Juhannus Weekend 2010

Midsummer is celebrated each year between the 20th and 26th of June, at the lightest point of the year. It is the biggest summer celebration in Finland, and signals the start of "the real summer". It is a celebration of light, summer and a "night less" night. The name "Juhannus", as the Midsummer is called in Finnish, originates from John the Baptist ("Johannes" in Finnish), who's commemoration-, and birthday is celebrated in Midsummer. Midsummer is also a Finnish Flag Day. The Flags are raised at 18.00 on Midsummer Eve and lowered at 21.00 on Midsummer evening.

So the last few days I got to celebrate my first Juhannus in Finland. Went to Poikko, which is a city outside Turku. Went to a cottage and stayed in a nice summer house.




Lots of really good food to eat. We brought sausages, sausages, and more sausages.. Cheese to grill. There was salad and potatoes and sausages :)

Oh and lots to drink :) Lots and lots and lots. It was a great time, met lots of cool people that I hope to meet up with again. And it was great to be with Jano for our first "holiday" in Finland.


So the last 24 hours we have been recovering. Left on Saturday due to my cat having some issues where he is eating his fur.. Think this is something due to an allergy with his food... So did not want to leave him alone too long. But the cat is fine.


So just wondering if they have the same celebration for the longest day of darkness?

Phone Happiness!

Wooo! So FINALLY today I got a new phone! Have been looking for almost 1.5 years and managed to make the plunge. The phone I purchased is the Nokia 5230. Not the most exciting phone in the world, but it did satisfy a few needs.

1. Unlocked. I HATE my ATT locked Sony Ericsson phone
2. GPS w/Navigation. Since I am in a new country having GPS would be very handy. Nokia recently started offering free OVI maps/GPS with their phones so this worked out nicely
3. 3G speeds. Data is expensive here especially since I am using Pre-Paid, but if I am going to pay for it, I'd prefer it to be fast
4. Large display. I don't know the details, but the display is nice

Other than that, mainly it was cost. I don't want to spend a lot of money now so for 120€ it was not too expensive. Once I get a job and things settle down, I'll maybe buy a new phone, but for now, this should work.

By the way, the photo above is taken at 11:41PM :) and tonight is the longest day of the year.

June 19th.. Long Walk.. and Rain...

So I am on the hunt for a new mobile phone.. I hate...HATE the Sony Ericsson phone I have and have been looking for a new one for the past year and a half. Jano loves phone shopping so he was eager to go with me today.

The issue I have with phones is I need/want something with GPS/Maps so when I am traveling around Finland I know where I am going. This is also important so when I am going to a job interview I have some clue where I am going. I am paper-map challenged, so the digital version works well for me.

I have my mind set on the Nokia 5230 . Its an OK phone.. but i know back home I can get it for $100 where here its between 119-120€... which works out to be about $135.00.. and.. its an older phone.. while its newer in the USA, its been discontinued in Europe... So anyway price for features, its got what I want.

So we went to Giganti a large electronics store in Tampere... They had the phone for 119€ but were out of stock til Wednesday. Well I want the phone NOW so we walked back into town and went to the Musta Porssi store.. they don't have it... went to DNA... they don't have it... walked to Elisa where they do have it.. but they closed 3 minutes before we got there... so.. they won't be open til Monday... went to another DNA store and they didnt have it.. and the 2nd Elisa store we went to did not have it either.. so.. no phone :o/


So anyway walked back home.. had planned to go out.. but now its raining and neither of us feel like getting soaked... so hanging out at home tonight... at least we are saving money....

Shortly after arrival

So the past few days after arriving to Finland have been interesting... Been adjusting to the time zone differences.. (you know its light out at 11pm, right?)

So the cat has been adjusting well.. getting used to laying around in numerous different places...

Floor is good











or on a bag.....


Or heck... why not in the shower?















But he has been having a good time exploring and having fun.... like..

On the terrace.....










Or OK on my hoodie...
But pretty much he has a hard life.. and.. well.. its exhausting....

