ANGRY BIRDS

Some three weeks ago my old laptop decided it had been enough and just stopped working. It all started with strange green stripes all over the screen; however, soon after those stripes had appeared, the computer shut down completely. The screen got half white and half black, and even when the thing was connected to another monitor, nothing happened. Serious shit. As my old laptop was one of those no-name brands, perhaps more common in Slovenia but for sure unknown in Finland, the guys at some repair shop were not eager to deal with it. And of course the repair would have cost almost as much as a new laptop... 

There was only one option left - now I have a new laptop. :P After this experience  I also strongly recommend a spare hard disc; the transfer to a new device was far less stressful due to all the documents and even bookmarks stored separately from the old laptop. However, the new laptop came with a new operating system, and thus I was able to fulfill my dream that has started at the beginning of the year - and I did not even need to purchase Android-friendly device. I have downloaded the very famous computer game - Angry Birds.

The thing with Angry Birds is, that the game was developed in Finland. I have already read a couple of articles in Helsingin Sanomat, where the Finns were proud of this success; and yes, they should be. The game is so very simple - and even so very stupid - and that makes it so very funny and so very good. Crazy angry-looking birds killing green pigs, now come on, what a  fantastic nonsense. :D Not to mention the great soundtrack and especially the sound birds and pigs produce all the time. Oh, and there are some more funny and perhaps intercultural details... In the ninth part of the second episode pigs sit on a tank - and the tank has a small Swedish flag on the top. I assume this is a reference to the eternal teasing between the Finns and the Swedes...

The experience of playing the game on a PC is a bit different than when playing it on a cellphone;  the touch screen option surely adds some more interaction. However, a laptop at least has a larger screen, and thus it brings its own benefits. The other thing is that I cannot play the game on the train or when waiting somewhere...well, one perhaps cannot have everything at once and  nevertheless I might need a new cellphone at some point. ;) Anyway, I am not a freak considering computer games, and of course I need my laptop for other and much more serious tasks - but for occasional fun I surely confess that I am a  huge fan of Angry Birds.  

JANUARY AND GIVEAWAYS

 January always feels long and a bit dull for me and that also means I don't have much to say. Almost all Christmas/New Year decoration has gone from the city, sales are almost finished, the day is getting slightly longer and we still have snow. 

That's basically it. However, I haven't even wish a very happy and most wonderful new year 2011 to all all my readers and fellow bloggers, so please, here is a late greeting. ;) For the New Year's Eve, I was in Helsinki with some friends that came all the way from Slovenia; we went to a (metal, of course) gig in Nosturi and had fun all the week they were here. On the picture you can also see my New Year's Eve mani, which was China Glaze Ruby Pumps - really great shade and polish, just perfect for such jolly celebrations.

Considering nail polish in general, there are some very nice giveaways I would like to participate at; two to be more precise. First, Parokeets are celebrating their second birthday and thus the girls have prepared a wonderful giveaway, full of desirable nail polish and other stuff. Happy birthday! Parokeets giveaway includes some famous brands from the nail polish world, and most of  the polishes presented are either very expensive here in Finland, or I don't know how to get them. The giveaway ends on January the 31st at midnight so there is still time to enter. Very nice gift indeed. :P

Last but not least is my friend Ulmiel's giveaway. She has started her nail polish blog Did someone say nail polish? quite recently; however, Ulmiel already has 200 and more followers, and her giveaway is celebrating 100 followers. The giveaway again includes brands that I cannot get here in Finland as well as tempting glitter and holographic polishes. The giveaway ends on February the 10th at midnight. It would be so great to win these 16 polishes... :P

These colorful gifts surely promise colorful beginning of the year. You can find the photos with links to both giveaways on the side bar of Cinnamon Book.

