Archetypes

I recently read through some of my past fiction stories and noticed that each of my heroes shared certain characteristics. The newer the writing the more defined these characteristics became.

I had not even realized that I was basing each character off the other. I thought I was coming up with something original.

And then I remembered that my favorite authors have done the same. I had read some of their early writings before they wrote the series that launched them, some free pieces, etc and saw that the heros all shared similarity. From physical features, past histories, skills and personalities.

And that with each writing the character had developed. I hadn't really liked their earlier books, but they were okay, just not complete yet.

It is like writers create a mold for their characters and constantly chisel at it until it is complete. then they can pour the story into it.

Similar to when artists make sketches of possible characters or scenery and refine that image or build on it until the final product.

Archetypes, gotta love em.

Judging a Book

How often have you been told not to judge a book by its' cover? Or variations on that theme.

"Oh you shouldn't judge a person on their appearance or their pasts!"

Sorry to say but I do judge a book by its cover. If the cover does not appeal in some way I will not stop to take a closer look.

Which I believe carries over to people as well. How often have you dismissed a person based on their appearance or actively avoided them? How about based on their voice? Behavior?

What else do we have to judge a person on the first meeting than the surface?

I believe that of course you can't tell everything about a person from a glance. But I believe in listening to my gut. If something tells me to stay away from a person I will, especially if there is no one else around.

Also I believe you can train yourself to be able to get an incredibly good read on a person from just looking at their face. I am not trained in Face Reading, but I know it exists and from what I've seen of it, it seems to be pretty freakishly accurate. Also eye-reading, iridology can diagnose disease or health problems.

Your face records your life, from smiles to frowns, from thoughts to braindead (at the moment I can't think of the opposite of thought. Ha!) Also health, how is the skin? Does it glow? Is it pale? Dry? Lined? Scarred? Acne?

Generally people don't think why they react to people, but I think there is an unconscious process within us that categorizes all these and other features with different personality/behavior/health types. And when you have an instinctive reaction to a person this is your subconscious informing you of what it has observed.

Have you ever seen a person, that looks perfectly normal, just like an everyday average Joe and felt the urge to turn and run, and not stop running until you were safe and at home?

You get that feeling, I'd recommend following it.

In a lot of police reports you'll read about how a person felt uneasy or had a "bad feeling" about something or the person that attacked them and decided to ignore it.

Instinct is there for a reason. The reason we judge is there for a reason.

Of course some people are better at it than others, some are more aware, some are less.

But I think we can all teach ourselves to be more aware of the processes that are behind our judgments. 

What I Ate

Yesterday I decided I needed to use as many things from my fridge as I could before things started to spoil.

So I poured some water into a pan and turned it on.

As it heated I diced up red paprika (pepper... which is the English form?) Onion, chicken filet, some leafy green thing and tiny tomato things.

I then cracked two eggs and dumped their innards in to the pan. Following this is put in the rest of my diced up foods.

While is was cooking I noticed my fridge had a bit of cheese it is so I tore those apart and tossed them in.

And just as I was about to close the fridge I noticed the 1/4 full salsa jar. I dumped that in too.

I then took the last remaining pita and placed it on my plate.

Last, but not least I poured the contents of my pan onto the pita, and let the pita (it was a little dry) soak up the liquid.

This may all sound rather icky, but it was so good!

And it looked rather good too.

Review: Grey's Anatomy

I still can't belive I am watching Grey's Anatomy.

Following the adventures of such characters as McSteamy and McDreamy. Okay so those are nicknames but really?

Sure, Iknow there probably is a lot of drama occuring in a hospital and that they have insane hours as interns and doctors. But the drama surrounding the operating table makes me a little worried.

I sure hope the surgeon isn't making puppy eyes at the intern while he was playing with my brain!

I am not quite sure why I am watching it. Aside from the fact that McDreamy (AHEM! Shepard) is really cute and has great hair.

Okay so I am as shallow as the next girl when it comes to a guy like that. But he really does have great hair!

The story however, is full of drama and plot holes. The characters don't grow or develop all that much. Though George is doing okay.

Like after Meredith Grey sees a man blow up in her face, she is back to work the next day.

I don't care if she's a surgeon, you see a guy blow up in your face the next day you will not be a-okay and making more puppy eyes at your married boss that you had an affair with.

The show rarely seems to deal with any issues. Quickly skimming over things that would traumatize and destroy a non-tv character.

Though I think the later seasons are an improvement on the first. And oh my gawd, I'm on season 3 already.

But I guess the show is just another way of escapism, letting people pretend to be voyeurs into others lives that seem to be more twisted and screwed up than their own.

Frankly, I think I'm just watching because the guys are so cute!

Right & Wrong

I was asked to write about right and wrong.

In answer I said that it would take a long time to write.

But here I will try to be brief.

Go with the Golden Rule: "Treat others only in ways that you're willing to be treated in the same exact situation."

This rule is found in practically every major religion from Christianity to Confucius. Really it makes sense to me. And I don't really care that it's in the religion aside from the fact it seems that humans have universally agreed on that one rule above all others.

Or you can go with what George Carlin said about Rights, I can't remember the exact line, maybe someone can help me out on that.

"I have the right to shoot and kill you and you have the right to do it back!"

Response to Nora Roberts Comment

Hello,

I disagree.

You can be impressed by something and not like it or want no part in it. 

You can be impressed that a weapon is able to destroy half the planet but not want to use it. Please! Don't push the shiny red button!

Impressed by a design of a house and not want to live in it, or impressed by a car and not want to drive it.

I can appreciate her success though I want to no longer read her books. They aren't for me, but thousands or hundreds of thousands do enjoy them, who am I to quibble?

Clearly she is selling since she pumps out a book practically every month. As a writer I find that impressive. Ialso find it impressive that she has created such a stable market for herself and that her books have been translated into dozens of languages.

You don't have to like something to be impressed by it.

Edit: Why Not?

First off I'd like to say thank you to all those that comment!

And now to those that haven't ;):

My friend has a theory about why people don't comment. I do as well, a couple actually.

1) Not in the mood
2) Nothing to say
3) Too lazy
4) Don't want to be the first
5) Don't get the posts

Etc,

Now I'd like to ask all those that read this:

1) What makes you comment
2) Why don't you comment
3) How can I make commenting more enjoyable

Should I not respond to comments? Should I have shorter posts?

I love being asked questions, I love it when topics for posts are suggested, and I get a kick out of reading the few that dare comment.

So how about it? Why don't you comment?

I promise not to bite... maybe just a nibble ;)

Authors: Nora Roberts

If you live in Canada or the USA, and probably many other countries, and you have walked through the Romance/Fiction section of your Book Store you might have noticed the rows upon rows of books written by Nora Roberts.

In a couple of stores she has an entire wall or two devoted completely to her books.

I swear she comes out with a book every month.

The books are duplicates, variations of a common theme. Almost all her heros are Irish or of Irish descent. The guy always does nothing wrong but has to apologize to the woman who misunderstood him and over reacted or was actually the one at fault.

The sentences are cliche, the story is the same and the characters always shaped by the same mold.

Nora Roberts hit the jackpot. She figured out what her audience loves and writes exactly that.

Her earlier novels and series were far more original, and much more creative, and actually varied and plot and you couldn't always predict the events to the end. (Okay for the most part you could, but not as much as you can now).

I think all those books were written before the mid 1990s.

I almost wonder if Nora Roberts is now an organization of many writers that just follow her planned layout. Kind of like Harlequin.

I should go and check how often she releases books. Because she sure write fast. But if she is writing it can't say I'm surprised since it is practically the same book every time...

Oh, and she is also J.D. Robb so she is publishing as two authors.

I have to say I'm impressed either way at her success... though I stopped reading her books when I realized they had all become clones.

Freelancing

I tried to set up an Elance profile but apparently their admissions test is down.

I also vaguely recall setting one up a couple of years ago, but I go through emails like a drunk man goes through peanuts.

So, this means I have to search and find it and update my profile from years ago.

Freelancing and then publishing my own book thats the plan.

I should probably create some book reviews at well as some point, but I've had little time to read.

