Niche's Corner

A Day In My Life - June 5th, 2015

caniche — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 22:10:02 GMT

Greetings everyone!

I'm Rocio, a Mexican living in the Netherlands (for 14 years already), and I decided to document another "DAY IN MY LIFE". This time, the occasion was going to an outdoors 2-day camping-music-festival, called TAG. I thought it would be a fun day to document. :)

Fourth Edition of TAG Festival, at Son en Breugel - June 5th 2015

As it is tradition, my clock is forever running ahead. Even though it displays this time, it was actually about 9.30 when I got out of bed. Kinda early, for a weekend, and for my standards...

My place in the bed is quickly taken over by our cat, Poes. There's no getting back into bed even if I wanted to!

I wash my face and put my contacts in, though don't bother too much with my personal appearance just yet. I just kinda tie my hair back cause I wanted to go for a run.

They promised beautiful and sunny weather out there, 30°c or such, so before I venture out, I take some precautions and cover myself with sunblock.

I do a quick check of what the weather looks like, and sure enough, it's as lovely as they had predicted!

All set and ready to go for my morning run!

I didn't bring the camera with me because I have no suitable pockets to carry it around, so this will have to do as proof that I went out there and got some exercise.

Time to eat some breakfast! I fix myself some crusli-style cereal and top if off with cold, rice milk.

While I eat my breakfast I check my mail and my favorite sites. (And get once again the chance to show off my cute plushies on top of the screen.) The cats between the cheetah and the hyena were crocheted by some random person, as part of the campaign "Knit a 'knitten' for a kitten", organized by the Dutch Animal Protection society. Basically, they released a crochet pattern for everyone to make little kittens with, and later on these crochet 'knittens' were sold all over the country, the proceedings going to tend to the sudden influx of baby kittens in the summer months. I managed to find two that look just like my cats in real life. :)

After wasting enough time on sites like Facebook and such, I decide it's finally time to get showered and dressed. This is the outfit I picked for this lovely summery day.

I hit the shower, these are my current body-cleaning supplies. Yes, I use men's shaving gel because I'm a rebel like that. I also use men's cologne sometimes too, so sue me. ;) (Actually, the supermarket I usually go to doesn't carry a female version of shaving gel so this'll have to do. Works just fine!)

Clean and shiny! I don't bother doing anything fancy with my hair this time (like straightening it with the iron, or cover it in a thousand creams to keep the curls in shape.) I tie it up with a clamp and keep my neck nice and fresh! (I learned out of experience that doing my hair for camping festivals is a huge waste of time and effort. It frizzes with the humidity of the night.)

We start gathering some of the essentials we will need for the trip. We have some inflatable pillows, a travel towel, deodorant, trashbags, earplugs, insect repelent, a portable speaker, bubblegum and ciggies (I usually don't smoke except when at partes while in company of good friends, but most of the time I just end up giving ciggies away)

Time to get the backpack, sleeping mats and sleeping bags ready!

Time check, while we get everything sorted out. Time's flying by, we can't wait to be at the festival!

There's still a few items I'm missing, like water bottles and a few snacks, so I decide to make a quick run to the supermarket behind our house.That blue door is the entrance to their storage area, so I can't go in through there and need to make a round around the block.

Ahh here we go, good ol' trusty Lidl. It's a cheap German supermarket and we're so happy to have it really close by.

Quick, sneaky pic while waiting for my turn at the register.

The bags are packed and we're ready to go! Though it's still kinda early to leave.

Since the camping doesn't open until 16:00, we decide to kill some time while eating lunch. I make myself a sandwich with some mayo, mustard and vegetarian smoked ham. (For the dutchies, it tastes a lot like boterhamworst)

There had been warnings that the lovely weather would turn real nasty and ugly towards the end of the day, so I keep a good eye on the weather forecast. As you can see, it looks rather gloomy, but it's still a while to go before the nasty clouds reach us. (The red bits mean lots of rain with lightning). They also warned for really strong winds. All in all, NOT the ideal weather to go camping, but, hey, YOLO!! ;P

We look for the kitties and make sure they're both inside before we leave. We find Neko lounging at the balcony, and we usher her in.

Here's Jeroen, my husband, loading up the trunk with our backpacks.

Aaaaand we're finally on our way to the town of Son en Breugel. I sit back and enjoy the ride.

As we drive, we pass by the Animal Shelter where I do volunteer work, and I managed to snap this picture of the building. Sometimes you can even see the doggies having fun at the playground areas.

We stop along the way for gasoline, and I take this pic while I wait in the car and Jeroen goes inside to pay.

We're getting close now! I love the way the trees kinda bend towards each other further down the road, creating a very nice natural arch. It's quite impressive once the trees have grown leaves again and are in full bloom.

In all the excitement of arriving there and finding a suitable spot for our tent, I forget to take pictures of us putting it together, so here's a pic of the final result. This tent is about 14 years old, and still going strong! Also, take note of the beautiful, blue and cloudless sky. Storm? What storm?? :D

Once we're all settled, we look for our friends and we find them chilling outside of their hippie-van. (Campers and RVs were also allowed at the camping, not just tents.)

All this tent building has made us hungry and thirsty, so we go for a can of beer (while it was still cold) and nom on some salt-and-pepper peanuts.

Time check, and I get to show off our camping-band, which gave us unrestricted access to the camping area as well as the toilets around the festival terrain. It says "press" but we ain't nothin' of the sort! Everyone had a press band in there ;)

At 18.00 the festival terrain finally opened, and Jeroen and I decide to go check it out. It's still pretty much deserted, I think people got spooked from the bad weather predictions. We still manage to find the massage tent owned by one of our friends. The picture Jeroen is pointing at is actually my own back. We could submit pics to serve as decorations for the massage parlor, so that's that. Jeroen's picture actually won 1st place and he got a free massage! Only his pic was not hanging there yet, so I can't show it to you.

