Shoelaces & Bubblegum

Surprise!

2004-12-07T08:12:00.000+01:00

-- Last Sunday --
I had a v. surprising phone call from my best friend, who I hadn't spoken to for the last 2 months. It seems that she's pregnant, with twins! This really took me by surprise, and for a few seconds I was silent, she thought I had a heart atack or something. Anyway, I'm really pleased for her, it wasn't planned or anything, but she's really happy about it. I'm sure I'll get used to the idea... The thing is I see all these friends of mine getting married, having babies and things like that, but this is something so remote in my mind that it's not conceivable in the near (or far) future as of today. I suppose that one day it's going to be my turn, but I'll hold out for a while yet.. (and babies aren't delivered by storks, so I'll have to find a second half first). Otherwise the weekend has been quiet and nice, no coplaints from me this weekend.
(This blog entry was written last Sunday, but due to lazyness, blogger latency, I only post it now..)

Sunny Weekend

2004-12-05T10:05:00.000+01:00

It's already sunday, and they promissed snow this weekend, but no chance..:( Ahh well.. Soon enough..
School has been interesting this week, we learned all about the heart and stuff like that, and we started food as a biology topic. I got another nice result on my last test, a whopping 91,5%, which gives me average of just over 93%, I can live with that, since for our final exam, a 50% or more will suffice. I'm planing on being a tleast in the top 3 of my class, which is not impossible. This afternoon we're off to Saillagouse, for a christmas fair/market sorta thing, should be fun.

Useless facts..

2004-12-02T08:21:00.000+01:00

So, I thought you all might want to know this..
- If you put all blood vessels out of you body end to end, you end up with (apart from a v. messy body):
150.000 km... That means you can make it go sorta 3,5 times around the world...
I wonder how they found this one, I feel sorry for the guy.
- Your kidneys filter 200 litres of blood a day! (and alcohol if hapend to be the drinking kind)
- Your heart pumps 7000 litres a day...
I thought this would make people a lot wiser to know this... Try and add this to sunday's family dinner's conversation.
On another note, they expected snow for last night and for the weekend, but so far I haven't seen anything white coming down yet..:(

Afternoon off..

2004-11-30T16:01:00.000+01:00

Today it's a free afternoon, we had lunch together with a few friends, I made afew pizzas. Afterwards I tried to sleep, to sorta catch up on my insomnia..no luck. Anyway, a bit later on we're off into town, because I need to go and see the doc for a shot of B12. Normaly this gets done by a nurse who comes by my appartment and costs me nothing. However since my social security coverage is sorta screwed up at the moment. (it ran out last month, and somehow they can't sort it yet..) The school sorted a temporary solution which means having to go to the doc, and he'll do it for free. It's not ideal, since I won't have had my blood checked this month, but it's better than nothing at all.
I'm going to find out if I can get B12 shots with an insuline pump, which means I could do it myself on a regular basis. (My intramuscular needles are 3cm long, so doing it myself is not ideal!) I'm waiting for a reply from my doctor, he should find out for me.
On another note, the guy that I had a fight with on sunday, came around last night to apologise, I really apreciate his gesture, and I not holding a grudge. He's been told off by quite a few people, so I think he knows he was wrong. (and maybe I wasn't the most diplomatic either.) Apology accepted, and returned. I don't think we'll ever be best buddy's, but at least if we can get along, it makes life easier for all.

Afternoon off..

2004-11-30T15:57:00.000+01:00

Lousy weekend..

2004-11-28T23:11:00.000+01:00

I just had the first lousy weekend of school term, clans are forming, this is something I really hate!
Two people from my class went to Andorra on saturday, without asking anyone else to join them, knowing fully well that the ones left behind (including me) don't have a means of transportation. This happens, I mean you have days you don't want to join the others, but then again the same thing happend again on sunday (today), I mean if you want to be alone, fine. But now I know who's allright and who's not. Lesson learned, change will be given.
Then on another note, tonight one guy from the class above us turned up his awfull music full blast. I went down and asked kindly to turn it down, and to close the door. (which he didn't). 5 minutes later he came to see me and threathend me, I told him, we all live together, and we should respect each other, and that means no music at full volume. He told me I could play games with my friends, but not with him. Basicaly if he threathens me again, I will go straight to the cops, no passing through school authorities, I will make sure he pays! (and he will get kicked off school, I will make sure of it.) So that was a bit of hassle I didn't ask for..
On a brighter note, two of my good friends came back from their weekend at home, and decided I needed a change of air, and we went for drinks in Puicerda (Spain) we had a nice time, and I'm sorta calmed down now..
Can't wait to get to school in the morning, I'm still enjoying it!
Next weekend, I'm going to find out about busses to Barcelona, might go youth hosteling for a weekend, just to air my brain a bit.

Good morning blog!

2004-11-27T08:56:00.000+01:00

the week is over, long live the weekend!
It's been a v. busy week this week, I've been having friends over, or they were having me over for dinner. So It's been late nights all this week. Not that it really matters for me, because for some reason I've been insomniac for the last few (3-4) weeks. I've no idea why, but it's annoying. Next week I'll go and see the doctor, but I don't want no sleeping pills. I'm very much enjoying school, and it shows in my grades. Yesterday I had anoother oral mock-exam (about drug abuse in our society), and it went really well, the teacher told me she had nothing to add to my whole thing, I mentioned all that was to be mentioned, and in the right way. I have to admit that this is a topic that I've been quite interested in for the last few years, I've read most book at the library about this, so it's only normal that I'm at ease with the topic. So far we've done 3 out of 10 topics, and they all went well. In march the day of the exam, you get one of the 10 topics at random. Then you have to talk about it like in our mock-exams, for 15 min.
I've no idea what I'm going to do this weekend, will have to work a bit if I want to keep my advantage, but I'm not going to overdo it.
On another note, I've bought a printer, an epson sytlus photo RX425, it's a nice printer, has a lot of features, and I happy with it. I bought one for school use mainly, because I do almost all my work on the computer. (I hate handwritten stuff, and my handwriting is crap!)
Weather: cold, sunny, bright and beautiful:) (no clouds)

Another week, another oral

2004-11-22T23:09:00.000+01:00

Yes, I'm working on another public health topic for thursdays oral exam, it's all about drug addiction, and basicaly everything that is involved with that. (drug rehab, prevention, methadone, education etc..) It's got to be one of the topics I'll enjoy more than some others. The fact is, that I've been interested in this subject for quite a while, and have read about every book the library had on offer about this subject. I've finished my preparation, so tommorow, when the others work on theirs, I'll bring my gameboy (just kidding!) My oral I had last friday went allright, and I got the results on my written dossier today. Just a few things to change, and some spelling mistakes to correct.
Yesterday we went to the worlds largest solar oven, it look like an oversized satelite dish, with mirrors on it.It's pretty impressive! The thing goes up to 4000 degrees centigrade, and produces 1000kw/h of energy. It's used mainly for research and developpement for the space industry, because they can simulate the heat changes on atmosphere reentry etc.. (the heat is instant, so the can simulate thermic shocks) It was also used to develop the disc brakes of france's high speed train, which have to be able to stand those king of temperatures.
I would post a link to it, but I don't have one.. I know it somewhere on the CNRS website, but I can't check. Otherwise if you do a google on "Four Solaire Odeillo Font Romeu" you should find it.. Otherwise, nothing new happening, still enjoying school, and the weather. (cold but blue skies)
B.t.w., I know I've got a few double post on my blog, this is due to a w.bloggar problem, that says it's not posted when it is. Since I can't, for the moment change this. (my connection is too slow to connect to the blogger site), I hope you'll bear with me for the moment.

House for sale..

2004-11-20T15:53:00.000+01:00

I saw a funny add in a local free magazine for a house that was for sale:
(I know my spelling and grammar are awfull, but this really does it!)
--
10 min from Perpignan, at the heart of an historic village, a beautiful mansion of the 18/19eme centuries whit 3 floors of 375m2 each. The ground floor is made up of a bis garage, a nice main entrance, a patio and large space to conversion, on the 1st & 2nd floors, you habe a main dwelling with large space completlely restoret, a lots of rooms opening onto the patio and terraces, there art 3 period fireplaces, quarry files, exposed beams. Good ceiling height (3,50m) and terraces... A plenty of possibilities to divided in flats, in nom or in guest rooms, lots of style in a peaceful setting, with shops and commodities near, this authentic build awaits your visit!
Nous consulter.
--

It's been a while..

2004-11-20T11:02:00.000+01:00

It's been a while, I've been busy this week, and on top of that my credit on my mobile phone was finished, so I had to ease of on the internet connections I made.
Shool has been great this week, I had a test on wednesday, in which resulted in a whopping 95%.. I've never had these kind of results at school in my live, I think I'll have to frame this one. I also had another oral exam on contraception, which went really well, I'm finding it easy to learn this stuff, because the whole biology and public health are interesting. I got loads of info from a government agency to handles all these public health issues, by simply sending them an e-mail. This to some of you, might seem v.normal, but in france, government agencies, that reply to e-mail, and actually send you stuff within 2 days, are not commonplace.
I decorated my room with a few posters that I had, I managed to put up a gigantic "Kill Bill" poster up. It's the cinema size x 2. Uma Thurman is sorta lifesize, it's quite cool. I also have a poster of a v.nice "Jacques Desange" (Hairproducts) lady, larger than life.. And to finish off, A gigantic poster of Vanessa Paradis, which I had kept for a friend of mine, but she never got round to picking it up. (I'm not a fan of hers, but the poster in sepia colours is nice.)
So now I've managed to cover the best part of all the disgusting wall in my room.
I've had some difficulty getting my school financing straigthned, since my last job was in holland, and french can't (or won't) read anything else but french. I have to get my salary thingies translated by an official authorised translator. So this is going to cost me money, fortunatly the school are good about it, and they are sorting it out. (but I'm still paying), It should be sorted by next week. (whishfull thinking on my part) My boss, and ex-collegue have been v.helpfull in supplying essential bit's of paper. I'm glad I still get on with them. Always remember kids, if ever you leave a company, leave on good terms. It will give you a lot more satisfaction, and you then know that they are more likely to help you out if you need a reference, or anytthing else.

I'm sorry, I've been neglecting my blog!

2004-11-17T07:23:00.002+01:00

Ok, a thousand excuses, I am very very sorry!
Anyway, my weekend on my secret mission went well, Vladimir told me that we don't call it Russia anymore. I told him that it's still Russia to me and the rest of the world..
Since I don't read my older entries (it takes too long to load my blog page on 9.6k) I'm not sure if I talked about my last weeks oral exam on Prevention, anyway, I passed, and if I do the same for the finals I'll be more than pleased.
This week we've got another one of these mock exams, this time about contraception. I've almost finished my work, should be fine.. Next week we're doing drug addiction. And so it goes on and on...
Also today is our first biology mock exam, great, this is the part I least like, having to talk about cell structures, glands, blood and all the rest.. This morning 9-11am.. Then we have a 3 hour lunchbreak. I might have a little nap, because I'm still insomniac, this morning I was awake at 5:30.. (wen't to bed at 00:00)
The snow has come, and is going away now..:( It's still cold outside, and if we had some clouds we could expect snow, but no clouds in sight!)
I did en up buying my bluetooth headset i've been talking about, it's the HBH-600 made by Sony-Ericsson, it's perfect. I tried the nokia ones, but they don't fit confortably on my ear, so I bought this one.
Otherwise I'll try and keep everyone updated on what is happening over here, but I'm more and more occupied with school!

I'm sorry, I've been neglecting my blog!

2004-11-17T07:23:00.001+01:00

I'm sorry, I've been neglecting my blog!

2004-11-17T07:23:00.000+01:00

Oral Presentation

2004-11-09T13:37:00.000+01:00

This afternoon we have our first oral presentation (15min) We have to talk about ourselves for roughly 2 minutes, explain how we are going to talk about prevention. (summary, 2min) and then develop the whole shebang. (+/-10 min). I'm gonna wing-it, see how that works out, I think I know enough to get through this, and it's only a test situation, in march we'll have the real McCoy.. My fellow students are v.nervous, and I think I should be, but I'm not. Sorta reminds me of my time in school, I used to never get worried.. I'll blog the results soon.
My written part, which we use to prepare the oral was, and I quote: "parfait", acording to the teacher. Thanks to Billy's Word, I can even write (almost) correctly in french. But as some might have noticed, my english is atrocious. (because w.Bloggar doesn't do spelling or grammar checks.)
More snow came down last night and this morning, it's getting closer each day, and they've predicted more snow this afternoon and tommorow. I hope it doesn't snow wednesday evening, since we are off for the weekend from 5pm onwards. (and we are all going somewhere). Myself I'm going on a deep undercover secret mission to Russia, so I might not blog for a few days after wednesday. I could blog about it, but then I'd have to kill everybody with internet access. Also my mobile phone credit is almost finished, so I'll have to be carefull until the 19th when it renews.
Otherwise, tonight we're off on a litlle trip to "Pas de la Case" (Andorra), I need to have a look for a bluetooth headset for my mobile, because reception is quite awfull here. With one of these, I could put my phone in the best spot of the room, and still move around with the headset.
Today's lunch: Fish & mash, these are the meals you can only get in canteens, I personally think mash should not drip of your spoon when you hold it sideways, at worst it drops of in one blob, at best it stick to the spoon. This was the drippy industrial kind. (though probably v. suitable for use as wallpaper glue) The fish was good, but all they did was fry it.. it's quite hard to screw that up..

Get together..

