Today’s challenge is a rather tricky one. I’m supposed to come up with 20 facts about myself, which is insanely difficult for someone who considers themselves the most boring person on earth…
~This color signifies a link that opens in a new tab~
Let’s get the basics all in one: I go by Michelle Saga, I am 22 (turning 23) years old and I live in Bergen, Norway. Currently 5’7.7″ above the ground, also known as 172 cm.
I love all things junk food. Burgers, pasta, pizza, GIMME!!
I have really bad thalassophobia, so I can’t swim in lakes or in the ocean becuase I’m terrified of what might be beneath the surface. Gods know what’s swimming around me at all times. However I love boats and enjoy aquariums, and I’m a great swimmer. I love being in the water, preferably under water, just not in any body of water that contains natural life. I also refuse to get fish pedicures.
I have a really weird and random dream of partying with Snoop Dogg. I don’t know anything about him whatsoever, but we share the same birthday (October 20) and he seems like a really cool and chill guy to celebrate my birthday with.
6 years ago I was in Los Angeles (and San Diego and Yucca Valley) with my class. I was reluctant to go because I felt like LA was such a cliché, and I’d rather go anywhere else in the US. Long story short, I fell so in love that I dream of living there now, because I have never felt more at home in my life. There was a certain inner peace I had the entire time I was there that I hadn’t felt before and haven’t felt since. I guess I’m a cliché now.
If I could be best friends with any celebrity it would be Chrissy Teigen or Colton Haynes.
I have an internal alarm clock, so I’ve never needed to set my alarm and I’ve never overslept.
I prefer savory and salty over sweet, and chocolate makes me nauseous.
I come off as very cold and unapproachable, but if you get to know me I’m really kind, loyal and caring. It takes a long time for me to come out of my shell, but I think I’m usually worth the wait.
My household is bilingual, but we mainly speak English.
I never really take selfies, I hate taking pictures of myself and having other people taking pictures of me.
I’m a picky eater becuase I have big problems with textures. Onions are one of my biggest nopes, which sucks because onions are in everything and I really wish I could stand them!
I’m very much a perfectionist, so finishing tasks often takes a long time. I also tend to make things way more complicated than they actually are.
Personally I think I’m very funny, but many people don’t get my humor. (Said every boring person ever)
Writing is a great outlet for me because I’m not that good at talking. I also used to be a relatively good writer, but I haven’t done it in years. I’m hoping I can get my mojo back one day.
Writing this post has taken a whole day! It was actually really hard. I’m terrible at these kinda things, and I would definitely prefer answering concrete questions instead.
Well that’s it then. 20 very random facts about me. Any relatable ones? I’ll also gladly answer any questions in the comment section or on any of my social media (links below)
Today I’m supposed to write about the meaning behind my blog’s name. Why did I choose “The Saga Dynasty”? Well, it isn’t that easy to explain. It was mostly random, but it ended up having a deeper meaning to me personally with time. It was sort of just a realization I came to along the way. You see, I had no idea what I wanted to name my blog at all. I did not wanna use my name or something generic-sounding that “everyone” else had. After hours of brainstorming I got more and more frustrated and was on the verge of giving up completely. As a last resort I found a website that generated business names (I think you could choose what kind of business you’d like to generate names for, I chose blog) and put in my name, which it was supposed to give me names based off of. I had NO FAITH in this, and ended up scrolling through a bunch of useless blog names .”Oda’s Blog” ugh yeah right. As if. That’s exactly what I was trying to avoid, as Oda is my first name and is honestly utterly awful. And “blog?” Well duh! Eventually I came over something along the lines of “The Sagadalen Dynasty” and I stopped scrolling. “Huh, I think they’re onto something here,” I said to myself and played with the idea for a while. At this point I came up with “The Saga Dynasty,” but I didn’t “FEEL IT-feel it” at the time if you get what I mean. I was however very sure that I wanted to use “Saga”. Thus, I kept scrolling but didn’t find anything I liked. My mind kept going back to “The Saga Dynasty,” and I couldn’t exactly put my finger on it, but there was just SOMETHING to it that I couldn’t quite explain. Practically on a whim I decided to use it, and BOOM, this blog was born.
