moving preparations

Trump's immigrant ban is stupifyingly horroneous even for me - i usually shrug and think to myself "what can u expect from him..." etc...  i mean seriously. that country is screwed...

speaking of the country that is screwed, they have a wonderful company called Amazon. we dont even live in the new flat yet and im already browsing Amazon, compulsively looking for books to fill shelves with...(also browsed IKEA to get some shelves).  to think that i left loads of books in finland on my 'storage evacuation trip' is a bit sad in this respect. but one by one i will bring them...and one day i will have a grand library again! i am desperately addicted to real books although ive tried hard to switch. i have managed to read digital books, too, of course, but i seem to always yearn for the paper version.

a few options to start shopping:
Norman: The Design of Everyday Things 
Lester: Bunny Buddhism
de Bono: Lateral Thinking
Gill: 'Honour' Killing and Violence; Theory, Policy & Practise

me and 'family man from espoo' bought tickets to the upcoming UFC event in London. were lucky to get any tickets at all, they were sold out very quickly...  he will come and stay in London that weekend, so we can probably grab a few drinks too and have a chat. but im so excited over going to a UFC event!! had i ever had the change to go to PRIDE, i would've, but UFC will do for now. and there is Makwan Amirkhani too :)

 no wonder it gets bit cold inside when there are open slots like this between windows...   christ.

Clapham Common Iceland has a nifty coffee machine. overall, Iceland looked tidier there than in Brixton. i get it, need to localize...CC people are poshier, whiter and have more money than the average Brixtoner. Brixton is a little bit grungy, not as polished. but thats part of it's charm. i wouldnt mind a spacy, clean Iceland tho...

to celebrate our montly anniversary we went to a maroccan & lebanese restaurant (Argan) where doctor especially was veeery happy with the offerings. reminded him of home. i liked it too. now i know where to take him if he gets homesick :)

my tasks today: worked on the residence card application (EEA FM)  papers, as well as filling a registration certificate application (QP) myself. it costs an extra 65£ but there is a legend that submitting that alongside the EEA FM application would help, so...:D  im pessimistic and feel like home office is rejecting applications left and right if they in any way can. but lets hope for the best. also if it goes through, i then have a card to prove my residence...in a couple years it may come in handy, who knows. just realized our bank statements from Lloyd's dont have a stamp on every page, just the first one. okay, my bad for not noticing when i got them. i will send doctor there to get new ones...  he has 2 days off before starting work at the hospital.

some examples from my application form....

from doctor's application. 

the other day i saw the mailman wearing shorts...  i mean what the fuckin fuck, it was zero degrees that very second. ZERO. it was supposed to be 5, i remember that, but im not sure that wouldve made a huge difference. shorts.

not the ordinary tuesday

today was a major victory for us. yesterday GMC finally invited doctor over for ID check. and i managed to get him a cancellation appointment for today! yay. soooo today he was officially registered as a DOCTOR IN THE UK. omg, we only worked on this for a year??! haha. and by 'we' i mean me, he just studied medicine for 10 yes and did a 'few' exams, i did all of the rest!! :) but this is a major milestone, without him being registered nothing else would really be possible. i feel victorious and hopeful about the future. he is due to start work next week!

we have a bottle of bubbly and i will take him to a turkish restaurant tonight to celebrate! i booked us a table in turkish of course. i was worried when i opened my mouth and realised i was speaking in turkish, as a reaction to the guy answering the phone with a turkish accent. but turkish is still in me, i havent forgotten.

also, at work there is a inhouse QA development project going on which inspires me. amongst other things i am investigating and comparing JIRA Atlassian test suite add ons. i didnt know about them! but now i do!

we watched the documentary about Magnus Carlsen with doctor. it did seem a bit hastily done, and not horribly deep, basically just his road from a gifted child to the world chess champion. but it was ok nevertheless.

its hard to try decide which shelf unit or shoe rack will best fit our new place... im struggling between a few options. Ikeas MULIG looks like the most likely candidate for next to entrance. my Ikea shopping list is growing as im collecting all the potential options for a book shelf, entrance rug and laundry basket...   altho im trying to keep my mind open, in this country, Ikea is NOT my only option. there are other brands and shops that sell simplistic, affordable designs. and a part of me might want a make up desk! but furnishing the place will take a while. and we need to consider that its just for 1 year for now...and we need to avoid making holes in the wall...and all the other stuff im sooo used to by now :(

something that maybe sounds old fashioned (or just british - same thing?) but that i like is being pleased. as in 'im so pleased for you', for example. i have taken a liking to it, perhaps cos i was never very comfortable with "im happy for you". happy is such a strong word...  it sounds a bit fake for me personally, when i use it myself i mean. but i can definitely say i feel pleased about things or for someone. finnish emotion scale is limited.

