Hey dudes. Sorry I haven't written in ages. I made the move back to New York, and I am now living in "East Williamsburg" a.k.a. Bushwick in Brooklyn. (My apartment is amaaaazing, by the way. Total schwing digs.) Bye for now, Helsinki.
I am such a failure that I haven't even made posts about my last two days of busking, and all of the stuff I have heard from people after the article came out.
I'll either post that tonight or in the next few days. Plus, I'll make some posts about Flow Festival, since that was my last big bang in Finland, with photos and all. Until then, you can see my coverage – photos and text – on www.nickydigital.com. (See photos of Lily Allen, Grace Jones, Ladyhawke, Vampire Weekend, Yann Tiersen, Handsome Furs, Fever Ray, and more.)
Showing posts with label Flow Festival. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Flow Festival. Show all posts
04 September 2009
14 August 2009
I guess I must be having fun
I'm in NYT today! It's not online, so I can't show y'all yet. But if they don't put the article up on the Web site, then I'll have to scan it in. It's funny, and it's in Finnish, so it won't make much sense to non-Finnish speakers. And Google Translate won't help you if I scan it in!
And it's nice and sunny – not rainy like I expected. Maybe I'll go busking for an hour? Then it's back to packing. Then to Flow Festival!
And it's nice and sunny – not rainy like I expected. Maybe I'll go busking for an hour? Then it's back to packing. Then to Flow Festival!
13 August 2009
OK OK, here we go
Below, find the details of Tuesday's busking adventure:
First thing, one woman got a necklace. I knew I recognized her from somewhere, and I later realized she's a waitress at Tori. Whoops.
I had no customers for a long time, so I got food. And there was this seagull that was aggressively trying to steal my food! It kept diving in at me, or trotting up. One of the waiters chased it away for me, as did my friend Jaakko. I finally finished my meal in peace.
With my free time, I wrote a story for this art project I'm doing with my friend Ashkahn. It's top secret until we get some stuff together, or maybe I'm just saying that. Nonetheless, he's a great artist/graphic designer/typographer/guy.
Then I found out that my meal from Tori was free. Thanks, Fredi!
Finally! I got an order for writing! A guy asked for a story, and didn't know what the topic should be. I made him pick something, and he said, "A man and a woman go to play tennis, and you decide what happens." What happens: Mr. Williams (a prominent art dealer) goes to his country club to play tennis with his girlfriend/arm candy, Charlotte. After the first game, Charlotte notices the ball boy doodling caricatures in the white lines of the court and threatens to report him for graffiti. Mr. Williams likes the art, and says he will make the boy famous. The next time Mr. Williams comes to play tennis at the country club, he's there with the ball-boy-turned-artist (who is now a valued member of the club)...and this time, Mr. Williams' arm candy is named Lucy.
Then a couple approached me and said that it was their two-year anniversary. They asked for a poem. I asked if they wanted it to be lovey-dovey (not in those words) or funny. They said mix the two. So I wrote what felt best. I delivered the poem to their table and watched for their reaction. The man read faster than the woman and gave me the thumbs up. The woman cried. About half an hour later, one of the waitresses carried out three glasses of champagne and said one was for me...from the couple. They clinked their glasses with eyes locked, and then they looked at me, and we three raised our champagne flutes in the air for a silent toast. I like getting tipped (extra) in champagne.
My last customer proves that the world is small, or at least that Helsinki is. She ordered a poem with the prompt "What it means to be born on a Thursday." I thought what I wrote was kind of cheesy, but she said she loved it. It was for her son, who is 19 and was originally born on a Thursday. She asked, "What's your name?"
"It's on the back of the poem."
"Wait...that's your name??"
"Yeah...?"
"I was your landlady last year!"
Haha, no shit. We had never met, only exchanged emails. We thought that was awesome.
Wednesday, it rained, so I didn't busk. But I did meet Lilu for a goodbye lunch. She's fantastic. And Wednesday night, I went to Helsinki's best bookstore, Arkadia Bookshop, for a finishing-of-book party. The author is that guy I have mentioned before, an American from New York who was writing (but is now finished with) a book about the Winter War. Gordon Sander. Check it out.
That bookshop is glorious, too. The owner, Ian, is such a delightful man, and he has a lovely British accent. He and I made a trade: I got one of the Arkadia tote bags in exchange for a story, which I will mail to him. He also gave me a book by Kingsley Amis, one of my favorite authors. If you’re ever in Helsinki, this is a must-see-stop. One of my favorite parts of the store is the color coordination of books. He sometimes has entirely orange bookshelves, or blue, or, in this case, one long strip of just red books.
Then I went home. And I started packing up. All of my wall decorations are now placed safely into containers for the long journey home to New York. Pretty soon all my books and clothes and everything else will be too.
First thing, one woman got a necklace. I knew I recognized her from somewhere, and I later realized she's a waitress at Tori. Whoops.
I had no customers for a long time, so I got food. And there was this seagull that was aggressively trying to steal my food! It kept diving in at me, or trotting up. One of the waiters chased it away for me, as did my friend Jaakko. I finally finished my meal in peace.
With my free time, I wrote a story for this art project I'm doing with my friend Ashkahn. It's top secret until we get some stuff together, or maybe I'm just saying that. Nonetheless, he's a great artist/graphic designer/typographer/guy.
Then I found out that my meal from Tori was free. Thanks, Fredi!
Finally! I got an order for writing! A guy asked for a story, and didn't know what the topic should be. I made him pick something, and he said, "A man and a woman go to play tennis, and you decide what happens." What happens: Mr. Williams (a prominent art dealer) goes to his country club to play tennis with his girlfriend/arm candy, Charlotte. After the first game, Charlotte notices the ball boy doodling caricatures in the white lines of the court and threatens to report him for graffiti. Mr. Williams likes the art, and says he will make the boy famous. The next time Mr. Williams comes to play tennis at the country club, he's there with the ball-boy-turned-artist (who is now a valued member of the club)...and this time, Mr. Williams' arm candy is named Lucy.
Then a couple approached me and said that it was their two-year anniversary. They asked for a poem. I asked if they wanted it to be lovey-dovey (not in those words) or funny. They said mix the two. So I wrote what felt best. I delivered the poem to their table and watched for their reaction. The man read faster than the woman and gave me the thumbs up. The woman cried. About half an hour later, one of the waitresses carried out three glasses of champagne and said one was for me...from the couple. They clinked their glasses with eyes locked, and then they looked at me, and we three raised our champagne flutes in the air for a silent toast. I like getting tipped (extra) in champagne.
My last customer proves that the world is small, or at least that Helsinki is. She ordered a poem with the prompt "What it means to be born on a Thursday." I thought what I wrote was kind of cheesy, but she said she loved it. It was for her son, who is 19 and was originally born on a Thursday. She asked, "What's your name?"
"It's on the back of the poem."
"Wait...that's your name??"
"Yeah...?"
"I was your landlady last year!"
Haha, no shit. We had never met, only exchanged emails. We thought that was awesome.
Wednesday, it rained, so I didn't busk. But I did meet Lilu for a goodbye lunch. She's fantastic. And Wednesday night, I went to Helsinki's best bookstore, Arkadia Bookshop, for a finishing-of-book party. The author is that guy I have mentioned before, an American from New York who was writing (but is now finished with) a book about the Winter War. Gordon Sander. Check it out.
That bookshop is glorious, too. The owner, Ian, is such a delightful man, and he has a lovely British accent. He and I made a trade: I got one of the Arkadia tote bags in exchange for a story, which I will mail to him. He also gave me a book by Kingsley Amis, one of my favorite authors. If you’re ever in Helsinki, this is a must-see-stop. One of my favorite parts of the store is the color coordination of books. He sometimes has entirely orange bookshelves, or blue, or, in this case, one long strip of just red books.
Then I went home. And I started packing up. All of my wall decorations are now placed safely into containers for the long journey home to New York. Pretty soon all my books and clothes and everything else will be too.
For next time...
I have great things to update about. But no time right now. Packing. Busking. Cleaning. Drinking.
Will today be my last day of busking? Or should I go tomorrow for a few hours just to see if the article actually encourages people to come?
In other news, Flow Festival starts tomorrow!
In other other news, I might stop in Stockholm for a day, if I can!
P.S. A photo from one of my busking sessions: Tori's delightful ice cream.
Will today be my last day of busking? Or should I go tomorrow for a few hours just to see if the article actually encourages people to come?
In other news, Flow Festival starts tomorrow!
In other other news, I might stop in Stockholm for a day, if I can!
P.S. A photo from one of my busking sessions: Tori's delightful ice cream.
###
07 August 2009
I want an answer, Nyt!
What the fuck my article didn't come out today and I don't know what's up wid dat.
I asked the writer and he said that Nyt loved the article, so they must be holding it off until next week for some reason. But that doesn't help me. If the article came out today, then I would (I hoped) have a delightful boost in customers during my last week here. But now it's coming out next Friday, right before Flow Festival, which I will be attending. So I probably won't be busking that weekend anyway. And then I leave back to New York on the following Monday or Tuesday.
Or the article might not come out at all. Maybe they cut the story? Shit.
I'm not going busking today, for several reasons. 1) Because it's my mother's last day in Helsinki before she heads home to Los Angeles, so I'm going to spend time (i.e. drink & dine) with her. 2) The weather is nuts. Keeps switching on and off from sweaty, hot sunny to sweaty, hot rainy. Weird. 3) I just don't feel like it.
P.S. Madonna played in Helsinki last night (first time ever?) and the city was craaaaazy!
P.P.S. I forgot to mention in my last post that one of the dudes from Dead Combo walked by my busking spot and told me he likes typewriters. I like typewriters, too. What a co-ink-e-dink.
I asked the writer and he said that Nyt loved the article, so they must be holding it off until next week for some reason. But that doesn't help me. If the article came out today, then I would (I hoped) have a delightful boost in customers during my last week here. But now it's coming out next Friday, right before Flow Festival, which I will be attending. So I probably won't be busking that weekend anyway. And then I leave back to New York on the following Monday or Tuesday.
Or the article might not come out at all. Maybe they cut the story? Shit.
I'm not going busking today, for several reasons. 1) Because it's my mother's last day in Helsinki before she heads home to Los Angeles, so I'm going to spend time (i.e. drink & dine) with her. 2) The weather is nuts. Keeps switching on and off from sweaty, hot sunny to sweaty, hot rainy. Weird. 3) I just don't feel like it.
P.S. Madonna played in Helsinki last night (first time ever?) and the city was craaaaazy!
P.P.S. I forgot to mention in my last post that one of the dudes from Dead Combo walked by my busking spot and told me he likes typewriters. I like typewriters, too. What a co-ink-e-dink.
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