Little victories

Hi guys,

Sorry it's been so long since I've written something here, but now I have a good reason to do so.
You all know that I have this thing called trigeminal neuralgia and that I've been on medication for that for a little over 2 years now. Well, since December I've been pain free (first little victory) and that means I can start reducing the medication (second little victory)! I started reducing last week Sunday, Feb. 23rd. A few days later my left ear started to hurt again. The nerve is situated a little underneath the ear, so I thought I was going to have fits again. Yesterday I gathered up all my courage and went to my GP. I told him I was hoping to have otitis and yes, he confirmed me it is otitis (little victory number 3). I seriously have never been happier with otitis. Okay, it hurts a bit and with the drops it feels like my head is under water the whole time, but hey, that nothing compared to the pain of the trigeminal neuralgia fits!!! I feel like I could take on the world right now! :)
Now my GP made a whole 'reducing plan' for the next few months and I sure hope that will work out! Since I'll be in Sicily from March 26th until September 30th it will be quite the challenge to keep the reducing plan working, but I have faith in it and I have to believe it'll go well. Please keep your fingers crossed!

Randy Houser - Top of the world (from YouTube)

 

Rehab

Hi guys,

Sorry it took me so long to write something here. I've been back in Belgium for a couple of weeks now and I'm still 'in rehab'. For one reason or another it's more difficult than I thought it would be. For instance I find the traffic here very very very busy in comparison to the traffic in Kos. Okay, in Greece people drive like mad men, but here it's soooo crowded. I feel like I never have enough space and I'm always in the way. It takes me a long time to get used to that again, but anyways now I can drive a 'real' car again, my lovely Jeep Wrangler.
Enough about traffic and cars, let's talk about real life. It takes a while to get used to the rhythm of home again. It still hurts that my wonderful dog, Viggo, isn't around anymore. Somehow I still one him to walk trough the door and all is back to normal. Especially the first 2-3 days it was very hard. Now it's getting easier, but I just keep thinking that I needed to be there for him when he wasn't feeling well... It came as a shock when I was still in Greece, but the shock was twice as hard when I got home, as I also thought it would be. Anyway, I'm still grieving and things will get better, but it will never be like it was before... I realize that now.
When I was in Greece I was working 6/7 and almost 10h a day. Now I'm back to doing absolutely nothing. Which is fun for a while, but it gets boring really easily. In December that will change, because I got offered a job at FLIR, so my old job. I'm going back there to replace my dear colleague who's responsible for Germany. So yes, I'll have to speak some German out there! ;) Good thing I have some time now to practice my German skills a little bit. I'm really excited and looking forward to it.
December 4, I will finally know where I'm headed next summer season. So I will work with FLIR until I have to leave for my next Thomas Cook destination. That's another thing I'm looking forward to!!! I so hope I can go to Italy!! Pray for me! ;)
After that next summer destination I will have to chose what to do with my life. I'm pretty sure I won't stay in Belgium. I have to, no, need to explore the rest of the world. The world is too big to stay just in one spot. I have a 'travel-bug' (most likely inherited that from my mum) and that bug needs some loving. ;) No, seriously, I have to look for a job somewhere around the globe and I'm pretty sure I'm going to find it. All it takes is some courage and a suitcase.
Don't get me wrong here, I would still miss my mum, brother, family and friends like crazy, but there are so many things to help us keep in touch and, come on, planes aren't invented to stay on the ground. :) I will definitely keep you posted on my whereabouts on time and in the meantime you can find me in Belgium.

To close of this blog I would like to share a song that really made me think about the decisions I have to make next year. My 'shoebox' is a large, beautiful white basket and all my memories are in there. Enjoy this beautiful song by Chris Young:

Lyrics: 

I stumbled on a bunch of junk of mine
In a shoebox the other night
In between cleaning up files and messes
That I'd made of my life

Ticket stubs, poems and old letters
I dumped them all out on the bed
Found a homemade birthday card from mom
And this is what it said, yeah, this is what it said

Don't forget the little moments
They're the ones that mean the most
When the way home seems so far away
Take 'em out and hold them close

And take a picture with your father
'Cause one day he'll be gone
And don't forget to fill an old shoebox
Full of things to look back on, full of things to look back on

