I never said I was deep

A while ago I went to the 'Rome party' at my old high school with my sister and her best friend Liselot.

Four years ago, when I was in my last year at high school, me and Guy (an ex-Latin teacher and still a good friend of mine) organised the party for the first time as an addition to the last year's students trip to Rome. The concept was a completely Italian party, with ice cream, pizza etc. It was a huge success, and so were the two following editions (even more, because the ex-students came back every year).

Now, for some fuzzy reason, the principal of the school had decided the party couldn't be organised at school any longer. Fortunately, a lovely girl who is currently in her last year at the school, transferred the party to the large shed at the back of her house.

It turned out to be a very nice evening, with yummy tiramisu, lasagna and wine (not as much as last year though - good thing!). Even a bonfire! I was also very pleased to see some of my ex-class mates came over as well.

Roland Garros week 2

I could write a complete report on the highlights of the second week at Roland Garros, but I won't. I know there are some people I should do more justice (Del Potro, Söderling, Gonzalez...) but I can't deny there's only one thing I really want to say right now: ROGER FEDERER HAS WON ROLAND GARROS! This is such a beautiful moment in sports history. Roger now won his first Roland Garros, his "career slam" (which means he's already won each grand slam at least once) and he equalled Pete Sampras's record of 14 (!!!) grand slams!

He managed to do this by beating Robin Söderling (the "Nadal-slayer" but also the unexpected killer of Davydenko and Gonzalez) in straight sets. Söderling fought bravely, but Federer played his best matched of the tournament and let's be honest, nobody knows how to handle Roger when he uses his best tennis. We all know what Roger is capable of, but the big question was if he would be able to cope with the stress now there was so much at stake. That didn't seem a problem at all, though, and so the Swiss managed to finally get what he deserves more than anyone. He was crying from happiness when he scored the deciding point, and I was crying along as I was so happy for him. I can't wait to see what happens now. I think this victory will take away a lot of stress for Roger, which should be a really good thing for his play.

Well done, Rog!

Roland Garros week 1

When Grand Slam tennis is on, I'm always glued in front of the television screen, exams or no exams. No exception to that rule was last week, the first week of Roland Garros 2009. It was a very interesting tennis week, with a significant amount of top class matches and some very unexpected losses. The highlights:

- Last year's champion and also favourite for this year's title, Rafael Nadal, rushed through the first three rounds (beating Daniel and crushing Gabashvili and ex-number one Hewitt), only to surprisingly lose in the fourth round against Swedish subtop player Söderling.

- Novak Djokovic was supposed to be one of the most important outsiders to challenge Nadal, but he didn't even survive the third round, when German clay specialist Kohlschreiber crossed his path.

- Someone who did better than expected, is Nikolai Davydenko. The Russian is of course an excellent player, but nobody really thought he already had enough match rythm to really challenge the big guys in this Slam. Wrong. Davydenko well impressed against young talents Wawrinka and Verdasco.

- However, like usual, my eyes are mainly focused on Roger Federer, who is eager to finally win Roland Garros and even Sampras's Grand Slam record. Federer had some tough matches, especially against gravel specialist Acasuso as well as this afternoon at the start of week 2, battling a strong Tommy Haas (who - we may not forget - is a former number two, and whose rather moderate ranking is only due to lots of unjuries). But fortunately there's enough to keep the hopes up. Roger already showed us some new techniques, is mentally ready for big challenges (against Haas, he returned from 0-2 to 3-2 in sets!) and still has that great touch we love so much (which he especially demonstrated against Mathieu). Come on Roger!

- The road seems to be open for Roger Federer to win his first Roland Garros now Djokovc and Rafa are out, but danger is lurking only right around the corner. Murray, Roddick, Tsonga, Monfils, Del Porto and Davydenko are only a few names to look out for.

