My niece inviting me into her house at the sumarb�sta� my brother and family were staying at in the heat. It was an incredible day. Had to share it with you guys. 

Success!!!

I made it. I did it. I got an e-mail from my head of department yesterday ... finally. And he told me that there was a letter on the way but he also told me the context of it. I MADE IT! I got into Single Honors in Celtic, so I have 2 more years left in Uni. Where I will be learning early Irish and medieval Welsh among other very interesting subject. Claire and Joanne and Sharon, girls we are on our way to stardom. Well weird-dom at least, since these medievalists are always quite eccentric and fun to watch.
Yesterday was a great day for me I guess. After getting these wonderful news we, mom, dad, my grandmother and I went for a drive to visit my brother and his family where they were staying for a week at a summerhouse (sumarbústað) near Laugarvatn. When we got there the temperature read 36°c and it was scorching. There was no need to grill anything today, I was already well done. So we went to Hotel Geysir in Haukadal and got incredible good food, with a great view over the geysers erupting. It was amazing, because of the weather and heat, and the sun. But on our way to Selfoss we got caught in fog, but we made it all the way to Hveragerði where we stopped in Eden to get some coffee and final stretch before we went home. In the hills above Hveragerði there was such a thick fog that we were hardly able to follow the road, but as soon as we got to the top the sun was blistering bright and rather difficult to drive because it was eye level with the drivers. But we made it and the sun kept on shining for a while more. But it was the best day we have had for quite some time.

Nuts

I am going nuts, completely. Friday, my mom calls me at work and lets me know that there is a letter from the Univeristy waiting for me. I was soooo pleased, finally the letter I was waiting for had arrived. It was still six hours until I got home, but I made it through the day, even though my friend Kristín volunteered to take me home during coffee break so I could find out what the letter said. She was just as curious. But when I arrived home and after eating dinner I finially opened the letter. Biggest disapointment for months. I am soo mad at them. This was not the letter I was expecting but a letter informing me about changes in payment of tuition fees, something I have known for months. Aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggg! I soooo wanted to smash someones face in (and if that person ever reads this blog will know who he is). Why the bloody hell can't the darn department send out the letters. I am going nuts waiting. This letter has some sigificance for me, if it didn't I wouldn't be acting like this. But I am just soo mad right now.

Just a little note

As far as I know, and I am very thankful for it, none of my friends or anyone I know were in London on Thursday when the bombing took place. It was quite horrific to see this and watch just as I left for work. Throughout the day we sought news on the website and from people wandering through the workplace. In London there are more than 2000 Icelanders that live and work there. My heart goes out to all in London!
Here in Iceland everything is just normal, boringly so, although many would probably give everything to have that right now. It has been raining for I don't know any longer how many days, but it is getting a bit tiresome. It has also been quite windy and almost like fall/autumn (Whatever!). But I have had a good week and a good weekend. The plus side of the rain is that my allergies aren't bothering me as much right now. :)

War of the Worlds

Why do Americans alway have to destroy a good thing. The book War of the Worlds is a literary genius considering when it was written. As a blockbuster movie today, it is CRAP. It is pointless! It came across as nothing more substantial than Americans in a marathon competition.

SPOILER!!!

Why do these VERY INTELLIGENT aliens plant something like these tripods MILLIONS of years ago, to come bothering earth now. Why not stone age? And if these VERY INTELLIGENT aliens had been studying us for MILLIONS of years why did they never find out about a thing called micro organism. And what was it with this pointless invasion as well. Spewing blood everywhere, for what purpose, was this suposed to be disgusting.
And funny how Americans try to convey themselves as INTELLIGENT with making this movie with Americans starring in a not so glorious roles. The best view of the Americans in the film was from behind. Run for your lives. Before the movie was halfway through I felt like slapping all Americans. "Yeah, why don't we just stand around and be easy target for them aliens, we are Americans and have to have a front row seat to die! It is our right, our American dream!" And the kid, "Dad, I wanna fight, I wanna fight, I wanna fight." "Yeah, go ahead and get your self killed, what do I care!" Stupid!
Oh, yeah, and if anyone cried over this film, it was probably of boredom or relief that it was finally over when the film ended.
This is nothing but Americans trying to glorify the use of biological weapons ... just, see how a micro organism destroyed those mean bad machines from outer space. This is why it is ok for ust to do the same with those mean bad people that hate us, because we are Americans and stand for justice and truth.
Americans! The reason they hate you is because of crappy films like this. Get over yourself, you are not the most perfect "democracy" in the world, and I use the term lightly.
AAAAAAAAhhh, I wan't my money back!

