Saturday 20 March 1999

I make this update significantly earlier than usual, to tell you all that I did survive the night. And not only that, I walked an hour to the post office without any pain or dizziness. I may keep from running or climbing stairs fast for a while, but I think that should be it for now. If things don't get all the way back to how it used to be, I guess I should visit someone with a stethoscope sooner or later.

As for the one hour walk: The local post office was closed down a couple of years ago (this happens all the time in Norway) and the closest now is nearly an hour's walk from where I live. There are buses to there from only ten minutes or so away, but buses are infrequent on Saturday mornings. ObNorwegian: "Sjåføren er fullare enn bussen." (The driver is fuller than the bus: In Norwegian, we use "full" for "drunk". People tend to drink heavily on Friday nights, if at all, and so are less than eager on Saturday morning.)

The reason for my travel was that I got a slip of paper in my green mailbox, informing me of a package from abroad. (That's "abroad" in one word, people. Not like one newsman said, as he gave the word to his female colleague: "And now, the news from a broad.") The customs office had, according to their customs, opened the package to check that it was really software in it. They took kr 80 ($10) for their work, plus of course slapped sales tax on the already bloated price. Bloated by $15 for transport California-Norway. A transport that took nearly 2 months. Presumably they put it in a crate and set it in the Gulf Stream :)
Don't worry, I've forgiven them, for they know not what they do. (Namely, reduce their future customer base.) Oh well.

Thanks for caring, folks. I guess I sometimes have to have my nose rubbed in my mortality.
It's been a totally beautiful spring day here, the first fully sunshine day for a long long time. Absolutely wonderful. It's so good to be alive!