A better view of our friend's massage tent. She had her share of interested customers!

At this point we notice that the wind is kinda picking up, but it's still sunny and warm so we're not too worried. We decide to grab a bite for dinner. Jeroen went for a pork bun and I had one with egg salad. It was actually rather tiny and we were kinda considering go grab something else to eat, but we kinda got distracted with the surroundings.

The camping is right in the middle of the grounds belonging to a large horse-riding school, and sometimes they let the horses loose, and they like to run around, like these guys. Quite majestic to see... till they start rolling around on the ground and loose all regalness they possessed. ;)

Here's one of the DJs in action while people dance to the beats. Notice the sky full of clouds now? Yeeeah, those distant clouds are certainly getting closer and closer. We are informed that there's a contingency plan in place: if things get nasty, they'll stuff us all inside a horse dressage arena.

For now, things are still nice and warm, although a bit windy, but that don't matter. Here's one of the DJs livening up the place.

Jeroen and I take a little break from dancing and we grab a drink. I go for some apple cider they were advertising, and I was NOT disappointed, it was delicious! However, our moment of rest didn't last long. In a matter of minutes, the wind picked up like mad. We were hesitating whether to go find cover at the arena, not sure what to do.

The decision was quickly made for us as we are told to evacuate the terrain, while the decorations from one of the podia were blown away, as you can see here. I never noticed the blue tarp heading in my direction, but you can clearly see it on the pic. It flew RIGHT into me, just like in the cartoons, and wrapped me all over hahaha. It was hilarious, and was just glad it wasn't anything hard or dangerous. I suddenly have to stop laughing and close my eyes because we get hit with a sandstorm.

Yuuup, we were right in the middle of that, I couldn't breathe, or see and my mouth was full of sand, I could feel it grinding my teeth hehehe. That only made my hayfever much worse, too. Oh well, I was still having fun all in all!

Here we are, nice and safe from rain, hail and lightning. They were still having lessons at the arena, so the festival people mingled with the students and horses for a while. The horses were kinda nervous but no accidents or mishaps happened, that we know of.

The bad weather calms down a bit, but we're still not allowed to go to the camping area due to lightning. So we just chill outside the arena and bide our time. The mood in the area was excellent, and people had brought some portable speakers too so we had music to listen to. The organization was also handing out free drinks, so kuddos to them!

Selfie time! I kinda suck at this selfie thing and ended up chopping Jeroen's head. Sorry, Jeroen!

So much for the blue, blue sky we had earlier that morning.... I was trying to see if I could get some of the lightning, but no luck.

The storm picks up again and we're all ordered back inside the arena, where we linger for about an hour or so. The owners of vans and campers are allowed to return to the terrain after a while, so we walk back with our friends and take refuge inside their van, nice and warm!

We had thought that the weather would have put an end to the party on friday, but we heard that there were still some DJs putting up an act at the festival terrain, so we decide to go check it out. But first, porta-potty break!

It was true! The organization arranged for a little party to be held in the middle of the terrain, with lights and all! The area was packed and everyone was in great spirits.

Bit of a blurry impression of the small tent and everyone huddled inside.

I join in and dance my little heart out along with them! It had cooled down enough to wear a jacket, though. But I wasn't freezing to death or anything.

Dancing with The Husband. (I know you're wondering by know, so, here you go: I'm 1.58m (5'2") and he's 2.04m (6'9") XD

Love the laser lamp on the background!

The moon looked kinda cool and scary, behind the tree branches, but this picture doesn't make it justice.

Aaaand here's our final time check, back inside our cozy tent, ready for bed, to recover some energy to be able to party on the next day!

Good night everyone, hope you enjoyed the pics as much as we enjoyed our day!

Yearly Overview - 2014

caniche — Mon, 29 Dec 2014 23:27:24 GMT

1. What did you do in 2014 that you'd never done before?
- Ran a 21K (unofficially, no sponsored race or the like)
- Bought baby clothes for my future niece (daughter from my bro)
- Found a job in an area I'd have never really considered: helping stranded people get home and their cars taken to the garage.
- Work during holidays :P
- Discovered Irish Coffee (and I'm kind of an addict now ;) )
- I've eaten more fruit this year than in my whole life
- Got my very first smart phone, courtesy of mom.
- Lost enough weight to fit in my old fancy dresses. (Kinda bounced back a little bit but not too bad LOL)
- Attended an "illegal" party in the middle of the woods, where people thought we wouldn't be heard and all. (We got busted by the cops half an hour after it stared. Shortes party ever LOL!)

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
No resolutions for last year, but I have a few for the new year:
1) Write the next book of my novel series,
2) run a 32K (if not a 42K but that's still a bit of a scary goal to consider)
3) Go vegetarian (and vegan if I can) In the worst of the cases, try to eat less meat.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes, a friend of ours just had her baby boy a few days ago, plus a few FB friends. There are also a few more babies in the making as we speak, but those are due next year.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
An aunt from the inlaw's side passed away this year.

5. What countries did you visit?
We went to the Ardennes in Belgium, for a weekend-trip with the family. No trips to Mexico this time, my parents came here instead!

6. What would you like to have in 2015 that you lacked in 2014?
- More self confidence. I was a nervous wreck when I got hired but it's slowly getting better.
- More willpower to go out and exercise (I had a brilliant start the first half of the year, but it all plummeted when I had to stop going to the shelter and into work. Haven't been working out much since then...)
- Money to splurge heee.
- We had tried to arrange a meeting with my online friends but that kinda flopped. Hopefully we can pull it off on 2015.

