At school~

I'm at school right now..
So it's just a quick update! ;)
I have no class right now, I'm killing some time..
Actually class starts in an hour...........

BORED!!

^^'

Anyway.. last Sunday, on my mother's birthday, I was playing the piano on stage! =D
I made not a single mistake! ^^
Although I thought I made one..
I was doubting whether I had repeated something.. XD (I played by heart, so without books)..
Buuut, it turned out I did well, without unnecessary repetitions.. keke..

My dad filmed my performance, I'm going to put it on YouTube! XD
When I do so, I'll make an entry with the YouTube movie! =)

I'll be going now! ^^
Byebye!! *waves*

~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
Always keep the faith.. DBSK FIGHTING! *~Maria

^^ Looking forward to tomorrow!! =)

Tomorrow is not "just a Sunday" or "just a day" even..
No, it's my mum's 49th birthday, or in Korean her 50th birthday ^^..
So, if I had lived in Korea, it would be a big party! ^^' but since I don't, it's going to be a big party next year.. XD
Anyway, it's still her birthday and I bought her a great present! xP

^^ I bought her a book where she can write down her own receipts in..
That's not all, I also bought a little something where you can grow seeds in, from a little plant you can eat.. called "tuinkers" in Dutch, but I don't know the English translation ㅡㅡㆀ
It has a specific design so you can cut the greens off clean without bits of soil coming with it..

I have made a card for my mum, drawing it with aquarel pencils.. (I hope it's correct English) ^^'

My English lacks when I have to describe specific objects I don't use often.. ㅡㅡㆀ
But hey, I'll learn from trying (and failing ㅡㅡㆀ).. ^^'

~~ That's it for today, or now at least.. XP ~~

BYEBYE!! =)

~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
Always keep the faith.. DBSK FIGHTING! *~Maria

Ghost Train.. XD

Today I went to pick up my present..
Long story short: I forgot my present when I got it on Saint Nicholas day, so I had to fetch it later XD

(A) If you had read my blog, you could have known.. and if you know me well, you could have known either.. ^^'

On Sunday (the day after Saint Nicholas day) I had called my aunt that I was going to visit to pick up my present this week.. but I didn't really told her when.. ^^'
She said it was okay and there would always be someone at home..

So today I went all the way to my aunt's house (which is a 2,5 hour journey by public transport).. When I finally arrived at their house, nobody was at home.. except for the cleaning lady.. ㅡㅡㆀ
Luckily she let me in to wait for my uncle (who had JUST left). ^^'
After I told her that I was a niece/cousin of the family... XP

Anyways, an hour later my uncle came back =)
I had spend the hour very happily behind my own laptop, writing at my fanfic! ^^
That to the side XD
So when my uncle came back he offered me something to drink and prepared me a piece of almond pastry letter!! yumyum.. =D

When we were just relaxing on the cough and talking about Maurice (my cousin) playing at a friend's house, Elousise (my other cousin) came back from school! =)
^^ So we started relaxing on the cough with the three of us.. XP

And then I was going home again..

After taking the bus back to the Central Station of Leiden, I had to take the train to Amsterdam Central Station..
.. but that train was:
1) crowded, so I had to stand.. (not overly crowded, but all seats were taken..)
2) creepy.. *bites nails* .. okay, not that creepy XD

I was standing near the doors, at the top of the little stairs that go down..
(For the people who know Dutch Railway transport; it was a Intercity train, the ones that make almost no noise and drive without shaking that much)..
Above the stairs was some sort of cabinet (probably for the electrician, to be able to fix errors and such), but from that cabinet came weird unhuman snores..
Sometimes it sounded like someone with a cold breathed in and out and at other times it sounded more like the flushing sounds of a toilet, but then with air instead of water..
Those sounds would come in rushes, sometimes they couldn't be heard, but they weren't the only weird things..
Throughout the whole journey, between two wagons (on my other side) was the annoying sound of scraping metal..
There was this third creepy thing.. when the announcer spoke, it was too soft to understand anything she said, you could only hear her voice..

Then there was the most normal, yet important factor: it was getting dark, I couldn't see what was outside any longer..

XD So that factor makes the experience creepy
ㅡㅡㆀ
If it was on the midst of the day, I wouldn't even think anything of the sounds..
I'm now already laughing about my fantasy of a "Ghost train".. but if the train had been completely empty.. well..

NO, SORRY.. NOT BELIEVING IT! XD

I'm too much of a realist.. I can't be scared about something like that.. =P

Anyway.. I'll be going now! XD

Byebye!! *waves*

안녕! ( = annyoung! )

~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
Always keep the faith.. DBSK FIGHTING! *~Maria

Saint Nicholas! W-WHAT IS THAT?! XD

An exclusively Dutch holiday..

So far, many of you could have known.. since I already told you about that ^^'
But let me research a little and share with you a bit of information on Saint Nicholas and why it became a holiday with the tradition that comes with it..

Saint Nicholas:
The name Saint Nicholas in Greek is : Agios ( = saint ) Nikolaos ( = victory of the people ).
Saint Nicholas was born in the third century, around the year 270.
He was born in Patara, in the province of Lycia, in modern-Turkey.
He came from a rich family (his father was a salesman) and his parents raised him with Christian values.
His parents died in an epidemic when Nicholas was still young.
Following Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor" Nicholas spend his whole inheritance on the needy, sick and suffering people.
Nicholas dedicated his life to serving God and became Bishop of Myra, Turkey.
He became a known man for his care to the needy, his love for children and his concern for sailors and ships.
Under the Roman Emperor Dioclation, who persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith and was brought to prison. Along with many more bishops, priests and deacons.
The prisons were so full they didn't even have enough room for real criminals like murderers, thieves and robbers..
Eventually he got released and joined the Council of Nicaea in 325. A few years later, in the year 343 on the 6th of December, Bishop Nicholas died in Myra.
Bishop Nicholas was buried in his church Cathedral in Myra, where a relic, called Manna, formed in his grave. This liquid substance, said to have healing powers, fostered the growth of devotion to Bishop Nicholas. Years after his death he was claimed "holy", therefore he was called Saint Nicholas from then on.
The anniversary of his death became a day of celebration, Saint Nicholas day, December 6th.

Legends of Saint Nicholas:
There are quite some legends about Saint Nicholas' life. Here are a few:
~ There lived a poor man with three daughters. In that time, a father would have to pay a dowry to have his daughter get married. How larger the dowry, the more chance the daughter was going to marry well.. This man was very poor, so his daughters had no chance to marry and were destined to go into slavory. On three different occassions a bag of gold appeared in their home, providing the needed dowries. These bags of gold, tossed through the window, were said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. That is how the costume started of children hanging stockings and placing shoes near the fireplace.
~ A story that took place long after Saint Nicholas death. The townspeople of Myra were celebrating Saint Nicholas on the eve of his feast day when Arab pirates from Crete came into the district. They stole treasures from the Church of Saint Nicholas. As they were leaving town, they snatched a young boy, Basilios, to make into a slave. The emir, or ruler, selected Basilios to be his personal cupbearer, as not knowing the language, Basilios would not understand what the king said to those around him. For Basilios' parents, devastated at the loss of their only child, the year passed slowly, filled with grief. As the next St. Nicholas' feast day approached, Basilios' mother would not join in the festivity, as it was now a day of tragedy. Meanwhile, as Basilios was fulfilling his tasks serving the emir, he was suddenly whisked up and away. St. Nicholas appeared to the terrified boy, blessed him, and set him down at his home back in Myra. Imagine the joy and wonderment when Basilios amazingly appeared before his parents, still holding the king's golden cup. This is the first story told of St. Nicholas protecting children—which became his primary role in the West.
~ Another story tells of three theological students, traveling on their way to study in Athens. A wicked innkeeper robbed and murdered them, hiding their remains in a large pickling tub. It so happened that Bishop Nicholas, traveling along the same route, stopped at this very inn. In the night he dreamed of the crime, got up, and summoned the innkeeper. As Nicholas prayed earnestly to God the three boys were restored to life and wholeness. In France the story is told of three small children, wandering in their play until lost, lured, and captured by an evil butcher. St. Nicholas appears and appeals to God to return them to life and to their families. And so St. Nicholas is the patron and protector of children.
~ Several stories tell of Nicholas and the sea. When he was young, Nicholas sought the holy by making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. There as he walked where Jesus walked, he sought to more deeply experience Jesus' life, passion, and resurrection. Returning by sea, a mighty storm threatened to wreck the ship. Nicholas calmly prayed. The terrified sailors were amazed when the wind and waves suddenly calmed, sparing them all. And so St. Nicholas is the patron of sailors and voyagers.

