Visa Deadlines

There is something about temporary visas. They give you the opportunity to really think about where you want to head in life.
The constant time deadline makes me wonder things like:

Do I like my life here?
Do I love my job?
Am I happy?
Do I feel home here?
Do I want to go elsewhere?

All these questions things I wouldn't even think about otherwise. Well, at least not in the same way.
I am forced to act on them, find the answers and then make a decision. Renew my visa or move to another country/go back to my country.

Suddenly you realise the world is huge and maybe you don't want to end the 'life adventure' just yet.

It is amazing to find yourself wondering and going through all these possibilities back and forth.
The power of a piece of paper.

Moving to the other side of the world.

Yes, that one man made me do it! I followed him to, literally, the other side of the world.
So here I am now, surrounded by boxes in Auckland, New Zealand.

If you ever consider moving to another continent, take my advice: Sell as much as you can and send as little as possible.

Sending stuff is in one word: horrible. Why? Because you worry all the time. You worry that it is well packed, that it will arrive well, that it will be allowed to enter the country... Next. Forms. You have to fill in a big deal of forms: removal offers, freight offers, how many boxes, how many cubic meters, how much weight... and then fill. Fill this company's form, another one and another one. Then fill in the freight form, write down every content of every single box, fill in customs forms (of 6-8 pages each) and least but sure not last: Pay. Pay for the guy that comes pick up your boxes. Pay for your boxes being stored. Pay for transport to port. Pay for freight to your new country. Pay for port costs. Pay for customs release (be careful, depending on your Work Permit you might pay an awful lot!!!)
Pay, pay, pay...
And then: Unpack! It is as exciting as boring as it can be. First two boxes are exciting. From then on, just boring and consuming.

If I would ever need to move back or move to another continent once more, it will definitely be another story.

Life as a couple (is damn busy)

Yes, I found him...and now?
Now my life (and mostly my house) are suffering the changes. I know it's all well worth it but pleeeeeeaaaaseeeee..... why did nobody tell me??
There is a time for everything: There is a time for enjoying, there is a time for work, there is a time to relax and there is a time to change.
We have gone (and still go) through the 3 first ones. The latter, time to change, seems to be a neverending story.
It all started with the closet. Going from 1 to 2 means that me, a girly girl with all the must-haves of each season, needs to make space for those male jeans, shirts, socks, underwear, belts and hanging clothes.
This means of course, not only having to make a massive cleaning up of my own stuff (I said bye bye to very beloved stuff of mine...buuuuuh), but also making new spaces into the existing ones: This gardrobe needs a new bar...This kitchen needs some more space, let's put another closet!!
And so on and so on...

Life is in construction right now. Soon to be continued.

Fairy Tales

It's him. The frog. It actually turned out to be the prince we all dream about. I'm in love, I can't deny it. Yes!! Finally me! Who would have thought?
It has been a sort of modern fairy tale indeed, no horse, no bad stepmother. I did have a few bad dates though... :s
After searching for a long time and just a week after accepting I was to become an eternal single, he came into my life.
It was worth waiting.

Easter madness

What happened to Easter holidays? The last years seem to have changed into Easter from hell. Only bad things happen during that time. Of course, by any of those bad ones, there is always some positive lesson to take out of it, so at least I feel lucky after all.

Frogs' knowledge

I must admit, I've never had much knowledge about frogs. Today, during a little break in Amsterdam I saw these ones: very little, very beautiful (I also saw mice, but I did not think it was worth to make a photograph). I automatically liked both, the blue one (what a impressive colour!) and the yellow/black one as well. They looked so special...
Then I read under it: 'poisoneus'. WOW, what a meaning. No matter how much you like them, they can hurt you any time.
How adecuate to have a frog lesson today!!

After hitting the bottom, there is only one way

I have been through a lot and as we all know, when something bad comes, it never comes alone.
Lately everything seems to be quite quiet around my life. No big surprises. No drama.
I take now the lives of other people into mine and see how some of them go from extremely happy moments, to having problems one after one... I see it. I know how that feels. I can help being positive about it, because I do know: once you have hit the bottom, there is only one way to go: UP!! It is really great when you are over it and you can look back, knowing that such things are only temporary. As good luck is temporary, bad luck is as well.
I have reached now a point where i have all those 'seasons' behind me. There is nothing to worry about, nor to be really happy about. It is a quiet season now. What more could i ask for! Being in the middle is peaceful. It's a blessing. :)