Searching for an appartment

Trying to find a place where to live is easy if you don't have any money problems. Well I do not have any monetary problems in a way. It's just that I don't want to take too expensive appartment as I might not afford it later. Just little bit panicky at the moment, even though I have plenty of time. One more month to go before I need it :)

BA Strike

You all know how exited I have been about my friend coming over around x-mas. Well now I am not sure if she will be coming or not. This is due to the BA (flight attendant's) strike that might start next week.

Not knowing what is going to happen is very annoying. I have been checking the ba.com like dozen times today, just to see if it has been cancelled. I have asked my friend if she sees from bookings if the flight has been cancelled or not. Well of course they won't say that "Yes, you are going to fly!" if the flight is going on. They just won't say "Sorry, your flight is cancelled". So we have to wait till The day to see if she comes or not.

So everybody, keep your fingers crossed that the strike won't start!

I just love it when...

... Someone who doesn't know anything about computers tries to tell me what to do. *I might be blond, but I am not stupid*

...Someone tells me how to do my work, and doesn't know what I do for living.

...Someone just comes too close to me (to clean the floor, window, etc) and doesn't even ask me to move. *I would be happy to move out of your way, if you only would ask*

...Someone laughs at everything we do. *I really do not think it is polite. I do not laugh when you do something funny... Maybe I should?*

...I have to do these types of lists :))

GRRR

Argh! x zillion.

My souveniers :)

Tour with the girls

On saturday we did the half day tour to Grand Etang, Annandale and Fort Frederick. First we went to Annandale waterfalls. This time there was a bit more water then usually. Also there were three jumpers even though it wasn't a cruise ship day.

Girls swam in the small pond that waterfall made. I didn't swim in it, because the water was sooooooooooooo cold. If you don't believe me, then come here and try it yourself!

After that we went to Grand Etang, where we so not just one but two monkeys :)) I took alot of pictures of them. The girls really liked the monkeys. There usually has not been any monkies while we have been there. I have only seen a monkey there once, when I was there with my dad.

Last stop for the day was Fort Frederick. This time we didn't have as good guide as we did last time. This one just told a bit what you can see, not about history or anything else. Also he just showed that you can go up there and left. Our driver said that the guide should have given us a receipt and also he shouldn't have taken any money from Jouni and me (as we live here).

Rhum Runner ride

On friday we went to a Rhum Runner trip. It was more for the cruise ship passengers, but they took "locals" and hotel visitors as well. They served rum the whole time, even when we were swimming... Not very safe in my opinion, but hey I am not complaining.

I also went to a banana ride with girls :) It was really fun, even though it was a bit more expensive then it would be in Grand Anse Beach. Oh yea, this time we went to more quiet beach. There were people selling stuff with higher prices, so no peace from that. But we were the only tourists there (the two boat fulls of rhum runner tourists).

I would recommend it to all who like rum... But if you do not drink much, there is not much for you to drink. So better have your own bottle of water with you.

After the Rhum Runner, we went to buy food, so we could do some bbqing. :) We went to the girls hotel to bbq as there is a grill. It is available for all the hotel guests. We had a lovely evening, even though Jouni got really, really tired.

Trip to St. George

Today we will take our guests to the capital city, St. George. First we will go to the small fortress and then to the Esplanade Mall. We will probably shop a bit before continueing to walk around the center. Well there is not that much to walk around, so we will be mainly shopping.

I will add a picture of this later ;)

Today they come

In four hours we will leave to the airport. There we probably will have to wait for an hour or so. Hopefully not, but I am not sure if Sonja told them to try to get out of the plane fast. Not that we are in a hurry or anything.

Now we have their names and phone number, so even if we wouldn't recognize each other, we can call each other. :))) I would say that it should be pretty easy to see who are the finns and who are the brits. I wouldn't think that, very many finns are coming here aroung this time of the year.

The other visitors :)

I know that I have been talking about my friend coming over during the christmas time. She is not the only one coming over. Actually I think I have mentioned that we have other visitors coming over quite soon.

They are my aunt's friends. I think I haven't met them before, so I don't know how well we will be getting along. I don't think they know that they are spending time with me and my aunts husband. They will be arriving here next tuesday, so that will be the first time I will see them.

They will be staying here for two weeks. I hope they like the beach, because their hotel is right next to it. Unlike usually, we have not made plans of what we are going to do. This is mainly due to the fact that my aunt is the one talking to them. So we are going to wait untill they are here, to do more specific plans.

It seems a bit funny to me, that I already know what I am going to do with my friend when she comes over. And have know idea when and what we are going to do with the friends of my aunt.

Friend coming over in a month

Yay! I have a friend coming over here in a month or so. Well it is not yet 100% sure as she doesn't have the tickets yet. But it is almost that sure. We have planned to go to Venezuela again :)) Well to Margarita anyway. Hopefully we will be able to do a trip to Angel Falls when we are there. I am not sure how expensive that is going to be. I hope it won't be too expensive.

I would like to go to the Margarita again, as now I would know what to expect. Not that I didn't like it the first time. It was just that they don't speak that much english there... And I don't know that much spanish :( But now that I know what to do, it is going to be a bit more relaxed vacation. I also asked my boss to come along, but I think he won't come. He'll be happy just to stay at home.

If my friend won't be able to come here, then I might try to go to Florida for a weeks trip. I am not sure yet if I would be able to do that.

65 days

In 65 days we will be moving back to Finland. So less then 10 weeks time to spend here. Next week is a last full week before my aunts friends are coming over. They will be staying here for two weeks. When they arrive we have only 56 days left and when they leave we have 42 days left. I would think that that period of time will go quite fast :)

Then there is one full week (from monday to sunday) without visitors, two weeks if you count from tuesday to monday. My friend should come over just before christmas. She will be staying for three and half weeks. When she comes we only have 28 days left and when she leaves we have 4 days left.

So no, I am not counting the days when we are leaving. Just counting to pass the time :))

My work

It is not as full filling as I would have hoped for. I really wish to work on another place, but at the moment I do not see that happening. I just really, really, really do not have the energy anymore.

As I do not wish to be unemployed, it seems I have to continue working. Well this is what I feel today. Hope I start to like my job soon again.

Plans for next year

First and the most important thing to do next year is to find a new place to live. I have already decided that I want to have 2 bedrooms, living room and kitchen (at least). If there is a sauna it is a big plus. Also it can't be too expensive. This is one reason why I already know where I am going to move to. Town I mean. ;) I will let you know as soon as I have a place.

Second thing that I am going to do next year is buy some furniture. I have some of my own, but not lot. Definately not enough to 2 bedroom appartment... I have already written a list what I need and what I have to buy. Yes those are in two list. Mainly because I will get some of the stuff that I need from my friends and relatives. Some I have to buy (like a new bed).

Third thing... I want to travel abroad. Going to England doesn't count... ;) I am not sure if I want to travel by myself or with a friend. Haven't decided that yet.

After these smaller things that I plans to do next year are: Take my niece(s) and nephew(s?) to Korkeasaari, bbq, swim (in lake), visit those relatives I like and try not to see those I do not like. Also will try not keep any contact with my mother.

Feeling a bit under the weather

I do not have a flu or anything. Just have been coughing my lungs out. I am not complaining though. It is so nice and warm here, that I barely notice that I am ill *under the weather*.

I have not yet been at the beach, but it's just because I don't want to hear people whispering that I have "the" flu. I am 99,9% sure that I do not have it. Because if I had it, I would be in bed rest (and would have been in bed rest for few days already).

Now I am just counting the days when we travel back to Finland. Yes! I am moving back home in January. I think I have given enough hints about it, so it probably was not a surprise for you. Also I just today paid some of my student loan away. There is not much left, so soon I will be without any loan for a while.

Also during the weekend I bought my first NCIS season :)) It was on sale, so that is why I bought it now and not untill I was at home. I have to check if during the christmas time there second season would be on sale as well. I know that in Finland there should be at least five seasons released (or the fifth should be released soon). The sixth hasn't yet shown in the TV, so it probably won't be released anytime soon.

Still it means that I have to buy at least 7 seasons (7th season just started in US), probably more. I have been watching the new season from tv, and am sad to say that I won't be able to finish it as we move already in January. :(( So I have to wait at least a year to see it in Finland. (Unless the season box comes available sooner.)

When visiting Finland I also saw that there is an all season box of Gilmore Girls, which will be my "welcome home" gift (from me). I would not seen myself as a person who buys the season boxes because usually in one season there are too many filler episodes that I don't like. So far in my opinion NCIS and Gilmore Girls do not have this problem. Also I have plans to make some drinking games of these two for my friends. (if you don't know what I am talking about, try googleing the Pretender drinking game)

Flying to Grenada

I have a long day ahead. First I will sit in the airplane for 11 or so hours and then I will try to stay up for five more hours. Just so that I wouldn't be to jet lagged the next day. :/ I am pretty sure that I will be asleep soon after landing.

Flying to Gatwick

Today I will fly with Easyjet to Gatwick. I like it very much that the flight leaves a bit earlier then last time. I will have time to spend with my friend in Brighton. I will stay the night and then tomorrow morning will fly back to Grenada.

Flying to Helsinki

Today I will fly to Helsinki (much faster to fly then go by train :) ). I will stay in a hotel as my dog is staying with my aunt. So I can't go there as my dog would go crazy if he saw me. So I will try to stay away from my dog untill I return to Finland.

Train to Tornio

Tonight I will return to Tornio and Also the last week of my stay in Finland starts. The night train will take seven hours, so I will have plenty of time to get bored. The last week I will be spending with my sister. :)

Also for you who know, T-100 ;)

Travel to Tampere by train

Today I will be going from Tikkurila to Tampere. I will probably hop into the first train that I will catch.

I will be doing some shopping in Tampere. Need to buy a nice souvenier for our housekeeper. Even though she will be visiting Finland in three and half months. I will tell you later why.

Tuntematon Sotilas Play

Today I will be going with my friend to Helsinki to see the play called Tuntematon Sotilas. It is based on a book with same name. The book is something that all finns have to read when in school. I have done it... oh well I read half of the book. Any ways, the idea is that this is a subject that we finns love.

Visiting Kouvola

Today I will be visiting Kouvola... Oh all right... I will be visiting my friend in Kouvola :)) I will only be staying there for two hours or so. So it will not be a long stay.

Train to Lappeenranta

Today I will be travelling to Lappeenranta to see (yet one) friend. I hope we will go to the market place so I can get one Atomi or Vety. They are so yamm-y! I will also spend a night or two in Lappeenranta and then going back to Mäntsälä.

Going to Mäntsälä

Today I will be going to Mäntsälä to spend some time with my friend :) I will be going there when my friend comes from work, so not yet. This weekend will be filled with movies and junk food :))

Going to Orimattila

Today I will be going to Orimattila :) Will be spending almost a week with my niece and nephew. I have a big surprise for them. I hope they like it.

I will be telling you about it too later. If it were up to me I would tell now. But I have promised not to talk about it in public. I will be telling this to all my friends and family when I see them, but not any sooner :)

Back to the topic. We will be driving to Orimattila (not sure yet at what time) but soonish I think. Tomorrow my nephew has his vaccanation so I will be spending some girl time with my niece :). I will be posting the pics in Kuvaboxi, when I have the time.

Nephew's B-day

Today is my nephews Birthday :) Congratulations on your first b-day celebrations.

Train to Pieksämäki

I have spend some time with my sisters family in Tornio. Now it is time to continue my travel. I will be travelling by train to Pieksämäki where my Granny lives. Well actually the train is about to leave :) I will be spending the next six and half hours in this train.

Don't worry I have planty to eat and read with me. I have travelled this way many, many, many, many times, so I know what I am doing. I actually bought the ticket online (and got 10% off the price [it was a trial offer]) while I was in Grenada :) So now I can say that planning pays off.

Arriving to Kemi

I have just landed to Kemi. My sister should be waiting for me so I will try to get my bag fast. Luckily this is going to be the fastest airport visit in the whole trip. :)

I will be staying with my sister in Tornio till next Wednesday. Then I will be travelling to see my granny :)

Arriving to Finland

I have just landed to Helsinki. First things to do are to go through immigration and customs. This time I should be out pretty fast. First thing I am going to do when out, is to take all my stuff from the suitecase and put them into my other bag.

I should meet my aunt in couple of hours. Then I will leave the suitecase to her (as it is full of her clothes) and find a place to eat. I would guess I have time to go to the city, but I think I am too tired to do that. My next flight will be leaving in three hours.

Instead of going to Tornio by train, I will be flying. It is the same price, but much faster :)

Leaving England

I will be flying with Easyjet to Finland. I will have to say that the there is only one bad thing about it... The flight leaves sooooooo early. X)

I have just jumped into a train that will take me to Gatwick. Then there I have couple of hours before the flight is due to leave. I hope I don't have any extra weight. I don't think I have, but we will see.

I am feeling sooo tired at the moment....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

My friends Graduation

They are about to begin, will post pics to Kuvaboxi later (when I have the chance).

Arriving to England

I have now landed to Gatwick airport North (London, England [Great Britain, you know in Europe...]) and am waiting to go through the immigration/Passport check and customs. Then I will be waiting for my friend to pick me up :)

Well that will be in couple of hours, as I do need to pick up my suitecase and do the above mentioned stuff. You probably know what the lines are like... So I do not assume that I will be out very quickly.

My friend and I will be going to Luton instead of Brighton as my friend has her graduation tomorrow. :) So we will be going to her graduation and I will be able to take lots of pictures of the event. I have never been to British graduation before so it is a new experience for me. (I have been to American one ;) ).

Leaving Grenada

Today I will be going to the airport and start my summer vacation :)

I will need to be at the airport around four pm as the flight leaves at six pm. Usually the plaine is a bit late (in leaving, not arriving). There is not much to do at the airport as it is fairly small so I hope the time goes by pretty fast.

I will be spending the night travelling, so I think I will be quite tired tomorrow :) Well at least I will be spending time with my friend, so I am not worried. It would be annoying to spend time in the airport when really, really tired... Trust me, I know.

Oh yes and the small bag that I have is full of my stuff and souveniers, the big bag is full of my aunts stuff. Yes I brought her clothes and stuff here and now I am carrying them back.

Movies I have seen Part 4

27 dresses by Anne Fletcher - Comedy film made in 2008.

Atlantis by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise - Animation film made in 2001.

Batman (-, returns, forever and begins) by Tim Burton, Tim Burton, Joel Schumacher and Christopher Nolan - Superhero film made in 1989, 1992, 1995 and 2005.

Corpse Bride by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton - Animation film made in 2005.

Coyote Ugly by David McNally - Comedy film made in 2000.

Dances with Wolves by Kevin Costner - Epic film made in 1990.

Deep Blue Sea by Renny Harlin - Thriller film made in 1999.

Die Hard 1,2,3 and 4 by John McTiernan, Renny Harlin, John McTiernan and Len Wiseman - Action film made in 1988, 1990, 1995 and 2007.

El Orfanato by Juan Antonio Bayona - Horror film made in Spain in 2007. Love it, recommend it and you must see it!

El Leberinto del Fauno by Guillermo del Toro - Fantasy film made in Spain in 2006. Same as above: Love it, recommend it and you must see it!

End of Days by Peter Hyams - Action/horror film made in 1999.

Fast & Furious 1 and 2 by Rob Cohen and John Singleton - Street racing film made in 2001 and 2003. I have shortend the name to F & F as there are four films made and fifth in the making ;)

George of the Jungle 1 and 2 by Sam Weisman and David Grossman - Action/family film made in 1997 and 2003. It is not always a good idea to watch the sequal... Especially when we are talking about family films.

Ghost Rider by Mark Steven Johnson - Superhero film made in 2007. Starring Nicholas Cage.

I Pronounce you Chuck and Larry by Dennis Dugan - Comedy film made in 2007.

I, Robot by Alex Proyas - Scifi film made in 2004. Starring Will Smith ;)

James Bond 1-20 by Terence Young, Guy Hamilton, Lewis Gilbert Peter R. Hunt, John Glen, Martin Campbell, Roger Spottiswoode, Michael Apted and Lee Tamahori - Agent film made in 1962 - 2002. (Okey, I admit. I got a bit lazy with this one. But can you blame me... I would have had to list twenty directors and years..). My favourite Bond is Sean Connory.

Johnny English by Peter Howitt - Comedy film made in 2003.

Ladder 49 by Jay Russell - Drama film made in 2004.

Look Who's Talking 1, 2 and 3 by Amy Heckerling, Amy Heckerling and Tom Ropelewski - Comedy film made in 1989, 1990 and 1993.

Lord of the Rings 1, 2 and 3 by Peter Jackson - Fantasy film made in 2001, 2002 and 2003. I recommend to read the book as well. The movies are not too bad, a tad too long for my taste.

Major League 1, 2 and 3 by David S. Ward, David S. Ward and John Warren - Satire /comedy film made in 1989, 1994 and 1998.

Matrix 1, 2 and 3 by Wachowski Brothers - Scifi film made in 1999, 2003 and 2003. Starring Keanu Reeves.

Miss Congeniality 1 and 2 by Donald Petrie and John Pasquin - Comedy film made in 2000 and 2005. I like Sandra Bullock, but I think these two films were not her best ones...

Mission Impossible 1, 2 and 3 by Brian De Palma, John Woo and J. J. Abrams - Thriller film made in 1996, 2000 and 2006.

Mortal Kombat 1 and 2 by Paul W. S. Anderson and John R. Leonetti - Action film made in 1995 and 1997.

My Girl 1 and 2 by Howard Zieff - Comedy film made in 1991 and 1994.

Next by Lee Tamahori - Scifi film made in 2007. Starring Nicholas Cage.

Nightmare Before Christmas by Henry Selick (story by Tim Burton) - Stop motion film made in 1993. I like this film as much as I liked it when I saw it the first time :)

Resident Evil 1, 2 and 3 by Paul W. S. Anderson, Alexander Witt and Russell Mulcahy - Action/zombie film made in 2002, 2004 and 2007. Flesh eating zombies and Milla Jovovich... Need I say more.

Rush Hour 1 and 2 by Brett Ratner - Action film made in 1998 and 2001. I think I won't be seeing the third one... unless I am in good company ;)

Saw 1, 2, 3 and 4 by James Wan, Darren Lynn Bousman, Darren Lynn Bousman and Darren Lynn Bousman - Horror film made in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Spiderman 1, 2 and 3 by Sam Raimi - Superhero film made in 2002, 2004 and 2007.

Stargate by Roland Emmerich - Scifi film made in 1994.

Summer of Sam by Spike Lee - Crime film made in 1999.

The Mummy 1 and 2 by Stephen Sommers - Adventure film made in 1999 and 2001.

The Number 23 by Joel Schumacher - Suspense (thriller) film made in 2007. Starring Jim Carry. I would have to say that this is one of the best films he has ever made.

The Postman by Kevin Costner - Drama film made in 1997.

The Scorpion King by Chuck Russell - Adventure film made in 2002.

The Skeleton Key by Iain Softley - Horror film made in 2005. First I didn't like this movie, but after having dreams about it for a week (after watching it), I decided to like it :)

The Skulls 1, 2 and 3 by Rob Cohen, Joe Chappelle and J. Miles Dale - Thriller film made in 2000, 2002 and 2003.

Thin red line by Terrence Malick - War film made in 1998. One reason why I watched this was that there is George Clooney in this. What a dissapointment it was to see that he was just in the last few minutes of the film.

Titanic by James Cameron - Drama film made in 1997.

What women want by Nancy Meyers - Comedy film made in 2000.

xXx by Rob Cohen - Action film made in 2002. Starring Vin Diesel :)

Not much comments in these. But it has been a quite long time since I have seen them. And I am only making a list so no need for me to comment about the films :)

Movies I have seen Part 3

Ace Ventura 1 and 2 by Tom Shadyac and Steve Oedekerk - Comedy film made in 1994 and 1995. In my opinion the first one was the best one out of these two. Not interested watching the third one. Yes there is more then two out there. I think Jim Carry is only in the first two. Good movies if you have been out and about drinking your brains out.

A Tale of Two sisters by Kim Ji-woon - South Korean horror film made in 2003. I liked this very much. If you like horror movies, then this something you must see! The end was surprising and the story telling was smooth (enough). If I have a chance to rent this again, I will do it :)

Bridget Jones 1 and 2 by Sharon Maguire and Beeban Kidron - Comedy film made in 2001 and 2004. If you want to see a romantic comedy, then here are something to think about. I have seen these twice I think. If you I count watching the movies from start to finish, then only once. No need to think about anything.

Get Smart by Peter Segal - Comedy film made in 2008. I just love this film. Well I love the Get Smart series as well, so I think it goes without saying. I think you can like this movie without knowing anything about the series. Some films that are based on series need some introduction, but this doesn't. IMHO. Oh, and add to your "Must See" list!

Knowing by Alex Proyas - Scifi film made in 2009. I liked the idea in this movie. I liked Nicholas Cage too :)) I think I won't be watching this again, just because it's the type of a film that you only watch once.

National Treasure 1 and 2 by Jon Turteltaub - Adventure film made in 2004 and 2007. Like in so many other cases, I like the first one better. Somehow I think there was something missing from the second film. It had its moments, but that was it. Having said that, you won't be waisting your life when watching these.

The Andromeda Strain by Robert Wise - Scifi film made in 1971. Yes you are correct. This is based on the same book as the miniseries mentioned earlier. There were some differences (naturally) with the plot (I think I will need to read the book now). I liked this movie because the actors weren't all supermodels like they nowadays usually are. ;)

The Bank job by Roger Donaldson - Crime film made in 2008. One reason why I watched this is Jason Statham. The movie itself has a good plot (based on real events) (wouldn't say that it is all real as there are some arguments about that) and it moves on quite well. This is definately on both "Must see" and "Must see actor" list.

The Chronicles of Riddick 1, 1½ and 2 by David Twohy, Peter Chung and David Twohy - Scifi, thriller film made in 2000, 2004 and 2004. I loved the first one and I love even more the second one :) The 1½ is an animation film kind of a prequal to the 2nd one. I would say that we would have coped without it, but it is not too bad either. I can't wait for the third one to come out!

The Day earth Stood still by Scott Derrickson - Scifi film made in 2008. Keanu Reeves is brilliant in this. (Well I would say that he is brilliant in any movie, unless he really, really, really sucks.) Idea is great even though I figuered it out much sooner than the lead character. But I guess that is kind of the point in movies... I would add this to "Must see" list if you have one.

The Man from Earth by Richard Schenkman - Scifi film made in 2007. There is so little in this movie, but still so much. With this I mean that this is by far one of the best movies I have ever seen. There is nothing extra in this movie. Actors are really acting (yes they are). If you haven't sene this one yet, add it to your "Must see" list. If you have seen it, then what are you waiting for? Go see it again!

The Toxic avenger by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz - Horror film made in 1984. This is a cult classic film. Is that enough said?? If you like cult classics then this is supposedly just the one for you.

The Uninvited by The Guard Brothers - Horror film made in 2009. I like horror films :D That's why I don't mind watching the remakes. This is a remake of A tale of Two sisters.

The Wrestler by Darren Aronofsky - Drama film made in 2008. Even though I don't like show wrestling very much this film was watchable. Mostly because it told more about the person then about the matches.

Thick as Thieves by Mimi Leder - Crime film made in 2008. Good film... I think there's something missing though. I prefer the Bank Job over this. I would say one time is enough, but maybe I would change my mind if I watched it again. :/

Wanted by Timur Bekmambetov - Action film made in 2008. Idea is good, the ending is good and the special effects are good. Still I was a bit dissapointed with this film. Can't pin point it, but there is just something. Nevertheless I would recommend this movie to all who wants to see it.

Will continue later ;)

Movies I have seen Part 2

Passengers by Rodrigo Garcia - Mystery/thriller film made in 2008. Well... Kind of waste of my time. The idea was not new, the story telling was slow and big ending was the end credit. Having said that, if you have other people to talk to this is a good movie to watch.

Population 436 by Michelle MacLaren - Mystery/horror film made in 2006. Do you know the movie The Village? Did you like it? ... If you did, then you might like this as well. If you weren't a big fan of that movie, you might still like this one. If you hated The Village, then do not watch this movie!

Race to Witch mountain by Andy Fickman - Scifi film made in 2009. I think I will need to read the book to get a better picture of the film. It was not bad movie... If you like scifi movies I mean. So I would say that this is a good party movie, as then you can talk at the same time ;)

Re-Animator by Stuart Gordon - Horror film made in 1985. Old horror movies... There is some kind of an appeal to them. One can always laugh while watching them. At least the acting is much better then in newer horror movies. I would not recommend unless if you are really interested in horror movies. This is not one of the worst ones out there.

Seven pounds by Gabriele Muccino - Drama film made in 2008. The idea in this movie is good. I do recommend this to everyone. As the film reminds us, don't text and drive! *Adding this to Must see list*

Taxi Driver by Martin Scorsese - Thriller film made in 1976. I would say that it is okey film. Maybe I would have liked it more, if I would have seen it around it release. Now that new movies are what they are, this one looked a bit bleek. Nevertheless I am happy to have seen this.

The Andromeda Strain by Mikael Salomon - Scifi miniseries made in 2008. I think this would have been better as a movie (meaning shorter). It was not too bad as it was and the idea is great (though have not read the book so can't comment if it is similar to the book).


Will continue later with more movies I have seen ;)

Movies I have seen part 1

Bad taste by Peter Jackson - Scifi/Alien horror movie made in 1987. Not bad for a low budget movie. If you want more information, google it ;)

Be Kind Rewind by Michel Gondry - (2002) Reason why I watched is was that it had Jack Black (and they made short versions of movies). It it is raining and you don't have anything better to do, you can watch this movie ;)

Cidade de Deus by Fernando Meirelles - Brazilian drama made in 2002. This I do recommend everyone to see. I would say that is in "Must see" list ;) The movie is not as much entertaining as it is a true story of a life style.

Crank 1 & 2 by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor - Action movie made in 2006 and 2009. Really high intense and funny sometimes. Seen first one twice already and still like it. One reason is the lead actor Jason Statham (seen more then one of his films ;) ), he is in my "Must see actors" list. So if I find a movie him in it, I will watch it (unless it is rated really, really, really bad and I can't find it anywhere).

District 9 by Neill Blomkamp - Scifi movie made in 2009 (South African movie). Start is a bit slow, but trust me the rest is good. I like the way the movie is made, as it is very realistic (well there are aliens, so not too realistic, but you know what I mean when you watch the movie) and has the "what could really happen" quality.

Funny Games by Michael Haneke - Horror film made in 1997 (in Austria). When I watched the first time I didn't like it very much. But this is the type of the movie that makes you think. As this is very possible to happen in reality, one can't just dissmiss it. Well it had some features that are not happening in reality, but the idea... If you like horror movies, this is in "Must see" list!

Ice Age 1, 2 & 3 by Carlos Saldanha, Chris Wedge (Ice Age) and Mike Thurmeier (Dawn of the Dinosaurs) - Made in 2002, 2006, and 2009. I think you all know the movies. Also I think it is enough said when I say I have seen these all...

Into the Wild by Sean Penn - True story made in 2007. To my taste the movie was a bit long, but at least the storytelling was good enough. I would say that it was as much document as it could be without actually being one. Want to know more? Google it...

Lock, Stock and Two smoking barrels by Guy Ritchie - Crime film made in 1998 . What can I say, I love this movie! I think this might have been the first movie where I saw Jason Statham. This is definately on my "Must see" list. Want to know more? Well watch the movie!!

Monsters vs Aliens by Conrad Vernon and Rob Letterman - 3D animation movie made in 2009. Unfortunately I didn't see the 3D effects (not possible in this island), but the movie was entertaining never the less. Watching this film once is plenty enough :)

No Country For Old Men by Joel and Ethan Coen - Thriller film made in 2007. There were some similarities to Funny Games in my opinion. Like the first feelings... "Have I wasted my time??" It was a bit too long for my taste, but at least I can say that I have watched it...

The Pledge by Sean Penn - Mystery film made in 2001. You could think that it is based on a true story as (well at least I have) read of events that are similar to it. It is a slow start, but if you are into mysteries then you will like this one as well. I am not sorry that I saw this :)

Watchmen by Zack Snyder - Superhero movie made in 2009. Mix of "reality" and comic book with a hint of "how it would actually be like". Not for the youngest ones in the family, nor even to those who like Spiderman and Batman. I am glad to have seen it, but not going to watch it again. (Probably wouldn't watch this if hadn't done it now.)

Will continue later ;) It is my purpose not to tell what the movies are about (mostly) just telling you what I have seen.

Visiting Finland

I will be going to Finland in two weeks. :) Yay!

I will be leaveing here on the 15th (tuesday) and arriving to Finland following friday. This is because I will be staying with my friend for few days in Luton.

So when I am travelling I won't be posting any comments here ;) As I won't be able to access internet everyday. I will be telling you all about my trip, when I get back here.

I have one month time to spend with my family and friends. I have already planned the whole trip (well so that I know where I will be, but not what I will be doing). So now I just have to wait for the days to go by. :)

My student loan

I am sure this topic is of no interest to you. But I am just so happy about it! Not about the student loan itself, but that I have been able to pay almost all of it back.

If you had asked me few years back, that when would I be in this situation. I would have answered that probably in ten or twenty years. Well okey, in twenty years I would have paid the student loan already. I am not that dumb with money.

I did pay back small amounts when ever I could. This is also something that they suggested from the bank. Just pay small amount once in a while and soon you notice that there is not that much left.

This year, due to my situation, I have been able to payback more. As I don't have to pay rent, I have put the equivalent amount towards my loan. Now I am happy to say I only have 2500 euros left :) I have paid over 2/3 back. Considering how my mother spends her money (I was raised by her), I would say that it is a small miracle.

Knowing me, I would also have to say that it actually is not that big of a miracle. Since I could really think for myself (around 10 years old) I have started not to follow my mothers example. This has led for me to be very independet. I admit I have done some stupid things, but my credit is good (I only have one credit card). :)

With my credit card and student loan I once had dept of almost 10 000 euros (9 000+ student loan and 1 000 credit card). Since then I have come a long way. I have to say, that I am exited that I will be finally able to say that I have savings.

Oh, and if you are wondering why I decided to pay the loan instead of saving the money, the reason is simple. When the loan is gone, I will save 400 euros per year compared if I would pay the loan in small amounts back. When there is not that much income, I'd rather have small bills.

Summer vacation

My summer vacation starts in 16 days. :) Just can't wait for the first flight. I want to TRAVEL!!

First I will be staying few days in Brighton with my friend :) This is possible because I will fly with Easyjet to Finland. So it takes just 30 minutes to get to the airport and leaves me more time to spend with my friend.

I will fly from Hki to Kemi as it is as expensive as the train, but much faster (1,5 hours compared to 8 hours...). Few days with my sister and niece before I go to the yearly round of relatives and friends.

From Kemi I will travel by train to PMK, where I will stay for few days helping granny around the house. Also there will be b-day celebrations before continueing to my other niece, and nephew. I will be spending more time in the surroundings of Lahti as my friend just moved close by.

I will be going to LPR probably after staying with my brother. If I don't have time at that time, then I will go there after spending a weekend with my friend. I will be doing short trips to LPR and TRE and then returning to my friends place or then depending on when I will go to TRE I might continue to Tornio from there. :)

I Have the almost everything planned. I think it is good idea to have some space in plans so I can do stuff in moments notice. :)

When I return here, I will stay a night at my friends place in Brigthon.

Wanting something

What I want,
is not what I get.

So from now on;
What I get,
is what I want.

Hurricane season part 3

I have to admit that I am a bit dissapointed with number five aka Danny (the tropical storm). He is following the same path as his big brother Bill (the hurricane). So most of the storms are over the water and coming to Canada (and if any power left) to North Europe.

Of course I am glad that it is a slow season (just have to mention that before y'all think I am nuts or something). It is just something to do here, when trying to follow if there is a storm and where would it go.

Well I'll keep you posted on the storms whether you like it or (probably) not!

Today

I went to renew my visa for the next 26 days before I go visit Finland. Today is also my B-day (as many of you know, because you have been reading this blog from the start).

I have no plans what so ever for today. Just do what I normally do. So just continue like it would be anyother day. This is because I haven't celebrated my b-day for years.

I will probably do something on my 30th, when it comes along. But before that nothing.

Hurricane season 2

Well the start has been really slow. There is hurricane Bill still alive at the moment, but it is headed up north. Well I would have to say that it is a good thing that it is not goming here or anywhere near land. But still can't wait for the season really to start. My hopes are on the number five ;) When ever it appears.

I'm on fire ;) (workstuff)

I have done (replied or unsubscribed) over 200 emails. Almost 250 emails today and still am going to continue! Yay me!

I was surprised that I only few times wanted to through my laptop out of the window. And I mean really, really, really... REALLY wanted to through my laptop. I just wonder what kicks do some people get when they cannot behave on email. I mean if you see person face to face you don't start yelling or swearing to them.

Now it seems that most of the email users want information now and not later. (Well if they want support, why don't they contact support...) You won't believe what kind of shit comes through sometimes. Usually all I need to do is copy paste information from FAQ (usually they say that information was not found in FAQ or if it was, then it was not the right information). The best part is that when they receive the same information from me it is the right information...

And about those 250 emails... most of them were unsubscribe emails. You might wonder why we are doing it manually. Well not all are done manually, only the marketing. This is because people answer to the emails even though we would give them link where to unsubscribe. They ask questions, even though we say the email address is inactive. Then when I receive my first email from the customers, they say that no-one is answering to them (hey, if it is said email is inactive it means that it is inactive...) and that they are lucky to find someone.

In our frontpage is link for 24/7 chat and link to our support system. Not hard to find if you go to our page (as almost all say they have done...) and look at it!

I normally don't put any work stuff to this blog... ( well you haven't read everything that I have written here, and if you have: I can't remember everything I have written here ;) ) So this is a special occation. Promise not to do this very often.

Getting tired

It's been a long time since a real vacation, that I am starting to loose my mind. Last time when I had summer vacation, I did in two parts (my mistake). The reason was, that all my work would be waiting for me to come back and it would have been too long to let the work just hang there. So I had first two weeks in the summer and the second two weeks... not sure when.

This year I am going to keep the whole 5 weeks intact. :) Luckily I have a replacement me, for that time period. I will be away from computer for a long time (well not that long... just when the places where I am visiting do not have internet connection). So far I have been able to plan most of my stay. Still not sure when I will be in Lappeenranta and Tampere. I have few options open.

So at the moment, all the small things are getting on my nervs (hermot). I know why, but not going to comment on that yet, later I promise. So now to fight, against the feeling of being tired all the time, I use my plans. I am counting the days when I will be coming to Finland, where will I be and what will I do. :) Just what I have always done.

Now I have to get back to work... Just needed a pause from it. Someone had replied to one of our email that they wanted to f***k my wife (sensored it myself). I didn't have the hart to say that I have no wife (me being a woman and all), so I just unsubscribed him.

Hurricane season

It has been a slow start. We had number one (tropical depression) a month back or so. Now few days ago we got second, and third and I think it was yesterday that they announced fourth. Now today I can see that they have given names to all of the three. Ana, Bill and Claudette.

Ana and Claudette are not supposedly going to change to hurricanes. Bill is most likely to become one, but we just will have to wait and see. Claudette is just a day away from Florida, so not anywhere near where I am. Bill is following Ana to the middle of Caribbean.

So they are not likely to come over here. There is a small chance, and I mean very small chance. Having said that, I do believe that we are going to feel some strong winds when it passes. Nothing too strong, just stronger than we are used to. :)

If you want to check them out, just click Hurricane season.

edit: Bill has become category one hurricane. Also it seems that its path is coming a bit towards caribbean and than go up north. So not coming anywhere near us.

Soundtrack in a movie

Tonight we are watching movie the bone collector. I have seen it before few years back. I did remember that sometimes it was hard to hear what people were saying, but with the finnish translation (subtitles) it didn't matter that much.

Now watching without the subtitles we have to use the remote control all the time. First we put the volume higher and higher to hear someting, and then we have to quickly lower it so that our ear drums wouldn't hurt.

So yeah, nice too look at a movie when one always have to be ready to use the remote...

We got a visitor today!

Sorry I wasn't able to take picture of it. But today a bird flew in :) I was trying to get it to go to our door, as it tried to go through our windows. Well the windows were open, but there are the net's in all of them. Luckily there was a small hole in one, and the bird accidentally went through it. :D

What I want to do next summer

Next summer I wish I will be able to bbq every (or at least twice a month) weekend. :)

That is what is on my mind at the moment. The finnish summer is short, so I probably won't be able to enjoy bbq more then four times... (let me think now... with my granny (one), with my friends (two and three) and with my brothers family and sisters family (four and five)) Ah so at least five times :)

Our Pet

Leapers Hill

This is what the Leapers Hill looks like. Oh well the ocean view from there I mean...

Monkey !

Something that we saw at Grand Etang. :))

Visiting Finland in 1,5 months

I will be coming to Finland in 18th of September. First I will be going to see my sister in Tornio and then to see my Grand mother. I am not quite sure where I will go from there, as it depends if I will be travelling by train or driving.

After Pieksämäki, I will be goin to Orimattila. I am not sure if I will go to Lappeenranta before that or after that. Also I will be going to Vantaa soon after that. Then I will be going to Tampere. I will most likely go to Pieksämäki just before I head back to Tornio. I will need to pick up my stuff and then go straight to Helsinki. :)

I have one month time to travel all this, and it seems that I will be going everywhere within the first few weeks. And then have nothing to do the last two weeks. So I will try to stay at least few days in one city/town and then continue my way.

Our visitor has gone home

My dad left yesterday evening and flew all night to London. Today he has spent the whole day at Heathrow. He landed at Gatwick and took a taxi to Heathrow. The connecting flight leaves 11 hours after he landed...

It is a long wait, but at least one hour went for the custom and picking up the luggage. Also the taxi ride took almost an hour as well. So he only has like 9 hours to wait. :))

He will be in Finland (and out of the airport) at midnight. Then he still has few more hours before arriving home. What I heard he might have to go back to work early in the same morning.

This will also be the way I will be going home. Well almost the same. I will be spending few days in Brighton with my friend and then flying to Helsinki (from Gatwick as I will be taking easyjet). There's a few hours wait before I fly to see my sister.

Around the island we went

Today we did around the island trip. As my dad is not that into seeing places twice nor undertand english too well, we didn't go to waterfalls, lakes or tours. We drove by the the burning carbage to the leapers hill.

There we took alot of pictures and found a small museum (I really mean small...) and tourist souvenier shop. The hill itself doesn't have much to see. The story why the Caribs jumped off the hill is more interesting.

(The stroy goes that caribs first let French to stay at the island, but then learned that it was a mistake. They tried to run the french out, but were defeated. Instead of surrendering to the french, Caribs decided to jump of the cliff to the sea.)

From the leapers hill we went to eat lunch at a local reastaurant that Pete knows. The food is not for vegetarians, let me just tell you that. Appetizer was local meat soup, then buffet with chicken, fish and roti, and finally dessert would have been Ice cream and/or coffee/tea.

From there we drove by the islands oldest rum factory, through the Grand Etang rain forrest to home. :) Oh, and because I forgot my camera in Pete's car there is no pics of the trip available until tomorrow night after we have returned from LaSagesse (Yes we are going there again).

BBQ at True Blue Bay

Yesterday we went with Jouni and my Dad to eat bbq at true blue bay (where my dad is staying). It was a bit windy night for my taste, but at least it didn't rain. This time they had bbq list where we could choose what to eat.

We all ate pork ribbs with rice, corn, steamed vegetable and salad. I would say that it tasted very good. It has been very long time since I have eaten anything like that so I am not sure how I would compare it. Jouni said that you could get better at LaSagesse.

The music was random music from the 90's. Jouni said that he got some "boat trip to sweaden" flash backs...

I wonder why...

I feel so angry... I just hope that when people make plans that affect me they would fucking tell me about it. And I do not mean about the small things I mean the big things. If I need to find a place to live I would love to know when I have to find one. Next year is not good enough answer!!

Mexican night at true blue bay

Yesterday we ate at True blue bay as it was their mexican night. I hoped that it would have had some music and mexican menu... There was no music at the time we went there (the band got there just after we had left). There was just the normal menu and Mexican buffet.

The Buffet was okey... I have had better food then that, but for a buffet it was good. I think my dad liked the food as well. Jouni didn't come along because he is a bit ill at the moment. I think he would have enjoyed the chili con carne because it had quite a lot of chili in it :)

My dad is here!

Yay! My favourite parent came to visit me :)

My dad is staying at the True Blue Bay. His room is really nice (I would like to stay there..). He has a small kitchen area in the room so he can cook there if he wants to. He probably will eat at the restaurant as the food is really good there.

Tomorrow we will be going to the Capital and during the weekend we probably will go see the Grand Etang. I will post pics in the kuvaboxi as soon as I will get more pics. Probably not going to write about where we go that much as I have already seen most of them and have already written about them.

Housekeeper

Hmmm... at first I was really excited about having one. At first it looked like she new what she was doing. Well now that the boss is away, I have to say that I have not been very satisfied with her work. :(

One of my new shirst is ruined, wet dishes are in the cupboard, and napping while watching tv. You would need to be here to understand better :) She is a good person and usually does good work. But now there's not task that I want to comment on. It's like she doesn't even bother to think what she is doing as long as the task is done.

I have been stressed at work and it is not helping when someone comes right next to you to clean up the floor. She doesn't say anything, just tries to do the work around me. I wish she would just say when she wants to clean area where I am, so I could move away.

Grrr... Oh well today boss comes home, so no more slacking.

Rainy season

It has been a rain season for a month now. I have to say that till yesterday night, it didn't feel like it. Last night we had a nice thunderstorm here and lots of rain. Today it has been raining a bit, but not too much. :)

I just love the thunder. I hope there will be thunder tonight as well. It can rain as much as it can for the next couple of weeks. Then I would like it to be sunny for a while. This is just because my dad is coming over. It would be nice for him to see the sun and not just rain.

It is also now hurricane season. So far there hasn't been a hurricane in this area. Probably we won't see any till september. Not that I would be worried about it, just reminding you guys ;)

Muahaha :)

Making Finland famous

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

Where do I see myself one year from now?

I see myself enjoying the finnish summer.

If you would have asked me yesterday the answer would have been different. The answer might be different tomorrow. But to my surprise this is the answer today.

Grand Anse Beach

This is what the beach looks like :)

This is what the Beach looks like in LaSagesse

I wouldn't recommend having the sounds on as it was very windy day :)

Grenadian Night at True Blue Bay

We went to True Blue Bay resort at eight (pm). There were already the Steel pan band playing music. I was a bit dissapointed that they only played cover songs and not any original local music. It was supposed to be a grenadian night ;)

For starter we took Callaloo soup. Which spite the ugly colour is pretty tasteful. So I do recommend it. (Sonja recommended it to me, so I knew that it would be eatable.) For main course we both had Coconut curry with vegetables. It was a bit hot/spicy, but we were able to eat it all.

For the dessert Susan took Choclate mousse and coffee, I took apple pie with nutmeg icecream and tea. We got the eatable dessert pretty fast... But the coffee and the tea took their sweet time to arrive. My apple pie tasted very good, but Susan's choclate mousse tasted a bit plastic. Probably because it was in plastic-thingy.

All in all the food was excellent, music nice and company very nice. The evening could have been a bit longer as the band only played for 1,5 hours. There were no music after they stopped. Also I would have expected something more. No it was just a dinner with steel pan music.

Where have I been and where I want to go...

Crab racing at Flamboyant

It sounds like a good event... So we decided to go and see what it was really like. We wanted to eat first so we went there few hours earlier. As it happens we were a bit too early there. The waiter asked us to join their happy hour with the hotel guests :)

Almost all of the hotel guests were americans and they were exited to meet couple of finns. We actually took some pictures together :)) Long story short we talked a lot and almost forgot to eat :) When we went to our table, we saw that one of the americans (who was here on business trip, hence alone) sitting alone. We asked him to join our table. It is not nice to sit alone in a restaurant.

The Crab race started at nine. In the race the crabs were put inside a circle and then we could bet which one would be first out and which one last out. In one race we could name the crabs and one of the americans named his crabs after us :)) We didn't win (the carb named after us or our crabs).

After the race Susan wanted to continue our night to Bananas with Chris (the lonely american) and Tom (the local driver). I wasn't so exited about it, but there is no way I would let her go by herself at the night time. So we all ended up going to the Bananas. I wasn't surprised to see no one at the bar. It was very slow night, but Chris and Susan enjoyed the night.

Susan promised to go with Cris and Tom to a day trip the next day and to Fish market on friday (with other tourists and Tom). Let me just say that when the morning came, she stayed here ;) It was a bit ruff night...

Friday: Coming home!

Friday morning our ride back to the airport came. The ride took again about an hour :) At the airport we didn't receive much help. We were just told to wait for awhile. Then Susan tried to change bolivars to USD at money exchange. They said that they wouldn't change and that it would be possible only in the bank.

None of the stores were open and we had to wait a long time in the airport. Luckily there weren't that many people waiting so we had space to walk around. Finally in the airplaine we had a good crew who knew what to do and when.

Most trouble I got was in Grenada, when I went through immigration. I have to say that I missed Finland at that time very much. Luckily I got in without extra trouble. Peter was waiting for us, so no waiting needed in this end :)

Now you know what was our trip like to Isla de Margarita. I would rate the trip as 8/10. The lost points came from the moldy room mainly and because of language problems. The Hover Tours was excellent as well as both our trips.

Thursday: Shopping again!

We hadn't made any plans for the thursday. So we decided to go shopping again. First we went to 4 de mayo street, which was supposed to be a big shopping street. It indeed was a shopping street, but due to the burned back I didn't enjoy being outdoors.

Susan didn't like it either so we decided to continue our way back to Sambil. Sambil is a huge shopping center with a/c. We walked around and shopped some more. We ate lunch at some ranch place number 2. The waiter was amazed by Susan's eyes and was making excuses to come to our table.

We noticed that some people thought that Susan was a movie star or something like that. People stared where ever we went... None the less we had a nice shopping trip and found nice clothes ans shoes.

Wednesday: Katamaran trip to Isla de Coche

Wednesday morning we woke up earlier than planned as our ride arrived earlier. Luckily we got the message about it very late the previous night. It took as an hour to get to the marina, where the katamaran left.

The whole day was very sunny and I bet you can imagine what happend to me. I got burned pretty bad... But now I am getting ahead. Lets go back a bit.

In the katamaran there were spanish speaking, german speaking and english speaking tourists. Susan and I were the only english speaking ones :)) We put a lot of sunlotion on and just laid down to get as much sun as possible.

After few hours sailing we stopped for snorkling. The water was so cold that there was no way that I would go swimming. But few daredevils went to the ocean. Susan and I walked around and Susan also jumped around :) During the trip we got free drinks and snacks.

After affiving to Coche we had about an hour to enjoy the beach before lunch. And depending how fast we ate, almost two hours after lunch. The beach was full of white sand. There weren't very many other tourists there so all the sales persons were trying to sell us something.

The ocean felt cold at first, but after a while it wasn't so cold. So we swam couple of times before leaveing the island. Susan got stung by jellyfish while we were swimming. We did not see any jellyfishes there but the katamarans crew new what it had been. The burning was really bad at first, but there is nothing a cold beer won't cure.

On our way back the ride was a bit ruff and we got all wet... The whole day was really nice, expect the sun burn and jellyfish sting.

Tuesday: Jeep Safari

Tuesday morning we ate breakfast and went out to wait our ride. We didn't have to wait for long. In the jeep was already four other tourist (probably from Argentina or Venezuela). We sat next to the door and tried to understand what people were saying. Our driver didn't speak much english nor did the other tourists.

First we went to a place close by, where all the other cars would come as well. There were souvenier shops there, but we didn't see the point to buy stuff now and carry them around the whole day. So we didn't buy anything from there.

Next stop was at a fortress, which was pretty old. I mean older than what I have seen before (I think). The view was amazing. You could see really far away, but I think that was the point of having the fortress there. There we also heard the plan for the trip in english. Which was nice and turned out to be almost the last english that we heard the whole day.

Then we travelled to a "spiritual capital" where there was a big church and lots of small souvenier stores. The sun was very hot and luckily we continued our trip soon after the stop. Again we listened to a music which was too loud for our taste and which from we understood nothing.

We went to a boat trip. We saw a sea star (or what ever they are called ;)) and raced the other boats. We stopped to eat lunch at a beach restaurant. Sadly we didn't stay there to swim, but coninued to another beach.

We took a lot of pictures and I have already shared some in kuvaboxi ;)

Monday: Shopping at Sambil

Our trip was organized by Hover Tours. On monday morning a guy from there came to tell us what we could do and where we can go if we want to go shopping. His name was Edward and he was a bit surprised to see two white faces as he was expecting two grenadians. :))

He recommended us a jeep safari aroung the island and then either go to snorkling/scuba diving or to katamaran trip where there also was possibility for snorkling. We decided to take the jeep safari next day and the katamaran trip the day after tomorrow.

As we were interested to see the shopping opportunities Edward took us to Sambil shopping center which is located near Porlamar. It took us a bit over half hours to get there. Sambil is very big (but not huge) and you can find almost anything from there. The only thing we weren't able to find was a decent tourist/souvenier shop.

We ate lunch at Hard Rock Cafe (!) which had been there for few years. Apparently they had sold T-shirst with "Margarita Hard Rock" almost ten years before the restaurant even came to the island.

I have to say that the shops there were as expensive as in Finland. And these shops were supposed to be tax free! There were nice clothes there, but most of them were pretty small. Even Susan said that her normal size is not good there.

Before sun set we took taxi ride back to our hotel. The driver didn't know were our hotel were, neither did we... Luckily he just asked directions from few guys next to the road and we were able to get to the hotel.

At the hotel we were shown few new rooms, as we didn't want to sleep in the current room anymore. It was too moldy. We found a better room upstairs, but only with one bed. But as we are finns we didn't see it as a big problem. As long as we had a room where we could breath, we were okey.

Sunday: traveling to Margarita

It is supposed to be raining the whole week in Margarita. Sun is shining in Grenada when we leave to the airport. We go through immigration pretty fast. Don't have to wait in lines at all.

We go to fairly small Conviasa plain. The flight was okey, but the flight attendants didn't quite know what they were supposed to be doing. There were too few forms for immigration (to enter the country) and they started giving them just before landing. We got only the H1N1 flu form.

In immigration we got the right paper and after filling it were able to continue out. We were out the airport before our ride to the hotel had arrived. We didn't need to wait for long before the ride came along. :)

It took us about an hour to get to the Tropical Refuge. It only rained few drops during the ride. That was the only rain that we saw during the whole stay. Susan was really worried if it was going to rain and if the trip was waist of time.

The hotel looked pretty nice, even though there weren't any shops around it. I didn't mind that at all. Our room was not as big as we might have imagined and it also had a mouldy smell.

First we went to the pool to enjoy the sun and not so heavy air. As we had all inclusive wrist-thingys we got all our drinks for free. The dinner (breakfast and lunch) were buffet style, so we could choose what we wanted. There was chicken and beef/pork everyday and fish sometimes. I would say that it was fairly good.

We didn't do much on sunday as we didn't know what we could do or where to go.

Grand Etang today, Venezuela tomorrow!

Today we are going to go to see the rain forest, crater lake and Fortress :)) And maybe a waterfall...

Tomorrow we will be leaveing to Isla de Margarita :) Stay there for 5 days in Tropical Refuge hotel (with all inclusive and near by beach). So I won't be near internet for a week ;)

Dance if you can!

My aunt has this game where you need to dance on a mat-thingy. Well me and my friend decided to try it :) As what I have seen is should be fun (and quite easy).

My friend tried it first. She decided that the beginner level is hard enough (and later I agreed). The music is mixed music from dancable music to not so dancable. I have to admit that it is a good work out. Especially when it is as hot as it is here.

Any ways, the main point is that I defenately cannot dance :)) I have two left feet (or two right ones). I try to listen to the music, but that makes it worse. I think I would do best if there were no sound.

At the beach!

I went today to the beach with my friend who came yesterday evening. First we did some shopping and then we walked from the store to the beach. It is nice and warm here (FYI) and not so many tourists...

I think I would have preferred a bit more tourists as now all the salesmen/women came to us before we had settled in. Oh well. At least the beach was white, it didn't rain at all and water was warm.

I didn't swim this time as I was trying not to burn myself... I think you know what that means. I have to say that I didn't burn myself as bad as last time. And yes I did put the sun lotion! More then once.

Well what can I say. I am very white. Well the basic colour of my skin is see through. My own grandmother has told me once that I look like a ghost :))

Friend is coming over!

I have been alone for a week now. A week ago to the date, Sonja and Jouni left to Finland. Today my friend Susan is coming over from Finland for few weeks. She is going to just relax and enjoy the sun. I am going to try to work and enjoy the sun.

I hope we have enough stuff to do so she won't get bored. She likes to go out in the evening but here there really isn't any places to go. Also it is not very safe for us to walk aroung in the evening. Well at least that is what our house keeper and friend/taxi driver has told us. As they are locals we better trust their words.

Now the beach is a bit far away. I think one might walk there, but I am not sure if my friend would like to walk there by herself. So we need a ride to the beach :( I myself like to walk around, but don't feel like it here. I think the reason is mostly because no-one wants to walk with me (meaning Sonja or Jouni) and they are just warning me all the time.

So it is nice to have someone over, who is not overly scared of everything. I hope while she is here, we would walk to the cinema and back. It is not very far away. But we will see what happens. :)

Just me here

My aunt and her husband left to Finland last tuesday. So I have been living alone in this house for two days :)) And I really do mean alone as the neighbours have moved out since the school ended.

Next tuesday my friend is coming over for few weeks. But 'till then, I need to keep myself busy. There is no tv, as the direcTv thingy is not working. I could watch movies, but they are all something that I have already seen or finnish movies. So no luck there.

I could read a book, but I have already read all the interesting ones... So I think I will probably be out in the balcony trying to catch sun and plaines. If you have any suggestions, I am open to anything. :)

Eurovision Song Contest!

It is that time of the year. European countries + some other countries have gathered together in Moscow to see who will be the one to arrange the contest next year. Oh and see whose song is liked best. Well in my opinion the songs are not important nor are the artists. In my humble opinion the winner is a political winner.

Now don't look so shocked! I know that I don't know anything about politics, and don't even want to start sharing how I got to the point where the winning country has some political advatages... But with my tiny brains I calculated that one plus one equals eleven! And no matter how good you are with math that is the result I believe in.

Now before you think I have gone compleately mad or crazy or both, let me explain a bit. How the eurovision's work is the following. All the participant countries can vote for their favourite. This is done by voting for the favourites in one country. Then the country will give points, and all these points will reveal the winner in the end.

Of course, you cannot vote for your own country. So you vote for your neighbours and countries you like... Which is not entirely legal. One is supposed to vote for the song, not the country. Hence all political stuff and result is eleven.

This year my favourite is Estonia (If you wish to hear the song just go to youtube and searh "Eurovision Estonia"). I am not a big fan of Norway, but the song is catchy so maybe with time. I do hope that as we are in the finals (YAY) we would beat Sweden. (No matter on what we are compeating, we need to win Sweaden. No need to win the competition just Sweaden.)

Love thy neighbour ;)

Venezuela here I come!

I have a friend coming over next month and we have made plans to go to Isla de Margarita. It is an island that belongs to Venezuela. It has white beaches and cheap accommodation. The flights from here weren't that expensive either. No, the trip was not my idea. I can hear you asking the question... How did I lure my friend to come to caribbean and then travel to another similar island...

Well as it was my friends idea, it was very easy to lure her to go to Venezuela. As soon as I get more savings, I will go to the mainland (Venezuela). I hope to visit Central America as well at some point. Then I can cross them over from my list. My ultimate dream is to visit every country, but it is way too expensive for me to even try it. So I try to full fill the next best thing.

Any ways, back to the main issue... Next month my friends comes over. Then we go the Isla de Margarita!!! I am so exited about it. I promise to put a lot of pictures to Kuvaboxi for all you to see.

If you want to give me suggestions on where to go, please do so. Here is a map you can use to see locations near me :)
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/carib.htm

Done, what next?

I have told you few years back, that I will move abroad... Well here I am :) I still do see myself living more abroad then in Finland. My nices and nephew have changed my mind about the location though. I do not want to live too far away. So my first choice is Europe. (No I didn't change my mind about living abroad)

Also I have told you that I want to change my hair colour to black. Well, "done" for this too. I actually liked it very much. Sonja didn't like it that much :)) I won't change my hair colour to black again because I would have to dye my roots every month :/ Oh, yeah I am going back to blond again... Probably staying blond for a while. So on my "not again colour" list contains the following: Green and Black. Maybe I should try blue one day??

I wish to be able to visit all the continents (or at least those where there people actually live) during my life time. So far I have been in Europe and North America. I am not sure if I should count Asia in as well. I have been in Viaborg (Viipuri) (which is in Russia if you did't know) and in Turkey. I think I would need to go to the other side before it counts. My next continet would probably be South America because it is right next to me :))

Happy First of May!!

In Finland we say Hyvää Vappua! First of May is Vappu's (and Valpuri's) name day (hence we wish Happy vappu) and also labour day. Nowadays it is more people going out and drinking. Families go out for picknik in the next day if it is sunny and enjoy the Spring.

Well you ought to know that we usually start celebrating everything on the eve of something. So not on the day itself. For example christmas eve, midsummer eve (juhannus aatto) and Vappu eve. On christmas eve we open our presents, midsummer and first of may have the same purpose = drinking (or spending time with friends/families).

For me this first of may is like any other weekend. Not going out with friends, as you guys are so far away (but when I come back, I will annoy you by being there way too much;)). So all I am going to do to celebrate is to drink a can of coke and eat a pop tart ;)

Cabier

Last thursday we went for a couple of days trip to Cabier. Cabier is very small kind of b&b place. It also serves lunch and dinner as it is in middle of no-where. Well the road there is very bad and long.

Sonja and Jouni had been here couple of times before. They didn't like the sounds of waves that much, but liked the couple who kept it. The reason why we went there was because the couple was leaving the place.

Anyhow, the rooms were nice and big. Beach was right next to us and there were only few other guests. So it was very quiet... Well if you do not count in the waves and wind. I kinda liked the sound what they made, but Sonja and Jouni were't able to sleep well.

Almost first thing that we did with Sonja was swimming. The waves were nice and big ;) Then as we had our computers with us (no internet though) we went inside and Sonja played some Sims...

Next day, after well slept night, Sonja and I went swimming again. This time it was around noon... The sun was shining almost from cloudless sky. I think we were in the water about half'n hour. Then we walked at the beach for 15 minutes or so. Oh, did I remember to tell you that we didn't put any sunblock on...

Well then we went inside, Sonja and Jouni needed a nap. After couple of hours when I passed a mirror, I noticed something funny... I had burned myself! Well it didn't feel that bad, but I didn't feel like going swimming again. Well didn't even need to tell Sonja that, as she also had burned herself.

So long story short. We deceided to leave then as we didn't have any after sun lotions with us and the burning feeling got stronger by the hour. So instead of staying for another night, we left there the same evening.

In La Sagesse and bbq

Sunday afternoon we went to La Sagesse (hotel& restaurant + beach which is public) to have a lunch. We girls had greek salad and boys had meat dishes. The salad was almost like in Finland, but not quite. There were some carrots and vinigar in it.

Now don't get me wrong, it tasted excellent. I just had some flash backs from the pasta I ate at Aquarium... It was covered with vinigar and tasted... well... vinigar. Kari and Mia were ready to take a swim in the sea, but we didn't want to swim here as the water is very sandy. So Sonja and I just relaxed and took sun from the shadows. Jouni lay in the sun and went running for a while. As a dessert we all drank virgin pinacoladas :) and then headed away.

First we had to stop by a store to get all the food to barbague. Then we went to Mia's and Kari's hotel, where the owner had given them the grill for the night. :) As guys were lighting the grill and preparing the food, we girls went for a swim in Grand Anse beach. Well Kari also took a quick swim in the sea before starting with his chores.

Guys had to use all my antibacterial lotion to light up the grill... Well at least this proved Sonja wrong. She had said that there will be no use for the thing. :))) We bbqed beef, chicken, pineapple, corn, sweet pepper, small veggie beef, and onion. Sonja and Mia also cooked some Mac&cheese for the dinner. We ate out in the balcony (of sorts, it was a bit lower than the ground level) and had good time :)

Half day trip

On saturday we did a half day trip. Well more like three hour trip to middle of the island. First we went to another waterfall, where I had been before. If it would have been a cruise day there would have been jumpers, but as it was not we just had to take pictures of the waterfall and the local flora.

Next we went to crater lake. Well we didn't go by the lake because it started raining, but we went to near by "museum" where we were able to take pics of the lake. The "museum" was about the flora and fauna found in that area. Basically it was just few boards of information on the walls. I don't know if there was more before Ivan as the building was rebuilt after it with the help of USA.

To get to the "Rain forrest" area we needed to go over mountains and the highest point we were was 1910 feet above sea level. I know this because there was a sign saying so :))

Then we went to a fortress. This was in the highest point in southern Grenada. In clear weather and low sea, you can actually see Venezuela from the top. We again had a guide to tell us a little bit about the history. Our guide thanked us for coming, and explained that the islands main income at the moment is the tourists. It will be 3-4 more years before the nutmegs and cocoa (and other things farmed here) will be ready to be picked up for sale. Nutmeg takes the longest and I think the cocoa production is almost at the same level as it was before Ivan.

