So yesterday I had a check up for my foot again and now it's not a stress fracture. The Doctor said the MRI indicated a stress fracture but being off of it for a month should have made it better if it indeed was a stress fracture so now we are trying something new. She said that there's definitely swelling on the bone but the pain could be in the joints so she sent me to physiotherapy. 2 or 3 times a week for the next month and then to come back in 4 weeks. She gave me a boot (the new must-have accessory I'm telling you) to wear on my foot which is supposed to help a little.I was OK with it yesterday during class and I'm hoping it will help me with my back also. Crunching over the crutches is NOT fun nor is it good for my back. So hopefully all this will come together soon! I want to be able to do black Friday shopping! That is the craziest most fun you'll ever have! People get on their serious shopping mood and it's the survival of the fittest! And there's no room for limping that night! So I need to get better.
But back to my boot...I am wearing it at work but not outside, not today anyway. It started to rain late last night and it hasn't stopped since. I came to work an hour late because I wanted to wait it out but it didn't help so I had to suck it up and put on my rain gear...jacket, pants and what T calls, my ugly boots. They're rain resistant and rigid like Doctor ordered, is all I'm saying...
I need to go back to work now. Later peeps!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
School
School is SO difficult. I got an "A" from my paper in my environmental health class. And I wrote it the day it was due...Now should I try to evolve and do them a little earlier or just do what I do now?
Some of the things I've learned in this class:
I read this yesterday and thought thank god this isn't me!
A woman in Australia is suffering from over production of trimethylamine which makes her breath, sweat and pee smell like...rotten fish! EECH!
Have a good day! I'm gonna do some work now...
Some of the things I've learned in this class:
- You can't give a child under the age of 2 honey. They will get sick and possibly die.
- Little children shouldn't touch small turtles. Turtles have salmonella in their shells which can make your kids really sick. Also, if somebody brings bats or other wild animals, even a wild kitten to the school room, tell your kid NOT to touch it OR kiss it! Rabies baby, rabies!
- You're Chinese food, at least here, is most likely not coked by a Chinese person but a Mexican or someone else from central-America. My Chinese place has an all Chinese personnel. How I know this? You can see right into the kitchen.
- Doctoral students are the most difficult people in the world. They ask irrelevant questions, they have NO logic and the focus on unimportant things. If a professor says he has 17 topics for a paper and he only presents 16, is that REALLY worth asking or mentioning about? If your presentation topic is riparian areas in NJ, do we REALLY need to get into Mayan culture? If the time limit for your presentation is 15 minutes, do you REALLY need to talk for an hour? My experience is that those are the people who can't cope in the real world. They stay in school and get a degree after degree because they would not do well in a real job.
- People in NJ don't recognize their wild mushrooms.I guess that's good since there are more Superfund sites in NJ than in any other states in the US. Even if you find a wild edible mushroom it could still be toxic! Speaking off...I miss mushrooms! Kanttarelli, where are thou?
- You should never cook thanksgiving turkey in parts! We just learned yesterday how a woman was having lots of people over and got a BIG turkey for thanksgiving. She thought it would be a good idea to cook it in 2 parts. Let's say it took 7 hours to cook. She cooked it for 3,5 hours on Wednesday, and another 3,5 on Thursday. The outside of the turkey was cooked on Wednesday but the stuffing inside only got warm. When she put it in the fridge overnight, the bacteria on the stuffing multiplied (in room temperature it takes about 15 min for a bacteria to multiply). The outside of the turkey cooled but the stuffing stayed room temp. When she took it out on Thursday and put it in the oven for the remaining time, the outside got warm again but the inside, the stuffing was just warm. Killed 3 people including herself!
I read this yesterday and thought thank god this isn't me!
A woman in Australia is suffering from over production of trimethylamine which makes her breath, sweat and pee smell like...rotten fish! EECH!
Have a good day! I'm gonna do some work now...
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Time management
I'm bad at it. In fact, I suck at it!
this semester has been the first ever when I have school and work at the same time and it's a bit challenging. Going to school full time and getting homework and all the presentations done on time is hard as it is, add work to that and it's almost impossible! LOL!
Being on crutches is making me slower than usual, so that takes time but it's not the challenge. The challenge in the morning is NOT to surf the net...NOT to watch the shows I taped...NOT to blog when I could be doing my homework or research for presentations or papers. And before you know it, it's time to leave for work. In the spring when I started I was told that I could do homework at work. Since the director change, we are a lot busier than anticipated so I have less time for homework. If at all. Obviously during class you can't do homework.
I have classes from Monday till Wednesday and I work the whole day on Thursday. The classes are night classes so I don't see T all that much those days. When she picks me up we might have a dinner together and watch a little TV before it's bed time. On Wednesday's we're home (after she picks me up) at 11pm which means NO time together. So the few hours I do get to spend with her those days, I don't wanna do homework.
On Thursdays I usually am really tired after getting home from work. The night before I just come home and crash. My co-worker Aditi picks me up on Thursdays at 7:15 so I wake up and basically leave. By the time I get home, I'm ready for a nap. Thursday is usually also our dining night out so neither one of us has to cook. During the weekends we are usually pretty busy, our dance cards are filling up fast and unless T needs to go somewhere by herself, I'm not doing much homework then. Sunday is reserved for football so unless there's really boring Jets and Giants games on, I'm not doing homework. Occasional article reading but nothing too heavy.
This leaves me with Wednesdays and Fridays. On Wednesdays I have the whole day till about 6:10pm when I have to leave for school. You would think that 9 hours prior to that would be enough? I'm sure it would be but my focus doesn't last that long. Friday's I have totally off but after the 4 day week at work and school, I need to unwind a little before getting into it. Surfing, catching up with my shows, domestic duties...And everybody knows how much I love TV! Since I'm not seeing my shows when they actually air, and when me and T are home together I want to spend that time doing things with her, it's only logical and natural to watch those shows when I have time alone...
So what should I do? Make a timetable for myself for those days? 1 hour for surfing. 2 hours for TV. 5 hours for homework? Combine these with cooking, eating and laundry...?
I/we obviously have very little time for friends during the week which is one of the reasons weekends are so busy. Unless T sees her friends in the city before coming home, she doesn't have the time or the energy to drive around after work. If you exclude one of her cousins and few of her friends from work who live about 20 minutes away, it takes almost an hour to see anybody else or more! So you need to plan these things in advance or like we did on Sunday with Shari, Dre and Brad, meet in the middle. Well, middle for us and Shari, Dre and Brad were over 7 hours away from home. We met for brunch in Lambertville, NJ for few hours before we came home and they went back to Shari's. Andrea and Brad live in Virginia so it's not everyday you get to see them. Last time we saw them was in June when they came here to celebrate pride parade with us.
We might not see them often but it's always good times! We were laughing through the brunch! It's not about how often you see each other, it's about how much fun you have when you get together. I have met most of the people I call friends here through T and they have been very open and accepting towards me. My friends are back in Finland and I obviously don't see them as often as I would like or even get to talk with them all that much because of the time difference and how much it costs to call but when I here from them, it always makes me smile. But I have my life with T, they have their lives with their significant others, kids and work and that's how life goes. Things change all the time, you just have to adapt and make most of the time you have with your friends and loved ones.
