A week of happiness :)

This week my dad received honors from the king himself. He was awarded a prize for his commitment to cancer research.
We attended the ceremony in Oslo on Monday, and it was a great joy to see him proud. It is hard to pay compliments to my father, as he always feels he should do better, aspire to more (to what?!), and refuses to accept kind words, but rather dives right back into his work to accomplish more. But this represented a day where he came to a full stop, and enjoyed the attention. The Norwegian Cancer Association has done a very good job; the ceremony could hardly have been better, and they have made a really cool video of my dad where he speaks of his work (it's in Norwegian).
If you'd like to see it, go to this URL: http://front.xstream.dk/kreftforeningen/player/flv/?id=130

Wednesday arrives, and it is my very final exam, representing the end of 6 years of medical school. It is a 90 minutes oral examination in the field of neurology. I'm happy to say it went very well! What a relief!

Now it's Friday, and GRADUATION! It is time to get dressed in our national costumes (bunad), and afterwards there might just be a small glass of champagne ;).

Gotta eat..!

Back in Atlanta there is this restaurant called "Everybody's". My favorite is the one in Virginia Highlands, but we also used to visit the one in Emory village. They serve this awesome pizza salad, and it's enough for 2-3 people. If my memory serves me right it is called Panzanella Pizza Salad. Although my version really doesn't compare, it is all I have as Everybody's for some odd reason have no restaurants in Trondheim, Norway...

In my version of it I use pizza crust from Rema (Italian style, 2-pack), green pesto and Arla mozzarella cheese. Bake in oven, 200 degrees Celsius, for about 10 minutes. In the meantime I prepare the salad; lettuce, sun dried tomatoes, roasted chicken, red onion - and whatever else I am in the mood for. I mix in some raspberry vinaigrette before I place the salad on top of the pizza. Delicious!

About 10 years ago, the owner of Café Filter introduced me to his tomato and mozzarella baguette. He sprinkled olive oil and salt onto the bread, and placed slices of fresh buffalo mozzarella and tomatoes on the baguette, and used Oregano as the final touch. The other day I made this for lunch. However, I replaced the baguette with Wasa havreknekke (crisp bread), and it was surprisingly tasty. I sprinkled the olive oil, salt and oregano on top of the tomatoes and mozzarella.

Well, writing all of this made me hungry, so I think I must leave you to it and check whatever I have in the cabinets...!

What a day

One down, two to go. I had my last written exam on May 25th. The grades are not due for another few weeks. But as 60 % is multiple choice questions, and I have checked my answers, I already know that it went well. Now I’m simply waiting, spending the time recharging my batteries. On Thursday they will announce the first subject I will be examined in, and I will have one week to study. By that time they will also have released information on my last and final topic. June 16th will be my very last day as a student. Finally, I’ll have my medical degree!


As you may know, I have to go through one and a half years of internship before I can apply for jobs freely. The selection process is like a big lottery where we pick a random number, and whoever picks 1 gets to choose first. My number is 500. Needless to say perhaps – but that’s a crappy number… Many never called in and the result was that the last person who got to pick a spot was number 472. I was put on a waiting list along with about 500 other people. Today they released another 24 spots, and that is the reason for my heading. For what can I say, besides “What a day”.


The first candidate was scheduled to call at 9 a.m. The next at 9.05, 9.10, and so forth. I received an SMS from the agency responsible for the internship last night, asking me to confirm that I was aware of the election process today, in case many declined. I followed the development, and almost everybody called in. However, when I hit refresh (F5 is almost worn out…!) at 10.55 I saw that I was the very last person scheduled to call in. I was given 10 minutes, as my slot to call was at 11.05. A bit hectic, I call Rune, I call my dad to ask about the places that are left for me to choose, the internet fails me, Rune updates me from his office, the last place that I potentially would go to was taken by the girl 3 spots ahead of me…puh…Eventually I call at 11.05– and I get the busy signal! I hang up, and moments later, the official representative is on the line. She hastily says that people have started declining, and she is considering drawing the line for now. She continues to say that she has two places to offer me: Odda and Lærdal. I politely say that I’m afraid I’m not interested. Hurriedly she says, that’s it, this round is over, and I will put you on top of the next waiting list, and she hangs up. I got to throw in a big thank you before the line fell silent. Can you believe it? This system is freaking random!! But today it was in my favour. As happy as I am for the outcome, I have mixed feelings. A very good friend of mine with a number close to mine was not as lucky, and has to wait until February. She is so kind though, when I talked to her she had no hard feelings towards me. I wish I could do something for her…


Now I have to wait, probably another month or so, before they announce a new date with new available spots (as they come available for different reasons).
But in the meantime, I have some exams to focus on ;).

A story of good karma

This is a story of my hairdresser's great sense of priorities.

