When everything is the next best thing

So, naturally I'm also looking for a job now. Preferable in Helsinki, or near by. The good news is that there are lots of available jobs. The bad news is that there are also lots of people applying for those jobs.

The goal is to find a job that I could be passionate about, one that would make me want to stick around forever. I'm not picky, the only REAL criteria that I have is that it has to make me happy. And that's kinda the problem.

What do you do when you find lots of jobs that would SO make you happy? What do you do when you write the application and you don't even have to make up positive things because you're just so excited about the possibility of working there? What do you do when you send out the application and every time you get a feeling that THIS IS IT ? What do you do when you then get an answer "yes you'd be perfect but we need someone now instead of in a months time" or "if you can't be here for the interview next week then I'm afraid we can't consider you" or "sorry but the position was filled already last week" ? You get a little upset, that's what you do.

I'm someone you genuinely gets excited. Even though I know I probably shouldn't, I still do. How can you turn off the excitement of a new possibility? How do you stay calm and stop imagining what you'll wear on your first day of work in that new placement that's going  be just awesome? I haven't got a clue.

So, anyone there in Helsinki looking for an enthusiastic person, I'm here, hire me. I'm ready. I even know what to wear on my first day.

Things I did for the first and the last time

So my bucket list goes on. I tried to explain the meaning of it to the singer Davide Toffolo (3 allegri ragazzi morti), whom I met this weekend by accident. I didn't know who he was, to me he seemed just a nice chatty person in a strange costume. When my friends kindly told me who I was talking to, obviously I HAD to do a selfie with him (or is it a twolfie since we're both in it??).

So he agreed to do the photo, but also inquired what it was all about. I said "well, I'm doing things for the first and the last time, and taking selfies as I go along". I didn't care to mention that I did things for the last time because I was leaving the country, so he got kinda sad and said "ok, I'll do the photo, but mind you that I'm a little offended by the fact that you wish you never saw me again". Yes, way to go Erika, that's the way to put people in a good mood.

Luckily my friends rushed to my assistance and cleared the whole thing up. Thank's guys. Here are the latest 4 photos! Haven't ridden the bus yet, nor gone to Mass, but I'll get there!

Went to Treviso, by car, by myself. I didn't have a navigator,
so I used the one in my cell phone. Didn't have a holder
for it, so I used some tape to attach it to the
dash board. No, I'm not an ex scout.

Went to the Acqua Alta book shop in Venice. Yes I wrote it
wrong on the photo. It's said to be the prettiest book
shop in the world. I say: NI.

They had a music video shoot here for Vasco B. something.
Not Vasco Rossi, but the other one. They used a rubber
boat as a prop, so needless to say it was more or less
weird. We all got to participate, so if you see an Italian
music video with one scared blond, that's me.

And here we are, best mates with DT

Until next time, take care!!

Bucket list feat Italy

I said I was going to do a little bucket list about the things I hadn't yet gotten around to doing here in Italy?
Here goes! I started a little photo album to collect them all, and the first 5 photos are in. Enjoy!

cooked some excellent risotto, Italian style (rice first, then water)

got the membership card to the local "hang-out"
(better late then never...) And the date is obviously 24.4.
I don't live in the future, yet.

Went to a local "feast", or a "sagra". This I'd done
before, but never as a vegetarian. Same thing here with
the date, not living in the future folks!

Tasted sake for the first time EVER. Not my favorite.

Made a real cappuccino. Twas delicious.

That's it for now, more photos to follow! Having a rough time getting to Mass since it's on a Sunday, but by god I'm going to make it. One day.

What's the deelio then?

I'm not going to apologize for not posting, seeing that my head has been spinning like the town of Hamina lately (a Finnish proverb folks, due to the fact that the town of Hamina is formed like a big merry-go-round).

So what's the deelio then? The deelio is that I'm moving back to Finland. After 3,5 years in Italy, I'm moving back home. Currently I'm happy about it and can't wait, but at the same time fairly stressed out about various stuff. I'm a natural worrier, so that's what I'm doing. Especially if there's something important that I need to take care of but can't do it right away, and I need to wait. Oooooooooooooohhhh the agony.

I still have about 2 months left here. Apart from worrying I'm doing a small project called "bucket list feat. Italy". Meaning: doing all the things that one should do while living in Italy but I just haven't gotten around to yet. Plus documenting the whole thing by taking a selfie while I'm doing what ever it is that I hadn't done yet.

I've managed to cross a few things off my list already. Yesterday, I made a risotto, Italian style. It was the first thing I was taught to me when I arrived , but I'd never cooked risotto so far. Now I have, with some prosecco and mushrooms. It was good too. Here's the evidence.

the official risotto-cat has checked and approved the meal

My next goal is to take the local bus. And after that maybe go to Mass.
Are you allowed to take a selfie inside the church? 
I guess we'll find out, won't we.

So, sorry for this compulsory break in my writing, I'll try to get to it from time to time! In the mean time, have a good one!!

My big fat classy non-glittery memories of how gypsies used to be

For the past week I've had the cold, no fever but feeling like shit nonetheless. So after work I've arrived home, fed the cat and gone to bed exhausted. My eyes still worked, so obviously I watched a ton of TV.

On Saturday there was a marathon of "My big fat gypsy wedding". See the link for the English version HERE.

Then please see this link HERE  from the movie Snatch, which also includes a nice piece of the gypsy life.

Now tell me what the hell's happened in here??? Since when have gypsies gone glitter?

When I was little, we had gypsies in my school. The only thing particular about them was that they were a little bit of rascals, the girls had superlong dark hair and wore skirts, and the boys were always equally nicely dressed (wearing trousers, not skirts). They never wore anything that showed off too much skin, but instead they were always very classy when it came to clothing. Oh, and they all had leather jackets, and their moms had these humongous black dresses with white lace on them. We used to say that you could hide a whole caravan under there. I assume the gypsy kids had some traditions and rules I knew nothing about, but I remember that they were very respectful towards their elders. I thought that was kinda nice.

So when I look at these people appearing on the show My big fat gypsy wedding, I feel a little confused.

For one, they're always getting married. Or getting pregnant and having a baby shower. Or having their first communion. Or a birthday. It's all one big party. 

