Friday again. Totally awesome!
Not much to write about for today. Nothing much happening. It's been a busy day at the office so I haven't even had the time to come up with anything else to write about. So here I am... with nothing for today.
It's almost weekend and I look towards it like I never have before! It is the first weekend in ages without any serious plans so I can finally relax, take time to rest, and not worry about anything. Today I, after work I'll just go home and do nothing. Tomorrow I will meet Chi and spend time with her. Sunday I will do nothing. Sounds like the perfect weekend to me.
"I have no faith in human perfectability. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active - not more happy - nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago." - Edgar Allan Poe
Friday, 31 August 2007
Thursday, 30 August 2007
The Deterioration of Intelligent Life
My brain feels like pudding.
It's Thursday; I'm at the office with 4 hours of sleep.
Life is sweet.
Me and Chi watched Edward Scissorhands yesterday. It's a damned brilliant movie. Anyone who's not seen it should be forced to watch it, possibly a kind of a concentration camp - called Edward Scissorcamp. Or something.
Chi also did some home-cooking which I always find fun to observe. Being used to the Finnish way of cooking, the Chinese alternative seems peculiar. When my brother and sister were in HK we decided to dedicate one evening for Finnish food. So we bought a lot of stuff to make a few rather simple Finnish dishes. All and all, we spent about HKD 300 in the grocery store. Chi made pretty much the same amount of food but only paid HKD 60. I need to learn to make these things... saves money. There are hardly any spices, everything is simple to make and quick, yet it comes out just wonderfully. There is something terribly suspicious going on.
Otherwise yesterday was pretty much normal. My workload at office has been increasing again a little bit which is nice, actually, and that means I have more and more stuff to do again. I actually prefer having a lot of things to do over just sitting around, browsing the internet and chatting with people. Having enough work makes my time a bit more worthwhile.
Remember when I earlier promised I would start learning Cantonese? I even called it my "written proclamation" of such learning-project. Well, things haven't been going quite as I planned but I'm glad to tell that I have, in fact, been learning some Cantonese.
The original plan was to just start studying from books but it has been slow at best. However, going out with Chi has helped my learning a lot. I don't know how to write most the words I know (even transliterated into English) but my practical language vocabulary has been growing. Unfortunately I can successfully implement only a few on regular basis (which people around me probably have realized to the point of irritation) due to limitations in supporting vocabulary. However, I remain confident that within a reasonable amount of time I may, in fact, be able to convey some simple thoughts in Cantonese, successfully, without too much hesitation.
At this moment, I can merely comment in Cantonese - I hope in the near future I can make statements too. Even if very simple ones.
Oh, and I really need to learn restaurant/bar-vocabulary so I can go to some local places on my own as well. I've realized it's not too difficult to speak Cantonese to the locals as they very warmly welcome any attempt. Furthermore, speaking Cantonese to the personnel would further separate me from an average gweilo/tourist and that, if any, is a worthy goal.
Gweilo's suck.
Anyway, off to have lunch now.
With my guests gone and life back on its normal track, everything seems to be going just great! Life in HK has never been better.
"You fool! You've given cheese to a lactose intolerant volcano god! Do you know what that means? You've brought about the Coming of the Divine Dysentry! Run for your lives!" - Lemonhead (from Monkey Island)
It's Thursday; I'm at the office with 4 hours of sleep.
Life is sweet.
Me and Chi watched Edward Scissorhands yesterday. It's a damned brilliant movie. Anyone who's not seen it should be forced to watch it, possibly a kind of a concentration camp - called Edward Scissorcamp. Or something.
Chi also did some home-cooking which I always find fun to observe. Being used to the Finnish way of cooking, the Chinese alternative seems peculiar. When my brother and sister were in HK we decided to dedicate one evening for Finnish food. So we bought a lot of stuff to make a few rather simple Finnish dishes. All and all, we spent about HKD 300 in the grocery store. Chi made pretty much the same amount of food but only paid HKD 60. I need to learn to make these things... saves money. There are hardly any spices, everything is simple to make and quick, yet it comes out just wonderfully. There is something terribly suspicious going on.
Otherwise yesterday was pretty much normal. My workload at office has been increasing again a little bit which is nice, actually, and that means I have more and more stuff to do again. I actually prefer having a lot of things to do over just sitting around, browsing the internet and chatting with people. Having enough work makes my time a bit more worthwhile.
Remember when I earlier promised I would start learning Cantonese? I even called it my "written proclamation" of such learning-project. Well, things haven't been going quite as I planned but I'm glad to tell that I have, in fact, been learning some Cantonese.
The original plan was to just start studying from books but it has been slow at best. However, going out with Chi has helped my learning a lot. I don't know how to write most the words I know (even transliterated into English) but my practical language vocabulary has been growing. Unfortunately I can successfully implement only a few on regular basis (which people around me probably have realized to the point of irritation) due to limitations in supporting vocabulary. However, I remain confident that within a reasonable amount of time I may, in fact, be able to convey some simple thoughts in Cantonese, successfully, without too much hesitation.
At this moment, I can merely comment in Cantonese - I hope in the near future I can make statements too. Even if very simple ones.
Oh, and I really need to learn restaurant/bar-vocabulary so I can go to some local places on my own as well. I've realized it's not too difficult to speak Cantonese to the locals as they very warmly welcome any attempt. Furthermore, speaking Cantonese to the personnel would further separate me from an average gweilo/tourist and that, if any, is a worthy goal.
Gweilo's suck.
Anyway, off to have lunch now.
With my guests gone and life back on its normal track, everything seems to be going just great! Life in HK has never been better.
"You fool! You've given cheese to a lactose intolerant volcano god! Do you know what that means? You've brought about the Coming of the Divine Dysentry! Run for your lives!" - Lemonhead (from Monkey Island)
Wednesday, 29 August 2007
Fastidious gazella dorcas, Part 2: The Emergence of Intelligent Life
Wednesday morning at the office.
3rd night in my own bed since 4 weeks of exile.
8 hours of sleep. Life is good.
Cleaning up project continues. Yesterday's objective was to properly clean the kitchen and generally tidy things up to make my apartment look clean as well. Pretty standard operation without any big events expected.
First thing on the agenda: clean the refrigerator.
For two weeks we had been stuffing the fridge for four people. And meanwhile, we never took some of the old stuff away. So, I was expecting to find some really eerie things there. And I did. In fact, some things were so foul I should have had the fridge burned just to be safe.
There is an episode in the Anime-series Cowboy Bebop where the ship's crew is attacked by a strange organism hiding, in a very alien-like way, in the cramped spaces of the ship. With almost all of the crew infected by a mysterious disease, it is finally found that the organism was born of an octopus that was stashed away and forgotten in a hidden (so others wouldn't eat it) refrigerator one year before.
Spike: "...and what was the real lesson? Don't leave things in the fridge."
We had a carton of milk so old I didn't even want to open it in fear of the smell. We had some semi-rotten tomatoes, dried up chili-pepper, old carrots, old onions, old bread, one opened can of tuna that wasn't too bad yet but nothing I would eat, and we had some old butter, soy sauce, and mayonnaise.
Then, we had a few air-tight containers of a mystery substance. I don't know how long it had been there, but I couldn't really make out what it was anymore. I think it was tuna. Can't be sure though. It had, however, strange resemblance to the organism described in the episode of Cowboy Bebop and I think I did world a favor by getting rid of them. We wouldn't want that kind of things roaming around in the pipings of drains of our big building, infecting people with strange and lethal diseases. Oh no, we don't!
Though, I think that kind of an organism would have hard time surprising anyone since it smelled so bad you would know it's coming from a mile away.
Anyway, having saved the world from a fridge-monster, I was pretty much done cleaning up the refrigerator. I took out maybe 3/4 of the stuff inside. All old or rotten. Sweet.
After that I did the dishes that had been so generously waiting since Sunday. That was nothing interesting so nothing more about that.
However, after dishes I noticed my rice-cooker and wondered if anyone actually cleaned the pot inside it since our last home-cooking session last week's Wednesday. No, no one had.
Inside was still the left-overs of the rice we had made then, all swimming happily in a pool of light-yellowish liquid. The smell wasn't bad, it just smelled like a mixture of rice pudding and leaven. I can only imagine what kind of cultures of bacteria were living down there. And I'm, in fact, sure the whole pot of rice was on the verge of becoming a self-conscious sentient being, with its mind set on world domination. It's a good thing I realized its plans before it could take a more physical form. Blubber alone isn't yet very daunting but had we given it time to grow, who knows what could've happened!
So I flushed it.
If there is a weird man-eating Rice Pudding Monster (or any kind of a Tuna Monster) found in the sewers of Hong Kong in the later years, I claim no responsibility!
Having saved the world on several occasions, I finished cleaning up and saw I had earned a moment on my sofa, watching a few episodes of Black Adder.
My apartment is clean, and the world was saved yet again!
Blackadder: They do say, Mrs M, that verbal insults hurt more than physical pain. They are, of course, wrong, as you will soon discover when I stick this toasting fork into your head.
3rd night in my own bed since 4 weeks of exile.
8 hours of sleep. Life is good.
Cleaning up project continues. Yesterday's objective was to properly clean the kitchen and generally tidy things up to make my apartment look clean as well. Pretty standard operation without any big events expected.
First thing on the agenda: clean the refrigerator.
For two weeks we had been stuffing the fridge for four people. And meanwhile, we never took some of the old stuff away. So, I was expecting to find some really eerie things there. And I did. In fact, some things were so foul I should have had the fridge burned just to be safe.
There is an episode in the Anime-series Cowboy Bebop where the ship's crew is attacked by a strange organism hiding, in a very alien-like way, in the cramped spaces of the ship. With almost all of the crew infected by a mysterious disease, it is finally found that the organism was born of an octopus that was stashed away and forgotten in a hidden (so others wouldn't eat it) refrigerator one year before.
Spike: "...and what was the real lesson? Don't leave things in the fridge."
We had a carton of milk so old I didn't even want to open it in fear of the smell. We had some semi-rotten tomatoes, dried up chili-pepper, old carrots, old onions, old bread, one opened can of tuna that wasn't too bad yet but nothing I would eat, and we had some old butter, soy sauce, and mayonnaise.
Then, we had a few air-tight containers of a mystery substance. I don't know how long it had been there, but I couldn't really make out what it was anymore. I think it was tuna. Can't be sure though. It had, however, strange resemblance to the organism described in the episode of Cowboy Bebop and I think I did world a favor by getting rid of them. We wouldn't want that kind of things roaming around in the pipings of drains of our big building, infecting people with strange and lethal diseases. Oh no, we don't!
Though, I think that kind of an organism would have hard time surprising anyone since it smelled so bad you would know it's coming from a mile away.