Saint Nicholas has multiple names, given to him through the times, here are a few:
~ Bishop of Myra
~ Saint in Bari (his bones / relics were shipped to Bari, a town on the south coast of Italy, 1087)
~ Gift giver
~ Patron Saint (he became a patron to: mariners, bankers, pawn-brokers, scholars, orphans, laborers, travelers, merchants, judges, paupers, marriageable maidens, students, children, sailors, victims of judicial mistakes, captives, perfumers, even thieves and murderers!)
~ Wonder worker

Dutch tradition on Saint Nicholas day nowadays:
We Dutch people are (together with our Southern neighbors from Belgium and a part of Germany) the only country that celebrates Saint Nicholas day this commercially loaded..

We celebrate it on the evening before the 6th of December.
About a week before the 5th of December, Saint Nicholas arrives in the Netherlands (a national show!). That event will really take place (of course it's all a set up with actors!) and it will be broadcasted on television and watched by children and everyone who's interested in watching. =)

Saint Nicholas will arrive by steam boat. He will be wearing a white bishop's robe, including a red cape and mitre. With him he takes a bishop's crosier.

Along with him he has lots of mischievous assistants, black-skinned Moorish-clothed (from two centuries ago) young fellows, who help bring the presents to the families.

These assistants are called (translated) "black petes".

Saint Nicholas also has a beloved white horse, which is nowadays called (they made it up some time ago) "Amerigo".

On the evening of the 5th of December the families with children gather.

It is traditional to sing "Sinterklaas"-songs together and then open presents that Saint Nicholas has brought all the children that have been good in the past year (practically every child gets a few presents).

The bringing of presents is often done by placing a sack with presents outside the house or living room, after which a neighbour or parent bangs the door or window, pretending to be Saint Nicholas' assistant. Another option is to hire or ask someone to dress up as Saint Nicholas and deliver the presents personally.

When the children are small (to the age of 8) the children usually believe Saint Nicholas is real and exists.

When children no longer believe in Saint Nicholas being alive and bringing the presents for real, the tradition shifts to 'making surprises' for each other.

A month before the 5th of December, the family (or group that will celebrate together) will come together and "draw lots".

On each lot is another person's name with their wish for a present.

A budget is then decided and each person will buy a present for the person that was on their lot.

Then they'll make "A surprise", which is like a box decorated to the style of the persons hobbies for example, with the present somewhere in it. A poem has to be written too. The "surprise" has to be anonymous, so no hitting it's your product!

On the evening of the 5th of December the group will join and then the "surprises" will be gathered.

One by one the persons will get their "surprise", read the poem and find their present.

At the end of the evening the makers of the "surprises" will be known.

History of the Dutch tradition of Saint Nicholas:

Saint Nicholas hasn't always been celebrated the way as it is right now.

In the Middle Ages Saint Nicholas was celebrated on the 6th of December, by pupils.

One of the pupils would be chosen bishop, he was then assisted by his fellow pupils, who where boys (at that time only boys went to school) who painted themselves black and they got food and presents.

Sometimes they got a day off and money to celebrate Saint Nicholas day.

Later on they started to treat poor children too. That's how it became a national holiday.

The shoe became the place to find presents in.

On the evening before the 6th of December small presents and candy where placed at the fire place mostly for the small children.

In the 17th century Saint Nicholas had become the invisible child friend, educator and marriage maker. Up till 1845 Saint Nicholas didn't "show himself" in public nor in family circle. "Black pete" isn't even known yet.

Only after 1845 Saint Nicholas shows up in public, dressed like a bishop. Slowly in time "black petes" make their debut along side Saint Nicholas.

Another origin of Saint Nicholas day:

To make things even more confusing for people who have not known anything about Saint Nicholas..
There is a second reason for Saint Nicholas day as it is celebrated in the Netherlands.
In the Middle Ages a lot of people were converted to Christianity.
To not provoke the Dutch people, the leaders of the convertion let the Pagan celebrations slowly turn into Christian celebrations and replaced the Pagan gods with the Christian saints.
Saint Nicholas seems to have taken the place of Pagan's mightiest god, named Wodan.
Wodan was a fierce man with a wide cape, hat and a long beard. He rode a white horse through the air and held a spear in his hands.
He was assisted by two black ravens that informed him about the attitudes of the people.
Wodan was worshipped a lot and it seemed only a popular saint like Saint Nicholas was able to replace him..

Wodan, the Pagan's mightiest god.

I can see some resemblance, although Wodan looks scary ^^' but yeah, some think Saint Nicholas looks scary, so I'll keep it objective now! XD

Saint Nicholas, the original Father Christmas:

As many of you might not have thought; Santa Claus comes from Saint Nicholas..

I stumbled upon a comparison between Santa Claus and Saint Nicholas, which I thought was very good! =)

Here it is:

Santa Claus belongs to childhood;

St. Nicholas models for all of life.

Santa Claus, as we know him, developed to boost Christmas sales—the commercial Christmas message;

St. Nicholas told the story of Christ and peace, goodwill toward all—the hope-filled Christmas message.

Santa Claus encourages consumption;

St. Nicholas encourages compassion.

Santa Claus appears each year to be seen and heard for a short time;

St. Nicholas is part of the communion of saints, surrounding us always with prayer and example.

Santa Claus flies through the air—from the North Pole;

St. Nicholas walked the earth—caring for those in need.

Santa Claus, for some, replaces the Babe of Bethlehem;

St. Nicholas, for all, points to the Babe of Bethlehem.

Santa Claus isn't bad;
St. Nicholas is just better.

—J. Rosenthal & C. Myers

Just know that I like Saint Nicholas, and Christmas should be about celebrating the birth of Jesus, not the visit of Santa Claus! ^^ But that's just my view, I respect others thinking other wise! =)

Sources used:

