State of Finland Address

Well folks, you know what time it is. It's been too long since I've hopped on that blog train. The world has been spinning in more ways than one(actually I can think of quite a few right off the top of my head, I'm not gonna tell you though). Everything has been nutty so it's time to go nuts on this blog again. That's right folks, because when life hands me lemons I say f*** it and make orange juice. Let's do this thing.


Alright I thought about writing this blog post like a speech, after realizing that's a horrible idea I thought I would just tell you what this place is starting to look and feel like. Don't worry, we'll soon do some real catching up on some of the cooooool stuff I've done since March. As for now, I thought this was becoming quite necessary.


You know since I'm not at my computer right at the moment, I might have to add some more pictures later.....just because I think I don't have all the necessary tools. But hey, for now, we'll work with what we got, k?


The snow is almost gone!!! Holy crap it's amazing how it just peaced out. If the snow were staring in a movie right now, the movie would be called "the last stand." It would then get sued.

First week of April we had temperatures around 0 degrees Fahrenheit, then the next week it shot up to about 40 degrees. At that point it started raining and literally feet of snow started melting per day. Before it had played around with the idea for a few weeks, maybe the snow would melt one day a little bit but then it would go back to below freezing and snow like a mofo. This time it was serious, the weather had hit the snooze button for too long. It was time to get up out of bed and make a nice warm breakfast with something we call the sun.

The snooze button analogy can be extended to the Finnish people as well. I'll get to that in a minute though. Right now we're talkin about snow. SO hold on. The amazing thing is that the temperature has been well above freezing for something like two weeks now, and the snow is not really -completely- completely gone at all. So maybe I was wrong, the movie with the snow would be called "Die Hard." That would be waaay more badass. It would still get sued though.

Grassy areas are still at least partly covered with snow deep enough to jump in at some points. I would never recommend that though. This snow is very very very gross looking. Not to mention that the melting and freezing has caused some of it just to be a huge lump of ice. So jumping in the snow might yeild so much fun. Not. Perhaps a bloody nose and a disease. It's interesting how the dirt in the snow slowly overtakes the snow as it melts.

When it snows, there is always a little bit of dirt that gets on it somehow. Either it's the sand/gravel they put on the roads, or dogs poopin in the snow(people here love their dogs, and their dogs use a litter box called any place with snow), or whatever it may be. So each time it snows, that layer of snow catches a little dirt, then it snows again, etc. So when those layers start to melt, all that's left is the dirt that got on the layers. So the smaller a snowpile is, the more it just looks like a pile of dirt. Some snowpiles are just black completely, it's sexy.

So I've started biking to campus, I know be proud. Either way, this causes a bit of a ridiculous problem. Why? Well what's the theme people? The snowmelt again. OMG. So absurd. soooooo absurd. In fact, I probably can't fit everything in one blog I now realize. wow. anyways, so first biking is really absurd for at least a week in there, because all the snow on the walk ways melts a but then freezes. It's literally about a 4 inch thick sheet of black ice on the side walk. Yes, I've fallen. 4 times now I think. Then after that, the snow on the walkway melts and you still have water on the walkway because the snow on the side of the walkway is melting for weeks after. When it's still a bit cold in that stage, the weather/walkway likes to do magic tricks. One in particular it likes is the old disappearing and reappearing black ice sheets trick.

Yup the oldest trick in the book. You ride along one day, taking note of where the ice is and where it is not. Then the next day you go on the bike and make sure to take care on the parts with the ice but then go a little faster on the parts without ice. After all, you do want to get to campus one day. BUT hold on, the ice you saw earlier the day before melted sometime later in the daytime, it's gone. Oh good. BUT HOLD ON AGAIN, snow melted onto the walkway in another place along your path and then froze during the night. Oooops, going a little fast for this parCRASH!!! Very funny Mother Nature, you're a natural commedian. Get it? Natural? hahahaa. Now look who's the natural commedian.

So then you get to the stage where it's all water. This is okay for some people, but as always, I have bike problems. My bike doesn't have a sufficient mud guard, so I come to school looking completely ridiculous and spotted with mud. Somehow mud even gets on the front of my coat. How? I have no idea. Really the worst part is the seat of my pants. If I may, I will now express this pictorially:

That's exactly what my face looks like too.

Here is what some of the mess looks like. So endearing haha. 

Sometimes I try to protect the seat of my pants and my comfort for the rest of the day in general by putting my glove in harms way. I used to do it open palm but now have learned that just makes my glove wet. This is an art people, an art.

Don't even start to think I'm done with this enormous blog post. Well actually I might be almost done. Because I think I need to break this thing up. It's probably because of the 90% rambling I do. Alright people. I'll finish this bad boy soon. We'll get all caught up! Peace out blogosphere!