all things me

That’s not a typo — it’s a fact! I only have 8 days of work and then I’ll have 14 days of summer vacation!!! It’s depressingly little compared to past when school holidays were 2½ months or as much as 4 months (in Uni) and I didn’t work or worked only for a part of the summer but it’s a great improvement to last year. I don’t know yet how I’ll spend the precious little time except that I’m going to an art museum and a restaurant with Grandma one day, but what I will not do is get up at 6:30.

I know I haven’t been writing for ages but that’s because I have nothing to write about. I just work and I can’t talk about work. I’ve been playing Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones and I think I’m almost finished (with PoP, you never know). I had to find some help with an abominable fight and found a great place, Stuck Gamer, that has video walkthroughs. Very wow-y! It also has a guide for Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory which I haven’t played in ages and I’m horribly stuck, but I’ve decided to re-start the level or take an earlier save game to save some sticky shockers and try again.

Thanks to Kory I’ve been listening to some wonderful music by Stabilo. I’ve listened to the songs so much that it doesn’t matter anymore whether I have them playing on computer/mp3 player or not. The other day I had recharged batteries for the mp3 player, replaced the old batteries but then forgot to take the player to work. Of course, inner player isn’t as effective in blocking the outer noise as a tangible player with earphones but it did keep me entertained. If nothing else, go to the Stabilo site » Albums » Happiness & Disaster » listen to Don’t Look in Their Eyes. Listen to all the songs if you have the time!

Owning — or having the possibility to borrow — a season boxset of a TV series is unbelievably liberating. The reruns of the X-Files started last week. They’re shown at 10pm on Mondays and Tuesdays and — hold onto your chair now — I haven’t been watching them. Instead I’ve been watching other channels or dozing off if I’ve felt like it (and boy have I). No need to stare at the little channel logo (it disappears just before the commercial break) in the top right corner with my thumb on the Pause button, no need to keep my fingers crossed that my stupid DVD player records the episode properly. I’m hoping to borrow season 1 box of Lost on my summer vacation so I haven’t been watching that either. Now, if only they had season boxes of the news I’d know what’s going on in the world…

From this day on I will never hesitate to say proudly: I like Stephen King books. He’s a great author!

In the past few weeks I’ve said too many times “weeeell, I don’t know if I should say it aloud…”

Alright everyone, out with the confessions!

Finland has just won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in our 40 years of participation. Great. But take a look what it took to win…
(I’m assuming most of you live outside Europe and have never heard of the Eurovision — Finland is supposed to do bad, we’re supposed to get 0 points — not all-time highest.)

OK, so the numbers go backwards in the photo, who cares. I had numbers 5 and 6 (the big ones in the middle) and the rest arrived today. Thank you! (although I think — and hope — the sender doesn’t read this blog)

Related:
Money come money go
Nervous

I just transferred a load of money for the XF box sets — I sure hope the seller sends them as soon as possible. Usually I would never ever buy something someone sells on a forum, at least nothing for that much money, but I hope that a fellow X-Phile — especially one that I sort of know — can be trusted.

I can’t help but feel a little nervous nevertheless.

Related:
Money come money go

I want all X-Files season boxes so I tried to look for them. As it happens, someone had just placed an ad on a Finnish forum selling boxes 1 to 9, either all or the ones you want (I just calculated that if I buy 7 of them, it would cost almost as much as if I buy all of them but what would I do with double boxes — let him make more money ). Also, I may even know the person who’s selling them! Let’s hope someone hasn’t already bought them…

Then I remembered, “oh, Storm of the Century has been made into a book too” (it’s originally a miniseries). So I looked for it at the two bookstores I always buy/order from. I ordered it. As I was going through the trouble anyway, I decided to order another book (Different Seasons) which hopefully is from the correct series. I also looked for yet another book, Regulators, but decided to order it from the other bookstore because the cover is (hopefully) nicer-looking.

Today I also found nice “slippers” for work. I saw walking-shoes (or “pumps”?) I liked but they had only sizes 4 and 5,5 and I would’ve needed something in between. (My shoes are usually size 5.) Oh well, I’ll keep looking despite the fact I’ve looked and looked and looked everywhere. I also bought Cujo (Stephen King movie) and Forrest Gump. I already had Forrest Gump on VHS but it was a 2 for 20 campaign so I’m going to give the VHS to my grandparents.

Hmm, I didn’t write about the “money come” part. No, I haven’t received a raise but now that I think about it, our payday was on Wednesday.

One morning I happened to go to a cashier at the same time with a man. He let me go first because I “don’t work yet.” I told him that actually I was on my way to work. It wasn’t a shocker that he thought I was a school student, but the logic escapes me… Perhaps he thinks students are in more of a hurry? (So, I was in a hurry buying a microwave dinner to school; all Finnish schools serve free meals.)