I miss my family back in Finland.
I miss my friends back in Finland.
I miss my friends here in the states.
Hope everybody has a great day.
I'm going to work now...for few!
Later
this semester has been the first ever when I have school and work at the same time and it's a bit challenging. Going to school full time and getting homework and all the presentations done on time is hard as it is, add work to that and it's almost impossible! LOL!
Being on crutches is making me slower than usual, so that takes time but it's not the challenge. The challenge in the morning is NOT to surf the net...NOT to watch the shows I taped...NOT to blog when I could be doing my homework or research for presentations or papers. And before you know it, it's time to leave for work. In the spring when I started I was told that I could do homework at work. Since the director change, we are a lot busier than anticipated so I have less time for homework. If at all. Obviously during class you can't do homework.
I have classes from Monday till Wednesday and I work the whole day on Thursday. The classes are night classes so I don't see T all that much those days. When she picks me up we might have a dinner together and watch a little TV before it's bed time. On Wednesday's we're home (after she picks me up) at 11pm which means NO time together. So the few hours I do get to spend with her those days, I don't wanna do homework.
On Thursdays I usually am really tired after getting home from work. The night before I just come home and crash. My co-worker Aditi picks me up on Thursdays at 7:15 so I wake up and basically leave. By the time I get home, I'm ready for a nap. Thursday is usually also our dining night out so neither one of us has to cook. During the weekends we are usually pretty busy, our dance cards are filling up fast and unless T needs to go somewhere by herself, I'm not doing much homework then. Sunday is reserved for football so unless there's really boring Jets and Giants games on, I'm not doing homework. Occasional article reading but nothing too heavy.
This leaves me with Wednesdays and Fridays. On Wednesdays I have the whole day till about 6:10pm when I have to leave for school. You would think that 9 hours prior to that would be enough? I'm sure it would be but my focus doesn't last that long. Friday's I have totally off but after the 4 day week at work and school, I need to unwind a little before getting into it. Surfing, catching up with my shows, domestic duties...And everybody knows how much I love TV! Since I'm not seeing my shows when they actually air, and when me and T are home together I want to spend that time doing things with her, it's only logical and natural to watch those shows when I have time alone...
So what should I do? Make a timetable for myself for those days? 1 hour for surfing. 2 hours for TV. 5 hours for homework? Combine these with cooking, eating and laundry...?
I/we obviously have very little time for friends during the week which is one of the reasons weekends are so busy. Unless T sees her friends in the city before coming home, she doesn't have the time or the energy to drive around after work. If you exclude one of her cousins and few of her friends from work who live about 20 minutes away, it takes almost an hour to see anybody else or more! So you need to plan these things in advance or like we did on Sunday with Shari, Dre and Brad, meet in the middle. Well, middle for us and Shari, Dre and Brad were over 7 hours away from home. We met for brunch in Lambertville, NJ for few hours before we came home and they went back to Shari's. Andrea and Brad live in Virginia so it's not everyday you get to see them. Last time we saw them was in June when they came here to celebrate pride parade with us.
We might not see them often but it's always good times! We were laughing through the brunch! It's not about how often you see each other, it's about how much fun you have when you get together. I have met most of the people I call friends here through T and they have been very open and accepting towards me. My friends are back in Finland and I obviously don't see them as often as I would like or even get to talk with them all that much because of the time difference and how much it costs to call but when I here from them, it always makes me smile. But I have my life with T, they have their lives with their significant others, kids and work and that's how life goes. Things change all the time, you just have to adapt and make most of the time you have with your friends and loved ones.
I miss my family back in Finland.
I miss my friends back in Finland.
I miss my friends here in the states.
Hope everybody has a great day.
I'm going to work now...for few!
Later
Monday, October 20, 2008
Attention!!!
Beware of the pigeons! Nuclear power plant workers in Iran have caught 2 pigeons accused of espionage. They were said to have carried metal rings attached to some cords. If you have lost your spying pigeons, please contact Natanz power plant in mid-Iran!
I read this today and thought it was funny. In today's world of paranoia, this tops the list! Just make sure you are behaving in public places with lots of pigeons such as parks, market places etc. The pigeons could be working for the police!
I read this today and thought it was funny. In today's world of paranoia, this tops the list! Just make sure you are behaving in public places with lots of pigeons such as parks, market places etc. The pigeons could be working for the police!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Thursdays=payday
It's always awesome every other Thursday to go to the payroll office and collect your check. Today was my last check collection day though. I have stepped up in the world and will have direct deposit starting in 2 weeks. I might actually have to learn how this checking business goes here, or I could just go to the ATM and withdraw the money...We shall see. T will be my checkwriting/checkbookbalancing teacher. You learn something new every day...
I have apparently made my presence known on campus. 2 weeks ago when I thought my foot was healing and I was feeling all better and stuff as I was going to pick my my check this girl who I didn't know, said to me "So you're off crutches?" I was totally taken back by it since I had no idea who she was and also, when I am walking around, I'm looking at the ground because if you are not looking down, you'll be on your face pretty quickly! And that's something you DO NOT want to do...anyway, I had my crutches today and people were not asking question or commenting.
Thursdays are nice for many reasons. The payday obviously is one. the other reason is that it's the end of my "campus" week. No more school, no more work for that week. I always think Thursdays as I would Fridays. YES, it's weekend. I can stay home and relax with T. NO!!! Every Friday morning I have a cruel awakening. T is getting up at the crack of dawn to either go to the gym or get ready for work. Either way she's not staying home with me to enjoy the start of the weekend. My weekend at least. Sigh. It's just me and the cats. And homework. And my computer.
Happy weekend everybody. Mine starts in 20 minutes.
I have apparently made my presence known on campus. 2 weeks ago when I thought my foot was healing and I was feeling all better and stuff as I was going to pick my my check this girl who I didn't know, said to me "So you're off crutches?" I was totally taken back by it since I had no idea who she was and also, when I am walking around, I'm looking at the ground because if you are not looking down, you'll be on your face pretty quickly! And that's something you DO NOT want to do...anyway, I had my crutches today and people were not asking question or commenting.
Thursdays are nice for many reasons. The payday obviously is one. the other reason is that it's the end of my "campus" week. No more school, no more work for that week. I always think Thursdays as I would Fridays. YES, it's weekend. I can stay home and relax with T. NO!!! Every Friday morning I have a cruel awakening. T is getting up at the crack of dawn to either go to the gym or get ready for work. Either way she's not staying home with me to enjoy the start of the weekend. My weekend at least. Sigh. It's just me and the cats. And homework. And my computer.
Happy weekend everybody. Mine starts in 20 minutes.
Thanks Oscar!
Yesterday when I got home there was a gift bag waiting for me/us. On Saturday we had told Oscar and his family that we didn't have any Halloween decorations so they went and got us some! We now have trick or treat door mat, a hand towel and a drink mixer (shaken, not stirred) and shot glasses with pictures of spiders on them and best of all...skull straws! T made up this whole thing about me not letting any straws in the house because I was afraid or something (which OBVIOUSLY I'm not) so they got us straws with skulls in them. As a retaliation I told them that T is afraid of bugs and spiders so they got us shot glasses and a mixer with spiders! It's a win-win situation! So thanks Oscar, Bernadette, Jeremy and Elizabeth for our gifts! They will be used!