i have tried not to spend too much energy feeling shitty about the whole Trump thing. i mean it is what it is. but reading about the abortion stuff, yeah... it gets me fuming. and UK politics... i might have promised to myself, and out loud, that i wont complain about it at least for the first 6 months. so im trying to stick to that. buuut its not that hard to be honest even with the brexit stuff - just one look at the turkish headlines puts things in perspective.

suomen terveisiä

mysli on ollut mun go-to aamiainen lontoossa. en muista millon olisi viimeks oikeesti syöny mysliä, jos ei jotain ihan satunnaisia kertoja istanbulissa lasketa. se on vaan helppo ja ei ehkä ainakaan kaikista epäterveellisin, kun vähän kattoo mitä ostaa.

suomessa käydessä törmäsin uuteen matkakortinlukijaan lentokenttäbussissa. joka muuten ei lähtenyt todellakaan ajoissa, mm. tuon lukijan takia. turisteillehan se on ihan hepreaa. mutta sittenkin kun opin miten hässäkkä toimi niin nopea se ei ollut. joku Markus on käyttänyt aikaa ja tehnyt pienen redesignin, joka on mielestäni reippaasti parempi. mutta tuohan oli kai valmis ratkaisu ostettu jostain irkkufirmasta, jos oikein muistan, kai se on sitten ollut edullisempi....  hmmm.

mun hiiri alkaa kuolee, sen rullan klikkaus ei enää aina toimi. mutta hyvinhän tuo on palvellut, muistaakseni se on jo helsingin ajoilta kotoisin, ei noita mikkiksen isompia smooth-scroll hiiriä oo varmaan enää myyty vuosiin :D mutta sepä se, mistä seuraava hiiri? olen silleen vanhanaikainen että jos se toimii niin älä koske siihen. mun mielestä tuo hiirityyppi on just hyvä joten mieluusti jatkaisin samalla linjalla. mutta nykyään myydään oikeestaan vaan sellaisia minihiiriä koska kaikki kantaa niitä mukanaan pitkin kahviloita, ja sitten jotain gaming-hiiriä...  meh. 

hyvä kirjoitus eutanasiasta. itse olen vahvemmin sen kannalla kuin kirjoittaja, mutta tekstissä on kuitenkin ajateltu tilannetta puolin ja toisin fiksusti.

suomesta (no, laivalta) ostin suunnitellusti uuden kosteusvoiteen. sitä kun englannissa asuessa taas on alkanut menemään. paljon. toisaalta, en vieläkään käytä sitä aamuin illoin, eli 'paljon' on suhteellista. mutta turkissa vuositolkulla vain hiukan huvennut purkki on nyt lähes tyhjä joten tuli kiire hankkia uusi. otin sit samoin tein 2, kevyempää ja paksumpaa.

muista suomen löydöistä vielä. löysin korttipinkan joka muistutti hyvin nuoruudesta, 94-99 about. en ikinä nähnyt Pelon Maantiedettä mutta silloin oli jaossa ilmaiskortteja joista yksi oli kai elokuvan mainos. mutta lause toimii; "mua suudellaan siks että halutaan eikä siks että tultiin luvanneeks" :D 

hameita hintalappuineen...  no nyt olen ottanut ne käyttöön. Nancy oli pakko saada mukaan, se oli iso teinivuosien vaikuttaja. ja Vaarallinen Juhannus, jonka sain Artulta -99 tai -00.

 ei tarvi ihmetellä miten sain laukut täytettyä kun kaivelee...  toin esim. löytämäni cd:t, n. 7kpl, joissa oli mun ottama kuva kannessa. ja 4 kudottua lasinalusta, vaikken pysty muistamaan mistä olen saanut. koska lahja ne on selkeesti. ehkä muisti viel palautuu. untuvaiset tossut on nyt palvelleet hyvin englannin talvessa. vaikka ei mulla lämpimän täkin alla ihan hirveesti jalat palele, se on mukavuusjuttukin...    mukaan tarttui mys yksi Chomsky (muut meni kirppikselle). ja muovinen säilytyslaatikko. joita varmasti löytää täältä viidellä punnalla. mutta jos nyt tuodaan tavaraa niin tuodaan sitä sitten? miksi heittää menee ja ostaa uutta...

roskiin jouti ikävä kyllä kokoelma Jan Saudekin valokuva-postikortteja ja muistivihkoja filmikuvausajoilta kun olen testaillut eri tekniikkoja, suljinaikoja jne.

all modern

suuuunday. we had brunch. as we should, one of the last proper weekends before doctor starts working random hours and days again. i dont mind that schedule, but i do enjoy a standard weekend.

the flat we are moving to next month never went online cos we grabbed it so swiftly, but i found a property history page with an ad from 2015. gives an idea of the feel - modern, spacious. also, without any personality, sure, but u cant have eveyththing can you...  maybe later we will have our dream home. meanwhile, i think this will do just FINE :)

 this is the view from the street. boring, but at the end there is coldharbour lane, and promise of *life*.

yesterday we headed to Tate modern. my brainfart, i admit. ive never cared for art museums so why go now? i think its just the reputation the building has, and  something different to do. it IS an amazing building, i really got inspired by the place itself actually. but walking into the first room that had installations and an almost blank canvas, i allllmost regretted. the picasso's and dali's dont really impress me more than the hammer hanging from the ceiling. but, overall i think it was still worth going and doing something on a saturday. i also did a bit of shopping and met a translator to receive the translations we need for the residence card application (my wage slips etc).

scenery seat in the bus;

 very nice entrance.

this one artists work just reminded me of IKEA stuff in the recent years. all the colors i dislike in geometric patterns...  i should point out that i am a fan of ikea and they often have very nice patterns and design that i enjoy. but this trend with green, orange, yellow etc...   it makes me wanna vomit.

 these paintings were actually visually pleasing, i can say i like them.

Rothko. where do u buy canvases that size? also, his 'room' was opposite to this huge Monet painting of water lilies, cos apparently Rothko was inspired by Monet's style. im not sure i saw the connection but oki doki. Rothko paintings are also easy on the eye, but dont give me anything either.

Sainsbury's receipt. now i think this was 'modern art'. 

something. 

 more something.

 ummmm?

 ...

 ...?!

this one had text and various materials, i could almost relate. 

 back to not relating at all. 

 hair and stuff. not relating.

 photos. but not anything of interest to me.

this looked like a huge, cool rubber mat. its Beirut! i can appreciate this, not sure if as art, of if just an object but maybe the difference is not big.

 i really enjoyed the space in Tate M.

 video installation

on our way home i spotted a deer or something on the wall of a council building, made from wire or something... looked nice in the sunlight.

back to the settling process

i started collecting papers for doctors residence card application. we will use some of the ones we got for the Family Permit, but obviously need new material to prove Her Majesty that we are still, really, genuinely, together, in the same address and all. i will also probably apply for a "registration certificate" alongside his application, i need to provide all the same documents anyway...to try convince the Home Office that i do indeed have the right to be here. they say it supports the residence card application if the EEA national applies for the certificate at the same time..      but this does make me a bit bitter, anyone who reads the news these days knows HO is rejecting applications left and right, with any possible reason they can come up with. i know the law is on my side, but thats not a consolation when the process takes 6 months and you know they can reject based on any concievable little thing. like, the fact that my employment letter does not have a stamp so they cannot verify it to be genuine (my employer does not have a stamp, it's 2017 in finland...). of course i am doing everything in my power to send over all the right docs, but even my best may not be enough as UK marches towards a hard Brexit. they say "nothing will change until the 2 year period is over..." but if you read about the treatment at the border (also ours last september) and the HO decisions...u know the attitude has changed.

we enjoyed New Years with Avner, Elmor & friends. over a backyard fire and drinks...  lovely. but we had to leave soon after midnight to be able to sleep a couple hours before heading to Gatwick aiport. not a nice wake up...  the tube was still full of drunk people when we were trying to make our way with luggage at 5:30am...
but, our first NY's eve in London!

we watched London's fireworks on tv. if u wanted to go out there to see them for real, i hear it means several hours of standing in the cold...

i came home to a full tv episode calendar, a lot of  new seasons started...  Man Seeking Woman, Bachelor, Celeb Apprentice (with Terminator!), Undateables, Seven Year Switch, The Voice UK...

on the movies/docs watch list:
Officer Downe
Arrival
The Brand New Testament
Evolution
Why Him?
20th Century Women
Nocturnal Animals
Off the Rails
They Call Us Monsters
Between Us
Lost in London

UFC is coming to London March 18th. i am determined to get tickets - but i know they sell out very fast so... lets see. never been to see UFC so i would really like to.

doctor started an observership yesterday at the hospital where he is due to start work next month. observership is neat in itself, but especially now as he gets to see his future workplace and sort of familiarize himself with the environment and customs. nervewrecking, but in a very positive way :) also our finnish flatmate started orientation at her new workplace. so everyone in the house is getting up early now...  thank god there are 2 bathrooms.

i cannot unpack all the suitcases we dragged from helsinki because in our already packed room there is simply no space. also, a lot of stuff is something definitely not needed in everyday life, books and photo albums and other old items. but where to even stock them until the move? we are living in a very crammed space until the move...  which is only about a month away!!!

moving memories

so tired. im happy to be back home to London even if Helsinki is nice, i love seeing my friends and i enjoy working at the office (as opposed to working from home). it was just so extra draining this time, running around buying 2nd hand luggage, going to different storage units separating and choosing stuff to take, having to sell a few of those salvaged items...  also had to go to bank a couple times and handle other "business". that, on top of work, going to stockholm for a day... my muscles are aching and im still mentally tired too. also, on thursday i suddenly felt this pain on the right side of my butt...like, sharp, sudden...wtf?! since then its been randomly on/off...  just one wrong move and the pain shoots through. a nerve pinched somewhere, but jesus fuck how painful it can be. if it doesnt get better by monday ill need to go to my GP i guess...cos this is seriously hindering me...

finland.

i met friends pretty much every day, and miss R arranged this one get together with a group of friends which was lovely.

so i went through a lot of stuff in storage units, 3 of them... doctor was there helping me, shredding old bank statements and carrying out trash and whatnot. not sure how i wouldve managed without him.

on sunday we went on a 'booze' cruise', spending monday in stockholm. although its a very calm trip when u take it on a sunday, mostly middle aged people...  and we were so tired we fell to bed around midnight. but meeting Carina & Korhan in Stockholm was great, they showed us around and we had lunch at Gondolen.

 gamla stan/stockholm

our double bed cabin <3 p="">

and some gifts we had waiting for us on the boat, thanks to our flatmate Anette who got us the cruise vouchers.

at some point the project looked....challenging. i carried this stuff over from the storages and had to go further through to see exactly what was worth packing and in which suitcase...

going through storage provided a lot of surprises and odd "gems". and holy f* how many corsets i had - i think 2 even had the tags still on....i've just been a shopping roll back then. at least i managed to sell the handmade one.

i had to let this family tree graduation photo collage go (it was an ad on Helsingin Sanomat).

a box of tights. and it didnt end there, i continued finding tights in various boxes and bags... including an unopened pack from Primark - id bought it in 2008 or whenever i visited London. i did ask myself if carrying it back to London was definition of insanity...

 one of my fav filsm! i remember buying this when i was like 13...  and there was a guy in my school (Antti L) who looked pretty much like Edward :D

while i dont have a player for these kind of records anymore, i would never let this go... important part of my history. i left it at my friends alongside some other Apulanta memorabilia, will pick it up on my next visit maybe.

my grandmom and aunt gave us this shallow Aalto vase as a wedding gift, yay. i had refused to accept one before moving to London, we had enough stuff to carry at that point... and this time too, but i am in such a nesting phase, wanting to build a cozy home...i said yes please. this is something i wanted, perfect to put a couple of tealights in!

i found my really old denim jacket, too. lots of memories associated with it...but makes no sense to carry it around the world as memorabilia. on the inside of the jacket i had autographs, like this one by Toni (Apulanta) from circa 1994.

these shoes came to London with me. and a couple of other pairs, but this is the main bunch. very happy to have salvaged them!

these shoes didnt make the cut....  off to charity (Fida, i love them cos i made a lot of great purchaces from them back on the day)

raaaandom stuff i found....LP's, kimono, Montreal Canadiens NHL shirt... 

Tom of Finland stamps!! belated gift from miss R actually. we also got a Tom of Finland fabric bag from VV and his partner. doctor woved to use it exclusively.

unrelated: in Norwegians inflight mag there was this story about getting your own helicopter... im just thinking, people flying Norwegian prolly cant afford those....  bit confused, even if its just about the image and "interesting" stories....