One Word by Jochem

Somebody DID send it back to me! :)


"I stole it from you! ;)"

1. Where is your cell phone? LAPTOP
2. Your significant other? GOODY
3. Your hair? CURLY
4. Your mother? SMART
5. Your father? KID
6. Your favorite? STUDIES
7. Your dream last night? LIVING
8. Your favorite drink? MOJITO
9. Your dream and/or goal? HAPPINESS
10. What room are you in? STUDY
11. Your hobby? PROJECTS
12. Your fear? PAIN
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? SPAIN
14. Where were you last night? STUDY
15. Something that you aren't? BOLD
16. Muffins? CHIPS
17. Wish list item? WORLD-TRIP
18. Where did you grow up? WOODS
19. Last thing you did? DELEGATE
20. What are you wearing? NECESSITIES
21. Your TV? WORKS
22. Your pets? MANCHEGO
23. Friends? INSPIRING
24. Your life? FAST
25. Your mood? TO-DO-LIST
26. Missing someone? PEPIJN
27. Car? PLEASE
28. Something you're not wearing? SHOES
29. Your favorite store? WE
30. Your favorite color? GREEN
31. When was the last time you laughed? DINNER
32. When was the last time you cried? SOMETIME
33. Who will re-send this? NOBODY
34. One place that I go to over and over? ITALY
35. One person who e-mails me regularly? EYAL
36. My favorite place to eat? W/.NURIA

One Word

I totally stole this from Facebook.

1. Where is your cell phone? DESK
2. Your significant other? MIND-BLOWING
3. Your hair? LONG
4. Your mother? SPANISH
5. Your father? WISE
6. Your favorite? TRAVEL
7. Your dream last night? DISORIENTING
8. Your favorite drink? CORONA
9. Your dream and/or goal? LEISURE
10. What room are you in? STUDY
11. Your hobby? READING
12. Your fear? LOSS
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? BARCELONA
14. Where were you last night? YOGA
15. Something that you aren't? FLEXIBLE
16. Muffins? CHOCOLATE
17. Wish list item? PUG
18. Where did you grow up? SUBURBIA
19. Last thing you did? EAT
20. What are you wearing? UGGS
21. Your TV? OLD
22. Your pets? KITTEN
23. Friends? FABULOUS
24. Your life? BUSY
25. Your mood? BLUE
26. Missing someone? AMERICANS
27. Car? NONE
28. Something you're not wearing? VEST
29. Your favorite store? WE
30. Your favorite color? WHITE
31. When was the last time you laughed? JUST
32. When was the last time you cried? LATELY
33. Who will re-send this? NOBODY
34. One place that I go to over and over? SPAIN
35. One person who e-mails me regularly? ANNA
36. My favorite place to eat? COUCH

Spring

When I got off work today at 6 PM it was not yet dark. And I would have sworn I smelled a hint of Spring on Sunday. Do you feel it too? Anna???

Week 3

Facts at Random

I also have some random facts that I wanted to share with you (you know, in lack of an actual weblog consisting of a coherent story):

* Manchego likes beer, wine, tea and chocolate. He is clearly a child of mine.

* Then again, he does like to watch Jochem do the dishes (see below). I don't know what that's about.

* Staying serene, calm and zen-like in Tree Pose is very hard when your cat is attacking the one foot you're standing on. Om...

* I think Pasta may be pregnant. And has been for a while. How long does it take for a goldfish to give birth? Either way, Pesto is starting to look like a real fox. Or maybe they are lesbians.

* I think that I am pretty done with the theory of my graduate program. We have actually started rereading the theory that we have read before, so that now when I see a term such as "Krashen's i + 1", I actually know what it means. Scary... When do we get to teach already?!

* But what's really scary, is that I am actually starting to like the topic of my Linguistics thesis. I never meant for it to happen, I swear!

* I have been very annoyed lately. One friend even called me up to ask whether I was mad at her, when I wasn't. I think I need a week in Italy to recuperate.

* Jochem may be offered a job in Brussels by his uncle after he graduates. But I don't know how I feel about Belgium.

* Jochem is also thinking about opening a restaurant in Spain with his good friend Eyal. That sounds better. I just need to convince them to do it in Barcelona, which is way cool and where I'll surely find a job myself as a teacher.

* After a few months with me, one of the kids I tutor received a pass for an English test after receiving fails for, literally, years. I am very proud.

* And yet again my professors this quarter are chaotic, unorganized and unstructured. I don't understand...

* I gotta go. The baby needs me.

In Honor of the Graduate

First of all, congratulations to Mar who receives her Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English Language and Culture today from Utrecht University with a Minor in Language Education. I believe she had a rocky start during her first year but after a delay of only six months she now also has her undergraduate degree with good grades and even an 8 for her thesis. Thatagirl!!! :)

Second of all, you may remember that I orchestrated a little contest on this weblog a while ago, asking you what present I ended up buying my little brother Jordi for Christmas. Mar was the first (and the only) one to guess but she guessed right in going for the beanie, so I owed Mar a little poem. Unfortunately I was in the middle of finals and after those I kind of had forgotten about it, but eventually I remembered. I started scribbling and I believe the preliminary version was very well received, so I haven't altered it very much. Since I can't be at the actual ceremony itself because of work, I decided to delay posting the poem until today, as a little gift to my friend. So here goes:

I know a girl

Who's as unique as the most priceless pearl

When I first met her I didn't see

What good friends we were meant to be

I didn't know her very well

But according to Bic she was swell

Mag and I soon agreed

That this was a great girl indeed

Together we have seen it all

The good, the bad, the crazy and the know-it-all

It feels like the four of us keep each other sane

Perhaps the highpoint was that wonderful week in Spain

Mag is always happy in her mind

But Bic and I are of a different kind

We indulge in each other's cynical art

But our friend is the one with the biggest heart

One time when I was very sick

She brought me a homemade picnic

She also gave me vitamin pills and a thermomether

Too bad it didn't make me better

Besides being a caregiver

You can also have great fun with her

She likes the books, the movies, the good food and the drinks at the bar

Sometimes it's scary how similar we are

When we go out she can party until the curtain folds

Luckily we don't go that often because the three of us are getting old

Although we sometimes pretend to also be a great dancer

There is simply no way of keeping up with her

My girl also has the look

Anyone who is a voluntary brunette is cool in my book

With her great fashion style she often causes a scene

She's the only one of us who fits into skinny jeans

Because she's so sweet I sometimes believe

That she may be a bit naive

But I know that she's actually grown much

And now she's almost as bitter as the rest of us

She's one of my best friends by far

And her name is Mar

Manchego Update

Here are some more pictures of Manchego, 'voor de liefhebbers'! ;)