Why is it that when I speak to people or write, I speak my local dialect but when I coo at my kittens it comes out as Finnish? I, for the life of me, cannot speak proper Finnish to people without sounding like an idiot. And I would sound even bigger an idiot if I started cooing at people in order to speak Finnish. I guess you can't have it all.
Yesterday I struck out 2/2. Pekka Haavisto did not win the presidential election to become the 12th President of Finland and Patriots lost to the Giants. Oddly enough I'm not too bumped out about either. It would be unbearable to be in NYC right now but other than that I can't muster the hatred for Giants. And yesterday as I was watching the Super Bowl and seeing all these emotional people cheering for and living for their favorite team I thought that the only team evoking such a strong emotions on me is Leijonat, Finnish mens national hockey team. That makes me a proud Finn. No single team is that important to me in any sports.
Showing posts with label presidential election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label presidential election. Show all posts
Monday, February 6, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Gays, elections and Super Bowl
We didn't get a gay president.That's ok, maybe next time. It was clear before the campaigning even started that Sauli Niinistö was going to be the new president and he dominated the polls as well as the first round so it wasn't a surprise. 30% of the eligible voters chose not to vote on second round making them unable to whine for the next 6 years. You don't use your civil right to vote? You don't get to complain! I am proud of the 37% of Finns who voted for Pekka Haavisto. Since not all of them are gay, there is a clear movement for more tolerable Finland and people can see beyond sexual orientation.
If you are looking for positive sides for this result, the future president's wife is my name sake so hopefully this will mean that people around the word will learn to pronounce my name properly. "Jenni" will never be the same again! Make sure they say your name correctly!!!
Now that the first election is over we can move on to the next exciting event of the day: Super Bowl!
Brooklyn and TJ (which one is which?) are ready for it and so am I! I am wearing one of my many Eagles jerseys and have compiled every Eagles merchandise I own into my living room. Which isn't many as some/most of them never found their way back to me. But since Eagles, despite their "dream teamyness" never made it this far, we are cheering for the Patriots. Which probably means they'll lose since all the teams I've cheered for in these play offs have lost. But I'd rather cheer for the losers than the Giants so there you go.
Enjoy the Super Bowl and I'll see ya on Tuesday! Will probably sleep through Monday.
If you are looking for positive sides for this result, the future president's wife is my name sake so hopefully this will mean that people around the word will learn to pronounce my name properly. "Jenni" will never be the same again! Make sure they say your name correctly!!!
Now that the first election is over we can move on to the next exciting event of the day: Super Bowl!
Enjoy the Super Bowl and I'll see ya on Tuesday! Will probably sleep through Monday.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Boy bands
Every single girl on this planet, whether gay or straight, has that one boy band that they crushed on when they were teenagers, whose songs bring all the teenage angst and love and hate and all those other feelings forth. For my generation (that just makes me sound old) depending on which continent you grew up in, it's between NKOTB and Take That, or other british boy bands. I think I was just few years or a year too young to really get on the NKOTB bandwagon but really LOVED Take That.
I was so crazy about Take That, that I called a friend who subscribed to Finnish teen magazine "Suosikki" and asked her if she would sell the Take That posters to me that were in one weeks/months magazine and when she said yes I left her on the phone while I rode my bicycle to her house about 20 minutes from mine. When I got there I asked her mom where she was and she said still on the phone waiting to hear from me. Oops! My room was plastered with Take That posters. I loved the music. Gary and Howard were my favorites. Was so sad when they broke up. No major feelings when they regrouped few years back.
Reason why I'm writing about this is because I have been listening to my iTunes and once in a while their songs pop up. And it's kind of, how should I say this? Not-worth-calling-your-friend-and-asking-her-to-sell-her-posters...It can still make me remember all those things I felt when I first started listening to them but now it's like if you were just coming out with these songs you'd never make it.
I never saw Take That in a concert but I did see Mark Owen in Swansea at "Party in the Park" while me and Laura were volunteering there in the summer of 2003.
We also saw Liberty X, Girls Aloud and another girl band whose name I can't remember and the pictures are all kind of blurry so I can't even try to recognize them.
Anyways, just thought I'd share. It was something that I have been thinking about for few weeks now. Also, went and voted for Pekka Haavisto for president today. Now we'll just wait till the 5th to hear the results. Let's make history again Finland!
I was so crazy about Take That, that I called a friend who subscribed to Finnish teen magazine "Suosikki" and asked her if she would sell the Take That posters to me that were in one weeks/months magazine and when she said yes I left her on the phone while I rode my bicycle to her house about 20 minutes from mine. When I got there I asked her mom where she was and she said still on the phone waiting to hear from me. Oops! My room was plastered with Take That posters. I loved the music. Gary and Howard were my favorites. Was so sad when they broke up. No major feelings when they regrouped few years back.
Reason why I'm writing about this is because I have been listening to my iTunes and once in a while their songs pop up. And it's kind of, how should I say this? Not-worth-calling-your-friend-and-asking-her-to-sell-her-posters...It can still make me remember all those things I felt when I first started listening to them but now it's like if you were just coming out with these songs you'd never make it.
I never saw Take That in a concert but I did see Mark Owen in Swansea at "Party in the Park" while me and Laura were volunteering there in the summer of 2003.
Anyways, just thought I'd share. It was something that I have been thinking about for few weeks now. Also, went and voted for Pekka Haavisto for president today. Now we'll just wait till the 5th to hear the results. Let's make history again Finland!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Presidential Election
Today is the first round of Finnish Presidential Election. When I turned 18 and was eligible to vote My mom told me to always vote for a woman because men will not represent the things that are important to me, as a woman. And I have. Until this election. There are 8 candidates, 6 men and 2 women. I will NEVER vote a christian democrat, even if the online "election machines" make me out to be one and Eva Biaudet was not "it" for me. My vote went for Pekka Haavisto and if he makes it to the second round my vote will go to him again.
I am now watching the election broadcast at MTV3 and they have already have a little mishap. They were interviewing Paavo Väyrynen with his wife and afterwards the hostess said that "behind every successful man is a wife or a woman". As she was saying this they had a screen with Pekka Haavisto waiting to be interviewed and as a gay man in a registered partnership I thought it was extremely heteronormative.
The final results are over an hour away and as of right now Pekka Haavisto is in 3rd place. A lot of urban votes are yet to be counted so this will hopefully change and he will move to second place and into the second round. The people speculating on TV are saying that many of the feminist votes are going to Pekka Haavisto instead of the 2 female candidates because of his sexuality and they feel that he's the best of the men. That's part of the reason why I am voting for him. Part is that he has international experience and I feel that he could represent Finland in a positive manner. President may not have a lot of power anymore but he/she is still the figurehead of this country and I would much rather see someone "hip" representing Finland than some grumpy old man.
But whatever happens, Finland has taken a huge step ahead in the equality department with an openly gay man being so successful in an election which is more about the person than a party. Go Pekka!
I am now watching the election broadcast at MTV3 and they have already have a little mishap. They were interviewing Paavo Väyrynen with his wife and afterwards the hostess said that "behind every successful man is a wife or a woman". As she was saying this they had a screen with Pekka Haavisto waiting to be interviewed and as a gay man in a registered partnership I thought it was extremely heteronormative.
The final results are over an hour away and as of right now Pekka Haavisto is in 3rd place. A lot of urban votes are yet to be counted so this will hopefully change and he will move to second place and into the second round. The people speculating on TV are saying that many of the feminist votes are going to Pekka Haavisto instead of the 2 female candidates because of his sexuality and they feel that he's the best of the men. That's part of the reason why I am voting for him. Part is that he has international experience and I feel that he could represent Finland in a positive manner. President may not have a lot of power anymore but he/she is still the figurehead of this country and I would much rather see someone "hip" representing Finland than some grumpy old man.
But whatever happens, Finland has taken a huge step ahead in the equality department with an openly gay man being so successful in an election which is more about the person than a party. Go Pekka!
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