Irony

Just read this story from this site and I thought it'd be good to share it with you:

A young investor stood looking out into the cool Gulf waters on the end of pier in a small coastal Mexican village. Having spent the last several months working hard toward gaining his securities license, he left for a few days of sun-soaked pleasure in Western Mexico. As the sun sank into the pale horizon,he a single fisherman docked his boat along the far side of the pier. The young Wall Street banker walked over to the boat and saw several large yellow fin tuna gasping for air. The young executive complimented the tanned fisherman, a wise-eyed, weathered man, on the quality of his fish and asked how long it had taken to bring in the catch.

“Not long at all,” the fisherman replied.

“Well, why not stay out longer and catch more fish?” the young New Yorker asked smiling.

“I have enough for today,” said the fisherman, “this is what I need to feed my family.”

“What do you do with the rest of your time?” the young man asked curiously.

“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria, and stroll into the village each evening where I enjoy some wine and laughter with friends. It’s a full and happy life,” the fisherman replied.

“Well, I'm a Harvard MBA and have just completed my investment securities training. I could help you. You could spend more time fishing and with the proceeds from the larger catch, buy a bigger boat. Then you could catch even more fish. With those profits you could buy several more boats and hire captains to fish for you, and eventually you could open your own cannery. Then you would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal village and move to Mexico City or LA or even New York where you could run your expanding enterprise.”

“How long would that all take?” asked the somewhat bewildered fisherman.

“Fifteen, maybe twenty years, max.”

“But then what?”

“Well, when the time was right, you could announce your IPO, sell your company stock to the public, and become very rich. You could be worth millions,” retorted the proud young investor.

“Millions? Then what?”

“Then you could retire and move to a small coastal village like this one where you could sleep late, fish a little in the morning, play with your grandkids, take a siesta, and enjoy wine and music with your friends in the evening.“

The fisherman grinned, tipped his hat at the young advisor, and shook his head as he walked off the pier without a reply.

When The Student's Ready, The Teacher'll Appear

I can't believe this. Lately I've been struggling with some personal issues and I've been praying for answers. The funny thing is, I guess when you're really ready to get the answers, you'll find them EVERYWHERE, even in other people's blogs. This is just AMAZING!!! I'm really thankful for getting answers and I'm not getting them only once, but repeatedly. It feels GOOD to know that I'm getting the kind of encouragement that I truly need.

I'll write more later on. I have some stories to tell about my weekend he he he he...

Btw, here's the answer I got today and I THANK GOD for all His encouraging words:

Rabbi Harold Kushner writes, "I have seen weak people become strong, timid people become brave, selfish people become generous. I have seen people care for their elderly parents, for brain damaged children, for spouses in wheelchairs, for years, even decades, and I have asked myself, where do people get the strength to keep doing that for so long? Where do they get the resources of love and loyalty to keep going? The only answer I come up with is when we are weary and out of strength, we turn to God and God renews our strength, so we can run and not grow weary, so that we can walk and not feel faint." (Ron Newhouse)

Have You Read This?

World's Best Places to Live

Finland comes first in the poll. Interesting!!! However, I don't think that most people here truly appreciate what they have, especially if they haven't travelled much in their lifetime. My friend Michelle (a British lady who's lived here with her family for 3.5 years) shared the same sentiment.

For example, when I first visited my husband (then boyfriend) in Kemi, he complained about the traffic. By traffic, it means in an intersection there are only about 10-12 cars in total. After he visited Indonesia, he had stopped complaining about the traffic he he he he...Nothing compares to the traffic jams in Indonesia!!! Oh well...I guess that's why they say that travelling broadens the mind. ;-D

By the way, there's also another article in case you're interested:

Best Country to Retire

Hannibal Rising

Anybody seen this movie? I was at first a bit skeptical about the actor who'd play as young Hannibal Lecter, Gaspard Ulliel. I thought that Anthony Hopkins was PERFECT as old Hannibal Lecter. I always remember how he pronounced Jodie Foster's character's name, "Clarice" with a crazed look on his face. However, turned out that Gaspard managed to impress me. I think he was WONDERFUL as young Hannibal Lecter. ;-D

I don't know why I like horror movies, but I've always liked them. My hubby loves them, too, so we do watch them a lot at home he he he...I like thrillers or ghost stories or even bloody scenes. My fave horror movies are Saw Trilogy and The Ring Trilogy (the original Japanese versions).

