Busy

I bought a diary (for work) today. For next year.
I'm such an important business woman that I already need to plan for 2008. Oh yes.

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Brothers and sisters

I'm an only child (Yes, yes, insert your jokes about spoilt children and "never sharing" and god knows what here. Ok. Finished? Let's move on then) so I've never had the pleasure of "telling on my brother/sister". I hear it's quite the rage, especially among younger siblings: "mum, he tore out barbie's hair" (Mum Piglet would say "thank god for that, now play with accurate wommyn dolls"), "dad, she pushed me", and let's not forget "he/she started it!".
Nope. I feel deprived.
The Girlfriend has a younger brother. Younger by 21 months, so you can imagine how well they got along *snort*. They don't talk that often now (busy busy busy), sometimes on MSN, sporadically on the phone, but they get along. They're adults now.
She just chatted to her brother on MSN, told him she's got a new tattoo (yeah, she's hip and cool like that)... three minutes later, the phone rings. Her mum. "Is it true you've got another tattoo?!"

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Date

I think it's been at least six months since The Girlfriend and I went on a date. A date with just the two of us, I mean. So yesterday we did. We went to see Stardust in the cinema. It was great. Well, the first half hour of it was great. After that I fell asleep.... It's incredibly weird suddenly waking up and seeing snippets of a film (David Brent! What are you doing in Stormhold?). And I don't have a clue how it ended.
The Girlfriend is crazy about it, so I guess I'll have to go see it again. But perhaps at 8pm instead of 10.45pm this time...

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Old Queen

If I were a poofter, I'd be an old queen, but I have something to admit.
I love Take That. I do. I think they're fantastic since they "came back (from the dead?)". And their new single... amazing.
Go on. Try it yourself (don't let Jonathan Ross scare you, it's where I first heard the song).



And while you're at it (and this makes me feel like Duvelman) try this gem as well: Beirut -Nantes. Totally different from Take That so but definitely worth a listen.

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Knights of Cydonia

The Girlfriend sitting right next to me, ipod on maximum volume (I can hear everything), little white earpieces firmly stuck in her ear.
Singing along to Muse. Very offkey.

And I only punch her once in a little while.
If that isn't love, I don't know what is.

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Heatwaves in October, wouldn't it be grand

It's cold. And I'm not amused.
Global warming, my arse. Give back that Nobel prize, Al Gore! It was all a lie, I'm on to you! (Screw you, polar bears! Can't you just evolve into a grizzly and live on happily that way? Is that really too much to ask?) /gratuitous cynicism

And am I the only one who couldn't care less about Britney Spears and whether or not she gets to see her kids?

Oh. And the Too-Busy-To-Update-Girlfriend and I are celebrating our 5-year-anniversary today. Wahey! And to think Spikey said we'd never make it! Shame on you, Herr Spike, shame on you!

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PC

Did you know there is a thing like "ageism"?
Not just work-related (people getting fired because they're considered too old), but also on a day to day basis: "Oh my god, you're so ageist!" e.g. when you're yelling "grandpa" at an old person above a certain age behind a steering wheel. Will we be able to use the word "old" in the future, or will it be considered hate-speech?
It makes me wonder if there is something like "looksism" or "weightism" or ... "cardriverism". Can everything become an -ism these days?

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JK Rowling

Oh how brave, how immensly fantastic, what nerve you have, to say this after your books have all come out (so to speak) and you've done absolutely nothing, nothing at all with it.
What is it, he's old, so he can do no harm? Whereas Remus, Snape, all the others with tons more subtext... well, they're still virile, we can't have that. That would bring to mind images of working penises and we can't handle that.

And the most manipulative, bastard-ish character at that.
You utter utter utter bitch.
"oh no, slash writers, I don't like you, here I shall make one of my most queer characters straight, but here, you can play with this one"
No thanks! I don't want him!

"But you see, Harry looked up to a poofter, isn't that grand".
No, because as far as we know he looked up to a closeted poofter and what good has that ever done anyone?

Oh, and this: Rowling also said that she regarded her Potter books as a "prolonged argument for tolerance" and urged her fans to "question authority."
Yes, that comes across in your treatment of a quarter of the Hogwarts students. You've certainly showed us there are grey areas in life. What was it McGonagall said to them "your kind can all piss off back to the holes you crawled out of, we don't need you here"?
Yeah... something like that....

