Leslie Da Bass - Around

Time to promote some Estonian music. This is a perfect song for looking back at year 2008 and thinking of New Year's resolutions. Chill out!
Happy old! Soon it's time to let the new one in with different songs!

More words of wisdom

Alcohol is bad! Remember, kids, do not drink alcohol....oh my head....

Don't u just love a nice discount during credit crunch?

There never is

Wake up in the morning, stumble on my life
Can't get no love without sacrifice
If anything should happen, I guess I wish you well
A little bit of heaven, but a little bit of hell

This is the way you left me,
I'm not pretending.
No hope, no love, no glory,
No Happy Ending.
This is the way that we love,
Like it's forever.
Then live the rest of our life,
But not together.

Mika "Happy Ending"

Holiday season

Guess, which ones are my creation:)

Insomniac? Not me!

I cannot believe it, i OVERSLEPT today. Forgot to set the alarm. Woke up at 9 to a phone call, which i didn't answer. I just stared at the phone thinking why's my colleague calling me in the middle of the night.
This hasn't happened since....i don't know, almost forever. And i can't say the dreams to keep dreaming were pleasant ones. Best to wake from them.

Note to all insomniacs out there, an hour long hot bath does wonders to your sleep. At least it worked for me, though insomnia has never been a problem for me but well, you get my drift.

After i got up i only brushed my teeth and rushed to work (oh yeah, got dressed as well). Now i look and feel like a zombie. Save me!

Words of wisdom

Whoever said cleaning is therapeutic....lied!
Whoever said dancing salsa is therapeutic....was probably on to sth.

VV Brown - Crying Blood

Here's a little song to get the Friday going.
Forget about Amy Winehouse, Duffy and Katy Perry... I give you VV Brown. She's bringing swing back to popmusic!

How i almost got in trouble

Omg, i have to tell this story...

I came home the other night, parked the car, got my bags and my computer and was ready to enter the house when i suddenly saw a man on all fours on the other side of street. He was obviously too drunk to get up on his own, though he was trying hard. It was really funny and pathetic at the same time. He was so helpless:) I weighed my options and considered my size and his size (too big and too drunk to be helped by me) but i knew i couldn't just leave him there, i'd have thought about it the whole night. I crossed the road and asked if the good man needed some help, hoping at the same time that me stopping to help will attract more help. So i kind of sort of helped him and he got up and i tried to point him to whichever way he was going.

Suddenly, a woman appeared, also tipsy if not drunk, a real dog. She sized me up and said (in Russian), all sarcastic, to the man: "Izvinite, ja ne znala shto võ sdes vstretites." (sth like: Excuse me! I didn't know you have a date here.) Well, excuse ME! I was only trying to help the man but she still gave me the evil eye. For christ's sake, she must really have very high opinion of that guy if she thought he was meeting me:) I took off as fast as i could leaving them to sort it out. At least between the two of them they probably had more chances of arriving home safely.

Abiks ikka!

Leidsin sellise kirja ühe tuttava blogist ja leidsin, et pean selle ka siia panema, sest minu kleidikestest ei ole kellelegi abi:(

1. Detsembril toimus taas üks kodutute inimeste saunapäev. Koostöös Tallinna Sotsiaalameti ja paljude teistega saavad kodutud kogu detsembri vältel päevas korra suppi ning tegevusi on veel.

Oleviste kogudus on plaaniks võtnud veel korraldada 22.12 saunapäeva, samuti on meil 26.12 kodutute Jõulupuu ning korra nädalas neljapäeviti käivad kodutud Olevistes söömas suppi, arutelemas elu üle.

ME VAJAME TEIE ABI! Meil ei ole anda inimestele RIIDEID ja JALANÕUSID.

Kas saaksite vaadata oma kapist meeste (ja natuke ka naiste) asju, mida enam ei kasuta:

- Pesu, sokid, T-särgid

- Mütsid, sallid

- JOPED!!! (millega saab talvel tänaval elada)

- Püksid

- JALANÕUD!!!

Äkki saate oma firmades, seda infot saata kolleegidele ja koguda asju ja tuua Olevistesse.
PALUN, ÄRGE TOOGE teisi asju, meil pole ladustada suveriideid, jne.
Meil on vajadus aidata inimesi tänaval nüüd ja kohe.

Jumala õnnistusi soovides,
Oleviste meeskond
www.oleviste.ee

Mantra

...

Venue

I think i just found a great venue for party. Not sure which party yet. And in the process i might have also found the artist for a project next year.

Snowstorm

The snowstorm has hit us heavily. I haven't been outside all day because the lady in the news told me to stay in. I don't really know what's going on outside because the windows are totally covered in snow and i don't dare to open them. I can only hear the wind whistling outside.

