settling in...

sorry it has taken me so long to publish a new post. my pc has been a pain in the ass & after spending hours trying to get that fixed, i decided i would sleep instead of staying up later to post....

okay, so, ruohalahti is a stop on the metro. eno just neglected to tell me how to get to the metro (any one of the busses that run out this way do, but i didn't know that). it costs 2.20e for 2hrs. & they do give change. i purchased a regional travel card & put the entire time i'm in finland on it, so i don't have to worry about transportation at all (except for when i venture outside the espoo/helsinki/vantaa area).

my gps is finally working - started to on thur. i emailed garmin support & was told that it would take 20-25 min. for it to acquire satellite connection due to travelling so great a distance; i had been leaving it on for at least that long, but, apparently, 3rd day's the charm. it still doesn't acquire satellite connection as quickly as i would like from time to time, which leaves me wandering around idly....

i didn't really get much done on wed. eno & his daughter weren't ready to leave until 1pm & the only place we made it was clas ohlsen, where i got a transformer for my bass speaker, 2 voltage adapters for my smaller electronics (i'll just have to limit how many things i use @ one time), a lead power cable, a couple "multi-plugs", & a dike (wire cutters). the only power supply they had wouldn't fit in my chassis either, so i decided not to buy it & use eno's (since i'd have to cut a new opening in my chassis either way). afterwards, he needed to take his daughter to the park, so i got myself back to the metro & headed to ruohalahti to see what verkkokauppa had to offer for power supplies. none of their power supplies would work perfectly either & were twice as much as the one at clas ohlsen. so, i just bought three more power cables & a new gps (since mine was still not working).

there was a grocery store in the same complex as verkkokauppa (finnish side note: verkko is "network" or "tech" & kauppa is "store". in finnish, instead of keeping them separate words, they become one long-ass word). so, i did some grocery shopping. i decided to keep it as simple as possible: some fruit, salad fixings, yogurt & frozen fruit, & peanut butter & honey sandwich fixings....it took me forever to find the peanut butter & there was only one brand - although, they had "nutella" and that other hazelnut spread w/ cream swirled w/ it. also, shoppers are supposed to weigh their produce, enter in the produce # @ the scale & then a price sticker is printed out that the cashier uses (i did not know this....). it'd be very easy to cheat in that system, but i guess that isn't a concern... now, i'm loaded down w/ two very heavy bags & head back to the metro to go back home. i didn't recognize my stop on the route of the bus i took from the metro, so i ended up riding the bus much farther than i should have & ended up going into the military zone...i walked back a distance of @ least a half-mile. it was a couple hours after that that i decided to get back to work on my computer.

i connected eno's power supply & cut out an opening to allow access to the power connection & plugged it in....nothing...ffffuuckkk....at that point, i decided to go to bed.

thur. was apparently my day to sleep in (it's been happening since i haven't had to go to work every day; one day a week, my body doesn't want to get up until hours later than normal even if i went to be earlier than normal). so, i didn't get out & about until 3pm. the first place i went was the us embassy 'cause i had a few questions that i hoped they would be able to answer (e.g. what's the bast way to exchange currency? are there freight companies that will ship personal affects to the states? what are the requirements for travelling outside of finland? - no question about my passport; not getting stamped in finland was only curious to me, not a point of concern). then, i'd go get eno his rent, go to the airport, & get to a second hand store. however, i got there after it was closed & was told to come by in the morning around 9am. so, i just went back to clas ohlsen to buy the power supply we had looked at wed. & a couple of surge protectors (the multi-plugs i had gotten weren't going to be enough). then headed back home (took a different bus, so i'd know where to get off).

after eating, i went back to working on my computer. i plugged in the new power supply and....nothing. so, i moved on to my bass speaker. i plugged it into the transformer & then that into the outlet. it worked!...wait, it was already turned on, so i turned it off - pop! what the hell! that's not supposed to happen. speakers pop when they're turned on & you send an electrical charge through it (i.e. plugg-in or unplug), which is why they should be turned off. it shouldn't happen the other way around...

i went onto dell's tech-support website & posted my issue....then, went about getting the rest of my equipment setup. i got my keyboard plugged in, my mixer plugged in, & went to plug in the speakers & pop! shit! dammit! no bueno, me no likely this popping of my speakers stuff! (i haven't messed w/ my speakers since - don't want to wake anyone up!....) that was the last step as far as that was concerned, so, i went back to my email.....there was a response to my technical difficulties post! she didn't have much helpful to say, but she did provide a link to what the color of led lights on the back panel of a pc means. in that, there was a section on "no lights" (which, since nothing happened, i had no lights). the trouble shooting suggestion for no power was to remove all the memory cards & then power up the computer....it worked!!! finally!...i reinstalled my memory & it powered on again, but the computer still didn't work... at this time, eno woke back up to smoke another cigarette & had to come see what i was doing (since he had blown my power supply & wasn't really letting me make any of my own decisions regarding my computer, i was hoping he'd just leave me be). however, he did point out that my mother board wasn't connected to the power supply (he disconnected my power supply & dell had it connected discretely to remove clutter - that's how i have it connected now - so i was unaware of that connection (if i had disconnected the power supply, i would have been able to put it back in its entirety)). so, i'm thankful for that, but then he wouldn't stop, he wouldn't go away even though it was working & i was done....it had to be connected & setup how he wanted it to be....by forcing a screw connection (remember how none of the power supplies actually fit in my chassis?, well, none of the screw holes match). it's in sturdy enough as long as i keep the tower on its side (it's probably time i replace it, anyways)...forcing a single screw in doesn't allow it to sit flat & there's really no way to force in two....

