The Cow http://www.the-cow.net/ The Cow blog and gallery feed en http://www.the-cow.net/feed/ alvan.REMOVE@ME.the-cow.net (Alvan) alvan.REMOVE@ME.the-cow.net (Alvan) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ Mon, 17 Mar 2008 06:02:04 +0200 Alvan's Blog Creator v2 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.the-cow.net/graphics/feedlogo.png The Cow http://www.the-cow.net/ [Alvan / Blog] You know you're doing something wrong...Mon, 17 Mar 2008 06:02:04 +0200http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=152http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=152alvan.REMOVE@ME.the-cow.net (Alvan)lifeYou know you're doing something wrong..., a blog entry by Alvan

You know you're doing something wrong when it's 6am in the morning, you have spent the night doing freelance A.D. work, you have to get to a lecture at 10am, you have a job interview at 1pm and all you can think of is what sort of furniture you should be buying with the cash you made from the PHP project and the server maintenance job you did last week.

GO TO SLEEP. DAMNIT. NOW.]]>http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=152http://www.the-cow.net/feed/comments/?ID=1520 [Alvan / Blog] 2007 in RetrospectMon, 31 Dec 2007 22:09:55 +0200http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=151http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=151alvan.REMOVE@ME.the-cow.net (Alvan)historylife2007 in Retrospect, a blog entry by Alvan

2007 has been three lifetimes for me. It's hard to say that, but it's pretty much the fact.

When the year began, I was in a state of confidence with the feeling that my life wasn't going anywhere. It had been the same old, same old for years and years on. 5 years since I broke up with my ex, 5 years of trying to get back to school but actually doing pretty much nothing. I started the year drawing my new year's pic, something that you'll find missing this year (I'll get to that later), at the machine, thinking it's okay to be home alone. That was my first lifetime this year. This lifetime was marked with the desperate need to be doing something. When I'm looking at my calendar for the first couple of months, it's "meet this person", "go and drink beer with that one", "play this RPG with these people".

I slowly grew into something else. Went to see Husky Rescue's gig with a nice cheerful friend and then planned a trip with one of my best friends to go to Sweden to see Nouvelle Vague. He got sick the very day we were supposed to go, so I left alone. Still a shame he didn't make it, but it was something of a thrust for me and the second life I had this year.

I saw that there was no reason to stay down and that there are lengths that one needs to go to experience new things. When shivering in the cold snow outside the Viking Terminal in Stockholm I didn't feel angry or miserable. The gig had been great and things were in a new light. After that moment I spent time getting out and about. Doing, feeling, experiencing. It didn't really matter if there was a cost involved or if it took time to get there.

I started yoga. It was an experience I really enjoyed and something that I should start doing again next year. My calender wasn't full anymore. There were these cool things I might do, but not that much "I need to do this now!" as before. For example, I have "get your bike out today!" as a calender note. Not really critical, not really something that would put stress on me, is it.

I saw a lot of stuff during this lifetime. On the band front - The Rolling Stones, Nine Inch Nails, Ladytron, Andy Bey, Tori Amos, Jonna Tervomaa, Animal Alpha, Fujiya & Miyagi, Scissor Sisters, Von Hertzen Brothers, Of Montreal, Juno Reactor, just to name a small few. I met a lot of people and was happy in a way that doesn't really have that much to do with reality. I got a nice job for the summer and enjoyed it to my best abilities. I went to Paris and read a book in the park, sat in a bistro and listened to a local jazz band play. It's something you need to do to really understand. We went to the summer cottage a few times during the summer with people. Hadn't been there in a while. Two friends got married. Lovely times.

This lifetime ended when summer turned autumn. It was very punctually marked by a friend leaving the country and us going to see Cirque du Soleil: Delirium together. The next week, I started my third lifetime this year.

It is a life of studying and not making the mistakes I am so used to making. I had learned so much in my previous life about enjoying things that I knew what I needed to do to pull this third life off. I enjoyed what I did, even if it was something that people said didn't suit me. I also took breaks. Spent time with my friends. Even if not as much as I would have hoped to. I listened to music. Went to gigs. Got active.

Now I'm still living this life. I look at the summer, which was just few months ago, and it's so far from where I am now. It's a different life. A lifetime ago. And I can't really look back into the first month of this year, try to recall what I was feeling back then. It's so far gone.

I just want to say thank you for everything to everyone and give the world a big hug.

Oh, and one more thing: Fields of the Nephilim was awesome live!]]>http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=151http://www.the-cow.net/feed/comments/?ID=1510 [Alvan / Blog] Tell something to yourselfSat, 29 Dec 2007 20:25:56 +0200http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=150http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=150alvan.REMOVE@ME.the-cow.net (Alvan)lifeTell something to yourself, a blog entry by Alvan

Ok. This is a hard one, I must admit. Take your time and write three things you would like to tell yourself if you just bothered to listen to what you're saying.

1. Wake up during the damn daylight hours. You know some daylight would help you concentrate better during the evening.

2. Go to the pool, swim laps, it's refreshing. While you're at it, take a look at what you're eating. Gaining weight never makes anyone happy.

3. Stop playing CoH and spend that time drawing. You haven't managed to finish a single picture you're happy with all year. That's sad man. That's sad.

