Oh! What a day!

Lost in fairy tales, lots of giggling, hurting feet, laughter, food and booze!

 

Sunday morning (3):

MyLove's brother is getting married in a week. His bachelor party was last night: he was kidnapped by his friends and brothers and they traveled to the north of this country - only 250 km :-D - for booze and strippers. "His" kind of fun. They have not returned home yet...

We women are a lot more civilized: the bachelorette will be woken up - loudly! - any minute now and after a nice breakfast, she will be taken to ..... ( HA! CeCe, really, you did not think I was gonna tell you where we're gonna take you!) and afterwards we'll have dinner in town. No booze, no strippers, just plain girly fun!

Less 'filthy': definitely! Less drunk: seriously! A wonderful day for the bride-to-be, her style: abso-bloody-lutely!

 

XQQS

I haven't forgotten about y'all!
I am just incredibly busy. Next door. In my own house... A renovation is infectious! So, we have our own little "Extreme house make-over": paint the ceiling (white again, instead of nicotine-brownish), new floor (laminated flooring)... Busy, busy, busy..

In the meantime, entertain yourselves with this 'Fun on FriSaturday' game. Try to get the kittens in your wheelbarrow to the other side of the cleft and DON'T drop them...(source)

 

Neighbours (2)

Brother in law has accepted the apartment next door! Cool! However, we have to redefine the whole brother/neighbour relationship thing. More contact than with the ordinary person next door, but not too much. A balance between family visits and daily 'checks'... We'll figure it out. Later.
In the meantime it comes in handy that the neighbourette - 'moi' - has no job and is available on a 24/7 basis. Needless to say that she has to do the crappy chores. Got to go now, I have a room full of flowery wallpaper waiting for me to strip it off the wall!

 

Alternative cure

´Porgy! Poooorgy! Come here! Sit on my shoulder! You cool? Anyway, since about a week or so, I don´t feel as happy and cheerful as I used to be. Maybe it´s post-summer depression or a simple pre-autumn dip... I thought you should know. Thanks. Now, shoo! Shoo! Fly away´
´Ober! Ooooober! Hi QT... Hop on my finger! Sitting comfi? By the way, I checked my bank account the other day, and I am deep in the blue, almost broke. So I bought this lottery ticket... Just to let you know. Kissy and shoo. Shoo!´
´Mango! Mango-sweetie. Come to mama! I understand you can´t fly yet, because your too young and all, but you really have to try. For me. (...) You´re not helping...´*sigh*
´Porgy!´
´Ober!´

The birds have no idea why I keep catching them, whispering stuff to them and then releasing them - but in India they believe it really works...

 

The One With The Naked Couple

Remember how Monica, Rachel, Chandler, Joey, Phoebe and Ross of 'Friends' sometimes saw 'Ugly Naked Guy' when they looked out of their window? We have our own. Or actually: we have 'Ugly Naked Couple'. They live in a house behind our apartment building. There used to be a factory building in between, but that has been torn down last year. Now, the terrain lays fallow, and we can see across the field, right into their house. They could have walked naked in their own house safely for years, no one could see them with that big building in the way. Now, everyone who lives above the third floor in our building can see them from their winter gardens. We think they know - they must know, there have been comments about them - but they just don't care.
"Don't watch", is easier said than done. It's definitely not voyeurism: Ugly Naked Couple are not the prettiest of people. When you see them you don't wanna watch, but you keep looking. Like you would do while watching a scary movie: you look away, hide your face behind your hands, yet you peak to check if the scary moment has gone away...
Oh no! It has not gone away. They are still naked! IIIIIEEEEWWW!!!

 

Hmmm... Sunday

I just spent the entire day on the sofa - chips and coke on the side table - watching other people sport. I only moved to go to the loo and get more to drink from the kitchen, yet I feel increadibly active... ;-)

 

Neighbours

MyLove's brother is moving out of Hotel Mama. After four years of waiting on the 'affordable-rental-apartment-in-town-center'-list, due to housing shortage. Finally, an apartment has been allotted to him and his girlfriend.
Right next door to ours! Can you believe it?! 1500 houses in this part of town, and they might become OUR neighbours?! Ah well, we don't have a problem with it: we won't be checking on them or wanting to drink coffee with them every single day. I bet we won't see each other more often than I see them or my current neighbours now. It will be handy for the parents: two sons in one go. The only person I can imagine who will find the situation annoying might be the mail man...

