Wednesday, September 27, 2006

The mutterer's box with worthless money

Yesterday evening, after doing some wearying household-things, I had to do some paperwork.
As it wasn't already bad enough, I didn't find a thing, which has no name. Well, it surely has, but I don't know it in Finnish, so how could I know it in English.*

I was trying to find the thing and a name for it.
If there would be a course called "Office-aid things naming for beginners", I would participate, if it would be free and possibly during my working-hours.
Well, anyway, I was going to take off some staples from the papers, carefully, but I couldn't, because I didn't find the thing with no name.
I even opened my million-box, but it wasn't there.

What is inside your million-box?
Yes, in that box, where you put everything you might once need or everything you just happen to have in your hands, just when you are leaving the house and don't know where to put it. You put it inside your million-box, don't you?
Well, I do.





This is what I found:
1. Designer's gouache Giallo limone (dried)
2. A Japanese pencil from the 70s
3. Five English pounds
4. Twenty Deutsche Marks, [when was it when Germany got Euros?]
5. Ten Deutsche Marks [sigh]
6. One Finnish mark from 1982 [we've got Euros too]
7. 20 Estonian cents
8. A coin of Serena spa lockers
9. A white plastic gate for Pippi Longstocking playhouse
10. Beauty and the Beast-video brochure
11. An used ticket for Dance-theatre Hurjaruuth's Winter circus
12. An empty expensive pen
13. Save our Zoo-badge. [Never seen before. Either the Zoo or the badge.]
14. Black tape
15. A yellow earplug, unused
16. A pair of shoestrings, unused
17. A plastic screw
18. A half-eaten Bob the Builder's cat-shaped eraser
19. A brown cat-shaped reflector
20. An odd-shaped football-magnet [from Easter egg]
21. A used Gallen-Kallela-stamp
22. A mite picker
23. A plastic snail
23. A bunny-shaped reflector
24. A key-ring with blue light
25. A key-ring with seal-picture
26. Some wool [I don't have a sheep or a goat, must be husky's]
27. Unused magic sand
28. A pink heart-shaped eraser with cute animals in it
29. Black thread
30. A yellow plastic ball [I remember like I'd tried to find that, but don't remember why and when]
31. An Equus Judo thingy [I'm a question mark shaped person. What is this?]
32. Wonka Spooky Nerds Fruit Punch Flavoured candies
33. A rock with a metal hook
34. A papyrus bookmark
35. A piece of pine bark with a hole
36. A yellow silk ribbon from 70s [my granny used to tie my plaits with these]


* I am a terrible mumbler. Everyone who has seen me knows that. Anyway, thank you for your visit, lovely Patch and Mr. Blue Cat.

18 comments:

James Henry said...

Thank you for your hospitality! And presents, mmm. The museum was lovely, patch liked the big red picture and I liked the stuffed swans.

Dave said...

Could it be a staple extractor?

I want to visit Finland.

Dave said...

Oh, and not all the money is worthless. The £5 note is still legal tender. Send it to me, and I'll spend it for you to prove it.

Taiga the Fox said...

James, I really enjoyed of our meeting and I was delighted to hear you like Helsinki, the presents and the museum as well. Hope to see you some day again!

Taiga the Fox said...

Dave, a staple extractor, of course. Niitinpoistaja in Finnish.

Finland seems to be popular, but there might be some space left for you too, if you want to make a visit. I will save the pounds for my next journey to England. Sorry. But I can send you the 20 Estonian cents. It's not worthless either.

patroclus said...

Taiga, it was lovely to meet you, and thank you so much for the gifts. But I can't help wondering - what is a mite picker?

It may be an unfashionable view, but I wish Britain was in the Euro. It would make my life so much easier, and that's all that matters.

Taiga the Fox said...

A mite picker is a nasty but ah, so useful thing.

patroclus said...

Ah, I see. I would call that a tick remover. It reminds me of the time I thought I had Lyme's Disease from a tick bite, but it turned out I only had a mild case of localised cellulitis.

I have a very interesting life.

While I'm here, perhaps you can enlighten me on some more Finnish art? We saw some fantastic drawings in the Ateneum, and I've forgotten who they were by, because I forgot to write it down at the time. One called (I think) Deserted Planet, and some more of some trees with tiny human figures. Do you know?

Taiga the Fox said...

Oh, thanks, that must be the right name for it.

Er, to be honest, I haven't seen the latest hanging in Ateneum yet, so I have absolutely no idea which the drawings might be. I will visit the exhibition soonish, so I'll try to check them out for you. Do you remember at what floor they were exhibited?

BiB said...

...and you can probably still change the German marks somewhere. That's 15 euros. Tonnes of money! (January 1st 2002, if memory serves...)

Taiga the Fox said...

Hi BiB and welcome :)


Woo hoo! I'm rich!
Or not, I've got a rotten house, which vacuums all my money. I'm sure it eats even old foreign currency. Hmph.

BiB said...

Your taaksepäinpalaamisenmahdottomuus has made me realise I must reignite my passion for Finnish immediately.

Taiga the Fox said...

You had a passion for Finnish? Hmm, I don't excactly remember, but did you say somewhere you have been in Finland studying the language?

BiB said...

Joo, kesakoulussa Savonlinnassa kahdeksan vuotta sitten, or something like that. I adore the country, but may have to accept defeat when it comes to the world's most beautiful language.

Anonymous said...

Well a google search for "Equus Judo" put your site at the top. I know what it is, but want to know how to reset it!

It's a trip computer for a bike. From the picture though, looks like you're missing the other half of it that attaches to the bike and sends a pulse to the device when the wheel goes around.

So now we both know what it is, but not how to use it...

Unknown said...

oz biker,

Heh, still top for "equus judo" :)

To reset it, take the battery out and put it back in again, it'll ask you for miles or km mode, choose with "mode" and click "set", then it'll ask for a measure of your tyre.

This is where I fall down - http://www.sheldonbrown.com/cyclecomp_c.html gives a number per each type of wheel, but it's one digit short for the calibration, I assume it's in mm on the judo, and that's cm, so add a zero.

Taiga the Fox said...

Oh, look, I gave you your own Equus Judo chat
room

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