HB COLD

What's in a name, right? Well I just learned that the street we live on - Tuppikuja - when translated means knob alley. How on earth can that be a name for a street? What happened to University Street or even a street named after a person? Knob Alley? Karoliina was talking with Virpi, who is getting married this March about the invitations and where should she send it. When K told her our address, Virpi had reservations about sending anything to knob alley and I can't blame here. Does anyone live on a more disgustingly named street than me? I don't think so.

OK, I'm studying how to tell the time in Finnish and I thought I would give a sample flavor.

Mitä kello on? What time is it? Simple enough

It is two twenty-nine pm : Kello on kaksikymmentä yhdeksän yli kaksi illalla

- Wes if this seems like dejavu, it's cause it is. Wes and I were able to AIM chat today, it was really nice, although an exercise in extreme typing.

When it rains it pours. 2 Scott's online at once, I think my fingers will fall off. Don't think I can continue the journal.

Oh, good news first. My boss, Lasse, emailed me today about my extension and told me that he will raise my salary 100 euros a month. I need to negotiate for a few more raises throughout the course of the year and an appropriate level of vacation time, but the first step is a good one.

Funny to negotiate vacation time considering my last job had this rule - No vacation, at all for your first year.

Today's Finnish lesson saw the addition of two Swiss guys, Tobias and Manuel. I think everyone is a little surprised that there aren't any Russians (Venälainen) in the class, considering they usually make up the vast majority of the adult education student population. Not that anyone is complaining either. It's a fun group, the only problem is that the teacher speaks so quickly that it's hard to pick up even one word. Sometimes I think that it is me, but then I look around and everyone has the same, Huh, expression on their faces and it makes me feel a little better. Even Richard, the older American, who studies Finnish on his own for 2 hours a day hasn't been able to keep up with her, the teacher - Arja (Arreeaaa)

Other than class things have been pretty routine. Today we discussed the outlay of the soon to be EFFC.fi website. We have a "We're alive" page already designed and it should be up by the end of the week, so check it out on Friday. The language is all mine, for those of you who have been wondering what the hell I do out here, Jen ;-) that is one of my first accomplishments.

Big sigh of relief today regarding the Independent Filmmaking class I will be teaching in a couple of weeks. I was able to think of a game plan and began writing an outline of how the class will go, including specific stories and details. So far I think I have about 20 minutes and only need 70 more, with about 11 days left before the first class. There is one possible problem, I'm planning on using humor, but if the jokes and humorous stories don't work, I could be up you know who's creek. Stay tuned.

Also, Trish, I will be online everyday at 8-10pm Joensuu time / 12-2pm Dallas time. Hopefully this will coincide with the boy's naptime. Oh, but not Thursday's, I am out at that time on Thursday. For anyone else hooked up to AOL Instant Messenger, my buddy name is hbcold

Really looking forward to this Sunday...Superbowl party at my house and everyone's invited. Kick off is when? 1 am and game ends 5 am, man I am going to be exhausted next Monday, but with a smile on my face. I hope the game is good, because I don't think that the commercial campaigns will be the same here in Suomi than in Yhdysvallat of America. And I don't think I will stop watching even if it's a blowout, considering I haven't seen an American football game in over 3 months. But as for the other football, I think Chelsea is my favorite squad, with Arsenal coming in a close second. Sure I don't know who any of the players are and I can't understand what the hell the announcers are saying, but I've laid down my loyalties and will stick with it.

I can't wait to get to a shoe store that has more than one pair of basketball shoes. Mine stink. They've completely screwed up the bottom's of my feet and now they've begun to crack on the outside and they are about 3 months old. I think I will purchase 2 pairs the next time I am anywhere near a sale and a selection.

Before I run I thought I would share a little of our TV program with you. It's a British travel programme that follows young people around as they vacation in Ibiza and other HOT island destinations, looking to get drunk and have sex, a veritable Brits gone Wild TV series. Quality.