~ http://www.stnicholascenter.org/

~ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas

~ http://www.sintkleurtdestad.nl/

~~~

I know lòòòòts of information above.. ^^ but I like to share my own Saint Nicholas day celebration from this year with you!

My cousins were just in the age that they no longer believed in Saint Nicholas, so we have done the "surprise" thingy with the whole family (from my mother's side).

That's me, my sister and parents, my 2 cousins (they're siblings) and their parents, my aunt and my unofficial uncle and my grandma.. ^^ One happy family, small but happy XD

The only one missing was my uncle.. but he is really not a party person, besides he was playing Saint Nicholas at the house of one of his friends!^^

I had made a "surprise" for my cousin =) and my other cousin had made me a piano ^^ (because my hobby is playing the piano ^-^)

He got me a dummy (an empty booklet) and ink cartridges in the colors red, turqoise and black! ^^ I'm really happy!! =)

^^' but being me.. I left my presents at my cousins, because I thought my parents had taken the presents to the car already.. but they hadn't.. ㅡㅡㆀ

So now I'll have to go there myself on Thursday, because I have no other day off except the weekend XD but then my free travel pass is not permitted, so I have to pay for travelling.. ^^' I have thought this through already! ^^'

Buuuuuuut.. it'll be okay, cause I love to see them again! ^^

Byebye!! ^^ Write to you all.. LATER!! =D

~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
Always keep the faith.. DBSK FIGHTING! *~Maria

Time for some Korean! ^^

As some of you might know, I'm trying to learn some Korean! =)
I already know how the writing system works! ^^
I'll explain it! =P So you can learn too!

There are 14 consonants and 10 vowels.. that means the Korean "alphabet" consists of only 24 "characters"! ^^ of course those "characters" can be combined to make all sorts of sounds..

The 14 consonants are:
ᄀ = G (pronounced as in [good])
ᄂ = N
ᄃ = D
ᄅ = R/L (pronouciation depends on whether it's the end or the beginning of the syllable; begin = R, end = L)
ᄆ = M
ᄇ = B
ᄉ = S (sometimes it's pronounced as SH)
ᄋ = - no sound
ᄌ = J (pronounced as in [jacket])
ᄎ = CH (pronounced as in [China])
ᄏ = K (pronounced as in [Kettle])
ᄐ = T
ᄑ = P
ᄒ = H

That were the 14 consonants, this are the 10 vowels:
ᅡ = ah (pronounced as in [Cheetah])
ᅣ = yah
ᅥ = oh (pronounced as in [wrong])
ᅧ = yoh
ᅩ = eo (pronounced as in [go])
ᅭ = yeo
ᅮ = oo (pronounced as in [book])
ᅲ = yoo (pronounced as [you])
ᅳ = eu (pronounced as in [new])
ᅵ = ee (pronounced as in [leave])

The basic rule of writing Hangul (Korean language writing system), is that each syllable should at least contain 1 consonant and 1 vowel..
As you noticed there is a consonant that has no sound value.. That one is used to form a syllable that has only the sound of a vowel.. Like "ee" or "ah"..

Reading a syllable in Hangul is generally done from left to right and then up to down. Depending on the consonant-vowel combination, there are a few combinations possible.

I'll take my name to demonstrate how the Hangul system works.
My name is Ma-ri-a, devided in syllables.
The consonant for M = ᄆ and the vowel for a = ᅡ
putting ᄆ andᅡ together like this 마 you'll get the character for "ma"
The same goes for ᄅ and ᅵ = 리 => "ri"
The last syllable, which is "a", consists of only one vowel in English, knowing that there must be 1 consonant AND 1 vowel to make a character, we have to add the ᄋ, which has no sound value..
The last character will be = 아
My name written in Hangul = 마리아

Now I'm very lucky, because my name only uses one of the simplest structures!! ^^
I have an idea, I'll write the names of all TVXQ members in Hangul, as examples on how to write in Hangul! =)

TVXQ, or DBSK:
Dong = 동
Bang = 방
Shin = 신
Ki = 기

The leader U-Know of TVXQ, Jung Yun Ho:
Jung = 정
Yun = 윤
Ho = 호

Hero of TVXQ, Kim Jae Joong:
Kim = 김
Jae = 재
Joong = 중

Micky of TVXQ, Park Yoo Chun:
Park = 박
Yoo = 유
Chun = 천

Xiah of TVXQ, Kim Jun Su:
Kim = 김
Jun = 준
Su = 수

Max of TVXQ, Shim Chang Min:
Shim = 심
Chang = 창
Min = 민

As you may have noticed the romanization can be very misleading to the pronounciation.. that's why learning to read Hangul makes it easier to know the exact pronounciation! =)
Another thing you may have noticed is that the last Hangul constructions (as shown in the picture) aren't used in the names of TVXQ members, that's because they are more difficult..
^^ Anyway, I hope you've learned something, =) I'll be going now! ^^

Byebye!! *waves* 안녕! ( = annyoung! )

~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
Always keep the faith.. DBSK FIGHTING! *~Maria

My sibling... the writer..

This morning my sister surprised me with this sentence (more or less):
"I have a great idea for my fanfic"

I was like this --> O.O
Maria: "What? Cool! So you write too?" *mixed emotions*

I thought I was the writer in my family! ㅡㅡㆀ
^^ Well, I can't help but being very curious about her writings!! =)
Her plot and story is promising! ^^
I might support her on my blog.. and when she posts, I'll give you the link! ;)
The story is about a fictional girl who's childhood friends with JiYong from Big Bang, but she then meets T.O.P and they become friends with the three of them..
JiYong thinks there's more going on between them, but that might not be true..
The story will be written from JiYong's perspective and it will be a drama ^^ , not the sickness-and-death kind of drama, but the tears-will-drop-for-certain kind of drama! =P

Something completely different..
Today I visited my family and we have pulled straws (is that the right term?^^') for Saint Nicolas (a national holiday in The Netherlands) ^^ I'm going to prepare a present for... I can't tell, my sister reads my blog too!! XD
I'll tell afterwards.. ^^
Saint Nicolas is celebrated on the 5th of December, so the 6th or later I'll be able to tell you! ^^'

For now.. BYEBYE!! *smiles*

~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
Always keep the faith.. DBSK FIGHTING! *~Maria

Take it easy.. drink Iced tea! ^^ .. & eat a cookie! xD

I have to confess something!
^^ I like writing in English more than I like writing in my own language! =X
That's mainly the reason I started blogging in English.. ^^
Of course I can reach a broader reader's base this way.. but it's not like I have many readers.. do I? xD

Okay, so I'm hooked to writing in English! =X ^^'

^^ 'kay confession time 's over! =P

Today I had the urge to blog.. I don't know about what.. but some ideas crawl around in my head..
I'd better catch a good one! ^^'

*till so far not caught any*

*cough*

I'm distracted..
If it goes like this I'd better quit.. xD

PING! ^^
Got one! =)

I once had the idea to list down ten things that keep cracking me up.. ^^
I know it's going to be a difficult thing to do, but I'll try! =D
The list will not be from funniest to less funny, because that'll make it really difficult for me! ^^'
Here it is:

~1. My dad's weird things xD.. today he was pissed because he had made a mistake with the door he was installing.. he had placed it the wrong side out.. ^^ that actually was an approvement (his statement), but he couldn't get around the fact that he had not planned it that way and only found out after installing it completely! xD
~2. The English accents of DBSK, SuJu, Ss501, SHINee and all the rest of Korean artists xD
~3. Get married (Indo movie)
~4. The dramas of DBSK & SuJu
~5. Me and my sister being dorky together.. ^^ Alreet XD (sorry inside joke^^')
~6. Indonesian words that resemble Dutch words
~7. Sue Limbs books! ^^ "Girl, 15, beautiful but insane" & the sequel
~8. HeeChul's blog! ^^ =P
~9. The only guy in my project group being troubled because he thinks he's being affected by the fact he only works with girls xD.. He made a pony tail in his hair today ^^' I think he IS affected by us.. keke! xD
~10. Certain fanfics, like "Let's not" and "Love Vs. Love"

My list might not be that funny.. ^^' I know..
I'm a bit tired and my inspiration is nearly gone.. =(

=D I caught another idea! xD
I think it was yesterday.. =P when I was talking with my boyfriend about something very interesting! ^^ Our conversations are always interesting! ^^ =P
It was about dreams.. =)

I think I have weird dreams.. I know dreams are always at least a bit weird.. but mine are never even slightly credible!!
There was a time when I would write down dreams I could remember in the morning.. ^^
I still have those dreams written down in a dummy! =P
Last night I took the dummy and read a few.. the first is from 2002! ^^' It's kind of long ago! xP

Let me share some dreams with you: ^^' warning.. they're weird and to top that off.. I took the weirdest few of them all! ^^'

~ November 2002 I was at school with my parents, we were attending some information gathering.. I was bored and went to the restroom, to empty a bucket of pee (yuk! why would I bother?!) . In the restroom was a dirty clothed man.. a beggar, so it seemed. I was scared of him, (in dreams the feelings of like or dislike are even sharper than in real life!) The man asked me my name, so I answered and wanted to leave. The man blocked my way and said: "I won't let you go this easy. Where do you live?" I told him the right street, but the wrong number, then I went back to my parents. I sat close to my mum and dad. Suddenly the man come back and paralysed my parents and me, saying I wasn't being honest to him and thus he was going to be nasty on me! He took a clothespin and started hanging my parents and me on a clothesline.. while saying: "If you hang it like this, it'll be the best.."

~ October 2004 I was at the Central station of Utrecht with my sister when there arrived a train with ex-prisoners. They were stacked in plastic bags like they were dead, which they weren't. Between the rails were another 2 bags, which lay there unnoticed. When the train had departed the 2 bags were ripped open and 2 armed men were shouting for us to clear the platform. On both sides the platform became deserted. Suddenly there was a third man. He screamed something like "I'll catch." My sister and I ran into the McDonalds. When we ordered fries the men came in. The quiet prisoner was talking to the 3rd man and the rough prisoner asked us: "Where's your mother?" A bit taken aback my sister and I answered: "At home!" The quiet prisoner came to us with a newspaper article, showing us a photo asking if we knew who it was.. I recognized the person and said it was Steffani, a girl from my class.. Then I went to the desk of MacDonalds and bought 7 Swiss bank notes. (never knew that MacDonalds dealed in currency exchange xD) Then my mum said they would be helpful if I wanted to go to Switzerland. After that me and the quiet prisoner went outside. I told he him he didn't look like a criminal, and went to sit on his lap.. then I whispered: "All you need is a little bit of love.." (was I hitting on a criminal?! *twitches eyes* O_o That's sooo not me!) When I had said those words he put the gun to my head. I got up from his lap and sat down on the step, saying: "You scare me, please put the gun away.." Then the prisoner told me he never wanted to hear 'the word' anymore, because his dad had died. With that he showed me the article again.. the announcement of his dad dying was beneath the photo of Steffani.

That were 2 very detailed dreams I've had.. ^^ I know.
It's because I wrote them down as soon as I woke up..
Nowadays I have dreamed a lot less, I also don't have the time to write them down in the morning.. ^^'
Nowadays I'm always troubled getting up and try to stay in bed as long as I can permit.. xD

I think I'd better sleep now.. ^^ It's getting late and I have to wake up at 8:00 am tomorrow! ^^'
I'm spending my day off in Amsterdam with a friend.. and we have agreed to meet up early, because she has to be home at 2:00 pm.

Next time I'll blog I'll pick a topic before hand.. ^^ so I won't have to share some stupid crap.. ^^'

Alreet! (sorry same inside joke xD) I'm going! *waves*

Byebye!
AnNyoung!
Sampai bertemu lagi!
Doeidoei!
Auf wiedersehn!
Ciao!
Arrivederci!
Joi gien!
Zai ji(-)en!
Au revoir!
.. (insert your language here) ..

~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
Always keep the faith.. DBSK FIGHTING! *~Maria

Long time no see.. I'm BACK!!! =D

Yaay, my Internet is back, and so am I! ^^
It wasn't just lack of things to blog about, no, I just couldn't get on the Internet due to a defect in one of the cables.. blahblahblah.. (I'm no computer expert =X)

At first we thought our provider was being nasty to us.. ^^'
They did have an error at that time, but it turned out we hadn't even been victims to that error.. keke.. just a stupid coincidence.. =P
To find out more about the problem my mum and I tried out all sorts of things xD..
To find out that her laptop could actually run Internet (if there would be a connection) by itself! ^^' she'd always been using a cable, while she could get wireless access!! =P

You know what the most stereotype thing is when Internet fails? The so-called family bonding..
My family is already quite close, so I can't tell whether that is true, but we certainly had something to complain about together xD!

As I said, my family is close with each other ^^, we drink something together in the afternoons and in the evenings! =) It's nice to have that break when I have studied or had a long day at school.. Not that I talk much about that.. but I have the opportunity! ^^'

Once when we were having tea in the evening, my dad got the hiccups..
I have actually never heard my dad hiccup before, not that I remember.. ^^
The funny thing was, my dad was being pissed about having the hiccups! xD
It went so far that my dad decided to retreat to his own room, to get his hiccups to stop!
We were like: "What is he doing?" but we decided to let him handle it the way he thought was best..
^^ It still was hilarious, hearing his "hiccup!" from somewhere on the other side of the house, when there was a silence at ours.. *still laughs at the memory*
The sadest/funniest thing was, when my dad came back, thinking the hiccups were gone.. they came back! XD

=) Something completely different..
Last week I had a free day on wednesday! =) so I went to Amsterdam with a friend, Dieuwke, who happened to have wednesday off too! ^_^ We had lots of fun, going from shop to shop.. =)
I was looking for presents.. ^^ I blogged about this already.. I think..
I remember! ^^ That was the day before.. ^^
When we were in Amsterdam, there was this creepy man telling Dieuwke she looked good.. We were like.. "okay, thanks.. BYE!!! *creep*", but the man kept talking to us.. He asked whether we had visited Paradiso (a club) once.. I hadn't, but Dieuwke had, so the man invited us to come to Paradiso that night! 0_o
Dieuwke answered: "maybe... *mysterious grin*"
Ofcourse it meant: NO WAY!! but that's obvious! =P the creep was in his 40's!! The man wasn't done with us.. no.. He started telling me my style (clothing) wasn't sexy and that I should dress more like my friend!! o_O He concluded I must be unconfident about myself.. -_-"
I'm insulted! *pouts*
By the way, Dieuwke's and my style of clothing is totally different, she isn't more or less stylish than I am, it's just a style difference.. ^^

The past Saturday it was the party of Mariska and Danny (the twins I had been buying presents for).. I won't tell much about the things happened there.. It's not something I'd tell all the world. =]
The things happening after the party are of much more value.. =)
The thing is.. I called a friend of Danny's, who had been my boyfriend a year and a half ago.. I had been the one to end our relationship at that time.. but I fell in love.. ^^'
I just wanted KaMing to know how I felt, not knowing how he felt after all that time..
He hadn't stopped loving me!! =D
So, we're back together! ^^

Speaking of pics! =P I have this cool program on my laptop on which I can edit pictures! =)
It's simpler than Photoshop (I think! xD), but has a lot of fun things you can do..!
I made a lot of pics already.. the posters and backgrounds for my fanfics, for example.. but I used the program to make my profile photo too.. ^^ How does it look? =P I'm starting to get better and quicker at it too! ^^ Keke..

I was bored.. I made this emo: ~(=))~ It's like one of those ancient English soldiers that rode horses! xD I was really bored ^^'

^^ A few days ago, I found a cool song of SHINee, called "Talk to You"..
I totally love the song! =) It's really catchy and the beat is nice..
Usually rap music doesn't really interest me.. but in this song, I actually enjoyed it! xD

For the next blog entry I have something in mind already.. ^^ so I hope you'll look forward! =D

Byebye! *waves*

~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
*~Maria

"Brilliant workings of the mind!!" Sounds cool, eh? ^^

And that's just what I was going to blog about today! ^^ keke..
Well, tonight.. since it's already 9:20 pm at my place.. (-┏)
Knowing myself, I'll probably finish this blog about half an hour later.. ㅡㅡㆀ

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh..
*ehum..*
Sorry, just had to let it out xD No really, just don't notice.. xP

I was wondering, have you ever had little self-invented sentences pop up in your head?
*hopes she's not the only one*..
Well, I did.. ^^'
Quite frequently too.. ㅡㅡㆀ
- You might be reading the random writings of a crazy girl! -
But then... you probably already knew.. ^-^

With these sentences I mean something like this:
"Messy yet Classy.." *That's one I like so I remembered it xD*
I think of that one to fit me well... *grins widely*

These days, I'm feeling kind of tired actually..
My whole being is focused on my study!
I might just wake up in the middle of the night, starting to read a study book in my unconsious state of mind.. xD
You know how your brain processes all happenings of your day when you sleep.
The happening of school might just prove to be a tough one! ^^

At days when I have nothing to do but school I silently wish something to happen! ^^'
It's basic logic, eh? ㅡㅡㆀ
These silent wishes grow so loud, that I actually can't wait for the weekend, any weekend..
