Sunny Sunday

I am on Kvitsøy using a blazing fast 64kb ISDL line (that is sarcasm for anyone unfamiliar with ISDN). Last night, as we left Stavanger on the ferry, it was nice weather. On the trip over, we were tossed around about as much as I have ever experienced on this ferry. The ferry is rather huge- especially when you consider the small size of the communities (actually called communes) that it serves. It probably holds over 300 cars if both car decks are used. A few times, it felt as though we hit something. I am sure this was mild weather, but the contrast between Stavanger when we left was amazing. When we arrived at Kvitsøy, the rain was more horizontal than vertical. Lise's father actually asked if I became sea sick on the ride over. So far, I have never had that pleasure. The closest thing to it was on a boat tour in Alaska where they immediately served us a very nasty, deep-fried meal (I normally never eat fried food)- then we headed out to rough waters as they went on and on about moving people to lower decks, handed out sickness bags, and otherwise hyped up the expectation that the ride would be pure hell. That isn`t to say that some people didn't get sick, but I think if they would have downplayed it just a bit, it would have been a more enjoyable experience for everyone. Anyway, back on Kvitsøy last night, it was so windy that the satellite TV was not working. I hoped the wind would blow out all the nasty weather. By morning it was sunny.

It will take me a long time to read the weather here. Living in the midwest I could predict rain fairly well from looking at the sky. Doppler radar on the internet caused me to erronously second guess myself more times than not, but is as useful as anything for a predawn commute when the sky isn`t really visible. I have yet to find a decent weather website in Norway, but I would question its usefulness. The weather seems to be very localized. Yesterday when I rode to Dale, I was soaked on the other side of the fjord, while I could see the sun shining back in Stavanger. Last night was another good example. For that reason, I like my panniers where I can bring clothing to be prepared for everything.

I feel that I am adjusting to being here more and more each day. It was cool to hear from some friends back home that left messages on my US cell phone. The foreign things are looking more and more normal each day. The next issue I need to address is preparing myself for rejection in the work seeking process. Yesterday I received an automated rejection reply from BP. The only reason I can attribute this to is that I checked a box on the application form that I wasn`t fluent in Norwegian. I highly doubt that humans and automated email responses actually collide. I hope Lise can grab a job quickly. All I really want is to have more income than expenses. Obviously, at present, with no jobs between the two of us, this is not the case. Again, the job search has only begun.