Saturday, September 30, 2006

Matin kanssa


[Viime yona kirjoitettua] Kello on varttia yli yks yolla. Tulin just yhen saksalaisen laksiaisista. Silmaluomet meinaa menna kiinni, mutta ajattelin etta nyt ihan tuoreeltaan pitaa osoittaa kunnioitusta erasta suomalaista kohtaan! If you didn’t notice yet, I’m writing this one in Fininsh. Complaints? Mee Norjaan!

Taa on Matille. Matissa on lahes parasta se, etta Koistisessa ei tarvita aan tai oon pilkkuja. Siina on melkein parasta se, etta kaveri naki vaivaa pakata nelja rasiaa salmiakkia poksuttelumuoviin ja lahettaa ne miulle osoitteeseen, joka on olemassa todennakoisyydella 0,78. Matti voi ilkamoida siina tietamyksessa, ettei miulla koskaan oo ollu niin hyvaa ystavaa kuin han (kiitos lapsuuden ja yliopistoajan, myos pari muuta).

Miulla oli tapana ajaa Matin luokse juttelemaan. Niin hassulta ku se kuulostaakin, nuori suomalainen miehenalku otti asiakseen menna kaverin luokse keskustelemaan tuikitavallisista ja joskus hyvin tavattomistakin asioista. Joskus saatoin soittaa ja sanoo etta Matilla on nyt 10 minuuttia aikaa laittaa housut jalkaan, kohta mennaan kaljalle. Matti voi tosiaan ottaa kaiken kunnian monesta keskustelusta, jotka on muuttanu miun elaman suuntaa. Niista ehka tarkein oli se, missa kaveri sai miut vakuuttuneeks siita, etta miun elamaa ohjailee jonkun muun (isipapan) arvot, eika omat. Niihin kuulu muun muassa homofobia ja muita ylevia aatteita. Ei millaan disrespectilla iskaa kohtaan, mutta en usko olleeni ihan vaarassa kaikissa niissa vaittelyissa, sen jalkeen kun kavin ajattelemaan omilla aivoilla. Niin ja sori siita etta jain hetkeksi katsomaan bumbtsibumia kanssanne, kun ette voineet kasittaa miks pojalla on meikkia silmissa. Rakastan teita, ja tasta aiheesta lisaa keskustelua myohemmin. Nyt takas Mattiin.

Matin kanssa tavattiin Hiivan Aki, Matin kanssa kaytiin Olutjuhlilla, Matin kanssa todettiin etta kukkii se perunakin, Matin kanssa kuunneltiin diippurplea, Matin kanssa pelattiin sahlya, Matin kanssa juotiin suruun Wales-matsin jalkeen, Matin kanssa tapeltiin kissoista, Matin kanssa rokattiin ihan vitusti, Matin kanssa kaytiin oluella, Matin kanssa halattiin, Matin kanssa perustettiin adonis, Matin kanssa surtiin naisia, Matin kanssa syotiin vanhaa aurajuustoa piparin kera, Matin kanssa pelattiin lautapeleja, Matin kanssa kaytiin luistelee, Matin kanssa saunottiin, Matin kanssa tyonnettiin stereotypiat romukoppaan, Matin kanssa parannettiin maailmaa, Matin kanssa heiteltiin frisbeeta, Matin kanssa potkittiin palloa, Matin kanssa otettiin aurinkoa, Matin kanssa pelattiin ketajulkkistahaluisitpanna -pelia, Matin kanssa loydettiin tekosyita nahda toisiamme muilla paikkakunnilla, Matin kanssa laitettiin hiuksiin lakkaa, Matin kanssa mietittiin miks se ja muut laskee pulkalla mutta tomi ei, Matin kanssa soi Metallica, Matin kanssa keskuteltiin siita miten erilaista olisi jos juna olis lahna, Matin kanssa kierittiin hangessa ja vuodettiin verta (tai lahinna Matti kieri ja vuosi), Matin kanssa puhuttiin yrittajyydesta, Matin kanssa keskusteltiin johtajuudesta, Matin kanssa suunniteltiin tulevaa, Matin kanssa pussattiin, Matin kanssa hulluna heiluttiin, Matin kanssa kisailtiin, Matin kanssa haistateltiin, Matin kanssa oltiin lahekkain, Matin kanssa pelattiin vesikoripalloa, Matin kanssa ajettiin alamaet autolla moottori sammuksisa, Matin kanssa puhuttiin ohran paremmuudesta riisia kohtaan, Matin kanssa elettiin...

Sie, jos kukaan, oot yks niista harvasta, jotka tajuu lahettaa miulle salmiakkia just silla hetkella kun se on loppu. Sie jos kuka, ansaitset ymmartaa (selvalla suomen kielella), etta olet yksi niista mahottoman harvasta, jotka on miulle tarkeempia ku mie itte.

posted by Tomi Astikainen @ Saturday, September 30, 2006 8 comments

Monday, September 25, 2006

Another 21 days...

You might think that this posting is just pathetic blabbering and self-pity, but please read till the end. There is a point.

I told you before how I finally managed to quit smoking with this highly sophisticated mental model of seeing “not smoking” in a positive light and seeing “smoking” only as a hindrance on my way to physical, mental and spiritual balance. And all I was supposed to do is “nothing”. I believed that if I can pull this off for 21 days, I will be free of the addiction, both physical and mental ones. Well, I didn’t. I failed!

I fell into one of the traps that I had identified before: I told myself that “I can always smoke one, since I don’t smoke anymore”. So I knew that was coming, but I still couldn’t resist it. As if smoking one fag was like a reward for not smoking for so long.

In the beginning I didn’t want to make noise about this issue, because I thought what people might think if I happened to fail. Then people started asking have my drinking and smoking habits changed. I didn’t want to lie, so I blurted out that I have quit. Then I felt real bad when I realized I’m habitually smoking one ciggy a day. I thought I’m slipping back to my old habits. And I was. On Saturday I was in a party and just couldn’t care less about being a non-smoker. I just bummed from everyone. This was the end of the first try.

But now I realized that even in this case, failing is a beautiful thing. I can learn so much of myself, just because of a stupid failure. I realized it’s not enough to write down your goals and means to get there, but instead you need to be constantly reminded about them. I realized my patience and self-discipline are still not on the level it needs to be in order to achieve what I want in my life. It needs to be practiced. I realized I’m still not able to handle one of the biggest paradoxes in myself: balancing the long-term thinking with the value of enjoying the moment. I realized if you need to buy bread from the closest store that happens to be 20 kilometers away, it’s not enough to walk 15 kilometers in the right direction, turn back and think you did a good job by almost getting there. You’d still have no bread.

The "point" I mentioned in the beginning was in the paragraph above. Just a few more things before sayonara:

I just got to mention it before I forget... There's something seriously wrong with the animals in this country. So far I have seen 1) a human cat, 2) a cow that licks her own tits and 3) a mini-horse that bites people's knees. "What has this guy been smoking?", you might wonder. Let me tell you briefly about each of these incidents.
  1. One evening we were going for a dinner with Ralph and Rasmus. It was already dark as we strolled down the familiar road that leads to the main street in Kirulapone. Then suddenly we heard a child moaning just behind us. We looked, but there was no one there. We walked a few steps and the sound came again. Only thing we could see was a cat. "It cannot be." we thought, but yes, it was a cat that sounded like a human kid. Creepy!
  2. Last weekend we saw a cow standing on the side of the road and then reaching towards its groin - in a distinctly dog-like manner - and yes, it started licking its own tits. Gosh!
  3. Last but not least, in the Kithulgala Rafter's Retreat we came across with a flock of three tame horses. They were quite small, like ponies, and each of them were wearing a bell so you could here where they are going. I thought they are really cute and as one of them came towards me I thought of having my picture taken with him. As Ralph was setting up the camera and I was posing next to the horse, the damn' thing bit me in the knee! Ouch!
So, my question is: Have you ever seen a human cat, a titty-licking cow or a knee-biting horse? No? Welcome to the Land like no other! :)

Lastly, September 2006 folder in Yahoo is again bigger, better and more picturesque.

I'm still waiting someone to ask for the next letter to be showcased. Sorry Annika, I'm saving "A" for later. :) So, ask for a letter, give the reasoning and one example word starting with that letter!

posted by Tomi Astikainen @ Monday, September 25, 2006 7 comments

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Gay Planet?

I'm feeling really gay today. How happy do you feel in general? Go and take the test. Or check out how happy nations we have on this planet!


My results were the following:

Your personal Happy Planet Index (HPI) is 80.4, which is above that for any country, including top-placed Vanuatu. Congratulations! However, it is still below the reasonable ideal we have set, of 83, so you can still do more to improve your health and well-being, or reduce your environmental impact. Your score is above that of your country, 58.9.

posted by Tomi Astikainen @ Wednesday, September 20, 2006 0 comments

Saturday, September 16, 2006

S


Storytelling. Sri Lankan way of explaining things is far more context-bound than the short and snappy Finnish style. So, I just wanted to warn you in advance that these postings might become longer and longer every time, as I’m adapting to the local way of beating around the bush before getting to the point… Shit, I’m doing it already.

So…

Squiggle. When Janne asked the letter “S” to be showcased, his argument was that “it’s a nice squiggly shape”. I loved that argument because I’m a squiggle myself. Have you ever heard of Psychogeometrics? It’s a quick personality analysis based on the idea that a certain personality type identifies most with a certain geometric shape (circle, triangle, rectangle, box or squiggle). I wouldn’t go preaching in the name of it’s scientific applicability but I do think it’s about 80% accurate with most of the people. Moreover, it seems that Dr. Susan Dellinger was more or less serious when developing the concept. If you want, you can take the test here.

Sentimental. Saying Janne’s name made me realize one eerie fact: My team mates from last year are the people I miss the most (together with my girlfriend, family and best friends of course). How many people can actually say that some people they worked with previously are the ones that they miss the most? How many people tie true life-long friendships at the working place? How many people get a chance to experience something like that? Teamwork that I experienced last year in the leadership of AIESEC in Finland was more than normal teamwork. It was work of a hot group, a virtuoso team, a high performing team. These are the concepts I dealt with in my thesis, and I already realized during my term that this is a rare occasion of a hot group in action, but I never believed how sad it would be to leave something like that behind.

Saturday. My flatmate, Katty, was just fiddling with her laundry and said “Ooh, it’s good to be home on Saturday. Saturday is such a nice day.” There was a certain truth in that sudden outburst of feelings towards just another day of the week. I don’t long for being a tourist every weekend. I don’t have a need to go around the island and see the marvels of it. Of course, I’ll do it one day (when I have the three-week holiday with Paula!!!) but before that I’m just happy to chill at home.

Sauna. I need to find a sauna! I don’t want to go to any hotel for that but I want to find a proper Finnish sauna. I know there are Finns in this city and I know one or two of them had to be crazy enough to build a sauna somewhere. I was so desperate that I was trying to find one Googling, but search “sauna + colombo + sri lanka” only returned some random gay club sites. Among them was a site filled with witty humor. It’s only in Finnish so if you know the language, go check Lehti. If not, something similar is available also in American.

Smoking. Three weeks, 2 cigarettes, half a cigar and half a joint. That’s a dramatic decrease of what it used to be: pack a day. On Wednesday I fell for it the first time. I had my first mentoring meeting with Sifaan and somehow I just thought I deserve a smoke. I didn’t feel guilty at all. I just let it pass, like in the meditation. Now, yesterday, after the football we were lying on the lawn and I bummed a fag from one of the Germans I played with. At first it didn’t feel like such a big deal, but afterwards I felt really bad… physically! It gave me a huge headache and I had to hit the sack at around 10 pm already. I won’t judge myself if I still smoke one ciggy every now and then but now I at least know the physical addiction is gone, it’s not good for me anymore. My body rejects.

Sex… aika hiljasta.

Sinhalese. After the initial craze of “trying to be the best trainee ever” I haven’t been able to push myself to learn the language, although it was one of my initial goals for the internship to learn the language during the first six months. I know it’s only a matter of prioritization and discipline and that it would be really helpful for me while living here but for some reason it has not seemed that urgent yet. Kattellaan syssymmalla, sano Hynynen.

Serving. Some people in the trainee community here have showed me what it means to “Selflessly Serve Others” (one of the teachings in the Monk Who Sold His Ferrari). Without asking they are taking your used plate and washing it, asking if you want tea or doing other favors you didn’t really expect. It made me only think how selfish I am by nature. I still don’t know where to draw the line. For instance, when it comes to giving money to the beggars I’m really having mixed feelings. On one hand, these people need the 50 rupees more than I do but on the other hand I cannot get rid of this “guilt of not giving” with one or two donations. It should be continuous. Of course everything, eventually, is made for selfish reasons (see e.g. Mark Twain: “What Is Man?”). Like in this case I don’t want to have the sniggering feeling of guilt and donating would postpone the feeling until the next beggar comes into picture. Again, Erica is a good example. She used to donate a certain percentage of her salary to charity and she said she had been doing that for a few years already. I hope she’s still sticking to that virtuous habit. Although the salary in the member committee is not big, it’s a good start for sticking to a habit. Let’s say she gave now 10% of her salary to charity (around 50 EUR / month), in a few years it will already be 500 EUR / month as she proceeds on her career. But for her it’s still the same 10%. (Sorry mummo for using you as an example, I don’t know what’s your real situation at the moment.)

Stories. Usually when you go to someone’s blog you just skim it through without spending too much time on it. If it happens to be a good friend of yours, you might want to read a whole posting. But hardly ever, you go and savor the whole blogging history, posting by posting. As I found Alicia's Blog, I was stuck with it for the next couple of hours and I had to come back the following two nights to read it through. Alicia is a friend of mine, who was on her AIESEC internship in Tampere, Finland. She’s from Auckland, New Zealand. Apparently Alicia – a warm-hearted individual indeed who likes to mull over her feelings – was going through exactly similar feelings as I have done before and during my internship here. I know that studies have been made of the culture shock phenomenon, but I didn’t know it’s this universal. These stories are so powerful that they should be delivered more and more to the people who are considering, now or in 3-4 years time, taking advantage of the work abroad experience provided by AIESEC. There, I said it. Now someone who thinks it’s a good idea, take it forward.

Salmiakki. This is the best candy ever! It’s especially handy in Sri Lanka. When you have it, you can be sure that no one is stealing it from you (Look at the selfish me speaking!) because hardly anyone likes it. Even the bugs avoid it! Normally, if you leave any food or pretty much anything biological on the table, the bugs surround it quicker than you can say: “Kokko, kokkoo kokko. Koko kokkoko? Koko kokko.” That’s not the case with Salmiakki, it’s all yours to enjoy. It’s not a mistake that I have written Salmiakki with capital “S”. It’s the candy of gods and all those delivering Salmiakki abroad should be designated with a noble status. A really big everything to all of you who have helped me in maintaining this positive addiction!

Serendipity. Everyone should know Sri Lanka was previously called Ceylon, but who knew that it was even before called Serendib? This island has actually given the basis for the English word “serendipity”. Already in spring 2004 I got to know this funny fellow called Sifaan who told me interesting things about his home country while we walked the soggy streets of Parnu. Then after just a week or so I was trying to find ways to join the current president of AIESEC in Estonia to go to International Congress in Sri Lanka. Almost two years later I was discussing with Danooshka, a guy who came to facilitate a conference with me in Finland, how it would be to live and work in this country. Maybe it was my destiny or fate to arrive on this island after all.

Shopping. If writing this blog posting doesn’t take the whole day, I will go and do some shopping today. So far, I haven’t wasted that much money in clothes and all… I’ve bought two ties, three collar shirts, sarong, a pair of socks, some underwear, jeans and sandals and it cost me 7200 LKR. Additionally, I bought football and basketball shoes (4800 LKR). So, altogether that would be 12000 LKR, around 100 EUR. I need to buy slippers (Shreya, the Indian ones started malfunctioning!), fancy shoes (Paula, can you bring my black Eccos!) and fancy trousers (so far I’ve managed with one pair of these trousers, might want to wash them one day).

SOLD. When I was six years old, me and my parents moved to a newly built house in Ylamylly (that should be “a” with the dots). My dad drastically cut down the trees and made our yard much bigger. He built a barbecue hut and a large warehouse/carage. We planted dozens of spruce trees so that after several years it would become a fence. We renovated the interiors many times during the years and made it look a whole lot different, better I would say. Mom moved away as I was ten, but home stayed in Ylamylly. I moved away as I was 19, and home moved with me. Now, after being away for five years, it doesn’t hurt me to say that the place is sold. Dad and his fiancée got rid of the house and are now staying year-round in our “summer cottage” (in reality it’s a house, not a cottage). Although I don’t feel that sad for the house as such, it was a bit emotional when my dad asked me through SMS: “We’re moving. Shall I throw away your old books and drawings?” However, I’m happy for my dad. It’s a good new start for him. Slowly but surely he’s preparing to become a happy pensioner, a life where he can concentrate on whatever he wants, without having to go to work every morning just to feed the family. My mom is also in a similar situation in Joutsa. Though she’s sometimes feeling a bit sad and lonely, I do hope that both of them will live happily ever after. To be frank, I miss them and I’d like to be there at least once in a while to make sure they are enjoying life to the fullest.

Shower. I’m so happy; we got a huge improvement in our house, a new jet shower! Previously we had just a strand of water coming from a pipe, now it’s a real shower. Of course there’s no hot water, but I don’t miss that too often.

Saimaa. I hope my local committee is doing fine. I’ve had a couple of chats with Valtteri, the current local committee president, and I’m confident their team is able to get the act together and take the organization to the next level. Happy 30-year anniversary AIESEC Saimaa!!!

Suomi. That’s Finland in Finnish, would Markku say. I admit it! Being away for just a couple of months has awakened the patriot within. It warms my heart when people are digging HIM or praising The Rasmus, although they might have no idea that these bands are coming from Finland. Once a dudester opened my cell phone and showed the label “Made in Hungary” just to prove his point that not all Nokia’s come from Finland. Hyva Suomi! (Vittu ei taalla sirlankassa oo ees aan pilkkuja, perkele!!!)

