The world according to Guy

video: skiing in Sørkedalen

2012-01-31T05:59:00.000-08:00

I made a "music video" after skiing this Sunday. I had my GoPro camera mounted to my ski and my head.
I do not own the copyright to the music.
The music is copyright: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

Levitation photos

2011-12-16T01:25:00.000-08:00

I am currently working on the 2012 course catalog for IGM. I´ve wanted to do these "levitation" photos for about a year now, plus I´ve wanted to use this location for a photoshoot for several years, so this is a really exciting project to work on! Here are a few examples:

Water nymph

2011-10-07T01:19:00.000-07:00

Photos taken at a small pond in Drammen. Heidi is the model.

the gay parade in Oslo

2011-06-27T10:06:00.000-07:00

modeling nude for the camera III

2011-06-14T00:18:00.000-07:00

More shots from the photo shoot with Alex Falcao.
These are more of the closeups that he did.
All photos are copyright Alex Falcao.

modeling nude for the camera II

2011-06-10T11:41:00.000-07:00

Some more shots from the photo session with Alex Falcao. I thought the lamp shade was hilarious, and have toyed with the idea of using one of them as my Facebook profile pic.
All photos are copyright Alex Falcao.

modeling nude for the camera

2011-06-08T07:45:00.000-07:00

This is the second time I modeled for Alex Falcao. He wanted details of the body so that you weren´t always sure which part of the body you were looking at. And he kept challenging me into new twisted poses. This was great because it is much like what I am looking for when I take nude photos. I also found out that I was more flexible than I thought ;)
The advantage of posing for a camera vs a "life drawing" class is that I only need to hold the pose for a few seconds :-D

All photos are Copyright Alex Falcao.

movie poster challenge - thor - explained

2011-04-27T00:04:00.000-07:00

I started with the original Thor poster. I then took a self portrait in a similar pose and tried to get the same shadows to save some time in Photoshop.
I had to remove the original text in the poster, then apply my portrait and mask out everything but my face. The eyes were made blue. I had to widen my face a little bit (I didn´t realize my face was that narrow). Finally I had to write in the text back in, using the same Times New Roman font.
The colors in my face and eyes were created with Adjustment Layers.

movie poster challenge - thor

2011-04-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

Just for fun...

video: first bike ride of 2011!

2011-04-19T01:19:00.000-07:00

Iselin and I riding along Gjersjøen on our way back home. The lake is still quite frozen, but if this sunny weather continues it will disappear soon... I hope.

sunday bike ride!

2011-04-19T00:59:00.000-07:00

Iselin managed to get me out of the house on Sunday for this year´s first long bike ride with my Cannondale. The weather was sunny and beautiful, although a bit nipply at first. After an hour though, we both realized we had at least a layer of clothing too many. We covered 60 km in about 2:45. Not the fastest pace, but it was afterall a nice Sunday ride (plus it took some time getting out of downtown). Next time we take the car first, right Iselin? ;-)
Thanks again for a great ride!

1000BodiesProject

2011-03-07T11:21:00.000-08:00

Project: 1000BodiesProject
Photographer: Kenneth Sortland Myklebust (technically me as it was a self portrait)
Model: Me

Kenneth Sortland Myklebust is wanting to get 1000 people to show up and take a self portrait of themselves wearing only a mask. Where you decide to put the mask is up to you. You walk into the studio by yourself and are handed the clicker. You only get one chance. Once you click, get dressed and get back out. A few minutes later Kenneth shows you the finished result.

Check out his Facebook page and join in!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/1000BodiesProject/185052591533187

40 year old crisis?

2011-03-07T04:24:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I´m 42, but I´ve been feeling this way for the last 2 years. I guess "mid-life-crisis" is another name for it.
I just thought my life would be a lot different at 40 than it turned out. I see myself as a family man, with a wife and kids, but here I am... still single and no kids.
My friends keep telling me to join a net-dating service. Have any of you actually tried this? I have! It´s expensive and is mostly guys on there anyway. It´s even more demeaning than being turned down in a bar (which I never go to anyway).
I´m trying to concentrate on the positive things in my life, which basically is work and photography.
Thank you, those of you who have listened to my endless, repetitive stories, as you try to cheer me up. I cherish my friends more than you know!
Ok... back to work...

rest in peace Logan

2011-02-25T06:10:00.000-08:00

Last night I received the sad message that my Mom´s dog Logan was put to sleep. He was about 15 years old. We got him from a shelter in Houston when he was only a little puppy and quickly found his role as a friend, playmate and protector of the household.
The photo below was taken in 2004 when he was playing in the backyard.
Sleep well my friend, and thank you for all the memories.

google translate

2011-02-24T05:23:00.000-08:00

Translating from English to Norwegian, this is what Google Translate came up with:
English: "Backup is important but backing up is not an archive. Learn how to make a true archive to protect all of your digital files for this generation and future generations."
Norwegian: "Backup er viktig, men bak bilen er ikke et arkiv. Lær å lage en ekte arkiv for å beskytte dine digitale filer for denne generasjonen og fremtidige generasjoner".

The first sentence was translated to read "Backup is important, but behind the car is not an archive".

So close...

motion gif test

2011-02-23T05:37:00.000-08:00

Just doing a test for a student in motion gifs... click on the image and you will see how it works.

drawing the nude II

2011-02-18T01:01:00.000-08:00

Here is one of the results from last night´s class. The student drew this during the 2,5 hour class. Pretty impressive.
Maybe I should use this as my new Facebook profile picture :-)

the evolution of guy

2011-02-17T03:09:00.000-08:00

I just loved this! It is one of the drawings from one of the artists in my class. Looks like he did one version per day, so after 4 days he had the drawing below. He let me take a picture of it, but I forgot to ask his name so I can´t credit him, sorry.
Also, I did not realize my back was twisted that much... no wonder my back hurts after 2,5 hours.

pins and needles

2011-02-16T01:41:00.000-08:00

I went back to my physical therapist this morning. Actually, not Siw whom I´ve been seeing for the past 7 years (sorry Siw), but only because she´s too busy.
Anyways, I´ve been going partly because my neck has been acting up again. Plus the static poses in my art classes are doing a number on my lower back.
She, Trude (another cute girl), first worked on my neck, pressing really hard on the trigger points, and also making me do some strength exercises while lying on her bench.
I mentioned to her that I was sore in my lower back, and in my sides where the butt muscles are. I should be careful about what I tell her, because it was off with my pants and she started working on the trigger points. Man it hurt! I did not realize how bad it was. She kept pressing several places, but felt that it was not enough so she brought out the needles again. She had used them last week on my neck. This is not acupuncture, but rather needles that she inserts and then pokes around to loosen up the trigger points. Sounds as wonderful as it feels!
I thought she would be done after the one needle, but no... she used about 4-5 needles. I think she was enjoying herself back there.
She is incredibly good though, and I trust her.

