Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Apology to EC Droppers

I'd like to say SORRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYY to 4 bloggers who wanted to put ads in my EC icon that I had rejected today. I didn't realize that they were for this blog. I thought they were for my today.com blog.

So for those 4 people, please request me to put your blogs in my EC icon again. I tried finding all of you through EC, but I couldn't find any.

SORRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!! I should have been more carefulllll ohhh dearrrr...

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Trip to Rovaniemi + My Personal Project

Went to Rovaniemi on a whim yesterday since we both had a day off. It wasn't really planned, though, so that means I'm becoming more and more spontaneous HA HA HA HA HA...Anyway, we didn't plan on buying anything EXCEPT I TRULY WANTED to buy Chinese food. *BIG GRIN* After all, the closest Chinese resto from here is one hour away from this village (Rovaniemi is about 1,5 hours away by car from here), but we've never tried eating there yet.

We went to a downtown mall and I found a Wii game that seemed nice (Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party), so I bought it. I looked around in the women's section, too, but didn't find anything too interesting or cheap ha ha...so we were just browsing around and relaxing. Then we moved to a different mall and browsed around some more, but didn't find anything. Soon we were hungry, so we went to a recommended Chinese resto called "Hai Long" in downtown Rovaniemi.

We ordered buffet lunch since it included everything. It was €8.90 per person (plus tax) and we could eat as much as we could and drink anything we wanted to (there were two types of rice, at least 8 types of dishes, CHILI SAUCE!!!, one type of soup, bread, milk, soft drinks, tea, water, and coffee). The resto were full all the time - people kept on coming and going. VERY good business!!! (side note: Well, the food is pretty good, though it's nothing compared to the food in a Chinese resto in Indo, but still it made me HAPPY!!!)

After that we went to a small hypermarket where R2 bought miniskis (because the old ones broke) and found a big lasagna dish. After that we went to a big hypermarket to buy our weekly needs (and R2 bought a cheap Wii game there). Then we got back home and played Wii for HOURS HA HA HA HA HA...We tried the new games right away and couldn't stop. FUN FUN FUN!!! :-D

So that was yesterday. Anyway, remember that I once wrote about my "project"? I decided to submit an article to a local newspaper just because I wanted to practise writing in Finnish and because I wanted to share my thoughts. At first I wanted to write about Indonesia, but the boss said that since it was only a local newspaper, I could only submit an article if it had something to do with my moving to Finland and how I "survive" here and things like that. So I did it and then their photographer came to the library to take my picture. On Thursday my MIL sent me an email, saying that she enjoyed reading my article he he he...I've only seen it today at her place since we don't subscribe to that newspaper he he he he...

Even though you probably don't understand what I'm writing, I'm sure you want to know what it's like, eh? So here goes...you can click on it to see a bigger version of it.



P.S. I don't know why I look SO white in the picture...uuhhhh he he he...And no, I'm not paid to write this, but the experience of writing it is PRICELESS, don't you think? There were SO many things I wanted to say, but I knew I couldn't write too long, so I had to edit it a few times until I felt pretty satisfied with it ha ha ha...

P.P.S. I'm curious what the ladies in the library would say about this article. I hope it's interesting enough to read my POV and my experience as an Asian moving to Sodankylä. :-D

Friday, March 27, 2009

Quote of the Day

Listen to understand, then speak with love.

Taken from today's Our Daily Bread.


glitter-graphics.com

P.S. Because we're both on a holiday, we decide to go to Rovaniemi today.
WHOOPPEEEEEEEE!!!! I'm going to eat in an Asian resto...yum yum...

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

3BT: Random Days

1. Tomorrow and Friday I'll have free days, though on Thursday I have my Finnish class, but still it feels GOOD to be able to have some free time. :-D

2. With the free time I have, I'm right now trying a new recipe that a friend posted in FB HE HE HE HE HE...Hope it works!!!

3. Getting the much-needed nap today after work, since I only worked 4 hours today (due to the overtime I did the first week this month - since the Finnish class had a week holiday, I could use the time that I was supposed to spend at school at work).



4. Feeling the sun warming up my back while sitting in our kitchen.

5. Getting SO MUCH LIGHT from all the HUGE windows in our apartment.

6. Having good rolled curtains to shade the light when we're asleep. Now that Midnight Sun is coming and it's getting light longer and longer during the day, it'll be hard for us to sleep without these curtains.

7. I've been pretty diligent in reading some Finnish every day and also trying to translate Finnish songs in my other blog (though I still need R2's help, but still it's good practice for me). I should keep up the pace and not slack off!!!


8. We've gone sliding down the hills three times this month, so I'm VERY PLEASED with it, because last year we didn't do it at all as I was busy with my full-time Finnish class and during the holiday I got sick, so we couldn't make it.

9. Enthusiasm. Enthusiasm. Enthusiasm. About life in general and also about learning more Finnish.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Culture and Life

The other day a friend and I talked a bit about the global economic crisis. She (a full-time mom) lives in Japan with two young kids (she's Indo, her husband is Japanese). She said that nowadays they wouldn't allow her hubby to work overtime. She said it felt weird to have him back home already at 6 pm. Due to that fact, as well, they have to tighten their belt since the family's income is not as much as it used to.

In Finland, I find myself missing hubby when he works overtime. Overtime = when he doesn't come home at 4 pm. I don't think overtime is a common thing here in Finland, which is actually good. That means the hubby has more time with their families (well, hopefully they spend that time with their families).


I must admit, though, that after living here for 2 years, I'm getting used to everything here, so I kinda "forget" what it was like in Indo. Deep down I know how tough it is to live in a culture where working overtime is considered "loyalty", especially if you're high up in the company's ladder.

I know one friend's hubby who worked in Indo who used to go home around 10 pm or even midnight on most days. Sometimes he also had to go to meetings on a Sunday and there was no way he could have said no (and he worked on Saturdays too until 6 pm or even later than that). If he had always come back home on time and he refused to go on meetings, he would probably have gotten sacked right away and there would be MANY others in Indo who would do anything to get his job.

Here in Finland if you work on a Saturday or Sunday, then you'll get even MUCH more money that way...but in Indonesia, I don't think in many companies you'll get a good amount of overtime money (that's IF you get any overtime money at all!). Here in Finland if R2 has done overtime many times, he can take that time to get a short holiday from work, but can Indo people do that? No, Sirrrrrrr...unfortunately not.

Another Indo friend who's now been living in the Netherlands said that people there would think you were weird if you kept on working overtime, since it's just not the culture.

And what about the paid holiday in Finland? In Indonesia I've never heard of such a thing. Plus here in Finland the yearly holiday is MORE than reasonable IMO, because after working full-time in a place for a year, you'll get a some PAID holiday (read the notes section below this paragraph) In Indo, normally a person only gets around 12 days of UNPAID holiday per year.

Notes (I copied it based on Jamppa's comment): Holiday season starts from April and ends in March and you get 2 days for summer holiday per each done month. So if you start work on firm XX on first day on July (e.g 2008), you'll get 18 days holiday on first summer (2009). In this case it starts from July and stops to March. It stops always in March, cause April is first holiday month and in this case next summer holiday is full 2days*12month= 24 days which is full summer holiday (2010).. from April to March.


Other than that, in Indo it's hard to get a long sick leave. Here in Finland I think it's a pretty common and acceptable thing. At least I know one person who took a sick leave for at least 6 months and she still has her job. In Indo, if you're sick for more than a month, I think there's a fat chance that you're going to be able to continue working there.


I also see a similar trend of cultural differences in terms of education. Since education in Indonesia isn't really standardized, so if you don't go to good schools, it's going to be hard for you to get a good job. Also a friend told me that she felt that the curriculum in many schools in Indo are now too stressful for kids, 'coz they try to teach the kids SO MANY subjects already since a young age. And if you go to a good private school, then you'll get tough homework, as well.

The bad thing about having such a stressful curriculum is that the kids will lose their playtime after school 'coz they must have private or group lessons so that they can catch up with the other kids. I remember that one student of mine used to complain about having to go to many different kinds of private lessons: English, Chinese, Swimming, Math. These type of lessons are sometimes done twice a week for an hour per session, so can you imagine how busy they are?

Here in Finland kids go to school at the age of 7. I once read an article that they want to let kids to play first and enjoy their childhood before they study at a real school. Another friend from my Finnish classes (who goes to a High School here) told me that in her opinion, the education system in Finland isn't too difficult or stressful. I don't know about that, but at least I've never heard of any private tutors here in Finland, unlike those in Indo (private tutors in Indo can earn really good money due to the high demands of them, especially these days as the school curriculum is getting more and more difficult).


It's very interesting to talk about this topic. One Indo friend (a mother of two kids) once joked to me, "Hey, look at us! We didn't go to any international schools and our monthly school fee was pretty low back then and we only started learning English when we were in Junior High School (as opposed to these days where English is taught in some preschools and most elementary schools) , but don't you think we've turned out quite okay?"

I laughed.

Such is life. To succumb or not to succumb to society's pressure, that is the question. I think it's pretty tough to fight the "mainstream, the-what's-acceptable-according-to-public". But dunno...what do YOU think, readers???

P.S. I find that some of the things that I used to find "common/normal/accepted" have changed ever since I moved to Finland.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Sliding Downhill Again

Yesterday it was sunny at first, but when we went to go downhill skiing, it was cloudy and it even snowed for a little while. Only after we were almost finished did it start to be sunny again ha ha...Nonetheless we had fun as usual. This time I decided to take a few videos of the others after I went sliding down 6 times he he...

Here's the compilation of the short video clips. I don't have much time to pretty it up, unfortunately, but you get the idea...there are different tools in the video clips: Stiga, miniskis, and sliders.



I've added some annotations in the video clip, but it won't show too well, so here's the youtube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2vvMY2mgKo

Here are some pics I took:






MIL has prepared a special kind of cake. She looked up some recipes online and decided to try one. It was SO tasty!!! :-D Yum yum...My parents-in-law and my MIL's elder sister are coming to visit us on Wednesday. I'll have Wed off since I had done some overtime at the library already this month. WHOOPPPEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! Maybe I should bake something for them on Tuesday he he he he he...We'll see!!!

OK, time to blog-hop a bit...

Friday, March 20, 2009

Wii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our Wii package came on Wednesday, so during the night we tried it and I got addicted right away hi hi...It was SO MUCH FUN! We have two CDs: Wii Fit and Wii Sports. So far I've tried doing these:

1. A few Yoga exercises.
2. A few aerobics exercises.
3. A few balance games/exercises, including hula hoop.

And I've played these with R2:

1. Tennis.
2. Golf.
3. Bowling.
4. Baseball.
5. Boxing.



We also tested our BMI indexes and our Wii Fit Age. My BMI index is 22.02, so it's still in the ideal range. However, my Wii Fit Age is 45 (the youngest Wii Fit Age is 20). ARRRGGHHH!!! I want to get a younger Wii Fit Age he he he...

Yesterday I played Wii for 1,5 hours and after that we had sauna. I felt EXHAUSTED by the time we sat on our sofa to watch "Lost" series. DEAD tired! I slept right away after the episode was over and it was such a nice sleep he he he...

Funny thing happened when we went on a virtual "jogging" together. Of course my stamina is better than his since I've been doing Taebo for 2 years. At first until the middle part of the jogging track, we were almost equal (I was a little bit ahead of him), but after that his pace started becoming slower and slower hi hi hi hi hi...so I left him waaaayyy behind. :-D



I think Wii games would be much more motivating if you're doing it with somebody else and you can compare your results he he he...It did feel a bit crazy, though, that you were "hitting" a virtual opponent or ball or whatever he he he...

Anyway, I plan on playing Wii again later tonight after I do my homework and other stuff. I've bought two discounted Finnish books from the bookstore, too. I'm ON A ROLL!!! I'm highly charged to READ more Finnish!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want to add not only my vocabulary, but also sentence structures. GOOOOOOOOOO GO GO!!! :-D

Oh yeah...I pampered myself the other day by buying a pair of boots which were on sale. It was actually the first pair of boots I've EVER bought in my entire life. The first pair was given to me by my friend's mother (bless her!!!) and the second pair was given to me by a friend. So I've been wearing gifts and now that the first pair is getting old, I decided to buy myself a new pair, but I'm only going to wear them next winter HA HA HA HA HA HA...

Okay, time to blog-hop before I do my homework he he...Have a blessed weekend, everybody!!!




Tuesday, March 17, 2009

A Surprising Event + An Inspiration

Today in between our Finnish lessons (we had short breaks in between), two students reported a problem to the teacher. Turned out that someone had put BUTTER in the jacket pockets of one student. Insane, isn't it?

The teacher reported this to another teacher and they went out to discuss this problem. After some time, the teacher came back and said that this kind of thing had never happened before and since there were no security cameras in the hallway, they didn't know who did it. She also said that the school would take care of the jacket - meaning they'd clean it and pay for the cleaning fee.

