My dad's cooler than yours pt. 2

Why, you say? Well, apart from this...

• He's 55 years old... scratch 50.
• He's got a full beard. And a gold tooth. Arrrr!
• He loves jokes, even when they're not really that funny. We just laugh because he seems so pleased with himself, sitting there with such a mischievous grin on his face.
• He's got a pointy nose which looks awesome when photographed from a low angle. And it makes him easy to draw! XD
  
• He can still make the same cute face he had when he was four.
• Last but not least... he's my dad! You don't get much cooler than that. :)

So, to share with you all the bearded, pointy-nosed awesomeness that is my dad:

...also, he can fly.

Mountain trip

It seems to me that every year during the summer holiday I've gone on a trip to the mountains with my family. I know it's not been that often, but the point is, I'm usually not that fond of it. (Although I usually do have a good time once we're there.) I like spending time with my family, and I don't mind being outdoors, but I don't love mountain hiking to the same extent as dad. :P This time around, however, I enjoyed it more than I usually do. Why? I'll start with one word:

Glacier.

I've never seen one before, let alone walked across one. The only experience I had with glaciers came through my textbooks at school, pictures and TV. So when I told dad I'd like to see one (before the global warming melts 'em all) he said yes. It was covered in snow, so you didn't really see the ice, but I didn't mind. Just the knowledge that I was walking on what I'd read about, a huge amount of ice, perhaps even the very same ice that my ancestors had walked on... that was just awesome.

After crossing the glacier, we climbed up a mountain called Høgvagltinden. It was 2066 meters above sea level, and from the top we had a great view of the scenery. Norwegian nature is so beautiful~☆We were told by our guide that a man had jumped off the top wearing skis, fallen 15 meters before landing and then proceeded to ski down the mountain. Of course he knew what he was doing, but... whoa! That mountain ridge we climbed up was very narrow and just as steep. I for one wouldn't want to jump off the edge of a mountain like that.

We also saw reindeer! They were "tame", so they had bells around their necks and ear tags, slightly different from what I'm used to seeing. Still, we were careful not too get to close as that would have scared them. They weren't that tame. :P

The mountain cabin where we stayed, Leirvassbu, had been used as a set for the horrormovie "Fritt Vilt 2". I got my picture taken beside the pile of snow they'd painted to look like a glacier. Did you know that the guy playing the murderer is actually a Swedish bus driver? XD I might even consider watching it now.

I took loads of pictures, and I must say I was quite pleased with them. Being so artsy and all. :P Ever noticed how I almost always take pictures holding the camera sideways? Well, I didn't this time! And I figured out - for the first time in my life - how to work my camera manually! Hah! I'm a genius.

"Tell everybody I'm on my way..." ♪

I loved this river. Beautiful scenery...

It looked like a bridge from a fairytale!

These flowers were so pretty! I just can't remember what they were called...

They were hairy! <3

I love this kind of perspective. It makes everything look so different and strange. Maybe it's because I've always been kinda short.
(I can remember looking up at ferns!)

"Mom, look! The water's blue! It's really blue!"

"Run, Forrest, run!!"

Dad took lots of pictures too. I'll update with some of them at some other point.

Me beside the glacier from "Fritt Vilt 2" I look tall! See? See!?

We had cashew nuts. Mine looked like an angry flamingo!

Location: At home
Mood: content
Listening to: The Chronicles of Narnia - The Wardrobe

Ju jitsu

OK, so technically I think it should be spelled "ju jutsu". Blame my "ju jitsu" book. XD ...Anyway.

June 26th to 28th I attended a ju jitsu camp arranged by my club. (I joined my family up in the mountains on the 29th, so I couldn't train all 4 days the camp lasted.) It was great! Alain Sailly, 7th dan in ju jitsu, came all the way from France to teach us. I've written about him here, so I won't be blabbing about his awesomness this time around. Though he's still amazingly talented. :) There were several other instructors present as well, all presenting different types and styles of ju jitsu. (Ju Jitsu Norway, Brazilian Ju Jitsu, fighting...) It was a lot of fun meeting and hitting it off with people again. Ha-ha. I like meeting new people and generally just experience the mentality of the training. I met my friend Veronica again this year as well. She trains Taekwondo, and we first met last year at this summer training camp. She's a Hello Kitty fan too! (Pet Hedgehog, if you're reading this: Kitty just got a new member! >:3)

I'd brought a small book along with me, where I got everyone to write a small message to me for when I go to Japan. I haven't read all of them yet - I plan to save some for when I'm there. I'm really happy for all the nice things you wrote for me, thank you so much!☆ I think this will give me the strength to keep on going even if things get a little tough at times.

To all of my friends who haven't written in it yet - you're my next victims!

In short, the camp was a great learning experience, and it gave me lots of inspiration! Meeting and training with all those people were great!☆ Still, I missed you there, Iris. :)

Some pictures for you:

The epic showdown! ...wait, I know this feeling...

They're not all that scary. Really.

Veronica

I guess this is what you call an early start...?

They were going to take the black belt test. Per-Eivind to the left is writing in my book. :)

And just to show you all how unbelievably cool I look when I'm wearing a gi, here's a picture from last year's camp (I'm a fancy blue belt now and everything):

Iris to my left. Don't mess with us. We'll make Ali kick your butt. :P

Show me your locker and I'll tell you who you are.

...obviously, I'm an otaku. XD

I figured I'd post this now, since I had quite a lot to do the last weeks at school, and well... all the bookstores are advertising with huge posters: "Back to scool!" So this is my school-related post.

Ever since I got my first locker while in junior high, I'd always try to personalize it using pictures, glass paint and loads of tape! My locker in junior high had pictures of my rabbits, the anime Love Hina (before I'd seen anything decent...), frogs, Johnny Depp and the kanji for dream and ju jitsu.

My locker now... well:

As you can see, it's mostly J-pop, mixed with some manga and anime... and Gyakuten Saiban, of course. There's also my timetable, decorated with Hello Kitty, and a note from dad that I found in my art folder after a parent meeting. :) The front of my door had a picture of Hello Kitty too, later changed to Sanrio's Cinnamoroll.

...so, what kind of person do you think I am? XD

大好きだよ~

I've fallen completely in love with this song. It's 大好きだよ。I love you by 大塚 愛 Otsuka Ai. The melody, the lyrics (which I only understand a bit of - the rest I've read translated)... It's beautiful. My Japanese is obviously not so good that I can translate it myself, and internet translations are not always the best, and they differ from each other. Still, there's some things the translators agree upon, and that I with my limited Japanese skills can understand a bit of as well. (And I'm very proud every time I understand something. Haha! XD)

I think one of my favourite parts of the song must be this:

知ってた？　あの夜にね　2人でドライブに行った時
バイクの後ろ座席で　願ったコト
知ってた？　あの夜にね　2人で見上げた星空に
あなたとあたしの幸せが見えたよ

Did you know what I wished for on the back seat of the bike
On that night when the two of us went for a drive?
Did you know that I saw our happiness
In the starry sky that the two of us looked up to on that night?

Yes, I can be a bit of a romantic. :P And the fact that my other favourite song of hers is 甘えんぼ Spoiled Child, says it all. XD

ずっと　大好きだよ~