Last weekend in my own house....
Mood:  rushed
Having spent the last couple of days in dust and surrounded by boxes, it was very stressful to get everything looking a bit nice for my party tonight. Well, party, actually we just had a pleasant evening, drinking a couple of beers on my last weekend in this place. Many people just couldn’t make it, because of holidays and all that and also because of short notice, though 3 weeks is a reasonable time. I let my mom take care of the family part; we’ll see about that tomorrow

Up side down
Mood:  incredulous
Wow, my – well, what’s it called – renter ? sure knows how to handle things. In even less than a week he managed to turn both my kitchen and toilet upside down, but I must say, it all looks very promising. Things I hadn’t had the energy for anymore, he got it done within such a short time, it was amazing. I almost can’t wait to see what it looks like once finished. Even makes me regret more that I’ll be leaving this house… but hey, we’ll have to see what the future brings anyway ;o)

Paul's karaoke party
Mood:  chillin'
Topic: Night life & other action
Last weekend there was a party at Paul’s place… a belated birthday party. I must say, it was really good fun. He got hold on some karaoke cd’s. That he got a microphone from a toys store was not really that much a problem, for as soon as people got into it, everybody was singing so loud it wasn’t really necessary anymore. I’m a terrible singer myself, but after a couple of beers my voice sounds much better… either that or my perception of hearing changes, hehe… just plain good old fun. The only downer was I had to get up so early and leave for I had still loads of packing to do. Another slight downer was that – meaning no harm – talks about my Malaysian plans caused me quite some doubts, however determined I might be. Constant doubts; will I make it ? will I make it ? will I make it ? will I make it ? mmhhh the little voice inside I guess…

Homeless ????
Mood:  caffeinated
Yes, today I booked my ticket.... not a chance anymore to change my mind or get scared... well, couldn't reverse my decisions anyway since the couple will be moving in August 2nd. I'm gonna be homeless for 3 weeks ?!

Topic: House & Garden Philosophy
Here's one a friend sent me... :
"Respect requires accepting the fact you will never ever totally understand someone. You cannot catch another person" (R. Sennet).
I found a nice one of my own as well;
"Acquiring knowledge without thinking about what you have learned is useless, thinking only - without learning - leads to dangerous deliberations" (Confucius)

Turning pages...
Mood:  not sure
Topic: House & Garden Philosophy
Getting a bit cold feet la… loosing sleep over all the things that need to be done. Will the mortgage be settled in time ? Will my employer not give me a hard time when quitting my job ? Will I manage getting around in a far away country in a familiar yet totally different culture ? Will I have any kind of social life with the seven-days-a-week-schedule ? Will I have saved enough funds ? All these many questions… But the really hard things have already started; little by little I’m starting to get rid of my possessions…. Throwing away things I’d been keeping for years, lots of it for no reason at all except sentimental considerations. And the hardest yet to come after my farewell party at the last day of July; leaving my nice little house, probably for good and not to mention all my good friends and family. Sure, I’ll be hanging around for another 3 weeks, but it’s still like turning the page to the next chapter…

Mood swings
Mood:  not sure
Topic: House & Garden Philosophy
I had been having many contradictory feelings lately, adapting to the thought of having to stay for quite some more time in this place and after just having accepted the idea swinging right back again to the necessity of having to arrange everything after all for a departure on a short notice. I was just about to go into the “stay-here-a-little-longer-mode”, when finally last week I managed to find people to rent out my house to. Actually, there were several interested candidates; 2 couples, the single mom with high school-kid and finally again a 2nd German version of “friends”, this time 3 German girls. Would have been nice for the record, but better to take in a local couple. We all know students can be animals, although the German ones usually seem quite ok. So I chose for the couple. Let’s call them Dharma & Greg, until we come up with some better names; gotta protect some privacy here ok ? Anyway, maybe more about them later.
So as soon as I found out I called my parents right away. It gave me a somewhat peculiar feeling though. From one hand I wanted to let them share in my enthusiasm, but from the other hand it most have meant especially for my mom that a possibility that still seemed to be quite far away, in an instant suddenly became awfully close and real. I hope I haven’t upset them too much, although I know at the same time they feel happy for me as well.

Volkskrant 3 juli
Topic: House & Garden Philosophy
Geloof is de deur openhouden in de HEMA, vriendelijk lachen in het leven. Het ook echt doen dus.

Tour du sud
Mood:  party time!
Topic: Night life & other action
Just had 2 really great days :o)My friend Kuma and his Dutch girlfriend (I fixed him up) came over to the south to spend a few days @ my place. We had a great time. I gave them a short course in getting to know Belgium beers and after having slept till noon !! we made our way up to the nearest Belgium and German city... Actually, driving them around made me realize how tremendously beautiful some of the places are in my region. Especially the German city Aachen is a really trendy, hip place, full of young people. Moreover, the mix of classic and modern architecture adds to the really good atmosphere. This weekend I'll probably go North, to spend some more time with them in Amsterdam. Should be good fun, although the 2 late nights have worn me out a little bit...

Growing pains
Mood:  not sure
Topic: House & Garden Philosophy
Geez… they are getting old, aren’t they. Not that I hadn’t noticed. It’s just that they didn’t fit the concept yet. The concept of old age till now were my grandparents. And even then; my grandfather still frantically trying to escape this concept in wanting to practice fitness despite being passed 80 years of age. And my other grandmother – being the same age – who still manages to live her own life in her own house enjoying her own little garden. Anyway, that’s not the point, is it ?
So yesterday my mom suffered the really scary feeling of heart palpitations. I thought I’d be the good son and give then the ride to the hospital. Not that I was really worried… It reminded me though, of what a friend said to me last week. Something about trying to enjoy the time I still had with them… before leaving the country, she meant of course. Well it’s true I guess. It even started to make me wonder if I could even leave them here like that, now old age seems to kick in… Ah well, it’ll probably be the same family trait of stubbornness that’ll make them survive the next two decades as well. Let’s just pray for that…