First Week

Tuomo writes: First week of resolution leads to... nothing! I mean, no gain, but no loss either... The scale displayed 216.2 lbs :-(

On one hand, I did have a large-ish meal last night, and I made a not-so-healthy choice of having a quesadilla for lunch (though I ate only half of it and saved the rest for this week). Nibbling on fruit cake probably did not promote weight loss either, but now it is out of sight, out of mind :-)

On the other hand, I worked out to Tae Bo twice (Monday & Wednesday) and went to the new gym once (on Friday), so I hope to be on the right direction to increased amount of physical exercise. I'm planning on going to the gym for 20-30 minutes of cardio, and then have the left-overs of chicken tikka masala a la Weight Watchers (9 pts) adn mango lassi (4 pts) for dinner. I have a delicious recipe for a soup (3 pts/serving) that I'll be having for lunch for the rest of the week, so nutritionally I also hope to be on the right track.

Baby steps, as they say, baby steps :-)

Guess What I'm Doing This Year :-)

Tuomo writes: Soooo it's 2009, big whoop-dee-doo, right? Wrong! It's time for the (drumroll) New Year's Resolution for weight loss 2009 (groan!).

Right before the holidays I happened to come across a picture taken in June, weeks after I had gotten off Weight Watchers for all kinds of reasons, and man was I crestfallen when I realised how "thin" I looked. To be honest, not thin as in to have been able to fit in my 34" jeans but definitely less Jabba the Hutt-like what I feel like when I see myself in the mirror these days... Clothes have been getting tight in course of the past month, and I have to admit that I feel a bit out of breath when I walk up and down stairs. Not to mention the fact that I've been just out of energy to do anything other than shove more unhealty food in my mouth.

This year I haven't waited for the new year to roll in but started in small steps. For example, rather than completely purge the fridge of food that is bad for your health, I've done this gradually. This year this process has been motivated largely by the fact that I had stayed up late about a month ago to bake a fruit cake following a Finnish-style ("Pirkka") recipe. The cake was supposed to be part of the dessert assortment, but unfortunately the guests were so stuffed after the main course that none was eaten. As a result, I've been nibbling at it ever since until last Thursday when I gave the remaining 1/3 to my brother. If someone has to deal with the calories stored in, they might as well be unleashed by him :-)

In other words, I've been easing myself gradually in making decisions advocated by Weight Watchers, including registering my initial weight ( Jan. 5 216.5 lbs, or 97.9 kg). I allowed myself to indulge in the remaining slices of the fruit cake with my afternoon coffee, but I balanced that out (sorta) by working out twice to my brand new Tae Bo DVDs and Wii Fitness. I also checked out the Gold's Gym that recently opened in Langley on Friday, so now that the fruit cake's almost gone, it's time for some heavy duty gym workouts to allow the thin version of me to emerge.

But before we go into strategies and such, let's crunch some numbers:
"Maximum Take-Off" weight: 216.2 lbs
10 percent loss: 21.6 lbs
Weight at 10% weight loss: 194.6

So how is Tuomo going to achieve that goal? Well, here's an article I read a short time ago on Sympatico on how achieve weight related goals:

Many would say the key to success is to recognize that our New Year's
fitness resolution is simply a GOAL, and that in order to succeed, we should
apply the same principles as many organizations do when planning their next
business year. The first step is setting the goal. A common analogy used
in organizations is that a goal should be SMART if it is to be achieved:

S for Specific – Choose a specific outcome to achieve as a result of
your plan to be fit. For example, I want to lower my cholesterol or lose weight
versus I want to be healthier or look better.

Tuomo’s Specific Goal: I want to lose weight.

M for Measurable – I want my cholesterol to be under 5.0 or I want to lose 10 pounds are quantifiable goals.

Tuomo’s Measurable Goal: I want to lose at least 10% of my body weight, which is 21.6 lbs.

A for Achievable - If the smallest you've ever been as an adult is a size
10, it might not be achievable to aim to be a size 0. Perhaps if I'm currently a
size 18, was a size 10 when I was 18-years-old, then now I would like to be a
size 14. That seems achievable.

