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I can’t remember who said it, but they were right. I think it was the real estate agent a few years ago. Anyway, what she said was that the fruit and veggies from those little shops that are scattered all over the place are the best. Today we got grapes and the verdict is: way way better than the ones in Carrefour. And if I remember correctly, they were cheaper too. 1,95€/kg. I think the ones they sell in Carrefour are over 2,50€/kg… Yes I know, I keep harping on about money and food, but I like both. So sue me. On second thought, please don’t. I’ve had enough of legal stuff in my life for awhile.

Anyone know how to clean silver? The chain that came with the necklace that Oliver gave me has really darkened. I want it to be nice and shiny again. I’ve seen infomercials where they clean no matter what with some wonder spray, but I want something I can easily find in a store. The lady on “Houses Behaving Badly” always used a water & vinegar to clean faucets and the like. So I know that that gets rid of calc. And lemon & water loosens up the food splatter in a microwave. Those still don’t help me clean my necklace. >-

Today hasn’t been that productive. Jaz and I thought of going to the mall since she didn’t have any school today. We actually did walk all the way over there and back, even though at half-way there we realized that the reason why Jaz didn’t have school was it was some sort of religious holiday. Which also meant that all of the stores were closed. At least we got some exercise. ^.^ I just hope that the cleaner comes tomorrow. If not, then I’m going over to the BBF office and complain. After all, we are paying for someone to come clean every other week and if they don’t… well, I’m not happy. I don’t like being a pain, but I do like complaining when I’ve got reason to.

“The First Wives’ Club” is on tonight. Reminds me of last September. When I met Oliver IRL for the first time, I was reading the book. Loved the book, but love the movie more. Funnier. But the book has a lot stuff going on in it. Like Diane Keaton’s character has a daughter in the book. What I really liked was the revenge part. Showed what girls can do when they put their heads together. Revenge is sweet. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and all that. ^-^

It really is too bad that we don’t have an oven. I’d buy some lamb and Dijon mustard… Or make those stuffed zucchinis. I can’t think of that many different foods that I can cook on a stove. Getting kind of sick of the just-add-water stuff we’re eating now. Sure it’s cheap, but… meh. Which is why I’m going to the store tomorrow and looking for something other than ready-made meals.

Oh ew ew ew. Today’s Oprah deals with messy houses and omg, Carol’s house is shameful! Fruit flies everywhere, dog poop all over the place, putrefied food in the fridge, things just all over the place… Just.. eurgh. shudders The two ladies Aggie and Kim did wonders with that house. The cleaning team was just amazing. Right now it’s like a show-house. I know I’m not one of the cleanest people around, as in I can leave dirty dishes in the sink for a day and only vacuum once every two weeks, but that’s the limit. Clutter is still somewhat bearable, but not dirt. Like now I have this urge to vacuum… only I don’t have a vacuum. At least the cleaning lady will come over tomorrow. Hallelujah.

I’ve decided one thing. I’m not gonna wash any of my sweaters by hand anymore. I did wash my Rhétos sweater because I felt it needed washing after my trip to England, but now it smells. ;_; I guess it’s because it wasn’t able to dry properly before getting wet again (I got caught in pouring rain). So that’s waiting for a washing machine and dryer. What I’d give to have those right now… all of our socks are really stiff, none of the softness that one gets from clothes coming from a dryer.

What I don’t really get, is how the diskette I used earlier today when I was online got formatted into the RAW format without my realising it. I did manage to copy the data onto another diskette in the FAT form and then reformat the first diskette back into FAT. It’s pretty puzzling though. Could be the next chapter of Oliver’s story “Reaction” that mixed it up. That’s the only explanation I can come up with. But it shouldn’t have since I saved that chapter in Word. So I don’t know…

Wow. Today the weather has been acting up. Right now, pouring rain and really strong wind. When I went to the store, the sun was shining, no wind whatsoever.. Gotta love Belgian weather. XP

Speaking about Belgian things, I looooooooove the chocolate. Jaz bought some Côte d’Or Double Lait chocolate today and… it just melts in your mouth. I think I know why some use chocolate as a substitute for sex. Especially if it’s this chocolate. Don’t get me wrong, I like this chocolate but I’d never give up sex. Not for all the chocolate in the world (think of the calories! O.O) This one sort of reminds me of Reese’s Pieces. Sort of peanut butter-y but not quite. Lovely, lovely stuff. But a tad too sweet if eaten too much. Gets kinda icky… :-S

Okies, tomorrow I’m getting up at 7 to fry eggs for Jaz. Then I’ll go back to sleep. Like this morning, I got up and locked the door after her, turned on BBC Breakfast and fell asleep on the couch. That seems to be pretty much my daily routine. o.O Maybe I should try to remedy that.

Jade sent us the cutest card. She said that she misses us and then told us what she wants for her birthday (which isn’t until January). The last sentence she wrote was: “Have the times of horror begun yet?” There were two drawings, one butterfly and one ladybug. Jaz’s two not-so-favourite bugs. XD

Just got back from my second trip to Carrefour today. Y’see, I bought two T-shirts and the second one was supposed to be half-price. I didn’t notice the fact that the machine didn’t give me the reduced price until I got back. So I went back. It was only 1,20 € that I went back for, but that’s one hour’s worth of being online. And I got my bank card sorted out as well. Now it has the Bancontact function and the Maestro side so I can use it abroad. Probably won’t, but it’s still good to have a back-up. What’s really scary is walking around with over 200€ in one’s wallet. I totally forgot that I still had it in there when I left. It’s what was left of the money our parents sent us for the rent. But not as scary as having four 500€ bills like I did when I first got here… Why do they print money that large? I guess it’s easier for people to pay the rent with one or two of those than loads of 20s and 50s. But I think most people just pay their rent and other bills through the bank and not with cash…

Egh, such filth. And the cleaner doesn’t come until Thursday. I’d really like my own vacuum. With two girls living together, a lot of hair accumulates onto the floor. And another thing, how does hair get stuck inside of socks? I know we walk on the hair on the floor, but that still doesn’t explain how the hair gets inside. It’s supposed to stay on the outside. Do socks affect the dryness of the skin on the feet? For some reason my feet are really really dry. Maybe it’s the washing detergent that I use to wash our clothes. Ooooh. What I really miss is being able to be outside barefoot. I can do that in Myrskylä. Actually, that’s the only place I can think of where I’m able to do that. I love summer over there. Okay so there’s nothing to do over there except swim, swing and read but that’s all I really need during the summer. Shopping is fun, but that’s more of what you do in the city. And I think I prefer the countryside during the summer. I now sort of get why Finns love summer cottages so much. Your own little piece of peace and quiet. Time just stops when you’re in your own place. Away from it all, etc.

Still haven’t figured out what we’re gonna do with all of this stuff that we have. I really hope Jaz can leave a suitcase at school for the summer. Even as it is now, her suitcase is going to weigh over 20 kg. Although this time, if we leave the suitcase at VF, we’re taking it there with the bus. Not gonna get more blisters on my hands.

Hmm… it’s raining. Hope Jaz won’t get sick because of walking in the rain. I did buy tea for her, so at least that should warm her up a bit if the shower doesn’t have any hot water. I’ll start dinner now so she can have something warm when she gets here…

It was just as I thought. They won’t exchange anything without a receipt. Need proof that the product was purchased from that store, otherwise it messes up their stock inventory or something. The lady was very nice about it though. I just tried it again and like I said before, pear’s not a bad scent. I’ll keep it and when I’ve used it all I’ll get the coconut perfume.

I just watched Wallace & Gromit. Didn’t see the whole episode, but this one had Gromit go to prison because of something Preston (Wendolene’s robot dog) did. Shaun the Sheep with the sweater was funny. At the very end he was sitting on top of Wallace’s cheese. I loved Wallace’s reaction: “Get off me cheese!” Sounded a lot like Oliver whenever he goes back up to Sheffield. ^-^

Yay. We finally have light in the apartment again. When I went to pay the rent, I mentioned the lack of warm water and the light bulbs that need changing. So now we should have warm water as well. I stopped by the post office before I went there and mailed Jade’s schoolwork. Cost over 10€ to send them. O.O But then again, it was a pretty big pile of papers. So paying 9,10 for postage in that sense isn’t that bad. The package was heavy. Who knew paper weighed that much? I also added the two free rings we got from Yves Rocher. One silver and one gold coloured. They’re too small for me and Jaz, so Jade gets both. J

He called me. ^-^ Even if it is just half an hour that we get to talk, it’s still something to look forward to. Only 11 nights to go!

Well, the two hours outside was enough to burn the skin on my right shoulder. And my face is looking pretty red. It doesn’t hurt or feel hot though. My shoulder does… My legs are still paper white. sniffle In a way, it’s a good thing that we’re not spending the summer in Belgium. This sun here is treacherous. It burns my skin without me realizing it. Whenever we’re in Florida, I know that it’s more than likely that I’ll burn if I go without sunscreen. Duh. Here, I keep thinking that I’m not south enough to actually have the sun do anything to me. I’ve been proven wrong already twice but I still don’t learn. Silly me. The nights here during summer are really nice. Slight breeze, but still pretty warm. Wonderful to walk around.

