I settled down in my cabin; out with my laptop, found a power point, organised my bedding and made myself comfortable. Food stores, check. Drinks, check. Time to sleep, yeah right!

I'm not sea worn sailor one might think, coming from an island in the north sea and all. I hate boat in fact, detest them. If i can avoid them i will. The fact that i was about to spend 22 hours on a boat, crossing the north sea, a task i wasn't to sure this little vessel was capable of since it usually only fares over an hour and a half crossing to the mainland. However, if i was going to Norway, this was the way to do it.

After all of an hours sleep during the night i eventually decided 8am would be a reasonable time to "wake up". I ventured out on deck to watch the great sea heaving and swaying. We were like a ting ant of the big bulging belly of a giant, rolling down as each swell left us. Rising for a good few solid minutes, it added a little extra weight, like being on an elevator. I took my bagpipes with me, I'm not too sure why, just for something to do and perhaps a bit of nostalgic patriotism and a dash of longing for home left lingering in me. Well, i blew that all out into the North Sea and went back inside. 

The hours and minutes and second drew longer and longer and longer. Eventually, my phone beeped.

Signal? That could mean only one thing, we were close to land! Right enough, after a mad dash to the front of the boat, in the distance, Norway was erupting before my eyes! The beautiful mountain peaks were peering at me from behind the swells. 

The next few hours went by in a flash and suddenly i was sitting with my baggage waiting to leave the ship. Passport Control and sorted out everything and i was left to my mountain of luggage. In a take some, run back and get some more fashion i managed to inch my way to the exit of the building.

Outside there was a group of happy faces waiting my arrival. They embraced me in much a way reminiscent of 22 hours previous. I was here, i had done it! Let the adventure begin!