New Life In University

It's a Wednesday evening, I'm sitting in the kitchen eating noodles and bread and reading the newspaper. All of a sudden I realize that some of the people I care about or care about me have no idea what kitchen I am sitting in and where in the world that newspaper is from. Since my last blog a lot of things have come to happen in the life of Þrallur.

In June mine and my very good friend Scott's rent lease ran out so I decided it was time for a dramatic change in my life. I packed my few belongings I had in Maynooth in Ireland and boarded a plane back to Reykjavík. I finally decided to apply for college after six years of break from school. When I was twenty I was so fed up with school, the school I last went to was in Akureyri, it was in no way appealing to me and I was quite bored with the town and the school for those four years I stayed and studied there. But these six years have done me good I have lived and learned from Life itself and have no regrets there.

I came back to Reykjavík in the middle of June and have been working most days since in Kaffitár, have had loads of good times in Prikið and lived on my friend Kolbrún's sofa to begin with and then Kristín and Kata's sofa until I finally got this apartment I am now eating my dinner in. I was a couch surfer for two long months, don't get me wrong though, it was mostly fun, but it is always tough living in someone else's living room for more than one night.

Scott came over for a week from Ireland in August. We had loads of fun and travelled a bit. Kolbrún lent us her car and we drove to Jökulsárlón, Skaftafell, did the Golden Circle including Kerið, Gullfoss, Geysir and Þingvellir and ended the trip on the Blue Lagoon. We also partied in Reykjavík and watched the annual Gay Pride that has never been bigger here in Iceland with 80.000 people in down town Reykjavík.

I have found out that 11 is my bar in Reykjavík, I have gone there a few times this summer and I love it, it's too warm too sweaty and lovely rock music, just the way I like it. Some say it's shabby but I think it's warm and welcoming.

Last week I moved into a flat in Hringbraut opposite the University along with my friends Anna Sóley and Salvör, we got the apartment the same day as I started my university degree in Geography so my new life started with a huge bang. I have a nice room in a big apartment next to my school and ten minutes away from Kaffitár Bankastræti where I will e working every other weekend this winter. How perfect is that?!

We are getting internet sometime this week, we got loud speakers today to connect our music to, we have a nice kitchen and have cooked a lot, we have two bathrooms, a nice couple of couches, wardrobes, toilet paper, knitting needles and wigs.

I couldn't be more ready for my time as a university student.

Magnús + Åsa

I just skyped with my little brother in Sweden.

Believe it or not he is engaged to his girlfriend (fiancé these days) Åsa.

Congrats you two!

When To Panic

Mexico has a problem with the Swine Flu so they have all the reason to panic, America has cases of the flu and they are americans they are extra allowed to panic, but what about us?

Us europeans think we are so cool that I am not sure we are ever allowed to panic about this. If a cool guy wants to start wearing a hospital mask, could he? What is worse the Pig Flu or the humiliation of being seen with a anti flu device?

I have often thought about these kind of things, when I was younger I would rather freeze than going to school with a jacket that the other kinds would make fun of. Still it is a little stuck in me, I have a plan of getting rid of the Þrallur that cares what other people think before I turn 30. I have come a long way though. I wear beards that some people think are ugly, but I keep them because I feel good looking like a hillbilly sometimes. I wear comfortable clothes rather that cool looking ones.

Still I am not all the way there though but I will keep trying.

This doesn't solve the question when to start to panic over this epidemic (or is it pandemic yet?). Shall we wait until it comes to Ireland or shall we take precautions?

I mean it will never kill me, I have never even been to Mexico!

All Men Are Equal, But Some Men Are More Equal Than Other.

These pictures are from the march for equality that was help in Dublin on the 19th of April this year. over 700 people were there giving the red card to politicians that see gay, bi and transgender people as second class citizens in the society.


This blog is for all those lost souls that don't know what to do with their day. Why not watch this amazingly sexuality racist video that the National Organization for Marriage put together in America.

There is a doctor talking about issues that doesn't even concern the subject, she says that everyday she has to chose between her job and her faith, meaning that she believes gay people shouldn't get treated by doctors but by law she has to treat them.

It's amazing that people that once had no rights are now against other people getting equal rights. Women had no rights once and neither did colored people in the USA, now that struggle is forgotten and all come together to bully the new minority.

We just never learn do we?

Þórhallur And Þórhallur

A year ago my dear grandfather Þórhallur passed away. Seems like just a moment ago I was in London playing with the squirrels and dad called me with the news. I light a candle for you today afi.

Tomorrow it's my day and I would like to ask for some sun and no presents. Hope I am not asking for too much. Have fun tomorrow all, hope you have something nice to eat and a jolly good time.

Gas Bill

My gas bill was €200 for December and January. February-March is only €80. How can that be? I remember by gas heating bill in Iceland being shit and nothing. Here I use the heating for about an hour a day while in Iceland I would use it all day every day.

