Saturday, April 14, 2007

Second-rate flaneuring

The other day at Mannerheimintie, Helsinki

A woman walks in front of me, wearing a bright red jacket, uncomfortably high heels and a skirt so tight it's making an impression of a badly squeezed tofu sausage in a vacuum.
She walks like a 50s movie star, waves her hips from side to side looking bit more like a somewhat tipsy Mother Goose than Marilyn, but what interests me most is how she carries her hands. They are not moving at all and her fingertips are pointing straight up. I see how everyone looks at her. I notice how I have placed my fingers exactly in the same position like she has. I look around and see somebody is shooting photos of her. And apparently of me, copying her way of walking.


The other day at Mannerheimintie, Helsinki

A woman walks in front of my colleague. She wears impressively high heels and walks weirdly, with bended knees. My colleague waits when she would walk properly, find a loo or at least lift her apparently-soon-to-be-down-dropping-stockings, when he notices he has copied her way of walking.

Today near Mannerheimintie, Helsinki

I was offered a glass of excellent white wine, but I said no, because I was still at work and hadn't eaten anything and was afraid I would fell immediately and hit my head on the pavement. I didn't drink the wine, went to the restaurant, looked carefully at my feet, like every normal Finn does and walked straight towards the waitress carrying a huge plate of Muttar paneer.


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Edit: If someone wonders about the old post ghosts in the readers, I spent most of my second-rate Friday night labelling my second-rate old posts.

7 comments:

Dave said...

No, excellent flaneuring. Some slightly odd English useage, but all the more interesting for that.

Anonymous said...

Your Friday nights are even more interesting than mine, Taiga, I salute you!

CT said...

Interesting.

Sopwith-Camel said...

"a skirt so tight it's making an impression of a badly squeezed tofu sausage"

I'm so glad to be a vegetarian

Anonymous said...

I've got a skirt just like that. It used to be a bit looser; perhaps it shrank in the wash.

Fi said...

Was she drying nail varnish maybe?
I like your visuals - can really see the people you're describing.

Taiga the Fox said...

Thanks, all :)
And welcome Jane P!
Fi, why didn't I think about that. Nail varnish, of course...