back again,

 

i've been sick for a while now, and this has in part affected my willingness to post new entries here. but i seem to be getting better already, so i decided to write something here, just to keep things going. also, i'm working the night shift again, and as i've earlier mentioned, these are probably the best opportunities to blog.. busy relaxin'.

 

so let's see, what has happened recently..? last week, pretty much nothing. this week, a couple of things more.. let's start with a review of a book:

 

the autobiography of diego maradona, aptly titled "i am el diego" :) i got it from amazon a while back, and proceeded to read it in about two days. it wasn't too long, and it was really 'light' reading if one can use that kind of an expression.. diego tells about his shortcomings quite openly, although the drugs part of his life is not very thoroughly covered. he also doles out pretty hefty critizism at about everyone that has ever met him, with the exception of his wife, kids, and fellow coke-head/teammate claudio caniggia. all in all, it was a nice book to read but not quite as compelling as i would've liked. one for the football fans, without a doubt.. and just in case you've forgot about the best ever, please youtube diego, and see him work his magic against pretty much everyone (especially the british, claro).

 

what else.. i got a new toy last week, and it's been filling my life quite nicely, the nerd that i am. :) my cousin happens to work for nokia designing phones, and he had a couple of extra n90's lying around. so i borrowed one just to see what this fuss about them 3g phones is about. well, it is a thing of beauty really. the phone has complete network properties/abilities, an endless list of possible application downloads, as well as an mp3 player. but the real cherry is the camera/videocam functionality, that i've been using a bunch. the camera is better than my 'real' camera ( a sony, received free of charge from my brother who used to work for the devil..). and the videocamera is really good too.. the problem with all this is that the batteries have to be recharged about twice a day. i guess the technology is not quite as advanced as the one used in the actual phones.. anyway, the phone would cost about 800 euros if bought from a store, and this kind of pricing puts it out of my reach pretty solidly. because of this, i'm all too happy try it for free.. and i'll be posting some of the photos that i've taken for your enjoyment. stay tuned..

 

went to a don johnson big band concert with my girlfriend. now this is in my opinion the best finnish act around, and they didn't let us down this time either. those who have attended their gigs know of the endless energy that the mc tommy lindgren possesses. but the bonus treat this time was the participation of felix zenger, a young beatbox-wiz from turku, finland. dude was unbeliavable.. if you have the opportunity to see him somewhere, do not miss it! anyway, the following morning i googled him, and found out that he was also the bronze medalist in the footbag world championships last year. for videos, go to www.footbag.fi. and the boy is only 19 years old.. i guess talent doesn't recognize age, or whatever. djbb is going to be at the tampere-talo in september, and i imagine it's going to be really good. the acoustics and the overall structure of the space will affect the outcome, so i'm really eager to see what it's going to be like.

 

we also went for a quick trip to helsinki.. we caught up with the development of my niece iiris, who was running around like a madwoman already.. the last time i saw her (about 1,5 months earlier) she was not able to really walk yet, so one just has to wonder the amazing pace of the development. she was also talking quite a lot, although not everything made much sense.. :) after that we met some of saara's friends, who were about to leave for chernobyl (you know, the nuclear plant).. on vacation. seriously. it'll be interesting to hear what it's like, and i'm also curious about the overall nature of the trip.. they're a pretty lively bunch and you never know what might happen ;) we also stole this girl eija, who was also in peru with saara, to tampere for a couple of days. i hope she'll manage to look past all this mustamakkara and tappara shit, and uncover the true beauty of the city.. just kidding, should be fun though :)

 

blah, i guess those were the main things for now.. but i'll try to post some new pics later this week. and who knows, maybe even another blog entry about.. nothing in particular. i'm done like jigga, but with considerably less cash..

 

kyösti

 

 

i'm experiencing another slow morning at work, so i decided to post some mumblings about nothing.. wait, i do have a topic after all, my family's get-together to be more accurate.

