Moai

I happened to notice morning sunlight hit my miniature moai creating a nice shadow on the wall, so I had to take a picture...

Riksu came back

I thought Riksu was going to come back home in the evening, so I jumped a bit, when I heard somebody enter when I was just in the middle of my peaceful breakfast. They had decided to drive all night from Sodankylä instead of departing on Sunday morning.
I ended up spending both Friday and Saturday night by myself. It was pretty nice to be at home alone for a change, although I'm happy R came home early. :) But I have to say this: I believe I have got used to living with Riksu so well, that I can feel "alone" even when in the same house with him. Now that I was actually alone, it felt like "more alone" than what being home alone used to.

Goodbye Fishers

When I saw JP during Christmas, he went on and on about how he had found the best TV show ever. He had watched all 5 seasons on DVD just before Christmas and was sure that I would like it too. The show has already ended on Finnish TV, but I have never managed to watch a single episode. After Christmas, as JP suggested, I started watching it. I fell completely in love with the characters. They started to feel like real people I know in my real life (the same happened to JP). Tonight I finally watched the last episodes (what a great way of spending a night home alone!!!). I can't believe it's now over. After seeing all 63 episodes in 4 weeks (I'm a creep), I agree: it is the best show ever. I will miss the Fishers.

The beginning of my weekend at home alone

Tonight is the beginning of my weekend at home alone. I've been waiting for this for a while, as I don't get the apartment all for myself often. As much as I love to share my home and life with Riksu, I sometimes need to be alone. I might invite a friend over, but let's see. Anyway, I will not be completely alone, since I have my dear fishes keeping me company. One of them is posing on today's photos. And there's a video of my Flame tetras, too... :)

Real winter in Otaniemi

It's finally a real winter in Otaniemi, too!

Lactose

It is the most perfect winter day. It's also Anna's first day on maternity leave, so she invited me to have lunch with her. (On Mondays I always work from my home office, not from my actual office.) We ended up in Sevilla, where the food was OK but something else not: They did not have low-lactose milk! Therefore I was not able to enjoy my cup of coffee, which was in fact included in the price of the lunch. How is it possible that in a big restaurant like that, they don't have low-lactose milk? (Interesting statistics, by the way.)

Back home

We had a very early wake up, since the plane took off already at 7.30 in the morning. Ryanair requires you to be there at least one and a half hours before the departure, so it really was an early wake up. But not too bad, since we are so middle-aged nowadays that we don't even party through the last night but go to bed early instead (since it is going to be an early wake up, and we are old enough to know it will be hard to get up if you're still drunk, and we are old enough to care about it).

My birthday in Dublin

Dublin is great, although it rains every fifteen minutes, and sudden gusts of wind feel like they are going to rip your hair off... Lots of Irish Pubs. But I believe they call them just pubs here in Ireland. :) 5 of us are staying in an apartment we rented from Ellis Quay Apartments. It's only a walking distance from the centre, and roomy and clean, and
recommendable. Hmmm... and yes, today I turn 29. I have decided that I will stay 29 from now on. :)

From Pirkkala to Dublin

My brother Juho tipped me already in September on the fact that Ryanair was going to start flying from Tampere-Pirkkala to Dublin. We booked the tickets right away and ended up paying less than 30 euros each for a return ticket! So today there are 8 of us flying to Dublin: Riksu and I, Eero and Eeva-Riitta, and Henna, plus Juho, and Juho's friends Olli and Eeva.

Birthday present

My birthday is not until tomorrow, but since we'll not be home for the weekend, Riksu decided to give me my present beforehand. :D

Excited about my fish tank

I continue to be (very) excited about my fish tank. I watch it like television at least 30 minutes every day. (Actually I watch it way more than television.) I believe I have now reached the number of fish I will get (at least for a while): 5 Skunk Corys, 5 Bronze Corys, and one Bristlenose Pleco in the bottom, 3 Bolivian Rams in low water, and a group of 10 Flame tetras in middle/high water. And yes, there's a video to watch, too... :D

What's with winter?!?!

What's with winter?!?! We had a real winter two months ago for a week or so, but after that it's been mainly just water. Is this now doings of the global warming...? Will we never have a white winter anymore???

Verokortti (tax deduction card)

Finally! They have finally made ordering an updated tax deduction card possible on the internet.

Creativity test

I came accross an interesting creativity test (unfortunately only in Finnish). Who knows how well all these tests work, but anyway it was fun. :)

New Job

Today is officially my first day at my new job. I am now a researcher at TKK, more precisely at Decode Research Group at BIT Research Centre. The plan is to spend two days a week in Otaniemi and three in my own little office at home, so pretty much the same thing I've been doing for the whole autumn.
Today I also paid a visit to Viherkala fish store and got myself 3 Skunk Corys and one Bristlenose Pleco!!!
And also, today my Dad would have turned 65.

Happy New Year!!!

Kajsa and Jussi came all the way from Turku to celebrate the change of the year with us. We cooked, drinked, and played board games. Very middle-aged but fun. :) Having K+J over was a good enough reason to finally clean up the mess in the house. There are still some boxes here and there but not too many.