lisa o live in Bergen

my Bergen debut this Friday (Fredag)

2 whole hours.  Yikes and fun!  Also, a lot of friends from school and Bergen adventures are coming- very special for me!  

Did I mention I tried cross-country skiing last week?!  It's aweeesome!  I totally dig it.  Too bad the season's almost over but I'm hoping to get a few more outings in before the semester is over.  The positive is I was able to purchase the whole set (skis, binding, boots and poles) for almost half the normal retail price because it's the end of the season.  A good investment for next year, and, hopefully, some good friends I can keep with me as reminders of my time in Bergen (wherever in the world I end up).

Alright, off to run through a presentation for 'Design and Deregulation of Electricity Markets' tomorrow- a summery of a paper on large scale wind integration analyzing some optimization and simulation models.

hugs,
lisa liv

tra la la

A new little something I worked on last night...

You Will Stay by LisaLiv

happy international awesomeness day!

My friend Jon Martin and I walked into class with some fabulously positive shirts on today. Documentation could not be passed up.  Should you ever need some positive affirmations, you know were to come:

Li also really wanted to be in the photo :)  Also, of fun note- the pearls are from my Mom and the pendant is from Grammie Olson.  The t-shirt is celebrating Kevin Carlberg, my dear friend Genna's cousin who passed away from cancer, and, the cardigan is very similar to my wonderful friend Camille's.  I love that so many of the things I brought with me to Norway have special memories and meanings. 

And so, I tip my hat to you, awesome friends and family.  Let's celebrate our awesomeness by continuing to do awesome things.  It's through awesome acts, in addition to nice normal goodness, that we will continue to make positive contributions to the world.

Awesomely Yours,

lisa liv  

tgif

Happy Friday to you from a rainy Bergen.  The great thing about Fridays is it's grøt day on campus. Grøt is a traditional Norwegian porridge and it's yummy There are a few different types and Rommegrøt (cream) and Risengrøt (rice... like rice pudding) are served on campus. I've learned it is typical for families to eat grøt on Saturday and eat it with savory complements like meat. I ate it for breakfast once and my Norwegian hallmate laughed at me (in the nicest of ways). Note to self- though it looks like cream-of-wheat, it's not a breakfast item.


I've been feeling particularly good this week. I believe it's because everything seems to moving in a positive direction. Hopefully the trend continues :) I'm trying to be proactive and keep on top of things since April is going to be busy and will be here in no time.  


I was reading through a paper on Transaction Cost Economics (ah, just when I was close to shaking the nerd label by my last post about beer, I shot it all to pieces) and found this inspiring concept I've been trying to keep in mind from Oliver E Williamson (if I recall correctly, a Bruin- ugh): 

the Carnegie Triple- be disciplined, be interdisciplinary and have an active mind.  

Also, a reflection on feeling particularly special this semester since getting some really nice things in the mail. *Gasp* hand written correspondence?! My parents have sent a few things which is always a lovely surprise and very appreciated. And, three friends have sent cards and one included chocolate and another included a CD- holy wow! A shout out of gratitude to Tina, Erik and Wayne. I know it takes time to get to the post office and takes a little extra dough to send things to Norge.

This is not me fishing for more mail, promise :) This is as much a personal reminder as a call. Let someone know you're thinking about them sometime. It's a detour from our regular routine and takes a little extra effort but makes such an impact.

Ha en god helg!

lisa liv

everyday life

Well hello there.  Nothing too new and exciting here but I thought I would share a few more things about my 'normal' times here in Norway.

As I've mentioned before, it's overall more expensive here (but, reminder- there's no tuition for school).  The conversion is generally 6 NOK (Norwegian Kroner) to the US dollar.  1 cup of coffee on campus is 10 NOK... almost $2.  Ok.  A latte at Narvissen (like a 7-eleven) is 20 NOK.... $3.50.  Hmmm.

I've always fancied myself a good shopper and I've found the good buys here.  A can of tuna is still $1 at 6 NOK.  But, I don't get fresh chicken or beef anymore.  Though, frozen chicken breasts work out just fine.  And, we get lots of fish options here!  Yum!

1 Liter of milk (approx. 1/4 a gallon) is 14 NOK or $2 and change.... have you ever seen milk for $8 a gallon?!  6 eggs are 22 NOK... yes, almost $4.  And, my very favorite-

Beer!  This beer cost me 27 NOK.  (1 NOK I get back if I bring it back to recycle).  Let's see, that's about..... $4.50 for this beer?!  As you can see, its larger than our normal American standard can.  But still.  And, it's not even a good micro-brew for that price :(  (no offense Rachel, I know you like Heineken!)  So, if you see me drinking a lot next time I'm home, now you know why ;)  Kidding.  And, let's not even talk about wine.  Well, ok, let's.  You can't buy it in the grocery store (nor can you buy hard alcohol).  And, the very cheapest bottle at the Vinminolopet is 90 NOK.  I'll let you do the math on that one.

A few more funny things.  Our bananas come from Costa Rica too.  Surprisingly enough- not that much more expensive.  Probably around $2 a bunch.

Whew, I'm glad to know this orange is 100% orange.  (appelsin= orange.  confusing. yes)

That's all for now friends.  I should have some things up from the Oslo trip towards the end of the week. It's the world skiing championships in Oslo right now and the country is all a-dither (too bad our trip just missed it).  I'm getting into the spirit too- go Norway!  (and America!  Lindsay Vonn took gold in the Super G.. yipeee!)

Cheers with my expensive beer,
lisa liv