To do list cont from yesterday

Tapiola:
Check/money order for EC possible? -> I tried to check but it was not the main office so they did not know.
Travel insurance for a year? (well 9 months as I already have 3 months paid) -> forgot to ask this

Tornio:
Pick up my niece (in few days) -> going to leave today if possible

Other misc:

Passport and CE for G pics (today?) -> did it yesterday, 6 pics for 19 euros. Not bad at all
Mow the lawn (today?) -> it started to rain so wasn't able to do it yesterday, did it today
Take the other half of the wallpaper down (today?) -> took some yesterday and finished it today.
Gym key (today?) -> going to go by when I leave to drop it off

Just some things that I can cross over already. Today I have also packed some books that I will take to my sis. I know I still have many months before I move, but I just like to take things already there so that I don't have to take them later.

To do list (number: very many)

Tapiola:
Check/money order for EC ->possible?
Travel insurance for a year? (well 9 months as I already have 3 months paid)

Police:
Passport (9th of July)
Fingerprints x 2 (9th of July)
Criminal extract (?)

Tornio:
Pick up my niece (in few days)
Contact days for my school (27-31.8)
Move (no idea when)

Tampere:
Visit a friend (next weekend if possible)
Visit friends (4-5.8)
Friends wedding (15.9)

Koria:
Take my niece to see a friend of mine, also there is a theme park near by (withing few weeks)

Other misc:
Dentist (18.7)
Passport and CE for G pics (today?)
Mow the lawn (today?)
Take the other half of the wallpaper down (today?)
Paint the wall with my niece (?)
Fleemarket availability (?)
Gym key (today?)
Birthday presents for 4-5 friends (?)
Buy a suitcase (?)


Argh, too many ideas floating around.

Planning

As some of you know, I like to plan everything if possible. I do some extempore things, but usually I have planned to do some extempore for that time. Now that I iam planning on moving, I have so many things up in the air that I would love to plan really well what I am going to do for the next six months. But as my luck just has it, I am not able to plan. I just have one point in time from which I can just estimate forward. So in few weeks I will be going to renew my passport and get the fingerprints. Then I will need to get one check from my bank and hope that the cost for that one check is not greater than the value of it. It has happened to me once when I was going to Florida. I had to send a check that was more expensive than the amount in the check. Luckily the other payment, I will be able to do with my credit card. Then after sending the papers out, I will need to wait 6-8 weeks before getting anything. 

So from mid July to mid September, all I can do is wait. And after that wait some more if the papers have not yet arrived. Have I told you that I hate waiting. I will also need to have saved up 2500 CAD, if it is not enough that I get paid monthly already. So I might need to wait that too. Well it shouldn't take too long. Just few months if I am living with my sister. Well I calculated that what my mom is going to give for my 30th and my deposit from this appartment is already a third of what I need. So all I need to do is save up the two thirds. I should not forget that I do not have any tickets yet and I need to sort out my insurance, so what I save up will mostly likely go before I even leave. 

I have also been on the look for storage space. If I am going to stay away at least a year, plus few months when I am staying with my sister, I am going to need space for at least 1,5 years. There is one option of Rapattila, which I am not really even thinking about. To be totally honest, I am not sure if I would be getting all my stuff back, if I take them there. So I need to start thinking what to sell and what to keep. I am hoping that my cousins will be moving on their own place, so that I can offer them a helping hand with my stuff. 

As my plans are all over the place at this point, I haven't talked about it to very many people. I think I will have to start talking about it, just so that I will be able to see if anyone is in need of anything or knows someone who is willing to lend a hand. So far I know that my sister will take some, but not everything as they do not have that much space. My sister in law said that they can take the white bench and a canvas thingy my granny made. I think I will have to mention something about this to my mother as well. Not really exited about it, but she might have some storage space in the place she is living at the moment. I have not been there, so I do not know for sure. 

If I had won in last nights lotto, I wouldn't mind paying the extra money to a storage facility, but as I did not win I will just have to keep on searching for a cheap place.

