Jo over at Dreamwidth put together a list of daily questions for 2023 again 🙂 Here’s my answers to February 17-28 questions.
17 – My Way Day: the day where you are encouraged to do whatever you want, however you want. Have you ever treated yourself to a day like this? What did you do?
I do this a lot, in many small ways as long as it doesn’t require spending extra money. I try to give myself a chance to be creative whenever I feel like it, it makes me feel better and I just like the creative process itself.
Back when I was still working and could afford it, I used to go to a lunch restaurant (so not a restaurant restaurant – these are a little cheaper and have a more limited menu than a proper restaurant) and enjoy my favorite steak (leaf steak) once every week or every other week. I can’t afford to go to a restaurant now that I don’t work (can’t justify spending so much on a single meal even if I could *technically* afford it) and I miss being able to give myself that little treat.
18 – Battery Day: How many things in your house are unusable without batteries? (If they don’t run on mains power.)
Five.. I think. Phone, tablet, magnefying glass, food scale, human scale.
19 – World Whale Day: Have you ever been whale watching? Tell us about it.
Nope, we don’t have whales here and I would have to go far abroad to see them.
20 – Love Your Pet Day: Do you have pets? Tell us about them – cats, dogs, other species? How many?
Not now, but my Mom had a Beagle in 1994-2004. Caro the Beagle was only pet my family has ever had. I LOVED that dog, she was so loving and playful and sweet and totally nuts when the mood took her. I had just moved to my own apartment when Mom got her, and I went with her and her SO to collect the puppy. I’d go over to Mom’s every week, and when Mom couldn’t take care of Caro because they went on a 24 hour cruise or travelled abroad for a holiday for a week or two, I was the one who did. I was around so much and Caro was over at my place so much that Caro probably thought of me as part of her pack 😀 We had to put her down when she was 10 because of a liver tumor, and I still feel her loss. Even though it’s been almost 20 years now.
21 – International Mother Language Day: What is your native language? How many languages do you speak fluently or near-fluently? How many languages besides your native language have you studied?
My native language is Finnish. I’m fluent in Finnish and English. I read English language novels a lot, and don’t need subtitles for movies or tv shows (as long as the actors don’t mumble as they do a lot these days).
I studied Swedish for many years in school because it’s mandatory here in Finland (don’t get me started on that) but I can’t read or speak it and my vocabulary is too small to be able to follow news or tv shows in Swedish and in general I never “got” Swedish the way I did with English – like a switch had been turned on. I only understood tenses when we learned them in English – previously I couldn’t wrap my head around them at all in Swedish. I started watching Swedish thriller tv shows about 15 years a go, and my ear has gotten much better and I understand spoken Swedish more now but still can’t make do without subtitles.
I also studied French for two years in school, but I can’t speak or read it beyond very few basic sentences. We never advanced to things like tenses in French (I don’t know why).
22 – World Yoga Day: Do you do yoga? How do you benefit from it?
Nope.
23 – Digital Learning Day: What are the benefits of digital learning compared to other methods of learning? What are the disadvantages?
It’s easy to find how to do instructions on the internet for so many things.
I’ve no experience about digital learning in official capacity such as school, but for me personally, it’d be hard to retain information if I had to type up notes in class. I can’t concentrate on what is being talked about when I’m typing and I don’t remember information as well when I type it. Hand writing notes down is where it’s at for me. I also think digital learning probably tends to forget people who learn with other methods such as doing, or listening and assumes that everyone is good to go with a computer for learning stuff.
24 – International I Hate Coriander Day: Do you love or hate coriander? If you don’t like it, what don’t you like about it?
I don’t have an opinion on it. I don’t think it’s a huge thing here – at least I extremely rarely use recipes that call for it, and don’t see that many recipe needing it around but that could just be the type of food I like.
25 – Real Bread Week: Real bread refers to any type of bread that has been made without the use of processing aids or any other additives and includes any type of additive-free bread (e.g. pita, paratha, tortilla, oatcakes, roti, bagels, etc.). Do you, or have you ever, made bread? Do you use a bread maker? If you always buy rather than make bread, do you look for bread that at least claims to be additive-free, made from organic flour, etc.?
I make bread a lot! And bread rolls even more. Bread in some form is one of the baked goods I make most often. I grew up making bread rolls – we used to make them every week or every other week when I was a kid so it’s always been common for me to make them regularly.
I also buy bread, and while I’m particular about the types of bread (not too white, not too dark and must be in paper bag because all the breads in plastic bags are too soft and mushy) I buy, I’m not usually able to choose based on those features listed in the question. I buy what’s available typical shops – organic, additive-free is usually made in smallish specialty bakeries and are expensive and usually no sold in grocery stores. So I can buy them only a few times a year because of the price and because I have to got out of my way to go to a bakery (they’re few and far apart). I’d love to be able to buy from bakeries more often, especially this one delicious ruislimppu (rye bread) that I love but it’s double the price of the ruislimppu in the typical shops which is okay tasting too.
26 – Carpe Diem Day: Are you good at seizing the day? If not, what holds you back?
No, I’m not. Fear of taking a chance because in my lived in experience, all the chances and changes come with financial instability and long uncertainty and delays in payments and I have to pay the rent, food and my meds every month. So I avoid rocking the boat because it just leads to stress.
Also just in general I don’t like unexpected things/surprises and I don’t like changing my plans on the fly. That may be because a lot of the time when it’s needed or happens to me, it’s a bad thing or at least causes temporary stress even if the end result is neutral or positive, so I associate those things with being bad and don’t like having to change my plans.
27 – Pokemon Day: Are you or is anybody in your family a Pokemon fanatic?
Nope and nope. I at least sort of know what Pokemon is but I don’t see the point, but my dearest people care even less.
28 – Tooth Fairy Day: Did the tooth fairy visit you whenever one of your baby teeth fell out? If you have children, did/do you have the tooth fairy visit them when they lose teeth? Why or why not?
I don’t think so… I remember I got like one Finnish markka whenever I lost a baby tooth at first from Mom and Dad. For being brave because it was scary, losing a tooth. After a while of that and having a couple of loose baby teeth pulled out with a piece of string by Mom or Dad, I also started doing it myself. I remember because there was this one very loose tooth one day at school that just would.not.come.out on its own and it irritated me no end because my tongue kept going to it. By the time the school day was over, I was highly frustrated and didn’t want to wait for another 3 hours for Dad to come home so he could pull it off. I knew how it was done having been subject to it many times already so I did it myself. And then I was very proud of myself!