I spoke too soon.

The tornado is moving right for us. 

Tornadoen er på vej direkte mod os. 

Tornado valley

Tornado valley refers to an area of the US which has a lot of tornados. May is the worst month. Illinois, where I am, is not actually a part of tornado valley, it is located just east of it. So the weather is not that bad here, but tornados and violent weather is also frequent here in the spring. Almost every night, there is tornado or storm warning on tv, and tonight they actually turned down the volume of the program I was watching, to alert people in specific counties of Illinois. Luckily the bad weather here, has been mostly at night so far. Last night there was a thunder and lightning storm, and when I drove to work, a lot of branches had fallen from the trees, and one tree had actually fallen over. I am quite fascinated with how the weather can change so quickly here, you cannot count on anything. On minute the sun is high in the sky, and the next it looks like the sky is about to open up.

Tornado valley henviser til et område af USA som oplever rigtig mange tornadoer. Maj er den værste måned. Illinois, hvor jeg er, er lige øst for tornado valley. Så vejret her er ikke så slemt, men tornado og voldsomt vejr forekommer også her rimelig tit om foråret. Stort set vejr aften er der en tornado eller storm advarsel på tv'et, og i aften skruede de rent faktisk helt ned for lyden for at advare om tornadoer i specifikke dele af Illinois. Heldigvis har det dårlige vejr her mest været om natten. I går nat var der en storm med lyn og torden, og da jeg kørte på arbejde i morges var der faldet rigtig mange grene af træerne, og der var faktisk også et træ der var væltet. Jeg er ret fascineret af hvordan vejret kan ændre sig så hurtigt, man kan ikke regne med noget. Det kan være høj solskin det ene øjeblik, og det næste ser det ud som om at himlen skal til at åbne sig.

It is too hot here

I don't know if you can actually tell from this picture, but my knees are sweating. I am not sure they are supposed to do that.

Jeg ved ikke om man rent faktisk kan se det på det her billede, men mine knæ sveder. Det er jeg ikke sikker på om det er meningen de skal.

My favorite commercial

I normally hate commercials, and a lot of them here in the States are REALLY bad. However... There is one that I really like. Of course, it is for the Big Bang Theory, and it is a mix of clips autotuned so that it plays Beethovens "Ode to Joy" from the 9th symphony. You can hear both the original and the commercial below.

Jeg hader normalt reklamer, og virkelig mange af dem her i USA er super dårlige. Men... Der er én som jeg rigtig godt kan lide. Selfølgelig er det for Big Bang Theory, og det er et mix af klip fra serien der er autotuned så de spiller Beethovens "Ode til Glæden" fra hans 9. Symfoni. Du kan høre både originalen og reklamen nedenfor.

The sweater

My sweater is really coming along. The Big Bang Theory is really good for knitting. Although it does look like the arms might be too long.

Min sweater er ved at være godt på vej. The Big Bang Theory er virkelig godt at strikke til. Det ser dog ud som om ærmerne godt kunne go hen og blive en anelse for lange. 

Not the only dane anymore

A danish guy is visiting our group for a couple of weeks before he is going to a workshop in Pittsburg. It is pretty weird talking danish to someone who is not inside the computer.

Der er kommet en dansk fyr i gruppen der skal besøge os i et par uger inden han skal på workshop i Pittsburg. Det er helt underligt at snakke dansk med nogen der ikke sidder inde i computeren.

I feel for the people of Oklahoma

In case you haven't heard, Oklahoma was hit by a major tornado yesterday. It is pretty scary to think how close it actually is to where I am. I am definately going to memorize the tornado emergency plan on the billbord in the office tomorrow.

Hvis I ikke har hørt det, så blev Oklahoma ramt af en kæmpe tornado i går. Det er ret skræmmende at tænke på hvor tæt på det egentlig er. Jeg skal helt sikkert lære tornado katastrofeplanen der hænger på opslagstavlen på kontoret udenad i morgen.

We also have a sherif

Who apparently parks his car right by my gym. This is the third type of police car I have seen. Seems like a bit much that the university actually has its own police, with the cars in the university colors. 