/edit: Quota: 450 Working Holiday places
remaining: 265
Updated: 01/06/2012
So there still is 265 places left. I am not sure if they all go in a year or not. So if I miss out on this years, I will need to wait till January before submitting the application. I already know that it will be at least few more months before I will be able to send the application, so it might be that I won't be able to apply this year.

Midsummer pics

My midsummer "drinks"

I am spending the midsummer with my friend. She did most of the cooking and preparations for our dinner. Too bad I forgot to take a pic of the dinner. Luckily I remember to take pic of the pie we made together. :) Let me tell ya it tasted yammy!

Making of Pie

Another way of making rhubarb pie

My leadership story

This is part of my school assingment. I did a presentation of this competence and I had to do a practice as well. The practice was to write your own leadership story. So here it is:

Chapter 1: The early years
My family circumstances shaped me quite a lot. When I was a young child I was described as very joyful and ready for everything. If you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would list all possible jobs that I could think of. Only the sky was the limit. After my parents divorced when I was seven, I was made to choose a lot: who is better parent, whose gifts do you like better, where is the pretties Christmas tree, etc. I learned by observing the ones who asked the questions that I needed to answer by what they wanted to hear and not the truth.

I also learned that everybody lies and that my opinion is worthless. Me being joyful and curious of things was used to amuse adults; many questions that I asked were answered by hocus answer. I also learned that lying is very normal and can be done to anyone at any point. The only person that I can truly trust is me as I am aware of what I have said or done.

Chapter 2: Angels and Heroes
I need to describe two people who have made a difference in my life. One from personal life and one from work life. The one good boss that I have every had was when I was working in a cleaning company. She followed most the leadership practices that we are taught in school. She listened and gave feedback.

When she needed to give us back bad feedback, she did it so that we employees did not feel that we were put down. Unfortunately she got pregnant and left for maternity leave. I had her as my boss only 6 months, and still I have not met another boss that would rise up to the standard that she set. She taught me that most important thing that you can do, is to listen.

Person from my personal life. This one is a bit tricky, but I am going to choose my sister. From her I have learned that we can do anything as long as we stick together. We might fight like cats and dogs, but you cannot attack us. We have experienced a lot together and we understand each other. I would not go that far as to describing her as my angel or hero, but I would say that I can trust her. Leadership lesson that I have learned from her is that trust is earned.

Chapter 3: Leadership Courage
When my values were significantly challenged was when I was a young kid. So in my early years when learning that lying is normal and you cannot trust anyone, I also learned that that is not normal. The turn point for me was, when I realized that I could not trust my mother at all. After that it became quite easy to see what actually should be done and what kind of values I should follow.

One other turn point was when I stepped against my mothers will. She was waving a mental stick, to keep us behave properly. I remember clearly as yesterday, I looked right into her eyes and said hit away if it makes you feel better. After that day she never hit us again. She did change her tactics, but that one thing was at least changed for good.

Chapter 4: Your Legacy
What I want to pass on to others, is that help when you can and protect the weaker ones. That one has been with me since I was born I think. Next food for though is that money does not bring you happiness, but it is the necessary evil in the current world situation. If you become selfish and think only of yourself, you will end up alone. Sometimes it is good to be selfish, but you will need to even it out by helping others.

Coughing

Coughing and little more coughing. I just had little fever and sour throat almost two weeks ago! What is left is this annoying cough. Grrr, I tell ya grrr. I was supposed to write something else as well, but I am too tired to think about what it was. So just an update to you all that I am home and coughing. About to go celebrate the midsummer with my friend. I'll take my laptop with me so I can update any pics I happen to take during the next weekend.

Picture update from my trip

Here is a 47 second view of my train trip from Gatwick to Brighton. You can see that it is really green in England at the moment.

You'll never guess which company I used to fly to London... I do have to say I highly recommend! There was free wifi, and you are given the seat number, so you do not ned to rush in like a headless chicken. No free meals, but you really do not need anything as it is under 3 hour flight. Well you can bring your own or buy from the plane if you need anything.

I had a window seat next to the wings

 The Thursday evening was the only day that it rained, or well lets say I got wet because it rained. It might have rained on other days as well, but I did not notice it. The next pic was taken when we were looking for a place to eat. I just saw the dolphins and I had to take a picture.

