Labels: people, photoblog

This is just to wish Stu & Nikki happy 30th birthday! Welcome to the dark side! :D

Labels: people, video

Layla & Mike's engagement bash. More pictures over at Marianne Taylor Photography.

Labels: engagement photography, people, photoblog

The stupid cold that has been doing the rounds has finally caught up with me. But I won't go down without a fight! I've been consuming vast amounts of echinea and hot lemon and they're helping me to keep my head above the water, so to speak. Jen came over for yesterday's Antony and the Johnson's gig (more about that when my head isn't quite so woolly - it's safe to say it was mindblowing though), and I was clever enough to take Friday off work so we had a chance to spend some time together and pop to Richmond for a bit of shopping. Today she's gone to central London on her own, while I've been trying to go through my to-do-list, with Stu constantly complaining that I should be in bed.


We were testing my new cheapo macro ring flash on each other yesterday.

We're supposedly going down the pub tonight, not quite sure how I'll cope with that though... hmm. Might have to change that to a Sunday lunch thing, we'll see. I don't want to be a bad host though, it's just that I feel pretty shit...

Since the concert finished at a reasonable hour last night (who knew symphony orchestras are so punctual!), we decided to come back home afterwards. Originally we were going to stay at Sooz's flat, while she's living it up in NY. I must say I was pretty glad to wake up in my own bed this morning.

Here's our train arriving at Vauxhall last night.


P.S. if anyone is interested in booking me to shoot their wedding at a discount price, I'm currently running a pretty generous wedding photography promotion!

Labels: London, my life, people, promotion, Twickenham, wedding photography

Labels: people, photoblog

Labels: people, photoblog

I have a feeling someone's going to kill me for this, but you're allowed to be mushy at specific times of year! We're not 'officially' celebrating 1 September any more since the wedding, as apparently wedding anniversaries are the only 'proper' anniversaries. :P But never the less, today still means something to me, and I can at least celebrate our 9th anniversary of being together with this mush-fest of pictures. :D If nothing else, looking at it brings back good memories (while also making me feel incredibly old, like where an earth did 9 years disappear??). Also, check out that fringe. WTF. :D


(Sorry S, I know it must be a pain to be married to an overly sentimental photographer!)

Labels: my life, people

Today is our first ever wedding anniversary. Surprisingly, this time I won't add how quickly a year has gone, as it feels like ages since the wedding! So much has happened in a year... we changed jobs, homes, countries... everything really. It's been quite a whirlwind of a year.

So far today we've been mostly trying to prepare for holidays at the end of next week. Washing clothes, getting the suitcases down from the loft, that sort of thing. We're planning on driving down to some little country pub for lunch later on.

Yesterday we went to see Riina, Noa and Elli, and in the evening us adults went to a (yet another) picnic concert at Audley End house. This time we were more prepared though, with an actual picnic, woolly cardigan, and the most genius idea of all, woolly socks! The weather was also a bit more pleasant. Even though it rained on and off during the day, the skies cleared by the evening and we had blue skies and sunshine, all the way until the sun went down. That's when my woolly socks really came into their own!

No matter how tacky the idea of the 'Music of Dirty Dancing' sounds like, it truly was great fun, with everyone singing along and dancing around us. And the place was gorgeous! I'm definitely going to attend another picnic concert there, maybe next summer. I'm sure we'll slowly advance into picnic master-class!


First, there was some baking to be done...




Then S attended Elli's 'beauty class'...

Noa fell on his bike and broke his front teeth a couple of weeks ago. Hardcore.


Riina's budgie.

We arrived at Audley End just when the concert kicked off. There were some very fancy picnic set-ups, with tables and wind breakers and all, to be seen all around. There's still a lot to learn...


Blue sky!

Our picnic was a bit more humble, but most delicious never the less!







It got a bit chilly after the sun went down, but it was all still throughly enjoyable up to the end.

Full moon.

We decided to drive home in the night. Was quite nice actually, even though we got stuck in some roadworks.

Labels: concert, gig, music, my life, people, photoblog

Aren't these just the prettiest trainers you've ever seen?? Thank you eBay! <3




I'm using the joy of the pretty new trainers as an attempt to distract myself from the frustration over the stupidity of my office's new policy to block just about anything you could do online. No more flickr, no more facebook, no more Jaiku, not even personal blogs! Pfft. Moronic. Some would say fascist even. This will seriously hamper my plans to take over the world.

There was one nice thing that happened today though (since I got the trainers on Saturday already they don't really qualify for today's nice things) and that was having lunch with the lovely Anne. It was quite relaxing to get a bit of a 'Finnish break' in the middle of a frustrating work day. :D

Labels: my life, people, photoblog, shopping

Antonia wanted some quick portraits of herself (for a super-secret-project :P) so I obliged. I like these giggly out-takes the best.

Labels: people, photoblog

Sooz's birthday celebrations were rather restrained yesterday, due to my still aching head and the rubbish weather. We made up for it today though with a trip to the New Forest. Was a lovely day out and the sun even shone throughout. Will post photobloggy pictures in a minute. Yikes, also have to go to bed very soon! :O

Labels: my life, people

Since it was effectively our last day of holiday, we decided to rent a car on a whim. Financially not the most viable option but it was so worth it. It was lovely to have that sense of freedom, not being dependent on anyone to get us from point a to point b, even if it was just for a few hours. We drove to Kuusijärvi to enjoy the sunny day and silence. Had a little picnic by the lake.



Then we drove to Järvenpää to see Johanna and the gang. Olli and Aleksi are growing way too fast! It's scary. Aleksi was already speaking, to the extent of correcting Stu's Finnish pronunciation. :D



All in all, the day was a perfect ending to our little Finnish trip.

Labels: my life, people, travel

Went for a trip down memory lane with Miikka. Was quite nostalgic to drive around the places of my youth.



The video is probably pretty boring to anyone else but me. Don't care. :P



Then we went to visit Annis and her growing bump. It's so strange how much has happened already while we've been away! Got treated to a lovely meal, as is always the case with Annis.

Labels: my life, people, travel, video

Yesterday was the big tax office day. It went a lot more smoother than anticipated, only took about an hour or so to get all the forms filled and my massive stack of receipts sorted. And if the calculations are correct I should for the first time in a long time get a rebate. Woo. It pays to leave the country mid-year. :D It's a huge relief to get the last one of those difficult tax years sorted. A word of advice to anyone planning on living in a different country to where they work in: don't.



After the tax office excursion we went to see Elisa and Hilla. Hilla is a month old now but still very tiny and delicate. Gorgeous in every way really.