Weather in Iceland

+15°C / 59°F

This is as warm as it gets in Iceland, so we'll start here.

People in Spain wear winter-coats and gloves.

The Icelanders are out in the sun, getting a tan.

+10°C / 50°F

The French are trying in vain to start their central heating.

The Icelanders plant flowers in their gardens.

+5°C / 41°F

Italian cars won't start.

The Icelanders are cruising in Saab cabriolets.

0°C / 32°F

Distilled water freezes.

The water in Hvita river gets a little thicker.

-5°C / 23°F

People in California almost freeze to death.

The Icelanders have their final barbecue before winter.

-10°C / 14°F

The Brits start the heat in their houses.

The Icelanders start using long sleeves.

-20°C / -4°F

The Aussies flee from Mallorca.

The Icelanders end their Midsummer celebrations. Autumn is here.

-30°C / -22°F

People in Greece die from the cold and disappear from the face of the earth.

The Icelanders start drying their laundry indoors.

-40°C / -40°F

Paris start cracking in the cold.

The Icelanders stand in line at the hotdog stands.

-50°C / -58°F

Polar bears start evacuating the North Pole.

The Icelanders navy postpones their winter survival training awaiting real winter weather.

-60°C / -76°F

Myvatn freezes.

The Icelanders rent a movie and stay indoors.

-70°C / -94°F

Santa moves south.

The Icelanders get frustrated since they can't store their Brennavinn outdoors.

The Icelanders navy goes out on winter survival training.

-183°C / -297.4°F

Microbes in food don't survive.

The Icelandic cows complain that the farmers' hands are cold.

-273°C / -459.4°F

ALL atom-based movement halts.

The Icelanders start saying "it's cold outside today."

-300°C / -508°F

Hell freezes over,

Iceland wins the Eurovision Song Contest.

Impatience is a virtue

At least the way I see it. I have been biting my nails to the quick worrying about my grades and honors and all the stuff that goes with it. I finally cracked today and wrote to my head of department asking if by some chance my letter had gotten lost on the way here from Germany with too little payed for safe delivery before the next millenium. But no, he told me that they hadn't still sent them out, they had meant to but hadn't, and he hoped that they would do it this week. This is very relaxing news, very calming, especially if you know my department you know that this is good news. Because this department is very un-organized and just getting the news that they are thinking about you, is very heartwarming. It will reach me sometimes in the near future. When that is, I have no idea but I do know that it is closer than the next millennium.
So back to crossing my fingers and leaving my nails alone.

I got a B :)

Thanks Sharon, I nearly got a heart attack from your little note. But congratulations with your grade. I completely paled up when I saw that they had posted the results for Celtic. I didn't even dare to check, because I was sure I wouldn't get the results I wanted. But I did it. I got a B. Be me veree happee noo.

Hæ hó jibbí jei og jibbíi jei ....

