(Christmas trip 2009, part 8)
I didn’t manage to catch up with my schedule yet, still lagging one day behind. But really, I’m trying to write this as fast as humanely possible. It just takes a while. Lot to digest. After all, it’s the last post before the blog has to take a dip into a whole new world. The travel report is over, only a day after Dī (my travel-companion-in-spirit, the one who was traveling from Geneva to Innsbruck while I went from Helsinki to Tampere and Jyväskylä) finished writing hers. The question I’m facing is – what will there be to write about tomorrow?
“Great. We’ll see you in 20 minutes. Want to go wait for us at Sokos?”
“Us” means Ry and her husband Neg. This used to be strange and rare back when I was younger. Meeting people for the first time in “real life” after knowing them only online. These days there’s nothing really weird about it anymore. The reason I’m mentioning this is that I have never actually met Neg before. Not in flesh and blood at least, even if I’ve chatted with him online for years.
Ry I know better than Neg – met her a few times before, but originally got to know her online as well. Our meeting had something to do with the Eurovision song contest, an IRC channel dedicated to it and our distastes for some songs that were playing or something. Been friends ever since. Can’t remember what exactly happened, but this was back when Finland didn’t have any hope of ever winning it.
(No, that’s not an actual Eurovision song we’ve sent to the competition, but it’s not far from the horrid stuff we’ve tried to win with. Just had to give a sample and that’s quite an epitome.)
After the initial “Hi!” “Hi!” “You’ve been here what, ten minutes and you’re hitting on the Sokos staff already?” “Nah, she helped me pick out a new fragrance earlier, was just making a friendly conversation..” we go ahead with our plan to get some food at Harald.
I’ve heard great things about the restaurant over the years. If you go there, you apparently just have to try the tar ice cream they have on the dessert menu. I have my hopes up as we walk up the street, only to discover that the restaurant is closed for the Christmas holidays.
This fact holds true for the next few places on the “Oh well, if not Harald, then we at least can go to…” list as well.
Eventually we end up at a nice, small, out of the way Chinese/Japanese restaurant that serves quite nice chicken curry. Just what I need after freezing my fingers while we searched for a place that’s open. Our dinner conversations circle around two subjects – Virtuality and traveling. Neither are really that surprising, considering how we know each other and who we are.
It’s quite awesome that I get to include Ry to the story even if it’s by passing. She fits the underlying currents so perfectly. This is a woman that one day decided that she needed a change from her continental European life, packed up what she could fit in her car and drove to Finland. And been living here ever since. I can only give a respectful nod. My couple of days at Tampere and Jyväskylä get some perspective, no matter if I want it or not. I really should stop whining about the cold and enjoy the change a bit more.
We finish our meals and the couple follows me when I head back to the railway station. There is a big map of Jyväskylä there, and I show Ry and Neg all the places Ni had driven me the previous day and what I had learned about the town. I remember surprisingly much, but I must admit I am feeling a bit ashamed that I don’t think I thanked Ni enough for all the trouble she went through. Well, will have to remember to fix that later.
I bid the two farewell and step into the Intercity train to Helsinki. It’s running some 10 minutes late, and as the journey progress, I hear the 10 minutes turn into 20, then 30… Another typical day on the Finnish rails. This happens every winter.
I open my laptop and start writing down the stories and structuring my notes from the previous days. Thinking about everything that has happened. I have actually done something this Christmas, and I have a feeling that I may have discovered a part of me that likes doing this. I’ve been ignoring Finland way too much in the past years. Taking it for granted, maybe. I write down more thoughts and eventually catch up with the question.
What to do next? Once I’ve written the report about the trip, what will I have to write about? I’ve been on my adventure and I’ll have to go back. I’ll have to go home. Tomorrow is the 28th. Another day at the office.
I stop worrying about the looming problem and focus on what’s at hand. I still have the Christmas trip story to write. And I need a good way to end it.
Am I satisfied?
I admit to myself that I am. It has been a great few days. Maybe I should just end the story with bidding farewell to Ry and Neg. Symbolic way to say farewell to all the odd encounters and strange happenstances that made the trip what it was. And it was the last thing to really happen on the trip.
An elderly gentleman in the window seat in front of me stands up to get off the train at the next stop. A guy sitting next to the old man has to rise to let him pass. When the gentleman is gone, the guy turns to me and looks surprised.
“Petri?! What are you doing here? It’s been, what… 7 years since we last saw? What’s up?!”
Oh well. I guess I just have to decide that I’ll wrap up the story at some point. This is real life and in real life, things keep happening. There will be new days. There will be new, strange encounters. There will be new adventures. The Christmas trip needs an ending. This is a good one.
And tomorrow I’ll write about something else. Because things will happen. Things that are worth writing about.