S and I had a go and trying not to drop her as well. :)

In the evening we met up with Dad, Karola and my brothers. I also invited Ride to come along as it was his birthday on Monday and despite all the good intentions we didn't manage to see him then. It was a fun night, highlights being Vesa's amazing card tricks! I'll post a video later if he gives me permission... I was very impressed indeed. Well, what can I say, we obviously must have brilliant genes in common... :P

Labels: my life, people

Well that was a fairly adventurous weekend then. The nice thing about it was that Nikki & Ian finally made it over for a visit. The worse thing about it was that despite having the most gorgeous - hottest day of the year in fact - on Friday, the weather over the weekend has been absolutely insane. Yesterday we went for what was supposed to be a lovely riverside stroll to Richmond and got caught up in not only in the most awful downpour, but also a very rapidly raising tide which almost left us stranded. Soaked to the bone we had to make our way through ankle deep water in order to get onto drier land. At the worst places the people in front of us actually took their shoes and socks off and rolled their trousers up! If it hadn't been so miserable it would have almost been funny. I'm so annoyed I didn't take any pictures of our little survivalist trip, I must have had other things on my mind at the time... I was so wet and cold that I'm not very surprised that today I woke up with a sore throat and a blocked up nose. Great...

The things looked up in the evening though when we went to buy a stupid amount of spirits, and an ice crusher which was essential, in order to make Mai Tais. They were very nice and certainly lifted our spirits, even if in hindsight we could have chosen a little bit less complicated cocktail recipe requiring less bottles to haul back. :D



This morning we woke up to a white world. Yes, it was indeed snowing! Heavily! In April! How completely surreal. Now of course, when Nikki & E have gone and I'm dying of a cold under the blanket, it looks lovely and sunny out. Typical...

Labels: my life, people

It's been a bit of a whirlwind of a week, quite literally. While Paul and I managed to dodge the rain quite effectively during our few days of rambling, the wind seemed to double every distance and half every degree of warmth. But still, fun was had and the few rays of sunshine that we saw were very much appreciated.



On Wednesday we headed out to Richmond Park as planned to wander around and take some pictures with my new (!!) 5D. What a lovely place and what a lovely camera. :D Some days just are good.



Yesterday Sooz, Paul and I headed to the West End to see Patrick Marber’s Dealer's Choice at the Trafalgar Studios. Originally we were aiming for a musical, but since we didn't want to pay too much we settled for a comedy. All in all it was ok. There were definitely some funny moments to be had. What wasn't funny though were the most uncomfortable seats in the world.



Paul has now returned to Ireland with a bag of flat last-minute-baking-frenzy buns, while Stu and I are getting ready to enjoy a joint holiday week lasting over the Easter break, after which I will start at my new job. What's dampening our spirits somewhat is the fact that the car will be out of action for most of the week, also preventing us from going to Rayleigh on Easter Sunday. Boo. These things always manage to time themselves so well. Oh well, I'm sure we'll think of something exciting to do with our week, like laundry and tax returns for example. :P

Labels: my life, people

I'm about to go to bed but just remembered that I was supposed to post pictures of the transformation of my flower bouquet! The white lilies totally outlasted all the pinkness, so today I simplified the arrangement somewhat. I think there's mileage in these flowers yet!



Paul is over from Ireland to enjoy the rain and wind that is supposedly a 'super storm' terrorising the UK at the moment (mother already phoned to ask if we are still alive). Somehow we did manage to catch a sunny break today and went for a very wind-swept walk by the river. If the wind doesn't blow the whole world away during the night we'll probably attempt to climb up to Richmond Park tomorrow.

Tomorrow is also when I might possibly maybe also receive a new camera ... perhaps... ;)

Oh and Happy Birthday Jenni! :)

Labels: home, my life, people

I'm not sure it serves any real purpose and it even sounds kinda creepy, but hey, there are pretty colours involved. My last.fm Sociomap.

Paul is coming tomorrow! :D I should probably get some sleep before that. :|

Labels: music, people, social networking

The first visitor was Miikka, who was over for a week just before Christmas. And he nearly never left as his flight got cancelled. Good fun was had and even though the weather was very cold at the time (unlike now!) and he had a flu we did manage to get around a bit. Here's some snaps of the touristy things we got up to. (Oh yes and Stu had a birthday as well!)



My mum was also over for a week at the start of the year. No pictures of that as they would mostly feature the same sights I'm afraid. :) I really got used to the dish washing service on that week I must say. :D

Labels: my life, people

The children in Marble Hill Park were running around with spring in their step. I hope the sunshine is here to stay.



Riina, Elli and Noa came over to see us today and we made good use of the lovely weather by walking to Richmond for a lazy lunch.

Labels: people, photoblog

We'll, it was a super efficient (and super fun!) girlie weekend with Johanna and Sooz. We crammed in as much shopping, sightseeing and socialising as we could to make Johanna's one-day mini break to London feel worth it. And then of course there was the amazing, mindblowing Damien Rice concert on Saturday. Wow. Hands down the best gig I've been to this year. Or ever maybe. Videos to come soon(ish). I say videos, but from where we were sitting they're more like audio recordings with some twinkly lights for effect. :P

Labels: concert, Damien Rice, gig, London, music, my life, people, photoblog, Wembley Arena

Holidays are a lovely thing, but they somehow make returning to normal life awfully difficult. Our trip to Oulu was brilliant. It consisted mainly of sightseeing, (a LOT of) eating, watching films and just relaxing. I had a very good time indeed. Thanks so much M&M for having us!

Below are some mobile snaps from the trip.















Today feels so weird. Paul left this morning and suddenly being all alone feels strange after having people around all the time for the last days. I can't seem to get my head around the work I'd need to be doing. Feel very disoriented.

Labels: my life, people, photoblog, travel

How weird! I just bumped into Nikki and Ian on my lunchbreak on Tottenham Court Road! It was such a surreal feeling, they were the right people but in the wrong context - or the other way around. Sort of like two different dimensions of my life interjecting. We went for a coffee and then they came up for a bit to experience the excitement that is my office.

And hey, it's Friday! The sun is shining and it's all summery, and we're going to go see Regina Spektor with Sooz tonight. It's not a bad day as far as days go!

Labels: my life, people

Tyoajalla on hyva chattaa tarkeista asioista. Kuten Susannan uudesta sulhasehdokkaasta, jonka nimen sain vasta tietaa.

Susanna: Jos meen sen kaa naimisiin ni sit se saa muuttaa nimensa Ridgeks
Susanna: mummo sais ihan omat kiksit
me: eroot sit heti ku oot saanu nimen
me: SIT
me: ma oon TAYLOR ja sa oot FORRESTER
me: ihan PERFECT
Susanna: OH MAN!!!
Susanna: IHAN PARAS
me: ooh ooh
Susanna: ihan pakko
Susanna: NYT
me: pakko!
me: :D
me: voi elama
Susanna: voi elama
Susanna: it's meant to be!
me: it's meant to be
me: :D
me: et sanonu ihan samoja perakkain :D en ees usko. :D nyt ollaa ihan jessica simpsonit
Susanna: :D
Susanna: JINX

Labels: my life, people, suomeksi

Ugh, I've got a serious case of post-holiday blues. There's too much shit I need to deal with, stuff that I've put off until 'after the holiday', and I feel really rather confused about where to start. Yesterday I was desperately trying to cling on to the last remnants of the holiday (even if the day consisted mostly of unpacking, doing laundry and running errands) and did my best to try and avoid letting the outside world get to me. Easier said than done... Everyone and their uncle seemed to think it was the perfect day to try to phone/email/message me. So, hopefully I didn't offend anyone by ignoring everyone.

I put together some pictures from the wedding. I was thinking about putting up an online gallery of all the pictures but for some reason I feel a bit reluctant to do that, especially since most of the pictures are not taken by me. But anyways, here's a little taster at least.



And here are also some pictures from my 31st birthday. I really oughta go bowling more often, it was so much fun! As was the late-night singstar session. Even if (or because?) I was still in 'wedding-mode' when making the punch and might have made just a teeny bit too much of it for just five people... :P



All the pictures from Rome are still in RAW and I'm not exactly sure when I'll have time to go through them all. But when I do I will be sure to show you.

*Sigh*. Back to work it is I suppose...

Labels: my life, people, photoblog

The weekend was very busy, but fun and I took some snaps with my camera phone while out and about. The birthday girl called all the shots and the main events were a dinner out at Wagamama's on the South Bank on Friday...













...and a night out at a bar in Angel on Saturday. I think the night bus ride home on Saturday was the highlight of the weekend for me. I'm easily pleased. :P We had the upstairs practically to ourselves.



It's really hard to get motivated about work today. There's stacks to do and here I am making a blog entry. Oops. Better get back to it.

Labels: my life, people, photoblog

So Eurovision is finally behind us. The final went pretty smoothly. Without Father Christmas and Krisse there wouldn't have been anything to be ashamed of, but I guess it's compulsory to have at least something to cringe about in these sort of situations. :P

Another thing that has come to an end is my 365 days project. Yesterday was day 365. In some ways a year went by soooo fast, but sometimes it did feel like I would never see the back of this project. It did become a bit of a chore eventually, and I think the quality of the pictures dropped quite drastically towards the end of it... it felt like an effort to even produce a picture every day, never mind trying to make it good. I feel a little bit lighter now and hopefully the freedom will give me space to have some new ideas. I think I'll start some new projects soon, but with a lot less rigid schedule.

We changed our minds about some things regarding the wedding (again!) and I should prolly update the wedding blog to reflect that when I have a minute...

I finally shot Johanna (and Olli & Aleksi) for my Duality series yesterday. We've been meaning to do that since Olli was born! :D Better late than never huh. Anyways, it was a lot of fun. Here are some outtakes. :)

Labels: my life, people, photoblog, photography

Hey, anyone else on jaiku? It's the new twitter you know... :P You can see my updates when you look to the left right now. See. Even when I'm not here I'm everywhere! :D

I keep forgetting to write. Or actually, I think it's probably a case of not having the time to write. Or at least, not having the time to think about what to write. Work has been a bitch, which I suppose is the case around this time every month. So, what's been happening? We got the winter I was longing for. Well, we got the snow I was longing for, it's just a bit unfortunate that it came attached with 20 degrees to the wrong direction on the thermometer. Gosh, it's been cold! I don't think I'll ever get used to cold like this… Yesterday, waiting for a train in -21C (yes, the trains still run fyi :P) with added wind, I was seriously wondering what sane person would choose to live in this sort of environment. Then again, it is only a week or two out of a year… I suppose it's short enough time to be able to forget until the next time. Still, getting along with life as normal here makes me smile about the chaos that 5cm of snow seems to have caused in England. :D I'm going over on Saturday. I don't think the snow over there is going to stay around for me.

I went to the dentist yesterday to get my stitches out. That was cool and all. But for some reason my jaw has started aching like a bastard in the last couple of days. The dentist said it's prolly just the stitches aggravating it, but it doesn't seem to have made any difference having them out. I've had two nights of not being able to sleep properly from someone sticking hot knives into my jawbone. Frozen peas are a godsend I tell you. But they're struggling, even combined with the most heavy duty painkillers. If tonight is as bad as the previous ones I think I'll have to phone the dentist and get him to prescribe more antibiotics or something. I'm not looking forward to flying with the pain on Saturday… Oh how I wait for the time when all this tooth hassle will be behind me.

Helmi was over at the weekend, which was nice. We've certainly been very good in the last year or so in keeping in contact and seeing each other. We used to have this once in 1 to 2 years thing going on for the longest time. I guess everything in life goes in cycles of some sort. Anyways, it was nice to see her and we managed not to leave the house at all for two days. And we even watched one of the shittiest films ever. Cold Creek Manor. I don't know, there's just something really aggravating about films that sort of look good on paper but turn out to be a complete waste of time. At least films that are honest about being crap are more entertaining on a certain level.

Oh yeah, and Eve came over for a little shoot as well. I guess my initial idea was to shoot something for a Valentine's Day theme. And I did get one shot that I'll probably put up on dA on the day… See, it's good to have traditions. :P It was nice to shoot, even though I felt a bit rusty and even though it's bloody difficult for me to concentrate on two models at the same time. Luckily both my models were real troopers. :D

Labels: movies, my life, people, photography

I stayed in Rayleigh last week and yesterday we went to Lakeside with Nikki to do some sales shopping. Didn't really get that much stuff. Well, apart from 9 pairs of socks... :| Nevertheless it was nice since I hadn't really seen her for ages.

In the evening I battled the train, the wind and the rain with my (for some reason incredibly heavy) suitcase and moved myself over to Sooz's in London. She'd gotten someone's else shopping delivered by mistake, and since Sainsbury's didn't want it back we had a wonderful feast of potato skins and friend chicken and all sorts. Thank you mystery shopper!

This 'health getting back to normal' business has manifested itself in a lovely menstrual surprise, only a month after the last time! While it's good news that everything is returning to normal, this whole being on the blob every month instead of 3 times a year gubbins is really rather annoying! It's sunday and I had to get up at 8 because I felt so bad and in pain and bleugh.

I'm meeting up with Paul today and am trying to think of ideas for where to go and what to do. Especially if it's pissing it down. I think we ought to go to the British Museum as then I could get an obligatory picture of the glass ceiling of the great court for my 365 thingy. I hope I won't feel too shit all day. That would certainly suck.

Labels: my life, people, shopping

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STU!!! <3

And Nikki!

(And Richard).

Labels: people

Feels a bit strange to be in the office again. Strange but also totally normal. It fascinates me how this duality in my life works. Life in England and life in Finland are just two completely separate things. When ever I come over here I sort of pick up where I left off and it feels like I haven't been away at all, and vice versa. And when I'm in one country it's easy to see me living there but when I'm in the other I can't quite picture it so clearly. Oh well... it's hard to explain.

In other news, my brother Jannu is 18 today. Happy birthday! I can't understand how that happened at all. I'm pretty sure he was born just a couple of years ago! I had to make the most of this event and use it for an embarrasing photo moment. :P Although, to be honest, it's an embarrasing pic for both of us, albeit for different reasons. Don't mention my hair or nails thanks, it was still the 80's after all!

Right... I suppose I should do some actual work now. Surprisingly I'm so not in the mood for that. :|

Labels: my life, people

Well, I've had this urge to bake something for a while now and we even just decided with Sooz that we're gonna bake lots of stuff when she's over during Christmas. So when Stu woke up on Saturday and declared that he felt like baking, it wasn't too hard to win me over. So we baked. And baked. And since both of us seem to be a sandwich short of a picnic, we baked way too much. We made feta cheese & olive bread rolls, blueberry muffins and shitloads of banana cake (I think that recipe must have been for 50 or something). It was all very nice (even though the muffins were a bit flat and I left out an ingredient from the cake), but there is a limit to how much banana cake a person can consume before feeling repulsed by the sheer sight of it...



Today we looked at the piles of cakes and decided that something needed to be done to get rid of it all... So we set of to spread the joy and took some cake and muffins over to Johanna's and later to mum's. Oh my, Aleksi had grown so much since we last saw him at day old! He is such a smiley and chatty little man. Very much the same as Olli was a couple of years ago. - insert regulatory 'how time flies' sigh here. -



So yeah... a baking-filled weekend. Still, it was nice - therapeutic even - while it lasted. Oh and did I mention how much it snowed again today! It was like a winter wonderland in Järvenpää, but Espoo was a bit more on the wet and slushy side.

Labels: food, my life, people

The rules:



* List 11 things you want to say to 11 different people.



* Don't say who they pertain to.



* Feel free to comment, but don't confirm or answer anything.



* Never discuss it again.



1) I'm glad you're back in my life. You're unique and you have a way with words which I enjoy. At your best you're open and loving and show me how important it is to be direct with people. You show me new ways to look at the world. But you can also be very judgmental and act in a way that indicates that you're in some ways 'better' than anyone, which sometimes makes me feel anxious. I admire your strength and attitude at the face of adversity and yet I wonder how a person as brilliant as you has made some of the decisions you have. I want to either to protect you or bask in your warm glow.

2) You are difficult and you get under my skin. I find it hard to be objective about anything you say because we have been through a lot and know each other too well. I hate the way I can see some of your more negative qualities in myself no matter how actively I fight against them. You can be at the same time one of the most narrow-minded and one of the most open-minded people I know, and this contradiction will forever confuse me. You can be the funniest and the most embarrassing person I know. I wouldn't be anything without you and I wish I could express my love for you without any negative baggage clouding our communication.

3) You don't make it easy for me to express myself to you. I've looked up to you for so long that I find it hard to relate to you as an adult. You've let me down so many times but I've come to accept that you are just human. I love your sense of humor but I don't like the way you undermine people sometimes. You have a gentle way about you which I've always loved, but you can also be judgmental. Actually, you're probably the person who has made me weary of people with strong beliefs. You didn't handle explaining the 100% change of your belief system to me, when I was young and confused, very well. I hate the way you make me feel guilty for not being in touch more, when you could sometimes be the active party in our relationship. I hope you know how much I love you.

4) I wish we saw each other more often. I love the way you're embracing your current life situation and I am very happy for you. And also jealous of your seemingly perfect world. I think jealousy has always been a slight undercurrent in our relationship and ever since we were young we've felt jealous about some of the things or qualities the other one possesses, even though this has never been expressed on a conscious level. You mean the world to me and I hope you will always be a part of my life.

5) I wish you didn't make life so difficult for yourself. You are a brilliant, intelligent, funny and sensitive person, but it seems like you're looking at yourself through a skewed mirror. I hope you could relax into the wonderful person that you are instead of constantly trying be something else. You've shown me that some things are worth fighting for and that people can actively better themselves. You are full of surprises - both gloriously positive and fiercely negative - but all the same, you make life interesting. Sometimes you break my heart but I will always love you.

6) I'd like to have a good relationship with you but sometimes you make it so difficult. You are so egocentric (even more so than I!) that it can feel like you're sucking the life out of around yourself. You're very needy and yet you don't give people much space. You make bold decisions which I admire, but I wish you could stand behind them more proudly. I don't know why I always get the feeling that you're jealous of me somehow, even though there's no reason to be. You are beautiful and strong. I hope we could have a nice, relaxed friendship.

7) You are my rock. We couldn't be more different, yet you are always the one constant in my life. I can always count on you and I know you'd do pretty much anything in your power for me (on a good day), and I assure you I would do the same for you. Our opinions are often opposite and yet we can see eye to eye. I think you are one of the rare people who see that me being controlling or demanding is my fucked up way of acknowledging people who are very close to me. So it's actually an honor to be bullied by me! :P I will always love you (like a brother).

8) I am so grateful that you came into my life. I've never before had a relationship that was so equal and rewarding. I think we both intuitively give and receive the same amount. This is probably how friendships should always be but I've never experienced it on this level before. There's always either guilt or someone trying too hard or giving too little. At least I hope you experience it the same way, and that you don't feel like I'm too demanding. I love the way I can be myself with you and not have to worry about you judging me. You make me laugh and bring such positive energy to my life. I am surprised at how fast you have become one the most important people in my life.

9) You confuse me. I'm glad I got to know you because you are unlike anyone else I know. Your views fascinate me and often perplex me. You are quite difficult to get a handle on, sometimes you're hot and sometimes you're cold. Sometimes you intimidate me and sometimes you annoy me. Sometimes the way your head works drains my energy. There's no doubt about it though, you definitely enrich my life and I'm very happy to know you.

10) We've had a lot of fresh starts and I've always felt excited about each of them. I hope this time around it lasts without anything between us going sour. I think now we're old enough to savor the good aspects of our friendship and not let the negatives become too big obstacles. We've both always been quite strong characters and I've often been the one that who finds themselves bending. I don't see this changing anytime soon, but I think I'm more comfortable with that fact this time around. We feed off of each others creativity and ambition and I hope we can achieve great things together.

11) You two have been there when I grew into the person I am now. Even though we've drifted apart I will always consider you my best friends. It makes me sad that all we have in common now is our past, but I'm positive that there will once again be a cycle that will bring us closer together. It requires a change of dynamics somewhere down the line though. As long as our relationships bring negativity to my life I will stay distant. I love seeing you in small doses and you will always have a place in my heart.

Labels: my life, people, surveys etc.

Happy Birthday Paul!

Labels: people

I just figured out why the interweb has been feeling all strange lately. There's no Paul! Humm. I hope they're not keeping him hostage in an English cellar somewhere...

Labels: people

From the article I'm laying out right now: After 12 weeks of intensive, inspiring, exhausting work, the transformed libraries were ready. Press launches in July by celebrities including Ben Fogle… He is determined to follow me everywhere! :O

I'm currently ordering prints of 471 photos and my computer is going a bit bonkers trying to send them down to the printers. This is the last day of their 'half price sale' so I did cut it a bit fine. But at least I did manage to go through them and get it done! As you can see, a print run was long overdue… I must find a new print provider though. The one I've been using stopped providing high-end colour profiled prints and I sure as hell won't order big prints without a dedicated colour profile. I just have to have a moment to do some research and hopefully find somewhere reliable and somewhat affordable…

Work is driving me insane (or rather, the people I have to work with). I just get so aggravated by everything that anyone says. It's stupid and I should really just ignore everything and get on with things but I can't help it. I don't think my general mood is helping either. I still have this feeling of gloom hanging over me and a ball of anxiety in my stomach all the time. And I feel so tired. Like I could sleep for days. Or cry. Ugh. It's horrible to feel detached from everything and not being able to get a grip on life.

We went to Raisa's crayfish party on Saturday. It took so much effort to actually make myself go but I'm glad I went. Kind of. She lives in the middle of nowhere (literally :P ) and the best thing about the whole thing was standing in the darkness and looking at all the stars. Wow, living in a city you don't really realise how many stars there are out there! It was nice to see old friends again. Well, it is and it isn't… These are people I've known for almost 20 years and for the last 10 we've been steadily growing apart. On the other hand it's lovely and it's rewarding to have friendships that seemingly stand the test of time. But on the other hand it's sort of bittersweet, all that 'oh I promise I'll be in contact more…' stuff, whilst knowing that our lives follow such different paths that it's sometimes just impossible to connect the dots. I don't know. I can't really explain it. On the other hand it's really nice to see them, on the other hand it makes me really sad.



How the hell am I going to pull myself together.

Hmm. Oh and yeah. Wanted to see Jenni on Wednesday since I'm going to Helsinki for a dentist's appointment, but just realised she left for Canada today. Pfft.

Labels: my life, people

Susanna is doing this course in Tate Modern on monday nights and she just messaged me from the bar there saying that right at this very moment she's standing 2 meters away from Ben Fogle! How mad is that! :P He's everywhere he is...

Labels: people

I had a dream last night where I had sex with Ben Fogle. :o Wow. I never used to rate him at all, but damn, that boy seems to have some special talents.

Labels: my life, people

Uh huh, I lost another week! Don't know what happened there, it just disappeared.

Sorry that I haven't managed to update much. Anyways, here are some things that happened during last week...

Riina, Noa and Elli came for a visit on Wednesday. Elli certainly is a handful but such a delight to watch. :D It's completely weird how much stuff kids remember... Like, Elli remembers things that happened when she was still too young to talk. She was asking about the squirrel that lives in our tree, that she saw a year ago when she couldn't even say squirrel. :D And Noa remembers the make and colour of a rental car we went to visit in three years ago or something. How weird is that.

I tried to do a mini photoshoot but it was apparently too 'boring' for the models so I didn't get very many shots. :D There are a few nice ones, but I haven't had time to really go through them yet.



On Saturday I was out all day shooting Elisa's bachelorette 'party' thingy. It was a lovely day but sooo damn hot. And as my erm... 'costume' as a 'photographer' consisted of only black, I certainly felt the heat. :P Oh well, at least I wasn't wearing wellies like the 'sailors'.

I'm so bummed out we're gonna miss the wedding though. :( Oh well. Elämä on.

Labels: my life, people

3,230kg. 48,5cm.

Labels: people, photoblog

I just checked my phone for messages and I'd completely missed one telling that Johanna gave birth to a healthy boy today (well, yesterday now) at 12:43! And the day before we were still doing sing star at my 'sort of' birthday do. :D That was a bit close!

Onnea koko perheelle, miesväki senkun kasvaa. :D

Labels: my life, people

My mother's best friend, also called Pirjo like her, passed away last night. She struggled with breast cancer and won the battle, after a full masectomy, a couple of years back. She was well for a time, but a little while ago she got ill again and found out the cancer had spread. She was preparing herself for another fight but, after just three weeks in the hospital, the disease finally got the better of her. In a sense it's a relief she doesn't have to go through the same hell again, but on the other hand it came so quickly that it has left people reeling.

She was a lovely lovely person. Despite her having lived in Demark for more than 30 years I've always felt that she's had a positive effect on me and my life. Her positivity and enthusiastic outlook on life touched everyone she came into contact with, including some of my friends who got to experience her hospitality when staying over during a festival or interrailing. You couldn't find a more kind hearted person and she will be missed by many.

I don't know how to console my mother, for some reason it's so difficult to say the right things and give her what she needs at a time like this. And on top of it I'm going away to Italy tomorrow... I'm trying to offer her practical help, like finding someone to translate what she wants to say in her address into danish, but I'm running out of time on that one as well...

Goodbye Pirjo. You were loved by many and I'll always treasure your positive influence in my heart. <3

Labels: my life, people

Oh my god is it hot in the UK. Today is the hottest day of the year and apparently it's currently hotter in London than in Jamaica. What's that about?? The fact that I burned myself ridiculously badly on Sunday doesn't really add to my comfort level either... So glad to be going home tomorrow. :P

I must say that the weekend, pre-sunburn, was lovely with all the gloriously hot weather. I was in Saffron Walden to see Riina, Elli and Noa - a visit that was long overdue. I had a wonderfully relaxing time, even went around the town with my Holga in tow looking and feeling like a proper tourist (and managed to cram in some summer clothes shopping :D).

Work is hectic (and hot) at the moment so I haven't got much time for anything else until I get home. I've been trying to keep up with my picture a day project though, even if some days it really feels like a push and the results aren't all that. But, I'm still happy it's become more or less a habit to look for a photo opportunity everywhere.

Gotta run again. Remember to wear your sunhats, like the lady on the news said! :P

Labels: my life, people

Mmmm it'd been too long since I last had a sauna. It's lovely to have evening saunas in the summer as the sun flickers outside the window.

So, I had a long bank holiday weekend, hence I haven't been around much. Helmi, whom I hadn't seen for two years (!!), came over, which was very nice indeed. We went to Ikea, talked a lot, had some nice food, made some photos (new set of the Duality project is up on my website now) and then she fell asleep in the middle of Brokeback Mountain. :O The cheek! :P But yes, all in all, it was a very enjoyable weekend. And seeing Helmi was way overdue - must make more of an effort in the future.

