You can find my new blog here:
http://thisjourneyofmylife.wordpress.com/
Friday, September 18, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Thankful Thursday
I'm thankful for ...
my new appartement (ground floor)! I'm moving in on october third.
A new home, a new blog. Why don't you visit my new blog (thisjourneyofmylife.wordpress.com) and tell me what you think? I've made a really cool poll, which makes it very easy!
my new appartement (ground floor)! I'm moving in on october third.
A new home, a new blog. Why don't you visit my new blog (thisjourneyofmylife.wordpress.com) and tell me what you think? I've made a really cool poll, which makes it very easy!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Drumroll please ...
So I told you, just before I dissapeared again, that I had some big news.
But I postponed telling you about it until my internet was up again.
However, this blogpost doesn't mean that I actually have my internet on my computer again.
I'm still waiting for a call that my new internet stick thingy arrived, but I decided I just had to tell you my big news. You know, before it isn't news anymore.
So, my big news.
It was on my little wishlist in the beginning of the year.
Which means that I have had 3 out of 4 of my wishes, in september, which is the ninth month out of twelve. Which of course means that after three fourth of the year, I've had three fourth of my wishes. Wow. Amazing.
This is my wish list of 2009 by the way:
- Get a job.
- Live on my own.
- Meet my someone.
- Become the aunt of a healthy little baby.
So I've got a job and am aunt to the most incredible little nephew on earth.
And just because I like cliffhangers, that's all I'm going to say.
See you thursday for the revelation!
But I postponed telling you about it until my internet was up again.
However, this blogpost doesn't mean that I actually have my internet on my computer again.
I'm still waiting for a call that my new internet stick thingy arrived, but I decided I just had to tell you my big news. You know, before it isn't news anymore.
So, my big news.
It was on my little wishlist in the beginning of the year.
Which means that I have had 3 out of 4 of my wishes, in september, which is the ninth month out of twelve. Which of course means that after three fourth of the year, I've had three fourth of my wishes. Wow. Amazing.
This is my wish list of 2009 by the way:
- Get a job.
- Live on my own.
- Meet my someone.
- Become the aunt of a healthy little baby.
So I've got a job and am aunt to the most incredible little nephew on earth.
And just because I like cliffhangers, that's all I'm going to say.
See you thursday for the revelation!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Dutch - Siem
Siem houdt van letters.Hij heeft een placemat die we ooit bij een pot choco kregen.
Trots spelt hij het woord dat er op staat: n van janne – uil – t van tractor – e – twee streepjes – a!
Siem staat op hetzelfde moment op als ik. Terwijl ik in de badkamer ben, speelt hij nog wat in de kamer met zijn autootjes. Ik laat zijn deur open zodat ik het direct hoor als er iets fout gaat. Vanmorgen hoorde ik opeens “potvejdikke! Potvejdikke!” uit de slaapkamer komen. Ik vraag hem vanuit de badkamer wat er mis is. Geen antwoord. Even later opnieuw ‘potvejdikke!’. Nu toch wat bezorgd, vraag ik of er iets mis is. “Ja!” roept hij terug. Maar meer informatie wil hij niet kwijt, dus ik roep hem even bij me.
“Wat is er mis?” vraag ik opnieuw.
“Potvejdikke!” roept hij uit.
“Wat is er? Waarom potverdikke?”
“Potvejdikke, alle auto’s verjongelukken.” Zegt hij verontwaardigd, en hij rent vrolijk weg om verder te spelen.
Trots spelt hij het woord dat er op staat: n van janne – uil – t van tractor – e – twee streepjes – a!
Siem staat op hetzelfde moment op als ik. Terwijl ik in de badkamer ben, speelt hij nog wat in de kamer met zijn autootjes. Ik laat zijn deur open zodat ik het direct hoor als er iets fout gaat. Vanmorgen hoorde ik opeens “potvejdikke! Potvejdikke!” uit de slaapkamer komen. Ik vraag hem vanuit de badkamer wat er mis is. Geen antwoord. Even later opnieuw ‘potvejdikke!’. Nu toch wat bezorgd, vraag ik of er iets mis is. “Ja!” roept hij terug. Maar meer informatie wil hij niet kwijt, dus ik roep hem even bij me.
“Wat is er mis?” vraag ik opnieuw.
“Potvejdikke!” roept hij uit.
“Wat is er? Waarom potverdikke?”
“Potvejdikke, alle auto’s verjongelukken.” Zegt hij verontwaardigd, en hij rent vrolijk weg om verder te spelen.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Resolutions Revisited - September
Another month has passed since January first, and that means: Another part of Resolutions Revisited!
- Write New Years resolutions before January 1st 2010. Wow, where did those months go? I shouldn't postpone this much longer!
- At least pretend to sport once a week. Still biking to and from my work.
- Get fixed times to go to bed / wake up. I'm getting there, still a lot of work to do.
- Smile more. I was good at this, but it's getting a bit worse again.
- Just be nice to people, even if I don't like or know them. Trying to, but I should think about it more often.
- Get more flowers into the house. There have been many flowers in the house, as my mother had her birthday last week.
- Go to church every week. I've been most of the time, but I'm searching for a home church again (or still actually).
- Go to a new place every month. We went on a weekend to Malmédy, a new-to-me city.
- Be real. I still am.
- Live deliberatly. I do.
