30

so here i am, now 30. friends have been asking me all week whether i was nervous about this 'milestone', but it's not like i've suddenly changed or anything. i feel just as i did yesterday, and i'm content - i did celebrate in style this year: i had a lot of close friends around me over the weekend. so it feels like i've done things right. 30? all the more fun, i hope!

the party

so, not quite 30 yet, but celebrated well last night. we ended up being 15, which was nice and cosy. we ate well, had lots of laughs, talked, caught up... it was great. suddenly it was 3am and we were all surprised. the last people left, we cleaned up a bit and went home. slept 4 hours before having to wake up and drive my friends to the airport. came back, slept some more, but had to wake up and spend some quality time with my dog (he will, after all, be very far away in a month), but am now totally exhausted. will go to bed soon. but had a really good time, which i think bodes well for this 30th year.

first guests

ok, so technically, my very first guest was my father. he came to dinner twice. but now, i've got even 'realler' guests, in that they're staying with me for the weekend. they arrived this morning, i picked them up after work and we had a really nice lunch. after that we went for a walk through the old town, and even managed to visit the archaeological site under the cathedral, which i had never been to (i know, shame, shame). it was amazing! after some crepes and a stop at FNAC, the bookstore, we headed home, had a nice dinner with wine, and are now, at the early time of 11pm, going to bed. we have a party to go to tomorrow (my 30th birthday), so we have to take some early sleep now! :)

electricity bill

ok, so, after a cock-up somewhere, i've got this absolutely humongous bill. i've only lived in the bloody place for 2 weeks, and i've checked my consumption while i was there, and it's maybe slightly higher than average, but at least i live there and it's freezing outside! and my bill, that covers the last 3 months (i.e. 2.5 where i wasn't there and used next to nil electricity), is over 500 euros. 500! that's like, 500 dollars. for not having anything on. and after having talked with the company several times, it appears there isn't much i can do about it, as they've come and checked and there is no evidence of tampering or anything. so according to them, i actually used all that electricity. when i wasn't there. just great.

things i miss - part 3

2 weeks in, and i'm still moving stuff. today was the turn of the guest bedroom's furniture, and some of my sister's stuff that, as my father's moving too, she'd rather i had cos it's a lot easier to come and visit me than it'll be to visit him.

anyway, everytime i drive home, i get to see the gorgeous view of the Jura mountain, that stands in the background. now that i don't get out of 'town' anymore, and since the flat is located in a way that kills all the funky views (namely, the Jura on one side and the Alps on the other), i don't really get to see anything. so i feel all warm and fuzzy when i see the currently snowcapped summits. miss them...

Eats, shoots & leaves

i finally got to read this great book on punctuation. it had me in stitches at the end, it was really funny. and it was so nice to know someone cared about punctuation. i also learned a thing or two, which is always good. and so, feeling liberated, i can now declare: i am a stickler for correct punctuation. it's just that in this blog, i've decided that 'i' shouldn't be capitalised; nor any starting word. but it's only for the blog. rest assured that i would never do this normally. although i must admit it's started to creep into my emails recently...

morning panic

emerged from sleep this morning, thinking it was soon going to be time to get up. any minute now, the alarm clock would ring, i thought, when i suddenly heard a bird twittering. they don't do that before daylight. and currently, i wake up before daylight. i leave for work before daylight. it couldn't be, but i thought i'd better check what time it was. it was 7.34. i'm normally at the bus stop by then. shit! i jumped into the shower, got dressed, barely took the time to dry my hair, called work to say i might be late, jumped into the bus at the stop in front of the flat and not the border stop 20 mns walk away (cheaper and doubles up as my daily exercise), got stuck in traffic (although thankfully, it wasn't my problem but the driver's), and made it to work 15 mns before my class started.

and this has never, ever happened to me before.

things i miss, part 2

my dog. i really miss my dog. i still go home regularly, not only cos there are still things i haven't moved yet, so i still see him, but he doesn't understand. it's not like i'm on holiday or live abroad (i.e. periods where i'm simply not around), which he's used to. here, i come for a quick visit and go again. plus my room doesn't exist anymore, and he used to go in and out of it. now he has no access to it, as my father's using it as storage space for his own move (next month already!). just 2 weeks ago, there were still 4 people in the house, which became 3 when my sister left, and then just 1 when both my father's girlfriend and i left/moved on the same day. poor thing, he doesn't get it and goes crazy when i get home (jumping around and stuff - he's doing a lot better now that he's on arthritis medication: you'd never believe he was 12!). miss him.

things i miss

so i've moved and i'm getting used to my new flat. it is slowly starting to feel like home. the ony thing i don't have, though, is a nice view. but then, nothing's ever gonna compare to what i had at home... here's what i used to see from my bedroom window. will i ever find anything like it?

connected!

ok, so this is it, i am connected. which is very good. however, it worries me that my connection, which should be ADSL at any time, seems to be timing me. hum... we'll see what happens...

moving in problems

moving in can be a lot worse than imagined. this is mostly because every other time i moved in somewhere, it wasn't MY place, and thus some things didn't matter as much. such as the way the heating works. all radiators have to be replaced ASAP. then there's the walls: do not try to drill through a 'paper' wall! my dad did. big mistake. then there's the surprising electricity bill, which is HUGE, and i've only just moved in and barely used any electricity while i was not living there, obviously. so have been on the phone with them for ages. and with the phone company: applied for internet/ADSL. will be there in 2 days, they said. the story has changed 4 times since then, and that was 2 weeks ago. am i connected? not yet. praying every day... i did, however, receive a payment warning cos i hadn't paid the phone bill, and this 4 days after having called them and said I'd lost it so could they resend it. i still haven't received any copy of the said bill, and that's after calling them twice to request it. did i mention the added charges i have to pay due to change of ownership (which NOONE mentioned to me at any point)?

despite all these problems, things are starting to feel better, more homely. i had my first dinner guest last night (my father), and it went very well, despite missing loads of kitchen stuff and the oven not working (it's brand new - supposedly someone will come by the end of the week to repair it). the bathroom still needs a little work, more boxes have to be stored, etc, but i think i'm getting there. just as well, as i have people coming to stay with me in a couple of weeks!

the buying process

so, the move is set for saturday. but wanting everything to be there before the last stuff was moved (most of the stuff is already in the flat, all that's missing is the bed, a chest of drawers, and a few bathroom things), i rushed to Ikea after work today. spent 2.5h there, getting the various things i thought i needed (kitchen stuff, lights, a tv stand) and also not getting stuff i really needed (curtains) cos trying to understand how the whole thing worked would have taken too much time. i was on a schedule because of a dinner tonight, and i didn't think i'd make it. plus, i already had so much stuff that i just couldn't see it all fit in my dad's car, which i'd borrowed for the occasion as it doesn't have spiked wheels (mine does), so i could use the motorway. so i guess i'll have to go back at some point, but it can wait a little longer.

happy new year!

it's very sad but we tried to go out, and lack of ID thwarted our plans. back just in time to wish the family a happy new year. it's 12:02, 1st of Jan 2006. happy new year to you! :)