I opened up my grandpa's pocket knife
And I was back to his back porch
It was summertime I was turnin' nine
He said, "You want that knife? It's yours"

I remember runnin' off in the yard
Carved my name in every tree
I haven't held it since he passed away
And it meant the world to me
Because he meant the world to me

Don't forget the little moments
They're the ones that mean the most
When the way home seems so far away
Take 'em out and hold them close
And take a picture with your father
'Cause one day he'll be gone
And don't forget to fill an old shoebox
Full of things to look back on

Look back on, a little window to the past
Look back on, God knows life goes by so fast
If ever you should ever doubt the blessings that you've had

Don't forget the little moments
They're the ones that mean the most
When the way home seems so far away
Take 'em out and hold them close

And take a picture with your father
'Cause one day he'll be gone
And don't forget to fill an old shoebox
Full of things to look back on

I stumbled on a bunch of junk of mine
In a shoebox the other night

Source: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/chrisyoung/theshoebox.html

A teardrop and a smile

Dear readers,

I have an announcement to make. Most of you will already have heard about it, but still...
I quit my job at FLIR to go work for Thomas Cook.

Teardrop

Last Friday was my last day at FLIR, I had a wonderful time over there and I learnt a lot. I had the most wonderful colleagues for whom I'm very thankful. I tried to hold my tears, but I couldn't, I did shed a teardrop. On the way home: lots... :s Made me doubt wether I was doing the right thing...
Now I believe I did do the right thing. I will definitely miss working at FLIR and of course I will miss my colleagues! Thanks to all virtual technology we will definitely keep in touch.

Smile

Now on to the new job: I will be a Thomas Cook-representative in Kos, Greece. I will fly out on Saturday, 8th and I will only come back to, by then probably, freezing Belgium in October/November.
I'm really excited about all this and I'm really grateful for this opportunity. SMILE!
I will of course keep you up-to-date about my whereabouts. ;)

For now I want to end with this quote and lovely song: "To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe." - Anatole France (via brainyquotes.com)

Mariah Carey ft. Whitney Houston - When you believe (via YouTube)

"There can be miracles
When you believe (When you believe)
Though hope is frail
It's hard to kill
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve (You can achieve)
When you believe
Somehow you will
You will when you believe" 

(via songteksten.nl)

Race to the finish

Yes, the finish... The final race has begun. My masterthesis is completed and the last presentation was held yesterday. Now all that's left to do is handing in a bunch of essays and of course the 'masterpiece'.
Next week is my last week EVER at school. I've got mixed feelings about it though. At one side I'm happy to be 'released' from all the school work, but on the other hand I'm sad I'm not going to see my friends every day. I'll miss them. Everyone of us is going in a completely different direction, plus we don't live near to each other. We have to make a deal about seeing each other every once in a while. Each month might be an impossible thing to do, but once every three or four months, I hope, must be doable.

Anyway, this is what my schedule looks like for the next few weeks:
May 22: evaluation of my internship at the Port Authority in Antwerp... :s Nervous!!!
May 24: handing in a paper on modality in the internal communication of BASF
               handing in my internship report
June 1: handing in a paper on forms of address in a Dutch series called 'Flikken Maastricht' (Cops Maastricht) and in a Belgian series called 'Flikken' (Cops Ghent).
June 4: handing in my masterthesis on appraisal in the communication of the new museum, MAS, in Antwerp and in press articles related to the opening of the museum.
June 5: leaving for the West Coast! My plane is headed for LA!!!!!! And then we'll discover the magic at the West Coast of the US!
June 20: returning to bloody old Belgium... :(
June 21: I'll celebrate my 23rd birthday on the plane as we land in Belgium on June 21 at 8 o'clock! I've never celebrated my birthday on a plane before, so that will be a nice experience! :)
June 28 or 29: defense of my masterthesis
July 6: the final verdict... Will I be graduating that day or will I not???? That is the question...

If I graduate I'll probably start working at Thomas Cook. I hope so... :) :)

Eline - me - Mayke - Anouk - Kathleen

This is a song Madilyn Bailey wrote for her graduation from High School, but I think it's really relevant to what we feel too. So my dear friends, while I was listening to this song I thought about how we met and how we grew up together. We had a great time I think. :) We'll be starting our 'new' lives pretty soon now, but we will always have our memories of the times we spent together. I know it sounds really cheesy, but it's true, right!? :)

And then you notice you're growing up...

It's true, you know, the moment you realize you will have a completely different life in about a month from now, is kinda freaky. You finally realize you're growing up at last. The first tiny little steps you take in the 'real' adult life. I've been an adult (technically) for about 5 years now (jeeze, I'm getting old!) and I still didn't see myself as 'adult'. Now I'm realizing you finally grow up to be the adult you wanna be when you graduate. It's new to me, you know, job interviews, paper work, finances (the hardest part of it all),... I'm fortunate my mum knows a big deal of all of the above so she still helps me. The idea of doing all of this 'on my own' one day in the very near future is scary, but intriguing at the same time.

I got a call back from Thomas Cook yesterday. I passed the tests at the assessment day. I didn't think I'd make the cut, because I can't participate in the training week in Mallorca in June, but they are very understanding and they'll call me in June so that I can start my training on the location I'm assigned to in July. It's all a bit overwhelming. First a job offer at Unique as a multipurpose employee. I decided not to do that, because I don't want to be in traffic all day long (I'd be working in the area between Gand, Antwerp and Hasselt and I'd have a business car, but the job isn't really what I want).
Now then the job at Thomas Cook which would be great: I'd be abroad, using my languages and training my people skills....


I'm a big, big girl in a big, big world...

What a weekend!

Blog entrance in English today. Just 'cause I feel like writing in English, Dutch is so 'every day'! ;)
Alright, here goes.

What a weekend! Seriously, what a weekend!
It actually all started Friday afternoon. Thursday evening I'd send an application for a job at Thomas Cook. Friday afternoon they call me to ask if I could meet with them for an assessment meeting on Saturday morning. All excited! Later that afternoon a friend calls me asking me to go to one of the biggest 90s parties in Belgium (her mom won 2 tickets). Hell yeah, I wanted to go!!! So my Saturday was filled with a job interview and a massive party night.
Saturday, 10 o'clock, at Brussels international airport, searching for the Thomas Cook building. Took the traveller's bus and stopped at the second stop. Than I thought I got out too early, waited for the next bus and than when I got of that bus, I discovered I was wrong again and that I should've just stayed where I was. I didn't immediately find the building, but another girl was looking for the building too and we decided to look for it together. It worked we were there right on time. And I'd already made a friend! Yay! ;)
We walked in and saw some other people just sitting there saying absolutely nothing to each other.
At 10:15 the assessment center started (it would take 'bout half a day was announced). I was still there at 17:15... That's when my interview was finished. It's strange though, we were there with 15 and we hit it of really well, but the chances are we will never see each other again.
The long waiting took it's toll, my feet already hurt like hell and I'd still go to the 'party of the year'. I was supposed to be at my friend's house at 17:30. No way I was gonna make that, because I had to go home first to pack my pj's and sleeping bag. Home at 18:10. Back in the car at 18:45 headed to Beverlo. Arrived there at about 20:00... We still had to grab something to eat so we decided to be überBelgians and eat French Fries! :)
We arrived at the party at about 21:40. We had a blast! The life performances at I Love The 90s were just awesome! DJ could've been better, but hey, we were THERE!!! :) :) Amazing!

Sunday I'd actually been tired all day long (I even fell asleep on the train, never did that before!)... Oh my gosh, I'm getting old! Not used to partying anymore! ;)
Normally my grandparents were coming over for lunch, they'd bring chinese. They didn't come eventually, but we had to go eat chinese at their place for dinner. So I'd actually left my friend way too early! (Sorry, Eline! ;) )

Sunday at the other end of the world, in Australia, they had the Logie Awards. 'Packed to the Rafters', my all time favorite TV show, won the Logie for Best popular drama!!!! Hugh Sheridan, who plays one of the main characters, won the Silver Logie.
Unfortunately Packed to the Rafters doesn't air anymore in Belgium. We only had it on for two seasons... Another reason for me to go to Australia: to buy all the DVD's!! :)
And now that I've even fallen more in love with Australia since I've met Aytekin at the assessment center. He'd worked in Australia for about a year and he talked about his adventures so vividly, I wished I was there.

And now it's Monday already and I still have a ton of work to do, but I don't really feel up to it.
Here are two videos from the Logies: