Summer routine

July 23, 2009

My summer routine involves lots of work and lots of relaxing. Since Geilo, I have had three days off. While I've been working pretty much every day, most days are pretty short, leaving plenty of time for summer lounging. The weather here reminds me of home, rain, chance of rain, sun breaks with rain, and a few really hot days.

I most prefer working at the art gallery; the people here are interesting and the work is not physically exhausting. When someone buys a painting or other piece of art, everyone is happy about it. The transaction, regardless of the amount, is considered a joyous event or at least a positive one by the gallery, the artists, and the purchasers.

It's a little different working at the cafe. People are always happy to get their food, but the stress begins when they pay. Then they stand there and watch while I (or one of my coworkers) engage in the mad rush to try to get all of the hot food hot and the cold food cold and onto the table at the same time. Meanwhile there tends to be a line forming of more people who want more food. Unless there is nothing happening at all in the cafe. And that's no fun either.

On Fridays and Saturdays we have free concerts at the cafe. Free in Norway equals chaos. Everyone wants there coffee and waffles right when the concert starts. This means that the concert starts late, which annoys the people who came twenty minutes early. Then the concert lasts for half an hour and everybody heads back out into the fresh air, leaving behind them a wake of coins (for the musicians), coffee cups, and crumbs. Fortunately, the concerts are pretty good otherwise it wouldn't be worth the exhaustion!

On sunny days, tourists stay outside. They do not visit art galleries and they do not visit cafes in dark timber buildings. As previously mentioned, we have not had so many sunny days, so we have had a lot of tourists. That has meant lots of work to do for those of us who wanted to work. Of course, you can only work so long before it's time for a vacation!