Now I feel like buying more stuff. Shopping is so addictive. For instance make-up, I need a powder and I want to buy this really nice CoverGirl eye shadow I saw in Delhaize. When I think about it, I do have my earnings from Extra so I can afford to buy make-up. But what I’d really like (and I know I’m beginning to sound pretty repetitive) is my make-up from storage. Or more like get all of my things from there. I need to sort out what I want to take with me to Aberystwyth. I don’t think I’ll take my stereo or my TV… but like my clothes, make-up, CDs, possibly some DVDs.

I’d really like a pet, but… well, I don’t like the smell of animals. Kitty litter stinks, dogs smell when they’ve been outside and it’s been raining, the food… Maybe when I’m older I’ll get something to keep me company, but right the smell just turns me off. And I don’t have the time to take care of anything that needs constant attention. Keeping things clean is enough to keep me occupied right now. I just got the urge to clean things again. I’d wash the dishes if I had hot water, or at least warm water, but I don’t. Tomorrow is laundry day… hopefully I’ll have enough warm water then. Kind of annoying having to heat water on the stove some of the time. But that’s another thing I’ll tell Robbie tomorrow when I go pay next month’s rent. The first thing is I’m gonna ask if someone could come change the light bulbs. Another one went dark a few days ago… -_-

Jade just called us. ^-^ So cute. She said that she misses us. And that she wants the Sims game back. Earlier she couldn’t play it because it was our uncle’s computer that they were using, but now that it’s our grandparents’ computer, she could play it. So she’s a bit annoyed at us. Or actually me, since I’m the one that asked Jaz to bring it. ^^;;

Jaz and I spent 2 hrs outside today. But at around 3 it became way too hot for us to stay out there anymore. It must be like 25 C outside. Maybe more. I love summer weather. Which is why I’m going to buy sandals and a dress on Wednesday with Jaz. We’ve decided that if our dad can afford to go to Estonia, he sure as hell can afford to buy us some new clothes for 40€ each. So tomorrow I’ll just see if I can exchange my perfume. If not, it’s not the end of the world. It’s not a bad scent, so I’ll just use it myself. Coconut would be nicer, but pear is just as good. It just really annoys me that I lost the receipt. Grr…

I am a bit worried about the amount of money that we’re spending though. It’s only been 3 weeks and we’ve spent around 700€. O.O;;; Then again, 200€ of that were the train tickets. 200€ has gone towards food, Jaz’s school stuff is about 55€, miscellaneous expenses like phone credit equals 155€… Now I have gotten new shoes already, so I might decide to pay for the sandals myself. Well, we’ll see if Jaz finds anything she needs that’s 15€… Wow.. I sound so obsessed about money. Well, when one doesn’t have much, one’s gotta keep track of every cent.

Robin sounds so nice. He’s this guy on Dismissed. He said that he doesn’t like flings, prefers relationships and the security of a girlfriend. The other guy Nate, well… he kept asking the girl to take off her top when they were in the hot tub alone. If a guy said that to me during our first date, I’d leave him there. Seriously, if she said no, then you don’t ask her again! Same goes for kissing her… No idea why she picked him over Robin. He sounded like a creep… too cocky.

I probably should get a life of some sort. I keep discussing people I see on TV way too often.

And I probably sound like a dork, but I love playing around with PowerPoint and Excel. Too bad I have nothing useful to do with them.

One thing that annoys me is the fact that people think our doorbell is the light switch for the hallway. It does not stop. Everyday our doorbell rings at least once. rolls eyes

Lol, I can hear the Scouts shouting in the park. Very tribal sounds. Sort of like barbarians. It reminds of the music in Civ3 before there’re any technological advances. I love that game. Sort of like Sims. Any game where I get to control people is fun. Sort of like playing God. ^^;

My feet are killing me! I’ve been to Carrefour and then the mall. Spent around 6 hours just wandering around with Jaz and Alex. We did buy stuff though. For instance two shirts and a perfume, which I want to switch now that I got home want to change into the other scent I was thinking of. Jaz keeps insisting that it’s a nice scent on me, that it suits me, but I still prefer the other one. So I’ll be going back on Monday to see if I can exchange it. I’m sure that I could if I had the receipt, but I can’t find it anywhere. I think it fell out in Delhaize when we needed a plastic bag to put our snacks in. Ah well. I can always give it as a present to someone. In any case, I’ll buy the other scent on Monday. Plus I’ll get two dresses then. I did buy one dress today, but when Jaz tried it on it looked better on her so I gave it to her. I’ll get one a size smaller and in a different colour. And I won’t feel guilty if it’s pink. I don’t have pink dresses. Just pink shirts and skirts, no dresses.

We saw Ari Salmivuori in the mall! I don’t think he saw us. He was in too wrapped up in himself pretending to be this really great host showing this couple where the cheese store was and where “the best foie gras ever” can be found. rolls eyes Plus, Jaz and I kinda hid behind a pillar until he left. Alex probably thought we were totally nuts, peeking around the corner checking if Ari was still there. Well, we did explain afterwards. The whole thing makes a lot more sense when you know the back story. Besides, I don’t think he thought that we’d still be in Brussels after what had happened.

I’m so tired… seriously, why I do make myself walk that much? It has to be over 5 km one way. But when I think about it… it’s not that bad. Sure I feel a bit sore the next day, but if I do it often enough, I’ll get used to it. Plus that way I get to save some money. Which I’ll obviously spend on clothes or something. Okay, so more walking on Monday. First the mall to see if I can exchange the perfume, then take the bus to the BBF office (I’ll pay the rent and ask someone to come change some lamps over here), buy food from Carrefour, go to the bank to clarify something about my card and then come back here. I don’t think I’ll have the strength to go get Jaz from school…

Jaz is so nice. She makes me salmon sandwiches without complaints. ^-^

I don’t think I’ll be able to stay awake for much longer. Just too tired. No idea how I’ll be able to stay awake when we go to London. Over here I’m used to wake up at 7:30 a.m., stay awake for about an hour or so, go to sleep for another 3 hours and then at night, I go to sleep around 10:30. That’s early compared to Oliver. He doesn’t get up before noon unless he has to and won’t go to sleep before two a.m.!

“He Said, She Said” is a funny movie. Kevin Bacon’s character is can be such a jerk. But it was so sweet when he woke up in the middle of the night crying because he realized he loved Elizabeth Perkins’ character.

Oi! She just threw a balled up chocolate wrapper at me! It hit my left eyebrow… sniffle And now she’s stuffing chocolate in my mouth. Well, not literally, but still. “Here, eat another sandwich. I’ll make it. Oh go on, just one more. Here’s chocolate. Eat that. It’s really good.” She’s not wrong though. The chocolate is wonderful. Melts in your mouth… ^_^

I wonder if I can get to my uncle’s wedding next February. It is on a Saturday… maybe I could get there for just that weekend. Depends on the amount of work I have to do for university. Plus on the price of the plane tickets.

Egh. I shouldn’t have had that chocolate. Now I feel icky. Bleargh.

Okies, called Telenet and asked about the Internet. It turns out that they only offer their services to the Flemish part of Belgium. So that’s out. But when I went to see my uncle, I walked past two Internet cafés (one which is on the way to school! No idea why I haven’t seen it before…) so I guess that’s what we’ll be doing until we leave. Not that bad I suppose. Could be worse. No access to the Internet at all. O.O;; So when I go get Jaz from school, I’ll ask if she wants to stop by in there. I might actually get to post this as well! ^-^

Aki gave me an envelope which contained the magazine about Cézanne for Jaz, my bank statement and the letter from UCAS saying that I received an unconditional offer from Aberystwyth (which I knew ^-^). There were also two surprises: 1) a CD for me called “The Heritage of Wales” and 2) money. Could be that it’s to pay the rent. Dunno. I’ll ask when they call us. Tonight I hope. Unless they want to wait another five days before they call again… Then some guy who also works at World Vision gave me this bracelet which says “Make Poverty History”. ^-^ He said that I should drop by their office in Something-upon-something in the autumn when I’m in the UK. My reply: “Okay! Uhm… where is that?” He laughed and said it’s an hour’s drive outside of London. I think the place was called Kingston or something like it. Bad memory.

Before I go get Jaz I should probably put more money onto my Proton card. In case we do stop by the Internet place.

This is an okay CD. Not really what I thought it would be, but it’s okay. I think I prefer the Irish type of music.. this isn’t that far from it though. Now I wanna sing. In a choir. Do universities have choirs? And I want to learn Welsh. I have three years there so it could be fun. Just the basics.. get it to the same level as my French. Which means that I understand it at least somewhat and can get buy in a store or asking directions, etc. ^-^ I can’t wait to tour Wales. See castles/fortresses and stuff. Just soak in the history of the place. I’m just fascinated by old places. Like when my class went on that trip to England, I loved walking around the castles. The only thing I didn’t like about it was being in a huge group. I would have preferred to wander around by myself, imagining what it would’ve been like living there. A bit hard to do that with so many girls around me speaking in French. And then there were all of the tourists… -_-