 

It´s in the stars

I just checked my horoscope for this week. I should have checked it last Monday: then I would have had a perfectly good reason to stay in bed with the covers over my head...

This week's scenario is highlighted by strong emotional & physical ties. (...) You may be very vulnerable and sensitive, especially when it comes to your own creativity and your need for self-expression. Don't let anyone tell you what you can and can't do. (...) You could be tempted to run away at the wrong moment. Take a step backward, gain new perspective, and try to attract the right people and situations into your life. There are many wonderful ways of expressing your feelings. Look deep inside for answers.

Better luck next week!

 

Deja-vu?!

Different day, different car, same outcome and comments...

 

Warning: depression

10 Years ago I went to University. I was going to finish my M.Sc. in Geology in four years and conquer the world after that! It took me 7 years, but I joined a Forbes 500 company even before I officially graduated. The world was in my hands... Training in Houston, work in the UK, Faroer Islands. The Plan was simple: I was going to do the mudlogging thing for a little while and then move directly into wellsite geology, or company woman. Then I would become a consultant or senior geo of an E&P team... Thing did not go according to The Plan. The Company went through a mayor downsizing operation, and others too. Our department was laid off completely. I thought I would find another job real soon. I had my degree, my experience... Others too, and more of it. 18 months later, I am still unemployed. I had a hell of a reality check: a pile of "We are sorry to inform..." and other 'nice' rejection letters in my desk.

I know things don't always go according to Plans in life- 'Guidelines only, subject to changes' - but that does not mean it does not suck big time! Does any one have another Plan for me?

 

It's getting hot in herre

The milk turned into yoghurt and the Gouda into cheese spread, I noticed when I tried to make myself breakfast. I poured myself some coffee and swore. #%^&!!! The hottest week of the year and the fridge gave up. I checked the thermometer: 15 degC, where it should be 4 to 7 degC. #%^&!!! Everything gone off, except for the beer.
We bought a new second-hand. We let it settle for a day and turned it on. 24 hours later we checked the temperature. Twelve degrees. #%^&!!!
We bought a new thermometer and placed it inside for 6 hours. Thirteen degrees. #%^&!!!
We phoned the fridge guy. "How warm is the house itself?", he asked. "25 degC", we replied. "Too warm, the fridge can't loose its heath".

#%^&!!! It was never the fridge, it's the house...
Does anyone need a - perfectly working - fridge?

 

Oh no!

I just noticed the date! And I have a driving class in 15 minutes... Fortunately, I don't suffer from Paraskevidekatriaphobia... But, just in case, wish me luck!

 

Muzik

He started out as a DJ in a very small - 150 people max. - venue in my hometown, where I used to party on Saturday night... I was sixteen and off course I was madly in love with the DJ... Twelve years later: twice voted 'Best DJ of the world', the world's first 8 hour DJ-concert in front of an audience of 25.000, knighted... Can things get crazier, bigger or better for this guy?! Yes, they can:

"DJ Tiësto will make Olympic history on Friday, August 13, when he becomes the first DJ ever to perform in an Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games. Some four billion people will be watching the planet's premier sport event. No DJ has ever performed at the Olympic Games. In October 2003, Tiësto was approached by the Athens Organizing Committee a DJ-performance of 90 minutes during the parade of the athletes, a part of the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games. During this parade, all participating nations introduce their athletes, over 10,000 in total. ATHOC has shown it values art and innovation by asking the most popular DJ on Earth to produce the music for the parade. Tiësto will perform his DJ-set live in the Olympic Stadium in Athens. This will include new tracks produced especially for the Opening Ceremony and songs that have been tailored to compliment the spirit of the Ceremony." (source)

ps. It will be the longest broadcast of dance music ever on the American TV-stations...
pps. MyLove is the resident DJ at that same venue now... Where are the Olympics of 2016 held?

 

Question:

Why do you only check if you took your keys with you AFTER you closed the door, AND when no one else is in the house AND when the person you left the spare keys with is on a holiday...

 

A third?!

...And we call him/her Mango*.

* because of its colour scheme, MyLove's India experience(read: he tasted all -40- types of mango this country has to offer) and the clothing brand/shop!