Anyway, having saved the world from a fridge-monster, I was pretty much done cleaning up the refrigerator. I took out maybe 3/4 of the stuff inside. All old or rotten. Sweet.
After that I did the dishes that had been so generously waiting since Sunday. That was nothing interesting so nothing more about that.
However, after dishes I noticed my rice-cooker and wondered if anyone actually cleaned the pot inside it since our last home-cooking session last week's Wednesday. No, no one had.
Inside was still the left-overs of the rice we had made then, all swimming happily in a pool of light-yellowish liquid. The smell wasn't bad, it just smelled like a mixture of rice pudding and leaven. I can only imagine what kind of cultures of bacteria were living down there. And I'm, in fact, sure the whole pot of rice was on the verge of becoming a self-conscious sentient being, with its mind set on world domination. It's a good thing I realized its plans before it could take a more physical form. Blubber alone isn't yet very daunting but had we given it time to grow, who knows what could've happened!
So I flushed it.
If there is a weird man-eating Rice Pudding Monster (or any kind of a Tuna Monster) found in the sewers of Hong Kong in the later years, I claim no responsibility!
Having saved the world on several occasions, I finished cleaning up and saw I had earned a moment on my sofa, watching a few episodes of Black Adder.
My apartment is clean, and the world was saved yet again!
Blackadder: They do say, Mrs M, that verbal insults hurt more than physical pain. They are, of course, wrong, as you will soon discover when I stick this toasting fork into your head.
Tuesday, 28 August 2007
Fastidious gazella dorcas
Tuesday at the office.
Second night in my own bed after 4 weeks of exile.
9 hours of sleep. Life is good.
Last evening I started a big cleaning up process of the apartment and I still have stuff to do for today. At this moment it's in "actual cleanliness"-stage and today I'll finish it into "ladylike tidiness".
See, I've become to understand few things about housekeeping. You can vacuum and wash the floors, clean all bathroom and kitchen surfaces, etc. and you still end up with a messy apartment. It's clean but it's messy, hence it is "actually clean" but not clean. However, this is not what you mother would accept nor a typical girl. Only a guy can understand a subtle thing like this: something that is clean and not clean (tidy) at the same time!
To reach the second level of cleanliness, you go to "ladylike tidiness"-stage, which means that you take all the visible irritants (like; clothes on the floor, unsorted shoes, papers on tables, etc.) away and arrange them into an orderly fashion. This is what girls like.
But the bottom-line is: Only "actual cleanliness" is actually clean. You can sort your house all you want but it's still not clean. Dust will gather and soon there will be moss, mold stains, and armies of different kinds of insects roaming around the apartment. You'll get breathing disorders, tick bites, skin disease, rash, cancer, and you'll die. It's that serious.
So, keep things clean boys and girls!
Just tidying your home is a lie, an illusion!
And if someone thinks cleaning is not a man's job. You're wrong! It's very manly; just don't wear an apron and listen to Madonna. What you should do is drink beer and listen to HEAVY METAL!! \,,/
And that's about that.
Second night in my own bed after 4 weeks of exile.
9 hours of sleep. Life is good.
Last evening I started a big cleaning up process of the apartment and I still have stuff to do for today. At this moment it's in "actual cleanliness"-stage and today I'll finish it into "ladylike tidiness".
See, I've become to understand few things about housekeeping. You can vacuum and wash the floors, clean all bathroom and kitchen surfaces, etc. and you still end up with a messy apartment. It's clean but it's messy, hence it is "actually clean" but not clean. However, this is not what you mother would accept nor a typical girl. Only a guy can understand a subtle thing like this: something that is clean and not clean (tidy) at the same time!
To reach the second level of cleanliness, you go to "ladylike tidiness"-stage, which means that you take all the visible irritants (like; clothes on the floor, unsorted shoes, papers on tables, etc.) away and arrange them into an orderly fashion. This is what girls like.
But the bottom-line is: Only "actual cleanliness" is actually clean. You can sort your house all you want but it's still not clean. Dust will gather and soon there will be moss, mold stains, and armies of different kinds of insects roaming around the apartment. You'll get breathing disorders, tick bites, skin disease, rash, cancer, and you'll die. It's that serious.
So, keep things clean boys and girls!
Just tidying your home is a lie, an illusion!
And if someone thinks cleaning is not a man's job. You're wrong! It's very manly; just don't wear an apron and listen to Madonna. What you should do is drink beer and listen to HEAVY METAL!! \,,/
And that's about that.
Monday, 27 August 2007
And there's trouble in here, and trouble out there... lalala...
Oh boy, oh boy! What a weekend. If only all weekend's were like it, life would be ultra-cool indeed!
Friday, T-2 for guest departure:
We didn't do much whole day. My brother and sister went to see a local small zoo and found some happy primate-friends from there. I worked at the office until the end of office-hours after which I went to buy some movies (Mr. Bean on holiday, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Edward Scissorhands). I had agreed to meet Chi later in the night to watch a movie, so it was good to be prepared.
The evening went pretty much as planned. I got home around 19:30, ate some dinner (sushi) and then took a nap until 23:00. Then I picked up Chi from Yau Ma Tei, and we headed back to Tung Chung to watch Charlie's adventures in the strangely Michael Jackson-like Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.
I gotta mention that even though I've found Charlie and the Chocolate Factory rather childish (well, it is a children's movie, right?), I still think what Johny Depp does as Willy Wonka is just awesome... I don't know what to make of that guy but I like the eerie psycho-thing he does.
Saturday, T-1 for guest departure:
Woke up late on Saturday. We got 3/4 through Charlie and the Chocolate Factory last night before Chi got sleepy. So, there's still some left for today evening. After several hours of relaxing sleep, we got up around 13:00. Everyone else was pretty much awake already so the day started quickly from then.
We went to Pacific Coffee to get some breakfast. Actually, we wanted to get some Dim Sum, but the local restaurant in Tung Chung had a huge queue (we got reservation number eighty-something, and they were going at forty at the time) so a cafe would have to do. It was OK too.
Since then the day passed rather quickly in terms of packing (well, my sister was the only one packing; I just sat in a coma; my brother decided packing can be done later).
We had decided earlier that Saturday should be a bit more relaxed day so we don't have to hurry around anywhere or do anything unless we want to.
Around 18:00 we decide it would be nice to do a little walkabout in Tung Chung area and then head for a last dinner together. After walking for about one hour in the Tung Chung park areas, we took the MTR to Tsim Sha Tsui and went to our normal drinking hole Cafe de Fontaine, and had some food there too.
On a side note: I've run in to a strangely large number of restaurants that go under the name of "cafe". Is it just me, but shouldn't a "cafe" be mostly about, mm, coffee? I don't mind, really, but I just find it strange.
After a nice dinner of different kinds of Asian dishes and some good beer we leave the oasis and head for Yau Ma Tei to Temple Street where my sister still wants to buy some last minute purchase for a friend. All good, except it's really damned hot outside.
Around 22:00 we go to a Hong Kong-style bar to meet up with Chi. It was one of the kind of places where I've had the chance to go a couple of times earlier already.
It was funny enough entering the bar. We came up stairs to a place with only locals inside (not too crowded, but still quite enough of people) and as we entered we were quite aware of the fact that we indeed were the only gweilo's in there. Upon entering it almost seemed like all sound stopped and everyone looked at us. It was weird. But it passed quickly and we were accepted quite soon - and some actually were interested in having conversations with us. All good, all fun.
My brother and sister were supposed to leave already a bit earlier to catch last MTR to Tung Chung so they can finish packing and get enough sleep but instead they decided to stay with me and Chi, and follow us to a birthday party of Chi's friend. We were not supposed to stay there for very long but in the end we didn't leave quite as soon as planned.
In fact, we were home at around five or six in the morning. The birthday party was a lot of fun, though, and I think it was a really good experience for my sister and my brother too. These are the kind of parties normal tourists don't usually get to see. While they are 'merely parties' there's always a bit of local culture that can be experienced in parties such as it.
So, coming home late, my sister and brother went to sleep while me and Chi stayed up to watch the end of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Original plan for us was to stay up until the flight, so we'd take my guests to the airport and only then get some sleep. Since it was already almost 07:00 and the flight was scheduled to leave at 09:35, we thought it'd be an OK plan.
However, being up so late started to take its toll and alas, we fell asleep anyway. Not before I heard my sister's alarm clock go on, though, so I knew they'd be awake and me and Chi only needed to get up just before leaving to the airport.
Sunday, T-0 for guest departure:
Suddenly I wake up. It's bright outside, there's nothing happening around me: no sound of talking, walking, or packing. I look at the clock: 08:30. Shit! Crappidycrapcrap!! Why are we still at my apartment?!!
I rush myself up the bed, I go wake my brother and sister and tell them to get ready quick! In just one hour, their flight is scheduled to leave and we're still at my damned apartment in Tung Chung!....... And my brother hasn't even packed yet!
Blackadder: This is a crisis. A large crisis. In fact, if you've got a moment, it's a twelve-storey crisis with a magnificent entrance hall, carpeting throughout, 24-hour porterage and an enormous sign on the roof, saying 'This Is a Large Crisis'. A large crisis requires a large plan. Get me two pencils and a pair of underpants!
Feeling hazy in my head for sleeping so little and being hungry, I try to gather myself and make things happen as fast as possible. I tell my brother and sister to be as quick as possible and come meet me downstairs. I went down to the lobby myself to ask the receptionist to order us a taxi to the airport. Also, I asked for a phone number to the airport so I could call there and let them know we're coming, albeit a bit late to the check-in.
5 minutes later after my sudden waking up, we're all already downstairs as the taxi arrives. I call to the airport from the taxi. I let them know of our situation and they make a note of it, and to my relief, they say the check-in closes only 20 minutes before departure. That means we still have some time. It's good I live so close to the airport.
Another 10 minutes later we are almost at the airport. The taxi drives to the departure hall entrance. I leave my sister money to pay for the taxi and run myself out as soon as it stops to find where the check-in is.
A few minutes later I find myself looking at the heart-warming logo of Finnair, and a check-in counter with "Helsinki" as destination. And below a text: Due to delay in flight arrival, the departure time has been postponed to 12:50. So much for that hurry. It was about 08:50 and we had just made the impossible. No hurry anymore.
So, end is well - all is well. My brother and sister got to the check-in and we said our goodbyes. They still had few hours to spend at the airport. Though we couldn't have possibly known that the flight would be so postponed, I couldn't help but feel that our rush of the morning was in vain. Well, it doesn't matter - at least it made a fun adventure, albeit it was not fun at the time it was happening.
I went back to my apartment where Chi was still sleeping, oblivious to all that had been going around. I got myself back to sleep and woke up again at around 12:00. We got some breakfast and after that the day was pretty normal. I started to put things to their original places (things misplaced due to special arrangements of having two guests) and did tons of laundry.
