And Now the Moment You've All Been Waiting For...

Remember the Michael Jackson full-back tattoo I mentioned back in September? To refresh your memory, there's a contestant named Elisabet on Finland's version of Big Brother who is obsessed with the former King of Pop -- even more than me! -- and has permanently inked herself in his memory. And the tattoo is so... umm... interesting... that I just had to share it in all its glory.


Wait for it....



Oh yeah, that's the stuff! On the left, is Michael dancing or does he have to pee? Also loving how the younger version of MJ looks like an old man. I guess it's good she doesn't have to look at it all the time, you know?

And, man, I wish I understood Finnish so I could watch this show. Apparently she gets into heated discussions about Michael and cannot accept the fact that a possible 5% of the earth's population hasn't ever heard his music. She is thoroughly convinced that even the remostest tribes in Africa must know who he is. At the time of posting, her status is listed as "häädetty" -- Google translate is no help there, but judging by her little grayed-out thumbnail image, I think she's been eliminated.

R.I.P. MJ, Elisabet and the most amazing full-back tattoo I have ever seen.

It's Always Sunny in ... Helsinki?

Actually, no, no it isn't always sunny in Helsinki. Far from it. In fact, the weather is shit right now. Yesterday it was nice for a moment when, despite my previous plea, it snowed! I was even kind of excited about braving the fresh powder lining the treacherous footpath. But alas, the excitement was quickly washed away by pounding rain and umbrella-murdering gusts of wind (RIP my beloved blue companion).

This was described to my incomprehensive Florida brain as "wet snow" and it sucked. It felt pretty damn cold to me... those raindrops could have easily frozen in my opinion. My fingers were about to fall off, after all. But no, the temperature rose a few degrees overnight, leaving us with only puddles and a memory. (Oh, and a few photos. Coming soon!)

BUT fear not! There *are* sunny autumn days in Helsinki, despite what the locals may say! In fact, I have photographic evidence from the past few months to prove it.

Before it got dark at 3:45 PM (or 15:45, a way I will never get used to telling time), I used to go walk by the water after work.

I'm pretty sure this is where the rich people in my neighborhood keep their toys:



Five bucks says she's on a Nokia!

A few random shots:





My new love -- mulled wine. I discovered it last January while visiting my father in Buffalo and it has been my new BFF the past few weeks. It was the perfect companion as I took in the view atop Hotel Torni. (Also where the first photo of this post was taken.)

I heart this photo.
This building is a block away from my house. I was diggin the lighting and shadows from the setting sun.

Right across the street is an awesome church, where I caught the actual sunset. Lovely.


So, there are definitely beautiful moments to be had in Helsinki. My fellow Floridians might be less than impressed with all this sun -- we are so effing spoiled! :)

Stay tuned for part two of "Helsinki weather doesn't suck as bad as the locals say, although when they are right, they are right!" when I show you how we struck weather gold with our gorgeous day on Suomenlinna, an island I never thought we would actually get to see.

Two Months Down, One to Go

Well, we’re officially past the two month mark here in Helsinki. (The royal ‘we’ that is.) Actually, I realized today that in exactly one month, I will be sitting back at my Bonnier Corp desk in sunny Florida again. Before that, I will be completely stressed slash stoked about trying to travel after this whole Grow sitch, considering the Helsinki money gods have sucked me dry. (That’s what she said?)

But enough of the panic room, here’s some more random tidbits to keep you interested in my bloggy blog world.

I suck at getting dressed. Layering, tying scarves, wearing proper shoes -- I’m terrible at all of it. I’m convinced I can control the weather solely upon my outfit choice of the day. For example, if I wear my Converse sneakers and light jacket, I’m asking for a blizzard to hit, whereas if I bundle up like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, I will bring about a heatwave. (Temps in the 40’s constitutes a heatwave, btw.) If I’m wearing semi-warm but extra-absorbent boots (they were cheap for a reason!), they’ll have to face massive rain puddles, while the faux-fur lined proper snow boots see only the sunshiny-ist of days. It’s very frustrating.

