Baby's fighting

♫ The Cure – Burn

Ah well, my summer vacation ended and I returned to work. This week was quite... quite, well, horrible? Yeah, that is the word I'm looking for. It was not horrible because of work, but death came a bit too close to my dog on Monday. She was diagnosed with pyometra and was operated on in the middle of the night. Thus, I barely slept, and on Tuesday I was dead tired at work. Even a work mate said he noticed immediately that I wasn't my usual cheerful self. I could barely concentrate on work on Tuesday because my dog didn't begin to recover at the expected pace after the surgery. Then they diagnosed anaemia. Then my dog got a blood transfer... After that she began to recover. She's doing better now, recovering well, I suppose. But well, she certainly gave me some anxious feelings and a few skipped heartbeats etc.

Otherwise the first week at work after the vacation wasn't that bad, I kind of like my job anyway. I don't like getting up early in the morning and this week it was particularly difficult – both because of the daily rhythm I had on my vacation and the issues with my dog which kept me awake.

On Sunday, when I was still happily enjoying the last day of my summer vacation, I was being somewhat lazy, but still wanted to make myself look somewhat humane so that I could go downtown. (Yeah sure, I could go without making myself up, but it's no fuuuun...)

For someone with a SLR camera and a proper tripod, I'm bloody lazy when it comes to taking photos of myself. Setting up the equipment is just so troublesome..! Anyway, I found the mini vest at UFF the other day, and I think it was quite a good find! (If you think you see a jar filled with cigarette stumps, well, yeah, you do. But I don't smoke myself.)

The Cure's Burn is quite a nice, somewhat a hypnotic song. I haven't seen The Crow, but it's fascinating me. I wonder if it contains too much gore for someone like me? For someone, who doesn't watch movies which have been rated R for graphic violence?
So long~

We are buildin' a house of fire

♫ Orden Ogan – We are pirates

Woah, I had a housewarming party (+ a graduation party) on Saturday, and... Well, I will never forget it. My guests said they will neither.

I won't go into details, although some of them would probably be interesting. Well, my apartment is in one piece, and my neighbours haven't yet complained – on the other hand I warned them in advance. I doubt the disturbance was too remarkable. Yet I've never received a phone call from a police officer before. Well, things happen, I suppose. At least I wasn't being scolded.

Like I said, the party had a theme, which was, obviously, PIRATES!

I had been working on a piratey playlist for months. It comprised a lot of songs from Alestorm, some other epic metal songs, Pirates of the Caribbean songs (had to put in some instrumental tracks so that people wouldn't need to sing along all the time) and other funny things. Drunken sailor, etc. Songs about rum, vodka and tequila, so... Yeah. But we had no vodka or tequila, just... rum. And enough of that (=rum).

The curse of Captain Morgan has lead us to this fate, so have no fear and don't look back – the afterlife awaits!

And the image gotta be misty like... rum. I shouldn't have had that, really. The punch (rum and lime liqueur based) was strong too. Sunday gave a whole new meaning to Captain Morgan's Revenge, which is a good song by Alestorm. I didn't throw up or anything, I had no headache, I just couldn't eat.

I had also made a very ugly cake. It was disastrous in many ways, but I heard it tasted... good? But it was so ugly I was quite ashamed to serve it.

We also played Karibia and had great fun. So yeah, thank you all who share all those insane memories!

I also drew a pirate map to serve as a guest book. I told my guests they could write their name/greetings anywhere, but most of them opted for the back side. I dyed the paper with coffee.

My friend N gave me some tasty sushi rolls! Thank you, they were omnomnom!

My friend J gave me a saucepan mat made of cast iron. It's pretty, don't you think? Well, I got some other nice things too, thanks everyone! All in all, the party was, well... unforgettable. Since most, if not all of the guests said they had fun, I guess it wasn't too bad... :D Well, so long!

She's in parties — Lumous 2011

♫ Ultravox – Man of two worlds

I'm officially a very lazy blogger, occasionally too busy too. It's been almost two weeks since Lumous Gothic Festival 2011.

Ah well, my first summer vacation since my freshman year in high school began a week ago! I've been enjoying it, and then I've been busy organizing another kind of party. On Saturday, I will be celebrating with my friends – a combined housewarming and graduation party. And with a theme – more about that later, but if you've been reading my blog, you can easily guess what the theme is.

I didn't go to Lumous on Friday, which might be a pity actually... I heard Freakangel was good. On Saturday the artists were not too exciting. Larva was alright, as well as Anne-Marie Hurst. The others, well... Not so much. Funnily enough, the act I liked the most were those guys playing Depeche Mode covers on Sunday before The End club. Depressed Blokes, huh?

Larva

The Dark Market sales event was quite a disappointment. So few merchants there! I didn't buy anything. However, my friend J took a few photos there which show what I was wearing on Saturday.

Shirt: Second-hand

Corset: Morticia

Shorts, gloves: Seppälä

Socks: Boutique Lou Lou

Shoes: DinSko

This kind of showcase is rare of me as a blogger. I guess you should try everything once... Except for your own mother. I was too lazy to take photos of my clothes by myself, so yeah, thanks J – at least there's a bit of documentation. 

And no pics at all of The End club attire, but to cut a long story short, my attire was way more elegant with a simple black dress and high heels. Although this wasn't my first Lumous, it was my first time going to The End – mostly because earlier I had had to go to work on the following day, at 8.30, and in a different town. This time I also went to work on Monday, but at least in Tampere, and well... I guess I reached the office at 10 am. Anyway; I had a point: I had only heard of the goings-on of The End clubs. I was slightly surprised to see how insane it was. :D My wannabe-elegant attire made me feel strange among all those half-naked friends who took of their shirts while I remained fully dressed. I guess the least boring detail of my evening was the fact that I danced a lot, but not even once on the floor. I had fun, I stayed there until the very end although I had work in the morning, and the music – ah, what fun it was! Such absurd party songs.

Ugh, and now my shoulders are very sore. I've been cleaning and carrying shopping bags – gotta prepare for the Saturday's party. Tough work, but at least it's fun – I rarely host parties after all. So long!

Hooray to the glory

♫ Real Life – Nowhere Girl

Not exactly sure about the glory part...

I've been quite silent as I've been both busy and well... occasionally unable to write too? Yeah well, I recently moved, and I still lack an internet connection of my own... Kind of. It's a complex story, and I think that anything that can possibly have gone wrong, has also gone wrong. And the secret is, although it's not illegal: I've been leeching on my neighbour's unsecured WLAN...

I would have so many things to write about! I cannot choose, and I don't want to put everything in one post either! While I still couldn't access the internet at all at home, I watched Dorian Gray, and I could write about that... I could show off my new apartment (will do, eventually) or what not. But I'll show a few nice things which I found at the summer sales.

Suomalainen Kirjakauppa (Finnish Bookstore) had some nice wooden boxes, or should I say – treasure chests. At least the bigger one is almost pirate-credible, isn't it? It may lack metallic frames, but it's pretty. Anyway, I bought those because I really needed some pretty storage boxes for my jewellery and other accessories.

In the same bookstore I found this book, which I had seen there earlier too, and well... I began to feel sorry for them as they hadn't yet got rid of the last piece. Then I just had to buy it, right..? It was a friendly favour, right? The book cost 12 € and it was actually quite interesting. The layout was quite nice with exciting details. The book introduced several famous pirate (captains), such as Blackbeard, Henry Morgan and Sam Bellamy. (The last one made me smile indeed – the man was better known as Black Sam, and well, my mother has a black, long-haired dachshund whose real name is Bellamy.) The book is, however, way too violent considering it was in the children's department. :O I mean, details of the real, violent ends those pirates faced... But I recommend it to all pirate fans. :D

Cheap lacy gloves are cheap lacy gloves, and I don't think I'm supposed to resist them. They're not too decorative, which is nice too.

This summer dress only cost 5 €. It's surprising that I like such a print, but well... There's something that really fascinates me. I cannot quite figure out what it is, but it gives me some deep feeling. And it's brownish, which is rare for me too.

I also bought some socks online the other day, and they were all very nice. Maybe I should take photos of them too... Although it's more tricky to take photos of socks. Naturally I should put them on first. Anyway, I shall keep going. I should have four days of work left before my summer vacation! Yay! And it's a Lumous weekend! I'll go there on Saturday and maybe even Sunday, but since I will obviously go to work on Monday, I really cannot party too hard on Sunday evening. Too bad. So long!

Mutineers... hang!

♫ Alestorm – Wenches & Mead

Ahoy me hearties! I'm sorry about the silence again – moving is quite hectic. In fact I haven't yet moved, but I guess I should be packing – however, it's a dreadful chore! The number of boxes and packages on my floor is increasing, but my apartment doesn't seem to be getting any well... well... more ready to be abandoned?
The cargo overboard!

Now I'm going to write about the newest Pirates of the Caribbean movie, On Stranger Tides. I saw it a few weeks ago, and had a great time! Didn't see the 3D version, but that's alright – I don't quite enjoy the third dimension after all, it makes it hard for me too see anything clearly.

I'm trying to avoid spoilers, so please do keep reading even if you hadn't yet seen the movie!

I didn't have any expectations in advance. I had watched the trailer and probably followed some news, and had figured out that most of the cast would be new faces. I was probably just slightly disappointed on finding that out because I had actually liked Elisabeth and Will's story (unlike many others, it seems). Fortunately Jack is a very strong personality.

Well, the movie didn't leave me disappointed or longing for Elisabeth and William. There were some new interesting personalities. I didn't like Angelica that much, might be prejudice or something since the actress was Penélope Cruz. My favourite one of all the new faces was Philip, a young missionary. I guess characters with some strong feature – such as Philip's faith – are often particularly interesting.

Philip tied up on the right. He also looked quite good in the movie, although the actor, Sam Claflin, is just a, well... normal-looking young man? Nothing exciting outside the pirate context.

Just like the previous pirate movies, On Stranger Tides also both looked and sounded awesome. I haven't yet listened to the soundtrack that much (but a little!) but the songs were very enjoyable again. The PotC theme, which is used in so many places, is very, very attractive and instantly brings about a piratey feeling.

I don't think the movie was "just another unnecessary sequel" – it was a strong, independent movie and a story in its own right. Certainly worth watching, and would be worth watching again as well. And guess what's best – I'm most certain that they have some plans for the fifth movie! Looking forward to that, YARR!

The future's in the air

♫ Alestorm – Pirate Song

"The wind of change blows straight
Into the face of time
Like a stormwind that will ring
The freedom bell for peace of mind"

Wind of Change by Scorpions. A fine song, and those lyrics might suit this moment. However, I'll quote the song I'm listening to at the moment:

"And if I could go back and make my amends, I'd make all those mistakes again."

This said, I apologize for  the lack of updates, I've been "busy". Don't know exactly with what, though I've been looking for a new apartment – and now I think I've found one, although I don't yet have a contract. Yet it was promised to me already, and it's nice, and in the city center.

And today I graduated! Woah, had a hectic spring (and pretty much a whole year) but I guess it was worth it, considering that I managed to graduate in time. (Though... not that it'd matter much. It's not the pace but the quality or something.)
In other words, I'm a Bachelor of Culture and Arts now, i.e. a media artist specializing in visual design. And life goes on, on Monday I will go to work like I did yesterday, the day before yesterday...

I won't be celebrating much today. I've been thinking of organizing a party for my friends once I've moved – a combined graduation and housewarming party. I promised my parents they could visit me tomorrow. (And I feel a bit bad for not inviting them to today's ceremony as they would have liked to be there. However, I wasn't sure I'd go myself either – but then I figured I have to, because otherwise I would have had to go get my diploma there on a weekday, and I couldn't have done that because of work. If the party had been held at my school campus, I would gladly have invited my parents there. Now the ceremony was rather umm... a waste of time, at the school's main campus (a building I don't know) with lots and lots of people I didn't know and only a handful of such that I did know. No important teachers and only two "class" mates...)

I hope I will soon have more time to write, although moving will be time-consuming for sure. It's not that I'd be running out of ideas, not at all! I'll most likely go see Pirates of the Caribbean – On Stranger Tides soon and write about it then. And I've been about to write a post of Sleepy Hollow too. I have some clothes I want to babble about, and maybe with all the moving I'll get to home decor too. Though I can barely take any photos of my current apartment anymore, there's already a big cardboard box on the floor, filled with my books... Bloody hell, at least I won't be carrying that box anywhere! So long!

Stand up and look into the light

♫ Army of Lovers – Carry my urn to Ukraine

I sort of apologize for not updating for a while, it seems I've been busy. I found a post draft here and forgot what I had been about to write...

Turisas was awesome live! I also got to hear the awesome song Hunting Pirates which I mentioned in the previous post. The following photo probably describes how great fun I had.

Oh well, actually the photo isn't particularly good, I hadn't thought I'd have to use the lens I had for such. Too bad...

I'm afraid I've got nothing particularly interesting to write about. Yesterday my thesis work got accepted, which might mean that my graduation is getting closer. Otherwise I've been working, looking for an apartment, doing this and that... Been busy. Went to a hairdresser's yesterday and and... What else.

When it comes to another topic, cheap accessories can be truly annoying. The necklace or pendant which I showed in the previous post is already losing paint off its chain! Having taken it off yesterday, I noticed a brown line around my neck, and then I realized the grey metallic texture in the chain had also begun to turn brown! Bloody hell. I know such things happen to cheap metallic (and "metallic") jewellery, but it's so bloody annoying when it happens so soon! Does anyone have any tricks to slow down the process, or to prevent it altogether, or maybe some ideas what to use to repaint the piece? The last solution may only work well for matte items, but that's what the necklace in question is. I'd like to try something...