Day 164

Day 164 - 17.04.10

I've walked this street so many times before without noticing this sign.

The ash cloud said that there will be no flying for Gali.

Officially my flight to CDG has been cancelled for tomorrow. All flights from Helsinki leaving before 3pm tomorrow are cancelled and perhaps the cancellations will continue afterwards. I suppose it's ok though, my boss booked flights for Monday morning so he'll probably make it to Nantes in the end and he can present my paper. I could always try to rebook for Monday morning or Tuesday morning, I don't have to present till Tuesday afternoon but I think there will be tons of people queing to get a flight out of Helsinki. It's probably not worth the effort. But emotionally I'm a bit upset... not because I really wanted to go to Nantes but because it's an unexpected turn of events and I cannot control it. I'm fine with changing my plans at the last minute but this time it's not my choice and I highly dislike that. In my head it was supposed to happen one way and now it's going to happen some other way and it's just not cool. And so this instability has caused me to crave comfort food... and today's comfort food is porridge.

Stupid volcano. But let's look on the bright side, at least the ash cloud came now and not in two weeks! I'd much rather miss going to Nantes and then to Geneva.

Niargh. Electric guitars and I don't get along sometimes.

Dear effing upstairs neighbour (or upstairs neighbour one over), Could you please either learn some more chords for your electric guitar or give it up completely? It's getting ridiculous. I know one needs practice to learn an instrument but the same couple of chords over and over and over again for hours on end a couple of times per week is just not cool with me. Hey, at least you stop at 10pm as not to bother anyone's sleeping patterns, I guess I should be thankful for that. No love for you or your (non-existent) guitar skills, Gali In other news obviously there are still no planes going about and I've done some reading as to just why they're grounded. See the ash is actually quite tiny and therefore it's not really a visibility problem, it's a mechanical problem. Planes aren't meant to fly in places where there are microscopic particles which are extremely corrosive. Or something of the sort. I should really remember better, I really should, but I really know more about cars than planes. Planes are really my sister's territory. She went to a school specialising in planes, she works closely with an airplane manufacturer and she freaken has a pilot's license! Yes, she's awesome like that. She likes to fly a DR400, you can imagine just how many times she has mentioned it for that name to be stuck in my head. DR400, DR400, DR400... All I have is a driving license and I'm 15 on the photo stuck in there. It's cool though, it's the old French driving license, you know the folding pink paper. I first signed up for driving school when I just turned 16 (conduite accompagnée) and they asked for photos, I gave them some dating a few months back where I have my hair in plaits and I'm wearing a tank top and I'm obviously 15 years old. They didn't mention at the time that those would also be the photos they would give the prefecture when I finally would get my license... and the best part is that as of today's French laws, that license never expires (or maybe there is some clause saying that eventually when you start looking totally different you should get a new one but those kinds of clauses are for losers!) and therefore I'll always be 15 with plaits for the policemen checking my license. But back to airplanes. I like airplanes, I don't remember if I've ever been scared of taking one, all I know is that by now I know what most of the noises they make mean. Did you know, for example, that the AC turns off right before the engines start as not to get fumes sucked into the cabin? That's the weird change in noise levels you hear at one point. Oh, and I also love always getting the window seat. Except when it's a 10 hour flight, then aisle is the way to go! When you're next to the window you have the power to put the shade up or down and you can shamelessly take aerial photos.

And imperfections on the windows mean that there will be some really cool frost designs... quite brilliant, if I say so myself!