A Linguistic Approach

Friday is an interesting word. Think about it. Freitag, fredag, friday. All these, except the Finnish perjantai, somehow point to the word "free." In honour of the idea of freedom I have planned a leisurely day only doing a few minor things, like baking and cooking for the picnic (no time for that tomorrow), completely re-doing my website after deciding that what I've done so far is absolutely horrible and doesn't deserve to be published, writing a report on sales negotiations, another report on strategic management and a referate of an article about same, plus there are some 40 irregular verbs auf deutsch wanting to insert themselves into my brain.

Somehow all the subtle connotations of the word Friday implying freedom and hope and all good things on this little planet have gone lost and there's only a huge looming mountain of things to do wherever I look. And still, here I am, posting here instead of actually doing anything to make the "to do" list shorter.

And all of this will have to be done to the sweet sound of a huge-ass drill as the construction workers do what they do best, make noise. Not even the early works of Oomph! is enough to drown them out, and those were some angry young men back then, let me tell you.

I guess I'd better start working, then. Ain't nobody here but me and my fish, and while they do a splendid job as pets and decoration, when it comes to helping with the household chores they aren't really helpful at all.

Eye candy for motivation:
Mathias of Megaherz. I believe that if I start planning now, I might be able to go to Germany next fall and see the guys live. Hope springs eternal...




Today's tracks are the loudest I got:
WWIII, Sturm und Drang and Preach/Pervert by KMFDM
Born/Praised/Kissed, Wunschkind and Defekt by Oomph!
A fine selection of Rammstein's best.

Nope,

can't think of a headline. Make one up for yourselves if you want one.

I've been following with growing interest the construction work that was supposed to have started in our courtyard a week ago. I guess courtyard is the correct word to use, there's few square meters of concrete that kinda forms a back yard for the apartment building I live in, where the trash bins are kept. And you guessed it right, that's where my windows face, offering me an unrivalled view over the bins. This will be an important point in my story, so keep that in mind.

It seems that they are going to tear open the concrete and do some mysterious construction stuff. All this will last through the whole summer. Joy, everlasting happiness.

So anyway, all of us residents got very official-looking note saying that the work will start on the 20th, all the bicycles should be moved away from the yard and the bins would be moved to the other side of the building and - the most important point - it's not recommended to keep windows open while they tear open the concrete because of all the dust and dirt. Do you see where this is going at? Not yet? Well, not only do the windows of my teeny tiny home face the construction work, they also face the morning sun. Now do you get it?

Closed windows + sunshine = sauna.

Came the twentieth, a tractor appeard on the yard. The trash bins stayed still. Came the twenty-fifth, the tractor disappeard. The trash bins didn't. No wonder it's going to take them the whole summer to do their work, unless they are members of a secret stealth ninja
construction work society, a thought I entertained for a while, along with the hope that the work was actually done while we wondered about the tractor, which was brought in just for distraction. Today when I got home from school I noticed that they had ripped open half of the concrete, so I guess it's a negative for the ninjas.

Hopefully they get the dirtiest work done before the weather gets really hot. For once I'm actually hoping for a cool beginning for the summer.

I've also noticed that the eagle owl who lived in the neighbourhood in the winter seems to have gone. At least haven't heard him in a while. Maybe the reproductive instincts became too hard for him to resist, or the Hogwarts letters are all delivered.

About one month of school left, yay! A few exams, reports and a website to make and then I can go to work to relax. We are supposed to find ourselves a semi-managerial jobs for the summer, which is proving to be a task and a half. I'm going to stay at my current job (I'm entitled to a 28 day holiday which is quite an incentive IMO), and basically all I need is someone to show me what is needed to run a restaurant like the one I work in; I don't have to actually run it, just spend some time as the manager's little helper. I've talked about my situation with the personnel manager, our area supervisor and my restaurant manager, with the result of "sounds good, we'll talk about this," and all the variations thereof. Come on, people! Not only do I need to know, my school wants some documents of how I'm going to spend the summer. I think that they are trying to break the world record on slow desicion-making.

Allrighty, then! Back to making a shopping list for the 1st of may picnic. I forgot to ask my mother to bring me a recipe for a sweet zucchini cake I wanted to try out from the summer cottage, so I'll just have to improvise. Oh well, recipes are more like guidelines, anyway. By the way, does anybody know whether the insides of a thermos bottle can handle gin and tonic? Or will the alcohol ruin something? I would just like to enjoy cool G&T throughout the day ;)

Was It Something My Ancestors Did?

The good stuff just keeps on piling up. I've had a cat for a week (I want a cat. Or a dog. Or both. Pity my apartment is just way too small for anything other than the fish tank), there was one of the best parties evah on Saturday, the 1st of May festivities are approaching as we speak, and I just found out that Laibach will give 2 concerts in Finland in August.

The cat is going home tomorrow, unless I hide her and claim that a) I've never seen a cat in my life, I have no idea what you are talking about, I mean cats, here? and b) the litter box is actually my Japanese stone garden, nothing to do with cats whatsoever. The cat'll be much happier in her home, however, so I guess I'll just have to give her back to her owner. It's been a good week with her, unless you mind everyplace being covered in cat hair and fighting over who gets to sleep in bed every evening.

Onwards to Saturday. One helluva party. Four words: self service drink bar. Self service, fully stocked (by the means of us guests bringing our own ingredients - the most clever idea for a party I've seen in a while) drink bar. Absolutely fabulous. And the miracle of miracles, no hangover. Yes, you read it right, I woke up as fresh and rested as anything, bearing no signs whatsoever of consuming alcohol the previous evening. Especially when one takes into account that the reason I woke up (at 8 a.m. - really) was that there was the loudest party going on upstairs from me. When they finally went quiet at 9 a.m., there was no hope for me to fall asleep again. Despite of these facts - no hangover and waking up at an ungodly hour - I didn't get anything done. Just surfed the net and took a long bath, which was nice. Days off should always be spent like that, not doing anything particular.

One party behind me; another coming up in a few days. The first of May. There'll be champagne, and picnic, and gin and tonic, and champagne, and good company, and champagne. Can't wait. The only downside is, I'll have to be at work at 7.30 the next day. I'll worry about that then.

And today I found out that Laibach (and here), one of the weirdest, most amazing musical / artistic groups in the world, will perform in Finland in August. It seems that the last summer I have while still in my twenties will be worth the doom that awaits me when I turn thirty. Ok, not doom, but you know what I mean. It's just that how much goodness can happen before the cosmic balance will, um, balance out? I fear to think about it...

Or it just might be that the cosmic karma points are being balanced out right now. Also, I think I need to cut back my daily caffeine intake.



Musical choices for today:
The album Niuva 20 by Turmion Kätilöt
The album 5 by Megaherz (yes, still holding the first place in my personal chart)
Hellmask and Skincarver by Danzig.

I just realized how much music I listen to every day. Wow. Could be worse, I could be addicted to The Bold and the Beautiful, for example, and wouldn't it be fun reading my blog then? ;)

Stuff, And More Stuff

Can anybody guess that inventing headlines is not one of my best qualities?

Since everybody else is doing this, I sure as hell don't want to miss out on the action.

Last three:

1. things you bought: Cat food, batteries, album 5 by Megaherz.

2. songs you heard: WAT by Laibach, Just siks by Tehosekoitin, Two Sides by Clawfinger.

3. websites visited: Herzeleid.com forums, i-am-bored.com, savonsanomat.fi

4. texts received: From H about a credit card, from another friend telling that his phone number is changed, a saucy joke from N, a workmate.

5. people spoken to: Friend H, a young man who made a survey about newspapers, a classmate.


6. people you kissed: Argh... the last time I kissed anyone goes waaay back to January, methinks. Before that, can't remember. Embarrassing.

7. movies watched: The Grudge, Der Untergang, Pirates of the Caribbean.

8. countries visited: Estonia, Sweden, will go to Hungary next summer

9. things you spent more than £100 on: That would be 144 e. My cellphone, my computer, extending the thought a bit, the German music industry.

10. times you cried: I honestly can't remember. Shocking, really. There's a thought that will keep me awake tonight. Either I lead an uneventful or unusually happy life or I have a problem.

*Sigh*

I needed that. I've been an exemplary student and not only actually studied for this afternoon's exam, I've also finished a report I was, in fact, supposed to hand in a couple of weeks ago. Better late than never, eh? ;)

In addition to those songs mentioned above I've descended from my private little bagpipe heaven (the In Extremo CD finally came home!) to make a totally unscientific comparative analysis between Megaherz's previous and current singer. The previous, Alexx, certainly scores in the looks department, but like I've stated before Mathias has the Voice. And attitude. And blue hair. It's like the difference between d-caf coffee and double espresso. I'm sure you were just dying to know that.

Still no ideas about the webpage I'm supposed to make. There'll be a section for my latest project, the 1490's Swabian dress, but according to the course material there's supposed to be some other stuff too. I shall have to think about it. I doubt that the world needs another Rammstein fansite.

And in case you are wondering: The 1490's Swabian dress.

The embroidery part will be one interesting adventure, let me tell you. Lucky me for having friends who are really good at it.

I've taken enough of your time already. Wish me luck for the exam!

Words of comfort

80 DAYS TO RUISROCK!

Winter Wonderland...

Goddamn snow. I was secure in the hope that we'd seen the last of winter for a few months at least but little did I know.

I't snowing outside. It's bloody April! It can't snow! I won't accept it. Is there any place I could file a complaint against the person/s responsible for the weather arrangements? Stupid snow.

By the way, did you know that the yield management is a tool in the decision-making process that uses rational thoughts but is made in chaos vacuum? Me neither, and for all that is good in this world, do not ask me to explain what it means. I read a whole chapter discussing how the chaos theory affects the different pricing methods in service business in the Yield Management. I fear to open the next book.

It's all very interesting, but what the hell? Obviously calculating the price for a product by just adding up the cost of labor, manufacture and the expected profit is not enough.

It also seems that the chaos vacuum has moved in my apartment in the form af a fat Queen Kittah. Her litter box is pretty small, and she isn't so there's sawdust all over the place. Her owner is ecologically minded, and uses small pellets made of sawdust in the cat's litter box. Clever invention that, it absorbs the smell and the, um, waste well which makes the unpleasant task of cleaning the box a bit more bearable.

Otherwise we get along pretty well. She sleeps through most of the day, doesn't harass my fish and lets me vent my need to show affection with amazing patience. Well, the only reason she doesn't harass my fish is the fact that she is too fat to jump as high as the top of the drawer where my fish tank is. She rises up against the drawer, though, and tries to catch the pray by furious paw action. I don't know whether she knows some secret Jedi mind trick or if she's just frustrated.

I don't think I'll give her back when her owner comes to pick her up.

But the other course book doesn't seem to read itself no matter how hard I want it to, so I'd better do it myself then. Also, I have to build me a website in couple of weeks. My school offered a small course in web design so of course I took it and now I have absolutely no idea what to put on the site. I think I'll postpone that decision to Sunday, I plan to have a hangover then and I have had some good ideas before when hung over. No, I will not define a "good idea."




Links, this time:

Stay tuned for more 30-Second bunny action, they promise to add Highlander and The Big Chill in their collection of 30-second movies, and there's talk about re-enacting the Pulp Fiction, too.

The highly addictive Kontraband.com. Best TV commercials from around the world, animations, songs and stuff.

Course Books and the City

I can only take so much of the different pricing methods available for a success-orientated hotelier before cracking and posting stuff on my li'l blog here. But I have been a good girl, I have tackled over 100 pages of Yield Management - Strategies for the Service Industry, and there's only another 100 pages left and then I'm done. Of course, there's still the other book to read for the exam, but for that I have the entire week time - which means that I'm going to spend Thursday evening reading furiously and trying to figure out which chapters are important and which aren't.

Another wild weekend, this certainly is. Somehow I have the feeling that all those evenings watching The Sex and the City only managed to give all the wrong expectations concerning the life of a single woman in a big city. All right, compared to New York Helsinki is smaller than an average shopping mall. And I know that all New Yorkers aren't free lance journalists who can afford new Manolos every episode. Then again, I've never been there, so how should I know if they aren't ;) But since that kind of life is possible, where are my Manolos?

I also know that I'm making no sense right now but bear with me.

Remember the cat I mentioned in the previous post? Good. Now think of cats in general. Does the mental image include a huge, attention-hungry feline lying on her back in the middle of the bed all the time purring like a chain saw? No? Well, now it does. Gotta love her, she's got more personality than some of the people I've met. I'm so going to spoil her during the nine days I have the privilege of being her cat-sitter.

So anyways, my laundry is done and I need to head down to the basement to fetch it.




Today's choice of music in honor of the gorgeus sunshine:
Albums Trä, Kaksi and Karelia Visa by Hedningarna
Albums Guds Spelemän and Vedergällningen by Garmarna
Album Herzblut by Subway to Sally

It's the spring. I always listen to medievalish rock in the springtime. I don't know why either.

Tired Feet And Visiting Cats

I'm a tired, my feet have blisters on them and I'm in serious need of a beer. I got off work yesterday at 8 pm, went back there this morning at 7.30, hurried to school to get the goddamn course book from the library before it closed at four (and I need to read it all during the weekend, the library needs the book back on Monday and naturally I'm working again tomorrow), rushed back to town for a walk with a friend and finally got home at six. Why do I even bother paying rent?

And to top it off, the In Extremo CD I've been waiting for hasn't arrived yet. I know I'm dealing with the Finnish post, but the album was supposed to be mailed on Tuesday. It should have been here yesterday. If I don't get it by Monday I'm going to email people and give them a piece of my mind in no uncertain way. Can't they sense that I'm tired and grumpy and the best cure would be big, tattooed, bagpipe-playing men? Speaking of which, if someone has one of them just hanging around, you know, doing nothing and maybe being a bit of a nuisance with all that bagpipe action going on, you know when my birthday is. Tell you what, I'm a charitable person, I'm perfectly willing to take that burden off you any time. Just send them round my way.

But enough with wasting time, I need to start tidying up. I promised to look after a friend's mother's cat for a few days and the feline will start gracing my apartment with her presence tomorrow afternoon so there won't be any time to clean then.

A quick reminder of what will happen next July to improve my mood:

Sunshine And Nice People

I am linked to; therefore I exist. It's a weird but heartwarming experience to find similarly minded people from around the world. All right, from around the continent but you know what I mean.

The Internet has really made the world a smaller place to live in. Amazing how quickly the change took place, I still remember what it was like before internet was even invented, or at least before it was available to everyone and now there's no way I could even imagine living without it. The same goes with mobile phones. Gah. The world changes so fast that sometimes I feel really old...

(Another good sign of aging - on Saturday I went to a concert and my neck is still stiff from the headbanging. The band is called Godsplague and is highly recommended, the gig was awesome).

On the positive note, because of the internet I have met some of the nicest people on planet. The other day I was complaining on the Megaherz forum how the world is a horrible place to live in if you do not have a credit card, as getting my paws on more Mhz albums is next to impossible. You never guess what the response was. Get this: "MsBehaviour, if you want i can try to get the cd/s for you. either in a real shop or online. do you have priorities or do you want the entire mhz discography?" It may be that I have to marry her. If I ever had any doubts about humanity I'm all cured now. (MsB. is my nick both there and in herzeleid forums; I suck at inventing usernames and I happened to be wearing the t-shirt at the time. I know I didn't invent the concept, please don't anybody sue me ;) Besides, you'd have better luck at squeezing money out of a turnip).

I have also, after couple of weeks of hard labor, managed to track down a course book I desperately need to read to pass an exam (there are 2 thrilling adventures I have to study, called Yield Management and The Management of Hotel Operations - I can hardly wait) so the good news are in abundance in my little world.

I guess it's time to do the right thing and make the good go round, if that's the proper phrase to use. The more I use English, the more I have this growing suspicion that I'm making the grammar up as I go along. Oh well, as long as I get my point across, does it really matter?

Anyway. Back to the business. A word from our sponsor, if you may. There is this weekly one hour long radio show called Radio Goethe that spreads the gospel of German rock around the globe. The show can be downloaded (or just listened to) in their website, there's a new show every Friday. This week's show contains such pearls as Puhdys feat. Rammstein: Wut will nicht sterben and of course my latest love, Dein Herz schlägt by Megaherz (the first time I really heard Mathias' voice. Almost fell out of my chair. Almost had a fangirl moment. Wow).

More good things to expect in near future:
- In Extremo's latest album, should be here tomorrow or the day after. Be prepared for a lengthy post about bagpipes and the awesomeness thereof.

- Star Wars ep. III in May. It has to be good, I'm going to throw a gigantic temper tantrum if G. Lucas screws it up in any way. No positive postings then, let me tell you that.

Um, that was it I think. Just general excitemet caused by the sun and the sudden increase in daylight hours. It won't be long before I too can enjoy the national sport of Finland, drinking beer in park.




Today's tracks: The whole Reise, reise album by R+;
Wut will nicht sterben by Puhdys/R+;
Alle gegen alle and Das Spiel ist aus by Laibach

Lessee, now...

W00t!

I did it! I so rule...

*Ahem*

May I present the band Fraus- sorry, the band Rammstein, finally.

I'll test my newly found skills at new technology on the previous post as well, so just maybe (I'm not promising anything, mind) you'll get to see mr Kruspe-Bernstein without going throuh the trouble of following links.

I'm Singing in the Rain!

I'm a good girl. I hit the semi-annual big sale the biggest department store in town is holding without going to the book store or to the music department which means that I still have some money left on my account. And I managed to get two wine glasses the size of my head so cheaply it was almost ridiculous. Like good friend (are there any other kinds?) E said, sometimes all you need for a moment's complete happiness is a warm sofa and a huge glass of red wine. I so agree, except for the red wine. I prefer white.

Actually I should be doing a report for school and not writing entries to blogs right now. Actually I should be writing the bloody report and not checking the Herzeleid.com and Megaherz forums compulsively every fifteen minutes, checking everybody else's blogs every 20 minutes, writing this entry, singing KMFDM songs into a hair brush in front of a mirror at infrequent intervals (i.e. whenever the playlist puts on the songs I know the lyrics of) and generally doing everything but the report.

Amazing what you get up to when there's actual work to be done. Maybe I'll even get the windows cleaned unless it starts to rain again. I wish it would, not because of a good reason not to clean, but because a good rain would wash away the dust from the streets. I totally understand why it is necessary to spread sand on the streets at wintertime, I'm quite attached to my limbs and would like them to stay unbroken during all seasons, but the few weeks between the snow and ice melting and the rains to begin (or the streets are washed) are hell. There's dust everywhere. Und das Atmen fällt mir ach so schwer...

Thankfully it rained yesterday, and the nice weatherman on TV promised rain for today too.

All right, I need to pop down to the library and after that finally finish my work.



Whenever I feel stupid, all I have to do is check out this site. Pity I didn't remeber it last Sunday ;)
http://rinkworks.com/said/


EDIT: My mind's like a sieve. Forgot to mention that the German bit was once again borrowed from Rammstein. One of these days I'm going to surprise you all and quote Oomph! or Subway to Sally...

Late At Night...

...and all the kids are asleep.

Or at least they should be.

But not me, I chose this moment in time to write another entry for my blog insteadof doing the sensible thing and going to sleep.

You know how people every once in a while need small moments of victory to stay, well, people? I had one of those today. Now telling you about my little moment will include me making a confession that might influence the image you have of me as a metalhead with loads of street cred points (hey, a girl can dream, right?), but I'm going to do it anyway.

I have been taking classes in ballroom dancing for a couple of months now. It was originally my classmate's idea, he needed a partner for the course (and he payed my fee, the true gentleman he is. I hope you are taking notes, gentlemen). Today we found out that we can do a pretty mean slow waltz together, and what our cha cha cha really only needs is a lot of feathers and sequins.

A moment of victory a day keeps the doctors away, as the saying goes.

The real price to pay for the course will be payed at our graduation party. I'm told that our exit from the school will be memorable. My dance partner will be organizing said event so I have all the reason to believe that it will be memorable indeed. I have listened with growing interest his designs for my dress. They have evolved through a goth-meets-Grace Kelly-in-a-corset and a Moulin Rouge-style attire to this Jean-Paul Gaultier imitation. In white. White? Has he any idea? I'll look like sheet hanging on a washing line on a windy day. He said bone white (is that even a colour?), but still. Me in white. I shudder to think... Trust a gay man to dress a gal for an evening out.

And now something completely different, if I manage to make this work. This will erase all images you may have of me dressed in haute couture, and in fact will probably erase any higher brain functions for a couple of happy seconds.

To those who made the nice comments in previous entry, I give you Richard Z. Kruspe-Bernstein (I love saying his name. It's a name with which you really can be anything you want).

Life Is Like a Box of Chocolate

They don't call hangover a creative state of mind for nothing. I've had all sorts of strange ideas all day long.

