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!
Showing posts with label art galleries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art galleries. Show all posts
Monday, July 20, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Det er kunst vi vil ha
We spent a long day on Sunday packing David's apartment. We didn't finish. He decided that it would be better to drive all day Tuesday and keep packing on Monday than stress to get it finished on Sunday night.This was fine with me. It was going to be hard to say good-bye and I was happy to put it off for another day.
Monday I also started working at the art gallery (www.raulandkunstforening.no). This is a perfect summer job. I am surrounded by art and people interested in art. We share the building with the local coffee shop. When we're not busy, I get to check the internet for exciting developments. Sometimes I even get to clean the floors, something which has come to give me great joy after a year of washing at the dentist's office. Mostly, the job gives me a purpose for five hours a day; I pendle between feeling incredibly useful and phenomenally ignorant. Fortunately, in those slow times, I get to read art catalogs and artists' websites to help me build a little knowledge.
On Tuesday, David tried to leave. Tried, as in he packed the car and drove off, but his brakes gave out an hour down the road. Working at the art gallery also affords me the luxury of being both conveniently located to the local gas station and the flexibility to run out the door when he called to ask them if they had time to check out his car. In the end he drove to another town, had the brakes checked and then back up here to have them fixed. We got our extra night after all!
On Wednesday he left for real, leaving me to entertain myself by waiting for text messages from the road and washing the enormous pile of dishes we had steadily ignored since returning from Geilo. My apartment seemed lonely and somehow empty without David, in spite of the impressive volume of things we had managed to pack into it. It's a good thing we have found a larger place to live in the fall, even if it's not that much larger.
Since Wednesday I have beat the heat by avoiding it. Mostly by sitting calmly in the art gallery, guiding visitors to the send floor exhibition and film room. Generally hoping that they would be inspired by the calmness in the gallery to purchase something off our walls. I've also spent a fair amount of time lounging on my couch, too hot to do anything but lay there and think about the boy who had driven off. He sends me beautiful messages and I reply haltingly; language barriers are no fun.
Even the weekend was dedicated to the kunstforening. My alternatives were cleaning the house, so it seemed like an obvious choice. On Sunday we got some rain and a little thunder storm. I took a walk up to our new apartment - only five more minutes up the hill! Before I slept, I was struck by the deliciousness of the cold water from the tap here in the mountains. Even in the hot summer months, it is crisp and sweet, like I remember the water in Seattle tasting when I was a child.
Monday I also started working at the art gallery (www.raulandkunstforening.no). This is a perfect summer job. I am surrounded by art and people interested in art. We share the building with the local coffee shop. When we're not busy, I get to check the internet for exciting developments. Sometimes I even get to clean the floors, something which has come to give me great joy after a year of washing at the dentist's office. Mostly, the job gives me a purpose for five hours a day; I pendle between feeling incredibly useful and phenomenally ignorant. Fortunately, in those slow times, I get to read art catalogs and artists' websites to help me build a little knowledge.
On Tuesday, David tried to leave. Tried, as in he packed the car and drove off, but his brakes gave out an hour down the road. Working at the art gallery also affords me the luxury of being both conveniently located to the local gas station and the flexibility to run out the door when he called to ask them if they had time to check out his car. In the end he drove to another town, had the brakes checked and then back up here to have them fixed. We got our extra night after all!
On Wednesday he left for real, leaving me to entertain myself by waiting for text messages from the road and washing the enormous pile of dishes we had steadily ignored since returning from Geilo. My apartment seemed lonely and somehow empty without David, in spite of the impressive volume of things we had managed to pack into it. It's a good thing we have found a larger place to live in the fall, even if it's not that much larger.
Since Wednesday I have beat the heat by avoiding it. Mostly by sitting calmly in the art gallery, guiding visitors to the send floor exhibition and film room. Generally hoping that they would be inspired by the calmness in the gallery to purchase something off our walls. I've also spent a fair amount of time lounging on my couch, too hot to do anything but lay there and think about the boy who had driven off. He sends me beautiful messages and I reply haltingly; language barriers are no fun.
Even the weekend was dedicated to the kunstforening. My alternatives were cleaning the house, so it seemed like an obvious choice. On Sunday we got some rain and a little thunder storm. I took a walk up to our new apartment - only five more minutes up the hill! Before I slept, I was struck by the deliciousness of the cold water from the tap here in the mountains. Even in the hot summer months, it is crisp and sweet, like I remember the water in Seattle tasting when I was a child.
Friday, May 15, 2009
A day in Aberdeen
I arrived in Aberdeen after flying from Seattle via Copenhagen. It was a long, long trip that was not made shorter by the fact that I had managed to dump most of a glass of wine on my lap in the early hours of the first flight. Having arrived in Scotland, I exchanged what was left of my US currency and hopped a bus to the Youth Hostel.
That sounds pretty good, except I didn't really know where I was or where I was going. At least not at the level that I like to know these things. The result was not catastrophic, but I did wind up getting off the bus about ten blocks early and hauling all of my luggage along the bus route to the Youth Hostel.
I got checked in, stashed my stuff (up three flights of stairs), and decided to go for a walk. Seeing as how I'd botched being prepared arriving in Aberdeen, I figured I might as well be prepared leaving the city. I walked through a long street of shops (stopping for coffee and a sandwich) and made a sharp right to the harbor. I had acquired a map, so I knew where I was headed.
I was headed to the ferry terminal. I wanted to know if there were luggage lockers that I could leave my bags in during the day, since check out was at 10am and the boat wasn't leaving until 5pm. What I could see through the tinted windows didn't indicate the presence of lockers, and I didn't really want to appear too suspicious on the deserted dock, so I started formulating a plan B. That consisted of 'there must be lockers at the train or bus station' which I had walked past on the way down.
I went grocery shopping and tried to refrain from purchasing the whole store. I only needed food for one day and I already had coffee. (I bought coffee and a travel mug/french press in Seattle) I found myself with cheese, crackers, smoothie, and a couple bottles of water. I'd been walking for a couple hours by the time I made it back to the hostel, ate, showered, and crashed.
In the morning, I got up, had breakfast, repacked, and checked out. I took a bus to the bus station and asked about luggage lockers; they directed me to the train station a bus away. At the train station I paid £4 to have my bags searched and stored while I wandered around. I figured both the search and the price were reasonable.
Freed from my burdens, I headed off to the art gallery. There I made a painstaking survey of everything (just about) on the first floor. Then it was lunch time (spicy carrot soup!) before almost the same consideration was given to the upper floor. There was a lot more to look at on the upper floor and I was getting tired so I didn't quite study everything. Also, there were a few rooms closed. I suppose I'll just have to go back if I want to really see everything!
Having exhausted the gallery, I headed into the toasty early afternoon sun. I read in the park for a while. I drank coffee in a shop where the Canadian barista asked if I was reading Swedish. I bought a pen to write postcards and then wrote them. Then, I reclaimed my bags and headed back to the ferry terminal. It was time for adventure.
That sounds pretty good, except I didn't really know where I was or where I was going. At least not at the level that I like to know these things. The result was not catastrophic, but I did wind up getting off the bus about ten blocks early and hauling all of my luggage along the bus route to the Youth Hostel.
I got checked in, stashed my stuff (up three flights of stairs), and decided to go for a walk. Seeing as how I'd botched being prepared arriving in Aberdeen, I figured I might as well be prepared leaving the city. I walked through a long street of shops (stopping for coffee and a sandwich) and made a sharp right to the harbor. I had acquired a map, so I knew where I was headed.
I was headed to the ferry terminal. I wanted to know if there were luggage lockers that I could leave my bags in during the day, since check out was at 10am and the boat wasn't leaving until 5pm. What I could see through the tinted windows didn't indicate the presence of lockers, and I didn't really want to appear too suspicious on the deserted dock, so I started formulating a plan B. That consisted of 'there must be lockers at the train or bus station' which I had walked past on the way down.
I went grocery shopping and tried to refrain from purchasing the whole store. I only needed food for one day and I already had coffee. (I bought coffee and a travel mug/french press in Seattle) I found myself with cheese, crackers, smoothie, and a couple bottles of water. I'd been walking for a couple hours by the time I made it back to the hostel, ate, showered, and crashed.
In the morning, I got up, had breakfast, repacked, and checked out. I took a bus to the bus station and asked about luggage lockers; they directed me to the train station a bus away. At the train station I paid £4 to have my bags searched and stored while I wandered around. I figured both the search and the price were reasonable.
Freed from my burdens, I headed off to the art gallery. There I made a painstaking survey of everything (just about) on the first floor. Then it was lunch time (spicy carrot soup!) before almost the same consideration was given to the upper floor. There was a lot more to look at on the upper floor and I was getting tired so I didn't quite study everything. Also, there were a few rooms closed. I suppose I'll just have to go back if I want to really see everything!
Having exhausted the gallery, I headed into the toasty early afternoon sun. I read in the park for a while. I drank coffee in a shop where the Canadian barista asked if I was reading Swedish. I bought a pen to write postcards and then wrote them. Then, I reclaimed my bags and headed back to the ferry terminal. It was time for adventure.
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