Hello from Norway

[chubakabra]

Hello all

I usually never get around to present myself on these forums. Usually I've been a member for months and posting numerous posts, before I realised I forgot it ... and by then it seems kind of strange to do it 

I'm a Norwegian male, 37 years old (as of 2011). I live far beyond the arctic circle, i a small city called Tromsø. With around 70 000 inhabitans, it is actually Norways 7th largest city, but compared to the rest of the world's great cities, it is more like a village I guess Right now the sun has set for this year, and it won't be back until mid January. Winters are long, November to April, and often we still have some snow left in May. Otherwise the climate isn't too bad due to Tromsø being a coastal city, and the Gulf stream help us out... Summers are wonderful, with a couple of months of 24h sunshine.

Right now I'm doing my PhD within eHealth. My field is the Internet and how to use it to deliver interventions for health promotion. Smoking cessation, weight loss, physical activity ... things like that. My background is from Physiotherapy, but I never liked working as a clinician.

I got my first guitar when I was about 7. I did learn the basic stuff, but my fingers hurt, and I was an impatient child. So it didn't get much used, but it planted a seed in me. Around 10 years ago, I started again, and bought a cheap Crafter acoustic. I enjoy playing guitar, even though I'm mediocre, at best. And I'm not being modest  It has kind of a meditative effect on me. It calms me down. Even though I'm not very good, playing high end guitars gives me even more pleasure. The sounds they produce, how it feels playing them. Even looking at them, the beauty of the wood, the solid workmanship ... it gives me pleasure, and calms me down. I currently own just one guitar, a 2011 912c with engelmann top. It is a wonderful guitar. I've owned several other Taylors as well.

I look forward to see how this forum develops. I probably lurk more than I post, but I do post from time to time. I have a tendency to get too much involved when I start posting, so I really have to limit myself. Also, it is a challenge to post in a English speaking forum. All though I do understand English well, it takes more effort to get my message across in a foreign language.

Well, this got much longer than I had planned. Good luck to everybody, let's get this forum going!

Regards

Olav aka "chubakabra"

[Kingby]

Hey Olav:

Sounds like your climate there is similar to ours in Newfoundland.  We don't have the 24h sun or moon depending on the seasons (we're a little further south), but the coastal northern climate is the similar.  There are many Norwegians here too.  I work with several as I am in the offshore Oil and Gas Industry.  The Norwegians are world leaders in some of the technology and construction of platforms that are used in our environment.

May be going to Norway sometime soon too as I am working with several Norwegian firms.  (again further south than you, most likely Stavanger or Oslo).

Welcome to the forum!

Kingby

[barefooter]

Hello Olav,

A nice introduction and biographical information.  I am a lot like you by reading more than I write.  Just recently have I started to post more.  I think this is a great place thus far and I believe it will grow to be even greater.   Welcome aboard my friend.

[not darth]

Hiya Olav, I didn't realize Tromso is coastal, for some reason I thought of it as Norway's "Fairbanks, AK". 
I've never been that far north, furthest I got was Oppdal a few times. 
I've been to Oslo twice, lived there for six months.  We have slekt in Bergen, Stavanger, Kristiansand & K-sund, Volda, Sauda, Trondheim, Lillehammer, Gol, and many other areas. 

How's the guitar stores up in Tromso?  I can't imagine there is a huge selection or much inventory turnover, but I may be wrong. 
I also didn't know the population was 70,000 - my town south of Minneapolis, MN is only 20,000!
-Kris

[Cindy]

Olav, welcome to the forum! Sometimes I complain about our shorter days and longer nights especially since we ended Daylight Savings Time...geeze...you've got one LONG night ahead of you! 

[chubakabra]

Hey Olav:

Sounds like your climate there is similar to ours in Newfoundland.  We don't have the 24h sun or moon depending on the seasons (we're a little further south), but the coastal northern climate is the similar.  There are many Norwegians here too.  I work with several as I am in the offshore Oil and Gas Industry.  The Norwegians are world leaders in some of the technology and construction of platforms that are used in our environment.

May be going to Norway sometime soon too as I am working with several Norwegian firms.  (again further south than you, most likely Stavanger or Oslo).

Welcome to the forum!

Kingby

Thank you, Kingby

Newfoundland is well known among Norwegians. Most of all, perhaps, because of the Norwegian viking Leiv Eriksson who landed there around year 1000. The climate there should be similar to large parts of Northern Norway. And yes, offshore oil is for sure our thing ... it's what this country is built on, and we have been very fortunate. But the oil will run out some time, so we better prepare ourselves. Stavanger is our oil "capital", so if you are going to Norway for business, it for sure would be one of the places to be. It is a nice city! Much nicer than Oslo, imho.

Olav

[chubakabra]

Hello Olav,

A nice introduction and biographical information.  I am a lot like you by reading more than I write.  Just recently have I started to post more.  I think this is a great place thus far and I believe it will grow to be even greater.   Welcome aboard my friend.

Thank you barefooter, and a big welcome to you too

[chubakabra]

Hiya Olav, I didn't realize Tromso is coastal, for some reason I thought of it as Norway's "Fairbanks, AK". 
I've never been that far north, furthest I got was Oppdal a few times. 
I've been to Oslo twice, lived there for six months.  We have slekt in Bergen, Stavanger, Kristiansand & K-sund, Volda, Sauda, Trondheim, Lillehammer, Gol, and many other areas. 

How's the guitar stores up in Tromso?  I can't imagine there is a huge selection or much inventory turnover, but I may be wrong. 
I also didn't know the population was 70,000 - my town south of Minneapolis, MN is only 20,000!
-Kris

Hello Kris. Wow, that's a long list of relatives in Norway!

You are correct, the guitar stores here have a very limited inventory. High end guitars are virtually non-existent. I have seen a couple of the more affordable Maritins, that's it. They mostly sell Yamahas, Takamines and a bunch of more or less known brands made in China. This goes for most of Norway, with a few exceptions around Oslo and a couple of other places. Even there, the inventory is not that impressive, but it is improving. I guess that with only around 5 million people i Norway, the market just isn't big enough. The prices of American made guitars are very high, so that does not help either. Fortunately Taylor seems to have realized that the price gap between US an Europe has been to big, and prices have improved a bit the past to years.

[chubakabra]

Olav, welcome to the forum! Sometimes I complain about our shorter days and longer nights especially since we ended Daylight Savings Time...geeze...you've got one LONG night ahead of you! 

Thank you Cindy, and welcome to you too

Fortunately I'm used to all the dark, and when the snow settles it can actually be very nice. White landscape, moonlight and a spectacular Aurora Borealis are things that still takes my breath away at times.

[not darth]

I think, for at least a full year, I'd love to live about the Arctic Circle so I could truly experience the Midnight Sun in the summer and the Mid-day Black in the winter. 
I have friends in Alaska, both below the Circle in Anchorage, and above it in Fairbanks, and they say it really takes some getting used to, and some people just can't handle it. 

A couple years ago I was in Fairbanks in August, so not during the true Midnight Sun period, but it was very bright until 11pm and at the darkest at 0300 you could still easily see and read newspaper.  Then by 0500 it was pretty bright again and by 0700 it seemed as bright as is does at noon down in MN.  Was quite odd.

The Aurora sure is amazing, sometimes we get it pretty good down here, but I'm sure nothing like it is up there.  I do know that the Aurora has inspired a lot of music, art, folklore and myth - one can't help but become fascinated by it.
-K