Well time sure flies when you are working. I used to remember the days would drag on when I was unemployed. Mind you I spend 9 hours a day at the office now so yea I do keep myself busier with more useful stuff then just hanging around on the internet all day.
While most of my office will go home to celebrate Christmas with their families, I am working on Christmas day unfortunately :(. Snapped myself up a great laptop last week and now I can work from my house so I don't have to sit at an abandoned office all by myself the 26th.
I found out that this year I am more in a Christmas mood than last. Of course the break up with my boyfriend last year didn't help either. But in Belfast I am getting my Christmas drive back again, which is good ;).
Coming weekend I am taking a trip to Bangor to do my last Christmas shopping and then its just relaxing all the way up to New Years while working of course.
There is going to be a little Christmas Blythe meeting coming up soon.
Hopefully this month I will hear about my probation and if I passed it. I do hope I can stay here because I am liking Belfast and hope to find my permanent home here, you know a small place for myself ;). But for now I am just saving up until I get my own place.
Hopefully I will be back with more reviews and fun stuff in 2014. I am very limited in games/dvd's/figurines since I moved to Belfast. All I could review is food and drink xD but I won't bother you with that hahaha.
Wednesday 4 December 2013
Tuesday 26 November 2013
The troubles (Blog will be in Dutch, it is more info for my friends/family)
Als je hier in Belfast bent spreekt iedereen over 'The Troubles' en gezien het laatste incident afgelopen zondag in het centrum van Belfast wil ik het voor mijn vrienden en familie duidelijk maken wat hier eigenlijk speelt en hoe de mensen omgaan met het woelige verleden van Noord-Ierland.
'The Troubles' duidt aan twee periodes van onrust en geweld in de Ierse geschiedenis, waarbij de bekenste is van eind jaren '60 tot 1998, toen het Goede Vrijdag-akkoord getekend werd. The Troubles is een etnisch conflict, een guerillaoorlog en zelfs een burgeroorlog te noemen. Het wordt vaak gezien als een strijd tussen de protestanten en de katholieken.
Het conflict heeft zijn oorsprong in 1609, bij de volksplanting van Ulster, waarbij land van de katholieken werd afgenomen en aan voornamelijk Engelse en Schotse protestanten gegeven. Tussen 1641 en 1691 leidde dit tot bloedige conflicten tussen beide bevolkingsgroepen. De Britse regering stelde wetten in waarin van iedereen de religieuze, wettige en politieke rechten werden beperkt.
In de 18e eeuw werden deze wetten minder streng, waardoor de katholieken weer land mochten kopen en huren. Protestantse zogenaamde Peep O'Day Boys voerden aanvallen uit, waardoor de katholieken, zichzelf the Defenders noemend, tegenaanvallen uitvoerden. Dit zorgde voor polarisatie en een drastische afnamevan hervormers binnen de protestantse bevolking, die tot dan toe meer en meer openstonden voor democratische hervormingen.
Vele presbyterianen, katholieken en liberale protestanten waren actief in de Society of United Irishmen, een beweging die geinspreerd was door de Franse Revolutie, gericht op het beeindigen van de sektrarische verdeling van Ierland en het oprichten van een Ierse Republiek, onafhankelijk van Groot-Brittanie. In de mislukte Ierse rebellie van 1789 werd het ideaal van de United Irishmen tenietgedaan. De Britse regering mobilseerde de "hardline" protestanten tegen de vrijheidsbeweging, "The Orange Order" is een nog voortdurende manifestatie van deze mobilisering. Het effect zorgde voor een permanente staat van verdeling.
Het afschaffen van het Ierse parlement en het invoegen van Ierland tot de UK in 1801 zorgen voor nog meer verdeling. Daniel O'Connell zorgde ervoor dat de dischriminatie van katholieken (en overige andersgelovigen) niet meer wettig was. De protestanten, bang om een minderheid in een katholiek Ierand te zijn steunden de Britse regering. Het conflict was nu dus in twee kampen verdeeld, zij die de Act of Union aanhingen, Unionisten en de Nationalisten. Dit is nu nog steeds het geval. In den beginne waren de Nationlisten en Unionisten nog tot compromissen bereid, maar dit vermindere sterk aan het einde van de 19e eeuw en begin 20e eeuw. Rond deze tijd kwam er nog een economisch doel bij, omdat Ulster het meest geindustrialiseerde deel van Ierland was en daarom erg afhankelijk van de (vrije) handel met de UK en het Britse rijk.
Tegen 1910 stond Ierse (gelimiteerde) zelfbeschikking op het punt werkelijkheid te worden. De protestanten, bang voor hun eigen toekomst, tekenden het zogenaamde Ulster Covenant, waarin ze zelfbeschikking zouden bestrijden, desnoods met geweld. Hiertoe vormde men de paramilitaire Ulster Volunteer Force en importeerden wapens. Nationalisten vormden de Irish Volunteers, wiens doel was om zelfbeschikken te verkrijgen. De Britse regering had voor de Eerste Wereldoorlog het besluit genomen om Ierland zelfbeschikking te verlenen, maar door de oorlog werd dit naar de achtergrond geschoven.
De paasopstand in 1916 zorgde dat het punt weer opvlamde, maar werd bloedig neergeslagen. 15 leiders van de zogenaamde Rising werden geexecuteerd, waardoor de Nationalisten verder radicaliseerden. In 1918 werd door Sinn Fein de Dail (Iers Parlement) in Dublin opgezet, waarmee men zich afscheidde van het Verenigd Koninkrijk., hoewel dit nig niet werd erkend door andere landen. Een gewapende aanslag op twee politieagenten zorgde voor het begin van een guerrillaoorlog, waarin de Irish Republican Army (IRA) tegen Britse troepen streed. In het Anglo-Iers verdrag werd Ierland officieel verdeeld in Noord- en Zuid-Ierland. De Ierse Vrijstaat had echter nog geen onafhankelijkheid, die kwam pas in 1949.
Noord-Ierland echter kreeg ook een regering, door Unionisten niet gevraagd, maar wel omarmd. Ook zagen ze de verdeling positief en een bevestiging van wat de meerderheid - binnen de grenzen van Noord-Ierland - wilde. De Nationalisten zagen dit echter als illegaal en tegen de wil in van de meerderheid van de Ieren. De Nationalisten binnen Noord-Ierland werden niet geintegeerd in de protestante bevolking. De Nationalisten weigerden de politieke situatie te accepteren, waarin de wortels liggen voor het conflict in de jaren '60.
Tot 1966 was het relatief vredig in Noord-Ierland (en de republiek), maar dat jaar zag de opleving van de Ulster Volunteer Force, een illegale paramilitaire organisatie, in antwoord op een schijnende opleving van de IRA tegen de 50e verjaardag van de Paasopstand. De UVT voerde 3 moorden uit voordat de daders werden opgepakt en gestraft werden, echter bleef de groep zelf bestaan. Veelal wordt de start van The Troubles in 1968 gezien, toen de Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) een vredige mars hield. Men had daarbij gekeken naar het succes van Dr. Martin Luther King, waarbij de NICRA de misstanden ten opzichte van de katholieken en de klachten van de nationalisten weer onder de aandacht wilde brengen. Ian Paisley en andere Unionisten zagen de NICRA als een dekmantel voor de IRA en noemde het een "Trojaans Paard". Velen zagen niks in een gelijkheid tussen protstanten en katholieken. Geweld brak uit bij verscheidene Burgerrechtmarsen, waarin protestantse loyalisten de protesteerders aanvielen met knuppels. De politie (de Royal Ulster Constabulary) werd beschuldigd van het verdedigen van de loyalisten en het toestaan van het geweld.
Het geweld tegen de protesteerders kwam onder meer uit het zwartmaken van hen door verschillende leiders binnen de protestantse samenleving, die beweerde dat buiten dat de IRA achter de NICRA stak, ze bovendien een hernieuwde gewapende campagne wilden beginnen. Feitelijk was de IRA op dat moment onderbezet, had weinig wapens, weinig aanhang en probeerde (uit noodzaak) hun gelijk op niet gewelddadige manier te krijgen. Sterker nog, de eerste bommen die afgingen ten tijde van The Troubls, waren door de UVF, in scene gezet om daarme het gelijk over de beweringen tegen de IRA kracht bij te zetten.
In 1969 werd de onrust erger, waarbij de barricades werden opgericht in gebieden van Derry en Belfast waar veel nationalisten woonden. Het conflict monddeuit in de zogenaamde Slag van de Bogside tussen 12 en 14 augustus in een wijk van Derry, waarin een protestantse mars langs de standmuren in een confrontatie uitmondde met de katholieke bewoners van de Bogside en de politie. De Britse regering reageerde door troepen te sturen. De slag zorgde voor veel sektarisch geweld in Belfast, Newry, Strabane en andere plaatsen, waarbij veel huizen verbrand werden en vele mensen gedood werden. De nationlisten beschuldigen de politie van hulp aan (of in ieder geval het niet tegenhouden van) loyalisten in de schermutselingen. De IRA kreeg veel kritiek doordat met de katholieke bevolking van Belfast niet had verdedigd. Volgens een katholieke priester was de IRA een afkorting voor "I Ran Away". Het resultaat was dat er 7 doden te betreuren waren, 750 gewonden en 1505 katholieke families uit hun huizen verdreven werden (5x zoveel als uitgedreven protestanten).
De Noord-Ierse regering vroeg de Britten om troepen te sturen, deels gedreven door (nogal overdreven) berichten dat de Ierse regering militaire interventie overwoog om de katholieke buurten in Derry te beschermen. De nationalisten verwelkomden aanvankelijk het leger, omdat ze de politie niet vertrouwden. Na hardhandig optreden door het leger daalde echter ook het vertrouwen in het leger.
Veel Unionisten zien de burgerrechtenbeweging als de oorzaak achter The Troubles. Anderen voornamelijk (maar niet exclusief) nationalisten, zien de weerstand tegen de burgerrechtenbeweging door Ian Paisley en andere loyalisten de oorzaak.
Belfast nu:
Er zijn wijken waar je als niet-protestant niet hoeft te komen. Je zult ze herkennen aan de massa's Union Jack vlaggen, de alom bekende muurschulderingen en leuzen over slachtoffers or helden van The Troubles. Maar het grootste deel van de bevolking van Belfast wil verder, het liefst zonder geweld.
Ik ben zelf katholiek en woon bij een protestantse huisbaas. Ik heb dit gesprek gehad met haar over hoe zij er tegenover staan. Ze zegt dat de problemen die recentelijk oplaaien te maken hebben met opvoeding en klasse. Diegenen die geweld gebruik omtrent het conflict komen veelal uit achterstandswijken volgens haar. Zij heeft zelf, als dochter van een politieagent, geweld meegemaakt maar over het algemeen was het minder extreem als de media het afbeeldde. Voor haar en vele van de buurtbewoners is religie of afkomst geen issue. En zien zij de incidenten van de laatste maanden een zielige poging om het vuur aan te wakkeren.
