The Six Million Dollar Man

Things are quite different now compared to what was going on when I last posted something here on my blog. No wonder really since it has been a while already. Let's try to catch up with all the stuff that has been happening to me lately. This sure is going to be a lengthy post, but bear with me, ok? Sadly, not all of it is going to be pretty...

My last post (A Day to Remember) was about me getting engaged in November 2011. After my trip to Portugal, where I proposed to LP, I again had to focus on my studies at UC3M. Or, I SHOULD have focused on my studies. Instead... I dunno really..? Something just happened. To tell you the truth, something had been happening even before that. I mean, I've considered myself the type of guy who gets things done. (No laughing, please!) Still, during my time in Spain I was kind of... numb? It was hard for me to get ANYTHING done. (see My Spanish Buddy and a Weird Weekend... for more 'details') And where did that lead me to? I'll tell you where. Nowhere. Here's a sort of a list you should take a look at:

1. I had to drop out from one of my UC3M courses (Biomechanics) because I lacked any interest in the subject and was unable to force myself to study it.
2. I spent all of my time in my beautiful prison cell (a.k.a. my apartment) in Leganés, totally separated from the rest of the world.
3. There were lots of days during which I spoke to NOBODY. And then, there were at least as many days during which I spoke only to LP on Skype.

[EDIT: I think I should still point out a few things in my own defence. First of all, I lived alone in Leganés, a place where no students live because it's so boring. Furthermore, there were very few exchange students studying at the Leganés campus of UC3M. Why is that a problem? I studied in English anyway, right? That wouldn't have been a problem if the Spanish students would have been more willing to talk to me in English. But the truth is that most Spaniards, even the ones who speak English, prefer to stick to their native tongue. I can't really blame them, can I? I mean, to me it seems like a very natural code of conduct. Do that which is easiest. And it's all fine, except when it comes to lonely exchange students. Aha! I hear a voice in the crowd yelling 'Why didn't you go to one of the ERASMUS language courses at your university, jackass?!?' Well, the reason is that all the courses were taught at a different campus. I wouldn't have been able to study my engineering things if I had taken a Spanish course at UC3M. On top of that, well... They don't even give you credits for those courses at UC3M. So, there you have it: no language courses for me.]

I guess it's not hard to understand that when the holidays were starting to close up and it was time to visit my friends and family in Finland I was more than happy to leave Leganés...

Luckily my stay in Finland was filled with laughter and joy, so to speak. No wonder, since my family and friends are all awesome. But, on the 5th of January it was time once more to take a plane to Spain. This time I wasn't leaving alone, though. LP came to Madrid with me! She didn't have to go back to Lisbon before February, so she was able to spend most of January with me in Spain. Thank you, love! It really was an amazing month. We had so much time just for the two of us that we almost ran out of things to see in Madrid! On top of that, we also visited the astonishing city of Barcelona. Despite the terrible (read 'freezing cold') accommodation the trip was fantastic. But, back to businness. Let's focus on my studies for a second.

My spring semester started with a bunch of tests. You know what? I failed one of them. I've NEVER failed one single test in my whole life (except for one geography quiz on 8th grade). And to make it even worse, the course was on basic university-level chemistry. Can you believe it? I sure as hell still can't. But there's no denying it 'cause that's what really happened. Well, at least I got something done although 12 ECTS credits is not a score to be cheerful about. (The goal for a single semester is around 30 credits.) To look at the bright side of it all, I got sort-of-ok grades from the two courses that I passed. And on top of that, I scored around 95% from my two oral biochemistry presentations. (Actually, what that really means is that I was one of the few people in our group to speak proper English. Sorry guys, but let's face it: it's true.)

And then what? Well, here comes the big news. I quit. I left Madrid. Totally, utterly. And where am I now? Ha! You guessed it:

I'm in Lisbon!

I won't go now into details about all the administrative mess I still have to sort out. Instead, I could tell you about my general 'plans' for this spring:

1. I'll stay in Lisbon until the 19th of May. (I already have my flight booked.)
2. During my time here I'm going to study biochemistry-related topics for work. I'll continue working at Micronova on the 21st of May, more or less.
3. I'm going to be in pro-athlete shape by the time I come back to Finland. (We bought gym cards for the whole spring.) You know, I was kind of startled by the fact that my body fat percentage was very close to the ideal 15% for guys. It was actually 15.3%. So, the only thing left for me to do to look PERFECT is to generate muscles. And I mean it literally. I can't just 'grow' them. I truly have to generate new muscles, from scratch.

And how has my life been here in Lisbon so far? Not bad. I mean, I've met a lot of people, I live in the same apartment with LP (and four other people), and I've already been robbed. So, it's all good.

So, I guess that's it. Now that I got this 'post gap' covered with this scribble I can finally continue posting on a more or less regular basis. Until later then, suckers!