NORMAL LIFE: A Bit Of Reflection

Uskomatonta on syyskuu! Yes, I can't believe it's September already. This time last year, I had just left Finland and in December, I will definitely celebrate the fact that I returned because it was soooo the right thing to do.

As the summer draws to a close and the evenings start to get darker and cooler, you often reflect on what you have done this summer, how you have made it memorable, what you did to make the best of Finland's driest summer in 100 years (see here).

Because I started my new job in May, I haven't had the one month holiday enjoyed by most Finns. Instead, I took two weeks off, using up the hours I had accumulated by working overtime. This time was spent visiting Croatia (no blog entry just yet, what this space!) which was shortly followed by an eight-day business trip to Chicago (see here).

The rest of the summer has been sent lounging around at Bree's family summer cottage and swimming amidst the frantic swimmers at Helsinki's outdoor swimming pool. We even managed to fit in a weekend together in the UK, where we visited Stonehenge and Oxford (see here).

At the same time, I have been finalising my Masters Degree in Marketing, aimed at 'measuring the degree of Consumer Ethnocentrism in 21st Century Finland'. My subject has been very well received and, last Sunday, I had a ready draft of 123 pages! Just as well really, as I need to get it printed and sent to the UK within two weeks for binding and submission to the University.

As the summer is drawing to a close, I've started stressing over what to do with my life after the Masters Degree so I've come up with some projects:

1. 2004 and 2005 entries to this blog
2. Put all my favourite photos onto DVD
3. Restart my Finnish studies
4. Start the writing of a book about my family
5. Exercise (gym, swimming, ice-skating on the lakes)

One usually hates the onset of winter, but if you can look back and claim you are happy with the way you spent the summer, those cold winter evenings provide an ideal opportunity to look back at the summer photos and reminisce, sparking up ideas for the next summer.