Silhouette

A classic shot, and a memorable view for anyone who has traveled here to Reykjavík. This statue of adventurer Leifur Eiriksson, gifted to Iceland by the US in memory of his travels back in the day, stands brave and tall, silhouetted against an early winter twilight.

Clearing the air

Something which took so much time to be clarified and explained last night came to an end, i hope after this message:
"Over the past 24 hours..... enquiries....perceived inequity....We(lecturers) do not discriminate...Students showing initiative..."
Its just a very, very short summary :P
*Imagine a photograph here labelled 'Secret tutorial' for over a hundred ppl to view*

Coincidentally, my Daily Horoscope says:
"Discussions with those close to you could lead to the discovery of new concepts, perhaps from foreign cultures. You will want to learn more about them, Virgo, as will your friends."

We did, didn't we :)

Screaming Dragons

GUEST PHOTOGRAPHER: Ýrr Geirsdóttir

Ýrr writes: This picture is taken at a birthday party for 4 year old Hildur, who is also one of the dragons in the image. She and Egill (the other dragon) are good friends and both have great imagination, often resulting in fun games and role-playing! The two dragons were jumping around and screaming their lungs out!

Photography has been a hobby of mine since I got my first DSLR camera in 2006. I Love taking pictures of "real-life" - of people, of children. Action shots, parties, events and kids playing. Of course, city-scape and Icelandic landscape and nature are also great inspirations but mostly my photos are about capturing life as I see it. "Snapshots" if you will :)

Ýrr has a B.S. in Computer Science from Reykjavík University and currently works in software for a major bank. Her photos are vivid and charming views into local life, bursting with color and somehow making even life's more mundane moments vibrant and alive. Please be sure to check out her Flickr album for more of her work.

And of course Happy New Year to everyone! Let's remember what really, truly matters in life this year, and in each moment, and be sure to breathe deeply, give thanks and hug the ones we're with!

Wishing for a Snow Day so that exams will be postphoned? Highly unlikely to happen when the forecast for next week looks like this:

How long ago was it when we had temperatures of 9 or 10 degrees in Glasgow? I can't recall.
A nice weather, but unfortunately we can't go out and play because of the major, mind boggling stressful papers on that week!

True blood

On Rolling Stone:)

Sunrise

I am lucky enough to teach at Tækniskólinn, the Technical College of Reykjavík, which rests stolidly upon the rise of Skólavörðurholt, just beside Hallgrímskirkja. Lucky to have a permanent position, lucky to work next to, for and with amazingly talented people from many technical and industrial fields, such as engineers, pilots, ships captains, carpenters, electricians, beauticians, designers, programmers, plumbers, masons and goldsmiths. Lucky to have students who let me rant my idealized, world-of-the future rants (in between mini-lectures on verbs and such.) And lucky to have a 360°view of the lovely city surrounding us.

This morning, during our first teachers meeting of the semester, I found myself absorbed by the gorgeous sunrise glowing brighter and brighter over the ridge of mountains to the east. This photo was taken with my new little compact camera pressed just up against the window with my daughter's school, Austurbæjarskóli, in the immediate foreground and the white twin church spires of Háteigskirkja just visible in the distance. As the day progressed the weather got worse, and by now, eveningtime, we are settling in for an intense 13th Night of Christmas storm.

Anticipation

It is midnight and I am hungry.. I can't wait for the day and hopefully a 'new addition' to my already crowded rooom :)