Som åbenbart parkerer sin bil lige ved siden af mit fitness center. Dette er den tredje rype politibil jeg har set. Virker som lidt meget at universitetet rent faktisk har sit eget politi, med bilen farver i de samme som universitetets farver. 

Dinner on the farm

There is a goat farm a little while outside of town. They mostly make cheese, but in the summer, they host dinners. You buy a ticket online, only 40 are for sale for each dinner. A chef prepares delicious food from purely local ingredients. So the cheese and most of the vegetables were grown on the farm, and the farmer who provided the lamb was also present at the dinner. We had the privilege of eating with the farmer who owns the goat farm.

Der er en gede farm lidt udenfor byen. De laver mest ost, men om sommeren holder de også middage. Man køber en billet online, kun 40 er til salg til hver middag. En kok forbereder virkelig lækker mad af udelukkende lokale ingredienser. Så osten og de fleste af grøntsagerne var fra denne går, og den landmand som var kommet med lammet var også til stede til middagen. Vi havde fornøjelsen af at spise sammen med landmanden som ejer gede farmen.

Got stopped by the police today

For driving the wrong way on a one way street. Pretty unlucky as I was only going 20 m on that street. I got off with a warning though.

Jeg blev stoppet af politiet i dag fordi jeg kørte den forkerte vej på en ensrettet gade. Rt uheldigt eftersom jeg kun skulle køre 20 m på den gade. Jeg slap heldigvis med en advarsel.

Today's atmosphere

I also wanted to share a video of the skill we did today. I couldn't get the video inserted, so here is a link to the video on YouTube. 

Jeg ville også gerne dele en video af vores skill i dag. Jeg kunne ikke få det til t virke med indsættelsen af videoen. Så her er et link til videoen på youtube. 

http://youtu.be/vjIQhE1kuvk

Last day for Lea and Jakob in Chicago

Their flight was not until this evening, so we had to find things to do until then. Jakob didn't really get a choice, because Lea and I wanted to get a pedicure. It is not actually true that Jakob didn't get a choice, han could choose between getting a pedicure or not. So we did that and Jakob went to dunkin donuts.
Right now I am on a Greyhound bus going back to Champaign. This is quite a different experience than the usual surplus of things to buy when you are waiting for a means a transportation. It showed from the bus station that it is not exactly the wealthiest people who ride the bus in the US. But it is nice to see the different sides of this country, and not just the polished surface that is usually presented in the tourist centers.

Deres fly var ikke før i aften, så vi skulle finde på noget at lave indtil da. Jakob fik ikke rigtig et valg, for Lea og jeg ville have en pedicure. Eller det passer faktisk ikke at Jakob ikke fik et valg, han fik valget om han ville have pedicure eller ej. Så det gjorde vi, og Jakob gik på dunkin donuts.
Lige nu er jeg i en Greyhound bus på vej tilbage til Champaign. Det er en anderledes oplevelse end den sædvanlige overflåd af ting man kan købe når man venter på et transportmiddel. Det kunne ses at det ikke er de rigeste mennesker der tager bussen i USA. Men det er spændende at se forskellige sider af dette land, og ikke bare den polerede overflade der normalt præsenteres på meget turistede steder.

Shopping

Today was about shopping. Before lunch we went to Bucktown, which is a more alternative area. We shopped for jeans in a store with a sales woman who was REALLY enthusiastic about jeans and especially raw denim, which is apparently the new thing. Jkob was just happy that the pants should only be washed once every 8 months. We had lunch at an all vegan cafe and afterwards we went back to the apartment to take a nap. In the afternoon, Lea and Jakob had a $30 gift certificate to best buy, and I really wanted to find a pair of reebok crossfit weightlifting shoes. We could find both things in the center of the shopping mekka of Chicago, the magnificent mile, which was quite a different experience than the laid back and personal experience of Bucktown. The day ended in true Chicago style, with a deep dish pizza.

