What are you doing right now?: Return of the Sequel

[KanuTGL]

Rebooting this again then :p

I'm currently setting up the collab layout to get ready to export to Procreate for background stuff :D

[nathalie]

I'm at my parents, they're off to a funeral, and when they get back, we're going to Holland to do some shopping for things I'll take back to the UK.

[cleargreenwater]

This poor collab, lol.

I'm at work r.n. because I'm a model employee messing around on my phone :p

Although they do somewhat owe me, I have barely started my Christmas shopping because I have been working 6 days a week for the last 2 weeks on a year-end project. Nothing like being overworked for the holidays!

[KanuTGL]

This poor collab, lol.
Don't remind me :headache:

I'm taking a break from commission work to play some horse game, then start prepping for Big Laundry Day tomorrow. Then go back to the commission :P So much to do, such little tiiime. I was so stressed out today I cancelled an event with my theatre people, even though I promised myself I'd make the effort to go. Hnngh. Rather be not stressed for Christmas I guess, but it still feels like a failure.

[nathalie]

Being on hold with Eurostar. Because of the lovely French people, once again, our Eurostar to go home next week has been cancelled.
No response via mail, twitter or phone to change it.
Should be a free change or trains, but the app is telling me to pay 144 € extra, so they haven't updated any of their systems.
And I ain't waiting until next week Saturday itself to get it changed at the station, by then every single train leaving that day will be full.

[cleargreenwater]

Being on hold with Eurostar. Because of the lovely French people, once again, our Eurostar to go home next week has been cancelled.
No response via mail, twitter or phone to change it.
Should be a free change or trains, but the app is telling me to pay 144 € extra, so they haven't updated any of their systems.
And I ain't waiting until next week Saturday itself to get it changed at the station, by then every single train leaving that day will be full.

Hope you're able to secure a ticket in advance, next weekend is going to be a zoo for travelling D:

I am about to go wrap gifts.

[nathalie]

Yeah, it took them about 4 hours to have their systems updated so we could change it for free via app/website.
They really shouldn't put that online at 9am which trains are cancelled, and then tell everyone on twitter and FB "change it now for free", while it took almost 4 hours to actually be able to do that.

And once we did change it, suddenly everyone is responding on twitter & fb, and getting text and mails saying the train's cancelled.

Jeeshhhhhh ......

Sorted now, the Eurostar an hour earlier -is- going, so we took that one.

Watching some Neighbours (duh).

[nathalie]

Adam ordered a new phone yesterday, went to the next town to pick it up and had a stroll (pokemon walk).
Now, going to get chicken, as New Year's Eve dinner, hehe, watch some movies, and a little before midnight, walk to the bridge nearby as you can see all the fireworks perfectly from up there.

Happy New Year everyone!

[KanuTGL]

Hope everyone enjoyed the holidays! :munch:

I'm finally back home after two weeks away. I would have liked to have stayed at my parents' for longer, but I needed to get back to keep up the job search and set up a theatre show :cringe: At the moment I'm taking care of some e-mails and other fun administration. Eating a Curlywurly to keep my spirits up :P

[Guntur]

I did enjoy my holiday, even though I'm working though.

Right now I just woke up thinking what game to play. ;)

[Kossu]

Happy New Year! Hope you all had a great time!:)

I've been down with flu since Christmas so it hasn't been much fun. But it could be worse I suppose. Slowly recovering, at last.:zzz:

Now time to read a bit before sleeping.

[cleargreenwater]

I am currently thinking about food.

What was it that you guys said was good at Panda Express? That whole part of the thread got wiped out and things at work are finally calming down enough that I can take lunches again, time to make plans! X)

[nathalie]

I am currently thinking about food.

What was it that you guys said was good at Panda Express? That whole part of the thread got wiped out and things at work are finally calming down enough that I can take lunches again, time to make plans! X)

Panda Express is soooo good!
It's so yummy and cheap!
(I got food for like, 8 $, and ate the next day from it too! In Belgium/NL/UK I pay like, 25 $ and usually eat it all in one evening, lol)

mmmmm orange chicken ...

[Kossu]

Mentally preparing to tackle some values for a research paper, that's certainly going to give me a headache.:p

But yeah, has to happen.

[KanuTGL]

Cooling down after a long evening at the theatre. The company is prepping for opening night which is in just five daaaays ahhhhhhh! The show is coming together bit by bit... I'm still a bit worn out from the 14-hour rehearsal yesterday, so this is one of the rare times I'm happy to be otherwise out of work, hahaha~

[Kossu]

Long hours, that sounds rough!:\

It must really give you an interesting view of the theatre though? Any interesting plays?:smile3:

[KanuTGL]

These two rehearsal weeks before opening night are definitely the most gruelling. We're just an amateur bunch, but it's still a company of over 70 people and lots of things need doing in the weeks we have access to our stage before we actually open :cringe: I run and program our 20+ stage lights, so I definitely get the most interesting view, hehe :D We rent the theatre for about 1½ months, and it's just us during that time, but our musical/comedy/spex/whatchamacallit is definitely the most interesting thing that happens there every year ;D

Today is my first day off from the theatre in over a week, so today/tonight I'm taking care of such fun stuff as laundry, dishes and cleaning.

[nathalie]

Setting up an account at a catsitting website.
Since finding an actual job is just as big of a joke as when I lived in Belgium, maybe this can help me get a few £ once in a while.

And I've started to watch very old Neighbours episodes, and hadn't watched any for a while, so watching a few right now/today.

[nathalie]

All my stuff is in storage.
The price they were asking was an absolute joke. No decent service from their end, put up the price twice within 10 months, so we had enough.
One opened last month, in town, instead of 30 minute ride where the stuff was now, and, 90 £ per month cheaper :o Reason enough to move the stuff out.
So we done that today.
Was at it since 9am, were done at about 5pm, then went to go and eat something, and treat the helpers, and just got back (8pm now).
And I'm sooooooo feeling it.
Anxiety is massive. Had to leave half my dinner (thank God for doggy bags thoug), as I just got so sick.
Glad it's over. And hopefully never ever need to do this again, unless we find an actual appartment to move into.

[KanuTGL]

Sounds like a tough day! Well done for getting through it :)

I've applied for 10 jobs today, bringing my total up to 40 in the past few months. I get roughly one interview a month, and everyone says the same thing: "You did great! We really liked meeting you, buut... we picked someone else for the position. Sorry! Good luck!"

So sick of it :pumbaasick: Makes me feel like I'm good, just never good enough~

[nathalie]

I hear you.
Went to a job agency on Tuesday, for a receptionist job, a very good job, loads of different tasks.
Full time, in town, 5 minute walk.

Instead I'm walking out (almost), with a temp job for a month "copy typing".
Next town, 50 minute travel, and by train.

Are you kidding me? Over the phone all great and all, but once they see me "eww no, can't put that at reception".
So, first I'm great, got the skills, the experience, but then you take 1 look at me, the way I look, or dress, and that automatically makes me a dumbass in your eyes?
As that's kind of what it comes down to.

I felt so humiliated :(
Especially, since the girl who was contacting me over the phone and e-mail, couldn't even change certain things in the standard mail they sent out to people, and her phrases were build very wrong, and full of typo's.
Like: girl, I SHOULD BE DOING YOUR JOB!!!

She asked me on Monday over the phone to go to their website to fill out all kinds of info.
Personal stuff, work stuff, etc ...
I get there on Tuesday "please fill this out": all the same things I had done the day before online, they wanted it written too now.
= THE EXACT SAME THINGS THAT ARE ON MY CV = WHICH SHE HAD IN HER HAND!!

I'm barerely out the door, and she mails me ?? "can you please go online again and fill out more things".
I mail back that I done everything it asked from me "no, address and date of birth".

Oh, you mean: WHAT I JUST WROTE DOWN ON THE PAPERS YOU GAVE ME ???

An absolute joke.

Sorry, I really needed to vent and get this out, I've been so upset since I got back home from that "appointment".
I've never felt this bad coming from a job agency. 36 years old, feeling so humiliated, by knowing I'm good enough, but they take one look at you, and all they can offer is the crap jobs.

[Kossu]

Wow, Nathalie that sounds absolutely disgusting...I’m sorry you had to deal with such awful and unprofessional folk.:\

I wish best of luck to both you and Kanu on the job searching. It can be so challenging and nerve wrecking, but don’t let them get to you.:hugs:

I should get on the job searching soon as well. There are a few setbacks at the moment. In general, the last 2 months have been very trying and there’s been a lot to deal with on different levels. Somedays I feel like I can’t even process it all anymore. And it’s not going to get better until after June it seems.

One positive thing is, that if all goes well, in about a month we’re going to move to a place of our own. :D I definately won’t miss our 20 square meter studio.

[nathalie]

I've been in the "job hunt business" ever since 2003 (I've only managed to have a job for about 5 years in total since then), so I am used to being treated not so well by the girls working in these job offices. (the guys are usually a lot nicer to work with, the girls usually just look down on you anyways).

But this time now, it completely threw me off for days, I was so upset.

I did have a job interview 5 min away, 2 weeks ago, but, off course, no call back.
Story of my life.

Hopefully things will get better for you before June! We've only just entered March.

[Kossu]

Just came back from fhe supermarket. Pasta and rice shelf: empty. Toilet paper shelf: empty. In general, half empty supermarket. It's really like there's war or something with the coronavirus frenzy.:blah:

[nathalie]

For a price, I'll come and slap sense into people :lol:

[KanuTGL]

Seeing that here as well. The pasta shelf was picked clean, beans and lentils were almost gone and eggs too. Also meatballs were scarce, who would have thought :lol: There's lots of gluten free pasta still though because it's stocked in a different part of the shop, so I'm all good, hahaha~

I'm doing another theatre gig this weekend and so far we're doing good. The audience is much more scarce than usual though, for obvious reasons, which is a shame because the group we're helping only puts up their show every other year. Right now I'm "cooling down" before going to bed, so I can get up and do the show again tomorrow :zzz:

[nathalie]

And in this "time of need", people still, don't want Soya milk or Soya pudding :lol:
(the pudding ain't that bad really, since it's flavoured)

[cleargreenwater]

There's lots of gluten free pasta still though because it's stocked in a different part of the shop, so I'm all good, hahaha~

I'm doing another theatre gig this weekend and so far we're doing good. The audience is much more scarce than usual though, for obvious reasons, which is a shame because the group we're helping only puts up their show every other year. Right now I'm "cooling down" before going to bed, so I can get up and do the show again tomorrow :zzz:

Hey, I didn't know you were gluten free, me too! Only as of this summer. I'm not super strict with it because for me it's a choice not an allergy, but I have psoriasis and mild psoriatic arthritis and boy do I notice a difference in both the rash and the tendonitis. Its annoying as hell but that's a good incentive so I try to stick with it as much as possible.

I feel really bad for so many small community groups. These fundraisers mean so much, I know historical society events have been dropping like flies here, too :-/ And when school groups visit museums they make a donation to the museum, so with schools being closed they're losing out on that too. I hope this isn't the final nail in the coffin for some of these small places.

Right now I just came back from the grocery store. Apparently Jello is one of those things you have to stock up on because all I could find was strawberry flavor. I'm going for oral surgery on Tuesday and wont be able to eat normally for a week or two, it figures I have to buy this stuff now :rolleyes:

[KanuTGL]

Hey, I didn't know you were gluten free, me too! Only as of this summer. I'm not super strict with it because for me it's a choice not an allergy, but I have psoriasis and mild psoriatic arthritis and boy do I notice a difference in both the rash and the tendonitis. Its annoying as hell but that's a good incentive so I try to stick with it as much as possible.
Oh! Welcome to the gluten free club :lol: I have a fairly mild case of Coeliac disease and it was only confirmed a few years ago. It's enough to give me issues if I eat the stuff regularly, but I can cheat sometimes without feeling anything if I reeally want the something with gluten in it :timonredface:



I feel really bad for so many small community groups. These fundraisers mean so much, I know historical society events have been dropping like flies here, too :-/ And when school groups visit museums they make a donation to the museum, so with schools being closed they're losing out on that too. I hope this isn't the final nail in the coffin for some of these small places.

Right now I just came back from the grocery store. Apparently Jello is one of those things you have to stock up on because all I could find was strawberry flavor. I'm going for oral surgery on Tuesday and wont be able to eat normally for a week or two, it figures I have to buy this stuff now :rolleyes:
Yeah, that's a really depressing aspect of this whole thing. I really hope those smaller groups are able to recover somehow after the worst is over :/

Good luck with the surgery too! Hope it goes well o:

[nathalie]

Hope nothing to bad CGW.

So over people wining 'my kids are devastated we aren't going to Disney' and 'oh no, Broadway is closed, how will I survive without going to a show'

It's not what anyone wanted, obviously, but there's just nothing we can do about it.
And if this is what needs to be done, then so be it.

It is what it is.
We just have to make do now.

I've been up since 5. It's almost 8 now.
Might as well go to the grocery store early today, see if that changes anything in getting the stuff we need.
Since everything is gone daily, I have had to go back daily to check *sigh*.

[cleargreenwater]

Naw nothing big, still with the stupid tooth abscess. They couldn't do a regular root canal on it because the tooth was dead for so long it the canal filled back in with calcium. I was supposed to get the oral surgery last week but they cancelled it from all this virus craziness, so I'll have to do it some other time. The tooth doesn't hurt a bit, I only need it for the abscess anyway. I feel like I dodged the executioner LOL.

Right now I am getting ready to work from home tomorrow for the first time ever. I just got the laptop & printer set up, now I have to find a place for all my crap on a plastic folding table!

[cleargreenwater]

I am staring day 2 of working from home.

This s--- is weird. But the dog is a nice perk!

[nathalie]

It takes so much self discipline to work from home, which I don't have, haha. Since I already have 0 attention span, even when being in an office is extremely difficult for me.
I used to work from home once in a while back in the day, and it was tough.

Good luck!

I've been to the store the last time today for hopefully at least 7-9 days now.
We were struggling so much to get enough food, I had to back every day to check.
I've gotten a real scare too now, so my anxiety is sky high and I've been feeling very bad (not sick, but like, anxious and all that) since yesterday.
Because no one cared over here, and all the nutcases taken all the food, I've put myself in danger, because we needed food.

Only today things were different! Tape in the store where to stand, not many in store either, stacked shelves! I hadn't seen toilet paper in that store for 14 days!
I cannot believe it actually took a speech from the prime minister for people to listen how bad this is.
Like, they didn't notice this before that there's a crisis going on? Breathing down your neck even more when standing at the till. INSANE!

Sadly, for me, this feels just like any other day, of sitting at home, not being able to do much :(
Chances of me finding a job now are completely gone for the rest of the year.

[KanuTGL]

Yeah, the self-isolation thing isn't really out of the ordinary from how my past year has been anyway :licks: Just normal routine, ha. I went shopping yesterday though and I too managed to find toilet paper in the store :lol: The stockpiling here has been really specific, so except for a few items - like toilet paper and pasta - the shelves have been stocked as normal. That feels comforting somehow. The situation feels pretty calm in Sweden overall still, even though the amount of confirmed cases is rising steadily. Our government is still handling this pretty differently from a lot of other countries, and so far so good I suppose.

Our prime minister addressed the nation on Sunday, which hasn't happened since the election of 2008, and didn't announce any lockdowns, like I was sure he would. Instead he told everyone that we are all personally responsible for the days to come... "Once in a generation there will be a time when you have to make sacrifices for not only yourself, but for the people around you and for our nation. That time is now. That day has come." I hope it resonated with people, because everyone outside of the capital are furious at the self-entitled Stockholmian brats who are still going on their skiing holidays in the north, despite Stockholm being the Swedish epicentre of the outbreak -_-

And same about job applications. No one is recruiting actively at the moment, for obvious reasons, so who knows how that will go come June, when I run out of unemployment insurance funds :rolleyes:

Currently I'm otherwise procrastinating a bunch of house chores I've planned today... (I just don't understand how the kitchen becomes such a mess so quickly... :stick: )

[nathalie]

I haven't had benefits since February last year. So this, is going to make us struggle.
The "good thing" is, that we were supposed to go to the beach now, we can't, so we can't spend any money there, mainly on food that we would eat locally (pizzaria, things like that).
Who cooks when on holidays? lol

Disney could get cancelled. It was our last trip before our passes would expire, including The Lion King festival. Even if it would be safe to open again, the festival wouldn't happen.
But, if Disney gets cancelled, then that's a good chunck of money we'll get refunded also.
And, again a week to the beach in June.

We also wanted to surprise my parents, and go to Belgium for a few days end of August, who knows, that could maybe work, but if not, again, money saved from that.

I love Adam, but for the next forseeable future, being stuck in this room, don't hate me, when I end up killing him :lol: j/k off course :p

[KanuTGL]

Haha, now be nice! :lol:

The situation took a turn for the worse here this evening with a lot of new cases and deaths and now I honestly want the government to put Stockholm on lockdown - almost 50% of our total cases are over there and we know they'll just keep spreading it to the rest of us even faster if we allow them to leave for the goddamned Easter holidays because their attitudes are awful -_- Sigh.

Listening to some music and thinking about doodling a bit before bed... I have to leave the house again for a meeting tomorrow and I don't waaanna.

[Kossu]

Having some coffee, still waking up.:zzz:

I've been trying to avoid most social media lately and reading the news, because it only makes me depressed and paranoid. Lea feels safe and different in that aspect. I hope every one of you is doing fine.

Also, there seems to be an unusual number of visitors lately, I wonder if it's bots.:\

[Guntur]

What am I doing right now? just pissed off that I'm one of the bread zombies looking for a bread for my sick mother. There's literally no bread in my area and hey.... look a snack :lol::lol::lol::lol:

[KanuTGL]

Hugs for all of you :hugs: I definitely agree we should spend more time here.

I'm listening through the first audio mixes of the recorded songs from our shows back in February <3 It's such a boost tonight to hear them again, and they sound really good too, haha!

[Kossu]

Guntur, I hope your mother will be fine! Be strong everyone.:hugs:

Preparing to work on a commission here, after playing some Vermintide with some friends. Those game sessions are usually a lot of fun, so many silly jokes.:lol:

[KanuTGL]

Making an attempt at catching up to some dA messages... I've let my notifications kinda drag behind and now there are too many @__@ One comment was a commission request though, so that's nice.

[Revo]

Wouldn't ya know it, quarantine is making me do my biennual remembrance visit to this site. Always brings back memories of the good times :D . Internet seems a much duller place since then.. Hope everyone is doing OK.

Right now, munching on a carrot.

[King Simba]

Wouldn't ya know it, quarantine is making me do my biennual remembrance visit to this site. Always brings back memories of the good times :D . Internet seems a much duller place since then.. Hope everyone is doing OK.
Same here! :lol: I’ve been lurking, just not posting. :kiaralook:

Yeah, I agree. It’s a shame Lea isn’t as active as it used to be, we all did share some good times.

Right now I’m sat in the garden, chilling. :relax:

[Kossu]

Welcome back you guys, it's great to have you both back!:hugs:

Feeling pretty exhausted here, today has been a super busy day, but some good news at last! Got the keys for our new place today so we will be moving over the course of the next week. So much to do, but quite exciting.:D

[KanuTGL]

Weell, if we all check in here and post more often... ;) I don't like really talking on social media - it's clunky, disappears immediately and it's impossible to keep up - so I still prefer a good ol' forum for chatting~ It's good to see you both =D

That's awesome to hear, Kossu! Hope the move goes smoothly for you! ^__^

I'm playing a new iPad game I got addicted to. It has obscure Disney characters in it, and TLK characters, so... :idiot:

[nathalie]

Jonathan (musical person) was doing a live "concert" from his living room, streaming on instagram, so we just watched that.

Now ... no idea what to do. I feel my life is even more meaningless, then 4 weeks ago :lol: *ahum*
Russel up some grubs sounds good, getting a bit hungry, lol.

[Leorgathar]

Catching up with everything new that’s been going on here. I’m so glad to see the forum this lively again :)
Great to see you all again! ^^

Edit: Ack! I had forgot the original thread had posts maxed out ><

[nathalie]

Adam's in a Lion King phase, where he's been watching the animated and CGI version with commentary.
And wanted to watch the animated in Dutch, fine by me.
So we just done that. But he kept being the commentary track now, which was annoying :blah::p

[This Land]

Next time i will do it in the style of Sir Attenborough :bleen: :cs_weird:

But yeah, just been watching alot of TLK Content recently (My Lion Guard project has been the culprit i think) :kionhappy2:

A lot of stuff on the commentary that you don't read or hear about on other places like IMDB, interesting stuff ^_^.

[KanuTGL]

Haha, surely no one on a TLK forum thinks being in a Lion King phase would be a bad thing... :lol:

I've been working on revamping my online portfolio all afternoon/night... :zzz: It's so tedious and honestly extremely boring. But some feedback from a recent interview (for which job I was declined, as usual) made me wonder if I should keep my "graphic design" and illustration portfolios separate :thinks: So I've been reworking it. Again. Bleeeh. Now I must get some sleep, so I can continue tomorrow...

[nathalie]

I just gave Sharifu a call, because, why not? Hehe :p

Since I was still awake at a time it was late afternoon for her.

Should probably go to sleep soon (2.30 now).
The entire pattern is so out of sync, it's mad at the moment, lol.

