it's over!

so....


my year in namur is over. the most dreaded thing of 2006 is done. Well, almost. I still have to get my grades that are awful, and pick a few more things up from my studio.



It's been a good year though. Ignoring the fact that I was dragged here against my will, from the basement on the hill, i can't complain. People here have been really nice to me, which was nice since I left my belgian elementary school on a bad note 8 years ago. they accepted me right from the start. I'm really thankful for that.


I'm really going to miss my studio. I adored living by myself. I could do whatever the frick i wanted to. Ok, the most hard core thing i ever did was stay up till 3 AM reading mormon blogs...
I could have solo dance parties and talk to myself (shut up, you KNOW you've done it too) and no one would care, not even my neighbors, who were drunk half the time.

gosh, i'm really going to miss that place. even if i slept with a knife under my pillow half the time...



but i'm also really glad that my Namur Chapter is over. Let's be honest: I was really out of place there. and i really didn't have a social life, cuz i didn't speak the language well enough.


(oh, and I'm also glad I don't have to worry about drunk hobo's ringing my doorbell at unreasonable hours of the night :-))

My friends are in my computer

So about how I absolutely don't feel like studying for my next final. My disasterous oral exam (well, I'm pretty sure it was) that I took yesterday, doesn't really help me.
and of course:

I'M NOT GETTING ANY BL***Y CREDIT FOR IT!!!!

I know, I know. It's good practice. These exams that don't count for anything will help me learn how to prepare for exams in the future that do count.
but uuuuuuggggggghhhhhhhhh. i just wanna go and sneak into some kind of industrial property and take pictures. and download free music.

My next final is dutch linguistics. i've already studied a few chapters, but probably forgot most of it. maybe i'll receive some kind of divine insight into 'De Syntaxis van het Nederlands.'

WHY...

...is it a crime in fashion to be a woman with muscle?

I can't fit in things like these:

or do I know any healthy and thriving woman who can.

Seriously, why don't people keep women in mind who don't have a car, and have to carry 6 KG's of potatoes to their place of residence, that is on the 3rd floor of a 300 year old home?? And chase trains down the platform?

Is it really that awful now to have a muscle in your body to get a twitch in?

Being accosted by Oxfam

The other day I decided to show that my heart is in the right place, so I decided to buy some juice at Oxfam.

Now, that morning I had already noticed some Oxfam people in the street, holding clip boards, dressed for a long day out in the cold. Usually I can avoid these people because I listen to Nel (ipod), and because the collar of my coat has fur on it, which apparently gives me some kind of Cruella de Ville appearance. That, or just speak really loud in Flemish on my cellphone. (that worked in Provo too)

Anyway, I'm walking over to the Oxfam store to buy some juice. ipodless.
Now, if you are aware of the fact that there are Clip Board Ninjas out on the street, you should NEVER leave your house ipodless.
But you know, I'm going to buy something at Oxfam anyway, so I shouldn't feel bad about giving these people the cold shoulder. I mean, I rather buy some Bolivian juice, then give a stranger my bank account number.

So as I'm walking over the little plaza, an Oxfam Clip Board Lady approaches me.
Crap, here it goes. But hey, if I don't respond to them, they'll just leave me alone. Right?

My friends, these people have never learned about the etiquette of Street Clip Boarding. Cuz when she started talking to me, she noticed she wasn't going to get the desired response, so she put her foot in front of me, causing me to nearly plunge my face into the cobblestones. Before I even had found my balance, she had me pretty much cornered, and virtually shoved the Oxfam Pen up my nose.

I'm not sure how I managed to escape from her, but it was an escape that every football player should be jealous off. Maybe Antwerp-life has trained me to fend off Clip Board People.

So you can imagine why I was a bit annoyed when I reached the store. Good thing that my sole purpose at Oxfam was to support the Bolivian man. Cuz they know their juice down there. At least the lady behind the counter gave me a plastic bag to carry my bottles in.

gosh.

Librarians, the new Google

So today, as I was packing up my laptop in it's case, I was thinking: Librarians are the same everywhere. From Provo, to Namur, to Orem... It's some kind of secret code. An underground collaboration. They all seem to dress the same, they talk the same. Anyway, so while I was thinking about this, I was walking through the security machine with all my stuff, when it suddenly goes off. I think it might just have been my cell phone, so I'm in the middle of taking it out, when one of the older librarian ladies tells me I have a book. Well, I do. I checked it out a couple of days ago. So I'm trying to make this clear to her, but she DOESN'T LET ME FREAKING FINISH MY SENTANCE!!! Well, finally I'm able to tell her that I checked this book out a while ago, and that MAYBE SHE COULD CHECK HER COMPUTER??? But honestly, I was trying to explain it to her, she could tell my French is far from perfect, so at least let me finish my sentence! I mean, you're asking for an explanation, so let me give it to you! Seriously, this is such a trademark of French speakers. I swear, there is no such thing as a French, a Wallonia, a Quebequise...They are all French speakers, and that should just be a nationality of its own. They love to listen to themselves talk, and they do not give people to the time to say something. If you don't speak going 678 MPH, it's not even worth listening to you.
Anyway, back to how librarians were going to take over the world.
While interrupting me, she tells me, that when I take a checked-out book back into the library to read, and I'm going to take it out again, I need to leave the ticket in the book. After giving me an evil glare, she let's me go without too much of a fuss, while she yells at the girl behind me that she needs to leave her water bottle in the locker. That's strange...all the other librarians let us take drinks in. Actually, it is totally against the law to prohibit someone from drinking water. It's a human essential. Or at least I heard something like that.

So the conclusion of the day:
1.Librarians belong to a secret collaboration.
2. French is a uniting language.