madam striga: Heloooo Helsinki!

This post will start out sounding kind of ridiculous, but all the details go into the experience of travel... We checked into our hotel in Helsinki and I entered my room. Now, I have never been one to splurge on a hotel room. I think it's a waste - most of the time I'm just going to sleep there and there are so much better ways to spend my money. So this was my first time in business class and now I see what all the fuss is about! Maybe I'm just a sucker for free stuff (I totally am), or maybe it's cause I hadn't had coffee in 2 months but, being greeted by an espresso machine made for a awesome welcome. The room had an electric panel that controlled the lighting, allowing me to set the light according to my mood, extra toiletries in the bathroom including bath salts, chocolate bars (tho sadly not vegan), but what blew my mind was the flat panel tv IN the bathroom mirror! WTF?? I don't even watch tv but you know I had to turn that on. The whole thing just cracked me up. I didn't even realize til later that the main tv was 3D. A 3D tv! Crazy. Seriously tho - the room had the most comfortable bed I think I've ever slept in. Ahhhh. Even better than the room was the business class lounge that had a free happy hour every day from 5-7. Apparently they think BC people are responsible enough to pour their own drinks - Ha! They've obviously never seen me pour a "glass" of wine. Of course, we only had the fancy pants room for 2 days because when we booked our stay they were the only rooms available. After that we moved into regular rooms... but still managed to all sneak in and meet for happy hour ;)

What was really great tho about having a super swanky room was it inspired me to stay in and get some work done. I'd been sketching out ideas for a logo for Power Theory (Pure Steel Records) and I finally had some uninterrupted time and a place to concentrate and lay down designs. Yay or productivity!

The day before the show the crew and rest of band all arrived and we went to meet some fans at a meet-n-greet. As soon as I saw the promotor's face I was pleasantly surprised - we had a super fun night last time we were in Finland and it was great to see Jouni again! I wound up going to a show with him afterwards and catching some cool bands. It's funny - I haven't missed America one bit, then a band played that had a hardcore/thrash sound that I think of as American metal and I realized THAT was one thing I did miss :P The craziest thing about being at that club… I was sitting on a stool, waiting for the next band, when a girl walked by and our eyes met. In a flash I thought - I know her! and realized that it had been ages since I'd seen her. I met Chrissy Terpeinen probably 15 years ago when she was a shy kid putting out a metal zine. She's still rocking Enslain Magazine, but now married and living in Finland for 5 years. So crazy to run into each other!

The rest of the night was a blur of black t-shirts, park drinking, metal clubs, and dreadlocks. Met some awesome peeps who showed me an excellent time in Finland. Cheers to you all!

Our final day in Helsinki was the grand finale - Tuska Festival. It was a gorgeous day to be outside, but it was strange playing the show in broad daylight. I would have liked to see Amorphis play but they went on right before us, which is when I have to get ready. I did get to listen to them as we waited to hit the stage, which was pretty cool for me :)