Wednesday, August 15

 

 

We start the day by getting up slightly later than usual and driving to the Indian Embassy in Kulasaari to join the celebration of India’s 71st year of Independence. We listen to a speech by the ambassador and then watch three performances: two singing and one dancing.

After this we will have some Indian snacks, including (as usual) the best samosas you can get in Helsinki.

When I get to Arcada I will have a fun session with the Travel application that Arcada uses to claim back expenses. I will finalise my claims for the Edmedia conference in June, and will run into problems that even Monica cannot solve. Eventually she will decide that I should cancel the travel plan, and the subsequent travel claim, and make a simple claim for expenses. This will work perfectly, and I will once again wonder why some companies still feel that “intuitive” and “professional” cannot co-exist in the same package.

I will meet Oliver and Aga outside the S-Market at Hakaniemi at 12:30 to continue arranging the September event. We will have lunch at a place which Oliver will announce as a possible venue. I will recognise the building as Paasitorni, the Helsinki Workers’ Congress headquarters, and a venue used by Eliaskoulu for end-of-year celebrations. We will book it.

We will finalise a number of arrangements, and leave feeling that the mini-festival has become a reality.

In the afternoon I will continue downloading the material I need to grade the summer course, before I meet Naa at Espresso Hous in Itis for a cold frapino and a chat. We will have a good time, and enjoy each other’s company, until I walk home to pick two more boxes of redcurrants.