The next day Rebecca and I did a short walk to a near by Rose Garden which is right next to Preston Park if I remember correctly. Here are some pics from the park:

Rose Garden

Then on Saturday we went walking in the Brighton city. Well first we did some shopping and met Rebecca's friend Ali and strolled along the beach. It was really windy and not at all as warm as it looks in the pictures.

Rebecca had bought some beautiful flowers to the guest room. I have no idea what they are called, but here is some pics of two of them.

This was really interesting looking. The flowers of this "flower" are not shown in this pic, but they are really small and are under this thing.

1. day and this flower was nice and pink

2. day the colour was light orange

3. day it was light yellow. Really nice flower I must say!

On Sunday we went to eat a Sunday roast at a near by pub called Park View (recommend to all to visit it, if possible).

There were some interesting painting in the wall

I had a vegetarian dish, as I didn't want to eat meat in front of my friend. I think she would have lost her appetite if I would have done so. Also it is nice to eat things that you haven't eaten before.

After the lunch we went to Preston Manor, which is a very old historic building in Brighton. The house is really big and has unbelievable amount of old furniture in it. You really could see the history in this place. Hmmm, am I forgetting something? Oh, this has also been in the Most Haunted program. I am sad to say that I did not see any ghosts or feel any precense while visiting this place.

Preston Manor

Then it was time to fly back home.

Can you see the other plane? It was landing while we were cruising already. So it is very tiny light dot, but it is there.

This looked really amazing from the high up. I could actually see the properls turn when I just looked really hard.

You can see in this pic what I mean. It is so funny that the camera wasn't able to catch what I saw.

I was quite in front this time.

Can you guess what this picture means?

Well I can tell you. The dark area is where the night is. Where the clouds are light there is still some sun shine. It is the most amazing thing to watch when you are flying to a night.

Rhubarb pie

Do you remember when I went to pick up my niece from the north? Well when we got back we went to my cousins graduation party, and my aunt gave me some rhubarb from her garden. I think the rhubarb was in my fridge for almost a week, before I decided that I need to do something about it before they go bad. So I cleaned and chopped the whole bag (sorry no picture evidence of how much there was).

Chopped rhubarbs

As it was getting quite late I didn't want to make the real dough (aka follow the recipe) and made a short crust pastry (?? muropohja in Finnish, the translation doesn't quite sound right but I can't remember what the real word for it is) instead. This saved me some time. I already had quark in my fridge, so I just made a simple mix with it, rhubarbs and sugar. It was really taste, might I add. Luckily my aunt (and my boss) with my niece came visit me while they were on they way to Lappeenranta. Later the same day my friends hubby came by as well. I made him eat some as well :)) So if you come visit me, be ready to eat if I have baked something. Only way out is to be allergic to something... Then I won't make you eat it. I might just have to make something that you can eat.

Rhubarb pie

Dentist III

Well it was a hygienist but anyway, went to the same building as before. So the hygienist was really nice lady, one of the best I ever have had. I remember the couple of earlier ones that I have had. One didn't know how to use the sharpy thing as my gum was full of holes after that visit. Also I really don't like the lecture that they give me after I tell that it has been a few years between the visits. I know that it has been quite a lot of time and I already feel bad about not going sooner, so no need to make me feel worse. Well I do have to say that I have picked up my speed a little bit. Last time I saw a hygienist was 2,5 years ago. Last time I saw dentist was 4 years ago? Maybe? Around 4-5 years ago. So I think they should appreciate that I at least make the effort and not go at all. That is an option in my head, I just haven't used it yet.

So this time, my teeth were just cleaned. Nothing else. I knew that there were not going to be anything else, but I still worried. I know the process what they are going to do by heart (well I am not going to tell them that) so I know if something is not normal. So I liked that this lady told me what she was going to do next and she asked me if it hurt. I told her at first that I do believe that it is not going to hurt, but I just don't like having things in my mouth. And that I hate the sound. Still she asked and made me feel more at ease. I didn't get a lecture on things that I have done wrong or not going to the dentist office more often. I got reccomendations and options what to do. That's what I like to hear. Fool me to believe that I have an option to do something. 

