Sleepy
Just like him :)
Finland trip photos
Here are the photos I took while in Finland last month. I slacked a little before editing/uploading them. Still, at least I posted them. I still haven't finished posting the Hamburg pictures from 2011....
Anyway, some of what you'll see are random buildings/churches, naked statues (there must be a law in Finland that says all need to be), a church carved out of solid rock, interesting carvings/signs, birds, cats (Lia's), and giraffes having tea. No really, that last one is real :)
Helsinki
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rdyfr…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rdyfr…
Tampere:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rdyfr…
Anyway, some of what you'll see are random buildings/churches, naked statues (there must be a law in Finland that says all need to be), a church carved out of solid rock, interesting carvings/signs, birds, cats (Lia's), and giraffes having tea. No really, that last one is real :)
Helsinki
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rdyfr…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rdyfr…
Tampere:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rdyfr…
Famous
I'm famous now. Or maybe that's infamous? :)
A picture of me, Lia, and her Finnish friend appeared on Sonata Arctica's tour blog written by keyboardist Henkka Klingenberg.
( Collapse )
Behold the dorky look on my face as I'm probably looking at Elias (he was on the far left) at the signing session in Tampere. Since we were that close to the front of the line, I've probably already embarrassed Elias with the Depravity CD booklet. The look on his face when I flashed him the booklet was priceless to say the least.
Here's the blog entry itself if you want to read it:
http://stonesgrowhernameworldtour.…
A picture of me, Lia, and her Finnish friend appeared on Sonata Arctica's tour blog written by keyboardist Henkka Klingenberg.
( Collapse )
Behold the dorky look on my face as I'm probably looking at Elias (he was on the far left) at the signing session in Tampere. Since we were that close to the front of the line, I've probably already embarrassed Elias with the Depravity CD booklet. The look on his face when I flashed him the booklet was priceless to say the least.
Here's the blog entry itself if you want to read it:
http://stonesgrowhernameworldtour.…
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amused
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Stuff
- Spent 4 hours this morning looking everywhere for my Elias Rules shirt. Until I thought maybe I'd hung it up for whatever reason and looked in the closet one more time. Turns out it was on the shelf above the hangers. Go me.
- Had Friday off because the accounting system was down today for upgrade. My co-worker and I can't do anything else when it's down, so she and I worked the Sunday before to get the full 40 hours.
- 2 days until I leave for Finland on Sunday. Thankfully I am now, for the most part, packed. I have a few day of stuff to add (deodorant, comb, etc), but that's about it. Got all of my clothes, Finnish study stuff, Tony's present (a wolf, of course), and CD booklets for the boys to sign. I have a ton of room left in it for Finnish children's books/study aids (flash cards, work books) to bring back with me :)
- Speaking of Sonata Arctica, they're doing in stores at all of the Record Shop X's in Finland. I'll be going to the one in Helsinki and Tampere. Probably bringing Elias' first band Depravity's CD and 45 for him to sign. I can only imagine the reaction he's going to give me when he sees them.
- Replaying Tales of Symphonia for the Gamecube. I just had a hankering to play it again. It's a lot like Star Ocean in the battle setup as you only control one of them while the rest are programmable AI characters. You just have to tell them what to do and they'll go to town for you so to speak. The characters are kind of amusing to see chat with the event thingy which is why I'm replaying it again. As usual I have a thing for the dirty minded red head guy (like in Lunar as well...).
- Had Friday off because the accounting system was down today for upgrade. My co-worker and I can't do anything else when it's down, so she and I worked the Sunday before to get the full 40 hours.
- 2 days until I leave for Finland on Sunday. Thankfully I am now, for the most part, packed. I have a few day of stuff to add (deodorant, comb, etc), but that's about it. Got all of my clothes, Finnish study stuff, Tony's present (a wolf, of course), and CD booklets for the boys to sign. I have a ton of room left in it for Finnish children's books/study aids (flash cards, work books) to bring back with me :)
- Speaking of Sonata Arctica, they're doing in stores at all of the Record Shop X's in Finland. I'll be going to the one in Helsinki and Tampere. Probably bringing Elias' first band Depravity's CD and 45 for him to sign. I can only imagine the reaction he's going to give me when he sees them.
- Replaying Tales of Symphonia for the Gamecube. I just had a hankering to play it again. It's a lot like Star Ocean in the battle setup as you only control one of them while the rest are programmable AI characters. You just have to tell them what to do and they'll go to town for you so to speak. The characters are kind of amusing to see chat with the event thingy which is why I'm replaying it again. As usual I have a thing for the dirty minded red head guy (like in Lunar as well...).
