almost setup

i'm almost there....i started training again this week & it was a lot of fun. on tues., i just did the boxing class. i was also going to go to the kickboxing class after wards, but got to talking w/ the girl i was working w/, sandia. she's 17 & has been kickboxing for about 2 yrs. & just started boxing; she's also my size (56kg - i'm around 54kg). by the time we finished talking, the class was already in full swing & i couldn't tell who the instructor was. yesterday, i went to the jiu jitsu class & after the instructor of that class, jamba (pronounced "yamba" - a nickname), found out that i've been in mma for awhile, talked about me sparring w/ their one professional female fighter. i'll possibly be sparring w/ her tomorrow during the sparring "class".

i was accepted into the finnish music class @ sibelius academy & i went to my first class yesterday. there wasn't much to it, primarily because the projector wasn't working & he had a lot of visual material to go along w/ the music samples we were listening to. we're already into the early works of sibelius (finland's most famous composer who wrote "finlandia" that incited a strong national identity when he composed it & helped lead to finland's independence from russia). so, i think i've missed the earlier music, which is what i'm most interested in. the instructor has posted a lot of information on a blog @ finmus.blogspot.com (in case any of you are interested in reading about finnish music), so i've got a lot of reading to do. but, i'm going to save that for this weekend. today, i met w/ the principle of a finnish music school that gives lessons on folk instruments. each class is 10e, so i have to figure out how many different instruments i want to have lessons on & then how many lessons. due to the price & the times (they conflict w/ the classes @ espoon kehahait), i won't be doing too many, but @ least i can get an idea. there are a couple of cool events happening in april that i'll plan on going to as well (one includes a couple of concerts & folk dancing after a "master class").

this Sabbath, i'll be playing piano for song service as well as for the offertory. i was going to try to postpone the praise sing playing a week, but john (the assist. pastor) had a praise song book that i used to have. those songs are much simpler than the hymns; plus, i actually know quite a few of them...i talked to john about the possibility of using the piano up in the main church & he said i could. i won't need to unless i'm going to record something. hopefully, i can setup practice times for mon., wed., & fri. mornings consistently. on sun., i'm going to go to a service @ the temppeliaukio kirko (the church carved out of solid rock) & bring my handy recorder to record the service. i'm looking forward to that. tues., i plan on visitin the folk music dept. @ sibelius academy & discovering where the music library is (which is available to everyone, not just students).

so, by mid week next week, i should have my "schedule" completely laid out as to when i'll be training, when i'm going to be learning finnish music & when i'll be working on my own music. then, i can start planning my additional travels, which i'll leave until late march & april. although, next thur., i'm planning on going out to turku (west finland), to go see a friend's band play.

you know, helsinki's public transportation system kicks portland's ass. everything in downtown helsinki is so interconnected w/ the transit system that you can get to anywhere you want to go. w/ the metro (a psuedo subway), you can get all the way across town w/in minutes. in one of the metro stops, there's the railway station & another is a major bus station. there are tons of tram lines intersecting every part of downtown helsinki (not just the trendy areas). i've gotten comfortable enough w/ the system that now, i'm reading more than paying attention (except on the busses since they don't announce the stops). i've been getting through almost a magazine a day....at this rate, i'll run out of reading material (& i was thinking i might have brought too much). my gps has been a lifesaver, though. i wouldn't have been able to learn where everything is as quickly if i hadn't had it...

alright, time for bed. i'm going to try to get up early tomorrow so i can spend all day taking pictures.....