November 2004

Welcome to Athens … er, Reykjavík

November 19, 2004

First news item currently up on the Morgunblaðið website: Today, people in Reykjavík are asked to limit use of their cars, not to have them running in a stationary position and those with respiratory illnesses are advised to stay indoors. Why? Pollution! Who’d have believed it would come to this? Iceland, the most pristine place [...]

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When Polly became a girl

November 18, 2004

Today, 18 November, is exactly one year since Polly became a girl. Let’s have a round of applause for Polly… (clapclap) Thank you. Back in the momentous year 2000, YT decided to indulge the then-eight year old AAH’s craving for a pet by going out and buying her a cockatiel at Christmastime. AAH was thrilled [...]

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Joni revisited

November 17, 2004

A few days ago EPI decided to surprise me by bringing home a DVD about Joni Mitchell. This because, although I no longer speak in Joni lyrics on a daily basis (as I used to) I still think she’s one of the greatest artists to ever walk this earth. And YT is not someone prone [...]

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Why blog?

November 16, 2004

As expected, today we have resignations en masse among teachers. Daily activity in the schools is still in utter chaos, with some teachers showing up, others not, and those who did show up reportedly feeling like crap because they’re betraying their colleagues. Plus many of them feel that they don’t have support in the community [...]

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Truant teachers

November 15, 2004

Well. AAH trotted off to school this morning in the winter darkness like a trouper, only to return 45 minutes later because none of the teachers in her school had shown up for work. In Reykjavík, 80-85% of teachers stayed home to demonstrate their pissed-offness at being ordered back to work through legislation that would [...]

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Peopleweary bounceback

November 14, 2004

Happy to announce that I’ve bounced back from my people-weary state thanks to a good night’s sleep and a long leisurely breakfast with the family. Phew! People-weary is not a good way to travel through life. Being one of those SAD* things. EPI and I cosied up in our little hobbit-hole last night with our [...]

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Garret

November 13, 2004

Today I went to view a garret room I was thinking of renting, to enable me to write my rants without the inevitable distraction of Overflowing Laundry Basket or Dishwasher Screaming to be Emptied. It was all very bohemian and small, but the downside is that it would require a substantial measure of fraternizing with [...]

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Of snow, bitching teachers and inanity

November 12, 2004

Yikes! The first proper snowfall of the season – and were Icelanders prepared? Heck, no. Going for a short spin last night was like a throwback to my Toronto days, when five snowflakes falling caused massive delays and pile-ups on the expressway. The traffic snail-paced along – and not without cause, mind. It was a [...]

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NO, NO, NO and NO!

November 11, 2004

“So tired … of always being sick and tired…” la la lalala… There was a time in the not-so recent past when you could not go anywhere without hearing that song playing, which in was sort of OK because it’s not bad as pop songs go. Except maybe when you’ve heard it a million, billion [...]

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Resignation day

November 10, 2004

One by one Iceland’s oil company bosses come crashing down from their pedestals like the infamous statue of Saddam Hussein. By dinnertime yesterday I’d lost count of how many had resigned from this board or that board, or severed ties with this company or that. Am most surprised that Iceland’s populace isn’t down at the [...]

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