And those of you that know me personally are probably rolling their eyes with disbelief. No time for reading? She practically breathes books!

Sad but true, no time, rush rush.

Though I am getting a lot more writing done. And I adore that my blog gives me an "excuse" to post as much as I want.

Also the more I post the more people visit, oh Google Analytics how I love thee.

So if anyone reading this has a freelance gig for me toss me a comment or email me at

marika@monolithicstudios.com

Ramblings 17: Starving with a full Plate

Why is it that people want better quality but are unwilling to pay for it?

I just read an article about organic food. One of the writers commented how it is hypocritical to demand more organic and healthier food and not be willing to pay for the difference.

He also included that for some people it is a big deal and they can't afford it.

But let's look at the big picture. If everyone started buying organic, natural foods the prices would be forced down due to competition.

Currently organics is not leading in the market I believe it is about 17% or less here in Finland. And everyone moans about the price and then buys the non-organic cheaper one.

But if we all bought it this would change. Yes it is more expensive to grow and make, and not as sure. But if the people demand the companies, governments, the world has the answer.

And those forward thinking people would set up companies to dive into the "new" organic food market. 

Competition, competition.

But if you aren't willing to pay, the prices will never go down and even more long term the quality of food will decrease to such a level in which you can practically starve even with full plates of food just because the nutrients have been removed, sucked out or made so synthetically your body treats them as trash.

Most of us suck at seeing the big picture, in realizing that we do have the power to cause change.

Imagine, starving when your fridge and plate are full of food.

What I'm Eatting

For the past two and a half months I have had little choice in what food I consumed.

My Choice:

Now since moving out I get to decide and make whatever I want, which isn't always the best, especially when you are tired from work.

Generally the Finnish diet is chicken, fish and ground beef. With heavy doses or potatoes or pasta.

Salads in Finland are often laughable in proportions. Which is understandable since produce is rather expensive.

But I decided to splorge, my fridge is filled with leafy greens, mangos, tomatoes, paprika, pears, peaches, yams and more. 

It is fantastic, no fried food, no greasy meat.

Oh, I do have cold cuts, but I use them for flavoring and not the central focus of my meal.

I have discovered a fantastic sandwich.

Rye bread with avocado in the place of butter, a smidge of onion, couple slices and paprika (pepper) and a pile of lettuce. And then 1-2 slices of a chicken or beef cold cut.

It is ridiculously good.

My brother has discovered for himself the Raw Fat diet.

Which I haven't quite moved onto, but I'm working on it.

And by diet I don't mean short term. This actual change in the long term in what you eat

You avoid all processed fats, which is rather difficult since most foods contain it. And if you want meat you generally cook it. But to counter this you have smaller portions of meat and fresh veggies and fruit.

Avoid cooking when you can.

This diet leaves you with so much energy it is almost ridiculous. However you have to eat more!

The leafy stuff doesn't have all that much energy. So instead of 3 meals a day you go for about 6. But they are slightly smaller in proportions.

There is a bit more to it, but I'm still working on this details.

Comment: Feeding Your Pet

Hi Lee Ryan,

I am no animal expert or health expert, let alone professional. 

I do not know what you normally feed your dog, or the type of dog you have.

But here is my response to your comment:

From my own experiences, through osmosis, from television, websites, books, magazines and research, I believe you didn't hurt your dog.

You just gave him a tasty treat, which probably was a lot healthier than most dog treats. 

You got the meat from a local farmer, and assuming he doesn't inject or feed his animals with excessive growth hormones or other drugs.

Generally, the more raw the food you eat the better it is for you, however with today's world you risk a variety of diseases since most of our immune systems have been damaged by pollution and other toxins and lack of contact with a variety of bacteria due to excessive sterility (cleanliness).

Here is what I go by when buying for myself, and any animal for that matter: The less ingredients the better. If you can't understand the label then that food probably isn't good for you. It is most likely synthetic and made from a lot of oil-based chemicals.

As long as you didn't pour on a ton of salt and sauces your good to go. One steak isn't going to harm your dog. And most likely it might be even healthier for your dog to eat that than his regular food.

Grilling the meat is a type of processing so your dog won't have gotten as much out of the steak as he could have, next time try a rare one if you didn't this time. You want to avoid fried fats, (any fat that has been heated up is processed and our bodies (not sure of dogs) aren't designed to process that)

A lot of owners cook for their pets, this can often be expensive, but might be healthier if you do your research and find out what your dog really needs in his diet.

I don't know this for a fact, but I don't think a dogs natural diet includes the amount of corn and wheat most pet foods contain.

I conclude with do your research, don't just read what the pet food manufacturer says, remember he makes a profit from you and will twist his words to make you believe in his product.

Remember when researching to check who funded the study, often you will find it is the pet food manufacturers in the background. Though research is supposed to be unbiased, pure and everthing good it is often higly influenced by who does the funding and can be heavily skewed or censored.

If there are any errors in this post feel free to contact me and I will correct them.

And once again I speak only from my experiences and studies and make NO CLAIM to be an expert, phD or doctor.

Feeding Your Pet

I recently read an article in a pet magazine that was about debunking classic pet animal myths.

One of them was that you shouldn't feed for pet "people" food.

It went on to say that it was okay as long as you don't feed too much and avoid highly processed foods and ones that contain preservatives and other chemical additives.

Okay so pretty much feed your pet natural food.

So it's not okay for your pet dog or cat to eat that MacDonald's burger, for example, but it is okay for you and your kids.

Because if you feed it to your dog or cat, they might get sick, they might get fat.

We apparently value our pets health more than our own. Or maybe in pets the effects are just that much more apparent, after all they barely live a fraction life times. (10-17 years)

Am I the only one that sees something wrong with this picture?

Ramblings 16: Drinking

I have been drinking and since I was on the metro I started thinking about the differences in my mind when I am drunk versus sober.

I have concluded that I am a surface thinker when not-sober. It has the feeling that I am only skimming the top of my thoughts and that their is a labyrinth beneath that I cannot access, blocked by a barrier created by alcohol.

It takes serious effort to get through the wall to even feel that I am getting even a semblance of my normal level of thinking.

It will be interesting to read this post when I am totally sober. Also I am more prone to spelling error or wrong word choice when I have been drinking. I am doing a lot of backspacing.

I guess people drink to get away from their thoughts, as my friend and I both believe it is to forget, to not think about their own lives that they drink.

Though I find some affects of alcohol enjoyable, I will never include it into my regular habits. Because frankly I have so much more fun sober, and sober fun stays clear and true in memory and saves you a freaking headache the next morning.

Update About Me

It's snowing outside and I am going to buy a ticket to return to Canada at the end of August.

I have now agreed to stay 2 additional months at my internship, I am now officially published in two different newspapers/magazines.

I have done translations, layout, website updates and articles.

So, oh yeah, I am totally on my way to my goal as a writer.

My internship will end at the end of May. That means 2 months of free time unless I don't get another job.

I am considering traveling around Europe. And to pay for part of it I plan to write some articles to submit them to various newspapers and see if I can get any money from that. You know writing about travels, people seem to like reading about that.

Then in August I will go with my parents to our cottage up north and bond with nature.... hm I am going to have to write a lot of posts before hand since I won't have much net access up there.

For Easter I am going to Rukka, to my uncles... ski chalet, or 2nd cottage, however you wish to call it. That's in about northern central Finland. For about 5 days.

There I will humiliate myself on the slopes by falling flat on my face and eating snow.

Hopefully I can do some cross country where I will at least get a little less humiliated.

It has be nearly 7 years since I last did any kind of skiing.

Seriously, what kind of Finn am I?

Tonight I am going to Baribal, see www.baribal.fi to play billiards, get boozed up, eat what I am told are delicious french fries and also humiliate myself playing pool.

And hopefully have a blast.

I was going to go to my cousin's 25th birthday, but he ended up sick, doesn't that just suck? All the plans gone to waste because of the flu.

The flu is on the move here in Finland. And it is freaking me out, I hope not to get sick, since I've been sick enough on my trip here!

So that's my update. Next post will be about ramblings or some quirky observations of Finns in their natural habitats!