Það er kominn 17. júní. And June 17th has also gone. It was the 61 year anniversary of Iceland Independence and the weather was baking us. I took some photos but I haven't been able to put them on the web yet, because it has been crazy here. But it was amazing, went with my brother, sister-in-law and niece to buy her a balloon. She was determined to get a Spiderman balloon and because at first we didn't find one she ended up with a Tweety balloon as well. Mom and dad then invited us all out to eat at Ruby Tuesday and after that I hitched a ride with my bro to my friends house where we played couch-potatoes as well as Carcassone and Trivial Pursuit. Couldn't have asked for a better day.
Then it was just normal weekend for me, Saturday not much happened I just bought myself some stuff, but on Sunday I went shopping with my friend Margréti, but I couldn't find anything to buy even though I was shopping for a birthday present for my friend. She on the other hand managed to find something for her sister.
Yesterday, monday 20th of June, was a crazy day at work. I was working for more than 11 hours, and was exhausted after that but nooo, the day wasn't finished yet. Five minutes after I came home I called my friend who had been trying to reach me. And she wanted to know if I was interested in coming with them to the cinema to see Batman begins. A very good action and adventure film, not good if you are looking for something earthshattering. But better than the other four films that have been made about Batman.

Wedding and more

I went to a wedding yesterday of my friends Guðný and Róbert. The wedding photos should be on the website now. It was amazing, soo beautiful. The sorry state is that the battery finished in my camera before the evening was over so I will have to get some photos from others as well. The ceremony was beautiful and I was reunited with friends I hadn't seen in a very long time. We all had lots of fun (I think and hope). I wish the happy couple all the best!
But today was a little different from yesterday. Today would have been my grandfathers 88th birthday but he passed away last year. But mom and dad and I took flowers to his grave as well as his parents and also my grandfathers grandfather in another cemetery. We also too flowers to plant at my great-grandparents and uncles as well. It was a lot of work, planted 40 flowers in total, but it is nice now. We decided to tend my great-great-grandfathers grave as well, since my grandfather used to do it as well, and since we also knew where it was. His name was Magnús Egilsson and he was born in 1805 and was a stonemason. Pretty impressive history in the cemeteries, is my way of thinking.
Today is also my parents 45 year wedding anniversary so we went out for dinner tonight. It was sooo nice, the food is always good at Lauga-ás resturant. (Sharon, I reckomend it!!!)
Oh, and Sharon and my friends in foreign countries. I went to sleep after 2 o'clock last night and the sun was still shining on the horizon. Now it is completely bright 24 hours of the day, sooo nice. I just want to go out and take a long walk, the weather has also been very nice which makes it that much nicer to think that you can go and take a walk at 2 o'clock in the morning without having to dart between lampposts as quickly as possible or skulk around dark alleys.

Work tomorrow

OOO, sounds fun. Well it does, I think, I hope they haven't changed everything from when I was there last time. That's what I am most afraid off. Now I'll be the one standing in the middle of nowhere and picking my nose wondering where I am and everyone around me laughing at the confused idiot. I am really looking forward to seeing my buddies again. Although some are probably all ready on vacation for the summer.
I bought a gift for my friends wedding on Saturday. Looking forward to seeing them all again. Have no idea who will be there, if there are anyone that I know. I sort of feel like I should get a date hired like in the Wedding Date movie, but at the moment I am not that desperate.... well, more like beyond that. Who knows, maybe I can bribe someone cute. But I am still looking forward to it.

For my buddies in Scotland;
The weather here has been quite wet but a blessing because it has been a dry spell here. But around weekend it should clear up and be nice and sunny. Right now my "mocking-bird" is laughing at me outside my window, it is nice to hear him again. It is rather cloudy so it is quite dark tonight although technically speaking it is still light.
My niece has been wonderful, all the time it is just, Elin, Elin, Elin all through the day. It is sooo wonderful to be able to hold her again and cuddle her.

I'm home :)

Vow, this has been an incredible day! I woke up at 7 o'clock and was boarding the plane just after 11 o'clock. I landed in Iceland at half past one (or twelve in Iceland). My whole family was there to greet me and my wee niece came flying into my arms. It was so beautiful. Mom and dad, bro and sis-in-law, it was great. Shortly after we came home and I had unloaded most of my stuff from the suitcases we went to my uncle's place, because it was his birthday on Friday and today it was Sjómannadagurinn and it is quite fitting for him to have a small birthdaybash today because he was born on Sjómannadag. Now I am sitting at my brothers computer at his place because we were invited for dinner. It really has been a great day, but I am really very worn out now, I almost fell asleep in the car over here and it is only about five minute drive from our place. IT'S GOOD TO BE HOME!!!

