A Gypsy's Book Of Shadows

To a Magical 2012

2012-01-03T15:25:00.001+01:00

If I would start this with “Long time, no write” I wouldn’t be very original. I’ve used it before. So I won’t. But the funny thing? I just did, anyways.

I haven’t been here in forever, and I don’t know how I feel about it.
It wasn’t like I had nothing to say. Quite the contrary. This past year was so FULL of things that capital letters won’t even close to cover it.

I’m not going to mention any detail. I’m not even going to give you a real summary.
An objective reflection, maybe.

It was busier than I’ve had it in probably ever. Work, school, health all kept me very busy. I’ve had the best job I’ve ever had, and watched more movies this summer, than I have watched in my entire life, probably. Back to reading and painting, now. Quiet things. Ecstatic happiness and morose depression have followed each other in such a rapid succession that I’ve actually been called Manically Depressed more than once. I’m not though. There’s just a lot of things happening which make the term “emotional rollercoaster” an absolute understatement. It’s not any regular “ups and downs” of life. This has been strenuous. But I’ll survive.

I’ve been out of touch. I’ve been missing company, lately.
Been lonely. Been bored.
I’m back into this “waiting phase”. Waiting for something. Anything.
Waiting for someone or something to change my life.
And that’s just it, isn’t it? It’s not about that. Life’s not about that.
I should be getting my own butt into gear. Getting myself into action.
Live. Laugh. Love.

A happy, healthy, lovely and magical 2012, everyone~

Oh, and for tomorrow: Happy birthday, mum.

Xx
The Gypsy

Easter and May

2011-05-09T20:14:00.003+02:00

I'm not sure why I always type "Eastern".

I insist of adding that n to make it sound more.. something.

Not sure.

The weekend after Riga was Easter, though. Saw the family, like I would be (or so I thought) a lot, for a couple of weeks. May always starts with 14 birthdays in the first two weeks, mine being amongst them. There was my uncle singing the Matthäus Passion on Thursday (and Friday, but Thursday's the one we went to), Friday and Saturday evening church services, Sunday morning, easter morning, and easter brunch, before a barbecue at my cousin's and a sleep over, and a chillaxing day at the beach the day after. I do still abhor the sun.

The week after that I was thinking to myself I was in desperate need of a short holiday, when a lot of things happened at once.

1. I came down with a migraine that wouldn't leave me the hell alone for almost a week.

2. I lost my voice by absolutely not using it too much/too loudly.

3. I thought of visiting the doctor's so got sent to the physiotheraptist and got officially diagnosed with migraine.

4. I visited the dentist cause I thought that silly tooth ache might not be helping my headache much. Dentist found it necessary to send me to a jaw-physiotherapist (didn't know those existed), and a (quick!) endodormic therapy treatment thing I had scheduled next day. (Immediate, after all, is like quick.)

5. At the treatment/surgery thing I got well drugged, and didn't feel anything till they started cleaning. Suddenly pain shoots all through my root down to my throat and chokes me. Apparently my roots have been dissolving themselves. In two months, it's either hoping that stopped, or they're pulling (at least) that molar.

6. After all the bad news my body starting caving in. The moment I ate something wrong (at least, I think I did) I threw up night and day. Diarrhea as well. Total dehydration. Poor me.

7. All this and I'm still migrainish. Yes? Feeling sorry for me yet?

8. I rest/lay in bed or on couch all day, and come down with a fever.

9. There's such an incredible heatwave here (did I mention I hate warmth? I do not function well with warmth. At all) that the fever won't die down.

10. Am totally late with my period. Anyone dare joke about any possible pregnancy will get punched in the nose.

11. Am nauseous a lot since. Through pain, and warmth, and PMSing.

12. Felt a cold sore growing on my lip this last night.

13. Woke up with two cold sores (upper and lower, right hand side).

Good times.

NOW I'm in desperate need of a holiday.

And I'm sad I feel so horrible when I'm supposed to be having the best day of my year.

(Tomorrow's my birthday. I want presents. Hint, hint.)

The Gypsy

All Around Latvia (2)

2011-05-08T19:47:00.009+02:00

Had I mentioned in my previous post that they have a Garlic restaurant in Rīga? Cause they do.

For starters, they have a garlic soup. As a main course, everything drowned in garlic. And for desert? Garlic ice cream. I kid you not. And apparently, it tastes really well, too. You only need not be a vampire, not have any relatives or friends (or partner) who mind the garlic stench that takes two weeks to fade.

Thursday morning started way too early, us having gone to bed by what? Morning. Right. Most of us were walking around on two -three hours sleep. Though everybody knew the day's schedule, so there was hardly anything they could grumble about.

We started out with the Laima Chocolate tour. I was under the impression (at the site) that we'd get a tour through Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. No such luck. It was fun though, and very interesting. Who knew that Laima started out as a factory of chocolate and.. socks?

And before they moved, the factory right next door was a tobacco factory?

That's something to think about, nay?

We ended our tour through the old factory neighbourhood in a Laima chocolate and sweets shop. Very strategic, if I may say so. I did a lot of souvenir buying there, if anywhere. ;D

We had a short "break" to get back to the hotel, and afterwards left for a visit to the Museum of Occupation. And I must say, Latvia's been properly harrassed since.. forever. Middle ages onwards, the Baltic States have basically been change (currency, like) for both Western Europe and the Soviet Union. "Oh, you don't need it? Really? It'll be a burden but, eh, we'll take it for a bit".. Or:

" I'll give you Belgium! =D... ""Uh.. +Hesitant+ " "I'll add some Baltic states? =D" "Oh... Alright"

The woman who gave us the tour was exceedingly enthousiastic (The person giving us the Chocolate tour was so as well. Two enthusiastic welcoming Latvians on one day? Shocking.) and brought the story very humorously. :) Even though it seriously was a crappy story. Poor Latvia.

An immitation of a Gulag.

Now try imagining fifty people sleeping on top of each other.

Mostly almost naked. Shivering. In temperatures of -30's.

Guess once who that silly guy is with the silly moustache?

That afternoon we went to the Redisson Blu hotel, and we got a tour and presentation about the hotel itself, before heading up to the famous Sky Line Bar. Some people had suggested doing that in the very beginning, for it being on the 26th floor gives one the perfect view for all over Latvia. I, however, thought it was a nice kind of "closure", seeing as most people were going home the next day. We had spent so much time in Rīga, we could point out some of the spots where we had been. So much fun.

This, sirs and ladies, is the presidential suite of Redisson Blu.

The outside of the SkyLine Bar. Again, at opening hours. (16.00)

Again. Ghost place.

The Panorama View from the SkyLine Bar.

We'd agreed that we'd end the week with a dinner all together at Rozengrals, a medieval themed restaurant, where waiters and waitresses dressed consistently serve you soup in stone chalices, and give you the bill in a wooden box with a crest.

The group had, however, heard that there was an ice hockey game to be played live, that same evening. Some wanted to go and see that, but not everyone was interested in that same activeness. Seeing as that dinner was going to be paid from the "budget", unlike most evenings, there was a certain.. hesitation about who was going to pay, and how. In the end, little Jessie got hold of the credit card and the password. Pretty neat, nay? I'm so reliable. It says so on my forehead +nodnod+

Everybody else gave me the same reaction when they found out : "Oh! Lets go shopping!"

When I'd heard that remark for the fifth time I responded with a "Yeah. That's why they gave /me/ the credit card." I know. I'm such a dull girl.

Rozengrals, Medieval Restaurant.

On the inside.

Part of the group. :3

Friday: No pictures.

Rather "slow" day, in comparison.

Big part of the group was packing, so I went with the only adults to the "shadier" part of Rīga: their "Black Market".. Bizarre place, really. Don't go there with cameras or in big groups. Don't look more out of place than necessary. Use your best Russian/Latvian.

I almost got sold a genuine kalashnikov. I just didn't have the money.

Nor do I think would Customs appreciate the thought.

Kelly, Everlina and I said goodbye to the rest of that group, and moved our stuff to our last accommodation of the week: Funky Hostel. Best place we'd had all week, although maybe that was because it was just the three of us. The two party animals actually hit the hay at 22.00, so I socialized and made friends with an American girl (Lindsay, sweet girl, awesome companion) and the Latvian Hostel manager (Freddie, enthusiastic about everything positive).

Note: Lindsay was doing this quick-tour-all-over-Europe. She'd already been to Germany and Lithuania, came to Latvia and was planning to go on to Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, and Holland before returning to Texas. (She's almost been to more countries than I have. Pfew. And I might have missed out on some.) Sadly I was kidnapped, drugged and performed surgery on on the day she was here in Holland. )= Otherwise I'd've gone to proudly tour her around or something. Lol. But yeah. My luck, huh? If I ever go to Chicago, though...!

Saturday started out slowly. We'd had a couple of long walks behind us and we were reloading. Kelly and Everlina wanted to check out a seven storey shopping mall, for which I excused myself immediately. I was not planning on spending an entire day shopping in Latvia. We've got shops in Holland, and I only go /there/ when I /need/ anything.

So I chartered Lindsay to go for some more culture sniffing *hah* (and more walking *sob*), which turned out to be a spiffing move on my part. We traded cameras, thus I could take plenty of pictures of her, and she plenty of lil ol'me. Good idea, if I say so myself.

We also (spontaneously, I might add) walked into the Museum of Latvian Art (all the way back to the middle ages?), which had an exposition on photography named "All around Latvia" (Hence the title, wink wink, nudge), of a photographer who had seriously been all around, and taken the pictures in Black and White, which inspired me to put my camera on that setting for the rest of the day. Lawl. Seriously brilliant. The two of us met up with Everlina and Kelly at the end of the afternoon. Mall turned out to be a serious failure. We had a drink together, and then scouted for a restaurant near the hostel.

Sitting there, playing all by himself. Poor guy.

Lindsay taking a picture of me taking a picture with her camera.

Totally had not noticed that. I look weird.

In the Museum.

The artist who made the biggest impression on me had his paintings in a "don't take photographs"room. Bugger.

Not sure why I liked this. The old man looked so sad.

I just laughed out loud at this.

Only one other creature will. Probably.

No offence though. I took the picture with love. :3

All Around Latvia.

Black and white Numero Uno.

Black and white Numero Dos.

Good food. Good place. Rather cute.

Our Hostel view.

Last day there was a Sunday. Last day we did anything, anyways.

We (Kelly, Everlina and I) went to Sigulda! :D Took the bus from Riga, and it brought us to Sigulda in roughly an hour. It was too warm for Latvian weather, I mean.. seriously.. I could've just gone to .. Italy or something. Pff.

Anyways. Sigulda's a little town based on forest, basically. With castle ruins, caves, churches and the like. Seeing as Everlina's got a fear of heights, we passed on the cable track ferries, and Kelly's got claustrophobia, so we also did not even try seeing the caves. We did have fun, though, and certainly made enough pictures to last us.. well, a long time of laughter.

Went back to Riga and found a burger (bah) place to eat something before heading back to the hostel and resting/freshening up a bit. Then we went to the Sky Line Bar for our "final goodbye" to Riga, Lindsay came along too! :) I even made a video of the panoramic lift going down. Notice Everlina's standing by the door a good way away from the glass. Poor girl. See through lifts are no good for fear of heights.

Central bus station at Riga.

Everlina taking my picture whilst I'm taking hers.

Two brilliant guards. Not too serious, though.

Snow in dah sun!

Sigulda at it's best.

Two churches in one picture. :)

A beautiful ruin.

Castle. With a British "ah".

My (virgin) Mojito in the Sky Line Bar.

Kept turning that song of the ad over and over in my head.

Tastes like something I had in Roastery (Egypt) years ago. :) - brought back memories.

Sky Line Bar -- and going down.

Last morning there, I'd packed and was ready, and went for one last quick walk around town with Lindsay whilst Kelly and Everlina got ready (showered and packed).

I finally found Riga's famous Cat's House. :) The one I'd bought a souvenir of days earlier.

That seriously made my trip complete.

If you've stuck with me this far, I take my hat off for you.

Of course, means you either skimmed or already are a faithful reader (in which case you are loved).

Updates on my current state in the next post. (Which will be soon. -as soon as I feel a bit better-Promise)

The Gypsy

All around Latvia (1)

2011-04-25T11:34:00.012+02:00

I remembered this morning that this was pretty much the reason I started a blog at all. Once upon a time, a long while ago, I thought it would be fun to keep track of my travels and post pictures online. I was still living in Egypt back then, and suddenly impatient to wait till I started traveling, I just went along and started typing. Which has worked out quite well for me, seeing as it's a brilliant way to vent.

However, whenever I do travel, I should probably give some sort of account on this blog.

Just to slightly keep the idea alive.

And because I just want to write about it. Hah. You hadn't seen that coming, had you?

I definitely haven't been "all around" Latvia, but I've seen pretty much every street in Riga, and we even went on two daytrips to the beach and forest.

