Word Pictures

Red Leaves
Gusty winds and fleeing wings
Winter is here

The stream seems to be in a hurry
Almost like it has a deep desire to reach the sea
Before winter descends and it can no longer move.

Molly's at 11:00 in the night
Friends, warm Jalo with honey (Jalo Totti?) and Jaegermeister (the Band)
Laughter and bad dancing

8:00 pm Oct, 14, 2009. Helsinki

Finally, the hours are becoming reasonable at work.

I have just returned from an invigorating run.
I have discovered a running track right by the sea near my house.

8:00pm
Oct 14, 2009
Helsinki

(feels like -2.8???)

With weather like this - the least I can say was that the weather was...bracing.

Here's to the onset of the Finnish Winter. And to Change.
Yet Again.
:)

Helsinki Diaries - The Food & Drink series

Posts are back. Finally - I feel a little alive now.

Helsinki Diaries - The Food & Drink series

I have been eating and drinking out so much now - that for a while now, I have been contemplating writing about it. And what a wonderful topic to resume my writing with.

There are so many interesting places in the city, but I will begin with Frambois - a quaint little cafe in Munkkiniemi, by the office.

Frambois I can't quiet decide why I keep going back to Frambois - it could that 'little-cafe-in Paris' feeling with pictures of the Eiffel Tower on the wall, a handwritten menu in French on the blackboard; the unmistakable French accent when they greet you as you enter through the door.

Frambois is quiet a tiny little cafe and sometimes I think it appears tiny only because it always has more people than it probably can accommodate.

There is one main course each day of the week and it always changes every day every week. Duck. Fish. Chicken. And the dessert. It's almost to die for. With strange unpronounceable French names, the dessert comes in all colours and shapes. And one unmistakable characteristic is the bon-homie in the place. As you enter, you can hear that highly French-accented voice welcoming you in. It almost feels a bit like Par-eeh! So, if you ever are in this part of town during the middle of the week, then Frambois comes highly recommended. Take a chance. Try out the day's main course and let me know what you thought of it.

Frambois Laajalahdentie 17 00330 Helsinki Tel: 09499901

Posts on a hold

Posts on a hold.
For a while.

If you don't say anything, do people hear your silence?

Hauskaa Viikonloppuna Helsingissä - A fun weekend in Helsinki

It's been just two weeks away from Helsinki - and it feels like ages. It feels great to be back!

While Frankfurt was about work, rain and hotel rooms, Helsinki is about sunny summers, fun and friends.

I decided to live out the weekend - after what I felt was days of dreariness. So I called my friend J as I landed in Helsinki 11:00 pm...and after having dropped my suitcase at my apartment, was out in the city by 12:30. Spent the rest of the night at Tiger's. (for those who don't know - one of Helsinki's cushiest clubs in downtown) and finally crashed out at J's apartment at 5 am.

Got up at noon, and after a kebab lunch, was looking to get more sleep, when the weather just cried out. It was sunny and warm and there was an abundance of summer dresses and bon-homie all over. J and I bought some coke and red wine... and we ended up drinking home made Sangria in a beautiful sunny park. (try the recipe out -its quiet easy) Soon, P joined us.

And with wonderful wine and better company, the conversation meandered from music and women to the directorial genius of Quentin Tarantino and of course, the answer to 'what do human beings desire out of life?' All in all, between the wine, the cider, the summer and a dash of optimism, that afternoon, I reached a few conclusions:

- that Women, by and large are wonderful creatures and that there's always something beautiful about every woman (J of course was in agreement, while P - a doctor, was quiet sure of the opposite!)

- that question of Life's purpose is too complex for a summer afternoon - but on the whole it is about fulfilling one's passion

- that Quentin Tarantino is the quintessential genius and that he is a class apart.

- and that I over-analyse things (as you can see by now)

It was finally 10 pm by the time I got home - and got a much needed shower and cooked a hot dinner. I was out again at midnight ... to catch up with friends in the city center, but was soon back at 2 am. And finally got to sleep in my own bed after two weeks in frankfurt.

But one thing is for sure - this Viikonloppua (weekend), is going to mark a shift in the way I look at life, helsinki and women. It's now sunday morning, and as I get ready to do my laundry and my company expense reimbursements, I am sure of impending change in my personal life and Life in general.

The Road Less Travelled

Lately,
I have been thinking more and more about being here in Helsinki and Finland.
For longer.
More like thoughts running around in my head, rather than thinking.

And I notice that I am talking to more and more people about being abroad, adjusting into new cultures, reconciling cultural differences between international couples and the question of what is 'home'?

There is just One Road that one can take at any point in time. And the idea is to live it well when you are on that road...and to not plan too much in advance.

'Never limit your future by predicting it'.