In the meanwhile, Stu was out on a 'boys' weekend' with Miikka and Late and returned in a very sorry state on Sunday. Miikka's 2am phonecall on Saturday night was very amusing though, not that he remembers any of it. :P

What else. Hmm. Oh yeah, nearly lost my new green Birkies to the swamp when walking around Kuusijärvi! :O But then didn't. :|

Labels: my life, people

It was nice to finally see Johanna, and the growing bump #2, yesterday. I took her out for a Thai meal as a late 30th birthday pressie (has anyone noticed how majority of my moblog pictures feature food... :|) and we got to catch up with stuff that was long overdue. S and I dropped her home in the evening and I gave Olli a green dragon for his 2-year birthday which went down a storm. He must be one of the cheeriest kids I've ever seen. He always has this huge grin on his face. :D Then again, I suppose I haven't really seen him that often. Can't believe he's turning two...

It's so lovely in their home. Beautiful and stylish and yet homely and lived in. I couldn't help but getting this feeling of having a peek at 'perfection'. A happy family in a happy home with life pretty much figured out. As much as I enjoyed visiting that life for a few moments, it left me feeling kind of angsty... I suppose it highlighted all the things that are supposedly missing from my life. I know I shouldn't be stressing with things like starting a family etc. but my life just seems to be lightyears away from the point of even contemplating the future. Or feeling sorted. Uhh. I don't know. It's been a weird week. One headtrip after another.

Labels: my life, people

Well that whole staying up for the Oscars thing really screwed my sense of day and night. After sleeping for about 3 hours yesterday morning I crashed at 10pm, which meant that today I got up at 5am. Umm. Or actually, is that more of a normal pattern than my usual one after all? Hmmmm... :P

Anyways, what to do at 5am when everyone else in the world seems to be asleep, even in places with funny time zones. Well, I've been going through old photos on my computer. A nice trip down memory lane, but also a bit of a depressing reminder of how fast time goes. Here's one example, just how young did Chris and Nikki look at Christmas of 1999! It's crazy how fast the years go by. Sometimes they feel as short as months. That was my first Christmas in England. It was all a bit strange and new, not to mention happening on the wrong day. :D Funny how quickly you get used to things though...


And to go even further back in time, check out the glasses on Johanna and me in 1993. :D Yes, they were fashionable back then so shut up. :P And then there we are in 2001 on the right, which also feels ages ago.

There are certain people I constantly feel guilty about not seeing enough of. I get all busy with life *stuff* and I can't seem to get myself organised enough to pick up the phone or even just go and drop by, and all the time I'm carrying around this guilt of being a bad friend. And usually when I eventually do get in touch I find out that people have generally been too busy with their own life *stuff* to even really notice. So, I've been trying to work on letting go of the guilt. Mind you, the way these years are rolling by the more difficult it gets, as there's this constant panic rising at the back your your mind that you should make the most of the time you've got. And panic is always paralysing.


These are from our Finland trip with Nikki & Ian in 2001. Now that was a good holiday. :D Finland always looks and behaves so much nicer when you come here as a tourist. You only get to do the nice bits and not even think about the tedious everyday-life bits. But I guess that's the nature of holidays, where ever they are spent. Hopefully Nikki is coming to Finland this spring/summer again. It's been almost two years since she and E were here for May Day last time, and that was a bit of a quickie trip as such.

I do believe Elisa is a tiny bit drunk in that shot on the right. :D And Ride, I will phone soon! I will.


It's probably lucky that I don't have any really old pictures on the computer as that could mean I'd be stuck here all day. I have a bad habit of starting to go through old photo albums and then deciding I need to go though them all in one sitting...

As I've been already writing this for an hour, I think I'll finish off with a picture of Raisa, Elisa and Stu at Annis's (I wonder how the hell she's doing) wedding, just because it's Raisa's 30th birthday today and this was the only picture of her I could find on my computer! Yet another birthday party I can't attend to as I have to leave for England, but I'm sure she'll know how to make the most of it even without me there. After all, if there's one thing she can do it's party. :P Happy Birthday R, have fun! <3

But yes, that's enough for today. Perhaps I'll do this photo thing again on another night when I'm up at some funny hour with nothing to do... there sure are a lot more pictures where these came from.

Labels: my life, people

Well did I get a few more things. :P Like a hell of a lot of socks. :D

I am completely out of balance. What a difference a few days make! I usually come home on a wednesday and then have the rest of the week and the weekend to get things like bills, washing, email, DA, random crises, letters, urgent birthday cards/presents etc. sorted. Now that we came back on saturday night (and were pretty out of it most of the sunday) I'm in complete panic mode. There are so many things to do and nowhere near enough hours in a day. There are also a lot of pending shoots that I was hoping to do in february that I feel I have no time nor energy to realise right now. And to top it all, it turns out that when we bought this flat the vendor's estate agent (who was a fuckwit) forgot to do certain little things like getting the right documents to the tax office etc. So, there was a letter from the tax office waiting for us, saying that we have to get this thing sorted by the 23rd! Great.

I wish I could just hide from the world and have a breather. Instead I run around trying to pick up the pieces, while knowing that I got to go back to England in two weeks and drop everything I've just gotten under control all over again. This is no way to fucking live.

I'm sure I'll feel different tomorrow.

Anyways, the few days I had of actual holiday in England were nice. Instead of boring you with my writing, I've put together a selection of pictures, mainly from Valentine's Day and the cocktail 'party' we had at Susanna's. I'm sure you'll, erm, enjoy. :|

Labels: my life, people

Thank fuck it's friday. This week seems like it's gone on forever. Ugh.

It's quite breezy and chilly in London, but the sun's been peeking out here and there which is nice.

I was supposed to write this friend-neglection journal, but as blogger was buggered for most of the day (or for the moments I would have had time at least), I didn't. So there.

What is it with the baby boom. Slow down people!! Still, lots of love to Johanna and Pasi who are expecting a sister or a brother for Olli. <3 <3

Right, we're gonna go and do some shop... err relaxing with Susanna now. And tomorrow Stu comes (if he can find his suitcase and stops being Mr. Grumpypants). Yay.

How do you like my new backpack that I got for a fiver! Apparently it's not 'just for kids'. :D

Labels: my life, people, shopping

As it happens, I managed to get a half naked picture of Miikka printed in a magazine. I'd call that an achievement. :P

Also, it's kind of cool to be a 'published artist' or wtf ever. :D Hehe. See! It's actually quite a flattering layout.



Oh and of course I had to take a picture of the magazines in the rack. :P And look, isn't that the girl on the cover! What a coincidence.



She did manage to make the sales person bloke blush by asking if any of the covers of the magazines she bought reminded him of her. :/

Labels: my life, people, photography

I got up at 7.30am today. And all because I couldn't sleep due to a flu that snuck up on me and made it impossible to breathe, among other things. Ugh. I'm still determined to fight it off. I did manage to get to the Ikea sale with Miikka though... yes, yes it was a struggle, but I managed to buy a sideboard for a fraction of the original price. Yay. Now all I need is to find some space to put it in. :| I've started to give the xmas tree the evil eye... Mind you, I got told that for what we paid for it, it's staying at least another week. :|

Other than the sales excitement it was a slow day with fluey blurry moments. I spent most of it with Miikka, the higlight of us both falling asleep on the sofa whilst listening to my new Stella CD only to be topped by playing my Sims for 4 hours. I don't know if there's something wrong with our social skills but my sim keeps on bursting into tears all the time. And we even sold her TV and got her a computer desk with a computer and a microwave side by side! How can she be depressed...