Bedreigd voel ik me niet, wel geintrigeerd door de verhalen van het verleden. Een conflict als dit heb ik nog nooit meegemaakt. Naar mijn mening zit de fout ook aan beide kanten, want je moet nooit je gelijk proberen te krijgen door geweld. Ik zal net zo reageren als de meesten van deze stad, als er weer een veiligheidswaarschuwing is, zal het problemen opleveren voor het openbaar vervoer maar verder zal het geen invloed hebben op onze gewone dagelijkse bezigheden.
'The Troubles' duidt aan twee periodes van onrust en geweld in de Ierse geschiedenis, waarbij de bekenste is van eind jaren '60 tot 1998, toen het Goede Vrijdag-akkoord getekend werd. The Troubles is een etnisch conflict, een guerillaoorlog en zelfs een burgeroorlog te noemen. Het wordt vaak gezien als een strijd tussen de protestanten en de katholieken.
Het conflict heeft zijn oorsprong in 1609, bij de volksplanting van Ulster, waarbij land van de katholieken werd afgenomen en aan voornamelijk Engelse en Schotse protestanten gegeven. Tussen 1641 en 1691 leidde dit tot bloedige conflicten tussen beide bevolkingsgroepen. De Britse regering stelde wetten in waarin van iedereen de religieuze, wettige en politieke rechten werden beperkt.
In de 18e eeuw werden deze wetten minder streng, waardoor de katholieken weer land mochten kopen en huren. Protestantse zogenaamde Peep O'Day Boys voerden aanvallen uit, waardoor de katholieken, zichzelf the Defenders noemend, tegenaanvallen uitvoerden. Dit zorgde voor polarisatie en een drastische afnamevan hervormers binnen de protestantse bevolking, die tot dan toe meer en meer openstonden voor democratische hervormingen.
Vele presbyterianen, katholieken en liberale protestanten waren actief in de Society of United Irishmen, een beweging die geinspreerd was door de Franse Revolutie, gericht op het beeindigen van de sektrarische verdeling van Ierland en het oprichten van een Ierse Republiek, onafhankelijk van Groot-Brittanie. In de mislukte Ierse rebellie van 1789 werd het ideaal van de United Irishmen tenietgedaan. De Britse regering mobilseerde de "hardline" protestanten tegen de vrijheidsbeweging, "The Orange Order" is een nog voortdurende manifestatie van deze mobilisering. Het effect zorgde voor een permanente staat van verdeling.
Het afschaffen van het Ierse parlement en het invoegen van Ierland tot de UK in 1801 zorgen voor nog meer verdeling. Daniel O'Connell zorgde ervoor dat de dischriminatie van katholieken (en overige andersgelovigen) niet meer wettig was. De protestanten, bang om een minderheid in een katholiek Ierand te zijn steunden de Britse regering. Het conflict was nu dus in twee kampen verdeeld, zij die de Act of Union aanhingen, Unionisten en de Nationalisten. Dit is nu nog steeds het geval. In den beginne waren de Nationlisten en Unionisten nog tot compromissen bereid, maar dit vermindere sterk aan het einde van de 19e eeuw en begin 20e eeuw. Rond deze tijd kwam er nog een economisch doel bij, omdat Ulster het meest geindustrialiseerde deel van Ierland was en daarom erg afhankelijk van de (vrije) handel met de UK en het Britse rijk.
Tegen 1910 stond Ierse (gelimiteerde) zelfbeschikking op het punt werkelijkheid te worden. De protestanten, bang voor hun eigen toekomst, tekenden het zogenaamde Ulster Covenant, waarin ze zelfbeschikking zouden bestrijden, desnoods met geweld. Hiertoe vormde men de paramilitaire Ulster Volunteer Force en importeerden wapens. Nationalisten vormden de Irish Volunteers, wiens doel was om zelfbeschikken te verkrijgen. De Britse regering had voor de Eerste Wereldoorlog het besluit genomen om Ierland zelfbeschikking te verlenen, maar door de oorlog werd dit naar de achtergrond geschoven.
De paasopstand in 1916 zorgde dat het punt weer opvlamde, maar werd bloedig neergeslagen. 15 leiders van de zogenaamde Rising werden geexecuteerd, waardoor de Nationalisten verder radicaliseerden. In 1918 werd door Sinn Fein de Dail (Iers Parlement) in Dublin opgezet, waarmee men zich afscheidde van het Verenigd Koninkrijk., hoewel dit nig niet werd erkend door andere landen. Een gewapende aanslag op twee politieagenten zorgde voor het begin van een guerrillaoorlog, waarin de Irish Republican Army (IRA) tegen Britse troepen streed. In het Anglo-Iers verdrag werd Ierland officieel verdeeld in Noord- en Zuid-Ierland. De Ierse Vrijstaat had echter nog geen onafhankelijkheid, die kwam pas in 1949.
Noord-Ierland echter kreeg ook een regering, door Unionisten niet gevraagd, maar wel omarmd. Ook zagen ze de verdeling positief en een bevestiging van wat de meerderheid - binnen de grenzen van Noord-Ierland - wilde. De Nationalisten zagen dit echter als illegaal en tegen de wil in van de meerderheid van de Ieren. De Nationalisten binnen Noord-Ierland werden niet geintegeerd in de protestante bevolking. De Nationalisten weigerden de politieke situatie te accepteren, waarin de wortels liggen voor het conflict in de jaren '60.
Tot 1966 was het relatief vredig in Noord-Ierland (en de republiek), maar dat jaar zag de opleving van de Ulster Volunteer Force, een illegale paramilitaire organisatie, in antwoord op een schijnende opleving van de IRA tegen de 50e verjaardag van de Paasopstand. De UVT voerde 3 moorden uit voordat de daders werden opgepakt en gestraft werden, echter bleef de groep zelf bestaan. Veelal wordt de start van The Troubles in 1968 gezien, toen de Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) een vredige mars hield. Men had daarbij gekeken naar het succes van Dr. Martin Luther King, waarbij de NICRA de misstanden ten opzichte van de katholieken en de klachten van de nationalisten weer onder de aandacht wilde brengen. Ian Paisley en andere Unionisten zagen de NICRA als een dekmantel voor de IRA en noemde het een "Trojaans Paard". Velen zagen niks in een gelijkheid tussen protstanten en katholieken. Geweld brak uit bij verscheidene Burgerrechtmarsen, waarin protestantse loyalisten de protesteerders aanvielen met knuppels. De politie (de Royal Ulster Constabulary) werd beschuldigd van het verdedigen van de loyalisten en het toestaan van het geweld.
Het geweld tegen de protesteerders kwam onder meer uit het zwartmaken van hen door verschillende leiders binnen de protestantse samenleving, die beweerde dat buiten dat de IRA achter de NICRA stak, ze bovendien een hernieuwde gewapende campagne wilden beginnen. Feitelijk was de IRA op dat moment onderbezet, had weinig wapens, weinig aanhang en probeerde (uit noodzaak) hun gelijk op niet gewelddadige manier te krijgen. Sterker nog, de eerste bommen die afgingen ten tijde van The Troubls, waren door de UVF, in scene gezet om daarme het gelijk over de beweringen tegen de IRA kracht bij te zetten.
In 1969 werd de onrust erger, waarbij de barricades werden opgericht in gebieden van Derry en Belfast waar veel nationalisten woonden. Het conflict monddeuit in de zogenaamde Slag van de Bogside tussen 12 en 14 augustus in een wijk van Derry, waarin een protestantse mars langs de standmuren in een confrontatie uitmondde met de katholieke bewoners van de Bogside en de politie. De Britse regering reageerde door troepen te sturen. De slag zorgde voor veel sektarisch geweld in Belfast, Newry, Strabane en andere plaatsen, waarbij veel huizen verbrand werden en vele mensen gedood werden. De nationlisten beschuldigen de politie van hulp aan (of in ieder geval het niet tegenhouden van) loyalisten in de schermutselingen. De IRA kreeg veel kritiek doordat met de katholieke bevolking van Belfast niet had verdedigd. Volgens een katholieke priester was de IRA een afkorting voor "I Ran Away". Het resultaat was dat er 7 doden te betreuren waren, 750 gewonden en 1505 katholieke families uit hun huizen verdreven werden (5x zoveel als uitgedreven protestanten).
De Noord-Ierse regering vroeg de Britten om troepen te sturen, deels gedreven door (nogal overdreven) berichten dat de Ierse regering militaire interventie overwoog om de katholieke buurten in Derry te beschermen. De nationalisten verwelkomden aanvankelijk het leger, omdat ze de politie niet vertrouwden. Na hardhandig optreden door het leger daalde echter ook het vertrouwen in het leger.
Veel Unionisten zien de burgerrechtenbeweging als de oorzaak achter The Troubles. Anderen voornamelijk (maar niet exclusief) nationalisten, zien de weerstand tegen de burgerrechtenbeweging door Ian Paisley en andere loyalisten de oorzaak.
Belfast nu:
Er zijn wijken waar je als niet-protestant niet hoeft te komen. Je zult ze herkennen aan de massa's Union Jack vlaggen, de alom bekende muurschulderingen en leuzen over slachtoffers or helden van The Troubles. Maar het grootste deel van de bevolking van Belfast wil verder, het liefst zonder geweld.
Ik ben zelf katholiek en woon bij een protestantse huisbaas. Ik heb dit gesprek gehad met haar over hoe zij er tegenover staan. Ze zegt dat de problemen die recentelijk oplaaien te maken hebben met opvoeding en klasse. Diegenen die geweld gebruik omtrent het conflict komen veelal uit achterstandswijken volgens haar. Zij heeft zelf, als dochter van een politieagent, geweld meegemaakt maar over het algemeen was het minder extreem als de media het afbeeldde. Voor haar en vele van de buurtbewoners is religie of afkomst geen issue. En zien zij de incidenten van de laatste maanden een zielige poging om het vuur aan te wakkeren.
Bedreigd voel ik me niet, wel geintrigeerd door de verhalen van het verleden. Een conflict als dit heb ik nog nooit meegemaakt. Naar mijn mening zit de fout ook aan beide kanten, want je moet nooit je gelijk proberen te krijgen door geweld. Ik zal net zo reageren als de meesten van deze stad, als er weer een veiligheidswaarschuwing is, zal het problemen opleveren voor het openbaar vervoer maar verder zal het geen invloed hebben op onze gewone dagelijkse bezigheden.
Thursday 7 November 2013
Living my Belfast Life 04
I've been here for over a month now and quite settling in to the Belfast life. It is not so adventurous anymore, everything is becoming normal for me now.
I tend to live by this rule:
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. (It is polite, and possibly also advantageous, to abide by the customs of a society when one is a visitor). Hopefully my visit will be for the long, permanent run but that's still in the future.
I'd like to spend my free weekend visiting the St. Georges market or other local markets to experience that true Irish/British (I still haven't got the hang of what to call NI people, some see themselves Irish and others say they are British) feeling. I have not starting drinking like an Irish because my liver can't handle the amount of alcohol needed for it. I, myself am a light drinker.
So last Saturday I tried Irish stew. Usually made with lamb or mutton as well with potatoes, carrots, onions and parsley. The lady only had the lamb variant, but I know mutton has a stronger flavor.
I tend to live by this rule:
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. (It is polite, and possibly also advantageous, to abide by the customs of a society when one is a visitor). Hopefully my visit will be for the long, permanent run but that's still in the future.
I'd like to spend my free weekend visiting the St. Georges market or other local markets to experience that true Irish/British (I still haven't got the hang of what to call NI people, some see themselves Irish and others say they are British) feeling. I have not starting drinking like an Irish because my liver can't handle the amount of alcohol needed for it. I, myself am a light drinker.
So last Saturday I tried Irish stew. Usually made with lamb or mutton as well with potatoes, carrots, onions and parsley. The lady only had the lamb variant, but I know mutton has a stronger flavor.
I am more used to a darker colored and thicker stew mostly made of beef and with a much sweeter flavor than the Irish Stew has. I found this stew quite watery but good tasting none the less. I still prefer beef over lamb/mutton but you shouldn't ruin the traditional meals. Which the french tourists did that were up next after I received my order. To the cook's disgust they covered it in HP sauce because they thought the taste was too bland...
Next up was Indian food.
I don't know what the most popular food would be in then Netherlands, but I have seen the current trend it being sushi, well here in Belfast it is curry. I never liked Indian food much because my dad would always make Chicken Tandoori and I really don't like Creme Fraiche in my stew...but like I said I need to live by my rule and try it anyway.
Though I am from Indonesian descent, I cannot handle spicy food. While some of my family go trigger happy with the sambal (chillipaste) I want to still be able to taste my food without it being overrun by hotness. And Indian food tends to have some meals that will make your lips feel numb. While the other curry's are promoted as hotlip curry's, I tend to stick with the mild variation. The curry-man tried to get me on the hotter stuff but I didn't listen to him.
So I picked Korma, it's a cream/coconut based curry that is very mild (excellent choice if you want your kids to eat it). The most popular version of Korma is Chicken Korma and my new favorite dish next to Babi Ketjap and Brown bean soup.
I haven't tried making this myself yet but the one I tried at the market is way better than the pre-made meals from the supermarket. Luckily for me, the stall is there every weekend so this will be my once a month tradition (on the weekend that I work) to get myself a serving of Korma for lunch. You can never beat home-made food ;).
Thursday 24 October 2013
Living my Belfast Life 03
It's already one month that I have been living in this wonderful city. I had my ups and downs but I am still doing very well here.
It was challenging to find a place to stay and even setting up a bank account. In the end I managed to get everything set up and dealt with. Only thing that is coming is my appointment with a GP so I will be part of the NHS.
As I said before, a lot of things are different. Sometimes I get recognize the taste of home but most of the times it's all new. I had to juggle between the Pound and the Euro when it came to grocery shopping. Vegetables are not well liked and expensive as hell here <___<. I paid 1 pound for a pepper (€ 1,25 voor 1 paprika).
I gained some of my freedom when I purchased a bike and gotten used to riding on the left side of the road. I will probably get run over next time I go back to the Netherlands :P
But I need to admit moving out has been easier since the wonderful invention of Skype and internet. If I had to do this 20 years ago I would have gone nuts. At least now I have my family and friends to fall back on or just have a fun chat with whenever I want too.
Work has been good to me too. I survived working a full weekend and managed to get along fine with my coworkers. We laugh about the frustration we get when dealing with some customers ;).
Tomorrow will be Food-day and I am baking brownies. Wonder what the rest will be doing.
For now I spend my days off with just looking around for the best deals in shops, reading, housework & laundry and relaxing. I still need to fully get used from working 0 hours to 40 a week. One day I can handle it better than the other.
Monday 7 October 2013
Living my Belfast Life 02
It's been 2 weeks since I arrived to my new home Belfast.
Due to the student season I had a hard time finding a place to stay but after a short hotel and even shorter hostel stay I found my permanent home for the next few month. There is no real end date on my lease so I can find out what my expenses are before I look for something more private and permanent after my probation ends which would be around the end of December.
I passed my training and I am getting in the swing of working full time and trying to solve the problems on my own so I won't go much into detail about work here.
Culture shocked? Yes in some points I am culture shocked in Belfast. Strange isn't it? But you find out the small things you didn't pay attention to when you lived in your own country, you notice now.
I'll name a few of them that I noticed and you can laugh with me on them ;).
The faucet: Why are they separate? I burnt my hands a couple of times by forgetting the cold one. I know not every household in the Netherlands has the shiny auto-temp faucets I have at home but still...
Flush button: I was looking for it but all the toilets here mostly have a handle, I really dislike the handles because most of them are broken and I have to jank it twice or three times to get the rotten toilet to flush.
Vegetables: I think Irish just hate them, the choice in veggies at the supermarket are very limited same as at the market. Oh yea you have your Brussels sprouts and your beets but when I wanted to make my pasta sauce they didn't have an Italian veggiemix at hand. I had to buy each ingredient separately and seeing that I don't cook for an army I left a few out. The stir fry mix is also very lacking...I might just make my own freezer packs.
Herbs, spices: None of the foreign spices I use, I can find here. Your basic stuff like Garlic, Cumin or Oregano is found it most stores but when I want my Indonesian spices I can't find anything. Hopefully I will run into an Asian Market or look at my mother for a supply ration.
The bread: Just don't like it. Tastes funny and I went from brown bread to white again because of the taste. I am talking about the factory made bread, I haven't found a bakery yet.
Measurement table: Everything is different. A dutch pound of meat isn't the same as an Irish pound, when I look at the shoe sizes or clothing sizes they use a different system. I am happy when they use the L/XL once in a while. So I wrote down the conversion of my sizes to the UK standards to help me out when I shop for clothes or shoes. After a while I get used to it.
Not everything that I experienced in Belfast was a culture shock or bad experience.
The movie-tickets are much cheaper here and they make no difference between the price of 3D and non-3D. I pay £6.80 for a ticket which would be €8 and on a Tuesday the tickets are even reduced to £3 = €3,55.
Going out for dinner has proven me not too expensive either. I had good food for a decent price and the Perry Cider is way cheaper here than at home.
I think this is a big pro for my health but the crisps (chips) are really expensive here. Can be up to £2 for a regular sizes bag so I haven't had any crisps since I've been here which is good for my plan to loose weight ;).
Belfast city center is pretty easy to figure out and it took me just a couple of days to find my way around. Only when I need to travel to a new spot, do I get lost. It's not a large city either and I find living here pretty comfortable. Some people tend to be a bit nosy because they see that you aren't from around here but all have been very helpful to me when I needed help. Sometimes a bit hard to understand due to the heavy language ;).
There are things I miss from home though. I miss my family and friends. I miss my cats and I miss my stuff. Sometimes I realize I left things behind that could come in handy here.
Whenever I have time I talk to people on Skype and my neighborhood is very cat friendly so I have met some of the feline residents on the way/from work and petted them. When I pass my probation and find a bigger place for my own, I will let some stuff be sent to me but for now I have to make due with what I have.
Going to buy a laptop soon because my P.O.S. netbook doesn't function that well. It barely can manage Skype and keeps crashing on me in the process. In 2014 I will get a bike with the cycle to work scheme because I love cycling and helps me stay fit, but for now the 2 hour walks on my days off will have to do.
Day by day I am getting used to life here and I hope I can make it into a good home while I am here.
Due to the student season I had a hard time finding a place to stay but after a short hotel and even shorter hostel stay I found my permanent home for the next few month. There is no real end date on my lease so I can find out what my expenses are before I look for something more private and permanent after my probation ends which would be around the end of December.
I passed my training and I am getting in the swing of working full time and trying to solve the problems on my own so I won't go much into detail about work here.
Culture shocked? Yes in some points I am culture shocked in Belfast. Strange isn't it? But you find out the small things you didn't pay attention to when you lived in your own country, you notice now.
I'll name a few of them that I noticed and you can laugh with me on them ;).
The faucet: Why are they separate? I burnt my hands a couple of times by forgetting the cold one. I know not every household in the Netherlands has the shiny auto-temp faucets I have at home but still...
Flush button: I was looking for it but all the toilets here mostly have a handle, I really dislike the handles because most of them are broken and I have to jank it twice or three times to get the rotten toilet to flush.
Vegetables: I think Irish just hate them, the choice in veggies at the supermarket are very limited same as at the market. Oh yea you have your Brussels sprouts and your beets but when I wanted to make my pasta sauce they didn't have an Italian veggiemix at hand. I had to buy each ingredient separately and seeing that I don't cook for an army I left a few out. The stir fry mix is also very lacking...I might just make my own freezer packs.
Herbs, spices: None of the foreign spices I use, I can find here. Your basic stuff like Garlic, Cumin or Oregano is found it most stores but when I want my Indonesian spices I can't find anything. Hopefully I will run into an Asian Market or look at my mother for a supply ration.
The bread: Just don't like it. Tastes funny and I went from brown bread to white again because of the taste. I am talking about the factory made bread, I haven't found a bakery yet.
Measurement table: Everything is different. A dutch pound of meat isn't the same as an Irish pound, when I look at the shoe sizes or clothing sizes they use a different system. I am happy when they use the L/XL once in a while. So I wrote down the conversion of my sizes to the UK standards to help me out when I shop for clothes or shoes. After a while I get used to it.
Not everything that I experienced in Belfast was a culture shock or bad experience.
The movie-tickets are much cheaper here and they make no difference between the price of 3D and non-3D. I pay £6.80 for a ticket which would be €8 and on a Tuesday the tickets are even reduced to £3 = €3,55.
Going out for dinner has proven me not too expensive either. I had good food for a decent price and the Perry Cider is way cheaper here than at home.
I think this is a big pro for my health but the crisps (chips) are really expensive here. Can be up to £2 for a regular sizes bag so I haven't had any crisps since I've been here which is good for my plan to loose weight ;).
Belfast city center is pretty easy to figure out and it took me just a couple of days to find my way around. Only when I need to travel to a new spot, do I get lost. It's not a large city either and I find living here pretty comfortable. Some people tend to be a bit nosy because they see that you aren't from around here but all have been very helpful to me when I needed help. Sometimes a bit hard to understand due to the heavy language ;).
There are things I miss from home though. I miss my family and friends. I miss my cats and I miss my stuff. Sometimes I realize I left things behind that could come in handy here.
Whenever I have time I talk to people on Skype and my neighborhood is very cat friendly so I have met some of the feline residents on the way/from work and petted them. When I pass my probation and find a bigger place for my own, I will let some stuff be sent to me but for now I have to make due with what I have.
Going to buy a laptop soon because my P.O.S. netbook doesn't function that well. It barely can manage Skype and keeps crashing on me in the process. In 2014 I will get a bike with the cycle to work scheme because I love cycling and helps me stay fit, but for now the 2 hour walks on my days off will have to do.
Day by day I am getting used to life here and I hope I can make it into a good home while I am here.
Sunday 22 September 2013
Review: Free! Iwatobi Swim Club
First of all I want to thank you for 1000 page views *bow*. I hope you enjoyed reading my reviews and other ramblings and hope you will continue to do so in the future :D.
Today I will be reviewing: Free! Iwatobi Swim Club
From left to right: Rei, Nagisa, Rin, Haruka & Makoto.
What can I say I love sports-anime/manga. It all started with Slam Dunk and since then I've followed several series like Prince of Tennis, Eyeshield 21, Mr. Fullswing, Cross Manage, etc.
The anime is based on a novel written by Koji Oji and focuses on four boys participating in a swimming tournament.
Plot:
When they are in elementry school Rin, Nagisa, Haruka & Makoto are in the same swimming club. Haruka claims he only wants to swim freestyle but eventually joins in the Medley* race after much convincing of Rin. The boys win the race and they bury their trophy like a time capsule. Rin announces that he goes to Australia to train to become an Olympic swimmer, a wish his dad held but never achieved.
*Medley is a combination of four swimming styles into one race: Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle.
Rin and Haruka accidentally meet the next year when Rin visits his family for Christmas and he challenges Haruka to a race but ends up losing. Frustrated by his loss he never contacts his former teammates and continues his training in Australia. Haruka shocked by Rin's reaction quits the swimming club and team completely falls apart.
In highschool Makoto, Haruka en Nagisa are reunited and revive try to revive the school's swimming club with the help of Rin's sister Gou. Participation in schooltrainings and competition require 4 members and Nagisa gets a track-and-field-member to join the club. But during the practice training they find out he can't swim.
Rin decides to return to Japan to enter highschool and forces Haruka to race him once again, resulting as a win for Rin. But Rin realises Haruka has not been in shape and is angered by his lack of training and says his victory is meaningless like this. Haruka is shocked by his loss but turns to his teammates with the wish to swim together in the Medley.
The boys of Iwatobi swim club train hard together to enter the national swimming competition in order to beat Rin in the Medley race.
Sadly I've only seen 11 of the 12 episodes so far. And the final race will be battled in the last epi that will be released next week by one of the fan-subbers. Not that I would have spoiled the ending to you guys ;).
It's a shame the series is only 12 episodes long but I think it's just the right amount to tell the full story. What I find very funny in the series the boys look like regular pretty boys when dressed but are muscle packed when in their swimming gear. A lot of fangirl-service is provided in those shots ;).
Free! has a very large fanbase and because of it's popularity it was made into an anime-series. I've seen the fanfictions and fanart appear regular on Pixiv (a Japanese social site) and was thrilled when the series was released. I'll have to watch the final episode from my new home in Belfast but the series went on my must buy list when released on DVD and that will be around Febuary 2014.
Today I will be reviewing: Free! Iwatobi Swim Club
What can I say I love sports-anime/manga. It all started with Slam Dunk and since then I've followed several series like Prince of Tennis, Eyeshield 21, Mr. Fullswing, Cross Manage, etc.
The anime is based on a novel written by Koji Oji and focuses on four boys participating in a swimming tournament.
Plot:
When they are in elementry school Rin, Nagisa, Haruka & Makoto are in the same swimming club. Haruka claims he only wants to swim freestyle but eventually joins in the Medley* race after much convincing of Rin. The boys win the race and they bury their trophy like a time capsule. Rin announces that he goes to Australia to train to become an Olympic swimmer, a wish his dad held but never achieved.
*Medley is a combination of four swimming styles into one race: Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle.
Rin and Haruka accidentally meet the next year when Rin visits his family for Christmas and he challenges Haruka to a race but ends up losing. Frustrated by his loss he never contacts his former teammates and continues his training in Australia. Haruka shocked by Rin's reaction quits the swimming club and team completely falls apart.
In highschool Makoto, Haruka en Nagisa are reunited and revive try to revive the school's swimming club with the help of Rin's sister Gou. Participation in schooltrainings and competition require 4 members and Nagisa gets a track-and-field-member to join the club. But during the practice training they find out he can't swim.
Rin decides to return to Japan to enter highschool and forces Haruka to race him once again, resulting as a win for Rin. But Rin realises Haruka has not been in shape and is angered by his lack of training and says his victory is meaningless like this. Haruka is shocked by his loss but turns to his teammates with the wish to swim together in the Medley.
The boys of Iwatobi swim club train hard together to enter the national swimming competition in order to beat Rin in the Medley race.
Sadly I've only seen 11 of the 12 episodes so far. And the final race will be battled in the last epi that will be released next week by one of the fan-subbers. Not that I would have spoiled the ending to you guys ;).
It's a shame the series is only 12 episodes long but I think it's just the right amount to tell the full story. What I find very funny in the series the boys look like regular pretty boys when dressed but are muscle packed when in their swimming gear. A lot of fangirl-service is provided in those shots ;).
Also the characters are pretty interesting. They all have very girly names ;).
Haruka: he rarely smiles and always thinks about swimming, he even tried to climb in a fishtank at the store xD. When they club went to buy swimming gear for Rei he ended up buying the same pair of swimming trunks as he already owns, claiming they fit him better while the rest of the group sees no difference.
Nagisa: Very high spirited and is not afraid to speak his mind to much frustration of Rei at times. He is the cute one of the club.
Makoto: Haruka's best friend, he is very nice and takes care of others but is also a big scaredy-cat and hides behind Haru for protection. Makoto developed a fear of the ocean when a person he admired died in a typhoon.
Rei: loves everything thats beautiful and is a very intelligent boy. He didn't want to join the swimming club at first because he said swimming wasn't beautiful enough but when he sees Haruka swim he finally joins. Doesn't know how to swim but learns the Butterfly later on in the series.
Rin: Haruka's rival and former teammate. Despite his self-proclaimed rivalry towards Iwatobi, he demonstrates concern of them, especially Haruka.
Free! has a very large fanbase and because of it's popularity it was made into an anime-series. I've seen the fanfictions and fanart appear regular on Pixiv (a Japanese social site) and was thrilled when the series was released. I'll have to watch the final episode from my new home in Belfast but the series went on my must buy list when released on DVD and that will be around Febuary 2014.
Free! is a fun series to watch, especially for those who like sports & pretty boys. I highly recommend it.
This will be my last review for the time being. I am moving to Belfast and I don't know when I will have a computer or a steady internet connection.
I'll see you in the future ;)!
Wednesday 18 September 2013
Living my Belfast Life 01
As some of you may know I was hired by a company in Belfast and I am starting my new life there coming Sunday.
I am leaving behind my family and some dear friends but I am sure I will make some new friends there too. And for the ones I leave behind, I have Skype, Facebook, my phone and e-mail so we can still communicate ;).
What else will I miss when I am there :x?
That will probably be my pc and most of my stuff. I am only allowed to bring 20kg and a lot will be left behind because my clothes have the highest priority at the moment. Can't go to work naked now ;).
When I find my permanent residence I'll request for some of my stuff to be sent over but that depends on how much space I will have. I don't want my new place to be overly stuffed. Lucky for me I am moving to Northern Ireland and not the jungle so basic stuff like shampoo and toothpaste I can buy there.
The past week I have been prepairing for my relocation, cancelling several services because I need to be very careful with my funds for the next three months. It's been a long while since I cooked for just myself and I have no clue how much I will spend on the grocery-bill or living expenses. In the past I've always shared a household.
There will be things I will miss a lot when I am in Belfast.
1. My cat. I will miss his fluffy butt trying to sneak under my bedsheets. Heck, I will miss him a lot because he is one of the few who is always happy to see me, even if it's only because he is hungry :P.
2. Playing board games and videogames with my friends. My BFF and little sister were my videogame buddies and I started to get back into the board game scene when my boyfriend broke up with me. Nothing is more fun then spending an evening with kindred souls having fun trying to save the world/galaxy.
3. My mothers and fathers cooking. They both are great cooks and my cooking skills don't come close to theirs. My mother is making my favorite dish before I leave so I will savor the taste of it. And Christmas dinner will suck, all by myself :(.
4. Drop or licorice. It's black and salty and most foreigners think it tastes like poison but I love it. And I will miss it but I am sure I will get them in my survival pack ;) *hint* *hint*
5. Friet Speciaal. It has raw onions, curry and mayo. I love it >3<.
6. Going to the movies with friends. I know I can still go to the movies there but I just need to make new friends T____T.
7. My bicycle D: I can't take my bike with me *snif*.
But I am still looking forward to this adventure. And my door is always open to those who want to visit me. And ofcourse I will be back to visit too.
So another chapter will be added to my blog while I am living my Belfast life.
I am leaving behind my family and some dear friends but I am sure I will make some new friends there too. And for the ones I leave behind, I have Skype, Facebook, my phone and e-mail so we can still communicate ;).
What else will I miss when I am there :x?
That will probably be my pc and most of my stuff. I am only allowed to bring 20kg and a lot will be left behind because my clothes have the highest priority at the moment. Can't go to work naked now ;).
When I find my permanent residence I'll request for some of my stuff to be sent over but that depends on how much space I will have. I don't want my new place to be overly stuffed. Lucky for me I am moving to Northern Ireland and not the jungle so basic stuff like shampoo and toothpaste I can buy there.
The past week I have been prepairing for my relocation, cancelling several services because I need to be very careful with my funds for the next three months. It's been a long while since I cooked for just myself and I have no clue how much I will spend on the grocery-bill or living expenses. In the past I've always shared a household.
There will be things I will miss a lot when I am in Belfast.
1. My cat. I will miss his fluffy butt trying to sneak under my bedsheets. Heck, I will miss him a lot because he is one of the few who is always happy to see me, even if it's only because he is hungry :P.
2. Playing board games and videogames with my friends. My BFF and little sister were my videogame buddies and I started to get back into the board game scene when my boyfriend broke up with me. Nothing is more fun then spending an evening with kindred souls having fun trying to save the world/galaxy.
3. My mothers and fathers cooking. They both are great cooks and my cooking skills don't come close to theirs. My mother is making my favorite dish before I leave so I will savor the taste of it. And Christmas dinner will suck, all by myself :(.
4. Drop or licorice. It's black and salty and most foreigners think it tastes like poison but I love it. And I will miss it but I am sure I will get them in my survival pack ;) *hint* *hint*
5. Friet Speciaal. It has raw onions, curry and mayo. I love it >3<.
7. My bicycle D: I can't take my bike with me *snif*.
But I am still looking forward to this adventure. And my door is always open to those who want to visit me. And ofcourse I will be back to visit too.
So another chapter will be added to my blog while I am living my Belfast life.
Wednesday 28 August 2013
Final Fantasy 14: a Realm Reborn
So the much anticipated newest title of the Final Fantasy series arrived at my house yesterday. I already had the chance to play the last beta but you weren't allowed to let information about the game slip.
I played the prior version of this game about 4 years ago but it had a lot of problems and complaints and was revised/rebooted in this new version hence the name "A Realm Reborn".
I was really excited to be finally able to play a male cat instead of the female Mithra I played for 7 years in FFXI.
So let me introduce you to Thane. He is from the Miqo'te race.
You can choose from 5 different races, either male or female. The character creation itself is beautiful already and they let you customise your character more then the prior FF title. So Square Enix follows the trend with the older MMO's like GuildWars 2.
Now it comes to leveling your character.
You can start with either the Disciples of War or Magic that give you a range of starter jobs. I started my Mithra as a monk in FFXI so I thought it would be fun for old times sake to do the same with my new char. Pugilist it is. In order to become a Monk you need Pugilist 30 and Lancer 15 to unlock the job. I did my research before I picked a job ;).
There are storylines to follow that help you understand why Eorzea is in trouble and needs your help. Each job comes with their seperate storyline, making it more easier to level and ofcourse more fun then the grinding of experience in FFXI. You can grind if that is your forte but it's faster just doing duties.
The only thing they didn't change in the series is the amount of traveling around you have to do XD, either by foot, airship or mount. Yes, we still have our trusty old chocobo.
I do not want to spoil the storyline too much so I'll just put in some Pugilist screenshots so you can see the quality of the game, which in my honest opinion improved a lot.
I played the prior version of this game about 4 years ago but it had a lot of problems and complaints and was revised/rebooted in this new version hence the name "A Realm Reborn".
I was really excited to be finally able to play a male cat instead of the female Mithra I played for 7 years in FFXI.
So let me introduce you to Thane. He is from the Miqo'te race.
You can choose from 5 different races, either male or female. The character creation itself is beautiful already and they let you customise your character more then the prior FF title. So Square Enix follows the trend with the older MMO's like GuildWars 2.
Now it comes to leveling your character.
You can start with either the Disciples of War or Magic that give you a range of starter jobs. I started my Mithra as a monk in FFXI so I thought it would be fun for old times sake to do the same with my new char. Pugilist it is. In order to become a Monk you need Pugilist 30 and Lancer 15 to unlock the job. I did my research before I picked a job ;).
There are storylines to follow that help you understand why Eorzea is in trouble and needs your help. Each job comes with their seperate storyline, making it more easier to level and ofcourse more fun then the grinding of experience in FFXI. You can grind if that is your forte but it's faster just doing duties.
The only thing they didn't change in the series is the amount of traveling around you have to do XD, either by foot, airship or mount. Yes, we still have our trusty old chocobo.
I do not want to spoil the storyline too much so I'll just put in some Pugilist screenshots so you can see the quality of the game, which in my honest opinion improved a lot.
Big improvement for me is that you don't have to run all the way back to your moghouse to change jobs. Now they have these nifty gear lists that let's you change in the respective jobs you need anywhere you want. And you have a seperate Armory box that keeps your gear (big plus too because I always ran out of space on FFXI). If you want to be a crafter or gatherer you can also create a gear set for that.
New for FF is the Duty Finder. This little tool teams you up with other seeking players to do a dungeon raid. It beats shouting for a group and waiting for hours in one spot hoping to be picked as a damage dealer because of the few healers and tanks. It doesn't matter where you are in Eorzea, as soon as your party is ready, you will be teleported to the respective dungeon.
Last night I had a great group for the Coppermines dungeon and I died only once because I didn't realise the bomb was going to selfdestruct xD.
Mean looking Gigas Boss
For anyone who know the FF series, the wellknown tune is played here ;).
Another cute feature to the game is that you can have minions following you around like in Guild Wars 2. As a present for the Early Preorder you get this adorable Cait Sith doll. The Collectors edition gave you a Baby Behemoth (sadly I couldn't get one :/ ) and I've seen several Baby Raptors, Bats and even Automatons running around. They do absolutely nothing but follow you :P. Still it's cute to collect these.
The old linkshell is still there to chat with your friends/co-players. But they also have Free Companies. It is kind of like the Guilds on Guild Wars in which with each rank up new goodies get unlocked. Your Free Company gets rankpoints for each participants finished levequest or fates.
Fates are timed open events that usually last for 15 minutes and lets you get a fair amount of free experience if you finish it. This can be either an escort, gathering quest or boss fight. The system will inform you if you are either too low or too high to participate. When you are too high, you can levelsync to the needed level ;).
So far I love the game. It is a total change from FFXI with a lot of new fun stuff to do and discover. Square Enix didn't expect the servers to be massflooded so they put a restriction on character creation. The coming days they are putting up extra hardware to compensate for the login problems.
It's now a month free-to-play but changes to a monthly fee like World of Warcraft and FFXI.
I'll update my blog with my adventures occasionally.
But for now ;)
See you in Eorzea!
Tuesday 27 August 2013
Depression Diary part 4
It has been a while. I thought it would be best to over look a longer period for me to see some results. Also my therapist had a five week holiday.
Today was another revelation for me. Which is good :).
I used to hate that people would touch me. It's custom that when your colleague has his/her birthday you'd give them a kiss on the cheek. (It's common here in the Netherlands). It was my least favorite time of the year or when I had to work when my birthday was or even after New Years.
The reason why I was like this even with family or friends is because someone stepped over my boundaries of what was okay with personal contact in my childhood. But it happened and as much as I would love to erase it or bury it, it will always be part of me. So I accepted this. But I need to live in the here and now, and cope with my feelings.
I came to accept myself. I came to love myself again. You know how wonderful the feeling is when you wake up the next morning and you think to yourself: 'Yes, it's good to be alive'. For me that is a BIG victory in life. The headaches are less and I finally have the feeling I can breathe without much pain. Yes, depression brings a lot of strain on your body. Your muscles are under constant strain.
So in the five week absence of my therapist, my life has been going very well. She joked that she should take a longer break lol.
Part of the therapy-session was that you would pat eachother on the back with cupped hands, giving a gentle massage. Normally I would be very uncomfortable but today her touch made me feel really relaxed. I felt I could really trust her to touch me and I didn't want to flee. Because this isn't a touch of intimacy but of comfort. She is not out to hurt me.
She told me my muscles are very cold and held her hand on my back and I felt the warmth seeping in my body. The warmth stayed with me for at least 30 minutes.
All in all today was another succes at therapy. I confirmed the feelings and actions I did right the past 2 month and felt recharged with good feelings about myself again.
Like I said before it's good to be alive :).
Today was another revelation for me. Which is good :).
I used to hate that people would touch me. It's custom that when your colleague has his/her birthday you'd give them a kiss on the cheek. (It's common here in the Netherlands). It was my least favorite time of the year or when I had to work when my birthday was or even after New Years.
The reason why I was like this even with family or friends is because someone stepped over my boundaries of what was okay with personal contact in my childhood. But it happened and as much as I would love to erase it or bury it, it will always be part of me. So I accepted this. But I need to live in the here and now, and cope with my feelings.
I came to accept myself. I came to love myself again. You know how wonderful the feeling is when you wake up the next morning and you think to yourself: 'Yes, it's good to be alive'. For me that is a BIG victory in life. The headaches are less and I finally have the feeling I can breathe without much pain. Yes, depression brings a lot of strain on your body. Your muscles are under constant strain.
So in the five week absence of my therapist, my life has been going very well. She joked that she should take a longer break lol.
Part of the therapy-session was that you would pat eachother on the back with cupped hands, giving a gentle massage. Normally I would be very uncomfortable but today her touch made me feel really relaxed. I felt I could really trust her to touch me and I didn't want to flee. Because this isn't a touch of intimacy but of comfort. She is not out to hurt me.
She told me my muscles are very cold and held her hand on my back and I felt the warmth seeping in my body. The warmth stayed with me for at least 30 minutes.
All in all today was another succes at therapy. I confirmed the feelings and actions I did right the past 2 month and felt recharged with good feelings about myself again.
Like I said before it's good to be alive :).
Wednesday 21 August 2013
Happy Mail Day: Licca-chan
I always order my Licca's on the Bay because they show up rarely on HobbyLink Japan. Unfortunatly for them they get decapitated and their bodies used for my Blythes :(.
No customfees on this girl ^^
Bubblewrap mummy
The seller chose to send her without her box which I don't mind at all because she gets taken apart anyway. It's always fun unwrapping mummies ;).
I chose for the Pizza LA girl because of the cute shoes you get with her but I was surprised at the cute face this Licca has. The sellers photo's didn't do her justice. When I removed the plastic protection around her arms and legs I noticed red smudges on her body :( but they wiped off pretty easily without leaving any stains.
There was a red residue in her hair under the plastic so I think she came dirty from the factory. I managed to get the most out of her hair but I will give her a good wash later on because Licca's hair has always been greasy right out of the box for me.
She is much cuter in real life then I expected. I favor Licca's over Barbie's because of their cute bodies and faces. Barbie is just to supermodel to my taste. Pity I didn't have Licca when I was a young girl.
Close up.
I'm thinking of keeping this girl in her form which means I need another Licca body for Cookie xD. For now Cookie will borrow her body but this Licca is just to cute to be ending up just a head in a box.
I'm afraid I will start with a new collection XD.
Friday 9 August 2013
Review: DVD Kids on the Slope
Wow, it has been a few months since I last posted on this blog. I have been really busy with irl stuff and the weather was too hot to be sitting behind the pc.
New series from the creators of Cowboy Bebop. So I had high expectations from this studio and they didn't dissapoint me.
The story is about a boy, Kaoru, that has to move houses again because his dad is a sailor. This time he moves to a seaside town in Kyushu. The often relocation turned into a painful experience for Kaoru and he has trouble adjusting to his new environment and classmates. When he rushes to the schoolroof to escape the chaos he meet a boy who asks him if he is an angel. This is the beginning of their friendship and mutual love for jazz music.
Their friendship will be tested when it comes to the matters of love and hardships but as is said in the anime itself: "Friendship lasts a lifetime".
New series from the creators of Cowboy Bebop. So I had high expectations from this studio and they didn't dissapoint me.
The story is about a boy, Kaoru, that has to move houses again because his dad is a sailor. This time he moves to a seaside town in Kyushu. The often relocation turned into a painful experience for Kaoru and he has trouble adjusting to his new environment and classmates. When he rushes to the schoolroof to escape the chaos he meet a boy who asks him if he is an angel. This is the beginning of their friendship and mutual love for jazz music.
Their friendship will be tested when it comes to the matters of love and hardships but as is said in the anime itself: "Friendship lasts a lifetime".
The songs they use in the anime might be wellknown to jazzlovers and one I even knew as a non-jazz fan. You will hear these songs when watching: "Bag's Groove" by Milt Jackson, "Lullabys of Birdland" by Chris Connor, "But not for Me" by Chet Baker and "Four" by Miles Davis. They also turn "My Favorite Things" of the musical The Sound of Music in a swinging jazznumber, I particularly liked that.
The art is true to the manga written by Yuki Kodama and follows the story pretty well as in the books.
I still giggle at the pronunciation of the Japanese when it comes to English but us Europeans make the Japanese frown too when we try to speak their language, our sounds are totally different then theirs. I still praise Junichi Suwabe for still making "But Not for Me" so awsome.
This series will leave you with a feel-good mood. Sometimes it is frustrating that the main character takes such a long time to confess his love but that is just the difference of culture. The Dutch are too much of a blabbermouth in my opinion :P.
Animation: 5/5
Music: 4/5
Story: 5/5
Overall: 4,7/5. I recommend this for non-jazz-lovers. It makes you appreciate the genre.
Wednesday 12 June 2013
Depression Diary 3
So yesterday I started part of my therapy. I was pretty nervous because this part would help me cope with my emotions that I have a hard time to understand or deal with.
The therapist wanted to test me if the dramatherapy was indeed something I needed in order to sort my life out better so I had to fill in an association word list from what I did/felt/experienced last week and pick out 6 of the most important words for me and write a little story about me with them.
Well. It was surely a depressing story.
First word I could think of related to last week was sleep.
I sleep when I don't want to worry about how I feel, if I am asleep I don't feel depressed. Not the best solution to the problem because too much sleep leaves me with terrible headaches and thus more food for depression. Other words that came out of the list were 'use' 'family' and 'self-love'.
I have a hard time liking myself.
I am not suicidal but I sometimes think well if I haven't been born, the world would have been a better place. Not exactly stuff you bring up with your friends or family now do you? My friend on FB posted an excellent example of how people talk about depressions.
But I have decided for myself to no longer hide my problems for my friends and family. That's why I write this blog. First step taken.
I always tell people for the outside world (people who don't know me through and through) I wished I just had 2 amputated legs instead of a depression because people then see whats wrong with you and don't treat you like a psycho who wants to stab them, which people sometimes think you are a total nutjob when you tell them I am going to a therapist....
Eventhough my little piece was very confronting for me and the therapist I felt considerably lighter when I went homewards again. I did dislike the fact that I cried infront of her, I don't want people to see me crying, ever.
I still have a lot of trouble talking to people who know me well about this face to face. Because behind the pc I can cry what I want and noone will see me.
Tuesdays and thursdays I will have dramatherapy and relaxationtherapy and I hope this will get me a bit further down the path towards healing.
Long way to go still but I am pretty damn proud of myself already for what I have achieved the past 3 months. So huggles from me to all around. Atleast now I sometimes think it was a good thing I was born, can't wait till my thought will be I am happy I am here :).
The therapist wanted to test me if the dramatherapy was indeed something I needed in order to sort my life out better so I had to fill in an association word list from what I did/felt/experienced last week and pick out 6 of the most important words for me and write a little story about me with them.
Well. It was surely a depressing story.
First word I could think of related to last week was sleep.
I sleep when I don't want to worry about how I feel, if I am asleep I don't feel depressed. Not the best solution to the problem because too much sleep leaves me with terrible headaches and thus more food for depression. Other words that came out of the list were 'use' 'family' and 'self-love'.
I have a hard time liking myself.
I am not suicidal but I sometimes think well if I haven't been born, the world would have been a better place. Not exactly stuff you bring up with your friends or family now do you? My friend on FB posted an excellent example of how people talk about depressions.
I always tell people for the outside world (people who don't know me through and through) I wished I just had 2 amputated legs instead of a depression because people then see whats wrong with you and don't treat you like a psycho who wants to stab them, which people sometimes think you are a total nutjob when you tell them I am going to a therapist....
Eventhough my little piece was very confronting for me and the therapist I felt considerably lighter when I went homewards again. I did dislike the fact that I cried infront of her, I don't want people to see me crying, ever.
I still have a lot of trouble talking to people who know me well about this face to face. Because behind the pc I can cry what I want and noone will see me.
Tuesdays and thursdays I will have dramatherapy and relaxationtherapy and I hope this will get me a bit further down the path towards healing.
Long way to go still but I am pretty damn proud of myself already for what I have achieved the past 3 months. So huggles from me to all around. Atleast now I sometimes think it was a good thing I was born, can't wait till my thought will be I am happy I am here :).
Saturday 8 June 2013
The little white lies we feed our children.
This will make a nice anecdote when on of my sisters gets married.
We have this strawberry plant in the garden and about each week it will care two or three ripe strawberries. I was discussing with my mother that in order to get a full basket you'd need several plants in order to get that. A farm would hold a couple of hundreds of plants to get a good harvest.
Whereupon Lisa exclaims that the 3 plants at their old house managed to give a full basket in the past.
I looked at my mother and she starts laughing.
She then spills the beans about the little scheme my dad and her did back then.
The plants only held about five ripe strawberries and in order to not have the children disapointed they added store bought strawberries to make it look like they harvested a big this time around. Scheme worked because my sisters never noticed it.
So several years later they still believed one plant can give you a full basket of berries.
After a few good laughs about it my dad reminded them that Sinterklaas (Santa) and the Easter Bunny still don't exist and that the world is round.
We have this strawberry plant in the garden and about each week it will care two or three ripe strawberries. I was discussing with my mother that in order to get a full basket you'd need several plants in order to get that. A farm would hold a couple of hundreds of plants to get a good harvest.
Whereupon Lisa exclaims that the 3 plants at their old house managed to give a full basket in the past.
I looked at my mother and she starts laughing.
She then spills the beans about the little scheme my dad and her did back then.
The plants only held about five ripe strawberries and in order to not have the children disapointed they added store bought strawberries to make it look like they harvested a big this time around. Scheme worked because my sisters never noticed it.
So several years later they still believed one plant can give you a full basket of berries.
After a few good laughs about it my dad reminded them that Sinterklaas (Santa) and the Easter Bunny still don't exist and that the world is round.
Tuesday 4 June 2013
Depression Diary 2
I had a breakdown again today.
Last couple of days have been very tiring for me. My ex professed he still loves me but not for a relationship (good way to throw a girl in a loop, mister), my cat decided to broaden his horizon (he came back but only after I flipped out) and today I cracked. I'm nervous as hell and felt pressured when I was just at the store getting ingredients for dinner. I wanted to run, just leave everything behind and run away.
I did have a really good day crafting with my best friend but the breakdown still came today.
The only thing I did different today was force myself to go to the store and get the groceries. Prepaired dinner while my stomach was doing the boogy with me and stayed calm during it.
I am completly worn out, covered with cold sweat but I made it through the breakdown with no casualties what so ever. I don't feel alright but I feel much better than this morning.
Atleast now I know I will enjoy my dinner now that it is out. My lunch was dreadfully bland because my attack makes me numb for taste, feeling or pain.
Anxiety is my worst enemy at the moment and sometimes rears its ugly head. But I am sure I will beat it one day. I will regain my selflove and be happy that I woke up again in the morning. Just at the moment it is really hard sometimes, and I am greatful that so many of my family and friends are patient with me.
Last couple of days have been very tiring for me. My ex professed he still loves me but not for a relationship (good way to throw a girl in a loop, mister), my cat decided to broaden his horizon (he came back but only after I flipped out) and today I cracked. I'm nervous as hell and felt pressured when I was just at the store getting ingredients for dinner. I wanted to run, just leave everything behind and run away.
I did have a really good day crafting with my best friend but the breakdown still came today.
The only thing I did different today was force myself to go to the store and get the groceries. Prepaired dinner while my stomach was doing the boogy with me and stayed calm during it.
I am completly worn out, covered with cold sweat but I made it through the breakdown with no casualties what so ever. I don't feel alright but I feel much better than this morning.
Atleast now I know I will enjoy my dinner now that it is out. My lunch was dreadfully bland because my attack makes me numb for taste, feeling or pain.
Anxiety is my worst enemy at the moment and sometimes rears its ugly head. But I am sure I will beat it one day. I will regain my selflove and be happy that I woke up again in the morning. Just at the moment it is really hard sometimes, and I am greatful that so many of my family and friends are patient with me.
Friday 24 May 2013
Midlife crisis? I think not! Maybe.....
So after the drastic measures I took a couple of days ago (voiced it on FB), I decided to live for myself for a while.
I put my hopes and dreams aside to please the other and when it all came crashing down I felt useless, helpless. I am still down in the dumps but every day I am coping a bit more then the last.
What did I want to do before this drama started, before I wanted to spend my life with someone else.
I wanted to travel the world just like my grandmother did. The Great Wall of China, Niagara Falls, Great Barrier Reef, etc. It was all pushed to the background.
The urge to travel, to widen my horizon is back. But thankfully it's not an escape like I picked in the past to avoid my pain and problems.
This year London will be ticked off my list, I chose to visit it with my sister. Will be her first vacation without the parents ;).
The old idea of getting a motorcycle license is also back. When my best friend got hers about 10 years ago, the need to get it was itching but funds that kept being drained away made it impossible. Now that I am just living for myself I managed to save up some. So that will also be a future target for me.
When I mentioned this to some friends they joked about having a midlife crisis. Never thought that women could get one but is it a midlife crisis for me? I don't know, maybe it is but I say screw it, I do what I want.
So lately I have been daydreaming about my future adventures.
I put my hopes and dreams aside to please the other and when it all came crashing down I felt useless, helpless. I am still down in the dumps but every day I am coping a bit more then the last.
What did I want to do before this drama started, before I wanted to spend my life with someone else.
I wanted to travel the world just like my grandmother did. The Great Wall of China, Niagara Falls, Great Barrier Reef, etc. It was all pushed to the background.
The urge to travel, to widen my horizon is back. But thankfully it's not an escape like I picked in the past to avoid my pain and problems.
This year London will be ticked off my list, I chose to visit it with my sister. Will be her first vacation without the parents ;).
The old idea of getting a motorcycle license is also back. When my best friend got hers about 10 years ago, the need to get it was itching but funds that kept being drained away made it impossible. Now that I am just living for myself I managed to save up some. So that will also be a future target for me.
When I mentioned this to some friends they joked about having a midlife crisis. Never thought that women could get one but is it a midlife crisis for me? I don't know, maybe it is but I say screw it, I do what I want.
So lately I have been daydreaming about my future adventures.
Can you imagine me riding this beauty through Brittany or Ireland? I always had a weakness for a motorcycle with a sidecar.
Laugh at me if you like, I don't care. These are my dreams and I will make them reality. And if you are nice you can catch a ride with me in my sidecar ;p.
Monday 20 May 2013
Review: Vassalord OVA
By chance I stumbled on the Vassalord OVA on youtube. So I explored the internet to find a good fansub and found it with my trusted fansubbers Aarinfantasy.
The OVA is based on a josei (ladies comics) series written and illustrated by Nanae Chrono. 7 volumes of the manga have been released as with four drama cd's. The OVA was released in spring 2013.
Plot (with courtesy of Wiki):
Vampires Charles J. Chrishunds (Charley) and Johnny Rayflo have a strange relationship. Charley is a cyborg vampire mix, and a vampire hunter for the Vatican, while his master Johnny enjoys a playboy lifestyle. While fighting crimes involving vampires, Charley struggles to control his lust for blood and for Johnny, while Johnny (previously known as Addie before becoming a vampire) delights in seducing his servant and attempts to deal with issues from his own past. Johnny cares about Charley (also known as Cherry and Chris), and the feelings don't seem to be one-sided.
While the OVA is put in the fantasy, comedy, supernatural & shounen-ai catergories, the shounen-ai (Boy's love) value is very low opposite the manga. While Charley feeds on Rayflo to still his hunger the element of lust between the two characters is left in the middle. I miss the taunting and tempting that Rayflo does that drives Charley of the edge many times in the series.
Oh Rayflo, you slut.
For the OVA they used the story of the first chapter of Vassalord, and because this chapter stands on itself don't really need to add anything else to finish it. The relationship between Chris (I know they call him Charley in the OVA but I am more used to the manga version were everyone calls him Chris) and Rayflo is clear, Rayflo turned Chris in to a vampire and Chris refuses to drink other blood than his masters. They battle on of Rayflo's ghosts of the past in order for Chris to recieve priesthood.
The animation compliments the typical style of Nanae Chrono. While its not a one-on-one copy of hers, it comes very close to it. The typical bickering and comic-relief appears in the OVA paired with the dark atmosphere Vassalord usually gives.
The voice-actors for Chris and Rayflo are well known in the world of anime. Ryotaro Okiayu (Chris) is best known for Byakuya Kuchiki (Bleach) and Scar (Fullmetal Alchemist) while Keiji Fujiwara (Rayflo) is known for Maes Hughes (Fullmetal Alchemist), Leorio (Hunter x Hunter) and my favorite Shiro Fujimoto (Ao no Exorcist). The pair worked together on Fullmetal Alchemist and I found them the ideal choice for this OVA, especially Keiji because his freaking out makes me giggle every time.
Sadly the episode was only 27 minutes long and while you can put more in to the story it would have just been putting too much information without adding to the value of it. It's just the fangirl in me that wants more.
Maybe Production I.G. is testing the waters with this OVA, seeing that the fanbase will be significantly smaller than with regular animes. But I do hope they will make it into a regular series so I can see my other favorite characters of the series. They did give me a small glimps at the end of my all time favorite madman 86, so a girl can only hope.
Animation: 4,5/5
Voice-cast: 5/5
Story: 3/5
The world of darkness isn't scary.
Wednesday 15 May 2013
Depression Diary 1
I wake up at the sound of my alarm clock at 8 in the morning.
Feck.
Dark clouds in my head again. Came just out of the blue. Nothing bad happened yesterday.
Depression meter at 10/10. I feel terrible.
Shall I cancel my sewing lessons? I could sleep my whole day away but that won't make me feel better.
I drag my body out of bed and look at the clock. Spent 17 minutes thinking about this. When I walk out of my room, I see my mother sitting behind her computer and mention to her that I have a somber day today. I don't need help or comfort, I just want people to know how I am today.
Not in the mood for breakfast but I eat anyway. My taste is flat.
Bailey greets me cheerfully. I scratch him behind his ears and give him a cat-treat. It's all just routine.
After watching the morning news, it is time to get dressed and ready to leave. Fortunately I packed my sewingkit before I went to bed so I don't have to worry about it. I only need to bring my patterns that are lying on my desk.
The weather is grubby. Nice.
When I drive towards the studio, I turn the radio up. Dreadlock Holiday by 10cc is on. When I start to sing along with the lyrics I feel my head getting lighter.
Depression meter 9/10. Going the right direction.
I'm the second to arrive at the studio. The teacher and student are chatting about tax-refunds. I greet them both and take my seat while unloading my kit.
Feck. I forgot to bring my patterns, without them I can't do anything... When I am in a depression my memory fails, while when I am good my memory is excellent.
The rest of the students enter and I excuse myself and drive back home to pick them up. Thirty minutes lost blunderhead.
When I return at the studio, everyone already started with their work. I place my cut-outs on the fabric and proceed to cut out the seperate pieces. During our activities we chat about ESC, local news, plans for school and I give advice on tax forms to a fellow student. My head becomes clearer, less pain is felt.
Depression meter 7/10. My smile doesn't feel forced anymore, it comes more natural.
I made good progress with my work but in order to make my job easier I need a fabric pen. Made a note of it in my mobile. I wish everyone a good weekend and go home again. The second time today but it doesn't matter to me anymore. I stopped being annoyed at myself.
Turn the radio up really loud and scan the stations for feel-good music. Anything to lift my mood.
A song from the past comes on.
The DJ of 3FM plays it for todays Guilty Pleasure song. He was 12 at that time. 1999, I was 19 then. I end up staying in the car until the song is finished. I start grinning. The stupid song lifted my mood.
Depression meter 4/10. My day will be alright.
I suffer from Dysthymia. Sometimes I suffer from major depressive episodes on top of my Dysthymia making life really difficult for me. Each day I learn to live and treat my depression, hoping that my environment will accept me as a person.
Feck.
Dark clouds in my head again. Came just out of the blue. Nothing bad happened yesterday.
Depression meter at 10/10. I feel terrible.
Shall I cancel my sewing lessons? I could sleep my whole day away but that won't make me feel better.
I drag my body out of bed and look at the clock. Spent 17 minutes thinking about this. When I walk out of my room, I see my mother sitting behind her computer and mention to her that I have a somber day today. I don't need help or comfort, I just want people to know how I am today.
Not in the mood for breakfast but I eat anyway. My taste is flat.
Bailey greets me cheerfully. I scratch him behind his ears and give him a cat-treat. It's all just routine.
After watching the morning news, it is time to get dressed and ready to leave. Fortunately I packed my sewingkit before I went to bed so I don't have to worry about it. I only need to bring my patterns that are lying on my desk.
The weather is grubby. Nice.
When I drive towards the studio, I turn the radio up. Dreadlock Holiday by 10cc is on. When I start to sing along with the lyrics I feel my head getting lighter.
Depression meter 9/10. Going the right direction.
I'm the second to arrive at the studio. The teacher and student are chatting about tax-refunds. I greet them both and take my seat while unloading my kit.
Feck. I forgot to bring my patterns, without them I can't do anything... When I am in a depression my memory fails, while when I am good my memory is excellent.
The rest of the students enter and I excuse myself and drive back home to pick them up. Thirty minutes lost blunderhead.
When I return at the studio, everyone already started with their work. I place my cut-outs on the fabric and proceed to cut out the seperate pieces. During our activities we chat about ESC, local news, plans for school and I give advice on tax forms to a fellow student. My head becomes clearer, less pain is felt.
Depression meter 7/10. My smile doesn't feel forced anymore, it comes more natural.
I made good progress with my work but in order to make my job easier I need a fabric pen. Made a note of it in my mobile. I wish everyone a good weekend and go home again. The second time today but it doesn't matter to me anymore. I stopped being annoyed at myself.
Turn the radio up really loud and scan the stations for feel-good music. Anything to lift my mood.
A song from the past comes on.
The DJ of 3FM plays it for todays Guilty Pleasure song. He was 12 at that time. 1999, I was 19 then. I end up staying in the car until the song is finished. I start grinning. The stupid song lifted my mood.
Depression meter 4/10. My day will be alright.
I suffer from Dysthymia. Sometimes I suffer from major depressive episodes on top of my Dysthymia making life really difficult for me. Each day I learn to live and treat my depression, hoping that my environment will accept me as a person.
Tuesday 14 May 2013
Happy Mail Day! - Cool Cat order
I needed some supplies for customising Blythes so I placed an order at Cool Cat. I've ordered from them before in 2012 and was pretty satisfied about the service and speed.
My order contained some woodcarving tools, eyechips, 3M sandingsponge, velcro, hairclips and brown boots (my BJD's have hundreds of shoes but my Blythes have so few :( ).
The order was placed on 28th of April and I recieved it today. Because I needed the supplies fast, I chose for the much expensive EMS instead of regular Airmail. The package was still almost 2 weeks stuck in customs but I didn't want to chance it by going for the cheaper shipping option and not have my eyechips before Dolliverse next month.
Like last time my order arrived well wrapped and complete. They even threw in some extra eyechips as a gift :).
The eyechips will be handpainted and available for purchase on June 16th at Dolliverse. After the event the remainder will go on sale online, as all the rest of my Dolliverse stock.
My order contained some woodcarving tools, eyechips, 3M sandingsponge, velcro, hairclips and brown boots (my BJD's have hundreds of shoes but my Blythes have so few :( ).
The order was placed on 28th of April and I recieved it today. Because I needed the supplies fast, I chose for the much expensive EMS instead of regular Airmail. The package was still almost 2 weeks stuck in customs but I didn't want to chance it by going for the cheaper shipping option and not have my eyechips before Dolliverse next month.
Like last time my order arrived well wrapped and complete. They even threw in some extra eyechips as a gift :).
Completely forgot that I ordered these boots until I saw them in the box <___<.