The news lady also said that 32 000 homes do not have electricity. Luckily for me, the electricity was only gone for a while but is back now. Cars and buses are crashing, the ferrys between the islands and to finland do not go any more. Flights are postponed or canceled. People are advised to store water and candles.

In a way it's even kind of romantic. I just hope the homeless people made it to shelters or anywhere warm before the storm hit.

George vs Joshua

N suggested me this comparison. If you imagine one of them slightly younger and the other slightly older, yeah, it kinda works. There's similarity. However, i still know which one of them is 100 times sexier for me. (oh, if you don't know who these 2 gentlemen are, they're Joshua Jackson and George Clooney)

Benicio vs Bradley

I know they've been compared before, but seriously, can you tell which one is Mr. Bradley Pitt and which is Benicio del Toro?

London and beyond

I went to London for a generously extended weekend. I had more than one reason to go. One of the big ones being S's bd. Not just any bd, the big three, oh! Oh my, soon it's my turn. Before me there's N and right after me AJ and not long after PM. Anyway, it means a lot of saving up has to be done, as these three-oh's kind of demand presents which matter a bit more than a piece of clothing or some make-up.

Anyways, the bd went fine, the present was well appreciated and it was really nice that all of us from the closest circle had made the effort to fly to London. I think that's what made S the happiest. It was like old times again.

What was different from my normal visits to London, was that first of all - i didn't do any shopping. (I always regret that slightly when i'm back home because i don't like shopping here.) Secondly, i got out of London, which is a nice change. P took me to Bath and surroundings. Lovely little town. Nothing really special about it, just kind of...nice. It's strange, how different can London and the rest of England be. London is the most cosmopolitan city i have ever seen, with as many people of different races, nationalities, sizes, styles as one can imagine. Yet, when you get out of London to the more rural areas, it's all "old-english", like out of some old book - the local pubs, named Crown, Swan etc, little villages with narrow roads and people gossiping about whats going on in the neighbouring villages.

We stayed one night at this old-english bed&breakfast. When we arrived, it was dark already and as we entered, the door squeeked (of course) and we were greeted by this old man welcoming us to the house and showing us to our room. It was all very quiet and despite him stating otherwise we seemed to be the only guests that night. It was a big house, with very high ceilings and big rooms but still unbelievably stuffy. The kind, where you get the feeling you cannot breathe unless you open the window and you have to speak in a whisper. I was quite certain that at night in the big living room there would be secret gatherings and people from the village would wear masks and sacrifice small animals and on a bigger occasion, virgins.

The old man, however, unknowingly managed a joke of the day. He was showing us where we can turn the lights off and he went like: "We just got this new headboard for the bed, which is lovely, but it's just couple of inches too big." Me and P looked at each other and as he left the room, burst out laughing. I don't know where to start whith all the things wrong with that headboard. It was absolutely hideous and did not match anything else in the room and it surely did not look new.

And what do you do in Bath, if not take a bath in a spa with natural spring water, a 3 hour long night spa, to be precise, with some food and a glass of wine. Not bad! All-in-all, it was all just chill and relax for couple of days. On the way back to London we took a look at a big white horse and Stone henge (just because it was on the way), which was smaller than i remembered from the last time i saw it, 10 years ago. I can't believe i'd paid money to see it back then. In the airport, i must admit, i had to do some shopping to make me feel better about having to go back to work. Oh, and that's it, it's a wrap. Til next time, London and England.

Hennessy Artistry party

(The pic taken from internets, don't mind the quality)

So, what's been up. For instance, last week (before going to London, lovely London) i went to a party on Wednesday night. A Hennessy party, in Helsinki, Finland. Yeah, had to go straight from work. 2 hours by ferry, party, sleep, 2 hours back, straight to work. It started off as a work assignment but turned out to be quite a decent party. Before getting there i didn't turn much attention to the performers. I'd heard of Kat Deluna, of course, as i do browse through music channels once in a while. I mean, you'd have to be deaf and blind (or old) to not have heard of THIS song. And then there was Matt Pokora, who i didn't know i'd heard of til he sang the song Dangerous, which i actually quite like. So, the performance part was good and Hennessy coctails were free, whole night. Gotta admire the Finns, though, who can drink the night away from 8 pm to 2 am without any food. Can't say it wasn't affecting them. Some of the "ladies" were so drunk it was quite disgusting - blabbering away, ready to hump a pole if no guy is interested.

I'd like to say i am past my groupie days but somehow i still ended up partying with the band guys. I promise, i did not approach them:) What was i to do? I was at that party with my boss, who'd brought his lady friend, so i felt it best to leave them alone. Anyhow, i think i made some good connection in music business if i ever want to organize a similar party in Tallinn. I'll let you know when i do. Here's the link to the PICS of that party.