I also booked the final appointment to remove the final wisdom teeths. So in four weeks time I will be less wise. It is a 30 minute appointment, so it should not be too difficult. I already know what they are going to do, based on the previous visit. I know I will be nervous when I get there, but there is nothing I can do about that. I have pain meds already, as I didn't use all of them during the first teeth pulling. So all I need to do is remember to go there.

Shopping and clubbing

Got your intrest now didn't I. On Saturday morning becs did some work while I watched the third dvd from ricky gervais. She owns three: fame, politics and animals. Now I have watched them all over+ most of the extras. I didn't watch all the commentaries. Anyway, after she had worked some we left to town. We went to tj max to find something to wear. It was a bit funny as in the shop they did not have the same scale for all clothes. Luckily we were able to find something. I bought one shirt and she bought two shirts for me as a early birthday present. She also bought a shirt for herself as well. Then we went to get some tea from Costa. We meat Ali there who is a good friend of becs. Before leaving the Costa becs bought a coffee for her man.

We went to visit him in his place of work. We spent there about half hours. Then we went for the beach front. As it was windy we just walked a bit and found a table where to sit. Long day shortened, we enjoyed the weather a bit before returning back to her flat. There we took a little nap as we were going out in the evening. When we "woke" up, we noticed that we were a bit tired and a an evening with house music was not as appealing as it was in the morning. We decided to go anyway to show support to the organizer who is a friend of becs man. What can I say about the experience. First I felt how my right ear started to hurt just seconds after we got in. After 30 mins my right hand started to hurt. They really didn't like the vibration. Luckily the ear pain went away, so we did not need to go too early. When I was eager to dance becs was not and when she was I was too tired.

When we got back to her apartment, her roommate and friend were watching a movie. This meant that I would not be able to go to bed right away. So I watched the end of the movie with them and drank some tea. Oh, did I mention that in the club they had a smoke machine... Can you guess who was coughing really badly in the morning? I was coughing anyway but it was very dry and not painful. This morning it was a bit painful.

/edit: removed the extra markings that my phone had added. Also the unnecessary underline.

Red lights

Friday night I went to movies with my friend and a guy she is seeing at the moment. The movie was a thriller about psychic frauds and those who catch them. I do have to say that I am a bit disappointed with the movie. It has s much potential, but it didn't quite cut it. I paid 9,40£ to see it. So it wasn't quite worth that much imo. I knew the end solution or at least part of it before the movie ended. My friend liked it even though it was a bit all over the place. Her not boyfriend didn't like it that much.

I would say that it is a good movie to rent out and watch from the tell at home. There are better movies to watch at the movies so unless you desperately want to see this at the Theater, don't do it.

Traveling and security check ups

Oh, boy do I love traveling! I do have one problem though. I have some what bigger chest than the average person, I would say. You who know me, know what calibre we are talking about. So when I was going through the security check in the airport, I was not too surprised that the machine beeped while I walked through. So the only thing metal that I had on me was the underwire of my bra and button in my jeans. It is not a first time this has happened and it won't be the last time.  So I already knew what I needed to do, spread my hands etc. I was surprised that they didn't take the hand held thingy, which they usually do. Oh, well not my problem. Oh and my glasses are titanium, but I think they won't make the alarm. 

Anyway, as I had only hand bag *backbag* I was able to get my ticket quite fast. Well the ticket I took from the self service machine and then just walked to the security check area. This meant that I would be able to walk out of the airport quite fast as well as I wouldn't need to wait for a bag. It was a big surprise to me how well the wifi worked on the plane. I was able to do some surfing while being up there. Unfortunately I have had some trouble with facebook, so I wasn't able to update anything there. Also my earphones did't work at all. Bit surprising that the samnsung earphones did not work with samsung phone... The normal ones that I usually have did work with the phone, but I didn't remember where I had put them so I took the phones own ones instead. Taught me a lesson...

Before I forget, the flight was okey (bit bumpy at the end) but the lines to the passport control was nightmare. Luckily I am over 18 and have passport with the chip. This meant that I was able to get out much faster. I think I spent in line about 35 minutes. Those poor bastards who had children or the old passport had to wait much longer. I was a bit surprised that I was already in the right terminal as with Easyjet I would need to change the terminal to get to the train station. With Norwegian I was taken to the right terminal right away. Ah what service ;) 

Where and when?

 I am trying to find out all the old addresses I have had while living abroad. My aunt suggested that I will check out the registry for my details. It was a good suggestion but unfotunately I only had PO box address so it did not help me out much. But for your reading pleasure I decided to show you where I have lived. I think I will need to add a map of Finland later so you can check out the places. I have added few clarifications, but it is very easy to follow otherwise. I took the addresses away and left just the country and town to be visible. In the old addresses you can see how many times I have moved.

Counties I have lived in and when:
20.01.2010 - Present   Where I live now. 
23.02.2009 - 19.01.2010 Abroad, Grenada
01.09.2008 - 22.02.2009 Tornio
01.06.2005 - 31.08.2008 Tampere
21.08.2002 - 31.05.2005 Mikkeli (the time I spent in Florida has been added to this, as I was student in Mikkeli while being an exchange student in Florida)
07.06.2000 - 20.08.2002 Lappeenranta
04.06.1993 - 06.06.2000 Kittilä
01.01.1989 - 03.06.1993 Lappeenranta
20.08.1982 - 31.12.1988 Nuijamaa

Old addersses:
02.2010 - Present   Where I live now. (18th) (2 years and counting)
01.2010 - 01.2010  -  (Lived with my sister, but in the records I am homeless) (two weeks)
03.2009 - 01.2010 The Limes, St. GEORGE, Grenada (17th) (10 months)
02.2009 - 03.2009 Grand Anse, St. GEORGE, Grenada (16th) (1 month)
09.2008 - 02.2009 TORNIO (lived with my sister) (15th) (5 months)
08.2005 - 08.2008 TAMPERE (14th) (3 yrs 1 month)
06.2005 - 08.2005 TAMPERE (13th) (2 months)
08.2004 - 06.2005 US-FLORIDA (12th) (10 months)
07.2004 - 05.2005   -  (I was living in Florida, but they kept me in their records, the month's difference in Florida times and this I lived with relatives.This is not a move)
10.2002 - 07.2004 MIKKELI (11th) (1 yr 9 months)
08.2002 - 09.2002 MIKKELI (10th) (1 month)
08.2001 - 08.2002 LAPPEENRANTA (9th) (1 yr)
06.2000 - 08.2001 RAPATTILA (8th) (1 yr 2 months)
06.1998 - 06.2000 KITTILÄ (This is when I moved away from "home", the date is wrong, as it should be in may) (7th) (2 yrs)
07.1996 - 06.1998 HORMAKUMPU (6th) (1 yr 11 months)
02.1994 - 06.1996 KITTILÄ (5th) (2 yrs 5 months)
06.1993 - 01.1994 KITTILÄ (4th) (6 months)
12.1992 - 06.1993 LAPPEENRANTA (3rd) (6 months)
06.1992 - 12.1992 LAPPEENRANTA (2nd) (6 months)
04.1990 - 06.1992 LAPPEENRANTA (1st) (2 yrs 2 months)
01.1989 - 03.1990 RAPATTILA (This is because the county was combined with another one, not a real move) (total 7 yrs 7 months)
08.1982 - 12.1988 RAPATTILA

"Making a Cake"

Have you found yourself in a situation where you have an empty "cake tin"? No cake tin should be empty! If you have not been faced with empty cake tin before, you might be surprised how long it takes to have the filling. Many do not know all the steps that it takes to have the right filling. Some have the fortune to have all the ingredients at hand but there are some that do not. So let me tell you a little bit of "making a cake".

First step is "finding the ingredients". We all have a good idea what a cake entails. What is not known is that we all have our own special ingredients that we need to find to make the cake, our own cake. So if you have not baked a cake before, you will need to start with finding the ingredients. First the easy part: few eggs, sugar and paking powder. Then you will need to find flour. Make sure you find the correct one, so that the cake will fit your needs. You never know where you find the ingredients. They might have been hidden in places your never thought to look. Now after you have found the ingredients, remember that there is still lots to do before the cake is ready, so pace yourself. All those who are eager to taste the cake before it is ready, just tell them that "ingredients ready cake are not!"

Step two is "getting the equipment". Now you need to find a bowl where to make the dough. Make sure that you find a big enough bowl, so that the dough will not spill. Then you will need a mixer. You can mix the eggs by hand as well but it will take more time than with electric mixer. Also you need something to measure the right amount of sugar, baking powder and flour. The cake tin you already have, as you would not have noticed that it is empty if you did not have it. You also need an oven, to bake the cake. Using microwave is possible but for the best result you will need time and oven.

Step three is "making the dough". Now you need to be ready. You have spent some time to find the eggs and you might not even find them all the the same time. So you might feel that you need to take care of the eggs. No! To make the cake we need to break the eggs. Just take a deep breath and go for it. The eggs will be the base for the cake. After you have breaked the eggs add some sugar and mix well. If the eggs and sugar is not mixed well you might have to start over. Then measure the flour and baking powder and mix them to the dough. If you have forgotten something or used wrong ingredient you will need to start over. 

Step four is "baking the cake". This step is mostly waiting, but it is very important step anyway. Now that your dough is ready, it is time to put it into the cake tin. Preheat the oven and put the cake in. Remember not to put the oven too hot or too cold, as you will need to start from the beginning if the cake is not good. Also the cake needs to be in the middle of the oven, and you guessed it right you might need to start over if it gets burned. Then you will have to wait and trust that you have the right ingredients. If you let the cake be in the oven too long, it will burn and if you take it out too soon it will be raw, which means that you will need to start over. 

Step five is "cake is ready". Now you have a cake tin with a filling. It has been a long road to get here and you might have had to repeat steps more times than you can count. Just trust yourself that you are able to make a cake that fills your cake tin. 

The most difficult thing about making this cake is, that you will have to do it all by yourself. Others can help with finding the ingredients, but only you know what the right ones are. Other can help you with getting the equipment, but only you know what is the best way to make the cake. Sometimes we have to use trial and error to find the best way for us, as it might not have been written up and we have to use others way first to find our own. Waiting is the hardest part. You will need to trust yourself and be patient. In the end you will have a cake. You can decorate it the way you want or use no decorations at all. Once you have done the first succesful cake, you will find that it gets easier and easier to make another one.

What to write: Blog or school paper?

It is such a difficult choice... Let me think about if for a second. School paper is very important as it will be part of my grade. I do not have any exams as all grades are based on the papers that I submit. So I need to pay attention to them and make sure that I have listened in class so I will have the correct information in the papers. Luckily I now only have one paper left. It is one that I have to write by myself, so no group support or pressure to write it down. Also I still have a week before I need to submit it in. I will be going to Brighton in less than a week though. So I better get the paper done before that.

I also will need to ask if my sis can help me out while I am away. Just so that I will not have a lot of angry customers waiting. When you are the only person to do the cc, you sometimes need to think what is easiest for you. If it means that I will do 30 mins of work during holiday, than so be it. I rather do that then loose the little bit of joy that I have of working. I really did not even think how nasty people can be when they do not see the other person. It is like when we are online we do not need to behave like human beings. This is one reason why I will not do cc after I have finished here. I rather do the cleaning. Really, I mean it. Well I rather would win in Lotto and not work at all, but there is such a slim chance of that happening. It might help if I would put the lotto in...

I already know what I would do. I would so travel around the world so many times that I would ran out of money... Well I would buy an apartment first and take care of few things before going travelling. Oh, well I will do the lotto after next paycheck. 

Have I mentioned earlier that I hate waiting. I do not mind waiting for a train or plane, but when I have decided that I will move, I just want to pack everything and do it right then and there. So when I have decided that I will move in 3-6 months, it drives me crazy not to be able to things. I want to pack everything, but there is no point as I will be living here for few more months. I want to pack the things that I am going to take with me when I go abroad, still no point as I will need most of them many times before that will happen. I would like to take my stuff to storage, but I don't see a point living in an empty apartment. 

