Today I went to spend the Christmas money I’d got from Dad and a lottery ticket (the one where you scratch to find 3 same sums of money or three Xs or Os in a row — I’ve never won big, but this time I got 23,50 € which I think is better than nothing).
I bought myself some new clothes (the main reason I dragged myself to the centre). Three tops of which two are actually the same but in different colours (yes, the other really is non-black!). One is a cheat shirt because it looks like there’s a white collared shirt underneath but actually there are only the collar and cuffs sown to the sweater. Spares me the annoyance of layered long-sleeved clothes and doesn’t look too boring. The sweater and the other non-black shirt are dark red or maroon, something like that. Not very me-like, but maybe I’ll live.
I also bought Poets of the Fall CD (Signs of Life). I don’t usually like Finnish bands, so because I like this one I had to buy the CD. I also got Storm of the Century and Big Fish DVDs. They were 2 for 20 €, so after I’d found Storm of the Century (a Stephen King movie, what else), I wanted to find another. I haven’t seen Big Fish but Ewan McGregor is in it; it can’t be too bad.
This I’ve knitted myself
The heel is kinda odd because I misunderstood the instructions but I’m making another pair (this time knee high) and I’m doing it properly now.
I don’t understand knitting blogs, though. They’re really big in Finland at least. In case you’re interested — which I truly hope you’re not — I’ve finished perhaps 15% of the first knee-high sock. How thrilling.
Happy Winter-een-mas!!!
[Update Jan 14 ’06] At Vera’s request, I present: the almost-knee high sock
I didn’t have the patience to go on with the leg part. 
It’s more deformed than the short sock because I had to start with more stitches (loops) and improvise the rest. [/update]
Some people who listen to music while they work to help them concentrate don’t realise how much noise they are making: tapping, drumming, fingernail clicking, humming, whistling…
I probably wouldn’t mind so much if the battery of my mp3 wasn’t barely empty. (I’ve never wished so badly for a day to end.)
When I hopped on the bus, a tall man in front of me shows his travelcard to the card reader; he pushes a button to pay for his trip but nothing happens so he walks away (into the bus). I show my card — unlimited, pre-paid travel — to the reader, nothing happens, I grunt and walk into the bus. But the driver stops me, “it didn’t read your card.” I say “the machine must be kaput” but wave the card again and luckily it works this time. Why did he stop me and not the man who should’ve paid for his trip? I must look like a juvenile delinquent.
delinquent; juvenile delinquent — A person who neglects or fails to do what law or duty requires. A juvenile guilty of antisocial or criminal behavior.
Pretty pretty pretty!!
I bought this today. I’d been trying to decide which model to get and this, Nokia 6101, had stuck to my head; nothing I compared it to seemed better. So, I decided on it. It is a folding phone so I’ll have to get used to it, but somehow it seems better than the short phones with which you have to decide whether you want to hear well or want the other person to hear you well.
The ringtones were disgraceful 80s disco jiggajiggas so I picked up a new one (a Robbie song). I was trying to find a game (Sudoku and/or Trivial Pursuit) but the sites claimed the games weren’t compatible with my phone. I’ll have to keep looking.
Today is the official presidential election day. Later we’ll see whether Conan will have another 6 years of joke material. I wouldn’t mind, though, and he’ll get tired of the joke eventually, right? No? That’s what I thought…
Later we’ll also see whether the current president is so popular that there won’t be a second round. One of the other candidates has been using ‘second round’ in his campaing: “use your vote wisely so there will be a second round” (meaning, don’t vote for the current president who gets over half of the votes if polls are correct).
And yes, I already gave my vote.
This morning I was choosing clothes to wear: black trousers, of course, then I took out my new black cheat shirt, looked at myself and thought “naaaah”. Instead, I wore the plum/maroon version of the shirt. What’s happening to me?! Am I, perhaps, getting old? Too old to feel comfortable in all black (well, except the white cuffs and collar)? 
I reached double dozen today. Yay me. Grandma and grandpa got me Carrie (the S.K. book), and I got Sudoku book and coffee flavoured filled chocolates from Mum and Dad (Dad also got me a cell phone pouch). We also had some chocolate ice cream cake. Lovely.
On January 22nd my domain’s been up for a year which means it’s expiring on that day. I just wrote an email to the hosting company, hoping to get a response that “yes, your site is not going to die”. I’m afraid, very afraid. I’ll have to back up everything by the end of this week — just in case. I don’t have much to complain about the company, but people haven’t been getting bills to pay. There has also been a couple of MySQL problems, but at least I haven’t bumped into one in a while. They now supposedly have servers in Europe which sounds good.
That’s all. Over and out.
Oh yeah, I love my phone!
[update Jan 19] They automatically continue the domain+”account” so I have nothing to worry about. [/update]
Apparently I’ve been mistaken for an advertisement board. The phone I bought contained a pre-installed software for a wrong service provider. When I turn off the phone, it first displays this huge red logo for that wrong service provider and then Nokia (which I don’t mind). I guess when I turn on the phone it displays the same logo. The software is for easy-to-use WAP services which I wouldn’t mind, if they weren’t from the wrong service provider, thus unavailable to me. I wrote an angryish comment to the company (which sold the phone, not the wrong service provider) asking if the software could be removed, and the response was “the software must be updated, which costs 25 €”. So, I’ll just have to live with it. Perhaps one day I’ll make the wrong service provider a right one, if they offer good prices (I haven’t got a bill from my current provider yet — that’s how inexpensive they are), and can actually use the services already installed on my phone and flashing that annoying red logo in my face. Until then, I just have to keep my phone on all the time.
Hindsight is 20-20; I maybe should’ve asked if they had a phone without the darn pre-installed software. Or maybe I should’ve taken my money elsewhere. Agh, I’m so stupid. (But I still love my phone despite its huge red flaw!)
As usual, a meme picked up at Jafer‘s.
Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. Office assistant
2. Sales assistant
3. Research assistant
4. CAT support
(I’m glad this is only a four meme 
)
Four movies you would watch over and over again:
1. Indiana Jones(es)
2. Matrix(es)
3. Moulin Rouge
4. something very very good that’s yet to come…? (aka I can’t think of any)
Four places you have lived:
1. Espoo
2. Helsinki
3. Kirkkonummi
4. Vantaa
Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. The X-Files
2. Gilmore Girls
3. CSI
4. any scientific (or -ish) documentary
Four places you have been on vacation:
1. Kuopio, Finland
2. Seinäjoki, Finland
3. Berlin, Germany (4 days)
4. Nummi-Pusula where we had a summer cottage
Four web-sites I visit daily:
1. University email
2. Homepage (to check mail + comments)
3. Ctrl-Alt-Del
4. Jay Is Games
Four of my favorite foods:
1. Feta-cheese and spinach pie
2. Noodles
3. Blue cheese
4. Pasta
Four places I’d rather be right now:
1. Next to a radiator
2. Sauna
3. Sleeping
4. Watching TV (gotta go!)
Four victims for this meme:
Nah, if someone wants to do this, let ’em.