Thursday, December 16, 2010

Paperwork/Paperihommia

Just a quick update before I continue studying for finals! My FBI Background check came back all clear, (did I say that before?) and I sent it back last Friday to get it "authenticated." It came back yesterday (Wednesday). That was fast! So now I can get the Apostille on it, and I can be one step closer to having all my paperwork together.

It's also starting to hit me that soon I'll be off on my own. I'm trying not to worry about it too much, with finals and all, but it crosses my mind now and then.

What else has hit me is a cold! I have been fighting back as hard as I can, and I seem to be getting somewhat better. (I think the stress of it all has been getting to me!)

That's about it! I'll keep you posted! :)

*Suomeksi*

Nyt pikku "update" siitä paperihommista. Sain sen FBI Criminaali historian takaisin, ja mulla ei ole mitään huolehdittavaa. Lähetin sen takaisin että saisin sen autentikointi Perjantaina, ja tuli takaisin Keskiviikona (olipas nopee'!). Nyt olen lähempänä saamaan sen "Apostille," ja saisin sitten kaikki nä paperihommat hoideltua.

Myös on iskenyt minuun että olen kohta lähdössä asumaan ihan ite. Yritän että en siitä huoledhi kauheasti (varsinkin kun mulla on minun koe viikko menolla). Välillä tulee mieleen kuitenkin.

Mulla tuli just flunssa!! Olen yrittänyt estää sen, ja vaikutta että paranen pian. (luulen että tämä flunssa on stressistä kiini...)

Eipä tässä ole paljon muuta! Näkemiin!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Blog re-dedication

Hi all (my one follower, and I think I know who you are!)!

This blog is now going to be my travel blog...again. This time it will be different, rather than the sporadic posts from last time.

First Difference: I'm going to be in Seoul, South Korea teaching English.
Second Difference: I'm going to try to update at least bi-weekly, if not daily (and you can hold me accountable for that!)
Third Difference: I'm going to try to take lots of pictures and video (which is something I'm not too familiar with, so please forgive me if it looks weird).
Fourth Difference: This blog will truly be bilingual. I want to use this blog as a way for my family abroad (in Finland, if you must know) to see how I'm doing. I know the translations will be bad (seeing as my Finnish Grammar is horrid), but it's understandable (so I'm told). I may not translate everything right away (depending on my schedule) but I'll try!

So right now, update-wise, I pretty much have the job set. I haven't signed anything yet, seeing as I have to get all my paperwork in order. They want quite a few things from University (final transcripts, my DIPLOMA, etc.), but I can't do anything until I graduate in less than two weeks. I'm just twiddling my thumbs in the meantime, though it KILLS me to not to be able to do anything! I also had to get an FBI Criminal Record Check, which sounds rather scary saying so, but I have nothing to hide. (It came back all-clear by the way. heh.) However, I need to get it Apostilled (which seems to be the international version of a notary), BUT I need to get my FBI CRC authenticated before I can do that. SO I need to send it back to the FBI, get it authenticated, send it to my state's Secretary of State's office, get the apostille, get my other papers together, and send it to Korea. *Phew!*

It'll be fine, as my mom says.

Yes, I am aware of the political situation over there right now. No, I'm not afraid. Yes, I'm a little nervous, but that's not going to stop me. I know that *if* something should happen (which I seriously DOUBT) that I could get out of the country fast. So no need to worry about me!!

That's about all I can write about now for that, I'll probably spend my 2 months or so before I leave talking about how I'm preparing for it.

Take Care!

*Suomeksi*

No niin, tämä blogi on nyt (taas) minun matkailu blogi. Aloitin tämän kunnes menin Kiinaan opiskelemaan, mutta nyt olen lähdössä Etelä Koreaan opettamaan Englantia. Viimeksi en kirjoitellut kovin useasti, mutta nyt aion tehdä useita muutoksia.

