Aslaug's Axe Shed

… by more good fortune and more good friends than I sometimes think I deserve. And no, this is not a sobstory, and it is not a rant. On the contrary, my friends, this is a happy, happy blog-entry.

I have now been in Denmark since wednesday the 9th of november, and everything has been amazing. Absolutely amazing. I started by going home to my parents’ place … you know, that will always equate to “going home”, regardless of how old you grow. Wednesday evening when I arrived, we just relaxed, ate some dinner and watched a bit of telly, but otherwise called it an early night. Thursday my father spent at home, and we got to talk about all and sundry, having a great time together and just relaxing and doing nothing much of anything really.

Friday was my birthday. My Mum was home from work that day, and we spent it chatting like we haven’t really had much of a chance of doing for almost a decade. It was probably the best birthday present anyone could have given me, and I mean that in absolute sincerity. In the evening, my father came back and made my favorite for dinner … Danish yellow pea soup. My brother arrived an hour later and we had a proper family dinner, and I got a really great book about the first world war, that I look VERY much forward to reading, some money, some absolutely wonderful classical CDs and a big bottle of this year’s christmas-schnapps. Noms!

Saturday I continued on towards Northern Jutland and Nibe. The idea was to meet up with old friends and play some roleplaying games to finish off a campaign, but true to form … something had gone awfully wrong about the email-communication. Ah well, I will see most of them anyway, but of course it was a bit of a letdown to not be able to meet up with them and play.

Or at least it would have been, if it hadn’t turned out to be the day of the hen party of one of my oldest friends, Maria. Remember the Harrig-family whom I wrote about over a year ago? Maria has finally met a genuinely sweet, wonderful, kind man who treats her like she deserves, and they are getting married on the 26th this month. Guess who happily managed to land from Dublin right in the middle of it? Yep … yours truly.

Put it this way. It was such an awesome night, with such amazing people that I honestly think I have made a couple of good, lasting friendships (Hi Tina … just in case you see this). We drank … we recorded a song (Maria, if you change your mind and want me to call Simon Cowell, let me know), we drank some more … and then -I- sang! Molly Malone, at the top of my lungs, at Irish House (a pub in Aalborg, owned by an Irishman). We went back to Maria’s brother and sister-in-law and had dinner, where I gave an impromptu speech that made Maria weep (everyone keeps saying they were good tears though, so I think I did okay), and then we went back out for more drinking.

It was an amazing day. Absolutely fantastic in every way.

But here is the thing. I got to re-connect for real, with Martin Harrig, Maria’s older brother, and his wife Charlotte, whom I hadn’t met or really spoken much with for about seven years.

And they are amazing people. I am sitting in their kitchen, writing this. They opened their home to me, so I had a place to crash overnight, and when I ordered my planeticket from Aalborg to Copenhagen, Martin gave me back the money for the ticket and said “Keep it … you can pay us back by being our tourguide when we visit Dublin!”

I mean honestly, how blessed can one person be with nice people in his or her life?

Thank you guys. When I go home, I will remember this trip, and I will TREASURE it, and all that has happened. And I promise I will not only be a tourguide in Dublin when you need one, but I will be back to visit! There is no question about that.

You guys are, in two words, -the best-!

Hi everyone,

I know, I know, it’s been a long time. Way too long. This probably won’t be a long update, either, but simply one to explain why I’ve not made more noise. It’s been a strange life lately. Strange, but quite good.

As you all know, I work for a software company here in Dublin. I have done so for the better part of eight months, while writing this, and I have just been told that I am doing a very, very good job. Y’know, that ALWAYS feels good. When your boss tells you that you are good at what you do, it just makes you straighten your back a bit and feel better about yoruself

I am still writing, but at a drastically reduced pace. The reason simply is that at the moment, I have work, evening classes and a blossoming social life to occupy me as well. I will be posting new things as of the first of November, however, and I will, at least for a while, be posting on a monthly basis. Or rather, Bastion will be posting on a monthly basis on my behalf. Thanks mate, I still appreciate all the help

I have been given more responsibility at work lately, and it is genuinely a good feeling. I was not feeling too happy for a while, feeling like I was stuck in a rut, unable to move out of place, but as a couple of our most senior colleagues have moved to other things in the company, I have been given new and far more engaging work to do. Quite importantly, I have volunteered to do some work for two other teams, and while this is going to sound grossly self-indulgent, the realization that someone is grateful for the help I’m giving really makes it all worth it.

