The Definition of Geek and Normal Is Like A Hair Thin Line....

But How do you actually define that difference?

The dictionary will provide the following definitions:

NORMAL (adj) 1: regular, standard, natural 2: the usual condition, level, or quantity

GEEK  (n) a person of an intellectual bent who is often disliked GEEKY (adj)

The Meriam-Webster Dictionary

I was called a bowling geek the other day, as I brought my own bowling shoes to an festive event at the local bowling alley arranged by the company where I work. Five years ago I was bowling every week with my colleagues (my former job) and the hazzle of getting the correct shoe size etc was too much then - I bought my own shoes thus not having to "share them" with others. This inspired me to this blogpost.

My next door neighboor the the dorm I stayed at during my studies at the university, was by the majority of people considered to be a geek. Those of us who really know him can tell you, that he has a heart of gold, and eventhough he might seem geeky at first glance you will find a normal and clever person underneath the surface.

What defined him as geeky, was his passion for his multiple hobbies, which he often combined. To the left there is a picture of a rocket made of wire and small components - all of components are solded to the wire creating the desired shape. His inspiration to this rocket was Hergé's cartoon "Destination Moon" ("Objectif Lune") - A cartoon I grew up with. This is one of my most treasured possessions absolutely not for sale :o) His greatest works are still in his possession.

He made a few other items of components, which he sold to others at the dorm also recognising his gift as an artist - as a student money were sometimes scarce and his love of cartoons expensive. Ever since we have suggested that he should make other things like that, as two small local exhibitions really caught a lot of attention and interest for his works - but so far he has not taken the challenge and made more and his number one arguement is, that he does not want attention. What a shame, because these things could really sell.

You Can't Win 'Em All....

Biotherm has a huge product line, and looking in my bathroom you will soon discover that I love their products - my skin agrees with their products and it took me some years to realise, that there were actually products suitable to my skin.

Usually one of my favourite deoderants is this roll on deo - Biotherm Deo Pure:

But the other day, I was persuaded to by this one also by Biotherm, which is actually eco frindly - Biotherm Pure Natual Deo

Biiiig mistake - the smell when it was applied was awfull and a rash immediately came about. Washed it off in a hurry and threw it out.....Went back to the store the following day to get the usual one. It is a shame as I really like the concept of buying eco friendly items, but not this product range - I will stick to the one I love.

The title of today's blogspot was inspired by a line from the movie "Pleasantville" one of my favourite movies.

Words of Inspiration

I'm singing in the rain

Just singing in the rain
What a glorious feelin'
I'm happy again
I'm laughing at clouds
So dark up above
The sun's in my heart
And I'm ready for love
Let the stormy clouds chase
Everyone from the place
Come on with the rain
I've a smile on my face
I walk down the lane
With a happy refrain
Just singin',
Singin' in the rain

Gene Kelly as Don Lockwood in

"Singin' in the Rain"

Too many people are grumpy when it rains - but hey "suit up!" and be prepared to the rain. It makes such a difference, and suddenly you can smile at people annoyed by the rain.... and some of them will even get more anoyed because of the smile on your face :o)

Did I Really....

....do all that today?!

I really need to check the contents of my breakfast, because somebody must have put some extra-charged batteries in it :o)

Went to the local park and brought my camera - todays picture is one of the shots that came out just as I wanted... and I have several more to use in upcoming posts.

I baked some buns inspired by one, I had years ago at a coffee house - buns with made of Italian durum flour, small pieces of olives, pumpkin and sunflower seeds plus sundried cranberries.. they are yummi and goes perfectly with brie (cheese)... and perfect for a quick, light meal. Also made some crisp bread since the oven was already warmed up.

Crotcheting - my creative mentor told me to find something with yarn, that I really admire - eg. inspiration by a blog and make it my own... Make it my own?? I have struggled with that phrase for a few days and I suddenly realise what she meant: Try to create something similar but with my pattern. I came a long way today, and the result - well that is gonna be a seperate blogpost in a few days.

While reading this post, my mind was suddenly on my 4 Simple Goals.... for 2010 - 3 out of 4 were toggled with today without having planned it :o) I had only hoped to do some baking today and the rest is bonus..... 

Well ready to invade my couch with a hot  cup of tea and a chick flick in the DVD-player.

Sick Day ....

Buhu ..... very aware of my head.... I knew this was happening so I made a blog post, that would be published today... Not able to concentrate on letters and a screen - tv, computer, radio everything is off - just playing vegetable on my couch.

Confused??

Well an MRI scan does that to me - unfortunately mandatory when getting MS treatment called Tysabri...Making my mind mushy for a day - luckily this is only schedule yearly. Took a sickday in advance when I saw the doctor's appointment and my job is really supportive when it comes to me getting my treatment. For me a small price to pay in order to get the treament that currently seems to be working for me....

Tomrrow will be like this day never happened - back to normal.

Is It Really Too Much To Ask For??

When saying "Hush!" to somebody, does it really make you an old boring lady??

My nextdoor neighbour haven't been home for weeks, and today he returned to his appartment. I went shopping for groceries at the local supermarket, and I saw the look on the face of my upstairs neighbours when I returned home, and I instantly knew the meaning, without them having uttered one word.

He does not understand the difference between normal/expected noise (when living in an appartment building) and terrorising noise. He makes sure to let people know, that he can hear them walking on the floor upstairs, or the baby crying etc. - But when it comes to noise from his appartment, he calls it a "hetz against him" - and he is loud all hours of a day, eventhough the building rules does not allow loud noises after 10:00 PM (except for Friday and Saturday) just to secure people's rest before going to work etc. the following day.

We have tried to be nice to him, gently telling him, that he was making too much noise - formal complaints about him to the building owners, once in a while the cops has been summoned (even by next door buildings annoyed by his noise).....  

.... and he's the one who have called me an old boring lady, when I have asked him to keep his noise down.... my hair is not even grey or with stains of grey (well maybe 7-8 hairs, but...)...

Normal noise level, when you can hear that you actually have neighbours, makes the place alive... Too much noise around the clock, and you get stressed and your boss+colleagues can easily spot, when your sleep was disrupted the night before. Stress is not good for anybody - even worse when you have MS to deal with. Moving is NOT an option - I moved into this appartment building years before him, and I have had no complaints....

But what to do..??

I need to locate my ear plugs.......

Knitter's Café

A luscious raspberry knitted top dangling from an antique cupboard caught her attention. It looked as soft as, well, as silk. She checked the tag. Eighty percent silk, twenty percent cutton. "Oh yes", she thought, as she fendled the top, letting it caress her skin, seductively soft. She noticed the light, open weave of the stiches. The pattern alternated open and closed sections running lengthwise down the scalloped edge. For the first time in her life, Kelly wished she could create something like this. Sure enough, right at her feet was a bin brimming over with those same silk and cotton yarns, a rainbow of spring and summer colors. Kelly could swear she heard the silk whispering to her.

"Knit One, Kill Two"

Maggie Sefton

A while ago, I went to my first encounter with a knitting café and must admit, that I will make sure, that I go to these events as often as I can. The atmosphere of the place reminded me of Kelly at Lampspun when knitting with her friends - and everybody were nice and helpfull.

I tried to absorb as many tips as possible, listened to their experience with patterns, yarns, needles etc. never feeling out of place, since we all shared the desire to created something using yarn. They managed to make me feel not so lost - since almost all of them still have some small things, that they from time to time still have small problems with... but are now quicker to adjust and get the desired result. I discovered a new place in the world, where I feel at home :o)

How Do You Even Start to Explain It....

When I was diagnosed with MS, I somehow knew, that I had to keep "going" (okay.... I was sitting in a wheel chair, when the doctors gave me the diagnosis....) if I wanted a normal life.. Still to this day, I would say "Define normal", and everytime you ask, it produce an answer similar to the previous ones - and yet never identical.

MS is the same for most of us with that diagnosis - we have the diagnosis in common, but always individual variations of the disease.

My immediate thought was, that I needed to figure out, what I was able to do... but could not dismiss things without at least several attempts to accomplish something. It took tennacity, but I regained the ability to walk and later on also running.... and I have given myself options, if I should loose some of those abilities again...if I can no longer run, I might be able to walk... if that should suddenly be impossible - then I need a wheelchair, and I will immediately sign up for whellchair races etc.

I had to learn to have patience (actually still working with that - LOL!) and keep trying to look for solutions possibilities. Friends were amazed and supportive and yet still somewhat curiuos about how I am approaching a lot of things/obstacles etc. Just how do you do that?

At a class, "Who Moved My Cheese?" by Dr. Spencer Johnson was on the syllable.... and there was the answer.... Soon after I bought ten copies (!!) and gave them to my friends asking them to read it with an open mind. What was I up to? But I could tell excactly when they had finished reading the book 'cause all of them phoned me immediately after saying "OK now I get it" - and one of them even gave me the parody "Who Moved My Christmas Tree?" the following X-mas knowing my love for that time of the year.

Lately (within the past year) I found a blog, where another MSer explains the worries, thoughts etc. about the MS in Haiku style - I know that my friends are once in a while reading that blog, as it reflects a lot of the stuff on my mind.

How do you explain "it" ?

Words of Inspiration

Hold or Roll

Rocks hold firm while water’s might

Sends pebbles rolling left and right.
Call pebbles rock? Set firm their goal?
First flash flood, still pebbles roll.
Not name, nor goal divide the two.
It’s how they act. It’s what they do.
Size dictates to stone, but you’re in control.
Are you rock or pebble? Will you hold or roll?

Manly Grant "Rhyme of the land"

Ken Blanchard & Sheldon Bowles "Gung Ho!"

