A busy Friday

Retirement is supposed to bring peace and tranquility.

I seem to be getting more and more into the fast lane. Friday was truly an example of how life is getting hectic.

Mika's Water Immersion Physiotherapy had been changed to be early morning. Off we went at already half past eight. I had already had to clear my email between 04:30 and 08:00 hours.

I listen to the Liberal Talk Show Host Mike Malloy out of Atlanta, Georgia, on the internet on Tuesdays to Saturdays between 05:00 and 08:00 hours, so that was no hassle. Mike's exuberant nature and his sharp sense of what is right and wrong with no compromises, makes one trust that once the Bush cabal is removed from power, America will once again find its true role as a leader among the nations, despite the fact that the Democrat Party is just a bunch of weeping wimpos at the present time. Hopefully some politicians with some gall as Senator Barbara Boxer, Congressman Dennis Kucinich and the evergreen Congressman John Conyers Jr. will breathe some new firepower into this present Republican-lite Party at the 2006 elections.

Then it was off to help my Thai friends as they struggle to get their life in order. They called to say that their car was not starting so could I lend them a battery charger.

I had to pick up Kamu, my Zambian friend, from his work place and take him to collect his Volvo. After that, I dropped off my battery charger at Unnop's restaurant. There, I found they were desperate as without their car they had not been able to go and collect supplies from the wholesaler.

I took my friends to the wholesale shop so they could do their critical shopping. When we got back they found they had missed one important item - French Fries, so I promised to pick some up as I did the shopping for Annikki.

Then the crucial work of getting Annikki's shopping done and the extra French Fries, which I duly delivered to the restaurant.

Kannan had volunteered my presence at the meeting of the group who are planning to visit India as part of a Rotary Exchange programme. We assembled at the New Bombay Restaurant. We spent a couple of hours while I learnt about their trip to Rotary District 3210 in Kerala (and part in Tamilnadu) and told them of the Don'ts and Do's in India. They are not visiting my Rotary Club which is situated in Chennai (Madras).

Rotarian Reino, with the four younger members of the team, Ville, Katja, Sini and Kaisu, were briefed by Kannan and me.

Maybe they learnt a few things?

Just before I embarked on the journey to the restaurant for this meeting, I had a call from Isaac Sundarajan, whom I have mentioned in an earlier blog entry. He was back from Silicon Valley. He told me that he had brought back some authentic Kerala Banana Chips from the US. That was really a sweet thought.

Isaac was also dining with the founder of his company, Marko Laakso, at the New Bombay. We had our first face to face encounter at the venue. Not having seen Marko for many years, I was happy to see that he has retained his broad smile and sense of humour over all these years.

I had rung the restaurant owner, Tapon, about the fact that all of us would be there, albeit at seperate tables. Tapon made it a special occasion by being on hand and seeing that everyone got their food and drinks just right.

After the briefing session I was off to see Soda, my young Thai friend, train at the Oulu Sports Dome with his football team, Tervarit Juniors. It was the first time they are training in the dome.

Kannan, whom I dragged along with me, and I watched. I certainly saw a lot of talent in this young lad, Soda. He has the undying enthusiasam of grandson Samuel.



Soda was playing in a temperature more suited to his style of play, rather than the freezing outdoor conditions I had seen him perform the week earlier!



This 14-year old is of the same style of Jari Litmanen, the Finnish football genius, who put Finnish football on the international map by playing in such great teams as Ajax of Holland and Liverpool of England. Jari certainly does not look as tall as 6 foot on the field, but when he is on it, he dominates the proceedings.

Jari Litmanen

Date of Birth: 20/02/1971
Squad number: 37
Height: 6' 0 (182.88 cm)
Weight: 12st 10lbs (76.2 kg)
Characteristics: Experienced right-footed
striker with excellent technique and vision
Clubs: Reipas Lahti, HJK Helsinki, MyPa, Ajax, Barcelona, Liverpool, Hansa Rostock
Birth Place: Lahti, Finland
Nickname: Litti

Soda is not tall, but he is lithe with great footwork.

(On Saturday evening I went to see Soda play his first indoor football match. Not only did Soda manage to feed the ball to his team mates unselfishly and efficiently, he scored two superb goals in the overwhelming 7-0 victory. We will hear a lot about this young lad if he can stick to a tough training routine.)

By the time I got home it was almost 23:00 hours, just enough time to check my email and clear it, listen to a bit of the Randi Rhodes programme, the effervescent Talk Show Host out of New York, check the latest news online, before passing out for the night leading to another hectic day!