2007. Bring it on!

So it's 2007 already. I think I'll spare everyone a recap, but let me just share these two last things I learned in 2006.

One, do not force open a sparkling wine bottle with your bare hands. It was bothersome noticing how I'd smeared blood on people's glasses! It doesn't hurt, but yes, I did get those scrapes all across my index finger and palm just by twisting open a sparkling wine bottle's cork. The champagne we had opened so easily - don't settle for substitutes!

Two, if you want to get somewhere by midnight on New Year's eve, do call a cab well in advance. The cellular network was busted and the cab service was clogged up. I thought half an hour for the less than 2 km trip would be sufficient, but I was dead wrong. I was on time to kiss my wife only because a cab accidentally picked me up instead of the customers next door. Lucky, seeing that there were already quite a few people waiting for rides on the street when I came out to wait for mine. I don't actually know why the cab chose me, I didn't wave him down or anything. I was around five minutes late to my wife from seeing friends, but well in time for fireworks. Too bad the other customers had to wait the extra ten minutes or so!

Over the evening, we played with the Nintendo Wii and re-learned chess. I sucked at Wii. I was actually rather intrigued by chess, which I didn't expect at all. I haven't played since junior high.

Routine

While "routine" may very well become part of the "grind", I still think it's a good idea to establish some social routines to prevent the situation where you're too tired to arrange meetings with friends.

My wife introduced a habit of hanging out at a coffee shop on Mondays, post-school and -work. I think that's a great idea. Mondays always go to waste, as you're too stressed or zoned out to really do anything at home, anyway. We did that this Monday, and it was good. We're also thinking of hanging out regularly on Fridays, watching telly and whatnot. Most people have probably come up with similar schemes ages ago, but they feel like revelations to me. I've been really holed up at home when I'm not at work.

I'm thinking that maybe I could extend this to the other things I never find the time to do. Like gaming - besides videogames, that is. I'd like to continue our shelved roleplaying game campaigns and play with miniatures, but we haven't been able to come up with dates. It might be a good idea to agree upon playing every other weekend or so. There's still the problem of our university-going friends finding the time, but maybe the rest of us could play something else when they can't make it.

Running

Yesterday I did the six-minute run with no problem whatsoever. It was raining properly, too - it felt absolutely great to run in the rain! My ankles didn't hurt either, though they're aching a bit today. Still thinking about those running shoes.

Setbacks and good encounters

My ankles have hurt all past week. I kept off running for a few days because of that. On today's run they hurt in the beginning, but it subsided, so I guess it's all right. Maybe they're just protesting about not getting to lay there uselessly, maybe I need to invest in some proper running shoes. Today I did the six minutes target. It was hard, and I was running in the rain, but it does feel good afterwards! I really can't wait being able to run for, say, half an hour at a time.

Yesterday I was seeing off an old acquintance who's moving abroad. We're not at all close, and some months ago I maybe wouldn't've gone, but going by my new rules, I knew I had to. It turned out to be an excellent night. The music was very good, the bar was cozy, the GTs all right and there were a lot of guys I see rarely to catch up with.

I met three new people, one on account of a really cool shirt he was wearing. We talked about videogames for a long time - our friends must've been pissed off. Sorry about that. I've never met a hardcore videogame enthusiast with a perfectly matching taste in games in real life before. So it serves to wear your colors!

And I don't have the slightest hangover! Today's supposed to be Zombie Walk Helsinki, but the weather's... lacking. Which of course may fit the theme rather well.

A life

Introduction

Everybody gets a life. I have recently realized that it would be best to not just sail through it with a blindfold on, but to make it a journey worth taking.

Since things ("life") have often dwindled to a numbing routine, I'm guessing I might find more motivation if I make this public. (Even though I expect even less traffic than with my primary blog.)

Some background

I have another blog, 71/78: A Gamer's Blog. It's all about playing videogames. Lately there's been more and more stuff I've wanted to post about but which have felt out of place in that context. Today I noticed that someone's listed 71/78 as one of his favorites and I got the feeling that it would best serve my audience if I separated my life stuff from my hobby stuff.

The title, then. I was born in 1978 and it felt logical to tie the title to the year, like I did with my other blog. Continuity, you see. It's important in life.

About myself

My name is Joonas. I have always lived in Helsinki, Finland, though I spent my childhood in the city next door, Vantaa. I am married with no children. She studies egyptology, which I think is cool as hell.