Best.Week.Ever.

ZOMG. Best. Week. Ever.

So after my parents left, I decided to live my life in the now... and suddenly was overwhelmed with things to do! So many things, in fact, that I can't even remember what I did on Tuesday.

Monday. Felt sick. Went pre-antibiotic treatment shopping. Felt better! Met Juha for lunch. Met Antti at uni to discuss summer course. Ran home to prepare Spanish Paella (magnificent)! Ate. Went to bed.

Tuesday. I can't really remember... Woke up around 11am. Very unlike me. Went to Allermiina. Cleaned up a bit. Did some Finnish studying. Went to Sale, or Ruohonjuuri? I forget. Hung out with Juha at home. Made the bean thing everyone loves... I can't remember the rest of the day so well....

Wednesday. Woke up early-ish. Watched some quality TV and read. Went to Sale. Made homemade salsa! Was supposed to meet Juha at the uni at 2pm but he had to leave early because they ran out of Subs after doing a promotional thing with Subway. Went to the post office. Went to Akateeminen Kirjakauppa to read children's books (to kill time) then ran over to Stockman to buy A banana and AN avocado. Then went to Juha's dad's before walking over to Gopal! I love that place. Then went home and went for a run/walk. After 11 months of not running and 3 months of eating no carbs, it's a little hard for me to run but I basically ran half-way with 2 walking breaks then took a detour home with lots of stairs to run up and down... but walking in between. It was really fun and relaxing actually. Lots of thinking time. When I got home, I started making MEXI burgers and when Juha got home, he made Guacamole... the resulting meal with warm homemade salsa, fresh guacamole and right-out-of-the-over mexiburgers was DIVINE!

Sadly, we had to eat quick! We ran over to O'Connell's to see Barca play Inter on home turf. Exactly one year ago, Barca beat Chelsea. This year, we weren't so lucky and went home disappointed. Now Inter will face Bayern in the final and Barcelona will miss the momentous occasion to play the final in Madrid.

Thursday. Woke up early again! Ate breakfast and started doing WORK. Juha's work is looking for new drivers and they got about 90 applications. Since he saw me applying to places and not getting replies all year, he decided he wants to contact everyone to thank them for their application. So he wrote up a blurb and I went through those 85 applications that didn't make the cut (unemployment is high right now... the lucky 5 got interviews but there's only one spot) and thanked them graciously. It was really nice to feel productive again! I had to meet the WokWok crew at 1pm but I had so much food at home and wanted to finish my task before going that I ended up being an hour late. But fed, nonetheless. I then went over to Anne's after for TEA. It looks like she wants to get rid of a couch because she's going on exchange but wait for it... it's a pull-out couch! So I basically just found my Helsinki bed! It should be compact enough to fit into a tiny, cheap-as-possible room!

Friday. I have no plans for the day other than clean and pack but in the evening I'm headed off to Germany to visit my parents and family friends in light of their 30 year anniversary and 50 year birthday party! It's a huge milestone!!

I think I have that covered for now.

Jyväskylä!

I can't remember if I mentioned that we went to Jyväskylä when Andy and Steffy were here and I'm too lazy to check BUT what I'm not too lazy to do is upload this picture that sums up our trip.
<3.
P.S. This was in a fake sauna at a Toilet bar...

Wonderful weekend and week!

Last weekend my parents came to visit!
I didn't get too excited about it the week before because airlines were still canceling flights and I think no one wanted to be disappointed. But when Friday rolled around the the flight was still scheduled, I let myself get excited. Sadly, they were only here for Saturday afternoon, Sunday and Monday morning BUT I am really happy they got to see Tampere and meet some of the people I spend my time with.

On Saturday we went for a drive throughout the city, ate at a Nepalese restaurant (which was delicious btw) and hung around our place for awhile. My parents were pretty tired after their transatlantic flight so they turned in around 10pm. The fact that there was light up until past 9pm and then some helped them stay awake a little while longer.

