Painting the Horizon

Sigh... three years later, I'm still pathetic.

Art History. I went through this same course in Vocational three years ago. Same lecturer and everything. Back then, I stayed up until 2 AM writing an essay because it was due the next day and I hadn't had the good sense to, you know, start while I still had plenty of time.

This time I'm allowed to skip the lectures, but since we UAS students have an assignment the Vocational students didn't, I still need to do that to pass. That assignment is due tomorrow.

Now, logically thinking, I would have at least started on it sometime during the week I've had. But no, I didn't really start until six in the afternoon today, despite having the entire day off. It's nine o'clock now and I've got roughly a page written. The minimum is five pages. I'd probably have it done before midnight if I didn't keep wandering off to do things that realy can wait until tomorrow, honestly, just because I don't feel like just doing the damn assignment.

So basically, instead of just behaving like a sensible person and sitting down for a couple of hours and getting it done, I've wasted most of today putting it off.

And now I'm writing a journal entry about how I should be doing something entirely different. Procrastination FTL.

Whew.

The apartment is slowly starting to look like a home. In fact, it looks really comfortable and cozy and I love it. I'm still not entirely over the freakout phase, but as long as I think of it as moving to a place of my own and not as leaving home, I'm mostly really excited.

We moved my desk and bed there today. (It's only in the neighbouring city from my parents' place, so instead of renting a truck we're taking my stuff there one carload at a time) My paints, scanner and pen tablet are there, too. Basically all that's still here at home is me (sleeping on a spare mattress now that my bed's gone, heh), most of my comics, and a load of less important stuff that I have to shift through. You know, to determine which items will be going with me, which will be left behind and which will be mercilessly thrown out.
Oh, and my computer, which will not be moving until I am, owing to my sad, sad Internet addiction (I'm stocking it up with interesting offline stuff for distracting myself with while I'm without Internet access).


And thanks for everyone who commented on my previous entry, those comments really helped me come to grips with the situation. I tried replying to you guys but I couldn't come up with anything but pointless babble. Sorry.

Beginning studies at the University of Applied Sciences tomorrow (or.. today, since it's already past midnight). I hope I've got everything I need ready. I even laid out the clothes I'm going to wear. I never do that, I just raid the closet in the morning for anything approximately appropriate for the weather.

So. Yeah. Pretty excited. I'll be able to hang with some old classmates, possibly even befriend some of my new classmates. Even though I'm horrible at making new acquaintances, haha, being kind of embarrassingly shy around new people.

Huomenna autokouluun ajelemaan toisen vaiheen arvioiva ajo. Sitä en tiedä mitä tolkkua siinä on kun kuitenkaan eivät korttia voi multa viedä tässä vaiheessa. Säästetään sedät luontoa ja mun rahoja ja kuitataan toinen vaihe valmiiksi ihan puhumalla, jookos?

Ja nyt kun kesän työttömyystuet on melkein kaikki tilillä pitäisi KELAa ilahduttaa opintotukianomuksella. Samat paperit pitää laittaa uusiksi asumistukihakemuksen kanssa jos ja kun saan kämpän hankittua. Ihq.
Onneksi sentään on varaa olla nirso kun voi käydä koulua kotoa käsin siihen asti että löytyy kohtuuhintainen asunto inhimillisen matkan päässä ammattikorkeasta. Käännös: Suensaaresta jos ei kämppää löydy niin en muuta mihinkään.

Attention, duelists Americans of my friendslist! (and why not everyone else too, if you feel like it)

I want to ask you something.

Let's say you're having a conversation with someone. They don't use your name once during that conversation. Will you notice? Do you consider this impolite or offensive?

I'm asking because I once noted to my mother how, in Hollywood movies, people seem to sprinkle their sentences with the names of the people they are currently talking to ("Well, Dave, I better get going now."), and how odd it seemed to me. She said that it's an American thing and that over there, people would consider it rude not to keep saying each other's names every now and then.

Is there any truth to this?
Because I know that here in Finland Ican bluff my way through entirely natural-sounding conversations with people whose names I can't for the life of me recall. People don't notice, because they don't generally expect to hear their own name in the middle of a conversation. Overall, I usually only have to resort to calling people by their names when I'm trying to get their attention, not when I'm already talking to them. As it can, at worst, take me up to two months to learn new names, this is a relief. Would that strike an American person as rude?

Just got back from a little weekend-holiday with my mom and my sister. Left on Friday, flew to Helsinki and sailed to Stockholm overnight, spent Saturday there, sailed back to Helsinki the next night, spent most of today in Helsinki before flying back.

Things of note:

We had a bus tour of Stockholm on Saturday, and that city is so beautiful. It was all gorgeous architechture and well-tended parks and gardens and wow. Helsinki has its share of cool architechture (the central railway station comes to mind) and even the occasional park, but somehow it's not half as coordinated as Stockholm is. However, I'm inclined to think that Stockholm doesn't have quite as much charm as Copenhagen.

We went to Linnanmäki (=an amusement park in Helsinki) while we had the time, and I was brutally mandhandled by one of the newer rides. No ride has ever made me nauseous, but damned if that thing didn't try. It left both of my shoulders sore and quite a fetching bruise on my left one. Never getting on that one again, thanks.

Also sampled octopus at the ship's dinner. It was like eating a piece of rubber and it didn't really taste like anything.

I spotted a Toys R Us (from a distance) in Helsinki on Friday. I had no clue we even had those in Finland. Granted, that could've been the only one there is, it being Helsinki, but still. A bit of a "wait, what?" moment, there.

I'm not much of a shopper, but I did score Terry Pratchett's A Hat Full of Sky and a WoW game card (three euros cheaper in a certain gameshop in Helsinki than what I usually pay for them). Also, my mom bought Making Money, which I read through on the way back home (great book), and my sister bought Good Omens, which I've read in Finnish some time ago, but have been trying to find in English for a while now.

And. Um. I think that's it.

...So apparently not everyone associates colours with numbers and letters.
Not only that, the tendency towards doing so has a name. I've been convinced of the redness of 3 and the yellowness of T for as long as I can remember, but I never realized that was out of the ordinary in any way.

Well, you learn something new every day. Is there anyone on my friendslist who's like this as well?

Busy busy.

To summarize the past week:
-I'm working towards tying up all the loose ends so as to graduate with some semblance of dignity, and I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm actually going to do this!
-I got an invitation to the entry exams of one of the two polytechnics I've applied for. Haven't heard from the other yet, though.
-My "rage" installation was on exhibit at the school today and I was actually kind of pleased with it. It went through a lot of changes, omission of video material being among the most significant. I loved how one review by a fellow student said it was kind of irritating to listen after a while. That wasn't my main goal, but it's getting the right kind of feeling across. Someone else said it kind of made him feel good by venting his anger for him. I'd agree. I haven't felt angry since I started the project. I must've pre-emptively channeled all my frusration into the thing.

Oh, and did I mention I passed the matriculation exams? I need to go buy me a cap.

And now I'm off to pick up my parents at the airport.

Huhuhu, I've been spending like a rich person today.

I bought 3 movies: My Neighbour Totoro, Millenium Actress and Tyttö sinä olet tähti (a Finnish movie). Here's to hoping they're good.
Ok, so I know Totoro is, because I was just getting the DVD to replace the old worn-out partially recorded-over VHS version I have. I love that movie.

I also bought Flogging Molly's Float. Listening to it now ♥

Add to that the (admittedly cheap) cell phone I bought earlier this week, and it adds up to about 100 €. Ughh I usually don't spend that much in a month ahaha.

I got a pair of winter boots as well (they're comfy and only cost 9.90€ 'cause they're last season), but my mom paid for those so they don't really count.

I've also climbed out of my art slump. There'll be a sketchdump as soon as I manage to scan these babies.

Happy 90th independence day, all you Finns on my flist.