2009 from A to M

Here's a brief summary of 2009. Initially, I had planned to write something about the year using the whole alphabet, but that would have been too long a post. Trust me. I doubt many of you will sacrifice braincells reading this one, but here goes nothing.

A is for Avatar, James Cameron’s latest movie and instantly one of the biggest movies of the year. Movie-wise, one of the biggest surprises for me this year. The trailer didn’t excite me at all – in fact it made me not want to watch the movie. Due to all the hype, however, I still went to see it with my girlfriend. Both of us expected a major disappointment, but three hours later we walked out from one of the best movie experiences of the year. The only minuses were that it wasn’t very original, and it was a tad bit too long for me. Check it out! It’s currently rated 8.8/10 on imdb.com, so Cameron must have done something right.

B is for Bodypump, a fitness program where you listen to great music while exercising to the max! Trust me – you don’t want to look bad in front of the inhumanly fit instructor and 40-year-old women who lift more weight than you without breaking a sweat. In an attempt to do something else than study, drink and sit in front of the computer, I’ve been going to the gym now and then for the last couple of years. Exercising is supposed to be good for you, and why would I reject good things? Some even claim it’s fun, but I don’t know if I’m there yet. Anyway – Bodypump has become my new favorite form of exercise for numerous reasons; it’s less boring than trying to figure out how to use the alien-looking equipment at the gym, and you push yourself harder. An added bonus is that you rarely encounter steroid-eating gorillas in Bodypump classes. You know who I’m referring to; the guys that look like XL-versions of Bruce Willis in Die Hard, with arms wider and thicker than your legs, and with grunts and groans that resemble sounds made when an individual jizzes off to XXX on the Net. There - I said it, I meant it, and I’m here to represent it!

C is for the Czech Republic. My girlfriend and I spent almost a week in the wonderful city of Prague in August. Neither of us had ever been there, and it turned out to be a great experience: cheap (and tasty) beer, low prices and a lot of places to see. The weather was fantastic, too, and I definitely want to go back there some day. The perfect place to go with your girlfriend/boyfriend!





D is for Denmark. Maybe you are familiar with the expression “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”. Well, nothing was rotten there this August. (Except for the prices, but I’m used to it being Norwegian and all) Why would a Norwegian invade the kingdom of Denmark? Well, I had to pay my respect to my man Thomas Baark as he successfully had managed to tame and fool my girlfriend’s sister, Hanna Baark, into marrying him. I went there a few days after my summer job ended, and it turned out to be one of the nicest memories of ’09: happy people, great food and great weather. Too bad the musicians were so bad. Oh well, you can’t always get what you want.

E is for English. I’ve always had a thing for English, so I started studying English as a minor at Växjö University in September. It has been a lot of work, but I’ve learned a thing or two along the way. With just one course left, I can soon say “mission accomplished”. Oh, btw, Old English is a mean biatch.

F is for Friends. I once read that friends are the family you choose yourself. There’s a lot of truth in that phrase. This year has been both bad and good when it comes to friendships. Due to my moving to Sweden, I had to say goodbye to my closest friends. Saying goodbye is never fun, and it always hurts. Despite the fact that we all keep in touch, I often find myself longing for the good times we spent together. I feel that I should have appreciated them more, and I wish those moments of joy and fun lasted longer, but time has a tendency to go fast when you’re having fun. Joel, Carsten, Vivian and Sari: We will meet again and we’ll have a helluva good time when we do! You are all like family to me. Some positive things happened as well though; new friendships were made in Sweden, so things are not all bad. Who knew that there were nice Swedes, Americans and Canadians out there? I kid, I kid.





G is for Games. Being the geek I am, I have to mention games. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to you! If it does, you should ask yourself if you truly know me. Fallout III was a positive surprise this year, and now I just feel silly for not purchasing it when it came out last year. D’oh. Thank you, Jordan, for enlightening me. A lot of games have been published, and I’ve probably forgotten plenty of them, but Modern Warfare II and the new Monkey Island episodes turned out to be among the best games of the year. The former boosts a great single player campaign, but unfortunately the multiplayer campaign leaves a lot to be desired. Consolification, anyone? I’ve been a fan of the Monkey Island series for a long time, so of course I had to buy all five episodes when I came across them. A lot of fun has been had, but despite me being older than when I played my first Monkey Island game, I’m still not that good at solving those damned puzzles.

