1. Hubby let me create a character for a game he was playing. So now he's playing the game using the character that I created for him he he he he hehhhh...
2. Had a rough day the other day after waking up to pee during the night and then couldn't get back to sleep again, but thankfully I could take a long nap after work.
3. Talked to my coworker about number 2 and found out she had the exact same problem that same night (after she went to pee). Ha! What a coincidence! She was laughing and wondering if it was the full moon or something like that which kept us awake he he he he he...
4. Not being able to go back to sleep inspired me to write this (click on pic to read):
5. Listening to this epic song. It just sounds SO GOOD in my ears!
6. After some rough days at work, I had some days off and lately work has been pretty well. Having some easier days make a whole lot of difference for a change!
Every now and then at work we have Russian customers/tourists. I assume they have their own business there because many of them buy so much stuff (good for my workplace, hey! :-D). However, it can also be challenging to communicate with them, especially if they're the older types because they don't speak any English. Sometimes some of them speak a little Finnish, but sometimes not.
The other week I had these encounters.
I've finished serving a woman who bought tons of stuff. I remember that she bought 15 big packs of chocolate powder (to make chocolate drink). She started packing her stuff because she wanted to get tax refund, so my other coworker was dealing with that while I stayed behind the till. Once she had finished packing, my coworker asked me if I could refund some money to her. It was as if I had counted the chocolate powder packs wrongly. The customer had packed everything up in many bags except for 10 packs of chocolate powder.
We tried to communicate in English, but to no avail. My coworker was confused and so was I, because I felt that I had counted them right. Mind you, all the bags were tied up, so it would have been too hard to open all of them up just to count the chocolate powder packs. Yet the customer kept on pointing towards the 10 packs of chocolate powder that she had left on next table. My coworker again asked me if I had counted the chocolate powder packs wrongly, but I said I remembered there were 15 of them and the customer must have put 5 of them in one of the bags.
Then it hit me!!!! She wanted to return the 10 packs of chocolate powder packs because she probably thought 5 would have been enough. So I said to her with big gestures, "So you don't want these 10 packs?"
Then she replied, "Yes, yesss, don't wanttt..." (pointing to the 10 packs on the table).
HALLELUJAH!!!! Finally we were progressing. My coworker wasn't able to start processing the tax refund if this matter wasn't sorted, so I returned some money to her and then it was all settled. Phew!
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Anyway, that same day not long after the above incident, a Russian man came over to my friend who was behind the till. He had a tub of yoghurt in his hand and he asked my friend something in broken English. My friend didn't understand what he wanted, so I decided to follow him.
He pointed to the tub of yoghurt and asked, "Three?"
I thought he wanted to buy three tubs of yoghurt, but there was none left on the shelf, so I told him I'd come with him.
When I reached the spot, I realized that there were still plenty of yoghurt left. Then he asked again, "Three? Banana, vanilla?"
I thought he wanted me to read out loud the different kinds of flavors that was available in English, so I started naming them out loud.
He shook his head and said, "No, no, three...banana, vanilla...Do you have at the back?"
After we did this a few times, I finally realized what he wanted. He wanted three kinds of flavors in each tub of yohgurt, so I told him, "Ahhhh...you want three flavors for each of them. No, no, unfortunately we don't have it. These are the only options available."
He asked again, "You don't have at the back?" (he meant in the warehouse)
I replied, "No, no. Just these."
Then the woman who was with him said something in Russian that I assumed meant, "It's OK. Just take some. These are fine, too."
It felt GOOD to finally be able to decipher what he wanted he he he he...
The other day I was working as the cashier in our store and then a coworker came by with her children to buy groceries. It was rather quiet at that time and before I started serving her, I pressed the button to call another cashier. My coworker turned around and then turned back at me with such a surprised look on her face and then I realized why she had that look.
I laughed and said, "I'm NOT crazyyyyy!!! It's time for my break, so I pressed the button."
She laughed, replying, "I was wondering why on earth you'd call another cashier because I saw nobody else behind me."
LOL LOL LOLLLLL!!!!
Oh yeah, while talking about this theme, today after work I went to another supermarket to buy something that wasn't sold in our place. While there, I browsed around to see if they had other interesting offers or products, so I was walking slowly around the store when a grandpa stopped me by asking, "Can you tell me where the cat food section is?"
I don't remember him at all, so I don't know if he just thought I was working there (which was odd because I wasn't wearing the store's uniform and I definitely looked like a foreigner so I had no idea why he knew I could speak Finnish), but I thought that I wasn't in a hurry anyway, so I asked the worker there where the cat food section was and he asked me to come along with him.
So I did. I showed him where the cat food selection was and he told me to take some for him. I had NOOOO idea what kind of cat food he was looking for, so I asked him what kind of cat food he was looking for - dry or wet? He told me that he usually bought the ones in bags, so I picked one and he said, "Yeah, that's the one. Take some."
Again I got a bit confused because that type had three different flavours and I told him about the selection, but he said, "It doesn't matter which kind."
I picked two and put them in his cart, but he told me to take more, so I asked him how many cats he had. He said it was a stray cat that had been abandoned by somebody, so he took the cat in. How thoughtful of him! :-D
After I took about a dozen in total (they were small bags), he thanked me and we parted way. What an interesting encounter! :-D
1. I managed to deal with the additional shifts even while I was feeling under the weather. Crossing my fingers that I won't get sick!!!
2. The flower-giving grandpa came by the store to do some grocery shopping when I had just finished my shift, so I quickly went to the cashier, bought some flowers, wrapped them with some paper, taped the receipt there, told my coworker that I would give them to a grandpa (so that she wouldn't charge him for the flowers while showing the receipt that I had taped there), and then went to find the grandpa and told him that they were for his wife. Felt GREAT to be able to return his favors!!! He's been giving me flowers on many occasions already! :-D
3. Taking these pictures made me feel happy...
4. A grandma complimented my voice! Ha! It's never happened before in my entire life he he he he...so I'm gonna cherish the memory hi hi hi hi...:-D
5. Finally getting a few days off in a row. Phew!!! Now I can catch-up with blogging and blog-hopping. :-)
6. Finding a suitable gift for someone as well as another souvenir for Ken's little brother. And having the budget to buy both is something I'm THANKFUL for.
7. Joululimppu (a kind of Christmas bread) with delicious smoked salmon made by Kiveliön factory, eaten with a slice of cheese and chili sauce! YUMMY!!!!
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8. Knowing that MIL's heart is working well (no blockage). She went for a check-up in Rovaniemi hospital last week and the result was OK. No need for surgery or anything. Phew!
9. Have to teach a coworker to do something and I've finally finished writing down my list so that I remember everything I have to teach her. :-D
10. Finally exercising again after not having done it due to my busy schedule and being slightly under the weather. Felt GREAT! :-D
11. Almost forgot: A coworker asked me if we had kids and I said no. Thankfully she didn't pry whether we wanted kids or not or anything else. She just accepted the answer. YEEEEEEESSSS!!! :-D
I've been busy at work again and I have been feeling a bit under the weather lately. A coworker got sick and another one is sick. It seems that it's spreading around - whatever virus that is. I'm trying my best to sleep a lot and take vitamins and stuff, so fingers crossed that I'll be able to avoid getting really sick. The temperature went up to 1'C on Sunday, so a lot of the snow that had piled up melted away, but it seems that we've got a little bit of snow last night or this morning, so it's all white again, although it was a bit slippery in some parts yesterday because of the melted snow that went frozen again during the night.
My head feels a bit weird, so I'm not going to write too long. I just wanna share some magnificent Finnish photos by a Finnish photographer. Here's the link:
I really love his photos because they make me feel like I'm in a nice dream. If you go down the page, you can find the photographer's website link as well as FB link. He's put a lot of other pictures in both links.
And let's have some laugh with some hilarious Chinese-English translations he he he he...here goes:
OK, I'm gonna dose myself with some berries now!
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Last Saturday we moved the clock one hour back, so we got a blissful one hour extra to sleep in he he he he he he...Yesterday it was horrible weather because the temperature had gone up above 0'C the whole day and night, so the snow was melting away so fast and it was so wet and yucky everywhere (like walking on slushy ice). Thankfully I had bought a pair of long-legged boots perfect for this type of weather, so I walked to work.
When I arrived at work, a coworker asked me, "What time does your shift start?"
I replied, "Three."
She said, "Then why are you here already?"
I replied, "Come again?"
She said, "It's only two."
I checked my wristwatch and realized that I hadn't moved it an hour back. ARRRGGGHHHHH!!!! Well, at least I wasn't late HA HA HA HA HA...This reminds me that I have to be more careful in spring when we have to move the clock one hour ahead - otherwise I may be late to work!!! The reason why I was more focused on my wristwatch instead of my clock or mobile phone clock was that I had set my wristwatch a few minutes ahead of time to make sure that I would never be late to work he he...Oh well, lesson learned! This was actually the second time I was ever too early to work (thank GOD I've never been late, though!). The first time it happened about a year or two ago, I had remembered the wrong time for the start of my shift he he...
Anyway, can't wait for the next batch of snow to cover up the ground again (hopefully this time they stay and they won't melt until spring!!!).
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1. Every now and then I tease hubby like this:
Me: "Honeeeeyyyyyy..."
R2: "What?"
Me: "I have something important to tell you." (serious face)
R2: "Yeeeess?"
Me: "I have to poo."
ROFL ROFL ROFL...
2. Went to a store today and found kiddies shirt on a discount. Bought two exact same kinds for Ken and his brother (because we're going to visit them next year). I LOVE LOVE LOVE collecting gifts for family bit by bit HE HE HE HE HE HE...
3. Raking the autumn leaves in the yard for about an hour and then took these pics.
4. Finding a forum for childless-by-circumstance women and I've enjoyed it immensely. :-D
5. Saying no without feeling guilty.
6. A coworker asked me how old I was and she said I looked younger than that HA HA HA HA HA HA HAHHHHH...
7. Being able to save more money this month (need to save money to buy our tickets to Indo next year). HALLELUJAHHHHHH!!!
Yesterday I had an evening shift at work and near the time when the shop was about to close, I was mopping the floor near the cashier area when an older guy came in. I had my back facing him, so he called me and when I turned around, I immediately saw his rather "disappointed" face LOL!!!
He was probably wondering how much I understood Finnish 'coz he could see from my face that I was a foreigner. But he tried anyway and he didn't ask for anything hard, so I could help him out just fine on my own. Even if I didn't know/understand what he wanted to find, I would still have been able to help him by calling out my coworker, but the moment that he saw my face was so funny. :-D
He must've been a new customer, because all the regular customers know my face and they know I've worked there for a while, so they won't hesitate asking me for help. This face of mine has its own advantage at work, though, because they know that I'm a foreigner simply by looking at my face, if they don't know me well, they'll resort to using more formal Finnish (or they'd speak more slowly) in order to make sure I understand their words. :-D
Anyway, here's a pic of my frosty hair. Photo taken when it was -21'C outside (and I just went back from a trip to the supermarket).
1. Yesterday my coworker hugged me as her goodbye. It was our last working day together. She's taking a few days off and she'll start working again next month, whereas I'll stop working this Friday. I didn't expect her to do that, considering we had only been working together for about three weeks. I felt SO touched by her gesture. She's the friendliest at work!!!
2. On the way to work, there was this spot of ground frequented with CUTE chubby birds who were busy feeding themselves. There are usually 20-25 of them. I can't stop staring at them!!! HE HE HE HE HE...
3. Feeding hubby some chocolate pudding while he was gaming. Then he said, "Practising for the future, eh?" HA HA HA HA HA HA...I ENJOY pampering him every once in a while! And he always thanks me, too HE HE HE HE HE...
4. EXCITEMENT about this Saturday. I've told my MIL not to cook anything 'coz I'll bring the food. I figured that once in a while SHE needs to be pampered, too!!! ;-D Let's see what I can come up with. I think I'm going to opt for some Asian food he he he he...but nothing too "burning hot", though. ;-D
5. Bumping my forehead on hubby's when I tried to turn around the other night. He was curled up so close to me hi hi hi hi...I LOVE it whenever I go to the toilet during the night and when I come back, I realize that his body is curled up SO close to me mmmmmm...
6. Just being held closely by hubby or just sitting on his lap...I wanna cherish the feeling forever...I LOVE feeling his body warmthhhhhh...
7. Sharing innermost thoughts with my closest friends. We haven't done that in a while. One friend initiated it and it brought back so many memories.
8. Just because I'm alive, my parents are fine, I've got everything I need...I've got another day to be the best that I can be. :-)))
1. Feeling whiny and angry (I suppose due to my raging hormones), but decided to sleep it off and it WORKED!!! I'm GLAD I took a long nap ho ho ho ho...
2. My (not-too-new) coworker (she helped out at the office the other month before I started) is a nice girl and we've been talking a bit about this and that. It's nice for a change to be able to communicate with someone else (other than the visitors) at the office. Plus I get to practise my Finnish!
3. Picked up the office phone and didn't understand a thing, even though I tried asking the caller to say it twice, so I gave up and I gave the phone to my boss. Even after that, I didn't curse myself, so that's an improvement!!! At least I tried, right? ;-D
I even told this story to my coworker and we both laughed at it. Being able to laugh at myself is one of my "late" improvements, 'coz for decades I couldn't do it.
Maybe it still takes a year or two before I can handle speaking on the phone with a native Finnish and static background noise he he he...
4. Rainy days don't dampen my mood. I still feel excited, especially about counting down to the days when I'll go back to Indo HUA HA HA HA HA HA HA...
5. Daydreaming about all those glorious types of food I can eat when I'm back in Indo. YUM YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...This daydream is sweet since I know it'll come true soon enough hi hi hi...
6. My hubby who bears with my mood swings. :-)))
7. Again I can't thank hubby enough for making me laugh so much, even when I have mood swings. It's SO much easier to live with someone who makes you laugh, you know? ;-D I had never thought he could be this funny, but I'm OH, SO GLAD that he is!
8. Being able to eat yoghurt every day and being able to buy more fresh veggies and fruit and being able to buy multivitamins (even though prices have gone up). Before hubby got a job and before I got unemployment money, we couldn't really afford to buy anything much.
P.S. I'll blog-hop later today, OK? Been so lazy in blogging he he he...
