friedkitten.com - insanity included.

I had quite some things to do tonight, and while I didn't get all of them done, those most important were accomplished. I'll be wrapping up one last mail I have to write and send that out before I head off to bed though.

I finished the first - and possibly final - draft of a flyer that we'll need soon, I did manage to talk to my little sis for quite some time, I created a DVD with all the images from our recent trip to Croatia (will have to burn at least one more copy) and I created an e-bay account for Schattie upon her request. I re-listed my playstation 2 console with 22 games, dualshock II controller, multitap, memorycards and eyetoy camera, as well as a copy of the Suicidegirls book (brand new, 155 pages).

Off to get that mail sent out and then to bed I head.

The apartment is definitely starting to look.... worse. Well, I wasn't really expecting it to be different, but still, it does kind of surprise me. I just walked back in after hauling 10 bags of trash from the garage to the pavement for pickup in the morning, as well as the carpet and the sofa(s) and it just struck me as I stepped in. It seems so empty, even though there is still a lot to be done. Next one the list is take out the last two chairs, which means no more comfy seating for the rest of the week, unless I plant my ass on the tiled floor, lol.

It's quite late already, but I'm planning to fill up the last bag and then head off to home and grab a quick snack on the way home. Back on Tuesday right after work for more cleaning and throwing things out. Looking forward to the 15th, yet not at the same time (depending on whether or not I make the deadline I've set myself).

* unfortunately, I've yet to find gold in here. The only thing I found so far is trash and things I no longer need, care for or fit in. I did bring 4 chairs from the new house here to put them out for collection tomorrow, but when I just walked out, they appeared to have been collected by someone already. Guess they could still use them. Suits me fine, I've gotten rid of them :-)

As I'm cleaning out the apartment, I've come across things I had long forgotten I had. I found photographs - you know the hard copy kind - that are ten years old. They pictured me and my ex-girlfriend when we were renovating the apartment. Well, it looks more like were we tearing it apart, which is pretty much what we did before we moved in to it. Ah... memories.

I don't really feel sad or sorry for having moved on though, or moved at all. My bond with this apartment is long gone and it had become no more than a place to rest and eat when needed. It stopped being a "home" a couple of months after we broke up. You know... a home is so much more then a place. A home is feelings, emotions, not just bricks and a roof.

Anyway, back to slaving I go. I'm still shooting for August 15th, though looking at the mess and work still to do, it could become difficult.

Update : I just managed to haul the two, three seat and the corner piece of my sofa down thee stories on a small common hallway. Why? Because it needs to be down by Monday morning 7AM, otherwise they won't pick it up. I almost broke a leg doing it, but hey... almost is also how close I usually come to winning the lottery. I'm gonna bring down the next two bags of junk and one more cabinet, and then call it a day. Tomorrow I'll work on the computer room some more - anyone interested in a server cabinet by the way? - and take out the carpet that has been in the living room for over ten years. The remainder then is - if I'm judging correctly - one

I got access to the new World Of Warcraft Cataclysm Beta... installing it as I write this. The new Starcraft II looks superb as well, too bad I don't have the time to play it all :)

My life is more than games and work nowadays...

Spent a very nice vacation in a rented caravan in Park Umag in the Istria region of Croatia. When we arrived on Saturday evening around 22h30 after a 19 hour trip (of which we drove over 17 hours, the rest was spent at stops to eat, toilet breaks, etc) we were still welcomed at the reception and were quickly told where our spot was. We were even able to still get a pizza, so even though we ate close to midnight, everything went rather fine. The trip however was really taxing and we got stuck in traffic jam after traffic jam, either caused by road works going on or general congestion, especially at the Tauren Tunnel and around Munchen. We lost loads of time there. But... enough of that, let's get on with the vacation itself.

When we woke up on Sunday - too early, due to rain pouring down - we looked at each other and the kids an wondered if it would be like this for the rest of the holiday. Luckily enough, the sky cleared up in the afternoon and after dinner we went out, exploring the camp site. Even though it is one of the larger camp sites, it is very well layed out, so that you never feel like fish in a barrel. Loads of open spaces, green grass and play fields for the kids to enjoy.