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Team Voldemort! Yay!

Switching jobs has its disadvantages. One of those means I'm up for a repeat of this (oh yes, the exact same thing only with different colleagues) tomorrow.

I'm more horrified by this than I was last time. Funnily enough.

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Random

Got home from work (= lots of chatting with the cleaning lady. ALWAYS keep cleaning ladies on your good side, they're the most dangerous adversaries you can have. But that's beside the point) only to find the cats had "broken into" the living room. They're restricted to the kitchen when we're not home. Not today apparently. They attacked the laundrey, plants, Warskinny's special UNO-pencil and our notice board.
Right now they're staring at me demanding I feed them.
Pushy bastards.

Off for another evening of babysitting again tonight. Last night the eldest informed me "she was a bit annoying because she was tired". Yes... I'd noticed.

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Tose Proeski

My alter ego Le Vent de Lowe, and her companions Les Mysteres des Moustaches, had a grand time with Tose Proeski's "Life" a few years ago. A so-and-so song, with hilarious lyrics and a cheesy fantastic act. That act -and ok, the balkan vote- brought the song to the 2004 Eurovision final.
Watch out for the moment where the backing "dancers" start pulling a long red ribbon out of Tose's guts. A classic Eurovision moment. It instantly became one of my favourite songs!

Unfortunately Tose Proeski died in a car accident today. But he won't be forgotten. For whenever Les Mysteres hear this song at least one of us will start cabaret-dancing on a chair.
Rest in peace.

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Him?

Oh no, you have got to be kidding me.

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Spiderkiller

Our cats are hunters. Well, unless they're not sleeping or annoying each other.
What strikes me is that though apparently flies are pretty tasty, we keep finding spider carcasses in the house. Now don't get me wrong! I love finding dead spiders, because it means that's one less living spider in the house. Viva Spiderkilling Cats! What I don't get is why don't they eat them. They eat everything else! Plastic, ribbons, plants, flies, cat food, paper, ... but no spiders.
Are my cats weird (well, even weirder than I knew) or do other cats also leave spider-trophies for their slaves to find?

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Voedselbanken

In mijn vorig leven heb ik nog voedselpakketten verdeeld en uitgedeeld voor mijn werk. Voedselpakketten van... jawel, de voedselbanken. Diezelfde voedselbanken waarvoor rijke mensen van Service Clubs deze week in uw Delhaize staan met die zakjes die eigenlijk afgeschaft zijn. Maar goed. Anders moesten we én een zakje van 5 cent én een mini-voedselpakketje kopen. En dat gaat ons net een brug te ver.

Mocht u van plan zijn om iets te geven aan de voedselbanken, mag ik u dan -vanuit mijn één-jaar-lange ervaring- een aantal tips geven?
Spaghetti, rijst en suiker is sympathiek, maar daar lopen de voedselbanken al van over. Bovendien, let's face it, kost het geen geld en dat kunnen de mensen zelf ook nog kopen.
Meel. Euh... Leuk, but who are we kidding? Mensen zonder geld die koekjes en taarten gaan bakken? Uitgebreide sausen gaan maken? Niet diegene waar ik nog mee gewerkt heb.

Wat willen ze dan wél?
- Koffie. No kidding. Ik heb er volwassen mensen bijna een vreugdedans voor zien doen.
- Groentjes in blik.
- Dingen voor de kinderen: koekjes, wafels, (om op school ook eens iets lekkers, iets van een merk mee te hebben), cornflakes (!), etc...
- Sigaretten hadden ze meestal ook wel gewild, maar dat zou ik persoonlijk niet doen.

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Belspel

Noooooooooo! Don't take away my weekendnight fun!

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Good things come to those who...

It's so comforting and good to know President Bush is taking out money to protect kids against the dangers of AIDS and other STDs.
And I'm sure this will be a right hit with the kids. I know I'd have *loved* it.
Way to go, president Bush!



An example to live by!
But hang on... I'm not married... oh dear.

through The Stranger

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Trashy Blogpost

"I'm not one of those bloggers that writes about their cats, oh no. I practise journalism"

Oh no, this is not a quote of mine, far from it. I do blog about my cats. And about Eurovision, running, crappy reality tv, my girlfriend, my favourite underwear, politics, music and queer stuff. Granted, I don't give you detailed "what did I get up to"-reports of my weekends, and no, I never will. But still, cats. Because they deserve to be blogged about.

