for your warm birthday wishes, (e)cards, messages, etc.! Past weeks have been too crazy, soooo extremely busy at work and I haven't been able to reply to you all properly. I'm so sorry for that! In the near future working days will probably stay very long since Maurits had his skiing accident this Monday and revalidation will probably take a few months... Too bad for him, but too bad for us as well... :(

Welcome, Cas!

Happy Birthday To Me!

28 does hurt somewhat...

Men with Guns!

Another loooong day! This morning the &%^$!@ alarmclock rang at 3.15 AM but I didn't need any coffee or even Redbull to keep me awake today! While biking to the stadium I passed by William's place and saw his lights still burning hehe he just got home from the "bridge" (poor thing!! ) and my new day was starting already!! Kinda funny! When I arrived at work there was no time for yawning...till 9 o'clock Maurits and I had to follow a VERY tight schedule but we managed all just right in time! Pfew! Sweat running all over the body! Besides, surrounded by 300 armed policemen we felt a bit unconfortable hehe; they did keep us alert and awake though. It was a "topsecret" briefing, and during the presentation we were not allowed to enter the lounge. Oh well, "secret"?? A parking space FULL with police cars, police dogs, a huge amount of storage boxes, ..., as if "nothing" was going to happen?! You don't fool us! Curious as we are we turned on the radio this morning and eventually learned about their actions:

clipped from www.bndestem.nl

Tientallen arrestaties na inval in Bergen

Dinsdag 27 februari 2007 - BERGEN OP ZOOM - Driehonderd medewerkers van politie, justitie en FIOD-ECD hebben vanmorgen vroeg bij invallen in zeventwintig woningen en bedrijfspanden in Bergen op Zoom tientallen arrestaties verricht.

In het grootste rechercheonderzoek sinds vele jaren stellen politie en justitie een belangrijke slag te hebben toegebracht aan een criminele organisatie die zich, vanuit Bergen op Zoom, bezig zou houden met de grootschalige teelt en handel in softdrugs. Bovendien wordt de bende verdacht van het witwassen van crimineel geld.

Onderzoek van deze krant wijst uit dat de bende, die zich concentreerde rond de Bergse familie A., de laatste jaren tientallen miljoenen euro's heeft omgezet.

clipped from www.bndestem.nl

Give me a break!!

I knew a very busy period would start at work these days but when I saw next week's schedule earlier today I was just s p e e c h l e s s ... For example, starting at 5AM while doing the "bridge-shift" the night before >>> usually I won't be home before 4AM, and then I have to leave at 4.30AM again?!? That's no life!! I asked Maurits to have a close look at the details again hehe. I'm a hard worker but I'm not crazy. At least, not THAT crazy...

Sooo silly me...

I lost my wallet...so I thought. I've been missing the damn thing since last Sunday and I've been looking for it over and over again for days! Soooo annoying, living without an ATM- and creditcard, or even cash money!! It makes you kinda creative though ;) (uhh mom, I stole a bread from your fridge hehe. you'll get one in return this weekend!!) Eventually I gave up the searching and reported my missing belongings to the police and just when I was going to block my cards I felt like checking my dust-bin in the garden. Don't ask me why, I just felt like it!! And my oh my, my mouth fell wide open... I found my wallet! HOW &#^!%& did that thing get there!!! I must have thrown it with some garbage, but geez, you would notice something like THAT, wouldn't you?? I think it's too weird; the fact that it was lying in the dust-bin, the fact that I had the urge to look in there, even though I had no CLUE to look in there, and if I had been a little bit later the thing would have been emptied (is that a verb??) by the refuse-collector. I must have a guardian angel...

