All Things Mystifistisk

How time flies! Things have been really busy over here, and I can’t believe I’m leaving in just two weeks! One of the things that surprised me was how exhausting a full time job can be — getting up at 7 AM and not being “home” again until 7 PM. You really don’t feel like doing anything besides relaxing and getting ready for the next day. I’m definitely going to live closer to work for my next job.For example, when I first arrived here I thought I’d be doing a lot more shopping. Everything is supposed to be cheaper in the US, but I soon learned that my favorite shopping vice (cool t-shirts) were scarce and far between. Walking from store to store to find that perfect shirt was just not an option after a long days work. So I found another vice: Shoes! In all shapes and colors! And with the luxury of online shopping I could chill out in the lounge back home and pick and choose from a vast number of excellent brands. I finally ended up with four new sneakers, and I just ordered two dress shoes. The good thing about shopping shoes online is that it’s a lot cheaper, and you can order two or three sizes of each shoe, and then just send back the ones that doesn’t fit — for free! Here is my brand new shoe wardrobe:

Some might think six pair of shoes is a bit over the top, but you must understand; I had so many nice American dollars burning in my new American bank account that I had to do something!

Up until last week those shoes were the only items I had bought, but that all changed when my girlfriend (hi Ragnhild ) came into town. First we stayed in Boston for a week or so, and then headed for New York for the last weekend. In Boston I picked up a so called Dunny, which is a series of pretty neat art dolls (pictured to left). I also got an Ugly Doll by the same artist, pictured at the top. As you might have guessed my favorite color is green

In New York I headed straight for B&H Photo for some new photo equipment. I got a fixed focal length Nikon 50mm/1.8 D, a 2GB Sandisk Ultra II CF card and a pouch for my tele-zoom. The 50mm will be great for concert photos; those extra stops really help in dim lights. I’ll post some shots in the image gallery when I have some more time. Ragnhild did her fair bit of shopping too, getting a new designer bag from a gay German guy in a nice small shop in NoHo, and a new wallet from one of his friends in SoHo, so she was happy.

I think maybe I need to relax a little on the shopping now, especially since I got a letter from the Norwegian tax authorities today. They had gotten hold of some papers revealing that I’m working abroad, and they were kind enough to send me a letter over here to let me know that I’m supposed to pay taxes to both the US and Norway. Oh no, they are on to me! But seriously, I think I’ll get some kind of deduction since I’m already paying taxes to the US.

That’s it for now. I need to go pack. We are moving out of the frat house this weekend and moving in with one of the guys at work. He has a pool table too, and is a very nice guy, so I’m sure it’ll be a blast!