Belgium...on a shoestring

Shake that thing miss Annabella

2011-06-23T19:03:00.007+02:00

After realising that 2010 has come and gone, and I have not updated our blog, I thought it was time to publish the highlights (and lowlights) - if not for anyone else, for us for future reference...

The first of our wine trips with the gays - We went to the Aars region in Germany (great Riesling and white wine) at the end of winter and did quite a bit of hiking through sludgy snow. Regrettably the cafe at the top of the mountains was coincidentally closed on the day we were trekking which didn't keep us in good spirits, but we stocked up on the wine while we were there...

May 2010 - with Tom's father quite sick, and Bie working quite a lot with little time off, I decided to go with Maarten to Croatia (Dubrovnik - staying in Cavtat). One of the most beautiful countries - dirt cheap, not yet in the EU, and slightly ruined. Am not entirely sure why, but I have the feeling that the war may have something to do with it. Maarten and I rented scooters for a day and just went where the wind blew us. We ended up crossing the border into Montenegro (back into the Eurozone), but were more impressed with the landscape Croatia had to offer.

Suzi and Glenn visited us in April 2010, so we took them on a bike ride through Antwerp, then a boat trip through Brugge as newly engaged sweethearts. Am bummed to have missed the wedding last weekend, but was quite happy to get to spend time with them while they were here...
Once again, in April 2010, I ran 5km, this time recruiting a couple of colleagues and a dear friend, Sabien. This time breaking the half hour barrier (well, 29:29 is only just, but good enough!!)

I gave up a free ticket to Rock Werchter to see the flash of lightning known as the Tour De France fly through Kontich. The ambiance was fantastic despite only seeing the cyclists for a second...

My parents came over again for a visit (seeing more of Europe than I ever will) but between all of their travelling, they decided to visit us. Mum went home early, and dad stayed on, so we decided to do a road trip through Germany and up to Denmark. This first picture was on the afsluitsdijk in northern Holland - the largest Dyke in the world (and the bloody windiest!). Which one is dad??

Once we arrived in Rige (on Jutland/Jylland - the mainland part of Denmark) and marvelled at its beauty (the oldest city in Denmark), we considered legoland until discovering it wasn't opening until the following weekend (I should have researched this a little better...). Then Dad decided to call the family farm he and mum worked on in 1971, and to his amazement, they remembered him and invited us up! We had a fantastic time there, and they even found this old photo of him with a few of the kids of the other workers!

After leaving Farso in north Jutland, we drove south, and briefly saw the Island of Funen (Fyn) before crossing the most enormous (not to mention expensive!) bridge across to Zealand (Sjaelland). We met up with Dad's cousin Bente at her beach house in Kalundborg (being november in Scandinavia, I wasn't really up for a dip), and met her new boyfriend. I have never seen such an in-love 70 year old!

We then drove on to Copenhagen and it reminded me quite a lot of most European cities, but the Danes were fantastic and friendly people! Funnily enough, we went on a bus tour, and the most famous icon of Denmark (the little mermaid) was on holiday in china. So, after missing Lego land, this was a bit of a bum! I did learn a little about the hippy part of Copenhagen (Kristiana) which was eye-opening...

The inevitable trip to tram-3 (as they put it in Flemish) was planned for 5 dec 2010, but I decided to have a combined party with Philippe to celebrate in november. Kym and Benj even decided to haul their 30-31 year old bodies over the channel to see us once again!

More highlights to come...!

Massively Attacked

2009-10-26T19:57:00.001+01:00

After a long absence from the blog, and witnessing one of the finer concerts we have seen, it seemed appropriate to make a return appearance to the www.

We have significantly reduced the frequency of live concerts in the last 2 years, but weren't going to miss Massive Attack when discovering in April they were going to play in the lotto arena in Antwerp in October. It was a wretched day on Saturday, and driving to Antwerp seemed such a task, and both of us were quite happy to sit in with a cup of warm fruity infusion and watch Midsomer murders, but eventually plucked our roots out of the sofa and drove through the rain to Sportpaleis/Lotto arena. We were also not looking forward to finding a parking place (the two big concert/sport arenas in antwerp are smack bang next to eachother) as Night of the Proms was also on Saturday (featuring Roxette!) but there was no way in hell that Tom was going to let me drag him there!

So we arrived in the Lotto arena, were guided to our chairs (in the middle area - normally designated standing room...) and enjoyed the supporting artist (probably the best supporting artist I have seen, behind Basement Jaxx) - Martina Totley - Bird. Then we were asked to stand (strangely after being designated seats etc.) and were just blown away by the army of Massive Attack. Whilst I was under the impression that it was just 2 guys mixing incredible, dark music, there was at least 10 different musicians, including:

of course Daddy G and 3D, but also,

Deborah Miller lending her vocals for Unfinished Sympathy and Safe from Harm
Horace Dean for my personal favourite Angel and a heap of others
Martina Totley-Bird for Teardrop and at least 3 others

I think Tom's happiest moment was when they finished with Karma Coma, but I can truly say that I was blown away by the ongoing enthusiasm. Perhaps this was drug induced, but I would like to remain naïve and think that it was just adrenaline!

Thanks the the awesome light show as well!

One night to speed up truth

2009-07-21T19:15:00.003+02:00

One of our post-wedding shots. We had an amazing time in oz and are now more and more convinced that we should move back sometime soon. A dip is inevitable, but thankfully the weather is fantastic and there are festivals by the bucket load to keep our minds busy...

What have I become, my sweetest friend

2009-05-21T12:54:00.003+02:00

Gotto love public holidays after submitting assignments! Time to catch up on all the exciting chores and procrastinate on the computer...

The sun has been shining a lot more lately, being reason to do more outdoorsy things!

We had a visit from Emme and Kit, entailing a bike-ride into Antwerp, under the Schelde to linkeroever for an icecream, followed by a wine in the city. The evening before was Maarten's birthday barbecue on the kattendijk, and here is Emme with Jenthe...

Tom and I took a drive to Herentaals (only to get seriously lost on the way) in the Kempen, winding up in Geel first. By mid afternoon, we found the only nice piece of nature Flanders has to offer, and had a lovely walk.

Yet another work function... am lucky I have a boss who enjoys putting on a do every now and then!

Some more shots from the 10 miles... couldnt believe these guys ran 16km in a rubber ducky! There were so many amazing different costumes and contraptions! Some old dude retiring from the fire service ran the entire race in his fire-fighting costume! CRAZY!

A shot of whitey showing off lack of muscle - clearly before the race (no sweat marks just yet!!)

A little bit of bragging

2009-05-06T20:04:00.006+02:00

Antwerpen: End April 2009:

Tom - ran 10 miles (approx 16km) in 1hr 26mins

Ingrid - ran 5km (approx not that far) in 31mins and 9 seconds.

Thoroughly enjoyed the day - 25 000 people ran (including a bunch a kids in the 1km run!) and the atmosphere was amazing. Especially when the boss is a health-nut and sponsored a VIP tent on the finish line - a good incentive if you ask me!

Video of Ingrid crossing the line

My video is crowded with heaps of women, but if you look carefully, there is a countdown (around a minute) and I am wearing pink on the far right of the screen.

Video of Tom crossing the line

Tom's video is with a huge amount of people - his has a 15 second countdown, and is easy to pick as he crosses the line, he stops his watch (also on the left of the screen).

Official Photo of Tom (copywritten...) looking completely buggered! You need to click on the link for Antwerpen 10 miles and marathon (in April) and his number is 4951.

Can you tell how proud I am?! Next year, we both aim to do better (can I manage the full 16km - through two tunnels, with an uphill tunnel at the end of the race?! I have heard one too many stories of people collapsing in the 'konijnenpijp' tunnel and am slightly put off...).

Gaan we wenen?

2009-04-06T21:06:00.004+02:00

Clearly due to lack of any sort of blog activity in the past 2 months, I have been short of time (not to mention any interesting European activity!)

What has happened since 6 February? The first wedding from Tom's group of friends - an extremely elaborate affair (involving top hats, suits with tails', 200+ guests, a new dress for me, a new waistcoat for Tom), but a lot of fun. Plenty of dancing until 4am, a power-spew from Tom (making the night extra special).

In line with our wedding... my dress is being adjusted to fit, so no more stressing - no more losing any weight - bring on the calorie bombs! We have also ordered our rings from Wim Meeussen which went rather quickly. Two huge costs, but exciting!

The invitations are ALMOST ready to send to oz. Hopefully noone will be too upset receiving them this late in the game!

We are off to Vienna (Wenen) for a few days on Wednesday - finally I will visit my classical and romantic dream where Beethoven, Mozart, Hayden, Strauss etc. spent much of their lives, while Tom will be able to visit the beginning of psychology. We have booked ourselves something fancy (for the first time ever!) so are looking forward to some luxury!

Pics to follow

Lay where you're laying, don't make a sound

2009-02-06T21:16:00.002+01:00

Triple J's hottest 100 has once again zoomed by, reminding me of what I am missing: barbecue in scorching heat, radio blasting, time with aussie friends somewhere. BUT, this year wasnt too bad for Australia day.

We stayed with Kym and Benj for their last weekend in London (for the time being), partied a night away with a lot of aussies, and caught up with Evan on Australia day itself.

I was slightly disappointed to hear that Kings of Leon 'sex on fire' was the winner: While I dont mind the song, I don't particularly believe that it blew the rest away. But, being so far away, I have no idea what the radio plays at home (although, was quite nicely surprised to see that some great aussie stuff was up there in the top 10, along with my personal faves, MGMT).

This week has brought some agitated anticipation, along with the dreaded influenza (or one of his nasty cousins). Whilst tom is not-so-patiently waiting for his exam results (he has 2 of the 5), he became bed-ridden on Sunday, only to rise yesterday (when I started to experience some dizziness and interesting rattling noises).

So, in my jarmies, I decided to watch Michael Moore's 'Sicko'. Although I am not a real fan of his extremist, black and white documentary style, it once again made me appreciate where I live! I hope Australia isn't still turning into America, and have my fingers crossed that Ruddy is at least attempting to socialise Oz, just a wee bit more. It is fantastic to live in a country where you can go into the emergency department, have a broken arm, require surgery, and numerous visits - all for free - no matter how rich or poor! I am looking forward to the top notch medical care, free gynae appointments and ultrasounds, free physio and 6 months off paid when I get around to having a child. Free dentist too. Oh, and the government want to give me 3 extra days for our wedding. Thank god/allah/buddah that I am not an American. BUT, admittedly, it is very easy to be caught up in Michael Moore. Need to watch it with a huge amount of salt...

Have had a pretty good winter here. Not as bad as last year, but am thinking that the snow, plus the presence of family had a great deal to do with that. Both Tom and myself are already anticipating the summer here. I must sound like a broken record, but there really is nothing as magical as it (probably due to the stark contrast with the winter months, plus the presence of my work bonus, enabling us to live life a little more indulgently!).

Those of you who actually read our little blog, be sure to keep the 12th of September free - if you are in Belgium, my parents in law will be throwing our wedding for those of you who cannot make it to oz.

I don't care about clever, I don't care about funny

2009-01-20T16:58:00.006+01:00

Sometimes, I am sure all of us do it, I wake up and just think that life can be great.

Today Emme left, leaving our apartment somewhat a little emptier and quieter, but I know she is moving on to bigger and better things, and now she is only a 2 hour train ride away as opposed to a 24 hour flight away.! I will miss her dearly, however, since our friendships seems to have blossomed a great deal over the past 3 months.

Mum left on Sunday, taking with her a heap of experiences through Belgium, Scotland, Ireland and Prague. While I can't post anything on here of her trips with Em, I will show some of the highlights of Prague...

This first one was quite eery and kinda summed up our entire experience of Prague: macabre (as mum so eloquently put it). Currently, the czech republic has been in the news with a great deal of focus on their sculptor/artist David Czerny. While he wasn't permitted to present his work during the communistic regime, he certainally has flourished since. If you look carefully, this first one looks like a man hanging from a window, and apparently hundreds of tourists notify 'authorities' every year about this guy. Wierd, but made us laugh!

This one is the astronomical clock located on the old city hall, and the little figurines on the sides dance (including one skeleton) for around 10 seconds every hour. Not sure why it is so important, but was quite nice.
Had to enclose another Czerny. Also wierd (very strong fascination with death, ghosts, myths etc). This one was just hanging in a shopping mall. Nice.
A little more less death orientated was our visit to the Dvorak hall to see the string section of Czech philharmonic playing some chamber music from Mozart and other composers, along with a concerto for Marimba with the most fascinating young Austrian performer. We paid next to nothing for our tickets, and had the most first class performance. Would highly recommend to anyone visiting (with a slight interest in classical music however!)

Mum and I went on two free walking tours through the city, and learnt more than we could have from the lonely planet. Were very content with our guide, and whilst it was FREEZING cold (-11°C), I thoroughly enjoyed what the city had to offer.

Next (after Tom has finished his exams: 2 to go...) - onto London, maybe back to the Netherlands, then Vienna, then home. Let's just hope that the histogenex bonus is healthy enough to support our indulgent habit...!

One step closer

2009-01-03T19:44:00.003+01:00

It's official... Tom is actually attending our wedding!

Today, we are once again a few euros lighter after booking his ticket (with confirmation from two more friends who also booked today - yay!).

Next steps: Tom's suit, rings, paying off my dress (grrr!) and all the stuff mum wants to talk about!

It's been quiet around here since the other two Christiansen girls have taken off trecking around kilt-country, followed by Ireland, but am looking forward to seeing them again in a week in Dublin. At least Tom will have some much needed rest!

Have once again commenced my studies. This time have taken a totally different (and dare I say it - not yet as interesting) path but am keen to get into it again, even if it means less time with the beloved TV (ha!).

2008 - gone forever

2009-01-01T13:49:00.003+01:00

It is new years day, and both Tom and myself are at home, saving the pennies and instead have chosen to richen the neurons (pun intended considering Tom is doing psych, and I have opted for a brain subject this year.)

While 2008 brought less travel and new experiences than previous years, it has taught us a few things. Not all are appropriate for this blog, but we have been tested financially constantly this past year, and are so grateful that we actually manage (sorry for constantly screaming poor, however!).

Memerable events of 2008:

- Visiting dear friends in Holland and their two gorgeous boys, while dusting the cobwebs off my old violin to experience a bit of Bach once again.

- Tom passing his 2nd year with flying colours

- My return to uni: many long study days, weekends etc. only to feel completely invigorated by the entire process. Bring on 2nd year!

- The interesting state of affairs of the Belgian government (or lack thereof!) Yves Leterme didn't seem to last too long before he screwed up.

- Not all was good however. Tom and myself lost a few friends this year including two of my colleagues and one of Tom's korfbal team mates (from a few years ago).

- Visits from some great Australian friends and family: Nicky & Liz (visiting twice!!), Mum and Emme, and one night with Benj in Ghent. AND visits to London (2 or 3 times - can't quite remember. Always great to see Kym and Benj.)

- Our road trip in Italy. Highlights not the major cities, but included a personal chianti wine-tasting in the hills of Tuscany (Rufina) and our late night drink and left-wing anti-Berlusconi political chat with the receptionist from the hotel in Bologna.

- Zomer van Antwerpen. Free movies in the hangar by the river, the summerbar with Cava, Sangria, Tapas and world cuisine. The absolute beauty antwerp has to offer is indescribable - even if for only a month or two a year! Come home Anna and Sabien!

- Buying my wedding dress

- The surprise bachelor night for Tom in the Ardennes - especially for the few of the guys who survived the trecherous mountain biking journey.

- Tom going for a last minute trip to Munich for the Oktoberfest

- Tom breaking his arm (funny that all of Tom's highlights have something to do with booze. Should this be something of concern???!)

- And last but not least. The late discovery of House MD. Have become totally addicted to the American Hugh Laurie, and still can't quite get enough!

There are probably more, but these are those which came to mind most quickly!

Have just received my new course books for my year - with focus on the Brain and its behaviour. So now I'm off to read about addiction; perhaps I should just let Tom write my assignments this year, considering he has already been down this track. More time for House MD that way!