Idag handlede og shopping. Før okost tog vi til Bucktown, som er et mere alternativt område. We shoppede efter jeans i en forretning med en ekspedient der var VIRKELIG entusiastisk omkring jeans, specielt rå denim som åbenbart er det nye. Jakob var bare vild med at bukserne kun skulle vaskes en gang hver 8. Måned. Vi spiste frokost på en veganer cafe og tog bagefter hjem til lejligheden for at få en lur. Om eftermiddagen, havde Lea og Jakob et gavekort til best buy på $30 som de skulle have brugt, og jeg ville virkelig gerne finde et par reebok crossfit vægtløftningssko. Vi kunne finde begge ting i hjertet af Chicagos shopping mekka, the magnificent mile, hvilket var en noget anden oplevelse end den afslappede og personlige oplevelse i Bucktown. Dagen sluttede på rigtig Chicago manér med en deep dish pizza.

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby premiered today, so we went to see it this evening. A lot of popcorn was eaten and a lot of soda was drunk.

Den Store Gatsby havde premiere i dag, så den tog vi i biografen for at se her til aften. Der blev spist en masse popcorn og drukket en masse sodavand.

No hot water

Yesterday evening the hot water suddenly went out. This morning, it hadn't come back. So we wrote to the girl from which we have rented the apartment. Apparently, she is not allowed to rent out the apartment for the landlord, so we couldn't be present in the apartment when he came to fix it. However, we had no idea of when he would come, so we had to be out of the apartment until he had been there. It turned out that it was not until this evening, which meant that we spent the entire evening in a bar, drinking beer and watching hockey. It was fun, but really quite annoying that we didn't know when we could return to the apartment. Now we are back, and the hot water still isn't working.
The best thing today was the trip to the chocolate factory one block from the apartment. That probably requires another visit. :-)

I går aftes holdte the varme vand pludselig op med at virke. Her til morgen virkede det stadig ikke, så vi skrev til hende som vi har lejet lejligheden af. Åbenbart, så må hun ikke leje lejligheden ud for hendes udlejer, så vi måtte ikke være til stede i lejligheden når han kom for at reparere det. Men vi vidste ikke hvornår han ville komme, så vi var nødt til at være ude af lejligheden indtil han havde været der. Det vidste sig så først at være om aftenen, hvilket betød at vi tlbragte hele aftenen i en bar, drak øl og så ishockey. Det var hyggeligt, men virkelig træls at vi ikke vidste hvornår vi kunne komme tilbage til lejligheden. Nu er vi tilbage, men der er stadig ikke noget varmt vand.
Det bedste i dag var turen til den chokolade fabrik der ligger rigtig tæt på lejligheden. Den kræver vidst et besøg mere. :-)

Conference and visit from home

I got up at 4.30 am this morning to go to Chicago for a conference. Luckily, I was driving with a guy from my group, so I could just sleep in the back seat on the way there. The conference was very interesting, and it was fun to go on a field trip with the group. Actually, I was a bit sad that I had to leave everybody afterwards, because they all stayed in the same hotel and are going to to the last two days of the conference thursday and friday. However, it did not matter, because Lea and Jakob were waiting for me and preparing dinner. They are in Chicago for the week, and I will be staying and sightseeing with them until Sunday. We had a great time this evening, and they even brought me salty licorice.

Jeg stod op kl. 4.30 i morges for at tage til conference i Chicago. Heldigvis skulle jeg køre med en fra gruppen, så jeg kunne bare sove på bagsædet. Konferencen var virkelig interessant, og det var sjovt at være på tur med gruppen. Faktisk var det lidt kedeligt at jeg skulle smutte bagefter, for næsten hele gruppen skulle bo på det samme hotel og til resten af konferencen torsdag og fredag. Men det gjorde ikke noget, fordi Lea og Jakob ventede på mig med aftensmad. De er en uge her i Chicago og jeg skal bo sammen med dem i den lejlighed de har lejet indtil Søndag. Vi har haft en virkelig hyggelig aften, og de havde endda skipper mix med til mig.

30 Muscle Ups for Time

Two guys went for 30 MU's for time after my workout today. I didn't get to film everything because I started too late, and I wasn't patient enough for the last. But both guys finished. Impressive...

To fyre ville lave 30 muscle ups på tid efter jeg var færdig med min workout i dag. Jeg fik ikke filmet det hele fordi jeg startede for sent, og jeg var ikke tålmodig nok. Men begge fyre blev færdig. Imponerende...

