Finlandia

I'm in Finland for the holiday. I've been trying not to call it home because it would seem weird to me. This is where I grew up of course and where my parents live but I just don't feel right calling this home when I only come here for a few weeks at a time on holidays and spend my daily life elsewhere. It is weird coming here, it feels as if I was never away but also I don't really do anything here. Just meet friends, shop, eat etc. Like detached from reality, like being on a holiday - therefore home does not describe it well.

What have I been doing? Not much but still I've been busy all the time. I haven't even had a chance to reply to people on facebook, that alone should let you in on how busy I've been; I'm always on facebook. I visited Triin in Tallinn and again it felt like we'd never been apart. Boys that we talked about were new but problems essentially the same as ever. Also was very cool to talk with her about EU, talking with her about politics always makes me feel so smart. She's mastered the skill of listening, I really feel like she's interested in what I'm saying. Bless.

In Lohja on other hand I've been seeing Jenna, Riikka, Anne and Laura almost daily. Well daily really, just not necessarily all of them everyday. :) Tomorrow Riikka, Anne and me will rehearse the dance from Beyonce's Single Ladies video; that should be fun. I'm even wearing a leotard! That's how dedicated I am. Hopefully there will be a video by the end of it. It will undoubtedly be extremely stupid but funny.

Tomorrow I will go shopping to Espoo with Minna. Surprise, surprise. And then by wednesday I should figure out where I'll be for new year's. I've got a fair amount of options now, the only thing is that original plans fell apart and as a result I've now promised to spend the new years with two people who will want to spend it in two different cities... Crap. 

Minna is obsessed about the Twilight-books and the film. The film premiers on January 2nd in Finland and we're going to go see it, I've already seen it in Maastricht but now I will see it in a proper cinema without any stupid breaks in the middle... Speaking of cinema, I just saw the most hilarious film ever: Zack and Miri make a porno. Modern day romance.

I'm preparing my departure to Maastricht by buying all the alcohol I can imagine. I now have 3.5 litres of different kind of vodka and 1.5 litres of different kinds of liquers. I think I might buy a few more bottles of each and then some cider, there are some new delicious flavours. I'm just trying to make the most out of my 30kg luggage allowance. So there will be mint vodka to go around at least for a few parties! ;)

To compensate for the decadence ahead, I have lived a relatively healthy lifestyle here. And I will come back to Maas more tanned than I left it, I have had time for beauty & health back here. Though my visit to Tallinn did not improve my confidence, damn the girls in Estonia are pretty! They all look like supermodels, makes my wholesome Finnish look seem mundane... Good thing I live in Maastricht. ;)

Finland

Despite studying politics, I rarely use this blog for making my political arguments known and I will refrain from party politics now as well. However, I must be sickeningly patriotic today because I am just so proud of Finland.

I recently did a group presentation with Anne, Nikki and Nicola. The topic was Research in the Lisbon Strategy and we had Finland and Italy as our case studies. When I was researching for Finland I discovered how well it is actually doing in R&D, like staggeringly magnificent, above and beyond the targets set by Lisbon which other countries claim are "utopia".

Then today when I was going through my daily news intake I discover an article on EurActiv, entitled "Finns plan massive R&D increase to fight crisis". So in the midst of a financial crisis when all the other countries are cutting back in R&D and adjusting their policies to more short-term perspective, my precious country has the wisdom to take a long-term approach and actually increase funding in R&D!

Maybe I'm naive here and the few macroeconomics courses that I have taken did not do the trick for me but is this not exactly the way all the countries should be behaving? When the financial crisis will go away, which it eventually will, Finland will once again come on top. And by once again I mean that after the bank crisis we had in the beginning of the 90s what emerged out of it? You heard of Nokia? Haha, we will rule the world!

And to show I'm not completely loony here, Sapir's report on the EU budget also emphasised EU's need to invest in growth and innovation which is exactly what Finland is doing now.

So today I am happy. I might have that exam that I have not really studied for but who cares. Tomorrow I will be in Finland!

I do study

I just read my recent blogs and in almost all of them there has been a sentence or two how I should be studying but am not. So just to assure everyone that I do study, I hereby announce that I am finished with my skills paper, four days in advance. Tadaa!

I'm one of these people that...

...needs to have something to look forward to. Preferably the sooner the better. Preferably something new every day. At the moment I've got nothing except flying back home to Finland which feels like ages away even though it's in 4 days. The paradox here though is that the lower your expectations, the better it will most likely be. So for example when you think you're just having tea with your girls and it turns out into this crazy party night that will be the legendary night you look back at.

...needs people around me. In the beginning when I moved away from home I thought living with flatmates would just be temporary thing before I make enough money to move alone. Now I feel that even if I would have the chance to move to a place of my own, I'd rather live with a friend or even friendS. In Finland having flatmates is perceived to be something negative but outside its borders I think it is a rather common occurance. I really love having people around me and someone to talk to all the time; with whom I can have fun just spontaneously without having to make arrangements to meet. On the flipside, I do like the independence of living semi-alone as I do now (I don't really talk to my flatmate nor is he around much), that way I don't have to leave a party at the same time nor do I need to explain why I came home at a certain hour.

...turns to blogging as a form of procrastination. I have an exam in 4 days, I really should start reading. But I just can't without inspiration and it just is lacking big time.

There's something in the water

Right, I've been complaining about the relative dullness of Maastricht. Scrap that. Minna was here and then Outi so I've had plenty of entertainers turn up. Parties have also been plentiful though I presume that will come to an end soon as exams are around the corner. But nevertheless, I have been busy.

Songs that I will forever associate with this autumn are:
Katy Perry - Hot n Cold which is Rogerhouse's party song, they were impressed with my ability to remember the lyrics but now we all know them
Kanye West - Love Lockdown. My personal favourite, must heart Kanye.
Amy McDonald - Mr Rock and Roll. The song always played in Rogerhouse, I don't know why or who started it but it's just always on.

Tomorrow is the Finnish Independence Day Party. I'm actually looking forward to it. But my philosophy with parties is not to expect too much of them that way I can only be positively surprised. Works really well, I can recommend. And my word is something worth considering, I'm like an Agony Aunt for my friends. I'm the one to come to if you need advice. ;) Because my life is obviously perfect...

Sister Act and other fun stuff

Minna was here, met all my friends and got to see a bit of Maastricht. Not that there really seemed to be much time for anything, time flies by so quickly. The night before she came we had the election party (Go Obama!) and I really stayed up whole night. I didn't think so many people would actually stay up that late but I had to chase the guests away at 7am so that I could clean before my skills, I did manage to sleep for one hour on the couch... But the combination of alcohol and lack of sleep made me pretty much forget what happened that night. I didn't drink that much but damn it was difficult to answer when somebody asked who was there! Hahaha.

And now it's back to routines. I really should be studying 24/7 but am not. I really think it's not the most productive way to spend a day, especially when I've discovered by rather amazing talent for being able to convincingly talk about something of which I know essentially nothing. Clearly I'm a politician in the making.

Me, Deborah and Ionut are working on a presentation and I absolutely love the topic! We're researching UK's EU Budget Policy, I really love it. It's like simulations all over again, researching about a country and get to present it. And the UK is so lovely topic to research because they are so exciting, they are always the bad cops whether it be the EU or the British public that says so.

Aside from this presentation not much exciting things happening, like Kalina and I discussed the other day, the leisurely lifestyle of Maastricht gets boring on occasions but the cure for that is buying a waffle with ice-cream and it melts away all concerns.

Chat, nap, chat

Today was so much fun. I laughed a lot. What did I do? I chatted with my friends the whole day. I only stopped to take a nap.

I still have no voice and am not feeling that well, being sick and all. So I just relaxed and spoke with my friends, they all seemed to be online today. First I organised it with Kalina that we're going to take Minna to the airport on Sunday. So a roadtrip to Germany to look forward to. Then I spoke with Triin about our chances to move to London together to re-enact Sex and the City, only in London. ;) Then with Suvi I spoke for like 5 hours and among the pearls of our conversation was her trick to get allure men: doodle into their notebooks. I will have to test that. And other good news that I won't share here but lets just say good news came in bundles.

So I'll be going to sleep happy that I such amazing friends that a sick day at home can turn into a fantastic day. Much love to my peeps!

Halloween

Yesterday we had a party at Kalina's, celebrating Halloween. Getting ready for the party was such a hassle, you would not believe. I was doing the make up for the girls and it seemed like a never-ending flow of them. :D At the same time they were decorating the house and it was just busy all day long. We had some brilliant costumes:

Kalina was French

Silvia was catwoman

Barbara was Amy Winehouse (practically her twin, so look-a-like!)

Paula was Cleopatra's mummy

Francesca was a dark queen

and I was Russian.

As my costume was not necessarily obvious to everyone, I tried to speak with a Russian accent the whole night... I really got into my character and at one point I saw the Ghostbusters, Amy Winehouse introduced me as Natasha who's looking for a husband. So I kiss them on the cheeks, and start off the conversation by telling how wonderfully rich they have to be from the Ghostbuster movies. The poor guys actually thought I was Russian and got rather uncomfortable, one of the trying to make conversation and everything... It was so funny! So I let go off the accent for a while and introduced myself as myself.

Overall people put a lot of effort into their costumes, way more than in Newcastle. Impressive.

Gossip girl

If only this blog would be anynomous, the posts I cold write and gossip that could be here... But I am very aware of the fact that anyone can read it and do self-censor myself. So in case you've been wondering of the scandal freeness of this space (which I'm sure has never crossed anyone's mind but amuse me) it's due to my megalomaniac tendencies and a consequence of my desire to rule Europe and pre-prevent any tabloid headlines. ;)

Above is a picture of Silvia, Kalina's flatmate. She's Italian and studies in Trento University. The same one Triin was on exchange at and I visited last November. Small world. Anyway, their house is amazing. The people living there, all eight international students, are really cool. Can't wait for the exams to be over so I can go there more often and they can feed me. ;)

Not that there's much happening. The Big Exam is next Monday and everybody is studying for it. I'm even on a self-imposed no-drinking-or-partying ban until then. So I just spend my days pretending to study. So far it's actually pretty limited, I get tired after one article and then just tune in to MTV and watch quality shows such as Made or Pimp My Ride.

Also, I'm desperately looking for a word in English for myötähäpeä. It's such a good word, let me know if you know of it.

Uuuh, and I have decided to visit Newcastle before Christmas. I'm taking Kalina with me and Triin will be showing us around Ncl nightlife. Yey, dancing!

Lately

As you can tell from the frequency of my postings, I've been busy lately. Nothing major, just meeting friends and studying. The latter hasn't truly occupied my time as much as it should have but I'm trying to make up for it by cramming in as much as possible during the weekend.

Thankfully there are some lovely people here to keep me sane. The academic side of Maastricht hasn't improved. It is - so far - below par. I've had lectures that felt like high school, lectures that started by the lecturer saying that what he says isn't going to be examined, begging the question why we are there (and no, it wasn't educational or fascinating on its own right) and the most recent lecture was held by a person who spoke bad English, clearly had stage fright and lectured about such a boring and insignificant topic that several people, including me, left during the break. To add to the overall suckyness, the core readings are horrible. Mostly written by people who I've never heard of (and I have studied politics for three years in two different universities in two different countries) and who are mostly Dutch, the texts are occasionally so badly written that even people like me who are perfectly fluent in English struggle to understand anything...

But I'm not despaired. The economy may be failing and studies suck but so far parties keep on coming and I can still rely on having such an amazing group of people here so overall I'm content.

Past events

A lot happened during past week. Firstly the awful event in Finland came as a bit of a shock. My sister goes to that school, just a different branch 40km away. My reaction is actually something like anger at the shooter, disbelief that this could happen again in Finland, sadness for the victims and shock and fear for my sister. I think gun laws in Finland should most definately be tightened now, I don't care if they take the right to carry arms from everyone except the police.

Obviously the day it happened I wasn't my most productive moods but still managed to work on our presentation. We finally held it on Thursday and it was really good, I think we might even get a really good grade for it.

Then I invited some people over on Friday and that was really nice. I love having people around and we just drink and chill and have a laugh. So I might repeat that soon.

On Saturday Marttiina asked me to go to Brussels with her and so we did. It was cool to just decide to go there, it only cost 18 euros for return. To put it into perspective, it cost less than a return trip from Lohja to Helsinki... And so there we walked around, did some shopping. We met up with Tuomas who I know from Copenhagen times and he had a friend with him, Eeva. So Tuomas went to sleep and we took Eeva shopping with us. Good times.

On the way back the border control came to check our passports, I didn't have mine so I just game my driving's license... And then the police started to argue that it's not enough so I gave my Finnish sickness insurance card (because it is also official and has my name and picture). I also explained him I live in Maastricht and go to the university here and also showed my student card. By this time another policeman had come over and he saw my driving's license and was all like "Hey, it's Finland. It's okay". So it felt nice to be Finnish at that point...

Thankfully I made it home and today I intend to go to the city with Ginta and Kalina and have some hot chocolate. Apparently Kalina knows this place that has really good variety of different hot chocolate flavours and it got all us girls drooling over it. Kalina also invited Per but said regretfully that they don't serve any beer there to which Per said that he does drink other stuff as well...

So all is well and I'm happy, not the least because I now have a decent pair of flat shoes to wear to the shoeheel-killer streets of Maastricht.

Inside jokes

So I'm doing this presentation with Ginta and Jonathan. Since we spend so much time on it, we're also spending a lot of time with each other. And believe me, eight hours in the library working on a presentation about a topic you don't quite know if you know it will blur the mind of anyone. So far I've established that we're called "team well ahead" because I keep encouraging the others by saying that: "no worries, we're still well ahead of the others". It's my mantra these days. Also we found out that if Ginta doesn't get enough sleep she turns hysterical and everybody will have some fun. She was even flying at some point. Then Jonathan is not the prim and proper German he looks on the outside, actually he's Jonathan from the block, from the hoods of Berlin. Yo!

So yea, very intellectual this MA. I just had to write about this somewhere and rather here than on my facebook status which would only leave people wondering what drugs I'm taking.

