tomorrow is a day off for me - hurrah

i got fresh veggies from the market and a salmon from the fish market next to it and made a salmon & egg salad for dinner. woohoo. it was almost like impulsive and inventive.

one of the first things i did when i got my "i5" was to assign some songs to the phone's alarm clock to wake me up with (links to spotify);
22 pistepirkko: birdy
lou reed: this magic moment
twin peaks theme
moby: one of these mornings
lovage: sex (i'm a) 

in my old phone i used kokomo by beach boys for a long time. it was awesome, but i wanted some change.

my classes with the 2 new students went quite ok, both very nice people.

classes for everyone

today i started turkish&english-exchange "classes" with a friends bf; Göksel. im hoping that doing more and more of these exchange things my fluency will improve. lets see/bakalim.
 
the marmaray project... i mean the tunnel from europe to asia, under the Bosporus. supposedly earthquake proof. i hear various opinions about that though, and its hard to trust anything without solid facts. and the kind of earthquake expected here...just around the tunnel...  i am officially suspicious. im sure it will useful though as long as it works. reading this article re: marmaray tunnel...  i just nod, sounds turkish.


i was out with an ex-colleague, or sort of 2 of them (i know them through the translation agency), Kenna & Sasha. she is Hondurasian-German-i cant even keep track, she is so international. Sasha is a Russian freelancer, leaving turkey tomorrow.

this is my veggie wrap, before its wrapped. the thing is, its crazy tasty. you get to choose the ingredients, subway style, but theres more options. this one has chickpeas, falafel, some eggplant-tomato-sauce...and random veggies and humus. 5tl/1.8e - its actually a big meal, will keep you full for a good while.

i have 2 classes with new English students tomorrow. good luck to me. the other is a hair salon owner and the other an older female architect.  hmm, i should bother doing my hair in the morning i guess...?

out and about...:)

i picked up the living room rug from dry cleaners, and i was very happy with the results - it looks practically new! well worth the 20tl/8e and carrying it for 200m.

a DVD shop. here one finds turkish and foreign films for a few liras each.  its illegal but these shops are still plenty, no one is regulating the practice i suppose.

i found a local tv series with fairly simple turkish on youtube, Cocuklar duymasin. it seems like something between Cosby Show and ...nevermind, just Cosby Show. i dont find the plot hugely interesting but as i have to concentrate in understanding, it doesnt matter so much, i can leave it running in the back ground and do other stuff while listening.


maybe its just because my expectations were pessimistic, but the new Dracula with Jonathan Rhys Meyers did not impress me... he is so hot and i wanted to get interested in the plot but when he started on on about "Order of the Dragon" and oil and ...err, i zoned out.  hitfix.com's Daniel says it well even if the review is a bit too long;

"... my general thesis about NBC's "Dracula," which is that it annoys me because it uses names and signposts from Bram Stoker's "Dracula" without any real connection to anything in Bram Stoker's "Dracula," but that that is not why it is a bad show. "Sleepy Hollow" and "Bates Motel" both also annoyed me, but were able to brush aside that annoyance by actually being good at what they do. Ultimately, NBC's "Dracula" sullies the "Dracula" name not because of how strictly or loosely it adheres to what I believe to be the values of the property, but rather because of how weirdly and almost inexplicably boring it turns out to be."

there will be a demonstration in Kadiköy against AKP tomorrow, its a national holiday also.

 a fresh juice shop! lovely colors. the juice is good too.

in Hera on friday. doctor sits in the background with his favorite shirt on. its a green german army issue shirt, that has the german flag on shoulders and always attracts perhaps the wrong kind of attention, as he is not really into any of that, its just comfy wear from a thrift store.

on saturday i went for botox again, it has been over a year, maybe 2 (?) since i last got it. my heavy eyebrows are easier to hold up with this neurotoxin...   while at it, i dont mind getting a shot between the brows to keep myself from frowning. i still believe the studies are quite right when they say it affects your negative emotions, or hampers them somewhat. if it also slows wrinkles from appearing, i will consider it a plus, while its not all that important. this is Funda's new clinic in Suadiye, she is a friend of a friend and has years of experience with botox. anyway now im waiting for the effect to set in.

Taksim square saturday night. not the cleanest of all places. but as someone pointed out, more shocking than this, is the fact that by the morning its usually totally clean again. the municipalities tend to work hard on keeping the streets clean. i was on my way home here from a friends farewell party, she is moving back to spain :(  

taas mamuilusta

Petra kirjoitti taas blogissaan asiaa ulkomaalaisen puolisona olosta.

postauksessa oli hyvin kuvattu mm. ulkkiksen asemaa turkissa, joten lainaan;

"Turkissa on turha heilutella rasisti-korttia, sillä ei nimittäin saa aikaan kun lisää ongelmia omalle kohdalle.  Ulkomaalaisen on tiedettävä oma paikkansa, joka määräytyy puolison perheen, mahdollisen työpaikan ja sen tuoman aseman ja ikävä kyllä, myös pankkitilin nollien perusteella. Ulkomaalaisen paikka on jonottaa hiljaa, asiallisin dokumentein, ilman turhaa napinaa. Siinä vaiheessa kun turkinkielen taito on kehittynyt sille asteelle, että sanomalehtien luku sujuu mutkattomasti ja paikallisten keskustelujen pätkiä poimii ympäriltä, huomaa saavansa täystyrmäyksen, täällähän on ihan luvallista olla rasistinen eikä sitä mitenkään peitellä."

kuulostaa tutulta. olen kyllä huomannut että olen onnekas koska:
1. naapurit/lähikauppojen yrittäjät ovat olleet ystävällisiä
2. miehellä on arvostettu työ & koulutus
3. mies on Mersinistä jolla on liberaali, hyvä maine
4. miehen perhe on alevi-muslimeja (=ns. liberaalimuslimeja, oikeastihan tuo perhe ei kai ole uskossa lainkaan mutta sillä ei ole väliä, vaan tuolla nimikkeellä)
5. itse olen suomalainen, eli luokitellaan A-luokan eurooppalaiseksi, vaikkei monet tiedäkään missä suomi on

(5.) onnea ei sen sijaan ole se että valitsin liberaalin kaupunginosan muuttaessani, ihan tietoinen valinta.
etenkin numero 2 jonka tiedän aina pelastavan minut kun turkkilainen tenttaa mikä minä olen naisiani täällä. en sitä nyt toki heti tyrkytä, mutta se tulee esiin koska seuraavat kysymykset on kuitenkin; "onko sulla mies? onko mies turkkilainen?". joo, itseasiassa...

tuollaiset seikat kuten kotipaikkakunta ei merkitse suomessa, eihän sitä voi valita mihin syntyy tai missä kasvaa mutta Turkissa alueet on sen verran erilaisia että kyllä niihin vaan liittyy aika vahvat assosiaatiot, jotka eivät ole ihan tuulesta temmattuja. siksi kun turkkilaiset tutustuu keskenään niin yksi ensimmäisistä kysymyksistä onkin "mistä olet kotoisin?". ja mitä väliä mitä naapurikaupan setä kelaa? kyllä sillä on, kun yhteisö on tiivis... 

vastapäisen kioskin vanha setä on kyllä vaikkakin ystävällinen, selvästi vähän konservatiivinen ja varmaan kun on nähnyt mut kävelemässä kotiin tai kotoa iltaisin vaikka minihameessa ja yksin niin pitää mua 'eurooppalaisena horona' (ihan yhtä yleinen käsite täällä kuin suomessa 'raiskaavat somalit' tai 'kebabbia vääntävät karvakädet' tai muut kivat stereotypiat). tyyppi on nähnyt minut ja lääkärin yhdessäkin varmaan jonkun sata kertaa, asumme kuitenkin hänen liikkeensä edessä ja häneltä usein ostetaan jotain limuja tms. mutta silti viime viikolla kysyi mieheltä (seisoin siinä vieressä! luuli varmaan että en ymmärrä) että mikä sun suhde tähän naiseen oikeen on? köh köh... mies sanoi että "mun vaimo" ja setä oli että "ai oikeesti?" no joo joo. ilme kertoi kaiken. juttu jatkui kysymyksillä mun duunista ja mitä mun perhe suomessa oikeen tekee...:D turkissa on paras sanoa 'vaimo' jos kysyjä on tommonen puupää, joka ei ymmärrä avovaimon ta tyttöystävän käsitettä. myös "kihlattu" on hyväksyttävä nimike.

no mut tää euro-horo alkaa nyt siivoo keittiöö ja ehkä kokkaa hellan ääressä, nyrkkiä kotiin saapuvaksi odotellessa. oikeasti taidan kyllä taas skippaa ruuan, kokkasinhan sentään eilen (tai kokattiin yhdessä).


