Guys, I wanted to tell you about yesterday, and how I learnt something about human development, but I want (badlier) to go carry my new bookcase upstairs. Funny that: I stack books to shelves for a living, but it's still exciting to get to stack your own books in your own new shelves :3 Not that I'll get any stacking done today. I'll go upstairs, carry the shelf with me, move the chest of drawers that is occupying the spot I want my bookcase in, put my bookcase there, arrange all the stuff that fell from the top of the chest of drawers, one of them being the Nintendo DS, which I will open and play Pokemon White on, then I will look up and go "oh dear it is time for bed", give a last furtive glance at my books piled all over my desk, and think to myself "well, it's not too bad that I can't get to using my desk soon because of all of the books on top of it, since it's actually all the art-related papers on the floor in front of the desk that are the real reason I'm not using the desk right now." Then I will think of the drawing project that I haven't touched in ages (even though it's in a really exciting stage right now) and I will go out to the balcony which is where I sleep now. It is a little too cold at night to sleep there and I think I'm not helping my strangely long-lingering cold by sleeping there, but it reminds me of the year I spent living in my house on Terry Road, where it was so cold that I only ever went home to sleep, and spent even the waking hours under the huge thick duvet and I wore a woolly jumper (aka sweater for Americans) for pajamas. And when the sister missionaries came by one hot summer day they said "oh wow, you have air conditioning" and I said "no I don't." I miss that house. It was falling apart, had slugs and mice - but it was mine. For that one summer when there were no roommates, it was mine. *sigh*
That was a long brain-fart with nothing to stop it. Suffice to say that I feel very loving all the time right now, and I love you all very much <3 (no, I'm not drunk :P)
Guys, wasting time on ET just totally did me a favour!
My intention was just to nip to the internets (after not being on all night since both my sisters came to visit and we did stuff instead of ET) to do my dole-money business, and the office web service was down, and I was annoyed because I was a little late already to submit my stuff (it's so weird how they work, they say "you may submit the infor no earlier than <date> o.O Instead of no later than. But the sooner you submit the sooner you get paid of course). So I was peeved, thinking I'd have to try ot remember to do it tomorrow. Clicked links on ET and then thought I'd check over after half an hour, and it was back online and I was able to do it! :D Whoo!
And then the delay also meant that I managed to catch a new friend on Facebook who just returned from his mission in Sweden, so we were able to catch up with both of us online (I'm never online at the same time as the Americans!)
I'm learning to really like kids. They are a lot of fun :)
Please just rain already... ._. *misses England so much*
I need to teach primary in church tomorrow (that's my calling, aka church volunteery job thingie :P) I have no idea what the lesson is on. I was there last time when they had classes (two weeks ago), why can I not recall what the lesson was about then? >.< This is going to be a disaster. I think I'll just make something up to teach the individuals in the class, rather than going by the book >_> That's what we did as missionaries: have no plan? Fear not, just pull it out of your hat! It will go fine because you study and prepare every day anyway and there's plenty of help. Sides, primary is a disaster every week :P It's so stressful - but fun too, Much like missionary work, actually. Except with really little people who will climb on your lap and bite your hair and kick each other in the shins and not sit down - and then whisper after class when once again sitting on top of you "you're my teacher. I love you teacher" and completely melt your heart away <3 <3 Though I am glad no one in Sweden did that. That would have been really awkward. Although one time this guy we were teaching grabbed and squeezed my legs. But he was trying to force me to continue to play floorball after I told him I was already toast.
It seems that I have digressed once again. What I meant to say was "aaargh what the heck am I going to dooooo?!?!?" :P
No no, not really. I'm feeling great today because I was at the temple all day today and it's just such a wonderful spiritual battery charge that I'm pretty ready to take on Goliath here :) *shines with the sninyness!*
Apparently it was wednesday that was Eino Leino day. So happy Day of Summer and Poetry everyone! <3
I'm emotionally very tired today. It's just been a rollercoaster today. I got an email that made me very happy but also very nervous, I'm planning adventures for the weekend, but I've also been kind of disappointed with myself recently - but also working hard at work (which feels good)... So basically I've been going from woot to meh in 2.3 seconds. For example: "yay, missionaries asked me to come with them to a teach tomorrow!" *look at buses to get to Kouvola* Hmm, doable, sort of... *tell 'rents that will be going to Kouvola and see if dad wouldn't mind giving a ride* *dad starts talking about driving school in a really sarcastic tone of voice, and mom asks who would pay for said driving school and the conversation peters out without a clear answer* *yay killed*
It's actually interesting how both my parents have a natural talent for making me... not want to involve them in my life. They just say the smallest things that burst all my bubbles. Like last week, it was really hot and I biked home from work. And I had been thinking that maybe there is a better route home that's quicker, so I checked it out and got lost (it was pretty hilarious actually, I was on these really scary forest paths and went up and down really steep hills for about 20 mins before I gave up and went back the usual way). And when I got home, before I get the chance to say "haha, I'm so dumb, I got lost trying to find a different way home" my mum asks "did you know you were going to be late coming home?" in that nasty tone of voice that only my mum knows how to do. So I go to diffuse-the-si
I must say, I had an amazing time at my brother's house, being all alone with dogs and deciding everything myself.
I actually did have something a bit more interesting to blag about, but I'm all out of steam. It probably wasn't that interesting anyway. Basically, these pro gay adoption -people are saying they want equal rights for all people, and that's why they want gay couples to be able to adopt. Now it doesn't matter where I stand on this issue (firmly on the fence), but here, let me fix something for you guys. That is a dumb argument. It is not "a right" to raise children. It's a privilege, to be allowed to take care of another human being, one that is really sensitive and tender and not capable of taking care of itself. What you are entitled to do or be has absolutely nothing to do with raising children. In this matter the only thing that matters is what is best for the child. That's the field you have to stand on and argue on with this question. So if you can, you can make the point that a gay couple can make a perfectly loving and caring and nurturing parenting unit to a child that is much better than a straight couple where the father drinks and beats his kids and the mother is emotionally abusive. Or whatever. But I'm just a little bit fed up of this concept of "it's my right to..." It gets dropped around so much that the actual real rights lose value.
Okay so I guess I had enough steam for that.
Happy Fourth of July. Yes I care since people I care about care about it. I'd do something to celebrate but... y'know :P I am lazy and have other stuff to do. I might go sing some USA-patriotic songs later. But yeah, USA is cool in my book. *waves tiny flag*
This week has other days to celebrate too. Thursday is Eino Leino day. Eino Leino was a very famous Finnish poet, he was a big round man with a big black hat with big floppy edges. He was called Finland's greatest boheme. I am not that round and have a black hat with not that big floppy edges, so I shall claim the title of Finland's smallest boheme. Eino Leino day is also known as The Day of Poetry and Summer (Runon ja Suven päivä).
And on Friday some more missionaries from Sweden come/go home, including some very dear friends of mine (and a couple old companions too, leaving me with only one ex-companion out in Sweden). Which means I'll get to talk to them on Facebook and stuff. :) And hopefully they'll upload a lot of pictures and I'll get to pine over those :P
And then on the weekend South Sudan is going to become an independent country. That's right people, there will be a new country in the world. I think this is really exciting o.O
And in less noble and timely news: someone please for the love of all things beautiful and Victorian get me a pair of these beauties!
http://www.goo
Also:
So that's why I love pepperoni o.O
http://www.qwa
I'm staying by myself at my brother's house. He and his family went for a weekend holiday and I help with the dogs and recently-sown patch of grass. He lives in the same town that I go to church in, so I got to go out and help the missionaries and treat them to ice-cream afterwards, and then just bike to church tomorrow. I've been pretty relaxed, doing work on the computer, just cooked a little for myself (eggy bread! :9) The best part is that my brother has a fan! :D It is so hot in here, the fan brings the level down to something more humane. I don't know how the canine's are taking this. The german shepherd runs around the yard like crazy, and the rottweiler is twice as needy and affectionate than my dog (which is half-rottweile
And then another thing of win was mail yesterday: I got mail from my mission president <3 They are going home, their mission is over. :S A mission president and his wife are like a missionary's mum and dad, and they serve for three years. And now they are done, another couple has moved in the house they lived in in Sweden, they are back in Washington, and the letter and CD full of pictures they sent me made me so Sweden-homesic
Lets face it, I'm not properly out of the mission yet. I will quite frequently get stuck in a thought along the lines of "this time last year I was in..." or start reminiscing about something awesome that happened in Sweden, or about some awesome person, and just ache with the longing to have that back. But every day less and less of it exists. The Andersons are now gone, as are most of my missionary friends. Soon all of them will be gone. The real Swedish people will of course still be there, but... *sigh*
This condition is called 'post mission blues' or not being quite returned from the mission just yet. Physically you leave but it either comes away with you or you leave a part of you there. We joke about that quite a bit in the church, when a returned missionary isn't quite all the way returned just yet. Y'know, sort of "wow, he never left his mission" etc...
*pines for her mission like a sappy old tree* (this would be even better a sentence if I had served in Norway and could say I pined for the fjords... I wonder what would be a good Sweden-specifi
It is six pm. I have three hours before time to retire, my computer wants to restart, and I've pressed all them links that need to be pressed. I think I shall go upstairs and do arty things. Yes.
I shall leave you all with my best wishes and this picture:
Oh, dudes! I almost forgot! 27th of June! In 1844, that is... *quick math moment* err... a lot many years ago, happened something that is rather important for me, and other people of my faith. So y'know I'm a mormon, and you may or may not know that this all (being the restoration of the gospel and church of Christ) started with a person called Joseph Smith Jr. You can find out the main points of the story (now in technicolor in the link provided below) if you are interested, but the only point I'll mention right now is that today, June 27th is when he was killed because of his beliefs by a murdering mob of citizens of that country that even at that early time was so very keen on religious freedom (I sort of spoilt the ending of the movie there... Sorry).
Anyhoo, I really do like this film. There are actually two versions of it, this is the newer one that will make a bit more sense if you're not familiar with the story.
http://radio.l
Just something I wanted to share. I realise that I'm pretty rubbish about telling people that are actually close to me about what I believe in and why (and I'm a returned missionary! For shame!), which can make some of the stuff I do or say somewhat strange. I do actually like to talk about it, though I may be/have been curt with my responses to questions in the past.
My English dad loves this one English artist Lowry above everything, and he showed me this video today
http://www.you
I really like the style too (Matchstalk men and 'Matchstalk cats and dogs')
The animation is a bit silly, but we can overlook that.
Then of course we have 'Vincent'
http://www.you
And then there's Paul Simon's 'Rene and Georgette Magritte with their Dog after the War
There are actually a lot of little animations about Rene Magritte on YouTube (y'know, the surrealist that it isn't cliché to like, as it is Dalí :P)
http://www.you
http://www.you
Though this is a Dali-win:
http://www.you
(notice the last name one of the ladies asking the questions)
And then him:
http://www.you
And him
http://www.you
(somebody please tell me what it is that he says when the lady asks him to say one thing at the end)
and I kept watching the related, so that's why I am so not here today :)
This all started with http://www.bbc
So I got this old-new lappytop that I use as a work laptop (creative work that is). So I write on it (my Machine of Death entry is called Heart stops in his sleep whilst impaled in an accident), I use it for art references, for research, and most importantly for listening to Podcasts while I draw (or do something else in the room). So the night I got it I downloaded a huge load of podcasts. One of them is a thing called "Everything Creative" that's from the Mormon channel. So combining mormons and everything creative. My kind of thing. And it is. They have discussions, interviews and I think some other kind of category too which I haven't listened to yet.
It doesn't do just the creative arts, it does everything creative. The interviews are done kind of cool: the person who was interviewed in the previous episode, interviews the next person of their choice. So there's been a musician, an artist, an architect, an egyptologist, and now the egyptologist is interviewing an NBA player, Mark Maddog Madsen. And it's surprisingly cool. And the reason I bring this up is because this gave me the giggles: so Madsen is friends with Shaq, who knows of course that Madsen's a mormon. So apparently Shaq often opens conversation with women he meets by asking them "are you a mormon? If you are, I know a great guy I want to introduce you to." :P He's always on the look out for a mormon girl to set Madsen up with.
This kind of stories from real life is what I really appreciate. :3 It's also why I love This American Life. Which podcast I also jumped to, but unfortunately you can't download all of their old podcasts at once :( So I have to keep listening online to those. But at least I'll get the new ones into the machine.
*just poked around on iTunes and discovered iTunes U* Guys, wtf is this??!?!?! :O :O :O Is this... it is, university + iTunes?!? :D :O :O *becomes very scarce*
I I can get the details and timing right, I'm looking at a surprise attack visit to Britannia on 9th-11th September. Would only involve Coventry-area though, but still. Englaaaaaaaaaa
(The reason why is because my English-dad said that something cool is going down that Sunday in Stake Conference, but it hasn't been properly announced yet as to what, so I was told not to tell details. But am just too excited to not do anything).
So Silv, if you're in Lichy then, we could do something on Saturday, like go to the Electric in Brum :D *is planning travel activities without being sure of said travel happening* *goes to look for flights*
Life looking good:
-Got monies! Not much, but it'll keep me from debt-troubles.
-Work tomorrow seems active (my boss kind of caught me reading the other day. It didn't seem too bad, he just kind of laughed and said "what are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be doing something?" But in fairness, he had been away for the entire week and we had kind of ran out of things to do. So he just gave stuff to do and it seemed forgotten. Except I still manage to feel bad over it... So work-filled day sounds win!)
-I have a new laptop, which I don't use for internets much. Only when I want to Skype someone or download things, I guess. But I fetched a whole ton of Podcasts on to it, and I can play them while drawing, and I can write at my convenience etc... :D Plus, not using the internet on it helps. Since using internet on the family-compute
-I finished proof-reading a friend's newest article and will go over it with him on skype one evening (I hope it'll work - I helped his last one and it got accepted to a good journal).
-Art is win: a sketchbook full of Pokemon with a art nouveau style inspiration, and the white-clad ladies are all coming along... :)
-Writing Machine of Death, plus art essays and such (I have written then Carcassonne review, Silv, I just need to type it some day).
-I also found online translation projects in the church, so that'll be uber-cool to help translate stuff!
I got mail today. Not official here-be-your-m
There was a circus in town today. I biked past it on my way to and from work, and lingered by the fence to watch the ponies and the tentand the topless men doing... something. I wish there had been kids hanging by the fence too, trying to catch a glimpse of the clowns. But then again I'm really nostalgic. And i kept thinking that I would catch a glimpse of the elephant, but of course they don't have an elephant, that is animal cruelty.
Speaking of biking to work, I biked there and back every day. That means I basically biked a 100 kilometres this week! :O Holy heck. I also got a cold this week. I wonder if there is a correlation... (I've always reckoned that excessive exercise is not healthy)
Is your internet working correctly? You can test with http://interne
Guys, I'm so addicted to those Literal trailers, it's awul. Every once and a while I get a silly giggle-face when I quietly remember "carefully Harry He doesn't HAVE A NOSE!" or hum "hothothothoth
-They belong in the same musical tradition as R.E.M.'s It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) and Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire. Yes. I contextualise YouTube videos. What is the matter with me? X_X
-Tobuscus is like the Penguin (from Batman) of the internet. He is very successful, yet there is something suspicious and suspect about it.
Someone in Sweden thought I'm an internet hoax person :( I'm trying to pay for a book from Sweden and my English internet bank has serious fail. First up, you can only use it 8am-3.30pm UK time. I thought the point of internet bank is that you use it any time, any where. Then I fail to pay because the internet bank requires an address and the seller didn't give one (so I asked the bookseller, and they thought I was a hoax, asking for bank details and not even sending the email from the same email address X_x ) And we all write in Swedish, but my Swedish isn't financial detail Swedish (överföring? skyddat belopp?) so I have to use Google translate and I feel like fail for not being able to do this in Swedish. But then turns out that it's all just because my bank has fail and at last after the seller gives the addres and understands what is going on, my bank says that the payment is not enough money, they can only send £25 and more overseas. X_X Why doesn't it say that somewhere?!?! *grrrr* So I transfer a lot of money to my own Finnish account (which, by the way, takes forever because my bank doesn't list its BIC/SWIFT-code anywhere, so it takes me forever to figure that out. And then my English bank says "to make this safe, we're going to make an automated call to your mobile, is that okay?" No it's not okay, because the number you would call is in the phone that is on the floor in the charger at home, and even if it wasn't, or even if I was there, you couldn't call that number because that phone dies when it rings X_x So when I chose the "no don't call" -option, they said it'll take longer that they'll make sure it's secure. Things have seriously changed since... sometime. I can't even transfer money from my English account because "you haven't done this kind of transaction in a while, so we've shut it down. If you want to do it, call this number." No. Just no. Fail fail fail HSBC internet bank. Just... go away in your failness. Seriously, I had thought that my English account will be my like handy second account - but it feels less handy all of a sudden. -_- But it will be handy when I go to England, so we'll let it be as it is. And just focus on the Finnish account. I just hope I get monies soon >.< Finnish social security would leave me to drown if I wasn't living at the 'rents.
Sorry for the word-vomit. I'll make it sub so it's not so much :3 It will also more accurately reflect the way this outburst is expressed. It is not shouted at the top of my voice in the face of the oppressor; it is whined quietly when lying in fetal position on a mattress, too tired to even cry anymore, trying to clicng to the last gleam of hope that they will eventually make a decision to give me dole-money, that they will pay it retroactively and that all of a sudden a huge happy glob of euros will *bamf* to my bank account before I have to go to the bank to explain that I have nothing to keep up with my student loan payments. I love the irony actually: the Finnish State is my student loan guarantor. If they don't give me dole, I can't pay my loan. If I can't pay my loan, they have to pay it for me... >_> Srsl people, easiest if you just pay me my friggin' loan.
My temple recommend goes out this month. o.O I've never renewed it. I don't know who to talk to about renewing it, or when it can be done. *is slowly stopping being a card-carrying mormon* :(
Wow, I'm all whiny today, I apologise.
This webcomic I read is kind of funny, especially if you've ever worked in a bookshop, or just like books:
http://www.krr
:)
I am currenly very very enjoying the work of Tobuscus on YouTube: Literal Trailers. (search for "literal trailers" dooo eet)
Here be ones I enjoyed verily:
Pirates 4
http://www.you
Last HP
http://www.you
Well, they're the movies I've seen.
Now I'll continue watching them all, as will you, yes? :)
Time for a diary note before I leave for tonight (:P Silvie)
Today sucked at work. I'm too annoyed at my colleague (it's not really his fault, I just find his personality and manners disagreeable >_>). And then I feel bad about being a cranky bitch at him and the day sucks even more. And I'm still not getting any monies D: (it's a placement-thin
My missionary trainer friend was over here this weekend (which is why I was away much - not that you noticed). It was so nice to see her again. And also... not :D Well, we're both the same persons still, so it was like it was before. So we don't agree on stuff or understand each other etc... Haha, same old companionship problems. I love it how some things don't change and relationships are complex <3 But she did realy cheer my life by coming over here with a fresh wind of "life goes on even for my mission buddies, and even when they are over there and I'm over here, we are still connected, and they still love me as much as I love them." Not just her either, but all of them. I have this jealous streak, thinking they are all over there in BYU having a constant mission reunion and loving it etc... Well, it's not really like that, and they miss us Finns too. :') So need to go visit them all. First stop: Washington and Utah.
Creativity is flowing in all sorts of fun ways. Still really pumped about the Mormon Reneissance and how I'm going to be a part of it. Love is also flowing. I think the reason I can't live in England anymore is because I already love England and the English enough. If the point in life is to gather as much love as possible ('charity never faileth' aka in normalese 'love never disappears', it is the heavenly treasure that rust and moths and thieves never get to), I have to live in places that I don't love in order to learn to love them. And I do struggle to love Finland and Finns. But it's coming. :)
I have no interesting things to say to you right now.
I love these bits that Harpo and Chico did :)
http://www.you
I've also watched this about seven times now:
http://www.you
Today is Sweden's national day thingie. So I'm all missing Sweden.
It has happened: I can not understand news anymore.
-The Finnish Tories can't get a government together, they just kicked out all the ones they were trying to make a coalition with and now have to go ask the other ones if they'd like to come...? Just, what?
-People all dying from poisoned cucumber...? What the heck is up with that? Like, who does that? Or how? And why for goodness sakes? Why are people dying of cucumber?! X_x
Ignoring all that, I had a wonderful bank holiday today, cleaned a bit, drew a lot, Elftowned a lot... Tomorrow is work again, and then it's saturday and sunday again.
I'm going to have international visitors this summer. Next week my first missionary companion (Californian) will come over, and in July an El Salvadorian that I met in Sweden will come :)
I think internet has fail when it comes to information about compound machines.
Basically what I need is five compound machines (that is, things that are made out of two of the six classic simple machines: lever, pulley, wedge, inclined plane, screw, wheel-and-axle). So first up, not only does the Internet not agree with itself how many simple machines there are (some leave out screw because it's an inclined plane going around in circles, some add gears though they are basically wheels, and hey, wedge is just two inclined planes going somewhere together etc etc...) But we'll go with the six basics, because that's what the Reneissance people said (and I'm really into everything that mentions Reneissance right now).
So far I have
-scissors/axe = lever + wedge
-wheelbarrow = lever + wheel (this is a hugely controversial one, some think it has an inclined plane going for it too)
-fan = wedge + wheel (questionable: are the blades really doing to air what wedges are for? Technically yes, though in a really miniscule scale... Close enough, I'll take it)
-crane = pulley + and then I lost track. I guess it's a lever. But I can't have yet another lever-combo, I can have two each max.
I never got around to properly figuring out what exactly does a bicycle have, all the sources disagree and some add handbrakes to the mix and everything. Does it have more than two (making it a complex machine), and if so, why does it come up in every search for compound machine, even for "compound machine -bicycle"? >.< Do bicycle gears count as pulleys or wheel-and-axle
So if someone really understands this part, could you please be so kind as to identify one part of a bicycle that is a compound machine, and tell me clearly in a way that I can believe what the two simple machines in it are?
See, the plan is that I'll have the simple machines in a row, and the compounds on top of them, so that the machine that is a compound of lever and pulley is on top of the lever and the pulley.
For example
i.p+w/a w/a+wed wed+pul pul+scr scr+lev
inc.plane wheel/axle wedge pulley screw lever
Except I need to figure out what's what and in what order they need to line up so I have ones that match them. And I just realised that out of scissors, wheelbarrow and fan I can't have all three because they can't line up. Grr.
I also had a brilliant idea that I could wear a corset on top of my summer dress for my sister's wedding. Basically I've been wanting a corset for a while, because I'm just sinking bakwards through the years here in terms of taste in every aspect and I've been hitting that Victorian thing for a while. :P And I just think a corset sounds like a great way to shape up, not even as a thing to wear to show off but as underwear :3
www.fabela.fi seems to be my shop for the future.
And these socks plskthnx for the wedding
http://carneva