My new spectacles are a spectacle

I got new eyeglasses yesterday. Seeing that in Italy the prices for eye wear seem to be way more reasonable than what they are in Finland, I've already bought 3 pair in 3 years. I have my trusted eyeglass-place where I go every time, because not only do they have cool glasses they are also extremely nice people. This time we decided to go for something "crazy".

never mind the wrinkles under my eyes,
just concentrate on the glasses!!

Folks, believe me, there's nothing quite like having a pair of pink eyeglasses to brighten up your day. Looking at the world through this wonderful frame of gummybear-rose makes everything seem a little less sad and a little more exciting. Like suddenly I had a licence to be silly and goof off again, a licence that you tend to loose when you grow up.

Borca Occhiali, thanks for making me a kid again!
And a pinksy-winksy day to y'all!

Kitty-Air

I often talk about the difficulties in life. But do you know what's really difficult? Transporting your cat in the airplane.

I've decided that the next time I go to Finland for more than 7 days, I'm bringing the kittycat with me. After all, how difficult can it be? Right?? Wrong.

Now, the regulations for kittycats are very clearly stated in the web pages of different airline companies. Basically the rule of thumb is that your smelly-cat + the transport container can weigh up to 6-8 kg total (depending on the airline), and the container can be max 55x40x20cm. A.k.a it has to fit underneath the seat in front of you, like a normal hand luggage. So I went ahead and bought a transport bag for the little beast. I found a real nice one too, made of fabric (not plastic). The only thing is that the height is 30cm. Oh-oh. What to do now? When in doubt, ask the airline!

"Hello miss Airline, can I transport my cat in a bag that's 30cm high, but it's made of fabric so it folds down?"

1) via telephone they say "well, does it say on the bag that  you can use it in an airplane?" "Yes mam" "Well, then it's ok"

2) via e-mail they respond to me that they'll take no responsibility for any bag that's not exactly as requested in the airline rules. "Your cat may be left behind"

3) when I actually physically went to the airport to talk to the person at the check in, he said "I've never measured a cat, or a cat bag for that matter, I just look at it and if it appears small, that's ok by me"

Now that's what I call professionalism folks!

Anyway, bought the damn bag and if it isn't ok with the airline people, I might have to hit someone.

Tadaa! It's the delux-model.

Next problem, making sure the cat doesn't get fat. Right now she weighs about 3,5 kg, and the bag weighs 1,2 kg. Seeing that she's willing to eat just about anything (at least once) I have a tendency to feed her a lot. Especially if I've been away and feel guilty about it. So now it's about time to put the furball on a strict diet that doesn't consist of the following:

a) beer

b) any kind of cheese I bring to the house

c) yogurts (also because they give the little kitty gas)

d) little bits of bacon

e) chocolate chip cookies

Then there's the issue of a passport. These days a cat has to have it's own passport if it wants to go for a vacation. And no, she can't be added into my passport, she's not my child (even though she's my little baby). For this, she needs a microchip and a rabies vaccine. And a current photo. I asked the cat-passport-officials if while taking the photo the cat had to look straight into the camera without smiling. Mr. Serious Passport Official informed me that actually the photo isn't obligatory, and that a small smirk is allowed on cats.

Oh-oh, the cat's out of the bag. Wait, is it smirking...?

So let's say that we make it to the airport, with a bag that's probably ok, a passport with a smirking cat on it, and a cat that's not too fat.

Then comes the tricky part. A part from a few summer months, there are no direct flights to Finland from here. Which means I have to change planes somewhere in Europe. Which means that the trip takes about 6-7 hours total. Now, I don't care how freaked out and mesmerized the feline is, it's gonna wanna pee at some point. Praying that it won't do it during the flight, I'd have to try and make it pee during the lay-off.

And how do you make a cat pee on command? By yelling "pee!" at it? By opening a faucet and hoping that sounds of water will help? By making it drink a whole lot and hoping she'll pee right away instead of an hour later in the plane? I got no idea... Also, it's not like I can take the cat outside, so does that mean I'm going to have to smuggle 1 kg of cat litter with me? 

I can already picture it. Me and the cat in the toilet, with the faucet running, me yelling "pee, damned, pee!" and the cat looking at the weird arrangement of cat litter like she had never seen such a presentation before. 