Lazy little....

I am so lazy it hurts. There's loads going on and i haven't written anything. How on earth am i gonna write an autobiography anytime soon if i don't scribble down my life's adventures. And i have to start with the writing soon. Katie Price a.k.a Jordan has written about six or so autobiographies already, all selling like fresh bread, and she's only a year older than me.

ultrasonic - lips they move

Here's a little song to get the Friday going.

The good, the bad and the Ambassador

Whewwww....finally, Friday! And what a relieveing one it is.

Monsieur Hennessy Ambassador was in town for 3 days and i pretty much had to organize 3 events in about a week. There were some highlights and definitely some low points but it's over now and i survived. On a negative side, i've been so stressed that i've had to sleep with rubbing painkilling ointment on my back to be able to sleep and i've cried a little. On a positive side, the first event on Wednesday went a lot better than i feared. Since there are too many people to rain on my parade i'll have to praise myself and say it was actually a nice event and the ones who attended were pleased and many of them even thanked me sincerely.

Somehow, i have to grow a thicker skin and an ability to not take everything personally. If someone else effs up and that affects the overall outcome, i should be able to blame it on them, however, i take it all in and weep like a baby (in privacy of my own car or home, of course, no need to show my momentarily weakness to anyone else).

Well, whatever, since i said i'll take anything but disaster...i can say, i've succeded quite well. Next week will be nicer.

Confide in me

Different people have been confiding in me lately. Not even my close friends but people i hardly know. They've told me their stories and their secrets and have found a listener in me. Sometimes, when i hear about someone's worries, it makes me sad too. It takes a lot of energy to keep people's secrets. Plus, it's hard to keep track of which secrets are to be kept.

We all get hurt by love
And we all have our cross to bear
But in the name of understanding now
Our problems should be shared

Confide in me

Kylie Minogue "Confide In Me"

New toothpaste

I bought a new toothpaste and squeezing it, what do i discover, its pink/white. Pink toothpaste, can you believe it. It looks awfully cute on my pink/white toothbrush. For some reason it really pleases me.

Btw, have you noticed how thorough and insightful my posts are lately:)

Darkness falls

Today was the first day i went to work and left the office in darkness. I did start and finish a little earlier/later than usual, but still, it was a bit unsettling.

Fatboy Slim: The BPA - ToeJam

This is probably the best video of the year. It's been around for a while now so many of you have probably seen it but it's still worth sharing:) Always amuses me :)

Copenhagen

Greetings, Earthlings, from Copenhagen!

Well, not really. That's what i meant to write a couple of days ago, but luckily i was too busy in Copenhagen to be sitting around, typing away at my computer. Coenhagen, Denmark was a new addition to my list, YEY! I've added a new country to my collection. I believe there are 30 now (29 by Facebook count and 30 by world66 count).

It was business at first and pleasure later. I can't write much about Cop, because i have to save my creativity for my article, but i will add some pics to tell my story, but generally it was lovely, Christiania was still there and i spent some really nice time.

Sugar high

Sometimes there are meetings from which i leave with booty. I hide it all in my desk drawer for rainy days.

Platon, autumn and high heels

It's been three weeks now and i'm doing a lot of work and it doesn't seem like a rocket science or brain surgery. It's just work. But i do tend to stick to the things which i do best and am a bit reluctant towards the unfamiliar numbers and budgeting topics, but getting there, getting there.... What i do best, though, is meeting people, throwing around ideas, finding solutions, organizing stuff and communicating.

Today i went to a business meeting with a guy called Platon (u know, like the famous philosopher). Little did i know before the meeting that mr Platon was something of a 25-26 year-old well-groomed playboy-looking man and I had to be presentable and charming while having the worst stomach ache, ever! It went alright though. The power of concentration!

Things like that happen to me. Like the fact that almost every day i've been wearing skirts and dresses and high heels (because i can, and i love it) and the one day i wasn't, the "big boss" from aboad happened to stop by the office. He happens to appreciate nice clothing, heels and a bit of bling. Argh...however, i think i'm getting a new chance with him. I'm going to charm the hell out of him.

Oh, and since i've been whining about the weather a lot, i'm giving it a lot of credit now. It's been a marvellous beautiful, almost warmish, colourful autumn weather. I wanted it and i got it, and i love it!

2 weeks

I can see i haven't written a word in 2 weeks. Lazy bastard. the new job is taking a lot of my time and energy and since i'm also cramming my personal life somewhere inbetween, no time is left to take care of my baby blog.
Last weekend i went to London and it was 18 degrees warm, while today it was 3 degrees here in Tallinn and it's 16 degrees in my home. Give me warm and sunny autumn with colourful leaves and mushrooms!