I like Wednesdays. I can stay home until 6:10pm when I need to start making my way to the bus stop. I can sleep late if I want to, take it easy for few hours, have few cups of coffee and catch up with my shows. I can be kicked by the cats and do some homework if needed.T says I'm a pushover when it comes to the cats...well when it comes to Sox anyway. Bailey is easy to handle, any loud(er) noise or movement towards her and she leaves/follows...Sox...Sox is the queen. If she doesn't want to move, she doesn't move. If she doesn't want to follow, she doesn't follow. If she want to lick the couch, that's what she's gonna do. Nothing you can do or say except remove her from the spot.
Yesterday I settled on the couch, my feet up on the table, a computer in my lap and started watching my shows. At this point Sox was on her OWN couch, the one that she hogs all the time. I got up and when I came back Sox was right on the spot where I had sat. Her head was resting next to the mouse and remote like she was surfing the net and controlling the TV. We had a little discussion as to whose place it actually was and it ended up with me having to pick her up and moving her a little. Which made her stay next to me in a smaller than small place and kicking me...Sox is very good at showing her emotions when she doesn't get her way. She was probably just mad that I put the computer back on my lap and she couldn't sit/lay there.
Finland lost 3-0 yesterday to Russia in football WC qualifying. 2 own goals doesn't really help the cause. After few better games when we were given little hope that maybe we still can make the qualifying happen, it was taken away once again. Good thing is the under 21's made it to the EC-games next summer so hopefully some new young blood can come out and help the team. The core of the team is getting old. We need new Jari Litmanen or even someone better. Chances of that happening: very small. Will I see Finland in EC or WC games in my lifetime? I doubt it. Thankfully there's always ice hockey.
We have a surprisingly low key weekend coming up. T's spending Saturday visiting her mom, they're having a mother-daughter day while I'll be home doing homework and research for my presentations and papers. I don't really like all the work academia throws my way. It's great I'll only have one exam this semester but there's so many papers to write and read and presentations. I don't like presenting. Yuk! Saturday evening we have tickets for Red Bulls game but we are not yet sure if we will go. For Sunday we have nothing. It's awesome. We'll just stay home, watch football and possible cook like couple of crazy people again! It's great we can now do what we want. All the obligations are behind us we can focus on what we want to do. If it's nothing, even better!
I like Wednesdays. I can stay home until 6:10pm when I need to start making my way to the bus stop. I can sleep late if I want to, take it easy for few hours, have few cups of coffee and catch up with my shows. I can be kicked by the cats and do some homework if needed.T says I'm a pushover when it comes to the cats...well when it comes to Sox anyway. Bailey is easy to handle, any loud(er) noise or movement towards her and she leaves/follows...Sox...Sox is the queen. If she doesn't want to move, she doesn't move. If she doesn't want to follow, she doesn't follow. If she want to lick the couch, that's what she's gonna do. Nothing you can do or say except remove her from the spot.
Yesterday I settled on the couch, my feet up on the table, a computer in my lap and started watching my shows. At this point Sox was on her OWN couch, the one that she hogs all the time. I got up and when I came back Sox was right on the spot where I had sat. Her head was resting next to the mouse and remote like she was surfing the net and controlling the TV. We had a little discussion as to whose place it actually was and it ended up with me having to pick her up and moving her a little. Which made her stay next to me in a smaller than small place and kicking me...Sox is very good at showing her emotions when she doesn't get her way. She was probably just mad that I put the computer back on my lap and she couldn't sit/lay there.
Finland lost 3-0 yesterday to Russia in football WC qualifying. 2 own goals doesn't really help the cause. After few better games when we were given little hope that maybe we still can make the qualifying happen, it was taken away once again. Good thing is the under 21's made it to the EC-games next summer so hopefully some new young blood can come out and help the team. The core of the team is getting old. We need new Jari Litmanen or even someone better. Chances of that happening: very small. Will I see Finland in EC or WC games in my lifetime? I doubt it. Thankfully there's always ice hockey.
We have a surprisingly low key weekend coming up. T's spending Saturday visiting her mom, they're having a mother-daughter day while I'll be home doing homework and research for my presentations and papers. I don't really like all the work academia throws my way. It's great I'll only have one exam this semester but there's so many papers to write and read and presentations. I don't like presenting. Yuk! Saturday evening we have tickets for Red Bulls game but we are not yet sure if we will go. For Sunday we have nothing. It's awesome. We'll just stay home, watch football and possible cook like couple of crazy people again! It's great we can now do what we want. All the obligations are behind us we can focus on what we want to do. If it's nothing, even better!
Monday, October 13, 2008
American traditions
Halloween is HUGE around here. Basically any kind of holiday, whether religious or other kind is a cause for celebration and in some cases, going overboard. People have ghosts, lights, zombies and other stuff on their front and back yards. There are pumpkins everywhere. Since this is our first Halloween together, at least living together, we decided to do something about our place.
On Saturday we went pumpkin picking with T's co-worker Oscar and his family. We met them at the Demarest Farms in Hillside, NJ, about 20 minutes from our place after driving in circles for few minutes. Our directions were not exactly trustworthy but enough about that. I've met Oscar once before, briefly and this was the first time meeting his family, wife Bernadette and son Jeremy and daughter Elizabeth. They were all really nice and we had fun with them. Jeremy is a braniac destined for big things, even at 11 years old. While T was parking the car Jeremy and Oscar pulled out their list of Finnish things to say and Jeremy said "Hauska tavata" which means nice to meat you. He had a little bit of an accent so I didn't catch it but I thought it was really cute! and nice. Who does that? Other than T's best friend CJ who had the Finnish national anthem as T's ring tone the first time I met her, no one has done anything like that for me!
We started out with lunch, the farm had a salad bar where I got my lunch from and the others had burgers and hot dogs. After checking out the store, we bought our tickets for the hey ride which took us to the pumpkin and apple fields. We roamed around in the field of pumpkins looking for the perfect pumpkin. Since I was not able to carry anything we decided that me and T would be OK with just one. Unlike T's blogs suggests, I did NOT choose a big ass pumpkin...(and besides, even if I did, shouldn't all those hours with Adam help with that problem?!?!) I believe it was T's finding and she carried it around until I found a smaller, more perfect one. :-) I was only thinking about her well being...
After we all chose our pumpkins we thought we would go apple picking. We tried the first few trees but all apples were gone. We so a lone apple in one of the trees and Bernadette decided to climb the tree...she did not come down with an apple though! She almost fell which had her and T hysterical laughing!
We didn't want to go all the way to the end of the farm to get apples so we decided to take the hey ride back and go roam the store one more time. Me and T found this cute cat decor for our pumpkin which was just perfect for us since neither one of us was sure we could carve the pumpkin, so now our pumpkin looks like a cat. T has a picture of it in her blog and I will add one to mine when I have a chance. After the store we had some ice cream and then left to go play WII at their house. Jeremy and T had some intense games going on...T won the Madden NFL football game and it looks like it was a sign of things to come as the Eagles won yesterday their own game! Now if tonight the Giants could lose... We had a great Saturday with them and as soon as my foot gets better, I will kick some as in WII bowling!
