Sing along

I just found out that this song I really like is sung by a woman, not a man... oops. To my defence I could say that I had only heard the song, not the name of the singer. But, points for the singer since her voice is so special that I bet nobody has a similar one!

 

Delightful self-deception

I have always liked horoscopes. Everytime I see them, I eagerly try to find the link between the random text, that is made unclear enough so it can be applied to everyone, and myself. Funny, very often I find it. The mysterious suggestions and claims somehow seem to fit in your life or your personality, though always leaving you guessing what exactly it means. 

I don't know if it's really true that people born around the same time have some similar features. I know many people who say that their horoscope descriptions pretty often are quite truthful about their personalities in reality. On the other hand the features they associate with certain astrological signs tend to be generalising enough to match a state of mind or mood that every single person experiences. Don't know. 

There are parts in some horoscopes that tell you your lucky day of the month. It is exciting to read at the moment, especially if there's something good in store for you, but I don't remember any occasion where I would have remembered the date long enough to pay special attention to what's happening around me on that day to see if it was right. Besides, the promises usually are like "you will receive good news on June 5th" and that could mean anything. You might get a postcard telling that your grandparents are having fun in Hawaii which won't have that big an impact on your life or you might win the lottery. So, what's the point, may I ask? Why do you need the information in advance since you won't know what it is anyway? 

We are fooling ourselves by believing horoscopes. I am very conscious of that fact when reading them, but I still do it. The feeling of finding out that something good or exciting might happen can light up your day and make the normal, unsurprising life a little more bearable. The texts also have a habit of complimenting you a lot, so it could also be a self-esteem thing. And in the end, who wouldn't want to read reassuring promises that they'll meet the man of their dreams or something equally satisfying? 

 Here's a song, the music video of which is so cool in my opinion that I want to share it with you. Great song as well!

 

Hit the replay

For liking this song I can thank my friends, since without them I might not have realised the brilliance of it.

What a feeling

It finally feels like summer! It is sunny and warm and green and perfect. There is a little shadow over me aka studying for the entrance exams, but even that can be done outside so it is bearable. The birds can be pretty loud, though, which is kind of disturbing... The only thing missing is a nice tan, swimming in a lake (which won't happen yet since the water is still cold...) and some ice cream. Happy, relaxed and feeling good!

The results of my final exams will come tomorrow! On one hand I am really excited and eager to get them, on the other hand it's a little scary. Anyway, tomorrow the waiting will be over.

Enjoy the good weather!

 

People everywhere

Thank you so much to everyone who has checked this blog, since now I have broken the milestone of a thousand views! Okay I know it's not that much since this blog has existed for quite a while, but I never expected this to become popular or anything. I am just really happy about the fact that as many as a thousad people have read at least a part of what I have to say. 

When I started to write this, it was for myself only, I didn't really care if people would read it. But seeing the statistics about the views makes me so excited, since the viewers are all around the world, for example in the USA, Russia, China and in many, many countries in Europe. This has become a way to make my voice heard. I might not make a huge difference to anyone's life but I am satisfied if I can make a person think for at least a few seconds of something that I have written about. Whether you laugh at me or my jokes (which aren't always recognisable as jokes), agree or disagree with me, I am glad if there is something happening in your brain.
That's all I have to say for now, thank you and keep reading! 

And again, just a random song that I really like a lot.

   



 

Work in progress

When you start planning something, it feels like you've got huge amounts of stuff to do and so much time and everything moves slowly. But now I have reached a point where I think everything's under control. Yeah, I am talking about my graduation party again, but I don't care if you care to read about it or not.

So, I baked a blueberry-vanilla cheesecake today to test if it's good. Perfect timing, since tomorrow's Mother's Day so I don't have to bake two cakes... Anyway, now I have almost everything ready. The menu has been decided, invitations have been sent, I have a dress and shoes, all the cakes and cookies we needed to try beforehand have been tested. It feels like there's not that much to do anymore, which is actually false. We still need to bake everything...
And I have to clean some windows. And probably the rest of the house as well. Isn't it nice to spend every single day at home?

But, despite all the work and planning and time spent in preparations, it will all be worth it. This is the biggest celebration ever that is completely mine, I am the star of the day and nobody can change that. I worked hard for it, and I deserve it. And after the party at home, I will join the group of people in white hats and celebrate together our achievements.

Anyway, it feels so nice to see how things move forward and there is progress. Today I even finished reading my entrance exam book (yeah my goal to finish it was like three weeks ago) and now I can really start memorising and learning the essential in the material so I will at least have a chance at the exams. Well, that seems so far away that I haven't really started to stress about it yet. False, again, the exams will be in less than a month but somehow even though my brain knows the facts, it refuses to deal with them. Maybe it's just good for me this time, though.

And to mention the one thing on everyone's mind, the ice-hockey world cup, go Finland!!  

Now some music :)

 

Singing in the rain

Literally at the moment.

Ohoi, captain!

No, I am not becoming a sea captain. A captain yes but without a ship. Instead, a camp center and 30 teenagers. I'll have my crew, though, so I hope we will make it safely back to the harbor. The tide may get high, the wind will blow and shake the boat but I am ready to embark.

Okay I should stop with these sailing metaphors... I don't even sail!

So this is about the fact that I have been given the honour to lead an orthodox youth camp for a bit over a week that is arranged for teenagers that will turn 15 that year. Exciting, though a little scary. I have quite a lot of experience about that kind of work, I just haven't been in such a high position before. However, it's a chance to accept a challenge and it would be against my personality to refuse to try. 

Since my job will be different than I thought when I got accepted (let me add that usually leaders are chosen like a year before the summer camp, I found out a week ago.. the camp is in july), I will have to do some soul-searching. I will be the person everyone will turn to, I will be the one to make the decision, it is my call who I order to do the tasks. I will hold the threads, I will assemble the puzzle from a hundred pieces that are lying all over the place at the moment. So the burning question is: what kind of a leader do I want to be? And even more important; what kind of a leader will I be?

I have a habit of trying to please people, which can be harmful this time. It will make sure that I work for the best benefit of the teenagers, but I have to remember that I have to stay strong with my way when I know it's right. I have to balance between closeness and distance, discipline and freedom, democracy and dictatorship. Okay, I can say for sure already that I won't be the feared dictator who makes everyone's life miserable, but I hope I will have the strength to trust myself enough with the decisions so that I won't be excessively influenced by others who might not be as experienced. I hope I will have authority and respect among the youngsters and my co-workers, especially since some of them will be older than me. I wish to avoid stupid drama and problems caused by irrelevant matters. I know I will have to loosen my perfectionism and probably accept having to make a lot of compromises, but I will not negotiate about justice. If someone does something bad, there will be consequences. A good job will be rewarded, the struggling will be helped and supported, the trustworthy will gain responsibilites. I will see my work as a leader successful if people are having fun, they learn and they are sad to leave from the camp. Even one tear on the last day will be more rewarding than my paycheck.

Seems like the year 2013 is going to be one of the craziest years of my life with all these experiences, achievements, changes and chances. I have learned and experienced a lot already so far and I am only eagerly looking forward to the rest! I guess this summer will mean growing up for real and starting to live my own life, so here's a matching song.