Consumption

Today I went shopping. I'm always short of either shirts, pullovers or pants. Last week I lost my favorite pair of jeans to the evil "torn open between the legs" syndrome. Today I bought two new pairs to get over the pain. I also bought eleven pairs of socks as well as new bed sheet and linen. Actually I was looking for a new pillow. My old one is about as old as myself. However, I was disgusted by the smell of some feather pillows. How can they sell that? Also I couldn't find the right size. The ones that didn't smell and also didn't cost a fortune were huge. I think I'll have to spend a little more because the synthetic pillows don't seem very comfortable. Maybe I should buy a good mattress first? Good point!

Style

I've had my laptop for one year, eight months and two and a half days now. I've been using it almost every day, for at least one and up to fifteen hours each day I used it. That's quite a lot. So far I only had to exchange the power supply. These things are a miracle. First of all there is a different model with a different plugin type for almost all types of laptops (Macs are an exception of course). Naturally no one had the kind of power supply I needed, so I had to work on an half empty battery until the new one arrived. It was quite expensive, but it saved me an even more expensive repair. I told the support that the power supply made a noise I had not heard before but they insisted on their telephone diagnosis: broken main board. However, they couldn't explain why the laptop still worked on battery power. It's been around five months since I got the new power supply and everything has been working fine. Certainly wasn't the main board. Never trust the support when your guarantee is up.
Yet I thought about getting a new model after that incident. I wanted something new and high tech. I love tech stuff. I fell in love with the Toshiba Qosimo series. But I cannot afford the model I want, at least not at the moment. So I decided to "pimp up" the device I have. I upgraded the RAM and that was a very good decision. I got all kinds of cool software and added new desktop and icon styles. All simple and cool. But what remained was the physical part, the plastic, dirty and with traces of where I put my hands when typing. I tried to sand it down, but that looked even worse. I didn't dare to take apart the whole machine. I would love to varnish the plastic parts. I have seen laptops of people who did that and the result was most impressive. But I would have to practice the technique first. And I'm not positive that I would not break something. It's not worth the risk. Plus I cannot do without my laptop for more than a day. Meanwhile I found a solution: aluminum sealing tape. It doesn't look perfect but it's got style. Style is important. But not as important as character. I might add a photo of my HP compaq nx7000 one day or the other. I am very proud of it! :)

Between Chairs

Sitting between two or even more chairs sucks. You get to hear opinions from all sides. Everyone tells you their side of the story. But how can you be sure that they're honest? Knowing I'm honest and that I sometimes like to share information in an attempt to arbitrate between the sides, they might use me as the bad messenger. I hate it, but I'm caught in that spot.
I should keep all information to myself. I should not try to understand everyone. I should stop sticking up for people. I should refuse to be nice and fair at my own cost. I should start working now.

Serene

I decided to have dinner after all. I had a party yesterday. There was lots of food, mostly junk, but also baguette with cheese and dips and salad. We watched movies and had cold punch from two hollowed out water melons. It was a cool night. The last of us sat and talked till 1.30 in the morning.

When I woke up this morning and got out of my bedroom I could smell the alcohol. It was just a decent smell. I got ready for breakfast. For the first time I went to the kiosk across the street to buy buns and the sunday paper. This breakfast was truly serene. Afterwards I started with the clean up. Fortunately there wasn't that much to clean. Then I ate the rest of the junk food while watching Formula 1 and the Tour de France finale. I always feel so stuffed after eating this sweet gummi stuff. Chocolate feels better, although it's just as bad. The tea is empty, which means I drank at least 3L today. Now I'm waiting for the bread to thaw in the toaster, so that I can have the rest of the salad with some milk. I feel stuffed but I will feel better after I've had some proper food.

Meanwhile the last load of laundry is tumbling in the machine. Everything is fresh and clean. Not sterile. Just clean. And the appartment smells nice. I love these moments when everything is in order. I can relax for a bit until Monday is here yet again.

Graffiti

I love these guys. They first appeared a couple of months before I moved away. Actually that was little over a year ago. I saw them all around the city and in many places that I used to pass by every other day. This is a very recent picture. I'm glad to see that they're still there and multiplying. I'd love to know who invented them.

Here in the big city I have not yet seen a single Graffiti I liked. Most are plain ugly. The sad thing is that this is their exact purpose - to look ugly, to destroy and distort whatever they were drawn onto. It's a kind of pointless protest. Against what? Against a pointless life, lack of possibilities, against an uncertain future? I don't know and it doesn't matter to me.

Point is, I love these guys.

Rain

Today it rained. I was looking forward to the rain and I was not disappointed.
You might ask who in the world, other than a farmer, could possibly be looking forward to rain!??? Someone who has just bought themselves a new water proof, wind proof and highly breathable jacket. :)
Last year I bought a cheap one. I regretted it the first time I had to wear it. I would start sweating the moment I put it on, no matter how fresh or cold it was outside. And after only a couple of rainshowers it started leaking. In the end I'd rather get soaking wet from the rain than having to wear this sauna of a jacket.
However, I was too broke to even think of a new investment in the clothing sector. Fortunately that has changed during the last months. And I had my eyes open for the perfect jacket since. On Monday I finally received the perfect jacket. I had already found it a week before but wasn't 100% sure. So I spent a couple more hours trying on different brands, colors and sizes. After that I was 100% sure I wanted this Schoeffel, Venturi, Ostia rain jacket! And guess what, it took me some time and about a dozen phone calls to actually find it again. I should have bought it at once because now I had to pay about 40% more. Anyway, the jacket is worth it. Looks awesome, feels awesome and I can afford it. :)