It even makes me long for the past days! ㅡㅡㆀ

Want to know where I was the 2 days I didn't blog? xD
I had a "Goodbye party"..
A friend of me is going to work in Italy for a year, (FYI; that's about as far as Korea is from Japan)..
The party was in the evening, we held a barbecue at her house! ^-^
I had to bring the fruit, which I bought an hour before the party started.. ^^' I had too, since I couldn't take it to school with me, so I had to buy it after school.. =P

In the evening we gave a book with photos and personal messages to our friend and then we went warming marshmallows above a fire! =D *yummy!!*

Elisa, if you're reading this: I hope you're having a great time in Italy! You have the best weather of us all! xD Pas op voor de schoonmoeders hè? Haha.. =P
*Sorry for adding the Dutch sentence.. if I say it in English, you'll still need the background information to get what I'm saying.. =X Hope you understand*

After the party I slept at another friend's house.. ^-^ I had a great time! ^v^

I'm still looking back at it and smiling.. (-┏)

The next free day is on Wednesday! ^^ I'll be hooking up with friends then too!! Keke.. ^^
I'll be going to the capital city of our country (Amsterdam) and shop!!
Althought I don't have a cent to spend.. (-┏)
Actually, I do have something left, but I don't want to spend it all..
Some things I do have to buy..
- A present for Mariska (who's birthday party will be next saturday)
- A present for Danny (the twin brother of Mariska, same party)
- A pair of jeans.. ^^ I really need one! *looks innocent* (^-^)v

*(^-^)*
*does cheery dance*
I actually have a lot of niceties coming up! xD
*looks forward*

You know something funny?
A classmate of me made a funny drawing of the economy teacher today! xD
It resembled a lot, he's good! ^-^

It's now 10:15 pm, I need to SLEEP
Really, tomorrow I have to leave the house at 7:00 am!! Ô_Ô
I hope I won't fall asleep in class tomorrow! ㅡㅡㆀ
That would be so typical.. (-┏) Yet FUN!! (^-^)=b

Byebye!! *waves*

~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
Always keep the faith.. DBSK FIGHTING! *~Maria

Sports.. "Yay! and warm your muscles"? or.. "Aaah! Where can I hide?!"?

As I promised in yesterdays blog entry.. I would blog about something fun! ^^
As long as I didn't forget.. which I obviously didn't! xD

So, the topic of today is "sports"..
As not many of you know, I'm allergic to sport..
*cough, liar, cough*
^^' No, I'm not allergic to sport, but I'm not really fond of it either..

There are some sports I actually do enjoy though! ^^
One of them is dancing and the other is unihockey! =)
I don't know if you know what sport "unihockey" is, but it resembles regular hockey a lot..
It's indoors, played with a ball instead of a puck.. ^^
It's a lot easier!

I'm glad I don't have to follow PE class anymore! *grins widely*
When we had PE indoors, it was okay, but when we had PE outdoors.. *winces at the memories*
I totally disliked those classes!! We would always play baseball, which is something I just can't play! =X
We were entitled to be in both teams once..
We had to hit the ball or stand in the field.. -_-'

When I had to hit the ball it would either not get hit or never see the field.. =X
If I could hit it, I wouldn't be able to send it in the right direction! ^^'

Once I had to stand in the field and I really didn't want to participate in the game, so I thought I was smart to go all the way to the back of the field..

...
Well...
I thought I was smart, but then some *&^%@^%$ boy, who had practised baseball hit the ball real hard and I had to run for it.. -_-'
So I ran for it trying not to lose that big sweaty hand"SHOE".. Keke..
I picked up the ball, gathered all my strength... and threw it 3 meters far.. -_-'
*repeated that for 3 times..*
Anyway.. they ended up running towards me to get the ball in the field, instead of me bringing the ball back! ^^'

My sister has had her PE class a few days ago, and that's how we got to this topic xD..
Turns out.. she has the same problems as I have when playing baseball! xP
She told me she had to be the catcher, but she didn't memorize the rules of the game.. =P
They are complicated! ^^
But if there is anyone on the field who has to know those rules the best, it's got to be the catcher!!! xD

We talked about this topic together over diner and we were wondering..
Does this strength issue got to do anything with being Asian?! ^^
I mean, we are just 1/4 Asian, but we have an Asian build..

Getting to that, we wondered, are Asian people good at sports?
^^ I know, of course there are!! =P matter of fact, I can call out the names of at least 5 persons (not related to sports) that are Asian and good at sports! =)
You know how some countries are known for their sports..
Like the US for American Football, Japan for Sumo wrestling, the Dutch for ice-skating, the French for the "Tour de France" and so on..
Well, my sister and I were wondering which sport would be known for Korea! ^^
I looked it up and.. I could have known -_-' It's TaeKwonDo!! =D
I knew, I knew, I KNE-HEW!! *jumps*

*cough*
My sister is fixing her jaw... it dropped.. Keke..

Anyway.. I'm alone again.. My sister went to sleep..
*envy! I want to go to sleep tooooooo!!!*
ahem.. *poses herself..*
I'll finish this first! =)

Yesterday over diner we were talking about sports, as you have read..
At a certain point my sister and I bacame a little crazy.. ^^'
Keke.. we made this thing: ^^' To be taken lightly of course! *wink*

How to become a Sumo wrestler:
Step 1:
Start off practising Martial Arts for a few years..
Step 2:
When you have practised for some years start eating as much as you can..
Tip: Not excersising accelerates the process!
Step 3:
You can't afford to lose weight, so minimalize your movements!
Step 4:
When your size matches the door post even if you suck your belly in, try out for the Sumo team! ;) Good luck!! =D

WARNING: IF YOU WANT TO BECOME A SUMO-WRESTLER, MAKE SURE YOU DON'T USE THESE TIPS ABOVE.. AND FOR YOU JACKASSES OUT THERE, DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME (OR ANY PLACE FOR THAT MATTER)!!! ;)

^^' Keke.. So you can tell..
Me and my sister were having fun! ^^ Just as much as me posting this! xD

But, I'm going to feed my sweet little rabbit now! ^^
She's keeping an "ear" on me! xD
Really, she has one ear lifted in my direction! ^^'
She is hungry!! =D Or just graving for some attention! =P
As of stating the opposite.. she's started drinking! -_-'

Well, I'll be gone now!! =)
Annyoung!! *waves*

~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
Always keep the faith.. DBSK FIGHTING! *~Maria

The life of a student..

Hi everyone, I'm back after having a blog-entry-free-day! xD
I'm itching for some colorful blog entry! ^^

To be honest, I didn't have time to blog yesterday..
The reason: I was with family.. ^^
I was with my parents and sister at my aunt's place.
My cousin and I both started a new school this year =P
I started college and my cousin started high school! xD
I know ^^' There's a big difference..

Anyway, the topic of this blog entry is the difference between being a schoolgirl/-boy and being a student..
As you probably already know.. I like to list things.. so I'll just make a list ^^'

~ Differences between schoolgirls/-boys and students: ~
1. Students have less books! ^^ It's true!!
2. Schoolboys and -girls get more useless assignments and more accompaniment from teachers than students.
3. Students have more freedom and more responsibility.
4. Schoolgirls and -boys are looking for best friends, students are looking for connections..
5. Students call their teachers by the last name, schoolboys and -girls call their teachers by the first name.. (in the Netherlands, that is..)
6. Students complain more.. =X
7. Students are older (NO! REALLY??? (Ô_Ô) )

Okay, I don't know anymore.. -_-'
But I think this topic is pretty lame..
Anyway, I'll write about something else.. ^^ 'kay?

My project group has expanded some more..
I don't know if I wrote that already, but there's a guy in our group now..
Last week he joined our group.. but today a new person joined. =)
Our group is currently the biggest in the class! O_O
We started this year with:
- Group A: 6 persons
- Group B: 4 persons
- Group C (mine): 5 persons
- Group D: 3 persons
After the first week 3 persons had joined the class, 2 at group B and 1 at our group..
But now, another 2 persons joined the class! xD
I don't mind it though, I like having new classmates! =)

Tomorrow I need to get up really early!! I have to leave my house at 7:00 am!! Ô_Ô
I wonder how I'll do that! xD It means I have to get up at 6:30 at least, maybe even earlier!!
*Doesn't believe her own words anymore.. Looks at her school schedule*
It's really that early!!
My school starts at 8:30, but I have to travel for 90 minutes, so.. you can figure it out, keke.. ^^'

You know, being in college is actually really relaxing! =D
I have a few hours of school (today it was just 50 minutes) and then I go home, do some homework and finished!! =)