Now it's time to head to class...later
On Saturday we went pumpkin picking with T's co-worker Oscar and his family. We met them at the Demarest Farms in Hillside, NJ, about 20 minutes from our place after driving in circles for few minutes. Our directions were not exactly trustworthy but enough about that. I've met Oscar once before, briefly and this was the first time meeting his family, wife Bernadette and son Jeremy and daughter Elizabeth. They were all really nice and we had fun with them. Jeremy is a braniac destined for big things, even at 11 years old. While T was parking the car Jeremy and Oscar pulled out their list of Finnish things to say and Jeremy said "Hauska tavata" which means nice to meat you. He had a little bit of an accent so I didn't catch it but I thought it was really cute! and nice. Who does that? Other than T's best friend CJ who had the Finnish national anthem as T's ring tone the first time I met her, no one has done anything like that for me!
We started out with lunch, the farm had a salad bar where I got my lunch from and the others had burgers and hot dogs. After checking out the store, we bought our tickets for the hey ride which took us to the pumpkin and apple fields. We roamed around in the field of pumpkins looking for the perfect pumpkin. Since I was not able to carry anything we decided that me and T would be OK with just one. Unlike T's blogs suggests, I did NOT choose a big ass pumpkin...(and besides, even if I did, shouldn't all those hours with Adam help with that problem?!?!) I believe it was T's finding and she carried it around until I found a smaller, more perfect one. :-) I was only thinking about her well being...
After we all chose our pumpkins we thought we would go apple picking. We tried the first few trees but all apples were gone. We so a lone apple in one of the trees and Bernadette decided to climb the tree...she did not come down with an apple though! She almost fell which had her and T hysterical laughing!
We didn't want to go all the way to the end of the farm to get apples so we decided to take the hey ride back and go roam the store one more time. Me and T found this cute cat decor for our pumpkin which was just perfect for us since neither one of us was sure we could carve the pumpkin, so now our pumpkin looks like a cat. T has a picture of it in her blog and I will add one to mine when I have a chance. After the store we had some ice cream and then left to go play WII at their house. Jeremy and T had some intense games going on...T won the Madden NFL football game and it looks like it was a sign of things to come as the Eagles won yesterday their own game! Now if tonight the Giants could lose... We had a great Saturday with them and as soon as my foot gets better, I will kick some as in WII bowling!
Now it's time to head to class...later
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Aunts from New York
I just became an Aunt for the 6th time...or 5+1..maybe 5,5th time? I don't know how it goes really. I have 5 nephew's and nieces from my big sister and brother and today my step-sister Riina had a baby. We're not blood relatives but our mom and dad are married and we have a younger brother...so we're step-sisters. Am I an Aunt or a Step-Aunt? My mom called me and T the Aunts from New York (even though we technically do not live in NY) so I guess that's what we're called. What I am. All I know is that I'm a first time step aunt. Let's keep it simple.
Riina and Matti had a baby girl today, Laila. Congratulations! She was 48 cm tall and 2,8kg. She was few days early, her due date was on the 15th. We went shopping on Thursday, I bought all kinds of Winnie the Pooh clothes and stuff for the baby. Now we're gonna have to go to the post office at some point next week and ship them to Finland. My mom has been going crazy (I'm sure) with the clothes and other stuff the baby needs so she should be good to go! Congratulations for the first time grandparents as well! And Uncle Arttu.
Riina and Matti had a baby girl today, Laila. Congratulations! She was 48 cm tall and 2,8kg. She was few days early, her due date was on the 15th. We went shopping on Thursday, I bought all kinds of Winnie the Pooh clothes and stuff for the baby. Now we're gonna have to go to the post office at some point next week and ship them to Finland. My mom has been going crazy (I'm sure) with the clothes and other stuff the baby needs so she should be good to go! Congratulations for the first time grandparents as well! And Uncle Arttu.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Finland in da house!
Former President of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari was awarded the Nobel peace prize today! About time Finland is in the news for something positive.
Congratulations Martti!
Now where can I find Forssan Alku's jersey that had Martti's face on it?!?!?!?!
Totally unrelated update: Sox just ran out of the bathroom. I repeat: Sox just RAN!
Congratulations Martti!
Now where can I find Forssan Alku's jersey that had Martti's face on it?!?!?!?!
Totally unrelated update: Sox just ran out of the bathroom. I repeat: Sox just RAN!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
It must be hard being a cat!
This weather is crazy! Earlier this week it was around 10 C and today it's over 20! On Monday and Tuesday I was wearing a jacket and gloves and today I could be in t-shirt! Our office is a bit cold though so I'm not.
I got an e-mail from my boss asking me not to come work today because she was out the rest of the week. Too bad I got it this morning as I was already at work, by my desk. Instead of today, she wanted me to work next Wednesday at the study abroad fair our department is organizing. I am not sure how much help I could be with no extra hands (I'm now really trying to stay off of my feet as much as possible since it's been 7 weeks and there's no progress being made as far as healing goes) and I'm on crutches. I can't be on my feet for 4 hours and I can't carry anything. I would not be able to help to put anything together or take apart or help taking them back to the office. Also, I am only allowed to work 20 hours a week. NO extra hours. NO overtime. I wanna keep my status and not violate my visa status. So not working today would not help as far as next week goes. Also, The fair ends at 3pm and my class starts at 8pm. What am I supposed to do in the between? That is the reason why I wanted to re-schedule my week in the first place. If my foot was better I could always go home, or go to the town and have a cup of coffee or eat or even go to the gym but the foot is really messing up everything. And I know it doesn't sound much, just walk to the bus stop, walk to the train and then walk to the campus but when you have limited mobility, it takes a lot out of you.
I should probably stop talking about my foot now. I feel like I'm repeating myself! A lot.
I really want to go shopping. Both T and I have a shopping fever. BAD one! My back-to-school-shopping was rudely cut off by, what else, my foot! I had a whole list of things I needed, well wanted to get. We were only able to go through maybe half of it. If even that. I need to win the lottery so that I can do major shopping!
When I'm not at work or at school I spend my time home doing home work, catching up with my TV shows, laundry, cooking etc. But most of all, hanging out with the cats, Sox and Bailey. They are the 2 fattest cats I think I have ever seen, but I don't hold that against them! They are sooo friggin cute! They run the household and we're there just to serve them. It must be hard being a cat. Basically all they do is eat, poop and sleep. Sometimes they play but most of the time it's too inconvenient for them.
Sox is the queen of the household. She's about 12 or so, maybe little older and she's getting little grouchy in her old age. She is very gentle unless she thinks your over petting her and then she might fake-bite you. She does that only to show you enough is enough. She's never serious about it. She's little OCD about her cleanliness...little is putting it mildly! She cleans herself every 5 minutes, sometimes she wakes up from deep sleep just to lick herself and then goes back to sleep. She cleans herself after you touch her...after and in the middle of eating...when we're watching tv or when we're sleeping. In the middle of playing too, when we get her to play. She doesn't run but she sometimes sprints a little. And it's always an occasion since it's so rare. She makes me smile. She's the ultimate mama's girl and when mama's not around, I'm the next best thing. She keeps reminding me of herself while I'm doing homework, she gets off HER couch (yes, she has taken over one of the couches downstairs), walks over to me and meow's, first softly and if that doesn't get the attention, then louder. She's not a cryer, so when you hear her meow, you listen. And pet her so she'll calm down.Then she's happy and will go back to sleeping or eating. One of the things I love about Sox is that she lets you to touch her stomach. She'll give you her armpit and lays there and purrs. Not a lot of female cats do that. Our cat Laku, when I was little did not like her stomach to be touched. You'd come out of that one with scratched arms! Bleeding. But Sox is like whatever. It's an attention and I'm a cat. This is how it's supposed to be.
When it's time to go to bed, Sox is right there, claiming her spot. In the middle of the bed. When you try to get in there, she looks at you and gets comfortable. You try to move her and she becomes dead weight. Taydellisen veltto! And she's 8kg so it's not like you just lift her and move her. It takes negotiations, talks, pleads and finally getting up and moving her and even that might not work because she just gets right back where she was or as close as possible. We have a designated cat area where they have their own blanket and where they are supposed to stay because T is allergic to cats so we try to keep them away from the pillows. Yeah, easier said that done. Many times during the night you'll wake up with Sox right by your face. You move her and she's right back there. One night we played this game 3 times. She's the queen! And then, in the mornings when I don't have to get up early or there's no alarm clock going off, they wake me up. Feed me! Feed me! No, there's no meow's, they just sit next to you and stare you down! You might close your eyes and think that they will forget, oh no! There's another cat there the next time you open your eyes. If it's Sox, she'll just stare. If it's Bailey, she'll start rubbing herself against you the minute she sees any kind of movement. And PURR. If you try to ignore her, she'll lay down next to/on top of you and waits till your ready to get up. And sometimes they double team you! There's 2 cats staring down at you. They are used to getting their food in the morning so as soon as you get up, it's dinner time. Or that's what they think. I usually start the coffee before giving their food but I take the bowl up beforehand. They know what it means so they sit down where the bowls will be put and wait. patiently. One time I forgot to get to their food as soon as I finished making the coffee and did something else in the kitchen for 5 minutes. When I saw the bowls and remembered what I was supposed to do, I went around the corner to see where they were and they were right in the same spots I had left them. Had not moved. Same spot, same position. they're too cute.
Sox tries to play sometimes. It usually means she'll go to the toy chest, takes out the toys and then it's already time to rest. She can smack the toys around few times but that's it. So she lays down and rests her head on one of her toy socks. Only time you really see her get involved is when you take out the laser beam. Boy they can run! And attack! They both become such an attack cats! It doesn't last for long though...When we first moved in together and I was put in charge of scooping the litter Sox used to come in and supervise me. She would walk around, check out what was going on and then sit there and wait until I was done. then she would go in and do her business! Right after I cleaned it. It's not just me she does that though, she does it with T too...and I figured the reason she wants to use the bathroom right after it's been clean is because it's the only time during the day it's clean. Bailey's a little challenged when it comes to covering her...business. T said when the cats were little Sox used to go to the litter box right after B to cover it herself. She's such a nice big sister!
Now Bailey...Bailey is special. She is the cutest cat you'll ever meet and even at 12 (or so) still has the face of a kitten! She does not look her age. Good genes! c") But she's a little bit of socially challenged. She's scared of everything and anything. Loud noises, sudden moves, thunder and lightning, the vacuum cleaner...You name it, she has the phobia. But T says that's because when she was a little, the people who used to have her abused her and now she has no trust in people. Especially for people she doesn't know. Which means outside me and her, B will not show up. Took me a long time to gain her trust but I think I'm as far as I can get with her. There is no picking her up or holding her. She'll scratch your eyes out and will run for her life. With Sox, you can hold her for few minutes but then she'll wanna go down. With Bailey, forget about it. You are lucky to pet her at all. Now though she has started to realize that getting petted is not such a bad thing and now she's using her cute cards. Shamelessly! She'll lay down, expose her tummy and let you scratch her upper tummy and armpits. You gotta be careful though cuz if you get too close to her lower tummy, she'll scratch you in a second! And then bolts! She loves to get "facials", you could rub her face and neck for the whole day and she would just change positions and show you where it itches.
She also loves to get brushed but she does not stay put. You need to chase her to be able to brush her and when you tell her to stay put, she doesn't listen. And because she's not OCD with cleaning herself, she needs the brushing more than Sox does.
Bailey's a cryer. She can be in a room by herself and you hear her meow. You call her and she comes but then she leaves and does it again. Lately she's been sitting in a corner in our kitchen, in between the trash can and a closet and just meows. There's nothing there, I have checked but that's where she sits. Every day. I wonder why?
Where as Sox is lazy when it comes to playing, Bailey plays and runs. She has her little soccer balls that if you throw them to her, she'll run after them. She does not kick them back to you though which means you're basically playing fetch with yourself. She'll just run for the hell of it. Sometimes with super balls she'll kick them back to you. but only sometimes. Lately she's been playing upstairs when it's bedtime. She'll bring a ball upstairs and chases it around. all you hear is her claws on the rug.
Bailey is a little bit of a push over, at least when it comes to Sox. Bailey can be laying down and if Sox thinks it's her spot, she'll make Bailey move. We have had the bedroom window open this week and Sox usually starts in the bed but moves to the couch by the window at some point during the night. And if Bailey happens to be there, Sox makes her move.
They are both very jealous of each other and the time we give them. You can't just baby talk one of them, you need to do it to both of them. You can't just pet one of them bacause the other one will give you these evil looks. If you brush one of them, the other one will soon come. Even if they were upstairs and you think they don't hear. They do!
Anyway, that's my life as a step mama for 2 cats. It's awesome!
I got an e-mail from my boss asking me not to come work today because she was out the rest of the week. Too bad I got it this morning as I was already at work, by my desk. Instead of today, she wanted me to work next Wednesday at the study abroad fair our department is organizing. I am not sure how much help I could be with no extra hands (I'm now really trying to stay off of my feet as much as possible since it's been 7 weeks and there's no progress being made as far as healing goes) and I'm on crutches. I can't be on my feet for 4 hours and I can't carry anything. I would not be able to help to put anything together or take apart or help taking them back to the office. Also, I am only allowed to work 20 hours a week. NO extra hours. NO overtime. I wanna keep my status and not violate my visa status. So not working today would not help as far as next week goes. Also, The fair ends at 3pm and my class starts at 8pm. What am I supposed to do in the between? That is the reason why I wanted to re-schedule my week in the first place. If my foot was better I could always go home, or go to the town and have a cup of coffee or eat or even go to the gym but the foot is really messing up everything. And I know it doesn't sound much, just walk to the bus stop, walk to the train and then walk to the campus but when you have limited mobility, it takes a lot out of you.
I should probably stop talking about my foot now. I feel like I'm repeating myself! A lot.
I really want to go shopping. Both T and I have a shopping fever. BAD one! My back-to-school-shopping was rudely cut off by, what else, my foot! I had a whole list of things I needed, well wanted to get. We were only able to go through maybe half of it. If even that. I need to win the lottery so that I can do major shopping!
When I'm not at work or at school I spend my time home doing home work, catching up with my TV shows, laundry, cooking etc. But most of all, hanging out with the cats, Sox and Bailey. They are the 2 fattest cats I think I have ever seen, but I don't hold that against them! They are sooo friggin cute! They run the household and we're there just to serve them. It must be hard being a cat. Basically all they do is eat, poop and sleep. Sometimes they play but most of the time it's too inconvenient for them.
Sox is the queen of the household. She's about 12 or so, maybe little older and she's getting little grouchy in her old age. She is very gentle unless she thinks your over petting her and then she might fake-bite you. She does that only to show you enough is enough. She's never serious about it. She's little OCD about her cleanliness...little is putting it mildly! She cleans herself every 5 minutes, sometimes she wakes up from deep sleep just to lick herself and then goes back to sleep. She cleans herself after you touch her...after and in the middle of eating...when we're watching tv or when we're sleeping. In the middle of playing too, when we get her to play. She doesn't run but she sometimes sprints a little. And it's always an occasion since it's so rare. She makes me smile. She's the ultimate mama's girl and when mama's not around, I'm the next best thing. She keeps reminding me of herself while I'm doing homework, she gets off HER couch (yes, she has taken over one of the couches downstairs), walks over to me and meow's, first softly and if that doesn't get the attention, then louder. She's not a cryer, so when you hear her meow, you listen. And pet her so she'll calm down.Then she's happy and will go back to sleeping or eating. One of the things I love about Sox is that she lets you to touch her stomach. She'll give you her armpit and lays there and purrs. Not a lot of female cats do that. Our cat Laku, when I was little did not like her stomach to be touched. You'd come out of that one with scratched arms! Bleeding. But Sox is like whatever. It's an attention and I'm a cat. This is how it's supposed to be.
When it's time to go to bed, Sox is right there, claiming her spot. In the middle of the bed. When you try to get in there, she looks at you and gets comfortable. You try to move her and she becomes dead weight. Taydellisen veltto! And she's 8kg so it's not like you just lift her and move her. It takes negotiations, talks, pleads and finally getting up and moving her and even that might not work because she just gets right back where she was or as close as possible. We have a designated cat area where they have their own blanket and where they are supposed to stay because T is allergic to cats so we try to keep them away from the pillows. Yeah, easier said that done. Many times during the night you'll wake up with Sox right by your face. You move her and she's right back there. One night we played this game 3 times. She's the queen! And then, in the mornings when I don't have to get up early or there's no alarm clock going off, they wake me up. Feed me! Feed me! No, there's no meow's, they just sit next to you and stare you down! You might close your eyes and think that they will forget, oh no! There's another cat there the next time you open your eyes. If it's Sox, she'll just stare. If it's Bailey, she'll start rubbing herself against you the minute she sees any kind of movement. And PURR. If you try to ignore her, she'll lay down next to/on top of you and waits till your ready to get up. And sometimes they double team you! There's 2 cats staring down at you. They are used to getting their food in the morning so as soon as you get up, it's dinner time. Or that's what they think. I usually start the coffee before giving their food but I take the bowl up beforehand. They know what it means so they sit down where the bowls will be put and wait. patiently. One time I forgot to get to their food as soon as I finished making the coffee and did something else in the kitchen for 5 minutes. When I saw the bowls and remembered what I was supposed to do, I went around the corner to see where they were and they were right in the same spots I had left them. Had not moved. Same spot, same position. they're too cute.
Sox tries to play sometimes. It usually means she'll go to the toy chest, takes out the toys and then it's already time to rest. She can smack the toys around few times but that's it. So she lays down and rests her head on one of her toy socks. Only time you really see her get involved is when you take out the laser beam. Boy they can run! And attack! They both become such an attack cats! It doesn't last for long though...When we first moved in together and I was put in charge of scooping the litter Sox used to come in and supervise me. She would walk around, check out what was going on and then sit there and wait until I was done. then she would go in and do her business! Right after I cleaned it. It's not just me she does that though, she does it with T too...and I figured the reason she wants to use the bathroom right after it's been clean is because it's the only time during the day it's clean. Bailey's a little challenged when it comes to covering her...business. T said when the cats were little Sox used to go to the litter box right after B to cover it herself. She's such a nice big sister!
Now Bailey...Bailey is special. She is the cutest cat you'll ever meet and even at 12 (or so) still has the face of a kitten! She does not look her age. Good genes! c") But she's a little bit of socially challenged. She's scared of everything and anything. Loud noises, sudden moves, thunder and lightning, the vacuum cleaner...You name it, she has the phobia. But T says that's because when she was a little, the people who used to have her abused her and now she has no trust in people. Especially for people she doesn't know. Which means outside me and her, B will not show up. Took me a long time to gain her trust but I think I'm as far as I can get with her. There is no picking her up or holding her. She'll scratch your eyes out and will run for her life. With Sox, you can hold her for few minutes but then she'll wanna go down. With Bailey, forget about it. You are lucky to pet her at all. Now though she has started to realize that getting petted is not such a bad thing and now she's using her cute cards. Shamelessly! She'll lay down, expose her tummy and let you scratch her upper tummy and armpits. You gotta be careful though cuz if you get too close to her lower tummy, she'll scratch you in a second! And then bolts! She loves to get "facials", you could rub her face and neck for the whole day and she would just change positions and show you where it itches.
She also loves to get brushed but she does not stay put. You need to chase her to be able to brush her and when you tell her to stay put, she doesn't listen. And because she's not OCD with cleaning herself, she needs the brushing more than Sox does.
Bailey's a cryer. She can be in a room by herself and you hear her meow. You call her and she comes but then she leaves and does it again. Lately she's been sitting in a corner in our kitchen, in between the trash can and a closet and just meows. There's nothing there, I have checked but that's where she sits. Every day. I wonder why?
Where as Sox is lazy when it comes to playing, Bailey plays and runs. She has her little soccer balls that if you throw them to her, she'll run after them. She does not kick them back to you though which means you're basically playing fetch with yourself. She'll just run for the hell of it. Sometimes with super balls she'll kick them back to you. but only sometimes. Lately she's been playing upstairs when it's bedtime. She'll bring a ball upstairs and chases it around. all you hear is her claws on the rug.
Bailey is a little bit of a push over, at least when it comes to Sox. Bailey can be laying down and if Sox thinks it's her spot, she'll make Bailey move. We have had the bedroom window open this week and Sox usually starts in the bed but moves to the couch by the window at some point during the night. And if Bailey happens to be there, Sox makes her move.
They are both very jealous of each other and the time we give them. You can't just baby talk one of them, you need to do it to both of them. You can't just pet one of them bacause the other one will give you these evil looks. If you brush one of them, the other one will soon come. Even if they were upstairs and you think they don't hear. They do!
Anyway, that's my life as a step mama for 2 cats. It's awesome!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Making progress
I now know what's going with my foot. Or what my Doctor told me is going on with my foot. Those 2 could be different things...
So yesterday I called her to see if she had gotten my MRI results yet. When I called, they hadn't arrived yet and the secretary told me she would hunt them down and have the Doc call me once they got them. Since this was around noon and I hadn't heard from them by the time I left work, I assumed she wouldn't call me at all yesterday. I went to class and then my phone rings. She left me a voicemail, told me the MRI showed swelling on the bone where it first started hurting and told me that it indicates a stress fracture. Yay, I now know what's going on...but the sad thing is, there's nothing much that can be done for it, except rest. I was told to wear rigid shoes and use crutches. Simple enough except when you are at work and you need your hands to use the crutches and hold on to the papers etc. I need a new pair of hands. This house, our office is in 5 different stories, or is it floors (?) I guess technically it's like a 2,5 story house but when the kitchen is in the basement and my office is in the second to highest floor it's kinda difficult. Lot of the stuff I do involves either fax or copier...which are not in my floor. Up and down the stairs I go! Good times.
So yesterday I called her to see if she had gotten my MRI results yet. When I called, they hadn't arrived yet and the secretary told me she would hunt them down and have the Doc call me once they got them. Since this was around noon and I hadn't heard from them by the time I left work, I assumed she wouldn't call me at all yesterday. I went to class and then my phone rings. She left me a voicemail, told me the MRI showed swelling on the bone where it first started hurting and told me that it indicates a stress fracture. Yay, I now know what's going on...but the sad thing is, there's nothing much that can be done for it, except rest. I was told to wear rigid shoes and use crutches. Simple enough except when you are at work and you need your hands to use the crutches and hold on to the papers etc. I need a new pair of hands. This house, our office is in 5 different stories, or is it floors (?) I guess technically it's like a 2,5 story house but when the kitchen is in the basement and my office is in the second to highest floor it's kinda difficult. Lot of the stuff I do involves either fax or copier...which are not in my floor. Up and down the stairs I go! Good times.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Saturday Night Live
My "political" posts continue... If you have time, please find from youtube or from nbc.com's website the latest addition from SNL's Sarah Palin series. They made fun of the VP debate and we were laughing our asses off. Tina Fey is doing phenomenal job portraying Sarah Palin and possible is more qualified that she is. It was very enjoyable! I think it's kinda sad that we are enjoying this so much especially considering how important these issues are for me and T personally and for this country as well as others. This seems like the most important presidential election ever.
Tina Fey for presi....!
Things that have ticked me today:
My Doctor not receiving my MRI results yet! It's been week and a half and the results have not yet reached her! Her secretary is hunting them down as we speak...and my Doctor will call me when she gets them.
Doing things that doesn't need to be done by me. If all you need me to do is draw a line over a word and rewrite something else on top of it, why don't you do it yourself?
My laziness. Not giving examples here. Sorry.
My foot. What the fuck is wrong with you? Same goes for my back!
Macademia. Self-explanatory.
Back to work I go...later
Tina Fey for presi....!
Things that have ticked me today:
My Doctor not receiving my MRI results yet! It's been week and a half and the results have not yet reached her! Her secretary is hunting them down as we speak...and my Doctor will call me when she gets them.
Doing things that doesn't need to be done by me. If all you need me to do is draw a line over a word and rewrite something else on top of it, why don't you do it yourself?
My laziness. Not giving examples here. Sorry.
My foot. What the fuck is wrong with you? Same goes for my back!
Macademia. Self-explanatory.
Back to work I go...later
Friday, October 3, 2008
Tampere Polytechnic
That's my school, that's where I got my Bachelor's Degree!
Students from TAMK and some civil activists (about 30 women) organized a kissing demonstration outside Aamulehti, the local newspaper in Tampere owned by Alma Media in support of Johanna Korhonen! I LOVE IT!!!
Students from TAMK and some civil activists (about 30 women) organized a kissing demonstration outside Aamulehti, the local newspaper in Tampere owned by Alma Media in support of Johanna Korhonen! I LOVE IT!!!
I won't say anything about the VP debate yesterday because it could get ugly and long winded. I suggest you read T's post though. I agree with her.
Since this election isn't and won't be about the environment, I will make one point. Palin went back to energy many times when she didn't know what she was talking about. She talked about her background as a governor of a energy producing state etc. and how she wants to drill oil in Alaska. There is 2 regions in USA that have a significant amount of oil to be drilled. One in the Gulf of Mexico and one in Alaska. The problem with the one in Alaska is that it's in a wildlife refuge which is protected by the law. The fact that there is flora and fauna there that are endangered in an ecologically vulnerable ecosystem is one thing but there is also a law against drilling there! And she wants to get her hands on that oil. Oil is renewable energy...it just takes millions of years to renew it! And it is NOT environmentally friendly. But instead of focusing on solar, wind or hydro energy, she wants oil. But she seems out of touch with a lot of things so it's no wonder.
I have a day off which means catching up with my shows and doing home work. Right now I'm watching the premier of 90210...it's...interesting.
More later
Since this election isn't and won't be about the environment, I will make one point. Palin went back to energy many times when she didn't know what she was talking about. She talked about her background as a governor of a energy producing state etc. and how she wants to drill oil in Alaska. There is 2 regions in USA that have a significant amount of oil to be drilled. One in the Gulf of Mexico and one in Alaska. The problem with the one in Alaska is that it's in a wildlife refuge which is protected by the law. The fact that there is flora and fauna there that are endangered in an ecologically vulnerable ecosystem is one thing but there is also a law against drilling there! And she wants to get her hands on that oil. Oil is renewable energy...it just takes millions of years to renew it! And it is NOT environmentally friendly. But instead of focusing on solar, wind or hydro energy, she wants oil. But she seems out of touch with a lot of things so it's no wonder.
I have a day off which means catching up with my shows and doing home work. Right now I'm watching the premier of 90210...it's...interesting.
More later
Thursday, October 2, 2008
What I've read today
So for the past few days I have been following the firing of Johanna Korhonen from the Finnish newspapers. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, here's some background information:
She was chosen to be the chief editor of the newspaper Lapin Kansa (the people of Lapland, newspaper for that region) in August and was fired in September. She was supposed to start at the job in mid-December. Lapin Kansa is a part of a bigger newspaper group Alma Media, the biggest in Finland, and the CEO Kai Telanne fired her for lack of trust. He's saying she was lying to them from the beginning and didn't give all the relevant information. She's saying she was fired because she's a lesbian and is living with her partner in a registered relationship, in other words, is married to her. For the past few days they have been going back and forth with who said what, who did what, and what are the real reasons behind her being fired. The Newspaper group is still talking about lack of trust. and her not disclosing all information. She's saying she was fired after they found out she's married to a woman. Now I learned her partner is a candidate at the local municipal election and is not part of the party that the newspaper usually supports.
I just read an interview by Heikki Tuomi-Nikula, the chief editor of the newspaper (the one she was supposed to succeed) in which he said that it would be very difficult for the chief editor to be a out-lesbian and do the job well since whatever is printed in the newspaper will be a reflection of her living situation. and how it's not just the newspaper but she's representing the whole region. It would be OK to be a closeted lesbian/gay, but being out is not a good thing. He also said that the people who chose her to be the chief editor made a mistake in the first place. The CEO of Alma Media says that Tuomi-Nikula's comment does not represent the opinion of the group.
then I read an article how this was talked about in the Finnish house of representatives today. The Finnish government disapproves.
