Hire me, please!

I've been writing my CV and filling job applications the whole morning. Boy that takes time!

Anyway. Some applications have the option of uploading a picture. It's not necessary, but I thought it would help in leaving a good impression. After all, it's easier to remember people by appearance.


So what do you think? I kind of look like a douchebag. Or maybe I'm just not used to seeing pictures of myself. I look a little tired, but then again I did wake up several times last night. But at least I'm half-smiling! I also see that my eye brows aren't identical. It's like I'm giving that raise-other-eyebrow look.

Notice my business shirt. I love black button-up shirts. The problem is, I could barely button it up because of my boobs! I knew I've gained a little weight over the winter, not to mention that my pecs are bigger too from training (of course). But it was still a little annoying. I have the wrong body type for these kind of shirts.

Aquatic megapost.

A week ago I finally got rid of my Rainbow cichlids (Herotilapia multispinosa) and Ancistrus sp. "lemon" (Common bristlenose, yellow variant). I had had enough with my ugly tank without any plants. Those damn rainbows ate them all in less than a year! Be warned. (I didn't flush them down the toilet if that's what you're worried about; I took them to my nearest aquarium store.)

So I needed something else to replace those terrorists. I had only some red phantom tetras, three black phantom tetras (though similarly named, they actually belong to different genera), and serpae tetra. They fulfill the function of swimming around the middle and top parts of the tank.

I needed some algae eater(s), bottom dwellers to eat food that has sunk to the bottom, and some cichlids that have real character. This is what I got:

Algae-eaters: 4 x Otocinclus vittatus (Dwarf suckermouth) ...

The dwarf suckermouths are cute. I have a weakness for catfishes in general. They seem to be fairly hardworking algae-eaters, but also very good at camouflaging themselves, even in my half-empty tank!

Bottomdwellers: 5 x Corydoras sterbai (Sterba's corydoras) ...

AND 5 x Corydoras aeneus (Bronze corydoras)!

In particular, I like the Sterba's corydoras. They're so purty and cute. I like Corydoras in general, the way they swim around the tank and constantly fumble around the bottom to find something to eat. And those eyes just make me melt.

Last but not least, the cichlids: 4 x Cleithracara maronii (Keyhole cichlid) ...

Keyhole cichlids are my old favourite. They have lots of character, even though they're shy. They're not terribly colourful, but I prefer less colourful fishes in general. I got four tiny ones, so I had trouble taking decent photos of them. In fact, all my new fishes are so tiny that I'll probably show them later when they've grown a little.

AND 2 x Laetacara dorsigera (Redbreast acara)! The redbreast acaras are a new experience to me. They are small and peaceful and quite colourful. I look forward to observing their behaviour and learning more about them in the future.


...Jealous, are you?!

N.B. Fishes refers to different fish species, whereas fish in plural refers to several specimens of the same fish species. In singular it refers to a single specimen, and as a mass/uncountable noun it refers to food.

Mission accomplished!

Ladies and gents, I am pleased to announce that the feed for Sleeping Artist works again!!!!

Thanks go to my dear brother and tech assistant Kai! Kisses and hugs!

So if you were a subscriber, you need to subscribe again, preferably through the Subscribe button on the right-hand side. If that doesn't work, the feed is http://www.sleepingartist.info/feed.

Sorry about that. I still don't have a clue what a feed is and what the hell was the deal with it. I'm not that computer-savvy.

Healthy yellow teeth.

This is an edifying story about my teeth. If that sounds too boring to you, proceed at your own risk.

I had a dentist's appointment on Monday to have my wisdom teeth removed. I got an invitation 2 ½ years ago, but I never went because they sent it to a wrong email address. Now that I finally got the invitation to my real address, my wisdom teeth had fully erupted without any gum flaps! So the dentist told me that it wouldn't make any sense to get them removed anymore.

She said it's very rare for a woman to have such perfectly erupted wisdom teeth in perfect line with the other teeth. But this got me wondering. If they would have removed them a couple years back, but waiting it out, they actually became perfect teeth... why don't they always wait and see if they can become good teeth or not? I never had any problems with them, even when they were still partly under the gum. Only some minor uncomfort, which is natural, but never infections or anything.

Initially I wasn't going to go to the dentist because I hadn't had any problems with them. But then I read an article in Lääkärilehti (an official magazine for doctors that my parents subscribe to). It said that wisdom teeth will always be an infection risk, no matter what, so they have to be removed. But this dentist said that there is no risk since I have very little dental caries and no gum flaps.

So the lesson is, don't trust everything they say in Lääkärilehti. Obviously everything they said was right, except they didn't consider cases where the wisdom teeth erupt perfectly. Maybe it's so uncommon that they didn't bother mentioning that?

Anyway, I'm truly fascinated by the doctor magazines my parents get. It's so cool to have both parents as doctors, because I can always ask about the strangest things that come to my mind. Like, what was that disease that can cause your eyeballs to bulge out?

Answer: Toxic goiter, i.e. a goiter with hyperthyroidism. It's when your thyroid overproduces hormones and you have to shut it down completely with medication. After that, you have to take hormone meds for the rest of your life to compensate.

