Tag Archives: life

in english

Downtown Mexico City on Ovi

Disclaimer: Yes, I work on this company and my job is related to this.  It is, however, beside the point, I'm sharing this because it made me happy.

So, as you know, we recently launched certain new products and services at an event in Barcelona (that I didn't attend this year).  I've been following the reactions to this in social media for a while, and of course am a heavy user of our own services.

Now imagine my pleasure when I check Mexico City in Ovi and I find this:


El Centro en Ovi - Share on Ovi

I knew that we had 3D landmarks, but seeing so many in Mexico City (especially the Angel of Independence) just brought a huge grin to my face.  Especially since I'm so far away from there, and won't go back this Christmas.

in english

Tampere, industrial city


Tampere, industrial city

Originally uploaded by Chiva Congelado

A couple of good friends live in Tampere, and we visit them every once in a while. We were there just a few days ago, and enjoyed as usual.

Tampere is called the “Manchester of Finland” and pictures like this of downtown make it quite obvious. I didn’t know that the city, given its industrial past, has been an important part of Finnish history and site of key events in the Finnish Civil War.

in english

When the news hit you personally

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Those who follow news about Mexico might know that on the same night Barack Obama was elected president of the United States, there was a very dramatic tragedy in Mexico City, as a small airplane carrying the secretary of the interior of the country crashed in the middle of the business district.  The news was quite tragic, but that was it.

Then, I started hearing some more personal accounts.  My brother-in-law works in the area, and the plane crashed 12 metres away from his office.  He saw everything, and was quite shocked by the time he got home.  Understandably, I was quite upset when I heard about it.  Then I found out that a friend of mine was injured and is in hospital, and am frankly still in shock.

My prayers go to her and her family.

in english

European Day of Languages

The funniest part of this event is that I probably understand more about Europe and Europeans than your average person hereabouts. After all, I’ve studied their languages and cultures for many years, and have lived here for a few.

There were two very interesting tidbits for me when they had this stand in Kamppi: I could read and understand more than 8 squares in this poster, which was surprising, and I was able to fill their test on European languages with full marks in under 2 minutes… and I’m not even European.

in english

Moscow

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St. Basil’s Cathedral

Originally uploaded by Chiva Congelado

A couple of weeks ago we spent a long weekend with friends in Moscow (photos here). The city has very beautiful areas and downtown is just amazing.

One thing that surprised me was that clearly the current price of commodities has done wonders for the local economy and you can see it everywhere you go: people dress better that what I saw 7 years ago in Saint Petersburg, the city looks clean and frankly it’s not the cheapest place on Earth.

Another interesting thing was that we were there while the situation in Georgia was developing, and the points of view in the local media were completely different from what you see in CNN or even the BBC.

Finally, as stupid as this might sound, it was very comforting to get past the usual stereotypes and just notice that the people over there are just like everybody else 😉 .

in english

Book-reading in the commute

As astonishing as it might be to my American readers (if any, heh), I don't own a car… even if I actually enjoy driving very much.  The reasons for this are many:

-I can, meaning there is quite decent public transportation where I live.
-It means I do a fair amount of walking; something very welcome given that I don't have that much time for exercise anymore
-Owning a car is a pain as you need to pay taxes, take it to servicing and of course the price of oil is not what it was (can you imagine having to pay almost 8 dollars a gallon or 25 Mexican pesos a litre?).
-I get to reduce my environmental footprint which is regardless quite high given my frequent traveling.
-Most importantly, I get to read on the commute.

If you know me (or read me), you have realised I absolutely love to read, and will go through pretty much anything that falls in my hands sooner or later.  Even if it ends up being about a heavier subject it will definitely help me relax, and give me a different perspective to what I probably had before, which is something I crave endlessly.

I've noticed that I'm reading something close to a book a week when not traveling, and half of that when on the move.  As is usual, some of the impressions gathered from those books are to be shared with you here.

in english

Busy days

My dear readers may have noticed that this blog has been rather quiet during the past month.  The reason for it has been extremely simple: very hard work going on, which leaves very little time for many other things after taking into consideration the need to also spend quality family time.

This doesn't mean that your humble writer has not had stuff in his mind to write here, as you will soon see…

in english

Finnish holiday season

Especially for people not used to it, the Finnish holiday season is quite an experience, if for nothing else, for its length.

Here in Finland, people take 4 weeks during July, which means that during this month the whole country is basicaly closed for business. This is the time when summer trainees and skeleton crews are responsible for the continued functioning of the nation while the majority spend their weeks in a summer cabin in the middle of the forest, preferrably next to a lake, but maybe without running water or electricity.

Only peace and quiet.

suomeksi

Vain yksi joukosta

Kun olin Seattlessa pari viikkoa sitten erÀÀssĂ€ tapahtumassa, siellĂ€ oli muutamia suomalaisia, jotka tapasin lĂ€htölennoilla.  He olivat hyvin ystĂ€vĂ€llisiĂ€ ja nĂ€imme Yhdysvalloissa useita kertoja.  Oli todella hauskaa ettĂ€ pystyin vaan hengailla sekĂ€ heidĂ€n ettĂ€ meksikolaisten kanssa, joita oli myös muutamia.
On tosi mukavaa kun voin olla vain yksi joukosta.