Samantha Brown in Helsinki

So about a month ago a friend told me that he was watching Samantha Brown: Passport to Europe on the Travel Channel (great show), and that she did an episode where she went to Helsinki. Needless to say, i was super excited and went home to see when it was going to re-air. Long story short, i saw that it was going to air again in about a month, so i set a date reminder in my phone and waited.....blah, blah, blah.

Well, today my phone went off and reminded me and i got to see the episode! It was so great. I knew about or had been to 80% of the places she went. It was awesome, yet made me homesick at the same time. (Can you be homesick for a place that isn't your home yet?)

The best part of the episode for me was when she told a Finn she was out drinking with that she heard Finns drink more alcohol per capita than any other people in the word. This was denied by the Finn, and i laughed out loud... I'm not saying it's true or not, but it made me laugh nonetheless. I also laughed when she talked about licorice because i remember one time Sini gave this licorice candy and i thought it was super nasty.

There really isn't much else to say except that now i'm a little depressed i'm still in Atlanta..... *sigh*

And yes, Saila, i know the weather sucks there right now, but i'd still trade places with you in a heartbeat. (And thanks again for my Six Degrees magazines you sent me. You're the best!)

A Finnish dude did "Sandstorm"

You know how there's songs that everyone knows, but no one knows what the song is called or who it's by? This is the true of the song called "Sandstorm". I'm not even sure how i know i've always known that that is the name of the song, but i have. In any case, you'll know it when you hear it, i promise. They always play it at sporting events and things like that. I hear it at Thrashers games at least once per game. It's kind of a 'let's get everyone pumped up' kind of song.

In any case, i was talking about this with my co-worker, Josh, last night, and i joked that even though no one remembers who did that song, that guy still probably never has to work again a day in his life from the money he's made from it. I decided to look up online who it was by, because i realized i don't think i had ever bothered to (because honestly, it's kind of an annoying song).

Believe it or not, they had an entire Wikipedia article on just that song. Well, it turns out the DJ's name is "Darude", but get this..... he's Finnish! Isn't that crazy?! I got quite a kick out of that. I scrolled down to the bottom of the article and found a video for the song which you can watch below. It's a pretty amazingly horrible video, but at the same time it rules because it takes place in downtown Helsinki! The opening scene is all at the Cathedral of Helsinki! I always can't help but get excited when i see Finnish things on TV and i can say, "Hey, i know where that is. I've been there."

Black Slabbath vs. Octane Wall

So one of Octane's good friends, Stefan Kjartansson, designed this font called "Black Slabbath". For fun he made a mock-up of the font used on our wall to spell out a bunch of our coffee drinks we have. He then, through the labor of one Mick Bailey, installed it in real life on our wall. The above is a fun little time-lapse video Mick did of it going up.

First Star: Octane Coffee

When attending a Thrashers game (or any NHL hockey game for that matter), after the game is over they announce the 3 stars of the game. They're like the MVP's of the game, but they're ranked. Meaning, the first star is the most valuable player of the game, etc.

If there were top stars named in this month's Barista Magazine, Octane would definitely be one of the top stars. Maybe number one, but at least one of the three. First example can be seen on page 20 with a little blurb on the SERBC (Southeast Regional Barista Competition). Both Danielle and I are mentioned (as we placed second and third) and it's also mentioned we work at "uber rad Octane Coffee in Atlanta, GA". There's also a picture of Danielle, M'lissa, Chris, and other awesome Counter Culture affiliates. If you're wondering, the ladies do love Lem. And probably a fair amount of dudes as well. (You can click to enlarge the picture.)


But that's just a blurb. One of the feature stories is on barista certification programs. Octane's own "Coffee Boss", M'lissa, and "All Around" boss, Tony, are featured for about 75% of the article, in addition there's a picture of Matt (Octaner) in cluster of photographs on the middle one of the pages. HOWEVER, on the opposite page of the same article, there is just one picture that takes up the entire page. And that is this picture....

Some of you may recognize this shirt as being familiar, and that is because........it is my shirt. More importantly, it's my shirt on me, myself. Yes, my torso is taking up an entire page in this month's Barista Magazine. I think Cat (Octaner) took this picture. I'm sure it seems silly to many out there, but i think it's super rad. I wonder if i could put that on my resume....

So let's do a final tally here. Including Nordic Cup coverage, there are 2 pictures of M'lissa, 1 of Danielle, 1 of Matt, and my very large torso. Actual Octaner names mentioned: 2 briefly (Danielle and I) and 2 for 3/4 of a feature article (Tony and M'lissa).

My conclusion: Octane is kind of a big deal/awesome.

2008: The Year of the Finland Move

2008. Two days in. I have only one resolution. And that resolution is to be living in and settled in Helsinki, Finland by 2009. I'm going to make it happen!

For those who are curious about how i'm progressing with Finland plans, it's going slowly, but going nonetheless. Since college in finished, i can now be more focused. My current problems, however, are all financial. This time of year i always get behind on bills because of lack of work. Additionally, my three jobs have boiled down to just one (Octane), which is both nice and horrible at the same time. Octane is a great job and i love it, but getting used to the income of 1 job as opposed to 3 absolutely blows.

So obviously, number one priority is to find another job. I'm going to start working on resumes and that kind of thing, and hopefully before too long i'll be able to start making some decent money, and save up for my big move.

Number two priority is to make another Finland visit, hopefully in a few months. I miss Helsinki and, most of all, my friends.

I'm done with college for the rest of my life

I'm not sure what emotion i'm feeling right now. It's not an emotion i've felt before. I've been working on something for 6 and 1/2 years, just plugging away, bit by bit, struggling, working hard, almost giving up countless times, and now it's over. I never have to take a test or write a paper or anything like that for the rest of my life. In all honesty, i'm freaking out a bit. Not in a bad way, but not in a good way either. Just a "Wow." kind of way.

I don't really know what any of it means. All i know is that this is one step closer to my dream of living in Finland. It actually seems possible now. And that's a good thing.

::Edit: And what was my first act as a college grad? Well, i went and had a cigarette and now i'm catching up on my LOLcats and this is where i'm going to be for a while.

It feels like...

One of my favorite activities on my last trip to Finland was sitting on the back porch of Saila and Sini's parents' house, smoking with Saila in the cold, and watching Onni walk around in the snow. How it feels outside here in Atlanta at this very moment makes me remember that feeling. I'm sleeping with the window open tonight.