I am beginning to believe that I must seriously reconsider of packing my things and moving out of this sorry excuse of a country. Why? I am allergic to very low temperatures. As soon as the temperature outside drops below -20C (whatever that is in F's, I have no idea) I get sick. Laugh all you like, but it sure doesn't feel great to have your head filled with yellow, sticky goo days on end and certainly not when that goo decides to come out at the wrong time and never when you blow your nose. ICK!
Oh, the UnThinkable happened last Sunday, I had fever! If my normal body temperature is 36.5ish and then around ten in the evening it read 38.8. I was eyeballing the thermometer and thinking that just cannot be right for I never have fever, let alone temperature. Well, never and never, but once in every...twelve years? By noon on Monday, it was all gone never to return.

So, as you might have guessed, I did not take part to the kendo practice on Tuesday, but watched them on the side and took some pictures, as well as on Thursday. I am still thinking about the Saturday practice, I can do kata because it does not require much moving and is slow, compared to normal kendo. The only question is that wether or not the lads will let me.

I think I go back to bed now, can't really do anything else. Shite!

Renny-Alexander




01/02/06 Many whacks in the head later...

Aye, the art of kendo, in the first year you get whacked in various body parts more times than you are willing to admit, even to your closest friend. I'm no different, I am bruised all over the right side of my body, arm, side and on top of that I believe my head has somewhat sunk deeper between my shoulders. I could be mistaken, 'tho. Blame it all to the bogu, for now we've been whacking one another in earnest.
Last night Kimmo said that at this point some will quit kendo because one might feel that one knows absolutely nothing and is there only as a punchingbag. One should not let that feeling get the best of oneself, for they all (the more experienced ones) have been there. Now, let me ask something. Is that supposed to make me feel any better? I guess so, only it does not. I do know that I will not give in, whack me in $parts in my body all you like, I will not give in. It's just too much fun.
...uh, right...I have yet to recieve a 'beating' from Ilkka and once I get that, I might feel different. Or not. *sigh*
I need to get my head examined, I'm certain about that

Renny-Alexander




12/01/06 Old Friend

Working on trains has one great advantage, you meet a lot of people. And that is also the downside of it. Add screaming kids, grumpy adults and those who've had one too many to drink and let's not forget other weirdos. Anyway, point is that you never know who you're going to meet onboard a train. This for a small introduction.
Yesterday afternoon, the 13.04 InterCity train from Helsinki to Rovaniemi:
There is a group of over 100 people coming and we (the restaurant crew) have an order of coffee/tea & sandwitches for the lot. No big deal, but the stuff needs to be transferred to the other end of the train and this needs a bit of planning ahead and so I and Maria are thinking of this and I'm at till to cash customers and up comes this lad and pays for three coffees. Naturally, I look up to which three and next thing I know is that I am mentally groping for a $item to sit on because the third lad is someone I know from way back. It was fairly busy at that time, so I had no time to talk to him, but later I did walk up to him and though I had thought of speaking French to him, I just settled for Finnish. The reason for French was that I got to know him while studying the language. There really was not that much time to catch up, but the most important news were exchanged.
After twelve years of minimal contact, few cards from time to time, it feels like it was last month that I'd last seen him. Of course after such a long time one cannot be absolutely certain, but one thing that seldom changes is person's voice and that was why I recognised my very old friend. His appearance had not changed that much, his features may have softened a bit during the years but I can be mistaken.
Again, I must wonder the odds. But my life has never been one that would go by uneventfully, as said in one song from the 80's: "just when you think you're about to settle down fate comes and zaps you right in the eye". In all honesty, I would not have my life in any other way.
The past is catching up with me, fast. I have not forgotten but some things are better to left lying for they are too painfull to remember, either because they are sad or they are just too good. The latter goes hand in hand with my IrelandBlues, too many good memories.

Renny-Alexander




03/01/05 Sharing time

It is getting immensly hard for me to divide my time between all my interests and work. There is a saying that work hinderes hobbies. I never really believed in it, not until this autumn. Certainly when on my average work day I 'meet' 200+ people, be at work anything from ten hours up (seriously!) and on most days the day's over after ten in the evening. On top of this I have my first real passion, writing, that takes up a lot of time. There is a misconceprion with the non-writing people that to write a novel/short story/poetry, all one needs to do is to have an idea and sit down and write it. Well, it doesn't work for me like that. I'm not saying that it cannot be done, just that I can't. Then I've been doing my best to update my site and I know I have failed miserably in the last six months or so. No new lay since February, I know, but I still have not sorted out the PhotoShop problem. So sorry, I bugs me to no end too, but I believe Rika's RockStarBF can help me out. When it comes to computers, I'm an incopetent ass.
The third time consuming hobby, and the second passion, is kendo. One might think that after five months the fascination of a new thing would wear out, but no. I'm only just getting started! The deal is that the twice a week practise are not enough if one wants to be good at kendo, so one needs to have a little private practise session from time to time. The only flaw would be that how much and what exactly. One day Aki (my comrade-in-arms) and I are discussing this dilemma with Ilkka, who's been doing kendo for the past fifteen years, and who is, by my humble opinion, the best of the lot. The result of this is that Aki and I are given homework: do each of the five basic strokes one thousand per week. O_O Well, I never for one thought it would come easy, but five thousand strokes a week on top of the practise? I must get my head examined. *laughs* Three days later I had to confess that I had not done one stroke and guess what, Ilkka was poking me with his shinai before I had a chance to explain that I'd been working & running from one place to another 18 hours a day since he gave the homework. *pout* So far I have not reached that amount, but I've come close.
Let it be know here and now that I like them all, never a dull moment while doing kendo. There have been times when I've been laughing out loud, mostly because of the exaggeration (bows to Pauli, your acting talent is so wasted!) but Kimmo with his 'I-don't-want-to-hear-another-möö-from-you-lot' cracks me up everytime for the only thing I can think of is a herd of bulls. It has nothing to do with the man, it's the sound!
You must see that there is a downside of having a very vivid imagination spiced with sarcastic sense of humour. *wry grin*

Eventually my very short story to the Green-Eyed Devil turned out to be U2 lyrics printed on parcment-like paper. (aye, I robbed the lyrics but credited Bono) I did thought of a topic or two but I had to discard them all because either they were stupid or otherwise unsuitable. In the end I just thought that I'll share what usually inspires me, music. I thought it to be a Christmas/birthday present for him for these two are close to one another and really, I'm not very inventive when it comes to presents. On his birthday I sms'd to him that since I'm a lousy poet I just wish a happy b-day and that I hoped he's not annoyed with me since I got nothing but that I'd give him a hug instead. Nay, he was not, his sms said thanks and right back at you. And I presume it means the hug part. Aaaw! He's very sweet for a 'caveman'! I do sometimes refer to Ismo with this term because I have never met anyone as unsocial as he is! Seriously, I see him like once in every forthnight, if I'm lucky.
....*looks in a mirror* uh, like I'm any better... If he's caveman, then I'm the female part. *lauhgs* No offence?

So much for the update. It's my feeding time and then off to kendo to be poked at, again. Such fun /sarcasm.

Renny-Alexander