Day one started out good. The weather was sunny, though chilly, and hundreds of Latvians welcomed us with a flashmob of blowing bubbles on the biggest square in the centre of Riga. That was defininitely fun to watch.

Bubble mob!

Jetlaggy (or just tired?), we only picked a place where to have breakfast for the next day, didn't do too much. Oh, and I started keeping a lookout for new shoes. I thought that'd be a good idea, seeing as I hadn't brought along my most comfortable ones. (Wait, do I have comfortable shoes at all? Probably not. Shoes aren't meant for comfort. Flip-flops, on the other hand... Anyways.)

The next day we moved to the hotel we had booked, which meant a change of rooms.

After that, we had a three hour walk with a theme: Architecture. Riga's one great place for art and architecture. Seriously. From Renaissance, Gothic, to Art Nouveau, from wooden houses till brick ones, from old to extremely modern, new and flashy. And all next to one another, so that the contrast showed even more. Same with Latvian people, by the way. It was either entirely slutty with too short skirts, too high heels, too much make-up, too much of a perfect hair-do, and too blond, or it was a fur-coat-that-covers-everything-even-with-the-sunshine. They just don't smile. They walk right into you, or stand on your foot, and don't apologize. Maybe I'm too Dutch, or just weird that I expect everyone to smile all day at complete strangers?

A symbol of people holding up a falling wall.

One of the WWII monuments for the jews and those who helped them out.

The Science Academy.

Or Stalin's Birthday Cake.

Zeppelin halls re-used.

An orthodox church.

Art nouveau?

Or just strong men ;)

Three different century styles alongside each other.

We walked into Espa (a spa, obviously) when it started to rain too heavily, and the people at the reception were friendly enough to give us an entire tour spontaneously. :) So they can be hospitable when they want to be. We ended our walk in a pancake restaurant. Good idea. :)

Just (two minutes) before all shops closed I bought myself a pair of (seemingly bowling) shoes. More comfortable than what I'd brought with. :)

The next morning we visited the Rīga zoo. We actually arrived before opening time, and that meant we got to see it as a ghost town. They've got a wide variety of animals, of which the kangeroos were the most surprising, and the tiger and giraffes the most impressive. They, however, had no elephants. Which zoo in the world doesn't have elephants, for crying out loud?

By noon we'd seen it all, and left for Rīga's Central Station, after which we took the train (three seats, more spacious then I'd expected) to Jūrmala, the widest beach (32 kms) of Latvia.

The Latvian train. Cute, nay?

Part of James' tour group -- Free Tours :)

We had a tour and saw some of the most important buildings there, visited a sort of place of a sect? They did things with herbs and summer solstices and believe in witches and seasons and karma and whatnot. Then our tour guides had thought up a game: We could walk that 5-6 kms we'd spend hours walking right back, in a competitive (rat) race, with several assignments and questions about the information they'd given us on the way, each correct assignment or answer scoring us bonus points.

Conclusion: Lots of ridiculous assignment pictures. Lots of walking. Lots of blisters.

Solstice. I find that hard to spell still.

Bright blue sky. Long walk. Motivated people.

On the way there, anyways. Walking back was a different story.

Says it all, really ;)

We only searched for a place to eat when we got back to Rīga, and I think we just spent the evening in each other's hotel rooms making a mess.

The next day we took fairly easy. We asked LiveRīga for a presentation, and they gave us that in a little room of Air Baltic. Cosy, modern and simple. And most importantly: Apple green. :)

The guy spent a lot of time hammering on the fact that Latvia's been hit by the economic crisis more badly than most countries, which triggered the story the guy at the zoo had mentioned: 20-30% of all Latvians have emmigrated in the past couple of years, most of them in their twenties and thirties, hoping to find a better future elsewhere (especially trying their luck in England and Ireland). That explains the abundance of elderly (usually smelling like garlic) in Latvia, and a minority of teenagers and children. And families at all, really.

It also explains the lack of laughter and smiling over there. A bit. Partly is probably just Russian/Soviet stoicism.

We visited a "real" Mall that afternoon, cause the group had thought up to go bowling somewhere. With real, I generally mean out-of-normal-proportions-mega-huga-über-fancy kind of mall that you walk in to and forget in what country you are, cause it's so characterlessly state of the art fashionable.

I'm pretty sure that paragraph had grammatical mishaps, but it also tells you I'm not a mall-girl whatsoever. For a mall though, the place was exceedingly pretty.

Pool?

Bowling. Bar. Karaoke. Video arcade.

They had it all.

Oh. And shops. As in.. Big name shops.

Bowling was fun, for bowling. It got rather tiring after an hour. And obvious who plays it a lot and who never does. It was more about the company I s'pose, than anything else.

That evening four of our group construct a little game of ZigZag across Rīga, where they'd left us several clues all over the city and had us running from one big monument to the other, till I actually started recognizing street names and remembering where which café was. Quite a record, for my poor memory. I think I could even type some street names out here, if I tried.

I wish I hadn't said that. Now I'm about to try.

Kaleju iela. Skunu iela. Skarnu iela. Karosjna Barova iela. Bivibas iela. :) There we go. Iela means street, by the way. First Latvian word I understood myself.

We ended that evening/night/morning all together in a club called Essentials. Seeing as it had been an entire day of teamwork and teambuilding, we figured, why not.

Pretty interesting to see how different people party differently. I won't over analyze it, partying should be a no brainer anyways, that's part of the fun. It definitely was our last outing as an entire group partying, that's for sure.

To be continued.... :)

The Gypsy

Day 30. A Picture of Someone You Miss

2011-04-24T18:08:00.002+02:00

It's been three years, come this May.

And I still miss her every day.

/rhyme.

The Gypsy

Ps: Stories on Riga coming soon! :)

Me and You.

2011-04-16T22:40:00.002+02:00

The Gypsy

Day 29. A Picture That Can Always Make You Smile

2011-04-09T01:26:00.002+02:00

No kidding.

Always works. :)

The Gypsy

Day 28. A Picture of Something You're Afraid of

2011-04-07T19:13:00.003+02:00

I think I fear fear.

And feel indignant when people tell me I'm afraid.

But I do fear loved ones dying.

I really do.

This is the least awful picture I have of death.

I'm pretty sadistic/masochistic. lol.

The Gypsy

Day 27. A Picture of You..

2011-04-05T13:03:00.003+02:00

.. And A Family Member.

Back from being gone ;)

Laptop needed a kick in the butt.

And that's one of the few pictures I have with just one other family member.

My sis, in this case. :)

Love,

The Gypsy

Day 26. A Picture of Something that Means A Lot To You

2011-03-26T23:47:00.002+01:00

The Gypsy

Day 25. A Picture of Your Favourite Day

2011-03-26T00:33:00.000+01:00

No kidding?
Really.

I have to pick one?
One? Out of the 8355 days I've lived?
Yes, I just looked that up. The site also told me my next birthday's in 45 days.
And that I'll have lived exactly 8400 days on that day. Incredible, nay?
I should start making a wishlist before I get stuck like.. well.. every year.

I've decided I don't believe in favourite memories and days and minutes and people.
I've decided I best enjoy and make every day better than the last.

Xx
The Gypsy

Day 24. A Picture of Something You Wish..

2011-03-24T22:04:00.002+01:00

.. You Could Change.

My gut instinct? Myself.

Option number two? The world.

I am still wondering very much how cliché this sounds.

Or rather, how much like a broken record.

But if I've always been a misanthropist, sometimes more than at other times.

And if I can't change the world and all the people in it, I'm going to have to change my view about it all. :)

The Gypsy

Day 23. A Picture of Your Favourite Book

2011-03-23T10:16:00.002+01:00

(...series)

The Gypsy

Day 22. A Picture...

2011-03-22T20:23:00.002+01:00

... Of Something You Wish You Were Better At.

Trusting.

Trusting people.

Believing they care.

Believing they have my interest at heart.

Believing they are being honest. True.

On a higher level (And a related note):

Xx
The Gypsy

Day 21. A Picture of Something..

2011-03-21T22:30:00.002+01:00

.. You Want to Forget.

Well, that makes no sense.

1. Why would I have a picture of it?

2. Why try to remember something I want to forget?

3. Why would I want to forget anything? Even painful moments? They only strengthen the feeling of good times and happiness.

One of my biggest fears would be Alzheimer's, at some point.

I don't want to forget anything.

Except maybe the taste of Chicory.

The Gypsy

Day 20. A Picture..

2011-03-21T22:12:00.003+01:00

.. Of Somewhere You'd Love to Travel..

Have you ever tried googling images for "Everywhere?"

You'd be amazed how.. surprising some of the pictures are.

But seeing as I'll be told it's my failure of choosing something.

And that this challenge is all a game.

And that if I post one thing it doesn't exclude the rest.

Here you go:

And that, dear people, is Antarctica. In case it needed that explanation. :3

The Gypsy

Day 19. A Picture and A Letter

2011-03-20T22:24:00.002+01:00

Dearly disliked CF,

You're something I've grown up with. Grown to live with.

Not in my own body, so not directly, but in my life.

You had to parasite yourself on two girls I dearly love and have favorited amongst my relatives in forever. And ever since I moved back to Holland, I've been sucked into that little world of yours ever more, met more people with you, known people to spend time and time in hospital because of you, seen people transplanted because of you, and watched people die because of you.

But not today. Today, we outran you.

With sponsoring, t-shirts with logo's of "I Outrun CF", CF-monkeys being sold, and give or take forty or fifty CF-outrunners, with Djuna, a transplanted awesomely cheerful girl, in the lead.

Today, we proved that you're beatable, in a way. Because though you influence the lives of these people and all those around them, you don't make them who they are.

They're bigger than you. Stronger than you. They're all winners, one by one.

Sincerest regards,

The Gypsy

Day 18. A Picture of Your Biggest Insecurity

2011-03-18T21:11:00.001+01:00

Easy one.

Me.

The Gypsy

Day 17. A Picture of Something

2011-03-17T22:53:00.005+01:00

.. That has Made a Huge Impact on Your Life Recently.

I find this a very challenging topic.

Something? meaning I can't refer to a living creature?

Recently? Last couple of days, a week, month, or months?

I think, though, that Self Reflection is what has had the biggest impact, in general.

Emotions have had a big impact as well, and talks, and analyzing, and people, and events, and travels and meetings and classes, but that's all life, isn't it?

I think I like getting to know myself better. Knowing my flaws to work on them, knowing my qualities and use them, to know my challenges and allergies. Yes, I've been trying out the Core Quadrant game of Ofman's. So sue me.

The Gypsy

Day 16. A Picture of Someone Who Inspires You

2011-03-16T23:34:00.003+01:00

To live your life so burdened by something out of your hands..

And yet stay so positive. Enjoying life to the fullest.

Living by the day and yet planning a future.

Being bright. Laughing a lot. Being an optimist.

It inspires me.
I want to be that strong.

I take my (figurative) hat off to these two girls :)

The Gypsy

PS: That's without mentioning the fact that they are incredibly smart, well-read, have a sense of humor and are beautiful. :)

PPS: They're my cousins. In case you didn't catch on.

Viewer's perspective: Judith's on the left, Tamara's on the right.

Day 15. A picture of something..

2011-03-15T23:37:00.003+01:00

.. you want to do before you die.

Lol. One of many:

The Gypsy

Day 14. A Picture of Someone

2011-03-14T11:51:00.003+01:00

.. You Could Never Imagine Your Life Without.

For the light version, see Day 9.

Seeing as people who help me through crap are people I obviously need in my life.

For the heavy version I'd have to mention a motto of mine:
Always and Never are two words you should always remember never to use.

Case in point: I have imagined my life without anybody.

The image haunts me quite often.

Why do you think I tend to be a depressed pessimist .. frequently? xD

Luckily, reality's not as bad :)

The Gypsy

PS: See? No-pictures is balancing out the Lots-of-pictures in some posts. Maybe they'll be only 30 pictures in 30 days after all. :)

Day 13. A Picture of your Favourite..

2011-03-14T00:58:00.003+01:00

.. Band or Singer.

Yeah... I'm not one for favourites.

I thought we had established that point last September when I last did a blog challenge?

And definitely not when music or movies are concerned, seeing as my options are quite limited. I like specific songs, or maybe an entire album, like I think a movie's really good, not the actors per se..

But, if I must choose:

Phil Collins it is, then.

The Gypsy

Day 12. A Picture of Your..

2011-03-12T22:08:00.003+01:00

.. Favourite Memory

I almost forgot about blogging today, haha.

And that when I really haven't been busy today, technically.

Aren't all pictures good memories? Or most of them, anyways?

I don't think my favourite memory has pictures to prove it.

But maybe that's the best part of it :)

The Gypsy

Day 11. A Picture of Something You Hate

2011-03-11T13:53:00.003+01:00

Hate?

Such a strong word.

I whine and dislike a lot of things..