OK, so K's out right now at a dance class with Anska, who is Harri's wife, which brings me back to you with this bit of nonsense...the most expensive thing that we buy at the grocery store is a sweet potato. The one we bought, while big, was almost 5 euros. It was as much as the two steaks we bought to eat with it. I think the second most expensive item at the store are grapes, one bunch is almost 3 euros. Number 3 on the most expensive list is the oj that we buy. Avacados are cheap though.

Oh, I had the craziest dream last night and before I forget about it I will try try to explain. I was walking a baby Samuel along the street. I was holding him and playing some sort of game and he was smiling and being goofy and stuff. Finally we get to our destination and it is this huge house, palm trees, gated lawn and everything, but this is obviously our destination. I enter the house and a crazed Mel Brooks starts running up to me, telling me to give him the baby, give him the baby. I pretended to be retarded and said something incoherrent to Mel, who was inching closer in that creepy way things inch closer when you are dreaming. I took a look at Samuel who was giving me a very mature "This guys nuts" look and we took off. I was running out of the lawn and told Samuel that I could run a lot faster if I put him in the bag I had, he said ok and we were really moving after that.

Finally I got to Trish and Wes' house and started to tell them what happened. I felt bad because I hadn't taken Samuel out of the bag, and I was hoping that they wouldn't see, but they did. I thought they would start yelling, but they just said, be careful not to wake him up, but he woke up and started to tell the whole Mel Brooks story. I guess it's something in the air.

There must be something in the air. Last night's basketball game was easily the most physical game thus far, I even got into a bit of a shouting match with one of the guys, Timo. He was throwing elbows and hooked me a couple of times when he had the ball and I was guarding him, so of course that made me play him more physically, which then led him to play a little rougher. I guess he was also pissed because my shot was on and I was having fun, while he was having a bad game. Hee-hee. When I say shouting match, I basically mean we actually talked a little trash, nothing more than that, but when there is no talking going on at all, even a little bit seems like a fight.

I think I may have made a poor choice to even play in the game, considering I caught a cold the day before and I think I may have done more harm than good with the exercise - although at the time I thought that a little exercise would do me good. Oh well, I made it this long through the winter without getting sick, maybe I'm due. Just a head cold and considering how cold it's been these past few days -22°C (do it with me now *9/5+32=-7.6°F) and that's been the high temperature today and yesterday. I think that's one of the reasons the game was so physical, everyone feels a little crazy with the cold.

Good news today! I had my meeting with Jenni, the project director at the EFFC and she gave me her support and said that she is ready to extend my contract until the end of the year. I will work out the details with Lasse next week, but I will be gainfully (is it gainfully or gamefully?) employed throught 2004, which makes me happy. It also means that this year I will be travelling on the company's dime to some pretty cool places.

Regarding travel plans, K and I unfortunately have different plans in May. She is going to be attending a film camp in Estonia for the first two weeks of May and at the same time, I will be in Rome and attending the Cannes Film Festival. And while I'm sure that Estonia will be fun, I try not to talk too much about Rome and Cannes, because it's just not that fair. I do hope that in the future, K will be able to join us as a member of the team. She would be good to have as a spokesperson when we travel to other countries, especially considering the other people in the group can be rather dull.

Oh, there is a premiere of the Dog Clipper next Saturday, which could be a great time, except for the premiere itself, as it will be in Finnish. I just hope I stay awake through the movie. It should give me a good idea of the kinds of films that this area can support, but still - 2 hours with no subtitles and probably a drink or two in my system before going in to watch the movie - yup snoresville.

In case you think that I may be able to stay up, let me tell you what the hell this movie is about...In a nutshell, a war veteran goes crazy and spends his days clipping the nails of dogs and pondering about life. You know those commercials that depict foreign films as crying clowns standing next to a four-post bed on the beach with cats running around? That's what I think I'm in for, except this is going to be with dogs, and dog's nails and a dude clipping them. Pure unadulterated entertainment I tell you.

OK, gotta run and cook some dinner - steaks and chilli sweet potatoes. I just hope I can taste it. Nothing worse than having a good meal that you only allow yourself every so often and not being able to taste it. Considering my sinuses right now I should be eating brussel sprouts and buckwheat.