I'm sending BAD KARMA to the perpetrator!!!

I saw the jacket pockets when I came out of the room to go home and it was just NASTY. It seemed that the perp shoved in as much butter as possible. Nasty prank!!!

Anyway, there was a new student coming last week from Moldova. She speaks many languages already: Russian, Romanian, English, and Italian. I'm SO amazed at her 'coz I've NEVER seen anyone learn a language as fast as she does. AMAZING!!! Maybe it's because she has talents in languages and she also knows many already, so it's easier for her to understand the grammar, but still she's really something and it really makes me feel motivated, esp. because our learning style is similar!!! :-D

GAMBATTE KUDASAIIII to me HE HE HE HE HE...


Monday, March 16, 2009

Big Slider and Snow Shoes

Although last Saturday wasn't a sunny day. In fact, it rained water for some time, we managed to spend time sliding down the hill again in Kelujärvi. We = Me, R2, R2's second brother + girlfriend. They even brought a Stiga with them. Click on the link to see the picture if you don't know what a Stiga is (I don't know the English name he he...).

Here are some pictures as promised and two video clips. I didn't take too many pics or videos since it was such wet weather and I didn't want to wet my digicam he he he...so after taking the videos, I took it back to the car.

1st pic: The Preparatiooonnnn...R2 had his miniskis on.


2nd pic: Me in my glory HA HA HA HA HA...;-D


3rd pic: The venue!


4th pic: These tracks were made two weeks ago when we went there the first time.


5th pic: I zoomed in on the tracks so you can see them better.



OK, so let me show you how R2 got up. It seems easy if you view the video, but it's NOT easy at all...especially since I'm not used to it, I was always the last one to go up ha ha ha ha...



6th pic: That was also the track I made two weeks ago. I slid my way down from the spot where I took this pic. Actually, the snow shoes did help me get up easier, but then again since they are kinda big and wide, they are a bit heavy (especially 'coz I had to really pick my feet UP - couldn't shuffle them in the thick snow), but that meant I burnt more calories that way, right? HO HO HO HO HO...


7th and 8th pic: Just to show you the view. :-)))



Now here's a short video clip to show you how much fun I had when sliding down the hill hi hi...



Last Saturday I decided to go up the top of the hill just like the others. When I slid down from there one time, I SPUN in the middle so that my head was downward (facing the sky) and here is the picture of me after I stopped sliding down he he he he he...


Last pic: A good pic of us HE HE HE...


Hope to go there again sometime this year before all the snow is gone HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO...:-D

Introducing My Friend's Blog

I just want to introduce to you a blog created by one of my best friends from Indo. We've been friends for 17 years now, more than half our lives he he he...So why don't you visit her and welcome her to the blogosphere?

She studied medicine and used to work as a general practitioner in a hospital, but now that she has a young son to take care of, she decided to work as a part-time translator. Maybe later on she'll go back to work as a GP.

Here's her blog: The Journey of a Mom.

Welcome to the blogosphere, my friend! :-D

Friday, March 13, 2009

3BT: Random Days

Before I write my usual 3BT post, I'd like to write about a sad event. My friend's baby was born dead and I just can't fathom the depth of sadness he must've been feeling right now...he had grown to love the baby even before he was born (the baby was a boy) and then he died.

So REST IN PEACE, little one!!! You're with the angels now...safe and sound. May the angels comfort your Mom and Dad, little one...





1. I heard one of the most BEAUTIFUL things I'd been waiting for a long time when I spoke to Mom on Skype the other day. My father's stopped having "angry management issues" ever since Ken was born. He keeps on saying that Ken brings him joy and happiness. THANK GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was already at my wits' end trying to find out what ways we could do to help my Dad control his bursts of anger...the answer came in the form of a baby. :-))))

2. My presentation went well. ---> Of course I had to read my .pps files since I couldn't remember all the long Finnish texts, but still I thought I had prepared it well enough. :-))))

3. Receiving positive feedback about my presentation. It feels like I'm a character in a computer game and today I received a "Level Up". :-D

4. R2 washed the dishes without being asked. :-D


5. Getting my new snow shoes. I hope we can go downhill skiing again tomorrow. :-D

6. Talking to my Mom. I know I'm repeating myself in my 3BT posts, but I just want to cherish her as much as I can. She's truly something!!! I LOVE the way she supports me and the way she doesn't pressure me. I LOVE the way she understands my situation. She even said that I shouldn't send her SMS too often if I were too busy ('coz she knows I'm doing the training and the Finnish classes now). Whenever I think of her, I think of a safety blanket, warm and comforting. Mmmm...