Tuomo’s Achievable Goal: I want to weigh max. 196 lbs, potentially 180-185 lbs. I want to be able to fit in 34" jeans. I have plenty of those in my wardrobe :-)

R for Realistic – Maybe running a marathon is not a realistic goal given
your commitments, even though it might be achievable if you had unrestricted
time to train. Be realistic about what it is you want to do – if it's not
something you enjoy, you're less likely to stick with it. Remember, physical
activity can be any activity that elevates your heart rate and uses your
muscles. If you enjoy hiking in the outdoors, plan brisk walks or snow shoeing.
Go dancing if that's what you like to do.

Tuomo’s Realistic Goal: I think 185 is realistic and doable. I want to reach this goal weight by means of monitoring what I eat by following principles of Weight Watchers and other similar sources of "wisdom" like Biggest Loser, etc.

T for Time Bound – Set a deadline, or set multiple deadlines for various stages of progress towards your goal. For example, I want to lose 10 pounds by May 24, 2008, so I need to lose about 2 pounds per month.

Tuomo’s Time Bound Goal: I want to have lost 10% of my weight by the end of March, i.e. I want to weigh about 195 lbs (88 kgs) by March 31. Weigh-ins take place on Monday mornings so as to avoid the previous pitfalls due to weigh-ins on Saturday mornings, i.e. eating everything in sight over the weekend...

In addition, I have set the follow mileposts (2 lbs/week) to help me stay on track:

Jan 12: 214 lbs (96.7 kg)
Jan 19: 212 lbs (95.8 kg)
Jan 26: 210 lbs (94.9 kg)
Feb 2: 208 lbs (94.0 kg)
Feb 9: 206 lbs (93.1 kg)
Feb 16: 204 lbs (92.2 kg)
Feb 28: 202 lbs (91.3 kg)
Mar 2: 200 lbs (90.4 kg)
Mar 9: 198 lbs (89.5 kg)
Mar 16: 196 lbs (88.6 kg)
Mar 25: 194 lbs (87.7 kg)

Which would then allow one more week to catch up in case of plateaus, lapses, etc.

So there! Now please keep me accountable and egg me on - I'll keep you posted as we go :-)

Kathy Griffin Kicks @ss!

Tuomo writes: The other day I was reading the paper and noticed that Kathy Griffin was performing at the River Rock Casino. Well, with two performances, I was convinced that both shows would be sold out so why bother pursuing this pipe-dream any further. Then last night Dave, Angie, and I were watching TV when Kathy Griffin’s reality show My Life on the D-List came on. Dave mentioned he’d love to see her if she were ever to come perform in Vancouver. At this point I brought to his attention that she’d actually be performing the day after on Saturday night, so Dave dashed upstairs to verify this (?), and thirty minutes later came down with a pair of tickets! Thank you honey! :-)

We got tickets to the earlier show starting at 7:30, and after almost two hours of irreverent, celebrity-laced potty-mouthed entertainment, I have to say the time was well spent because she’s fierce, and the tickets worth every penny. Unlike Madonna, we had very nice seats from which Kathy was like 2 inches (5 cm) tall, clearly visible, and had a thing to say a thing or two on issues ranging from Sara Palin and Nancy Grace to celebrating her birthday with Cher (Cher’s quip to Kathy being anxious about turning 30: “You haven’t had a three in front of your age in years, babe!”)

She started with when she co-hosted New Year’s Eve show on CNN with Anderson Cooper (That silver devil rrrr!) and got into some trouble in a way only she could get on live TV:



Her repertoire of jokes was too sophisticated and too well delivered for me to even try to repeat here. But... One of my many favourites of the evening though was when she pointed out that we live in a province from where you can see Sara Palin! Oh and I loved the way she skewered Nancy Grace (Boo hisssss!), the wench of a disgrace on the otherwise revered CNN.

A quick note on the audience. A lot of gay men and women were present in the crowd. Surprising? Barely! :-) Now here’s an interesting observation: we noticed a lot of bears at River Rock. Could it be because they are the D-Listers of the gay community? :-)

Finally, a lot of interesting shows coming up at River Rock Casino, including Margaret Cho next Saturday. Something to think about...