H is for Helsinki. What can I say? When it comes to entertainment and fun, most of it was had in Helsinki due to the great people living there. Expensive beers, crazy dancing (if it can be called dancing) and 4 a.m. conversations with your best friends, need I say more?

I is for Idiots. You encountered them this year, and you’ll encounter them next year. Watch out!

J is for Joy. When my girlfriend and I reached the decision to go to Sweden, I was feeling anything but joy; I was scared, and I didn’t want to leave my friends and the “safety” of home. A few months later, I realized I had been freaking out for no reason; Sweden proved to be a nice place to study (despite the amount of work), and a great country in general. As mentioned earlier, I met a lot of new people from all over the world. Very cool. The Swedes don’t hate Norwegians by the way, they are just jealous of our wealth (why do you think most of them flee to Norway?) and don’t understand our fascinating language (despite Swedish being so similar!).

K is for Komedy. I know comedy is spelled with a C, but I had to fit this one in. Besides, if they can get away with it in Mortal Kombat, why can’t I? My favorite comedian, and indeed the favorite comedian of many of my friends, is Pablo Francisco. Together with my friends I’ve been ROFL-ing and LMAO-ing at his Youtube-videos for a long time, so naturally we (my girlfriend, my friends and I) had to get tickets when we discovered that he was coming to Helsinki to entertain the cold and grumpy Finns! Tickets were bought, and months passed (slowly…), but the day finally came – Pablo was in Helsinki, and together with his comrades he was going to entertain us for two hours! All of us thought his show was hilarious despite the insatiable Joel Peart, but then again, he is of British descent, so one must not expect too much. I had never before been to a stand-up comedy show, so it was a new experience for me. Definitely one of the highlights of the year.

L is for Laptop. After working my ass off in Norway over the summer, I had gathered a lump of money. That’s right: I had that cheese, I had that cheddar, I had the dough, I had them Benjamin Franklins. I’m quite relentless when it comes to spending money, so I finally bought myself a laptop! I will admit that I haven’t used it a lot in Sweden, but it has been very useful on my trips. I am actually writing on it right now. You see – it’s not that useless. I could have spent money on far worse things, such as call girls and gentleman magazines.

M is for Moving, Movies and Michael. My girlfriend and I finally got to move together in August after living in different cities for several years. How was this possible, you ask? No, it wasn’t a miracle – we both simply applied to go on an exchange to the same university. As a result of this, we both moved to southern Sweden in August, and we will stay there indefinitely. Okay, so we will return to the land of Finns some day, but Sweden is great most of the time. Okay, moving on to movies then. Movies YOU should watch: Avatar, The Hangover (one of the best comedies ever made), I love you, man, A Christmas Carol, Drag me to hell and a bunch of other movies I’ve completely forgotten about. Finally: R.I.P. Michael Jackson.

Home

Where is home? Is it where my family lives, where I study or where most of my friends are? Or is it where I gave my heart away and got so much in return? Perhaps it’s where I became me – where I laid the foundations of what I am today? Sometimes the answer seems self-evident, but then I have those moments where I’m uncertain again. It’s very confusing because it feels like I need to know, but maybe I don’t? Sometimes I want nothing than to be home, but then I have those days where I want to be anywhere but there. Peculiar and stressful! The search for a place to call home is proving to be difficult. What’s common is that I often love parts of each “home” I’ve been to, but rarely the whole thing. I guess it’s hard to satisfy me. I feel like a sailor without his compass (back in the olden days when they still used such things) or like a tumbleweed rolling restlessly along the desert. I don’t know where I’ll be some years from now – maybe I’ll never have a “permanent” home but change homes every three years. Who knows? Sometimes I do wish I could decide, but it seems impossible for me.

A few honest words about some of Växjö's dinner establishments

I quite enjoy eating out once in a while - be it due to a special occasion or just to avoid creating a mess in my own kitchen. I've been living in Växjö for some months now which means I've dropped by a couple of restaurants already. In general I've been VERY disappointed with the food I've been served; once I even got food that was more resemblant to prison food than restaurant food. To me that's not a very good thing. Especially not since I have to pay top dollars (or Swedish kronor in this case) for that piece of shit they dare call food. I've been more disappointed with the food at most places than I've been pleased with it. There are, however, a few exceptions. Only one is mentioned in this note, however.


