Still in Helsinki

It appears in my last post from 2011, I neglected to mention that I accumulated a child by then. Now, there is another one.  Tessa is still around. I think she is getting a bit demented.

Obviously, I've not done any blogging. Since, facebook is in existence and my family is there, that is where I post all my thoughts. Many of the photos I take are found in Instagram.

Why am I making a post? Because my email notified me that somebody was commenting on my posts. However, when I came to check, I did not find anything. The email did show some of the content of the comments. They were mostly about British government things which I found totally bizarre.

I have not had much time for video games. Just one...Mafia Wars. Which I play on Facebook.

I work full-time and one of Helsinki University's specialised hospitals. So, I suppose between work and two children, my video game playing time is limited.

I have not made too many short films lately. Most of the video I shoot is done with my iPhone 4. I do enjoy taking photos with that, too. My old Samsung digital camera which I talked about on an old post is dead. After that, I had a Canon PowerShoot which was awesome. It was a range camera but sort of chunky for one. Finally, I got a Canon DSLR. I haven't really mastered using the video on that. I suppose I should just buy a bloody digital video camera.

A few months ago, I resurrected my old Canon SLR. I haven't developed any of the film. I mean, that I have some undeveloped film laying around and I took some photos. I can do the B&W but I have to buy new chemical, I am sure.

Other new things since 2011 have been: I got a Kindle fire and Netflix came to Finland.  I used to buy books all the time. Now, I've got them easily on this device. However, because of time constraints my reading has slowed down. Perhaps, because my viewing time has increased-ouch. If I am not watching  a show that has been recorded to the Elisa Viihde sphere, I am watching on Netflix.  Yes, I feel a lot duller.

So, the Finnish health care system is extremely good and affordable. Having the babies was super cheap. So, was their adoption. That was possible because Finland allows second parent adoption. The daycare system is awesome, too.

What's new Buenos Aires?

Hi 2011!. When was my last post 2007, are you serious? I was using LiveJournal in the mean time. Then, I got tired with it. Of course, I've been on Facebook since Tribe went bust. Anyway, here I is. Writing because I am working a graveyard shift and all 3 of my patients are in their beds. Snoozerama.

I still love playing Zelda. I bought that GameCube and a Wii. I haven't played a Zelda game on Wii yet. I can play the GameCube game, Twilight Princess on it. I played the Zelda game on DS Lite. What was it called, Spirit Tracks, or something. That was fun.

Quick update. Dear old Skviiki cat passed away. She was such a nice cat.

I finally graduated, a year late. My final project "thesis" was How Ethnic Minority Nursing Students Experience Healthcare Services in Finland. A qualitative descriptive study. I am glad that's all over. However, I was very pleased with the Finnish polytechnic that I was in. When I started it was called Stadia and then its name changed to Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. I highly recommend going to school in Finland. First of all, it is free. Second of all, it is one of the best school systems in the world. Three, it is just great fun.

Done

I finally finished Zelda: The Wind Waker. My friend let me borrow it and the game cube, I played it on. I will have to give it back soon, so, I had to get on with it and finish. He was so right about me liking this game. After I started playing this, I started looking for Zelda games that I could play on my DS Lite. I had left the country for the summer, so I wasn't able to play Wind Waker until I got back a few weeks ago. So, whilst on vacation, I borrowed The Minish Cap from my friend and I bought, A Link to the Past on ebay. Those two are actually made for game boy advance but they work on DS Lite. The Zelda game for DS Lite won't come out until December. I wonder why they would wait so long to release it. Wii hasn't been out so long and already there is a Zelda game for it.

Myydään

This brings me to selling my current vehicle. It is a 1993 Mitsubishi MacroCab Pick-up truck. I am the original owner. I brought it with me from California back in 2003. It is really very impractical for most city driving. The Finns coworker said it was the type of car that the men who collect bull sperm use. Hmmmm. Well, it has served me well. We just want a car now, a vehicle that will easily seat 4 people. Now, the poor thing has a bunch of little nicks all over it. I can't believe how the people suck here. Who does that? Scratches or dents somebody elses car and not leave a note. Such bastards. How do people not see this when they are parking or whatever. Dickheads. One year when I was about to leave for a trip to Europe, I parked it in my grandmother's back yard. That involved squeezing in at an awkward angle. Despite my high driving skill, I actually scarped the side on the brick wall. I was shocked. I soon forgot about it though when I was traipsing across Europe. Well, it is listed in www.huuto.net. The price is around3,500€. Hey, I gotta have some money for a downpayment on a new car.

Give me a fag any day

We want to buy a car. So, we were in Vantaa looking at the Citroën cars, when as we walked to the back lot (which was a joke) and saw this building across the street. I thought it highly amusing. I mean, I guess all the cars were inside the showroom. I am used to auto lots that contain hundreds of cars which one might potentially go home in that day they visit the dealer. This is a totally new concept... that one would go to a dealer talk about the car you want with the specs you want and then order it. One would have to pay the price given, no bargaining and then one would have to wait some time before the auto would arrive in the country. Anyway, it turns out that this company makes ball bearings, ok so the website says 'rolling bearings'. Ball bearings sounds better. So, there you have it. One day soon, I hope to have a new car.

Scarinen

So, I am on this island fortress and the Chicana in me is deep
down freaking out because I am afraid I might see dead people. Or if not that; then feel a chill which would then lead me to believe a spirit of some dead soldier had passed through me. Anyways, we were finally in this one area of Suomenlinna where there are these storage area fortification looking things and I snapped a picture of myself. I get home and upload the photo to my computer and when I am looking them I totally freak out. I mean, it is obvious, isn't it? What is that blue thing on my face. If you look closely which I was doing in Picasa, it looks like a face. Scared of that!

On the sea

fortress07 001
Originally uploaded by gema fova

So, after a long vacation in sunny Southern California I decided I could no longer last without some quality sunglasses. That and knowing I was coming back to Helsinki, where the sun seems so much fucking brighter. You know what? No, it isn't ihana weather when there is no rain and the sun is boiling my retinas inside my eyeball fluid. I love the darkness, the winter, the cold, and the rain; among other things. Anyways, I have had contact lenses and I have quite decent sunglasses, I just haven't been wearing them because I thought they made me nauseous. It turns out, as I found out on a recent trip to Instrumentarium, that those contacts were the correct prescription. What an idiot girl, I've been. So, I went home wearing a pair of contacts and my nice big sunglasses and my eyes felt great.
We had sorted it out that I would get an eye exam for eyeglasses next month or so, but when some well intentioned tinkering went awry, it was determined that I had to buy some this month. I took the arm off and couldn't screw it back on. Finally, the tension pin broke and now that arm swings wildly the wrong way. Well, my glasses should be ready in a few weeks. In the meantime, when I went out with my school mate and the Finn to Suomenlinna, it was all the more better enjoyed behind the darkened lenses of my Raybans.

Porvoo '07

Porvoo07 201
Originally uploaded by gema fova

Entonces, we took this boat to Porvoo. It was, as the theme song goes, a three hour tour. So, the ship docked at the town and we went walking about. We had lunch and walked up to the burn church. It was all covered in scaffolding but one could smell the burnt timbers. It was bloody hot there, at the time and we were meandering around looking for a cafe to get a cup of kahvi. Well, we ended up deciding to make our way to the train, instead. We wanted to get a good seat. Yeah, we decided to take the train back because we didn't want to spend another 3 and half hours on the same boat. I mean, the boat ride was fun, actually. Pero, guess what? The train ride sucked ass. It was horrendous. First of all we were having an argument. Second of all, it was hot, Third of all, somebody picked a crappy seat. All the seats on the shady side were already taken. There was a loud ass family of yapping Italians. Then, to top it off, three obese people squeezed on the bench across from us and the temperature rose by 10 degrees. I was like, no way. I think the worse thing was the loud talking people. So, I went to find a quieter place. Then I rang the Finn to come over. It was still on the sunny side but, at least there were no noisy or fat people. We sat by ourselves. It was like sardine can and we sat there on the track for 30 or more minutes baking. Finally, the vehicle moved but there was no breeze whatsoever as the windows did not open, nor was there any ariconditioning, as it was a vintage train. Holy fuck, madre de dios, I was dying. It was the most miserable ride in all of my life. I hated every minute of it. We vowed never ever again to do that again. At some point, a smart little girl decided to monitor the door and keep it open so the wind could blow in. When we finally arrived at Pasila we ran to the little K market and breeched it eventhough it was closing. We bought water and energy drinks. I've never felt so refreshed. That is until I got home and stood under the shower for a half an hour.