From A Birthday Grin Into A Miserable Grimm

Hello, hello.

I've actually been wanting blog all week but there has always been a but in the way.

.. "but I'm going that tomorrow and that's something I want to post about!" 



This blog post includes the story of my 26th Birthday, the passport incident, the Cranky week and the awesome weekend.

Imma start from my birthday.

Like every year, I waited for my birthday like a little kid waits for Christmas. A LOT. I was giddy and not able to sleep the night before. My birthday started on Thursday when Salla gave me an AWESOME gift.

Salla had tried to keep her gift as a secret and was being very successful innit ergo driving me bananas but just at the last minute, I said the right thing and she twitched. I struck a nerve. 

I said to Salla, just 'randomly' how Katri had planned to buy me a Fjällräven back bag (back bags which I love and use daily) and even thought she was very cool about it - I know my friends face and there was something about what I had said that made her twitch. Just a very tiny twitch but it got me thinking ....maybe. Did she?

There are three things which I need/ed: back bag, wallet and phone covers. I knew she wouldn't give me a wallet as we have a very different opinion between the functionality between a purse and a wallet. If Salla had given me a proper wallet, there is a slim chance I would've used it. Anyway. I got a back bag - and I LOVE IT. Now, all I need is the new phone covers. 

((Thanks dear :))

Friday morning started with three phone calls from mum. I didn't pick up because I was on late shift and work didn't start until 9.30. I got nice set of hugs from the kids at playschool and tons and tons of Facebook messages. Most of my day I tried to reply all the messages and Happy Birthdays that I received. I do admit, it was my old playschool whose birthday message got me in tears. Due confidentiality reasons I can't post the pic but I got a message from Tiia, a picture where all the kids and teachers were sitting on the sofa and they all had big bold letters in their hands spelling:

"Happy Birthday Jenni". It was truly one of the best things I've received on my birthday ever. Appreciated and loved. Thank you Tiia, Sarita and everyone else.

I was on late shift that day which meant I didn't get to leave until 5pm. Katri came to greet and meet me at the Playschool and we took off for a late dinner after work. Katri gave me all sorts of nail polish because I'm obsessed with it! Katri also paid my dinner and spent quality time with me on that Friday and also on Saturday.

I DIDN'T plan to go out as I was pretty tired after an all week of late shift but did anyway. I shouldn't have as I was still feeling pretty tired and I most definitely shouldn't have taken any vodka. Mixing all drinks and feeling tired only to go out out and about for a little while didn't bring me anything but trouble the next Sunday morning as I was hangover as hell. With pounding headache and nausea I suffered through the day only to have a very busy next week.

Was my birthday successful? Yes and no. I was very taken by the fact my friends and some of my family bent over backwards to make my day special. Salla's gifts and cakes, Katri and the dinner, all the birthday wishes on Facebook, inbox and text messages made me feel truly loved. There was a one thing missing though. My dad. Still today my dad has not send me a happy birthday wish and it did turn my feelings a bit blue but what can you do, people can't always remember birthdays and such. ****

I have to tell you the passport story.

As you know from my previous blogpost, my passport pick was pretty awful. Wellllllll, I decided to use it anyway as I couldn't be bothered of getting a new one but as I went to the police station I turned into a nervous wreck. Honestly. I don't know what got into me but I was all the sudden very nervous. Apparently I'm very afraid of the authority. At the police station I was jumpy and restless. I bet I seemd very suspicious.

When I was called in for the passport application, I was completely empty minded, air headed even. When the nice police man (and also rather handsome one!) asked me to put my index fingers to the machine - I put my thumbs there. "Miss, those are your thumbs - not your index fingers" Sorry sorry. But the best part was when the policeman saw my passport pic, I'm not kidding you - he started laughing. "OH, whoa - that's a scared face! Did the flash took you by a surprise?" .... Yea. Luckily that nerve wracking experience was soon over and I was able to breathe again. I know kids are taught to respect authority but I didn't know that ran so deep within me. No wonder I have never broken the law, I'd get a heart attack before the act. 

Tuesday and Wednesday I was in a such foul mood that even Salla tried to get me to talk about and on Wednesday she kept quiet. The birthday blues continued all last week, well till Thursday.

What caused it? 

Don't really know.

