On Saturday morning I equipped myself with my Leica and intended to take some photos of beautiful wintery Helsinki. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, but temperature was over -20 C. Gosh, it was just too much. I couldn't sacrifice myself for the sake of art :) I'll have to wait for warmer days. Until then, here's Helsinki promotion card, courtesy of Liza Marklund and James Patterson, whoever they are :)

Started reading and almost finished novel "The Farewell Waltz" of one of my favorite writers - Milan Kundera. This is one of his early books from the beginning of 70-ies, his famous "Unbearable lightness of being" or "Immortality" were written years after...
And, as in all of his works, great language, interesting, simple and complex characters, multiple stories, laughter through tears, and eternal themes... Beautiful reading.

Sonia Rykiel for H&M

February 20th 2010 Sonia Rykiel will launch her "Queen of knit" collection in selected H&M stores. First was Karl Lagerfeld, then Stella McCartney, Roberto Cavalli, Madonna, Matthiew Williamson, Jimmy Choo... Then Sonia Rykiel introduced new lingerie line at the end of 2009, and now comes new funny knit wear collection.
What a great idea, to collaborate with designers and make fashion recognizable and affordable. And quite interesting, that all those designers are actually willing to cooperate with H&M, get publicity and make their name more known and recognizable...
And finally, it's not about price, but about style! ;)

 

 Photo: Nitrolicious, HM

Winter activities in Finland

Happy Chinese New Year! And Happy Valentine's Day!
Helsinki had it's own, although very small celebration of a Chinese New Year... Meanwhile we engaged ourselves in a winter sport activity named pulka, where sled called pulk is used to slide down the hill (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulk). It was good fun, despite the fact that now my tailbone feels somewhat sensitive :) Well... ice-skating should be next weekend's attempt! :)

 

  

 

Moving forward...

Started applying for jobs... Started proceeding with thesis... Restarted going to the gym... Restarted taking yoga classes... Those I take on Saturday mornings, they bring peace to my mind, and are great kick-off for the whole weekend! Got Bloomberg TV at home to be connected to the world business news... Reconnected with friends who returned from their journeys abroad...

But I feel something is missing... Maybe my traveler's spirit is waking up after two weeks "at home". Or maybe it is something else. Action and motion around? Maybe...  Someone called Europe "lazy cat" and Asia - "hungry tiger"... And to say the truth, Finland, and even its capital, Helsinki, is quite a sleepy hollow. They call Helsinki "provincial capital of Europe"... And there is much truth in it. It's actually quite a nice city, with many lovely corners, beautiful architecture, great sea views, stone-paved streets, small cozy cafes, designer shops, and in a way I like it here, but hey, I am a big city girl! :)

Now I have to finish something in order to start something new in my life. And it feels great and keeps me moving forward!

 

Helsinki seen from air balloon - summer 2009

 

Thesis

Now, after 1 week of weak attempts to read and write for the thesis, interrupted by numerous procrastination attacks and pleasant escape activities, I finally set up timetable and plan of action for this project. As I actually (almost) always boringly do for (almost) everything I do. So, 6th of April shall it be. 9 weeks and 1 day or 64 days to go until the draft submission deadline. Doable!