projektini paikallisen kansallisen sairasvakuutuksen kanssa eteni. sehän maksaa sen 100e/kk joka on ihan kusetus-summa ulkomaalaisille, ja saan ihan ok priva-sairasvakuutuksen paljon halvemmalla joten otin sellasen. paikallinen kela vaati siis todisteita että olen suomessa kirjoilla (joka todistaisi epäsuorasti sen, että kuulun suomalaisen saiarasvakuutuksen piiriin). pyysin neiti R:ää käymään maistraatissa puolestani jotta saisin paperin että vakituinen asuinosoitteeni on Hki:ssä, vaikka samassa paperissa myös lukee että asun tilapäisesti turkissa, en arvannut sitä. postin tulo sitten kesti sen yli 2 viikkoa, mutta lopulta sain paperin ja mentiin lääkärin kanssa koittamaan onnea. jonkun aikaa siitä väännettiin mutta kun virjailija kysyi että mistä oikeen näkee että milloin olen muka muuttanut takaisin suomeen niin lääkäri osoitti päiväystä paperissa josta näkyy milloin kys. asuinpaikkatodistus on noudettu. se kelpasi sitten. nyt toivon että täti ei myöhemmin muuttanut mieltään tai (luultavampaa) unohtanut. eli pitää tarkistaa nettipankista tilanne, kertyykö sinne maksettavaa vielä... mutta että toivoa siis on...!  

languages. not always easy but lets try.

i saw a language learning site mentioned somewhere yesterday, called Bliu Bliu. so i go and sign up, its very sleek and 2013. they have 80 something languages so turkish was included, yay. however, after that i started having issues. i could not first figure out how the system (and learning) is supposed to work, it should be so intuitive that you just "get it" - but i didnt. i finally did get it, but i think the start could benefit from some instructions. also, what confused me a lot, i later realized was bugs or problems in the content. this is the main screen:

so i got the thing with the underlined words, but why is the sentence repeated? and why is there a "click here for more" at the bottom, in turkish (it is not a link, "done & go next" does that)? also, i had confidently chosen "intermediate" as my level but whoa, the sentences seem like they are from news articles. I understand bits and parts but overall find it very challenging. there is a drop down link for each word to check with google translate, but its useless. also pasting whole sentences in google translate does not help - and later i had doctor check some of the material and he found it really awkward as well. but basically it was out of context, news article content. so then i decide to change my level to "beginner" in the hopes of getting useful content to study with. no, i actually got the same sentences. by this time i realize there is no screening for the content of any kind. and in another view the source site is shown - and there is only one; www.dunya.com (a dry news portal).

as i browsed the service i understood its relying heavily on crowdsourcing, pretty common these days. users supply sources (preferably in the form of an RSS feed), and the engine inside Bliu Bliu will then...do its thing. that explains the "click here for more", as that is coming from the RSS news articles - but why can't the system get rid of it? also, there is a "drill a word" a option, which cleverly presents a word in different contexts (sentences) and then you can probably guess the meaning. i like the idea. i decided to try it out, the first word is "yılı". ok, well thats an agglutinated version of the word "yıl" (year). to be honest thats confusing.

i am an advocate of crowdsourcing and communities, but i feel like the company should do the groundwork. i wrote a few (ops!) emails to Bliu Bliu, as i kept running into different kind of issues and questions, first i found a contact email and later a support email...  they replied quick (very nice) and i was asked for more turkish sources. outside news portals i don't really know turkish websites that could have suitable content & RSS both, but i was told not to worry as any sources are very very welcome, the system will choose the right content. so i actually googled 3 RSS feeds for additional news portals, and in reply got a link to page where i should go paste those links myself (http://bliubliu.com/en/help-others/add-rss/tr/) - i was told they would be available immediately and Bliu Bliu would filter the good content for me. hmmm. so i should find my study material myself?  i am still wondering how the magical system works, as if they only have news articles, picking the "beginner level" stuff could be challenging, regardless of the algorithms...


the idea of learning from real content and have words repeated in different contexts until you understand the meaning actually makes sense indeed. but i feel like the system is still in the veeery beginning. why not start with a smaller selection of languages, perfect the system, and then grow? i am just disappointed, thats what i am trying to say. if i got started and felt good about it, id be happy to scour the web for cool stuff (i think), but whats my motivation now? i get that its a small start up with limited resources, but it seems they really want everything done from ground up by the users themselves.maybe thats 2013 too? well see.

EDIT: i tried to "learn" German and found it much better - besides the content there were additional functions, i even learned a new word! (geduld).

oli vaan pakko lähteä

Lahden/Heinolan omassa lehdessä Itä-Hämeessä oli muutama viikko sitten entisen lukio-luokkakaverini Heinin tekemä juttu musta (ei pysty suurentamaan lukukokoiseksi);

otsikossa on "huomenta suomi, terveisiä Istanbulista". juttu kertaa sitä kuinka Paason tyttö lähti kauas ja vielä kauemmas, ja miksi ihmeessä. Gezi-puiston tapahtumiakin käydään läpi. lyhennettynä;

"Tapanila asuu avopuolisonsa
kanssa lähellä Istanbulin keskustaa
ja merta.
– Tämä on liberaalia elämää
kuhiseva markkina-alue, josta
löytyy baareja, kauppoja ja
kalamarkkinat."
jep. kerron jutussa elämästä täällä ja kulttuurieroista ja sen sellaista :) kuvat ovat omasta kotialbumista. hauska homma, tuo :) isäpuoli oli sen bongannut lehdessä ja mummillekin se on luettu.


piti lukea tämä IS:n juttu vaikka sisällön arvasinkin, joku pankki on vihdoin päättänyt tuoda suomeen automaatin johon saa laittaa rahaa, nostamisen lisäksi. jännää, nyt 2013 kun suomessa käteisen käyttö vaan vähenee. muualla maailmassa noita automaatteja on ollut iät ja ajat, mutta nyt Danske Bank sitten päätti repäistä.

sen jälkeen kun se epämääräinen äijä (josta en jaksanut blogata) kävi meidän asunnossa ja selvästi tsekkaili paikkoja mahdollista ryöstöä varten niin pyysin lääkäriä tilaa netistä mulle pippurisuihketta. tuo tilannehan ei siis ollu uhkaava eikä rosmot halua mennä asuntoihin joissa on joku kotona, mutta tuli nyt vaan sellainen olo. pipurisuihkeet tuli mutta totesin että pieneltä hiuslakkapuullolta näyttävän putelin "liipasin" on sen verta jäykkä että minä en ainakaan saa siitä mitään ulos ellen kaksin käsin yritä. partsilla testailin ja sen jälkeen totesin että vesipesullahan tuo kama ei lähde :D eli nyt paria kohtaa naamassa polttelee aika kivasti. no tiedänpähän että on aitoa tavaraa...köh. maito auttaa.


löysin viime viikolla sattumalta blogin, jonka kirjoittajan tunnen. ikävä kyllä mielestäni tylsä ja tyhmä ihminen - ei siis olla kavereita. mutta luin vähän, ja käsitykseni vaan vahvistui. se on jännä miten joillekin ihmisille on vaan allerginen...  moni on varmaan allerginen mullekin. mulla on muutama arkkityyppi joita automaattisesti "dissaan", listalla korkealla keikkuu se tyyppi joka

• on jotenkin kokoajan "uhri"
• "ei vaan osaa", avuton, siis ei löydä tai edes googlesta mitään vaan kysyy aina muilta
• kokee että maailma/työnantaja/jne vaatii juuri häneltä aina liikaa 

ja +pisteitä saa siitä jos ei vaan leikkaa...:/


ja hesari kertoo turkissa avatusta "islamilaisesta seksikauppasivustosta"...  artikkelissa mainitaan että kys. kaupassa ei myydä vibroja kun ne ei oo ok. missäköhän oikeesti sellasetkin kielletään? uskovaisten rahastusta tuo kauppa, tietty... mut aika ihme jutut hesariinki pääsee.

monday in numbers

went to ATM. Garanti Bank kitty was there as usual. she doesnt move for you, u better watch ur step...

my shopping. mushrooms, broccoli, coke zeros (for doctor), Camlica Light soda, Sensodyne mouth wash & red peppers from the grocery store. Burn energy drink from the kiosk. grey panties from Penti. 2 pairs of earrings and a necklace from Six.

the jewellery deserves a close up! each 3tl/1.1 eur. (wow, lira has really plummeted)

also i got a silver ring. its a bit smaller than most of my rings, but very cute.

i had to get these shoes. had to. i wanted something practical for the winter, they are proper leather and with sturdy rubber heels. yet not too bulky, imho.   

i went to this bead & jewellery supply store near our home, to get some things for my cousin. this is the table with the metallics...

while there i saw these leafs, and from there i just went to pick the hooks and the small rings to connect them. when i wanted to pay, the nice guy behind the counter put them together for me in less than minute!

i just saw some news headers about a herpes medication causing this and that. which got me to thinking, herpes is pretty common, isnt it, and i am quite lucky not to have it, considering how many people ive kissed. maybe i have an inner antidote or something.

Marimekko-laukun värjääminen

tuo Marimerkon klassikko-laukku on sen verran yleinen että googlella löytyi pari kommenttia sen värjäämisestä, mutta silti ei mitään, mikä olisi suonut mulle mielenrauhaa sen pistämisestä 95 asteiseen konepesuun (värjäykseen). millainen kangas ylipäätään kestää 95 astetta?? joku oli värjännyt laukun Dylonilla mutta en tiedä mitä asteita se vaatii. mä löysin kaupasta vaan jonkun hassun väripussukan jossa oli ohjeet manuaaliseen värjäykseen (kiehuvaan veteen...joo ei...) ja sitten tuohon konevärjäykseen (lusikallinen suolaa ja etikkaa mukaan).

