Happy 2006

New year, new tricks, as they say here. Would it be true; 2005 was quite dissapointing. Its amazing, how a thing that is actually quite long can seem so short. In my personal life, what happened?

I got my first "true" summer job, that is, without using family connections.
New computer.
This blog.
Still in school.

So, nothing special. Hope this year happens something good, something big. I would hate to find out the big thing would be someone in my family dying or me being kicked out of school...

Some idle thoughts;
Spent new year with my friends. We burned some rockets and other explosives at pre-Great War trenches*, mostly with "what happens if I do this?" and "is this cool?" mentality (as opposed to "lets shoot things up in the air, to see how beatiful they are"). Spent the turn of the year at bus, while going from one friends home to the next one; saw some great and cool explosions from the (dirty) windows.
We were the only people in the bus (there were three of us), and the bus driver talked to us, and he wasnt exactly happy about his situation, of being working while year changed (thought he did crack some jokes).
Walked home (mom's place), was here half four. Other bro came home soon after, and my youngest brother at five. Today met and had lunch around 1230-1300 with uncle and aunt (my godparents, thought in this family it dosent really mean anything, I suppose), whom I met at Helsinki, after getting there by public transportation (which remainds me I have used over 20 euros this Christmas in transportation... ugh). So didnt sleep that long or well.

Saw my greatmom, who has been very jolly after getting some new medication. She had become ever more angry and depressed during the past ten years, thing she tried to outsource to us. Anyway, is happy now, which I find great. Its actually cool to visit her again, something that had started to be rather a chore lately. Now she seems more like the granma I remember from my early childhood.
However, I cant help but wonder, how much under that happy smile still remains; shes dementic and loses little more of herself each day. I assume that the pills dont improve her status, nor even stop the progress, only makes it more pearabable. And how it feels like to be drugaddled all the time? Would the woman she was, twenty years ago, choose to go without her happy-pills now, rather than live in the cloud all the time? And what exactly does it feel like...
Of course Im happy she has that medication now (she actually calls me and talks to me without complaining about something, which she hasnt done in nearly ten years), but at the same time I feel guilty Im happy about it. Confusing?

* * *
Year 2006. New copyright-law this year, which is very confusing, and dosent make difference between rightful and malevolent copyprotection (its as illegal to remove from the computer copyprotected virus as try to get your CD's play on computer). The law defines "circulating copyprotection" so, that every DVDplayer in this country is, by definition, illegal, even thought it would be nonmodded, and you would be playing legally bought movie. Illegal. It is left to courtrooms and police to determine, where the line of legal and illegal goes. This is something never before seen in Finland, and I would tend to blame the culture minister. Im not going to this more deeply; there are surely enought rants about this online, even in english, if you wiki or google it.

* * *

While using metro today, I saw this guy who was maybe in late fifties, early sixties. I noticed him because he and his pal were blocking the electric stairs, and I couldnt walk past. Very impolite. Anyway, he had this big leather jacket, with big USA Rebellion flag in his back, an eagle over it. And Finland flag and the word "FINLAND" in the jackets arms. I assume he was one of those "racial purity" and "Finland for Finns" people, which makes it so awesome that he has very grand FOREIGN flag on his back, and very small Finland-flag in his arm. Real geniuses, wouldnt you say?

*threnches=around 1913, when Finland was still a Grand Duchy (and the Grand Duke also simultaneously being the tsar of Russia), the ruler became nervous of the news coming from the continent; war was coming. He was nervous of the idea that some enemy power might choose to attack Finland, that didnt really have an army (only small force to keep the peace), and then march thru wilderness to Finland-Russia border and from there to the captial (only 50 kilometres off or so). So, order was given that trenches and security lines should be build, to halt and tire the enemey forces as they land. Now, I don't know how things are where you are, but Finland is entirely made of solid rock, on which valleys there are water and land... So, the trenches had to be made by using dynamite, and then trenches made were from one meter to five meters deep, there were bunkers and all kinds of desings to protect strategical hilltops etc, so when the enemy army would march forward, they would encounter defence line after defence line, that would wear the enemy thin until it could be compeltly destructed.
Now, Finland didn't take part in World War One; Russia fought in central Europe, but the enemy powers never did come to Finland. And then the war was over, and Finland became monarchy, and only months after, republic. The trenches were never used, but being build with stone and beton, they dont vanish. Nearly hundred years have gone past, and at some places trees have grown over the lines, and at some places the stone dosent allow trees to grow; but be it so or not, everywhere where they were build, they can still be seen. And "everywhere" being seemingly every even little higher hilltop in Southern Finland (as opposed to Lapland). They are seen when Im dead, and they are probaply still very visible in two hundred years.
Testament to tsars folly. Building them was very expensive, and they never saw any action.

EDIT 6.1.2006: fixed some typoes and edited for readiblity.