Holy...! Gym?

Everyone who knows me knows that I like odd things. I've myself even been called odd several times, especially at primary and secondary school. Personally, my subjective point of view to this matter is that, well, I don't mind being odd. For me, it's the kooky version extraordinary. ;) This time my sense of odd things has lead me to a trial, a seven day purgatory of testing if I'm up for it. If I'm up for a gym membership at a Chapel. 

Yeah, you read it right (in case you didn't, read it again, it means what it says), at a Chapel. This basic gym (that's a good thing in gyms not in Finns) is made into an old chapel. Oh, well, it might be a kind of a chapel still to some, though. However, it's a small gym, only 400 members and it's newish. And the church hall is not decorated with crucifixes, it's decorated with graffiti (I adore graffiti). Facilities may be simple and a bit worn out, but I'm just so excited about the settings that I really don't care. All ya need is some gangsta rap in da background and ya might be in some cool hood in the Bronx, ya man. Just made that up, never been to the Bronx, won't be going there anytime soon. 

The tourist companies did however try and make my do deals on other trips right here in Australia last night. Sangria was good, and the deals even better. However, I think I ended up making one very unusual one. I think this will be some sort of a human experiment of the Aussie nature and trustworthiness. It seems that I shook hands to a deal that I'd do weight loss counseling and I'd get a free 2 day overnight trip to the Great Ocean Road and the Phillip Island to see the penguins. I hope that something really comes out of this because a) I want to believe that people generally don't bull shit around (pardon my French you sensitive readers) and b) I want to prove that I personally meant what I said. Plus the trip seems awesome. I'm a bit upset that didn't win any cool trips, but if this deal comes through, then that's pretty neat too. Although, I do realize I really, really have to do some work to earn my trip. :D

 This seems to turn out into a post about sports, but will continue a bit more. So I signed up for my second ski marathon, which is taking place here in Australia in August. My lovely friend Jess is thinking of turning this into some sort of a road trip, and I won't object! Anyway, I'm gonna pack my skiing gear and head for the mountains anyway. Need to do some sort of training before that, but it's not all that simple when I don't know in which part of the town I'm staying and for how long. I'm sure I'll come up with a good plan, no doubt. 

Started my "back on track" training by a nice run today in the oddest of settings in a while. The sun was setting over the city, clouds were really dark due to a recent rain fall and the air was filled with the hum of cars going by and the chirping of birds in the palm trees. The swan-sized ducks with plastic necklaces looked like ancient dinosaurs swimming by (mind you, miniature size of course). The glass walls of high rise office buildings lined one side of the lake, where as the the other side was mostly by the park. The lake was surrounded by empty restaurants that were, however, lit. One of them had a huge mega TV screen on, was lit with fluorescent pink light and there was nobody in sight - David Lynch moment with a hit of Twin Peaks. The few runners I saw were, like myself, running in the dim light or darkness. The Hitchcock atmosphere was guaranteed when the seagulls stared at me from the wooden docks. Needless to say, I enjoyed the run greatly. ;) 

AAAAAAARRRRGGGGGH! 


A very sophisticated start for the post, I know. I'm grinding my teeth together, occasionally pulling my hair, eating because I'm trying to distract myself (and empty the fridge), drinking loads of water (wishing it was beer) and generally fussing around. I'm constantly checking something from the computer and then going to the bedroom to see if magically there would be more space in my bag than at the previous glance. There never is. 


I still don't understand where to buy extra luggage online (though, I don't have an extra bag, unless I take my rug sack...) and whether it's even possible with my "cheap" tickets. And tomorrow this time, I'll have a billion more kilos because of the bread samples I'm getting. Seriously, I want to weep. I know this is a classic example of a first world problem. After all I'm off to the other side of the world to do a training and to see what's life is like out there. But it's probably going to be an expensive first world problem for me.


