Everyone has a story

While studying scriptwriting, one teacher gave feedback about my texts. She said: "You are trying to teach people (what to do), they should find out theirselves." There was a good point in that. So, there are no ready answers. Let me tell you a story.

One day I was walking home from work. There was lying a man on the pavement, unconcious. I saw him from a distance. A lot of people were just walking past him, no one did stop or even pay any attention to him. Maybe he had just passed out because of drinking too much. Or used drugs. Who knows. But there he was. Someone's son, father, husband, boyfriend or ex.

I was walking closer. A man on a bike had stopped. He had his phone in his hand, still hesitating. Another man turned around with his bike and stopped too. They started to discuss with each other, who of them shoud call 911. The other said " I have to go to the lecture, can you handle this?" Silence. Luckily (for the man lying on the ground) some passenger stopped to feel his pulse. And a women stopped with her car and asked: "Has somebody called?". This all happened while I was approaching the place. If someone else hadn't called, I would have done it.

How much time did pass before someone stopped, or someone called? To act in situations like this is not easy, unless you have the training for it. Of course, anyone knows how to call 911. Just the thought, that you would be lying there on the ground and not getting help fast enough is scary.

And the thought, that everyone has a story, a past and a future.

Bragging about Finland

Now I will do something unusual. In other countries this would be called normal. I'm going to tell you why Finland is the best country in the world (and I'm feeling a bit ashamed about it already).
You see, Business Insider thinks, that Finland has a shyness problem. And is so right about that.

Why not brag a little bit? Here we go. Everything works here. The appartments are warm (also in wintertime) and public transport is working. The length of maternity leave is 105 days, and for 75 years, Finland's expectant mothers have been given a box by the state (the maternity package). The baby can sleep in the box in the beginning. How cool is that?

There is a lot of availabe space here. You can go hiking in Lapland and may not meet anyone on your hike. The education system is great. Finnish students are frequently ranked amongst the top three in the world. We have an advanced technology infrastructure.

How about this? Finland is the most wired nation in the world with sophisticated digital and fiber optic voice and data processing networks. Finland and Denmark have the least corruption in the world. We have a lot of capable people here, free education and school lunch.

These are just a few great things about Finland. I love the nature here, it's easy to find woods to walk in or go to the lake for ice skating or skiing. There are plenty of places to pick berries and mushrooms. And in summertime there are so many beautiful places to visit and lakes to swim in.

I could continue. The point is here: Finland has done a very bad job in marketing itself. When I visited Australia someone was always telling how Australia is the best country in the world. Well, in Finland it just doesn't happen. More often someone complains about the lousy weather and the train that's late again.

Of course there are unsatisfactory things in every country. If one of them is that the train is late, we're lucky.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/finland-has-a-shyness-problem-2014-2#ixzz2tZfsA95m

photo from: http://gloholiday.com/category/finland/

If you´re bored, take a walk

It's popular to walk for something important. Don't you think someone is walking around this globe for some cause all the time? Let's do a quick search. It's interesting to find out what things people are walking for. Here we go. Walking for the suicided veterans, Guinness Book World Record, cancer and global issues awareness, looking for happiness and so on.

Alright. I think it's good for the health to walk. Some distances at least. One man walked for 11 years around the globe. Jean Béliveau did the probably world's longest uninterrupted circumnavigation on foot.

There are many other people, who are continuing their walks for years and years. As long as their legs move forward, I guess.

Don't you think that there would be other ways of finding happiness than walking for years and decades? Some people collect money for charity and try to achieve something good with their walking. There are several good causes worth walking for. And of course, you don't have to spend whole your life walking.

Come on. People do these walking things only because they are bored and don't want to go to their regular work. They do it for selfish reasons. Most of the walks might have started on Mondays. Ugh, I have spoken.

 

Playground fixing

We fixed our playground a little bit (or my husband did). Now there is a rope ladder going up to the top, "the ship". The wheel and periscope are waiting there for the captain.

Downstairs is a kiosk, with chairs and a place to play inside.

Last weekend we had a lot of kids here playing at Marie's birthday party. They enjoyed it a lot.

 

 

 This pirate flag is new, we added it in September.

Finnish summer

Here the summer is again. The time of the year when you don't want to waste any time sleeping. And people usually spend a lot of time outside. Always when it's possible.

That's why you might find more pictures than text this time. Do you think that I will spend too much time on the computer when it's finally possible to enjoy good weather? No way. All the winter we keep waiting for those five warm days of summer. During the winter we almost forget what summer is. What is it? Is there something else than snow, snow and cold? Yes, there is. At least for a few months.

In May people start planting flowers in their gardens and also barbeque the first time outside. In the beginning of June some people also start thinking about winter. It goes like this. "Soon it's winter again". Other popular thoughts are also: "Oh no, I don't want the winter to come again" and "Only six months until Christmas". And in the moments when it's "too hot": "I miss winter".

In May the media usually starts warning people about the summer weather. "It might be dangerously hot this summer". Or the worst scenario: "This summer it will rain everyday" (forget about having holidays, and book a trip to a warm country instead).

Enjoying summer.

Global warming and cold winters

While walking to the train on Friday morning I wasn't too worried about global warming. I think -24 °C is quite freezing. Somehow I can remember they promised some years ago, that the climate in Finland would be more like Italy in the future. That was good news. Unfortunately it's obviously not true. You see, this year the forecasters think the climate and especially the winters will change to similar than in Siberia. Which means freezing cold. Goodbye, warmth of Italy. Winters will be cold and you never know how the summers will be.

It seems like nobody knows for sure how the global warming will affect this globe. However, one thing is sure. There will be even more changes in the weather. Of course, the weather has been quite messed up lately. Extreme heatwave and bushfires in Australia in the beginning of this year, floods, drought and hurricanes here and there.

Maybe in the future it would be good to live in a few different countries. When it becomes too cold, you could pack your bag and go to Spain for a while. And when it becomes too hot, come back again. Great idea. Problem solved. Of course it doesn't help global warming. When people are flying here and there, the effects of global warming won't stop. They won't stop for a while anyway, because the ecosystem is messed up for some time.

So let's focus on other things instead. It's Monday tomorrow and I feel tired. You see, sometimes it's just enough to concentrate on everyday life and it's challenges. Ugh, I have spoken.

Snow is slowly falling

Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year. Snow is slowly falling to the ground. Beautiful Christmas songs playing and people are sending Christmas cards. It's time to gather around the Christmas tree. All the family together eating delicious food, that has been prepared with love. And all the presents, wrapped inside silvery and golden wrapping paper.

That's how Christmas should be. In reality it can be the worst time of the year for many people. For those without the near and the dear ones it can be the loneliest time of the year for sure. Also it's the time of the year when graveyards are much visited; it's the time of missing someone, who isn't here anymore. There are people wishing they had a family to spend Christmas with. Some wish they had kids that they could surprise with gifts. Families inside the pretty houses and Christmas lights are fighting too. Especially with too much alcohol Christmas can turn into a nightmare.

I enjoy Christmas time, mostly. It can be very stressful if there are too many things to do and food to prepare. Everyone should find their own way of spending Christmas. Without stress and the feeling of being forced to do anything. There are always some things that are left undone. But who cares?

Anyway, I have to go and do some shopping now. Stressed? Don't know. Tired? Yes. It's been a challenging year. I'm joining the hundreds of people running there and buying food and presents.
PS. In Finland we have only hundreds of people.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight