Numenorian Chronicles

Course report...

2007-02-19T22:55:50Z

Three new ones. Well, there's two weeks of time to enter still.

A course is beginning...

2007-02-19T08:07:02Z

We're beginning an introductory course in karate today and I'm quite a bit nervous about it.

It's not that I wouldn't be able to teach an introductory course. I have done it many times - in my past - and succeeded OK, I think. However, I haven't taught that first class for ages...might be even 10 years from the last time (or 8, might actually be). I'm a bit nervous due to that, but I think that I will survive. I just have to find my teaching charm from somewhere, heh.

The amount of students coming is also completely open. I wish to have somewhere around 20-30 (or more...) of them, but I think that it's a bit optimistic wish. I don't know if this is even a good time for an introductory course. Of course I hope that it is (and we had a rather kickass poster, in terms of martial arts club posters, to invite people to our course) and that we get a large crowd of interested people. Well, I always can wish!

These are interesting times. Wish me luck!

*

2007-01-12T23:49:27Z

Lunta. :)

Fever...ish?

2007-01-12T20:05:17Z

Weird. I've had very low "fever" (like 37,5°C) for about a week or so now. Occasionally it goes away, then returns, goes away...

Still, I need to get out more during the daytime. Now when it's weekend I should/could go for a walk and then, perhaps, to see a movie or something.

I need some social life, too. School, as fun as it feels for now, doesn't really fill that slot. I miss some people - friends, acquaintances and others - a lot now.

Well, some sleep now. I think I need it.

Not half bad day...

2007-01-10T13:27:54Z

Light. Weather cooling down, which means that my apartment temperature will rise. A promise of snow for tomorrow. Still warm today, warm and bright day when I went out to get myself something to eat.

A pair of good advertisement ideas. A blink about the possibility that I actually really might be studying something that I can excel in.

Karate class in the evening.

Decent.

An evening addition:

Two new grades (yellow & orange) for my students (I held a grading). Great! Slight fever, though, which isn't so great. I hope it'll go away soonish.

Netin uumenista...

2007-01-07T17:00:28Z

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
The Very Reverend Jussi the Bloody of Walk upon Water
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Karate-do - My Way of Life

2006-12-17T06:28:16Z

The topic of this post is borrowed from the book by Gichin Funakoshi, father of Shotokan-school of karate, who is also considered to be a "father of modern karate". While I don't agree with that completely - I would rather put that label on Sokon Matsumura, who practically built the framework for the current popularity of karate and set the roots for Shorin-ryu -family of karate - I think that Funakoshi's ideological approach and work in Japan did make it possible for karate to spread internationally to the extent we see it nowadays. I'll have to admit - if there weren't Funakoshi, most of us karateka wouldn't train karate nowadays.

I chose the topic for a reason. I am a karateka and, currently, it is my defining hobby. Yes, a hobby - not a "way of life" in a sense that many would see the idea, i.e. as a total, defining frame for life and everything. I think that hobby is maybe even more deep thing than that. Way of life is something that forces us, something that dictates the way we live. Hobby, then, is something we keep voluntarily and cherish. It doesn't force us to do anything and if it isn't good, it'll be left away. Now, karate has been an active part of my life for seventeen years already - if it wasn't good, I would have left it away. People also know me as a karateka - I'm a pretty well known and widely known figure in Finnish (and even international) martial arts circles nowadays. I enjoy training and teaching. It's fair to say that my chosen hobby can be seen as a presentation of me - the values, ideas and other things I see to be important and worthy.

My other defining hobby, as some of you have read from this journal, was snowboarding. It's a some kind of opposite to karate - it's extreme freedom and lack of rules set a stark contrast to karate's formality and cultural aspects. Sadly, snowboarding is nowadays at bay, waiting for me to get back into it again. I guess I'll have to do that soon - it gave my life balance (pun intended) in many ways.

Training, overall, reflects my feelings and life. When my life is blue and I feel unenergetic, that shows in my karate. When I feel manic, my karate looks very perky and almost insane - even when going through set patterns and practices. There just is some weird part of randomness in it. I did feel like that last Friday. My day was weird - I had this almost bohemian kind of feeling all the time. A constant grin to my face, showing out the side of me that isn't usually present, the day was weird. My karate had this "ha, gotcha, look what I can do!" -tune on it, having deeper stances and definitely weirder approach than, well, pretty much ever. My teaching methodology also was a bit quirky - I did let my student knock me out (thigh kick) just for the purpose of him learning how to kick. I tried to put some contact to people's approach (and give them some contact). Although a bit unorganized and freaky (by its content), the session was very good.
The bohemian feeling continued after the training class. One of my friends had send me an SMS earlier and inviting me for a night out in the city. I agreed and, well, we had some very good time. Discussing, mental (and probably physical) shoulder slapping, bragging and praising and other Man Stuff (tm), accompanied by rather bohemian (the word again) amounts of C₂H₆O. While I am not a supporter of heavy drinking (and certainly do see no benefits in alcoholism), these trips occasionally have a good effect on me.

Saturday, then, was an official unproductive day.

Now it's relatively early Sunday morning. I'm listening to Last.fm (it finally has caught my taste for music rather well) and doing some laundry. It feels like a good day in the making. Later, I'll go to see Eragon with Hanna. I expect to see a basic adventurous fantasy movie with a script that has been made out of cliche's. I think I'm in a perfect mood for a such thing right now.
I also think that I'll have to read the Earthsea-series - and all the good fantasy and SciFi titles I have read - again. And maybe find some other fantasy books as well.

Here be dragons!

Need for a new apartment

2006-12-12T01:05:48Z

I really, really need to get a new apartment.

This place is freezing during the nighttime. Literally.

And, well, the place overall could be a lot better.

Feeling:

2006-12-05T00:14:26Z

* Fluish - I sneeze continuously and have a low fever.

* Tired - Insomnia. Woo-hoo.

* Hollow - Probably due to those two above. Possible.

3 variable funny test results...a surprise? Hardly.

2006-11-29T21:39:45Z

the Cutting Edge

(61% dark, 42% spontaneous, 26% vulgar)

your humor style:
CLEAN | SPONTANEOUS | DARK

Your humor's mostly innocent and off-the-cuff, but somehow there's something slightly menacing about you. Part of your humor is making people a little uncomfortable, even if the things you say aren't themselves confrontational. You probably have a very dry delivery, or are seriously over-the-top.

Your type is the most likely to appreciate a good insult and/or broken bone and/or very very fat person dancing.

PEOPLE LIKE YOU: David Letterman - John Belushi

The 3-Variable Funny Test!

- it rules -

If you're interested, try my best friend's best test:
The Genghis Khan Genetic Fitness Masterpiece

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on darkness
You scored higher than 99% on spontaneity
You scored higher than 99% on vulgarity

Link: The 3 Variable Funny Test written by jason_bateman on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Insomnia seems to have busted my sleeping rhythm...

2006-11-22T03:48:32Z

...and is still going on. I wonder if I could do a "wake-around" and get sleep in the evening normally. Well, at least I'd get tired that way.

I definitely hope that it'll work. I don't particularly like being tired all the time and still wide awake during the nighttime.

Return of the insomniac...

2006-11-15T02:51:24Z

First: Not sleeping well.

Second: A long, tiresome day when you just have to fight against falling asleep.

Third: An insomnia.

We got slaughtered...

2006-11-14T13:40:14Z

Our school project turned out to give a negative result for our group. We did lots of work, got great ideas and, overall, rocked the house. However, it isn't enough to have a thing that rocks the house - it needs people that want to rock the house, also.

So, our presentations went well. There were people from media productions, cinematography and us advertisers present. Our client was there as well, accompanied by our teachers and one professional from the field of media and advertising.

Long story short: Advertisement teacher and advertisement professional loved our main idea and tolerated well the second one, seeing their potential. Client didn't like our second one - too American, she said, but the assignment was to do advertising for "MTV generation" and it would have been perfect for them (as well as would have had a nice, uniform fit with their website). All in all, our main idea was the favourite of the pros.

Too bad that the cinematography students and teachers couldn't see it that way - at all. I wonder what is wrong with them, but then again, one cannot blame art people for the lack of touch in economics and selling potential.

So, we're going to do lukewarm, artsy ads that were designed by others. As it took me a long time to even get interested about this project, I expect that I really cannot bring anything to those subjects - they're just plain cheesy for me to relate. I try to, though - maybe there is some angle that they can be sold to people from.

And, of course, what does this mean: More writing and drawing. As if I hadn't done enough of that stuff in last couple of weeks. And now I don't even get to be innovative. This is bullshit. And I don't have time for anything I'd like to and need to do. That sucks like Electrolux.

A rather horrible week...

2006-11-09T15:58:30Z

This week is gruesome. I have had a slight fever every day except Wednesday. School projects are rather killer and really grab pretty much all my evening time.