 



  

Words of Inspiration

When MS Comes


A redefined life.
Not everything changes.
It just feels like it


The job ends for most.
Finances take a beating.
Relationships change.


With life not over,
new goals have to be found
I took up writing.

Judy - Peace Be With You blog

Having the MS diagnosis myself, the daily words/Haiku poems from Judy is like medicine. Eventhough two MS'ers do not have the identical symptoms/ disease history, she speaks the mind of all of us strugling with MS, letting us know, that we are not alone with our thoughts/worries.

Barely Made It.... But I did :o)

My local library is beginning to host book/ reading clubs once a month - 10 different clubs in total. The Librarian's Choice was the one, that spurred my interest, so I signed up immediately.

First I got an email, announcing that I was on the waiting list - a lot of people are interested in these clubs, but there are limited entries. Then half an hour later, I was notified, that I made it after all as one participant decided not to use his/her place in the club after all.

Why did I chose the Librarian's Choice? Well, I usual go for the authors I already know, but figured it could be interesting to read something, that I might not have chosen my self. And for the next 8 months, I will be reading litterature from 7 different countries by 8 different authors - and all of them are actually unknown to me, I only recognise the name of one of the authors, but in not familiar with her works.

I just grabbed some random books representing a teeny tiny part of my book collection and arranged them for this photo. I struck me, that three of the authors was Nobel Prize Winners in Litterature - all of them read as syllabus/suggestions from courses that I have followed/taken.

I will be writing blogposts about the books on the book club's reading list, one-by-one.

"An Apple a Day Keeps The Doctor Away" - 4 Simple Goals Update

Well in my case, that is not quite true :o) But I love to eat them anyway.

In little old Denmark, the Apple Day (the 6th of its kind) is celebrated today and initiates the apple feast, a series of events going on through the rest of the year. There is a huge variety of recipes for baked goods etc. containing apples, as thee are some very fine types of apples growing there.

Ohh.... my excuse for making a traditional Danish Apple Cake after a recipe, that has been in my family for years - guess it was written down 3 generations ago. It is so easy to make and is yummi - well at least according to my taste buds. And wait.... that actually is in accordance with the 4th goal of my 4 Simple goals: Baking and other "kitchen stuff".

If you are wondering about the apple cake - here is the recipe:

Traditional Danish Apple Cake   - serves 4

2 lb cooking apples

3 oz sugar

A little water

1 vanilla pod

Breadcrump mix:

½ cup sugar

½ oz breadcrumbs

3 oz butter

4 big or 8 small macaroons

• Peal and core the apples, then slicing them into small pieces - boil them with some water and the split vanilla pod until they are all mushy.
• Remove the pot frm the heat and add the sugar. Stir it and let it cool off.
• Mix sugar and breadcrumps.
• Let the butter be golden in a saucepann and add the breadcrump-sugar mixture.
• At low heat, fry the mixture until it is crispy and golden - keep stirring the mixture until it is ready.
• Remove the saucepan from the heat and add crushed macaroons.
• Put the apples and the breadcrump mix layer by layer in a bowl - start and end with breadcrump mix
• Add whipped cream on the top - about ½ inch - the whipped cream helps sweeten the cake, as it can be a bit sour due to the amount of apples

Velbekomme / Bon appetit.

Alphabet Wednesday - Z is for...

Z is for...

Zara

My favourite clothing brand....

Zero

Nothing... and yet Jack Skellington's dog in Nightmare Before Christmas

ZigZag

With MS walking sometimes feels like it.. other people may thing that you are intoxicated, but they just don't know the truth

Zoom

Look closer...

Words of Inspiration

If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales.
If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

A Walk Into Your Childhood Imagination

Remember when you were a child, that you could imagine about almost everything - especially strange, funny, scary, hilarious figures etc.?? ... Well maybe you still have that ability :o) ... And maybe you are able to invite us into your dream world, if you are a creative person.....

In a park in Central Copenhagen, there is this yearly event where a lot of extra sculptures appear in the park envoking a lot of smiles/laughs on peoples faces - some of the sculptures are very abstract, other very close to the object, they are suppose to represent (especially one with a dog or another one with two cats).

I immediately like this little guy (or girl?) and flashes of Alice in Wonderland, cartoons (eg. Beauty and the Beast), science fiction and so much more came rushing into my head.. all of them just putting an even bigger smile on my face. The sculpture is made by Irene Rosenkrantz, and I must admit, that her name was unknown to me until now - but I will definately look at her webpage now and then to see her amazing sculptures.

"If I was a rich girl" sung by Gwen Stefani suddenly rumble in my head.... don't you think that this little guy could be cool as a "greeter" when people visited your house?? Haha :o) Well only wishfull thinking, but at least my imagination was fuelled today with something funny.

Alphabet Wednesday - Y is for...

Y is for...

Yarn
Just the softest touch - and you need to buy it...
Yawn
Once you start - you can't stop
Yo-yo
Love that word... and the toy :o)