Month: June 2018

Io sono una donna molto bella e famosa

Mia21 Comments
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I tried to learn Italian once and that’s a sentence I remember the most. It means, “I am a very beautiful and famous woman” I’ve been to Italy when we went to Europe after my sister died in 1983. It was in a town called Cervinia. It’s famous for their ski resort. Unfortunately, I don’t have photos because they’re in slides and I don’t have that kind of scanner. I don’t remember much of the trip so I can’t tell you much. It would be nice to visit Italy again but the money is always the issue. Learning the language is not as easy as you would think. Especially trying to remember it. I know the greetings and such but I couldn’t speak it. I used to think I was good at learning languages but apparently, I’m not. Some people can learn multiple of languages but I can only 3. That’s more than a lot of people so it’s not bad at all. My dad can only speak Finnish so I’m usually the translator when we’re abroad.

They say if you learn Italian, learning Spanish will be much easier. There’s a lot of the same words in both languages so maybe it is so. Some say French is an easy language to learn but I think not. There seem to be a lot of these apostrophes. But C’est la vie. I’m amazed when I hear someone like the Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic speaking French. Actually, any non-French speaker who knows the language. I could never manage that. Even learning Italian is a challenge enough for me. I don’t think my brain can hold that much information. I have so much else to remember. Like with every language, you need to use it regularly and I don’t think I do.  That’s one reason why I haven’t continued learning it. I do have a few Italian friends I follow on social media but if I chat with them, we use English. Life would be so much easier if you could speak a language if you travel to another country. E.g. if you visit Italy, you can speak Italian or if you go to France, you can speak French. Then we didn’t need to learn any language. It would already be in our blood.

You can find sites on the internet if you want to learn a language. Learn Italian in 5 minutes per day for example. You can also download their app. The downside is that you need to create a profile. Or I don’t know if it’s one though. You also learn other languages on the site. A shame there’s isn’t Finnish. If you want to learn that there’s a lot of options online and for free. There are videos on Youtube where Finns teach the language. It could be easy for me to say the language is easy to learn but sometimes it’s not even easy for me. That’s because my mother tongue is Finnish Swedish so the grammar can be tricky. This article says it all how Finnish is hard to learn and even teach. For me Italian is hard so I can imagine how a foreigner can find learning Finnish an impossible task. I wish I could speak Italian like I do with my 3 language skills. Learning is always fun. Google is a great tool for this if you want to know how to pronounce something. It doesn’t always translate things correctly but at least you can hear what something sounds like.

So grazie ‘Non sono una donna molto bella e famosa’ I am not a beautiful and famous woman but I can try to learn Italian. It’s such a beautiful language but so is French. But I can only learn one new language at the time. Even if I don’t use the language it’s still nice to know some in case needed. Speaking the language is one challenge and how to spell things is another. Words I know in Italian but I need to check the spelling on Google translate (something they do right at least) Buongiorno! Buonasera! Buonanotte! wherever you are. I’m off to learn Italian. Or try to at least.

“Shaken not stirred?”

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green cocktail

“Do I look like I give a damn?” – James Bond in Casino Royale

I’m a girl and I love James Bond movies, so what? It’s nothing to be shaken about. I like a lot of stuff girls don’t usually do. Like watching sport. Not football though because I find it boring. I watch sport for the interests and not because of some player or athlete. The same with James Bond. I see them as movies with a lot of action. I’ve heard girls say they don’t like it because of the way Bond treats women. It’s true in the old movies, girls were written as helpless but that’s how it was at the time. Women got a lot more to do in later years. If that’s the reason you don’t like Bond movies, then you don’t know much about them. If action is just not your thing, then I fully understand why you don’t like them. It’s true the movies probably have become a lot more violent and the storylines are weak but they still shake my soul.

