3BT: Random Days

1. Didn't need to worry about the funeral bouquet after all. Showed them to MIL including the note that we'd write down on the card and she approved them both. She even choked a little when reading the note, so today I ordered it and turned out I only had to pay after the funeral. Ha! 

2. Amazingly HOT HOT HOT days for the past week. It's unbelievable it can be this hot this long at the end of May already. I'm sure it's an exception and it won't happen often, but I'm enjoying it.

3. Riding my bike at full speed and sweating so much even though I only put on a tank top and shorts. YIIIHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!


4. The portable air cooler that we bought last year proved to be even more useful this year for our upstairs bedroom. :-D

5. Rain!!!! After such hot days the rain comes down to quench the trees and grass in our yard - free water YEEEEEEEEEESSS!!!! :-D

6. Excited about going back to work tomorrow with a little hint of nervousness 'coz I hope I remember everything I need to remember hi hi...the brain always works a little more slowly at work when it's just got back from holiday LOL!!!


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7. Found cheap black shoes for the funeral (all of my black shoes are winter boots and all of my summer shoes are sneakers!) as well as a cheap black bolero at huuto.net to accompany my black dress. :-D Now I'm all ready for the funeral! 

8. Thankfully we brought R2's wedding outfit here along with the black shoes, so he doesn't have to buy anything for the funeral.

9. After talking to someone, I realize even more than before that I've met so many nice, supportive people here in Sodankylä and again I'm SO THANKFUL for them and their support.  

10. Skipping lunch and eating ice-cream instead he he he he he he he hehhh...

11. Making watermelon, banana, grape, and blueberry juice. Yummy! :-D
 

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The Answers!!!

Okay, people, here are the answers to the quiz I gave you hi hi hi hi...It seems it's so hard to find him in the first pic, eh? No worries, though. Just for fun hi hi...


Here he issssss...


Some of you found him in this picture he he he...


Ta-daaaaaa...


Today I got a GREAT deal on some books that the library is going to sell out in about 10 days. They're throwing out some old books and since I was there, I could choose which ones I wanted before they sell them for public HUA HA HA HA HA HA...After this training is done and before I find anything else to do, I HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE to read A LOT of Finnish. And considering the prices of books here, I don't want to buy them. So I was VERY HAPPY to be able to buy them at around 50 cents each HUA HA HA HA HA HA...

And another piece of good news is that we're currently trying to compare and contrast the prices of going somewhere on our summer holiday. It all depends on our budget, of course, but it's just EXCITING to think about going somewhere just the two of us. When I told about this to my Mom via SMS, she said, "Yes, yes, go and enjoy your holiday while there're no kids yet!" HUE HE HE HE HE...I LOVE HER for ALWAYS being supportive!!! ;-D

OK, enough rambling...now I'm STARVING. I'm going to blog-hop later since I'll probably take a nap after I eat hi hi hi...

3BT: Random Days

Note: Been busy with many things, so I haven't been able to blog or blog-hop. I'll do it during the weekend, OK?

1. Being given a small project to do at the library. My personal small project. Even though it doesn't involve too much thinking, it takes a while to do and it's gonna be useful to everybody who comes to the library. It feels GOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDD to be able to contribute to the greater good of the society he he he...Come to think of it, working at the library may be my dream job in Finland he he...

2. Having VERY supportive colleagues. They also start asking me questions about myself: how long I've lived here, if I like living here, etc.

3. A colleague brought Vienetta ice-cream to the library, so we ate it together HO HO HO...I should bring something too, later on...to celebrate my b-day he he he...

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4. It's been snowing A LOT these days. I LOVEEEEEEEEE ITTTTTTTTTT!!!!! Fresh snow always looks SO glorious! They glitter under street lights like tiny tiny beads of diamonds...mmmmm...

5. Homemade pepper steak. This conversation happened when R2 got home and I had just finished baking the pepper steak in the oven:

Me: There's some pepper steak and french fries in the oven. Aren't you going to eat?
R2: I'm noooooottt hungggrrryyy...do I have to eat?????
Me: No, I was just saying that I left one piece of pepper steak and some french fries in the oven (I turned it off already, but it was still hot - I just wanted to keep them hot for him just in case he wanted some).
R2: Okaaaayyy...I guess I'll just take a little bit.

He took a small piece of pepper steak and some french fries...and guess what happened? After finishing the portion, he took THE REST and finished IT ALL! HUA HA HA HA HA HA...

Me: I seeeeee...so the guy who said that he wasn't hungry then took a little bit of pepper steak and french fries to taste, and now he suddenly took another portion and finished every little bit of it?????
R2: Yeah, DANG YOU!!! It was because you made it too tasty!!!

LOL LOL LOL!!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH for the compliment, Honey! It feels GOOD to be able to cook something that he likes SO much, though it was my first time trying to make pepper steak. WOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

6. The library manager is such a considerate person. She always pays attention to me and involve me in conversations. She's also a smiley woman. :-)))))

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7. Buying some things for some people HO HO HO HO HO...

8. Planning a "date" night with my Hungarian friend next Friday as R2 will have a small X-mas party with his gaming buddies somewhere. I'm planning to cook some food for her so that she can taste Asian food HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...

How My Parents Raised Us: Education

My parents were never too strict with us when it comes to education. However, they expected us to finish school in a normal period of time since it was costly for them to pay for our education. My Mom kept on saying to us when we were little, "You don't have to get an 8 or 9 for your school reports. As long as you get a 6, then it's fine."

