category WICKED

last Saturday (theoretically also Sunday), I had the change to experience one of ... probably the wickedest (if that's not a word, it is now) experience of my life

I was with my choir... on sta...

wait a sec, I'm getting ahead of things

you know, or you don't, but then you do now know, I sing in a choir
the coolest, the funniest, the most energetic choir of the country!
with the craziest, most bold and enthousiastic board you can possibly imagine

we sing pop songs, soul music, musical from time to time... always coupled with a major energy boost
so no classical music, church stuff or ...ehm... heavy things

until now...

that crazy, bold and enthousiastic board arranged for us to sing...
... O Fortuna by Carl Orff
... on stage
... for about 10.000 people
... at a... b a s s event!

this is without a doubt the wickedest thing we ever did, and I gotta say it felt AMAZING
it's been a week and I'm still enjoying this

www.bassevents.be

not exactly my kind of music but the party afterwards...
it was...
mindblowing :D

the return to the office

as if I can't be missed (not to sound presumptuous :))

it's been a month since my student job at the restoration office ended
but I kept in touch with them! ... or they kept in touch with me :)

first hit: e-mail from the office: do you wanna come for the Friday-sandwich?
of course! the Friday-sandwich is legen... wait for it... dary
ok, maybe not legendary, but still... very nice to be invited to the weekly office tradition I think!
I choose the usual "sea breeze"
what's a sea breeze, I hear you thinking... well it's a sandwich with smoked salmon, tartar sauce and rorippa
had no idea that green stuff is called like this, but I found it on Wikipedia... long live Wikipedia...
wow, my art history teachers should here me... I deserve to be punched
(art) historians aren't exactly supposed to look stuff up on Wikipedia, we're trained to go to a library... or to visit a peer-reviewed website
but I'm deviating...
I had a nice sandwich, an interesting chat with the former colleagues and an appreciated "keep us posted" before I left

second hit: a week later another e-mail from the office: would you like to join the proof-quiz?
maybe some preliminary explanation is desirable
one of the guys in the office, wait..., the only guy in the office is a member of a quiz team and they were organizing their own quiz
a quiz that needed some beta-testing before putting into operation
so, I join team 2 (the smaller team of 3 people; the other team has 4 members) and we start the quiz
we laugh, we think, we laugh again, we ache our heads in thinking (at least I did, I get pretty competitive during a quiz), but we lose (damn it) with only one point (damn it even more)
the winners won a jade plant, the runners-up won a bag of lolly pops (just to be sure I checked the ingredients list for milk stuff... didn't think they would put milk in lolly pops, but yes they do :( ... so... no price for me *snif*)
but we had lots of fun!

third hit: an e-mail from the boss (cool!)
"I'm sorry I wasn't in the office for your last day. I'm very pleased with your work and approach. If it's ok for you, we should go for a drink"
...
a drink! ... with the boss
...
cool!!!
so, couple of weeks later, I had dinner with the boss
yes! dinner! in the mean time the drink had become a dinner, boss's treat!
I was a bit worried for ackward silences, but the evening turned out to be very interesting!

no job offer though :)

maybe on the fourth hit?

you know you're in the car with a musician when...

- when besides music he does about everything: teaching, performing, playing piano, writing sheet music
- when he does his administration in the car i.e. accountancy, finances, secretary work, networking
- when he calls half of his (i-)phonebook in a 20 minutes drive... from his daughter and parents, to famous singer-songwriters and gitarists
- when he has no idea of time
- when 9:40 AM is the agreed meeting hour for him to pick me up
- when 9:40 AM becomes 9:50 AM and he has no idea he's late
- when 9:40 AM can be 9:20 AM and he has no idea he's early
- when I comb my hair with my fingers for I was still in my PJs in the bathroom when he arrived and he says "we always meet this hour"
- when he calls his daughter and wakes her up... and still doesn't believe he's early
- when we arrive at the rehearsal room and everybody says "wow, you're early", he still has no clue
- when besides music, everything and administration he does even more: conducting choirs, conducting orchestra's, conducting musicals, proof-reading, advertising local politicians...
- when he drives a sedan that is usually filled up with the capacity of a mini-van
- when his spatial visualization ability is consequently pretty well developed... wondering if he's a good tetris-player
- when he has breakfast in the car
- when the breakfast is a cup of coffee
- when I'm the cup holder
- when he taps his foot at 60bpm
- when he hears a horn and says "that's an a"
- when his live is crazy
- when his "good morning" sounds a husky rumble of his throat and is either followed by "I had a gig yesterday" or "I didn't sleep enough"
- when he speaks dialect
- when he tries to speak proper Dutch, it sounds ridiculous :)

- when no matter what... he loves us... and we love him!!!

people on the bus - part I

winter's coming in again, colour's disappearing...
today, the only bright colours I spotted on the bus, was when I looked down on my own orange coat and red boots

oh.. and when I looked to the girls on my right eating candy
*for the record, not the girls were colourful, the candy was... and smelling disgustingly sweet (again the candy, not the girls)*

of course I couldn't help but overhear their conversations, particularly the one on 'age'...
let me reconstruct from the part I started eavesdropping:


-Blondie: "she's mega-old you know"
*I suppose you can imagine what caught my attention*
-Brunette: "you think she's mega-old??? I'm really close to that you know! it's only three more years for me!"


ok... short conversation, I know... but my imagination jumped on the editorial train :)
first of all, what age is mega-old?
I didn't hear the particular age the B&B were referring to, so I had to guess
I suppose Blondie herself must have been 21, for she claimed 22 to become "the best year"
*pretty sad, I think, when after 22 nothing in her life will ever be as good as it was when she was 22...*
and Brunette was definitely not much older than Blondie *my guess is 22*
so all adds up to the age of... 25... mmm
I'm older than mega-old... interesting...

also, I must have missed the tendency in juvenile slang to refer to particular ages with a binary prefix...
wonder if there's kilo-old, tera-old, or even peta-old or exa-old...

and if I'm older than mega-old...
does that make me giga-old?

my love...

I've told you guys before, there's no such thing as coincidence

faith has brought me joy, it brought me laughter
it granted me moments that made me stronger
it gave me friends for life

it has brought me love...
... and it did again...

I've found my love :)

there's a warm fussy feeling inside of me, a flame bursting with energy when I'm with you
I feel like I have known you all my life
when I least expect it, you're there :)

you're powerful in so many ways
you're harmonious, you're tremendously interesting
you inflict sparkles in people's eyes... oh those sparkles
you're sweet soul music
you're loving, you're shy
you're cute and you're fierce
you're tricky, you're hard to read
you're the best I've ever known

you're...

:)

you know you're an art historian in a restoration architects' office when...

- when your contract entitles you as 'architectural historian' (nice :) )
- when your job description is promising
- when your job turns out to be not limited to the job description
- when you're outnumbered in discipline (it's 7 against 1)
- when you're not outnumbered in sex (it's 7 against 1 (women vs. men this time))
- when the one guy is gay
- when you don't have your own desk
- when you don't have your own PC... sorry Mac
- when you have to find your way in the Apple world and start struggling with Mac
- when you're bound to commute between the Macs of the architects on holiday, the ones working at home or the ones supervising the construction works on the yards
- when you're banned to the laptop when everybody's in
- when you will do research on two not even remotely related monuments in restoration
- when 'not even remotely related' means: 18thC curly ironwork and 20thC industrial ateliers
- when you're all together back in archives and libraries (it almost feels like home...)
- when those two historical analyses take up three of the six weeks you're there (I should work more slowly...)
- when the architects drown in their work
- when you're a bit ashamed to ask for more...
- when you cannot participate in the lunch break conversations (about projects you're not working on)
- when on Friday you leave the office at 15h30
- when you should have asked for more work a bit earlier
- when the temporary solution is: catalogue the updates of the architectural handbooks or 'Vademecums'
- when you, as art historian, have time to do such things... the architects are still drowning
- when a second temporary solution is: find spelling mistakes in the SOW (Statement of Work)
- when you come across the weirdest words in that SOW; words the spelling corrector approves
- when words like 'elbow' are spelled incorrectly according to that same spelling corrector
- when after 700 pages of SOW at the computer screen, you start to see sentences in the air
- when there's still two weeks of work to fill
- when you start cataloguing the office's library
- when you realize an architect's library is a good source for the list 'books to buy'
- when there's a book on etched illustrations of extinct birds... O_o
- when your height is convenient: you're the chosen one to climb the library 'ladder' to get to the books on the top shelve
- when your the one without an excuse not to climb that ladder (three architects are too short, one is too pregnant, the other two are too busy)
- when on the last but one day the office collectively attends a symposium
- when on the last day you can participate in the lunch break conversation (about the symposium)

- when you miss being an art historian in a restoration architects' office

last week in the office - day 3

awesomeness to the fullest!!!
ow yeah...

I know, I'm a little late on  the sequel of my last days in the office
don't really have a reason...
I can call it upon my 'busy' schedule, the level of awesomeness of the third day of the week (as in still recovering, hehe), it might be me being lazy or I can blame it on the boogie...

anyway...

after 6 weeks of office work I finally got to go on a real survey trip
jihaa...

ok, probably you architects think "what's so 'jihaa' about surveying"
well, I'm an art historian, we basically jump up and dance around every time we can get out of any library :) (we practically already jump up and dance when we can go to a different library than we're used to)

so...

I can start describing the site, but a picture says so much more than words, so ...
in the category 'awesome' I believe this one has a pretty high score :)

Antwerp (Mortsel) - Fort 4

the beauty of decay

pathology's paradise

also pretty awesome: it didn't rain :D

last week in the office - day 2

as I expected...
yesterday's rain was only a little taste for the rest of the week...


today: the library

I mentioned yesterday I have been updating the office's library catalogue
and when I say updating, I mean starting from scratch

the office is located in a restored wood keeper's house that is cleaned weekly by the cleaning lady; it's library is located in an antichamber
since nobody knows exactly the content of the library I was asked to deal with this situation
not only by putting data in an online catalogue, it also included inventing "order"

so I added authors, titles, editors, year, key words, remarks etcetera
and sorted books per theme or subject

I came across books about religious heritage, industrial heritage, fortifications, architectural styles, theory, materials and techniques, interior, inventory, conservation of heritage...
in short: discernible topics
I catalogued and put them away neatly per theme

but there was also stuff about wine (indication for my boss's preference?), birds (as in...?), cartoons...
and there was stuff without any biographical information, severely outdated brochures, or magazines that were not supposed to be there
in short: stuff lacking a discernible topic and stuff not to catalogue yet

to keep up the working pace, I placed them in the category "diversity" and stacked 'em on an orderly chaotic pile: one for the category "diversity", one for "yet to do"

a process which took up already about a week or so

this morning... I enter the antichamber...
where did my pile of "yet to do" stuff go?
ah! there's one of those b.o..o..k..s
why is it in the middle of the "diversity" pile?
and why is the "diversity" pile so neatly organised all of the sudden?

when... "good morning C.!" - "good morning cleaning lady" - "I reorganised everything a bit, it was such a chaos in here" - O_o - "isn't it neat now" - O_O

oh crap...

last week in the office - day 1

after 6 weeks of ‘fun’ at the restoration office I have been working for as a student employee, my last week started today.

it was a day of … ehm… challenges

let’s see if it’s an indication for the rest of the week

Monday morning… so good to me…

…or not…

it rains… or actually it’s pooring rain L

all right, no biggie, let’s “colour up” (I’ve made this my personal interpretation of Barney’s “suit up” J): green trousers, red top, aubergine tunic and a yellow jacket…

that’ll do

… oh… and a hideous XXXL rain suit… in case it doesn’t stop raining and I’d drown on the way to work

ok, the weather gods are quite good-humoured

not too much rain during the usual 20 minutes bike ride, yippie J

I arrive, lock my bike and put the key of my bike in the pocket of my green trousers

well, since it’s my last week there’s stuff to finish: for the historical evaluation of some wrought ironwork, I needed to go back to the site one more time with a colleague

so.. off we go

we arrived in the city and I distinctly remember thinking and saying: “the weather is nice now! I hope it stays this way”

my colleague thinks (also out loud): “maybe I should take an umbrella, just in case... there’s one in the trunk of the car, next to the survey material”

we park the car, take the survey material out of the trunk, walk to the city centre (about 10 minutes)

at the site, we discuss some materials, techniques, joints etc.

my colleague starts surveying, I take pictures when...

*d r i p...... d r i p... drip drip dripdripdrip DRIPDRIP*

no need for a picture, we are ... of course... in Belgium (though the weather had been nice last couple of weeks, I must say!)

“let’s go for a drink until it’s over,” my colleague kindly suggests

we dive (I dive, my colleague walks cause she is pregnant, so diving wouldn’t be the brightest idea) into the nearest coffee shop and order a tea

10 minutes later, my tea is gone, as is the rain

fully encouraged, we start again

my colleague surveys, I continue taking pictures when...

*DRIPDRIPDRIP DRASH DRASH DRASH*

no tiny rain drops this time, let’s go immediately for the shower, the heavy kind

“this is pointless, let’s go back to the office... I think you have everything you need? I can still come back later,” my colleague suggests

so...

we go back to the car...

the walk of 10 minutes...

without... oh yes... the umbrella that is still in the trunk of the car

and without the hideous rain suit, cause... oh yes... I left it at the office to ‘dry’, even though it wasn’t actually that wet...

I presume you all know the effects of a shower

needless to say, we were SOAKING wet

“I’ll stop by your house so you can change clothes,” my colleague offers

“that’ll be great, it’s on the way to the office so we don’t lose time,” I say

so, we pass by my house

I take of my green trousers and change them for a pair of jeans and dry shoes and we’re off to the office

I filled my afternoon by finishing the evaluation, adding some of the pictures to the document, describing valuable aspects, etc. and by updating the library catalogue

5.30PM: after being almost locked up (story expected soon), I wanna go home and start looking for the k..e..y...

... bike... this morning... pocket... green trousers... soaking wet... changed... at home... oh crap...

you wish you'd have a camera when

since I still have to use a camera to take a proper picture, oh... the times I have been swearing cause I didn't have it with me...
and my cell phone camera won't do the trick... it's one of the "4 pixel"-generation

1- when a new generation worker's men gives its best (read: one handles the shovel, three others watch and delegate)
2- when you spot an oldtimer mini cooper... with dito passengers and driver
3- when the cat goes acrobatic during its siesta nap (from 8.30AM to 7PM)
4- when there's a rainbow... oh wait, I did have one last time :)

Leuven 15.05.12 7.01PM

5- when the cat is ambushing a mouse and wiggling its butt
6- when the cat fell in the pond (a gust blew over the sun screen, which landed right next to the poor thing who didn't see it coming... he jumped up... and landed in the water)
7- when the fish in the pond suffer from megalomia and start making dolphin jumps
8- ...

it's all about the view

seeing the world from a different perspective... it's refreshing

1. on the floor: usually you see everything from eye-level (1.50m to 1.90 depending on your height)
yesterday night I was lying on my floor, feet up in the air (very therapeutical to long legs like mine)

things you see from that position:
in the "oh shit" category:
- still some dust after vacuuming, swiffering and mopping
- stains of humidity on both sides of the upper roof beam (oh crap)
- the roof (of course) that is dirty
in the completely useless category:
- the awesomeness of the green paint on my wall
- the failed attempt of drying the bridal bouquet of your best friends (I caught the bouquet at my best friend's wedding - angelic patience for the next wedding (mine that is) will be necessary - the thing is now hanging upside down from my closet and looks sad)
- the end of the neighbours' beams
- the roof windows

2. from the sky: under construction... (skydiving is on my to do list - if any of my friends feel called upon... we still didn't really celebrate my birthday ;))

3. immersed in creativity: I don't wanna sound lazy but... under construction...
the quest for a thesis (check what a week) and more in particular for people willing to help me turned out to be a full joke...
the last update I gave you all is 4 months later massively outdated (an update will follow shortly), but to give a sneak preview, I REAALLLY need(ed) to change my tactics to advanced creativity
not just creativity in writing text, inventing research questions and conservation guidelines

to be continued

facebook vs supermarket

every once in a while you walk into your supermarket
you enter, you stop, you observe... and you think... f*ck, they moved everything again
behold the quest to the things you need
after 30 minutes you're out (25 minutes later than you had hoped) but you stood the test

every once in a while you open your facebook (ok, you do it often, but that's not the point)
you sign in... and you think... bloody hell not again a full change of interface
behold the quest to the right buttons
after 4 hours you're still not out, you still don't get the f*cking interface, or more importantly WHYYYY

tip to facebook: have a full size inquiry amongst your members
not only the nerds

at the movies: the movie

I almost forgot, but I actually saw a movie too after those 15 minutes of my life I'll never get back ;)

not just any movie, Titanic 3D!
now, I got pretty high expectations of it... seeing the stern of the ship go down in 3D must be mindblowing! it's already impressive in 2D!

rather quickly I noticed that my expectations wouldn't be fulfilled...
very few 3D depth, but oh... yes... the subtitles were ...ehm... coming forward

ah well... it's been 14 years since I've seen it, so let's enjoy and relax

we're somewhat halfway through the movie: Jack drawing Rose's portrait, the old Rose admitting that was the most erotic moment of her life... the entire audience being as intrigued as the crew of the submarines in this moment of Backfisch romance...
when ALL OF THE SUDDEN some idiot song starts playing...

"huh"??? is what I hear
"see you after 10 minutes break" is what pops up on the screen

:(

COME ON! talking about a pleasure kill...
it's not that hard to hold your pee for 3 hours!... even with all the water on the screen ;)
but apparently it is, cause about one third of the audience got up and left...

anyway, after the 10 minutes the movie continued
but oh... judging from the sound there was another reason for the break: refill of popcorn and chips... and judging from the smell also yoghurt??? (who eats yoghurt in the cinema?)

so the movie continued
and you all know the story, don't think I need to go into detail about that...
ship hits iceberg - ship goes down - Rose is saved - ...
... and "the old lady dropped it into the ocean in the end"
(this is not me talking, I quote a Backfisch on the seat behind mine... and "Oops, I did it again" gets stuck in my head... NOOOOOO)

the closing credits... the first notes of "My heart will go on"... (goosebumps, can't help it)
Celine Dion starts singing... as does a set of tough alphamales three rows in front of me :D

... now that's new :D

I left the theatre with a smile


PS: a Backfisch is a word for a young, immature teenage girl

at the movies

yesterday I went to the movies...
had a free ticket to spend so let's go for THE blockbuster of 14 years ago: TITANIC
... now in 3D

the movie started at 7.45PM
(... actually the previews start then, but we don't wanna miss those, now do we)
right on time I hand in the ticket (and paid 2€ surplus, cause cleaning the 3D glasses costs sooo much every time)
I'm properly installed when the light are dimmed...
a screen pops up: "the movie starts in 15 minutes"

o_0

wow... that's a lot of time for previews...

anyway preview time (and I completely forgot which previews so probably not about movies I wanna see)

another screen pops up: "commercials"

oh bah...
fanta, the event the world's going crazy about: the olympics "sponsored by coca cola" (pronounced with a laim not to be determined accent), something mysterious called "brightfish" (anyone any ideas who the one-eyed fish with the pointy tail is?), a commercial by the largest Belgian electricity company (with a funny dog :)), a new VW Beetle commercial (with the slogan "if you were good in the past life, you'll be rewarded in the next (which brought me to thinking what the hell I did wrong in my past life to go through all my thesis crap, but that's another story))...
and I believe there were more... I started watching the people around me, the commercials stopped being funny

anyway... a new screen pops up: "the movie starts in 12 minutes"

WHAAAAT!!! another 12? how's that even possible???

well, I'll tell you how that's possible: the following 7 minutes were filled with inquiries, commercials for "kids at the movies" (it's on Sundays), "ladies at the movies" (it's on ... ehm forgot...), probably also "teenagers at the movies", "secretaries at the movies", "dogs and cats at the movies" (cause they want their treat too) or whatever, some (I'm not interested in those) facts about the movie that's coming up, a MCQ about some actor or director or... from the movie that's coming up (I'm NOT joking unfortunately), again commercials...

another screen pops up (and you think, aaah the movie's starting): "the movie starts in 5 minutes"

o_0

I believe they played a new round of previews, possibly 3D upcoming movies... I'm not really sure
but since everybody around me was wearing the same type of glasses and a freaky anaconda snake crawled up right in front of me (and apparently also right in front of my girly side, front and back neighbours, judging from their shrieks)... it probably was 3D

new screen: "enjoy the movie"

... ow, there was a movie, right... thx for notifying... I almost got up and left the premises
what movie was I going to watch again???

colour and people

it's quite interesting to see what colours do to people...


average reaction to my colours: "oh, you're so nice and colourful"
or "you make me happy"
or "I should do that too"

all reactions I really appreciate :)
I make people smile and that's the intention in the end


these are the people who love them and go nuts


from time to time I hear: "ah yes, colours, it's fashionable now right"
to which I reply: "I created that trend... I do this for years"
or "is it spring already?" - "no mam, but winter's no reason for me to look like a wilted flower"


these are the people who like colours for others but not for themselves

and then... there are two more categories

people who don't know colours
recognizable on the eyes going rapidly up and down and left and right and up and down again, starting when they spot you from a short distance of 5m *brains make an alert to be attentive*
while passing by the eyes keep on moving rapidly looking to every little corner of the outfit *danger danger, no grey to be spotted* the mouth opens up *this can't be true* and the head turns *WHAT IS THIS*
... it's called colour
... it's natural
... it's normal
... don't worry, I'm no alien, I will not abduct you to a place were there's no "safety" grey

and then there are people who don't like colours
recognizable on the frown, including a disapproving look with a hint of catholic guilt thinking *oh sinful girl, attracting so much attention, quickly say your prayers or you'll burn in hell* I smile *oh nooooo, she's happy, dear lord*
... look the other way if you don't like it
... I am who I am, COLOURFUL AND HAPPY :D

just be happy, don't worry, colours or no colours

the only one - part III

summer passes, nice weather (yes even in Belgium), holidays to Slovakia, start of a new year

bonding with the first master students, living the eternal quest for an internship and thesis topic, meeting old friends etc etc

absolutely nothing reminded me of JT or whatever other guy, UNTIL...

*probably Than_I or a friend of the choir or a kiss goodbye from the last facebook conservation right before you logged out…*

JT…

0_o

…

*WHAT THE FUCK????*

“hey, long time no see *REALLLY* how are you? still alive and kicking? *followed by, and I quote again* why didn’t you answer my last message? *how are you? still shitfaced? (apparently yes)* do you feel like going for a drink next week”

why oh why did my parents teach me to be a decent girl???? – I answered (you probably think I’m nuts and I don’t blame you)

“sure, why not, I’m available, just let me know when you are”

now, I underlined the words “next week” in JT’s message for a reason

as you might suspect my level of skepticism reached levels of unseen proportions, and even that is a huge euphemism

and it increased even more when on the following Friday night of partying… who appears in the same bar… YES OH YES… JT

*mmm, forgot how short he was*

a couple of hours, some small talk (but NO drinks) and five weeks of text messaging later I ask him about his understanding notion “week”

*if my weeks lasted as long as his did, WOW I would have SOOOO much time to spend… nice outlook…*

“I know, my schedule is so busy *really? oh, strange, I had no idea at all*, last two weeks I had to go abroad for my job, three weekends ago I had a family weekend, the week before that a football tournament” …

now, I absolutely don’t have any clue anymore if I answered to that message or not

good illustration of how little he interested me anymore

you know, if he would be the only one – the only member of his football team (which would make it into a one man show, not a team), the only employee of his boss who has work for 10, the only family member of all families in Leuven and surroundings – it would explain his busy schedule – all alone running around up and down the field (which football players do anyway, but whatever), sucking up your boss’ ass…

but to me the concept of “wanting something” implies making an effort and pulling some strings

so… to make a long story short: dude! find somebody your own size, so you can put her in your sports bag and take her to your training sessions or try to fit her in your suitcase and take her abroad with you

don’t waste my time, doll…

PS: when he says abroad he means the Netherlands (vs. Belgium)…

did a Waddeneiland-seal knock you down? did you get food poisoning from a “crocket from the wall”? did the windmills block your wifi?

PPS: last week I received a text message... from JT

the only one - part II

we’re on the plane to Jordan… butterfly stomach (because of the airplane and the trip of course)

we’re all crazy about the opportunity, feeling like a toddler in a toy store, we’re gonna see Petra! PETRA!!!

Yeah baby!!

on the bus to Petra I get a text message: my mum and dad already sent a message, as did my best friend and aunt… mmm, which friend or family member is wishing me a good trip?

oh lord… it’s JT *DUDE, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD*

“I feel stupid for not meeting any more, I hope I can I see you when you come back?”

feeling like I just suffered a blunt force trauma to the head and because I’m busy with far more interesting things (including setting boundaries for the Petra Archaeological Park, and having tea on top of a mountain with view on the most magnificent rock formations and Israel), I don’t answer

two weeks later when we’re returning and … guess what… I get another message: “are you returning this weekend or next? can we meet?”

now now, he’s persistent

many of you would call me nuts, but I agreed to meet again

which we actually did! believe it or not, a week later he’s both in the country, available for more than 7 minutes, not going to a football game, not playing football AND not meeting friends

eye contact, chitchatting, kiss goodbye (again no details required) and agreeing to meet again (I am more skeptical than I have ever been)

skepticism seemed legitimate 

after again six weeks of texting back and forth, me doing (too) many efforts to actually suggest some dates, the following text message conversation occurs:

-me: “hey, I’m going partying tonight, let me know if I you’re in town” (*which he said before he would be*)

-JT: “great, will do!”

about 7 hours later, I go home, it’s 3AM

-me: “hey, still alive and kicking? I’m at home now”

THEN mister Incredible answers *and I quote* “I’m shitfaced at a party in W. Come this way”

…

…

… 0_o

now THAT felt like a blunt force trauma

safe to say I didn’t reply… not then, not a week later, not a month later

case closed

BUT…

to be continued (I’m not joking)

the only one - part I

about a year ago I met a guy

it was a ladies night out partying, NO guys allowed

that is to say "boy"-friends... handsome singles were more than welcome

and the message caught on: three of us had "touche", including me

eye contact, chitchatting, exchange of phone numbers, kiss goodbye (to make a long story short, no details required ;))

a week later we met for a drink

eye contact, chitchatting, kiss goodbye and agreeing to meet again

it’s here where the story starts (hold on and keep up, it’s not easy)

after texting back and forth for a week…

… two weeks

… three weeks

it started to occur to me he has quite a busy schedule

but hey! I do too

so I'm still under the impression we'd find a date to meet

after a month we’re still texting back and forth (starting to get a bit annoyed because of the money spent on somebody who might not be worth it)

again still texting back and forth after six weeks (just for the record, when I had enough I stopped texting, but after a week and a half I heard my cell phone whistle accompanied by the message "1 new text from JT" *unk????? all right then, let's be a decent girl and reply*)

after… God knows how long... AHA!!! we do find a date to meet 

read: HE finds a date when he's both in the country, available for more than 7 minutes, not going to a football game, not playing football AND not meeting friends... 

ah no wait, two days later he texted he did have an appointment with friends ("oops, forgot about it... such a busy schedule, sorry") *grmbl*

"but in a week I am available... for real this time" *REALLY!!!*

so... after God knows how long... we DO meet again

eye contact, chitchatting, kiss goodbye (again no details required) and agreeing to meet again (although I am a bit skeptical)

after again some weeks of texting back and forth (less weeks though, it's Easter holidays 2011 and I made a trip to Paris (making him jealous, cause he had to work)) we approach our study trip to Petra, Jordan

"I really wanna see you before you leave, but..." *you have a busy schedule, I know by now, I also know I'm not exactly priority for you, which I don't need to be, but if you do wanna meet me make some effort* "I'm so sorry, it's my boss..." *bla bla bla, and so forth, and so on*

we leave for Jordan and of course he didn't suit the action to the word *pff, foert*

BUT…

to be continued (story is not over yet)

in the swimming pool - part II

a new day, a new swimming round, a new set of incredible swimming pool phenomena

some tips:
1) when your skin is pale and you do not burst of selfconfidence, it is a very good idea to wear a transparant white or lila bathing suit
it doesn't make you look ridiculous and even more pale

2) when you decide to get a tattoo on your shoulder, don't hesitate to do something crazy, don't hold back
go for a leopard skin print
it's a ... ehm... brave way to proove your masculinity

3) when your heavily built, and you have some love handles, go for the black shiny bathing suit
it doesn't make you look like a S&M mistress in a latex outfit, no no

no no... (do sense the level of irony)

4) last but not least when you have chest hair, ok... when you have back hair, SHAVE IT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!

happy birthday!!!

couldn't resist... to all who celebrates his/her birthday today, like me
or to all who want to join in the festivities
or just for fun :)

what a week

2011 November - December - 2012 January 1st half
GET STARTED YOU FOOL (that's me being annoyed because of my "dieselism")

2011.12.22
promotor KDJ is confused about the thesis topic
me thinking: "how the hell can you still be confused about the topic??? I talked to you, e-mailed you, talked to that professor and that professor... do you even listen?"
me politely saying: "my thesis regards the left wing of the Egmont palace"
her saying: "ah then I can't be your promotor, that's 19th century"
... so she does have a week spot in the extensive collection of specialties: the 19th century
ah well, let's start looking for a wannabe-promotor and in the mean time GET STARTED

2012.01.20
the cold diesel started running - yihaaa, finally!

I had gathered everything for "take-off": read some books to get me into the topic, arranged access to the thesis building (Egmont palace), contacted several institutions, architects and archives, talked to both the promotor TC and co-promotor BVdW for their advice and, quite important, I had a table of contents...

let's start rolling!!! :D

2012.01.21
oh the irony... Murphy apparently had it in for me
"you have one new e-mail"... from the new promotor... regarding the thesis... on a Saturday morning... sent Friday night at 11PM
ok for the e-mail, the promotor and the topic... but the timing didn't exactly promise any good
promotor: "I received an e-mail from an historian working on a book on the Egmont palace. He has a contract with the archive and doesn't want to share his information with you" (summary of the e-mail)
me thinking: "fair enough, I'll manage on my own"
promotor continuing: "It's an exclusivity contract. I suggest you choose a new topic"
me: "WHAT????" *tears, fury, tears again, desparation, the feeling of an unseen upcoming capacity to drag the historian (let's call him anonymously Jack Az) via the promotors digital e-mail line from his "exclusive" trone through all digital lines available, preferably as uncomfortable as possible, to strangle him personally (although strangulation seems so humane...)*

now, I know, I didn't work that much yet, but that's not the point... this SUCKS

2012.01.23
no clue what to do now... it's the intermediate presentations this week, do I present or not
talk to professor KVB: "It's important you present; I think your promotor might be overreacting"
right... good thing I talked to him since I wasn't planning on finishing the presentation
hopes up that TC is indeed overreacting

2012.01.24
logical thinking: scientists (whether exact or human) make their research to increase knowledge on whatever topic they're working on
in other words: people are always working on parallel topics and sharing their research... I don't see the problem

2012.01.25
talk to promotor TC: "The historian is threatening with lawyers. I don't wanna be promotor of this"
me again: "WHAT????"

2012.01.26 AM
I'm presenting my research  in the most apathetic way ever
when I'm finished the discussion starts:
LV: "what's exactly the problem? cause I don't get it" - KDJ: "Jack Az" - TC: "he has an exclusivity contract with the archive" - KDJ: "it's not a private archive, it has an agreement with the university; I'll mail the responsible" - TC: "I don't wanna be involved in this; I had some issues with this man before; I will not be promotor" - KDJ: "ok, I will take over" - LV: "but why do we need to be diplomatic with somebody who's not diplomatic with us?" - KDJ: "if I have to send threatening letters to everyone who wants some information on my research..." - TC: "he's a frustrated academic who hates this university" ...
in the course of this discussion I see a little light at the end of the tunnel: KDJ on a warhorse leading her troups as a Joan of Arc to battle to Jack Az... *yes! I found the humor in the situation :)*
... KDJ: "I've never heard of this kind of exclusivity contracts" - LV: "this is only working parallel on the same topic" - KVB: "we can turn this around; he can use her information" - TC: "no, he's not that type of guy" ...
* KDJ of Arc is discussing tactics with her troups, fully armoured, her servants are armoured her noble and very big steed, ... my imagination is further running wild on battle field, army tents... TC is deserting the army; LV is going through his negotiation techniques*
... LV: "let's put a deadline" - KDJ: "two weeks, if it's not clear then, you'll have to change"
me, still a bit apathetic but happier with the battle thoughts: "ok"

2012.01.26 PM
e-mail from promotor KDJ, formerly known as ex-promotor, more formerly known as promotor with tips
response with some questions on my behalf, including "to avoid any confusion, are you my promotor again?"
her reaction, and I quote: "yes, you're stuck with me again" (I'm not joking, this is what she wrote :D)

secondly I wanna read the e-mails of Jack Az... if I will meet him again, and no longer promotor TC says I will, I wanna know how I can cover myself against him
... and it's worse than I thought: after a polite expression of his concerns in e-mail 1, a manifestation of nepotism in e-mail 2 by forwarding e-mails from Jack Az to the particular archive and a former prime minister (WHAT????) threatening with court cases, swinging with the exclusivity contract again, juggling with expressions like "I will not throw my research for a scramble", "it's an unwritten law that unpublished research will be protected", "doesn't your university have deontological ethics"

oh dude... what do you take me for???
btw, sanctimoniousness, vendetta whatever... but don't call your working-method deontology
I met and e-mailed you three months ago, you agreed to a co-operation
take your frustrations out on someone else and don't threat me like a fool!

to make a long story short... there is still hope, although it's tiny, but! there IS hope that I can continue
*feew*

2012.01.27
I need some rest... three days of everything but thesis related issues
11h32: call from the internship supervisor (who suggested the Egmont palace as a topic and got me in contact with Jack Az)... are you fucking kidding me?: "how is the situation evolving now?" - me: "call my professors, communication will go through them" - he: "ah ok, cause I phoned "Jack Az" and I think it is actually inevitable that you change your topic"
oh common... for three days... can't you leave me alone just for three days... I wanted to have a concern-free weekend

2012.01.28
e-mail from promotor KDJ... oh why the hell to I keep on opening my e-mails on a weekend???: (summarized) "you'll have to change your topic" - of course I do - "this situation is a scoop to me though, I have never before come across practices like this, didn't know exclusivity contracts existed" - I'm flattered to be on the front line of this scoop

ach ja...

anyone has a thesis topic available? 

message to the world

to all of you...

I LOVE YOU!!!

ik hou van je
σ'αγαπω
ti amo
te quiero
je t'adore
ich liebe dich
ek is lief vir jou
jeg elsker dig
lu` bin ta
te dua
aishiteru
volim te
kocham ciebie
eu te amo
sarana hevo
obicham te
ninapenda wewe
taim i' ngra leat
saya cinta padamu
seni seviyorum
ya tebya liubliu
我愛你
أحبك


SPREAD THE WORD!!!

the quest

personal quest of the year: self-confidence in singing

according to ... (wanted to say popular, but that might seem like I'm bragging) ... my friends' opinion, I have a nice voice
first of all: they walked in on me while I was singing, or heard me somewhere I didn't notice it
my brain/body/soul or whatever seems to have an ultra-sonar radar scanning my environment every second on the presence of humans with ears, cause once I notice someone hears me singing, a defence mechanism is activated and my volume goes from 10 to -6
(the minus meaning red cheeks, something seeming to throttle me and the general feeling of "I wanna be invisible for the next three weeks)

step 1: record yourself and don't die of laughter when relistening
day 1: fail... needed resuscitation

step 2: relisten the recordings over and over again
day 2-4: ok, we're getting used to it, although it seems unbelievably weird

step 3: let a dear friend you trust hear the recordings
day 5: great, she didn't laugh at me (thanx Than_I :))

step 4: DON'T let an acquiantance hear the recordings
day 6: fail... he laughed

step 5: start over again

step 6: try new songs
day 7: he! found a song that fits my voice... fuck the acquaintance :p

step 7: choose a song you wanna perform life for the conductors of your choir
day 8-13: oh f*ck serious dilemma

step 8: don't think, just sing
day 14: coming up next Sunday (fingers crossed for me please)

the irony of art history

following the previous post, I have an announcement to make (I'm a little bit proud of myself :))

the cold diesel started rolling :D

hurray!! now let's hope we'll get to full speed in a bit

feat of the day: reading the entire monography written on the Egmontpalace (the thesis subject of course)

after hours and hours of getting to know how the counts of Egmont lived and left their premises, how the dukes of Arenberg had decadent parties, how one count was decapitated, the other emprisoned, another chased away, again another duke returned, bought, built, rebuilt after a fire, restored after the French soldiers, bought another piece of land, built again, sold in the end, parceled out part of his park etc... I got to the part of history where my thesis subject was built (by the way, I needed this history (15th to 19thC) for a general knowing of the complex, in case you're wondering why I didn't skip it)

the left aisle, upper square building and adjoining galery on the picture - copyright hln.be

although I knew there hasn't been much research on this aisle (that's why I'm making the thesis of course), I was expecting at least a page or a paragraph on the building

so... me: reading reading reading - "ah, a note on the aisle" - reading reading reading...

and arriving at once in the 20thC...

... wait a sec... 

the aisle was built in 1835... where did I miss the info?

f*ck: the note was everything

eh... so not much research is an understatement...

oh, the irony of art history... reading and reading and getting to know everything about everyone and anything you don't need to know and not finding what you're actually looking for...

mmm... why is there a sarcastic similarity in the search for true love, for the guy you like, the one who loves you for who you are, the tall handsome stranger who's gonna put your world upside down, the...

...oops sorry... drifting off of the subject :)

lesson for today: keep on looking, keep on reading, keep on swimming

ah well... more historiographical credit for me in the end then 

unexpected colours III

as you all (probably) know I love colour
especially unexpected colours in unexpected places

some weeks ago I visited the cathedral of Antwerp and bumped (not literally of course, wouldn't be in keeping with my education as art historian and conservator of monuments but soit) into this little statue of the Virga Jesse (a specific edition of Mother and Son)

bright turquoise... didn't see that coming :)

cold diesel

oh boy...

I should beat myself on the head with a stick (and everybody around me should do that too)

the intermediate thesis presentations are in less than three weeks and I have...
... nothing...

nothing in this case actually means nothing
it doesn't imply "I have part of my historical investigation, but it's close to nothing"
it doesn't mean "I took pictures of the entire building and put them in a ppt, but that's it"
it doesn't even comes down to "I have a clear view on my content, but nothing else"

it actually means nothing
a couple of books are surrounding me (like a gang of tigers approaching a wounded springbok), yelling "read me" - "no me!!" - "I'm more important"
I have to get started but each and every time I forget that getting started takes some time
like trying to get a cold diesel up to 180km/h in 5 minutes...

you'd think that a bit of deadline stress should get me going
unfortunately, for once it's shifting towards panic

not a slight form of panic, no... a massive panic scene à la Chicken Run (100 hens screaming and running around like a headless chicken)

oh boy... time management and me :(

ni goe bezig...