Married in the Grand State of New York

Number 24 seems to be our lucky number. Ari and I got married on Thursday, May 24^th!

After a lot of thinking Ari and I decided to have an intimate wedding ceremony in New York. Thank you, dear Heli, for witnessing this important moment!

And warm thanks to Stan Rifken who captured our special day at a photo shoot in Central Park.

Naturally we wanted to go to the Imagine Mosaic to take pictures, as we got engaged here on January 24^th.

This time we left two roses at Imagine. We were very lucky, as the Mosaic was empty of other flowers when we arrived.

We have combined the Finnish and American traditions for the rings: we both have two, designed by Kalevala Koru.

The magic number 24 repeated in the flowers, as Heli had got for us a bouquet of 24 red roses.

Lovely Party

Although we got married intimately, I am lucky to have many dear friends also in New York. One of them, Kati, wanted to throw a cocktail party in the evening. This was absolutely astonishing. We want to thank Kati and all you dear friends, who came to share the special moment with us. As this party was very special, we want to write separately of this event to our blogs in the coming weeks.

Finland To Follow

We have not forgotten Finland! Within a year a so we want to organize a party for our families and close friends.

Interesting Bureaucracy – Stay Tuned!

We will be writing more about the interesting procedure of getting married in New York as foreigners. The bureaucracy is something else. :)

Stay tuned!

GoogaMooga – Amusement Park for Adults

Warm weather brings an additional spice to New York – great outdoor festivals. As both Ari and I love good food, it was an easy decision to go to The Great GoogaMooga Festival held at the Prospect Park in Brooklyn. (Thanks to Manu for the tickets!)

GoogaMooga advertises itself as an amusement park for adults – filled with food and drinks. No wonder, as the festival had approximately 75 food vendors, 35 brewers, 30 winemakers and 20 live music performances during one sunny weekend.

What to Choose?

The offering was tremendous. Anything you could ask for on a sunny spring day. We tasted different foods but didn’t explore the world of wineries and brewers this time... Except that Heidi had some cider and tried one rose wine. (Red wine still remains number one!)

Starting from the Hamburger Experience...

An appetizer-sized burger is called "a slider" in the US.

Everyone over 21 got a bracelet that enables buying liquor.

Japanese-style chicken wings!

Joe's CHEESE pizza. :)

Recycling!

New York is not the best place when it comes to recycling. Thus it was a pleasure to notice this festival emphasized recycling even more than usual restaurants.

And of course, there had to be one kissing picture…

Rings – Finally!

Ari and I had a nostalgic moment at the Imagine Mosaic in Central Park on Friday, May 11th. After an almost four-month waiting period, we finally got together and started to use our engagement rings. The smaller the engagement ring, the bigger the wedding ring. ;)

A truly beautiful and memorable evening at Strawberry Fields.

Happy Vappu!

I feel somewhat obligated to tell about the major Finnish celebrations to my international friends. :)

Today and tomorrow (April 30^th – May 1^st) is one of them – Vappu – the Finnish version of a spring carnival.

Little My, A Moomin character. This picture was taken by Ari today. Reminded of me. :D

Random picture taken from the internet.

Celebrating With Student Caps

The Finnish May Day, Labor Day, is far from its American version.

The celebrations begin today, on May Day eve. A highlight of the evening happens around the the statue "Havis Amanda" in Helsinki. Students dress the statue with a student cap at 6 pm. This year, my university in Finland, Sibelius-Academy, had the honor to give this cap to "Manta". What a nostalgic feeling! If I was still a part of the student union Board, I would be one of those. ;) See the video here.

After this everyone wears their white student caps for two days.

Random picture taken from the internet.

Picnic Day 

The actual May Day is a traditional day for picnic. Especially the areas of Kaivopuisto and Ullanlinna get full of people of all ages. The most eager ones come as early as 8 am and have their own barbecues and different self-made delicacies.

This picture was published on MTV3' site. Read the entire story (in Finnish) here.

The day is full of serpentine, balloons, whistles and spending time with friends and family.

Happy Vappu – Hauskaa Vappua!

Following Tom Cruise’s Steps

Earlier this year, in January, I literally felt that we were following Tom Cruise’s steps in Top Gun, when Ari and I visited the Intrepid Museum in New York.

Top Gun is the place for the best Naval Aviators. If you would like to follow Tom Cruise’s steps, read more here. Interestingly, the Navy describes itself as the Global Force for God…

USS Intrepid – The Famous Aircraft Carrier

Opened in 1982, the Intrepid Museum is built around its main attraction – the aircraft carrier Intrepid. This unique ship was commissioned in 1943, and served in the World War II.

