all things me

Look what Mum found on our backyard, tanning itself (or freaking out) in the corner of a window ledge.

I’ve been busy doing anything but what I should be doing. I should be doing a lot. I have a database application due in two weeks (I’ll get it done — please don’t wish I get it done or I’ll go nuts) which will require many nights of coding (but I’ll love it when I get the inspiration), and I’ve been trying to decide if I should contact the prospective new working place this week or next. Apparently I already have a contract for the project job, June and July, even though I wasn’t supposed to get paid in June. Bah. I know it’s just an evil scheme to keep me in the project; they’ll never allow me to do the extra month.

So, not much else. I finished reading Bare Bones today. It was horribly translated! With books like that I remember why I read in English even though it doesn’t do good to my Finnish vocabulary. I should try reading books by actual Finnish authors some day. I’m just afraid they’re all bad.

The X-Files starts from the pilot episode today!

They show 3 episodes per week!

(I honestly look like this: )

Recently I’ve been playing Vampire The Masquerade — Bloodlines. It’s RPG which isn’t my favourite genre, but hey, it’s vampires!!

It’s a very interesting game. Games don’t usually freak me out (except for the piranhas that were in my face in Pharaoh), but when I went to pick a lock to a haunted house and a light crackled above my head with electricity… I jumped. And in the house when I was happily walking in the narrow basement corridors, I came to crossroads and a ghost runs past. Yeeep.

I’ve taken a seduction, persuasion, talk-my-way-out-of-it approach to the game so some of the necessary fights have been pretty difficult. There are a few unfinished quests because I’ve found the bad guys to be a bit too tough for me. I’ll get back to them after collecting a bit more experience points.

Today I was jamming at the local disco, Asylum:

Dancing with the triplets

Another set of triplets

… and this guy …

… or people who’ve only had time to write one article for a magazine so far.

Yesterday evening my sister and I went to see Star Wars III. I had got an invitation from the computer magazine, so of course I went, and I managed to drag her along.

Thank you for the movie night, Mr. Editor

Continues »

What a weird day — I was offered a job. I won’t be sharing any details about it yet until I know what the deal is but it would almost be my dream job.

I got it through a teacher(-ish) at the Uni. They (singular) were impressed by my work in a couple of classes.

Crazy stuff. I’m grinning from ear to ear (like this ) and can’t wait for tomorrow to call about it. I’m dead scared of phones (or of the sort of conversations…) but I’m going to call. Of course I am. Yes, I am. Yeah.

Alas, this probably means I need to quit the research job. It would be a shame because the people are really nice and it’s interesting and I was secretly hoping I could get my master’s thesis topic off of the project…

But I wouldn’t be the only one that’s left for a “real” job (I don’t mean that the research is less real than something else — but it can only go on for so long). I sometimes feel like I’ve given what I’ve got to the project and am twiddling thumbs (well, except now that I have this bloody tricky XSLT-script to write). But I can’t keep three jobs (be they only part-time and occassional), now can I? I still have studying to do as well!

But I really really do want this new job. OK OK, I don’t know if it’s going to be anything or am I just getting excited for no reason, but I sure do hope it will work out.

This is actually pretty scary, or odd at least. When I was younger (well, before I got sucked into this Uni project and realised that I may be able to be of use) I thought I probably wouldn’t amount to anything. I’ve been studying this vague subject that doesn’t give you a clear cut pigeon-hole occupational title like a doctor, or a lawyer or a kindergarten teacher (not that I’ve ever wanted to work in a pigeon-hole).

Honestly, what did I do?! (Well, I am a robot after all )

[update May 19 @12:35] Darn, it would be a full-time job. I don’t know if I can handle that. I have to negotiate. [/update]
[update May 19 @ 15:25] Negotiations on-going This is very exciting! When they find out I don’t study languages, though… ooops. [/update]

Today I finally had the exam that fell through the last time. I had time to read the books a second time yesterday (and the day before) which I really needed. I think it went well. There were 10 questions and I had to pick 6, so I could leave out the ones that I couldn’t think of anything to write about.

During the exam I had got a text message telling that my book order (Bachman Books) had arrived and I thought damn, just the day when I decided to leave my credit card at home (just to be sure because in the exam you weren’t allowed to take your things with you). Luckily, I had taken some money so I could scrape up enough and got to bring the book home. It’s so pretty!

And just after hearing the news about the book, this happened. What a day.

Pretty!
These Google Maps are really addictive. You have to check out Google Sightseeing if you haven’t done so already.

[edit: Aug 19] the crop circles aren’t there anymore and I browsed through all of Google Sightseeing’s site but didn’t find it. If anyone finds more, please tell me where. Pretty please? [/edit]

Damn tax hogs. I have to pay residual tax for last year. They better pay me back for this year because my percentage got bloody high.

What a weird dream I had. I — in the shape of Felicity Porter (from the tv show) — was at a university cafe for lunch. I took the normal meal plus a banana and a bag of some sort of candy, and when I went to the cashier. The lady there handed me some change, and I saw that the meal had cost 179 euros. I couldn’t believe it so I asked the lady to check it. She asked me if I had made sure what each thing costs and I told that the banana is only a 1 euro, the meal is 2,10 so can the candy cost 176? I was getting really annoyed and wanted to buy only the normal meal but for some reason I couldn’t return the others. As a compensation the lady offered me a couple of licorice bars which I found really offensive because there was an dark skinned man working in the kitchen.

Then I woke up.

I made a random header image script for

<?php // Random header image
/* there are 3 pictures to choose from, so number is either 0, 1 or 2 */
$i = rand(0,2);
if ( $i == 0 ) { ?>
  <img src=”<?php bloginfo(‘template_directory’); ?>/images/header_01.jpg” alt=”Caramel Ears” />
<?php } else if ( $i == 1 ) { ?>
  <img src=”<?php bloginfo(‘template_directory’); ?>/images/set2/header_01.jpg” alt=”Caramel Ears” />
<?php } else if ( $i == 2 ) { ?>
  <img src=”<?php bloginfo(‘template_directory’); ?>/images/set3/header_01.jpg” alt=”Caramel Ears” />
<?php } ?>

Anyway, this post wasn’t about my amazing coding abilities but the pictures: GO SEE! [site has been removed]