Now, I can get back to my normal life again. Sweet...
Today I need to clean up my apartment properly, and also get a haircut!
"If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story." - Orson Welles
Friday, T-2 for guest departure:
We didn't do much whole day. My brother and sister went to see a local small zoo and found some happy primate-friends from there. I worked at the office until the end of office-hours after which I went to buy some movies (Mr. Bean on holiday, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Edward Scissorhands). I had agreed to meet Chi later in the night to watch a movie, so it was good to be prepared.
The evening went pretty much as planned. I got home around 19:30, ate some dinner (sushi) and then took a nap until 23:00. Then I picked up Chi from Yau Ma Tei, and we headed back to Tung Chung to watch Charlie's adventures in the strangely Michael Jackson-like Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.
I gotta mention that even though I've found Charlie and the Chocolate Factory rather childish (well, it is a children's movie, right?), I still think what Johny Depp does as Willy Wonka is just awesome... I don't know what to make of that guy but I like the eerie psycho-thing he does.
Saturday, T-1 for guest departure:
Woke up late on Saturday. We got 3/4 through Charlie and the Chocolate Factory last night before Chi got sleepy. So, there's still some left for today evening. After several hours of relaxing sleep, we got up around 13:00. Everyone else was pretty much awake already so the day started quickly from then.
We went to Pacific Coffee to get some breakfast. Actually, we wanted to get some Dim Sum, but the local restaurant in Tung Chung had a huge queue (we got reservation number eighty-something, and they were going at forty at the time) so a cafe would have to do. It was OK too.
Since then the day passed rather quickly in terms of packing (well, my sister was the only one packing; I just sat in a coma; my brother decided packing can be done later).
We had decided earlier that Saturday should be a bit more relaxed day so we don't have to hurry around anywhere or do anything unless we want to.
Around 18:00 we decide it would be nice to do a little walkabout in Tung Chung area and then head for a last dinner together. After walking for about one hour in the Tung Chung park areas, we took the MTR to Tsim Sha Tsui and went to our normal drinking hole Cafe de Fontaine, and had some food there too.
On a side note: I've run in to a strangely large number of restaurants that go under the name of "cafe". Is it just me, but shouldn't a "cafe" be mostly about, mm, coffee? I don't mind, really, but I just find it strange.
After a nice dinner of different kinds of Asian dishes and some good beer we leave the oasis and head for Yau Ma Tei to Temple Street where my sister still wants to buy some last minute purchase for a friend. All good, except it's really damned hot outside.
Around 22:00 we go to a Hong Kong-style bar to meet up with Chi. It was one of the kind of places where I've had the chance to go a couple of times earlier already.
It was funny enough entering the bar. We came up stairs to a place with only locals inside (not too crowded, but still quite enough of people) and as we entered we were quite aware of the fact that we indeed were the only gweilo's in there. Upon entering it almost seemed like all sound stopped and everyone looked at us. It was weird. But it passed quickly and we were accepted quite soon - and some actually were interested in having conversations with us. All good, all fun.
My brother and sister were supposed to leave already a bit earlier to catch last MTR to Tung Chung so they can finish packing and get enough sleep but instead they decided to stay with me and Chi, and follow us to a birthday party of Chi's friend. We were not supposed to stay there for very long but in the end we didn't leave quite as soon as planned.
In fact, we were home at around five or six in the morning. The birthday party was a lot of fun, though, and I think it was a really good experience for my sister and my brother too. These are the kind of parties normal tourists don't usually get to see. While they are 'merely parties' there's always a bit of local culture that can be experienced in parties such as it.
So, coming home late, my sister and brother went to sleep while me and Chi stayed up to watch the end of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Original plan for us was to stay up until the flight, so we'd take my guests to the airport and only then get some sleep. Since it was already almost 07:00 and the flight was scheduled to leave at 09:35, we thought it'd be an OK plan.
However, being up so late started to take its toll and alas, we fell asleep anyway. Not before I heard my sister's alarm clock go on, though, so I knew they'd be awake and me and Chi only needed to get up just before leaving to the airport.
Sunday, T-0 for guest departure:
Suddenly I wake up. It's bright outside, there's nothing happening around me: no sound of talking, walking, or packing. I look at the clock: 08:30. Shit! Crappidycrapcrap!! Why are we still at my apartment?!!
I rush myself up the bed, I go wake my brother and sister and tell them to get ready quick! In just one hour, their flight is scheduled to leave and we're still at my damned apartment in Tung Chung!....... And my brother hasn't even packed yet!
Blackadder: This is a crisis. A large crisis. In fact, if you've got a moment, it's a twelve-storey crisis with a magnificent entrance hall, carpeting throughout, 24-hour porterage and an enormous sign on the roof, saying 'This Is a Large Crisis'. A large crisis requires a large plan. Get me two pencils and a pair of underpants!
Feeling hazy in my head for sleeping so little and being hungry, I try to gather myself and make things happen as fast as possible. I tell my brother and sister to be as quick as possible and come meet me downstairs. I went down to the lobby myself to ask the receptionist to order us a taxi to the airport. Also, I asked for a phone number to the airport so I could call there and let them know we're coming, albeit a bit late to the check-in.
5 minutes later after my sudden waking up, we're all already downstairs as the taxi arrives. I call to the airport from the taxi. I let them know of our situation and they make a note of it, and to my relief, they say the check-in closes only 20 minutes before departure. That means we still have some time. It's good I live so close to the airport.
Another 10 minutes later we are almost at the airport. The taxi drives to the departure hall entrance. I leave my sister money to pay for the taxi and run myself out as soon as it stops to find where the check-in is.
A few minutes later I find myself looking at the heart-warming logo of Finnair, and a check-in counter with "Helsinki" as destination. And below a text: Due to delay in flight arrival, the departure time has been postponed to 12:50. So much for that hurry. It was about 08:50 and we had just made the impossible. No hurry anymore.
So, end is well - all is well. My brother and sister got to the check-in and we said our goodbyes. They still had few hours to spend at the airport. Though we couldn't have possibly known that the flight would be so postponed, I couldn't help but feel that our rush of the morning was in vain. Well, it doesn't matter - at least it made a fun adventure, albeit it was not fun at the time it was happening.
I went back to my apartment where Chi was still sleeping, oblivious to all that had been going around. I got myself back to sleep and woke up again at around 12:00. We got some breakfast and after that the day was pretty normal. I started to put things to their original places (things misplaced due to special arrangements of having two guests) and did tons of laundry.
Now, I can get back to my normal life again. Sweet...
Today I need to clean up my apartment properly, and also get a haircut!
"If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story." - Orson Welles
Friday, 24 August 2007
Week at its end, again, finally!
"I thought I'd seen hell
Thought I knew it all
Now I know too well
Hell is to wake up"
- Pain of Salvation, 'Reconciliation'
Hell is to wake up. Yeah, I know. It's a hard and cold reality of the world, waking up sucks. Luckily weekend's just around the corner so I get to practice some sleeping again. Long nights, long sleep.
On Sunday morning my sister and brother will leave HK. It's been a fun two weeks having them here. Of course, like I mentioned in my previous post, past 6 weeks have disrupted my normal routines quite a lot and I'm glad to get back to my normal life. However, having guests is fun. It gives a good excuse to act like a tourist too and go see sights, go to shopping areas I normally wouldn't go, and do all the other things tourists would do.
Jolly, jolly!
One thing I have to mention is the local coffee shops. Forget Starbucks or Pacific Coffee, the HK-style places are nothing like them. While western style cafe's are quite silent, civilized and for a nice cup of coffee from a vast selection of high-grade beans, HK-style cafe's seem to only concentrate maybe 5% on serving actual coffee. HK-style cafe is a place to hang out with friends and have fun. They are a lot louder, a lot shadier, a lot more like a house-party with a bar.
The menu usually contains a vast selection of drinks (not just coffee but all sorts of stuff) and foods (not just snacks or bakery products but also proper meals). And the menu has a maximum of one word in English which is found on the cover, saying "Menu".
And they are full of local Hong Kong people, not Gweilos or tourists - nor have I ever even seen a person of other minority (Indians, Philippinos, etc).
Yet, I've been going to a lot of these places with Chi, and it's always an interesting experience. The way things are done locally is always fun to observe. I've touched upon the topic of being the only gweilo in some places and most of that stuff applies here as well. You attract attention like a Lada in Hong Kong Central. I don't know what to make of it really but I'm sure it's all in good humor, not hostile attention. People are merely surprised to see a gweilo in a place they usually avoid. And I would definitely not be there was it not for Chi, who has turned out to be my guide to the Hong Kong style way-of-life.
What makes it especially fun is that I'm obviously a topic for discussion. It's really weird, really, and I hope I will learn Cantonese language fast enough so I will understand what kind of crap they are talking about me. If it's anything like what we talk about the locals here (in Finnish), I'd be more than happy to follow any of the conversations.
Person A: 他係白痴鬼佬...
Person B: 係係係係係!!
Person A: Lol.
Something like that.
Anyway, I enjoy that kind of places. Makes life in HK so much more interesting. Seeing the way local people (especially young people) spend their time after school/work, how they have fun with all sorts of games, and just generally seeing the kind of places they like going to.
One of the key objectives when I moved to Hong Kong was to find where the locals go. Tourist guides only show places for tourists and gweilo's and since I didn't want that, I couldn't really get anywhere. Even the bars we've found that have less gweilo's still remain western-style bars. The local bars are quite different (as we found out at that one birthday party earlier) and so are the cafe's.
That's all about them for now. Live it, love it!
Now, a short rant about anti-China attitudes in western media.
I'm not trying to be pro-China here. I know there are a lot of things wrong in China and to deny any of it would just be foolish. But lately I've been paying attention on a few annoying things in Western media (Finnish big newspapers like Helsingin Sanomat and Aamulehti).
There has been two big news topics concerning toy companies withdrawing products from stores due to hazardous materials or other production faults. Other similar articles come all the time. Every time Chinese manufacturers are involved, the media never fails to mention how the problems originate from China, and how China has 'this and this' conditions poorly managed. It is China's fault the products are faulty. That is the picture conveyed from the articles.
Today I read about contaminated guarkum in European foods, I read about faulty wiring in Peogeot's cars but no fingers are pointed, except companies taking responsibility. So, unless the faulty product comes from China, country of origin not important.
Kiinalaisissa lastenkoruissa huimia määriä lyijyä (19.8.)
Kiinalaisvaatteista löytyi suuria myrkkypitoisuuksia (19.8.)
Kiinalaisten sekundatuotteiden turvallisuus huolestuttaa länsimaissa (3.8.)
("Chinese children's jewelry contains high amounts of lead", "Clothes made in China contain high amounts of toxins", "Safety of second-grade products from China raising concern in western nations")
That's just a few of the recent ones.