Happy again

After much ranting over the past months I'm now in a happy place (so corny of me!). Things are going well here, I've gotten over the problems with the university and all the necessary documents are now on their way to Kela. My group project is going well and I must say I'm so happy about my group, Ginta and Jonathan are both very smart, efficient and professional, basically perfect people to work with.

And then to the best part, the social side of all this. I really love the people I've met here. Kalina for example is just the sweetest thing ever. Yesterday for example we had a party for all the MA European Studies students (though only 20% showed up) and Ginta and Kalina were at my place before we went there together. We drank champagne and talked, I love having my apartment where I can invite people over all the time. Then the party was a lot of fun as well, got to know some new people doing our program whom I've never even met. To appease some questioners, there are some really nice boys here as well...

In an hour I'm meeting again for the group project so should really get back to work. But before I just want to express my enthusiasm that Triin finally got her driving's license! Yey! After all these years she's now allowed to drive... :D On that note, till the next time I find the time to reflect.

Spinning around

I suppose hangover days are always a bad time to reflect on life and then post them online but here I am going against my own good advice. I just looked at one of my friends' list of friends on facebook and he has doubled the amount in a year. I remember this because we started in pretty similar figures, but I've only increased mine by 50%. So now I feel like I should've gotten to know more people but on the other hand I feel like I can't even manage the current figures. I've got so many nice friends that I should keep in touch with but still I find it goes months on occasions before we meet or even converse. There's nothing really to be done, we've all got out respective lives across the world but take this is a shout-out to all my lovely peeps. If only I could some day get them all into one city and we could meet up for drinks whenever we want without having to set dates months in advance.

On a more current note, yesterday I had Kalina, Anna, Deborah and Per over at my place and it was really nice. Such a nice group of people. We even managed to talk about Bulgarian politics and I got them to drink some Koskenkorva Mint vodka which was a definate crowd pleaser. Now I've got the washing up waiting for me at home...

I've also got some pets. Our balcony (that you can't use because of some damp problems or something) is the home for two pidgeons. I don't know whether they've got some mating ritual or turf wars going on there but they sure do bite each other and wave their wings a lot. Sometimes they throw each other down from the whatever airconditioning pipes and boxes that are there and you hear a loud thump.

But yeah, my life here in Maastricht has started without much drama. I kinda miss having a big culture shock, I get more irritated by the small complications here because I think they are so small that they shouldn't matter but they still do but if I would be just thrown into something completely different at least I'd be justified to be annoyed. If you get what I mean.

Off to studying now. If the world stops spinning that is.

Spiderwebs

I've been quite boring company lately. All I've managed to talk about for the past week is the amount of spiderwebs in our house and the damned washing machine. I was a bit of an idiot and tried to open the washing machine before the minute that I was suppose to wait was over. So I managed to break the whole handle. The plastic handle split in half. Otherwise it wouldn't be a problem but it only opens manually, and despite my desperate attempts to somehow wiggle it open with a screwdriver I can't get it open. So my laundry is still there. The embarassing part of it is that it has my flatmates towels in there. I had to wash them because while I was cleaning the bathroom I spilled some of the washing liquids on them and I thought I'd be a good girl and wash them. Big mistake.

Then on to my second pet peeve, spiders and their webs. They are everywhere in the house, I had to vacuum every wall, ceiling and corner to get rid off them. I've done my best but I'm sure the little devils will come back to haunt me. I can only hope they're not clever enough to stage a joint attack on me.

But otherwise things are fine here in maasland. After my fourth visit to the front desk I got a letter that proves I'm a student here so that I can finally apply for student grants and loans in Finland. Now that the house is clean I can actually start living there and possible leave the house on occasions.

As to studying, I've done very little so far. I attend the lectures though yesterday we had a refresher lecture on European integration and an hour of the lecture was spent informing us that theories are useful and that we need to use them. This made me question what kind of people do they accept here if we have all completed our bachelor degrees and written a dissertation without ever hearing or, heaven forbid, using theories...

Uuu, one more thing. At yesterday's skills session (don't ask what it is, I don't know) a girl recognised I was Finnish just by appearance and way of speaking. She was Latvian and had studied in Tallinn so she had had experience with Finns before. So I guess I do look Finnish. Damn.

Maasmaas

Douwen. Trekken. Dank U. That's my knoledge of the Dutch language thus far. But here I am. Currently residing in a hotel but have taken most of my stuff to my new flat. The flat is amazing. The location is fabulous! It's right by the river so that you can actually see it from the livingroom. It has two floors, bedrooms are upstairs and it has these really cool exposed brick walls. Notice the difference to Newcastle, bricks on the wall vs. bricks flying through the window.

Also had the introduction day at the university. Might be that my eagerness to socialise with people is interpreted as alcoholism so from now on I really should be more careful with how I articulate my thoughts... When I said for example to my flatmate's brother that I'd like to have a few friends over he got the impression that I intend to hold a massive party.

I did bring some wine with me but that's mainly because I have this absolutely amazing rose wine that I love (Beringer Zinfandel) so obviously I brought some with me. Then I also took some champagne bottles we have lying around at home because of the recent trip to France and some of the gift bottles that my parents have accumulated over the years. And so on. Why buy new ones when I get some for free?

But anyway, I met a Bulgarian girl. How amazing is that? I don't think she fully understood my love for the country but I am so excited. I get to discuss Bulgarian politics with someone! Yey! Go Bulgaria.

On a sadder note, none of the people in my table at the reception seemed interested in Eurovision. That will change.

Everything always works out

First I should probably knock on wood for saying this, but it's funny how everything always seems to work out for the best. I was preparing to go to Maastricht with no place to live and then out of the blue I get an email saying that I've got a room from a flat that has a view of the river (it's one of the ones showing on the background of the picture. I think...). So basically perfect location. And then after some email exchanging it seems that I'm sharing it with a very nice Dutch guy so not only do I need to share it with only one person, he seems really nice. And I might learn some Dutch. Currently my impression of the Dutch language is a mix of Danish and hissing sounds that a snake makes when it's attacking...

Now I only need to get the money for it, Newcastle sent me the diploma so late that I won't probably be able to get the official letter from Maastricht in time to send it to KELA in order to get my grants and loans in order. Which is crap, but I'm hoping I'll be able to sweet-talk my bank into giving it to me somehow.

Had another IB-reunion few days ago, it's nice that we still bother to meet up. Though there were all the girls from my class and only one guy; it seems reminiscing isn't for the fellas.

Also spent the entire last week travelling around Finland interviewing people for the project I'm doing at work. It was really cool, I love the job I'm doing. The travelling not so much. I counted that it was the 22nd aeroplane I've been on since January...

Today is the only day I haven't got anything major booked. My friend Riikka is leaving to Sweden so we're holding a farewell party but that's in Lohja and later tonight so I've got the whole day to just chill and learn to play the new Heroes V we got. Next weekend I'm getting a good start on EU stuff when I attend Eurooppanuorten Linnaseminaari. It should be good, they've got former foreign minister, MEP and a minister for EU coming there to hold talks. There's also a EU-simulation, I've been assigned to a position that's pretty much perfect but I'm sensing it was assigned to me because they thought it less important and not knowing me decided to just let me do something. It's going to be like Bulgaria all over again, you never saw it coming. ;)

And then on the night of August 26th I leave to Maastricht. We're driving there with my mom so I get to take lots of stuff with me. And since we're driving through Sweden we also get to go say hi to Riikka since Norrköping is on the way to Trelleborg anyway. :) So yay, all is ready for my grand arrival to the Nether-Netherland.

