HB COLD

Spring is in the air. Sure the temperature is still hovering around freezing, except now it is hovering on the warm side of freezing, which I suppose can be referred to as melting. I have stopped wearing my long underwear, my scarf and my ear muffs. Even last night, on my way home from the Kataja basketball game - a thriller which saw the home team, a 7th seed, take a 2 games to none lead over the 2nd seed (Who says March Madness isn't a global occurrence?) - I didn't even wear my wool cap.

But this melting thing is a pain in the ass to be sure. Everyday the ice melts and every night it freezes again, making the ground look like a bunch of crushed glass and making the trips to and from work really, really messy. To make matters worse, the tire guard on my front tire came off on Tuesday and that means whenever I ride through a puddle, it splashes all over me. I think we have a few more weeks of this stuff before it really does begin to feel like Spring, but I will take what I can get when I can get it.

Good news on the travel front. Karoliina will be joining me in Cannes this year. This is good news on a couple of levels. First, is that a trip to the South of France with the wife, on the company's dime no less will be a lot of fun. Second, I no longer have to feel guilty about making the trip, again, without the wife. K's mother has even offered up her SAS flight miles, which means her trip can possibly be free. That is definitely the third level of good news.

This trip makes our summer plans a lot less complicated. Since we will be in France for 5-6 days, there is not a whole lot of pressure on us to make another European trip during the summer. With a potential move to Helsinki lined up and a possible trip back to Texas in the mix for October, a free French fling will allow us to save up on both fronts.

What else can I say? We may be going snow shoeing this weekend. Don't worry people, there is still over a foot of snow on the lake and the ice is well over a foot thick. People are actually taking their cars for a spin on the frozen lakes.

I went ice fishing with Timo and Antero while in Turku. At first I was a little worried. The snow on the lake had all melted and left pools of water everywhere. Our feet sunk in on every step, but once we found our spot and started to drill some holes, I stopped worrying. The ice was at least 15 inches thick and there were dozens of people fishing out on the lake. However, this caused a bit of a problem because each person had drilled about a dozen holes, which meant that there were literally hundreds of holes on the ice. You really had to watch your step out there.

Timo sat on his styrofoam cooler - hard to believe that it could hold him, but it looked about as old as me, so that must be some pretty tough foam - drilled the hole, put the little larva on the hook - when told that the larva would become a fly, I had no problem baiting it - put the hook in the water, told us how to hold the line and then said, "And now you catch the fish." and he did, right then, at the end of his sentence. He caught a fish. He went on to catch several more. Antero and I caught, we think, the same small fish, but we both threw it back. I think Timo was a little disappointed in us, and so he threw back his 4 fish before we left.

One other really cool element of ice fishing is the fact that you can hear people who are easily 2 football fields away and you can hear them clearly. Timo went investigating some holes dug by fishermen who had left hours earlier - we were, by his estimation, 5 hours too later to catch a damn thing - and when Antero and I need to talk to him we just talked and he talked back, event though he was at least 100 yards away.

To all those worrying about the thickness of the ice in the lake, I have one thing to say, "Where is it exactly that you think I live?" Have you seen the pictures I just took? The high for the day will be approximately 33 degrees F. That may be warm in relation to the low - 15 degrees F, but it is not warm. Certainly not warm enough to melt ice that has been freezing for the past 4 months. I give you this little nugget from the Finnish Weather Serive:

"Permanent snow falls on open ground about two weeks after winter begins. The snow cover is deepest around mid-March, with an average of60 to 90 cm of snow in eastern and northern Finland and 20 to 30 cm in southwestern Finland. The lakes freeze over in late November and early December. The ice is thickest in early April, at about 50 to 65 cm. "

We are right now in mid-March and there is about 3 feet of snow piled everywhere and in some places there are dunes that reach way above 10 feet. It's not going anywhere. This is the time of year when people can actually enjoy the snow without losing a toe.

We didn't buy the snowshoes yesterday - they are really, really expensive. I think we are going to borrow them from the school and see if we want to spend the money for next Spring, because they are really, really expensive. Starting at 100 euros. Maybe we will wait and get them in the States, sounds like a plan.

