cerealjoe | ADIML - July 7th, 2010

It's another "A Day In My Life" post! If you're in the ADIML community, you can check out the previous ones: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12

This is a slightly modified version of the post that will appear in that community, all the content under the cut is the same though.

July 7th, 2010. Starts early. Actually all of my days start early.

No, I don't look tired because I got up early, I always get up early. I just naturally have a tired face... some people say it's a sad face ("tristounette") but I do smile from time to time.

Mint toothpaste in the morning, green tea toothpaste at night.

Nothing beats a spoonful of coffee grinds in a tall glass of water left in the fridge overnight. Just add a tad of almond extract and some cream and it's the best thing to have at work.

The ground is wet but that has never stopped me from going anywhere.

I knew those mirror tiles in the building entry hall would come in handy. Yes, the glasses are there for nothing.

Time to extract my bike from the mass. There are mornings when it can take a good five minutes.

Well, it seems that cycling in the rain is the new black... but that means that there are no photos of the cycling route.

At the office with my "sippy" bottle.

I don't think there are many others who are at their office at the uni willingly at this time.

Great paperweight.

See, I always look like that.

For almost two years and a half I didn't have to deal with French bureaucracy (not that Finland doesn't have its fair share of bureaucracy)... contracts, documents, things to fill in and send it all in as soon as possible because almost everyone is on holiday in about two weeks.

Mid-morning break at 9am. Posting about the mirror tiles and my love for Marimekko.

Morning dilemma: search my emails to find out which secretary is not on holiday these days or just go to the post office myself.

The sun was out and the walk to the post office took me close to the shop... and it's probably illegal to go within a 500m radius of a shop that sells ice cream and not buy any.

As I was the only one in the office I figured I'd have a snack and leave early to have a late lunch at home.

I'm pretty sure those are raw peanuts. I actually don't know what they are, I just love them.

Noon: twitter complaining time. In retrospective I think it's more allergies kicking back in than a cold.

1pm: checking where the rain clouds are. It should be ok to get out at around 2pm.

I don't think that I'll be able to cycle daily on a non-80s bike after owning this one.

Cycling through the islands to get home.

About a third of the way is on a dirt road, it's actually quite pleasant except that there are a few uphill/downhill sections which have bared rocks in them. I bet they're fine on a bike with larger tires but on mine sometimes the back wheel slides a bit, especially going downhill.

Bridges to cross between the islands.

Finally home. Postcards and news about the metro. They're expending the metro to Lauttasaari/Otaniemi/Tapiola and it's definitely not too soon! There are so few 102T/103T buses going to Otaniemi in the morning and coming back from there at night that most of the time in the winter one must spend hours waiting at the Hanasaari bus stop and waiting on a bridge when it's -20C and snowing and windy is not fun. Hopefully that metro will be somewhat ready by the time I come back next year.

Tea makes everything better.

Lunch with available ingredients. Tuna, egg, onion, olive oil and shredded cheese. It's much better than it sounds, it's the olive oil that's the key ingredient.

4pm and it's nice outside and there is nothing in the fridge. Time to drop off books at the library and go to the shop.

This is why I love summer in Finland, especially in Lauttasaari, there are wild flowers and they're left to prosper.

The other thing I'll miss is being able to walk or cycle almost anywhere in the Helsinki/Espoo region. I think if it's further than 15km one way I'd take a bus or metro but otherwise there's no need to.

This is turning into a "things I'll miss" post. Ah well. I only have 20 odds days left in Finland till next summer.

There is this joke that the four seasons in Helsinki are: almost winter, winter, still winter and road works. That was true this past year. There are roadworks everywhere these days!

Could this be what is causing the cold symptoms?

I'm a champion when it comes to buying food. I go to the shop to buy ingredients for dinner, I come back with only viili and grapes.

I have no clue what the heck they put on grapes to get them to Finland but it feels like one must wash them for half an hour to get them back to being properly green.

At 6pm it seems like a waste to stay indoors when the sun is out. Time to head to the grassy area close to the beach. You know how much soup and other stuff you could make with this?

Oh right, they're having those sports sessions outdoors these days in the evening.

Number of times I've had to renew this book at the library: 3.

Lying back, indulging in my cloudspotting ways.

8pm.

Yes, I do have a fascination with wildflowers.

Viili pancakes. Secret ingredient: fleur d'oranger. I brought back the bottle with me about two years ago, it's one of the smallest sizes you can get in Marseille but unheard of in these parts of the world.

Pancakes/shredded cheese dinner. I take living like an adult very seriously.

Seeing how my contact lenses are almost falling out after a few hours outside, the allergy option seems more and more plausible. Time to switch to glasses and enjoy the pancakes while watching the few Family Outing episodes I haven't seen.

10pm. A time like no other to wash the dishes.

Still light out there.

I've been a bad football fan this World Cup season. But heck, could you blame me?

My eyes look their greenest when there is little light.

See, this is what I missed while in Korea. Being able to go for a walk at night because it's light out there. This is also why I start getting winter blues in October.