Now that you've read what I have to say to myself, you go and tell yourself what you don't want to hear.]]>http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=150http://www.the-cow.net/feed/comments/?ID=1500 [Alvan / Blog] Want to buyMon, 19 Nov 2007 02:51:07 +0200http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=149http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=149alvan.REMOVE@ME.the-cow.net (Alvan)randomWant to buy, a blog entry by Alvan

Anyone with a spare copy of "Uuden Maailman Jättiläinen - Yhdysvaltain historia" by Kero, Kostiainen and Virtanen, I'm interested in buying it. :)]]>http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=149http://www.the-cow.net/feed/comments/?ID=1490 [Alvan / Blog] Playlist memeThu, 08 Nov 2007 02:20:23 +0200http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=148http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=148alvan.REMOVE@ME.the-cow.net (Alvan)musicWhat's on your Playlist memePlaylist meme, a blog entry by Alvan

Name six songs you like to listen to at the moment:

Under - Under
Shiny Toy Guns - Stripped
Final Fantasy VIII Soundtrack - Love Grows
Jupiter One - Countdown
Foo Fighters - The Pretender
Amy McDonald - Poison Prince

(no duplicate artists)

Memetastic.

Why these songs?

Under is a band and a song I heard on Moonlight and fell in love with it so much I bought the EP containing the song. Pretty much the same case with Jupiter One's CD - heard Countdown on the TV and bought the CD. I love bands that aren't tied to some huge multinational distribution chains - you can go to their website and buy the CD easily with Paypal even if you're in Finland and the band is from the US. FFVIII is the only Final Fantasy Soundtrack I've bought, mainly thanks to the damn good use of themes in it. Love Grows is a part of a series of songs with the same running theme, which is nice. Foo Fighter's song has been playing on the radio and I just love the energy in it. Same with Amy McDonald. Shiny Toy Guns on the other hand I heard from through a friend, much like this meme.]]>http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=148http://www.the-cow.net/feed/comments/?ID=1480 [Alvan / Blog] *nods*Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:50:50 +0300http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=147http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=147alvan.REMOVE@ME.the-cow.net (Alvan)historyliferandom*nods*, a blog entry by Alvan

Everything is fine

There is no conspiracy

Good night.]]>http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=147http://www.the-cow.net/feed/comments/?ID=1470 [Alvan / Blog] AutumnMon, 17 Sep 2007 14:18:57 +0300http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=146http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=146alvan.REMOVE@ME.the-cow.net (Alvan)lifeAutumn, a blog entry by Alvan

Well, it's fall, it's autumn, it's the darker times, it's the colder times. Today the skies are gray, today the sun shines a bit less. During the weekend I noticed that I can spend incredible amounts of time and effort to nothing. Today I'm reaping the harvest of that.

Yeah, I'm feeling a tad down, I'm feeling a bit annoyed at people. I'm more annoyed at myself, I'm more than aware what I should be doing about it. And in a way, I am.

I've had the most wonderful summer with the most wonderful people, while staying in Helsinki or visiting the most wonderful places outside it (hyperbole, yeah, but well deserved hyperbole). I guess a slight feeling of aftershock or hangover is in order. I am not saying that my autumn is somehow "worse" than my summer. In fact I've found the beginning of fall very refreshing. New people, new things, new directions. But the atmosphere is incredibly different. And as said, while it's a refreshing change, I can't help but to look back on how nice the summer was.

Thus a slight feeling of depression. Nay. Nostalgia. This is enforced by the fact that people that played huge part in the Summer are actually physically going away to other places.

I guess it's all good. In the end. Just need to vent sometimes.]]>http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=146http://www.the-cow.net/feed/comments/?ID=1460 [Alvan / Blog] Life imitating art imitating omfgSun, 08 Jul 2007 00:08:04 +0300http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=145http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=145alvan.REMOVE@ME.the-cow.net (Alvan)artcomicslifeLife imitating art imitating omfg, a blog entry by Alvan

ok, first of all, sorry about the lack of capital letters and apostrophes, the keyboard im writing on just doesnt allow me to do those.

this is one of those moments in my life when everything is so clear i had to wake up my ex who was sleeping in the other room and beg her to give me her laptop so i can write this now while i find it still amusing.

remember back in the spring when i was toying with an idea of a comic book about leaving. i just realized that im in the position of one of the side characters in the original plot in that. at the point when i was tossing ideas with zara at cafe ursula i had no idea that things could ever progress in my life to the point where id be the person we envisioned. but life is such, that it imitates art and art imitates life, and when you try to come up with a plot that has realism in it, things like this arent impossible.

its just silly - it is the one person that i thought up that when creating, i couldnt fully relate to, but created just because the plot needed such a character. and now i am that person. struggling over mixed bag of emotions.

ps. turku is a nice place to be at again, ruisrock will continue tomorrow with yet another jonna tervomaa gig for me and end with gogol bordello. then ill head home and continue pondering about life in all its grandeur.

pps. i might be late from work on monday morning, wont be home before 3 am...

ppps. damn huskies]]>http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=145http://www.the-cow.net/feed/comments/?ID=1450 [Alvan / Blog] TodayWed, 20 Jun 2007 10:27:45 +0300http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=144http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=144alvan.REMOVE@ME.the-cow.net (Alvan)lifeToday, a blog entry by Alvan

So you need to fear the bad to see the good
And that's the thing you do
But don't let it spoil the view
Of what's around you

There's no rain, there's no storm
Though the blue sky makes you wonder
Don't you fear what will come
Will come
And right now we're in the sun
Sure enough, seasons change
But don't let today get lost
'Cause today the sun's on us


Sophie Ellis-Bextor: Today the Sun's on Us]]>http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=144http://www.the-cow.net/feed/comments/?ID=1440 [Alvan / Blog] You are not aloneMon, 18 Jun 2007 08:25:50 +0300http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=143http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=143alvan.REMOVE@ME.the-cow.net (Alvan)lifetvYou are not alone, a blog entry by Alvan

You.

Are.

Not.

Alone.






... Holy hell.

Doctor Who rocks my world (not that it was surprising, it was just perfectly entertaining)]]>http://www.the-cow.net/entry.php?ID=143http://www.the-cow.net/feed/comments/?ID=1430