I'm moving along with the State film Commission strategy. I've made my first attempts at communication with the Finnish Tourism Board, which has an enormous budget. Hopefully they can extend a little my way.

K and I will be in Turku this weekend. We leave on Thursday and return on the night-train Tuesday morning. I cannot wait to live somewhere that isn't sooo far away from everyone we know, well everyone we like. We know a lot of people here in J-town, but don't like too many.

I am meeting with Lou today after work. He's an American playing basketball for Kataja. I'm excited about it, the more people I get on board, the more likely this will happen.

Also, I was invited to take the entrance exam at the University of Helsinki this June. I have to get the books that the exam will cover this weekend so I can begin studying as soon as possible. There is a chance I will also gain admittance via the direct channel and not be required to take the exam, but I won't hold my breath. I'll be studying for the exam like a maniac, because 10 days before the exam is given, Karel and Aaron will come to Finland and they don't leave until the 6th of June, the day of the exam. My goal is to be completely ready by the time they arrive, so I will not stress out too much while they are here. It could be good to relax a little bit before the test, but not too much.

I know, we've lived here for more than a year now. We are approaching our second Spring thaw and we have not purchased any ski's. Well I think that the wait will continue. Instead, K and I are in the market for some snowshoes. The weather has been great lately, a little windy, but in the afternoon it is about 30 degrees and it is perfect for a nice long walk on the lake. The only problem is that when we move further and further out onto the lake, the snow becomes softer and softer which makes it impossible to continue. We are hoping to solve that problem today. I think that the lake will remain frozen until the end of April, so we should have ample opportunity to get out there and hike. Besides, I've realized all my pictures of the lake are from the same vantage point and it can get a little redundant. I have no idea how much these things cost, but hopefully they won't be too expensive. It would be nice to get out there at least 20 times before the ice melts. I think we should be able to do it and I would like to start today.

The old man of winter finally seems to be withering away, but not without throwing one or two last good punches. That's the state of things right now. The sun is shining more and more, now out and about well past 6pm and showing its face as early as 6am. But there is still a lot of snowfall and even worse gusts of wind. Last year at this time it was already above freezing, but we are still at least a week away before the long, wet thaw begins. It's getting a little old to tell you the truth. I've decided to protest. I have shelved my heavier winter coat and mittens and have returned to the same jacket and gloves I was wearing in September and October. We are going to Turku again this weekend - 4 day holiday - and will see a Spring in the South that will not reach Joensuu until mid or late April.

Other than the weather there is not much happening in these parts. Karoliina and I celebrated her birthday weekend with chicken and mushroom enchiladas, guacamole and refried beans, with a mint chocolate brownie and vanilla ice cream for dessert. We will now need to exercise every day this week to burn it all off. We barely left the couch the whole weekend. I went to the basketball game yesterday and, with the season on the line - win and it's the playoffs, lose and it's the end of the season - the home team came through in dramatic fashion. They took their first lead of the game with 8 seconds left to play and sealed the deal. The place went wild. I am trying to arrange a meeting this week with one of the hometown American stars in order to discuss the documentary which I hope to be working on by the time the next season begins - October.

Spring time is always a little bit confusing. I can remember walking to school in the Springtime and the weather was such that, in the morning I would have to wear a jacket because it was cold, but after school, the temperature had shot up 25 degrees and it was pretty darn hot. Well, the same principle is at play here in the Arctic, except the beginning and ending temperatures are a little different.

For example, I am still wearing my long underwear and ski-pants whenever I am on the bike (except when exercising) and I am still wearing my heavy mittens, heavy coat, scarf, ear-muffs and cap because it is still very cold. The pictures I posted can attest to that. But in the morning I have to wrap the scarf around my neck in such a way that it also protects my chin and cheeks, because in the morning the temperature is around zero degrees F. However, on the way home from work, the temperature has soared to a comfortable 22 degrees and this is when the scarf is completely removed and the cap and gloves come off occassionally to prevent overheating.

I was looking at last year's entries to figure out what was happening and it turns out that the snow and cold were leaving us. The snow was turning grey and brown and everything was really, really wet. I think that we are easily 2 or 3 weeks away from that happening. I admit it's kind of nice to have both really white scenery and a lot of sunshine, but when the sun goes down, then it turns a little nasty.

That snow in the foreground is as tall as my shoulders.

Don't let the warm colors fool you, it was really cold out there.

Dusk on the Lake. The unbelievable thing is that it is already past 6pm. A few months ago, this would have been 3pm.

I need some time to write about this past trip. It was pretty fun, pretty overwhelming and pretty successful. However, I returned to a deadline for the Joensuu University Paper and have just completed my little column. Here is the latest edition of the J-town Journal.

I learned something about myself last week. I learned that without my mobile phone I am completely helpless. Not only do I not remember a single telephone number that is in my phone, I also have no frickin’ clue how to use a pay phone in this country, no frickin’ clue whatsoever. This is not good, Howard, not good at all.

There was a time when I had dozens, if not hundreds of phone numbers stored away in various compartments of my brain, ready and willing to make themselves available at a moment’s notice. I can still remember the phone number of my best friend from the first grade, from the first place where I ever worked, and half of the database from my last job. But now, with this little gadget serving as my blue and orange brain, I’ve completely lost the ability to remember anyone’s phone number. Once it is in the gadget it is out of my head, never to be heard from again. So what happens if there is an emergency? I’m screwed is what happens.

I was in Turku last week. My wife was visiting with her friend from high school and I had permission to go see a movie, Hotel Rwanda. It was the only film that I was permitted to see without the wife and so I went. I didn’t complain. I would have liked to have seen Million Dollar Baby or Finding Neverland, but I only had permission to see Hotel Rwanda, and so I went. It was a satisfying film about a tragedy of monumental proportions. Alas this is not a film column, so I will spare you my opinions. I will tell you that as the opening credits began to roll and I went to silence my phone, I noticed that the rectangular object in my pocket was a pack of smokes and not my phone. Of course we had arranged no meeting time after the film, that’s what phones are for. So throughout the movie I was plotting my strategy. I would immediately run to the coffee shop where she would most likely (hopefully) be. After that? Well, she would most likely be there, right? Of course not.

Now a little panic set in. I had the keys to the car, but she had the key to the garage. It was getting late and cold and, since we had driven to town, I was wearing a lightweight jacket. She told me that she wanted to get home in time for one of her favorite shows and we were fast approaching that time. So I ran back to the movie theatre, thinking that she would realize that something was up and come to get me. The whole time I was trying my damndest to remember her phone number – my wife’s phone number – and I thought I had a pretty good guess in my head. This was when I realized that I have no idea how to operate these pay phones.

I had a lot of change in my pocket, ready to try several variations of the phone numbers I thought could very well be my wife’s. But these phones do not accept coins, only cards – specific phone cards. I thought that maybe they might accept American Express. I thought wrong and the embarrassingly loud beeps kept telling me so. I tried again and again, shouting little curses after each failed attempt. I had to move on and so I went to the next most obvious place that a woman might be, I went shopping. I shot through all of her favorite stores, but still had no success. Finally, I decided to wait for her by the parking garage, expecting to see her shivering in the cold, but steaming with anger. Luckily this did not happen either.

My last, best chance to get out of this was to go to the hospital where her mother works and ask if they could call her at home, so she could call my wife and let her know that her husband is an idiot and that he is waiting for her. I may have taken a dramatic approach upon entering the hospital. Out of breath, I ran up to the counter and in frozen English told them that I was in trouble and I needed some help. Realizing the melodrama from the expression on the employee’s face I changed my tone and calmly explained my situation. A few phone calls later I was able to find my wife, sitting with her friend from high school, sipping red wine and laughing at me.

I've been wondering where the winter went and I have found the answer, it went to March. It is so cold out right now. The high for the day is 5 degrees and it has been hovering around 0 for way too long. I would much rather have had a brutal February or January, because those months are over already than to have an awful March, because March has just begun. To make matters worse, the sun is shining every day. This is salt in the frost-bitten wound.

His resting hole

Our eating hole.

Our hotel in Petrozavodsk. Really quite nice, except for the toilet situation.

Some of the folks in the town. They were none to pleased to see a Finnish bus come through. We got the finger from a lot of the people.

I'm posting a few more pictures that cover the bus ride to Petrozavodsk. Two are of the gas station that belongs to the old Soviet town where all the wall paper in the Soviet Union was made, all of it. The third is a shot of that town, from the bus. We avoided the town which was probably a good thing since every passing car gave us the finger.

When we finally got to our Hotel - Pohjola it was time to wash our faces, unpack and get out on the town. This was when the Russian realization factor reared its ugly head once again. First of all the bathroom was like a sauna, except it was lacking a sauna. The water pipes in the bathroom were scalding hot and they were situated right next to the toilet. We pretty much had to strip down bare in order to use the toilet without passing out. This heat made the room extremely uncomfortable and so we opened the window to the Siberian air. This was not the problem as cold air is nothing new to us. The problem was that our window opened directly out onto the street, at ground level. Now, I don't know about you, but I would rather be a little hot and uncomfortable while sleeping than hot and uncomfortable while dead, so we kept the windows locked during the night. I think that when we saw our beds from the street we realized that if we could get in there, a lot of other people could get in there too. So we were pretty hot while we slept.

Another thing about the bathroom was the water. It was clean and hot and cold when it should have been, but it was smelly when it should not have been. I have never smelt such god awful water in my life. It wasn't sewage smell, more like really bad and old pipes kind of smell. But this raised the question of when washing your face, are you making it cleaner or dirtier? Luckily I have some facial pads and lotion to disguise the smell and we loaded up on bottled water for the morning routine.

But this water thing made eating and drinking in restaurants a little curious. Because sometimes they gave you the bottle and other times they gave you the glass of water that they said was mineral water straight from the bottle. After a scent test we all decided to go for it. It is really comforting to know that if one gets sick, we will all get sick. Power in numbers, I suppose.

The cafes and restaurants all had a very strange, cost-cutting habit. They would offer napkins at the table, but these were no store bought napkins. These were store bought paper towel, whose ply's were pealed apart to create more paper towel. Those ply's were then cut into quarters and sometimes into eighth's so that a napkin at the table was roughly the size of my finger.

I will say this about that, everything that came in a bowl in Russia was excellent. Anywhere we went, if soup was on the menu, then soup was in my belly. The soups and stews were just great. Hearty, certainly unhealthy, filled with cream and oil and other bits of deliciousness. The blintzes were also quite good, but not the blintzes I was expecting. I would rather have a blintz from Texas than from Russia, but they still made for a good breakfast. I've attached a couple of pictures of the cafe, one is from the outside and all of the wires are for the trolley buses and the other is a picture of the dude who was asleep behind us the entire time.

I will try to pick up from where I left off yesterday, but I am not making any promises here. After we left the Ministry of Culture we had what was easily the best meal of the trip. A stew with meat and mushrooms and cream and parsley that was simple but wonderful. The restaurant was an old and classy place, real traditional. The waiters and waitresses were dressed in traditional clothes (serfs) and there were huge dead animals on the walls. The meal was also the most expensive, roughly 7 euros a person and it was only a one course meal. Most other meals got to be 7 euros (250 rubles) when they included vodka, beer, coffee and a couple of courses.

After lunch we went over to the Finnish Consulate and had what was easily the most boring and long and boring and long meeting I have ever had. The city official told us before hand that she would not want us there after we had done our business, but the time never came when we would say good bye and so we had to listen as they spoke business and it was hella boring and did I mention long? And then the coffee came and it made the whole ordeal that much more painful because this was some of the worst coffee I have ever been offered ever. So bitter, so nasty. When we finally escaped, it was time for a disgusting shower and then we were off to the concerts. Which was another story all together, but I don't have enough time to write about it now.

As inviting a bathroom as they come.

Our first stop inside Russia. If you have to use the bathroom, good luck.