Vers d'Anvers!!

Roosendaal- Essen- Wildert- Kalmthout- Kijkuit- Heide- Kapellen- St. Mariaburg- Ekeren- Antwerpen Noorderdokken- Antwerpen Luchtbal- Antwerpen Dam- Antwerpen Oost- Antwerpen Centraal v.v. ... a year ago my daily trip... today a nostalgic tour! Main reason to cross the Belgium border was to finally cash those FNAC cheques d'achats (heheh.. finally found the store!!). A day well spent spoiling myself with a good beer at Kelly's.. an XXL tuna.. a wafel @ Sellino's.. So many good memories came up in only one lazy sunday afternoon.. how good it felt to be back 'home'! :)

Fwd: FORWARD!!!!

Long time!! I know! Over a year (!!) w/o any notable 'Whatshadoing'-activity.. and WHAT a year.. >>definitely not my finest year<<.. but hey, it's all been one great learning moment and the upside of it all is that I've grown so much stronger; let's just forget all the sh*t, focus on the good, and FAST FORWARD!! 2009 is just around the corner.. the year in which I'll have to wave goodbye to my twenties!! AAAARGH!! Let's not think of that YET! Ofcourse 08 had its great moments as well. Arnaud and Tinky got married and the ceremony in Thailand was an amazing experience! I was so happy to have been a part of that! Furthermore I'm glad to have met the gorgeous mr. Kaye. He's an awesome guy and you should all support him on his way to FAME!! www.martin-k.com and buy that CD!!! Mart taught me about positive thinking, not to be angry, not to regret, to focus on the present and live life to its fullest. He's so young but still so right hehe. Besides that I'm still blessed with the encouraging words of my 'almost-lover'. Although it's sad the way things went, and I miss like crazy, well, a lot of things hehe.. I'm happy the guy who knows me best (which, actually, is kinda pathetic..) is still in my life.. on the background, a bit sneaky, but I appreciate it highly and it feels good. (still I secretely hope one day he'll f***ing realise.. hehe...) Now I feel like a fresh new start.. I know I've said it before.. but now it's time to make it all work.. it's time for YOU to KICK my ASS!!!.. it's time for RESOLUTIONS.. on the short term, and quite concrete: BUY THAT CAR!! it'll so ease my life besides allowing me more freedom. Unfortunately I cannot deny after those two months of illness my energy level really sucks. A car would definitely enable me to save my time and energy for more important and/or fun stuff hehe. Also one for the list.. MOVE IT! move it! to a new home!! After 7½ yrs I still love my little cottage... but let's face it.. it IS a bit 'crowded' for me&my stuffz. Time to move on!! >>FWD!>>

Goodbye, my hopeless dream..

moving on.. or back.. or both..

Six months have passed without any whatshadoing-activity.. as if nothing has happened.. There are days when I wish that was true.. but damn, we gotta face reality. I'm not trying to catch up on you guys; some things seem outdated, some too complicated just to mention in a few lines, some I don't even WANT to talk about.. Well, let's consider this a fresh new start! That's how I see things now.. although I can't distance myself from some memories, feelings, people,.. YET!! I'm working on it.. and will succeed eventually!! ;)

Yesterday my return @ RBC Roosendaal was a fact. But leaving Antwerp hurt as well.. I've met some GREAT people there that I'm gonna miss like crazy.. They're each very precious to me..I will probably spend most of my leisure time in Belgium.. ;) "The Dictionary", the "Qu'y vit?"-trees, the "niet-officiele ofwel officieuze lobbybar-logboek aka Sarah's bijbel", the discussion whether something IS or ISN'T "BRANCHE", the * freshly baked Belgian 'wafels'*, "tony's got blue-green eyes', *my lady in black*, brown-eyed girl Sara, * drinking white wine*, SEUT!!!, my precious marky marc, Rachid's massages, Kevin's 'sarahleuven!', Melvin's 'ééél de wereld mag ut òòre..', miscommunication with Norman hehe, sweety Elke, belle Isabelle, the overnight stays, room 525, the musicians, the Nokia-men, the mojito's and caiparinha's, NOXX-invasions, Martin's private concert.. , waltzing with Albert, NYE @12th floor, getting stuck @ -1, they're all great *Xperiences* I will not and don't ever want to forget!! Love you guys!!!

