Greetings from the other side.
Last week was a bit of a mixed bag for me. The week before we had been away, together with my fiancee and her sister and brother-in-law, to a place called Ukkohalla on a ski trip. The weather was overcast and the snow messed with our skis a bit, but other than that it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip. When it came to the skiing we did the cross-country variant. It had been years since I last did any kind of skiing, and it was a bit of a strange experience being back on a pair of skis again. It was fun though, and I think I ended up doing something like 13 km in total. Compared to my fiancee's sister and her husband that was nothing though. I think they ended up doing something in the region of 86 km in total.
Among the first things that happened after we got there was that I managed to 'wreck' the bed. It's not as bad as it sounds though. Basically, I was trying to move the bed slightly to the side when it suddenly collapsed. It turned out that, unbeknownst to me, by moving it I had disturbed an upright-standing logg underneath it that was holding the length-wise running beam in place, which in turn supported all the lateral-running supports underneath the bed. I'm not sure if that description paints a good enough picture of what I mean, but I hope it does as my tired brain is currently struggling a bit to think of a better explanation.
Anyway, we managed to fix the bed fairly quickly again.
The trip to Ukkohalla was a lot of fun, and it is certainly something I would definitely do again some day. It was nice to get away for a few days and spend some time with my fiancee and her sister and brother-in-law.
In Sweden we have a saying that translates roughly to "Away is good, but home is best" (Sv: Borta bra men hemma bäst). As fun as it had been to be away for a few days, it still felt good to come back home and sleep in your own bed again.
However, starting the next day I wasn't feeling too well. I felt really stressed and tired, and not really myself. It's been a long time since I had felt that high levels of stress, and seemingly for no apparent reason. It took me most of the following week to get back to normal again. Hopefully that was a one-off thing, but I would really like to know what caused it. Maybe it was a lot of little things that just came together to cause it? I honestly have no idea. Whatever it was, it continued to influence my week though.
I am so glad to be passed that now. Hopefully it was just a one-off thing.
Yesterday I was pretty nervous though. I was set to work at a memorial service. Now, I have done that before, but this was the first time I was going to do it completely on my own. All sorts of thoughts were flowing through my head, and I was trying to remember everything I needed to think about and prepare. I'd lie if I said I wasn't nervous though. Looking back at it now however, I would say that I did a good job. So maybe I didn't need to be so nervous about it, but that's the benefit of hindsight and all that.
Yesterday evening, we had a couple of friends over and we all sat down and watched Melodifestivalen. which is the Swedish competition that decides which entry we send to the Eurovision Song Contest. Did the right song win? I have no clue. I guess we'll find that out when the actual ESC competition is held. After that it is really down to personal taste whether you liked it or not. The main thing though was that we had a great time yesterday evening, together with good friends. We laughed a lot and I think I needed that having been so nervous about the memorial service job earlier in the day.
It's been two week since I was able to really do any world-building or writing, but yesterday evening after our friends had left, I started sitting down with it again and it was such a good feeling. I've missed it more than I thought I did, so being back at it felt really good.
Until next time.
See you all on the other side!
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söndag 12 mars 2017
lördag 18 februari 2017
Finding the rhythm
Greetings from the other side.
Getting back into the regular blogging thing has been a bit more difficult than I envisioned when I decided to slow down my blogging output over the holiday season. There are many times when I have thought I should write something, but then something else comes up and I end up postponing writing a new blog entry for another time. Oh well, such is the way of life I guess, and I will have to see where it takes me. The blog is still there though, so maybe I can get into a better writing rhythm with it again, eventually.
Last weekend we had a visit from two good friends from Sweden. It was the first time they were here since my move, and it was a real pleasure to have them here for a visit over the weekend. Having friends or family over to visit is always a good feeling. Even though I like it here in Finland, and I am very happy here, there is always that part of me that misses my friends and family back in Sweden. So whenever people have a chance to come over here for a visit, or I get a chance to go over there to visit, it is always a good feeling.
