Les 2 Gazelles

Les 2 gazelles

Day 1: I fell off!

The day started too early, with a shuttle to Terminal 5 and flight from London to Agadir, and then a 90 minute drive along roads of variable quality to the ranch called Les 2 Gazelles. The driver didn’t speak much English, so we spent the time watching the dry landscape and half built towns.

On our arrival we were met by Leila, who spoke a little bit English, and showed us around and offered lunch. After lunch we already had our first ride, a short lesson in the school and then an hour riding out. I got a big mare called Tamazirt that was really lazy in the walk, fine with trotting and full speed in canter and gallop. Tollef got a smaller mare called Tizlit who were more forward going in all paces. We rode down to the beach and along it, and it was obvious that the horses normally run a lot there. We didn’t do any trot or canter before we turned off the beach and along the tracks back to the stable. At some point the guides horse shied during a canter, and my horse followed suit. I was somewhat prepared, but didn’t manage to stay on. Well done for a first ride! The fall was not really bad, and I got up and we walked nicely back to the stables.

Dinner was nice enough, and we both withdrew early, tired from the travel and riding.

Day 2: New horse, new possibilities

The second day started with a two hour long ride along the beach and back across the dry inner land, to my disappointment still on Tamazirt. We had some long canters along the beach, and the horses really enjoyed it. I have not often become tired from cantering! Tamazirt was really strong and pulling a lot on the left rein, so I spent some time fighting her before we finally agreed.

We had lunch and a new arrival, an Englishman that had done a lot of riding holidays. It was lovely having someone to talk to that actually understood English properly. He joined our ride in the afternoon, where I was allowed to change horses for a red Arab stallion named Queiss. He was so much better than Tamazirt, following the others in a nice pace, and quite controllable in trot. We did not canter at all, as we came through a town that had some kind of festival, and we rode through crowds of people, down a narrow track, all of this with loud noise from speakers around us. Queiss got really nervous, and took a long time to calm down. Then, on crossing the road before the last stretch, he was startled by a motorbike, and almost got me off for the second time on my part. Luckily I stayed on this time.

Day 3. Storms, and yet another horse.

In the evening the wind caught up, and we had a storm during the night. I didn’t sleep much, as the dog was barking a lot in the yard, and the wind made a lot of noise. Luckily we didn’t have any water coming into our room, like some of the others had.

I asked if we would have a lesson in the morning rather than riding out, as I was very unsure how the horses would be in the strong wind. Leila said we would, but when we were to saddle the horses we were told that we were going out anyway. I agreed to take Tamazirt again, as she could be expected to be calmer with the wind. Better with lazy than jumpy. We barely got out through the gate though, before she started jumping around and making problems, and I decided to go back inside and rest for the morning. At that point I was not very happy with the horses or the guides, the main instructor being the only one able to pick out a horse for me that I could be comfortable with. I rested until the others came back, and not unexpectedly, it had been a lively ride.

Before lunch I spoke to Leila, and in the afternoon I got Tollef’s horse, Tizlit. I felt really bad about that since he was so happy with her, but apparently it was the only horse they meant would be better for me than the two I had already tried, and the alternative was to break off the whole riding thing and go to Agadir for touristing (I was that tired of everything, lack of sleep didn’t help at all). Tollef got my horse and rode out with the others, while I stayed for a lesson together with a younger girl who also stayed at the ranch. It was not very complicated instructions, mostly controlling the horse in trot and canter, but I got to know the horse and got quite comfortable with her. She is just the kind of horse that I like, small, quick and eager. I still had some problems controlling her in the school, so waiting to see how riding out will be in the coming day. Tollef was also happy with “my” horse, so in the end it was a successful switch.

Day 4. Testing, testing.

No less stormy, but at least more sleep during this night. My plan was to ride out in the morning to get to know Tizlit on the track, and a lesson in the afternoon because it is less tiring, saving my energy for the trail ride.

The English-speaking guide took us about the same route as Youssuf on Sunday, down to the beach with some canters, and back through a village and over the dry lands. We had various levels of strong wind the whole way, and on our way back we had some heavy rain showers. Today’s challenge was a gallop along the beach against wind and rain. A bit after we had to stop and turn the horses with their backs to the rain, as they are not used to this at all. All in all Tizlit proved to be a good and steady horse, though I am not sure if I could have kept her back if the French couple behind me had started racing, as they tended to come side by side during the canters.

In the afternoon I was having a lesson with the girl from yesterday and the French guy from the earlier mentioned couple. Luckily I was in the school before any of the others and got some time all to myself to work on the trot and halts that I struggled with yesterday. When the other two came the lesson more or less consisted of the three of us riding around trying to avoid each other, the French guy changing directions a bit randomly, and the other two of us trying to control our horses to pass him and each other without causing any trouble. My horse appeared quite tired and protested quite heavily against the trot and canters in the end, so we made it a short lesson (if it counts as a lesson without any instruction?).

