::The Yellow Book::

An illustrated regular

About Me
name: Katrin
age: 21
location: Reykjavík, Iceland
nationality: Icelandic
msn: trinagunnars (at) hotmail (dot) com
reading: Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen. Old Arcadia, by Sir Philip Sidney.
listening to: My iPod
watching: Buffy DVDs, How I Met Your Mother and Gossssssip Girl
likes: sleep, Pepsi Max, YAs by Meg CabotTV and my late cat, Joakim
dislikes: Techno, mathfish  

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+ See This Movie
  
+ He with whom I compare all persons of the opposite sex
  
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+
  
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Skin-Blogskins
   
Designer-Dawnwake

 

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Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Inca

This morning I had my very last high school exam. Ever. It was Advanced Higher German, and despite my lack of bothering to revise, I'm pretty sure I did alright. I didn't really start stressing out until the minute I set foot on school grounds - twenty minutes before the exam started.
I'm certain I did waaaay better, at least, than that English essay... which I will discuss no further, as it doesn't really matter anyway. Only 30% of the final grade, and I'm confident that my dissertation and creative writing folio will up my grade. Mrs Maciver did estimate an A (!) for my dissertation, so that's gotta count for something!

Well anyway. I just couldn't stop smiling on my way home from school. Even though it was raining! I was just so relieved to be done. It's kinda surreal, actually. I don't really have anything to worry about, until July 16th, when I start my new job. Yes, it's true: I've got a job at a book/stationary shop in Reykjavík called Griffill. I'll be working there this summer until September 3, as uni starts on the 4th. Then after that I'll work every Friday, as I don't have any classes on Fridays (how sweet is that?) and every other Saturday - it's open 10 a.m. til 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

Another thing I don't have to worry about anymore: where I'm going to stay. I'll be renting a bedroom, from my cousin's friend in this sorta-student accomodation building, for five months, and then I'll probably be going back home for the rest of the academic year. After that... who knows. Too far ahead to start worrying about that!


As you may have noticed, the countdown timer on the right-hand sidebar on this blog is nearing 0:00:00:00 (or how many zeroes there are...). This means that my 20th birthday is imminent... in fact, it's tomorrow! How weird is that? The first part of the celebration of this monumental occasion was tonight; the 'rents (a.k.a. mum and Bjorgvin) invited me out to dinner at a restaurant of my very own choice. We went to this tiny yet cosy place called Inca, on Bruntsfield Place, and it was soooo nice. The food was yummy, and the dessert even yummier. Fantastica: a beautiful piece of art made of vanilla ice cream, chocolate, toffee and caramel. Need I say more?

The waiter was such a sweet man; in his late 50s or early 60s, and was especially nice to me and mum. He called her "lovely lady" and me "beautiful girl". Good service, eh? When he heard this was my birthday dinner, he insisted on giving me "something on the house", which turned out to be a shot called lemon cello (or that's what it sounded like; he spoke with an accent, but I'm not sure where he's from. Italian, probably). It tasted quite nice, actually. A bit hot, but tasty. :D

Mum took a few nice photos, and I'll probably liven up this dark blog with a couple, soon!


Tomorrow will be part two of the celebration: Icelandic pancakes á la Villa (mum) with cream, sugar, jam, ice cream, and a few good people.


Ah. How good life is.



QotD: Nancy Botwin: "I'm the suburban baroness of bud, Nancy." - Weeds (Quality TV-show I have just discovered. Quality, I repeat.)
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-: Trina illustrated her blog at 21:32:-

Monday, May 28, 2007

Lump

I woke up with a lump on my chin. A big one. Seriously, it's so big that I'd give that kid that was once on Extraordinary People a real run for his money. Actually, maybe his lack of money... that was another thing that made him look sympathetic. I mean - a small kid with a really disabling disease that alienates him from all the other kids, and on top of everything he's poor? So poor that his family can't even afford his surgery and has to go on a reality show that entertains millions of voyeuristic people by showing them deformed and miserable children. Sick people. I guess this is where I mention that I didn't actually watch that episode - only saw the preview.