She's SO going to pee in the plane.

Still, I'm convinced that the cat has to come see the motherland. I've come a long way with the preparations, I can't give up now. It'll be amazing, and that's it. 

Come on kitty, let's take a walk on the wild side!

PS. How many different words for a cat can you come up with? Many.

Excuse me for excisting, won't do it again

In Italian the word "succedere" means "to happen". The word "un successo" means "success". So basically they're saying that trying is succeeding, go ahead and give it a go and you'll see that success will come your way. You're already a winner if you just try.

The Americans have Nike. "Just do it". Just go for it, without fear, without hesitation, and you'll achieve your goals. Or not, but who cares, then you'll "Just do it, again".

What do we Finns have? Sayings like "hiljaa hyvà tulee", which means "take it slow and maybe you'll get there", or "parempi pyy pivossa kun 10 oksalla", which means "it's better to have 1 bird in the birdhouse than 10 sitting on the branch outside". Or what about "vaatimattomuus kaunistaa", loosely translated "being modest makes you pretty". Oh, sorry, there is one saying that encourages us to give it a go. It says "yrittànyttà ei laiteta". Meaning "if you at least try it, nobody can hold it against you if you fail".

climb every mountain...

So, basically we're mentally set up to fail from the get go, or not to try even, to be quiet and settle for what we have. To not boast if we've discovered to have a magnificent talent, just keep it to ourselves and maybe use it to enlighten the lives of our loved ones every once in a while. There's a reason why we Finns aren't all that known in the world. It's not because no one of us never has good ideas or cool projects, it's just that we never dare to give it a go. We keep it all inside, or at least inside the country limits. We're pansies. A bit wuss. We're a bunch of chickens. (imagine me making chicken sounds here).

Also, there seems to be this attitude to bring down those who would be interested in trying. For example, here in Italy all the musical groups just starting out are given a chance to play in nice places, and not just some charity events or "somewhere in the back room" where nobody even hears you. There's tons of opportunities to play if you want, especially if you make your own music. In Finland, at least when I was still living there, it seemed that there was room only for the best. Now what's that about? It's like people are afraid you'll embarrass them with your beginner's music. But how the hell are these people going to grow if they can only play at the rehearsal studio? Enthusiasm counts for squat. In general, no matter what the field, we bring things out in the public only when we're 100% sure that it'll be amazing. No room for error, no room for embarrassing try-outs. If there's any doubt of not being anything but mind blowing, better to stay in the shadows.

..make it to the top...

We Finns are proud of having this thing called Sisu. Basically it means having guts. Or better yet, it means trying one more time even when we're beaten and we've almost lost the battle. But again, this is something that comes into play only when we're already down and defeated. Why can't we have Sisu when it comes to trying in the first place? Why can't we have the same drive to begin with, why does it only come in play when there's absolutely nothing else to do? We always seem to start everything with an apology. "Sorry that we had this idea, sorry that we're trying to win, sorry that we're trying out something new". It's clear that in this world you're not going places apologizing.

Sometimes I find myself in situations where I have to defend my home country.
"Well what do you Finns have?"
"We got lots of cool stuff"
"Yeah, like what?"
"Well, we have beautiful nature.... and we have Nokia..."
"Yeah, and what else?"
"Eeeee, we have design..."
"Like what, whatcha got?"
"Well I don't remember the names but we got many nice designers"
"Ok, what else?"
"We have nice architecture"
"Where exactly?"
"Well I don't know, like there's the Finlandia house in Helsinki..."
"One house and that's it?"
"No, there are others, I just can't remember what and where..."

There are two things wrong here.
1) the foreigners don't know anything about us
2) we Finns ourselves don't know anything about us, and are uncomfortable talking about what we're good at

...and don't give up!

It's not that we don't have cool things, it's just that even we ourselves don't know exactly what they are. Apart from nature, Santa Claus and aurora borealis. Oh, and the school system.

In fact, seeing that our school system is supposedly so wonderful, it should also include a class where they tell you what the cool things Finland are in case some stranger asks you. And how to bring your brilliant new ideas forward without shame, and "just do it", even if there's a chance of failure. A course in self confidence is what's lacking from the curriculum.

