My little Norway – I’m coming home.

I feel like writing something. Because I can’t do much else. But I really don’t know what to say. 

Photo: Scanpix

I’m back in the UK, until tomorrow, when I will finally be going back to my little Norway. It’s been a long couple of days. All this information and constant staring at the screen is giving me a massive headache, but everything else seems mundane and pointless. So I stay glued to the news, numb and speechless, and still shocked over what has happened in my peaceful little home. My mind is stuck, and I can’t pull myself away, from any of it. It’s still dawning on me, getting to me. How huge this really is. How hard our little country was hit, and how many lives were taken from us. By one person alone, and by one of our own. I want to be there, even though I know it won’t change a thing. Not being there just feels wrong in a way.

The first shocking report that found me in countryside France, was that of an explosion, a terror attack, in the middle of Oslo. I didn’t recognize the dramatic pictures of a city I once called home. I couldn’t believe what I saw, and had no idea what was going on. No one did. With 7 people dead, and a part of the city in ruins, the reports of the island shooting at Utøya with what was first thought to be 4 people hit didn’t seem as serious at first. But as the hours went by and the numbers were rising it became very clear that the two were connected and that the explosion, however terrible, was in fact not the main event of the day. When I woke up yesterday morning it was to another overwhelming shock; the lives of 80 young people had been brutally torn away on that island. 80. Now that number is up to 86 killed and 66 injured, and it is still rising.

It’s true. We are a country in grief. A country, a nation, a people in grief. We lost (at least) 93 people on Friday. Another 96 people are injured, and so many more got their lives ruined one way or another. We didn’t all know anyone, but this was an attack on us all. Norway is crying, and the world cries with us. I am deeply touched by the many messages of concern and sympathy that I, and we, have received from all over the world these past few days, and I wanna thank you all for caring. Seeing the Norwegian Badge on profile pictures all over Facebook gives me a strange peace in the middle of the hopelessness. I am ok, my friends and family are all ok, but obviously very affected by what has happened. Norway is wounded, and it will take us a long time to rise. We will though. We will move on, stumble back on our feet. Move on, but never forget.

Words are poor, but hey, they are all I have.

And tomorrow I’m coming home.

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For more about the tragic attacks in Norway, visit this article on VG Nett.

This isn’t Oslo

…was the first thought to pop into my head when I saw the videos of dust, smoke and shattered windows, accompanied by that horrible, howling alarm and people running through chaotic streets.

I didn’t recognize my city today, and all though I myself am still in France, my heart is in Oslo.

I love you, Oslo. See you on Monday.

Why I’m not Ms. Blog-A-Lot this week

…Because this is actually where I am right now:

…with this guy:

More accurately, this is where I am right now:

…and this is the view from our bedroom balcony:

I am officially in love with countryside (South) France, and I can not believe how much beauty I’m surrounded with. Today we went on a boat ride down the Dordogne River, and it was Lovely!!

The weather hasn’t been completely on our side though, and improvisation is necessary when you find yourself at a mini-golf court when the rain starts pouring…

But you know, there are plenty of things to do when it rains as well…

I’m sorry for the lack of interesting blogging atm, I am. I will be back in Norway in a weeks time, and I will have plenty of time for you then. But if you will excuse me; I have a birthday to celebrate.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!!!!

Until next time, please remember to subscribe to my blog (top right corner of this page), “be-fan” me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter, and I will make sure to keep you up to date on what’s going on with me and my music. And please keep commenting, I love hearing from you! =) 

Take care & keep Shining! I love you!

xxx,

Audrey

Life happens.

I was thinking about those people again today, those people I used to know but who flew out of my life as quickly as they flew in. Once upon a time, I used to think I was able to keep in touch with everyone. I had so many friends, close friends, and I was convinced they were all there to stay. But then something happened. Life happened. And all of a sudden, some of the people I once told my deepest secrets to, who once knew me as well as I knew myself, have no idea who I am. And vice versa. It’s weird, to think that some of those precious memories I have with certain people, might not be as precious to them. Maybe I’m even the only one who remembers some of these things.

That’s just life though, I guess. Lovers become friends, or enemies, close friends become strangers, or acquaintances that you only have sporadic contact with. Relationships change. Sometimes to the better, sometimes… Well.

I miss some of these people. I really do. But the naive 15 year-old that managed to keep in touch with everyone isn’t in charge anymore. She lost her innocence, and life took over.

Shit happens.

