HB COLD

T minus 18 days. Funny, but right now in J-town T could equal temperature and days would be Celsius. I'm a little upset with myself for not bringing my camera with me to work yesterday. The deep freeze turned all the trees to ice, creating a blanket of white. The trunks of the trees were brown, but all the branches were white and this was on every single tree - except for the evergreen ones. The next time this happens I will take a lot of pictures, promise.

Yesterday marked the end of an era here in J-town. I traded in my old bike for a newer and more sturdy one. It was well past due. My old bike was a trooper and I will miss its seat which was wonderfully cushy. I think that I will buy a new gelly seat today, because riding in the bitter cold is one thing, but riding in the bitter cold with a sore butt is something else altogether.

On that note, I am thinking of increasing my cold threshold for bicycling. Yesterday the temperature was about minus 15 (*9/5+32= 5 F) and it wasn't all that bad. Of course the wind wasn't blowing at all which makes a world of difference. I think that I will drop my limit from -10 to -17, which is 0 F. We'll see how long this lasts.

There are two possible explanations for this drop in temperature. The first is that I am more acclimated to the cold than I was last year. This is probable, how could it not be? The second is the fact that my new bike was rather expensive and if I can save the 5 euros a day that the bus man takes from me, after two months I will have paid off the bike. And if I still have my ears and my fingers, this will be a welcome savings.

However, a certain trip to Texas comes into play here. A trip that I am really, really looking forward to. Scott Horwitzz and Joanna are probably making their way down to Big D for a New Year's celebration, which is great news. Although the hotel Brodsky will be at full occupancy and then some. It is possible that more and more old friends will be in town for New Year's, which means that we will need to think of something to do in order to get everyone in the same place at the same time. Hmmm. If we can clear away the mountain of boxes in the house, there could be a small gathering at home. We'll see.

Speaking of that mountain. Karoliina told me to take the amount of boxes that I have imagined in my head and then to triple that. Triple?! And worse still, I am getting sucked into the action. K really wants me to get a dressy pair of jeans and so she has ordered 4 pair for me to try on when we get to Dallas and then I will keep the best (cheapest) one. She has turned the spending spree from herself to me and I don't think this is such a good idea. I know that the dollar is really weak when compared to the euro, but I think we are well beyond the exchange rate at this point. I think when the mountain of boxes crossed the timber line we were beyond the exchange rate, now that we are talking Himalaya size here I am getting more than a little concerned.

Last one.

More of the same.

Lots of Air Force activity - you know, Russian border and all.

The lake has finally frozen over. If you look at the surface texture, you can see that the water froze in motion, the small crests are sticking up everywhere. There was not enough snow for people to ski on. I think we were like 100 meters out onto the lake.

K and I went to the lake on Sunday. It was about 5 degrees outside and this was at 2pm - you can see how high the sun gets and it brings no warmth whatsoever.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I'll be leaving work early in order to catch the Cowboy game and get first dibbs on the stuffing and broccoli casserole. Oh, what's that you say? No football, no food, no family? I think of all the holidays, Thanksgiving is the one I miss the most. Especially since this year it will be in Austin, a little change after 28 years is never a bad thing. But, I am thankful that I will be in Texas in T minus 23 days.

Speaking of Austin, I checked out the Austin newspaper on the net this morning and there was a picture of a couple running around Town Lake, enjoying the colors of fall and they were wearing shorts and short sleeves. Whereas I was able to enjoy the ice blizzard that struck J-town and turned my coat, gloves and pants into popsicles.

So my love goes out to everyone who is enjoying decent weather, great food, halfway entertaining football, a nice long nap and then leftovers. Take pictures please.

Texas in T minus 26 days. Thank you to Uncle Marvin for his keen scientific insight - my brain has a tendancy to fart every now and then - but from now on T will stand for Texas.

Karoliina and I have been completely ambushed by the stupidity of the markets here in Joensuu. First was last week, when everything was closed for Father's Day. I can understand the need to celebrate the dad, but does everything need to be closed? Don't the dads of Finland want to spend some time on their own that day. You know, breakfast in bed and then a nice long nap while Mom and the kids are out on the town. But not here, everything is closed.

And when the shops are open on the weekend, like this Saturday, they are only open for business until 2pm. Karoliina and I went to a furniture store this Saturday to look for a new light fixture and a new kitchen table and chairs. We arrived at 3pm only to find that all the stores close at 2. What the hell kind of business hours is that? How do they expect to stay in business when they are only open for customers until 5 during the week and 2 on Saturday's and then not at all on Sunday's? That leaves people like us, who don't own a car - a bitch for another occasion - a total of 8 hours a week to get to the store. And when the temperature is at 10 degrees, it really sucks to ride a bike to the store only to go right back home with no break and warm air in between.

Speaking of 10 degrees, I never knew how much warmer 18 degrees is than 8 degrees. This morning, on the way to work it was 8 degrees outside, which was really cold and falls well below my limit for taking the bike to work. But I scheduled a hair cut this morning and needed my bike to get back and forth. At 10am the weather had warmed up to 18 and the difference was amazing. Normally this is something that happens over a longer period of time, like months, but today is was a matter of hours. Pretty soon I will begin keeping my routine very close together, which will eliminate the need for the bike for a few months. This means a limited selection of food, but a warmer ass. Sometimes a trade is necessary.

I would like to wish Mom and Dad a very happy anniversary. I love you both.

Vacation in T minus 30 days. What the hell does the T stand for anyway? I know they use it when they launch stuff, but when they reach zero don't they say "Lift off?" Where is the T in all of this?

Last night's basketball game was pretty fun. The game itself was rather frustrating because the Kataja team does not know how to play defense, but they kept it close throughout. It was my first game since I received the season ticket and I was seated next to one of the guys I play basketball with on Tuesday's and Thursday's, Ero. Ero brought his son to the game and they were pretty quiet and controlled - as was everyone else in the stands.

As the game progressed, one of the Americans on Kataja was called for a technical foul and this was a bad call. And when the opposing team went to shoot the foul shots I began yelling. This was all that Ero's kid needed. He burst into fits of screams and yells everytime I opened my mouth. His dad continually tried to quiet his son, but whenever the crazy American sitting next to him opened his trap, his son went crazy right along with him. Today I will tell Ero that his kid can sit next to me anytime.

Soon

It is coming

Those pictures are just a taste of what's to come, because it has finally arrived. I've been waiting and waiting and waiting. No, I am not talking about the Texas v. Oklahoma State football game, which arrived yesterday - big thanks to the Sims for that one. I mean the cold ass winter. It is a crisp 19 out right now and it is getting colder and colder all week long. The high on Sunday is predicted to be 14.

You know, last year this was easier to handle. Last year it was fun, exciting, an adventure, something to write home about and in my old age, to remember fondly. Yet it is only one year later and I don't think fondly of this crap whatsoever. I have a funny vision running through my head when the wind blows like daggers through my bones. I imagine Tricia riding her bike alongside me yelling, screaming, "Are you crazy! It is freezing out!" This always makes me smile, but unfortunately provides no warmth at all. I am beginning to think that my imaginary sister is right. I must be crazy, cause it is damn freezing.

There is not much else happening here in J-town. Not much at all.

Last night I became one of those people that I usually yell at on the bike path. My light ran out of power midway through my trip to the Areena, where I play basketball on Tuesday's and Thursday's (and the site of the Finnish version of Saturday Night Fever, the musical, which I am dying to go and see). I was more than a little embarrassed and I kept messing with the light when people were near, in order to convey as non-verbally as I could that this was not my fault, that it was a fluke and I am ashamed. I suppose the action is very similar to masking a fart by moving around in your chair in order to recreate a similar sound, or some other form of subterfuge. Finally, after some guy who had a light with power passed me I sped up and used him as my light source, pretending that we were riding together, but I stayed far enough back so that he wouldn't know my plan.

3:30 Anyone? Seriously, I wish this was 3:30. But the sun has not been out here that late in weeks, which was when I took this picture. This is the lake near our house. I was riding through the forest and noticed a lot of orange coming through the trees and decided to pull over.

Lately I have run into a bit of a problem and I don't think I am unique here, but K and I are running out of things to eat. We have an active menu of approximately 10-12 dishes and are getting into a bit of a rut. Sure, most of those 10-12 dishes are really good, which is why we eat them, but at the same time, a little something something every once in a while would be nice too.

We usually eat some sort of Italian pasta, whether it is a meat sauce, or a simple tomato sauce with mozzarella, and then some sort of Asian stir-fry, we're staying away from curry dishes lately because of the extra fat and calories of the coconut milk, we also have a Caesar salad and blackened chicken thing going on and after that, we fluctuate. Occasionally we will remember an old dish that we really like and can't believe that we could have forgotten about it, but then we will eat it too many times, too close together and remember how we did forget it in the first place. I suppose what I am getting at here is that I don't want to get burnt out on the dishes that we like, because when that happens we are in trouble. But the problem is, we have very limited options at the grocery store.

So in a beating around the bush sort of way, I guess I am asking for some suggestions. Please post some of your favorite meals that you make at home. Nothing too exotic or stuff that requires hard to find ingredients. I'll list one of our most recent favorites here - Sorry veggies, but this one has chicken:

Chicken Stir Fry

Cook white rice

Cook 1/2 cup of Chicken Broth and combine with a couple of doses of Seasoned Rice Vinegar

In another pan, heat olive oil over medium heat

Add - 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced and some crushed red pepper flakes - or chili oil, however hot you like it.

Add one box of mushrooms, cut into quarters and cook for a couple of minutes until the mushrooms get soft

Then add chicken breasts - I usually do 2 breasts (boneless and skinless) cut into small cubes

Let cook for 3 minutes

Add one red, or orange or yellow bell pepper sliced into thin strips

Let cook for another 2 minutes

Add one tablespoon of honey

Pour chicken broth - vinegar mixture into the stir-fry

Turn heat to low

Add 10 cherry tomatoes, crush them into the stir-fry using fingers

Add some Chinese Cabbage, or Bok Choy or something like that and cut into thin strips

Use cornstarch mixed with water as a thickening agent.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over white rice.

I guess you could do the same without the Chicken and use Veggie Broth instead and add some broccoli or zucchini or some other veggie and do it meat free.

Something funny just happened. I was browsing my entries from last year and exactly one year ago today my post had everything to do with food. I gues this is the time of year where I think more about my stomach than most. I wonder if the moon has anything to do with it.

So to the best of my ability I will try to explain what is happening in American politics the way I see it. And the way I see it is simple, the Republican Party has mastered a form of misdirection politics that the Democrats either cannot or refuse to accomplish.

This misdirection consists of creating a package of wedge issues that appeal to "moral based voters", which includes the 4 G's: God, Guns, Gays & Grizzlies (Meaning that the Dem's care more about protecting Grizzlies i.g. the environment, than protecting jobs). These core "value" issues are sold to Middle America the South and the evangelicals - whose passion for these issues, fueled on by religion, compels them to actively participate in politics. In this particular election, nothing fired up this base of wedge voters more than the third G - Gays, specifically Gay marriage. This was a genius play by Rove and company to accomplish just what they wanted to accomplish after the 2000 election, getting an additional 4 million evangelicals out to the polls. Not to be too simple about it, but look at the popular vote, Bush wins by 3.5 million. Take away those 4 million more evangelicals and he loses by 500K, just like in 2000. Mission accomplished.

The massive irony of appealing to this base, which is generally composed of lower-class, rural and poor people, is that these same people are voting against their best interests economically. Another skillful move by the GOP to get people to forget about the wallets when going to the polls. The people who are consumed with the wedge issues, in essence are voting for tax-breaks for the wealthy; are voting to send their own sons and daughters off to a war in Iraq and are voting to continue their inability to find themselves with an opportunity to have an opportunity. When I stop to think about the skill involved, the dedication to craft a message this effectively and for decades it is simply stunning.

Where do the Democrats go from here? First, they need to adopt the term Progressive and rid themselves of the word Liberal - it is too tainted, going back to the outing of Nixon by the liberal media and continuing to this day as a four letter word. Some say that they need to tap into the Midwest, Southern, Bible Belt values crowd and they are right, but how? The Dem's need to create a 4 G's package of their own, but they also need to heed the moral concerns of the wedge issue voters. They obviously cannot switch to Pro-Life, Anti-Gay, Pro-Gun, Anti-Environment, but they need to do more than criticize the Republican way of doing business and offer something more than this. They need to somehow stress: Security, Education, Healthcare and Hope, and what's that spell? HESH, ESHH, SHHE, SEHH? 4 G's works a lot better.

Other than that, people are dumb.

Well, crap. It's Wednesday afternoon and it looks like it is going to take a 4th quarter miracle for Kerry to comeback. Yet the only news outlet to declare for Bush is the New York Post, which says it all. However, now that Kerry is down by over 3 million in the popular vote, I think it is time to concede - time for me to concede, not Kerry- that we are about to have another for years of W. If reports are correct, W is up by 140,000 in Ohio, but there could be as many as 250,000 provisional ballots left uncounted. Kerry would have to win those ballots 2 to 1 in order to make it close, but would still trail Bush by 3 million in the popular vote.

Being one of only a handful of Americans here in J-town, I am compelled to explain what is happening and why it is happening. I can only use the excuse that people are stupid for so long. Eventually, you just got to take it.

Don't pull the string, no matter how tempting it seems. I've learned this lesson recently and now my hands are cold because of it. I'll explain. Last week a string appeared on the thumb of one of my gloves and as I was fixing my mp3 player the string got caught on the velcro of my jacket. When I took my hand away my glove unraveled from the thumb down to the wrist. So I had to buy a new pair of gloves. I went shopping around and realized that the best pair of gloves for the price I wanted to spend was the same pair that just came undone. I thought that I had had these gloves for nearly a year and if the next pair were to last as long then that would be fine with me. So I purchased the new pair last week. Moving on to yesterday. I was leaving CityMarket and heading back to Noljakka - our neighborhood - and I noticed a little black string coming out from my jacket - at least I thought it was my jacket - and so I pulled on it. Now I have two pair of gloves with the exact same problem and it happened to the right glove each time so I can't mix and match. These damn things only had to last one month, before I switched to the heavy mittens and they didn't even last one week.

Sure, if this is the biggest problem I have I should be so lucky, right? Well, yeah, but still. I don't think you understand how important gloves are here in J-town now that winter is upon us. And I will officially declare that winter is upon us. Not because of the cold or the snow, which has not yet hit, but because this weekend daylight decided to save an hour. It is now getting dark at 4:45 and it will continue to get darker, earlier until there is no sunshine left, ever.