Sweet memories..

It's nine o'clock on a Saturday

the regular crowd shuffles in

There's an old man sitting next to me

Makin' love to his tonic and gin

He say, Son can you play me a memory

I'm not really sure how it goes

But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete

When I wore a younger man's clothes

Da da da de de da

da da de de da da da

Sing us a song, you're the piano man

sing us a song tonight

Well, we're all in the mood for a melody

And you've got us feelin' alright

Now Tony at the bar is a friend of mine

He gets me my drinks for free

And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke

But there's someplace that he'd rather be

He says Marc, I believe this is killing me

As the smile ran away from his face

Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star

If I could get out of this place

Sing us a song, you're the piano man

sing us a song tonight

Well, we're all in the mood for a melody

And you've got us feelin' alright

Now Kenneth is a real estate novelist

Who never had time for a wife

And he's talking with Davy who's still in the navy

And probably will be for life

And Sarah is practicing politics

As the Nokia-men slowly get stoned

Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness

But it's better than drinking alone

It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday,

And Rachid gives me a smile

'Cause he knows that it's me they've been coming to see

To forget about life for awhile.

And the piano sounds like a carnival

And the microphone smells like a beer

And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar

And say "Mart, what are you doin' here?"

Da da da de de da

da da de de da da da

Sing us a song, you're the piano man

Sing us a song tonight.

Well, we're all in the mood for a melody

And you've got us feelin' alright.

Vive la Belgique! :D

Just returned home from a little trip to our little cottage in Belgium. I was somewhat afraid of the very dutch rainy weather lately, but I'm happy to say we got quite lucky these days! Enough possibilities for some good belgium beers in the hot sun!! :) Furthermore.. a bit of relaxing in the woods, some driving and walking through the countryside au direction des Hautes Fagnes, "teaching" B&T how to play Catan properly hehe, my very first burger @ Happy Days!, meeting the newborn neighbour deers, and above all, for the first time in 28 years I finally visited the city of Louvain/Leuven which is, ofcourse, named after me.. ;) hehe I felt at home immediately :P

Viva Italia!

A hot day on the beach @ Lignano Pineta!!

I'm back from my short visit to Gemmy! A waaaaay too short visit!! I've had the most incredible time with her in Pordenone and surroundings.. :D I flew from Amsterdam to Treviso on saturday. The airport of Treviso is a very small one; perfect for me: you can't get lost there hehe and you walk through customs in just a wink ;) A slight disadvantage is you'll have to take the bus to reach the railway station but I was so damn lucky I only had to wait for a few mins. (All that luck..wished I got some on my way back home as well.. :S ) At the railway station I bought my ticket in my best Italian>> parla inglese?? no?? owww shit.. :S uhh.. Pordenone? viaggio.. uhh.. solo?? :S Pffff why can't or won't those italians just speak english? It would make life so easy! ;) I arrived in Pordenone around 3.30 pm. I "textmessaged" Gem awake hehe (sorry about that!) and she hurried to the railway station. At "famous" bar Posta I had my first caffe' freddo shakerato..oww that tasted so yummy!