A short story for reference:
A merchant in the 1800's goes to China and buys stuff from there. He then takes them to Europe and sells them at a huge profit. Turns out the products he bought are crap and he gets an angry mob at his doorstep demanding compensation. His excuse: "It's Chinese crap, I'm not responsible - it's China's fault!!".
No, it doesn't work like that.
If you import stuff from another country it's the responsibility of the importer to make sure the products are high enough quality. You can't go to China, buy cheap stuff and then blame China for making cheap crap. You asked them to do it! Maybe you didn't say it straight, but get what you order, and if you want cheap crap you get cheap crap. Don't go blaming it on the Chinese if you're a greedy ass-hole.
No, once the products leave China, it's the responsibility of the importer. The importer has approved the products and is liable if they are faulty. If it wasn't for greedy companies in the West, we wouldn't have so many 'dangerous CHINESE products' in western markets.
Concerning the Mattel case especially I found that is was easily left out of the article that China manufactures more than 80% of whole world's toys. Reflecting the amount of faulty products to the total number of products made, it's still a rather marginal thing. Why is China blamed if Mattel failed to checked their products properly?..
Oh, and I'm not saying Mattel blamed China or the Chinese company. Actually they handled the situation very professionally and discreetly. However, somehow the media saw important to emphasize the country of origin.
I was in Finland during Christmas last year. I saw a small Chinese style wooden statue of a lion. I checked the price-tag and it cost € 35. In Hong Kong, I can buy the same thing (and I'm not lying: I've seen the actual same kind of wooden statue here in a number of souvenir shops) with HKD 10, which is about € 1.
How does the price of the product increase 350% during transportation? In fact, I'm sure the bulk price for purchasing these statues is a lot less than that HKD 10 so the price increase is even bigger - perhaps 400% is more accurate.
Well, someone is making a nice buck.
Anyway... that's about that. I've had my say.
Blackadder: It is said, Percy, that the civilized man seeks out good and intelligent company so that by learned discourse he may rise above the savage and closer to God.
Lord Percy: Yes, I'd heard that.
Blackadder: Personally, however, I like to start the day with a total dickhead to remind me I'm best.
Thought I knew it all
Now I know too well
Hell is to wake up"
- Pain of Salvation, 'Reconciliation'
Hell is to wake up. Yeah, I know. It's a hard and cold reality of the world, waking up sucks. Luckily weekend's just around the corner so I get to practice some sleeping again. Long nights, long sleep.
On Sunday morning my sister and brother will leave HK. It's been a fun two weeks having them here. Of course, like I mentioned in my previous post, past 6 weeks have disrupted my normal routines quite a lot and I'm glad to get back to my normal life. However, having guests is fun. It gives a good excuse to act like a tourist too and go see sights, go to shopping areas I normally wouldn't go, and do all the other things tourists would do.
Jolly, jolly!
One thing I have to mention is the local coffee shops. Forget Starbucks or Pacific Coffee, the HK-style places are nothing like them. While western style cafe's are quite silent, civilized and for a nice cup of coffee from a vast selection of high-grade beans, HK-style cafe's seem to only concentrate maybe 5% on serving actual coffee. HK-style cafe is a place to hang out with friends and have fun. They are a lot louder, a lot shadier, a lot more like a house-party with a bar.
The menu usually contains a vast selection of drinks (not just coffee but all sorts of stuff) and foods (not just snacks or bakery products but also proper meals). And the menu has a maximum of one word in English which is found on the cover, saying "Menu".
And they are full of local Hong Kong people, not Gweilos or tourists - nor have I ever even seen a person of other minority (Indians, Philippinos, etc).
Yet, I've been going to a lot of these places with Chi, and it's always an interesting experience. The way things are done locally is always fun to observe. I've touched upon the topic of being the only gweilo in some places and most of that stuff applies here as well. You attract attention like a Lada in Hong Kong Central. I don't know what to make of it really but I'm sure it's all in good humor, not hostile attention. People are merely surprised to see a gweilo in a place they usually avoid. And I would definitely not be there was it not for Chi, who has turned out to be my guide to the Hong Kong style way-of-life.
What makes it especially fun is that I'm obviously a topic for discussion. It's really weird, really, and I hope I will learn Cantonese language fast enough so I will understand what kind of crap they are talking about me. If it's anything like what we talk about the locals here (in Finnish), I'd be more than happy to follow any of the conversations.
Person A: 他係白痴鬼佬...
Person B: 係係係係係!!
Person A: Lol.
Something like that.
Anyway, I enjoy that kind of places. Makes life in HK so much more interesting. Seeing the way local people (especially young people) spend their time after school/work, how they have fun with all sorts of games, and just generally seeing the kind of places they like going to.
One of the key objectives when I moved to Hong Kong was to find where the locals go. Tourist guides only show places for tourists and gweilo's and since I didn't want that, I couldn't really get anywhere. Even the bars we've found that have less gweilo's still remain western-style bars. The local bars are quite different (as we found out at that one birthday party earlier) and so are the cafe's.
That's all about them for now. Live it, love it!
Now, a short rant about anti-China attitudes in western media.
I'm not trying to be pro-China here. I know there are a lot of things wrong in China and to deny any of it would just be foolish. But lately I've been paying attention on a few annoying things in Western media (Finnish big newspapers like Helsingin Sanomat and Aamulehti).
There has been two big news topics concerning toy companies withdrawing products from stores due to hazardous materials or other production faults. Other similar articles come all the time. Every time Chinese manufacturers are involved, the media never fails to mention how the problems originate from China, and how China has 'this and this' conditions poorly managed. It is China's fault the products are faulty. That is the picture conveyed from the articles.
Today I read about contaminated guarkum in European foods, I read about faulty wiring in Peogeot's cars but no fingers are pointed, except companies taking responsibility. So, unless the faulty product comes from China, country of origin not important.
Kiinalaisissa lastenkoruissa huimia määriä lyijyä (19.8.)
Kiinalaisvaatteista löytyi suuria myrkkypitoisuuksia (19.8.)
Kiinalaisten sekundatuotteiden turvallisuus huolestuttaa länsimaissa (3.8.)
("Chinese children's jewelry contains high amounts of lead", "Clothes made in China contain high amounts of toxins", "Safety of second-grade products from China raising concern in western nations")
That's just a few of the recent ones.
A short story for reference:
A merchant in the 1800's goes to China and buys stuff from there. He then takes them to Europe and sells them at a huge profit. Turns out the products he bought are crap and he gets an angry mob at his doorstep demanding compensation. His excuse: "It's Chinese crap, I'm not responsible - it's China's fault!!".
No, it doesn't work like that.
If you import stuff from another country it's the responsibility of the importer to make sure the products are high enough quality. You can't go to China, buy cheap stuff and then blame China for making cheap crap. You asked them to do it! Maybe you didn't say it straight, but get what you order, and if you want cheap crap you get cheap crap. Don't go blaming it on the Chinese if you're a greedy ass-hole.
No, once the products leave China, it's the responsibility of the importer. The importer has approved the products and is liable if they are faulty. If it wasn't for greedy companies in the West, we wouldn't have so many 'dangerous CHINESE products' in western markets.
Concerning the Mattel case especially I found that is was easily left out of the article that China manufactures more than 80% of whole world's toys. Reflecting the amount of faulty products to the total number of products made, it's still a rather marginal thing. Why is China blamed if Mattel failed to checked their products properly?..
Oh, and I'm not saying Mattel blamed China or the Chinese company. Actually they handled the situation very professionally and discreetly. However, somehow the media saw important to emphasize the country of origin.
I was in Finland during Christmas last year. I saw a small Chinese style wooden statue of a lion. I checked the price-tag and it cost € 35. In Hong Kong, I can buy the same thing (and I'm not lying: I've seen the actual same kind of wooden statue here in a number of souvenir shops) with HKD 10, which is about € 1.
How does the price of the product increase 350% during transportation? In fact, I'm sure the bulk price for purchasing these statues is a lot less than that HKD 10 so the price increase is even bigger - perhaps 400% is more accurate.
Well, someone is making a nice buck.
Anyway... that's about that. I've had my say.
Blackadder: It is said, Percy, that the civilized man seeks out good and intelligent company so that by learned discourse he may rise above the savage and closer to God.
Lord Percy: Yes, I'd heard that.
Blackadder: Personally, however, I like to start the day with a total dickhead to remind me I'm best.
Wednesday, 22 August 2007
Rosa Helikopter
"I en rosa helikopter
Ska jag flyga hem till dej
I en rosa helikopter
Ja då flyger jag till dej varje dag
I en rosa helikopter
Hela vägen hem till dej
I en rosa helikopter
Ja då flyger jag genom stjärnova till dej"
- Peaches, 'Rosa Helikopter'
Wednesday, middle of the week. Many things going on in HK right about now. My brother and sister are still here, acting like tourists they are and I've been joining them to some of their tourist activities. It's all been good fun! It's nice to have them around albeit I'll be happier once they're gone. Hah, this is not because I don't like their company - quite the opposite - but I do yearn to get back to my routines. It's been 5 weeks now of breaking routines. First, my friend Toni came here for two weeks, then I left to Finland for two weeks, and now my brother and sister are here for two weeks... All really great but disrupting my normal life.
In 5 weeks I haven't gone to the gym once, nor have I played any badminton. I haven't been doing any of the stuff I'd normally do on evenings, my weekends are spent differently, etc. Breaking routines is a good thing sometimes but in such a prolonged period it starts to be troublesome.
Plus of course I miss the privacy of my home. While I don't mind company, sharing my home with a number of people makes living a bit different. It's hard to put in words exactly but I suppose it should be easy to imagine.
Anyway...
Weekend was nice. We did a lot of touring of HK (mostly with the excuse of shopping) and also went to see the Big Buddha statue in Ngong Ping.
There is a walking path/road to the Buddha-statue and our original plan was to take it. Weather was excellent albeit really hot, and we thought it'd be awesome to see the sceneries and enjoy a refreshing outdoor day. We didn't, however, bring a map with us, thinking the trail would be clearly marked.
We headed out to the boiling hot summer day. Until then, we had mostly had cool and a bit rainy days but now it was sunny and hot. Well, having enough water with us provided the proper means to avoid dehydration and we expected to be walking in the shades quite a lot since much of the trail would be in the forest-covered mountain sides.
We never found the trail.
We were however, as we later learned, in the right direction - just not in exactly the right place. We walked for 1-1½ hours under the hot sun, realizing our mistake of underestimating the task ahead of us. Sweating and quickly running out of water, we decided to just wait for the next bus. So, in the end we got to the statue on a bus. All's well when end's well.