QotD: (Andrew and Anya are looting the abandoned hospital for medical supplies)
Andrew: "Ooo, this one has oxygen tanks."
Anya: "They'd only be useful if something big was attacking, and then we could shove them down their throat and blow 'em up like Roy Scheider did with that shark in 'Jaws.' What?"
Andrew: "You are the perfect woman."
Anya: "I've often thought so. Wanna rob?"
Andrew: "Let's rob." - Buffy the Vampire Slayer
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-: Trina illustrated her blog at 21:02:-

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Light as day at 9:30 pm...

...most unnatural, is it not?

At least in Britain, it is! It's during the Icelandic summer (which, as far as I know, hasn't really started yet) that it doesn't get dark at all.
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-: Trina illustrated her blog at 00:05:-

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Crap

Why the hell does MSN UK have to announce the winner of AMERICAN Idol on their homepage??? And RUIN the suspense for us UK residents who choose to watch it on ITV Saturdays and/or Sundays (best hangover-cure ever!)!!!
I'm actually not surprised who won (I'm not gonna tell - you who watch it on ITV, just STAY AWAY from the MSN UK site! And imdb.com. And for that matter, americanidol.com. Sorry for posting the link!); I had assumed it was either gonna be that person, or Melinda. Hmm - there's more stuff I wanna write concerning this, but if I would, it would ruin it for those who don't already know. So I'll leave it till Sunday, out of consideration for them.

Obviously I'm gonna watch the shows - I wouldn't miss it for the world! No sir - I am a die-hard fan of AI (blame it on Blake) and I do want to watch the performances, not to mention all the other performances on the finale! It's gonna be good, I'm sure.

That's all for today.

FYI, in exactly ONE week, I will be 20 years of age! How exciting is that... eh?


QotD: Inigo Montoya: "I do not mean to pry, but you don't by any chance happen to have six fingers on your right hand?"
Westley: "Do you always begin conversations this way?" - The Princess Bride
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-: Trina illustrated her blog at 20:34:-

Thursday, May 17, 2007


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-: Trina illustrated her blog at 21:53:-

"What the hell?"

I went to see Spider-Man 3 today with some friends from school. Funny story. We went during the day, when there was almost nobody there. I was the last one to buy my ticket, and as all the others had paid student concession, the woman at the box office asked if I was a student, too. Yes, I replied. She asked me for ID - she had not asked Sophie who was in front of me, no doubt because she doesn't quite look like she's gonna be 20 next week. Well, I told her we don't get ID where we go; would that be ok? She looked like she didn't believe me, and asked me how old I was. Hehe, instead of embarrasedly admitting my age and paying 5.50 (off-peak price, which in itself was quite good - it's usualy 6.30!), I told her it's a long and complicated story, and I could tell her if she wanted... she didn't shake her head, so I just told her everything (everything sort of relevant at least). About me, I mean. Just as I had started to tell My Story, another woman came who was evidently going to talk to her, and she listened as well. When I was done, the first woman looked at the second one and asked her what she thought? Just give it to her (the student concession, i.e.); no one makes up a story like that. To get to pay 1.20 less at the cinema, I'm sure she meant...

I have to say I kinda liked the film, despite what I've heard... It was full of eye-candy (Tobey Maguire, James Franco, Topher Grace...), which of course is very important for a girl to sit through an action film. I was especially delighted to see Topher Grace, better known as Eric Forman, and I actually cheered (on the inside...) when he delivered a line that was in fact one of Eric's favourite lines, exactly as he would have: "What the hell?!?!" It was brilliant.




Possibly the most romantic movie-line ever?:

QotD: Mark Darcy: "I don't think you're an idiot at all. I mean, there are elements of the ridiculous about you. Your mother's pretty interesting. And you really are an appallingly bad public speaker. And, um, you tend to let whatever's in your head come out of your mouth without much consideration of the consequences... But the thing is, um, what I'm trying to say, very inarticulately, is that, um, in fact, perhaps despite appearances, I like you, very much. Just as you are. " - Bridget Jones's Diary
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-: Trina illustrated her blog at 20:37:-

Sunday, May 13, 2007

What happened to the Eurovision Song Contest theme song?

So last night was an eventful one. Serbia won Eurovision - surprise surprise that it was an Eastern-European country that won... and that the top 15 or sth were all from there as well! Political stuff - some of the songs were actually shit. Not compared to Scooch, though! I'm sure you'll all agree with me there! The song wasn't too bad, though; she does have a good voice, that singer. I was rooting for Sweden or Finland, though. Shockingly, there were actually a few decent songs (don't stone me!!!). The Hungarian one, the German one, and the Icelandic one which unfortunately did not get through to the finals, were quite good in my opinion. The funny-good ones were France (I KNOW!), Romania, Ukraine (who did NOT laugh at that one?), and I'm almost scared to admit that I found the Greek and Russian songs quite catchy. Made me wanna dance, at least!