*OXGRILLEN

Oxgrillen is a basic burger joint next to the cinema downtown. I had read good things about it, so naturally I was hopeful when I stepped into the place and saw their menu: their selection isn't very big, but the photos looked promising. After a mere 10 minutes it became clear to me that photos lie. At least at Oxgrillen. Yes, it is a burger joint, but they had something called "Countrysteak" on the menu, so I decided to go for it since I love steaks. I should have been skeptical due to the low price (about 65 SEK), but I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. So much for hope. The steak looked more like a poor man's version of a hamburger than a steak, and tasted very fake (the little taste I could actually taste) as well. Bummer. I got a tiny, tiny bit of salat with it, but nothing fancy. In fact, I can't recall the last time I've seen such a small amount of salad served with a meal. Naturally fries were included, but for some reason the staff at Oxgrillen thinks putting a fuckload of mayonnaise on top of the fries makes it a great meal. WRONG! What the hell were they thinking? My arteries are already fighting the burger and fries, but to put up a stand against mayonnaise at the same time? No arteries are up for that task. The fries were definitely the best part of the meal, but the mayonnaise sadly screwed it up quite a bit.
Mayonnaise would have been fine it the amount was reduced severely.

3/10. MAYONNAISE HELL!

*ROYAL THAI

One of the compulsory Asian restaurants in town, situated opposite of the railway station. I know I shouldn't have done it, but their "buffet" managed to fool me. Damnit! Who would turn down a buffet with a wide variety of Asian food? If my memory serves me correctly, I had to shell out around 80 SEK for the buffet (meaning I could eat as much as I wanted). The price was acceptable, but the food was treacherous! Don't be fooled, my friends. The food was dry, tasteless and didn't make me want to come back. I enjoyed the first spoonfuls, but I guess my taste buds woke up quite fast! At a buffet you want to eat as much as possible due to the simple fact that it's free, but it proved a hard task at Royal Thai due to a horrendous selection of tasteless junk. I started feeling slightly nauseous after finishing my first plate which naturally resulted in me not eating much more. In fact, I haven't been to a buffet ever since and now I'm very skeptical about any Asian buffets. I've been disappointed before.

2/10. DON'T DO IT!

*LA GONDOLA

This "restaurant" is situated next to Oxgrillen downtown. When it comes to apperance, it doesn't look like much. In fact, it looks like the kind of restaurant you would find in the old Soviet 20 years ago, but my friends and I decided to give it a shot. This time I was actually hopeful due to the fact that a normal meal costed around 120 SEK (sort of expensive). I thought that high price equals good quality. Appearently not. A high price at La Gondola means nothing else than that they're ripping you off. I ordered a schnitzel and potatoes. Doesn't sound like much, and it didn't look like much either! When it comes to esthetics, this meal was definitely the ugliest looking piece of shit I've seen in a while. Burned potatoes and a burned schnitzel for 120 (?) SEK. Are you fucking kidding me? I was very disappointed in the meal - it was barely edible, but I forced it down my throat anyway (as best as I could). At this point I felt I had to voice my opinion about the food. I had actually hoped for feedback sheets where you rate the food and service by using different smileyfaces where ":)" means good and ":(" means utter crap. Unfortunately La Gondola didn't have these, so I had to give oral feedback to our waitress. I told her straight that the food was quite bad and asked if I could get a discount. She didn't really reply, but I'm pretty sure I could see a small frown on her face. I didn't get a discount either. In retrospect I feel kind of bad about complaining to her and not the chef, but at the same time I was honest and didn't just keep shut and accept that piece of rubbish they call food.

1/10. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.


*MAIDO

Maido is a cosy sushi restaurant (they do sell a few other dishes as well) in downtown Växjö. It's close to Åhlens, but not necessarily that easy to find. If you like sushi, you should use a map to find the place if you have to. It's a hidden gem. I'm not a big sushi fan, but I've eaten it a few times during my life and I enjoy it now and then. Thanks to Maido I'm now a bigger sushi fan than I was before; the sushi tasted great, service was good and the place looks charming too. They definitely use fresh ingredients! I could taste it. A sushi meal costs around 80-140 SEK (depending on what you want, of course), and it's well worth the money. I've been there twice with my friends and girlfriend and I have yet to hear a complaint about the food there. Just writing about it makes me want to go back there.

10/10. TRY IT!


That's all for now as I'm getting slightly tired. Maybe I'll post some more reviews later. ;)

Living in Sweden

I've been living in Sweden for some months now, so I thought it was about time to write a few words about my experience of being an exchange student here. If we haven't talked in a while, well, this will be a valuable update for you (if you really care that much about what's going on in my life)!

The academic year consists of two semesters. I'm trying to get two minors here, so I spend one semester on each minor. This semester I'm studying English, whereas I probably will be studying psychology next semester. English is quite interesting (not all the time) since I've always been fascinated by it. It is, however, proving to be a more challenging task than I initially expected. Well, whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you stronger, right? At least I'm giving it my all; I end up studying many hours a week (even during the weekend), which sometimes is a necessity if you want to keep up with the teacher(s) and the lessons. I can honestly say that I don't think I've ever worked this hard at school/university. Ever. On the bright side, I guess I'm learning something. My teachers are great; we only have one native English teacher, but she is funny and possesses a charming Scottish accent (toned down, so we'll be able to grasp what she says, though). The rest of the teachers are all Swedish (as far as I know), but they speak English just like any Briton. One normally has to be prepared for every class, so reading and preparing is always a good thing. You don't really appear as very smart if you answer "I don't know" to every question. Speaking of English - I have an exam in English linguistics next week. Wish me luck!

So how is living in Sweden? Not too bad actually! The language is very easy for me, so I understand everything I read and hear. At least almost everything! The Swedes seem to understand Norwegian fine, but there are certain words/phrases that their brain just can't process. Oh well. When I came here, I was pleasantly surprised about the price level. It's relatively cheap to live in Sweden, especially if you come from Finland or Norway (which I do). Put simply - I have more buying power in Sweden than in Finland. Hail to the euro! There's one big difference, however, and that is when it comes to the price level of the lunch at the university's restaurant; a lunch actually costs as much as 6€ here! Compared to Finland where you have to shell out a mere 3-4€ for a lunch, the difference is noticable. I suspect the food served here might be a bit better though. Not dissing school food in Finland, but sometimes I ate what resembled prison food at my home university. That hasn't happened here yet, but maybe I was just unfortunate in Finland? Could be!

So besides studying - what does Tommy do? I have returned to my healthy lifestyle, which means I'm going to the gym again. It's been a bit on and off during the last year (often due to moving and such), but I feel very content now: I usually do a few bodypump/bodycombat classes per week. It feels great, and if you are to believe researchers, it should boost one's learning ability. Here's to hoping! I have noticed that going to classes is way more fun than just playing around with all the strange equipment in the gym; I push myself harder in classes and time goes much faster. Plus I get to listen to loud music while exercising! I still drink soda, though (Dr. Pepper is my new addiction), which could be considered unhealthy, but I can live with that. It's hard to be 100 % healthy. Oh, and I still love to play computer games, but who in their right mind wouldn't?

I'm going to spend the weekend reading for the exam and preparing an oral presentation. Great. I hope YOU will have a more exciting weekend!

Observations of a shop worker

I've got a summer job at a supermarket in Northern Norway this summer. The first week was stressful, and I thought I wouldn't be able to handle it, but I've gotten into the routines now and know the basic shit. Since I sit behind the counter a lot, I get to observe a lot of different people during one day. Most people are nice and don't even utter many words, others complain about products that have the wrong price tag or sigh when something takes too long. Some people even attempt to pull some jokes, and this is what amuses me, because there are two jokes that I hear every week. I don't even consider them very funny, but since I have to be polite I always fake a laugh or a small giggle and I'd still take bad jokes instead of pissed off customers.

Me: Do you want a bag?
Customer: Yes, it's a little too much to carry in my pockets! [insert laugh and huge grin]
Me: Yes, I suppose so... [insert fake giggle and fake smile]

That's one of the two jokes. The customer often looks at other customers while saying it, hoping to get more people laughing and thus feeling better about himself. Hilarious. A real crowdpleaser that one.

Me: Do you want the receipt?
Customer: I doubt I get anything back on my taxes if I preserve it! [insert laugh and grin again]
Me: Yeah, unfortunately I doubt you would... [insert fake giggle and smile again]

It's just funny to hear those jokes so often. I dont know who came up with them to start with, but it must have been some fekkin' clown! Funny thing is I heard the exact same jokes when working in a shop in another city last year.

Another funny observation I've made is that Norwegians (at least up here) seem to drink a lot less beer than our Finnish neighbors. That's how it appears, anyway. During one shift I might get 5-10 people buying beer or cider whereas it seems like every 4th customer in Finland carries home a six-pack or twelve-pack from the shop. Crazy! Maybe the high prices scare customers here? Maybe they are brewing stuff at home? Who knows.

On a sidenote: I woke up today, and I saw snow! Wet snow coming down from the skies above. I really need a couple of weeks in some warm country after this.

Tommy out.

Observations and lessons I've learned over the years.

1. Smoking has never been, and will never be cool.
2. It's far from OK to watch Gilmore Girls or Ally McBeal if you belong to the male species.
3. Boys that wear pants that are so big they expose their buttcrack should be kicked in the (sch)nuts.
4. You're too boring and common if you watch popular movies and listen to music that's being played on the radio (top 20).
5. If you've consumed so much alcohol that you can't remember the name of your mother, it's RARELY a good idea to hit on a girl in a bar.
6. It's your duty to laugh of guys that drive around in cars taken out of The Fast and Furious while playing loud music, but when you sit in that same car it's actually quite cool and a lot of fun.
7. You're gay or way too feminine if you use skincare products or generally care about how you look.
8. Gaming as a hobby is only approved by a minority of girls. If you mention that you enjoy a game of GTA IV or Call of Duty IV the girls run for the hills.
9. GTA IV and black metal doesn't make people kill.
10. Girls never take the initiative.
11. It's actually a good thing to be arrogant and emotionless. It's often considered an attractive quality by females. The nice guy can only be a friend...
12. To satisfy the demands of today's society one should work out on a regular basis, eat the right sort of food (sorry, McDonald's and milk with fat is a no-no!), have at least a bachelor degree and wear the right brand of clothes.
13. Men are absolutely not allowed to enjoy movies like Titanic or The Notebook. If one happens to shed a tear one can not be called a man anymore.
14. It's uncomfortable sitting in the train if someone sits opposite of you. You never know where to look. Way too awkward!
15. We're rarely happy with the present time, but in a year or two we refer to these days as "the good old times".
16. It's common courtesy to laugh when cool people tell jokes, even when they're not funny.
17. Most of us were braindead, hormonal idiots in upper elementary school.
18. Beer never tastes good the first time. It takes time to get used to the taste. Most people adapt due to peer pressure. Real men can't drink cider or girly drinks like Smirnoff Ice.
19. We mock reality-TV shows, yet we watch them every week.
20. Being a Macgyver fan is still cool in the 21st century.

Dental horror

So there I was. Alone in the sterile hallway. From behind the big, beige doors I could hear the sound of metal hitting teeth. I was at the place where the white collar workers dictate and rule. It’s their domain. Sweaty palms. Shaking hands. Wet armpits. I was at their mercy now. The next half hour of my life belonged to them. A voice in my head trying to convince me that they know what they’re doing. Words I didn’t entirely trust seeing as no one is perfect. People do make mistakes. Even doctors. What if something goes wrong? What if the dentist has been drinking last night and his hand coordination isn’t the best? Anxiety gets a chokehold on me. One of the white doors opens and another victim comes walking out. Bright light from the room blinds me. I spot the tools of the trade in front of me, inside the room. The torture chamber. Strange, foreign equipment I wouldn’t be able to name even if I got weeks to do so. The victim was a survivor. The men and women in white had done their job. There were no casualties. Maybe I’d come walking out of that door in thirty minutes too?

“So you’re next. The operation, right?” one of the women dressed in white says. I reply with a “yes”. I wait a bit longer and the one responsible for my life for the next thirty minutes or so, comes out and greets me with a “hi”. To my surprise I’m not called in yet. He walks down the hallway and disappears from my sight. The door is still wide open allowing me to see my throne; a green, futuristic yet comfortably-looking green chair. A woman shows up and tells me to lie down in the chair. The mouth surgery specialist comes back, looking forward to finish his work day. They tell me I’m the last patient of the day. “Just don’t rush it. Rushing things is very bad. It can seriously ruin my mouth. Be careful!” I hear myself thinking. One of the assistants hands me a couple of ugly-looking glasses. I’m told to wear them for a while. Looks like something that comes with a Donald magazine. Trusting the almighty people in white, I do as I’m told. One of the things I fear the most appears in front of my eyes: the dreaded needle. I don’t fight it though. Salvation comes in a needle filled with anesthesia. Afterwards I’m given a glass of water and two white pills. Proper service, hey! One is penicillin, the other one is just a regular painkiller. Painkiller? Not a big surprise, because pain is coming. At this point it’s impossible to say at what magnitude. I can only guess. I’m a good patient. I don’t fight the dentists or their orders. I do as I’m told and swallow both pills and finish it with a glass of life’s finest drinks: H2O. A little to my surprise, I get another glass. It’s not filled with water, however. It looks sort of funky with its pink color. Looks tasty. Supposedly mouth water of some sort. I can’t knock it down just like that. I have to keep it in my mouth for a minute. I follow the order, but I feel a bit stupid sitting there, looking at the clock, wondering how the dentists perceive me. It’s all very awkward. No one says anything and I can barely hear the clock ticking. Sixty painful seconds passes. Finally. Let’s proceed.

“So this wisdom tooth of yours, it’s a difficult one” the one responsible for the operation concludes. I try to utter a “yes”, but the anesthesia is kicking in and talking feels weird. My mouth is starting to feel, in lack of a better word, funny. I experience today’s biggest surprise as they put a big, green cloth over me. Is it really that bad? I’m friggin’ buried before they have even attempted to remove the tooth. “Help! I can’t see anything” I think to myself. At the same time I feel slightly relieved at the thought of not having to wonder how stupid and scared I look to the dentists. Why? Because they can’t see me under the cloth. I’m safe. All they can see and access is my mouth, and that’s where the work is taking place today. You see, a friend is leaving me. I’m afraid I’ll score lower on IQ tests after its departure. One of those jokes again. Heard it a million and one times now. I shouldn’t actually call it my friend because it has been everything a friend shouldn’t be. It’s been raising hell in my mouth, and now it’s going to handicap my personal economy too. It got its eviction note a couple of weeks ago, but it didn’t leave voluntarily. Now it has to be thrown out by any means necessary. In this case we’re talking about the use of them foreign tools: drills, needles and whatnot. This one is about to me a goner soon!

Thankfully my operation wasn't this bad.

I’m not familiar with all of the foreign objects put in my mouth, but they are needed to get the tooth away. I’m asked to keep my mouth wide open. Sometimes even for many minutes. Tiresome. My mouth isn’t made for this, but I manage. It’s a must. The female dentist to my left tells me to shout “aaaaaaa” or something similar if I feel pain, but to my surprise I don’t feel much pain at all. God bless painkillers and anesthesia. The dentists talk amongst themselves while I lie there, hoping for it to be over soon. From what I can gather from their speech, this tooth is a tough mutha! It wants to keep living in my mouth. As a matter of fact it’s hell bent on staying. After using different tools in an attempt to remove it, it finally gives in. I thought I’d feel it being jerked out of my jaw, but I don’t. “It’s gone” the dentist says. I feel relieved. Then they start doing something else in my mouth, something that feels extremely uncomfortable. My bet is that they are doing something to prevent it from bleeding too much, but in order to do whatever the hell it is the dentist is doing, he has to put some fingers in my mouth, one of them pushing my tongue backwards, almost causing me to puke. Horrific. Thankfully the horror is over after a couple of minutes. They remove the green cloth I loved so much. Truth be told I was afraid I’d die under it too. I saw images of friends and family walking in the door, looking at the room with all the alien equipment and me lifeless in my green throne. Mouth wide open and dead eyes. Turns out that wasn’t what faith had in mind for me this day. I was a survivor, just like the guy leaving the room half an hour earlier. From this point on it’s all routine: I’m told not to exercise or expose myself to physical strain for a week, water and food is a big no-no for the next couple of hours. I’m a bit disappointed when I’m told I can’t go to the sauna either. Typical. I had booked the sauna for Saturday. It’s a no-go for me then. I’m also told to get certain types of candy from the pharmacy. Penicillin being one of them. I utter a “thank you” as I leave to the hallway where I’m asked to sit with something cold pressed against my right cheek for half an hour. I’m actually happy, albeit feeling a bit numb and “not present”. I feel a river of blood floating in my mouth. Gross, but a normal reaction to this sort of operation. After thirty minutes I walk out, one less inhabitant in my mouth, passing the water tanks, the beige doors and the posters advertising and urging people to take care of themselves and their health. As the discussion of the dentists sitting in the staff room fade away and I’m about to walk out the door, I feel happy, but at the same time I pray I don’t have to be subjected to something similar in the nearest future. Score one for the good guy.

