meme & asks

Jo over at Dreamwidth put together a list of daily questions for 2023 again :mrgreen: Here's my answers to January 1 - 16 guestions.

1 – Global Family Day: How do you define family?

By how close we are. Only my Mom is my family. My Mom's SO who she lives with, is a relative of mine in my mind.

2 – World Introvert Day: Do you consider yourself an introvert, an extrovert, or something in between?

I'm in between, but lean very much towards introvert. I need my alone time, and always have.

3 – Women Rock! Day: From the Supremes to Janis Joplin to Tori Amos to Billie Eilish, women have made their mark in the world of music. If you were putting together an all-female play list, list five performers who would absolutely have to be on it.

Sade, Ofra Haza, Sarah Brightman, Caro Emerald and Sarah McLachlan.

4 – World Hypnotism Day: Have you ever been hypnotised? If so, how was the experience?

Nope.

5 – Whipped Cream Day: Do you like whipped cream? Have you ever made whipped cream from scratch?

Oh yes! I love whipped cream! I always make it from scratch - ready whipped cream isn't much of a thing here. There's only 1 or two Brand's ready whipped cream sold here, and not in all groceries. You can't use it for decorating cakes or anything because it melts in about 5 minutes. Occasionally I buy one bottle to use with "köyhät ritarit" (poor knights/French toast, I think?) along with strawberry or apple jam. But whipped cream layer cake is my favorite.

6 – Take Down the Christmas Tree Day: If you celebrate Christmas, when do you put up your tree and when do you take it down?

I celebrate Christmas but only with food and seeing my Mom and her SO. Until my very early 20s, we always had a tree but I can't remember when it was taken down. I think right after New Year? We always put it up on the December 22nd or 23rd.

7 – I'm Not Going to Take it Anymore Day: What gets you to the point of saying you're not going to take it anymore?

Bullshit by Kokoomus and Perussuomalaiset (right-wing political parties).

8 – Winter Skin Relief Day: What is the best skin moisturizer you've tried? Do you use different moisturizers for your face and body? Other than moisturizers, do you have any other tips for keeping your skin feeling and looking healthy during the winter months?

I have dry, atopic skin that gets irritated and develops rashes easily, so I have to use various strength medical lotions prescribed by my doctors. I do use some Aco face products from the chemist in addition to the ones ordered by the doctors, but can only use them like once or twice a week or ever rarer because my skin gets red and irritated also if they're used too often.

9 – Coming of Age Day: What does coming of age mean to you? What, if any, coming of age ceremonies or rituals are practiced where you live?

Turning 18 is a big thing here! I guess most people celebrate their 18th birthday by going to a night club/partying and getting drunk. But I can't stand loud noise, crowds, being the center of attention and hate the taste of alcohol so I just had a tiny birthday party with my best friend and Mom and delicious whipped cream layer cake. It was also not on the day of my birthday but the weekend after it because I was living in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area for library studies at the time, and went home for the weekend and that's when we had the celebration. I don't care for big dos and parties - I just want my dearest people present for my birthdays and not more than 2--4 people at a time.

10 – Shop for Travel Day: First celebrated in 2018, Shop for Travel Day has continued annually on the second Tuesday of the year ever since. The reason for it being situated at this time on the calendar has to do with the fact that, in many cases, the early weeks of January are an especially advantageous time to shop for travel due to many companies offering special deals and discounts. When was the last time you travelled within your own country? How about outside of your own country? If money (and time) were no object, where would you love to travel to?

Within my own country: day shopping trips to comics etc. specialty stores and such to Helsinki in the early 00s. Longer summer holiday trips (2-4 weeks) across the southern part of the country and then another to Lapland in the mid-80s. My best friend and I have also driven around a lot to historical sites or other interesting places around Turku, but these are like half a day trips. The latest one was before COVID-19.

Abroad: to London in 2008.