But now I´m sore as hell! Trying not to walk around like an old man.

the standing nude male - a tough day at work III

2011-02-15T01:19:00.000-08:00

So Thursday last week was my 4th day modeling for the art class, still in the same pose as the 3 previous times. The teacher saw me stretching during one of my breaks and asks me if it´s tough. I said "Yes, I am starting to feel it".
He says "well you know we´ve been easy on you"... pointing out afterwards that he normally wants an even more complicated pose, with more twists, and maybe arms in the air.
So... today will be my 5th time (out of 8 total), and he has already told me that they will now want me in a different pose for the remaining 4 classes, and that it will be more complex.
Not sure if I am looking forward to this, but I´ve already lined up my physical therapist to take care of me this week ;-)

drawing the nude

2011-02-10T01:22:00.000-08:00

I thought I´d explain a little bit more what the students are doing during my Tuesday and Thursday life drawing classes. The reason that the teacher wants me to hold the same position for the entire 2,5 hour class is because the students need to "build me up" from the ground, breaking me up into cylinders and geometric shapes, and not just draw what they see.
It´s basically a study in how the body moves, and stands. So they draw me from one angle, then move to a different spot in order to study the same pose from a different angle.
It´s really cool, and if I were to take a drawing class I would probably want to go here, because I have not seen any other school here in Norway teach life drawing in this manner.
Here is an example that I found on the web (it´s not a drawing of me).

the standing nude male - a tough day at work II

2011-02-09T00:34:00.000-08:00

This should really be called part 3, but I never wrote an update from day 2.
On Thursday, last week, I went back for my second day posing for the 2,5 hour life drawing class at the Christiania FriAkademiet school in Oslo. I was still sore from the static one-pose-class from Tuesday, so I was looking forward to doing something new. I got changed into my robe and slippers (always looks like I live there when I do), and got ready to pose. The teacher looks at me and says "do the same pose you did on Tuesday", and "I want the same pose all day".
Oh well.

Yesterday I had my third modeling session with the class, and sure enough: "keep the same pose as last week".
The pieces of tape that mark where my feet were are still stuck to my yoga mat, so it´s easy for me to get back into the pose. But it´s killer on my lower back and my left shoulder (since he wants my left arm to be resting behind my back, right over my bum).

I have already started going to a physical therapist to help me get re-alligned. Probably something I should do regularly anyways, because there is still some knots in my neck from my bike/car accident from 6-7 years ago.

I do enjoy posing for the class though. It´s a very structured class, and it´s the first time I´ve seen a school here in Oslo teaching the fundamentals of drawing the human body. I just wish he would let me do different poses. I´m more than a one-pose pony ;-)

the standing nude male - a tough day at work

2011-02-02T01:46:00.000-08:00

It has been a while, about 2 months, since I have posed for a life drawing class. So I was pleasantly surprised when I suddenly got 8 classes lined up for February.
Last night was my first class, and it is in a school I have not been to before, so I was a little nervous. Every class demands something different, both in the types of poses and duration of each pose. I am used to the short poses, ranging from 1 to 5 minutes, and pretty much poses of my own choice.
It was a fairly big class, with about 15 students, all ranging from about 20 to 60. The teacher wanted me to stand on a table, in the classic "contrapposto" pose, and keep it for 20 minutes. In fact, he wanted me to keep that same pose for the entire class, which lasts 2,5 hours. They put tape around my feet so that I can easily find my way back to the pose after my 10 minute break.
The pose was not that unusual, to start with, but he wanted me to put more weight on the right foot, plus twist my body a little to give the students more angles to work with. In addition he wanted my left arm to rest behind my back, right above my bum, which gave more definition to my back (I guess), and for me to look a little more up at an angle.
The pose is a little similar to the classic Michelangelo´s David, except for the arm.
I spent every 10 minute break with stretching and stretching and drinking water. My right foot was tensing up, and it got worse for every 20 minute session. My left arm and shoulder were kinda sore too from being twisted behind my back. Luckily I have spent the last month preparing for this, with some running and yoga, and I think that saved me.
I got a lot of positive feedback from the teacher and some of the students, and they clapped for me at the end of the class, so I guess I did good. I felt I was shaking a bit towards the end, but maybe they didn´t notice.
Tonight I need to do some yoga in order to stretch out. Next class is tomorrow already, and who knows what he wants me to do then.

the houston skyline

2011-01-01T10:42:00.000-08:00

A quick shot from the car window as we are driving towards downtown. The Houston skyline is so beautiful.

kids can say the most wonderful things

2010-12-25T05:40:00.000-08:00

We are all enjoying our Christmas dinner at my Mom´s in Houston, when my 10 year old nephew Stian raises his glass and says he wants to make a toast. We all raise our glasses and he says "Thank you Bestepappa and Uncle Guy for being here with us for Christmas. I like that you are here".
I got so choked up that I was almost not even able to look back and thank him.

flying to Houston for the holidays

2010-12-23T05:32:00.000-08:00

03:15 - My alarm goes off.

Time to get ready. I did a last minute re-packing… so instead of 2 suitcases I ended up with 1 suitcase and 1 slightly smaller carry-on (plus a backpack), in order to avoid a penalty fee for having 2 suitcases to check in.

04:15 - The car is packed, and Inger Johanne takes me and my Dad to Torp airport in Sandefjord. It is MINUS 21 degrees Celcius outside. The weather has been very bad the past few days, and we´ve been reading about flight cancellations in several cities, including Oslo. Luckily we are further south, and Torp airport has had no problems.

Checking in went smoothly.

06:30 - The airplane is de-iced and we finally leave the cold, freezing landscape. The plane is packed and I could not bring on board my carry-on. No matter, this first leg is only 2 hours.

08:30 - Finally in Schiphol, Amsterdam, probably the cleanest airport I know of. After a bit of shopping and roaming around, we go through another set of scans. This airport had the full body scan that I´ve heard so much about. You stand inside this round elevator/time travel looking thing. I think It´d be cool to wear some sort of message on my underwear so it shows up on their scan. Maybe next year.

This flight is packed as well. And there are delays, because of the problems from the other airports.

12:15 - After sitting in the plane for over an hour, taxiing around the runways, and after the wings are de-iced, we finally take off.