Viva la Islande!

Fantasy Books

I love magic and old style fighting so I read a lot of fantasy books. Love how magicians can turn into animals, how hunters can shoot an arrow at a target million miles away, how thieves can pick all locks no matter what and more.

Yesterday is started thinking about the characters of my favorite books and realized that almost every successful author has the same buildup of main characters. Like all lady love stories have a sexually starved woman and a hunk of a man starring in them.

Here is the formula for a successful fantasy novel:

The Orphaned Child who possesses massive magic power that he/she has't discovered yet, but always knew he/she wasn't like other children. Usually the main villain killed the child's parents when he/she was an infant.
Harry Potter, Belgarion, Sonea, Mareth, Luke Skywalker, Eragon,...

The Old Magic Man, at least a hundred years old, grey beard. The only one the villain fears, but still not strong enough to defeat him. He leads the chosen one to the evil one and leaves him to do the dirty work.
Belgarath, Gandalf, Dumbledore, Obi Van Kenobi, Brom, Bremen,...

The Token Woman. She is the most powerful woman in the world, beautiful in a strange way, usually the healer but fights like a man. Girl Power! Sometimes two of them, one magic and one fighter.
Polgara, Éowyn, Arwen, Sonea, Mareth, Preia, Leia, Padme Amidala, Arya, Hermione,...

The Super Villain. He is a god or want's to be a god. He want's all creatures to be his slaves and usually fancies the token power woman, if he can't have her no one can. Quite often he used to be good but fell over to the dark side, so now he needs to be killed with a special weapon.
Kal Torak, Sauron, Brona, Lord Voldemort, Darth Vader, Galbatorix, Jafar,...

The villains inner circle, his loyal followers. Wear black usually.
Grolims, Ring Wraiths, Death Eaters, Scull Bearers, The Sith,...

The Scruffy Loner who usually gets the girl. He is very good with weapons and tracking and a very loyal friend. He usually left home bacause he is fleeing his past.
Aragorn, Silk, Durnik, Murtagh, Han Solo, Kinson Ravenlock,...

That's just what I kin think of at the top of my mind, the stories I am taking the characters from are:
Harry Potter, Lord Of The Rings, The Belgariad, Shannara, Star Wars, The black Magician Trilogy and Eragon

Rain

Yesterday was so beautiful, the sun was shining, I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, my head was exploding of hay fever but I stayed in most of it getting ready to go out.

Today I am out but the rain is falling. I guess that's beautiful as well, but I wanted a bit of heat on my face.

No need to cry.

I have my book, First King of Shannara by Terry Brooks which I hope will turn out to be a great fantasy book. I also have my favorite clothes and my favorite place in Dublin, Temple Bar. The day can just get better.

There was a YouTube video I wanted to post here but I can't remember which one.

I can't post the song I am listening to the most at the moment because YouTube has blocked music videos on European websites. But you can look it up if you wanna know the current melody of my life. It's 5 Years Time by Noah and the Whale

Pictures From Alternative Miss Ireland

AMI XV 2009 videos

AMI XV 2009

Tonight Alternative Miss Ireland takes place in the Olympia Theatre in Dublin my friend will be performing as the russian Iwanka Dikkov. Myself and a seven other guys will be Iwanka's background dancers for day and evening wear, while swim wear only one of the dancers will go on stage with Iwanka.

Since none of my Irish friends read this I might as well tell you roughly what we are gonna do.

For day wear we are gonna do the song Babooshka by Kate Bush, the theme for the dancers is the Swan Lake, so the dancers will be dressed similar to Billy Elliot in the final act of the movie, all white with a black beak painted on the head.

Evening wear we'll be russian soldiers for the national anthem and the song will then transfer into Your Disco by Kylie Minogue where we rip of our t-shirts and disco away.

Hope everyone has their bet on Iwanka and the dancers cause we have practised for more than a month and our producer Dónal has done so much for the act.

The event is for charity, all the money goes to the HIV/AIDS research in Ireland so I am really happy to be a part of it. They got the Venue for free and everyone is a volunteer, people still have some niceness in themselves.

Go Iwanka Dikkov!

Food At Straffan

Scott comes home from school loaded with homework. Þrallur sits on the sofa with nothing better to do than to browse the internet.

Þrallur says: I can make dinner tonight since you have so much homew...
Scott says before Þrallur finishes his sentence: NO!... eh I don't mean you bad chef... eh I just think I'll need a break later.

Éirevision 2009

My friend Dónal had some extra tickets to The Late Late Show last week, this time the show was hosting the final in the Irish competition of this years Eurovision Song Contest entry. The Late Late Show is on Friday nights in the Irish TV station RTÉ. The host is called Pat Kenny, a smooth talking man in his "grey hair years". His voice sounds like someone on a relaxing yoga tape and he had more makeup than two 15 year old "cool" girls together in the end of a school day with five breaks.