My Dad used to say, "What's the use of watching movies that could scare you?" He he he he...Oh well...

Anybody here a horror movie fan, as well? Well, here's the link to the movie: Hannibal Rising.

More Autumn Pics

Yesterday I walked around downtown and went as far as the river as it was a sunny day (though it was only 7'C). I also took a short video clip of the river and its surroundings. Finland is a land of thousands of lakes. You can find lots of bodies of water anywhere (lake, pond, river, you name it!). OK, without further ado, here are the pics. ENJOY them!!!









The above pic looked like I was in some forest, right? But I wasn't he he he...This place is right on the left side of the row of trees with yellow leaves. ;-D

Two pics below are the pics of the river in Sodankylä. The pics don't do justice to the real thing. I think you may see it a bit better in the video clip below he he he...









For some reason I fell in love with this row of green trees in front of my neighbour's house. They're just so PERFECT in my opinion as a "fence", don't you think so? I had to take the pic pretty fast 'coz the house right in front of this one had a big lawn and the dogs kept on barking on me while I stood in front of it to take this pic. YARGH!!! He he he he he...

OK, last but not least, the video clip:

3BT: September 20, 2007

1. Talking to my Mom via Skype and hearing her laugh. Listening to her stories again made me feel OH, SO VERY VERY GOOD! ;-D I LOVE listening to her stories he he he...

2. Seeing the fallen leaves dance with the wind. It was a BEAUTIFUL dance!!!

3. Receiving some pics of my Mom and relatives from my cousin. My Mom went to a wedding party of her uncle or something in Jakarta with her sisters and brother and my cousin. She said they had a WONDERFUL time as she spent a night at her niece's place and they dined out together. Here's the pic. (Since my family don't have a digital camera, this is the first time I've seen my Mom's pic since I left Indonesia!!!!)




Left to Right: Mom's eldest sister, Mom (the shortest), Mom's second eldest sister and her daughter (my cousin). I MISS THEM ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4. Imagining the taste of berry yoghurt. I just bought some HE HE HE HE...YUM YUM!!! ;-D

Basic Finnish Course

It seems that on my course days I'll be lagging behind in posting or visiting my blog friends, especially when I have to clean up our place and cook on one of those days he he he...Now let me tell you about the course.

First of all, the teacher has actually never been teaching Finnish for foreigners before, but she's been pretty attentive to each of our abilities. She's a teacher and her husband is the headmaster of one of the two schools we have here. She has been teaching English, Swedish, and German and she knows some Russian, too. Geez!!! I was stunned he he he he...

Here are the students at the course:

1. Marischka (I'm not sure how it's spelled), an Estonian woman. She's VERY advanced compared to the rest of us. She doesn't speak much English, though. I think she's gonna be a bit bored a lot for some time he he he...

2. My only friend here in Sodankylä, Michelle. She was from Bournemouth, England and she moved to Finland 3,5 years ago. I can understand when she speaks Finnish 'coz she speaks slowly and she uses mostly the words I've memorized.

3. Her husband Mark. His Finnish is better than mine, but worse than Michelle. His problem is in understanding when other people speak Finnish.

4. Her eldest son Liam. He's already studying at school, but I think his Finnish needs to be improved. Just like me, he's shy and he doesn't like making mistakes, so both of us know lots of words already (esp. him) but we don't often practise talking. His younger brother is an outgoing type, so his Finnish is far better than his. I think Liam's Finnish might be as good as the Estonian lady's.