Secondly, the ultimate rule of dressing up is to show off as much ass  and tits as possible. Even at your wedding, or even if you're 10 years old and going to the church for that famous first communion.

Thirdly, whatever the event, the dress has to be huge and have at least 21 petticoats. Ok, that's something that the Finnish gypsies had as well, but they did it in a classy way, not by having these dresses that you can only wear in one room because the door isn't wide enough for you to get out.

Fourthly, everything has to glitter, and have butterflies on it, and glow in various neon colors. This one girl on the show who actually wasn't a gypsy but was marrying one, and therefore had to REALLY impress the future in laws,  had lighting installed in her wedding dress. Lighting, folks, as in battery operated leds all over the pink wedding dress (yes pink, because white would just be boring). Oh, and don't forget the 2 foot tiara standing on her forehead. 

Fifthly (can you say fifthly, is it a real word??), the little girls start to get spray tans when they're 12. That, and getting their nails done, and learning how to dance like a pole dancer. There was this cute little girl with freckles getting ready for her first communion. The mom took her to get a spray tan. She was asked what's the proper age when a girl should start getting spray tans, and she said twelve. "And how old are you dear?" "Twelve" "And why do you think twelve is the right age?" "Because when you're two or three years old, you're still little. But when you're twelve you're all grown up and should get a spray tan". While yes, I think she nailed that answer.

Sixthly, the guys are just "there", they don't really do anything. They go to work if they got one, and if not, they go get in trouble.

Now, I'm not saying that all gypsies are like this, I'm just saying that this is how they come off when watching the TV show. So, if the reality is something different, and the show's made up and full of lies, go blame the network.

To me, gypsies have always been as I knew them from my childhood. One of them was in my class when I was in high school. She was a nice girl, apart from being a little hyperactive, never doing her home work, or bringing her books to school in general. Still, I never saw her as something completely different from me, just a free and somewhat troubled spirit if you will. 

So what the hell happened here? When did gypsies become glittery? Showing off your status by having a big skirt or quality leather jacket has always been a part of the culture, I think, but when did it change from classy to trashy? Are there any of the old traditional gypsies out there? If so, how are they, what do they do, where do they live and do they ride ponies?

Help. 

Being alone vs. feeling alone

This is a perfect example of how we Finns are.

I read Helsingin Sanomat online the other day (the biggest newspaper in Finland) and found this little test you can do in order to find out how lonely you are. "Do this test and find out how lonely you are compared to the other Finns!". Well yes, thank you very much, I will! I mean, who wouldn't want to find out how lonely they are?

Only Finns would conduct a research on loneliness. When you're a population of 5 million people on a patch of land that could house 25 million people, you're bound to feel lonely at least once in your life.

The test can be found HERE (it's in Finnish I'm afraid)

I tried to do the test already a few days ago, but got bored half way through. I tried it again today, and sent in the results only to find out that you don't actually get the results right away, you're just part of a research and the "general results" will be published later on. Still, as you do the tests, they give you indications as to whether your answer was below or above the average. I seemed to be a little over the average in most cases. For example, they asked you how many goods friends do you have. I responded 5, and the average was 4. And so on.

I'm someone who likes to be alone. I cherish my me-time, and I'm also somewhat addicted to it. Still, I don't feel alone. I know that whenever I want I can call up someone and go out for a beer and a chat. I know I can call my mom and ask her about her day.

Should I find myself in a situation where everyone is momentarily busy and not available for a chat, I'll find something interesting to do in order to shake off the feelings of loneliness. Because, folks, what does "feeling lonely" really mean? To me, it means that you're momentarily feeling a little unworthy. It's not just the feeling of not having anyone to talk to, but also the feeling of not being good enough. Like other people are rejecting you because you're not worthy of their company. If your self esteem is at the right level, if you feel like your life is somewhat in order and you're happy with yourself in general, you're more unlikely to feel lonely even if you are alone. And so, doing something you like or something you're good at helps take care of those moments when you might feel a little lonely. Because every one of us feels a little lonely sometimes, it's weird if you don't.

My cool new mobile will keep me company, right?
It's Danish. It gets me.

The test got me thinking though. There was one question where they asked if you thought you might feel yourself lonely when you're old. I responded yes. I think I might.

I don't plan on having kids. I plan on having friends. But the thing is that when I'm old, my friends too will be old, and if we're all old and can't move our asses around anymore, who's going to visit me? That means that I'll be alone, and the only thing that's going to comfort me is that I've had an amazing life to look back on. But what if that's not the case? I mean, I'm pretty happy with it so far, but what if the rest of it sucks? Then what? I'll be old, miserable and I'll feel alone. It's inevitable.

So that's why we made a pact. Me and a bunch of my friends have decided that once we get old, we'll all go live in a big house together. I'll wipe your drool and you'll wipe mine. We'll all get up at 5 am and stalk the paper boy when he brings us the newspaper. We'll play bridge until the arthritis gets so bad that we have to kidnap the paper boy to give us a hand to move the cards. We'll complain about the quality of the "meals on wheels" service. We'll watch game shows on TV until we fall asleep at 7pm.

But wait, I can always grow old with my cat!!

Suddenly I'm not afraid of feeling lonely when I get old. Actually, all of the above sounds pretty cool to me.

Besides, I'm still counting on having that amazing life to look back on.

Have a good one folks, a good day and a good life!

WTF Instagram?

I'm not in Instagram. Should I be in Instragram? Are you? Obviously I've heard of it, I basically know what it is, but I've never even thought about joining. This morning I went to see what the hell the fuss is about, and found out why I'm not in Instragram.

It's not available for Nokia Lumia. That's why.

WTF Instagram? Why are you excluding my phone and in consequence excluding me? 

Obviously I'd buy an IPhone if I was rich. But the last time I checked I wasn't, so I only have a Nokia Lumia.

I've always been a late bloomer when it comes to new technology, I've always let other try things first and if nobody dies, then I'll consider joining. But to find out that I can't join even if I wanted to, well, that makes me kinda sad.

I once got kicked out of Facebook. One day I just couldn't access my account, and all I found was a little text on the screen saying "we believe you're faking to be someone you're not, if this isn't the case, please contact XYZ". Stunned, I contacted XYZ, and he said that they believed I wasn't really me, I was just pretending.