The pros and cons of new job

Con: there's so many new things to master that i no longer feel like i know evrything about everything.
Pro: i am learning so much, so many new things every day and hopefully i'll be good at what i do very soon.

Con: the office is no longer situated by the sea and is a bit further away from my place than the old office, but....
Pro: ...hey, they gave me a car to get to it :)

Con: no more beautiful fishtank next to my table and no sofa in the office!!!!! (must work on that).
Pro: The office is situated on 2 floors so i have to move my ass to get a coffee or glass of water from downstairs kitchen. And there are TV's in the office, including the toilets. Lately we've been watching VH1 and it's better than any radio, less repetition.

This is it, then

So, that's it, out with the old and in with the new. Yesterday was the last day at my old job. That period of my life lasted almost 6 years and was a good one. I met some of the best people during that time and i learned a lot. Most of the time it was more a family than a group of colleagues. If you ask me if i was sad to leave...of course i was but when it's time to move, then it's time. And as usually, i let the universe make that decision for me. It came knocking on my door and i answered. Good things come to me, so hopefully it's also the case this time.

Today was my first day at the new job. It was busy and hectic and interesting. But more about it very soon. Now i intend to drink a glass of wine and just relaaaax.

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

As i understand, some people ( i mean S) are getting pissed off that i don't upload my blog. What can i say, i've been a bit busy.

The thing is, there are big changes in my life and all's new in September. I'm starting a new job!!! Almost 6 years at the old place are over. 5 years and 11 months, to be precise. It's time to move on. I have one more day at the old office, cleaning out my desk and making sure i've managed to flfil all the necessary people in on my projects and on tuesday i'm already at the new place. Mind you, it's not such a sudden change as i make it sound here. I've known it for a month now, i just haven't written about it. And i've already had the farewell party.

And, if you want to know what it is that i'm going to do....just give me a call or write me an email and i'l fill you in. As a hint i'll just say that i'm going to change sides and be on the client end for a while, get a chance to whine about the media plans and strategies:) in addition to loads of other stuff. It's very exciting!

Öölaulupidu tegi rekordi!

Kui öölaulupidu läbi sai, tulin koju ja riputasin Koidu video üles. 24 tunniga kogus see üle 5000 vaataja. Väike asi on see, et sellega tõusis ta koheselt kõigist minu videotest esikohale. Suurem asi on see, et see tõstis ta ka päeva kõige vaadatumate "muusika" kategooria videode seas 70 kohale. Ja see on tõesti suur asi, arvestades, et YouTube'is vaadatakse iga päev üle 100 miljoni video ning päevas laetaks üles üle 65 000 erineva salvestise. Erilisemaks teeb selle ka tõsiasi, et vaatajad on tõenäoliselt 99% ulatuses eestlased. Äge, igatahes.

Vaata videot ja tema statistikuid, SIIT.

Edit:

Ohoo, ja siis leidsin sellise video, mis levib ka jutuubis nagu kulutuli. WOW! Samuti Koit, aga ETV salvestus. Nii võimas laul ja nii võõimas üritus peabki maailma jõudma.

Öölaulupidu 20 a hiljem: Koit

Video at around 2 a.m.

It was 20 years ago when we had the same kind of events. People gathered at the night song festivals to sing about the wish to be a free country. It mattered sth then. It was important. I wasn't sure it would matter as much today, but i guess it does. Especially in the light of what's been happening in Georgia. I can't explain the feeling when you have thousands of singers and tens of thousands of spectators and they all sing along to the same songs as 20 years ago and they all still know the words. For one night you can really feel the strenght and unity of a small nation. I may get a bit emotional here but it truly was beautiful.
We were tired and thirsty and hungry but we managed to wait til 2 at night to hear this one song, the most important one.
Happy re-independence day, Estonia!

Olympic fever

I have been totally in Olympic fever. That's pretty much all i've been watching on TV. Not that i's so very exciting because i mostly see the events after knowing the results, but it's just fun to watch, especially swimming, well, to be more precise - men's swimming:) My favourite TV programme is the Beijing Express on Eurosport - one hour packed with day's events plus best pictures of the day in zapping. Oh, the bliss. And Estonia got a medal, so that's good too, we're in the list of medalwinning countries, yey! And Phelps got his 8 golds. Congratulations! And i have a new favourite athlete - Usain Bolt - the Boltman, the Boltergeist! He's just so good to look at. The almost 2-meter guy runs 100 m like it's a walk in the park, gets a new world record and has time to spread his arms, look around and actually slow down right before crossing the finish line. That's some good entertainment in 9,69 seconds!