Lots of love and all that other stuff.

Kuka sinä olet? Minä olen Howard Brodsky. Minä asun Joensuussa. Hauska tutustua. Nakemiin.

Who are you? I am Howard Brodsky. I live in Joensuu. Nice to meet you. Good-bye.

Two lessons and look at the progress! And I think my spelling is correct to boot.

I was told yesterday by Pekka that I will be on the planning committee for the Anthropolgical Film Festival that we will be having here in Joensuu in October. Although my meeting with the project director - regarding my future - is not until tomorrow, I feel pretty good about my long term role here at the EFFC.

About the festival, I've been researching American universities that offer a Visual Anthropology degree in order to expand cooperation and make this festival a real event. Apparently the Nordic Anthropological Film Association has been gathering for 24 years and we are to be continuing those gatherings here in Joensuu and in the guise of a film festival. I am pretty excited about this and I think it could be a real interesting event.

One problem and perhaps an area where I can be of assistance is in the collaboration of sponsors and thinkers. Pekka, the guy who is in charge of the anthropological film society here in Finland told me yesterday that everyone who he deals with, he winds up fighting with and calling them names. That being said, he has never had the support that he would like - maybe it's because instead of negotiating, he calls them assholes and leaves the room - his words.

I was teaching an English class last night for K. I've been with this group before and one of the students is a reporter for the regional newspaper Karjalainen. Last time we spoke he mentioned the possibility of doing a story on me as part of their - unique people in the region - segment of the weekend edition. Last night he asked if I was still interested and I said yes. Hopefully it will bring more publicity to the film commission than to yours truly, but you never know. I am pretty excited about this, but I will need K to translate for me.

Ok, so I don't want to brag and I certainly don't want to rub it in, but with the weather dropping to minus 20 and apparently the coldest part of winter yet to arrive (February) I feel a certain level of excitement over my most recent assignment here at the EFFC.

My task for the next few days on the job is to figure out the schedule for the Cannes film festival so that we can plan our trip to Rome around our trip to Cannes. Not too shabby of a task, but aside from the glamour, it is a pain in the ass. If all goes well, we will spend the May 8 - 16 in Rome and then in Cannes and then K and I will be off to Dallas for another vacation. Never in my wildest imagination would I have thought that coming to Joensuu, Finland would lead to sudden trips to Rome and to Cannes. I knock on wood every time I talk about my job just to make sure that I realize a good thing.

I had my first Finnish lesson yesterday. I can't really say that much was accomplished, but from personal experience, the idea is to create an environment that is conducive to speaking a foreign language and I think we are on the right track. There were 5 people in the class, and 8 are needed to keep the class going (hopefully more will show up, they are giving it a two-week trial period to see how many people will join).

Of the 5 there were 2 Americans, myself included. The other was an older man from Rhode Island, Richard Aber, who moved here a few months back with his Finnish wife. However, Richard did not move to Joensuu, but to a small village 70km outside of Joensuu and has given up his career as a diplomat to become the woodsman he always wanted to be, interesting dude.

The other guy is Emeka, from Nigeria - or nigerialainen - he is the second Nigerian I have met and the other was a buddy of mine from school and his name was Meka - go figure. He seemed like a nice enough guy.

There were two girls in class, one Juli is from Austria, she says she will only be here for 6 months and the other girl is Lauma, from Latvia who said she would only be here 6 months when she first arrived and has been in Joensuu for 3 years now. Lauma speaks close to 6 languages and has already picked up Finnish in a way that I can only hope to.

We spent the class learning introductions and other nonsense. There was no textbook, so learning will be a little slow. Slowly but surely is fine with me.

Gotta run, 4pm and time to leave. And since the temp dropped a lot in the last few hours, hb cold again.

Good News / Bad News

Yesterday, with Arun and Laura and K, we walked along the waterfront trails that encircle the town. It was about 2pm and the sun was just beginning to disappear behind the ever-drooping fog, and this created a soft, cotton-like white sky. We finished our circle and made for home, taking the shortcut - across the lake. I've never felt more like I wasn't on the earth than when we were 100 meters out onto the lake.