[Kossu]

Doing some warm-up doodles here, before I start some serious painting. Glad to be able to draw on the laptop again.:)

I feel the lack of sleep and schedule as well.:zzz:

Since we moved, I have had problems adjusting and very poor sleep. I finally managed to get some proper sleep last night, but I still feel exhausted today. One night can't change weeks of bad sleep of course...but reboot attempted.:lol:

Also, why does every passing day feel like a Sunday? And how is it May already...:p8O

[KanuTGL]

Welcome to my world, I haven't had a decent sleep schedule for a year now, so this is all business as usual for me... :lol: :zzz:

I'm finishing up an overdue commission... I've had a such an off week where I haven't felt like doing anything at all and every task has been struggle -_- But it feels good to be able to cross something off the list.

[nathalie]

I hadn't watched Neighbours since mid-March, so I'm catching up on that now, just as it's extremely exciting!
But, Neighbours themselves had put up spoilers the day after an important episode aired to show "behind the scenes", and one of the actors I follow on twitter did the same thing.
So, I unfollowed both now, and try to unsee the spoilers, lol.

[KanuTGL]

^ Doctor Who keeps doing the same thing. I get that they want to keep the hype up, but come on.

I'm trying to sift through my notifications and "Watch" stuff on dA. It's become a much bigger effort since Eclipse. Uuugh. They need to get rid of their UX designers. Seriously.

[nathalie]

A day after the episode, they could have waited like, a week, as the entire thing was spread out over 5 episodes. So I already knew who died, due to them putting the behind-the-scenes thing up, with a big title "... dies"

In the words of David Tennant as the Doctor: WHAT ???

But man, they were such tense and emotional episodes :(
Something always happens on a big anniversary (35 years Neighbours last March), and by far, I've never cried so much watching this :lol:


I'm at Adam's shop now, he's back at works since Tuesday.
This town is already useless, and with everything still closed, it's even more useless, so I'm sitting in the back, sitting on something you could call a chair, and my laptop on another chair.
Not allowed in the actual shop, as there's the whole 1 customer per time inside policy right now and such.

We're viewing an apartment after he finishes, and it's too far out, so I couldn't get there on my own, so it was just easier to go along with him.
Same thing tomorrow.

Also doing a job application, but it's doing my head in, pfff...
They need so many questions "how long been in the UK" and things like that, so, I feel I'm already going to be discriminated by that, even though the job is absolutely perfect (story of my life).

I'm going to give them a call tomorrow, if it's worth me finishing it.
As for the next step, I need a cover letter, and I don't want to put energy in making one, if it could be completely useless -_-

[Kossu]

Nathalie, good luck with the applications! Also, how was the apartment viewing?


I'm trying to sift through my notifications and "Watch" stuff on dA. It's become a much bigger effort since Eclipse. Uuugh. They need to get rid of their UX designers. Seriously.

Uhuh...Old DA had its faults, but I miss the more organized posts and comments. It feels hard to browse and it gets stuck quite often for me, especially from the phone.:\

Feeling pretty sleepy here, but got...to...work...on...things.:zzz: and it's too late for coffee:headache:

[KanuTGL]

Yeah, good luck with the applications, Nathalie! I'm in the same boat myself still, it's such fun :headache:

I'm currently sitting idle at my computer, waiting for a Zoom meeting that was supposed to start 10 minutes ago. The hosts still haven't sent out a link, so me and my friend are just sort of... here. I'm super tired, so I really wouldn't mind if the whole thing was canceled now :zzz:

[Taneli]

Aside from celebrating the fact that I managed to log in for the first time in probably a decade (thankfully I still use the email address I registered with), I'm updating my profile whilst consuming my body weight in coffee :zzz:

Hello again everyone! :cheese:

[KanuTGL]

Heey Taneli! Awesome to see you back :D

I'm currently reading some induction documents... Tomorrow I'm signing a contract for a summer job...! 8O

[Kossu]

Oooh, congrats on the job Kanu!:D

Also, welcome back and nice to meet you Taneli!:)

Just taking it easy here, but might go for a walk soon. It's relatively dry today, compared to the previous days.:nalawet:

[nathalie]

I've started to watch some of the old series I seen when I was little/young from the '80s & '90s.
Step by Step, Perfect Strangers, Father Dowling.
Can't believe I found Father Dowling, lol, I used to watch this with my grandma when I was like, 11 or so. I love me detective stuff, I don't care it's a priest and a non, hehe.

[nathalie]

Found some new things to watch, when I was cat-sitting last week, I saw some new(ish) things on TV, so went looking for them.
One of them is "The nightmare neighbour next door".
My God ... some people just need a slap in the face (well, more then that, but I'm being decent).
Respect is something that everyone should know. Such a shame.

We've got some stupid neighbours, and at my parents house next door is making their life hell also. I honestly don't understand how neighbours who terrorise others can be like "I know nothing".

[KanuTGL]

Oh, so many people need a slap in the face... :rolleyes: The pandemic really brings out the best and the very worst of humans.

Currently I'm dealing with some "spex"/theatre company stuff - meeting prep, replying to e-mails and so on... It's a little too intense right now x_x I'm keeping my fingers crossed it'll settle into a better pace in a couple of weeks once all the groups are started up properly :zzz:

[nathalie]

Oh, don't get me started, lol.
Yesterday we were in Birmingham, standing in front of the fridge in Poundland to get a drink.
When a girl (older then 12) without a mask, just walks in front of me to take something, no excuse me, nothing.
Because of it, I take a step back, and bump into the girl behind me, also older then 12 and no mask.
(masks are mandatory now in UK)
We both apologized for bumping into each other, and I face towards the other girl saying "you could say excuse me, you know!"
Then that other girl I bumped into, was with her, haha, and she's like: you should have said excuse me or something to that woman
And the girl turns around towards me and is like: who said I should say excuse me ???
And I'm like: you could have said excuse me instead of barging in in front of me!

Like, did she wanted to start an argument with me? Girl, I'm not the right person to do that in these times, I will crush you completely.

England really isn't like how other people outside of England think it is :lol:

[Taneli]

It's both amusing and depressing in equal measure just how many foreigners are broken by how terrible England actually is compared to how it's portrayed :lol:

I've almost gotten into so many rows with people in shops and stuff because, I mean I'm easily annoyed at the best of times but seeing people brazenly ignore rules and such just really makes me like :grrr: lol.

-

As for what I'm doing right now, I'm just sat waiting for my oven to heat up so I can cook pizza :cheese:

[nathalie]

I think I have a "good look" on that part, as I've only moved 2 years ago, and when visiting I always did think it was so nice here, and very much loved visiting England (I was here about a week every other month for 2 years).
But boy, did my opinion changed 2 weeks after I've moved.

We're figuring out holiday dates, as Adam's been asked when he'd like his winter holidays, and since Belgium this year is out of the question due to the ever changing quarantine rules and it being cheaper going by motorbike but we can only do that as long as the weather is decent, we're figuring out when and how to go for Easter.
Normally I'd have all these weeks sorted, because booking Eurostar's are a pain to get it cheap months in advance, so we always have things planned very early on, now it's like: I don't know?

[Kossu]

Normally I'd have all these weeks sorted, because booking Eurostar's are a pain to get it cheap months in advance, so we always have things planned very early on, now it's like: I don't know?

Similar situation here, there's just so much uncertainty on the travelling matter right now.:(

Busy with lots of organizing here, since I am officially back to university now and got a lot to figure out. There are some more updates I want to write about, hopefully I can soon, on the appropriate threads.;)

[nathalie]

Strange isn't it. I'm not one to live day-by-day. As I need a plan, if that plan fails, I crumble and fall apart, lol.
Like, whenever booking Disney, the hotel gets booked like, 6 months in advance (cheap prices), and then the Eurostar now, also about 6 months in advance. The HST used to be 3 months in advance, so I'm just used to that.

What is your head subject at uni?

[Kossu]

Yeah, planning ahead really is not possible right now...It can be very annoying, especially for holidays, like you said Nathalie. (Note to self, to ask you for tips about Disneyland for when it's finally possible to book a trip...You sound like an expert on the matter, Nathalie.;) )


What is your head subject at uni?

Veterinary medicine! I was studying in the Netherlands 6 years ago actually, but a lot of things didn't turn out the way I hoped so I had to stop(I really liked the studies though). It was one of the most difficult things I had to face in my life so far and (along with other things)drove me into depression for a few years. To an extent I have recovered now and with other things settled, I decided to try and resume the studies...I've had quite some doubts, but in the end I don't want to have any regrets. It's a bit of a shock going back, I have to admit and I feel a bit like an old hag, because almost all my classmates are 10 years younger, but oh well.:p Still going through it with a mix of enthusiasm and terror, but it'll get better.:)

[nathalie]

Oh that's cool! I used to want to be a vet. But then I once saw on TV, you'd have to stick your arm up a cow's but :lol:

I didn't knew back then, there's usually a vet for pets, and a vet for farm animals :p

I've only been almost 40 times to DLRP :p (I remember saying my first trip was so boring I'd never go again :lol: )

Unles I get a job (ha!) we won't ever be going again :( our passes got extended until November 2020, but with the quarantine rules changing every day, the color coding for cities changing daily, and not getting a refund for the hotel (website I booked is being a fraud, so we will be taking steps next week!) so just can't afford anything.

[KanuTGL]

Heh, yeah, as a kid I wanted to be a vet too, until I also saw a TV program where they mentioned that vets have to perform surgeries and I was like "Uhhh, naaah..." :lol: Hope your studies are going well and that you'll be able to adjust, Kossu :)

I'm fretting that I'm up this late and also wondering if I maybe have a sore enough throat to warrant staying home from work tomorrow :eww: It's kinda sore, kinda not, and it comes and goes. It most likely has to do with the fact that I was outside all day yesterday and got cold and wet in the rain, but, ehhhh. Fret, fret, fret.

[nathalie]

Well, we were watching Dr Who, but then I felt sick, got sicker, got even more sick, almost threw up, had a panic attack, 2 hours later, little better, off to bed now and just try and sleep it off.

Such fun.

[Kossu]

Sounds terrible, I hope you are feeling better now Nathalie.:hugs:

And I was also quite doubtful whether I will like the studies, because of stuff like what both Nathalie and Kanu mentioned, but whatever doubts I had went away when I started the studies, which is so very interesting. Some things I honestly am still terrified of, but in the end I believe the good stuff outweighs the bad stuff.:)

Right now it's not much fun though. Most classes are online(understandably), on average I go to the university once per week for practicals. The online part doesn't bother me, what bothers me is that organization from professors etc. has been very, very bad so far (which is shocking for my experience with dutch standards). It really seems like they had the impression that classes would resume normally after September, which isn't the case at all. And with the wild increase in covid-19 cases here again, I wonder how it'll go.:(

[nathalie]

Well, I don't like blood and "icky" things, so I wouldn't have made a very good vet at all, lol.

Not really feeling better, every day a new problem adds to the pile.

