Kevad schmedad (Spring.. schming?).

Uffah.

I feel as though I contain a tumbling bluster of news-ish and straight unconnected statement-ish items that would fold nicely into a post such as this. I've been far too uninformative and very much wound this way and that. Given that I'm sort of procrastinating before going for a run (first of the year, if you don't count the running every day as a slave to peoples' consumerist whims), this post probably won't account for anything much and is a run-up in the up-running to upping and/or wakeboarding my way through expression. Have at it. News style.

Job is job. Work dominates an abundance of time (topped out at 78 hours a few weeks back), and time not working becomes guilt. Haige (sick), eh?

Apartment is fantasticalicrious. Brilliant, if you prefer a real word. Still in the same place as was nearing a year back (Soviet stack with no maple syrup, just pigeon refuse). Tuuliki bought drapes (just in time, as the sun is rapidly laying a smack-down on the night already) and we spent a morning moving furniture, so the place very much looks and feels like minu, like mine. Problem: far too expensive. Landlord is demaning prices the same as of, well, one year back. Before the housing bubble became a crater (to go off-topic, the big non-economic news of late was a meteorite falling through ice in a lake. Woozah!). To illustrate, when putting in the same statistics for my apartment as now (34 m2, backwoods of Lasnamäe (the Russian-language dominated banlieue, about a 25 minute bus ride to downtown), no washing machine, one room, and with keskküte (central heating) that amounts to an additional 1/3 of rent, or in laymans terms, an ass-intrusion, in the winter), the majority of apartments which show up for the same terms also show up with nearly 1/3 of the price per month. I've tried to debate with friendly, slightly racist and sexist though very accomodating in a landlord position, Dima, to no avail. Wait, avail was begotten. 500 kroon discount from rent. When I talk about places being a third of the price, I'm already using that figure. One more month for debate, and then it's off to a different section of the city, with all 2-3 boxes of my posessions in tow. Plus the bottle of Leedu (Lithuanian) herbal liquor, Läti (Latvian) herbal liquor, Vana Tallinn (Eesti liquor), ginger wine, Baileys (Tuuliki oma), and two bottles of vodka in the freezer. Respectable!

Tuuliki. Well, everything in this circle of the sky is fantastic. We spent a weekend in Tartu early last month and are sending warning flares over Soome signaling our imminent arrival for a day, most likely laupäev (Saturday). Few hours on the ferry, then IKEA and H&M will know our presence. Hoping to score a car as well to see some non-Helsinki, which I also assume will not be closed for business this time around (see posts from a year ago if you demand explanation of the woeful tale). Also scouting out possbilities of heading to Vladimir via Peter sometime in summer, where she has a dacha-dwelling grandmother knitting rugs. Thus the vodka in the freezer, to start training for over a week's time back in Russia. Поехали!

I'll throw in some more lines about types such as Allan and Nadja, Kaarel and Tomm and Markus and Kertu and Anneli and Karolina and on forth and so with be thus for .. I forget what prepositions mean any more. In short, there's good hanging with good people here at long last as well.

Tori's making her way here in May/June. I expect travel proposals and schedules from many more people heading this way as stat as stat may allow!

Far more to come. More or less in inglise keel, and much much less coherent.

Edasi, вперёд..

А.