20 minutes later, I'm still skimming pictures on my pc.

I gave up hope that I'll find something.

Either because I don't take pictures of hated things, or because most of the things I hate are immaterial. (Read: Lies, Deception, Anger, Warmth - as in temperature, and the list goes on.)

The only picture fitting here would be:

I hate Hate itself. And haters.

Like I fear fear.

The Gypsy

Day 10. A Picture of Your Most Treasured Item

2011-03-10T14:33:00.003+01:00

A new resolution of this challenge'll be just seriously one picture (maybe two, tops) per topic.

Else the challenge might as well be called "130 pictures, 30 days"..

I can't pick favourites easily. My own sense of appreciation of everything good just won't allow it.

Choosing's way way difficult for me.

Not just choosing pictures.

Back on topic: That's a tough one. (Hah. What is new?) I'm not the most materialistic creature on earth and I could do without most things. I prize my books beyond almost anything else I own, but then again, that's not "one item".

So...

There you have it.

Not because I can't do without my laptop itself, but because it links me to a big part of my life, of my world, of my being.

And that's what I treasure most, after all. Friends and family.

The Gypsy

Day 9 - A picture of you and..

2011-03-09T23:15:00.015+01:00

.. the person who has gotten you through the most.

The most what?

Because if it's crap, seriously, it's been several people, in several different times.

Different phases of severe depression.

Some people still drag me through those pessimistic moments. Some I've lost touch with. Some come and go. But I appreciate all the friendship and help and love offered.

Part of me wants to post a lot of pictures.

But I don't want to forget anyone?

So I'm going to make an attempt.

And do apologize up front for anyone who feels left out.

Thanks. Really.

The Gypsy

Day 8. A Picture Of Your Queen

2011-03-08T22:25:00.003+01:00

Now, isn't that a coincidence?

I happened to have taken a picture of our queen with my own camera.

Say hello to Beatrix van Oranje.

In case this "Queen"thing was meant as a double entendre... too bad.

I've caught a cold. I feel crappy. I'm not going to think about anything deeply after this heavy (yet productive) day. xD

I mean, she even waved at me before getting in her car. Nuff said.

The Gypsy

PS: Because I reminded myself of it and now I'm DYING to quote it "You know, these clothes do not flatter you at all. It should be a dress, or nothing. I happen to have no dress in my cabin." -Jack Sparrow.

Pfffew. /relief.

Quoting's like Tourette's to me.

Day 7. A Picture of a Person..

2011-03-07T23:07:00.002+01:00

... you do the most messed up things with.

Wait.

Me?

Messed up things?

Nebah!

n.n;;

Used to. Mind.
She doesn't do messed up things anymore, clean sheet. :)

The Gypsy

Newcastle

2011-03-06T21:33:00.015+01:00

Seeing as I'm not smothering everyone with enough pictures as it it, *cough* sarcasm *cough* I've decided I might as well be enthusiastically blogging about the trip to Newcastle Judith and I went on roughly ten days ago!

It was brilliant.

Ice-cold in Holland, so that I woke up, looked at the sky, and told it it might as well snow, for all the cold it had been giving us.

At the train station, standing there with a bag, I was suddenly showered in little white flakes I hadn't seen since the end of last year.

So happy! :D

Tad sad I was leaving, I mean, seriously? Universe? Not cool.

It was wonderfully sunny in England, though. Very spring-like. Also very nice. :)

And it made my companion a lot more cheerful than she would have been had it snowed. So yeah. It worked both ways ;)

We did spend more time on the boat than Newcastle itself, mind!

Quite a boat, too. It was like a wobbly hotel on water.

I do now totally understand and sympathize with the way Jack Sparrow walks on land.

I was doing a rather good imitation, if I say so myself.

Everybody else on the boat was either English, just back from a few days of Amsterdam, (ie. Space-cake, and the Red-light district ) or Dutch and ready to go shopping the hell out of that little town. Luckily, the M-genes need some cultural sniffing as well.

We went to the Travel Info center, went to a coffee shop to figure out what we were going to do that day, walked all the way to Gateshead, passing Castle's Keep on the way, the castle where Newcastle gets it's name, admiring Newcastle's big (and different) bridges, looked into a couple of shops in Gateshead, took a bus to the Angel of the North, took the bus all the way back to Eldon's Square after we were dead tired, and slowly walked our way (through the market) back to the train station, where the bus would take us back to the Port of Tyne.

A few facts about people from Newcastle:

- They think everything more than a ten minute walk is "Not Walkable".

- Geordie (their accent) is quite as unmanageable as Scottish.

- They do not articulate.

- They drink to get drunk.

- They get drunk very easily.

- They are quite obnoxious when drunk. (Very girl-unfriendly. Or rather, girl too-friendly?)

- Those we asked for directions were very friendly and helpful.

Lots of walking around on the cruise as well. And we danced, ate cake with two girls we had met on the way there, and all in all had a wonderful few days.

Our bodies did, however, beg us for some vegetables the day we arrived, both of us not really looking forward to the pancakes in Judith's refrigerator.

And now, those long-waited for pictures, Enjoy!

DFDS- Ijmuiden to the Port of Tyne ;)

At the train station; Newcastle.

Biggest chocolate cookie I've ever eaten. No wonder British people are so f.. Uhm. Nevermind. n.n;;

Judith at the entrance of Castle's Keep

It's almost Inception-like.

Newcastle's bridges.

The Angel of the North.

The Angel and Us.

One of the ugliest things I've ever seen.

Can you see the cars /on/ the roof? Hah.

See you later, England, darling.

We did decide it was worth another trip.

Next time, though, we'll go for a few more days, and take a trip to Scotland, and to Harry Potter's Alnwick's Castle :)

The Gypsy

Day 6. A Picture That Makes You Laugh

2011-03-06T19:08:00.004+01:00

Seeing as the picture that makes me laugh most's a picture I won't post here,

I'll take the first one following it.
This one doesn't just make me laugh: it makes me smile tenderly.

Pluisje, trying to connect to my guinea pig; Prince.

She just somehow thought standing on her head'd make her feel more comfortable.

Good times. :)

I also have a picture of her opting to sit in the oven.

Just as hilarious.

The Gypsy

Day 5 - A picture of something you love

2011-03-05T16:31:00.003+01:00

I love plenty of things.

Just that you can't take a picture of them; most are immaterial.

Try taking a picture of life, for example.

But I do know this:

I love hugs.

According to my aunt, I'm like this most of the time:

So yeah..

The Gypsy

Day 4 - A picture of something you'd like to do again

2011-03-05T00:26:00.004+01:00

Two things.

Because it's honestly a tie.

I've never felt more naturally gifted than I did on horseback (and was told I had that natural talent, as well).

And that day they pleaded with me to fall in for a girl who'd (sadly) had a burn-out, I had to know my script within three days, act a part and sing a solo as well, I'm still very glad I said yes.

And neither's impossible, really.

I just have to /do/ it.

The Gypsy

Day 3 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show

2011-03-03T23:39:00.004+01:00

Seeing as I am not so much a regular TV-watcher, this was kind of a tough one for me.

When others watch things I can usually just join them.

I'll just post the three casts I can appreciate a lot when the TV happens to be on?

Bones. :3

House. :3

How I Met Your Mother. :3

There's one apparent "genre" here, though all are completely different.

Dry humor.

Dark humor.

And Silly humor.

In that order.

The Gypsy

Day 2 - A picture of you and the person...

2011-03-02T22:58:00.004+01:00

... you have been closest with the longest.

Well. That one's easy.

Till I moved out, and thus practically all my life thus far, that's been mum.

It's her genes mainly that made me who I am.

(Nature vs. Nurture. She's provided both.)

The M-genes. :)

It's her side that gave me a wonderful open-minded family.

Sweetest and smartest woman on this planet.

The Gypsy

Day 1. A Picture of Yourself with Ten Facts

2011-03-01T22:31:00.009+01:00

Sure. Let's start with the toughest, shall we? lol

Me:

Fact #1 : I don't believe compliments half as easily as I believe criticism. Also, I have severe trust issues.

Fact #2: My self-bashing once started out as mere self-criticism that went overboard.

Fact #3: I have a lot of flaws, and a lot of talents. I stress the former, and tend to forget the latter.

Fact #4: I breathe, eat, and sleep books. I cannot focus as much/long on anything else (be it a movie, songs, classes or chatting/talking to friends and family).

Fact #5: I am probably one of the most open-minded creatures you'll ever meet.

Fact #6: I consider being called a Human Being an insult. I'm weird that way.

Fact #7: I prefer animals to people most of the time. There are very few kids I get along with at all.

Fact #8: I'm easily addicted. I'm a brunette.. Apparently that typically means an addictive personality. I can blame my genes.

Fact #9: I'm Xenophilic. And Culture-philic. And hungry for all knowledge and languages and science.

Fact #10: I have yet to pick a picture to post with this. This will probably take up to ten minutes of staring, hesitating and changing my mind.

The Gypsy

A New Blog Challenge

2011-03-01T22:16:00.002+01:00

I found it!

A new topic series challenge to follow.

Pictures!

Thank you, Jazz! :)

"Adapted from Azza.

Day 1 - A picture of yourself with ten facts
Day 2 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest
Day 3 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show
Day 4 - A picture of something you'd like to do again
Day 5 - A picture of something you love
Day 6 - A picture that makes you laugh
Day 7 - A picture of the person you do the most messed up things with
Day 8 - A picture of your queen
Day 9 - A picture of you and the person who has gotten you through the most
Day 10 - A picture of your most treasured item
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate
Day 12 - A picture of your favorite memory
Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist
Day 14- A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die
Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you
Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity
Day 19 - A picture and a letter
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget
Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at
Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book
Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change
Day 25 - A picture of your favourite day
Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you
Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member
Day 28- A picture of something you're afraid of
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile
Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss"

The Gypsy

Jokes to Robble

2011-02-27T23:03:00.002+01:00

- According to etiquette, men do it while standing, ladies do it seated, and dogs do it with one leg raised. That's right, it's a handshake.

- A blonde and a redhead are watching the 6 o'clock news. A man was shown threatening to jump from a Bridge. The blonde bet the redhead $50 that he wouldn't jump.

Sure enough, he jumped, so the blonde gave the redhead the $50 she owed. The redhead said: "I can't take this, you're my friend." The blonde said: " No A bets a bet."

So the redhead said, "Listen I have to admit I saw this one on the 5 o'clock news, so I can't take your money."

The blonde replied: "Well, so did I, but I never thought he'd jump again!"

- Boy: Do you have a pen?

Girl: Yeah, here you go.

Boy: Umm..its out of ink.

Girl: What?

Boy: It doesn't work.

Girl: Are you sure?

Boy: Don't believe me? Fine, you try it... Go on, write your cell phone number right here....

- *Listening to your iPod*

Friend: What're you listening to?

You: This song *Passes headphones*

Friend: This song's old -__-

You: SO?! YOUR MUM'S OLD BUT YOU STILL LISTEN TO HER!

Friend: ...

- The lesbians next door asked me what I would like for my birthday.

I was quite surprised when they gave me a Rolex.

It was very nice of them, but I think they misunderstood me when I said "I wanna watch".

- Five Deadly Words Used By A Women:

#1:Fine:This is the word women used to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

#2:Nothing:This means something, and you should be wary.

#3:Go Ahead:This is a dare, not permission. Don't do it!

#4:Whatever:Is a woman's way of saying F- YOU!

#5:That's okay: Means she wants you to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will

-Someone hacked into a blonde's computer account. The password was: MickeyGoofyPlutoDaisyCinderellaShrekDonkeyFionaWashingtonD.C. When asked why she had such a long password she replied that she was told it had to have at least eight characters and one capital.

- If I sleep to much, my parents complain. If I don’t get enough sleep, my parents complain. If I eat too much, my parents complain. If I don’t eat enough, my parents complain. If I’m always in my room, my parents complain. If I go out too much, my parents complain. I CAN’T WIN.

- When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered that ballpoint pens would not work in zero gravity. To combat the problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion to develop a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to 300°C. The Russians used a pencil.

- ADDED TO DICTIONARY:

Mubarak(v.): To stick something, or to glue something. Example: "I will punch you and Mubarak you to the wall" OR "you can Mubarak the pieces to hold them together"

Mubarak (adj.): Slow to learn or understand. Example: "Why do you have to be so mubarak?!"

Mubarak (n.): A psychotic ex-girlfriend who fails to understand it's over

- Your car is Japanese. Your Vodka is Russian. Your pizza is Italian. Your kebab is Turkish. Your democracy is Greek. Your coffee is Brazilian. Your movies are American. Your beers are German. Your shirt is Indian. Your oil is Saudi Arabian. Your electronics are Chinese. Your numbers are Arabic, and your letters Latin. And you complain that your neighbor is an immigrant? Pull yourself together! like if you're against racism!

