I'm happy to be a woman

Happy December!

This post has nothing to do with December. I just wanted to tell you why it's great to be a woman. I mean, a human.

This thought process started when I read one Finnish online article. A Finnish "popular lifestyle" website asked some women to list aspects of life where that they think men have it better. And because I tend to take these funny things seriously, I decided to write a very long blog post about it, talking about all of these 34 points. Are you ready? 

Picture from makeupandbeauty.com.

Apparently these women are jealous about the following things:

1. No need to suffer from menstruation.

Itsestäänselvyys: ei tarvitse kärsiä menkoista.

Well, obviously it can be painful which sucks, but after I discovered menstrual cups it has become the only bad thing about it. No need to wear uncomfortable bleached plastic nappies (also known as menstrual pads) in my underpants or to push chemical-infused cotton sticks (also known as tampons) inside me. Periods are not stopping me from doing anything. I've spent a week menstruating on an uninhabited island without toilets, running water or electricity. I survived.

Plus by having periods you can make sure that there's no unexpected babies in their way. Men don't have that benefit.

2. No need to shave your legs.

Ei tarvitse ajella sääriä.

Honestly, I don't even remember when was the last time I shaved my legs. I go swimming at the local pool a couple of times a week though. No one has stopped me. No one has even looked at my legs that I've noticed. Why do women feel they have to shave their legs? Last summer my legs were very fluffy until I went swimming with my little sister. I removed some of the hair before that trip just because I didn't feel fluffy legs were appropriate at a Finnish beach site, but it was my choice. No one should force you to shave your legs.

If you want to read more about this, I've written a whole blog post about feminine hairiness before.

3. You become more charming the older you get.

Charmikkuus vain lisääntyy iän myötä.

Some men may become more charming with age, but so do some women. It's up to you what you want to become in the future. You can become charming when you want to and then you can develop your charm. It doesn't just happen to people — no matter what your gender is.

4. Your not embarrassed when you grow a moustache.

Ei hävetä, jos viikset kasvaa.

Maybe more women should be proud of their moustaches. Those huge bushy eyebrows are already in fashion, why won't we do the same with moustaches? Women do have hair in that area too, it's just often very fair. Some grow darker hair and then get it bleached or waxed. It's seen as a very embarrassing and taboo topic. I don't see a reason why it couldn't be seen as cute. We need to stop being embarrassed about our looks.

Alex K. Picture from Effing Dykes Blog.

5. Barber costs less than a hairdresser, and you don't need to waste money on hairproducts anyway.

Parturi maksaa vähemmän kuin kampaaja, eikä rahaa tarvitse tuhlata hiustuotteisiin muutenkaan.

Do these women really think that men don't use hair styling products? I'm guessing that it's around the same percentage of men and women who do style their hair almost daily. I'm getting closer to some hippie-look with my hair and will just happily brush it. I don't even know what I would do with it. I tried to learn to straighten it, but then didn't see the point. It's naturally wavy, what's wrong with that?

I actually do find it unfair though, that men's haircuts are cheaper than women's. Even if it is exactly the same haircut. Why would your gender matter there? Shouldn't the hairstyle you want be the main factor deciding the price?

6. No need to blow-dry your hair in the mornings, style your hair or put make-up on

Ei tarvitse föönata tukkaa aamuisin ja väkertää hiuksia kampauksille, eikä meikata.

I've never felt a need to blow-dry my hair in the morning or make my life that difficult anyway. Everyone needs to get ready in the morning and what you need to do probably depends more on whether you're just popping to the corner shop or going to someone's wedding. It doesn't really have anything to do with your gender. There are many men who take longer than me straightening their hair and putting their make-up on than I do.

7. You can have children without streching your stomach or ripping your genitals.

Voi saada lapsia ilman, että vatsanahka leviää ja sukuelimet repeää.

