Monday 27 December 1999

Pic of the day: It's been a phat Chrismas! And now I'm 41 years old, older than ever before in my life! Yay record breaking!

In tonight's dream, I was young (late teens or early twenties) and had pattern-related superpowers (or magic, depending on your world view, I guess). Basically I could track or view things from a distance, and transfer self and objects from one place to another. I do not remember much of the dream, even though it was fairly long. I do remember at the end where I was in a snackbar with my friend Superwoman (in the dream still Supergirl) and some other young people. She had bought a soft ice and an orange soda which I was holding when I phased through the glass wall and suddenly I found myself elsewhere. For some reason I started to eat her food. Then I found out where I and she was, and she was not far away. I concentrated on using my pattern power to pull the pattern of the brand new food out of the past to replace the partly eaten that I had. The dream ended just as I had succeeded, and I woke up.

Right now I'm on the train. This is the new Signatur train, and I am sorry to say that my first impression is not favorable as far as comfort is concerned. This may be at least partly due to me being placed at the end of the row in a seat placed contrary to the driving direction and facing the other passengers. At this place there is little room for my feet. there is no longer any obvious place to hang coats and other outer garments. This is rather important in our climate. If money is not a concern, there is a "plus" class wagon somewhere in the train. I am not likely to shell out for it. Not on this trip, not on anonther.

Later: My impression of the Signatur train improved considerably with my visit in the "coffee bar", which is the name of the in-train eatery. The bacon pie was absolutely delicious. It was just hot enough, soft enough and extremely tasty. Of course it was probably also more than fat enough. Then again, it was small, and not particularly expensive either. An ideal meal when you're not quite hungry but almost.

The fellow on the seat behind me thought twice about sitting the wrong way, and found another place after some zooming around. This suited me just fine. After reading a bit, I fell asleep, as I tend to use when nothing particular happens. A while later there was an insistent beeping as if from an electric alarm clock. It turned out to be some other instrument, but I was already awake when it stopped. We were on the next to last station before Kristiansand, and I was curled up in the double seat. I guess it was quite comfortable after all.

In Kristiansand, it turned out that all the shops were closed already, though the kiosk and bookstore at the bus station was still open. I looked on a game called Farao (well, that was the Norwegian name at least). It seemed like a Caesar clone (same genre as sim city and civilization) and might be good, though I thought I saw the Sierra label on it. That is usually bad news, in my experience. Then again, my first ever PC game was from Sierra and was really good. I still miss it sometimes, the floppies corrupted over time. It was called "Jones in the fast lane" and was a kind of career simulator with a great sense of humor. My pleasure with that simple game led me to a three years games shopping orgy which is now firmly in the past. I usually buy one or two games a year now.

There was also a music creation tool called "e-jay" or some such, which promised you the ability to create your own dance music. I guess I ought to check it out before I bite. I am an amateur when it comes to music, but I guess I could have some fun with it if it is easy to use. I certainly have had lots of fun with my electronic organ over the year. (We're still talking music here.)

Those of you who are not Norwegians are probably not familiar with Solo, the orange soda which is Norway's national drink. Well, except for Cola, but that's because we are Americans first and Norwegians second. Coca Cola's use of market muscle to try to destroy Solo is one of the many reasons why I avoid Coca Cola whenever I can do so without offending a good friend. Anyway, Norwegians will remember a series of advertisements for Solo that were extremely popular. These featured people who drank Solo before attempting some endeavour, and failed miserably. "Solo - probably the only soda that only helps against thirst" was the slogan. (Actually it does not help against thirst, but it tastes good.)

Why do I tell you / remind you of this? Well, waiting for the bus I bought a Solo and sat down on a bench in the waiting hall. As I sat there enjoying my fruity drink, I noticed a young girl looking my way. I looked at her too, and found on her face an expression of keen interest, mixed with something else. Hope? Longing? A slight tinge of ... desire? As the ramifications of this unexpected discovery were still stampeding through my head, the young girl gracefully rose from her place ... and went to buy a Solo.

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Verily I say unto you: Bah.

I am now at home. There is a definite feeling of exit from Shangri-La. Or Shambhala, or something. This despite the fact that the flu was pummeling the family and worst of all my beloved Superwoman. It really bites me to see her that weak and drawn. Approximately like being sick myself. But I really should not go into a sympathy flu. The world needs me on January 1st. It can certainly do without me, but I do have things to do if I can be there.

And so I set my prayer field expectations for a healthy Y2K weekend and a happy and productive 42nd year of my life. Feel free to swamp me in e-mail. Thanks to my eldest brother Ståle who has swamped me in 1 e-mail for my birthday. Happy new year brother.