Żurawski in space

In winter there is Christmas. The celebration of darkness and domestic violence. In summer there is the Midsummer Night. The celebration of light, sausages, beer, nudity, outdoor sex, road kills, accidents offshore, burned skin and love. In Finland it's way bigger than Christmas. "Juhannus" makes Christmas feel like Christmas without presents. And today is Juhannus.

Yesterday I was counting. This is the fifth Midsummer I spend out of Finland. IN A ROW. That is sad. Right now, sitting here, watching out of the window, I miss it.

Earlier I went rollerblading. Went by the river, away from the town. I've gotta say, the roads really suck. They feel quite dangerous and narrow. I haven't seen anybody else trying the same...  Next time I will head to the city, closer to the fjord. I really hope it's gonna be better, otherwise I am doomed here...

I am no longer a rock festival virgin. Last weekend I spent in Seinäjoki listening to some of the best rock there is. Of course there were also some really crappy bands/artists like YUP. I am happy I went, though it was a really hard and tiring weekend. Some pictures will follow...

So I got my world record... In women's 5000m one Ethiopian bettered the old record by some 5 seconds. The curve where I was sitting was pretty much crowded by Ethiopians who were dancing and drumming already before, and even more after that.
It was a very nice experience... The weather couldn't have been better, well maybe a few degrees cooler would have been enough... But it for sure brought more people and the atmosphere was happy and nice. Even though women's 5000m run is not the most popular event ever, every single ass in the crowd got up and was cheering for the impressive runner already when there was more than a lap to go... And the night was perfect for the Norwegians when the great javelin rivalry between Thorkildsen and the Finns ended for the Norr's behalf. Afterwards Oslo was full of rich beer drinking people.

On the way home all the trains were delayed, some cancelled, and I was back in Drammen bit after midnight.. Of course the last bus had gone few minutes before and I had to walk home... So I took some photos then. The night was warm...

After a superb weekend home, it's tough to be back here... +30C outside, +30C inside, and a wound in a knee keeping me still. My highlight of the week has been yesterday's classic football match in TV, 1988 Nederlands-The Soviet Union.  Man those players were ugly.

I decided to go watch an athletic competition to Oslo Bislett tomorrow. I don't know if that's the most exciting way to spend a friday night... Or maybe I do... I expect some world records, bizarre sports injuries and free beer. 

Wow, Halle Berry is a programmer in this movie.

Being bored drives me write my awesome blog again.
I am in Norway, Drammen. Have to work here for some time. I sure hope it'll not be so long...

This'll be my first weekend here. I'm still quite tired from all the new things and just from the idea of being here, so I'm just gonna stay in all weekend. There seems to be nothing much to see close around anyway. So far I haven't even checked out the center of the town. Maybe I will go there next week, have one 10€ beer in a pub (if there is any), and cry my eyeballs out.

Happened so far:
Finding it pleasant to have a direct train from Oslo Gardermoen to Drammen.
Wondering if I had travelled east or west, after seeing the local taxi drivers.
Being scared in a local taxi (and hearing they are F A S T in general).
Regretting not taking any Norwegian Crowns with.
Searching for an ATM.
Thinking if it will ever feel like summer as much as it looks like it.
Having problems to find alcoholic and non-low-fat beer from a shop.
Finding it impossible to buy alcoholic and non-low-fat beer after eight in the evening.
Trying again the day after.
Regretting not taking any Norwegian Crowns with.
Searching for an ATM.
Finding it too late to get back to the shop in time.
Wondering why the shop is open till 11pm if they don't sell beer after 8.
Trying again the day after.
Getting the beer.
Thinking it must be pretty damn good cos it cost like probably the best beer in the world should cost.
Tasting it.
At least enjoying the football match.

I'm busy at work, which is nice for a change... Another good thing is that we've got snow. Actually the only negative thing at the moment is the temperature and that's how it's supposed to be. So I bought skis and hopefully this week I'll get a chance to use them. Finally it looks like winter and I hope it will for a long time...

Lately I've been attending our local team's hockey matches with Jitka. After a few years break it's been cool to really get into the game and see regularly how the team is playing. I saw a couple of Vitkovice matches in Czech, but they never felt the same like here. Hockey there was emotionless as a game plus I didn't have such a bond to the team like I have here. Here I am SO excited, happy and disappointed with the team... Sometimes afraid and sometimes angry. That's awesome, but Jitka thinks I'll get a heart attack once because of that. Well, I hope Jyp will win if that happens...

Yesterday was one of the most important TV days of the year, right after the presidential independence day celebration and  Kotikatu Christmas special: The Miss Finland -contest.  This year I had prepared well by checking out the girls LIVE beforehand. Yes, on a catwalk of a Jyväskylän car store, Laakkonen. It was very interesting to see them like that, because no director was able to control your eyes and really, the lighting of that place really didn't make their bodies look any prettier than they actually were. Only one had a body with no complaints to throw on, number 8, but unfortunately she was unlikely to win because of being "too hot" to be Miss Finland. The other one to catch my eye was number 4, but I didn't think she would win either. And they didn't. 4 placed 2nd, and 8 wasn't awarded at all! The winner (#1) looked actually not good at all in yesterday's final. She has some grandmother-like face and that's all I remember about her. Disappointment as every year.

Yo
I bet nobody's reading this anymore, but I'm gonna write anyway. And maybe I'll start to write again regularly after a long time!

So, someone might not know that I live in Finland again. Maybe it doesn't sound like a dream come true, but at least I got a good job here... Or what kind of job is it, when I am so bored that I start writing my blog again... Anyway, the place I work is in my hometown, Jyväskylä. 15min by car from Ristonmaa, the district I live in.

Shortly aboot the period after returning from Czech... I spent 3-4 months doing nothing here, until I found this job. I was already thinking we'd have to move somewhere for a job but luckily we didn't. Oh well, during those months I officially graduated from school :D... About time... 

For most of you it might come as a surprise that I start working every single morning at 6am! It's tough, but definitely easier to do than studying 6 hours of Finnish language every day, which Jitka is doing. I go home at 2pm, picking up Jitka from school on the way home. I don't want her to need to use Finnish buses, which are crowded, going once an hour and you never know what time of hour... + public transport is more expensive than using your own car. What else sucks here... BEER: it is bad, makes you feel bad, and makes your wallet... well, for a price of 2/3s of a pint here, I got a haircut in Czech - twice. And if I didn't get a haircut, I got hammered.