This and that

Summertime and so much better to do than writing in here, or when I finally get some bad weather the inspiration seems to disappear. Even though this summer has contained a whole lot less swimming than last year, I feel it has been a great summer(not only because I finally have gotten something that could be called a light tan instead of my normal tomato-look) and I have gotten the best out of it every day. I have been lucky to have my days off just perfectly timed with nice weather. And I've been working a lot of morningshifts, and when I get off at 3p.m. I've still got plenty of time to enjoy the sun! Which of course has led to some disasters too. Just look at this:


A result from an afternoon at Sveaborg in Helsinki. It is an island just outside of Helsinki harbour with amazing ruins, perfect for picknicks, like the one I had that afternoon with Irene! Check out their homepage for more info.
Anyhow, probably I will suffer from skin cancer in a near future. My skin burns even after using sunlotion (look above, after two times of sunblocker-usage!). Still I think that sunbathing is one of the things you just have to do in the few weeks of summer here in Finland. Let's see what I will look like after a week in Germany in the middle of Hochsommer. Me likes, my skin dislikes.

I have managed to get hooked to a, to me, new series. Breaking Bad which tells about a broke Chemistry teacher, Walter, getting the diagnosis of uncurable lungcancer. After following his brother-in-law on one of his DEA rades he decides to make some extra cash by cooking meth. Since Walter has earlier specialised in crystallogoly he cooks very pure stuff, which of course sets himself and his partner (one of his ex-students) in a lot of trouble.
What makes this series good is first of all that it is very different from other mainstream series. It is quite a dark series, with a high nerd-factor and a lot of black humor. Season 4 just started airing in the States.

Yesterday I finally got to see the newest and last Harry Potter movie, almost a week after the premiere. But dispite all the bad criteria I have heard, except for my siblings, I found that the movie was very good. It make me want to reread all the books in a row. Some of them I have read many times, some of the last books only once.
But then it would feel like letting down the ~100 unread books that cover my wall. I actually counted them here the other day, and including the ones I have in Tartu there are just below 100 I would guess. So I managed to promise myself to not buy any new books. Except for my trip to Germany. But then again I have two books I absolutely would die for to buy and read. Because I discovered an amazing author; Scarlett Thomas.

I started reading The end of Mr. Y on my way back from Helsinki the other weekend, and I must say this is the best book I have read in at least a year. It's a mysterious thriller, with a lot of science and literature woven together in a way that it isn't annoying to read (there are these novels that have a lot of references to different other subjects but it feels like you already should know everything about say, string theory, to be able to understand the reference), things are explained as we go along. It is a book that makes you think over reality, thoughts, death... And I found it cool to read a book inside of a book. On the book cover:
"When Ariel Manto uncovers a copy of The End of Mr. Y in a second-hand bookshop, she can't believe her eyes. She knows enough about its author, the outlandish Victorian scientist Thomas Lumas, to know that copies are exceedingly rare. And, some say, cursed.
With Mr. Y under her arm, Ariel finds herself thrust into a thrilling adventure of love, sex, death and time-travel."
Read this book. It is A M A Z I N G. I can't say that too many times.

So when you check out the author's homepage you will see two other books of hers that I just have to get. The edges of the pages are colored (I've been already looking at them in bookstores) in black/blue, a wonderful extra touch indeed.
I must admit that I bought Mr. Y on the base of the wonderful cover. Yes I know, I am hopeless.

Another summery thing to do: Go running in the middle of the night. I had my best jogging experience at 11.30pm this Monday. Never ever has running been so fun before. I think I am getting now why people like it. Unfortunately my almost 3 days off are soon over and then it's me and the morningshifts again. So I have to take my midnightjog some hours earlier.

Tomorrow I will attend the September-concert here in my little hometown. 1200 tickets sold, and the place will probably explode with people since the cafeteria that will hold it is tiny. Hopefully a shorty like me gets to see anything at all. So today songs like Mikrofonkåt, Baksmälla, Cry for you, Satellites and Co. are keeping me company.

Have a nice rest of the week!