All the fortresses that we saw from the high up used to be connected with each other with a tunnel. Now the tunnels have been closed and filled up. Main sport (after cricket) is flying kite... When we were at the fortress there were children flying a kite very, very high up. The guide told us that they arrange competitions there on flying kite. We also heard what kind of a sound the kite makes when the wind is really strong. I have to mention this, because we have been wondering for months that what our mystery sound is. Now we realized that the kites make the mystery sound. Stronger the voice is, the more kites are in the air.

Trip up to north, Part deux

We had lunch at Belmont/Bellamont ranch (I can't remember the name correctly now), where they also had cocoa and nutmegs. Well there weren't that many nutmegs at the time as they are still recovering from the Hurricane Ivan. All the food they served was grown in the ranch (well maybe not the fish) organically. All the cocos were also grown organically.

The lunch was buffet type and the whole thing from starters to dessert cost 45 EC (per person). So not a pricy place at all. After we had eaten we took a tour over the cocoa factory/thingy. We learned that there are different kinds of cocoa fruit pods, and in the island there are two kinds. To cut them down from the trees was mens job, and women's job was to collect all the colorful pods to piles. Then men with they sharp knives would come and crack the pods open and women would take all the beans out.

It would then take quite a while before the cocoa beans would be ready to become choclate. The beans would be naturally heated (they would heat themselves) and drying in the sun (and people would walk through the cocoa beans so they wouldn't get stuck together). Then they would be polished (in old days and sometimes even now this would be done by feet).

After they have been polished the cocoa beans would be sent to the choclate manufacturer all over the world. :) The best beans would be sent out and not so good beans would be used in local market. We also tasted cocoa-tea (not hot choclate per say) which had spices in it. It tasted pretty good even though I had the thought of someones feet being in there...

Next stop was at a rum factory. :) It is probably the only working rum factory in the island. There are few factories that bottle the rum, but since Ivan this one is the only one that makes it. The factory hadn't changed much or at all since it was first build. It was very rough looking, and I am 100% sure that this kind of a factory environment wouldn't be allowed in Finland. Or anywhere else...

Our guide took us around the place and told about how the rum is made. The process is very similar (or actually it is the same) as making illeagal booz (pontikka). The sugar cane juice is first heated up (to come more sweet = loose water), then fermentation process begins. It is done without anything added to it, so no yeast needed. When the juice stops moving, it is ready for the next step. Next step is pot still process. This is when the juice becomes rum.

The process is done as many times is needed to get at least 70 proof rum. Then it is stored, so the tax people can measure it and tax is paid at this point. Then the rum is bottled and mixed. They make three types of rum in this factory, 70, 33 and rum punch (23).

This was our last stop and we headed home. Of course we were still quit north, so we had some driving to do (well Pete drove so we just sat in the car). The east side roads were not in as good condition as the west sides, but in better shape than the road to our appartment. It took us the whole day to go around, and now it is done.

Trip up to north

Friday morning (around nine) we started our all day trip around the island. This was our first time to up north (if you can say it like that) and we all were excited about it. Sonja came as well, even though she still felt a bit ill.

First few stops were picture stops. I mean that Pete stoped the car and we were able to take pictures of the view. It is a quite a ride as you go up and down all the time. The road was pretty good, not too many bumps (and no accidents).

First longer stop was at a waterfall were we first took some pictures further away. Then we desided to pay the fee (5 EC) and go down to see what it looked like from there. As this place was quite close to the capital, and a potential place for the cruise tourists to come, there were quit lot of tourist stuff sellers (krääsän myyjiä).

Most of the items they sold were made in china or somewhere else. Few were done by the locals. Sonja and Jouni bought some bananas from there, but as it was so early on our trip we didn't buy any souveniers from there.

Then we stopped in Gouyave (city in Grenada) at a local nutmeg factory. There we saw the trip that the nutmeg made from the fields to the shelves. It was mostly drying the nutmegs... I understood what the guide said, well almost all, but he had an accent that made it difficult to the others who didn't understand english well, to understand him well.

Then back to the car and enjoying the views. We went by an area where most of the people had worked somewhere else and retaired back home. It is quite common to people to go work somewhere else and then come back to enjoy the life(style).

Final stop before lunch was at Leapers Hill. It was named after Caribs whom jumbed off the cliff after failing to run the french from the island around 1650. They rather jumped then were cought by french.

Sport fishing

Thursday we went sport fishing. Sonja was ill so she wasn't able to come, which in the end was a good idea. Now just so you know, Sonja can get very easily sea sick...

It was very early morning, as we needed to be at the Yacht Club at eight. We asked Pete to pick us up at 7:15, and then picked up our friends ten minutes later. We needed to leave that early as it is not sure what the traffic is like. We were lucky and it took us only 15 minutes to get to the Yacht club.

We had booked only half day trip (4 hours) as we knew that we weren't that into getting fish. It was more a thing that we wanted to try. First thing that the captain suggested to us, was to take motion sickness pill (matkapahoinvointi pilleri), which we all of course took.

The start was okey, Jouni and Mia felt a bit sick at first. Jouni started to feel better after a while. We all were up with the captain and enjoyed the view. It was really an experience to see the whole Grenada (the island) at one glance.

In an hour we got our first (and only) fish. Kari was the one who wheeled it in and I was the the one who took pictures :)) Mia wasn't feeling so good at the time. So we all decided that we would be downstairs to keep her company.

When I went inside, I started to be sea sick. I mean really sea sick. All I could do was stare out and try not to talk too much. Guys went up again, (Jouni said that he also felt a bit sick while inside, but felt better as soon as he was up)and Mia and I stayed down. It didn't take long before I threw up :(( Luckily it was only water that I had drank earlier.

Soon after that I started feeling sleepy. I could barely keep my eyes open. So I decided to lay down and take a little nap. As soon as I was laying down I fell asleep :) Also I wasn't feeling sick anymore. The small nap ended to be almost two hours. So I woke just a bit before we went back to shore.

We had lunch at the Yacht Club. It was very breezy place to eat, and my salad almost went with the wind. I was quick enough to eat it, so no loss of food this time. After that we returned home to ill Sonja.

Tour in St. George

Yesterday we went on a small tour with our friends. Well they are more Sonja's and Jouni's friends, but I get along well with them. Oh you didn't know that we have some visitors over from Finland? Well let me tell you now: We have some visitors over from Finland :))

They just arrived tuesday night and wednesday was their first full day here. So we went to see the City and old fortress (now a police department). We took a sightseeing route, mostly because the traffic would have been worse in the other route, but also to show our guests what the capital looks like.

There wasn't much to see as it was a small fortress, but it was above the centre so we were able to take some really good pics. (will add one after I have loaded them up.)It was funny to walk through places where the policemen and -women play basketball. Also we went past someone doing they laundry...

Sonja told that it is quite normal there. They welcome tourists to see the place while they go on with their own business.

Next we went to Esplanade Mall to get some refreshments and do some shopping. I found something nice and small to give my nieces. ;) Didn't find that much for myself, but Sonja found (yet another) bag for herself :)) Our guests found also nice souveniers from there.

Next stop was a local textile store (kangaskauppa) next to the (outdoor) market. There Sonja found some nice cloth to make curtains. Also we bought more threads as we only had white and red. I had a bit of trouble remembering what things were called in english, but we managed to find all we needed.

On our way to the National Museum, we stopped by Art Fabrik (local clothes/artifact store) and a store where they sold tourist stuff (can't remember its name). The tourist store was really nice, and there were many things that I wanted to buy. But as I am not coming to Finland for almost five months, there is no point for me to buy those stuff yet. :))

Our final stop was at National Museum, which spite the name is not very big. It looks something like school project. Well there were the historical room, where you saw what types of tools people used to use. Also it gave a nice idea of what the island is like.

Registry Cleaners

I found an interesting article from google news. I am not sure if I will be able to link it right, but I'll try. Here it is:

New Study Finds That Most Common Registry Cleaner Software Products Do More Harm Than Good

One really needs to be careful with ones computer. I have had computer send to IT tech service thingy. It was not a fun experience.

View from my work window

When I am working, this is what I see if I look out:

Nice isn't it ;)

Packing

Today we have packed almost all our stuff. There is still plenty packing to do tomorrow. We found few "nice" surprises while packing :)) Sonja was puting clotes from the drawer to a bag and saw a cockroach. She screamed and almost gave me a heart attack.

There is a saying that if you see one cockroach in your house then there will in reality be a lot more of them. So it will be fun to see what we will find among our stuff.

This moving business is usually very nerve breaking, but here it is not so bad. One main reason for that, is that most of the furniture is found from the other appartment already. So we only need to move our clothes, books and other small stuff. No need to carry heavy things, unless one has bought something big.

Bakeing

Today I helped Jouni in baking bread rolls and meatballs. We are trying to use as much ingredients as we can so we do not need to take them to the new appartment. It is easier to buy new packs there then take opened ones. Also it is less to carry :)

So first I did the dough for the bread rolls. As you can see from picture, we used local rye flour, emtptied a pesto jar and put some garlic :)



And sorry, I did not take any pics of the meatballs :))