But why “Saga?” Well, “Saga” is a shortened version of one of my surnames. The full name is “Sagadalen,” but that’s a rather tricky name to pronounce. In Norwegian it pretty much means “Valley of Sagas” or “Valley of Legands,” which I find pretty damn badass. I also considered to use “Valley of Sagas” as my blog’s name, but felt like it didn’t completely fit.
And why “Dynasty?” That part was random. It came entirely from the name generator I used. It was the only one that really spoke to me, though. I was initially drawn to it because I thought it sounded powerful and badass, and it gave me major Fallon Carrington associations. (Yes, I LOVE the Dynasty remake and think she is awesome!) Some of you probably think “Dynasty” sounds a little weird considering I’m not rich or powerful, but I feel like there’s so much more to that word. To me, it stands for everything I do to build my life and reach my goals. It’s me standing up for who I am and what I mean. It stands for all my ups and downs, and my strength and drive to go on. I can’t really explain it, but there is a certain strength to it, a certain power if you will. A motivation. It makes me believe I don’t do this for no reason, but to grow and improve.
Hey again y’all. The past weeks I’ve written several posts that are still stuck in “drafts”. I’ve been going back and forth trying to decide whether or not to post them, and for now I’ve decided I won’t. They were mostly rants about Covid-19, and I’ve come to realize that for my own sake and everyone else’s I don’t need to write excessively about that topic. I am scared and angry, and take it extremely seriously, which might make for a biased view, and I also feel like I need to do other things to get my mind off it more.
Covid-19 or not, I’ve struggled significantly with low energy and no motivation for a while, which is painfully obvious if you scroll through this site. I’ve now been looking for inspiration so that I can write more and keep this place going. I think that will be good for me, and hopefully I’ll also write and share something y’all can find useful or entertaining. I came over a 30 Day Blog Challenge that seemed interesting that would also put some pressure on me to publish at least one post a day. I think I need some pressure and some kind of routine these days, and I feel like this was a good way to keep it at a bare minimum and allow for room to gradually step it up along the way.
This was literally the first one that popped up on Google, so with me having no motivation to keep scrolling through what would probably have been an ocean of “inspiration” I “obviously” went with this one. It also seemed fun, and I obviously wouldn’t have gone with it if it didn’t seem interesting. Some of these seem hard and make me really insecure, but for once I’m gonna try to put my mind off those and focus on one day at a time. Yikes, I’m having second thoughts here… Gods be with me.
Daily I see people commenting and posting that we “shouldn’t be afraid, this “cold” only kills the sick and elderly.” “This is nature’s way of weeding out the weak links in our world so only the strongest survive,” or “I’ll actively spread it to as many people as possible if I get infected, people need to suck it up and become immune already. It’s no worse than the common cold.” Multiple people have also stated that this is a good thing, because it will rid countries of “costly” elders, disabled, and chronically ill people that don’t contribute to anything and are just a nuisance and burden. What the actual fuck is the matter with you people?! Who are you to make such statements and conspiracies, and degrade fellow human beings? How selfish can you possibly be? People could die from your actions, and defeating this is a joint effort. Assholes, like some of you unfortunately are, will indirectly be responsible for deaths, and it will take significantly longer for your country to get back on its feet. And fine, most people get mild cold-like symptoms or none at all. Some get what they themselves call “an extreme flu-like illness,” but they soldiered through it. But some die a horrible death, drowning in a hospital bed from their lungs filling up with fluids and their bodies shutting down. I don’t know about y’all, but there’s very few people I would wish that upon.
Sincerely, immunocompromised “healthy-looking” 22 year old.
I realize there has been a deafening silence here in light of my absence. From active updates to months of complete nothingness. That was never my intention, but I have been so exhausted these past months I haven’t known what to do (and even if I did I doubt I’d have the energy to go through with it.) There’s been SO MANY THINGS HAPPENING in my life the past 6 months, and I’ve been in a constantly downward spiral the entire time. There was an is a lot of uncertainty and instability in my life in more ways than one. Today, however, most of that doesn’t matter. Why, you ask? Because right now I fear for my life.
