Kathleen's Adventures

January 30, 2015 - the day my boss took me to lunch and asked if I wanted to move to Finland...aka "the day my life turned upside down."  Note: upside down isn't necessarily a bad thing...it is just entirely different. In the ~ 22 months since that date:  114 - number of flights taken 22  - countries visited (21 of those new) - Finland, Norway, Estonia, France, Singapore, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, UK, Peru, Panama, Hungary, Indonesia, Iceland, Sweden, Portugal, Ireland, Czech Republic, Spain, Scotland, Russia, Thailand. 15 - number of times I crossed "the pond" (I went the other way once) 6 - number of trips to Amsterdam to see Caitlin (and most recent two trips to see her adorable baby, my Godson, Theo.  And Peter, let's not forget Peter - my Amsterdam running buddy.) 5 - number of trips to France and Norway, including a tour of the American D-Day beaches that for me can only be described as indescrible.  4 - number of trip...

I've written a million blog posts in my head over the last year plus, but none of them have made it out of my head.  This one is finally going to make it to print though!  I've been writing over several weeks, adding to it when I think of something. Hopefully down the road it will help me look back on my time here with fondness, and also to remember to appreciate the conveniences and comfort of  home. Things I'll miss about Finland: Instant hot water from the faucet, and reasonably cold (tasty and refreshing) water after a short wait The sauna in my apartment Riding my pink piece of shit Jopo bicycle around town.  I realized approximately 2 seconds after handing a guy way too much cash that the bike was mostly likely stolen and in way worse shape than advertised.  I wrote it off as an insurance policy - as in if it looks like a POS, hopefully no one will steal it.  So far, so good.  It also still works just fine after being outside all winter ...

(written on August 27 - just now posting) Tuesday marked three months since I moved away from Austin.  I wouldn’t really say I’ve been in Helsinki three months since my schedule has been so crazy, but I’ve definitely been somewhere other than home for that time.  The thing that happens each time I think three months is another number automatically pops in my head – 21.  Probably not great if I’m already counting down the months – if not consciously, subconsciously.  I’m on the plane from London to Austin with several hours on my hands and am hoping I finally post an update or two (or draft them – no wifi which is highly unfortunate). Overall, I’d say the last three months have been fairly high or fairly low – not much of an in-between.  The highs are when I’ve traveled with family or co-workers or when they have been visiting me.  The lows are when I’m in a new place alone or in Helsinki without much to do.  The unfortunate thing about the hig...

I've had three days out of the last four that somewhat resemble what I would have expected for "summer" in Finland - maybe a bit cooler than I expected, but still nice and worth spending many hours outside.  I have come to recognize and appreciate a few things here recently and feel that they are worth noting - if nothing more, to remind myself come about November or so when I wonder why the hell I moved here. 1.  Public transportation is great.  Granted it isn't quick sometimes (getting home takes ~50 minutes usually), but I can mentally check out while on the bus - I'm not stressed in traffic. 2.  Amazing running routes.  My only regret right now is that I have about zero endurance so I can't make as much use of the trails as I'd like.  I am exploring some by bike which is nice too. Combination of 1 and 2: Taking public transportation to run.  I can hop a tram or bus and go however far away and run home. 3.  While it is a bit of a pain a...

I will never forget the feeling of driving away from Camp Olympia in the backseat of my parents' car year after year.  The pit in my stomach presented itself the second we drove out of the gates and hung around for a while.  The realization that it was going to be a full year before I was there again and the realization that I had to go home without my amazing camp friends were sometimes almost too much to bear for my adolescent self.  I would walk around almost like a zombie the first few days back home, numb, just not sure what to do with myself.  Sure enough though it was never long before regular life got going again - the longing in my heart to be back there would go from insatiable to a more manageable presence that never fully went away. My nieces have all experienced something similar, even after their first year at age eight.  Kate's hangover started before closing day lunch was even over her first year and I had to take her on a walk (she was little ...

My amount of "busy" has certainly not lessened however it is thankfully somewhat moving away from the frustrations of the first several days here.  I've been here three weeks and one day now - in some ways it seems like I've been here way longer and in others, I'm surprised time has gone by this fast. I had my residence permit appointment on Monday, June 1.  I asked them how the timing of my 90 days allowed in the country worked and they (immigration) said they didn't really know, that they had heard different things, and that I should call border patrol during one of the three hours they are answer phones a week.  Seriously.  The attorney checked in after my application and seemed to think it was taking around 2 months to process specialist applications (what I applied for), but that they couldn't guarantee anything with summer holiday coming up.  Awesome. Looking like I would probably get kicked out (run out of my 90 days) before the permit comes.  ...

Posting from my phone on the bus to work Monday morning. This weekend went by way too fast. I slept until almost noon Saturday because I kept assuming it was early each time I woke up. I guess I needed it, but it seriously ate into my day.  I went on a short run after I woke up and saw some pretty sights. I meant to take my credit card because I wanted to stop in Finlayson and see if I saw any bedding/sheets there I liked. I didn't go back for my card because I figured I could still look and would go back another time if there was anything I liked. Well of course there was something I liked, duvet covers that were 25% off for my guest room. Sale ended Saturday. Store closed at 4. I had kayak plans at 3 that I had to leave home at 2:40 for. It was 1:48. So I sprinted back home, got my card, sprinted back, bought the covers (in their famous elephant print) while dripping sweat in the store, and then hightailed it back home. Got home at 2:30 and left at 2:40 to walk to the kayak ...