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OK, I got to spend about 2.5 weeks with my guy
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We spent Juhannus (mid-summer) on a typical Finnish rock island, drinking and barbequing with friends, some I hadn't met before. Raine's friend Arttu thought it would be a good idea to bring the Swedish "delicacy", Surströmming along. It was the most fucking disgusting thing I've EVER smelled in my life, which is why he brought it, of course. I did not eat any, neither did Raine, and no amount of alcohol was gonna change that. We stopped at a beach on the way home, so I could finally play in the Baltic. I expected it to be freezing, but it was really nice, so we splashed around under the full moon for about an hour.
We went to the movies a couple of times, which we don't usually get to do that often, when apart. We took a dinner cruise around the harbor, which I definitely recommend to anyone finding themselves in Helsinki. We went to Tallinn for the day, I love that city. We drank at a few terraces, walked around a ton, shopped a little (Raine bought me a beautiful amber pendant), and I was finally able to buy my brother a bottle of genuine absinthe. It's not legal to sell in either the US or Finland, but things are a bit more lax (and a lot cheaper) in Estonia! Merry Christmas to my brother, Bob
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We took his mom out to dinner, it's always nice to see her, she's awesome, but she doesn't speak English, except for a few words. Raine and she start talking and he forgets to translate, so I end up as more of an observer. I do like visiting with her though. We went to Linnanmäki amusement park, which we pretty much do every summer. It's a great little park, lots of fun, and much different than the over priced, ridiculous, ginormous amusement parks we have in the US. There aren't two hour long lines to get onto the rides either, and you can get beer in all the food places.
When I got there it was HOT, like too hot for sex, so we went out and bought an air conditioner
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We also had the pleasure of hanging out with TwoThree, and her nice husband, Timo. The time went by so quick, we almost forgot to take a few pics (TwoThree has one in the vet's pic section), it was so much fun. We were all comfortable right away, and chatted so much that it was suddenly time to go. I'm generally much more awkward than that, but they were so cool and nice! I hope to do it again soon
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Raine was off the first week, but had to work the second
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The bad part about all of this is that with every visit, I realize more and more what I'm missing. Every trip makes me understand how I've finally found That Guy, but he lives over 4000 miles away. Sometimes the distance really gets to me. I just wish there was some way *I* could be planning moves and visas, and weddings, and all that terrific stuff everyone else gets to plan, that I read about you all with so much excitement, but always tinged with an underlying sadness. I wish that I could close this ridiculous distance somehow, but for the foreseeable future, it's simply not realistically possible, and I miss my Raine.
Have to say I can relate to the last bit. But one day eh?
I know I am in a better position on having less distance between us and less time difference but otherwise its pretty much the same, not knowing when we will be able to be together.
How old is your daughter?
@TwoThree - Sadly, nope. Ever since I had to work in the Helsinki office last year, and now my co-workers know me, Raine is paranoid about going to city restaurants
@candy_demon21 - thanks, it's tough, but I'm relatively used to it
@Ahava - My kid is 24
You are all the best!!
I think life's too short tbh. At some point you gotta start thinking what do you really want for yourself. Or at least make plans so that when the time comes you'll have an idea how to go about it. What are the main reasons you can't be together? Your daughter? Your career? His career? Maybe it isn't such a bad idea to hypothetically think about moving and what would happen if you did. Go through every scenario and talk it over. You never know, there might be something there you've missed before. Frankly, I think you're too awesome NOT to make it happen if you decide to. It will take time and lots of hard work but you're a hard worker anyways. Come on Jen, I want you to move to Finland