We did go to Legoland Windsor last week Thursday, that was fun!
More for children, but we like a themepark, so thought we'd check it out. We might go again next year, if they still do -40% price online. Full price really was not worth it, it's fun, but for 2 adults there's not much to do really. You can do most rides, but they last for like 30 seconds, so it really is based on kids.
But we were like, an hour short to see everything really well (Miniland), so would like to see that decent again, we were rushing to see most of it now, as the park was closing.

[Kossu]

That sounds really fun Nathalie! Saw some pics on Fb, it seemed pretty cool! Also nice discount.:cheese:

Lazy slow Sunday here so far(with gloomy, uninspiring weather). There's a pile of chores that has to happen, but I keep putting them off.:zazuinnocent:

[nathalie]

We just got back from a week at the beach. Weather was quite warm, until Wednesday, thunder, lighting, storm, and the wind at 60-70 km/h, for 5 days straight! So were kind of stuck at the house, since we're on a motorbike, I really didn't want to be on that with that wind.
At least we had a fun 2 sunny warm days, lol.

[KanuTGL]

Finished scheduling all my bills and all my monthly payments... :zzz: After working three months for half pay I've finally got my almost-full wages this month. I was so looking forward to being able to not worry about money for a little bit and to start being able to save up for things again. However... I have so much to catch up on for being without money for so long that I'm still going to be as poor as before when the payments have processed tomorrow. Sigh...

[Kossu]

Sorry to hear that Kanu.:(:hugs:
Can you at least stay at your current job?


We just got back from a week at the beach. Weather was quite warm, until Wednesday, thunder, lighting, storm, and the wind at 60-70 km/h, for 5 days straight! So were kind of stuck at the house, since we're on a motorbike, I really didn't want to be on that with that wind.
At least we had a fun 2 sunny warm days, lol.

I've been dyiiiing to go to the beach/ sea. It's been so long...:emo: And the weather in UK sounds just as moody as the weather here in the NL.:lol:

[nathalie]

Holland, Belgium, UK, it's all the same basically. As soon as we went land inwards it was all sunshine (not warm, but kind of wind-less, and sunny) -_-
It's always worse on the seaside, but this, pfff, this was bad. And the holiday homes are on pilars/blocks, so the house was rocking about 24/7.
When we got back to the room last night, I was like: you feel that? Exactly, nothing! The ground beneath me isn't moving! :lol:

I did went out during the wind, to the entertainment place on site, it was mad! The wind was so bad, I could feel it go in one ear and out the other :lol: (seriously though, had an earache after, haha, but that happens with normal wind quite fast for me too).

I need to get ready to go out, wash my hair and stuff, takes an hour or 2 to dry (can't blowdry it, as it's very fragile for a while now, so need to let it dry naturally), get some stuff to fill the kitchen (and snacks, I need some snacks, haha)

[nathalie]

I have just made a small claims court claim towards the website I had booked my hotel with, when we were supposed to go to Disneyland past June.
They refuse to refund people, and we've been trying for 4 months, I even had to call the hotel in France to hear what they had to say about it and if what the website I booked with was telling me the truth (they weren't).
We tried several options to put in a claim or anything, my credit card company was absolutely useless.

They might think people aren't going to bother with something like this, but I will not let them get away with this, and I will do anything I can to get my money back!

Our last resort was take it to court. I can only hope now this will work, and I will get my money back.
They have until the end of the month almost to reply, and they better have a positive reply for me.

It's been tough, it's a lot of money, the worries everyday of not having it, and I may not ever get it back, is just so upsetting.

[Taneli]

Ugh that sounds so stressful Nath :wtf: hopefully it all works out well in the end!

What I'm doing right now is less stressful, I'm watching Bake Off whilst baking a cake of my own :p

[Guntur]

Stressed at work, so right now just relaxing to calm myself for tomorrow work, and Eddie Van Halen died doesn't help much either, it was a somber day for me.

[nathalie]

Ugh that sounds so stressful Nath :wtf: hopefully it all works out well in the end!

What I'm doing right now is less stressful, I'm watching Bake Off whilst baking a cake of my own :p

It better. Don't know what else there is to do to get it back. They even removed themselves from the ABTA website, which is something where you can put in complaints when a travel agency isn't doing what they supposed to. They were, but as of last week, they removed themselves, so that's another way people can't put in a complaint to try and get money back.

The only thing making me feel better is, they have dug their own grave anyways.
If they were honest, and payed people back, next time you want to book, you are like "they were good last time with the cancellation and refunds, we'll use them again".
Now, everyone will be like: HELL NO!


Oh, the beakoff, I forgot about it!
We seen the first episode last week, I had actually never seen it before (I know what it is though).
I like cooking / baking shows.

[nathalie]

I have surrounded myself with my 3 external HD's, and I am cleaning them all up!

It has back-ups from 15 years ago, lol, A LOT can go into the trash to never be seen again, lol.

And I've been putting stuff on an HD of Adam's, so that's 4, and then my laptop HD needs a good clean too. I keep downloading stuff, and it'll just sit there for months, years even, so it's time for some good cleaning.

[KanuTGL]

Sorry to hear that Kanu.:(:hugs:
Can you at least stay at your current job?
It seems that way - my contract currently runs out at New Year's, but the way my manager is talking it doesn't sound like they have any intention of letting me go anytime soon. So, that's something at least :p My wages are offset for some reason I didn't understand, so I get the current month's payment by the end of the following month. It's reaally frustrating and it's meant some bending over backwards to get things to work these past few months... But, I should be catching up now. In the coming weeks I'm going to be moving in with my partner, so shared rent should do something to help my finances too :secret:

Sorry to hear you had to go that far for your refund, Nathalie. It sounds really stressful :C Hope you'll be able to get it back.

I'm currently doing some final edits to a commission. (It's the second to last one on my list and I can't waaait to be done with them!) That and drinking tea with honey for my very sore throat :blah: No office work for meeee. Agaaaain. Argh!

[nathalie]

I can't wait to hear what excuse they'll give me this time for not paying me back.

You know, I get that if they refund everyone, they'll go bankrupt probably anyways, but if they would at least give out vouchers, it seems more like a win-win in most cases, but, which I'm not getting either, and they haven't offered me one, I might be OK with that even.
So we could maybe get a hotel next year.

Making lasagne.
That'll be food for another 4 days, as I make 8 seperate ones in 1 go ^^

[Kossu]

Having some coffee and waiting for an online class to start. The last week has been hell with deadlines, so trying to catch up to online updates now...I hope everyone's doing ok.:kiaralook:

KanuTGL; That's great news! Congrats for moving in with your partner! =D

nathalie; I hope you really manage to get a refund or at least a voucher....I really don't get why they wouldn't give out vouchers, especially if you payed lots of money. :headache: I get the going bankrupt issue, but a voucher is the least they can offer when they know people can't make it...Some companies are really pushing it with that, and it seems to be especially restaurants or hotels. :(

[nathalie]

I was just having a look on the government website, to check the status of the claim, last week it said they still hadn't responded yet, this morning it says "they have requested an extension" :lol:

So, now, I have to wait, another 14 days, untill mid-November for them to hopefully reply decent and come up with a soluation.

Another way for them to just keep on dragging this out!

At least they got the claim ...

[KanuTGL]

KanuTGL; That's great news! Congrats for moving in with your partner! =D
Thank you! It's going to be interesting for sure, since his flat is sliightly too small for our two workstations :lol: But I'm sure we'll manage. We're very alike in how we run our households otherwise, so I think we'll be alright :p

Currently I'm managing some theatre stuff that I've been putting off due to being insanely stressed followed by being so very very ill... This (unpaid) engagement is just no fun at the moment, and I've completely lost all my will and spark. I'm wondering how long it's going to stay this way. If I don't start enjoying it again soon I think I'm just gonna drop it *sigh* Which would be a tough blow to this crew since I'm the one handling all the money, hahahaa :') But I don't want to spend a huge amount of energy on something this hard if I'm not having fun with it any more. Eh. :cs_sorry: Decisions, decisions.

[nathalie]

Exhiting time Kanu, moving in!

We got back from another week at the beach *yay*, this time for my birthday.
Great weather, so got very lucky. Though, yesterday was very cold and freezing on the bike. I hate that thing -_- as of now, until spring, can't go anywhere really, unless to the store, no more then 30 minute rides for me, or I freeze, or the strong winds in winter will smash my head inside the helmet, or the strong winds will smash it actually of my head.
But you know, vicious circle and all, need job to get car, need car to get job.

Now back in this house filled with retards.
Not once have I been in the kitchen in the past 3 weeks, where the other guy doesn't walk in. He's alright, but I can't do my stuff in the kitchen when others are walking in, looking at what I'm doing, it makes me uncomfortable.
Vicious cirlce again. No job --> no new appartment & no car --> no job.

*sigh*

At least we managed to go places this time. 2 weeks ago, 60-70 km/h winds made it impossible to really go anywhere on the bike.
York was really nice.
Had been there 2 or 3 years ago, but only seen Primark & Disney Store, lol, but this time saw most of the town center.
Went to Whitby, been there before, but just went to get out, lol. Still a nice place, not really special, but it looks nice.
On the way back "home" we stopped in Doncaster, what a dump :lol: it doesn't look nice at all, and Adam got approached by more homeless people in 10 minutes then at Euston station :lol:

[nathalie]

Interesting development: I got an email tonight from the bookingwebsite, saying I will have my money within the next 5 workdays!

When I went to check the government site to look at the claim, there is no update.
So, they are probably doing it "privately" so they won't have to pay the interest we asked for + the claim fee.
The interest was just a thing we thought we'd add, haha, emotional damage ... as it's been extremely difficult for me to have this on my mind, so we thought, why not?
The claim fee, it's a small amount to loose looking at the big amount I'll be getting back now.

But, I will only believe it, when I see it in my bank account.

[Kossu]

That's a good thing to hear Nathalie, I hope it all works out in the end! :)

KanuTGL; Sorry to hear you feel like that. It sounds like a tough decision to make, when you've been involved for long and you know people depend on you.:cs_sorry: But in the end your health, physical and mental, come first. Hope you can figure it out!:hugs:

[nathalie]

I've been watching these "tragic stories" on youtube, about child actresses.

One of them is Judith Barsi.
I've known this story for about 2 years now, but never watched anything about it, only read on Wikipedia.
For those: she voices Becky in The Land Before Time & the little girl in All Dogs Go To Heaven

As Becky, she says "yep yep yep" a lot, and Adam's adapted to that as he found it so funny how it's being said, so he started to do it too, which makes me laugh.
But I had a look if there was a picture of her grave, and the stone actually says "yep yep yep", my God ... :tears: so cute to have that on there, and so emotional at the same time.

(her and her mother were murdered by her father when she was 10 years old, as the father couldn't deal with her succes)

And then, clips like, a lawyer going through the Legally Blonde movie, and making comments to things from the movie/script, interesting, lol.

