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.

Life-marked music

Sometimes a record or a given song gets imprinted with life. There's like a permanent stamp on it, something that sends me back to a moment in life. Everyone must be familiar with this phenomenon - yesterday my wife told me that for her, some songs associate with smells and tastes. She always had a better sense of smell and taste than I do.

I'd like to share some songs I have strong associations with. If you have similar examples, I'd love to see you post them in the comments.

Paradise Lost - Enchantment (from Draconian Times): this brings me back to the gig at Tavastia in Christmas 2004 (I think). It was a great show. I also recall many scenes from my teenage years; Draconian Times has been with me since its release in 1995. (Damn! That's eleven years already!)

Garbage - Version 2.0: the whole record brings to mind my long-gone pet dog, Piki. He was a miniature schnauzer. Especially the track The Trick Is To Keep Breathing really hits me to this day. I wasn't living with my parents anymore - I think it was 1998 or 1999. I visited my parents to say my good-byes to Piki. My mother, a veterinarian, had decided to put him to sleep the next day - he was just so old and tired. Returning to my wife-to-be later in the evening, I borrowed the album from my sister and listened to it on the road. I was overwhelmed with grief, and the album really got inside my head from that single listen-through.

James Dean Bradfield - An English Gentleman (from The Great Western): I first listened to this album the same evening in summer 2006 when I heard that two of my best friends were going to move away - yes, one of the events which also sparked this blog. I have a feeling that the song will bring me back to this still continuing phase of self-growth, which I believe is going to be a great time of change for me.

Alphaville - Forever Young: This is something I rather wouldn't mention, but I'm going to anyway. I succumbed to junior high peer pressure and hosted a house party when I was fourteen or fifteen years old (1992/1993). It was a disaster: my parents' just renovated house was a wreck. The next morning, floating somewhere between surrealism, being hung over and despair, awaiting for my parents to return home, I remember this song playing on the stereo. That was one of the few days I wish never dawned. It was also the last time I drank apple wine (eugh!).

The Cure - Burn (from The Crow OST): The movie is one of my all-time favorites and the scene in which this song plays does come to mind everytime I hear this, but I also get a warm memory of the best times from my (goth) teenage years (around 1994-1997).

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.