Giving birth does have those aspects, yes. But it's not something all women have to do. Of course, some men are able to give birth as well. Adoption is a fair option available for everyone too though. But in general it is more difficult to have children as a single man than it is as a single woman.

8. Naturally smaller percentage of fat. No cellulite. Not fair.

Luonnostaan pienempi rasvaprosentti, ei selluliittiä. Ei ole reilua.

And none of those fantastic feminine shapes either. 

Boobs. Curves. Fun.

Marilyn Monroe.

9. Small phone bills. You don't have to waste time talking about nonsense.

Pienet puhelinlaskut. Omaa aikaa ei tarvitse tuhlata turhuuksista pälättämiseen.

Seriously? These women need to rethink their priorities. If you need to spend hours on phone talking about stupid things without enjoying it, it has nothing to do with gender. It's just your own stupidity.

10. Men can pee almost everywhere. It's also less embarrassing for men to go to the toilet.

Miehet voi pissiä melkein mihin tahansa. Vessassa käyminen ei muutenkaan aiheuta niin noloja tilanteita kuin naiselle.

What? Why is it embarrassing to go to the toilet if your a woman? And I think it shouldn't be acceptable to pee in public for men either. It's also possible for all genders to go and pee in a bush.

11. A man doesn't get upset or end up in pointless fights if he's not invited to a party or a shopping trip.

Mies ei loukkaannu tai joudu turhiin riitoihin, jos häntä ei ole kutsuttu juhliin tai shoppailemaan.

I think it would be upsetting to anyone to have everyone else invited except you.

12. Shopping doesn't take up much time.

Shoppailu sujuu nopeasti.

I think this depends more on the type of person you are. If you enjoy browsing shops it will take longer no matter what your gender is. And if you just want to go in and get what you need it will be faster. Unless you're me and shopping in Sainsbury's. Then it will take hours, but it's not because I'm a girl — it's because I don't know where anything I need is.

From Sex and the City.

13. You can wear comfortable shoes even in festive events.

Voi käyttää mukavia kenkiä juhlissakin.

I would never go to a party in uncomfortable shoes. Women don't have to wear high heels. I like high heels, but always prefer to wear comfortable high heels.

14. It's easy to get dressed to a party. Even to your own wedding a good quality suit is enough and you can wear that same suit to all the future festive events.

Juhlapukeutuminen on helppoa: omiin häihinkin riittää laadukas puku, jota voi pitää tulevissakin kekkereissä.

As far as I'm aware many women do dream of choosing their white dress, so I don't think that's something they are really jealous about. Also one good quality black dress will keep you covered to most festive events if you don't prefer to choose something different.

15. It's easier to make a career as a fighter pilot or a fireman.

Helpompaa toteuttaa haave vaikka urasta hävittäjälentäjänä tai palomiehenä.

I couldn't make a career as a fighter pilot because of my bad eye sight. I'm sure my brother would have the same problem. It is true that in the job market it is more difficult as a woman, but there's also a problem that many women don't pursue these careers.

16. Saving money! You don't have to spend money on menstrual pads or tampons. Or bras. Or make-up and other cosmetics.

Rahansäästö! Ei tarvitse laittaa rahaa kuukautissiteisiin ja tamponeihin. Eikä rintaliiveihin. Eikä meikkeihin ja muuhun kosmetiikkaan.

Lady, guess what? You don't have to spend money on any of those things either. I bought a £20 mooncup that will keep me sorted for the next 10 years on the menstrual front. I do like to buy bras though, because I like to feel supported. I've also spent most of my money that didn't go into food or rent on cosmetics, not because I felt I had to but because they made me happy. I'm starting to question my values on this and am planning on stopping buying so much. 

17. Life without tights.

Elämä ilman sukkahousuja.

I can't imagine a life without tights. I don't wear trousers so tights are kind of necessary for me. I just wish they were cheaper and wouldn't break as easily. Women are allowed to wear trousers though if they don't like tights. It's unfortunately a bit socially questionable for men to wear tights today. 