Summary of 2008?

Tuomo writes: It’s New Year’s Eve – time for one more look back at some of the ups and down of our 2008. The events are in no particular order; any other form than flow of thought would be too much work otherwise :-

Teddy passed away in September ;-(

Lulu entered our life in October.

Our friends Sean, Nate, and Nicole came for a shoestring budget visit. Well Nicole was on a budget and a schedule; the rest of us weren’t. Lots of sitting in the car while the rain ruined all opportunities to view the Rockies. A faboo weekend in Seattle in the end though we ended up having dinner at probably the most overpriced and overrated restaurant in town.

Our friends Tytti, Pekka, and Timo, and came for a visit and brought summer weather with them. Tytti cooked us some fabulous meals and enlightened us of the finer nuances in oenology. I got to tour Seattle with Tytti and dance to our hearts' content to 80s classics at Neighbour’s. Pekka and Timo, who came over a week later but only for a very short time, got a whirlwind tour of what Tytti had explored in the past 10 days. Finally, when Tytti left back to Finland, Dave and I got to tour San Francisco with Pekka and Timo. The usual: the Wharf, the Castro, cable cars, Berkeley – but fun!

In August we got to see the Champagne Ladies for the first time since our move. A fabulous week at the beach awaited (after a red-eye flight to Philly on board a flight with no other than “Pam”!). Though the week began with a trial for our crimes against Champanity, the week was pretty much what we had been anticipating all year.

Dave’s dad got infected by multiple tick-borne diseases, which almost forced Dave’s parents to cancel their trip to see us. Fortunately, he managed to recover so that they were able to benefit from some of the best weather that BC has to offer; in fact, Dave’s dad managed to get a sunburn – though the medication he was on also contributed to this! High Point of the week: high tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria followed by a double-decker tour (high point: poopin’ harbour seal). Low Point of the week: Too bad that Teddy’s passing away coincided with their stay…

Later we learned that while Dave’s dad was in hospital for the infection he had a heart attack. Consequently, he had to go through a multiple by-pass in October, which caused changes in our Thanksgiving Day week travel plans. Balmy Florida became freezing Rhode Island, but a good time was had by all.

In late April and early May, I had a wonderful time in Finland, including the first Vappu (“First of May”) since 1996.

We made some friends with some new people on the US election night, which of itself was a truly historical event to witness.

The lower mainland got a white Christmas for the first time since 1971 (?), which meant that nobody knew what to do with the snow, in particular here in Langley where side roads remain to date in substandard condition.

Wonderful Christmas – our first one in our Canadian home – with a dinner party with our local family. Everybody was stuffed and needed to kick back a bit to loosen the belt. Plus ça change, plus c’est la meme…

All other events have been securely stored in our long-term memories; just remind us :-)

Finally, not a posting without a clip, just to remind us how time is an evanescent concept:



Onnellista uutta vuotta! Happy new year! Bonne année! Gott nytt år! Καλή χρoνιά! Head uut aastat! Gelukkig nieuw jaar! Boldog új év! Ein gutes neues Jahr! Farsælt komandi ár! Yeni yiliniz kutlu olsun!E gudd neit Joër! Akemashite omedetō! Szczęśliwego nowego roku! Feliz año nuevo! С Новым Годом! Blwyddyn newydd dda! Feliz ano novo! La mulţi ani! Šťastný nový rok! See you in 2009! MWAH!

Guess What I Got for Christmas :-)

Tuomo writes: This had to be the best Christmas - evah! Normally gift guidelines recommend us not to get fitness and/or health related presents because of the underlining message "You're fat!" and so on. Well, in my case, I know I'm fat, so I have to do something about it.

One of the numerous thoughtful prezzies from Dave this year was in fact Wii Fitness. I've been dying to get one for like months, but I was reminded that one never knows what Santa brings in his sack. And sure enough, I found a Wii Fitness amongst my prezzies. Yayyy!

