Summer plans

Finally the last of my plans for this summer have been confirmed: I'll be spending almost seven weeks in Edinburgh from the 5th June onwards, and then just over two weeks in Stirling.

Stirling, picture from here.

This time my Scottish summer (although I admit that the use of the word summer may be misleading in this context) was almost as randomly planned as last time - it was an idea born from a night of partying and a bit of insomnia, which, let's face it, clearly is a recipe for fantastic ideas.

Basically, for those of you who don't speak Finnish and haven't already read about this here, I realised (in my  alcohol induced state) that as a freelancer, I'm not really tied to anything, other than an internet connection, so why not head somewhere else for a bit and work from there? This simply marvellous idea then led to a few enquiries, and soon I had secured myself a room in the old town of Edinburgh for several weeks, and a cat/house sitting job in Stirling for a couple of weeks as well.

Three weeks to go until I head out there, and I'm so excited! I'll get to meet up with all my friends, enjoy one of the most beautiful cities in the world, go to ceilidhs and horse back riding on Seacliff beach, and all those other lovely things I've been missing! I'll also get a few visits from friends who have never been to Scotland before, so I'm really looking forward to introducing them to my second home.

I don't care if my summer will consist of more rain than sunshine, I'll be happy anyway! And I won't miss out on the Finnish summer either, as I'll be back on the 8th August.

Scottish weather forecast

Cutest cookie jar ever

It was my birthday last weekend, and I just wanted to share the amazingly cute cookie jar my brother got me:

Picture: camilaprada.com

It's called Big Mama, and it's from the series Pepe and friends by Camila Prada. Love it!!

While I'm at it, I might as well show you some of the other cool things I got:

Picture: schnappschenwelten.de

Picture: amazon.com

I also got a small, light-blue Mariskooli (Maribowl), the Doctor Who: Official Annual 2012, a lovely necklace, a "voucher" for a restaurant meal with a friend, a McCall-Smith novel, two bottles of bubbly, one bottle of red, and some chocolate. Not bad, as birthdays go!

It is quite easy to see the motivators behind some of these, particularly the 501-book. Of course I immediately had to check how many I've already been to, and the current total is 48, but I'm working on it :)

Only one week left of this term (and it didn't start out well, as the first day of the last week I spent at home, alternating between blowing my nose and coughing). Then I have a week off before I start work, which will be spent in * drum-roll * Edinburgh! I can't wait to go back!

5 good things right now

Here are five things that are pretty great at the moment:

1. Spring
Spring is here! Sure, there are still piles of snow all over the place, and I haven't been able to change into my spring jacket yet, but in the city the streets are pretty bare, the sun feels warm, and it's light out in the mornings! Besides, it's almost April and Easter, and then spring is definitely here!

2. Thesis
Today it's exactly one month until the day I need to do the presentation of my Bachelor's thesis, and I need to hand in a draft in a couple of weeks. I'm not stressed, though, since I've been way ahead of schedule the entire time. It's supposed to be 15-20 pages, and I have about 18 now. Not far to go now!

3. Summer job
The search is over! And it's taken the stress and agony of the whole process with it! I got a summer job! And it's even in my own field! And pays quite well (for being an internship)! And it's really close to my flat! And the fact that I got it is, in general, really, really great!

4. Travel
In less than three weeks I'm going to Rome. I haven't been there before, and despite being a massive planner, I haven't even figured out what you can do in Rome, but I'm sure it'll be great (although it's Easter, and not the best time to go there, since that's when everyone else is there). I was planning to study a bit of Italian before going, but that plan didn't work out, what with everything else going on. Oh, well, at least I can order wine, and that's what matters!

5. Visits
I've already had two of the friends I made in Scotland visit me, and the next one will be here in just a week. Can't wait! Oh, that reminds me, there's someone I need to remind to start planning her visit, since she promised she'd come...

Picture: weheartit

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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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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