Hello and Thank You

Hello dear reader,

My name is Erik and I have been an avid reader of many of the very entertaining (and not so entertaining) threads that many of you share with me and the world.

I thought, since I have been reading a lot of entertaining/dramatic/maturing information and feelings of people here on ATS, that maybe I am being kind of rude by using this site only for my own gratification and almost never giving back my own perspective(s).

So to tackle this minor guilt brewing in my head and heart, I have decided to start being more active on ATS and try to show the rainbow of people here my perspective of all manner of things as well.
I really hope my future contributions will do the same for others as their contributions have done for me.

I have been a reader here for about 4-5 years, commenting only when I get frustrated from people seeming to think that Iceland is some beacon of hope for the people (witch it really, truly and absolutely is not).

Anyways, thanks for everything so far and I am looking forward to taking more part in the medlé of discussions here on ATS. Feel free to message me if you think I can help you with anything.

Thanks for reading
eirgud

reply to post by eirgud


Welcome to ATS. Here's your Welcome Treats....enjoy...



Des

reply to post by Destinyone


Nice! I love digital confetti!

reply to post by eirgud


Great to meet you, Eirgud...fantastically cool name, too...Icelandic ?



- SN

reply to post by eirgud


welcome aboard eirgud a warm welcome from scotland to you and have fun here at a.t.s there is plenty to do to pass the long nights in iceland

reply to post by eirgud


I would say Welcome, but it doesn't seem fitting. So, I'll just say...

reply to post by SadistNocturne


Thanks for the warm welcome all

And yes, I happen to be from Iceland. My user name though, is composed of the first three letters in my name and surname (witch is my fathers name). Traditionally we do not use family names here, but there are exceptions.

In Iceland your last name is your fathers name (in my case Guðmundur) with an added "son" (without spacing) to the end of my fathers name, resulting in: Eiríkur (Erik) Guðmundson.
Kind of translates into: Eiríkur, Guðmundur's son.

eirgud
And yes, I happen to be from Iceland. My user name though, is composed of the first three letters in my name and surname (witch is my fathers name). Traditionally we do not use family names here, but there are exceptions.

Ha! And some would say my trips through the hub known as Reykjavik (and far more than just a transport hub, it is also your capitol city! I mean no disrespect there ) were of no importance

With the exception of flying KLM once and going through Amsterdam (Schiphol Int'l) on my way to Glasgow Scotland, I have flown many many times through Reykjavik. Well, let's be honest, it's Keflavik.

Although, once I do consider myself lucky enough to have been snowed in to Reykjavik and could not continue on to Glasgow (they were getting a blizzard at the time). So we got shuttled from Keflavik to Reykjavik. It was pitch black, which upset me, as I would have loved to have spent the 45 minute trip absorbing some of the country side. But, when we were passing a cemetery, we had to ask someone who was Icelandic why the headstones were adorned with Christmas lights. The idea that you folks do this at Christmas time for your loved ones is truly beautiful I'll never forget that sight. It says many positive things about to me about your culture, which I hope to learn more of...

Reminds me of a flight I booked through Iceland Air onetime. I didn't realize that I had been booked for an overnight layover at all, until about a week before my flight. So I called Iceland Air. I explained that when the ticket was booked it was not made clear to me that the flight had a layover that would extend to overnight. They said they were sorry, but there was nothing that could be done about it. So, I asked if the representative I was speaking to had ever been to Reykjavik, and they said no. I took this as an opportunity to enlighten to the fact that Reykjavik Airport is actually in Keflavik which is a good 45 minutes away from Reykjavik. I told them that the airport shut down at about 11pm, and that to my limited exposure, I had never seen a nearby hotel in Keflavik, let alone much of anything (albeit, I realize airports usually are not in the middle of a town due to safety concerns, so its possible there could be a "downtown Keflavik" that I am simply not aware of ) near the airport. I cannot even recall observing buildings that were not part of the airport facilities. I said that given that I cannot sleep on a couch in the airport, and that I'd need to hire a car to get to Reykjavik to get to a hotel, that they'd need to find something of a better alternative to "nothing they could do to help me" with my conundrum. Sure enough, less than five minutes later, I was booked on a non overnight layover flight

Please don't take what I said about Keflavik as a dismissal of it as a town....I can only reflect on what I saw of it

I'm sure I've lulled you to sleep "yes, good American, you taught someone about our country and it's geography...yeay"....but hopefully I have not

In Iceland your last name is your fathers name (in my case Guðmundur) with an added "son" (without spacing) to the end of my fathers name, resulting in: Eiríkur (Erik) Guðmundson.
Kind of translates into: Eiríkur, Guðmundur's son.

I work with databases, so I tend to see things in this sort of way, and I'm interested from a family tree standpoint, doesn't it get rather complicated after a handful of generations to trace your family heritage?


Great getting to meet you! Hopefully someday it'll be over a pint or two!


- SN

eirgud
A stupid man speaks when he has nothing to say

Fantastic quote I wish more people took this to heart.


- SN

reply to post by eirgud


Hello eirgud, Welcome to ATS! It's so very nice to meet you! Iceland is most definitely a country I would love to travel to someday. I have a close friend who vacations there twice a year, he loves your country very much. I look forward to seeing you around the forums!

SadistNocturne

Please don't take what I said about Keflavik as a dismissal of it as a town....I can only reflect on what I saw of it

- SN

No that's totally fine
Actually, Keflavík has kinda been left out in the cold (business and politically wise) since 2007 and is sadly on a fast downward spiral to becoming a sad empty town mostly run by criminals (business criminals and drug dealers).
It is quite sad since this is where almost everyone from my mothers side of the family lives. I also have a lot of childhood memories invested there.
Sad to say, but going there these days can be a little disheartening. Not that many people out and about.

SadistNocturne

I work with databases, so I tend to see things in this sort of way, and I'm interested from a family tree standpoint, doesn't it get rather complicated after a handful of generations to trace your family heritage?

- SN

Well yes. But there is a genetic research facility (DeCode) that started a project on mapping the heritage of every registered Icelandic citizen. They now provide a website (www.islendingabok.is) that we can go see our family trees and trace it back to the settlers age (around 850 a.d.) in some instances. You can also search for a random person in Iceland and see how you are related.
On a funny note there is now an smart phone App that allows us to bump phones to see just how related we are. This is mostly used when people go out for a good time, since it can be quite likely that you are more related to the person you are going home with than you would like.

There are occasions that people have found out too late that they are very closely related

SadistNocturne

Great getting to meet you! Hopefully someday it'll be over a pint or two!

- SN

That would be great
If you ever happen to be stopping again sometime, you are welcome to send me a PM.
You are welcome to a spare room if you get delayed overnight again

hope you enjoy your time here and looking forward to your posts

reply to post by eirgud


Welcome Eirgud !!

You name from now on will be "Eirgud the Curious" as it just sounds right.