Komt dat zien?

gefopt!

mijn koffer is onderweg, ik (helaas?) nog niet. 50 min vertraging als je maar 55 min hebt om van vliegtuig te wissleen, is nèt niet genoeg....

vreemd genoeg was mijn koffer al onderweg, voor het vliegtuig waar ik in zou moeten, geland was in Dallas. Dus, nog een extra nachtje wachten, en dan gebeurt het echt!

Zondag, 11.40 land ik op schiphol!

Toedeloe!

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!

50.064 WORDS!!!!!


F3@R M3H, FOR i AHM TEH @UTH0R!!!!!

Komt dat zien! komt dat zien!

Technisch gezien, kom ik zaterdag om 11.40 uur aan op schiphol. Practisch gezien.... volg teletekst! vlucht nummer CO46

Boe Nell ;) (in dat geval heb ik een sint kado voor je, en dan automatisch dus ook voor Heidi)
Boe Kees!

Nu, snel weer verder, nog iets minder dan 10.000 woorden te gaan, and iets meer dan 36 uur om ze in te schrijven!!!

Tis net of weer op school zit!!!

Help!!!

(PS. zoek naar de aanwezigheid van de Novelist! button. indien afwezig, vraag NIET na of het gelukt is ;))

onderweg naar....

8000 woorden!

Hopeloos achter, maar iedereen die ooit getuige is geweest van mijn schoolschrijfactiviteiten, weet dat een traag begin niet altijd wil zeggen dat ik de eindstreep niet kan halen!!! (zo positief genoeg, Heidi?) Als dank voor je opmerking, ben jij nu een australische dame van 25 jaar oud die samen met vriend Oz een SYHA runt in een fictief dorp in Schotland! Is het niet geweldig!

Voor iedereen die zich nu afvraagt waar het in hemelsnaam over gaat: vette pech voor de kabouters!

Werktitel:

"The Ironing Lady"


PS. fotos van dit weeknd volgen. maar niet nu!
PS2. Wisten jullie al dat Kim is afgestudeerd?

nanu nanu....

So, after that half-assed attempt last year (starting halfway through is a good excuse to fail) i'm doing it again.....

www.nanowrimo.org

writing a 50.000 word novel in 30 days.
after achieving this, i get wear my "novelist" badge. which would make me very proud.

because i'm writing about 2000 words a day, i get to:

not do dishes/vacuum/laundry/cook/grocery shop.

so, if you want to help me out, do all of the above, ask me often how far i've gotten, and just keep poking me about it. those of you who support my efforts, will be remembered as i close a million $ deal on the manuscript.

if you don't support my effort, well, i hope you dai! dai! dai! or just lose the ability to read another novel, ever.

Now, of course i know all of you look upon this with a wary eye. Yes, i'm undertaking another project, likely to fail like any other project/plan i've had so far. So bear with me on this one. i'm gonna try anyways ;)

word count: 0

Rijden, rijden rijden in een wagentje...

Hey Daan!

Leuk dat je even komt kijken!

Heb je een leuke verjaardag gehad? Ik ben naar de film geweest op mijn verjaardag en ik heb cowboy kleren gekregen die je op de fotos kunt zien.

veel plezier bij Trees, en wil je een berichtje achterlaten voor me?

Oh.... the joy of living in the countryside...

If you ever thought of living out in the country, keep the following in mind.

Things don't always go according to plan. Living in the country is supposed to be fun. There are oodles of outside to explore, there's cosy inside to enjoy. And sometimes, you just really really want to be outside. Why would you really really want to be outside, one might ask. Well, that one day when your septic system is backing up into the bathroom drains, you don't really want to be there from the moment the plumber arrives to fix it all. Secondly, you might want to run for the hills that day a skunk sprayed somewhere really close to the house, making you feel queasy all day.

The obvious solution would be to trek into the countryside, since it's there and ready and available and all that, with fresh air and all things good on offer. But of course, as one might expect, nature doesn't quite work that way. It's a funny thing, nature, with a cruel sense of humour.

The day your bathroom is disabled and smells like cat died in it, the day breathing makes you want to throw up, is of course the first day of rain in months. Which means no picknicks, no walks around the grounds, and oh, the truck isn't quite fixed yet.

