What's up
The four weeks that I have been unemployed now have flown by very quickly. Originally this was the length of time I had considered staying on "vacation", so with that in mind, I should be returning to work on Monday. Scary thought. I am not ready yet.

On the other hand, I should start looking for a new job by now. They don't grow on trees and there's no guarantee that I will actually find work when I want. Better to find one now while I still have money left, I suppose.

In other news, I want to become a full-time student again. Last year I worked full-time and studied on the side. I want the opposite now. After years and years of not getting anything done academically, it is really great to have motivation and energy once more. In my dreams I will get my master's degree in 1.5 years from now and that will help me to finally get a job that I will actually like.

One of my mother's dogs died today, right in her lap. After their greatly beloved and still sorely missed dog died last November, they finally agreed this summer to give a home to two new dogs. They were already around twelve years old both, but in great shape. Coco was a very curious one, always sticking her nose everywhere and she ate everything she could find. This time she ate a corn stalk (?) which ended up lodged inside of her, which lead to her being operated and then today she just suddenly stopped breathing. I am beginning to wonder why people get pets at all. So much sorrow.

Posted 20:44

About vacations
General Motors in USA is letting its workers buy five extra vacation days, $175 each. Excuse me? Buy? They only get two weeks as it and to get a few days more, you have to pay? Is this the norm in the USA?

Hurray to Finland. We get five weeks off (less than in some other European countries even), all paid with a vacation bonus too and if you really need more days then it's just unpaid. Also, there's no such concept as sick days. If you're sick, then you're just sick, no matter how often. Go to a doctor and everything is paid for.

Not that any of this really concerns me right now though. My "work" today has been cleaning my apartment.

Posted 14:24

Things look good
I couldn't have picked a better time to begin my life of unemployment. The whole summer has been horrible weatherwise so far, except for last week when the heat finally arrived.

So far: Seven days of heat, six days of unemployment, six days of swimming on a beach, five different beaches.

My life couldn't improve much more from this. When the sun shines, Finland turns into a paradise during summers. If it weren't for the whole money issue, I could do this forever.

Posted 15:30

Oh no
I only now read that Richard Biggs has died, at the end of May, of a stroke. He played Dr. Franklin on the tv series Babylon 5. He was only 44.

Posted 15:23

L.A. Story
One of my favorite movies of all time, absolutely.

"All I know is, on the day your plane was to leave, if I had the power, I would turn the winds around, I would roll in the fog, I would bring in storms. I would change the polarity of the Earth so compasses couldn't work, so your plane couldn't take off."

"Why is it that we don't always recognize the moment when love begins, but we always know when it ends."

Posted 22:41