[KanuTGL]

Gosh, yes, Judith Barsi :(

Over here the first "moving weekend" is done and I've got a bed and my desk+computer in the new place now, hehe. I'm in a strange kind of "inbetween" time now, where I feel like I don't live in either place. Like, I technically live "here" now, but I went to pick up some things yesterday and it felt so odd. Most of my stuff is still at my flat since I'm moving piece by piece, and everything's changed and yet it hasn't - I've even still got washing up to do at my place. It's like I exist in two lives at once and yet not in either somehow. Super weird...

I'm in a strange headspace overall right now. There's the move, the theatre stuff and the work stuff, and they all weigh heavy. I feel really drained and powerless. :cs_sorry:

Tomorrow I'm due back at the physical office since I'm finally symptom free after almost three weeks, so that's going to be... fun? :go-on:

Now I need to continue putting pictures up :curious:

[nathalie]

Adam's having a Dutch lesson over Zoom (3rd one already), and not much different from the rest of the day, I'm watching some more Seinfeld.
Always wanted this series, only ever seen a handful of episodes, but liked what I seen, so watching the whole thing now since last week.

I'm in a group, Belgians in Britain, and a Belgian woman has been in the UK for over 30 years, and she teaches Dutch in the UK, she asked a while ago if people were interested in some lessons, and I said he would :p he's not doing it against his will, may sound like that, lol, he kept asking me to teach stuff, but I don't really know how, and he never persisted with it, so who better to teach then someone who's been teaching Dutch for 30 years.
It's a Zoom class with 5 or 6 others who don't really know anything in Dutch either.

[Kossu]

Dutch lessons huh, that brings back memories(it's been about 10 years since I had mine).:lol: Hope he has fun with the lessons. It's always nice to learn the language of your special someone, it helps bring you closer to their world in my experience.:)

I've been working on some commissions here, hopefully they'll be done by the end of the week. With Christmas coming, too many deadlines are approaching as well.:hehe: Bright lights and decorations will bring some light and colour to the current gloominess though, so I'm looking forward to it.

[nathalie]

I already like the fact this woman is Flemish, so, no offense at all hehe, she'll teach her students Flemish and not Dutch from Holland :p

He's liking them. Last week he would have missed half the lesson as he had to go to the hospital, and he actually quit work early, so he could make the lesson because he wanted too, so that's really good :)

We just watched Hidden Figures (I'd just seen it before though).
Going to bed now to stay warm, as Miss Retard from downstairs turned the heating off, so the room will get cold soon.

She's not smart enough to not touch the panel, but to just turn the knob in her own room to 0 (keeps it on 5, otherwise she wouldn't be turning the heat off from the control panel in the hallway). God... She's an absolute joke she is!

[Taneli]

Right now I'm multitasking!

I'm working on my uni coursework whilst watching the rugby whilst baking a banana loaf cake :lol:

[Kossu]

Woa, that's quite the multitasking Taneli! And banana loaf cake sounds delicious!:munch:


I already like the fact this woman is Flemish, so, no offense at all hehe, she'll teach her students Flemish and not Dutch from Holland :p

None taken, Dutch isn't my first language so it doesn't matter to me.:lol: Great to hear Adam enjoys the lessons so much.:)

[cleargreenwater]

Right now I'm multitasking!

I'm working on my uni coursework whilst watching the rugby whilst baking a banana loaf cake :lol:

Holy cow, do you juggle? Because I think that's like the only thing missing from that scenario! :lol:

I'm currently nursing a headache and drifted over Lea here, it's been a while!

[Kossu]

There's still a sale on Steam and I've been ogling a few games...haven't made up my mind yet though.:woe:

Also considering to bump some old threads later today...maybe.:evilgrin:

[Taneli]

Holy cow, do you juggle? Because I think that's like the only thing missing from that scenario! :lol:

I'm currently nursing a headache and drifted over Lea here, it's been a while!

Sadly I can't juggle :lol:

Right now I'm procrastinating, I should be doing an assignment for uni but I keep putting it off! :p

[Kossu]

I had some online lectures earlier today and I've been organizing my workload for the next weeks, until Christmas break. Still got to review for some practicals that are planned for tomorrow and a commission to finish.

I've been feeling a bit under the weather these last two days though, so things aren't progressing as fast as I'd like.:zzz:

[nathalie]

Some may have seen on my FB, I have a job now (for 12 weeks, if things go alright), and my feet are killing me, definately not having the right shoes to wear, not sure if it's worth getting something new (like black Skechers) if it won't be extended after 12 weeks, as Skechers are expensive, but it's like walking on clouds! I have 4 pair already, but all are too colorful to wear.

Today I just woke up, like, you know, you just wake up, and you just already know that today isn't going to be great.
Needed to go to the post office, buy & print of a label myself, printer wouldn't work "printer is offline" crap machine -_- But got a QR code in the mail, so went to post office, thinking they could scan it, and print me off a label, nope, they couldn't, had to go to the other mail office, over 1km away, and I was not in the mood to walk up there with my feet hurting this much, so sent the buyer an e-mail it'll get shipped tomorrow. Used Adam's PC, hooray, it printed ... pfff.

Just put in all my bathroom towels in the washing machine as I had none left.
I'm supposed to make cheesecake also, before all ingredients expire, but not in the mood, I'll do it tonight.

And watching some more Seinfeld now.

[KanuTGL]

Catching up on some Lea threads :D While working on art and trying to make my hurting neck... hurt less. It's been like this for three days now. Urgh -_- Tomorrow I need to get myself to work though. I have projects to take care of that have deadlines soooon. I kinda enjoy it, but I wish I could rely on my colleague more. She doesn't really do the whole technical side of things, which means a lot depends on me personally, which in turn is starting to feel straining to me. We'll see how things go I guess.

That's cool that you have a job now, Nathalie :) What kind of job is it? And a good pair of shoes might be a decent investment, I know I wish I had bought decent shoes when I worked last summer, ahah. And you could always keep using them even if the contract isn't extended?

[nathalie]

I have no use for another pair of shoes just lying around, haha.

I have:
- Lonsdale (what I'm wearing to work now)
- Lonsdale, beaten up ones, wear them inside
- all stars, black glittery (can't wear those all day, soles are too flat)
- all stars, yellow glittery
- skechers Bordeaux and same ones in grey/pink
- skechers pink/grey sport shoes (memory foam, so for long walks)
- skechers pink/purple (memory foam)
- timberland ankle boots (not for walking 8 hours)
- reiker ankle boots (not for walking 8 hours)

So yeah, I really don't need another 50-70€ pair of shoes, lol.

It's at the supermarket, getting online orders in store. So it's including the walk there and back about 7 hours on my feet.
And you need black trousers/black shoes.

[Sharifu]

In my opinion, if I were you, I would still buy a black pair of Sketchers for your job, if that is going to help. Nothing is worse than your feet killing you while you are working. You can always wear them in future jobs, or just whenever you want to wear a comfortable pair of black shoes. Most of the time, it seems like black shoes can be used for any job.

As for me, I'm just trying to get things done before baby gets here. I could go into labor any day now. But I will be induced on December 20 if I don't go into labor on my own before then. December 20 is week 39, the reason my doctors want to induce me at that week is because I have preexisting type 2 diabetes. They said with mothers who have diabetes, there is a slight chance of still birth if a baby stays inside past week 39. My blood sugar numbers have been really good at least, my doctors have told me I am doing such a good job managing my diabetes. Although at my last appointment on Monday, my blood pressure was slightly high... I was told to check it at home twice a day. I was told I am at a higher risk of preeclampsia because I have diabetes. Plans could change if I get preeclampsia, where I would have to be induced earlier. I also had blood work done yesterday to check for preeclampsia. We'll see... I think I'll be hearing from my doctor today or tomorrow about the results. Hopefully things wont get worse with that issue. But even if we have to deliver her earlier, all that matters in the end is that both me and baby are ok and healthy, and if we have to deliver earlier for that to happen, that's what we'll have to do.

I do feel a bit better that I have gotten quite a bit done lately. Baby's room is pretty much done, there is a few pieces of art we wanted to hang on the wall still, but that doesn't have to be done before baby gets here. I washed her newborn size clothes yesterday, and her crib sheets. We picked out some going home outfits for her to take to the hospital. Now I just need to pack a bag for myself to take to the hospital! That is the next thing to do on my list! It's a little stressful that this is happening so close to Christmas, but it is what it is. I do love the Christmas season, so at the same time I think it's kind of sweet she will be born during this time. But at least our Christmas tree is done and decorated. It might just be hard to shop and wrap gifts and what not if she comes early. But I am trying to get as much done as I can before she gets here. It's just hard because I get tired, and I don't usually get as much done in the day I wanted. But I have gotten a good amount done over the last week so I feel a bit better about it. Once I get my hospital bag packed today, I know I will be feeling much relief!

[nathalie]

Seems like you're pretty much set for the arrival!

Adam's brought some memory foam insoles from work to put in my shoes. Will see how that goes first.

I'm having such a headache...
Around my left eye, but also on top of my head. The slightest bit of light is terrible.
I'm wondering if I'm 'developing' migraine.
I'm having lots of headaches lately.
It's hard to tell if it's stress.
So on my phone now to make my eyes tired so I can fall asleep.

[KanuTGL]

So exciting, Audra! Hope it all will go well once it's time :) Keep us updated =D

I'm winding down after almost a full day of working on a commission. I'm reminded why I almost never do group pictures :cs_head: Tomorrow is "Lucia (https://sweden.se/culture-traditions/lucia/)" here which I really look forward to. I won't get to see any live singing this year for obvious reasons, but I love watching the recorded procession in the morning with saffron buns and mulled wine (alcohol free, of course ;) ) for breakfast. So I should be going to bed soon so I won't sleep the whole morning away, hehe xD

[nathalie]

I've been talking to my mom and niece for a while, as my mom is sending me a 10 kg food package from Belgium to the UK.
I'm very sorry UK people, but coming from another country, UK food is bland and boring, lol.

Since I can't have meat shipped over (but, maybe ... one day, we'll go with someone who has a car, and a coolbox, and pick up stuff from the butcher on the way back to the UK, and fill the UK freezer :lol: )

My niece lives in Holland, so she got me some things, as my mom in Belgium isn't allowed to cross the border right now.
And my mom is sending me package nr 1 with mayonaise, sauces, pudding, dried sausages, bolgonese hula hoops, and some other things.

Just payed for the package online, can't wait!!

I've been trying so many mayonaise here, and haven't find a decent one. Most are just bland water-y type things really.
+ I need my mayonaise to be with lemons, I can't stand the normal egg-based mayo.

So untill I have found replacements for anything I need, I'll just have to find ways to get it from home, lol, and it all needs to be done quite fast now, before shitty Brexit happens and I'm having to pay extra taxes on packages from home.
But due to lockdown in Belgium, I wasn't really able to ask sooner for all this stuff, as Belgium have just re-opened everything yesterday.
And now Holland is on lockdown, so the items my niece got me, might not even make it to the UK at all now, as she was supposed to come to Belgium to visit her mom next week, and then drop off the stuff at my mom's, so my mom could put it in package nr 2 with some other stuff.