Good news is that I have my flat rented out for at least part of the trip and I finished ALL paperwork that I absolutely needed before the trip. These kind of trips are excellent for sorting out your things and getting rid of unneeded ones! I'm still going to continue this when I get back home. No excess things, though somethings are worth keeping for sentimental values (hence a pile of cards from loved ones stuffed in the drawer). More books from the library or selling the ones I've read. Clothes and shoes that match and that you truly wear. No need to have 20 candle holders when you only use 15. ;) 


The day has been grey and rain has been pouring down. It certainly makes leaving easier, although I was feeling really happy walking out in the rain today. Tampere is a beautiful place in the summer time and I wish to spend one of the upcoming summers here. I tend to move around so much that there's no guarantee when that's happening. :D All in all, I'm very excited to go, so if I started the blog with a level of enthusiasm at 85 %, it's now hundred and beyond.


So, guys and gals, I'm off to adventures tomorrow! ONE night to go!!!

Pic by Perminder @ Suomenlinna :)

Two is the number of nights, billion is the number of butterflies in my belly

In the middle of sorting out computer work (or whatever this is that I'm trying to do), I need to get some of the anxiety out of my system. :S 


It seems like everyone around me is having awesome time with mid-summer festivities, but my mind is not really even tuned up to that anymore. We did enjoy sauna at Rauhaniemi (one of my absolute favorite places in the WORLD) with my nephew and refreshing 15 degree swimming water. ;) Loved it, but it seems the diving part was stupid, because in the evening I had severely bad looking vampire eyes (BRIGHT red with small pupils), probably due to the pollen in the lake. Note to self: you are allergic even though you wish not to be. 


Our days have been filled with cleaning up, sorting, packing and for J taking stuff to the recycling station and shop. I'm glad I had the helper around, partially because of the tasked just mentioned, but also because he made some delicious chocolate muffins for us yesterday! He now knows that the dough has whipped eggs, because he forgot them first and we were wondering why the dough is so stiff... But got the problem fixed, and they turned out looking good and tasting lovely. All low FODMAP and in our case also gluten free. :) 


Two nights to go: I CANNOT BELIVE IT! I feel like I'm waiting for a hurricane to hit me. I know I still have preparations to do, but I'm afraid I forget to do things or something disastrous happening. But at least somethings done: Windows (almost) spotless, the flat somewhat clean, a lady renting my place for 7 weeks, have most of the samples, have packed most of my things and most of all: I cannot wait to hit Australian soil! I crave for new and exciting places and things to see and learn. My apologies to all, who've felt I'm not focused on what you are saying - my mind has left this place already. The rest of me will follow on Monday night. ;) 


Soundtrack of my insane days: Maroon 5, Ciara and of course, Gotye. 

Lost count already... Number of predictably very short nights: FOUR

Jätkät, hei, tässä ei taaskaan oo mitään järkeä. Sorry, needed to get that out of my system. It's 23:45 on Thursday night and I've just finished cleaning my windows. I've lived in my apartment for three years (or my tenants have), and I've never "had the time" to clean them. The previous sentence of course means, I've been too lazy to do it. But now that I'm getting older and more spinster-like by the year, I had the unstoppable urge to clean those suckers (pardon my language, not that spinster yet). I had trouble with the technique, and I called Mom (yes, not that old yet either) and her first question was, that do you REALLY need to do it now. Of course, yes! And man, have I got the technique right now! I'm happy to clean my windows next year (or the year after that). 

The reason behind this obsessive cleaning frenzy is that there's a lady coming to see my apartment tomorrow to see, whether she'd like to help me out and rent my apartment for a few months out of the 3,5 months I'm away. I'd consider myself very lucky if that be the case! 

Panicking about the samples has not ceased. However, I think I know better how to prepare myself for the customs. Going to scribble several pages tomorrow so I won't miss any products I need to declare. It seems that I'll be traveling very light - with regards to clothes and other "necessities". Still unsure, if I can purchase more luggage with my "cheap" tickets. Tried to figure that one out yesterday, but couldn't really figure it out. Could be that this state of anxiety is not the optimal for dealing with arrangements... 

Hoping mid-summer festivals are nice for all. I celebrated mine two weeks ago at our summer cottage with the best of posse. Being a little crazy is a gift. ;) 

Kauas ei kahjot karkaa - bileiden helmiotos by The Lovely Jatta Puhkala

Six short nights ahead?

Enjoying a morning brain blankness on the train to Vaasa. The last work day in months, and I must be honest - I'm really glad. Traveling 3 hours back and forth has become tiresome, although, I'm grateful for having this job that makes it possible for me to study and still keep up my dietitian skills. Or improve them to be exact. I've accepted that I'm never going to be ready as a professional, so I consider my work life as being about constant learning session. That's what makes it interesting too, I suppose. 

The reason for brain blankness is mostly my less than 6 hours of sleep and I'm now dreading of having more of those before I leave. It just seems that at 11pm I start having great ideas like learning to use my new mobile (guys, no more loosing of telephone numbers - can you imagine?!) and for tonight I was hoping to draw the pattern of my skirt, which I solemnly intend to sew before Monday next week. Got the material from Marimekko last weekend, and I MUST make it and take it with me - it's soooo fine! :) (Yes, this blog is going to include nonsense every now and again.) The new mobile has a dysfunction though. I have difficulties in answering it. :D My fellow train passengers must've been amused by my attempt to answer my phone (ringtone Bollywood...) just now... My silent apologies... :P

My nights might be short, but I did sleep fairly well, because against all odds, I managed to get some food samples from the producers! I'm really thankful that I don't have to use that much of my own money on buying samples. Since I don't have funding for my trip (except Eki and Sointu - in all honesty here), I take all the financial help I can get. Obviously doing science like this (not a part of any research group) doesn't come for free, but I'm pretty sure this will pay off. At least I'm so looking forward to working in the lab and seeing what we find out! I realised I might need to try and pay for extra luggage, because there's gonna be loads of food to carry. Should be interesting... Laukussani ei ole piimää (luojan kiitos), mutta leipää sitäkin enemmän ja marjajauheita myös. ;) Everyone, please, have your fingers and toes crossed, that I get past the customs in Australia with my parcels!

Okay, now I'm fairly awake, thanks to this blog writing. I think I ought to see which companies I could still call today... Feeling happy about yesterday's evening picnic with the girls and having donuts and coffee at Pyynikki yesterday afternoon. Thinking of happy moments with my lovely friends ought to put me through the day easily! :)

The days are numbered – Number of the day 7

After spending 5 and half days in sunny Helsinki I’m trying to orientate myself to start thinking about the trip again. I’ve had such a lovely time with friends and family and attending the Global Health seminar and summit. Talking with my school mates (yes, in my mind Uni is a school) Amanda, Jimmy and Riina, we actually noticed we have in fact learned quite a bit during the past year. It was great to notice that I remember facts, I have started to think more critically and I’m able to comprehend entities better. I think it was a great way to end the school year! 

My nephew also got his name of Friday, and now instead of Matti we have Oiva Elias. J It’s great my brother and sister-in-law decided to call him that because my mom’s aunt’s late husband was called Oiva, and he’s as close as anyone can get to being a granddad for me. I never knew my real granddad’s (me being much younger than my siblings), so it was a very touchy moment when the name was announced. Oiva in Finnish means something like splendid. J  I had so much fun playing hide and seek with the abundant number of children in the garden of the papilla (rectory, learning new words here, or using the ones I normally don’t). I kicked my high heels away and found myself trying to avoid nettles and sticks when trying to find the perfect hideaway. I recommend play as sports to everyone. Good for the body and the soul. 

Not only did I engage in family activities (like making a pilgrimage to Marimekko outlet on Saturday with mom, sis and J), I also tried to take part in Helsinki activities, which this time meant having a gourd sauna and swimming in Töölönlahti with Milla. The sauna is awesome: soft heat and loads of moisture. I think there should be more of these everywhere in Finland and beyond. And this special event seemed to have an uplifting effect to Helsinki dwellers, because everyone was very friendly and talkative. It was quite funny when on the same day I read a small column at the local freebie magazine on the train that you’re not suppose to talk to strangers in Helsinki and that if tourist venture into the city from the countryside they should respect this feature. Well, the atmosphere in the sauna couldn’t have been further from serious, reserved and dull. Water was warm although quite murky, but well, hey, it’s not like I go swimming in Töölönlahti everyday! 

Orientating myself obviously means reminiscing my summer memories. ;) I’m very happy about my decision to leave at the end of the month, so I’ve had the change to experience the loveliest summer I know. The Finnish summer.<3 

Acclimatization - check.

So, we've been enjoying +10-15 degrees for several weeks now. We saw some amazing gigs with Katherine, Bira and Jenni + her posse last Saturday at the central square in Tampere at YleX Pop. Only downside was the temperature, which lead to me having lovely, trendy blue lips. I'm more of a party-in-you-bikini kind of a girl, but I guess that's going to be a distant dream for me, because it seems that these are the temperatures I'll be hanging out for several months down under. Luckily, I love to ski and a trip to conquer the Kangaroo Hoppet ski marathon is on my list of things to experience. :)  

My head seems to be coming loose, because I seem to have loooooads to sort out before I go. But I must give myself credit for the things I've done. I'm a little shocked at the end of the "school year" of how quick it all went by. I think this is the busiest spring I've ever had (okay, perhaps May 2011 was bad too because I worked 40 hrs extra on top of my 8-16 working hours...), but somehow it seems that I've managed to get the best grades in years, had a major low FODMAP training for dietitians, arranged my training to Melbourne (though, could've started preparations a lot earlier again...),  written to blogs, read blogs,read topical books, been inspired by food and development issues to a whole new level, had my nephew over every now and again and I've even traveled. I'm happy I'm off soon, because I'm really missing my trips to the UK. I'm a little worried that there's no London trip booked, but who knows. I just checked Gotye's gig calender, and I think I ought to see them somewhere in Europe. An option could be London. If anyone's interested in joining me, holla. :) I've been neglecting the gig person in me for the whole winter, but I hear Melbourne is quite the artistic city, so I hope to see many gigs there - yay.

Before that I have a weekend filled with awesome friends to enjoy!No matter what the temperature.

Fast visas and darn dragons

I don't think I'll be posting this often in the near future or on my trip, but it just so happens that even though I have a long list of what-to-do-before-Aussieland, I'm also finding to have occasional 15 minutes here and 30 minutes there to do what it is people do with spare time. Or then it's just the fact that I've been getting up before 6, little past 6 or if I'm lucky closer to 7  most mornings. Today I woke up at 9 when a lady from Elisa wanted me to buy their mobile phone. I must say, not having to write learning diaries, essays, or search for information for problem-based learning sessions is wonderful for the time being. Cleaning up closets has never been this satisfying.

I'm able to add a few new things to the list of "done", since I just got my visa for Australia. They sure are quick. I filled the application and paid for it in the afternoon, and after 5 or so hours I already have it. What does this mean? My strongest guess is that there's no rush to see the Australian winter. ;) 

My sis already asked what on earth is the name about. But like my fellow students from Tampere probably have figured it out (at least Jimmy did - I knew I could count on you!).

We had an excellent lecture on Human mobility course on vaccinations and travel health in general. The lecturer entertained us at the beginning by showing us this picture "The World according to America". Although it's a funny picture in general (says a proud European communist), I realized the perfect name for my blog that I had set up on one of the Child health lectures (multitasking, I was listening to the lecture too)! Here be dragons - naturally, how very logical! ;) 

Now I'm thinking if I should start reading a historical novel by this title too... I was so looking forward to Game of Thrones as my must read for the trip, that I might have to postpone reading about medieval love affairs in England. I really want to read about dragons AND love affairs. I think I go for the Game of Thrones. :)