Random Thoughts

1. AAAARRRGGHHH!!! It's SO hard to conquer my wants. There are times I'm tempted to buy some stuff, but I just have to bite my tongue and I have to tell myself, "Do you REALLY need them? Maybe you think you need them, but in the end you'll realize that you just WANT them and that you don't really need them. You'd better save your money for rainy days, you know?"

2. Sometime ago, a friend of mine wrote a post in her blog. She was wondering if positivism or positive thinking really existed. She was curious whether it was just our self-defense. In the end she said she didn't believe in positivism, so she chose to be a realistic person.

I think that positive thinking does exist. It may sometimes start as a form of self-defense, but the more we practise thinking positively, the easier it becomes. It becomes a habit. And if we keep on doing the habit, it'll blend into our character in the long run. There may be times when we are forced to think positively just to survive, but what's wrong with that? I think being realistic IS important, but realism without a positive frame of mind is like accepting your situation without hope for a better tomorrow. At least that's what I think. Any other opinions???

P.S. I just want to share this one as it's SO hilarious: Gender Differences.

Sisu, Sauna, Salmiakki (Guts, Sauna, Salmiac)

It's past midnight already but the sun is still not setting yet. I wonder how it'd feel like to enjoy Midnight Sun during summer and then to have less and less sunshine during the long winter. Oh well...adventure, adventure. ;-D

Why am I writing this blog at such an ungodly hour again? Yep, you got it. Coffee. Today was a holiday so we went to my in-laws' place again and as usual we were served coffee. ;-D

Anyway, there are some things here that I wanna share from my Asian perspective (a non-native who'd lived her ENTIRE life in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia).

1. The air here is very dry. My throat gets dry so easily, so even during the night I keep on feeling thirsty. Apparently the air makes me keep my mouth open during sleep. The result? Every morning when I wake up, my teeth are DRY!!! Maybe someday we'd better buy a humidifier for our bedroom he he...

2. I'm still not used to this late sunset. It makes me unaware of time. I have to keep on glancing at the clock just to make sure I still know what time it is. Maybe during Midnight Sun period, I will be even more confused. LOL!

3. It's funny that you have to actually BUY plastic bags at the grocery store. In Indo, we don't have to buy plastic bags in grocery stores, supermarkets, or even traditional markets. Well, due to inflation, naturally the quality of the plastic bags gets worse and worse there, but still the plastic bags are free.

4. Whenever Finnish people go to private stores, they'd say "hi" to the owners or shopkeepers. When they leave the stores, they also say goodbye. When they are about to pay groceries at the cashier, they also say "hi" and upon leaving the cashier, they also say goodbye. None of this exchange ever happened in Indo.

5. Mother's Day and Father's Day are considered important here (at least that's what I think anyway from the info I gather from TV and elsewhere). It's a good thing. :-))) Unfortunately in Indo, those two days are just like any other day.

6. As Sodankylä's a small town, obviously there are no malls here (as I have posted earlier), so there are only private stores and supermarkets. One of the problems I had at first when I moved here was my bladder! The cold weather and my "small" bladder made me feel uneasy whenever I wanted to go around town on foot longer than 45 minutes. The thing is, the only public toilets I can find downtown are near gas stations and if I'm NOT near gas stations when my bladder's full, I can be in DEEP trouble.

7. Sauna!!! Boy, I LOVE sauna. It makes me relaxed and it's just nice to be able to feel "HOT" on such cold days he he he...

8. Salmiac. Now this is one thing I don't get. I've tried different types of salmiac but until now I STILL don't like it. My hubby keeps on trying to persuade me to try to like it, but na-a-a-ah. When I first visited Finland back in 2004, I brought back home a few small boxes of classic salmiac. My friends tried it and also my family, but most of them didn't like it AT ALL. The only people who liked it back then was my Dad, my Dad's younger sister and her family. I'm amazed at my hubby who can eat salmiac as though it were candy! Tsk tsk tsk...

9. Sisu. Ah...I can't say that I have guts. I'm more of a calculated planner, but I THINK moving to Finland from halfway around the world (and leaving EVERYTHING and EVERYBODY behind) was the most gutsy decision I had ever taken in my entire life.

10. I'm still amazed at how much space there is in this country, especially in the outskirts of small towns or villages. There's one thing I realized recently as well. Remember what I told you about the feeling of being swallowed up by the sky, especially when passing by two vast stretches of open fields on my left and right as we drive by? There are NO hills or mountains (or tall buildings) blocking my view!!! Back in Bandung, where there are SO many mountains surrounding the city (plus LOADS and LOADS of tall buildings huddled up near one another), the sky always seems so narrow, limited, obstructed. Ahhh...I LOVE Bandung, but now I'm enjoying the wide open space that Finland has to offer.

I guess it's time for me to go to sleep he he he...I'll add more later. :-))))

Midnight "Me Time"

Darn coffee kept me awake again (my bad he he...) so let me just spend some time here before I try to go back to sleep again. Sometimes I'm tempted to drink coffee even when I know I shouldn't. It'd be okay if I drink coffee in the morning, but if I drink even only a cup of coffee in the evening, then this is what happens.

Oh well...there are a couple of things that I wanna write down. Just random thoughts, actually.

1. I LOVE the feeling of being SWALLOWED UP by the sky here in Finland. I never felt that way back in Bandung, as I lived with my parents in a small alley where houses' walls stuck together so if there were a fire, then it'd be VERY dangerous. There are no buildings higher than 3 stories in Sodankylä, especially around Kelujärvi (where my in-laws live). There are lots of vast stretches of land there and whenever we drive to and from Kelujärvi, I can see the sky enveloping us and the world really seems unbelievably HUGE.

2. I LOVE sitting on Arttu's lap. If you ever see us like that (probably never as I won't feel comfy showing off affection in front of other people), you'd think of a father and a daughter ha ha...Why? Because I'm only 145 cm, whereas Arttu's 177 cm. Another reason why I love sitting on his lap is because his body is SO MUCH warmer than mine, so if I feel a bit cool or cold, he's like my personal "blanket" he he...

3. A while ago my friends and I were talking about God's ways in our lives. I think that life is mostly like a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book. You know, the kind of book where you get to choose what to do next in some parts (like forks in the paths of our lives), so there are several endings depending on what you choose. I think in most cases, God gives us the freedom to choose, whereas in some cases everything depends on Him.

4. I think I'm luckily enjoying my Mum's "karma". She's a GREAT cook and she loves feeding people (if you ever come to our house in Indo, Mum'll DEFINITELY give you some food). She sells food in the traditional market in Bandung and if there are leftovers, she'd give them away to relatives and neighbours. And now my mother-in-law LOVES giving us food every time we visit them on Saturdays. Well, the good thing about it is that it drives me to experiment on cooking and baking so that I can at least bring something for her to try. :-)))

5. It's GOOD to have dreams and goals in life to boost us, but sometimes having too many wishes (in an obsessive way) can be the source of your sorrow, as well, if you don't seem to get nearer to getting them. Especially if you see people around you and they've actually gotten what you wish for "seemingly" effortlessly.

Okay, enough for tonight. I'll continue again later. :-))) Sweet dreams, everybody!