Phew, happy to be back in my own house, sleep in my own bed and have my own (private) bathroom. It's amazing how staying in someone else's house makes me uncomfortable, privacy is so important to me. The best part of the trip was definitely the few days we stayed by ourselves in a cabin overlooking a fjord, in the middle of nowhere... Pictures will follow

And now to continue lounging at home in my pajamas, no one around except BF, how I've missed it...

... cherry blossom petals...

But in Norway, we will find real snow up in the mountains. I'd better pack some warm clothing The owner of the cabin we're renting has informed us that one of the roads is still closed. And advised us to wear waterproof shoes, not simple running shoes. My first thought was "Oh dear, I don't like muddy trails, and I don't like steep trails in snow". My second thought was "Really, there are people who hike in the mountains in running shoes?".

7 hours 'till take-off, I'd better get packing!

All of a sudden, my boss and the President of our organisation have asked me to be friends on facebook. Seriously, what are these people thinking? I don't want to share my personal life with them, and I don't to know about theirs either. But I might not have a choice? Thank goodness for the ability to separate friends into groups and manage privacy settings per group...
*wonders how difficult it is to understand: facebook = personal network, LinkedIn = professional network*

So I had two arguments yesterday, one at work and one on the phone, and I ran into the bath room with tears of frustration at the end of it. Sheer exhaustion. And I was on painkillers all day because of period cramps. Not the best day to judge my personality... So no literary conference, just over-time at work and then straight home for some well-needed rest.

An old song got stuck in my head too, by Jacques Brel. I love his songs, but his lyrics are incredible too.
I can't translate all of it, but the name of the song is: "Being desperate, but with elegance", somehow it seemed fitting today. It was published posthumously, 25 years after his death.


Se sentir quelque peu romain
Mais au temps de la décadence
Gratter sa mémoire à deux mains
Ne plus parler qu'à son silence
Et
Ne plus vouloir se faire aimer
Pour cause de trop peu d'importance
Etre désespéré
Mais avec élégance

Sentir la pente plus glissante
Qu'au temps où le corps étais mince
Lire dans les yeus de ravissantes
Que cinquante ans c'est la province
Et
Brûler sa jeunesse mourante
Mais faire celui qui s'en dispense
Etre désespéré
Mais avec élégance

Sortir pour traverser des bars
Où l'on est chaque fois le plus vieux
Y éclabousser de pourboires
Quelques barmans silencieux
Et
Grignoter des banalités
Avec des vieilles en puissance
Etre désespéré
Mais avec élégance

Savoir qu'on a toujours eu peur
Savoir son poids de lâcheté
Pouvoir se passer de bonheur
Savoir ne plus se pardonner
Et
N'avoir plus grand chose á rêver
Mais écouter son coeur qui danse
Etre désespéré
Mais avec espérance.

Anybody here have magical powers to make me work twice as fast as usual? Because that's what I'll need to get my work done before going on holiday. Two more days of work left, including two long time-wasting meetings, at least I'll be accumulating over-time... I've barely had time to look at the blogs here, between work and my writing course.

On the plus-side, I'm going to a conference tomorrow night, to see a well-known French author. It doesn't matter that I haven't read anything by him, I just want to feel inspired

Our flight has been booked: 29 nights in the US from mid-September to mid-October. And now the planning of our road-trip begins, I'm so impatient

A driver's licence at 16, alcohol at 18 or 21, guns before knowing how to read. I can't be the only one who thinks there's something deeply wrong here? I was shocked to discover that they actually make real guns for kids.

I'm not one to post a lot of videos, but here's an exception: David, a finalist of the singing competition The Voice in Belgium. My taste is quite eclectic, but I'm a rock chick at heart, I think. His voice does things to me I could only mention here

I can't inbed the video, so with a link:
[url]http://www.rtbf.be/thevoice/article_un-blue-jeans-pour-david?id=7984661[/url]

So I'm a week behind on my online creative course... one week after it started. Yes, I know, I'm terrible, lol. I guess I shouldn't have spent half the weekend in front of the TV and the other half researching my trip to the US. (Not entirely true, I did do some laundry, and we went to a restaurant with some friends)

Can you say "priorities"? I can. Say the word, I mean. But not apply it in my life

So I've spent most of today looking for the cheapest flights for our upcoming trip to the US: four weeks of unadulterated nature and wildlife road-tripping But flexible dates and flexible destinations are a bitch.

We want to do the western part of the south west US, from Denver down south and then up to Salt Lake City or a trip from Denver down south and then back to Denver again. It'll be the end of September, so we want to do the mountainous regions first and the hottest/more desert like regions in October (I cannot tolerate heat).

But I'm worried: I know nothing about those regions and so I don't know if the 22nd of September to the 19th of October could give us weather problems. Any experts out there?