Outlandish

Listing your highlights from the past year is a common practice for social media users around the globe when the year is nearing its end. I encountered this question as early this year as October and it got me thinking... The years when I have actually achieved a lot (moving abroad; getting a job in a huge, international company; achieving a long-time dream, etc.) I never acknowledged those achievements much. Personally, of course, I was aware of what had happened and been done but I didn’t shout about it publicly. On the other hand, the few years that have truly been the most trying in my life so far I have mentioned. Usually in a form of a prayer or a heart-felt wish that the next year would please be better. So far I have gotten that wish... Most of the time. But honestly, how your next year turns out to be depends a lot on how you embark on it; do you start the year with the Finnish mentality ”it’s gonna be just as shit as the last one, nothing ever changes” or do ...

A – Aurinko. That would be sun in Finnish. I remember an advice from my dad when I was struggling with some minor school work: “Always pick the first thing that comes to your mind. Instinct is most of the time right.” And aurinko has been on my mind constantly for months now. There’s a saying in Finnish about people talking most about the things that they lack at that very moment. And I truly lack my doze of sunshine, sun owes me three months’ worth of shine dosage! B – Bratislava. My former home city, capital of Slovakia and one of my favourite places on this planet. Everything is so cheap in Slovakia and there is a lot of what we have very little here in the North: Sun being just one them! C – Cocktails. It’s Friday, of course the answer is cocktails. D – Ducktape. I saw a glimpse of an article about how you can hide fatty parts in your body with ducktape. I didn’t bother reading the article but it brought tears of laughter in my eyes: I have done that! I have never b...

I am the kind of person who doesn’t do well when there’s nothing to do. The state of boredom is more likely to cause me symptoms of a burn-out than a month of explosions on the work front and overlong workdays. That is one of the main reasons why I do not see Finland as a place for me to live in. People there are like a negatively toned gray mass, even more so during the past year than ever before in my lifetime. Excitement and new experiences are not interesting to my fellow Finns. Whereas I count myself among experience addicts; I need action, I need speed, I need experiences! All of them are not good, of course, but they are still experiences, excitement, diverging from the routine, something to talk about. As a child I thought that I would never want to live the kind of life that my parents’ everyday life was: going to work, coming home, watching TV, sleep, going to work, coming home, watching TV, sleep, and this continues endlessly. And I succeeded to avoid such a life...

Some people hate Christmas. Others see it as an execution of some sort. I don't understand either sort. For me Christmas is not a religious celebration but an opportunity to gather with the most important people during the darkest time of the year and enjoy wonderful food. Even though there are all the things that need to be taken care of before Christmas Eve (shopping for food with a million others, finding presents, etc.) it doesn't cause me stress... Unless my brother leaves buying his girlfriend a present to the last day and forces me to go and find something when he needs to work until late. But in any case you know that the entire city is going to be in the same supermarket and there's nothing you can do about it except take a deep breath and dive in there. Turku Cathedral In Finland there was no snow this Christmas, which suited me perfectly. We also had two hairballs to take care of. What's more the TV channels had finally understood that during...

2014 will stay in my mind as the year when my life took a change of course towards better things. So much has happened in just one year that I still don't quite understand it. All I know is that when 2013 ended I wished and I hoped and I prayed that 2014 would be better... a LOT better! And it seems I got my wish. At the beginning of the year I was still living on benefits but at least I had an internship to keep me busy. The work was exactly what I had wanted to do since graduating. But then something tragic happened and ensured that my contract would not continue after spring. That was the last drop, it was the push that I needed to finally get in action. I was done with Finland, this time for good. I applied for jobs everywhere: Holland, UK, Slovakia, Poland, Check Republic, places I don't even remember any more. And I got an interview after interview. In May I got a job offer from Slovakia. A country I knew nothing about but I was so ready to move into!  ...