Sleeplessness. I have had some serious insomnia issues since I moved into this house. The thing is that I had two mattresses in my bed and because of that the bed sheets were falling off every night. Now I removed another one of them but I don’t believe it completely solves the problem. See, I have woken up a couple of nights because some icky bug has crawled into my bed. One night it was just a small one and I managed to squash it in my linen (eeow!) but the other night something was crawling in my hair. Shit, I jumped up and did my “Prodigy: Firestarter” performance to get it off. I still don’t know what it was but my guess would be a cockroach. Indeed, the very next day there was this 5 cm roach strolling in my bed when I came home. I don’t know if I ever get used to this. I don’t know if I have to…

Sun. I have got sun-burned twice already! Me, sun-burned… I never burn! Two weeks ago it was justified; I was reading a book for a few hours in direct sunlight. Conversely, last weekend in Mirissa it wasn’t sunny at all but splashing in the waves for quite sometime managed to have its effect although it was cloudy. Now my dead skin is peeling off and I’m gradually losing the tan. Maybe I just have to admit that I’m Caucasian and not Native American or Hawaiian as some people have claimed. Btw, it’s funny what kind of conclusions people draw of Finns in general when they deal with me. One guy said as any good researcher, “I’ve come to understand that all the Finns have long eyes”. I was like: “Dude, I might have a bit Chinese-looking eyes, but it doesn’t mean all the Finns are like this”. I just wonder what kind of image they have of Finnish food when they hear me complaining that Sri Lankan food is not spicy enough.

Strategic leadership. One of my dreams might come true sooner than expected. I haven’t really let myself get too carried away with the idea yet, because honestly I think there are more urgent, though highly operational, work-issues to be solved before. Ruki, my boss and colleague, has started implying to the possibility that we should write and publish a book. We’re both these people who pitch in ideas all the time, so I don’t know how serious he is, and how ready I am. But deep down I know that I’d love to make it happen! Already when I was writing my thesis, my professors said that there’s only one problem with it: I’m writing in too interesting and catchy tone, scientific text should be more to-the-point and… well, boring. But they encouraged me to consider writing a book, where my style would be not only justified, but preferred. And what it has to do with strategic leadership, one might ask. It has everything to do with that. First of all, like I implied before, currently I’m too focused on operational day-to-day deliverables to take initiative and make this kind of longer-term project start. So, at the moment I’m falling into the trap that lurks for every manager: becoming too operational, instead of being a strategic leader.

SugarCRM. This is a great open-source product for customer relationship management, way better than anything I’ve used before. The only hardship for a business graduate is the installation part. I have no idea what they say in the installation instructions. Umm… what is a Java server MySQL applet? Anywho, this reminds me of the fact that our entrepreneurial plans are starting to actualize. We almost got the start-up capital gathered, first customer is knocking on the door and there is now a core group of three people taking things forward. Antti and Jukka, thanks for being so active! This is the start of something spectacular. Keep the faith!

posted by Tomi Astikainen @ Saturday, September 16, 2006 2 comments

Monday, September 11, 2006

E

Erica. Before rambling about the less-important things, I want to show my gratitude to a person who suggested the letter "E". She's actually one of the most active commentators of blogs, including mine. Thanks for that, at first! Just lately she started her own blog, and I've never seen such a warm-hearted idea for any blog... or for any website for that matter. She started writing about people who are important to her: showcasing people who've had impact in her, people who have cared for her, people who have been there for her. Splendid, marvellous, amazing idea! Can anything be more genuinely loving than this? Yet it's so simple. How come no one has done it before? 99% of people, me among them, are just too busy telling about their own lives. But now, it's about time someone tells a few nice things about Erica, and they are not any kind of nice things, they are my deepest feelings for my lovely ex-colleague, ex-flatmate future leader and a life-time friend. Here we go... A few roles in which Erica Cleofe is really good at:
  • A FRIEND: I still remember how we got to know each other, playing drinking games as a pair in Saimaa Summer. Little did we know, that it wouldn't be the only common challenge for us. Next time I saw you in Kantsu talking about a soap called "It's not my cup of tea". Honestly, that Erica was someone else. She wasn't yet the friend I later on got to know. Still in the early part of our term you took your distance, but at the moment you decided to open up I realized how caring a friend can you be. I miss discussions with you (no matter if the topic was relationships, entrepreneurship, spirituality, getting married, two trains attacking each other or some work-related stuff) and I especially miss the "Everything you desire evenings!".
  • A COLLEAGUE: Working with you was no less than a perfect experience. We were such a good pair, completing each others approach and skills. Starting from the very first weekend we planned and carried out together, I couldn't have lived without you. When I was too carried away blabbering about facts and visions, you were the voice of reason and practicality: At the moment when I realized we need something essential like printouts, you had them ready to be given out. When we went to sales visits together, there was no need for an ice-breaker (although Lion is a cat!): Your smile was enough to melt the ice. At the office, you were the mediator, bringing the chaos together. You were THE example of an organized person with all your calendars and post-its. You were the one who I learned the most from.
  • A FLAT MATE: Living in the same flat with you for one year, was an amazing experience for me, most likely not the easiest one for you. :) But you picked up the style quite quickly, and left your cabbage parts lying around on the table, next to the unwashed dishes and half-eaten tuna jar. That was our style. Kantsu was home for the three of us, and I will always remember every detail of the flat. Still, the best thing in the flat was the flat mates. I have never felt such a proximity, such a loving spirit between flat mates. Even The Apprentice was a good show when watched with you!
  • A LEADER: Last but not least, seeing you in front of the people has always been a delightful scene. You are radiating positive energy in the space, talking wise words with immense commitment and people have no choice than listening to you. But you can be more than a convincing leader. You can be the one who just listens, takes notes and comes up with a solution. Or you can be the one who by her own example - even if it means working 14-hour days - makes a whole country shift forward.
  • ...Did you get it? I love you and miss you, like my whole Team Lego. Those were the days my friend. Thanks for being all this and thanks for starting a great blog! :)
Ecstasy. Remember how in the beginning of my internship I was posting how cool it is to work, how cool it was to go here and there, how cool it is to do this and that? Well, it still is but the original cultural honeymoon period is definitely over. Many things have started irritating me. I'd rather not single them out, but you want to know them anyways, right? And yes, I do want to share. One of the things I wanted to experience is to see and feel how it is to be different from everyone else. Coming from a city where racism was an issue, I truly wanted to experience how does it feel when someone treats you differently just because you look different. I have avoided the baseball bats in my neck and army boots between my ribs, but I never could have imagined how racist people are here. And most likely they don't even know that they are racist. I've heard it's called positive racism in some instances. You are treated "better" than the others; people greet you at the street, shout behind you and insist to know where you are going, strangers call you friend and people stare you at the bus. The bottom line is: People are treating you different than the others. Every single shout and greeting twists your stomach because you've had enough of being different, and all you want is to be treated equally with the rest. Every time you just try to ignore and walze ahead, you lose a piece of respect that you have towards the people around you. You start treating them as "different than you". The ingredients for the vicious circle or racism are ready.

Environment. Second bugging thing is how these people don't care about the environment. Before coming here I was so impressed reading how there are dozens of rules not to harm the coral when diving, how you are not supposed to leave cigarette buts in the nature and how sacred things elephants really are. Now that I'm here I can't deny those facts, but I'm just perplexed how no one seems to care about the environment, and how no one in the govenrmental institutions has taken precautions to handle all the waste. I bet 20, 30 or 40 years ago even Colombo was quite a beautiful city. Now it's a shit-hole! Beira Lake is filled with trash and pelicans are eating plastic from the green water. The ocean beach is so full of dirt that no one dares to go there anymore. Why did they let this happen? Last weekend we saw how the beachfront was covered in oil and dirt because seemingly there was a sinking ship somewhere in vicinity. However, even the next day there was no one to clean it up.

Effort. Last weekend we went down south to spend a day at the beach. As we were driving past Hikkaduwa I saw the graves of the Tsunami victims for the first time. I saw how two years after the disaster, the area was still amidst rebuilding. Although the people were still seeing the effort to make it better, it all felt somehow devastating. I felt so heart-breakingly sad that I didn't realize to produce my camera soon enough. The bus went by but the feeling stayed. As we arrived to Mirissa, we took the wrong way as we tried to find a guest house. Accidentally we arrived to a school yard. There was a class room full of kids who were so smily and happy. It didn't take long for us to find out that all of them had lost their parents to the Tsunami. Still they saw the effort to study and still they were smiling more than e.g. cranky Finnish kids. :) They are the future. I just hope they don' t repeat the same mistakes as their parents, and that they respect the nature a bit more because of what has happened. Because if we don't stop messing with nature, it will always strike back!

Epilogue. I've come to notice that this tactics of writing with one letter is a really good method for collecting your thoughts. That's why I'm writing so huge postings: I have a lot to say. But I cannot spend hours and hours in front of the computer, typing about Zack Wylde and still thinking that I should mention something about Zorro before going to sleep. So, that's why I'm suggesting two alternative methods. Either I a) post comments on the previous posts I've made, when I have something to add under some certain letter, or b) I make a random posting every now and then, adding some thoughts to previous letters. Which one do you prefer?

posted by Tomi Astikainen @ Monday, September 11, 2006 8 comments

Thursday, September 07, 2006

B

Basketball. I had huge issues trying to fit in to the Sri Jayawardenepura university basketball team, still have. Everyone is speaking Sinhalese and I'm completely lost of what to do. They are getting more and more adapted to the idea that there's a foreigner in the team, and I try to take the lack of communication (in English) less and less personally. I've also realized that I perform really poorly on the field because I'm being a bit too polite: I don't go into defense that aggressively as usually and I tend to hesitate making my own decisions (shooting) near the opponent's basket. We'll see what happens.

Balance. You know what, I managed to quit smoking! Now, what worked for me is that I "started with the end in mind" like Stephen Covey would say. I was thinking about the physical, spiritual and mental balance that is one of my goals for the internship and I realized smoking is not that big a deal I have thought it is. It's only a hindrance along the way to a greater goal of balance. Then I linked that thinking to the coaching model I got to know last year in Norway. In that model you should ask from yourself (or someone else you're coaching) three questions: 1) What does it take?, 2) What will I gain? and 3) What obstructs? (or what's holding me back). So I just started answering these questions: 1) Nothing. I need to do nothing. Now don't get me wrong. I don't mean that I could just rest on my laurels. I understood that I need to actively do nothing. Confused? For me it was clear: buying a pack of cigarettes, opening the pack, finding a lighter, litting up the cigarette, sucking it in and disposing the butt where all things that I had to do in order to perform this act of addiction. Now I didn't STOP doing them, but instead STARTED doing NOTHING. 2) I will gain a lot of things: Free trip to Maldives with my girlfriend, Ability to concentrate on breathing while meditation, Inhaling more oxygene and hence gaining more energy, Thinking more important and happier thoughts than "where do I get my next fix?", Independence and freedom etc. Previously I had treated this list in a negative light (e.g. wasting money, having a cough etc), now I turned all of them in positive statements so there was more catch to succeed. 3) I listed down all the possible pitfalls (ciggy with morning coffee, ciggy after eating, ciggy while waiting etc) and excuses ("I can smoke one" or "Non-smoking is not part of my image"). This way I was more prepared to face the challenges as they would appear. I switched the morning coffee to morning tea, I started having a dessert after lunch etc. This quite pragmatic approach enabled me to take my mind out of smoking. If in 21 days I haven't smoked I know I have got rid of it for good. Ok, yesterday I smoked one cigar but for different reasons than getting nicotine. I could not finish it though.

Buddhism. I don't know if it's Buddhism as a philosophy or just the meditation part of it, but there's something profoundly wise and kind about it. I have now gone for meditation for three consecutive Mondays and it has helped me to calm down and concentrate on what's important in life. One could say I started liking myself a bit more as I allowed myself to stop for a moment and just let things pass. In October there is a weekend meditation resort in Kithulgala. I'm quite sure I go there, hoping there's no work that weekend. It costs about 2000 rupees and covers all meals and accommodation. I'm looking forward to that. Go and check Ananda's site to see what kind of guy is holding the sessions. He's my monk!

Books. I've been reading a lot. Aside from Good to Great that is dealing with building and developing great organizations and thus linked with my entrepreneurial ambitions, I've been mainly reading inspirational literature. A Monk Who Sold His Ferrari didn't offer that much new insight, but it still made me think about my own life and offered a good framework for enjoyable living. The same themes and pieces of advice were, surprisingly, repeating in Lance Armstrong's book It's Not About The Bike. It was uplifting to read Lance's story of how he was brought up by his mother, how he didn't really fit in (sounds familiar) among the activities and interests of his peers, how he found his passion from bike racing, how he developed himself better and better until he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, how heartbroken he was when he heard the tumour had spread to his lungs and brain, how he eventually survived (after 1,5 years of treatment) and went on to start the cancer foundation to help others who are fighting the diceace and how he finally won Tour de France against all odds. Now I'm finally reading Coelho's Alchemist, a piece that so many people have praised to be one of the best books of our time. I just started so I cannot give any well-informed judgement at this point. However, I must say that so far I've got an impression that it's almost like a simplified version of Sinuhe Egyptian by Mika Waltari (the most famous Finnish novel).

Bravery. It's funny how different approach one takes to certain experiences before, during and after they happen. Five years ago I had this urge to go abroad. During my years in AIESEC the dream still felt distant, although I knew it's going to happen one day. Then when I actually made the decision to go (and especially to go to a so different country for "such a long time"), people were like "oooh, that's such a brave decision!" or "F@#king idiot!". :) Even I thought that "shit, this is a big thing to do". Now, it's just everyday life, nothing special. Still, I think afterwards I will look back at this time and see it as a remarkable step in the continuum of my life.

Bodom. Children of Bodom, Sentenced and other heavy metal bands seem to be quite popular here. The local bands are stating them as their idols and they are dreaming of opening for them. :) Cool. In the picture is one, pretty crappy, local band called Fallen Grace and one of the guys has Children of Bodom shirt.

Bananas. One thing I really love about this country is that there's all the time fresh fruit available in the roadside stalls, pretty much anywhere you go. The papayas, mangos and pineapple are my favorite. They actually have not one but at least four different kind of mangos! Also the local bananas are excellent. They are tiny compared to the ones we get in Europe (imported from South America) but the taste is so much better! I've come to notice that the best part of pineapples is the middle "ring", or the core. That's silly because it's exactly the part they take out when packaging pineapple in those aluminium cans that we can buy back in Finland. Why take the best part out?

Birthday party. Last weekend I got an SMS from a German guy I've been playing football with: "Party tonight. Street Address 123. Cornelius.". So, it wasn't even his party but I thought it doesn't hurt to check it out. So, me and Ralph (a Dutch trainee) decided to unveil the mystery behind this peculiar message. Ralph asked "can we go in shorts and a t-shirt". I nodded. We had some Kotthu (EXCELLENT FOOD!) before going, not to starve there and filled a back-bag with our own beer. Off we go just to realize that the place is on the 7th floor of an eight-storey building (that high structures are pretty much a rarity here), so our expectations went up a notch. We go in the back of the building and there's a guard who takes us to the elevator. When we step off the elevator and go into the apartment we're struck by what we see: The apartment is huge! It has eight balconies!!! It's actually the whole 7th floor. The people are dressed up nicely, tables filled with seven or eight different kinds of snacks (spring rolls, pastries, mini-pizzas etc) and free booze as much as one can drink (beer, red wine, white wine, gin, rum, arrack...). There we are, in the middle of a group of seemingly wealthy German and some international people, wearing our shorts and asking where to find a fridge to chill our beer. :) Nah, it could have been a bit embarassing but we just started mingling. People were asking how do we know Andreas (who's house-warming party it was) or Cornelius (who's birthday party it was), and we just had to answer "we don't". People seemed to respect our honesty and let us crash there. David and the other football acquaintances arrived two hours later just to find us blabbering with the other guests and making ourselves at home. :)

Bottles. Although the country is pretty much covered in waste, you can see cows eating the trash at streets, people are burning their trashes on their yards and thus creating thick black smoke for others to breathe and the diesel fumes created by the traffic sometimes just knock you out, there is still one good environmental deed in this country. Refund system of empty bottles is working! Yet again, it's not exactly the similar kind of system that we have back home where you just take the bottles to a machine that refunds you the fixed sum of money per bottle. No, here you basically pay 20 rupees refund when you are buying a bottle of beer from a liquor store. However, you can get your new bottle 20 rupees cheaper if you return an empty one. Then again, if you are not planning to get more beer but just want to get rid of the empties that have gathered into the corner, you can still take the bottles back but then they refund only 10 rupees a bottle. Once in Negombo we had to pay 50 rupees refund when we had some take-away beers from a pub. Still, as mentioned before, the system works. Even if you are buying a soda from kiosk (they call it "hotel" or "cool spot"), don't ya dare taking the bottle with you. You are expected to finish the soda there because they are just dying to get the empty bottle back. :)

Boss. I've come to find out that my boss is quite a fair fellow. Usually "sick leave" is an unknown concept in this country. I got quite a bad flu, so I tried to ignore it, fight it and cure it, but nothing seemed to work. Then I just sent him an SMS that I won't be coming to work tomorrow because I'm so sick. His response was "Ok... Drink a lot of Samahan!" (Samahan is a local herb and spice mix for flu and any other kind of ache). Another cool thing is that I don't have to worry what I wear at the office. Usually t-shirt and shorts combination is an absolute no-no in this quite conservative country, but that is my every-day work outfit. I was sure he would comment on that but he didn't. I was so relieved! Another prove that I do have an excellent job. Thirdly, the remuneration consists of base salary, sales commissions and incentives. The incentive system is directly linked on my job description, so good performance leads to good salary. This is the first time I see this results-based remuneration in action, and so far it seems to be a good practice!

Beer. Pike was complaining that Indian beer is really bad because they add oil in it (!). Sri Lankan beer, however, is not bad at all. The most common brand is Lion Lager that is a reasonably tasty lager when chilled. The only problem is that here it gets warm really quickly, and the bottle is 625 ml, so you'd better share it with your pal and enjoy it cool. Lion Stout is for people who are more into the dark English-type beers. It's really good actually, but you should be careful with that. It's eight percent and the bottle is so big that you don't need many to get a decent whirl.

Belihuloya. I miss that place. I told you before that we are organizing some trainings in a place called Belihuloya. It's a serene and naturally beautiful place filled with tranquility. It's actually a bit sad that I haven't been traveling that much after the first two weeks. I'd love to see more than Colombo because, let's face it, this city sucks! But still I have learned to like small things even in Colombo, and I have built my routine for living in here. It's ok to spend weeks here but I should go and see the rest of the country during weekends. Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura, Kandy, Nuwara-Eliya, the national parks and a multitude of beaches still remain a mystery to me. Of course I could go any weekend but I've just been postponing and postponing, thinking that "Hey, I still have 17 months left". If I continue thinking like that I end up in a situation where "There's only one month left". So, what have I then done during the weekends? Nothing! :) And I've enjoyed it... Watching movies, talking with people, reading books. It's all good!

Bombing. Just wanted to ease your minds by saying that whatever the situation up north of the island is, it doesn't really show here. There hasn't been any bombs in Colombo lately, so don't worry for me. And if something should happen, remember it's meant to be like that.

posted by Tomi Astikainen @ Thursday, September 07, 2006 5 comments