Wednesday, March 10, 2004
Couple of things.
First, it wasn't just me and it wasn't just Amsterdam, because after one week off, almost everyone in my Finnish class forgot nearly everything we had learned in the previous 10 weeks or so. That's right 10 weeks to learn and 1 week to forget. On Monday when Arja, the teacher, greeted us in Finnish we all burst into laughter because we had no clue what she had said. But after a while it started coming back to us, although I really need to devote a lot of time to learning this language. My impression of the Finnish language and the rules that govern it is a lot like a parent. When you ask why this is the way it is, or why that is the way that is, the answer is seemingly always, because it is.
Second, it wasn't just me and it wasn't just Amsterdam, but playing our first full-court game in the Arena was just plain exhausting. The court is easily 20% larger than a regulation court and rather than a hard wood court, everything is blue. The court is blue, the lines are a lighter shade of blue and surrounding the court on all sides is a white mesh curtain that reaches to the ceiling. So in other words the floor is indecipherable, the lights are way too high up and extremely bright and everywhere you look there is a white mesh curtain. It literally takes us 30 minutes to get used to the fact that we all suck when playing here. However, that 30 minutes is filled with jokes and laughter and so all in all I enjoy playing there. The guys have really begun to warm up and it makes the time much more enjoyable.
Speaking of enjoyable basketball, at the end of today's Kataja game - the last one before the playoffs begin - people were coming up to me and congratulating me for helping the team win the game. Here's the setup: Kataja was playing like crap, they were sloppy and lazy and so was the crowd (Apparently this is endemic of the season, it's the late winter blues when Spring is in the air, but there is still 3 feet of snow on the ground).
Well anyway, at halftime I was so upset that the crowd was so dead that I decided to take matters into my own hands. On the opposing team there was a Brit who was getting to the foul line quite often, well the first time he got up to shoot a free throw in the second half, I began to yell at the top of my lungs, "You suck, Reed (his name)! You're gonna miss! You got no game! You're ugly! You can't make anything!" and so on. Everytime he went up to shoot I got up to shout. And in a cozy arena with 800 silent Finns, one person screaming got everyone's attention, including Reed's and he missed his first shot both times he went to the line. He made the next one and shouted back at me and I knew I was in his head.
People all around me were staring at me to scream everytime he got up to shoot and so I did. As the game wound down and Kataja won by 2, people all around me were giving me the thumbs up and pointing in my direction and giving affirmative nods. For those unfamiliar with the Finns, these 3 gestures are almost equivalent to propping me up on their shoulders and singing for he's a jolly good fellow. With the playoffs starting in a couple of weeks, I am going work on my trash talk and see if I can't make a scene or two.
Third, back to the fact that Spring is in the air, it is. The sun is out and finally giving off some warmth. The temperature will be above freezing for the rest of the week - at least in the day time. The huge chunk of ice that was resting dangerously on top of our roof has melted and the streets are becoming filthy. I think K and I will be buying some cross-country skis this weekend. We've been told that this time of the year is great for skiing and also for ice-fishing and so I am getting pretty excited about the Spring time. We've started to ride our bikes to work again and the timing is perfect as the bus fare has gone up a dime to 2.40 which is like 3.50 in dollars and for a 5 minute ride. Way too much money for that trip.
Fourth, saw some very feignt Northern Lights last night. Really cool, except for the fact that they were so dim and I really couldn't tell whether they were just clouds or not - night clouds for those who remember. But I was told that they were Northern Lights and that is good enough for me. I would like to be absolutely sure the next time and I would also like to have my camera with me and be by our house as it is further out in the country side. We were in the city and the lights were probably making it more difficult to see them. Also real freaky moon last night with a cloud around it that looked like it was breathing.
Oh, I thought I would let you know that the most prominent constellation in the night's sky is Orion. I don't know what's around by you, but that's what's around by us.
Also, and I could be WAY off on this one, but I have a question for the fam. Many, many years ago did we see an outdoor concert that had Gladys Night and the Pips? That's not the real question, the real question is, Was Bob Dylan performing at that concert too? I have this vague recollection of being at an outdoor concert and seeing some guy on stage playing the guitar with a harmonica mount as well. I never got a good look, but I remember that there was a large crowd and, like I mentioned, I can vaguely recall the outline of this person. I must have been very young, but this memory popped into my head recently and I have to know if it is true or not.
First, it wasn't just me and it wasn't just Amsterdam, because after one week off, almost everyone in my Finnish class forgot nearly everything we had learned in the previous 10 weeks or so. That's right 10 weeks to learn and 1 week to forget. On Monday when Arja, the teacher, greeted us in Finnish we all burst into laughter because we had no clue what she had said. But after a while it started coming back to us, although I really need to devote a lot of time to learning this language. My impression of the Finnish language and the rules that govern it is a lot like a parent. When you ask why this is the way it is, or why that is the way that is, the answer is seemingly always, because it is.
Second, it wasn't just me and it wasn't just Amsterdam, but playing our first full-court game in the Arena was just plain exhausting. The court is easily 20% larger than a regulation court and rather than a hard wood court, everything is blue. The court is blue, the lines are a lighter shade of blue and surrounding the court on all sides is a white mesh curtain that reaches to the ceiling. So in other words the floor is indecipherable, the lights are way too high up and extremely bright and everywhere you look there is a white mesh curtain. It literally takes us 30 minutes to get used to the fact that we all suck when playing here. However, that 30 minutes is filled with jokes and laughter and so all in all I enjoy playing there. The guys have really begun to warm up and it makes the time much more enjoyable.
Speaking of enjoyable basketball, at the end of today's Kataja game - the last one before the playoffs begin - people were coming up to me and congratulating me for helping the team win the game. Here's the setup: Kataja was playing like crap, they were sloppy and lazy and so was the crowd (Apparently this is endemic of the season, it's the late winter blues when Spring is in the air, but there is still 3 feet of snow on the ground).
Well anyway, at halftime I was so upset that the crowd was so dead that I decided to take matters into my own hands. On the opposing team there was a Brit who was getting to the foul line quite often, well the first time he got up to shoot a free throw in the second half, I began to yell at the top of my lungs, "You suck, Reed (his name)! You're gonna miss! You got no game! You're ugly! You can't make anything!" and so on. Everytime he went up to shoot I got up to shout. And in a cozy arena with 800 silent Finns, one person screaming got everyone's attention, including Reed's and he missed his first shot both times he went to the line. He made the next one and shouted back at me and I knew I was in his head.
People all around me were staring at me to scream everytime he got up to shoot and so I did. As the game wound down and Kataja won by 2, people all around me were giving me the thumbs up and pointing in my direction and giving affirmative nods. For those unfamiliar with the Finns, these 3 gestures are almost equivalent to propping me up on their shoulders and singing for he's a jolly good fellow. With the playoffs starting in a couple of weeks, I am going work on my trash talk and see if I can't make a scene or two.
Third, back to the fact that Spring is in the air, it is. The sun is out and finally giving off some warmth. The temperature will be above freezing for the rest of the week - at least in the day time. The huge chunk of ice that was resting dangerously on top of our roof has melted and the streets are becoming filthy. I think K and I will be buying some cross-country skis this weekend. We've been told that this time of the year is great for skiing and also for ice-fishing and so I am getting pretty excited about the Spring time. We've started to ride our bikes to work again and the timing is perfect as the bus fare has gone up a dime to 2.40 which is like 3.50 in dollars and for a 5 minute ride. Way too much money for that trip.
Fourth, saw some very feignt Northern Lights last night. Really cool, except for the fact that they were so dim and I really couldn't tell whether they were just clouds or not - night clouds for those who remember. But I was told that they were Northern Lights and that is good enough for me. I would like to be absolutely sure the next time and I would also like to have my camera with me and be by our house as it is further out in the country side. We were in the city and the lights were probably making it more difficult to see them. Also real freaky moon last night with a cloud around it that looked like it was breathing.
Oh, I thought I would let you know that the most prominent constellation in the night's sky is Orion. I don't know what's around by you, but that's what's around by us.
Also, and I could be WAY off on this one, but I have a question for the fam. Many, many years ago did we see an outdoor concert that had Gladys Night and the Pips? That's not the real question, the real question is, Was Bob Dylan performing at that concert too? I have this vague recollection of being at an outdoor concert and seeing some guy on stage playing the guitar with a harmonica mount as well. I never got a good look, but I remember that there was a large crowd and, like I mentioned, I can vaguely recall the outline of this person. I must have been very young, but this memory popped into my head recently and I have to know if it is true or not.
// posted by Howard @ 11:11 PM 
