More random details from my life:

Since I grew up in the countryside I had never even seen an airport before, but I packed my stuff and got on a plane and moved to Toulouse, France for 5 years, to study engineering/physics. This would slowly change me from an innocent, naive country girl to a cynical, narrow-minded engineer who's been around the world. I guess the "old" me was much nicer...

Studying in France was hard work but probably did me good. Living in France on a Norwegian student loan was quite good economically - so I learned how to behave in restaurants (no, do NOT blow your nose in the tablecloth) and to appreciate quality wine and gourmet food. One funny thing was compulsory sports classes - football (soccer) and golf(!) being among the favorites. I also learned to play tennis for fun and I went riding at least once a week with the university's riding club.

Instead of going through the whole 5 years in Toulouse I did my last year at University of Essex in Colchester, UK. Try explaining to people that you're Norwegian but really an exchange student from France. That's when I specialized in fiber optics. I'd always liked optics so it seemed an easy choice when I had the opportunity. England was great. Lots and lots of fun, less heavy theory, excellent teachers, good people, good beer. At the end of my year in England I did my MSc project for Hewlett-Packard's Lightwave division in Ipswich (Now Agilent). To get there every day from Colchester I bought an old Kawasaki KH 100. Almost one hour's drive each way, and it was raining for 4 months! That seemed to cure my motorbike mania for life. I had to bring a full set of change every day wrapped in plastic bags in a backpack. Underwear included. Cars aren't that bad really.

Then I headed back to Norway fall 1998 - to start my career at Norsk Elektro Optikk A/S just outside Oslo. That was a great experience, working with some of the most talented people I've ever met. And it was definitely optics, but not much to do with telecom/fiber optics.

Life in Oslo was excellent - so many things going on and many good friends living close by. Oslo is a wonderful city and you can't beat it in summer. When the weather is good, that is. Interesting work, and lots of fun with the horses (see Kneist's page). So I certainly wasn't complaining.

But then my life decided to change again. After spending Christmas with my brother and his wife in Turin, Italy, I got in touch with this company making simulation tools for fiber optic network. They were looking for people with a background in fiber optics, so we got talking. It all ended up with me packing my stuff in a car, leaving my job in Olso and driving through Europe across the alps to my new home. This was in July 2000.

So how did I end up in California?

Working for Artis Software in Turin, I got the chance to travel to the US a couple of times (never even been here before). They were offering me to move to San Jose but I wouldn't hear of it. But then California grew on me, and I ended up spending more and more time here, until I finally came here for good.

Working in the San Francisco Bay Area has been an intense and interesting experience so far. When I first came here, it was crowded with startups with astronomical salaries, lots of benefits and a solid hope of hitting an IPO. Now things are the opposite, with daily layoffs all around us and many once-so promising start-ups closing down.

Apart from all the challenges at work, I have also gained a new perspective on horsekeeping and training. There is a great diversity here that we don't have in Norway, and I'm absorbing all that I can, learning something new every day.

August 2003 update: Well, life is still good, I am still in California, now working for RSoft Design Group in Milpitas who bought the intellectual property of Artis where I worked previously.