Ensimmäinen Muutos: Olen menossa Etelä Koreaan, Seouliin.
Toinen Muutos: Aion kirjoittaa tähän AINAKIN kaks' kertaa viikolla, (voi olla että kirjoitan päivittäin)
Kolmas Muutos: Aion panna paljon kuvia ja videoita (vaikka en oikein osaa videoo niin hyvin kuin valokuvausta, että voi oll huono alunperin!)
Neljäs Muutos: Aion kirjoittaa tämän blogin Englanniksi sekä Suomeksi, että mun Suomalaista sukua myös pystyy seuramaan minun seikkailuita. (Varoitan että mun kielioppi on todella huono, mutta minun kirjoitukseni on kuulemma ihan ymmärettävä...) Käänöksiä voi kestää vähän kauemmin laittaa tähän (Englanti on mulle helpommin, ja myös riippuu miten mun aikataulu menee). Jos ei oo suomeksi vielä, tuuthan takaisin vähän myöhemmin sitten.

Mutta tässä vaiheessa, mulla on se työpaikka (periatteella), en ole vielä alekirjoitanut mitään. Yritän nyt saada minun paperi hommat hoidettu ennen kuin lähden. Ne haluaa että saan paljon papereita minun yliopistolta (loppu numerot, minun DIPLOMI, jne.) mutta en pysty niitä hakemaan vasta kuin koulu on ohi kahden viikon päästä (vähemmin!). En siedä oleskella vaan odetelen! Myös piti hakea FBI:lta minun kriminaali historia. Sehän kuulostaa aika huonosti, että pitää hakea minun historia maan isoin poliisi palvelusta (periatteessa). Mulla ei ole mitään piilotettavaa, eli no hätä. (sehän tuli takaisin ihan hyvin, että mulla ei ollut koskaan mitään rikoksia, heh.) MUTTA tarvin hakea siihen semmosen "Apostille," joka on semmosen tarkastus että paperi on virallinen. Mutta pitää lähetää sen takaisin FBI:lle ja hakea semmosen autentikointi ensin. Sitten tarvin lähetää sen minun osavaltion ulkomaan "secretary" (nehän hoitaa ne Apostille:t), ja sitten laittamaan sen ja muita paperit Koreaan. Huh huh!

Kaikkihan tulee selville, niinkuin äitini sanoo.

Kyllä tiedän mitä Koreassa nyt tapahtuu poliitisesti. Ei pelota. Kyllä vähän jännittää, mutta menen kuitenkin. Ja jospa joitain sattuu (joka en usko tapahtuvan), pääsen pois maasta nopeasti jos tarvin. Ei tartte huolehdi minusta!

No nyt mulla ei oo enää niin paljon kirjoitettavaa! Meinaan käyttää tämän ajan lähtöön ennen kirjoittaa miten valmistaudun Koreaan, jne.

Näkemiin!

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Moving Blogs?

Hello there (my very few readers),

I've been looking into domain names and Wordpress lately. Why? Well, since I'm planning on working abroad, at times, I'm unable to publish on my blogs. I've done some research, and it seems the best option is to just get a domain name (which means money), and use something like Wordpress to make it all pretty-like. I'm hoping to have some kind of published, current work out there on the internet if I plan on being an artist/writer/etc. (I got this advice from a company I talked to at a career fair, and it's a good idea!)

I'm looking to combine my 3 blogs. All of which are not accessible in certain places.

The question is, that if I move to a more permanent home, would you all follow me? Would you be interested in reading about my ramblings, art, and other things? And if you know, which web hosting service should I use? I'm looking into "green" web hosting (just because I can), specifically GreenGeeks.

I've also come down with a nasty sore throat, as well as my nose is starting to run (with sneezing). Ugh. I don't think I should be making any of these decisions whilst taking cold medications...heh.

Now I leave you with a video (which really can't go wrong in this day and age) of puppies and a kitty. BOTH!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

They say that home is where the heart is, I guess I haven't found my home.

Title: Ingrid Michaelson: "Are we there yet?"

Sorry I haven't posted here so much, but I usually post over at my LJ... I'll try to make this a mirror!

I have a hard time with transitions. Any transition, really. Big ones particularly freak me out. Guess what? I'm going through a big one right now. I will soon be going off into the real world (well, half-way across the world, really.), and that's especially hard. Some days I don't mind it, in fact, I can be pretty excited about it. Yet, there are days where I have panic attacks about it. My mental state is rather fragile yet, and I worry that I will only get worse when I go abroad...alone...by myself. I worry too much anyway. I think that having a dog with me over there will help a lot. Spending the summer with my own, old dog really helped. However, my own dog is rather old, and retired. I want her to live out her last years in peace, without taking her with me (even though she still has a good many years left, and is perfectly healthy). I was going to take her grandson, but he isn't really what I'm looking for. My mom even threw out the idea of his sister, but I think my mom wants her. This dog thing is really worrying me, because the logistics aren't there for me. I know this is a few months from now, but I don't know if I could be there by myself.

