You know, as a single entity, last year was probably the best of my life so far. And it includes not getting the things I really wanted, not being voted for positions I really wanted, remaining single and not winning the lottery, but still an amazing year and I'm pretty sure this new one is going to top it.
In my last post I talked about putting myself out there for the board member position at Seta. As you can see from my lack of "yeah, I got it"-posts, I wasn't chosen. I was one vote short of a re-vote for the alternate position and 4 short from a direct place in the board. After that I nominated myself for a board member position at Pirkanmaan Seta and was turned down again! But, the weekend at the annual general meeting for Seta was truly amazing and I was able to network with people and made some great connections. I'm sure that many of them and the ideas we talked about during and after will materialize somehow. And the best part is, I now know all the board members so I can complain directly to them when I see something Seta needs to address.
Being the only lesbian in the village can be rough sometimes. It's so energizing when you can bounce your ideas off from someone and that's what that weekend gave me. Being a humans right advocate can be really stressful and tiring sometimes, but being able to share your experiences and getting ideas from others who might be going through the same thing is great. It was like a one giant peer support group and in between we made some decisions about the direction where Seta is taking its human rights advocacy for the next few years.
What's best is the recognition I got from my peers for the job I've done and am doing in Forssa right now. I've talked about feedback before and there really isn't anything better as far as validation goes than when your application to something important is answered with "YES! I was wondering if you'd apply for this". Having people believe in you, especially when the environment surrounding you isn't really showing it in so many words is what makes this worth it. Having new people coming in for Gay Cafe is great too. Building this community isn't gonna happen overnight and it takes a lot of patience which I don't always have, but I believe in what I'm doing so as long as people keep showing up for Gay Cafe and Forssa Pride, I'll keep doing it.
Speaking of Forssa Pride, we have a date for Forssa Pride 4! March 14th, 2014! It'll be in partnership with Qruiser, which is sending us those naughty stickers again and gave us gold memberships to raffle. Come alone or bring friends, it should be fun! I'm also one of the people updating this blog, so Forssa Pride is really going places!
Gay Cafe is participating in Lahti Pride! I'm so excited about this! I know some of the organizers and I'm sure it's going to be fabulous! Gay Cafe is doing the parade as well as after party. I really wanted to see the movie and hear the panel discussions on Friday as well, but financial situations are such that it's only going to be Saturday for us.
I have a really exciting project coming up, or it was tentatively proposed to me. If it's going to happen, watch out! Can't say anything yet, because nothing's for certain, but I'm really excited about it and I hope I'll be able to participate!
Come say hi if you're at Lahti Pride!
Showing posts with label gay pride party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gay pride party. Show all posts
Monday, January 13, 2014
Monday, July 8, 2013
Gay Autumn in Forssa
I know it's way early to be thinking about fall as we have been having some amazing summer weather in Finland and it doesn't look like it's going away, but before we know it, it'll be my birthday and the fall semester for Gay Cafe will be fully on. So keeping that in mind, I had couple of friends over today to brainstorm for Forssa Pride Party and Gay Cafe.
There's really no limits for girl power. When it comes to the things I manage, I'm kind of a control freak, but it does become tedious if it's just me trying to come up with things. So as I'm keeping the leash close to me, I do accept some help. And these ladies came equipped with great ideas. We pretty much have the fall program set for Gay Cafe and Forssa Pride Party 3 is going to rock! We have a theme and we have a program, as long as the schedule clears. I'm super excited and can't wait to announce it, and my team is super excited! What we are doing now is pretty much what I envisioned when I was dreaming about a organizing gay parties in Forssa and it can only get better from here. I'm proud of us!
So stay tuned! I will post about both as soon as I have the all clear! (Which is funny, because I'm the boss, so basically if I wanted, I could tell you our ideas already!)
There's really no limits for girl power. When it comes to the things I manage, I'm kind of a control freak, but it does become tedious if it's just me trying to come up with things. So as I'm keeping the leash close to me, I do accept some help. And these ladies came equipped with great ideas. We pretty much have the fall program set for Gay Cafe and Forssa Pride Party 3 is going to rock! We have a theme and we have a program, as long as the schedule clears. I'm super excited and can't wait to announce it, and my team is super excited! What we are doing now is pretty much what I envisioned when I was dreaming about a organizing gay parties in Forssa and it can only get better from here. I'm proud of us!
So stay tuned! I will post about both as soon as I have the all clear! (Which is funny, because I'm the boss, so basically if I wanted, I could tell you our ideas already!)
Saturday, June 1, 2013
All the gay
Gay Cafe had its last meeting for the spring this past Tuesday. We ended up tying the record attendance of 5 people, which I was really happy about. And if you don't include me, none of them were the people who started. I guess in a way it's sad, but it also shows that we have done something right and the word has gotten out.
We are going to Helsinki Pride as a group and we'll be visually pleasing. Not that we, as a people aren't, but we will have flags and and t-shirts with the logo on them. Charlie did a fantastic job with the t-shirts as well, and I might have bought 6...another person who's coming to march with us bought 2...And I've advertised it on the Facebook page as well as with people who have shown interest so we'll be seen. I'm really excited about it but also really proud of the little group we've gathered. And the ideas people have come up with for PR for our group has been really great. I don't see any reason why Gay Cafe wouldn't be around for years to come. And the community and sense of belonging has been great. What I visioned when I started with Forssa Pride and what is happening now through Gay Cafe is exactly what we need in Forssa. Small steps but we'll get there.
If you are so inclined, you can buy a Gay Cafe t-shirt from here. There are 5 different designs, at least 21 color options, t-shirt models for men, girly fit, zip up and pullover hoodies, v-necks etc. And even with the most absurd color matches, the logo comes out nicely. I bought 6 for now, but I will definitely buy hoodies for the fall. I don't get anything from the t-shirts, all proceeds go to the designer, but she has definitely earned every penny and I hope these will be a hit.
The radio interview I gave about Gay Cafe and Forssa Pride before FPP 2.0 was translated into Russian! The leader of the english speaking group I go to in Tampere is Russian and he told me about it. If you are Russian or speak Russian, here is the link for it. My Russian is so rusty these days that I didn't even try to read it. I just saw my name and Forssa and I was happy. And since my friend didn't tell me it saying anything bad, I'm pretty sure it's "straight up" translation of what was written in Finnish. Which at least in the beginning gave the impression I might be transgendered, but whatever. I can't be doing this and be afraid of labels, even if they are the wrong labels.
I'm going back in time in about a weeks time. Or back to the beginning in a way. Putting my gay advocate training in use and Mikko and I are going to a summer camp for 15-16 year olds to talk about sexual and gender minority issues. I had the training in March of 2011 and this will be my first session. I'm excited but also a little afraid. It'll be fine and Mikko is great, but it's the first time jitters.
Pirkanmaa Pride is in 2 weeks. I'm running the 10k in Forssa at 4pm and then head to Tampere for the party. Midsummer is in 3 weeks and my first stint of summer vacation starts from there. I'm heading to Helsinki for the Pride and staying for the week. I'm going to enjoy the hell out of this summer and all the gay I can. No regrets and no thinking about the money spent. You only live once! At the end of August I'm going to New Jersey and I'm not sure which will weigh more, me after I've eaten n all the places I wanna eat, or the luggage after the shopping spree I'm going for. Every day I send a place or restaurant to Candice and am like "We need to go here too" or "I wanna eat here too". There's no dieting while I'm there! And I'm organizing a MSU reunion as well. Everybody except one guy has said they're on board, so it'll be great!
The weather has been crazy in Finland for the past few weeks. We usually don't have this consistent heat wave even in July, and this started in May and is continuing for the foreseeable future. I love it, but it's frigging hot in my apartment. But we do deserve this after the snowy and cold winters we've had for the past few years.
I'll post some pictures of my gay cafe t-shirts and from all the events I'm going this summer soon. Happy Pride month!
We are going to Helsinki Pride as a group and we'll be visually pleasing. Not that we, as a people aren't, but we will have flags and and t-shirts with the logo on them. Charlie did a fantastic job with the t-shirts as well, and I might have bought 6...another person who's coming to march with us bought 2...And I've advertised it on the Facebook page as well as with people who have shown interest so we'll be seen. I'm really excited about it but also really proud of the little group we've gathered. And the ideas people have come up with for PR for our group has been really great. I don't see any reason why Gay Cafe wouldn't be around for years to come. And the community and sense of belonging has been great. What I visioned when I started with Forssa Pride and what is happening now through Gay Cafe is exactly what we need in Forssa. Small steps but we'll get there.
If you are so inclined, you can buy a Gay Cafe t-shirt from here. There are 5 different designs, at least 21 color options, t-shirt models for men, girly fit, zip up and pullover hoodies, v-necks etc. And even with the most absurd color matches, the logo comes out nicely. I bought 6 for now, but I will definitely buy hoodies for the fall. I don't get anything from the t-shirts, all proceeds go to the designer, but she has definitely earned every penny and I hope these will be a hit.
The radio interview I gave about Gay Cafe and Forssa Pride before FPP 2.0 was translated into Russian! The leader of the english speaking group I go to in Tampere is Russian and he told me about it. If you are Russian or speak Russian, here is the link for it. My Russian is so rusty these days that I didn't even try to read it. I just saw my name and Forssa and I was happy. And since my friend didn't tell me it saying anything bad, I'm pretty sure it's "straight up" translation of what was written in Finnish. Which at least in the beginning gave the impression I might be transgendered, but whatever. I can't be doing this and be afraid of labels, even if they are the wrong labels.
I'm going back in time in about a weeks time. Or back to the beginning in a way. Putting my gay advocate training in use and Mikko and I are going to a summer camp for 15-16 year olds to talk about sexual and gender minority issues. I had the training in March of 2011 and this will be my first session. I'm excited but also a little afraid. It'll be fine and Mikko is great, but it's the first time jitters.
Pirkanmaa Pride is in 2 weeks. I'm running the 10k in Forssa at 4pm and then head to Tampere for the party. Midsummer is in 3 weeks and my first stint of summer vacation starts from there. I'm heading to Helsinki for the Pride and staying for the week. I'm going to enjoy the hell out of this summer and all the gay I can. No regrets and no thinking about the money spent. You only live once! At the end of August I'm going to New Jersey and I'm not sure which will weigh more, me after I've eaten n all the places I wanna eat, or the luggage after the shopping spree I'm going for. Every day I send a place or restaurant to Candice and am like "We need to go here too" or "I wanna eat here too". There's no dieting while I'm there! And I'm organizing a MSU reunion as well. Everybody except one guy has said they're on board, so it'll be great!
The weather has been crazy in Finland for the past few weeks. We usually don't have this consistent heat wave even in July, and this started in May and is continuing for the foreseeable future. I love it, but it's frigging hot in my apartment. But we do deserve this after the snowy and cold winters we've had for the past few years.
I'll post some pictures of my gay cafe t-shirts and from all the events I'm going this summer soon. Happy Pride month!
Thursday, April 18, 2013
One hit wonder
Forssa Pride is one week away and the same worry and doubt I experienced before the first one is slowly creeping in. What if no one shows up? We have less people signed up than last time and all my friends are fleeing abroad or are not in the area that day (or are mom's to a month old). Last time We had no numbers to expect; We were fearing for the worst but hoping for the best and 184 people showed up. This time We have expectations, well I do at least. And I announced that We will try to outnumber Sirkka-Liisa Anttila's municipality elections vote count and have at least 219 in attendance. What if nobody shows up? What if Forssa Pride is a one hit wonder? And I have the absolute BEST idea for the 3rd party, if We're able to have it. Please people, show up!
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Outrageous!
I read this article and was instantaneously filled with righteous anger. Where is Forssa Pride on this list, huh? Forssa Pride should be like the first Pride fest you ever go to! Like seriously! I demand recount! The writers of out traveler should come to Forssa Pride on the 26th and experience this extravaganza first hand!
In other news, my friend had a baby boy few weeks ago and I'm going to go sniff him out tomorrow! I'm not sure if I should wear Forssa Pride t-shirt or Manchester United jersey, because on one hand it's good to educate 'em young (really, never too early, although his mom celebrated Forssa Pride with us in October so he'll know what's up) but on the other hand, his parents are Barcelona fans, and I've already named him Leo Messi before he was born because of that, so it would be a good thing for him to see the better side of football too!
My short term goal of getting "fit" for Forssa Pride Party isn't really seeing much progress. I've gone to Body Pump classes about 3 times a week and I've increased the weights and I'm mindful of my core not giving out on me and fucking up my back, but when I measured myself a year ago (hip, waist, chest) and yesterday, I've not seen the decrease I hoped for. Fucking thyroid. I need to have my thyroid tested in few weeks to see what the levels are, and I'm otherwise feeling good, but the weight isn't going down. My weight fluctuates about 1,5kg from day to day, so it's hard to see any progress, but I'll be happy if I don't have to see the numbers 5 and 9 next to each other. I'm aiming for 55, I think my usual 52 is not within reach anymore. Or it will require measures not healthy for me so let's aim for something I might be able to reach. Once it's actually good enough weather outside and I can start running, it shouldn't be this hard. And I'm thinking about buying a bike if I can find one somewhere cheap and start riding it to work. You're probably thinking who is this person? I speak crazy, I know!
In other news, my friend had a baby boy few weeks ago and I'm going to go sniff him out tomorrow! I'm not sure if I should wear Forssa Pride t-shirt or Manchester United jersey, because on one hand it's good to educate 'em young (really, never too early, although his mom celebrated Forssa Pride with us in October so he'll know what's up) but on the other hand, his parents are Barcelona fans, and I've already named him Leo Messi before he was born because of that, so it would be a good thing for him to see the better side of football too!
My short term goal of getting "fit" for Forssa Pride Party isn't really seeing much progress. I've gone to Body Pump classes about 3 times a week and I've increased the weights and I'm mindful of my core not giving out on me and fucking up my back, but when I measured myself a year ago (hip, waist, chest) and yesterday, I've not seen the decrease I hoped for. Fucking thyroid. I need to have my thyroid tested in few weeks to see what the levels are, and I'm otherwise feeling good, but the weight isn't going down. My weight fluctuates about 1,5kg from day to day, so it's hard to see any progress, but I'll be happy if I don't have to see the numbers 5 and 9 next to each other. I'm aiming for 55, I think my usual 52 is not within reach anymore. Or it will require measures not healthy for me so let's aim for something I might be able to reach. Once it's actually good enough weather outside and I can start running, it shouldn't be this hard. And I'm thinking about buying a bike if I can find one somewhere cheap and start riding it to work. You're probably thinking who is this person? I speak crazy, I know!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Forssa Pride Party poster has arrived!
How awesome is that???
https://www.facebook.com/events/443637209020224/
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