My phone will never die.
It will never get lost. It will never break. It will never do anything to give me a legitimate excuse to go buy a new phone.
Let me explain.
I’ve had this phone since 2005. It was the free model back then. I’ve thrown it. Dropped it. Not treated it well at all. Pretty much the only thing I haven’t done is drop it in water. Yesterday, I left it at a restaurant. The thought struck me this morning walking to the bus.
“Oh crap! I left my phone at the restaurant. I’LL NEVER GET IT BACK!” ADRENALINE!!! PANIC!!!
I checked my purse. It definitely wasn’t there. I ran back home to see if maybe I had left it on my dresser or night stand or something, even though I knew I hadn’t taken it out, I thought just maybe it might be sitting there happily, and I will walk in and go, “Oh thank God!” and hug it and then the world would be good. But it wasn’t there.
I sped back to the bus stop and hopped the bus to work thinking I would run to the restaurant and see if just maybe they have it, but also thinking that they likely wouldn’t have it because things just seem to disappear whenever they are left at restaurants and then I would have lost all my phone numbers and pictures and all those special text messages from my family and boyfriend, and CRAP CRAP CRAP why does this happen to ME! That was pretty much my thought process.
As the bus went along to work, the adrenaline subsided and the rational thought process resumed in my brain and I realized that, wait… If I’ve lost my phone (which I’ve had forever ANYWAY)…I would HAVE to get a new phone…
SWEET!!!!
Now I start thinking, “Oooo I can get a blackberry! Or…maybe…an iphone? I can go play with phones this weekend!” It was frightening how quickly losing my phone became a good thing.
The bus pulls up to my stop. I ran to the restaurant where we ate the night before, totally confused about whether I should hope that they have my phone or that they don’t.
“I think I may have left my phone here last night” I tell a gal cleaning the windows of the restaurant. She goes into this back room and comes out looking very apologetic, “No, no one left a phone in the lost and found last night that fits your description. I’m sorry.”
It looked like the pendulum might be swinging towards a new phone!
Hostess continues, “but let me check around…” as she starts looking around the hostess podium, “sometimes people just stash stuff in here…oh look! Here it is!”
ARG.
No new phone.
But I managed to still keep all of my phone numbers and pictures. Now I just have to come up with the will power to go buy a new phone, while still having one that functions.
I blame this inability to buy something new when you have an old one that still works on my mother.
My mom has a microwave that is older than me. Why? Because it still works.
I’m cursed.
My phone just laughs at me. “I will never DIE! You will have to use my inferior camera and 10 key texting forever!!! HAHAHAHAHA”
Friday, July 23, 2010
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Friday/Saturday
The austrailian "restaurant" turned out to not be a restaurant after all. Apparently it is just a wine shop that does food pairings during their wine tastings. But as with all things in Brussels, they weren't having any wine tastings this weekend. We stopped in anyway since it's near the parliament and bought a bottle of Shiraz/Granache that we will probably try out tonight.
Friday, we went through the shopping district. I bought some shirts and Kristoffer showed me where he bought me my purse. We pretended we had a lot of money and walked through the rediculously expensive stores and acted like we might buy things. :) Then we had a waffle and a Karmeliet, and then a coffee at our favorite cafe in the ghetto of Brussels while we read magazines.
We went out that night to my favorite Moules restaurant, where they serve moules avec curry et frites (steamed mussels with curry and fries). We met up with some Swedish and Dutch people that K works with afterward for some drinks at a pub nearby. The Dutch are amazing people that really do speak four languages!
Yesterday, we took a day trip to the lovely city of Ghent, which is much like Bruges but less touristy. They have beautiful canals and town squares. We missed being able to see the most famous piece of artwork in Ghent because they close it at 3:45pm...could they pick a more random close time? We thought it closed at 5, like the rest of the church...shame on us for making that assumption. Oh well. It's Belgium.
The rest of Ghent was great. It's a fantastic city to just wander around. We walked for about an hour and then thought we should look at the guide book to see if there were other things we should see and do. Turns out we had seen and done just about everything that was recommended. We stopped in at a pub that serves over 250 kinds of Belgian beer, had a meal at a spot that seemed popular with locals, and wandered around the canals and the large cathedral. Beautiful day...headed home...and promptly fell asleep...at 9pm...we both think we're getting old. :)
Today we're heading to the royal art museum and Grande Place, but first breakfast...er...brunch!