"Why do you think I'm a fake?" "Because" "Well, I assure you I'm me, what can I do to prove it?" "Nothing" "Look buddy, I'm me, I have all my photos tagged and about 500 friends in there who address me by my name, what else do you need?" "Eeeeee, hmmmmm, ok we'll check and let you know".

I was out for about a month. In the mean time I got so angry that I joined Twitter. I hate Twitter, I think it's the stupidest thing ever (it's like a club of stalkers), so you can imagine how desperate I was. Still, I created an account and for a month I posted bad things about Facebook.

After a month I received an e-mail from the good people of Facebook saying "Sorry, our bad, your account has been re-activated". I thought I deserved more than just a stupid e-mail, like a we're-so-sorry-dinner and a box of chocolates, but I caved in and re-joined the community immediately. Haven't touched Twitter since.

I hate to be excluded, it hurts my feelings.

So Instagram, get your shit together and create the app for Nokia Lumia. Don't make me get angry and write bad things about you too.

Please.

Getting my shit together, shortly

I've been lazy, I know. Or more accurately, I've been busy. And dealing with a lot of changes. Life changes. So I haven't had the time or energy to write lately. SORRY.

Yesterday I was feeling a little sleepy after my singing lesson at 7pm, so I went to get a pizza, ate half of it, went to lie down "just for a second" and woke up at midnight pissed off as hell. Then I went to brush my teeth and went back to bed and slept happily until 7am this morning. Yes, I guess you could say that I was feeling a little tired.

It was a little chilly last night, and so the cat slept under the covers with me. She has a sweet way of tapping my face with her paw as a sign to lift the covers so she can get next to me. And by tapping I mean scratching my eyelids until they bleed, biting my ear or frantically jumping over my face until I wake up. It's a real treat. But on the other hand, there's nothing quite as sweet as a little kittycat placing her little head right next to yours and starting to purr very softly. God I love my cat.

Saw this little video clip this morning. To me this is just another day when I come home from work. Don't all cat's do this? 

MEOW! link

Mine can also do the "gimme five". Or more like "gimme five and that treat on your hand or I'll pee on your carpet".

Anyways, I'll try to get my shit together shortly. Until then, I'll leave you with this. Don't ask.

http://themetapicture.com/unbelievable-places-to-visit-before-you-die/
Would like to credit the photographer but it wasn't mentioned...
anyways, good job you!

Miao miao

Ok, what I'm about to write will probably only interest you if you're a cat person. Especially the latter part of the text.

Remember when I was going on and on about getting my cat to the airplane with me, and how I bought a bag for her as well? And how it was reallyreally unclear if the cat was going to be able to travel in the cabin, and what size can the bag be? And what about the lay off, will she pee in the bag or will she hold it in? (Like I said, this will only interest you if you're a cat person)

I recently found out that probably the bag that I'd bought wouldn't be accepted by the airline I most frequently use. Now, this isn't just any old bag I'd bought, no no, it cost 80€ (original price 120€ or something). So basically I had a really nice bag for the cat, for which I had no use. Great. Also, the cat had already caused some damage to the bag, aka bitten various little holes in it, attacked it from various angles and licked the interior until she had a hairball the size of Texas inside of her stomach. So returning the bag to the store was out of question.

What does a crazy cat person do in this situation? Buys another overpriced bag.

"Moooom, can we put a couch and some mood lighting in here,
I have guests coming tomorrow"

And here it is. It's soooooooooooooooooo pretty. It's red, it's little, and the cat adores it. For some reason she feels safer in small bag with little room, rather than in a bigger bag. Probably because in a bigger bag there's more room to bounce around... Again, the bag cost me 80€, so at this point I've spent 160€ to buy bags for my cat. That's more than I've spent on my own bags, ever.

But still, isn't it cute? And it should be accepted by even the strictest air hostess or check-in counter lady.

It's not Louis Vuitton, but it's close.

And if you've read this far and you're not a cat person, I urge you to stop NOW.

Are you gone? Good.

My cat feels very embarrassed every time she vomits on the carpet. I never get angry at her or anything, I never yell at her, I just look at her sorry face and say "it's alright dear" and then go clean it up. This morning I discovered that she's started to vomit inside the litter box in order not to cause me the trouble of cleaning the carpet. Now, isn't that just the cutest thing ever??!!! I have the best cat ever.

Ok. Saying that my cat vomiting in the litter box is the "cutest thing ever" might be a bit exaggerated. So let's say it's the most "considerate thing ever."

So, I leave you with these mind images. Have a great weekend folks. Be well, prosper, buy lots of bags and remember not to vomit on any carpets!

Joey Lawrence, the brother I never had

I love watching TV. It's not a secret, I'm not ashamed of it, even though there are plenty if people who try to make me feel guilty for spending all that time watching TV instead of going out or meeting new people. I meet plenty of new people even though I watch a lot of TV, and I can always go out when I want. My favorite TV -show is only on once a week.

TV is my friend. The first thing I do when I go home: turn on the TV. I might not watch it, but it's nice to hear it in the back ground while I'm cooking or playing with the kittycat. Of course I also spend quality time with my TV, it's not just something I leave in the back burner. I don't enjoy the Italian TV as much as I enjoy the Finnish TV (probably because almost all of it is dubbed here) but finally, after 3 years of living in Italy, I've developed my TV-routine. And here it is.

Monday through Friday

I work during the days and I don't watch TV in the morning, so my TV-day starts when I get home at 17.30.

If it's Letterman-day, then I watch Letterman (it's in English, hooray!!). I haven't figured out why it's on during some days and some days not (and at different time slots as well), but when I get home from work I always check if it's Letterman-day or not. If I'm lucky and it's on, then I watch it while I'm making dinner. And it's awesome. I also amuse myself by reading the Italian subtitles and laughing at the silly mistakes they make with the translations.

David Letterman's not nearly as funny when translated in Italian

After that I turn on Deejay-TV, and I watch Perfetti ma non troppo (Less than perfect) and Melissa&Joey (with the always adorable Joey Lawrence, SEE THE ADORABLE LINK HERE). That's my sit-com dosage for the day. I also used to watch Big Bang Theory but the only channel that showed it was cancelled. Or maybe it was cancelled from my TV since I was watching it too much.... hmmm.....

