Wednesday 30 April 2008

frə'strā'shən

FRUS•TRA•TION
noun

• the feeling of being upset or annoyed, esp. because of inability to change or achieve something:
Today I feel like screaming with frustration.

• an event or circumstance that causes one to have such a feeling:
The inherent frustrations of bad organisation.

• the prevention of the progress, success, or fulfillment of something:
The frustrations of one's work standards.

[Origin: 1425–75; late ME frustracioun • frustrātiōn- (s. of frustrātiō) deception, disappointment.]


Ways of coping with frustration:
• screaming (- usually at someone other than the "frustrator"),
• crying (- preferably in the toilets),
• shouting (- see screaming),
• banging head on desk (- watch out for sharp objects),
• digging nails into palms while smiling sweetly,
• retrating to the balcony for a smoke (- although this might result in premature death),
• going home.

... And getting a 4 day weekend.

Thursday 17 April 2008

On yer bike.

Most of you will know, I am not what you call an exercise freak.
I, like most other people, find it hard to actually get my butt into gear and get going.

However, with my new job being only 2,5km away, I have decided I am going to leave the car at home and replace it with a stunningly becoming florescent yellow vest and a flashy helmet... and a bike.
Knowing that it would take me a whole 10 minutes longer to take the car or the metro, I can't really justify getting to work any other way.

So I'm proud to say, that since Monday, I have been cycling to work.
And here I am, 4 days later, and although a little less motivated that the first morning, It's going OK. I have found a relatively easy route to work, avoiding the busy streets as much as possible.
It take me a total of 9 minutes!

Testing possible routes out last weekend, I quickly noticed that while we are being "encouraged" to leave our cars at home, Brussels still has a lot to do before it becomes safe to ride a bike during rush hour.
I take a pretty busy route crossing one of our most perilous 4-lane roundabouts, and riding down main roads. And not a single cycle lane!
So not wanting to get squished by the average Belgian driver, I avoid the roundabout in the morning and take the pedestrian route (- which I'm not actually allowed to do!)

Anyway, I just thought this new hobby of mine deserved to be documented. :)

Wednesday 2 April 2008

And in other news...

... On holiday at the moment, my brief but pretty cool experience with the big red train is over.
(or it is purple.) I have a feeling I'll be seeing a couple of the girls again soon.
My new job at agency begins on the 14th. Wohoo, I'm back to being an Account Exec. (although this job title is used for just about anything these days. So, you will all still have no idea of what I do - or don't do all day!!)
Actually slightly excited.

I miss Liz right about now. I'm not really looking forward to doing the job without her.
We will work together again, Sm, we will! :)

... As this was a subject on previous one of these, those pillows I mentioned. LOVE 'EM.
Finally, I have found pillows that do what they are supposed to (- unlike the mattress).
And (and this is big news!!) I have at last left the clan of the futon lovers and have restored my bed back to its normal height.
Nice one Ikea, a grand total of 11 months to get an order right. (Although I must say they were very amiable and helpful in their incompetence.)

... I ordered a nice new toy. The Mvix MX-760HD. I surely won't appreciate the wonder of this little box, as I would need both a nice HD screen and decent video quality from my files. And I have neither. But basically I bought it so that I could finally stop having to burn my TV shows onto dvds or cds (depending on which one of my drivers was feeling helpful that day), and just send them straight to my TV through the Mvix. I can also put all my music (and all other media) on it. It should give me some respite from my current storage space crisis.
Today, the 4-6weeks are up. So where the hell is my bloody Mvix?!?! :(
(first ebay purchase, coming from Canada)

... Going to see Cirque du Soleil on Sunday. The show, Delirium, is coming to the SportPaleis in Antwerp for only two days. Not only will it be the first show of its kind that I'll be seeing, but also in the biggest concert hall. Very excited!!!