Memememe
You know how sometimes people on your friend's list post about stuff going on in their life, and all of a sudden you think "Wait a minute? Since when are they working THERE? Since when are they dating HIM/HER? since when???" And then you wonder how you could have missed all that seemingly pretty standard information, but somehow you feel too ashamed to ask for clarification because it seems like info you *should* already know? It happens to all of us sometimes.
Because I felt like it. :)
1. First Name: Marianne
2. Age: 28
3. Location: southern part of the Netherlands, close to the border with Belgium. I could go into more specifics, but I think only two or three people would know the place. XD
4. Occupation: IT consultant, sort of. I work on the IT department of a company that produces cigars - I make reports in Cognos, which are being used throughout the company.
5. Partner: Ahaha. No. Happily single, for the most part. I wouldn't mind if I found the almost-perfect guy (or girl, for that matter), but I'm not actively looking.
6. Kids: See above. :Db
7. Brothers/Sisters: An older (almost 31) and younger (24) brother. My older brother, S, works as a programmer for a bank, and my younger brother, D, is in college. :)
I've always looked up to my big brother, though I suppose idolizing is a better word. Whatever he did was Cool and Marvelous and just generally Awesome. (And if I wasn't able to do the same things, it Obviously Meant that I was a Failure. Self-esteem issues, much? Thankfully I've outgrown that.)
Now, he's just my geek-ish older brother. Who watches anime with me and pilfers my fantasy books. But then again, I just as happily pilfer his fantasy books, so it's a good deal. ♥
My younger brother is the one who's had the most health problems in the family. When he was born, his pelvis and legs weren't fully formed, so he got a cast to immobilize his legs to enable the bones to gain their correct shapes. Later it turned out that one of his legs only grew for 80% compared to the other, so he's had surgery to lengthen his legs at the age of nine - because by then the difference was already 7 cm (which is... almost three inches?).
A couple of years ago he collapsed after a family dinner and landed on the tile floor with his head. He was rushed to the hospital and was in intensive care for a couple of days because next to the brain trauma his heart was beating in an irregular rythm. (There was even talk that he might have needed a pace maker, at the tender age of 19 years old. :/ )
Thankfully he is allright now - except for the nasty habit his knee has of popping out of it's, uh. Socket? (I have no idea if that is a correct term, but we'll go with it for now.)
8. Pets: Two birds, Box and Page. I've had them for almost a year now, and they're still crazy, paranoid and extremely messy. But every time they make a huge racket I get these warm and fuzzy feelings plus a huge grin on my face, so obviously I'm not minding all that much. ♥
9. List the 3-5 biggest things going on in your life:
♪ I have bought a house, which is being built right now. It'll be close to a year before it's ready, but in the meanwhile it's eating up all my money taking a lot of time to arrange everything.
♪ Sporting. I've taken up sporting two months ago, after not having done it in a couple of years. So now I'm in there three times a week, sweating my ass off and having fun while doing it. Yeah. It amazed me, too. (This also means that I'm getting out of the house again. Perhaps I will even get a local social life, one of these days!)
♪ My total inability to get online lately. I haven't even felt like turning my computer on all that much, let alone get online. I think I can count the amount of times I've been online lately on one hand. D:
♪ Um. Seriously, my life isn't all that interesting right now, especially because all of my time and money is going into the house. But if I have to name something else, I guess the fact that I have a steady contract at work? Which makes me proud, because they're so happy with me, but also gives me some mixed feelings... I guess it's the responsibility it suggests. ^^;
10. Where and for what did you go to school for?:
After high school I tried economics for a year, and decided it wasn't for me. I liked book keeping in high school, but to do it every day? Hell no, I pass.
So, of course, I went to another college to try and become a teacher. ...Yeah. Not quite the best course for me at the time, especially because my self esteem was at an alltime low, and I was afraid to keep the discipline in my class. Half a year, and then I ran screaming. Well, not so much screaming, but there was certainly running involved. \0/
I worked for the other half of the school year, and tried to decide What I Wanted To Do With My Life. I'd have loved to study literature (the evolution of languages, script) or archeology... but I had no idea if I'd be able to make a living with that. So I did some tests and ended up with information management-ish kind of things - which I decided on, after going to a couple of introduction days and things like that.