I went to the hairdresser today. The salon has new owners, and only two of the original employees remain. The girl who does my hair is now the manager, and was there on her own today. While I was there a lot of people popped in to see whether she had time to do their hair, as the 17th of May is coming up (our 4th of July, only a BIG deal in Norway ;) ). Obviously, her schedule was already cramped.
So, what happens is: a young student with Bergen-dialect walks in and asks what the price for a hair cut is. Cissi, my stylist, answers 570. Oh, and by the way, please don't look up how much this is in dollars...you'll refrain from ever coming to Norway again!! The young student from Bergen wonders if she can get an appointment today (it is 5 pm, and the salon closes at 6...), and Cissi apologizes and says that there is nothing available before the 17th of May.

While this is happening some people are putting up a new sign outside the door and the new owners come in and ask Cissi a couple of questions. All the while another guy is waiting for his haircut, and I'm in the chair with lots of stuff in my hair... Now the interesting part. One of the homeless people in Trondheim comes in and asks her if she can cut off all his hair (this is literally what he says...). I can tell that Cissi contemplates her choices. There's plenty of work for her to do, and she's already running behind schedule. Nevertheless, she says, "sure, I'll do it". She doesn't agree with him on his choice of haircut though, and gives him a nice haircut instead. Afterwards he asks how much it is, and she says 100.

She gets back to work, and I can't help it but smile when she apologizes for making me wait. What can be more important than helping a poor fellow a couple of days before the Norwegian Constitution Day?

English more friend-friendly ;)

I figured that if I wrote this in English my very good friends in the US could follow my daily life as well without having to learn Norwegian in the process...!

These days I'm desperately trying to procrastinate the inevitable...
My final exam is coming up (May 25), and I have some serious studying a head of me. However, I've read everything before, and worked as a doctor with temporary licence/authorization in the meantime - so it's hard to find the motivation to dive into the material. Oh well, I'll get there! :)

After the written exam on the 25th I have two oral exams following, and graduation is on June 18th. Now, that's a day I will remember! Rune and I will go on holidays shortly after - to the Maldives! As my friend Maryam said: Are you allowed to go on honeymoon twice?? LOL.
I guess we are :).

On July 12 I go back to work in the orthopaedic department. So far I'm unemployed from mid-August and onwards, but I'm pretty sure something will open up.

I had my last class (aerobic and yoga) on Monday. It's weird not knowing whether I will go back to it or not. I've been teaching classes since I was 16, and right now have no idea whether it is something that I will be able to pick up again. Time will show, whether it is possible to combine with shifts in the hospital or not.

Other than that I've been knitting a lot...! I learned how to crochet in October through Youtube while having a slow couple of hours at work. Over Christmas my mother in law taught me how to knit. I think Rune has wanted to break the knitting pins into two pieces more than once...although I am a firm believer that I am as present in the room as ever when I'm knitting!! ;) I might add that Rune sometimes blame me for not being able to see my own limitations...

I've seen Season 1 and 2 of True blood over the past couple of weeks. Who would have thought it was addictive? Good thing season 3 isn't out yet, so that I can hibernate with my medical books for a few weeks...

My sister in law and her husband were supposed to visit us in Trondheim this weekend. But because of the ash from Iceland they wont be able to fly up here. Unfortunate!

I'll get back to y'all once there's something new to tell!

Februar!

Ja, nå skjer det mye! :)
Til uka er det turnusvalg. Jeg trakk nr.500, og lever til dels i uvissheten nå. Det kan bety en av de siste plassene i det ordinære valget, eller en (bra) plass i suppleringsvalget. Blir spennende å se! Vi håper selvsagt at jeg skal få et sykehus som gjør det mulig å bo i Trondheim, evt pendle hjem ofte. For å få til det trenger jeg litt flaks, og holder derfor alle fingre og tær krysset.

I dag skal jeg og Rune ut og prøvekjøre bil. Det er bestemt at gode gamle Kalle ikke får fornyet tillit i heimen... Dvs veiavgift må betales i slutten av måneden, og det gidder vi ikke hvis vi likevel skal kjøpe ny bil i løpet av året ;).

I kveld er det bursdagsfest som står på tapetet og i morgen feirer vi 8 år sammen.

HURRA!

Kurshelg!

Etter enda en uke på Melhus som har gått skrekkelig fort er det duket for aerobickurs i helga. Tema: Høypuls. Elen Sanness Thoresen har tatt turen fra Oslo og kurser oss - og inspirasjonen strømmer på. Nye impulser er virkelig hva som skal til for å få instruktørblodet til å bruse!

Husvasken er dermed satt på vent til neste helg... men da blir det vasketvang for svigers kommer på besøk! Og som Rune sier, vi må jo gi en viss illusjon av at jeg er huslig ;). Nå derimot, skal jeg hive meg rundt å dusje, bake kake (Toril har bursdag i dag, og da må man by på søndagskake!) og ut på restaurant med aerobicfolket. Innimellom får jeg vie Rune litt oppmerksomhet også :). To timer har jeg på meg...så jeg får overlate bloggen til seg selv nå..! Until next time...