Random act of kindness

Kuva/photo

Olin eilen isossa marketissa ruokaostoksilla, kun olin latonut kolmenkympin ostokseni hihnalle ja kaivelin lompakkoa esiin, tajusin unohtaneeni pankkikortin toisen takin taskuun. Olin laittanut sen sellaisenaan takin taskuun kipaistessani edellisenä päivänä lähikauppaan...

Kassalla edelläni oleva nainen kääntyi ja sanoi "Voin lainata rahat, jos haluat. Annan pankkitilini numeron".

Ja mitä tein minä, tyypilliseen suomalaiseen tapaan häkeltyneenä tuiki tuntemattoman ystävällisestä eleestä, kieltäydyin tietysti! Muistin kyllä kiittää häntä ystävällisyydestä, mutta soitin Siipan kotisohvalta auttamaan neidon pulasta sen sijaan että olisin vastaanottantu ystävällisen eleen...

Joten, jos satut olemaan eilen Ruoholahden Citymarketissa illalla asioinut nainen jolla oli kauniisti hohtava nutrian värinen takki ja coolit takin sävyyn sointuvat saappaat; KIITOS, olisi pitänyt ottaa ystävällinen tarjous vastaan - ja maksanutkin olisin heti kotiin päästyäni...


Yesterday I was grocey shopping in a big supermarket. At the cashier I realized my credit card was at home, in pocket of the coat I had on when I wet to the local grocery shop the previous day...

A woman before me at the cashier turned around and told she could borrow me the money. What did I do? Refused and confused... instead accepting her kind offer, I called Husband who hopped in his car and came to save me...

Why is it so hard for many of us, obviosly including me, to accept when a total stranger offers help...

Six degrees of separation

Are you familiar to term "six degrees of separation" (also referred to as the "Human Web")? This theory refers to the idea that, if a person is one step away from each person they know and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people they know, then everyone is at most six steps away from any other person on Earth.

I have noticed this many times. People who basivally have nothing in common, they haven't gone o the same school, don't share same interest or work in the same field somehow know each other or know someone who knows them both. Husband has been teached by my mother in high school, his friend is a friend of my brother and he also knows some other people I knew already before we met. Few years ago he worked with someone who was sitting next to me on a course for few years.

Last weekend a woman I know briefly introduced his new boyfriend, who was someone who was a friend of a person I knew over ten years ago. In the same party I overheard a discussion between two other guests of a Russian family living in a small village near Finnish border. These two had never met before, but they knew the same family... And the list goes on...

And if you have a Facebook account, have you noticed how many people not knowing each other have the same people as "friends"?...

Tunnetteko teorian "Six degrees of separation?" Termi tarkoittaa sitä että maailman kaikki ihmiset tuntevat toisensa korkeintaa kuuden tuttavuuden kautta.

Itse olen huomannut tämän monta kertaa... Ihmiset joilla ei ole oikeastaan mitäään yhtistä, heillä ei ole samoja kiinnostuksen kohteita, he eivät työskentele samalla alalla tai ole käyneet sanoja kouluja, tuntevat toisensa tai ainakin tuntevat jonkun, joka tuntee molemmat. Siippani oli ollut äitini oppilas yläasteella, hänen ystävänsä on myös veljeni ystävä ja meillä on muitakin yhteisiä tuttuja. Jokin aika sitten hän työskenteli henkilön kanssa, joka istui kurssilla vieressäni muutaman vuoden. Viime viikonloppuna eräs nainen, jonka olen tavannut muutaman kerran, esitteli uuden poikaystävänsä. Tämä oli kauan sitten tuntemani henkilön ystävä. Samoissa juhlissa kuulin kahden ensi kertaa tapaavan henkilön keskustelevan molemmille tutusta rajan takana asusvasta venäläisestä perheestä. Listaa voisi jatkaa loputtomiin...

Ja kaikki jolla on Facebook-tili ovat varmaan huomanneet, kuinka kahdella toisiaan tuntemattomalla ihmisellä on yhteisiä tuttuja. 

Friday night cocktails

Friday night is a good time to enjoy a good cocktail.

Even though cocktails have never been more fashionable than they are at this current moment, we don't have many good cocktail bars in Helsinki. Of course many Helsinki restaurants and bars sell cocktails, but really skilled mixologists are a rare breed.

American bar in Torni hotel is my favourite, it's the oldest cocktail lounge in Helsinki; it's relatively small and has sophisticated atmosphere. Roger Moore, whom we all remember as Martini sipping James Bond in several films, enjoyed a Dry Marini there in May, 2009, while promoting his biography in Helsinki. "Excellent! Very good indeed!" was his comment... Well, if their Dry Martini is good enough for him, it's good enough for me...

If you happen to visit American bar, there is also another bar on the top floor of the hotel. The best wiev over Helsinki is from their ladies room.

We mix our cocktails mostly at home. Last week we enjoyed Gimlets.

Gimlet for one

2 oz. Gin
1/2 oz. Lime Juice

Combine in a shaker with ice.

Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

This goes well with Gimlets.

Kiva micro loans

I just made my seventh micro loan to a third world enterpreneur trough Kiva. I learned about Kiva trough a Finnish women's glossy magazine and decided to do something good. My 50 $ has spun around several times, helped store keepers, farmers and cattle keepers around the world to build up their own business and pull out of powerty.

Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.

Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe.

Jennifer Buhangin from Pilippines is the latest enterpreneur I have supported by joining a group of loaneres.

"Jennifer is 49 years old and married to Felipe, a construction worker. They have a nine year old son named Jeffrey and he is already in grade four. They are six in the family living together with her parents and nieces at Barangay Cutog Grande Reina Mercedes, Isabela.

Jennifer manages a general store business in their village for almost two months. Her income from the business is being used as a rolling capital. She wanted to borrow a loan from Kiva lenders amounting to PHP10, 000.00. She is hoping that her business will grow and become productive for the welfare of her family. She believes that through patience, success awaits in the future."

New York characters

There are so many great looking characters to be seen on streets of New York City; people of all ages, races and income had their unique, individual styles. These were some of my favourites.



Summer hat in Tribeca diner.



In front of a bar in Red Hook, Brooklyn.



Summer style in Meat Packing district.



Neo Punk in Chelsea flea market.



Street vendor in Midtown.