Wednesday, September 30, 2009

The thought of being with him in 50 years

Vilja & Jordan by The Love Story Thief  
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Vilja & Jordan.mp3 (7903 KB)

My sister and her husband realizing that they were in love and making the decision that they wanted to marry each other.  They've been married for a little over a year and are perfect together. I'm so glad that they made the decision to be together forever.

Song credit: "If I Were a Fish" by Mum.

Posted via email from The Love Story Thief

Monday, September 28, 2009

The heartache almost made it not worth it

Ashley by Suvi Hynynen  
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Ashley.mp3 (14889 KB)

Love stories don't always end the way that we want them to, but that doesn't mean that the love story is any less valid. In fact, it is sometimes through the pain that we realize the extent of the love, as we hear in this interview with Ashley.

Posted via email from The Love Story Thief

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Tweeting the General Assembly

I've finally decided to take this techiness to a new level. I spent a
few days this week at the UN General Assembly (at the last minute
getting my hands on tickets to observe! Too bad not on Wednesday...).
It was pretty amazing to see so many presidents and to hear them
speak. And it was crazy to feel blase about hearing another president
speak. These are world leaders! For any single one of them I would
line up specially! And there I was, just listening to one after the
other.

So, in honor of this momentous occasion, I tweeted my thoughts. You
can follow me at www.twitter.com/suvihynynen. i think this is maybe
what twitter was made for, but I may be mistaken. Josh, any thoughts?

For those of you who don't want to go check out the twitter feed, i'll
give you a brief synopsis- every single president talked about climate
change, some of them sincerely (like the small island developing
states that are experiencing the effects now and are sinking) and
others were just getting on the bandwagon. All the presidents I saw
were male, although there were 5 female heads of state listed. FIVE
out of what, 195. Wow, we've got some work to do. The financial crisis
was also a major topic (understandably) and I could sense a bit of
anger I think towards the major world economies (US, GB, etc.),
because while housing prices and employment have been hit here, those
countries have just been devastated financially with food shortages
and loss of capital. (I tweeted some good quotes on that I think...
go check it out).

I don't know if it's bad that I wanted to see Robert Mugabe, but I
did. I've never seen a real live dictator before, and I wanted to see
what he would say when facing the world stage when he's been so
horrible to his own people. And what did he say? he blamed the
sanctions on Zimbabwe for the death children there. Other than that,
he was rather more timid than I expected.

Now, Hugo Chavez was something else. This man was comical and
charismatic. i can see why he's drawn a following. That doesn't mean
that I agree with him or his policies, but he was really fun to listen
to, joking about the Cuban delegate throwing a shoe at him, inviting
Obama to the Socialist club, pulling out a huge Karl Marx book and
reading from it, and concluding with a song.

It was also interesting to hear Benyamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas
(Israel and Palestine, respectively) speak, about the same things. A
two state solution, reaching out to the other side in peace, defending
themselves in Gaza. The same things they've been talking about for the
last what, 40 years? I wonder if peace will ever be possible there.

So, this week I saw presidents. It both overwhelming, and at the same
time underwhelming. But more than anything, it made me want to do
something important with my life, and in some way change the world and
not jsut talk about it. Like Asha, this incredible Somali woman
honored by the Clinton Global Initiative and my org WOW (come to the
conference and here her speak Oct. 10th in Utah! www.wowinfo.org) for
her peacebuilding work there.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

I'll throw my arms around him when he comes to the door.

Liina & Jarom by Suvi Hynynen  
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Liina & Jarom.mp3 (4699 KB)

I posed this question of what Love feels like to my sister Liina and her husband Jarom.  I love how Liina describes it, because I totally had these conversations with her back when she was single and we were roommates.  She would come home from a date, and I would know that this guy wasn't the one because she couldn't open up and be as ridiculously romantic as she wanted to be.

Posted via email from The Love Story Thief

Love is cantaloupes.

Evan by Suvi Hynynen  
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Evan.mp3 (12535 KB)

Interview with Evan, the day before his wedding (marrying my friend Lindsay from the previous post). The music editing into this one is a little awkward, but I like it nonetheless.

Posted via email from The Love Story Thief

Love is coming home.

Lindsay And Evan by Suvi Hynynen  
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Lindsay and Evan.mp3 (11397 KB)

Interview with my friend Lindsay, the day before her wedding. This is one of the first stories that I stole back in 2007.

Posted via email from The Love Story Thief

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Don't have a job? Look on the bright side!

This is how I've been feeling lately.




If I've learned anything from being unemployed (other than the fact that I really would LOVE to have a job, let me know if you have one for me), it is this-- it is really, really easy to get depressed and in a funk. But if I've learned anything else, it is this-- the best way to get out of it is to start a creative project to make you feel like you are accomplishing something.

So, I've been spending more time on the UN stuff and my book. Life is looking much peachier. And, I start my tv production class tonight with Victoria and we are going to be famous!!

At my prime

Dear friends,

I've reached the ripe old age of 29. I celebrated on Saturday with some friends coming over for waffles in the morning, an afternoon of spiritual feasting at the institute conference, and a truly delightful dinner with Mike, Laura and Tyson at Smorgas Chef, delicious Scandinavian restaurant I've been wanting to go to just to indulge in herring. And oh, how I indulged! Birthday, i loved you. Thanks for being low-key and lovely.

This brings me to my thoughts on being 29. You probably don't know this about me, but I have a deep animosity towards even numbers. or numbers that end in 5. Everything fits so neatly into them. If I have to pick a number between 1 and 10, you can be assured that I will pick an odd number, and it will probably be either 3 or 7, because those are prime numbers (and even in this case, the 5 gets no reprieve). I think i maybe feel sorry for odd numbers, where things just don't match up. And prime numbers especially! Oh how I love prime numbers! They make my heart break! Nothing quite fits them, they are so uneven. As Mike pointed out, it's been 6 years-- the longest time ever!-- since my last prime number birthday. As a child, I had all sorts of prime number birthdays, almost every other year, and even in the teens the prime numbers came with a frequency to match the awkwardness of being 13 or 17 years old, not quite sure of life or my place. 23 was a good prime year for me, on the brink of a brand new adventure after graduating from college and embarking on my mission. What a wonderful year that was, a time of real growth and finding myself!

So here I am at 29, a respectable prime number, just on the edge of 30 (which we all know means real adulthood). Independent, strong, but still not easily divided, so somehow feeling out of place, just a bit. I suppose this is a fitting time for me to be 29, in that case. Independent, for certain, and at this place, on the brink of something great... waiting to embark on this career but in this awkward place of uncertainty. Not quite fitting in because I always thought that by 29 I would be divisible by 2. It's a lonely number, to be sure. Awkward and lonely.

But yet. I feel like I'm at my prime. My body works well-- it craves healthy foods (for the most part) and I've finally developed some level of physical discipline. I feel more attractive now than at any period in the past, and finally have some realization of clothing and styles that suit me. I have a masters degree, which proves how smart I am. I've had an adventurous, exciting path behind me and no longer have anything to prove, feeling ready for a slightly steadier one ahead. I like my friends and have true ones. I've proven that I am capable and open to love, but can stand and thrive on my own. I'm not as afraid or shy as I once was, and I've learned to nurture myself when I do feel that way.

So, I'm ready, 29, I really am ready for you. Just don't speed along too quickly.