I'd love to go to London again and I'd love to visit Paris and Versailles, money and health permitting. But I'm not sure how I'd deal with the headache/migraine and Crohn's Disease and other symptoms such as fatigue I have every day. Feels like they'd make traveling abroad useless and very difficult and all in all not worth the effort compared to the cost and physical effort it would take. But I think I would try if I suddenly had the money and been having more good days than bad recently. I'd just have to accept I won't be able to see and do as much as back when I was healthy. This is a lot of improvement that I can even say maybe, because just three years ago my health was too bad and I wouldn't have even tried.

11 – Take the Stairs Day. Does your house have stairs? If you have the choice of stairs or an elevator, which do you choose?

My apartment building does have stairs, but I live on the ground floor so I almost never need to use them. Only when I go to the basement storage which is the floor below mine.

Always elevator to go up, stairs to go down (unless I'm feeling really poorly, or am with someone who can't do stairs).

12 – Marzipan Day: Do you like marzipan?

Sure!

13 – Make Your Dream Come True Day: Have you ever had a dream come true? Care to tell the story?

It was my dream growing up to become a librarian, and I did. But permanent librarian jobs are very hard to come by ever since the early 90s depression politician are always "saving" and reducing workers from libraries and other public services and also digitalization, and so I only ever got temp jobs. Then I became chronically ill and can't work. So the dream came only half-way true.

14 – International Kite Day: Have you ever flown a kite? Have you ever been to a kite festival? Have you ever flown a kite at a kite festival?

Never been to a kite festival. I don't remember hearing that we have them? Except as maybe an activity within other festivals? I think when I was a kid, we had a kite or other families we knew had one and I flew that? But I'm not sure. It certainly didn't happen a lot because I don't have a real memory of it.

15 – World Snow Day: Does it snow where you live? If not, have you ever seen snow? If yes, what do you think of snow?

I live in Finland so we should get lots of snow every winter! We used to when I was a kid in the 70s/80s but the last 20 years it's gotten less and less, and for shorter and shorter time.

I love snow! Especially when it's cold enough and it's snowed enough that the walk ways and roads aren't icy and there's a good amount of beaten snow on the ground. My apartment building complex uses a maintenance service which among other things takes care of shoveling snow from the yard and parking lot and walk ways with tractors, so I don't have to worry about any of that. So I get off easy. People who own their own detached houses, or live in a small apartment building that tries to save money, have to do their own shoveling so I get why a lot of people don't like snow or just want less of it or less often.

16 – Nothing Day: Should we observe this day by not asking a question? Is it literally possible to do nothing?

I don't know about other people but I can't do nothing for more than maybe 10 minutes. But I'm happy to just read the day away, or to do something "unproductive" such as play with my fountain pens. But I can't like sit and literally do nothing for long.

The last thefridayfive questions of 2022!

1. What was the best thing that happened to you this year

I survived it?

2. What are you looking forward to next year?

To get the bloody biological father inheritance thing solved, over and done with!

3. Will you be doing anything special to ring in the New Year?

Nope. I haven't slept well the past week, and last night only got three hours of sort-of sleep, so I'll be just waiting that the fireworks are over hopefully no later than 1-2am so I can go to bed. I'll be watching some old tv shows: The Golden Girls and Wire on the Blood to pass the time, and re-uploading my 4K Game of Thrones screencaps.

4. What would you like to see more of next year?

I don't know... I wish I'll have more energy to do ordinary things like take walks and make home cooked meals. And that I'll sleep well. I always wish for these things because they're not happenign much.

5. What was your best New Year’s Eve ever?

I'm not one for New Year's Eve festivities because of the loud fireworks and the crowds easily lead to migraine for me. So there's no "best ever". But there are two fond memories:

When I was a little kid, we'd light spark sticks and seek omens by melting down tin and dropping it in cold water and that was fun! Because that was something we did as a family at midnight when the year changed - I don't remember us having parties with guests or anything like that at New Year, just Mom and Dad and me doing those two things and eating Christmas candies and chocolate and I'm pretty sure also some nice baked goods with the evening coffee (around 8pm) even though I don't remember that clearly.

