NORMAL LIFE: That Was 2007

The end of another year approaches and here’s a run down of the year that was 2007.

The new year started with a ‘ditching season’, which involves the deletion of all those contacts you have had nothing to do with as well as those you wouldn’t want anything to do with! I often think of those friends I ditched last winter, but since they still haven’t made contact, my decision to leave them behind was obviously the right one!

After a visit to the UK in February, I return to Finland with the A Virus, a lethal strain of Influenza which leaves me bedridden for more than a week. As we near wintertime once again, I am paranoid that I will be struck by it again; it was ferocious and merciless.

March sees me wetting the bed (don’t laugh!) at a friend’s place, something I will never live down. How embarrassing! A business trip to Brussels shortly followed. By April, I had already planned my two week Christmas holiday in South Africa and this was before spending a wonderful nine days on the island of Madeira which, to this very, I still haven’t managed to blog!

In May, the Eurovision circus arrived in town – nobody was overly impressive by the hijacking of the contest by the former communist countries, but it was a camp affair which left us with the Danish entry, Drama Queen, which still plays from time to time in the bars. When I return from another trip to the UK, I receive the results of my Level 3 Finnish exams: 61%, a narrow margin of success, but success nevertheless.

June arrives and so does some decent weather. Kylie Minogue launches her H&M ♥ Kylie, I play a round of mini golf with my work colleagues and, on a wild night out, I end up in the sea at 3am in the morning! Midsummer arrives, and Bree and I spend a long weekend traveling to northern Karelia, to the idyllic spot of Koli, the heart of Finland’s lake district. Wonderful!

July comes along with signs that I am now truly in my thirties: wearing socks and resting near an open fire, I curl up with an Agatha Christie novel; I get concerned about the environment after the global Live Earth concerts; and I buy my first piece of art, reproduced from a photo I have taken of the Sibelius monument.

Just as July ends with a road trip to the north of Finland (including Kilpisjärvi) and Norway, it’s time to head to the airport for an eye-opening visit to 33C Rome. Not long after, another trip to England is in the pipeline with yet another eye-opening spectacle, this time at my first Mardi Gras where lot’s of handsome hunks descended on the city of Manchester – it really was raining men!.

September arrives and a dentist willingly removes half of my wisdom by removing two of my wisdom teeth - what an awful experience! The mood is quickly lifted, however, as the realization of a dream comes one step closer when the Australian authorities grant me a one year working holiday visa, valid until September 2008, allowing me to stay in Australia for one year from the date of entry.

In October, I start to feel musical, perhaps making up for the lack of sunlight that now falls on Finland. I start my photographic course, something I have wanted to study for as long as I can remember - I quickly learn about exposure and image manipulation in what is known as the ‘digital darkroom’; it’s all fantastic stuff! The tax authorities concede that they owe me back some of my hard-earned cash and, after yet another trip to England (for medical reasons), a former colleague of mine – from Japan - and I spend a weekend together in Helsinki.

In early November, I celebrate six years of living in Finland. At first, I am in an upbeat mood, but the all-consuming darkness causes a number of guests (my favourite ones, in fact) to cancel. Forced to entertain mere acquaintes, I go ahead and cancel the party anyway. But not all is lost. Instead of sixteen of us, five of us made a night of it and I still have fond memories of that evening! Yet another trip to England is soon followed by the release of Kylie Minogue’s tenth album, X, which has me in fits of pleasure!

The darkest month of the year arrives with a strange encounter with a smart eight year old. Finland celebrates 90 years of independence, my blog celebrates two years of Cyberspace-presence and I go ahead an launch my own World Tour for 2008. My photographic course comes to an end, and I’m proud of the submission, which represents my exam entry – will I gain Royal Photographic Society licentiateship?

I will be spend the last two weeks of December in South Africa, which will provide an ideal opportunity for Bree and I to rest together following what has been a momentous year. For next year, I have already laid the groundwork for some exciting things, mainly the thing I love doing most: traveling. Next year may well see me leaving Finland for a spell, to visit Japan and Australia, which excites me very much.

The wonderful thing about having this blog is that no precious memories are ‘lost’. As I scan through the postings, I am instantly reminded of what happened and when. Sometimes, the memory in the words in so acute that I can even smell the occasion.

I guess I want to end this entry with a thank you to all of those who have continued to read this blog – all I know is that you live in the UK, Finland, the United States, Germany, Korea, Romania, France, South Africa and Australia. Thanks for stopping by and all the best for 2008. And don't forget to keep your eyes peeled for some photos from South Africa!