- Women's tennis is pretty boring nowadays, lacking real champions. However, my vote for this Roland Garros goes out to Safina, who is playing excellent so far (only giving away 5 games in 4 matches!) and who kind of deserves it as well.

- When it comes down to new female talents on the horizon, I'd like to point out Larcher de Brito, a 16-year-old girl from Portugal who made it until the third round, where she lost from Rezai. It's a girl with a temper (!!) but I kind of like that commitment, and it's clear her techniques are great.

Throw the dice, unravel our lies

My excuse for not posting very often at the moment, is the simple fact that I'm not up to so many things because of my pre-exams study period that has just started. But here are some pictures of me and my sister enjoying the sunny weather last weekend.

Most played (11)

1. Manic Street Preachers - Marlon JD


2. Patrick Wolf - Vulture


3. Placebo - For what it's worth


4. The Alexandria Quartet - Into the light


5. Lene Marlin - Here we are

Eurovision

Each year, my sister and I traditionally watch the Eurovision Song Contest. Okay, a lot of the music you get to hear is crap, but there's no better entertainment when you're up for a quiet evening at home. Sometimes you even discover some pretty neat songs among the kitsch overload. This year's favourites of mine:

Bosnia-Herzegovina: Regina - Bistra Voda

I almost always love the Bosnian entries. They always stick to their own culture ànd manage to deliver great songs performed by amazing singers. Here are some other lovely Bosnian entries from previous Eurovision editions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si7Z1M3F7uk (2006) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10Jyf9TLzzw (2008).

Malta: Chiara - What if we

A Disney-like song written by a Belgian bloke, I was especially amazed by Chiara's beautiful voice. No idea why people prefered the Icelandic ballad to this one.

The more I see, the less I scream

Wooh, I've got the job! :)

Here are some pictures of Lille (France). My parents took me and my sis there during easter holidays and we had a very nice day trip.

haha, I go to France and I buy a British souvenir :)

Under a sheet of rain in my heart

I had a student job application interview today at the Brussels airport in order to work there as a saleswoman in one of the so-called 'Sky Shops'. I'm really hoping to get in there for this summer since it's a necessary job if you'd also like to work there during the year - which is what I'd love to do during my last year at uni, since I'll have almost no courses and because I need the money.

I was bloody nervous but I think the interview went pretty well. My mouth was sooo dry from all the nerves, but I did pretty good on answering the questions in French and English. Plus, I added some German and Italian to impress. ;) They also seemed to like the fact that I write for two music magazines since they kept on asking questions about that ("Which famous people did you meet so far?", "Can you go backstage at concerts?" and so on), haha. I didn't look like the typical airport saleswoman though. Almost all of the other candidates - except for one other girl and quite obviously the boys - had gigantic boobs. Hm, I hope cup size is not part of the criteria or I'm totally screwed. I'll know if I get the job or not in 7 days tops. Fingers crossed!

Oldie of the Week (5) - Echo & The Bunnymen, "The Killing Moon"

For this week's Oldie, we go back to 1984. In this year, British post-punk band Echo & The Bunnymen released its critically acclaimed album 'Ocean Rain'. A lot of people's favourite on this classic album is 'The Killing Moon', an atmospheric song with vocals (Ian McCulloch!) and a bass line (Les Pattinson!) that I simply adore. The song can also be heard in the movie 'Donnie Darko', a film with an overall great soundtrack (Joy Division! Tears For Fears!).



Under blue moon I saw you
So soon you'll take me
Up in your arms
Too late to beg you or cancel it
Though I know it must be the killing time
Unwillingly mine
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him

In starlit nights I saw you
So cruelly you kissed me
Your lips a magic world
Your sky all hung with jewels
The killing moon
Will come too soon
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him

Under blue moon I saw you
So soon you'll take me
Up in your arms
Too late to beg you or cancel it
Though I know it must be the killing time
Unwillingly mine
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
FateUp against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
You give yourself to him
La la la la la...

Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
La la la la la...
etc