It was to be a boring, uneventful flight… which is actually a good thing. We even had our own tv screen with a remote control, so we could pick from a variety of movies and tv-shows, and even games like tetris and backgammon. Traveling with Dad was nice too and made the flight seem a little faster.

22:15 - Finally, after an almost 10 hour flight, we land in Houston! We are 1 hour late and it is 3:15 pm in Houston, which is 10:15 pm in Norway. Going through customs took another hour, and this time they took me aside to grill me about my re-entry to the states. I hate customs in Houston, because they always make you feel like you´ve done something illegal. But everything was ok, and I was granted entry.

My luggage was waiting for me, and so was Ken who greeted us at the gate.
It is PLUS 26 degrees Celsius here in Houston!

Our arrival was a surprise to my nephew and niece this year, so when we rang the doorbell they were extatic! Both Dad and I greeted them at the door and gave them a big hug.

05:00 - After a nice meal with my Mom and the whole family we finally went to bed around 10 pm, which would make it 5 am in Norway.

We´d been up for 26 hours!

For some reason, both Dad and I still managed to wake up at 4 in the morning, and were wide awake. I guess the jet lag will take a while, but at least this years flight went alot smoother than in previous years. Time to enjoy the holidays with my family and friends.

photo: winter landscape

2010-12-08T03:13:00.000-08:00

Taken from my balcony this morning at 8:30 am.

photoshop: rubics cube II

2010-11-29T03:30:00.000-08:00

Working further with the Rubics Cube. I might do a whole series of these for IGM´s catalog. Even though it´s not the most original idea, it was such fun to put in the face and logos. The most time consuming is creating the clipping path with the pen tool, but it is SO worth it!

photoshop: rubics cube

2010-11-26T04:49:00.000-08:00

In planning our (IGM) next catalog, I got the idea of using my Rubics Cube (which I happened to buy this summer visiting Legoland). It turned out to be really fun getting the different logos in the different places. The Vanishing Point filter was very helpful, as well as lots of masks (about 27 to be exact).

photo shoot tomorrow!

2010-11-12T12:22:00.000-08:00

I am very excited. Suddenly I have 2 scheduled photo shoots lined up!
First one is tomorrow, which will be another pregnant shoot. Haven´t done a pregnant shoot since Iselin´s, and that must be 2 years ago.
Then in a week or so I will get to shoot a couple, which I know will be great.

I know I haven´t written as often as I had hoped in here, but I´ve been wanting to keep this a positive blog, and not just alot of complaining... I´ll just leave it at that.
Hopefully, I´ll be able to update with more photos soon.
In the meantime check out my Facebook page, where I just uploaded a few night-time shots.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fotograf-Guy-M-Huste-hustephotocom/144554692257465

video: last bike ride of the season?

2010-11-01T02:22:00.000-07:00

11:00 am Sunday morning, the phone rings and it is Øyvind. "Get on your bike gear, we are going out for a ride in this wonderful fall weather".
I scurried around my apartment to find all my bike clothing and other bike stuff, plus dusted off my Cannondale which has sadly been neglected this year.
Thank you Øyvind for getting me out in the sun!

new facebook photo page

2010-10-25T15:08:00.000-07:00

I´ve made a new photo page on my Facebook site.
Not sure if this will work, but this should be a link.

video technology - gain weight and muscle

2010-10-21T02:00:00.000-07:00

I have found out how I can gain some weight ;-)
Click on the video link name to be able to watch it in full size.

photo: autumn wallpaper

2010-10-11T04:06:00.000-07:00

Photo taken during my drive home from Imingfjell this Sunday.
I have posted a size that is 1680 x 1050 px and may be a nice wallpaper for your computer. If you would like a different size then let me know :-)

photo Imingfjell 7:30 am

2010-10-09T09:01:00.000-07:00

The Norseman Crew is having our yearly meeting to plan for next years´ event. This year we are at the Imingfjell Tourist Hotell. This was the view out of my window at 7:30 in the morning.

Photo for CD cover: digging through my archives

2010-10-04T01:32:00.000-07:00

Searching through my earlier designs, I came across one of the CD covers that I designed for my Dad back in 2001. He asked me if I could burn a CD for him with "the best" of Yello, knowing I had a bunch of their music. I couldn´t just give him a CD in a sleeve (you know me better than that)... and I saw a perfect opportunity for me to design my own CD cover.
I had some photos of an antique car, taken in Houston, and took it from there.
I loved seeing these photos again... plus, looking through my CD rack, I noticed that I never even printed out a CD cover for myself.

photo as wallpaper

2010-09-28T04:10:00.000-07:00

I received a request for one of my photos to be used to wallpaper a room. Very exciting! This was a shot from the 2008 Norseman, so it was fun just to see the photo again, and to edit it some more.
I don´t know when it will happen, or if it will... but I will take a picture of the room if it happens.

video conference II

2010-09-25T23:07:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Skype I was able to celebrate Stian´s 10th birthday yesterday. My nephew´s new fascination seems to be Halo. I would have loved to be there, but it was pretty cool sitting in Oslo singing Happy Birthday together with my family in Houston.

lier mental hospital VII

2010-09-03T03:25:00.000-07:00

Building E

lier mental hospital VI

2010-09-02T08:33:00.000-07:00

lier mental hospital V

2010-09-02T00:40:00.000-07:00

Lier Mental Hospital revisited. A self-portrait assisted by Nina Holtan :-)

photomission: Jean Michel Jarre: fighting the elements

2010-08-29T04:04:00.000-07:00

Last night, August 28, was a chance to see one of my favorite electronic gurus, Jean Michel Jarre. I saw him in concert when he was in Oslo several years ago, but it was an inside show, so the experience was missing something. Jarre should be experienced outside.
I had a couple of friends who wanted me to buy a ticket... but I opted to prioritize photography. This was a chance to take some superb photos... I hoped.
The elements would be challenging however, as it was raining almost all night long. So in addition to the cold weather, I was trying to balance an umbrella over my camera while focusing and adjusting the camera.
I am glad I prioritized taking pictures. I could hear Mr Jarres music perfectly from the other side of the Akershus Fortress walls, plus I could move around freely to compose my shots. At 11:30 pm I ran from the concert arena to the other side of Aker Pier to get a perfect view of the Fortress lit up with laser beams and fireworks!
I was not home until 2 am, cold and wet... but a nice hot shower, and a hot cup of cocoa warmed me right up as I started loading up the over 200 shots from the long night.

gaustatoppen panorama

2010-08-13T05:56:00.000-07:00

This is 4 photos spliced together. Taken Saturday at 7 pm.
A breathtaking view!

