hurra!

I have just realized that it is Thursday, and I have not spent all of my 1000 kroner allowance for the week. Indeed, I haven't even spent kr 500. After the concert I've intent to go to this evening I might have (if one counts the kr 200 phone card that I bought, but that will last a while, and didn't come out of my precious cash reserves, so I don't think I should have to). I also had a few kroner left over from last week, so this might be a few kroner over a kr 500 week, but it's looking to be close, and thus I rejoice.

It is certainly not that I wouldn't be obsessed with money anyway, having a set limit on my finances rather than a small but steady income. I am rather more taken up with it than I might elsewise have been. As cash reserves in the form of a bank card, I have accessible to me only about one third, or possibly one fourth of what I should have. My mum very, very, very generously supplied me with some money to live on while abroad, which is fabulous. Really grand, as I didn't do so well at setting cash aside during the summer as I had hoped. I tried. I did. But I had less than $1000 for Norway by the end of several 45 to 50 hour weeks. That portion is, or rather as that is the portion I've been using, was all in my bank in Wisconsin. The funding from my mum is in a new account in North Carolina. But the NC bank has failed to send me (or rather my mum, who will then forward it to me) the ever so important bank card, so that I can access this money. Thus kr 500 week deserves a celebration. A very inexpensive celebration.

For reference, kr 500 is about $77 right now, and Norway is an expensive country. I should also say, that my rent and stuff for the semester is prepaid (as it would be were this lovely ski chalet an american dorm), rather than pay-as-you-go as it is for Norwegian students. Instead of paying everything at the beginning of the semester, Norwegian students are expected to keep track of their finances well enough to know what is beer money and what is rent money from month to month. Most of it appears to be beer money.