The first real day of my holiday trip is now over and I am typing this in an isolated spot on a river bank near
Tornio. But let's start from the beginning.
On Friday I left work at 3 pm and took my work truck to the hall and returned home. I immediately packed
my car and headed towards Jyväskylä. I also took 9 bears with me; Nöpö, Söpö, Diego, Aurora, Hertta, Mussukka,
Nalle, Anne and Maria Milligan. Maria stayed in Jyväskylä though with Seamus :). It was nice to see my bf after such
a long time apart. On Saturday we visited Pyhähäkki national park. It was a nice trip, the weather was okay
and the trail wasn't too long, just 6.5 km. We b-b-qed some sausage on our way too and it was great to just enjoy
life and not to have to worry about work. After we returned to his home we were both kinda tired though and
spent the next three or so hours in the bed, sleeping. After that it was time for a kinda late dinner and then some telly
and stuff...
We woke up at 6:30 am on Sunday morning. After the breakfast and washing dishes I started to get ready for my trip.
I repacked some things and borrowed his cooler, backbag, digicam and a lot of other stuff too *blush*. Anyway I
was ready to hit the road at 9:30 am already. I took E-75 from Jyväskylä towards Oulu. My first stop was in Konginkangas,
where I photographed the church. After that I did the same in Viitasaari, Pihtipudas, Pyhäjärvi, Kärsämäki, Pulkkila,
Rantsila, Haukipudas, Kuivaniemi, Simo, Kemi, Haaparanta and Tornio... yea, I know, I like churches *blush*. But in
Kuivaniemi I also photographed some bears standing right next to a house's front gate. I have already used two rolls of
film and I only had seven. So I gotta start rationing it and take more pics with the digicam. I haven't really decided my
tomorrow's program yet but there's still evening left, It's just 10:15 pm. I already called my mother (she's always worrying)
and SMS'd my bf (he is worrying too but refuses to admit it *S*). But I am probably going to wash my face first. The rest of
my gorgeous body (*eg*) have to wait until tomorrow morning. Then again the weather ain't going to be any warmer then either.
It was kinda chilly wearing just a sleeveless top and a denim skirt after Pihtipudas. Tomorrow I am putting on jeans and
wearing my denim jacket from the start. I am sooo not going to freeze my butt here. Too bad it's very likely going to be cold
the whole trip. I just hope it isn't going to rain though. I had good luck today, no rain even though there were some heavy
clouds on my way. And now my leg is all cramped... I have to admit it, Astra isn't exactly a RV.
I drove 602 km today, but my goal isn't to achieve as much kilometers as possible
but enjoy the scenery and see things.
Here we are in Hammerfest finally. It's been a long day and I am tired. It
all started last night when I woke up all the time. I guess I am not used to
sleeping in the car after such a long time. And then the night was kinda chilly
so at 4 am I finally had to turn the car on for a while. It got warm but I couldn't
sleep any more so I finally gave up at 4:45 and got up and fixed a breakfast.
I was back on the road at 5:40 heading Northwards towards Yli-Tornio along 21.
I also visited Över-Tornio in Swedish side. After that I headed towards Pello
and Kolari and naturally photographed the churches. From Kolari I took 940 to
Rautula where I switched on a small local road without even a number. I went
to see Pakasaivo, or "Lapland's Hell" as it is also known. I also visited Kirkkopahta,
but didn't see anything worth seeing really. Maybe it was this huge stone in
the middle of an open area.
After that I drove back to 940 and continued to Ylläs where I climbed the hill
halfway. After that I kinda decided it was too dangerous with all those loose
rocks. I took a few pictures though including one panorama with my bf's digicam.
From Ylläs I finally returned back to the coast and to Muonio where I photographed
the church :). From Muonio I continued towards Palojoensuu where I switched
on 93 and headed towards Hetta (Enontekiö's administrative center). From Hetta,
after photographing the church and filling up my car I finally headed towards
Norway border. The first real place I stopped in was Kautokeino and again just
to take a pic of the church as well as distant view of the city too. From Kautokeino
I continued to Alta but saw a wonderful waterfall on the way in Nieidagorzi.
I didn't spend too much time in Alta either, just photographed the church and
continued towards Skáidi where I filled my car up again just in case. There
has been some progress in Norway too, at least now they accepted a credit card
in a gas station. From Skáidi I headed towards Hammerfest trying to find a place
for the night. I didn't want to spend two nights in a row freezing my butt off
sleeping in a car. The first place I tried was full though and the second one
had prices to make Strand- Intercontinental in Helsinki jealous. So I drove
all the way to Hammerfest and tried there. I didn't stop to take pictures on
my way at all but I have to drive the same road back tomorrow so then I have
more time I hope. The first place here in Hammerfest was full too but the second
one I tried had two cabins left. So I took one and had to pay in cash. It's
unbelievable how a Nordic country be that backward in such many ways. It cost
300 kr and I have about the same left. Now I gotta find another means to get
a present for my bf as well as maybe something for me too. I'm afraid all my
money is going to the postcards and stamps now. Oh well... and there's no chance
I could sleep the next night inside so I better take everything out of this.
Tomorrow I am going to visit that Polar bear club (provided they accept credit
cards) and also see the town a bit. Then I am heading towards Kirkenes unless
I get pissed off and head back to Finland *S*. We'll see.
Otherwise this trip has been more or less okay so far. The weather has been... kinda okay. No rain but cloudy
and cold. My car has worked okay (knocks on wood) and the scenery has been great. I just hope things are going fine in the future too.
Today I drove 745 km.
Here I am, in an isolated spot again typing this in my car and slowly getting ready for another night in my
personal free... umm... RV. I finally managed to find a place a little further from the road and surrounded by
trees and also somewhat lower than the surrounding areas to be as covered from the wind as possible. I also reserved
more clothes for the night so we'll see how it goes.
Now that my temper has cooled down a bit I might return to yesterday *blush*. I was way annoyed yesterday evening and maybe
I chose my words wrongly because both my mother and my bf offered to give me some money *blushblush*. What I meant
was that I didn't have that much cash left. So I had to offer them an explanation and I kinda felt like our former
president. He had to explain his words afterwards too. Anyway... I had a decent sleep last night and was up
at 6:30 local time. And my mother made it sure by calling me soon afterwards *Sigh*. Obviously she has never heard about
time differences and stuff like that. I was ready to hit the road around 8 am but to my surprise noticed that
the office didn't open until 9 am. So first I drove to a hill close by and took some panoramic pics of Hammerfest.
After that I headed to Forsøl where I took a couple of pics. After that I stopped briefly to take a pic of a Meridian
monument and then it was time to return my key. After that I headed to the city. Luckily the rain had stopped by then
and I didn't have to take my huge umbrella with me. My first stop was "Isbjørnklubben", naturally *duh*. I purchased
a membership which was probably very stupid because it is very unlikely I am ever going to return to Hammerfest. But
I have planned this trip over two years and I just wanted to do it so sue me. Luckily they accepted credit cards without
hesitation. Then I toured the place which took about five minutes... so it was kinda a disappointment as itself but
hey, anything with polar bears and I am sold. And that brings us to another aspect... I did buy quite a lot of stuff from there
too. In fact all the stuff I am going to give to my friends and my parents. And... I am sure you guessed already... my family was
joined by a new member and now Atte is sitting among others looking happy. After that I just strolled around the city for a while
and took some pics too. I saw the church as well as the Catholic church. I also wrote some postcards and
was ready to hit the road at 11.30. I went back to Skáldi (kinda obvious since there's only one road) and photographed a couple of churches
and Kvalsund bridge. It is quite a nice bridge and I am surprised they don't charge cars crossing it *eg*. From Skáldi I continued
to Lakselv stopping every once in a while and using my cameras ( and my bf's digicam too). In Lakselv I changed on
the road 98 towards Ruostefielbrná and Tana bru. I did take some pics but all
in all this road was a disappointment. It looked so much better in the map than
in reality. Mostly it was just this bare rocky countryside without any plant
life at all and sometimes there were these small trees and a little hay but
that's it. But I did see the world's northernmost pines *S*. But those are
definitely not worth the longer route. I returned on E6 in Tana bru and
continued to Varangerbotn where I took E75 towards Vadsø
and Vardø. I kinda raced this trip because I wanted to go to Vardø first and
then get back to Vadsø before the gas stations would close. I had to fill my
car up you see *S*. I made it comfortably but I am sure the police wouldn't have
liked the speeds I used *blush*. I took some pictures in Vardø, the church and
stuff. There's a tunnel connecting this island to the mainland and it was free.