Here's a piece of trivia for you....the most expensive burger in the world...the FluerBurger 5000...it actually costs $5,000. And where else, but in Las Vegas! http://www.highstakesliving.com/the-5000-burger.html
Friday, we went through the shopping district. I bought some shirts and Kristoffer showed me where he bought me my purse. We pretended we had a lot of money and walked through the rediculously expensive stores and acted like we might buy things. :) Then we had a waffle and a Karmeliet, and then a coffee at our favorite cafe in the ghetto of Brussels while we read magazines.
We went out that night to my favorite Moules restaurant, where they serve moules avec curry et frites (steamed mussels with curry and fries). We met up with some Swedish and Dutch people that K works with afterward for some drinks at a pub nearby. The Dutch are amazing people that really do speak four languages!
Yesterday, we took a day trip to the lovely city of Ghent, which is much like Bruges but less touristy. They have beautiful canals and town squares. We missed being able to see the most famous piece of artwork in Ghent because they close it at 3:45pm...could they pick a more random close time? We thought it closed at 5, like the rest of the church...shame on us for making that assumption. Oh well. It's Belgium.
The rest of Ghent was great. It's a fantastic city to just wander around. We walked for about an hour and then thought we should look at the guide book to see if there were other things we should see and do. Turns out we had seen and done just about everything that was recommended. We stopped in at a pub that serves over 250 kinds of Belgian beer, had a meal at a spot that seemed popular with locals, and wandered around the canals and the large cathedral. Beautiful day...headed home...and promptly fell asleep...at 9pm...we both think we're getting old. :)
Today we're heading to the royal art museum and Grande Place, but first breakfast...er...brunch!
Here's a piece of trivia for you....the most expensive burger in the world...the FluerBurger 5000...it actually costs $5,000. And where else, but in Las Vegas! http://www.highstakesliving.com/the-5000-burger.html
Thursday, March 5, 2009
I´m Back!
As much as I complain about this city, it is fun to be back in Brussels. All the languages everywhere...French, Flemish, German... I cannot wait to have a waffle, and pomme frits with red wine, and moules, and...I actually really love the food here. Kristoffer made me breakfast with eggs and bacon and my specially requested curry chicken spread. :) Which probably sounds very strange, but it is really good on baguettes for breakfast.
But let me back up a minute...
My flights were good for the most part. The first leg from seattle to DC was great. The flight was only about half booked and so there was no one in the middle seat of my row. The second leg from DC to Brussels had such potential to be great...the economy seats were totally booked when I checked in, but it turned out the person next to me must have upgraded or missed the flight or something because there was no one there! This is fantastic news on a transatlantic flight because it means you can s-p-r-e-a-d out! Unfortunately, I had a family sitting behind me with two little children who constantly kicked my seat for the first couple of hours. When they finally passed out I was able to relax and get some sleep. A whole 2 hours, but better than nothing.
I´m really glad I did all carryon with my luggage. It´s so nice to just hop off the plane and go. I totally recomend it if at all possible. After having my luggage lost/delayed on 3 seperate occasions, I can safely say that carryon is the way to go.
Today is quite nice weather wise. K wants to go to an Australian restaurant tonight where they do Auzzie wine tasting. What better than Australian wines with French style food in Belgium. :)
So here it is 11:30am and according to my internal clock it is more like 2:30am. And I forgot how annoying European keyboards are...they are Qwerty for the most part, but the symbols are all screwed up...it took me about 2 minutes to find the colon for the last sentance! A demonstration of some of the fun symbols available on this keyboard: £öäß姰
Well, pat yourself on the back for making it through another ramble of mine. I gotta learn to be less wordy...haha...yeah...right... :)
But let me back up a minute...
My flights were good for the most part. The first leg from seattle to DC was great. The flight was only about half booked and so there was no one in the middle seat of my row. The second leg from DC to Brussels had such potential to be great...the economy seats were totally booked when I checked in, but it turned out the person next to me must have upgraded or missed the flight or something because there was no one there! This is fantastic news on a transatlantic flight because it means you can s-p-r-e-a-d out! Unfortunately, I had a family sitting behind me with two little children who constantly kicked my seat for the first couple of hours. When they finally passed out I was able to relax and get some sleep. A whole 2 hours, but better than nothing.
I´m really glad I did all carryon with my luggage. It´s so nice to just hop off the plane and go. I totally recomend it if at all possible. After having my luggage lost/delayed on 3 seperate occasions, I can safely say that carryon is the way to go.
