I am ... creative?

Can you honestly say something like that about yourself? It's not like I am always creative. There are days when I don't want to do anything creative. There are days I don't want to do anything. Period. What does it actually mean, to be creative?

The dictionary describes the word as follows:

Involving the imagination? Well, in that case I probably am creative 100% of the time. After all, I have a wild imagination. Who doesn't pretend and drift off to a tropical destination when doing a repetitive chore like the dishes or ironing?

Being creative also claims to relate to original ideas. But when is an idea original? Haven't all stories been told already at least once before? Isn't it more about HOW you tell the story that makes it original rather than WHAT story you tell? How else do you explain one book becoming a bestseller and the other flopping?

It's been done before

Just the other day I was watching a movie called "Safe Haven". It's only a few years old and it's based on the book by Nicholas Sparks. The basic plot was about a young woman escaping her abusive partner and learning to trust men again. When she finally dared to love again, the abusive partner unexpectedly showed up, demanding her to come back. She refuses, things become violent and the new lover saves the day by defeating the partner, who often ends up dead in the end.

How many times have you heard this plot line? I can probably name a dozen movies or books discussing this very same topic. Hell, I wrote a short story about this myself. So how is this creative? It is the way of HOW you present the topic, that guarantees your success.

Creative professions

When you think about creative jobs, you often think author, photographer, product designer or anything else in the art & design field. So other jobs aren't creative? Can a housewife be creative? Or a brick layer? What if the housewife invents a new cleaning product? And the brick layer some kind of machine that makes his work easier?

Personally, I think everyone is creative. Not all the time, most people have bouts of creativity, where they suddenly have an idea that might not even be that original, but is adapted to their current situation or way of life.

Is creativity something you can learn? No, you already possess it. You are naturally a creative person! It is just a matter of tapping into it, of learning to tap into it. You might say "I'm not creative, I can't do anything!" It's not true, and you know it. Apparently you can do anything you want to do, as long as you truly want it.

So, are you creative? When you want to be, you are!

I am ... lost and found

Today was the perfect day for a nice bike ride. Bicycle ride, that is. It was the first real spring day: 12°C, a blue sky and hardly any wind. So I planned a nice, 20 km, one hour-and-a-half route in Google Maps and after some trouble getting it transferred to my phone, I set out to get my doses of fresh air.

How was I supposed to know I was about to enter a forbidden military zone ... ?

A day of firsts

Taking a break

It was my first bicycle trip of the season. After checking my bike, putting some more air in the tires and oiling the chain, I hooked my iPhone up to the handle bar and left.

According to Maps, it was a trip that would take a little over an hour, so I drank some water beforehand, not wanting any other load than myself slowing me down.

Straight through the forest

Although the trees do not have any leaves yet, the route was a pretty one, straight through fields and forests. The road surface was mainly sand with a lot of pot holes, wet patches and a lot of tiny stones, but my bike managed just fine, as long as I was careful. Who cares about a little mud along the way?

Soon after leaving the village, I realized there were no people around. It was just me, the road and some bird sounds. How peaceful!

I stopped now and then to take a picture and well, also because I got tired. I've been working out on my cross trainer the past few weeks, just to get back in shape for summer.

Bike rides are a great way of getting rid of that fat butt of mine! (The only person who thinks it's fat is my Hubby, by the way.) But when the road is uphill and downhill, it sure tests your stamina.

Eerily quiet

Look, a hunting tower!

Okay, I'm not that much of an outdoorsy person and being all alone in the middle of nowhere was nice, until my mind started playing tricks with me.

"What if you get a flat tire?" or worse "What if you run into a bear!?"

Immediately I told myself it's not bear season yet and surely I wasn't out in the middle of nowhere *that much*, was I?

Okay, I did spot a few wooden towers hunters use for hunting game, but surely there wouldn't be any bears in this area ... right?

The soothing sound of a wild stream

(On a side note: I once went on a bike trip in Canada's Banff and sure enough, I ran into a black bear! I screamed and the bear took off, more frightened of me than I was of it, but this little wildlife encounter was not to be forgotten!)

My bout of fear eventually subsided and I started enjoying the adventure I had forced myself to go on. The sun was warming my face and it was truly lovely to be outside after being a couch potato all winter.

At one point I even heard water rustling and I wondered if there was perhaps a tiny waterfall around somewhere. It turned out to be a little wild stream.

Shot upon trespassing

What? MILITARY AREA?!

About an hour and a half into my trip (the whole trip was 1h20m, but I was cycling slow apparently), I started becoming really tired.

While checking my phone I realized I was already more than half way through the route and would soon reach the crossing from where I would go south towards home again.

The road surface turning into asphalt was a welcomed change but my relief only lasted briefly.

Cause as I turned right to continue on southwards, I was forced to pull over at the sight of a big yellow sign.

What? Military area? Forbidden to enter without special permission? Camera surveillance? Are you kidding me?! Nooooo!

Back the way I came

Yes. I was forced to turn my bike around again and return the way I came. By that time I was dead tired and the prospect of having to go back was just too much for me.

I was very pleased to see that sign again!

I was out of breath and thirsty. It was stupid not to bring a water bottle.

So, without many options (I checked the nearby exit, but it was a big road and I wasn't sure if I was allowed to bicycle there) I rode back the way I came ...

My legs were killing me and I was forced to walk some of the uphill parts. And what was I gonna do about my dry throat? Yes, I admit it, I ate some snow. What else was I supposed to do? Luckily there still was some.

More problems

The bike got a nice test drive! My jeans looked similar.

If going all the way back wasn't enough, my GPS suddenly stopped working. No more 3G network. What the heck, I had no problems on the way over and now you suddenly stop working, you stupid phone?!

It must be a test! Surely I can navigate my way back based on spotting familiar things I saw on the way over? I might be a woman with no sense of direction, but I'm not stupid. Getting lost is just no option.

After another hour and a half of overworking all my senses and frantically trying to reload Google Maps, I finally entered the "village limits" again. Boy, was I pleased to see that sign!

Five minutes from home I noticed the supermarket was open (yes, they're open here on sundays) and stopped for a well-deserved ice cream: my first of the season.

All in all it turned out to be a day of many firsts. I may have gotten slightly lost, luckily for me that first flat tire didn't occur. Just in case, next time I'll pick a more populated route! Oh, and carry a water bottle.

I am ... a biker chick!

The snow is melting and this only means one thing: BIKE SEASON, BABY!!!

Living in Finland is great, but it's not so great for my motorcycle skills. Five months out of the year, the poor machine is tucked away in a storage unit, waiting for the snow to melt and the sun to come out again.

But, the battery is all charged up and Thursday I'll be picking up my neon green Kawasaki Ninja 250R again. Even though I've only owned the bike for about a year, I have to admit I miss it ... her. Him. Whatever.

Summer of 2012

Rookie Rider

Honestly, I'm kind of anxious as well. After all, I've only had my license for two years and I've been riding the Ninja only during the summer of 2012. It was hardly long enough to get used to  riding it.

And so, this coming summer will be my second year and having it tucked away during the cold winter months doesn't help to improve my riding skills much.

If anything, starting again after this long winter is almost like riding again for the very first time! As if I have to get used to it all over again. The clutch, the gear shifting, the counter steering, the speed ...

Oh, the speed!

The Finnish countryside is beautiful

Concerns of a rookie rider aside, nothing beats the adrenaline rush when speeding down the highway at 130 - 140 km/h! It's better than sex! Okay, well, almost ... maybe. ;)

The roar of the engine when you open the throttle, the wind tugging at your jacket when you easily overtake cars, it's awesome! It's freedom! You want to scream but your helmet is pressing down on your cheeks so tight, it's hard to even talk. Instead, your heart just skips a beat and you're so in the moment, the mind has stopped its usual chatter and it's just you, the bike and the road.

You might be thinking: "Come on, a 250 barely has any torque!" But it's enough for me, for now. I'll have a couple of nice years with my Ninja ahead of me before I will consider getting a heavier bike. There's no shame in starting out easy, learning to 100% control the bike and just get comfortable riding and handling the bike.

So, here's to the Bike Season opening and to having a long - preferably not such a wet, summer full of enjoyable rides through the Finnish countryside!

If you want to stay updated on my upcoming adventures, you can check out my YouTube Channel where I "vlog" (ride and talk with a GoPro strapped to my helmet). This year I'll try and shoot even cooler stuff than last year!

Wanna join me for a ride? Come on, let's go!

I am ... grateful and happy

I was bored, sick of being unemployed, tired and a bit grumpy. Until I saw this:

Pastor Joel Osteen's Full Sermon "The Power of 'I Am'"

If you're feeling <---insert negative emotion of choice---> then I suggest you watch what watching this video will do to you!

I am ... lovin' Jamie Oliver

Who doesn't know Jamie Oliver? The British bloke from Essex with a passion for food, who turned out to be the face of easy cooking for people all over the world. Out of all TV-cooks, Jamie Oliver is starting to become someone I have great respect for. Why? Not only because he is a great cook, but he has his heart in the right place as well.

Beautiful dishes with a strong Italian influence

I wish I had a veggie garden like his!

When watching some of Jamie Oliver's cooking shows - there are quite a few, you can't help but get excited about food as well. He's passionate and enthusiastic. So much so that during Oliver's Twist - one of his earlier shows from 2002 which is currently rerunning on TV here, he is so energetic that he seems out of breath half the time!

Over the years he became a bit calmer and I love watching him cook in the comfort of his own home after getting the ingredients from his own veggie-garden in Jamie at Home (2007), a show which is also rerunning here on Finnish television.

Not that his recipes, which have a strong Italian influence, are always the easiest to cook for the amateur cook like myself, but at least he's got me excited and trying out different kinds of vegetables, herbs, spices and cooking methods. And that's all that matters, really.

His 30 Minute Meals certainly take up to an hour for me to prepare, but that doesn't matter either. If you take the time, you'll end up with a "beautiful meal", full of "beautiful flavors" and "beautiful texture"! Yes, Jamie Oliver says the word "beautiful" about 25 times per episode. I suppose that is the only way to describe his dishes.

Respect and critique

I made Jamie Oliver's French Caesar Salad!

When watching his shows like Jamie's Food Revolution and Jamie's Ministry of Food in which he tries to get the Brits to eat healthier, get them excited about cooking and actually help people to learn how to cook, I have to say hats off to him. He is a celebrity and makes tons of money, yet he doesn't seem to have this I-am-too-good-for-you-attitude and he's still wiling to help you and I start cooking.

Although a lot of respect has come his way over the years, he's no stranger to critique either. He's had animal rights activists on his case after slaughtering a lamb in one of his shows and encountered a lot of resistance when he tried to improve the quality of food in British as well as American schools.

Critique or not, I can't help but love the guy. He's pleasant to watch, he's witty, he's energetic and enthusiastic and although I don't know him personally, he seems sincere, honest and loving.

He taught me the simplest of techniques, like how to butterfly a chicken breast, and gave me useful tips on how to NOT put oil in a grilling pan if you want your meat to have that grilled taste.

While I'm not that big on French cheese, he got me trying out his French Caesar Salad with Roquefort cheese and I actually liked it so much that so far I've already made it twice!

For now I will continue to try out some of his easier recipes and will slowly work my way up from there. I am happy Finnish TV is rerunning all of his shows and I'm grateful to Jamie Oliver for getting me excited about cooking!

I am ... a Facebook addict

There you have it, my first blog post!

Well, technically it's not my first. I started blogging maybe ten years ago, but I was introduced to Facebook and the whole concept of blogging was slowly forgotten when I realized how easy it was to connect with friends, post pictures and videos, share links and do whatever else typical Facebook users do.

Facebook took over my life

Slowly Facebook took control of my life and I got lost. I started spending hours browsing the News Feed, reading about other people's lives while my own life was somewhat put on hold. 

Honestly, I wasn't living my life anymore, I was just keeping track of other people live theirs! Through a computer interface, for crying out loud! And the worst of it all: I started contributing to the News Feed by posting weird stuff too!

Before Facebook, I wouldn't even dream of going out to dinner and taking a picture of my plate to let my friends know what I was eating! 

Sharing things and getting likes was becoming a sport. The more likes I got, the more my ego got satisfied. The more comments on my status or any other post, the more I seemed in touch with the world. I didn't realize how dangerous this was, until it was too late...

Hello, I'm Iona and I am a Facebook addict

This is getting out of hand, seriously. Facebook is an addiction, people! I see it all around me: everyone is on their phone or laptop, posting, browsing, liking, commenting. All communication goes through Facebook. People hardly even talk face to face anymore.

Therefore, I have decided to claim back my life!

I'm only at the start of this and naturally I'm not ready to give up my Facebook account just yet. (I tried it once and it backfired. I even lost friends, who thought I was weak, fake and judgmental)

But, I have decided to focus on my own journey and I will spill my thoughts on this blog from now on. I will write down my thoughts, feelings and life's adventures in the form of a blog post instead of uploading a Facebook status.

The idea is that uploading something to Facebook is done in a jiffy - BAM, I got my fix, while making a blog post is something you actually need to sit down for and spend time on. It's something you do more consciously, just because it takes more time and effort. I feel blog posts will have more meaning.

My Facebook account

Of course I will not delete my Facebook account, to be honest I don't think I even dare. (Let's face it, I am a true addict who cannot give up on her addiction)

You see, Facebook does have good features. (... here we go, the excuses...) It is still an easy way write a quick message to a friend, make new friends or promote art work.

But I'm going to try and spend less time on this addictive social network. Sure, I'll post the links to my blog entries on my Facebook page and with that invite you to read them. Also, I may still read the things you post and comment on them, but as said before, my life is mine to live and mine to focus on. It's my journey. You have your own journey.

Does that sound selfish to you? It's not meant like that. After all, we're all friends, right? But this addiction has taught me one thing: life is not about how many people like your status, your picture or your video, but about you wanting to share something that is worthwhile to share, regardless of the response you get. It's about the message having meaning to you the writer, not about how many people like it.