Bruno & Heli

Number seven and eight of this interview countdown to Christmas, are Bruno Almeida, IT engineer and Heli Sairanen, mechanical engineer.

This was definitely an exeptional interview situation: Watching the Finnish Independence Day ceremony on TV, while listening to bad Portuguese jokes.

Where are you originally from?

Bruno: I’m from Portugal. Heli: I’m from Pori, Finland.

For how long have you been living in Helsinki?

Bruno: Almost three years. Heli: And I moved here approximately one year ago.

What do you do for a living?

Heli: I’m a mechanical engineer. I work as a project engineer for Neste Jacobs. Bruno: I work as an IT engineer and team manager for F-secure.

How do you like Helsinki?

Bruno: It’s quite nice. Heli: So far so good, there’s nothing to really complain about. Bruno: That’s so Finnish. Heli: (laughs) I know it is. But it is. Bruno: It’s a nice city.

Do you have a favourite place in Helsinki?

Heli: Well, I suppose your favourite place is next to the Helsinki cathedral in the centre, the Senaatintori, or Senate Square in English. Bruno: Yes, I like that place. Heli: I really like the sports area at Lauttasaari beach where you can go jogging next to the sea and then you have those fitness equipments. It’s like an open-air gym. That’s one of my favourite places.

How often did you radically change your life?

Heli: Maybe once a year. Bruno: Everything changes, all the time. Heli: If you think of a more radical change in the previous years, it has been once or twice a year; something like a major event happened and that has been a life changer. And then, of course, the small things that happen every day, they sort of gather up as bigger things.

How did you two meet?

Heli: During my studies I went for an internship to Portugal. That’s how we met. Bruno: I was working in the same company, she came there and she said ‘hello’ and I said ‘hellooo’. Heli: No, you didn’t (laughs). No, you said it normally because if you‘d said ‘hellooo’ I would’ve been really irritated.

What is your dream?

Bruno: My dream? I have multiple dreams. Heli: That’s a big question. It changes during time. Bruno: Yeah, you always have a different thing! Heli: I think dreams change according to the choices that we make. If you make a decision, it effects everything, and then you start to dream of other things because if you had chosen another way you might have dreamed about another thing in a similar situation.

Do you have a dream together?

Heli: Our current dream is to buy a house. Bruno: Is that so? (We all laugh.) Heli: It’s not a dream; it’s more a goal. Bruno: Have a life together and have ten kids. Heli: No! Maybe one.

What have you been proud of lately?

Bruno: I think I’m getting better at my job. That feels good. Heli: I had a difficult case at work this week and it turned out nicely. So in a way things are progressing beautifully.

The older you grow, what’s getting easier for you?

Heli: Waking up early in the morning (laughs). Bruno: No, it’s not! Work gets easier and to develop myself professionally.

Thanks guys!