pork and craziness

the independence day reception at the Divan Hotel Istanbul was quite awesome. i didnt know what to expect so we just went there and there was a very nice artsy lobby-style area full of people. finnish & turkish flags, and all the drinks in the world u could think, and they were serving these tiny snacks or mezes, on spoons, from sushi to bird eggs, really tasty fancy stuff. but a waiter going around with whisky glasses is something, something dangerous for finns to be exact. i met a lot of people, from the finnish ambassador to his driver. some business contacts and others... it was really delightfully social. just a short evening thing though, so we were home before 11, and we left quite late compared to others. i wish i had the chance to talk to even more people.

today we picked up the 4kg pork from the butcher, for the office party tomorrow. and i gave my turkish colleague a long shopping list... X vodkas, X white wines, X red wines, X beers... also some bread and mezes but really the pork is THE thing. and damn i had a taste it is good. its funny but its been years i think since i last ate proper christmas pork. and i learned the tradional pork is slightly different in norwaty for example. trying to please everyone here...   but lets not be picky, pork is pork, its freshly smoked and tasty, and its christmas and we are all far from our home, in our new home. i quite look forward to the party.

last night i was out with Jamie, an old class mate. well, not even class, we only shared a german course i think. but anyway so i havent met him since 2005?  he was in istanbul for business and contacted me through facebook so we met. i showed him some of the bars in kadiköy, and he seemed to enjoy, just like everyone else i took there... we had a good night, but were out quite late and i admit i got a bit drunk.. aaand today i had a *mental* hangover... i hear they run in our family. its hard to understand how a mental hangover could be so bad but it can... it affected my working efficiency and i was feeling just horrible most of the day.

the good news is that doctor called the landlord and he likes us, so we will renew the contract i guess.... its just a matter of rent increase which we should check from the contract. probably tied to inflation which is around 9% i think...:( just the limit of what we can manage, basically. but its really nice to stay here, makes it feel more like HOME again.