Another truthful picture

This picture was taken in a hostel in London by my friend Aksu, and It (too) Speaks the Truth! Also, it relates pretty well to my last post...

And why not?

Sometimes you don't need a reason for doing certain things, even big ones. Sometimes, when people ask you "Why?", the only reply you can, and need, and want to give them is "Why not?" And I have to say, it does make life more interesting. To be spontaneous every once in a while, not overthink every move, just to go with the flow, to do what feels right, and to just answer questions with "Why not?"

If you'd asked me last Monday "Are you going to spend this summer at home?" I would have replied "Unfortunately, yes".
If you'd asked me on Wednesday, I would have said "Maybe".
Well, today things suddenly changed quite a bit. After a couple of months of getting used to the idea that Barcelona isn't going to happen this summer, I'm suddenly three weeks away from moving to Edinburgh for at least 2½ months - maybe longer, you never know. There's some spontaneity for you!

But this is the way to go, I think. When your life is like mine at the moment, with no strings attached, then, you know, why not?

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Pretty things

I love pretty things, and they make me happy, so to share this happiness with you, here are some of the pretty things I have at home.

Poetic Licence: School Girl, Irregular Choice, UK

Regency Cake Stand, Oliver Bonas, UK

Purse, Marimekko, Finland

Toaster, Pylones, France

PiP Teapot, PiP Studio, the Netherlands

Recap of the past week

First, I was going to write a long post about the Eurovision Song Contest, based on my FB conversation with a friend while watching it, but the whole ESC thing is getting a bit old already. Basically, we didn't do too well, but then we (almost) never do, and the only thing that matters is that Sweden didn't win either ;)

Then, I was going to write about the AMAZING night the entire population of Finland (which isn't all that many people, but still) had last Sunday, when the Finnish team beat Sweden and became world champions of ice hockey, but that's been written about so many times already that I don't think I need to contribute to it at this point. I'll just illustrate by a few pictures of my evening (most of the pics are by Anna, the last one's from Iltalehti):

Finnish supporters

GOAL!

National anthem

A spontaneous gathering at the market square of Turku after the game

Good times...

Seems like I've managed to fill a post pretty well with stuff I wasn't going to write about. I'll just finish this off by telling you about the gigs I went to this week.

My favourite band Fork performed in my hometown this week, and I went to see them with my mum on Tuesday. Fork likes to call themselves an "a cappella rock band", and their shows are always amazing! If you're thinking of normal a cappella, you couldn't be further from the truth, because this really is more like a rock band. Anyway, their show on Tuesday was so ridiculously good that the first thing I did after it was to call a friend and see if she'd join me to their second gig in the same town the next day. So I saw them twice in two days. Best 40€ I've ever spent.
So if you live in Finland and they're performing within a 100km radius of you, go see them! And if anyone's going to the Edinburgh Fringe in August, you can see them there, too!

Little things

A list of little things that make life good at the moment:

Clean windows
As a birthday present, one of my friends came over today to help me wash my windows, which was urgently needed. It's amazing how different the world looks through clean windows!

Lemon yoghurt
I used to eat lemon yoghurt all the time in France, but when I got back to Finland I was disappointed to find that you couldn't buy it anywhere. But now you can! And it's nice and creamy and nothing like the runny stuff you usually get here! 


Nice co-workers
Working in a high school has both good days and bad, and during the bad days it's great to have nice co-workers who you can moan to about your awful students, and who are sympathetic and understand what it's like.

Spring
Sunshine. Leaves on trees. Spring shoes. What's not to love?


Doctor Who
Recently I've realised that there's nothing good on TV anymore. Luckily this is evened out by the fact that I can look forward to an awesome episode of Doctor Who each week! Until the summer break, that is...


Spending time with friends
After a student union meeting earlier this week, some of the girls and I went to an Indian restaurant. It was spontaneous, and I can't really afford it right now, but I'm glad I went - I had a great time with people I don't usually spend a lot of time with, except on meetings and other uni-related stuff. I should do things like this more often - it's been so busy with work and my studies lately that I haven't spent enough time just hanging out with my friends.

Summer's coming.
I'll actually be on holiday. I won't be making a lot of money, but I'll be able to relax, and do all the things I haven't had time to do lately. Like read. And write. And make a scrapbook. And just hang out without feeling guilty.

Uncharacteristic behaviour?

I got a call from my step-mum today, and we talked for quite a while, mostly about my work at the school and my plans for the summer . I ended up mentioning that I'd be going to London in the middle of June - so far I'd kept pretty quiet about it, since I thought she wouldn't approve, what with me not really having a job this summer and all. Usually I tell my parents as soon as I've booked a ticket, but now I just thought my step-mum would tell me that I really should have saved my money. Instead, she laughed, and said "You know, I've actually been a bit worried about you lately. You haven't talked about any new trips, so I was afraid you were depressed, since you didn't even want to travel anymore!"
I thought this was pretty funny :)

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Tea & Cakes

This picture was posted by my friend Katie, who loves tea (just like me). I have no idea where she took it, but what I do know is that It Speaks the Truth! :)

...I really need to get that tea party sorted...

On a related theme, here's one from Camden:

The Scandinavian Kitchen also does some good ones, such as "House of the Rising Bun" and "I like big buns and I cannot lie". Check out pictures of their Daily Board!

Finally, one from Bossaliina, the café around the corner from my place:

Where the Hell is Matt?

I have posted this on Facebook before, and a lot of people have probably seen it already, but this is something that is worth watching over and over again, and if you haven't seen it yet, it's about time!

This is probably my all-time favourite YouTube-video. I first saw it last summer, and I loved it! Since then I have gone back to watch it every now and then, and it never fails to make me smile. This video is just so awesome in so many ways! Watch and enjoy!

More info about the project can be found here.

Screwed over & pissed off

About three months ago I had an interview for a summer job on a cruise ship.
Exactly two months ago I had a 4-day trial period on said ship.
A month or so later I called them to ask for any news. They didn't have any.
So I called again the following week.
And the week after that.
And the week after that.
Finally, I get the hold of someone who promises to figure things out for me.
A week later, exactly two months after having been on the ship, I get an e-mail:

Unfortunately we are unable to offer you scheduled work for the summer, although we will probably need people to stand in on short notice. You should contact us on a regular basis throughout the summer to let us know when you are available, and we will then call you as soon as something comes up.

Yeeeah... Not really what I was hoping for after all this time! So it looks like my summer will be spent with the phone in my hand, not daring to make any kind of plans in case maybe, just maybe they call. Awesome.

To end this on a higher note, here are some lovely examples of the imaginativeness of my English students that I discovered while correcting their (78!!) tests:
(correct sentence in bold, student's suggestion in italics.)

He is allowed to... - He is assembled to...
I had to leave early. - I was dedicated to leave early.
One mouse, many mice - One mouse, many mousies (how cute! mousies! :D )
Our brain discharges the hormone melatonin - Our brain executes the hormone melatonin.
And, finally:
...which regulates all organisms. - ...which regulates all orgasms.

Teaching definitely has its perks!