Also I have lived here almost 2,5 years now. That's quite good of me. Where else have I lived this long? Let me think now... Well I did not even need to think too far back. I lived in Tampere over 3 years, of which 3 years in one apartment. The few months that are over, I subletted from my aunts friend. No wonder I like Tampere as it is the place where I have lived longest, after turning 18.

Car trouble?

Well my car is working well kind of. When I left from my friend Bday party I had some trouble getting it started. Well it didn't start at all was the problem. The radio and lights worked perfectly. I had to pop up the hood and stare angryly at the motor. I might have wiggled some things in there (don't ask what as I don't know). Anyway I tried again and with the second try it started.

So basically it works but my car doesn't like rain very much. Since that  happened, it hasn't happened again. So it is working right. I need to remember warn my friend about it, but I feel confident that the car will work fine.

I have done couple of day a bit of extra work. Just because there has been so much to do. Also as I will be away two days when I am going to Brighton, I will need to do those hours in. Also I think I will need to ask my sister to do some checking so that I won't have too much work waiting for me when I get back.

I had so much more what I had planned to write, but alas I forgot most of it. :))

Train travelling

Before last weekend I travelled by train to pick up my niece and to bring her to my aunt (her great aunt) to be looked after for 10 days. When I went up north, I chose to travel in normal car (train car) as it wasn't a busy time of the year I knew that I would be able to sleep in the bench. I had thought that the car would be a new one and have plug for the computer (or phone to be recharged). Unfortunately this was not the case, so I couldn't do any work in the morning as my battery died pretty soon. Also my phone didn't have much battery left either. I noticed that my jaw got a bit sore during the night. It was probably because the ride wasn't the smoothest and the bench wasn't that soft. 

In the morning my sister and my niece picked me up from the train station. The pollen has made it really hard for my sister to breath. This is the first year that it has had this affect on her. We came up with few reasons why this might be. First of all this is the first time since many years, that there is no dog in the house. Because Solo was there, it might have helped her fight the pollen a bit more. Secondly it might be that there is mold in the house, although most of it has been taken care of (my brother in law has renovated the house quite a lot). My sister is allergic to the mold, so the pollen might just be the icing on the cake. Thirdly it might be something totally different. She is not having a runny nose or itchy eyes, like normally people have. There are many ways to react, but with pollen I think the most common is the flu symptoms and itchy eyes. Well we will learn more when she gets her doctors appointment. 

Friday night my niece and I travelled back on a night train. This time I had booked us a compartment where we could sleep. She was a bit nervous at first, but fall asleep within an hour after we had left. In the morning, when I was waking her up, she was ready to start the day. It was a bit unfortunate that it was raining when we arrived to Riihimäki. My aunt (another one) was waiting for us in the station and from there we headed to Tervakoski (which is about 10-20 mins away depending on traffic). We went to Tervakoski, because my cousin had her Graduation party from vocational school. We were the first guests to arrive (for the obvious reason). First we checked out my aunts cats, which were huge success with my niece. She really loves cats and dogs. 

We helped a bit with the arrangements (taste testing and making of choclate "hamburgers"). When my other aunt arrived my niece was so happy. You could hear her scream "the dog arrived!"... But yeah she was happy to see her great aunt as well. Then we were waiting for the third aunt (and her husband) and my dad to arrive. From those three I was only waiting to see my dad. I had planned that I would see those three now so I don't have to see them again in (hopefully) many years. Well I think I should have left the minute they arrived. I would have seen them and then I wouldn't have had to talk to them. It wasn't anything major that got under my skin. All was fine at first. But somehow because my niece was there, and we were watching my grandad's substandard film from the 70' from dvd, my aunts husband started to talk about something that I had said to his wife when I was a kid. I did remember the comment, but instead of admitting it I said to him that I didn't. I said that it is good that someone does and left it at that. 

When you are a child you can make huge mistakes. It is just so unfortunate that there are people who like to rub your nose in them. When you are a child you believe in silly things like no-one is going to hurt you or use you as a pawn. So if you have missed it, I do not like this aunt and her husband. I did when I was a kid and I learned the hard way that they are not to be trusted. So where I want to forget, they don't seem to want. Luckily my friend had her Bday party so I could go there and keep my self busy with people around me so I hadn't any time to think.