The pile

The reason for the hiatus: Things just keeps on pilling up!

Reason being 'everything learnt is new' so I can't just go home and throw the books aside, leave it for days and as those days go by, more new things are being taught...... Welcome to my life!

Why pay so much to be put under this incredible amount of pressure?
I guess its the love for a challenge. There's always the tendency to choose a task that is tough...

Going on with this rough ride because I'm halfway through and it is at a point of no return...

"If at first you don't succeed, try and try again."
I've come to love the above phrase because it relates to me and my attempt to make things. There is a perfectionist streak in me. I'll choose a project, and I will work on it repeatedly till it becomes successful. So, when I chose to make egg tarts, it needed to be perfect. Yes, the egg tarts came out perfect only after the fourth attempt.

Believe: There's always room for improvement as long as we persevere, push and aim for it :)

Gods

Gods on Mount Esja

Belief in gods arises from visions like this on the side of Mount Esja today.

Two faces peer out across the Faxaflói bay, disturbing my sensibilities and reminding me that it's not man in all our chaotic, often destructive, glory who owns this world, but some force we cannot understand. Painted in snow on a volcanic mountainside, this portrait of a man and creature lasted only as long as the incoming fierce storm permitted, and was witnessed by those who thought to look up, to look out a window, to see the world outside.

...and for our Bjössi, who recorded as biogen, and has passed: rest in peace, dear man.

Weather talk, again....

Treachorous! Thats what it is.

In Malaysia, I wished it was a bit cooler.
Upon arrival in Glasgow, it definitely was cooler.
But there's something called wishful thinking and also, doesn't the grass always look greener on the other side.
Back in September '10, the cool autumn weather didn't last long as I started experiencing raining spells and the occasional STRONG winds. Still BEARABLE!
Then winter came early. It became colder. Snow. Ice. Wet. Slush. After the first snowfall, I wished for no more snow.
Currently, I think it is spring already. Temperatures were good for a week or two. But the good never last long. Raining in Glasgow can be a bitch, but I think adding it with strong winds is ROAR!!

Today's wind+rain was horrid. It was possible to blow people away. I was drenched and pushed in the rain by the gusty wind. People's eye liner's on their face were even washed away. Hair on the head was a mess. WATERPROOF WINDBREAKERS WAS A NECESSITY (and waterproof shoes too)! I've definitely given up on using an umbrella. Basically the current weather makes me drenched, and also freezing cold!

This post came about after I saw tmr's forecast was not going to get better. Note the wind speed. Winter didn't really stopped me from going out, but i think this current weather could :(

Palms

...with Egypt on our minds while strolling through Perlan.

Amazingly, I found a book entitled Egypt and Iceland in the Year 1874, actually written in 1874 and published online in its original format. At first glance, it looks to be a 299-page travelogue written by a certain Bayard Taylor (1825 - 1878.) An absolute gem of historical knowledge!

For the more geologically minded, here is an article on the impact of the 1783 Láki fissure (Lákagígar) eruption on life in Egypt.

Regardless of any odd connections that we may have had in past centuries, though, today there is this one simple message that Iceland Eyes would like to send to the people of Egypt, one of the oldest recorded civilizations on our planet Earth:

Respect.

(Parliament member Birgitta Jónsdóttir made sure yesterday in a Q & A session that Iceland's stance in Egypt's current affairs was clearly identified. You can read more about it here. )

Testosterone

Was finally in a room filled with more males than females. Oh-so-rare since I joined this course. I was shocked. wth... so not use to an environment with higher male population.. At the end of the day, it reminded me of how enjoyable the company of the opposite sex was!

I also.....
Met 'Creepy'. Laughed about 'Creepy' all the way back home.... sigh... creepy

Hell... lp

The start of a new sem and I'm already up to my neck.
Need a swim tmr.
Longest streak ever of not going swimming.
Blame winter.
Blame exams.
Blame the environment.
Blame MYSELF.

Swim to destress. I forgot about that!

Skuld

One of the beautiful mythological works at the Einar Jónsson Museum. Einar was Iceland's master sculptor of the last century, and the museum, located just to the west of Hallgrímskirkja, is a lovely piece of art deco architecture designed by the artist himself. This sculpture, named Skuld, or Fate, and many others can be found in the garden behind the museum, which was once his private residence.

Please also take a look at the web site of a friend of mine, Hrafnhildur Arnadóttir, who was recently awarded the Nordic Award in Textiles and who has shown her work at New York MoMA, on the top floor at 7 World Trade Center and as a Macy's NYC window display. She has also created pieces for Björk, Lady Gaga and Nike.

She presents under the name Shoplifter (as the story goes, she was trying repeatedly to pronounce her name for someone at a loud party in New York and all that person could hear was "shoplifter"...the name stuck), and is as eclectic and colorful in person as the exciting works she creates.

Regarding politics (but why bother?) read about our latest fiasco here, and some background details on the hopes Iceland, and observers out in the real world, had placed on a generally-elected Constitutional Assembly. Those hopes are dashed, and somehow it feels as though some certain fate is sealed.