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Until next time, please remember to subscribe to my blog (top right corner of this page), “be-fan” me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter, and I will make sure to keep you up to date on what’s going on with me and my music. And please keep commenting, I love hearing from you! =) 

Take care & keep Shining! I love you!

xxx,

Audrey

…And the award for Best Boyfriend EVER goes to…

June 6th: WTF???
My friend Charit sends me the following text: “Right, the date for the big summer party is set. Location is top secret. Don’t have any plans between the 6th and the 8th of July. Pack less than 10 kilos in a suitcase (2 bikinis, skirts, shorts etc), and be ready at 1 pm. You will be picked up at yours. Don’t discuss details with anyone; people aren’t supposed to try to figure out who else is going.”

July 5th: Iiiiiiiik…!!! 
I am freakin’ out. I hate packing, and this time I don’t even know what the hell I’m packing for…! I spend hours and hours, while on Skype with Dan, packing and cursing and completely falling apart. Where the hell am I spending the next couple of days?? Who the hell am I spending them with?? And how the hell am I gonna have time to pack for the UK before Monday???

July 6th: Road Trip!! 
The Big C picks me up in his car, and off we go. At this point I have been told that we are getting a boat from Sandefjord to some island, but that we are stopping by the airport first to pick up a friend of his called Kim who’s joining us from Stavanger or something. Other than that, I have no idea what we’re doing and who we’re meeting, and I’m not believing anything Charit says after he tried to scare me with both paragliding and rafting. I am not in the best mood in the world – all this packing and uncertainty has made me feel physically ill, and I didn’t exactly get a good night sleep that night… Still, I am kind of starting to look forward to whatever it is he has planned and actually starting to enjoy myself on this road trip to whatever.

But then…
We pull up outside Torp Airport, and I’m prepared to meet some friend of Charit’s I’ve never met before. While all this is going on, I’m getting texts from Dan, who is on a train to see his family in York. Imagine my surprise (surprise, shock, horror, extacy) when we stop outside Torp airport and there is no Kim, but DAN comes walking out..! Surpriiiise!! 

Well played, guys, well played…
Basically, Dan had been planning this for over a month, and I literally had no idea until I saw him walking out of that airport building. He had teamed up with Charit, my parents and some of my other friends, and the cover stories were so detailed…! The whole summer party thing? Bullshit. There was no summer party. And when Charit was “calling Kim” from the car to let him know we were late, he was actually talking to Dan – trying to get across to the poor Englishman in Norwegian when we would be there. Kim never existed. Lord… It was the best surprise ever, and I couldn’t believe he was actually there. I hadn’t seen him since the end of May, making it the longest we’ve ever been apart, and I wasn’t supposed to see him until yesterday when I went to Liverpool.

And the award for Best Boyfriend EVER goes to…

MY one. The guy in the back there, lookin’ all pleased with himself. With GOOD REASON!

Awards in other categories include:

Best Cover Story/Best Actor in a Supporting Role/Best Assistant Director/Best Bullshitter:

Best Dog in a Supporting Role:

Best Actress in a Supporting Role/Just Best:

Best Playing Along:

And finally, Best Clueless Bastard Of The Year:

…Yours truly. I feel tricked, naive and pretty stupid… But in a good way! We had a great few days of chillaxin’ in Norway before the Days of Doom (also known as moving) in Liverpool, and now we’re in York for a few days before we head off to France on Saturday. Can’t wait! More about that later, it’s time for a sandwich. Or something. Mama’s hungry.

Until next time, please remember to subscribe to my blog (top right corner of this page), “be-fan” me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter, and I will make sure to keep you up to date on what’s going on with me and my music. And please keep commenting, I love hearing from you! =) 

Take care & keep Shining! I love you!

xxx,

Audrey

Concert Etiquette; Don’t Be A Dick.

Inspired by a certain pain in the ass “lady” at the amazing concert I went to on Friday (and many other pains in the ass at many other past concerts), I decided to dedicate my next post to discuss the mysterious phenomenon Concert Etiquette – Consetiquette for short. Now, there is really only one rule you need to follow as a member of a concert audience, and it’s a very simple one;

Don’t Be A Dick.

But some people (a lot of people actually) need a little more clarity than that, so I’m gonna break it down for you – the rules of Concetiquette. The 8 sub-rules if you like, of Don’t Be A Dick. You’re welcome.

