Last post

This is it, the last post of the year.
In an hour I'm off to relax and to get ready for the big party of tomorrow night.
I hope you people will all enjoy New Year's Eve.
Mónica and I will be spending it at the same hotel as last year.
The food was good, we had a great time last year and it is one of the few places that is having a dinner and party at an affordable price.

My throat has been hurting a little since a few days, but luckily it hasn't gotten much worse. I have already been taking medicines to avoid having to spend New Year's Eve at home. I guess I will be taking it easy all day tomorrow, to make sure that I'm feeling ok at night.

See you next year! Have a great and safe party.

Getting ready for saturday

I'm feeling terribly lazy today, but I kind of forced myself to write this entry anyway.
Christmas Eve was very nice. We spent it just like last year with Mónica's parents at their house. We had an abundant dinner, including all the best Spanish products, while we listened to a musical Christmas special on television.
We talked, joked around, drank lots of champagne and even made some pictures.

On Christmas day the weather was beautiful. So we went for a walk in the park and around town before having lunch with Mónica's parents again (someone had to help eat all those leftovers). To my surprise, they had bought a huge steak just for me, because they know how I enjoy a big, juicy steak.

This week, unlike many of you, I'm still at work. I used up all the holidays I had left this year to go to Belgium at the beginning of december.
Luckily, New Year's Eve is celebrated on a saturday this year, so we can still rest a little before starting to party.
And I heard that we are even allowed to leave work a few hours early this friday. I won't refuse that offer!

It's lottery day

Today, a lot of people in Spain have become a little (or a lot) richer, thanks to the drawing of the yearly Christmas lottery.
It is supposed to be the biggest lottery in the world, with a prize money of 2.023.000.000 euros this year. Mind you, not all of this money goes to one winner. There are 2210 winners all over Spain today, and the biggest prize is 300.000 euros.
The chance of winning is 1/85.000, which is much higher than in other lotteries. That's why this lottery is so popular, and every Spaniard spends on average 70 euros on it.



The drawing of the winning numbers takes 3 hours and is considered a special event, as the drawn numbers and corresponding winning amounts are sung by little children.
When the big prizes are drawn, the little children get all excited and start singing faster and louder. It's a funny thing to watch.
My lottery number wasn't one of the winning numbers. So I better get back to work.

Breathe in

One of my favourite albums of the year is the debut album 'Breathe in' by the young British singer-songwriter Lucie Silvas.
She got famous in Spain thanks to her live performance in the popular television program 'Operacion Triunfo', and for re-recording her first single 'What you're made of' as a duet with the Spanish singer Antonio Orozco.
Her debut album contains 13 songs that are all of an outstanding quality, the way any album on the market should be.

Therefore I was surprised not to find her name in the Belgian charts when I was in Belgium last week. My surprise got even bigger when I couldn't even find her album in the Belgian music stores.
In Holland however, her album is one of the best sold albums of the moment. Strange. Apparently her album didn't get promoted in Belgium.
Anyway, If you don't know her music, check it out. You're in for a nice surprise.

Home again

I'm back home, in Spain, after spending 8 days with my family in Belgium.
I had a very nice trip, and it was great to see my friends, family and the newborn babies.
It's incredible how fast time goes by when you're busy, as it seems that I have only spent 3 days in Belgium instead of 8. Although Mónica won't like me saying this, because for her those 8 days seemed to last an eternity.
But that's probably because she was alone at home, waiting for me to return. I'm sure I would have felt the same way if I was at home and she had been gone for a week.

The flights were luxurious (nice work, Iberia), the weather was cold and foggy, the Belgian food and beers were delicious, my little niece was absolutely adorable, the friends hadn't changed a bit and the newborn babies smelled like Johnson's baby powder.
And of course I had to fix computers and digital cameras and help my mom put up the Christmas tree (nobody can arrange the lights in the tree like I can).

Now I'm off for a weekend of complete relaxation. Although another Christmas tree is still waiting to be decorated. But now I'm on a roll.

Holiday!

Today was my first and also my last workday of this week.
Tomorrow is a holiday in Spain, so I will have plenty of time to pack my bags, maybe even put up the Christmas tree and spend my last evening together with Mónica.
I'm sure it will be hard for us, having to miss each other for 8 days. Mónica will be crying tears of grief while my mother already cried tears of joy because she will see me again.
I'm looking forward to seeing my family and friends again. And those 8 days will fly by in no time, I'm sure.
Too bad that it's so cold and dark in Belgium these days. I'm not used to that kind of weather anymore.
I got myself a new and bigger memory card for my camera, and I'm planning to use it at all times.
And during the evenings when I'm bored, I might even post a little update here.
If Dorien or Tine have some time to get together someday, they can leave me a comment. I'm in town until December, 14.

2 years ago today

2 years ago today, I arrived in Spain, nervous and not knowing what the future would bring.
Today my dad sent me an e-mail, telling me that my mother was feeling sad this morning, because I had been gone for 2 years.
So I gave her a call this afternoon. She was all emotional and started telling me that they hardly ever see me, and that I live so far away.

So I decided to tell her the news that I will be visiting them next week.
I said: 'Well, you can come and pick me up at the airport on wednesday, if you like'.
She first thought it was a joke. But once she realized I wasn't joking, she was all excited.
She said: 'Now I have to finish the Christmas decorations before you come!'.
I think I just made her day.