NORMAL LIFE: Over-Socialising & Too Much Relaxing!

Last week was an exhausting week which saw my Finnish lessons take an evil twist with the introduction of Monikko illatiivi astevaihtelu and the revelation of the language's only grammatical exception. During the lesson, I recall thinking to myself: why am I here?! Meanwhile, Zack and I started up with Badminton at 7am on Wednesday with the rest of the working week spent nursing sore hamstrings as a result of some game-winning lunges.

Having been to an Orthopeidic Specialist recently for a second opinion on my neck injury, I had an appointment with a Physiatrist (not to be confused with a psychiatrist) who recommended regular stretching. Condemned to what I believe has turned out to be a longer-than-necessaary recuperation period, I know of at least three specialists in Finland who haven't earned their salary.

The highlight of the week was when Miss Knight and I had a platonic fumble of sorts. Using two plastic implements, she practised her newest skill on me, Zone Therapy. A branch of Reflexology, Zone Therapy focuses on the main pressure points below the knee. By gently massaging and pinpointing tension points, she could potentially alleviate common ailments such as backache, tension in the shoulders and sleeplessness. She certainly succeeded with the latter for I slept like a baby on the Thursday night. On Friday morning, I awoke feeling somewhat groggy, but quite quickly I reached an unfamiliar state of alertness.

The working day went quickly and, at 3pm, I was on the InterCity train that would whisk me away to Tampere. I reclined my seat and looked out of the window, the soothing late-afternoon sun warming my face. I dozed throughout the journey inbetween reading work-related reports. Arriving just before 5pm, I made my way through the crowd and, upon leaving the station and, the unmistakable sound of Scottish Bagpipes filled the air. For a minute, I thought a strange sounding bout of Tinnitus had just start, but true enough, as I walked towards Hameenkatu, Tampere's main street, I spotted the source: a very Scottish, stout-looking thirty-something sporting a thick chocolate-brown beard. As the people rushed by, he seemed to be in a world of his own.

I headed into Stockmanns, buying three bottles of red wine (South African, Chilean and Californian) and a bunch of tulips for my overnight hosts, the Savolainens. I called Bree as I waited for a bus that would take me to one of Tampere's suburbs; we consoled eachother on the day's office politics in our respective workplaces, thankful that another weekend had arrived as quickly as the week had actually even started. As I reached the end of the bus line, the sun cast its warm glow on my face.

Within minutes, I was in the cosy apartment of the Savolainens. After the kids were in bed, Mamma Savolainen presented a board laden with nibbles. Downed with red wine, we covered every subject under the sun like we always do when we are within earshot of eachother. Come 1am, it was time to turn in. The night was set to be far from peaceful for, at 4am, I found myself in the hallway in a semi-conscious state. I recall clutching at my trousers and, sensing a wet patch, my state of awareness raced from semi- to fully conscious. Realising that I had indeed wet the bed, I went into a panic, not knowing what to do as I stood in the hallway. My first thought was to strip the bed and, as I did so, I had roused Mamma Savolainen. How am I going to explain this one?, I thought to myself.

Taking her hand in mine, we headed to the light of the dimly lit kitchen. I finally managed to find the words, apologising profusely. A mother of two children under three years of age, she was no stranger to mopping up piss! Her understanding, however, did little to alleviate my own embarrassment, but we quickly proceeded to replace the bedding. I took me a while to fall asleep, the shame of the incident tormenting me within.

When I woke at 8am, I felt dehydrated from the red wine. Mamma Savolainen told me she had a theory: could the Zone Therapy I had received on Thursday evening have relaxed me so much so as to render me unaware of - and there unable to regulate - my body functions? I pondered upon this idea, concluding that the bed wetting and the Zone Therapy must be related since the timing was so coincidental. I called Miss Knight and she was absolutely mortified, apologising for any role her treatment may have had on my water works. She promised to take my case up with her teacher and report back to me.

After breakfast followed by a walk around a nearby community of ornate houses in the traditional Finnish wooden style, Mamma Savolainen dropped me off in town and I waited for a a colleague who I had not see for more than three years at the Cafe on the fourth floor at Sokos department store. Having secured a seat by the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, I sipped a cup of coffee while I scanned the main street of Hameenkatu below; the weather was drizzly with fewer than usual shoppers lining the pavements. On the other side of the road, I caught sight of the local bagpiper, whom I had seen the day before.