The stress, the fact dad forgot my birthday, the bad hangover on Sunday, family issues - whatever caused the blue feeling went away on Thursday as I woke up into a much better day. Feeling like a bride on a wedding morning I was rocking the day. My morning circle has never been as good as it was that day and I was feeling happy - and after four days of awful it was nice to be back to myself.

Friday was one of the best days in this Spring as I got to spend it with Hanna and Anni. 

Hanna and Anni, my dear friends I met while studying in the USA came together for an unofficial birthday dinner. Hanna actually doesn't live around here so she came down after work with train and picked her up from the train station. We got to mine as she gave me some awesome birthday gifts. We drank some wine while waiting for Anni to be done with her manicure. All three of us went to the sushi and wok restaurant called Bambu. 



I'm fairly virgin when it comes to sushi so it was fun to do something different. I was struggling with the sticks at first but after a while and few tries got the hang of it. We ate and drank at Bambu until I noticed that we were the only ones left and the waiter told us that they are closing soon enough. WELL the girls and I finished the sushi and took off to Anni's house. All three of us were very close once, we were an American family and even though all our lives has moved on since - we've grown - some things never change. All three of us were the same people, grown up and older but also the same. It felt like having my family over for that one night because in America, when our families were over seas, we became a family. Thank you girls for the lovely evening. Love you so so much.

I was so happy to meet up with Anni and Hanna that I decided that it's time to see some other people too, whose company I haven't had the pleasure of enjoying lately.  So, on Saturday Vanessa and Merlin came over for a girls night in. (Well, Merlin is a man but a very small and pleasant man dog.) 












Me and Vanessa took off to town to exchange some boring daycare stories so Salla gladly stayed behind with Merlin. The evening literally was a text book a girls night as all three of us dyed our hair. Technically I dyed all three heads but the girls were grateful. I also fixed Vanessa's nails. A night wouldn't be called a girls night without wine and a movie, we did both. Drank wine, ate homemade pizza and watched the Easy A. I KNOW I've seen the movie like eight times but what can you do, Emma Stone is just awesome innit. 

Vanessa stayed the night so I got to wake up next to a dog in the morning, not referring to Vanessa but to Merlin who came to meet and greet me when he woke up.

We took Merlin into a dog park and Vanessa said the wisest thing. Merlin was chasing the leaves and Vanessa said: He likes to chase leaves, it's the simple things in life you know? Like chasing the leaves.

In a midst of all the horrible things that went on last week in America and the dark and grim news we hear everyday .. you start to think of it:

When did we stop chasing the leaves? When did we turn into this? To be so negative, angry and full of hate and despair. When did everything became so serious and worrisome?  When did we turn into grown ups and forgot how to play nicely?

Why can't we appreciate the simple things in life, like chasing the leaves? 

Seems like the dog days are over. 

Vanessa and Merlin left and I did too. I haven't seen Sanni for a while and it was a beautiful Sunny day here in Helsinki so I went for a walk and cup of coffee with my dear friend. 

We walked to a small cafe by the Sea and enjoyed the Spring Sun and it was nice to see that the ice was melting - the shore was open :)

There you have it. A week filled with mixed feelings. I have been emotionally a bit over the edge not only because of my birthday but also because I dealt with some unfinished business with a friend that has been worrying me. I've been thinking about school and friends overseas and I was a bit anxious taking the metro on Monday. It pisses me of how acts of some and affect everyone. I hate being anxious in the movie theater or when taking a metro - you never know when your days are numbered. Luckily I've been less grim and seeing old friends and hanging around a happy dog does make everything better.

What's next?

Salla's birthday is next weekend which is going to be fun. I just bought her present the other day and I hope she'll like it.

Because of her birthday we have friends coming over the weekend.

Then it's the 1st of May celebrations, buying the plane tickets to Milan and Paris.. The world cup of Hockey will start just in two weeks time and it's the last four weeks of Spring semester in Playschool. When May comes to an end some of my kids are going to preschool and I'm getting new kids in. Also my heart is a bit heavy that I can't say proper goodbyes to the juniors in my old playschool in Vaasa. It's what teachers go through every year - some will stay but some will go. Goodbyes lies ahead.

But, we are finally and officially done with winter and it's only five weeks to Summer and two months to Europe. 


Have a good week ya'll. Remember to love each other and chase some leaves!

Jenni

ps. I have to show you what I got from Hanna!