Medicine is so cool. I wouldn't want to be a doctor, but it's absolutely fascinating to learn about all kinds of icky things that can happen to a human body.

Change.

I don't normally like changes in my life, but lately I've grown more accepting of it. I think the meds have given me a more relaxed attitude overall.

Just the other day, I had a discussion with a woman from my German class after we'd had our oral exam. We talked for almost an hour! I didn't flee with some petty excuse; instead, I stayed and had a very normal, relaxed conversation. That's completely against my character. I'm so not good at meeting and getting to know new people. So I congratulated myself on that. She even asked for my email, so maybe we'll meet again in the future. She seemed really nice, so I hope so.

It's weird to notice how people are much more open to me and interested now that I'm happier myself. I take contact with people without even thinking about it, and it pays off. Amazing. Only a couple weeks ago, I was still afraid people would turn me down if I tried to talk to them. Now it doesn't even occur to me that someone might not like me or be interested in me.

Well, I still have a long way to go as far as social skills, but it's a huge deal that I don't take it so seriously anymore. I have hope again. It's been so long that I dared to hope for a better life. I've been almost non-stop miserable for the past two years, and I felt like I was finally done with it. I'm glad to know it was partly just about the lack of serotonin between my brain cells.

As for other changes: I finally took Deniselle's diabolical advice and started downloading Galactica season 4 episodes. I bought season 3 dvd last autumn, because it's been two years at least since season 2 aired in Finland. I don't think they're ever going to show any more episodes.

I started rewatching season 3 because I want to make sure I haven't forgotten anything. Galactica is so complex that it's easy to forget all kinds of little twists related to side characters. Besides, with my internet connection it's going to take at least two more weeks to download the whole season.

I don't feel bad about downloading, because I know I will buy season 4 on dvd when it comes out to sale in Finland in 2015. I know I'm still an accomplice in the crime by downloading, but at least I don't share it any more than I have to. And of course, the shameless downloaders will hate me for it. Anyway, I think it's good to have a chance to try out something for free to see if you really like it. If I actually like a cd, film or a game, I always buy it afterwards. So I'm not all evil, I tell myself.

And the changes keep coming. Yesterday I bought X-tra pizza with ham, because the weekend is coming. I always celebrate my Fridays with X-tra ham pizza. It costs 2,79€ and the package contains two 180g small pizzas. They're exactly the right size: your craving for delicious pizza is fulfilled, but you won't feel stuffed. You will even have room for some fruit for dessert. But guess what? My package had only ONE pizza!!!!!! Some idiot had forgotten to put two in there!!! >:( So now my one tiny pizza is expensive as hell! And who would believe me if I went back to the store and told them about this, since I already opened the package?!

But here's what really bothers me. Only a couple weeks back, Pirkka milk (a brand of K-market) cost 85 cents per litre. They have this tag on the shelf saying "the right price!", attached to all the cheapest common products. Well, one day the milk suddenly cost 89 cents, and it still says "the right price!". I suppose, no matter how high it goes, the price is always right if it's Pirkka.

Don't get me wrong, Pirkka milk is still the cheapest. If you buy Valio milk in K-market, it costs a whopping 1,05€ per litre! In S-market, it only costs 95 cents, and they don't sell Pirkka milk at all. But it's staggering to think that two different brands used to have a 20 cents' difference in prices. I drink a lot of milk, so it really can make a difference.

So make note, K-market: I'll be watching you! Don't think people won't notice!

Muskulösa flickor.

I visited my parents with my big brother for a change. My mum had a good excuse to bake pies again.

It was really nice because my mum was so happy, and even my dad behaved himself! Mum has been on part-time retirement for a while now, and she has been so much more relaxed and happy ever since. I'm happy for her.

As for my dad, I usually have a hard time getting along with him. There's something about him that rubs me the wrong way. But I suppose he's more relaxed and happy now too since he's been exercising so much lately. He still has trouble losing weight, but in my book, exercise is all that really matters because it makes you happy. We even did some crossword puzzles together and we didn't snipe at each other once! A miracle!

I was also pleased that my big brother noticed how my muscles have grown a little. Then me and mum compared whose bicep is bigger.

Our family sounds kind of weird now. But we're all like this, we have an appreciation for muscles. We don't strive to be skinny, we want to be strong and bulky. I truly enjoy discussing human physiology with my big brother, who used to be very serious about body building and who also studies medicine.

He still thinks weight training is the best form of exercise. He doesn't understand what I mean when I say how I couldn't give up jogging or aerobics, or any cardio activities for that matter. Different forms of exercise give different kinds of pleasure. I feel different after jogging as compared to after aerobics, or weight training. Always good, but always different.

I'm pleased that the streets are dry again, and I intend to start jogging more now that I'm feeling healthy again. The problem is, I noticed how my new winter running shoes have much, much better padding than my 2-year-old summer running shoes. I know that you're supposed to buy new running shoes at least every other year if you run a lot, but... they cost so much! I just bought new shoes on Christmas, and I should buy new ones again?!

I hate using money on expensive things. I can handle spending 20€ a week on food, and 195€ on the latest electricity bill (no kidding!!), but when it comes to something that technically isn't absolutely necessary, I hate it.