sth for myself

Imre Madach

London

Title says it all...took me quite a while (sorry Laetitia!), but I've finally found some time to write a blog entry about my trip to the amazing city called London.

I'm not in the mood for any creative writing, so I'm gonna stick to lists:

What I've seen: (in no particular order. or well, no order that anyone but me can understand.)

• The Big Ben (duuuuh...:p very nice, very big, very...hard to get a decent picture of)
  
• Tower Bridge
  
• Trafalgar Square (also hard to get a decent pic, but very cool)
• Leicester Square (my favourite place in London! Not exactly sure why, but I love it)
• Houses Of Parliament (see Big Ben, would really like to go in there one day. the houses of parliament that is)
• Buckingham Palace (Nice, the big statue in front of it is very nice as well! Didn't see the changing of the guard here, we went to Whitehall instead)
  
• Harrods (impressive, but nothing too special. That's probably cause I didn't go in.)
• Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (was on my wishlist, only saw it from outside, but was cool nonetheless)
• Tower of London (A classic of course. Very cool, bigger than I thought)
• King's Cross (I gotta admit this was one of the highlights for me. Hey don't blame me, I'm a Potterfan! Took quite a while to get there, since i was going to take mom there, but got us to the wrong station XD. Seeing Platform 9 and 3/4 was all worth it though! I also saw this place where they have been filming scenes for the Order and the Phoenix movie)
• Downing Street (Too bad about the fence...I would have really loved to get a closer look)
• Whitehall, the Horse Guards... (was really cool to see, horse guards are funny, well some of them, but the changing of the guard there wasn't what it used to be, according to my mom)
  
• St. Paul's (The part of it that was visible, was nice. They were working on it though...and it was raining while we went there...and i was tired...so basically don't remember too much of it :p)
  
• Chelsea Football Stadion (well we basically went there to buy stuff for my bro, but was cool nonetheless)
• Oxford Street (The Disney Shop!!! =) Very cool other stores as well, and a lot of Pizza Hut and McDonald's restaurants (all at the same side of the street! lol...joke between me and my mom))
• Hyde Park (niiiiiiice! We did this on Sunday afternoon, so I was pretty much exhausted, but it was still cool! Kept looking for the Diana memorial...which was quite a disappointment (i'm talking about the "fountain", not the memorial at Kensington Palace, i (read: my feet) didn't make it there))
  

Of course i've also seen stuff like Westminster Abbey, the Tate Modern,... Oh and I walked on Millenium Bridge... but the list above was what I really wanted to see.
Oh, something that was not on my list but really nice: Piccadilly Circus! It's like a mini Times Square (New York)...It's brilliant! The road between Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square on a Saturday night was one of my fave moments.

Impressions:

• The Tube is brilliant...gets you everywhere you wanna go sooo fast...I wish we had an underground service like this!
  
• The people: very nice, friendly and polite!
  
• General atmosphere was really good, I can well imagine myself living there one day :)
  
• Can't imagine you could ever get bored when you live in London :p
  
• Travelling with Eurostar: very comfortable and fast
  
• Security: very very tight in the UK! No luggage lockers or bins in Waterloo station, and my bag got searched when we left. In Belgium, however, no security whatsoever, you can just walk in really.
• Cars driving on the left: weird feeling in the beginning, but you get used to it soon :p the "look to the right!" signs on crossroads are very useful!
  
• Food: very international.
  
• Supermarkets: lots of "put it in the microwave and eat it"-food.
• Magazines/newspapers: looooooots of them!
  
• Expensive.
  

Oh, and Kettle ships are the best...we need those in Belgium!

Conclusion: I wanna go there again!


I don't seem to be able to upload pics right now, so i'll keep those for a later entry.

Love, Actually.

I'm in love with this brilliant British movie called Love, Actually. I watched it when it was shown on tv months ago, and had been looking for the dvd ever since. Last week, during some sales-shopping, I finally found a copy. Been watching it almost every night since then =)



It's a real "feel good movie" but with a very good story as well. Or stories, rather, since the film tells the stories of different couples who are all somehow connected. The humour is brilliant too. Hugh Grant is just hilarious. As always of course. Actually, the rest of the cast are very good actors as well. There is Colin Firth, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson and lots more.


Except for watching Love, Actually I have spent most of my time studying, or at least trying to. I had my first exam yesterday, and I think I did well. Next up is Hungarian... for which I am going to study right now. *sighs*

Oh, btw, yesterday I got my tickets and travel documents for my trip to London! I'm really excited about it now =) Only 22 days left!

2007

Here we are, another year has passed. I think 2006 was one of the most interesting years so far. I feel like I can honestly say that I learned a lot over the past 52 weeks. There've been highs and lows, but overall, I'd say 2006 was okay for me. However, I have a feeling that 2007 is going to be even better.

Flashback:

Jan 1st 2006 I made the following New Year's resolutions:

1. learn to drive
2. meet some special people
3. be nice(r) to my family
4. see anastacia live for the fifth time
   

Well...

1. Working on it :p
   
2. Hmm, well, I'd say "done", but of course there are many more people I want to meet face to face.
   
3. Well...:p I'm trying, and will try even harder this year.
4. Done. Even though it wasn't a concert, I got to see her. =)
   

Reading the old resolutions, I realised that a lot has changed. I do feel that I'm at a way better stage in my life now than I was back then.
Starting college has been a really great thing for me. Even though at the moment I'm fed up with studying (or rather, the attemps to), I really love college. I love the people and (most of) the classes. I've fallen in love with Hungarian and everthing that has to do with it. (Except maybe the liver-pate-thing). And overall, I just feel a lot better. I guess this was a change I really needed.

I realized the days before New Year that I was actually excited about the year coming up. I look forward to learning new things (personally as well as academically), meeting more people, travelling and finally getting my driver's licence.
I'd say...bring it on!



(But of course, for now, I'm stuck to studying. I really hope I'll pass all 7 of my January-exams.)

People come into your life for a reason.

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty,to
provide you with guidance and support, to aid
you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then,without any wrongdoing on your part or at
an inconvenient time, this person will say or do
something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk naway.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take
a stand. What we must realize is that our need has
been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is
done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and
now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow
or learn. They bring you an experience of
peace or make you laugh. They may teach you
something you have never done.
They usually give you anunbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.!

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons,
things you must build upon in order to have a solid
emotional foundation. Your job is to accept
the
lesson, love the person and put what you
have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

Thank you for being a part of my life, whether
you were a reason, a season or a lifetime.


It sounds good and all...But well... *sighs*

Holiday in September rocks =)

Because of the "most amazing week"-entries I didn't get to blog about the rest of my holiday. So here is a little summary of what's been happening since July 30th:

On August first, I started working. Basically I was just working during the first three weeks of August, so not much happened there.

Then on August 17th, I went to Köln (Cologne for you English people) for the launch of Anastacia's clothing line. I've been telling so many people about it, that I don't really feel like writing another long report here. Let's just say that it was BRILLIANT =)
Lot's of waiting (we arrived at 10.30, show was at 17.00) but lots of cool people too =). The clothes are awesome, too bad that for now I can't afford to buy any of it. And of course, the best part: ANASTACIA SIGNED MY BOOK =).
Yes, how awesome is that? I actually stood eye in eye with her for about 5 seconds =). She really is soooo sweet =).
Now lots of people have asked me: "A book? Why did you let her sign a book?" Well, let me explain that: the book I brought with me was the book Kriszti gave me for my birthday. So since I met Kriszti on the Anastacia messageboard, it meant quite a lot to me to have the book signed by Anastacia. Picture:

The book, surrounded by some other gadgets we got in Cologne.

Some other pictures (I just cant resist posting them XD) :

I got so excited when I saw this =) The shopwindow was full with Ana's clothes =)

Front row =) For the first time ever I got in front row at an Anastacia event =)

(Thank you Phylly for the pic!)

She's so happy to see us :P I think this was taken when we started to sing "We are faNily" =)

Right after she signed my book =) Too bad I haven't found a picture of the moment itself...Ah well, I got my memories =)
(thank you again to Phylly for the pic!)

So yeah, that was an awesome day =) Too bad I didn't spot Dan there, but well, we'll get our chance to meet some other time =)

Then after A-Day (as we like to call it) I worked a little more, and then on Tuesday the 22th, I left for the seaside. I had to take care of 2 little kids, which was quite alright...really tiring though...and frustrating sometimes. (long story :p) I was quite happy when I got home lol XD.

The day after I got home I went to Lessius (my college) to finish my registration there. So now i'm officially a college student =).

Then September 1st came, and for the first time in about 15 years I didn't have to go to school on that day. It felt quite weird, even though I had to get up at 5.45 to go to work (yes, an hour earlier than when I would have had to go to school lol).

So now I've gotten used to my holiday in September. It's brilliant =) Being home while all the other "kids" are in school is awesome =) The weather is really nice too =) I've been relaxing most of the time, helping mom with the kids and stuff. And sleeping... =)
Three days ago (on Tuesday) I met Ilke, to accompany her on a loooong bustrip to her college. She had to do some kind of test to check her voice. It was really nice to see her again =) We finally had some time to catch up with talking :p

Well, now I start to get the feeling that, even though I love this time off, school can get started soon if it were up to me. I'm looking forward to my first days in college =) But until then, I'll be enjoying the lovely feeling of freedom =) Jups, holiday in September definatley rocks =)

The Most Amazing Week (part 6)

The report of the last day of the Most Amazing Week:

Sunday was departure day. Me and mom picked Kriszti up in Antwerp around 8. We put the luggage in the car and left for the train station in Roosendaal, a village in Holland. There we bought tickets for Amsterdam, Kriszti said goodbye to my mom, I found the toilets, and we got on the train to the airport (Amsterdam Schiphol).
We arrived there around 12.30 (thank you Kriszti for posting the exact time, cause I didn't have a clue :p ). We then found a luggage-storage facility (okay, i made that word up lol). It took a while, but eventually we managed to put Kriszti's huge (and heavy!) suitcase in there.
We walked around the huge airport for a while and Kriszti bought some snacks for the trip. Then we found a place to have lunch (I swear I'm never eating pasta in Holland ever again...worse stomach-ache in ages :s ) and then we started walking around the airport a little more.
We went to the "roof" of the airport, where you can go outside and watch the planes. However, and I'll quote Kriszti, this was "not as much fun as it sounds". We went to the ground floor again, and went outside there. We sat down next to to fountain and took some more pics:

Me and Kriszti, sitting in front of the fountain. The last pic of us together...

The last picture we took...lol XD.

So then after a while we went back inside and looked at the flight information screens once more. But next to Kriszti's flight it said "Wait in lounge" which was pretty odd, since the check-in wasn't to be till three hours later... But just to be sure, we got the luggage out of the storage-thingy and went on our way to the gates. There we realized there had been a mistake, cause it wasn't open yet. So we just sat down near the gates, and waited... Those two (?) hours where pretty bizarre, cause I didn't want Kriszti to leave, but on the other hand, I wanted the waiting time to be over as soon as possible...cause just sitting there, being aware of the fact that you're gonna have to say goodbye soon is nearly as bad as the actual saying goodbye...Of the waiting time I don't remember that much...just that we made a really uhm...original drawing XD.

Then when the waiting was over I went along with Kriszti to check-in. I was quite relieved when the lady nodded that everything was okay with her papers and stuff...with this internet-reservation thing you never know...
I walked along with Kriszti as far as I could, but eventually we had to say goodbye. Hugging her and realizing I would have to wait a year to do that again, hurt me more than I had imagined it would. I walked away, but kept looking back as long as I could. Then I just went to the ground floor of the airport and found out that I had a train back to Roosendaal in about 20 min. Cause I couldn't bear just standing there with nothing else to think of than "a year is so long", I went up to the airport again, and bought some candy. I ate one of the little things in the package, and then forgot about it completely (I found the rest a week later in my bag).

Twenty minutes later I got on the train, and once again being alone with my thoughts was not very pleasant. But by the time the train got to Roosendaal I felt a bit better and managed to give my mom (who stood waiting at the platform, worried that I would forget to get off the train lmao) a smile. We got home a little hour later.

When I was alone in my room, I read the message Kriszti wrote in the book she gave me. The next 365 days, I'll be staring at it quite often....