After a shower (including various water temperatures) I had my appointed massage, which at least was very good. Hopefully a full body massage will help me relax my muscles and sleep better the last night before the trail ride. Apparently we are going about 30 kilometers every day, by 5-7 hours of riding. I expect that we are not doing much trotting or canter as the horses will be having long enough days anyway. Looking forward to see how this will be! For dinner we also had the company of Rene’s daughter and her friend, who will be joining us on the flight back to London.

Day 5. To ride or not to ride (in the rain).

Against all expectations, Wednesday started out with strong winds. The rain came just as we took the horses out to get up, and within the first hour horses and riders were soaked. We discussed whether to turn back, as it was supposed to rain all day, but when it cleared up (just as we decided to return, of course) we decided to go on for lunch and then consider the course.

We walked beside the horses up a steep rocky mountain part, before we mounted again and rode along country roads in the hillsides. Nice view, with threatening clouds from all sides. We rode through a couple of towns with a lot of attention from the inhabitants, and crossed a mostly dry river. The rain didn’t come again until we had lunch in the middle of an open field, but it wasn’t too bad and we continued the trip. The car with our luggage and equipment had gone before us and set up tables and prepared lunch for us.

After lunch we rode in a dry riverbed for some time, before we got back up on the road and had a good long canter before we started to ascend the steep mountainside. From the top of the mountain we had a terrific view of the Moroccan savannah and other mountains, even one that looked like Lonely Mountain! During the descent the horses got really tired, and we walked them the last bit to the camp that was almost ready set up. Everything was a bit damp from the rain, but the skies had cleared up and we could change to quite dry clothes and get some rest.

Day 6

We woke up to the prayers in the nearest village, rain on the tent, and luckily a swiftly clearing sky. The second day of the ride we rode through hilly landscape, and a long rocky stretch from the camp and up on another mountain. We walked the horses again quite far downhill, and it was good for the horses to get some rest. In a town we ended up chasing a cow away, and then we came down on the earlier viewed savannah, rocky fields with bushes and trees, where we had lunch.

After lunch we rode mostly on flat land, with some nice canters and trots along the roads. My horse was quite tired, and on the last few canters she refused to do anything but trot (possibly partly to do with the horse in front that had really uneven speed because the rider was fighting the reins all the time).

Even though the second day had been easier, I was really tired in the evening. I had a “wet wipe shower” and a fresh change of clothes, which felt incredibly good. We had some cooked chicken and mint-tea (served after most meals), and then flat out in the tent.

Day 7, there and back again.

The last day of the trail ride. The morning was a bit cloudy and chilly, but it soon cleared up and we had a really nice and warm sun that easily uncovered the spots we missed with the sunscreen... Not unexpectedly, we headed towards the coast still across the flat land. A lot of the parts were rocky, so there was little speed the first half of the ride. Some parts had large puddles from the rain, and some of the horses were really uncomfortable with the slippery ground. The advantage of the rain for our part was probably that there was no dust at all! A dog followed us for a long time, but stayed behind in a town we went through. After riding through a tourist area we came down to the beach, where the car waited with lunch, including strawberries for dessert! We untacked the horses and let them have a good roll in the sand, which was really appreciated.

After a long nice picnic on the beach, we headed towards the ranch. Both horses and riders were tired and eager to get home, and expected to have some good gallops along the beach. For my part the gallops were slightly spoiled because the rider in front of me still didn’t have control of his horse, but it was very nice anyway. I also managed to take some nice photos beach between the speedy parts. At the very end of the trip it started raining again, so much that we had to stop and turn the horses against the wind, as they were not used to the rain and quite nervous about it.

Back at the ranch we washed down the horses and equipment before taking a long awaited shower. In the evening there was a big dinner, with some other guests, and a lot of food and new dishes. Still, I was happy when we finished and could go to bed and have a good night's sleep before going home the next day. At the end of the week I was not sure if I was happy with the holiday or not. Some time later, having digested it all, I think I might have gone somewhere else, and made some other choices, but I also got some experiences that I am happy to take with me.

Jeg har ME

Jeg har ME. Myalgisk Encefalopati, eller kronisk tretthetssyndrom, som det også kalles. Dette er egentlig begynnelsen (eller slutten?) på en lang historie, som jeg har startet på inne i hodet mitt ganske mange ganger nå. En bok lang, kanskje. Hvis jeg noen gang får tid, og ro på meg. Her kommer den korte versjonen.

I 2002 møtte jeg veggen, og fikk etter et års tid (et halvt år uten ønske om hjelp og et halvt år til på venteliste) diagnosen utbrenthet og alvorlig depresjon. Dette gikk sin gang, og i 2004 startet veien "tilbake" for min del, med gradvis bedring. I 2005 startet jeg på attføring gjennom NAV (historiene om prosessene i Norsk Helsevesen og NAV er flere helt egne kapitler som igrunn er ganske underholdende så lenge på ettertid, når jeg nå fortsatt lever), og i 2007 startet jeg på 50% studier i arkivbehandling, som jeg fullførte, om ikke med glans så med stolthet. Så stoppet det opp.