Flat, covered with snow and reaching out as far as the eye could see, the fluffy surface or the lake blended with the milky cotton of the sky creating an illusion that felt like we were in a painting - on a canvass that had yet to be touched. Off in the distance, black figures could be seen floating into and out of the fog. It was as beautiful a sight as I remember seeing and certainly the most unique landscape I have ever been apart of or witnessed.

Bad News - My camera is out of batteries and so there were no pictures. This is something that must be fixed. Laura had a little camera, so it will be documented, but I'm still a little pissed.

Funny thing about having visitors, I feel like I live here now. I guess being the fresh fish in the water ends when some even fresher fish come swimming into town. As we walked around the market and around town, I realized that these people need me to show them around and to help them get through the day to day things, like buying socks at the market from a country-Finn who speaks no English. My knowledge of the numbers was all that was necessary and I had a strong wish that I spoke more Finnish.

*Note on this...I begin my Finnish classes today. Mondays and Wednesdays from 5-6:30, until April. This is good, but my basketball group will be playing at 6:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays, which means I need to be wearing my basketball gear to class - not the biggest deal in the world, but still there will be some rushing involved.

Recommended viewing to all: www.LiberalOasis.com click onto Bush in 41.2 seconds, it's really funny.

Two things:

1. If it doesn't hurt, it's not cold.

K and I walked to the CityMarket last night. It's about 1.5km away from the house and there's a hill involved, but for the most part it is an easy walk - especially last night (Well, we left the house at 4:45pm which is hardly night-time, but since it had been dark already for over an hour night-time it is). The weather was really nice, about -4 degrees (*9/5+32= 25F), a light snow was falling and the walk was almost short. Of course the return trip with a 10 kilo backpack was a little more difficult, but that's not the point.

Point is, we did the same walk on Sunday when the sun was out and so was Mr. Frosty. It was close to -25C (*9/5+32= -13F) and that walk seemed like it was miles long. We had ice growing on our faces, eye lashes, my beard, and our hats had a lacey outline of ice. Now we got all the way to the parking lot when we could finally see that the store was closed. There was no holiday, and it is usually open on Sundays, but not last Sunday. So we had to turn around and trek back (and I can say this truthfully - well almost truthfully) uphill, both ways, through five feet of snow (exag.).

2. If it ain't dirty, wear it again.

There is an interesting aspect of the Finnish working culture to wear the same thing many days in a row, similar to a uniform I guess. I noticed this the first time when a co-worker wore the same thing to work for an entire week. And this was no regular getup, this dude stood out, and for an entire week. I didn't get close enough to smell, but that's because I'm smart.

So, trying to adopt a "When in Rome" type of attitude I have begun to wear some items several times a week. So far it's mostly the pants, but soon enough I will start to wear one outfit a week. I guess it's easy on the washing machine and even easier in the morning when there is no longer any thinking involved.

Onto another subject, we had our first meeting this week and I feel pretty good about future employment. I emailed the boss asking about my future and he said not to worry and so I won't. My next set of duties is to map out our travel options for the year. As a group, I think our first trip will be to Cannes - can't believe it - and I am going to try and get to SXSW, even if I have to chip in a little. I've been thinking about it for a long time now and I think I will go ahead with it. Besides, it will have been 5 months since seeing the fam and that is a long time.

And onto one more subject, football. My friend Harri has the cable station that the Conference Championship games will be on this Sunday and he volunteered to tape them for me. Hot Damn, that's all I have to say.

Guests will be in town tonight and we will see them tomorrow. It's weird, because even though they are in route, it still doesn't feel like they are coming. I can't quite explain it and so I won't. See you.

February 2, 2004, 12:30 - 4:00am, guess what I'll be watching...The Super Bowl! And I'll be watching it from the future, so bookies beware. I saw an ad last night on one of our channels that showed some football teams and I yelled at Karoliina to get in here and tell me what the hell they were saying. They were saying that the Super Bowl will be broadcast on this channel. Sure they may be speaking Finnish, but the announcers suck anyway and this gives me an excuse to ignore them from the beginning. I just hope it's a close game. I would be a little upset if it is a traditional blowout, but beggars can't be choosers.

My string of luck ran out for the local basketball team last night. Kataja lost to Honka 76-71. They would have won had they sank their free-throws the way they normally do, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. The crowd was a little more wild last night, which is a good sign, but too little too late for the home team.

Speaking of basketball, starting in February the group I play with will be moving to the newly built, €12million sporting arena that can hold several thousand spectators. I have no idea how this is possible, but apparently they need to start recouping their investment and by charging us €20 each for a three month membership (Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:30-8:00pm) they are filling in the downtime for the arena. I am really excited to play there considering we play at the school's court right now. I'll have to take some pictures.

I may have mentioned how -4 degrees C (25 degrees F) feels warm. Well as of today -9 degrees C (16 degrees F) is warm. After many days below zero F, this warmer weather is a treat especially since the sun is out and is staying out until 3:30 each day. I can't wait until we get to 4pm, but I won't hold my breath.

Speaking of breath, I think it's funny how I can stand outside and take one deep breath and immediately have ice in my nose. This all despite the fact that -9C feels warm (this is a sick deception, -9 should never feel warm).

I was speaking with Veikka the other day - he is one of the teachers at the school, a real Santa Claus looking dude - and he told me that the lake that we go walking on has a portion of it that is devoted to those who want to swim. I thought he was talking about in the summer and I told him that I can't wait to go, but he was talking about right now. There is a sauna near bye and an icebreaker, which is a boat specifically designed to break ice, is kept on hand to create the swimming holes when the previous ones freeze over.

He said that you are first supposed to jump into the water and then go into the sauna. Now this struck me as a little crazy, but I guess it makes sense. It's too dramatic a shock to the body to go from 170-180°F to 35° without experiencing the 35° first. And upon further reflection, if you are standing naked outside in -5°F for more than 30 seconds, stepping into the water, which is 40° warmer than you current conditions, can it actually be warm and soothing? After warming up in the water, the next step is to head into the sauna for the real warmth and then repeat the process.

I know this sounds tempting, but I will admit to being an old-fashioned summer house sauna/lake sort of guy. That being said, if invited to do this I will have to consider it and possibly accept. When in Rome, or Joensuu...wherever.

Our guests are coming this week and it is supposed to get really warm, like -2°C which is almost hot. There are good things and bad things about this and the bad are mostly in my head. I would like to see them here when it is really cold and with a lot of snow, but we will probably have a lot more fun with the weather being pleasant. Oh well, is it wrong of me to think these thoughts?

One saving grace of Finnish television is Conan O'Brien everynight, with all the ads removed. He did a montage of the interviews that he did in 2003 and the one where he is interviewing W in England and mentions the fact that England is 5 hours ahead and W responds, "That's right Conan, I'm talking to you from the future. And Conan, in the future everyone drives on the left side of the road." I'm either going to say goodnight, or tell you about the Arnold interview, but it's too long to write and Good night is only two words, so Good Night.

Beware the yellow snow, it is everywhere. However tempting it may seem to kick that mound of ice and snow, just know that dogs own this town. Maybe its (this just in, this keyboard has no apostrophe so don™t think I™m stupid) the fact that there is a 8 inch wall of ice and snow that borders all walkways or maybe its the fact that the owners choose not to walk the dogs through 12 inches of snow - although it is really cute to watch a shrimp dog try to tread through snow that is taller than it - whatever the reason these paths are protected from those monsters that are only deterred by dog pee because there is dog pee everywhere.

Although the pee only appears for a few hours everyday, because that is how long the sun is out. I was told that the darkest day of the year has since passed and that is a good thing, but I have one thing to say to that, prove it. It sure as hell is the same damn dark day outside as it has been the past 6 weeks. Tuesday was an exception. Tuesday was beautiful. The sun was out, but it never really rose high enough to look like it was daytime. It hovered over the horizon creating a perpetual sunset. K and I took a walk to the lake and well onto the lake out to the island that is 100 meters or so out in the water. We followed the ski tracks which comforted me because walking 100 meters or so out in the water can lead one - read me - to have some doubts about the sanity of this action. But stopping to think about it, it has not been above 0° for many weeks now and Tuesday it was -25°C(*9/5+32)= -13°F so there is no way this ice is going to crack. It is a little freaky to clear away the 8cm of snow and see the frozen lake underneath, freaky but beautiful. Hopefully we will get more days like Tuesday because even the smallest amount of sun makes a huge difference in the day to day life.

One thing I would like to add before calling it a night, I love apples and peanut butter, thanks Mom. It might very well be my favorite snack ever, gummy bears coming in a close and unhealthy second place tied with the much more healthy cantelope and cottege cheese. I just bought a huge package of gummy bears from the duty free on the return from Stockholm - in addition to a huge pack of Werthers Originals and a liter of Talisker Single Malt Scotch, and shampoo in case you were wondering.

Ok, so I just heard this on the grapevine and although it is not the most flattering image of yours truly, it did make me laugh and since I'm such a generous mofo I'll pass it on.

I was having a conversation today with Tapsa who asked me about the blizzard in Turku. I told him the story about waiting for the cab in the snow up to our knees and how the next morning I had the chance to shovel snow after a late night session with Timo. We were up until 6am when I finally had to call it a morning. He was up at 9, three hours later, in full "I've got to shovel snow, so I have to wear this" regalia worked his rather large ass off clearing away the meter or so that was blocking way out. I may have told this story before and how I was up at noon in the same type of getup with an awful hangover out there helping as much as I could.

Well, Tapsa told me he knew all about it because he called Timo later that day to ask about the snow and Timo told him of my actions. He said that "although he worked like a girl, he worked hard and didn't complain, so I was proud of him."

So is this a compliment? Well, I'm taking it as such anyway, because this comment coming from the man who at my wedding toasting me by saying, "Howard, I like you," is enough.

I'm playing basketball tomorrow and after these past two weeks, this could be my last post. I love you all.

hb glad to be back in Siberia. Who'da thought I would ever write that?

Ah, country life, how I've missed you. After spending sixteen days away from Joensuu last night's return was very welcome. After sleeping on couches, the floor, on a bed that is way too small for two people and on the top bunk in a boat cabin, the sight of our bed upon our return almost made me cry. It is such a nice bed, that rests almost 4 feet off the ground. The bed was made before we left and had such an inviting and seductive look to it that simply screamed, "You are home!" Making up the bed before leaving on a "vacation" is one of the nicer treats upon returning home, as is a clean house, but the former is slightly easier to make sure of than is the latter.

Things I learned from this vacation:

1. I am going to start using the sauna more - our sauna is used primarily as a place to hang wet clothes and this is one thing that should change.

2. I am going to go to the gym a couple of times a week - I will be playing basketball twice a week, but I would also like to start some weight lifting and other exercises

3. Well, the first two were the ones I was really thinking about, but here goes on some other ones - I will devote a few hours a week to finalizing a synopsis of a story idea that I have been developing for over a year now. After several conversations with Jyrki on the boat to and from Stockholm we both decided to give our creative outlets more attention. It's a wonder I remember these conversations at all considering the environment and all - this is a subtle attempt to not mention that there were many beers involved in this conversation, but I suppose I should come clean about this.

I drank way too much on this trip and this is one of the reasons I am most thankful to be back, a slow down is much needed. Mom was worried that I would be drinking too much in Finland and I can see where her worries have merit, especially around the holidays. Day to day life in Joensuu is all about fresh air, the snow and cooking - it really lends itself to a healthier lifestyle. Whereas a whirlwind tour of friends and family is all about eating and drinking and sleeping in the afore mentioned places. This cannot therefore be declared a vacation, which is something I cannot wait to take. I don't think K and I have been on a vacation since we went to Cape Cod a few years back. For those of you who have never been to the area, I highly recommend it.

So to pick up from where the last entry left off we went to see the Return of the King and it was great, certainly not the best film of all time and not even my favorite of the trilogy, but highly entertaining. This marked the last night of calm before the storm. And speaking of storm, after the blizzard came warmer temperatures and rain which erased all that beautiful white snow and left dirty ice in its place.

This just in, this just in, tomorrow is a holiday and I will get that day to recover that I was so badly wanting. Apparently this holiday is to let people relax from all the relaxing that they have been doing for the past two weeks. Very intelligent idea.

Well the next night we went to Bjorn's and Lilleri's place where, for a change, it was the guys who went to bed early and the girls who stayed up way too late gabbing about those things girls gab about - sometimes the language barrier is a blessing in disguise. Bjorn and I went to the sauna, agreed that the next time we see each other we will exchange books that we think the other would like and we went to bed at a decent hour. The girls did not and K was not feeling too well the next day, when we were to leave for Helsinki.

The next morning - while in Helsinki - we went shopping for New Year's eve dinner, New Year's Day breakfast and New Year's Day dinner. We wanted be get out early because the main shopping centers in Helsinki can be a battlefield and if you do not have an exact list when entering the shop, you are screwed.

We woke early and went to the Halli - the farmer's market by the harbor that has the freshest food. The weather wasn't too bad and the lines weren't too long, which allowed us to take our cookbooks out and decide, based on the ingredients, what we would eat.

Dinner on New Year's - Roasted chili and buffalo mozzerella salad with purple basil and olive oil - Ginger chili prawns and Salmon wrapped in proscuito with lentils and mixed greens. The mozzerella was the best, followed by the salmon and then the shrimp - the sauce was really good but the shrimp were cooked too long.

Breakfast - we though we would make this bread salad with bacon and eggs, but reality sank in and we ate egg, bacon and toast - I could have eaten a lot more, but oh well.

Dinner the next night - Bolognese sauce made with meat, proscuito and bacon, with sundried tomotoes and this was fab.

On New Year's eve we had an urge to sing Karoke and the first bar we went to wasn't happening. On our way in a group of people on their way out told us not to bother. One of the guys bumped into me, said sorry and after I said, "It's all right, man," he asked where I was from and it turns out he was from Brooklyn - East New York - and we decided to hang with the group for the night. We ditched them after it became obvious that we really wanted to sing some karoke and so we went to this Finnish Pop bar, Suomipop, and put our names on the list. I was the only one who got to sing, and sang Hound Dog which got the people dancing and shaking. All our other requests never made it which led me and K to tell, yet again the story of Shiu.

For those of you who don't know the story of Shiu here's a short version. Jenn and Mark are in town (New York) we hang with the cousins in a great place, Tortilla Flats and begin to party. Many hours later we get the karoke bug. We sing a few songs and then our songs are not played. This perplexes Jenn, who voices her concern to the manager who tells her to bugger off. To which my sister replies with her two prettiest fingers and perhaps the greatest comeback line ever invented, "Well F--k You!" This, of course gets her kicked out of the bar, followed closely by her husband Mark and my wife K. When I realized what was happening I approached the bar and (here it comes Jenn) this little bastard jumped over the bar and pushed me out. We serenaded him on the street with songs and Mark spoke the truth when he declared that Shiu is a bad bad man. There was also an email involved which I will not go into at this time.

Well anyway, New Year's eve was over, and we saw two movies on the day. 13disturbingng and shocking, but very good and Underground, which was disturbing and shocking because it was so bad.

And now the trip to Stockholm which was a lot of fun and ended once again on the karoke floor - with an audience primarily made up of 10-15 year olds and their parents. But we were able to all get up that night - with K and I singing You Give Love a Bad Name - which rocked those kids' world and Virp and Jyrk singing You're Just too Good to be true, which was lovely.

Finally, as I can't type anymore we are here now and ready for a day off.

Happy and Healthy everyone and hopefully, by the time you finish reading this one, 2004 will not be over.