Edit: Oh, i almost forgot, i absolutely LOVE the modern techical wonders. Like the fact that when the swimmer is about to break the world record, the digital green record line is visible on the screen or when the athletes are throwing the javelin, their last attempt is shown with a subtle red line or the fact that i am on a train right now, watching the live coverage from Beijing as i write this.

Kana-kana-kana...hakkliha!

Believe it or not, but this commercial is at number 4 in the viral spreading ads top of last 7 days.

Spread it!

Long weekend

I've had a really good weekend...and yes, it lasted til today, in case you were wondering.

Tallinn weather

Click on pic to see it bigger.

This is the weather forecast for the next 4 days in Tallinn Estonia, taken from different websites. Can't they agree on anything? Well, forgive me, but i choose to believe the first one, thank you very much! (and i don't care that it's the odd one out, i like that odd one the best)

That familiar smell

I don't want to alarm you, people, but i smelt something this morning. You know how i am - sniffing everything and with a rather sensitive nose. Lately it's been the linden blossoming and some summer flowers and alike. The smell today was different, it's something i haven't smelt since.....last AUTUMN. It was the smell of first leaves turning from green to colour. I kid you not. I think it's the chesnuts that give up first. The smell itself was pleasant but the meaning wasn't. Hang on there, summer, just for a little longer!

Sushi

(This is an older sushi pic by N)

On Friday night the 4 of us gathered to N's place (again!) and we made some sushi to celebrate my news. Sushi takes a small 1-time investment in the material - sushi mat, sticks, vinegar, ginger, soy sauce, wasabi; and a small every-time investment - rice, nori, fish and some other stuff for filling, but all-in-all it's not very expensive and you can make loads of rolls for not that much money. It's way over-priced at the restaurants! And it's so much fun to do it with a small group of friends. Add to that 3 bottles of wine and you have an excellent night :)

(During last week i have visited N more times than did in her old place altogether. And it'll only be a week from her move tomorrow. What can i say, the location is perfect.)

Howdy, neighbour!

N has a new home! Finally! It's been long time coming. I mean, after all the trouble with the previous "potential new home", it's only fair this one came to her as easily and quickly as it did. She found it last week and it was love at first sight and already yesterday we were moving her stuff and having champagne at her place.

She lives exactly 1000 m from me, 90 m from A & K and 900 m from AJ. All i can say is: "Welcome to the neighbourhood. Next brunch at your place!"

...

The indian wedding

The indian wedding was not exactly a wedding, as there was no official ceremony, so it was pretty much just a big party. For this one, i hope the pictures will do a great job in telling you the story. In this party, there were 2 couples, in addition to S and J, there were also J's brother and his wife, who'd also already gotten married earlier this year.

The whole preparation process was taking place at J's parents' house and i am not exagerrating when i say there were moments when the house was literally full of people. The brides' hair and henna was done in one room, then there were some women who were cooking some food in kitchen, the TV room was full and there was just awful lot of dashing about.

The party itself was for 400 guests! But i think around 350 showed up. I believe i have never been to such a big private party. And it was all very easy, there were food and drinks and DJs playing music, so there was eating, drinking and a lot of dancing. The brides loked great in the traditional red wedding gowns and i looked great in my blue sari:) Near the end of the party there was a fire alarm and we had to evacuate and at some point there was a near-fight between 2 distant relatives and one of them was arrested. Well, you know, the normal party:)

The warm-up party

Photos by: Me and PM

After the big day we had just a couple of days “off” and then it was time to head for England ang get ready for the Indian wedding. Thursday night was for London and me, PM, S and P went out for a meal in Camden Town. For some reason we talked about tape worm ang maggots during the whole meal while eating stuff which kind of looked like our conversation topics. That didn’t ruin our appetite, though:)

And n Friday it was time to head for Bradford, where J’s parents live. We only managed to get out of London half past 4, as S still had to get a new Brazilian visa to her new passport. Did i mention she managed to lose (misplace) her passport just days before the wedding?! Anyway, this whole business was a bit of a stress matter but finally it worked out fine.

But it meant we only got to Bradford at around 8 and had 10 mins to get ready for a party at a restaurant. This pre-wedding party was just for closest family and friends, meaning there were approx 100 people present. I can’t believe how warm and welcoming this family is. Each one of them who’d been to the Estonian wedding came greeting and hugging us. Even if we hadn’t even spoken. You just feel a lot of love when spending time with this family.

We pretty much just ate, drank, mingled and danced. And then there was this traditional thing where the girls had to dance with a whole chandelier with candles on their heads. This was for good luck for the couple. You can see on the photos that i tried it too.

...

I just had to add this pic too. Here's the best man making the maid of honour drink. Classy.

