Introducing Tytti

Tuomo writes: This is what a funk brings you to: How can it take so long to write a blog entry on one of your dearest friends?!? I mean I wanted to do this for her "major milepost," and the gifts that were supposed to reach her and to be waiting for her when she’d return from her trip to Turkey didn’t get sent until today (like FOUR weeks late)...

At any rate, I have been wanting to write about my friend Tytti for the longest time. With Pekka and Timo, she’s the third leg of the tripod that keeps my life in focus. For the life of me, I cannot remember the exact circumstances of how we met other than it was at some party organized by SUB, the student organization for English majors at the University of Helsinki. In what must have been the fuksiaiset, or "freshman induction," and in my drunken haze, I remember her saying timidly that she wanted to participate in Sub. Fast-forward a year or two, and she was the chair of SUB!

So what do I appreciate so much about her? For one thing, she’s always been able to provide a frank but fair view of the state of affairs. I can’t think of anyone as well-grounded and well-versed in her opinions, ranging from choosing the perfect pair of floral pattern pants to how to deal with parents in denial. All of this delivered spot-on with kick-ass precision of a world-class stand-up comedienne... Oh the bons-mots I have come to cherish!

Second, we both share the joys of travelling. Unfortunately we haven’t had too many opportunities to travel together (London 1990, Tallinn a time or two in the late 90s, and hosting her in Toulouse and Barcelona 1991 and Vancouver in 2008), but even these few ones are worth a pot of gold. Oh the anecdotes! Without her and her infallible taste in culture, I don’t think I would have discovered as many best kept secrets. Add to this an appreciation of good food, be it gourmet or not, I couldn’t think of a better travelling companion. I don’t understand people who can’t sit down every once in a while for the tiniest of salads or just an amuse-gueule to process the sights and sounds du jour – or just to chitchat. Nor can Tytti. Add a refreshing gin and tonic to the equation, and things just get better. Nor will I ever have to worry about coming down with malaria either.

Finally, I appreciate her taste in music. With a background in music from high school, she has a taste for a wide variety of music, ranging from classical to the most eclectic performers of world music. As a perennial language queen, I love music that isn’t always your run-of-the-mill, dime-a-dozen mainstream music in English; when she’s around, I have no qualms about putting on music that I know would drive other people climb up the walls: French, Turkish, Latin/Spanish, Arab, bhangra, you name it...

In fact, the song that I would like to dedicate to her is Hijo de la luna by Mecano. I discovered this Spanish group while I was studying in France in the early 90s. When I returned to Finland, she was the first one to appreciate Mecano categorically without comments like ewww, creepy or This isn't in English. As a lot was going on in our lives at that time, we both seemed to get a kick of some kind from their somewhat edgy and controversial lyrics. Oh and I guess we were both going through some kind of a Spanish phase in our lives, too...

We miss you very much. Husband-hunting in Seattle any time soon?

Click here to see the original version of Mecano's Hijo de la luna.

But check this version out, too. It is so up our alleys! ¡Arriba!