Today it’s Father’s Day in Finland and if you don’t have a father, this day might be black but for those have one, never take them for granted.
Tag: Finland
You’re going all the way
Recently on The daily post in daily prompt, there’s been words that are kind of hinting. Words like Believe, Risky, Ascend, Loyal and now Brave. It’s like they are trying to tell me something. All of those words have a meaning when it comes to job search. You need to believe in yourself and be loyal to your goals. Without some risk you’ll won’t get far. You want to ascend to the next level of your life and not get stuck. Most of all you need to be brave and that’s where I lack it. Sometimes I do feel brave though. Like when I went to see Robbie Williams this summer. From my point of view that is a brave move. I didn’t back down like I usually do. I just took the chance and went. I’m not into big crowds but it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I ended up having a really good time. I wish I could be brave like that more often.
Back in 2015, I wrote a post about my job search. Some things have changed since then. Like the photography and job search campaigns thing. The latter I skipped altogether. When you looked through a lot of job ads, they’re soon coming out of your ears. I can understand why some unemployed think job search is useless. I hate the writing part where you have to explain yourself why you’re the one the employers are looking for. Especially when I have to write them in Finnish. My mother tongue is Swedish so it shines through in my writing. At least that’s what my web design teacher told me. I’ve always thought my Finnish writing was alright but now I feel insecure. Maybe the reason why I haven’t got even an interview is because of the writing. I have got into education despite that so it can’t be it. Finnish is not the easiest language so it’s not that easy for Finns either. If I keep looking to work for someone else, all my skills I’ve learned so far will go to waste. Honestly, I’m getting fed up with this whole job search thing. The gaps in my work experience are probably too high but at least I wasn’t totally lazy. I did have those clients when I studied web design so I do have some experience in the field.
I don’t really know what to call myself anymore. Yesterday I did something I didn’t think I would do. I applied for an education for a graphic designer in the same school where I studied a photographer degree, Helsinki Design School. Applying doesn’t do any harm. If I don’t get in, it doesn’t matter. I’m still looking for work and if I did find one, I could still go to school. Some say this school is a joke and that the degrees don’t mean anything. Even though I didn’t get a job in photography, I still experienced things I wouldn’t normally do. Employers might not see the degrees worthwhile but in the end, it’s the skills of people that matter. I think in Finland, certificates are too important. Especially in design. There are different ways to educate yourself and you don’t need to go to fancy schools to learn. Jealousy is a problem in Finland. If you have taken a simpler route to design, you get the look you’re not good enough. They don’t say it out loud but you know they mean it.
I see younger people’s work in design and I feel I’ve no chance in the business. I feel like Chandler Bing in Friends when he changes jobs and he started to work in advertising where all these young people worked. He felt so old and thought he didn’t have a chance. In the end, he did get a job there as a manager or something like that. In real life, you can’t get a job that easily if you have no experience or education. Employers are so into thinking about the future so they hire younger people. But how much do these 20 something know anything about life anyway? Of course, they should also get a chance but experienced shouldn’t be disregarded either. I wish I had the power to hire unemployees who’s been rejected for different reasons. But that’s too much for one person to handle. Being the employer is no piece of cake either.
As for what to call myself. I want to do something more than just designing websites. I wonder what people think of long job titles. How about web designer/photographer/graphic designer. Just designer doesn’t say much. It still feels weird to call myself a designer. They say you should stand out of from the crowd and that is it. I can do more than just one thing. The whole standing out is a bit strange. Aren’t we all a bit different in some way? I for sure hope there’s no one like me out there. I couldn’t handle two of me. At least I have been brave enough to be different and not walk the same path other people expect me to. I’m going all the way and it doesn’t matter what others think. Always follow the path you’ve chosen. That’s what I call bravery.
Robbie Williams really delivered once again
Before the concert
Concert
Yesterday I went to my first ever live gig, Robbie Williams. If someone gives awesome delivery, it’s him. He’s Robbie “F@cking” Williams (his words) after all. I’ve only seen him live in the movie theatre. He’s always been a great entertainer. He’s just awesome and funny too. The atmosphere was great. People singing along and cheering as loud as they can. Finns really love him and it’s mutual. He was surprised people knew the words to ‘Love my life’ which is a new song. During that, people had red hearts or anything red in their hands. That was arranged by a Finnish radio station. Everyone should bring something red with them and show them during the song. He was really impressed about that. That was our surprise to him.
Songs that were played were e.g. Party like a Russia, Kids, Love my life (obviously) and Millenium. He paid tribute to George Michael by singing “Freedom” That was Robbie’s first single. I know the lyrics by heart so I sang along. Then there was “Angels” of course. It’s compulsory in his concert. It’s an amazing feeling hearing people singing along and the sea of lights in the audience. Beautiful.
One of the best things was when his father performed a song. His absolutely brilliant. We know where Robbie has got his performing talents. His dad is also a performer. He sang and told jokes on stage as well.
There was a little sing along when Robbie sang part of older hits from other artists. One of them was “Don’t you want me” by Human League. Even a song from his Take That years. The chorus to “Never forget” There’s a lot of clapping at the end of that song. He mentioned Bruce Springsteen and imitated him a bit. Apparently “The Boss” sings Robbie songs in the karaoke. Robbie is really good at rapping and the song “Rudebox” has it. I haven’t listened to that song in ages and it sounds even better live. It went straight to my heart.
Robbie has a great way of connecting with the audience. Flirting if you like. Maybe that’s one of the reasons girls want to get close to the stage. One young woman was picked up from the audience to sing with him. It’s was absolutely brilliant. She put on a mask where you could only see her eyes. Then they sang “Something stupid” but she wasn’t actually singing. I guess it was someone from the band. Only the mouth of the mask was moving. The voice was kind of deep which was the funny part. What a lucky lady she was. She got a kiss on her cheek and she took a selfie of them both. That sure was something she could remember the rest of her life. Another woman got his attention as well. She had sat on someone’s shoulders and he said “Maybe you’re that tall or you’re sitting on someone shoulders” He started to sing “She’s the one” to her.
After the encore, the last song was Frank Sinatra’s “My way” It was a perfect ending. This experience I’ll treasure the rest of my life. If I had the money I would go and see more of his concert. Even though I had to stand up almost the whole concert, it was all worth it. Who could sit still anyway? I’m usually shy when it comes to public gatherings but now I was like any other there. I didn’t dance but at least stomped and clapped besides the singing along. There were 30 500 people watching but yet getting out of the stadium went smooth. There were a lot of entrances so it helped a lot. This concert was the one I’ve had been waiting for and it’s definitely the best experience I’ve ever had. The weather was good too so it couldn’t have ended better.
In my world 