But let's start at the beginning. There was the smallest SCA event ever on Saturday, the Hucca Spring Ball. I went there for a few hours only (I had to go to work for the day), but a) I got to strut around in my ab fab medieval attire, which does good to one's mental health b) met new people, and c) got to see people dance equally ab fab medieval / renaissance dances. There was also an excellent Arabian style buffet, and I'm sure I'd have enjoyed the food immensely had I been able to taste anything. (Yes, the goddamn flu is still here. I went to the doctor on Saturday and got more medicine. If that doesn't help, I'm going to sue the universe).

But anyway, the event meant that good friends A & D from Turku were here, so naturally after the event we changed quickly into a more suitable attire and headed out to experience the Helsinki nightlife. We went into a superhero-themed bar where the drinks ended up arriving literally in buckets. My doctor told me to drink a lot but I'm pretty sure that wasn't exactly what she had in mind...

Hence my funny mood.

It's just that with this never-ending flu going on, I feel my IQ has dropped at least by a half. I'm slow on the uptake, say idiotic things and generally behave like a moron, at least that how it feels. My superego is on a holiday due to the continued stress of trying to run things normally despite all information intake devices being blocked with snot, and the moronic subconscious is in charge. In other words, the self currently programming my brain is the one that wears a rubber glove on her head, my identical twit, so to speak. This is also the point where I really envy my academically educated friends for having the proper words for explaining things (I admit it, dammit, I do envy you you intelligent, smart and fabulous lot!).

This afternoon, however, I woke up with a totally new and horrible idea. Maybe I am looking at things from a wrong direction. Maybe being ill hasn't temporarily affected my IQ, maybe I really am a retard and haven't realized it myself until the hangover helped me see things clearly for the first time. I only hope that either I'll gain full control of my brain again some day or at least the illusion of intelligence returns. If I truly am a moron, I don't want to know about it.

The moral of the story is: The first bucketful of alcohol is OK, but if you are about to share another, make sure you haven't downed any shots called "Lobo" earlier. Otherwise, be prepared for a very strange day.



Track choices for today:
OOMPH!: Die Maske. Appropriate lyrics.
KMFDM: Sturm & Drang and Preach/Pervert. The nice postal person brought me couple of their CD's and me likes them a lot. Good industrial band.
Rammstein: Sehnsucht. For some reason I can't control my boogie to the beat-reaction whenever I hear this song.
Been also watching the In Extremo videos so kindly provided by the band in their website (the link is in the end of the previous entry). I don't know whether to thank the person who introduced this band to me or blame her for making me spend more money on music :)
Whoever said that bagpipes were the medieval equivalent of the electric guitar was absolutely correct.

Hier kommt die Sonne...

I was supposed to write another longish description of the past few days, but can't. Won't.

Sun has returned! W00t! I had no idea how much I had missed it. But here it is, shining in all its glory from a cloudless sky. Sun is my bestest friend.

A brief summary, if anyone has the energy to read:

- Passed the final exam with flying colors, I actually got the second highest grade. Go me! As if it would make any difference in any way to any employer, but it's nice to know myself.

- I am now a striped creature. I just got back from a hair dresser and boy did she make mee look good. Although she nearly made me panic at one point when she went: "What's this? I'm sure this wasn't supposed to do this..." and she mentioned the colour blue. I think I have now found the hair salon I can go to without the nagging fear that I might have to wear a paper bag over my head for the next couple of months.

There are some things you do not want to hear from either a doctor or a hair dresser...

- Buying a pair of trousers seems to be an impossible task. The last attempt got me another black skirt, 6 fabulous drinking glasses I have no idea where to put in my already too full cabinets and a red shirt. Yes, you read it right. A red shirt. I am capable of wearing other colors than black. Said shopping spree was one of the best I've had in ages, a good friend E from way up north was visiting us southern dwellers, and in the end we found ourselves sharing a pitcher of margaritas between 3 women. Good day, all in all.

But yeah, that's it. No big news and still no big thoughts. Thank you for your time ;)



http://www.inextremo.de/homepage.php3?IE=1/
"...the musical extravaganzas that Germany is known for" like a herzeleid.com forum user so cleverly put things.

Headline by - you'll never guess - Rammstein.