CHRISTMAS CHATTERBOX

Christmas madness has come to Finland. Streets of Helsinki are quite crowded - not to mention shopping centers, especially during weekends. Buying, giving and getting gifts for Christmas seems to be more than important here in Finland. However, I am only sending some cards with Season's Greetings. I won't travel to Slovenia during Christmas/New Year's either, it's just too expensive, too long as I should change planes - and I also have to work. Thus, I will spend this particular family-all-together kind of holiday more or less alone, and that...  well, that slightly sucks, I guess.

Considering lonesome Christmas Eves, I have recently seen Swedish movie adaptation  Män som hatar kvinnor of Stieg Larsson's novel from his Millennium Trilogy. However, in the movie there was a short scene when the character Lisbeth Salander catches a glance through the window. For a moment  she observes the joyful  family next door during Christmas dinner while Lisbeth herself sits alone at home. She gives an impression that she does not care at all, but then again she hesitates and considered the situation a bit. I slightly know how that feels... 

On the other hand, I don't like all this Christmas commercial pressure, kind of forced images of happy family celebrating together. Reality is sometimes quite different than these ideal images offered in the media. Here in Finland the expectation of Christmas is important; I have already mention the gifts. Then, good food and all that. Already on Christmas Eve, the 24th of December, all the offices are closed and public transport completely stops around two o'clock in the afternoon, if not earlier. Everybody is supposed to be at home or somewhere, celebrating. Or whatever. 

I have never put a lot of stress on such holidays. Also, I think that such a general image of overall happiness and constantly highlighted necessity for, in this case Christmas, celebration can bring some bad mood to those that do not have any option to celebrate. Well, at the end it's all about money and commercialism; the necessity of celebration most probably would not be mentioned so many times in the media if it would not bring the benefit of shopping for Christmas gifts/food/you-name-it. But who knows, perhaps even lonesome Christmases would become trend and fashion one day... 

To conclude this chatter-boxing, there surely is something I like about all this Christmas-celebration-thing: lights! Many lights and candles. It is so dark during Finnish winter that I have decorated my apartment already at the beginning of December - and also the city is very nice, especially in all this snow. Thus, we can enjoy at least some shiny, decorated and so Christmas-like traditional winter wonderland. Happy and lovely holidays I wish! :) 

KAAMOS

Today I have read the news in Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that kaamos has started in Lapland. I really like this Finnish word for the polar night. It feels so calm, dark and deep as I imagine the real polar night would be... We don't have kaamos in this part of Finland and no matter how beautiful the word itself feels, I guess it would be hard to endure the time when the sun neither rises nor sets. We only have short days, winter darkness, and living with it does not always feel comfortable.   

These days were very cold as well, not only in Lapland. In Helsinki it was around -14, and the cold will continue for some time. According to the news it is very unusual that such a cold strikes at the end of November already.  This is North, but I know that North can be mild and tender even during winter. So I don't know was it the winter darkness or this unusual cold... I just had a hell of a week. Even now during weekend I still feel the burdens of the past days, like stones. Sometimes it's just too much of everything.

Luckily, I visit the gym regularly, and exercise helps. Otherwise I don't know how would it be. Bleh.

WINTER AND SOME MORE PRESENTS

 The present and the snow, natural light

Helsinki has got the first portion of snow - and it looks like there will be more of it. The weather is also quite cold, much colder than it usually is in late November in this part of Finland. Today it was -3 degrees Celsius, and the forecast is promising even more cold yet to come...

However, I have to show another birthday present - or six of them, to be precise. My friends from Slovenia were so nice that they have sent me a package full of nail polish. And not just some nail polish - I was told these bottles would be special. So they are, in many ways. The colors, the brands - and last but not least, they have been sent to me all the way from Slovenia with a nice birthday card  from and by my friends. :) Oh, and that red cloth also came with the polish. A lot of colors to brighten up this winter darkness for sure. ;)

The present and the snow, flash

From left to right, back row: SpaRitual Drop Dead Gorgeous, Regal and Solitude

From left to right, front row: Zoya Harlow, Nubar Midnight Glory and Nfu Oh 131