Boy, it’s been a Very Long Time since I’ve been so completely devoid of inspiration when it comes to posting. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever felt quite so deflated in the blogging department. Writers’ blog? Blogstipation?
What to write. I could use the old trick of google searches, I suppose. Quick perusal… hm hm hm… in order of appearance: ‘Cocaine in Iceland’, ‘Selma Björnsdóttir official site’, ‘Clint Eastwood Iceland’, hm hm hmm, ‘Icelandic women’, ‘Iceland weather report’, ‘Iceland weather’….
[Bo-ring!]
Or I could tell you what I did today. Got up at 8.15, had some homemade müsli for brekkie, read the paper, learned Important Things like Icelandic men have the highest longevity in the world [79 years] and Icelandic women the sixth highest [83]. This is breaking news, albeit not entirely surprising as Icelandic longevity has hovered around the top pretty much since people started paying attention to these things. We keep exchanging places with Japan; must be all the fish we eat. Either that or the whaling – the other thing we have in common.
Anyway! On with my boring day: sat down at the computer, checked a few blogs, deposited the odd comment. Wrote out an invoice for an assignment I finished yesterday; then talked to my friend R. on the phone, who is going through some Heavy Stuff. AAH went off to school to do an exam [math]; AAH came home when exam was done [went well]. YT started to feel totally mouldy* and icky from lack of fresh air so got in the unit** and drove to the golf course, hoping I wouldn’t be attacked and killed by Arctic terns. Walked briskly around its circumference; returned home. Did some bookkeeping: sorted out the 24.5% VAT I have collected for Services Rendered [yes that’s 24.5% sales tax – the secret to running a modern society with a mere 300,000 people].
After a quick lunch of toast and tea headed to the tax office to deliver the VAT to its rightful owner: the Icelandic Government [and by extension Us the People]. Went on foot because the weather was nice and I hadn’t quite filled my fresh air quota. Next I went to the post office and dropped an envelope with the aforementioned invoice into a post box. I ducked into IÐA, a great independent book/all-kinds-of-neat-stuff store to see if I would chance upon the perfect gift for my half-brother who is graduating this weekend [as is EPI’s daughter, incidentally, who happens to be the same age as my brother] and throwing a party on Friday evening to celebrate [EPI’s daughter on Saturday].
However. Found nothing suitable. And so I walked back home, along the Tjörnin pond where the swans and ducks and other birdies are all acting very fertile and frisky right now. When I got back home I worked on an assignment for a while, until I started to feel so… incredibly… tired… that I just flopped into bed and fell into a deep deep sleep. I woke up with a start 15 minutes later: one of those panicky OMG WHERE AM I AND WHAT TIME IS IT???? moments that we’re all familiar with, I’m sure.
Yep. Then EPI called – he was working late. Came home a short while later all burnt out and did what anybody in their right mind would do: went for a run. Meantime YT – who did not feel like cooking, who would have done just about anything to avoid cooking – went to the supermarket and bought a grilled chicken. Came home, stuck a frozen baguette in the oven, threw together a quickie salad, consumed portions of all. And then kicked AAH off MSN so I could blog about nothing.
ON THE WEATHER FRONT
No strongwindfromthenorth! At long last! It was overcast today which meant it was warmer than it has been and oh thank God for the absence of that godawful wind. Right now it’s beautiful outside, with the sun shining brightly and the clouds that dot the sky a particularly lovely shade of blue and deep mauve. I give them another 15 minutes or so to turn pink and gold. That’s the great thing about being so far north, you get these long extended sunsets. Officially the sun will go down at 23.10, whereas it came up this morning at 03.41; however [and forgive me if you’ve heard this before] when you’re so far north and they say ‘sunset’ it means that the sun only dips just below the horizon and hovers there. Meaning it doesn’t get dark. Just sort of dusky.
* Icelandic expression [Að mygla]
** car