Eating Muffins in an Agitated Manner

R.I.P. Myy

Posted by jukkahoo

I went out with Myy at 3PM. She looked OK, old and frail, as she had now for some time now. After all, she was 15 and a half. I started making dinner around 5.30. I noticed she was laying on the kitchen carpet, which she never does. Next thing I notice, Myy is standing next to me, barely standing up. Her legs are giving up and she looks so sad.

Sari takes her to the sofa. She is bleeding. We drive her to the Pieneläinklinikka, where a nurse makes a routine check. She calls a vet, who examines Myy more thoroughly.

There is only one possible choice.

We miss you horribly.

--

Little My was standing at the top of the slope, shouting with joy and admiration. She had broken a barrel and fastened two of the staves under her boots.

“Here I come,” she cried. Without a moment’s hesitation Little My set out, straight down the hill. Moomintroll looked up with one eye and saw that she would manage it. Her ferocious little face bore the mark of happy confidence and her legs were stiff as pegs.

Suddenly Moomintroll felt very proud. Little My never shied; she hurtled at breakneck speed close to a pine-bole, wobbled, caught her balance again, and with a roar of laughter threw herself down in the snow beside Moomintroll.

“She’s one of my oldest friends,” he explained to the Fillyjonk.

Tidings of Yule and All That!

Posted by Yule Log

"It's Xmas time, there no need to feel afraid" they sang a while back then. There is no need to be afraid again, as The Turku of Finland has declared Xmas Peace! They've done since the Middle Ages. Not in order to stop wars, apparently, but to give peace to women, markets, and especially domestic life.

We're also declaring Yule Peace! It covers all people and majority of domestic animals (especially dogs), but excludes ham and casseroles. And salmon. And various herrings and patés. And the usual accoutrements. You know. Edibles.

Jó étvágyat!!!

Botheration

Posted by jukkahoo

I have a tendency to celebrate my birthday every year. I'm sure this is not uncommon with people, but I think less than most try to organise a party every year. As long as I can remember with at least some clarity, I've invited people to my place that day. More often than not, that day has been the 20th of December, mostly because I was born that day (hence, the birthday).

Last year was a disappointing failure, due to me having a serious case of eartube infection, which to my personal experience ranks high up there as Things That Are Seriously Hurting Me -scale. I mean, "Ouch!". More so the pity, as last year I would've turned 40. And did, of course, just not with friends and all that.

So, imagine my dismay when people at workplace started getting sick with strange case of flu. And while some understand that staying at home and treating the sickness is the best alternative, some were less savvy and decided to come to work, none the less. And then more got sick, and then... I got sick. Yesterday I felt like I might be getting IT and today at work I knew I should leave right away. Yet I didn't, you see, there were still few among our crew, that weren't sick already. More the merrier and all that.

Now, it looks highly likely that I'm going to skip this year as well. The 20th is just around the corner, this Saturday (Saturday!!! How often do you get Saturdays?) in fact. Bummer, to say the least.

"Least".

So, maybe not. Damn.

V-08

Posted by Sari

No I am not mispelling the name of the engine...

Martti returned home from his tour today. In Sweden he won open class and was fourth best dog in his breed. Today he was even more successful: at Voittaja 2008 show at Messukeskus he was Best of Breed and thus got the title V-08 to add to his FI MVA title. I think he now has more titles than I do, definitely he has more trophies...

We have been celebrating with chocolate for people and dentasticks for Martti. He also had his fifth birthday while on the road, so that had to be celebrated also.

Now he has time to rest on his laurels and enjoy life, there is nothing on his schedule before his eye exam sometime in the spring: heelers are prone to a nasty genetic eye disease called lens luxation and regular eye checks are recommended for all but especially for breeding dogs. 

So now we are just going to enjoy long walks on the Tali golf course and try to learn new tricks, maybe even take in an obedience training course.

Hexa Campeão

Posted by jukkahoo

São Paulo FC has just won the Campeonato Brasileiro. It's their sixth in all (hence the hexa) and incredible third in a row. They now have the most Championships in the history of Brasilian football.

Which actually says a lot about Brasilian football. Only six championships and that's the most? And what's so incredicle about three in a row? There are countless other leagues, where three in a row, while not being commonplace, are still not that rare. Q: How many has Rosenborg won in Norway in a row? A: Thirteen, between 1992-2004.

But then again, Brasil is no Norway when it comes to football. Not only have A Seleção the only team to have played in every single World Cup, football is, to paraphrase Bill Shankly, "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. To Brasilians, it is much, much more important than that." Brasilians say, that Englishmen invented the beautiful game, but Brasilians perfected it. Brasil is "o país do futebol" (The Land of Football).

São Paulo FC today is not necessarily known for the beauty of their game. Under current coach, Muricy Ramalho, the team has found a defensively-minded style of play, which may sound un-Brasilian. However, Tricolor scored 66 goals this season (a feat they did previously in 2006), just one less than Flamengo, which scored the most in 2008 (in 2006 SPFC led the league with goals scored). Last year they were a bit more lacklustre with goal scoring ("only" 55), but then again, they let the opponent score mere 19, 20 less than the next best team (Fluminense).

However, São Paulo plays with just three defenders, with two back-playing midfielders in front of them. What makes this style so effective, is undoutably the single most important player of the team, goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni.

What makes him so special? Is it his lightning reflexes? Is it the perfect positioning? Is it the commitment to the team (He's played for SPFC since 1990, with 831 caps for the team!)? Or could it be his incredible skill with the ball?

Why, I think it the combination of all of the above, with special emphasis on the last one. Rogerio Ceni plays almost like a libero. He is the 4th defender and unlike so many (still) goalies, he is REALLY good with his feet. How good, I hear you ask?

He scored 20 goals in 2005 season. Ten goals alone in the league. THAT is a LOT. His career score? 83 goals. Eighty-three. Mindnumbing. Way more than any other goalie, ever.

Penalties, you say? Yes, penalties. 36 of them. Which makes it 47 NOT from penalties. THAT (again) is a LOT.

Thanks to Urheilukanava+, I've been able to watch Campeonato Brasileiro. The end of the season was a bit of a bummer personally, since I've been working a bit too much to have been able to enjoy the games (which are mainly televised here some time after midnight on Saturdays and Sundays) all that much. For a while it looked like Gremio was cruising to an easy title, but then they just... halted and crappy-beginning SPFC just cruised past them, not losing a single game of their last 18 (of the total number of 38 games).