I just finished installing and synching it, so I'm good to go tomorrow morning. The stats were far from flattering, as if I needed numerical evidence for why I should get back on the fitness bandwagon! I also found the following YouTube clip that I plan on using as a source of inspiration to reach my weight and BMI goals six months down the road. I also expect results nothing less impressive than on the dude in clip :-) Enjoy!

Now Where the Heck is Kyle?

Tuomo writes: Whenever Dave and I go on holidays and don’t have access to Breakfast Television, someone seems to get booted off the morning. First Dave and Simi and now, case in point: Kyle “Argyle” Donaldson.

When we returned from our Thanksgiving week, we were mighty disappointed when Kyle wasn’t there to wake us up on Monday morning. Or on Tuesday… Or for the rest of the week. We were like, "What the bleep!" In the meantime, someone called Riaz Meghji had taken over Kyle’s role on BT. Riaz is entertaining and all that in that puppy-eyed kinda way, but something’s missing. We definitely want Kyle back!

Hmm... maybe we should stop travelling... :-)

According to my source on things related to BT, Kyle had made this really off-colour statement live, and for this reason he allegedly got booted. On the other hand, the BT crew has the habit of making off-colour jokes all the time, which in the States would have had them all fired ages ago, so I don't quite get it. Nevertheless, I have seen Kyle on City TV news at noon, and his profile still appears on the BT website, but no pics of Riaz. So what the bleep?!

For info on Riaz, here's a blurb when he was still in Toronto and a YouTube clip. Tytti, are you watching? What do you think? :-)

On a more positive note, I learned while reading Laila Yuile's blog that Dave Gerry is not only back on TV (Monday thru Friday on CBC at 3 PM - yayyy!) but Laila has posted two guest blogs by Dave (Nov. 24 and Dec. 1).

My Dave’s car already has a Phoebe; thanks on Dave Gerry’s to-the-point observation, it now also has an Antonio :-)

Man, do I miss Dave Gerry in the mornings...!

Merry Christmas

Tuomo writes: So it's Boxing Day already... Best Christmas ever - until 2009! :-) Christmas dinner with a Scandinavian style ham, rosolli, carrot casserole, and Karelian pastries followed by an assortment of cookies and washed down with glögi... So how come am I feeling so stuffed?!

Here's a cute little clip that will hopefully inspire me to start using my new Wii Fitness:



We joined the new Gold's gym in town about a month ago, but due to all kinds of circumstances they won't be opening until Jan. 1. Talk about an excuse to procrastinate! We hope to get back on the bandwagon, and maybe even join (gasp) Weight Watchers again. As for me, I'm sick and tired of feeling depleted of energy and just plain ole fat. I saw some pictures of me taken weeks after I got off WW, and I do not what I see in the mirror these days.

I must, I must, I must increase my... energy levels! How's that for a dime a dozen new year's resolution?! :-)

Happy (American) Thanksgiving!

Tuomo writes: It's amazing how muhc you miss home during the holidays, isn't it? Regardless where your home is...

Due to circumstances around Dave's father's health, the original plans on spending Thanksgiving week in balmy Florida got transferred to... well... not so balmy Rhode Island. When the captain on our Southwest flight to Providence announced that the temperature in Providence was 25 F (-5 C) - without factoring in the wind chill factor - there was this collective gasp of disbelief. One almost expected the oxygen masks to drop down due to sudden cabin depressurisation :-)

This week has been first time back to RI since Christmas. In many ways not the ideal time of the year, and a lot of the business landscape has been affected by the recent economic turmoil. But still, it has been been fun to be at Dave's parents. Home" for my I guess if you want to use formalism, where Home is in Helsinki and Home' is in Hyattsville, meaning Langley must be Home"'. At any rate the week has been full of familiar sounds and sight - not to mention some culinary treats, keeping in mind that I'm no gastronome by any extent! For five-star and more exquisite gourmet experiences in RI, look elsewhere :-)

Here are some of my favourite places for a meal in RI (besides Mamma's of course!):

Athenian Deli & Restaurant (1242 Oaklawn Ave, Cranston): Greek comfort food in a blue collar diner environment. This is a MUST and a big disappointment when it has been closed for the holidays :-)
Wien-O-Rama (1009 Oaklawn Ave, Cranston): Hotdogs like I've never appreciated before, with or without celery salt.