Damned that came out all wrong, but I hope you all know what I mean.

On a personal level, I am now fully settled into the house where I moved in the beginning of August. I get along with my housemates very well indeed, and I enjoy that even though we have vastly different schedules, we try to make it so that every Sunday, we’ll have dinner together and talk about the week in general.

Sometimes, one of us can’t be present, but we do try

This Sunday, however, I won’t be there. For many of you, it should come as no surprise that I am a diehard, dyed-in-the-wool, bleeding-navy-and-orange-and-believing-that-George-S.-Halas-was-a-demigod Chicago Bears Fan.

A true fan. Not a winner-joiner from the years when it went well, but someone who became a fan when things were at their most bleak for my team. Someone who has followed them for twenty damned years, and never once had a chance to see them play live.

Until now.

Every year, the National Football League hosts one regular season match in London, at the legendary Wembley stadium. This Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Chicago Bears collide, and yours truly will be on the ledgers, wearing navy and orange and cheering her team on!

I have wanted this for so many years, and now I finally have the chance. And I will enjoy myself, whether my team wins or loses. I will enjoy myself, because this is about football, not life-or-death, and because it’s about having a fantastic experience.

I will see you all on the flip side

Yep, I am of course talking about election-time. Danish election time, that is. And of course, yours truly isn’t voting this time. Not because I don’t want to but because, as an emigree, I have lost my right to vote until such a time where I deem it right and proper to return to Denmark.

Which, the more I think about it, is likely to be never.

And if this election ever stood a chance of changing my opinion, then I have been sorely disappointed. In fact, I have been sorely disappointed in general, trust me!

Over the last couple of weeks, the political parties in Denmark have wasted their own and everyone else’s time spouting absolute BULLSHIT about how awful the other guys are, and how dangerous they would be for Denmark. Which may sound familiar to some of you, but for a Danish election, this really has been a new all-time low. A person voting for the first time would have practically NO change to figure out what each party stood for, because literally all their time and effort has been spent smearing their opponents.

And here’s the bomb in the chicken-coop.

BOTH sides have been equally bad. Both the right and the left. None of them have any moral high ground left after this election. I truly believe that this election has become a matter of one horrible choice or the other. No politicians have genuinely stood up and said “this is what we want, and this is how we are going to bring the country out of the awful situation it is in right now”. Denmark is in a double-dip recession, but the government refuses to acknowledge this, and instead has once again started talking about tax-breaks for the wealthiest … all the while the larger party in government now openly say “we are the new worker’s party” (quote as of today).

The opposition, however, has had so many slowballs thrown at them that it is nauseating to watch them strike out again and again as they seem more interested in screaming foul at the umpire instead of hitting one home-run after the other.

I am disgusted. Utterly, utterly disgusted, and I am angry.

The election is on Thursday, and as I have said on facebook. “Mother Denmark is up to her neck in feces, and not ONE politician seems interested in explaining to the electorate how they are going to wash her off and make her attractive again”.

At least the Irish acknowledge that their situation is awful and that it will take a long time, hard work and sacrifice to get over the hump and into better times.

Gods -damned- it …

I want a new government in Denmark, but I am pretty sure by now, that whatever government we get is going to be made up of incompetent jackasses, and it doesn’t matter WHICH side of the political spectrum wins anymore.

They’re all equally bad.

Hi guys, it’s been a while, I know. Things have been busy with a move to a new home and changes at work and so on. Lots going on around me right now. But at least I can now look forward to some vacation, as I will be heading off to England for a week come Saturday morning. I’ll be down south this time … amongst Southern Jessies, as they are called up in Yorkshire (and according to Erica, I’m an honorary Yorkshirewoman, and consequently a Northern Monkey) as those lilly-livered Southern Jessies like to call us *hrumph*

Anyway, it’s off to Blighty for me and I promise updates when I get back. There’s change in the air again overall, but I’ll let you all hear about that as it becomes relevant.

And for the record, my new story is coming along so well I am a little taken aback by it myself. Sadly, though, this one won’t get posted. At least not yet. Why? Because my proofers took one look at the first two chapters and ORDERED me to try to get this published. Apparently, I have come up with something original and very engaging, if I am to believe their reactions

Take care all, until I get back from England.