Depresjonen slapp taket gradvis fra 2004, og jeg var helt ferdig med antidepressiva i 2006. Det var ingen åpenbar grunn til at jeg ikke skulle få energien tilbake, men både leger og psykologer sa at det ikke var noe annet å gjøre enn å gi det tid.

Vi bodde et år i England, og jeg jobbet 3-4 timer per dag med fysisk arbeid utendørs. Det fungerte greit, det hjalp med mye dagslys og en mild vinter, selv om jeg tidvis var mye sliten. Tilbake i Norge jobbet jeg 50% i et arkiv i 5 måneder, og det var akkurat litt mer enn det jeg fungerte med, og fikk en funksjonsberegning fra legen på 40%. Det er håpløst å finne stillinger på 40%, men jeg var heldig og fant en som jeg har den dag i dag.

Så gikk NAV lei av å vente. Etter å ha gått i flere år på det som for tiden heter AAP (arbeidsavklaringspenger, tidligere rehabiliteringspenger og attføringspenger, eller også en periode midlertidig uførepenger for min del) uten vesentlig endring i funksjonsnivå måtte jeg enten friskmeldes eller utredes ytterligere for å utelukke alle muligheter og deretter eventuelt søke uføretrygd.

ME dukket opp i mediene omtrent samtidig som jeg ble syk. Jeg var klar over sykdommen og hva den innebar (alle kjenner jo til "noen"), og brukte noen av rådene og teknikkene der da jeg selv knapt orket å stå opp av sengen. Men etter at jeg startet på attføring konkluderte jeg med at jeg var for frisk til å ha ME, selv om noen av symptomene kunne stemme, og lege og psykolog var igrunn enig. Per i dag lever jeg et relativt normalt liv med hus, jobb, to hunder som jeg trener aktivt med, og et varierende antall hobbyer. Jeg jobber bare deltid, må ha noen hviledager iblant, og går litt tidligere hjem enn de andre fra sosiale tilstelninger.

Derfor var det litt med blandede følelser jeg etter en spesialistutredning (etter overraskende kort ventetid på knappe 6 mnd) fikk diagnosen. Folk man hører om som har ME ligger jo i en seng i et mørkt rom og tåler hverken lyd eller lys. Men etterhvert har jeg oppdaget at det er ganske mange som er som meg, som har jobb og lever relativt normalt så lenge de tar hensyn til energinivået.

En annen sak med ME er jo at det er tiårets "motediagnose". "Alle" de ikke greier å finne ut hva feiler får diagnosen ME. Noen ganger leser man i avisene eller andre steder om folk som egentlig hadde borreliose, cøliaki og andre ting. Eller som blir friske av nye og fantastiske metoder som ikke fungerer for de fleste andre optimistiske ME-pasienter som prøver det. Innerst inne vet jeg ikke helt om jeg tør å tro på diagnosen for min egen del, selv om det forklarer en del ting som jeg enten ikke har tenkt over eller bortforklart.

Ettersom det ikke finnes noen godkjent behandling så spiller det jo ikke så stor rolle for min del. Det vil ikke gjøre noen stor forskjell i hverdagen, jeg vil leve som før, jobbe, trene, være med hundene, og prøve å bli i bedre form og bli friskere, uten å overanstrenge meg så jeg blir altfor sliten.

NAV har fått papiret sitt, og jeg har funnet boksen min. Jeg (tror jeg) vet hva som feiler meg, og kanskje vil det gjøre det lettere for meg å forholde meg til hverdagen, energimangelen, og ikke minst NAV og Norsk Helsevesen.

Så får vi bare se hva fremtiden bringer (hvis den ikke stopper i morgen).

A Year of Travelling

A year has passed since my last blog. I didn't mean it to. Maybe it is because I planned to write so many long and detailed blogs about my travels that it became an obstacle rather than a joy to write it.

I was planning on blogging on our trip to Thailand in January/February. It's one of those places one just have to go at some point. When we planned the trip, everybody was stating "it is so cheap over there!", "everyone are so friendly in Thailand!", "It is so easy to get around!". Well, I suppose it was quite cheap, but having built up expectations I still was kind of disappointed with the prices. Although we got around cheap enough.
About the friendliness, of course, most people around would always help you getting to his brothers shop or cousins restaurant, but I didn't find people more friendly and helpful than most other countries I've been to. They were definitely less aggressive than Egyptian sellers, but not all shop keepers and ticket sellers were very friendly either.
If you know where you are going, it is fairly easy to get around, but you really have to check up routes and times beforehand (or be prepared to pay whatever a taxi driver wants, not that it is much compared to Western fares). Most people doesn't speak English well, and tell you what they think you want to hear rather than necessarily the facts. At one point we ended up taking a bus to a place where there were no buses back, and little traffic at all, so ended up hitchhiking our way back!