Mind you that in Indo at that time, "blue" marks (safe marks) started from 6 and the highest mark was 9 for school reports of each subject. "Red" marks started from 5 and below. The schools would make the students stay in the same grade if they get red marks for certain subjects, for example Mathematics. However, if the student only got one 5 for a subject that wasn't too crucial, then the school would let him/her go to the upper grade.

One of my closest friends told me that she used to be scared if she went home with a test mark less than 8, since her mother expected her to get high marks all the time. In elementary schools at that time, every one of our test had to be signed by one of our parents to make sure that the parents knew our marks.

I must admit that if I remember correctly, twice I faked my parents' signature since I got bad marks for the tests HI HI HI HI HI HI...

In Junior High School and High School, we didn't have to get our parents' signature for our individual tests, but of course they wanted one of their signatures in our school reports. Reports came either quarterly or every half a year.

In Indonesia, it's "easier" to find a good job in a big company if your university GPA is high enough. Usually recruiting companies ask for a 2,75 GPA (the highest GPA is 4,00 and it means that you ALWAYS get an A for each subject). Some international companies even ask for a 3,00 GPA (meaning that at least your average mark is a B for each subject). You CAN be recruited still even if your GPA is lower than they require as long as you know the boss he he he...

Of course GPA doesn't count much if you want to open your own business. The only problem if you want to open your business is finding the fund to do so he he he...And if you are into doing marketing in some companies (like the insurance company where my Dad worked), then you don't need to worry about your GPA.

Speaking of education, I don't know how it works here in Finland. Everything is SO different from Indonesia. For example: Over here it's a normal thing to do a job training and get some money from the government, whereas in Indonesia it's not possible to do that UNLESS you're accepted as an employee first.

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Back to my parents...I always remember the story that my Mom tells me about my brother. Mom kept on telling us, "I don't like lies. I don't want to be lied to. As long as you're honest with me, I won't be angry, okay?"

That promise "backfired" one day when my brother came to Mom and said, "Mom, don't be angry, okay? I want to tell you something."

Mom said, "Okay, I promise I won't be angry. What is it?"

My brother admitted, "I've got 4 for a test. Here it is."

HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...My Mom COULD NOT be angry since she had promised not to, right? Of course she was surprised, but she calmed herself down and said, "Okay, then that means you need to study even better for the next test. If you can get a good mark for the next test, then your average mark will still be blue instead of red."

One thing I admire about my Mom is how well she understands us. She knows that my brother is "slower" than me in learning things. I think mainly it's because he gets distracted more easily than me. Everybody has different ways of learning things and I'm quite a focused person, so I get things done faster than him.

My parents didn't force my brother to get into a "strict" High School since they knew it would only make him stressed out. So he went to a less strict school and he BLOSSOMED there!!! He found teachers who believed in him and that drove him to study hard!!! ;-D

Additional info: I was sometimes lazy to go to school, so sometimes I told them that I wanted to skip school and I only needed to type the letter of absence myself and ask for their signature to give to the school the next day (they always let me do it) HI HI HI HI HI...But usually I only took a "day off" from school during the semester or year since I didn't want to miss too much as I would have to catch up on everything later on.

I'm really GRATEFUL for my parents for their understanding, support, and hard work for getting us through university. They never forced us to choose a certain direction. I know I haven't always been an easy daughter to deal with (stubborn me!!!) but I can always count on them. I owe them EVERYTHING!!!

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Note to self: I should write them an email to thank them personally. :-)))

3BT: Random Days

1. Hubby got headset for free from one of the computer stores he frequented due to his job and he gave it to me HUE HE HE HE HE HE...

2. Today I found The Undomestic Goddess - Sophia Kinsella on a discount in a bookstore here (they're having summer sale). It was supposed to cost €10.90 but I bought it for only €3.90. WOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I spoke in Finnish there even though I knew one of them spoke perfect English HE HE HE HE...Good practise! ;-D

3. When I walked home, a boy on a bike greeted me and I greeted him back with a smile. Yesterday two boys greeted me, but I was too shocked to greet them back as it all happened too fast he he he...

4. I've begun to see more flowers blooming here and there. Summer's heerrreeeeee!!!

5. I've got a date with my new friend this Friday. Since hubby's going to have a boys' only night out, then I can have this date with her HO HO HO HO HO HO...

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6. God's PERFECT timing. Upon reviewing my past, now I understand more why He wanted me to wait and wait and wait. Some things in the past that were as clear as mud have become crystal clear now and I'm THANKFUL for His open and closed doors and for His temporary blocked doors.

7. Talking to my Mom via Skype again. I always HAVE FUN talking to her, listening to her stories of my relatives so that I know how they're doing these days. ;-D And hearing her say that she'd stock up some of my fave food prior to my visiting Indo made me SO HAPPY HE HE HE HE HE HE...

And the fact that she supported my wish to go to Singapore (if we have enough money) even though that meant that I'd be having less time to be with them meant THE WORLD to me. She's always SO supportive!!!

8. Meeting an old friend in YM and being able to chat with her for a long time. WHOOOPPPEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! I truly missed talking to her as she'd been too busy to catch up via emails, so that was really a WONDERFUL opportunity to catch up with her. ;-D

9. Took a nap for 2,5 hours yesterday. Boy, I definitely needed that!!! Having PMS makes me feel tired so easily. (Unfortunately, just like the image below, I also drool while sleeping LOL LOL LOL!!! But I have no shame in admitting it hi hi hi...)

10. Peace of mind, a nice bed, a nice apartment (albeit slightly dusty due to my laziness HA HA HA HA HA), health, and a funny, wacky, loving husband who ALWAYS makes me laugh (even when he's not trying to do so HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...)