Twenty-O-Nine

So you all survived 2008 and look forward to a new year? Great.

Christmas was great in most aspects. I was in Norway for a change, so I finally got the chance to see my father, brother and sister and her family. The social aspect was the most important one for me. The weather was, in lack of better words, crappy. That's how Northern Norway treats you - with a big, cold slap around your nuts. That's just to ensure that you come back again at a later time - for that second, more intimate slap (okay, so I don't know how it can be more intimate than slapping your nuts, but you get what I mean). Being able to hang with my bro and sis filled me with a feeling of happiness. We don't see each other that often since I currently reside in Finland (yes, one foxy chick managed to trick me out of Norway), so whenever I see them, it's always appreciated. Look at me getting all sentimental. Well, it's human, isn't it? It always brings a smile to my face to see my sister's kids too - they are so cute, charming and they grow up so dang fast! In a few years one of them will be a real teenager, and I can't wait to see how her parents handle that period. It can be a tricky one , filled with raging hormones, the first "real" boyfriend and it's a lot about finding yourself and fighting your parents and arguing with them is one of the first steps one has to take to get to the destination. The destination of identity.

So coming back to Finland wasn't actually as bad as I thought it would be. Sure, I miss the peeps up in Norway, but somehow I felt alright returning. I dropped by Helsinki to see one of my best friends first. We went out and brought down the reputation of one of the more famous bars in Helsinki. We're sorry! No, really. We should never have had that third (or was it sixth?) shot. After spending only a few days in Helsinki, I got my ass on the train to Vaasa. Got home, got seated in front of the computer immediately. Must be in my genes. Luckily my lovely fiancee came to visit me already the day after my arrival to Vaasa. We had a lovely time and I actually felt that our relationship grew stronger during the days she was here. Lovely, just lovely. I won't go into detail about everything we did, but we did a lot of the romantic stuff you see in movies. I'm talking about watching movies, going out to eat and lying next to each other on the sofa. There's just something very special about that feeling. Having someone else resting their head on your chest. Holding hands. Being able to sleep next to someone and to hear them breathe.

Guess what - I kept my New Year's resolution about getting a more active lifestyle. I'm back at the gym, baby. Lifting weights with Arnold Schwarzenegger look-a-likes and what not. I was doubtful at first, but after going there a few times now I actually feel comfortable with it. Maybe it's not my favorite thing to do, but I actually feel satisfied when I walk out of there panting and with shaky hands. Let's hope this continues. It does good for me to do something else besides sitting in front of this goddamn screen. Oh computer: I curse Thee! No, I don't. I love you.

Naturally we have to talk about something computer related, so here we go: Grand Theft Auto IV. I got it a few days ago. I just had to after playing it in Norway on my sister's Xbox 360. It's every bit as great as I thought it would be, although the PC version suffers from bad coding. Lazy programmers at Rockstar. They should have oranges thrown at their nuts. I must have some sort of nut-fixation. Just talking about punishing nuts today. I must be nuts! Hmm...that's not even funny. Anyway - I do enjoy escaping reality and I love to take on the role of Niko Bellic. He's the protagonist in GTA IV. I get to kill, I go to strip clubs, I get to steal, I get to hijack cars. I get to fuck shit up! How can that not be satisfying? Doesn't harm anyone either, except the computer animated figures. And that doesn't really count, does it?

May 2009 be good to us all!