Tomorrow we are going to celebrate my fiancee's father's 70th birthday. His actual birthday is on Monday, but for convenience sake the celebrations are being held on Sunday instead. It should be a good time, and my future father-in-law has made the food and cakes himself, so you know it will be really good. Being that he is a chef and all.
In a couple of weeks time my fiancee and I are also going away for a few days together with her sister and her husband. It will be nice to get away for a little bit and see something else. There might be some skiing involved as well, if there is enough snow. Either way, I am really looking forward to it. It will be nice to get away and see a different part of Finland as well. :) Hopefully I can remember to take some pictures while I am there and possibly post some of them on the blog.
That will have to round off a relatively short blog. Before I sat down to write it I thought I had a ton to write about, but when I actually started writing most of those things just disappeared. Oh well, maybe for the next blog post. :)
See you all on the other side!
Getting back into the regular blogging thing has been a bit more difficult than I envisioned when I decided to slow down my blogging output over the holiday season. There are many times when I have thought I should write something, but then something else comes up and I end up postponing writing a new blog entry for another time. Oh well, such is the way of life I guess, and I will have to see where it takes me. The blog is still there though, so maybe I can get into a better writing rhythm with it again, eventually.
Last weekend we had a visit from two good friends from Sweden. It was the first time they were here since my move, and it was a real pleasure to have them here for a visit over the weekend. Having friends or family over to visit is always a good feeling. Even though I like it here in Finland, and I am very happy here, there is always that part of me that misses my friends and family back in Sweden. So whenever people have a chance to come over here for a visit, or I get a chance to go over there to visit, it is always a good feeling.
Tomorrow we are going to celebrate my fiancee's father's 70th birthday. His actual birthday is on Monday, but for convenience sake the celebrations are being held on Sunday instead. It should be a good time, and my future father-in-law has made the food and cakes himself, so you know it will be really good. Being that he is a chef and all.
In a couple of weeks time my fiancee and I are also going away for a few days together with her sister and her husband. It will be nice to get away for a little bit and see something else. There might be some skiing involved as well, if there is enough snow. Either way, I am really looking forward to it. It will be nice to get away and see a different part of Finland as well. :) Hopefully I can remember to take some pictures while I am there and possibly post some of them on the blog.
That will have to round off a relatively short blog. Before I sat down to write it I thought I had a ton to write about, but when I actually started writing most of those things just disappeared. Oh well, maybe for the next blog post. :)
See you all on the other side!
torsdag 9 februari 2017
A very mixed bag
Greetings from the other side.
Another couple of weeks have passed (give or take) since my last entry on this blog. It has been a time of ups and downs, I must say. On the whole though, I don't have much to complain about.
Granted, I say that even though yesterday my father-in-law had to put his best friend, and long-time partner, Bamse to rest. I am of course talking about his dog here. That kind of puts a sour note on everyone's day. We all miss him. :(
A couple of weeks back, we also had a day where things just seemed to go wrong for us. It started when my fiancee was in the kitchen as an oven form suddenly exploded right next to her. There were big pieces flying everywhere and it kinda felt like a miracle that she wasn't hit by anything. The reason it had exploded was that she had accidentally put it down on a hot plate on the stove. There was nothing in the form yet, but she was planning on using it for cooking something in the oven. Anyway, she was visibly shocked by what had just happened, but I was just relieved that she hadn't gotten hurt.
The second thing that happened on that day was that the hose that leads away the water from the washing machine came loose and we had sudden flooding on the bathroom floor. After that we had to keep watch over the hose, and sure enough it came loose one more time before the machine was finished.
Now, please don't think that it has been all bad. There have been good things happening as well!
For example we've had a planning meeting with my future brother- and sister-in-laws and their spouses (unfortunately one was away on a trip and couldn't make it). Feels like we got a lot done, which was good. There's a lot that goes into planning a wedding, even though we are trying to keep it relatively simple and we are going for a more rustic theme. I am sure it will be good once it is all done. :)
We have also collected the addresses to everyone we want to invite. Again, we are going to keep it relatively simple, so we are not aiming for a huge thing here. But we should probably end up somewhere around the 60 people mark when all is said and done. The invitations should be sent out in the not too distant future.
