Big day, new challenges and angry rants

Heey guys,

It's been a while, I know.
But I bring great news.

I found a job, start working on Monday, signed my contract yesterday.
Also, I bought my first car, went too pick it up yesterday, too.

So yesterday was a big day, Monday's going to be a big day too...
I'm kinda nervous...
What if I mess up?
What if I don't live up to their expectations?
What if the job doesn't live up to mine?
What if I don't fit with the collegues?
What if I don't make new friends there?

Lots of 'what ifs'...


And oh, by the way people... learn to fucking drive before you hit the damn the road an hit someone's new car and then make a run for it!! Freaking fantastic, really. Coward!!!

USA: every story has it's ending

Every story has to have an ending, even the happy ones.
So is my USA adventure.



Let's get started with the beginning of the end: the naval (navy) academy. In short immense terr/itory and hot guys in uniform. The view of the bay wasn't bad either ;)

Sightseeing by day: the Washington Memorial (a.k.a. the obelisk they got as a present) on the left, the Lincoln Memorial. Later on you'll get to see the inside too.








Of course we couldn't miss out on the white house. Too bad you can't go near it by car... Apparently you can go around the back, where all the shot for the media are made, but there wasn't enough time to do that (by foot.)



Pentagon Memorial. A Memorial for all the people that died during the 9/11-attack on the Pentagon. People here in Europe are always talking about the World Trade Center Attacks, where way more people died then anticipated - the terrorist didn't predict that the towers would collapse - but there were 2 other planes. The first one had been taken over by the passengers and they crashed it so that the terrorist wouldn't be able to enact hist plan, which targeted the White house. The second one's target was the pentagon, this one did succeed. Every single victim has a memorial stone and a tree. They are arranged by age. The youngest victim was a three-year-old girl named Zoë. Her sister and parents died too. They were on the plane.



Sightseeing by night: the capitol. We also saw the Washington Memorial, the White House and some other memorials.

That night we went the a cafe in Georgetown too. Alcohol outside... Doesn't happen often in the States.

The Korea Monument. That war only 'ended' because China threatened with a nuclear war when the South Korean side was on the winning hand (which included the USA.) That's why the boundaries are where they are now. And why I placed the quote signs around 'ended'... that's because officially, that war is still on-going. The peace treaty was never signed.




The Lincoln Memorial on the inside.
When saw the outside AND the inside, it totally made me thing of Zeus in the Parthenon.

The Vietnam Memorial.

Memorial for all the women that helped (as nurses, flight-planners, ...) during the wars.

Anyone who recognises this man?
He looks rather pale right :p.

It's Martin Luther King Jr himself.

Jefferson Memorial.
Didn't saw this one from the inside, but nice enough by far.





Washington Cathedral, where Darth Vader keeps an eye on. When you look close, on the picture on the right, there are two little ornaments between the window sets. The right ornament between these two particular windows is Darth Vader's head.





After that visit is was time to pack our bags.
We left the house on Saturday, at 11 a.m. Washington time (5 a.m. Belgian time).
And after a plane ride, 8 hours at the Moscow airport, another plane ride and a car trip we were home on Sunday, around 10.30 p.m.

Bye bye USA, hello to my own bed.

USA: the party goes on

Here I am, once again, and I'm taking a flying start.
Let's start the tour with the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

Hello 'Discovery'.
The thing is truly huge, much larger then it seems on this photograph.
Do you guys see all the different little panels? Apparently every single one of them has a unique form. Not two of them are the same.

 I say "Jump!" You say "How high?"
Felix Baumgartner did 128,100 feet, about 39 kilometers, and he did it in this little thing.

After culture comes sports.
I joined the active side of life and went kayaking on the lake besides the house. (Yes, that's actually me. Thanks for the picture, mom.)

When it rains it pours.
And in Great Falls it does pour.
They're not the Niagara Falls, but these falls are amazing nonetheless. And this little - cough, cough - man on the right made sure the territory was safe from up high.



Just around the corner on the way to a little piece of heaven (also know as the Botanical Gardens) you have - not no the White House - the Capitol. You could say it's a kind of city hall... and it really makes someone feel small... The little white dot on the steps below, that's supposed to be me (picture on the right).

Now that little piece of heaven I was talking about: the Botanical Gardens. Truly amazing. Tropical plants, medical plants, jungle plants, herbs, ... The one on the right is one of my personal favourites: the red hibiscus.

 


 Of course, when you're in Washington, you have to pay at least a little respect to the big man himself. Mount Vernon is the perfect place to do that (a.k.a. the home of mister George Washington.)