I know, it's just the start of the year, so there is not that much I can do yet, but still, in high school I would have had a lot more hours of following classes!! ^^

I'm tired of sitting on this chair.. -_-'
I'm going to quit writing now....
ANNYOUNG!!! *smiles and waves*

Woaaah! I have a taste for tea right now! ^^' Keke..
Hmm not much of a different topic, eh?
I'll write about something fun tomorrow! ^^ (if I don't forget! O_O)

~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
Always keep the faith.. DBSK FIGHTING! *~Maria

Weekend already!! =D

Today has been my second day at school.. ^^
School was nice, I like it..
=X Never thought I would say that! O_O
I'm really nerdy now...
Anywayyyy, I think I'll be posting shorter blogs from now on..
because:
1. I have school and it's draining the time out of my day!
2. let's be honest, I write about the most random and daily stuff (maybe that's what you really like reading xD I don't know, I like writing it ^^)
3. I should stop listing, because there is no "3"!! =X
4. ... and no "4".. ^_^"

Yeah, well.. that was it..

OMG!! I'm already working for a project!! O_O and it's a real project! The client is nobody less than "De Volkskrant" (a Dutch national newspaper!)
You see, nowadays almost nobody reads a newspaper where you have to pay for!
"De Volkskrant" wants to reach people between the age of 24 and 30 too, but apparently the paper doesn't appeal much to them..
So, it's our job to make a new product for "De Volkskrant" which will appeal to people between the age of 24 and 30! ^^ We have to find out what they would like in a newspaper, what they dislike and what new methodes of promoting and refining the product..

Sorry not much for today.. ^O^ *yawns*
I'm tired, I want to sleep now..
I'll stop the coloring thing now.. It takes a lot of time.. which I don't have anymore...
Byebye!! *waves* Tomorrow I have a day off!! ^^ and I'm going to Almere (city) with a friend of mine.. but I can't go shopping.. cause I'm broke.. =(
I had to pay for my study and my books (I'll get it back from my mum, but not soon..)

Now I really, really leave! Keke.. ANNYOUNG!! ^^

~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
Always keep the faith.. DBSK FIGHTING! *~Maria

My last free day!! ^^

Keke..
I had a lot of fun yesterday (after blogging) and today!! xD

First of all, I never knew my dad would go frantic because of a SPIDER!! =X
^^' We were trying to get my Tuscany movies from his laptop onto a USB-stick, when suddenly a spider of 3 cm (legs included) came walking on the desk in the direction of the laptop! =P
Me: Oh look a spider!
My dad: Aah, yuk, a SPIDER! *shoving chair, getting away from the desk*
Me: Hahaha.. *LAO* it isn't a huge spider!
My dad: What should we do? *walks in the direction of the door*

My dad's desk is in his bedroom so his bed is directly next to his desk..
The spider just walked on, over the mouse, to the edge of the desk, takes a jump and... lands on the bed!
You should have seen my dad's reaction!!! xD

My dad: Aaah, yuk yuk yuk!! *grabs pillow and starts hitting the spider*
Me: *Breaks down in laughter again* It won't die that way..
My dad: *stops hitting the spider* Did it die? Looks like it..
(The spider just curled up and acted like it had died..)
Me: No, it moves!
My dad: Dang! *starts hitting it again*
Me: Dad, stop, you're never going to kill it this way! (Dad moves to the door, hesitantly looking at the spider) I'll watch the spider for you!
My dad: *comes back with a towel and throws it over the spider, trying to catch the spider.. without success*
Me: *slaps forehead* Why did you get a towel? I'll do it! *leaves and comes back with a piece of toilet paper*.. There, done!
My dad: Did you crush it? You did right? *hopeful*
Me: *rolls eyes* Of course not! That's nasty! ô.ô

^^ This really happened! O_O It sounds crazy, when I write it, but everything happened exactly like this!! ^^' I asked my dad later on why he was so scared of spiders.. it's "just because".. He can handle other creepers, but just no spiders! xD

Good thing I haven't told him that spiders usually don't come in solo.. there's almost always a second one around! ^^ Don't worry spiders do people no harm! ^^ At least, not the spiders in my surroundings, they usually aren't bigger than 6 cm (legs included) and they are skinny and hairless and if they do have hairy legs, they stay smaller than 4 cm (again legs included)..

Okay.. enough about spiders!!! O_O (how can I, I'm not particularly fond of them either!!)
So next topic.. the above was actually what happened yesterday evening..

Today my free student travel pass became legitimate!! =D
From now on I can travel by train for free during the week and with discount during the weekends!! ^^ I'm happy!!
Since I could do that, starting today, I went to Amsterdam! =)
My new school is in Amsterdam, so I wanted to go there to see how long the journey would take. (it's +/- 90 minutes..)

There is this stupid thing going on in our country.. they (the public transport companies) have decided there is going to be a new system, which requires everyone to get a pass..
Since the system is already working in Amsterdam and other big cities, you can't use tickets any longer, you have to buy a pass!! O_O
Anyway I have to get a pass too, because I need to use the public transport in Amsterdam!
At least I don't have to buy it! ^^ the owners of a free student travel pass get it for free! =) Yaay!
So this morning I went to the post office again, asking for such a pass.. it will be made and send to my home address.. which meant I can't use it tomorrow! -_-'
By the way.. I really, really, REALLY DISLIKE NUMBER MACHINES!!! =X
In the post office I had to get a number again, I can't remember which, but I had to wait for 10 numbers or something!
Well, it's nothing compared to what happened later on that day! O_O

After I went to the post office I went to Amterdam, taking the train..
Because I already knew I can't use my free travel pass in the metro (which would bring me to school), I went to the Service Point of NS (Dutch Railway company)..
They said I should go to the office of GVB (Dutch Metro company), which was on the other side of the street.. There I could get a temporary pass..

With a good mood I crossed the street, happy that I would soon go to school without "travel trouble"... It became a lòòòòòòng "soon"!!
The first thing I spotted when I entered the little office..
- It's crowded! -
The second thing I spotted right after..!
- There is a NUMBER MACHINE!!! -
None the less, I got myself a number..
Checking it I saw I had number 278.. then looking at the number that was helped at the desk: 234!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was going to have to wait for a very boring long time!! In crowded Chinatown!! xD There were a lot of Chinese tourists!
Not that I minded being there.. but like I said, I get a little irritated when there's a number machine involved! ^^' (Not that anyone noticed, I keep it to myself..)

When it was finally my turn I got my pass and left as quick as I could.. I had waited half an hour! xD That's long, I had to wait for 44 others being before me.. I saw some people had to wait for 50 others being before them!! O_O I would have left! (if it had been possible)..

I used my temporary pass immediately, and.. it actually worked! xP
When I got to "Weesperplein" (the place where my school is located near), I had to walk to the school building..
But, stupid me, had forgotten to look it up on the map, so I only knew which station I had to get out, but didn't know how further!! -_-'
So I walked in one direction on the street and since I couldn't find it, I went back to the metro and went back to Amsterdam Central..
My stupidity wasn't done with me yet, because when I got to Amsterdam Central I got into the wrong train back to my home town, so I ended up in Zaandam =X (It's quite close to Amsterdam, but in the wrong direction)..
So, I ended up going back to Amsterdam, in a crowded train by the way, there were more people than air!!
Back in Amsterdam I took the right train home (with a change of trains half way)..
I think it was 'take-public-transport'-day.. It's really rare for me seeing a train this crowded!
Something particularly annoying was a man almost sticking his behind in my face.. =X
I was sitting near the door and there was really no more space for the man than half a meter from my face..
Another man was reading a French book which was apparently funny, because he was laughing like a sheep from time to time.. ^^ funny to hear, but annoying to, because I was in no mood to laugh..

Sorry by the way for all this ^^.. I just need to write this out.. well, just ignore it if you don't like it..

Hmm.. I'm done blogging for today.. =)

I'll be going now! *winks* byebye!! =D

~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
*~Maria

As promised, another post today! ^^

In case you're wondering, I haven't spend my day hanging around..
No I spend it far from relaxing.. O_O
I actually worked today! ^^

Okay let me start my description of what I did today.. =P
Don't worry I will leave out the boring things! ^^