Being our first time, we booked by a travel agency, for two weeks on Phuket on Kharon beach. For the first week, we booked a plane to Chiang Mai in the North. There we stayed for a few days, checking out town, the nearby National Park, and a lot of temples that were really nice. From there we went to Bangkok to experience this Metropolis. Although very busy and noisy I loved the city and will definitely go back at some point!

After a week we went back to Phuket, to spend some days diving (Tollef), snorkelling (me) and enjoying the sun. The wind made the hotel pool more attractive than the beach, and we missed an excursion to Phi-Phi due to strong winds, but it was a nice time anyway.

I could write pages about the sights, experiences and everything I thought about this trip, but then so many have written about Thailand before, it seems kind of superfluous. But we will definitely go back.

I was also planning on blogging my trip to Paris in March. Tollef was going for work, and I decided to join in. I never had much love for France, maybe because I love England so much? But of course you have to visit Paris too. While Tollef spent his days in meeting rooms, I walked around Paris. I didn't bother to queue to go up in the Eiffel tower, but visited another high atraction with a view towards the tower. Unfortunately it was quite foggy, so the view could have been better. I walked a lot, and tracked my walking. According to my mobile I walked about 20 kilometers the first day, and as much the day after. It is like this, when I am on sightseeing and shopping, I often tend not to bother with buses and subways, I might miss a sight on the way!

In July, I went on my now regular trip to ManorCon in Leicester. I had plan to go a day early, and spent a half day shopping around in London (tracked again, 15 km), and half a day visiting an dog forum aquintance in London suburbs. ManorCon was nice, as usual, but I missed a bunch of the regulars. And got some new friends though, so maybe that makes up for it?

In August I went on my first job trip ever! The summer was really busy, and in the Norway office we had to take on a lot of extra work that was to be transferred to Poland. So I went there to train my successor, and got to do some sightseeing as well. I stayed in a fancy business hotell (expensive in Polish terms, not so much for in Norwegian), visited the town hall and musical instrument museum, and of course had Polish food in the pubs. I suppose Poznan is not the most exciting of Polish cities, but it was a nice trip nevertheless. Not the least having some days of sun and warmth while the Norwegian summer drowned in rain.

My last trip abroad for the year went to Gran Canaria in November (as long as one doesn't count day trips to Sweden) to relax in the sun. Both were somewhat limited due to strong winds and clouds, but I got some days by the pool and some nice runs along the beach. Hoping to get more of the sun, if not so much relaxation, on our planned riding holiday in Morocco next year!

One Week in Vallebona

Almost 10 years ago, I booked my first riding holiday outside Norway ever, a week in Tuscany on horseback. Unfortunately I fell ill, and had to cancel the trip. I've been keeping an eye on the same travel agency since then, Häst & Sport resor (Horse and sports travels) and dreamt about going on one of those trips. This year, I decided it would be my 30 year birthday present to myself, and with my birthday money I booked a new holiday. Not exactly the same trip, but western riding in Tuscany on Vallebona agriturismo. This is my blog about my experience from the week, as well as a review for others considering going there.

My week in Vallebona

Saturday morning, I left from Oslo, Gardermoen, via Zürich and to Florence. The last flight was with a small airplane of the type with 5 seats on each row, and it was rather windy. The landing felt like taken out from some funny Donald Duck movie, though I didn't feel it was funny at all, being a part of it. Having survived the landing in Florence, I easily found my way with the bus to Florence and train further on to Pontassieve. There, I was picked up by Raimonda, the wife of the house, together with a Swiss couple. It appeared that all the other guests were Swiss, and everyone had been there before, some yearly (even twice!) for some time.

After arriving at Vallebona, having been assigned a room and informed of mealtimes and riding, I walked down to the stables for a curious inspection. The afternoon riders were just coming in, and I ended up helping the Belgian stable hand taking some of the horses out to the paddock. There were three girls working in the stables for the season, besides the regular employees. Since they were closer to my age than most of the guests (being either children or closer to my parents' age) I ended up talking a lot to them during the week, also as I was one of the few guests that tended to my own horse during the stay. Tiffany was from Guernsey and the only one that didn't understand German at all, so we ended up talking a lot. She also guided most of the rides I was on.

Every morning I was up at 8, tending first to my own horse and then others, before having breakfast. At 10 was the first riding session, and I had lessons every morning. The first morning I had a short lesson only learning to start, stop and turn the horse, before I went out with Tiffany. It was only the two of us, and we had a nice ride and even some gallops on my first ride out. This days funny experience happened when we rode past a nearby restaurant. The music flowed out from the place, and playing was "Personal Jesus" by Depeche mode. Nothing funny in that itself, except that it is the theme song of one of the greatest Norwegian wrestlers, Bjørn Sem, and to me this song always means the Bjørn threads out, with his sunglasses and ponytail, ready to beat someone half to death. Sitting in a western saddle in the Tuscany countryside it felt very absurd.