Oh, and I got a late xmas present from Stu. I.N.R.I by Bettina Rheims. :D I've seen some of the images from the series in her exhibition a year ago and they were truly gorgeous as huge prints. But it's nice to have the whole series in a book definitely.

Labels: my life, people

The snow is falling softly outside, the christmas tree is twinkling and Santa is preparing for tomorrow. We've been having a pink pyjama day with Susanna. In fact, I think it's going to be a bit of a pink pyjama christmas all in all this year. :P We've been lazing on the sofa, eating xmas tarts and watching Alexander (mainly for Colin and Jared eye candy <3) and if we get energised enough we might pop to the shops to find a pink two-tier cake tray. :P I've come to realise that I won't possibly make it through xmas without one...

Labels: people

So we went to Johanna's and Pasi's housewarming/xmas party yesterday. The invitation said to bring some food and to dress in the christmas-party spirit. Well, Stu proceeded to bake this two-nut torte thing, which I then covered with chocolate, melted from our xmas choccie reserves. =P It looked... erm... I believe 'rustic' is the word, but it tasted good and it seemed to go down well with the guests. As it was a housewarming party and as we weren't going to stay long enough to go to a restaurant, it was a rather basic jeans and black top of some sort ensemble for both of us. I at least managed to pile on some black pearls.

We got there early and ooh'd and ahh'd over their new house, which was absolutely beautiful. Johanna does that white on white thing so well. If I attempt to live in a white home it always looks all wrong and clinical, but she just has the knack of making white interiors look bright and eclectic, zingy even, with some pretty colours scattered here and there.

Anyways, we were told to not take our coats off as we were all going somewhere before the party started. Pasi was dressed in a suit and when Johanna changed into something that could only be described as an evening gown (and gorgeous it was too) the penny dropped for me. Surprisingly it didn't drop for most of the 40 odd guests (including their parents and grandparents) who were ushered into a bus for a tour of Järvenpää and the historical scenery of Tuusula.

It was about -7C and absolutely beautiful outside. Everything was covered in the whitest and purest frost and the sky was so blue. Just gorgeous.

After driving the busload of confused housewarming party guests around the culturally historical places on Tuusulan Rantatie (for those not in the know, people such as Sibelius lived around here), with Pasi acting as a tourist guide and doing a grand job of it, the tour finally finished at Tuusula's Church. Cue a big loud crash of pennies dropping. Well, at least by the time everyone got out of the bus and got handed a little bag of rice. =P

So yes, we then filled the church and watched Johanna and Pasi get married in a beautiful simple ceremony. She looked gorgeous and it was all just perfect. Well, apart from not having my camera (nor tissues) with me, and being dressed in jeans. Thank god for the pearls eh.

It was very devious of them to not tell a single soul, but then again after 12 years together it seemed like the perfect way to do it without making a big fuss over it. There were people who claimed they had guessed from the invitation, but I must say the thought never even crossed my mind. :D Just call me thick. But I certainly wasn't the only one dressed in jeans... =P

How's that for a Christmas surprise then. Quite perfect, if you ask me. <3

Labels: my life, people

The World Championships in Athletics are in Helsinki at the moment, which seems to be a source of lot of excitement for many people here. Having said that, it rained all day yesterday and today it's been so windy that it makes me nervous about where the javelins etc. are going to land. Anyways, the reason I brought it up was because I found the number er.. plates on the athlete's chests quite amusing. Now, being finnish I obviously know that Espoo is perfectly respectable name for a city, my mum even lives there. But I can't help but wonder how many people read the 'Helsinki 2005 Espoo' tag as 'Helsinki 2005 is poo'. :| Maybe it's just me, mind.

Riina and the kids were here on Sunday, which was a nice change to me always being over there. :D Johanna and Olli also came over for a quick visit and Olli was completely taken by Noa. It was so very endearing watching him trying to hug Noa at any chance he got. =P

Later we had a short photoshoot with Noa and Elli because I owed Riina some pictures. It was very hectic, with naked babies running around the place and usable pictures very few and far in between, but it was definitely a giggle. I don't think child photography would be something I could do for a living though. Meaning that it's different - and fun - to shoot children that you know, but I imagine working with strange children behaving badly would be frustrating beyond belief. Here's some 'behind the scenes' snaps. :P



Oh and did I mention I painted the bathroom light blue/turquoise. And after a lot of bartering I got a permission to put the kind of theatre dressing room light fitting with multiple bulbs in there. It's going to be gorgeous. <3

Unfortunately it hasn't been just fun and games though. I have a peculiar pain in my ear that I suspect might be toothache (shit) and today we noticed that our credit card has been cloned (or something to the same effect) again (well different card and country this time), and there's nearly 2000 euros waiting to clear from the account (double shit). Hopefully it'll all get sorted... *sigh*

Labels: my life, people

Check out my Valentine's Day roses. :) I hope you're all having a good one.

Hyvaa Ystavanpaivaa vaan teillekin kaverit. :D

So that was one busy weekend. Stu's now on his way back to Finland and I'm still stuck here for a couple of days, hoping to not get blown away.

I made little photo collages of the weekend, as I'm too laxy to write. :P First off, Saffron Walden. Yes, Elli is having a bath in the sink. :D



And then, Sunday lunch in Rayleigh. Mmmmmm Roast potatoes. :P



I shall leave you with that now. Wanna go home soooooon.

P.S. My new camera is luurvely. <3

Labels: my life, people

I think I have some sort of compulsion to blog on fridays. Even if I have nothing to say I just need to get a new entry up on friday. Erm. So this is it then.

I'm currently trying to put together a new (physical) portfolio. So many things to think about. I finally found the perfect A3 folder though. Red leather. *drool* Damn it was difficult to find, everything in the portfolio world seems to be black. :| Anyways, I'm very pleased with it. But it's only the start. I'm now going through pictures trying to decide what to include and doing mock-ups of how to lay the pictures out. Some of which are still in my head waiting to be shot. Erm. Just as well, as I don't think I can afford to get them all printed at the same time. The cheapest A3 prints I can get are 8 euros a pop. So it adds up quite quickly when you need at least 20 of those... Johanna came over yesterday (with Olli) to give me some pointers and she left me her old portfolio for reference. Talk about feeling inadequate. :| Hers is full of top models and celebrities and spreads from fashion mags... Ho hum.