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calm
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Friday Five
When did you get your first cell phone? June 29, 2006 (there's an LJ post about it in my archive). The only reason I got one was because I was moving on July 1st of that year and my landline was already turned off. My friends had to reach me in order to help me move. Ironically now it's my main phone as I got rid of my landline a couple years ago.
Do you have any special ring tones, if so what are they? Yep, it's AC/DC's "Thunderstruck". My old phone had The Beatles' song "Come Together".
Does your phone have a camera? Yep, but it's 2 megapixels which is crap so I never use it.
What kind of phone do you have now? LG GT365. It's got a slide out keyboard which is very handy for tweeting to Twitter at gigs.
What carrier do you use? AT&T but it's pay-as-you-go. So I just load up money to it instead of paying for monthly service. It's cheaper that way because I don't use it that much.
Do you have any special ring tones, if so what are they? Yep, it's AC/DC's "Thunderstruck". My old phone had The Beatles' song "Come Together".
Does your phone have a camera? Yep, but it's 2 megapixels which is crap so I never use it.
What kind of phone do you have now? LG GT365. It's got a slide out keyboard which is very handy for tweeting to Twitter at gigs.
What carrier do you use? AT&T but it's pay-as-you-go. So I just load up money to it instead of paying for monthly service. It's cheaper that way because I don't use it that much.
Friday Five
1. Have you ever left the country you live in and where? LOL, just a few times. 10 or so times to Canada (1985 to present), once to England (2006), twice to Japan (2007, 2008), twice to Germany (2008, 2011), once to The Netherlands (2008), four times to Italy (2x 2009, 2010, 2011), twice to Switzerland (2009, 2010). Soon to add Finland to the list in September.
2. What countries would you visit if time and money were not problems? Greece, Egypt, Brazil, Australia.
3. Out of all the foreign food you've tried, which is your favorite and why? Mexican or Italian.
4. Can you name all 7 continents? Joo! North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, Antarctica.
5. Which continent are you least likely to ever want to see and why? Antarctica. Mostly because it's not exactly a tourist attraction and it's pretty much ice. Not enough snow for me. LOL
2. What countries would you visit if time and money were not problems? Greece, Egypt, Brazil, Australia.
3. Out of all the foreign food you've tried, which is your favorite and why? Mexican or Italian.
4. Can you name all 7 continents? Joo! North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, Antarctica.
5. Which continent are you least likely to ever want to see and why? Antarctica. Mostly because it's not exactly a tourist attraction and it's pretty much ice. Not enough snow for me. LOL
Finland!
Long time no see, LJ. Yeah I've been busy killing Sacred 2 creatures or reading books in my purgatory pile to update my poor neglected LJ. *pets* It's ok baby, I still love you.
Besides wasting time playing video games & reading, I've been plotting my takeover of Finland...err, my trip to Finland in September. Why then? SONATA ARCTICA (yes, I screamed it as I typed it). Are you surprised? I didn't think so :)
Anyway, I've planned for maximum Sonata goodness in the form of not one, but four shows in a row. Yes, I am that crazy. This will be a first for me because the most I've seen a band in a row is two days (Ayreon/Stream of Passion, Damian Wilson, & Avantasia share the honors). Still, I expect to be dead when I come home just in time to go back to work. Thankfully not the very next day as I'm not as young as I used to be. I need to day of sleep to make up from the awesomeness this trip plans to be. I mean, I'm seeing Sonata almost every day I'll be there, so that right there makes it awesome before I even step foot on my future home soil. Pretty cool, huh?
So, onto to the details! (Because who doesn't love details?)
9/23 (Sunnuntai) - Leave Seattle around 1:00pm
9/24 (Maanantai) - Arrive in Amsterdam around 8:00am
9/24 (Maanantai) - Arrive in Helsinki around 1:00pm
9/24 (Maanantai) - Check into hotel three blocks from the venue and collapse
9/25 (Tiistai) - Walk around Helsinki and eat in the afternoon
9/25 (Tiistai) - Sonata Arctica show #1 at 9:00pm
9/26 (Keskiviikko) - Walk around Helsinki and eat in the afternoon
9/26 (Keskiviikko) - Sonata Arctica show #2 at 9:00pm
9/27 (Torstai) - Walk around Helsinki and eat in the afternoon (seeing a pattern?)
9/27 (Torstai) - Sonata Arctica show #3 at 9:00pm
9/28 (Perjantai) - Leave Helsinki for Tampere. Drop stuff off at Lia's place and check out Tampere.
9/28 (Perjantai) - Sonata Arctica show #4 at 8:00pm
9/29 (Lauantai) - Explore Tampere and eat. LOL
9/30 (Sunnuntai) - Sleep a lot. Because....
10/1 (Maanantai) - Take bus from Tampere to Helsinki at 1:45am O_O
10/1 (Maanantai) - Arrive at Helsinki airport around 4:00am and check in (assuming anyone is there)
10/1 (Maanantai) - Leave Helsinki around 6:30am
10/1 (Maanantai) - Arrive in Amsterdam (my airport home away from home) around 8:00am
10/1 (Maanantai) - Leave Amsterdam around 10:00am
10/1 (Maanantai) - Arrive in Seattle around 11:30am
10/1 (Maanantai) - Get home and sleep until Keskiviikko (10/3) morning
See, now you've just learned all the Finnish days of the week. Just don't do what I just did and capitalize them (that's a no go in Finnish). Damn English force of habit.
Besides wasting time playing video games & reading, I've been plotting my takeover of Finland...err, my trip to Finland in September. Why then? SONATA ARCTICA (yes, I screamed it as I typed it). Are you surprised? I didn't think so :)
Anyway, I've planned for maximum Sonata goodness in the form of not one, but four shows in a row. Yes, I am that crazy. This will be a first for me because the most I've seen a band in a row is two days (Ayreon/Stream of Passion, Damian Wilson, & Avantasia share the honors). Still, I expect to be dead when I come home just in time to go back to work. Thankfully not the very next day as I'm not as young as I used to be. I need to day of sleep to make up from the awesomeness this trip plans to be. I mean, I'm seeing Sonata almost every day I'll be there, so that right there makes it awesome before I even step foot on my future home soil. Pretty cool, huh?
So, onto to the details! (Because who doesn't love details?)
9/23 (Sunnuntai) - Leave Seattle around 1:00pm
9/24 (Maanantai) - Arrive in Amsterdam around 8:00am
9/24 (Maanantai) - Arrive in Helsinki around 1:00pm
9/24 (Maanantai) - Check into hotel three blocks from the venue and collapse
9/25 (Tiistai) - Walk around Helsinki and eat in the afternoon
9/25 (Tiistai) - Sonata Arctica show #1 at 9:00pm
9/26 (Keskiviikko) - Walk around Helsinki and eat in the afternoon
9/26 (Keskiviikko) - Sonata Arctica show #2 at 9:00pm
9/27 (Torstai) - Walk around Helsinki and eat in the afternoon (seeing a pattern?)
9/27 (Torstai) - Sonata Arctica show #3 at 9:00pm
9/28 (Perjantai) - Leave Helsinki for Tampere. Drop stuff off at Lia's place and check out Tampere.
9/28 (Perjantai) - Sonata Arctica show #4 at 8:00pm
9/29 (Lauantai) - Explore Tampere and eat. LOL
9/30 (Sunnuntai) - Sleep a lot. Because....
10/1 (Maanantai) - Take bus from Tampere to Helsinki at 1:45am O_O
10/1 (Maanantai) - Arrive at Helsinki airport around 4:00am and check in (assuming anyone is there)
10/1 (Maanantai) - Leave Helsinki around 6:30am
10/1 (Maanantai) - Arrive in Amsterdam (my airport home away from home) around 8:00am
10/1 (Maanantai) - Leave Amsterdam around 10:00am
10/1 (Maanantai) - Arrive in Seattle around 11:30am
10/1 (Maanantai) - Get home and sleep until Keskiviikko (10/3) morning
See, now you've just learned all the Finnish days of the week. Just don't do what I just did and capitalize them (that's a no go in Finnish). Damn English force of habit.
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Weirdness Level
Snagged from 
glacier_kitty :)
So, rdyfrde, your LiveJournal reveals…
You are… 0% unique, 28% peculiar, 38% interesting, 23% normal and 11% herdlike (partly because you, like everyone else, enjoy video games). When it comes to friends you are popular. In terms of the way you relate to people, you are wary of trusting strangers. Your writing style (based on a recent public entry) is intellectual.
Your overall weirdness is: 38
(The average level of weirdness is: 28.
You are weirder than 78% of other LJers.)
Photos, photos, photos everywhere
Lots of shows lately for me in this month. In fact, this month is insane every single weekend. I guess I won't be bored ;)
Pictures from the Stryper show on 6/3. They were great as usual. Though this time I was in the third row. Normally being in any other row in the center would be signing your own death but their fans are sedated. It must be the belief in God that makes them boring concert goers. Or maybe they just aren't are crazy as me? LOL
Stryper:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31444…
Post Modern Heroes:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31444…
Photos from the Rhapsody gig on 6/10 including the bazillion openers. Third time seeing Rhapsody and now in three different countries. The only other band to do that is Sonata Arctica. The other times I've seen them were at Wacken 2011 (Germany) and Milan 2011 (Italy). They were awesome as usual, but I think this show was their best overall even minus Luca being there. Roberto (Luca's replacement) and Oliver were making faces at me the whole night. They were cracking me up so much that I had to stop taking photos because I was laughing so hard.