I'm in such a mood today :lol: you know, the one where I'd like to speak my mind once in a while and not care about it :p

I also tried ordering frozen snacks from a special website, but, surprise surprise, due to Brexit won't be shipping to the UK anymore for now -_-
Been waiting 2 years to be able to order there, but it is more expensive obviously, and with shipping and dry ice, couldn't afford, I wanted THAT to really be my treat after finding a job, and now I can't have it -_- :grrr::roar::tears:

[Kossu]

nathalie; Congrats on the job! Also ditto to what Sharifu said about the shoes, I'd get new ones in a heartbeat. Your whole locomotor system can be affected by uncomfortable shoes longterm.

Also what mayo are you referring to? Mayo seems to be a big deal for my husband, he always talks about how different some dutch mayos(like Oliehoorn fritessaus) are from the foreign disgusting ones.:p

Sharifu; Like I said before, I hope it will all go smoothly! It sounds like you have a seasoned doctor and being well-prepared should help ease stress!:hugs:

KanuTGL; I had never heard of that celebration before, but it seems very interesting! Is it a regional celebration, or does it take place all over Sweden?:D


As for me...trying to catch up with online updates in general. I've been on basics-only mode for the last weeks and even that has been a struggle. Also lots of work with uni and commission work. It might be the gloomy weather too, and Christmas approaching with the current circumstances... but I've been feeling pretty depressed lately. Slowly recovering, as winter break starts tomorrow so that's a relief.:)

[nathalie]

@Kossu I like lemon mayo, I can't care for regular egg based ones.
Or, the Remia brand, which has zoete mayo and friet saus, mmm!

UK mayo in general I find very flat in taste, and not as solid, more liquid.
Heinz has mayo, but they should stick to ketchup, don't like theirs either.

I came home from work sick *sigh*
Think there's a bug going between me and Adam. Stomach wise he wasn't feeling good for a few days, when he started to feel better, I was getting sick.
Had already called work Thursday evening explaining, they told me to come in next day anyway and see how it goes.
Fair enough. Did that.
Pushed myself to be fine for 2 days, but couldn't do it anymore today.
Told supervisor, he kept pushing me in staying.
Colleagues telling me I look awful, why isn't he letting me go?
I'm so overwhelmed, crying on shop floor, didn't know what to do, so I kept going.
3 hours in, I told supervisor I'm done pushing, and need to go.

I don't do Mondays, but he asked me to do tomorrow, I didn't know what to say, so yeah, fine I guess, if I'm better.

3 weeks in, and a cry fest in front of loads, story of my life.
Just go in tomorrow and pretend it never happened.

[KanuTGL]

KanuTGL; I had never heard of that celebration before, but it seems very interesting! Is it a regional celebration, or does it take place all over Sweden?:D
It's a very national thing, hehe :D Usually you'll see little processions pretty much everywhere - in schools, at universities, churches, workplaces, care homes, hospitals, in town squares, everywhere :p But not this year, for obvious reasons... The recorded broadcast this year was soo beautiful though, from the north with a super talented choir of students, and lovely Sami singing too ♥ A highlight of this month, for sure ^^

Sorry to hear you're having a hard time at work, Nathalie :C It seems very strange to ask you to come in if you're not feeling well. People may criticise the way we've done things in Sweden this year, but one thing that's been made extremely clear from the get-go is that you do. not. come. to work. sick :') It doesn't matter if it's very slight - you stay home. Since the UK has been much stricter it sounds kinda really bad to ask you to come in with symptoms. Shouldn't they realise that? :/

I'm currently getting together this year's Christmas cards to be sent out at the very, very last moment, ahaha. Only domestic postage this year though, so hopefully they won't arrive too late :idiot: It's been so long since I was able to send this many cards, so it's kinda nice, still. After that it's back to art. So many deadlines :zzz:

[nathalie]

Sorry to hear you're having a hard time at work, Nathalie :C It seems very strange to ask you to come in if you're not feeling well. People may criticise the way we've done things in Sweden this year, but one thing that's been made extremely clear from the get-go is that you do. not. come. to work. sick :') It doesn't matter if it's very slight - you stay home. Since the UK has been much stricter it sounds kinda really bad to ask you to come in with symptoms. Shouldn't they realise that? :/


The mess gets worse, when I left yesterday, they told me: come in Saturday at 6, go there, and a manager will tell you what to do.
So that basically implies I won't be doing what I've been doing the past 3 weeks.
Which, is not what I agreed on when I took this job, so my guess is, that I'll be leaving the store after 10 minutes upon arriving on Saturday :lol:

I'm too friggin' old at this point to be played around with like this. Changing a name and some hours on a contract is simply impossible for them to do, and could take up to 6 weeks? What a joke. It's that I have a badge now, and CCTV will tell I've been in store, but a contract? I've not seen one, so let alone signed one.
So whatever job they might be giving me, I don't have to do, as there is no contract, and no agreement from my side on doing anything else, on what I've agreed on doing.

This is by far, the worst organisation from a massive company that has to be out there.
Complete joke.

[KanuTGL]

Changing a name and some hours on a contract is simply impossible for them to do, and could take up to 6 weeks? What a joke. It's that I have a badge now, and CCTV will tell I've been in store, but a contract? I've not seen one, so let alone signed one.
Ahaha, I recognise that. Both my jobs I had in the UK didn't really have this whole paperwork thing down :') But I was happy in the end - meant I could walk out on my last job with 1 week's notice instead of 1 month's (which it would have been if they'd done their work correctly and had me sign my new contract) :idiot: And to thus be able to give a figurative middle finger to my supervisor felt so good too.

I'm mainly relaxing now and admiring my favourite gifts R got me for Christmas, hehee~ A fox plush and Safari's huge fox figurine that I've had my eye on for aaages :rafikirockon:

[nathalie]

But due to Brexit, I need all legal papers now, as I need proof of address and living here, or they'll ship me back (not that I love it here or anything like that...)
So if I quit today, I would still need that contract eventually to keep things legal.

It's just all kinds of wrong. And getting ready to go now. Been up for the past 2 hours, with pains in places to make me have a panic attack, but I'm sure it's just pure stress again.

[nathalie]

So, turned out, just for today (and maybe tomorrow) stacking.

Now, why couldn't they say that???

There's 7-8 of us, who just got told to come in, and nothing else.
So all of us are quite annoyed.

Communication here, organisation, it's seems getting worse and worse.

I don't mind now doing it one day.
As honestly, I do enjoy the job I agreed to.
But the way you are treated, is just... *sigh*.

[Kossu]

It sounds very frustrating and stressful Nathalie, I'm so sorry.:(

And I really don't get how they pushed you so much even though you weren't feeling well. Like Kanu said it's very odd they do that, with the Covid situation... even if it's slight symptoms.:wtf:

Will there be much change for you because of the Brexit? Other than the extra paperwork that you mentionted?

[nathalie]

The government doesn't even know, so I sure don't.
But I'd rather be safe then sorry!

And yesterday morning, some guy comes in, and tells a manager he isn't feeling well, and he got to go back home straight away.
I looked like a zombie last week, and had to stay and stay.

[Kossu]

But I'd rather be safe then sorry!

Understandably so. It sounds like a very messy situation.:\


Listening to lots of music here and doodling, last lazy day before I get back to getting a pile of stuff done tomorrow.:zzz:

[nathalie]

Disney+ !

Just got it a few days ago, as it was a 6 months free offer from my phone provider.
I never really wanted it, as I've basically seen everything I've mainly wanted to see, or own on DVD, but since it was free ...
But then we got it, and was like "oh this, and look that!!" Ducktales in Dutch :D

I'm doing absolutely NOTHING today, and I will be bingewatching "Raven's home".
I've been taking my meds every weekend this month now, and some days inbetween also, as I cannot stand to work at a supermarket, what a place to work for a hypochondriac :eek:
I've noticed I'm fine until my break, after my break, store either opens, or it's a time when most people start coming in, and I can't handle people, they are rude & disrespectful (not just during 2020, lol).

Yesterday been quite busy, making spaghetti sauce & lasagna. Doesn't sound like a long process, but I take my time, so the sauce alone is at least an hour, then the simmering thing for an hour or 2. Then I had to go and pick up a package from my mom with food and Lion King stuff :D that took about an hour (I walked really slow, lol).
Then, assembling the lasagna's.

All that while feeling very sick, and probably side-effects from all those meds, as I kept feeling very anxious and shaky, couldn't even get to sleep last night.
So, I'm doing nothing today, but Disney + :D

[Kossu]

Ducktales, woohoo!:D Are you watching the old series or the new one?



I was trying to make orange cookies here, but I accidentally added too much orange juice...so now I ended up with two trays of orange cake instead.:p Not as planned, but still tasty.
https://memegenerator.net/img/instances/75221518/theyre-not-mistakes-just-happy-little-accidents.jpg

[nathalie]

Hey, as long as it tastes good!

I got excited about the old Dutch ones, hehe.
It's what I grew up with.

We are also watching the new ones, and I'm adjusting to the style, but the voices are great! David Tennant!

Adam likes the new ones better, he's never seen the old ones, so he thinks they look weird, and I think the new one looks weird.

[KanuTGL]

Me being such a long-time Duck comics fan I've actually found the new Ducktales to be unwatchable :') Barks/Don Rosa Ducks are the only canon ducks to me and I seriously couldn't even get through the first episode. It's a pity because, yeah, David Tennant, but it was just too painful xP I don't mind the older Ducktales though, probably because of nostalgia, haha. (And because Huey, Dewey and Louie aren't teenagers in that one. Geeeez what an awful design choice.)

I'm playing Planet Zoo at the moment. I've had my eye on the game for a while and it was on sale now, so I decided to go for it. It's really super complex and crazy in some regards, but pretty easy and manageable in others, so I'm getting used to it :lol: The graphics are so gorgeous! It's the main reason I bought it really xD

[nathalie]

Don't watch Quack Pack then, Kanu, haha!

I've seen this years ago when it came out.
But it's also on Disney+.

[Kossu]

Me being such a long-time Duck comics fan I've actually found the new Ducktales to be unwatchable :') Barks/Don Rosa Ducks are the only canon ducks to me and I seriously couldn't even get through the first episode. It's a pity because, yeah, David Tennant, but it was just too painful xP I don't mind the older Ducktales though, probably because of nostalgia, haha. (And because Huey, Dewey and Louie aren't teenagers in that one. Geeeez what an awful design choice.)