I was shocked. I am so used to see that everything costs here in Norway. I also
photographed Nesseby and Kiberg churches but that was about it. Vadsø had a
nice church, at least from the outside. Anyway, after my car was bursting with
gasoline I returned to Varangerbotn and turned towards Kirkenes on road E6
again. I have been very economical on this trip, constantly under 7 l/100
km by the way *S*. I kinda started to look for a place to cook a dinner and
maybe even getting ready for the night but this terrain is very rough and it's
hard to find a suitable place. As I mentioned in the beginning of today's entry
I finally managed though and I hope I can sleep okay this time. I was way tired
the whole day yesterday and I don't want to go through that again tomorrow.
Tomorrow I am going to return to Finland. It doesn't mean that my trip is over
though, there's still a lot to see and at least I can be sure that they'll
accept credit cards *S*. I kinda thought of not going to Rovaniemi at all but
for a moment ago I kinda came to a conclusion that I will after all. It's almost
30 years since my last proper visit there and for obvious reasons my memories
are a bit shady. I am also planning to visit Kuusamo large carnivore center but
that's something to postpone until Thursday at least. I am hoping to get back to
my bf next weekend. I called him today to assure him that I am okay and it was
nice to hear his voice and just talk with him for a while. But now it's time to
get some sleep!
My day's total driving was 718 km.
Back in Finland. Somehow it feels easier even though I didn't really have any probs in Norway either.
It's just assuring to know that you can go to a service station and fill your car up and go to the counter
and be sure that they'll accept your credit card. And also the language is somehow much easier :).
And that reminds me what happened in Norway when I got that cabin. I talked with the receptionist guy
for a while using my "fabulous" Swedish and when he started to fill out the card he actually asked whether I
was from Sweden or Finland *eg*. So I guess Swedish sounds the same for a Norwegian whether it's spoken
correctly or way wrong. Maybe he got confused because whatever language I use I'll try to speak quickly to keep
up my reputation as a motor mouth.
Anyway... I woke up at 5.30 AM Norwegian time. My night went surprisingly well, I woke up a few times but I
wasn't really really cold any time. I just had to take both my arms inside my sleeping back and leave Mussukka out.
But we slept snout against snout the whole night :). After I had kinda washed myself and had a breakfast I
headed forward again. My route took me first to Neiden where I photographed a nice looking rapid. After that
I continued towards Kirkenes but we did a couple of photographic stops on our way. I also took a group picture where
all my traveling companions posed watching the Arctic ocean. Especially my polar bears had a wanting look
in their eyes but they decided to stay with me. After that we reached Kirkenes where I took a short walk (because you
really cannot take a long walk in Kirkenes) and bought a few postcards and sent them too. I also found a
nice Norwegian bear for my parents. He is way cute but I just have to give him to them. I can always visit him :).
Oh yeah, I also found the hospital and even photographed it. After that it was time to start our homeward
journey. We returned to Neiden where we took road 893 towards the Finnish border and Ivalo. We crossed the
border (still the best way to notice is to keep on eye the road markings and the colour of the traffic signs).
Also the road number changed to 971. I took a picture of a nice looking sandy beach in Sevettijärvi but for
some reason I really didn't get the urge to go swimming. Then in Inari I stopped at Seida, some kind of Sami museum
but I wanted to drop two rolls of film in a mail box located right outside of that museum *blush*. I also
photographed the church and after that I was quite happy to leave Inari behind me and I am not too flooded with
sorrow if I am never going back to Inari again. After Inari we continued Karhunpesäkivi. It is located half way
between Inari and Ivalo. I suppose it is a real bear den, a huge partly hollow stone. There's just enough
room to crawl inside and naturally I did it too. I even have a picture to prove it as I asked another
tourist
to take it while I game out of the den. I didn't dare to growl though, she might have run away with my bf's camera
and the I would have had to chase her down and prolly kill and eat and I am on a low fat diet :).
I didn't buy anything from the store though. I was still a bit sore of my actions in Hammerfest *blush*.