7. What dates from 2014 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
a) The awesome parties we went to (3rd round Tag Festival, TACnival, Koningsdag in Eindhoven, the illegal party that didn't last long, as well as a couple of really good house parties with DJs and all.)
b) My parents' visit to Holland in October. We had a lovely time catching up, playing games, taking naps together and just enjoying each other's company. The african concert we attended to was really awesome.
c) August 18, got my job after searching for about a year.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
- Runnin the half-marathon was probably the coolest thing I did haha
- This one is from last year but still applies: I threw/gave away clothes and things I'd been hoarding for years (and still kept throughout 2014 for some unexplained reason)
- Getting the job and being able to keep it despite me being extremely insecure. I was sure I'd be fired because I wasn't cutting it. Turns out they are happy with me, and I am really grateful for them having given me a chance even if my Dutch sounds funny.
- Still going to help at the shelter when I have free days off work. It's kinda heavy sometimes but I am glad I can still somewhat keep in touch. (Though going from helping like 3-5 days a week down to 1 is kinda meh)

9. What was your biggest failure?
- Not keeping up with my exercise schedule
- We tried hard, but we couldn't save a few sick kitties from the shelter.
- Can't stay away from meat.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
- Several colds
- Migraines / headaches
- Allergies, though this have gone milder now that I am not going to the shelter as often.
- Lower back pain for unknown reasons

11. What was the best thing you bought?
It's hard to tell, I got lots of cool things
- My DrMartens
- More boy-shorts from Bjorn-Borg <3
- new pants for wearing at fitness, since the old ones were ripping at the seams
- We just got a new blender that I haven't tried out (It literally arrived today) but since I've been doing smoothies a lot often, I'm really happy with that purchase. THe old blender was falling apart and leaking and whatnot.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
- Bro and his wife. They know why :D
- A colleague at the animal shelter who won the "volunteer of the year" award earlier this month for all her work helping and rehoming kittens.
- The Pope for being cool and open minded

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
- Same as last year: all those people abandoning/mistreating animals.

14. Where did most of your money go?
The first half of the year it went to groceries. The second half, I kinda went on a spree after getting a salary again. I got lots of DA commissions, new clothes, new xmas decorations for the tree, and started donating money to charities again.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My parent's visit, my brother and his wife's pregnancy, getting a job and realizing that even though it has really weird working hours, it still allows me to go the shelter every now and then, fulfilling in a way my wish for a job that I could still combine with my homeless kitties.

16. What song will always remind you of 2014?
- "All about that bass" (not my favorite song but damn, it's such an earworm)
- Tove Lo with "Stay high" such a pretty and sad song, and the video's worse LOL
- "With your help", a song I commissioned from Shaun Holton, inspired in a character of a story I wrote.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder?
Happier but with short bouts of depression that haven't lasted too long thankfully.

b) thinner or fatter?
Thinner, awww yissss. Reached 48kgs earlier this year, when I was exercising daily and all. At the moment I'm lingering around 50-51ish.

c) richer or poorer?
Richer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
More running, more singing, more writing and more drawing. Also, I need to complete all the jigsaw puzzles that people have gifted me the past years. I was very fanatic at some point but I haven't sat down in a while to put one together. Something to do on 2015!

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Worrying about things that aren't under my control, I should just stop stressing out and just take it one day at a time.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Christmas has come and gone in the meantime. I spent it at work, with a sick husband at home lol. Not our best year. On second christmas day, after work I joined the inlaws for a round of gift exchanging by means of a dice game. Was quite fun, we had a good laugh and I brought some decent loot back home.

21. Did you fall in love in 2013?
Yes, with a naked Sphinkx Kitty at the shelter that sadly didn't make it. RIP Snoesje.

22. Craziest thing you did?
- I'd say attending an illegal forest party was crazy enough hahaha. But it was a fun experience nontheless.
- Addressing a young dude that happened to walk past us after a night in the club, and said "Hola". I talked back to him in Spanish and he freaked out LOL. Turns out he didn't speak Spanish at all and just wanted to show off or something... We had a good laugh about it.

23. What was your favorite TV program?
Orange is the New Black

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No, not this time. Well there's someone I really don't like and every time they open their mouth to say or write something I'm like *HEADDESK!!"* But to say I hate that person is a bit far fetched. It's just severe dislike heheh.

25. What was the best book you read?
I read the first book of the Iron Lyons series, "Forges of Dawn", which turned out to be pretty good! I'm currently reading the first book of the Shindana series, "Ice", also promising!

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
- Eric Vloiemans. I heard one of his performances as a background song for a video about providing the right housing for rabbits. The song, "Chorizo", is actually very cheery, but it still managed to bring me to tears when I heard it. Dunno what but there's something about trumpets when played soft and mellow like that that I really enjoy.
- "The First Rebirth" by Jones & Stephenson I can't believe I never heard this before until this year. Same thing, got goosebumps when I heard it and made me wanna party hard woohoo!

27. What did you want and get?
A job, a new phone (Seriously, I was rocking an Ericsson thing from 2003 or such LOL), new clothes, a new toaster, new blender, new "party" boots, new Converse's and loads of tickets to awesome parties/Festivals.

28. What did you want and not get?
- The lottery.
- The chance to travel much

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
I had a good laugh with "This is the End", and saw "Requiem for a Dream" for the first time. Super sad movie but I liked it a lot.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 36, I celebrated with my parents here at home. Mom cooked a delicious meal for me, and afterwards we went to the theater to see a performance of the Soweto Gospel Choir. It was beautiful, and we all really enjoyed it bigtime. What sucked was that mom was feeling a bit ill then, so she was under the weather, but that didn't stop us from having a lovely time together. In the weekend, Jeroen's family came over for drinks and snacks, and his dad stayed over for a pizza dinner. Mom had the chance to meet the little nieces and nephews and was totally over the moon with the youngest baby. Grandma in the making!