The eyechips will be handpainted and available for purchase on June 16th at Dolliverse. After the event the remainder will go on sale online, as all the rest of my Dolliverse stock.
Monday 13 May 2013
Review: Oblivion
I must admit I am not a Tom Cruise fan.
Why?
I don't like the fact he is part of Scientology. I've seen that cult destroy lives of people in my personal circle and he just advocates it like its the best thing in life to get. Ofcourse for you Tom, you can pay your way out.
Since that dreadful version of War of the Worlds I haven't seen a movie starring with Tom so this one was the first since 8 years I think. During WotW I prayed so hard that the aliens would zap his daughter...she was intensly annoying.
Anyhow back to the main topic: Oblivion.
Music in my opinion was badass, my applause to M83 (a French electronic/shoegaze band from Antibes). The director, Joseph Kosinski, showed us already in Tron: Legacy how well electronic music goes with a movie. And through this movie he added a new band to my playlist.
The movie also contained some new nifty toys that me and my friend really liked. My favorite were the drones. They are well developed and deadly with maximum force.
The movie itself was quite interesting, although Sally was very fake in my opinion but I won't go to deep into this, or I will spoiler the movie for you. But when my friend pointed out that this movie has a lot of similarities with the 2009 British science fiction drama Moon during the break, the rest of the movie became really predictable, to my dismay :/.
Overall it was a decent movie with amazing scenery shots but compaired to Moon this movie is inferior to it. If you never seen Moon then you will quite enjoy this movie and will be pretty surprised at the end :).
Rating: 3 out of 5
I am open for discussion on the movie. Just e-mail me at vandersloot @ home.nl
Why?
I don't like the fact he is part of Scientology. I've seen that cult destroy lives of people in my personal circle and he just advocates it like its the best thing in life to get. Ofcourse for you Tom, you can pay your way out.
Since that dreadful version of War of the Worlds I haven't seen a movie starring with Tom so this one was the first since 8 years I think. During WotW I prayed so hard that the aliens would zap his daughter...she was intensly annoying.
Anyhow back to the main topic: Oblivion.
Music in my opinion was badass, my applause to M83 (a French electronic/shoegaze band from Antibes). The director, Joseph Kosinski, showed us already in Tron: Legacy how well electronic music goes with a movie. And through this movie he added a new band to my playlist.
The movie also contained some new nifty toys that me and my friend really liked. My favorite were the drones. They are well developed and deadly with maximum force.
The movie itself was quite interesting, although Sally was very fake in my opinion but I won't go to deep into this, or I will spoiler the movie for you. But when my friend pointed out that this movie has a lot of similarities with the 2009 British science fiction drama Moon during the break, the rest of the movie became really predictable, to my dismay :/.
Overall it was a decent movie with amazing scenery shots but compaired to Moon this movie is inferior to it. If you never seen Moon then you will quite enjoy this movie and will be pretty surprised at the end :).
Rating: 3 out of 5
I am open for discussion on the movie. Just e-mail me at vandersloot @ home.nl
Tuesday 30 April 2013
Recipe: Light chocolate cheesecake with some changes by myself.
For coronation day I wanted to make a cake again and being influenced by the cheesecakes I have been eating lately I wanted to try my hand on making one for myself.
Original recipe can be found at www.smulweb.nl.
Ingredients:
Bon appetit!
Original recipe can be found at www.smulweb.nl.
Ingredients:
- 1 packet of Philadelphia light (185 gr.)
- 200 gr. Bastognekoeken
- 75 gr. roomboter
- 250 gr. griekse yoghurt
- 75 gr. witte basterdsuiker
- 1 packet of vanillesuiker
- 100 gr. chocoladevlokken
- 3 packets klopfix
- 4 dl. slagroom
- You will have to crush the Bastogne in little crumbs and add the melted butter. Spread the mixture evenly on the bottom of your cakepan (don't forget to grease it first).
- Put the Philadelphia, yoghurt, basterdsuiker and vanillesuiker together in a bowl and mix it until you have a creamy mixture.
- Make sure you clean the mixer well before you start on the whipped cream. Poor the packets of klopfix while you whisk the cream. Stop when you get a solid mass.
- Now add the whipped cream to your Philadelphia mixture and gently mix them together with a spoon or spatula so you keep the mixture fluffy.
- Add the chocoladevlokken (chocolate sprinkles) and again gently mix everything together.
- Spread out the mixture evenly in your cakepan on top of the crumb-bottom.
- Leave it atleast 2 hours in the refrigerator.
- Serve with extra whipped cream or chocolate sprinkles on top.
Bon appetit!
Friday 26 April 2013
Horoscope & hurdles.
I really don't believe in the power of the horoscope but on bad days I still check them, ignoring the sceptic in me.
My horoscope for today said this (refering to the one in the Metro):
There are many hurdles on your path in life. But each hurdle you pass is a step forward and can be seen as a victory itself. Do not give up.
While I thought 2013 would be my year of progress I had more downs then ups it seems. I keep a straight face towards most people but sometimes I just want to crawl in a corner and cry.
I know I am not the only one who has lost a job. And by getting rejection after rejection my hope for new work decreases each time and it makes me miserable.
Oh, the never ending paradox. People who have jobs would rather stay home and the jobless would rather be at work.
Spending inside every day behind my pc and sewing machine doesn't help improve the mood either. So I go outside once in a while, try to be amongst the people. It is only temporary satisfaction and I realise I need to find a purpose in my life in order to overcome the rut I am in.
For now I haven't found that purpose yet, I am still seeking. Maybe one day I hope to have found it.
I just hope that I'll find a job soon, my biggest hurdle to take, because I feel pretty pointless at the moment not being able to do much :/ and ofcourse the bills keep coming in....health care doesn't give a damn about being jobless.
My horoscope for today said this (refering to the one in the Metro):
There are many hurdles on your path in life. But each hurdle you pass is a step forward and can be seen as a victory itself. Do not give up.
While I thought 2013 would be my year of progress I had more downs then ups it seems. I keep a straight face towards most people but sometimes I just want to crawl in a corner and cry.
I know I am not the only one who has lost a job. And by getting rejection after rejection my hope for new work decreases each time and it makes me miserable.
Oh, the never ending paradox. People who have jobs would rather stay home and the jobless would rather be at work.
Spending inside every day behind my pc and sewing machine doesn't help improve the mood either. So I go outside once in a while, try to be amongst the people. It is only temporary satisfaction and I realise I need to find a purpose in my life in order to overcome the rut I am in.
For now I haven't found that purpose yet, I am still seeking. Maybe one day I hope to have found it.
I just hope that I'll find a job soon, my biggest hurdle to take, because I feel pretty pointless at the moment not being able to do much :/ and ofcourse the bills keep coming in....health care doesn't give a damn about being jobless.
Monday 22 April 2013
Blythecon Barcelona 2013
In 2012 I went to Blythecon Europe in Berlin and decided I would go to the 2013 edition also but accidentally purchased a ticket to Blythecon Barcelone instead of the BCEU one. I didn't really mind it in the end because I met a lot of nice new people and ended up with a big awsome surprise in the end lol.
The venue was held in Hotel Icaria near the beach. Very pretty and luxurious hotel @__@. I arrived a little before 10am after getting on the wrong subwayline, first time there making a mistake lol. My mother traveled with me but would spend the day on the beach while I was at the venue. Armed with my girls and camera I waited for it to open.
We recieved a cute welcome package with Wubba chickens, cookies & candy and a free raffle ticket. When the door opened everyone streamed towards the stalls to check out the various goodies each vendor has brought/made. I really wanted to get my hands on a hat by Ris Ras and a romper by Ronmiel so I sought out their stalls first.
More Ris Ras girls, I got the pink version of that hat <3.
Almond Doll cuties, they had very lovely lips.
More cuties!
Winner of the custom-contest: Eve
The venue was held in Hotel Icaria near the beach. Very pretty and luxurious hotel @__@. I arrived a little before 10am after getting on the wrong subwayline, first time there making a mistake lol. My mother traveled with me but would spend the day on the beach while I was at the venue. Armed with my girls and camera I waited for it to open.
We recieved a cute welcome package with Wubba chickens, cookies & candy and a free raffle ticket. When the door opened everyone streamed towards the stalls to check out the various goodies each vendor has brought/made. I really wanted to get my hands on a hat by Ris Ras and a romper by Ronmiel so I sought out their stalls first.
Girl at Ris Ras stall, love the dungarees.
More Ris Ras girls, I got the pink version of that hat <3.
I liked the fact that you could buy customs or stock dolls here. I managed to snag up a Simply Mango I've been wanting for a long time. Some customs were very cute but sadly I didn't have enough money for any of them :(. Next year I will save up more money for this event.
Almond Doll cuties, they had very lovely lips.
Alpaca hair is so soft and pretty.
More cuties!
What was more amazing were the prizes of the raffle. I've never seen so many donated custom Blythes together and lovely sundries. It was well worth participating.
The custom doll raffle prizes. Wow so many pretty ones.
The raffle sundries: clothing, helmets and customizing services.
The Spanish collectors were very nice and complimenting towards my girls. I had the chance to hold a few of them (not enough time to take their pictures :/ )
There were 3 workshops and I participated in two of them, the faceup one was really crowded ^^;;
Manuel gave me some tips. I struggled making collars on my dresses.
You could also participate in three contests: Mini-me, customization and photo-contest. Only the girl I voted on with the photo-contest won it, but they were all true winners.
Not the winner, but I voted on this one. The bunny-ears do me in everytime lol.
Winner of the custom-contest: Eve
Before the result of the contests and raffles they showed us videos of Junko Wong and various people who would have loved to be at the convention but couldn't make it.
She said there might be something special coming up for the future Blythecon Barcelona, I hope she is able to get a collaboration done. I would love to see it.
Everyone cheered for the winners of the contest but it went so fast that all my photos ended up being blurry so I have nothing left of that.
The raffle took forever. I think they spend over 1,5 hours giving out the prizes. I liked the way they mixed in the much wanted customs with the other prizes. There was this one lucky guy that won 4 custom dolls and a customization packet, he started the cry at the end when everyone kept cheering louder. I almost fainted when I heard my number up for a Natt custom, I'd already won an owly helmet but I never expected to win a doll. Now I am the proud owner of one of my grail dolls :).
I had a terrific day and met a lot of nice new people. We brought together a bunch of money for charity with the raffle and some people got great gifts. I am very happy with the items I bought on the convention. If they hold another Blythecon Barcelona in 2014 I will be there, hopefully with better Spanish-skills lol.
My raffle lot.
Next event for me will be Dolliverse in June where I will be a stallholder. One day I want to have a stand at one of the bigger cons in Europe :).
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