The horses were mostly Italian breeds, Sardinian and Maremma. Between "exotic" names like Biagio, Fulminae, Chiccala, Malvasia and Desidario, I got a nice horse called Molly. She was a really good teacher, steady but exciting enough, and very nice and gentle both inside and outside.

The first day I didn't ride in the afternoon, taking a slow approach as I haven't been riding regularly in a very very long time. I watched a lesson, and then had some sun, and a rest before dinner. The second day I had only a lesson in the morning with Steffi, the German stable hand that has been working there for 17 years! After the lesson I took the horse back to the stable, and had some sun and rest myself. The lesson got a bit extra excitement in it when 4 wild pigs came rushing through the forest and through one of the nearby paddocks. The horses didn't react much, and luckily I never came to see them any closer than that. In the afternoon I had my first 2 hour ride out, and it was nice, even with a bit more climbing than I care for (it's not THAT exciting when you have lived between mountains all your life).

An afternoon/evening pastime on Vallebona is knots. In the main house there is always pieces of rope lying around, waiting to be knotted in some challenging way, people teaching or learning new knots. Many of the horses' headcollars were made from ropes, and during some of the evenings Franco started teaching me the necessary knots (knot of love and the diamond) for making them the way he does. I never managed the last knot, so I will have to search for it online and practice on my own.

The third day, me and three of the other women had a lesson with Samuele, which was really good. We started working on using the reins and legs to turn the horses in different ways. I rode out both after the lesson, and another two hours in the afternoon. To my surprise I didn't feel very sore or stiff after riding 7 hours in three days. I stretched out after riding the first three days (and then forgot about it), and the only thing I felt was a bit tired after much fresh air and outside activity.

On Wednesday, I had decided to go to Florence on a daytrip, as the forecast said it was going to rain and not too good weather for riding. I joined the morning lesson with Samuele again, working further on the reins and turning, and took my horse in when the others rode out. Then I got the bus from the mill, taking an hour to Florence. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Florence, apart from Renaissance, pizza and gelato (ice cream). I had pizza for lunch, before I went to see the Duomo Santa Maria Del Fiore. I have seen many impressive cathedrals, our own Nidarosdomen in Trondheim competing with some of the grand English cathedrals, but this one measured up to most of the cathedrals I have seen. Grand in both size and look it was really a lovely sight. From the Duomo I wandered around the streets of Flornence, passing Dante's house and church on my way to the bridge Ponte Vecchio, which is known for the houses hanging out on the sides, and the jeweler shops along both sides. I saw of course the David statue (the false one, I didn't bother to queue to see the original), and also the Santa Croce church and other nice, old buildings. I had my gelato, a keyring for Cuddles (my traveling red panda, who collects keyrings from everywhere we've been), postcards for the family, and some supplies for between meal snacks. The weather forecast didn't hit in, so it was a nice and sunny day to walk around Florence, and I had no regret on that account.

On Thursday the rain was said to be rather heavy, and we just had time for a lesson with Samuele before the drops started to fall. Some brave souls rode out anyway, while me and a couple of the others went back inside and settled in front of the fireplace. It was a good choice, seeing the others coming back an hour later quite wet, and the rain continued to pour down throughout the day, accompanied by thunder and lightning very close up to the farm. Two of the other guests turned out to be board game players, and I got to play a round of Stone Age, having observed them and taught rules the night before. In the evening that day we had an indoor barbequeue, first being served toast (toasted in the fireplace!), also called by the Italians bruschetta (preferrably with garlic, olive oil, tomatos and spices), pork speck, olives (of course!) and then grilled pork chops and other good food with it.

On Fridays there is usually a long trek of 4-6 hours, but the weather was so unsure that they decided to follow the normal routines. I got a lesson with Franco himself in the morning, and managed quite well, in my own opinion. After the lesson, Tiffany took us on a very nice ride to an old church, and with a nice view of the area. In the afternoon I went on a longer ride with the German guide Rainer, up and around the hills behind the farm. Molly was in heat and a bit more challenging than usual, bucked a couple of times in the beginning of gallops, and made a couple of extra gallops when she felt like it. Nothing that I couldn't handle, but it was not the most relaxing ride I had.

After a week I still didn't feel like I'd had too much riding, although I was starting to feel very tired. The beds were quite old and not too comfortable, and I didn't sleep well enough to get enough rest according to the amount of physical activity every day. It was very good to come home to my own, soft bed. But I have also learned a lot about western riding, and will definitely follow up on that. It is true what Steffi said one of the days, many people go from classic riding to Western riding, very few (if any) goes the other way. I will never sit as comfortably in an English saddle again, as I do in a Western saddle.

