Troll Calendar - Day 07
Nice, another girly egg today. 
Hmmm... not exactly a repeat, but it does seem familiar. It's another bracelet, isn't it?
Yes, this time with a giraffe picture.
Same thing as last time, we just need to twist that strap inside somehow...
Well, here it is:
Second bracelet for us. I told you we're catching up to Hellmuth.
Good to know. It's a little bit weird that we (Dutch) celebrating Saint Nicholas on December the 5th.
He died on the 6th.
Originally posted by SDK1987
Good to know. It's a little bit weird that we (Dutch) celebrating Saint Nicholas on December the 5th.
He died on the 6th.
I did not know that. I guess Saint Nicholas Day is not a big deal in most English-speaking countries anyway, whether it would be on December 5th or 6th.
Over here, it is essentially a form of "mini Christmas" for the children, with chocolates and small gifts to be given out, and typically placed in the children's shoes in the morning.
Finnish: Unit 2 finished!
Just have to beware of "false friends" though: söpö (SF: cute) is not a söprö (HU: broom) and undulaati (SF: some kind of bird) is not undoritó (HU: disgusting) 
and ystvävä (SF: friend) has nothing to do with teve (HU: camel) but yes, the koira (SF: dog) is a kutya (HU: dog). 
Originally posted by Harrier88
Troll Trivia of the WeekIt was customary in young Harrier's grade school that the 2nd graders would perform a little Christmas pageant for their parents.
When it was Harrier's turn in December 1996, he was supposed to read a long poem while dressed as Santa Claus, and then go on to hand out presents. He didn't want to do it because he considered it embarrassing - what made him change his mind and perform anyway?
1) It would be counted as extra credit in his German class
2) He would get to flog the naughty kids on the buttocks
3) He would get out of playing another, even worse part
3 - I guess playing Santas unpleasant sidekick Knecht Ruprecht?
This is how I often feel when I'm driving to work in the morning with that Troll-car that won't properly accelerate anymore. Just one and a half more weeks to go with it... and I also somehow need to make it to my lifeguard exam, of course, which was postponed and re-scheduled for this Sunday. It seems like that date will stand.
I have heard back from the representative of the soccer club that I have contacted regarding the running track in the "Trollympic Stadium". Turns out the soccer players have entered their winter break by now too, but allegedly, sometimes the stadium will be briefly opened on Saturdays anyway, so I could take my chances on one of those days and make the trip, checking if the place is open for public on that day. Tomorrow wouldn't be great, though, so I think the only feasible date would be Saturday next week.
Followers since Day One will likely remember the Christmassy Cringe Challenge that Primrose and I did two years ago, where we listened to the awful Last Christmas song on a 10 hour loop, seeing who would bail out first. We eventually agreed on calling it a draw, but left the experience scarred... In hindsight, though, it was a pretty funny challenge, and we still have some pictures of our faces while we were doing it.
I remembered that one today when a colleague briefly began singing that song at work, and I replied with a loud and sudden coughing fit. I even told them about my old cringe challenge, and they found it funny. Maybe Primrose and I could do another one next week? We already collected a few ideas, but maybe you guys have suggestions too.
Also, maybe Primrose can do some Christmas market style cooking this weekend? I currently have nothing planned along those lines.
Troll Calendar - Day 08
A Christmas Egg! One that is featuring a little reindeer on the outside.
Oh, and it looks like we got a Vorpal figurine. 
What's this black thing supposed to be anyway?
I see, it's a bag. And you can put the little sticker sheet that came with it inside. Or whatever else you want to put there.
Well, cute.
Originally posted by wickus
Originally posted by Harrier88
Troll Trivia of the WeekIt was customary in young Harrier's grade school that the 2nd graders would perform a little Christmas pageant for their parents.
When it was Harrier's turn in December 1996, he was supposed to read a long poem while dressed as Santa Claus, and then go on to hand out presents. He didn't want to do it because he considered it embarrassing - what made him change his mind and perform anyway?
1) It would be counted as extra credit in his German class
2) He would get to flog the naughty kids on the buttocks
3) He would get out of playing another, even worse part3 - I guess playing Santas unpleasant sidekick Knecht Ruprecht?
I'll go with 3 also. I can't see Harrier88 doing such a thing for such a low reward
Originally posted by Harrier88
Troll Trivia of the WeekIt was customary in young Harrier's grade school that the 2nd graders would perform a little Christmas pageant for their parents.
When it was Harrier's turn in December 1996, he was supposed to read a long poem while dressed as Santa Claus, and then go on to hand out presents. He didn't want to do it because he considered it embarrassing - what made him change his mind and perform anyway?
1) It would be counted as extra credit in his German class
2) He would get to flog the naughty kids on the buttocks
3) He would get out of playing another, even worse part
Solution:
2) He would get to flog the naughty kids on the buttocks
Wickus was on to something: The poem I was supposed to read was indeed Knecht Ruprecht by Theodor Storm, based on Santa's little helper who was in charge of handing out the punishments - including the flogging on the buttocks, which is what naughty German kids would traditionally get, instead of receiving coal.
In fact, I was actually pleading with my teacher to go as Knecht Ruprecht himself instead, which I considered less embarrassing. It was mostly turned down because we couldn't agree on a costume, since this character doesn't have the same iconic and recognizable clothes as Santa. But my teacher had another idea to sweeten the deal: After I had finished reading my poem and handed out the presents, I would be allowed to go to all of my fellow students who had a habit of causing disruptions in class, and give them a nice hit on the buttocks with a birch rod. That made it all worthwhile for me.
So it happened. I actually ended up learning the entire poem by heart on accident as I was rehearsing it at home, so I went to recite it from memory during the pageant rather than reading it from a book, as it was planned, which was much more than anyone expected of me. The recital went well, and then it was time to go on to hand out the presents. Here is some video footage of me being on my way there, right after the poem. Now this is the face of a kid who would rather do something else...
I was told to "pick the nicest kids first" as I handed out my presents from a random assortment in the bag, and I was a bit of a Troll already and kept picking only girls in the beginning. 
Eventually, most children received their gifts, and it was finally time for some birching. Just take a look at that grin of pure sadism:
Just one quick slap, of course - and the "naughty" kids received their presents afterwards too. But yes, I guess we needed something to make it worthwhile for young Harrier. It ended up being a pretty positive experience in general.
Originally posted by Harrier88
Originally posted by SDK1987
Good to know. It's a little bit weird that we (Dutch) celebrating Saint Nicholas on December the 5th.
He died on the 6th.I did not know that. I guess Saint Nicholas Day is not a big deal in most English-speaking countries anyway, whether it would be on December 5th or 6th.
Over here, it is essentially a form of "mini Christmas" for the children, with chocolates and small gifts to be given out, and typically placed in the children's shoes in the morning.
Indeed, but all the discussions about black Piet makes Saint Nicholas for me the celibtation not as good when I was a child.
Originally posted by SDK1987
Indeed, but all the discussions about black Piet makes Saint Nicholas for me the celibtation not as good when I was a child.
I had to look up Black Piet, I can see why he would be considered controversial.
Good thing I didn't have to perform as this character as a kid, that could have resulted in some awkward pictures. Not necessarily the kinds of pics of you that you want to have floating around... unless you intend to become prime minister of Canada one day, maybe.
Troll Calendar - Day 09
Another NaToons egg, which serve as our "regular eggs" this year. We only have 3 out of 8 now, but so far, it really looks like all of them contain animals, instead of mixing in some unrelated stuff as well. Who knows, though... maybe we just drew the only three of them right away.
I'm not completely sure yet... is this a goat, or maybe a hare?
After putting it together, we can now see it better. It's clearly a goat.
Does it come with "epic head moving action" once again? The instructions seem to imply it.
Sort of, it's kind of moving its entire front body. Not sure if there is a scientific term for that part.
Well, it may be too early to pick favorites yet, but in a way, today's figurine truly is the goat.
Troll Calendar - Day 10
It's a Christmas egg, this time with a penguin on it.
Looks like we got another reindeer - lovely! Is he on ice skates?
He is. I wonder if having four skates instead of two makes you faster or slower.
Also, I'm not an expert on ice skating at all (I would love to try it more often, I hardly ever get any opportunities), but I don't think that's the optimal technique, at least for speed skating. Maybe it's some fancy "deer figure skating" move.
Surely it comes with any extra functionalities again? The instructions explain it. You can insert some of your gift ribbons in that part on the side, and you could curl it up by working it through it. The kind of effect that you would normally get with scissors.
Honestly, I typically don't even bother with gift ribbons at all, let alone curling them, so I don't think I will give that one a try.
Let's Do This...
...and with that out of the way, I'm off to take my final lifeguard exam. Here goes...
Theoretical part
[COMING UP TODAY!] Passing a nationally standardized quiz about the following subjects: Respiration and blood circulation, hazards in and around water, assistance in case of bathing-, boating-, and ice-related accidents, avoiding strangleholds, assistance in case of injuries and drowning as well as heat exhaustion and cold injuries, and the tasks and activities of the DLRG.
Practical part
[DONE] Swimming 200 meters in less than 10 minutes, including 100 meters of leg whip kick back swimming without using the arms
[DONE] Swimming 100 meters in full clothing in less than 4 minutes, with subsequent unclothing inside the water
[DONE] Performing three different jumps from a height of 1 meter
[DONE] 15 meters of distance diving
[DONE] 50 meters of transport swimming - pushing or pulling
[DONE] Diving from the surface of the water twice - once heads first and once feet first - retrieving two 5 kg diving rings from the bottom of a 2-3 meters deep pool within 3 minutes
[COMING UP TODAY!] Displaying abilities to avoid strangleholds and escaping neck chokeholds from behind
[DONE] 50 meters of transport swimming with an embracing technique (for people who may try to resist the rescuing)
[DONE] Demonstrating the ability to bring people ashore
[COMING UP TODAY!] Displaying the ability to perform CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation) for 3 minutes
[DONE] A combined exercise involving the following steps without any breaks in this order: A 20 meter swimming approach, diving to retrieve a 5 kg diving ring halfway through, then dropping the ring and continuing the approach, followed by carrying a partner for 20 meters
Originally posted by Harrier88
Originally posted by SDK1987
Indeed, but all the discussions about black Piet makes Saint Nicholas for me the celibtation not as good when I was a child.I had to look up Black Piet, I can see why he would be considered controversial.
Good thing I didn't have to perform as this character as a kid, that could have resulted in some awkward pictures.
Indeed, but Piet is black, because he was going through the chimney and not, because je was a slave or something like that.
All Done!
We did it! 
Your favorite Troll is now a certified Bronze level lifeguard - unless you prefer Primrose, but then again, she may have completed her lifeguard training before I was potty trained.
The theoretical test was passed, my "escape moves" in the pool were good enough, and that creepy "Little Anne" doll made it through my CPR performance in one piece. It is over, challenged passed. 
Finally, I will have my weekends back... except for that Christmas party next Saturday.
I would love to present a cool certificate, but we didn't get one yet. It needs to be prepared first, and then we will receive it by mail. Disappointingly, it seems like they no longer do those awesome physical badges as shown above, but supposedly, you can order them somewhere. I will look into it, I think - I want the badge!
There are still many ways in which we can expand on this challenge, maybe going for Silver next, or shooting for some other badges that are now available to me after I got the Bronze... but this will have to wait until some time next year. I've had enough for now, honestly. We have had a boatload of successful sporting challenges this year, and this was a good way to wrap it all up. I'm looking forward to a nice and relaxed Christmas time now.
Sure, maybe I can fit some of those 5K runs in at one point in the next two weeks... but that's much more of a casual affair. No more exams for me for a while.
To recap:
Theoretical part
[DONE] Passing a nationally standardized quiz about the following subjects: Respiration and blood circulation, hazards in and around water, assistance in case of bathing-, boating-, and ice-related accidents, avoiding strangleholds, assistance in case of injuries and drowning as well as heat exhaustion and cold injuries, and the tasks and activities of the DLRG.
Practical part
[DONE] Swimming 200 meters in less than 10 minutes, including 100 meters of leg whip kick back swimming without using the arms
[DONE] Swimming 100 meters in full clothing in less than 4 minutes, with subsequent unclothing inside the water
[DONE] Performing three different jumps from a height of 1 meter
[DONE] 15 meters of distance diving
[DONE] 50 meters of transport swimming - pushing or pulling
[DONE] Diving from the surface of the water twice - once heads first and once feet first - retrieving two 5 kg diving rings from the bottom of a 2-3 meters deep pool within 3 minutes
[DONE] Displaying abilities to avoid strangleholds and escaping neck chokeholds from behind
[DONE] 50 meters of transport swimming with an embracing technique (for people who may try to resist the rescuing)
[DONE] Demonstrating the ability to bring people ashore
[DONE] Displaying the ability to perform CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation) for 3 minutes
[DONE] A combined exercise involving the following steps without any breaks in this order: A 20 meter swimming approach, diving to retrieve a 5 kg diving ring halfway through, then dropping the ring and continuing the approach, followed by carrying a partner for 20 meters
Speaking of cheat days and slacking off ....
in my blog here, well, there it is: one of my favorite foods as surprise menu! Raclette!
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
Congrats on passing the exam!
Thank you! Another nice thing to add to the CV.
After having had a look through my emails, I even found out that I passed the theoretical exam with zero mistakes. It had 30 questions, and you were allowed to get up to six of them wrong. In other words, you had to get at least 80% right. I was very well prepared, though. I should have gotten every possible question at least once during my practice attempts.
By the way, getting Bronze does not yet qualify me for actual lifeguard duty at most public pools - I would need Silver for that, and even then, I could only help out, doing it as a proper job would require me to do additional specific training for it. With Bronze, I would be qualified to assist watching over shallow pools which are 2 meters or less deep at their deepest part. So yes, I would be qualified to help out at a kiddie pool already.
