Monday, November 17

Something odd has started happening to the 6 and 8 trams. This morning there were no times on the stop at Sörnäinen and I caught sight of an 8X bus. I ran for it and noticed a sign warning of major road works between Sörnäinen and Töölö for the next two weeks. There will be no trams at all next week apparently.

This morning I have been preparing for this week’s jumbo sized portion of teaching. I prepared some new jQueryMobile examples, and ran through the official online information. I also made some attempts to think through some of the remaining WordPress problems I will be given tomorrow morning.

At 12:10 I set off for Töölö to find the trams running normally – or so I thought. I leapt on a number 8 which then turned right at Vallila church and proceeded by a completely different route to Linnanmaki.

At 13:00 I was sitting in Room 36 at Kepa with Nathalie and Jon from Pixelache discussing possible grant applications for the Bag Tree project and Jon’s South American lectures and exhibitions. We spent an hour talking through our options with Katja from Kepa and at the end I agreed to write an application this weekend.

I walked from the meeting towards the centre and now I am walking behind the cultural building by the sea. I am looking at a group of the biggest swans I think I have ever seen. I am also realising that there is a whole new part of town being built here, including the new central library.

Realising that I have had nothing to eat since my bowl of cornflakes at 7:30 I will stop at Burger King for a Steakhouse meal. Sitting there with my fries and soda water I will have a bizarre panic. I will fail to remember whether Auo and I ever came here to eat, and this will seem a remarkably important lapse of memory. I can clearly remember that she came here last winter before we left, because she talked about it. She naturally preferred Burger King to MacDoalds or Hesburger. I have no memories of being here with her. She must have been with Olivia or another friend. I will think about this until my burger has gone and I have left for the metro.

The panic, I will realise, is a sudden fear that she is fading away. I am somewhat calmed by the fact that I have been finding time to write the details down so that she doesn’t.

Back at Arcada I will get a checklist of things to remember when planning and administrating courses, before starting a Nobanet Skype meeting at 17:00. This will plan what we will do in Jönköping in a couple of weeks.

Irma will message me to say that she will be out seeing Päivi. I know that Naa will be spending the night at Kamppi. So I will set off at 18:30 in the dark to see the cat.

The cat will be happy to see me.