Did I ever say an engagement was an elephant, madam?

Footnotes excepted, I've as good as finished the judicial chaper. All I need is a good translation of 'rechtsvrede' and I just can't find one anywhere.

Also, in the spirit of me starting Lent three weeks early, my mum is not making pancakes tonight. Sadness ensuing. Exactly a year since me and Matt's pancake tasting session and the subsequent korfball training session with very full bellies as well. Manchester I miss thee.

..nowhere better to get into the Christmas atmosphere. Especially with an account full of euros waiting to be spent on VATless 1,12 euro pounds. I've already bought so many beautiful things I'm a tad embarassed to admit it. Off to Manchester tomorrow, for a curry at Matt's, but not before a hearing some beautiful carols in York Minister. I've missed Manchester so much! So excited to be back there, and starting to be a bit freaked out about the ceremony now.. what if I mess up the protocol?

Monday's Steve's and Tuesday I'm meeting Emily in town. She's been so eager to have me staying at her parents' in Knutsford that I might give in.. if Steve won't be too insulted I'll only stay at his for one night. I'd love to see her old haunted house she's been bragging about since I've known her.

Oh, and I saw Chaucer's a Knight's Tale and a Merchant's Tale tonight, starring the fabulous Hsin-Chi and Merel, in a gorgeous tiny little church. Oh so lovely.

5 December - Nouk's Sinterklaas gig. Hopefully I can make it! Don't want to miss Sinterklaas in Sesame Street though..
6 December - Sinterklaas pressie and surprise night! :D 't heelijk avondje is gekomen..
8 December - Acda & de Munnik live in Gouda theatre. Woop woop!
10 December - flying to Leeds Bradford! Staying at Hsins's for a coupe of days, experiencing the life of a York student and maybe even go and see the Bronte house!
17 December - Before then I go and stay in Manchester for a couple of days, and maybe even pay a quick visit to Ian and Emily Liverpool, but on the 17th my parents, sisters, brother in law, aunt, uncle and cousins come and join me in Mancs.
18 December - grad ceremony!
20 December - back to Dutchieland.. :(
.. and then it's the Christmas holidays, in Holland (unfortunately), but it can't be all tha bad with a stack of fresh Waterstone's books and HMV dvds. I received 100 euros worth of vouchers for my translating job, know where that's going! :D I don't think I'm going to bring a lot of clothes either. Let the shopping commence!

All I have to do is figure out how I'm going to spend 10-17 December. I know I can stay at Steve's (he's got a spare room) and hopefully Matt'll still be around as well. I'm thinking comedy night at Bar XS on Tuesday, like old times!

My parents have booked a hotel/appartment for four people in Manchester for 17-20 December. There's me, my mum, my dad and hopefully Nouk. Marieke really wants to come but we might have to accept that'll be impossible with her classes and all. Then my auntie. She's coming, my cousin Mariella is (the one who got married), and now my uncle and other cousin with girlfriend might come as well! It's lovely and all, but I really hope they won't expect me to arrange tickets for the ceremony for all of them. Frankly, I'd be lucky to get four, and I asked Hsins to come as well. Ah well, we'll see.. I'm very excited about it all anyway. I'm thinking about flying to the UK straight after Sinterklaas, and plan my Manchester/Liverpool/York/London blitzbesuchs accordingly.

Planning all this makes me really happy, because I've been feeling absolutely shite recently. I'm just sitting around waiting for the hospital to call, making myself more and more depressed by thinking about how useless I am, and that I should be working, and that i'll never get a good job. I also really miss having some good friends around, because two out of my three good friends here have gone abroad, and Nouk and Mariek are too busy with their own lives (and so they should be) to spend that much time with a useless bum such as myself.

I've been devising loads of little plans to keep busy, and distract myself from the endless wallowing and self-pity that is so very unlike me. Today I've baked cookies with Nouk. Doctor Who-cies to be exact, and they look really pretty, but are inedible because we used too much salt. Oops. Anyway, here I am, knitting and baking, thinking seriously about opting for a career as housewife. Do I really need to find a husband for that?

This place makes me so happy, it's silly.

I'm feeling great, for I'm sat here eating HEMA eierkoeken and drinking Tesco finest Earl Grey. Surely, one day I'll find the perfect way to be part of both cultures. Until then, this'll have to do.

Om nom nom indeed.

Checklist.

- All braced up. CHECK.

- Dissertation on schedule - semi-CHECK. Wanted to have completed a draught version of all three chapters plus intro, and it looks like I'll have one intro and one chapter completed. I've got just over two weeks left, so not too bad considering.

- Flight details and transport for tomorrow. CHECK.

- Packed. Nothing to pack, CHECK.

Everything feels strange at the moment. I want time to go slowly, just as much as I'd like it to go quickly.