After that I continued to Ivalo and filled my car up. I didn't do anything else in Ivalo but continued straight
on towards Saariselkä. I stopped on top of Kaunispää and took two panorama sets with a digicam. I also
visited the store but didn't buy anything. I am not that interested in real plastic reindeer parts made in
Taiwan. All these stores have the same items at the same outrageous price. My next stop was in Urho Kekkonen
national park where I toured the exhibition but I finally decided against walking a tour around the area. The
weather didn't look too good and I didn't want to get wet uselessly. So I continued my journey Southwards and
stopped next in Sodankylä where I photographed both the new and the old church. New is kinda
relative since that one
was built around 1850's. After that I continued towards Rovaniemi. I kinda thought that I'd find a cabin
close to Rovaniemi and spend my night there but my plan kinda backfired. I didn't find any cabins. One place
was open but they didn't have a cabin with a shower and the other one I tried was full... so here I am now
beside the road from Rovaniemi to Kuusamo. So I missed Rovaniemi again. I wonder if there's some kind of a curse
that I cannot really see Rovaniemi properly. I finally managed to find an isolated timber road and followed it a
short distance and parked. I did the washing I could and now I am sitting here in my car again going to sleep soon.
I just hope I am able to sleep okay here without intrusions and cold. Tomorrow morning I am going to continue
towards Kuusamo where I want to visit Large carnivore center and maybe take a hike in the woods too. I
am either going to spend one more night on the trip or drive to Jyväskylä tomorrow, depends on how much time
do I spend in my activities. Then again.. if the weather is really nice I might turn around and visit Rovaniemi too...
I am not too far away yet, maybe 20 km or so. We'll see that in the morning.
Now... about Norway. I have to admit that part wasn't quite what I expected. I guess my expectations were
unrealistic. But it was nice to see the Arctic ocean and show it to my cubs... so you are going to see that
teddy bears cannot really see and it makes absolutely no difference to a teddy bear at all where it is...
but I have every right to be crazy this way. After all.. millions of people believe in supernatural forces against
all realism and get angry when their proof is being asked. So if they have the right to believe why couldn't
I believe that my bears have feelings too and try to please them the way I think is right :). Maybe
some day I can go to Churchill and see real white giants strolling around in wilderness. That is my ultimate dream
and would probably never be fulfilled but a girl can at least dream can't she.
675 km on the gauge today.
In a sense my tour is over. I am back in Jyväskylä now laying in my bf's sofa and typing this. The night went
well, I wasn't really cold in any time but poor Aurora switched sides something like 10-15 times. I woke up at
6 am or so and heard one of the most annoying sounds on holiday, steady drumming of rain drops on my car's roof.
So I just tried to fall asleep again and make that rain go away by sheer mental
power but I was unarmed. So I gave up at 6.30 and put my
clothes on and hit the road immediately. I was so not going out to make coffee in that weather. I didn't give a
second thought to returning back to Rovaniemi but continued towards Kuusamo. I still hoped that it was a local
shower even though the sky was deep gray everywhere. I stopped in Auttiköngäs and kinda hoped that the rain would
ease but nope... and I am not that crazy that I'd go to see a waterfall in pouring rain. So I eventually continued.
At this time my mood kinda hit the bottom and I really hit the gas... and whenever I saw reindeers on the road
I just screamed them to move their stupid asses outta my way... luckily they all did *blush*. When I arrived in
Kuusamo I had to fill my car up again which I did and also had some kind of breakfast in a cafeteria... and
that breakfast didn't improve my mood one bit. I did photograph the church though as I photographed Posio church
on my way too. After that I continued to that Large carnivore center.... and naturally it was closed still. I didn't
have to wait more than 15 minutes though. So I did see the bears but I got worried of the largest male. He was behaving
just like a typically stressed bear does. He kept walking the same route over and over again doing
exactly the same
movements. And of course they didn't care what I think.
After that I continued my drive Southwards. The next stop was in Suomussalmi where I photographed the church. And my next
church was Hyrynsalmi. It's going to be a tough job to remember which church is which later on :).
From Hyrynsalmi I continued along E63 towards Kajaani, where I photographed the church. A good looking one too.
Just before Kajaani the rain stopped too so I stopped on a rest area after Kajaani and made some coffee and finished
my last piece of bread. After that I continued to Iisalmi where I even walked a bit, and photographed two churches *S*,
and a wooden house too. It was a real town and felt as a nice chance after so many villages with nothing to see. Well...