5. Sally, Michelle's friend. She's a teacher at one of the schools here (she's also British, came from Warwickshire?). She's pregnant and she's due in December. Btw, our course ends in the beginning of December. She's been living here for about 3 years, as well. I think her Finnish is slightly better than Michelle's.

6. Dascha (I don't know if that's the correct spelling), a Russian girl who's also pregnant. She's due in November. She's also been living here for about 3 years, as well. Her Finnish may be slightly better than mine, but it seemed she was having a hard time expressing herself, too.

Yesterday the teacher made us describe ourselves using some adjectives. Based on that, I can see already that I'm the worst compared to them. I'm SO SO SO SO SO glad that the course starts only after I've been here for 6 months, 'coz then at least I get a chance to memorize lots of words already, even though my Finnish is still pretty basic. I don't want to hold the class back, so I think I'm the one who needs to pick up my pace and study A LOT. The others could already express themselves more than me, especially the Estonian lady. I couldn't understand HALF of what she was saying, especially if she talked too fast he he he he...

Funny thing was that when I said, "Olen kotiäiti" (meaning I am a housewife), the teacher then asked me if I had kids already. I said no. She said that in Finnish, kotiäiti usually means a wife who's got kids already, so probably I should've said "kotirouva". Interesting!!!! In English, as far as I know, a housewife doesn't need to have kids, right? If you want to state that you have kids already and you're not working outside the house, then you'll title yourself stay-at-home Mom (SAHM). Isn't that true? Now tell me if I'm wrong, but that's what I have in mind when I hear the word "housewife" in English.

Hmmm...wait a minute!!! Koti means home, whereas äiti means mother. Probably that's why kotiäiti generally means a mother who doesn't work outside the house!!! Yes!!!

Anyway, kotiäiti is pronounced this way: /kotiæiti/

During the first lesson, Michelle asked what the Finnish word for "a statue" was. The teacher said, "Patsas" ----> pronounced /p۸ts۸s/. Then the Estonian lady started to laugh and explained it to the teacher. Turned out that in Estonian language, the word "patsas" means "poop". Oh dear!!!!! Languages can be SO funny he he he he he...

Some of you have asked me to teach you some Finnish phrases. Maybe I should start by introducing these basic sentences:

1. Nimeni on ..... (My name is ....) -----> pronounced /nimeni on/

2. Anteeksi. (Excuse me) -----> pronounced /۸nte:ksi/

3. En puhu suomea. (I don't speak Finnish) -----> pronounced /en puhu suome۸/

*** So if you come to Finland and somebody tries to talk to you in Finnish, you can say to that person, "Anteeksi, en puhu suomea."

*** Pronunciation of Finnish alphabet is more similar to Indonesian than English. It's rather hard for me to explain how to sounds are like, but if you're interested in listening to a recorded basic pronunciation guide, visit this site: Tavataan Taas.

4. Some swear words or curses HI HI HI HI HI...You'll definitely hear some of these over here, especially the first one!

a. Perkele! /perkele/ = The Devil!
b. Pahus! /p۸hus/ = Damn it!
c. Paskiainen! /p۸ski۸inen/ = Bastard or Asshole.

5. Kiitos /ki:tos/ = thank you.
Kiitos paljon /ki:tos p۸lyon/ = thank you very much.

6. Mitä kuuluu? /mitæ ku:lu:/ = How are you?

7. The answer to the above question is: Kiitos, hyvää /ki:tos huvæ:/ = Fine, thank you.

*** (Actually there's a specific way to pronounced "y" in Finnish. Again it's tough for me to explain it but in my book it goes like this:

y is pronounced as in French bureau, but more open.

8. Oh, almost forgot...over here when we meet one another, we say: "Hei" /hei/ or "Terve" /terve/ or "Moi" /moi/. When we are parting, we can say "Hei hei" or "Heippa" /heippæ/ (when there're double consonants, you have to say them a bit longer as well).