The Gypsy

The Irony

2011-02-18T12:09:00.002+01:00

Now that everything has calmed down, I've noticed more and more ironies in this thing.

I've never been particularly fond on politics, like I've never been very interested in numbers, yet I seem to be following politics without any trouble, reminding me of the first time I scored a 50 out of 50 for Algebra and Statistics. Good times.

Egypt's never been very clean. People don't seem to care that they litter the street.

Now, there's been a few weeks of people not going to work, because they were busy protesting, busy standing up for Mubarak, busy trying to keep out from stress. So even the waste collectors stopped doing their job, which resulted in garbage in the streets and on piles being worse than ever. Now, seeing as even in winter times the weather is about 20º C out there, that means there's probably smells of rotting all over the place.

There was a whole group of volunteers (some of whom I know personally) in Alexandria, for example, who tried cleaning other people's rubbish. Now, suddenly everybody is going on about the litter, and there's the "Keep Egypt Clean" motto everywhere.

Also, in the beginning of this wonderful revolution, the entire government and army were so scared they blocked all forms of (social) media and communications otherwise. There was no twitter, no Facebook, after that they just cut off the entire internet, took down the mobile provider satellites and all tv-channels with an even slightly correct version of the truth, and watched the landlines like hawks. Now, people are getting frequent (daily) updates from the "Armed Forces" about how things are, that everything's safe and back to normal.

For some people though, it won't ever be "normal" again.

There's irony in when someone tells you that they have bad news, the first thing you think of is disease or death, unless you already in a situation that'll have a good/bad outcome. Then this someone tells you it's about someone who died, and your head will immediately make a list of all possibilities, which'll be crossed out as you ask, or when you hear.

It wasn't any of the ones I had in mind.

Unexpected blow, and a way of increasing your worry about that list you made in your head.

Mr. Adel, an ex-ex-neighbour (we moved first, then they moved, too. We still keep in touch though. Good people.) of ours, died roughly ten days ago. He couldn't handle the stress of Alexandria, and the country and people he loved, getting into such a position as badly as it was two weeks ago, had a brain hemorrhage, there were no ambulances working to take him, and after they'd gotten him to the Military Hospital where the doctors said that he'd be okay after taking a CT-scan, went into a coma within three hours and died two days later.

I couldn't believe it when I heard.

Part of me still doesn't, really. It's so far away, yet so damn close.

I feel it worst of all for his widow, one of the sweetest women in the world, and his two children.

Wish I could just, give them a big hug.

-------------

On a completely different note: I haven't been reading.

I haven't been able to concentrate enough to really like whatever I'm trying to read. (Big surprise there, right?)

I'm only on my fourth book since January. And guess what? That means I'm reading roughly two books a month. Which'll result in me having read 24 books by December. Which means I'll read even less than I did last year..

I better get into some kind of faster pace, else that's one wish/hope/want/fact/resolution down the drain. xD

The Gypsy.

So He Quit...

2011-02-11T21:17:00.005+01:00

I can't help it.

It looks like Mecca.

But then more colourful.

Yesterday, the entire day was in the light of Mubarak's speech he was going to give in the evening, his own resignation. Everybody was looking forward to it, everybody was breathing victory that wasn't theirs yet..

Only I kept shrugging, not convinced. I was not going to believe it until I actually heard it, I'd decided. Last night, after remembering I hadn't eaten all day and had to cook for myself (there's my concentration alright..) I got a call from mum's friend, if I was on the edge of the couch waiting for Mubarak's speech like everyone else.

I wasn't.

I just heard an explanation of somebody who analyzed it all, comparing what has happened the past 19 days to a world-wide soap. Every day, something new would happen, every day the tension grew, and sometimes good news happened, sometimes it didn't.

Mubarak would keep prolonging, delaying, in the hope people would get bored and zap away.

The people demonstrating would do everything in their might to keep the whole world included, for their support, and every day would end with an actual cliffhanger. (Tomorrow, day of liberation. Tomorrow, day of anger. Tomorrow, day of freedom, Tomorrow, day of... )

Yesterday, after all they were hoping for, they had to deal with an immense disappointment of him not resigning. The crowd was like a hord of angry bees.

Today, Omar Sulaiman called in a conference to say Mubarak has stepped aside.

The first reaction was quiet disbelief (at least on my part). In the Tahrir Square, they are now celebrating as if Egypt was reborn.

Of course, this is just the beginning.

My second feeling, after the initial disbelief, was "Now what?"

Egypt's laws aren't equipped for democracy. Egypt's people have been told what to do by dictators for ever so long. Egypt's political elites doesn't have a very refreshing idea of what to do next, and the army, who is now "ruling"it, isn't going to do for the Egyptians.

There's an American politician involved in some way, too, and of course, the entire political world is getting involved over this. Only, the problem is, these Western countries are offering Western solutions, which won't fit in Egypt. The Arabic world would offer Arab solutions, which, really, aren't fit for Egypt either. It's a country that's somewhere in between, trying (and more often than not failing) to combine the best of both worlds. What Egypt really needs is a leader who understands all that, and can manage it in a way where most people (because everybody is impossible) are happy.

I'm thinking they'd also need to digitalize this.

How else are you going to count the votes of about 45 million people (assuming half? of Egypt's underage and can't vote yet) fairly?

So he quit..

It's the first step of many..

But at least it's a step, and Egypt's actually going somewhere.

The Gypsy

More Egypt in the news.

2011-02-08T21:50:00.003+01:00

Another venting update for those who it concerns or are even slightly interested:

Internet is back in the land of the "Future Pharaohs".

And, seeing as they need money because they've got mouths to feed, they're trying to pick up going back to their lives, their jobs. Demonstrations are still going strong, though there're a fair few who stood up on Mubarak's side (whether they were paid to do it remains the question), and those who are genuinely sick and tired of all the chaos, and want their lives to go back to "normal".

Even those demonstrating are now divided between people who are alright with Mubarak staying till his term ends at the end of this year, which he announced in his latest "trying-to-win-back-the-Egyptians" speech, and the people who are still refusing even this, shouting their lungs out, even with the danger of their own lives, just to get him to step aside, go into exile or jump off a cliff.

I'm a supporter of any of the three.

The worst thing that happened in the past few days was the speech the Vice President Omar Sulaiman gave, though. In it, he accused foreigners of siding with "Israel and those Jews", either for creating the chaos, or for spying on Egyptians for the Jews.

This resulted in an immediate, palpable, change:

Foreigners, even those that have lived in Egypt for years, generally liked, respected and over all revered, are now either ignored or treated with animosity by a lot of people, by looks, but sometimes by threats, shouts, name-calling. A friend of my mother's has been told to bugger off to her own country, and a friend has been "arrested" and "roughed up" for a few days, blindfolded and all.

Seeing as this is /the/ most alarming development thus far, I don't know how to give things a place. People asking me how I am under this, how my family is, and people telling me not to worry. Even those in Egypt themselves. It's confusing. It's worrying.

But yeah. There you are.

That's life.

And shit happens.

The Gypsy

Tears..

2011-02-03T15:08:00.004+01:00

I always believed that tears had healing powers.
That, when you cried, you felt relieved afterwards.

But, since I watched that stupid professor give his interview, about why you cry, and if it helps, I've become confused. Apparently, you feel the relief only when there is somebody around to comfort you. Then, it's the presence and support that comforts, not the tears. That it's company that chases away the hopeless feeling, pain or hunger, not the tears.

That you can use tears to manipulate and get your way. That tears are only for protection of those nearest you so they feel even more caring, eminating a sense of responsibility in any neutral person to protect you, and persuading someone with evil intentions to ease up on them.

Last night, I could say I cried myself to sleep. Only I didn't. Sleep would not come.

I cried till I had no tears left, and then got confused over why I didn't feel relieved. (Thank you very much, prof.) Am I that easily influenced? Somebody (Anybody) says something, and I immediately change my mind about it? Or was it just that my situation at that given time hadn't improved by crying. I found that I still rigidly believe crying can help, though. Just you. Not because of your surroundings, or your need to persuade anyone of anything. That it might relieve, makes you vent at least, and start seeing things in perspective.

But who knows?

I might be wrong.

Xx
The Gypsy

Spanish!

2011-02-01T13:10:00.002+01:00

Classes started! :)

And I am (proudly) not that rusty as I thought I was.

I thought I'd slack, for some reason.

Course, I still might.

But I'm not counting on that.

I'm counting on both my motivation and self-discipline.

And I'm motivated to learn Spanish, alright! :D

Yesterday was the first class:

I learned to count to veinte (20), tried memorizing the Spanish alphabet,

and learned the most important question needed when learning Spanish:

¿Qué significa...?

¿Qué es... ? (But this one I knew x3)

Yeeees.

I will get there.

+Motivated+

Hurray!

On an entirely unrelated note: Egypt Update:

Landlines are reachable in Egypt, sometimes. Mobiles and internet are still down.

Trains and other transportation is now down.

Criminals out of several (big) prisons have broken out and are roaming around.

(Dutch) Tourists are being called/hauled back for the instability and danger.

People there for work are also being brought back.

All flights to Egypt are cancelled.

Meaning, their biggest income: Tourism, will be collapsing at least for a short while.

They're going to have to "heal" from this, with any outcome..

The Gypsy

Mubarak, Game Over.

2011-01-29T12:29:00.003+01:00

Egypt is a true chaos at the moment.

Since January the 25th, Egyptians all over (but mainly in Cairo) have been demonstrating.

For a country of freedom.

60% of the Egyptians are younger than 30 years old, and about 20% of those can't find a job.

They're sick of the so called democracy that got a thousand demonstrators locked up this past week.

They're sick of the poverty they live it.

And they're sick of the corruption that has been going on forever.

in 1950s and 1960s, Egypt (Cairo and Alexandria, at least) were thriving in luxury.

They had it better than most Western (European) countries.

Where did it go wrong?

Since January the 25th, the government has blocked Twitter, seeing as that was the number one social media people were called to demonstrate on.

Two days later they blocked Facebook totally.

And today, trying hard as I might to reach my Mother, siblings and friends over there, I've discovered they've blocked the entire internet, as well as taken down all satellites for mobile providers.

Last night landlines were still intact. Who knows how long /that/ will take.

Last night, just before I went to bed, Mubarak said a "few words" to his people.

He had fired his entire government, and was going to appoint a totally new one, today.
He promised "more" freedom.

The idiot.

Seeing as the country doesn't have any freedom (read: 17 people got killed and a thousand were arrested only this week, during this revolution), that doesn't say much.

And luckily, the crowd isn't buying it.

I'm numb enough about Egypt to say that I don't care what the result is.

I don't give much of a damn, either way.

I just do give a shite about some people there. Friends and family. And not being able to reach them is getting on my nerves. Perhaps more than I'll ever admit.

Though it'd be better if those leading the revolution got their wishes, and the country helped the poor, and democracy is actually allowed.. I mean, I'm all for what they're fighting for.

No clue what'll happen next.

Who will win.

Because if Mubarak does, Egypt'll be worse off than they were a week ago.

One thing I do know for certain, though:
Egypt is writing history.

The Gypsy.

Compliments to you.

2011-01-25T13:47:00.002+01:00

Compliments strengthen your ego.

Compliments that are sincere, anyways.

The magic a smile on the face of the receiver, and that's the best part, really, isn't it?

I've received quite a few this week, and now it's my turn.
I want to thank everybody who is there for me when I need it.

Because you're great. As in, fantastic.

As in, I never ever ever want to lose any of you. Ever.

Sincerely,

The Gypsy

"Wolf"..

2011-01-20T22:17:00.004+01:00

He cried "Wolf".

You know.

When people think they know you..

They start to guess at what the motivation of anything you do is.

They guess at your character. Your personality. Your soul.

And you put a lot of soul into art.

I do, anyways.

Serious (be it amateur or professional) artists usually do.

"Looks a bit like a scene from Harry Potter" is the commentary I've had on this one.

More than once, one unheard by the other.

:) I don't mind. Though I don't think Lupin was quite my first thought, when I wanted to paint a dark night with a full moon.

Coincidentally, it's been full moon last night, and tonight it shines quite as bright and round.

I like full moons. They make me smile and stare and make my thoughts wander.

When my aunt said something about it being my "dog", I giggled. Couldn't help thinking of Sirius Black, now, could I, with all the Harry Potter references already thrown my way.

Either way, it wasn't meant as a werewolf.

Though I like them, I lean more towards the more magical folk, or vampires.

I do howl at the full moon, mind. When I think nobody's around to hear me.

The Gypsy

Suggestions, anyone?

2011-01-11T17:29:00.004+01:00

Seeing as I've been condemned (by myself, mainly) to rest since Saturday evening, I've been looking around for things to do that require no effort, but are fun all the same.

Reading is part of that, of course.

Here's to breaking some sort of record by either amount of books in 2011 or by level of quality.

Or both. ;D

Watching movies is for when my ADHD won't let me read quietly.

