Sunday 25 March 2001

Pic of the day: I can go to extremes when duty calls, such as wearing a suit. But when all is said and done, I much prefer to be home and in my pajamas, as I am now. (The photo is from the gathering last Thursday.)

Coming home

The nice: Daylight savings time! I was originally set up to wait almost two hours in Drammen for the train to Kristiansand. But the first thing Cassie said to me in the morning was that she had set the clock for daylight savings time, and was that OK by me? It sure was! This one day in the year I got one less hour to wait. Yay!

The ugly: NSB Signatur. The train was already delayed, albeit only a little since it was like the second stop. But it was enough that we had to jump aboard in one of the nearest wagons, because they signaled departure almost as soon as they had stopped. Inside, I found that the wagons were not numbered inside like the old train sets. I found only one with my seat number, but there was some guy sleeping. Since the train was almost empty, I concluded that my wagon was missing. So I sat down in the empty 1st class cabin. That brought the attention of the personnel within reasonable time. They chased away the guy sleeping at seat 56; it turned out he had seat 55 and was bound for Bø. As the wagon was less than half full, he found another double seat and left this one for me.

My quality of sleep has been moderate for the last week. I fall asleep easily, but not quite so deeply, when away from home. In this particular case, my sister-in-law doesn't know the best to do for me; so she supplied a sleeping place that was not only cold, but with a tiny draft of icy air from the window even when closed, trickling down from the window sill and over my face and neck. This was my brother's bed until he married, so logic dictates that it must be good for me too. After all, most people want to almost freeze their nose off when they sleep, Light knows why.

Each night during that past week I was seriously sleepy before midnight, but stayed up to finish and upload my diary, for as long as I managed. In short, I was already sleepy, and the night train was no better. So I eventually fell asleep again. Until Bø, where the attendant woke me up, still believing I was the guy who had usurped my seat and who should leave there. He already had, so they woke me instead.

For a finishing touch, the train came in 20 minutes after the bus was gone, and I had to wait for two and a half hour for the next. I tell you, travelling to my childhood home and back is an entire adventure. I should have at the very least 3 character points for finishing this, and roleplaying myself pretty well while I was at it.

***

With no offense meant to anyone, it feels good to be home. I sometimes think that I am developing into the same type of person that my mother was, and her father before her: They did not travel far, even when their health permitted, unless lives were at stake. (Usually their own.) My grandmother would spontaneously decide to join some group tour here or there, as her meager economy allowed. My father similarly travel the land from time to time. I don't think they have done this only out of a sense of duty. But my mother and my grandfather, to the best of my knowledge, would stay at home when possible, or at worst within walking distance from home, unless under some sort of pressure.

I am that kind of person. I don't enjoy travel for its own sake, but when duty calls and there is no way around it I still pull my roots out of the ground for a while. But I'm all too happy to be back home. I can make moderate trips for a good purpose, for instance visiting SuperWoman near Oslo a couple times a year. But I've never visited her in Germany, for instance. (This is a way in which I and she is not at all compatible. She is restless and loves to travel. I am mostly found within the same square meter - or yard - at any random day.)

I repeat, I take no pleasure in travel. I do not like it, but I will do it when duty calls. This also explains why I was so thoroughly miffed back when we first did this instructor stuff at work. We instructors (this happened in several waves) were gathered in hotels, typically in Oslo but sometimes elsewhere, and were briefed and trained in course facilities either at the hotel or nearby. By and large it was a waste of time, to be honest. Doubly so for most of my companions, who were too hazy from alcohol and lack of sleep to understand all that much. We got our hotel stay covered, and a fairly fat compensation for extra food, so it wasn't all bad. But we did not get overtime pay. I voiced this problem and was basically told that we were so lucky to be allowed to stay at hotels for days on end. I was hugely insulted. As if my Chaos Node is not five times over as good as those rat cages!

I am Magnus Itland. I do not enjoy travel, I do not enjoy being away from my powerbase, and I do not much enjoy meeting new mass-produced normals with their painted faces and painted souls. I do enjoy meeting supers, however. And that may be a reason to go visit my relatives some other time. I am pretty sure my next to oldest brother and his massively fertile wife have a supergirl. But more about that another time, perhaps.

For now, good night.