Things are looking up... finally

Well, I just received my official Right of Residence to stay here... I don't feel like an alien now, that sort of homeless feeling has pasted and I can stay without leaving every 3 months! Alas, I will still leave as often as I can to see friends and family and they can always visit us.

So now, I get to do normal things and fill in a million more forms to get them no doubt. Progress can't be denied though... To new beginnings and my own bus pass!

Oh, we walked around Suolijärvi again last night, I love that walk! Although I saw mosquitoes and some weird march type fly tried bite my head. Today is meant to be the last sunny hot day for a while.

Later I am going out on my bike. We are going shopping for rice wafers then back for ice hockey at 5pm. Hopefully we win this time! I am hoping E wants to come a walk after too.

I decided on a fitness plan, to lose 9kg over the next 6 months. Week one and only doing 4 nights of walking 4.3km in 38mins. Plan on doing it daily from next week. There's also a bike path too but its a bit to hilly for my current level of unfitness. Also started on the outdoor gym yesterday, I discovered I still have that motion problem when i get over something that moves like a treadmill my ears are screwed and it still feels like I'm moving. But life's hard, what can you do but play the game with the cards you are given!!!

Anyway, I need to finish the chores and go outside for a little bit.

18. tiistai, toukokuu

Today has been an annoying day. To start off I overslept and woke up at 9am. I sorted the washing out and decided to bring all my clothes out the wardrobe (where they still are now) by the time I had them all out I wasn't interested in them any more. So I tidied up the little messes I made around the flat while looking for paperwork etc.

Then I went for a little walk as I'm still feeling a little rough, on my walk I decided to go and buy Eero an anniversary present as we have been together 2 years now and give it him early. I had found a board game for him but last time in the shop he mentioned another he wanted so I got him that and a bar of his favourite UK chocolate he has tried yet(double deckers). Mom has brought him a family pack of them when we go home.

The walk made me feel a little better, Eero texted me loads today checking I was ok (hes super cute most the time). Then i decided to go and sort my Right of Residence out at the poliisiasema. After a busy ride standing up on hot full bus (30) I got off the bus outside the police station and went in. It was busy, then the sign said the foreigners section closed at 3pm, so with haste I pressed the ticket button it was 2.05pm and there were 6 people ahead of me. I was seen just after 3pm but this is where it gets annoying... the twice before we had been they said both times that the certificate was in the post and I would receive it within two weeks. I explained this to the woman and then I handed her my university acceptance letter. Then she said there's a hold on your certificate for up to 6 months until you got a job or was excepted in to a university. I was confused and annoyed why didn't they tell me that before instead of keep telling me it was in the post when it obviously wasn't!!!

But the lady assured me that it would be posted now I had the university acceptance letter and I should receive it the end of the week, next week latest. Forgive me for getting excited about this until that certificate is in our mail box.

I will keep you posted...

Oh yes, the next annoying thing then happened I went back to Stockmann delicatessen to buy the shortbread that suit my allergies we have brought here for 2 years. They appear to have been discontinued. Now they stock ones with vanilla flavour which I don't like however, we are testing them with my allergies now (urgh)

Cloudy all day until around 4pm then the sun came out, it's been 21C all day but last few hours have been warmer.

We went to äiti Suominen's to dismantle the other bikes and Kirsti said she would stop by after aerobics and she our newly finished balcony. She liked it too. I am contemplating starting aerobics to, all in Finnish but only €2 an hour and its up to 3 times a week.

Tomorrow we will walk around Suolijärvi in the evening. Now time to watch Finland vs Russia in Ice hockey!!

Still no sign of Libby May, Donna Sherry's tummy is very comfy for Libby. Still she has to come out soon!

o_0

I have so much I need to do I don't know where to start...

I need to sort the wardrobe as the contents are currently on the bedroom floor, go to city and sort this right of residence, go to city library, clean up the few flurries of mess that have appeared since yesterday.

I'm waiting for books to be delivered before we go away that haven't been dispatched from UK yet.

I have to put more time in to learning Finnish and make Eero teach me more speaking.

At least all the university things should be sorted out, just need to ordered a lyyra card. Also need to research a lot of things before university starts! It's been 2 years since my last degree =D

So time to go offline and do some work...

It's cloudy today (can't see the sun but it's still 21C out there!)

Renewable Energy, Master's Degree Confirmation

It seems that things are starting to get better. Today I received the official Jyväskylä confirmation pack, so I have a lot to read, fill in, pay for (argh!!!) and send back. I'm excited now, this means it is REAL!

So I still have heard nothing from the Police station about my pending Right of Residence (end of Feb started) so I figure I will go add this University confirmation to it before Wok Wok on Friday.

I'm sure a few agency jobs I applied for closed Mid May too but we will see if we hear anything from them but it's not as important anymore. Though I may try to find a part time one day a week or something near Jyväskylä at some biomass plant. This will take some research to do and may end up being voluntary with the current economic climate. However, it would be useful for my dissertation in the end. Watch this space, I suppose.

The plot thickens!

Project Kesä

Well, if I am honest I haven't done much since the last post. It's been cloudy outside and cool so I opted to stay in doors, read and facebook. I have discovered facebook is a dangerous tool and leads to me spending too much time playing pointless games to pass time... really I should be learning Finnish or reading my environment books and keeping up to date with the science and waste world. Alas I haven't been but much like most of the group I'm not motivated to do anything.

I am still waiting to hear if I get my Right of Residency (applied End of Feb), I do however, hope that when they do reply it's that I don't have to continue to leave every 3 months. It does get very depressing at times and demotivating to put so much effort into trying to learn a new language, prepare for a new masters degree (potentially), look for work and adapt to a new way of living to have to leave every 3 months. Nothing like feeling like you don't belong. Still on the whole I am a happy "outsider"! I suppose some days were going to be like this! I keep happy by knowing one day I will get residency and citizenship and this will all be a distant memory.

My routine is boring me at the moment, cleaning, read, cook, shop. Though I am old enough to realise work is the only thing missing from the grown up world here, I do miss the company of being at work, the purpose and point of having something to do and of course the money! But English is not an official language and I knew that before I came here... I knew I would have to be house wife. I also know I normally land on my feet, somehow I always get lucky... Part of me of course doesn't want to work, it will be more fun now summer is coming to be "free" and look around and take photos of things, get back into nature and learning the Finnish for the nature!

So, as Eero will happily tell you I can't buy a piece of furniture and leave it the way it was brought... it needs to be customized. I like these little projects (i know i did art and graphic design for some reason then). So my last project is the balcony furniture we have 2 wicker/can chairs and a table... they were light wood coloured. Then they got sanded and I am almost done painting them black... (photos when they are done). We are struggling to find any new cushions and I am now getting very tempted to make some myself.

I ordered 4 new Finnish books over the last 2 weeks... so I have something for everything now; grammer, speaking, conversation helping, and some basic ones that build from the basics.... and I have the flash card game Eero brought me a few Christmases ago. So that's all now, kill or cure I have all the material I need to learn this language. Now I need to remember and practise and life will be good!

Life all seems happier ever after writing this blog, funny how writing things down, even moaning things helps.

Here is the photo of our new latern in the day and in twlight time.