Then as an adult in my 20s, when my Mom had a dog, a Beagle, I did have Caro the Beagle over at my place a couple of times for the New Year evening and night so my Mom and her SO could go (ballroom) dancing if a dance was arranged. Caro the Beagle was scared of the fireworks, so she couldn't be left alone this particular night even though usually it was no problem. I always loved having Caro over, but New Year was always not great for her so I was glad to be there for her and my Mom and her SO. Caro always sought out one of my closets during the fireworks night so I'd make her a nice, safe nest there and make sure my TV was on quite loudly, or play music on my stereo, and have all the curtains closed to help to drown out the worst of the fireworks. Caro was okay in the closet (but not her happy self) when the door was closed so the nights always went okay like that.

The second half of half of Jo’s daily December questions!

17. What do you like most about your family?

That my Mom gets me the way no one else does. When I forget words she always knows what I mean, and vice versa. She knows me like no one else.

18. December 18 is "Bake Cookies Day". Do you have a favourite cookie recipe? Care to share?

I rarely bake cookies. The only cookies I make with some sort of regularity, as in a couple of times in a couple of years (LOL) are kaurapitsit. This is one recipe https://www.kotikokki.net/reseptit/nayta/482068/Kaurapitsit/ that I've used but I really have no favorite. The fewer the ingredients the better the kaurapitsit. We had a recipe I loved when I was a kid, but it doesn't make them anymore like it used to - either the products have changed, or I've forgotten how. Either is possible! But really, I think the kaurahiutale (oat something) has change since the 1980s and as the result kaurapitsit don't come out anymore like when I was a kid. They need to come out very thin, much thinner and more like lace than in the picture above to be how I like them.

19. In what forms of housing have you resided?

Two apartments that my parents owned when I was a kid; we moved into the bigger one in 1976 when I was two and and me & my Mom owned that one until we sold it as I moved into my own apartment. I don't remember the first apartment but the second is my childhood home. It was a three bedrooms + kitchen, toilet, bathroom and walk-in-closet apartment in an apartment building on the third floor, and I had my own room.

While I was studying library sciences (age 17-20) I lived in student housing which was a three bedroom + kitchen apartment in a luhtitalo (like an apartment building but the stairwells are unheated and open to outdoors instead of closed and heated) in the Helsinki metropolitan area. Each student had one lockable bedroom and shared the kitchen/batchroom/toilet. One of my roommates from those days is still a good friend, but the third room never had a steady inhabitant - it was empty more than half of the two years I lived there. When my studies were done I moved back to my childhood home and lived there alone for about 3 or 4 years because Mom had moved in with her boyfriend at the same time I moved back from the metropolitan area. Then I used some of my inheritence from my Dad to buy into a luhtitalo apartment and then 20 years later bought it as my own with pre-inheritance money my Mom gave me. So now I live in an apartment I own.

These all have been in apartment buildings or luhtitalos, not detached houses. I've never wanted to live in or own a detached single family house although that is the stereotypical Finnish dream and supposedly what everyone wants. I don't like yard work or garden work and I hate shoveling snow etc. so I want to live in an apartment building where the maintenance crew takes care of all that.

20. When were you last onstage, literally or figuratively?

Literally... I have a very faint memory that we performed a song as a class in our school's Christmas festivities back in some year of the Years 3-6. So it would've been in early-1980s. So a long time ago.

Figuratively... again my thoughts go back to 1980s and comprehensive school when we had to do presentations or something sometimes. I have memory of feeling on stage after comprehensive school, at least.

21. True or false: people only eat cupcakes for the icing.

True 99% of the time. I find majority of cupcakes either too dry or sort of tasteless, but admitedly I haven't eaten very many. My circles never got into the craze, and I've never personally baked cup cakes, only muffins, so maybe I just have gotten to eat not-so-great ones. But I suppose there are a few people who genuinely enjoy the whole thing..?