So, today on Thanksgiving I'm reminded again how one just can't erase 11 years of memories just like that. Prior to moving to the States, Thanksgiving was just this cultural thing that I was aware of but it really didn't mean anything else. Now it has to be one of my Top 3 celebrations of the year: no presents, no religion, and everyone, regardless of their origins, is invited to have a good meal with their beloved ones. Something that in my mind spans all human kind.

In other words, for all our readers: Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you for being "you" - and forreading this blog every once in a while too :-)

Go Obama!

Tuomo writes: OK so the US elections came and went, and four weeks later, I still haven't commented... I guess everything worthwhile saying has been said and analysed to the nth degree so that li'l ole linguistics me probably has not much to comment on the outcome.

On election night, we went over to our friends' Tim and Keith's place to watch the results roll in on NBC and CNN. On most occasions being three hours behind the east coast is a nuisance, i.e. by the time we want to call our friends and family in Maryland and Rhode Island, it's close to midnight their time! However, this time the results were in well before 9pm, and we were good to go home around 10.

IMHO McCain gave a very eloquent speech; too bad that his booing supporters continued to reveal the true colours of the Republican Party...

There was a collective gasp in the room when President Elect Obama mentioned gays [and lesbians] in his speech. There was nary a dry eye in the room as we witnessed the end to the eight years of nightmare under Dubya. It was such a wodnerful and uplifting speech... And the family is adorable too; let's hope the puppy issue gets resolved soon :-) So here's to a new dawning full of hope at a time of turmoil of various kinds, economic, social, you name it!

Ironically, on the same night that the future president of the United States explicitly made reference to gays and lesbians, more ominous news came from possibly the most progressive state in the country, California. Proposition 8, the evil-spirited move to bring down the recently passed law allowing gay marriage in California had passed. And the irony of ironies is that the people who helped boost Obama were primarily the same ones who helped this proposition pass. Not that Prop 8 would have changed Dave's and my lives in any way (at least, at this stage, thanks to Clinton's DOMA in the 90s), but it made us mad for like days.

As someone on one of the columns that I read regularly put it, this wasn't just telling us to get back to the back of the bus - we had been run over by the bus.

Thank goodness then that this has activated the LGBTQ community to stage protests across the country - or as CNN put worldwide, with a demonstration in London! Hopefully this fury encourages the community to be more forceful... I mean, if my memory doesn't fail me, just last week gay partnerships were made legal in Bhutan :-)

Election Day!!!

Tuomo writes: I was telling Dave last night that it feels like eight years of a nightmare are finally coming to an end. I excited, Dave's excited, and judging by Facebook, a lot of my friends in Finland are excited, too. I hope our friends in Baltimore are excited - and voting...

Now of course you all realise what this means. Yes, tomorrow the media speculation over the presidential elections in 2012 can begin :-)

In the meantime, enjoy this clip:

Madonna in Vancouver!

Tuomo writes: As they say, "beggars can’t be choosers" and a lot of aspects in life can be best called "sour grapes," so I advise people to read my review of Madonna’s concert in Vancouver through these clichés.

For one, I hadn’t realized how big BC Place Arena is. I mean, not big – HUGE! An estimate of 30,000 people was there that night, and I think that is a fairly accurate estimate. Come to think of it, 30,000 is like 10% of all Iceland :-) Mind you, BC Place Arena will also be the venue for the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, so that should give my out-of-Vancouver readers some perspective of the scale I'm talking about. The three of us were sitting on the fourth level in the nose-bleed, and from there the stage felt like it was at least ten blocks away. Flanked by two huge letters M in pink, the stage had three screens and two others to the side, to the left and right of the huge Ms. While the show was on, the outermost jumbo-tron screens followed what was going on on the stage while the three on-stage screens functioned as back-drops to each number performed.