2004-11-07T19:18:00.000+01:00

Last night was a rough one, we had a brilliant evening, everybody had a lot of fun and got to know each other a bit better. Little by little, people went to bed, and I was off at 4:30am, completely knackered. I didn't have a lot to drink. (1 beer & 1/2 glass of wine) Otherwise I would not be awake and sorta, alive, at this time of the morning. Me and alcohol don't mix that well.
Yesterday we (4 of us) spend the day in Andorra la Vella, a nice place, reminds me a bit of Luxembourg, fancy shops, and tons of sportscars, and expensive toys. I just bought a few thing I need, Tea, Sugar, Smokes & Chocolat. I've been looking around for a camcorder for quite a while, but I haven't decided yet. (nor do I have the money). When I do, I'll get it in Andorra, prices are roughly 30% cheaper. On top of that, there are three of us wanting to buy a cam, so when we do, it's haggle time, If a shop can sell 3 camcorders in one whack, I'm sure we can work out a nice price.
It's v. quiet in our building this morning, I think a lot of people are sleeping off their hang-over...
(this post was posted late due to blogger errors & connection problems)

Insomnia, I can't sleep..

2004-11-06T09:23:00.000+01:00

I've been having difficulty sleeping the last few days/week.. Somehow I can't fall asleep before midnight-one o'clock. It's realy annoying, because I'm not 100% fit in the morning. I'm trying to cut down on tea, but never before has this stopped me from sleeping.
I went to the bank here in Bourg Madame yesterday, to see if we've been paid. Well, at first the ATM wouldn't give anything, then just the balance, but no money. I went inside the bank and asked them if I could get a statment. But since it's not my office (though the same bank), they can't help me. To get the whole account transfert to this agency will cost me money. (of course) and a lot of hassle. However, it's free to open a new account. (go figure) So next week I'll just have a local (throwaway account) A bit like hotmail really;) Anyway the reason my card was probably blocked according to the lady at the bank is that they suspected bank fraud.. (I'm a crook...) Because I've been to spain and bought stuff there. (All crooks buy their stuff in spain, right?) She got my card working again, and since I now know that I've been paid an advance on my salary, Today we go to Andorra la Vela and I can buy a few neccesaties. (not enough to go wild though!)
The weather is cold and clear, I just went outside on my blacony in my boxers, but didn't last long;)
Tonight another friendly party/dinner/get together, with the others in the building, should be nice. Tommorow I'm going to work a bit on my oral presentation for the folowing two subjects: Public health-Prevention and Public Health-Contraception. I'm getting my structural planning right, it's just a question of sensibly filling 10-12 minutes with the whole scope of the topic. Should be fine!

Shrink update

2004-11-04T23:01:00.001+01:00

I almost forgot to blog my shrink meeting on tuesday.
Well that was a nice one, she was late for starters, so I asked if she'd brought croissants and tea, because I was missing breakfast because of her. That got the ball rolling!
She asked me lots of questions about my past, and furiously took notes, I can honestly say that I've never seen someone take down as much, when nothing is being said. I had some more fun, jumping back and forth into my past, and from country to country, while she got lost in her notes. I think she got seriously confused. She also asked about my family, well if you want to find out how are family is put together, you need more than 30 minutes. (More like 30 days!) Anyway, the famous question of how I get on with the others came up. (I had been warned by previous classes about this one) I told her I get on with everybody. And have the same bond with everyone. The reason we were warned about this, is that next year, those that get on, will be split up in to two different groups. (Divide and Rule). She made an attempt to fix me a follow-up appointment for in a few weeks, but I told her that I'll find her if I need her. (like hell I will!) She reminded me kindly that we have 3 obligatory visits, and I told her we have another 4,5 months, so let's not get cosy.

Almost weekend.. Almost a teacher..

2004-11-04T23:01:00.000+01:00

After learning all about pregnancy, today we studied all about how not to get (someone) pregnant.
In the last few weeks I've had some difficulty accepting the french political standpoint on a few issues, including, but not exclusively, euthanasia, abortion, sex education and drug policies. This is due to my liberal viewpoint I have, which results in knowing how these same subject are handled in Holland. The French are more consevative, though not as bad as some other european countries. Beaurocracy plays a big role in these items aswell.
I'm having to moderate myself, because later on as a profesional, I'm not to be biased, and will have to keep some opinions to my private life.
I'm finding it easy to follow these classes, and spend a lot of time explaining to my fellow students, in different words what our teachers tought us. I seem to find a logic in this whole stuff that makes it easier to assimilate the given data. I think this might have something to do with my programming history. My logic in one sentence: "All events have a cause and a result". Be it hormones, or software bugs, it's just the terminology that changes.
I had decided not to do any studying tonight, but I've been innondated with questions all night, and even though I don't take a lot of notes, I've been able to clarify almost all the questions! This weekend I'm going to put some more things to paper, because I know the stuff now, but I'll need to remember it in 5 months time. (entry exam for school).
For monday they've (my fellow students) have asked me to spend some more time explaining, and using our classroom and blackboard we have in our building, to make sure everybody is on the same wavelenght. (we are here to succeed individually, but also as a group) I'm having fun! Fortunately I'm not going to have to teach them English or French grammar and spelling. (this would definately be the end of me.) And I'm not so hot with Algebra either.
Tommorow WEEKEND! yes, we are probably going to andorra, I'm going with the others because I don't want to spend the day on my own. However I'm leaving my creditcard at home, so no spending!

Biology week

2004-11-04T07:53:00.000+01:00

This week we are on a roll with biology lessons, we learned all about genitalia (male & female), reproduction and menstrual cycles.
Just proves that women are very complicated human beings, and I'm not just talking about the biology part.
Today, continuing one the reproduction run, we are not going to learn how NOT to get pregnant, i.e. contraception. This should be an easier chapter, but then again, it's easy when it's famillar.
On another note, this morning it was -3,5 degrees celcius outside, we are definetly on our way to having some more snow! Some of the other went to andorra tonight, but since I don't have any $$$, I stayed "home". I'll probably go friday afternoon, or saturday. (if it's not snowing!)
One of my classmates found a book on the train back this weekend, an english book. Since frogs can't read it, she gave it to me! I think it's a recent one, "Absolute Friends" by John le Carre. In any case I haven't read it yet, so more reading material! (I'm having a hard time finding a bit of time to read these last week. (apart from; all about cell structures, mytoses, and genitalia..) It's definetly not as thrilling a a John le Carre book, but John le Carre won't get me to pass my exams..(unless he started writing a wierd kind of novel.) But the Robin Cook books are interesting for the medical substance. (and the thriller part).

Home alone - day 3

2004-11-01T11:38:00.000+01:00

Gawd, I'm lazy today... It's nearly half past eleven, and I haven't done a thing yet. I was going to go to the hot spring water baths up the road today, but I doubt that I'll end up doing it. My excuse, the weather. It's grey and clowdy here, and honestly I've no intention on leaving the building. This also means I'll just eat pasta for lunch, because the canteen is in another building... It's my brother's birthday today, it's the big 3-0, wow, time flies right?
Tomorrow, it's back to school, and to start of with a jolt, I've got an apointment with the school shrink (obligatory) at 8:20, before class. I've got a thing about all the brain doctors, and it's not going to change. My strategy for tomorrow, has to be a good one. Heres what plans I came up with:
a) I'll just rock back and forth on my chair, talking to my imaginairy friends, and asking her if she can put in a good word for us to santa claus..
b) Ask her if she's brought the croisants and tea, because I can't talk on an empty stomach.
c) Respond to all her question by saying "hmmm, that's an interesting idea, never thought of that."
d) Tell her I'm a heroin addicted suicidal orphan, with an inferiority complex, and that I know she hates me.
e) Stand on my head as soon as I get in the door, and keep at it for the full half hour. (I'll need to practice tonight)
d) If she's asks me to take a seat, grab a chair and walk out with it.
e) All of the above.