Sunday morning we had breakfast at our place. Nina came over for tea shortly after my parents arrived and sat around and chatted for a bit! My mom really wanted to see some stored in Tampere so we took her to Stockman on the way to Paivi's. Paivi prepared a delicious elk with potatoes, carrot salad, some amazing soup, mushroom sauce, lingonberry and "bread cheese" (leipäjuusto) dessert... among other yummy things. We then went out for a walk through the neighbourhood, near the lake, toward the former horse stables and even a random art exhibit that was taking place nearby. Once we got back, we had a peppermint chocolate cake (made by Anna!), which I allowed myself 3 bites of. I would've eaten the whole thing had I been able to haha. We also played a round of "Promise," a card game I learned while Andy and Steffy were here. I wish I could play that card game every day but you need at least 4 people to play. Still, my parents knew a similar game that could be played with only 2 people.. so I'll have to make sure I understand the rules. Maybe we should start playing cards for often... maybe with the WokWok crew haha.
After leaving Paivi's that evening, we went for a walk near the city center and 'place where the boats hang out' (where the fish market is... what is that called?). Then we drove around a pretty neighbourhood before heading to WokWok to meet up with Donna. Donna had just run at 10k, mostly uphill in 65 minutes and she still managed to meet us. As far as I'm concerned, that's pretty stunning. I walked uphill yesterday and it was hard. :)

Monday morning my parents came over for breakfast again before taking off to Helsinki for their flight. It was hard to say good bye but I'm really happy I'm headed off to Germany this weekend to see them again. Still, I felt a bit of regret because, although they got to meet a handful of people, we only spent a few hours together and I would've liked everyone to get to know one another better. I guess we'll just have to wait for the next visit.
After their departure on Monday, I felt a little under the weather but I had a fair bit of running around to do. I met Juha for lunch at 2pm, after which I went to pick up some necessary provisions before starting another antibiotic treatment next week. I had some huge bottles to carry so thank God for my new (bike) BASKET! My parents bought it for me on Saturday and I've been carrying groceries and the like in it ever since. I ran home with all that stuff (on my bike haha), sat down for 2 minutes, then ran back to uni (on my bike) to meet up with Antti. Antti is going to teach my Finnish class this summer and I had to show him everything we'd studied up to date. I left him all my notes and the textbook we used. We ended up chatting for about an hour and a half before heading home so it was really nice. I'm really looking forward to getting back in the classroom again and learning Finnish on a weekly basis. The original plan, pending approval from the majority of the class' participants, is to have 3 classes a week: 2 lesson-oriented classes and one discussion class. This way, we get to learn AND practice what we learn. I've emailed everyone and I'm still waiting for feedback. Also, we need a place to do this and that's a little bit harder to organize. The uni has some study rooms but they don't have blackboards so that might limit us a bit. I'm sure we'll figure this out though. And we still have a bit of time before we're due to start.

I got a new book from Canada that my mom brought me called "Complete Candida Yeast Guidebook" by Jeanne Marie Martin and Zoltan P. Rona, M.D. Now this book is absolutely amazing... and I would recommend it to anyone. Admittedly though, it also scares the shit out of me. I started reading it Saturday night and I'm sooo happy that I've already been on the diet for 3 months. There are so many little details you have to be aware of that if I hadn't been living without them for 3 months and still doing fine, I'd be too scared to eat anything for fear of dropping dead. Evidently, that's not a real issue, but I'm slowly incorporating some of the stuff into my life and diet. While other things will either be looked at later, or not at all. For example, I'm not going to replace all my cutting boards and cooking tools immediately because I spend wayyy too much money on food as it is. I bought Arrowroot Powder yesterday. Do you know what that is? I don't either but I need it to make special pancake breakfasts and I can even make flatbreads with it. Anyway, it was 16e... and it's a pretty big bottle so I'm hoping to make it last.
The book is really great though because it has recipes. Tons and tons of recipes! I've made a salad and a dressing so far (I just started!) and an AMAZING Spanish Paella with the ingredients provided. It wasn't hard at all... yet it was sooo tasty. But sadly, I didn't take any pictures.

Tonight I'm planning on making Mexi-Burgers with Homemade Salsa and Guacamole. Speaking of which, I have to stock up on some ingredients so I'm going to go grocery shopping right now.

I think I got everything covered. I'm planning another entry for very soon though!

April 20th in a couple of paragraphs.

Okay so here are a few questions...

I'm getting a haircut on Thursday and I want a change... but I haven't had bangs since grade 5 so I'm really doubting that's the kind of change I'd go for... but regardless: it's in my facebook status.

Otherwise, I think I'm craving this change due to recent events over the past few days. Actually, this volcano even affected my mood! I'm pretty envious of those long journeys that most people have up ahead. Don't get me wrong, prices are insane right now as people are struggling to find their ways home BUT it's still an adventure. And these adventures are pretty much priceless... granted, I may not want to venture all alone but that might be part of the fun too. So that's one reason I've been reading papers none-stop. The other reason is that my parents are supposed to be flying into Helsinki from Toronto on Saturday around noon and there's no word yet on what the situation will be like then.

Moving on, I called the company I was waiting to hear from today. The woman I've been speaking with over email informed me that my test was received but she was still waiting to get the results back. And hour and a half after we got off the phone, I got an email. Good news or bad news first? I'll keep you in suspense with good news first. The results of the test were good [and since she bothered, I guess I passed the background check as well] but bad news, there were no more positions available. Still, she saved my CV in their system for a rainy day. I guess I may also have a leg up on the competition considering that fact that I've been interviewed and tested already. I'm basically groomed and ready to be called upon. But yeah, I'm not overly optimistic about getting a call anytime soon.

Later on today, I went to the bookstore in search of an exercise book I was hoping to pick up. I got a text this morning from the bookstore saying it had arrived so I rode my bike down this afternoon to pick it up. I really like this texting system... and I don't have to bother with phone calls, awkward pauses and cues. I'm actually becoming and very reserved person. Anyway, I went to flip through the book and pretty much decided to buy it upon seeing that the friend who suggested it to me also was the one who provided the English translation! I got home hoping to jump right into it but the winds were taken out of my sails a bit. I watched some TV instead.

So... I'm looking for a new project. I've been searching job sites regularly but the biggest one, I had trouble navigating. I should figure that out soon though. I've been thinking about doing some writing over the summer but, as our British friends would say, I just can't be bothered. Or at least that's how I feel right now. I don't mind blogging about my day so much, but writing a book!? Or structuring my work?... I'm obviously being super lazy. It helps a lot when you have things to keep you busy... and when you have things to keep you busy, you're under the illusion that if only you had less things to keep you busy, you'd be better off and doing 100000 more things. Oh but alas, that's not how it works my friend. Luckily I had to jump on the cooking and baking band wagon recently. And although I do feel that my recent discovery of culinary arts has been distracting, I want more! I want a project I can follow from start to finish [har] and that will keep me distracted for days! Maybe I should start going to the library to get things done... it's only a 3 minute bike ride away... I might just do that tomorrow...!

Andy and Steffy update!

The pair have reached Stockholm as planned! The next leg of the journey involves picking up a car and driving it to Copenhagen. I'll post here once I hear word of that.

Meanwhile, I've been reading absolutely every article available on the ash-situation throughout Europe from:
www.globeandmail.com
www.lefigaro.fr
www.bbc.co.uk
www.yle.fi

I have to say, this article caught my eye...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/ottawas-coolness-angers-stranded-canadians/article1540027/

Come on Canada, you can't be this lame!

Romania Picture Post.

I'll let the images speak for themselves. Thank you to all those who were there for making our little adventure so wonderful!











And now moving on to the greatness that once was... I give you Bucharest...



















And the restaurant where we ate that night, with the 3 Bubus, Ana and Dragos.

Latest News!

Here at the "Tampere crisis center", Andy and Steffy are ready to take off on their Volcanic Journey across Scandinavia. The first leg of the journey includes the train ride from Tampere to Turku, leaving at 4pm today. Tonight, they'll be boating across the Baltic Sea. After a quick view of Stockholm, starting at 6am tomorrow morning, the Python Clan will pick up a car and drive to Copenhagen...

The remaining legs of the journey will have to be decided in real time. There's no telling how this will end...

Jopo from Juha!

The pictures will be slowly trickling in but for now, here's my brand new, shiny, yellow Jopo! Which I'll be riding around town all summer since the airports might stay closed forever...voi, voi.

Stuck in Finland.

This whole ash cloud is causing a lot of excitment and displacement and worry all around. I'm excited about travel plans... but I don't have to go anywhere. Whereas, Andy and Steffy are here visiting and trying to find ways to get from Tampere/Turku/Helsinki to Manchester and Mannheim, respectively.

We've read about poor bastards stuck in Istanbul traveling to Copenhagen and much luckier travelers going from Berlin to Riga (boo).

The first leg of the journey will most likely involve a train ride over to Turku where, if possible, Andy and Steffy will jump on a ferry to Stockholm. They have a car waiting to Stockholm which they can drive to Copenhagen in. The rest remains to be determined, likely as they travel.

