It's a wind which comes at you, takes you off your feet and lift you into the sky. At the same time, it's a big block tied to your feet, dragging you down to the dark depths. It's an endless elevator ride, sometimes at the top, sometimes at the bottom. When it's hit ya, you're defenseless; all hope is lost.

What I'm talking about? Being a football supporter. The kind of football which is only played with your feet. I just sat here, and remembered back to when my city's team won the league last year. That was something amazing. I mean, something you never see more than once in a lifetime. Well, maybe two if you're lucky. When other teams win, sure, they're happy and it's awesome. But when the team from Bergen wins, that's unique. The people of Bergen are the most loyal, amazing and supportery football supporters you've ever seen. The team is always big in the news, there's always high expectations of them, and, well, sometimes they live p to it, sometimes not.

Anyway, when we were about to win the league last year, it was the first time in 44 long years (Yup, that's way before my time, but that's irrelevant). And boy, did the people of Bergen get ecstatic. It wasn't just sitting at home and watch the matches at TV or going to the stadium, the mayor and his guys even managed to put up a big screen in a central square in town known as Festplassen (the Celebration Square or something like that), where people could gather and watch the last important matches. And believe me, it ain't just nothing making such an arrangement. The television company sending the matches required a big lot of money for that to happen. But our good mayor and the city council paid the price for us citizens. And it definitely was a success. The night we secured the league gold, close to 100 000 people met up, out of 250 000 inhabitants (not a lot, but we're the second largest town in Norway). I think that shows something about the team and how popular they are. And of course something about how supportery the people of Bergen are.

As some of you might know, I'm a big video game fan, and I've played a lot of them, soem good and some not so good. And some excellent ones. Anyway, I now present you: My Top 10 video game series of all time (with the best game from said series too).

10. Star Wars: Empire at War This game (with its expansion, but I don't count mere expansions as separate games in this list) is really fun. I like how it lets you wage full-scale war across an entire galaxy, in a well-known universe, namely the Star Wars universe. You can fight in space as well as on the surface of planets, which is a big bonus... it's always fun to watch that Death Star blow up a planet.

9. The Black and White series (Black and White 2) Being a god is really fun, we all agree on that, right? Well then! Why haven't you tried this game yet? It's really fun being a god, controlling all those small people as they build towns, and of course, having your own, enormous godly creature There's also a lot of miracles to cast (be good and water their crops with a Water Miracle - or be evil and burn them with a Fire Miracle). There's also the aspect of choosing between good and bad, and how your actions determines what kind of god you are.

For this series, I prefer the second game. It's more fun to really build up a large city, and demolish it again with large boulders or pure evil... or do the same to my enemies' towns *cough* … and of course do all the other god-stuff I have to do…

8. Mass Effect This is a really great RPG, and by far the newest game on my list. It's not a game series so far, but I believe it's planned two more games to make a trilogy. Anyway, this game has awesome graphics (I especially loved that film grain effect), and I totally loved sniping my way through the game. All the achievements you can get makes you want to play the game over and over again too... that's both a plus and a minus.

7. The Pokemon series (Pokemon Crystal) Yeah, the Pokemon games earned a place here. Just because they're adventure games. I love adventure games. Oh, and not to mention the RPG-like elements of it. I've always loved the games, though the best game was way back in the second generation of the franchise.

That game is called Pokemon Crystal. It was the wrap-up of the second generation games, so to speak, and the first game where you could choose to be a female character (I've always preferred the female characters over the male characters ). It was fun that you could go through two regions, and also that there wasn't that heap of extra effects and whazzamooies to learn if you wanted to play seriously (which the newer games have).

6. The Star Wars: Jedi Knight series (Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast) Yup, more Star Wars, and the only FPS/TPS video games on my Top 10 list. Well, just the fact that it's Star Wars makes it great, but there's something about these games which I just adore - either it's the fun gameplay, cool main characters or good story, it's just amazing.

The second game - Jedi Outcast - is the best of the three games in the series, if you ask me. It's linear plot is really cool, and I like how you get more Force Powers as time passes; I like how the main character, Kyle Katarn, kinda grows as the game goes by. Also, I love his witty remarks; it gives him and the game an extra edge.