USS Intrepid. The picture is taken by Ari.

Following the World War II, Intrepid served as one of the primary recovery vessels for NASA, and in the Vietnam War. In addition, she participated in submarine surveillance in the North Atlantic during the Cold War.

USS Intrepid as a miniature model. The picture is taken by Ari.

In addition to the aircraft carrier, the museum consists the submarine, the Concorde, as well as the space shuttle Enterprise starting mid-July.

Glorifying America

It feels a bit awkward to enter a museum, which praises and romanticizes the Americans and their achievements in the war.

However, this was definitely one of the most interesting visits to a museum that I have ever experienced.

USS Intrepid was exceptional in one way, though. This was the place where Ari and I started the series of kissing pictures. It started from Ari's innocent comment: "I have never kissed a woman on an aircraft carrier's deck..."

The pictures below are taken by Ari.

The feeling is out of this world. To be among all these airplanes in the middle of a New York.

Fleet Week in May!

Every May the museum also hosts the annual Fleet Week. This year the event will be organized starting May 23^rd.

Knowing Ari, we will probably stop by. ;)

For some of us, the Fleet Week brings a flashback from Sex and the City.

And if watching sailors in their uniforms is not enough for you, you can always test this writer’s tips: “Nabbing a Fleet Week Sailor”. Seriously? I have only one word: America. ;)

P.S. Ari's writing about the Intrepid Museum can be read here.

NYC Marathon – I’m in?!

This will be a familiar sight for the next 6.5 months… I was one of those chosen at the lottery to run the New York City Marathon on November 4^th, 2012!!

Will need to buy several more new sneakers, too...

So What Happened?

This was NOT planned and I’m in a shock right now.

Last Friday, when I was co-editing the final edits to our group’s 40-page annual fundraising plan together with my NYU Master’s colleague, Sarah, I decided to participate in the lottery to run the New York City Marathon.

“Many people don’t get in after years of participation in the lottery. What do I have to lose?”

A Promise is A Promise

At that same moment I promised to Sarah, that if I got in, I would run.

The results of the lottery were published today…

I’M IN!!!!

I'm probably about to do the craziest thing in my life. I have never ever ran a marathon. The longest run I have ran was the half-marathon length run I did for fun this spring.

I will need all the possible support. Please, give me all the tips you have and also let me know, where to download the best practice programs! This is advertised at the New York Road Runners's site. I have been a member of this organization for a couple of weeks.

Ari, would you get used to the sight of sneakers and other running equipment? ;)

Dear friends, feel free to convince me not to run, too.  :)

P.S. A disclaimer: I will not run the marathon, if feverish or if my knees stop cooperating.

Ghost Musical – Remembering Patrick Swayze

For all of us, who remember Patrick Swayze from the movies Dirty Dancing and Ghost, the Broadway musical Ghost is a very nostalgic and emotional journey. It is a fantasy story of the powerful love between Sam and Molly. This love takes an unexpected and unusual twist, as Sam is suddenly murdered and trapped between life and death – living as a ghost.

Caissie Levy & Richard Fleeshman (musical) & Demi Moore & Patrick Swayze (film). This picture is from Broadway Buzz.

It is a beautiful and unusual love story, which includes drama and mystery. For me, Ghost holds now the second place of my list of favorite musical. Miss Saigon remains my ultimate favorite. Memphis is number three, close to Ghost.

Fabulous Cast and Breathtaking Story

Usually I would say that a very good musical excels in all the areas: acting, music, dances and costumes/props. Ghost did not have fabulous dances. Even the music was not outstanding.

However, there was so much magic between Molly (Caissie Levy) and Sam (Richard Fleeshman), that this musical stole my heart. We are very lucky, as we have the original Molly and Sam from the London production – those that have acted these roles several times and recorded the cd. The musical's story takes place in New York. It is breathtaking and needs the exact melodic and simple music, as it has. Beautiful.

Read more about the story and how it was turned into a musical here.

  

That’s Why They Call it the Preview…

Ghost had its official opening night yesterday. You can view the red carpet pictures here. Lisa Niemi, Patrick Swayze’s widow, appears first in the pictures…

I saw Ghost on Thursday, April 19^th. And understood why there are previews: the props fell down 20 minutes before the end and we had to wait a while before the story continued. :)

Now the Movie

My journey with Ghost will continue. I just received the movie Ghost from Netflix – the American online movie rental.

Can’t believe it’s already 22 years, since this movie came out in 1990. The main cast Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg are just as fabulous as ever.