Unplugged and Loving It

We spent three weeks in Norway for the holidays and I decided to use that time to do a little experiment of sorts. I wanted to see how I would fare being somewhat “unplugged.”

What often strikes me about Norway is how close knit everyone seems. Relationships with friends grow deeper, faster. Families talk more. There’s more “down” time. Through my American lense they seem to have a definite line between work and life, whereas here your work is your life.

With smartphones, iPads and … Read more ...

Visiting the Doctor’s Office Reveals Life with Universal Healthcare

Here I am waiting at the doctor’s office in Norway. I’m one of those people who gets sick on vacation a lot. In Bermuda, I plied myself with enough alcohol to keep the germs at bay.

This time, I wasn’t so lucky. I’ll spare you the goopy details, but put it like this: I have an “upper respiratory infection.”

Anyway, I’m here in this quiet doctor’s office. There’s no music, no television in the waiting room. That’s the thing about public places in Norway, they’re … Read more ...

Build A Better Mousetrap: Finding Time to Make It Happen

I think there needs to be a way to teleport what I’m thinking right on to my blog. Now bear with me, I’m not blogging while drunk, nor have I gone off my meds.

There’s so many posts I want to write, so many things I want to say, but when it comes time in the evening when I’m done cooking, cleaning, calling, carpooling and coddling, I’m spent. I’ve got some posts mostly written though. There’s tales from the waning days of 2011. Half-written yarns … Read more ...