I studied Information Management in Maastricht, which is a city in the utmost southern part of the Netherlands, sandwiched between Belgium and Germany. It was a 40-minute busride and just over an hour in the train, followed by another ten minutes in the bus before I arrived there from home; but I absolutely didn't want to move out and into some dingy room (as dormlife isn't as big here as it is in the States). Which meant that I'd have to get the 6.17 bus to arrive at school on time, but I didn't even mind all that much.
You know? I actually miss college. I have a good job, but I'm seriously thinking of taking some more classes - probably either in literature or a language (French or Japanese are the current top two).
11. Parents:
My mom and dad have been married since 1974, and as Ka once described it, my mom is wearing the pants in this relationship. *laughs* The dad is now 58, and has gotten his pension three years ago (the lucky bastard).
I love my parents dearly, but sometimes they really get on my nerves... especially my mother. She's really overprotective, and I'm still trying to break her habit of treating me/us like I'm eight instead of twenty eight. It's one of the reasons I can't wait to move into my house. XD
But, seriously. I get on really well with both of them, and I know that I can always go to them for advice or help when I'm in trouble.
(And a reason why I'm proud of them: They've always told us that the packaging of a person isn't important. You're not defined by your sex, it's just a small part of the bigger whole. So whether someone is a woman or man, be it black, white, yellow, purple or green: treat them as a person. Whether someone is homo-, hetero-, bi-, pan- or not sexual at all: none of your business, treat them as a person. I'm really glad I have them as rolemodels in this regard, especially when I look at my niece when she refuses to be an organ donor because a black person might get her organs. Gah! >/ )
12. Who are some of your closest friends?: Ka and Tess, obviously. I've been a hermit and haven't spoken to them in a while, for which they should seriously kick my ass.
They are the closest I have ever let people come and I feel I don't have to wear any masks around them - they like me for who I am, not who I sometimes pretend to be. ILU GIRLS. ♥♥♥
~*~
And in unrelated news:
I came home from work today, and the brother: "Haven't you read your text message? I sent it at noon! D:"
Me: Uh, no. Bad reception, remember?
Brother: Ah. Well, Sonata Arctica is playing tonight. Their only show in the Netherlands for this tour! Wanna go? :D:D
Me: ...well duh. What time are we leaving? :Db
In other words: Concert tonight! *beams*
Because I felt like it. :)
1. First Name: Marianne
2. Age: 28
3. Location: southern part of the Netherlands, close to the border with Belgium. I could go into more specifics, but I think only two or three people would know the place. XD
4. Occupation: IT consultant, sort of. I work on the IT department of a company that produces cigars - I make reports in Cognos, which are being used throughout the company.
5. Partner: Ahaha. No. Happily single, for the most part. I wouldn't mind if I found the almost-perfect guy (or girl, for that matter), but I'm not actively looking.
6. Kids: See above. :Db
7. Brothers/Sisters: An older (almost 31) and younger (24) brother. My older brother, S, works as a programmer for a bank, and my younger brother, D, is in college. :)
I've always looked up to my big brother, though I suppose idolizing is a better word. Whatever he did was Cool and Marvelous and just generally Awesome. (And if I wasn't able to do the same things, it Obviously Meant that I was a Failure. Self-esteem issues, much? Thankfully I've outgrown that.)
Now, he's just my geek-ish older brother. Who watches anime with me and pilfers my fantasy books. But then again, I just as happily pilfer his fantasy books, so it's a good deal. ♥
My younger brother is the one who's had the most health problems in the family. When he was born, his pelvis and legs weren't fully formed, so he got a cast to immobilize his legs to enable the bones to gain their correct shapes. Later it turned out that one of his legs only grew for 80% compared to the other, so he's had surgery to lengthen his legs at the age of nine - because by then the difference was already 7 cm (which is... almost three inches?).
A couple of years ago he collapsed after a family dinner and landed on the tile floor with his head. He was rushed to the hospital and was in intensive care for a couple of days because next to the brain trauma his heart was beating in an irregular rythm. (There was even talk that he might have needed a pace maker, at the tender age of 19 years old. :/ )
Thankfully he is allright now - except for the nasty habit his knee has of popping out of it's, uh. Socket? (I have no idea if that is a correct term, but we'll go with it for now.)