fri., i got up early & headed to the embassy. i wasn't even allowed inside! (technically, it's american soil & i'm an american citizen, so i should be allowed in...whatever). i had to stand outside in the cold & talk to someone on a phone (it was quite obvious that english wasn't his first language either). answers to my questions were less than satisfactory: currency exchange - "well, that's a difficult question because it depends on the exchange rate at the place you use"; traveling outside finland - go to _____ website; freight companies - check phone book; thrift store - uff. i forgot the other questions i had; i'll be calling them mon. to get that website again & ask about the passport stampage (since i know that's a concern for several of you).

then, i tried to get to the airport, but couldn't find the bus stop for the bus i needed to take (my gps wasn't acquiring satellites & i was just aimlessly wandering around in circles). so, i went back to clas ohlsen to return items i ended up not using (& getting a transformer w/ a higher wattage allotment for my bass speaker) & then back to verkkokauppa to return the cables i didn't use (the power supply came w/ one) & the gps. i also got some euros, so i could pay eno & have some cash...it cost me 26e just for the transaction! that's before the exchange rate! it cost me nearly $420 for 300e. there's got to be a better way, so i'm going to see if i can setup a temp. bank account here & not pay such a high rate (in comparison, i was charged $8 to get 100e at pdx). after all that, i attempted to get to the airport again; which i did, but not w/o difficulty in finding my bus....

when i was done at the airport (due to the "technical difficulties" i had in pdx, i was making sure the same issues would not present themselves upon my return), i met up w/ petri, a finn i met through couchsurf.com, for a short visit (he's not much of a talker - & you all know that i'm not much of one either (unless you get me started... ;-} - & a bit depressing). after our little meet & greet, i went wandering around again & saw a sevate (french boxing) gym & checked it out. french boxing includes kicks, but "isn't as intense" as kick boxing. the class at the time was a sevate fitness class, but they do offer actual sevate classes & one boxing class. an unlimited membership for 10 weeks is 128e or for 96e, i could get a pass for 10 days. i'm going to wait until i find out how much it will cost me to train @ espoon kehahait first (an mma gym where 2 m-1 finland team members train & was recommended to me by a fighter & a fight fan) before going there.

later that night, i met up w/ elise, another friend i met through couchsurfer.com. she's a music teacher @ a middle school & has a musicology degree. we went to a bar called "loose". i swear the oxygen was significantly diminished in this bar. a couple of times after talking (yelling, actually), i got a little light-headed. she is very nice & helpful. not only has she given me information on where i take lessons on traditional finnish instruments (she's going there to learn as well), but also where i can find thrift stores, a couchsurfing meeting, & has offered to lend me some dishes & utensils to use (eno doesn't have much - i've been eating my yogurt out of a coffee mug).

today, i went to church. i haven't ever been this excited to go to a different sda church. i wasn't sure what time the international service started, so i guessed & got there early enough to experience the finnish service. it's really small & in downtown helsinki & kinda looks like those non-denominational churches designed to bring the homeless in out of the streets ("underneath a broken old neon sign, that used to read "Jesus says"...). of course, i didn't understand a thing that was said (they did sing one song in english). the praise group included a full drum set & an electric guitar! (an actual electric, not an acoustic w/ a pickup & 1/4" jack) w/ an actual prominent part, solos & everything! there were quite a few younger members in the congregation as well, which i thought was kinda cool (i think they actually outnumbered the older members). later, i found out it was a special youth service & that normally, the older generation aren't very accepting of the younger generation, which is diminishing in finland (kind of a standard nowadays - in varying degrees), but pastor mariel (the pastor of the international church & youth programmer) is trying to change their views. i left early so i wouldn't be late for the english service w/ the international congregation (primarily african w/ a filipino as 2nd pastor, one american, one dane, & one family from pakistan). it was a little difficult to understand the guy leading the Sabbath school portion 'cause his english wasn't great. they're also trying to procure me as a pianist for the praise sing, but, as many of you know, i am not a hymn-playing pianist. plus, from what i understand, they don't sing many songs out of the hymnal & i wasn't given the music to those selections. however, i have been given permission to practice @ the church. although, the piano used in the international service is very out of tune, so i'm going to see if i can't get permission to use the piano upstairs (used in the finnish service) as well....i do plan to attend both services on the weeks i go to church....

i was invited to go to a volleyball tournament event, but since i was wanting to practice for a little bit, i didn't leave w/ the group. i tried to go a little later, but wasn't able to get inside of where i was told to go. however, on the way, i came across the famous "stone church" (i don't remember its actual name & will have to look that back up). it's a church that's built underground out of the rough stone. services are held on sun. & i plan to check that out next week (i want to hear the acoustics).

tomorrow, i meet up w/ my cousin matti & he's going to take me to espoo & show me how to get to espoon kehahait (i'm sure they'll be closed on sun.). he teaches finnish & said that he would be willing to help me learn it!

tata for now!...i do have pictures & i'll post them in the next couple of days - it's a 3-4 step process to get them from my camera to this blog...