… as I remember it. Without this blog I would remember so much less!
We started this blog the 1st of January, so let’s toast to that! At first I was quite hot about it and actually thinking of a possible “audience”.
Later on:
- I soon understood that I don’t quite have the energy to dedicate so much to this blog to make it anything else but a personal diary and the “audience” will probably stay as limited as it is for 99,9% of the blogs
- Johanna found this a suitable way of self-expression, which made me very happy. It’s so much easier to keep a blog alive with more than one writer. We joke about having 2 loyal readers, my sister living in Dublin and Johanna’s cousin in Kerimäki, but surprisingly also some other relatives or friends have been caught knowing what we have been doing, thanks to this blog.
- I started thinking of CIA and other governmental agencies, possible future employers, court cases etc. So, although I was thinking to make this a political campaign blog, I have not at all been writing about my thoughts. They are many and dangerous. Usually the feeling lasts about 1 hour after reading the newspaper or watching any Finnish TV program.
- Also sometimes it was difficult to find anything to write about work related issues just because of normal business secrecy or other as obvious reasons
OK, all this is to say hello to all our great friends who don’t know Finnish and keep them a little bit updated. Maybe someday I’ll blog also in some other language, depends on where we’ll live…
JANUARY
I was mainly preparing the great adventure of recording a tango album in Buenos Aires, writing 2 new songs, arranging one and rehearsing with the trio via Skype! Well, of course because of the huge delay they couldn’t hear me singing, but for me it was perfect and I also recorded backgrounds for rehearsing.
Also some other things kept me busy:
- my first book, the history of Finland in Eurovision Song Contest, had to be finalized.
- with Pasi Toivanen we made a proposal to a Scandinavian music theater competition
- renewal of all the websites where I’m involved started
Somehow I managed to ride and swim a couple of times…
FEBRUARY
¡Argentina! So, there we went for 4 weeks. First me and my parents, then 10 days later Johanna joined us in Buenos Aires. This blog was a great way of communicating over 13.000 kms of distance and really blogging about making of “Aires de Finlandia”.
Certainly, the most happy month of my life so far. I really enjoyed staying purely in the role of the singer. Alejandro had planned and prepared everything so well that everything went very smoothly. We didn’t even use all the planned studio days. In 90 studio hours we created 30 different mixes (18 + 11 versions in Spanish + 1 in French) + singback mixes. Well, 4 songs were started already 3 years ago.
After the concert we gave interviews and we actually had something like 3 free days: my exact idea of holiday!
Our concert in Esquina Homero Manzi
MARCH
After Buenos Aires I went to St. Petersburg to discuss our concerts in summer and to sleep away the jetlag and culture shock. I was honored and lucky to travel with excellent opera singers Petteri Salomaa and Sirkka Lampimäki and Mr. Gustav Djupsjöbacka, pianist and rector of Sibelius Academy.
Finland changed government. Then I had a flu and for the first time I decided to suffer it without medication and it was not any worse.
APRIL
Our dear horse S-G moved to Talli Perla in Hertsby and finally I got new motivation to ride.
The preparations of Eurovision Song Contest and our summer tour were the main things and after Easter I also returned to work in the radio. I gave a lecture at the Helsinki University about “Israel in Eurovision Song Contest”.
MAY
Eurovision Song Contest came to town! Everybody was asking whether this was the best moment of my life. It was difficult to explain that it was quite the contrary. I had two challenging functions in YLE: radio reporter and coordinator-host for the YLE tent in the sponsor village. In addition to that there were the fan desk and other fan hustle and the copyright issues…
In two weeks I barely slept or enjoyed the ESC at all, it was so stressful and so many people were misbehaving. To cut the long story short: after what happened, I will not return to work in the radio before some people are out because I think they will never understand how much they have hurt my intelligence and feelings.
Yahoo! Eurovision is in town and I’m so happy. Not.
At least you could still smoke in this bar…
Fortunately, I had to put the hell of two weeks behind and continue preparing my tango tour and album release. To make things a little bit more challenging I decided to escape to France and Italy in the end of the month.
JUNE
From Lyon I went to Voussac to visit Florence and Francis, then took the train to visit Reijo & Johanna Oras in Nice and finally a cheap flight to Rome where I joined Johanna in a congress. All this was really holidays. The only negative thing besides gaining weight was to find out that Erio Tripodi had passed away. We didn’t know each other well but yet he influenced my life in many ways…
Just one day in between and then my trio came. 5 different performances in 3 countries. The program was intense, but everything went just fine. The Finnish musicians and our cameraman Enska whom I didn’t know before were fantastic collaborators as well.
Our band having lunch in Yelagin island
(photo: Enska Laurén)
After this hectic times, I really started taking it easy and enjoying our horse!
JULY
I was commissioned to compose a children’s musical for a amateur theatre in Pori and this was just what I needed! To do something creative. In the end of July we spent well deserved holidays in Kerimäki. The really top moment was taking a one-hour forest ride in Punkaharju: I tölted and galopped for the first time!
AUGUST
The Fall started… We spent a beautiful weekend in Vilnius but after that things really got worse when I broke my right humerus in a accident with S-G. No, I didn’t fall from the horse, but fell when he escaped from a killer jogger who suddenly ran too close and too fast when he was calmly eating.
At first, I could only use 3 fingers of the left hand, but I had to finish the musical and concentrate on many other things than my pain… The album was finally released.
SEPTEMBER
Even being onehanded I managed to accomplish some things, but most importantly I continued to study Russian with a stronger motivation. To my great surprise, I have slowly become a slavofile. Maybe my DNA is more Russian than Swedish.
The renewed pomus.net was finally published and I started physiotherapy.
OCTOBER
The premier of Miau! musical in Pori was great. Nothing much else significant happened. Well, I went to Facebook. The crisis of ESC fans reached new levels and took too much of my energy.
NOVEMBER
Our cat Niilo was operated twice for skin tumor. My sister graduated from Dublin Institute of Technology. We were present with my mother in the St. Patrick’s Cathedral! The whole trip was nice despite my depression. My sick leave ended, but not my blue moods. Scorpio is always tough for me.
DECEMBER
Things are slowly improving, but how can you work efficiently when there are so many partys! My friend was convicted for 5 years for business crimes. “Why do you need enemies, when you have friends like this?” is my motto.
Well, this month has really been about putting my head together and trying to get organized. I really hope next year would be a little easier, but I doubt it. I still can’t rise my right arm much more than 90 degrees, but I have returned to the saddle and I’m waiting for summer to ride every possible day!
Well, this was it. Welcome 2008! I want to wish everybody a Happy New Year.
And here are My Special Awards of the Year 2007 (not to be taken too seriously):
Best book
I actually read two books of Risto Isomäki: Sarasvatin hiekkaa and Litium 6. Not so great, but important books.
Best songs
Rihanna: My Umbrella
Nico: Dulce-amăruie
Юлия Савичева: Любовь-Москва
Karolina Goceva (in the photo): Mojot Svet
Lambe Alabakovski: Belo e se
Simone Cristicchi: Ti regalerò una rosa
Nopsajalka: Haluun takas
and many more…
Best album (besides my own ;))
Who listens albums anymore? I do, but not so often as before.
Zucchero: Fly (2006)
And this had quite many hits in Argentina:
Vicentico: Los Pajaros
Best radio
Русское Радио
Best film
I didn’t see any on the big screen 
I loved El Perro by Carlos Sorin (2004) showed on YLE Teema.
Best TV show
Amazing Race
Best live show
No bailaras in Teatro Maipù
Worst live show
Punainen viiva in Finnish National Opera. (It’s still the best opera but this new version was sooo much weaker than the original)
Best personal highlights
- concerts in 4 different countries
- galopping and tölting for the first time
- premiere of Miau! musical
- a relaxing day alone in Lyon, being just a tourist without a program
Worst moments
Most of August-December 2007. Broke my arm. The only way is up!
Best human friends
Alejandro Polemann, Alejandro Bruschini, Marcos Ruffo and Miguel Angel Senini who is also the Sound Engineer of the Year! My Russian teacher Oleg Matosov.
Worst enemies
Besides the usual suspects ie. politicians, people in the power and 99% of the humanity etc. some have really deserved this award this year. Kjell Ekholm and some other evil people in YLE. Most of the so-called “ESC fans”. Really, I’m the worst enemy of myself wasting my thoughts and energies to things and people who aren’t worth it.
Best newcomers in my life
Juha Kujanpää, Olli Vänskä, Sirkka Lampimäki, Vanessa Vandy… So much inspiring talent! Mari Hyyrynen. My physiotherapist.
Studying the St. Petersburg map with Juha and Olli
(photo: Enska Laurén)
Best comeback in my life
Folke West
I will miss…
some of the people who passed away this year. Presso -weekly newspaper.
Best waste of time
Facebook
Worst waste of time
My windmill wars
Best meal
Several dinners cooked by my father. Dinners in Rome. Thai and Armenian food in St. Petersburg. Sushi in Buenos Aires. I don’t eat to live, but live to eat…
Best drink
My first pisco sour prepared by Auli Leskinen. My first draft Guinness in Dublin. Argentinian red wine - every day.
Best new item
Our new saddle.
Languages of the year
Spanish and Russian. The very two, which I avoided for too long.
Best world news
Building of huge solar panels plants in Mediterranean Africa and other positive environment protection related news.
Worst world news
Too many to choose from. Political murders. Torture. All “not-sustainable” growth.
Worst new law
Too strict tobacco laws everywhere. I’m not going to restaurants anymore, what’s the point?
Best drink
