Fulbright Ski Weekend

What an amazing conclusion to my Fulbright residency in Norway. Last Thursday twenty of the Fulbright scholars and students gave 15 minutes presentations on their research and then we all attended a reception at the US Ambassador’s residence. It was quite a marathon day. The next morning we left Oslo in a deluxe tour bus that took us north of Lillehammer to Skeikampen.

Some went skiing (cross country and down hill), some went snow shoeing, some walking, some for massages, some went swimming and we all met up at meals and in the common areas. It gave us time to get to know each other better, a chance to celebrate and a chance to share our experiences of living and working in Norway. There were three kids in the group – two that are nine and one ten year old – one boy and two girls. The kids were inseparable – they went skiing together, played together, ate all their meals together and sat for hours on the bus together.

Now we are back in Flaskebekk and it is snowing. School is out this week for Winter vacation, but B has a work deadline, so we will be sticking close to home. There will be skiing and excursions in between the work hours. This week I am regrouping, preparing and planning for the last 5 weeks of my work here. I need to be organized and on top of things in order to complete one of my projects by March 20th. We are also trying to do a little planning for the move back. Preparing to leave is a melancholy thing, but there is no place like home...

Photos on Flickr

Telling time by ferries.

The Princessen arrives at Flaskebekk Brygge (the dock here) at 8:05am. The DFDS slides by on it’s way into Oslo from Copenhagen at 9:15 am and the Colorline comes shortly after that from Kiehl, Germany. At about 3:15 pm the Colorline glides past on it’s way out of Oslo harbor and the DFDS follows at 5:15 pm. The Stena Line leaves Oslo harbor at about 6:30 pm on it’s way to Denmark. They are quiet. There is a low purr that I have come to recognize over time and I find I must look out to see the ship, just as I might look at the hands of a clock to reckon my hunch at the time.

Ferries in the Summer (2005 or 04?)

Ruminations

I have been having the hardest time getting myself to write a blog post. Too much on my mind, too much to do and too much news. I need to focus on preparing my presentation for a Fulbright seminar next Thursday and then all the Fulbrighters are going on a ski weekend to Lillehammer. The trip to Stockholm was fantastic and I want to write about that. Projects are proceeding and I want to write about that. BUT the biggest news is that we have decided to go back to the US on March 31st. That’s right, in less than two months.

My official time as a Fulbrighter ends on February 15. We were unable to get approval from Norwegian Immigration for me to stay through the summer (long story that involves much paperwork and bureaucracy) and on the other side, US Immigration will require that B apply for a re-entry visa if he stays out of the country past June 12. A’s passport expires in May, which means that we would have to make several trips to the US Embassy to take care of more paperwork and bureaucracy. We have actually been through enormous amounts of paperwork and bureaucracy just to get through the Fulbright application process and to live here in Norway - comparable to what we went through for B’s US resident alien status 15 years ago. We are completely burned out on it. We are homesick and often lonely. A is really longing for her old life and her old school. I think we have all gotten what we came for from the experience... It has been a damn hard decision to make and we are very disappointed that we won’t get to spend the summer here, but we will get to do new and different things this summer...

I’m going to start on the final Norway edition of PB’s Newsy News when we get back from Lillehammer, so I will go into more detail in the newsletter.

OK. Gotta get back to work now. The hour glass has broken and the sand is pouring out much faster than we anticipated...

Long Weekend in Stockholm

Great city, fun weekend, many pictures.

Three Days in Volda, Norway

Teaching, learning, and communing with Torill. I return to Oslo tonight.

LOVE

Farewell, Judith A. Hoffberg

You will be sorely missed.

From “The Mail-Interview with Judith A. Hoffberg” (1995-1997):

Well, since the name of my business became Umbrella Associates in 1978, thanks to a suggestion from Joan Hugo, as we were sitting in an airport in San Jose waiting for our late plane to Los Angeles after the First Artists' Publication Fair in San Jose in 1977. I had just resigned from the position of Executive Secretary of the Art Libraries Society of North America, which I had founded, and as we were sitting, Joan, a noted librarian and my co-curator in the Artwords & Bookworks exhibition, asked what I would be doing next; I hadn't the faintest idea at the time, but she had been thinking about it, and told me she had done some research. She had discovered that there was once a periodical called Parasol edited by Ricky de Marco, but it was not extant. Then she had looked through the entire list of periodicals and could not find any other periodical called "Umbrella", and so she thought I should start a business as a consultant, called Umbrella Associates, and publish a newsletter called Umbrella, and so I did.

Judith Hoffberg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Umbrella Online - Home

One step backward and two steps forward

Another Full Moon passes... The glowing, watery trail across the fjord lights my way and I am found again. Things fall into place. All but the essential falls away. Falling, falling forward, but the landing is soft. I find myself sitting among the...

Saying no to one thing means saying yes to something else (and vice versa.)

I am preparing to teach a mobile media workshop in Volda next week. That is the first order of business for the next few days. I’ll be posting about the workshop on Mobile Misuse. I am also preparing for a production residency at Atelier Nord for the month of March to complete one of the art projects I am investigating. Big smile. More on that later - talking about it diverts the energy I need for the project. Atelier Nord is where I took the Data Forensics workshop. It is an interesting art organization that describes itself as:

...a project base for unstable art forms, such as electronic and new media art. Our aim is to create better conditions for these art forms, and to maintain a critical reflection in relation to them. Our work consists of producing and supporting projects that promote these goals.

See? A perfect fit.

We spent last weekend at a winter hytte (ski cabin) with friends. We got back onto cross country skis for the first time in a long time. “A” is picking it up really fast and, well, I know my limits. I am careful - I really enjoy cross country, but I love yoga, dancing, tai chi, skating and walking - if I break or damage my body it will be hard to do those things. “B” is Norwegian and was born on skis, so for him it’s as easy as walking...

There is no path...

“If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it’s not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That’s why it’s your path.” Joseph Campbell

I am taking things step by step. Most days I have no idea where I am going and I struggle to muster faith that I am going in the right direction. I am lost today.

I am lost today and trying to be OK with lost. So many unknowns. So many questions. I think it is time to take a walk. The fjord always clears my head. The fjord always feeds my soul.

The Holidays come to an End

We are just finishing 2+ weeks of holiday social events. There were only two days that it was the three of us on our own - every other day or evening involved a brunch, lunch or dinner celebration of some kind. There were even several events we were too busy to attend. Not a spare moment to be homesick. We have been ice skating every day for the past three days and plan to continue as long as the ponds and lakes are frozen and there are places to skate. Tomorrow is back to early mornings and off to work and school. We have been sleeping unusually late for over two weeks. The three of us have been together without even a short break for over two weeks - no major upsets or breakdowns!

The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek

One of our favorite excursions while in Copenhagen was the The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. I have just uploaded the pictures to Flickr.

The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (Glypto-, from the Greek root glyphein, to carve and theke, a storing-place) is an art museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. The collection is built around the personal collection of the son of the founder of the Carlsberg Breweries, Carl Jacobsen (1842-1914). The museum collections include classical Egyptian, Roman and Greek antiquities, Romanticist sculptures, and paintings, as well as Golden Age Danish art. The Etruscan collection is one of the most extensive outside Italy.

From Wikipedia

I need to start processing all the holiday pictures today. This week will be a time for reflection on 2008 and of planning for 2009. Right now I need to rest up from all the late nights and social events. It has been a marathon and it isn’t over yet.

The Christmas Newsletter

There is a holiday tradition in the USA of the Christmas Newsletter. I used to think it was quite cheesy, but over time I have found myself enjoying the ones we receive so much that I have reconsidered the form. Here is my take on it. Perhaps this will become an annual thing even after we return... I can’t commit. Again, please forgive the typos - I crank these things out in less than a day.

Special Holiday Edition of PB’s Newsy News (360kb pdf)

Notes from a very busy December

The past three weeks have sped by in a blur. The speed effect has to do with the amount of travel, obligations and deadlines that packed my schedule. It all started with midterm grant report deadlines on December 1 and then meetings, presentations and seminars at UiO and AHO on the 3rd and 4th. A restful Friday, then a Juleverksted* (Christmas workshop) with friends on Saturday and off to Volda to meet with Torill on Sunday. After two days of a seminar in Volda, I flew back and the next day attended the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony. In between all these events, I received notice that a journal article I had written was being emailed for revisions and I had just over a week to turn it around. December 11th involved laundry, packing, gift wrapping and package mailing (to Virginia) before we left to take the Ship to Copenhagen. While in Copenhagen I got news that a conference proposal that I had submitted in late November had been accepted. We returned from Copenhagen Sunday, December 14th and I hit the ground running on article writing and final Christmas preparations. Done and Done. Phew! School is out and we are all three officially on holiday. The only thing left to do is the grocery shopping for the Christmas celebrations.

In the background of all this, B’s mom has been very ill and my mom has just had her 4th surgery on her hip. It’s going to be a strange holiday this year and we are planning as many social engagements as possible to keep from getting homesick and fretting too much.

*Juleverksted: any combination of making cookies, cards, presents, wrapping, or festive foods, etc.

Christmas in Copenhagen

Last weekend we took the boat (DFDS) to Copenhagen. Tivoli was dressed in a brightly lit Christmas market and the entire city was even more charming than in the summer. One of my favorite excursions was the Glypotek - I’ll try to post the Glypotek pictures tomorrow. I finally bought another cable for my camera so that I could download pictures so I have a bit of a backlog...

The Peace Prize Ceremony

Nobel Peace Prize Celebrations

I have uploaded my few decent shots to Flickr from the ceremony yesterday, but I don’t have time to describe the event right now. We’re off to København (Copenhagen) this afternoon and I have presents to wrap & ship to Virginia and packing... I will have much to tell when we return Sunday - it has been a very busy and productive time lately.