A Pretty Sweet Day, She Wrote

This post was held up by reasons, but it is about last Wednesday. It was the last full day I had in Helsinki before coming up to Oulu for about a week, so obviously I spent it with Laura.

Much of the day was how it usually is when we hang out at her and Marc's place — watching telly, writing postcards, being silly — but in the evening we deviated from the pattern. We took Marc's car and went off in search of a sushi place. Picked the second one, since the first was full and we would have had to wait quite a while. So, ended up in a place called Tokio 55. Amazing, it was.

...well, there were some issues with the wasabi. The chefs had included some in many of the rolls, and Laura and I (she more than I, much much more) are both rather sensitive to spicy food. Sensitive as in "cannot handle". The second round was ordered sans mouth-burning green goo.

Most of the rolls were good, but one really stood out. It was probably some variation of a California roll. Not entirely sure, though. Its appearance had me slightly skeptical, but the minute I put the roll in my mouth, nirvana exploded on my tongue. My exact words? "Oh my god, this is gorgeous." As far as I can remember, I have never experienced that reaction to food before. Ever. I may have felt that something I ate was a piece of heaven at that particular moment in time, but never have I been inspired to exclaim the virtues of something out loud. I really need to go there again sometime.

For dessert, both Marc and I had chocolate fondant with green tea ice cream. Yum. Laura had some sort of parfait.

After stuffing ourselves completely full (seriously, I felt like I was going to explode) we went back to the flat for a while. Laura and I finished watching the episode of Ghost Whisperer we had started prior to the sushi hunt.

Sometime around eleven, I began preparing to leave. Marc had promised to give me a ride home on his motorcycle, so I put on some boots (which they had found a few weeks earlier by the dumpsters or something), borrowed Laura's leather trousers, and finished off with the red leather jacket I had taken with me (on the off chance that this would happen, and because I had said I'd show it to Marc). Then, off we went.

It was BRILLIANT. I saw some parts of the city I had not been to previously, and the route we took had some really lovely scenery. We also passed a building that I am itching to investigate. Had to go look for it on Google Maps to find out exactly what it was, but apparently it's an out-of-use army barracks. Methinks that might be a good first destination for some urban exploration...

Anyway. Photos. :3

Next proper update (hopefully) on Saturday. Ta!

Fantastic. Brilliant. Molto bene. Great.

and that's all I'm gonna say right now because I am ready to crash but damn I've had a pretty sweet day.

Edge of Seventeen

Oh my lord. My heart has been shattered into itty bitty pieces by this film. It's from 1998, but set in 1984–85. Eric, upon meeting an openly gay guy at his summer job, is catapulted into a sexual discovery of his own. Too bad that in the process he ends up hurting a few people — mostly himself and his best friend. Many of the decisions he makes during the film are far from smart, but let's remember we are talking about a gay adolescent in the mid-80s. The boy is freaking terrified. I loved it, even though the pacing may seem a little slow in places. Then again, that's not a bad thing here. If you like coming-of-age stories of the lgbt variety, do see whether you can get your hands on this. It's definitely worth the watch, methinks. A trailer for your viewing pleasure:

There's This Fellow Called PewDiePie...

...and he's really very funny. I discovered him in late April and am pretty much addicted. I'll just let these videos speak for themselves.

La Lune

Those of you interested in celestial matters will already know that there's been a super moon in our sky the last few days. On the day of the actual full moon — that would be Sunday — we had a fog here in Helsinki that obscured the view and negated pretty much any small chance of seeing the moon. Some people ended up hopping on a vehicle in search of our little companion. Me? I just stood by the sea and contented myself with a few misty shots instead.

Monday was not much more successful in terms of moon-gazing. However, yesterday evening, as I was typing up the Gen Silent post, Dad phoned and told me to come outside; he had found the moon, lurking behind a cloud cover and rising fast. Grabbed my camera and off I went... to be snacked upon by mosquitoes. Funnily enough, I took the best shots after I had already given up and begun to trudge back inside but happened to glance back anyway. Luna had decided to come out of hiding.

 

Gen Silent

This wonderful, beautiful documentary broke my heart and warmed it at the same time. These people have gone through so much hardship, yet are so strong. As they repeatedly say in the film, I cannot possibly comprehend what these elders have experienced — not only because of the age gap, but because of the country I live in and the fact that I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by people who could not give a crap about whom I love. Yes, Finland has not always been and is still not a perfect haven for queer folk, but to me it seems a hair better than USA is even today.

I'm truly grateful that I was given the chance to view this film. There is no DVD for the general public, and the libraries don't have a copy. The viewings are usually rented for events, one such being tomorrow night as part of the Helsinki Pride programme. Problem is, I'm going to other happenings. Last night, I filled out the contact form on the Gen Silent website and hoped for the best — and lo, they responded! I was given a link and a password for a private viewing. So tonight, I sat down to watch it.

At points, I was in tears. At others I smiled. There were even a few chuckles in there, mostly when Lois and Sheri were talking. Those two are brilliant. But, again, so are the rest of them. I want to look up Lawrence Johnson's poetry. The fragments of it recited in the film seemed captivating. I want to hug every one of them still alive, speak with them, go out for the night. March with them.

This is a poignant and most of all important piece of film. If you have the opportunity, go watch it. It's an hour long and worth every minute.

Some Recent Postcards

These aren't all of the postcards I've received recently; rather, they are some of my favourites. Also included are a couple that I sent.

This one's from Malaysia. I believe I squeed out loud upon seeing this.

The Finnish sub-forum has all kinds of fun stuff, one of them being a Mini Round Robin with loads of different groups. I sent the following two in for an "axe to grind" group where you choose a number of postcards that you want for yourself. The organiser sends these postcards to the participants, who then write them and send them off to their respective owners.

Art by Francis Bacon. My taste is a bit odd sometimes.

I'm afraid the Doctor was chewed on by the Finnish Mail Monster. :(

I did a swap on the forum with someone requesting ship-related cards in exchange for any one of the cards they have up for that purpose. Due to an inability to pick one, I gave her a few of my favourites and she chose from those. Quite pleased with what I received. :)

The Swan of Finland

"Young Freya" by Alena Kudryashova

 

Look at this card! It's just... fabulous. I love it.

From Germany! This is the sender's own photograph and poem.

Handmade postcard to someone in the States who likes postcards crafted from recycled materials. There are a couple of clippings from a newspaper, part of a tea bag carton, and some old 10-penny coins.

Give a Word, Get a Card #9. The words were "fluffy" and "colourful", and I believe I delivered.