7. Excitement to see my other project in its finished form. I'm going to share it with you later when it's done. :-D

Thursday, March 12, 2009

3BT: Random Days

1. Dancing in the library without anybody noticing. Before the library is open, we have to return the books to the shelves and since I get the kids' section on my own, I can listen to the radio (we always turn it on) and dance to the familiar songs ho ho ho...

2. Farting without anybody noticing. Sometimes I feel gassy at the office and it's pretty hard to have to go to the toilet every time I want to fart, so sometimes I do it discreetly hi hi hi...ahhhhh...



3. I'm going to teach my MIL how to make a blog. It'll be SO MUCH FUN!!!

4. My second project (doing presentation on blogging) is done, but I need to rehearse tonight since there are plenty of computer terms in Finnish that I don't remember well yet. I just hope it's going to be clear enough since I only write down about the basics. :-D

5. Yesterday and today the temperature is way below 0 again, so I can ride my bike. YIIIPPIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!

6. Feeling refreshed after taking a 2.5 hour nap ha ha ha...


Wednesday, March 11, 2009

3BT: Random Days

1. I've finished one project and halfway done my other project. Phew!!! :-D

2. Our toilet bowl is fine again. It was stuck for some time and then the washing basin was leaking, but my super-handyman-hubby could fix them. HURRAAAHHH!!! He even cleaned up the mess he he he...



3. I'm ordering some things for my MIL's birthday. Hope she hasn't had them before and they turn out fine. If so, next time I can order from them again.

4. Chatted with a few friends during the weekend and laughing until I got tears in my eyes. Boy oh boyyyy...SO MUCH FUN!!!


glitter-graphics.com


5. Excitement 'coz my Finnish classes start this week and other than the fact that I can study Finnish again, I can also meet my friends there HA HA HA HA HA HA...

6. Asked hubby if he had complaints about me in any way and he said no. :-D

7. I told hubby: "You're one of the BEST things that ever happened to me." :-D

Monday, March 09, 2009

Youniverse.com

Tried one quiz at youniverse.com (How My Mind Works) and got this result that described me to a tee!!!! HO HOOOHHHH!!!!

Interaction:

You often remain on the sidelines in social situations choosing to observe rather than participate. Having said that, when you feel comfortable in a social setting, you come alive and enjoy interacting with like-minded people. You even have the chance to exercise that cheeky sense of humour of yours.

So remember, my blogger friends, that in real life I may not be so talkative like in my blog, but when I'm comfy enough, then I'll start babbling for hours on end ha ha ha ha...


Naughty, Naughty, Naughty!!!

My friends and I pulled a prank once in High School. At that time, our student body decided to have fun on Valentine's Day. Before Valentine's Day came, they would offer flowers and chocolate orders to all the students to send to other students. So we decided to send a flower to someone whom we thought was so big-mouthed he he he he...That person wasn't my classmate, but she was in the same classroom as another friend of mine.

When the day came, that girl was SO surprised and happy to get the flower. I know it's a cruel joke, but at that time we didn't think too much about it. We just thought it'd be fun. So I just want to send an online SORRY to that person. I hope she never took it too seriously!!!!!!!!



Have you ever pulled a prank like this?

Birthdays Coming Up

My hubby's and mother-in-law's birthdays are coming soon. Their birthdays are only 3 days apart. Last year I gave my mother-in-law Bali silver. This year I don't think I'll choose jewellery for her again. Instead, we'll give her something that she needs, which is a pair of headset and microphone for the computer, since her computer has no speakers. This way she can listen to youtube songs or anything else she wants and if in the future she wants to chat with me or somebody online, she has the microphone already. Plus of course I've ordered some flower seeds for her he he he...

What about hubby? I know what he wants, so we're going to go to the store together later on. He wants a man's ring. But there's no harm done in browsing the internet first for ideas, don't you think so? I find cool wave rings for men as well as a guide on birthstones.

If you're a regular reader, you must know that I LOVE blue, but my birthstone is YELLOW topaz!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...I don't want it. Can I trade it with hubby's, which is Aquamarine? Please? :-D

What are your birthstones, friends? You can click the link to find out for yourself.