The Trip From Hell (part 3) Amsterdam > Helsinki

So at the gate for the flight to Amsterdam I spotted another person transporting an animal.. this time a dog.. the dog was out of the kennel.. i thought about letting Tobie out, but decided he might be too scared. Went and sat next to this little old lady by a window and we talked about animals and travel and so forth.. Tobie had calmed down and was behaving pretty well.

They called for us to board.. and.. well again I got nervous, but I knew if I petted him that he would be OK.

So boarded the plane..went to the seat.. and again... it would not fit under the seat! So I asked the steward what I could do, and he suggested the overhead storage (he was kidding)... well. luckily there were only 2 people in the row of 3 so I got an extra seat to myself. Tobie started on the floor and did not make a sound. Actually thought he was either being really good.. or dead.. so I checked... not dead.

The flight took off.. and he was perfect... put him in the window seat next to me and again, he was perfect. I figure he had either given up, or stared to get used to being in the carrier..


So the flight to Helsinki was just fine... got to the airport..

Smoked....













set his little kit up in the bathroom to see if he could drink or pee or someting.. but did not.. and the bus was leaving shortly so did not spend much time there..So went outside to wait for the bus....



The bus ride was long.. 2 hours.. I really became concerned about him not pooping/peeing or eating in over 20 hours... just wanted to get home so he could do all of those. So anyway the bus ride he was perfect.. no whingingg, crying.. anything.. just perfect.

Got home.. let him out... he was quite nervous at first.. slunk around sniffing everything..... set out his litterbox, water and kitty food.. and some really high fat cat food that I bought in CR.. I didn't know if he would eat much so i figured if he does eat something, I'd like it to be high calorie to make the most of it.

He saw the water.. and drank and drank and drank and drank.. .then ate and ate and ate and then ate the special cat food.... then he pooped and pee'd.. twice.

It did not take him much time to get adjusted... within a few hours of being here, he was completely normal and seemed right at home. He is still adjusting to the new environment.. but i did pack his kitty bed with an old bedsheet from home so he can go there and have familiar smells..

So, while the 1st half of the travels were hell... the 2nd half was just great!

The Trip From Hell (part 2) Minneapolis > Amsterdam

So I am debating whether or not to take the cat.. and.. I decided finally that yes I will just do it.. I did not want to leave him and if I had wanted to bring him at another time it would of been terribly difficult to do (with the shots and vet trips and USDA certifications etc etc etc)..

When they called for boarding, I walked to the line... got my cigs from the duty free shop :O) and saw the airport police randomly searching people... so of course, because this trip could not be any less stressful, they picked me... and.. well I told them that this will probably be the oddest bag they will ever see... They took stuff out... looked at the litter box (but not the big plastic bag with other smaller bags in it) and said I could go (and - that it was in fact not the strangest bag they had ever seen....

So I went to find my seat.. this was an isle seat which I have never sat in on an international flight.. normally choose the window so I can lean against the wall and sleep.. but the boxes used to run the TV's are under those seats so I imagine thats why Delta put me in an isle. Had hoped to have free seats next to me since when I booked the whole row was empty.. no such luck... all seats were full.... and... the pet carrier won't fit under the seat!

So yes.. panic sets in b/c I don't know what they will do if the carrier won't fit. So I tell the flight attendant and she asks the guy in the 2nd seat to switch with me since that one might have more leg room... so we switch.. and.. no.. no more room.. so now I have given up the isle seat and am sandwiched between people on both sides and the pet carrier will not completely fit under the seat.. I tell them again but no one comes....

we end up taking off and the cat is not happy... meowing.. rolling around.... screaming.... uhg.... so anyway after about 20 minutes in the air... the cat is totally freaking out.. rolling around.. kicking... literally trying to bite a whole through the bag.. it was quite terrifying.. i thought for sure he was going to have a heart attack and die or something... he would just not settle down.. i stuck my finger in the bag so he could smell me and he bit me.. hard....

The french couple next to me were very understanding (thank god) and did not complain at how my cat was behaving.... I unzipped the bag again.. enough for my hand to fit in and I petted him... that is when he FINALLY settled down.