vielä kun katoin Marimekon sivuilta että tuolle laukulle suositellaan käsinpesua ja sen hinta uutena on 99e niin mietin 2 kertaa. mähän ostin ton 5 eurolla kirppikseltä. vetoketju piti korjata ja siitä maksoin 2 euroa lisää. no päätin kokeilla onnea koska harmaantunut laukku ärsytti...  ja kas vain laukku selvisi kuin selvisikin tuosta kokemuksesta ehjänä ja entisen kokoisena. ja kesti 3 päivää kuivua :D tulos ei itseasiassa ole mitenkään huikea... mutta paljon parempi toki kuin ennen. arvasihan sen että Marimekko kama kestää...  nyt olen kiitollinen että kovalla työllä (...) ja vähällä rahalla sain pelastettua laukun. summa summarum: Marimekko-laukun värjäys on mahdollista.


ihan eri oloissa otetut ennen ja jälkeen kuvat ilman vaivannäköä tarkoittaa että ei oikeen heijasta todellisuutta. etenkään tuo jälkimmäinen, värjätty versio, ihan ku siinä olis valkoinen rantu, vaikkei ole, kiitos ikkunasta tulevan valon. ja sävykin on eri valaistuksesta johtuen....  melkeen toi eka näyttää paremmalta :D

(kuukauden hyvä SEO työ tehty myös...)

im drawn to objects

oh, found a chiropractor in istanbul! and though the website is horrible, i think he may speak english as he is a foreigner. and he seems to be located a street down from me - heh. next time i have back problems i will contact him.

my new musical find is MS MR (spotify) easy, pop-ish, alternative...

so what do i enjoy in my free time? reading Quora questions & answers, reading articles from Digg & watching telly. yeah thats my weekend summed up.

a fruity, chocolate-ly waffle.... om nom nom...

today i finally made the big leap and bought a new iPhone. in short, i just switched 4 to 5. i decided neither 5S or SC are worth the money, i might as well get a fairly new 5 (=2nd hand, with 20 months of warranty left). i made the exchange at a local phone shop and paid 1100tl/410 eur difference. it was a good deal by local standards...  i just feel uncomfortable with those small shops cos u have to be careful, they try to screw u over wherever they can. today that meant that when i got home i found that the charger cable is not genuine (phone gave me a warning). i went back, the seller apologized and gave me a new one. just so i could walk back home and find out that i have another fake. lol...

anyway so far my phone is performing well. i backed up the old one in 8minutes with a couple clicks and then restored everything on the 5 - so i didnt lose a single thing. and all this without thinking! what a nice phone indeed. i think 5 is just an upgraded version of 4, nothing fancy but satisfies my needs. the biggest difference is the weight, especially with it not having a cover, the weight difference is huge and almost bothers me. also, being thinner, its almost hard to pick from the table (nails seem to be a slight hindrance here)

 bye bye 4. (start up screen after resetting the phone)

welcome 5.

 

the shoes in a nearby shop are luring me. they are 160tl/60e which is quite a lot in turkey...  but they seem like very practical boots for the winter! i dont know...

 

me and Cansu today in Liman cafe. i was warming my cold hands on top of the coffee while she rolled herself a cigarette. she is a Turkish Airlines stewardess now. 

 

   

this week

its been a lazy week. due to the national (religious) holiday (kurban bayram, sacrifice festival) shops have been closed randomly. not grocery stores and restaurants but the smaller shops, and everyone is out of town visiting families etc. its the holiday where turks slaughter animals (sheep, cow and if you were really rich, a camel - but i doubt thats actually common), mostly in the backyards and alleys, but of course a well off modern turk will just pay a butcher and get the meat delivered. i am not a vegeterian but people with no butchering experience trying to cut the necks of sheep just sounds ugly to me. if animals are killed for food, the killing should be done humanely (funny word, humane, when talking about animals...). so when doctor tells me that the ER is full of men with cuts from more less failed butchering, i kind of...smile. also some were kicked and stomped on by the scared, angry animals and i dont really feel too much remorse.

while the bloodshedding sounds horrible to most westerners, "massproduction" of meat in factories as the west does, is much much worse. blood is a normal part of dying, my only concern here is that the animal suffers unnecessarily when they attempt to kill it without proper tools and skills. in europe or anywhere in the "developed" world, the animals suffer their whole lifetime. i can appreciate how the vast majority of sheep and cows have a decent life here. chicken and turkeys are mostly factory farmed however and therefor i do try to limit my chicken and turkey consumption.

the other night i had dinner and drinks with friends. we were 4; a finn, a puerto rican, a turk and an american. our american friend is always fun to introduce to new people, to have them guess his age. Mehmet, our turk, met him for the first time and guessed 35. i think i guessed 45 couple years ago. well he is 62. we ended up getting a live history lesson, this guy remembers when Kennedy was shot, Vietnam war and Woodstock and all that... its pretty cool.

Carilyn and Mehmet, I got them to pose nice. 

as we left the restaurants they offered us cherry wine shots as a thank you. 

there were pink benches and decorations on Bahariye street for breast cancer awareness day.

not very tasty looking, this. too many ingredients. but it was not bad either.

ive been working on doctor's CV now (just polishing it). for him to apply to exchange programs and stuff...  i think its an opportunity we should look into, as his hospital and program support it.

apps and stuff...

the other night when watching Shark Tank with doctor, there was a guy with this app (postcardontherun) that lets people send physical postcards using the photos on their mobile. so one just clicks through the app, picks a photo and writes a message, chooses a contact...and the service provider will print and mail the physical card. im still suspicious of how well it works outside the US, didnt try yet. but i downloaded the app while watching the guy on tv trying to get the investors in, that was cool. it was a user friendly app at least. assuming you dont have anyones physical address in your phone, the service will send the recipient an email and ask for it. well, i should try it out before saying anything more.


my Ad-Aware antivirus (i switched from Avira to this upon reinstalling Windows) is determining a small file in the Photoshop CS6 folder a trojan, and moving it to quarantine, which means the program wont start - i need to disable Ad-Aware before i can use photoshop. i am aware whats "behind" this error, but its nevertheless annoying...:( the reason i switched to Ad-Aware was because Avira claimed my favorite PS filter to be a trojan! i still used Avira for a few years as at least i could use PS when i didnt need the filter. what can i do?!

i am now testing WiTopia's VPN service. because sometimes i need a "proxy". they had a friendly and quick chat-support. and good reviews. the website was fairly clear. there are slightly cheaper options out there but not with a server in Finland, which is what i want. well, some others might be 4+ dollars/month if you buy a year but i dont want to commit to a year for now. WiTopia charges 5.99usd even if i only get a month, and what i REALLY appreciate is the opt-out possibility for auto-renewal!  the installation was super easy, the interface is nice looking but not as simple as it could be...   the first screen offers quick connect that will only connect to the nearest VPN server which kind of defies the point of using one for me, and the advanced settings has too many click to go through (below). anyway, it seems to work ok so far.

i have used Astrill before, like maybe for 3 months, and while it worked mostly well, without glitches, it is pricier if you dont get 6 months or a year. easy to use tho.

osoitteeni ja Nordea. ei hyvä.

mun pankkisotkutkin alkoi sitten vihdoin selvitä, kun viime viikolla kuriiriposti toi nettipankkitunnarit (ja uuden luottokortin). enpä olis arvannut että ikinä nauttisin sinne kirjautumisesta ja laskujen hoitamisesta.

oli kyllä kiven takana. sen jälkeen kun olin pyytänyt puhelinpalvelun kautta ne kuriiripostilla lähettämään (25e palvelu jota Nordea on itse mulle aktiivisesti tarjonnut), ja melkeen viikkoa myöhemmin kirjoitin sähköpostia, niin kävi ilmi ettei se ollut vieläkään lähtenyt, vaan joku pankkineuvoja oli lähettänyt mulle kirjeen kysyäkseen puhelinnumeroa (olin kertonut sen puhelinpalvelussa jo mutta oli kai jäänyt matkan varrelle).

joka tapauksessa, 1 iso ongelma on edelleen, ja se on se että päättelin ettei posti tule perille koska Nordea printtaa sellaisen koodin kriittisten osoitetietojen päälle, yksi sellainen tuli perille kauan sitten, ja siitä otinkin kuvan. hauskaa on se, että yksikään kolmesta ihmisestä joiden kanssa olen yrittänyt asiaa selvittää (puhelinpalvelu + Marja ja Helena alla olevassa keskustelussa) ei ole sanallakaan kommentoinut asiaa.miksi täydellinen ignooraus?

tää koko ketjun näyttävä kuva ei oikeen tunnu aukevan mutta jääköön tähän. 

viimeiseen viestiini en saanut vastausta lainkaan, ja olin jo kysymässä et "hei oikeesti??" kun DHL:n kuriiri soitti ja kysyi olenko kotona. en ollut, mutta nehän antaa kyllä kiltisti poikaystävälle tai naapurille, kun turkissa ollaan.

en tiedä mikä on seuraava askel,  tällä menolla en kyllä tuosta pankista postia saa.

watching Shark Tank with doctor

what i thought about today:

getting married to someone like Prince William etc, and have millions of people follow the wedding on tv and the kiss on the balcony, could be stressful cos u must feel like "shit, we really cant screw this (marriage) up, it would be soooo embarrassing". although i dont think there is anything embarrassing about divorce or break up, royal or not, so i dont know where this comes from.

why is it ok to criticize the face/looks/style of someone perceived as a villain, but not others? i think this especially perplexes me when it comes from feminists who are typically loud to point out if such behavior directed at females. i was reading this story on Terry Richardson and not commenting on the content atm, i noticed a lot of comments in the lines of "well he looks like a creep & repulsive!" "who does he think he is with those nerdy glasses?!"...  somewhere out there someone probably looks similar to him, without being charged of or guilty of creepy and abusive behavior. if the press ran stories of a female child abuser (that was not not attractive by traditional measures), these same people would complain at how media and random internet users are making harsh comments of her looks, and how do her acts supposedly make her an acceptable target for such commentary.

translating an article about iconic kisses (the list includes some movie moments, of which any i dont remember although i saw some of the movies!) i was disappointed that The Kiss from Brokeback Mountain was not listed. wouldve loved to describe that one!!

the river is wide

the week has been crazy busy, not so many things but the schedule was full. today was the first day i could even watch tv. but its because i had this translation job, and yet i had made all kinds of plans with people and i went through with them. now ill be working to through the weekend to make up for it.

doctor had his birthday on thursday and we went to Agva, up north by the black sea. we stayed for a night in this hotel by a river, its past high season so it was just empty and quiet. quite perfect from that perspective. but too cold to use the pool :/

and we took this peddle boat for a ride along the river as the sun was setting. cuuuute.

i do my best thinking in the shower. but thinking in the shower means taking long showers. when the water bill comes i sometimes go 'ehhh...'.


NY Post article on Erdogan's "reforms". while an interesting article, it doesnt go into the womens clothing issue, which has been in the news lately. its the issue of AKP advertising freedom for women to wear what they want, which translates to being able to wear the headscarf in certain jobs (schools etc) where it was previously banned, but a miniskirt is still not accepted... and a tv presenter just got fired for showing too much cleavage, a  result of what  an AKP leader said.  the freedom only seems to go one way. and thats the sunni islam way.
maybe idealist, but nevertheless with a slice of truth in it, an excerpt from the link above;

"The direction that the government would like to take the country is clear. Since the beginning of the time, men have always wanted to control women to prove their power, but the task is now in the hands of the women in Turkey. As much as they are divided over their lifestyles, they will either prove that they would like to respect each other’s freedom or to help men impose limits on their freedom."

turhaa touhua

hesarissa (missäs muualla) oli jokin aika sitten terveellisimpien kasviöljyjen lista. listan kärjessä komeili rypsiöljy. mietin että wtf, eikö se oliiviöljy olekaan se kaikista kaunein ja paras?? päätin että kyllä meidänkin perheessä pitää olla terveellistä öljyä ja lähdin etsimään sitä kaupasta. päättelin että rypsi olisi turkiksi ehkä kanola - ainakin wikipediasta löysin jotain siihen viittaavaa. kävin kahdessa kaupassa mutta ei onnistanut, auringonkukkaöljyä ja maissiöljyä kyllä olisi. myöhemmin kun tarkistin listaa uudestaan niin onhan nuokin kaksi oliiviöljyä parempia ilmeisesti. miten tää nyt näin on ihan päälaellaan? mutta palasin kaupasta kotiin tyhjin käsin ja mietin mitä teen asialle. auringonkukkaöljy oli kuitenkin tosiaan listalla myös aika korkealla, joten lähdin takaisin kauppaan ostamaan sitten pullon sellaista. toin sen kotiin ja totesin että keittiön nurkassa on litran pullo samaa tavaraa, jossa pohjalla vielä desi, eli riittäisi hyvin aika pitkäksi aikaa. lääkärin äiti osti sen ja hujautti menemään kun vietti täällä päivän sillon heinäkuussa. nyt meillä on sit litratolkulla öljyjä, toivottavasti ovat säilyvää sorttia. aika naurettavaa touhua kyllä, kun öljyä aika vähän ruuanlaitossa käyttää, ja aika vähän ruokaa laittaa...aivan sama melkeen mitä siihen pannulle liruttaa. länsimaisia haihatuksia tänään...


uutispankki räjähti tällä tiedolla, perjantainako sitä kaljaa ostetaan? olisin voinut toimittaa tämän tutkimuksen ilmaiseksi, olisivat vaan kysyneet.

luin kans ton hesarin pienen Jolla-jutun. musta videossa oleva käyttis muistuttaa tosi paljon lumian palikoita. en oikeen syttyny niillekään. ja sit ne sivulle, ylös ja alas -vedot...  miksei mitään voi tehdä koskemalla vaan pitää huitoa joka suuntaan? sit ne on tosi innoissaan vaan siitä moniajosta koska se on "aito" moniajo...oikeesti peruskäyttäjille toi ei just nyt oo se tärkein juttu.varmaan upea tekninen saavutus mutta toi vaikuttaa musta taas insinöörilähtöiseltä suunnittelulta. kukahan haluaa Jollan siks et siinä on se moniajo? sen pitäs vaan muuten olla siisti, vakaa ja tarjota jotain mitä muut ei, tai ainakin useita juttuja vähän paremmin. vaikka vähän monipuolisempi värimaailma kuin Lumiassa (viittaan niihin pääväreihin). nyt tohon Jollaan kai sai ainakin Androidin appsit, jos käsitin oikein, mikä hyvä, koska ilman appseja ei kyllä pitkälle pötkitä.

words escape me

this a busy week! i got a (fun) translation job which basically takes a whole week, which is great, but i'd already made some arrangements and scheduled things and now its a bit stressful... i will probably need to work 12 hour days on the weekend. but that will remind me what working hard is like, lol! maybe its not so bad, to not be able to watch tv and go out whenever u want. for a change. tomorrow is doctors birthday too and we have made a plan for a getaway trip to Agva for one night, he got 2 (!!) days off work.

i went to Istanbul 2013 Biennale with Senni and this finnish girl, Pauliina. she was here for a visit only, but contacted me through the blog and we decided to meet up. i dont understand art but it was free so what the heck. at least i got Senni in and they could chat about...art.

i mean...what??

 i got this gezi themes shirt from a new, cool shop on our street. love the penguin.

on tuesday i went to kadiköy's open air market with Pauliina. its just exhaustingly big...:/ but besides tons of fresh veggies, they sell fabrics, curtains, clothes, second hand and otherwise. i made a few cheap finds...  as did Pauliina. later we did a small tour around Kadiköy and sat in Karga, where Hanna and Senni joined us for dinner and drinks.

cooking time for jenni

tonight i plan to cook steak, boil potatoes and serve rye bread with smoked sliced reindeer on top (Arttu brought) :)  so, veeeery simple. just the way i like it, in cooking. eating too, sometimes. the other night i did makaroonilaatikko (macaroni casserole). i got the idea the other night when Uluç treated me, Arttu, Melisa and Yasemen with his famous lasagne. and holy fuckin shit, it was SO good. im sure it was the best lasagna ive ever eaten. he said he doesnt cook much, and lasagne is his chosen signature dish that he has been perfecting for a long time. the idea of a signature dish sounded good to me so i pondered if i should have one. pasta as a basic ingredient is an easy choice, i am most comfortable with pasta. i do NOT like dishes that take a long time to cook but makaroonilaatikko is such a favorite of mine...maybe i can make an exception. so this week i cooked makaroonilaatikko for the 2nd time ever. we almost finished it all in that one night... burb. so, its quite good as it is...  but my goal is to improve it of course. maybe i need to make it like once a week...? that way, in a few months it should be very good.

doctors brother is coming later in the evening with his wife and staying 2 nights. i wouldve liked for us to be alone for a while now, but they notified us of their arrival a coupel days ago and well its turkey and family relations and...   as long as its just every 3 months i guess i can take it. most of the family is ok anyway, i have been really lucky with my turkish extended family...

a couple i know broke up. now it will be interesting to see how it pans out, i am closer with 'her', but 'he' is a friend too. i hope i dont have to choose sides or something.

useful for an expat too; Turkey's pension, insurance and other social security schemes explained.

listening to Burning Hearts on Spotify (on youtube)

Top Chef, Shark Tank and Criminal minds are back on tv too :) October is probably one of the best tv months there is, if not the best.

iOS7

i was thinking about the tablets today, ipad etc. i havent had any interest to get one. there is simply no need. but now i was imagining, if i did get one, would it be android, windows or apple? i would actually have to try them and see, but i think either windows or android...  one apple product is enough. i think i like more flexibility when things get more computerish.

however i will soon get my next iphone, 4 is starting to fail big time. i decided 5S nor 5C will be worth the price when they arrive to turkey, i better get a 5 that will fully meet my needs anyway and in 2 years i will have to re-evaluate the situation again, maybe by then Android has a stable and user friendly phone?

and iOS7 then...  i personally like it a lot.the thinner font and some new functions remind me of Android, in a good way. but the colors (green, blue...) remind me of Lumia...not in a good way.

very simple and nice looking, this alarm screen for example.

i like how in settings you can adjust the apps updating in the background.  and how FINALLY i can see the time stamps for text messages (by sliding the texts to the left).

but with all the niceness, why not focus on the downfalls as i usually do??

the instant access screen that can be pulled up from the bottom is a little bit hard to read, and i am disappointed they added on/off for bluetooth there but not for mobile data. at least they moved it to the main screen under settings...

the weather app is pretty and confusing at the same time. i have hard time understanding all the numbers sometimes...  i mean, i mix the time and temperature. and bloody hell the icon itself still won't show the actual temperature, how ancient is that?? i have to see if there are apps that would actually do that, maybe its time to scrap the native weather app!