But in more important news. Yesterday was the day of the Icelandic parliamentary elections. I did the postal vote a few weeks ago, seeing as how I'm not in my constituency at the moment...

When I got back from a Eurovision party I went to last night - yes, there are actually a few Brits who are as interested in ESC as I am! - I watched the RÚV election-TV online with mum until... wait for it... half three. BST, that is. When I got home, mum victoriously announced that the government had lost its majority according to the current numbers. A couple of hours later it turned around (ARG!), so of course we couldn't go to sleep until the latest numbers showed again that the government had lost its majority. We slept peacefully - but then mum woke me with the news that it had turned back around.

So much for change. At least the party I voted for did gain lots and lots of support and was statistically the most successful one; they got 5 more seats in parliament - from 4 to 9. (There are only 63... I know: small country!)
On a lighter note. I actually had a small convo with my brother on the phone when I got home - mum was talking to him, but she was so overcome with excitement about the election-TV that I was forced to take over. Naturally, I had all of a sudden a craving for pepsi max with a slice of lime, at that very moment. So I found half a lime in the fridge, found a knife I thought was suitable, and while I held the cordless phone between my tight shoulder and chin/cheek, I sliced. Not only the lime, but I also cut into a bit of my left index finger and midle finger. Ouch. Blood blood blood, and I needed mum to find plasters for me. Though this was rather uncomfortable, painful, actually, and most inconvenient for me, I say "lighter note" because I just know you're all chuckling over my misfortune.

You evil sadists

Today I babysat my sister from 1 p.m. till 9 p.m., and during that time I baked a pizza, hoovered the living room, hung the laundry - bed sheets, actually, so it was quite tricky hanging them on the little clothes-line thingie inside (rainy day), - and gave her a bath. Before mum left, I also cleaned the upstairs bathroom. So this day was very active, and I am actually knackered, having got up at 11 a.m. Usually, when I go that late to bed (which I don't do very often... :P) I have the entire Sunday to lie in bed and recover. Not so much today. But hey, at least I wasn't hungover or anything; just terribly and incredibly tired.

So I will go to bed at a decent hour tonight.
Good night people.

QotD: Lorelai: "My shoe broke! I need you to fix it!"
Luke: "Do I look like a cobbler to you?"
Lorelai: "If I say yes, will you fix it?" - Gilmore Girls
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-: Trina illustrated her blog at 23:20:-

Friday, May 04, 2007

Dublin: Monday 2. April

I'm having a lazy Friday night in, so I figured I might as well be productive in some way (not revising i.e.) and finally finish my tale of the Dublin trip. About time, I agree, seeing as how I got back home more than a month ago! I'll see if I actually remember all of that last day...



I woke up before Hesther, and went straight out of bed in order to get the shower before. It was getting a bit late, so I opened the window curtains to let some light in to help her wake up, and said to her: "Góðan daginn Hesther." Yes. Shrewd readers might realise that this is not English - I said good morning to her in Icelandic!


Well, we got to the dining room about half an hour before the breakfast buffet closed (If my memory serves me...). It turned out that us and only a couple of others (sorry to anyone of those who might read this; I don't remember who they were!) were the only ones who made it to breakfast. The rest was too knackered - and... you know... to get up until 10 minutes before we were supposed to meet Mrs Maciver and Mr McLeod in the lobby.







The first and only destination of this day was Sandycove, a small seaside village - which looked suspiciously similar to Þingeyri or Ísafjörður - which is actually a sort of a suburb of Dublin, and it's only a 20-30 minute train ride from the city. The train ride was quite fun, actually. A couple of stops from where we got on, two Gypsies (I assume) came on, one of them with an accordion, and he started playing, all of a sudden! The music was actually very fun, and I felt like jumping out of my seat and dancing. I figured they were just, like the other passengers, travelling from point A to B, and decided to play a bit, just for the fun of it. They certainly had big smiles plastered onto their faces! It turned out to be a whole different thing, though, which became apparent to us tourists (OK, so the others may have figured it out before, but I at least hadn't!) when they started walking down the aisle, the one who wasn't playing carrying a bucket, shaking it in order to demonstrate that they were there for money, just like people who play on street corners in the city centre. Only in this case, not donating some spare change was kind of difficult. So I dug up a few cents and dropped in the bucket when he shook it in front of me. I didn't really think it was wasted money!



