Sõnaga.. ja siis veel.

Nii. Once again myself and reluctance encounter each other.

Officially it's official. Following a multiple-hour battle with Northwest Airlines (plus company of bought, I place in quotes, "insurance," on said tickets) on the tickets bought, the original price (and, apparently, strings attached), the reason for buying and circumstances behind.. jne edasi.. further tickets have been issued and I will now be arriving in the Twin Cities on 6 jaanuar. Living situations are set up with a friend of a friend (I imagine soon to be a full-class all inclusive friend) in a two-bedroom place close to Uptown. (Most) tickets are purchased. Job/studies in the works. Unnerving.

To both clear up and encourage more rumours, yes, a girl is a growing part of the prelusive feelings of reluctance at a repeat full-out move. Fate rarely coordinates with time. I doubt either uses a Blackberry. In all, it's absolutely worth difficulties though. What else really inspires motivation? More on said one and shifts and such in coming posts..

Language is daily. By no means do I intend to say that I am entirely fluent or capable of unbarriered deep interaction, though, it appears in the first moments of my thoughts in the morning and flows forth (while breaking over boulders) all elements of conversation throughout the day up until the last murmurs of drowsy musing. This is to be expanded upon.

As the illustrious Facebook profile states, ma täiesti armastan kui ilus see maalilm saab olla.

Edasi, вперёд..

Moldin.

Everyday Iceland picture courtesy Lúc

Incredible.

Yes, I feel like I emit that outwardly emotional word often after Icelandic performances, however, it's just about right. I just (randomly, as is best) käisin (mmmrr.. went.. to and hung out in) the concert (make that word interactive feeling) of (loooong sentence) Ólöf Arnalds in a small artsy drinking corner (Juuksur) here in Tallinn. Strange saying that is is one of the best shows that I have been in attendence of, though in its subtle ways it fufilled this spot. The simplicity of it all rained down beautifully (literally.. concrete bits holding up the medieval cellar ceiling were falling into hairs and drinks). After randomly shoving a floating copy of Postimees into my kott following my shift and sitting with said ajaleht and unsaid pint of beer, I saw an aricle about the performance with a special 'happening tonight' sentence attached. While calling a film-type acquaintance living in the city, I was questioned about the show, and sidewise invited along with a pair of familiar (though yet-unenjoyed) British/Scottish (new) friends.

Following conniving myself and my slightly dismembered ISIC (not ISIK, for eesti readers.. haven't been that drunk yet) through the sooduspileti hind (discount (student) ticket price), we grabbed some close spots under the contemplatively stable ceiling and took forth some drinks.

So many factors went into the show that made it the beauty of what the title 'folk' so incessently perverts - a good, in-touch musical and vocal show. Ólöf is Icelandic and carries that sense of humour, which inherently helps. Yes, humidity caused both guitars and her armadillo-ukelailie (I shit you not.. and to quote, 'It's as well of an afterlife as I can imagine') to call for constant, often mid-song tuning to commence. Yes, some assholes in the back of the room carried on laughing and chortling through the first quiet part of the show and the later, settled-in part where the bar in the connecting room started filling up and accompanying. The natural character of the music, the presentation and conversation, and the performance all weaved together, and most importantly kept it alive. From Icelandic folk through acoustic mountains (complete with her detailing mid-song where, on the album, the strings come in and then the brass band and this and that!.. for another awkwardy fantastic quote, "..and even a whole choral section comes in now.. not as beautiful, of course, as the Tallinn Choir, though.. a great group of happy people singing..") through English sea-songs and American West saloon-ballads and 1950's Swedish songs of sea-side conversations on love and loss, a storytelling and liveable experience emerged.

Complete with snowstorm following, it is a great set of moments hinganud sisse (breathing in). Music for an open road, feeling the warmth of another resting their head upon your arm.

More on the already longing glow of thus around and unspoken possibilities of possibility in phrases soon to come.

Вперёд, edasi..

Northern infatuations.

One aspect of life here that continually entrances and astounds me is the variety of cultures and lives in such a small space. I suppose that after a lengthy amount of time in any region, certain variations arise and replicate themselves, compounding over time into full-out insulated dialects and nationalities. To outsiders of the region, and even general new-comers, most of the differences remain unintelligible and often unmentioned. Languages also tend to capture their own locational references to other peoples, far separate from common English-implemented world speak. In eesti keel, for example, some of the more striking examples are Sweden (Rootsi), Lithuania (Leedu), Russian (Vene), and most prominently Estonia itself (Eesti). In the case of the country itself, it's interesting how small-people politics played at one time into a gradually increasing widespread recognition of the location. Finland (Soome, or Suomi in Finnish) shares this problem, even though it has been an independent state for some time now. Far from influential and lacking a continuous independent state, Saami people (Sámi, or Laplanders) are another culture recognized through the lens of history out of the spotlight. Given, many larger, continuous and active countries also carry a designated English title far from that in the chief language (Deutschland, also Saksamaa in eesti keel.. on a side note, check out the 'map of Germany' on the Wiki article of Germany and give me your opinion if the person posting is somewhat of an expansive nationalist missing the 1940's).

Further into the linguistic variations comes that of culture. Eesti is not just the Tallinn pealinn (capital) people.. there are many from the islands, the linguistically distant Setu people in the south (one southern region is commonly called Otepää, meaning Bear-head in Setu. If translated into Tallinn eesti keel, it would come out as Karupea), and the Võru (also a separate language), to name a few. Obviously the more locally you focus, the more tribal these differences appear and knowledge of them is kept to those in close proximity.

Something I want to explore further in Estonian language and the region in general is cultural and linguistic regard of other Fenno-Ügric peoples, especially the Sámi. I've oft wondered how I have a slightly darker skin tone when my roots (as I know them) are Irish, Swedish and Prussian. I also have mused over how northern, colder lands and climates feel comfortable and seem to pacify my disposition. Conversing just slightly with some people yesterday over this, I was pegged from my appearance and attitudes as probably being an Ingerlane (most likely misspelled, as Google is shunning me with it), which either connotes Karelians (people in the north-east area of Russia, formerly part of Suomi) or a group of people within that reindeer-herding mix.

To close abruptly and with a snap, reindeer meat is damn tasty.

Edasi, вперёд..

Мы, вновь.

So, the United States of America has once again transformed itself and transformed the perception the world may take of us. Absolutely amazing. Until I stayed up all the way up to the 8am local time mark (shortly following Obama's victory speech), I had only somewhat grasped the unimaginable importance of this election. Sitting through the ups and downs and pundit raffataff engaged in a color-by-numbers exercise carries across a sort of Christmas feel in itself. Add elements of discussion concerning national, racial, international and inter-demographic firsts, and the magic began to swell.

I took some time trying to track down a decent station to watch throughout the debate, which was somewhat harder than it should have been. Part of this could be my distance from the continental US, or even Obama's childhood palm tree state, or even our shoot-marmots-from-Apaches northern outpost. Regardless, the internet offers just about everything (Obama forgot to mention that it won the election in his speech as well), and I was able to sample somewhat. CNN offered a live stream, however it was different from the 'real' CNN broadcast by sattellite, and thus somehow allowed to be anchored by the worst fake-tanned bag of duchery I have witnessed outside of MTV in some time. I kept BBC's live text in the background, which was somewhat interesting. At a certain time, BBC World started its coverage, which in theory should have been spectacular. This opportunity for a fresh US-British approach on the matter was ultimately shut down and put on Xanax by a combined 4,000 years of age between the four pundits. It was the worst stereotype of old British gentlemen, by old British gentleman, that I have been exposed to live (using the word liberally). So, scratch that one off.

Took a while to connive my computer into showing a Comedy Central stream, in anticipation of the John Stewart/Steven Colbert Indecision 2008 broadcast. Once it came to fruition, however, I found that the special was limited to an hour long starting at 10pm Minneapolis time. I firmly believe that all-night coverage by the pair could have been worthwile, not to mention filled with a larger cast of cockatoos.

At last, I was able to hold a fragile streaming connection to MSNBC and spent the rest of the election indulging in the commentators' witty banter amongst themselves and African American guests (plus Tom Delay and the respective campaign managers). I have to say that the 'racial equality' themes and undertones implicated in the selection of our 44th president were a realized though non-deciding element of the race for myself. I, and I believe President-Elect Obama himself, take this as a monumental step, though one which is not the only cause and only motivator for the wider sense of 'change' which is just beginning to inspire and call to action our nation. In his victory speech (which I have yet to pore back over, though will address in a later post), I remember that during one of the multiple and building climaxes, Obama pointed out that we have achieved change in his election, but that this is not what the election was about itself. This is only the start of things, a moment in the wider renewal and re-realization of our fundamental constitutional principles, and we have chosen a challenging and uplifting road for ourselves.

Digressing, the crowd receiving this speech and the entire electorate which has chosen Obama did so not primarily out of racial issues. However, the immediate and resounding effects which this vote has in that very topic is humbling and unspeakable in its magnitude. Seeing the faces of several prominent and ordinary African Americans, hearing the accounts of their own astonishment and joy at the achievement of this; not a president with a special focus on African Americans, but at the achievement of greater equality.. seeing and feeling their wordless amazement and love for the ideals which are America.. well.. this is an election, a time and a movement which I and all citizens who cherish our constitutional principles and rights will never forget.

Whoo, tingly! Haha.. We the people have the electrifying ability to be awesome sometimes. Go America.

Shifting for the moment aside of political discussion, I am becoming stoked up for the (real) return once more! Importantly, an element of political fear has been removed as of yesterday, though overall the realignment of my internal compass Minneapolis-ways is charging me up. In the last few weeks I've been fighting a pull towards the dulling of motivation .. not specific to moving, but in just about any aspect including sleep. Plans with Tori to get another 2-bedroom somewhere stuttered out from this and that, though we'll probably be hanging out just as much in Bully's (with free popcorn) as we would in a shared apartment. I had sort of counted on that as a 'certainty' in my move back, which added some comfort to the general flurry of confusion still healthily carried out by job searching. Moving at any time and in any circumstances seems to promote the kind of stress that reflects when you are plagued by some minor cold, though you're not sure if you really have a cold or have just been off beat for a time, or if a real cold will actually come, or.. Whoa, I just made myself want a beer.

All things end up coming around however they will, though, and disperse stress along the way. Beer also helps that.

Между прочем, thanks to my friend Awesome-Squad Melissa Lam and her own surprise array of awesome-squad friends (squad members, really.. and yes, everyone gets a glock, except for the interns, who all share one).. I have a potential apartment-mate set up for December! Following the slightly awkward (should donate some 'musing' time to what kind of a person Kim would come off as in such a situation) Facebook exchanges confirming that the other person doesn't make multiple fake Beastie Boys videos on Youtube (always an important question) and is not a permanent cult member, we have now started getting down on the getting down of actually finding a place.

She works for the state Senate (let me know if you want me to lobby at home for any bills limiting the number of tax credits possible for promoting anthropologically-themed squirrel accapello duos.. I've got the ins now), and I only have a scattering of interviews and unresponded CVs, so we're looking to settle down around Uptown or the Selby/Grand area. I'm excited to relocate back to an area of the Cities in which I've only roamed before, though I will miss proximity to THall. On Dasher, on Dancer..

My one-night readjustment to US Eastern time and then flip back again is tapping me on the shoulder, thus I'll shade in and dimple some blanks while making more in the next few days.. This whole 'Change' thing got be so charged up that I'm ready for a nap! Haha, aaahhh.. election humor.. Well done.

I should really commit myself to writing posts in that energized period of post-morning tea and pre-post-evening-wine. Ideals.

Edasi, вперёд..

Yes, we can.

The most inspiring speech I have ever witnessed. I'll get on analyzing it following some sleep, and some warm dreams complementing those already realized in America today.

Edasi, вперёд, ahead..

A.