OK, I guess that's all for now. Earlier I called my Mom and it was GREAT talking to her again. My brother's wedding preparation seems to be going fine. My Dad's also gained more weight and getting healthier. The first few times I called (I can only afford to call them once a month), Mom cried at the end of each phone call, but nowadays I can hear her smile and that makes me SO relieved and happy. ;-D

Today's a sunny day so I may go out to take a walk and take some pics he he he he he...YIIIIIIIIHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! ;-D Have a GREAT day, everybody!!!

P.S. An anonymous person just gave me a link in the comment section of one of my earlier posts concerning POLTTIAINEN. Turned out that in English it's called a midge. Here's the link: midge. THANKS A LOT, anonymous!!!!! ;-D

What Do You Think of This Story?

World's Oldest Man Turns 112

Hmmm...personally I don't want to live THAT long. A friend of mine who lives in Japan (she married a Japanese guy) was elated to hear that the government had raised child's benefit this year since the birthrate in Japan has been so low these days. She said that her husband's grandfather was still alive and well and was still working. WOW!!! Unbelievable!!!

Personally I also think that the Japanese are VERY creative. I grew up watching their anime and reading their manga. They're AWESOME people he he he he...

P.S. The basic Finnish course went SO well. The teacher seemed to be very attentive to each of our abilities. I think I'm gonna have fun in this class. Plus I get to meet my only British friend here. She enrolled in the course with her husband and eldest son. There were also some other ladies in the class. Two of them are pretty heavily pregnant, by the way!!! Tomorrow's the next class and I'm looking forward to it. Maybe I should bring a camera with me so that I can take a picture of the school and the classroom. We'll see!!! ;-D Good news is that there might be a continuation course next spring. YAAAAAAAAAYYYY!!!! I pray and HOPE that there'll be one!!! ;-D

Random Babblings

1. On Laughter.

The best kind of laughter for me is the laughter that makes you almost pee in your pants. The kind of laughter that continues to roll and roll and roll like the waves that keep on breaking on a beach. You're dead tired, yet for some reason you just can't stop laughing. It feels good and uncomfortable at the same time. You keep on laughing while holding your stomach and your jaw is hurting and you truly want to stop, yet at the same time you're addicted to that kind of glee. That's one of the best memories I have of my parents, anyway. When they laughed together just like that! It makes me happy to see them happy. What's your best kind of laughter? What memories does your mind conjure in your head when you read the word "laughter?


2. THANKS A LOT TO Fish for this award:



3. This evening I'm going to start my first basic Finnish course. Funnily enough, the venue changed to a school nearer my apt. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!!! I was a bit sad when I learnt where the venue was going to be, since it'd be about 30 minutes on foot from my apt. I sure hope I'm gonna get TONZ of homework since I need lots of practise he he he he...


4. Have you taken things too seriously? Sometimes I do that, though I don't really want to be that way. It's one trait of mine that I should continue to try to conquer.

How about second-guessing other people's words? I do that, too. Sometimes I don't know if I do that because I REALLY think I know the person very well or because I have my own issues concerning some things (or because of both reasons).

For example: the other month a friend of mine (let's just call her Bee) had complained about her gaining weight. She had never been fat and even by gaining a few kilos, she was NOT fat at all by any standard. She also told us that everybody had been telling her that she was cute, but nobody except her hubby had told her that she was beautiful. She said that being told that she was cute was a bit like being compared to a Teddy Bear.

Well, another friend of mine (let's call her Red) and I who had some issues with our weights and looks thought of her "complaints" as an alert blaring in front of us, so we tried OUR BEST to make her love herself no matter what. We just kept on teaming up to make sure that she would feel good and beautiful about herself even before she lost the weight she had gained.

You know what happened? Turned out that Bee wasn't actually having a self-confidence issue. It was just a normal complaint, nothing more. She said she wanted to lose the weight she had gained since her jeans and pants became a bit too tight for comfort. Bee didn't understand why we reacted that strongly against her complaints. She said that she didn't mind being a regular-looking girl that everybody thought of as "cute" instead of "beautiful". Only then Red and I realized that we reacted that way since we both had had issues about those things in the past.

