Sunday, January 20, 2008

Bureaucracy Again + Babbling About Money

1. Residence Permit Extension

Yesterday as I was in my in-laws' house, I decided to check out the validity period of my residence permit. I had marked my mobile phone's calendar to remind me when I had to renew my residence permit. Turned out I had miscalculated the time. My residence permit is valid until March 6, 2008 and I remember that I read in Finland Forum for Expats that I had to apply for an extension of that residence permit about 6 weeks before the expiry date. I checked my calendar again in my mobile phone and realized that I'd have to do it NEXT WEEK!!!

So last night after we got back from my in-laws, I was busy filling in the forms again. Yeah, the price for marrying a foreigner. I have to fill in all the forms again just like last year and then I had to bring my marriage certificate again. Plus I also have to bring a new passport photo.

That means tomorrow I'm gonna be busy. Mondays is my exercise day with Billy Blanks and then I'll have to go to a photo studio to have my photo taken, then I'll go directly to the police station to submit all the forms, and then I probably have to buy more milk and grocery. Oh yeah...I also have to take some money from the ATM to pay for the residence permit extension in case they only take cash he he he...

Then I guess I'll browse some boots in the stores as they're having some big discounts. The winter shoes I have are good and reliable, but I can't wear double thick socks as they get too tight for me. So I'll search for a pair of boots with a bigger size, but I'll buy them ONLY if the price is reasonable.



2. Money, Money, Money.

You know one funny thing about money? Before Arttu got a job and before I started blogging for money...I was SO grateful just to know that we had enough money to buy fruit occasionally and that we had enough money to pay for our monthly expenses.

Now that Arttu has a steady job already and I've started blogging for money, it seems that my WANT WANT WANT has reared its ugly head. I really have to control this since I begin to want to buy many things that aren't really important or urgent.

Well, I'm not trying to say that we can't enjoy life or that we shouldn't pamper ourselves every once in a while, especially if we do have the money. That's not it. It's just that I've realized it's SO EASY to let unimportant and non-urgent things look or sound important and urgent simply because we WANT those things. It's easy to let yourself be unhappy or disappointed when you don't get EXACTLY what you WANT. And it's easy to forget that even when you only have the VERY basic necessities in life, you CAN be happy and that newer, bigger, more sophisticated, more fashionable stuff can't bring happiness.

Anyway, I came across this article and I'd love to share it with you:


Here's the excerpt:

Theologian Henri Nouwen says in his book The Return of the Prodigal Son that gratitude is more than a mere "thank you." It is a discipline to be practiced each day in a conscious way. The apostle Paul reminds us in his first letter to the Thessalonians, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (5:16-18).

14 comments:

  1. I hate burocracy :( It makes life so difficult. Before I got married I had to get extensions and it was a nightmare. The immigration office where I had to go was so small, ill-equipped, no water, no bathroom, full of people sitting indoors and some more standing outside. The process was so slow because there were just two or three police officers dealing with all the people there...After I got married things changed and now I don't need extensions...but I had a tough time getting them mainly because of the burecracy...Good luck then with your extension!

    Have a nice Sunday!!

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  2. ach...burocracy everywhere... Should you every year get new residence permit ?

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  3. in here, residence permit must be extend 6 months before expired!!!

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  4. isn't money nice?

    too bad money exists. if it didn't and people just traded stuff or did services out of the kindness of their heart, life would be much nicer!

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  5. I totally agree with you Amel. This want, want, want thing should be taken out of our systems hehe. I'm also like that sometimes, whenever I have extra money I have this urge to buy something that we really don't need.

    If you have time after your renewal please visit my SIL's site http://jozcelgo.blogspot.com, thanks and have a great week ahead.

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  6. I found you via Kathy's Klavier. Henri Nouwen is quite a thinker... you're right... we tend to grow our spending habits as our income grows.

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  7. Hi Amel,
    I hate all that paperwork,Thank God I am done with all that

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  8. Yeah i remember those days of extensions...renewals..yuck..im through with most of that now... permanent resident..but still have to get the re-entry visa every three years....

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  9. SO TRUE... we need to pay attention to what truly matters.

    And the Prodigal Son is one of my favorite stories from the Bible :)

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  10. You're so wise to say this "It's just that I've realized it's SO EASY to let unimportant and non-urgent things look or sound important and urgent simply because we WANT those things."

    That is so true. Thanks for this reminder.

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  11. Oh lucky you checked the calendar. :)

    I understand about money and wanting something that we don't want when we have no money, but becomes a must-have thing when we have money (phewww...). Yeah, money, money, money... Sometimes, takes over everything, it depends on one person to control it. ;D

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  12. It is lucky you checked your calendar in time! I hope all is going well for you today.

    I've just been paid today and alas I am worrying about my lack of money already!

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  13. La delirante: Getting married to a Finn doesn't make it easier here. You still have to get extensions he he he...Glad to hear that you no longer have to do extensions. ;-D

    Jeanne: I think this time I can get it for 3 years. I HOPE so he he he...

    Juliana RW: REALLY? That's crazy!!!

    Jay: Well, I don't know about trading. The problem about trading is that if you don't have what the other person wants as a trade he he he...

    A Simple Life: Hi, Liza...yeah, we really have to control ourselves sometimes he he he...

    I'll visit your SIL's blog soon, OK?

    Sister Sheri: WELCOME to my blog and THANKS for leaving a comment. ;-D Yeah, the love of money is really enticing and dangerous he he...

    Frasy: GLAD to hear that!!! ;-D I'm looking forward to the day when it's all over ha ha ha ha...

    JYankee: GLAD to hear your battle's over, too. ;-D

    Mother Hen: THANKS!!!!!! ;-D

    Katelyn: Glad you enjoyed the post. ;-D Ahhhh...so that story's one of your fave in the Bible, eh? Interesting! I don't know if I have any fave Bible story hmmm...do I? Hmmm...

    Blur Ting: THANKS for your compliment. :-))) Glad you enjoyed the post. ;-D

    Crystal: Yeah, I was lucky indeed he he he...You're right that it all depends on us to control it. ;-D

    The World According to Me: Yep, today's been going well, THANKS! ;-D

    You're worried about your lack of money already? Ahhh...I hope you'll have enough for everything. ;-D

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