On Thurday I “dressed up” — meaning I had a white shirt, necklace, and left my hair open. One of my co-workers said I looked like a 15-year-old (basically it just means young, not an exact age) and I should put a flower behind my ear. I told him I had rather hoped for the opposite effect of looking actually my age for once. He said “oh you’re still the age when you hope to look older? When do you think you’ll start wishing you look younger?” I said “probably when I do start looking my age.” He said “ah, you’ll never look your age.” A compliment or quite the opposite?

<sarcasm>A very nice young couple</sarcasm> is building a house right under our noses. There’s a tiny patch of land between our house and our neighbours’ and these “people” are planning to squeeze in there. Well, not just planning; today some Very Official Man came in here checking every room for existing damages because tomorrow they are going to blow dynamites (!) hardly 10 meters from us. Brace yourselves — and all sensitive electronics. I know my room was checked too because I had left a trap. I did ask Mum not to let anyone in my room to take pictures, but when have my requests gone through?

When I say ‘right under our noses’, I mean they’re putting that not-so-humble 2-storey abode in front of our kitchen, Dad’s study and Mum’s study windows. All our apple trees will probably be in the shade from the moment on when the walls rise, and who wants to sit in the garden when the other folks are right there. This is Finland for gawd’s sake (15 ppl/km²) not e.g. Slovakia (111 ppl/km²) let alone Monaco (16 620 ppl/km²)! They’re kind enough not to put any windows facing our house. So, they won’t have to look at our house but we have to look at their house’s rear-end.

I don’t understand why they need to make a 2-storey house in an area where all houses are quite low. Sure, we have 2 storeys too, but one is below ground and I believe the other houses are similarly built. I thought there were some rules for buildings in residental areas so that people don’t go around building skyscrapers everywhere. OK, perhaps if they built one storey below ground that would mean more dynamites even closer to us. Above-ground is the lesser evil. The last time some one blew something up around here, it was a lot farther and still the walls cracked — not from a good joke.

Yet another good reason to move out ASAP.

I just realised that wrong people (or a wrong person) could be reading this blog, so I decided to de-publish the previous post. Sorry, Vera, you had commented already I could of course password protect it, but what’s the point? I wrote. I vented. I cleaned the evidence.

Funny thing happened the other day. Ha ha. The magazine that I’ve been trying to finish the article for is publishing its last issue in May. So, I’m too late. I’ve been trying to think of what to do with the nearly-done article but most likely I’ll just leave it to gather binary dust.

True to my nature I get overly excited about something even though it’s not going to happen in the near future. Recently I’ve started seriously thinking about moving out. This coming December I’ve saved for 2 years which is the minimum, but I definitely don’t have the planned 12 000€ saved yet. On Monday I’m going to the bank to change my monthly deposit but I’m afraid I’m stuck here for quite a while. On Wednesday I told my boss that I want a raise, but we’ll see…

I already know that I won’t live in a studio; I want separate bedroom and living-room. The other night I couldn’t sleep, instead I started thinking what I need for my own place.

• bed
  (Even though I have a bed I’m going to buy a proper one and leave my current bed here for visitors.)
• bookshelf
• couch (sofa bed?)
• armchair
• TV (and sidekicks)
• subscription to some sort of TV guide (I’m a program circler)
• stereos
• desk (I hope I don’t need a separate desk because I already have a computer desk)
• computer
• Internet connection
• phone (i.e. cell phone)
• kitchen table + chairs
• fridge-freezer
  (Ticked off on Sep 23. I don’t have to buy a fridge-freezer. It’s already there!)
• coffee maker
  (Ticked off on Sep 23. We have 3 coffee makers. Mum says I can take one of them )
• microwave oven
• wall clock
• washing machine
• vacuum cleaner
• iron + ironing board
• 1 mug, 1 plate, 1 fork, 1 spoon, 1 knife, 1 cereal bowl OK, maybe something to make food in, too
  (Comment on Sep 23) Mum bought me a set of utensils for my nameday (in July). It has 6 forks, 6 knives, 6 big spoons, and 6 coffee spoons. Plus a cake cutter (?) and salad servers.
  My mug collection is huge and I have 4 or 6 cereal bowls (which double as soup plates). And mum has apparently bought me 4 soup plates.
  (Comment on Dec Grandpa bought me 6 dinner plates and oven pan (for lasagne etc.) for early Xmas present.
• a nice big plant (something looking like this)
• sheets, towels, carpets of course

Hmm… What else?

I’ve decided I want to find a nice couch first. After that it’s easy to find curtains and such things. Wow, I can’t imagine a toilet without an orange sink. Don’t believe I have one?

I don’t undestand what the previous occupants where thinking! A very good reason for wanting to get out of here, don’t you think?