As a result, Madonna appeared to be 5 millimetres tall; I hadn't realised she'd be so much smaller in person! :-) Without the two jumbo-trons, it would have been next to impossible to see what was going on on the stage. At times, when Madonna and her dancers were performing close to the back-drop screens, it was in fact impossible to see what they were doing, so a lot of the show was lost on me. In the end, if you wanted to enjoy the show, you had to keep your eyes peeled on the jumbo-trons. Consequently, the thought of purchasing the tour DVD might have been a better choice :-)

As for the numbers, Madonna performed quite a selection of her songs from along her career, focusing not so surprisingly primarily on her latest album. Some of the arrangements were interesting, to say the least, others unfortunately weren't. For example, Borderline made me think of this; had I paid to see a goth performance, I would have accepted it as is without questions, but now I’m not so sure. I didn't like the way Human Nature had been arranged either; for one, I don't care that much for this song, and two, it just didn't work for me. Others fortunately, like La Isla Bonita was arranged and mixed so that it sounded in Dave’s words like what Moldova would be submitting as their Eurovision entry for 2009, i.e. he didn’t like it, but I sure did!

In my mind, She’s Not Me and Far Away, which were new to me because I haven’t purchased the album yet, which hopefully doesn’t mean my gay card will be revoked, were arranged beautifully and the stage performance was at its best, mostly but not only thanks to the imagery on the screens. A propos, during She’s Not Me, Madonna depicted a lighter side of herself when she fended off earlier iconic stages of herself as the stage act, which I think shows that she can have a sense of humour, too. Finally, Like a Prayer and some of her earlier "standards" performed more towards the end did leave an up-lifting "party" feel in my mouth – also due to the fact that I didn’t have to peer any longer at the stage from behind the queen standing and partying in front of me when I didn’t feel yet like doing so :-)

That said, I’ll give the whole experience a B+. Once again, for $100 you can’t really expect to be within spitting distance from a major pop star, now can you? However, the fact that I was so often better off watching her perform on the big screens or I would have totally missed the pleasure of the stage action did leave bit of a - pardon the pun - sour candy taste in my mouth. But considering how much I love sour patch kids, I did enjoy the show for the most.

Two lessons to be learned. One, buy Hard Candy. Immediately! Two, for future reference, be prepared to fork out the bucks when planning to attend an event in BC Place Arena! :-)

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Tuomo writes: Wanna see something really scary? No, I’m not talking about ghouls, goblins or ghosts... Oh no, I’m talking about the Race Monster: It usually lurks around red places (states, necks, etc.), and it roams around wrapped in (gasp) prejudice! EEEEEEK!!!



On a much lighter note, enjoy this.

It's Madonna!!!

Tuomo writes: So tonight is the big night when we – finally – get to see Madonna perform at BC Place Stadium in downtown Vancouver. We missed her Confessions tour, but Dave’s brother and sister got to see her in Boston. Our initial envy turned into mild mannered glee when they told us that they were astonished by how many gays there were at the concert that night. Umm hellooo, under which rock have you been hiding since the 80s?!? :-)

In honour of this grand event in my life on the eve of Santa Madonna(according to Breakfast Television, "everyone" will be there tonight – including "Argyle" Kyle!), here are a couple of clips, either by Madonna herself or inspired by her, starting with Dave’s favourite:



This one's deliciously wicked:



And this one is just downright delicious:



And finally, no tribute would be perfect without this one :-)

As per Request - Sorta :-)

Tuomo writes: Pekka mentioned a great Eurovision song from the early 80s, back when music was the main point and not skimpy hemlines cut in a bias and pyrotechnics :-)

I couldn't help posting the clip so that everyone understand what we are talking about: Giannis Dimitras and Feggari kalokerino "Summer Moon". Παρακαλώ!

Into the Groove!

Tuomo writes: To echo my admiration of Tytti's impeccable taste in music, I've always felt a bit embarrassed about admitting that I am a Madonna fan.