Today is quite nice weather wise. K wants to go to an Australian restaurant tonight where they do Auzzie wine tasting. What better than Australian wines with French style food in Belgium. :)
So here it is 11:30am and according to my internal clock it is more like 2:30am. And I forgot how annoying European keyboards are...they are Qwerty for the most part, but the symbols are all screwed up...it took me about 2 minutes to find the colon for the last sentance! A demonstration of some of the fun symbols available on this keyboard: £öäß姰
Well, pat yourself on the back for making it through another ramble of mine. I gotta learn to be less wordy...haha...yeah...right... :)
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Lately
Lately, I've had some rough hits to my life. A childhood friend is gone and my special guy is back across the sea. I've lost some friends, gained some others, and rekindled some friendships that I realize now are so precious. So with these dark days have also come some rays of sunshine. I've been doing very well at work, getting lots of compliments on what I've done, and my money situation is relatively sorted out.
Nowadays I have some goals I'm hoping to make some progress on:
Learn some basic Swedish
Get back into my CPA studies
Workout more often
Cook at home as much as possible
Finish the book I've been reading now since June. :s
The biggest challenge is just staying motivated to do these things. It's way too easy to come home from work and do nothing.
So I'm starting today. I'm going to go out and have a walk since it is beautiful today, which for Seattle these days will become few and far between. I'm going to precook some food for this week. I'm going to do a half hour of Swedish, and then read my book. CPA studies start tomorrow. After all, it is still my weekend. :)
Nowadays I have some goals I'm hoping to make some progress on:
Learn some basic Swedish
Get back into my CPA studies
Workout more often
Cook at home as much as possible
Finish the book I've been reading now since June. :s
The biggest challenge is just staying motivated to do these things. It's way too easy to come home from work and do nothing.
So I'm starting today. I'm going to go out and have a walk since it is beautiful today, which for Seattle these days will become few and far between. I'm going to precook some food for this week. I'm going to do a half hour of Swedish, and then read my book. CPA studies start tomorrow. After all, it is still my weekend. :)
Monday, October 13, 2008
In the face of loss...
No words can describe the immensity of this loss. A beautiful girl has been taken away from us and all we can do is cling to one another and grieve. Things like this should not happen, and when they do it becomes all the more apparent that we are subject to forces other than what we can control.
My heart broke at the news and it continues to ache as I think of all the childhood memories tied to that one precious person. I pray with all of my heart that she is at peace and that there is joy where she is now, for there is none here. It was too early, she was too young, and nothing can now be done but to hurt and to cry and to remember.
There are times when we can only sit in stunned silence as emotions rip through our chests and we wonder at the frailty of life. To wonder at the one moment that can tear away a life from this world so suddenly where we are left with nothing but an empty shell of what once used to be so full of life and love and spirit. There is little that can be done to comfort us when we know in our hearts that our world has been irreparably changed, and not for the better.
To those who knew and loved her, I add my voice to say that Chelsea Garner, you will be missed. I wish I knew you better as a young woman, but I have many many lovely memories of you as a little girl. We played together, grew up together, and made fantastically awful childhood movies together; along with our brothers we would make-believe for hours on end. My childhood was shaped by you and your brother and those games that we played, those summer hours in the pool, and I am saddened beyond measure that you will not be able to share in those joys again.
The day wears on and so will tomorrow, but something in the world was broken that night. A life was cut short and in so happening, all of us will never be the same. We cling to each other and those that we have around us and give ourselves over to the pain. It’s good to grieve. It means that what was lost was important. My heart goes out to you Terry, Jeremy, Joe, and your families. I send to you my prayers for strength and hope. May you find comfort and love in each other in this time of loss.
My heart broke at the news and it continues to ache as I think of all the childhood memories tied to that one precious person. I pray with all of my heart that she is at peace and that there is joy where she is now, for there is none here. It was too early, she was too young, and nothing can now be done but to hurt and to cry and to remember.
There are times when we can only sit in stunned silence as emotions rip through our chests and we wonder at the frailty of life. To wonder at the one moment that can tear away a life from this world so suddenly where we are left with nothing but an empty shell of what once used to be so full of life and love and spirit. There is little that can be done to comfort us when we know in our hearts that our world has been irreparably changed, and not for the better.
To those who knew and loved her, I add my voice to say that Chelsea Garner, you will be missed. I wish I knew you better as a young woman, but I have many many lovely memories of you as a little girl. We played together, grew up together, and made fantastically awful childhood movies together; along with our brothers we would make-believe for hours on end. My childhood was shaped by you and your brother and those games that we played, those summer hours in the pool, and I am saddened beyond measure that you will not be able to share in those joys again.