Harry Potter

As you might know the new book came out last Saturday. I didn't get it until today. I don't usually read kids books. I have read the fourth book because my dad bought it on its release date. Why? Probably because he was in the mood.
Sometimes my dad does things I don't understand. For example one time he bought tickets for a Take That concert. He intended to go with me and my younger brother. My brother had no such intentions. ;) Then my dad had to work the night of the concert. My brother didn't mind a bit. So I got to go with two of my friends, none of us Take That fans. It was a weird experience. However, I've admired Robbie Williams ever since and was most delighted when he quit Take That and started a solo career. :)
Back to the topic. My point was that so far I only read that one book due to a mood of my dad's. Admitted, I watched the movies too. And today I almost read who is dying in the latest book. Well, I didn't and decided to read the whole book instead. I hope no one will spoil this for me! I really don't want to know. I already read 50 of over 800 pages. I read very slow. I'm actually reading another wonderful book at the moment. And I'll read a few more chapters of that book now. Geez, all this reading (and writing) is exhausting.

Blue

I was bored, not yet tired, not yet ready to let the weekend slip to yet another Monday. So I stumbled upon this test and it told me I was blue. Pretty close to the truth I must admit.

BLUE You give your love and friendship unconditionally. You enjoy long, thoughtful conversations rich in philosophy and spirituality. You are very loyal and intuitive. Find out your color at Quiz Me!

Stop IE

I found this on the web the other day:
http://www.stopie.com/stopie/home/

I've been a long time fan of Netscape. But ever since AOL took over Netscape isn't the same it used to be. I still use it for my mail, but for browsing websites I switched to Firefox in 2003. I have never regretted this move. The available addons and extensions are awesome.

I am using several different ones. First of all I have the Biobar installed. It's a special searchbar which I use at work to find all the latest science publications. It's quite handy.
Another addon I've come to love is the so-called StumbleUpon. By clicking the SU link in your toolbar, this plugin makes you jump to a random website that another user recommended. You can then decide whether or not you like it or you can not make a choice at all and stumble on to the next page. Of course you can recommend your own favorite pages. This tool lets you set a whole lot of preferences, e.g. the topics on which you'd like to receive random suggestions on. Guess how I found StopIE.com. ;)
The ForecastFox keeps me updated on the upcoming weather in my area. And unlike the Windows software from the american site weather.com this one also works for places around Europe (and the rest of the world?).
Yet another fun addon is the U.S. Homeland Security Threat Level. The threat level has been elevated ever since I installed this plugin. I think we will never see the lowest level, but that's a different topic...
I could go on and on about the extensions I use (several more), but I guess you better find out yourself. Exploring is exciting.

Here are a few links to get you started:
Firefox Download (english)
Firefox Addons
Firefox Plugins
Firefox Themes

Guy Issues

Don't you hate pointless discussions?
I went out with a guy today. It was our second "date". I wouldn't even call it a date anymore. It took us a couple of hours to figure out where to go and what to do. My simple suggestions was to have a picnic at a lake or somewhere green. He suggested a park next door. Next to his door that is. Mind you I live in the south and he lives in the north of a huge city. I would never have been so bold as to suggest a place around my corner. So I tried to find something that was equally far from both of us. (...)
We finally went to a park with some little ponds and a river. At last we found the park and a nice spot to spread the blanket. The pointless discussions had already begun at the station. He basically thinks I'm strange, which I know is somewhat true. But he thinks I'm strange for all the wrong reasons.
Is it really normal for someone to try to hug and kiss you after a first date and get all close and physical (holding hands, arms around the shoulder etc.) right from the start? I'm not talking of one harmless gesture, I'm talking of a constant series of attempts. I'm pretty damn sure that this is not normal unless it's love on first sight which for me it wasn't. However, he did all that during our first "date". He's a nice and sweet person (I guess, but then again I'm easily fooled) but I had to tell him to back off several times. Yet he doesn't stop but keeps on doing it, saying this was just him and that with his friends this was completely normal. He also doesn't respect boundaries on a verbal level. He made several remarks that supposedly were meant as a joke, but how am I supposed to know when I don't know him yet.
So he thinks I'm strange for I prefer to get to know a person before eventually letting them too close. And according to his statements I'm the first woman he ever met that acts like this. I wonder what kind of women he has met before. I never had these kind of issues with guys. So in fact he's the first guy I ever met who managed to get too close too fast. Or maybe it was simply mutual before? For I have kissed on a first date before...once...twice when I'm honest, but only once did a second date follow a first.
I like him, but that's it. I can do without him. He would be cool as a friend, but he doesn't want to be just a friend. Why he thinks a relationship would work out, I don't understand. First of all I know it cannot work out for several reasons that I don't want to go into here. And most importantly I am now sure that as a man he's not a bit interesting for me. He's too soft and sweet. As a person I tend to like him because there is more to him than just his need for touch. And if my senses aren't completely fooled he's a person you can rely on when things get down to the bottom. So he's a bit like me, only less organized and with his heart wide open to the world.
Now how do I get my point across that I will not fall in love with him? Without getting into a pointless discussion about how stupid it is not to at least give it a try that is.

First Post

While I'm writing my first post I'm chatting with a guy I used to like a lot. He's a liar and keeps denying and admitting it all the same. Somehow I still like him although I see him no more. I'm still curious about what's going on in his life. Instead of filling me in he keeps asking me what's wrong or telling me how sorry he is that he made me mad. There is nothing wrong and I'm not mad. He just logged off without sharing new information. He supposedly is in Hawaii and very lonely now. I wonder...