I ended up putting the bag on my lap the entire flight.. put a blanket over the top of the carrier so the only thing he could see was me... so in one hand I am holding a blanket and the other is in the cage petting him.... the whole time he was quiet and OK.. the French lady next to me again was very nice and said if I wanted to get food or something I could put it on her tray (since there was no way for me to use my own tray due to the cat box in my lap).... so that was the flight.. cat in my lap.. no food... no getting up to pee... however I did manage to have numerous glasses of wine and was still slightly drunk when the plane landed 5 hours later :O)

So yes, we arrived in Helsinki...
my cat was finally international!

So I wanted to let him out - but i really needed
cigarette... so I went and smoked
(kitty waited outside the smoking area).








and then smoked again...








Made it through passport control.. then security check.. so had to take the cat out of the bag.. go through security... and the lady told me to get him some water ASAP... which I wanted to do.

Took him for some sight seeing.
Here he is in the main shopping area of the airport

Europeans are so environmentally conscious. They even have special containers to recycle your pets.

Took him up to the 2nd floor to look down at everyone running around..












So the nice thing about European toilets is the stalls go from floor to ceiling... so we located a bathroom.. I put out his litter, and water... and thank god he drank! drank quite a lot... we sat in the bathroom for maybe an hour... didn't have much time cos the next flight was coming up.










So we went to the gate and waited.....

The Trip From Hell (part 1) Cedar Rapids > Minneapolis

After I left my friend Sara at the airport... I went back inside.. went pee... talked to Tobie (my cat) and told him he has a long journey ahead of him but it won't be that bad and he will be in a new home.

So we walk to security. I have my huge backpack with computer, litterbox, litter, catfood, waterbowl, computer, tons of cash, so I lay everything out to run through the scanner... Since kitty + xray machine = bad, I have to carry him through security. He loved that.... but anyway made it through security and went upstairs to wait.

Had about 1 hour til the flight boarded so we sat near a window so kitty could look outside. Security kept hanging around me so it was weird to be watched all the time. I don't know if it was because of the cat or something else....

I had been worried about this flight in particular b/c the plane fromm CR to Minneapolis is quite small and I didnt think the cat bag would fit under the seat... I really hope it will otherwise this is going to suck.

So.. finally its boarding time... we get on the plane.. so far kitty has not made a peep (which is encouraging)... I am really quite scared of how he will react.. he hates being in a cage and for 20 hours, I don't know how he will handle it, or even if it is a good decision to bring him.

My friend Brad has a sister in Minneapolis who works for the airline... I called him the night before to ask if Tobey completely freaks out.. if I could give him to his sister at the airport and then he could drive from CR to MN to pick him up... He said this is fine and to call his sister if I need this.

That was really nice and made me feel a little better than if things went totally south, I could at least let Tobey stay.

So this is a 45 minute flight. I figure it will be a good test to see how he behaves. When we boarded the plane his carrier actually fit under the seat! I was so happy b/c this is the flight I was concerned about. If he fits here, there should be no problem on the other flights. And well.. he was quiet for about the first 20 minutes. Then after that I would hear "Meow"...."merrrrrrOOOW"..... "MMMMEEEEEOOOOOOOOWWWWW!" and lots of rolling around and I could hear him panting..... All in all, he was not horrible.. but again this was only a 45 minute flight.. how would this work when we are in the air for 7 hours?

We landed and I called Brad and Sara and explained what was going on and that I needed advice wether to continue to Tobie or not.. Sara suggested I just do it.. Brad said that if I needed to, I could call his sister and she could pick him up.

I really did not know what to do. On one hand I did not want to leave my cat, on the other, I did not want to put him through hell and well.. maybe die or something on the plane.. or be worse than a screaming baby.....

So while I thoguht about it we hunted out a family restroom... locked ourselves in there and i put out his water and litter box and let him walk around for a bit... he didnt drink or pee but he did walk around which is good. Paranoid security would find it suspicious a single person walked into a family bathroom, we did not stay there long.... walked around somme more and found another bathroom.. its not actually a family bathroom, its for "special needs" so its for handicapped too... wanted to go into to use it but a lady was cleaning near it and looked like she was going to clean it.... I asked if I could use this bathroom and she said - "Why don't you use that one" (pointing to the regular bathroom).. I said and pointed "My cat has to pee"... so she let me in :)

We hung out there for 10 minutes..no pee... no poop... so put him back in his carrier and went to the gate to prepare to board...........

Today I leave

ooooohh lordy....

So today is June 9th... the day I fly out... So much to do... I am literally starting to become overwhelmed (again) at everything that needs to happen.. Leave in less than 10 hours.

So this morning I need to: Go to the pet store, buy a card, get euros, turn in my change, inspection and anything else that pops up.

I had wanted to do this earlier, but I ran out of time. I wanted to take my cat to the airport to have them verify everything was good to go when I fly. Need them to check the cat, the carrier and the paperwork.. don't want any suprises at 4:45 when I go to leave.

So I pack the cat up at 7am and head to the airport... kitty loves (not) being in his carrier.. he meow's the whole time just like always and I'm concerned about how he will be on the plane..... so we get to the airport.. and I go to the counter.... and the lady says "you can check in there at the kiosk"... and I tell her.. well, I don't need to check in, I fly later today and just want to make sure all my things are in order (cat)...

So she comes and says OK to check in ill need your confirmation #... well I look for it b/c its with my documentation and i give it to her.. and i said that I don't want to check in, I just want to make sure everything is OK with the cat.... she says "Ok oh i need your passport so you can check in" and I said... I don't have my passport... I don't want to check in, I just want you to look at the cat, the carrier, the forms make sure everything is OK".... so.... she says "Well.... if you don't have your passport, you can't check in"....
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Again..I explain that I don't want to check in. I am traveling internationally with my cat and I want to make sure the dimensions for the carrier are OK, the paperwork is OK and anything else that could go wrong, I want to find out now before I fly....

she says "well.. I don't think cats can fly internationally".....
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So I explain that they can. He is confirmed on 6 flights and unless something has changed in the past 2 weeks, he can fly. so she goes in back.. talks to someone... and blah blah blah... finally commes out and says he can fly.

So I ask if she can look at the things I have to make sure everything is in order. She looks at me and says " yep, you are fine"........(without looking at anything)

So.. I leave... just wondering what is going to happen later.....


My inspection is at 11 so in the morning I used my time to run to the bank to get cash. I had thought about exchanging money in the US, but it turns out the exchange rate in Europe is MUCH cheeper... Think I'll end up with about 200euro more ($230) by exchanging in Europe.. So I go to the bank and withdrawl a large sum of money.. enough to last me 3 months... I knew I would need some Euro's when i get there b/c I would have to pay for my bus ticket back to Tampere.... So I was going to get $200 worth of Euros... problem is, the Euro is so low, people are buying them like crazy.... So the only euro's the bank had was 110Euro.... in 5 euro bills.... They said they should be getting more anytime now.. but.. I did not have any time to wait... so I took it...

Now off to Petco. Since I am traveling with my cat and he will be in his pet carrier for 20 hours, I thoguht maybe I shouuld buy a small litter box, water bowl and some litter to carry with me so perhaps during layovers he might try to eat/drink/poop. So I run to petco.. find a small litterbox, pet wipes (in case he pukes/poops/pee's on himself).. a bag of litter and a small water bowl.

Now off to best buy.. I need to get a notebook bag so I can take it on the plane with me.. and hold the kitty goods.... spend another $100 on a bag... now off to the halmark store so I can get a card for my friend Sara... Got that, not off to CVS to buy somme baggies for the litter, garbage backs to put the litterbox, bags of litter etc into so it does not spill all over the bag and my new computer......

Got it.. now rush back home for the inspection.... all goes well.. my landlord is totally awesome... we talk for a little bit and she tells me the good news that I won't have to pay rent through July... There was some kind of problem with my notice to leave and I had received a letter fromm the mgmt company stating I would have to pay rent not only for June, but also July... Obviously I freaked b/c an extra $550 at this point would be very very bad for me financially... but she took care of it.

Said the apartment looked good and I should get my depost back within a few weeks. I'm going to have it mailed to Sara and then she can just deposit it in my bank account.