oslo grand prix 2010

2010-08-11T08:06:00.000-07:00

Thor Hushovd invited his friends back to Oslo for the second annual Oslo Grand Prix, to raise awareness and money for the Cancer Foundation. A great sight to see all these famous cyclists in downtown Oslo. I even managed to get autographs from Kurt Asle Arvesen and Steffen Kjærsgaard :-)
I posted these on Facebook... but here you can see them larger.

panorama Eidfjord

2010-08-06T04:02:00.000-07:00

No matter how many photos I splice together, it`s nearly impossible to get the grandeur on "film".

rainbow over Eidfjord

2010-08-06T02:55:00.001-07:00

A beautiful rainbow greeted us this Saturday morning.

back in Eidfjord II

2010-08-05T15:50:00.000-07:00

The pier in Eidfjord.

back in Eidfjord

2010-08-05T15:06:00.000-07:00

Thursday evening. The Norseman Crew is packed into the Bergslien hotel. It is nice to be back.
Photo was taken right at sunset... around 10:30 pm to be exact.

back in green!

2010-07-21T05:35:00.000-07:00

Thor Hushovd is back in the green jersey after an impressive show in yesterdays mountain stage. He now has 191 points... only 4 points ahead of Petacchi.
Anything can happen though, so it´s going to be exciting to watch the final stages.

lightning show

2010-07-13T01:35:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it pays to stay up late. Right after midnight the sky started to light up.
I used 30-60 second exposures.

lier mental hospital IV

2010-07-09T04:21:00.000-07:00

lier mental hospital III

2010-07-08T00:22:00.000-07:00

lier mental hospital II

2010-07-07T00:19:00.000-07:00

I have called this one "Split Personality"
From the series taken at the abandoned mental hospital in Lier, building C.

lier mentalt sykehus

2010-06-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

Enda et bilde fra Lier Mentalt Sykehus, bygning C.
Modellen er Silje, pluss et spøkelse som dukket frem.

midnight moon over Husøy, Tønsberg

2010-06-26T15:25:00.000-07:00

Actually it was about 1:30 am.
This was about a 1 minute exposure time.

sankthans: summer solstice

2010-06-25T15:43:00.000-07:00

Celebrating summer solstice in Husøy, Tønsberg.

wallpaper: cycling in denmark

2010-06-20T14:50:00.000-07:00

Free download for your computer moniter, in 3 different sizes.
1440 x 900 px - 1600 x 900 px and 1680 x 1050 px.
If you would like it in a different size then let me know :-)

video: tunnelløpet 2010

2010-06-14T07:44:00.000-07:00

Video credit unknown, but you can see the original link on youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dk6NzhR6CI
I run past the video camera right at 45 seconds :-)

Also: check out the article and photos from www.kondis.no
http://www.kondis.no/trivsel-i-og-utenfor-tunnelene.4792583-127676.html

tunnelløpet: the tunnel run

2010-06-13T17:34:00.000-07:00

This was a new one. A 10 km run that went through a tunnel. It´s the new tunnel in Oslo that has not been opened to the cars yet. So this is another one of those "one time only" runs.
My running has been pathetic this year, so I had no goal other than to have a good time and to maybe meet a few friends. And I did both. I met Joachim at the starting line. And then during the run, actually right at the 5 km mark, I met Trond as he camly and steadily passed me after exchanging a few words. I tried to keep up with him, but there was nothing more for me to give.
I was doing pretty good for the first half, and I thought I could finish in 42 minutes... but my time would be 45:20. Oh well.
It was still a pretty cool run, and I even brought my camera with me so I could get some shots during the run.

Running inside the tunnel was pretty strange. I was expecting it to be cold, which is why I wore the long sleeved thermal. It was actually pretty warm in there, and strangely quiet except for the fans in the ceiling. At the 5 km mark, inside the tunnel, there was a drinking station.

photoshoot: in a mental hospital

2010-06-06T15:28:00.000-07:00

One of the most fun and at the same time scary photoshoots I´ve done in ... ever! This was taken at the Lier Mental hospital, in one of the abandoned buildings. This is the end result which we used for the poster, which I also designed.

Nøklevann - statusrapport

2010-05-31T04:26:00.000-07:00

Jeg sykla opp til Nøklevann i går og målte temperaturen. Det er 13 grader i vannet!
Det er vel kun fuglene som syntes dette er varmt nok, så vi får vel vente litt til før vi begynner med svømmetreningen?

triathlon training camp: denmark - day 4

2010-05-28T23:14:00.000-07:00

Monday: «Take the long way home.»

It turned out that it wasn´t me who would collapse after a 3-day training camp... it was my Honda Civic!

The little yellow light came on when I was driving home from Casa Grande on Sunday. There is an oil leak somewhere, and it is not recommended that I drive it for a long distance. Hmmm... I´m in Denmark!

I called the NAF people (Norway´s AAA) to find out my options. I don´t have a local number, so I have to call the number in Norway. They service all of Europe. Good news for me. I try to explain to her that I´m taking the ferry back to Norway on Monday. She will relay this info to her people in Denmark.

Good, I think... so I wait for a phone call.
3 hours later a guy from NAF is outside my room ready to pick up my car!
Huh?
He wonders why I have not been answering my calls. He had been calling my home phone number in Oslo. How intelligent is that?
He looks at my car and agrees with me that it should not be driven very far. I ask if he can come back tomorrow, but he says I have to call NAF to place an order. But... you are here now! You see me stranded here... just come back tomorrow.
No.
So I call back NAF to explain my situation again. She says that I need to call back in the morning to order a car.
But... I know that I need a tow tomorrow! And I know that it is an hour to drive, and that the ferry leaves at 12:45!
Well, we can´t take a reservation... you need to call back in the morning. I recommend you call early.
Thank you!

Monday morning:
I call NAF at 6:45 and explain the whole story again, this time to a guy who is not that pleasant.
«I see that you have already used your 2 free pickups this year»
«No, I have only used 1 this year back in January»
«I dont have the dates here... I just see that you have used our services twice»
«If you count yesterdays little mishap then it does not count since I did not order it»
«Ok? Hmm...»

