2016 - april mei juni

Again, it hasn't been the easiest year but damn have I tried. Some of my biggest work-related dreams came true, I've seen lovely places, had amazing people around me, felt loved and supported and sometimes lonely but who does not? I took all chances, have been a crazy lot outside of my comfort zone, found a new home and mostly: I have not given up. There's been panic attacks and anxiety, but I'm still standing and still smiling. I am proud - and so so ready for a new year.

So, here's to the good things, the second part of the first half of the year:


^
In April, I saw my own words in print in a real magazine for the first time! / enjoyed spring coming closer / went to a pretty Postcards from Mars-concert / moved! / explored my new neighborhood and loved it so much (already) / made my new little home be more like my new home / enjoyed nice little (after work) parties at work / tried this new hotdog place that soon turned into one of my new Utrecht favorites / liked my new home so much / celebrated reaching our work target with gin & tonics.


^
In May, spring arrived for real / I ate the first ice cream of the year / felt even more at home in my new home, especially when I bought my first dining table ever! / loved all the wistaria blooming / played a little kubb competition and won! / started teaching Norwegian again / had more fun events at work / bought lots of pretty flowers / saw the year's best concert: Highasakite!


^
In June, I got the loveliest visit from Oslo and spent some days biking in the national park / finally visited the botanical gardens in Amsterdam / had lovely dinner dates / drank more gin & tonics / had lots of lovely coffee and lunch dates, too / discovered Gü-desserts! / finally felt good enough to do some traveling again! / spent a long weekend in Belgium, cheering for the Belgian soccer team and seeing lots of friends / was a guest in a podcast! / saw the documentary i subtitled in the cinema!

Let's stay honest: I enjoyed spring a lot and had many fun things to do outside work (and sometimes after work), but damn how exhausting are colleagues who don't do (or give) a shit?! I very often felt sad, slow and simply scared, was afraid to get a burn-out sometime soon and had more panic attacks in those 3 months than an average person in their complete life - i guess.

Ps:
2015 - april mai juni.
2014 - 4월 mei juni.

2016 - januar februari maart

Again, it hasn't been the easiest year but damn have I tried. Some of my biggest work-related dreams came true, I've seen lovely places, had amazing people around me, felt loved and supported and sometimes lonely but who does not? I took all chances, have been a crazy lot outside of my comfort zone, found a new home and mostly: I have not given up. There's been panic attacks and anxiety, but I'm still standing and still smiling. I am proud - and so so ready for a new year.

So, here's to the good things, the first three months of the year:


^
In January, I got to see the Munch + Van Gogh exhibition in the end / officially quit my mail sorting job! / spent a weekend in Copenhagen with both snow and Yayoi Kusama's awesome exhibition! / made new friends / played offline Pac-Man / make my first big reportage for Utrecht-magazine De Dakhaas, on the city's best views / saw even Utrecht in snow! / was flown into Northern Norway to interpret and subtitle a documentary movie! / saw northern lights ánd nacreous clouds! / celebrated the return of the sun with hot chocolate / discovered (and got addicted to) Skam / unexpectedly spent some days in Oslo.


^
In February, I had the best "extra" days in Oslo / was happy to go back home as well! / started a new job, my first "real" one! / enjoyed my morning walks to the office / saw some first little signs of spring / enjoyed my 1 day off a week mostly with homemade soup and magazines / enjoyed the weekends a lot too, often with cake and friends.


^
In March, I got a little more used to working 32 hours a week / found the swing along the Utrecht canals / found out about the perks of working in Amsterdam: foreign friends are here sometimes, and I can catch up with them during my lunch break! / enjoyed early spring in the botanical garden / went for a graffiti walk in the neighborhood / found a pizza place I actually like! / spent a lovely day in Maastricht / had the best little house party with my housemates when our electricity broke down / saw Kakkmaddafakka / discovered Amsterdams game hall: TonTonClub / found a new place to live!

Let's stay honest: besides lots of fun stuff, lots of crappy stuff happened as well. It was super hard getting used to having a proper job (and the daily traveling), my health wasn't as its best (dentist horror, first aura migraine, first panic attack(s)) and scary things happened (a friend in a car accident on the other side of the world, the attack in Brussels and my former street looking like a war zone, water hit the electricity and my home became "unsafe"). So well, jep, not the easiest months.

Ps:
2015 - januar februar mars.
2014 - januari februari maart.

ísland, ii

Reykjavík. I flew back for a short week in the capital, incl. Iceland Airwaves festival and a little roadtrip along the south coast. And again: it was magical. Also listening to all the pretty music (here's a little playlist with my discoveries), seeing Of Monsters and Men in their home country again after 5 years and the coffees, the pastries, the people. The liquorice chocolate!

My best Reykjavík tips:

- rent a car and explore. Seljavallalaug, the swimming pool in "the middle of nowhere", definitely was my highlight;
- coffee at Reykjavík Roasters;
- cinnamon buns at Braud & Co;
- food and cakes at Babalú;
- buy wool! I'm no big knitter (yet), but the quality is amazing and the price so low;
- go swimming! If not in Seljavallalaug, try Laugardalslaug (in the city) or some other place;
- this app, the best I could've downloaded.

ísland, i

Akureyri. My second time in Iceland was just as magical as before - it's still a crazy country. Crazy pretty, crazy impressive, crazy amazing. From Reykjavík i took a plane further up to Akureyri, where my friend Ingeborg lives now. I arrived together with the first snow (!) and enjoyed the cute little streets and houses, the colorful walls, the walks and this great cake at Kaffi Ilmur.