A Challenging Project

I've just started a challenging project. Actually, I didn't come up on it on my own ha ha...OK, here's the story. About a week ago a customer asked me if I could translate a book to English (from Finnish, obviously). I told him I wouldn't know if I could do it or not, but I'd give it a try.

FYI, the said customer had once asked me where I came from, what I did prior to moving to Finland, etc. So he knows that I was a book translator in Indo and that I majored in English literature. That was probably one reason why he asked me that question.

Anyway, he then said that he had written a book in Finnish - thus he wanted to know if I could translate it to English. We didn't have time to talk more that day 'coz I had other customers to serve, so we left it at that. The next time I came to work, though, I found a book in an envelope in my locker (the customer had probably given it to my coworker and told her it was for me). He wrote his name, addy, and phone number on the envelope. I was GLAD to know it wasn't a book of poetry!!!! :-D

I didn't have time to read it because of the wedding party I had to go to last week, so I only started this project this week. It IS challenging 'coz I have never translated any book into English - plus the original language is Finnish. But it's gonna be an interesting project for me. It's been years since I last translated a book (5 years ago), so we shall see how it goes. One thing is for sure...I'll use the dictionaries A LOT - including the online English dictionaries ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...Another sure thing to happen is that it's gonna be A SLOW project. :-D

P.S. One thing I love about life in a small village is that even though there aren't many "activities" and "places to go" here (no university, just a handful of foreigners) , life feels considerably simpler here and I get to meet familiar faces a lot (esp. through work). And it's nice to be able to banter with customers whose faces I remember, even though I don't necessarily know their names.

REALLY thankful for this job that allows me to meet and interact with many people...

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Project Olaf: Olaf's Adventures

Let's continue Olaf's adventure today before I have to let him go tomorrow. For those of you who don't know what it's all about, you can go here:



Here's my first post on Olaf: Olaf's Here!

Yesterday evening I took Olaf to sauna 'coz going to sauna is such an important tradition in Finland. Olaf thinks sauna is a cool invention, especially considering how long the winter is up here.


Then I let him try our new relaxing sofa while watching R2 play Wii World of Goo. It's a puzzle game, so it's safe for Olaf to watch.


Olaf got more and more comfortable and he got rather sleepy, so I let him sleep there. :-D


This morning when Olaf woke up, the sun was shining brightly and he wanted to know the temperature. Only -5'C and it's much warmer under the sun. Hmmm...what shall we do today? Olaf asked me.


He ran upstairs 'coz he wanted a grand tour of the house.


Here's what Olaf saw from upstairs he he he...


After showing him the bedrooms, he was curious to see this small(ish) door, so I had to show him what it was.


Whoops...there's another door there! :-D


Ta-daaaa...it's a cool storage room. :-D Most of the stuff here belongs to the ex-home owners, which will get them later in summer. :-D This storage room is pretty handy. :-D


Today Olaf also met a Finnish doll and they had quite an interesting chat about different topics. :-D


They became fast friends and they wanted me to take a pic of them. :-D

"I'll never forget you," the doll said to Olaf. Olaf replied, "Me, neither!"


Then I took Olaf out to take him sliding on a snowy "hill". Olaf was a bit scared at first, but he was also excited!!!!


WHOOOPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! That was exciting!!! :-D


After sliding down the snowy hill over and over again, Olaf helped me clean up the snow from the yard. Today there wasn't too much snow, but yesterday it snowed the whole day that there was at least 10-15 cm of snow on the ground by the time I went out to clean it.


What an interesting day! Now Olaf is resting for a while to prepare himself for another adventure when he arrives at Henny's place. So long, Olaf...it's been nice hosting you and it's hard letting you go 'coz he's such a WONDERFUL bear, but Daniella needs you more than we do! So have a safe trip around the world until you reach Daniella, Olaf!!!!

Project Olaf: Olaf Is Here!

Went to get Olaf from the PO yesterday. For those of you who don't know what it's all about, you can go here:



The only correction I'd make about the post above is that Olaf will go to Daniella in USA. She's a one-year-old girl suffering from Nuetropenia. Click on the link to read more about that disorder.

For those of you who pray, please also help pray for Daniella. Here are some pics I've taken with Olaf, taking him for a little adventure he he...I'm gonna take more pics with Olaf before I send him on his way on Monday. :-D

First pic: Olaf was a bit shy at first 'coz he was confused where he was. He was peeping out of his box when he first arrived.


2nd pic: I introduced myself and lured him out of his shyness he he he...


3rd pic: He was such a warm bear that he let me hold him right away! HA HA HA...


4th pic: Look what we have here, Olaf! A little souvenir for you from Finland! :-D


5th pic: Olaf perched on top of a CD tower with his new souvenir from Finland. :-D


6th pic: Taken this morning. Olaf was amazed that it was snowing outside and he couldn't believe his eyes to see so much snow still on the ground. Good thing he had his sweater on, so he wasn't cold. I only let him sit there for a little while 'coz I didn't want him to freeze. :-D


7th pic: R2 got his birthday presents today and the wire puzzle was one of them. He was showing Olaf how to untangle it. He managed to solve the puzzle in just a few minutes. UGH!!! It was WAY too easy for him he he...