The wedding

The whole big day went by fast and smoothly. I had no time for eating til the wedding dinner. You’d think that there’s not much to do with everything organized already but you’de be surprised. I was running constantly between upstairs, downstairs, bride’s room, groom’s room, my room, outside. Answering the questions of the restaurant people, the video guy, the photographer etc.

And then it was time for “the moment”. S and J both looked absolutely gorgeous and they were ready on time, so was the lovely flower girl and the ring boy and so was i and the best man. It rained a bit, but even that didn’t matter. It was beautiful! My respect also goes out to the photographer who was doing an excellent job. And before you knew it, it was time for the dinner and the party. Soon after the speeches were over and the dinner ending, i had a bit of a stress-relief-pressure-drop and i believe i got a bit drunk. Some might say it’s an understatement but i’ll argue because i was still fit enough to answer the calls of the fireworks’ people and get that sorted. But i’m still glad P took me to bed before i was totally out of it. It was a good party.
(Photos by N)

And there it was then, S and J were married! Congratulations!

The weekend before

From Friday on it all went non-stop. People started arriving from all over the world. J’s family from England and friends from even as far as New York and New Zealand. That means, even though the Estonian wedding was only on Monday we had a full program for the weekend before.

On Saturday there was dinner at restaurant Elevant. Sadly there was one small hickup, meaning that 8 of J’s relatives had missed the plane, ooops!, but all the brotehrs and sisters and their families and most of the friends were already present and it was a very good night. Knocking back vodka shots with J’s brothers till 2 at night was probably not the best idea, though:)

On Sunday we had the compulsory guided tour in Old Town and i must say it was quite good to take part in it and actually hear some things about my own city. The family had also arrived and the weather was brilliant. In the afternoon it was spa for the ladies and go-karting for the guys. Spa was far better choice for a hangover day, i’d say. Then there were some more wedding preparations in the evening and off to bed to be ready for the big day.

...

Photos: Oleg Hartsenko

The hen night

Photo: Oleg Hartsenko

Now that the 10-day wedding marathon is over it is time to reflect and look back. It all started with S’s hen night on July 11th and ended with the Indian wedding in England on July 19th. I’ll try to break it up event by event and experience by experience.

The hen night

When we decided we were still going to organize a hen night for S we knew it wouldn’t be some kind of stupid thing, which always ends with a bunch of drunken girls and the bride humiliated because she has to sell condoms on the street or watch an ugly stripper dance. No, we wanted an event, which all the girls would enjoy, especially S. So it had to be something classy. The org-committee – me, N and PM – came up with an idea and negotiated the prices and cooked the food and got the drinks.

We decided that as a present to S, all the girls would shoot a calendar and do it in a photo studio with a professional photographer, make-up artist and necessary props. Something a little bit in style of Calendar Girls without the nudity (well, optional:) and a little bit in the style of America’s Next Top Model without the elimination.

We had champagne for more relaxed and natural photos and some snacks to keep us energized. We had the greatest make-up girl and the nicest photographer and it was all a proper photo shoot. The event lasted more than 4 hours, instead of the planned 2 hours. I guess it wasn’t just us who was enjoying it but also the photographer;) S had no idea what was going to happen, she only knew the address where she had to show up Friday evening at 8. And, she was quite positively surprised, even if I say so myself. We all had a great time and the pics came out really nice. Afterwards we made our way to town and met up with the guys and just chilled.

Signed, sealed, delivered

"Ooohhhh...,"she let go a sigh of relief and got drunk at the wedding party when the official part was over. "She" being me, of course.

The first one from our closest gang has married and it was a wonderful wedding indeed. The bride looked gorgeous, the groom was calm and the party was excellent. There were no major hickups and the guests were happy.

And another stressful matter is all better now and so i am happy and don't even care about the awful weather outside.

I will write more about the whole wedding business when i get some photos.

Hernes is busy

Busy times! A wedding to be had and loads of other stuff on my mind. Stress!

What a stylish man

I saw this man yesterday and found him to be very stylish indeed. His outfit is well thought through and dates back to about 30 years and i think it looks very cool.

Seal European tour 08: Tallinn Seal promises to return

Seal European Tour 08: Tallinn

Weekend delights

This weekend offered me 2 excellent experiences. SEAL concert on Saturday and Euro Cup 2008 final and Spain winning it.

Seal was just as good as i expected him to be. It is a bit tricky, going to a concert with high expectations, but luckily he's so good that he managed to fulfil my expectations. His voice is so powerful that even the sound of Saku Suurhall was okay this time. And of course, he's pure sex on stage, the way he can move his body...eh, well:) But, the best part was his way of communicating with the audience. One of his very few requirements for the concerts was to have the barriers in front of the stage removed so he could be closer to the people. Excellent!