I need a seriously captivating something for me to focus, and how awesome some books and movies are, most of the time they won't even tempt me to concentrate fully.

The movie I watched Saturday night totally did though.

Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain.

Wow. What a fabulously lovely movie.

As schizophrenic and analytic as I can get, deeply philosophical and sometimes incredibly shallow. Amélie definitely reminded me of myself.

No. It wasn't just her dark eyes and hair. (Should I get it cut like hers?)

It was the fact that she's entirely nuts. But very intelligent.

She analyzes anything and everything, but doesn't care about moral issues if she tries to manipulate something for their own good.

+deep content sigh+ Most of all, after watching it, I just wanted to go to Paris and take lots of pictures. Not necessarily in that order.

It moved itself into myself and immediately into my top three best movies ever. :)

Sunday, Freeke, Judith and I watched Fantasia.

You know, the third Disney movie ever? 1940.

First experimental Disney movie ever? :3 That one.

There's no real story. Just visualizations on some of the world's most famous (classical) music of Bach, Vivaldi en Tchaikovsky -among others-.

I'd never seen it before, and people kept on judging it as boring.

So I'd made up my mind that I'd watch it anyways, boring or not.

But it was lovely. Very relaxing to watch. Very funny at points, touching at others.

So yes:

Suggestions. Anything.

Books. Movies. Songs. Music.

They just have to be really really good.

The Gypsy

An Actual Resolution.

2011-01-07T11:50:00.005+01:00

I forgot about mentioning this one last time.

Or well, I remembered right after I posted.

But the thing is, this isn't so much a "want".

So it wouldn't have fitted in last time.

I AM going to read more books this year than in 2010.

Seeing as that was a pathetic handful (not literally, I'd say they were about an arm-full 30 books orso, but that's pathetic for my standard, still) that can't be too hard to do.

That's not a want.

That's a fact.

First come all those unread ones in my bookcase.

And I'll look around for tips and must-reads at all times.

Shoot as many suggestions my way as you can. I'll put them on the list. :)

The Gypsy

PS: Happy birthday, mum. (L) Even though it's been a few days, I felt the urge to post that. :)

Two Thousand and Eleven. :)

2011-01-04T23:45:00.005+01:00

After several long/short talks,

A lot of reflection,

A lot of nightmares,

A lot of dreams,

A lot of loneliness and boredom in weeks where the house wasn't swamped with people,

I've figured out I need to do something.

Or rather. A lot of little somethings.

I need goals.

Aspirations.

Here's the idea:

I want to like myself. More than I do now.

I want to have self-confidence.

I want an ego I can boast of (;D /punintended) but in a way that I won't be obnoxious.

I want to let negative commentary go, to let it slip off my back like water of a duck's, and only be guided by the positive and the constructive to improve.

I have to be able to live like a hermit.

Not because I want to, or aspire to.

But because that way I'm not crushed when a friend calls to cancel a plan.

When anything pops up. Comes in the way.

When things happen I myself have no say in or control over.

I want to pick up a hobby or ten.

Sports. (-Ice- Skating? Swimming? Maybe something that won't cost me so much?)

Music. (Piano. Guitar. Let's just start with those two)

Art. (Drawing. Painting. Maybe learn something new)

Literature. (Reading. And WRITING. I need to finish my book some day, damnit.)

Dance. (Or is that a sport?)

There's plenty I love.

I just need to /do/ it.

I want to spend more time socializing to train myself.

Not because I need to know that I can live like a hermit means I have to do that when there's no reason to.

And I don't mean just with close friends, either.

I just want to be able to be properly good at it.

I need to be able to recognize that my face is in a constant dark/frowning position unless I concentrate on it not to be. Unfocused me looks grumpy, apparently.

Instead, it should just be smiling. Because it can.

I need to do it all healthily.

No point in doing all that and falling sick every two weeks.

There's no point in falling sick at all.

My body should learn to behave.

And restrict itself to maybe one cold a year.

I want to learn. Maybe pick up a few classes.

I've wanted to learn Spanish for a long time, I only know a handful of words.

Now is my chance. That's what I'm going to do.

I want to improve my German. So that I not only understand everything that is being said, but so that I can actually communicate. Express myself. Fluently. Without lapsing back to English or Dutch. That's what I'm going to work on.

I want no-good reasons to celebrate.

Not just on birthdays, or weddings, but just randomly.

To twirl around happily for no reason.

Like Luna Lovegood. -There it is. My obsessive loving reference. You should've seen that coming :)-

I want to take my wants seriously.

It's why I'm not labeling them as resolutions.

I might have mentioned this before (go check last year, I dare yah) but resolutions have a negative ring to them. They are set, then worked on fiercely for about 6 weeks, then totally dropped. Forgotten about for a year, until people try again.

And the standard resolutions are quitting smoking and losing weight anyways. I need neither.

I want to realistically say that my resolutions probably won't last until the end of February.

But my "wants" will. Because I'll still want it.

And the only thing I have to do is to concentrate on achieving them.

And this I have from a friend: By taking babysteps, why shouldn't I be able to achieve them?

Achieve all I want.

I don't need to rush anything. I don't need to do a 150 kms per hour on a highway to end up crashing into someone else, or a tree.

I don't need deadlines. I don't need to be anywhere specific at the end of 2011.

I just need to start. Get the engine running. Wander off. And see where I'll be at in roughly 360 days.

And I know I started almost every paragraph with an "I".

But for once, I need to focus on my own needs. Be a bit more selfish.

I'll still be there for friends and family alike, 24/7.

But I need to give myself a break when I'm not needed.

Otherwise, there are several plans, which, if I type them out, they might not happen.

So I'm carefully paranoid about them.

They've got to do with visits, though~

And moving~

Here's to a brilliant 2011. I'm sure it will be. :)

The Gypsy

The Reason -

2011-01-03T20:58:00.001+01:00

I'm not a perfect person

There's many things I wish I didn't do

But I continue learning

I never meant to do those things to you

And so I have to say before I go

That I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me

To change who I used to be

A reason to start over new

and the reason is you

I'm sorry that I hurt you

It's something I must live with everyday

And all the pain I put you through

I wish that I could take it all away

And be the one who catches all your tears

Thats why i need you to hear

I've found a reason for me

To change who I used to be

A reason to start over new

and the reason is You

and the reason is You [x3]

I'm not a perfect person

I never meant to do those things to you

And so I have to say before I go

That I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me

To change who I used to be

A reason to start over new

and the reason is you

I've found a reason to show

A side of me you didn't know

A reason for all that I do

And the reason is you

-- Hoobastank

I love this song.

And another one but I can't remember it right now.

I'll post it later =D

The Gypsy

2011

2010-12-31T23:26:00.002+01:00

Just a quick post, a long list of resolutions later:

I wish you all the happiest, healthiest and best year you've had so far, ever!

I'm definitely going to make this decade the best yet.

Starting fresh.

Healthy.

Happy.

Every little thing is gonna be alright.

The Gypsy

Sinful Boredom.

2010-12-29T14:49:00.003+01:00

You know what boredom does to you?

It makes you lonely.

It makes your mind go round and round in circles.

It makes you play mind-numbing games that swallow hours.

It makes you rest a lot, though. Physically. Sloth-wise.

It makes me eat a lot. Up to the level of pure Gluttony.

That's it.

It makes you sin.

+Wrath+

Okay.

I vented.

Can I not be bored anymore, please?

The Gypsy

"Are YOU normal?"

2010-12-27T15:20:00.003+01:00

Are you insulting me?!

Of course I'm not bloody normal.

I'm a crazy, hyper, mood-swing-y, gypsy-ish, vampire-y ball of energy who loves calm, lazy afternoons of reading or doing nothing, or travelling and/or riding horses. Yes. I'm contradictory.

No, just kidding.

Not about my description, mind.

Just that it wasn't asked /me/, per se.

Just was zapping, and found Oprah on, and she was asking the question. (I know, shocking. Last time I've watched Oprah must've been two years ago?)

With questions like "How many times a week do you have sex?" and " After you blow your nose, do you look in your tissue? " people have to find out if they're normal or not.

Some facts (about America, I'm guessing) :

- 68% of the people lie about their weight on their driver's license. (What? You have to mention your weight on that thing in 'merica?? o.o;;)

- 1 in 5 women have a chronic picking their pimples and zits issue. (Uhm. >.> )

- 43% of people don't brush their teeth before they go to bed. (Bad idea, guys. Really.)

- 94% speak to their pets as if they're people.

- 90% sing (along with the music) in cars.

I think I actually liked this episode.

It made me giggle.

The Gypsy

Christmas fun.

2010-12-26T13:07:00.002+01:00

So this year: A White Christmas.

It's been snowing in phases, and all that's already there won't melt.

A Happy Christmas, too.

Tammie and Rick just got registered. She's doing good, health-wise, too.

Djuna got her new lungs this week. She's recovering splendidly :)

We had a gourmet - evening on Christmas Eve. Meaning: Lots of food. Lots of family. Lots of fun. Lots of silliness, too, mind.

Did I mention I get drunk on company?

Not a drop of alcohol in my blood, ever, and I still manage to become this hyperactive ball of random craziness. Which is okay. It's all laughter anyways.

I also got told too many times this week that I might unofficially have ADHD.

Maybe I should get that checked?

I got sick again.

Which is probably the only downside of this week.

Migraine-ish and hack-coughing and yuck.

We'd agreed that we'd all go to Church in the morning, so going to bed late on Christmas Eve probably wasn't the smartest move in the world. I think it's funny when people don't expect me going, and then I'll say that I'd like to, for company.

I sat next to Harry, Myriam (my eldest cousin)'s boyfriend, who is probably the biggest atheist in the family. I had to hold my breath so as not to laugh out loud at some of his remarks, but it was really entertaining either way. He also offered me twenty (first ten, but I scoffed at that) Euro's if I got up, went up to the microphone and told everyone that I was sorry there'd been a mistake, but really, God did not exist after all, and they could all go home.

If he'd've dared me I'd've actually done it, but I don't cave for money just as quick. (Do I have my priorities wrong?)

Either way, they "suddenly" decided to hold an improvised play, and were looking for a cast within the audience. When looking for a Maria, Harry nudged me "Go on,". And though I have at least one thing similar to that holy woman (Hint: It starts with a V) , I couldn't get my energy up to play along (sick, sick sick sick.) so Tamara got up and played Maria instead. Myriam played an angel, and when I giggled at Harry that probably all Magdelijns-girls 'd get up to play, Judith and Suzanne offered to play some of the sheep.

My commentary about not being sure whether I liked being associated family of virgins, angels, and (most importantly) sheep, was taken too well for my liking. xD

Oh! And I actually got my first Christmas present ever: A cute candle thingy that turns at the heat of the flame. Pictures later.

Also, there are too many Christmas movies on TV, it's ridiculously unhealthy.

I watched the Grinch for the first time ever, and I liked it more than I thought I would.

Next year I'll go all Scrooge-y and Grinch-y for the fun of it. :3

And now: Rest.

For my body needs it.

Desperately.

The Gypsy

Winter

2010-12-23T10:34:00.005+01:00

Reading back some posts a year ago in December made me smile.

I still think the same about loving wind-still cold days.

Where little puffs appear where you breathe and talk.

A white blanket covering .. well.. everything. :)

Snowing began really early this winter, though.
Earlier even than last year.

Before last year, it was a question of whether 'real' winters would ever come again.

It would be windy, cold and wet, snow two days in February and melt again, and that was it.

I was disappointed it took me so long to graduate, fearing I might've missed any chance at snow at all. And the first winter I spent here, everything was white in December. Not just for a day or two, but for weeks, and when that melted, a few days later it would snow again. It snowed so much, actually, that it sent chaos into the lives of train-managers, people going to work, people's stuck at home or where they were at at the time (Judith and I were staying in Deventer, at my Unc's, then.. Good times. x3 )

This year, the snow started in November. Ridiculous! November!

The last week, but still!

And though there's been a few days where it all melted, it back to stay (at least until Christmas is over). For me, that means more walks in the past two weeks than the past 4 months put together. And lots of pictures. And lots of frustration at the fact that my health won't allow me even more walks. And lots of reading when I'm home-tied because I can't go out for walks. :) Hurray.

An entirely different point: I absolutely love how my previous blog post made you all put out your own opinions. I should do that more often :)

To all of you, though: It wasn't my point that it was /only/ the eyes.

It's vulnerability, innocence, prettiness.

I didn't mean cuteness in the specific sense, either.

Only the general-can't-be-helped-cuteness.

The Gypsy

Cuteness Theory

2010-12-22T13:41:00.004+01:00

I've been wanting to blog about this for ages.

Just somehow I can never find the time or the energy to.

I have this theory about cuteness.

About why children and puppies and kittens are cute.

Though most people already know the expression, I don't think they ever stop to think about how right they are.

