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I have never really been a fan of the show Sex and the City. I find the four female characters to be somewhat annoying - too exaggerated in a way. Lately, however, it seems all my friends are consuming the fancy shoe box of DVDs containing the whole series 24/7. This is required to be prepared for the big premiere of Sex and the city: The Movie the 6th of June.

Since my girlfriends and the TV-channels invite the sex addicted quartet to the screen quite frequently nowadays, I have watched a large amount of episodes myself the last weeks. Actually, I am starting to like the characters in the show now! Still, I don’t think I ever will become as shoe-obsessed.

There’s probably something wrong with me, but I think most shoes in the shops are ugly. Often disproportioned. And since it is so difficult to find nice shoes, I have decided to be obsessed with clothes instead. And then I just need my shoes to go with anything. And preferably be somewhat practical. The last pair of shoes I bought are definitely in that latter category. And they are actually a replacement for the pair I bought 4 years ago. The exact same model. Black. Leather. Suit both my baggy pants and my chic black skirts. Sun or snow. A perfect fit. Just brilliant.

Ecco Soft II. My brand new (and my very old) kicks.

Every time I see another lady with these fabulous shoes on, however, she’s at least three times my age. Last year I came to realize that I needed an alternative. I ended up buying a pair of shoes that would add some centimeters to my height. Though still; Black. Leather. Suit both my baggy pants and my chic black skirts. Maybe not my first choice in the snow, but still definitely a perfect fit. Just brilliant.

Sixtyseven. 60’s style. Lovely. And 8 centimeters added.

If I don’t have an endless supply of these exact shoes for the rest of my life, I don’t know what I’ll do. I actually think I should buy a new pair right now. Just in case.

Yikes. I sound really old.

Eurovision Song Contest 2008. Horrible. Just horrible. Probably as horrible as any other year - but I can’t say I have watched the show for years, so I wouldn’t really know… There was this one song that caught my attention, though. It definitely did not win - but my personal vote goes to Le France. Douze points! [Twelve points!]

Sebastien Tellier sings the song Divine with this quirky, laid-back performance while embracing a big plastic ball of the world filled with helium. Helium which he inhales during the song of course. Watch the performance:

…or the official video for the song Divine:

Other Tellier songs:
La Ritournelle
L’Amour et la Violence
La Dolce Vita

I guess I have to learn French now.

In some weeks I will have my exam in Information Systems. Even though the sun is shining, I am indoors reading “fascinating” articles about Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). For me it is still kind of a blur what this phenomenon/technology/mindset/whatever is about, even though I have read five articles on the subject. The article I am reading now, however, puts some things into perspective. In “Is Web 2.0 the Global SOA?” SOA is compared to Web 2.0 - a phenomenon I am a bit more familiar with. In the article, I read that:

“Web 2.0 emphasizes a social aspect that SOA is completely missing.”

“SOA has much more central configuration control, management, and governance, while Web 2.0 is freewheeling, decentralized, grassroots, and has virtually no command and control structure.”

“SOA tends to be generic and faceless, whereas Web 2.0 shines brightly on human/service interaction.”

“Web 2.0 is almost too informal and practically calls out for discipline, while SOA is mute and autistic in comparison, a technical virtuosity that wants to be social but that doesn’t know how.”

In other words - Web 2.0 is the cool, easy-going kid, while SOA is the geek in desperate need of a makeover. I would like to make a funny illustration on the matter now that I finally had this epiphany. Unfortunately I have to use the next hours to understand how this geek called SOA actually works. I am sure I’ll have a blast figuring it out…

I am a pasta girl. I love making it, and I am always trying out new sauces from my brilliant Italian recipe books. But I have decided that I have to try to make some delicious couscous and quinoa dishes in the close future. I need to expand my horizon when it comes to food. Especially since it seems my traveling will be limited to the regions of Italy forever. For the 6th year in a row I will spend my summer in Italy. Definitely looking forward to it! But while waiting for the holiday to arrive, I will welcome other cultures into my kitchen. Does anyone know any good recipes?

About quinoa at Wikipedia
About couscous at Wikipedia

I should have been in bed hours ago. But around 11.30 pm, just when I thought to myself that I should definitely go to bed right now, this film was about to start. Actually, I am terrible at watching movies in my own comfy couch if they start anytime after 9 in the evening. I fall asleep everytime. Still, I decided to give The Girl in the Café a chance. If any actor can keep me awake after midnight from inside a black box in the corner of the livingroom, it might very well be Bill Nighy, I thought.

And I was right! Bill Nighy was not running around singing about how you should really love Christmas (with way too many syllables) like he did in Love Actually. But he and actress Kelly Macdonald act very well together in this cute comedy, and the dialogues are quite funny. I got curious about both the characters from the moment they met each other in a café - when Lawrence (Nighy) sits down at Gina’s (Macdonald) table and pours large amounts of sugar in his little cup of tea:

- That’s a lot of sugar.
- It’s been quite a tough day.
- The worse your day, the more sugar you have?
- Yes. Well, within certain limits. Never higher than four. Even on the worst of days.

I can relate to this sugar theory. And I think most of us, unfortunately, can relate to the way Lawrence, when he has to sit down at Gina’s table because there is no other free tables, tries to sit as far away from her as possible. So they sit diagonally across each other to not invade each other’s personal space - even though they both apparently would like that space “invaded”… Gina comments:

I had a boyfriend who used to make us sit like this. He felt being directly opposite me put too much pressure on him to talk.

Gina and Lawrence, however, obviously had enough to talk about, because Gina’s comment made them move so they sat directly opposite each other instead. But you can’t drink tea forever, and Lawrence leaves the table after a while:

Well, it was lovely, sitting directly opposite you. And I enjoyed the early diagonal bit as well, obviously. I’m Lawrence by the way.

Good thing he introduced himself in the end, so he could get her name in return. I usually forget - either to exchange names at all, or to actually remember the name I just heard. If the name I get in return just doesn’t fit the person at all, it slips my mind instantly. And I might not even notice that I have forgotten it for quite a while, and the conversation will go on smoothly. The second I remember that the name is gone from my mind, however, I freeze or start behaving all awkward.

Not that I meet people randomly in coffee shops very often. Unfortunately.

Anyway. People are strange. You gotta love them!

Movies with the same feel and brilliant dialogue: Before sunrise and Before sunset. And probably many more.

This here pig is my nephew. His name is Finn, and he is a handsome piece of meat. He is also very polite - he attended my barbecue even though he is scared of sitting in cars. I guess his parents calmed his squeaking sounds down when driving by telling the tale of my lovely garden with large amounts of delicious grass to eat. My neighbours and I were more than happy to have him over. He can’t come here too often, though. My garden is like a never ending meal, and we want no fat pig. We want cute little nephew pig. Yes we do.

More photos of my cute little nephew pig.

My exam at the University of Bergen is in June. Now I am back in Oslo for some weeks to work at the Logica office - while waiting for the day of the exam to arrive. But the weather is too nice to be working indoors! My colleague Gustav and I escaped from inside the office walls for an hour today to work on the sun terrace. Lovely.