Drumroll please!

How do you do world?

I have a soar throat but  I also have good news. Next few years I will be on the Multiculturalism Advisory Board  in Espoo! Yay!

I'm gonna make a vlog about that. Also I joined a gym, and I've been doing Indoor Cycling.
also, I'm on twitter @EdnaFinland follow me!

More on that!

Thanks for Reading!
- Edna

What's coming next?

Standing on the edge of a precipice.

It's just one of those moments where it feels like everything is about to change and I just can't put my finger on it. Things are changing and I am planning to ACTUALLY join a gym, rather than just talking about joining a gym.. Really, I'm gonna do it.

Otherwise, can't tell you what else is going on. But you'll see.

Thanks for reading,
Edna

Twitter, and a new phone!

Hey Ya'll

I've joined Twitter my name there is EdnaFinland so I should be pretty easy to find. If you want to follow me you are welcome. Do you want me to follow you?

I got a new phone. It's so exciting!

Thanks for reading!
- Edna

32 Votes!

Hey Ya'll,

Campaign is over! I got 32 votes and I am really happy about it. People came out with a surprising amount of support and I got a lot of support from my party. I met Tarja Halonen at the end of elections SDP celebration. I also met a lot of local people during the campaign and  that was awesome. Starting to put down some serious roots here, and it's awesome.

Thanks everyone for your support! I'll keep you posted on the progress with my political life!

Question: Do you think I should continue my political life in English or Finnish? 

My Finnish is okay, but I can't figure out how to say some things and it takes forever to post!

Thanks for reading!
- Edna

Remembering Tom Beidler

I've been pretty caught up in my daily life but today I decided to take some time out to remember a person who was important to me. I didn't know him very well, but because I know he had a wide ranging positive impact on myself and people with whom I share community I decided to organize a memorial night for him, and in the process googled him and I wanted to share here what I found.

His name is Tom Beidler and he died on the 27th of September 2012, he was known as the outgoing, friendly and energetic owner of Yobot in Helsinki, and he will be missed. Tom's obituary can be found here: http://muistot.hs.fi/muistokirjoitus/5153/tom-beidler (it's in Finnish)

and article I wrote about him can be found here: http://www.ovimagazine.com/art/9240

His blog: http://tbeidler.wordpress.com/

and here are some articles about him and Yobot:

Yogurt Fuels American Dream in Finland
For Sale Elements of Frozen Yoghurt
Take your pick

And in Finnish

Jogurttijaateloa Kaikenkielisille
Perhana Sentaan
Yobot Frozen Yoghurt tarjoaa hauskan ja terveellisen vaihtoehdon suomalaisten suosimalle jäätelölle

We will have a memorial for Tom outside of Yobot on the 31st of October 2012.
Everyone is welcome to join and you can find out more on Facebook

If you have any links or anything you would like to share, please contact me of post them in the comments section.

Thanks for reading,
Edna

Kunnalisvaalit 2012: I'm running!

Hi everyone,

I know I have been away for a while and I know I always have excuses, so here's another one: I'm running in the local elections in Espoo, Finland.

Okay, well no, that is not the only excuse. But it should suffice because the other excuses are much to long winded and boring or personal. And that is the most exciting information I have to offer at the moment. Well I can say that I am still pretty dog tired, but I am managing and the excitement of local elections just can't be beat. You can see my election blog here ; http://ednanelson.wordpress.com/ if you are interested it would be good to just go there from now until the end of October. There will be videos. Maybe I'll cross post them.

Thanks for reading, I am so happy to be back!
- Edna

Sorry Ya'll!

It's been a long time!
I've been pretty much working seven day weeks the past two months so I've been pretty darn busy! I will be back though and soon!

Thanks for reading!
- E

Back from Tokyo Vlog!

Will vlog more later!
Thanks for reading/watching and I missed ya'll
- Edna

My Japanese Family: Part 2

This is us on the first night of my stay.  Although I had been up for over 24 hours being around

 this family energized me and gave me the strenght to continue on to this wonderful Chinese Dinner! Yup, my first night in Japan I ate chinese, and let me tell you it was good!

Return to my Wishlist!

Okay so before I left I made a list of things I wanted to do while I was here in Tokyo, here it is again. Tomorrow is my last day so I am revisiting it to prioritize my day tomorrow, and to update ya'll on what I've done:

• Wake up in a comfortable high rise apartment, walk over to the window and see Tokyo at my feet. (nope but don't care, I went to a club on the 13th floor of a building, that was enough for me!)
• Catch a ride in a Fancy sports car, and get a driving tour like that. (nope, but I did get a lot of rides from the trainstation and back!)
• Drive a moped through Tokyo (nope, no excuse, I forgot about it? I don't mind)
• Drink Boba tea (I know it is korean, but it reminds me of Tokyo)  (I will tomorrow)
• Eat Tempura and lots of other stuff.   Yeah! I did this at a Traditional Japanese Restaurant, which is next on the list, and oh yes, I did eat LOTS of other stuff! Yum!
• Eat at a traditional Japanese restaurant.  Delicious, pictures later...
  

My Japanese Family!

This trip has been going really well, only a few more days left. I feel totally at home with them and they really are pulling out all the stops for me. I appreciate it beyond words.

First day in Tokyo, its been major!

So today was my first day in Japan, 

The flight was pretty good. Very Smooth, Finnair is reasonable. As and added bonus the entertainment selection was so good that I had to treat myself like a child about going to sleep, AND there was no one sitting next to me! Also they served cold green tea as a refreshment. In fact since I've been here I've had more green tea than I've had in the best few months (health boost anyone??) and I've just been really happy and upbeat and amazingly just going and going and going.

Today I saw Ginza, Shibuya and Asakusa. I feel like it was great to do some quick skimming and discover a few things. I actually found an awesome little gallery in Ginza where the artist happened to be present and got a pic with him. Unfortunately we didn't really get to talk though. I got his contact info and will post about what I saw at the exhibition soon.

It was awesome to see all of the stores I've ever heard of crammed into one place. But not fun like, Yay! this is so cool kind of fun. That was Asakusa:



Pre-Departure Update Vlogg

I'm so excited! Like, Beyond!

Gearing up to go....

So I can't wait to leave. Counting down, I only have tomorrow night and then I am out! So excited. 

Splat and bounce.

Lol. 

My energy level took a skydive today. I got home from work and crawled into bed almost immediately. It was like I tried to do a few things but every road-bump seemed insurmountable. The next thing I knew I was snoozing and comforting myself by repeating "At least I went to work today". 

I've been so busy planning my trip and thinking about what I should do, where I should go, who I should meet, that I just drove myself into the ground with excitement. When I have so much on my plate I always feel like I am somehow behind or forgetting something, and I've been having dreams about that too! It's so nice to wake up and realize that I am still in Finland and my wallet is in my backpack. 

Friday I got really stressed about where I would be staying in Tokyo. I got some offers on couchsurfing but somehow I still had an unsure feeling. Luckily a local friend came to my rescue and offered me an opportunity of a lifetime: to stay at her parents place! I'm really excited to see everyday Japanese life and working on my polite ways to say please and thank you (in Japanese) so I can live up to any positive expectations they might have of me. The excitement about staying with my friends parents has got my head spinning. 

Lately I've been wondering how I can be so luck! I even got a compliment on my blogging skill! Yay!

I hope you're all well! 

Thanks for reading!

- E 

Reaching out for resources!

So, I've been doing research and couchsurfing apps and trying to decide exactly what kind of trip I want to have. I've been mentally prioritizing and just going through shock waves that I am actually going. It's amazing! 

Tomorrow is a regular work day but today I spent time going through Japans top ten and discovered some awesome Japanese music, and one especially awesome lady Crystal Kay Check out her video! I wanna interview her! 

another video behind the cut >

Stuff I want to do in Tokyo

Okay so I have been crazy about planning for my trip to Tokyo at the end of this month. It will be in the middle of the rainy season in that part of Japan and I have so much to learn. Though I hear it won't be very wet in Japan.

So I made a list of stuff I want to do:

• Wake up in a comfortable high rise apartment, walk over to the window and see Tokyo at my feet. 
• Catch a ride in a Fancy sports car, and get a driving tour like that.
• Drive a moped through Tokyo 
• Drink Boba tea (I know it is korean, but it reminds me of Tokyo) 
• Eat Tempura and lots of other stuff. 
• Eat at a traditional Japanese restaurant. 
• See a Kabuki play 
• Eat at a Japanese Steakhouse 
• Drink Sake 
• Do karaoke
• Get drunk 
• Meet Haruki Murakami 
• Check out artists places in Tokyo (maybe even visit a studio) 
• Get on the radio in Tokyo 
• Interview people, Finns living in Tokyo and otherwise 
• EAT!

• Visit the big old style garden Rikugien Garden!

• And lots Lots more, Maybe visit the hot springs... 

What do you think? can I do this in a week? Anybody out there that can help me?

Thanks! 

- E 

I'm going to Tokyo

I'm going to Tokyo! I found some low price from Finnair, direct flights! WOO HOO. I never thought I had a bucket list before this! lol. Now I am knocking off the only thing I just found out was on it... well, there are a few more. I can't wait!

Finland's Starbucks!

Okay so I'm sitting the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in Helsinki and I hope I'm the only person who has come here mostly to visit Starbucks. Okay, I came to pick up my Co, but usually I don't bother with that wen he goes on his little trips. I usually sit at home and cruise the net and miss him just a little bit more until he shows up! 

Anyway, I'm almost feeling like making a video because I forgot my camera and I want to record this moment in some way other than text. Well, I've never vlogged in Public and I'm not sure if I'm about to start now. Lol. The great thing about Airports is that they are supposed to have free WIFI. So I'm using it. It's awesome. I love airports. 

I'm supposed to be an environmentalist, but I love airports and flying, even though it is kinda scary, traveling is fun. But, but, but, I also love being at home, and that's something that Starbucks has come to stand for, for me. As a teen I hated Starbucks. I made fun of it, I boycotted it, I just was totally disgusted and opposed to it. Now that I live outside of the USA I love Starbucks. I have a Starbucks card and when I am in the States I drink Starbucks on almost a daily basis. I was so happy when they opened a Starbucks here at Helsinki-Vantaa airport. 

In case any of you don't know, I really like iced coffee. Unfortunately, in Finland "the land of coffee" , iced coffee is kind of unheard of. Iced Latte's are something you can find now, and I thought you couldn't find them in the USA, I still don't know. But they're gross, and they're expensive. Sometimes I go to a cafe and ask for a bigger full of ice and a coffee and then mix them together myself. But it's never as good as it is when someone else makes it. So today, I got to experience what it's like to buy a real iced coffee in Finland and have someone else actually make it, and get a flavoring that I actually like in it, and it only cost me 3,10. 

It's too bad they don't have VIA. 

Amazing Day W. Jani Toivola and Thanos!

Today was totally awesome,

I interviewed Jani Toivola with Thanos on Ovi Wild Ride, and we just had a blast. I have to say that Jani is an amazing person and blew the two of us away. We've got a lot to be happy about with a guy like that in Finland's Parliament.

It was especially exciting to meet Jani because he is such a well known and powerful POC in Finland and in case you didn't know, I am really passionate about race and totally uplifted and inspired by the things he had to say. It was a wonderful surprising to find that he is a great person. He even impressed Thanos!

I'm actually kind of embarrassed about my level of excitement about this but, Oh well! I was really nervous at the beginning of the program and then just plain excited. Insecurity kicked in big time but I just kept in going. Even though I blanked out a few times! Lol.

You can here the show, and our interview with Jani here: http://www.ovimagazine.com/radio/music01.mp3

I'm...

I'm so excited about meeting and interviewing Jani Toivola tomorrow! Can't wait.
I'm really happy about having posted another Vlogg, can't wait to do more.
I'm super happy about doing more writing, did some today.
I'm kinda bummed that I had no motivation to see Gracias perform at the World Village Festival today...
I'm Hyped because I met some SDP people today and the ball is rolling.

What are you?

New Vlogg and summer is here!

 So yeah, I did another Vlogg, finally. Today was a kind of rough. I met some people and ran around and dealt with stuff and my co is still out of town. : ( I'm not into it.

 Anyway, I did go to a party, it was nice. I was able to connect with other people that have had similar experiences to me and drink and bunch of liquor. Yay. Classes are done, I'm really happy about that. I guess summer as officially started, more on that later...

 Thanks for watching + reading,

 - E

It's Alive!

How I got my computer to work again, after spilling about half liter of water all over it: 


1) Blow dried the keyboard it (for like 2 min)
2) Took apart my computer. The parts I could remove from the backside, taking out the battery first, and of course, UNPLUGGING IT. lol. 
2
3) Waited 2 days
4) Put my computer back together. 
5) Plug in and turn computer back on. 
6) Did the happy dance, because IT WORKED! 


Another thing, I heard that if smoke comes out or it makes a crackling sound the computer is most likely done for, luckily mine did neither.

Good Lunch

Yesterday I had a great lunch. It usually doesn't happen to me that way because I am lazy and usually in a rush. This time I woke up a bit earlier than expected and had some time on my hands when the OMG I NEED TO EAT SOMETIHNG! vibe came over me as it usually does after my second cup of coffee.

Luckily for me there were some left overs in the fridge and I piled on a bunch of salad. It was awesome especially because I've been wanting to eat more salad lately (cause it's healthier than chips...and because vitamins are good for you, and your mood) I made this one with Avocado, Arugula, orange bell pepper and cucumber, with soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and olive oil drizzled on top... it was yummy. Underneath is quinoa and chicken. One of the best parts was that I got to drink club mate w. it. They just started selling it here. It's a little more expensive than in Berlin but, whatevs. I love it, and I work.

Maybe this would be a good chance to fill in the blanks about what has passed and what's to come. A lot has changed since I was more active on this blog. I created another blog almost exclusively for my comics, and occasional reposts on tumblr. I started studying cultural production, and I'm basically setting all of my ropes out into the sea. I'm doing a radio show regularly and I am really excited about a career in radio, if someone will pay me... and my Co and I are taking some relationship steps forward which I will write more about later. How we got here was huge!

I'm really happy to be blogging again, and will try and include content about  food and hair which are some of my newest points of interest. A lot of pictures and stories to come.

Thanks for reading!

Vlogg #1

I'm gonna try and see what it's like to try and record a Vlogg. I have tons of things to do around the house but this is a great way to procrastinate.  Lol.

Official Vappu Hangover

Back Again...

Work, work, work, work. I've got so many things to do and realized this is one of the first things that comes up when one Googles my name. Might as well update and keep it up huh.

But, I haven't got much to say. Doing radio and just cutting down on social activities/expenses. Co's watching King of Thrones. Very dramatic.

More later...