This goes back. Way back...

...but not as far back as this one.

Links here.

What is wrong with the world these days?!

I didn't get that cold! And so we went to Tallinn, toured the old city for two days, tried some cool experimental vegan foods at Vegan Inspiratsioon, a delicious but excruciatingly expensive dinner at the somewhat renowned Cru, a quick spa session and two trips to the gym as well as a massive breakfast buffet at the Metropolitan Spa Hotel (great place but not the pillows) where we spent our one night, had some local Glögg in the town square (it tasted pretty much like our own local Glögg), and had our first and last stops at the modern Mall of Tallinn in search for cheap tea (found it), among other things, also in a couple other shopping districts, finally consuming a steamy seafood wok at the airport before a late plane home.

Not bad for a two day trip... and then I spent the weekend catching up: doing this, designing a logo, checking hotels and communicating and damn time just flies by too fast these days... I'm really not slacking. I think.

I took the trip as an opportunity to try out my new phone too, a Nokia 3.1 (last years model now) that I bought specifically for these upcoming trips. My old one's not too feisty these days. It doesn't do GPS too well, can't run the newest apps, takes time to load, and surf with, and is just no longer a reliable method of communication or other mobile necessities... which seem all the more important when you're traversing distant lands in search of places you've never been before.

Tallinn was pretty easy to get around though. At least after the first, somewhat disorienting night. It's surrounded by water, has a few pretty tall buildings and churches you can use to navigate, and some high ground you can go to for a better vantage point. Hard to get lost.

It was also a really nice place, way more modern than both Riga and Vilnius, yet with some older areas in stark contrast to the glossy skyscrapers and shiny metal facades of new.

Prices, however, weren't much lower than they are at home, but they do have cheap tea, and honey, and probably quite a few other things when you know what to look for.

Living costs are cheaper too, unless you happen to check in to a pretty expensive four star hotel with a luxury spa that's pretty much entirely empty because it's totally out of season with four saunas and an indoor pool. That was pretty cool. Not to mention their post-sauna cold shower.

Regarding my new phone, which I must mention is a huge upgrade over my last one... here's a quick review. First the differences, from old to new:

Add to that a screen upgrade from TN to IPS, 233 PPI to 310 PPI resolution density, a 4 to 5,2 inch screen (I prefer the first size, but it's hard to find a new that's similar... unless it's an iPhone), 118 to 138g (feel the weight of progress), Micro to Nano SIM (and dual SIM support!), plus a bunch of new protocols and nifty little features that came along for the ride.

The new one's also using the stock version of Android, which means less bloat, and more potential for continual upgrades. So far: I like it.

The memory also runs out quicker than I'd like it to, now that I'm installing somewhat heavier apps than I did on my last one. And games.

There is a way to use the SD card as internal storage, but I tried that first and it totally messed up the size quota, so I did a clean install and I'm keeping the SD card separate this time, hoping it'll still be possible to move over some apps or files there (it seems possible, but may require some third-party apps...).

On Android 4 this was easy. On the new one certain settings seem to have been slimmed away. I'm missing a few other useful detail-specific settings too, though there are a lot of new ones that'll definitely make life easier too. Screencaps, for one, is going to be incredibly handy. I've been living behind the times without that.

Regarding the OS: Android 4 felt like a much more streamlined and polished product overall, but it's possible Samsung added in some of their own bits and pieces to the version I used to make it better. There were generally a lot more options available, and interesting developer settings I can't find on the new one. I also miss the dark theme, which didn't just look cooler but also had the added benefit of: less battery use.

That'd definitely be useful now.

Other things I liked better with Android 4? The clean page transitions, the no-nonsense top menu (no need to double drag to open it fully), the voice recorder (was that a Samsung thing though?), the camera effects (ditto?), the color scheme on the calendar and notes (a more yellow/orange hue), the color tone on the calculator (more orange), the number pad being shown in full for the phone app - without extra clicks required, the more hard-drive-like way of browsing files, the built-in gallery, music and movie players even if I later replaced those with better alternatives anyway (maybe this was Samsung too?), custom email and Internet browsers and the order of the settings menu.

But most of all the style. The color scheme. I preferred it greatly over the new one, which seems more like an extension of Google itself than a mobile device optimized for such capacity.

Maybe this is the whole idea though. Standardization between services. Not only via their web-based apps but across devices, too.

It's a bit crazy how much Google there is these days... they do everything. From the hardware itself, to the software it runs, to all the services they rely on. Our search. Our browsing behavior. Our lives.

Though these deviations from my preferred design aesthetics, lack of (at least not easily accessible - if they exist) settings, and apps that might've been custom-tailored for my old phone are all small details. Fortunately I like Google (hesitantly; in fear of nefarious global domination schemes). I'm happy with the new, and in particular appreciate the additions they've made to the OS as well these last... five or so years, but if I get a chance (read: prices drop sufficiently), I'll probably get back to Samsung next time around. It'll still be Android, and though it might not be updated as long as I like it'll probably have all the features I'm missing right now, and most importantly a better camera.

For now I'm giving Nokia a chance, having some good times reminiscing with GTA VC on a smaller screen than I'm used to, and hoping they'll fix the start-up sound thing or I'll seriously... not be very happy with them.

It is a budget phone though, and the specs are amazing considering the price. The overall build quality is good, and as far as plain mobile-related tasks go it's more than satisfactory. I bought it on the end-of-the-year sales too, at a heavy discount.

I bought a new camera too, but haven't had much time to test that one yet. Alas, I thought I'd save some packing space by using my new phone as camera on this one trip, but next time I'ma bring my camera. Maybe some phones have, but this one certainly hasn't replaced it yet.

And that concludes my not-very-short-after-all new phone review.

It's been a good week; especially weekend! I didn't get to posting any new reviews, or recording the verse I wrote last weekend but didn't get time to record then either, but I have watched a few more movies, and written a couple more songs, and today we officially cheered out Christmas... and that's about it!

Time to rush off to bed, and onto the next one, and see you next time.

Life changes in tremendous ways when you realize that people who made everything around us are no different from you and I.

It's paraphrased, but something along those lines.

You ready? This New Year's a blank slate. Make something out of it.

And so the first week's flashed by! Almost a full one since the fireworks touched the sky and left the world in a smoky daze.

The day after it I woke up with a headache, we had guests over that afternoon, and though the sun was shining outside we barely had time for a walk, or any of the traditional reflections and contemplations on this first new day. It was a good visit, but it also felt like I missed something special. Like it was a rare moment to find a new inner peace and meaning that I'll now have to wait another year to experience.

Of course each day's a new phase too. Got to learn to treat 'em as such.

After that it was back to work again, and this weekend we've had guests over again on both days. I've been battling the starting signs of a cold that seems to come and go, but never really breaks through. Hope I'll manage to chase it away once and for all tonight, because next week (after a few work days) we're heading off to Tallinn, to explore the city and seep in the winter sights for just a couple of days.

I'm heading of to Östersund at the end of the month too, to Budapest at the start of February, to Turku a week later, to Malaga in March, and to Tallinn for a longer set of days again later that month. Just need to book in one more trip and I'll have achieved an amount of flights (18 in a year) that'll give me free baggage carrying rights on all superseding ones for another full year. Which will come in handy during summer, with all the veggies and berries I hope to pack and carry down from the North. An empty suitcase up and a full one back again, at least a couple times over. I've been going with hand luggage only the last couple of years, and though that's worked alright this'll definitely be better. Looking forward to that.

Not that I'm only taking these trips for the free luggage that follows! I'm looking forward to the trips too.

I've been booking one at a time for a while now, whenever tickets have been on sale (it's almost become a bit of an obsession), but the one I'm looking forward to the most is actually the one I've booked up North at the end of May. It'll be the first glimpse of real summer as I perceive it, no matter what weather there'll be in the countries I visit before it.

Makes you wonder why you're traveling out of the country when the places you enjoy are so much closer... and I think a big part of it is just to get out of your comfort zone, and of course: to see the world. Meet people. Go places. Broaden your perspectives. Then get back and appreciate what you have, and be proud you accomplished whatever you set out to.

Was pondering Marrakech or Krakow for that one last trip before summer, but it probably won't be either of those. We shall see. For now I'm pretty excited about the quick leap this coming week. Gotta deep sleep peeps.

Oh, you know the thing? The one I'm fixing? Well I finished it! Just in time for Christmas, and this time it went through. More news on that later y'all. Good times.

It's been a pretty good start of the new year, tiredness or no, snow's coated the road, I just put up six reviews and I still have double to post... been seeing quite a few this Christmas. And then I wrote some prose.

See you folks.

I wrote a massive wall of text in my resolutions post, so I'll keep this one slim, as the fireworks still occasionally brighten the dusty skies of overdue dusk outside, and the first few minutes of the New Year fade away.

It's a New Year! It really is. A new anno. 2019. An' you... what you gonna do?

Myself I'm both hyped and fearful of what this one might bring; if it'll lead me the right way or put up new roadblocks on this wobbly walk of life. But I shall meet it with resolve and great expectation, as should you, as we should all with any new phase of days we get! Yes!

Not just years, but months too, and weeks, and days. Treat each one like it might be your last, and live it to the fullest... but also note that tomorrow might be your last, so don't live this one in a way that you won't appreciate that one, too. And whatever daze of days may follow.

Here's hoping for only great things in the New Era that now starts! The last one passed way too fast, but I'm (cautiously) hopeful about this one.

Happy 2019.