- Spend time with God daily. Oops.
- 101 in 1001 list. It's coming along really well. I'll update you soon!
And my resolution for this month is:
101 in 1001 list.
I'll try to update you all on my progress. But I'm afraid it's not going to work. I don't have internet at home (only on mama's computer, and I can't use it for longer than twenty minutes) and it's very busy at work.
We'll see.
Stay tuned for some exciting news!
- Write New Years resolutions before January 1st 2010. Wow, where did those months go? I shouldn't postpone this much longer!
- At least pretend to sport once a week. Still biking to and from my work.
- Get fixed times to go to bed / wake up. I'm getting there, still a lot of work to do.
- Smile more. I was good at this, but it's getting a bit worse again.
- Just be nice to people, even if I don't like or know them. Trying to, but I should think about it more often.
- Get more flowers into the house. There have been many flowers in the house, as my mother had her birthday last week.
- Go to church every week. I've been most of the time, but I'm searching for a home church again (or still actually).
- Go to a new place every month. We went on a weekend to Malmédy, a new-to-me city.
- Be real. I still am.
- Live deliberatly. I do.
- Spend time with God daily. Oops.
- 101 in 1001 list. It's coming along really well. I'll update you soon!
And my resolution for this month is:
101 in 1001 list.
I'll try to update you all on my progress. But I'm afraid it's not going to work. I don't have internet at home (only on mama's computer, and I can't use it for longer than twenty minutes) and it's very busy at work.
We'll see.
Stay tuned for some exciting news!
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Resolutions Revisited - August
I didn't work on my resolutions this month AT ALL!
I've been enjoying three weeks of holidays, and getting up early really wasn't one of my priorities. I have been neglecting my blog too. To be honest, real life is much more interesting. And ofcourse the Gilmore Girls have been consuming a big part of my time too.
So I'll just try to work on my july resolution this month.
Let's see how well that will go!
I've been enjoying three weeks of holidays, and getting up early really wasn't one of my priorities. I have been neglecting my blog too. To be honest, real life is much more interesting. And ofcourse the Gilmore Girls have been consuming a big part of my time too.
So I'll just try to work on my july resolution this month.
Let's see how well that will go!
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Hard drive
A few weeks ago, Gary, my brother in law, called me to ask if I was still interested in a hard drive. He'd found a good one for a decent price, and he wondered if he should buy it for me. As Gary knows a lot more about computers than I do, I told him to go ahead.
I made a back-up of everything on my laptop, and I completed a second task on my list! I'm relieved that I finally have a copy of all my pictures and documents.
On to the next task!
I made a back-up of everything on my laptop, and I completed a second task on my list! I'm relieved that I finally have a copy of all my pictures and documents.
On to the next task!
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Resolutions Revisited - July
Another month has passed since January first, and that means: Another part of Resolutions Revisited!
- Write New Years resolutions before January 1st 2010. Still a lot of time left.
- At least pretend to sport once a week. Still biking to and from my work.
- Get fixed times to go to bed / wake up. I'm struggling with the alarmclock. I just can't get out of bed when my alarm goes of the first time. It's becoming a bit problematic.
- Smile more. Wow, this is coming along so good! It's amazing, I'm smiling almost all the time!
- Just be nice to people, even if I don't like or know them. Trying to, but I should think about it more often.
- Get more flowers into the house. There are roses on the table next to me. I think there have been flowers in the house every week. I love it!
- Go to church every week. I've had a few busy weeks, and I couldn't attend as much as I wanted to. I hope this month will be better.
- Go to a new place every month. I went on a weekend to Lavaux-Saint-Anne last week. Even though that wasn't in June, I'll count it as a success.
- Be real. I still am.
- Live deliberatly. I do. I've been thinking, laughing, singing, talking more lately. Enjoying life and living more intense, being myself.
- Spend time with God daily. I spend time with God daily, but I would like to spend more time with Him. I have this great little book called 'prayerwhispers', and I love taking it to my work, and just opening it, reading the prayer (one sentence) and the short text, and then repeating the prayer through out the day. I like 'breathing', whispering prayer.
- 101 in 1001 list. I finished the list, and I'm working on it. I already finished one item on the list. Working on the rest.
And my resolution for this month is:
Get fixed times to go to bed / wake up. I'm going to try to get up the moment my alarm goes off, and going to bed (sleep, not read!) before eleven.
- Write New Years resolutions before January 1st 2010. Still a lot of time left.
- At least pretend to sport once a week. Still biking to and from my work.
- Get fixed times to go to bed / wake up. I'm struggling with the alarmclock. I just can't get out of bed when my alarm goes of the first time. It's becoming a bit problematic.
- Smile more. Wow, this is coming along so good! It's amazing, I'm smiling almost all the time!
- Just be nice to people, even if I don't like or know them. Trying to, but I should think about it more often.
- Get more flowers into the house. There are roses on the table next to me. I think there have been flowers in the house every week. I love it!
- Go to church every week. I've had a few busy weeks, and I couldn't attend as much as I wanted to. I hope this month will be better.
- Go to a new place every month. I went on a weekend to Lavaux-Saint-Anne last week. Even though that wasn't in June, I'll count it as a success.
- Be real. I still am.
- Live deliberatly. I do. I've been thinking, laughing, singing, talking more lately. Enjoying life and living more intense, being myself.
