I took the bus to the city today, for the first time since I went to sign the lease. \u00c2\u00a0I waited this long because of the two colds that came one after another. \u00c2\u00a0Knowing how it feels to have people sneezing and coughing on the bus during a Babykilling Flu pandemic, I had no wish to give others the same offense without dire emergency.<\/p>\n
Now that I was no longer sneezing, I went to get a couple errands out of the way. It rained pretty hard and just kept raining. \u00c2\u00a0Kristiansand was on the fringe of the rainstorm, it had done some serious damage in the United Kingdom from what I understood on the radio (I only heard fragments). \u00c2\u00a0 The bureau of hydrology had sent out a warning for western Norway from Sogn & Fjordane (the province where I grew up) to Vest-Agder (the province where I live now) with warning of 5-year or even 10-year flood.<\/p>\n
I am not sure if you use these same concepts in English, so let me elaborate. \u00c2\u00a0It means that the rivers are expected to swell to a size that is on average seen only every 5 or 10 years. \u00c2\u00a0There are even higher numbers, like 100 years flood, which is generally considered a risk to life and entire communities, while 5 or 10 year flooding only represent risk of minor property damage. (Well, unless you are foolhardy, which is not uncommon in Norway. Heroic Viking spirit and all that.)<\/p>\n
I was tempted to go to M\u00c3\u00b8ll and look at the river that passes ten yards from the Moth-house. \u00c2\u00a0But I doubt it would impress me. \u00c2\u00a0By there, the river has more or less reached sea level already, so it is more of a strong current. And the riverbank is high enough not to worry, and the house even has no basement. \u00c2\u00a0(Which was a disappointment, but not today. \u00c2\u00a0And with the heat pump they are currently installing, I am not worried about the summer heat anymore. \u00c2\u00a0So much for being energy conscious.)<\/p>\n
Turned out I had not brought with me more money than I need for the errands, well not enough to go anywhere at least. \u00c2\u00a0I could withdraw money from the bank, but that is something I try to minimize for the rest of the year. \u00c2\u00a0I happened to find a few 1000-kr bills at home recently (that would be reasonably close to $200 each) so I think I will use those first.<\/p>\n
Besides, I had not brought with me anything. \u00c2\u00a0I want to make each trip count by bringing some object from Nodeland to the Moth-house. A bag of books, for instance, or clothes. \u00c2\u00a0 This also has the benefit that I can more easily see what I want to throw away – basically anything not worth carrying is not worth keeping (not counting furniture etc obviously). \u00c2\u00a0I did this last time I moved, except I carried things to the apartment I did not move into. \u00c2\u00a0Hopefully better luck this time!<\/p>\n
In my carrying bag I found a book I had put there just before my vacation began: “Forgotten Truth” by Huston Smith. \u00c2\u00a0I had put it in my bag and forgotten it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Just another rainy day. Continue reading