work party

I was invited to a work party at the RR site in Tenfjord... all of the consultants were invited actually, but as the timing was bad for a lot of them (on their way home for the week and/or weekend), I was the only consultant to make it. They did plan on a bbq out on some island, which would have been cool, but the weather has been so bad that it was unfavorable (even unsafe) to take a boat ride, so as the person who arranged the whole thing told me -- Norwegians always have backup plans.

They had the party in the cafeteria at the office in Tenfjord, and actually had entertainment lined up too. They did barbeque, some chicken, veggies, and of course had potato side-dishes.. food was good.. then after the food we had a Norwegian comedian.. of course, I didn't understand him, but tried to laugh when everyone else was.. I did catch on that he was from Alesund and was making fun of the hicks from Tenfjord.. somebody told me he was just starting out in the entertainment business, and his mother was actually a famous Norwegian comedian..

Next up was a one-man band who sung a lot of songs from the 60s/70s... Beatles, CCR, ABBA, Carol King.. stuff where everyone knew the words so they could sing along.. again.. all in a cafeteria, so very surreal. but there was plenty of beer and wine and cognac. after two drinks, they started charging, but I always had someone buying me a drink. they seemed very appreciative that I showed up, and there were plenty of people who asked me the usual very polite questions about what I thought about Norway, and how I thought things were going, and talked about their planned trips to America.. I told them to go see their relatives in the Northwest, they wouldn't be dissapointed.. sure New York is great to visit.. why go visit Florida, when they could go to California.. and Texas should be avoided at all costs.

Here are some pictures from the night..


The party scene



The Comedian


The singer -- maybe you can see his outline past all the beer cans.