Oh PS, It's my dad's birthday today, so all wish him well!

Pretty Day

I am going to be completely innane.

It is so pretty outside. The sun is shining, the sky is blue and cute little fluffy clouds are drifting gently, carried on by a wind.

Ah, pretty. Would be nicer if it wasn't so cold. Though the snow is melting. Yay!

I just watched two pigeons, well I think they were, attack a crow or maybe it was a hawk. I don't know but it was interesting how the circled and dove at the larger bird to chase it away!

You could practically see the indignation in every wingbeat as the bigger bird flew away. And of course the little ones we ecstatic. 

Today I am going shopping today at Stockmann, which is Finland's version of the Bay or Sears, but much more posh.

I will post something a bit more thought out later, but I had an earge to write and those birds were so blasted entertaining... does it sound like I'm bored?

PS; Dorian! I see what you did there! Trying to steal my readers! And I have only so few!

Cruel, cruel cruel!

Don't think that I was too busy watching birds to notice!

Guest Post: Living in Hong Kong

A friend of mine told me about his experience in Hong Kong after reading my multicultural posts. I found it so interesting that I asked him to write a post!

And WEE he DID, so here it is! Enjoy.

Chinese-Canadian 

Living in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a place typically filled with a single culture population, ironic because the city is known for being international. You could walk around the street and you would see people of different skin colour, speaking in all different languages wherever you walk in different parts of the city.

 Hong Kong itself is a culture, its not a traditional Chinese culture, its not a British influenced colonial like culture, it’s a culture based on trend, NOT being outdated, following the leader kind of materialism.

 A lot of people love traveling, to different places whether it’s for sight seeing or anything, the more places the more you experience, especially for multicultural people they tend to be more open to visiting different countries. Here in Hong Kong whenever I ask any of my friends, 8/10 times they would like to go to Japan. I’ve been to Japan too myself, it’s a great country, polite people, yummy food etc … but personally, I wouldn’t want to spend all my holiday visiting the same country every time.

 I see this as being more of a trend than enjoyable personal experience, they have bought into the “greatness” of what the “great empire” brings. They believe that there will be nowhere else better in the world. It is all done though on a materialistic surface, if I were to ask them how much they understand about countries and particular culture they wouldn’t able to tell me anything.

 The typical Hong Kong population, in my wording I would describe as a flock of sheep.

 Fashion sense is influential to everyone, you and me included, to some extent at the very least. In Hong Kong though, it is not about how smart and neat you look when you dress, it’s about wearing the most fashionable things that doesn’t even fit you. Obviously these are my opinions and it’s not for me to judge peoples fashion sense. You remember seeing people wearing caps loosely on their head? When you’re 6 foot 2 the cap is just another 3 inches on top of your 6 foot frame. When your 4 foot 10 and you add another 3 inch on top of your head, it looks like your body is out of proportion, and you see people like that everywhere here. I remember 3 years ago when pink was the fashionable colour here, when a guy wears a pinkish dress shirt, it could look great, a pink t shirt great, but when you see a guy wearing a baby pink tank top alone (with pants of course) and not just one but a couple, you start to wonder do people think about how they dress or do they dress as they are just because it is THE colour of the year.

   When I go for food with my friends, it is always the same few Japanese restaurants or some sort of fusion cuisine (all of which serves pretty much the same things). I never really choose where to eat and I let them do that, but whenever I give some suggestions like “ hey I know there is a Spanish pub around that serves great food or have you been to that particular French restaurant?” they would start talking about something else. I do not know if it’s just me not fitting into their culture or do I just think differently. For them, life revolves around the same couple of things, I can’t say it’s boring but it’s too predictable.

 Sometimes I wonder if I should be judging them the way I have here. Maybe they are thinking of me in a similar way, who knows?

 

Ramblings 14: Something

I'm drawing a blank today. So I am going to type until something pops in my head.

Why is it my best ideas come to me when I am on the move? When I am running, on a bus or a train?

I wonder if somehow you get put in a trancelike state that allows your mind to wonder and ponder freely when you are on the move.

I guess it also goes for when you are on your bed staring up at the ceiling or at a wall.

Ever just stare? Let your mind go empty and quiet, let all the tension just pour out of you?

Do you meditate at all? How do you meditate? Do you do breathing exercises, physical actions, staring? Listen to music?

I'm sure there is at least more than one way to do it. 

Getting your thoughts to be still. Completely still is incredibly difficult. Something seems to always want to encroach on the silence that you are trying to form.

I think it comes about best when you aren't trying to achieve it.

Breathe without listening to your breathing. Look inside and out and balance yourself between the points.

I don't sounds kind of cool though.

I've done it a few times. But sometimes it feels like there is no time. But the times I have done it I have had such greater mental clarity afterwards...

O look I actually came up with something in less than three lines.

FW: Lost

Fictional Writings aka Story (start of one)

He was lost. Jack stared at the large map in front of him and stared at the little dot. "You are here."

Jack was pretty sure he wasn't there at all. He didn't see the MacDonald's that was supposed to be right next to him, if he in fact was where the blasted dot said he was.

Clearly, some jerk who thought it would be make great laugh moved that little dot sticker into the middle of nowhere just so Jack would stand here, his stomach growling, nosing running and getting his ass soaked in the rain.

Jack shoved his fingers into his hair, and pulls on it. 

"Okay, stay calm, all I have to do is figure out what street I am and even this stupid ma-" He breaks off, squinting at the map. 

"Effing hell!" The map didn't have any street names. And now that he focused on it he saw that the streets were slowly shifting. So the map was useless. Who would put an animated map in the middle of the city?

Jack looks around, tugging his small coat to cover himself as much as possible. He'd already outgrown the damn thing. He had just gotten it last month.

His mother had been so proud to get him a new coat...

Sharply shaking his head he turns his back to the stupid map that was even worse than useless.

"Okay, so I just need to backtrack a little..." 

He stumbles back against the map as a large dog jumps out of the alley snapping at him before darting away.

"Goddamnit. This is the shittiest day..."

All the streets were empty. Since when is Toronto so dead? Just where the hell was he?

He pulls his hand from his hair and looks down at it. He stops breathing.

His hand is dark, rain isn't that dark. He raises his hand to his lips, cautiously sticks his tongue out to taste.

The bittersweet tang of blood causes him to recoil. Shaking now he moves his hand back to his head.

"It's just a small cut, probably from hitting the map so hard just now." 

His fingers pause as they catch on torn flesh. His finger slips in. The scrape of bone and then the soft press of brain matter.

He jerks his hand away, collapsing to the ground as he starts heaving up his insides.

To be continued...

Ramblings 13: Perception

Okay, on the talk about need.

I am not saying that society has made wants into needs. But rather society has twisted our perception. Let's say marketing has.

People believe, they BELIEVE, that they NEED material possessions to live. There are even psychological disorders that take this into the extreme.

Also because of this twisted up perception people become greedy. They want more than they need.

This has nothing to do with job, and money.

I'm talking about how this in the end effects how we view ourselves. We view ourselves as being material, as being defined by what we can hold in our hands.

To me, this is my belief, to me this is a twisted thing.

We aren't the sum of our material possessions or positions in society.

People are turning more and more outwards to find happiness, to find themselves.

One of my favorite quotations is this:

Happiness is not a destination. It is a method of life.

People have forgotten that. We constantly to outward, more and more physical things to define ourselves.

Constantly buying more and more, wearing ourselves out, trying to get that Ideal happiness.

And because of how the world is today, you do need money to survive. Money can allow you to be happy since you won't have to struggle for the things you need to survive.

But then think how much money goes into buying things you don't need.

People waste their lives trying to get something that they can never get through their current methods.

Happy is what you should be. Not something you strive for.

Money can't buy happiness. But it can give you the time you need to find it in yourself.


This is the last post I am going to do on this subject for a little bit, since I want to look at some other topics as well. :)

Children on Buses

I continue to be surprised by things here in Finland.

There are little children riding buses here. Without adults with them. These kids are at most eight years old!

They go on buses all the way from the Finnish equivalent of suburbs to the Helsinki centre.

