Things you get used to - not!

A little more than a week ago I wrote that there are some things you get used to, like a diskwasher that is broken. Well, not really, but you adjust to it by using those disposable plates and cups - and washing by hand. But in the end you just start minimizing things, like, "should I really drink my Penfold's Grange from a paper mug?". Actually, dream on, more like "could I drink juice from that paper mug once more?".


Thank God the repairman came today. He was supposed to come between noon and 3pm, and he arrived 12:30, so pretty good. He concluded that it was the, whadda you call it in English, a "flap" or a "gate", which didn't feed the water to the machine any longer. So he replaced that with a new one, and I learnt lots of new things. Like that it had been connected wrongly from the beginnig, feeding in warm water instead of cold. But he fixed that, too. And that we actually can use less cleaning agent (half of it), so we must be saving huge amounts of money on a yearly basis :-) Anyway, now the disk washer is just gaping "fill me up"!

Anniversary at Mecca

We had booked a table at Mecca, to celebrate our anniversary. As it often is, the entree and the dessert were the best, and the wine was good: Piper's Brook Pinot Noir, from Tasmania. It had a smoky taste, which fitted both Sirpa's duck, and my fillet of beef.

Stephen's Farewell in Nuuksio

Stephen has had all kinds of parties, birthday, and some smaller farewell parties. This one was a great one, not the typical "let's go to some bar and get stoned", allthough Stephen has become quite Finnish. We started outside my offices in Ruoholahti, and continued with quite a few cars towards Nuuksio.


Some cars went another way to get skiis and snow shoes, but the the target was to get to a place called Kattila, in Nuuksio. I've never been it that area (Kattila), and I should definitely get back there during Summer. A really beatiful place, small lakes nearby, and so on. And we had a nice cottage with a sauna called Green Window booked all for us.


Some people went skiing, other people went walking with snow shoes. Pretty fun, it was the first time for me, and suddenly my 46's looked quite small. Anyway, when the skiing people headed out for the lake, us snow shoe guys headed towards a nearby picnic area. Some of us almost fall into a river, some of the guys skiing had a special technique, but everybody arrived in one piece and OK, some cooler than others. The skiers had done some afterski, so that they would have the strength to come to the cottage.


I have never seen as many camera phones and cameras in phone place, as at the picnic place. And some very imaginative ways of setting up the camera. Anyway, the coffee tasted excellent, and so did the sausages, with mustard. Apparently we also did something close to "eukonkanto" there. The time was running, so we headed back to the cottage.


Then it was time for sauna. It would fit 12 people, but somehow 18 people managed to be there (with their feet, too), mostly at the same time. And then everybody had to go into the water. Of course, we're in Finland! I have to admit that it was the first time for me, but for those who know me for a longer time know why I couldn't try it until now. People got so enthusiastic about it, that in the end they stayed out at the "pier".


After the sauna (where Stephen got his present, a really nice Polar watch), we handed a photo collage to him, with the Lord himself in the middle.

Winter days

There's been many beautiful winter days laterly, but unfortunately I haven't been able to enjoy them. No energy left after the quite long work days. That's why it felt even better walking out on the ice today, inhaling the fresh air, and walking around. There's a beautiful wooden boat (or maybe I should call it a ship), which is there in the ice every winter. I wonder for how long it can take it? Still, since I'm not the "winter guy", I'm looking forward to Spring and Summer, and warm weather.

Things you get used to

There are some things you get used to. Like using a washing machine, instead of washing your clothes by hand. Shawing using an electric razor. That your broadband works. And that your dishwasher works. Our Bosch from 1999 started showing an "F" in the display, which quite logically stood for "failure". I found out the reset sequence, but it turned out that the machine can't pump in any water. So I called a repair man- who will arrive withing 1.5 weeks. Until that it's washing by hand - and using lots of disposable plates and cups...

The Razor

Ecerybody's so excited about the Motorola Razor, but since everybody also say that the UI and software stinks, I thought I'd go with one of the older companies when it comes to razors - Braun. This is the Cruser3. I was looking for a razor with a trimmer for a long time, and finally found one. Haven't tested it yet. The magazine Tekniikan Maailma has, though.

Computer wizard

In order to get some kilometers on the car, we drove to Sipoo on Saturday evening, and payed a visit to Heli in Vantaa, on Sunday evening. She had a new laptop that I of course had to check out, and as on old computer guy (at least old :-) I apparently had some advice to give. At least we had some fun.


We weren't sure if we'd find some flowers to bring anywhere nearby, but fortunately a place called Backas was open on Sunday (at least until 18:00), so we found these. The package was almost as big as Sirpa :-)

Raclette Party

Frasse and Kisse had invited us to their yearly and traditional Raclette Party. It's a very nice tradition, maybe not as traditional as A Dinner For One, but lots of tradition.
Frasse told us that people usually leave his head out when taking a picture, so I've done the same. Wish I had audio included here, the thing in the picture actually plays a tune when you're serving!


Regarding the tradition, it's the same people, we (most probably) sit in the same places around the table, the Raclette is the main event (allthough there's no picture of it...), Lindis makes sure things don't get too boring, Sari and Sirpa ensure that there's a lot of laughter in the air, there's always a lot of snow (but less inside), Sirpa and I always arrive too early, etc. Oh, yeah, and also good dessert!


Lindis usually eats quickly and just waits and waits for the dessert. She also has smaller feet than Sirpa, which is quite unusual. And she's probably very surprised that some old guy like me is even more childish than she is. A really lovely kid! She usually also manages to turn her head away just before you shoot a picture - but I was faster this time!


This is actually a quite rare picture of Sari, because she's not in the midst of telling some funny story, or just laughing in general. Well, there is a reason for this. I've learned to take picture right away, in the beginning of the evening, so that I don't forget taking pictures during the evening. It has happen once or twice, but never again.


The look on Sirpa's face says quite a lot about the evening, we have a really good time. It also tells that she wasn't the driver that evening...

Big Apple

New York looked quite nice from the 36th floor at Hilton Times Square. We had arrived quite late the evening before, taking a look at the city lights, as well as having dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe (a little pathetic, but it was close), where we watched the guitar wall


There were all kinds of vehicles in the street, like this Hummer, which seemed to continue endlessly. Or an McLaren SLR in the shop, if you had the money. We just watched the engine. And of course there were those traditional tourist vehicles, as well as some surprise vehicles. The police car wasn't all that convincing. With all these vehicles, no wonder it's tough to find parking.


What about food, well at least a burger at PrimeBurger, which had to be good, since Sarah Jessica Parker had been there... Seriously, the burger were really excellent. We had a good brunch at the Bowery Bar together with Sol and Benjy, Elsa, and Elena. And great seafood at Ollie's Noodle Shop. I didn't have this, though.


Later on we had dinner at Cafe Asean with Mike & Mimi, and Amman.
And later on for a drink to Oesteria Del Sol, where the glass sticks to your hand.


All kinds of experiences, I wish I'd remember all. Like here, when they were shooting a scene for "The Naked Cowboy" in the middle of the street and traffic. I'm also pretty sure we saw Steven Spielberg, but I don't have a picture to prove it. And a memory from the movie Forrest Gump. And then shortly after that I saw an memorial from 911.

More time in SFO

If you didn't know that before, people do look funny in San Francisco. Some more than others. They also have funny cars, as well as really terrible traditional ones. Like the car I hired, a Ford Taurus, where you controlled the automatic gears from the steering wheel. Now, if that's not old technology, then what is? In addition a V6 that kept lots of noise, but had no power.


For the fist time in my life I saw one of those old elevators that you see in movies. You know, a big elevator with a door that you can push up. And when you get to your floor you actually get right to the apartment (in this case an office). Spooky to experience that for yourself.


I also had the best sushi in my life, in Ozumo. Fantastic dishes, a great variation of sake's with in-depth descriptions, but also a menu that wouldn't necessary be successful in Finland.