FINISHEDFINISHEDFINISHEDFINISHEDFINISHED

Just making a statement, I have finished my exams! Such a relief. I think my brain went dead afterwards. Even though we went to Jims bar I did not have anything but Coke but in a short while I was babbling. I think it was just oxygen gathering in my brain after I let out all the Gaelic and nothing was coming in to fill in the gaps. No more studying for a while. When I came home I had my dinner and afterwards while I was tidying my room and going through my junkyard I had one of those Breezers and I don't think that helped, I think for the first time I actually got drunk. Amazingly I didn't need very much yesterday to get drunk, first oxygen and then only 5% and I was seeing everything in very nice rainbow-y colours.
This is the last day in Glasgow and tomorrow morning I leave for home.
Or as the Glaswegian would say:

My heid is deid and Eim goin' heim!

Day after tomorrow

I am coming home the day after tomorrow. The last exam is today, and I have been hammering gaelic into my head while waiting for the washing machines to finish. I will be meeting Claire at the Food Factory at the QM around noon when she arrives in Glasgow and then we will probably go to Jim's Bar after the exam. I don't think I will get out of that. But why would I want to, it is my last exam and I deserve to enjoy myself afterwards after all this.
Maybe I will write again before I go home, hei, wait a minute, of course I will, this has absolutely been my salvatio during the exams. I would have gone nuts or driven my friend Margréti nuts with my continuous e-mails. Poor girl would never be able to finish anything unless she would learn to ignore me. But she would never do that. Noooo.

Three Down - One to Go

Only one more exam and I am free. Can't wait til I get to take my first breath of free air tomorrow. I have to wait until 4:30 do that, darn it. But that is what I am most waiting for right now if we are looking at things in a chronological order - to breath. Then I am most looking forward to going home. Yes, I realise that anyone that has been reading my posts in the last days is fully aware that I am going home, but I won't stop until I am Home so chill.
Todays exam went well (I think) won't really know until I get the results but it is definitely not a fail. Finished in under an hour and had a half hour to spare to think of new things. But alas, my brain was dead and on a more worrying note it hasn't come back alive. I think I am going to have to jumpstart it so I can do some Gaelic work. Brain, listen: "You only have one more day of work and then you can switch off until Sunday, deal!" OO, I felt it move so I better get to work.

So much to do, so little time left

Yess, I am coming home on Sunday. Loooking sooo much for coming home I am not even thinking about the exams that are left. Don't know if that is a good thing (as in I am not getting stressed about them) or if it is a bad thing (as in I think I know everything ... well, I do but I am not sure the teachers agree).
Tonight is the last episode of Desperate Houswifes, very very lucky to see it. I would have gone nuts if I was missing it, way too exciting. Saw a wee sneak peak last night before I went to bed, úúúú.
Finally finished most of my shopping, last minute shopping will take place on Saturday and on the airport on my way HOME.
Two more exams and I am finished for the time being. Then a time of praying and hoping comes, where I wait for the results with dread and sort of "I-don't-really-give-a-"#$%&" attitude towards all this, while secretly gnawing my nails to the quick. EEEEEwweewww. Please be gentle Uni.

Let's contemplate

I have been thinking about telling you guys something for a few days, but I have decided that it is going to be a surprise to everyone, hehehehe. It concerns a very very brillant gift I got from friends. You guys are great! I am getting extremely emotional here, just thinking about it. My family has been threatening exposure when I arrive at the airport on Sunday, but I hope this is an empty threat, hehehehe. I even threatened to go out the back door and my brother asked if I was feeling that important, like a celebrity having to sneak out through the back, hehehehe. It will be sooo much fun to tell everyone at work, and now that I think about it. I really really need a very very big hat for that wedding I am going to. I have to fit the image, I really do. See what I find at the airport if I can smuggle a big hat home, through customs, hehehehe!!!
And don't worry, everyone will eventually find out what this surprise is, but until then ... mwhahahahaha, the last laughter is MINE.

Last Night

I had such good fun last night. It was sort of my birthday party even though my birthday was on the 24th. But because of the exams we waited until the 25th to do something fun. And fun it was. About 8:30 Dee appeared at my door and forbid me to enter the kitchen, I was not even to venture out the room no matter what. Then ten minutes later or so there was a knock on my door and it was Laura it was soo great to see her again. And becuase she had been forbidden to go near the kitchen as well, then we just spent nearly an hour chatting in my room. Then we were called into the kitchen, Emma came as well and Dinesh and Deepak were waiting in the kitchen with a wonderful Indian feast for us. It was heavenly, with all kinds of food and rice and everything you could imagine. They also had Coke for us and I had red wine and Emma had oddly enough Baileys and milk, very odd that. We ate until we were full to bursting and our mouths were blistering but they truly outdid themselves they even had desert. Mango and almond/pistachio icecream and Indian sweet heated in the microwave and it was gorgeous. It was delicious and wonderful.
I even got gifts, from Laura I got a bottle of red wine and and a hair clip and also Aroma therapy spray and lip balm also from the boys I got a Burberrys bag and a cap. Really cool now. It was a beatuiful evening wich ended with me lying in bed watching tv until I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

Thank you all

Thanks to everyone who has been sending me birthday cards and well wishing. I miss you all, look forward to see you in 11 and 1/2 day (when I arrive back home).
Today was my first exam day and although it went all right, you can always write more than you have time to so I was really falling on time but I hope I managed to safe my ass. It is just always oddly surprising how they can ask a question that makes the question look like it is in a foreign language.
After the exam I went to pick up my two essays I had yet to collect. I didn't want to ruin my mood for the exam if the essay marks were bad, but they weren't and I am sooooo happy. In my Celtic Civilisation essay I got a B-, happy with that because poetry analizing is not my thing. And I got an A- in Gaelic Bárdachd( poetry) which makes me think 'hummm, maybe I have a future in this' but no, I don't think so. But this was a great brithday present.
Now I have finished 25% of my exams only 75% left, it will go down another 25% tomorrow. I am just sooo looking forward to this being over.

Eurovision

Doh, I favored Moldova! I really wanted Moldova to win. My friend and I voted for Moldova and when UK cast their voting and Moldova only recieved 2 points from us, we knew that those two votes were ours, hehehee. Although I must say, we were quite alright with Greece winning, although not a really great song, just your typical Eurovision song, but anything that kept Israel down was ok with us. We really don't like Israel right now. It is quite understandable that Spain, UK, Germany and France don't get any voting at all really, because they are iron-clad in the compeition, both they contribute so much of the funding for the contest and also they can't be kicked out so why vote at all for them.
I also quite liked the song from Spain and from Ukraine. Terry Wogan the presenter here in Uk is hilarious, this was the first time my friend watched the Eurovision in the UK and we were rolling around laughing from his comments about the contestants and the countries.
Few comments (loosely remembered);
1. when the Moldova song was on; "this song came through the semi-finals, and if this is a taste of what is to come, then God help us!"
2. when Cyprus gave UK 5 points; "I won't say anything about Cyprus!"
3. when the French song was on; "Princess Leah!"
4. when Romanian was singing; "Does she remind you of somone, maybe a younger version of Ruby Wax!"
5. when someone gave their neighbouring country 12 points; "well, this is a surprise!"
He was completely politically incorrect and we loved him for it. It it had been anyone else than Terry Wogan he would have been taken off the air as soon as the show started, but it was just great. Especially when he was making fun at the countries competing and we actually knew what he was talking about.
Looking forward to the competition next year!