- Spend time with God daily. I spend time with God daily, but I would like to spend more time with Him. I have this great little book called 'prayerwhispers', and I love taking it to my work, and just opening it, reading the prayer (one sentence) and the short text, and then repeating the prayer through out the day. I like 'breathing', whispering prayer.
- 101 in 1001 list. I finished the list, and I'm working on it. I already finished one item on the list. Working on the rest.
And my resolution for this month is:
Get fixed times to go to bed / wake up. I'm going to try to get up the moment my alarm goes off, and going to bed (sleep, not read!) before eleven.
Monday, July 06, 2009
A great weekend and my first accomplished goal
Saturday morning I left for a weekend in the Ardennes with friends from the Sint-Michielsbeweging. We went to Lavaux-Saint-Anne, a beautiful village with a vibrant, young monastery with both women and men. In the spirit of Saint-Franciscus, their life is filled with prayer and labour. It was very inspiring to stay at this community (though we stayed a few hundred meters further). I'll need a few weeks to reflect on everything I heard, saw and experienced.
Of course, I really enjoyed spending time with friends from Sint-Michiel, and getting to know other people.
The building where we were staying was a dump. In fact, it was so dirty that most of us decided not to sleep there. Instead, some slept in the church, some in their cars and a few slept outside. I did the last thing, because I don't have a car and don't really like sleeping in a church while they are adorating / venerating the sacramental bread. And of course, it was on my list, so I couldn't let this chance go by.
To be honest, I thought this goal would be one of the harder ones to tackle, but I accomplished it on the very first day of the challenge!
The building where we were staying was a dump. In fact, it was so dirty that most of us decided not to sleep there. Instead, some slept in the church, some in their cars and a few slept outside. I did the last thing, because I don't have a car and don't really like sleeping in a church while they are adorating / venerating the sacramental bread. And of course, it was on my list, so I couldn't let this chance go by.
To be honest, I thought this goal would be one of the harder ones to tackle, but I accomplished it on the very first day of the challenge!
The pictures didn't turn out that great (should have asked someone to make them, instead of doing it myself), but you get the idea. Just picture me in the green sleeping bag.
Before:
After:
And the funny thing is: I didn't get cold or wet at all!
Friday, July 03, 2009
The list
It was very interesting to make this list. At first, I had a lot of trouble to find 101 things I really wanted to do. But after browsing a few other 101 in 1001 lists, it was harder to narrow it down to only 101. I spend a lot of time making this list, and I like the way it looks now. But I know that in a year or two, some goals will have become less interesting or simply impossible, so I decided to add an 'Extra Eleven'. This makes it possible for me to change up to eleven goals on my list with another preset goal. This way it will be easier to accomplish all the tasks on the list.
I'm very much looking forward to starting the challenge. In about an hour, my 1001 days will start, and I'll start crossing things of the list. Wish me luck!
The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).
Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.
Some common goal setting tips:
1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.
2. Stay Focussed. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.
3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.
4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.
5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.
And here is my list!
Body
1. Get a facial
2. Get a pedicure
3. Get a manicure
Buy
4. Buy a fancy handbag
5. Buy a backpack I like with lots of little pockets
6. Buy a print of a newspaper from the day I was born
7. Purchase and listen to an audiobook
8. Buy a real pen
Create
9. Maintain my blog, posting at least once a week for a year
10. Sew a dress for myself
11. Put up five framed pictures in my room
12. Make a postsecret card
13. Create a website
14. Make land art
15. Write a newsletter
16. Make a birthday calendar
17. Make an application on a t-shirt
18. Take a photo with my dad
Culture
19. Go to a popular music concert
20. Go to the ballet
21. Read twenty books on the 1001 books you must read before you die list
22. Watch twenty movies from the all-time 100 movies list
23. Go to the opera
24. Go to the theatre
25. See the king or queen
26. Go watch a game (any kind of sport)
Electronics
27. Buy extern Hard Disk and make a back-up of everything on my laptop
28. Create a back up for all the phone numbers on my cell phone
29. Change the message on my voicemail
30. Go offline for a week (no computer, tv, cell-phone …)
Family and Friends
31. Make a collage of pictures of my family and friends
32. Draw my family tree, at least 5 generations
33. Make a list of 20 questions to interview older relatives
34. Buy a really nice colouring book and pencils for Hanne
35. Write a who's who of my family and friends
36. Write a (real) letter to a friend / family member every month for at least a year
Food
37. Learn to make ten quick meals that I like and can eat
38. Create recipe box with at least 25 recipes, written on index cards
39. Make a meal plan for two weeks
God
40. Pray at least five minutes a day for 30 days
41. Read Genesis 41 in Hebrew
42. Read John 17 in Greek
43. Read the bible all the way through
Health
44. Drink 1.5 l water a day for 14 consecutive days
45. Participate in 'Dwars door Brugge', run either 5 or 15 km
46. Buy an anti-allergy cover for my duvet
47. Keep a food journal for a week
48. Get more allergy tests done (at least for nuts and cherries)
Learn
49. Learn to finger whistle
50. Watch the stars and learn to recognize at least 5 constellations
51. Memorize five famous poems
52. Get my driving license
53. Learn the basics of sign language