Drawing and writing are not really pleasant when one has a feverish headache. But well, I'll push on.

At least I'm feeling rather positive about the project.

I hope there'll be something fun to do in the weekend. :)

Test...ish

2006-11-04T02:18:21Z

Just to test if I finally learned to create links here...and because this really doesn't seem to fit to the earlier post.

There's Click going on in Kinopalatsi. It might be a fun movie to just go and see. Maybe I should. Marie Antoinette actually could be decent as well - well made costume dramas are sometimes rather interesting.

Those seem to work. And a movie might be nice.

Pondering things in the nighttime

2006-11-02T22:05:44Z

What are my strengths, what are my weaknesses?

What are the likable sides of me and how could I enforce those? What makes me interesting?

What are the negative sides of me and how could I overcome those - or make the likable sides weigh more?

How could I get these things of myself across honestly - i.e. sell them honestly - and maintain my value over time?

What if someone needs me, in any sense? How do I give myself into that task - be it a micro- or macro level task.

Do people need me at all, in general?

These are some things that are very important for me right now - in several areas of my life. Studies, profession, social life. Life.

This may also be a part of my "after birthday self-evaluation process". I have to think about these things - and act.

In defense of good comedies...and a fun weekend

2006-09-24T16:05:35Z

Last thursday I went to see My Super Ex-Girlfriend with Hanna. Honestly put, it was probably the best movie I have seen in ages - maybe even for an year or something. It had the things that I search from the movies - entertaining story, good characters (including a totally hot librarian/superheroine -combination) and enough light feeling.

Don't get me wrong - I enjoy the "serious" movies, such as some of the Almodovar's pieces, as much as any other intelligent young person (yep, that's bragging) does. Still, my preferences, when it comes to movies, is on the entertaining and relaxing side. Romantic comedies, Star Wars, Fifth Element...you get the point.

Generally, entertaining movies are overlooked. They've been put down because they don't necessarily address any serious issues (they may do that too, it's not unheard of) and because they generally aim for leaving people a good, light feeling when they're leaving the theater (or finishing the DVD). That's not an easy task - I've seen many half-assed tries. It takes a team of professional to achieve that result - and a clever story.

Generally, dramatic movies with large events have been described as "touching" or "moving". Comedies and entertaining movies that make people enjoy their time aren't described that way. However, I think that it's as worthy to make people joyous as it's to make them weep in sorrow. That's an often overlooked side of the story.

However, yep...go to see My Super Ex-Girlfriend. For those of you who search for undertones, connotations and metaphors, it's loaded with them, as well. For the rest, it's a great, light comedy story. I loved it.

This weekend I had some good time playing boardgames with Hanna and our friends Petteri and Hannu in saturday and then today with Hanna, Petteri and Tuomas. I liked Bohnanza - I had never played it before and both the illustrations on cards and the game rules were fun.

And now...some serious crayon work with a couple of illustrations and layouts. I'm drawing cars - I feel like I'm back to the lower grades.

Positive tensions...

2006-09-06T10:51:29Z

First of all, I'm sorry for not updating my journal for a long time. I try to do it more in the future - after all, this is an excellent way to keep up with my haircuts (I have 1,5mm hair now).

However, I have some other issues to address to, as well.

I started my studies for this autumn in Monday. It's now my second year in Turku University of Applied Arts, where I'm studying advertisement under the communications' department. The first days have been neat, since our department moved into a new building, which is rather marvelous. The architecture has reached something I like - it has quirky, almost churchlike subtones in the general feeling. The colour selections are surprising (but fitting the style well) and the style generally is between a modern business centre, university and something else. I like how I feel there, since our last building, well, wasn't that great. The place even has a great name - ICT-house. I don't really know what the ICT stands for, but my money goes for Hanna's suggestion - International Counter Terrorism. That's almost as cool as ninja are.

Before our studies begun again, our AD (art director) teacher emailed us a text about being creative and enjoying the own creativity. I loved the text - it was light, reminded me of the joys of drawing when I was a small kid - and thought that it was well placed. It also gave me a certain sight that our teacher had cheered up a bit. He has been under heavy pressures of responsibility for taking care of the jobs of two people (student mentors' and his own) and it has been visible in his overall mood. Now, at least from judging by the text and by these two days at school, he's a lot better.

Now, the sad part. The initial response towards his email was something that I couldn't understand. People - my classmates - took a very cynical approach to his encouraging and cheerful text. First one asked if he had taken some new drugs. Another one simply stated that his cheerfulness will dull down by our cynicism. OUR?! I don't think I will cater to that.
Same approach continued when we got our first assignments. A certain person - who has this "cool teenish attitude" and overall very cynical view towards our studies - flat out put our assignment down, claiming it to be too simple and undemanding. She wasn't even present when we got the assignment - perhaps her tone would be a tad bit more different. That didn't stop her, still - she just wanted to continue her way of approaching issues (we got familiar with it last year).

OK, I've been cynical. Really. I was diagnosed with a very difficult depression in 2000 and suffered that for five years. I had my fair share of cynicism and was prepared to throw it around. It was uncalled for in many situations, it was also extremely sharp and made people feel bad. I am not proud of it nowadays. I still don't understand it as an initial response to every assignment, every text and everything that doesn't meet my view of the life.
It's OK to be critical, though. Criticism addresses issues by pointing out the faults, analysing their structure and showing that it could be done better (even it wouldn't tell us how). That's positive - people have seen the thing, know that there are better things and that it could be improved. Cynicism, then, begins from the "fact" that everything is predominantly fucked up, will go down to drain and that nobody shouldn't even bother to do anything because it'll suck anyway.

We study to be advertisers. People who make images (in a wide sense) that create people a need to make themselves better, ways to improve themselves. To be honest, we cannot afford to be cynical. It'll show through. If we assume that approach as students, we keep it forever - and it just doesn't work in our benefit. We have to be able to connect to promising imagery, fantasies of people (hey, that's us!) and views of improving our immortal souls. We have to be positivity machines.

That being said, I shall try to be positive myself. That doesn't mean that I won't be critical - being positive doesn't mean that you should turn yourself into a yes-man immediately. No. I shall try to see the possibilities in things. Seize the moment instead of shiteing it. That's the only way I'll make it through - at least in a way that I'll care to remember afterwards.

I want to be better. I shall make myself better.

Summer is weird

2006-06-20T04:56:30Z

I have somehow grown to like the summer weather. Warmth and sun have actually begun to feel good - I didn't like them for years, or then I just wanted to think so. I have been missing winters for the sake of snowboarding and that has made even coastal winters easier to bear. Well, at least I don't dislike the summers anymore. Days are fine and I like the idea of sitting in the café and drawing, reading or just enjoying the drink. And the river is absolutely beautiful.

However, summer nights have been less pleasant this year. My insomnia is back, but it's not the same as it was. I mean, I am tired and even sleepy, but I can't get sleep here. I long to be somewhere else and I think that I'd sleep better there. That's weird.

So, yep, an another night awake. At least my former apartment had more interesting ceiling than this one.

Soft hearted boy...

2006-05-22T11:20:57Z

All right. I'm officially a soft hearted being - at least after you read this.

I visited Hanna yesterday. She told me about her presents and how she had liked her birthday party - which was great, truly.

She mentioned about three bags of tea she had got. Of course, she didn't mean three teabags but bigger amounts of tea. Naturally. I even joked about it, but as I did, something inside me almost did burst to tears.

I had a vision of a story. A story about a small being - a hedgehog, happy and kind - living in a small, cozy home and having got three differently flavoured teabags as a birthday present. Those teabags are the hedgehogs special, rare treasure. The hedgehog had decided to make a perfect cup of tea in a perfect spring day, summer day and autumn day, choosing flavour, cake and everything to suit that moment (in winter that hedgehog would drink cocoa).

That vision made me feel all sobby. I didn't show it - but I have been thinking about it ever since. I couldn't get sleep due to it. It would be a great story, but I feel too heavily about it to write it.

It's just too beautiful to even think about deeply. Happiness from small things. Careful choosing of tea. A slight touch of melancholy when using the treasured bag, but still deeply enjoying it, knowing that it really is the very best day to use it. Friends, of course. But in my initial vision there was just this kind, smiling hedgehog, making tea carefully, in a cozy, homely home.

I'm having tears in my eyes when I'm writing this. I don't know what makes me feel that way. I have a fever and I'm a bit tired, but still - that feeling has lasted quite a time already.

I'm officially a softie. And I need a hug. And a walk alongside the river.

Niibu yaa.. (sleepy head)

2006-05-16T04:27:19Z

I was tired and sleepy, I didn't drink any coffee last evening and so on.

I couldn't get any sleep.

Now, I can't drink any coffee (I have a lab appointment) and I dislike taking blood samples enough even when I'm well slept. Now, I will really be tense.

I really don't know why I couldn't sleep. This sucks.

4500 kilocalories of oversweetness...

2006-05-12T03:04:14Z

I've stayed up all night, fixing images and creating a portfolio and portfolio essay for our semiotics week. It's a boring job to do - icon, index, symbol etc. - and I still have the essay to finish.

So, when I begun to feel dizzy (I have slept barely two hours during the last two whole days), I got a weird idea: I have butter, cream and sugar and those could be combined to create this great thing called toffee. I hadn't done candies for ages so I decided to give it a try.

Result: 4500 kilocalories of oversweetness. I ate two pieces and that was already pretty much enough. It tastes great - crunchy, sweet, buttery and heavenly. Still, I don't think I can eat all that - ever. Just too sweet.

But I still can do it! Yay! And cooking made me feel a bit better, returning to pictures was easier.

You who read this: If you want to taste some rustic, great sweet toffee, tell me.

By the way: When I finally get some time to sleep, it'll be sweet!

Medication...

2006-05-11T05:34:50Z

Fact #1: Medication that is used for treating the allergy symptoms is very effective. It enables me to breathe even somewhat freely during these spring seasons when the air is filled with birch pollen. I'm grateful for that effect - without it I probably wouldn't be very alive. It also helps so I won't rip my itchy eyes out from my skull. Soothing, aye.

Fact #2: Medication that is used for treating the allergy symptoms is very effective. It boosts my body, rising the adrenaline level a bit and generally, refreshes me nicely.

Fact #3: Medication that is used for treating the allergy symptoms is very effective. While the first 2 facts are great, fact #3 sucks when you should sleep. Those pills, inhalators etc. are more effective than caffeine. It's surely nice to be able to breathe, but I wouldn't like to have to choose between sleeping and breathing.

Fact #4: Medication that is used for treating the allergy symptoms is very effective. I'm dead tired and can't get any sleep even if I try. Ceiling surely is familiar now - I've spent too many nights staring at it. Last night was the worst one, I couldn't sleep at all.

I still like my meds. I love to be alive.

I want to be able to put a smiling smiley on atop of my entry soon. After all, they're smileys.

Today I...

2006-04-27T22:10:09Z

Did a great vector version of my photo at school. Made me feel good.

Worked school stuff for the whole afternoon and evening. Messed up one save - or the computer messed, don't know if it was me or the machine. Result: 2 hours of work lost. Luckily I didn't lose all the stuff I did. I was stressed all the time and even more stressed when I had to do that stuff again. Well, now I finally can go to sleep - should've been to bed 2 hours ago already.

Made some sushi today. The wasabi I used was way more potent than I had used before (even though it was the same brand). I couldn't eat a single piece of that roll. I had to put all of it away - something that my financial situation really would not allow me to do. It was really sad, I love sushi and I'm still hungry.

I hope that tomorrow is better.

I think that I'll take the mead and put it to the fridge. I still don't dare to completely close the bottles - I liked doing the drink and I definitely want it to succeed.

An update, 4:10 AM:

I can get no sleep. Haven't been insomniac for a while. Darn.

Next update, 5:17 AM:

Been shivering in the bed, it's cold. Still can't get sleep. Very hungry. 2 hours left before I have to wake up.

8:00 AM:

Had a bit less than 2 hours of sleep. Now heading to Linnankatu to learn about something completely new. Boy, do I feel learnious! (No, that's not a word. I just made it up.)

Scientific? Moi?

2006-04-24T01:01:42Z

...And since everyone seems to have done this test, I shall add my result in my blog as well. Quite hilarious. Although I don't think I'm as smart as the test claims - the questions on that side were a bit too easy, I think.

However, here we go...

More Scientific

You have:
92% SCIENTIFIC INTUITION and
77% EMOTIONAL INTUITION

The graph on the right represents your place in Intuition 2-Space. As you can see, you scored well above average on emotional intuition and super high on scientific intuition.Your scientific intuition is stronger than your emotional intuition.

Your Emotional Intuition
score is a measure of how well you understand people, especially their
unspoken needs and sympathies. A high score score usually indicates
social grace and persuasiveness. A low score usually means you're good
at Quake.

Your Scientific Intuition
score tells you how in tune you are with the world around you; how well
you understand your physical and intellectual environment. People with
high scores here are apt to succeed in business and, of course, the
sciences.

Try my other test!
The 3 Variable Funny Test
It rules.

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on Scientific
You scored higher than 81% on Interpersonal

Link: The 2-Variable Intuition Test written by jason_bateman on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test