Johanna Korhonen also said that she was offered 100000 euros for not going public with the firing.
Then I read that the staff at the newspaper wants Kai Telanne to resign! So clearly, as far as the staff is concern, there's no lack of trust between the staff and Johanna Korhonen! So HOW can they say that?!?! Sounds to me like there's some heavy political homophobia going on in the newspaper group. I'm saddened that this is going on in Finland in such a high level group. But in the same time, I'm happy to hear that in such a remote and north place as Lapland there are people who are willing to stick up for you and who are accepting. I hope this will end up well for Johanna Korhonen. Can't be easy being in her shoes right now.
In a weird way I've become political lately. Must be T's influence! Or is it in the air?
She was chosen to be the chief editor of the newspaper Lapin Kansa (the people of Lapland, newspaper for that region) in August and was fired in September. She was supposed to start at the job in mid-December. Lapin Kansa is a part of a bigger newspaper group Alma Media, the biggest in Finland, and the CEO Kai Telanne fired her for lack of trust. He's saying she was lying to them from the beginning and didn't give all the relevant information. She's saying she was fired because she's a lesbian and is living with her partner in a registered relationship, in other words, is married to her. For the past few days they have been going back and forth with who said what, who did what, and what are the real reasons behind her being fired. The Newspaper group is still talking about lack of trust. and her not disclosing all information. She's saying she was fired after they found out she's married to a woman. Now I learned her partner is a candidate at the local municipal election and is not part of the party that the newspaper usually supports.
I just read an interview by Heikki Tuomi-Nikula, the chief editor of the newspaper (the one she was supposed to succeed) in which he said that it would be very difficult for the chief editor to be a out-lesbian and do the job well since whatever is printed in the newspaper will be a reflection of her living situation. and how it's not just the newspaper but she's representing the whole region. It would be OK to be a closeted lesbian/gay, but being out is not a good thing. He also said that the people who chose her to be the chief editor made a mistake in the first place. The CEO of Alma Media says that Tuomi-Nikula's comment does not represent the opinion of the group.
then I read an article how this was talked about in the Finnish house of representatives today. The Finnish government disapproves.
Johanna Korhonen also said that she was offered 100000 euros for not going public with the firing.
Then I read that the staff at the newspaper wants Kai Telanne to resign! So clearly, as far as the staff is concern, there's no lack of trust between the staff and Johanna Korhonen! So HOW can they say that?!?! Sounds to me like there's some heavy political homophobia going on in the newspaper group. I'm saddened that this is going on in Finland in such a high level group. But in the same time, I'm happy to hear that in such a remote and north place as Lapland there are people who are willing to stick up for you and who are accepting. I hope this will end up well for Johanna Korhonen. Can't be easy being in her shoes right now.
In a weird way I've become political lately. Must be T's influence! Or is it in the air?
hhmmm
T was right. I did not post the month so...it's in MARCH 2009! Marianne and Elviira, get ready! No trips to Spain, no trips to who-knows-where! Save a date from that period of time...and Elviira, if you want to make blueberry pie, you absolutely CAN! I tried making it here and even though it was OK, it wasn't yours...they don't have a key ingredient (maitorahka vai kermaviili) here so I had to use plain Greek yogurt. T was looking at it and said that doesn't look like a pie cuz here they are all pretty and fluffy and this looked like someone puked on it but once she tasted it she liked it. Or so I was told...she might have been a little suspicious because some of my other attempts to bake have been...hhhmmm, how should I put it? Not so successful. I learned from my mistakes though. I know what I did wrong. But it is hard here when you don't have the whole variety of products Valio makes. You can definitely appreciate the easiness of cooking in Finland with Valio's products when they're not at your disposal anymore.How this became about cooking and baking, I have no idea.
I added a video to my blog...check it out. You can't help but be sucked into this presidential election as you all could see from my rant few days ago so I posted a link to Saturday Night Live and "Katie Couric interviewing Sarah Palin". It's so funny. I don't understand how Amy Pohler was able to keep straight face during this. Tina Fey is just awesome! Enjoy!
Tidbit of the day:
Did you know that your hamburger can contain meat from over a hundred different animals? I didn't know it either until last night when my Professor said that in class. Just thought I'd share. Just because I pay the tuition doesn't mean that other people can't learn with me! I'm nice like that.
I added a video to my blog...check it out. You can't help but be sucked into this presidential election as you all could see from my rant few days ago so I posted a link to Saturday Night Live and "Katie Couric interviewing Sarah Palin". It's so funny. I don't understand how Amy Pohler was able to keep straight face during this. Tina Fey is just awesome! Enjoy!
Tidbit of the day:
Did you know that your hamburger can contain meat from over a hundred different animals? I didn't know it either until last night when my Professor said that in class. Just thought I'd share. Just because I pay the tuition doesn't mean that other people can't learn with me! I'm nice like that.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Going to Finland!
Those of you who didn't see T's post today...WE ARE GOING TO FINLAND!!! It's not happening anytime soon but we decided that since the time was right and the tickets were cheap, well relatively cheap, we wanted to go.
When, you ask? We will arrive on Sunday the 15th and leave the following Saturday. That'll give us plenty of time to explore Finland, Helsinki, Tampere and a Stockholm cruise included!
Why this time you ask? Well, it's my spring break and possibly the last time I have the time before (hopefully) starting to work here and then who knows when I have vacations anymore. My graduation is in May and after that I hope to start working as soon as possible. This will give enough time for T to accumulate vacation time too and save money to bring home a whole collection of Iittala glass wear and Finnish chocolate. She LOVES Iittala and Fazer's dark thin chocolate!
So that's our good news!
When, you ask? We will arrive on Sunday the 15th and leave the following Saturday. That'll give us plenty of time to explore Finland, Helsinki, Tampere and a Stockholm cruise included!
Why this time you ask? Well, it's my spring break and possibly the last time I have the time before (hopefully) starting to work here and then who knows when I have vacations anymore. My graduation is in May and after that I hope to start working as soon as possible. This will give enough time for T to accumulate vacation time too and save money to bring home a whole collection of Iittala glass wear and Finnish chocolate. She LOVES Iittala and Fazer's dark thin chocolate!
So that's our good news!
The Closer
I'm at home chillin with the cats, Sox has taken over the love seat and Bailey is on top of the cushions on the other watching the Closer with me. I'm trying to watch the recordings so that there will be more room to DVR my fave shows. Right now I'm watching the Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick and it's hilarious. For a cop show it's awesome. I LOVE cop shows but this is one of the bestest. Kyra plays a Deputy Chief in the LA Police Squad and handles all kinds of crimes. She's from Atlanta and is like a southern Belle, always on a good behaviour but also ready to break the rules when it suits her. And there's always a twist in the end. When you think it's gonna go one way it goes the other. I'm totally in love with this show! I know my description doesn't say much, so you're just gonna have to watch it yourself. Kyra Sedgwick is awesome!
Later
Later
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