On the upswing, and Further Travels?
I'm feeling a little better today - not a ton, but a little. I didn't get out of bed until 3pm, but that was mostly because I couldn't fall asleep last night. The cold medicine I took evidently contained 120mg of caffiene per dose (i should have checked the inactive ingredient list before taking the medicine). So it was a scramble to get to Finnish class at 4pm, because the class is a 30 minute walk away. And boy, it was cold! -25C, or -13F! Surprisingly, I think I walk slower when it's really cold, because it's harder to move with all those clothes on. This time I really wasn't that cold - I was well dressed, and I even wore my boots. My foot hurt a little bit, but I think it was worth not getting frostbite. Tomorrow is supposed to be even colder, and they say we'll have -30C (-22F) on the weekend.
So I'm feeling a little better, but not enough to go out to the "Stammtisch" tonight. I've learned my lesson - it's too bad, though, because I'm really curious to see what it is all about. Oh well. There will be other fun things.
Finnish phrase of the day: "Vesihiisi sihisi hississä." ~ "The sea-monster was hissing in the elevator."
In other news, I was invited to be a speaker at the Bojarski Conference in Poland in mid-June. Unfortunately, my flight home to NY is on June 5th. I've sent an email to my travel agent to see about getting things changed. I fear that there will be a big fee, but we'll have to see. Even if I end up having to shell out some bucks, I think it will be worth it to have a week in rural Poland and the opportunity to speak an international conference! Really, my main concern is the hassle that comes along with the travel stuff - I really hate dealing with tickets and fees and visas and all that crap.
Tonight I spent a good hour or so in the sauna. It's so good. SO GOOD! I should have been doing it each day that I've been sick - I don't know why I didn't. For those of you who aren't initiated, here's the deal. The sauna is a wood-paneled room with wooden benches at various heights.
In one corner is a machine that heats some rocks to very high temperatures. One throws water on the rocks, producing super hot steam. The steam heats the room, but it is not a "steam room" - the steam quickly dissapates. This process can get the air in the room VERY HOT, above boiling even. It sounds unpleasant, but it is a very relaxing sensation and is quite enjoyable. After a while, one's body says "ok, I've had enough" and then one takes a cool shower in an adjacent room or goes for a dip in the lake. Then one has a cold beer, and repeats the whole process. I usually replace the beer part with water, since I'm always so dehydrated anyway. Clothes are not worn in the process, though it is customary to sit on a towel in the sauna. I'm going to miss the sauna...
So I'm feeling a little better, but not enough to go out to the "Stammtisch" tonight. I've learned my lesson - it's too bad, though, because I'm really curious to see what it is all about. Oh well. There will be other fun things.
Finnish phrase of the day: "Vesihiisi sihisi hississä." ~ "The sea-monster was hissing in the elevator."
In other news, I was invited to be a speaker at the Bojarski Conference in Poland in mid-June. Unfortunately, my flight home to NY is on June 5th. I've sent an email to my travel agent to see about getting things changed. I fear that there will be a big fee, but we'll have to see. Even if I end up having to shell out some bucks, I think it will be worth it to have a week in rural Poland and the opportunity to speak an international conference! Really, my main concern is the hassle that comes along with the travel stuff - I really hate dealing with tickets and fees and visas and all that crap.
Tonight I spent a good hour or so in the sauna. It's so good. SO GOOD! I should have been doing it each day that I've been sick - I don't know why I didn't. For those of you who aren't initiated, here's the deal. The sauna is a wood-paneled room with wooden benches at various heights.
In one corner is a machine that heats some rocks to very high temperatures. One throws water on the rocks, producing super hot steam. The steam heats the room, but it is not a "steam room" - the steam quickly dissapates. This process can get the air in the room VERY HOT, above boiling even. It sounds unpleasant, but it is a very relaxing sensation and is quite enjoyable. After a while, one's body says "ok, I've had enough" and then one takes a cool shower in an adjacent room or goes for a dip in the lake. Then one has a cold beer, and repeats the whole process. I usually replace the beer part with water, since I'm always so dehydrated anyway. Clothes are not worn in the process, though it is customary to sit on a towel in the sauna. I'm going to miss the sauna...
posted by Kevin at 11:30 AM
5 Comments:
Sauna-rrific! I seem to remember having a sauna experience at some point, but I couldn't tell you when or where... and I seem to recall it was far more pleasurable than I expected it to be. I think it has something to do with being an environment where you're EXPECTED to sweat, and where it's viewed as a productive activity - as opposed to the rest of my life, where sweating simply betrays that I'm either (a) out of shape, (b) inordinately nervous and not the swaggering scoundrel I'd like to be, or (c) both.
Anyway, I'm glad to hear you're on the mend, and I'm also glad I discovered your blog in the first place. Finland, indeed, is a far cry from Michigan.
n other news, I was invited to be a speaker at the Bojarski Conference in Poland in mid-June.
I too received an email from the organizing committee, addressed to one Professor Gong, Jasun.
I nearly burst out laughing, which isn't very nice if someone is sending you a nice invitation. Out of curiosity, did they specifically invite you to speak? In mine, they asked me to "participate," which is a little vague in meaning ..
Congratulations on the conference. My grandparents are from Poland, I'm not sure if their town still exists but if you pass though Zdunska Wola, could you take some pictures for me?
Hi Mike! Welcome. Thanks for holding down the fort in Ann Arbor. By the way, you should meet my replacement across the hall, Ellen. She is awesome and a really good cook. I would suggest knocking on the door and asking for food.
Janus (or maybe Su Jan? Nu Saj? Nas Ju? S_5 is big): I did specifically get asked to do a 25-30 presentation. I don't really know why, other than I guess Tadeusz knows that I'm going on the market soon and need some presentations under my belt. I'm not gonna fight it...
Toby! Hi! I'll definitely take pictures for you. I'll have a few weeks to travel before the conference, so maybe I can actually find this little town.
I did specifically get asked to do a 25-30 presentation. I don't really know why, other than I guess Tadeusz knows that I'm going on the market soon and need some presentations under my belt. I'm not gonna fight it...
Nice! .. and you shouldn't fight it, either, of course. Quite an honor, in fact.
S(5) is indeed large. I usually stick to janus in cyberspace and jasun in reality, if the other permutations don't take my fancy. q:
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