We still have a lot to learn as far as getting our ideas out there. It's not about being Nordic either, since our friends in Sweden are much more active and better know in the world. We have no excuses. Who's going to respect us if we don't respect ourselves?

Just do it Finland. Happening means succeeding.

PS. In the end I'd like to add this wonderful tune, it's called "I volunteer" by my favorite Norwegian group called Making Marks (hear the tune HERE ). It talks about how we can't all be winners, and that being mediocre is actually a nice thing. I dedicate this to myself, the true image of being "just fine"

Are you being diplomatic, or are you just an ass??

This was the headline of a posting I've been writing for two weeks now. I've cancelled it, re-wrote it, thought about it, and made a million little changes to it. It has to do with work and the relationship between you and the client. I haven't published it, because I've hesitated to talk about work here in my blog, even though I'm not criticizing my work place in particular but rather the way of working in general here in Italy. And I'm sure this applies also to other countries, but since I can only write about what I know, hear and see, well folks I'm stuck with that.

I'm not going to publish my re-written posting today either. But I will say this though.

In the beginning of my work career I was taught that honesty is the best policy. Telling the truth to the client creates a relationship of trust and respect. Honesty should also be the back bone of the whole company. Telling the truth means that no matter who the client happens to talk to in your organization, he'll get the same information from everybody, because everything's out in the open and everybody knows the same things. Telling the truth means that you don't ever have to remember what you said to someone, because you know you've told the truth instead of something you made up and can't remember anymore. Your back is always covered because of your honesty. When you make a mistake, say you've made a mistake, and try to fix it instead of covering it up. Tell the customer not only the good news but also the bad news, because having the correct information will help both you and him to resolve the situation. If something's simply not possible to do, say that it's not possible instead of making empty promises in order to please a customer. Be polite, firm and clear in your responses, so that both you and your client feel secure and that everything's understood by both parties. Oh, and smile when you're on the phone and slip in a joke or two every now and then, because it'll brighten up both of your working day.

This approach just doesn't work here. You can't be truthful, you need to be diplomatic. Telling the truth and nothing but the truth is cold and rude. It's rude even if you smile while telling it, because then you just come off as someone who's not taking matters seriously. Being diplomatic and saying things that are not true but almost true is a game played by all parties involved, and it's impolite not to play along. The customer expects you to cushion the blow by saying something that sounds nicer than the actual truth, because the reality is a bitch. They key is not to say what's right, but to say things that the customer wants to hear at that very moment. And he'll do the same with you. And you can both go on living in your little bubble of "nice". But only until the bubble breaks, then you're the one left cleaning the mess.

Living in a foreign country means compromising on a lot of issues and leaning new ways of thinking and doing. But sometimes you should also stop and think if the adjustments you're making in order to fit in better are forcing you to compromise your own values. Your roots, your sense of right and wrong, the things your mom taught you. You should think about when to stick to your guns, and when to let go, and when to find a compromise between the two.

Well, that was awfully serious. Considering that it's Friday, I'd like to conclude this week with something nice. Something cuddly. Something that'll make you forget all about the hardships of the past 5 days.

Yesterday evening me and my cat ate some yogurt. It was really good. I spent the rest of the evening watching a film. She spent the rest of the evening playing, running around and farting a little.

Have a great weekend everybody!

"say what now?"

Greetings from hell

This weekend I rented 3 movies. As I was watching them I realized that I'd seen two of them already. You can imagine my disappointment. Not only because I had to watch two films I'd already seen, but also for the fact that I'm getting so old not to remember these things anymore.

I was feeling a little girlish, so I rented two chick flicks. One talked about Valentine's Day, and the other one about New Year's Eve. They both talked about silly relationship stuff that only girls watch. Hence the expression "chick flick".

In the movie that talked about New Year's Eve there was this guy who hated New Year. He also mentioned that he had received 50 holiday greetings via sms from people he never hears from otherwise, you know the generic ones that you just type up and then send to everyone in your address book. It got me thinking.

Sending a generic greeting to someone is just about the most fake thing you can do. The most useless thing to do. The most disappointing thing to do from the receiver's point of view. Like a slap in the face from a person you hardly even know, or a big slap in the face from someone you know well.

What does a generic greeting convey really? "It's holiday X, and I'm not thinking about you in specific at all, but I want to come off as a good person so I wrote this message filled with generic things so that you can cancel it after reading it, and not feel special at all". Awwww. Sounds nice doesn't it. "I was almost thinking of you, but decided to write this generic message instead. Happy holidays, sucker". "Congratulations, you've managed to stay in my address book yet another year, here's your annual generic holiday wish".

I never know how to react to such a message. I sometimes get so angry with these "fuck-you's in the form of a message", that I write up an answer. A message where the receiver sees very clearly that I'm writing directly to them, asking about their life and using their names. Usually I don't get a response, but I always hope it made the sender of the generic message feel a little sting inside.

People often whine about having to send real Christmas cards, you know, via regular post. "Oh I have no time, and I still have these cards to send. I don't even know the addresses of these people anymore". Well, if you don't know their addresses anymore, shouldn't that be a sign that you've lost touch, and it's not like a Christmas card's going to fix it. People seem to think that sending a card once a year to someone with "Merry Christmas" written on it is called "keeping in touch". It's not folks. It's called force of habit, and it's as useless as that generic sms.

Now here's a nice message that took both thought and courage
to post. Not that I'd want this in front of MY house, but still,
it's better than a generic sms

If you want to be nice, send a letter. Write stuff. Real stuff. Write an sms asking the other person how they're doing, and be interested in what they respond. Write them via FB. It doesn't matter what the method of contact is, the important thing is to write something that matters. Whether it's Christmas, Easter, New Year's Eve or just a regular day, write from your heart. Otherwise don't write at all, seeing that you don't care enough to make an effort.

A friend of mine sends me a hand made Christmas card every year, no matter where in the world I am. She's really good at making all kinds of nick nacks, so her cards are always amazing. You can see that she's worked on the card for hours, and really put some thought into it. When she writes a generic wish like "Merry Christmas" on the card, it's not generic at all. You can feel the warmth in those words. It always makes me feel special. It's a generic wish wrapped in tons of Christmas spirit and warm heartedness.

So I guess I was wrong folks. It's not about what you're saying, it's how you say it. It's about how you wrap up your message.

So next time you're about to send me a generic message, wrap it up. Preferably with a 24" tv or a bunch of 100$ bills, but a nice home made card or a drawing or a poem will do just fine as well.

Happy Monday people. From the bottom of my heart.

Is it a plane, is it a bird, no it's...

.... it's mildew folks. Inside my house. Again.

This is very weird for someone like me, who comes from a country where even the slightest sign of mildew inside a building sends off an alarm and suddenly you have 20 scientists inside your house discussing the reason for the mishap and a mildew-dog called Spot sniffing around to determine the size of the problem. In the mean time you go live with your parents or take a long vacation, because it's too dangerous to live inside the house. They'll also call the neighbors to do a check up, and if you're (un)lucky, they'll go on that vacation with you.

Here, it's a bit different. Usually the answer I've gotten has been:
a) oh, that's normal, just keep the windows open a bit more often and it'll go away
b) oh, that's normal, just clean the surface with some bleach and it'll go away
c) oh, no, what have you done you foreign girl, it's your fault it's too humid inside, you've dried your clothes inside the house. Now I'll make you pay

And here's my come back:
a) it's fucking winter, I'm not going to first pay a fortune for heating up the place to a ridiculous 18 degrees and then keep the windows open for hours
b) the mildew comes from within the wall, so if I only clean the surface part with bleach, the mildew will come back within 7 days
c) yes you're right, it's my fault. I called the International House of Mildew and asked them for a wall full of black shit. And for the record, I had to dry my clothes inside because the super-convenient "thing" you had built in the back yard for drying clothes was a complete disaster, and that one time I did put something there to dry, it got stolen.        

Fortunately, this time I got a different answer from my landlord. "Oh, no, I'm really sorry, I'll come by and check it out". Then a few days later I got a message "The moisture comes from the roof. In a few days time I'll come by with a handy man, we'll fix the wall inside and also outside". Gots to love my current landlord, he's awesome.

This is mildew on the inside corner of the wall...