So Sandycove could possibly be the cutest place I have ever been to. When we were walking on the path along the sea, I could only think I wanted to move there after I retire! Fuck the traditional Mediterranian countries; I want to live in a cute little Irish village by the sea, where the townsfolk bathe in a small cove by the sea - probably freezing, but that doesn't stop them!


The reason why we went to Sandycove was not to make us want to run to the nearest real estate agency and bid on a house there, but to see a Martello Tower, where James Joyce stayed for one week back in his early twenties, and is now a sort of a museum for him. It's commonly referred to as the Joyce Tower, I think. Which is ironic, because the man, some writer and philosopher, who lived there for a year wanted people to remember it because it was his. The fact that that I forgot his name shows how well he was remembered! (I feel like inserting the common msn-term "lol" here, but I don't think it is appropriate to use it in a piece of writing like this.) But the reason why this tower is so special to Joyce scholars is that the first chapter of his most famous novel, Ulysses, is set in it. The characters were apparently not portrayed in a cery good way, which was his way of getting back at the guy off whom Joyce leeched that week (for he was a right leech before he moved to Europe, staying a week here and a week there, wherever a friend would let him - though they didn't stay his friends for very long!), because he as good as kicked him out. The guy who worked there told us this amusing story - in more detail - as well as quite a few others, but I've forgotten the details of them.


This tower is actually quite cool. Only two stories, but the view of Sandycove and the sea from the roof is absolutely stunning. We sat on the roof for about 10-20 minutes I think, while Mrs Maciver appropriately read to us from an essay book about James Joyce. It was nice. And cold and windy, but what else could you expect at that location? I for one didn't mind.


Mrs Maciver's scariest moment of the trip happened when we were walking back from the tower. While she was talking to the man at the tower/museum, some of us went outside to wait. When Mrs Maciver was walking back, she almost had a heart attack, when she saw a few of the group climbing this big rock by the ocean, which was only connected to land by a small bit of rock, and among them Sandy and Emma re-enacting the legendary Titanic scene, on the tip of the rock, with the wild waves (alliteration!) crashing against it. Naturally Mrs Maciver yelled at them to get back down, and then had a private talk with the two of them...


On the train on the way back, the same Gypsies, and a couple others, got on the train at the same stop as where they went out. This time there was a woman with a violin, who looked a little less friendly than the others had before. I didn't give them more money.


Back in Dublin we walked to St. Stephen's Green, where Joyce used to take walks with his mates, discussing philosophy and deep stuff, and it is often referred to in Dubliners, as well. On the way there, we passed the Irish Parliament - or maybe it was the Prime Minister's house. I'm actually not sure. Anyway. There were two guys in front of it, protesting against something. They wore costumes. I longed to take a photo of them, but was too shy, so I got Gabriel to do it for me. Heehee. I can be very persuasive when I want.


Mrs Maciver and Mr McLeod let us loose at St. Stephen's Green, with the promise of being back at the hotel bu half-five, in order to catch a bus to the airport at 6:15 PM. Hesther, Gabriel and I went together to Spar and bought some food and had a picnic on St. Stephen's Green - which is amazing by the way; imagine the Meadows, only with more paths, trees, flowers and people sunbathing. And minus the footballers. Did you know that in Dublin you can get a half-litre bottle of Pepsi Max with FIFTY EFFING PER CENT more than in the regular one - for the same price? So it's actually 750 ml for the price of 500 ml. WHY DO WE NOT HAVE THAT HERE???


Well, the picnic was nice. The weather was purely awesome. After we had finished our food and were just chatting and window shopping - well, me at least - Duncan and Douglas found us. Soon after that Hesther and I decided to get up and take a better look at the Green, and of course the boys joined us. After a while we managed to shake them off and went to a mall that's right across the street from one of the gates - St. Stephen's Mall. I bought earrings, two pairs for 12 Euros, sterling silver; we browsed loads of shops that had nice earrings, but I was too timid to buy anything that I was not entirely sure didn't have nickel in it. So I was happy to stumble upon that special offer of earrings, with a Celtic pattern, in this shop called Banana Tree. It was kind of a funny shop, which had all kinds of things, from earrings to souvenirs to scarves to statues. And in the glass case that was the counter there was a really fancy and nicely decorated bong, and there was a sign saying that with every purchase of over 30 Euros, there would be a free bong. Nice...


I don't remember what time it was when we decided to head back to the hotel, but when we got to the bus stop, we realised we'd have to wait at least a half hour at the hotel if we went back right there and then, so we decided to walk a part of the way, to the next bus stops, and browse shops on the way. It just so happened that we passed a small street where we had walked past a bead shop called Yellow Brick Road the day before that we'd wanted to take a look at, but had been closed. So we decided to go and take a peek. If I remember correctly, it was just before five then. I thought we were just going to take a look and then go back to a bus stop. But Hesther wanted to actually buy something and it took her ages to fill a bag of beads. I was getting a bit panicky around 15 past, and was infinitely glad when she was done at 20 past, and we hurried back to the nearest bus stop, and figured we'd be back only 5-10 minutes late. We didn't factor in the fact that it was Monday, people were on their way back home from work, not to mention that not every bus stops at every single bus stop; O'Connell Street is like Princes Street that way. So we had to run from stop to stop to see if any of the buses we could take would stop there, and when we checked the timetables, we found that the next ones wouldn't arrive until 5.40 at the earliest. I was so glad when we were finally on a bus, but still panicking whereas Hesther seemed rather chilled. It bothered me also that We couldn't phone someone to let them know we'd be a bit late, seeing as how Orange doesn't work there for some reason, and Hesther's mobile's battery was dead, nor had she any credit.


People almost yelled at us when we got back 5-10 to 6, but Mrs Maciver was mostly relieved; she had thought something had happened to us. Surely her most responsible student wouldn't be so irresponsible to be that late? So naturally she was starting to assume the worst.


But we did get to the airport in time. Everyone was completely shattered, including yours truly. In the dutyfree store I bought the travel-sized Glamour, which came with a nice summery bag - which I have yet to use, seeing as how it has no zipper. It's more of a beach bag, or the type of bag you take with you when you go shopping. Heaven for pick-pocketers, though. I read my Glamour on the plane, sitting next to Ali and Michael laughing at discussing the "Gerald" joke the whole way - an in-joke only funny to people who are familiar to the story and/or were actually involved in it. If I'd explain it, you probably wouldn't funny, so just trust me: to us, it's hilarious.


I got a lift home with Mr and Mrs Maciver, and Mr McLeod too. That was nice of them. On the way, literature was discussed, as well as the Dublin trip. I found it funny when Mr Maciver asked if "the bairns got bevvied" and Mrs Maciver said no, they were all really good, "weren't they, Katrin?" "As far as I know..." was all I said. I was already looking forward to telling this to somebody who was on the trip. Heehee.


Well, that's all. Thanks for sticking with me, if you actually read all this through! You can see how I have a problem writing short pieces...

QotD: Willow: "Oh, this is so frustrating."
Oz: "Nothin' useful?"
Willow: "No, it’s great. If we wanna make ferns invisible or communicate with shrimp, I got the goods right here."

Oz: "Our lives are different than other people's." - Buffy the Vampire Slayer
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-: Trina illustrated her blog at 21:43:-

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Here's to Cammy!

Happy May Day!
Only 30 days till the twentieth birthday of yours truly. The excitement is bound to result in an anti-climax.

This short post is dedicated to my Kodak digital camera, which for the time being will be referred to as Cammy; its longevity and perseverance verges on supernatural. I got it for Christmas 2004. More than 4000 photos have been taken on it - obviously I have a memory card, but that's beside the point - and it's still going strong. Moreover, only last night it survived getting soaked in orange Breezer in (someone's...) handbag, and then a couple of hours later being slammed on concrete, when I tripped and fell forward on the stairs up to Calton Hill (those two incidents had absolutely nothing to do with each other, swear!), the batteries jumping out of their place, but after I had scooped them together and put them back in, my dear Cammy was still working.
Amazing.

QotD: Giles: "And I shall be wearing pink taffeta, as chenille will not go with my complexion. Can we please talk about the Ascension?" - Buffy the Vampire Slayer
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-: Trina illustrated her blog at 17:07:-

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