Beside You In Time

What if everything around you isn't quite as it seems? What if all the world you used to know is an elaborate dream? And if you look at your reflection, is it all you want to be? What if you could look right through the cracks; would you find yourself afraid to see? Look up NIN's With Teeth tour stage visuals for Right Where It Belongs on youtube. It's good.

And screw this Nordic light-around-the-clock thing. It's never really bothered me drastically before, but I'm now on my third week of randomly waking up around 04:00-05:00. Am going mad with it! Will now proceed to toss and turn for three hours before I have to get up anyway. Next project: Blinder curtains.

I Will Possess Your Heart

Speaking of the new Death Cab record; their first single from the album Narrow Stairs is very promising indeed. Gibbard's lyrics have me enthralled, as usual:

She Loves You For All That You're Not

Russia winning Eurovision didn't surprise me at all (these pictures gross me out no end), but I must say I was a bit disappointed by Sweden's poor results, not to mention shocked by the Norwegian score. Sunday I went for a very nice dinner in Teatteri with Mike, who was back (again) from London and some other friends. Yesterday I spent in our Stockholm office, and the trip almost did my head in. Had accumulated a cold w/headache on the side when I got home, and was not a very happy camper at all. Today has, however, been several notches better.

So, Scarlett Johansson's first Tom Waits cover single is out - Falling Down. She's receiving some criticism for the multi-layer, fuzzed up production vocals, but I have to say it's not half bad at all. I don't know what I expected, but it could definitely be worse. Also kind of like her video for the song, it would have been easy for her to do a glammed up popstar thing, but instead I think it's rather true to the style of Waits' own videos - a bit bleak and weird.

I now only have three working days before I go on holiday. As they are the three last days of the month I will be working my ass off, but still, in more or less exactly 72 hours my flight departs Vantaa and I will be leaning back with music in my ears (hopefully Death Cab's latest record have arrived on my doorstep by then) and two and a half weeks of free time ahead of me. Before I get that far, however, I have two movie nights this week. Will see The Hudsucker Proxy tomorrow and Indiana Jones on Thursday. Better exhaust myself completely while I'm at it :p

I've been thinking a lot lately about breaking out of patterns and taking the road less travelled, and am starting to worry I have become complacent. I used to challenge everything and jump at any chance to stretch my limits, but lately I seem to be more inclined to critizise others for not taking chances than doing so myself. Will target to change this, but might need some help in getting there.

For some reason this last paragraph put me onto the 2007 Israeli Eurovision song Push the Button (the mind moves in mysterious ways). Now, this song was no masterpiece to put it very mildly, but our LCV (Light Commercial Vehicles) department got completely hooked on it and were chanting Push The Button in response to more or less any question you had. Very annoying :)

So Sexy It Hurts?

It's been a while since my last random rant about the ridiculous attractiveness of various individuals (well, only a couple of weeks since my last ode to Trent, but nevermind). In today's temporary return from blog vacation, the first topic is Sarah Bettens. Now, I can hear you go "huh?" as the cogwheels in your head are trying to wrap your memory around this name. I don't think you'll get anywhere, to be honest.

K's Choice was mentioned a couple of posts down. This is a Belgian band consisting of brother and sister, Gert and Sarah Bettens. "Aha!", I hear you go. Well, when I got to know their music, my gaydar was literally doing cartwheels all over this girl, but no, she was happily married and basically as straight as they come. HAH! Eight years later and the girl is out. Unfortunately she's out in the US and already hooked up with a partner and stepkids, but I guess they can't all move to Finland ;p

I know no-one will believe this, but I was roaming the web for something as innocent as the director of 9 1/2 weeks for one of my previous posts, I came across the blog of an earlier US female glam model turned photographer, and to make a long story short I am as a result now a little bit in love with one of her models, which _in turn_ turns out to be a hot shot porn model who markets herself as the world's hottest geek. In this case I am tempted to believe the hype.

Justine Joli picked her name after the leading lady in one of de Sade's stories, and this again leads me to, not another crush, but the splendid film Quills, featuring one of my favorite actresses Kate Winslet, plus Geoffrey Rush and Joaquin Phoenix. This is a very, very good film (about de Sade) that I've never known anyone else to have seen. If you want to loan it you know the drill.