OK, now I'm going to enjoy R2's birthday by spending time with him...I'll blog-hop perhaps tomorrow or later tonight. Enjoy your weekend, people!!!

P.S. dNeero is live and about again! YAAAYYY!!!

Moving Again Soon!

Yep, we'll be moving again at the end of this month, so this is actually the shortest amount of time I've spent living in one place. We've only stayed here for one year. The longest time I've spent living in a house is in my parents' house in Bandung for 25 years he he...

We've decided to buy a house on credit. It made me feel at first kinda afraid 'coz the economical situation is so bad everywhere, but anyway we've calculated the cost and we'll be spending more or less the same amount of money we spend by renting this apartment. The only extra spending would be house renovation (which means we have to save money per month for this purpose just in case something happens in the future and we'll have to spend quite a sum of money to renovate something) - whereas when we live in rented apartments, we don't have to renovate anything 'coz if there's trouble we can always ask the company to fix it.

We have to sign the papers sometime this week (I think). On Monday we already went to the bank to sign in the loan papers. So we'll be rather busy this month and I'm EXCITED to move (I can tell that R2 is also SO excited). The house is old, but still it'll be our own house in the end he he he...It's got 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room, 2 small toilets, 1 bathroom and a sauna plus a little yard (which is actually GREAT 'coz if we have a huge yard, we have to clean up the snow ourselves in winter and it'll be HARD work considering the length of winter we have up here).

We weren't really looking for a house to be honest, but then Arttu's relative wanted to sell their house and they asked if we wanted to buy it, so we decided to take that offer. So we've started packing bit by bit 'coz we can start moving some things there already 'coz they're after all our relatives he he he he he...

This is really like an unexpected blessing for us and I'm SO thankful for it!!! :-D :-D :-D


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P.S. If you want to help brighten up someone's day and join in a good cause, there's a little project on the way that you can read by clicking the icon here:

Join In a Good Cause!

Click on the link for further info on how to brighten up someone's day:

Birthrate For Young Girls

When I was putting plastic covers for magazines at the library today, I came across this article in Time Magazine concerning birthrate for young girls in developed countries. So I wrote them down on a piece of paper.

Birthrate per 1,000 girls ages 15-19:

US 42.5
UK 26.7
Portugal 16.8
Aussie 16.1
Canada 13.3
Spain 11.5
Greece 11.3
Germany 10.1
Finland 9.4
Norway 8.7
France 7.8
Italy 7.0
Sweden 5.9
Denmark 5.9
Japan 5.1
Switzerland 4.5
Netherlands 3.8

I don't know who conducted the test, but it's clear that the US government is worried about this. I didn't have time to read it thoroughly, so I just browsed the article quickly. It seems that they're trying to enforce that "no sex is the best prevention" and they're wondering what kind of sex education is the best.

One thing I wondered when I read these numbers, though...what are the numbers for Indonesia? At least in Finland if you have a kid, you'll get some motherhood benefit and child benefit, as well, but in Indo...the parents will be burdened by the cost of living and raising the kid and the grandkid.

The second thing I was thinking was, "Hey, for a country where there are red light districts and gay marriages, the Netherlands aren't that bad!"

Oh well...I have nothing to say about this. Just want to share this article. Raising a child is definitely one of the TOUGHEST things on earth!!!

P.S. I've been given another project at work: decorating the children's section's wall. Today I tried to recreate a BIG version of Tigger (from Winnie the Pooh) HE HE HE HE HE...

Trip to Rovaniemi + My Personal Project

Went to Rovaniemi on a whim yesterday since we both had a day off. It wasn't really planned, though, so that means I'm becoming more and more spontaneous HA HA HA HA HA...Anyway, we didn't plan on buying anything EXCEPT I TRULY WANTED to buy Chinese food. *BIG GRIN* After all, the closest Chinese resto from here is one hour away from this village (Rovaniemi is about 1,5 hours away by car from here), but we've never tried eating there yet.

We went to a downtown mall and I found a Wii game that seemed nice (Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party), so I bought it. I looked around in the women's section, too, but didn't find anything too interesting or cheap ha ha...so we were just browsing around and relaxing. Then we moved to a different mall and browsed around some more, but didn't find anything. Soon we were hungry, so we went to a recommended Chinese resto called "Hai Long" in downtown Rovaniemi.

We ordered buffet lunch since it included everything. It was €8.90 per person (plus tax) and we could eat as much as we could and drink anything we wanted to (there were two types of rice, at least 8 types of dishes, CHILI SAUCE!!!, one type of soup, bread, milk, soft drinks, tea, water, and coffee). The resto were full all the time - people kept on coming and going. VERY good business!!! (side note: Well, the food is pretty good, though it's nothing compared to the food in a Chinese resto in Indo, but still it made me HAPPY!!!)