I still wonder about the attitude of people towards mildew. An Italian friend of mine said that she also has mildew inside the house, but it doesn't really worry her that much. It was only when she flipped over her mattress and found out that the bottom side was full of mildew that she decided to wash the mattress really well and spray it with some anti-mildew-product. I would've thrown out the mattress and burned it in some pagan ritual, cursing it to the lowest depths of hell, but that's just me.

Here in Italy mildew is an everyday thing. The buildings are old and the humidity in the air is very high, so it's almost a miracle if you don't have mildew inside. Here nobody talks about the dangers of mildew, nor do they get sick by living in a house full of mildew, so I'm beginning to wonder how dangerous it really is. Time to consult the oracle that knows it all. Google.

Found this.
Click to know more about mold and mildew

A direct quote:
"Although a small amount of mold and mildew won’t hurt most of us, it begins to become a big problem when the mold spores get out of hand. When quantity does get out of hand, or when individuals who are highly sensitive to toxic mold, breathe it in, it can present a serious health hazard. Mold and mildew are known to cause respiratory problems, common allergic reaction symptoms, nervous-system disorders and depression."

Well, there you have it folks. Mildew is indeed dangerous. In fact, I think it's causing my bad mood and occasional suicidal thoughts. (Mom, that was a joke, there's no need to call me and ask me if I really want to kill myself. I don't)

... and this is just some dirt.
Learn to know the difference.

I'm thinking that there must be some middle ground between being hysterical about mildew and it's dangers, and a total lack of interest even though it's practically taking over your house and your bed. Obviously mildew isn't something you should have inside, and it's obvious that you'll get sick if you breathe in the spores for months on end. I think mildew is something you need to take care of, and fix your house in a way that there is none, but don't call Spot the mildew-sniffing-dog every time you have something black on the wall. It might also be regular dirt you know.

Wishing you all a mildew-free weekend. Breath it easy folks!

Watch your back

Something really weird happened yesterday. Since I was 9 my mom has always told me that I should never feel guilty about buying new underwear or socks. "You'll always need them", said mom. So after having decided not to buy anything even though there are huge sales out there, I decided to go ahead anyway and buy some underwear.

I went to the local underwear store, and picked out a new bra and new panties. Since I know perfectly what my size is in that store, I didn't bother trying them on, I just picked out a nice bra from the discount pile and a pair of panties to go with them, went to pay and headed home. It was only this morning that I realized what I had bought.

The bra was just fine. The panties not. And I SWEAR I didn't buy these on purpose. I'm not that kind of a girl.

Basically what you have is a pair of normal panties, with a little "hatch" in the back. Like a little door that you can open should your ass get too sweaty. It's held up by these little buttons. I drew you a picture to explain the situation better.

1. normal front 2. normal back 3. creepy back with a "hatch"

Now, is this the female version of the hole that guys have on the front of their undies for peeing, or what the hell are we talking about here? I know what you're all thinking, because that was my first thought too, but for christ's sake shouldn't those kinds of panties be sold in a whole other kind of a store??!! Or have I just misunderstood how to use these panties? If there's some logical explanation to this weird pantie-design, please let me know, I'm dying to know.

One thing's for sure, I'm not using them. And I'm not taking them back to the store either, that would be too embarrassing. I guess I'll just use them for cleaning the house or something.

What have we learned today people? Always ALWAYS try on the underwear at the store. Otherwise you might end up with "the hatch" and a sales woman who snickers every time she passes you on the street.

Hello, I'm single, again.

So what's the deal with putting your relationship status on your FB page? Who does that? Anyone? Someone? If you're one of those people who have "in a relationship with Steve" written on your FB page, please come forward and explain why. (I first wrote "relationshit", now that's a Freudian slip if I ever saw one)

I can understand if you're married, or in a relationship that has been going on for the last 10 years by now, that maybe your status is something that you might want to stabilize also in the social media. You're not living a fling, a summer romance, or a hopeless relationship with a rocknroll star that actually only exists inside your own head, but a real rock solid "baby sorry I farted under the covers-that's ok dear" kind of a relationship. Maybe you also have kids, which would be one more good reason to claim your spouse also in the eyes of the public.THIS I get, this is ok, these are not the people I'm worried about.

