14 weeks till Christmas

After coming back from Thailand last Wednesday, I'm back to my normal routine. I had such a good time in BKK especially with my friends that it has been quite hard to get used to working again. I just keep thinking about the trip and how much I wanted to stay there. I'm not gonna lie I did shed a tear (or "a few") on couple of the last days when I realized my trip is coming to an end and once again I have to go back to Finland. But that gave me more motivation to work hard, save money and keep planning where/when/what to study in Thailand as I have thought about going there to do the master's degree. Considering how much I enjoyed myself there again, I definitely want to go there to continue my studies. But first I need to survive until the end of this year working hard and hopefully continue working in the same place for next Spring. Then maybe already next Fall I could start doing the master's degree. Before that there's this fall and winter to survive... When we came back to Finland, I could notice much more signs of Autumn: more leaves had changed color and the weather had become colder. Not to mention the darkness that has come! After another light and sunny summer, it's quite hard to properly understand that now it REALLY gets dark already at 8-9pm. It's also so cold that I have been shivering every day since our trip and I had to quickly wash a couple of my jackets so I would have something better to wear. But I'm still cold.... Oh how I've missed Finnish fall and winter weather... Coldness and darkness




There's also something nice which I realized yesterday... only 14 weeks left until Christmas! I'm not that fanatic about Christmas as some people are but I still like that time of the year especially the decorations and the FOOOOD. Last Christmas didn't really go as planned since my mum was very sick on Christmas Eve so I hope this year we can have more enjoyable Christmas. This is also the first time I will be working then! Of course 25-26.12. are still holiday (+ Christmas Eve is on Sunday) but after that I will go to work. I already told my boss who was wishing I could work then since some of the other employees want to have days off then, that I'm available and I don't mind working then. Every year I have kinda hated the days between Christmas and New Year because not every place is open and many people are working and you're just trying to get over Christmas and at the same time preparing for the New Year. So at least this year I'm working myself so I don't have to think about who's on holiday and what to do on those days.

I can't be too picky about when to work since I need to save more money for a few things: I really need a new phone (thanks to my occassionally crazy iPhone), I have been planning to go to Osaka IF the rumours about EXO's next tour (concerts in Osaka in February?) are true and we have been planning with my exchange study friends that we would have a reunion in Thailand next summer and of course later the master's degree will require money. I'm not so sure about the Osaka trip for next February because then the flight tickets are not the cheapest.. That's why I'm also thinking about going there in the beginning of December if MAMA 2017 is really being held there. There has been news/rumours about this year's MAMA being held in 3 places: Vietnam, Hong Kong and Osaka and today there was a rumoured line-up for each place and the one for Osaka was....so good! BTS, Seventeen, Red Velvet, VIXX, Pentagon, Monsta X and many more... and MAMA has been on my bucket list for many years now so it would be so cool to finally go there and even in Osaka where I could go with a friend! But let's see if the news is even true and what kind of line-up there will actually be! *fingers crossed*

Even though none of my trip plans are sure, they still give me at lest a bit of something to keep going. I know if I want to go to Japan or Thailand or anywhere, I need to work hard and as much as possible and that's what I'm going to do. I also need to keep my money spending to a minimum which is often easier said than done. That means less trips to Tampere or somewhere else, going to ice-hockey games this season, buying unnecessary things/food etc. So now I just have to stay strong everytime I see something yummy or nice when I go to the store or online...No biggie!


Good money saving tips are welcome!


xoxo, Elina