Review 2016

1.What did you do in 2016 that you'd never done before?

Get wrapped in cling film & duct tape

2.Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Kept & already made new ones

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

No

4.Did anyone close to you die?

Yes, JP, 1948-2016

5.What countries did you visit?

Austria + the Netherlands.

6.What would you like to have in 2017 that you lacked in 2016?

A sufficiently full bank account

7.What date from 2016 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

22/3: The day I got a job & Brussels suffered terrorist attacks. And I almost slept through all of it.

8.What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Scoring 84 on my initial training completion test.

9.What was your biggest failure?

/

10.Did you suffer illness or injury?

Nothing severe

11.What was the best thing you bought?

A purple Share by Fun Factory

12.Whose behaviour merited celebration?

Helen's for listening to all my dating stories

13.Whose behavior made you [appalled and depressed] sad?

I'm happy to say: Nobody's

14.Where did most of your money go?

Rent, public transport and penalties for overdue payments

15.What events did you get really, really, really excited about?

My trips to AT + NL

16.What song will always remind you of 2016?

The Year of the Cat (Cougar)

17.Compared to this time last year, are you: 

i.happier or sadder? Happier!

ii.thinner or fatter? Fatter, but it's ok

iii.richer or poorer? A tiny bit more at ease financially

18.What do you wish you'd done more of?

Date

19.What do you wish you'd done less of?

BFRB, as always

20.How will you be spending Christmas?

Spent it with parents & godmothers

21.Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?

Customers

22.Did you fall in love in 2016?

Only in lust…

23. How many one-night stands?

5 or so

24. What was your favorite TV program?

Downton Abbey

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

/

26. What was the best book you read?

Don't think I managed a single one

27. What was your greatest musical discovery or rediscovery?

Discovery: 5FDP, rediscovery: Aerosmith

28. What did you want and get?

A better job

29. What did you want and not get?

/

30. What were your favorite films of this year?

Didn't watch a lot

31.What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

39 and cold-called Austrians who were not amused

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Fewer sleepless nights

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2016?

Swoosh!

34. What kept you sane?

Sexual innuendo in the office

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most/least?

Most: Ryan Philippe

36. What political issue stirred you the most?

Brexit

37. Who did you miss?

Nobody

38. Who were the best new people you met?

The "Zoo" at work

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2016

Change doesn't have to be scary.

40. What are your plans for 2017?

2nd tattoo, birthday trip to Bilbao, Xmas with the family, keep the job, stay healthy & enjoy life.

2015 review

Okay, this is going to be a fun one. Fasten seatbelts.

1.What did you do in 2015 that you'd never done before?
Visited a swingers club, took part in a threesome, had 80 needles placed in my back for fun
2.Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Kept the one I made, will make one for next year.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

No
4.Did anyone close to you die?
Not that I'm aware of.
5.What countries did you visit?
Only the Netherlands.
6.What would you like to have in 2016 that you lacked in 2015?
Health and common sense
7.What date from 2015 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
10/12: The day I got a job and ended a fling.
8.What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Trusting people again
9.What was your biggest failure?
Getting myself into financial difficulties
10.Did you suffer illness or injury?
 Necrotizing tonsils, followed by tonsillectomy

11.What was the best thing you bought?

Android tablet, it gets me through sleepless nights and wakes me gently in the morning. Okay, around noon.
12.Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Serge's. He's come a long way since I left.
13.Whose behavior made you [appalled and depressed] sad?
The fling's inability to see that it wasn't her or me, but could've been her and me.
14.Where did most of your money go?
Rent and public transmport
15.What events did you get really, really, really excited about?
Dates with the fling
16.What song will always remind you of 2015?
Welcome to the Jungle
17.Compared to this time last year, are you:
i.happier or sadder? Happier!
ii.thinner or fatter? Thinner!
iii.richer or poorer? Poorer, but that's about to change
18.What do you wish you'd done more of?
Taking care of my health
19.What do you wish you'd done less of?
BFRB
20.How will you be spending Christmas?
With the cat, working on a craft project
21.Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
Helen
22.Did you fall in love in 2015?

I had 3 serious crushes
23. How many one-night stands?
30
24. What was your favorite TV program?
Sens8
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No.
26. What was the best book you read?
Alan Cumming's autobiography
27. What was your greatest musical discovery or rediscovery?
None
28. What did you want and get?
A job
29. What did you want and not get?
A sweet vanilla date with the fling.
30. What were your favorite films of this year?
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
31.What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
38 and had coffee with a friend, then attended the munch in Ghent
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Better health in the second half of the year
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2015?
Hey, I got pretty legs!
34. What kept you sane?
Venlafaxine
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most/least?
Most: Damon Salvatore

Least: Ian Somerhalder
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
The show the Belgian government made about terrorist threat
37. Who did you miss?
Nobody
38. Who were the best new people you met?
(in order of appearance) Fling, Smurf, Wolfie, Naros, Ra
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2015
Take your painkillers before it becomes too painful to swallow
40. What are your plans for 2016?
Birthday trip to Rotterdam, spa-day for steady contract

https://www.facebook.com/SHENworks

Review Survey 2014

1.What did you do in 2014 that you'd never done before?
Became board member at a non-profit.
2.Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't keep a single one of them. Don't think I'll make any for 2015
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

My friends Fie&Pie had their 2nd baby
4.Did anyone close to you die?
No.
5.What countries did you visit?
Czech Republic in February and that's about it
6.What would you like to have in 2015 that you lacked in 2014?
Motivation to return to work
7.What date from 2014 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
19/1: Sparkle with Conchita Wurst. My first steps into the LGBT world
8.What was your biggest achievement of the year?