Summer so far

So I'm back in Finland for a revolutionary period of a whole month. Had our little trip around Europe with my parents and Minna, drove over 7 000km and got to see nine countries. It was a really nice trip and I'm now a fan of France. Amazing place, really friendly people and beautiful cities/towns/villages. I'm especially taken by Metz in north of France and Périgueux near Bordeaux.

Nothing major has happened. I'm starting work tomorrow as a project assistant at Finland's largest realestate agency, it should be really cool, it involves interviewing people so interaction, yey!

I've been desperately trying to get a room/an apartment in Maastricht but so far have drawn a blank. All the places seem to go within a day and I get the feeling that as a person out of the country I'm on the bottom of the list of desirable tenants. But now I'm checking my email nonstop for possible new places and intend to watch over them like a maniac.

Minna, my sister, got a place at a applied sciences university, studying industrial furniture design which is really cool. She even got her own place already. She gets a whole place all for herself! I'm probably doomed to live with flatmates till I retire no matter how hard I try to grow up and get my own place.

Europa

Having stayed in Finland for an astounding one and a half weeks, I am once again on the road. Quite literally actually. I'm touring Europe with my family. So far we have visited Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, Luxembourg (albeit for less than an hour), France, Switzerland and Italy.

Major events so far include a fantastic pizza I had in Ystad, Sweden. Who would've believed I taste the best pizza ever in Sweden? It even had parma ham in it, and now that I am in parma I haven't actually eaten any ham here...

Also the discovery of a fantastic city of Metz in France. We just went there because it was on our way to Germany's Europapark. It is such a beautiful city and the people were so friendly, despite the fact that we didn't really speak any French.

Switzerland on the other hand was a slight disappointment. It was expensive, confusing and the hotel staff was almost rude.

And now we're in Parma. The hotel is excellent, fully intend to write a good review on tripadvisor. The city of Parma was kinda blaah. But we went to Lerici yesterday, close to La Spezia, and that was beautiful! Though being in Italy, the siesta is slightly annoying and the fact that they eat so late. We tried to find a place to eat at 14.30 but found all the kitchens were closed...

Tomorrow we're going to Maranello, daddy wants to watch formula 1 there... And on Monday we're heading to the French Riviera. The plan is to visit the Champagne region as well so that we get to visit some champagne cellars. Yummy.

So good times ahead.

Reality check

Back from Florida. I think I will want to visit it again which in my mind determines it as a good holiday. I liked Miami's South Beach, skyscapers are fabulous, especially in the night. On the other hand I'd also like to go to Orlando again to visit Disneyland. The people were friendly enough, I managed to master tipping and the weather was lovely.

On the other hand, check ins at the hotels were rarely easy, the hotels varied in quality, driving a car took forever and for the life of me I don't understand why they can't add the taxes to the prices.

Now I'm back in Newcastle, jet-lagged as hell. Thankfully I'm only staying here until tomorrow when my blessed flight to Finland departs. Back in Finland I'm told to expect temperatures up to 30degrees which sounds excellent. Also it will be Minna's birthday so weheyhey. And then on Monday we depart on our trip around Europe so I won't be stayin still for a long time. :)

If only it was tomorrow already.

Flo Rida

Hi y'all! Been in Florida for a week now and experienced South Beach in Miami, Universal in Orlando and Kennedy Space Centre. South Beach is excellent, Universal was nice (the hotel there even more so!) and Kennedy Space Centre was crap.

Notions of America so far include:
- stereotypes hold true; southeners really do talk like in the movies and they converse about guns (overheard a conversation by some people from Georgia in the pool)
- some words in British English just are not understood; queue anyone?
- it's far more safe than made out to be
- toilets here are weiiiiird (won't go into details on that one)
- it's shopping wonderland!!! Assuming you manage to find the bloody shops

Drama so far has included mainly Meredith's plane/luggage adventure that is still ongoing. If you see Meredith's luggage, let us know!

I'm off to get a manicure. Compliments of the cheapycheap dollar.

Time flies

I can remember when me and Jenny booked the flights to Florida sometime in September -07. The trip was almost 9 months away. Today there's only four days separating us from the hot and humid airs of Florida. In a very unlikely move, I still haven't booked the hotel for our stay in Orlando but hopefully we will figure something out. Otherwise we've got some brilliant (I hope) hotels booked thanks to the help of internet.

Time has also flown over the past month or so. I've been in and out of Finland, during my latest stint I organised daddy's 50th birthday party that came as a surprise to him. Honestly, I still don't know how we managed to keep the whole thing as a secret. But he was so surprised and the party was really good. The 70s theme worked out really well, all the oldies were into it.

I also accepted the offer from Maastricht University so I'll be starting a MA in European Studies there on August 29th. They only require my to obtain a BA, not specifying any degree classsification so I'm pretty sure I'm in. So now I'm on the look for a place in Maastricht. I want a place in the centre, and preferably my own place. Realistically I will probably have to share again but I can always hope.

Yesterday me and Jenny went to Seaburn, by the seaside in Sunderland. It was really nice neighbourhood, I really loved it. I also managed to burn my cheeks, how odd is that. We saw jellyfish which were really cool because they were royal blue coloured and Jenny made me touch one. We also went to dip our feet into the water so now I can say I've been in one more sea, yey. And when we were having our fish and chips, daddy called me and said I got a job in Finland. I'll be working with Kiinteistomaailma for August for this really cool project. It'll be actually doing meaningful stuff instead of just copying files and routine work so I am very exited. It may also involve travelling around Finland, way cool.

So all is well. I won't have to stay in Newcastle and the haunted house for long, will get to go to Florida, come back to Finland and then head to our European adventure and then come back again to Finland to earn some money before I head yet again to live in another country. Four countries in four years, pretty cool.

Summer

Back in Finland. Daddy's birthday is on Friday, we've got brilliant plans but unfortunately can't reveal anything further before; just in case he reads this.

Other than that it's brilliant to be back again. The weather is lovely, it's summer. Met up with Suvi and Outi during the weekend though I had to cut my visit to Turku a bit short after I got sick.

I've uploaded the pictures from Eurovision and some other outings to facebook in case you want to have a look.

Blondes have more fun

I've had a nice time back in Newcastle. Exams are done, essays are submitted. I found out I'll get 2.1 degree classification (based on my grades, not official yet). Had a few drinks here and then, celebrated the Eurovision. Had a lovely time at work with all the cool people there. GM, ääliöt, managed to anger me again but that is their only talent so let them do their thing whilst I do mine. Out of the country, out of my mind is my policy.

Everyone has been quite surprised by my blondeness. First time people have asked me why I dyed my hair, I find that funny. So far I've had a really good time as a blonde though occasionally I glance at brunettes and wish I still was one. But I'll stick by my choice of colour for the summer and then in the autumn will return to my natural state of browness.

I'm going to Turku tomorrow to check out the river boats and hang out with friends in the supposedly nice and warm weather. And I'm having sushi tomorrow with Suvi. Haven't had sushi in ages, I miss it dearly!

I'm uploading pics from the Eurovision night when I get back, until then, näkemiin!

The Night

Eurovision is over for one year. Russia won. I think it was a good final though to be honest, I didn't really hear much of the songs because there were so many people there that it got kind of noisy. Israel was therefore the best because he was the nicest one to just look at.

There ended up being four Finnish people at the Hancock so we shouted for Finland in a way that would make Teräsbetoni proud and my parents ashamed. The place seemed invaded by Norwegians who supported their country with due enthusiasm. But it was cool, a very good atmosphere. Even Jenny enjoyed the night and she really doesn't like Eurovision.

After the Eurovision we continued to Madison's to invade their dancefloor. I have no idea where most of the people disappeared, at one point there was a huge crowd of us going there and the next thing I know is that there's only 8 or 10 of us. But yeah, I suppose you could say that I wasn't as observant as I normally might have been. To end an excellent night Jenny and I got a taxi that had party lights that lit up to the music so the party continued in the taxi.

All in all an excellent night to rival the infamous 2006 Eurovision night, even though Finland didn't win this time. Next year I'm going to Moscow if it is in any way possible.

I would attach pictures but I left the usb-cord in Finland so they'll be added at a later date.

Geek

I'm a geek. That should be no surprise to anyone. I like the EU to an extent that is just uncool. Same with Eurovision. I've also proclaimed my love for math quizzes several times. But today it really hit me. I read Paula's quotes section, which is quite extensive, on her facebook page (yes, tick another box for geekiness about my facebook stalking) and the joke I laughed out loud was the following:

'There are 10 types of people; those who understand binary, and those who don't'

No wonder I get along with engineers, I'm like one of them, just without the natural sciences and engineering bit.

Today I finished my degree in Newcastle, I've now officially done all the coursework and exams. The exam on Traditional East Asian Political Thought was actually really good. It's always a good sign when you read the exam questions and your reaction is a big smile on your face. Not that I did particularly good but considering I know very little about the topic, I did better than I expected of myself. So yey!

Bucks Fizz

I went to see Grant Management at their Newcastle office, explained everything and the following conversation followed:
'It's been going on for a month?!'
'Yes'
'You've sent us letters and nobody has contacted you?'
'Yep'
'This should not have happened'
'D'uh'
So somebody will call me "today". There's still 1h 15min of office time left but I'm doubtful. "Today" and "tomorrow" are meaningless terms for them.

So as always, I was so over the whole GM thing that I decided to comfort myself with a bit of comfort food. I've got a nice lemon tarte for the Eurovision semi-finals tonight and even bought some salmon, to remind me of a promised land called Finland. ;)

I just checked the BBC website for Eurovision news and the woman announcing the UK votes seems like a proper idiot. She said that with so many Eastern countries in the competition, there's no way the UK will win. But I mean how can they expect to win when the songs they send are crap?? I mean this year with Andy isn't as bad as last year with Flying the flag thing or the previous year with Daz Sampson but still, it will hardly stand out? It's such a stupid thing to say. When you don't send good songs, you don't get good results. Eastern countries care about the Eurovision, it's a big thing for them and so the songs they send are actually by popular artists. I'm sure if Sugababes or Leona Lewis would enter they would win. I'm so frustrated by this whole argument. Finland won, we're hardly Eastern? Or even if we are, we've been entering the competition since 1961 and won for the first time in 2006. It was hardly because of our neighbours who've been participating for a long time as well (excluding the obvious). To win it you just need a good song that the eurovision people will like.

But in preparation for the big final night I bought some alcoholic goodies, including pink sparkling wine. I even saw a bottle of Bucks Fizz which made me smile and I would've bought it but Jenny's allergic to citrus fruits. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you're not a true Eurovision fan.

Where's Wally?

Apparently my travelling is confusing people so just to clarify, I returned to Newcastle today. My room still hasn't been fixed so it's as wonderful as ever. But went to the cinema today to see Charlie Bartlett (or something along those lines) and I remembered how nice the people at work are so at least I'm happy to return in that respect.

Also, Eurovision final night is soon upon us. As Finland got through I am only left to hope Bulgaria will as well so that I can go all crazy on the night. But seriously people have not realised what a wonderful song the Israel eurovision entry is this year! And take a look at the guy! Ahh.. I went to Jenny's place today and Paula asked me about Eurovision. I got so excited I was nearly hyperventilating there, so if you don't want to hear everything about Eurovision don't even start. I can pretty much sing most of the songs or at least their chorus and will be doing so at the party. Yeyyyy!

Home Sweet Home

So on my time off in Finland I've been busy seeing friends, eating and visiting friends. I went to Turku for the weekend to spend some quality time with Outi and had a nice time there again. And when back in Lohja I've been spending time with Minna and then Riikka and Laura. Good times. And when I'm not entertaining I'm playing Heroes on my computer, very geeky.

Also, I'm blonde now.

The picture is actually taken from the plane on my way home. It's the Netherlands. I think it's cool how you can see the slight curve of the earth and the darker shades of blue the higher up you go. I used to love flying but now it's getting a bit boring on occasions because I fly quite a lot these days. But still drooling over the fact that I get to fly on a Boeing 747 when we go to Florida, that's a childhood dream come true. I think being a politician/president only came in to the picture when I realised I couldn't be a pilot or a flight attendant because I wear glasses. ;)

Summer is upon us

Today we had our last lecture in the EU simulation. I will miss it. I have been representing Bulgaria for so long that I will most likely find it difficult to get out of character. But seriously, I have come to love Bulgaria. I will go there soon and proclaim my love for the country and everybody will be like "what??".

I'm going to Finland tomorrow for that chilling period. I really need that, had another encounter with the idiots from Grant Management today. But apparently the piece published on the Courier about our problems was quite big so hopefully all those who read it will realise to boycott the wankers.

I walked around Newcastle today and yesterday in a slightly nostalgic move, hence the touristy picture from Grey Street. But it's been such nice weather that the sun is making even me appreciate this damned city. Almost as bright as the sun are my nails, I love the psychedelically yellow nails.

But this is it, my university career is close to finishing. Only one essay and one exam to do and I'm done. For now that is, I presume if I do that PhD I'll still have many years of student bliss ahead of me...

A year off

Today the health inspector was meant to come in. I waited for 40 minutes, then rang their office to ask is somebody coming and they reply that they don't know because it's not on their records but they'll give me a ring. Then a guy calls about it, saying he had a "meeting" that went on longer than expected so he won't make it. And it only occured to let me know when I start calling about it? Clearly the guy just completely forgot about the whole thing! So he's coming again tomorrow. Now the Post Office added to the fun by messing up the recorded delivery that had the letter to Grant Management. The tracking online just keeps saying system error or something genius like that. I'm jinxed, nothing has gone right with companies in Britain this year, nothing.

All this shit that has been going on since January to be honest has made me an extremely unpleasant person and I apologise for that. I know I've been cranky at times and I've tried to control it but still, it hasn't been nice around me recently.

So I'm taking some time off. I'm planning to go to Finland on Friday if I manage to get rid off my shifts at work and relax there for a while. Obviously I'm coming back to Newcastle for my exam and therefore also for the Eurovision party, and for a week in June and then in the beginning of July. But other than that, won't be coming back to Newcastle ever again.

I got an offer for study for the MA at Exeter today but I'm not going there anymore. I think I might actually take the whole year off. Work at some job in Lohja to make some money and then just travel. I didn't apply for the right places this year so maybe it's a good thing I get a chance to reconsider where I want to go. The only place in Britain where I could consider going is Cambridge so I might apply there for a PhD next year. Or maybe the US? Perhaps I should also finally get a grip and learn French so I could go to College of Europe. The benefits of taking a year off just seem to add up.

So, anybody interested in touring the Middle-East or South-America with me? Or willing to offer me a place to stay and a job in France?

UPDATE: The flights are booked and I'm off to Finland on 9/5-21/5.

If only...

I was browsing through job adverts through this Finnish site because I just feel like trailing off for one year. If I would have the money, I would just spend the year travelling. I could just get crappy jobs and pay my way but I think it wouldn't necessarily look good on my CV. Just travelling on the other hand would be like the Grand Tour except instead of touring around Europe, I'd go to South America.

I've also looked into just jobs I could do. Sadly enough the ones I found interesting were in wonderful places but the job itself sucked, namely au pair. I would love to go to Qatar or Mozambique and just chill for a year but I don't think au pairing is the right way. I hate kids, don't understand them one bit so I doubt they'd want me. Plus they usually require some driving and I hate driving. Also they require some sort of cooking and I struggle to feed myself, let alone some snotty little kids. So tempting as it was, I decided not to send my CV.

If only you could just do what you want... Why can't somebody just call and say they desperately need me to assist setting up the EU embassy in Trinidad & Tobago?

Watersports

Right, the entries haven't been that cheerful lately so on a positive note, only about 1.5 months before Jenny and me go to Florida! It's going to be shopping frenzy, courtesy of the cheap dollar. Bit of economics for y'all, euro strong, dollar low = more dollars with my euros -> more stuff to buy! Now isn't it great I went to university to learn that. ;)

Picture is from Venezuela by the way but I thought palm trees and the sea will make everyone's day a happier one.

This would not happen in Finland

I know us foreigners tend to have an idolised image of our countries when we're living abroad. But this isn't just some random rant about them taking too long to deliver the mail. I have now had a leaking ceiling for 5 days. I have called my landlord about 6 times about it, sent them an official complaint by mail and also contacted the contractor meant to come and fix it about 4 times as well. Still, nothing. Nothing has been done. Nobody has come to see it. When I speak to Grant Management about it, they assume somebody will come and put a new rooftile in and assume that is it. But the plaster's peeling off from the leaking point, the damp is spreading through the wall, it's pretty serious.

In Finland, I would not be allowed to live in this place. Here they expect me to pay full rent for it.

I'm sleeping on our livingroom sofa and today intend to move all my stuff down here as well. I've lost all hope in Grant Management being reasonable about it so I now called the Environmental Health Department and hopefully somebody will come and see the place soon so that they will force Grant Management to act on it.

But thanks to this episode, I intend to leave this country as soon as possible. Meaning, I won't stay here to do my Masters. I'd rather live anywhere else than here. It's not just Newcastle, it's the people's mentality when I phone them. On the outside they're being really polite and nice but then nothing gets done. When I get angry for nothing done, they treat me as if I'm being unreasonable! I'm sick of this. I just want to go home

Mañana

Grant Management, the owner and renter of my current room/house, sure has this mañana attitude well down.. I called them last night about the raining in my room and today they inform me they never got that message. So nobody to fix it today. They'll try tomorrow but possibly not before Wednesday. It's always tomorrow, tomorrow.. Alvaro's window that got broken two weeks ago still hasn't been fixed.

So yea, I'm doubtful as to when I'm going to sleep in my own room again.

Waterfall

Drip. Drip. Drip. I come after a 10 hour shift, make some food and relax in my room. But then I notice a dripping sound and I turn to look what's causing it. And tadaa, there's a huge crack in my ceiling that's leaking water into my room, including my bed. I call our landlord's emergency line and they tell me they can't get a person in before tomorrow.

So yeah, now I'm in our living room which I hope is just a temporary arrangement and the roof will actually get fixed. Toivossa on hyvä elää.

Evil eye from the cows

The title is not a bitchy metaphor, I seriously got some murderous looks from cows today. I decided to walk to uni today, even though it was raining a bit. But I was in no hurry and it wasn't too cold today. And on my way there is this field, the city moor I believe, in which there's a bunch of cows. Being the city girl I am, I find them fascinating so I stop to have a little chat with them in Finnish.

They didn't seem to appreciate it though. The one I was talking to - pictured above - gave me some nasty looks and as I was into the conversation, I looked at the others and they were all staring at me with looks that could kill. Maybe they don't like people or are just xenophobic, I'm telling you those cows aren't as cutesy as they seem. They're evil.

It's been a good day

After a crappy week, it feels like all the good things came back to me at once. I had a stellar day at uni, the EU-simulation course is as fun as ever. Also got feedback from a lecturer about my performance so far and frankly couldn't have been better. After 15min of discussing why I'm so good, I felt pretty confident. ;)

Then booked the venue for Eurovision party though it's still conditional, will have to wait for their confirmation. But hopefully it will work out and that's sorted.

And then was a really nice day at work as well. Despite the possible evacuation alerts, for the life of me I can't keep my composure. I don't do panic situations well. I tend to panic.

But yey, it's all good again. Now I only need to get some sleep, and then tomorrow is a whole day full of leisurely activities before work.

Talk about a bad week...

It doesn't seem like this week was bad but in retrospect, it was hardly a good one. First, I was sick a lot. My pillow was so crappy that it was making me wake up with a headache, then Grant Management pulls this little trick of theirs. Then I get some sort of thing at work, felt so dizzy and nauseous that I had to leave early. Then go to the gym after some recovery time but get too excited and work out a bit too much and get ill from that.

The worst is last night when somebody threw rocks at our windows and managed to break Alvaro's window. His room is already minuscule so it got really cold. Anyway, the police came over, called Grant Management who won't be here to fix till who knows when and all that.

And then hörhilö pulls another one of his tricks. Won't go into details, that would reveal the identity, but good old times sprung to mind.

I'm left to hope happier times are ahead of me. Tomorrow uni starts and also am working until late every evening until Wednesday (when I'm going to Maastricht!). So at least I've got that to look forward to. And Jenny will be back as well, will meet her on Wednesday and get to eat proper food! I've lost my appetite recently, I'm suspecting it's more of a cause of my poor cooking skill than anything else.

Problem Solving

Today I woke up with a headache and it was pretty easy to figure out where I got it from. No, it wasn't a hangover like my dad thought (cheers for that though daddy) but because of my crappy pillow. I'm a very mobile sleeper. I twist and turn so much and now that I've got a big bed I do it even more. And then my pillow is just so flat and hard that I tend to put my head under my arms and whatnot so no wonder I've got a stiff neck in the morning.

