New bike, ankle and experiences.

Last week Friday we had a Hot Stones- course in school. It was a lovely day and I really enjoyed learning a new way to massage. Mum, I know you would've liked it as well. I'll teach you when I see you :) On my lunch break me and Rhona went to Big W (like Prisma in Finland) to get me a bike as a pre-Christmas present since my previous one got a flat tire and it would've cost a ridiculous amount to fix it, especially since it was a very old bike. Thank you Rhona! And thank you Ida for letting me keep the basket :)

That same night I managed to sprain my ankle pretty brutally :/ No, mum, I didn't do any extreme sports, it just happened. I kinda wish I had a cool story to brag with but I was actually taking out the trash! Laugh all you want. For the next 2 days I pretty much lay on the couch with a pack of ice on my ankle, watching UFC and eating.

Here's my ankle on Saturday. "It looks like an alien's gona come out of it".

Yesterday after I had finished writing my blog I got a letter in the mail. A 4 page letter from Noona!<3<3<3 I had quite a few laughs reading it and I can guaranty you will be receiving a reply shortly :)

One sunny Sunday (daa) there was a free music event at the Amfitheatre of Bond University, only 2 km from where I live. Since I was in the Bond library studying for my final exams that day it was convenient to take a 2 hour break to see the show. The event started with an 1 hour man, voice & guitar- performance with Tom Webster, a law student at Bond. This guy had a really good voice and I have to give it up to him for standing in direct sunlight that extremely hot day with jeans on! Cio, he looked like a guy you would like ;) After him a surf rock guitarist from the 60's called Martin Cilia, performed with his band playing "golden oldies". One that caught my ear was "Apache" which was originally performed by a band called The Shadows in 1960. This song has since become one of the most popular b-boy beats. Hearing this song got me back to 2004 and Kisis...They also had a lot of surf boards from the 50's- 80's on display and some old school vans.

Tom Webster.

Martin Cilia.

Quite a LONGboard.

Ice-cream of the future.

One of ladies in the audience enjoyed the music to the fullest and danced on the stairs like there's no tomorrow. She also pulled a guy to join her. Unfortunately blogger didn't let me load the video of it. I'll try posting it on Facebook for you guys who want to see it :)

Like I said earlier I was studying for my final exams. We had them (Deep tissue & Reflexology) on 29th November and got them back yesterday. I passed and am quite happy with my results :) Now I don't have to worry about exams or clinic until the end of February! We also had to do a 1 hour "Supervised clinic", which meant that one of our teachers came in to the treatment room to check on me as I massaged. I passed and got positive feedback. My client even called the school the next day to thank me and said that the following morning he woke up without pain for the first time in years. It feels good when you know you've helped someone :)

Today was also the last day of classes which means I don't have to go to school except for my final assessment with Rhona. This means I'm doing an approx. 1 hour massage treatment using all methods I've learned so far and acting in a most professional way. If and when (15.12) I pass that, I can officially call myself a qualified Massage therapist! The graduation will be held on 14.01.2012.

It's been raining for a few days now and this morning it actually felt like I was in Finland. Dark, rainy and cold. I love my country :D

Traditions.

I guess being a (major!) Christmas person, like me, it doesn't really matter in what part of the world you are during this time of year as long as you have your Christmas spirit within! My inner elf has already told me to bake an apple pie and cinnamon buns. They seemed to be highly appreciated but I guess you can never go wrong with home made baking :)

Apple pie before going in the oven.

Here on the Gold Coast you don't see a lot of signs of Christmas. Not just that it's summer here but the fact that hardly anyone have lights or candles in their windows, no door garlands, elves or stars. And the ones that do have some sort of decorations are just tacky. I mean, a pink, plastic, blinking reindeer "decoration" on the lawn in front of your house is more of a violation and hazard than a joyful, holiday spirit- bringing symbol. Or what about those multicolor tubes that blink according to your preferable rhythm? Oh DEER...Why do people want to overload their house with plastic crap that not only looks horrible but leaves a big footprint on mother nature and surprises you on the electricity bill...Oh DEER...

I've always been very traditional with my Christmas celebration and decorations. I don't mean I'm not open for new things but I think Christmas is one of the holidays that are suppose to be a bit "old school". For this I have my parents to thank, for they have always valued the traditions. As a kid Christmas was obviously all about getting presents, but looking back, I'm glad we always did all those traditional things that kept the spirit for all these years. About a week before Christmas me, dad and my bro Toffi walked to the local Christmas tree sales point to buy a the perfect tree. The tree was then decorated with decorations inherited from my late grandparents and the ones made by me and Toffi when we were kids. Year after year, no matter how broken they were we always had the same ones. In the morning of Christmas eve me, dad and Toffi always went to my grandparents graves in Malmi while mum stayed at home starting preparations for the Christmas dinner. We dressed up for dinner but then changed into something more comfortable for the rest of the evening. We would open presents one by one, eat chocolate, cheeses and nuts until we felt sick and sing along to the same carols we've heard for years. I cherish these memories.

During my lifetime I've spent a few Christmases abroad (without snow) but most of my holiday celebrations have been at home or up in Lapland in Finland. Being in Australia this Christmas is going to be very different for me, especially without my family. My family is going to be in 3 different countries this year. Feels weird even thinking about not spending Christmas with the closest people in my life. You will be missed <3
I got a very lovely surprise today as the postman brought a package adressed to me. Inside was a self-made Christmas calendar in fabric with 24 pockets all including a little present. Sent from the BEST MUM IN THE WORLD <3

It's 6th of December which means it's Finland's Independence day! I wish I could be back home to watch Linnanjuhlat (annual VIP party at the presidents castle) on TV just to comment on the do's and don'ts when it comes to dresses and hairstyles :D

Just because it's tradition.