The launch of our reborn LGBT movement
9.What was your biggest failure?
Not passing the entry exam for dental technician training
10.Did you suffer illness or injury?
I realized that I had gone off my meds too early. Back on since September
11.What was the best thing you bought?
My Sparkle ticket
12.Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Helen's. She invited me for Christmas Eve
13.Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
A certain colleague's in the movement
14.Where did most of your money go?
Rent
15.What events did you get really, really, really excited about?
The launch
16.What song will always remind you of 2014?
Rise like a phoenix
17.Compared to this time last year, are you:
i.happier or sadder? Happier!
ii.thinner or fatter? Thinner!
iii.richer or poorer? Probably poorer, but hey, see i. & ii.
18.What do you wish you'd done more of?
Loving myself
19.What do you wish you'd done less of?
Emotional Eating
20.How will you be spending Christmas?
No idea
21.Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
Helen
22.Did you fall in love in 2014?
No, but I tried to date
23. How many one-night stands?
Zero
24. What was your favorite TV program?
Sons of Anarchy
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No.
26. What was the best book you read?
"Oud = Out"
27. What was your greatest musical discovery or rediscovery?
Daft Punk
28. What did you want and get?
More friends
29. What did you want and not get?
A spot in Optometry training
30. What were your favorite films of this year?
"Pride" and "Any Day Now"
31.What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
37 and I visited Dali & Mucha in Prague.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Getting a spot in optometry
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2014?
Dykin' it
34. What kept you sane?
Encouragements and laughter with fellow volunteers
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most/least?
Most: Conchita
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
LGBT issues
37. Who did you miss?
Ikiryo
38. Who were the best new people you met?
Every single volunteer & our Ventana coaches
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2014
It's all just façade
40. What are your plans for 2014?
Find a  job and keep it.

Time to yell "Plot Twist!" and move on.

found on tumblr

Geography

The actual reason why I decided to write about geography today.

For the entire 8-year stretch of middle school, I had the same geography teacher: Mag. Norbert "Geomayr" Mayr. He was feared by most of us for being one of the strictest teachers at our school. During the 5 minute break before his class started, we each had to get our atlas of the world, geography text book and note book, all neatly stacked on one corner of our desk. In case we had forgotten one or more of our books at home; we had to report this immediately upon the start of the lesson. There was a quiz in every lesson.
I remember being at my most rebellious around 14 and having been called to stand next to the teacher's desk for one such quiz, I failed to answer some (or all?) of Geomayr's questions. He would address us by our surnames back then, so he said to me, "[my surname], your knowledge is showing as many holes as your jeans." I'll never forget that. I also remember him formally asking my peers and me if it would be okay to call us by our first names when we were 15. Such a peculiar thing to do, this was in 1992 and by then some of his fellow teachers had offered us that we call them by their first names...

I graduated from highschool in 1995 and decided to attend the academy for teaching 10- to 14-year-olds. My chosen subjects were German (because I was never good at maths and didn't have the confidence to teach English - imagine that!) and Geography - exactly the same combination Geomayr taught, but at a different level. That year, Austria had joined the European Union and my new geography teacher decided to take us on a field trip to Belgium in May 1996, so we could visit the European institutions there, see Zeebrugge, the polders (transport & geology being part of geography lessons then) and meet with colleagues at both the catholic and the state academy for teaching professions.
There were 9 students, four of which decided to have as much fun as possible during that trip, the others preferred to stay in their rooms. To my big surprise I found myself with the "fun" group, drinking Sangria in Bruges, Tequila Sunrise in Brussels and teaching our host at the youth hotel in Bredene how to prepare white wine Spritzer.
It sounds cliché, but the last evening there, he showed up. Alain was loud and irritating and looked at bit silly with his long curly hair and ring beard, but we started talking and the next morning I left our host a note with my postal address on it and asked him if he could pass it on to Alain. A week or two later the first of many letters from Belgium arrived and set into motion the chain of events which lead to me now writing this blog while looking out across the rooftops of Ostend and listening to my cat snoring next to me.

Around the World in Antwerp

I've been meaning to write this long post explaining a couple of things that have happened since January, but then I procrastinated and it never happened, and other posts that would've followed from "that big one" were never written.

So, I've decided to blog anyway, explain along the way or not at all.

Here I am, out & about in Antwerp, on a little excursion with a bunch of lovely people.

The trip was organized by the West-Flemish Rainbow House, where I started volunteering in February. It's not always fun & drinks there (though, frankly, often enough), but I've made so many new connections, met people from different walks of life. I still seem to get along better with people 15 - 25 years my senior though, so little change from my knitting groups there.

My main job as a volunteer is website maintenance, with a side of newsletters and social media.