And with that I'm wrapping up for today.
See you around!

Party in the USA

Good evening ladies and gentlemen....

I've left Belgium about a week ago, 3.30 p.m. on July 20th.
about 24 hours later me and my family were settled in Virginia, just outside Washington D.C., which means District of Columbia (not 'da capo').
Don't get this wrong: you have the District of Columbia (the state), which consists of Washington, the capital city, and then you have Washington (another state). Washington D.C. is NOT a part of the state Washington.
The first one is to be found on the east coast, the latter on the west coast.

Quite handy to know when you download the maps onto your gps.
We didn't at first and our gps went nuts.
But we got there.

Day 1 - Washington D.C.: the roadtrip.
Between 4 and 7.30 p.m. you can't park in most of the streets in Washington.

This is because the parking lane is then used as a regular driving lane. So we didn't, we drove around instead.




First cultural stop: the National Archives. Too bad for us, we arrived at closing time. Just to give you an idea on how big thing here usually are: the main door of the archives.
Pretty big, me thinks...

First actual stop: Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. (Quite a mouthful, don't you think?)
Also know as the museum from the 'night at the museum'-movies. Featuring in front of the elephant in the center of the museum is my 'little sister.





Extremely impressive: Arlington Cemetery. This includes not only miles and miles of military graves, but also the house of the stepson of the one and only chief himself: Washington.
One of the graves is the grave for the unknown soldiers. This on is guarded 24/7, every single day of the year, by the 3rd U.S. Infantry regiment. The changing of the guard happens every hour, every half hour during summer. The ritual that is use for the changing is an event on it's own. If you're ever there, be sure to watch it.
Also: this is where all the Kennedy's are burried.

We also went to visit the Museum for Indian-American History.  The top floor was quite interesting, the rest of them not so much. If you know that there are for floors... I guess you could say I wouldn't actually recommend it, but if it's in your field of interests go ahead.

Funny facts:
- everywhere you go you see chipmunks, squirrels and hundreds of little brown birds.
- Americans don't know 'small'. Building with 20 to 30 floors aren't unusual. Note: skyscrapers aren't allowed. Yeah, I guess when you compare with let's say New York, then Washington has no skyscrapers. At least not in the American sense of the word.
- Everywhere you look are threes and grass. Despite the huge building, there's way more nature in the city then there is to be found in Belgium.

That's it for today.
I'll keep you posted!

Love you guys!!!

Never lose yourself

"Some use make-up to cover up, to hide who they are, some use it to express themselves and to show the world who they truly are."
- Cassandra Bankson -

I could use all the make-up in the world, but it probably wouldn't hide my scars.
Even less would it hide all the times I've been in hospitals when I was younger.
And something make-up will never ever be able to hide are the scars that aren't visible to the eye.
Nothing can hide that kind of scars, of being imperfect.

I don't mind that I can't hide my scars, my past. Not anymore.
At least most of the time.
Those scars are part of me, and the moments that lead to those scars made me who I am.
It's part of how I think, how I treat other people, how I see the world, how I react to the world.

So I guess I don't really want to hide them anymore. Again... most of the time.
If people don't take me for who I am, in and out, if they are too superficial to get to know me beyond my looks, then I guess I don't need those people either.
Society bring to us this idea of beauty, this idea of what being perfect is like. You can be pretty, you can be hot, but beauty is quite something different.

"It's got to come from the inside, it's got to be personal. So if you are true and genuine, I find this beautiful."
- Rick Genest -

I'm finishing of with a great advice to all of you out there, also a quote from Rick Genest:

"Never lose yourself."

(And maybe... watch the video below.
A picture perfect to the saying 'there's more than meets the eye')

cloudy with a chance of rain

Hey guys,

I know my writing has been on a low lately, but I'm back...
and I've got quite some stuff to share with you all.

First of all, I've ended my internship at the city counsel.
I haven't seen the mayor at all, but what I can say with pride is that it was a really good internship, with amazing people to work with.

Second, I've graduated!
Yes, for real this time.
I can proudly say I've cot my second degree and looking for a steady job at the moment.
After 157 784 630 seconds of being a college student, college life is over...

In the mean time I working as a summer intern for the city pool of the neighboring town.
It's fun to do, but I like it better when there's a bit of a crowd attending the pool.
I believe you've already guessed: today was not that kind of day.
Not much people came to the pool and even less people needed a day pass.

I guess rainy weather and the big soccer game tonight aren't good for pool business.
As for me, I life the rain when it's hot outside.
The of the raindrops on your skin, the sound of it when you close your eyes, the smell of hot and wet... I just love it.

I was talking about it with one of my co-workers and he gave me a great quote from Bob Marley:
"Some people feel the rain, others just get wet."

It's going to be one of my favourite quotes now.
And with that I'm out.

See you later!!!

love is all you need - not what you think?

Think before you treat someone badly...
What if the roles were reversed?

Think about that for once.

sobre vivire

Today was my very last day of school...
All that's left is an internship and the finals.

So I guess it's time for me to grow up, to live in the real world...
And it scares me...
It truly does.

Jamie says it's not scary, just a big change...
Who says I'm ready for those changes?
Who says I'm good enough for the real world?

Being a student is easy.
Yes, you go crazy with every mid term or with the finals...
But still, being a student is safe.
And I'm not quite sure if I know how to be that kind of brave.

it's always a good day!

It really is a good time to be me.

I had good grades.
I just had a meeting with an employee of the city counsel and I've got myself an internship there.
And I really feel good about myself.

I don't know what it's like for boys (or men), but I know a thing or two about girls.
Big shocker, I know.

I know for instance that a lot of us girls try to mirror ourselves to cover models.
A lot of us try to be them, want to be them, look like them.
And I think that's wrong.
Don't get me wrong, I used to be one of those girls.
Never good enough.
I still don't think I'm perfect, but now I'm happy with how I look (most of the time), and I believe people should take me for who I am.

A couple of years back, I had this boyfriend who told me I was beautiful.
Deep down I never believed him, back then.
'Cause how could he think I was beautiful, when I myself didn't think I was?
I used to send him quite a lot of pictures, trying to make him say it again, that I was beautiful.
I thought that maybe if he said it enough, I'd believe it too.

Now I believe him.
(Thank you, Jamie.)
And no, I still don't look like a cover model.
But I've got no need for that either.

"If you want to change the world, start with yourself."
I started with myself, now it's up to the rest of the world to do the same.

xoxo.

Words you couldn't say

E.
I didn't know you.
But many people did and they're going to miss you.

Yet another girl chose to stop breathing...
Although, you can't really say it's a choice when you're not seeing any way out anymore...

"The World Health Organisation estimates that each year approximately one million people die from suicide, which represents a global mortality rate of 16 people per 100,000 or one death every 40 seconds. It is predicted that by 2020 the rate of death will increase to one every 20 seconds."

One year is  31 556 926 seconds.
So that's 1 577 846 people who commit suicide every year (for now, sadly).
1 577 846 people who can't find their way back.

90% of suicides worldwide are cause by some kind of mental illness.
And befor you go all Hannibal Lecter on my ass, depression is considered a mental illness too.

NHS says that there are several factors who determine how vulnerable one is to suicidal thinking or behaviour: life history, mental health, lifestyle, employment, relationships and genetics and family history.


These factors don't have to lead to suicide, but when they do it's never just one single cause.
And stressful events will most likely push you over the edge.

Some people dare say those problems are all between your ears. I say they've never been low enough to know it's not like that at all.

Of course there's much more to this topic, but I really wanted to put it in the spotlight.


In memoriam of all suicide victims.
May their families find a way to move on, but never to forget.

Three Days Grace - Never Too Late

Fields of Gold

First blog of the year.

So I was planning on ending the year in gold.
Or at least with a song about fields of gold.
Yes ladies and gentlemen, the one and only: Sting.

 But with midterms and all, I have to admit I kinda forgot.
Sorry about that...
It's the end of January by now.
A very happy new year to all of you, by the way.
I hope you all made resolutions you're happy with.

I know I did.
I plan on:
- go out more. no explanation necessary.
- getting a boyfriend. It's been almost two years and I'm getting sick of it. No, I'm not going to hunt the boys down. If it's meant to be, He'll show up. In the mean time, I'm going to enjoy my time with the ones I do meet.
- seeing trough to go train 3 times a week.
*look at that, she's one of those anorexic bitches who are never content with their body*
No, I'm not. Not even by far. I'm perfectly content with how I look. Just want to ante up my endurance in running amongst other things. Hopefully I can start horseback riding again soon as well.
-an as for now: finish editing 'Sakura'. Someone's asked me to review and edit her book. I'm almost halfway now, and I love the story. I really like editing as well... Either way, if she'd ever put the story online, I'll be sure to post the link here, on my blog.

School's starting again on Monday, so I'm gonna go enjoy my weekend. Hope you guys do too!!!

Xoxo.