So the headache remains with me the whole day and I decide to splurge out on a proper pillow and as I'm heading out, I see a letter from the company that owns and rents the flat. The idiots have once again claimed that I haven't paid my rent. I've gotten that letter every month now, the amount changes (I don't know what's up with that) and the name changes (it's a variation of my name, the previous tenants name or our names combined) but the point is that someone that seems like me, hasn't paid the rent. But, like I phone to tell them every month, I pay by direct debit and every time I've called them they've said it's a mistake on their side and they're going to fix it. I've been living here since January and it's April... not very quick on their feet now are they?

Anyway, so I fix things. I get a new pillow to prevent the headache, I buy ibuprofein (as weird as this sounds, I love ibuprofein) to help the symptons, call the idiots to fix their problems and to make myself feel better, I buy a tub of ice cream. Problem solved! I feel happy again.

Little things in life

Today it's snowing. I don't usually talk about weather when I'm in Newcastle simply because I rarely leave my room. I have a window but I keep the blind down all the time because a) the window is mouldy and b) it gets drafty and blind keeps it a bit warmer. So I don't really see the weather action that much. But today I went to get something to eat, one those occasions that require me to go outside the house - delivery would be too much like fatty-action, and it's proper blizzard outside. And of course today being Sunday, busses go very rarely and the one I'm aiming for is always early so it's gone by the time I get there and the next one is always late. Murphy's law. But the point being I got soaked.

But then I get to shop, my feet are wet and am cold all over, get my stuff and suddenly chocolate chip cookies seem tempting. So I buy them, get home after getting a bit more wet on the way and open that bag of cookies and the whole thing was worth it.

Now I start work in about 3.5 hours so I've got a few more hours of bliss ahead of me. Project Runway is calling...

My fallback plan

Minna and Jenna were in Newcastle for 5 days and we had loads of fun. We even booked a make-up lesson at a salon to get all glammed up one day. One thing I noted was that I actually already do my make-up the way she instructed, if slightly better. And I also quite often do the hair and make up for my friends. In ylä-aste (upper comprehensive school, grades 7-9) I was told that I could start a nail salon because I was quite interested in nails back then and now I was thinking of branching out to hair and make-up as well.

I can't really cut hair but I can do fabulous dos and glamorous evening make-up. And proper nice nails as well. So if the whole politics stuff doesn't work out, I know I have a back-up plan. I have done Jenna's hair and the make-up was created in collaboration with Savannah Salon & Spa.

Other than that, Triin's back from Peru and took loads of happy and amazing pictures of llamas! And they are all dedicated for me, could I ask for a better friend? There's much love there, llamas all the way.

Songs for all occasions

Eurovision songs are like the perfect accessory, they go with everything but I do listen to other kind of music. I didn't use to though, I remember one of my friends got really frustrated with my lack of interest in music. Anyways, I'm still very uninterested in the fineries of music; I like it happy and easy to dance to. I did however add the theme song application on facebook and I'm really proud of my selection so I thought I'd add the best bits here.
Current mood: Illi - Palaan luoksesi The lyrics are about wanting to settle down vs nomadic lifestyle
Partying: Tarkan - Simarik Excellent Turkish song
Sexual: Mika - Relax, Take It Easy The title of the song influenced the decision
Love: Juanes - Para Tu Amor Because Spanish is the most beautiful language ever
Dancing: Shakira - Hips Don't Lie I'm never too shy to ask the DJ to play some Shakira
Work: Abba - Mamma Mia The trailer for the movie with the same title has been running for months now and is always playing when I'm at work, it's a sign
Guilty Pleasure: Basshunter - Boten Anna I like to think he's singing about a boat he really likes
High School: No Doubt - Six Feet Under School was never really that much fun anyway

And I also bought Leona Lewis' CD a few days ago, I haven't bought a CD for a really long time, in like 10 years so it's a big thing for me.

On another note, Minna and Jenna are coming here tomorrow. Looking very much forward to our quality time together. Shopping, eating, going out... who wouldn't like a break from reality?

Älypää Mathquiz

As if I wouldn't be weird enough by getting excited about the EU, eurovision and America's Next Top Model, one of my favourite past time activities is playing the mathquiz at the Finnish gamesite Älypää. They have it in English as well if you feel like trying. http://en.alypaa.com/
It doesn't my any means require you to be a genius in maths, it's just simple adding up and multiplying as quick as you can. I love it.

Anyways, something to take your mind off mundane things. Like the jerk customers at work, today I had the worst one so far. Proper dickhead. But other than that work is fine and dandy. Though admittedly I feel my IQ has dropped like 20 points, because I'm the newbie I have to be taught everything and the stuff they say are the simplest things you can imagine but just because I haven't done it before, I don't know about the procedures and all. But still, I should dye my hair blonde.

And the English sure do love their bureaucracy, I've signed - without joking - approximately 60 pages so far. And there is the fear that they might contact my referees. Not that their not legitimate or anything, I'd just love to see the contacting my former employers in Finland because when I was working there my job was basically taking care of all the English speaking people because the bosses couldn't... Bless.

Eurovision 2008!!

It's Eurovision time again! I'm so happy after listening through all the entries for this year. Me any my sister have a theory you see, every other year is good whilst other year is bad. Last year was admittedly quite bad, 2006 was excellent. This year the songs are again really good. I have six favourites this year! And I pretty much know Dima Bilan will win for Russia, for sure.

But I seriously listened through all the songs on youtube and the amount of novelty entries puzzles me. Not funny in a good way like last year's Ukraine but just crap. Like the turkey from Ireland, or the chiki dance thing from Spain or, bless them, Estonia's horrible, horrible song. But luckily good ones exist to compensate. So here's a list of my favourites, in no particular order:
Sweden
Norway
Russia
Greece
Germany
Armenia

Listen to their entries online but I must warn you, if you go through all of them it will take time. There are so many countries participating this year. I knew Azerbaijan would join but Montenegro and San Marino are in the first time as well, superexciting! Whii!

Luckily the final show will air May 24th, day after my final exam! So there's definately going to be a parteyyy!

What is it?

Lately I've been questioned about my nationality quite a bit. Part of it is due because I started work where there are actual British people who can spot a fake British accent like mine instantly but also some very random occurances. Most amusing and odd was the taxi driver on my way to the airport (granted it was like 6am and dark) and he asked whether I was Chinese. Then the other night another taxi driver asked whether I was American. When I was out with the people from my work, one of them asked whether I was Polish. Most scary was the one that happened today though. I was just walking down to Co-op and this Geordie man, aged around 40 with a really raspy voice approaches me and starts asking me whether I think the people here are ugly.I then matter something intellectual like "I dunno" and try to walk faster but then he starts questioning where I'm from and the first guess is Sweden, then Denmark and then Austria. Which are pretty good guesses considering I had only said around 3 words so he had only my appearance to judge on.

But that aside, one cool thing to happen today was that I got the chance to talk to Triin online! And that is exiting because the girl was in Peru, in some oasis in the middle of the desert and online! Imagine that. Got to love modern technology. She hasn't seen any llamas yet but promised to bring me one as soon she sees one. I really want that llama. And when I spoke to my dad and told that Triin is in Peru, the first thing he asked was whether she's seen any llamas. So see, it is important for Triin to spot that llama asap.

Oh the pain...

I'm still in the process of writing my dissertation and today was a rare day when I didn't have uni or work. But I had no inspiration and in addition to that, I went to work first at the library but all the computers were taken and there were loads of those people hanging around, waiting for one to become available. Then I headed to the Old Library Building which was pretty much empty except that the air there was so stuffy and it was so hot that I felt sick. Then I moved on to Bedson building. I stayed there for an hour and managed to get some work done but then the people kept coming in, people kept talking and some even played with a football or something so it was hardly a quiet study area.

But when I managed to get home, not only do I realise that I forgot to send the latest version of the whole thing to my email but I also continued to feel really ill. I still do actually. So no progress there. I do however intend to be finished by Wednesday which only means that I have to work hard until then. I will be skipping my East Asian Political Thought lectures this week because of it. Also, despite being interesting, I feel that the lecturer is trying to convert us rather than teach us and it is putting me off a bit. I hardly need to be into Confucianism to study it, do I? I mean I really hate realism but that doesn't mean I don't know it.

I've had loads of shifts at work, I think I actually did something like 26 hours last week which I think is quite impressive. But on Thursday I managed to bust my wrist twice so can't do the café with Häagen Dazs for a while. Instead I worked at the screens and have seen the endings of almost all the films showing at the moment... The Other Boleyn Girl seems really good and I intend to actually go and see the whole thing when I've got time. Some of the people at work seem really cool as well, so it's a nice environment in general. I wouldn't continue there after June though if I would stay in Newcastle. The actual work is a bit too simple, I just can't be that bothered whether or not there's two flavours of the same ice cream on display and whether or not I've put enough froth on the capuccino (HINT: if I'm on the cafe, DON'T order a capuccino, I suck!).

So yea, anyway, I also hurt my finger today with out downstairs door because it is seriously horrible. And with the wrist added, I'm pretty much on my way to destroying my right hand. ;)

Cambridge

Had an amazing time in Cambridge at the Model European Union Simulation. So many nice people there, unbelievable. We stayed with one of the tallest persons I've ever met, a German guy called Jan who was a proper sweetheart. Surprisingly enough, they accommodated Tuomas and me in the same room. During the weekend we even heard that we look alike, so that waters his theory that he looks Danish and I look Finnish. Haha.

But after the weekend I was so drained both physically and mentally that it was an actual effort getting up in the morning. Admittedly I missed my first lecture but since it was about decision-making in the EU council of ministers I pretty much figured I had that covered. ;) But I had a nap and then met up with my seminar group on East Asian Political Thought I was prepared to eat and drink with Jenny to celebrate. We actually managed to drink a bottle of wine each which I think is an excellent effort from both of us considering neither of us drank wine before the autumn. So we're both growing up.

But now I need to make up for the all the time I didn't spend on facebook during the weekend, feel very deprived.

Wholahey

So I've been in my room for the whole weekend because I really need to work on my dissertation. So far it's gone alright, I haven't progressed to writing it yet but I have now completed my notes. I love my system of writing though, I do amazing notes and all the research beforehands so when I start writing I have the main idea of each stanza written down, with notes on which reference should I use for them as well. Works like a dream and enables me to do the actual writing quickly.

The only thing is that I can only focus on it for a few hours at a time and when I'm not working on it, I'm watching shows online. I've now watched all the cycles of America's Next Top Model, started watching Germany's Next Top Model (and that's educational you know, brush up on my German) and am still eagerly awaiting for the last few episodes of Project Runway!

I was laughing by myself all day yesterday because in cycle 8 of ANTM Dionne came up with a nickname for herself and it was Wholahey. Well the story behind it was hilarious and then you had a comment from cycle 7's Melrose saying: "Wholahey as a name is a real conversation starter...". And then Dionne just went ahead and introduced herself as Wholahey. Priceless.

Purple is the new pink

Hi y'all!

So I'll be rocking it purple from now on. Got my lovely new uniform for the cinema. They were bit short on sizes, so I got a male size M shirt. But because I've been watching to much America's Next Top Model I feel like I can work any outfit I want. And because of ANTM I feel inclined to speak like this as well...

Anyhoo, I'm feeling excellent. Good things going on the past week. Got the job, Jenny got an interview (holla girl! ;), my sister's doing her incredible art work and will fo'sure get into any university she wants and all that. In addition, I got woken up by a call from a recruitment agency that wants to interview me. Way cool. I might actually end up getting a real job instead of staying in the lovely, sheltered world of academia. Just in general been hearing good things - this makes me happy.

To set the record straight, I do get staff benefits from the cinema but unfortunately people you don't, so no free tickets. I love you, but the cinema loves your money even more. The people there seem like proper sweethearts, I'm looking forward to befriending some natives.

On a more important note, why haven't I seen Project Runway's season 4's two last episodes? Somebody put them online or I'll just have to start working on my dissertation.

Quick update

Me got myself that job! So here I am, working for the Empire Cinema at the Gate. Excellent. The interview went so well too, I just felt really happy afterwards so I'm just so pleased.



But that's all. Got my training on Friday and by then I need to get a national insurance number, hopefully it'll be alright.

Geordieland

Right, so I'm now back in Newcastle. You can tell that I'm bad with diaries looking at the last entry which was several months ago.

Copenhagen turned out to be fabulous once you got to know more people. Though I still am not a fan of the city itself. But Erasmus was every bit as amazing as I expected it to be. Though it did manage to almost bankrupt me.

I was happy to return to Newcastle though, familiar territory with seemingly no difficulties. Rather the opposite. Granted, I'd been fighting with Virgin Media about the deposit they hadn't returned to me despite several attempts for over 9 months and still no end was at sight, but then NPower added to the delight coming up with a bill for over £225 pounds completely out of the blue. Then my current flat's agency tried to charge for 2 months rent twice (as if having to pay 2months in advance isn't enough) and then the Finnish educational authority (KELA) decided to be difficult not pay me all the money that was due in my grants. So yea, first two weeks sucked.

But now I'm happy again. I've got the most amazing module, EU simulation which is just fabulous. I get to be Bulgaria and kick some Western European ass. Then I applied for 2 jobs to which I sent my CV and got 2 interviews. The second one is actually in an hour so we'll see what comes of it. I need to get a job to pay for all the extravagant travelling I've got planned, firstly and foremost meaning Florida. But seems like there's at least potential in my CV.

I'm also trying to make sense of my dissertation and hope to get an inspiration soon, my self-imposed deadline for the 1st draft is on the 15th and I aim to stick to it. By the time it's my birthdya I hope to have a near finished product in my hands.

I've also got some brilliant conferences/simulations to attend to this year. Later on in February I'm heading to Cambridge as the Bulgarian Prime Minister with my lovely delegation consisting of my beloved Copenhagen family and Suvi, a friend of mine who courageously "volunteered" to help us out as we were one member short. Then in April we're off to Maastricht for a model UN session with a bigger crew which will have an amazing mix of people I know from Finland, Newcastle and Copenhagen.

I'm getting a bit nervous of the interview so I'm off to practise stuff like: "what makes me good in customer service". Crap.