Speaking of absorbent boots, Reagan came to visit! And she has the same shoe issue. Luckily, I have a hair dryer:



I miss speaking American. With Reagan's recent visit, and a Sunday encounter with two American girls traveling through Helsinki, I've been able to speak good 'ol improper American English. It's been wonderful! And while most Finns understand and speak perfect English (and God bless them for doing so!!!), there’s something so awesome about being able to say “like” every five seconds without second-guessing it. (I wish I didn’t, like, talk like a valley girl, but like, I just, like, can’t help it and stuff. Like, you know?”)

Man, oh, man. Helsinki’s got the funk. As you may have read in my captivating Bonnier Grow interview, my favorite kind of funk music is *everywhere* in this town -- bars, cafes, night clubs, restaurants. It’s like my own personal wonderland of music. This is probably only noticeable to someone like me, who would recognize when Evelyn Champagne King’s “I’m in Love” starts playing at a random pub. Most of the DJs I have met play strictly vinyl (yay!) and there are eight record stores at the end of my street. EIGHT. One block away. Le sigh. The best parties so far have been Solid Gold’s funk night at YK and Keep It Up every First Friday at We Got Beef. God, I wish I could DJ here.

Hair mustaches = still fun.


I’m dreaming of a non-white November. In October, it officially snowed three times but not enough to stick. I’m not too keen on the idea of snow (see the part where I suck at getting dressed) but the Finns always look sad that I won’t get to see “proper snow.” To me, no snow = better than lots of snow.

I finally made it to Suomenlinna! We lucked out with gorgeous weather, too! Pictures coming soon!


I am homesick. Yep, that’s right. Even though I’m taking full advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I miss home. Besides obviously missing family and friends, it’s the little things I am longing for: flavored iced coffee; showers with bathtubs; American keyboards: öåä; driving my car when the sun is setting; editing the DWH site; Fahrenheit, pounds, feet, miles; Mexican food; speaking English without worrying if I’ll be understood; prices in dollars instead of Euros (eff the exchange rates and bank fees!!!); my orange and yellow living room and record collection; biking around the lakes in my neighborhood... these are a few of my favorite things. I look forward to reuniting with them in December.

More frequent posts coming soon. I have so many ideas and photos to post before I get home. Next on the agenda: Alyx and Bill are coming this week to visit -- yay! Stay tuned...

A Helsinki Halloween!

I guess you could say I was a little bummed about missing Halloween in the U.S. (Okay, really bummed.) I looooove dressing up and going out with other crazies in costumes -- it's like a surreal, alcohol-fueled fantasy land. But in Helsinki, they don't really celebrate it. Since there was no way I was giving up one of my favorite holidays, I had my own little party!

A few novelty stores had Halloween costumes, so I bought one. Some people might think it was a Cleopatra costume. Not so! I decided I was actually a band member of Earth, Wind and Fire!

And my awesome friends, being awesome and all, got into the spirit with me. Leena was "Death" and Silja was Alex from Clockwork Orange.

We decided Leena should be Adam Lambert instead.

Petra, wearing black angel wings then became the Angel of Death:

Ida showed up as a last-minute surprise, dressed as her amazing self!

And it wouldn't be a party in Finland without playing SingStar, a game I had never heard of until living here. It's a fun karaoke-style game that's mega popular in Europe. (Anybody in The States heard of it? I don't have any kind of gaming console so I am clueless about these things.)

I love it because most of the songs are super random to me -- singles from unfamiliar European bands and obscure American hits. The first time I played, I was in awe that everyone knew the words to "Club Tropicana" by Wham!. (I might be one of the few Americans who even knows that song exists.) But I love it because I've sang "Hold the Line" by Toto and "Don't Walk Away" by Jade. Both are extremely hard, btw. Oh, and I know all the words to "Baby Got Back" -- shocking, I know.

I love how much Silja gets into it. She's a total rockstar:

My spooky "decorations" aka tea-lights and orange cups.

Afterwards, we all went out in costume. We were pretty much the only people dressed up but we still had a blast. I'm so happy that these awesome ladies celebrated with me! Happy Halloween!!! :)