Kajaani is a real town too I suppose. I just didn't spend that much time there. It felt strange to be able to walk outside
without a jacket. In the North I was freezing even with the jacket. After Iisalmi I stopped in Lapinlahti and Siilinjärvi,
I guess you already know what I photographed :). I have to admit I kinda like churches, despite my dislike of all
kinds of religions. I filled my car up in Jari-Pekka, a large rest stop in Hankasalmi, where I took the last frame of
the roll inside my Canon. Yea... the church :). After that I continued to Jyväskylä without stops and arrived here
after 7 pm. There's a mail box right in front of this block of flats so I mailed two rolls of my pics to Fuji. My total
amount of exposed films is 5 I think... I also took almost 150 pics with the digicam so I have something to help me remember
this tour later :). I did photograph much more than just churches you know. Some of those pics are going to end up on my hp too.
My total mileage... or should I say kilometreage :) was almost even 4000 km when
I add up my way back home on the amount right now in the gauge. not bad in less
than five days :). And I actually spent some time seeing the scenery too.
It felt really wonderful to have a warm real shower and a change of clothes. And I can actually spread here on the couch
without worrying to hit my bears, my things or hitting my head on the roof. But Astra served me well on this trip.
I slept three nights in it and had no probs whatsoever in the last two. I still don't understand what happened in that
first night, it wasn't even the coldest. Maybe I just wasn't prepared well enough. Or maybe the price of that one night in
Norway scared me to my senses :). But maybe dear Santa is going to bring me a better sleeping bag if I am really good girl
and ask nicely enough :). And maybe tiny sleeping bags for my bears too... Ok, maybe you can see that I am tired right now
and can't think straight. Umm... can I ever? I prolly should fix something to eat before I am going to fall asleep but I still
gotta transfer the pics from the digicam here. I don't really know yet when I am returning home, maybe tomorrow, maybe Saturday...
we'll see. I have a ton of dirty laundry in the car now and some more here, I gotta empty my car again and
convert it to an ordinary station wagon again. I also should clean my home and take a new family pic too. So there's a lot to do.
I know a couple of my friends are kinda waiting for me to join them in Neste Rally but I am too tired for that. And
besides, all the changes they have made to the rally in recent years kinda have made me to lose interest.
And today I heard that next year there are only a few allowed spectating areas on every stage so I guess
that means that 2000 was my last one. I have no interest whatsoever in that kind of event. Even this system where they have
these stupid "Spectator special stages" is annoying. An ordinary spectator cannot see a thing, only the representatives of
sponsor companies can see something and that sucks. I guess everything has to come to an end sometimes... but there are some
things in my life I don't want to end...never :).
Today I drove 820 km.
Home... I spent one full day in Jyväskylä with my bf and reluctantly started my homeward journey today at 2 pm or so. He went to his Goddaughter's bd in the morning and I stayed behind trying to recover one of his computers. Since I am not a comp wiz I didn't succeed though but at least I got the files out of it. The weather was wonderful and I kinda thought of going to the rally too but when I called a friend of mine he told me the next stage would be around 6 pm... I thought about it a while and then decided to drive home instead. This new rally system sucks anyway. So here I am... and at least a ton of everything is covering my living room and foyer floor and also one couch. So I have a busy day ahead tomorrow... but then again.. I have this strange urge to hit the road again *blush*. So I am very likely going to tour the west coast too before my holiday is over. I just hope the weather is going to stay like this for two weeks more. Of course my parents are also waiting for me to visit them... so I am going to do that too.
My holiday continues kinda busy still. Yesterday I did a Western Finland tour
and drove almost 600 km. The day was a bit too hot for something like that actually
and I swat very unladylike the whole day. But who cares :). All the others I
met were busily doing the same. I admit... I photographed quite a few churches
again. You can see my route here.
I even had a lunch out, in Nousiainen's Neste. It was okay, but the portion
was huge. I also almost had an accident on my way. An elderly (at least 45)
woman turned on the main road right in front of me and stalled her engine. I
guess she kinda paniced when she saw a red mean looking car approaching at 100+
km/h towards her. Luckily there was some room behind her and I could overtake
her that way. She managed to get her engine running right when I was behind
her and for a split second thought that she may be stupid enough to reverse
but luckily no. She just continued forwards in front of the approaching traffic
from the other direction :). No accidents though. I kinda forget to tell that
to my bf yesterday so I guess I have to confess it today *blush*. No other close
calls on my tour though. And that wasn't very close either, in fact I could've
stopped if I had so chosen then. When I finally got home at 8 pm or so my first
move was to have a shower (well... actually I undressed first). After that I
continued editing my travel pics and also did some chatting with my bf later
on. I am eagerly waiting for my slides to start arriving. That'd mean a lot
of scanning but that's okay. I am going to have some kind of a display on my
home page of this holiday too. It's going to be a tough choice what to include
though. Maybe I am going to do a day-based display. I just have to create new
buttons for that unless I can find some useful old ones here. I should have
something Nalle-based but I am not sure.
On Sunday I didn't go out at all. I didn't even get dressed the whole day. I did empty my bags, washed the dishes and also the laundry though so the whole day wasn't spent entirely comatosed. And I started to edit my travel digital pictures too. But I have to admit I was somewhat tired and didn't want to spend the whole day working too hard.
Today I went shopping... not for myself though. My former co-worker is getting married the next Saturday and I bought a present for the happy couple. I am going to photograph that wedding too so I have a bit of a pressure building up already :). I have a hair-dresser on Saturday morning so I should be as okay as I could be not being exactly Janina Frostell. Oh well. I have to get my eyebrows plucked tomorrow too. But I am very likely going to my parents' summer place tomorrow evening. If the weather permits that is. I also should visit my grandmother. So life is full of responsibilities... speaking of which... I am a lousy hostess... I am going to have my bf spending the forthcoming night here and I simply couldn't drag myself to the store any more. Being naked and without make-up and all... I am lazy. I guess there's some food in the fridge though so he won't starve to death. And neither do I :).
As I mentioned in my diary earlier my family grew again while in Norway. I finally took a new family picture today. I have to admit the facts now though. There simply isn't any more room in my bed for another bear. I have to use a spare chair again if I am going to take a new family picture with a single bear more. But hey... I guess I can accept that :). I simply cannot resist beautiful trusting brown (nor grey) eyes looking deeply in mine :).
It's been a while since my last update, but I've been kinda going the whole time. My bf came here on Tuesday evening and I served him something to eat and afterwards tortured him with my slides. He had a work day here on Wednesday and it was more convinient for him to spend the night here than drive three hours in the very early morning. And it was more enjoyable for me too :). After he went to work I lazyly got up, read the paper and did some stuff before heading towards Kotka. I had promised my parents to spend a couple of days in their summer place on my holiday too and this was the time. It was very windy though and I jumped like a mad bean while driving towards the island but arrived okay there. I spent Wednesday evening, the whole day Thursday and very early Friday morning there doing absolutely nothing. On Friday morning my mother got up at 5 am or so and came down like a bulldozer and went to the North Beach. After a while she got back and was way worried and told us that the wind had picked up a lot... and so we were on our way towards the continent at 7 am... and it was another rough ride I must admit but not too difficult to drive really. My mother had become more easily scared in her old days. So we were back in Kotka at 8 am and had another cup of coffee and then went to Hamina. After that we went shopping for a while and also visited my grandmother. The rest of the day was spent more or less in leisure. I spent the evening chatting with my bf again and went to bed right after midnight.
I had a hairdresser on Saturday morning and she really did a miracle making me look like a nice lady *S*. After that I drove home, did some computer stuff and then dressed for my former co-worker's wedding. I went there around two pm because they wanted me to take some pics of them in the vicinity of the church which I did... and also broke my shoes there *sigh*. Their wedding took place at 3 pm and I hope the pics are going to turn out okay. After that I went to the reception too and continued photographing... and also ate and drank too :). I got home at 9.30 pm and had a shower ... well first I took off all the pins in my hair and also undressed *S*. I didn't chat with my bf though at all... he sent me a sms telling that he was driving around Finland the whole night so I went to bed before 1 am. I scanned a lot of travel pics instead. Then on Sunday I continued scanning. I also chatted briefly with my bf and he told me he came home around 7 am. I took the films back to my former co-worker and chatted with him for a while. I also prepared for Monday somewhat and took all the clothes out of my walk-in closet. After that it was time for a sauna and there went the last remains of my hair-do. After that I continued my scanning project and also chatted with my bf for a while. Around midnight I was more or less ready for the bed though and went there at 12.30.
And we have reached today again... Monday that is. I woke up at 8.30 am or so and did my morning thingies. Then I called Sonera's ADSL helpdesk and told them to stick our deal in a place where there's no sun visible... *blush*. Then it was time to hit the streets. First I picked up my work cellular and after that went to Sonera and formally cancelled my contract of ADSL. When I ordered it they told me that everything was okay and they had all the necessary permits. Only after I had signed the contract it turned out they didn't have a shit. So after 7 weeks I had enough. I can manage without ADSL. Then I went to Linnanmäki to find out that the museum was closed too so I didn't see the Teddy Bear 100 years jubileum display. After that I continued to Itäkeskus and actually almost made another deal regarding of ADSL, this time with Elisa but came to my senses in time and left without any other deals. After that I bought some food and returned home where I continued my scanning project. So far I have managed to scan three rolls of slides from my tour and there's two rolls left. One of which I don't even have yet. Otherwise my evening has been kinda slow. I chatted for a while with an old online friend I haven't met online in ages. Luckily he was okay but has been busy after his retirement :).
Tomorrow I am very likely going to Tampere... as the saying goes... "I am not going around the world, I am going to Tampere!!" Oh well.. maybe that's not very well known saying in other countries though :). Oh yea... I did some home improvement stuff this morning. First I fastened a coat hanger in my walk in closet back up (it fell down last week) and after that I washed my bathroom shower area. So this day hasn't been completely wasted after all.
I have to admit it...my holiday is coming to an end *sob*. I'll have to be back on the grinder on Monday. In a way it is good... I've been spending so much money I have to work without shifts like three months or so to be able to pay that all. I did do some more useless spending today when I ordered ADSL.... Kolumbus this time. For some reason I don't trust Sonera at all any more... and I do work for them. Anyway... what have I been up to lately.
I did indeed go to Tampere on Tuesday. It was another warm day so I was kinda tired when I finally got back home. But I think it was worth it. Tampere was beautiful especially on a glorious day like it was. I did quite a long walk around the city and photographed a lot too. My targets were Finlayson, Tuomiokirkko, Aleksanterin kirkko, City hall, Old Church and Messukylä churches among others. On my way to Tampere I did a short stop in Iittala where I visited the glass central. The only thing I bought was a kitchen knive though. And some chocolate. Then in Tampere I almost bought another teddy but restrained myself mentally and left the store without a bear. But I saw his disappointed eyes the whole evening *Sob*. That's why I shouldn't visit any teddy bear stores, ever. I get too attached to the cute teddies I see there. Then on my way back home I did another stop in Iittala, this time my car has her own needs and I made a short stop in Shell... and got surprised. There was actually someone doing the dirty work and filled the tank. She even washed the windshield too. It felt really nice even though I had to get my hands dirty too because I had to add cleaning fluid and water into the windshield washer. After that I drove straight home. Visiting Tampere is easy because the whole trip can be driven along a motorway. Except that some idiot had downgraded the speed limit down to 100 from Tampere to Valkeakoski. Really annoying. The rest of the evening was spent scanning my Norway slides and chatting.
On Wednesday I stayed mostly at home. My bf needed a analog splitter for his ADSL so I went out to get that... and I also visited a couple of other stores but bought only some glue and one UV-filter. And they say I don't have a glue *eg*. After that I did some home cleaning stuff but gave up after a while. I am on holiday, why should I work my ass off for no apparent reason the whole time. So I just continued scanning and editing the pics. And also chatted for a while.
Yesterday I went to Suomenlinna. It's been ages since my last visit and it's truly a place worth visiting. Before going on the ferry though I bought another UV-filter so now both of my Canon lenses have one as a protection. After that I boarded the ferry and headed towards Suomenlinna where my first stop was Doll- and Toymuseum. Okay, I did visit it purely for the teddy bears. I don't give a s**t to dolls *blush*. It was a bit of a disappointment though. There were some bears but almost all were behind glass and photography was not allowed at all. After the museum I continued my tour around the island. There are a lot of great old buildings but a lot of them are in the state of decay and in need of immediate reparation. But I enjoyed the tour though and took quite a few pictures and even a few stereo pictures too. I am anxious to see how those turned out. I got out of the island at 2.20 pm ferry and visited a wedding display on my way to the railway station. For some reason my bf has been less than anxious to visit it with me and when I saw there was a free entry yesterday I kinda decided to give it a try. It was interesting in it's own way showing the history of wedding and all that surrounds it in Finland. After that I was ready to go home though and I arrived here at 4 pm and instantly went to bed to have a nap with my bears. At 5 I was ready to go on with my life again and turned my sauna on. While I was waiting it to get warm I continued scanning. Now I am all done with my Norway pics but I still had to convert those in a web presentable form and create the pages. I hope I can find the energy the forthcoming weekend. Yesterday evening went past without chatting at all (my bf was on a road work *blush*) and I went to bed around midnight. I guess I got an oxygen poisoning or something after spending such a long time outside.
