I duly apologize to those few, but important people, who might have come to this blog hoping for news, but nothing has happened in the past two months. Oops. I'm sorry.
I realize I need to reshape this beginning of a blog, because it's not working as a
"I'm far away from home, so near and dear ones please read and comment"
blog, like the capital blogs in Dublin and Madrid. This time, though in a
capital, I feel like I'm home. That's probably why it's been hard for
me to write, since I don't really find the need to write about things in
my everyday life. Plus, another reason why I haven't written is my
"I'll do it once I get my thesis done, if I do it now, it takes time
away from writing my thesis"-attitude. This attitude hasn't lead me
anywhere, just that I haven't gotten anything done - no blog, no thesis.
But tonight that will change. A cab will come pick me up in the morning, in nine hours,
to take me to the train station, where a train will take me to Paris
airport, where a plane will take me to Armenia. Before going in that
cab, I need to have sent something to my professor. Anything. Asking for
comments and suggestions. To get my thesis forward.
Then I'll rethink the blog. I know how much I enjoy reading the blogs of my dear friends, so I want to give something back. I'll let you know once I get my act together.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Les Petits Riens, books and movies
During the weekend we also went to a antique/ second hand store called Les Petits Riens (little nothings). They wouldn't sell us one bureau that we were interested in since it was part of an ensemble, and we didn't want the rest of the furniture. The rest of the furniture weren't that impressive, nor was the clothes but in the book section we found a bit of cheap treasures. M bought some fiction and a guide to DC (he has his other one in Finland and needs one for his trip in a couple of weeks) and I bought two paper backs.
It wasn't before we were home when I realized they both are situated in New York. Looking forward to the trip in May! I assured myself it was OK to buy chick lit since the other one was in French. Today I actually finished the other book, the very sophisticated and intellectual "Summer in the City" - the prequal to Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell. It was so interesting to read how Carrie met Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte, that I read the over 400 page book entirely on Sunday. Quite an easy read.
My recent choices in movies compensate though the shallow books. We watched J. Edgar on Friday, which is based on the life of the founder of the FBI and portrays his life very well. It was a touching movie and though I was tired in the beginning after a hectic work week, I managed to stay awake and watch it all.
With my colleagues we went to watch the Iron Lady a few weeks ago. We all agreed that it was very good, even our Brit. It gave fair picture of Margaret Thatcher and Maryl Streep did a great job deserving her third Oscar. It jumped a lot between the past and present and at leas I wouldn't have minded seeing more of her career at it's height.
Both J. Edgar and the Iron Lady are worth watching, giving an insight into the lives of prominent leaders. They are made well enough to be very entertaining and not to be at all like boring documentaries. Which they certainly are not.
It wasn't before we were home when I realized they both are situated in New York. Looking forward to the trip in May! I assured myself it was OK to buy chick lit since the other one was in French. Today I actually finished the other book, the very sophisticated and intellectual "Summer in the City" - the prequal to Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell. It was so interesting to read how Carrie met Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte, that I read the over 400 page book entirely on Sunday. Quite an easy read.
My recent choices in movies compensate though the shallow books. We watched J. Edgar on Friday, which is based on the life of the founder of the FBI and portrays his life very well. It was a touching movie and though I was tired in the beginning after a hectic work week, I managed to stay awake and watch it all.
With my colleagues we went to watch the Iron Lady a few weeks ago. We all agreed that it was very good, even our Brit. It gave fair picture of Margaret Thatcher and Maryl Streep did a great job deserving her third Oscar. It jumped a lot between the past and present and at leas I wouldn't have minded seeing more of her career at it's height.
Both J. Edgar and the Iron Lady are worth watching, giving an insight into the lives of prominent leaders. They are made well enough to be very entertaining and not to be at all like boring documentaries. Which they certainly are not.
Weekend
The weekend was very laid back, with some yoga, jogging and plenty of eating...