The day wears on and so will tomorrow, but something in the world was broken that night. A life was cut short and in so happening, all of us will never be the same. We cling to each other and those that we have around us and give ourselves over to the pain. It’s good to grieve. It means that what was lost was important. My heart goes out to you Terry, Jeremy, Joe, and your families. I send to you my prayers for strength and hope. May you find comfort and love in each other in this time of loss.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Leaving on a...late....jet plane...do do do dododo do do
While my flight is delayed, I'll be updating you on my life. :) yay for multitasking...
I started work on the 6th, and I have been knee-deep in training since then. This week is the last of it, and on Thursday I start the "real work" *gulp*. So far the training has been great. It's been mostly review for me, which is nice since I'm not trying to learn a bunch of new stuff. The only new material is just working the EY system and knowing where to find things and how to do the many tasks that are done online. EY is Ernst & Young, for those of you not familiar, and its the accounting firm that I work for. I'm going to try and refrain from using untold numbers of acronyms, because I find that anoying, but this is one tha is necessary.
The people I work with have been great so far, and living in hotels with a food allowance has definitely been sweet. I've been in california this last week, and will be there through wednesday, hence the airport reference.
My field is in Business Risk Services, and I will be working as a business consultant to the clients I'm assigned to, helping them with various issues they've hired EY to help them with. Luckily I've been assigned to clients mostly within the downtown Seattle area, so my traveling won't be too extensive. I'll be working a lot on the State of Washington account with their performance audits, specifically on the utilities account. I'm really excited about this assignment and getting to know the inner workings of these government offices.
All in all, I'm super excited about my job. I have really loved everything I've heard and been told so far. This seems like such a quality firm to work for and I'm just so glad that I get to work for them. I'm hoping this isn't just a honeymoon period, because at this point, I can really see myself working for them for a very long time.
I started work on the 6th, and I have been knee-deep in training since then. This week is the last of it, and on Thursday I start the "real work" *gulp*. So far the training has been great. It's been mostly review for me, which is nice since I'm not trying to learn a bunch of new stuff. The only new material is just working the EY system and knowing where to find things and how to do the many tasks that are done online. EY is Ernst & Young, for those of you not familiar, and its the accounting firm that I work for. I'm going to try and refrain from using untold numbers of acronyms, because I find that anoying, but this is one tha is necessary.
The people I work with have been great so far, and living in hotels with a food allowance has definitely been sweet. I've been in california this last week, and will be there through wednesday, hence the airport reference.
My field is in Business Risk Services, and I will be working as a business consultant to the clients I'm assigned to, helping them with various issues they've hired EY to help them with. Luckily I've been assigned to clients mostly within the downtown Seattle area, so my traveling won't be too extensive. I'll be working a lot on the State of Washington account with their performance audits, specifically on the utilities account. I'm really excited about this assignment and getting to know the inner workings of these government offices.
All in all, I'm super excited about my job. I have really loved everything I've heard and been told so far. This seems like such a quality firm to work for and I'm just so glad that I get to work for them. I'm hoping this isn't just a honeymoon period, because at this point, I can really see myself working for them for a very long time.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
A view of the new place.
Here is a video of my new place that is mostly done. I brought home a new load of stuff to squeeze in places, but it shouldn't be too hard. It's so cute and it's nice to have a place that's MINE!!!
Boat race weekend was great. The boats went roundy roundy, and the sun went scorchy scorchy, and my skin got reddy reddy. Alas, I did get a sun burn, but just my knees and my arms...not to bad. It stayed under 100 degrees, which was awesome (and almost unheard of) and my pick won the unlimiteds (Yay O'Boy Oberto!).
Drove back to Seattle today with my last load of crap from my parent's house. It's amazing how much I can cram into that little car. And the weather that greeted me was cloudy and rain. *sadface* I'm hoping it will get nice again soon. I want to go to the beach!
Boat race weekend was great. The boats went roundy roundy, and the sun went scorchy scorchy, and my skin got reddy reddy. Alas, I did get a sun burn, but just my knees and my arms...not to bad. It stayed under 100 degrees, which was awesome (and almost unheard of) and my pick won the unlimiteds (Yay O'Boy Oberto!).
Drove back to Seattle today with my last load of crap from my parent's house. It's amazing how much I can cram into that little car. And the weather that greeted me was cloudy and rain. *sadface* I'm hoping it will get nice again soon. I want to go to the beach!
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