5. The Age of Empires series (Age of Empires II) These have got to be the best RTS games I've ever played. I dunno why I'm so enthralled by them, but maybe it's because it's not so simple and yet not too complicated, and because of their historical setting.

The best game is definitely the second (out of three games so far). I guess it's the graphics (which are good while not being 3D), and the extremely fun gameplay which I never grow tired of. And of course, it's setting in the Middle Ages makes it even better. It's even got historically accurate campaigns for you to play. To crown it all, there's an elaborate history section which can teach you a great lot about the world as it was around the Middle Ages (important persons, way of life etc).

4. The Roller Coaster Tycoon series (draw) Building your own amusement park, that's doomed to be fun, right? At least I think so. But then I also love simulation games. With tons of rides, scenery items (trees, buildings, fountains etc.) and landscaping options to choose from, you'll be entertained 'till you die.

It's hard to choose a favorite here, because while the third and most recent game featured complete 3D graphics (in contrast to the 2D-like graphics of the preceding games), the first and second game had their own charms. I think I'll settle on a draw here ._.

3. The SimCity series (SimCity 4) Simulation games rock, and Sim City is a prime example of that. Building your own city, with all the infrastructure and stuff you need, it's really fun. The only bad thing about the series is the fifth and most recent game in the series, SimCity Societies, which reduced the once-so-great series to a piece of junk.

The best game in the series, Sim City 4, is truly a magnificent game. With a large region to build a city in (actually, many regions. But you can only build in one at a time), rocking graphics and loads of tools available, this game rocked out loud. Combine that with a ton of awesome mods from a large fan site which makes the game even more varied, realistic and fun, and you have the best simulation game ever!

2. The Elder Scrolls series (TES III: Morrowind) Single player RPG games are fantastic, and this game series stands at the pinnacle of those. The games have never been too hard, nor too easy, and it's not too big either, but they've surely given me that tingly feeling of adventure, and they will continue to do so.

The third game in the series, Morrowind, is the best. All the games are very equal, so this was a decision based upon nostalgia, and Morrowind came out as the winner.

1. The Legend of Zelda series (Ocarina of Time) I've always been a big fan of these games, all the way back from when I first played Ocarina of Time a couple of years ago. Now I've played every game in the series from the eldest NES games to the brand new Wii game. They've all grabbed my heart with their fantastic adventures, epic tale, and of course the puzzles you have to solve.

The best game of the series, Ocarina of Time, also stands as the best game I've ever played. More epic than any other game, with the most epic last boss fight of all time, beautiful adventure play, an awesome soundtrack and lovely dungeons, this game has got it all (even an ending which made me cry)!

And there you have it. Later, folks!

Okay, I just came home from the most primitive place on this side of the globe... my family's country cottage. It's really fun being there; it allows me to relax in the summer air, either in the garden or in our boat (the cottage is by the seaside), but it's too primitive for me to stay there too long. Examples: The only toilet is located in an outhouse, and we have to empty it manually in the forest every now and then. We don't have a shower, because we have to get water from a well in the garden. We have electricity, but the most modern thing is a 15" TV =/. Yeah, so staying there for more than a few days is out of the question.

Now I'm back, and I've got so much to do. Hang around the forum, watch some anime, play some computer games, play on the piano... I'm packed

I'll try to catch up on ya guys' blogs soon. I promise!

Okay, so I came back from vacation Sunday evening. A portion of my family (my household, an uncle with family on my mother's side and my mother's parents) spent two weeks in Denmark, the land of no moutains, long, sandy beaches and lots of sun... the polar opposite of Norway, in other words >_< We stayed at this really nice summer house which we've lived in before (our Denmark trip is a tradition by now - every second summer).

Okay, here's a very brief summary of what we did from the day the trip started till it ended.

Sat. 28th. We started our trip at 6 am. We drove close to 500 km from Bergen on the west coast to Kristiansand on the south coast (11-12 hours of driving). Here, we took a ferry to Hanstholm in Denmark (2 hours); it's the fastest car ferry in the world, so it was a bit cool to ride with it. When we came ashore in Denmark, we drove 300 km (only took 4-5 hours because it's motorway pretty much all the way, in contrast to the small, windy roads across fjords and mountains in Norway). We arrived just a tad past midnight; close to 20 hours straight with driving, in other words.

Sun. 29th. Today we packed out properly, and relaxed most of the day. Towards the evening we also went to the local amusement park, Djurs Sommerland, which is the place we visit the most when we're in Denmark. We got ourselves season passes, since it's much cheaper than paying the entry fee every time we're there. I also tried their new rollar coaster, Piraten (the Pirate). It's 35 m. high and goes with a speed of 80 km/h. Not much, in other words, but good enough the first three times I took it.

Mon. 30th. Today we went shopping in the town of Randers. Some of us also went to Djurs Somemrland in the evening.

Tue. 1st. Today all of us went to Djurs Sommerland, including my two small cousins; both of them also loves roller coasters, even though they're only 7 and 5 years old.

Wed. 2nd. Today we wnet to the beach and were there most of the day. The water was very warm, and reallyfun. As a side note, I also learned how to swim this day

Thu. 3rd. Today we went to the waterpark in Djurs Sommerland, and we had really fun there. I terrorized a lot of kids with this water hose there Yeah, uh, and it was raeal fun, as I said. I took some water slides; it was really cool.

Fri. 4th. Today one of my cousins had his birthday (he turned 7), so we had a birthday party. We also combined it with a birthday party for my sis (turned 12 June 17th) and my other cousin, who turns 5 towards the end of July. We ate a lot of good cakes and such at the house, and we ate at a McDOnald's in the nearby town of Grenaa. Oh, and a bit late, but happy Independence Day to you Americans

Sat. 5th. Today we went to the beach again, and had lots of fun.

Sun. 6th. Today we didn't do anything, just stayed at the hut.

Mon. 7th. Today we went to the Safari Zoo(aka. Ree Park) outside the town of Ebeltoft. It's a lot of fun being there, since there's a lot of animals there from around the globe (Bison from North America, cheetas from Africa, moose from Europe, camels from Asia and llamas (yay!) from South America includes some of them).

Tue. 8th. Today we went to another zoo called Skandinavisk Dyrepark (Scandinavian Zoo), which has a lot of animals from Scandinavia. It included polar bears, brown bears, goats, roedeer, fallow deer, foxes, wolves (they were so cute that I felt like going into their enclosure and hug them all :3) and many more.

Wed. 9th. Another visit to Djurs Sommerland.

Thu. 10th. Today we visited Randers Regnskov (Randers Rainforest), a rainforest park in the town of Randers. It's basically three large globes with a rainforest climate inside (they are made of glass, so they're pretty much giant greenhouses). Inside the three globes, you'll find animals from the rain forests of Asia, Africa and South America, along with plants and such. Small monkeys run freely around in the globes, and one actually climbed up on my arm (the larger apes are of course in enclosures)

Fri. 11th. We had our last visit to Djurs Sommerland today, so we enjoyed it to the fullest.

Sat. 12th. Today we began our trip towards home. We didn't drive all the way home, but rather spent the night at a hotel a few hours into Norway.

Sun 13th. Today we finished our trip home, and we came home around 7 pm.

That's about it for the trip. Oh, yeah, I also began reading the book Sofie's Verden (Sophie's World), a book written by a Norwegian author. The book really fascinates me, because it's basically a novel about the history of philosophy. So I learn a lot from reading it, plus, it makes be think about and reflect over a lot of stuff. In addition, the story which takes place is really awesome. I won't say more, but if you seem interested, go buy it or rent it at your local library (it's been translated to 20 languages, which of course includes English).

And now for the bad news... I'm leaving for our country cottage today, and I won't be back before Sunday It's a nice place, but right nor it's raining a lot, which makes it a boring place. So long, folks. I'll be back on Sunday

Hey, people! Long time no blog.

So, I'm not the 14th best reviewer on myanimelist.net If you want to, you can always read my reviews, and if you're a MAL member, vote for them as helpful

Anyway, I'm leaving for Denmark early Saturday morning, so this blog is most likely the last you'll hear from me until mid-July. I'm looking forward to the vacation, it'll be a good time to forget about everything I do at home and relax it out for some weeks.