Vallebona review

First of all, for riding purposes and learning western riding, I am not sure if you could get it better! The program presented from the agency was one hour lesson in the morning and one hour riding out in the afternoon. Actually, at the farm, there is two hours riding in the morning and two in the afternoon. You can choose between an hour lesson with a following riding out, or just riding out for two hours. You can also have only one hour lesson, or only one hour riding out, but that doesn't really happen when you get the opportunity to ride more! Franco, who owns the place, is really good with the horses, and buys and train them to go with the guests and tourists. He also knows a lot about both western riding and other sports on horseback, and horses in general of course.

All the horses were well trained and responsive to new, inexperienced riders, as well as more experienced riders. Thunder or shots from nearby hunters doesn't bother them much, and even the wild pigs have to come quite close up to be given any attention. I always felt safe, but not at all bored, on riding out in the landscape around the farm.

The food was said to be incredibly good from other reviews and guestbook comments, so I had high expectations of that. As a pasta lover, I didn't mind having two different types of pasta as a starter for every lunch and dinner, some people might tire of it. It was followed by some type of cooked meat and vegetables (varieties of pork, chicken a couple of days, one day we got hare), and after dinner also a dessert of some kind. I may be spoiled in food ways, but though it was over average tasty meals, the food will not be the main reason for going back. Also, if three meals a day is not enough, you might want to bring some snack for between meals, as the only "food" available at the place is ice cream and cold drinks.

The place was nice, idyllic location in Tuscany hills, surrounded by olive groves and vineyards. We rode around, through and past many of them, never the same way. A couple of trips also went up to the top of the hills with a lovely view of Tuscany. For good and bad, Vallebona is some distance away (6 km) from the nearest village, Pontassieve, and there's no regular bus. If you don't like sunbathing, picking olives, reading or riding, there's really nothing to do there. There's a buss from the nearby mill (no. 333 operated by amvbus.it) going to Florence 2-3 times a day and back in the evening, and a trip to Florence at least one day is absolutely recommended.

I will present some of the pictures in another blogpost, but all my public photos from my trip can be seen in my gallery.

Sommertid

Det har vært en rar sommertid i år. Været har ikke vært det beste, og det er den første sommeren på ganske mange år at jeg har en "vanlig" jobb. Tollef har en del reising med jobben, og delvis på grunn av hundene har mye turer gått innenlands.

Kristi Himmelfartshelga, første helga i juni, dro vi til hytta i Hemsedal med lillesøster og hennes mann, og en venn av oss. Der hadde vi tre dager med fjellturer i fint vær, god mat, brettspill og kos, og litt bursdagsfeiring for oss som har bursdag i løpet av sommeren. Tante Marit var en tur på firmahytta litt lengre opp i dalen, og kom på bursdagsmiddag til oss den ene dagen, og serverte vafler etter fjelltur en annen dag. På tur ned dro jeg, lillesøster og mannen innom Bjørneparken på Flå. Det er både fascinerende og litt trist å se de ville dyrene på nært hold. Et par uker etterpå ble to av bjørnene skutt for å ha brutt seg ut av den ene innhegningen (og inn i en annen, aldri fare for mennesker), og jeg er ikke helt sikker på om det var en bra ting eller ikke.

Bare fire dager etter hjemkomsten fra Hemsedal satte vi kursen mot Molde for å feire 50-årsdag. Det ble en spennende helg, ikke minst på grunn av flommen, som dagen etter at vi dro oppover gjorde bilturen for de andre fra Oslo ganske mye lengre. Turen ned igjen gikk via Oppdal og Østerdalen, en fin og ikke altfor mye lengre tur, til tross for omkjøring i Rendalen. Lørdagen i Molde hadde vi en fin tur i Moldemarka, og jeg gikk stier og veier som er nye siden jeg gikk der sist.

Dagen etter vi kom hjem fra Molde reiste Tollef på en 10-dagers jobbtur til San Francisco. For min del var det lite annet enn jobb og hunder, pluss wrestlingshow, som på mystisk vis alltid ser ut til å havne på helger jeg er alene hjemme. Dagen før Tollef skulle komme hjem ble det dog litt ekstra spenning i hverdagen, da jeg våknet til at mesteparten av veien utenfor huset var gravet opp. Vi fikk melding om utbytting av hovedvannledning for et år siden, men har ikke greid å få noe mer info fra dem om det, før de nå tydeligvis var i gang. I tillegg er jo vår egen planlagte påbygging på huset rett rundt hjørnet, så jeg brukte to timer i telefon og e-post for å få kontakt med og klarlagt saker og ting med to entrepenører og kommunen.

Etter at Tollef kom hjem hadde jeg tre fine dager på Arcon. Etterhvert har jeg gått over til å spille mer brettspill og mindre rollespill, og jeg fikk lært flere nye spill som ble ført opp på ønskelista. Det er fortsatt sært å være på Sogn i stedet for Blindern, men det var som alltid hyggelig å treffe igjen alle de gode gamle congjengerene som har vært der i "alle år".

