z e e b o d e m

My new job is already having a positive effect on me. For example i don’t feel as tired as i used to feel (due to the early hours back then and the forced waste of time in trains and stations) – and this is just the beginning! I’m less stressed because i can work at my own tempo without any (annoying) interruptions. The few problems i might have to face during the day are mostly mine. It is a relief not having to do troubleshooting for colleagues whom i never even met. For a change.

This first week has been also great when it comes to weather and i’ve been able to use my bike every single day. The house rule is to have a one-hour-lunch-break on thursdays. Yesterday was the warmest day and i decided to enjoy it by biking around during de middagpauze. S said i was “being-antisocial” since i could have joined the lunch with a bunch of others in a restaurant. Oh, there will be more thursdays ahead for socializing (which seems to be very important here in belgium) with my new colleagues. After all i’m a “sullen finn” and was in need of that sunny trip outdoors.

On my way back i stopped by eetbar – a place that raised my curiosity the first time i ever noticed it. The place has almost my name in dutch, like “edulys”. It’s a cute & small chocolate brown house attached to a side of an ugly block building. My take-away lunch choice was an avocado sandwich. Found also a hard candy with moka taste in the white paper bag.

I had the same choice today but instead of long biking i had long waiting. A group of six young women had just entered the place before me. Spent most of my lunch break waiting by the door.

After work i bought nougat ice cream from delhaize. Didn’t eat any of it yet.

Spock is spinning non-stop next to me.

Last friday’s chocolates.. i had a green duvel in zebra before cc opened. One of us got her back stolen during the night. Mine was with me all the time – you live and you learn. Last train home. Last train from work. All over at last.

Took me more than two years and everyone was amazed about the fact that i could keep up with it so long / at all. Thinking back i’m surprised myself.. The answer: by growing numb, i guess. Knowing it could have been worse. Awareness alive on the background at the same time. Knowing this was not living and there must come a change.

Change. Just like many events in my life, it sort of happened on its own, when the time was right for it. No sooner – although it could have.

Today i had a cup of green matcha tea in the afternoon and while i was half way drinking it i saw that the green dust at the bottom formed a bird with an open circle as it’s nest. Phoenix rising. It looked like.

S had come home early. Said the reason was being depressed. He’s sleeping now under the cover of green fairies.

Next to me.

Sunnuntai [Zendag] on kääntynyt iltaan ja taas sataa. Etsimättä jäivät kopioidut kielikurssit timolle, koska en saanut aikaiseksi etsiä niitä valoisan aikaan. Kiipesin juuri ennen nukkumaan menoa tikkaita parvelle vain todetakseni varastoni olevan kylpyhuoneremontin jälkeisen pölyn peitossa. Ei natsannut pöllytellä iltahämärässä etenkin kun hengitystieni ovat kärsineet ylirasittuneessa tilassa jo muutaman viikon – siinä määrin, että astmapiipun hankinta on käväissyt mielessä useammin kuin kerran. Yskittää.

Tänä Gentin vallankumouksen päivänä teimme uhkarohkean teon piipahtamalla vihollisreviirillä länsiflaaminmaalla. Paluutamme ei onneksi estetty millään lailla.. Olosuhteiden pakosta (pääsiäsloma = “suljettu”) söimme keskinkertaisen iltapäivälounaan the loungessa. Saatuamme annokset eteemme olimme ravintolan ainoat paikan päällä syövät asiakkaat. Minun annokseni ongelmana oli runsaalla kädellä ammennettu (valmis?)valkokastike, joka sai ruuan maistumaan einekseltä. Vieruskaverin lautasella wok oli kuulemma kuivahtanutta vaikkakin näytti herkulliselta.

Lopun valoisaa aikaa makasin sängyssä katsoen eilen alennuksesta ostamaani leffaa Sylvia Plathista. Päiväkirjan uusintakierros on odottanut keskeneräisessä tilassa jo useamman kuukauden.

Olin pakotettu ostamaan uuden kännykän, koska nykyinen on luovutettava tulevalle entiselle työnantajalle ensi perjantaina. Piti saada halpa, siedettävän näköinen ja tietyillä ominaisuuksilla kattamaan aikaa ennen iphonea. Hetken harkittuani valitsin sony ericssonin mallia K550i.

Pitäisi jo nukkua mutta -

Not having to exit Gent on a regular weekday feels So Good. These japanese sweets feel like dry, organic jelly when touched. Mild taste but the texture added more to the flavor. Quite unordinary if compared to local candy. I wonder if they import these here..

It had snowed most of the night and i decided not to take the bike. Because of that it took me one hour to get there. Tram had to be replaced with a bus and i jumped in the right one with wrong destination first. Noticed almost immediately that we were heading for the opposite direction; the driver let me out and i crossed the street to catch my way.

Cats are starting to enjoy being outside. Miri stayed in the backyards for five hours today. She came in just when we were about to go upstairs and leave the door open. So we didn’t have to let the cold in.

Giant snowflakes in the air yesterday evening. Today it’s been sunny-clowdy-snowy in continuous rotation. The puzzle is finished and wide angle tested. S is cooking wok with fresh calamares.

“Bijna klaar!”

After that i will only have 7 train days left! The moment when i can switch from C to Y – or from D to G – is now confirmed. It feels so strange though, to think of how long this has been going on, since the end of january and i’m still waiting..

I’m still waiting for trying out the wide angle converter for my G7 which was delivered on monday.

I’m waiting for building my kitsch 1000-piece puzzle that i bought last weekend.

The cats are waiting for the rain to stop. Me too, it’s terrible.

S is waiting for the bathroom to heat up for the bath he was going to have on tuesday.
We’re both waiting for things after the bath.
And the weekend!

..that was yesterday evening. We wanted to go on the boat already earlier in the afternoon but more organized people had made reservations the day before.. next free boat for spontaneous people was available at half past six and we took it. It was fun to move along the river (for 2 hours) – the next time we should do the whole day!

It was a terrific hot weekend. Very summer. We sat on the smaller terrace at blaarmeersen and had duvel & sangria & cola. Far away from the crowdy and noisy beach.

My hair is orange/yellow [and long]. The left side of my head is sore to touch because some speedy dude made rough waves that rocked our boat. Of course i hit my head. It’s not that bad though.

It started to rain in Paris so we decided not to stay another night. The money saved on that decision was spent in le ikea parisien: we drove home with two wooden cd-rekjes and couple of multimedia boxes. It rained all the way – and it’s wet here in Gent too.

Ziggy was happily surprised to see us back so soon.

All three of us in the same bed now.

The last dry summer day of this week.. starting from tomorrow it will be rain for (at least) five days. These less promising weather conditions made us drop our second camping plan in Maka and switch to plan-b. With very few clicks we reserved a Paris weekend from our bongo giftbox. We chose a hotel in Clichy because it also offers free access to caribbean space – in case it rains there too.

This evening we’re invited to D&I to eat mossels (mytilus edulis) in their garden.

..when just sitting down makes you sweat – the air is full of invisible heaviness and occasionally it rains a bit.

On sunny noon i walked to fnac (because libraries are closed during feesten) and after spending a short eternity on choosing i came back with two books and one box of three dvd’s. Found again “the unabridged journals of Sylvia Plath” – read once before some years ago. Chose Kate Atkinson’s een goede daad because oude zaken was good and Jackson Brodie is on it too. And because we didn’t go to Jersey after all i bought us the first season of Bergerac.

I became owner of a fnac card.