It’s a concept from the movie “I ❤️ Huckabees” where it’s being explained that everything in the whole of human existence, past present and future, exists as only part of one whole connected thing. Like it’s all one blanket. genocide, famine, Nobel laureates, orgasms. It’s all the blanket. Essentially, no reason to get upset at a person for wronging you, because they are, you. Anyway it’s been like 20 years since I saw it but the concept stuck with me.

I am not yet bilingual, but if you asked any of my American friends, I am. I moved to Norway at 39, and 5 years later still struggle to understand spoken Norwegian. I speak and read it, in my opinion, okay. I really envy people who can at least understand a foreign language even if they can’t express themselves in it. You at least have some semblance of what’s going on even if you can’t fully participate.

In my experience, having English only as a mother tongue is awful in Europe/scandanavia. But growing up with any other language, having English as at least a 2nd language, wow look at all those open doors.

The US public school system does not set kids up for success, in their own country or abroad. The foreign language requirement in HS is a joke and effectively sets us up to be able to overconfidently order coffee and ask where the museum is if we ever get to travel abroad.

I have heard that they start out here in Norway with English pretty young (maybe 8-10yo?) as a requirement, and then add mandatory electives later in French, German, or Latin. I don’t have kids in school so this may not be 100% accurate.

It’s all The Blanket.

No, it’s not a tipped position. Not really supposed to accept gifts either (flowers/treats for the team are sometimes given but never supposed to be an individual gift of any real value.)

“It is what it is.”

If you don’t have anything valuable to add, say nothing. Like, silence is okay.

I went to school to be a nurse. I specifically wanted to work in Labour/Delivery. Where I ended up moving after graduating was a saturated environment and I was lucky to get a new grad position on a heart/lung med surg floor. I did that for 4 years before covid stole the stars from my eyes. Now I run a bakery. I never got to do the one thing I thought I always wanted to, and I’ll never do it. I know I could go back, but I live abroad now and I’ve been out of the game 5 years. I don’t have any interest in going back to the US even if it meant I could have a shot at my dream job. Because at the end of the day, I’m happier and safer here.

It was like this in the Bay Area when I lived there, like in Alameda county at least. People exited at the rear doors and gave a thank you to the driver. Became a habit for me. I moved to Norway a few years ago and absent-mindedly said “Takk!” as I exited and I was quickly educated that, we don’t do that here.

I’m sad about how right you are.

You did your best. Your best was just not good enough.

Be so for real right now, that wasn’t your best. You just tell yourself that so you can feel better. But you didn’t try, not as hard as you should or could have.

I’m pretty mean in here.

I get that and I often do. But even doing that sometimes it’s not super clear what we need to do, seems like it will be easy and then is not, or it’s a spontaneous weekend getaway so we just show up like dum-dums.

I wish it were more obvious what the system is, or at least that every metro system ran similarly. The only thing about international travel that stresses me the fuck out is figuring out what app I need to make my way through town, or if I need a paper ticket, etc. Not even language barriers give me as much stress as landing and having to spend 30 min figuring out the best method for transits when I’m tired and just want to relax.

Deer are just giant, deadly vermin.

The Henrik Ibsen statue near my home, and also just about all street-facing buildings built before like 1960. People stop to take pictures but I’m just like, people live there. It’s a pretty row of houses, but have some respect. See also, Bryggen.

In my experience, the Norwegian public health scheme has its share of drawbacks. But they have never been shy to order an MRI. I’ve lived here 5 years now and I’ve had 4… one of them just as a “might as well, it’s been a year since surgery” status update. And they all cost me about $25 each.

Maybe he’s your real dad.

I learned so much against my will by having to visually scan for the keyword(s).

Wish they would’ve done Wheel of Time as an animated series, stylistically more like Avatar The Last Airbender than say, Danny Phantom.

Hank Schrader - Breaking Bad. It started out from Ep 1 like “oh, this fucking guy 😒”. By the end of the road I was actually rooting for him. His arc was incredible.

I’ve lived in Norway for 5 years now. The only people I see asking for money are well known to locals, and I suspect that the majority of them weren’t born here either and have been forced to do this by someone else, who is perhaps holding their passports? Idk, it’s almost all women or disabled men that… don’t look Norwegian, and they all hive signs with Vipps numbers (cashapp/venmo for those not familiar). There is also one Norwegian guy in town who is always hustling people and tourists with the same story about how he just needs money for the train ride to Voss, so he can go to rehab there. I came here from San Francisco so it was a huge culture shock to see so few down on their luck, and even then, largely keeping out of your face. I don’t feel threatened, I just feel badly for them.

The people using speaker on transit, or blasting external speakers while hiking through otherwise perfectly good woods… are disturbing the peace, sure. So are the college kids two floors up when they’re pre-gaming at 9pm. But the police would not take any of these calls seriously, unless the OP rule/law were in place.