I'm ok.

I wonder: is the concept of Finnish politeness changing? We've usually taken pride in being honest (blunt) people. It is totally acceptable to reply "I'm not too great today" to "How are you". But lately, I've noticed I've started to reply "I'm ok" even though in fact I've been practically on the top of the world for the past couple of weeks. I wouldn't wish to lose my ability to be straightforward (though it is a little frightening when, after knowing a person for only a few hours, they ask you for "an honest opinion since you always speak your mind"!).

On the other hand, maybe it's more about the very Finnish way of not bragging. "Tears from a lot of laughter" is definitely a Finnish rule-of-thumb... Similarly we seem to put special importance to sports and other events that we're relatively bad at: soccer, icehockey, formula1, Eurovision. Losing becomes a matter of national unity. The occasional victory makes us confused but soon we say "well, that just proved the point".

Oh joy. It's interesting to see oneself living up to some of these stereotypical characteristics.

Fit in. Stand out.

I finally placed an order for an iPod. As usual, I went for “style before purpose”. Features aren’t that important, as long as the thing looks good :) So, I chose the “buy-a-clean-conscience” model. It’s red, you see!

On the other hand, choosing the looks wasn’t all that difficult (although it did cross my mind how well the red iPod would go with my average clothes). I hit a stalemate when trying to come up with something clever to engrave on the back of my new toy. Obviously, I’m not the first one. Do a little googling and you’ll see that many people have had the same problem. Should you go for something funny (that you’ll find dull by the time the package arrives at your door), something profound (with the risk of sounding pathetic) or something useful (like difficult dates)?

Lucky that I am, I have the Man who’s always willing to spend time on tasks like this. We searched the web and played with words, and managed to come up with a few nice ideas. None of them are unique thoughts, of course (my philosophy teacher once said that his goal on every course was to have students come up with a thought that no one had ever thought of before). Nevertheless, here they are:

Time is precious. Do nothing. (Buddha)
I’m different, just like everybody else.
Fit in. Stand out.
1,000 reasons to ignore my boyfriend.
Tyyli ennen tarkoitusta [Style before purpose.]

Now, the first one is obviously the attempt to be profound. It’s sort of funny too. The next is, well, funny and profound too, but maybe also a little worn out (“all different, all equal” used to be a big campaign in Finland when I was a kid). The third was my idea (also the name of a book, it seems). This one does capture the essence of my daily life – how to not draw attention to myself from the wrong people while attracting others. The fourth is simply amusing. And the last, well, I already explained that.

I went for “Fit in. Stand out.” I hope its value lasts, at least until next week when I get my baby :)