A friend of my mum's has asked me to help her clean and reorganize her shed..
So I went, because I am too nice.. kidding.. I went because she had sprained her ankle and needed help.. and I am still a nice person! =X
Because I was going to her anyway she wanted me to help her draw up a job application too..
She's Costa Rican, so she finds it difficult writing such formal letters without flaws.
And I totally understand that! ^^ Dutch formal letters are hard enough to write, even for native Dutch people!! =)

At her shed I ended up emptying the whole shed.. Dumping everything into the front yard.
*small break*
And then reorganizing it, twice, because it was a real puzzle to get everything in there!! O_O
You wouldn't believe how much actually went into that shed!!
I moved like twelve heavy carton boxes, a lot of bags and some random things.

When we were done with the shed we had lunch! ^^
It was delicious, you know how something just tastes better when you're hungry!! xD
Not that it wouldn't be delicious if I wasn't hungry! O_O

After lunch my mum called.. ^^' Where I stayed...
It took longer than we thought..
We still had to draw up the job application!
So we did that and I had to send it via mail, to print at home so she would pick it up later! ^^
Yeah, it was all thought out, but it had to be this way, because she has no (useable) printer at home..

By the way, not even an hour after I left she came to pick it up! ^^
Disciplined, don't you think? ^^
She did pay me something for my day's work at her place, but I had fun doing it, too! =)

I still haven't watched "Romeo + Julliet"!!! *mentally slaps herself*
I had really wanted to do that today... =(
But I guess I'll have to wait till tomorrow..
I finished my dad's movie!! I only have to burn it! ^^

I think I'm going to sleep right now, it's getting late and I have to go to the dentist tomorrow -_-'
I don't really like the dentist..
The dentist(person) is nice, that's not the point, but I just don't like it when people examine my mouth..
I think you'll know that feeling.. keke *mentally hits herself again*
Anyway I have to be there really early, like 8:20 am!! =O
Today I left my bed at 8:30 am.. tomorrow I'll have to leave it at 7:30 am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*dies*
I'd better sleep now..
Byebye..

Ps: I don't feel like coloring my whole message.. sorry for not giving you colors! ^^ You can copy this to Word and add colors yourself! xD.. *pushing the send button..*

Picking up my FREE STUDENT TRAVEL PASS!!!

Like I have written in my blog yesterday (or was it the day before? *scratches head*), I had to drag my lazy self to the post office today...
Well, that's not exactly what happened! ^^
I got up at 11:00 am today, which is kind of late already.. but let's ignore that fact, 'kay? ^^"

Since my sister planned to meet up with friends in Amsterdam (the capital city of our country, we live like a 40-minute train ride away..), she was already up, watching a show of Super Junior on youtube.. It was Unbelievable Outing!! ^^ Love that show, although it gets kind of violent at times o_O.. Well, boys will be boys, eh? ^^

So I got up and watched it with her.. I'm kind of nosy towards my sister.. I want to know what she's doing! ^^ And it rewards, because sometimes she finds something very interesting.. =P
So I watched with her, until I remembered she had planned to spend the day in Amsterdam and it was already past 11:00 am..
I asked when she wanted to leave and she said she had still half an hour..
And with that she turned off her computer.. -_-" No UO for me anymore...

And then we had this conversation (it's not really the same words, but it kind of went like this):
Maria: You can't park your bicycle on the old spot anymore, you know that right?
Irene: Eh? What? Yeah, yeah.. *doing other things*
Maria: You have to park it at the newly opened stalls on the other side of the train station..
Irene: Huh? *still doing something else, but realizing she has to do something different with her bicycle*

Sometime later (my sister was still at home, but had now 15 minutes left)..
Maria: You don't know where it is, right?
Irene: *shrug* Not really..
Maria: Okay, wait, I'll show you, I have to go that way anyway..

So that's how I went to pick up my free student travel pass..
I went with my sister to show her the place to leave her bicycle and then went further to the post office..

At the post office, my first thoughts were.. "Oh no, it's closed again! O_O"
That was until I saw someone enter the building xD.. I think the fanfics have altered a new sense for drama in me.. ^^
Well, maybe not only the fanfics, but the J/K- drama's too.. ^^
I like to watch them from time to time, I'm not really an addict of those drama's, but I do enjoy them a lot!! =D
Someone at the site from where I learn a bit Korean once said she doesn't allow herself to watch Korean drama's because they affect the mind! xD
She said they make people believe in love at first sight and the perfect lover and such, while it's really rare to fall in love at first sight (and find the love returned), and meeting the perfect lover is even rarer..
I think she's right.. but the real dreamer (read: people like me) doesn't need a K-drama to believe in such mushy and romantic stuff! ^^
I think it's fair to say that every fangirl loving an idol will fall into the category of real dreamer! (no offense!! I'm one myself!!^^)

I think I lost touch with the title... ^^'
This was really off topic.. but I don't care! =)

To continue my story.. I entered the building too and was immediately confronted with a machine that offered me to get a number..
Nice.. I really don't like those systems, but I guess it's efficient..
So I took a look at the machine and I was confused immediately..
Why would they have two arrows and no explanation?! o_O
I should have made a photo and show it to you! xD You would have totally understood why I was confused..
There was a green arrow above, pointing to the right.. and there was a large red arrow pointing downwards to where the number would come out..
One of the arrows was the one to get the number..
The color green said it must be that arrow, but the RED arrow was pointing in the right direction! o_O
In the end I picked green and it was, fortunately, the right one! ^^
Lucky for me, I didn't have to wait very long.. My number was 108 and there were 2 desks, where number 105 and 106 were currently getting their business done..
Getting my free student travel pass was easy! ^^
After that I went home..

The rest of the day I was being boring xD I won't tell everything..
It all comes down to this.. I was writing my fanfics, checking my mail, hanging around the house and doing nothing xD
It was just too warm to do anything! o_O It was like 24 degrees Celcius, but it felt like a lot more because it was humid.. I like hot weather, but only if I'm still able to move and breath without much effort xD..
I'm just too lazy for humid weather.. ^^"

I'll stop here.. ^^ Byebye!! *waves and yawns* I'm tired!

Santiago Reunion!! ^^

Sunday...

Anonymous: "So what's new this Sunday? Every week has a Sunday.."

Maria: O_O "How can you not know?! I'm having a reunion with my fellow Santiago-go'ers!" ^^

Anonymous: "So what did you do?"

Keke.. I'll tell you! =)

I don't know if I have already told you or not, but I've been to Spain from 1 - 10 August this year! ^^

As you can guess, I went with a group, since it's useless to held a reunion if I went with my parents, of course ^^"

That would make this Sunday really no different from any other Sunday.. xD

Anyway.. to get down to the story.. =P You see, I'm really easily able to make a loooooong story of something that can be said in a few words.. -_-"

*goes off to be ashamed in her room*...

...

*comes back to continue her story*

^^" As I said, I should continue..

So to make a short story long... I mean, to make a long story short.. I went to the church today first.. wait.. I have to tell a lot more about today! ^^' *scratches the back of her neck*..

First of all, some of you might not know it, but I'm a Christian, so I go to church every Sunday.. =) My father plays organ there and my mum, my sister and me sing in the choir..

I love to sing in the choir, I just love to sing! ^^ But I'm not comfortable doing that outside church, so don't ask me to sing *hopes no-one does*..

After church we drank tea and had a choir practice.. ^^' that's actually a lot of fun!! (might sound dull, but it really isn't ^^!)

My dad has a new job for me.. ^^ He's going to play a piece of Bach soon and I'm the only one who can easily follow the notes from the sheet, so it's my job to turn the pages.. ^^ I play the piano, that's why I can follow the sheet easiest xD.. Don't get me wrong though, he doesn't pay me to do so.. ;)

I feel bad for my dad.. He didn't know that we weren't going home after that.. xD

I guess he didn't hear it when we spoke about the reunion of Santiago.. ^^

My dad must have thought he had the midday for himself.. but instead he has to drive us to Amsterdam to spend the rest of the day there..