*drums*

It's the eyes.

Almost everything grows, elongates, lengthens, broadens, when you grow older.

Limbs stretch, noses grow, jaws broaden.. Everything but the eyes. They remain -almost- as big as they always were. Which is why they're really really big in a small face (of a baby, pup, foal.. etc), and as they "seem" smaller later on, and don't as much dominate the face anymore, the cuteness factor ebbs, and beauty remains. Or doesn't. That's not the point.

It's why seals are cute. Their faces almost only contains eyes.

Bambi? Cute because of the big brown eyes.

Why are Chibi-dolls so kawaii? Exactly. Big eyes.

Thank you for your attention.

Now my Tourrettes' urge for wanting to shout this point out can rest until it finds something else to obsess madly about.

The Gypsy

A Very Lovely Story

2010-12-20T16:41:00.003+01:00

Once upon a time, about five years ago, a tall handsome boy moved to a small cozy town, right in the street of a single, pretty girl. Once she had laid eyes on him, she knew it: This was /her/ man.

Five years later, after lots of trials, hospital visits, and a big surgery, she was proven right.

Today, they signed a contract. According to a lawyer-almost-in-the-family, a contract easily broken with a text with a certain code, but still: a magically binding contract.

A-close-to-marriage-Partnership-registration. One you can't explain without using the word "marriage", even though it isn't, really. Is this taking the romance out of things, yet? Because I'm not aiming for that. Definitely not. It was all very romantic. In the snow. Very pretty. Very cold. In a.. uhm.. positive way? Teeth chattering was just music, anyways. You just had to listen more carefully.

Tamara, who, only months ago, wasn't doing all that great, physically (Which is why they decided to do this at all, but she got her NEW LUNGS!-call just two days before the date, so they had to postpone it), and Rick. That's who this story was about. And it was wonderful to be a part of that. :)

The Gypsy

Harry Potter's Finale.

2010-11-17T22:00:00.006+01:00

As I have dared -- with Gryffindor nerve for I feared it's finality, Slytherin's ambitiousness for feeling the triumph of my Ravenclaw's wit with my guessed theories being almost all right, and a Hufflepuff's loyalty to the author, the books and all its characters,-- finally finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (HP7), my heart skipping and missing beats as I read, I have realized one big thing:

No books, ideas, plots will ever

bind me to it as magically as this series has.

I have never cried nor fallen in love with book characters till J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter came along.

I can't, and don't want to, shout out what I had guessed right.

I can't, and don't want to, mourn 'out loud' for (fictive) characters who didn't make it till the very end.

I can't, and don't want to, spoil it for those who still haven't read..

I probably sound loony to anyone not entirely in to the thing, and cliché to those that think /they/ are the most die-hard fans.

I didn't want it to end.

It's why I postponed reading it.

Frankly, I still haven't digested it. Haven't fully realized it.

Genuinely, I still don't want that it ended.

But it has. (In too short a time, I couldn't put the book down)

And Rowling ((with exception of that final (and rather unnecessary) 'chapter' - which did not get enough credit to be called that)) couldn't have done it any more perfectly.

Hopefully they gave this book better care filming it than they have with it's six predecessors.

They'd better, seeing as they extended the time from a rough two and a half hours to about five.. I hope it doesn't ruin it.

I'm still working on this, still dealing with it.

It might take a rather long while.

But that's alright.

All is well.

The Gypsy

Activity~

2010-11-01T21:54:00.003+01:00

I've realized you're not missed if you're not active.

If you don't reach out, make people notice you're there, you're nobody.

Whether online or in real life..

You don't exist but for yourself unless you know people, and people know you.

You don't matter if you're not in people's lives, and they are in yours.

You don't have much of a life if you don't.

The positive thing about not posting daily is that I won't be missed much if I don't for a while.

The negative thing is that if I don't, for a while, people will forget I existed at all. (That's exaggerated, but they won't "miss" me. )

The Gypsy

Happy Halloween ;)

2010-10-31T17:41:00.015+01:00

I know, I know.
I should be ashamed of myself.

A month ago I typed more than 30 (33?) blog posts in a month.

And this month I barely get five posts in total.

I've been busy though. Keeping busy is a good way to get by.

Last week I've been spoiled like crazy.

I want to say "No clue why", but I do, of course.

Anyways. It felt good to be spoiled.

Got clothes as presents. Good fitting, fancy clothes.

Went to the cinema, and saw Despicable Me, and laughed my head off.

Got taken out to the Posh Neighbourhood (with capital letters) of the Hague. Fancy lunch, some shopping, and went to see the Escher Museum, before bumping into the queen. (The real queen of the country, that is, who proceeded to wave cheerfully my way before getting into her car)

And we celebrated Tamara's and Judith's birthday last weekend, and my uncle and aunt's thirtieth wedding anniversary, and both of their birthdays combined this weekend, with lots of cheese, people and laughter.

I'll just upload /some/ pictures then, shall I?

To give you a better mood impression ;) (I'm getting good at this)

The museum.

The ceiling and chandeliers :0

Seriously Escher ;)

A good photographer is half the work, if I say so myself.

She's so pretty, oh so pretty~

It's never-ending..

Funny people in the yard~

That's probably the closest I'll ever get to Her Majesty.

On the other hand, some people don't get a wave from the Queen herself~

I also just came back from watching "Elle s'appellait Sarah".. Very sad.. Very good.

I think on some points, it might even be better than the book I read last week. (shock! Teh horror!)

It actually got me teary-eyed, something the book hadn't succeeded in doing.

Oh yes, and a very happy Halloween, of course ;D

The Gypsy

Downside of Travel

2010-10-26T22:08:00.004+02:00

Besides the all-known fact that travel plunders your bank account, it actually has one downside.

I know. I was shocked too, when I realized it.

Note: I'm not talking about the regular 5 days - 3 weeks holiday, really.

Travelling, however, is all inclusive. It doesn't matter whether you travel across the globe, or just across the country.

People.

You meet people. You make friends.

You leave to travel. You create a distance.

You arrive somewhere. You meet new people.

You make friends. You leave to travel.

You create a distance.

It's a vicious cycle. Of course, it's lovely to make new friends.

The more, the merrier.

But I've been feeling a little too much like joining all those I've befriended onto this empty island and just maybe settle there.

How egoistical is that?

I don't actually need to be around most of my friends 24/7.

First of all, it wouldn't be healthy.
Second of all, they'd drive me nuts, I'd drive them crazy.

Third of all, they need/have their own lives. I sometimes tend to forget that tiny detail.

I just wish I could keep in touch more.

More frequently, more often, more talking. If that makes sense.

Apart from that, travelling rulez. With a Z.

The Gypsy

A Hug!

2010-10-22T15:22:00.003+02:00

It's wondrous what a hug can do,

A hug can cheer you when you're blue,

A hug can say, " I love you so,"

Or, "Oh, I hate to see you go."

A hug is , "Welcome back again,"

And "Great to see you, where've you been?"

A hug can smooth a small child's pain,

And bring a rainbow after rain.

The Hug! There's just no doubt about it,

We scarcely could survive without it,

A hug delights and warms and charms,

It must be why God gave us arms.

Hugs are great for fathers, mothers,

Sweet for sisters, swell for brothers,

And chances are your favourite aunts

Love them more that potted plants!

Kittens crave them, puppies love them,

Heads of State are not above them,

A hug can break the language barrier

And make your travel so much merrier.

No need to fret about your store of 'em,

The more you give the more there's of 'em,

So stretch those arms without delay

And give someone a hug today!

The Gypsy

Golden Realization

2010-10-15T09:57:00.002+02:00

I've realized something, something very special.

I have something to write about (almost) every day.

And I have ten different things to talk about in five minutes.

I think about twenty different blog entries through out the day.

BUT!

Without the blog challenge, the dare, the feeling I /have/ to write (for myself, I never tried completing that challenge for anyone else).. I don't write.

I delay things. I think: "I might as well write that tonight" or "I'll wait till tomorrow, I've got no energy, or inspiration today."

I'm faulty that way.

And to be very honest: It's rather annoying.

So yes, my health has been down more than up, as have my emotional and mental wellness.. I've been busy more often than not, these past few weeks.. But that's no excuse whatsoever.

If I could write when I had a sky high fever, then I can write under almost any circumstance. Given that I have something I direly need to write about, of course. This blog isn't meant for spamming. Really. xD

Also: I miss writing.

That'd be the most important reason to do it at all.

The Gypsy

Animal Planet.

2010-10-01T13:37:00.002+02:00

It's been on for hours.

And no, it's not just because I'm bored and lonely.

But every time a new show starts, I'm catching myself thinking "Or I could take a job like that.." only to be followed by a ".. or like that" mere minutes afterwards.

It's animals.

I seem to care more for animals I don't know, rather than human beings that are strangers to me.

Show me two commercials, one with a suffering animal, and one with a suffering child.

I'll probably donate to the animal charity one.

I used to want to be a vet when I grew up.

Part of me still does, I believe.

Oh well.

At least I know what I'll do if the tourism thing never works out.

Or if I get tired/bored of it.

Or if I would suddenly get the urge to settle somewhere.

The Gypsy

Day 30. One Last Moment

2010-09-30T12:12:00.002+02:00

I'd like to thank this Blog Challenge, for it made me realize a whole lot of things I wasn't aware of.

1. I'm a sappy, cute-loving, love-loving romantic.

2. I hate being told what to write.

3. I do things I hate anyways, when I'm being challenged to. Means there's nothing faulty with my self-discipline. There might be with the fact I can't leave a dare untried.

4. I wrote posts even when I had a fever as high as the sky. I'm determined enough.

5. I'm obsessed by only a few dreams and desires. Apparently I can't care less about most other things.

6. I can be forcedly cheerful if need be. Take that, dopamine!

7. I forgot what I was going to put here.

8. I'll try posting regularly now that it might have become a habit. Not daily though. I wouldn't know what to talk about.

Oh yes.

And I need to get off my chest that I abhor impending goodbyes.

Even when they aren't really, they're more like "See you later, only we don't know when yet"s.

I thought I had gotten a bit used to the idea that most of "my" important people don't live in the same country as I do. . But I haven't. It still hurts. Big time.

The Gypsy

Day 29. Your Aspirations

2010-09-29T20:15:00.002+02:00

I wouldn't say I'm very much an ambitious person.

Not pertaining to work, success or money, at any rate.

I'd like to have a job I actually like.

I'd like to have enough money to support myself, and have enough money for my two hobbies: Travelling, and reading.

That's important, though. Those two hobbies.

I really want to be able to look back on my life and know a fair deal.
And I want to have seen a lot of the world.

I don't know why knowledge, culture and languages have my curiosity captive like they do.

I want to look back on a happy life. A healthy one.

Not just for me. For all those I love and care about.

Is that too much to ask?

The Gypsy

Day 28. Something that You Miss

2010-09-28T20:39:00.002+02:00

A good long sleep, after which a day follows where I feel refreshed, energetic, healthy and painless.

It's been a rather long while since that happened.

That, and some of my friends.

That's pretty much the problem of having friends all over the globe.

It's nigh impossible to keep in touch with all of them.
Especially if you're either busy or sick a lot of the time yourself.

The Gypsy

Day 27. Your Favourite Place

2010-09-27T19:42:00.002+02:00

That also depends on my mood. Right now, my bed and couch are my favourite two places. I'm don't have the energy to do more than lie down. I read and type occasionally only because I'm deadbored already. Which means I am getting better, right?

My favourite place, usually, is with my friends.

Wherever I am, whether at a beach, in a mall (shock! Me hate shopping D;) or at somebody's place, or even at the computer, as long as the company is good, and I'm having a good time, the place -wherever that is- is perfect.

I'm in love with nature, so wherever I can catch a glimpse of forest, sky, or water, is a good place.

Also, a favourite place of mine is in arms.

I'm addicted to hugs.

But I mentioned that before, didn't I?

The Gypsy

Day 26. Your Fears

2010-09-26T22:23:00.002+02:00

I've been told I used to scream when flies neared me, when I was two.

Not being used to the black, nasty, humming, tickling insects in Holland, I'd scream my tiny lungs out on visits to Egypt, where they covered the floor, the food, and our own bodies.

Later, I used to not be able to name my fears.

I used to be proud of not fearing heights, spiders, water, or the dark.

I was never afraid of monsters under my bed.

Rather, I would try to get them to come out and talk to me.

I used to be insulted when anybody suggested I was afraid.

I'd take it as a challenge, a dare. Afraid? Me? I'll show you how afraid I am.

Not anymore though. I don't blindly follow any dare, at least.

After reading Rowling's Harry Potter, however, I've been able to name my fear.

I fear fear. I fear to be afraid.

I don't mean a good adrenaline rush, or exam stress. They usually just strengthen and heighten your focus, increase your concentration.

I fear the paralyzing, I can't move- my heart just stopped, kind of fear.