I had never been to the statue before though it is quite close to Tung Chung. I had been waiting for a suitable visitors to arrive so I could take them there. This is tactics I've implemented to avoid seeing the local sights too many times.
The Big Buddha will be featured later on in a Hong Kong Sights-segment, so I won't go into details of the place now.
That was Saturday.
On Sunday we mostly did some shopping. Or, they did shopping and I watched and followed. The day also included some new places like Kowloon Bay and it's new shopping mall "MegaBox" where I hadn't been before.
I have to wonder about Hong Kong's huge amount of big shopping malls. It seems that all, even the smallest, districts have their mega-mall's and shopping centers. With the excellent transportation systems this city has, it would be easy to imagine people would mostly go shopping to central locations like Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok, and so on. However, it seems that even the most remote shopping mall has thousands and thousands of visitors all the time! 7.5 million locals and adding the thousands of tourists every day is a lot people, sure, but seriously... I just can't understand it. Where do all these shoppers come from!!??
That was Sunday.
Monday I took a day off to go to Ocean Park with Chi, my brother and my sister. What a day! For a long time, the weather forecasts predicted a day of rain for us but turns out luck was on our side that day and we saw no rain.
Ocean Park is one of the mentionable amusement parks in Hong Kong. Like the name suggests it is marine-life centered and aside from different kinds of rides, there is a clear emphasis on presenting marine-life in different kinds of aquariums and terrariums. The number of rides can't compete with the big amusement parks of the world (or even the bigger ones in Finland) but the few they have are of high quality and fun!
Though we didn't get any rain, it was a cloudy day and humid as hell! No dry-heat here. Actually, instead of being nice and cool, it was a quite sweat-filled day as well. But I had really good time there!
I need to upload some pictures from the past 6 weeks or so. I'll do that later.
That was Monday.
Since then I've been at work more or less normally - another routine I actually look forward to normalizing again. This irregular life has make my sleep irregular, and with such irregularity comes sleep-deprivation and tiredness.
I can go on without much sleep for quite a long time, but in the last 1½ weeks, I've only had one night of proper sleep. It's starting to show. But I don't care. I won't even complain about it. It's a price I pay happily. Yet, I don't like being tired: it makes my head feel heavy and slow. And I don't like being slow.
Anyhow, off now to do some work.
Ska jag flyga hem till dej
I en rosa helikopter
Ja då flyger jag till dej varje dag
I en rosa helikopter
Hela vägen hem till dej
I en rosa helikopter
Ja då flyger jag genom stjärnova till dej"
- Peaches, 'Rosa Helikopter'
Wednesday, middle of the week. Many things going on in HK right about now. My brother and sister are still here, acting like tourists they are and I've been joining them to some of their tourist activities. It's all been good fun! It's nice to have them around albeit I'll be happier once they're gone. Hah, this is not because I don't like their company - quite the opposite - but I do yearn to get back to my routines. It's been 5 weeks now of breaking routines. First, my friend Toni came here for two weeks, then I left to Finland for two weeks, and now my brother and sister are here for two weeks... All really great but disrupting my normal life.
In 5 weeks I haven't gone to the gym once, nor have I played any badminton. I haven't been doing any of the stuff I'd normally do on evenings, my weekends are spent differently, etc. Breaking routines is a good thing sometimes but in such a prolonged period it starts to be troublesome.
Plus of course I miss the privacy of my home. While I don't mind company, sharing my home with a number of people makes living a bit different. It's hard to put in words exactly but I suppose it should be easy to imagine.
Anyway...
Weekend was nice. We did a lot of touring of HK (mostly with the excuse of shopping) and also went to see the Big Buddha statue in Ngong Ping.
There is a walking path/road to the Buddha-statue and our original plan was to take it. Weather was excellent albeit really hot, and we thought it'd be awesome to see the sceneries and enjoy a refreshing outdoor day. We didn't, however, bring a map with us, thinking the trail would be clearly marked.
We headed out to the boiling hot summer day. Until then, we had mostly had cool and a bit rainy days but now it was sunny and hot. Well, having enough water with us provided the proper means to avoid dehydration and we expected to be walking in the shades quite a lot since much of the trail would be in the forest-covered mountain sides.
We never found the trail.
We were however, as we later learned, in the right direction - just not in exactly the right place. We walked for 1-1½ hours under the hot sun, realizing our mistake of underestimating the task ahead of us. Sweating and quickly running out of water, we decided to just wait for the next bus. So, in the end we got to the statue on a bus. All's well when end's well.
I had never been to the statue before though it is quite close to Tung Chung. I had been waiting for a suitable visitors to arrive so I could take them there. This is tactics I've implemented to avoid seeing the local sights too many times.
The Big Buddha will be featured later on in a Hong Kong Sights-segment, so I won't go into details of the place now.
That was Saturday.
On Sunday we mostly did some shopping. Or, they did shopping and I watched and followed. The day also included some new places like Kowloon Bay and it's new shopping mall "MegaBox" where I hadn't been before.
I have to wonder about Hong Kong's huge amount of big shopping malls. It seems that all, even the smallest, districts have their mega-mall's and shopping centers. With the excellent transportation systems this city has, it would be easy to imagine people would mostly go shopping to central locations like Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok, and so on. However, it seems that even the most remote shopping mall has thousands and thousands of visitors all the time! 7.5 million locals and adding the thousands of tourists every day is a lot people, sure, but seriously... I just can't understand it. Where do all these shoppers come from!!??
That was Sunday.
Monday I took a day off to go to Ocean Park with Chi, my brother and my sister. What a day! For a long time, the weather forecasts predicted a day of rain for us but turns out luck was on our side that day and we saw no rain.
Ocean Park is one of the mentionable amusement parks in Hong Kong. Like the name suggests it is marine-life centered and aside from different kinds of rides, there is a clear emphasis on presenting marine-life in different kinds of aquariums and terrariums. The number of rides can't compete with the big amusement parks of the world (or even the bigger ones in Finland) but the few they have are of high quality and fun!
Though we didn't get any rain, it was a cloudy day and humid as hell! No dry-heat here. Actually, instead of being nice and cool, it was a quite sweat-filled day as well. But I had really good time there!
I need to upload some pictures from the past 6 weeks or so. I'll do that later.
That was Monday.
Since then I've been at work more or less normally - another routine I actually look forward to normalizing again. This irregular life has make my sleep irregular, and with such irregularity comes sleep-deprivation and tiredness.
"True abysmal black eternal hate." - Markus Takala
I can go on without much sleep for quite a long time, but in the last 1½ weeks, I've only had one night of proper sleep. It's starting to show. But I don't care. I won't even complain about it. It's a price I pay happily. Yet, I don't like being tired: it makes my head feel heavy and slow. And I don't like being slow.
Anyhow, off now to do some work.
"A man may fight for many things. His country, his friends, his principles, the glistening ear on the cheek of a golden child. But personally, I'd mud-wrestle my own mother for a ton of cash, an amusing clock and a sack of French porn." - Blackadder
Friday, 17 August 2007
Gobbledygook
It's Friday! Brilliant!
Long nights and fun times ahead for two full days! Can't say I'm complaining much. After coming back to work from two weeks vacation, I've found it quite hard to motivate myself to do anything. The relatively good amount of sleep deprivation doesn't help my productivity either but at least I've been diligent enough to get the necessary things done.
Today should also be the first day of decent weather in Hong Kong since my arrival. So far it has just been gloomy and rainy. Today, it should be less rainy and more sunny! So, we have a set of plans for today (with plenty of alternative plans to back-up the original 'Plan-A'). I will write about that stuff on Monday.
Sometimes I'm very glad other people here don't understand what us Finns are talking about. Sure, we don't understand what the local people are saying either, but I'm quite sure they don't cover the topics we do - at least not with such passion.
And I'm not talking about those conversations where we comment on appearance of people, or other immature stuff.
I'm talking about how we can go on for hours about politics, environment, philosophy, culture, time-travel, space-travel, future, past, science, pseudoscience, religion, human behavior, human intelligence, human stupidity, personal freedoms, societal structures, compulsory military service, education, etc...anything.
Our conversation usually is rather seriously spoken, though mostly harmless debate, and to an outsider it may actually seem as if we're talking about something important. How wrong they are. They may think we actually know what we're talking about, not realizing we hardly ever have any factual base to our conversations. We just debate for the sake of debate.
I don't have strong opinions pretty much about anything but I can come up with one in an instance once someone says something!
At least I'm lucky enough to have company here who are good at this sort of random debating. Many people suck at it, and it'd suck if I couldn't keep up this "hobby" of mine!
In Finland, I wouldn't do this in public though. But here it's all good. No one knows what we talk about. They only see a bunch of Gweilo's talking in a strange language, with a passion: "obviously debating about something important and intelligent!"
Anyhow, there's nothing much to tell about today. I will try to live some during weekend. Hah, maybe I'll have more to write about then.
Below, a random-quote from Grim Fandango:
Manuel Calavera: How do you do this job?
Membrillo: Without becoming jaded, you mean? The secret to my happiness, Manuel, is I have the heart of a twelve year old child. I keep it in a jar over here. Would you like to see it?
Manuel Calavera: NO.
Membrillo: Sorry. Old coroner joke.
Long nights and fun times ahead for two full days! Can't say I'm complaining much. After coming back to work from two weeks vacation, I've found it quite hard to motivate myself to do anything. The relatively good amount of sleep deprivation doesn't help my productivity either but at least I've been diligent enough to get the necessary things done.
Today should also be the first day of decent weather in Hong Kong since my arrival. So far it has just been gloomy and rainy. Today, it should be less rainy and more sunny! So, we have a set of plans for today (with plenty of alternative plans to back-up the original 'Plan-A'). I will write about that stuff on Monday.
Sometimes I'm very glad other people here don't understand what us Finns are talking about. Sure, we don't understand what the local people are saying either, but I'm quite sure they don't cover the topics we do - at least not with such passion.
And I'm not talking about those conversations where we comment on appearance of people, or other immature stuff.
I'm talking about how we can go on for hours about politics, environment, philosophy, culture, time-travel, space-travel, future, past, science, pseudoscience, religion, human behavior, human intelligence, human stupidity, personal freedoms, societal structures, compulsory military service, education, etc...anything.
Our conversation usually is rather seriously spoken, though mostly harmless debate, and to an outsider it may actually seem as if we're talking about something important. How wrong they are. They may think we actually know what we're talking about, not realizing we hardly ever have any factual base to our conversations. We just debate for the sake of debate.
I don't have strong opinions pretty much about anything but I can come up with one in an instance once someone says something!
At least I'm lucky enough to have company here who are good at this sort of random debating. Many people suck at it, and it'd suck if I couldn't keep up this "hobby" of mine!
In Finland, I wouldn't do this in public though. But here it's all good. No one knows what we talk about. They only see a bunch of Gweilo's talking in a strange language, with a passion: "obviously debating about something important and intelligent!"