The reunion was in Amsterdam where the "Borght" is..

We went with eight people to Madrid, Spain with an airplane, after that we drove with cars to PortoMarin. The next day we walked from Sarria back to PortoMarin (23km)(strange but true xD we drove away and walked back ^^').. The second walking day we walked from PortoMarin to Palas de Rey (26/27km).. The third day Palas de Rey - Melide (18km).. The fourth day Melide - Arzua (15km).. The fifth day Arzua - Lavacolla (21).. The sixth day Lavacolla - Santiago de Compostela!! (9km).. In Santiago we bought souvenirs and picked up our pilgrim certificate (there really is such a thing! ^^ Although you have to prove you walked the route by showing a pass with stamps retrieved on the way..)

After spending another day in Santiago we went back to Madrid and spend a day shopping there..
The day after it was already the day of departure..

I wished we had more time in Madrid, because I feel like not having seen much of Madrid, but on the other hand I was exhausted and my sister was feeling sick, so I wanted to go home too..

In the end, it was better that we left.. because my sister had given me her virus... -_-'

I have been sick for five days after getting home.. The virus made that I didn't feel like eating at all.. If I did attempt to eat something I would feel like throwing up.. After a day I felt really hungry and my stomach rumbled, but I still didn't feel like actually eating..

I'm telling too much... again...

Okay, just ignore the things that don't interest you! ^^
You know what you have to do if you don't like this blog.. just click the white X in the red box in the right corner above... ^^

Wait! Don't leave! O_O

Any reader that still reads now is at least interested! ^v^

So, where was I?

Oh, right, my vacation.. It was just exhausted! ^^ Finished talking about that xD

Now, on to the reunion..

As I told before in this blog, we went with eight people..

Me(19), Irene (my sister)(17), Anne(14), Monique(16), Danielle(15), Maartje(21), Tiny and Tinka (both above 30 xD)..

At the reunion we were all there except Monique, who couldn't come..

First we showed all the photos and talked about the fun memories and what we want to do next year.. After that it was cooking time!!! We had decided to make Spanish tortillas with a Spanish salad.. It was delicious! =9

I want to make it at home too! ^^

When I can make it, you can come and taste it sometime.. =D ^^ If I know you, and you know where I live.. xD

I had a lot of fun today! =)

Ah, something totally different.. I have to go to the post office tomorrow... >>

I really don't want to.. I don't know why, because it's actually for my free student travel pass, so I should be totally excited about going.. but, yeah, I'm not actually...

Yesterday I went, but the post office was closed so that's probably why I don't want to go there anymore.. I know, it's stupid xD

I went with my sister, because she wanted to go to the Library, which is across from the post office..

So I went in with her (I love books too!^^)

And I borrowed two good books and two DVDs..

The first is an English novel (untranslated) called "Angels Fall" written by Nora Roberts.. You might have heard from her, she's a best selling author and one of my favorites! ^^

The second book is a Dutch novel.. It's called "Heldere Maan" (roughly translated as "Bright Moon"), it's written by a Dutch writer of Chinese origin called Lulu Wang.. My Dutch readers might have heard from her, she's a brilliant writer!

The first DVD is "Little Miss SUNSHINE" a funny movie!! ^^ My dad had searched for it, because he wanted to see it, but he couldn't find it.. So I borrowed it to watch together with the three of us.. ^^ (my mum isn't really fond of movies, so she's kindly excluded *^.^* )..

The second DVD is "Romeo+Julliet" with Leonardo DiCaprio.. I once saw the movie in drama class at school.. I really like the movie (not just because Leonardo DiCaprio is in it.. I don't really get what people see in him either..), the movie is romantic! ^^

Hmm.. I think I'm finished blogging for today! ^^

See you tomorrow!! Ciaociao!! *waves, as usual energetic!*

WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!! ^^ We got visitors xD

Today I started up well! ^^
First thing I heard... "Wake up, today XX and XX are coming to play on the Wii.." (I won't call their names, since I don't know if they like to be known ^^, it's the kids of a friend of my mum's, ages: 8 and 13 or 14)
All I'll say is: They're really sweet! ^^
My mum was already totally excited while they wouldn't be there till 4 in the afternoon! xD
I'm really not a morning person, but I got up anyways, because I slept quit early yesterday.. (midnight is early for me xD)

Okay.. what story was I going to tell???

^^' This isn't interesting at all.. It's stupid.. =X .. see, now I've started making fun of myself >_<

Maybe I should tell you something that bothers me..
No, I'm not going to complain! ^^
I just have something with my eyes.. see, sometimes, they just won't stop tearing T_T
People might think I wear irritating contacts! =(
The fact that I wear a pair of glasses once in a while might just add to that..
Don't get me wrong.. it's not like I need a bucket when my eyes tear xD.. I just feel they are too wet, and I need to wipe them.. ^^ okay, never mind, it starts getting weird again..

Now, let me get to the actual story.. I tend to trail off..
Just now I was completely doing other things xD (I was watching a Youtube vid about SuJu, pre-debut and baby pics.. incredibly cute!! ^^ YeSungie!!)

That aside, I wanted to talk about my day xD and the visit of friends today =)
This morning I felt like Cinderella.. minus the stepmom, stepsisters, prom, beautiful dress and prince...
I vaccuum cleaned the entire lower floor of our house and I tidied my room (read: clearing the floor of my room ^^" )
Later on the vaccuum cleaning turned out to be useless.. try keeping the floor clean after eating crisps with an excited 8 year old.. ^^'
Right, not much success, but we had fun, so it didn't matter to me at all!! =D

Like I mentioned before, the visitors had come to play on the Wii.. ^^
My mum had bought batteries especially for that occassion xD The Wii remote hasn't been used for over at least 5 months, so the battery had died... T_T
XX and XX don't have a Wii at home, so they had never (or just once) played on a Wii before..
Now, don't think we have a lot of games.. we actually only have Wii Sports, which is like the standard game for the Wii ^^'
They actually enjoyed it alot!! xD
First thing the 8 year old boy asked, searching the types of sports: "Where is soccer?"

I laughed alot today, seeing my mum attempt a try at bowling.. ^^'
She's a natural talent *cough*
One of the visitors actually really was!! 0_0
She beat my highscore of bowling (which I tried real hard to get) in her first try!!! T_T I feel defeated...
...Not really, just joking! ^^
Anyway, it was good fun! Their mother was best at tennis, I suck at tennis..
In real life probably as much as on the Wii xD
My sport is more like hockey and dancing (if you consider dancing a sport)..

That was basically my day! ^^
Oh, and I got some great news!! =D
I am now officially awarded a place for the study of my choice!! ^^
YAAY!! =D
I really wanted to do a media study (from Dutch translated it's something like: Media, Information and Communication)..
Sounds like fun, eh? Well, it's actually said to be a tough study, but I'm going to do well! ^^ I hope..
I'll be learning a lot about all types of media, how to use the media and some skills too!
*gets more excited by the minute*
I'm really happy!! =D

I recieved a letter with information about the group I'm in, the day school starts and some parties that are going to be held! ^^
I don't know if I'm going to a party.. I don't know much people there yet.. only one former class mate, but I didn't really befriended her before.. she's kind though..
Maybe if she goes, we can go together.. there are other parties too, though!! ^^ There's one at the end of September, by then the introduction days have taken place, so I might have friends to go with! ^^
It sounds sad, doesn't it?
But all my friends don't go to HvA (the college I'm going to), they go to InHolland, Reinwardt and such.. and the parties are for people who go to HvA..

Well, it has its good things too, knowing nobody.. that means I can make a fresh impression and there are more new people to meet!^^
Plus, it makes me go out and meet people.. since I have to, in order to make friends xD

Oh.. before I forget.. I placed a banner on top of my blog... (where the title is)
I'll change it later on, but I like Onew.. so I'm okay with this for now! ^^
The new banner (I'm going to make it myself) will have pics of Korean artists too (^-^)=b
Now I just need to figure out how I change the background.. (*-*)a
How stupid it might sound, but I can't found how it should be done...

If someone knows how to change the background.. TELL ME!!

Well, that's it for today!! Byebye! Annyoung!!! *waves and smiles energetically*