For Saturday evening M had booked a table for us at a wonderful restaurant Switch, by Saint Katherine cathedral. Because last Saturday night dinner was a flop - we hadn't booked and our favorite Houtsipilou was full (like all other nice places we noticed) we ended up in a not so nice restaurant with not so nice food, this dinner felt sensational. We had three courses with the recommended wines and the food and service was impeccable. Will definitely return there after having made sure of making a reservation beforehand, the small restaurant was full and many couples were turned away at the door. No wonder since it was such a culinary experience.
On Sunday because of the beautiful spring weather, we went to eat "lunch" at Place Jourdain, consisting of a large cornet of frites and mayo and sauce andalouse. There is a friterie that has been at the square for 64 years and there is always a line for the fries. They have a deal with the bars on the square that you can enjoy your frites in their premises, so we ate ours in the sun on one of the terraces. Our dinner was then a steak and salad (since we already had the fries in our stomachs) which was served in our garage, where we sat with the door open and had our own private outdoor restaurant. The people walking by were quite amused.
Also the last of the Fazer's blue chocolate was consumed as well as vanilla ice cream and the first fresh strawberries of the year. Yummy!
For Saturday evening M had booked a table for us at a wonderful restaurant Switch, by Saint Katherine cathedral. Because last Saturday night dinner was a flop - we hadn't booked and our favorite Houtsipilou was full (like all other nice places we noticed) we ended up in a not so nice restaurant with not so nice food, this dinner felt sensational. We had three courses with the recommended wines and the food and service was impeccable. Will definitely return there after having made sure of making a reservation beforehand, the small restaurant was full and many couples were turned away at the door. No wonder since it was such a culinary experience.
On Sunday because of the beautiful spring weather, we went to eat "lunch" at Place Jourdain, consisting of a large cornet of frites and mayo and sauce andalouse. There is a friterie that has been at the square for 64 years and there is always a line for the fries. They have a deal with the bars on the square that you can enjoy your frites in their premises, so we ate ours in the sun on one of the terraces. Our dinner was then a steak and salad (since we already had the fries in our stomachs) which was served in our garage, where we sat with the door open and had our own private outdoor restaurant. The people walking by were quite amused.
Also the last of the Fazer's blue chocolate was consumed as well as vanilla ice cream and the first fresh strawberries of the year. Yummy!
During the week
What other things worth mentioning have I done this week?
I attended a discussion by the European Policy Centre's Future Lab - forum for young professionals, which was on the gap between politics and youth. It was funny how I introduced myself to an MEP from Denmark who was talking to a friend of mine, and didn't realize it was her until she said her name and I was like "oh so you're one of the speakers here", haha. She wasn't offended though, since she was elected at the age of 25 and often people don't realize she's actually a member.
I went to the Euro-Mediterranean forum on solar energy where the commissioner on energy, Gunther Oettinger spoke (which I hadn't realized earlier). Then I also listened at a conference by a Greek MEP on renewable energy cooperatives and systems, where I realized I want to go to Aachen in Germany where you can go up to a wind turbine of 1,5 MW and at the end of the spiral staircase there is a platform at 60 meters where you can look at the view and the spinning blades (quite cool). I also went to a seminar on Arctic oil resources organized by the Northern Norway interest office and learned a lot about oil pumping and the new Goliat project. I did skip some seminars due to overlapping, one of them being on Transatlantic energy, which was a bit regrettable.
I had a rendez vous at the Commune to register and it all went well since I already had a Belgian identity number from my previous stay in Belgium, so it made it all a bit faster.
There was the 18th national session of EYP Belgium, with general assembly in the actual European Parliament. Fun for the delegates to have European Youth Parliament sessions at the EP, and also fun for me to be able to go watch the Closing Ceremony. I'm so glad to have an access badge of my own through work. I met up with some Finnish EYPers the previous evening to catch up a bit over a dinner in London, on Place Luxembourg (in Brussels though).
