rakkauden ja epätoivon laulu

A little holiday cheer to myself:

The shop didn't seem to want to take my credit card (hence Paypal) so I emailed them about it, and the guy was like "so what's with the Finnish music buying?" :p

Results for lectern / podium study: lectern seems to be more of an older, British people thing. Also, I find this page funny.


Concert Choir show was great, except for the part where, on my way up to the top of the risers to sing my solo part, I stepped on someone's water bottle, which made a nasty crunch sound during an otherwise relatively quiet part of the song. Also, I sounded loud to myself. CFJ says that the person singing the other half of the solo part seemed quiet. Okay, at least I wasn't alone in thinking that. CFJ also said that he wanted to try to understand listening to the Finnish throughout the song but it was so brutal he gave up and read the subtitles. My parents and my sister came to have dinner with me and watch the show, but they had to leave right afterwards because the weather was terrible and the hotel was full up (fortunately; because road conditions had eased off for the night but were worse in the morning).


I had stuck around with FinnishChoir this year mostly to, I guess, make a re-do of the same time last year but in compos mentis. But this was a couple of days after the Concert Choir gig, and even though my voice has had the practice of the entire school term and so I had zero trouble nailing the entry pitches and stuff, the whole reenactment-thing was overshadowed by the CC solo. I mean, a real solo part that I actually earned from among a group of equals. It's a very different feeling.

Mrs CF showed up at the aforementioned FC gig even though she hadn't come to practice all term, expecting to sing. Of course our director wasn't happy about that and said no. (Not to mention that she didn't pick up the new uniform shirt and missed out on a couple of lyric adjustments.) I don't know if it's true or if it's just the usual Mrs CF spin on things but according to CFJ, Mrs CF made it sound like that Mr CF was just as upset as she was at the director for booting her. Anyway, sounds to me like it's the end of FC for both me and Mrs CF.


I managed to get CFJ to come to the Finnish Christmas party, which he hadn't gone to for something like 15 years. At some point previously, Mrs CF had told CFJ that she didn't want his father finding out about CFJ and me being friends "or else things will be much worse". (Nobody knows what this might look like.) CFJ had said the night before that "If my dad asks me to go, then I'll think about it". I took this as a challenge.

So I said to CF (since he doesn't "know" about our "relationship"): "So how long has it been since your boy has come to one of these things?" "Oh, I dunno, many many years. We don't really talk so much anymore; he fixes my computer and we make him a meal." "Maybe you should ask him to come to the party this year? It'd be nice to see him again." "Well, call him then; the number is *** --" At this point I decide not to really hide it anymore. "Oh I have his number already." "???! Then call him." "...but he said that he wants you to ask him." "BS! I'm not playing Cupid for you two. You call him."

Anyway, CF comp'ed him a ticket (geez, I had to buy mine!) and there he was looking just slightly bothered and staying far, far away from his parents the entire time.


I played some piano at the party. You know I was super-not-caring about the choir singing stuffs because I buried my head in my music and didn't even notice CFJ taking a picture of us with my camera. Other than that, the party was kind of fraught with technical difficulties. Otto couldn't get his synth to work properly with his accordion, Jari was really really sick so he couldn't come to the party (he helped his dad set up the sound system beforehand, as usual), the mic wouldn't fit into the wrong stand, and one of the wheels on the upright piano has fallen off.


Been off the happy-drugs for... hmm... five weeks now? I haven't noticed much difference, though I get super-moody sometimes. Like right now. I have exams in the next two days and I've been so stressed out I can't get myself to sleep and certainly can't get myself to study.


According to my Twitter feed, 25 days ago (23 Nov) I slipped on a patch of ice on the front step to the apartment building and bruised up my knee real good. This is important because my knee is still tender right below the kneecap, which means it hurts quite a bit when I get down on my knees for whatever. There is an eaves-trough by that front step, which connects to a vertical that runs down the wall, but there is a leak in the trough before it gets to that part, so when there is rain or thaw, the water comes out through the leak and falls, forming a puddle on the step. This ices up overnight. Sand gets put on it during the day if the groundskeepers come by to clear snow or something else and notices it.

If I had a ladder I'd climb up there and slap some duct tape on that leak. But since I don't, I'll just whine about it here. Okay, I understand that it's winter now and it's no good time for outdoor work, and that there were some rough spots on the walls and the paint on the railings has patches worn off from wear, but you guys prioritize painting the darn place over, say, FIXING SOME OF THOSE DENTED AND BROKEN GUTTERS? You know, just sayin'. Oh yeah, there was some exterior painting in autumn, too. BUT NO GUTTERS!!

[Ever-so-slightly redacted version]
Ooooh, look at the homescreen on my phone. It's so pretty (well yeah, I've spent many long hours over the last week customizing it).



Concert Choir is doing some music in back-country Finnish. Guess who's doing pronunciation coaching. I didn't exactly ask, but I insist (it's okay, my director is accommodating). Hearing my director give a go at some of the lyrics, I had to stifle a bit of a giggle. His [y] sounds to me too cardinal; it might do better pulled back a little towards [ʉ], though I'm sure he's just kinda exaggerating.

There's a lot of female solos in the songs, most notably one singer who gets the last word after everyone else (including the director) has left the stage. Let's just say... that whoever gets that part (pick me! pick me!) will get a lot of attention from me personally. Because there will be native Finnish speakers in the audience (I'm inviting them) and you don't exactly want them walking out of the auditorium laughing at the soloist's unintelligible lyrics.

I would also like to be able to furnish my director with a more literal translation of the lyrics than is printed in the score (as singable text), for printing in the concert programme, ASAP. Interested volunteers may take a look at the link above for the text.


Meanwhile, just about everybody of importance in FinnSoc below a certain age cut-off (this is by coincidence, I swear!) knows kind of about CF Jr and me. The cut-off appears to conveniently exclude his parents.



Anyway, Jari and I got to the FinnSoc AGM last weekend super-early, so I was pounding away on the piano, facing the wall, when I heard a distinctive whining sound from elsewhere in the room. I turned around to confirm that, yep, Mrs CF was in the room. Oh dear. Somehow, Jari got roped into chairing the meeting, and then he and I wound up on the next executive board. Not speaking Finnish apparently isn't a good enough reason to refuse (since technically correspondence has to be in English), so I guess I just have to enforce the use of English. Mrs CF isn't on the board, and neither is CrazyLady, and so aside from CrazyFinn's occasional creepiness, the others on the board are people I seem to get along with (like Tuula and her husband, AwesomeGramps, Jaana, and so forth).

I'm moving up in the "Scandal" world, I guess. Jari, his dad, and I kind of form a radical bloc within the board; we have some ... progressive ideas. This will be interesting. I've never done any of this actually-official (since we're a registered non-profit) executive kind of stuff before. Most university student group roles are just résumé-fillers anyway... I'm also kind of hoping that this might put a bit of pressure on getting people to take me to the cabin in the springtime.



Also: Not really enjoying Phonology. At all. Feels like calculus class: 1. Watch prof do examples on the board. 2. Do homework. 3. You're supposed to develop a 'sense' for phonological patterns with practice and experience. Just like figuring out integrals.



I am hungry. I'm going to eat this pack of Reese's peanut butter cups on my desk. CrazyFinn bait really should be consumed and replaced with fresher packages regularly, anyway. Especially when they're partly melted from being in my "saunariffic" room.