Renate

In Chinese, the sound ‘Renate’ means ‘bite the wax tadpole’.

I’m Renate, and I Google everything. I was born on an autumn day in 1982 in the northern regions of Norway, where the hospital had their flag up, because a princess was born.

25 years later, here I am. I’ve relocated to the middle part of Norway, where I live with my husband and our two cats, Link and Moppe. I work full time as an archivist, allthough I’m not quite comfortable with that title. However, it is the most fitting. My workday consists of registering mail in the electronic archiving/case handling system, user support for case handlers, teaching classes and ensuring a good flow of information between the archive and the other departments. The latter one is really a fancy way of saying that I send out e-mails to all users, update our website and write tutorials.

In addition to working full time, I study part time at the Norwegian university of science and technology. I don’t study science or technology, though - I study history. History is my third field of study so far (I’ve tried computer science and english), and I’m loving it. My field of interest shifts a lot - right now I am very interested in the French crusades against the Cathars, but I keep coming back to the Tudor era as well.

I’m not your average Norwegian. I’m not tall, not blonde and I definitely do not appreciate a good snow day. You won’t find me whooping with joy as I swoop down the skiing tracks. You might find me at the bottom of said track, drinking cocoa and thinking about how my socks are wet, but I wouldn’t count on it.
You’re most likely to find me indoors, where I enjoy various activities such as watching movies, reading, surfing the web, making websites and playing video- and computer games. In an effort not to become a fat blob, I’ve recently taken up a membership at one of the local gyms, where I go 2-3 times a week and do fun things that make me hurt all over the day after.

Favourites

Movies: Pan’s Labyrinth, The Lord of the Rings (all three), My Neighbour Totoro, Event Horizon, The Holiday, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Alien (all), Love Actually.

TV: Battlestar Galactica, Gilmore Girls, Supernatural, Lost, My Name is Earl, Invader Zim.

Authors: J.K. Rowling, Philippa Gregory, J.R.R. Tolkien, Garth Nix, Robert Jordan, Stephen King, Mary Higgins Clark.