Bundle of Contradictions

thisisradioactive:

When you make a reference and someone actually gets it

Reblogged from: thatsthat24

curttu:

wild–mountain–thyme:

wild–mountain–thyme:

wild–mountain–thyme:

wild–mountain–thyme:

wild–mountain–thyme:

wild–mountain–thyme:

wild–mountain–thyme:

My (British) mum and dad just turned up in Finland for the first time and are apparently in shock at how “unexpectedly modern” Helsinki is… given that my grandma thinks Finland is a Soviet country I’m bracing myself for a solid week of absolutely hilarious takes as they realise that some places are indeed slightly better run than the UK

Day 1: they have asked me what almost every single sign in Tampere means, terrorised several shop assistants with “EXCUSE ME MISS, WHAT IS A (pauses to read ‘maito’) MEITUU?”, and expressed amazement at the fact everything is so clean 7 or 8 times. Also turns out that my grandma wasn’t the only one convinced the “SF” on the map stood for “Soviet Finland”, my dad wanted to know how long it was part of the USSR for

Day 2: took my mum to the munkkikahvila, the cashier was like 50-something so it was easier to stand there and translate between them, when I translated my mum’s request for a whole bag of the doughnuts she heard “ja yks munkkipussi…” and yelled “MONKEY PUSSY????” loud enough for the entire café to hear

Explained to my dad today that Estonia and the other Baltic states are not north of Finland (I am not sure where he thought they were?)

The amount of times I’ve said “anteeks, mun vanhemmat ei osaa suomea” is rising by the hour

Day 3: took my parents to Rajaportti sauna and spent 45 minutes watching my dad yelp and run out every time someone threw more on the kiuas, my mum instantly disappeared and emerged an hour later looking very pink to say “the Finnish ladies are very nice but there’s an old woman in there beating herself with STICKS!”

I think they liked it actually! Most successful day so far

Success of day 3 slightly redacted, my dad tried to start an argument with a waitress about whether it was illegal to charge for water, I have once again taken advantage of being able to say “anteeks mun isästä” without him understanding

We did not meet on day 4, but day 5: they met my flatmate Satu for the first time and hugged them tightly as a greeting. The look of utter Finnish horror and confusion on Satu’s face as my mum, then my dad, went in for it was exactly what you’re imagining

They have discovered drying cupboards exist and have had an absolute meltdown of joy over the concept

Day 6 was the last one and our parting interaction was quite positive! My dad may have referred to going back to the Pyynikki munkkikahvila for a final “monkey pussy” as an “ethnic experience” and started to look uncomfortable about Hints Of Socialism when I told him my union pays for me to go to school, but still they’ve decided this is indeed a normal and nice country I’m not crazy for moving to! Good job, mum and dad!

“The look of utter Finnish horror and confusion”

…I feel you Satu, in solidarity, deep in my heart.

Reblogged from: nocticola

sarahviehmann:

kaerya:

claryfairhild:

i’m so done with the way girls in twenties are treated. i’m so done with people who literally create timetable for us. 20- 24  find a guy, 24-26 make him propose to you, 27-29 get married. i’m so done. i’m do not want to get 2 a.m texts from my best friend who is freaking out that she is gonna die alone. i do not want see my 20 years old friend wasting her time on some guys who are not even interested in her. i do not want see us falling for every nice guy who does not look creepy. i do not want to see girls get sad or paranoid just bcos they do not fill in the schedule. you are ok. you should enjoy your life at its fullest and one day you will find 10/10 so do not pursue 6 just because you do not want to be single. it is ok and one day you will find someone. do not split your love with people who does not deserve it. keep it for yourself and when time will come you will know. i know it hurts. i know you wish u could just open part of yourself and release the buzzing love. but not every kind of love is romantic. show it to your family, friends, plants, yourself.

Not a real criticism, just an expansion really, but …  it’s not just the timetables we need to get away from, but the goal itself, I think.  “One day you will find someone,” sounds comforting, but the reason it doesn’t lay fears to rest is because we are all smart enough to know it’s not necessarily true.

My aunt is over sixty, never married, and never, so far as I am aware, ever even had a great romance.  She dated a lot, but never clicked and now seems to have given up.  My mentor is over seventy, divorced her asshole husband more than half her life ago and has never found anyone since.

We all know women (and men) like these.  And because we know them, we know that “one day you will find someone,” is just … hogwash.  Because sometimes you just … don’t.  Or sometimes you do, but he turns out to be a cad.  Or you do and the universe rips you apart in the most unfair way possible.  And because society has us so fixated on finding “our other half” or whatever, we view these women as cautionary tales.

But … 

My aunt trains dogs.  Her schipperke is the national champion for his breed.  She spent so much of her life as a librarian, nurturing the love of books in kids, myself among them.  I ride horses because of her, and it’s one of the very few things I do that makes my soul feel at peace.

My mentor is one of the best criminal defense attorneys in her state.  She has devoted her life to fighting to ensure that everyone gets a vigorous defense.  Because of her countless people have had the opportunity to turn their lives around.  Because of her, they’ve had a life to turn around.  Because of her, the prosecution and the police in her jurisdiction are forced to behave ethically and adhere to the rule of law.  She’s still, even now fighting to abolish the death penalty.  It’s because of her that I am pursuing the life I am.

These women’s lives are not nothing.  In fact they are a whole lot of something, and it makes my heart hurt that I ever, in my dark 3 am’s, thought of their lives as something to be avoided at all costs.

So love your family, your friends, your pets, your gardens.  Love your job or your hobby or your raison d’ etre, whatever it is.  Love sunsets and the smell of rain and yourself, and don’t love these as something to do as a placeholder until the buzzing, romantic love comes, but love these as things worth loving all in themselves.

It’s fucking hard some days.  The dark 3 am’s still come sometimes.  But most days, I am so much more at peace knowing that I am not incomplete or waiting, but that my life, if it ended today, is worth it because of the platonic, familial, friendship love I have shared.  And if the other kind does come someday, that’ll be nice, but it won’t make any of the others less.  It’ll just be caramel sauce on a sundae–tasty and wonderful, but the sundae was perfect without it too.

I needed this today.

Reblogged from: thevioletsunflower