Voyager from Perth, Australia, were mindblowingly awesome. I've never seen an opener that damn near upstaged the main band before. I am definitely checking out there stuff :)
The rest were local bands that were actually really good as well, other than the overhyped Phalgeron. Then again, the asshat Phalgeron guitarist stole my water before the show, so that might be why I hate them.
Rhapsody:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31444…
Voyager:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31444…
Phalgeron:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31444…
Skelator:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31444…
Last Bastion:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31444…
Pictures from the Stryper show on 6/3. They were great as usual. Though this time I was in the third row. Normally being in any other row in the center would be signing your own death but their fans are sedated. It must be the belief in God that makes them boring concert goers. Or maybe they just aren't are crazy as me? LOL
Stryper:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31444…
Post Modern Heroes:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31444…
Photos from the Rhapsody gig on 6/10 including the bazillion openers. Third time seeing Rhapsody and now in three different countries. The only other band to do that is Sonata Arctica. The other times I've seen them were at Wacken 2011 (Germany) and Milan 2011 (Italy). They were awesome as usual, but I think this show was their best overall even minus Luca being there. Roberto (Luca's replacement) and Oliver were making faces at me the whole night. They were cracking me up so much that I had to stop taking photos because I was laughing so hard.
Voyager from Perth, Australia, were mindblowingly awesome. I've never seen an opener that damn near upstaged the main band before. I am definitely checking out there stuff :)
The rest were local bands that were actually really good as well, other than the overhyped Phalgeron. Then again, the asshat Phalgeron guitarist stole my water before the show, so that might be why I hate them.
Rhapsody:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31444…
Voyager:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31444…
Phalgeron:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31444…
Skelator:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31444…
Last Bastion:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31444…
June is going to be insane.....
Why is it that everyone and their mother decided to come to Seattle in the month of June? Why is June so damn special? Either way, I have no less than 6 events that I will be doing in the month of June. Pretty much every weekend is taken up by something except the final one. Joy.
The schedule:
Sunday June 3rd - Stryper
Monday June 4th - Hugh Laurie & the Cotton Bottom Band (yes, Dr House plays blues)
Sunday June 10th - Rhapsody of Fire
Saturday June 16th - Seattle Science Festival's Luminaries Series: Evolution with Stephen Hawking (!)
Saturday June 23rd - Going to Richmond, Canada, with Fuyu and her friends.
Thursday June 26th - Queen Extravaganza (band put together by Roger & Brian)
The Sundays are going to kill me. Especially the first one since there's another show the very next night. I won't get home until midnight or later because both Stryper & Rhapsody of Fire are playing at the El Corazon, and thereby have ten trillion bands opening for them.
Thankfully I only have to stand at three of those shows (Stryper, Rhapsody of Fire, & Queen Extravaganza). The other two are sitting down venues and really who would stand when Stephen Hawking is talking anyway?
The one with Stephen Hawking also has other people, but really I'm going for him. I love his books and the Universe TV documentary he did years ago. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect him to come here. I've been astronomy geek since I was a kid, even entertaining the idea of becoming an astronomer until I found out how much math & science you needed to do. Getting to hear him talk about anything is a dream come true. While I don't agree with everything he proposes about the universe, a lot of it I do and therefore will be at the Paramount Theater bouncing up and down with antici...say it!...pation ;)
The schedule:
Sunday June 3rd - Stryper
Monday June 4th - Hugh Laurie & the Cotton Bottom Band (yes, Dr House plays blues)
Sunday June 10th - Rhapsody of Fire
Saturday June 16th - Seattle Science Festival's Luminaries Series: Evolution with Stephen Hawking (!)
Saturday June 23rd - Going to Richmond, Canada, with Fuyu and her friends.
Thursday June 26th - Queen Extravaganza (band put together by Roger & Brian)
The Sundays are going to kill me. Especially the first one since there's another show the very next night. I won't get home until midnight or later because both Stryper & Rhapsody of Fire are playing at the El Corazon, and thereby have ten trillion bands opening for them.
Thankfully I only have to stand at three of those shows (Stryper, Rhapsody of Fire, & Queen Extravaganza). The other two are sitting down venues and really who would stand when Stephen Hawking is talking anyway?
The one with Stephen Hawking also has other people, but really I'm going for him. I love his books and the Universe TV documentary he did years ago. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect him to come here. I've been astronomy geek since I was a kid, even entertaining the idea of becoming an astronomer until I found out how much math & science you needed to do. Getting to hear him talk about anything is a dream come true. While I don't agree with everything he proposes about the universe, a lot of it I do and therefore will be at the Paramount Theater bouncing up and down with antici...say it!...pation ;)