Happy new year to all of you, my dear friends. XXX

Whoops

2008-12-29T22:21:00.004+01:00

It may appear that we have fallen beneath the radar, but rest assured that we are still here. Just a quicky before I go to bed, and will update more in the new year. Most of all, no matter where you are, we hope you have/had a fantastic holiday period, and a healthy and happy 2009. This proves to be a big year for us, with Tom (hopefully) completing the Bachelor part of his degree and of course, the wedding...

So a quick pic of Em - since she has been here for more than two months and I havent shown her yet! She had a great time in Salamanca and Barcelona and even squeezed in a level I Spanish course!

Shouting lager lager lager lager

2008-11-16T12:57:00.006+01:00

Now that a busy week of concerts is 'achter de rug', I am sure Tom and myself will be suffering some sort of dip!

The week began on the 10th of November, taking me to see Natalia (very poppy - not my style of music, but good company) with a group of colleagues, allowing us to shake our bums around a little and try some unique style of dancing. This was a lot of fun, and an ok show. Thankfully, tuesday was a public holiday(rememberence day gets an entire day in europe... not just one minute at 11am!).

Saturday, after a little midday nap, and a shot of Guarana at 8pm, Tom and I found ourselves in Gent, meeting up with Benj and a whole wod of others (we had a group of 9 in total) for one of the biggest dance festivals in Europe: I love techno. FINALLY I had my chance to see Underworld live, and they definitely lived up to my expectations! We started off the evening in the 'blue room' with Hot Chip, LA Riots and Digitalism, before having a quick break in the chill-out lounge with our free water (a great initiative if you ask me!), before making it over to the red room (lucky we got in for the headlining act). The only regret was that we missed out on seeing Justice in the orange room (the room had a limit of 5000 and was full before Underworld had finished) But after a full 8 hours of dancing, I think we were all completely satisfied with what we experienced!

The red carpet arrival with Claudia, Tom, Valerie, myself, Benj and Johnno

Somewhere around HotChip with Benj, Tim, myself, Tom and a few randoms

The end of the Underworld Show. The born slippy .nuxx climax was just superb! I don't know how those guys find all that energy after nearly 30 years of performing (yes, probably something synthetic in the shape of a small circle is involved!)

The end of the evening. Completely buggered and chugging down the water!

Sunday saw a relaxing sleep-in, followed by a trip to Brussels to see one of the most spectacular groups I have ever seen live: Sigur Ros. They seem to have created their own genre of music, and play such an eclectic repetoir, that I for one was never bored and longing for more!

On the family front, Emme is now in Salamanca, attending language classes for a couple of weeks, to develop a basic knowledge of spanish, and mum will be here in 4 weeks. Looking forward to seeing them both!

Emme and other catastrophes

2008-11-10T14:05:00.004+01:00

My dear, beloved sister arrived on the 22nd of October, and what a great reunion. Without going into too much personal detail of her past, it was a much needed 'run-away' and despite having quite a small appartment, my family will always be welcome to stay with us. 10 days after her arrival, she headed off again, and is now galavanting around southern europe, trying to absorb the final rays of sun before the cold winter really sets in, and she finds herself moving into a cold dark flat in London. Now one more Christiansen female to make it over here, and we can celebrate Christmas in full Australian style (much to the discomfort of any Belgians present, I'm sure). I just don't know where I am going to find a cricket bat made from 4x2, which will be used to play 'French Cricket' in our small, probably muddy communal yard. I will perservere however...

Tonight brings the first of the concerts/festivals of the week, in the form of Natalia. I am still contemplating whether or not to go after a rather embarrassing cause of events resulting in a nocturnal visit to the accidents and emergencies wing of our local hospital and am not sure whether I have fully recovered from my constant need to do pee pee. But they have given me some antibiotics (trust me, I don't take medication too easily, but when it comes to toilet trips every 5 minutes, any relief is fantastic!) so hopefully that will be cleared up sooner rather than later.!

This is our decision, to live fast and die young.

2008-10-19T20:49:00.006+02:00

November appears to be the month of concerts...

While I am a mad MGMT fan, we werent quite on time to get tickets for them, but this is hopefully for the best due to the timing of their show...

Emme arrives on wednesday (22 Oct), and Tom and I will be at the airport with bells on awaiting her arrival! A week later, I will be living a decadent life-long dream witnessing the artistic work displayed by the cirque du soleil. However, November is appearing to be the ball-breaker for this little Aussie: Firstly, I will be heading to the sportpaleis in Antwerpen to see Natalia (very famous Kylie Minogue Belgian equivalent) with the colleagues on teh 10th of November. Fortunately enough, the 11th is a holiday here... The 15th brings a huge party in Gent (with some of our friends in the UK driving over for it) also known as I love techno. However, the 16th November has been long booked with our faves: Sigur Ros. Don't know how our poor bodies will handle this, but fortunately, we couldn't make it to MGMT on the 14th of Nov, otherwise Sigur Ros would be an absolute disaster.

AM so excited for the following weeks... Such a social agenda again, before I start studying again...! No complaining this end however!

Control yourself. Take only what you need from them.

2008-10-13T20:08:00.003+02:00

Thanks to one of my current faves: MGMT... very different sound, but right up my alley!

No photos this time - just a rant and rave (yes, it's October, the leaves have turned brown, the mood of the average Belgian has turned a little more sour, the knives have proverbially come out in some places!). While everyone in Oz is probably wearing teeny tiny little singlets and the aircons have once again been switched on for the long summer, the days here are getting dramatically shorter and a definite autumn feel reminds me of the long cold months to come!

I feel that I am relatively safe to use this blog as a so-called journal as to the 'happenings' in our lives, but am still a wee bit wary as to what goes on at the place I spend the majority of my life: work. I had quite a psychological chat to Tom this evening about the 'work-dynamic' and relationships formed and lost there. I have worked in enough places to be aware of the need for a hierachy everywhere, but I don't think I have ever worked anywhere with such a prominent 'clique' group and the remaining outcasts/independant workers (can you figure out where I am?!!). Don't get me wrong, I am not phased by this situation, but admittedly do become jealous when other colleagues are praised and encouraged because they are in the clique while the rest of us don't. This is my own self esteem issue, but who doesn't like encouragement?!!

I had a chat with the big boss a few weeks ago, (nothing in relation to the above) and he was so full of praise I am sure I went red, so why do I need encouragement from my peers if eventually the big boss is happy? Without being too cocky, my first year has gone well for me. I have thoroughly enjoyed studying again (even if the stress levels have increased) and the boss is more than willing to encourage me to keep going. BUT I have to bite my tongue around my HOD, because she constantly tells me 'you should feel yourself lucky' when I mention the study. It's just easier to keep quiet than get sarcastic remarks. SO, only one person at my work even remembers I am studying, and I feel a little bit selfish in wanting others to ask "so Ingrid, how is the uni work going?" but have realised once again, that Belgium is just another world to Australia. I often miss Wiggy and Therese with their constant support when I was at uni in my final years in oz.

Now I know I am nagging, but at least it is without the whiney voice, just the clittler clatter of a keyboard!

Em arrives in a week, am so looking forward to seeing my little sis - she needs this trip and her big sis and bro to look after her for a while. We have booked a show at Cirque du Soleil, then the following week, Tom and I will be killing ourselves in one weekend with I love techno, followed by Sigur Ros (quite a musical contradiction...)

Am off to finish my glass of Chianti (picked up while we were in Italy!)

Ein, zwei, drei, bier!

2008-09-27T19:07:00.004+02:00

Perhaps it will be one of the last chances for us to have a weekend apart before the wedding (except for the fact that we are flying to australia on different dates!), as Tom has kindly headed east with his trusty sidekick Maarten for the biggest beer party in the world. I wouldn't have minded going, just for the novelty factor, but beer isn't really my thing, plus, my final piece of assessment is due on Friday next week, and I need to send it on Monday, still with too much to do! So now, I have found all possible nooks and crannies needing to be cleaned, all clothes have been washed, I will probably start vacuuming and mopping later, all in the good name of procrastination. I don't think I will quite make it to the ironing - so when this is all that remains, perhaps the review will be the lesser of two evils...

I hope not to get any drunken phonecalls in the following few evenings, but look forward to the photos which he will bring back with him!

Dové é toilette?

2008-09-20T22:45:00.003+02:00

First Pizza of our trip

The Grand Canale of Venice

Cycling through Ravenna (UNESCO world heritage site)

Tom and David: spot the difference

Shortly after our last post, we wandled back to our hotel, only to have one of the most wonderful evenings of our trip. It's funny how you can see all the cathedrals, castles, statues, architecture etc. you like, yet you don't really experience a truly memorious time until you chat with a local for hours!

The guy working on reception happened to be fantastic in English, and as we entered the hotel, we asked him about a rally happening down the street. He mentioned that there was a left-wing activist rally occurring, which got us onto politics, Italy, Berlusconi, Alitalia and life in general. An hour or so later, we found ourselves in the hotel bar chatting like old buddies. It almost felt a shame to leave him and head up to bed. I wish we had a photo of him, or spent more time in Bologna, but he has given us his card, so we will definitely go back to visit.

The following day, we drove up to Garda Lake (largest lake in Italy) along with the rest of Germany and Holland and their toddler children. While we had a fantastic deal in the most massive camping ground I had ever seen, and some glorious warm weather, I don't think I would go back again, purely because it was a catchment for young families, with small kids screaming at 7am. Yes, I sound selfish, but I enjoyed more of the real Italy. We went for a few drives around the lake, with some beautiful sites, but after some time, you become used to the old buildings and sick of the crowds. After two nights, we found ourselves heading back towards Venice via Verona.

Made famous via Shakespear, Verona also appeared to be a tourist magnet - disgustingly just around Juliet's house, while the rest of the city was quite vacant (a little like the Mona Lisa at the louvre). Our last night was back at the original camping, this time we asked for a discount in larger cabin, away from the school and contiki groups! This however worked against us once again... after meeting some fantastic Aussie guys at 4pm touring the world over 6 months, and 7 hours later, we crashed in our beds, only to be awaken an hour or so later by the couple in the other half of the cabin: First having a blue, then the make-up pounding, drunken sex, then the toilet trips, then the showers, then the movie on their laptop (turned up full-blast). By the time this was done, we had around an hour or two sleep before our 5am wakeup... not happy campers...

Had a great trip, but the highlights were:

* Sitting down in Venice, dangling legs in the ocean. Who knows how long venice will still be there?

* Getting free bikes in Ravenna and cycling through the streets

* Having our one classy dinner in Marina Di Ravenna and being waited on hand and foot by an Indian guy with broken english/italian/indian in the most gorgeous seafood restaurant we'd ever seen.

* Playing on the beach

* The old Italian hospitality in Florence: Very old couple in the two star hotel who fell over backwards to help us

* Our friend at Hotel Maxim in Bologna

* Meeting Ben and Rod at Fusina Camping grounds on our last night

Strange how nothing includes the sites, but from my small amount of experience, I have found that the people I meet are far more interesting than the aesthetic beauty. Perhaps I haven't been to the most beautiful places though...

Quanto Costa Per Favore?

2008-09-14T20:21:00.003+02:00

Next checkpoints in Italy: Florence (+ Tuscany) and Bologna...

As we drove out of lovely sunny Ravenna, the rain clouds started gathering over the ENTIRE Italy, only to hit on us just as we entered the A1 heading south to the absolutely picturesque area of Tuscany. We arrived in Florence just as the rain cleared, but the GPS decided to direct us through the city centre (we punched in the name of a hotel recommended by the Lonely Planet), so we must have looked like absolute wankers driving through the pedestrian filled streets! Finally we just found a random park and checked into the nearest 2-star (very good in my books) and talked them down from a whopping 70 euros to 55. Florence turned out to be an absolutely gorgeous city, but the "holiday" idea was short lived when the predominant language heard was English (and American at that). I for one was quite happy just to stay a day and head off somewhere quieter.

This morning we drove around Tuscany a little and wound up in a small Chianti producing region nestled in mountainous landscapes known as Rufina. We managed to have our own personal wine tasting, and are now naturally 3 bottles of Chianti heavier... to store in our wine cellar....erhm!

We are now in Bologna, so have naturally had the bolognese for dinner while marvelling at the redness of the city! Of course, more photos will follow just to demonstrate how red it actually is! Once again, tom managed to talk the hotel receptionist down 30euros from the original price, but this time we are in a 3 star hotel! Perhaps by the time we leave, we will be staying in a 5 star for only 50euros... Fingers crossed.

Tomorrow we are heading to the city state of Verona, staying at lake Garda, so fingers crossed that the weather finally clears up! We do want to have a tiny bit more colour when we head back to Belgium on Thursday...

ciao until next time!

Venice and Ravenna

2008-09-12T19:27:00.003+02:00

No photos just yet, however our vacation has officially begun! We flew into Treviso, found our hire car and headed off to the small coastal port of Fusina (25 min boat ride from Venice) to be greeted by our worst nightmare: Loads of Contiki travellers and an italian school trip. So, whilst the camping ground was lovely, quaint etc. VERY little sleep was achieved on our first two nights...

Venice was spectacular - I know everyone will probably say the same thing, but there is something unbelievably charming about an entire village (?city) on water. All the canals have street names and the only means of transport is via the water! Just out of curiosity, I asked a handsome young gondolier (very distinguished in their stripy tops and straw hats) how much it was to take a lovely ride in a gondola - BUT 80 euros was a teensy bit out of our budget. Next time maybe..

We are now staying in Ravenna (actually, the seaside hideaway approx 10km away) and it is so lovely. An UNESCO world heritage listed site, we found our way around with the "complementary bikes" the tourist office had to offer. Not the top quality sort (toms chain fell off twice, mine once) but enough to keep us smiling.

Tomorrow off to Florence, although a little hesitant to leave the glorious seaside behind; More to follow... stay tuned!

Chinese Chocolate Guy

2008-08-23T17:53:00.006+02:00

A small ode to my favourite busker of Antwerp - or as I like to call him, Chinese Chocolate Guy. He pops up everywhere from the big tourist attractions, to the small bohemian side streets, to random squares. He manages to choose his setting appropriate though to the acousitics in the surrounding environment (how aware he is of this, I'm not too sure - perhaps per fluke!).

What makes him unique in Antwerp is his cleanliness and friendliness. I enjoy the street artists which captivate their audiences, but I also enjoy buskers who aren't just begging. Actually, I'm quite sure by this guy's appearance, that he works a regular job and just busks for the fun of it. I'm also sure he has been trained in suzuki (I recognise the majority of his repetoir and the abililty he has to play for hours on end without a note of music in front of him). But what makes me smile most about him, is that for every cent he receives in his violin case, he stops playing (no matter where he is in his piece) and gives the 'donator' chocolate of some sort! It is actually very difficult to tell him 'no - just keep playing'!!

So my thanks goes out to you, Chinese Chocolate guy. I hope to see you for many more years on the Antwerp streets, keeping the air filled with classical music.

By the way - congrats to Tia Hellebout from Belgium! The first (and only) gold medal for these olympics, alongside the silver won by the 4x100m relay won by the women! I even had a tear in my eye!

Sæglópur, á lífi

2008-08-13T20:30:00.004+02:00

With incredibly poor attempts trying to squeeze in a little study, August has proven to be a great month so far (though wet and full of electrical storms!). We had another date with Anna (as Sabien has been frolicking around the pyrenees) and went to a free show from a South American Theatre company (we think... - Spanish speaking in any case) to see Tony Travolta. Basically a sort operetta/musical (very little spoken text - mostly singing) but Tom and I were entertained the whole way through (despite little pitter patters of rain). Anna was a little more critical, but she has far more theatre experience than us, so she was probably right!
Sunday brought us some Aussie visitors, at the beginning of their European tour: Nicky and Liz. Such lovely guests and open to new Belgian specialties in the way of beer, waffles and schnapps. We made the most of "Zomerbar" (also with Anna) and the free movies playing on the Schelde (river passing through Antwerp). The movie showing for us on Sunday was "Road to Guantanamo" so not a nice happy flick for the new visitors, but the location was fantastic (sand hills built in an old hangar with a screen and projector) but sand can be quite hard on your bum after a few hours... Am going back on Sunday to see Little Miss sunshine again, and on Wednesday for No Country for Old Men (have become a late starter in the Coen Brothers cult followers).
Just thought I would include another from Tony Travolto - was very impressed!

Ik wil je, blijf bij me, hou van me, ga nooit meer weg

2008-08-08T15:09:00.004+02:00

Constant festivals here in the summer... on the last day of July we went to the Casablanca festival in Hemiksem (not far from where we live) which was completely free and full of music (and of course good company!). Bloody hot mind you, so when the rain started around midnight, we didn't mind the cold shower for the walk back to the car!

Nita and Natalie came along for a while (although I think Natalie was more interested in the jumping castle than the music - lucky for her, her mum is short enough to go on with her!)
It took place in a large field near an old abby, so the view was quite spectacular. As the sun went down, the entire abby was lit up - where the monks get their money from, I don't know (they don't brew the beer anymore...) I was quite happy too since they sold Ricard at this festival!
We spent most of the night with the Van den Broeck family (Martine is a colleague of mine and a good festival attender). So, Tom couldn't resist putting another child on his shoulders to get a good view, while the rest of us just gasbagged our way through the evening.

Tomorrow am off to another free concert, and Sunday brings some australian guests! Dunno what I am going to show them, but will do my best to flaunt Antwerp

Everything.... in its right place

2008-07-26T16:44:00.005+02:00

As does every other year, July brings Tom's birthday. But as the summer is always full of events, we had to squeeze in a small gathering on Sunday last week (after most of us had been to a barbecue the night before). So I managed to bake a cake and little blueberry muffins, and decorate the house with kiddy decorations (you may see a sign of bumba and balloons) and lit 27 candles (litereally) for the big child. I think he was quite happy, and luckily for us, the sun shone on and off, so we even had the opportunity to sit outside!

Natalie was the only guest under 27, but certainally was dressed to look sophisticated enough, and with my sunglasses on, was quite a little number!

Tom opening his box of goodies received from Philippe, Jan, Geert and Dave.

This weekend, the men are deep in the Ardennes (close to Luik/Liege) for Tom's adventure bucks weekend. Have heard all sorts of rumours from his friends as to what they have planned for him, but will be sure to hear about it tomorrow evening. In the meanwhile I am a lady of leisure this weekend, enjoying the 30°C sunshine. I hope he brings back some photos - will be sure to post them!

Too hasty

2008-07-06T11:21:00.004+02:00

No pickies this week... but only because I was stupid enough not to take my camera with me!

In between squeezing time in to finish my fifth assignment (cancer chemotherapy, in particular receptor tyrosine kinase domain inhibitors) it has been time to 'profiteer' from the most wonderful time of the year (I sound like a christmas carol!)

I managed to remember to be on time (actually, with a nudge from tom, because once again, the clock was ticking and I didn't notice) to meet up with Sabien and Anna in the 'Summer bar' of Antwerp. Basically, it is just a huge field that they convert into an outdoor café serving Cava, Sangria (and fairtrade wine and beer) along with exotic meals - all for a good price - for the entire summer. It is so easy to lose track of the time when the sun doesn't set until after 11pm, so at 1am we gradually made our way home.

Yesterday, I carved a huge chunk into the remainer of my assignment, and was looking forward to an 'inge' night at home (Tom had a ticket to see Beerschot play a team from one of the 'stan' countries), and I received a strange phonecall from Alexia (a colleague) at 6:30pm. "Ingrid, I have two tickets to Rock Werchter for tonight, do you want them". I was oh to stupid and hasty, and said "I would love them, but I am alone, without a car, so I can't". STUPID ME!! I called Maarten, and he was keen, but by the time I got back to Alexia, the tickets were gone. So, no Sigur Ros, Roisin Murphy, Ben Harper or Radiohead for me. That will REALLY teach me!

Today is taking us to a barbecue (yes another one). Just received a txt from my mum on Kangaroo island. Seems like they are living it up sans children! Why not?!!

Hildeken's 40th

2008-07-03T10:32:00.005+02:00

After a rushed visit to the NL, we drove a few hundred km to attend the 40th of Tom's 2nd cousin in 'the Flanders' (east flanders) - everyone has a slightly odd dialect there! As always, Hildeken planned a party with style, lots of delicious food, and DJ Ronny (who seems to have a thing for slows!). Was a fun night, but both Tom and myself were completely knackered, resorting to singing daggy 80s numbers in the car on the way home to keep ourselves awake. "I'm gonna keep on loving you.... if it's the only thing that I can do.....I don't wanna sleep, I just wanna keep on lovin' you" etc.

This first photo is one of Inge (Tom's sister) and Niels.

Maggie, Loreine (Tom's mum) and Hildeken (the birthday girl)

Here we have Pepe busting up a serious move on the dry-ice infested dance floor. Never ceases to amaze me! He always comes to every party in a full suit (usually his green one) and tie, and boogies his way through the night using beer as his fuel. Then walks home and is quite fine the next day. He is coming to Australia as well, next year, so look out!

No no, no no no no, no no no no, no no there's no limit

2008-06-29T12:59:00.004+02:00

The weekend is not quite over, but here are some shots of our long awaited trip up to visit the Vellinga-Chan mixed-race household in Oegstgeest (Leiden), Holland. We had recently discovered that their eldest son (Kaemon) had a fascination with the word tractor, so didn't have to think too hard for a gift he would like. However, considering that everything is tractor (including his baby brother, Nelson), I am not sure if it was the tractor or the gift which made him happy...!
We were treated to some delicious indian (made by the hostess) and then took a drive to Noordwijk (the beach - much nicer than the belgian variety!). Since Nelson is only a month old, he had the special treatment of coming with us (while Kaemon was safely tucked in bed). Here is a nice shot of Kelly and Nelson while waiting to meet up with Douwe.

Douwe with Kaemon (and tractors)

Saturday lunch brought us to Den Haag to enjoy some very authentic Dim Sum (equipped with very kitch interior and tacky karaoke - the only way to eat your Dim Sum). VERY tasty!

Turkey Vs Croatia, 20 June 2008

2008-06-21T09:33:00.007+02:00

While I sat at home last night, making up on some much needed quiet time, Tom visitted Philippe and Jan (who incidentally live in the Turkish quarter of Antwerp). This proved to provide some awesome live entertainment due to the European Cup quarter final match between Turkey and Croatia.

As far as I know: The 90minutes ended with 0-0, so they were required to go into extra time.

Quite amateur videography, but I can imagine you get the gist of what went on in a normally private neighbourhood of Antwerp.

Despite looking quite violent, it was apparently an incredibly joyous occasion (with fire?!).

I'm feeling rough, I'm feeling raw, I'm in the time of my life

2008-06-20T20:07:00.006+02:00

This week brought my colleagues and I further together... after a very succesful audit from CAP (college of American Pathologists), my bosses decided that it was time to order bucket loads of wine, buy a huge house and celebrate the occasion with not only histogenex, but also the rest of the first floor from the Laboratory building in Middelheim Hospital, Antwerp (Histology staff). This brought a combined total to approx 40 happy, drunken staff enjoying eachothers company and very many below the belt type conversations.

Many photos of people's rear ends and blurry pieces of nothing were taken, but amongst these, I have selected a few of myself and other colleages. NB: the huge mauve stain on the table I am sitting at was not due to myself. I was just stupid enough to sit there (and on the wet chair) and have my picky taken there! Not a particularly flattering one of yours truly, but an honest conclusion to the night that was.

I have included my absolute favourite photo of the evening of Alexia (and Tim and myself) taken in the basement of the new house purchased by our bosses... the expression on her face says it all!

Tom has one exam remaining, so tonight he has joined Phillippe and Jan in witnessing one of the european cup matches (with Turkey vs something): P and J live in the turkish neighbourhood of Antwerp, so Tom is hoping for a victory and take as many photos as he can!

Next week we are heading north to Leiden and bombarding another mixed-race household (Aussie/malaysian and Hollander/Japanese). Will be sure for some interesting conversation, and fantastic food!

dEUS this week

2008-06-15T20:14:00.006+02:00

With the onset of the "alleged" summer months, the social calender seems to have gained a bit of momentem, but to the possible detriment of the studies...

This week has seen a long awaited catchup with Anna and Sabien - Anna was a classmate of mine in the last level of language school (who is incidently far and away more advanced than I am in dutch - I use the excuse that she is actually South African) and with her girlfriend, Sabien, they are preparing for their 'round the world trip starting in September/October. I dearly hope they can make it back to Australia next year, but will probably be hitching their way through Bolivia or something wild and exotic...

This appointment started out badly - I had already scheduled to meet Anna at a certain time on Thursday, but somehow it slipped my mind, and I turned up an hour late to the café. Thank god she was still waiting there.

Friday saw me visiting Ternat again, with fantastic hostess, Stefanie and her family. Spent a lot of time playing with her 1.5 year old. Friends' kids are just so much fun! Refreshingly happy when stress seems to build up!

Today, we incidently discovered that the Aussie male hockey team were playing against Belgium - basically in our back yard - for free, so we went along and lent our support to the green and golds. Wasn't much of a competition though, with a score like 6-0, but I did meet a couple of other aussies, and have been invited to the australian society gatherings (am a little conflicted when it comes to expat clubs. But I suppose it might be nice just to have a looksee...)

Tom has his following exam tomorrow: he is now half way through, and within a 'fat' week (as the belgians put it) he will be finished his 2nd year (fingers crossed). I will be boozing myself up at a work gathering on Wednesday, and hopefully enjoying a quiet weekend next weekend (enjoying is a little presumptuous - more like studying...) while my family celebrate my mum's birthday.

Not an interesting post, but need to keep up my diary :)

Tongue in cheek

2008-06-15T20:07:00.009+02:00

If you just happen to have a spare 8 minutes, have a look at this. Ricky Gervais at his finest (released last year, but still terribly funny).

Werchter Classic, 2008

2008-06-08T19:52:00.005+02:00

Tom is still busy with swot vak (or blocking as they call it here) and being the social butterfly (erhmm) I am, like to take advantage of any sort of event, so this lead me to Werchter classic. Held in the same venue as Rock Werchter, but for the 'older' generation. This being my 4th time at Werchter, but first time as one of the younger people!

Maarten had a free ticket from his brother, so we drove to Werchter, and bought another ticket from a scalper (costing us a whole €20 to get in!) and we faced very grim skies, so were armed with ponchos and plastic boots (well I was...!). After being smug about our cheapy tickets, we were hit with paying double price for a beer and dinner, but enjoyed the show anyway.

Conclusion: The police played their (alleged) last performance at Werchter, and it wasn't wow. Alright, but definitely not worth the €100 some people payed to see them last year.

Iggy Pop certainly knows how to put on a show. Old fart, but has the energy of a teenager! Still just as obsene as I'm sure he was 30 years ago, but what an entertainer!

The Scabs were ok - old belgian rockers, but the atmosphere was good.

Juannes was the wildcard - played early - chapeau to him for breaking the english speaking market, but not really my music.

Lente

2008-06-02T19:23:00.004+02:00

Sometimes have insipiration depletions, despite keeping ourselves busy, there seems to be always an assignment that needs to be written, or a toilet which is dying for a good scrubbing or the inevitable work to go to...

Have found a couple of snaps from the last weeks. We have had some great weather (as I type this, there is a tempest of a storm screaming its way through Edegem - something you hardly see in Belgium!).

A few weeks ago, we won a couple of tickets (from the Belgian equivalent of the ABC) to see a few actors and authors read some segments from their books or chosen works. While it was interesting enough, I found the venue more mind blowing than the performance. It is a fantastic old theatre in Antwerp which we have attended once before, with little private booths and seats covered in red velvet. Truly somewhere you can imagine the people of Antwerp attending weekly for the 'show' etc.

I took a half day off work in the same week, just to get some air, and we took a drive to Knokke (otherwise known as the sea). One of the not so many seaside villages but known to be the 'exclusive' location. This pretty much means that for a drink you pay double and can't find a carpark anywhere. We went on a Monday afternoon (most Belgian's only go in the weekend) and the place was deserted, so it was quite relaxing to have a walk on the beach.

Have also made the most of the parks in our surroundings: spotted a very strange leg poking out of the water in a park in Wilrijk - right on our doorstep.

Have been running around Fort VI as well lately. I haven't mentioned it before, but Antwerp is surrounded by 8 Forts - build primarily for the protection - and are now used as office buildings / training buildings for youth groups/sports etc. But they are all situated in a forest type environment with a pond/lake in the neighbourhood so are a quite picturesque place to go for a walk/bikeride/run. We have two in our neighbourhood (Fort V and Fort VI) so enjoy taking advantage of what they have to offer!

Uni is going well for me, and fingers crossed for Tom: his first exam is in a little over a week and finish in 3 weeks. I have handed in 3 assignments so far (come friday, 4) with one assignment remaining, + a poster (to be presented in the UK) and one review article. Am thoroughly enjoying the content. Just am tired and looking forward to the opportunity to take a holiday!

I've been trying to call you lately, I've been waiting by the phone

2008-04-12T08:23:00.003+02:00

We haven't been to too many functions lately, so no photos to post this time, but thought it was about time to update the events of the past month!

I have now handed in 2 assignments (out of 5) and have 6 months remaining in my first year of study. Tom has 2 months remaining in his second year, and is aiming to have no "second sit" exams. Next year, he is able to choose his direction and has been to an info day to help make his decision... As he already had decided, cognitive and biological psychology are still his favourites. But we will see what happens when it comes to the crunch.

Weather here has been picking up - lots of sun (but still a bit nipply outside). I have started a 'start to run' course via my MP3 player. Basically it is a series of 27 lessons (3 a week for 9 weeks) where you do a series of short runs and walks between (to build you up for a 5km run). Have just finished my fourth week and lesson 13 is pending, but after lesson 12, I need a bit of a breather! My calves feel like enormous bricks right now!

So, this year is already pretty much planned with uni work and keeping fit! Not much of a chance for a holiday between us (which really is starting to bother me) but as Tom has the 'accountant' bone in this relationship, he has simply put it that if we are getting married next year, a few more pennies will need to be saved... whereas I am a little too impulsive and don't want my fantastic 6 weeks of holiday to go to any waste! Grrrr!

Am off to go shopping today: It was the intention to be a late birthday day for myself and another girlfriend, but has turned out that we are both too tight and are just taking her son to the hairdresser instead, while painting fingernails and cooking cake! May even watch an old rerun of the OC. May even spend some time picking out glasses... yes, went to the eye doctor (can't remember correct term in english - opthamologist?) and discovered that I have astigmatism of 180° in my left eye, causing me to be dizzy and tired... lefty is getting a little worn out from compensating! So, am off to find some lovely frames and contemplate the lenses for a little longer!

Student Parties at the VUB...

2008-03-20T17:08:00.010+01:00

The goup - predeparture

Tom and Louis trying some new moves

Enjoying Nirvana Nevermind with Louis

Happy couple at the end of the evening

The theme: 70s, 80s and 90s. The crowd: students from the VUB (Vrije Universiteit Brussel - Tom's uni). The venue - a tent in the carpark of the campus in Etterbeek. So Tom and I took a trip down memory lane - me with my BYO bottle of smirnoff and a carton of OJ to get myself in the mood before we made it to the party. This didn't take too long considering my tolerance to hard liquor not really being tested in the last years. But it still tasted quite good! We started off with a group of psych/criminology and engineering students, but the latter group quickly wrote themselves off (yes, engineers are the same EVERYWHERE!) and the rest of us enjoyed a bit of boogying to the sounds of ABBA, BeeGees, Nirvana, Eurythmics and the rest is a big blur of beats and light. Got home around 4 (quite early I guess for a student party!) but I was prepared in advance with taking the day off today!

We have purchased all the stationary required for the invitations, so hopefully they will be signed sealed and delivered quite soon (to the belgian folk in any case!)

Kom Op Tegen Kanker

2008-03-19T20:42:00.005+01:00

Been out of action for a little while, but thought I should mention what we got up to this past weekend. The Belgian government has been furiously raising money for an anti-cancer campaign or kom op tegen kanker by all possible means. So, on Sunday, Tom and I rode our pushies to Aartselaar (around 5km) to plant a 3 oak trees in a nature park donated by the local council. Each tree planted receives a name and all money raised is for the anti-cancer campaign. As you may see however, we were not so suitably attired... since we have no garden of our own, neither of us possess a lovely pair of galoshes and hense muddied ourselves up nice and proper!

Today, Belgium lost a very influencial writer, Hugo Claus - via the still unrecognised in oz, euthanasia. So, while Belgium is mourning for the loss of possibly the greatest Flemish writer/poet, my colleagues and I mourned the loss of a fellow worker (who incidentally died in the same hospital). She was diagnosed with a glioblastoma (aggressive brain tumour) on boxing day, and survived less than 3 months. A lot of us visited her for her birthday on Friday (43rd) but it was quite difficult to celebrate. Despite thinking that there may always be time after the initial diagnosis, don't be too fooled. I really need to get into a different field of work.

Tonight Tom and I are venturing off to a TD (T Dancé or student party) in Brussels, so I have wisely taken tomorrow off. I cannot seem to pull up the way I used to!

Without a title

2008-03-08T14:46:00.004+01:00

"Nowhere in the world is an Australian as lonesome as when he's living in England. I sometimes miss Australia so bad, I can taste it. I yearn for it. But whenever I return, I want to get out of there after 2 months". Nick Cave, Spraakmakers, Canvas (Belgian television)

You came on your own, and that's how you leave, with hope in your hands and air to breathe

2008-02-27T14:55:00.003+01:00

Well it's time for my yearly blog entry. As many of you already know: I passed my exams for the first time without failing any. Thus keeping my hopes up for a study-free holiday. Now, I just have to prove it wasn't a coincidence. I also experienced the best motivation by visiting my old job place right before the exams. That has given me strength in believing this is indeed the best choice I made. Nothing more fulfilling than seeing people being stuck on their desks for 8 hours a day under the tyranny of a boss "who means the best for his employees" and who does everything "from the goodness of his heart". Strange how these two things always seem to correlate with monetary benefits in his favor. For those of you who recognize themselves, I will be joining you anyway soon. Just let me enjoy my 4 hours a day of courses (tiring), discussing psych-subjects in the uni-bar ( women and sex) and believing I know how the world works (that's what you do as an 20-year old). To prove I am so busy: on an average I am reading 1 novel every two weeks.

I know life isn't always easy and we had to sacrifice a lot for my studies but despite my own efforts there is someone who even deserves more credit when I graduate and that's Ingrid. She is not only my motivation to strive for perfection but she has endured everything and is giving up a lot herself when it is not even requested. She has offered me a chance to fulfill a dream and is still the only reason why I am able to do what I am doing. There is not a day I don't realize how everything is because of her. I know I will never be able to thank her for this chance but I will try for the rest of my life. She knows how I feel but sometimes you just need to write it down. ( I could say this was written under duress to make it funny and be myself but for once I am going to let it go).

Stop me if you think that you've heard this all before

2008-02-16T16:54:00.003+01:00

Longest time between posts. I have been slack. Not busy, not overrun with other engagements, not working long hours, not studying too hard. Just slack, down and stuck in a hole desperately trying to dig myself out of.

I don't know when it started - probably around 6 months ago (along with the onset of winter I imagine), but I am not liking 'where I am at' at this particular moment.

I have officially started an MSc. externally while still working which has been quite stimulating (two people studying in one household generates some interesting conversation, discussions and encouragement). Have almost finished my first assignment and am already ploughing onto the 2nd. So, I am absolutely convinced I made the right choice to return to study. You reap what you sow, right?

Work couldn't really be too much better. My absolute best friends in Belgium are my colleagues (which can be a pro, but also a huge con), my direct HOD is a true champion - so smart, professional (yet capable of many a dirty conversation) and not at all arrogant. My big boss, despite being a pathologist, does his absolute best to be a good boss, and I think a very reasonable one. I voiced my opinion about a few things today (quite colourfully too) and he is always keen to hear constructive criticism. He is even depositing a bonus into our bank accounts next week which for me is fantastic (despite hearing some people still complain that it wont be enough...).

Am very happy at home. Madly in love with the child I am going to marry. I still laugh every day, even if out of pity... but am unbelievably lucky in my relationship.

So why am I down? The only answer I can come up with is that somehow, in the past 6 months, my idealistic expectations to 'life' are not being lived up to. I have once again jeopardised my friendship with one person, and fear that it may be for the last time. But, I will take on board something she said to me, and attempt to use it to my advantage: Those people who work hard will not go unnoticed - they will be rewarded in one way or other.

I hope to be happier soon.

Lost Monday

2008-01-08T18:32:00.001+01:00

Yesterday (Monday 7 January) was not only the day that my dear daddy turned 66, but also known as 'verloren maandag' or lost Monday - especially in the province of Antwerp. Although this is my 4th January in Belgium, I seem to have missed this strange tradition the past 3 years (or have been completely obvlivious to everything happening around me). I think I was in Edinburgh/Liverpool last year and skiing the year before that, so hopefully that gives me some sort of excuse...

So apparently, it is tradition to eat worstbrood and appelballen (sauceage bread and deep fried apple balls...)

I have found a snipped on Wikipedia about Verloren Maandag and will do my best to translate as I can't find it anywhere in English (erhm....)

Lost Monday is a Flemish tradition held on the Monday following Three Wise Men Day (6th of January). This tradition is especially prevalent in the province of Antwerp and has remained in Doornik.
In Flanders (especially Antwerp) It is tradition to eat sauceage bread and apple balls on this day. Previously the workers in the harbour from Antwerp received their pay cheques on Sundays. Some of this men then went to a bar, and the money which remained was given to their wives. But on Three Wise Men Day, everybody celebrated their entire pay cheques away with no remaining money the following Monday. Therefore, to ensure they didn't have an empty belly, the men foraged around the bars and butchers to ensure they had something to eat. The butchers then made sauceage bread which were quite cheap, yummy and filling and gave these to the workers. These days were always a day run at a loss for the butchers and was a day of lost work hence a Lost Monday.

If people now go for a drink in a café in Antwerp on Lost Monday, they receive guarenteed a free sauceage bread.

Am not sure how much of this is true - I haven't been to a bar on Lost Monday, but I love the little stories which come with the days here!

Dutch Translation (from wikipedia)

Verloren maandag of Verzworen maandag (Frans lundi perdu of lundi parjuré) is een Vlaamse traditie op de maandag na Driekoningen. Deze traditie is vooral hardnekkig in de provincie Antwerpen en in Doornik gebleven.
Het is in Vlaanderen en vooral in de provincie Antwerpen de traditie om op die dag worstenbroden en appelbollen te eten.
Vroeger kregen de arbeiders in de haven van Antwerpen 's zondags hun loon uitbetaald. Sommige mannen gingen dan op café zich bezatten en gaven de overschot van hun geld dan aan hun vrouw. Maar op Driekoningen, een feestdag, vierde iedereen feest met het loon en was er de volgende maandag zo goed als niets over. Dus, om toch niet met een lege maag te zitten, struinden de mannen alle cafés en slagers af om toch maar iets te eten te hebben voor hun kroost. De slagers maakten dan worstenbroodjes, wat goedkoop, heel lekker en vullend was en gaven die dan aan de arbeiders. Die dag werd er dan ook alleen verlies gemaakt door de slagers en het was dus een dag van verloren arbeid, een Verloren Maandag.
Als men tegenwoordig in Antwerpen op Verloren Maandag iets gaat drinken in een café krijgt men er steevast gratis een worstenbroodje bij.
Sommige bronnen menen dat "Verloren Maandag" valt op de maandag na de eerste zondag na Driekoningen. Valt Driekoningen op een zondag,dan valt "Verloren Maandag" in feite op 14 januari.

The best thing about Christmas

2007-12-27T19:48:00.001+01:00

For the second year running, the Belgian version of Triple J has very successfully run a christmas campaign (music for life) where three of the most popular DJs present all the shifts for 24 hours a day, 6 days running, without food (living on a staple diet of brown juice...) in a glass house in Leuven only playing requests. The catch is that all requests must be paid for with every single cent raised going towards a particular charity (involved with the red cross). Last year, they raised over a million euro with the government generously doubling this figure to help destroy the remaining landmines and treat the victims. This year, the Belgian's raised 2,5 million euro (with another million from the government) to aid in providing clean drinking water to the poorer countries. The whole "music for life" campaign began in the Netherlands in 2005, last year including Belgium, this year, with Belgium, The Netherlands and Switzerland, and next year, three new countries are going to join in. I was completely blown away as to how much people will do to help! Every song I heard on the radio was at least worth €50, but on top of requests, there was also the opportunity to bid on ebay for a lunch/dinner with a celebrity. We almost managed to go along with Annemie and Hans (they were bidding their paycheque away!) but were just outbid in the last 10 seconds! (The lunch went for over €500 mind you!).
It was just amazing the way the country stopped to listen to the radio 24/7! I know it is such a shocking indication of how rich we really are if we can afford to donate over €3 million in less than a week, but in the spirit of christmas, it is truly a much better feeling than the instant rush of opening a present of your own!

Alone, restless. Breakfast table in an otherwise empty room

2007-12-26T19:26:00.001+01:00

Fourth winter christmas down... not so bad, not so great. Definitely no Morris/Christiansen/extended family/globe trotters any of the cousins pick up - type christmas. No matter how long I will be here, I am afraid to say that I don't think that it will ever feel like a real christmas to me. There is definitely the element of over eating, but no freshly caught seafood, no beautifully presented salads. The alcohol element is universal though, but there is no retiring to the beach to play volleyball or cricket or just lay in the sand and watch the active family members do so.

However, with that said, this christmas had a new element - the presence of a playsation and something called a Wii. So, we all took turns to sing along karaoke style with the TV (even Pepe had a go. The YMCA sung by a 75 year old Belgian can be quite fun!), then playing tennis and bowling etc. (even though only on the telly...). It was a little strange though - having the TV on all night was probably what got me through without tears. I think in the future, we are going to have to share our christmas' between countries...

There is no sense in telling me, the wisdom of a fool won't set you free

2007-12-22T18:05:00.001+01:00

Being my 4th Christmas in Belgium, I have the not so secret hope (and the endless broken record playing in my head) of that of Bing Crosby... and I am crossing my fingers that it may still be so...

The past week, we have had only sub zero temperatures, bringing of course, much a yucky frost, but along with that, the white stuff I call snow, but everyone else calls frozen mist. I'm not so picky - it is white (not grey, being from smog and all...) and is an absolute fairytale to look at... white ghostlike trees which glisten so sweetly in the sunlight with confused birds flying around, knocking the layer of snow off the fine branches onto an unlucky pedestrian. Picturesque.

Found our wedding rings on Thursday, and did the girly wedding dress tryout on Friday with Stefanie. Taking it easy, but cautiously - don't want any stress in planning, just wishing to enjoy the ride all the way! Found my dream dress, am just praying that the bonus from work will pay for it. Yes, it is lost money etc. But, this is something I am not going to whinge about - I honestly don't care - I have lived in such a decadent lifestyle my entire life - and don't mind being selfish once in a while.

Am honestly looking forward to the gathering as much as the wedding itself... I know by the end of the night, I will be very unfashionably a blubbering mess, incredibly grateful for the friends Tom and I both have made who will be there - especially those from here! Still 18 months, but progress is being made!

Well it's been a long time, long time now

2007-12-16T12:10:00.001+01:00

Since being informed last night, by my dear, daggy fellow bf (BF standing for something else than best friend, something horrible in Flemish...) that I have been horribly late with updating my blog, I thought I would smear some vegemite on some wholemeal cruskits (how do you spell that?!) and write a quite update while Tom exercises his brain watching some Jimmy Neutron on TV.

Since the 2nd of December... I have ripened to the colour of 27, with many a fantastic gift for this little princess. On my birthday, I was nicely treated by all concerned (but sadly surprised by some friends who had first forgotten, but quickly remembered) - mum and dad calling me at 3am Australian time (when I was born - lucky they still had jetlag from their trip!), and many kisses were given at work! I was welcomed home to an apartment full of balloons and streamers (with a theme of the Belgian equivalent of the Wiggles...) and lovely quotes pasted throughout all the rooms. We then ate at Tom's parents' place where I saw my gift - his sister painted a black and white portrait of the two of us (abstract). Will post a picture of it once I take a photo. VERY impressive gift!

From the 7th until the 10th, we were in the wonderful company of the newly engaged Tim and Tash (he popped the big question the night before we arrived!) so there were many toasts to be made (and being in wine territory, this didn't seem to be a problem!). Now the two of them will leave with interesting last memories of Tom and Ingrid... Tash has a new word added to her vocab - one I am sure will make its way into the english language... Marginal (adj. To be used when referring to yourself or another who does something so 'cheap'. For example, me saying that I cannot afford a €1 bottle of wine, but wishing to stay in classy accomodation is simply marginal. (This did not happen by the way!).

This weekend has also been quite packed - spent the whole day with the extended Mattheus family in East Flanders (belated birthday lunch with Pepe and Rosa) followed by seeing the rest of the family, and a visit to Koen, Stefanie and Willem on the way home. This afternoon, it's bowling with Tom and Nita (Tom's, Natalie's and Tom's mothers' birthdays...) Am looking forward to next weekend already!

View of the pyranees from Perpignon

Playing Silly Buggers on the Mediterranean

Tom on the top of Força Real

See the nation through the people's eyes, See tears that flow like rivers from the skies.

2007-12-02T13:41:00.001+01:00

IF you have a spare €1 or AUD$1.69 it might be worth the small investment to download this from itunes (living Darfur from Mattafix). Every single cent raised (not profit, but raised) is going towards helping those in Darfur. This video was funded by Mick Jagger and filmed entirely in Chad near the border of Sudan in a refugee camp - so far as I know. Although with all the campaigning against what is going on I am failing to see or read of much improvement, but there is still a little hope surely?

Otherwise this week... I stayed at work late on Thursday with the 3 other usual suspects (Stef, Nathalie and Carla) and we treated ourselves to tempura/sashimi around the corner from work - gotto love the 'eating-out' lifestyle here; there are restaurants EVERYWHERE! Then on Friday evening, we had all decided to go to see BodyRox in stereo sushi (one of the bazillion clubs in Antwerp) so this included yet another gastronomical event earlier in the evening (although, eating at 11pm is also a luxury here - no longer is it the 9pm kitchen closed rule)!. So we danced for a few hours in the club, but by 2am I called Tom to come and get me because we were due to babysit the next day, and I didn't want to be an absolute wreck (am starting to feel a little old!). BUT, on Saturday, my whole day was disturbed because we weren't actually due to babysit - Tom had a surprise dinner planned for me (since my birthday is midweek) and we went out, with his parents to a new italian restaurant and ate until we almost passed out. Now it is Sunday, I am tired, and am looking at the mess we live in and have no motivation to do anything about it. Was quite content to watch a few episodes of Twin Peaks, when we received a phonecall to go and play a few rounds of squash followed by Maarten cooking for us! I can never say no to food, and squash. Although I can see me sweating a little too much alcohol, but it is a good way to cleanse/detox myself!

Next friday we will be boarding the luxury jet provided to us by the one and only ryanair, this time to Carcassonne (between the pyranese and the mediterrranean. I am sure by the end of our stay, I will be shedding a few tears, my dear friends will be heading home and ending their 3,5 year stay in Europe. I will miss them dearly - it has been such a comfort to have them near me, plus fantastic travel companions!

Up so early, feel so bright....

2007-11-21T18:51:00.001+01:00

...didn't get much sleep last night

Actually, I did, but a few times last week, I was a little behind in the 40 winks. Last Wednesday, Dave, Maarten Tom and myself headed off to the newly opened Lotto Arena in Antwerp (oh so far away...!) to see Kele Okereke and the rest of Bloc Party. I was quite impressed with the venue - typical U shaped concert hall, but we could choose to sit or stand (being over the age of 25, with all of us out on a 'work-night' we opted for the sitting option. But this didn't stop Maarten and myself from sprinting down the 3 flights of stairs when the dancy numbers started.

Lowlight of the night: FUCKING FREEZING outside; strange sounding supporting group (very monotonous, repetitive, musically unchallenging songs)

Highlights of the night: 2 encores, with Kele re-appearing in the mascot outfit for the Antwerp Giants basketball team (see clip I have attached from some lucky bird who must have been in the front row); plus the audience involvement - 2 girls even went so far as to show their boobies to the unsuspecting group. This brings me back to the big day out, 1999... I never saw so many boobies as when Blink 182 took stage...

Then, on the weekend, we first babysat Natalie, then had to quickly finish organising the surprise 50th birthday party for my other mum - Loreine or Moe (east Flemish word for mum - pronounced moo (yes, like a cow...!)).

Tom and I were on bar duty - skulling the cokes (so buggered after babysitting) but luckily, we had help from Philippe, Jan and Maarten. Thank god!! So, thank you guys - many grumpy 50 year olds would have gone thirst if it werent for you!

We were busy there until a little after 3am, then came home and crashed. It was a fun night, but don't recommend the bar work at a party to anyone!

I can do anything I want because I look good in leather

2007-11-17T10:44:00.001+01:00

This week has been quite a tiring and emotional one.
We made our way to Brussels last Sunday (only to get lost and do 3 laps of the Basilique - grrr!!) and were welcomed with open arms at Louis' girlfriend's family home. After a few minutes of uncomfort, this was quickly replaced by a huge cup of tea with lemon and some friendly happy chit chat (in French. erhm....)

The whole intention of our trip was to have some nice photos taken: Louis and his father in law are keen hobby photographers and have a huge setup in the garage, and he has been offering us to come for a good 6 months so we finally took him up on his offer (along with another classmate of theirs; Mieke and her boyfriend, Jornd).

After a few hours of some single shots on digital, Tom and I expected that we would make our way out to the local bakery and buy ourselves something, but since Louis' girlfriend (Daphnè) works at a bakery, they had already a huge delicious buffet planned for us to feast ourselves on. Made up of millions of soft cheese, italian fine hams, sun dried tomatos with capers and all sorts of different antipasti delicacies (not to mention the ever flowing vin rouge) we went back for more photos. After the digital tests were done, we moved to the precious analogue device - however, the photograhers were having some slight problems with the flash etc...

When it was my turn to take the stage, I suddenly felt pressure (typical ingrid style stress) and after a few shots, was unsure how to pose (although this was more about spontaneous shots) and acted like an absolute petulent child and just had a little 'model breakdown' I like to call it! But I think that Louis took some fantastic shots and we will definitely go back again.

Then, this week, while at work came the huge emotion spinner: my sister has offered to pay for a ticket for me to come home for Christmas. Apparently it is a 'big one' this year with all the Christiansen's and extended Morris's (apart from us...) and Emme (being in the high salary category) has kindly offered to fork out for a ticket. Two problems to overcome: Seat availability AT CHRISTMAS (ha!) and the fact that I have 0 days left until 1 January. The first problem was quickly overcome (although a little dearer than normal, at $2500 AUD) and not too steep, but the second problem is still yet to be decided. The belgian holiday system is different to that of Australia. Very complicated, but in short, you receive ALL of your holidays for the year on the 1st of January (31 for me). Then you plan your year around these days. So I have asked my boss if I could 'steal' 4 of my days from 2008) but he is afraid that if he allows it for me then other people will ask for favours as well etc. So I can understand him. All I have to do is wait until Monday, but in short, I am not getting my hopes up!

And to make this blog a little longer, I cut a chunk out of my thumb this week! Would enclose a photo, but it is a little yucky!

Let's hope next week will be better (starting today!). We are babysitting Natalie Flies for a few hours this afternoon, followed by an evening of partying drunk 50 year olds for Toms' mother's surprise 50th birthday party. Tom and I have elected to do bar duty (and will probably be standing there until 6am. Grrrr. These old teenagers!!)

eenentwintigveertig

2007-11-10T16:39:00.002+01:00

Last night, after many months in the planning, Carla, Nathalie, Stefanie and myself treated ourselves to delicious steaks and dessert (followed by a complementary bottle of Champagne from the boss) in the 2140 in Borgerhout (a suburb of Antwerp). After quite a crappy day for 3 of the 4 of us (with Nathalie taking the cake on worst and me having a relatively sober day), this was an evening which nearly didnt go ahead. There was all intention to go dancing in a poxy top 40 club afterwards, but after a full week, we were all starting to feel old and tired and chose for our own beds instead! Next time, we will plan to go in the weekend!

Tom and I decided to play with the apple functions and took a picky - didnt turn out so badly actually!

Sweet seduction from a magazine

2007-11-01T11:20:00.002+01:00

Not entirely too much to say today, but it is a public holiday here and with Tom studying for most of the day, I will amuse myself with non-costly exercises like reading, speaking to my gorgeous sister on skype and eating!

It seems that there are always public holidays here in Belgium, but I think this must be because they are nicely dispersed throughout the year. We have 2 in november, so this little Gen X-Yer will not be working her bum off too much this month.

Anyway... this week, Tom went to see the Cold War Kids with Maarten in Leuven. We bought the CD while we were in Australia and Tom took an immediate liking to them (with me being absolutley sick of hearing the line 'I promise to my wife and children...'). So on 29 October, they played here and according to Tom, while they were technically fantastic and have great music, the concert lacked any sort of atmosphere and they ended on a wierd instrumental number. Apparently, this is the first concert tom has been to where the supporting act outshone the main. So, Tom is now a fan of Patrick Watson and will be following him until the next craze comes along!

Next week we will see Bloc Party (once again) - probably not as cozy this time, but I have a thing for Kele and think he will entertain regardless!

Bones sinking like stones, all that we've fought for

2007-10-28T19:35:00.001+01:00

After reading my whiney entries I have decided to add another link to a friend of ours who is bravely motorcycling his way around the world, just to show you all that some people truly do remarkable things!

In our relatively non-eventful lives, we welcomed Jean-Marie (for you Aussies, the Jean is pronounced like Jean-Claude Van Damme...) - a Toyota Yaris. Gust was starting to pollute and die a little too much for our comfort, so we sold him to a nice African man who was to ship him off to Guinea - probably to sadly house a small family. But hopefully will bring some happiness to somebody.

Other news... my sexagenerian parents have bravely ventured out of Australia (not for the first time in their lives mind you) to the wonders of South America. Despite being a tourist hot spot, specifically in the past 5 years, I am still quite proud that they are still stepping outside of the proverbial comfort zone that many people their age tend to stay within. Am not entirely sure how my father enjoyed his flights from Rocky-Sydney-Auckland-Santiago-Quito, but I am sure once they are there, they won't have any regrets. Plus, once they make it all the way to Patagonia, I know dad won't want to come back. I have a lot of respect for the both of them, attending Spanish classes (run by a native Columbian) for the past 6 months, preparing them for this trip. I do pity poor South American who tries to converse with my ultra Aussie dad (who refuses to pronounce things the way they probably should be) but am happy mum is on hand!

Back in België, we have also been dealt a horribly early and cold winter this year. On Tuesday I scraped a cm of ice off the car (in October!) causing many a swear word, while the onlooking workmen (putting pipes in our street) were just watching smoking their ciggies. Sooooo - I am hoping that we will have a white christmas, because let's face it, I don't think there will be many of these in the future. But also, there may be the opportunity for the once in 10-20 year chance to see the 'elf steden toch'. An outdoor ice-skating marathon through 11 cities through the Netherlands. Fingers crossed!

One Time one thing occurred to me: What's real and what's for sale?

2007-10-21T19:06:00.001+02:00

We have now been engaged for a few months, the wedding will not be until 2009, but I still cant seem to control myself. I have never considered myself as a girly girl to get consumed in the wedding stress, but am now finding myself spending hours looking at dresses, rings and ideas on the internet. It has now come to the point where I am banning myself from being so selfish (at least until January next year) and focus on other things in the meantime!

Our wedding was originally just to be a quiet small beach wedding where the official dresscode was to include thongs, followed by a barbecue and much dancing into the early hours. It is amazing how quickly this changes into something more chic and elaborate due my lack of backbone from hearing everyone elses contributions. 'That sounds nice Ingrid... but won't your guests want somewhere to sit'? OR 'That could work, but since people are already travelling so far, don't you think you could treat them to more'? SO, I am starting to succumb. Not that I am really stressed over it (not yet anyway!), but I have just come to realise that people will always try to make you question yourself. I know that it is just human response, but I think this is the first time in my life that is for something big.

I have many friends who have had babies in the past year, and I know it is even worse then. All mothers will give their own personal beliefs on raising a child - breastfeeding is the ONLY way to go. How can you not breastfeed? Shouldnt you check the nappy? Surely you should wake junior from his nap - he must be hungry now. Why are you drinking that tea? There is caffeine in that! In my day there was no baby food in the supermarkets - we made it all ourselves.

If there is anything that I have learnt over the past couple of months, it is that every bride and mother has their own ideas as to how they wish to do things. The best thing a friend or family member can do is support them in their decisions. They may be strange, cheap, odd, easy or heaven forbid, different - but as long as nobody is really hurt, and the person making the decisions is happy, then what's the problem?

With all that biting, I know that people are just trying to help, give suggestions, and back-up plans - but rest assured, I am not a shotgun bride, I have 21 months to plan and would like to be married the way Tom and I have dreamt.

Words like violence break the silence

2007-10-06T10:19:00.001+02:00

It has been an interesting week for us - financially... I will apologise in advance for playing the poor victim growing up in a luxurious society, so all my whining is really meaningless - however sometimes we all just need a vent!

Poor Gust needed a new choke this week - so I managed to drive him to the Garage (while stalling at every set of lights, then starting him up with huge revving to keep the motor running... had many interesting looks from the BMW, Audi and Mercedes drivers around me!) so after a few days, he received a new thingy in his choke and was completely better.... until he caught the flu again 2 days later. So he is back at the Garage (after getting sick in the middle of Antwerp - poor Tom's nerves!) and we dont know if we will ever see him again. So time to take the trusy bike everywhere again, now that the temperatures are already hovering around 10°C. It's going to be a long cold winter for this little whiner!

On top of this, I am having huge issues with the student entitlements in this country. Fair enough, Belgium boasts such a great education system - HOWEVER - you are only entitled to any sort of student benefits until the age of 25.

I have been more than happy to forgoe one income, eating out and changing our lifestyle in general, but when the national public transport organisations force a full time students to pay €300 / 3 months for a train ticket (as opposed to €60 for under 25 years and under) I start to get a little shirty. Especially in the inexistance of an 'AUSTUDY' equivalent. Ironically - Tom would be entitled to a 'scholarship' with his school fees and books paid for IF we didn't have a de-facto relationship - However, I would not be allowed to stay in the country if we didn't have a de-facto contract. Go figure.

So, yes, once again, my problems are luxury problems - but sometimes, just sometimes, I would like to breathe comfortably and not count EVERY cent we spend.

By the way - it wasnt all drab this week - I managed to get onto the radio last weekend. Thought that I would request a song, and didnt realise they would call me back for a chat. It turns out that being Australian does have some 'fame' benefits here. So the lucky people of Belgium listened to my damaged Flemish for a whole minute, followed by the lovely voice of Mike Patton and Faith No More with Midlife Crisis (my second choice actually, but they didnt have any James in their library. Scandalous!)

PS - our street is looking very bald...

Looking forward to the election?

2007-10-02T17:15:00.001+02:00

I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me?

2007-09-26T20:44:00.001+02:00

The Willem Herreynsstraat is coming to the end of an era... The beautiful trees which have lined our street for many a year (apparently) are to be chopped down tomorrow. As you may see, we live in one of those rare streets where the houses are all nicely shaded by the huge amounts of foliage these trees provide with a lovely canopy to drive/ride under.

BUT - they can be a nuisance to some of the residence come winter time - the more beautiful green leaves in the summer means the knee deep redish/brownish slushy mess come autumn/winter. Not to mention our letter boxes starting to jump out of the ground due to hazardous roots. So apparently the Edegem shire has decided to knock all of these trees down and put up piddly little new ones instead.

Although I should be happy (that the other residents will be able to wipe the sweat from their brows from the fear they had from the approaching roots to their foundations), I couldnt help but think that the most beautiful (yet overused by stinking rich 4WD tennis mums) street in Edegem was losing its trademark.

So this blog goes to you, Willem Herreynsstraat. I will always remember your trees (sorry dad, i have no idea which sort they are) and the massas of leaves.

PS - was proud of the citrus marinated salmon I whipped up this evening, so decided it was worth a photo too!

City dweller, successful fella

2007-09-21T19:54:00.001+02:00

As soon as it is over, it begins again... next week, 2nd year begins. So, freshly unrested, Tom begins Monday morning with developmental psychology followed by individual psychology and clinical psychiatry. Nice and heavy to begin with! And, this semester, he is looking at many a 6am start (to get to uni on time) so come Christmas, we will both be crazy!

Not much new happening for me - just preparing myself mentally to begin studying again in January, but more details, once that is finalised...

Had an interesting day at work today - discovered 3 secrets, (ALL good) but am bursting with wanting to everyone. It will ALL come out in due time (thank god for me and my coal mine mouth) and let me just say to all 3 of you - YAY!

To all of you who are interested... yes, we are engaged, but no, we haven't taken the time to stress ourselves out yet in any sort of planning. We have a vague idea as to where, and how we wish to be married, but when... dunno! I will let you all know in good time - especially those who will be travelling the distance. It is a slight dilemma for us, because now that I finally have made some great friends in Belgium, it is quite an ask for people to pay such a sum of money to see us wed. You do know that I would pay for you all if I could. BUT we do promise to put on such a lovely show!

To those Aussie readers - I will be calling on all favours to maybe billet some of our friends out...! Thanks!

Four to Go

2007-09-15T10:26:00.003+02:00

It is now official in e-mail print - Tom has satisfactorily made it through his first year - with flying colours!

From my point of view, it has been a long and quite tough year (less socialising, tighter strings on the food budget) but with that said, I wouldnt change anything about it. I am living with a very happy guy, who thrives at university and is constantly excited with what he has learnt. Giving up some slight luxuries really doesnt matter at all when we can still survive luxuriously (we have a roof over our heads; warm, clean water; food never runs out) so let me say to the next 4 years - Bring it on!

Onto London... we took our first trip underneath the channel (previously we have just flown to heathrow in transit to somewhere else) on the Eurostar (comes highly recommended) taking us roughly 2,5 hours to reach Waterloo station. We were some of the last passengers to travel to waterloo - from November on, the Eurostar will be travelling to and from St Pancras (I think...).

We were in all of our Autumn (for tom, Winter) glory, and greeted by a stunningly summery Kym (won't forget that lovely Cretan dress!) and a suited up Benj in a 35°C tube station. Poor Tom was being chivalrous to carry the backpack and wear his winter woolies standing up in an overcrowded tube at 11pm! BUT despite sounding negative, this was a great start to a lovely weekend because we knew that it was at least slightly warmer in London than in Belgium!!

Our hosts had all the drinks and nibblies waiting for us in their apartment in Wapping, along with the necessary oyster card (for the tube)! So while we didnt go out on the Friday evening, we still managed to drink a bottle of champagne and too much wine sitting on their terrace. The following day was to lead me to a long lost cousin - Ingelise (see any difficulties in this family with two people going by the name of Inge?!) and her hubby, Peter at the burrough markets (near the London Bridge tube stop). With that said, I dont even know which one of the bridges is london bridge! The only interesting looking structure going over the Thames was the millenium bridge (for padestrians only as far as I could tell). So we all enjoyed a nice brunch overlooking the market followed by a nice leisurely stroll along the Thames. This walk included:
-a pirate ship (they seem to be everywhere!),
-the Tate Modern art museum
-the Globe theatre (for Shakespear enthusiasts),
-2 Dali exhibits
-the London Eye
-View of Big Ben
and probably more which I have already forgotten. We crossed the bridge alonside Big Ben which found ourselves in Westminster. This is where ALL of the monopoly names were! Peter even mentioned that they run a Monopoly Pub Crawl in London, and he made it all the way to Leicester Square. I knew that if I went, I am sure I would have been flat on my face somewhere around Pall Mall...

That evening we dolled ourselves up and had a yummy Indian dinner in Soho followed by our engagement present from Kym and Benj - tickets to the theatre to see Avenue Q. (more for my benefit, but Tom had a blast!). I thought it was a great - slightly naughty - show! This followed by a stroll to Leicester Square to catch up with a really old friend, Evan proved to be an amazing day.

Risking long blog territory... Sunday was to be the Aussie BBQ day (calling in a few expat friends in London, some currently living in Sweden, others we all knew from uni days). Everything was running to schedule - beautiful salads, piles of meat, a fresh gas canister, an unused barbecue.... when we discovered, on sunday that the gas canister didn't fit with the Barbecue fittings... a moment of panic for us all... should we go to the pub? What the hell do we do with all of this food? So while Kym and I downed a bottle of Vodka, we let the night sort itself out, and it turned out beautifully. Somehow, the sane and sober people took charge of cooking lovely little tapas style nibblies, the boys did their token trips down to the off license to keep the beer supply plentiful and the rest of us ate and socialised!

By Monday, I was completely buggered - 10 points to Kym and Benj who had to get up and work... we did some more touristy things before heading to the train station. Both tired, cranky and disappointed that we somehow lost the Tate (how, dont ask) and when we finally found it, we realised that the Dali exhibition had closed the day before. BUM. Had a good look around at the rest and was nicely impressed. Caught train back that evening, needed to take Tuesday off due to copious amounds of virally created defence mechanisms clogging up my head, only to pass it along to Tom, 2 days later.

The news WE get from Australia

2007-09-13T20:51:00.001+02:00

I had to laugh when I read that the chasers got up to some more mischief last week. It was actually on the front page of the train newspaper - and I recognised the dick head immediately from the chasers war. In case you were unlucky enough not to see what happened...

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/chaser/war/

You can sometimes miss good aussie humour here!

Will post some pickies from London shortly.

Open your eyes, the world is outside your door

2007-08-22T19:41:00.001+02:00

Here's one for you mum and anyone else who is disgraced yet fascinated with the Australian language...

Hey do you speaka my language?

I can fly, but I want his wings.

2007-08-19T16:12:00.001+02:00

First things first - what the hell is this hype thing with Facebook? Why has it affected all of my aussie friends (self included) yet when I ask people here about it, they look at me numbly. Why do aussies have such a computer addiction (look how many people have blogs/myspace/facebook) yet here NO-ONE (except the really intense IT junkies) has even heard of them. Perhaps people don't seem to leave home for vast periods of time like they do in Australia - and hence the blog phenomenon but I am still trying to figure out the facebook/myspace addiction.

The first question that springs to mind is 'why are so many people spending this time online in Oz when the weather outside is ALWAYS lovely?!' Are we a lonely culture? Do we find solace in sitting behind our PCs rather than chatting to our spouses/friends/children etc.? On top of that, I find it a little bizarre (perhaps just a tad bit sceptical!) that a computer tells me how many friends I have! - And I needed permission from the computer to say that Tom was my fiance...

Ok - I am a little black and white here, and do find some of the gimmicky things quite fun - but when it comes down to it, despite these sites being 'social' platforms, aren't we a little more antisocial than we used to be?

Just a smallish bee buzzing around in my bonnet.

My love she throws me back a rubber ball

2007-08-14T18:39:00.001+02:00

No photos this time...!

Have pretty much settled back here in Edegem - and to my surprise (nice surprise mind you...!) we have another public holiday tomorrow. YES - another one. This one is for the original mothers day (apparently) but I just think that the Belgians like to take advantage of anything which has an occasion attached and call it a public holiday. I shan't complain!

Have settled back into work, sort of. I don't know what it is - whether I am easily influenced, whether my mood is dependent on the weather, whether subconsciously I am somebody else, or if it is due to my huge amount of time off work, but strangely it feels different to be back at work. I am not feeling as dependent on my friends as I did leading up to me leaving, and I have managed to offend one of them with my oh-too-frank foot-in-mouth attitude (as many of you are aware, I list this as one of my personality traits in Oz). I think I have played it pretty safe here for the past 3 years, and must be still switched on in Australian mode. Mental note to self - different things offend different cultures...

Have had a realm of reactions after announcing (what a pretentious word) our engagement. Typical for traditional Belgians, I have received many lots of 3 kisses (not just one - 3 means something REALLY good!) but conversely, some people have brushed it off as being a natural progression, with one person even going so far to say that 'nobody gets engaged in Belgium anymore - it doesn't mean anything. People just get married'. Up until that moment, I was sitting up on a big fluffy cloud, but you can be sure that the proverbial cartoon villain with the bow and arrow shot that cloud from beneath me and I fell VERY quickly. Am over it now though - have had enough kisses to last a little while!

Otherwise, not much has changed - haven't seen much sun (except through the window at work for around an hour a day), Gust is still behaving, Tom is studying his bum off and I am counting down for our trip to London. (Yes, always need to have the following vacation booked!).

More Pickies from our trip

2007-08-13T19:16:00.001+02:00

Yes - I know I just seem to put up photos but bear with me - it isnt all that often that we get to go back to Australia and we had such a lovely time - my only regret is that I didnt get to see everyone that I wanted to see. But - I know there are no hard feelings...!

There will be more to come too...

Photos from the first days

2007-08-11T18:31:00.001+02:00

I don't know what more to ask for, I was given just one wish

2007-08-11T17:31:00.002+02:00

We have arrived, landed safely and are back in our lovely little apartment with only one drawback - I contracted that god awful ekka-time flu (yes - I do believe it is the flu for the first time in my life - sick for 1,5 weeks and counting...). So the flight was long and I felt dreadful from being sick, plus feeling sorry for myself for straining my (lack of) muscles playing with Emme's footsal team (sooooo much fun!) and being punished for it 2 days later. BUT - enough whining...!

Onto other news the blog has not yet heard... for something completely old fashioned (according to the Belgians anyway...) - Tom and I are engaged! We had a very romantic trip up to Bowen and Eungella 2 weeks ago, and he popped the question on the beach at horseshoe bay (with Sigur Ros playing in the background) with me bursting into tears in utter surprise! Now in true Tom and Ingrid style, we have been enjoying our relationship for the past 5 or so years, so now we intend on enjoying our engagement for some time to come! NOTHING is yet planned except for the resizing of my ring.

Am slightly missing home today - especially because a lot is happening for my dear little sister, but am sure I will become accustomed to the Belgian way of life again soon.

Bowen and Eungella

2007-08-03T05:49:00.003+02:00

Some happy snappies from our little journey up north - despite long car trips, an entirely relaxing experience with a countryside littered with hundreds of cane farms...

With a spectacular arrival at horseshoe bay - we were able to see the sunset over the water (due to the geography of the penninsular)

The next day we headed up to Eungella and witnessed one of the local ringtailed possums eating al-fresco while we were inside with the warm fire.

We also did a little walking, attempting to spot the platypuses (yes, not platypi nor platymapus) and achieved some luck later in the evening. Unfortunately our little camera isnt cut out for night time photography (in great detail!)

Photo updates

2007-07-27T04:16:00.001+02:00

Since we have 2 Christmas dinners and 2 birthday parties in July, I thought I should post some of the pickies relating to the above...

The Christiansen family Christmas in July (nb: no lights - complete blackout...)

Dad demonstrating the difficulties of eating too much, too late at night (see his little Bessy present!)

Tom cutting his birthday cake (another cheesecake!) with Nicole (shares the same birthday as him!)

I just wanna wish you well

2007-07-26T01:40:00.001+02:00

I suppose I have been a tad bit slack when it comes to updating... We have been here 2 weeks now and have quite happily fallen into the rhythm of fresh fruit salads every morning, enormous tapas style lunches and great tasty dinners.

Yesterday we celebrated Christmas in July, and ironically the power decided to shut itself off (in the entire Emu Park, Zilzie and Tanby) for 2 stints of 1 hour each - so the Turkey had a little trouble cooking. BUT - at around 10:30pm we had a delicious roast with veges (by that time we emptied 2 bottles of bubbly) and poor dad had to crash in his bed within 5 minutes of finishing his meal. Not used to these late nights anymore!

Emme heads back to Bris on the weekend, and Tom and I have decided to rent a car and head up north for a few days - hoping to get up to Bowen and maybe Eungella before coming back here for 2 nights and then heading to Bris to stay with em for the remainder of our holiday. Am already balking at the thought of flying back...

Have already decided that 2 years is far too long between visits - am quite happy to come back once a year from now on.

Catch up at the Sailing Club

2007-07-15T00:48:00.001+02:00

From left to right...

Brock, Rachel (+1), Katchia, ikke, Danielle (+1).

Everybody seems to be proliferating...!

We both ad a great evening of sukiyaki with Dan and Katchia last night as well (including some wine and a game of cranium!). I think it's time we can call tom a real aussie now that he can participate in 95% of the questions from the Australian Cranium!

A little silliness

2007-07-14T06:18:00.003+02:00

Just realised that I am quite difficult to understand while laughing...

Translation = "And the best bit about this is Tom already filmed this once before and forgot to press record".

This is what crazy people do to entertain themselves on long-haul flights...

The wonderful world of jet-lag and qwerty keyboards

2007-07-13T21:46:00.001+02:00

We are finally here (although still recovering a little) after around 30 hours in travelling... Will have to start mentally preparing myself already for our return flights...!!
It has been a frosty 5 degrees the first two nights, and in a huge house without any heating whatsoever, it is a little nipply, but lucky for us, it warms up to a nice 20 in the daytime with not a cloud in site.
We have spent our first few days just seeing the neighbours, sleeping (more like passing out), taking a little trip to Yeppoon and just trying to get into the rhythm here. While this seems to be working for tom, I am currently sitting here wide awake for the 2nd morning in a row at 5:30am...

Some of the benefits at Singapore airport - Free foot massages! Of course we took good advantage of these!

The first sunrise I have seen for probably 15 years. Quite magical actually, and didn't realise the luxury I grew up in. These photos are taken from my parents driveway.

And of course, beautiful princess Bessy (with her tennis ball)!

One last note, first thing I noticed here is the silence. Feels incredibly eery at night, but once the sun starts coming up, the birds all start screeching and I feel at home again with plenty of noise!

A special thanks to Katchia for calling around yesterday, so unexpectedly! We are heading over to Yeppoon together today to visit friends, and I look forward to it!

Progress/mess

2007-07-08T21:11:00.001+02:00

De valizen staan bijna klaar, dus Tom dacht dat het tijd was om een lekker porto te drinken.

lalalala - Lakonia

2007-07-08T09:52:00.001+02:00

Last year, in July, Tom received a voucher from lakonia and being the procrastinators we are, we finally validated it yesterday (since it expires while we are away, and we couldn't have that!). Basically, it is a heated pool + spa + another spa + sauna + steamroom + cold pool + sunbed which is completely private per couple. So we, of course, took advantage of all the facilities, with the steamroom being my particular favourite.

2 days until we depart, and nothing done as yet. At least (most of) the clothes are clean...

There is an answer to the darkest times. It's clear we don't understand it, but the last thing on my mind is to leave you

2007-07-03T15:29:00.002+02:00

Well here's my half-annual contribution again. Ingrid normally keeps you up to date as good as she can so I don't need to make any more comments. For those of you who know her: frankly, I am not allowed to mess up her blog!

I've finally finished my first year of uni in Belgium. It has been a wonderful year and one of the best choices of my life to commence something I really believe in. I made it through with only 2 fails, which for Belgian standards is not too bad, especially because I didn't consider myself smart enough to pass even one in the beginning of the year.

Quick note: In Belgium the schooling system works a bit differently from the Australian one. We have 2 semesters which contain 12 courses (7 the first, 5 the second semester). You have a 3 week period of exams. If you do not pass an exam, you get a retry in August. That's when you need to pass, otherwise you can't go up a year. I can give an explanation of median and average and standard deviation to show you all what I learned and to prove that I am not doing badly, but I'll keep it to the simple explanation that the average is 3 to 4 fails on the first go (for psychology anyway). Since I did not receive my complete score yet, I am still better than average.

The problem with psychology is that it is one of the most popular courses at the moment. We started with 240 students. By the time the first exam period had approached, there were about 180 left and for the second exam period we had numbers of around 100. Of the remaining 100 students probably another 60-70 will remain in the second year. This is all due to the simplicity they give to psychology on television these days. For once and for all - people, psych is NOT telling people what clothes to wear to feel good or how to stop eating because you're fat! One of my favourite therapies is electric shock therapy; it looks like fun and you can inflict pain on somebody without being blamed.

Anyway, I'm pretty confident for the summer because I know which errors I made. With this blog I'd also like to give full credit to Ingi for allowing me to go and also to withstand my moods during the exam periods, she's been bliss! Kym and Ben, I'd also like to thank for their patience when they came over during the first exam period and noticed my tension. At least with all the techniques we learned it was better the second semester.

Most important thing we learned over the course of the year: "NEVER EVER have friends or family as patients and if you do: charge double"

Now everything is finished and I am having a week off before we fly to Australia. It feels like a camp I've been on and now I've returned home. You always come home from camp or holidays and you feel bored, restless, missing the buzz,... There's no more studying and I still have to get used to it.

But I am sure that it's not going to take long since I am now rejoining my friends to say goodbyes before we leave (read: drink alcohol and talk about soccer).

I would promise to write sooner now, but I won't since Ingrid will take over.

Funny quote: "80% of statistics is invented on the spot"

Think about it next time somebody tells you that 70% of all people do this or eat that...

Whoever knows the author, I'll buy you a beer

Solden

2007-06-30T19:47:00.001+02:00

Since we are leaving in just a little over a week, and Tom will be spending his birthday with my family in Australia, today was the perfect excuse for his mother to take him shopping for his birthday presents. Although, I have no doubt that more will follow...

So since the 'sales' officially began today (a concept which does not exist in australia - all shops are obliged to have sales only in July and January - for the rest of the year, it's illegal, we joined another 45 trillion belgians in Antwerp. But we happily emptied our bank account before our holiday (smart move...) and helped Tom's mother do the same!

Have enclosed a photo from last night - catching Jan aware... we spent the evening at sinksefoor (Antwerp's version of the carnival/ekka/show) and only did one attraction (the crazy house), and a photo from today: some sort of strange and tacky Hare Krishna shrine. Apparently, Antwerp is celebrating India at the moment by carrying a throne with a fake Krishna god through the main streets and ringing little bells. A little odd, but I suppose it isn't hurting anybody (although the confusion factor is rating quite high!

Haruki Murakami

2007-06-24T13:04:00.003+02:00

You may or may not be aware that the latest book craze in this household is the works of Haruki Murakami... Tom has already polished off 3 of his novels, while I am currently on my third - Norwegian Wood.

Without being too caught up in the world of fantasy, Murakami manages to touch on a variety of subject matters, somehow adding a surrealism to them. For example, the idea that one of the main characters was able to speak fluently to cats in 'Kafka on the Shore' did not at all seem to surprise me, nor make me believe I was off with the witches and warlocks. I have become emotionally addicted to each of the novels I have read, which has never happened to me before. I am lead to believe that 'Norwegian Wood' is one of his only novels which doesn't touch in the 'supernatural' (for want of a better word) and once again, I am captivated. Tom has even proposed that our next big holiday (after Australia) to be Japan - which of course, I will always say yes. Although much of his books are set in Tokyo, he also encompasses the scenery in and around Kobe, Osaka and the island of Shikoku.

So in this day of terrible reality TV/copshows/teen dramas (TV in general), if you like a light, yet spellbinding read, you know where to look!

kvraagetaan

2007-06-22T22:06:00.001+02:00

Will do my best to translate the song... the lyrics are great (if you can understand...!)

May I come in? May I come in? To begin a song over the things that I can remember from the good old days, a life without worrying, ambition or regrets. Kicking a ball around all day, coming home at dark, just mucking around, and no concentrating at school. If we were dared 3 times, then it had to be done. Teasing girls and asking girls out and 'I know you are, you said you are, so what am I?'. Life was so simple everyone, so simple everyone, so simple as asking someone out.

There were no mobile phones, no channel ten and nobody who wanted to be Hannibal or Murdock. Only Playschool, The Bill, It's a Knockout were our only worries. We weren't allowed to do anything but did everything, Donald Bradman was a hero, our dad's still had hair, and we counted all of our coins for 'the show/ekka', showing off in the dodgems. The chipmunk ride taking precedence over our commodore 64s. There were no CDs, no MP3s, only cassettes, and thanks to National Lampoons, we have seen our first boobies. Life was so simple everyone, so simple everyone, so simple as asking someone out.

Third verse, pot, pot, pot, fat (cannot translate - some scout song here...!), the one hundred metres freestyle was our first certificate. Going to a festival - yay- we get to go to bed late, the refl-fl-fl-fl-flex on our tennis racquets. Yeah guys, we were big: we were either a professional footballer or a pilot. And hating wasn't yet a national sport, except for maybe the pork chop on our plate. It was cool to have patches sewn on the knees of our pants. Time to stop, can i have the bill? It was so simple everyone, so simple everyone, so simple as asking someone out.

WOW - my first ever translation (and not knicked from the web!) - AND from dialect! shocking tho!

Change everything you are, everything you were, your number has been called

2007-06-18T18:38:00.001+02:00

Great news today...

A certain wonderfully beautiful dear friend of mine is making a special visit to see us while we are in Australia. She will remain nameless due to the trip being a secret surprise for her partner... Not that he will be reading my modest little blog!

You know who you are and will not believe how happy I am that you can come!

On another note... if you haven't already noticed it, please take a look at the following...
Make Some Noise

Why-y-y-y don't you use it?

2007-06-17T12:23:00.001+02:00

Studying: To be continued for another 10 days.
Exams: 2 down, 3 to go
Currently: Watching Jimmy Neutron on the Nickelodeon Channel (some stress relief for lunch!)

We have also had some great company this weekend - visits from Tom, Nita and Natalie (who has taken a liking to chocolate biscuits - clever little thing has learnt how to grab tom's finger and drag him to the cupboard where the stock of bikkies is...

and Philippe and Jan (who we didn't take a cutey picture of). Lots of great conversation over the football/elections/arguing/chocolate fondue playing risk (while Tom and I lost in stunning fashion and Jan won (much to Philippes disapproval!

One more weekend of study, then we will hit the streets again!

The pub with no beer

2007-06-16T17:25:00.001+02:00

Some light reading...

Remember me when you're the one who's silver screened

2007-06-11T19:16:00.001+02:00

Amidst all of my election ruckus, I have been complacent in relation to my partner in life...

Tomorrow, he begins his end of year exams. I have absolutely all faith in him - I have witnessed him the past 16 weeks (the last 5 with serious blocking) learning, testing theories out on me, me yelling at him to quit the psycho babble and him poking his tongue out and blowing (as do all mature adults). He begins tomorrow with Onderzoek Methoden en Technieken (research methods and techniques), followed by Gezondheids (health) Psychology on Thursday. More updates in the following weeks.

Lots of pressure lies on these exams - as, unlike Australia, most exams here weigh 100% of the total mark - he does have two subjects where the exam only weighs 75%. AND - most seriously warped of all - like the Wespac Maths Competition at home, you lose marks for guessing. I still have horrible memories of partaking in the maths comp in Grade 8, answering all questions (naturally, many of which were a random 'havent-had-a-B-answer-in-a-while' guess) only learning later that we lost points for errors. BUT that wasnt part of a uni degree! Still, I know he has studied everything so much harder than I ever did. I particularly enjoy his mad professor study stance. He will kill me for writing this, but while studying, he closes himself up in the study, holds his notes in one hand, has his head tilted to one side, and paces (approx 5 steps) up and down the room while reciting his notes aloud. The sweetest part is that his other hand usually aids in diagrams/explanations/expressionism. Oh, and since he wears braces, he really looks the part!

So, before you kill me, all the best tomorrow, and for the following 2,5 weeks. I know you will be fine and I am so proud that you have almost finished your first year.

I love you

Election results pending...

2007-06-10T18:28:00.002+02:00

Federal Election Results

P.S. totally unrelated to the elections... I have no idea as to what is being shown on television in Australia, but a few weeks back, I stumbled across one of those teen-drama style shows (yes, embarassingly similar to Dawsons Creek) which is shown daily and a good wind-down from work.

BUT

It happens to have one of the most awesome soundtracks I have ever stumbled across... So I have become addicted to the program, just to hear what music will be playing! I heard Missy Higgins on their a few weeks ago, and last week, Jose Gonzalez and the Shins! Most groups are relatively independant and alternative but there is nothing I have heard from the 'poppy' style (except a group or two). For fear of being labelled, I have chosen not to mention the name of the show, but will keep watching, and enjoying the music!

PPS. - You will be dealing with a grumpy girl tomorrow... It looks as though the Christian Democrats will have the next prime minister in Belgium - better than the 'Flemish Importance' party, but similar to the Libs of Oz. The country I fell in love with has taken a nasty turn in the wrong direction, and the chances of an even greater division between Flanders and Wallonia have increased (despite the new guy having the most french name of all: Yves Leterme!) Why a country boasting (erhmm...) a size of 30,528 sq.km (c.f. Australia: 7,741,220) would like to be even smaller baffles me!

PPPS - Congratulations to Justine - a strong asset to Belgium (even if she is from the wrong bit!)

You were in the dark, you were in the pain

2007-06-08T18:39:00.001+02:00

Countdown has seriously started for our flights back home... 4 weeks and 4 days and we will be making that oh-so-familiar trip home... probably downing a cocktail or two hoping to shorten the journey by a few sets of 40 winks!

Another addition to our group of friends occurred this week: Annemie and Hans (landlords/work colleague/friend of Tom's since he was in highschool) have had their first child, Lisa. So many a 'suikerboon' was eaten and enjoyed - and maybe they will even be home for the election on Sunday - probably won't be a repeat performance of the elections from last year (if you remember, ended up with me and tom drowning our hallway with our stomach contents...)

I am not sure if I ever mentioned the suikerbonen tradition yet...

Not that the mother has enough to worry about... but when a child is born, it is tradition to hand out little packages of suikerbonen (translation = sugar bean - sugar coated chocolate) to all visitors, family, work etc. BUT - the colours are very important (they must match the geboortenkaart/birthcard), along with the design of the packages they come in! It can be seen as 'stingey' if you only give white suikerbonen in a cheap-arse basket...

My first experience with the suikerbonen came when I had first started working in Belgium. When I first started, I replaced one of the girls (Inge) on maternity leave (incidently, she has already had her 2nd...) and shortly after she gave birth, a lovely little wooden box was delivered to work with the name and birth date of her son burned into it, and it was filled with black and white sugar beans. BUT - they look remarkably like pebbles (especially when they are neutral colours!) so I thought it was slightly odd, but took one and put it in my bag to take home. LUCKY nobody saw me do this, because I later found out they were to eat (after I had informed everyone that the little pebbles from Inge had arrived...)

I need to learn to write down all of the subtle cultural differences before I forget them though, otherwise they blend into day to day life and I don't want to forget them!

P.S. - Big elections this weekend - if you are at all politically minded, and at all interested in a more-than-two-party-preferred system...click here!

Look at the stars, look how they shine for you

2007-05-30T19:20:00.001+02:00

Back to some politics. Elections are looming (again? I hear you ask!) - this time its the big time: The feds - so I will have two elections this year (plus, not to mention the exciting coverage of the US shortly after...) to follow. Currently, Belgium is led by a 'purple' government: a coalition between the socialists (which are strangely enough coloured red) and the liberals (not to be compared with the so-called liberals they have in Australia - coloured blue). Interestingly, there are more than 2 political parties in this country (yes, more than 2) which makes politics a total other ballgame than the 2 major right-of-centre parties we are confronted with in Australia (yes, there are others, but lets be honest - the day that the Greens finally take over, it will be snowing in Emu Park). If you even know something remotely about me, you will have probably picked up that I am somewhere in the realm of a khaki voter (can't think of another colour to resemble a mix between red and green) so it drives me bananas to see the stupidity of the extreme right parties here....

Let me explain! Last year, the provincial (like state) elections were held, and in Antwerp (not just a city, but a province as well) the socialists won, (no landslide however) with their biggest contenders being the absolute right, Vlaams Belang (Flemish Importance party. Ring any bells? Pauline?) I am a big fan of the mayor (I'm sure Tom also voted for him because they both back the same football club...) as he has campaigned using only positive reinforcement. Never complaining about the other parties, people, problems, rather promoting the beauty in an otherwise not so lovely province. One such campaign is the 'zonder haat straat':

Signs you could hang in your window, which look exactly the same as a street sign, with 'without hate street' written on them. Especially in Antwerp, where probably 10% of people are first or second generation Belgians, but still have a 'brown' appearance and constantly the butt of such hatred and racism, the signs are a nice gesture.

So, considering the Vlaams Belang contender did not become Mayor of Antwerp, he has decided to run in the federal elections to represent Antwerp. Why he thinks the public will vote for him now, I'm not sure... But, his latest campaign is: Wait for it... Zonder Jihad Straat (without Jihad street). You can imagine how people are reacting to this - especially since he hung the signs everywhere in the middle of the most multicultural suburb of Antwerp.

For more info...
Zonder Jihad Straat

10 Points to you, De Winter. I look forward to being sent home - oh that's right, I can stay because I'm not brown. At least I will be able to stay in your new country, Flanders (who needs that horrible French speaking lumpy part, which actually has some trees) and being a stay at home mum with my 5 children (because women are not meant to work).

And you think the brown people cause problems...

Get out of bed, pick up the phone, time to tell the press

2007-05-26T19:43:00.001+02:00

Quite a notable absence - yes I know! Doesn't really help that our internet provider decided to do some work in our neighbourhood, and change some details without us knowing. But, we are back on track now and ready to update the last two, not-so-eventful weeks!

I suppose the highlight of this week involved tom making spaghetti bol with a twist... On my birthday, my parents-in-law bought me some delicious oils and vinegars in a set, and although these weren't labelled, it was quite clear to me (via the use of my olfactories) which was which. Tom didn't realise that the provençal oil had run out, as so had the wok oil, leaving raspberry vinegar. So, thinking this was also oil, he seasoned the pan with the raspberry vinegar (thinking it was oil) then threw in the mince, herbs and the rest of the bol ingredients. I came into the kitchen somewhat later and thought that something was wrong with the meat, but didn't comment until later when I noticed that the bottle which formerly held the raspberry vinegar was now empty. Only then did he realise his boo-boo. The spag bol was ok, but there has been a lesson learnt here...!

Philippe became an uncle/god father this week - the third child for philippe and jan! Gay people must be attractive to give as godparents - surely they won't have their own!! Congrats philippe!

Received my invitation for the school reunion as well. After much arranging, and sorting out dates, plus some crap planning on my behalf, I discovered that I was a matter of a day too late letting the organisers know that I could indeed make it on a particular date, only to discover that the date had been changed to 2 weeks after I leave Australia. So girls and boys - considering I wasn't originally too phased whether or not to go, I was surprisingly cut up about it this week. I considered throwing a barbecue while I was back in Australia, but then thought that it would be stupid to invite everyone back to Rocky for one weekend, when they have to come back for the reunion 2 weeks later anyway...

It is funny - I know I will offend people with this, and if I do, this is not the intention, just a passing thought: When you move to another country, another lifestyle/culture, you regard your friends from 'home' higher than anyone you meet while you are away: They know you, have seen you grow up, go through all sorts of changes, crushes, first-times etc. But, this isn't fair on anyone - not on the old friends or the new ones. I have come to realise that I am not as important to my friends back in Australia as I thought I was, (as they are probably not as important to me), the world does not revolve around me, and that I should be more open with my new friends because who knows what could happen tomorrow.? I still love all of my friends from school so dearly, and look forward to catching up with whomever I can, again, but will attempt to feel less jealous when they are all together without me.

So, no hard feelings anyone. Have a drink or two for me, and I may see some of you again soon
xxx

Molitva - winner of eurovision

2007-05-14T19:24:00.001+02:00

As the title suggests to any fluent Serbian, 'Prayer' is the English translation to the winning number for the weekends 'event of the year' in the gay calendar.

Quite a dramatic performance - but definitely worth the spectacle! For the 2nd year running, Tom and I won the 'local' eurovision contest - last year picking up a toilet roll holder containing a radio and a vase, and this year a chess/drafts set with shot-glasses as playing pieces. All about class. Thanks Philippe.

Speaking of which - I am not allowed to write anymore without mentioning that Kym, Benj, Tom, Philippe, Dave and I went to the football (Germinal Beerschot Vs Circla Brugge) to witness a lot of lovely boys kicking a ball around. Beerschot won 1-0 (but apparently played like crap) - Kym and I were more interested in the captain (Cruz) and star striker (Sterchele - dont know how to spell it!). Mmmmmmm!

So there you are philippe! You predicted my next blog to a 'T'! Look forward to Eurovision 2008 - perhaps Flanders will make it amonst the 'eastovision' countries (which seem to make up the bulk of the entries...)!

Weekend with Aussies

2007-05-08T19:33:00.002+02:00

Another visit from Kym and Benj - and once again all over far too quickly. I have to admit, that I do feel so lucky that I have some of my most wonderful, genuine friends, only a couple of hours away (while I dearly miss those who are not so nearby).

We took Gust for a day trip to Ieper (Ypres) to visit one of the most horrific battlegrounds of WWI (a subject I am embarrassed to say, I still know relatively little about, except that the ANZACs went to Gallipoli. Sadly, just as much devasation occurred in other parts of the world). Of the millions who perished in WWI, 500,000 were killed in battles in and around Ieper - so after visiting the Flanders fields museum, we took a small drive around the village, to see that mass graves surrounded the countryside (most of which belonged to unknown soldiers). The white graves were those of soldiers from the Commonwealth (mostly from the UK, with some from Canada) while the others simply marked a mass grave of 44,000 German Soldiers - 20,000 in one mass grave).

I am not one who likes to glorify the war, nor dwell on it. I am not a firm Bruce Ruxton fan, but I was overwhelmed at the amount of death which took place in a seemingly small area.

Sunday, we rode our bikes into Antwerp (after a minor delay with an exploding tyre on my ever painful bike) to watch an awesome street performer followed by Japanese for dinner.

Am looking forward to finally heading over to London (to see more than just Heathrow airport next time!)

The Efteling

2007-05-01T20:51:00.001+02:00

Today was our outing to De Efteling (I imagine Holland's equivalent of Disneyland) and I have to say that it was quite lovely.

For once, I wasnt overly pissed at the amount of people pushing prams (considering it is a park more for kids than adults this certainally would have been a bit trollish on my behalf). We started the day getting lost in Holland (missing the exit and doing a 60km detour... grrrr) but once we arrived it was as though we were in some sort of surreal wonderland. Instead of disney characters polluting the scenery, it had more a gnome/mushroom sort of vibe (suiting the forrest setting). De efteling is actually a sprookjes park (based on fairy-tale characters) so there was a lot of imagination involved with all of the attractions - we were there with Tom, Nita and Natalie and even though Natalie is only 17 months, she too could get involved with some of the activities. Of course we left her with her daddy when we wanted to ride the roller coasters... Note to self - waiting for one hour for a 1 minute ride is not as appealing as it was in highschool...

Have incuded a few happy snaps from the internet (we stupidly forgot our camera) - one I found particularly cute was the picture of the fat man - or if you look closer - a glorified rubbish bin. He periodically says 'papier hier' (I dont think a translation is necessary) and when you feed him, he munches it up then farts. All sorts of these were placed thoughout the park and kids were actually looking for garbage just to hear the strange noises they made!