Olli had grown so much again. Nothing hammers the realisation of the speed of time home faster than watching your friends' kids grow. Practically overnight.



Oh I removed the link to the blog from the main site. I just didn't feel comfortable that every stranger that checks out my gallery would automatically find the blog as well. Hopefully those of you who do want to find it, still do though. =P

Everyone I know seems to be suddenly looking for (or have already bought!) a new bigger flat/house. (Admittedly most of them also have kids now or are pregnant :|). I so got tempted last night as well though. One more room would be bliss. An office/studio. And a garden... *sigh* :D Only thing that puts me off is the fact that I really really hate moving... yet I seem to do it every two to three years. Erm. Go figure.

Labels: my life, people

Just when I was complaining to everyone in England how there is no snow in Finland, it all came down in the last two days. I went to take some pictures, which was a good idea before I found myself knee-deep in snow and desperately trying to shelter my camera from the blizzard. Umm. Didn't realise there was quite that much snow until I was in it.



I've had a very pleasant couple of days actually. After going to press it's quieter on the work-front for a day or so. So yesterday, after having a boring morning, Miikka and I decided to be really lazy and spent the afternoon doing pretty much nothing. Armed with unhealthy food like bacon butties, crisps and some vodka, we sat in front of the telly, mainly playing PS2. I bought Singstar and Singstar Party recently, and what great fun they are. :D Especially if you're a shit singer like we both are. I obviously won all the time though. :P I'm sure that Stu, who was in the audience later on, enjoyed our angelic voices tremendously. :| Anyways, it was a nice day and a nice evening and felt like the good old days when Miikka used to practically live at ours - way back when we lived in the same city.

The week in England went quite quickly, mainly because I spent so much time sleeping I think. Very busy and boring (yes, you can have both at the same time), apart from my normal weekend trip to Saffron Walden to see Riina and the gang - Elli grows way too fast!



Today I got quite a lot of work done in the end and feel all pleased with myself. There's a lot of things to be happy about actually. It's Friday, Stu passed his trial period and now has a permanent job, I'm home, it's all white outside and I've got an idea for a new series involving fruit. It's all good. :D

Labels: my life, people

Everyone congratulate Chris, who got a new posh job!

And welcome back to Finland Annis. *hugs*

Yay. It was time for some good news. :D

Labels: people

Johanna and Olli paid me a quick lunch-time visit today. Olli had grown so much since I've last seen him! And what a smiley and happy little boy he is. Aww. He has such an infectious smile. Can't wait for December and my hols when I'll have more time to see him. Isn't he the cutest little squirrel you've ever seen? :D



Off to England on Wednesday. This will be the last trip for this year. Hurrah. Then I'll have two gorgeous travel-free months ahead of me. Can't wait.

Labels: my life, people

Oh and Happy Birthday Paul!

Labels: people

Eve moved into the same block of flats we live in today. How cool is that. :D



Absolutely no time for Big Brother all day. How shocking is that! But I have sorted my computer out however... archived a load of stuff (cleared about 13GB of space!) and defragmented drives and all sorts.

Labels: my life, people

I finally got to see the little man. He was a week old today and sooo cute. It's such a weird thing, creating life... Can't get over it really. I took a load of piccies and if you want to see more of them click on the picture below. I must note that the parents haven't slept for a week so they're not exactly at their most glamorous...



It was an insanely hot day today (for May). The temperature got to about +28C and there was hardly any wind. The nature has blossomed and it feels like a proper summer. So, I hereby declare the flip-flop season opened.

Labels: my life, people

The party went well (from what I can remember) even if everyone felt decidedly awful this morning. Still managed to do some vappu sightseeing in Helsinki today however. Aren't we good. Here's a little gallery of random pictures taken some time during last night. I think one thing Ian learned (apart from realising his nether region attracted balloons) was never to fall asleep when there are drunken women in scary flowery dresses around.

Labels: my life, people

Here he is. The newcomer. :)



Nikki and Ian arrived safely. We manage to cram in some local sightseeing, films, a photoshoot (ya-ah :P), a sauna and way too much pizza last night. Just woke up to bright sunshine, which is rather nice. Going to go do some shopping and then start serious partying (erm... I say serious just for effect here ok, I am old after all). I think it's gonna be a good day. :D

Happy May Day to everyone!

Labels: my life, people

Ohhhh. Johanna has given birth to a baby boy at 6am this morning. He has dark curly hair and blue eyes. The mother sounded happy but very tired and the dad just dizzy with excitement. It's so weird and also absolutely amazing! I can't believe she's a mom now... Can't wait to meet the newcomer. Congratulations to Johanna and Pasi, from the bottom of my heart.

Labels: my life, people

Uhh. Tired.

Yesterday we went to Johanna's and Pasi's 10-year (fuckin hell, how did that happen?!) anniversary party. Seeing people you see every five years or so was weird and nice at the same time. When you see people at such intervals, it seems that every time everyone looks a bit older and acts a bit more adult... strange. You don't notice the change so much in people who you see more regularly. Or yourself for that matter. Time does indeed fly. Anyways, it was a nice affair. The food was wonderful and I think I got a bit too well acquainted with the punch. Johanna's tum had grown by leaps again... she's huge, and there's still three months to go. Scary stuff.



On friday we had another 'photoshoot' with Eve. That was good fun. We shot in the bathroom, which proved to be a good place to get the results I wanted. I was after a pretty harsh, over-exposed, maybe even a cross-process type of look. And I'm am so chuffed at how the pictures came out. Mind you, the last 30 or so frames we shot are absolutely horrendous, with Eve already being a bit worse for wear and us experimenting with throwing water on her and what not. Only drawback with shooting in the bathroom was people who wanted to come in to use the toilet all the time. Humph. Well I suppose we were at it for more than three hours.



It's amazingly sunny outside. I think I'll try to lure Stu out for a walk. Maybe it would cure his hangover.

Labels: my life, people

Congratulations to Johanna and Pasi who are going to be parents! The baby is due in May and I personally can't wait to take lots of pics of the growing bump (and the actual baby of course, when it's here). It's mad that you're going to be adult-parent-types, but sooo excellent! Love yous!

Labels: my life, people

Suddenly the world has gone gray. You have to squint your eyes to be able to make out any blue in the sky. The nature is trying to fight back with turning into shades of yellow and red and orange. It's fighting a losing battle. The autumn is here and it makes me feel cold inside.

I've added some picture galleries. Very dubious pics of myself, Stu and our flat. But also lovely pics of little Elli Driscoll, now 9 months old, who lives with her mum Riina and brother Noa in Saffron Walden, Essex. Quite worryingly I have gone completely ga-ga over this baby, which everyone who knows me can tell is *so* unlike me. She's just the cutest thing I've ever seen. Well, look for yourself if you don't believe me.

In the future I'm hoping to be active enough to always have some current galleries online, so people who want to keep up with us, over there far away, can.

Labels: people