I woke up at 8.30 am today and in a moment of inspiration emptied my picture
manipulating computer and reinstalled it with Win XP this time. I have tried
it previously but was way dissatisfied with it's hardware support. I had problems
this time too but finally managed to solve them. I am just in the beginning
of the installation right now... the o/s is in but almost all the progs are
still missing. And my inspiration died a long time ago too. But I guess it's
getting ready eventually. At least all the hardware except video in and capture
stuff are working okay, even my scanner. I should also install that dvd-player
in this computer. As I prolly mentioned earlier I have an old dvd taken from
a laptop: I also have an adapter ripped from a base unit so I guess it can be
made to work in a desktop too using those in combination. But I am going to
find that out eventually. Now I am kinda just watching the installations going
on in that another computer and spending time in the net. As I said earlier
I bought ADSL-connection today. 512/256 kbps connection from Elisa. 50 €
to get it and then it's 62 € per month. It is going to be installed on
the 4th of September.
I still haven't decide what to do tomorrow... maybe I am going to visit Teddy
Bear Museum again... I have to think about it though. I'm afraid there are new
cute teddy bears on sale again and I am soo lousy in resisting those brown eyes
(and grey *S*).
First day at work *brryylllgghhhh*. Oh well, at least I am alive. But it was really difficult to start again.
As I predicted, I did visit Teddy Bear museum on Saturday. This time I wasn't
even charged for entry *S*. There were some new bears and she has taken Steiff
and Hermann-bears on sale in her shop too. Those are really beautiful bears
but unfortunately out of my league completely.... well... come to think of it....
I actually ordered one Hermann-bear from her *blush*. But this bear isn't that
expensive really and it's a beautiful polar bear cub. I think it's going to
be something like 20€ or so. And I bought a Bukowski-bear. Really cute little
fellow with his own pet dog :). His name is Gabriel and I am going to add his
picture on my bear page as soon as possible. I started the morning with computer
stuff though. I installed that laptop dvd-player on this computer. Which meant
I had to get the dock for that player installed somehow too, and I managed to
do excactly that. It isn't pretty but it works and that's the most important
thing. So when I returned from the Teddy Bear museum I stopped at Kodin Ykkönen
in Varisto and bought two dvd's. "The Bears" and "Blues Brothers 2000". I tried
to watch "The Bears" right away but every time I tried to start ATI dvd-player
it crashed. Even after reinstalling so I had to find another dvd-program and
I finally succeeded. After that it worked fine and I cried through the movie
*blush*. But those bears were so cute. I also edited my holiday tour pictures
and started uploading those to my home page. I stopped a little before 0.30
am and went to bed.
I didn't do anything special on Sunday. Well... except creating the pages of my trip. And uploading those... and correcting the mistakes. It's evident I am not skillful enough to use just the text editor version but I should switch to wysiwyg-editor. But for some reason I think it's easier to use this text editing mode... and in fact I am using kinda a combination. As this Dreamweaver is capable of handling both modes I give picture attributes in wysiwyg-side. I guess I am lazy :). Then in the evening I picked up a work van for Monday and it was horrible. The one assigned to me is now getting painted and I got this old LT which is horrible! Rusty and nothing works properly, except the damn heater which cannot be turned off. I was so wet when I got home today it was unbelieveable. I mean it was hot enough as it was, over 25 again and then the heater pushing hot air in. My proper truck should be ready really soon or I'll blow a fuse. Luckily today was a bit slow day so I didn't have to spend the whole day behind the wheel. But anyway, it was really nice to get home at 4.45 pm. After that I searched a network adapter for a laptop and finally found it in the last box, naturally. After that I created the last missing page of my tour and then went to sauna. Now it's time to update this and then prolly play something with the second computer. I am dripping with water though right now. I guess eating isn't good for me and an old Finnish saying states that "Lazy sweats while eating but gets cold while working" or something like that *S*.