Skies

The other day on the bus, a group of schoolchildren were telling jokes to each other: "How do you make the brains of a blonde the size of a pea? By pumping them full of air!" and I suddenly found myself turning around to smile at them. I hadn't heard that one! And did you know the London Gay Men's Chorus has recorded a Christmas CD titled "Make the Yuletide Gay"? That made me laugh, too.

Now that my new home has been stripped naked, had its holes stuffed, been repainted and scrubbed clean, it is ready for J and me to move into. Starting Monday, I will be occupying a room in a small flat at the corner of two streets with a dubious reputation. However, I don't care about the slightly suspicious (and loud) neighbours nor the occasional nose-cringing whiff on my way to the metro ("What's that smell"...) - in two hours the contract will commence and the room will be mine, all 28 cubic metres of it, from the vast view to the broken blinds, from the doors which close with a click to the two power sockets which hopefully work.

I must say I'll be happy to not have to rummage dark, dangerous attics for my stuff anymore. Everything will be in one place where I can find it: my opera scores (collected since the early 90's), my books (although drastic cutbacks will have to be done in the fiction department), my movies (including the first season of Lost which was Found today), my photo albums... and much more. I know people who prefer a more ascetic lifestyle, constantly getting rid of their practically non-existent property, but what can I do. I love my stuff.

My life online has made a dramatic swerve to Facebook, something I'm getting seriously addicted to. Well, real life will kick into full gear next week. I mean, I really did want to have sufficient employment, but five choirs? I'll let you know when I start getting all mixed up with the repertoires (I see it already: "Bach motets?? But weren't we supposed to rehearse "I just called to say I love you?") or counting absent sopranos in my sleep. Yesterday, I visited our studies coordinator to plan next year's studies. To say all my explanations on what I did in Graz were confusing would be an overstatement, but okay, she just started the job. Good for her that I marched in with everything planned. Not so good for me that some of the courses I'm supposed to get done don't exist anymore. Apparently, it's because I started studying already in 2004 - now this really makes me feel old.

By the way, don't you just love the Finnish sky. There's really nothing like it.