A few weeks ago my country “finally” had its first case of Covid-19, or the Corona Virus, and since then it’s only been escalating. It feels like “everyone” is infected, and for a little over a week I have been terrified to step outside for any reason. The grocery store has been scary, public transit has been scary, and even being within 5 feet of anyone has been completely terrifying. I have walked distances my frail body can’t handle and every joint and muscle is aching. That’s how scared I’ve been recently, and it’s not about to change anytime soon.
You see, I might only be 22 years of age and most people my age are healthy, and thus “shouldn’t” worry, but unfortunately I am not healthy. Every 6 weeks I receive immunocompromising medication at the hospital. Two weeks ago I cancelled my appointment, as I was utterly mortified at the thought of lowering my immune system while Covid-19 was raging on everywhere around me. Despite normally being an overly rational person I couldn’t convince myself that avoiding my medication would actually make things worse. I finally went to my appointment today though, and managed to voice my fear to the nurse administering my meds. She reassured me and I was happy to get it done, but I wish I went two weeks ago when it would’ve been safer. The other patient in the room with me, also receiving her medication, started chatting with me and told me she had the exact same fears as I did. I bet most of us are a lot more on edge than usual in this situation as we are more at risk than average people, and I also feel like we aren’t getting enough information. Many of us are probably scared we will die from this, and as far as I can tell there isn’t a whole lot of reassuring information out there.
After an unusually silent week, here’s a post simply showing what I’ve been up to. I’m bad at taking pictures of my life, but ah, living offline is a great practice.
First up are some pictures from my train journey back home. Did you know that Finse is where they shot the Hoth scenes for Star Wars? It’s a barren wasteland of snow, often even in the summer.
Next up are some of the pets. We have four cats and a dog, above you’ll find pictures of Teddy, the dog, so dark he’s near impossible to get pictures of. Shame, because he’s the sweetest, cutest baby. Then there’s Findus, the white cat. How cute is he? He’s part ragdoll, as his patterns and colors reveal, and his mother is my cat Cersei. I couldn’t give him up, so he ended up at my parents’ farm. The other cat is Pepsi, a tiny little cat bursting with happiness, whose purr you can hear across the room. Missing are our two ladies; 16 year-old golden girl Josefine (I’ve had her since I was six) and chunky too-clever-for-us-all Tessa.
This part is mostly just random everyday-stuff. Me, waffles, my sim-self etc. Nothing too interesting.
And finally, a few pictures exclusively dedicated to The Witcher, my one true love. I re-read the first two books this week to prepare for the show that launched on Netflix TODAY (I binged it, forgot to eat or take a piss for 8 hours because I was so mesmerized) and I highly recommend it to everyone. As a book-fan and videogame-fan, it caters more to book-fans and we will easily recognize the stories, characters and even many lines and insults. I’m starting my re-watch already tonight! Yes, I’m obsessed, I’m aware. And I have been since I was introduced to the games 4 years ago and the books shortly after. And a HUGE shoutout to Henry Cavill, my fellow obsessive Witcher-geek, who played Geralt of Rivia PERFECTLY. So perfectly I believe he didn’t constantly rely on a script, he simply knows Geralt so well he doesn’t need to. You are Aardcore!
Quick update from my phone, as I’m busy doing… well, all the things. Tomorrow I leave Bergen to go back to my hometown, like I do every Christmas.
I STILL haven’t started packing, but I’m working on my packing list (because I’m one of those obsessive list-people) and trying to figure out how much I’ll need to bring and how big a suitcase I should use. I’m likely staying for an entire month, so realistic and not exaggerated packing is hard. My mind is blanking as we speak, so I took a break from organizing and list-writing to update the blog.
I’ve also ordered takeout to lighten my load, so I’m expecting the best burger in town (Holy Cow) delivered straight to my door and minute now. Foodora is truly amazing when you’re hungry and stressed out like me. (Default mood)
Anyway, here’s what my list currently looks like. I am usually way more neat and thorough than this, but, spoken like a true female in their twenties in 2019:
Christmas is unquestionably my favorite Holiday. There’s just something about the feeling I get when I think about it. I see my childhood home; the red drapes framing the big windows in the kitchen and the living room, framing in the glistening snow that lights up the dark, cold winter night. My mother has lit candles on the coffee-table, and the mandatory bowl of chocolates and treats is already in its usual spot, next to the nisse decoration at the end of the table. There’s always a bowl of clementines as well, whose zesty scent fills the room. I see my sister and I waking up in the morning, for once eager to get up, and check our advent calendars too see which treat we got that day. It was usually a small piece of chocolate, but it was the most magical chocolate we ate all year. I see bright, sunny days in the slopes, and nights with red sunsets behind snow-clad mountains. I swear, I can even smell the Christmas tree, and the general smell of winter as I’m writing this. I can’t describe the smell of winter, but it’s one of my favorite smells in the world.
Most of all I love the food. Eastern-Norwegian Christmas food is the best, and I’d eat it all year around. My favorite is these big meatballs that we make. They’re made by grounding meat until it’s a mousse, then make meatballs (whichever size you desire). My mother usually steams in the oven before frying them in the pan. Or something like that. I think she puts them in the oven twice in the process. It’s quite easy to make, and much better than normal meatballs where you get chunks of fat and whatnot that you have to spit out. None of that with Norwegian medisterkaker! (Link HERE if you want to see what I’m fussing about)
I currently live in Bergen, a coastal city, where the vibe I’m describing is vastly different. The weather is cold, it rains all winter, it’s so windy you take one step forward and two back, and there’s pure ice instead of snow. They don’t eat my beloved food here either, the more traditional foods here are pinnekjøtt (dried, salted lamb steamed for hours and hours over sticks) and smalahove (legit, a sheep’s head. Yikes!) So yeah, I ain’t really feeling it yet. Coming from a small place over 600 meters above sea level, where we have thick layers of snow from October to early/mid May, and temperatures that can reach below 30 degrees celsius, coastal weather downright sucks. I’d rather have freezing temperatures, sunny days and solid ground to walk on (snow), than this rainy, icy hell that FEELS freezing cold, but is often barely below zero degrees. On Tuesday I’m going home to my precious winter wonderland, so BYE CHRISTMAS WEATHER OF THE DEVIL HIMSELF.
This evening we spent at the Bergen Christmas Market, which I find incredibly cozy. It helps me regain some of the Christmas spirit I lose when heaven itself is pissing me in the face and I see people munching on sheep’s heads. We tried some local foods, I ate two desserts instead of dinner, and we finished the evening off with each our cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream in the extremely crowded indoor sitting-area. It was cold and rainy outside (who saw that coming?) so I can’t blame people for not wanting to go back outside and instead just enjoy a beer, cocoa or mulled wine inside. My boyfriend wants to go back before I leave, and I agreed, solely because I missed my chance of a third dessert today. Who doesn’t make sure to have enough red velvet cupcakes for sale, am I right?
Not exactly Norwegian classics, but I LOVE churros and waffles! Sorry for bad pictures, I didn’t wanna be “that girl instagramming everything”…
Good whateveritis to all of you! This post is dedicated to one of my favorite things in the whole world. It’s something I literally feel in my entire body as I enjoy it, and it consumes me so completely it’s all I know of at that given moment. It puts me in a trance, and energizes me. Can you guess what it is?
Music is in my blood. I’ve inherited it from my father, but not by far to the same degree. He can pick up any instrument, play with it for a little while, and suddenly he knows how to play it perfectly. He obviously knows his music theory, and can identify every little tone he hears. It’s like watching a professionally trained musician with years and years of schooling, but he is 100% self taught. To me, it sounds completely superhuman. I am in awe of his talent. All my life he has played in bands, and earned some money on the side performing at events. Nothing professional, and mostly local stuff. Sometimes I had to come with him to his gigs, but rigging equipment and doing soundchecks was always the most boring bullshit 5 year old me ever had to go through. I was always too young to watch him play through the night.
One day I remember asking him how he knew what to play, because he never had any sheets or notes. He answered “I just know”. I was maybe eight or nine years old at the time, and had started taking cornet lessons, where we would always use them. So I couldn’t fathom how he just knew, all by himself. Pure instinct. The rest of the band could start playing a random song he didn’t know but he’d still know exactly what to play on his steelguitar.
I unfortunately did not inherit his magical gift, but I still inherited an above-average talent in anything music related. I’ve played instruments for years and years, as well as vocal training. My instructors have always praised me for my natural talent and knowlege, even if I couldn’t see it myself. Right now, it’s been years since I played an instrument or sang consistently. I have not maintained my skills well. I am more serious about training my vocal cords these days, because despite being extremely rusty and out of practice, I have received glowing feedback about my potential. When I am warmed up (very, very, very warmed up) I’m capable of the most amazing things that I didn’t think possible.
One thing I didn’t inherit from my dad was his taste in music. He, being raised on a farm in a farming community, obviously loves his country music. I grew up listening to it, but it was never my thing. My first meeting with the music I truly enjoyed was in 2004, when Wig Wam was on stage competing to represent Norway in The Eurovision Song Contest with their song “In My Dreams”. And they won! They eventually ended up sharing the 9th place in the Eurovision with Denmark. Very much to my disappointment, as I now had discovered my first ever favorite band and thought they were the greatest thing in the world.
In 2006 they were performing at my local county fair, and I was begging my mom to go. She kept telling me no, as a 12 AM gig was way too late for me, considering I hadn’t even turned 9 yet. I was obviously bummed, and low-key hating my mom like any other child would. Then, when it closed in on my bedtime, she suddenly wasn’t nagging about how I had to go and brush my teeth or anything of the sort. So I obviously didn’t remind her, and kept playing. A little while later she comes to talk to me. “Oh no,” I thought. “She realized it’s way past my bedtime! I’m in for it now…” But nothing happened. She simply asked me if I wanted to go somewhere with her, and I hesitantly accepted, low-key fearing she was gonna trick me to go to bed or worse. We got in the car, to my great confusion, and started driving. “Where are we going?” I asked, rather carefully. “Wait and see,” she said. 15 minutes later we were parked outside the county fair. I lit up, and practically yelled “ARE WE HERE TO SEE WIG WAM?!!”, which she then confirmed. She gave me thorough instructions on how to behave, and what the rules were. I happily agreed to her terms, and could not get there fast enough. This was the greatest day of my life. I was about to see my idols live!
I had never been to a real concert before, so I didn’t know what to expect. There were mostly adults there drinking beer, which it reeked heavy of. Beer and cigarettes. I obviously wanted to be as close to the stage as possible, so we managed to go all the way up there. On each side of the stage there was a huge tower made of speakers, and dear lord were they powerful. I have always been extremely noise sensitive, so we gradually moved further and further back, until I realized I needed to go for a walk around the fair because the noise was simply too much. I could still hear their glorious music everywhere, though, it was THAT loud. Eventually Wig Wam took a little break, and thus I dared to approach the girls selling t-shirts and CDs without being blown away by the speakers they were standing right next to. My mom got me a Wig Wamania t-shirt that I still have. It still fits, but only because they didn’t exactly sell children’s sizes. I still treasure my first concert and my first favorite band. They will always have a special place in my heart. And cheers to their comeback in 2020, I hope I’ll be able to see them live once more.
Wig Wam was my beginning. Now I have moved on to heavier music, and surprisingly, most of the music I enjoy is Scandinavian. We are known worldwide for being the origin countries of metal. Foreign people ask “is blackmetal elevator music in Norway?” or “All of you must be so proud of all your great metal bands! What’s it like living in the cradle of metal music?”. Honestly, as a Norwegian, I had NO IDEA that this was the case. I didn’t know the metal scene in Norway or Scandinavia as a whole was so big. Most average Norwegians HATE METAL MUSIC, and exclusively listen to Spotify top 20 on repeat. Generic, boring and such horrible taste. You see, Norwegians are boring people, liking the exact same stuff, dressing the same and doing the same. Norwegians are the embodiment of generic. Factory produced. We also have this “law” that you’re not supposed to think you’re better than others, you’re not supposed to brag, you’re not supposed to stand out etc. It’s called Janteloven. It’s the most unholy piece of shit to ever take a hold of this country. We are cold, cold people. I hate us. Sorry not sorry. I was mocked, bullied and excluded for liking metal. “It’s satanism”, they said. “You’re a filthy, heathen Devil Worshipper,” they said. Just because of my taste in music. At the time I was listening to Disturbed a lot, as well as the more mellow bands Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and Adelitas Way (you honestly can’t not like Adelitas Way). This sums up my teenage years.
In the more recent years my taste in music has evolved even further, and I’d say I listen to several different genres. Most are various types of metal, where powermetal speaks to me the most. It makes me feel, well, powerful. It’s hard to explain. Adelitas Way is still one of my favorites after all these years, but I’m sad to say their more recent music has been way too pop-y for me and I prefer the older stuff. Sorry guys, I still love you and appreciate your hard work. Other bands I currently listen to are Pyramaze, (my artist of the decade according to Spotify) Dynazty, Borknagar, Ihsahn, Masterplan, Powerwolf (my current obsession), Paradise Lost, Allen Lande, Harakiri for the Sky, Windir, Visions of Atlantis, Kamelot, Hammerfall, Saxon, Moonspell, and Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness + his former Jack’s Mannequin, which are more alternative. There are many more I could list as well, and many individual songs.
Have any of you checked your Spotify Wrapped this year? If yes, what were your results?
Thanks for suffering through yet another long and boring post! See you later!
Horribly blurry, old picture of me in my beloved Wig Wam shirt~
Good evening! I hope you’re all having a splendid day/night! In all honesty, I am exhausted. I was up all night doing laundry because last night my cat, Cersei, managed to knock over a pint of soda and spill it all over me, our fabric couch, the pillows, and a faux sheepskin rug I keep on the chaiselounge. Leaving it overnight was just not an option, as it gets sticky and harder to clean. With about 5 loads to do as fast as humanly possible, I saw no other way than to sacrifice my sleep and get it done. Yes, it’s compulsive. But I managed. I finally got to bed at 6 AM, and was to get up again at 10 AM. I’ve had a lot of these nights recently, (minus the laundry) so you can imagine how swollen, sore and dark the skin around my eyes is looking. My skin gradually lost its glow, which to me is a complete disaster.
Tonight I’m also going to the movies to see Jumanji with my boyfriend and a friend of ours, and I refused to go out in public looking like a human-zombie hybrid. Luckily for me, I only just received my hydrogel eye patches in the mail, and they couldn’t have come at a better time.
Heres what I did to go from NO to GLOW:
Step one: This one is way underrated, but I washed my face in chilly water. Not ice cold, but a comfortable level of cool and refreshing. (Optional: Apply your toner. I did, but toners are not vital to use every day.)
Step two: I applied my Koelf Hydrogel Eye Patches (link to where you can buy, not sponsored). I currently use the Gold & Royal Jelly one, but I can highly recommend all of them. The patches should be left on for 10 minutes, and in the meantime I simply laid down and relaxed with some music. 10 minutes later I removed the patches, and all the liquid had soaked in and I was not left with sticky residue. My under-eye skin looked significantly brighter and the swelling had reduced drastically. Phew. Crisis averted.
Step three: I then finished off with a moisturizer for radiant, glowing skin. I got the Rodial Vit C Skin Souffle super cheap at Beauty Bay, so for anyone looking for glowing skin on a budget, this is a great moisturizer! It is also heavily discounted, I got it for about £10, whereas it usually costs £85! Any moisturizer for your skin type will do, the main focus here is the eyes!
THE SAGA DYNASTY 