All those pretty men

What a fun weekend I had. Pretty men a-plenty. Never fails to cheer me up, such a weekend.

The first pretty men were lots prettier than I am, for sure. Or at least they had more makeup and dresses that glittered more than my average costume for oriental dancing. Not to even mention the stunning bling-bling of jewelry, which I could hardly compete with, not even with chandeliers hanging from my ears.

Yes, I went to see a drag show on Saturday evening, for the first time in my life. The guys were stunning. The costumes, the impressions, the humour... All glitter, all glam. Go see here if you don't believe me. My personal favorites were the short appearances of Tarja Turunen, Tina Turner and Ville Valo (although Ville doesn't exactly count as being in drag, I suppose). The traditional Finnish singers, like Paula Koivuniemi, Katri Helena, Marion Rung and so on were also hilariously accurate. I can warmly recommend you try to catch this show, when Linnateatteri hosts the guys again. If not for anything else, then for the excellent mix and match of the dry, sarcastic humour of Jarkko Valtee (for those of you who don't know it, he's one of the judges in this years Finnish Idols -competition) combined with the delightfully perky and bubbly character of Osku Heiskanen. Entertainment guaranteed!

I may have laughed less, but last night's chick flick entertained me just as well as the Men in Drag. I finally got to see Elizabethtown. And this is what followed from it: "Huh? Movie? Was there a plot? I suppose it was good, must've been. But did you see that neckline as he tilted his head to sleep in the plane?" *omgsqueedroolswoon* Yes, yes, it's time for some completely adolescent and unashamed fangirling. Orlando Bloom rocks my world! (As if you didn't know it before...)

Seriously, the movie was nice. It was just the kind of harmless movie entertainment one needs on a Sunday evening when at the movies with good friends. Not a tear-jerker as such, but definitely endearing and amusing. A bit slow-paced at times, but on the other hand that sort of goes with the laid-back feeling of Kentucky. (Too bad I didn't visit Elizabethtown when I was in Kentucky, celebrating the New Year's in 94-95.)

And what's more important, Orlando had plenty of screen time (well, duh!) and this time without a helmet of any sort, without a blond wig or period clothing. Instead, a few very nice regular t-shirts (guuuuhhhh) and few well made suits. It really should be illegal to look that good. Normal, sensible women like myself will suffer from irrational gigglyfits and get all lightheaded from all the sighing. Not fair, I say. Not fair, d'ya hear?

Where did November go?

A long time since my last update. I can't believe it's this late in November already. You can directly see the relation between my increased workload at school (got those two extra 7th grader groups to teach from November 1st on) and the hibernation of my blog. Sorry about that, folks.

The good thing about this is that the weeks go by so fast it always seems to be Friday, which is not bad. I and a colleague of mine already joke about it. Today when she came to the teachers' lounge in the morning we didn't even have to say anything, we just both burst into laughter. Which then made the principal and other teachers look at us really puzzled. I don't know if our explanation of "Well, it's just because it's Friday!" made that much sense to them. Or maybe it did, considering the fact that (despite the probably quite popular belief) also teachers are happy when it's Friday.

But next week marks the change of study period for us. Which, for me, means a return to a more slow pace and considerably less work at school. Considerably more work at this desk, though, since I need to get my studies going once more. I've got a few more exams to pass before I can graduate, after all. However much I like teaching, it'll be relaxing to be the student for a while, even if it means studying alone at home.

High stress levels also require high relaxation levels. Last week's chosen method for relaxation was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Dum-bledore-de-dum. Excellent entertainment, that movie. I have liked the previous movies, too (although not as much as the books), but this one became the first Potter-film I'd actually like to see in the theatre again. The previous movies didn't make me want to go back, I was more than content with waiting for the dvd's. (Which, btw, I still don't own...)

The movie was mostly pretty fast paced, which served the director's purpose very well. No Dursleys, no dull classes in Hogwarts, no side-stories - it all made the movie feel somehow more streamlined. That particular 2,5 hours went by so fast that I was almost surprised to notice the end credits. "What? Already?"

I'm sure the movie wasn't without its faults, but it was spot-on perfect for me and my stress levels. Besides, the post-movie squeeing and fangirling has been almost as tasty a remedy as the movie itself.

Squeeing and fangirling, you ask? Well. We thought (I went to see the movie with Tytti and her hubby) that the teen-wizards had been doing some growing up since the last movie. First of all, check out the arms of Harry and Ron! They've clearly done some gym work, because when I think of the 14-year-olds I teach... Well, let's just say that Harry & Ron didn't resemble drained spaghetti on a stick as much as an average teenager boy does. Good for them. Let's just wait some five to eight years or so, and some of these young actors are going to be quite the heartbreakers, I'm sure. (And yes, I'll be a dirty old lady talking about them when the time comes...)

And woohooo, bring out the Eastern European team Durmstrang! What an entry. Compared to those sissy Beauxbatons-chicks, Viktor Krum and his buddies were rockin'. It might be just me, but honestly, I thought Krum was pretty yummy. Or mruh, to be more exact. Just the kind of guy that actually fits Hermione's description of him: "Viktor's more a physical kind of guy." Heehee.

The only competition the French witches won without a doubt was the vehicle of choice. Those winged horses, whee! I want some, too! The submerging ship was cool, but those horses were pretty awesome! Too bad they didn't show them more.

Anyhow, I may end up re-visiting Kinopalatsi for a second viewing of Harry and his friends. But before a second helping from the Goblet, I'll go and have eye-candy-a-lot on Sunday, when we go to see Elizabethtown... I've been Orlando-deprived for long enough now, it's time to fix the situation. :)