Rolling, rolling, rolling.
Dear diary, I haven't been meaning to neglect you quite so much, but it's been a busy year for me, far more so than I anticipated. I have a lot to talk about, but I'll see when I'll get to actually writing about all the craziness.
Anyway, time to begin with something. It's been a busy year at work in Alko (a government owned liquor store in Finland), but I've enjoyed it despite some of our more hectic days such as Christmas when it gets downright insane in how many customers we have. I was featured in an article in the newspaper because of good customer service, which was nice, and customers in general have been pleased with my way of approaching them. Granted, I've used the "screw it, I'll do things my way" attitude, which basically means being overly polite and with occasional flirting with female customers. I'm not overdoing it, but I do love the look on women's faces when I say things like "a beautiful wine for a beautiful rose of a woman" kind of stuff, which always makes them blush and cough...and later on they come back and hug me (well, most of the time...at least no one's punched me in the face yet xD).
The most difficult thing at work is handling drunk customers; you can't sell them any alcohol, but it can get really tricky trying to get them to leave especially if there are other people behind them in the queue because more witnesses means that they might feel like they're "losing face". It requires a delicate touch, and unfortunately it hasn't always worked out well (so far I've received a few death threats from angered customers despite trying to solve things diplomatically, but thankfully those drunks hardly remember saying stuff like that a few hours after the incident). I do feel that we should have a slightly stricter policy at work about who to sell alcohol to because if drunks come raging to the store or threatening employers, that should give us the right to ban them from entering the store for, like, six months or so just to teach them a lesson. We kind of do have that sort of attitude with thieves (another persistent problem, and they can be really wily although thankfully most of them are stupid so they're caught rather easily) who we can ban from entering the store pretty much for life depending on how severe the thefts have been.
Apart from those hiccups, it's been nice working in Alko. We have kind co-workers for the most part, I have an awesome boss, and the work is challenging and rewarding even though it isn't quite what I'm studying for at the university. I am kind of dreading the upcoming white wine course in spring because I really should focus more on studies but I don't want to let my boss down either (and I am interested in learning more about white wines beyond the basics which I've learned so far).
I'm still in the process of trying to get my B.A. thesis done and then move on to Master's in English. Sadly the upkeep of the house requires me to work quite a bit to cover the expenses (thanks a lot for raising the costs of electricity, by the way, municipality!), so I often don't have much time for studying especially when choir, games, friends, family and creative writing are added into the mix. It really is a shame, but I know I don't want to burn out by studying or working too much because I had a nasty reminder of that when studying for my matriculation examination (which in hindsight I spent way too much time for and which could've had severe consequences for my health had I not realized in time that I should take it more easy to preserve my sanity xD). I do want to get it all done as soon as possible although I'm not sure how well I'll find work as a translator. I'm not really interested in becoming a teacher although I'm not ruling out the possibility. Right now my interests simply lie in translation and writing (although I know that unless I write a hit novel, which I doubt, I won't be able to support myself with writing alone unless translation is added in). Things look rather dire for translators as the employers use services from abroad which are cheaper. I worry for the future of Finnish tv and novel translation (not to mention document translation), but we'll see what happens on that front. My colleagues and I at the uni keep our fingers crossed, though.
Speaking of the novel, I've had some pretty encouraging feedback from the people I've shown snippets of its draft to. I have two novel ideas: one is a more post-modern, existentialist one where a novel's character realizes he's fictional and has to deal with metatext and genres and all that stuff, and the other is a darker fantasy novel from which Refan and various other tGA characters of mine actually originate. Fantasy seem to be "in" at the moment in Finnish literature market, which I like. I started writing the fantasy draft before Harry Potter and LotR became popular, and I've tested the characters at tGA RPing site to see how well they'd actually work in a fantasy setting. The experiences with the forum RP have been most rewarding and have given me confidence in fleshing out and fixing the characters in appropriate ways. Both the postmodern and fantasy novel do require some extensive research (not to mention reading, reading, reading and writing, writing and writing as Stephen King once said), but I don't know how much time I actually have when I have so many other obligations at the moment. I do want to get these novels done; I've poured so much of my creativity into them, and even if critics end up blasting them to pieces, I won't mind as long as one single individual besides me enjoys them; that would be reward enough. As for the fantasy novel, the ideas I have in mind are rather grand in scope as I envision it as a sort of convoluted generational saga; I would like to limit the cast, but I understand that each role is necessary for the story, and I hope I can figure out how to keep it narrow enough while still allowing different points of view to shine. Studying Finnish and other cultures' mythologies has helped, but I still need to check on a few Medieval sources as well as books about Medieval music (which will play a key role at least in my first novel's draft). I could write on and on about my plans, but I think this will do for now.
I've also tried to reacquaint myself with EoFF and, hopefully, UltimateDisney/DVDizzy, not to mention keeping in touch with the mostly fine TVTropes crew. It can be daunting at times, but I hope I'll manage; I've made quite a few buddies over there, too, even though I haven't been quite as active there as I used to be.
As for games, I've found myself enjoying a bit too many of them lately, but I can't help myself. Diablo 3 and particularly Guild Wars 2 (which I ended up buying after so many friends urged me to try it out, and I was curious of seeing whether it was worth the hype) have ended up being rather nice experiences. I suppose I'll talk about them in more detail later. Nothing major has happened on the music front either; I've found a few nice albums and scores but nothing that has really blown my mind. Even the Hobbit soundtrack, while good, wasn't quite an eyeopened as the original Lord of the Rings soundtracks were. But maybe it's also been that I haven't been looking for new albums quite so actively recently due to hectic work and studies (not to mention our choir's Christmas concert which went rather well). I've seen a bunch of interesting films too, both old and new ones, and I know I have that long list of movie reviews way overdue assuming I find the motivation to actually finish the darn thing and post it. We'll see.
Things haven't really progressed on the "female front" either, but I suppose part of it has to do with my busy schedule. I've befriended a few nice girls online and IRL, but nothing has really come out of it so far. Then again, I'm in no hurry, so we'll see how things go. We've had plenty of nice conversations, and I'm glad to call all of them my friends. I did go to bars a couple of times to talk to people, but people there aren't exactly opening up to me. I'm not sure how well a girlfriend would actually fit into my current convoluted life, but I think that I let things happen at their own pace. If stuff happens, it happens. I'm patient, and I'll keep my eyes open. And whatever happens, I've at least made friends with lots of nice girls, which give me faith in humanity after all the sad things that have been happening here in Finland and in the rest of the world lately. Facebook, despite its severe flaws, really is rather good at staying in touch with most people. And those who don't frequent them either meet me face to face, talk by phone or chat via AIM and Live Messenger, so it's all good.
Even though Facebook and other sites keep eating the population of places like LJ, I will keep posting my thoughts and keeping the diary entry for everyone to view. I've enjoyed writing my thoughts down on the site for all these years, and I know I never would've put such an effort on writing things down on an actual, private diary. Let's hope LiveJournal keeps on going for the unforeseeable future and that it'll keep inspiring a bunch of people to write down their thoughts and share their views to the rest of the world. I know I'll be doing it, and I'll enjoy every minute of it (whenever I can spare the time). :)
That's it for now, but I hope to write more soon. Until then, take care, everyone, and Happy Holidays!
Yours,
Mikko
Anyway, time to begin with something. It's been a busy year at work in Alko (a government owned liquor store in Finland), but I've enjoyed it despite some of our more hectic days such as Christmas when it gets downright insane in how many customers we have. I was featured in an article in the newspaper because of good customer service, which was nice, and customers in general have been pleased with my way of approaching them. Granted, I've used the "screw it, I'll do things my way" attitude, which basically means being overly polite and with occasional flirting with female customers. I'm not overdoing it, but I do love the look on women's faces when I say things like "a beautiful wine for a beautiful rose of a woman" kind of stuff, which always makes them blush and cough...and later on they come back and hug me (well, most of the time...at least no one's punched me in the face yet xD).
The most difficult thing at work is handling drunk customers; you can't sell them any alcohol, but it can get really tricky trying to get them to leave especially if there are other people behind them in the queue because more witnesses means that they might feel like they're "losing face". It requires a delicate touch, and unfortunately it hasn't always worked out well (so far I've received a few death threats from angered customers despite trying to solve things diplomatically, but thankfully those drunks hardly remember saying stuff like that a few hours after the incident). I do feel that we should have a slightly stricter policy at work about who to sell alcohol to because if drunks come raging to the store or threatening employers, that should give us the right to ban them from entering the store for, like, six months or so just to teach them a lesson. We kind of do have that sort of attitude with thieves (another persistent problem, and they can be really wily although thankfully most of them are stupid so they're caught rather easily) who we can ban from entering the store pretty much for life depending on how severe the thefts have been.
Apart from those hiccups, it's been nice working in Alko. We have kind co-workers for the most part, I have an awesome boss, and the work is challenging and rewarding even though it isn't quite what I'm studying for at the university. I am kind of dreading the upcoming white wine course in spring because I really should focus more on studies but I don't want to let my boss down either (and I am interested in learning more about white wines beyond the basics which I've learned so far).