But then there are those, who have been together with someone for 2 days and 15 hours exactly, and already their status has been changed from "single" to "in a relationship with Steve". These are the same people who have an actual date for when their relationship started, a.k.a they had this following conversation:

Girl: Baby, do you love me?
Steve: Sure, why not
Girl: Baby, do you want to be my boyfriend?
Steve: Sure, why not
Girl: Oh Steveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

These people can't let a relationship happen, they can't just "slip" into one, but instead they need to stabilize their position as soon as possible to avoid problems, and more importantly, to be able to change their status in FB. These are the same people who will be changing it back to "single" after 2 months, and crying their eyes out about it.

Love is/isn't/is/isn't in the air...

And this is my point exactly. I realize that it's all fun and games when you're starting a new relationship, and you can't wait for everyone to know. But you should also think about the fact that these days the probability of staying together forever is rather slim, and if you decide to change your status when you enter a relationship, then you must be ready to change it back when it ends. Do you really want to burden yourself with that? Think about it, the relationship ends, you're already feeling down, sad and suicidal, and on top of that you still need to change your FB status and see all the condolences and not-smiley-faces appear under your post. Just like you publicly rejoiced the start of the relationship, you have to publicly announce when it ends. You might even feel a little humiliated, as you're declaring "nope, it didn't work out this time either". Who wants that?? Not me.

"Bonnie is in a relationship with Clyde,
but it's complicated"

And then there are these people who put "it's complicated with Steve". Now WTF guys? Not only are you announcing that you're in a relationship, but that you're also having problems with it. Is that really something you want to share with people that you might not even know that well? (I'm referring to old schoolmates you haven't seen in 20 years or that one guy you once met at a disco and never saw again but who remained among your FB buddies). Come on, you can't be serious. Tell me it's a joke.



Then there are those who put down "in a relationship", but they don't want to specify with whom. I find that a bit odd. It's like you're happy to be in a relationship, but kind of embarrassed about who you're with. This might be convenient for those people who are always in a relationship, just with a different partner every few months/years. You know, those people who dump their boyfriend (or get dumped) and then five days later they're again in love with a new person. How do they do this, I have no idea, but good for them. Still, I think that if you're declaring your relationship online, either you go all the way with names and shit, or don't do it at all.

To avoid problems with previous or future boyfriends, I've decided not to declare my relationship status at all. Any changes that might or might not occur, remain in my own discretion. It's enough that all the photos of the once cute couple remain forevermore online. Call me cold, call me someone with no faith in love, call me sad and boring. You can call me what you want. I call myself Miss I Told You So (single, and it's complicated).

Let's play twenty questions... or less

1. There's a pizzeria nearby my office. How come the only pizza that's any good is the one with cherry tomatoes, rucola and pecorino? All the other pizzas there suck big time, but this one comes out extra delicious.

2. If someone asks you out for the 20th time, and you answer "no thanks" for the 20th time, how come he doesn't get the message? Is it self denial, or just stupidity? Or both?

3. In Finland we have -30 degrees outside in the winter time, but a nice and cozy +24 inside the houses. How come in Italy we have +5 degrees outside and +5 degrees inside?

4. How come the guy you thought for sure to be gay isn't, and the guy who you had the hots for is? Always.

5. How come the socks always get lost in the washing machine? They don't, it's the cat that steals them while you're hanging them to dry.

6. How come I have trouble concentrating at work even with the smallest of tasks, but still have the energy to teach my cat how to high five?

7. Lately I've been buying paintings and other items for my "dream apartment". I take the items home and then put them away immediately to be used when I find my dream apartment. How come it's so much easier to live in the future than in the moment?

8. How come in Finland my direct approach and truthfulness is seen as honesty and trustworthiness, but here in Italy it's seen as being angry, impolite, cold and infantile? 

9. How come when you decide a goal for yourself, in the end you always end up doing something completely different but equally enjoyable? Is it just a myth that some people actually set upon to do something and then do it, or is it just me who's lacking willpower and stamina?

10. How come having my car washed/cleaned (by hand, inside and out) costs me 20€ here in Italy, and in Finland I probably can't even find such a service? And more importantly, how come having a superclean car makes you feel all happy inside?

Ok, well, 10 isn't exactly 20, but that's enough "how comes" for one Friday. Have a great weekend everybody!

Feeling small

Less is more. Small is cute. And animal paintings never go out of style.

see the new grey jacket hanging on my bag

This is what I keep on saying to myself now that the SALE-signs are appearing in the store windows. Just because something is on sale doesn't mean I have to go and buy it. The last time I bought a new garment was in August when I was in Galway (Ireland) for a vacation, and for some reason hadn't packed a single jacket with me. Galway's a fairly rainy and windy city, so a nice jacket with a hood was more than necessary. I've learned that I can do with less, and actually it makes your life a lot easier as well when you don't have shelves and closets full of shit you never use.

Recently I've also noticed that I still have clothes in my closet that I bought 10-15 years ago (and that's not an exaggeration) from H&M and that they're one string away from having a hole in them or simply full of lint. Therefore I've decided that all garments that are falling apart or starting to look bad in general are going to goodwill. And I won't go and buy other clothes from H&M to replace these throw-aways either. No sirree. I'm going to carefully select a few garments of quality that are easily combined with the stuff that I already have. If possible, I'll favor natural fabrics such as wool or cotton.

I like small things. It's no secret that I'm a sucker for small guys (as in NOT tall). My cat is rather small and I love the fact that she'll always stay looking like a little kitten. My vet said to me that she's a dwarf-cat, but luckily she's grown a bit since. Huh, I guess she was a late bloomer. Often small means simple, because there's not much room for maneuver (not talking about people or cat's anymore), and that's why I like jewelry so much. Little simple things to hang on yourself to give you joy.

I also buy my paintings small. I find that small paintings are more interesting visually than the bigger ones. I can appreciate a huge Picasso or Van Gogh, but not on my wall. It's too much for me. Instead I buy small paintings, often made by someone that I know. Recently I've also bought paintings with animals on them. I have one painting of a bear (I thought it was a cat, but then who cares right), I'm waiting for the postman to carry me a painting of a fox (the label said "werewolf" but again who cares right), and I've been desperately looking for a painting of a little bunny hiding in the grass. Thought I'd found the perfect one today, only to find out that it had just been sold. Oh well, my bunny's waiting for me somewhere. Of course I have my two paintings of Mr. Poirot the cross dresser, which will undoubtedly never go out of style.

mr Poirot as Snow White

When I was in Finland for Christmas, I left my carry-on bag there and bought a backpack from Fjällräven that I know will last me a lifetime and is easier to carry (see link here ). Happy as a clam I waltzed around the airport at Helsinki, and even got to cut in line at the security check seeing that "I had little stuff" (words of the airport official, not mine).

So you see folks, buy less, buy small, enjoy the little things in life. See how not having all that clutter around makes you see things more clearly, and breathe easier. Make room for what's really important. You.

Out with the old, in with the new

It's year 2014 folks. Now, since this is not a fashion blog, I'm not about to list all my favorite outfits of 2013. I already made my new year's resolution, which was to be more empathetic (last year I was mostly just pathetic). Nor will I talk you through my most memorable moments of 2013, because as we say in Finland "tikulla silmààn sità joka vanhoja muistelee". A loose translation would be "if you spend too much time thinking about the past I'll come and put a stick in your eyeball". We Finns are just a bunch of poets aren't we. You got my point though.

What I will do is talk about something that's both embarrassing and interesting. Horoscopes.

When the goin get's tough, the tough get goin. Or in my case, the tough get reading a horoscope. Some people turn to religion in their time of need, some turn to their family and friends, some get a weird haircut and some get a new pet/car/jacket made of rubber they can't really afford. We all have our little ways of coping with distress. Mine is horoscopes.

Need advice? Call the Samaritans.

I'm not in any kind of distress at the moment, but I am sort of trying to figure out what to do with my life in general. Some might call that a 30-year crisis, but since using the word crisis sounds like I should be running around like a mad man pulling out my hair and chewing on erasers (like my classmate in second grade), I prefer to call it "soul searching" or "a period of self discovery". Fancy, eh? And we all know that the first day of January is the release date of the Mother of all horoscopes, a.k.a  the yearly horoscope where they tell you what up in the next 365 days. For someone trying to figure out what to do in 2014, it's like a gift from god.

So basically this year will go down as follows:
(I took this from the extremely reliable Finnish web-site called "Ellit", which offers laa-di-daa-articles for stay-at-home-moms, here's the link Leo 2014 by Ellit.fi )

In general: year 2014 will be da BOMB. Apparently this kind of good luck and success comes around only every 12 years, so better make the best of it. Especially starting from July the year is full of positive surprises, so I better spend the next 6 months getting ready to rumble.

Romance: Apparently I'll have plenty of opportunities to fall in love. But not before July (damn). During the second half of the year I should be playful and not take things too seriously, as I have done lately. (Personal note: now what the hell does that mean, "you've taken things too seriously"? That I'm an old stick-in-the-mud? We'll see about that...oh, hope you're not reading this bit mom)

Work: Apparently all that I've worked for the past 12 years will come to pay off. I should see some changes, take risks and have no fear because luck is on my side (or Jupiter actually). Also, travelling will be a big part of my working life, but it'll be so much fun that I'll have trouble concentrating on the work-part. My personal passions and my work life will come together nicely. (Personal note: well it was bloody time)

Well, not too shabby. Here's the catch though.

Looking for some direction?

If the horoscope says that things start to happen only after July, then should I turn down all promising offers (be it work or love-related) until then? How much should you rely on these things? Especially if they come from such a reliable source as Ellit.fi.

Now, if you ask me, there's horoscope and then there's HOROSCOPE. I don't believe in the daily horoscopes you read from the tabloids or even the monthly ones offered by some woman's magazine. But I do believe that the characteristics of a Leo are equal to mine to a tee. That also applies to the Chinese horoscope, which makes me a Monkey. Yeeees, a monkey, and when you've stopped laughing you can go see you're own Chinese horoscope and find out you're a donkey or something. So, if a yearly horoscope is done by looking at the stars and their movements and using astrology, then I think there might be some truth to it.

I used to work with this woman who was into clairvoyants and all kinds of mystical stuff. She also went to an astrologer regularly. Years back I was in somewhat of a distress, and so me and 2 of my female colleagues decided to give astrology a go. Here's how it works.

It's a one hour appointment, and everything she says to you is recorded in a tape that you get to take home. Before the meeting you send her your full name, precise time of birth and the place of birth. And then, off you go!

All of this was such a long time ago that I can't remember exactly what she told me, but I do remember some highlights. She said that the guy I was with wasn't the one (and he wasn't in the end). She made some very accurate insights on what I'm like as a person, not general stuff that applies to everyone like "you like candy" but some real character analysis. She also said some weird stuff that made me question the whole thing, such as I had suffered some hidden trauma as a kid that I don't remember (I asked my mom, no hidden traumas in my childhood, only out-in-the-open-traumas, heh). But the thing that struck me the most was that according to her I'd meet my future husband when I'm 34 (so that's after August this year), and that I'd have two children: one very intelligent philosopher type and the other a tree-hugger (equally intelligent I'm sure)

For someone who's fairly sure of NOT wanting children that was rather disturbing. I told her that as well, and she said "well, it's written very clearly on your astrological map, so that's what I'm telling you, and I guess we'll see what happens now won't we!". Oh, great. I'm not too fond of marriage either, so having a husband sounds like I'm about 75 years old and ready to die, but I guess we'll find out that as well.

"here lies Erika, she got married and died"

Seeing that I went to the astrologer many years ago, it was hard to hear that I'd have to wait until 2014 to find Mr. Right. What the hell was I supposed to do in the meantime? Be playful??!! "Yes you're a very fine young man but apparently you're not the one for me so if you're up for a short term adventure, let me know". And what if I turn 35 and I'm still alone? Or maybe I'll meet Mr. Right, get married the next day, get knocked up, give birth to twins and then get a divorce, all within a year? Could happen. Then again, it would be strange the she didn't see THAT with her mystical astrology powers.

Anyways, go ahead and read your horoscope for 2014. You don't have to believe it, and it doesn't make you a geek. Not even if you're a guy (it just makes you eccentric).  Happy New Year!!