Of blues, greens and an alternative red planet

Somehow, (Well, I actually know how. I was entertained by the endless number of people who end up on my blog searching for "Kirk O'Bane", so I had a look at the post that causes them to. Then ended up reading some other dozen-year-old posts, marvelling at the amazingly obscure yet seemingly apt titles I had the ability to conjure :D. And eventually..) I came across my recollections from the first summer I was in Asker!

A month short of twelve years on, a very different summer is unfolding around us. But somehow not that different. As I was reading the post, I recalled my feeling of loneliness here, in a country where I knew very few people. The friendships I would develop that would last till this day were yet to take shape. So social distancing wasn't as much a decision as an inevitability :). I also still more or less vividly recall the shock at the "everlasting" light :D.

Of course life is very different now. Yet, the pictures of empty streets felt like a bridge across the years. (It must be said, I generally avoid people in my photos. So, for all you know, I waited for the opportune moment when no one else was in shot before clicking :D.) Anyhow, in the last month, we have been doing quite a bit of walking in the sunshine! Managing to explore parts that we'd never actually walked in, even though many of them are within an hour or so's walk from home!

Working from home is something I'm getting more and more used to I find. It's not like it doesn't have its problems, mainly when it comes to getting work done collaboratively. But I am enjoying the upsides of having more flexible hours, less travelling and more "home time" :). I suppose I might as well make the most of it while it lasts!!

No commute doesn't mean no reading of course! And I've managed to work my way through London Rules, after finishing up with Spook Street. And as with the other books in the series that don't keep River Cartwright in focus, I thought the former was cool, but somewhat more blah than the latter. Yes, as I keep being reminded, the series is called the Jackson Lamb series, not the River Cartwright appreciation club, but I guess we all have our favourite side characters who we'd rather the author spent more time on...

The next book on my list was a bit special. I'm sure at the time when I bought it, I thought it was a great idea. I just can't remember quite why! Over the last few years I've come across my copy of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles and invariably thought, "Hmm, looks interesting, but why did I buy this?" Anyhow. It felt like lock-down (Although I should add that, strictly speaking, Norway is not really in lock-down. We can go shopping when we want, walking around when and where we want. The local shopping centre is still open. Just all with social distancing in place :).) was an appropriate time to find out what it was all about.

It was a bit weird. But it was also fascinating! I have not read many other books written in the nineteen-fifties. Definitely none that were set in what is now the present! The idea of chicken pox brought in by exploring humans killing most of the inhabitants of Mars was certainly ironic. I tried very hard to not get caught up in the many anachronisms. The sense that mankind is somehow, accidentally or otherwise, misusing technology, and this is giving all of progress a bad name, is probably one of the more relatable themes.

I was also fascinated by the imagery of the martian world and its inhabitants! Although most of the time I had to keep reminding myself that at the time the book was written, people didn't really know as much about Mars as we do. So mostly I ended up substituting Mars with some nameless planet beyond our Solar System, and that kinda worked! But yeah, for quite a bit of the book I just focused on the externals of the imagery than necessarily letting myself get too immersed in the deeper social themes that seemed to be playing out.

Which led me to another book that's been sitting on my bookshelf unread for many years simply because I wasn't quite sure what to expect. In this case though, fan that I am of Tina Fey, I definitely knew why I'd bought it :). Bossypants has, thus far, not let me down :D. It is hilarious, insightful and constantly entertaining. It's one of those books I'm enjoying reading out loud so we can share the jokes :D.

So life is going on. And slowly and carefully, Norway is opening up. Tip-toeing towards a new normal. As if in encouragement, up until a few days ago, the weather was absolutely wonderful! It felt like summer was almost starting early! Now it's taken a bit of a turn for the wet and gloomy. But then again, a little bit of rain does help the garden :).