Suddenly, a familiar voice from-the-past said 'hello' to me. I looked up and there was Miss Goody Two Shoes who, now 27, looked as beautiful as ever. Wearing jeans and a tight grey, long sleeved shirt, she hadn't aged a day. Over the course of our one hour together, time just fell away. She was now married, the proud owner of a five bedroom house just outside town and it wasn't long before our favorite topic of discussion surfaced: god and religion. A devout Christian, DoGooder - the name I will use for her on this blog - spends most of her free time advising troubled teenagers while preaching Christian values. For work, she is a career advisor for the unemployed. We parted as quickly as we had met and, during a tight hug, promised to see eachother during the Summertime when I would visit Tampere again.

I made my way down to the ground floor where Blue was waiting for my by the main doors. We made our way along the puddle-filled main street, crossing the bridge where you could hear the roar of the Tammerkoski (Tampere's waterfall) bearing bearing to the right. We were headed towards Amarillo, a tex-mex/American diner/restaurant, situated next to the towering Hotel Ilves. Over the next two hours, Blue astounded me with her tales. She never fails to amaze me and her constantly laughing amuses me even more. At times, she has the mouth of a sewer, but that's just one of the many things we have in common! Blue is one of the few people who I can really be relaxed around and the day when Mr. Right comes along and sweeps her off her feet will be a sad one albeit a good one for her!

During our meal, we joked about how the French fries were healthy because potato is a vegetable and how the salad in the burger rendered the meal equally healthy due to the balance it bought to the meal; we conveniently ignored the fact that there was tons of mayonnaise, but who cared?! After two hours together, it was time to meet Zeus, a guy I had met at a Christmas party hosted by a mutual friend. Blue and I waited outside in the drizzle until Zeus drove by to come and collect me. After a tight hug and several platonic kisses, I finally managed to pull myself away from Blue and get into Zeus' car. As much as the name Zeus convey thoughts of masculinity and ruggedness (minus the beard, thank you very much!), this particular Zeus' being in no way reflects the Ancient Greek ruler of Heaven and Earth; this was a name he chose for himself for the sake of protecting his identity on this blog.

We drove to his place a couple of kilometers from town and I have to say he was the perfect host. A friend of his was visiting at the same time and, over coffee and sweet bread, we got to know one another better. At the Christmas party where we had met, we hit it off and, taking his number because I had lived in Tampere two years, I told him that I would give him a call whenever I was in town. And here I was in his tastefully done, albeit in a minimalist fashion, apartment. Bearing the standard wooden floors, the orange wall with reindeer skin and the oh-so-soft rugs throughout bought a cosiness to the apartment rarely felt in other Finnish homes, who choose to retain the clinical white walls in every room.

I looked at my watch and it was nearly 8pm. It was certainly time to get going for I had a ninety minute train journey ahead of me in order to get back to Helsinki. Zeus drove me back to town; it was a shame I had to leave because I really enjoyed his company. I felt so comfortable that I had even been able to tell him about my waterwork incident from the previous evening. Despite this, it didn't stop him suggesting that we go out partying one night in Tampere with the possibility of staying overnight at his place. The minutes were ticking and, as I dashed through the small station, I rush to Platform 1 where the InterCity train was just coming to a stop. Phew! Thirty seconds later and I would have missed my train and been forced to wait an hour for the next one.

The Pendolino train soon reached speeds of 191km/hr, shuttling across the dark countryside on its way back to Helsinki. Surprisingly, I hadn't seen any ticket inspectors onboard so, in effect, the trip didn't cost me anything. When I arrived at Helsinki just before 10pm, I was surprised at how deserted the railywa station was; I had somehow imagined that people would have travelled from the outskirts of Helsinki into the centre on this Saturday night, but no. When I arrived home, I was greeted by a 'not-feeling-100%-Bree'. Apparently, he had a really bad migrane and it is true that I cannot leave him alone for one night without him succumbing to something. He laid his head on my lap as we watched TV and, as he slumbered, I looked down at him and thought to myself how much I loved him and how lucky I was to have the friends I have. Next time I am feeling down, I will simply recall this week and remember what a fantastic one it was!