And last, but not least, from the dark corners of Tallinn (am on business trip again) I present thee with Sufjan Stevens. Listen to Chicago and like it. (Snow Patrol namedrops Stevens in their song Hands Open from their 06 record Eyes Open, in the lines "Put Sufjan Stevens on and we'll play our favorite song. "Chicago" bursts to life and your sweet smile remembers you." Not the best of SP tunes, but interesting (?) trivia nonetheless.)

I'm On Standby

I got a music tip yesterday, a Ben Gibbard'ish band called Grandaddy. Thought they were brand new to me, until I came across their AM 180, which I recognized from 28 Days Later. They have an ok sound, some tunes are better than others but in general this is a genre which is easy for me to like. To my annoyance I now have their super simple Nature Anthem (I wanna walk up the side of the mountain, wanna walk down the other side of the mountain. I wanna swim in the river, lie in the sun, I wanna try to be nice to everyone.) stuck in my head.

I've been to the Elegia Day Spa with Dr Deb this afternoon. We ended up picking my brains a bit and I am now far less confused about the general state of things. I also have fancily shaped eyebrows and am very full from a not half bad alternative burger in Bali Hai. Off course I had to drop by Menita's today and now have even more yarn and more needles. Oh, and I learnt how to do a heel. SOCKS, I TELL YOU!

Made a breakthrough in the reporting structure hell today, and should be done with the worst part at the end of this week. Told you I'd get there, I'm a persistent bastard when I have a bee in my bonnett.

I'll be dropping off the map again. Catch you on the flipside, remember to respect the blog! :)

Thieves And Snitches

So, how many knitting projects do we have going now, my dear? Five. Mhm. Have we finished any yet? No. Mhm. Will this be a mess shortly? Probably. Good to have that cleared up.

I am trying to get our reporting structure to where I want it to be, but it's like swimming up a waterfall. Have managed to turn a couple of heads, but I must say I miss process making by dictatorship. I'll get there in the end anyway, so I wish we could do it without all the fuzz.

Going to Tallinn next Tuesday, and wanted to squeeze in Copenhagen on the Monday. That, however, did not work out, so now I have to go there May 26th - a week I hoped would be travel free as I go on summer holiday on that Friday. Two weeks off, will read, shop, knit, eat Chinese food, drink and not do anything productive (ok, maybe read a couple of e-mails). And I got my friend back :)

It had a weird JD moment the other day, as a user for some reason decided to be me for a while. It ocurred to me I have again lost track of who actually reads my blog, and am now a bit creeped out by it. Might go back to blogging anonymously.

In a couple of weeks Eurovision is upon us again. One of my not so secret vices, this is. This year's Norwegian song is a dreadful bore, but there are some other fun ones. The Russian one, for instance. Gay fest party central :D Just the kind of careless music that makes me want to dance my heart out with flowers in my hair all night, and come to think of it that's just about what I'm going to do on the 24th.

The vocalist of last year's Swedish act The Ark, Ola Salo, did this thing with Robyn for the Swedish radio station p3's Guld awards in 06. Enjoy.

Quiet Time Is Underrated

All this thinking about 80's music put me on to Bryan Ferry's Slave to Love, part of the soundtrack for the movie 9 1/2 weeks featuring Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger. I saw this movie for the first time about half a year ago, and fell in love. The movie has one of my favorite quotes.

Driving back from Hanko we listened to Belgian folk-rock band K's Choice's Almost Happy (2000), a record I haven't listened to for ages. I've loaded it over on my mp3 player this morning and will take it with me on a long walk in the lovely weather. The Finnish summer seems to have kicked in early this year. Just hope that doesn't mean it'll be short and cold when the actual summer months arrive.

Next week I will go to the movies, have my face pampered with Deb (only two weeks to go before Team Ginger tie the knot!), have my hair cut with Miia by the ever so lovely Kaisu, and hopefully have a lot of hours in the sun again. Am trying to have a less planned summer with more time to be whimsical, so give me a shout should you crave company! And oh, can't wait for the first summer storm to kick in, I still hold up the statement that no electricity a summer storm in Oslo could muster lives up to the gusto of the Finnish skybreaks.