8. Pets: Two birds, Box and Page. I've had them for almost a year now, and they're still crazy, paranoid and extremely messy. But every time they make a huge racket I get these warm and fuzzy feelings plus a huge grin on my face, so obviously I'm not minding all that much. ♥
9. List the 3-5 biggest things going on in your life:
♪ I have bought a house, which is being built right now. It'll be close to a year before it's ready, but in the meanwhile it's eating up all my money taking a lot of time to arrange everything.
♪ Sporting. I've taken up sporting two months ago, after not having done it in a couple of years. So now I'm in there three times a week, sweating my ass off and having fun while doing it. Yeah. It amazed me, too. (This also means that I'm getting out of the house again. Perhaps I will even get a local social life, one of these days!)
♪ My total inability to get online lately. I haven't even felt like turning my computer on all that much, let alone get online. I think I can count the amount of times I've been online lately on one hand. D:
♪ Um. Seriously, my life isn't all that interesting right now, especially because all of my time and money is going into the house. But if I have to name something else, I guess the fact that I have a steady contract at work? Which makes me proud, because they're so happy with me, but also gives me some mixed feelings... I guess it's the responsibility it suggests. ^^;
10. Where and for what did you go to school for?:
After high school I tried economics for a year, and decided it wasn't for me. I liked book keeping in high school, but to do it every day? Hell no, I pass.
So, of course, I went to another college to try and become a teacher. ...Yeah. Not quite the best course for me at the time, especially because my self esteem was at an alltime low, and I was afraid to keep the discipline in my class. Half a year, and then I ran screaming. Well, not so much screaming, but there was certainly running involved. \0/
I worked for the other half of the school year, and tried to decide What I Wanted To Do With My Life. I'd have loved to study literature (the evolution of languages, script) or archeology... but I had no idea if I'd be able to make a living with that. So I did some tests and ended up with information management-ish kind of things - which I decided on, after going to a couple of introduction days and things like that.
I studied Information Management in Maastricht, which is a city in the utmost southern part of the Netherlands, sandwiched between Belgium and Germany. It was a 40-minute busride and just over an hour in the train, followed by another ten minutes in the bus before I arrived there from home; but I absolutely didn't want to move out and into some dingy room (as dormlife isn't as big here as it is in the States). Which meant that I'd have to get the 6.17 bus to arrive at school on time, but I didn't even mind all that much.
You know? I actually miss college. I have a good job, but I'm seriously thinking of taking some more classes - probably either in literature or a language (French or Japanese are the current top two).
11. Parents:
My mom and dad have been married since 1974, and as Ka once described it, my mom is wearing the pants in this relationship. *laughs* The dad is now 58, and has gotten his pension three years ago (the lucky bastard).
I love my parents dearly, but sometimes they really get on my nerves... especially my mother. She's really overprotective, and I'm still trying to break her habit of treating me/us like I'm eight instead of twenty eight. It's one of the reasons I can't wait to move into my house. XD
But, seriously. I get on really well with both of them, and I know that I can always go to them for advice or help when I'm in trouble.
(And a reason why I'm proud of them: They've always told us that the packaging of a person isn't important. You're not defined by your sex, it's just a small part of the bigger whole. So whether someone is a woman or man, be it black, white, yellow, purple or green: treat them as a person. Whether someone is homo-, hetero-, bi-, pan- or not sexual at all: none of your business, treat them as a person. I'm really glad I have them as rolemodels in this regard, especially when I look at my niece when she refuses to be an organ donor because a black person might get her organs. Gah! >/ )
12. Who are some of your closest friends?: Ka and Tess, obviously. I've been a hermit and haven't spoken to them in a while, for which they should seriously kick my ass.
They are the closest I have ever let people come and I feel I don't have to wear any masks around them - they like me for who I am, not who I sometimes pretend to be. ILU GIRLS. ♥♥♥
~*~
And in unrelated news:
I came home from work today, and the brother: "Haven't you read your text message? I sent it at noon! D:"
Me: Uh, no. Bad reception, remember?
Brother: Ah. Well, Sonata Arctica is playing tonight. Their only show in the Netherlands for this tour! Wanna go? :D:D
Me: ...well duh. What time are we leaving? :Db
In other words: Concert tonight! *beams*