Norway’s finest hours in my lifetime

On Friday, 22. July 2011, Norway was struck by two terrorist attacks within less than 2 hours. First a powerful car bomb exploding on the street just outside our government’s headquarters in downtown Oslo and then a shooting massacre at a political youth camp on and island outside the city. In the minutes, hours and days following these horrific events, I have been shocked, stunned, angry and sad beyond words, but I have also found great comfort in the manner in which my people has collectively chosen to carry this. In fact, in the middle of all the tragedy, this has been my country’s finest hours in my lifetime.

As a nation, we have chosen not to speak of revenge, but instead to stand together holding hands and lighting candles, promising each other that this will not destroy us or in any way drive a wedge between us. In the words of our prime minister Jens Stoltenberg, “Evil can kill a person, but never conquer a people.”

By taking this stance, I feel confident that the free and open multicultural democracy that our attacker sought to damage is emerging stronger than ever after these past days' events, and as a country we are more united than we’ve been for as long as I can remember. Yes, we are crying, but we’re crying with dignity. We’re not crying for revenge, we’re crying for compassion and humanity. We’re not crying for tighter control on anything, we’re crying for more openness and more democracy. More of what we love and more of what this guy apparently hated. That is how we choose to respond. Yes, there will still be issues that we disagree upon, but we’re a democracy – people are supposed to disagree with each other! It’s a good thing, not a bad thing. Everyone who feel they have something to say about an issue should go ahead and say it because a good debate is what makes a democracy work. We all put our views, interests and concerns on the table and then we all scrutinize what’s on the table, not the people who put it there. That’s how we separate the good stuff from the bad stuff, compromise to find common ground and figure out solutions that we can all live with over time. Or at least that’s how it’s supposed to work. Thus, in the words of one of the survivors from the youth camp at Utøya, “Bring the attacker’s political ideals to the table and we will debate them to death.”

On the evening of Monday, 25. July, people all over the country gathered to mourn together, cry together, hold hands, light candles and show their respect to the victims and their families. Not surprisingly, the largest gathering of people was in Oslo, which is our largest city and also the one that was directly targeted. At first the official number was approximately 150 000, but police later said that at least 200 000 people attended the event.

Thousands of people gathered on and around the Oslo Town Hall Square in the evening of
Monday, 25. July 2011. Police later said more than 200 000 people attended the event.
Image credit: AP.

Among the speakers at the Oslo event was our crown prince Haakon, here shown at the event with his sister, princess Märtha Louise (left) and his wife, crown princess Mette-Marit. Haakon greeted the crowd with the words, “Tonight our streets are filled with love.”

Image credit: Scanpix

 

 

“Tonight our streets are filled with love.

We have chosen to meet atrocity with compassion.

We have chosen to meet hate with unity.

We have chosen to show what we stand for.”

--Crown prince Haakon

It couldn’t be said very much better.

And I’ve never been so proud of my country.

Now I hear some people are saying that they don’t expect this new-found national unity to last and that we are likely to have a society with more fear and less trust in the wake of this, but I’m hoping we can prove them wrong on that one.

Actually, it could be yet a little bit better.
A young girl and a member of the labor youth organization who’s summer camp was attacked at Utøya put it this way:

“If one man can cause so much evil -

think how much love we can all create together.”

--Helle Gannestad, AUF member who lost friends at Utøya

I have no idea who she is, but I’d really like to hug her right now.

I don’t care

I don't care if you're black, white, straight, bisexual, gay, lesbian, short, tall, fat, skinny, rich or poor.

If you're nice to me, I'll be nice to you.

It’s as simple as that.

                                  (-Eminem) 

Yes, it really is as simple as that - and what a great way to start a new week, don't you think? ;-)

Runaway train

I don’t remember exactly when and how it happened, but at some point in my life, the song “Runaway train” by Soul Asylum took on a special meaning to me. The song, as I understand it, is about life and its many ups and downs (well, mostly about the downs, really, but that’s life some times) and about how, in a way, you’re always supposed to be somewhere else and you’re never quite getting there.

The title “Runaway train” actually has a nice double meaning too. It can be either a train that you get on to run away from something, or it can be a “runaway” train – a train moving out of control. And over the years, I have come to think of life itself as something of a runaway train at times. You’re always on the way somewhere, you’re never fully in control and you never really arrive at your destination. And honestly, much of the time, you’re not even sure if you’d want to! It can be scary and frustrating as hell, but somehow the wheels just keep on turning…

Call you up in the middle of the night
Like a firefly without a light
You were there like a blow torch burning
I was a key that could use a little turning

Been there, done that. No, actually, I don’t think I’ve ever called anyone up in the middle of the night except for work stuff, but there have been times when I probably should have. Anyone saying they’ve never been there is probably not telling the truth, I say.

So tired that I couldn't even sleep
So many secrets I couldn't keep
Promised myself I wouldn't weep
One more promise I couldn't keep

It seems no one can help me now
I'm in too deep
There's no way out
This time I have really led myself astray

I lead myself astray all the time. There was a time when I used to say that I rarely make the same mistake twice, but I don’t say that anymore because it’s not true! There are some mistakes that I keep repeating over and over and over. I think we all do, just in different ways. It doesn’t make us useless or horrible, it just makes us human.

Runaway train never going back
Wrong way on a one way track
Seems like I should be getting somewhere
Somehow I'm neither here nor there

And there it is.
That’s life right there.
You’re going down the tracks in a train that never stops and can never be turned around. The choices you make do have an impact on where you’re going, but you’re never fully in control. Some times you can choose which track to go down, but other times you pass switches you can’t control – perhaps without even knowing that they’re even there at the time. And some times you make mistakes. Whatever the reason, you will often find yourself having to cross mountain ranges or drive through valleys that you never really meant to be anywhere near – or going the wrong way on a one way track - without being able to stop or turn back. You’re never fully in control and life doesn’t come with a “rewind” button. Also, although your train never stops, it does pick up and drop of cargo along the way. And – you’re never truly in control of that either! Your train is loaded with all you have, all you are, all you know, all you feel, everything you have to deal with whether you want to or not – everything that’s in your life is on that train. Some times you lose something that’s really precious to you. Other times, you pick up stuff that you never really wanted anywhere within 500 miles of you – and you have to haul that around for hours, days, months. Years. And many times in your life, you will know the feeling that it seems like you should be getting somewhere, but somehow you’re neither here nor there.

Can you help me remember how to smile
Make it somehow all seem worthwhile
How on earth did I get so jaded
Life's mystery seems so faded

I can go where no one else can go
I know what no one else knows
Here I am just drowning in the rain
With a ticket for a runaway train

Everything seems cut and dry
Day and night, earth and sky
Somehow I just don't believe it

Life is hard. You were never meant to handle it all on your own. So, it’s a good thing to call for help when you need it, and more often than not, sooner is better than later. But at the same time, no matter what happens - and even though you’re never fully in control - you are the one who is in charge of your own life and ultimately responsible for fixing whatever needs fixing in it. You can never give that away or pin that on anyone else. It’s your life and you’re the only one who knows it, so you’d better believe in it or else God help you, for no one else will. Now, there may be some things in your life that can not be fixed, but that does not mean your life is broken. Remember, your train never stops. Every waking minute of every day is a new chance to do something right. Something good. Something that makes it all worth while. Never forget that. And never stop believing in it. But of course, that also means you have to do something about it every once in a while.

Bought a ticket for a runaway train
Like a madman laughing at the rain
A little out of touch, a little insane
It's just easier than dealing with the pain

Yes, it’s easier to run away. And some times it can actually be right to just leave something behind and never look back. But simply running away from every problem is not a strategy that’s going to get you anywhere you want to go. You’ll need to do better than that. You’ll need to deal with the pain to get past it. And you’ll need to solve the problems to go beyond them.

Runaway train never coming back
Runaway train tearing up the track
Runaway train burning in my veins
I run away, but it always seems the same

 

Your breaks are gone, your engine’s out of control, there are dangerous curves up ahead as you’re coming down out the mountains and your 2 000 ton freight train is going down the hills faster and faster and faster…

Life can be frustrating and scary as hell and some times you will crash and burn, but like I said in the beginning, as long as you keep breathing, those wheels just keep on turning…

Life is huge and incredibly complex. You will never know all there is to know about it and you’re never fully in control. But if you have faith in yourself and do some real work on it, I believe it is possible for you to keep your train moving in more or less the right direction – most of the time.

And what is the right direction? Well, that is up to you.

 

Hmmm… and after all that, we find that the video is actually about missing persons! I really never saw that coming! Life is full of surprises…  ;-)

Space shuttle again (but briefly this time)

I know I’ve already said a lot about the space shuttle, but it never ceases to amaze me, really.

This thing goes into space and back over and over. It gets blasted out there, it travels at speeds around 27 000 km/h or 17 500 mph. It BURNS as it re-enters the atmosphere - and then it just glides in for a smooth landing and comes home looking like nothing even touched it!

Man, I'm going to miss these beauties when they're gone... But what a ride it's been just being able to watch them all these years! :-)

By the way, Endeavour’s last launch is currently scheduled for Monday 16. May at 8:56 EST, which is 12:56 UTC and 14:56 my time. Just so I’ve mentioned it. ;-)

Company time = company work

In my work contract, there’s a paragraph stating that anything I make while at work for the company is the company’s property. Even though I’m the one who made it, it’s not mine if I made it on company time and I don’t get to take any of it with me if I leave the company. It may seem a bit harsh to some, but at the same time, it makes sense, doesn’t it? I mean, when I’m at work, it’s really not my own time I’m working on. It was mine, yes, sure enough, but I sold it to the company – that’s why I’m getting paid, you know! And if I choose to sell my time to a company, then I really can’t honestly expect to still spend that time working for my own self, can I? No, I can’t. That’s not how it works. When I choose to let a company buy some of my time, then that of course means that during those hours, I don’t work for myself, I work for the company that bought the hours from me. Hence, it’s both fair and reasonable that the company should be the legal owner of whatever product I make during that time. People who do physical labor or work in factories making physical products have had it like that for centuries. To them this pretty much goes without saying. It’s some of us folks who work primarily with our minds that some times have issues with this concept. But it really isn’t much different – or shouldn’t be. Just like a road worker doesn’t own the road or a car factory worker doesn’t own the cars he makes, I don’t own the systems and solutions I create and maintain in my job. It all belongs to either the company that employs me or their customers. Even if I’m in effect designing a whole new type of car or inventing a new and improved way of building roads, it’s all theirs if I do it on their time.

No, the company does not own me, my mind or my skills – those are all my own property. But as long as I have a contract to work for them, they own everything I do during those hours I clock in and get paid for. If I want to work for myself I have to do it on my own time. In fact, time is like any other commodity in this way: You can’t legally claim to still own it after you’ve sold it. It’s that simple. And I guess I’m OK with that.