That should make her day, and probably make her the star of her next shrink convention.
Ok, I know this is childish, but I'm planning on having a bit of fun with her in the morning, I'll have to make sure not to overdo it though.. (i'll post the results tomorrow, but in the meantime, any other sugestions are most welcome!)
Otherwise, nothing new happening, just another bank holiday monday..

Home alone, day 2

2004-10-31T17:13:00.000+01:00

Yes it's official, today the summer ended, were are now on wintertime. To mark this special occasion, and to remind us to set our clocks back one hour it snowed last night, YES, real snow, okay, it's not like we were kneedeep in it. Althogether there was just enough to cover the grass etc. Anyway, I enjoyed it! As might have I mentioned this weekend is extra long since monday is a bank holiday, so all my classmates went home. I decided to stay, and damn is it quiet here! I've got an entire building, in the midle of nowhere all to myself. Fortunatly I'm not one that gets spooked easily, because some people would.. My classmates left, but they didn't forget about me, I've been getting textmessages all weekend to see if I'm not too lonely.. (If you read this guy & gals I apreciate it!) I haven't been to eat canteen food this weekend, and I surely don't miss it! I'll have to go tommorow, because I didn't buy enough food on thursday..:( Tonight I'm having a roquefort omelette!
I worked on one of my public health and safety (prevention) lessons yesterday, it's going to be one of our topics for the oral exam in march. I think I've got it figured out, though I hope that it's not the one I'm getting in march. I'm secretly wishing for the drugabuse topic, although we've not done that one in class yet, I've reaf a lot about it, and I'm sure I can hold a 10 min speach about it. (though being dutch, I might have to keep some personal opinions that don't match government policy to myself. Well thats all for now, hope to write some more tomorow.
On a special techie note, everything I own that indicates the time, except for my 1970 Russian railroad watch, changed itself, you got to love technology for that right?

Another week..

2004-10-28T19:57:00.000+02:00

Tomorow is the end of my second week here, and I'm quite happy with my progress:)
Classes are getting a bit tougher, but that's nice 'cause I want to learn stuff!
At the moment we are studying health and safety and prevention.. It's quite technical becasue french beurocracy is a bitch, so a lot of government structures are concerned, and that's why in france 10% of the population is employed by the government! In biology we did cell structure and divisions, and female genitalia. (all about ovaries and falopian tubes etc..) We had a little test on organs and body fuctions aswell, but that was a breeze:)
My classmates are all going home this weekend, because monday is a bank holiday. I've decided to stay, first of all because I don't feel like going anywhere, second I'm seriously broke:( On a brighter note, one of my teachers has told me about some nice hicking trails in the area for this weekend, so I'll just go and be one with nature and things like that..
I've got food, books and tea.. so what else do I need?

Spain..

2004-10-23T23:54:00.000+02:00

So, I've always wanted to go to spain, over the last week of being in the pyrenees, I've been to spain about 5 times, and went again today (Pas de la Case)! Youpi! Spain is a cheap country, and since we're only a few km's from the border.
We made it a day trip bought a few things, and looked around. The 3 classmates that were with me are really nice people, crazy, but nice:)

Back 2 School

2004-10-20T13:46:00.000+02:00

Sorry people, I've had a few busy and tireing days lately.. I've started my training course (Nurse assitant) on Monday, and it's been a bit hectic:)
School is interesting enough, the teachers are v. good/nice sofar.. In total there are around 40 students at my school, which is housed in a respiratory rehabilitation clinic, which basicly means people who have lund problems, and difficulty with breathing for diverse reasons.
We're situated extremely close to spain, in the Pyrenees (spain is about 7km away). My classmates (6+me) are all really nice, and fun to be with. The only problem is that we're at the end of civilisation as we know it. Isolated and remote are generous words for were we are. The other student from the other class are nice too, and it's mostly people from all over france, and so everyone stays at weekends(intern). Tonight a BBQ has been organised by the senior students for the newbies (i.e. US!)
Apearantly we're suppossed to have 320 days of sunshine in this part of the world, but so far I've seen just part of the other 45 days.
We.ve been told by the seniors, and teachers that with a bit of work, and paying attention in class, there won't be any surprises, and we'll all succeed. They have have an 85-100% pass rate on the prep, which is what I'm doing, and 100% on the final part.. so I have to me an idjet to fail.. (please don't remind me if I do..)
I've decided to see if the other want me to be class rep, because I think I can:) (don't you just love politics), and I've set up a study group for ourselves, so we can study together one evening a week.
(If you want things to get done, take charge!)
Otherwise, not much.. hope it snows soon! (we're at 1400m altitude)
As soon as I can I'll post a few pics..

French bureau-craZy

2004-10-13T20:19:00.000+02:00

I went in to town (Montpellier) today to get a few more things sorted after yesterday.
Things started allright, after visiting the ANPE (french job centre) where I needed a history for when I start school.
The waiting was not as long as expected (I've had 3 hours to kill on other occasions), and after only 30 min, I was outside again with the piece of paper!
Things went downhill fron there on.. After fighting lunchhour traffic in the city, I finaly magaged to get to the ASSEDIC (french dole office).
Somehow they decided that wednesday afternoons should not be spend working, I presume this has something to do with french primary schools being closed on wednesdays. (Maybe they want to avoid 11year olds to sign up for dole??) Anyway, so They are closed on wednesday afternoon, the ANPE on friday afternoons, and shops on mondays.
(Please take notes if you ever plan to go to france..) Oh yeah, and police don't work between 12 and 2 pm.. (Since all french eat during these hours, they can't commit crimes.)
I'll try again tommorow if I'm feeling lucky..
Can't wait till Monday, finaly get my act together and be active! YEAH!
Anyone have a spare camel/donkey they can lend me this weekend?, because I'm gonna have a lot of luggage going to school.

Long time no news..

2004-10-11T21:26:00.000+02:00

Well, that went quick.. just a bit more than a week no news from me!
I've been to my dad's place for the last 10 days, I really enjoyed it, we did all sorts of things, and a bit of DIY'ing and stuff.
I set up a wireless network for him, which was a bit dificult in the beginning, this MS internet sharing is not as easy as it looks.
Anyway, it was up and running perfectly when all of a sudden the laptop decided to throw a wobly, and call it quits..
I managed to revive it, but somehow the HD is not happy formating NTFS, so FAT it is.. (WinXP).
I wouldn't put precious data on this drive, because I have a freaky feeling it's a bit sick..
But the use this laptop will have is minimal, so that's fine! (and we all make regular backups, don't we??)
I got a Kensington lock for my laptop today, because school starts in 1 week, and it's nice being able to secure it to my bed:)
Otherwise, not much happening, I have a busy week planned, I have to sort a lot of official things before school starts.

PHP and MySQL

2004-10-01T22:31:00.000+02:00

I have been playing with PHP and MySQL again.. it's been a while, but it's still IMHO a lot easier to use than Access..
I'm writting a little program to keep track, and search for books I have.. As you might have read in previous posts, reading is one of my time consuming pasttimes. BasiclyI'm writing a thing that will help me find books by author, title, language etc.. Not too hard a task, but I just have to get used to PHP again, I haven't touched the stuff for over a year now. So far, So good:) I might share itwith the world when it's finished..(if ever!)
The library in Montpellier has a similar thing running on all their terminals there, it's quite nice, it has a few flaws, but overal it's v. good. (it's written in .net I think)
Otherwise, still having tempratures over the 20's, and it's nice outside:)

Blog-Fatigue..

2004-09-29T22:06:00.000+02:00

Blog-Fatigue; A Serious illness, usually seen in people who have a very uninteresting life. It usually goes in pair with mail-fatigue, though not in all cases.
Cause:
The causes of the illness have yet to be fully comprehended, but early sign are usually visible on the persons blog.
Symptoms:
1.) Blog entries are less frequent, a few times per week, instead of daily.
2.) The few blog entries contain usually references to uninteresting facts, like weather & temperatures.
3.) Blog has very few people who comment on the entries.
These are only a few of the possible symptoms, further study has yet to be carried out.
Remedy:
Commenting on the patients blog usually helps in reviving their blog spirit, although this is only been found true in 83% of all cases studied. A free ISP subscription has been very helpful in many cases, however this treatment is rare, and usualy involves having a a job at a company with unlimited internet access. Giving the patient a new Powerbook G4 has been found as a radical treatment, with a 99.9% success rate. (The powerbooks are not reimbursed by social security, or any other healthcare plan.)

Books!

2004-09-25T15:56:00.000+02:00

Ok, so I have a thing about books.. The English bookshop in Montpellier has changed owner, and since they are making it all fancy and stuff, they are getting rid of their stock of second-hand books..
In one way I'm happy, because I bought 9 more books, for just 13,50 euros, on the other hand it also means that they won't do second-hand books anymore:( It's a shame, because the library in Montpellier has v. few english books, and most of the are rubish..
I'm now reading "Running with Wolfes" by Jonathan Kebbe, It's about these green activists, which are basicaly extremists in their sort resorting to violence for their cause.. It's an alright read, but doesn't beat Robert Ludlum.. not even close!
I'm almost counting days until I start school on the 18th, can't wait:) They only thing that's a bitch is to get to the place, It's gonna take me probably a total of 9 hours..grrr.:(
Otherwise life is quiet. The weather is clear but extremely windy, yesterday I was over at a friends of mine's company, and a giant advertising sign came down on to his collegues car (4m x 1m, Plywood). Luckely no-one but the car got hurt, but the car is a mess, ah well. that's an insurance job!

PhoneHouse update

2004-09-23T00:02:00.000+02:00

Well, bitching about things work.. I had a nice lady from the PhoneHouse head office on the phone earlier today.
Since I bitched, and wrote an e-mail to their general director, they were all of a sudden all sweet and helpfull, I think someone got their ass kicked somewhere down the line.. Anyway, she told me that if I was still interested, she would order the card for me, and it would include the free offer.. Also she said she was sorry for their employee's behaviour..
Well, I'll see about it..moneywise I'm a bit low so I'll wait.. Felt good kicking ass though..:)

Reading and Writing and being a vet.

2004-09-20T23:13:00.000+02:00

Saturday I went a second hand place, that sells everything from washers, toys, to books and clothes. Most of the stuff they sell is utter garbage, but you can snap up the odd good bit.
I did, I bought 6 (english) books, a rare comodity in french second hand dumps, for the whoping lot of 7 euro's. I'm extremely pleased, and have already read 2 of them. I just love reading, and these are brilliant books.
I've read: "The Icarus Agenda" by Robert Ludlum (the guy who wrote "The Bourne Identity" made into a movie, which was missing half the story) and "Day of reconing" by Jack Higgins. Both were extremely entertaining, and both were read in almost one go. Myself I've started writing a bit again..
I've now started "The Chamber" by John Grisham. (Who also wrote "The Client" which was filmed) Should be alright, but it's a bit less entertaining I think.
Myself I've started writing a bit again, hopefully I can keep it up a bit..
Otherwise, I'm seriously sorting my stuff out for school, putting stuff in boxes, and sorting paper..
Yesterday, I had to do some surgery on our neighbours dog, they don't fucking care a bit about the poor animal..
Anyway, she had one of her nails, that went round and 10mm into her cushion of her paw, she was in pain, and limping so I ended up (after the neighbours saying as usual they have a look..but never do) doing it myself, with my mum holding her. The cushion was severly infected, and i used a lot of alcohol and antiseptic cream, but I cut the nail, and got it out of the cushion. The good thing is this dog has 300% confidence in us, and even though it hurt like hell, she didn't move. (the owners can't aproach her whatsoever) Anyway, today she is running again, still limping a bit, but that will be over soon.
All that just to say that people that own dogs and don't give a shit, should be shot.

A getting nowhere day..

2004-09-15T21:59:00.000+02:00

Today I went into town, I had a few things to do, but I had v. litlle success..
I wanted to get a an MMC card for my phone, The Phonehouse had a special offer in their brochure, with a free card reader when you buy a MMC card.. but they don't have any in stock.. Ok so I tell them I would like to order it, "ah, sorry we can't order anything" So I asked them when they would have them in stock.. "In about two weeks time", well, I can wait two weeks no problem...but.. the special offer ends the 26th, so that means no free card reader..
I told that's why I wanted to order it! "Sorry, but the offer says while stocks last.." Yeah well fuck it, they never had any stock in the first place! I got farly pissed off at these guys..
I've written an E-mail to the head office, explaining their sorry attitude, so I'll blog the results as soon as I have them..
I've tried other shops, but to no avail, hopefully the head office has a litlle more sens than those drone salespeople!
Then I wanted to go to the english bookshop, but they weren't open, so no more books! GGRRRR!
I also went to a cybercafe, to check train time tables for my journey to school in october.. It's gonna take me 7hours!!! to get there.. and it's half the distance to Paris, which takes only 3 hours by train. This is gonna be fun..NOT!
So, all in, today was quite a negative day..

Blogging..

2004-09-13T21:25:00.000+02:00

Today I'm sorta out of ideas to write about,so it's gonna be a short one..
I had a dentist appointment, so that was another bit of fun, no real problems, but I wanted to have a checkup before going to school. Otherwise we had the best thunderstorms ever the night before last, it was really heavy, and lots of rain. I love thunderstorms! The good thing is that the weather has cleared, and now we have loads of sunshine..
Well, that's it for tonight!

Cinema & Red Cross

2004-09-11T20:45:00.000+02:00

I went into town today, it's was v.hot and sticky, but alas, no rain..maybe tonight! Hopefully it will rain, because tommorow will be nice and sunny then. I went to see a movie at my fav. arthouse cinema, and yes, this was definitly an arthouse movie. It was a french film, made in Marseille. The film is about two people that meet up early on in their lives, and both go to medical school, after school, each goes their own way because they have different goals in life. They end up (due to unfortunate circomstances) back together, but life is not that easy..
Well, I'm not saying anymore, because I don't want to spoil it for anyone.. If you like this sorta low budget productions, you'll enjoy this. If on the other hand you like Romantic comedies, with hollywood actors and special effects.. don't waste your money. The film is called "Mon père est ingénieur"
Since today is international Red Cross day, they had a stand on Montpellier's main square, and they were doing basic first aid & assistance training. (CPR etc..) So I had a go. I know I'll learn this when I start school in october, but there is no harm in giving it a go beforehand.. (and it was free!) Who knows, I might save someone between now and start of school.. The lady in the picture (on their site) was v. like the lady that did our training.. quite nice:)
A friend of mine has finaly gotten back in touch again today, after 2-3 weeks of not answering her phone, messages etc.. I thought she was giving me the silent treatment, but she had just forgotten her phone at her mums.. (silly girl!)
(if you read this, a mobile phone is called a "mobile" phone, it's meant to be taken with you when you go places!)
Anyway, can't be mad at her, because she's a v.good friend, and friends don't stay/get mad at each other..
Well, no more news here.. Oh yeah, it's the 11th of september, 3 years since the WTC disaster, since I haven't got TV, I missed most of it, but Bush probably had a nice "war on terrorism/axes of evil" speach to get his polls up a bit..
(I'm just guessing..)

Lazy (& dreaming)

2004-09-10T21:43:00.000+02:00

Ok, so I,ve been lazy about my blog. Lazy, because I've time enough to do something about it..
I spend the weekend at my dad's, spend some time with my dutch uncle and auntie who were down south for a few days. I hadn't seen them in quite a while, and it was nice to catch up on a few things..
Otherwise, I've been ripping a lot f my cd's to MP3 format using AltoMP3 maker it works well, and it means I can go to school (intern) in october without having to lug all my cd's around.. besides, I enjoy having a bit of everything, without having to listen to whole cd's.
When I have loads of money (if ever!) I'll get myself an Ipod.
They are not cheap, but they are in my opinion the most beautiful MP3 player around..
Oh, yeah, talking about apple design, I want a Powerbook G4 (or 5, when it's out), one day I'll get one.. (the same day I get an Ipod, and a Donkervoort.
While we're dreaming, I'll have a nice 160 M2 appartment in the old centre of Montpellier, and one in Paris too. (it's only 3 hours by train..) Oh yeah, and I'll mary Calista Flockhart, once whathisface has divorced her, and she's taken all his assets. Otherwise no big plans really.. Don't want to be famous or anything, the money will do..

Ok, this entry realy went of track.. sorry..

Hot water.. & IM+

2004-09-02T20:26:00.000+02:00

Tuesday the hot water boiler decided it had worked enough.. Ok, it's been tripping the mains for the last few weeks/months, but we were hoping it would last a bit.. but alas, it had it's last day of glory on the last day of august.
Well, fortunately it worked the night before, and since it's fairly big, it's still got hot water in it! (but I think we're coming to the end now..) Anyway we've bought a new one, and it should be functioning by saturday.. So no worries, I won't have to take cold showers:)
On another note, I did my weekly shopping today, and bought another book by Robin Cook. (I bought one on tuesday too), it seems I'm reading a lot lately, but I put it down to study, because his book are all medical mystery novels, and the thing is he used to be a surgeon, and can write very explicit stuff.. (brainsurgery which can really turn your stomach) The technical details are all very descriptive and accurate which makes it a nice way to learn things..
I also downloaded a MSN/ICQ/AOL/Jabber javaclient for my Nokia, it works really well, it's called IM+ and is made by these guys. I downloaded it from this site..ok, it's 10 quid, but IMHO, it's worth it just count the price of sending an SMS's to other countries.. (in my case 30 eurocent) The only nags about it (sorry, I always have to nag..) is that a) you can not lock the keypad when running the program. b) you cannot add or remove contacts from your list. So, 7,5/10 for this thing! Maybe next versions will be even better:)
Otherwise, nothing really happening.. the weather cleared up this afternoon, after having had a night and morning with heavy showers and thunderstorms..

Cesear was just like Bush...

2004-08-31T15:58:00.000+02:00

Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor,for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind.And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed,the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry,infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar.
How apropriate in these times.

New pictures

2004-08-31T15:51:00.000+02:00

I'm qt qn internet cqfe, qnd just uploaded q few more pictures on my flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/merijn2004/
One thing thes french can't make... are keyboards....

Smokescreens & Music

2004-08-30T21:55:00.000+02:00

Today I got my B12 shot, so I'm just waiting for it to kick in...
I have this dillema, I've got no more cigarette papers, but still have tobacco.. So I found some long paper in my stash box, but rolling cigs with "Smoking Slim's" is not ideal, and so I would have rolled a joint, but that's the item missing from my stash box.. Ah well, It might be better this way...
Today I spent quite a bit of time listening to the "Audio Bullys", the more I listen the more I like it:)
Might even go as far as buying an album some time soon..
My favorite radio program is on again, after the summer break, it's on FUN radio I've been listening to this guy for years, and he still makes me laugh..
Otherwise nothing happend today....

Lazy Sunday..

2004-08-29T22:41:00.000+02:00

Today was wat we call, a lazy sunday..yes I did v. little, slept quite a bit, watched 2 films on DIVX;

"Confessions of a dangerous mind" I liked this one, based on a true story which is quite entertaining:)
It's not deep, or the type of cinema I prefer, but it's an allright movie.

"Summer of Sam" Now this one was quite "different", Wierd, bloody, violent, and quite watchable, I prefered this one to the other one, but hey, tastes differ..

Yesterday I watched "Elephant" directed by Gus van Sant, now this is right up my street, proper Dogma style cinematography, ok it's a bit wierd, but theyway it's filmed. (you know what I mean when you've seen it) is really cool. So this one is on my A list.

To read DIVX's I use BSplayer, it's way better than the one from divx.com, and it allows for subtitles, and loads of other feature, no url for it, but have a look on google..

Otherwise nothing noteworthy to mention happend today..
(apart form having problems connecting to my ISP..)

FlickR url

2004-08-28T23:09:00.000+02:00

As I mentioned in my previous post the page wouldn't load..it does now..
Here it is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/merijn2004/

Swimming pool & guitars

2004-08-28T23:03:00.000+02:00

Went to a friends house yesterday, we spent the afternoon/evening by the swiming pool. I didn't go for a swim, no siree! Water has to be at a reasonable temp, and for me, 22 Celcius, is not within acceptable parametres..
Some nice improv music before and after dinner, made the evening quite complete. I ended up staying the night, as I realy didn't feel like driving home at night, and especialy being cold!
Picked figs blackberry's & tomatoes, and mum's decided to eat all the figs I brought home, which is fine by me, cause I'm not a fan of them. I took quite a few pictures, so, have a look on my flickR page..
I also promissed some pictures to Guy, my ex-collegue, if you're reading this..I'm working on it!
Good night from this part of the world!
Ok, so I can't load the flickr page it's sssllllooooowww, so have a look on one of my previous posts, you'll find a link:)

?? Which Of The Seven Deadly Sins Are You ??"

2004-08-26T23:26:00.000+02:00

Ok I did a test I found on someone elses blog..http://wangtastic.blogspot.com/

Any way here is the result:

You are Gluttony!
Nibbling a cookie at the moment by any chance? You
don't just like your food, you love it. And
there's nothing wrong with that. However
gluttony isn't just about food. It relates to
anything that you gobble up more then you
should of. You tend to 'take your cake, and eat
it too' - excuse the horrific pun. Perhaps if
you don't be so consumed with having every
little thing you'd be better off. On a plus
side, you know what you like, what you want -
and you go after it. You tend to have good
instincts about things, and excellent taste in
your life.
Congratulations, You have the best taste out of all
the 7 deadly sins!

?? Which Of The Seven Deadly Sins Are You ??
brought to you by Quizilla

And I'm not even fat, far from it!

Life and things..

2004-08-26T23:04:00.000+02:00

So, I had another blood test today, it was fine, as the docter said, "better than ever!" So why do I feel like an empty battery? Well, Monday I'm having another shot of b12, so that might do the trick, in the meantime, I'll take some oral B12, I might just absorb a bit of it.. If by the end of next week I'm not feeling a bit more in shape, I'll ring the doc again..
(I want to be able to run a marathon before my training course starts mid october)
Otherwise, had a good friend around (with his girlfriend), came to see me, and pick up his computer (see yesterdays post).
Otherwise today was actually a bit quiet, but that's alright, I enjoy quiet days:)
The weather, apart from being windy was nice, although I've started wearing jumpers again..
I rented a movie tonight, I don't know the english title, in french it's called "braquages" It's got dany De Vito in it, and it's about a gold robbery, not a bad film, but not a "buyer"..
Dinner was home made pizza, 4 cheezes, not bad at all, but I'm just saying that because I made it;)
Well, of to bed now, I've been sorta sleeping crapily for the last week or so.. so I'll try and get a long night's sleep tonight! Tommorow I'm off into town, have to go do people and see things!

FlickR

2004-08-25T22:44:00.000+02:00

Long live backups

2004-08-25T22:30:00.000+02:00

Yes people, backups, you know those things you never do? Wel I've restored 4-5 years of old mail this week, and I've gotten back in toutch with some old online/offline friends of mine from around the world.
It's amazing how small the world is, people I know from the four corners of the world, some of them know each other too. Well, netizens, this is the world of tommorow!
I'm going to have to have a look a FlickR, a photo site my brother mentioned in a previous post, Because with Jalbum, that I'm using, I'm uploading thumbnails aswell, wich I'm not to happy about.. (speed...) So I'll look in to it some time this week. Just be patient!
Otherwise I'm going to keep this post a bit short, have nothing to tell really..
My super-nurse is coming tomorow, going to take blood, and I'm having my B12 shot on monday,I can't wait, I feel really tired & floppy.. I might have to have 2 shots a month instead of one when I start school, I don't want to miss class, and I'll want to be able to have fun aswell!

Pictures & Sunshine

2004-08-24T16:49:00.000+02:00

Finally, after a few days of really crap weather, the sun decided to show itself again this afternoon. We had great thunderstorms last night, and lots of rain, until about midday..and now it's sunny:)
Just spend some time installing windows 98SE on a friend of mine's computer, god it's a crappy OS, give me the shivers, anyway it'sup and running, but still missing a few drivers, he'll sort it out himself.. Ok, worst of all, this thing is in french, it's got a funny keyboard, and I can't type an A, without typing a Q..
Well, staying on computer related issues, I installed SP2 for XP today, and I didn't have to reformat my drive, wasn't that lucky? (I did on my last attempt) Also did SP1 for Office 2003, now I'm all up to date again!
I've been getting a funny error mesage lately, somthing about "failed to start bluetooth stackserver", and "invalid licence", they are both related to my bluetooth dongle, but I haven't a clue what they mean.. and things work fine anyways.. so who cares?
I managed to upload some pictures taken with my super nokia phone (no post without mentioning the phone hey?) ok, so you can look at them here.
I watched "City of angels" again last night, Meg is such a babe.. wow! If anyone has got her phone number, I'm interested, I'm also taker for Charlize Therone's number. ("the italian job"), and most definatly Katie holmes if she's fine with it....O.k. enough about women... changing subject;
I'm reading lots of Robin Cook book's lately (since I still don't have a tv), I'm really enjoying them, quite technical medicaly, but fun nevertheless.
I think I'm getting the hang of blogging now, my first few post sucked a lot, now they suck a little less. (IMHO)

Weather & Parties

2004-08-22T11:32:00.000+02:00

Ok, so this morning it's not v.hot, last night I was actually cold in bed..
Some people are cold easily, I'm one of those, I'm now wearing a long sleave light jumper, and it's probably around 20C outside;) Anyway, at least it's not raining, and there is even some sunshine, some..
I'might get some more study done today, I"m taking it relativly easy, the thing is I don't have to know a lot before my course starts in october, but it always helps to have a little head start..
My vitamin b12 shot is wearing out I think. (I have one a month, since my body doen't absorb it itself), I've had a lot less energy in the last week or so.. Well, I'm due for one on the 30th.
Otherwise life is relatively quiet, had a friend of mine on the phone again yesterday, I don't know how she does it, but she's an expert in losing mobile phones, I break them before I lose them.. (maybe that's not a point in my advantage).
My village is finally having it's annual party, there was talks of it not happening for financial reasons. (they probably paid to much for the roundabout, see previous post) Anyway, things are going to happen anyway, so that should be a blast! It's gonna be the first weekend of september.. in 2 weeks:) It'll be the usual 3 days of crap music lot's of alcohol, a few fistfights and seeing a lot of friends that I've not seen in ages. (the last 2 item's can have common denominators) Well that's all for this morning, may post later on tonight, if I feel like it..

Roundabouts and Bluetooth..

2004-08-21T19:15:00.000+02:00

I wen't to the village I used to live (+/-700 inh.) quite a few years ago, I haven't been in ages!
Well,the village is still there, so are most of it's inhabitants, but the great news is that it that they build a f***ing roundabout, in the midle of nowhere, on a straight road (well, it has one dirt track going in to a vinyard on the side..)
I have absolutly no idea, why the hell they did it?? Well, one suspicion, the the DDE (goverment agency that takes care of these things) is only 800m down the road, that means they can go and have a nap, during, and in between constructing this thing.. Ah well (keeps 'em busy:).
On another note, the weather is slightly better, I managed to get home on my motorbike yesterday, just ahead of the rain..phew!
I think I might have found a workaround for my bluetooth problem metioned in my ealier post, the thing is if I disable the dongle on the pc manualy, the phone loses connection, and therefore I can turn of the bluetooth.. It's not a perfect solution, but I can live with it..(for now..)
Thinking about going to Paris next month sometime, want to see a long lost internet friend, hope he's got time.
I'll also see another friend in paris, who's just moved there. Haven't been in ages! (not counting my stopover back from holland)
Today I just finished reading a book by Robin Cook, "Chromosome 6", A nice book, about genetic manipulations, and cloning, it's scary to know that it's not far from the actual reality.. I won't tell you anymore, but like all the books I've read by this author, it realy good! (sorta medical detective things..)
My home-made alcohol stash is growing, I made some more fruit thingies this week:) My collection so far:
Banana & Lytchi (Vodka) december 2003
Kiwi (Fruit Alcohol) July 2004
Raspberry (Fruit Alcohol) New!
Blackberry (Fruit Alcohol) New!
Peach & Pear (Vodka) december 2003
Pear & Banana & Ginger (Vodka) december 2003
Cherry (Rhum) July 2004
Mandarine & Lemon (Rhum) december 2003
All you do is put some fruits in a jar, add alcohol and sugar, wait a few months. (for the alcohol % to go up)
Drink.. The lytchi banana is the the toughest, it was made in december, should be around 60%, but you can drink it like lemonade, v. dangerous stuff!

Hot & sticky

2004-08-19T19:31:00.000+02:00

Pfff.. I went in to town today, it's v.hot, it rained a bit but not enough. I just wish it would thunder, at least we'd have nice hot weather, now it's crappy hot.
Montpellier is still one of my fav cities, together with Amsterdam and Paris.
There was a whole group of breakdancers on the main square (Comedie), they really rock, man if I could do 10% of what they do, I'd be such a show-off.
Hope I didn't bore you with my previous post about my way-cool phone..
That's all for today.. no inspiration whatsoever.

2004-08-18T21:50:00.000+02:00

I've had a number of mobile phones over the years:
Sagem 712 (piece of shit, no battery life) - sold it.
Nokia 5110 (great phone, v.strong, great battery life) - sold it.
Ericsson T18 (voice dial, crap screen, flimsy antenna) - broke it.
Siemens M45i (sturdy phone, no antenna) - broke it.
Nokia 6150 (Nice phone, didn't have it long enough to break it) - company phone, gave it back.
Sony-Ericsson T28 (Sturdy, nice screen) - Went funny on me, traded it in for my current phone.
Sony-Erricson T600 (Compact, basic, reliable, battery life is not great) - My mum is using this one.
Best phone before my new one: Both Nokia's, well what a surprise I went for another one, hey?

So, It's now a few days I've had my Nokia 6230 mobile phone, here is what I like and don't like:

Don't like:
- The phone sometimes "hangs" when you try and turn off bluetooth. (need to remove the battery)
- Since turning bluetooth off is a pain, you leave it on, so the battery life is down to 1-2 days.
- You can't record video without sound. (you have to turn it off on playback)
- PC-Sync and backup don't work when the keypad is locked..(WTF? dial-up does..)
- One of those cords to hold it with is optional, at this price a phone should have one.
- No way of having the date on the screen. (like the time)

Do like:
- Photo quality.
- Clear screen.
- Solid feel. (but not like a brick)
- Easy use of dialup functions.
- 32Mb MMC supplied.
- Stereo headset for radio/mp3/hands-free supplied.
- Lots of fields for contacts (& space for 1000 contacts)
- Sync is easy, backup is a must.
- Mp3's as ringtones.

Conclusion:
A very good phone, easy to use, if you have the budget, or your boss is paying, go for it.
Don't expect the announced 300h of standby, even without using bluetooth.
Get at least a 256Mb MMC, if you plan to use it as an MP3 player.
I've used all functions on the phone: Photo, Video, SMS, IR, Bluetooth, Sync, Backup, Radio, Mp3 player, I-mode, Wap, GPRS, Agenda. It's the closest you get to a PDA, without going for a Smartphone.
Don't bother buying a data cable, unless you are planning on transfering a lot of files, a bluetooth USB dongle is cheaper. (50 euros vs. 30 euros)
Am I happy with it, Yes, My Sony Clie PDA is going to retire...

2004-08-18T18:48:00.000+02:00

Yes!
Finally I've got round to getting my blog back up running.. don't you just hate losing passwords...
Anyway, I'm now posting mobile, using a laptop, and a Nokia 6230, connected with bluetooth:)
(how mobile can you get, hey?)
To post I'm using the w.bloggar program, it helps cutting down on my phonebills. (I can write blog entries offline)
The weather here in the south of france has really sucked the last few days, I WANT SUNSHINE!
O yeah, I dyed my hair black, sorta, it's got a blueish colour aswell..
So, this is my first mobile post..wow..

HOT!

2004-08-09T22:45:00.000+02:00

It's very hot here in holland, aperantly hotter than in the south of france, it seems like the weather is folowing me...
Tommorow I'm of back to france, 8hours of train to get home...

Beaches and sunburns

2004-08-09T00:02:00.000+02:00

Went to the beach in Holland today.. wow, I'm no beach-goer at all..and I live in the south of france.
Anyway, I got my first sunburn of my life today.. I fell asleep:(
Tuesday I'm going back home, yes! Holidays are cool, but going home is nice too.
I'm taking the nice weather back with me.

It's another nice day..

2004-08-02T09:52:00.000+02:00

Well hey, today another day of sunshine, it looks like I brought the weather with me from france!
Going to Amsterdam later this afternoon, and that's it really.

Farenheit 9/11

2004-08-01T20:23:00.000+02:00

Just went to see the film this afternoon, for the second time, still really cool.
But, in my opinion Bowling for Columbine was better.
Tomorrow, I'm of to Amsterdam for a few days, to see a friend of mine, so a few days without entries..

First Post!

2004-08-01T14:15:00.000+02:00

Ok, so the whole world goes mad about blogger, and what do I do...? Blog..
Anyway, I'm not sure how well the updating is going to go, in two weeks from now I'm going mobile, GSM & laptop, I just hope it works allright. If anyone has sugestion on how to make the combo work cheaply, please...

Holland, it's wierd being back, it's way different from "home", but it just confirms my feeling of never wanting to live here again.. (never say never..) France is a whole different ballgame, ok, it has its flaws, like everywhere, but I can live with them:)

Ok, now for a few plugs:
Xander's blog (my bro)
and
Tammy's blog (his wife)

Well, it's a meager post, but it'll have to do..