So Sara was comming over around noon to help me finish up and take me to the airport. Will really miss Sara as she's one of my best friends and someone who I can talk to about most anything. I am sure she will miss my bitching and whining at work :O).. but I'm sure she will be more productive since I won't be wandering into her office every 30 minutes to talk about something....

So she comes over and helps me pack.. and literally I am panicked about everything that needs to happen and mentally I start to shutdown due to being so overwhelmed... Thank god Sara was there b/c she was so supportive and really helped me make it through that afternoon. If she was not there I'm quire sure I'd still be in cedar rapids.

So we finished packing.. had planned on going to lunch one last time... but... now in panic mode i realize (3 hours til my flight leaves) that I need two more locks for my suitcases, and a strap to hold one together in case it explodes... we rush to Walmart and buy the strap and the locks.. and some tape (so I can put tape on my luggage so 1) it looks shitty and no one tries to steal it 2) its easy to identify

My flight is at 4:45 and well.. its now 2:45... late for the airport... throw everything in the car.. and race to the airport..... I'm completely sweating like mad.. and just knowing today is going to be awful.

So we get to the airport... go to the ticket counter.. explain I am traveling with the cat.. it took about 20 minutes for things to finally get checked in.. I guess its not normal for someone to fly to Europe with their cat so they had to verify some procedures.. they looked at my documentation.. and was finally given tickets....

So Sara and I went outside to talk some more and so I could smoke.. It was really sad talking to her b/c I knew it would be the last time for quite a while.. well.. I guess at the least 90 days..

After two cigarettes and a hug goodbye.. she left and I went back inside the airport... preparing to make this big journey to Finland.. with my cat.......

New Purchase / Regret?

Oooooh so shit... woke up and feel so crappy today.. went out drinking with a buddy last night and I am totally out of it.. Need to finish packing, clean for my apartment inspection tomorrow, get my haircut, figure out where I am keeping my car, get cash, get Euros, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

So started the day by trying to clean up some. I had a very busy day and if I was going to get everything on my list done I would need to hurry.

So anyway my cat has to get his one last treatment within 24 hours of flying.. so on Monday I called the vet to ask about an apointment early wednesday morning... as I was just waiting for sommething to go wrong, this was it.. The vet does not work wednesdays.... F*CK!

So I asked the lady when the latest apointment they had available was on Tuesday. Luckily they had one at 5:30... the flight is at 4:45 on the 9th so this will work out just fine.

So I finished getting everything cleaned. Ran to Lowes to get new drip pans for the oven b/c its way too dirty to clean. Got my haircut... went to the vet and got my cat his worms treatment and the airline certificate signed.... Then i went to best buy.

So I have been wanting to buy a computer for the move for a few weeks now. Unfortunatly the computer I want (a Lenovo Thinkpad) takes about 2 weeks to deliver. I procrastinated way too long to be able to order one. So a week ago I looked to see what stores sell Lenovo. Only one, Best Buy in Iowa city. They carry one model.

So at 8pm one night I haul ass to Iowa City to get there before they close so I can look at the commputer. Well, it was shit. Complete shit. And every other computer there was complete shit too. Flimsy screen and chassis... crappy keyboard. The only thing semi decent was a Sony notebook, but I've never heard anything good about Sony.. and all the shit they pre-load and then Best Buy ads on top of it.. was just not something I wanted to deal with.

So anyway I wandered over to the Mac area. Played with the macbooks and wow.. very nice.. very fast. nice battery life (10 hours) and a great keyboard... the only problem... the price. $1000 for the white mac book... which was decent.. but.. its white.. which means its going to get dirty.. yellow and well.. I don't want that... So i look at the macbook pro for $1,200. its very nice... light.. sturdy... feels like its quality... but.. wow.. $1,200 for a 13.3 display? Unreal. The 15" version was $600 more. And then there is the matter that I don't have any mac software. I have plenty of Windows software and well I've been running Linux on my current Thinkpad for about 2 years so I know where to get software and so forth. But I know I can run Office and Photoshop via WINE so that would be an alternative to having to re-buy office and MAC related software.. but still $1,200 for a computer... I've never had a new computer.. always bought used.. but again I was worried my trusty thinkpad would break and buying computers in Europe is always about 30% more..

So after 3 or 4 visits back to Best Buy to play with the computer I decided to buy it... The bad thing is, I don't have much time to play with it, so after I brought it home I powered it up to make sure it works and then let it run over night just to make sure its not a lemon.

So now that I have my new computer I can finish packing and get ready to have my inspection tomorrow and go to the airport..... Just hope I don't regret the computer purchase.. I'm spending a TON of money as it is and I could of bought a VERY nice Thinkpad for about $800... the extra money would sure come in handy......

Getting Rid of Stuff

So today I took care of boxing up the rest of my things.... and getting rid of my furniture. I had a couch, bed, table and TV I needed to get rid of. I contact the landfill to inquire about the cost to dispose of the items... The lady I spoke too was really nice and suggested I try to donate some of the items I had to a flood charity.. I called the flood charity and they did not have room.. They suggested I call St. Vincent De Paul to see about donating the items... So I called SVDP and well.. they did not want the stuff... So I ended up taking it to the landfill....

It is quite nice when you have to move stuff that you really don't care about. For example... my coffee table which is somewhat crappy, but very heavy.. is really too much for one person to move on their own. My solution, drag it.

I dragged it out my apartment, down 3 flights of cement steps and into the truck. The whole left side of the table is now quite sanded :) and my love seat.. well.. it has these floppy cushins that always flop out when you try to move it.. normally when you approach a doorway or some other small opening... so.. the solution? Cut the cushins off....

So I'm in the hallway with this big butcher knife cutting off the cushins.... Drug that thing down the steps and into the truck... The bed.. well.. Just drug that out too....So loaded up everything and put it in my friends truck and drove it down to the dump in Marion Iowa (nearly loosing my bed twice on the drive).

So if you have not been to the dump before, its quite an experience. Things are labeled, but its not very intuitive. So I drive in, pass the pile of laundry machines... tires.... etc.. but nothing that is "other stuff"... So I keep driving... and driving.. and see a sign that says "Landfill"... well.. thats were I am taking the stuff so I figure this must be right.... but... somehow I'm wondering if its not.... So i'm driving down this big dirt hill.... on both sides of me is where they dump stuff then burry it... there's heavy machines "stirring" the trash... I finally come across some people and ask if I am going the right way (pointing to a rather large dirt hill which is where the road goes) they say yes.. and I ask if there is anyone at the top of the hill... they say yes and I proceed...

And the whole time I am wondering how someone in a car would make it up this hill... well.. OK so I get to the top and its just heavy machinery dumping and mixing and covering trash... this is not the right place.... So I go back down the hill.. back to the beginning of the dump and call my friend for help... he tells me where to go.. and .. so I dump the trash.

Took the TV to best buy to be recycled which gave me some time to look at computers as I still need to get one before I move....

Later my friend Sara and her boyfriend came over later to help move stuff to their house. They are doing me a huge favor by letting me store some things at their place.

On my way home from Sara's I called my friend Brad to see what he was up to. We decided to go eat and drink at Mulligans bar.. which sounded good at the time, but I think I knew I should not go out drinking this close to the move.. so much to do.. but.. well.. we went.. and had a good time :) but I regretted it the next morning when I woke up all hungover and still stressed about the move and getting things done..... uhg....

Day 1

So its 3 days til the move to finland. I've left my job of ten and a half years to live with my boyfriend of two and a half years in finland. This is going to be a huge change in my life... and.. well it was suggested I start writing about this experiance so that is what I will do.

Today is Sunday June 6th, 2010. At home trying to tidy up as much of my apartment as I can. My apartment inspection is 3 days away and there is so much to do. In addition to this, I need to finish packing, get rid of furniture, get a new computer (hopefully) take my cat to the vet for his last treatment before the flight (he is riding with me on the plane) etc etc etc.

So because this is last minute, this first entry won't be that interesting..but.. maybe there will be some drama later on :)