1. juli har jeg som vanlig bursdag, og i år skulle de fleste bort, stort sett utenlands, på dagen. Så da bestemte jeg meg likegodt for å reise bort selv. Det passet godt med at vi lenge har planlagt å låne hytta på Ringebufjellet, der vi var en del med familien da jeg var barn. Lillesøster og mannen hadde alt vært der noen dager da vi kom opp kvelden før bursdagen min. Dagen etter skulle mammas søskenbarn som eier hytta også komme opp og feire sammen med oss. På morgenen stod jeg opp, og fikk en kjempeoverraskelse på døra da mamma og pappa kom. Jeg hadde håpet at de kanskje ville ta turen, men de sa de hadde andre planer da vi snakket på telefon tidligere i uken. Så fikk vi to fine dager med masse god mat, tur og hyggelig samvær. Lillesøster og mannen dro hjem allerede på kvelden på bursdagen min, og mamma og pappa dagen etter det. Tredje dagen bestemte vi oss for å dra hjem selv, siden værmeldingene var heller dårlig. På vei hjem dro vi først til Hundefossen Familiepark, og kjørte go-kart, reddet iskremfabrikken fra slafsene, og fikk sett masse av Ivo Caprinos folkeeventyr.

Tilbake i Oslo hadde jeg og hundene en rolig dag, før vi dro et par dager til Nesodden for å hilse på svigermor og svoger med samboer og barn. Det var ganske fint vær, og Tollef stod på vannski den ene dagen. Vi gjorde også en god innsats med å kappe og stable ved til vinteren. Fint med gratis skog!

En rolig sommerhelg med vagt ustabilt vær inneholder to turer rundt Grefsenkollen med hundene, rollespill med "familiegjengen", pakking til neste tur, og middag hos lillesøster. I morgen drar jeg nok en gang til England for å besøke Denton House i Oxford, og så til ManorCon i Leicester for å treffe venner og spille brettspill. Tilfeldighetene ville ha det til at lillesøster skulle på husmorferie til London nesten samtidig, så det blir en dag i London med shopping og musical mellom Oxford og Leicester.

Nå er kofferten ferdig pakket, gps-en reinstallert, og alle billetter og bookinger skrevet ut. England, here I come!

UEWA Cruiserweight championship

Last Saturday I attended the UEWA Cruiserweight championship in Kanonhallen here in Oslo. I've been following Norwegian Wrestling for quite a few years now, watching wrestlers come and go, and become quite engaged in all of it. My interest mainly comes from knowing a handful of the wrestlers from other social settings, and I am not that interested in international wrestling. Neither have I been very interested in shows with foreign visitors before. But a European championship is quite grand, after all.

And my what a show! From the start till the very end, the show was high-flying, hard-hitting, back-breaking, and my throat was hoarse and my hands sore even the next day. Maybe the wrestlers also put in the little bit extra in the memory of Randy Savage aka Macho Man that sadly died in a car accident the previous day. A good reason to make the championship a show to remember!

I believe most of the audience didn't know the European wrestlers and what to expect from them. But for every match, a favourite was quickly chosen and cheered towards victory. They say that a picture say more than a thousand words, here's my short story of it. All photos honestly stolen from www.kampsportforalle.no that covers all the shows.

Our brave trio of judges


B-Cool from Ireland was far from cool enough to beat the audience favourite Italian Pirate Doblone. As if the performance wasn't enough to impress, Doblone got some extra attention for his nice little ass.




For some reason, the Welsh wrestler Wild Boar never got the goodwill of the audience. Irish Sean South wrestling for Spain proved himself to be one to count in for the championship. Definitely one of my favourites.





Poor German Pierre never had a chance with the audience, going versus our own Zackariel. Zack is not the most popular Norwegian wrestler, definitely not one of my favourites, but in the international tournament he had everyone behind him. I was sorry that Pierre had to be beaten by Zack, I really liked his style and attitude. Zack also impressed me, as I haven't seen much of him after his image-change, and he really got to show what lies within. Maybe due to a good opponent as well?




When Scottish Kid Fite entered the ring, I just knew he'd win that first match. It was not that his attitude charmed the audience that much, quite the opposite, but he had a mind to win. "Bad Boy" Liam Thomson is also Scottish and actually Fite's tag team partner back in the UK, although he was representing Denmark in the championship. Despite having the audience with him, his efforts didn't quite stand up to match his partner.


In the semi finals Sean South and Doblone gave us some fine entertainment and a really good fight, before Sean South made a knot of the pirate.


Zack went against Kid Fite, and might have had a chance of winning, if not Pierre had interfered. Fite lost what little he had of approval with the audience, hitting the judge (who hit him back and gave him a reprimande).


Before the championship final came the national hightlight, a 9-man Battle Royale. My sister and me are fans of Sgt. Violence and had dressed accordingly. He gave some nice maneuvres before being handled out of the ring. I was hoping Aron might do better, but he also had to give in, and left Isaksen and Slegga standing, none of which I would prefer seeing against Victor on HeteSlag on June 18th. Of those two I was pleased to see Slegga win the challenge anyway, since Victor and Isaksen have had their share of matches before. Of course, Slegga will have no chance, but I always enjoy seeing Victor in the ring.

Our fan corner.


Sarge having a hard time.


Aron going down.


I can't believe he won!


Sean South vs. Kid Fite was quite definitely South's match. There was a lot of out-of-ring action, and a decent last match. I often think last matches, even though they are often finals of some kind, a bit anticlimax. Everyone knows that as soon the battle is over we'll go out in the real world and back home. This final kept the audience going at least, although it was no surprise in South winning.



He also took his time with the audience after the final, which was appreciated.


I really loved the show, and got my eyes on a couple of European wrestlers that I will follow from now on. The show was one of the best I've been to, the best in a good while, and I hope the European wrestlers also got what they came for (well, except frmo the title, of course).

Less than a month to the next show, and I really look forward to it.

Fremgang på alle fronter - nesten ihvertfall

Tross manglende suksess på "sosiale nettverk"-fronten har jeg til slutt fått meg en jobb. Det er en 40% kontorstilling hos Informed Sources AS, og jeg er spesielt fornøyd med å ha havnet i et internasjonalt firma. Jobben er utfordrende og interessant, og jeg er spent på hvor lang tid jeg bruker på å sette meg inn i alt. En til er nyansatt, og det blir hyggelig å ha noen å dele arbeidsdagen med på et lite kontor. Kontorene ligger mellom Solli plass og Aker Brygge, så 31-bussen er veldig praktisk. Første utfordring er å lære å komme seg opp om morgenen. Jeg har vært ganske lat i det siste, så selv om jeg har våknet før 10 har jeg ofte ligget og lest en god stund før jeg har stått opp. Nå må jeg heller legge meg tidligere og lese litt før jeg sovner.

I dag har jeg sendt avgårde klage til NAV (se forrige post) og fått bekreftet den mottatt og videreformidlet (pr. epost). Saksbehandleren min ringte forrige tirsdag, knappe fem arbeidsdager etter min første henvendelse dit. Hun mente at jeg ikke kunne fortsette å gå for 40% arbeid etter så lang tid, og at jeg snart måtte søke uføretrygd, noe hun mente jeg ville ha problemer med å få innvilget. Nå ble vi enige om å avvente jobben (som jeg da ventet på svar fra) og legeerklæring, så får vi se. Onsdag var jeg hos legen og fikk legeerklæring, og forhåpentligvis får jeg en ny periode med AAP, arbeidsavklaringspenger som det heter for tiden.

Siden nyttår har jeg brukt tiden som arbeidsledig til å sette mer fokus på trening og kosthold. Jeg har et mål om å gå litt ned i vekt, men hovedmålet er rett og slett å bli i bedre form. Planen var å gå ned ca. 5 kg til påske, for å ha et mål på det. Av en eller annen grunn fungerte ikke dette som før. Jeg kuttet grundig ned på sukkerinntaket, og spiste sunt og regelmessig. Etter Egypt-turen i januar begynte jeg å gå på ski en gang i uken og danse ca. en gang i uken (med diverse avbrudd pga. sykdom, vinterferie, reise mm...). I mars var jeg oppe i to faste treningsdager i uken, og tre i april.

I begynnelsen av april kom våren og gjorde en brutal slutt på skisesongen. Jeg tittet litt på alternative treningsmuligheter, og plukket opp igjen tråden på vanngymnastikk som jeg har sett litt på før. Gjennom diverse linker oppdaget jeg Aktiv på dagtid, som er et tilbud jeg helt har glemt. For 300 kr i året (!) har NAV-klienter tilgang på helsestudio/treningssenter, saltrening, svømming og vanngymnastikk, klatring og ballspill på dagtid på ukedager. Jeg har prøvd meg på noen saltimer og litt vanngymnastikk, og kommer til å fortsette med det på dager når været ikke oppfordrer til utendørs trening. I tillegg har jeg minst en dag i uken hvor jeg går med en av hundene i Oslomarka, rask gange og (foreløpig bittelitt og gradvis mer) jogging. Jeg har lånt Tollefs pulsklokke noen ganger når, og ser at jeg stort sett ligger på 5-7 km.

Den store vektnedgangen har uteblitt, men jeg merker at jeg er i langt bedre form nå. Jeg kan fint gå en god tur på 5-6 km rundt Grefsenkollen, og fortsatt ha overskudd til å få gjort mer i løpet av resten av dagen. For bare et halvår siden ville jeg ikke orket å gjøre noe mer den dagen. Det er såklart motiverende å se så stor forskjell også, og neste mål er å sykle til og fra jobb. Til jobb er det jo bare nedoverbakke, men hjem igjen er det 7 km med oppover... Innen sykkelsesongen er over, kanskje?