Better sign off - Liverpool and Chelsea are playing and although I really dont have that much interest, I fear that the rest of my evening depends on the outcome of this game! (In case you're not sure - if chelsea wins, I certainally won't)

A fantabulous night to make romance 'neath the cover of october skies

2007-04-30T19:56:00.001+02:00

Yes, humanity could be better, but at this moment in my life, I am happy and would like to relish in it before I start doubting this again.

This has been a long (super long) weekend for many a Belgian (myself included) as tomorrow (Tuesday) is Labour day and I chose to 'make the bridge' between the weekend and tuesday and 'profiteer'! The humans have begun turning their televisions off and stepping outside of their little houses since the sun has returned to this small part of the world, hence an excuse to catch up with all the friends/family (while the time permits). Saturday we ate until we were sick at a barbecue, yesterday we ate until we were sick at a restaurant with the family (including Pepe and Rosa), today I updated my wardrobe (despite the constant nagging thought that I actually didnt NEED any of the pretty clothes made in over-filled asian sweatshops probably sewn by toddlers) and tomorrow we are heading to an amusement park (Holland's equivalent to Disneyland but on a much smaller scale!).

Most importantly about today is that I had a wonderful time with a friend I have made on my own. Sad as it is, the older I am, the more difficult I have found to make friends. I am so grateful for my friends from highschool, university (namely those with the one-syllable names!) and working life in Australia - but 3 years into being in Belgium I have met a fellow 'dag/Belgian Inge' and feel so lucky!

Small word problems...

2007-04-24T18:23:00.001+02:00

Just a short one to mention the latest language problem I have been dealt with....

For fun, I call colleagues by (what I thought were) endearing names - for example - mama martine (self explanatory), or
schatti-lou (cutie-lou) for Nathalie, Beffy for stefanie and Befke for Jeff (notice how the last two are almost the same...) - Imaging my shock when I found out that the word 'Beff' (or Beffen to be more precise) is the verb in dutch for 'the act of a female being gone down on' or cunnalingis! (Notice how polite I write this - I could use a more descriptive definition, but wish to convince my parents that I am not completely marginal!) Once again, I have used this incredibly inappropriately, and it wasnt until someone else laughed at my familiarity with a male colleague (which I thought was harmless...) that I picked up on it.

They should be smarter like the english speakers and choose a word for this 'action' which doesnt rhyme with a relatively common name...

Dunno if it beats the use of the verb vingeren (fingering) to my boss by accident when I meant to use the plural for fingers... (many plurals end in 'en').

You think that I could muster up a little soft-shoe devil sway?

2007-04-23T17:15:00.001+02:00

Another blog - so new photos to post!

Had another jam-packed weekend - home for about 2,5hours in total (just enough time to skype and get changed!). But before I mention anything else, I want to say that it was so wonderful to chat to 'miss piggy' again! I had almost forgotten how fantastic you are to chat to, and am so grateful that I have a friend like you! Cant wait to see you again when I am in town!

Moving on... Saturday I volunteerd to help the De Meyere children with a trash and treasure type market at their primary school. They made a grand total of €22,75 which was pretty good considering most of their old toys had a price tag of around 10c! I have just enclosed some pickies of the 'baby' from when I first started babysitting (actually, she was a little older than 1 in the first photo) and one from the weekend. She is growing way too quickly, but has turned into a little madame (my favourite is the frequent use of the word 'zot!' - meaning 'are you crazy?!)

After this, I had around half an hour to get changed into my sexiest naughty clothes (which turns out not to exist in my wardrobe - mental note to self to do some more shopping!) for a girls night out with Jake, Anatronic and the rest of the scissor sisters. Nathalie (one of my colleagues) discovered a pile of incredibly disco-style sunnies, so we decided to accessorise with these (as though we didnt look silly enough). After some miscommunication with busses, we walked 45 mins to the hall, danced for 2 hours, then attempted 45 minutes back to Hasselt. By this stage, my feet were in pure agony, so I took off my delicious FM boots, and walked to the city in my glowing-white sport socks (quite a look - thank god I was holding onto the camera!).

Crashed in bed somewhere before the time of the flatulating sparrow, and woke up on Sunday preparing for the 10miles of Antwerp. No, I had no motivation to run, but we cycled a good 30km yesterday and today my calves are killing me (not sure if this is a result of the heels/walking bare foot/cycling). In any case, I did some good calory burning, alongside Tom's dad who did run in the race (tom not, much to his huge disappointment - still probs with his knee...).

Next weekend is brunch with the Pepe... Time to replace all of the calories I burned this weekend!

In the summertime, when the weather is

2007-04-15T11:04:00.001+02:00

After a notable absence, I have decided to update the blog with what has been happening here since the weather decided to take a turn for the better! Now, we are having 20°C+ days (yes, that may seem like winter in australia, but here it is the return of the white leg and time to put on that one pair of sandals...)

So, we have been, once again, enjoying food, wine and lots of bike riding!

To mark the beginning of the summer, I decided to cook whole fish for Tom and myself - which to a girl who grew up on the coast, was no biggy - you learn how to scale and clean a fish, stuff it (if necessary) and most importantly, eat it so that the backbone remains intact. Poor tommy hadn't yet learnt these principles, and was a little frustrated with enduring the gag reflex every few bites. But, at least he enjoyed the veges...!

Then, last night, Tom's mother was getting itchy feet to go out somewhere in the city, so we all decided on 'Restaurant Fez' and enjoyed a full Maroccan experience! Little did we know that our very own belly dancer would come out and give us a semi-private show. The only problem was that she was so close, and I actually didnt know where to put my eyes! But I suppose, she had a fantastic body, and knew how to move it, so we all just watched!!

After nearly 3 years, am still not yet accustomed to the temperature difference between day and night. Here, the entire day + night has a range of around 5°C. So, when I dress up in the evening, I tend to overdo it, expecting that it will be colder when the sun goes down. Mental Note - Sweat marks are not a fashion statement in the evening!

On top of this, my lovely bike, Lulu is back in action, and I am enjoying every moment of it! After many a wasted hour, we changed her rear inner tyre last Friday, went for a ride, and had a fresh new puncture! So, we went to the bike store, bought some new patches, and attempted to fix this ourselves. Stupid man at the store didnt feel that it was necessary to tell us that you needed glue as well! So, I zoomed off to the hardware (in Gust - no way I was going to ride a bike with a flat tyre again!) and found the glue, and after 2 hours of trying, we finally mended the hole! So since the beginning of April, I have been riding around 20km a day - this also includes one wrong turn somewhere along a highway and ending up on a BMX track - ok for tom's bike, but on a granny bike like mine, not entirely so practical! All that sand is just nasty!

Weekend in Durbuy

2007-04-01T13:49:00.001+02:00

The weekend is almost over, and we are back home just relaxing inside (which is absolutely stupid due to the fantastic weather outside...).

We took a drive to Durbuy (around an hour and a half from here) and attempted the ropes course - all 4 levels with some success! Although, at the end of the 4th level, we were struggling a little! Have included some pickies (and hopefully my video upload worked) and realise how deceptive they appear! We were actually 10 metres+ up in the trees...

After this, we made our way to Ciney and stayed in a restored farm house. We ended up eating a 4 course dinner, drinking ourselves silly (thanks to the locals) and crashing at quite an early hour! My only regret is that we cant do something like this every weekend.

Come on baby in our dreams, we can live our misbehaviour

2007-03-30T21:25:00.001+02:00

Thought I should make a quick note - we are off this weekend for a surprise pre-easter weekend! I have booked something, and Tom has no idea what it is (despite discovering that we will be somewhere in the Ardennes...

Somehow, I always manage to leave something lying around for him to discover. Typical. Will post some pickies up next week.

PS - have updated my song of the week... one which has been made famous by its beautiful cover, but I am quite a fan of the original as well...

Les Lacs du Connemara

2007-03-24T12:55:00.001+01:00

Last night, we were at the wedding of Tom's cousin, Nele De Pauw. We went, preparing ourselves for all the questions, and family judgement, but ended up having a wonderful time, being dragged off the dancefloor at 4am to go home (tom reluctantly headed off to work this morning at 9am...) Have tried to upload a little video I made of one of the belgian traditions, but it never quite worked, so I have settled for this link instead...

click here

and stay tuned
:)

Some Silly Willies

2007-03-19T17:39:00.001+01:00

Ok - just for fun I thought I would put in some photos from the quiz - and of course our prizes!

First, we have Wim. Very happy with his prize.

Then Hans - won a cooler box - but didn't realise all the goodies it came with! Now him and annemie have all the crap they need for their baby (which is set to make an appearance in June...)

And last, but not least - Tommy had a fluo pink toy - which was actually something another lady had her eye on (???!!!) and he kindly surrendered it to her!

Don't Think Twice, It's All Right

2007-03-18T19:36:00.001+01:00

Well that day has finally arrived: The day where I have found ONE form of physical activity in which I am better than Tom! So praise the lord - I am slightly good at sport!

We went wall-climbing today (since there is a shortage of cliffs/hills/rocks/any sort of non-man-made elevations in Flanders) and had a really great time! We met up with Els, and found and indoor climbing hall in Antwerp and made our ways there.

Will definitely head back soon...

Ch-ch-ch-chaaanges

2007-03-17T16:41:00.001+01:00

Time to un-somberise the mood of the last blog... As you see, I have a firm grasp of the English language now that I am studying another. I often find myself making up words to fit the moment. Why not?

So the insurance money for Gust I came through yesterday, and since we made a €200 profit out of our accident, we decided that it was time to go shopping - but instead of sticking to a budget - we decided that we should just go all out. Now we are poor again, but have enough material possessions to give ourselves a quick instant high for the next month or so until we complain about our lack of items again. As per normal - way too much was spent on books/CDs. It seems that we can't NOT buy CDs and books. But when life is music and education - then what better to spend our extra 'centjes' than these two items? Now Tom is the proud owner of a Gilles Peterson CD (very nice - if you haven't heard him - have a little listen) and another Flemish group disguised as South Americans (quite good apparently) and I am the owner of a cheapy best of David Bowie and the new Shins (have put a snippet of their single at the bottom of our webpage).

Off to a quiz tonight - organised by my inlaws yearly, and Tom is reading the paper catching up on what has happened this week, while I am hoping to help out on the 'music' category. We have managed to rope 12 people into coming, so since this makes two full teams, I am imagining some 'friendly' competition. It should all go well - as long as the team I am on wins!

Have attached some photos... Went swimming with the Flies family last week - and couldn't resist some photos of Natalie.

You're my medicine, open up and let me in

2007-03-10T17:51:00.001+01:00

Nothing sweeter than hearing Ben Harper soulfully covering the classic Marvin Gaye number, Sexual Healing. Perfect weekend anthem...

Today was the funeral. Yesterday was the wake. Many tears fell which will no longer come back, but the stocks have been replenished for the next event - hopefully something which makes us laugh so hard, it is beyond making a sound. I had only met Nonkel Erik once - at that stage he was already severly damaged by the horrible degenerative dementia/alzheimers, yet he still looked quite well so there was no need to fear the worst. It had been a year or so since the previous time Tom visited, and the downhill slide had been apparently freakishly rapid. From someone who forgot what he wanted to say, to a dear, not-so-old man who was unable to walk anymore and only able to communicate with his eyes. A healthy, very fit and active, fresh-fish small business owner, who thought the world of his family (where the feeling was equally given in return) is no longer, and it has affected the Matheus extended family heavily.

Ironically enough, we have a wedding (on the other side of the family) within two weeks, so I am hoping that this event will use the newly replenished tear reserves, and nothing so tragic as what we have seen this weekend.

Tot de volgende keer, nonkel Erik. Ik hoop dat ik met u in het volgende leven op een terasje iets kunnen gaan drinken en hopelijk zie jij dat Tom heeft zijn trien gevonden. Santé.

Erik De Troyer 1 Sep 1939 - 4 Mar 2007

Yours is the first face that I saw, I think I was blind before I met you

2007-03-05T12:05:00.000+01:00

Well I managed to escape our blogging till now. With the absence of Ingrid, I'll write about the weekend. it actually is a bit of self-help. it was a really emotional weekend. We went to see Little children on the weekend. Not the best movie but I saw Kate Winslett and Jennifer Connolly so can't complain too much. We also went for Japanees. that was the first time ever and it was delicious. But I will not choose to eat raw fish 7 days a week. But had a great time with our "token gay friends" Jan en Philippe. Sunday started on a bit of a downfall. My favourite uncle has died in the course of the morning. He was sick for a while now but it is still a shock and sad. I hereby want to thank Ingi in public for being the best girlfriend ever and supporting me. The sad thing was that there wasn't much we could do in the day. So we went ot my parents to talk a bit. He was the one where I spent my summers and helped out in his fishstore. Saying it like that feels like a cheesy real-like movie.
On Sunday evening, despite not looking forward I went to the watch the soccer anyway. My favourite team, beerschot, trashed one of the title candidates who are now lost for the championship. I was really emotional but it's weird how close happiness and sadness are to one another. I can only wish I have a life like him where I enjoy every second of it!
Well I hope the next one is filled with better news but writing about it always helps me so you can charge me for psych help!

I'm going to polish my husbands Oscar while he rummages around in my basement

2007-03-02T18:40:00.001+01:00

For those of you who like a little Ricky Gervais humour... enjoy

One night to be confused, one night to speed up truth

2007-02-28T19:22:00.001+01:00

Just when I decide to write about the weekend - I realise that it is already half way through the week... why does time just continue to fall into a continuüm where I feel like I'm constantly behind? Don't worry - it isn't one of those complaining type messages... just a touch on philosophy while I get on with it...

We started out the weekend with cooking a dinner for Annemie and Hans (since we have eaten enough of their food in the past...) - thanks once again Kelly for your recipe for squidgy chocolate cake - we can never keep it more than 24 hours! Soooo absolutely delicious! So, I had a good cooking effort, followed by a shocking clean-up - but all was worth it. Am getting into the board-game atmosphere too...(instead of the good ol' days of going for a good boogie)!

Saturday took us to Michael and Annelies' - my Australian comrad here (one of the only countries we haven't taken over in droves...) who is now returning with his fiancée to Melbourne. So we went to see them before they head off - I really hope to see you both again once we finally head back! Then Tom will have a Belgian comrad (something I think he missed a little in oz).

Then, Sunday took us on 'baby-bezoek' (baby visit) to Stef and Koen (and Willemtje of course!) - so while Tom nursed Willem for most of the morning, I was able to inform Stef on all gossip, and everything went harmoniusly (for once...). Poor Gust was suffering though... on those fast roads, with a split in the muffler, everyone in Belgium could hear us coming! Nevertheless, we reached our destination, without too much smoke.

Yesterday, I visited another colleague who had just given birth (baby named Mette - quite nice and unique...) - so counting Annemie, that is 3 colleagues with babies (even if one is still incubating). If I count Kelly Chan, that is 4... Something is definitely in this european water - good thing I drink wine instead eh?!

PS Gust has officially left our lives - we expect to hold a ceremony for him once the insurance money comes through. So - goodbye lovely old man. Pretty soon though, Gust twee comes into our lives... stay tuned!

PPS - just a link below for what has happened on this side of the world today...

Belgian News of the Day (English)

Belgisch Nieuws van the Dag (Nederlands)

Het lijkt op een huis met een dak erop...

2007-02-25T19:31:00.001+01:00

Just a sweet line from the the latest cutey song of the week here... I will try to write it - if you are interested, I will translate it below...

Mama kijk eens hier in de W Ceeeeee,
Kijk, ik heb gepoeped er zijn er twee,
Het lijkt op een huis met een dak erop
Ja, dat is mooi, trek je broek maar op.

Link to the Cute Song

If you click on the link, then in the right window, click on the link "trek je broek maar...) the song will start... Now for the translation:

Mummy come and look here in the toilet,
Look I have done a poo, and there are two,
It looks like a house with a roof on top,
Yes, that is nice, now pull your pants up.

Perhaps I am a little bit of a kiddy, but I just think the style of music is quite schlager-esque, and quite Belgian/Hollandish/German!