Anyhow, there's nothing much to tell about today. I will try to live some during weekend. Hah, maybe I'll have more to write about then.
Below, a random-quote from Grim Fandango:
Manuel Calavera: How do you do this job?
Membrillo: Without becoming jaded, you mean? The secret to my happiness, Manuel, is I have the heart of a twelve year old child. I keep it in a jar over here. Would you like to see it?
Manuel Calavera: NO.
Membrillo: Sorry. Old coroner joke.
Thursday, 16 August 2007
Smoked salmon sandwich
For some reason I find it very difficult to say 'smoked salmon sandwich' really fast. It's my typical breakfast these days and I get it from McCafe every morning as I'm going to work. My English articulation has been improving a lot, naturally, but for some reason this three-word combination finds me stuck. I need to practice.
The sandwich itself is among the best of sandwiches I've ever had. And the piece of salmon inside is quite big so having the sandwich 4-5 times per week should be enough to meet the recommended quantity of fish eaten per week.
Isn't this all very interesting?
Anyway, so it's day 4 in Hong Kong after my vacation in Finland. I must say I'm loving every moment here again. Life is sweet. My sister and brother came to HK with me and are here for two weeks. They've mostly been shopping so far but maybe during the weekend we'll have time to see some local sights as well.
There's a lot to be seen in Hong Kong, one just need to know what and where. Of course the tourists' guidebooks help but there's a lot more than what they tell about.
Markus wrote about his way of traveling in his Blog.
Like him, I'm mostly into other things than sights. I think sights are just a by-product of a trip somewhere. Of course it really depends on where you travel. In my case, if I went to Germany (or almost anywhere in Europe), it would be mostly about meeting old friends and hanging out with them. On the other hand, going to a place where you don't know anyone it's a bit more difficult to just concentrate on being social. Of course you can, but it's more difficult.
For me; I always liked to be social anywhere. It's hard for me sometimes because of my Finnish background but I've tried to rid myself of it.
"Be all-seeing, be brave...be gone!" - Ayreon
Going to sights is a good social event as well. If with a friend, it's a good way to spend time... just go somewhere. Since it really doesn't matter where you meet them and talk with them, why not at a place which somehow increases the significance of the particular city or area. That's what I do a lot of times. At least that way you see the place itself too, not just someone's living room and the close neighborhood.
Of course, nothing beats sitting down in a nice bar and have a cold beer. That's life at its best.
So, what about things in HK since my return?
It's been a rough week in terms of sleep. I haven't had much of it and it has reflected on the time I've been waking up in the mornings: late. However, I'm not complaining at all! Being with Chi, being late in the city and all that are better than good reasons to suffer feeling a little enervated in the mornings. I only wish I could stay up later - but it's a matter of practicality and time.
For the time my brother and sister are here I will be quite busy after work too, but once they're away, I can relax a bit more again. I don't mind having company - quite the contrary - just stating a fact. :)
Weather seems to have changed a lot in HK since I left. It had been months-long sunny period but now everything is gloomy with random showers of rain. I hope the weather improves soon - especially for the sake of my tourist-sister and -brother. This city looks so much better in good weather.
Well, there isn't much to write about yet as such. Need to live a little before coming up with new topics. ;)
So maybe this is it for this post then.
The End.
Guybrush (offering Murray his skeletal arm): If I gave you your arm back, what would you do with it?
Murray: I'd terrorize the South Seas! I'd torture the living! I'd demolish the...er... What I meant to say was, I'd use it to pet kittens.
Guybrush: Nope. You blew it.
Murray: Drat.
The sandwich itself is among the best of sandwiches I've ever had. And the piece of salmon inside is quite big so having the sandwich 4-5 times per week should be enough to meet the recommended quantity of fish eaten per week.
Isn't this all very interesting?
Anyway, so it's day 4 in Hong Kong after my vacation in Finland. I must say I'm loving every moment here again. Life is sweet. My sister and brother came to HK with me and are here for two weeks. They've mostly been shopping so far but maybe during the weekend we'll have time to see some local sights as well.
There's a lot to be seen in Hong Kong, one just need to know what and where. Of course the tourists' guidebooks help but there's a lot more than what they tell about.
Markus wrote about his way of traveling in his Blog.
Like him, I'm mostly into other things than sights. I think sights are just a by-product of a trip somewhere. Of course it really depends on where you travel. In my case, if I went to Germany (or almost anywhere in Europe), it would be mostly about meeting old friends and hanging out with them. On the other hand, going to a place where you don't know anyone it's a bit more difficult to just concentrate on being social. Of course you can, but it's more difficult.
For me; I always liked to be social anywhere. It's hard for me sometimes because of my Finnish background but I've tried to rid myself of it.
"Be all-seeing, be brave...be gone!" - Ayreon
Going to sights is a good social event as well. If with a friend, it's a good way to spend time... just go somewhere. Since it really doesn't matter where you meet them and talk with them, why not at a place which somehow increases the significance of the particular city or area. That's what I do a lot of times. At least that way you see the place itself too, not just someone's living room and the close neighborhood.
Of course, nothing beats sitting down in a nice bar and have a cold beer. That's life at its best.
So, what about things in HK since my return?
It's been a rough week in terms of sleep. I haven't had much of it and it has reflected on the time I've been waking up in the mornings: late. However, I'm not complaining at all! Being with Chi, being late in the city and all that are better than good reasons to suffer feeling a little enervated in the mornings. I only wish I could stay up later - but it's a matter of practicality and time.
For the time my brother and sister are here I will be quite busy after work too, but once they're away, I can relax a bit more again. I don't mind having company - quite the contrary - just stating a fact. :)
Weather seems to have changed a lot in HK since I left. It had been months-long sunny period but now everything is gloomy with random showers of rain. I hope the weather improves soon - especially for the sake of my tourist-sister and -brother. This city looks so much better in good weather.
Well, there isn't much to write about yet as such. Need to live a little before coming up with new topics. ;)
So maybe this is it for this post then.
The End.
Guybrush (offering Murray his skeletal arm): If I gave you your arm back, what would you do with it?
Murray: I'd terrorize the South Seas! I'd torture the living! I'd demolish the...er... What I meant to say was, I'd use it to pet kittens.
Guybrush: Nope. You blew it.
Murray: Drat.
Tuesday, 14 August 2007
Fortnight in Finland
Here it begins.
Friday 27th of July, in our lord's year two thousand and seven.
Journey to Finland begins: We head off to the Hong Kong International Airport. I am traveling with Toni, who has just spent his two-week vacation in HK, and we had earlier booked ourselves to the same flight to avoid ultimate boredom during flight.
The flight was quite ok. The 9 hours 40 minutes passed without much event and before I could say: "But if a woodchuck could chuck and would chuck some amount of wood, what amount of wood would a woodchuck chuck?", we had already landed in Helsinki-Vantaa airport. Nice.
NOTE: After being free to speak your mind out loud without concern for a long while, it's hard to remember that already in the airplane there are a lot of people who understand Finnish.
I got out of the airport and my first notion is that I'm not wearing a jacket and it's quite cold.
The first bus to Valkeakoski left quite conveniently after a 15 minute wait. If it was cold outside, it was damned hot inside the bus - and the aircon wasn't working. So, after sitting almost 10 hours in an airplane, I was stuck for another 2 hours in a hot bus, sweating - removing any hope that I wouldn't reek of rotting wombat carcass on a hot summer day.
Well, I got home pleasantly enough anyway. The welcoming was warm and quite instantly I remembered why it's so nice to be home.
First day, aside from traveling some 8,000 kilometers, I didn't do much.
Saturday 28th of July, in our lord's year two thousand and seven.
Nothing much happens: just as I like it. It's cool and rainy out side: just like I wanted it. No stress over anything and no obligation to go outside because "ooooh, it's such a nice day so don't waste it by being inside all day!". Just a perfect day for me.
I just stayed within the premises of my home, going to the backyard from time to time. I never really understood the true value of a nice backyard until I didn't have one. I don't have a backyard in Hong Kong - albeit I have about 150 yards of free fall from my balcony to a certain death - and just being able to step outside the back door to a nice lawn, refreshing air and nature all-around... well, I liked it!
Being at home in Finland is really great! No arguing about that.
Monday 30th of July, in our lord's year two thousand and seven.
So, what about outside of home?
I went to the city central of Valkeakoski at 09:30 with set plan of going to the bank to deposit some money. However, it turns out I've arrived 30 minutes before the bank opens.
So, I go through the list of things I need to do on that day and pick one.
My list included: Going to KELA to sort my things out concerning Finnish social security in my case; going to an insurance company to sort out whether I can have an insurance from Finland; getting a pre-paid cellphone line because I messed up my old one.
I chose the 'pre-paid'-option. It's the easiest and closest by to the bank.
I went to the closest R-kiosk because I remember something from their annoying commercials on TV: they have some pre-paid's. So, I go in and ask for one. Turns out I can get it with about €7 - valued at €10. A fancy marketing trick, I'm sure.
I got my phoneline so now I'm good on that part. I look at my watch: still 20 minutes to go.
I decide to have some breakfast so I go to the closest grocery store and get some kebab-salad. The price was ok - no heart attack for me yet.
I go outside to eat my breakfast, and I locate myself close to the legendary pyramids of Valkeakoski. Looking around, I am reminded of reasons I don't like Finland. It's almost 10am and I'm looking at all the bums of Valkeakoski, gathered to the central square, sitting and looking awful. Amids the bums are the first shoppers of the day: old people and housewife's - all dressed nicely to shell-suits. Just as I remembered.
If only it got any better during the day. But it doesn't.
While the average amount of "normal" people increases during the day, the proportion of the previously mentioned remains high. A sad fact, but very true. Especially the bums get on my nerve. Finland probably has the largest amount of self-inflicted bums in the world. If not, I pity the other place.
After a while of waiting, the bank opens. I go and deposit my money and head out.
Next on my list is KELA.
Earlier this year I had received a letter from KELA, explaining that I am no longer within the system of Finnish social security - meaning I will not be compensated by the government if, for example, I get injured and need to go to a hospital. The letter also told me to return my KELA-card.
Upon entering KELA I took a number to the queue, sat down and waited. Quite soon I my number was up and I went to talk with a nice lady, who explained me the same things as the letter. So, indeed, now that I am a "overseas-Finn", I am not entitled to the social security we Finns usually have. Nice, I also needed to leave KELA-card. This means everything depends on my insurance and savings account.
After KELA, I go check an insurance company.
Upon entering IF (and insurance company) I find myself talking to a strapping young lad who is obviously new at his job. I ask him whether IF offers any insurance packages to overseas-Finns - not just travel insurance. He needs the help of a more experienced employee so an older woman is called upon.