Pretty much everyone agrees that she doesn't have any real singing - or acting - skills, but man does she cover up for it in so many other ways! I remember when she came out with Like a Virgin in the early 80s and I was in high school. I never really got a kick out of it, but it did catch my eye; even to this day, I wouldn't include it in my Top 5, let alone Top 10 Madonna hits, but hey, you gotta start somewhere. It wasn't until Into the Groove and her Blonde Ambition phase came out that I started to pay real attention to her. I loved the "packaging" and the cheekiness that it came in it! As a budding homosexual, I was titillated by her provocative approach to presenting herself; oh those outfits. So garish, so provocative, so... 80s! Later on, Madonna's overt support for the gay community made me a lifelong fan even though I have to admit that I sorta lost interest in her around her Kabbalah inspired album but got - pardon the pun - back in the groove along with her Confessions on the Dance Floor album.

Most of all I have to admire her for having had such a long career in a field that these days is infested with flavours of the day that become one hit wonders overnight. In fact, considering that way back in the beginning, she was expected to become a one hit wonder herself, so three decades of pop hits is in my book something to be proud of.

From the selection of three decades of songs as the icon of pop culture par excellence, I think my favourite Madonna song is Into the Groove mentioned above. Highlighted in - and promoting itself - the movie Desperately Seeking Susan, I couldn't help falling in love with this romantic comedy. In fact, it is one of my guilty pleasure movies: not much along the lines of a unique plot or fabulous acting, but it struck a chord in me at that time that still continues to vibrate. Besides, how many singer-actors in a supporting role can say they've danced to their own music! On my dance card, this one ranks high on my list of top pop dance songs...

So tomorrow when Madonna hits the stage in Vancouver, I hope she will be performing Into the Groove. That sure would make this 42-year old man very happy. In the meantime, I'll contend with the YouTube clip. Too bad I'm not now at home where I could lock the doors and dance - to my hearts content :-)

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!

Who's Got da Funk?!

Tuomo writes: And not the pleasant kind of funk either...

I guess the current slump started after our European friends left and our week at the beach was over. Ever since that everything has felt more or less blah.

It didn't help when when our friends at the beach - hopefully jokingly - mocked my attempt to keep in touch by means of this blog. All kidding aside, I felt hurt, especially when since the trip none of them have even bothered to wonder and/or ask me why I haven't been updating my blog. They were the main target audience in my mind that determined to write this blog in English. I might as well change the language to Finnish because those who do read this are our Finnish friends. And considering that I haven't written much in a few months, they probably haven't been following this either, so I'm questioning why bother in the first place... which definitely guarantees that this blog doesn't get any updates!

I haven't gone to the gym in ages. I haven't eaten sensibly or been on WeightWatchers since June. All I have done is eat and watch TV. And not without snacking on goodies that aren't carrots... I just can't seem to get interested in anything.

I postpone doing things for later. Or tomorrow. Or next week... or month.

I did get myself to go to a hot yoga class (Bikram) for like three times. Then I lost interest. Or motivation. Or maybe it was too pushy. Or something.

I need to get excited about doing something. Like going to the gym... or something.

Though I do have to point out that there has been a glimmer of some end to the funk. I recently got in touch with two friends from the past (thanks to FaceBook, my seemingly only source of social contact). I've written an e-mail or two with them in French and Estonian, something that seems to get my groove back on. I also got my car serviced today, and for some strange reason I feel like achieving things so that when Dave comes home the kitchen won't be a mess or the hallway upstairs won't be strewn with laundry to be folded or put away.

In fact, to prove the point that not everything is as gloomy as it may seem, I ran across another blast from the past, or a YouTube clip, Zoolookologie by Jean-Michel Jarre that got me in a merrier place, at least temporarily. Oh I so love the 80s graphics; it reminds a lot of my high school art work :-)

We're South-East Asian!

Tuomo writes: We had nothing else to do, so we took the Which Country Are You quiz. Here are the results, first for me, then for Dave:

Tuomo: You're Vietnam! After years of muddling through on your own, you've finally repaired yourself to a point of respectability. You would have been much better off had people you didn't like not kept insisting on spending so much time with you. But
those times are fading quickly and these days you're pretty sure you won't get burned.

Dave: You're Thailand! Calmer and more staunchly independent than almost all those around you, you have a long history of rising above adversity. Recent adversity has led to questions about your sexual promiscuity and the threat of disease, but you still manage to attract a number of tourists and admirers. And despite any setbacks, you can really cook a good meal whenever it's called for. Good enough to make people
cry.

Now that was positive!

Teddy In Memoriam

Tuomo writes: On Sunday September 7th approximately 5:05PM Dave and I bade Teddy farewell.

After the lab report from our vet, it became clear that it would require next to a miracle to end Teddy's declining health. At first we had thought that Teddy had begun to lose weight because he was getting a bit more excercise walking up and down the stairs, but eventually it became clear that something else was going on. By the time we contacted the vet, we weren't sure for how long Teddy hadn't been eating or drinking at all.

The lab results were devastating. All indicators, way beyond several deviations from the normal, suggested that Teddy was suffering from kidney failure, a typical ailment among small pets I believe. As suggested by the vet, Dave brought Teddy over to the emergency clinic for intense IV. Unfortunately the first 24 hours had no effect on his wellbeing, and in course of the following 24 hours Teddy had a seizure. It was a tough decision to make, but it was clear that there would be nothing but suffering ahead for poor Teddy, so we requested him to be put to sleep.

As I'm writing this, I still can't help welling up. We made use of one more opportunity to be with Teddy. We petted him a lot and took lots of pictures, but it was clear that Teddy was in a lot of discomfort; the IV tube hanging from his left paw probably didn't add to his benefit.

Needless to say, Dave and I wept unashamedly while we watched Teddy explore the room we were in. Ten years of good times as well as bad were about to become precious memories... In the end, it felt really painful to say, "Goodbye, Primogenito."

In memory of Teddy, here's a poem in Finnish I found on the Internet (originally in Swedish?) ; underneath it is my prose-y translation in English:

KISSAN HAUTAJAISISSA

Luona pikku ruumiin me seisomme,

ei nouse tuosta enää konsaan se.

Sun kehruutas koskaan ei kuulla saa,

ei nähdä miten luomes vilkahtaa.

Kissavainaamme, kiitos, pikkuinen,

joka päivästä, yöstä saat kiitoksen,

jotka saimme sun kanssasi elellä

ja sua rakkaasti hellien hyväillä.

Sinä lohtua meidän käsillämme toit.

Sinä monena äänenä meissä soit.

Mau, sähäys ja kynnen välkähdys-

mitä kertoikaan häntäsi pyyhkäys.

Olit itsenäinen sä aina vaan,

mitä ikinä kävitkin luuraamaan.

Sinä vapaa olit, taas orjia me

kunnes hautaan viimein vaivumme.

Vailla unia sä nuku, ja maaksi jää.

Meitä pöydässä ikävä räydyttää.

Mutta muistos on talossa ainiaan.

Se ei tunnu kylmältä milloinkaan.

-Lars Huldén-Suom. Satu Marttila

AT A CAT’S FUNERAL

We now stand gathered next to your tiny body

Ne’er shall it move again;

Your purring won’t be heard any more

nor how your eye bats will be seen

Our dearly beloved, lifeless kitty cat,
We thank you for every night and day
That we got to share with you
And pet you with tender love and care.

You brought us comfort by means of our hands

You rang many chords within us
With a meow, a hiss and a flash of a claw
Or whatever that flick of your tail ever meant.

Forever you maintained your independence

Whatever you set your mind on

You were free while we mere slaves were

Until we all in a grave in peace shall rest.

Sleep your dreamless slumber and dust become

While the pain of missing you consumes us

But your memory shall always remain in the house forever:

Ne’er shall it feel cold ever more.

May you, Teddy, rest in peace in a place where nobody ever steps on his tail or picks you up without your concent :-)

What's Going On with This Blog?!

Tuomo writes: Where did Septemebre go? And what's up with updates?

Just having some technical problems (read: annoying pop ups) at the home computer that prevent timely and unadultared blogging.

Hang in there, my friends! :-)