I'll be in touch.

Big-ish Update.

Note to self: Do not leave your blog un-updated to the point where you have to go back and check what you last wrote and upon doing so, you realize that you don't really remember what the next chronological event was and thus have to settle for the things you can remember...

So since my last post, I've:
- practically severed my toe [that is a gross exaggeration... but it was gross...]
- traveled home to Romania [Bucharest and Galati]
- purchased a painting
- wrote out a test for a company I applied for
- celebrated my 22nd birthday
- got a brand new, yellow bike!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- bought 2 purses... and by the end of today, make that 3 purses
- been working on putting together a summer Finnish language course taught by a friend
- found Spelt bread at the Ideapark shopping center in Lempäälä! [Yes, this made the news because I ate bread for the first time in 2 months and a half yesterday!]

Imminent events include:
- the arrival of Steffy and Andy!!!! [today!]
- the end of my Finnish language course :( [tomorrow!]
- the arrival of my parentals in 2 weeks!!!!


Anyway, let's delve right in to the stories.

So right before leaving to Helsinki on Thursday, April 1st, we were cleaning up the apartment because it had gotten a little out of hand and needed some showing-who's-boss. Simultaneous packing was taking place! I was helping Juha look for his battery charger, which we later found but realized he'd left the researchable batteries at home :(, when I hit my toe against a very pointy edge of a mirror we'd left on the balcony. It hurt like a bitch but I didn't think it was any worse than a normal cut... AT FIRST! I hopped to the bathroom only to lead a trail of blood along the way [ok they were small drops, but still]. So blah blah blah, it bled for 3 days and I kept hitting it against stuff. It's slightly deformed but I'm sure I'll make a speedy recovery. I can wear normal shoes now at least! I wore Birks for like a week after.

So that same night, we left for Helsinki with Wok Wok in the car and smiles on our faces! We awoke early around 5am the next day, caught our plane to Budapest and had a 3 hour layover there. We ate lunch and headed off! Before we knew it, Juha had stepped foot in the motherland for the very first time. Bubu, Crina and Bianca picked us up at the airport with flowers in hand! It was super warm and beautiful outside and we headed to Casa Romaneasca [a traditional Romanian restaurant] to introduce Juha to some good food before driving to Galati. Once in Galati, about 5-6 hours later [lunch time + drive time] we installed ourselves in the apartment below my aunt's place, Relu's apartment, excited to be there! Our time in Galati was very relaxing and my aunt even took us shopping the next day. I got a new pair of Converse shoes, although not the classics, mind you, and a pair of jean shorts. Juha got a new cologne and a belt. Otherwise, we enjoyed coffee on a terrace, listened to Bubu's stories [yes, I was actively translating them all to Juha the entire time] and celebrated Easter. I'll have a separate picture post for Romania after. All in all, I think it was the best time to visit because the weather was great and Juha got to experience an authentic Romanian easter... and we have a lot of traditions: hitting eggs, going to to church at 12am, eating cozonac, eating lamb... okay it's mostly a lot of eating but regardless, all delicious!

Monday morning we took the train back to Bucharest with Bubu de la Galati. Bubu3 picked us up from the train station and took us to Bubu de la Bucuresti's apartment. I kid you not, there were 3 Bubus! But none of their real names are actually Bubu. Point being, Bubu, Ana and their son Dragos [good family friends of ours] took us out on a speedy but really complete tour of Bucharest in about 3 hours. We saw all the beautiful buildings there are, all the massive communist buildings that are not so beautiful and all the buildings that used to be beautiful but have in some way been run down because of communism. Our first stop was Casa Poporului, the world's second largest building after the Pentagon. Bubu has meetings there from time to time and he says it takes about 15 minutes to walk to someone's office!


This isn't my picture but it's my favourite picture of the place so I'll post it here. I got it off Google... my own pictures will follow in a different post.

That night we went out to Caru' cu Bere, Bucharest's best restaurant! It was soooo wonderful... I love food!!! They had musicians and magicians there and the food was... perfections. Sadly, we didn't have too much time to spend in Bucharest so Tuesday morning we went for a walk in the rain in Lacul Tei, just like I used to do with my grandpa when I was little, and then went to the airport.

That's it for the really exciting Romanian-trip related stuff... I'll post pictures today as soon as I upload them onto my computer, and then I need to post pictures of the other, not-so-verbal, exciting stuff!