Party at the farm

All of Don and Nancys family are here this weekend for a graduation party they are throwing for Don's nephew. The party was at the farm and they invited me to go as well. It was quite an experience. They are all religious, so when everyone had arrived we started the party holding hands in a big circle while their daughter said grace. The food was also quite american. Don's brother likes to go hunting, so he had brought some elk meat. So we had elk steaks and elk burgers. It was quite delicious. Don's nephew is married to a girl from Kenya, so there was a lot of kenyan people and food as well.
I took a photo of an old barn that is next to the farm.

Hele Don og Nancy's familie er her i denne weekend til Don's nevøs dimmisions fest. De holder den på deres gård og de havde også inviteret mig. Det var noget af en oplevelse. De er allesammen religiøse, så da alle var ankommet startede vi med at holde i hånden i en stor rundkreds imens deres datter sagde en bøn. Maden var også meget amerikansk. Don's bror kan godt lide at gå på jagt, så han havde taget noget elg kød med. Så vi fik elg steak og elg burgere. Det var faktisk ret lækkert. Don's nevø er gift med en pige fra Kenya, så det var også en masse mennesker og mad fra Kenya.
Jeg tog nogle billeder af en gammel lade der er ved siden af huset ude på gården.

New outfit

I almost died today during the workout. Thrusters and kb swings shouldn't be in the same workout... ever... Good thing that I had just made a PR in backsquat with 60 kg, and that I had my new top on. I love that they have all the exercises on the back, then people can really see what it is that you do.

Jeg døde næsten i dag til træning. Thrusters og kb swings burde ikke være i den samme workout... nogensinde... Det var godt at jeg lige havde lavet PR i backsquat på 60 kg, og at jeg havde min nye top på. Jeg elsker at de har alle øvelserne bagpå, så kan man virkelig se hvad det er man laver.

CRIME ALERT

I get crime alert-emails on my UIUC email. I am really amazed at the detail in which they describe the incidents and the amount of information they disclose. They even post videos on youtube of suspects. Here is one of the emails I recieved. There was a link for a video in this mail, but it is hidden on youtube, so I am not sure that it is meant for everyone to see. It is a video of 4 men walking across a gasstation.

Jeg får advarsler omkring forbrydelser på min UIUC mail. Jeg er virkelig forundret over detalje-graden de beskriver hændelserne med og mængden af information de frigiver. De lægger endda videoer ud på youtube af mistænkte personer. Her er en af de mails jeg har fået. Der var et link til en video med denne mail, men den er skjult på youtube, så jeg er ikke sikker på at det er meningen alle skal kunne se den. Det er en video af 4 mænd der går henover en tankstation.

"INCIDENT:   Robbery

OCCURRED:  Saturday, April 6, 2013 at approximately 2:40 AM

LOCATION:   200 block East Peabody, Champaign

BRIEF DETAILS:

The University of Illinois Police Department is investigating a robbery that occurred in the 200 block of East Peabody, Champaign.

On Saturday, April 6th at approximately 2:40 AM, an individual was walking in the area of Hopkins and Forbes Halls.  The individual was approached by a group of subjects who battered him.  The victim's phone was taken during this incident.

This incident is similar to two other incidents that were reported to the Urbana and Champaign Police Departments during the early morning hours of April 6th, 2013.

At approximately 0222 hours, an individual was walking in the 400 block of South Busey, Urbana when he was approached by a group of subjects who battered him for no apparent reason.  A witness in the area of this incident stated the offenders were a group of four black male subjects and one white male subject.

At approximately 0256 hours, two individuals were in the 50 block of East Chalmers, Champaign when they were battered by a group of subjects.  The offenders in this case were described as two black males, one white male and one Hispanic male, all 18 to 22 years old.  The offenders were said to be in a silver four door vehicle.

OFFENDER DESCRIPTIONS:

The offenders in the incident that occurred in the 200 block of East Peabody, Champaign are described as three black males and one white male.  The victim described the main offender as a black male wearing a white V-neck shirt with a long silver necklace/chain that hung down to his stomach area.  The victim believed the suspects entered a smaller dark colored older four door vehicle and left north on First Street from the area of Stadium Drive."