I’ve seen every Bond movie ever made. Some even more than once. My all-time favourite Bond is Sean Connery and Daniel Craig the second. There’s always a lot of talk about who should play Bond. Some even suggested it could be a woman. Sorry but I don’t see it. If she acted like Bond, she would be called a prostitute. It’s not my opinion, it’s the society. Females are not supposed to act like men and if they did, they would be called easy. It would just be really weird if Bond was a woman, that’s all.
Before Daniel Craig decides he would do Bond again, there all kinds of rumours circled around in the media which actor would play Bond next. It included Tom Hiddleston and Idris Elba. Just because someone looks good in a suit doesn’t mean that role would suit them. I think both of them declined anyway. Thank for that. It should still be a British actor because why break tradition? Why should it even be an actor people already know? Someone new is always welcome. Either way, some will never be satisfied. There’s always someone who judges the decision before the actor has even hit the big screen.

Other option would be to stop making these Bond movies altogether. Maybe one day they will because nothing lasts forever. As long as they have ideas the movies will grow. I’m sure I’m gonna enjoy each one of them. Once something has shaken my soul, it will stay there forever. I could watch Bond movies over and over again without getting bored. Especially the ones with Daniel Craig because I have them on DVD. Not just the movies but also the behind-the-scenes footages. You can learn a lot about moviemaking when you watch those. It’s very interesting stuff. At least for me. James Bond is forever.

Alright but not stellar

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They say don’t compare yourself to others but sometimes it just comes into your mind. Other people seem to succeed in things they do much better than yourself. You feel you’re a failure compared to others. They do all these stellar things and you’re just there feeling blue because you can’t get that Wow- feeling. It can be anything, a job you do, social skills, raising your kids and so on. The only comfort you get is trying to appreciate what you have.

I feel like the way I described above. I think I’m alright but not stellar. I should believe in myself more because who else will? No one is great when they start things. It takes a lot of practice. In some things, I have years of experiences. Like photography. It’s probably 20 years but I still don’t see if I’ve improved in it. All those educations I’ve been in and I still don’t see it? Maybe I’m just a hobbyist and I thought my photos were good enough. It’s only when someone tells me they’re good. Or at least alright. I always have a doubt what people really think. I have had comments my photos are nothing special. One was a pro of all people. Maybe it has affected me a little but that’s just one opinion. People seem to like them and that’s what matters. I haven’t got a job because my photos but I’m not planning to be a pro anymore anyway. Maybe 3 years ago but now my priorities have changed. Also because I don’t have driver’s license which seems to be so important in that profession.

I have always been a creative person. At least in my own mind. But then I see other peoples stellar work and it makes me feel so small. They’re really talented and it feels I’m not. You should never forget they were novices once too and probably felt the same way. But they didn’t give up. I haven’t given up because if I had, I would have changed my mind about what I wanted to do. I’ve stuck to the idea I would do something creative. It would be great if I would earn money from it. An office job is not for me or any other uncreative things. That’s why web design and graphic design is suitable for me. There you can express yourself and at the same time help others. The problem is I’m not very good at giving advice to people. I’m the one who needs advice. I can only tell what I think of things or what I’ve experienced in life. I can find out things for other people but I don’t know how to give advice from memory. I can’t tell you how to get more followers to your blog or how to promote your business. Those are things I want to know. I really dislike the words standing out. Isn’t it enough to be the way I am? OK, maybe I’m standing out for not knowing how to advise people. That’s not really something to brag about, is it?

One thing I do know I’m stellar at is writing fiction. Maybe it sounds a bit arrogant to think so but if you don’t like what you write yourself, how will others think so? I only write it for fun but I’m still satisfied with my writing. I also write them in English so that has also impressed people. I’ve written them so long I don’t think I could write one in Finnish or Swedish. Besides, in English, the stories sound so much better. I wish I could be stellar in other things I do the way I feel in writing. I guess I just done it so much longer (since I could write) so it feels more natural to me. Life is a learning process and you’re never finished. Comparing yourself to others will only make you feel worse. Be who you are and be stellar in what you do best.