Tag: ice hockey

Things you might not know about me

Mia4 Comments
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Photo by Miguel u00c1. Padriu00f1u00e1n on Pexels.com

What’s something most people don’t know about you?

Daily Writing Prompt

Oh, happy days! I can talk about myself—not. I don’t like talking about myself. I’m not that vain. But I’m not talking; I’m writing. There are a lot of things people don’t know about me. My family members are all gone, but not even they knew exactly everything about me. I’m also not the person I was when I was a kid. Life experiences change you. You lose people in your life, but you also gain them. The same goes for how you see life. If you don’t grow and stay the same way you were when you were younger, you’re stuck in the past. I try to think positively because the world seems to be a depressive place right now. I don’t know how to plan ahead because I want to live in the present. Things I plan ahead are what I’m going to do next year. Will get back to that later. But now, things you might not know about me. Just a short list, though.

I use Duolingo as a game

I’ve started to use Duolingo recently again. Had a break from it for a couple of years. Not to learn a language. But to gain points and achievements. I have the language I know how to speak English, Swedish and Finnish. I try to learn other languages, too, but it doesn’t get stuck in my head. Some languages are easy to understand and learn, like Norwegian and Danish. I’ve started Italian, French, Irish and Spanish but haven’t used those in a while. I also use the app where you can learn music and math. So it’s entertaining to me, so I hardly remember much.

I love ice hockey

I watch sports often on TV, but my absolute favourite game is ice hockey. In fact, I’m going to see a game this evening (October 18) with my local team for the second time this year. They don’t show the games on free channels, so I usually listen to them on the radio. Seeing a match live has its own rewards. Even though no one ever talks to me or I don’t get to meet new people, the atmosphere is incredible. I would go more often if it was less expensive and the stadium would be closer. I watch the World Championships on TV every year. They show all the matches of Team Finland on the free channel. I only follow the Finnish league, so no NHL ones, even though I read the news if Finnish players have been playing. Sometimes, they show NHL games on TV, so I have seen some of them.

I love going to concerts

Silly, isn’t it. Especially when I didn’t like big crowds when I was younger and didn’t think I would ever go to a concert my entire life. But then came 2017, when I decided to see Robbie Williams in Tampere, Finland. The concert was outside, and the stadium was full of people. It was probably the best decision I ever made. The concert was fantastic, and I also got to see Erasure (pop synth duo) as a warm-up act for Robbie. You could say the live concert bug hit me that day. Now I’ve seen him twice, also in Finland. Concerts abroad are too expensive. The concert music is too loud, but you get used to it. The best part of concerts is to see your favourite act on stage, so it doesn’t matter. Besides Robbie, I’ve been to see Toto (next year, too), Duran Duran (best birthday party ever), Pet Shop Boys and Bryan Adams this year. And the plan for next year is; Kylie Minogue in June 2025, yeah! It’s been one of my dreams to see her live in concert. Fun fact. When I was younger, I wished she was my sister. I don’t know why, though.

I like driving a car

I got my driver’s license three years ago. Since my late dad wasn’t allowed to drive anymore, I decided to go to driving school. I tried it in 1995, but I didn’t finish it. Maybe I wasn’t ready. I didn’t like driving then. I didn’t need a car anyway. My late mother never had a license, so I thought it unimportant. But times changed, and I got my license. I don’t think I would have been so keen if my dad wasn’t with me when I was driving. He’s the reason why I got more confidence in driving a car. You get used to many things; the more I drive, the better it feels. Now I like driving. Driving long distances is a different matter, but I guess you also get used to that. Since my dad passed away, I own his car now. I’ve thought about buying a new car, but I just started to learn to drive this car, so maybe in the future. The vehicle is at least 25 years old, so it has its problems. I haven’t driven in the dark or slippery conditions that much, so I don’t know if I dare use the car in the winter. When the road is clear, it’s easier to drive. I don’t know if I ever get used to driving in the dark when other cars blind me with their bright lights on the roads. I plan to drive to an event in November, but I’m worried about driving that far. It will be close to Helsinki; the fastest way to get there is by highway. You never know the weather by then, so I’ll wait and see.

Those are some of the things people might not know about me. If you don’t know me by now, you might learn something after reading this post. There are Happy Days ahead, and one is happening tonight. Especially if my team wins. I’m just happy to be there, whatever the results.

Bloganuary: What brings me joy

Mia2 Comments
two soft smilies in a smilie box
Bloganuary: What brings you joy in life?

At the moment, getting rid of this flu would bring me joy the most. It’s getting better, but it’s not finished yet. Flu takes a lot out of you. The nights are the worst with all the coughing and phlegm in your lungs. I get a headache from all that coughing. I miss breathing and the taste of food. Now it tastes foul, but even that is getting better. Being ill makes you appreciate being well. All that matter is that it will be over soon.

Blogging and writing bring me joy. I’m always good at it in some ways. I prefer writing to talking because you have time to think when you write. If I say something, I often believe afterwards that I should have said it some other way, but then the situation is over. That’s one of the reasons why I fail at job interviews. I’m not verbal enough in conversations. But writing can also be frustrating. Especially when it’s challenging to find the right words to describe things. I have a love and dislike relationship with writing. Fiction goes better than fact writing. I couldn’t live without writing my thoughts down somewhere. I used to write a diary, and now I blog. The difference is that blogging is sharing with others, which brings me joy.

You can’t always stay inside. If I didn’t go somewhere, I would go crazy. I love going out for walks and taking long bike trips in the summer if it isn’t too hot. I can get away from the city and be alone. It’s relaxing, and I get back home, feeling I have done something. I can’t understand how certain young people can stay inside a year in and a year out. They only go out to go to the store or smoke on the balcony. I’m a homebody, but I want to be away from it once in a while. I don’t love my home that much. I feel joy when I get to explore my city on a bike. Some people get to the gym, and I take bike trips or long walks. That’s all the exercise I need. Nature is essential to me. It gives me strength. It’s good for your mental health.

Movies, television, and music are my escape from the real world. When we first got cable in 1987, I was hooked. My mother thoughts I was watching too much television at the time. Cable got everything; it was a dream come true to see music videos and all that stuff. Of course, we had TV channels before, but not until cable TV videos were nonexistent. It opened a whole new world, and I haven’t looked back. Before cable, we went to the theatres to see movies. I belonged to a movie club with my mother when I was a kid. They showed movies for kids. I have been fascinated by movies for a long time. I always watch the extras on DVDs about making movies. One of my first education was screenplay writing, and now I am studying filmmaking again. That’s how much I enjoy it.

The most joy is definitely watching sports on TV, especially if they win. Nothing beats the adrenaline sport gives you. Seeing a Finn winning or losing gives so many emotions. It got everything, drama, tears, happiness, disappointments and everything in between. My favourite sport is ice hockey. I’ve seen quite many games on the spot from our local team. The atmosphere is fantastic. It’s something you don’t get through the television. The best feeling is when your country wins championships in something, and the whole country has something in common for a change. Ice hockey is a significant sport in Finland. Last year we won our first gold in the winter Olympics and world championships at home. Half of the country went mad. Winning in ice hockey is probably the only time Finnish men cry. Sometimes the win celebrations get overboard. They break things and do silly things. That’s what too much alcohol does to some people, which is a shame since it should be about fun and not acting like jerks. That’s one of the downsides of watching sports.

Without all of this joy, life would be much duller. Doing something positive will do anyone good.

A bit of this and that

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surfer inside a wave
Photo by Kammeran Gonzalez-Keola on Pexels.com

Aquadynamic is a problematic word to make a post about. But I can describe my current emotions. If you haven’t noticed, it was a month ago that I posted on this blog. I don’t know, but somehow I haven’t had the right feeling to write anything. Let’s just say life has come before everything else. My filmmaking education started at Helsinki Design School last week. The first meeting was last Wednesday and Thursday. I think it went well. My schoolmates are OK, I guess. Getting to know people is difficult when you hardly have any breaks. Lunch break, perhaps, but we have different tastes. Since it’s in Helsinki, I like to walk in the city alone. I know the centre by heart since I’ve been there many times. I do some sightseeing and go to school. Two flies at one hit, so to speak. The education in itself is engaging. I already know something about filmmaking since I’ve studied screenplay writing, but a repeat doesn’t hurt. There will be something new too. We get assignments that we have to do to pass the course. The good thing about studying film is that you can watch movies or movie scenes. The problem is trying to analyse scenes. That’s what the assignments we have this time. We have two tasks since it was two days. The deadline is November 18. Our next meeting is on Nov. 17. Before that, I have no contact with my schoolmates. They all have WhatsApp, but I don’t. Maybe I should get it, too, so I don’t get left out. I don’t have any use for it, but perhaps I could make an exception this time.

Another thing I’ve done recently was going to an ice hockey game. The local team organisation turned 100 years old last Saturday. The organisation contain several different sports teams. One of them is an ice hockey team. It was an anniversary match, so there were celebrations before the game started. There were former players, including Saku Koivu. If you follow ice hockey or the news in general, you might know who it is. He used to play in NHL, in Montreal Canadiens, to be exact. Anyway, it was a beautiful ceremony. The match was won by our team in overtime, 1-0. I don’t go to games that often. Maybe once or twice a year. But when I do, I enjoy every moment.

100 in balloons
number 100 formed on ice rink
flag rising
Photos from the event. Photos by me

I’m going to see the movie ‘Amsterdam’ tomorrow afternoon (October 19). It features Christian Bale. I don’t know what it is about, though. I want to be surprised. I watch almost anything that Bale is in. There are only a few I haven’t seen, and one of them is ‘American psycho’ That movie is too creepy for my taste. It’s pretty expensive to go to the movies. I belong to a movie panel where they send surveys to take, and then you get small amounts of money. When you “collected” 10 euros, you get a free movie ticket. Sometimes you need to pay 3 euros, but that’s a small price to pay. I’ve already seen 4 movies this year. Tomorrow it’s the 5th time. I also went to the movies during covid, but not so often. I choose what movies to watch. Sometimes it’s not worth going to the movies because they will be shown on TV or streaming services anyway. Nothing beats a movie theatre, though. It’s for the big screen that makes a movie unique. Life without entertainment is no life at all.

I already have plans for next year. I’m going to see Robbie Williams again on March 5. The last time he was here was in 2017. I thought then that I wished I could see him live one day again, and the day did come. It will be the first time I’ve seen an artist twice. When opportunity knocks, take it, I would say. To think that I didn’t like big crowds when I was younger. I never thought I would, but I guess age makes you braver. You get used to it when you get out of your comfort zone more often. It’s pretty nice out there, after all.