The Gypsy

Day 25. A First

2010-09-25T21:20:00.003+02:00

Last year has been "a first" of a lot of things.

A first ever trying Sushi.

A first trying apple-pie pudding. xD

A first of going swimming in Dutch Sea.

A first of cheese fondue. And of goat and sheep cheese. (both didn't leave a very good impression xD)

A first of visiting a few provinces (Flevoland for example) in Holland.

Recently: A first of actually decorating my own room, according to my own tastes and colours.

For more firsts, please just skim my entire blog =P
There's bound to be at least twenty more.

The Gypsy

Day 24. Something that Makes You Cry

2010-09-24T23:45:00.003+02:00

Holy snakes on a plane!

I nearly forgot today's entry!

Today has been good, though. On all accounts.

Tamara's come home, fired from hospital early for good behaviour.

And just random compliments, a possible 8-hour job, and good food.

Little things.

So do I really want to think of something that makes me cry?

Well. I don't have to think too long:

Mum and my siblings going back to Egypt in a few days makes me miserable thinking about it.

Not only because I will miss them, but because I KNOW they don't want to go back.

It doesn't matter that I don't live with them in the same house anymore, but it apparently does matter a shitload if they're in the same country or not. It makes all the difference in the world. That, and that I have no idea when I'll see them again.

If they'll come here next summer or ever.. and if I'll have enough money to visit them on any kind of basis, let alone a regular one.

See?

My eyes have been uber-dry all day, and now they're immediately teary.

My heart hurts now.

Stupid topic.

The Gypsy

Day 23. Something that Makes You Feel Better

2010-09-23T20:17:00.002+02:00

That one's plain and simple:

Realizing I'm loved and that people care about me.

My friends and family. They make me feel better.

I try not to take anybody for granted, and most of the time, I succeed.

When I remember though, not just that they're there, but that they're there /for me/, I get this extremely bubbly cheerful feeling in the pit of my stomach.

When I get a hug, or a smile, or a genuine compliment. When I get a shoulder shoved under my face to cry on. But also, when people feel they trust /me/ enough to use my shoulder. When they come to me for help. When they value my opinion.

Is this blog challenge making me come over as this sappy, romantic love-addict?

Cause y'know.. Halloween spiders and skeletons, painting, snakes, cars, writing and horses. They make me feel better too.

The Gypsy

Day 22. Something that Upsets You

2010-09-22T21:57:00.002+02:00

I'm glad it said "something", and not "things".

Because I would, most likely, have a never ending list of all the things that hurt, annoy, anger or otherwise upset me.

I'd like to name two things that seriously upset me, though I think they're technically one, because in one way, they're linked.

1. The way some people treat others.

I live with the motto "treat others like you'd want to be treated." Just like I think changing the world means you need to start with yourself. If you don't see the point in doing it by yourself, and everybody else thinks the same thing, nobody'll ever change anything, thus it will definitely not have a point.

Where was I going with this? Oh, yes. The way people can be discriminating, harsh, or just downright rude through bluntness, which they can't find fault with and will describe only as "honesty". It annoys me. I appreciate honesty, but I can appreciate delicacy and subtlety even more. Be honest, but for heaven's sake, be kind.

2. The way people always choose their outsiders.

I've been treated as a foreigner in Egypt, but I sometimes get treated just as much as a foreigner in Holland. In Egypt, I don't mind it. In Egypt, I feel like a foreigner.
In Holland, on the other hand, I feel insulted, in a way. People who don't know me, accept me as Dutch, no questions asked. It's not my language, accent, and even though I'm more of a yellow shade, my skin-colour isn't even worthy of the name "tan". It's the people who know that I've lived in Egypt, people who read my surname before meeting me, they continue to see me as an outsider for the rest of forever.

When I try making German people feel at home here, it's rather unfair that other people like treating me as if it isn't my home. I'm more bloody Dutch than the future king of the Netherlands, for heaven's sake; Willem Alexander is 3/4 German. Also: nobody ever called Marco Borsato "that Italian singer"..

The Gypsy

Day 21. Another moment

2010-09-21T21:03:00.002+02:00

I'd like to take a moment to stress how much I love my mum.

She's the most incredible, awesome, ubersweet mother in the whole wide world.

She has to swallow lots of crap, but she's strong enough to.

She deserves a whole lot more than people who don't care that they make her life miserable.

She goes out of her way to help out, mediate, and just be there for everyone at all times.

Thanks mum.

The Gypsy

Day 20. This Month

2010-09-20T22:48:00.002+02:00

Is hectic.
Ramadan, doctor's visits, Tamara's lungtransplantation, hospital visits, assignments, looking for a job, socializing, and travelling across the country at least twice a week.. Forgetting my charger on the other side of the country from mere fullness of brain-chaos.
Plenty to do, and I bet I haven't even mentioned half of it.
Doesn't really matter, though.
I bet I'll look back on it and smile.
Or not. ~

Xx
The Gypsy

Talk Like A Pirate Day 2010

2010-09-19T22:02:00.000+02:00

My pirate name is:

Mad Charity Flint

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

The Gypsy

Day 19. Something You Regret

2010-09-19T17:07:00.002+02:00

I've been telling myself that regret should be a no-no.

It's not healthy. Plus, regret never solved anything. Never changed anything.

If there's anything I regret, it's that I've been too trusting; wearing my heart on my sleeve.

Leaving myself vulnerable enough to get hurt.

I've learned from that, though. Changed because of it.

That's the only reason it might not count as regret anymore.

Learning from your mistakes is a good thing. Most of the time.

Maybe I regret losing my innocence.

But everyone goes through that phase.

You can't ever get it back.

And maybe it doesn't balance out, but experience is something, too.

The Gypsy

Day 18. Your Favourite Birthday

2010-09-18T18:21:00.002+02:00

I think, with this one, I have a general idea.

Though almost every year I do something for my birthday,

whether it's going to the movies with my family, or inviting all relatives over, or going out with friends.. I'm going to go with my 21st birthday.

Why?

Because I celebrated that one three times.

Once, with my family. We went to see a movie. Push. Good movie, too.

Once, with my closest friends available. We had fun.

Once, with my relatives. We had cake.

Big haul of presents.

Seriously good quality time. All three times.

Now, I'm going to try and list the movies I've seen on my birthdays.

I only broke that routine this year, before now I've seen one on/around that day every year.

Treasure Planet being one of them. Maaaany years ago. (2002)

16 Blocks, 2006. I'll need my diary to look up any more. My memory sucks so damn bad. x'D

The Gypsy

Day 17. Your Favourite Memory

2010-09-17T20:50:00.003+02:00

Again with the favourites.

Memories are precious things.

Or downright awful.

It's only those two extremes you ever remember anyways, "moderate" memories are straightaway forgotten most of the time; thus stop to exist as memories at all.

I like memories pertaining friends and family.

Whether it be a vacation somewhere exploring the world, an outing, a "dish-party" like my Egyptian gang used to hold, birthday parties, new year's eves, random nice evenings just playing some game or holding some sort of discussion, and even online I have plenty of memories I cherish dearly. It'd be unfair to just choose one out of a million. Just like I can't pick just one bad memory. I have plenty of both.

Hugs.

I think back very fondly of hugs. And other intimacies, but hugs especially.

They make me feel warm at the mere thought.

A hug a day keeps depressions away? It helps, at any rate~

You know what's funny?

If you ask a person what their favourite colour is, they'll usually have a straight-away answer.

Favourite song? Sure, this or that.

With me, it depends on so many things.

It depends on my mood. It depends on the situation. And it (unfortunately) depends on my abominably bad memory.

The Gypsy

Good Campaign, and Personal Update.

2010-09-17T10:44:00.003+02:00

"Would you want somebody else's organ if that would save your life? ... But are /you/ a donor yet?"

That's a rough translation of the slogan of the national donor-campaign here in Holland.

And I love it.

Since Tamara's transplantation, there have been three more within 9 days following her own surgery. Lianne, Wouter, and Kim M (Author of an autobiography; Ademloos -- about Cystic Fibrosis) have been lucky enough to follow in Tamara's footsteps. Some are recovering faster than others, but some surgeries took "only" 7 hours, others a total of 11 or 12. Seeing as you need a week to heal for every hour of surgery.. well, you can figure it out ;D

Tamara had been doing really well. Though sometimes slightly blue, feeling she wants to heal faster than her body is allowing her to, she has had really good peaks over the last two weeks.

All her drains have been taken out, as her catheter, a physical and mental relief, to say the least.

Since yesterday, she has even been completely oxygen-tubeless for the first time in three years or so! If she continues healing at this pace, she'll be home before her own lung-physician comes back from his vacation (he left just two days before her surgery, they kind of want to surprise him with this -- if he isn't keeping himself up to date about his patients, anyhow)

Personally, though I hate to admit it, my own health hasn't been all that much lately.

I bet it's mostly stress and worry, Ramadan, insomnia, and whatnot, but I've been hyperventilating off and on for a few weeks now, and I'm continuously exhausted, even without doing much of anything. I pass out randomly throughout the day/night, yet when I try to sleep, I'm as insomnia-ish as ever.

It didn't really register until I went to visit Tamara, and took a turn to measure my oxygen-in-blood saturation (which was 100% ;D ) and heart rate (which was almost as high as Tamara's, without doing the slightest exercise, while I usually have the lowest blood pressure ever)

Tamara made Rick type her blog entry, in which she described her own too-fast heart rate as being non-stop exhausting, and suddenly that rang my own alarm bells.

Should see my doc about that. I know.

But that's pretty much the reason I'm not up-to-date about anything but my blog challenge posts. Which are pretty difficult to keep up with in the first place..

The Gypsy

Day 16. Your Favourite Vacation

2010-09-16T22:41:00.002+02:00

My favourite vacation is one where culture, nature and fun activities are central.

I'm not one for lying/chillaxing at a beach somewhere, drinking till all my braincells are dead, totally ignoring the fact that the burning sun might give me skin cancer in a few short years.

If there's walking, swimming, biking or any other activity, it's already great to begin with.

If there're mountains, hills, forests, dunes, beaches there, it's even better.

If there're (reasonably affordable) museums/churches/(see the Unesco Heritage List) in the neighbourhood, it's uberly awesome.

The Seven World Wonders (Old and new, so basically there are about twenty right now) are definitely on my must-visit list. There's plenty I want to explore. Plenty I'm curious about.

As for an actual experience: I have very good memories of my vacation to Austria (Zell am See) a few years ago. The mountain walks, visiting (and climbing) the Grossglockner, seeing waterfalls in Kaprun, taking a peek at Salzburg (Mozartcity) with the birthhouse of Mozart, castle/Schloss Hellbrunn, and a lake trip with a hired speedboat. And time for reading. Good times. :)

The Gypsy

Day 15. Your dreams

2010-09-15T20:59:00.002+02:00

Are to take over the world.

Okay. Not really.
But I would love to travel all over.

And to read as many books as possible.

Just to be happy, healthy, with those I love and care for.

Oh, and end up somewhere far from Hell. That's pretty important, too.

Or are we talking about actual dreams?

I barely remember those.

Unless they're nightmares.

Which I am having quite frequently, lately.

Maybe I should update on everything soon.
When I have some more energy.

The Gypsy

Day 14. What You Wore Today

2010-09-14T22:10:00.003+02:00

Haha, even guidelines get repetitive every now and then.

Though this time, apart from PJs, I've actually had some 'normal' clothes on.

To be very detailed, the PJs were a mismatching pair of yellow leggings and a navy shirt,

the "outdoor" clothes consisted of black trousers, a black top with long sleeves, and a woolen ivory white sleeveless dresstopthing with black buttons.

Oh and dark socks. And my silver bling watch. And my mismatching-matching Guitar and Rock earrings. Pictures on demand.

The Gypsy

Day 13. This Week

2010-09-13T21:14:00.002+02:00

This week has been one 'helluva' week.

What with hospital visits, doctor's appointments, a birthday party I just /had/ to go to in spite of everything, spending quality time with mum (I'd add, and my siblings, but I haven't seen much of them), a walk along the beach, movies watched, and general exhaustion, it's been tiring, to say the least. Tensioned. Stressful. But good in quite a few ways.

Or am I supposed to be talking about this coming week?

That's also going to be one 'helluva' week, encouriging Tamara to get her butt out of hospital in record time, and probably lots of reading, writing, researching, and more quality time with the most important woman in my life.

Oh, and I get to go choose a desk soon. And maybe some curtains.

And I'm thinking of braces. And a parttime job to fund said braces. Or I'mma have to find a spot underneath some bridge. A good spot and a good hat to collect begged money in.

Also, I thought these guidelines would make blogging easier.
But I've noticed I'm quite irked by the way it tells you what to write about.
Inspiration wise, it's killing.

But no, not quitting. Definitely not now I'm almost halfway.

The Gypsy.

Day 12. What's in Your Bag

2010-09-12T14:19:00.002+02:00

Ooh. All kinds of interesting things, I assure you.

Not really.

Let's see.

♂ My mobile.

♀ My (empty) wallet.

♂ A book. (A Room Of One's Own.)

♀ My passport.

♂ A pack of chewing gum.

♀ Keys.

♂ A bottle of water.

♀ A pad.

♂ Borrowed music player.

♀ 3D glasses, for some vague reason.

♂ A Mars.

There should be some tissues in there.

What does that say about me?

Besides that I'm a materialistic eating-addict bookworm?

The Gypsy

Day 11. Your Siblings

2010-09-11T12:40:00.003+02:00

Are a boy and a girl.

This remind you of any post before?

Quite. xD It's scarily alike. If I would've gone " are Male and Female" , things would have been scarier, though. Just so you know.

Though they act quite differently, mind.

Both my brother and my sister are younger than I am.

7 and 2 years younger, respectively, to be exact.

Only a few weeks ago my brother went from "lil Bro" to being taller than I am.

I'm both proud, and happy I'm not the tallest one anymore.

My sister, on the other hand, feels quite bitter about the fact that she is the shortest.

She won't agree on or accept any of the positive terms: "Pixie/doll- like", "petite" and the fact that she's prettiest one of the three of us.

Talking about looks, apparently Sis is a copy of dad's sister when she was younger.

She's also slightly darker-skinned than the yellow-sallow paleness of Bro and me.

According to mum, I'm the female version of her younger brother. And everybody agrees Bro is the male version of me. Though blonder. Or he used to be.

Bro has got a game addiction.

Actually, he's got a liability to get obsessed over or addicted to things easily.

He's like me in that way.

Though Sis is by far the most indecisive of us three, we all take after Mum that way.

She's also a big-time Feminist. I thought I was one until she turned to the most extreme form of it. Now I rarely use the F-word anymore.

We also all share the Magdelijns-genes where it comes to intelligence, creativity and being even slightly musically inclined, seeing as it definitely doesn't come from the other side of our gene-pool.

The three of us are pro-Dutch, anti-Egyptian in most ways. Though I try looking at things objectively, and try seeing the "positive" of both sides, try combining/using the assets, Sis is quick to blame and condemn, and Bro just couldn't care less. xD

We squabble, fight and argue a lot. Actually, almost always. About anything.

We still love each other though.

I think.

The Gypsy

PS: Yes, I used me as a comparison to talk about my siblings.

I don't know why. I never do that with friends when I talk about them, but with family I seem quite quick to compare and differentiate.

Day 10. What You Wore Yesterday

2010-09-10T18:28:00.002+02:00

Haha. Funny. Though it'd have been interesting if I could've listed what I've eaten today, I'll try and remember what I was wearing..

Probably PJs.

All day xD

With the exception of shower time. *frowns*

Yup.

That's it.

Blew your mind, didn't it?

The Gypsy

Day 9. Your Beliefs

2010-09-09T22:06:00.002+02:00

I'm an Agnostic Muslim.

It means I believe, but am skeptic. I don't just abide by things because it's quoted.

It means I have faith.

I have faith in that there's a God.

I have faith because you can't prove it. That's the thing about faith.

I believe in the existence of prophets. Not just Mohamed, but Jesus and Moses and the whole list, really.

I believe, though, that they were just human. Nothing superhuman, nothing magical.

For me, "son of God" is in the most figurative way possible, just like you can say we're all "children of God". Literally, no. Literally, God has no children. No parents. No partner.

I think I like the idea of an omnipotent, omniscient .. something.

That there's a plan. That things happen for a reason.

There's plenty I don't believe.

I don't believe most humans. It's a distrust I can't help.

I don't believe in extremism in any form, in any direction.

I don't believe in violence, in hatred, and lately, I don't believe I see the point in anger.

I don't believe in lies. (Pun intended)

The Gypsy

Day 8. A Moment

2010-09-08T20:33:00.002+02:00

I'm quite lost as to what to make of this one.

A moment of what?

A moment of silence?

That'd make this quite an empty blog.

A moment of something that happened some day?

That'd make me have to choose from how many zillion moments of good and bad?

So I'll choose this as a moment to tell those I care about: I love you.

You know who you are. All of you.

*Addicted to saying the L-word, apparently*

The Gypsy

Day 7. Your Best Friend

2010-09-07T15:22:00.003+02:00

Ah, there we go again with the annoying questions.

Who made these up? Seriously.

It's like filling in my cousin Suzanne's Friendship-booklet all over again.

Best movie, favourite food, best friend, favourite song..

Does best mean that everything else ranks second, third, hundredth on that list?

What if I don't have a favourite movie, just a list of several movies I find good.

Why do I have to choose anyways? I really really don't like choosing.
Especially not, and here it comes: Especially not where my friends are concerned.

They're all bloody fantastic über-awesome people, damnit, else they wouldn't deserve that "friend" title to begin with. If I do favour one above the other, what would that make of me if I'd just go ahead and and name one person, with it kind of stating everybody else sucks in comparison.

+Cough+ Did I let myself go?

I might've, a bit. Sorry. ^ ^;;

Here, then, comes a list of "best" friends. In totally random order, too.

And no, if you're not on it it doesn't mean right away I don't consider you a good friend.

Listing things means you need to put your memory at work.
And my memory is by default really lazy. And yes, I'll use you're nickname, if you're using that online. And yes. It's an international list. Hurray.

♠ Johnny Vincero

♠ Judith

♠ Sharita

♠ Marijn

♠ Ralf

♠ Jack Garret

♠ Sara Z

♠ Jazz

♠ Qarfur

♠ Ingrid

♠ Heba F

If I would have nothing left in the world, no home, no money, no job, no family, then those would be the people that I'd probably go to for help. Because I'm sure they wouldn't let me down.

Likewise, if they ever need anything whatsoever, I'd pretty much do everything within my power to make sure they get it.

The Gypsy

Day 6. Your Day

2010-09-06T21:11:00.002+02:00

My day has been full of emotions.

Luckily, mostly relief.

Some anxious worrying.

Tamara's off her tube, almost of her oxygen. Not yet off the painkillers.

I'll be able to go to mum and my siblings with the Feast in a couple of days.

I managed to get an exemption.

The weather was nice. More than nice.

Cooked for myself. Cooked good, too.

Watching Bridget Jones to just.. forget everything for a while.

Going to pray some more.

The Gypsy

Registered Donor Yet?

2010-09-06T17:02:00.002+02:00

If not, now is the time to fill in your name. (If you're capable of/allowed to donate organs, that is.)

Tamara had a rough Saturday on Sunday night, as they couldn't stop the bleeding on the Intensive Care. Apparently they had hit a small vein/artery near her heart that started leaking as soon as she got another bloodtransfusion.

So they decided it would be best to perform another surgery, after which she became reasonably stable.

Sunday morning she opened her eyes for the first time when Rick took hold of her hand, and she has been opening them more frequently and for longer periods of time ever since.

She had a slight panic attack about the intubation, I cannot imagine how horrible that thing feels.

Nurses were strict about that though. Just one or two more days, and she wouldn't risk needing to be anaesthetized to place that stupid painful tube again.

Today, they took the tube out. Since then, she's been whispering everybody's ears off when she has the energy to. :) Go Tamara!

She's also been having dreams about sheep. (? xD)

Still a few difficult weeks ahead, but she's reaching milestone after milestone with ease and grace as if it's all a piece of pie.

We couldn't be prouder of her, nor happier. :)

The Gypsy

Day 5. Your Definition of Love

2010-09-05T23:04:00.003+02:00

This one is easy.

Love is the feeling you can't describe. It combines world's greatest emotions in one.

The feeling that you'd do a lot (or everything) for that creature.

That you care whether they're happy or sad, whether they live or die.

You can love in a gazillion different ways.

You can love your friends, but they'll be loved differently from family.

You can love a puppy, your cat, or your new bling laptop.

You can love liquorice, or cheese, fruit, chocolate or pizza.

You can love that special person, that soul-mate, in twenty million ways.

You should love yourself.

Love is good though.

It feels good to be loved.

It feels even better to love.

Like the whole world is at peace.

I love love. That's for sure.

The Gypsy

Day 4. What You Ate Today

2010-09-04T21:43:00.002+02:00

Finally. A less personal question. Hurray.

After the last 18 hours I'd welcome some distraction in any form.

I didn't eat anything all day.

Just an hour ago I did, though: Leek, potatoes, salad.

Basics. Good basics.

And peach/passion fruit-yoghurt for dessert.

I also made chocolate truffels. No clue if they succeeded.

Will know in a bit. I think (=

It looks good, anyways.

The Gypsy

Lungtransplant - Ready, Set, Go.

2010-09-04T14:50:00.002+02:00

A third call for Tamara happened last night.

Unfortunately only those blessed with the Dutch language can follow that one.

So I figure I'd sort of keep it up here too.

Venting helps. A bit.

She got the call at 03:30 am, and at after saying goodbyes, got aneasthetized after 11 am.

In the meantime it was just a frustratingly long wait. Praying, hoping, and keeping our thumbs crossed till they turned blue.

3 times apparently was the charm, seeing as they got a green light at about 13:30.

She's still in surgery. It might take till this evening. Probably will get an update after her first (succesful) new lung is set in.

Until then, anxious, yet hopeful waiting. Sending good vibes her way would help. So yeah. Please help?

The Gypsy.

(Ps: My times may be inaccurate. It was a bit of a blur)

Day 3. Your Parents.

2010-09-03T23:07:00.001+02:00

Are a man and a women.

The Gypsy.

PS: For more information, contact me.

If you have my email it means you're close enough to know more.

If you don't, already.

Day 2. Your First Love

2010-09-02T21:02:00.002+02:00

1. Only came by in my very late teens.

2. Made me realize I wasn't asexual.

3. Created something like an ego. A small one.

4. Made me see myself in a totally different light.

5. Left quite an impression on me.

6. Changed me in more ways than possible to think of.

7. You have to take all that in the way you want to.

8. That's all I really want to share about this topic.

The Gypsy

Day 1. Introduce yourself

2010-09-01T22:49:00.001+02:00

Hello. Is this thing on? *thump, thump, Eeeeeeeee* Guess that's a yes..

+nervous giggle+

Uhm. So...Hi!

I'm Jacintha. *Murmurs of "Hello, Jacintha"* My friends call me Jess.

And uhm. I'm an alcoholic. *clapping*

Okay. Not really. I don't drink. At all. *Clapping stops*
But I'm addicted to.. my friends? writing? traveling? the internet? *.. silence*

I'm half-vampire, half-gypsy, a bookworm, and unlimitedly curious.

Right now, I'm trying as hard as I can to think of something to share that people might want to know, that is both interesting for people who already know me for years, and people that are reading my blog for the very first time. And guess what? I can't think of anything. xD

But that's okay. Because I introduced myself. And I rock. 8)

The Gypsy

Blog Challenge

2010-08-30T16:33:00.003+02:00

So my cousin, Tamara, thought of "entering" the Blog Challenge she found on Stephanie's blog.

Me, always up for a challenge (pfft. I know, right? Hah) thought of joining her.

The idea is to blog 30 days in a row.

Fortunately you don't have to make up what to talk about every single day, there're guidelines to make everything easier.

30 days Blog Challenge:

Day 01 – Introduce yourself
Day 02 – Your first love
Day 03 – Your parents
Day 04 – What you ate today
Day 05 – Your definition of love
Day 06 – Your day
Day 07 – Your best friend
Day 08 – A moment
Day 09 – Your beliefs
Day 10 – What you wore yesterday
Day 11 – Your siblings
Day 12 – What’s in your bag
Day 13 – This week
Day 14 – What you wore today
Day 15 – Your dreams
Day 16 – Your favourite vacation
Day 17 – Your favourite memory
Day 18 – Your favourite birthday
Day 19 – Something you regret
Day 20 – This month
Day 21 – Another moment
Day 22 – Something that upsets you
Day 23 – Something that makes you feel better
Day 24 – Something that makes you cry
Day 25 – A first
Day 26 – Your fears
Day 27 – Your favourite place
Day 28 – Something that you miss
Day 29 – Your aspirations
Day 30 – One last moment

Some encouragement might be needed occasionally. (Like, every day)

The Gypsy

Maybe 3 is a charm

2010-08-26T21:17:00.002+02:00

Last night it was a hit again: Tamara, my cousin, got a call from her transplant doctor, that they had lungs for her. They got picked up by an ambulance, raced to the hospital, whilst the lungs were checked and re-checked.

A rollercoaster of emotions: Surprise, hammering heart at the tension and stress and hope that follow. When you hear that it gets cancelled only minutes before the actual anaesthetic, because the lungs couldn't be taken out without getting severely damaged, it's a disappointment like you can't believe.

This being the second time this happens, I genuinely hope that the third time, will be:

1. soon

2. a success.

The Gypsy