I agree on the Barks/ Don Rosa ducks being the only canon ones for me as well. There's no going back once you've read the comics.:lol:

I quite enjoyed the old series and when the reboot was released, though I was enthusiastic, I kind of cringed at the new designs. The first time I tried to watch it I admit I didn't get very far, but I gave it another try about a year ago. And I have to say, the storylines are pretty nice! I don't take them very seriously and some things still bug me, but all in all I think it's a great series and stays true at the very least to the Barksian spirit. And the voice acting is fantastic.=D

[nathalie]

I don't like Mrs Beakley's voice in the new series.
She sounds too posh for what she really is (a spy, lol).

But love her in the old series.

And Webby is major different!
In the old series, she's such a girl.
Where in the new series, she's super adventurous and not all that girly.

Quack Pack is about Donald and the nephews, but the nephews are true teenagers during that series.

[Kossu]

I've watched Quack Pack, though I never really enjoyed it as much as Ducktales. Must be nice to have Disney+ to rewatch all the 80s and 90s cartoons though. There were so many! Goof troop, Talespin, Darkwing Duck, Jungle cubs etc.:emo:

And indeed, Webby and Mrs Beakly are very different in the new series. I quite like both versions though. Especially new Webby. I imagine I would have liked her a lot too, if this series existed when I was a child. I had difficulty relating to "girl" characters from early 80s and early 90s series as a child, as "boy" characters usually did the cooler stuff. But this one is pretty cool:vitsm:

[nathalie]

I never had the need to get Disney+ seen it all, or own it all.
But I got it from my phone provider for 6 months free now, so won't say no to that.

And just nice to see all these things together.
So far, the first episodes of the old Ducktales and Darkwing Duck aren't on it -_- which I don't get... They are crucial to know where some characters come from.

But things like Lizzie McGuire, Raven, wizards of Waverley place, etc...

[KanuTGL]

Don't watch Quack Pack then, Kanu, haha!
Nah, I don't :lol: I used to when I was little, but it was more a case of "It's a cartoon and there's nothing else on so I'll watch it" than actually liking it xD

I know a lot of people enjoy the new DuckTales, but I just can't do it I guess :p I've tried clips and the odd short to see if I could get a feel for it, but HD&L are just too insufferable for me, haha. Regarding Webby, I haven't seen enough to make any judgement, obviously, though I get the impression they've just made her into the opposite of what she was, ie into the "Strong Female Character" trope, which I also find off-putting :hehe: I didn't enjoy her character when I was younger either, because I also thought she was a boring girly-girl, but how is it better to remove one stereotype to just apply another?

And, psh, I bought a full year's subscription of Disney+ the moment it came out here, because of course I did :P There still are a bunch of old series missing though, yeah. I really want to see Darkwing Duck and Jungle Cubs and TailSpin and all the rest, but they're not there yet in this region either :emo:

[Kossu]

Huh, does Disney+ also have region specific content? That sounds so...weird.:confused:

I made use of the 2 month trial that was available in the Netherlands(for some reason), before it launched worldwide. I watched so much back then.:p Last movie I remember watching was the "Lady and the Tramp" live action. Perhaps I'll get a subscription sometime though, it would be nice to be able to access content in high quality for streaming. Though I still like to collect physical copies of movies and series if available.

[nathalie]

Yes, not every country has the same content on Disney+
Which is quite stupid.

Also price wise, it's more expensive in € then it is in £.

If you want the subscription, do it before February 23, as the price will go up, because they will be adding "Star" another service, with more series & movies (non-Disney).

[Kossu]

Yeah, it seems very odd that there are region specific stuff. For other streaming services like Netflix I can understand that distribution rights are different per country etc...but Disney is different, they own the majority of the stuff that is on their platform.:\

[KanuTGL]

Yes, right!? I don't understand it either :\ But a few things were released here around Christmas (new Mulan and new Lady & the Tramp for example), so perhaps they're adding things bit by bit to build hype or something maybe... I haven't understood Disney's release strategy for years 8O

Currently I'm getting ready to run a few errands in town (ehhh) and also pick up a mysterious package that I don't know where it's from - I'm wondering if it could be from my Secret Santa... :curious:

[nathalie]

I think they want some exclusitivity to some countries? No idea *shrugs*

I've done an extra shift today (I like those as I can choose what time to start, lol), I doubt I'll be staying after mid-February as I'm just not fast enough. There's a number you need to get to, and sometimes I manage, but once the store opens, I fail miserably where others don't.
So, I'm actually volenteering in doing some extra shifts, just to get that extra money in case they'll let me go after my 12 weeks are up.

Getting obsessed with the new Ducktales too, lol.
Really into it at the moment! Loving the new stories, and how they recycle some old characters and put them in this new series, but in a totally different setting.
And Scrooge & Glomgold together is just magic, I love me a Scottish accent :D

Adam's having his Dutch lesson on Zoom, so I'm just listening to Disney cartoon theme tunes.

[Kossu]

Kind of procrastinating.:cs_yikes_1: I hate it, but motivation is still rock-bottom. Maybe it's partly seasonal depression.:zzz:

Things still feel so unreal. From tomorrow onwards there will be a curfew here between 21:00 and 4:30 every night. I wonder if that is really going to help with anything other than lower people's morale even more. Time will show I guess.


And Scrooge & Glomgold together is just magic, I love me a Scottish accent :D

Ditto to that.:D I didn't like what they did to Glomgold at first, but I ultimately enjoyed his storyline.

[nathalie]

Yeah, Glomgold seeing him the first time was like "what??" the looks are so different. But he's definately good comic relief in the show.
Show has been cancelled, so no more when season 3 is done :tears:

2 nights ago we started to watch Broadchurch. Adam kept mentioning it, he's seen it long ago, and wanted to see it again.
And since I've gotten a big love for David Tennant after seeing Dr Who during lockdown 1.

But not much impressed usually with British drama series. I always feel the quality isn't as good "what I'm used to", so tried putting it off, lol.

We ended up watching entire first series in 1 go! 6 hours! Can't believe I kept putting off watching this, I loved it! The suspense, the emotions, you feel for the characters, on the edge of my seat, trying to figure out who's the bad guy! (I knew though since episode 3 or 4, then maybe I thought someone else, but kept going back to that person).
We started series 2 now yesterday.

Today he's back at work for a few days, and I'm catching up on some movies I got in the past few weeks, cleaning up my laptop.

Extremely lazy day.
This lockdown is much harder then the first.
Being in this room together for 3 months almost the first time, and now again for 3 weeks already, it's too much now.
So I'm actually glad he's out, so I can just do nothing ... lol (oh, he knows).
As since I started to work, I'm on medication every weekend, and those meds give me terrible side effects, so been very sick almost every day lately due to them.
So I really needed today, to just be alone, and just relax and do nothing and not worry about anything for a change.

So, watching some cheesy Xmas movies still :D

[Kossu]

As since I started to work, I'm on medication every weekend, and those meds give me terrible side effects, so been very sick almost every day lately due to them.
So I really needed today, to just be alone, and just relax and do nothing and not worry about anything for a change.

Sorry to hear that you've been feeling so bad. I hope you can feel a bit better after relaxing today.:hugs:

Taking a break from studying here. I've lost track of how much coffee I've had today.:scartongue:

Got to travel 3 hours by train tomorrow for a 1 hour practical, fun times(practicals are the only lessons that are excluded from the lockdown rules since they are essential for the studies). It's supposed to be an exotic animal practical (one of the species is snakes), but it turns out the university doesn't own reptiles anymore?? Which is kind of a big bummer, since I really like reptiles and was very much looking forward to this. I heard that one of the professors brought their own pet snakes on a few lucky groups, so I'm hoping that'll be the case for my group as well.:zazuevil2:

[nathalie]

No relaxing today ...
Landlord texted Adam he was coming in today (early morning), so I went with Adam to work, it's boring, everything is closed off course due to lockdown.
Got my laptop with me, but it's just sitting here for 8 hours, I can go for a walk, but meh, it's so cold, lol.
I don't want to be in the room when I know someone is coming in, so I'd rather avoid all together.
Just feel like eating all the time now, to pass the time, haha.

Yesterday was alright, so hopefully I'll be alright this weekend without meds.
The nex day(s) they give me bad anxiety, shivers, nausea.
Withdrawel symptoms really.
Also, I'm running out, and they are expired since this month, but they should still kind of work after their date.
As there is no way I can get new ones due to all this crap going on, as it's not something you can just put in a package and put postage on it :(

Will be watching Disney+ for a bit soon probably.

[nathalie]

On Friday I finally signed my contract.
Even though the start date was wrong *sigh*.
She then said that I would really probably stay after my 12 weeks.

I got quite excited.
Not a dream job but I'm actually enjoying the job.

Yesterday I got fired. Before my 12 weeks end.
Something with them having to cut 200 hours.

I am devistated.
Can someone please just come and shoot me, get me out of this miserable life, as I am so done with living.
I just can't...

*signing off*

[Kossu]

Sorry to hear about your job Nathalie, it sounds completely insane.:( And sadistic on their part, honestly.:wtf:


I've been feeling a bit suffocated with university stuff since January. There are too many presentations and small projects all of a sudden(next to the regular workload), to make up for the lack of physical lessons(there's only distance learning for this period...at least I don't have to pay for public transport). And I hate giving presentations so much, even more so in dutch.:eww:

[KanuTGL]

Agreed, that sounds absolutely awful. I'm so sorry to hear, Nathalie :zazusad:

And hugs for you, Kossu :hugs: It sounds tough, but I hope you'll pull through it ^^

Me, I'm putting some work back into my portfolio website, so I can start applying for somewhere new to be... I've been really miserable for a while now and getting absolutely fed up with my situation at work. I hate getting on public transport so much and I'm sick and tired of the circumstances around my job. My only(!) colleague and I don't mix, I can't work from home and I've had enough of being blamed for everything our predecessors failed to sort out. It's just... oof. I want something else -_-

A lot of people seem to be struggling right now. I hope spring brings better things for us :pumbaahug:

[Kossu]

Aw, thanks Kanu.:hugs:

I hope things will start looking up for you with your job. It sounds very stressful and frustrating, even more so if the environment is so toxic.:cs_sorry:


I've had enough of being blamed for everything our predecessors failed to sort out.

This...seems to be a painfully familiar theme nowadays. I just don't get it. That kind of treatment is so terrible and unfair for anyone on a new position.:\



As for me...I've been trying to relax after a terrible day and I just got a call for some news that in another universe I'd be happy about, but now I just feel sick. Nothing I didn't expect would happen someday, but still a shock.:simbasad:

[Guntur]

Trying to fight depression, my mom died last month and dealing with loneliness alone is kinda sucks. :(

[Kossu]

I'm so sorry about your loss Guntur. It sounds really rough.:(

[KanuTGL]

So sorry for your loss, Guntur :( The world is so unfair.

On the topic of the thread, I'm kinda just sitting around waiting for dinner... (R is too kind to me xP) Too tired to be productive. Bleh.

[Guntur]

Thank you guys for your kind words and prayers to my mother.

