Category Archives: General

Year Ago

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Year ago I was waking up on the plane, on my way to Seoul. One of my best years, life changing someone could even say, started exactly year ago. And it feels weird as somehow it feels like it was so long time ago, and still time has passed so fast.

During this summer I have noticed that I have been comparing my home city to Seoul and life back there and here. One thing I miss every day is all those lovely coffee shops, It is weird that in Finland we drink lots and lots of coffee but still we miss completely proper coffee culture.

Another funny thing I kinda miss is street view. There is just something magical when you cannot see anything else expect beautiful girls who all looks like models in the streets. The people in Finland definitely looks different. Although have to admit that I am more than happy that after coming back haven’t seen anyone doing her makeup in the next table in the coffee shop, or in the lecture class, or doing manicure at the next table either.

Thinking of that I have been staying in three different cities, living in two cities. I liked Amman when I stayed there for a month, but something in the culture was not for me just. But for Seoul, even I like living in Finland and definitely like Finnish nature, I think I still felt in love with Seoul and will miss that cute little city from time to time. Well, I will return, one day, that’s for sure.

Final Exams

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It feels weird to realize that all my classes for this semester is over already. And that I am currently in University library to write my final paper for one course and that weekend is full of studying for my final exams. And after Tuesday, nothing. End of studying. Holiday. Vacation. 진짜?
I feels like it was just yesterday when my plane landed to Incheon, when I met my buddy and chose my courses for this semester and now it’s all over already. Time really has flied so fast.

Studying for final exams is really something different from Finland. In my home university I got bad habit not to care too much of exams, as there I can always try couple times if I don’t get good grade. And as usually the courses I took had essay exams, which are quite easy for me to answer. But here, first it is one shot, either you get good grade or not, but no new chances. Second, I still feel that studying here mostly is just learning facts and answering by memory. Korean History course has a little bit something that is closer to Finnish essay questions but luckily, the answers are expected to be much shorter. But this all affects to me that first time maybe ever, I am really studying and also a little bit worried about exams. It is so different when I know that I have only one shot to try and that’s all. No backup plans, no extra time, no nothing.

So in other words, don’t expect many updates before Wednesday… After that, well, I have decided that on my winter vacation I really start to travel around. At least in Seoul. Time really has passed so fast that I haven’t even understood that, and suddenly I am in the situation that first semester here is over and I have no idea what I have been doing here, expect I haven’t been outside Seoul almost at all. Nor travelled anywhere else. Well, winter vacation is going to chance that, that’s for sure. I am not quite yet sure where I end up, but so far I know that I will spend some time in China, when and how long and where, not sure yet. But most likely I am going to be in China during Spring Festival.

100

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I was just looking administration interface of WordPress and checking tags of old posts when I suddenly noticed one small thing, last post was my 100s post on this blog. It seems somehow amazing that I have already posted 100 posts here, I have been so lazy to post anything for most of the time but still I have clearly managed to post enough. It is not so much, only hundred posts since January 2006. A lot has happened during this time this blog has been alive and, sometimes I feel that I am different person that I was when I started to write to this blog. When I started to blog, for example, I had no dreams at all to go to study abroad and during this summer I did that. I was working in a small company at that time, and a lot has happened with my career since that. It is interesting to read old posts and remembering what all happened during those times when I was writing everything.
I have no idea how many persons actually reads this blog, some statistics says that I have not so many readers. I hope that reading my hundred posts so far has been interesting enough – let’s wait and see what next 100 posts will bring and when I have wrote next hundred posts…

Running at night

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Great thing about summertime is that you are able to do something at nights also. Today was a first real warm summer day, it was quite warm to cycle fast in the sunshine. So somehow I didn’t had such a great motivation to go out in the evening when there was still too warm for a run. So I left after 11PM to make my run. It had its own feeling when it was almost dark already, street lights were on and it smelled like it had been rained. And it was cooler than in the day. After all, just a great environment for running. And my run did went well :)

This spring has been quite different from others what comes to my running. Usually I get a lots of motivation to start running in the spring, but when it gets warmer and spring turns to summer, somehow I just stop running. But not this time, now I have been gone for a run couple times per week and managed to make my usual running trail even longer than I did in the begin. I still donät think I am a fast runner or that I am in a good shape (my runs are ~5km and takes a little bit over 33min), but if I keep running the whole summer, maybe in the autumn… Who knows…

Happy new year 2009!