I've visited the counties in yellow. Which counties have you visited? made by marnanel map reproduced from Ordnance Survey map data by permission of the Ordnance Survey. © Crown copyright 2001.

This is my county map (stolen from CaroVince), but not until this Sunday, after mine and Nouk's North East Voyage, and our random but brilliant Shropshire plan for Sunday (more about that later). Quite impressive though isn't it? The anglophile in me is well chuffed. I haven't even counted counties I've seen through a train window, just where my oversize Dutchie feet have one touched blessed British county earth. bit gutted Northern Ireland isn't on the map though. I know it's not part of Great Britain, but still!

Anyway, back to this week's events. Me and Nouk ave just continued having a great time after coming back from Glasto. I've been trying to squeeze in as much dissertation work as possible (even though most of it might have been novel reading) and today and tomorrow my lovely sis has allowed me to stay in and have two full days of dissertation work while she goes living it up with the Womgroupies in Liverpool. Tomorrow night I'm joining them for, yes, a Wombats gig in a small bar in Liverpool. We better get that last train back though, because on Tursday morning we're leaving for Newcastle, quite early and all. Then it's three long days in Newcastle, Durham and of course Hartlepool with our local tour guide, woo!

We get back on Saturday night and we were first going to use Sunday to recover, but as I was borwsing The Holloways website (they were the soundtrack to our Glasto and have been to the rest of Anouk's stay) and I saw they did a gig in Shrewsbury. I checked their website, and it turned out to be a one day festival, in a park in the centre of town, with The Mystery Jets playing as well! And it was only £20.. Before we could change our minds, we'd booked ourselves tickets and a train journey back and forth. The weather is probably going to be rubbish, but woooo another day of festival joy! We bought the Holloways and Mystery Jets albums so we'll be all ready and it's going to be amazing.

http://www.indiecosundaysocial.co.uk/

Sooo much more to come this week! Mind you, last week was great as well, and thoug we stayed in Manchester quite a lot we did have a lovely time going to the Trafford Centre, the Elizabeth Gaskell house (finally!!), the Victoria Baths, the Cornerhouse (The Edge of Love, a tad disappointing I must say!), the Frog and Bucket (comedy) and our day trips to Blackpool and York (the latter consisted of meeting up with Hsins and her medieaval buddies, eating free cake in church, hiding from the rain, walking in the sunshine, browsing all the brilliant tiny shops and buying Marieke a Gollywog but playing with it all the time ourselves). Also, Anouk's discovered Doctor Who and is now absolutely in love with David Tennant, bless her. Aren't we all though haha..

22 April - Rach's birthday. I believe we're going for a meal and night out, should be good fun

23-29 April. Nederland, possibly a good night out in Amsterdam with the korf people, and just generally enjoying being home (again) and the doc taking off my knee brace!

(30 April - Koninginnedag in Sheffield? Dave invited me on facebook, but I don't want to be to presumptious, Rich and/or Rhian, let me know what you think.. It sounds like great fun, anyway)

2 May. Matt's birthday and Hayley's birthday party (must someone manage to combine the two, oops)

(Deadlines 13 May aagh)

15-18 May. Holland again. Mariella's wedding.

28 or 29 May. Julie-Marie is taking us to see a play! Also, we might have a Vic studies Alton Towers trip around this time. Emma works there, soo discount woo!

6-10 June. Copenhagen!

15 June. Amstell!

25-30 June. Glasto!

I've still got no idea what's going to happen in July though, don't even know where I'm gonna live.. oops..

..but simply too exhausted to be bothered to write anything. Mmmm my bed is so nice and soft, I've missed it.

I was watching Cold Feet with Nouk yesterday, and now I really miss Manchester. I get so sad thinking that next time I'm here for a long period of time, I probably won't have lovely housemates to return to, and nothing else soon after..

maybe I should look for a job, at least a temporary one. Aaagh I don't know.

when I got home yesterday (liverpool-coach-manchester-wrong train-manchester airport- right train-mauldeth road station-hooome)I was surprised to see light in Alice's room and Matt's car parked outside. Had no idea when everyone was coming back but apparently they'd all just come back the day before yesterday, so woo, lovely! Everyone's locked themselves away to do some strict revision though, even Matt (who I didn't see until 11pm, which is when he came back from revision, mental). I'm glad Rachel has only got essays to hand in as well, rather than exams, otherwise the whole house would be in strict revision mode till the end of next week. Everyone should be done before Nouk is coming though: exactly two weeks fom now, woo!

I'm really stuck with this essay, pff. I love having lovely coursemates, our facebookage is getting me trough these essays. We're all going out on Tuesday to celebrate wrapping up the first semester, so I can finally wear my splendid new Albert Cuyp top weehooo

Right.

Back to work.

And no more facebooking!

Ah well, maybe just a bit.