I'm still in the process of trying to get my B.A. thesis done and then move on to Master's in English. Sadly the upkeep of the house requires me to work quite a bit to cover the expenses (thanks a lot for raising the costs of electricity, by the way, municipality!), so I often don't have much time for studying especially when choir, games, friends, family and creative writing are added into the mix. It really is a shame, but I know I don't want to burn out by studying or working too much because I had a nasty reminder of that when studying for my matriculation examination (which in hindsight I spent way too much time for and which could've had severe consequences for my health had I not realized in time that I should take it more easy to preserve my sanity xD). I do want to get it all done as soon as possible although I'm not sure how well I'll find work as a translator. I'm not really interested in becoming a teacher although I'm not ruling out the possibility. Right now my interests simply lie in translation and writing (although I know that unless I write a hit novel, which I doubt, I won't be able to support myself with writing alone unless translation is added in). Things look rather dire for translators as the employers use services from abroad which are cheaper. I worry for the future of Finnish tv and novel translation (not to mention document translation), but we'll see what happens on that front. My colleagues and I at the uni keep our fingers crossed, though.
Speaking of the novel, I've had some pretty encouraging feedback from the people I've shown snippets of its draft to. I have two novel ideas: one is a more post-modern, existentialist one where a novel's character realizes he's fictional and has to deal with metatext and genres and all that stuff, and the other is a darker fantasy novel from which Refan and various other tGA characters of mine actually originate. Fantasy seem to be "in" at the moment in Finnish literature market, which I like. I started writing the fantasy draft before Harry Potter and LotR became popular, and I've tested the characters at tGA RPing site to see how well they'd actually work in a fantasy setting. The experiences with the forum RP have been most rewarding and have given me confidence in fleshing out and fixing the characters in appropriate ways. Both the postmodern and fantasy novel do require some extensive research (not to mention reading, reading, reading and writing, writing and writing as Stephen King once said), but I don't know how much time I actually have when I have so many other obligations at the moment. I do want to get these novels done; I've poured so much of my creativity into them, and even if critics end up blasting them to pieces, I won't mind as long as one single individual besides me enjoys them; that would be reward enough. As for the fantasy novel, the ideas I have in mind are rather grand in scope as I envision it as a sort of convoluted generational saga; I would like to limit the cast, but I understand that each role is necessary for the story, and I hope I can figure out how to keep it narrow enough while still allowing different points of view to shine. Studying Finnish and other cultures' mythologies has helped, but I still need to check on a few Medieval sources as well as books about Medieval music (which will play a key role at least in my first novel's draft). I could write on and on about my plans, but I think this will do for now.
I've also tried to reacquaint myself with EoFF and, hopefully, UltimateDisney/DVDizzy, not to mention keeping in touch with the mostly fine TVTropes crew. It can be daunting at times, but I hope I'll manage; I've made quite a few buddies over there, too, even though I haven't been quite as active there as I used to be.
As for games, I've found myself enjoying a bit too many of them lately, but I can't help myself. Diablo 3 and particularly Guild Wars 2 (which I ended up buying after so many friends urged me to try it out, and I was curious of seeing whether it was worth the hype) have ended up being rather nice experiences. I suppose I'll talk about them in more detail later. Nothing major has happened on the music front either; I've found a few nice albums and scores but nothing that has really blown my mind. Even the Hobbit soundtrack, while good, wasn't quite an eyeopened as the original Lord of the Rings soundtracks were. But maybe it's also been that I haven't been looking for new albums quite so actively recently due to hectic work and studies (not to mention our choir's Christmas concert which went rather well). I've seen a bunch of interesting films too, both old and new ones, and I know I have that long list of movie reviews way overdue assuming I find the motivation to actually finish the darn thing and post it. We'll see.
Things haven't really progressed on the "female front" either, but I suppose part of it has to do with my busy schedule. I've befriended a few nice girls online and IRL, but nothing has really come out of it so far. Then again, I'm in no hurry, so we'll see how things go. We've had plenty of nice conversations, and I'm glad to call all of them my friends. I did go to bars a couple of times to talk to people, but people there aren't exactly opening up to me. I'm not sure how well a girlfriend would actually fit into my current convoluted life, but I think that I let things happen at their own pace. If stuff happens, it happens. I'm patient, and I'll keep my eyes open. And whatever happens, I've at least made friends with lots of nice girls, which give me faith in humanity after all the sad things that have been happening here in Finland and in the rest of the world lately. Facebook, despite its severe flaws, really is rather good at staying in touch with most people. And those who don't frequent them either meet me face to face, talk by phone or chat via AIM and Live Messenger, so it's all good.
Even though Facebook and other sites keep eating the population of places like LJ, I will keep posting my thoughts and keeping the diary entry for everyone to view. I've enjoyed writing my thoughts down on the site for all these years, and I know I never would've put such an effort on writing things down on an actual, private diary. Let's hope LiveJournal keeps on going for the unforeseeable future and that it'll keep inspiring a bunch of people to write down their thoughts and share their views to the rest of the world. I know I'll be doing it, and I'll enjoy every minute of it (whenever I can spare the time). :)
That's it for now, but I hope to write more soon. Until then, take care, everyone, and Happy Holidays!
Yours,
Mikko