1. If chatting to your mates is more important to you than listening to the music, stay at home. Go to a bar. Make a phone call. Chat away, just do it somewhere else and don’t ruin everybody else’s night.
2. Your shushing is louder than the people you are shushing. Shhhut the fuck up.
3. Whistle with care. If you have the fascinating ability to whistle loudly (you know, the fingers-in-your-mouth type of whistling), by all means, use that ability. But not right in my ear please.
4. Don’t yell out random and unreasonable requests for the artists. They have a set list and an order for a reason, and they will probably not change their instrument and take up singing right there on the spot, just because you find it boring to listen to instrumental guitar music.
5. Leave the front to the people who are actually there for the concert and not the booze. If you insist on drinking alcohol, do us all a favor and stay in the back where you will have a short way to the bar (and the toilets). That way you won’t have to push your way back and forth through a large crowd of people with 5 glasses of beer every half hour, leaving a trail of beer stanched (and increasingly unhappy) people behind you.
6. Your drink belongs in your glass. Not my hair. Thank you.
7. Keep your arms and legs to yourself. If you are incredibly drunk, or just struggle with body control in general – don’t dance. Or at least make sure you have a large area to yourself so you won’t knock someone unconscious with your flopping arms and legs.
8. Stay off the stage! Do not, under any circumstances, stumble your drunk self on to the stage before the concert and molest the musicians’ equipment to tell a joke. This is expensive equipment. The mics on an empty stage will not be turned on. And even if they were, people are not there to hear you tell a joke, and you will only piss them off. And then, security will come and take you down. And they will not be impressed either.

I’m sure there are many more rules that should be on this list, so please feel free to add your own in the comments and I will edit them in (and give you credit of course). I know I’m not the only one who has ever been slightly annoyed by loud, drunk, obnoxious, inconsiderate, selfish and disrespectful people at concerts. Seriously, some people shouldn’t even be allowed out in public. To me, it’s just a matter of realizing that this is someone’s job, life, baby. Showing a little respect to all the work that has been put into the big production that a concert actually is, is not too much to ask. Also, a lot of people (yourself included) have paid money to enjoy a nice evening of live music, and making people’s evening less enjoyable by acting like a complete asshole is just an incredibly dickish thing to do. So please, the next time you go to a concert,  try to remember the rule of Consetiquette: Don’t Be A Dick. And if you have trouble remembering how not to be a dick, feel free to print out these sub-rules and use them as guide lines. THANK YOU!!

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Please remember to subscribe to my blog (top right corner of this page), “be-fan” me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter, and I will make sure to keep you up to date on what’s going on with me and my music. And please keep commenting, I love hearing from you! =) 

Take care & keep Shining! I love you!

xxx,

Audrey

Humbly For Her…

Another amazing concert with the amazing, the annoyingly talented, the one and the only Unni Wilhelmsen, is over.

08.07.11, Rockefeller, Oslo

No elephant’s memory when starstruck…
What a beautiful person she is. I am always humbled by her presence, and even though I’ve seen her live 3 times now, I always forget half of the things I want to say once I stand there after the show, face to face with her, my hero. This time I even forgot to ask for a picture. I also forgot to tell her hi from my dad. He always asks me to for some reason, and this time I was gonna do it, just to be able to say yes when he asked me afterwards if I had. Which he always does. So if you’re reading this Unni; My dad says hi. ;-P

December 2010

More than music…
Once again, Unni managed to give me a magical night that I will live off for months. Until the next one, probably. Her songs are colourful paintings, and nothing can go wrong in her art gallery. I wish I had her paintbrush. Unni’s concerts are far more than music though. They are stories, magic tales, comedic anecdotes, they are a glimpse of a life. For a couple of hours, she gives you… Her. So honest, and so true.

08.07.11, Rockefeller, Oslo

Once again Unni, THANK YOU… 

Humbly For Her,

Audrey

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Also read this post…

“Life should be a journey, not a race.”

Oh so true… So many people (myself included, at times) are too busy making plans to see that life is racing by before their eyes without them even noticing. Constantly looking ahead, waiting for something to happen – rushing for the day when they will finally get that degree/job/house/ spouse/baby. At the risk of sounding like a walking cliché here; Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.
I stole that from somewhere. 

I do realize this point has been made again and again, but I also know that no matter how many times you hear it, you always need to be reminded one more time. 

So let me be the one to give you the kind reminder of the day – to live your life, instead of planning it to pieces. To enjoy today today, instead of reminiscing over the pictures next week. Or next year. To be there for the people who are there for you. To make a phone call to someone you haven’t talked to in a while. To taste your food and listen to new music. To go for a walk. And while you’re out there, smile at strangers, look at bugs, and take the time to smell a flower. Actually, smell a flower or two every day if you can. House plants don’t count.

When was the last time you stopped to smell a flower...?