The dutch saying "scherven brengen geluk" says these *&%@!% splinters -that are now in my garbage can- WILL bring me happiness... I really do hope so. So far I've broken 3 (!!) plates already this week! Ouch! Too much in a hurry > stress > CHAOS... I guess hehe. Or maybe I'm just being a very VERY clumsy person

"'t Bleft Kunst"

't Bleft Kunst 2007 - Carnival in Roosendaal Feb. 16th-20th! After RBC's homematch on Friday we managed to finish work pretty early; it was around 2AM so we did a good job! =) The idea was that we would ALL go to the pub afterwards and have some beers & cheers, but work did not go all well this night and Vivian, Annet, Maurits and William ended up in a very bad mood and decided to stay at the stadium. Their loss ;) So we left without them, I wasn't too happy with that but if I'd stayed as well I know that would have ruined my happy mood as well. AND THAT'S JUST NOT WORTH IT!! (No) thanks to a very bleeding nose (I'm having LOTS of them this week - not much fun!), we only arrived in town just before 3 AM, so we were lucky and allowed to get in! Time flies when you're having fun and soon it was 4 AM and I really had to hurry to get me some very fast food!!! My god, Alanya was already closed, Willy's was closed, everything closed!?! Pfeew De Smalle Pijp was just closing its rolling shutter but -my luck!-they were nice enough to let me in! YAY for them! I know it's no good, but I just can't sleep without a big fat meal in my stomach after a working night!

On Saturday I went to see the parade. The weather was just great! With a nice cold beer in my hand and the sun burning on my skin and a bunch of happy people around me, I was just sitting there enjoying the moment. Life can be good ;) Afterwards I went to grab me something to eat (for the 3rd time visiting De Smalle Pijp this week...*shame on me*) and ended up having a drink with some colleagues from the hospital before heading home. Pretty tired.

Mon-Tue-Wed I was off from RBC and worked at CMA. Especially on Monday the Emergency Room was extreeeemely busy! The phone rang almost constantly! But lucky me, from 9am I was with either Sophie or Bas at ophthalmology (did I spell that right?!?) these days, with is soooo quite and almost peaceful hehe. Good to escape the carnival-troubles and recover some yourself haha Sophie was wearing baseball caps these days not to show her face too much...this morning she was absent due to sickness :P

Tomorrow the extremely-hectic-RBC-period will start. That's why we had the 3 days off. To "recharge" hehe. I feel pretty tired already! Maybe I shouldn't have worked at the hospital and stay in bed for those days... hmmm just a thought...

*Smelly cat!* what is she feeding you?!

Recognize this sweety?! =) I had the honour to care for and play with the lovely Timba over the past few days! Just wondering... wasn't I feeding him ENOUGH?!? Each time I sneaked into the room I caught the *fat cat* (hehe) eating from the plants!! It looks like he's gotten himself quite some meal already! The *big boss* said he asks for attention that way...oh well he got it

Happy Valentine!

ps I DID have dinner with my gorgeous colleague tonight...at the local snackbar! So far for "romance"...

Long time no blog! Ain't got no time, ain't got no life hehe. It's been a pretty hectic time since I OFFICIALLY started as a fulltimer at RBC Le Royal. Not that I didn't make the working hours before - being a parttimer you can work fulltime as well hehe - but now I work more during daytime which is quite different than the night shifts. I will now only work at CMA when I start not before the afternoon or evening at RBC . Since work during daytime is totally different than what I was used to, I still have to learn a lot! It's a somewhat stressfull time for me but it seems William, Vivian, Suzanne & Maurits are very patient with me ;) Ohh well, what choice do they have? They need me badly since a very busy period is starting off very soon. Let's pray I'll be ready for that! =) Not that much to report besides the daily work-eat-sleep. This week I've promised myself to look more after myself and eat more healthy hehe. It's about time... ;) And I've enjoyed catching up with Maaike and Gemmy this weekend! It's been way too long! I so needed this! If a day only lasted twice as long... =)

Victories!

Last night was a somewhat strange night. First of all RBC's homematch was played on a Saturday instead of a Friday. We didn't like that since many of us had to cancel our weekend-plans! Boooh... Then it started half an hour earlier than usual. Lots of supporters weren't aware of that, or forgot about that, and entered the stadium half an hour late: by that time the match was actually already played- which annoyed them a lot: RBC won 5-0 over FC Emmen! The goals followed each other with an amazingly speed and Pakito's Living on Video (RBC's 2006-2007 "goaltune") was heard almost continuously through the stadium hehe. But despite its longawaited victory after so many negativity in the media lately the crowd wasn't in a partying mood at all! Why?? Beats me! There was a really weird atmosphere in the lounge. Luckily the players were in a happy mood which was much fun. Love to joke around with Arjan Ebbinge, he's such a cool and funny guy! The supporters left relatively early this night so we finished early as well. Which was nice for a change too! It was just before 4AM so just in time to order a delicious PIZZA @Willy's !! but they kicked us gently out the store with our yummy pizza's since they closed at 4. So we finished them at William's place who luckily lives VERY nearby; if I had to bike all the way back home my precious pizza would have turned damn cold hehe. Time flies when you're having fun and I completely forgot about the AO finals! I got home around 6AM and immediately tried to check the results on the internet. Aargh no connection! Tried textmessages on television, but no results of ATP finals published?!? I went nuts! Ohh well there was nothing I could do about it so...time for bed! When I woke up I tried the internet again, and I realised the match wasn't even played yet hehe. Silly me! So I crawled back into bed, watch Roger win his 10th GS (yay!), and fell back asleep for the rest of this lazy Sunday. All was well.

