Adam

VKR

Ei oo kyl kisakunto sitä, mitä se oli ennen.

Yritän täs just kerää itteeni, että jaksas nousta sängystä.

Eilisen saldo: 3 bissee ja yks shotti - sit alko ryydyttää niin tarpeeks, että oli pakko lähtee nukkuun. Tänään vois jaksaa sinne red light districtille asti!

Just Arrived to Amsterdam

Yeah.... Forget about what I said about studying..

Drunk @ Party Bus 24/7

(Basically from 3pm onward)

Eurotrip

My god.. and here we go again.



Yesterday I was at Helsinginkadun Approt.. so basically a pub crawl with your classmates in your overalls......... I counted today at least 12 stamps (1 stamp for each drink per bar) and that doesn't include the double dirnks I had at some places, the shots Gleb bought for everyone, Circus' drinks nor the many drinks me, Otto and Lauri had after everyone left home..... And yet, I still don't have the patch from Apport :D Go me.



Anyways... Tomo out EM + EBA degree students are leaving on a Eurotrip. I'm understating this when I say that I'm a bit scared. Fingers crossed that everything will go alright on this 9 day bender and that I'll be able to study for my economics + accounting exams and complete all the ten thousand BizCom assignments I haven't been bothered to do. So basically, if I succeed in those, I might blog from the road. After all, we will be spending heaps of time on the bus (as long as i'm not nurturing my hangovers and I get to read all the chapters I have some free time for writing!)

Life's prettier from inside a beer glass (waterbeerproof cameras ftw!)

Here's our new, updated timetable

Programme:

Friday 20th - departure from Helsinki center at 15:45 - ferry to Stockholm
Saturday 21st - bus drive from Stockholm to Copenhagen
Sunday 22nd - bus drive from Copenhagen to Amsterdam
Monday 23rd - visit to INHOLLAND University of Applied Sciences, sightseeing in Amsterdam
Tuesday 24th - visit to Utrecht University of Applied Sciences - drive to Brussels
Wednesday 25th - visit to European Parliament, Helsinki EU office, sightseeing in Brussels
Thursday 26th - Drive from Brussels to Berlin
Friday 27th - Visit to Berlin School of Economics and Law, company visit, Berlin sightseeing
Saturday 28th - Drive to Poland, ferry to Sweden
Sunday 29th - ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki

You should see the power point slides Marko, our awesome teacher sent us on out timetable... It's fucking HECTIC. The best part though:

"Few other things to remember:

- As you are all our students it means you know your responsibilities in general – we have tight schedule throughout the trip so bus won’t really wait for anyone. Be it Stockholm, Amsterdam or Berlin, they have cheap flights back to Helsinki should you miss the bus J Also, special reminder for those wishing to party like there is no tomorrow on the first night – mind the others, we won’t have time to stop for extra breaks."

haha :D

INDECICIVENESS

Tried to write this in Finnish but goddamn, dunno if it's this hungover or just the lack of my ability to produce anything written in Finnish anymore...



I feel pretty lost right now. I have tons of ideas of where I could go and how I could spend my vacation, but I just don't know which idea sounds the most appealing or whether anything really sounds that appealing that I would be bothered enough to whore myself out as a cashier and save every penny. I just feel like I don't have any MUST SEE -top places any more that I would like to see (ofc South America but that's something I won't cover in such a short time as a summer vacation) or things that would reeeeeaally get me pumping.

I don't know. Must be the problem of when you have too much to chose from, the difficulty to chose steps in and nothing sounds more appealing than the other.

Anyhoo, here are the stuff I am currently deciding on. Might be that I'll do some, might be that I'll do none. Who the fuck knows.



1) Bali in May
Yeaaaah Randomness. Was not planning on this at all but then Jean told me there's a four day rave at a volcano happening and that I should come. Would also be cool to surf and Claudia would be there so could have a couple messy nights in Kuta with her! Probably the most appealing matter is though the fact that nowadays I have the ability to fly standby... which means, I could get to South East Asia for money close to nothing... Kinda intrigued to just go to the airport and try it out.



2) Band of Skulls @ Berlin
Really really really wanna see Band of Skulls live and they would be playing a small venue gig in Berlin on May 15th.  I've been meaning to go to Berlin again so this would be a perfect combination. The only thing that's stopping me from going is that I don't have anyone to go with. And you CAN'T possibly go to a gig by yourself ! My Canadian couz Laura, who is now doing her exchange in Paris would be willing to go but she most likely will have her finals on that day :/ I really wanna go though so I'm gonna see if I can find someone to go with me.



3) Tall Ship Races
Dad told me he knows some people that work at the dockyard or what ever so he suggested he could ask around if there are still places available. But somehow, now that I got so accustomed to the idea of not being able to participate, I don't know if I wanna go anymore (?!?!? yeah wtf is wrong with me)

4) Surfing in Portugal
Wrote about this already. This would take place in July but let's see if i'll make it happen.



4) Creamfields
I'm pretty sure i'm going. Last year I was so up for it but unfortunately my school had just started so there was no way I could've missed on the first days of school (especially since I had only started as a Freshman). This year however, the line up is even sicker and now that Tomorrowland failed, I'm even more sure i'll go. PLUS the tickets only cost 140e with camping !! The only reason why I haven't purchased my ticket yet, is because my friends are still in doubt whether they wanna go (tyyyypical... always someone holding me back.. maybe I should just buy the ticket for myself and see what happens?)



5) Berlin in August
Pretty sure we are going to make this happen with a couple mates - Masa, Jassu, Aava, Ansku. Spend a week in the coolest city in Europe (after Helsinki ofc ;) )  viewing street art,  going through thrift stores, attending sick parties and just wondering on the well designed streets of Berlin.



I think the main reasons that are holding me back - or why I don't feel so SUPER enthusiastic about the ideas of e.g. Bali, Tall Ship Races or a longer trip, is that maybe I subconsciously long to be at home. Maybe I miss stability and long for not having to be in full motion all the time. The past three years starting from early 2009 when I was collecting money for Mexico and the 2 weeks in Holland/Netherlands, combined with Rock Werchter, up till last winter holiday's Bali trip has just been such a hassle. Those 12 fucking months I spent working working working, saving saving saving for Australia (best trip of my life so far) was quite a lot. It was ofc rewarding, but also really fucking stressful and a lot to handle. Sometimes I would wake up, get ready, go work 10 hours, come back home to go straight to bed and sleep 12 hours just to wake up to the same thing again. Or I would have four part time jobs at the same time and managing my time would be a superwoman skill.



I mean, don't get me wrong. I _fucking_ love traveling. I don't think I feel anywhere more at home and like myself when I'm on the road with my backpack on my shoulders or when I am jumping up and down all sweaty to the rhythm of the music. I just think that I've realized that I need a break from it. In 2009 I worked after school to save till Holland/Netherlands, went there in the summer, fell in love at Rock Werchter, came home for three days, sat on a plane and flew to Mexico for a month. Came home in August with a feeling of longing and like my heart was about to explode & decided to make Australia come true. Worked for a year, fought with dad the whole time, was getting stressed, anxious, depressed but made it through. Worked like a machine, smiled at 10 grand in my bank account, hoped on a plane in October. Heart full of hope and mind full of adventure. Journey took 39 hours to Cairns. Had the best three months of my life in Oz and then traveled to Morocco where I had the worst month of my life. Came home anxious and depressed and realized I had to take care of myself. Got better, saved, worked, saved, worked, went to Heineken Open'er in Poland and Interailing by myself for a month. Realized I liked traveling by myself. Came home worked the rest of the vacation, started school in the end of August and multitasked my way through a report card full of 5's (top grade) and a bank account enough of money to fly to Bali. Spent Christmas and my B-day with strangers (& Jasmine) again. Came back.



Although I've had the best time of my life I can't help it to feel a bit tired. I feel like i've been in full motion all the time and that I haven't been able to catch my breath. I feel like I live according to two very distinct cycles - one is where I work and save and barely have time to see any of my mates and the other where I feel like I am living. This last school year I've only had time to see my best mate THREE TIMES thanks to school and working when ever I have free time and spending the rest of my free time abroad.