31.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
- Same as last year, getting a job at the animal shelter. But that ain't happening :(
- Better health for everyone! Loads of people suffered from serious illnesses and stuff this year, so I'm hoping 2015 will be better.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2014?
A mix of sex-bomb and tomboy hahahah. I wore lots of short shorts and skirts, feeling more confident with how my body looks now and stuff. But I also got a few more manly shirts and stuff for those days when I'm feeling more tomboy.

33. What kept you sane?
Same as last two years: helping out at the animal shelter, music, writing.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
- Non Youtubers, I'll have to say nobody in particular that I haven't mentioned in previous years.
- Youtubers, I've been following Freelee the Banana Girl, DLV, Allie Speed, Cory Williams aka Dude like Hella, Katers17, and recently discovered the Vine videos from Thomas Sanders, which I found hilarious. (And he's quite easy on the eyes too)

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
- The Zwarte Piet discussion. I can't say it stirred me, I was more like "I don't get it", but after witnessing some people using it as an insult then I kinda get why people want the figure gone.
- Flight MH17 being shot down by the russians. The scenes of the coffins being flown back and transported in hearses while thousands of dutch people gathered along the highway to pay their respects... *shudder*
- The "Meer of minder maroccanen"? thing. Go home, Geert Wilders.

36. Who did you miss?
Family in Mexico of course, and Jeroen when he had to go away on a business-related trip. Okay, it was just one week apart, but I still missed him all the same.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
My colleagues at work who are all friendly and helpful.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2014:
YOLO!

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
I feel something so right
By doing the wrong thing
And I feel something so wrong
By doing the right thing
I couldn't lie, couldn't lie, couldn't lie
Everything that kills me makes me feel alive

-- "Counting Stars", One Republic

Fanart commission

caniche — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:09:32 GMT

While browsing DeviantArt I came across one particular artist that made my jaw drop. Looking at her TLK drawings is like looking at screenshots of a Disney movie, they're that awesome.

I always told myself that if she were to be open for commissions I'd ask her to draw something, and the gods heard my plea! All of a sudden she had three slots open, so I claimed one of them, woohoo!

I requested her to do a scene from my latest lioness story, and voila, here is the end result!

Duni and Faraji

Sooo cute! I can't stop staring at it *snicker*

snicker

caniche — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:23:42 GMT

Oh gods, I can't stop laughing at this...

I think it's the song that does it for me LOL.

New Years 2012

caniche — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:39:25 GMT

We had a good time yesterday. The party started at 7.30, kinda early for the usual parties, but it turns out that the friends who took care of the catering brought over 9000 yummy nommies, so we had to make sure to be there nice and early and eat as much as possible LOL. It was delicious!

Jeroen and I had tons of booze over from a cocktail-night I had organized in october, so we brought the booze along and Jeroen put his cocktail-skills to good use again. He prepared margaritas, caipirinhas, mojitos and one or two cosmopolitans. People complained his drinks were too strong, and when he made them "lighter" they complained it was too light LOL ;) He managed to give everyone a good buzz though. To that add the beer and champagne, so yeah, people were nice and drunkie. As for myself, I have been sickish, and I got very ill last time I overdid the alcohol intake, so I took it pretty easy. Had some sips of a mojito, a glass of champagne to toast with, and later on in the evening, a glass of wine at the bar.
At 00.00 we went out to ~~burn some money~~ light fireworks, and around 1.00 we headed to the bar, to dance and party the night away.

The music was so-so this time, but they did have some drum&bass and dubstep on another room so we could flee the cheesy music for a while heheh. Too bad we didn't hear much of the drum&bass, by the time they started playing that my body was giving up on me. I felt really dizzy and clammy and suffocated, and my tummy started aching (probably from all I pigged in earlier teehee) so at around 4ish I asked Jeroen if he didn't mind me going home. He decided to cycle along with me, sweetie!

So we went home, in the rain, and by the time I was done taking off my contacts and whatnot it was close to 4.45. So I consider it a successful New Year's party!

Unfortunately, although I didn't drink much and was not even close to having a buzz, I still had a terrible headache this morning, which turned into a migraine, the kind that make me dizzy, nauseous and shaky. It's also the first time I experience visions while lying in bed with my eyes closed. That was kinda interesting, hadn't it been for the pain it would have been fun LOL.

The headache's gone now, but I am still coping with something in my skin that makes me itchy all over.
The doctor's checked it out and she thinks that the main problem is caused by one of those bacteria that everyone has, but which is growing too much and my body's reacting to that. Since my resistance is low, I've also broke down in some sort of hyves again.
Tests are being done now to determine if there's something causing this low resistance, so we'll wait to hear next week to see what they have found.

That's all for now, I hope everyone had a good beginning for 2012!

*waves*

Nicherz

New Year Resolutions 2012

caniche — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:27:54 GMT

So I took a look at the list of resolutions I made for 2011, and realized I didn't accomplish not even one of the things I set off to do.

So I've decided to use the same list for 2012, and here's hoping I'll do a better job at it this time!

1) I will pick up running again.

2) Complete all those puzzles that have stacked up in the hobby room!

3) Record more songs (sung and piano) for my parents in Mexico

4) Will try to finish the animal course throughout this year. Even if it doesn't lead to a job in the animal shelter.

5) Eat healthier

6) Take better care of our housie.

7) Get rid of all the trash that we have lying around and that cannot be disposed of on the normal trash containers.

