Hammock-dreams

Sunday afternoon went by just rocking in a hammock at my friends backyard, Sipping mead and mango-strawberry lassi. The weather was like a young maiden and I just can´t imagine a better way to spend an afternoon. Someday I will have my own hammock too. I'm just afraid I´d never get anything done then. But I'd be busy thinking great thoughts, like Hemingway...
-Tiina

May Day celebrations!

May Day is  on tuesday and like every other student in this town I'm busy celebrating. To me, May Day is even better than Christmas. I'm totally a May Day person ;)

Last night we sat at the Ale Pub with my classmates planning for May Day and getting our overalls ready. Tonight were heading to the Old Harbour and on monday theres going to be even more dancing, marching singin and barbequeing. So until then I wish a very, very happy May Day to y'all!

-Tiina

The soundtrack for the day is, of course, from Gogol Bordello.

Sweet things from scrap!

I just found something wonderfull I want to try too! This girl Katja at maedchenmitherz makes a spring-inspired scrap journal. Every day for a month she makes a new page with a subject by glueing, painting, draving and what not and they look so cool! 

Picture by Katja @ maedchenmitherz

 Now if someone didn't know already, I'm crazy about notebooks, but not so crazy about writing, so here's a way I could put my notebooks into use and make something beautiful out of them. I just have to gather some pictures, and pretty papers and all kinds of scrap. And glues and rulers and a knife and different pencils... Luckily I already have one cupboard full of all sort of missmatch stuff. Whoo! I'm so excited already I want to start right away! My first journal could be about happiness..

-Tiina

At the gates of bureaucracy

It seems that the sicker you get, the closer relationship you are bound to have with KELA. The amount of papers I have to fill and send there is unbelievable. Until last month I had managed to do it all by myself, but then, eventually I had to ask for help. And so I met my social worker, who is actually really nice, and always thinking to my benefit. She always comes up with new benefits that I should apply for, and makes me fill dozens of applications for KELA. I'm not even sure anymore to what  have I applied for. Maybe next time I see her, I should tell her I'm quite content already with what I have. Otherwise it'll be a neverending red tape.

I while ago, I thought I should share with you some tips about how to work with KELA when you get ill. I think my best advice is to ask to see a social worker already when you´re in the hospital. There you can go through together some benefits you're entitled when you're ill. And before you leave the hospital ask the social worker to make you a new appointment after you get home and feel bit better. All the applications and their affixes are way too much to take in when you're not feeling good. Hopefully, you'll have as nice social worker as I have. And when you apply anything from KELA, or the social welfare office, be persistent and ask for help in time. Over here is a finnish welfare guide summoned together by different support associations of people with long-term illnesses. It's vast and helpfull even for those who are well.

Phew.. A lot of heavy stuff here today. My apologies. Other than this, it's been a very good day today =)

-Tiina

Carpe diem my friend!

This morning, after an only hour in school and I could already feel that nothing would work that day. So when I heard my friend would be driving to Oulu after classes I decided to join her. I left school, packed my things and of we went!

The lesson here, seize the moment and live as if someone left the gate open =)

-Tiina

Painfully quiet in here..

A Couple of days ago I went to the dentist and had my one and only wisdom tooth pulled out. The operation itself didn't hurt too much, but  I'm starting to think that nothing before has ached as much  as my face has been aching since. For the past couple of days I´ve only been able to eat ice cream and painkillers and watch Boardwalk Empire. Thats why I haven't been writing anything. Now there´s going to be a massive bruise on my jaw. Now I either have to learn how to make up or just stare the people in the eye and tell them they should see the other heroine. I think I'll choose the last one ;)

-Tiina

A day as a starfish

I once read a book, where there was this woman, who lived by the sea and believed that humas and dolphins had evolved from watermonkeys. The woman herself was addicted to water and she spent most of her days in the water and swam and lived like otters. Eventually she was put in a mental hospital.

Anyways, after I read the book, I thought I'd want to learn to swim properly, so that I could enjoy it like the lady in the book. My swimming is just about passable and I didn't learn it in the swimming school. Luckily my friend offered to teach me, and yesterday we began our lessons in the kids pool. Well, needles to say my swimming style was nowhere near that of the otters. It was more like one of a drowning starfish. But we had lots of fun and I learned to dive without pinching my nose. I think its a start allright and I can't wait for our next lesson.

My exercises have always been bit of and on, but now, since I want to get in shape for that Synja-hiking I've decided it's time for some drastic measures. So yesterday I printed myself a pocket-sized calendar and bought bunch of stickers. From now on, everytime I do sports I get a shiny sticker on my calendar. Now I allready got two!

Have you ever had problems with keeping up with sports or something else you wanted to do but just can't find the time/energy etc.? What were your "drastic measures" then?

-Tiina