3BT: Random Days

1. Having a BBQ party at a coworker's place. It was so much fun. I laughed until my cheeks got sore LOL!!! And it was the perfect timing for the BBQ because the weather was good (the weather went downhill the next day until now). 

2. My homemade pork satay (on the left side of the photo below) was a hit at the BBQ party. :-D Photo courtesy of my coworker HL:

3. I had a couple of guests coming today and we had fun, too. I cooked some rice, chicken panini and popped in some spring rolls and chicken nuggets in the oven and prepared some salad. It was enough for everybody (there's only a little leftover).

4. Surviving tough shifts at work this week. My body felt very sore after coming back home because of the pace and everything (summer busy weeks have started and a coworker has been sick for a while, so we're all swamped).

5. Playing hide the doll and hide-and-seek with my friend's daughter. :-D I managed to accidentally spook her once by hiding in a dark toilet ha ha...

6. The cheap huggable pillow I bought from our trip to Haparanda. It's been very useful to hug during the nights. In Finland the product will cost more than that (I was too used to sleeping with a bolster in Indo).


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7. A coworker told me a funny story. Upon seeing me from the back at work, her 4-year-old asked her, "Mommy, mommy, is there a child working here?" ROFL ROFL ROFL...Yes, I was thought of as a child because I'm short ha ha ha ha ha ha...very funny! :-D :-D :-D

8. These words from the movie "Frozen" (yeah, we just saw it last night because we waited until the 3D disc came out): "Some people are just worth melting for." I thought it was such a brilliant line because it also showed how Olaf started to melt! :-D

9. Cheap new panties bought from Haparanda. Very comfy! :-D And hubby loves the tiny blings on them ha ha ha...

10. Coming home to hubby's homemade pizza. Yum! And I didn't even have to do a thing! :-D 

3BT: Random Days

1. Playing "Poker Face" game with hubby while playing cards with MIL (it wasn't planned, just made up right then and there). The point of the game is to keep a poker face while the other party makes faces to make you smile or laugh. Dang it was SO hard to keep a poker face that we ended up laughing like crazy over and over again. SO MUCH FUN!!! :-D

2. A grandma gave me a bar of chocolate at work. BLESS HER! And it wasn't even the first time for her to do that. :-) I shared the chocolate with hubby at home he he he...


3. We've booked the tickets to go to Indo via Singapore on our summer holiday, so we're spending some days in Singapore as well in between flying to my hometown and flying back to Finland. And we've also booked the hotels in Singapore YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!!! :-D

4. I've contacted a few friends who live in Singapore and they've told me that they want to meet up, so I hope there's no hindrance for us to meet. EXCITING!!!!!!!! :-D

5. More feeling of freedom as I get less afraid of disappointing people when I feel that they have high expectations of me or when I feel that they expect something from me that I just can't give (something I just realized lately).


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6. The sidewalk is now clear of sand and gravel. That means I can ride my bike at full speed again WOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

7. Having lovely and fun coworkers who treat me (the only expat in the group) like one of them. I hope we can work together for a LOOOONNNGGG time. :-D

8. Listening to this soothing and comforting song. Death is not the end. We will meet again in heaven...


9. Laughing so much at these photos ha ha ha ha...I'm trying to imagine the amount of time and effort it took to match the characters with the cats ha ha ha...As a cat lover and a fan of Game of Thrones, I think whoever it is has done a great job at it. :-D

 Game of Thrones: Cat Edition

3BT: Random Days

1. Had fun at the pre-Christmas party with my coworkers. We rented a fired wood hot tub and I enjoyed soaking myself in the tub in the yard, though couldn't stay in the tub too long because the water temperature was 40'C he he he...Here's a pic of the tub:

2. Even though I was lousy at playing Alias with some of my coworkers, we laughed so much that my cheeks were so sore. :-D 

3. The party organizers were thoughtful enough to know that I wouldn't drink wine, so they bought me some juice and soda. :-D BLESS THEM!!!

4. Cooking and eating seafood while hubby's away from home, so nobody complains about the fishy smell LOL!!!!

5. I made some berry pudding and rummy sauce and was wondering how on earth I could bring them to work because it was kinda heavy, but thankfully hubby was able to give me a lift. :-D And glad to know my coworkers liked it. :-D


6. I've bought our own Christmas ham for the first time. Hopefully we'll be able to cook it ourselves without making it too dry. It's gonna be interesting because we've never prepared it ourselves ha ha ha ha ha ha...

7. Watching this video:

35th Birthday

Today is my 35th birthday. When I woke up, I was greeted by the gorgeous pink sky outside as the sun was starting to rise (yeah, I woke up late because today was my free day LOL!!!). 


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Today I just want to be thankful for these things:

- For this breath that I still have. The gift of life. 

- My husband. When I was preparing to marry him, I thought that I was sure that he was the one for me. What I knew then deep down in my heart versus what I know now shows me that my choice was right - my faith in us back then was blind, but now I've seen the proofs and what I see is far more beautiful than what I could have known then. The longer I live with him, the surer I am that he is definitely the one for me and the more thankful I am to have him by my side. Just by being himself, he makes me feel like I'm the best version of myself. He helps me be the best version of myself. And it helps a lot to be accepted and loved just the way I am - even when I'm cranky, even when I make mistakes, even when I'm obsessed with some things, even when I'm having my PMS. 

Honey, marrying you is one of the BEST decisions ever in my entire life. Each day spent with you is a day full of fun, laughter, love, and tenderness. I just hope and pray that God will keep us hand-in-hand and heart-to-heart until death do us part - and I hope that He will give us plenty of time together still on earth because I want to grow old and I want to grow together with you. I cherish you and I still want you even after all these years.

- My parents. For letting me make my own mistakes, for trusting me to make my own decisions, for never nagging me to come visit, for never making me feel guilty for anything (either deliberately or not), for loving me without choking the life out of me, for letting me be my own person and letting me choose my own path.

- My mother-in-law. Thank you for accepting me into the family with such warmth and love, for teaching me things tenderly and patiently, for never criticizing me, for supporting me and for your constant appreciation. I couldn't have asked for a better mother-in-law.

- Friends - old ones, new ones, online friends. I'd especially like to thank my blogger friends and new online friends here. Even though most of us have never met, but you've supported me and showed me your love and compassion and I'm very thankful for that. And all the friends I've met either online or in real life have taught me so many things and inspired me in many different ways.

- My boss and coworkers. Thankful that I'm accepted in the team without being treated differently, that I still have a job despite the tough economy. 

- My kind customers. I've talked to some people about this and they all confirmed that there are so many nice and kind customers here in this village and I'm thankful for that. When I first started work, I made so many mistakes, but none of them said anything harsh to me. They reminded me of my mistakes tenderly and over time they've forgiven my other mistakes and they have also shown appreciation towards me and I'm forever grateful for that. 

- Infertility. Infertility has taught me so many things that I wouldn't have learned otherwise and it has also allowed me to meet so many lovely ladies that I wouldn't have met otherwise. I'm thankful for the many lessons and the gift of new friends that infertility brings. 


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OK, now I've finished the list, so it's time to enjoy my mud cake topped with berries. :-D 

Training Trip

The other day my coworkers and I were sent to a city to have some training. It was two day training, so we had to stay overnight in a hotel. My first trip with my coworkers that included an overnight stay in a hotel. The first day was an evening shift whereas the second day was a morning shift. One funny thing happened on the second day. I was walking ahead of my coworkers towards the front door of the store where we had the training the day before and the girl who was standing behind the door looked confused to see us. I had a big backpack 'coz we had checked out of the hotel already and she probably thought I was a crazy tourist or something LOL!!!

She waved one hand to show that the store wasn't open yet, then she opened the door when I kept on walking towards her and she said in Finnish, "We're not open yet."

I explained to her why we were there and she smiled apologetically. She wasn't there the day before, though, so it was only normal that she had no idea that we were coming there that day HA HA HA HA...



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After the training, I had a chance to meet my friend at her new place, so it was all good. She cooked a great dinner for me and then she drove me to the bus stop. It was already around 8 pm by then but the sun was shining low on the sky and it was shining right at us. VERY warm and nice! I was glad it wasn't raining 'coz the weather report said it would rain when I checked it a few days beforehand. 

Anyway, the trainer was excellent, but I wasn't sure how well I was doing considering it was all done in Finnish and there were just LOADS and LOADS of new pieces of information to absorb and remember. While waiting for my friend to pick me up, I managed to write down a list of the most important things to remember so that I had something to hold on to before the real practice day came. We also had some practice during training and I felt a bit all over the place to be honest.

However, today I went to work just to buy some stuff and then my boss was there and he told me that the trainer was pleased with my effort during the training. I was really surprised and TOUCHED!!! (I remembered to thank him). I was surprised 'coz I didn't even ask how I was doing, but it was nice of him to let me know verbally anyway.

You see, being the only foreigner in the group, I do rely perhaps more heavily on other people's feedback to figure out whether I've performed well enough in my tasks, esp. when I'm doing something I never did before in the past (because I want to make sure I understand fully what I'm supposed to do and what they're expecting from me). I'm VERY thankful that my coworkers and boss don't treat me differently and they treat me as well as the other coworkers. I'm also VERY thankful to hear any type of feedback so that I know whether what I'm doing is right or wrong.

Anyway, I hope you'll all have a blessed weekend ahead! I surely will enjoy mine fully! :-D


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3BT: Random Days

1. Having to wear a uniform to work (the top and jacket provided by work) and not having to wonder about what to wear. Only need to invest on dark-coloured pants (no need to wear any skirt 'coz it's just not practical for my kind of work - a treat for a tomboy like me!).

2. Hubby's "sunbathing" sleeping pose. Sometimes I go to bed later than he does and then I get to see him lie on his back with both hands under his head. SO CUTE!!!!

3. Scratching hubby's head (giving him a sort of gentle head massage) and hearing him "purr" in delight ha ha ha...


4. Dealing with a past "ghost" once and for all and facing it face forward without shoving it to the back of my mind anymore.

5. Realizing even more now how perfect the timing of FIL's passing, because it coincided with BIL's and my holiday, so I could spend more time with MIL without any distraction during the first week, which was probably the toughest for her.

6. My boss and coworkers who don't treat me differently because I'm a foreigner. I'm VERY THANKFUL for this.

7. My period is finally here, so I can say goodbye to my mellow mood earlier due to PMS HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...

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8. Watching these talented kids and thinking how much time they must've spent practicing. I salute them and wish them a beautiful future.

Back from Silence

Been busy with so many different things, so haven't been able to blog or blog-hop. First of all, had a company party until late at night with another group of people from another branch and of course I was the only foreigner in the bunch ha ha...But it went very well and I realized even more that these days I could manage those kinds of group gatherings better than in the past. I remember how overwhelming it was in the past 'coz my vocabulary was so much more limited. Of course it also helped that I had known my own coworkers for a while, so I felt more at ease with them as well. We laughed so much that my cheeks got sore he he he...and I managed to talk more to some coworkers of mine there 'coz usually at work we don't really have much time to chit-chat. 

In between the party I had work as well as a test, so before and after the party I had to study the materials. I had to take the test in Rovaniemi, but thankful that another coworker had to go there with me, so we could go together. It was fun getting a ride from her 'coz during the trip we also talked about so many different things that we never got to talk about at work. :-D

I was a bit worried about the test, but it went very well (THANK GOD). The thing is, I would have felt bad if I hadn't passed because the company had paid me to take the test and I needed to pass it so that I could learn something else at work. Without the certificate, I wouldn't be able to do the new task that would be available at work later on. So my coworker and I were both relieved that we had passed the test. :-D After this we'll have more things to learn at work, because the test only comprised of theories, but the practice will come later.

There have been again heart-warming situations at work when my regular customers wondered where I had been and said that they had missed me. One or two of them even joked that their days were "complete" now that they had seen me at work LOL!!! BLESS THEM!!! THANK GOD for sense of humour!

However, I felt a bit uneasy when one customer (don't actually remember this one particularly as this one was not quite old yet) asked me where I had been and then I heard this customer say to me, "Yeah, here in this little village everybody's being watched because they want to know who's leaving." (rough translation of what the customer said)

That very second I just had this eerie feeling as if the government had sent spies to watch my whereabouts ha ha ha ha...Too many movie watching!!! LOL!!!

Anyway, I saw this one on FB and it's SO good that I just have to share!!! I'm gonna blog more about the Rome trip later. Take care, folks!

Limitations

When I first started working in my current workplace, I was really unsure about my ability. The only thing that made me even think of sending an application there was the words someone said to me. She said she believed I was ready to work in a place like that. She was helping us at the Finnish course. She taught us how to send applications, how to make a CV in Finnish and how to find jobs online and things like that. Without her encouragement, I don't think I would have found the courage to send the application letter. :-D

Another thing I was unsure about was the fact that I wasn't a people person and I had zero experience in the field. Would I survive in that kind of environment? On the other hand, I wanted to be able to use my Finnish actively so that it wouldn't get rusty. The first few months in my current workplace were rough. I was really wondering whether or not I should continue. I wasn't even sure that they'd renew my contract (the first contract was only for 3 months). After getting the permanent job contract, I was thinking that I would only be able to continue working in this kind of place for 2 years max. Seriously.

Until I started getting to know the workplace, my workload, and the product range better. Until some customers started giving me feedback that made me believe that this was/is the right place for me (that's why I'm forever grateful to all those people who've given me verbal feedback and words of encouragement because they're God's angels on earth). 

I knew my limitations from the start. Other than the language, one other limit is my height (I'm only 145 cm). There are some things that my taller coworkers can do better and faster than me. And because they're native Finns, naturally they're able to explain things better pronto (compared to myself who needs more time to think of a way to explain things that I've never encountered before). And if a new problem occurs, they know better whom to call and what to do and how to explain it to the customers or the boss.


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In the beginning, whenever someone asked me a question that I couldn't answer, I always called my coworker to help out. Over the past 2 years and 4 months I've learnt to pick up words and phrases from my coworkers and customers and that's helped me respond more "automatically" in similar circumstances. As to my height, there's nothing I can do about it, but at least there's a stool at work that I can use whenever I need it. :-D 

Luckily the coworkers and bosses I've met and worked with have been nice and fair people. They've never treated me differently despite the fact that sometimes when they talk so fast, I still ask them to repeat the words to me. There are still some occasions when I also need my customers to explain what they need from me, especially if they use strange words that I'm not familiar with, but at least my face helps make them understand that I'm a foreigner and that they may need to use more "regular" words and even body language when they talk to me. 

Having worked in this kind of place for the first time in my life makes me realize even more that one cannot please everyone. I still make mistakes every now and then, though I try to minimize them. Some customers may feel more satisfied than others, some may be more willing to forgive than others, but it's a wonderful journey to learn to forgive myself, too. To let go of my mistakes instead of dragging them like balls of chain on my ankles. To focus more on what I can do and to try finding ways to work more efficiently and to be more sensitive towards my customers' needs as best as I can. 

After all, this is a gift/opportunity that God has entrusted to me in such a miraculous way. If He hadn't slammed other doors right in front of me back in 2010 (that had caused some depression for a while), I wouldn't have bothered to try looking for real jobs. Instead, I would have been "satisfied" being in my comfort zone where I wouldn't have learnt all these lessons. THANK YOU, Lord, for everything!!!  


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3BT: Random Days

1. Hearing this conversation between a 4-year-old and a 5-year-old while they were flipping over the pages of a toy brochure:

5yo: "I want this kind of toy."
4yo: "Me too! I also want it, too."
5yo: "But I said it first!"
4yo: "But anyone can buy it from the store."
5yo went silent after that...

LOLLLLL!!! GREAT argument, 4-year-old! :-D

2. Having a one-on-one conversation with a 5,5-year-old boy and we had great fun. It was great that he responded to me well and he even gave me elaborated answers and he showed me the kinds of things he could do.


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3. R2's birthday present is ready - actually several small, inexpensive gifts and today I found the rest of them while browsing in a store. All I need to do now is wrap them in one package and put it somewhere where R2 can see so that he'll be CURIOUS HA HA...(P.S. His bday is March 20th).

4. We've booked the final plane tickets and a hotel for our 7-day trip to Crete next month and I've also told my boss and the unemployment office about this, so all we need to do is pack and leave next month HO HO HO HO HO...

5. Planning to eat some cappuccino ice-cream later this evening - after I cleaned up some snow from the yard (yes, it snowed again today for a while) and I also did some Taebo, though not too rigorously.



6. Enjoying my training and being with the kids and getting to know them.

7. I've been pretty successful in battling negative, criticizing thoughts and being my own best friend and life couldn't be better! :-D

8. I've finished reading the third Finnish novel and now I have to choose another book to read. WHOOOPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

9. I still have a stack of Finnish novels/books to read 'coz weeks ago I found cheap ones at the library and also at the flea market HO HO HO HO HO...LOVELY!!!

10. Having a hubby whom I can give a massage to after he cleared up plenty of snow from the roof and he was experiencing some back pain.



11. Having wonderful coworkers who guide me gently and who set good examples for me to copy ('coz sometimes I don't know how to handle a situation).

12. Having a smart, thoughtful, and loving MIL. She gave me some baking tips and then she said, "I hope you're not angry that I'm giving you tips. I'm sure you'll be an excellent cook/baker after you do lots of experiments."

13. A bottle of pine tree smell for sauna that I bought. I LOVE its smell while we have sauna. :-D

Problems Arising

I just realized some problems I'm starting to experience at work. Although it IS more fun to have plenty of coworkers and we can talk about anything during our break, but here are some basic problems that I've encountered lately compared to my two other training places:

1. If there are more than 2 other people on the table during the break (sometimes there can be 5 of them!) and they start talking about many topics, if I REALLY want to follow the conversation well, I don't have much time to start formulating my responses. Why? Because if I start thinking about my responses (especially if they're long ones), I'll LOSE TRACK of the rest of the conversation.

Thus I resort to focusing on the conversation and I end up just smiling or nodding or showing the right mimic and blurting out short phrases. So I've become a passive listener instead of being an active participant of the conversation.

This problem is not as bad if there's only one other person with me or maximum two other people with me.

2. If I don't understand some words (which happen regularly since they talk about LOTS of stuff and my vocabulary is still limited - plus in normal conversations people sometimes use the slang words), I feel bad if I keep on asking as I'll ruin the flow of the conversation. ---> I'm pretty sure they won't mind if I ask them, but it just doesn't feel okay to ask all the time EVERY single day, every single break we have...

Thus I only try to guess - sometimes I guess well, sometimes I just don't have a clue of what they're talking about. Sometimes I can remember the word or phrase that I don't know so that I can ask R2 about it when I get back home or I can look it up in the dictionary, but most of the time I don't remember anymore as the conversation shifts to other topics.

This problem can be eliminated if I only talk to ONE other person, since then if I don't understand, we won't be able to carry a conversation, right? So either I have to ask or pretend that I understand hi hi hi hi...I don't mind asking if it's a one-on-one conversation since it's pretty easy to do.

3. More often than not, after our break is over, I start formulating my responses to whatever they have talked about during the break, but then once I know what to say, it's already too late to say it to them, right? It's kinda crazy, but I'm still in this phase of learning this language.

Okay, I just thought I should write these down here to remind myself about this. I'll blog-hop later, OK? I'm so sleepy he he he...