I finally convince him, and he says he will send the info back to Denmark so they can send a car. I have no idea when he will get there, so I skip the swim practice in order to empty my room and pack up my car.
At 8:00 there is still no car, so I join the others for breakfast.
At 9:00 there is still no car, so I call back to make sure the order went through. I get the classic «I´m sure he will be there soon».
«Well, can´t you check? Is there a way you can find out where he is?»
«No, but I see that you called us a little before 7 this morning so I´m sure he will be there soon»
«Thank you»

I need to leave no later than 10:30 in order to make the ferry, so at this point the other people in my group are starting to figure out other solutions. We put my bike and my bag in one of the other cars. Also, Kristoffer´s stuff (the guy who rode with me) was put in yet another car. Trond suggested that he could tow me to the ferry since we were taking the same ferry back, which was incredibly nice of him. I even had an elastic rope in my car!

We roll out my car and start hooking up the rope. It is now 10:00.
At 10:05 the NAF car arrives!
I am very relieved! Now my car can sit on a bed instead of being towed at a much slower speed.

So... car is on the bed, and we are finally off! I´m in the NAF car while Trond is driving Andreas and Kristoffer.

We get to the ferry at 11:00. Plenty of time to load the cars. The ferry people are obviously used to this scenario and just tow me onto the ferry. There´s even another guy in the same predicament with a broken car. I´m just relieved that I made the ferry. The next one doesn´t leave until 8 pm, and I´m not even sure that the tickets can be transferred.

While on the ferry the four of us (Trond, Andreas, Kristoffer and I) were able to talk some more triathlon stuff before getting back to the real world. Trond is explaining the "handicap" test that you can take in the pool. Something I haven´t talked about in years.

Back to the Honda situation:
Half-way over to Norway I start calling NAF again, explaining that I need someone to pull me out of the ferry and to a local mechanics place.

«When do you arrive in Larvik?»
«In about an hour»
«Well you have to call back when you dock. We cant risk you being late»
«But the ferry arrives at 4:30! The weather is perfect and there is no reason for delay»
«You have to call back when you arrive»
«Thank you»

4:15 pm. I call back, getting yet another new teller on the phone, explaining the situation again. She says that I have used up my 2 freebies and that I will have to pay a small fee. This time she is sort of right, except that it is still the same day and I was hoping that all of this would count as one service.

No.

It was worth a try.

Thank you though!

I send Kristoffer, and the stuff that he had in my car, into the other car so that he could at least get back to Oslo.
As the gate opens, and the cars drive out, I am left behind in a now very large and empty car ferry. A sort of surreal feeling.

Hello?

A few minutes later a big NAF car drives in, towards my car... passes my car and goes straight to the other car to pick him up. I guess he picked the longest straw.

I wait some more.

Finally a car comes to pull me out. This was not a NAF guy, just a guy from the ferry crew.

He pulls me out to the parking lot where I wait some more.
Finally I see the NAF guy again. He drives towards me... and then passes me. Again!?
Fucker!
Does this town only have one NAF guy?
5 minutes later he calls me up and explains that he has to drive that car to Sandefjord and was wondering where I was headed.
«I was hoping you could drive me to the train station after getting my car to a mechanic»
«I can drive you to the train station right now, then come back for your car after this delivery»
«Ok, thank you»

Turns out there were 3 cars on the ferry that needed towing! Is this normal? No, it is quite rare that we even have 1 car. Great, just my luck.
He also thought it was strange that the NAF people kept making me wait in order to put in the order. If he had gotten it earlier, he might have picked me up first.
Oh well... either way, I make it to the station at 6 pm. The train to Oslo leaves at 6:20. Very nice. But I did not exactly enjoy having to leave my car on the dock, and hand my keys over to this guy who promises to drive it to the mechanic. But I really did not have a choice, unless I wanted to wait another couple of hours.

Luckily I had brought with me a couple of sandwiches from breakfast. It´s a 2 hour train ride to Oslo. Then I have a 30 minute ride with the subway before I can finally get home!

There were quite a lot of people who were helping me out through all of this. Several of the guys were helping me with the car Sunday evening, trying to figure out the problem with my car. On Monday, Marit put my bike and bag in her car, and Espen offered to have it at his place since he lives closest to me. Lars Arvid took Kristoffers bike in his car. Trond offered to tow me to the ferry, plus he took Kristoffer in his car back to Oslo. I felt really bad that I had to involve all of these people, my friends. I´ve been so used to trying to solve all of my problems by myself lately that I´ve almost forgotten how to ask for help. But suddenly they were just offering to help me. I am really grateful for their help, and all of the others who were helping me along the way.

Back in Oslo it is raining and cold again. The sunny days in Sæby, Denmark went over way too fast. But again, for the 3rd year in a row, I have a ton of great memories, plus a funny story to tell about the really long trip home.

Well... maybe tomorrow it will be funny.

triathlon training camp: denmark - day 3

2010-05-25T01:57:00.000-07:00

Sunday: Triple Brick Day!
We´ve all been waiting for this day.
But first we had to have our morning swim. And as per usual... 6 am came even earlier today. I was tired and was hurting in new places.
Normal routine... the alarm went off, got some coffee and a banana, shuffled over to the pool. Today I even made it in the pool by 6:40.
And strangely enough I managed to swim 2800 meters in a little over an hour.

After a well needed breakfast we met up at 9:15 to gather everyone together. At exactly 9:29 we all headed out in our cars, stacked with bikes and gear, over to Casa Grande.
Mr and Mrs Grande were waiting for us so we could have our base camp there, just like the past 2 years. Extremely nice of them to let a bunch of triathletes invade their lawn.

So here´s the game plan.
We cycle for x amount of time or distance, then run x amount of time or distance. Repeat 2 times. I opted for the nice version: 1 round of cycling 18 km, then 1 round of running 2.7 km.
Goldie and a couple of others, who are on a whole different planet, went for 2 rounds of cycling and 2,5 rounds of running. Oh, and the whole idea here is that each brick is supposed to be done faster than the last... a negative split.
So after a quick debriefing by Goldie we set out for 1 master round of cycling so that everyone would know the route. When we came back we just headed out for our individual triple brick.

I started out pretty good, except that it hurt even more sitting on the bike. Did my seat get harder and smaller?
The winds were not giving us any mercy today... and again it seemed like we were getting a head wind from every angle. There was only a small stretch of road, on the way back, where we got a tail wind. But I felt pretty good and did the first round in 38 minutes. The first running was done in 14 minutes.
But then I felt really slow. The second round seemed very tough, and I did it in 40 minutes. Not good. But I managed to do the second run in exactly the same time as the first.
Third and last round seemed lighter suddenly. I managed to get energy from somewhere and did it in 36 minutes! Very nice :-)
The last running round was done in 12:40! So even though my second round was the slowest, I managed to come back in the third. (not sure if this is approved by Mr Goldie though).

At this point we were all coming in, one by one, tired and hungry. The sun was out, and Mrs Grande was serving us home made cakes and juice and even beer! Their lawn was simply covered with bicycles and triathletes. As a thank you we gave them 3 bottles of wine, one of which even had a bicycle on the label.

When we were all done we headed back to our base to get some dinner. There was not much activities after this, and we were all pretty much in bed by 9 pm.
BUT! My car acted up on the way back from Casa Grande. This would be a bigger problem than I first anticipated... but more on that later.
Day 3 was a success! Again! And a huge thank you to the Grande family who graciously took us in.

One more thing. A few of us headed over to the beach to cool off. The water was quite refreshing, but extremely nice after a hot day in the sun.
I already miss Denmark.

triathlon training camp: denmark - day 2

2010-05-22T12:22:00.000-07:00

6 am! My alarm goes off again.
I really want to sleep some more, but I need to get up.
My 2 roommates are not moving yet, but I stumble out to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee and have a youghurt.
I manage to get the other 2 guys up. I am in the pool at 6:45 and join the others with todays program. After an hour I had about 2500 meters... a little bit more than yesterday.
Breakfast at 8:15.
We meet up at 9:15 to discuss todays ride. We could have called todays ride "Going west" alternate name could be "My butt hurts".
We decide to head straight west towards Løkken, on the west coast. It´s a straight shot out, and just under 60 km. Today´s ride was much more organized, and we only had one stop on the way over... and no flats! We made it in 2 hours and 15 minutes, with an average speed of about 26 km/h. Once in Løkken we pigged out on snacks. It is a beautiful little town, with cafes which served us ice cream and cakes and coffee. True triathlon diet.
Our planned 30 minute break turned into 50 minutes. We decide to head further north towards Lønstrup before turning back east. The weather was incredible all day! About 20 degrees and sunny, with very little wind considering we are in Denmark.
A couple of people struggled with knees and backs, so the speed was a little slower. But none of us really minded. We started out with about 17 in our group, but we split up a few times depending on how fast/slow they wanted to ride.
The trip back was about 76 km and took us 3 hours. Average speed was 25 km/h.
So, total actual cycling time was 5 hours 25 minutes.
People were coming back from their trips and we compared stories on the lawn before we headed in for dinner.
I even managed to squeeze in a 20 minute run right after the ride :-)

triathlon training camp: denmark - day 1

2010-05-21T12:32:00.000-07:00

For the 3rd year in a row, the Oslofjord triathlon club is in Sæby, Denmark to do their training camp. We are here from Friday to Monday with a pretty intense schedule.
Today started with 1.5 hour swim, from 6:30 am! (I have to admit, I was not in the pool until 6:50).
Breakfast was served at 8. A very good breakfast with all the trimmings.

The group, ready before todays ride.

At 9:45 we all met up for a briefing of todays cycling route. We headed off at 10.
The total distance for me was 126 km. We were out for 5.5 hours, but the actual cycling time was 4.5 hours, so we obviously had a lot of stops ;-)
Granted, we had 3 flats!
We were very lucky with the weather and its been sunny and about 18-19 degrees. BUT, after about 4 hours a heavy shower came through which lasted about 10 minutes, and I got pretty cold. Luckily we only had about an hour left before we got back to the hostel.
Dinner was served at 6 pm. Delicious!
I am now sitting comfortably in the room, and headed off to bed soon. The same routine follows tomorrow.

Drafting behind a tractor.

Trond fixing his 2nd flat of the day!

My lovely triathlon socks :-)

Stretching out in the sun after a long ride.

Helmet head.

Dinner is served!

It is now 9:45 pm. I need to go to bed!

17. mai en vakker dag

2010-05-19T03:29:00.000-07:00

Jeg hadde fulgt med på værmeldingen ganske nervøst de dagene før 17. mai. Kom det til å bli regn? Det ble ikke det. Det ble faktisk en ganske vakker dag. Ekstra koselig ble det når jeg fikk feire sammen med venner.
Her er jeg sammen med Ellen og Joachim på Karl Johans gate.

Sammen med oss var bl.a. Alex og Becky som aldri hadde vært i Norge før.

Som vanlig tok jeg med kameraet for å ta bilder. Det blir liksom ikke noen "blinkskudd", men heller ganske mange knipsebilder av mennesker i tog.

Men det ble jo en del bilder, og målet mitt var å få med flest mulig bunader. Ønsker meg en bunad selv. Kanskje en dag når jeg blir voksen.

English translation: the 17th of May celebration was a beautiful day, with no rain! I took plenty of pictures. I tried to get as many bunads as possible.

Photo album is here:
http://www.hustephoto.com/ph_17mai_2010/index.html

proud uncle!

2010-05-10T05:53:00.000-07:00

My nephew Stian just did his first swim meet :-)

photoshoot: dancers

2010-05-10T00:29:00.000-07:00

summer is cancelled

2010-05-04T03:31:00.000-07:00

This is the view from my office window at noon. It´s been snowing continuously all day!
I checked yr.no before I left my house, and it was only supposed to be snowing for a while... so I took the skinny road bike to work.
May not have been the best decision. You can see it in the second photo, the purple Torpado, with the snow-covered seat.

snowing? again? really?

2010-05-04T00:25:00.000-07:00

Looked out the window this morning to see snow falling again! And only 35 degrees outside.
Come on... really?
Why?

photoshop fun: ice castle

2010-05-01T05:33:00.000-07:00

What to do on a Saturday when its cold and raining outside? Play with my new Photoshop CS5 thats what! The 2 original shots were taken with my Canon PowerShot compact camera (1 with and 1 without flash). After a bit of layering and blending, the final result came out pretty cool.
One of the new things in CS5 is the Content-Aware Fill. It has kind of a mind of its own... but worked real nice in this shot.

The two shots below were the originals and were fused together to make the one above:

photoshop convention was a success!

2010-04-30T05:59:00.000-07:00

The Photoshop convention was a success yesterday. At least, as far as I could tell.

Photographer Jens Haugen was first up with 2 sessions. His photography is quite impressive, and it´s always exciting to learn tips and tricks from other photographers. Afterwards came Martin Evening, photographer and Photoshop guru. He has written books about Photoshop for several years, so watching him show us tricks was exciting, and not to mention the brand new goodies from the just released CS5 version!

Then finally it was my turn to talk, for about 40 minutes. I had been pretty anxious this whole week, and not slept at all the night before. But it seemed to go well. No glitches, and even got a few laughs from the 80 or so people watching. After my solo performance I was joined by Stig and the 2 of us had an hour together with "tips and tricks" as our theme. It all seemed to go really well, but it´s hard not to be biased when you´re in the middle of it.
Afterwards we went to a bar in Aker Brygge to have a beer. I was SO releaved it was all over, and incredibly exhausted.
I can feel it today even... my body feels like a big hangover. And it was not from the beer.
I have posted more photos on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=223117&id=567466062

final preparations: butterflies big time!

2010-04-28T07:21:00.000-07:00

This week has been hectic as I have been preparing for the Photoshop convention on Thursday. I will be speaking for about 35-40 minutes alone about Photoshop and then together with Stig for another full hour. To add on to the pressure, I will follow Martin Evening who is a Photoshop guru and has been a part of the Photoshop team since the beginning.
I am really looking forward to his speach though.
You can find more info on the conference here http://www.igm.no/
But for tonight I´m having butterflies big time, and I´m sure I won´t sleep very well... again.

video: Sentrumsløpet

2010-04-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

Espen did a great job filming and putting together this short video.
To watch it on youtube go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yI0mU62cEg

race report: Sentrumsløpet - 10 km run

2010-04-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

This was my 6th time running in the 10 km classic run in downtown Oslo.
Luckily the sun was out, so even though it was a little bit cold, it was perfect weather for shorts.
I had my doubts on whether I would be able to match my time from last year. I`ve been training pretty good this winter, but I have not really been keeping up with my running.
I ended up next to Trine in the starting area. We were both discussing our expectations and we both were hoping for around 41-42 minutes. The gun went off and a sea of runners flowed through Karl Johans street, towards the castle. Its a pretty cool sight. There were 5000 runners this year!

Already at the 1 km mark I could tell that Trine had a much better run than me. She was slowly pulling away, and I could not keep up. But I found my pace and had to keep that.
I love the path that Sentrumsløpet goes. We run up to the castle and pass it on the right. Continue further up towards Frognerparken and run straight across that. There are always a lot of spectators in the park. We then curve back down and eventually end up at Aker Brygge. Lots of spectators here too. Then the final curve around downtown and then the final sprint back down Karl Johan, where we started.
My pace was pretty steady throughout the whole race, but since my average was around 4:20 per km I knew it would not be a new PB for me.
I ended up with 43:33.
I placed 117th in my 40-44 age group (out of 443).
I`m still pleased with my results. Now I just need to keep up with my running ;-)
Oh, and Trine got 41:27. Very nice!
For all results go to www.sentrumslopet.no

race report: Bø Sprinten triathlon

2010-04-19T08:21:00.000-07:00

The triathlon season has started! Finally!

And for the 3rd time for me it was Bø Sprinten.
750 meters swim (indoors pool), 20 km cycling, 5 km run.

After a hectic Saturday morning I finally managed to leave my house, a little late, and drove down to Bø, Telemark. About a 1,5 hour drive from Oslo (I may have broken a few speed limits). Signed in at 9:30 and was able to warm up in the pool for about 20 minutes before the heats started at 10.

I was curious about my swim time, since I have not swam a lot this year. I managed to swim in 12:56 though and came in 8th place total :-)
(my swim time last year was 12:09)
Several heats followed me so we had to wait quite a while until the cycling started. In fact we would not start until 1 pm.

I did not mind too much though because I wanted to make sure my bike was properly set up. My bike has been inside my living room for about 6 months, so I was glad I could take a little test ride while I waited. Another last minute thing was switching out the shoe laces with the stretch laces on my jogging shoes. (nothing like waiting until the last minute). Obviously it´s been a while since my last triathlon.

Finally the cycling leg started, and since I had the 8th best swim time I was 8th out of the gate (3 minutes 39 seconds after the first guy).
The weather was sunny and the temperature was nice (well, a little cold), but the winds were insane!! And as soon as I got out on the roads I realized that it was mostly side winds. I tried to use the tri-bars, but it was all I could do to not lose control, so I had to use the regular handle bars most of the time. After only a few minutes I was passed by a couple of guys. And more would pass me before I reached the half way point. No worries though. I just concentrated on keeping a nice cadence and not waste energy on the winds.
At the half way point, 10 km, I clocked in at 19 minutes. Not bad. I was hoping for a tail wind on the way back, but no such luck. The wind was coming from everywhere it seemed, and in gusts, so I just held on tight and tried to just keep a good cadence. I managed to use only 18 minutes on the way back so I was pleased. 37 minutes total on the bike, giving me a 32 km/h pace, which surprised me in those winds.

Into the changing zone, on with the jogging shoes, and I ran out. The winds were increasing, and it seemed like I was running at a 45 degree angle heading into the winds. This was a loop taken 3 times. It was supposed to be 5 km long, but my GPS measured 4,3 km. I managed to keep a very nice pace, and no one else was able to pass me on the run. It was a fairly flat course, and the dreaded hill from last year was now gone. I crossed the finish line after a 20 minute run.

I ended up in 18th place, out of 42. My total time, including the swim, was 1:10:41, about 14 minutes behind the winner. It´s impossible to compare my times from last year since they changed from mountain bike to road bikes (thank God), and the run track was changed as well.
It felt great to be out again, cycling and running, meeting up with the other triathletes, and just having a good time. I think my skiing this winter has paid off.

My photo album:
http://www.hustephoto.com/ph_BoSprinten_2010/

Bø Sprinten´s photo album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/106115835099005412782/BSprinten#

Final results:
http://www.hustephoto.com/ph_BoSprinten_2010/BoSprint_halvolympisk_170410.html

hustephoto: new design!

2010-04-14T11:37:00.000-07:00

I have finally re-designed my photo site: http://www.hustephoto.com

video: skiing in Hafjell II

2010-04-14T03:17:00.000-07:00

Just for fun... check out how incredibly fast I´m going ;-)

video: skiing in Hafjell

2010-04-14T00:24:00.000-07:00

one final ski weekend

2010-04-12T01:34:00.000-07:00

Just when I thought I had packed away the skis for the year, I get invited to a weekend in Hafjell to celebrate Kurt´s birthday. I could not resist of course.
The weather was great! I went skiing for a couple of hours on Saturday, while the others were enjoying a more relaxing past-time at the "after-ski".
The bottom photo is the "cabin" we stayed in.

The view from the cabin where you can see "Fakkelmannen" (the man with the torch) which was made for the ´94 Olympics.

skinny tires finally!

2010-04-12T00:37:00.000-07:00

Finally!
I could use my road bike to work and leave the heavy offroad bike at home (which sorely needs a spring cleaning, poor thing).
My commute to work this morning was 16 minutes, instead of 20.
The roads are dry, the sun is high and I´m feelin´ fine :)

naturally skinny?