54. Learn the capital of all the European countries, and of at least five in every other continent
55. Read 10 books ‘for dummies’
List
56. Save €5.00 for every goal I accomplish, donate €5.00 for each uncompleted goal
57. Document every goal I achieve with a blog post or a picture
58. Make a wish list of at least 20 items
59. Make a list of at least 20 things that make me happy
60. Make a list of 20 things I like about myself
Live to the fullest
61. Dance in the pouring rain
62. Lie down in the middle of the road
63. Have a pyjama party
64. Host a Christmas party
65. Stay in my pyjama's for a whole day
66. Read (part of) a book at the park
67. Go barefoot for a day
68. Buy myself flowers
69. Make a wreath of daisies
Money
70. Track spending habits for one month
71. Make a monthly budget and stick to it for at least 6 months
72. Make a folder for my finances
73. Save another €1000 for adoption
Nature
74. Watch the sunrise
75. Watch the sunset
76. Make a campfire
77. Connect all appliances in my room with power strips with a switch
78. Go camping
79. Sleep under the open sky
80. Go picnicking
81. Save an animal
82. Climb a tree
83. Go hiking
84. Clean up the garbage in a nearby street or park
Organise
85. Organise new pictures every month and copy them on CD’s
86. Organise my books, using the library system
87. Organise my email addresses and all my online contacts
Personal
88. Write a letter to myself to read on my 30th birthday
89. Write my life story
90. Make a tiny scrapbook of things I love and things that make me happy
91. Copy this list and the happy list into a 'me' scrapbook
92. Write a will
93. Do something that scares me
94. Get up immediately when my alarm goes off for at least five days in a row
95. Get registered as a donor
Travel
96. Visit the Gallo-Roman Museum in Tongeren
97. Renew passport
98. Visit either Ethiopia, Kenya, South-Africa or Namibia, preferably with Anneke
99. Go to the station, take the first train and see where I end up
100. Go on a weekend trip
101. Visit five Belgian cities I've never been to
Extra eleven
1. Visit either Rome, Egypt or Israel
2. Go back to Hungary
3. Learn to walk in high heels, comfortably
4. Make my own stationary / notes
5. Go to a circus
6. Go to a zoo with a close friend
7. Write a personal mission statement
8. Wear make up for seven days in a row
9. Buy a nice dress
10. Spend an entire day taking photos in either Brugge or Leuven
11. Learn first aid
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Two weeks
Once again, it has been a long time since I’ve written on this blog. I started this blog to have some sort of diary, to write down things I want to remember later. It’s a short version of what I think, do and want. But at times, my life is just really busy. It seems that on the moments I have a lot to write, I don’t write, just because I don’t have the time to do it. That’s what happened these last two weeks.
My parents went on a two week holiday, and instead of being home alone for that time, I had lots of people over. The first week, Tamara, Gary and Aaron came. It was so nice to have them here! I loved the feeling that they were still here when I woke up, when I came home from work, came back from the shop … And the precious time I spend with Aaron! I feel like I know him so much better now, he’s not just Aaron, he’s my little nephew and I love him so much!
Tamara and Gary managed to go out together for the first time since they became parents. They went to the movies, and I babysat Aaron. Everything went really well, and he even drank from a bottle. However, when he nearly finished his bottle, he noticed something wasn’t right. I think he realised that the bottle wasn’t his mama, and I wasn’t either. So he started crying, and crying, and crying …I did manage to calm him down a few times, but each time, he started crying again after five minutes. I thought I had done something wrong, so I tried everything I could think of. Tried to give him extra milk (screaming), tried to give him his pacifier (more screaming), changed his diaper (didn’t even stop screaming to breath), held him close to me (didn’t help for longer than 30 seconds), put him over my shoulder to burp (nope), rocked him (did help for about two minutes, but then the screaming started again, louder than ever) …
I was relieved to hear my sister come in. He was too. The moment my sister opened the door, he stopped crying. As easy as that. He missed his mama. Poor thing. He wasn’t hungry, tired or sick, he just needed his parents. Tamara and Gary decided they weren’t going out again anytime soon. Aaron just isn’t old enough yet.
Friday afternoon after work, my dad came to pick me up, and I spend the night at his place. Tamara and Gary came Saturday morning, and we spent the whole day together, just having fun at their house. Playing games, eating, and enjoying little Aaron. When we came home in the evening, I really wanted to go to the Sint-Michielsbeweging. I hadn’t been there for ages and even though I was very much too late for mass, I enjoyed just hanging out with my friends until after midnight.
Tamara and her family left on Monday, and the same day, Anneke came over to stay for a few days. She had a big test on Friday, and she needed a place where she could study hard and relax fully. Coming over to me was the ideal solution, because she had the house to herself from 7.30. I came home at 5, so we could cook together, go for a walk, and just relax. We had so much fun! We talked, laughed, read, cooked … It was great! She left Thursday evening. Her exam the following morning went fantastic!
That Friday was a busy day. It was a long Friday at work, so I had to work until half past three. I went home as fast as I could and started to arrange everything for the BBQ-party. Manie had his birthday on Wednesday, so I thought it would be a really neat idea to throw him a surprise birthday party. It was wonderful! Despite the forecast, it stayed dry all evening. We went for a night walk through Bruges and we strolled around for almost two hours. We were very surprised to meet my dad there too. He and his wife had friends over from South-America, and they were showing them around in Bruges. What a coincidence!
The evening was long, and I talked away with Anneke and Cléo until four thirty in the morning. Needless to say, Saturday morning came way too soon. Anneke left around eleven. Manie, Eduardo and Christine stayed a bit longer, and I walked them to the station. Hanne had used my bike that morning (she left around seven), and I biked back home, the dog running next to me.
I arrived home at half past two and cleaned a bit. Cléo finally got up at three thirty, and we had "lunch" around four. We were still eating when Mama, Walter and Siem came home from their holidays. It was so good to see them! We catched up and enjoyed the evening together. Cléo decided to stay another night (as usual) and we talked away until midnight. She went home on Sunday.
Funny detail: Hanne had asked to give some of her towels to Eduardo or Manie, so they could give them to her. I forgot of course, and I decided to go to Leuven with Cléo so I could hand them to her myself. I went to Leuven, had lunch with Hanne, gave her the towels, walked to the house of a friend (who wasn't home) to return her book that I've had for two years and took the train back. I was two hours in Leuven, and spent thirty minutes of those two hours in the station, waiting for my train. Seriously, I'm the best sister ever.
My parents went on a two week holiday, and instead of being home alone for that time, I had lots of people over. The first week, Tamara, Gary and Aaron came. It was so nice to have them here! I loved the feeling that they were still here when I woke up, when I came home from work, came back from the shop … And the precious time I spend with Aaron! I feel like I know him so much better now, he’s not just Aaron, he’s my little nephew and I love him so much!
Tamara and Gary managed to go out together for the first time since they became parents. They went to the movies, and I babysat Aaron. Everything went really well, and he even drank from a bottle. However, when he nearly finished his bottle, he noticed something wasn’t right. I think he realised that the bottle wasn’t his mama, and I wasn’t either. So he started crying, and crying, and crying …I did manage to calm him down a few times, but each time, he started crying again after five minutes. I thought I had done something wrong, so I tried everything I could think of. Tried to give him extra milk (screaming), tried to give him his pacifier (more screaming), changed his diaper (didn’t even stop screaming to breath), held him close to me (didn’t help for longer than 30 seconds), put him over my shoulder to burp (nope), rocked him (did help for about two minutes, but then the screaming started again, louder than ever) …
I was relieved to hear my sister come in. He was too. The moment my sister opened the door, he stopped crying. As easy as that. He missed his mama. Poor thing. He wasn’t hungry, tired or sick, he just needed his parents. Tamara and Gary decided they weren’t going out again anytime soon. Aaron just isn’t old enough yet.
Friday afternoon after work, my dad came to pick me up, and I spend the night at his place. Tamara and Gary came Saturday morning, and we spent the whole day together, just having fun at their house. Playing games, eating, and enjoying little Aaron. When we came home in the evening, I really wanted to go to the Sint-Michielsbeweging. I hadn’t been there for ages and even though I was very much too late for mass, I enjoyed just hanging out with my friends until after midnight.
Tamara and her family left on Monday, and the same day, Anneke came over to stay for a few days. She had a big test on Friday, and she needed a place where she could study hard and relax fully. Coming over to me was the ideal solution, because she had the house to herself from 7.30. I came home at 5, so we could cook together, go for a walk, and just relax. We had so much fun! We talked, laughed, read, cooked … It was great! She left Thursday evening. Her exam the following morning went fantastic!
That Friday was a busy day. It was a long Friday at work, so I had to work until half past three. I went home as fast as I could and started to arrange everything for the BBQ-party. Manie had his birthday on Wednesday, so I thought it would be a really neat idea to throw him a surprise birthday party. It was wonderful! Despite the forecast, it stayed dry all evening. We went for a night walk through Bruges and we strolled around for almost two hours. We were very surprised to meet my dad there too. He and his wife had friends over from South-America, and they were showing them around in Bruges. What a coincidence!
The evening was long, and I talked away with Anneke and Cléo until four thirty in the morning. Needless to say, Saturday morning came way too soon. Anneke left around eleven. Manie, Eduardo and Christine stayed a bit longer, and I walked them to the station. Hanne had used my bike that morning (she left around seven), and I biked back home, the dog running next to me.
I arrived home at half past two and cleaned a bit. Cléo finally got up at three thirty, and we had "lunch" around four. We were still eating when Mama, Walter and Siem came home from their holidays. It was so good to see them! We catched up and enjoyed the evening together. Cléo decided to stay another night (as usual) and we talked away until midnight. She went home on Sunday.
Funny detail: Hanne had asked to give some of her towels to Eduardo or Manie, so they could give them to her. I forgot of course, and I decided to go to Leuven with Cléo so I could hand them to her myself. I went to Leuven, had lunch with Hanne, gave her the towels, walked to the house of a friend (who wasn't home) to return her book that I've had for two years and took the train back. I was two hours in Leuven, and spent thirty minutes of those two hours in the station, waiting for my train. Seriously, I'm the best sister ever.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Weekends
One of the biggest changes now that I have work, is the weekend. When I was a student, I had to study in the weekends. When I worked at home, I still had to take care of a lot of things during the weekend. For years, weekends were days where I did the same work I did during the week, but just not as much. Now that I work, my weekends are true days off from my job. I still help around in the house of course, but it is entirely different because it’s work that I don’t have to do during the week.