8) Visit another cool country like Spain or such

9) Drink more water

10) Find myself again and be that cheery, fun person I used to be 10 years ago.

Also, win the friggin lottery!

Nichers

Yearly Overview 2011

caniche — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 19:49:59 GMT

S'that time of the year again, and since next week I might be busybusybusy, I might as well post this now before I forget!

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?

- Decided for a career change and quit my job
- Ate home-made pasta and pizza prepared by Jeroen
- Went to a cooking workshop where I prepared a Frutti di Mare dish along with some of Jeroen's co-workers
- Watched Cats the Musical on DVD, after refusing to watch it for years and years. Nope, I didn't like it that much LOL.
- Started playing Tiny Zoo
- Wrote a sequel to my old TLK fanfic.
- Hosted a Cocktail Evening at home
- Painted the balconies (though Jeroen did 99% of the job!)
- Appeared in National Dutch TV, in a program about animal protection "Dierenbeschermers"

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Oh, tough one, I haven't looked at them in quite a while, but something tells me that I didn't keep them at all LOL.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

A cousin in Canada had a baby, and there are a coupla babies more on their way.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Jeroen's granddad passed away this year.

5. What countries did you visit?

We went to Mexico in February, and to Germany for a skiing vacation with the inlaws.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

More health and less strange diseases!

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

a) Our trip to Los Cabos while visiting Mexico was quite unforgettable.
b) The wedding of Jeroen's bro and one of his friends.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

- Having the guts to finally quit my job and turn to what has given me more fulfillment the past few years, volunteering at the animal shelter.
- Completing the sequel to my fanfic (My own personal "nanowrimo", that took about a year LOL!)

9. What was your biggest failure?

- Procrastinating WAY too much in many things.
- Being a pussy at making important decisions

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

- I've had about four colds this year
- My body's been riddled with all sorts of strange skin conditions I never had before
- Migraines here and there
- My allergies have caused more problems lately.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Probably the iPad

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

One of my cousins and her family, who are going through some really tough times, but they are trying their best to stay strong and pull through. My thoughts are with them.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

I don't think I felt appalled at anything this year, it was more of a "meh" year in which I felt apathetic towards many things.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Restaurants, travelling, MLP stuff, lottery tickets and donations here and there.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Going to Mexico, hearing that a cousin of mine will get married next year, seeing TLK on the big screen for the first time EVER and on 3D

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?

The stuff by Zanger Rinus, alas...

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder?
Meher

b) thinner or fatter?
About the same as last year, which was thinner than the previous, but not by much hehe.

c) richer or poorer?
Richer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Record more songs, but I just couldn't get in the mood for it for some reason

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Stress out at work. (There was one day I had to run to the toilet to pull my hair like mad because otherwise I would have punched someone or thrown something out the window heh. I've never been prone to self-harm but that day, it was the only thing that made sense, to pull at my hair. It lasted for 20 seconds or so before I pulled myself together, and went back to my desk. It hasn't happened again, and after January I am confident it won't happen again at all anymore.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

The plan was to go to Breda with the inlaws, but I caught a major cold and yet some skin rash/allergy/itch/godknowswhat so I preferred to stay at home instead.

21. Did you fall in love in 2011?

Nope, but I started fangirling Scar all over again like it's 1998. ;D

22. Craziest thing you did?

Dress up as a Death Eater for Halloween.

23. What was your favorite TV program?

Cooking shows such as Masterchef, MLP, Ghost Adventures on youtube, and animal shows from Animal Planet HD

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

No, I still can't stand people in general. ;)

25. What was the best book you read?

Coming to think of it, I don't think I read any books this year (though I did finish I shall Wear Midnight sometime earlier this year. I started to re-read The Jungle Book and White Fang, but kinda got sidetracked while writing my own fic and such hehehe)

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?

- Alan Parson's "Ammonia Avenue" album. I never knew how awesome it was until this year.
- Khadja Nin
- Lebo M's "Deeper Meaning"

27. What did you want and get?

New boots, and completed the Mane 6 collection of MLPFIM. I didn't care much for the iPad in the beginning but it turned out to be an awesome gadget.

28. What did you want and not get?

- The lottery, but no problem, it's gonna come soon.
- A job at the shelter
- a Smart (but I'll get that one when we win the lottery)

29. What was your favorite film of this year?

TLK 3D, Puss 'n Boots, Megamind and Despicable Me.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 33, and went out for dinner with Jeroen. This time I didn't get together with anyone, we had had some busy weekends behind us so my treat was to be lazy and do nothing mwwaha.

31.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

More confidence, self esteem and less Meh.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?

MY LITTLE PONY! *ahem* I mean, I bought some t-shirts with a rather subtle "cutie mark" and I combine those with long-sleeved shirts to match the Ponies' color scheme. Yup, I'm still a kid at heart when it comes to these things... ;P

33. What kept you sane?

Helping out at the animal shelter, it made a lot of things more bearable.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Hmm... It has to be that yummy guy from The Tudors who plays Henry VIII

35. What political issue stirred you the most?

I guess it's not really political but it issues that stirred me were:
- The earthquake in Japan and the problems it brought along
- The ongoing violence in Mexico
- The introduction of an Animal Police here in Holland, to prevent animal cruelty and abuse (and yet Holland still allows circuses with wild animals to tour around...)

36. Who did you miss?

Here goes the usual answer of "Family and friends in Mexico" hehe.

37. Who was the best new person you met?

I haven't made new close friends, but were were some fun colleagues who I got to know a bit better, and of course, reconnecting with old friends via Facebook was awesome.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011:

I can only say my life has amounted to something, until I am parodied in the "TV-Cantine."

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

I'm just searching for a deeper meaning
In this world, in this life, in myself
I'll keep looking
To find a deeper meaning
"Cause I know it's something more than I can see
And I know the answer lies inside of me
Ntholle, Ntholle tsela bo
(help me find my way)

Xmas 2011

caniche — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 20:07:00 GMT

Meh, the plans for this xmas were to go to Breda, have dinner with the inlaws, and spend the night there. I was looking forward to it but since a couple of days ago I returned from work feeling tired and feverish, and developed a nasty cough. This morning a mean cold hit me full force, so I decided to stay home and be miserable in my PJs, instead of going out and being miserable somewhere else, and making other people sick.

Another weird thing is that there is some sort of allergy raging through my body again (and it has nothing to do with cats, as I haven't been to the shelter since monday) My whole body itches like mad, from head to toe. I know that I can be allergic to my own sweat, especially in the area of my face, but it seems as if all my body is reacting to it now. S'really weird. I am just glad I could stay home so I can snotter and scratch at ease LOL!

Jeroen's pampered me, and to make this night special after all, he even prepared pizza from scratch. He made the dough and all. It was quite yummy! It's just a shame that my appetite is not the usual voracious one (that's how he can tell I really feel ill, LOL, when his little Mexican eating machine goes "I'm kinda full" after a few bites haha) but I still managed to enjoy the meal and feel thankful for him going the extra mile.

So for now I'm sitting here, waiting for the worst of the cold to pass and hoping it'll be over by tuesday when I have to be back in the office. There's another employee on holiday so I can't really afford taking time off. :P

Hope you guys are having a healthier Christmas!

Nichers

TLK Fanfic

caniche — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 21:03:39 GMT

Hi guys!

For my TLK friends (and anyone else interested, LOL): If you're still into fanfiction, I've written a new Scar-centered story, and the first two chapters are already online:

The Rise and Fall of King Scar

It takes place between Scar's reign and Simba's return. I tried to stay canon with the events from "Simba's Pride", but not with the "Six New Adventures" stories, just so you know.

The story is already completed, however it's still in the process of being beta-read, so the rest of the chapters will follow later.

Feedback and suggestions are more than welcome.

Long live the King! ;9

Nicherz

daydreaming

caniche — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:32:58 GMT

As usual, while browsing for random videos in Youtube, I came across this page, and for a very short moment I toyed in my mind with this possibility:

http://www.lionwhisperer.co.za/content_main.asp?menuId=7

It's not something I'd decide in a whim of course, but... man, wouldn't it be cool?!

Pink Elephants on Parade

caniche — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 22:59:05 GMT

I read somewhere in a Youtube comment that the latin-spanish version of this song turned out to be a whole lot more sinister thanks to the rather liberal translation job they did on it. I got curious so I looked up the original lyrics in English, and compared them to the Spanish version:

Original vs Spanish one (re-translated to English)

Look out! Look out! - Who are you? Who's there?
Pink elephants on parade - The parade's starting
Here they come! - Here they come
Hippety hoppety - Look at them jump

They're here and there - They're probably
Pink elephants ev'rywhere - Satan's relatives (WTF?)

Look out! Look out! - They are here now
They're walking around the bed Walking around the bed
On their head - Upside down
Clippety cloppety - like acrobats
Arrayed in braid - They terrify me
Pink elephants on parade They're driving me insane

What'll I do? What'll I do? What will I do? I have no clue!
What an unusual view! I'll never get drunk again!

I could stand the sight of worms - To all those who drink way too much
And look at microscopic germs - A vision will appear
But technicolor pachyderms - Colored elephants
Is really much for me - That will come to haunt and terrorize them

I am not the type to faint - Me, who defied the Devil
When things are odd or things are quaint - and whose tail I ripped apart
But seeing things you know that ain't - The tricolor elephants
Can certainly give you an awful fright! - Have made me lost my bravery

What a sight! - The horror!
Chase 'em away! - Leave me alone!
Chase 'em away! - I can't take this anymore!
I'm afraid need your aid - They're finally leaving
Pink elephants on parade! - The terrorizing tortured souls
Pink elephants! - The souls...
Pink elephants! - The souls...

Um... Dark much? LOL

When I read the lyrics in their original language, I was amazed; It almost sounded kinda innocent! Although I think the Spanish one does a good job at explaining why this whole scene fits in and why Dumbo and the mouse were having hallucinations. (Lesson to be learned, kiddies, don't drink!)
But ask any Latin kid from my generation which Disney song scared them the most in their childhood, and I am willing to bet that 95% will answer "Pink Elephants on Parade". Not only is the imagery freaky as hell, but the lyrics in Spanish are just plain fucked up LOL.

So yeah. This concludes my random post of the day. ;)

On and wtf, it's my b-day already! *does the B-day dance*

Back from the Dr

caniche — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 08:53:17 GMT

Yaaay, it's not ringworm *does a happy dance*

The Dr. was not sure what it was in the beginning, and had to compare my rash with some pictures in a book, until we found the correct one. So yeah, it's urticaria / hives.

I got some stronger allergy pills that I have to take during a week, and if it doesn't go away, we'll see.

I also got a cream against the itchiness.

Only problem is I cannot drive a car during the period I am taking those pills, and I have to watch out with alcohol. *raises a fist* Curse, you, allergies!!!

Rash update

caniche — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:30:38 GMT

So I called the Dr this morning and they gave me an appointment for tomorrow morning, which means I will have to stand the itchyness one more day before I know what this is!

The red spots have grown twice in size and have joined together in a big red cluster of WTF. (which tilts more towards the behaviour of hives than ringworm, so the lesser of evils is always better!)
But last night was the first time that the itching actually kept me awake, so that's not getting any better either. I really hope they can find the cause and treat this asap.

We'll see how my tummy behaves today....

Hmm...

caniche — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 10:49:32 GMT

My tummy's broke down in hives for some reason, and it's been bugging me for days already. (I think it started last week...)

I haven't used any other detergents, and have not eaten anything unusual. I checked my bed for animals but there are no beasties crawling around (not to mention that Jeroen would probably also show signs of animal bites on his skin if there were any bed bugs around...) Also, they are really concentrated on my front torso only, I guess if it was an animal on my bed the hives would be all over the place.

I thought, maybe I got bitten by something at the animal shelter (a flea or so) but the "bites" keep multiplying at random times, whether I am in bed or just sitting behind my PC, so I have no idea what's causing it.

Called the Dr to make an appointment, but they are on holidays! There is an emergency number I can call but I don't really consider this an emergency.... so I guess if this keeps bugging me I will call them again next week, for a check-up.

It really does look like an allergic reaction to something, perhaps a combination of all the allergens that trigger me? Who knows.

All I know is I MUST STOP SCRATCHING, but gods, it's so hard LOL. *whimper*

ETA: The lady at the drugstore also thinks it's an allergy of some sort, rather than an insect bite, so she advised to take an extra allergy pill for the time being. Just in case, I've washed my bedsheets too. ;)

Lion King 3D

caniche — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 15:25:25 GMT

So we went to the movies yesterday to watch TLK on 3D. It was also FINALLY my chance to see this movie on the big screen. Back when it came out, I wasn't interested on it at all, so I missed the chance to watch it on the cinema. I always regretted that, so yesterday I felt like a kid with a new toy as we made our way to the theater. :D

Just to see the opening on 3D was already worth the travel and the ticket. It was BEAUTIFUL, and breathtaking, at moments it even felt like I was standing right there, staring into the depths of the savannah.

My favorite shot was the ending of Be Prepared, that was beautiful!! Also TImon and Pumbaa coming towards me while singing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight".... and so many other awesome scenes where I could just reach out and pet them lions. Argggh, so cute!!! ;D

We noticed some slight changes, such as Mufasa's rumbling cloud being taken away (we wonder why), and the infamous "SEX/SFX" hidden message is gone too LOL, the ears on the IJCWTBK hippo were back where they should have been and not on his shoulders...

All in all I was very pleased and it reminded me of why I loved that movie so much. It also brought memories of some of the happiest times of my youth, where lots of exciting things were going on.

So yeah, um, go see it, while you can!

I'm off to finish my fanfic now. ;)

Nicherz

Got a cold again :(

caniche — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 11:04:00 GMT

It started monday evening, when I though I was just having a major allergy attack, but when I woke up with a throat-ache later, and started sniffling like mad while at the office, I realized I got hit by another cold.

I hope it goes away soon, in the meantime I stayed home to rest. Been sleeping most of the day actually...

WTF, body, you just went through a nasty cold in May! *grumble*

Bachelorette Party

caniche — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 19:02:54 GMT

So Jeroen's bro is getting married in September, so the guys organized a stag party for this weekend, and the girls happened to do the same too.

Earlier in the day the boys kidnapped the groom, and later on we came to surprise the bride, which we managed to fool into believing that the party would NOT occur this saturday. (she knew we were planning something, just not when)

So, after managing to surprise her, we spent a day in this beautiful terrain, where we had a morning program full of outdoors activities. They divided us into two teams and the idea was that the team who scored the most points would earn a prize in the end.

So it all started with lunch at a small cabin in the middle of the terrain. After that, due to the weather conditions, the obstacle race they had planned for us had to be canceled, but they filled in that gap with quad-riding instead.
Everyone had lots of fun riding around those things, except me. I did gave it a go and all, but I could not control it (though the other girls made it look so easy!) Story short: after lots of screaming, I almost ended up diving down a small cliff outside of the track LOL. I was shaking like a leaf and refused to drive any further, so the Boy Who Lead The Activities (I'll refer to him as Boy from now on) came to save me, and drove me back to the starting point, not before showing off what it felt to drive those things really fast.
I think Boy will have permanent scars of where I dug in my nails in his hands LOL. I dunno why my body reacted in such a panic, I guess I remember when my dad almost broke a leg on a motorcycle, and given the fact that I could not control that thing either... I dunno. All I know is I felt really insecure. Perhaps if there hadn't been any sharp hills or curves I would have done a lot better. :P

Anyway, after that we moved on to play human table football , which was hilarious and turned out to be the highlight of the day for me. I laughed like hell. :D

We stopped for a quick drink and to answer a knowledge quiz, (with some help and hints from Boy) and after that we had a pedal go-kart race. The idea is one girl would steer the kart while the passenger had to hold up a bucket of water. The winner was the one who completed most laps and who had the most water remaining in the bucket.
I sucked at this, I was too small to reach the pedals properly, so I could not help my companion in pedaling along which slowed us down. (Oh yes, I forgot to mention that all the girls towered above me, I was the tiniest LOL)

Then we went on to play blind-volleyball, in which the net is just a plastic cover that doesn't let you see what the other team is up to. That was fun too, though I also sucked at it LOL.

To close the day, we had to walk in water in a huge plastic ball, like hamsters. Unfortunately that one took too long so not everyone had a go. I decided to skip this one because the ball was leaking too and given my luck in the earlier games I could just see it ripping apart with me inside. ;D

So they counted the points and in the end my team lost, awww. The winning team got a shiny cup as a prize. So what, we still had fun so there, nyehnyeh.

We headed back to the bride's house to freshen up and dress her up in a cheap tacky gala outfit which she had to wear all night mwwahaa. We then went for dinner at a yummy place, and hit the town, where we forced the bride to complete certain tasks, such as selling stuff to strangers, asking people to do her make-up, etc. She completed all tasks but one, which involved finding a microphone and giving a speech about world peace LOL, so kuddos to her.

We ended up dancing at a bar and it was about 3 in the morning when I finally went to bed. Since my day had started at about 6.30 in the morning, I was SO glad to go to sleep!

So that was it, glad that's done and over with and no one got seriously injured. Now we just need to get over the muscle pain teehee. :)

*waves*

Nichers

Ten years ago...

caniche — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 08:48:53 GMT

I really can't believe that it's been ten years since our wedding day.

It still feels like yesterday that mom and I went to have our hair done, and the trip to Yautepec is very fresh in my mind. The party is still unforgettable, as is my one and only formal dance with Jeroen lol, everyone having fun...

So while time has gone very fast, what does hit me is how many things have happened in the meantime. People who are no longer with us, new little humans toddling around, people who we were really close to and we've drifted apart...

Then it hits me, Man, it's been _TEN_ friggin' years!!

Whaddayasay, Jeroen, up to 10 more?

A cute video of Neko

caniche — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 22:06:34 GMT

A while ago I shot a video of Neko while she was in one of her usual talkative moods. In the middle of her conversation she pulls a cable along with her tail and makes it drop from the table. For those who don't know my cat:

Neko + sudden movements or noises = RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, THE APOCALYPSE IS HERE!!

You can see the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wKgYqZczeg

*waves*

Sick @ home

caniche — Thu, 26 May 2011 09:58:28 GMT

So it is one of those mean colds that trash my throat and mess around with my head, so I called in sick. I don't like calling sick, but going like this to work won't do me or my colleagues any good.
(and the customers will wonder why they hired someone with such a horrendous nasal raspy voice on the phone LOL)
So yeah, going to get plenty of rest now.

*waves*

Blergh...

caniche — Wed, 25 May 2011 10:27:19 GMT

Woke up this morning thinking I was just having some major allergy attack, but I think I've caught a cold instead :(

Feeling like crap now...

Result of Pinkie Pie's perm

caniche — Fri, 20 May 2011 13:40:32 GMT

So I took off the pins and rollers out of Pinkie Pie's head, and it turned out kinda cute hehe XD

Here's the before...

And here's the after!

I wish she kinda had a bit more volume on top of her head (See my own Icon for reference, that is exactly the mane I was trying to recreate)

A pic from behind so you can see the tail:

Aww, ain't she pretty, my little party animal!

Ponies aside. My, what lovely weather today, and it's going to be great in the weekend too. YAY!

Zecora mode on Bewaaare, Bewaaare... ;) Pony post ahead!

caniche — Thu, 19 May 2011 19:45:49 GMT

So the other day I went into town for an appointment with the optician, and to buy a few other thingies I needed, when I just, sorta happened to make a beeline for a toy shop, totally NOT planned, oh no siree, it was a spontaneous trip that kinda ended up in the 'My Little Pony' section, with no intention to purchase anything whatsoever--- ah what the heck. I went there with all the intention to to buy Ponies so sue me.

From left to right, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle. As you can see, they all have a terrible case of 'Box-Hair':

A close-up of Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle. At the moment both hairdos have gone through a bit of a make-over. Twilight's bangs are less perky, and Pinkie's hair is undergoing a perm. Will post pics of the result later:

A close up of Applejack and Rarity. Rarity's hair was the worst of the bunch, look at that mess! So she was the first to undergo a perm too! The doggie is Applejack's pet. Each toy came with a 'pet' but the dog's the only one that makes sense.

Here's Rarity after her perm. Looking better already but it's still not the result we're looking for. Might try it again sometime later.

Here's a shot of Rarity's behind, as her tail had to be permed too. We loved how the tail turned out! Much like in the cartoon... :D

Ok I know this is nothing compared to the customized ponies I've seen out there, but still: yay.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were not in stock, but we have to be downtown this weekend, to pick up my contacts and buy a gift for our niece, so we'll probably keep an eye open for them. ;D

Funny thing, when I went to the counter and they asked me if they were all gifts *snicker*

*waves*

Ponychers

:(

caniche — Fri, 13 May 2011 11:17:31 GMT

Today I heard that the wounded kitty from my previous shelter entry didn't make it. It looked as if he was healing, but suddenly he stopped eating by himself, so we had to resort to force-feeding him. Then the infection that he had came back ten times worse, so the vet, who had initially said to give him a chance, took the decision of letting him rest in peace.
(Oh, and may whoever did that to him fucking die in a fire.)

On a happier note, today we were done early again so I had some time to spend cuddling kitties. I went for Kruimeltje, who's one of the most affectionate kitties at the moment heheh. He craves attention and likes to climb all over you. I have again scars in my back to prove it hahah. I spent bent over with the cat on my back for what felt like an eternity, while he nuzzled my neck, nibbled my ears and nommed my hair.
I wonder why no one has taken him home yet, I guess it's because he's not the prettiest of the bunch heh. :/

Also, everything's a mess at the moment. The renovations are going full force, so what used to be the "lobby" is now in shambles LOL. But it's starting to take shape now. I'll make sure to share some pics once they're done...

Yay!

caniche — Tue, 10 May 2011 20:38:07 GMT

My two 'My Little Pony' inspired t-shirts came in the mail today!

The blue one is inspired on Rainbow Dash's CutieMark, and the yellow one on Fluttershy's CutieMark, as well as her rather awesome cheering abilities ;)

From another angle...

Aaaand, the shirt that was already 20% cooler has become 10% coolerder now that it has the official Cat Seal of Approval.

I'm such a dork. And I'm totally wearing one to work tomorrow. Yay for lax dress code! ;D