After that I usually take a break, do something useful like wash the dishes or torture the cat. Or watch How I met your mother from the DVD (equally useful as torturing the cat).

Around 8pm I turn on MTV and watch Modern Family. It's a double header which means an hour of quality TV. On Tuesdays there's a special treat around nineish, Awkward (LINKETYLINK). Again, a double header, so needless to say I don't go out much on Tuesdays.

At this point (Awkward excluded) we've arrived at 9pm, and then comes the hard part. There's usually nothing interesting on. So what do you do? I take a shower and prepare myself for bed. Because at 10pm starts the Cosby Show, which by the way is called "i Robinson" here in Italy. Go figure. (My friend's say it's because they wanted to use the family name, but since Huxtable is impossible for them to pronounce they had to come up with something easier, and chose the Robinsons).

The amazingly beautiful Clair Huxtable (aka Phylicia Rashad)

So I watch the Cosby Show in bed (where I of course have my second TV) until I fall asleep.It's the perfect kind of a show to watch when you're tired, since the jokes are easygoing, relaxed, and the colorful jumpers of mr Cosby make you consider very carefully what to wear the next day to work.

Saturday through Sunday
I'm less TV oriented during the weekends actually. Since the cat's been waking me up super early lately, I sometimes watch the 3h marathon of Case da incubo (How clean is your house) in order to get good household tips, seeing that I usually clean the apartment on Saturdays. On Sunday mornings my favorite thing is to eat breakfast in bed and watch the Bold and the beautiful (in Italy it's called just Beautiful) for a few hours until 11am. Seeing Brooke go after Eric, again after 20 years, makes me feel like my personal life isn't in such a bad shape after all.

"Brooke, I'm the father of your sister's brother's cousin's dog walker's
favorite uncle's daughter. But more importantly: will you marry me?"

So there you have it folks. Of course I sneak in a few DVD films here and there, and some British TV comedies like Big Train or Spaced ( see links BIG TRAIN AND SPACED). Oh, and I've recently started going to the cinema again! A week ago we went to see Snowpiercer. I usually don't like scifi, but this one was a real treat. I give it 4 stars folks, even if it was full of unnecessary violence, disgusting filthy people and it almost made me have an anxiety attack.

Yes it seems I watch a lot of TV, but so what? It has taught me new languages, it gives me good tips on how to use coca cola to clean your toilet (never ever drink coca cola folks, it's freakin poisonous), and growing up together with actors who are of the same age as you (such as the cutie-pie Joey Lawrence) makes me feel like I'm watching my own brother's life on TV.

Awwwwwwwwwww,
just look at that face!!!

TV has been my friend no matter where I am in the world. It's the one thing we all have in common. When I travel, the first thing I do when I get to my hotel room is turn on the TV and see what the local shows look like. Not because I want to stay at my hotel room and watch TV the whole time, but because I'm curious. It's my family away from home, my safe haven when I'm all alone. I don't prefer it's company to my friends' company, but I don't undermine it either.

I've never had Sky or any other kind of pay-TV, and actually I'm afraid that if I had, I might get stuck at home for days and days. So thank god for normal TV and the fact that sometimes there's just crap on and I have to find something else to do.

Finally, a message to all the Finns: stop whining about the re-runs during the summer and the lack of TV channels. The shows you get are actually awesome compared to what I have to watch over here, they're in the original language, and they're not just Finnish or American shows, but also British, German, French, Swedish and what not. You also got nice advertisements during the breaks, and instead of having 50 equally boring shows for cooking, baking or making-a-mess-with-chocolate, you have Kokkisota and Sokkokokki. It's all good, just enjoy it!

Yes, even Salatut Elàmàt.

....98, 99, 100!

So this is my 100th posting. Hooray.

I think it's only fitting to use my 100th posting to show you where I live. It's a small town in Northern-Italy, in Veneto, about 45min north from Venice. It's really pretty (when it doesn't rain, and it rains A LOT). It's close to the mountains, close to the sea, close to some pretty lakes (which always sounds nice for a Finnish person), and close to some bigger cities like Padova, Udine, and well, Venice.

These are the surroundings where I've spent the last 3 years and almost 4 months. I'm not going to waste any more of your time writing stupidities, instead you can enjoy watching this photo-vomit I just puked up for you folksies. (Some of the photos I've probably already used at some point, but please don't hate me for it)

Wishing me a happy 100th posting party, and everybody else a nice and sunny weekend!
(except the Finns who apparently will get 80cm of snow this weekend)

One day every year, there's snow for about 2 hours.
Then it melts away.
Nevertheless, people go crazy and forget how to drive
the car responsibly.

A sunny day at Cortina

Cortina. Looks like Switzerland to me.

Springtime, some wine tasting event

Visiting some vineyards.
Always ALWAYS remember to get to know people
who own a Vespa.

Saint August, the saint of my city

a hot summer day at lake St. Croce

the view from my house

Can't not include Venice, can I?

the old part of my city

..river Meschio runs though it

Some concert in some nearby town (can't remember where)

This lake is called Lake Death. Well, the water IS so cold that
it might kill you.

My streetview on an autumn night

And when it rains, IT RAINS, a lot, and for a long time

Putting piece A together with piece Z

If there's one thing I've learned while living on my own, it's to read instructions. Always, no matter what the gadget or which Ikea furniture I have to put together, just read the instructions and you're life will be a lot easier.

Last time I read instructions was when I bought an electrical toothbrush. Sounds stupid right, because "it's just an electrical toothbrush". But by reading the instructions I found out that the toothbrush makes a weird signal when 2 minutes are up and it's time to stop brushing, and also that the battery lasts for about 5 days (and I shouldn't keep the thing constantly in charge-battery-mode).

I didn't used to read instructions. I bought an Ikea shelf, you know the one that's called LACK or something. The one that everybody has, which is quite large but looks really simple to put together. So I start, and after 2 hours of constant fighting with screws that don't quite fit, I have a shelf that kinda stands on it's own, with a few holes in it caused by some misguided anger administrated by a hammer held by me, and about 15 screws left over. Afterwards I got to reading the instructions (yeah, THAT's the time to read instructions) and had a few "aaaaaaaaaaaa" moments, realizing that had I just read the instructions before, I'd have a nice little LACK shelf with all the screws in their right place. Instead I have a nice little LACK shelf that might fall apart at any moment, and that has holes in it, reminding me every day about the existence of an angry person who lives inside of me when things don't go my way.

Of course, reading the instructions doesn't mean that I never have any left over screws anymore. I think that sometimes those little Ikea workers at Bangladesh decide to spice up their day, and they put some extra screws in the package just to SCREW me over. Or leave some screws out, and put the wrong ones in, what ever floats their boat at that moment of total bengal-madness.

Also, being a woman living on her own, means that you need to learn to do stuff that normally the man of the house would do. And since I'm not an engineer or an electrician, better to read the instructions before and only then get to work. Actually, I've noticed that my 13+ years of single living have paid off, since here in Italy I often find out that I'm better equipped to handle situations such as power shortages or what not compared to my male companions (who usually call their mom to come over and resolve the problem).

What to do when the heater doesn't work? Take out the manual and find out. What to do when the power goes out? Go to the fuse box and see what's wrong. Want to bake a cake? The recipe is on the table.

These days there are instructions for almost everything. Still, we choose not to read them, even though it would save time in the end, and also allow us to use the product more efficiently. Let's face it, we're a little stupid.

How many pens does it take to put together a LACK shelf?
Three Two blue, one red.
The one in the back is not a pen, it's a pencil.
(yes, it was a trick question)

Sometimes I wish there was a manual I could hand out to people when I meet them for the first time. "Hello, nice to meet you, here's my operating manual". This new person could read the manual and know immediately how I work, what goes with what, what to do when I have a few screws loose, and how to re-boot the system when it falls down completely. I wouldn't have to explain about all the little quirks and weird things I do, the person would already know to expect them and could just enjoy them instead of looking at me with a scared look on their face. I would like to have a manual of the other person too. What to do, what not to do. There would be less confusion, less misunderstanding, and a lot more comprehension for the other person. Also, you'd get the best use out of your new friend knowing right away e.g. that he's a singer (always available to play at your party), he's a mechanic (always ready to fix your car), or that he cooks really well (always welcome to move in with me).

Not to mention how well this would work on a first date. You'd meet up, exchange manuals, both of you take a moment to see what's in there, and you can decide right away if you think there's a possibility for
a) a long term commitment
b) an open relationship
c) one night stand
d) no interest at all

There's only one problem. Men don't read instructions.

Well, it sounded too good to be true anyway.
Back to the drawing board I guess.

Creative. Medium, not rare

I recently read this article about highly creative people and how they see and do things differently. First of all, I never realized that there were highly creative people as opposed to medium creative people or low creativity people, but then again, what the hell do I know. Secondly, seeing that I do some of the things that highly creative people do, and some not, I guess I could be part of the medium creative people?

No, wait, isn't "medium creativity people" the same thing as "people"? Ok, it's not important, moving on...

See the article HERE

So they've listed 18 things highly creative people do differently. Here we go.

1) They daydream
I daydream a lot. Lately I've done it a little less, but that's just because I'm somewhat stressed out. Before I used to set aside time for daydreaming. I'd lay on the couch, close my eyes and just think about wonderful things that I imagined would happen. I have to say that it made me feel great. In fact, I should start daydreaming again, I bet it would really help with the stress!

2) They observe everything
Well, kinda. In a sense that often I get new ideas for my blog or whatever when I'm riding my bike around town or walking in the woods or just looking out of the window. The thing is that I need to write everything down immediately, otherwise it'll be lost forever

3) They work the hours that work for them
Ooooooh yes. I'm not a morning person as far as productivity goes. I'm not cranky or anything, I just can't get my ass up to do anything useful before noon (if I don't have to). During the afternoon my brain starts to light up with ideas and after 5 pm it's time to start working on them. Or I could just stay in bed all day and do nothing, that works too.

4) They take time for solitude
All you have to do is read my posting about dating a person who lives in another country, and you get the picture. Being alone is great. Just like being in good company is great after you've been alone.

5) They turn life's obstacles around
Eeeeh, this is debatable when it comes to me. Sometimes I can't get with the whole "if live gives you lemons, make lemonade" movement, because I tend to think also that if the lemons just keep on arriving time and time again, eventually you'll get a stomach ache for drinking all that lemonade, and maybe you should just call it quits. There's only so much pain and disappointment I can take. On the other hand, it doesn't mean you can't try again a little later.

6) They seek out new experiences
This is why I travel alone. Not being influenced by the wants and needs or prejudice of your fellow traveler makes you see and do things you might not have done otherwise. When you're alone, nobody's censoring you.

7) They "fail up"
See number 5. And then try again a little later.

8) They ask the big questions
Read my posting about what happens when we die...

I drink hot chocolate in the morning, and I often find this weird
formation of what looks like sheet music on the inside of the mug.
A cool coincidence, or a message from GOD to give music a go?

9) They people-watch
Yessirrrrr. The best place to sit when you're eating or having coffee by yourself is in front of the window so you can spy the passers-by, or in the corner from where you can see the whole restaurant/coffee shop etc.

10) They take risks
Yeeeeeeee well not quite. I tend to take calculated risks. Which actually aren't risks at all.

11) They view all of life as an opportunity to self-expression
Someone once told me that it was annoying how I was good at everything I did. Obviously that wasn't true, but what is true is that I've always had many passions and interests, and I do always aim to be good at what I do. In fact, if I'm not good enough at what I do, I tend to let it go after a while. But seeing that I've been passionate about many different things, such as singing, playing the piano, radio, dubbing, boxing, drawing, yoga,  languages, travelling, writing.... makes me think that indeed any means of self-expression is good enough for me. Especially boxing, which I used to express my anger to one of my boyfriends once. Don't worry, he deserved it.

12) They follow their true passions
Well, I'd like to follow them, only I'm too much of a coward to do it. Maybe one day.

13) They get out of their own heads
As in getting inside other people's minds, and understanding them better? Nope, not me. I barely get myself, and tend to spend more time making someone understand me than trying to understand them. Yes, I'm a bad bad person.

14) They lose track of time
Can happen, if I'm really into some idea and I know I don't need to be anywhere and nobody's expecting me. But to totally lose track of time and forget a meeting or whatnot? Nope. I'm too organized for that. Although I'm almost always late.

15) They surround themselves with beauty
I'm currently buying new artwork for my future apartment. This apartment exists somewhere in the unknown. Actually, it's a little sad I'm buying stuff for the future, when I could enjoy them now. And no, ask any one of my old friends, I'm not someone with exceptional taste. But I'm getting better though!

16) They connect the dots
They connect whatnow? I have a light bulb moment every 10 years, I wouldn't exactly call that connecting the dots. I do however often feel guilty and embarrassed for all the stupid ideas I have.

17) They constantly shake things up
Being unhappy is the only way to make a change happen in my life. When I'm happy, I just want things to stay the way they are forever, which is neither possible nor good for me. I might shake things up every once in a while, but in a controlled way. Can't get too risky, otherwise I'll get scared.

This is not creativity, this is IKEA

18) They make time for mindfulness
When I did yoga I never managed to clear my mind. It's like when they say "don't think about pink fat elephants" and then that's all you can think about. Daydreaming is the closest I'll ever get to being mindful. But that's close enough.

So there you have it folks. I've always had a creative side to me, but I'm also very organized and pragmatic at times and therefore I'll never be a true artist. But that's ok, we can't all be highly creative. Sometimes I do wish though that I'd be REALLY good at something that I love to do. Or maybe I should just stick with my passions a little bit longer instead of changing my mind every 10 seconds... Still, I think the ability to get excited about things is a blessing in itself.

Wishing you a highly creative weekend. Go get jiggy with it.

PS. Happy Women's Day I guess. If there was ever a day to get a sex change operation, it's tomorrow.

The good, the bad and the shirtless

I read the best piece of news today. Apparently the good Mr. Vladimir Putin has been nominated for the Nobel peace price. Well, I say it was about time too. I mean the way he's just peacefully trying to take over Ukraine with the help of 15000 soldiers and 150 000 tanks and all. The Russian soldiers are over there petting and hugging the Ukrainian people as we speak.

In the spirit of Mr. Putin here, I thought of other rewards that would be equally reasonable.

1) The Big Bad Wolf being rewarded for demonstrating the little Piggies how hazardous their houses were

2) The Wicked Witch being rewarded for feeding Snow White the apple, as Snowy was clearly tired and needed a little rest

3)  Hitler being rewarded for creating some excitement and fireworks for the whole Europe in 1939-1945 (he was actually also nominated for the peace price after the Olympics in Berlin... go figure)

4) Bill Clinton being rewarded for demonstrating how it's important to have good working relationships with the interns instead of looking down on them (insert your own inappropriate joke here modifying the last sentence a little.... got it? No? Nevermind...)

5) Silvio Berlusconi (same as above but with teenage girls from Morocco)

6) My client who pays an invoice 30 days too late being rewarded for safekeeping my money on my behalf

7) My insurance agent who tricked me into having double insurance being rewarded for making me feel extra safe

8) All the tobacco companies being rewarded for making our lives a little shorter so we don't get bored

9) The catholic priests being rewarded for not suing the little choir boys for getting too close

10) Leonardo di Caprio being rewarded an Oscar just so that we can finally stop talking about how it's really sad he's done so poorly in his life

Just saying.

Go Putin, and don't forget to wear a shirt for the ceremony.

First the gay friendly atmosphere,
and now the peace price nomination...
I mean, is there anything he
WON'T do for world peace??!!

I live in a different country, so you better love me NOW

Some time ago I realized that traveling alone is not only convenient because it's easier to arrange everything (you only have to agree with yourself on the time, place and cost), but it's also good fun.

It all started with an innocent trip to the lake Garda (in Italy), and afterwards I've become fixated on travelling by myself. I can make my own schedule, see the things that really interest me and not see things that don't interest me at all. I can go take a nap without feeling guilty about it, and sleep in if I'm feeling tired in the morning.

The only time I feel like some company would be in order is while I'm eating dinner. Luckily that can be arranged by finding a friendly restaurant where they sit you at the bar, and after the second night you're already friends with the staff and they'll keep you company while you eat. Problem solved.

So what happens when a young(ish) blond girl travels alone? She meets people. Man- people. And it can also happen that these man-people want to get to know you better and see you after you've returned home. Someone might call it organizing a date. I would.

Now, if this date-thing was happening with someone who lives in my city (and country), things might go approximately like this:
1) you go out one night during the week, let's say Wednesday, and you meet up in some local pub for drinks. You stay out for max 2 hours, and then it's bye bye
2) if the first date went well, you might meet up again, let's say on a Friday, for dinner. Or if you're romantic, you might meet up on a Saturday for a nice stroll by the sea side (during the day), and afterwards you go get some hot chocolate and talk for a few hours. And then it's bye bye
3) should there be a legendary third date, then it's your business what you do, I don't want to know anymore. But after the third date there's a slight possibility that you might be entering in some sort of a relationship, so be aware.

But since this man-person lives abroad, the scenario is approximately this:
1) can I come and spend a weekend at your house so I can stay with you 72 hours straight?

This freaks me out. It's like being on a first date for 3 days with someone you don't know all that well. You might realize after 2 hours that you don't like this man-person at all, and after that you're stuck with him for another 70 hours. And what's worse, he's going to be in your house, by your side, not leaving you alone, giving you zero privacy for the whole weekend. To me, this extensive closeness so early on might even ruin something that otherwise could have blossomed into a nice little relationship.

This kind of endurance-dating makes me feel like I'm running a marathon when I've only prepared myself for a 100m dash (or better, 200m fences). My feelings don't have the opportunity evolve through time, but everything has to happen NOW.

"Love me, right now, because on Sunday I'll be gone."

OK, I admit that I'm also freakishly intolerant about people who stay at my house for more than 3 hours at a time, and the same thing applies to me staying at someone else's house. To me, my house is my castle, and your house is your castle. "This is my dancing space, and that is your dancing space" (cit. P.Swayze, Dirty dancing)

Obviously none of this applies if I'm madly in love with you, then you can be the king of my castle for all I care. But until the deal is done, only short visits apply.

obviously you also need to get the cat's approval
before entering my apartment

It's weird though, the more I travel and the more people I get to know, the more I cherish the time I have for myself. I love meeting new people and hanging out with them, but when the night is over I can't wait to be by myself and mind my own business. Until the morning comes and I'm ready to be social again. It's like I need to recharge my togetherness-batteries or otherwise they'll run out and I'll become a mean bitch.

So what have we learned today folks? If you want to date me, you have to move to my country, preferably to my city, but you need to keep your distance. Easy as that! If you should one day receive an invitation to enter my apartment, you know things are going well.

Have a datefull WE everybody! Or not, your choice.

Life, part II

Sometimes I make a stupid-ass mistake and go to bed too early. What this means is that I wake up around 2am and can't sleep anymore, so for about 3 hours I think about stupid shit that I'd never think about during the day. Also, like you can imagine, the things I think about have little or no meaning to me in the real life, but during the wee hours of the night they become huge and almost impossible to overcome.

An example.
When I was moving to Italy 3 years ago, I was rather stressed out since I had only 6 weeks to pack up my life and go. During the days I wrestled with things like where to put my couch while I'm away and who might take care of my pet gecko. Pretty normal things to worry about, but would surely be arranged in some way. During the night I thought about how the hell to have breakfast on my last morning in Finland, because I obviously couldn't leave any food behind in the refrigerator. Also, I was super worried about where to put my cover and pillow after I wake up on the last morning. For some reason I didn't say to myself "go have breakfast out with your family, and give the cover and the pillow to your mom while she's having her coffee". No, instead I stayed awake until 5am worrying about it.

Last night I went to bed too early, and at 2am started thinking about what happens when I die. 

If I was a person who practiced her religion (evangelic lutheran btw) I'd have this all figured out. You go to heaven (or hell...) and that's it. Good deal, no worries, I'm covered. But I'm not a religious person, so I have some doubts about the existence of heaven/hell.

Should I believe in reincarnation I wouldn't be worried either. You die and then come back, good deal, no worries. If not for reincarnating as Dennis Rodman or a dung beetle. But I'm not convinced about reincarnation either, so I'm back to square one.

An eternity in a box....

Occasionally I bring the subject up with my friends (not too often, I don't want to come off as the weirdo who doesn't know what to do when she dies). Usually it goes something like this.

me: What does one do when they die?
him: What do you mean? As in will they put you in a coffin or will you be cremated, or what?
me: No, as in "whatcha gonna do" when you die?
him: Eeeee, well dear, you don't do anything, you're dead
me: You mean that I'm supposed to just not do anything until forever and ever, like millions of years?
him: Sweetie, you're dead, you don't need to do anything, you're just dead. There.
me: Where?
him: What do you mean where?
me: As in where will I be?
him: Nowhere, you're dead. Physically you're underground, mentally you don't exist
me: But I have to be somewhere. I can't just disappear. When I die, where should I go?
him: For all I care you can go to hel................. I don't know dear, I'll think about it and let you know
me: Ok, thanks

I know I sound like a 3 year old who hasn't quite understood the concept of death, but I just can't wrap my head around the fact that one day I'll just disappear. My body and soul will vanish for good. And the concept of not doing "anything" for the next gazillion years is hard to accept. And how long is that anyway? How long do I do this "nothing"? Until Earth blows up? And then what?

Huh, I guess this is one of the reasons why people start believing in God, they can't deal with the fact that maybe there's no afterlife.

...or maybe I'll come back as a piece of Spanish artwork.
No wait, that's just a pile of rocks.

Well, instead of turning to religion for answers, I'm just going to decide now, once and for all, that when I die I will go to this really nice place X, and there will be some really cool job awaiting for me. Like "the boss of the warehouse with red and blue stuff in it" or "manager of all things shiny". So, to put it shortly, a delightful task with zero responsibility to do for the rest of the existence of the universe.

And beyond.

In the meantime, maybe I'll just try to take care of the lifetime I have at hand.

This is not a posting about the hockey match Finland vs Sweden

I could write about the EXTREMELY important hockey match that will be played today at Sochi. Finland vs. Sweden. But I won't. It would be too obvious and natural. And since I'm not obvious, nor natural, I'll write about something else.

I will say though that I REALLYREALLYREALLYREALLYREALLYREALLYREALLY hope that Finland wins. And I'm desperately trying to find a way to see the match here at work, which is hard because apparently Italian TV channels aren't interested in hockey, especially if the two teams playing come from some weird nordic place. Also, YLE Areena doesn't work here, so I'm going slightly mad. But that's all I'll say about the subject.

Instead I'll talk about another really important matter going on in the motherland. The parliament discussed yesterday the initiative (that come about an initiative from the good Finnish people) that would allow gay people to get married. It looks like the initiative will move forward, since 108 members of the parliament are for it. In general I'm not into politics, nor do I know anything about the struggles of a gay couple, but I know how much it pisses me off when someone tells me that I can't do something that in my mind I should totally be allowed to do, so for this reason I'm rooting for the homosexuals.

Where as most of the parliament seems to agree with my views, there are still some that are vigorously against it. We have this political party called Perussuomalaiset (which means "the basic Finns" or the "ordinary Finns") who in general are against everything that's weird according to them, or that has to do with foreigners. So, a lovely bunch of people, and very flexible thinkers too.

Apparently one of them (can't remember the name, a dude anyway) decided to sleep inside the parliament in order to be the first in line to cast his vote against the initiative. Now that's what I call serious commitment. I'm happy to see a representative of the parliament who's this dedicated to his work, but on the other hand, in this case, he comes off as ridiculous as the teenage girls who wait in line for days to get to the front row of the Backstreet Boys' concert. Or better yet, I can understand the enthusiasm of the Backstreet fans, the concert just isn't the same if you can't see the pimples of Nick and taste the sweat of Kevin (who's old, so he sweats). But mr. Perussuomalainen here seems to think that if he's the first one to vote, his vote will have some special powers and his opinion on the matter will be taken more seriously.

Well, good luck mr. Perussuomalainen, maybe tonight you can go sleep in front of the border of Finland in order to block any foreigners from entering, or in front of the supermarket in order to block the grannies from buying discounted coffee. Your move.

There's also this other revolutionary thing going on in Finland. Apparently this chain of kiosks called R-kioski has implemented a new way of offering coffee to their customers. You can choose a red mug if you're currently in a relationship, or the green mug if you're single and therefore available for a chit chat with a fellow R-kioski goer. 

I think this system isn't exactly waterproof. What if I'm single but I'm NOT looking for a date? What if I'm in a relationship but I'm a huge bastard and looking for new companions? What if I'm lesbian and looking for women's company? What if I'm kind of in a relationship, but it's still too early to tell (to use a FB term: It's complicated) and so I might be up for some new action, but you have to be a really hot guy or otherwise super interesting. What if I went to R-kioski just to get a cup of coffee instead of wanting to declare my relationship status? Who the hell hangs around a kiosk in hopes of scoring a hot date anyway?

Finland, the land of a thousand relationship-related problems, both hetero- and homosexual. (FYI for those of you who didn't get the joke, Finland is usually referred to as the land of thousand lakes) (OK, I just kinda ruined the joke by explaining it)

looking at one of the thousand lakes,
wearing something around my neck that looks like one of those rescue hoops.
Instead, it's scarf. A really big scarf.

If this is the level of the problems in the motherland, then I can feel pretty satisfied. We're not struggling for our lives, like let's say, in Kiev. Kiev, hang in there, things will get better, and let's hope that one day your biggest problem too will be from which mug to drink your coffee at the local kiosk. Looking forward to it.

And last but not least:
my Swedish supplier (at work) just informed me that he'd buy me dinner next time he comes here if Finland wins the match. I didn't promise him anything if Sweden wins. That's what we Finns call SISU.

No sorry, my bad, that's just being a nasty bastard.

Still, GO FINLAND!!!!!!

Je veux jambon, merci.

I work in a somewhat international environment. A part from Italians I talk with the Finns (well duh), Swedes, Americans, Germans, Austrians and the French. I don't speak all of these languages fluently, but in theory, by the power vested in me by the hours of language lessons taken during the 30+ years of my life, I should be able to say something in each of these languages. At least the basic things, who I am, why I'm calling, and "sorry but the person you're looking for isn't available at the moment, would you like to leave a message?". But in reality, things aren't that easy.

I speak fluently Finnish, English and Italian. I speak fairly well Swedish, in theory. I used to speak Swedish really well when I still lived in Finland, it's actually a language that I like a lot. When I'm at home alone, when I'm speaking by myself in Swedish (yeeees yeeees I'm weird and I talk by myself using foreign languages), I'm a rather skillful Swedish-speaker. I write Swedish well, apart from having forgotten some of the words, but that's what Google translator is for. Still, when I they call me from Sweden, I sometimes freeze up. I can't remember any of the words, and sometimes I forget why I called in the first place. Yes, it's just lack of practice, but still the difference is huge comparing to the fluent Swedish I speak at home by myself. It's rather baffling, and a little sad. I never know how to describe my Swedish skills in my CV. I wish there was an option somewhere between "fluent" and "intermediate", like "fluent speaker in closed premises" or "fluent with the cat".

I've also studied French for 5 years, and got a super-grade on it when I graduated high school in 2000. So, what, 14 years ago? GOD I'M OLD. So naturally I've forgotten most of it, but it amazes me that after all the studying I can't seem to come with a single word when I suddenly get a call from France and the caller doesn't speak any English. Ok, it's a situation that I wasn't prepared for, but not even a simple bonjour comes out of my mouth. Instead I start speaking English to him veeeeeery veeeeeeeeeery slowly. Of course he understands everything I'm saying even though he claims not to speak English (like all French people), and I understand everything he says to me in French. Still, all I can muster up is a "merci, au revoir" before hanging up. It's a disgrace folks, a disgrace.

nope, I'm not fine at all

I sometimes fly with Air France. When the hostess greets me at the entrance of the plain, in French, I always respond with a really nice and fluent "Bonjour!". The problem is that after that they think I'm actually French, and later on when they come to ask me if I want a cheese or ham sandwich, they do it in French. And even though I by now know to expect this, and I kinda prepare myself to respond in French, I always freak out in the end and what comes out is English. Would it really be so hard to say "jambon" or "fromage"? Evidently it is.

Well, the French hostess isn't much better either, after having heard my response in English she asks me what I'd like to drink, in French. I blame it on the noise in the plane, and she probably didn't hear me speak in English. But most likely she's just a mean French hostess who hates me for not knowing her language.

I've studied German for 6 months now. In some ways it's a lot like Swedish, so that helps a lot. I've noticed that once you've lived abroad and you've had to learn a new language quick, you develop a skill to understand new languages, any language, in a short period of time. I might not be able to say many things in German yet (or more like say things correctly in German), but I've learned how to listen and understand German in a matter of a few months. We'll see how it goes when I get my first call from a German person who doesn't speak English. I'll let you know.

The thing is that with all these languages in my head, I've started to lose my Finnish. Or I start a sentence in English and somewhere in the middle it turns into Italian. Or I'm writing something in Swedish, get a call from a colleague and suddenly can't speak a word of Italian, bara svenska. I translate the sayings in Italian into Finnish, only to find out that it doesn't make any sense.

When you speak lots of languages daily, in the end you're not fluent in any of them. Not even your mother's tongue. Kinda makes you wonder if all this studying and messing about with different languages is causing me more damage than anything else.

folks, don't go learning Italian  in order to understand this message,
in the end it's not that important

So folks, what have we learned today? That learning languages is bad. We should all stay in our homes, in our own countries, not talk to strangers, and watch TV shows dubbed in our own language. Stick with what you know and be good at that. We have 5 million people in Finland, so don't tell me you can't find a fellow countryman to talk to if you fancy a chit-chat. No need to talk with foreigners, it'll just confuse you.

To the ones who didn't get that the above is called irony, I hope you take my advice. For the rest of you, wishing you a super international day!