 

Face your fears

The numerous visits to the coast have finally paid off. Not only am I tanned - My Love calls it "sun kissed off-white", I consider myself incredibly tanned-, but also am I cured from a long term fear that has held me back for years. Sandphobia. The fear of sand. Can you imagine: a marine sedimentologist who does not like sand?! Almost like a hydrophobic lifeguard...
Don't get me wrong: I loved the beach in a morphological kind of way. The combined action of the sea, the land and the wind... Giving, taking... Ripples, barriers, dunes... Breathtaking. Yet: the sand grains- the actual building blocks of the beach- AARGH! The sole reason for becoming a geologist and not a physical geographer was sand. Sandstone is solid. Sand comes in grains. It gets in your drinks, between your teeth, in your eyes, hair and who knows what body cavities.
Anyway, I am kind off cured. I still don't like sand, yet I have learned to deal with it in the past week. Cover your drink with a book. Always wear sunglasses. Rent a beach bed and a wind screen. Shower or swim when sand-covered. But most important: leave a set of dry, clean and sandless clothes in the car.

 

Happy cloggy!

It's official: this is the fifth consecutive day above 25 degC and the second above 30 degC within that period... Heat Wave!!! So, do not expect a larger post than this one (maybe tonight, but I won't promise anything), I'm off to the beach!

 

Words of notice

"Preposterous".

I really love the sound of this word, don´t you?
Come on, just pronounce it - preferebly imitate Queen Elizabeth - and listen how this word rolls off your tongue...

"Preposterous".

Let me hear your personal favorites!

 

Weather talk

Last year, we had the sunniest summer of all summers - at least, of the ones I can remember. An über-summer. The sun started shining at the end of June and I cannot recall seeing one single cloud or feeling a drop of rain till the end of September... More than 3 months of nice and warm. Off course, there were complaints. It´s part of our culture: the Dutch love to complain, especially about something as unpredictable and subjective like the weather. Last year´s summer was ´too hot´ and ´too dry´. Doom scenarios: ´this could be the herald of future climate change´, and so on...
This year, summer was late. In fact, it was cold and rainy - an extended spring - till a week ago. Complaints all around. ´Too cold, ´too wet´. We had definitely been spoilt by last year´s endless sunny season. It appeared, people suffered from collective memory loss, ´cause no one seemed to remember that this (17 degC, cloudy, partly sunny, rainy) was the original(TM) Dutch summer!
However, a week ago, the weather changed. Drastically. From 17 to 27 degC in 3 days. Hot, sunny, humid. Traffic jams on the roads to the North Sea beaches. No complaints (yet...) and no nagging about the bad start of the summer any more. Happy cloggies, smiles everywhere! Until last night...
A thunder storm. Nice, it blows away humidity, and clears up the sky. This morning it was still raining- drizzling, in fact. No sun, just clouds. When I turned on the radio, I heard the first ´Too humid´, ´too warm´...

 

Sold

The shop is closed for two years now. 'For sale', the sign in the window reads. Empty, only a counter in the back. I glance through the windows every time I pass it. Not much to see, except for a growing pile of advertising leaflets and local papers.

This morning a man was sitting behind the counter. He must have taken his own chair with him, the rest of the shop was still empty. The man swivelled round in his chair, his eyes shut, and a smile on his face.

I walked on, passing the 'Sold' sign, wondering if the man had been the new owner, visualising a crowded shop. Or the real estate agent, thinking about his commission...

 

It's getting hot in her...

"A Romania woman made an official complaint because her ice cream was too cold. Trading standards officials promised to take the woman's letter into consideration but said they could not do much about it. The head of the consumer protection authority in Slatina, Olt county, told a newspaper: "We had strange complaints before but this one is really something. This lady actually got hot because her ice-cream was too cold."

(source)

*sighs*
Women...
Did I hear someone say: "Sun stroke"?

 

After sun afterglow

The ultimate last-minute mini-holiday: decide on Friday - 8 PM - to spend the weekend at the beach and invite some friends to join you...

We left early Saturday morning and returned late last night. Only two days, but my battery is full again. I could bore you with stories about how warm and sunny it was, how cold the sea, how perfect the mussels and shrimps tasted, how tanned My Love and how off-white I am... But I won't. I don't want to make you jealous.

If I could only wipe the happy smile off my face... ;-D