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_mg_6154Happy new year to everyone! This year has been a little bit quieter what comes to my blog postings but hopefully it is going to change next year. At least I really should learn and start iPhone developing, it should been a subject that have a lots of blogging… But while waiting those posting, have a good time with a new year!

About iPhone

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Everyone knows that last Friday, 11.7. was once again a historical day. Apple iPhone 3G selling started and luckily for me, also in Finland. Oh yes… I was signed up earlier when our operator was collecting name lists who are interested, I reserved phone as soon as it was possible and on last Friday I was 10am in the store and buying my iPhone. And now I am happy owner of black 16Gb model.

I have been playing it now for few days and I have to say that it is quite close to perfect phone. I have iPod Touch so there was no wow-effect anymore in the UI or operations, but iPhone has everything that Touch was missing, all the time connectivity. Touch was nice but its biggest problem is that it needs Wifi for working, with iPhone, I can access Internet anywhere I want.

But the iPhone mania doesn’t end here. Because we are now talking about me the next step was quite expected. In the weekend I was accepted as iPhone Developer (and had to paid for that) and now I am able to develop nice programs for iPhone, test them on the real devices and publish them to App Store (or even sell them). Now all I have to do is just finish my codings and actually make some programs :D

Busy busy busy….

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This is again a weekend when I just have too much to do. It is interesting why usually all the tasks, jobs, everything that has to be done until a specific day ends up to be done in the same weekend. Okey, I admit, I have been lazy and haven’t done all my jobs when I had time but still, why all deadlines are always in the same week… I just guess that it is just a life or Murphy’s law.
I am still trying to write my Pro Gradu, but it is still quite unfinished. I have noticed that it is quite difficult to have a clear thought what you like to write and when you managed to do that, it is even more difficult to get it out from my mind to the paper. Well, I think it is just about I haven’t concentrate in the writing process enough yet, I just have to sit down and force myself to write, even something. I know that if I get even something to the paper, it would evolve something better in the time. All I just need right now is that draft version but…
Basic problem seems to be that I just say everything too shortly, I just cannot describe and talk about different subjects long enough. And of course, that little thing that I still don’t have a clear view what I should say and how much in which chapters. Well, if I just manage to write something, maybe it would turn into something good… maybe…

Coming sick?

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Just now I have a feeling that I am coming sick. That stupid feeling when you just can’t concentrate well on anything. I guess that I have caught a cold from somewhere. Maybe if I decide that I doesn’t have time to be sick just now I won’t? It does work that way, doesn’t it?
I actually can’t remember when I have been in cold last time. In the autumn I had a stomach flu but cold, I don’t remember that I would have it in the last autumn. I guess that it has to be in the year ago. So I guess that it was a time again, I seem to have a cold at least once a year. But still, I have decided that I won’t have this cold now, I just don’t have time.

Spring in the air

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Today I noticed that it starts to feel like it is spring soon. Roads are getting free from snow. Again yes, not first time this year, no but this time feels different. Now the sun is melting all the snow, roads are full of slush and it is simply sunny, warm, spring like weather now. And today I was feeling like it is spring. I actually had a tough time to decide if I go to take photos by walking or just go to bicycle first time this year (and no, I don’t think that cycling to the work is cycling).
Second thing I noticed is that I have been taking too many photos from my neighborhood, I just seems to be hard to think something new and interesting out there. The nearby forest is boring, it is just too clean, simple and there is just nothing interesting for a photo. And it is really boring looking forest to take photos.
Maybe I just should cycle somewhere where is a little bit more interesting sceneries and stop to take photos there…

Interesting honest ending

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In the august 2007 Finland got a new service in the web, online food store. Basic idea was that you order food from online store and they deliver it to your office where you can just collect it on your way to home.
But that didn’t worked so well and in february 2008 they has ended they business.
This all is of course sad thing but what makes this ending special from other ending in the business world? One little thing, they are open where they failed and are telling their opinions what went wrong in their blog. They just hope that someone who is considering starting a online food store is reading also their blog entry and learns something from there.
Let’s hope that their trying in the online business was not worthless in the end and someone learns something useful from their experience.