God tur!

That's just one of many excuses for why I haven't been writing on here very often lately. The other reason is that when people say the weather here is terrible, and the month of November is absolutely miserable, they are not holding back. I haven't seen the sun in several days. And I'm not sure when the next time I see it will be. Because, you see, even if it isn't rainy and overcast, and the sun does come out, it will only come out from about 8 am to 3 pm. No fooling. So if, for example, you have class from 8:15 until 12, and then you need to study in the library until 3 or 4 o'clock (because, after all, it closes at 8pm, and you have to eat dinner sometime ...), that means that when you take the train in the morning, it will be dark. And, when you wait for the train to come home, it will be getting dark again.

There's one bright side to this (no pun intended): I'm getting more in touch with the stars. That sounds really fruity, but there are a lot of them up here, and, when you can already see them at 5pm ... well, that's a lot of time to spend with the stars.

It's also that time of the year when exams start to loom on the horizon and shake their threatening spiky tails around and open their mouths as if to swallow you. (My imagination is becoming increasingly medieval.) So there's that, too.

Enough whining, here's some happy news: Lisa and I are hosting a great big international Thanksgiving! I don't know about you guys, but there's no way I'm going to miss Thanksgiving just because I'm living in a country that hasn't discovered the wonders of having a holiday with no present obligations, no specific religious affiliation, no twangy renditions of God Bless America (provided you press the mute button on the parade at the right moment), and provides a much-needed breather before the blantant consumerism of Christmas sets in. Let's face it, Thanksgiving is genius, and the only people who suffer as a result are turkeys. And turkeys aren't people, so there you go.

Anyway, yesterday Lisa and I went on the Great Norwegian Turkey Hunt of 2006. We wore those pilgrim hats with the buckle and slung muskets over our shoulders, and then hit the supermarket. We found a couple of scary-looking fresh turkeys wrapped in plastic. But, unfortunately, a 10-pounder cost over 500 kroner (that's nearly $100 American to you). Armed, however, with the knowledge that Mr. Turkey på norsk is Herr Kalkun, we had no problem seeking out a good import supermarket and finding two fine frozen specimins in a cardboard box. Once we managed to pick ourselves up off the floor (we had passed out from sticker shock, of course), we dragged our prize turkeys to the register, put them in bags (mine was one of those big IKEA paper ones -- a cultural conglomeration in itself!), and rode the train home with frozen turkeys on our laps. I have to tell you, despite the fact that my $5 umbrella broke and rainy days now make me very crabby, I was about as happy as I've ever been with that expensive frozen carcass on my lap.

So, stay tuned. I'm sure to have very cute Thanksgiving day pictures for you ... by Christmas, at least.

PS I'll also take this opportunity to mention that today (in fact, not 10 minutes ago) I made the major life decision to teach in Chicago for the next two years. I promise, next time I see you we can clink glasses over the measly salary I'll be paid and the potential ulcer I'm going to get. Here's to a little life direction and potential job security! Skål!