I've even started pulling away from relationships in my town. I mean, I'm going to be going far away, and I know that I will lose most of those relationships anyway (which is my logic). However, with my mental state being as it is, this isn't healthy for me right now. I need relationships with others, and I'm definately NOT talking about romantic ones. I need, no, crave relationships. I've been pulling away for too long, and I've let my baggage get the best of me for too long. I'm hesitant to start new relationships, but I need this. Though this is also difficult, because of many reasons which I might not write about here. I could use prayers...

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Many the Miles (4/27/10)

As I write this post, I'm sitting in the basement of my dorm (yes, I still live in the dorms as a Senior, and plan to live in them next semester, even if it is my last), trying to get a head start on my finals-studying. I'm extremely tired, and I have laundry in the drier next door. As I sit here contemplating marketing concepts (guess which class I'm studying for?), I am feeling a bit philosophical. It could be that I'm just utterly exhausted, and I tend to get kind of loopy when I'm tired, but let's just roll with it.

I am graduating in about 8 months. That may not seem like a lot, but it will go by soon.

I'm also trying to get summer employment, which has been nerve-wracking, in order to prepare myself for my possible career. (That's being an ESL –English as a Second Language –Teacher.) The reality of my impending graduation is looming, since I'm going to great lengths to get this particular summer position to get classroom experience, which I am lacking. I'm grateful that they're considering me at all. After all, I just sent them a rather open-ended email a little over a month ago on a whim, and ended up getting an interview, and possibly some classes. The only problem is that it would overlap with my last week of classes and my "finals week" starting next week. That's why I'm trying to get a head-start on studying NOW, while I still have some semblance of time.

I'm also looking at a Summer RA position (not affiliated with the university), for some summer camps at these apartments which the university sometimes uses for housing when the dorms fill up. This RA position includes a room in one of their suites and a meal plan, as well as a stipend. I'd be working 25ish hours a week as an RA, but I'm willing to do so if it means I will have a confirmed place to live over the summer (no subletting problems!). The interview I had with them this morning seemed to go well, the interviewer having liked some of my answers. He seemed to like that if I could be any part of a ship, I would be the crow's nest. *shrug* We used similar questions when my student org interviewed possible officers for next year, last week.

I'll hear about both jobs on Thursday; for the RA position, it may be an offer letter, for the teaching position, my possible class schedule. I'm very anxious about Thursday. Then all will be revealed.

This summer may well help my progression into my chosen field (which doesn't have much to do with my major, oddly enough). Then that leads to my post-graduation plans.

My "plans" are very flexible right now, but I do plan on using a teacher placement service that I have available to me, starting next semester. I'm hoping to get to China or Korea first, but Japan and Taiwan is also a close second. In my Chinese class, I often feeling longing for my beloved Zhong Guo ("zhong" = Middle, "guo" =country, therefore China calls itself "middle country"). I miss the food, the awesome people I met there (many of which are not there anymore), and just how easy it is for me to live there. Being a bit of a "hidden immigrant" in the US, it's a bit tiring to always have to explain that I'm from Finland, and REALLY, I am. Whereas in Asia, I'm obviously foreign, which is such a relief! I'm allowed to make mistakes (in language, etiquette, etc) and it's ok. Here, if I do, people would think I'm strange.

I often don't talk about Finland to my friends here in the USA, because they often can't relate to me, no matter how much they may be want to. Also, some people don't believe me, and yet others think I'm bragging if I do. The boasting issue is a big reason why I don't like to talk about my travels. I've had brilliant* experiences, and I understand that many have not. (*I think how the Brits use "brilliant" is fantastic, so I'm going to try to ingrain it into US culture, heh). I also know that I will continue to have these experiences after graduating (me planning to go abroad and all). It's a fine line to walk, culture-wise.

This post is a bit scatter brained. I think I'll leave my half-awake rantings here.

~Laura

*NOTE: Title of this post comes from the Sara Bareilles song of the same name, which appropriately describes my feelings towards life right now. I highly recommend a listen.