As you might have noticed...

I'm trying to find the perfect background.. well, maybe not perfect but one I like. It's a long process of nights lying awake trying to figure out how to make my blog look nicer... right.. it might still change over the next few days/weeks as I'm still not really happy with it..
Ps : it might have been better to think about backgrounds, headers, etc. before starting this blog, but it wouldn't have been so much fun, would it?

On weddings and whatnot...

Last weekend the Italian and I attended my cousin's wedding. Yup the Italian was in itty bitty Belgium and witnessed his first Belgian wedding. Yup his first, as most of my cousins and friends are not really 'the (conventional) marrying kind'. Somewhere between the wonderful dinner buffet, too many glasses of wine and the decadent dessert buffet, THE conversation started. Who will get married next?
I sometimes hear stories of girls who have -since they were little- dreamed about the big day with the white dress and I never quite 'understood'. Some years ago I was still an avid defender of the 'why would anyone get married'-theory. After that I started to understand why someone would want to get married and now.. well.. now I'm even considering it myself. Maybe I do want to get married someday. A sentence that some years ago would not have crossed my mind!

Even though I thorougly enjoyed the ceremony and the dinner and party last weekend, I doubt I would ever want to get married that way though. The (expensive), you-are-the-center-of-attention-for-a-day day, but getting older I do get now why people want to do this..

TMML - This made me laugh

A Belgian guy followed his TomTom driving in Sicily.. and you see what happens :

http://www.agrigentonotizie.it/notizie/leggi/27583/raffadali-tradito-dal-tom-tom-finisce-giu-per-le-scale.html

Apparently even TomTom loses his way in Italy and sent the guy down the 'scalinata'. I think it's great to see all the Italians helping him by lifting his car back up. I wonder if Belgians would be so helpful... any volunteers to drive down some stairs in Brussels and test this theory?

It's official..! I'm getting nervous...

Last week I finally asked my boss if it was possible to find me a job with the company in Italy. ( same company, but different as they don't make the same things as we do)
She already knew I was toying with the idea of moving, but I never made it a 'sure thing'. Now, you should know that my boss and I get along very well, so she agreed to take it up with her boss and then some higher people to check if there was a possibility. I don't know yet if it will be possible, but it's nice they are checking it out. Even the P&O lady is helping me figure out some practical stuff even if they can't move me and I have to quit. This is all wonderful and I can't believe they are willing to help me with this in such a great way. However it's making me nervous.. the move is becoming very real all of a sudden and it's scaring me a bit.
The fact that one of my best friends gave me some tissues that say 'Friends Forever' didn't really help and almost made me cry. And today my boss asked me if they can put out an anouncement next week or so to tell the whole company... so yup there is not way back.. To be absolutely clear : I don't want there to be a way back. I'm sure about going to Italy, being with the Italian, getting rid of taking planes every 1-2 months... still I'm getting nervous.
Nervous, but also excited to live with the Italian, in a new place, with a 'new' culture,and (hopefully) making new friends...
Yup.. this kid is growing up... or so it seems...

Bookclub : Khaled Hosseini - The Kite Runner

I'm always careful about hypes. I didn't like Titanic, The Da Vinci Code-book ( ok I gave up already after 20 pages), and more of those overhyped movies or books. There was a whole hype around this book, probably also because it's the first book Hosseini had ever written.

The story is situated in Afghanistan and is very beautifully written. You can imagine exactly how the atmosphere was and I really love that about a good book.

It is sometimes a bit hard (yes, I'm sensitive), because some bad things that happen are described in detail.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, although I have to add that I like the first chapters more than the last. It's an easy read, even in English for someone who's not an native speaker.

Today Is A Great Day For...

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, the grass is making my nose itch..today is a good day for some nice catchy rocky/poppy/indie songs. Partially inspired by StuBru playing on the radio at work, these are the songs that will make today a good day, heck even a great day.

In no particular order :

The BlackBox Revelation - Gravity Blues : Belgian band. Young guys, Runner's up at Humo's Rock Rally* in 2006. They have even played in the US and will be playing in Belgium/ The Netherlands and Germany in sept/august. I also love the video for this song.

The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name : Ok, this song has been out a while, but I still love listening to this song driving in my car with the sun on my face. It makes my head bob even in the morning, and that's a rare thing.

Freaky Age - Where Do We Go Now : This is a Belgian band of guys who are only like 16 years old, but this is one catchy song. They are playing a whole bunch of dates this summer/autumn, so maybe I'll go check them out.

Air Traffic - Time Goes By : Not necessarily a band that has come up with something that's totally new, but I can't help really liking their album Fractured Life and Time Goes By is perfect for singing along in your car (or at your job, depending on your collegues) while banging your head.

A Brand : Time. I really liked their first single,Riding your Ghost in 2004, but Time shows that they have grown as a band. Great song.

If you haven't heard about some of the songs, you should definately check them out and let me know what you think!

* Humo's Rock Rally is an important contest in Belgium for rock bands who are starting out

Belgian Pride - sort of

Last Monday was the National Day of Belgium. Now, I'm not a very 'nationalistic' person and I don't remember ever watching any parades on the national day. The only moments I feel some sort of Belgian pride is when for example the Belgian soccer team wins, which in the past years has pretty much not happened at all.

For many things Belgium is not an inspiring country :

* it rains here most of the time (even when the weatherman says it won't);

* politics have been kinda crazy the past year.

I'm not actually sure if we currently have a government or not;

* the quality of the roads could definately be better;

* the fact that we are so small that most people have no clue where it is.

I still regularly see American journalists on tv referring to Belgium as the capital of Brussels.

I don't blame them, the Belgian government does just not do enough to promote the country correctly.

Having said that, I do think journalists should do their job and do some research.
* Belgian soaps, tv shows are mostly really boring

But on the national day I did think about all the things that do rock Belgium :

* Belgian Chocolate : THE best in the whole world, no competition.

* Belgian Beer : Again, the best in the world.

* Belgian Waffles : ditto

In general Belgian food is just really good.

* Sports : Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters ( tennis), Kim Gevaert ( Running), Tia Hellebaut ( High

Jump), ...

* Art : Victor Horta, James Ensor, Henry van de Velde, Rene Magritte, ...

* Music : K's Choice, Deus, Ozark Henry, Jacques Brel, Arid, Hooverphonic, Toots Tielemans,..

* Some political decisions: Euthanasia law, gay marriage/adoption law, anti-discrimination law,

first country in the world to ban clusterbombs, ...

* Social Security, facilities, education are all quite good and of a high level

* There's no dubbing movies/sitcoms in Belgium, we have subtitles.

* Some beautiful cities: Ghent, Antwerp, Bruges,...

* ...

So when I make the comparison between the good, the bad and the ugly, I must admit that Belgium is not such a bad country to live in after all. I still want to move though...