22. Do you have a TV series that you wish had run longer than it did? What about one that you think ran on too long?

Dark Skies and Space: Above And Beyond - both were cancelled after a single season and ended on a cliffhanger. I'm also always devastated when Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles ends while doing a rewatch and there isn't more to episodes to watch. It takes me by surprise every time!

23. What songs hit you with a wave of nostalgia every time you hear them?

Miami Vice opening credits and all of the OST tracks such as Crockett's Theme as well as many songs that I only ever heard on Miami Vice episodes or Miami Vice soundtracks such as Lives In The Balance by Jackson Browne. Whenever I watch a Miami Vice episode and the opening credits start, I'm immediately transported to Saturday night, 10-11pm no matter what weekday and time of day it really is! Because that was when Miami Vice aired here, and feels like it's tatooed on my bones.

Star Trek TOS opening and closing credits! Whenever I hear them, it's always Saturday afternoon in the mid-80s.

24. Which of your vices or bad habits would be the hardest to give up?

I'd find it very hard to give up Frezza cold coffee drinks entirely. And eating candy and particularly, chocolate.

25. Do you self-censor a lot?

Depends on the people around me. Most of the time I don't have to self-censor much, but I'm not interested in debating politics or treatment of the poor with fanatic right-wingers so if I have to be around them, then I self-censor or rather try to avoid such topics. That doesn't happen often - because I'm not going out much.

26. What happens in your country regularly that people in other countries would find strange or bizarre?

I've heard that we're really weird because we queue obediently, quietly and orderly.

I've also heard that the Finnish penchant for comfortable silences freaks foreigners out. Just because we don't like to fill every silence with empty chatter.

27. Was there ever an event in your life that defied explanation?

Nope. There have been many times when I think something uncomprehensible or incredible, but the explanation is always that the law and/or calculated norms are seriously outdated and always too low. So my common sense asks "how is this supposed to make sense?" And common sense answers "it doesn't but the law/the calculated norms says "it is so".

28. What decision have you been putting off?

Nothing at the moment. There are a couple of things I might have to make decisions about in near future but they depend on other people and the system whether that need comes to pass.

29. Most Valuable Player (MVP): an accolade or award, originally used in team sports to recognize one player for game-changing excellence, and also used outside of sports to recognize excellence in the contributions of an individual to a group effort. Does anyone stand out as your own personal MVP, either at work or in your personal life, for this year?

My Mom, always.

30. As the year comes to a close, what’s something you’d like to put behind you?

This whole inheriting-my-biological-father-even-though-I-was-adopted-as-a-baby-and-wasn't-supposed-to-but-the-law-was-changed-on-us fucking thing. I'm just fucking pissed that I'm involved at all when I'm not supposed to be because that was how the adoption was done back in 1975 and then several years later the politicians went and changed the law (twice!) and didn't bother to notify those concerned :/ We didn't learn of this until my bio sister contacted me after my bio father died in April and they learned that I existed and am one of my bio father's heirs. To day that it was a shock is the put it mildly. Worse is that the resolving the inheritance thing is taking a fucking loong time because the involved document offices, courts and legal aid is so backed up.

This year won't really "complete" for me until that shit is entirely resolved and complete and behind me.

31. As the year comes to a close, what are you looking back upon most fondly?

Fondly? Nothing at all.

Satisfied? Got my adoption confirmed quickly after discovering it was a "weak" adoption as a "strong" adoption - which means the situation is now as we always thought it was and that I can't inherit my biological mother or siblings and they can't inherit me. Should I die while my Mom still lives, my Mom will now inherit me as it was always supposed to be because I don't have kinds or a spouse and none of this weak-adoption-strong-adoption bullshit can interfere with that anymore.

Answers to today's questions over at f.riday.com

1. What did you last put your signature on?

My hand-written, manual signature? Uh, probably my new KELA card 4 or 5 months ago? Very few things need to be manually signed anymore. Technically I sign packages a lot (every month) but that's done by the clerk scanning the bar code of my government issue ID card ever since start of COVID-19. Probably would happen even without COVID-19 now because Finland & technology, but I noticed that clear change in process from hand-written signatures to scanning the ID in the post office soon after start of COVID-19 pandemic.

2. How legible is your signature?

Very.

3. How has your signature changed over time?

It hasn't! It's still exactly the same as when I was a kid. It looks like a kid's too IMHO and I'm SO embarrassed about it! You'd think it'd have become more adult-like in 40 years!

4. When did you last initial something?

Probably never? A really long time ago, if ever. If something requires it, it requires a full signature.

5. Is there a story behind your given name, or is it just a name?

There's no story behind my given name, but there's a story of what kept happening because of it during my school years and even now sometimes. I've told it here: https://www.so-obsessed.com/2022/09/30/jos-weekly-questions-september-2022/ #1 at that link.

Today's questions over at thefridayfive@DW

1. Which television series do you wish they had canceled?

None. If I never cared about a tv series in the first place, then I don't care whether it's on or not. And if it's a tv series that I used to care about, but lost interest before it ended, then also I don't care whether it's still on or not.

2. If you could go back in time and change one thing in history, what would it be and why?

I think, Covid-19 pandemic being still ongoing, I'd probably change that! So people wouldn't die, and the loss of health for many of those who didn't die of it.

3. Name a song/artist/album that changed your life and why.

No of those has ever changed my life.

4. Name one movie you were looking forward to seeing only to be bitterly disappointed by it, then explain why.

I can't think of one! There's been movies I've looked forward to and been disappointed, but I guess I just forget about them because I can't bring one to mind.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was kind of one - but it was because I was in a horribly bad mood when it was released on home media. I hadn't seen that one yet, had been low key looking forward to it after liking the first two movies, and thought it'd be a great distraction and make me feel better and forget about being in a bad mood. Instead, I just saw all the flaws and everything, even tiniest of tiny things, annoyed me! It wasn't the movie itself; I just shouldn't have watched it at that time! I wasn't in the headspace for it. I don't usually misjudge my mood and what helps so badly, but that time I did.

5. Should people really idolize celebrities? (Not just people like Paris Hilton, but others such as Jimi Hendrix, Katharine Hepburn, Jim Morrison, Gene Kelly etc.)

No. They're just people, let them be just people! You can admire a person's skills and talent without idolizing them.

Answers to today's questions over at f.riday5.com

1. How much of a sweet tooth do you have?

A HUGE sweet tooth! I love candy, chocolate, pies, cake, ice cream, hot cocoa... pretty much all of it!

2. What sweet dishes do you prefer at breakfast?

I don't usually eat breakfast, but when I do I don't do sweet. A fresh squeezed orange juice and a Croissant is as close as I get and only as a very rare treat. I don't want anything like jam or whatever.

3. What have you recently gotten a sweet deal on?

I got a package of Pirkka Costa Rica coffee for free today from my local market. Several times a year they offer a personal, free product (often a new product line) of their choosing for free. I could choose the roast though. I don't drink coffee though so I'm going to give it my Mom tomorrow.

4. What are some good songs with the word “sweet” in the title or lyrics?

Billy Idol's "Sweet Sixteen" is a favorite of mine! It came to mind immediately.

5. What evidence might someone present to prove you are a sweet person?

I don't think I'm sweet. Maybe because I associate that word with overly sugary niceness and sunshine disposition and that's not me. But I've been told I'm sweet and kind because I'm always ready to answer questions about how to cap stuff, make tutorials or explain in detail how I'm capping say 4K/UHD or HDTV, or make things downloadable from my Coppermine site, or help people figure out their own computers when they're using Mac and I've never used one.

These are answers to questions from lirazel @ Dreamwidth

+ What's your most productive fandom? What fandom have you written the most words/fics or made the most graphic/icons or whatever for?

The Mummy/The Mummy Returns by far! None other comes close. Over two decades I've made 60+ wallpapers, 130+ icons and 4 fanfics and a few FocusWriter and WinAmp skins. Plus spent hundreds of hours capping the movies, creating a Mummy fansite and maintaining it for many years. The Mummy also gave me two of my most favorite actors - for whom I also had fansites for more than a decade: Oded Fehr and Rachel Weisz. Also took over two Oded Fehr fanfic sites (where Ardeth Bay from The Mummy/Returns got the most fic), which I eventually combined this year as they were imported to AO3 via Open Doors - that Collection is still open for new works! I associate Oded Fehr and Rachel Weisz to the Mummy movies, and so also count wallpapers and icons I've made of them as themselves and in other roles as sort of part of my Mummy experience. The only fics I've ever been able to finish were for Ardeth Bay from The Mummy movies, and one for another Oded Fehr character. Ardeth Bay is my very most favorite character ever, and Rick and Evy as a couple are pretty much the only couple I've ever cared about.

The Mummy and The Mummy Returns were the motivation I started to look into capping HDR 4K (which was and is a bitch) five years ago, when they came out in that format. I always want the caps in best possible quolity!

So The Mummy and The Mummy Returns definitely stand out in my fandom history. I was obsessed with the movies and the characters and the world... but also The Mummy/Returns as well as the Oded Fehr fandom, while tiny, were very vibrant for several years in the early/mid 2000s, and fanart and fic got a lot of feedback back then so it was easy to be inspired and motivated to create sites/icons/wallpapers/fic.

+ Is there a particular fandom where it's always been easy to produce lots of art and/or meta? One where the inspiration just kept bubbling up?

Yeah, The Mummy/The Mummy Returns! LOL I still love them as much as ever, and love doing wallpapers even though I can't seem to find a fandom anywhere anymore. But that's true for all fandoms these days - that I can't seem to find them. But The Mummy/Returns is always something I can turn to and trust I'll enjoy working on it and that inspiration and motivation happens! If the fandom still existed as it was in the early/mid 2000s, I'd be so happy and produce lots and lots of stuff.

+ Is there a fandom you just keep coming back to over the years even as other come and go?

Can you guess what my answer is...? The Mummy/Returns LOL I think I've probably done something The Mummy/Returns most years ever since The Mummy Returns was released in 2001 and I got sucked into fandom head first! I've been thinking I should do more FocusWriter themes now that the program's theme making is a bit more developed than it was when I made the first themes, and I'm more practiced at it too! And sometimes I just feel nostalgic and like doing something with Ardeth or Evy or Anck-Su-Namun/Meela, so every year or every few years I do a new wallpaper or two.

(Although to be quite honest - I never leave my fandoms. I only gain new ones. Fandoms just die around me eventually as people move on to newer, shinier fandoms... combined with fandom platforms dying and fandoms fracturing to social media because of that. After Livejournal fandom went, I haven't been able to find a true fandom community for any of my fandoms - either they're old enough and small enough not to have survived LJ's demise, or went to Tumblr which is like shouting into a void, or I guess, went to Discord which good luck finding a server and good luck being being in a timezone convenient to real-time chat servers. Also, I find the real-time chat format too demanding - I'm in a timezone where usually everybody is online and talking when I'm sleeping and vice versa. LJ/DW and forums worked much better for all timezones IMO. So I'd still be an active part of The Mummy fandom if it existed.)

Time for the first half of Jo's daily questions!

1. Who was the president/prime minister/leader of your country when you were born?

The president: Urho Kekkonen
Prime minister: Kalevi Sorsa

2. What is the best way to spiffy-up french fries?

I like them nice and salty and crispy and then dipping one end into ketchup.

3. When did you last unexpectedly receive something for free?

It's either the 500ml hand sanitizer bottle or the Aco Face Scrub. I got the both from my local pharmacy in the last 2-3 months, but can't remember which is the most recent.

4. Do you donate food (or money) to food banks?

No, I can't afford to. If I did that, I'd have to go to the bread line myself.

5. Does your mental image of yourself correspond with what you see in the mirror?

Sort of, but not entirely in all aspects.

6. Would you consider leaving your body to medical science? Or maybe just parts of your body?

Sure! I'm actually thinking about doing this - in hopes that it'll help advance the understanding of the illnesses I suffer from: particularly Crohn's Disease and chronic, complicated migraine but also Type 2 Diabetes, iron deficieny, hypothyroidism.

7. If you could make a 20-second phone call to yourself at any point in your life, when would you call and what would you say?

I'd call my 20 year old self and tell her to "get your fucking head-aches treated right now by a neurologist! Because it will be really fucking bad in the future."

8. If you could turn one book, comic book or other print story into a feature-length movie or TV series, what would you pick and why?

The Dark Phoenix Saga (all the way from Jean's death and resurrection as Phoenix), the original one by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. Mini TV-series around 16 episodes, live action, character focused and driven. It's a great, tragic story and all the versions I've seen didn't do anything near justice to the original.

9. Have you ever actually punched someone (not counting a friendly jab to the shoulder)? Have you ever been punched?

Nope and nope. I once got a snow ball to the eye in school in the 80s that I *think* was purposely thrown considering where I was standing but I couldn't tell who threw it so I'm not sure and it might not have been.

10. What product’s packaging do you find excessive or inadequate? What sort of packaging do you hate the most?

Some of the net shops pack and order ridiculously - like if I order a small bottle of vitamin B (100 tablets), YA usually sends it in a package that could hold at least 10 of the bottles at minimum. So big it's ridiculous.

I hate the packages you can't open easily - often these are products such as a computer mouse, batteries, chapstick. You have to use scissors which is okay, but even once you've cut it open, it's hell of a time to prize the cardboard and/or plastic sides apart to get at the product, and the cardboard peels away in a dozen narrow strips when you try to pull if off. Everytime I'm conviced there has to be a smarter way to open them but nope.

11. In terms of personal care products (shampoo, toothpaste, skin care products, deodorants, etc.) do you mostly stick with the same brands, or do you like to try new ones? Are you influenced by price, e.g. buying what's on sale, even if it's not your usual brand?

I have a allergic/sensitive skin and scalp, so many things are prescibed by a doctor such as creams and lotions for general body use. Things I can buy from the shops I have to make sure it's unscented and then preferably change it up every now and then because any one product used continously can start to irritate my skin in the long run. So I like to switch them out every now and then.

I've never been able to use shampoos sold at the hair dressers such as the Swarzkopf brand - they've always been too strong and feel unpleasant on my scalp. For the shampoo I have to use these expensive, organic shampoos by Saaren Taika now. Because about 4 years ago all the shampoos I bought from the regular shops started to cause terrible itching and rashes and scabs on my scalp and I'd have to use hydrocortisone liquid all the time to control it but it would still itch like crazy even if it didn't scab anymore. I started to look into what to do/alternatives when it became obvious it wasn't going away by switching products (even pharmacy shampoos didn't help) and came across Saaren Taika. There were a lot of posive reviews by people who have psoriaris or acne and other sensitivities, so I decided to try out one of their organic shampoos and it worked! I've now used their organic shampoos for about 2 years, and my scalp's itching has gone back to normal and my scalp doesn't develop rashes and scaps anymore most of the time, only a few times a year and not as bad as it used to be. I saw Saaren Taika products first in Facebook ads and was very suspicious and wary, but after looking into it I decided to try it once and I'm so glad I did!

12. Is there an ingredient you put into almost everything you cook, even if the recipe doesn't call for it? Is there an ingredient that most recipes call for, but that you tend to leave out?

I always leave out onions because I hate them. I usually put onion powder instead, but not always. I also always leave out coffee if a recipe calls for it, and replace it with hot cocoa. Or the last few years, with Frezza Choco Loco which is a cold coffee drink that tastes mostly of cocoa and a tiny bit of coffee. Using it in baking in place of coffee is just perfect for my taste.

I always put a lot of extra cheese on top of pizza, whether store bought or self-made. I've started add Aura cheese (a blue cheese) to anything I think it might go with. Such as macaroni casserole or kinkkupiirakka (ham pie?). Also actually, I like to cover lots of casseroles and suolainen piirakka ("salty pies" as in pies filled with meat, deli meat, vegetables etc. instead of sweet things like fruits or berries) with cheese that melts into a nice and golden crust.

13. Some people believe that if life has no purpose, then there is no reason for living. While others think that if life has no purpose, that frees a person to find/create and follow their own personal purpose. Which is a more valid point of view or are they both equally valid?

Neither. Life has no purpose in my opinion. You can give it purpose if you want and need that, but not doing it is just as okay.

14. Would you rather have more kitchen counter space or kitchen cabinet space?

I really, really want both!! But if you put a gun to my head... a lot more cabinet space!

15. How conscious do you think animals are?

Depends on the animal.

16. Did you discover a new (to you) favourite author or musician/band this year?

Nope. I did discover several new authors who's books I enjoy, but not a new favorite, no.

Answers to f.riday.com's last friday's questions.

1. What was the most recent physical book you purchased and/or read?

I haven't bought a physical book in years! The physical book I'm currently reading is Lumihauta by Tuire Malmstedt. It's a library book - I have library books literally always at home.

2. What was the last compact disc you listened to?

I've no idea! It's been like 10 years or more since the last time! I download music now, and also ripped all the CDs I own to my hard drive more than a decade ago so I never load the CDs themselves anymore.

3. What did you last watch on DVD?

Again, it's been such a long time that I'm not entirely sure, but I think it's disc 1 of season 5 of Xena: Warrior Princess a few years ago. I remember that one because my cd-rom had trouble loading the disc. If we're counting Blurays too, then Westworld season 1 earlier this year.

4. Whom did you last speak to on a landline?

Whom did I last call on landline? No freaking idea, it's been too long! I haven't owned a landline in 21 years now, only cellphones. Who last called me from a landline? My Mom. She was the last one to own a landline in my circles but even she hasn't had one now for about a decade. Or I don't know if offices such as the unemployment agency, KELA or the Health Center/Hospital still uses landlines. If they do, then one of them.

5. What did you last purchase with cash?

Groceries, today.

Really late with these but my answers to last Friday's questions at thefridayfive@LJ

1. If you could pick any tee shirt in the world to wear, what would it say?

Nothing! I don't like texts on my shirts. Instead it would have a cool pattern with pretty colors.

2. What is the one thing (apart from your family and pets) you’d save from your burning house?

My medications, my laptop, my phone, my important papers - how am I to choose one?!? I also think that because I live alone I might have time to grab more than one thing and those I listed are the ones I'd try to get, if the situation allowed, in that order. Of course it would depend on where each item is and where the fire is.

3. What is your favorite way to wear your hair?

I LOVE having my hair very short - sort of similar cut to what Morena Baccarin had when she was in V in 2009-2011 except the top is a little longer. Didn't think I would and always had hair down to my shoulders or mid-back, but about 7 years ago I started wanting a really short hair, kept having it cut shorter and shorter but didn't dare that short until about 5 years ago when I decided that it's just hair - if I hate it, it'll grow back! Well I LOVED it instead and felt like it was me from the first moment. I did grow it back to mid-back after about 1,5 years of shor but then went short again about after having a long hair again for a year or so, and have had this short hair ever since! I just love it. It's so tidy and doesn't get in my eyes and mouth when it's windy (which is a lot of the time) because it's so short. I have a blond, straight, very fine hair and there's a lot of it, so windy always makes me feel messy and untidy and if I use enough product to keep it tidy when it's long, the hair feels unpleasant and often looks oily because it's so fine that most products aren't really designed for that fine hair. So I'm happy with my short hair :-D 

4. What are you thankful for this year?

My Mom.

5. If you could do or go anywhere, what would you do or go?

On a space cruise on the first TNG Enterprise!