2010-04-08T07:01:00.000-07:00

I need to get this T-shirt!

it is snowing again!

2010-04-01T00:42:00.000-07:00

I really wish this would be an April Fool`s headline. I really do.
We are now in April, and there is still plenty of snow on the ground and the temperature rarely rises above 40 F.
On this Thursday morning, during my Easter break, I was getting ready to go for a run. I look outside and see that it is snowing.
Again.
Could somebody just tell me that this is an April Fool`s joke and that tomorrow will be sunny and nice? :-)

tunnelløp

2010-03-30T03:54:00.000-07:00

Dette må jo bare bli morsomt!
Enda et unikt "en-gangs" løp (som i Svinesundsløpet i 2005), før den nye tunnellen åpner.
http://tunnellopet.no/

photoshoot: Silje

2010-03-24T08:48:00.000-07:00

photoshoot: Silje

2010-03-23T08:14:00.000-07:00

photo shoot

2010-03-21T02:03:00.000-07:00

From yesterday´s photo shoot in Drammen. The new location of Kreaktiv. I will be photographing the transformation from "old warehouse" to "brand spanking new location for Kreaktiv".

no more snow!

2010-03-21T01:51:00.000-07:00

Could someone inform Mother Nature that winter is over? This is what I woke up to this morning. It´s been snowing continuously for the past 3 hours!
The roads were finally getting dry... well, drier anyways... I am now inside trying to comfort my Cannondale, who is very disappointed. There there... deep down we knew that this would happen a couple more times.

haircut!

2010-03-16T06:58:00.000-07:00

I finally got a haircut! My last one was in Houston... right before Christmas, so I was waaay overdue. I believe I paid 10 USD for my haircut in Houston. The price for a haircut here in Oslo? 350 kroners! That´s about 60 USD!

Can I wait until Christmas for my next haircut?

video conference

2010-03-14T21:31:00.000-07:00

I got to see my family today... in Houston!

Skype is so cool, and I`m still fascinated by the technology... even though we had to re-boot the pc a few times.
They were all over at Mom`s house celebrating 3 birthdays. Happy birthday Mom, Ken and Tenley! Wish I was there.
But at least I got to see you :-)

in the red

2010-03-11T02:59:00.000-08:00

Normally, "in the red" or "seeing red" are bad signs... but when it comes to the temperature, it is a most welcome sign!

photoshopkonferanse 29. april

2010-03-10T04:32:00.000-08:00

Sjekk IGM nettsidene for mere info:
http://www.igm.no/sider/kurs.php?kursnr=101807

gratulerer til vinnerne i NM i interaktiv design

2010-03-10T02:55:00.000-08:00

Det var morsomt å se på alle lagene som jobbet seg gjennom de 24 timene i NM i interaktiv design. Grattis til Gerhard i XD Surdeig (ikke Superdeig slik det står i artikkelen under) som fikk 3. plass.
http://www.kreativtforum.no/?ID=Articles&guid=187f9eb8-4f6a-41f7-9ecf-6d28776a54a1
En pressemelding til:
http://www.pressemeldinger.no/read.asp?recno=95841

lovely tarmac

2010-03-09T13:23:00.000-08:00

Oh how I love thee tarmac!
Never before have I lived in a country where the mere sight of the re-emergence of the lovely tarmac, after a long, cold winter, has excited me so.
The snow plows did the dirty work on Monday, and with today`s sunny weather, combined with the mercury rising, the road to work this morning was almost completely dry... and about 5 minutes faster!
I may even be able to switch out the studded tires with regular tires on my bike.
My Cannondale is screaming to get out too... and it looks like she will be able to get out of the house soon.
Aah, how I`ve missed the sight of tarmac.

spin spin spin

2010-03-08T04:58:00.000-08:00

Another 2 hour spinning on Sunday. This time with me at the helm :)
During last weeks spin, I had offered to be the instructor since we only had a video to watch.
But after my 24-hour work-shift Thursday-Friday, and the late night ceremony Friday night, PLUS a late night Saturday with the drawing class, I was wondering if I was able to fulfill my obligations.

I managed to drag my ass into the spinning hall on Sunday and play 2 hours of music while I pressed everyone to spin their best. It was probably good for me to sweat out some of the toxins from this weekend, plus I felt it was one of my better sessions.
The group seemed happy with the session too, so now I guess I need to start working on next weeks program :-)

6 am and I really want to go to bed now

2010-03-04T21:18:00.000-08:00

Theres about 6-8 people in sleeping bags now, scattered around in different offices, trying to get in a power nap.
The others are still working diligently on their websites, high on Red Bull and pizza.
And I am in serious need of sleep.
I still have an hour left though... guess I´ll get some more coffee.

3 am and all is well

2010-03-04T18:28:00.000-08:00

With the exception of 2 people who have bundled up in their sleeping bags, everybody is still up designing their websites for the competition.
I still have 4 hours left before someone relieves me from my shift, so I´ve taken a few photos of the competitors to help the time go by.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=205529&id=567466062&ref=mf

night shift: web design competition

2010-03-04T13:28:00.000-08:00

It´s 10 pm and I just started my night shift at IGM. We are having a 24 hour web design competition. It started at 12 noon today and they have until 12 tomorrow to turn it in.
I will be here until 7 am.
Yawn...
Sort of a strange atmosphere here. There´s about 15 teams of 2-3 people, and they´ve all found different corners/offices to work in.
There´s a stack of pizzas in the kitchen and cases of Red Bull in the fridge, plus bowls with fruit... so I think we´ll be fine.
Unfortunately the season premiere of True Blood is tonight... in fact it starts in 5 minutes I think. So I´ll have to watch that later.
For info and updates on the web design competition go to this link:
http://norway.partners.webdesign-festival.com/

spin me right ´round, right ´round baby

2010-03-01T05:21:00.000-08:00

Sorry, very cheezy 80´s reference.
But! I went spinning yesterday! For 2 hours no less. First one this year.
Thanks to Oslofjord and a little bit of sweet talk to the right person at Sats, and we were able to have the spinning hall to ourselves.
With a big screen tv showing us up the mountains in the French alps, the 2 hours went by... well not fast, but they went by ;-)
I would have rather been in Spain with Ellen and Joachim, outside, on dry roads, in shorts.

Photo: Marit

fast fashion

2010-02-26T03:34:00.000-08:00

Det var bare et spørsmål om tid ;-)
http://www.na24.no/article2843574.ece