I attended a discussion by the European Policy Centre's Future Lab - forum for young professionals, which was on the gap between politics and youth. It was funny how I introduced myself to an MEP from Denmark who was talking to a friend of mine, and didn't realize it was her until she said her name and I was like "oh so you're one of the speakers here", haha. She wasn't offended though, since she was elected at the age of 25 and often people don't realize she's actually a member.
I went to the Euro-Mediterranean forum on solar energy where the commissioner on energy, Gunther Oettinger spoke (which I hadn't realized earlier). Then I also listened at a conference by a Greek MEP on renewable energy cooperatives and systems, where I realized I want to go to Aachen in Germany where you can go up to a wind turbine of 1,5 MW and at the end of the spiral staircase there is a platform at 60 meters where you can look at the view and the spinning blades (quite cool). I also went to a seminar on Arctic oil resources organized by the Northern Norway interest office and learned a lot about oil pumping and the new Goliat project. I did skip some seminars due to overlapping, one of them being on Transatlantic energy, which was a bit regrettable.
I had a rendez vous at the Commune to register and it all went well since I already had a Belgian identity number from my previous stay in Belgium, so it made it all a bit faster.
There was the 18th national session of EYP Belgium, with general assembly in the actual European Parliament. Fun for the delegates to have European Youth Parliament sessions at the EP, and also fun for me to be able to go watch the Closing Ceremony. I'm so glad to have an access badge of my own through work. I met up with some Finnish EYPers the previous evening to catch up a bit over a dinner in London, on Place Luxembourg (in Brussels though).
A week of women
Since it was International Women's day on Thursday the 8th of March, there have been some fun events organized in Brussels.
There was a whole day seminar on Equality in the workplace, but since it cost some 400 pounds, I didn't attend. Instead I went to some interesting, fun and free ones.
The Vagina Monologues were performed by MEPs in the Parliament on Tuesday evening and the woman who had written them, Eve Ensler, was also present. Quite brave of the MEPs to stand on stage and read the monologues, amongst them Sirpa Pietikäinen who pulled of hers with dedication and really put her soul into the text. The V-day project is about ending violence against women and next year on Valentine's day they have their biggest campaign yet, One Million Rising - which urges people to go out and dance to stop the violence that a billion women and girls experience.
Then on Wednesday there was a screening of the movie Made in Dagenham at one of the auditoriums in the EP. The movie was super good, funny, sad, educational and entertaining. I put it in the same category with the Help and Calendar Girls and recommend to see it. It's about the 187 female workers in the Ford factory in Dagenham, who strike until the whole factory closes since there are no leather seats left, for equal pay for women. The fact that it is based on a true events and characters makes it all the more interesting.
On then the actual Women's day, there was a large scale seminar in the hemicycle of the EP, and the president of the European Parliament Martin Schultz opened the seminar. Commissioner Viviane Reding also gave a speech there along with experts, feminists and members of national parliaments. I learned a lot and have tormented some of my friends with statistics of pay gaps in different European countries (ex. Finland over 20%, Italy 5,5% since so few women work, Estonia over 30% and the average is 17%) and how men usually earn more without tertiary degrees than women who actually have obtained university degrees.
Here's a funny video (only one minute long) made by the commission, that get's the message across quite well in my opinion. http://www.youtube.com/user/EUJustice?feature=guide
There was a whole day seminar on Equality in the workplace, but since it cost some 400 pounds, I didn't attend. Instead I went to some interesting, fun and free ones.
The Vagina Monologues were performed by MEPs in the Parliament on Tuesday evening and the woman who had written them, Eve Ensler, was also present. Quite brave of the MEPs to stand on stage and read the monologues, amongst them Sirpa Pietikäinen who pulled of hers with dedication and really put her soul into the text. The V-day project is about ending violence against women and next year on Valentine's day they have their biggest campaign yet, One Million Rising - which urges people to go out and dance to stop the violence that a billion women and girls experience.
Then on Wednesday there was a screening of the movie Made in Dagenham at one of the auditoriums in the EP. The movie was super good, funny, sad, educational and entertaining. I put it in the same category with the Help and Calendar Girls and recommend to see it. It's about the 187 female workers in the Ford factory in Dagenham, who strike until the whole factory closes since there are no leather seats left, for equal pay for women. The fact that it is based on a true events and characters makes it all the more interesting.
On then the actual Women's day, there was a large scale seminar in the hemicycle of the EP, and the president of the European Parliament Martin Schultz opened the seminar. Commissioner Viviane Reding also gave a speech there along with experts, feminists and members of national parliaments. I learned a lot and have tormented some of my friends with statistics of pay gaps in different European countries (ex. Finland over 20%, Italy 5,5% since so few women work, Estonia over 30% and the average is 17%) and how men usually earn more without tertiary degrees than women who actually have obtained university degrees.
Here's a funny video (only one minute long) made by the commission, that get's the message across quite well in my opinion. http://www.youtube.com/user/EUJustice?feature=guide
Hot Bikram - the reason why I haven't updated in a while
I solemnly swear to improve with this blogging thing, it's just so easy to forget that I created this blog and since the past week has been busy busy, updating has slipped my mind...
One of the reasons I have been busy is my new hobby: Bikram yoga. Hot Bikram yoga if I may add. I tried it for the first time a week ago and am hooked. I had a weeks pass and could go to as many classes as I wanted, but unfortunately I had to work too, so I only made it to 3 x 90 minute passes. Fun how I noticed I'd improved quite a bit from the first one. The first time I had to focus on breathing all the time in order not to pass out.. there was some dizziness though.
The yoga studio is heated to over 40 degrees, so it makes the muscles warm up right away so the 26 poses that the class consists of can be stretched further than in normal temperature. Plus you get all the toxins out of your body by sweating like crazy. The towel on the yoga mat is soaking wet once the class is over. Quite refreshing. I will buy a ten time card and try going once a week from now on. It's also good training for the half marathon, since I noticed that my oxygen intake and durance had increased when I went jogging. Yay!
One of the reasons I have been busy is my new hobby: Bikram yoga. Hot Bikram yoga if I may add. I tried it for the first time a week ago and am hooked. I had a weeks pass and could go to as many classes as I wanted, but unfortunately I had to work too, so I only made it to 3 x 90 minute passes. Fun how I noticed I'd improved quite a bit from the first one. The first time I had to focus on breathing all the time in order not to pass out.. there was some dizziness though.
The yoga studio is heated to over 40 degrees, so it makes the muscles warm up right away so the 26 poses that the class consists of can be stretched further than in normal temperature. Plus you get all the toxins out of your body by sweating like crazy. The towel on the yoga mat is soaking wet once the class is over. Quite refreshing. I will buy a ten time card and try going once a week from now on. It's also good training for the half marathon, since I noticed that my oxygen intake and durance had increased when I went jogging. Yay!
Friday, March 2, 2012
20k in May
After preparing a PM lunch during the day with 9 prominent liberal heads of state and a press conference, we popped a bottle of bubbly for my colleague and then continued her Birthday celebrations after work. We went to Place Lux where most stagiaires and other EP people gather every Thursday (when the MEPs have gone to their constituencies for the weekend) and had some B-day beers at Ralph's bar and then continued to Beer Factory for fries.
Later on when I was home with the Kriek and frites in my belly, I had the brilliant idea of registering to run the Brussels half marathon in May for Women's rights. I signed up to the European Women's Lobby team and paid the fee immediately, so I couldn't chicken out. Still haven't made up my mind if it was a good idea or not, we'll see in May!
Later on when I was home with the Kriek and frites in my belly, I had the brilliant idea of registering to run the Brussels half marathon in May for Women's rights. I signed up to the European Women's Lobby team and paid the fee immediately, so I couldn't chicken out. Still haven't made up my mind if it was a good idea or not, we'll see in May!
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