Robin Hood: Men in tighs is a very good film though, if you need some entertainment in your life.

18. You survive with fewer clothes when travelling.

Pärjää vähemmällä vaatemäärällä reissussa.

I have a funny feeling that if I went travelling with a guy, my clothes would take up less space. First, most guys boxers appear to take more space than my tops. And what I have seen of many men's packing skills, they have a lot of unnecessary space in their bags. When I was travelling with my brother, I had some things that didn't fit in my suitcase anymore, and asked him if I could put them into his bigger suitcase. He said that there was no space but that I was allowed to try anyway. And then I put a blanket, 3 jumpers and several pairs of shoes into his suitcase without any problems.

19. Men are likely to get an orgasm more easily.

Saa todennäköisesti helpommin orgasmin.

But apparently those orgasms are not as amazing as those fantastic female-orgasms you can read about.

20. Sports news.  As a man you're more likely to be interested in sports and sports news are often well-covered amongst the most important news in the country. Also, if you're a male athlete you get to enjoy bigger audiences, reputation and pay, than as female athlete.

Urheilu-uutiset. Miehenä on naista todennäköisemmin kiinnostunut urheilusta, ja siitä kerrotaankin kattavasti joka päivä valtakunnan tärkeimpien uutisaiheiden joukossa. Lisäksi mikäli olet itse miesurheilija, saat nauttia paljon suuremmista katsojamääristä, maineesta ja palkkiorahoista kuin naisena.

The latter is true. But maybe sports news shouldn't be something to be jealous about. Not all men are interested in sports anyway.

21. As a man it's easier to carry your shopping bags and you're able to throw a ball further.

Miehenä jaksaaa kantaa kauppakassit ja heittää palloa pidemmälle.

Testosterone is great.

22. You can hold your drink better. And people have more tolerance for drunken men than drunken women.

Parempi viinapää. Eivätkä ihmiset katso kännistä miestä yhtä pahalla kuin viinanhuuruista naista.

It's to do with that body fat percentage thing. But I'm not sure about the social tolerance thing, because drunken idiot is a drunken idiot no matter what the gender is. Or what do you think? 

23. You don't have to suffer with uncomfortable bras that are the wrong size.

Ei tarvitse kärsiä hiertävistä/vääränkokoisista rintaliiveistä.

No one has to. Go and buy one that fits. I wrote a blog post about this.

From Freya Lingerie.

24. You don't have to take the contraceptive pill.

Ei tarvitse syödä e-pillereitä.

No one has to. They are given to women as if they were candy or some miracle drug that everyone should take. It is not. It is one effective method of contraception but it's not the only option out there. It's also possible to make a male contraception pill but no one is going to fund that project because testing would take so long that it's not worth it for any pharmaceutical company to do that because the female contraceptive pill already exists. It was barely tested before they gave it to women — now there are more strict regulations in place.

I mentioned a little bit about my experiences with the pill in this post.

25. It's taken for granted that your last name will always remain the same.

On itsestäänselvyys, että sukunimi säilyy aina omana.

In many countries, including Finland, men can choose to take their wives last name when they get married. It's all optional, families are not forced to have the same last name.

26. Thicker skin that doesn't age as fast.

Paksumpi iho, joka ei ikäänny yhtä nopeasti.

I don't understand this argument. Surely the skin ages no matter how thick it is? Hormones do affect the skin, so often men do have thicker skin and women have softer skin. But women tend to make aging a huge deal and spend loads of money on different serums and creams that promise anti-aging properties. Maybe it's just another pressure on women needing to look perfect and young always, so it's something they want to feel jealous about? I don't think any of those women want to have a thicker skin though.

27. Army stories.

Armeijatarinat.

In Finland, it's compulsory for all men to take part in military service (or civil service, or go to prison). For women it is optional. I met one of my best friends, Jonna, in the army, when we had a one-weekend introductory camp there. We do still look back to those times and think about all the good memories, when having a fika. I can understand that men who have spent 6-12 months in the military service would do that to even a greater extent. But women, we have nothing to feel jealous about — we have an option to join the army!

28. You are able to order a giantic meal in a restaurant without needing to worry what your dinner partner will think about it.

Voit tilata ravintolassa hirmuiset jättiannokset eteesi ilman, että alat pohtia sitä miltä mässäilysi näyttää illalliskumppanisi silmissä.

If I'm hungry and I want to order something, I will not care what anyone else will think about it. Seriously.

29. A high number of sex partners is only a positive thing.

Seksikumppaneiden korkea määrä on vain positiivinen asia kanssaihmisten silmissä.

If you're a straight man and your mates think it's cool and you really care about that, then maybe? But maybe your future girlfriend won't find it any cooler than you would find it if she had the same number of sex partners.

30. Your voice has more auhtority. 

Äänessä on enemmän auktoriteettia.

It's more up to your personality than your gender.

31. A man, who can't dance can be adorable, but a woman who can't dance is only embarrassing.

Mies, joka ei osaa tanssia, voi olla hellyyttävä näky, mutta huonosti tanssiva nainen on vain noloa.

Why are the women who made up this list so convinced that being a woman is embarrassing?

Personally, I only like to go to night clubs where everyone is happy to dance badly and "embarrassingly". It's only for fun! At many straight clubs the dance floor is only meant for people who are skilled dancers and if some one looks like Ross and Monica from The Friends it's only embarrassing. Lighten up people, have more fun! Being skilled at laughing at yourself and having fun will earn you more life time happiness points than laughing at other people will.

32. Apparently you dare to ask for a pay rise more easily.

Kuulemma kehtaa pyytää palkankorotusta helpommin.

You cannot really be jealous about something that you start with the word "apparently".

33. Men's clothes last longer: in the sense of quality and fashion.
Miesten vaatteet kestävät paremmin aikaa sekä laatunsa että tyylinsä puolesta.

Maybe men only buy better quality clothes and prefer classic styles? As a woman you're just as allowed to buy good quality clothes that represent classic styles.

34. Men have balls: in their attitude and also literally.
Miehissä on munaa: sekä asenteessa että ihan konkreettisesti.

Women can have balls too. In their attitude and also literally.

Any thoughts? Do you think other genders have it easier?

Non-disastrous family holidays?

Happy new year, bunnies!

I hope all of you had enjoyable holidays! My holidays this year were different. For me. For most people it's probably normal to spend Christmas at their childhood home and see lots of family members, but I hadn't done that for 3 years. And this time I brought someone with me! There was some great potential for holiday conflicts.

Is it too late to tell you about my Christmas? I mean it's so last year... But nevermind! Last Christmas was such a positive surprise for me that I'm going to tell you about it anyway. I didn't get the snow I was hoping to see but everything else went very well.

I've never spent a Christmas with a partner before. As much as I've enjoyed spending my Christmas Eves wrapping presents in a Harry Potter -like cupboard at the bottom of the stairs in my friend's house in Edinburgh, it felt more meaningful to light up candles to family graves and warm up afterwards in the sauna with Laura. She met all of my family members and I met hers. And to my great surprise, everyone was nice to each other. I still can't believe how well my family behaved and how nice and welcoming Laura's family was! Did I mention that her sister made me TARDIS earrings?

Laura and I stayed at my mum's place over the Christmas. On Christmas Eve we had dinner at my grandparents, and then visited graveyards. In the evening, we went and had dessert at my grandparents' friends' house. My brother wasn't pleased about all these activities, because he was very keen on opening the presents. But we did get home before midnight to open them! On Christmas morning, my best Loimaa-friend, Anna, and I went to church. I tried to take Laura with me but, she told me that if I wanted her not to be grumpy for the rest of the day, I'd better let her sleep. But later that day, Laura and I went to Anna's and and a little Christmas celebration with her. 

On Boxing Day it was time to dine with my Dad's family at my grandad's. After that Laura and I drove to Hyvinkää to her sister's place, so that we all would be ready to go and visit her grandparents on 27th. With all of these scary family meetings, and introducing Laura to my grandparents, I had completely forgotten to be nervous about meeting her grandparents. But I was welcomed in with lots of hugs! And I found my godfather's meat boutique's products in their fridge. It wasn't really what I expected to find there, considering that we were 200 kilometres from the boutique. But again, we ate more good Finnish Christmas food, and got an opportunity to use their wood-heated sauna.

But Christmas is not the only thing to celebrate in December. My mum turned 50 on New Year's Eve and we had the biggest Birthday-Hogmanay party that we've ever had. And my friend Tiia graduated as a occupational therapist which of course was a great reason for a party. First she came and celebrated with just Laura and me in Loimaa's vibrant nightlife, and between Christmas and Hogmanay she had a party at her place in Turku.

I am so happy that I got a chance to spend so time with my best Finnish friends. And there were many opportunities to enjoy saunas! And to drink coffee. Sauna, Finnish coffee and my cat are the three things I miss the most when I'm in Scotland.

It was such a relaxing holiday. I thought that meeting so many family members would be stressful, but somehow hardly any of it was. The things were about to get a bit steamy when my mum got stressed out about our packing. I can understand that it maybe looked disastrous with two hardly closing suitcases, and a couple of over-filled backpacks and handbags. Especially when my only shoes broke and I had to buy new ones on our departure day. But instead of a huge fight, we managed to escape and went to drink some coffee with my friend Jonna and my goddaughter. We came up with great plans to go and see Moomins next summer!

This holiday was exactly what I needed. Especially when we had some mini-holidays on the way back. When it's cheaper to travel via Stockholm and Oxford, it's always a great idea to stop and enjoy those places as well. Stockholm was cute and Oxford was the best as always. I hadn't been to Oxford for 5½ years, but it was still just as wonderful as I remembered it! But I'll tell you more about our return journey and the adventures we faced in another post.

Is there something you would like me to write more about? 

It's almost Christmas!

Today I woke up. (Well yeah, that alone is quite an achievement for me...)

And I realised that there's only a couple of days left until I'll be trying to fly to Snowland for Christmas. And I have't even eaten all the chocolates in my advent calendar! Also, the snow is not guaranteed. Thank you global warming. But I wish there will be snow!

I have spent the three most recent Christmases in Scotland. But this year it's time to do some crazy flying around Europe and sleeping at airports to get to the Finnish Christmas Wonderland.

Finland, the land of trees and snow.

I have bad experience of flights being delayed, cancelled, diverted and whatever other things could happen to them. So I never really expect to get where I am trying to fly. You can read about it more in my post "About unexpected situations!". From past experience I am flying via Scandinavia, because they are more prepared for snow and will not close the airports like the rest of the Europe tends to do. And when I say Scandinavia, I really mean Scandinavia. First we're flying from Aberdeen to Stavanger, Norway. From there we fly to Copenhagen, Denmark. And from Denmark we fly to Helsinki!

Helsinki Cathedral. Or the "Church of Doom" as the Finns like to call it.

I quite look forward to spending Christmas in Finland this year. I'm taking Laura with me and we'll see where we end up spending it. We've been invited to three different households on Christmas Eve. Fortunately all of them are in the same town.

But Christmas in Finland is fun! Teletubbies even made an episode of it.

That's exactly what it used to be like in my childhood! I'm not sure what I'm going to wear this Christmas, now when I don't have an elf costume.

Loimaa, the little town in Proper Finland where we're going to spend Christmas, is not that bad either. As long as there is Christmas food, Christmas tree and my cat. It might even be enjoyable. It's a small town - most of which is agricultural field or forest. It's name basically means "countryside". The greatest landmark is the grain elevator - the huge building for storing the crops. They even put fancy lights on it.

Loimaa! Photo by 16valve at taloforum.fi.

But what! I didn't realise it was almost flying time already! I better get on with doing laundry and packing. I can't really do laundry without emptying my suitcase that I currently use as a laundry basket. And I can't pack anything because I am almost out of clean clothes. And if I start doing things with it I could just start piling Christmas presents in it already. Tomorrow I'm also going to meet a friend I haven't seen since first year, do the rest of the Christmas shopping and then go to our Japanese society's Christmas meal! Where having hot pot. I'm so bad at eating hot pot, but thankfully there will be skillful people there to help me.

Icy Tampere.

Can you feel the Christmas approaching?

Moving on

Hello blog!

I'm writing (again) because I'm meant to be packing (again). Years ago, I wrote blog posts about how to pack. The reason why I wrote those was to inspire myself, because I really suck at packing. Mostly my strategy for packing is the following: 

1. Wait until I have only 20 minutes before my train leaves. 
2. Throw everything into a backpack. 

3. Realise that the backpack is too small.

4. Stuff the rest of the stuff into three smaller backs.

5. Somehow fasten all the bags around me.

6. Run to the train station.

7. Realise that I forgot pants, toothbrush, etc.

But this time the occasion for packing is different. This time I have to pack everything! 

I'm getting keys for a new flat tomorrow. It's like getting keys for my future life. 

Went for a flat viewing.

The reason why I originally started looking for a new place is that my landlord is going to sell the flat I'm living in. I had some time to mentally prepare for this, because my previous flatmate, who also happens to be the daughter of my landlord, warned me that her parents might want to sell the flat when she spontaneously moved to Switzerland after love.

Now, however, I am looking forward to getting away from this place, because this is where I experienced the suckiest year of my life. It has absolutely nothing to do with this flat, my ex flatmate or my landlord - they were all absolutely wonderful! I'm not moving anywhere as extreme as Switzerland - I'm only moving to the other side of the city, but the idea of getting out of here sounds relieving. It's like a whole new adventure!

This time, instead of living alone, I'm going to live with my girlfriend. We're going to be sambos - like they say in Sweden! I had to register that with the government, because my funding form asked for it. It felt fairly official. And as an added bonus, we're going to get a pet! My friend Kata is coming back to town!

Perhaps, technically she should be called a flatmate.

We're going to have a backyard, 2 coffee machines, a leather sofa (like Kata wanted), a hob and a roof over our heads. My favourite supermarket is going to be behind the corner and my least favourite street is going to be very far away. 

I will also have to register with a new General Practice. I'm hoping there will be more competent doctors than at my current one. I've had enough of these health problems and doctors who just keep giving me antidepressants and testing me for pregnancy and chlamydia. At least I can safely say, that I don't have STIs or people growing inside me. And I am not so depressed about it that I would need antidepressants for it. I just feel like they have wasted quite a lot of tax payers money on testing it when I could have just told them that I don't. And I still don't feel okay. I feel better than I did a year ago, but worse than two years ago. And I want to get fixed. I hope that my new GP will actually listen to me.

So new keys, new drugs, new housemates, new neighbourhood - here I come! After I get my suitcases packed.

Am I out of control?

As a part of my attempt to do new things I've decided to visit two places that I haven't been to before. I can't believe I haven't been to those places! 

I lived 18 years of my life in Finland and have never been to Estonia. I mentioned this to one of my best friends and she decided that she would take me out to Tallinn for a day. Finally, I will get to see what Helsinki was founded to compete against!

Tallinn.

Another capital that I have passed by several times is Copenhagen. I've been to Denmark but only spent time in the mainland. So now I have a day visit to Copenhagen planned as well. We're going to go and take a photo of that little Little Mermaid statue and eat sandwiches. How exciting!

But thinking about these short-visits made me realise that I don't have any suitable luggage for a one-day around-town and a nights stay. I needed something small enough to carry around with me but big enough to fit my pyjamas and a toothbrush in. So basically I decided that I need a very big handbag.

I went out and bought this:

My new travel bag!

It's big and has leopard print on it. A few years younger version of myself would be shocked. I did not like leopard print. Or pink. Last week I bought something that had pink leopard print on it. Teenager-me would not approve.

But then I thought that because I, for some unknown reason, like the bag now, I should just get it and enjoy this feeling. This bag and I have some great adventures ahead of us. It doesn't even matter if no one else likes this bag, because I do and it's my bag now.

I am not sure why I had to convince myself that it's okay to like this bag - it's just a bag after all - but maybe I care too much about what others might think, even more than "betraying" my old self.

I have recently bought so many things with leopard print on them... Besides this bag, I also have tissue boxes, shoes, a dress, pyjamas, a bra, multiple pants, things and I nearly bought tweezers today as well. But it's okay.  I've stopped avoiding pink like plague as well.

I kind of like this dress:

It's Ruby & Grace Scuba Party dress.

I also like neon colours! But it's probably not a new thing.  I gave my old neon yellow shoes to my friend who really wanted them, last week.  I might want neon pink ones now. Maybe one day.

How to pack?

Good evening*.


*Or which ever time of the day it is when you're reading this. For me it's an evening, although that's not what the clock says.

I'm contemplating packing. This is a very essential part of my strategy for packing. It's unintentional, and I definitely don't recommend packing around midnight, but this is how it happens to me every time, and I've learned to accept it. I'm just unable to pack too early (20 minutes before I actually need to rush out of the door is the point when I usually start feeling like it might be the time to actually do it), so I decided to take this time and use it to write to you about packing and how to do it wisely.

My friend Tiia packing.

1. Before you go anywhere you need to think about where you're going. Well duh, that's quite an obvious thing really. But then you should apply this and think what you actually need with you, and leave all the unnecessary things that you normally would use at home. For instance, if you're going to stay with grown-up guests or in a hotel there's no point filling half of your backpack with a towel because you will be provided one when you get there. And you definitely don't need things like your hair-straightener if you're going camping and won't even have electricity.

I'm starting my journey to Finland tomorrow (in my opinion and experience, it's not proper travelling if you arrive to your final destination too soon). I'm going to visit my friends and family for approximately a weekend. Therefore this blog post will only tell you how to pack for short visits. I will write about packing for longer visits and proper touristy trips later.

Tampere, Finland.

2. Once you know where you're going (it of course gets trickier if you don't know where you're going but I will discuss that problem in my next packing post as well) you need to think about what you're going to do there. I would recommend writing these things down so you can see the whole picture. But if you don't feel like using it, you just have to trust your brain to keep all of it in order. And if you forget something, you can only blame your brain.

The special things that I'm going to be doing are:

a) Seeing my cat.

b) Getting my hair cut.

c) Going to my brother's army vow.

d) Going to my friend's leaving party.

e) Visiting a friend who moved to a new flat in Helsinki.

Remus the Cat.

3. Once you have these things down it's easy to think them through and gather things that you need in these occasions.

For the happening (a) I need myself because my cat likes me. 

For the happening (b) I need my hair messy and too long. 

For the happening (c) I probably need something slightly sensible, although I have no idea what is going to happen there. According to my mum it will involve a lot of standing on a cold and windy motordrome looking at things happen. She told me that I should wear lots of clothes because she heard that last January some mothers nearly froze to death because they weren't wearing enough clothes. Well, it was -20 in January and according to the weather forecast it will be 40 degrees warmer this time, so I wouldn't really worry about freezing and can leave my fur coat at home. And after standing on the motordrome I will go and dine with the soldiers and my brother's girlfriend. So sensible clothes might be the way forward although I do love my giraffe t-shirt.

For the happening (d) I need my ridiculous high heels because this is a chance to wear them if we end up going out. And because she hosts a leaving party because she's moving to UK, and I'm flying from the UK to go to her party, which is a little bit silly, I must keep up the ridiculousness level.

For the happening (e) I probably would need a boat, because there seems to be a lot of water on the roads in Helsinki every time I try to approach it with a car. The other day, someone was swimming on the road there. But I am not likely to have space for a boat in my backpack so I just have to live without it and hope for the best. My friend also told me that I'm allowed to come and visit if I bring something really expensive as a house-warming gift. Therefore I will pack an empty Ben&Jerry's ice cream tub. She collects them and it's only good if it's already empty because the ice cream would just melt and it would be messy.

Turku.

4. Once you have all of your special bits and pieces gathered you can pretty much see how big a bag you require. The size of the bag will also depend on how you're travelling and what you're allowed to take with you.

I'm flying with Ryanair with only hand-luggage. This means that I am only allowed to have myself and one bag. I am however allowed to wear a lot of clothes and to have a jacket on and fill my pockets. This is why so many people look like they are pregnant when they are flying with cheap airlines. This time I'm not going to do that, but I'm going to wear my woolly winter coat "just in case it's cold in Finland". If I needed to take a lamp-shade with me, I would have to wear it as a hat.

Everything that I am not wearing will need to go into my backpack. I am not allowed to have a handbag when I walk onto the plane but no one will stop me if I walk out with one. My backpack can therefore be as full as it can as long as there is still space for my handbag to fit in it for the 5 minutes that it takes to walk onto the plane. It's also probably a good idea to pack an empty carrier bag somewhere near the top of your backpack in case you get a slightly too warm on the plane wearing all of your extra layers and want to take them off.

So how am I going to pack the silly things I need to take with me: the high heels and the empty ice cream tub? 

The high heels take a lot of space so there is no point trying to fit them anywhere in my luggage. There is also no point trying to run across the airport wearing them. Thus, I will carry them in my handbag (a carrier bag works too if your handbag isn't big enough) until I need to fit everything in my backpack at the gate. Then I will wear them until I'm through the passport check on the other side. Not so that my mum and grandma would faint, but because it's not a long walk and doesn't involve any running.

The ice cream tub can go in the backpack once it's filled with clothes that will support it's structure so that it will keep it's beautiful rounded shape. I will just have to remember to remove the clothes before I gift-wrap it or my friend might be a little bit surprised why I am giving her my old odd socks in an ice cream tub.

Gilmore Girls.

5. Add all of the other required things, excluding the ones you decided where unnecessary at the point 1.

I warmly recommend taking:

a) Underwear (believe me, it's embarrassing if you forget them)

b) A clean top for each day (if it's a short stay without a possibility of doing laundry or if you're not going on a shopping holiday)

c) Toothbrush

d) Small toilet bag including your medication

e) Travel documents (make sure you have your passport when you're OUTSIDE. You don't want to get to the airport/another passport check point and realise that you did check that you had it before you left but then put it down on your desk at home.)

f) Phone and camera 

And that's all you need unless you have some souvenirs to take to someone. If for some reason you feel like you need something else, keep it to minimum. For instance, you do not need your whole make-up bag. And if you're flying you need to pop most of it into a mini-grip bag anyway, so take only a small selection of them. If for some reason you're flying you have a suitcase for a short trip, you are probably taking too much stuff with you. If you have an empty suitcase on the way there, it's ok because it means that you're going to renew all of your wardrobe and do your next weeks grocery shopping wherever you're going. It's alright, I already know someone who does that.

Landing in Finland.

6. Close the bag and go to sleep. Or run to the station/bus stop/taxi/one-of-those-other-things-that-move.

Of course I haven't done any of this yet, because I've been writing to you here. So now I will need to go and do just what I explained to you. And possibly eat some ice cream.