I also don't know if I second-guess other people's motives because there's a "devil" inside me or not (by "devil", I mean the cartoonish figure of a devil and an angel sitting on different shoulders of mine). I also think that maybe sometimes I second-guess other people's motives if I think they are WAY too competitive, so when they praise me, they make me feel uncomfortable. Other than that, I also think that sometimes I do that because I know that humans (including me) are capable of having different motives rolled in one. Don't you just hate it when you're sincere about something, but then the cartoonish "devil" starts to whisper some other motive in your ear? Then you feel "tainted" and you'll end up trying to get rid of that voice. Have you ever experienced something like that?

Maybe disappointment and anger could be other factors, too. When you're disappointed and angry, you start to think cynically that other people can't possibly care enough about you, so whenever they say something, the "devil" and "angel" appear and have a debate. I hate it when it happens!!!

However, what if once in a blue moon your subconscious can truly pick up someone else's vibes strongly enough to discern the hidden motives? What if? Ummm...this is truly a rambling topic he he he...

40th Birthday Party

So, as you guys know by now, last Saturday I went to my hubby's cousin 40th birthday party. I didn't know what to expect since I never went to such a party before. This cousin is actually my hubby's best friend, as well. They're also gaming buddies. Sometimes they have guys' gaming night either here or in his place (they'd play computer games till early morning).

Anyway, the birthday plan was at first like this:

3 - 6 pm : Party at his house. Snacks and drinks are provided.
6 pm onward: Sauna at the army cabin. (I didn't even know what kind of place that was!!!)
Late at night : Go to bar together.

My hubby and I walked to his place bringing a bottle of liquor as a present and a backpack filled with two towels and some liquid soap and shampoo. When we got to his place, we were the first two guests coming even thought it was already around 3.20 pm. His girlfriend was preparing the table and getting everything ready. Then she said that the girls weren't going to have a sauna at the army place, so she asked if I still wanted to have a sauna. I said yes, thinking that I had brought the towel and everything and I loved going to sauna anyway. So I was at first thinking, "What?!?!?! I'm going to the sauna ALONE??? ........ OK, but maybe that's good since then I'll have the whole sauna for myself."

After some time, some more guests came (more relatives) and the girlfriend said that I could have a sauna in her house instead with another girl named Pia. I didn't even know her hi hi hi...but I thought, "OK, at least now I'm gonna have a company. I just hope she'd talk to me in English." So not long after that we went to the sauna together. Turned out that Pia was the girlfriend's niece, though she was actually two years older than her aunt he he he he...Confused? Well, they have a big family. Pia's mother is the eldest of 8 siblings, whereas the girlfriend's the 6th kid out of 8, so there's a big age gap between them. Pia was pretty talkative, so that helped me A LOT since I didn't have to think of topics to start the conversation going he he he...We talked about regular stuff, mostly just getting to know each other. ;-D

After sauna, I dried my hair upstairs and then I came down to eat since I was SO hungry already. Here's a pic of the table and the snacks they served:




See the liquor bottle next to the jar of water? That's our gift for my hubby's cousin he he he...Besides all these, they also served cake. MMMMM...YUMMY!!!

Not long after that, the group of relatives went home and more guests started coming. They were mostly the birthday boy's friends. They talked to each other and sometimes one of them talked to me or teased me HA HA HA HA...Yeah, one of them kept on saying to me, "Beautiful smile. Beautiful girl." It's hard to know what to say when someone says that to you over and over again in one minute. It made me kinda awkward, though I appreciated his sentiment.

Since the girls weren't going to the sauna, the guys went there ahead of us. Turned out that the girls got busy preparing for more food to bring to the army place (which turned out to be a rented cabin). They got busy preparing some macaroni with tuna and slices of tomatoes and cucumbers, salad sauce, and they packed the rest of the food on the table to bring with them. I mostly just watched as they were talking in Finnish and I didn't even know what to do. I was afraid I'd be in the way of the whole process since everything was different from the parties back in Indo.