Feels like the past three years have been super hectic. Work work work -phase, travel, come back, work work work, travel, come back, work work work and so on... Full speed on and on and on.



Like I already said - Don't get me wrong -  I love my life. But - Would also be nice to live back in home every once in a while and not only when I'm backpacking. Also everytime when I go fetch/drop someone off at the airport I just feel super tired. I used to looove airports but nowadays the sight of one makes me feel stressed. That's why I've realized that maybe  should just stay in Finland for the summer. Catch my breath. "Take some time off". Enjoy life here. Ofc I want to and probably will make shorter trips but I think I've had enough of "longer" trips for now. At least until December.



I realized that how cool would it be to just enjoy the summer in the city, in lovely little Helsinki. The best city in the world. How wonderful would it be to have an actual SUMMER VACATION. I have tons of shit I wanna save up for but I mean, what if I would work but not work to the max this summer? What if I would live for myself and not for my bank account this summer? Thinking about money and always maxing your balance up just results into no social life and I would like to do something else than sit as the check out girl.

So yeah. I think I might just chill the fuck out and stay in one spot (apart from those minitravels) this summer.

Dunno where this long rant came from. It's just that this has been on my mind and I've been so confused about not KNOWING what I want. Until I realized what I actually wanted :)

But yeh, the sun is shining, the snow is melting and i'm having a happy hangover so life is good :) I better get back to studying now since I have three presentations (gonna have to rock the corporate whore -look again :((( ) and two exams on Mon-Fri.

Next Friday off to Eurotrip with my class !

Photos by: Laura Anderson (Photo nr. 1), Jasmine Färling (Photo nr. 9) and Band of Skull photo from here.

"Yesterday is history, today is a gift, the next 60 minutes is mystery... waiting in line for #tomorrowland"

Ok... I'm just gonna update my blog although I have no time and I should be studying (we are leaving on the 20th for our Eurotrip but due to tutoring at the entrance exams among tons of other things, I have only 7 days left to complete all my projects, assignments and read the required million chapters for 5 exams).

It's just that I overdosed on caffeine YET AGAIN and I can't sit still... When will I learn that if I consume a can of energy drink / a cup of coffee, I can't concentrate at all? Although I know my lack of tolerance for caffeine I ALWAYS dismiss this fact and end up wasting the day jittering and bouncing around...



So anyway... Didn't end up getting the Tomorrowland tickets... SO CHOKED !!!
I was on tomorrowland's website well before the ticket sale and I got in the queue with a "wait for 2 minutes"-  nevertheless I got redirected to the purchase site only 25 minutes later.. I was about to purchase four 3-day tickets along with camping ticket (for me + my class mates and her ppl) when an error occured?!? "Payment unauthorized" ummm.. what the fuck ?

Luckily I had another tab opened so I didn't have to queue again - I got in the purchase phase right away. I tried to purchase 4 x fri + sat + sunday -tickets + camping. "Payment unauthorized" ARE YOU FUCKING KIDING ME???



After 2 hours of lining, whining and crying on Twitter (sorry about the tens of thousands of rants posted) I admitted, the tickets had ran out. They were actually sold out in 45 minutes but Tomorrowland was confirming with the banks whether the payments had gone thorough - that's why the final info only came 2 hours later. It's just so unfair.. to this day I still have no idea why it wouldn't accept my payment.. :( I've purchased tons of stuff from sites and even bought festival tickets from ANOTHER BELGIAN festival so I really can't figure out what's the deal..

I'm just so choked because this has never happened to me - If I decide I'm going somewhere, I'm really going to make it happen. It all just depends on me -  Well, not this time.



Well anyway, guess I'll just have to make CREAMFIELDS happen ;) I was DYING to go there last year but couldn't due to school. This year's the line up looks ever better (BETTER THAN TOMORROWLANDS BY A MILLION! Actually Tomorrowland's was quite poor [at least byt the looks of what they've announced so far]) and since i'll be a second grader in Fall, my school starts a week later ;)



Who's in? ;)

PS. Did anyone else have the displeasure of experiencing Tomorrowland's shit-of-a-queuing-system?

Anyone up for TOMORROWLAND ?

Hahaaaa just as I suspected !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7CdTAiaLes

Six months ago, when everyone was hyping the Tomorrowland 2011 Official After Movie, E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E was claiming "they will like toooootally be there next year" ... as if!

..And just as I suspected (read my crystal ball, you know) 97% of the people would just be all talk and no action. TYPICAL!



Anywayz, i'll still be making my way to Boom, Belgium in the end of July, although I have no fucking idea who is  actually going... Better purchase a ticket now (ticket sale starts in 13,5 hours!) than cry later ;) So will be interesting.. Will I be heading to this festival all by myself? Heard at least that some Aussie mates might be going (at least they're buying their tickets tomo!).

IS ANYONE GOING? Wouldn't mind the company.

The Perfect Hostel?

My dad's mate is opening up his own hostel near the old town of Warsaw in Poland and so my dad came to ask me for some tips.

I was quite delighted of this and I guess I have acquired some knowledge of hostels after sleeping all those nights in shared dorms with strangers.

I definitely have my say in what makes and what brakes a hostel, so here's my
List of things today's backpacker would be looking for in a (Western) hostel:

 

1. A WELL EQUIPPED kitchen !
   -The kitchen has to be spacey, clean and last but not least WELL EQUIPPED !  And this is a must. Sometimes I book my hostel ahead (from hostelworld.com) and when I do, I read the comments.  A couple of times I've decided not to stay at some hostel when I've noticed complaints about the sucky kitchen. I mean, how are you supposed to cook food without pots and pans?
   


2.  Lockers
   -For travelers traveling with laptops and expensive cameras, it can be a pain in the ass having to choose a hostel that offers no safety deposit boxes. Hiding your valuables in a dorm room of seventeen can be risky, especially when you know from own experience how poor and desperate for money some backpackers can be.
   Photo by Jasmine Färling


3. Free WiFi
   -Not a must but certainly a plus - cause let's face it, we all love to upload our travel pics on Facebook (and make our friends jealous!). Also, some of us keep a travel blog while traveling. The lack of WiFi is usually the thing that can easily convert your potential customers to your competitors reception.
   


4. A Common Area
   -Sometimes you pick your hostel depending on the recommendations you've heard. And what will make YOUR hostel stand out of millions of others? The atmosphere. And the only way to create the right one - a laid back & fun one - is by people. It's quite a mystery how some business owner's just don't realize to invest enough in the common area, since it is THE place to meet other travelers. It's the people that make the place. And if you fail to remember this, your customers will see your hostel as just another hostel.

That's the (tangible) things I've come up so far.

What do YOU look for in a hostel? 

O-ou, Bali?

Ok shiiit gotta run to school now before I do something tragic!

Marketing Plan Presentation -time with my sleep deprived team mates, yay! -->

Surfing in Portugal?

Last summer my ex tempore trip to Portugal stole my heart away.

Although I didn't see much - considering that I spent most of my time surfing at the peninsula of Costa da Caparica - the old pastel colored buidings of Lisbon, the surf and the tropical climate among with the cheap prices were enough to assure me I would have to come here again. Also, I really love the language barrier - when most of the population only speaks Portugal and the possibility of people understanding Spanish let alone English is weak, you really feel like you are traveling. Although I love it how you can get around almost anywhere with English, it's also a bummer since it takes the exoticism and feel of adventure away.



So... I was thinking maybe I should go surf in Portugal for 3,5 weeks in between Rock Werchter and Tomorrowland..!!

I started thinking how sweet it would be to rent a villa or an apartment with some mates for the time :) But... I have NO idea who would come with me. Jasmine would probably be up for it, but she's the only one of my mates that surfs and is up for spontaneous adventures.. ANYONE UP FOR SURFING IN PORTUGAL IN JULY ?

-Second picture by Rafael-