Federbear everywhere

Today I received my little parcel from SW19 containing my Federbear!! Just in time for the AO finals! Federbear got himself a nice spot on my television so we can cheer together tonight, that is... if Roger doesn't crush Gonzo in only 3 straight sets!! ;) RBC plays a home match tonight so I won't get home before 5AM. Hope to see the matchpoint though!

Rumshop sessions

Rock, Reggae, Latin & Rap... Roger, Touché, Jon, Jacob, Rocheteau & Roël played a very good accoustic show tonight with some surprisingly songs! From 2nd row we had a very good view (hehe Roger is even smaller than I thought he was...is that even possible??) and although I still think a concert like this doesn't really belong in a theatre, it was a well-spend night out!

After drinking away our "bridgeclub-frustrations" Will & I got sooooo hungry so we decided to attack the local shoarma-king since we both had nothing quick&easy&fatty to prepare at home. Now THAT is hard on a mondaynight in Roosendaal at 4AM! Having passed many closed doors (aaargh!) we saw burning lights in a small -to me unknown- place but uhoh they were about to close! NOOOO! We put on our most hungry faces, our nicest smiles, put our best charmes forward and ohhh our supplications were acknowledged! YEAH! YUMMY!

My guess: more visits to come hehe

Dancing with the local stars

It's been a tough week. I wasn't feeling too well while having loooong working nights. At the same time I started working at CMA again this week so too little sleep for me!! Last 2 days I crawled into bed between 7 and 8 AM, luckily able to sleep during daytime. Not too much fun for a weekend hehe. Ain't got no life ;) Apart from the usual monday-*yawn*-bridgeclub-night we had a lot of parties at the stadium this week. Even Boy Buffel (MOOOOOH!) and Frans Bauer & "Maris" made their appearance ;) Highlight of the week was yesterday's "Dancing With The Local Stars"; a dancing competition between local celebrities at our Confetti Lounge. It was a HUGE event (tables sold for a €1000 each!) with a very tight schedule, planned by the minute but we did such a gooooood job! William and I were responsible for the main bar, Jeroen for the small one (ahhh my favourite partners-in-crime hehe ;) ) and a lot of colleagues "running" through the lounge. After work we were all sooooo exhausted, plumping down a chair and just staring at each other! We just couldn't get up to head home; we just kept drinking hehe. What a job!

Lèon

This week I had Tuesday's night off to visit a show of the dutch comedian Leon van der Zanden. While constantly testing the audience's boundaries of what is acceptable and what is not (particularly the NOT hehe) on subjects like religion, sex and death we were asked sometimes pretty awkward or just difficult questions. I was thinking quite often "don't pick me! not me! nooooo!" ... Very happy not to sit front row!! but when Leon started to run through the audience there was no more escape hehe. Da*n! Luckily I gave no stupid answers. I guess... High speed, a lot of humour, expressive mimic art and a VERY lithe body to reach and experience an "immortal moment". I'd never seen a show of this guy in the theatre before (only knew him from the dutch Olifantendoders) but it was a very pleasant surprise! Too bad Gemmy couldn't join me obviously but when a next show is released we should definitely book the tickets again! I'm sure you'll like it!

This night's immortal; we fell just off the picture weeeheee

Aussie action!

Haven't received my precious Feder-bear mascotte YET, nonetheless I'm ready for action! In just a few hours from now the Aussie Open will start on Melbourne Park: that means looooong long nights for the next two weeks! Yay now I've finally got something to watch on television when I come home from work!! At that time of night dutch television usually broadcasts only things like call-tv or webcam-babes hehe, NOT that much of pleasure for me! But I really have to make sure I don't stay up toooo long hehe! Ahhh the temptation!! Haven't seen that much of Kooyong Classic exhibition last week but I hope it's been enough preparation for Roger since he skipped Doha this year. Ohh well, he'll do just fine! Allez Rogi!

Ouch! After the big relief of fixing the electric light-cables right in time, RBC lost last night's big match 1-3 vs De Graafschap which means we lost our number one position in the Jupiler League as well. And maybe our chance to promote to the premier league next season. No hard feelings nevertheless cause my colleagues and I prefer the matches on fridays instead of the weekends anyway! ;) But it's nice as well to see them WIN ofcourse. Afterwards trainer/coach Robert M. announced leaving RBC Roosendaal by the end of the season. He didn't go into details yet, but I can imagine some reasons "why" (nice job, mr. P.!!). Despite the loss last night, the drinking was not less afterwards! It's been the busiest night of the season so far and we left the building very very early in the morning (many cock-a-doodle-doo's on my ride back home!). ps Maurits confirmed what William told me earlier this week: they sooo appreciate my efforts and would like me to join their team of permanent staff and work more hours as soon as possible hehe.

Receptions

On top of the many New Year's receptions we've had at the stadium last week, last night RBC had its own for its players, staff, employees, volunteers and business sponsors. Ofcourse we had to work on our own reception hehe. No sweat, cause it was SUCH a BORING event!! Now we made ourselves a little money out of it; otherwise it would have been a completely wasted evening!! Looooong long speeches from RBC's chairman mr. P. and our newly presented general manager. I don't like mr. P. His speech did annoy trainer/coach Robert M. as well. He refused to comment on it, but it irritated him visibly. Understandable. Speeches were pretty pessimistic. RBC's organization is not that stable at the moment, as well as its financial situation. It's only OUR part of the organization, RBC Hospitality, that is doing great at the moment. It was very nice to see that confirmed in the newspaper today by giving Maurits a compliment on frontpage- next to all those negative messages related to RBC!!

Dark times...

Last night 20 copper wires were cut from one of the electric standards at the stadium! Only a few days before THE match of the season! The KNVB put the deadline friday at noon; if the lights don't work by then, the match will be cancelled, which would mean quite a disaster given RBC's financial situation. It would mean a lovely night off as well!!

Did you survive NYE?!?

I know I did!!

So cool: Flickr Toys!

Still feeling not too well. Besides working, eating and a lot of sleeeeeping not doing that much around here. Okay, just wasting (what's left of) my precious time behind my laptop hehe. But I did find me a great website to "play" with my pictures here! A great site to remember for when we have another family event coming up?!? It DOES make the editing a lot easier! ;) Just showing some old vacation photos here to give an impression of what's possible!

Cool Slideshows

Wow I survived this year's Xmas again ;) 4 days off, 4 days flue, what am I doing wrong here?! No fever today so the girl's gettin' better >> back to work tomorrow! No mercy here! Today we had a brunch with the Lapré-side of the family at Aimée&Cees'. Food was good, we enjoyed (uhuh) the memorable Xmas-DVD again -and again - .... (esp. Fay Lovsky + Icebear and Chris Rea driving home through "De Veluwe") and we participated in a serious math discussion. No sweat! Afterwards Thai Santa spoiled us with Bangkok gifts!! Oo we're so lucky =)

dinner time!

Due to some broken bones and ribs my grandma was not able to prepare us a christmas dinner this year... so Dennis and I were today's cooks!! Apart from some miiiiinor flaws, it was a delicious meal, but that's my own humble opinion ofcourse hehe.

Attention: If you happen to need some gelatin leaves in the future...don't hesitate to give me a call! I've bought 300 of them yesterday, while I only needed 3... too bad no regular supermarkets were opened yesterday so I had to go to "Makro" in Breda and buy me an enormous package -which I REALLY didn't need...!!!

Santa spoiled me with a beautiful book "1001 Wonders of Nature" with pictures and info on the most fascinating places on Earth. Ohh there's still SO much to see and explore! Ohh I SO want to get out of here! * Sigh!*