Two weekends ago we went to visit some friends of my fiancee. It was the first time she had seen them in a while, so she was really looking forward to it. It was nice to meet some more of her friends, and as always it turned out to be really good people. :)
I have to say, I've been sick since last week. The fever is gone, but I still have a bit of a throat problem and a runny nose. My head hasn't completely cleared up either, which is a shame. I hope it will get better soon though, as we are getting visitors from Sweden this weekend. :) I am really looking forward to that!
That's one of the things I guess I miss most being over here, my friends and family back in Sweden. I know they technically aren't that far away - only a 4½ hour boat-ride - but still. Anyway, it will be good to meet a couple of them again. :)
I think I am going to go lie down for a bit before lunch.
See you all on the other side!
Another couple of weeks have passed (give or take) since my last entry on this blog. It has been a time of ups and downs, I must say. On the whole though, I don't have much to complain about.
Granted, I say that even though yesterday my father-in-law had to put his best friend, and long-time partner, Bamse to rest. I am of course talking about his dog here. That kind of puts a sour note on everyone's day. We all miss him. :(
A couple of weeks back, we also had a day where things just seemed to go wrong for us. It started when my fiancee was in the kitchen as an oven form suddenly exploded right next to her. There were big pieces flying everywhere and it kinda felt like a miracle that she wasn't hit by anything. The reason it had exploded was that she had accidentally put it down on a hot plate on the stove. There was nothing in the form yet, but she was planning on using it for cooking something in the oven. Anyway, she was visibly shocked by what had just happened, but I was just relieved that she hadn't gotten hurt.
The second thing that happened on that day was that the hose that leads away the water from the washing machine came loose and we had sudden flooding on the bathroom floor. After that we had to keep watch over the hose, and sure enough it came loose one more time before the machine was finished.
Now, please don't think that it has been all bad. There have been good things happening as well!
For example we've had a planning meeting with my future brother- and sister-in-laws and their spouses (unfortunately one was away on a trip and couldn't make it). Feels like we got a lot done, which was good. There's a lot that goes into planning a wedding, even though we are trying to keep it relatively simple and we are going for a more rustic theme. I am sure it will be good once it is all done. :)
We have also collected the addresses to everyone we want to invite. Again, we are going to keep it relatively simple, so we are not aiming for a huge thing here. But we should probably end up somewhere around the 60 people mark when all is said and done. The invitations should be sent out in the not too distant future.
Two weekends ago we went to visit some friends of my fiancee. It was the first time she had seen them in a while, so she was really looking forward to it. It was nice to meet some more of her friends, and as always it turned out to be really good people. :)
I have to say, I've been sick since last week. The fever is gone, but I still have a bit of a throat problem and a runny nose. My head hasn't completely cleared up either, which is a shame. I hope it will get better soon though, as we are getting visitors from Sweden this weekend. :) I am really looking forward to that!
That's one of the things I guess I miss most being over here, my friends and family back in Sweden. I know they technically aren't that far away - only a 4½ hour boat-ride - but still. Anyway, it will be good to meet a couple of them again. :)
I think I am going to go lie down for a bit before lunch.
See you all on the other side!
tisdag 20 december 2016
Christmas time update
Greetings from the other side.
It's been a while, hasn't it? Since my last blog entry, I mean. I have been meaning to write, but things have gotten in the way or the energy just hasn't been there at the time to write something. Then again, it is Christmas time. Hopefully I will get the writing back on track soon again! :)
So, what's been going on since last time? Well...
We went over to visit my parents in Sweden over the weekend a couple of weeks ago. It was good to be back in Sweden again. Strange feeling coming home again after 4 months living in Finland, and a strange feeling going back to Finland again. I've always felt at home here in Finland, so it was a bit like leaving home in order to go home. I can't really describe the feeling any other way, and it wasn't like any other feeling I have felt before.
My fiancee and I also got to visit a couple of friends while we were there. It was good seeing them again. They had recently moved to a new apartment, and it was nice seeing their new place for the first time as well. :) I wish I could have visited more friends while I was there, but sadly there wasn't enough time. I guess there is always next time though! :)
As of December 15th I am done with the 4-month trial-period for my job and I am now a regular employee! :) In practice this doesn't really change anything. The trial period is only there to give the employer and myself a period to try each other out. It feels good that it is over though, as I am quite enjoying my job here. :)
Speaking of my work and the people I work with, we went out for Christmas lunch together last week. We went to a place where my father-in-law used to work. He can even be found on a painting there, together with 3 other chefs who worked there at the time.
Last weekend my fiancee and I, together with her parents, went for an hour-long drive to listen to a Christmas concert with my fiancee's brother's youth choir, which he is heading. It was really nice, with a live band and some really good singers. It was a really beautiful church as well. :) Well worth the long drive to get there.
My knee is finally well enough again that I have been able to roleplay (tabletop roleplaying) with my friends again! :) See, in order for me to do that I need to go upstairs since we usually play late in the evenings and my fiancee needs her sleep. So I can't really sit downstairs and play. But now that my knee is better I have been able to go upstairs and play again. For those who don't know, we play over the internet, using Skype to talk and a program called MapTools for maps, tokens, dice-rolling, etc. Works a treat when we are all scattered across the globe. Anyway, it is really good to be back playing again. I've missed it.
Time for me to head outside now and help bring in the Christmas tree. I hope you all are having a wonderful Advent-time and if I don't write again before Christmas I want to wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS! :)
See you all on the other side!
It's been a while, hasn't it? Since my last blog entry, I mean. I have been meaning to write, but things have gotten in the way or the energy just hasn't been there at the time to write something. Then again, it is Christmas time. Hopefully I will get the writing back on track soon again! :)
So, what's been going on since last time? Well...
We went over to visit my parents in Sweden over the weekend a couple of weeks ago. It was good to be back in Sweden again. Strange feeling coming home again after 4 months living in Finland, and a strange feeling going back to Finland again. I've always felt at home here in Finland, so it was a bit like leaving home in order to go home. I can't really describe the feeling any other way, and it wasn't like any other feeling I have felt before.
My fiancee and I also got to visit a couple of friends while we were there. It was good seeing them again. They had recently moved to a new apartment, and it was nice seeing their new place for the first time as well. :) I wish I could have visited more friends while I was there, but sadly there wasn't enough time. I guess there is always next time though! :)
As of December 15th I am done with the 4-month trial-period for my job and I am now a regular employee! :) In practice this doesn't really change anything. The trial period is only there to give the employer and myself a period to try each other out. It feels good that it is over though, as I am quite enjoying my job here. :)
Speaking of my work and the people I work with, we went out for Christmas lunch together last week. We went to a place where my father-in-law used to work. He can even be found on a painting there, together with 3 other chefs who worked there at the time.
Last weekend my fiancee and I, together with her parents, went for an hour-long drive to listen to a Christmas concert with my fiancee's brother's youth choir, which he is heading. It was really nice, with a live band and some really good singers. It was a really beautiful church as well. :) Well worth the long drive to get there.
My knee is finally well enough again that I have been able to roleplay (tabletop roleplaying) with my friends again! :) See, in order for me to do that I need to go upstairs since we usually play late in the evenings and my fiancee needs her sleep. So I can't really sit downstairs and play. But now that my knee is better I have been able to go upstairs and play again. For those who don't know, we play over the internet, using Skype to talk and a program called MapTools for maps, tokens, dice-rolling, etc. Works a treat when we are all scattered across the globe. Anyway, it is really good to be back playing again. I've missed it.
Time for me to head outside now and help bring in the Christmas tree. I hope you all are having a wonderful Advent-time and if I don't write again before Christmas I want to wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS! :)
See you all on the other side!
lördag 10 september 2016
A 'Moving' Story
Greetings from the other side.
The bottom floor of my girlfriend's house has been empty since her tenant moved out about three weeks ago, and since then we have been slowly working towards getting the downstairs apartment fixed up and ready so we can move down there. The plan being that the bottom floor will be our main living quarters, and then also make use of the upstairs apartment, plus use it as a separate apartment for guests when people are visiting.
It's been a slow process getting things ready downstairs however, partly because I have been working long days and then am exhausted when the weekend comes, but also because there have been a lot of work that needs to be done. We have fixed up the bathroom, including having a plumber over, we've repainted a lot of stuff in the kitchen and other places, and we've gotten some new wallpaper to replace the ones where the tenants cats had left scratch-marks. We are currently in the process of putting up said wallpapers. Luckily we have had a lot of help from my girlfriend's father. We are also expecting an electrician to come here as we need to do a bit of electrical re-wiring for when we move the stove from upstairs to downstairs, and the one we currently have downstairs to upstairs. It is bigger than the one that is currently downstairs, and will need to be put in a different place, hence why we need the new electrical socket to plugg it in.
It will be good once it is all done however, and we can't wait for it to be all finished so we can finally move downstairs. My girlfriend is getting a little bit impatient about it all taking so long.
There's more to think about when you move like this than you would think. And this will be my second move in a bit over a month. Granted this move is happening within the same house, but there's still furniture that needs to be moved, painting and preparations that need to be done, and a lot of other things.
We also had a little mold-scare in the bathroom in the beginning, but it turns out it was nothing so that was a major relief!
I'm really looking forward to having people come visit from Sweden once we are done with everything. It will be really nice seeing my parents and friends again. :)
There's fog outside today, and a bit of rain. Was kind of hoping for a bit of sunshine, but that might happen later today.
See you all on the other side!
The bottom floor of my girlfriend's house has been empty since her tenant moved out about three weeks ago, and since then we have been slowly working towards getting the downstairs apartment fixed up and ready so we can move down there. The plan being that the bottom floor will be our main living quarters, and then also make use of the upstairs apartment, plus use it as a separate apartment for guests when people are visiting.
It's been a slow process getting things ready downstairs however, partly because I have been working long days and then am exhausted when the weekend comes, but also because there have been a lot of work that needs to be done. We have fixed up the bathroom, including having a plumber over, we've repainted a lot of stuff in the kitchen and other places, and we've gotten some new wallpaper to replace the ones where the tenants cats had left scratch-marks. We are currently in the process of putting up said wallpapers. Luckily we have had a lot of help from my girlfriend's father. We are also expecting an electrician to come here as we need to do a bit of electrical re-wiring for when we move the stove from upstairs to downstairs, and the one we currently have downstairs to upstairs. It is bigger than the one that is currently downstairs, and will need to be put in a different place, hence why we need the new electrical socket to plugg it in.
It will be good once it is all done however, and we can't wait for it to be all finished so we can finally move downstairs. My girlfriend is getting a little bit impatient about it all taking so long.
There's more to think about when you move like this than you would think. And this will be my second move in a bit over a month. Granted this move is happening within the same house, but there's still furniture that needs to be moved, painting and preparations that need to be done, and a lot of other things.
We also had a little mold-scare in the bathroom in the beginning, but it turns out it was nothing so that was a major relief!
I'm really looking forward to having people come visit from Sweden once we are done with everything. It will be really nice seeing my parents and friends again. :)
There's fog outside today, and a bit of rain. Was kind of hoping for a bit of sunshine, but that might happen later today.
See you all on the other side!
lördag 3 september 2016
Doing things things you love, is good for you
Greetings from the other side.
Today's blog post is brought to you from a, so far at least, sunny place somewhere in Finland.
Lots of things have been running through my mind lately, especially with the new blog coming up and writing stuff for that, but also things about life in general. Living here, I live a reasonably calm and "simple" life, in the country side. I have a job to go to, beautiful surroundings, and a wonderful girlfriend. Living here gives you lots of opportunities to reflect on things, which is great for when you have a blog to write. :)
A few days ago, I was finally able to return to roleplaying, having only been able to play with my friends once in the past 5 weeks or so. It was such a nice feeling to be back and doing something that I truly love doing, together with people that I love playing with. I don't think I had fully realized how much I had missed playing tabletop roleplaying games with my friends until I was back. I think it is important that you find things in your life that you truly love doing, that you keep doing them, and that you let them act as a vent for you. Only doing what is expected of you, or things that you "must" do, whether it be work-related or otherwise, is not good for you in the long run, I think. You need a vent. Something you love doing that gives you a very good feeling inside. Something which helps you relax and that you always enjoy going back to. Not because you HAVE to or NEED to, but because you WANT to. It may not be something that is good for you financially, materialistically, or anything like that, but the important thing is that it is good for your well-being. It is a social thing that you can do in a relaxed atmosphere together with friends. I wrote a piece recently on my other blog about why you should play tabletop RPGs, which touched on that a bit, as well.
My point is, finding things that GIVE you energy and joy is extremely important and good for you. They are the things you love doing in your spare time, either together with friends or on your own. They give you energy and happiness, and is something you do because YOU want to do it. Maybe it is a hobby, an interest, or even playing a sport. What is important isn't WHAT it is, but that it is something you enjoy. It can even be a good way to relieve stress, and just enjoy yourself for a while. So if you are suffering from a lot of stress in your life, and you haven't already found something you love doing that can help give you back some of the mental and emotional energy that stress can steal away from you, then I highly recommend that you try and think of something you want to do.
My gf has, stuck on the door to our fridge, a saying that goes "Do more of what makes you happy", and I subscribe wholeheartedly to that. I believe that doing things that make you happy is good for you, both mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
See you all on the other side!
Today's blog post is brought to you from a, so far at least, sunny place somewhere in Finland.
Lots of things have been running through my mind lately, especially with the new blog coming up and writing stuff for that, but also things about life in general. Living here, I live a reasonably calm and "simple" life, in the country side. I have a job to go to, beautiful surroundings, and a wonderful girlfriend. Living here gives you lots of opportunities to reflect on things, which is great for when you have a blog to write. :)
A few days ago, I was finally able to return to roleplaying, having only been able to play with my friends once in the past 5 weeks or so. It was such a nice feeling to be back and doing something that I truly love doing, together with people that I love playing with. I don't think I had fully realized how much I had missed playing tabletop roleplaying games with my friends until I was back. I think it is important that you find things in your life that you truly love doing, that you keep doing them, and that you let them act as a vent for you. Only doing what is expected of you, or things that you "must" do, whether it be work-related or otherwise, is not good for you in the long run, I think. You need a vent. Something you love doing that gives you a very good feeling inside. Something which helps you relax and that you always enjoy going back to. Not because you HAVE to or NEED to, but because you WANT to. It may not be something that is good for you financially, materialistically, or anything like that, but the important thing is that it is good for your well-being. It is a social thing that you can do in a relaxed atmosphere together with friends. I wrote a piece recently on my other blog about why you should play tabletop RPGs, which touched on that a bit, as well.
My point is, finding things that GIVE you energy and joy is extremely important and good for you. They are the things you love doing in your spare time, either together with friends or on your own. They give you energy and happiness, and is something you do because YOU want to do it. Maybe it is a hobby, an interest, or even playing a sport. What is important isn't WHAT it is, but that it is something you enjoy. It can even be a good way to relieve stress, and just enjoy yourself for a while. So if you are suffering from a lot of stress in your life, and you haven't already found something you love doing that can help give you back some of the mental and emotional energy that stress can steal away from you, then I highly recommend that you try and think of something you want to do.
My gf has, stuck on the door to our fridge, a saying that goes "Do more of what makes you happy", and I subscribe wholeheartedly to that. I believe that doing things that make you happy is good for you, both mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
See you all on the other side!
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