Her first question: "Do you have KELA-card?"
Ok, so I can't get an insurance for Finland. I need to get it from HK. It's ok, but I would've really preferred having a Finnish company do that part. I've heard the local companies here can be really sneaky at wriggling their way out of paying by various loopholes. Well, I don't need anything fancy so maybe I can find something decent.
Saturday 4th of August, in our lord's year two thousand and seven.
For most of the week, I didn't do much. I was enjoying it, relaxing as much as I could and since it was quite cool and rainy, I enjoyed the coolness too. Actually, many people were concerned my vacation would suck due to bad weather but they just didn't understand how refreshing it was after the hot weathers we had had in HK earlier. I could wear a jacket in Finland and it was mighty awesome!
I had been playing some PS2 games with Toni some evenings and I had spend some of my time playing some new PC games on my brother's ultra-fast-cool-super computer.
Saturday was the first evening out. We had a small get-together of friends in where we barbecued and had some beer. All very nice! It was fun after such a long time and it took me actually quite late to get home. Friends and family: the two things I miss most about Finland - all other things are just props; though nice, not necessary.
Sunday 5th of August, in our lord's year two thousand and seven.
My youngest sister gave birth to a strapping toddler! Just on time, because I *requested* the baby to be born during the time I'm in Finland so I can see it before I go back to HK. Timing was perfect!
Me and Toni spent a good portion of the day taking photographs. Toni has been studying photography and the agenda for the day was to teach some basic tricks to me about taking good pictures.
Sunday was the turning point in the weather. Thenceforth it was sunny and warm (even hot on some occasions).
Monday 6th of August, in our lord's year two thousand and seven.
With the turning of the weather, I started being out a lot more. I took hours-long walks and enjoyed the Finnish summer at its best.
Finland is quite spectacular during summer. It is very plain and boring but the calmness of the nature is almost tangible - something you can almost touch. In HK, the nature is awesome and there is a lot of it. I love the HK nature but somehow it feels different. Maybe it's because Finnish nature is just so much more familiar to me. Anyway, walking in the small streets that snake through the forest was really refreshing.
Actually, now thinking back at my time in Finland, it makes my concept of Finland as a summer resort much stronger. I like almost everything better in HK, but Finland has that serene nature and peace during summer which one use to relax.
Wednesday 8th of August, in our lord's year two thousand and seven.
While having a vacation was my main reason to go to Finland, I was also determined to do some work there too. Most of my customers are Finnish so I went to meet with them. So on Tuesday and Wednesday me and my Finnish colleague drove around Finland. Tuesday we totaled about 600 kilometers, on Wednesday 500 kilometers.
There is not much to say about those two days. I woke up early and got home late. It was quite interesting to travel so much, however, and I got to see some new places too - new towns and cities, forests and lakes.
Friday 10th of August, in our lord's year two thousand and seven.
Last full day in Finland. An action-packed day full of plans. In the morning I go buy an inflatable bed for myself to HK. My little sister and brother are coming to HK with me for a few weeks and I will give my sister have my bedroom so she can have some privacy too - me and my brother will sleep in the living room. So, I need that extra bed.
After that, I went to Tampere to see my youngest sister and the toddler. A cute little thing he was! After that, I went to see my friends who live in Tampere. Finally, I got back to Valkeakoski, where me, Toni and another friend of mine went again barbecuing for the evening.
I got back home at 1am. Slept like a baby.
Saturday 11th of August, in our lord's year two thousand and seven.
Woke up at 7am. Really tired but all hyped up by the idea of going back to HK. While I liked being in Finland, I missed HK a lot! Going back felt like going back home, and that's what HK truly is, my home.
Packed my final things and got ready to leave. My bus left at 12:30 to Helsinki, from where my flight left at 16:50 (actually we left 20 minutes later because some delays).
The flight was ok, even though the young and sexy flight attendants of Finnair tried my nerves on a couple occasions. Oh, and the service they provided was reaaaaaaaalllllly good. Ten points to Finnair for service and representation!
Summary
I enjoyed my time in Finland but I'm really glad to be back in HK. Finland is an awesome place to grow up and there are many things to do - when you're young. However, at my age I found the place really boring. Actually, the only place even remotely interesting was Helsinki - but I know that's an illusion since I lived there for a while.
My vacation was nice, relaxing and fun. I had forgot some of the good things there are Finland and I was glad to be reminded of them.
Finland is a country of serenity and peace. You won't find any action there (or if you do, it's usually in the form of idiots: bums, drunkards, rednecks or such) and you can live without much worry. Actually, Finland is at its best when you can stay on your own (with your friends if need be) and not have to deal with other people. Random people in Finland pose a threat to a good Finland-experience.
My point is: Finland is a great place for its nature and it's physical being, not because of its people. The people are ok too, but usually just the ones you know already. Especially during the night-time you don't really want to meet people. They're drunk and they're annoying.
I left some events out of this entry since it's becoming so long. I will probably, however, refer to them in the future anyway -- and it's not like there was much happening in Finland ..... I mean, it's Finland. If you're not drunk, it's not exactly an exiting place.
Have you ever heard a funny story from Finland that started with the words: "So, me and my friend were sober one day and...."?
It doesn't happen.
Friday 27th of July, in our lord's year two thousand and seven.
Journey to Finland begins: We head off to the Hong Kong International Airport. I am traveling with Toni, who has just spent his two-week vacation in HK, and we had earlier booked ourselves to the same flight to avoid ultimate boredom during flight.
The flight was quite ok. The 9 hours 40 minutes passed without much event and before I could say: "But if a woodchuck could chuck and would chuck some amount of wood, what amount of wood would a woodchuck chuck?", we had already landed in Helsinki-Vantaa airport. Nice.
NOTE: After being free to speak your mind out loud without concern for a long while, it's hard to remember that already in the airplane there are a lot of people who understand Finnish.
I got out of the airport and my first notion is that I'm not wearing a jacket and it's quite cold.
The first bus to Valkeakoski left quite conveniently after a 15 minute wait. If it was cold outside, it was damned hot inside the bus - and the aircon wasn't working. So, after sitting almost 10 hours in an airplane, I was stuck for another 2 hours in a hot bus, sweating - removing any hope that I wouldn't reek of rotting wombat carcass on a hot summer day.
Well, I got home pleasantly enough anyway. The welcoming was warm and quite instantly I remembered why it's so nice to be home.
First day, aside from traveling some 8,000 kilometers, I didn't do much.
Saturday 28th of July, in our lord's year two thousand and seven.
Nothing much happens: just as I like it. It's cool and rainy out side: just like I wanted it. No stress over anything and no obligation to go outside because "ooooh, it's such a nice day so don't waste it by being inside all day!". Just a perfect day for me.
I just stayed within the premises of my home, going to the backyard from time to time. I never really understood the true value of a nice backyard until I didn't have one. I don't have a backyard in Hong Kong - albeit I have about 150 yards of free fall from my balcony to a certain death - and just being able to step outside the back door to a nice lawn, refreshing air and nature all-around... well, I liked it!
Being at home in Finland is really great! No arguing about that.
Monday 30th of July, in our lord's year two thousand and seven.
So, what about outside of home?
I went to the city central of Valkeakoski at 09:30 with set plan of going to the bank to deposit some money. However, it turns out I've arrived 30 minutes before the bank opens.
So, I go through the list of things I need to do on that day and pick one.
My list included: Going to KELA to sort my things out concerning Finnish social security in my case; going to an insurance company to sort out whether I can have an insurance from Finland; getting a pre-paid cellphone line because I messed up my old one.
I chose the 'pre-paid'-option. It's the easiest and closest by to the bank.
I went to the closest R-kiosk because I remember something from their annoying commercials on TV: they have some pre-paid's. So, I go in and ask for one. Turns out I can get it with about €7 - valued at €10. A fancy marketing trick, I'm sure.
I got my phoneline so now I'm good on that part. I look at my watch: still 20 minutes to go.
I decide to have some breakfast so I go to the closest grocery store and get some kebab-salad. The price was ok - no heart attack for me yet.
I go outside to eat my breakfast, and I locate myself close to the legendary pyramids of Valkeakoski. Looking around, I am reminded of reasons I don't like Finland. It's almost 10am and I'm looking at all the bums of Valkeakoski, gathered to the central square, sitting and looking awful. Amids the bums are the first shoppers of the day: old people and housewife's - all dressed nicely to shell-suits. Just as I remembered.
If only it got any better during the day. But it doesn't.
While the average amount of "normal" people increases during the day, the proportion of the previously mentioned remains high. A sad fact, but very true. Especially the bums get on my nerve. Finland probably has the largest amount of self-inflicted bums in the world. If not, I pity the other place.
After a while of waiting, the bank opens. I go and deposit my money and head out.
Next on my list is KELA.
Earlier this year I had received a letter from KELA, explaining that I am no longer within the system of Finnish social security - meaning I will not be compensated by the government if, for example, I get injured and need to go to a hospital. The letter also told me to return my KELA-card.
Upon entering KELA I took a number to the queue, sat down and waited. Quite soon I my number was up and I went to talk with a nice lady, who explained me the same things as the letter. So, indeed, now that I am a "overseas-Finn", I am not entitled to the social security we Finns usually have. Nice, I also needed to leave KELA-card. This means everything depends on my insurance and savings account.
After KELA, I go check an insurance company.
Upon entering IF (and insurance company) I find myself talking to a strapping young lad who is obviously new at his job. I ask him whether IF offers any insurance packages to overseas-Finns - not just travel insurance. He needs the help of a more experienced employee so an older woman is called upon.
Her first question: "Do you have KELA-card?"
Ok, so I can't get an insurance for Finland. I need to get it from HK. It's ok, but I would've really preferred having a Finnish company do that part. I've heard the local companies here can be really sneaky at wriggling their way out of paying by various loopholes. Well, I don't need anything fancy so maybe I can find something decent.
Saturday 4th of August, in our lord's year two thousand and seven.
For most of the week, I didn't do much. I was enjoying it, relaxing as much as I could and since it was quite cool and rainy, I enjoyed the coolness too. Actually, many people were concerned my vacation would suck due to bad weather but they just didn't understand how refreshing it was after the hot weathers we had had in HK earlier. I could wear a jacket in Finland and it was mighty awesome!
I had been playing some PS2 games with Toni some evenings and I had spend some of my time playing some new PC games on my brother's ultra-fast-cool-super computer.
Saturday was the first evening out. We had a small get-together of friends in where we barbecued and had some beer. All very nice! It was fun after such a long time and it took me actually quite late to get home. Friends and family: the two things I miss most about Finland - all other things are just props; though nice, not necessary.
Sunday 5th of August, in our lord's year two thousand and seven.