An Old Shirt Stained With Blood And Whiskey

Ever noticed how Metallica's James Hetfield grows ever more like Tom Waits when he sings with age? I think he has a fan thing going on there... When I grew up my mother took a liking to Rod Stewart, and in particular she seemed to be fond of Downtown Train and Tom Traubert's Blues. It wasn't until many years later I discovered they were both Waits tunes watered down and popularized by Stewart.

Oh, and yesterday I discovered that Scarlett Johansson (yes, the boob'y actress) is going to release a Tom Waits cover album on May 20th this year. Can't help but be a bit curious as to what that might sound like. Not a big fan of miss Johansson's; she did a good enough figure in Lost in Translation, although she's not what makes the movie good, but in general I get a bit distracted by the entire giant-lips-and-boobs thing.

On the topic of Rod Stewart, I couldn't resist looking him up in detail on youtube, and I was stunned by the amount of covers that guy has done. And then I was even more surprised to find that some of the covers he has done were not made by the artists I thought they were. Some Guys Have All The Luck, for instance, was not written by Robert Palmer, but The Persuaders. Never even heard the original! Can't help myself, though, Stewart does put a smile on my face. This Old Heart of Mine with Ronald Isley (of the original's Isley Brothers), for instance? You should see the living room dance routine I have for that one - it can almost compete with my Dancing In The Dark.

Today's trip to Hanko was a lovely affair with sun, barbeque and gargantuan ice cream cones. Thanks to Seppó for dragging along a bunch of tourists to his old hometown :)

Things Will Be Great When You're Downtown

Miia has in the last week become the Nissan unofficial songbird. Very annoying when you hear the two words she knows of Bohemian Rhapsody ("Mamaaaa ooooooh!") all day, very nice when she shifts gear and reminds you of songs like Downtown by Petula Clark (even though it has merged with tv-series Lost for me). Listen to it and forget all your troubles, forget all your cares :)


Take care to avoid the semi perverted 2006 cover by Emma Burton!

So, I've fallen off the map again. This week our GA department were kind enough to replace my defunct mobile with a long awaited (by my manager) smart phone. This new technological wonder of the .com world is creating no small amount of confusion in my existence, actually to a point where it takes me so long to communicate with people on sms I can not, for the moment, be bothered. So for the first time in years I have to tell you it's easier if you call than text!

Yesterday Movie Night veered off to see Iron Man in Tennispalatsi. I didn't have very high hopes for it, as the Marvel comics turned movie usually don't do much for me, but man was this entertaining! First of all, the choice of Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark is an excellent choice, as his personality and the character merges into a wonderful, witty and very convincing one. The movie is funny and has good gadgets and effects for all. Thumbs up, definitely worth seeing. As usual, the company was also good :) Next week I'm putting up No Country for Old Men, and after that movie night takes on an alternative format for the summer, as normal cinema programs in Finland are rather handicapped.

Tomorrow I'm going on a road trip to Finnish port town Hanko (Hangö) where me and eleven others will eat ice cream, barbeque and just simply waste some time. Hanko is incidentally the place where we have our Finnish compound, but I will try to not talk too much about cars, or else I might end up with the other people crowding into two cars and me driving alone!

It's A Small Crime, And I've Got No Excuse

Four months gone as a single girl. After being pretty sure you had the rest of your life pinned down, that's quite a bit to go. Am getting used to the daily life of it now, but am still not comfortable with the thought of being supposed to unconditionally fall again at some point. I like my life as it is now, but emotionally I had committed and that doesn't go away very easily. Also, as the best friend I have ever had I miss him more than I know how to express. At some point we seem to have gone from at least being able to talk to silent treatment.

Copenhagen today has been excellent, and I expect it will continue to be tomorrow. Still have a bit to go on tomorrow's presentation, and will have to do that in the morning before the meetings start, so with this I bid you good night.
Listen to Damien Rice and be sad. Every once in a while that's ok too.

I Am A Visitor Here, I Am Not Permanent

Other than some random drama unfolding on my mobile after I had gone to sleep, yesterday was a good day. Met up with Deb in the morning, and she led me astray on a yarn shopping spree (again) and a bit of Helsinki sightseeing. We ended up (surprisingly enough) in Bar no 9 for chicken lemon pasta and then ventured on to The Black Door where eventually Quinn w/friend and David caught up with us. Turns out they have possibilities to show football games, and are willing to take requests. The possibilities! Had a very good thai dinner on Boulevardi before heading home to bed.

Today I again spent with Deb and Quinn, going to a recycling exhibition in the cable factory before endulging in rather lush amounts of cheese, chatting and sun. Have now cast on a pair of long gloves with a dark green yarn I bought yesterday, and hope they will turn out as good as I plan :p

Next week brings Copenhagen for two days, Iron Man at the movies and a road trip to Hanko on Saturday. Am currently listening to Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-II, and have to admit it's not half bad. All instrumental, but most of it is very NIN. Good buy, that. Also bought Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Saturday, a record I fell in love with four years ago but never ended up owning and hence haven't listened to since.

I am a bit sunburnt and will now retreat to my chambers with my gloves to be and a huge cup of chocolate milk. Life is pretty darn good right about now.

Don't They Know It's The End Of The World?

May 1st barbeque in Vantaa was tosi good, and as I did the clever thing and drove I was not in a bad state this morning. Was, however extremely depressed at the thought of yet another Monday. Needless to say my Monday brightened up no end when I in the shower suddenly realised it was Friday!

Today has been an ode to Excel, I really need to sort our reporting mess out. People don't seem to realise how much easier our days would be if we could just f*ing put everything in the same place and update it all at once instead of having a trillion different files in different locations. Going mad! Also, my phone has now reached a state where I need to keep it switched off 90% of the time to avoid calling every single person I know, so if you get my voice mail a lot it's not because I finally took the step and moved into a telephone free existence by choice, just neccessity.

Visited the Tapiola yarn shop this afternoon, and ended up with more stash. I think I am more prone to addictions than anyone else I know. Work, music, books, beer, men, smoking (hah! proof I can break them as well), cross stitching, puzzles, knitting... Nice to have a hobby again, though. Am currently knitting wrist warmers for arms wider than my own, so I need a willing receiver.

Have done a lot of thinking today, while puzzling together numbers in various formats. Sometimes I am not quite sure I'm going with myself, I have to admit. Most of the time I have a good sense of direction, but then it's like someone turns the GPS off and I can barely tell what planet I'm on. Am in one of these grey zones now, and it kind of makes me want to lock myself in and do some heavy drinking. Not a good sign, happy it's spring and oh! A bird is building a nest in the tree right outside my kitchen window :) Can't wait for her to have chicks, I'll be monitoring their process and am sure to go into heavy deppression should they not make it through summer. (For those of you that have not heard about the living room bird episode, ask me some time I'm not in a place where I'm likely to start crying.)

The music industry was way cooler back when artists that looked like Skeeter Davis, George Jones and Gilbert O'Sullivan made it big with emergency rhymes.

This Is The First Day

Tuesday movie night was good, The Darjeeling Limited is not about tea, but rather about three brothers who set out on a more or less voluntary train journey through India. Quite funny, and leaves you feeling good. Natalie Portman plays a role, always a plus. As usual, however, the company by far outclassed the movie.

Yesterday I ended up well pickled after Sanna's Vappu party and drinks in Memphis/Helsinki Club. The last six months or so I've been good at always heading home in an hour where getting a taxi is still rather easy. Not so last night, and the last evening of April is not exactly the best taxi day in the first place! Spent a good hour and a half in a taxi queue with hundreds of unbearably drunk students that were raving around, fighting, sleeping, falling over and in general not behaving like humans. Got home in the end, though :)

Today I'm going to Deb and David's for some knitting and barbequing, which will be nice. Will be one of few people working tomorrow, and then plan to do nothing at all this weekend. Could use the rest. Oh, and I am sorry about misleading people when it comes to the location of David Bowie's lollipop-in-the-eye-mishap. It was in Oslo, not in Trondheim.

I just listened to Discipline, the latest NIN single. Not a believer, however it put me back on The Fragile, which I haven't listened to for a while. That again led to watching the We're In This Together music video on youtube. At this point he was not any more as angry with God, women, sex, the world and life in general (read: on drugs) as he used to be, but still making it out of the depression era. I kinda miss the old, introvert, dysfunctional Trent, the political Survivalism Trent just doesn't do it for me. Will check out Ghosts I - IV, though. At some point.