After that we went to a small hypermarket where R2 bought miniskis (because the old ones broke) and found a big lasagna dish. After that we went to a big hypermarket to buy our weekly needs (and R2 bought a cheap Wii game there). Then we got back home and played Wii for HOURS HA HA HA HA HA...We tried the new games right away and couldn't stop. FUN FUN FUN!!! :-D

So that was yesterday. Anyway, remember that I once wrote about my "project"? I decided to submit an article to a local newspaper just because I wanted to practise writing in Finnish and because I wanted to share my thoughts. At first I wanted to write about Indonesia, but the boss said that since it was only a local newspaper, I could only submit an article if it had something to do with my moving to Finland and how I "survive" here and things like that. So I did it and then their photographer came to the library to take my picture. On Thursday my MIL sent me an email, saying that she enjoyed reading my article he he he...I've only seen it today at her place since we don't subscribe to that newspaper he he he he...

Even though you probably don't understand what I'm writing, I'm sure you want to know what it's like, eh? So here goes...you can click on it to see a bigger version of it.



P.S. I don't know why I look SO white in the picture...uuhhhh he he he...And no, I'm not paid to write this, but the experience of writing it is PRICELESS, don't you think? There were SO many things I wanted to say, but I knew I couldn't write too long, so I had to edit it a few times until I felt pretty satisfied with it ha ha ha...

P.P.S. I'm curious what the ladies in the library would say about this article. I hope it's interesting enough to read my POV and my experience as an Asian moving to Sodankylä. :-D

My Coldest Day: - 31'C

Today is the coldest day I've ever experienced in Sodankylä. The temperature was -31'C when we went out to work and now it's very slightly warmer at -29.5'C. When walking home, I could feel my cheeks freezing SO FAST (they started to hurt after a while) and my eye lashes started to freeze too...and my legs started to feel the cold, too! BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR...

At -25'C with the outfit I wore today, it was cold but bearable...but when it becomes THIS cold, I think later on I should wear more layers, especially if I have to be outdoors for some time. I was thinking of visiting a flea market after work, but decided against it since I just wanted to be in my warm apartment he he he he...

One thing I realize that when it's -31'C outside and I've been walking outside, when I come inside the library or my apt., I don't really want to take off my anorak or shoes or gloves or woolen hat right away, since I still feel the cold seeping inside my body. Quite an experience, actually! I think I could almost see ice formed on the ends of my eye lashes, but I'm not so sure he he he..

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By the way, yesterday one friend from our course came to the library to visit me. Turned out she wanted me to teach her English. She's Russian and she doesn't speak much English, so I have to use Finnish to teach her English. We'll start tomorrow evening. We'll see how it goes. She said that she'd bring the books with her, so I don't have to prepare anything he he he...We'll just use the books she has. Sounds good to me!!!

Okay, time to exercise before blog-hopping!!!

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P.S. One work project is done and I've taken one pic of it (but I haven't uploaded it yet, so I'll show it to you later, OK?). Now I'm doing the second project. Still have NO clue what to do about the third project, but I'm in no hurry he he he...

3BT: Random Days

Note: Been busy with many things, so I haven't been able to blog or blog-hop. I'll do it during the weekend, OK?

1. Being given a small project to do at the library. My personal small project. Even though it doesn't involve too much thinking, it takes a while to do and it's gonna be useful to everybody who comes to the library. It feels GOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDD to be able to contribute to the greater good of the society he he he...Come to think of it, working at the library may be my dream job in Finland he he...

2. Having VERY supportive colleagues. They also start asking me questions about myself: how long I've lived here, if I like living here, etc.

3. A colleague brought Vienetta ice-cream to the library, so we ate it together HO HO HO...I should bring something too, later on...to celebrate my b-day he he he...

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4. It's been snowing A LOT these days. I LOVEEEEEEEEE ITTTTTTTTTT!!!!! Fresh snow always looks SO glorious! They glitter under street lights like tiny tiny beads of diamonds...mmmmm...

5. Homemade pepper steak. This conversation happened when R2 got home and I had just finished baking the pepper steak in the oven:

Me: There's some pepper steak and french fries in the oven. Aren't you going to eat?
R2: I'm noooooottt hungggrrryyy...do I have to eat?????
Me: No, I was just saying that I left one piece of pepper steak and some french fries in the oven (I turned it off already, but it was still hot - I just wanted to keep them hot for him just in case he wanted some).
R2: Okaaaayyy...I guess I'll just take a little bit.

He took a small piece of pepper steak and some french fries...and guess what happened? After finishing the portion, he took THE REST and finished IT ALL! HUA HA HA HA HA HA...

Me: I seeeeee...so the guy who said that he wasn't hungry then took a little bit of pepper steak and french fries to taste, and now he suddenly took another portion and finished every little bit of it?????
R2: Yeah, DANG YOU!!! It was because you made it too tasty!!!

LOL LOL LOL!!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH for the compliment, Honey! It feels GOOD to be able to cook something that he likes SO much, though it was my first time trying to make pepper steak. WOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

6. The library manager is such a considerate person. She always pays attention to me and involve me in conversations. She's also a smiley woman. :-)))))

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7. Buying some things for some people HO HO HO HO HO...

8. Planning a "date" night with my Hungarian friend next Friday as R2 will have a small X-mas party with his gaming buddies somewhere. I'm planning to cook some food for her so that she can taste Asian food HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...