Extraordinary Finnish design

“I was wrong” – Social Distortion – Live at the Roxy

Here I am sitting in the library trying to finalize our group paper or International Bizz.  Work + iTunes = procrastination.  I was browsing another iTunes shared library named “lammaskoira” when I ran across this song.  This album used to be in my truck’s CD player almost nonstop 10 years ago.  (I feel old)  Sums up how I’ve been feeling this year.

Well, when I was younger, I was so full of fear
I hid behind anger, held back the tears
It was me against the world, I was sure that I’d win
But the world fought back, punished me for my sins
I felt so alone, so insecure,
I blamed you instead and made sure I was heard
And they tried to warn me of my evil ways
But I couldn’t hear what they had to say

I was wrong, self destruction’s got me again
I was wrong, I realized now that I was wrong

And I think about my loves, well I’ve had a few
I’m sorry that I hurt them, did I hurt you too?
I took what I wanted, put my heart on the shelf
But, how can you love when you don’t love yourself?
It was me against the world, I was sure that I’d win
But the world fought back, punished me for my sins
And they tried to warn me of my evil ways
But I couldn’t hear what they had to say

I was wrong, self destruction’s got me again
I was wrong, I realized now that I was wrong
I was wrong Ya!
I was wrong

Well I grew up fast, I grew up hard
something was wrong from the very start
I was fighting everybody, I was fighting everything
but the only one that I hurt was me
I got “society’s” blood running down my face,
Somebody help me get outta this place
How could someone’s bad luck last so long?
until I realized that I was wrong
(Guitar Solo)

I was wrong, self destruction’s got me again
I was wrong, I realized now that I was wrong,
I was wrong, self destruction’s got me again
I was wrong, the only one that I hurt was me,
I was wrong

YouTube

light and dark…

I have lived in Oulu for almost a year now.  Yet, I still haven’t begun to get used to the stark contrast between light and dark.  I arrived in Oulu on the 3rd of January.  The sun would rise somewhere between 10-10:30 and set around 2.  In other words, you can briefly see the sun trying to peak over the tree tops before immediately sinking below the horizon.  If you have class all day then you wont see the sun at all; its almost like perpetual darkness.  After the shortest day of the year on Dec 20th the days begin to get longer by 6 minutes.  By June, the day would last from about 2 AM to 12AM!  22 hours of sunlight!  Unless you get some hotel curtains you can forget about sleep.  I was getting on average about 5-6 hours sleep a night during the summer. I should have bought a mask.  This time of year is referred to as the “Dark Time” due to the absence of snow to reflect light.

Cool to be an American again?

A friend of mine sent a link to an article discussing how American expatriates feel now that Obama is our new President.  I went to lunch at the University yesterday and was asked by serveral people how I felt about the results.  “Releived and hopeful”.  I had a nightmare that I would wake up to McSame being head of state.  This election has restored my faith in American again.  The administration of past eight years has left me feeling somewhat disparaged as an expat.  I agree that I feel less aprehensive when telling someone where I’m from.  I don’t feel like I have to apologize for Washington anymore.  Obama represents a critical realignment of America’s values and beliefs.

“Our destiny is shared and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.” – Barack Obama

The Finnish man’s washing machine

Simple.

One large power button.

Five wash settings.

Space saving.

Efficient.