Soon after we finished preparing the food, we took a taxi to the army place. The taxi was big enough for 9 people (besides the driver) and it was so clean and there was this big skylight on top. When the girls were talking about how lovely the taxi was, the taxi driver turned on the light around the big skylight (neon green). COOL, isn't it? ;-D

When we arrived at the army place, it turned out to be a big cabin overlooking a river. There were steps down to get to the river. There was a big living-room/dining table in the main room along with a big fireplace. There was also a small kitchen complete with a sink and a fridge so we could store the drinks there. There was also a big sauna (enough for 15 people) and a shower room and a toilet.

We girls began to set the table with food and forks and stuff while some of the guys were still inside the sauna and some others were skinny dipping in the river. BRRRRRR!!! It was only around 7'C outside so you could imagine how cold it was. Here's a video clip of the river and the cabin (notice the smoke billowing from the chimney):





The girls began to eat the macaroni. Some of the guys had finally had enough of sauna and skinny dipping (they brought a towel to the "dock" but they went in the water naked). To those of you with dirty minds, of course we weren't even watching them!!!!!!! ;-D

So basically we were just talking and having fun and eating and drinking in the cabin. I only drank water or light cider as usual, though one of the girls (the birthday boy's friend) tried to persuade me to taste wine and other alcoholic drinks hi hi hi hi...

I got to talk to some of the girls, so that was nice, as well. The birthday boy sat next to me at one time and he said that he was happy to have me there. He said that he was my hubby's best friend, so he wanted me to join them, too. He said that he was surprised about our marriage since my hubby didn't even tell him about the plan even though they were best friends. But he understood that my hubby was a very private and a bit shy man. I told him that I had persuaded him to tell everybody about the wedding plan, but he wouldn't budge. Do you know that he only told his own mother about the wedding A DAY before the D-day? I was so glad his mother didn't get mad at me or him he he he...Anyway, the birthday boy also said that he liked me 'coz now he could see how I had made my hubby happy. Then my hubby, who was sitting right behind me at that time, said right away, "Yep, that's right. You DO make me happy." Darn tipsy guys!!! How could they make me feel SO touched? My hubby's not someone who'd profess his feelings like that. It must've been the alcohol, but still it was a nice moment for me. ;-D

We also brought a tape with us, so we were listening to some music. Some of them started dancing and the birthday boy also danced himself silly while we were laughing at him he he he he he he...After midnight came, we left the place by taxi again. Then we went to the bar to drink and talk some more (yeah, this is the Finnish way of having fun!!!). I got to sit next to one of the guys and we talked a bit about everything. He was into languages and travelling, so he loved practising his English he he he he he...At around 1.30 am I begged my hubby to go home since my eyes felt SO heavy. So finally we walked home, though as usual we stopped on the way to buy some DELICIOUS pepper steak at a nearby kiosk (it was a small building actually, not really a kiosk). Then we ate it and went to sleep. My hubby fell asleep right away after eating (he didn't even bother to brush his teeth) HA HA HA HA HA...

Well, we'll see what happens in 10 years. The birthday boy said that it'd be fun to get together again 10 years from now. He also wanted to make a deal with me. He wanted me to have a kid already in 10 years, so I made that deal with him since I had already been thinking of planning to have a kid in 2-3 years (if God permits us to have a kid then) he he he...

Anyway, one of them told me that years back they only celebrated the BIG 30, 50, 60, 70, 80, and so on. However, lately the BIG 40 has been celebrated as well. All in all, it was a better party than I expected since some of them sometimes translated what the others were talking about for me. I even got to talk to some of them pretty much, so that was pretty satisfying. I went to the party thinking that I'd be left out the whole time, but that wasn't true.

Here are some autumn pics for you. I haven't taken too many pics yet he he he...but I will later on!!!








Almost forgot...we also roasted some sausages in the fireplace. Here's a pic of it:



Here's a pic of me in the porch of the log cabin. Unfortunately the pic isn't too straight since I put my camera on the log in front of me and took a pic using the timer he he he...




And here's a group photo of us: