I’m bored so have answer’s to Jo’s January weekly questions over at Dreamwidth.

January

1. After roughly two years now of living with various changes and restrictions brought about by the Covid pandemic, which, if any, measures do you think you will continue to do all the time?

Washing hands when I get home! Also using hand sanitizer if it’s offered by the shops like it now. Not washing hands when I get home feels weird now.

2. When you are old(er), what do you think children will ask you to tell stories about?

I don’t have children myself, nor do my friends and we’re all closer to 50 than 40 so it’s unlikely we’ll have any anymore. I don’t much like children and so have never been much around them, and I don’t see that changing in the future. So I doubt there’ll be children who’ll ask **me** to tell them anything.

3. January 3 is Fruitcake Toss Day. Do you like fruitcake? Why does it get such a bad rap?

I don’t think fruit cake is much of a thing here in Finland? There’s never any on offer on cafes or when I visit someone (even as a kid), I can’t remember ever seeing any recipes on Finnish baking blogs, and I myself have only baked it maybe a half a dozen times in my life time. It’s fine and I like it but I don’t think it has enough presence here to have any kind of reputation, honestly.

4. iOs or Android?

Android.

5. What do you do to get rid of stress?

My go to is to read a book, preferably something that makes me forget my troubles entirely for a while because I get so absorbed in the story. But sometimes that doesn’t work, and that’s when I do some mindfullness excercises.

6. How often do you binge-watch TV shows?

It’s a rare day that I don’t watch at least 2-3 episodes of a tv series in a row. That’s my main way of watching tv shows these days, except for shows that I can’t bear to wait to finish a season. I binge maybe half of all tv shows I watch.

7. Have you ever saved an animal’s life? How about a person’s life?

Nope.

8. Would you rather be able to see 10 minutes into your own future, or 10 minutes into the future of anyone but yourself?

I don’t want to see into anyone’s future, my own or anybody elses. That’d be terrible responsibility.

9. Would you rather lose the ability to read, or the ability to speak?

Ability to speak.

10. What Olympic (or other) sport would be the funniest to add a mandatory amount of alcohol to?

Donno, don’t care. None of it is fun/funny under any circumstances, and alcohol would just make it even worse.

11. What do you think are three things that are pretty great or interesting about you?

I’m fucking patient. I’m artistic. I make actual websites (people seem to find that interesting!).

12. What’s your favourite number? Why?

I don’t have a favorite number.

13. Would you rather have all illicit drugs be legalized, or duelling between consenting adults be legalized?

Depends on the illicit drugs because I don’t want them all legalized. Maybe dueling would be better to legalize – then idiots could kill each other off.

14. What movie would be greatly improved if made into a musical?

Donno.

15. What social stigma does society need to get over?

Unemployment.

16. What’s the most creative use of emojis you’ve ever seen?

I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything particularly creative? At least I don’t remember.

17. Where do you get most of your news?

https://yle.fi and https://www.kansanuutiset.fi

18. In 40 years, what will people be nostalgic for?

Some of the current and older music. Slower, friendlier life style if the pace goes on like it is now.

19. Do you like reality/competition TV shows? Why or why not? If so, which ones?

Couldn’t care less. They’re just totally uninteresting.

20. How fast do you read?

Donno. Haven’t timed myself.

21. Do you like classical music? If yes, name your favourite composer(s).

I do enjoy many pieces, but I don’t have a favorite composer. I just like this piece, and that piece and I don’t care who made it.

22. How often do you check your phone?

Too often! If I’m waiting for a message or a package I check it even more often, even though I know the phone will usually bleet out when I get a message/package status changes because sometimes it doesn’t. Although I have no problems turning my phone off for the night, or ignore it when I do something else.

23. What is your favourite thing to eat or drink in winter?

Hot chocolate is my fave drink when it’s fall/winter/spring. The only time of year I don’t drink it is summer because I can’t stand anything hot to drink when it’s hot out.

24. If you could switch two movie/book/TV characters, what switch would lead to the most inappropriate movie/book/TV show?

Donno, don’t have energy to think about it.

25. How often do you stay up past 3:00 a.m.?

On purpose? Rarely. Because of insomnia? Weekly, most of the year. Sometimes a have a stretch of week or two that Insomnia doesn’t keep me up, but it never goes on for longer than 1,5 or 2 weeks.

26. If you opened a business, what kind of business would it be?

Specialty shop, with stationery geared towards fountain pen users so fountain pens, fountain pen inks and fountain pen friendly paper. Also stickers, washi tape etc. And because I love chocolate, I’d maybe have some handmade chocolates as well. I’d be bankcrupt within the year because a shop like that doesn’t have enough of a customer base here.

27. Who was your worst teacher/professor? Why?

It’s a toss up between two teachers. First one was my Swedish teacher in comprehensive school Years 3-6… I hated Swedish and didn’t want to learn it, and when the teacher came into the classroom I always felt like the room went stuffy and dark. Later on I’ve wondered whether she was the worst because she wasn’t a good teacher, or because I just hated Swedish so much.

The other was my biology/geography teacher in Years 7-9. He couldn’t keep any sort of discipline (pupils ran around the class room during the hour regardless of what he said or didn’t say, some read non-school books/magazines, nobody listened to him and talked amongst themselves instead, left the class 5-10 minutes before it ended – all this without repercussions). I had zero respect for him because of it. I and my friend were always nice and obeyed our teachers most of the time and never were rowdy or acted out – except in this teacher’s class. We’d talk to each other like everyone else, didn’t listen to him at all, one of us always had her back towards him to talk to the other because of how we were sat in rows. Yeah, no pupil in that school respected him.

28. Who was your best teacher/professor? Why?

My first English teacher in Year 7. She was strict and demanding, and you knew that if she gave you a good grade you really earned it. She was old and retired when Year 7 was out; everybody else hated her because she was strict and demanding and suffered no rowdiness or foolishness but I was sad. I liked her, respected her and she gave me a really good base to continue to study English.

29. If you are an only child, do you wish you had siblings? If you have siblings, do you wish you were an only child?

I’m an only child and have siblings. (I’m adopted, but have biological siblings whom I’ve never met and have no interest in meeting). I didn’t want siblings when I was a kid.

30. Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out? If you don’t use top sheets, if you stay somewhere that does, do you prefer your sheets tucked in or out?

Out! Can’t sleep any covers tucked in – I feel trapped. And I also have to get a foot out when I get hot. When we went to England on holiday, I had heck of a time pulling all the coverings out because they were always tightly tucked in. It was frustrating having to have that fight with my bed every night!

31. Toilet paper: over or under?

Over!