 

first of all, my girlfriend/roommate eventually got back to finland, if only just barely.. apparently there were some close calls with scheduling, but that's just normal with saara :) anyway, it's been really nice to have her back here. but it's also been very, very weird at the same time. we'll see what happens, i'm looking forward to it with a mix of enthusiasm and pants-crapping-type fear..not to make things too easy for her, we attended my family's annual get together in the central finland on sunday.

 

before i tell about it, i should probably talk a bit about the history of the whole thing. my family has always been very agriculturally able, going back a couple of centuries. most of my relatives still live in the same locations as the family's forefathers. the family has several little farms, and one central-like bigger one, which earlier acted as the focal point of all those smaller farms. my father grew up in one of those smaller farms which was run by his parents until as recently as 20 years ago, and most of his cousins still live and work at their respective possessions. after my dad's folks decided to give up on the day-to-day businesses (because of old age) the place 'leppämäki' has turned into a family hangout with my dad's and his sister's (my aunt) families occupying the space, especially in summertime. it is a really nice place, and provides ample amounts of space and peacefullness, as well as countless chores related to basic forestry and stuff like that.. you can find a couple of pictures of the place in my 'family' album.

 

anyway, the central farm that i mentioned earlier celebrated it's 200th anniversary on sunday, and our whole family plus saara, straight from peru, went there as well.. there were about 120 people, most with the same surname as me, which was both nice and totally hilarious and weird at the same time. the program for the afternoon contained speeches about the history and the occupants of the neighbourhood, and although it was mostly directed at the older folk in attendance, it was nice to hear about the history of the family. the food was delicious, the wine completely awful, and the timetable of the event completely flawed, but still we had lots of fun.. and saara got a crash course on finland real quick with all these hillbilly farmers.. :) well, they are not completely hillbillies (at least not everyone) but still a lot different from the 'urban' folk in finland, not to mention people in south america.

 

as i said, the day was all gravy.. but the gravy turned a bit sour yesterday, when i had to vomit a couple of times in the morning after i got to work. this was probably because the food at the family get-together was served outside in the 25 degree heat, and it had been sitting there for a couple of hours before we got to eating it. and as a result of this, my stomach somersaulted it's contens into the toilet really powerfully, and i had to go home to recuperate. luckily, i'm feeling a lot better today.. but i think there was a lesson for me to learn. and that is to drink more alcohol if i'm going to eat foul food ;)

 

that's enough for now, i'll try to write a bit more later this week.. probably about the transfers in el mundo de futbol, if nothing else. until then, take care..

oh well, i had another uneventful evening shift at work, which i tried to take advantage of by writing some thoughts here. after typing something for about 45 minutes, my computer crashed.. and i think it goes without saying that i lost everything i had come up with. that hadn't happened in a while for me, and you can probably imagine the feeling of pure joy that went through my body..

 

anyway, maybe it was for the better. the thing that i had written was about a book i had been reading, namely the biography of ernesto guevara, or 'el che' amongst friends. now, this is a book that i just picked up from the shelf without giving the selection much thought. i just knew i was going to be very idle at work to say the least, and decided to do something other than browsing the web for the latest football news. now the thing that troubles me is that i had almost forgotten how open to violence and aggressiveness 'el comandante' was.. and yet he is being revered around the world as one of the great liberators and overall characters of the 20th century, especially amongst the young people. while i wholeheartedly admire his passion for liberating opressed and suffering people/whole-friggin'-nations, as well as his yearning to get familiar with different countries and cultures, i have no understanding for his methods, nada. in finland we have a saying 'tarkoitus pyhittää keinot' which basically means that the cause is the thing that matters, not the means. (NOTE: actually the saying translates to "the end justifies the means", thanks to lauri for reminding me, i had a temporary brainlock..) well, i don't really agree with it, at least not in this context. i guess i'm just a little bit more of a gandhi-type, passive resistance dude.. but i won't go into this any more right now, i'm still too pissed off about the earlier technical malfunctions to write the whole thing all over again.

 

on to another, less serious topic. i wanted to introduce a couple of other blogs that could be interesting, because the people that write them live in the same city as me, and share some interests/hobbies/blood with me.

 

my cousin lauri, or mike lowry as he likes to be called because of his neverending love for will smith, just started his blog at about the same time as i did. you can find the url in the list in this page. lauri is a couple of years younger than i am, thus making him exponentially less intelligent.. ;)  oh well, it just so happens that he was the first to complete his studies (by a couple of light years) and works full time earning twice my salary..  he also likes sports as much as i do, but i must say i don't completely get his affection for american football and baseball. but hey, who am i to judge.. anyway, during the winter we have spirited fights within the fantasy sports communities, which he tends to lose more often than not. he also claims to read a lot, but i wouldn't trust his recommendations, i don't think his range extends much beyond box scores and chad ford..

 

the other blog that i would like to mention is that of my studying collegue umair's. now he's a strange fellow, came to live in finland voluntarily, when he had a chance to avoid these winters.. seriously, having a foreign friends makes it easier to widen up one's own perspective on life in general. but the thing that separates umair from the rest is his cooking, i almost died the last time i ate his chicken.. thanks again for that one :)

 

i think that was the dosage for today, i'll get back to writing stuff when the inspiration hits me, or when i'm bored at work. provided the technical issues stay the f*ck away from me.. hasta la victoria siempre, yo creo.

 

kyösti

you can now check the pictures i promised in the previous posting. there are some semi-nice scenic shots, as well as some mugshots of my friends.. these photos don't really present themselves as good as i would like them to, what with the limitations on the sizes and all. so if someone wants a better quality version of a certain picture, just mail me and i'll send it your way. and yeah, i just have to whine a bit about the fact that i was looking to get the perfect shot of the sunset, but this pesky little cloud just had to be there at the wrong time. i guess it just wasn't to be, i hope i'll get another chance to try to capture the moment 

i've been so bored the last couple of hours at the office that i decided to type some things that have been crossing my mind lately. but i'm also too tired to put these in any sort of an order, so i'll just rant.

 

first of all, forza calcio!! the results of the football-related trial in italy finally came out yesterday, and man was i happy.. juve, lazio and viola all went down, and with the -30 points that juve start the upcoming season with, it's hard to see them making an early return to serie a. of course, it's possible that they just buy their way.. wait, maybe they won't  anyway, i was a little annoyed that berlusconi's milan were not relegated, but that never seemed likely in my books anyway, if only because of the huge power that the owner has in the country.

 

it should be stated though that all the teams will probably appeal the verdicts, and knowing italy and it's legal system, it's totally possible that these verdicts will be overthrown, and that 'la vecchia signora' will win another scudetto next year. but i seriously hope this won't be the case.

 

the instant effects of these verdicts will probably include huge shuffling at the player market, which is always interesting to see. except if all the players decide to join real madrid or worse yet, chelsea.. the rumor mill is going strong as i type, and it's very likely that players such as cannavaro, buffon, toni, oddo, vieira, zambrotta, zlatan (w/ his oranges and tantrums), trezeguet etc. will have new luxury homes very soon.. and maybe even a couple of milan players decide to jump ship with no european action for next year. andrea pirlo is welcome at man utd, oh yes indeed.. not quite the 'next keano' but very much an efficient and inspiring player, in my opinion. zlatan would be a perfect fit for real, imagine him 'combining' with ronaldo in los blancos attack. the latter one wouldn't run, and the former wouldn't pass him the ball anyway.. watch out for the scissors! oh well, it is going to be really interesting to see what happens with all these players (as well as ruud and ronaldo at man utd..), the new season starts in five weeks already, so i'm expecting a lot of transfers in a rather short period of time. in fact, i'm drooling.. but i think thats enough calcio talk for now.

 

i had the last couple of days off from work, which was perfect because the annual tammerfest is taking place this week. it's a festival with bands and other program, these kinds of things are pretty common in finland because of the lovely weather here during the summer.. and that was for the random foreign person reading this. anyway, i've had the opportunity to see a couple of bands and hang out with friends.. and drink a lot, which seems to be taking it's toll today .

 

on wednesday i was watching finnish underground legend m.a. numminen perform with dj sane at the yo-talo. m.a. numminen was a huge cultural figure in finland back in the 1960s when all things communist and/or radical were the shit. but he hasn't really lost his appeal, and most of the people at the gig were about my age (26) or younger. and his weird poetry combined with dj sane's fat-fatty beats made for a really good show. besides, he was funny as hell.. the other act that played there, aavikko, was complete bullcrap. i know their fans would disagree, but i don't think the band has progressed in any way in the seven or so years that have passed since i heard them the first time. seems like they need a vocalist and maybe some depth in their musical ways.. besides, there's only one kraftwerk.

 

yesterday i spent the whole day at the kauppi beach, there were a couple of dj's playing nice and chill tunes and a lot of friends were present too. i have a load of pics from there, some actually succeeded, and i'll be posting them later today once i get home.. the only problem was that there was a rather strong northern wind blowing at us straight from näsijärvi, and as a result, we had to yell at each other just to hear what was being said. it was almost like being in a loud bar.. funny shit. luckily, as the evening progressed, the wind died down a bit..

 

the festival continues today, but i think i'll have to take a pass.. i need to come back to work at 06:45 tomorrow morning, and honestly i don't think i have it in me to drink for the fourth day in a row..  i must be getting old.. besides, i don't think i need a festival to do the things that i've done, so i'll still have plenty of time to enjoy the summer. looking at the calendar, we are only at the halfway point of the summer today, and i'm pretty sure the latter part will be as much fun as the first one. plus i don't have to watch as much football..

 

one thing that's going to alter my flow a bit is the fact that i'll be having a roommate in a weeks time. my girlfriend/not-really-sure-what-to-call-her saara is coming back to finland after a year as an exchange student in peru. i'm really looking forward to seeing her again, but honestly it's pretty difficult to say anything else about what's going to happen with her.. after all, a year is a long time in a lot of ways. anyway, she is that not-half-bad looking girl in my 'family' album, in case you were wondering. i still have a lot of cleaning up to do at home before she comes, it's funny what a year as a 'single' can do to one's living (and cleanliness) habits. i'm glad that i was able to get rid of a colony of ants that had set up shop in my balcony. the pleasure of aerosoling the fuckers dead was almost too much to handle.. after all, i am a very peaceful dude in general. but the poor bastards just didn't know who they were fucking with  and i do beg your pardon for using such foul language, but the tension between the ants and myself still remains, even if there's nothing left of the ants other than the.. remains.  

 

i think that should be enough ranting for now.. but be sure to check back later, because i'll be posting the aforementioned beach pics later today (or tomorrow..) and for the record, i spent about an hour typing this thing, and during that time i had three calls to answer. a busy day at the office indeed, i'm so glad i'm getting paid to write this.. 

 

kyösti

i put up three different picture folders for your pleasure.. one contains pics of my family and related stuff. one has something from my travels, even though i have to mention that that section is pretty limited right now. hell, the only way to add to these is to hop abroad more often, innit. anyway, the last folder contains everything else.. and i would like to inform everyone that i am not a skillful photographer, and i don't do it very often. but every once in a while the sun seems to shine into the big pile of shit (a finnish saying..) and i'll try to put up these succesful shots.

since this is a blog, i though i should write a bit about my favorite websites, and what i do around the net in general.. these are not in any order, and i've left the obvious ones out. and i don't think you care to know about my favorite torrent or porn sites.. oops, didn't mean to reveal that.   anyway, here goes:

 

* bill simmons aka boston sports guy

 

bill simmons is a sports writer for espn, an american sports channel.. although espn normally stays within the bounds of restricted, american-style journalism, simmons extends his topics waaaay much further. references to popular culture, such as tv series, movies, music and such make for very enjoyable reading, even if one wasn't a sports fan at all (even though i really can't know that..) simmons does not hide his biases, and is not afraid to dole out critique even at his own employers.

 

* youtube

 

oh man, i could just spend hours here browsing different videos.. you can find pretty much everything here, and the search engine is really efficient too. the best part is that the site pretty much contains something for everyone, so you really don't have to share my hobbies or interests to enjoy it.

 

* sportingnews fantasy games

 

as a sports-oriented person, i am really into playing fantasy sports games as well. you can find a lot of different sports to manage in this site, and the best part is that you can also create your own private divisions. this way you can fight your friends to the bitter end..

 

* premier league fantasy

 

check above, with the topic being the english premier league. since i watch the games every week during the winter, i might as well put some extra spice on the action..

 

* google earth

 

ok, not really a web site, but still warrants a mention. with the use of KML you can browse the planet with the help of pictures of different locations. perfect for planning your trips around the globe, as long as you're not going to north korea or tibet.. there seem to be some weird 'distractions' around these parts, wonder why.. i mostly use this as a toy if i've got nothing better to do, and i encourage others to do so as well..

 

those'll have to do for now, i'll continue this tour at a later date..

 

 

 

 

bom!! 

 

ok, this is the inaugural piece. bare with me as i am raw as a blogger, and because of this there will surely be some problems at first. eventually my objective is to shed light into what i do and why, for those who are interested.. which basically means no one is reading this ;) anyway, i could start with some basic information for those not in the know.

 

my name is kyösti, i'm 26 years old and my nationality is finnish. i currently live in a city (or town, if will..) called tampere, where i study computer science in the university of tampere. and that's about everything you need to know at this point.. and you will get more information later anyway.

 

the language of this blog shall be english, as it is a bit more commonly spoken than finnish, which is my native language. fear not, i'm a bloody excellent linguist, so everyone should be able to understand the things that i write.. if not the content.

 

things that i'll most likely cover in my babblings, in no specific order:

 

* my job..

 

i work as a customer guidance person for elisa, which pretty much says nothing and includes everything.. my job is to help out in various situations, whether it be passing out contact information or handling more critical cases. my job also includes having to listen to the biggest idiots in the world yelling at me for no reason other than their own pleasure. which is nice, as they say in tv.. anyway, i'll let you know if something important happens..

 

* my personal life

 

my friends are idiots, and girls don't like me.. well, not quite. i actually have a quite nice and varied pack of friends. and not all girls hate me.. more on this later :)

 

* football

 

mas grande que la vida, no? at least that's what diego maradona thinks.. well, i must say i don't completely disagree. but i am happy that the world cup is over, watching three games a day is quite exhausting, even for the most die hard, bruce willis -type people.. anyway, during the winter i follow the english, italian and spanish leagues as much as i can.. and i can guarantee you there will be some coverage of the things i deem important during the season. and the offseason as well, what with all the moving around in the player market. i support man utd, by the way.. but this fact shall remain a mystery for no one if you keep reading these postings.

 

i also play myself, but only for fun. during the winter i am an active member of the futsal community at the university.. and during the summer i play with friends in parks. and lately i've also been tuning my footbag skills. sadly they still remain pretty low, but the sky is the ceiling and i do believe i have tremendous upside potential.. or not. 

 

* music

 

like bobby said, when music hits you feel no pain.. so hit me with it, please. i listen to a lot of different styles, from more popular things all the way to the weirdest riddims.. no point in listing bands, i reckon, because i try to be constantly on the move with new things.. lately i have been enjoying the summer with a mix of hip-hop, reggae, dub and some reggaeton, even though i refuse to dance like a f*cking dog. in fact, i refuse to dance at all.. :) anyway, the warmer it gets, the more i gravitate away from rock to hotter rhytms. and that last sentence looks plain silly..

 

* other things

 

well, it would be daft to rule out anything as a subject, wouldn't it? so i'll just blog about anything i want to..

 

ok, i think that's it for now.. i won't be able to guarantee any kind of a standard blogging pace, but i'll try to find time for new additions every now and then. and please comment on anything you wish to, i'll be happy to read your thoughts as well.  and for those who are wondering, i write everything uncapped because i think it's easy on the eyes. whoever disagrees remains free to do so..

 

kyösti