The Final (?) Stretch

People, people. Friends, I'm back in Sydney again. I know, I basically said goodbyes already when I left around six weeks ago but also mentioned that coming back is an option. An option that was now realized. What a holiday it was again! Always so nice to be back in Europe, back in Finland. Once again, same as before, it almost felt like I never left, except that it was an extremely cold and snowy winter there. That was very much ok, though. This is how a winter should be. The long waited new years eve with my exchange student friends in Prague ended suddenly with the news of a death of a good friend in Finland, Riku, who was just visiting me with Wade in Sydney around two months ago (check out the last two entries). This certainly changed my stay and some plans as well. It makes you think about what is important for you in life. I won't get into details with this horrible event here as this is not the time nor place for it but nonetheless, this one is for you Riku.

So, the deal now is this: I made a deal with my boss to stay in Sydney and work for his company for another 4 ½ months. He agreed to remunerate me accordingly and pay for my flights. The return flight is on June 15th, so I will be back just in time for the midsummer's day! This will, most probably, be the date on which I will return permanently to Finland. Unless something really dramatic comes up (and I mean in a positive way), I will look for jobs and condos from Helsinki area. I would have a chance to stay here longer, but like I said earlier last year, it's not all about the external elements you have in life. Yeah, an ocean view is awesome but it's not yours. Friends are great to have but they're mostly on the other side of the globe. Travelling and living in other places is wonderful but there's a time and place for everything.

I got back last Wednesday after travelling once again for around 30 hours via London and Hong Kong. Andrew (flatmate) came to pick me up at the airport in the morning; we drove back to Coogee where I took a quick shower and then straight to work! Not a lot of time to adjust, but in fact this was a good thing to do as otherwise I would have just slept the day away and stay awake for the whole night. Nice to get back into the rhythm. Now the first weekend is at hand and after a quiet Friday (watching Roger Federer devastate Tsonga in the Australian Open semis) we will probably head out to Surry Hills tonight for some dinner and drinks with friends. Sunday will be spent re-energizing and watching the Australian Open Final.

The upcoming weeks are going to be both hectic and interesting (challenging?) as we are missing some key personnel at the office and apparently I will have to substitute. The problem is the short notice, but hey, I'll do what I can. Also, as the Winter Olympics are approaching, I subscribed to Foxtel, a local cable TV provider to get an unlimited access especially for the hockey games they're showing (!) here. Two guys, a master and his sidekick, from Foxtel came by this morning to install the box, but of course it wasn't quite that simple. I am having flashbacks from the time in Surry Hills when I was pushing iinet to install my internet connection. That took around two months. Hopefully this one is over before the Olympics start; otherwise I will cancel the whole thing.

The weather in Sydney is hot and humid, which is normal at this time of year. A dramatic change from -20 to +30. Either one is not that nice when you really think about it. But it will get better in a couple of months both in Australia and Finland. Time flies and I will keep you up to date as usual with everything that's going on down here. This time it probably won't be as much travelling as before but we'll see what we can do. I may just write about how many booze containers are received each week but I will sure as hell write something! I also might join the local Glebe Floorball Club with Andrew to maintain my high performing level in that great game! I'll keep you posted on that as well.

That's it for now. Keep in touch buddies! (especially you Bob over there by the message board…)

Cheers.