So far, I’ve really enjoyed my weekends, and I filled them with lots of activities. I love it that I can so easily visit my friends during the weekends or just go out. I was allowed to go when I worked at home, but it wasn’t as easy as it is now, because we agreed I would work during the weekend too.
The last three weekends have been absolutely great. Just amazing as a matter of fact.
Let’s start with the first amazing weekend: Ascension weekend.
Ascencion day is Brugge’s ‘most beautiful day’. The famous ‘Holy Blood Procession’ proceeds every year on this day, and there are always a lot of spectators. I’ve been to the procession a few times already, and decided to go again this year, with Siem. You should have seen him. He was absolutely gob smacked. He kept asking for more policemen, and he was thrilled when the Roman soldiers came around the corner. The animals were a big hit too. We also had a great laugh. We tried to explain to Siem what each part of the procession meant. Lots of the parts where bible passages, and there was a lot of emphasis on the crucifixion. So we told him: “We told you that Jesus died, and that he came to life again on Easter, remember?”. He is able to recognize images of Jesus and Maria, and he knows Jesus died. So when a nice statue of Maria Regina with a sceptre in one hand and baby Jesus in the other passed by, he exclaimed: “killed Jesus!”. We just couldn’t help laughing out loud. It was so funny, and it did indeed look like she could whack him on the head with the sceptre any moment.
On Friday I had the day off, so I had a really long weekend. My grandparents where in town, and it was a lot of fun to have them over, even though they couldn’t stay long. We were able to get a lot of work done in the house and the garden before they came, so Saturday was a real day off. We didn’t have to do any more work in the house and we went out for dinner with Oma Poes, Siem’s paternal grandmother. In the afternoon, we just hang out and enjoyed the day. I went to the Sint-Michielsbeweging in the evening and had a great time.
And on the last day of this long weekend, we went to visit Tamara, Gary and Aaron. He is so unbelievably cute! We had lunch together, and just relaxed outside. Later, we went inside and while Gary and I made a computer table, the others played a game. Siem finally woke up after almost three hours of sleep, and we went home to enjoy the last evening of a very relaxing weekend.
A week later I had another prolonged weekend because of Pentecost, and it was just as much fun. On Saturday evening, I went to Anneke in Leuven. She came back from Uganda just weeks ago. It was so good to catch up again. We went for one of our long walks and enjoyed the beauty of the forest at twilight. We sat down in the middle of a little path to look up to the stars. At first we could hardly see any, but after a while, when the Sun was setting, we saw more and more. We talked way into the night, and because of that, we were a bit too late in church. It was nice to celebrate Pentecost together with friends I hadn’t seen in a long time. Hanne (my sister) was there too. We rushed back to Anneke’s place to get our lunch, and then we were off to the station to catch our train to Brussels. Every year there is a marathon in Brussels (technically it’s not a marathon, because it’s only 20km) and a few people from Icel were participating. Two people I knew, Philip and Eduardo, and one boy / man (I still don’t know where to draw the line) from South-Africa, Manie. They supported ‘Stop the traffic’, an organisation against the trade of people. The weather was great, and we had so much fun watching the people pass by. We were near the finish and it was really intriguing to see that some people seemed almost dead, while others seemed like they could run another 20 kilometres. Afterwards, we laid down in the grass and enjoyed the Sun. We talked, ate and laughed. Anneke and I cooled our feet in the fountain in the middle of the park, and in the early evening we went back to Leuven. I hadn’t eaten yet, so we decided to eat something on the Oude Markt, a famous and cosy square in the city centre. Before we knew it, it was almost eleven o’clock, and I had to rush back to catch my last train. I came home at two and fell asleep immediately.
It was so nice that I didn’t have to work on Monday, I just relaxed at home. In the evening we drank some wine and talked. The perfect evening to conclude a lovely weekend.
Last weekend I made another, albeit shorter, trip to Leuven. When I finished my work at half past three, I went straight to the station. Anneke and Manie organised a Braai (South-African barbecue). Hartmut, Anneke’s boyfriend was in Belgium, and this was the occasion to get to know him. They’ve been together for a year, and I’ve only seen him once, for about thirty seconds, so it was good to get to know him a little bit better. They had made special allergy-safe food, and there was wine too, so I had a great time. When it started to get cooler, we went to Eduardo’s place and just hung out for a while, eating desserts. I really didn’t feel like leaving, so in the end I had to borrow a bike to get back on time. Once again it was way past midnight before I reached my bed.
The following morning, my mother, Walter and Siem left on a holiday. After ten, the house was all mine. It was a great feeling, but it didn’t last longer than a few hours, because Hanne came home around six. We ate scampi (I LOVE scampi, and so does Hanne) and had a movie night at home. We watched The Illusionist and ate more sweets and chips than is legally permitted.
Sunday was election day in Belgium. I always anticipate a long waiting line, and as usual we didn’t have to wait at all. It was a bit complicated to vote, because not only did we have to decide for ourselves, we also had to vote for mama and Walter. But within ten minutes we were outside again, and we had fulfilled our duty as a citizen (you have to vote in Belgium).
Hanne and I tidied the house up, because later that day Tamara and Gary arrived with little Aaron. They’re staying at our house for a eight days, enjoying their week off. We watched a movie and really enjoyed ourselves. Another great weekend.
The following weekends promise to be just as much fun: next week I’m staying at my father’s place for Father’s Day, and the next I’ll host a barbecue for a few of my best friends. Let’s hope the weather has changed by then!
So far, I’ve really enjoyed my weekends, and I filled them with lots of activities. I love it that I can so easily visit my friends during the weekends or just go out. I was allowed to go when I worked at home, but it wasn’t as easy as it is now, because we agreed I would work during the weekend too.
The last three weekends have been absolutely great. Just amazing as a matter of fact.
Let’s start with the first amazing weekend: Ascension weekend.
Ascencion day is Brugge’s ‘most beautiful day’. The famous ‘Holy Blood Procession’ proceeds every year on this day, and there are always a lot of spectators. I’ve been to the procession a few times already, and decided to go again this year, with Siem. You should have seen him. He was absolutely gob smacked. He kept asking for more policemen, and he was thrilled when the Roman soldiers came around the corner. The animals were a big hit too. We also had a great laugh. We tried to explain to Siem what each part of the procession meant. Lots of the parts where bible passages, and there was a lot of emphasis on the crucifixion. So we told him: “We told you that Jesus died, and that he came to life again on Easter, remember?”. He is able to recognize images of Jesus and Maria, and he knows Jesus died. So when a nice statue of Maria Regina with a sceptre in one hand and baby Jesus in the other passed by, he exclaimed: “killed Jesus!”. We just couldn’t help laughing out loud. It was so funny, and it did indeed look like she could whack him on the head with the sceptre any moment.
On Friday I had the day off, so I had a really long weekend. My grandparents where in town, and it was a lot of fun to have them over, even though they couldn’t stay long. We were able to get a lot of work done in the house and the garden before they came, so Saturday was a real day off. We didn’t have to do any more work in the house and we went out for dinner with Oma Poes, Siem’s paternal grandmother. In the afternoon, we just hang out and enjoyed the day. I went to the Sint-Michielsbeweging in the evening and had a great time.
And on the last day of this long weekend, we went to visit Tamara, Gary and Aaron. He is so unbelievably cute! We had lunch together, and just relaxed outside. Later, we went inside and while Gary and I made a computer table, the others played a game. Siem finally woke up after almost three hours of sleep, and we went home to enjoy the last evening of a very relaxing weekend.
A week later I had another prolonged weekend because of Pentecost, and it was just as much fun. On Saturday evening, I went to Anneke in Leuven. She came back from Uganda just weeks ago. It was so good to catch up again. We went for one of our long walks and enjoyed the beauty of the forest at twilight. We sat down in the middle of a little path to look up to the stars. At first we could hardly see any, but after a while, when the Sun was setting, we saw more and more. We talked way into the night, and because of that, we were a bit too late in church. It was nice to celebrate Pentecost together with friends I hadn’t seen in a long time. Hanne (my sister) was there too. We rushed back to Anneke’s place to get our lunch, and then we were off to the station to catch our train to Brussels. Every year there is a marathon in Brussels (technically it’s not a marathon, because it’s only 20km) and a few people from Icel were participating. Two people I knew, Philip and Eduardo, and one boy / man (I still don’t know where to draw the line) from South-Africa, Manie. They supported ‘Stop the traffic’, an organisation against the trade of people. The weather was great, and we had so much fun watching the people pass by. We were near the finish and it was really intriguing to see that some people seemed almost dead, while others seemed like they could run another 20 kilometres. Afterwards, we laid down in the grass and enjoyed the Sun. We talked, ate and laughed. Anneke and I cooled our feet in the fountain in the middle of the park, and in the early evening we went back to Leuven. I hadn’t eaten yet, so we decided to eat something on the Oude Markt, a famous and cosy square in the city centre. Before we knew it, it was almost eleven o’clock, and I had to rush back to catch my last train. I came home at two and fell asleep immediately.
It was so nice that I didn’t have to work on Monday, I just relaxed at home. In the evening we drank some wine and talked. The perfect evening to conclude a lovely weekend.
Last weekend I made another, albeit shorter, trip to Leuven. When I finished my work at half past three, I went straight to the station. Anneke and Manie organised a Braai (South-African barbecue). Hartmut, Anneke’s boyfriend was in Belgium, and this was the occasion to get to know him. They’ve been together for a year, and I’ve only seen him once, for about thirty seconds, so it was good to get to know him a little bit better. They had made special allergy-safe food, and there was wine too, so I had a great time. When it started to get cooler, we went to Eduardo’s place and just hung out for a while, eating desserts. I really didn’t feel like leaving, so in the end I had to borrow a bike to get back on time. Once again it was way past midnight before I reached my bed.
The following morning, my mother, Walter and Siem left on a holiday. After ten, the house was all mine. It was a great feeling, but it didn’t last longer than a few hours, because Hanne came home around six. We ate scampi (I LOVE scampi, and so does Hanne) and had a movie night at home. We watched The Illusionist and ate more sweets and chips than is legally permitted.
Sunday was election day in Belgium. I always anticipate a long waiting line, and as usual we didn’t have to wait at all. It was a bit complicated to vote, because not only did we have to decide for ourselves, we also had to vote for mama and Walter. But within ten minutes we were outside again, and we had fulfilled our duty as a citizen (you have to vote in Belgium).
Hanne and I tidied the house up, because later that day Tamara and Gary arrived with little Aaron. They’re staying at our house for a eight days, enjoying their week off. We watched a movie and really enjoyed ourselves. Another great weekend.
The following weekends promise to be just as much fun: next week I’m staying at my father’s place for Father’s Day, and the next I’ll host a barbecue for a few of my best friends. Let’s hope the weather has changed by then!
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Happiness
I'm a realist. Tell me an idea, and I won't only be enthousiastic, I will also tell you what could go wrong. Some people would call that pessimism, but there's a big difference between the two. A pessimist ignores or minimalizes the bright side. A realist doesn't. Instead of focusing only on the positive or the negative side, a realist combines the two, and is realistic.
I tend to look ahead, and ponder possible problems ahead. I prefer to know what could happen. I don't assume there will be problems, but if a problem does come up, I don't want to be taken by surprise.
However, there is always a danger of going too far in this thinking, to focus on the problems instead of the possibilities, and to get really down because of everything that could possibly go wrong in my entire life.
But not so the last few weeks, or possibly even months. I have been happy. Not just a little bit, but really happy. I have no idea why.
My mother claims it's my job. I like my job, and it does cheer me up to work there, but if I'm honest I have to admit that I've been happier for a longer time. Cléo claims it's because of the diet I'm following. She's convinced that about 95% of all problems in the world are allergy-related (I'm only exaggerating a tiny little bit here). But that doesn't seem right either. Because this is not the first time that I have this kind of happy-episode.
So I was wondering why I was this happy without obvious reason. And I realised it's the effect of several aspects.
The first one is the weather. I don't know why I didn't think about that sooner, because the weather works on my moods. I don't mind heavy rains, thunderstorms or snow, but I really hate drizzly weather and dark days. And now spring has arrived, and summer is coming up, so I'm feeling much better.
The second aspect is indeed my diet. Before I removed dairy, gluten and sugar from my diet, I felt tired almost constantly. I was sleepy all the time and lost my temper easily.
The third aspect is my job. It's nice to feel needed, to be part of a team. I have to get up at certain times and work specific hours. Those schedules give a structure to life which makes it more relaxing.
The fourth aspect is friends. I love my friends. And I need my friends. When I came back to Brugge, I didn't have any friends left here. So I went to church, had different classes and went to Leuven regularly. It took some time to make good friends in Brugge. But now I can say that I have real friends here. However, my best friends are still in Leuven. Now that I have a job, I can do whatever I want in the weekends, so I go back to Leuven more often to see my friends. It's so good to see my friends, it makes me really happy.
And the fifth aspect is that I've found a new peace in everything. Life is good right now, I enjoy it while it lasts and try to build lots of fun memories. I don't know what's coming along, and I don't bother to think about everything that could go wrong. I can't change anything now, so it doesn't matter.
I don't know if or how long I will stay this happy and optimistic. When the days shorten, I will probably go back to "what should I do when I can't continue working here" and other questions. And there's nothing wrong with that, it's important to be prepared for such changes. But it's so much more fun to just enjoy the moment without a care in the world.
You bet I will enjoy every second of it.
I tend to look ahead, and ponder possible problems ahead. I prefer to know what could happen. I don't assume there will be problems, but if a problem does come up, I don't want to be taken by surprise.
However, there is always a danger of going too far in this thinking, to focus on the problems instead of the possibilities, and to get really down because of everything that could possibly go wrong in my entire life.
But not so the last few weeks, or possibly even months. I have been happy. Not just a little bit, but really happy. I have no idea why.
My mother claims it's my job. I like my job, and it does cheer me up to work there, but if I'm honest I have to admit that I've been happier for a longer time. Cléo claims it's because of the diet I'm following. She's convinced that about 95% of all problems in the world are allergy-related (I'm only exaggerating a tiny little bit here). But that doesn't seem right either. Because this is not the first time that I have this kind of happy-episode.
So I was wondering why I was this happy without obvious reason. And I realised it's the effect of several aspects.
The first one is the weather. I don't know why I didn't think about that sooner, because the weather works on my moods. I don't mind heavy rains, thunderstorms or snow, but I really hate drizzly weather and dark days. And now spring has arrived, and summer is coming up, so I'm feeling much better.
The second aspect is indeed my diet. Before I removed dairy, gluten and sugar from my diet, I felt tired almost constantly. I was sleepy all the time and lost my temper easily.
The third aspect is my job. It's nice to feel needed, to be part of a team. I have to get up at certain times and work specific hours. Those schedules give a structure to life which makes it more relaxing.
The fourth aspect is friends. I love my friends. And I need my friends. When I came back to Brugge, I didn't have any friends left here. So I went to church, had different classes and went to Leuven regularly. It took some time to make good friends in Brugge. But now I can say that I have real friends here. However, my best friends are still in Leuven. Now that I have a job, I can do whatever I want in the weekends, so I go back to Leuven more often to see my friends. It's so good to see my friends, it makes me really happy.
And the fifth aspect is that I've found a new peace in everything. Life is good right now, I enjoy it while it lasts and try to build lots of fun memories. I don't know what's coming along, and I don't bother to think about everything that could go wrong. I can't change anything now, so it doesn't matter.
I don't know if or how long I will stay this happy and optimistic. When the days shorten, I will probably go back to "what should I do when I can't continue working here" and other questions. And there's nothing wrong with that, it's important to be prepared for such changes. But it's so much more fun to just enjoy the moment without a care in the world.
You bet I will enjoy every second of it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)