The Euro Cup final was also as good as expected. Two excellent teams were playing and the better one won. I was cheering for Spain anyway, but even if i wasn't, they were so boviously better than the Germans, and they surely deserved the win after 44 years. Viva Espana!

Lawrence Arabia - Talk About Good Times

I saw those guys performing as Feist's warm-up act and i found them to be quite good. They had good live sound and they were down-to-earth and funny. This song is somehow captivating, with the mellow tune and freaky lyrics.
Hope you like them too!

Decisionmaking

When it comes to decisionmaking i've established i get more indecisive once i start asking for advice. Maybe it's because other people do not want to take any responsibility whatsoever. Come on, people, i just need to know what you think, i've actually got a mind of my own and the final decision will still be my own...

Now that i think about it, several of the biggest decisions in my life i've made completely on my own and they've been good ones - like my job, my home and so on - beacause i've had a good feeling about them. Maybe i should just trust myself more.

Now, before you start thinking who knows what, i'm only talking about trying to buy a car:) I am hopeless in this, all the time i THINK i have to ask for advice because what do i know about cars, but maybe i should just go and get one that suits the shoe's i'm wearing or the colour of my eyes. I just don't have very strong feelings about cars, so my gut feeling's been kind of out of it.

Portugal June 2008

Portugal travel letter: finale

I head back to Lisbon for my last day, just to enjoy the city and the hostel some more. We watch Portugal winning 3:1 against the czechs and I even take the tram back to Belem to buy the pastries for my family. I have had a VERY good trip and I think doing it alone was actually the best idea.

What Portugal has given me:
- 5 new friends on facebook and loads more nice aqcuintances
- understanding that travelling alone is actually really fine
- lots and lots of good memories
- ass of steel and calves of iron from all the walking on the hills of Lisbon and Porto
- my first sunburn this year
- satisfaction

What Portugal has taken from me:
- piece of my heart
- 2 kg-s off my body weight
- all my money:) (not that I care – money comes and goes) and to be fair, loads of it was already spent in London and most of it was spent on me, myself and I

Feist - Secret Heart (live in Porto Jun 08)

Portugal travel letter: morto Porto

It’s Monday now, not that it matters what weekday it is, when travelling. But, suitably for a normal Monday, it doesn’t have to be pleasant. Most of my day is spent on a train from south to Lisbon to Porto – altogether it takes more than 7 hours. It’s not so bad though, I sleep and I’ve got my iPod and my new Nick Hornby book. But I still can’t say that “time just flies by”. I arrive allright and find the hostel allright, which is on a hill in the center. Surprise, surprise, Porto is even hillier than Lisbon. The hostel (Oporto Poets Hostel) is allright too, but not quite as nice as Traveller’s House. Their best asset is however the beautiful inyard with a hammock. It’s already evening but I decide to take a first look at the city but it’s not welcoming me. It’s Monday evening, which is like a resting day for Porto people and everyone stays at home or goes to the movies, since it’s cheaper on Mondays and so the town is quite dead – morto Porto. It’s the first time during this trip when I don’t feel so safe walking around on my own. Instead of the old ladies I got used to in Lisbon, there are some old guys commenting me as I walk buy and clacking their tongues very rudely. I head back to the hostel and decide to give Porto a fair chance the next morning.

It’s Tuesday morning and after a good night sleep I start my day early. The weather is stunning and Porto immediately seems nicer. I must say it’s a really gorgeous city. It’s a little dirty and ragged and very old and beautiful. If anything, Porto reminds me most of Marrakech, except that it’s more hilly and the houses are higher. I think Porto looks exactly as I thought Marrakech would look like before seeing it. I walk and walk and walk all through the city and enjoy the sights and the narrow streets and peeping into the lives of the locals through their open doors and windows. It’s a holiday and most of them are home – the children are playing on the streets, the men are watching football and the women are either just gossiping among themselves or cleaning up their homes, whilst listening to music and singing along to it. I get the feeling that it is important to them that their own homes and in front of their homes is really clean, especially when I see a woman religiously scrubbing the street right in front of her door. Even if there is dog shit and smell of pee 3 meters away, she can be sure her home is a clean sanctuary. It’s funny though, there’s definitely a lot of dog shit but I don’t really see dogs, all I see is cats everywhere, many meagre-looking cats, sitting on porches and stairs everywhere.
I have my lunch at the riverbank, eating some grilled sardines and having a glass of white wine. And then I walk some more, concentrating at the riverside ribeira. I buy a bottle of Port for my parents, I get a really good quality port, but it’s still only 7 euros. The port here is incredibly cheap. I would buy more, but I’m already over the capacity of my suitcase, what with all the stuff I’ve already bought from London and Lisbon.
In the evening I join a couple of Americans and a Dutch girl to go to Feist concert. I’m only hoping there’s some tickets left because the Lisbon concert was already sold out before I even started my trip. I’m in luck again and get to see Feist!! Her performance is (borrowing from Americans) awesome! She is superb live and the venue is great – like a small theatre – with great acoustic and just enough people. In addition to getting the audience sing along just beautifully, there’s also the whole visual part to her show as one girl is creating pictures and stories on a screen during the songs. It’s truly like watching a beautiful music video. After the concert me and the Dutch girl speak to a woman from Feist’s crew. The Dutch girl met her earlier that day at port tasting and she’d put her on the list and now she gets to thank her. I get a piece of it too as she gives us some really nice tour t-shirts.

Just a little sidenote – Porto is oozing a bit of gay vibe. I see many gay people around here, on the streets and at the concert and also in the hostel. Like, for instance, the receptionist guy is gay, for sure, and the receptionist girl seems to be as well, and there’s also a French lesbian couple staying at the hostel. The receptionist girl seems to be flirting with me before I go to Feist concert and when I come back from it and when I’m leaving the hostel and thanking them for my stay, she says: “It was nice having you….well, not quite;)”

Portugal travel letter: heading South

Today is my last day in Lisbon for now. I walk around town some more. I’ve gotten to the point which I really enjoy, where I sense that I’m feeling the city already a bit, know my way around and can already return to some places, rather than seeing them for the first time. I meet J for coffee and he shows me a couple of more hidden gems of Lisbon – nice views and funky shops. And then it’s time to gather my stuff and take the bus to South.

Everyone I’ve met during this trip seems to be heading to Lagos, when going south, but I have the privilege of avoiding the most touristic spots and stay in a little place near the beach of Senhora da Rocha. This is thanks to the nice coincidences that tend to happen when travelling. It was only in London that I discovered that J&Z’s friend P has a place here, well, his parents do, anyway. I’m in luck and the place is free and P is coming down for the weekend, too.

The next 2 days are very chill and relaxed. There’s not much to do in south anyway, but chill and relax. It’s got gorgeous beaches but other than that it’s as plastic and artificial as you’d expect from a place which has so many sunny days a year and has been turned into tourist attraction. We get some sun and I get a slight sunburn, my first one this year:) and we eat some really good fresh fish. You know it’s fresh when the waiter tells you he’s caught it the same day and it tastes really delicious. I’m not quite sure what are the traditional Portuguese dishes but when down here, fish is definitely something to go for. Oh, and sardines, fresh from the grill, they tend to eat them a lot and so do we.

Portugal travel letter: around Lisbon

My third day in Portugal starts very slowly. Today I’m gonna head off to discover the surroundings of Lisbon, but I can’t get out of the Traveller’s House before noon. I guess I should´ve slept more than 5 hours after last night’s bar crawl, which was good fun. I wasn’t as drunk as most of the group but I had the good company of Missy and Joao.

When I finally do get out of the house I head to the picturesque little town called Sintra. It reminds me of some of the small towns in southern France, especially the one I visited on my way from Cannes to Monaco…can’t remember its name though. Another guy from the hostel, Adriano, has advised on where to go and what do eat in Sintra and I do pretty much everything he’s told me to, which includes eating 2 very tasty and extremely sweet pastries – the pastries seem to be all I’m eating around here.

I also walk around Quinta da Regalia, a strange and mystical place with palaces, gardens, secret caves and wells and even tennis courts from olden times. They say it has symbols and elements of alchemy and freemasonry but I only find this out later However, it does get the mind running free. Take the well of initiation, for example, I can just imagine that at some point this could’ve been the sacrifice spot, with the sacrifice taking place at the bottom of it, with spectators standing on the stairs, looking down with their faces masked.

From Sintra I head to Cabo da Roca – now this is the westernmost point of continental Europe, one of my main soul searching destinations, so I try really hard to think about my life and if there’s anything I wanna change in it or do I like it the way it is…however, all I manage to think about is that I’m really-really tired and that I’m cold, because it’s extremely windy and I’m not dressed appropriately. Well, that much about soul searching then.

From Cabo da Roca I head to the seaside town Cascais. Ideally, had I left Lisbon earlier, I would’ve gone to the beach here, but since it’s rather late I just take the train back to town, where I join 5 American girls to dinner in a nice little place called …(have to look it up and add later). I have squid. I try to give Americans the benefit of doubt and during this trip I do meet several very intelligent and nice exceptions, but what am I to say if after talking about Estonia for quite a while and establishing that we do have our own language there, the girl next to me still goes: “That is amazing! I didn’t know Estonia was a country!” I mean, if you don’t know it, but have learned from the conversation already, you should know better to not say it out loud.