Like about the fact that whenever The Girlfriend neglects feeding the cats their second portion of weighed (20 grams) diet-food, *I* end up being the one whose lap they jump on, begging to be petted and butting their head against my arm. Obviously they've caught on that I'm the easiest to convince (or the nicest) of their slaves.

Or how we think they've lost weight, but we also thought that before we went to the vet's last month and discovered they'd gained another 2 pounds. So we know better than to trust our judgement. So we bought scales. But they're rubbish. The worst kind of rubbish scales you've ever seen in your life! They can differ 10 kilos in a matter of minutes.

And I'm enjoying my autumn dose of trash tv again! Desperate Housewives, Strictly Come Dancing, half the reality tv programs they're showing now (though not "Dancing on Ice" -VTM version, that's too ridiculous even for me! But Top Model! Yay! Skinny girls getting told they're too fat! Revenge! Revenge!), fantastic. Brainless amusement. I like to tell myself I differ from "other people" watching this because I don't take it seriously and like to have a giggle at the expense of people taking part. Without being evil of course. But who am I kidding...

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Boer zoekt...

Op het werk (op beide jobs) haat iedereen die Burberry-trut van Paardenboer Mick.

Reality tv is fantastisch.

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Extras Christmas Special

I've still not seen a full episode of Extras (whose DVD-box can I borrow?), but this trailer for the Christmas Special makes me want to even more. Enjoy.

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Double squee

The Girlfriend already gave me my gift for our 5-year-anniversary, 20 days early. I'm not superstitious, but it seems like the mother of all jinxes. I mean, how presumtuous of either of us to assume that we'll still love each other in 20 days time!
But yes, secretly I think we might be okay for October 23rd (she got me an ipod!!).

Oh, and in theme with my anniversary gift we ... *drumroll*... ran our final "start-running" 30 minutes today! Without stopping, yes. Photographic evidence (not posed at all) here, and yes I know we both look horrid, but give us a break, we've just run non-stop for 30 minutes!
Since we finished the 'program', I'm guessing this means we can *stop* running now! Fabulous news! Wha'..? Oh, we're meant to keep it up.... ah well, alright then.

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easy

Because I think it's pretty hilarious (I may be the only person in the world, but hey, I've never let silly things like weirdness bother me): my new desktop at the newest old job.

I'm so easy to amuse.

I can't use it at the old new job because I share a computer there. My co-worker would probably think Jim Halpert was my boyfriend. And that would confuse him to no end.

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Belgium

This is the most only interesting thing I've ever read about Belgium's current political situation.
I've not really cared much up until now (I know, me not caring about politics. What the hell is wrong with me), but I think it's about time I get involved and kick everyone's arses into gear.

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Mark, Amanda or Betty?

First day at the new "old yet different" job today. I'm working in a different branch of my previous job (It's my third comeback there! Yay! The organisation is about as dysfunctional as I am, so we go well together), adding some hours to my half-time employment at my "still new" job. It went ok, I guess. It was pretty weird at times, and quite scary at others, but overall I'm satisfied.
Some thoughts:
- The youngest male colleague (who I only saw animated during a conversation about cycling) keeps giggling whenever he sees me. I'm guessing I'm either very funny, he's got a crush on me, or the only thoughts going through his mind whenever he sees me is "lesbian! lesbian! lesbian!" with the accompanying erotic images.
- I'm sharing an office with Gay Sleeveless Supervisor. Hopefully this will help me get over my lesbian crush on him. I feel like his glorified secretary, but I'm hoping I'm more Betty Suarez (though stylish) than Amanda. Or possibly Mark. I could handle being Mark.
- Two of my colleagues are shocked and horrified at my admission that we don't iron towels. "Not even your kitchen towels?!" Erm... are you implying I should iron the *bath towels* as well? Do I look like Bree Van De Kamp?! (damn, I want a "Bree" icon!)
- And who knows something about Excel? Cos I sure as hell don't. I've already bothered Mr Lowagie with this, but I don't want to burden him too much.

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