My youngest sister gave birth to a strapping toddler! Just on time, because I *requested* the baby to be born during the time I'm in Finland so I can see it before I go back to HK. Timing was perfect!
Me and Toni spent a good portion of the day taking photographs. Toni has been studying photography and the agenda for the day was to teach some basic tricks to me about taking good pictures.
Sunday was the turning point in the weather. Thenceforth it was sunny and warm (even hot on some occasions).
Monday 6th of August, in our lord's year two thousand and seven.
With the turning of the weather, I started being out a lot more. I took hours-long walks and enjoyed the Finnish summer at its best.
Finland is quite spectacular during summer. It is very plain and boring but the calmness of the nature is almost tangible - something you can almost touch. In HK, the nature is awesome and there is a lot of it. I love the HK nature but somehow it feels different. Maybe it's because Finnish nature is just so much more familiar to me. Anyway, walking in the small streets that snake through the forest was really refreshing.
Actually, now thinking back at my time in Finland, it makes my concept of Finland as a summer resort much stronger. I like almost everything better in HK, but Finland has that serene nature and peace during summer which one use to relax.
Wednesday 8th of August, in our lord's year two thousand and seven.
While having a vacation was my main reason to go to Finland, I was also determined to do some work there too. Most of my customers are Finnish so I went to meet with them. So on Tuesday and Wednesday me and my Finnish colleague drove around Finland. Tuesday we totaled about 600 kilometers, on Wednesday 500 kilometers.
There is not much to say about those two days. I woke up early and got home late. It was quite interesting to travel so much, however, and I got to see some new places too - new towns and cities, forests and lakes.
Friday 10th of August, in our lord's year two thousand and seven.
Last full day in Finland. An action-packed day full of plans. In the morning I go buy an inflatable bed for myself to HK. My little sister and brother are coming to HK with me for a few weeks and I will give my sister have my bedroom so she can have some privacy too - me and my brother will sleep in the living room. So, I need that extra bed.
After that, I went to Tampere to see my youngest sister and the toddler. A cute little thing he was! After that, I went to see my friends who live in Tampere. Finally, I got back to Valkeakoski, where me, Toni and another friend of mine went again barbecuing for the evening.
I got back home at 1am. Slept like a baby.
Saturday 11th of August, in our lord's year two thousand and seven.
Woke up at 7am. Really tired but all hyped up by the idea of going back to HK. While I liked being in Finland, I missed HK a lot! Going back felt like going back home, and that's what HK truly is, my home.
Packed my final things and got ready to leave. My bus left at 12:30 to Helsinki, from where my flight left at 16:50 (actually we left 20 minutes later because some delays).
The flight was ok, even though the young and sexy flight attendants of Finnair tried my nerves on a couple occasions. Oh, and the service they provided was reaaaaaaaalllllly good. Ten points to Finnair for service and representation!
Summary
I enjoyed my time in Finland but I'm really glad to be back in HK. Finland is an awesome place to grow up and there are many things to do - when you're young. However, at my age I found the place really boring. Actually, the only place even remotely interesting was Helsinki - but I know that's an illusion since I lived there for a while.
My vacation was nice, relaxing and fun. I had forgot some of the good things there are Finland and I was glad to be reminded of them.
Finland is a country of serenity and peace. You won't find any action there (or if you do, it's usually in the form of idiots: bums, drunkards, rednecks or such) and you can live without much worry. Actually, Finland is at its best when you can stay on your own (with your friends if need be) and not have to deal with other people. Random people in Finland pose a threat to a good Finland-experience.
My point is: Finland is a great place for its nature and it's physical being, not because of its people. The people are ok too, but usually just the ones you know already. Especially during the night-time you don't really want to meet people. They're drunk and they're annoying.
I left some events out of this entry since it's becoming so long. I will probably, however, refer to them in the future anyway -- and it's not like there was much happening in Finland ..... I mean, it's Finland. If you're not drunk, it's not exactly an exiting place.
Have you ever heard a funny story from Finland that started with the words: "So, me and my friend were sober one day and...."?
It doesn't happen.
Monday, 13 August 2007
In briefing of the debriefing
There is no way I will write my report on Finland today. No way.
Our flight arrived in HK around 07:40 and I stayed up until 04:00. Previous day I had woken up at 07:00 in Finland (12:00 HK time) so all-in-all I stayed up for 40 hours straight. Then, I allowed myself 6 hours of sleep. Now I sit in the office.
No way I will write anything that requires me to think, to remember, or to concentrate.
Maybe tomorrow I will report my experiences but that remains to be seen as the prospects of having a good night's sleep the following night seem rather dim indeed too. I will go out again - like I did last night.
It's stupid, I know. But people do stupid things.
However, I love being back home.
Home ..... some people in Finland found it rather surprising that I called HK my home. Perhaps they don't really understand that Home is where your hearth is; or that living in one place for this long will sever many bonds one might have had to another place. Home. I tried to explain them but I don't think they really understood - not many people do. They don't see beyond their own realm of possibility and opportunity.
I don't care.
I liked being in Finland. There were many good things there and I got to remember many of those things that I had forgotten while living in HK. As I was mostly on vacation there, I also could relax and forget the busy life in HK, and I could enjoy one week of Finland's summer at its best!
However, I missed my life in HK very much during my stay. Even for mere two weeks I found it hard not to think about finally returning to HK again.
But I will tell more about all those things in my Finland-debriefing later.
Now I will concentrate on being tired. Tired but happy. Happy but tired. :)
Guybrush: "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"
Carpenter: "A woodchuck could chuck no amount of wood since a woodchuck can't chuck wood."
Guybrush: "But if a woodchuck could chuck and would chuck some amount of wood, what amount of wood would a woodchuck chuck?"
Carpenter: "Even if a woodchuck could chuck wood and even if a woodchuck would chuck wood, should a woodchuck chuck wood?"
Guybrush: "A woodchuck should chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood, as long as a woodchuck would chuck wood."
Carpenter: "Oh shut up."
Our flight arrived in HK around 07:40 and I stayed up until 04:00. Previous day I had woken up at 07:00 in Finland (12:00 HK time) so all-in-all I stayed up for 40 hours straight. Then, I allowed myself 6 hours of sleep. Now I sit in the office.
No way I will write anything that requires me to think, to remember, or to concentrate.
Maybe tomorrow I will report my experiences but that remains to be seen as the prospects of having a good night's sleep the following night seem rather dim indeed too. I will go out again - like I did last night.
It's stupid, I know. But people do stupid things.
However, I love being back home.
Home ..... some people in Finland found it rather surprising that I called HK my home. Perhaps they don't really understand that Home is where your hearth is; or that living in one place for this long will sever many bonds one might have had to another place. Home. I tried to explain them but I don't think they really understood - not many people do. They don't see beyond their own realm of possibility and opportunity.
I don't care.
I liked being in Finland. There were many good things there and I got to remember many of those things that I had forgotten while living in HK. As I was mostly on vacation there, I also could relax and forget the busy life in HK, and I could enjoy one week of Finland's summer at its best!
However, I missed my life in HK very much during my stay. Even for mere two weeks I found it hard not to think about finally returning to HK again.
But I will tell more about all those things in my Finland-debriefing later.
Now I will concentrate on being tired. Tired but happy. Happy but tired. :)
Guybrush: "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"
Carpenter: "A woodchuck could chuck no amount of wood since a woodchuck can't chuck wood."
Guybrush: "But if a woodchuck could chuck and would chuck some amount of wood, what amount of wood would a woodchuck chuck?"
Carpenter: "Even if a woodchuck could chuck wood and even if a woodchuck would chuck wood, should a woodchuck chuck wood?"
Guybrush: "A woodchuck should chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood, as long as a woodchuck would chuck wood."
Carpenter: "Oh shut up."
Monday, 6 August 2007
Status quo ante.
I suppose I need to scribble something here since people have been asking why I haven't posted anything in over a week.
Well, I was supposed to withold myself from writing anything during my stay in Finland and then do one mega-huge-post upon arriving back to HK. So, I will keep this short to keep as much of my original plan alive as possible.
As well known by majority of this planet's population, I arrived in Finland on 27th last month. It was a nice and cool day and it has remained such for majority of time during my stay. I don't care, however, since cool weather was exactly what I wanted to have. People here seem to have hard time understanding my point-of-view but they obviously don't know how nice it is to have a few 15-20 degrees Celcius days after two months of over 30. I can actually wear a jacket here and not sweat like a pig! A damned jacket!
Coming here was like taking a time-machine back to March 2006. Since then, nothing has really changed.
Of course there are small things here and there and progressions in peoples' lives... but generally this place is like stuck in time for the last 10 years. I don't mind, however, it's one of the reasons I like this place. Nothing ever happens and thus it is a very safe environment for a child to grow up. Not nice for me, a 25-year-old geezer to live in at the moment, though, and I'm glad I've found myself an interesting enough place to live in --- albeit 8000km from home.
Anyway. I won't go into details of my stay here; I will do that next week Monday, or Tuesday depending on how I have time to write.
Oh, and I seem to have run out of Batman-quotes, so I will move to Monkey Island:
LeChuck: Do you know what happens next?
Guybrush: Umm... Well...
LeChuck: I will then take your bones, still alive and in great pain, and make them into a chair. I will call it "My Screaming Chair". Every day I will sit in it and listen to you scream. Any questions?
Well, I was supposed to withold myself from writing anything during my stay in Finland and then do one mega-huge-post upon arriving back to HK. So, I will keep this short to keep as much of my original plan alive as possible.
As well known by majority of this planet's population, I arrived in Finland on 27th last month. It was a nice and cool day and it has remained such for majority of time during my stay. I don't care, however, since cool weather was exactly what I wanted to have. People here seem to have hard time understanding my point-of-view but they obviously don't know how nice it is to have a few 15-20 degrees Celcius days after two months of over 30. I can actually wear a jacket here and not sweat like a pig! A damned jacket!
Coming here was like taking a time-machine back to March 2006. Since then, nothing has really changed.
Of course there are small things here and there and progressions in peoples' lives... but generally this place is like stuck in time for the last 10 years. I don't mind, however, it's one of the reasons I like this place. Nothing ever happens and thus it is a very safe environment for a child to grow up. Not nice for me, a 25-year-old geezer to live in at the moment, though, and I'm glad I've found myself an interesting enough place to live in --- albeit 8000km from home.
Anyway. I won't go into details of my stay here; I will do that next week Monday, or Tuesday depending on how I have time to write.
Oh, and I seem to have run out of Batman-quotes, so I will move to Monkey Island:
LeChuck: Do you know what happens next?
Guybrush: Umm... Well...
LeChuck: I will then take your bones, still alive and in great pain, and make them into a chair. I will call it "My Screaming Chair". Every day I will sit in it and listen to you scream. Any questions?
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