Libraries

Look what I found in the back of a book the other day.........

It really bring back memories to when the librarians had to stamp out the books you borrowed at the library - Just wondering why they put this pouch in the book as it has never been used? But yet at nice touch that it is still there intact.

Now it is all about self-service when checking-out/returning books

Vintage

Vintage cars .... Seeing the bubble (VW) is like flasbach to my childhood - does that makes me vitage?? Surely do not feel vintage ;) Anyway love seeing well kept cars like the VW and Chevrolet seen in the streets of Copenhagen.

Why Did I Do That?

Ever had this thought? That you might have thrown something out, that you years later regretted having done?

This is NOT a picture of my old typewriter

When I was 7 or 8 years old, I got an old manual typewriter from my dad (he had a light blue one himself) in a special case, you know the one where you had to press really hard on the letters. I used that for years until I got an electric typewriter..... had that one for about 4 years and then enters my first computer.

Now I regret having thrown out this old manual type writer - my parents have moved since I discarted it, which is why it is not to be found at some attic or storage room in the basement. I is not because I want to use an old fashioned type writer, but rather as an decorative object and memories of times that once were.

So why am I suddenly mumbling about an old typewriter?? Well I just learned the other day, that the last batch of manual typewriters (some 12.000 pieces) was manufactured in 2009 in India and they are now clearing the rest of the stock. Surprised that they have even made these until recently - and sad that this era is now over.

Hopefully someday I will be able to find me one like the old one on a flea market......

Writing Class

I recently signed up for a writing class and the deadline for the first submission is today. I had planned to submit this earlier, but I ended up doing the first assignment today in the last minute. Flashback to school - but then the best results from my hand were created at the last minute.

While writing images from a 80s movie were in my head and they wouldn't go away! But at the same time they made me laugh and I suddendly had a different angle to what I was writing. Not that any of it resembled to anything in that movie, but I had this strange feeling that inspired the words I was writing.

I have had a story in my head for the past 1½ years, that I would like to get down on paper one day, so see if I can accomplish just that. No intentions of having it published, it is simply just something for me. And me being reluctant to have the story shown to any publisher is not because it has resemblance ot anything personal, that I am putting down on paper - since it is merely something my mind created. What I was writing today was inspired from the story in my mind, but with a new angle.

The 80s movie in my head was "Romancing the stone" - one of my favourites frmo that time. I remembered the beginning, where Kathleen Turner finish writing her book, that she is having published: the old fashioned type writer, the wall mounted phone, the mail/letters (in stead of our time's email etc) - not that I want to be a romantic novelist like her, but things were just more down to earth.

Next assignment is released tomorrow and is due next Sunday - and I am looing forward to it.

Going Down Memory Lane: The Addams Family

Yet another song buzzing in my mind - the theme song from the 1991 Addams Family movie... I do know why it is clinging to my mind: I saw a re-run of the movie on tv the other night.

I loved the movie from the first time I saw it - the cast is so brilliant and is in sync with the old cartoon. There was also a pin ball game (not the computer game a real pin ball machine) - I remember spending hours and a lot of coins on one of those even starting to beat the score made by much older guys spending more time at the pin ball machine.

Neerdy? Well just a little :o) I have never been into computer games neither WII... I don't think I could ever spend that much time on a game, but if I someday passed a Addam Family pin ball machine, I might just use a coin just to go down memory lane.

GOOGLE - Oracle or Menace?

A lot of internet users gets information from GOOGLE everyday - it has never been easier to retrieve information regarding a specific topic, since it is only a few clicks away.

I frequently use GOOGLE - both in private and at work, when I need to learn some basic details. When I grew up, I often had to look something up in the encyclopedia, if I wanted to get some of the basics - a visit to the library addional info was required when writing an essay/paper for school. Will future generations even beware of or appreciate the source of info at a library? For them it will be weird not to be able to look up info at home from a computer or similar.

However - Have you ever experienced, that GOOGLE can be a real menace? Do you know somebody that needs to double check everything with GOOGLE as if they are not believing anything somebody is telling them? Some times that type of people make you wonder if they are able to have knowledge of their own or simply mistrusting everybody else's knowledge.

I love the way, that GOOGLE celebrates holidays, events, special birthdays etc. with the customised logo honouring that - one of my favourite is this one honouring the birthday of Dr.Seus :o) Some times I look at the GOOGLE page to see, if they have an "occation logo".

Walkman

One headline in the news this morning really caught my eye: SONY is putting the Walkman on retirement...

OK - suddenly I started feeling very old, as I remember getting my first walman as a present from my brother.... Except the world Walkman is apparently a trademark registered with SONY, so therefore the Panasonic I got one is actually a stereo cassette player... I did not now that until today - and when asking my colleagues and friends, they all seemed to be surprised about Walkman actually being a trademark.

I still own that Panasonic, and it is still working - headphones however have been replaced a couple of times. A lot of language tapes are still in a box with the Panasonic - very handy if I need a quick brush up before going to a country speaking one of those languages :o) When I later got my first Discman I clinged on to the old one, as running with a Discman was impossible, and the old tapes still worked better - that was later on improved....

I now have an Ipod, that is able to hold soo much more music, that the old ones ever could.... and yet - my "walkman" will still be kept in the box and used once in a while.... and I have memories about Eurythmics, Tina Turner etc. playing in my ears.

Back to the 80s

Ever had a song on your mind, that won't go away? Even having your colleagues stare at you because you are humming that song?

When Huey Lewis was the news
When we went flying with Tom Cruise
When shoulderpads and looking tough
Lost a dare to David Hasselhof


To many men with heavy makeup on
To many poodles with guitars
Thanks for all the joy you've given us
You will always be our superstars

"Back to the 80s"

Aqua

Those words has been in my head all day long - occatinally also making me laugh remembering some of the following:

- Scrungees in a vast variety of colors (the bigger the better) in your hair

- Hair slides with a big bow on it

- Shoulder pads

- Movies like "Breakfast Club", "TopGun", "Ghostbusters", "Back to the Future", "Big", "Working Girl" (that's were the picture is from)

- "MacGyver" and "Miami Vice" on tv

Hmmm.... better go home and put one of those movies in my DVD player :o)

The Calendar

Is my calendar a help or someting that rules over me??

Well for me it is a big help, but it has to be an old fashioned paper one - not one of those fancy electronic gadgets, that can contain your entire life like: calendar, phonebook, favourite music, favourite book, pictures of friends and famility etc...

No, it has to be paper - when no more can be written under a specific date, then I have enough plans/appointments that particular day.

I don't feel lonely eventhough I am single - all of my colleagues are married and most of them truly believe that I gotta feel lonely not being in a relationship. Yes I do a lot of stuff on my own: travel, watching the lastest movie at the cinema, going out for dinner etc..... but sometimes I also do all of the above with friends and family. Then why alone? Well if I want to go somewhere, why should I always wait for another person to be able to do it at the same time....

Becoming single was not my decision - that is a loooong story, but I do not want to sit at home night after night waiting for Mr. Right to suddenly knock at my door..... and later on regretting that I did do so many things. Yes sometimes I do miss the significant other in my life....

The MS diagnosis made me realise, that life is too short to not pursuing the interesting stuff.... I have signed up for a number of interesting lectures in various topics: photography, travel, wildlife preservation, books etc. to become more knowledge on these topics...

I have reserved 19 days in my calendar (X-mas, New Years and the beginning of the new year) to go travelling..... Have actually not booked anything yet and probably wont until two days before the vacation starts. Too many ideas regarding the destination and absolutely no clue on how to choose - so a pricebargain might be the determining factor when I have to make up my mind.

What ever happened to.....??

What ever happened to the old fashioned letter? Ever since email made its way into everybodys life, letters have now been talked about as "the old art of writing letters"..

Hey... I am not old!!! And I still enjoy finding a letter in the mailbox from a good friend or a family member... now it is all about emails, mobile phones etc...

I am reading soo many emails during the workday, so I do not want to go home - turn on the computer in order to hear some news from my friends and family... some of them tease me, that I still prefer to write letters, but some of them actually likes getting letters in their mailbox (not the email mailbox).. others say, that we are busy doing stuff at different times, so a phonecall might be bad timing, hence they prefer to send an email - hey why not send a letter instead.

Since 1989 one of my best frinds and me have used letters as our primary communication method - for us it has just been natural to send news via postcards or letters instead of picking up the phone or sending an email. Only in rare occations we those the other means of communication, because we both like to sit down with a cup of tea and read a letter.

When I go travelling - a notepad, a pen and some evelopes always find their way into by bags: when not reading good books on the plane, I write letters to some of my friends letting them know, what has been going on in my life/mind lately.... and I still send postcards. If others do not have the time to send a postcard but are sending me a sms/mms instead - well do not bother because I do do not consider it to be personal...

X-mas greetings are very close to my heart - a couple of years ago I starting making all my x-mas cards myself. And now there is no way back, everybody I know will not settle for a bought card, that you can buy at any store - on the other hand, I know that not everybody are creative, so I appreciate getting a card from the stores etc... X-mas greetings via email where all the reciepients are disclosed - do not send one to me

This blog is just to put my thoughts into cyperspace as a reflection - I keep a journal, where I put similar stuff down but also includes my impressions of people that are somehow in my life. And I do have a web-album on GOOGLE's Picasa simply to share some moments from my travels with my best friends - not all pictures are posted there, that is not my intention, but I get soo many ideas from friends when they comment my pictures - usually I travel alone, but using the Picasa website actually enables me to share some memories in a totally different way, because I do not have to "hold lectures" when talking about my latest destination: they have already seen, what have impressed me the most and often others knows something about it and is more eager to start a conversations based on a picture.