Obviously, in a very obscure way, it's great to live where there are not too many people about. It just brings it's own set of peculiar problems. We don't have loud neighbours, or, loud neighbours, and we're missing out on that entire loud neighbour thing. Instead, we are blessed with mockingbirds, cayotes and skunks. But the view, that's amazing. Well, usually, it is. Just not this very moment. The rain, and all that......

paardje rijden, theetje drinken

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ikke op wel 2 paarden, de witte, Bo, was wat ongehoorzaam, en gooide Wade eraf, en later Ryan ook, na wat spectaculair gedoe met bomen enzo. het tweede paard, Ginger, was nog nooit bereden, dus, goed plan, we zetten Judith erop. zoals je ziet, dat gaat nog best relaxed, en ik ben er maar 1 keer afgevallen, en lang niet zo hard als de rest ;)

zoals je ziet, m'n cowgirl outfit is ook helemaal geregeld (verjaarscadeau) en achteraf was het alemaal lang niet zo erg als gedacht. volgende week Rodeo..... of toch maar niet misschien

tot snel, Judith

ehm...... moet nog even zoeken hoe je een filmpje upload....... maar hier alvast wat fotootjes......

btw, het was gister en vandaag 34 graden! hoera! nu nog onthouden om genoeg te drinken...... heidi, als jij nou eens hierheen komt? oh, ne heb je al nieuws van die trage lui?

groenten, judith

While you weren't watching....

i got on a plane, landed in Houston, spent 2 hrs waitng to get on my connecting flight, got onto it, and landed...... well...... we got to the ground, this last friday.
since then, i've had a banana shake, a bacon cheese burger with no mayonaise, no mustard, but with ketchup, swedish meatballs, IHOP, grill and a lot of fun shopping at IKEA...... yup, right into doing the house up, no wasting of time this trip. we spent about 5 hrs at IKEA, including breakfast and lunch, and spread over the weekend, about 8 hrs at Home Depot (Praxis). we have only returned a sink, pedestal, piping, and a number of other things, but i think i can get into action.... pictual evidence of the current state of the place will be provided shortly!

Harley Day 2006

Another August

Again, it's august. again, i need to think of things to do. So, another list.

- write newsletter, before wednesday, so, tomorrow
- bank.... cash the cheque, talk to them about the move
- IBG..... stop them from taking €100 a month starting in januari, which is when i won't have a job, and talk about the move
- city.... arrange for a new passport, and talk about the move.
- find an actual mover
- stop eating at night..... suffice to say, I'M HUNGRY!!! but that's mostly because of dinner..... white rice with some veal.... not very appetizing, not very filling either.... the 1/4th of amelon did not help much either. 3 kilo's do need to come of... hell if i know how though.

Hopefully, the list won't grow too awful long, as i'm tired and bored, and don't *really* want to do anything. keep in mind, i'm bored, cramped, annoyed and most of all, hungry. things might change after breakfast. in about 9 hours, maybe... [thank you shiggy, for mentioning pizza in my hour of need...... when i'm stuck with just a bottle of water...]

hell of a lot of dots in the above lines.... i should stop doing that. it's not like they have any particular function.

back to tasks at hand.

What happened next.....[insert drumrolls]
ok, he got here. a day late, but he did get here. got him home, then to the hairdresser who, (Joey) gave him a really nice cut. then home, dinner at De Egelantier, during which both of us almost fell asleep and the bottle of wine was mostly wasted. next day, grocery shopping for the BBQ, which didn't quite turn out as had hoped, but ok, it happened, everyone was there, and no one really did look bored ;) in between, went shopping for clothes, as W didn't really bring much, even though it was almost all he had. so, got him 2 really nice shirts, and one white and one black one for work, if that ever starts up. also, nice shoes, sandals, and, finally, some new shorts. after everyone went home, we went to town, had a drink at O'Mearas and then took a look at de graanbeurs, which is still the same as it was 10 years ago, only with mostly younger people in it now.

Sunday [insert screaming here, a fucking huge spider just walked across my floor and went underneath my bed....]

i don't think i can blog anymore now. this thing is huge. like palm sized, and no one here to catch it. i'll have to sleep in my chair

OK, the spider walked underneath my bed, back up to my *white* chest of drawers, onto it, and was wandering down to the desk i'm sitting at, bare-legged. after some screaming, more than i've done in probably the last 18 years, bro finally came up, played hero, and took the spider away. i still think i cna't do much more blogging now, i should probably get into bed, now it's all safe again, and before any more animals with more than 4 legs try to crawl beneath it when i cna see it. that should eb avoided at all costs.

Point and shoot

ehm well, yes....

so, today's horoscope:
don't make any judgements today, tomorrow may look quite different.

i have a feeling my horoscope's are always a day late. yesterday's desperation has turned into something quite the opposite by midnight today.

Here's what happened.

W's next morning, he and i are online while i'm trying to explain in short to a couple of online friends about what happened. Luckily, they are friends of the crazy kind, coming up with all sorts of illusions on how to fix this. illusions i say, because it all sounded too much, not like anythign that happens anywhere but in fairyland. we all know that we don't live there ;)

but sure, let them talk, come up with numbers to call, let them do, while we keep moping about, life;s gloomy and whatnot
to humour them, had W call around anyways. and presto, if he comes up with the money to pay off whta he owes the state, they might get it done in 2 weeks.

ok, next number
might be able to do it in a week, but haven't ever seen it go faster.

fine, next number, call your congressman. ok, called, they might do something, but need the money payed. So. on an average friday afternoon, where do you go for that amount of money? It appears to be that the answer is to my brother. The guy might be an eijit in the household, but his heart seems to be in the right place.

He came home from work early, cuz his sister was crying and needed a good chunk of money. In the mean time, we had found out, Western Union would do it immediate, so we could have it there on time. Western Union is in the local postal office, which, fortunatekly was opened until 6.

he went by car, i by bicylce in order to get to work after. halfway there, i get a call. "do you think i'll need my pass?" "yes, where is it, i'll go back" "i'm not sure, i'll drive back, you get the paperwork started" "ok, see you there"

"OK ma'am, how much can i wire?" "enough" "ok" [brother walks in] "here's my pass, can i get the money out to wire it?" "sure, what's your pin code?" "i don't know, here's my pass and my passport, isn't that enough?" "no, we can only issue you with a low amount that's ot enough for what you want" "damn"

"ok, i'll go to work, we'll do it online later tonight when i get home" "no, i'll drive home real fast, see if i can find the code and get back on time" "sure, try, but i don't think you'll make it" "i'll try anyways"

"honey, we're working on it, you should have it today" "ok, i called, sent faxes, need to meet up or something, but we might be able to do it" "ok, i'll hurry to work now"

at work, phone rings a good 45 min later
"hey sis, it worked out, he's got the money" "what, the limit on your card was high enough?" "no, i got back to the post office in time" "omg, you did it" "yes, i sure did"

later on it became clear that they would be able to get the passport done, at the houston office on monday, so W's off to be there at 8am monday. they think, with the clearance, they should be able to hand out the passport in time.

all in all, like bro said "performing under pressure"
i think we passed that test too.

Much love and respect for those with cool and helpfull heads, Shiggity, Walaw, and, off course, mr money, Ron....... we owe you all

or maybe not.....

so, while everyone's out having a life. i'm stuck, once again.

So i get over the idea of having to leave everything behind and go for this ludicrous plan to get me moved over yonder. fine, it's ok, i'll be ok, everyone else is ok with it, it's no big deal, it's not like i'm stuck or can't get in contact with anyone at all.

So we get the divorce hurdle taken, or just about, because Little Miss Lethargic Ass can't be asked to do a fucking copy/paste style test because it reminds her of the school she should've finished in the first place. Fine, she just now got it all done, at the very last second, but it's done, and miraculously enough, she even passed the test.

So we even get past the crazy ex almost doing herself in because of various, quite ligit reasons, leaving W stuck with the kids for the time he was supposed to be here, but that sorted itself out when she lost her mind again, and life apparently wasn't all too bad for her and it was all a big 'nevermind, it didn't happen"

So we find a solution for the job still not being there, the current job having to be quit to take the trip, the house that at the last moment turns into a "sure, i don't think there's a problem"

One would think that this was enough.... One would, of course, as always, be wrong. Of course there's plenty to go wrong next. And i'm not even thinking about plane crashes, terrorism, lost luggage, lost passengers or anything
You see, it might not even come to that. It looks a whole goddamn lot like it's not going to come to those things being a possibility.

Get ready for this, lean back, sip your drink, because this is turning into a really bad storyline.

W's passport application has been denied.









yes, after reading it a few more times, your eyes aren't betraying you. The application was denied. so, no passport. No passport, no leaving the country. no leaving the country, and certainly not leaving for another country while being in the first another country.

The following story, explains why i can't see him. not anytime soon, and certainly not anytime soon over here. you see, *that* will take several years from now. as in decades.

13 years ago, W was left by his first wife. she left one day without warning, taking their daughter with her. Not to be found, W gave up looking for them after a while, and gave up on life for the time being. Crawled back up, eventually, but was in a bad place for some time. After a while, divorce papers show up, showing he owes her child support for the daughter he still hasn't seen at that point. No mention of where the child support should go, just that he owed. So, asking the grandparents once more, no answer, and no way to pay, he signed and let it go. met up with the soon to be second ex wife and got on with life. 13 years later, wifey #1 shows up, with now 14 yr old daughter. Within months, they're at court, because she wants the child support ot be taken care of. So, more than 10 years of monthly payments behind, and current childsupport, makes for a decent amount of money being taken out of W.s check. But hey, she's still his daughter, and there's no way out of it. It's hard, difficult, and stiull doesn't let him see her, but he's doing his part.

TOO FUCKING BAD say the passport people. it says here in your file that you owe back child support. that means no passport.

There is a Mr John somethingorother somewhere in, or rather, out of an office who decides on who does and who doesn't get a passport in these cases. Unfortunately, we might not be able to reach him in time to get even the "same day passport" taken care of.
Goodbye being re-united after 8 months, goodbye trip, goodbye paris.

Oh, and the good news is, they are now only 4 and a half months behind on the fiancee visa applications. nice, unless any of the ex's, children, former employers or just acquaintances or passers by can screw with that as well. which, in our case, isn't all that unlikely.

and, congrats H, on getting your motorcycle license. Hope you two have a great time :)

teaser.....

so there you see, a trip and all, and all was well with the world.

it was, by that time, since "stuff" had happened. Remember me telling you all about that wonderful new job that got thrown into my lap? if you don't, read back you lazy arse, if you do, good boy/girl, you've been paying attention. Well, i quit.
The job wasn't "me" nor was the company. Too bad, all nice people, company in itself was a good place to be, just highly incompatible with me and my goals. Or maybe, one might say if one had a cruel streak, that my person is just not ready for the real world. I prefer it the other way. the world is not ready for my awesomeness [insert coughing fit right here and keep it going for a few minutes, add an evil giggle if you want]
Those of you who know me well, you already know this story, because i've been pummeling it to you to make it real. If you know me only a little or online, let me tell you that the above "awesome-line" is slightly out of character. i don't know, i just wasn't happy with all the fast-pacedness and the constant surprises and drive to make more money. It did somewhat clash with my idea of the future, which involves going back to uni for at least a few courses, and perhaps another degree or a teaching certificate. Of course, don't forget, i will be a famous author one day as well. Remember where you first read me ;)

Anyways, i quit right before the Rome trip, and since then i've been on another trip [ppictures will follow], and there's still one brewing for in about 5 weeks. Ah..... my life sucks, can't you tell?

in the mean time, i'm making my boss happy with working double hours, and with that my bank account. i play some, help mom out to make up for not being able to pay my way and will be babysitting some while they're on holiday for 4 weeks. For now, the weather's nice, and things are looking up..... Lost of exciting news by the end of the week, or so we hope, and there is a certain flight booked to arrive in only 29 more nights of sleep. It's almost as if Santa's coming :D

anyways, must be more sociable/watch tv/crochet, and do need to get those pictures off Ron's memorystick. He might want it back some time.....

...i'll let you ponder upon it for a while...

...Yes, but you forgot to blog, right? ... Ye-eeeeesh...

If that just looks silly to you, you're clearly *not* one of the illuminati, or, the chosen ones, or, the new world order. Or maybe your comedy training needs more, well, training really. Come by some time, and ask me for the Scottish hotelier. and maybe, only maybe, you may too be Illuminated. Oh, hold on, that's that book i never read. Ne'er you mind, i'm rambling on. Now don't go a-complaining, at least i'm blogging.

So while you weren't watching, and i wasn't writing, *stuffs* happened. I went to Rome...




so there, pics from Rome. I was there. and so were the neighbours from 6 doors down. and about 6 billion other tourists, but we never let that itty bitty fact spoil our fun. which it was. fun, i mean, 't really was. not so much the part where Nell got a stomach bug which is mostly gone now, but most the other parts were. Blisters, those weren't much fun either, nor was being shat on by a bloody pigeon in the Pantheon. but all the other parts were fun. like the sites we saw, the lines we jumped, the cashiers we fake id'ed with to cheat the vatican out of a few euro's.

but ehm... it's midnight, and there is a slight possibility i might have to work, and will be called around 8am to do so, perhaps, so should remember to blog again tomorrow. if i don't forget that is ........

whippieeeeee!

Barcelona, the preview

I wonder....

can you buy Mr. Lazy's at Mr Store?
and would they be bought with Texan Dollars?

so here goes, Sjoerd and Heidi, Nell and Kanchan, an two odd people.... but look at how great the Grand Canyon looks behind them!!!!

on this day.... only

6 hours ago, i learned how to be a content manager on a CMS. if you don't know what it is, consult Google, as i'm not about to write it down right here...... oh heck, i've even done your hard work. look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_management_system

i've managed to start things and move them into the correct place, but now i only have a day left to actually write what's supposed to be in there. hur-bloody-ray.

anyways, so far i've managed to survive two days, which leads me to believe i might actually make it to the end of the week. i'm not quite sure what i'm supposed to do after this is done, which, judging by the speed of things, should be done in maybe 3 weeks from now. i guess i could start making my own. see if i can fail at doing the graphic part myself even. but i doubt he'll be paying me to do so ;)

it is rather tiresome, having to sit and stare and write all day when you're used to at least 1 week deadlines instead of "have this done by tomorrow." so yes, let's see if we can make it to the end of the week. the good thing is, i'm not working nearly as many evenings, though i am working tomorrow evening (see me screaming with joy?) and i finally get to wear my nice clothes for once. some of these i've worn twice or thrice in the past 3 years, and i guess mom didn't buy me that suit for nothing now. i might put it on tomorrow. can't wait for casual friday......

in personal news, we have visual imagery of both new alliances. not too bad from the curly girl, and pretty good ones from mr Bollywood. i'd publish but i guess we're waiting for confirmation from future mrs Bollywood (just kidding sweety, but you two at least look good together, so you've jumped that hurdle just fine) to see if i actually can put those nice pics in here. in other news, the Rome expidition has been thwarted by a wedding. last i heard, moving a flight back 1.5 days is proving more difficult that originally thought. which rather sucks for us all. more news will follow as it reaches me, for now, i need a brb.

will be back at some point, unavailable until further notice

Congratulation miss..... it's a........

JOB!!!!!

yes, you read right, i'm starting a new and very real job tomorrow. real as in a 40 hr worthwhile job i could actually learn something usefull at and possibly even find out what i'm good at.

i didn't put in much effort towards getting it landed, it was somewhat thrown in my lap, and who am i to turn down a given job? it's all exciting, editing, picking up the telephone and reading everyone's email..... oh, and in my spare time make a new webpage for the company..... yes, sounds like an ordeal, i know. however, i ranks *slightly* above what i'm doing now so it's all good. i may even get to use my brain for thsi one ;)
i guess i'll have to tell you more about it when i've actually worked there, so more to come... tomorrow night!

on the personal front, nothing much has changed..... appart from Nell getting the überjob, and finding a subject to her never ending affection. Heidi did somewhat the same, just replace the job part by one that pays the bills. she's also the only one who gets to slouch on the couch with the boyfriend. so really, she's not allowed to complain too much.

For fun, we're going to the sauna next saturday, the week after Nell's wandering off to see the boyfriend, and so will Heidi. Meh... will just have to take the other losers to the cinema or somethign. Ron's off to his potential in New York this thursday by the way. Joost was spotted with a curly girl, so that just leaves loser mT to hang out with ;)

anyways, at the end of the month the family is off to Barcelona for a few days, and they're even taking me. then, by the end of May, H, N and i are off to Rome for a long long weekend. after that, Erik the Viking is possibly coming over from the dark side to see some of Europe. too bad i don't get to plan any holidays this year.......

just finished

watching Frida, a film about Frida Kahlo (sp?)

i should do that more often, watch depressing films in the dead of night when i know i have to get up 7.30 to watch an unwatchable kid. it's fun