Category Archives: California

Retrospective, Part II

Posted on September 1, 2013 by Jussi Kangasharju

Here’s the second part of my retrospective look at my sabbatical year. The first part focused on more higher level issues, but this one is more about practical stuff for those planning or thinking about a sabbatical themselves. It’s not … Continue reading →

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Retrospective, Part I

Posted on August 18, 2013 by Jussi Kangasharju

During one year you can learn quite a lot and make many observations of the different cultures that you live in. This post serves as kind of a retrospective look on the year, focusing mainly on life in general, experiences … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Korea, Miscellaneous | 1 Comment

Back to Square 1

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Jussi Kangasharju

That’s it, we’re back at home in Finland. The trip home went smoothly and without any hiccups (except for the still-lingering jet lag since it’s only 4 days that we’ve been back). Home was where we had left it and … Continue reading →

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Beer

Posted on July 27, 2013 by Jussi Kangasharju

What do American beer and making love in a small canoe have in common? They are both f…..g close to water. Or so goes the old story. And if you restrict “beer” to Budweiser, Miller, and Coors, you’d be entirely … Continue reading →

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Commuting and Cars

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Jussi Kangasharju

Back home in Finland, I commute by car, largely because the Kumpula campus where I work, is very poorly reachable by public transport from places north of it. Also for the past years The Daughter’s daycare was not within walking … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Miscellaneous | 1 Comment

Kids in America

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Jussi Kangasharju

Earlier I wrote about how our kids adapted to life in Korea, now it’s time to recap the situation here in California. The Older One, as I wrote earlier, went to kindergarten for about 3 months and that has now … Continue reading →

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On Technology

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Jussi Kangasharju

Technology is a funny thing, especially for someone who’s actually working in the field. Obviously there’s the part of developing it (where I usually come in :)) but this posting is more about how technology is used in everyday life … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Korea, Technology | 4 Comments

Is Food Expensive in Finland?

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Jussi Kangasharju

Everyone (in Finland) “knows” that food in Finland is by far the most expensive in the world, because of “whatever the imagined reason du jour happens to be”. Hmmm… an astute reader might detect a hint of sarcasm in that … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Korea, Miscellaneous | 5 Comments

Banking

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Jussi Kangasharju

When you are a customer of a non-Finnish bank, you very quickly come to appreciate how well the whole banking system works in Finland. No, I don’t claim it’s without any problems Finland, but trust me, from the point of … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Kids, Miscellaneous | 1 Comment

Mobile Phones in the USA

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Jussi Kangasharju

Here comes the obvious sequel to my stories about mobile phones in Korea. Well, we came to California and as I suspected earlier, things did not improve. From my business trips to the US over the past couple of years, … Continue reading →

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