The original invitation node seems to have been nuked. Thanks a lot. :(
Some said we couldn't do it.. Others thought there was no way in
hell we could pull it off.. But once again
Finnish Noders beat all odds, by successfully holding
The Unbelieveable Finnish E2 Gathering™ on
July 1, 2001.
First of all, I'd like to thank Simppa and Omegas for all their good ideas and work making up for my own half-assed organizing. Second, typo for providing our overseas guests with shelter for the night.
Last but not least, extra special thanks to everybody who showed up. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought it was wonderful meeting the people behind the writeups. Everybody got along perfectly, and in my opinion the Finnish attendants did a fine job dispelling the myth of the unsocial and introverted Finn. :)
Of course, having the meet on a Sunday presented a problem: a great deal of us had to leave too early to make it to work on Monday morning. I myself missed some of the action, which afterwards made me seriously regret not calling in sick today. Perhaps the next get-together should be a full-on weekend retreat?
To put it short, I had a great time! If no one is against it, we'll do this again before 2001 is over. We just scratched the surface, and there are plenty of more noders out there waiting to be met.
All the attendants are hereby invited to add their post-gathering thoughts to this node. Detailed personal accounts about the course of events, a singular detail you want to inform the public of.. Everything goes.
Who showed up?
What went on?
- Hanging out in Suomenlinna, watching boats go by and having endless silly discussions about E2, mosquitoes and Telia commercials.
- An intense drinking game between Omegas and Simppa, involving bottle caps being thrown on the opponent's balls, disguised as attempting to knock the cap off the opponent's beer bottle.
- Simppa demonstrating how to drink red wine straight out of the bottle with style. Don't let anyone tell you Finns aren't capable of acting classy!
- Ultimate Frisbee. Er, not really. But there was a frisbee, and it even got thrown around a bit.
- The Finnish/American E2 Band™ getting together for their first ever practice session. Even with their potential, I think topping the international charts will take a few more get-togethers.
- Being sober. The company kept me so busy I didn't even remember there was alcohol and herbal remedies present. Sober Finns? I'm afraid two people got a wrong picture of our kind. There was some minor intoxication going on, but none of the traditional puking-your-guts-out stuff in sight.
- Sunburn.
- Most likely the most interesting activities took place in the restaurant after I had already left for Hämeenlinna. Fill me in, people!
Anything else?
- The weather was as good as it gets around here. Our friends from Arizona told me it resembled what they get in March, which means I wouldn't survive 10 minutes around there during summer.
- Jope found a hilarious CD from a store near the train station for 5FIM. Hence The Flower Pot Men became the official band of the meeting.
Maybe we SHOULD have gotten stoned after all.
- Call me crazy, but if I'm walking through a marketplace during one of the hottest days of the year, I except to see something else than fur coats and hats being sold.
- Since they came in all the way from The States, we had to reveal the power of the word perkele to our guests. Which means we'll most likely be jailed for revealing a national secret.
- There was the business with purple sunglasses and an empty wine bottle.. But let's not go there right now.
I'll fill in more stuff as it pops in my head. Go ahead and let me hear
your side of the story.