After a quick fresh-up at the apartment we headed back to the center for a few more drinks :) and some slices of delicious PIZZAAAAA!! It was my first encounter with the Spritz con Aperol... ohhh I do love that drink so much!! We met with Katharina, Gabriele and ohh I feel so stupid..I can't come up with his name.. :# I'll probably remember later on.. ;) We drove to Mestre and left the car there to take the train to Venezia s.Lucia. That was a good decision cause it was sooo crowded in the city... It was that day the start of the Festa del Redentore and it looked like all Italians headed for Venice :) The city was so beautiful with all those lights!! It's way too bad my camera is not working properly by night.. Perhaps I shouldn't have thrown it in the river in the US hehe ;) Anyway..not that great pics from this night.. so I decided to return to Venice on monday when Gemmy has to work anyway.. to get me some pics from this beautiful city after all! This saturday night we walked..and we walked.. soo happy the boys knew so many shortcuts..amazing!! Venice is like a huge labyrinth..I would get lost soo easily!! I just loved all of it; the atmosphere was amazing this night! And the boys had so much to tell and to show of the city! After drinking a bottle of vino bianco @ beautiful piazza San Marco we searched for the best place to watch the fireworks. So mooore walking.. our feet really hurt this night.. a slight disadvantage that there are only 3 bridges crossing the Grand Canal! In the enormous crowd we lost sight of Katharina and Gabriele... they got stuck on the wrong side of a bridge and so couldn't see much of the fireworks. That's really so sad.. We on the other hand had the best view ever!! It was a pity that the crowd in this area was quite noisy so the music got pushed to the background but it was a special atmosphere as well ;) All those decorated boats on the water, the music, the fireworks.. I've never seen something like this before.. So huge and so impressive! It reminded me somewhat of the watershow in front of the Bellagio in Las Vegas! After the fireworks, we had still a loooong walk back to the s.Lucia railway station but walking through this beautiful city is such a joy! Even when your feet hurt like hell :P Back to Venezia Mestre where the car was still waiting for us hehe.. and back to Pordenone! A short night's sleep cause we would be picked up by Daniela @ hotel Santini around 10am the next morning for a visit to the beach of Lignano Pineta. The water was so nice, so warm, so clean.. you could swim for miles in this sea! Just so lovely! After a relaxing day we met with Roberto and Enrique for some spritzes and beers. It's been so much fun! Actually Daniela was to be expected for dinner for her own birthday.. but she didn't want to leave as well.. and arrived at her own party quite some hours late...ooops! 0:) The ride back through the countryside was beautiful with the sunset that day. But all those quick turns and dips in de road... Ohhh I wished for a toilet so badly!! It was hilarious..I just couldn't control myself any longer.. I HAD to get out of that car, no matter WHERE..and I did heheh..finally..such a relief!! oh it hurt so much!! Just like my back and shoulders now.. I got sunburnt that day so much! I can't sleep normally for 3 days now..

On monday I left the apartment with Gemmy who had to work unfortunately. I took the train to Venezia s.Lucia again and enjoyed myself perfectly that day in romantic Venice. Again, it was a very hot day so I forced myself to take lots of rests and drinks ;) I was back in Pordenone around 6.15pm and met Gemmy at cafe Nuevo for another caffe' freddo shakerato! :) From there we moved to Bianco&Rosso for some spritz and chips :) and a few hours later we were still sitting there hehe. Watched the whole live performance of Lorenzo and his band. Decided to skip dinner after all..it was way past dinner time anyway hehe. Then Claudio "Porsche" wanted to take us for a drink and we "drove" (150+ km/h! and NOT on the freeway hehe) to the very special Pinocchio-bar for a delicous cocktail "poco alcolico" ;) We "flew" back to Pordenone with the crazy (but nice) Claudio and his fancy car. Too bad, I forgot to take any pics from this little trip! On Tuesday I flew back to Amsterdam. But I neeeearly missed that flight!! Ohh I was really freaking out! The damn trains from the north were delayed..and not some minutes, but HOURS!!! I remembered again the Mika-song that we thought was appropriate as the Italian national anthem..you might recognize it: Relax..Take it eeee-heeeeasy!!! Well, my patience was really tested that day! I ran, ran and ran whenever I could trying to make up for some lost time..and OHHHH I was just in time for check-in!! I had only 2(!!!) minutes left.. I was soo lucky! Sweating like hell and totally DEAD I arrived at the gate..during the flight I closed my eyes and can't remember anything more from it ;) I've enjoyed these days so much.. it was such a short visit but we've done so much and had so much fun! Simply loved it! Still a week and a half of my vacation days left now... I really want to get out of here for some more days!! Any tips for a nice (not too expensive!!!!) city trip?! :D

March of the Penguin

Time to say goodbye! RIP lovely shoe! On the very first day of the new soccer season I officially had to give up shoe pair # stopped counting.. "Walked" like a penguin all day long.. How charming

Today wasn't much better.. (No) Thnx 2 heavy showers I arrived pretty much soaked wet at the stadium and my feet each had a private swimming pool in their shoes.. Very soon that started to irritate and it felt quite uncomfortable and again the penguin-walk introduced itself! Quelle joie!

Can't wait for my holidays to come.. only 9 days to go!! Last night I've finally booked my ticket for Venice. Yay for that! It's only for a few days but I SOOO need to get out of here!!

G'day mates! :) I know I have a lot of catching up to do! And I will! Soon! Very soon!

For now I just wanna tell the world how proud I am of my BIG BRO who graduated today!! So here's to you broertje!! Now get yourself a proper job and BUY THAT CAR!!! heheheh

I just found our San Francisco-daily- wake-up!-tune on the WWW! When I hear this song I feel like I'm still cruising the Golden State! It gives me that holiday-feeling :) I can hear the peacocks screaming heheh. Just love it!

Eskimo Joe - From The Sea

Peppers in the Park!!!

Happy Birthday, TIMBA! :)

Queen's Day 2007

Play-offs

Summertime Festival

Game over..

11th Exclusive Ladies Night @ RBC

The females got spoiled tonight! A lot of beauty, fashion, and gorgeous men on the catwalk.. Even Henk Vos, Sjoerd Schrier, Kevin Diaz and Danny Guijt made it to the runway! Delicious dinner, a lot of chocolate, champagnoise+gold liquor.. hehe in the kitchen we "hospitality girls" spoiled ourselves as well ;) won't go into too much details hehe but let's say it's been a fun night!

Expedition in the sand...

Coconuts, palm trees, and A LOT of sand.. toil and moil, concentration, power, luck.. RBC's annual trip was a true survival à la 'Expedition Robinson'!

The first test was the trip to Amsterdam itself.. No, we did not get lost.. we just took some wrong turns hehe. Behind us the car with Edouard Duplan and Kevin Diaz, our french soccer players, who were a little insecure driving a car in Holland when not knowing exactly where to go, so they just followed every 'step' we made, and so making wrong turns and changing wrong lanes as well. They had so much fun, applauding for us each time we went the wrong direction or made a wrong 'move'. But we managed to get to the studios just in time..with no accidents..unlike others hehe.

After changing clothes and the first Red Bulls (it was a "home-match day-after" so we had a very short night and were still pretty exhausted) it was time to form the groups that were about to compete each other. I was told to be teamcaptain of the "Blue Team", a very enthousiastic group consisting of the lovely Patries (office), my favourite "soccer-buddy" Arjan Ebbinge, the very smart (and handsome hehe) Sjoerd Schrier and the somewhat overly enthousiastic Benjamin Martha. It's been a great day! The pictures will follow hopefully very soon, and I will tell more about the tests itselves then. For now it's enough to say our Blue team won the expedition! Despite elimination points by Raymond&co. Yay! But that was unfortunately not the end of the game.. from our team one true "Robinson" had to prove himself.. One after the other we had to select a cup and eat what was under it, and that wasn't always yummy.. Cockroaches, grasshoppers,.. argh after Martha I had to give up as well.. it was too much for me. I'm not a true Robinson.. Arjan "Eppie" ate the most disgusting insects and won the expedition. Luckily the champaign was for the 5 of us all hehe ;)

A delicious Asian dinner and a lot of beers later we were completely exhausted. The day was a huge success. If you ever need to organise some kind of teambuilding-event.. I can really recommend a visit to The Sand! :)

Happy birthday, SAMMY!!

Our precious Sammy turned 15 years old today! HURRAY! She's really an oldie now; almost blind, almost deaf, asleep almost all day long, but still so happy with life! And I'm so happy with her!!! This piccie was taken almost 15 years ago, when she and her brother were just puppies! 15 years...oh my, I'm getting really old as well hehe...