Umm... I don't really have much more to say for now. I'll try to comment on some of your blogs before I leave, though.

Song: Africa - Toto

So long!

Graduation: Okay, so tomorrow (Thursday 19th) is the day I graduate. The graduation ceremony is the last thing I do as a tenth grader, and it's the last I'll see of all my c|assmates and teachers. It's a bit sad, but I'm focusing more on what lies ahead.

But you're probably wondering, "how come Espen is graduation in tenth grade?" I know you Americans usually graduate when you're done with high school, which is 12th grade. However, the Norwegian school system is a bit different. After we're done with tenth grade, we're done with what I should call primary education; which is the obligatory part of our years in school. After those ten years, we graduate, and start secondary education, which lasts 3 or four years. We also start new schools upon starting secondary.

The graduation ceremony: So now you understand. Hopefully. Anyway, the graduation ceremony is going to be a lot of fun. The students are going to put up some entertainment for the people there (our parents, eventual siblings), mostly in form of music. A band has been made, consisting of the people who are best on the various instruments (one drummer, three guitarists, one bassist, and two synth/piano players (one of which is me). In addition, we have four lead vocalists). We're gonna play two songs, which all of the other pupils are gonna sing to (the song Hallelujah, which you've probably heard before, and a song called "Vi" (Norwegian for "We"), which is a song that fits for performing at a graduation ceremony). I'm glad I don't need to sing, and of course I'm happy that I don't have to stand at all (all the singers have to stand) After that, there's gonna be some solo performances. There's some singers, one of which I'm going to accompany on the piano. In addition, three students are gonna play a song each on their instruments; me on the tuba, my friend Eivind on the trumpet, and a dude in c|ass on the violin. After that, the principal will give a speech, followed by a speech from the student council President. Finally, we'll get our grade certificates. We've already gotten our grades, but the formal getting our grades will happen tomorrow. After that, we'll eat, and then it's over.

My grades: I mentioned that I got my grades, right? Well, I got an average of 5.61, which is actually beyond my expectations of an average of 5.55 (a 6 in our system equals an A or whatever the top grade is, whilst a 1 equals an F). So, here's the grades I got.

Norwegian (writing): 5
Norwegian (oral): 6
English (writing): 6
English (oral): 6
New Norwegian: 5
Music: 6
Religion: 6
Science: 6
Social Studies: 6
Math: 6
Cooking: 5
Arts and Crafts: 5
Physical Education: 5

As you can see, I managed to keep straight 6/5 (A's and B's), which I'm really happy about.
Now, with these grades, I also managed to get accepted into the school I want to get into (they've already gotten the, obviously). However, as part of the acceptance process, I'll have to go through two job interviews.

The school I'm going to: The reason for this is that the school I'm going into offers a unique offer. What I get is a combined vocational (in electronics) and general education (with advanced math and physics), in which I work at a company two days a week, and go to school normally for three weeks. The work concentrates around electronics, and during normal school I'll also have some periods where I'll work on electronics. By now, it should be obvious why I have the advanced math and physics C|asses.

Job interviews: Since I'm working in a company, I'll have to go through some job interviews. The school is cooperating with a few companies around town and outside, and I'm gonna go to a job interview with two of them; and then I (along with the other students who've been to the interviews) and the companies will decide who they want to work at/employ, and the school will finally decide where the students will work. So, my job interviews is tomorrow at 12 pm and Friday at 8.30 am. Wish me luck!

Shopping trip of doom: When I first knew that I were going to job interviews on Monday,
my mom insisted that I needed some new clothes to wear, since the ones I already have supposedly are old or worn or whatever. Of course, I disagreed, but if it's my mom who insists, I don't have much choice. Therefore, I was dragged along on a 4-hour long trip which resulted in me getting two new pairs of pants, two new t-shirts and one short sleeved shirt. Oh, well.

I have more stuff to talk about, but I'll leave that for another blog.

Song: Graduation - Vitamin C

And now I gotta go to bed. Oyasuminasai!