Sunday, March 08, 2009

Sliding Down the Hill

Saturday I was finally able to coak R2 into doing downhill skiing - he was using miniskis, whereas I used my Big Slider. Remember my Big Slider? If not, here's the pic:



So the bottom line is that I sat down on the "butt" section and held on to the rounded part while sliding down the hill. The problem was that it was TOUGH for me to get up the hill without skis under my shoes. I kept on falling deeper and deeper into snow so that R2 had to go back down and make "snow steps" to help me up. When it was getting steeper and steeper, I almost had to crawl so that I wouldn't slide down ha ha ha ha ha...

The first time I slid downhill, it wasn't smooth since the snow was too thick. The second time I did it, it was FANTASTIC!!! But I made a mistake...R2 told me that I should've kept my legs up so that my legs wouldn't hinder my slideeeeee...so I did as told the next time and WOOSSSSHHHHH...It was SO MUCH FUN!!! I could do it MUCH MUCH better than when I tried miniskiing ---> it was more scary standing up while sliding down and not knowing HOW TO STOP!!!

With my Big Slider, since I was sitting down safely, I could really let myself go...so I kept on going back up the hill and down...WOOOHOOOOO!!!! Unfortunately there're no pics since R2 advised me not to take it up. I'm GLAD I took his advice, remembering how hard it was to get up there without skis. However, I promise that next time I'll take some pics or short video clips, OK?

I'm ordering myself some snow shoes that R2 said would help me go up the hill easily. This is the pic of the snow shoes I ordered (the cheapest pair we've found online HO HO...):



Can't wait to go to the hill again HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...

Friday, March 06, 2009

I LOVE this boy!!!!!!!!!!!

Enjoy Sungha Jun with "Kiss from a Rose" on a guitar:

Why Always Busy These Days?

Hmmm...dunno the answer, but it seems that way. I have some emails to answer and some projects to finish. One project to finish is a presentation about blogging for next Friday at the library. My boss and colleagues want to hear about blogging in Finnish. That means I have to write everything down so that I don't have to memorize them ha ha ha...this is rather difficult as there are many English terms in blogging that I don't know in Finnish, such as "widget" etc.

I'm halfway done on my third project at the library. It turns out to be such a big project which will take so much time to finish he he he...


Oh well...btw, hubby's ordering Wii Fit package with different kinds of sports activities. I'm SO excited to try it out since I've been rather bored doing Tae-bo using the same CDs over and over again he he he he he he he...I wanna try out different kinds of exercises! ;-D

Funny thing is that I had been thinking of trying out Wii Fit, but I didn't want to spend the money...and then WHAM, hubby bought it HA HA HA HA HA...Incredible!!! Is it a "coincidence" or did he read my mind? ;-D



What else? I found an ex elementary school friend in Facebook that I haven't seen for...hmmm...19 years!!! He told me what he remembered about me. I don't remember that incident AT ALL, but I have a different memory which he doesn't remember. ;-D

The other project I'm working on is a secret. I'm going to tell you only later if it proves to be successful he he he he he...

I've bought two more Finnish novels from the library at a discount again. WHOOPPPEEEEE!!! I LOVE collecting cheap books. I know I may not be able to understand some of them yet since they're so thick and they're for adults, but at least they're at home (easy to reach), so I can read them anytime I want to. :-D

I've been feeling UPBEAT these days and not at all deflated like the other day. My colleagues are always SO encouraging, especially my boss, so that helps me feel useful at work. ;-D I'll blog-hop later on after I finish one project. Take care, everybody!!!


Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Out of Breath

Why out of breath? Today after work I decided to ride my bike to the school I'd go to next week when my Finnish classes start 'coz I wanted to know how long it took me to cycle there from work. There was a part of the road that was slightly uphill and I was running out of breath. I'm telling you that cycling is NOT easy, especially when there's snow (I guess it's kinda like biking on sand) and the road is uphill. Plus I hadn't been riding a bike in a VERY long time before I bought this bike he he he...So my stamina is ONE (not zero, but one) HE HE HE HE...

Imagine me on my bike, out of breath...with my mouth open to help me breathe...and then my nose started to run, so I had to stop since it was going uphill so that I could take out my tissue and blow my nose he he he he he...



Oh almost forgot...how long did the trip last? One way it took about 9 minutes (though it could have been faster had I not stopped a few times HA HA HA...). I feel challenged to beat my record and to cycle faster and to gain more stamina. :-D

If my butt and legs aren't getting any sexier after 3 months riding a bike to school, I'm going to sue somebody LOL LOL LOL!!! Kidding!!! ;-D

Anyway, I was sweating so much by the time I got back home (my shirt and tank top were damp) and I felt SO SO SO tired that I had to take a nap right away (I fell asleep in just a few seconds).

Here's my 3BT list today:

1. I was going to buy one Finnish book today that the library was selling cheap, but the manager told me that it was a gift for me for being a helper there. WOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!

2. The manager suggested me to lend some audio CDs for me to help listen to more Finnish, so I did today. Unfortunately I haven't had the time to listen to them yet 'coz I had to cook today after my nap.

3. I've been writing short emails to my MIL and when we were there the other day, I also helped guide her to do things. She says that since she lost the internet connection for almost a week due to cable problem, she hadn't been able to practise much, so she forgot and she wanted me to tell her how to do things again. I told her that she didn't need to hurry and she'll remember it eventually, 'coz I've also been learning Finnish SLOWLY, STEP BY STEP, so I understand her feelings. :-))))

I LOVE feeling useful and being able to help her! :-D

4. R2 has been very understanding and thoughtful, just like always. He has NEVER yelled at me. We bought a key house (I'll take a pic of it sometime later) and he asked me first where he should put it since he wanted me to be able to grab them easily considering our heights. :-)))) THANK YOU SO MUCH, Bonbon, for being just the way you are!!!



I'll blog-hop in the weekend or tomorrow, OK?

Feeling Much Better

THANKS for all the support, people! I'm feeling MUCH MUCH better now he he he he...so don't you worry...

But I'd like to state one thing: the mistake I made yesterday wasn't my first one at work, but it's so far the worst one. That was why I felt rather deflated.

Today's a brand new day, so I won't think about anything bad and just face it with a smile and a new spirit...


Monday, March 02, 2009

Rather Deflated

Today I made a mistake at work. In my attempt to be proactive, I didn't recheck what I was doing and thus the mistake happened. I don't think it's THAT fatal, but still what made it worse was when I was asked whether I had done something else (read: another mistake). I said that I didn't do that mistake. I know that I was asked that question 'coz they wanted to find out who the culprit was, but still it makes me feel sad.

In my frantic state, I didn't even understand one question, even though it was repeated a few times VERY SLOWLY. In the end, since I still didn't understand, it was rephrased into English and only then I understood what was being asked.

Boy oh boy...today is definitely not a good day to boost up my confidence. But I'm going to leave all negative feelings here in the blogosphere and start a new day tomorrow with a clean slate instead of a broken spirit.

GAMBATTE KUDASAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!


Today makes me feel GLAD that I don't get any salary from them, 'coz at least it eases my mind a bit. Phew!!! And please don't tell me that I shouldn't be too hard on myself since you don't even know what I have done. I just want to throw all negativity out and get it over with so that I'm not carrying it around. I'm NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT going to curse myself over this!!!

Cheers for a better tomorrow!!!!

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Facebook

It seems that many of my Indo friends have switched to Facebook, because I've met many more ex-classmates there. My cousin is also there and he's been uploading many old pictures. I want to share with you a picture when I was 5 years old. I don't remember this occasion AT ALL (the birthday party of another cousin), but I do remember my bracelet!!! :-D


Through Facebook, I also found out that my class teacher when I was on the 1st and 2nd grade in High School has already passed away. Rest in peace, Sir!!! I remember that one time a group of us wanted to dine out together and we took him with us. :-))) Such a wonderful memory!

Through Facebook I've also met some other bloggers as well as a long-lost emailpal (the one I was looking for months back). I found out that now he's got two kids already!!! Gee...time flies so fast. I still don't feel like a 30-year-0ld hi hi hi...There's still a part of that 5-year-old Amel in me HO HO HO HO HO...

OK, time to blog hop and then maybe nap a little. I feel the onset of flu coming, but I hope it won't come full force 'coz I want to use my Big Sliderrrrrrrr to ski downhilllllll sometime this month!!!! :-D

The Sunset Test

Yeah, just for fun before I go to bed...




You Crave an Important Life



Your dream is to life a live a life that leaves a mark.

You'd like to have a mission or journey to complete, even if it takes years.

You want your life to be meaningful, and having a final goal brings you meaning.

You'd like to accomplish something big, if only to inspire others to believe it can be done.