Yeah, i'm not feeling productive lately, probably because of mom's death.

But slightly annoyed that the Molex to SATA drive decided to go kaput today.

[Kossu]

Lethargic day so far.:zzz: Looking forward to an online presentation about parrots this evening though. It's organized by a student group that I'm part of that specializes on wild/ exotic animals.:D

[ThiagoPE]

It is sad to know about your loss Guntur.
I hope for better times for you and your family.

[Kossu]

There's been some very nice summer weather here the last days. It was 23 oC today. It doesn't seem like it'll last until Easter, but at least I got to enjoy some walking today. Also, crossed paths with a wild deer in the forest nearby. It was the first time I saw one here.8O

[Taneli]

Yeah the weather here yesterday was awesome, I was working but I had site visits to do so it was nice to be out in the warm sunshine rather than grey rain :lol:

Right now I'm sat on the sofa watching rugby whilst demolishing a family sized bag of salted peanuts :p

[nathalie]

I don't have anything to say really. I can't be bothered the last few months to actually type/talk.
We were supposed to be at my house for 2 weeks, but meh, thank you all vile and gross people who only think "me me me me me me me" for the past year.
I'm really struggling so much right now, not being at home now.

But, WE ARE OFF UP NORTH AGAIN IN 51 DAYS, to the beach!!! Finally getting out of this sh*t hole again for a week.

[Kossu]

I'm really struggling so much right now, not being at home now.

Sorry to hear that Nathalie. These times are really trying.:\

It's nice at least that you can go to a different place in a few weeks. It'll feel very refreshing I imagine.:)


Taneli; About the nice weather, I rejoiced too soon.:hehe: Just when I thought spring was here for good, the weather changed completely. It started snowing yesterday and this morning I woke up to a snow covered neighbourhood. Snow around this time of the year isn't common here. It isn't unheard of, but it still is very unusual. It's snowing as I'm typing and though it's not cold enough for the snow to settle right now, it feels very surreal.8O

[KanuTGL]

Working on a commission and pondering my sore throat... I seem to get these a lot lately -_- If it doesn't clear by tomorrow I guess I'll have to book myself a test. Bleh.

Kossu and Taneli, I hear you about the weather :lol: We've had the exact same thing here. Lovely and warm one day, waking up to snow the next. We had a real proper blizzard on Monday, worse than what we've had all winter 8O Which is also very unusual for the south here, but then it all cleared up and was sunny again. We call it "April weather" for a reason I suppose xD

[Taneli]

Yeah :lol: A week ago it was the hottest it had been this year so far, and then this week it's been snowing and sub-zero! :8O: wish it'd make its mind up!

@Kossu - your location says you're in Greece, did you really get snow? I can't imagine Greece being snowy, I always imagine it being super sunny and hot! :cool: :p

I'm just browsing eBay for stuff I don't need, as is so often my wont :lol:

[Kossu]

Well, my location info is misleading, since it's a bit outdated.:pumbaabiggrin:

I actually moved to the Netherlands in 2019. I just haven't had the heart to change my location...for silly sentimental reasons I guess.:emo:



I can't imagine Greece being snowy, I always imagine it being super sunny and hot! :cool: :p

Oh, you'd be surprised. The weather is generally mild through the year in Athens and most of the islands. But considering 80% of the mainland is mountainous terrain, winters can be quite cold and snow is not uncommon. Especially in the central and northern provinces there's plenty of snow and low temperatures that can persist even in summer.

KanuTGL; I hope it's just a cold! Hope you can feel better soon.:hugs:

[KanuTGL]

Well, we had another snow storm today, so my hopes for spring have been quashed again :lol:

Thanks, Kossu :hugs: I did go for a covid test on Thursday and it came back negative, so it's just a mild cold :cs_smile_1: Not enough to knock me out, thankfully, but juust enough symptoms to keep me working from home, which I honestly don't mind at all~

I've spent the evening looking for new jobs to apply to but haven't found that many, so that's depressing :yuck: I miss student life so, so much. The freedom - the opportunity to set your own schedule, the variation in work you do, the new things you learn and new people you meet... It can be so very tough, gosh do I know, but now that I've landed in 8-hour-a-day hell I would give anything to go back. Blah :blah:

[Kossu]

Belated reply here, but I'm glad it wasn't anything serious Kanu!

And I'm sorry to hear you feel like this with your current situation. I really do hope in the future you can find a job that will feel more rewarding and not so stressful and unfulfilling as now.:(:hugs:

Also, if you miss studying isn't there any opportunity to go back to it? I don't know what your current situation is and how potential government funding works in Sweden, but if there's something that sparks your interest and could be viable, maybe it's worth considering?:thinks:

[nathalie]

We've spent last week at the Yorkshire coast, which was nice as always.
For once we ate decent and good for a week because it was so much easier to cook.
Went to Hull & York for the day.

And tonight been playing online Pictionary with my sister. I was bored so asked if she wanted to play.
Really fun ^^ if anyone else wants to join one evening, let me know ^^

[Taneli]

Went to Hull & York for the day.

Woo Hull, my hometown! :p It's actually a lot nicer there now than it used to be, they've actually spent a lot of money on the marina area and Queen Victoria Square! =D


I took this week off work because I fancied it, and I've totally lucked out with the weather, it's been glorious! :cool: Went for my first pub dinner in almost a year last night too, also got my first Covid vaccine shot yesterday :cheese:

So yeah, to quote Kronk "it's all coming together" :lol:

[nathalie]

I have no idea where those area's are you are talking about :lol:

We just walked around town mainly, high streets, near the big parkinglot/Sainsburys.

I already got a reminder text for my first vaccin.
I'm just not going to do it.
I'm not against vaccins, but I'd prefer this one to be around for a bit longer, just to see how people get on with possible issues.
+ I'm in no mood to get sick twice (let's face it, I probably will)
+ I will get it when I can choose which one (which is probably never, though, I want Pfizer, and aparantly that's what I could get, but meh, I'm just not interested at all at this point).

+ even fully vaccinated, I will still have to pay +300 € in tests to see my family in Belgium, due to UK government rules, like, WHAT ??
So, right now, apart from getting milder symptoms when getting Covid19, there's no upside for me at this particular time.
And I have thought about all this, because as you might remember, my dad was in the ICU last year on a ventilator.

[Guntur]

Right now, a little gloomy for me, my mother's brother in law passed away today. under the total lockdown. 2021 isn't a year that my family cherish for.

[Kossu]

I'm so sorry about your loss Guntur.:(



Just zoning out here, listening to music...:zzz:

[Taneli]

I have no idea where those area's are you are talking about :lol:

We just walked around town mainly, high streets, near the big parkinglot/Sainsburys.

I'm guessing you mean Tesco, the huge one next to the bus/train station. The only big Sainsbury's is out in Hessle and I'm guessing you weren't there :p But glad you had a good time :cheese:

Regarding the vaccine, I had my first Pfizer shot on Wednesday, and other than 12 hours of a sore arm I had no side effects at all :) I would recommend going for it if purely to help protect others, but I understand your reasons for not wanting to.

-

I've spent today in the kitchen doing meal prep for next week. Made a potato and lentil pie and a veggie curry :kovusmile:

Also watched my rugby team get dumped out of the cup earlier today -_- ah well!

[nathalie]

No, sainsbury's, as I went in because I felt sick.
I didn't mean that was big, but the parking lot.
Next to that parking lot is a very long old wall.
It's like a 3 minute walk from the town center.

I know what I've been doing the past year to protect others. And even without the vaccine, I'm sure doing a hell of a lot more for others, then others are doing for me.

[KanuTGL]

Each to their own, but I for sure can't wait to finally get my first dose. Just another month or so to wait :curious:

Right now I'm sitting here with a pounding headache trying to compose an e-mail I need to send before tomorrow. I just want to draw :emo: I think I spent too long in the sun today, despite wearing sunscreen and a hat. The early summer sun is not to be messed with..!

[Kossu]

I got my first vaccine dose on the 15th of June.:) Other than feeling tired and kind of groggy for about 5 days and my arm hurting for a day and a half, that was it. It was a weird kind of grogginess though, like it was very difficult to focus on things. :zzz:

Made some arrangements here today and if all is well, we can finally leave for Greece on the 28th of July.:cheese: It's been 18 months... Feels almost like I've been in the army or something.:p

[Guntur]

my second vaccine appointment will be on 1st of August. Right now? well not right now but I was browsing to one of the greatest Lea drama in the graveyard. I was surprised the severity of the case with like 8 pages of response, I was immature due for not understanding english language or the situation. and of course I didn't help the situation and it was mindblowing argument. I am totally glad that we didn't reach that magnitude anymore thank god but boy oh boy I wish I wasn't there reading that 17 years ago.

[nathalie]

At Adam's shop this week, as I'm doing some cat-sitting at a house nearby.
Getting a little bit of money in, which can then all go towards the dentist :tears:

[Taneli]

I treated myself to this absolute monster earlier today, it was amazing!
1077

I had my second vaccine jab today too, now I'm just flopped in front of my laptop whilst my arm starts to slowly ache more :lol:

[Guntur]

Same with Taneli, I had my second jab today. My arms ache like 10 minutes after the jab, hopefully I won't have any fever tomorrow. :lol::lol::lol:

[Kossu]

*stops the tumbleweed from rolling further*

All Leas feel so quiet lately, I hope everyone is doing fine. :alone:

Just having some chamomile tea here, while taking a small break from organizing some study notes for tomorrow.:zzz:

[KanuTGL]

September has been absolutely awful over here and I've been under terrible stress, but the worst of it is over now and I'm trying to catch up on some rest... :zzz: The past few weeks have made me reevaluate some life choices, so I'm mulling over what I'm going to do next.

Currently I'm taking a break from cleaning though :timonrelax: R and I have guests over the weekend, so we have to make sure the usual chaos is hidden away by then xD

[Taneli]

September has been mega stressful for me too, I had so much going on and it got me all :headache:

Right now I'm alternating between doing laundry, making food, and watching learning material for my uni modules. You could say it's organised chaos :lol:

[Kossu]

Organised chaos is a term I can very much relate to, haha.:p

Sorry to hear September has been so stressful for both of you. I hope things are already a bit better now.:hugs:

I was having lunch here, having a weird blast from the past find, when I came across the lion king content I posted in the other thread...and I've been watching that since then.:evilgrin:

[nathalie]

The reason I haven't been here in a while is, because I just couldn't be bothered. The few people I do talk to, just seems a lot easier via what's app/messenger.
And I've just not really been in the mood to be honest. One of them ...
The past few months have been terrible, and good, and then terrible again.
Maybe finally things are looking up, but I won't say it too loud *sigh*

We'll be heading of in 2 weeks though to Blackpool for a few days, a gift from Adam's job.
Mid-December. If the weather is going to be like it is right now, we'll freeze all our limbs off, lol, but hey, at least we'll have some fun doing so :lol: