Gone baby gone!

We are well on our way in January 2009, but I think it is not too late to look back to 2008. Reflect what I actually remember from the past year. You know, as free association, of sort. What comes to my mind when / if I think about the respective months of last year. If anything.

Uusi vuosi on saatu jo komeasti alkuun, mutta vielä täytyy palata entiseen ja miettiä mitä siitä oikein jäikään mieleen.

JANUARY
Hmm... Could it be that at this age a person only remembers one year back? I have no idea what happened in January, except that we visited freezing-cold Shanghai to look for an apartment.

FEBRUARY
I wasn't here (in China) but it certainly hit the news also in Europe when China was covered with snow at the time of the Spring Festival (i.e. Chinese New Year).

Many Chinese can only visit their families once a year. Followingly, Chinese New Year is the biggest human migration every year. (According to the Discovery Channel, that is.) When the year of the rat was about to begin, millions of people waited in vain to visit their families, but trains, buses, cars, all were stuck. That, understandably, can cause a little unrest in the waiting / freezing population.

MARCH
I visited Istanbul for the first time, and experienced my first earthquake.

I also had a laser operation to correct my eye sight. I still get excited, occasionally, when I realise that I can see without any devices. (It is not like I had very poor sight to begin with, but I needed contact linses (or glasses, but that happened very rarely) to drive, watch TV, and to feel comfortable. It is great to see well, I tell you.

We also went to London the next day after my surgery, and it wast the coldest Easter in UK in 25 years! So there I was, with a brimmed hat and huge sunglasses, hiding like a celebrity and protecting my yeas from the wind. It was raining cats and dogs. I also needed to add eye drops in every hour or so, and frequently got a small(ish) panic that my cornea (sarveiskalvo) has certainly been detached from my eye! (That could happen after the surgery, because they need to cut it open, then they operate, then they put it back in place, but it is just supposed to stuck there on its own...) A bright idea to have a long weekend right after the surgery. Well, we had fun anyway.

APRIL

It was found out that a crazy Austrian Josef Fritzl had kept his daughter a prisoner for 24 years in their family basement. Plus had a few kids with her, too. Sicko. And the above living family knew nothing..?

MAY
My path in China begun. What can I say? I remember being enthusiastic about my new city. And a teeny-tiny bit lonely, being all alone for here for the first six weeks. I have no recollection about the happenings of the world. Well, excluding the seemingly neverending news about the presidential candidate candidates in America.

Oh my my! I really meant that I don't remember ANYTHING, 'cause I just realized we had the HUGE earthquake around here (in Sichuan province, famed for the pandas and delicious spicy food) at May 12th. Almost 90 000 people were killed, and thousands more were left homeless and lost family members.

Also, couple of days after I started work here, a young woman jumped from the 6th floor to the concrete in my office building. Within one hour pictures of this episode were all over the internet.

JUNE

I have no recollection at all! I went to Finland to pack the rest of our things, and as we had sold our apartment. Another family moved in. That couple had lived in Shanghai for 5 years, and were returning to Finland, just as we moved to Shanghai. It was a funny conincidence.

JULY
HOT! The hottest, humidest (Now, I KNOW it is not a word, but I use it anyway. Just because I can. Tee hee :o) month of my life. And it's not like I am comparing it to Finnish summer :o)

AUGUST
There is only one possible answer, living in China: OLYMPICS. But from the Olympics I mostly remember the fuss before they started, and the little fake singing girl-episode. Hilarious. So Chinese.

Also, I run the first marathon of my life! I hope many more will follow...

And the war in Georgia / South Ossetia. Scary, scary Russia. I think this reminded me that living next door to them is no good. (Technically I think I live in a neighbouring country right now, but it is sligthly different...) They have their own rules, their own truth. And their own "democracy".

SEPTEMBER
In one word? MILK! The scandalous and deadly practice of chinese milk producers to add melamine in to milk so that they can continue the milk with water and still have the needed protein and composition. What a great idea! Except that several kids died and so many got sick because of it. Further more, officials were informed of this already in August, but it was not published due to the... Olympics.

I don't know if it hit the news in the western world, but the main evils behind this scheme were convicted at the end of the year.

Finland had its second schoolshooting 24.9 within one year and within "ever". Where is the world going?

From my own life I have to say I had a good time in Formula One in Singapore. First I have been to.

OCTOBER

Visited Bali for the first time in my life (which makes three new countries visited for year 2008).

I was in Finland and loved it.

NOVEMBER
Madonna is getting a divorce. Well, personally I don't think that is any business of mine, but why is she not coming anywhere near China on her tour? I really wan't to see the living legend, before she looks like Aira Samulin.

DECEMBER

Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari won the Nobel Prize! OMG.

Change is here! Or there, actually, in U.S. of America. The first African-American President was elected, and is about to face ridiculously high expectations. Then again, beating the previous one should not be hard.

That is about it. Let see what 2009, year of the Ox, will bring. It certainly started very well, as you can see from my previous posts...

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P.s. I noticed all my links were the same color as the text. Which might make it slightly difficult for you to follow my links... Darn. Sorry about that. I have now changed them to a nice reddish color. You'll see.