Finns are perfectly comfortable letting their kids on public buses.

But would a Canadian? Sure I have seen 12 year olds and up, but generally anyone younger has always, always had an adult or an older kid with them.

My relatives constantly warn me of the dangers of Helsinki and riding on the bus. But it is almost laughable when you think that they let their 7 year old ride the bus alone and walk 40minutes home from school by themselves.

Of course when they are warning me it generally has to do with me being out late and Finnish drunkeness or scary foreigners.

But really, would a parent from the USA or Canada be comfortable letting their kids ride the public bus at such a young age? To walk such far distances?

Really, it really makes you pause.

Response: Ramblings 12

Maybe should I reword. 

The point I was making is that these things shouldn't be needed to make you happy, shouldn't define who you are. A car is a car is a car. A car is not who you are. Your job is not who you are. The latest timex watch is not who you are. 

These are physical objects and you shouldn't be dependent on them to define yourself.

Maybe I should use the word that they are a REQUIREMENT but not a NEED.

You can have a car, clothing, physical objects but you don't NEED them. You can live without them. When you are stripped bare you just don't need them.

What society teaches you is that you NEED the latest model, you NEED the newest style, you NEED their product.

Ramblings 12: Want & Need

I believe the field of Psychology gave us a great disservice when it went and tied itself to marketing.

Through psychology the marketing system was able to shift our preception of WANT in to NEED.

Humans need only a few things to survive, water, food, shelter and as a species sex. You can also add that we need contact with others, this is tied to our mental health. A baby will die if it is not touched, it does not matter if you feed it and shelter it.

Today people believe they need a new car, a new house, new shoes, a new game and new hairstyle or something immaterial.

People drive themselves crazy for things they believe they need, but only in fact want.

People no longer look to themselves to fulfill their needs. So many look without to define themselves. Like somehow a new car will make you loved by all and accepted.

I'm not saying I am immune to this. I'm not saying we do not need money.

In fact today we need money, we can't get food, water or shelter without it. But using money to buy things so that you can be loved or to better define yourself...

You look at magazines, at TV, at what your neighbor does and compare. Will you be liked if you buy that handbag? Get that new iPod, will you be hip and accepted?

Well yes, but not for you, just that empty shell that is composed entirely of the material.

I think it is sad that our selves are defined not by us but by what we own, the country we are from, the job we have, and the neighborhood we are from.

We are defined now by Society. Many have lost their central selves, and let others tell them what to be.

You are told you can not be a leader, you can not come up with a better way of doing something, that you will get no where, that you are defined by what you own.

What are you when everything is stripped away?

Shouldn't we be more than the sum of our material possessions?

How often have you thought "someone else will do it". How often do you shift responsibility on to another and not take action? Do you not take action because you believe from the very start that you cannot succeed?

I think a lot of our world is a lot of talking and very little action. We seem to be puppets to the ones that do.

It is funny in writing, the biggest point is to SHOW, not tell. Don't tell me, SHOW me.

And yeah, I am also a person that has talked and not put what I said into action. Things I should have, because I believed someone else could do it better. That what I do would have no effect.

But really, everything you do impacts something else.

Don't tell me, show me.



***See this is ramblings, I started with talking about want and need and somehow started talking about taking up action in what you believe in. Go figure! It was fun to write though!

Ramblings 11: Sleep

Sleep is a wonderful invention.

It just happens to be a bit inconvenient at times. Like take right now for instance. For some reason I can barely keep my eyes open. It's not even dark outside. I had a full nights sleep but still my eyes are sagging and my head just keeps knodding off to sleep.

I am losing time people!

So I decided to blog about and see if it helps me wake up a bit.

And why is it when you are absolutely dead tired, and just get your head on the pillow that you can't sleep at all?

What special qualities are required that you can just fall instantly asleep? Well I know you can train for it. But why is it sometimes after say 24hours awake that you can't get to sleep the instant you lie down?

And others when you feel awake you can just close your eyes and fly off to the magical land of rainbows and dancing bunnies?

Okay, I don't dream about that but I think it's a funny picture.

Frankly I don't think we should attempt to regulate sleep. I recall a study in which they put people into a room with no clocks or windows. Or any method of telling what time it was. They found after a few days that people naturally take one longer rest and a nap or two. Naps usually took place after eatting.

Did you know you can burn all your calories sleeping, if you are at your optimum weight? That is if you sleep well.

And did you know drinking alcohol reduced the length and number of REM cycles? That means you don't process the information of the previous day.

Also having less REM cycles than natural leaves a person sleepy and feeling unrested.

You can even train and acquire new skills in dreams?

Hm, I think this is helping me wake up a little.

Ramblings 10: Friendship

Recently the topic of friendship has been popping up a lot in conversations.

What makes a great friend? Is it just someone you can have fun with and hangout or someone that you can strip your self completely bare (metaphorically), just be you and know you will be accepted?

How often is it that you meet a person with whom you can be yourself, know that it is safe to be yourself with that person and not afraid to be judged or laughed at. How often does it go both ways?

I think it is an incredibly rare thing to have a true friend, someone you know will be there, to lean on, support you and also that you will be there for the other person.

I think a lot of relationships between people are imbalanced.

Many put their sense of self, their security into something completely external, be it family members or physical objects.

I think when you aren't centered within yourself  you can't make friends. Because if you are externally focused then you are dependent.

You are dependent. 

To me being dependent on another for my reason of being, for my happiness seems wrong. You can't be fully realized if you don't love yourself, accept yourself and this is a rare thing.

In a relationship, yes you want to be happy, but it can't be the sole reason you are happy, you have to be able to make yourself happy. 

Rather a relationship could enhance, or have a cyclical affect. The whole yin yang balance.

You are whole in yourself but you can be more.

I don't think I am describing this too well, but maybe you got an inkling what I think I'm trying to say. 

Help! Need a Name

Hi guys!

Well I am going to get a REAL WEBSITE... as soon as I figure out a nifty name for it!

So if you have any ideas please comment!

Response: Ramblings 9

Nice to see comments, and o you copycat Jane! Heh

Well I didn't meant to imply this behavior was just towards North America, that's just my immediate. And I get it, I really do, it's far away, Canada doesn't get much coverage and probably doesn't play as big a role in history books.

But it's done all over. I often hear negative comments about people from different countries, like Italians are lazy, wifebeaters, uneducated and never move out of the home. People from Africa are all criminals. And stuff like that. This is what I find appalling.

It's just that the Canada/USA thing strikes the closest to home.

And yes, it is partle ignorance and inexperience with other cultures. And what irks me a bit is that a lot of Finns consider themselves worldly, experienced, sophisticated and educated. And then they talk about peopl from other countries in such away!

A lot of Finns go on exchanges to different schools and universities when they are young. They talk about their experience frequently from their times in Finland.

But a lot of what I heard is that they didn't experience, sure they were there 4 years but they still see only stereotypes and make massive generalizations.

Yeah, I know we all do this from time to time. And not all Finns are like this, I've met a lot of great ones. But the fact that this attitude is in the Media, newspapers, television and what not kinda just shocks me.

And yes Henri, I totally get what you mean, it's like the Finns that went of exchanges and just didn't live it.

Next post I should say a little about the other Canadian I met here and his reaction to Finns!

My apologies to all the Finns that don't think at all like this.

And don't let this post turn you off visiting Finland. It's a lovely country. Finns love practicing their language skills on all the people they meet and taking you out to a bar or a party of some kind. And if you just step up and ask, they love to help and assist as well. Not all of course, but quite a lot.

I have had a lot of positive interactions with Finns. 

Also in recent years Finland has had an great increase in immigration, due to the EU and the wars. So they have two types of foreigners living with them, refugees and immigrants.

Finland has been for a very long time a humogenous country, so I can understand the struggle to adapt to the change. Canada and the USA pretty much grew up on immigration. European countries have not.

Older generations are much more likely to stereotype and have negative views whereas younger generations are much more relaxed, and many are open to getting to know the newcomers. 

Still the media needs a kick in the ass, since a lot of it is controlled by the older generations.

I guess a large part of my strong reaction comes from my cultural sensitivity. And as we know media doesn't always reflect the majority view.

Ramblings 9: Semi-Rant About MC

More on being Multicultural

I don’t want Finns to take too much offence, but I think you’re a bit snobbish in your world view.

Yes, Finland is a great place to live, great education, social structure, communications, transportation and what ever else I am forgetting. But your mindset towards “foreigners” really gets to me.

I come from Canada, I am a Finnish-Canadian, my parents were born and raised there. I am a mixture of both cultures.

Finns are highly educated, smart, practical people, they frequently go on student exchanges and visit with people from other cultures.

But for some reason a lot of Finns just use a very broad brush stroke and just label and categorize people in a way that has my job dropping to the floor.

It's not with cruel intent, it's not to be malicious or that they really think they are better than people from other countries. It's just how it comes across. This is not just individuals. I've seen this behavior on the News all over the media and about how people I meet talk about foreigners and immigrants.

I have the dubious honor of being both a Finn and also a foreigner. I can see it. I just don't understand the mass blindness.

For people that are so enlightened about most things I just can't understand that they can just be so... stereotyping.

So when I get called a “yank” or an American, I get a little insulted. I am Canadian, you can call me a Canuck but that’s a really outdated term. For people so educated I am astounded at the lack of consideration. Saying Canada should be shoved in with the USA is just… well insulting to me.

It would be like me saying “Oh you Europeans,” or “Scandinavians” and yeah I am aware how Finns can get outraged at the latter. Oh or better yet I will call you a Swede. Because hey you are neighbors, share the same culture and viewpoints right? Oh they might take offence!

I can get being called American, since Canada is in NORTH AMERICA, however when that American is meant to mean the United States of America, I get rather annoyed.

I have lived in the USA, but I have lived far longer in Canada, I was born and raised there.

I am very aware of the differences between the USA and Canada.

It may sound trite but it is exactly as we learned in school. USA = cultural melting pot and Canada = cultural mosaic.

What does that mean? Well if you want to be an AMERICAN (USA) then you need assimilate to the culture and have your own native culture take a back seat. So-called native born Americans dislike immigrants. Generally, though it is a bit broad, after all US is made of immigrants so they are more tolerant than other countries.

Now Canada, lets you keep your culture. It expects you to glory in it and share in it. And just come together as Canadians being from around the world. There are some 3^rd generation families or more that don’t call themselves Canadians they call themselves their native ethnicity. However, the second you take them out of Canada? Then they are Canadian.

Canada is pretty much the MOST successful country is realizing cultural diversity. How many countries are you comfortable living in where you feel you can wear your native dress? Speak your language, practice your own religion? (Of course there is hate, and it is not perfect but a large portion of it has been successful)

All Canada asks is that you accept others, tolerate them as well and to maybe, just maybe learn the English language so others can understand you. *You need to know a little to be able to pass the citizenship test!

Here is a quote that at first I thought was ridiculous, but latter on realized the truth of it.

Excuse me but I can’t recall the exact quote, but here is the gist:

“How’d you know she was Canadian?” “She was nice for no reason.”

I am not saying Canada is perfect, but it is a lot more accepting of people from other cultures and ethnicities. More aware. You have to be to live in Canada. Sure you have the stereotypes, biases and bigotry. But in the end most people end up learning about other cultures if not consciously, just by osmosis.

And yeah, Canada has a lot of stuff to work on, health care, education, communication etc etc. But at least we don’t put our noses in the air when we meet a foreigner.

Of course I should add that my sensitivity to all this is probably brought on by having lived in Canada for so long. We become very, very aware of others and about preconceive notions.

Sorry about the semi-rant but I don't like seeing this behavior.

And no, it wasn't directed at me.

Rambling Comments: Replies and Reactions

First thing I want to say is that I think it is a pile of awesome, yes a pile of awesome, that my friends that read this blog actually call me up to talk about it! Nothing pleases me more as a writer, other than the act of writing, is that my writing actually speaks to the person. People message me, call me and email me saying “you remember that post…?”

Anyway thanks to all those that read it, it really makes my day!

Now since we are on the subject, just today a friend messaged me and told me about his reaction to my post Single Vs Multi.

*By the way message me again if I have any of this wrong!*

He has been living in Hong Kong for the past year, and apparently after reading my post (apologies if I have this a little off, but the conversation wasn’t saved L) realized that there was a difference. He has lived now in both Canada and Hong Kong and says that people from a single culture don’t seem to have a certain openness to experience, and seem to lack some kind of perspective.

 He continued to observe also that; People from multicultural backgrounds seem to be able to accept new things more easily. And also that sometimes he feels like an alien, (like standing outside and looking in through a window).

Anyway it was an interesting conversation and I probably garbled it up a bit, but I thought it was great that my posting struck a chord with someone.

 

And last note, another friend of mine called me up yesterday just to tell me that my Sunday post made her laugh, and that she loved the line about how my brain goes on a holiday on the weekends.

I seriously love it when someone can relate to a post or causes a strong reaction. Ok so maybe I wouldn’t want someone yelling and pissed off at me over a post. But even then that could be cool that they disagreed so strongly…

Anyway back to giving the appearance of work!

 

Ramblings 8: Just Sit Down!

I haven't a clue what to write about. But I need to post everyday, you slack off one day and it's easier to do the same the next.

Eventually the blog be forgotten or I post just once a month. That would suck because I like posting!

So here is me not slacking off and actually posting something, sort of the last minute for the day but I've been busy.

Went jogging, grocery shopping ,cooking, cleaning and just wondering around aimlessly. Okay so not so busy but nothing popped in my head to write about!

It is somehow easier to write of weekdays, my mind is a whirlwind on those days. Weekends and my brain just shuts off and goes on a holiday.

The problem is I keep wanting to post all day long on weekdays... maybe I should set up as a timer so I'll have something for the weekends... but then I'd slack off again!

Have to just sit my ass down and write or it just stops no matter how much like it.

Now for something nearly completely unrelated. Ever paid attention to your fingers when you are typing? I've asked a couple of friends this and not many have. Aside from when you are first learning to type and have to look for each and every key!

Now if I just watch my fingers typing away on this keyboard it seems somehow disconnected from me. Somehow that message from my brain is being relayed to my fingers that tap away on the keyboard almost as if they have a mind of their own. It is also a little bit difficult to focus on them when typing because then you start typing something completely different or start messing up.

Generally, I type looking at the screen or at nothing at all, sometimes eyes closed when I am attempting to catch a particular image onto paper... sorta like painting except for most people you need your eyes open for that.

I paint with words.

Corny but that's how I think of it sometimes.

Anyway try it sometime. Watch your fingers, not the keyboard by the way, as you type. You feel a little bit of dislocation when you do it. As if the hands aren't yours. This doesn't work if typing doesn't come "naturally" to you and you are still slowly taping away and actually need to look where the keys are.

Anyway that's my post, hope someone enjoys it!

Ramblings 7: Rambling

Ramblings can be incredibly cathartic.

My "Rambling" series are just the recording streams of thought as the dance through my mind and trickle out through my fingertips.

I've found they clarify my thoughts, put them into focus and uncover new facets in them, and also new ideas altogether. You can get lost in it as you just record whatever goes through your mind.

But just looking at what you have written after makes you see something new as well.

Sometimes I get so frustrated but once I get started writing that energy changes into something more edgy and focused, taking my mind off things I can do nothing about. Cleanse away the feelings that leave behind nothing but anguish if you dwell on them.

And in writing you can realize that they had no basis. That often they are simply a reflection of what is around you. We are incredibly sensitive to our surroundings, to interactions with others.

Ever notice that there are people that totally siphon energy out of you? They leave you mentally, emotionally and even physically tired after interacting with them.

Then there are others in which you become energized, and keep going and going like that bunny.

Keep focused and keep your center still :)

Ramblings 6: Just how trapped in our heads are we?

A PWC colleague commented on my previous Ramblings 5 post about silence.

I think it got a little off topic though I can get the confusion.

Here's some parameters. Lets say that both people in the room are comfortable with silence. Comfortable with it alone and comfortable with it in a crowd (noisy or quiet).

So have let's say you are one of these people, have you ever felt that faint pressure that someone wants your attention, felt that faint tension, had a niggling feeling that someone just spoke to you?

Have you ever had that where you go "Did you say something?" When in fact it was all silence.

What if someone did say something, but not verbally.

They have conducted experiments where they have a person face a wall and have people sit behind him. They then direct the people to focus or not focus on the person in front of them.

More than chance, the person sitting facing the wall can guess that someone is focusing on him/her and not only that some of them can give the position of the person.

So maybe, that pressure you feel in the room that tension is when two people wish to communicate, are trying desperately to do so without words...

And what about when you are with someone you know well and can finish their sentence or know what they will say before they say it?

Of course you could say these are all from non-verbal cues, or previous conversations.  But what if it isn't?

How about those times when you pick up to call a friend just to have your phone ring and it be your friend. And let's say that is a friend you haven't spoken to in weeks, months or even years?

Maybe we just are that connected... or maybe it's coincidence.

Question: Single V Multicultural

Here's a Question

Do you think that the way a person thinks is altered when they come from 2 or more cultures?

Are the thought patterns, perspective, methods of thinking, different than that of a person that has lived in one place their whole lives?

Add to that that when a person is a polyglot... multilingual, they think differently, weigh things different in each of the languages.

So how much is culture, how much is language, how much is environment.

Take the situation where you take a person from 2 cultures, equally in each and then take a person from 1 culture and have them describe themselves, describe people, world events and the places they've lived.

What kind of views will they have? The same or different.

As in do people from one culture see things more internally? I don't know but I have been thinking about this a bit.

Is it just a factor that you can't see the forest for the trees vs seeing only the forest?

Or in the end will the results be the same...

Ramblings 5: Quiet Thoughts

What is it that makes a quiet comfortable? Why are some moments tense and others not?

Ever sit in a room with some one, and neither of you can see the other but there is this tension. Something unsettling about the quiet. Leaves you edgy and twitching in your seat. Nervously glancing around.

Is it just you or does the other person have this reaction as well? Maybe the other person is the cause of the reaction. Maybe there is some psychic cue nudging you between the eyes.

Or maybe you are just really bad at comfortable silence. But then why is it perfectly comfortable with others...

Maybe it is all you and you are just tense or eager to say something and that makes you think the feeling is mutual.

But how many times have you broken that silence, or someone else has, by a word or a sudden noise and both of you laugh or one of you says "I was just waiting for you to say something!"

Ramblings 4: Learned Helplessness

Learned Helplessness: We're not so Independent

I was on my way to work when I suddenly recalled a study that I had read about in psychology. 

It had to do with operant and classical conditioning, which is when you condition an animal/person to do certain behaviours. 

Like training a dog to sit, fetch or come when you call. You call dog, dog looks at you, you give it a treat. Then you build up from there, withholding treat until the dog gets up and comes to you when called. That is it simplified, there are other ways as well.

The experiment was done by Seligman in early 1965. He trained various dogs to avoid shocks from an electrified floor in a cage when a light turned on. When the light was on the dog would jump over the barrier to safety. They also had condition with no light. The dog would still jump.

Then he thought of this; he put the dog in a hammock and did the same light and shock association. thinking that after the dog was removed from the hammock it would learn to jump to safety.

What he discovered is something called Learned Helplessness. When the dog was released and shown the light it just cowered, and lay down taking the shocks. 

Not even attempting to get away. It was had learned not to react since it believed there was nothing it could do.

However not all dogs cowered in later experiments some became vicious.

In another experiment the scientists gradually increased the voltage on a dog that could not get away. What they did was give it a weak shock then a stronger and then the next “weak” shock would be slightly stronger than the last and the stronger shock stronger than the last. The dog would react less and less to the weaker shocks even though they were the equivalent of stronger shocks made later. Eventually the dog did not react to any shock.

Know the frog experiment? Toss a frog into boiling water and it will jump out but if you put it in a pot of cool water and gradually turn up the heat the frog will just stay in that water until it boils to death?

Well, that was a bit long winded. I thought I should give you a little background… I hope it wasn’t too garbled!

Main Point:

The above is what I think about whenever I see peoples reactions to debt, gas prices, food prices or any changes in the world. 

Gas prices soar to 2 dollars from 60 cents, people cry outrage. The gas price, drops to 70, then shoots up to nearly 2,50 dollars and then drops to 80. Etc, etc, and each time people react less and less to prices they nearly rioted over a year ago. 

It is so… blatant.

You can see this kind of MARKETING strategy in a lot of places, you can see it in our food, our clothes, in products we buy and in the wars that are fought.

People are being conditioned, there’s even brainwashing involved in this to make sure you don’t think too hard about your conditioned responses.

Because of our conditioning we think always that someone else will do something. Someone else will take care of it. One person can not make change. Though almost everywhere you go you hear that you can do it.

It's why if someone collapses in a crowded hallway, you don't say SOMEONE CALL 911! You say YOU IN GREEN SWEATER CALL 911 NOW! Otherwise you stand the chance that no one will call.

Humans adapt, we can get used to almost anything… but why should we get accustomed to things that isn't good for us?

Why is it that we study so much psychology and science but rarely carry it over as to how it is used on us? 

Guess we don't like to admit how easily we are manipulated. I know I don't.

Info about learned helplessness: http://www.noogenesis.com/malama/discouragement/helplessness.html

Ramblings: Expectations

A friend of mine, (who will most likely grin very soon upon reading this) told me once that you form a vision/goal in your mind. The more precise you are the more likely you will get it.

For instance you want a boyfriend? Well visualize in your mind’s eye what he will be like. Just interested in personality and you don’t care what he looks like? That’s ok. But you can go so far as to describe hair and eye color, and height.

The problem is if you are either to broad or too precise. Rarely do we really know what we want right off the bat. Like in my previous post you need some experience. 

This isn’t just for getting girl friends or boyfriends, it can work for jobs, goals, etc.

Being too precise might leave you feeling the same kind of dissatisfaction as being too broad. Let’s stick to the boyfriend example. You want a guy who is, let’s say an artist. 

Ok, so now you got him, except he is an artist into the extreme, constantly absorbed in his work, it is his life. Well, oops maybe you wanted a guy a bit more balanced than that. So you add that you want him to be sensitive and appreciative you. You can see how any qualities you want need to be balanced.

In the idea for a job hunt, I thought to myself I want a job where I can write. Well I got it but then I was bored as hell since I didn’t get to write creatively, I didn’t get to use my mind at all.

Be specific… just not too specific.

Now on to a slightly different point.

I have come to the realization in the past couple of years after hearing this, is that you can pretty much get anything you want.

By the way, this is pretty much the secret in The Secret book. Visualize and work towards it. 

I have found it is best not to set goals very far, live in the present live in the now. Decide how you are, what you want. Do it for real. 

Essentially you could think I believe in Fate, or Destiny or whatever, however I am more inclined that we shape it. We shape our futures, we shape our present.

There isn’t any other time than our natural time.

I always remember the day I stopped wearing a watch, stopped letting it completely dictate my life. (A little hard to do at work). People are always in a rush, saying they don’t have time, they are too busy, etc. I felt like I had removed a shackle… ah on this later I think.

Focus, focus, focus!

That’s it actually focus in what you want, what you are. I visualize at times that I’m in this massive interconnected web, I like to think of it as a neuron web, not like spider webs. 

Once I decide on something, I start tweaking the strings, unconsciously, consciously and even psychickly. 

And then usually in a few days, longest really was a year, I get what I set out to get. From abstract goals to material, there really is no limit.

I think I will have to go more into this later once I have thought about it more… I miss key points or they do not even occur until after…

Ah we will see. 

Moving Blogs?

I’ve been thinking about moving this blog. 

Funny isn’t it how you can’t always say what you need first thing? I’m sure with experience it gets easier, you know the first steps you have to take before you can start a particular task. 

This blogspot experience has taught me that in some ways I’m a neat freak, not that you can tell by my desk. I like things to be practical, easily accessible and nicely organized.

So, I think I will move to wordpress or some other site… not sure yet, I am going  to have to see if Wordpress will let me do what I want.

For one I don’t like that Blogspot limits subscribers to Gmail accounts. Gag stupid.

For another I want subpages so they aren’t all on the same page. I want a section for Ramblings, Rantings, Review, Short Stories, Journals, etc and etc.

On the first page I want it to have like little excerpts of the new posts in each of the sections.

I want people to be able to subscribe with whatever comments they like.

Well, that’s as much as I’ve determined that I need for my blog, maybe when I have that I’ll find that I still don’t like it, needing more or perhaps maybe the simple blog format is best.

Hm, it’s not really a blog with multiple pages, in the end I want a website I guess.

You learn and acquire new skills every time you do something. 

A part of me knew, going in to this whole blog business that I was testing the waters. Could I write everyday? Was a single page enough for me? Do I have something to write everyday?

I don’t know about the few readers, but I know I just enjoy writing about whatever.

So any suggestions about a new site or host that can give me the capabilities I am asking about above for free would be fantastic!

Well, shhh back to work.

Oh yeah, I will keep posting here until I figure out an alternative.

Oho!

Finns have a way of being very modest and understating pretty much everything. Finn wins a gold medals; “Oho! Well I would been just as happy in fourth.” Finn has an all night drinking binge, “Oho, it was just 15 beers.” Finn knocks you down on the street and you twist an ankle, “Oho! Just a little bruise”.

Like in my previous post about lack of expression you can see it here. Finns tend to be so modest, refusing at any point to brag or even acknowledge the greatness of any accomplishment. Oh you cured AIDS? Oh that was just a little thing but I should have done it five years ago.

Watching medalists and commentators on sports shows is funny because they put everything a little down. Oh, he won a gold, but he still could have done better. Got a silver, he’s perfectly fine with not winning a gold but he should have done better.

In every compliment or acknowledgment of something this is that little “but”. I am noticing it more and more now as I pay attention to it. They always add in that “but”. She aced her exam, but she studied to hard or should have finished it faster.

I can get modesty and humility, by why not revel in a victory just a little? Enjoy that feeling of accomplishment.

I’m sorry, getting drunk and doing that does not count in my book.

Perhaps I’m just too Canadian…

Snacks

It’s interesting to go shopping with a Finn before a night out. They go to buy snacks. To me snacks mean cookies, chips, popcorn and other bits and bites. To a Finn apparently that includes various types of alcohol from straight up vodka to ciders.

It seems that Finns start drinking about 1-3 hours before going out and do not stop until they are flat on their faces either in bed or on the bathroom floor.

The snacks were explained to me. Alcohol is expensive in bars so Finns get as wasted as possible before they even leave the house. I’m sure this is done in Canada, but I kind of think it’s not pushed to this extreme since at least one of the people will be driving to their destination because the GTAs (Greater Toronto Area) transit system is just awful. So really, really awful it
just doesn’t even bare thinking of when compared to Finland’s.

My belief is that the drinking is a way of cracking the reserve most Finns cover themselves with. Finns tend to come across as very… sober most of the time, rarely cracking a smile or joke. It is generally very quiet. Helsinki reminds me of a U of T library! Even the trams and buses are hushed!

The times Finns get noisy are when they are drunk. It’s like they have a completely different personality. Drink frees them to express themselves in ways they feel they normally can’t.
Finns are also very socially conscious people. Always spying, I mean aware of what their neighbors are doing, buying, saying… So it takes quite a lot to crack that reserve.

Me, being from Canada, most come across as a little crazy, I don’t have that kind of reserve, though in Canada I come across to others as practical, quiet and reserved. Here I come across as unreserved, open, loud and a little crazy. Maybe they think I am drunk all the time?

Or maybe I am misreading their reactions to me and they see me as just a rather extroverted foreigner that happens to be Finn at the same time…

Warning It's a Rant

I have recently come into some information from my last place of work.

I worked there for a year, I did my job, did it well and ended up doing MORE than what I was being paid for.

When asked about what I thought would help me at the job, or any suggestions, I would take the question seriously. I would figure out what they were and figure out the best and easiest ways to implement them.

What I suggested:
1) Improving search engine functionality
2) Making update/insert information an online option
3) Having Sales Reps confirm with their customers that information is correct (so the company did not look inept when we contacted then 3 months later and they realize that we had been showing incorrect products/contacts/and other information online.
4)Having clients have a little more involvement
5) Getting more people into my position because one person just can't do the job of 5.

What was I told for all these? They are unimportant, they would not work, they weren't realistic considerations, they cost too much money. Other words I was shot down each time and informed that I was foolish to think any of these suggestions and others I made could possibly work out.

While I was there I was frequently asked why I had not finished the work assigned to me. (Review point 5). They now employ 5 people.

I have since quit this job. And have now heard from former co-workers that each of these suggestions has been implemented or is in the process of.

That's appreciation for you.

God gotta love it.

Story: In the Blood

Blood streaked down the crumbling brick wall. “Shut up, shut up, shut up. SHUT UP!” Dark blood smeared down his face, streaming down from his forehead. The sound of his head hitting the alley wall echoed. “Shut up, shut up.” Dark eyes stared blindly, as his head knocked endlessly against the wall.

Blood tints his vision red, washes his mouth with the taste of copper and fills his nose with the scent of wet rust. “Shut up shutup, shuddup.” A rat snuffles at the growing pool of blood at the base of the wall. Flashes of red and blue light reveal the wasted form of the man. Thin pale skin pulled tight over sharp bones, weeping sores and abrasions cover this visible skin. Lips pulled back in a grimace, and his hissing breath whispers, “shut up, shut up, shuddup!”

“God, the smell,” Stanley coughs and pulls his collar over his nose and mouth. “Another gift from our man?”

“Looks like it Detective, same signature, same method, he even poured the bloody bits from his last victim in a circle around this one.” Collins shrugged, and sneezed into his handkerchief.

“Want me to take a look around and see if I can round up come witnesses?”

“Yeah, doubt there will be anyone; I bet parts of this wonderful piece of work are “witnesses” from the last kill.”

“Can’t hurt.” Collins shrugs, pivots and stalks out of the motel room. He takes a breath, filling his lungs with the clean scent of the street.

“That bad, sir?” An officer asks, holding back the reporters.

Collins shakes his head, runs a hand over his balding head, “You know it is. I’m too old for this shit, why can’t the crazies wait till after I retire, huh?”

The officer shrugs weakly, and Collins yanks up the yellow tape and walks under, storming past the reporters.

“Is it the Mercy Killer?” “Is this different from the other killings?” “Who is the victim?” “What are you doing to catch this murderor?”

“No comment, bug Detective Stanley when he gets his ass out, I got work to do.” The reporters fall back and then turn as once as the Detective steps out.

Collin ignores them and flicks on his flashlight. A drop of water hits him in the middle of his forehead. “Damnit just what I needed rain!”

He starts knocking on doors, “This what I get for moving out of the Big City, having to do all the legwork myself.” He grumbles, pulling the hood of his coat up he starts knocking on doors.

“Ma’am…”

“I didn’t see anything! Leave me alone!” The door slams in his face.

“Fuck.” This is what happens when there is a leak in the department and the public learns that the police think the witnesses are being slaughtered alongside the other victims.

“Shut up,” THUNK, “Shut up,” Thunk.

Collins shines his light down an alley. “What the hell,” the light flashes over a dumpster and the voice and noise get louder.

“Someone back here?” Probably some crazy bum, but he may have been a witness. God I thought moving out of the city got me away from these addicts.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up.”

Collins walks around and shines the light on a huddled figure, soaked through in the rain, knocking his head again and again on the wall.

“Hey son, you’ll hurt yourself… aw shit!” Collins jumps forward and pulls the man away from the wall, his light having caught on the bloody flesh of his forehead. “Shh, shh, it’s ok. Shit!” Collin stares into a wasted face, that should have looked older, but looked like that of a boy, even for its wasted state. Dark eyes, glinted and stared blankly into his own, the head still swaying as if hitting the wall.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up,” chanting under his breath.

“Hey, shh, shh, kid, I’ll take care of you, ok? We get whatever it is to shut up alright? You’re
going to be ok.” The dark eyes focused briefly and Collins felt as if he had been stabbed through the eyes and into his soul with a razor. They eyes unfocused and the policeman started to breathe again. “Shit, some stare you got there kid.” Juggling the flashlight and finally clipping it to his belt, he carefully pick the man up. “Oh man, you don’t way a thing kid, when was the last time you ate? I got some good food at home, and if you don’t like that stuff, my girl, my daughter

Kara can make you up something real nice.

The boy kept chanting “shut up” but Collins kept talking calmly over him. “Don’t you worry about anything you have seen kid, I’ll take care of you, get some meet on those bones and figure out what you think is so noisy that needs to shut up and all.”

“Hey Vicki, operator lady, you there?” He pressed his radio on.

“Right here, Vinny, what you got for me?” The sound of gum crackled over the radio.

“Vicki, I covered the area, damn those reporters, people are too scared to say anything at all.”

“Uh huh, what’s that noise?”

“Just static,” Collins reaches his marked car and props the man against it, holding him pressed against it as he opens the passenger door. “I’m heading home now. Picked up a stray.”

“You and your strays, one day you’ll get bitten, Vinny.”

“Yea, yeah, I’ve heard it, but rather be bitten than have something gauged out.”

The radio static is his response.

“Ok kid, I’m gonna get you in this car and we’ll go for a ride home, k? Nothing going to hurt you.”

He grabs hold of the man’s chin and tilts it up, dark glazed eyes stare up at him. “I know someone is home in here kid, all we gotta do is show you that this world ain’t that bad, huh?”

Carefully organizing the man’s limbs he buckles him in. Shuts door and paces around the car.

With a groan he settles into his own seat, “I must be getting old, you don’t weigh more than a couple sacks of potatoes and here I’m panting and groaning like some old man.”

The wasted man head sways to the side, unfocused eyes gaze in Collins’ direction.

“Yeah, I know someone was in there, see? You aren’t hitting any walls or telling the world to shut up.”

Glazed eyes stare and slowly long lashes sweep up and down as a light flickers in their depths.

Collins twists the keys in the ignition. The car jerks and starts purring, “Ah, hear that? That’s a well-tuned machine, kid. You have to take care of your partner, especially if it’s a car.” He reaches back placing his hand on the worn passenger seat, twisting back as he reverses the car out of the driveway. “Well we are on our way home now kid, you should like it. And Kara will take good care of you she will, my girl, she’s studying to be a doctor.”


The man listens to the other’s speech, not understanding, soothing the jagged edges of the voices the rant, weep and scream in his ears. He forces himself to see, lights dart past as their vehicle zips down the quiet town streets. There is a stink of other blood, death and fear. Breath hisses from between his teeth, he sways his head away from the soothing voice and attempts to see out.

But only lights and dancing shadows press against his eyes.

The voice continues to speak, the sound lulls him, and his eyes grow heavy until there is no smell, no sight, just the soothing rambling of the other.


The sounds of locks being opened caught Collins' attention just in time to turn and face Kara as she opened the door.

"Oh my god! You are soaked thro- who is that?" Kara asked after her eyes had traced her father's arm to the man he was holding up.

"Another lost puppy, found him beating his head on a brickwall. I didn't find any needle marks, but his eyes are dilated like all hell so I think he's on something. He looked so pitiful crouched in that alley... oh and he might also be a witness to a murder."

Kara blinked, "Wow, that's the most words you've strung together in the past month. Well, bring him in and we'll get you both dried up and I'll take a look at him. All my med studies have to be good for something!" She stepped onto the door step and slung the young mans arm over her shoulder and Collins' shook his head shooed her away.

"With the amount it's costing me I sure hope so. He doesn't weigh much I'll take him up to the guest room and you run the bath."

Ramblings 2: Rivers and Barriers

It was mentioned to me that emotion acts as a reward, that it is necessary to find out about the self. That some people, through traumatic or trying experiences, learn to control emotions, not suppress control but control.

I have a different viewpoint. Best probable described by an analogy... though I am still working on this...

Imagine a river. There is a boulder in the river. Slowly the river can wear down this boulder, sometimes the river rages and breaks off chunks. The river can be seen as reshaping the boulder, refining it, uncovering different facets.

Think of the river as emotion. The boulder as your SELF. I think how ever the end result is that the river will wear down the boulder until it is a pebble. Shaping the boulder into something into something else. A boulder, to a rock to a pebble to a grain of sand... scattered across miles.

You can say that this is good we aren't meant to be the same always we need to grow.

So the analogy doesn't work so great... maybe... here is a little more.

I don't believe the Self is meant to be scattered, to become fragmented and spread out. The self is supposed to be a Centre, the thing in you that defines you and is your core and that shapes everything else about you.

I think that instead of a boulder we should be a..... permeable "barrier", like a net (not meant for catching) for lack of another description.

We should let emotion run through us, revel in it, feel it, but the Self is not altered by the emotion.

The Self sees, feels, or whatever you wish to say the emotion. Understands it, appreciates it and learns from it but still remains the self...

You either bend or break.

Forests

I've been thinking about forests.

Imagine with me a forest with hundreds of varieties of trees. From centuries old to saplings. There are healthy trees with strong roots, sturdy trunks and outreaching branches. Then there are the sickly ones.

There are trees that have weak roots, rotting, hollow trunks, branches that have reached too far and forgotten balance. Trees that though old are not sick or infested.

Dying trees that are being chewed up and destroyed by parasites or sick with sores, tumors and other diseases. Some just too damaged by time.

There are trees that overshadow the healthy ones, stealing their chance of light by taking the sun and the nutrients of the earth. Ones that absorb little saplings, or destroy before they have a chance to spread root. Some that no longer seed or create something new.

Why is it that these sickly trees are being given all the light? Are being patched with band-aids instead of being pruned. Why are the saplings ripped up and more nutrients spread at the base of the tree?

Isn't it for the best that these once great trees fall? Be cut down so that their bodies so that they can decompose and nourish the land, so their branches no longer block the sun?

Why not give the saplings a chance to grow, a chance to thrive and one day, of course overshadow other saplings, that is nature. But maybe these ones would be healthy and strong. Not infested... or welcoming infestation and disease.

Why is the... farmer... trying to prolong the life of a tree that's dead and just doesn't know it yet.

Now replace trees with corporations and you'll see what I've been thinking of if you haven't already.

Culture Clash? Babies in the Cold

I have recently been staying in Finland and have noticed something, that I at least, find rather strange.

Perhaps people in Canada do it as well and I have just never seen it happen?

What I am talking about is the habit Finn's have of leaving babies outside in strollers or those little carrier seat things.

Are you surprised? If yes, that's good because then I am not the only one. If no, then how could I have missed it? Sure I'm not around babies all that often but I never thought that it was a common occurrence to put one's child on the deck or at the front door.

I will now just go on writing like perhaps this is only common in Finland, and perhaps other EU/Scandinavian countries.

Is this a way for the little tyke to get fresh air? To give some peace and quiet for the parents? I have noticed that they often put a baby monitor in with the kid. Do they sleep better out in the cold? And by the way yes it is cold out from -1 to -12 that I've seen these kids out.

Is it to make them adapt? Is it something that has always been done and never considered why?

I am not outraged on behalf of the baby, just puzzled as to why. I'm all for giving the kid fresh air but it seems odd since I'm so used to seeing babies bundled up and treated like the most fragile of crystal ornaments.

I figure it is probably little different than taking the baby for a walk in a stroller or going from point A to B.

But still... is it just that I'm Canadian? Raised with a western view? Unobservant that they do this in Canada and the USA as well?

I think what struck me the most was when I saw the babies in the strollers on the front door step and not an adult in sight. Frankly, if I was in the states and some areas in Canada I'd be too paranoid to do this, afraid someone might snatch my kid. By the way, no I don't have any kids.

Is it that the West is more dangerous?

I don't know... I'm going to have to ask a Native Finn about this, because all I can think is "Huh...?"