The show works like a regular talk show, less funny than Jay Leno and friends though . He had a few guests to comment on the songs and amongst them the amazing king of drama Jerry Springer. Jerry is gonna play Billy Flynn in the musical Chicago in London this year, he's really made for the roll don't you think?

Other guests were Linda Martin who won Eurovision 1992 for Ireland and some old bitter man who doesn't like the fact that Ireland isn't winning anymore, blames it on eastern Europe like everyone else.

There were six songs, one wit three girls trying to win with sexiness, the second had three seriously gay dancers, third was a short guy singing a ballad while trying to be cool, fourth was a hot guy with a whiskey voice trying to be Eurovision(no hot guys enter and win Eurovision), fifth was a girl with a beautiful voice and a guy dressed as an invisible shadow carrying her around. The sixth act won, it was like a lesbian dream, a band of hot girls trying to look like a rock band/Avril Lavigne. Really catchy though and deserved to win. The singer was really energetic and charismatic, seems to be a nice girl.

Go Ireland

(sorry Iceland, Jóhanna Guðrún is not likely to win, even though the song is beautiful and Mimra is doing background singing)

Wish You Were Here

is the title of the book I am reading at the moment. It's not a good book, but it really reminds me of my trip to Spain with the kids from school when I was twenty. All the bars called something cheeky like 007 or Snoopy, sexy people trying to get you into their bar by telling you you will get two free shots if you pay the entrance fee of €10, shops on every corner selling souvenirs and beach towels,... I don't like the book but I am determined to read it all, just glad I found it on the bus but didn't buy it.

Remind

me to blog, I have loads to say, but now I have to go to Dublin,...

2009 The Year Of Change

So much is happening in the world these days that is breaking tradition and rules. I think the first decade of the 21st century will be remembered for taking the first steps in trying to make the world a better place for all, no matter what we are.

We have a new openly gay prime minister of Iceland, a president of the USA who doesn't need a sun bed to be tanned,...

We finally talk about global warming in present tense rather than extreme future tense.

I can't come up with more, but you get it I hope.

I think the world is slowly taking a big step towards a brighter future,... or maybe this is just wrong and the world will end next year,... Big Bada Boom.

New Beginning

Hi!

I have been hiding on purpose since before christmas, I am sorry about that, but I didn't feel like writing about my real life and I didn't want to lie so I just took a break. So there you have it.

What basically happened was that I quit my full time job at Fallon & Byrne. I quit because it made me less "Þrallur". My mood was bad, I spent all my free time on buses, was working six days a week. It just made me unÞrallur.

Since I never had free time I saved up loads and heaps of money and decided to take a break, go to Sweden and have a nice cool down before I'd start working again. I was still working one day a week anyway in the market.

Then I found out my boss was leaving to Australia for three weeks and the forth week the market was off anyway. So that meant my brilliant calculations about how long I could be unemployed had to be recalculated.

On christmas I found out I had spent too much to keep my old plan so I started to look for jobs.

Ireland said no way, we plan to cut jobs, fire loads and heaps of people and not hire anyone.

I said shitty bollocks and counted my money and found out that if i saved money for next rent i would have seven euro a day until I'd be back on the market. For those who don't think in euros:
Beer: 5€
Bus: 2€
So I took some money and bought food from LIDL(Bónus) and just stayed home as much as I could when I wasn't looking for jobs. I have never eaten as healthy as this January,... and I had no Coke or chocolate!

I didn't want people to know what a bum I had become so I didn't blog for a while.

Today I had a job interview and I got a trial, but I am pretty sure I will nail it. It's a barista job in a nice café in a hostel in Dublin. Loads of young foreign customers and a nice cozy atmosphere.



Other news from my life,...

I spent christmas in Bray in Ireland with my friend and flat mate Scott's family. I enjoyed it a lot. Was very different from an Icelandic or a Swedish christmas. Main day is of course the 25th, turkey and stuffing for dinner, presents in the morning, no snow,...

New year was very dull and boring so nothing to say there.

I played a lot of World of Warcraft, an online computer game, to save money. For those who care:
Night Elf Druid Alchemist and Herbalist L29
Blood Elf Hunter Miner and Jewelcrafter L59

I just started going to a drama club last night. Went really well, me and my friend Joe made a sketch using the the lyrics from Wild Boys by Duran Duran. Got really good comments and I am so proud.

I said yes to being a "bearded male dancer" for a friend who is competing in Alternative Miss Ireland. We will be eight in the background and one queen in front. Don't know any of the songs yet, but I think this could be really funny.

I went to Sweden to visit mum and my family, was great fun and loads of snow. Played singstar and had loads of whiskey.

That's enough for now.