While we spent quite some time in or near the swimming pool - which sports a large pirate ship in the midst of it - we also took trips to nearby towns (Pula, Poreč, Pazin, Labin, Motovun, Novigrad, Umag, Rovinj, as well as a day long boat trip. We all caught loads of sun and the kids had the time of their life in and around the swimming pool.

The last couple of days though, we were greeted by dark clouds and thunderstorms coming in daily from around 18h00, which cut our days at the pool short, and forced us to visit Labin and Pazin in rainy conditions :(

When we got back to the camp site on Thursday, it turned out that we had escaped from the worst of the weather though, while city tripping : the camp site was flooded in places, electricity went out - and stayed out for 20 hours! - in the zone were we were and everyone scrambled to get rid of the water. Due to those conditions we decided to leave on Friday evening instead of Saturday morning, which - I must say - turns out to be a good if not great decision : instead of looking at a trip of over 19 hours, we got home in just under 13h and thirty minutes.

Photo's will be shared with those close to us later, once we have had the time to go over them, finished doing laundry, clean up and get some much needed sleep.

Over the weekend I have been fighting with my Mio Moov 370, Schattie's Tom Tom Go 300, and now I've just told my HTC Hero to get the latest update installed. The Mio Moov I spent 50 euro on to get the latest maps and an activation key, but it fails to install due to some error while communication with the Mio server. I already mailed support - to no avail, of course - so for the time being I'm 50 euro lighter and not the slightest map update further.

The Tom Tom Go claims to have all the latest updates installed, but I don't believe that for a bit.

Just hope the Hero update goes much smoother :)

May report once completed, if I don't forget, that is, lol.

It's only 31 degrees today, so I'd dare call it "not that hot" though it definitely doesn't feel like it. It's damn damn hot!

This morning I was informed that the rental contract has been completed and signed, so I think we're good to go. I'll be registering the contract soon and inform the bank that it has been signed and starts earning rent in September. I think they'll like it as well. Sure enough, that means loads and loads of work to be done before August 31st and preferably August 15th, but we'll see whether that is actually feasible.

Too hot work on the computer more, so off I go.

Had quite some people calling me about the apartment for rent, and today I saw the first couple. They immediately loved it and told me they'd take it. I'll be sending them a contract tomorrow for them to sign and then we can proceed. I've got another woman coming in to see it, but I'll tell her right away that it's probably gone, but that I'm willing to write down her details in case the first couple backs out again (one never knows).

After our trip to Croatia, I'll have tons of work here, but I might be able to get it all cleaned out before August 15th, which would make things easier on them, as well as allowing me to charge half a month rent earlier.

I sure hope they keep their word and sign and send the contract back to me, so we can get this issue out of the way for once and for ever. Off to play some WOW now - I did ponder about going out to see Iron Man 2, but I may do that one friday instead.

The time of looking at how-to papers is gone and on Tuesday I started digging where the elevated terrace is supposed to be created. If you frown right now, I don't blame you, even though I don't know why exactly you're frowning. Is it because you're not supposed to dig down when building an elevated construction, or is it because it was 28 degrees Celsius on Tuesday and only an idiot would spend close to 8 hours digging in that heat?

Yes, it was 28 degrees outside and I started digging around 9h30 and finished up around 10PM with a very much needed break every once in a while. As for the construction process.. in order to have some stability, I opted to dig out a 5.28sqm zone which now is ready to pour a concrete screed upon/in. Once that's done, we'll have to let if dry out and then attach the wooden tiles to it. The tiles we thought were definitely lost, but after taking them out of the deck that was in when we bought this house, they seem to be rather good after all. Schattie spent quite some time cleaning them up and if they get another good scrub and a new layer of paint or oil, they'll be as new.

Today it's about 33 degrees Celsius outside and I'm at it again, this time digging out the last corner of sand and rubbish the previous owners created. So far 6 wheelbarrows have been filled and emptied and I think I've got another 2 to go. Sweat is dripping off on every side of my body and if someone was to TP me right now, all the paper would stick to me like... stickiness, lol?

Just checking to see what offer the company has made me to deliver 3 cubic meters of concrete screed on Wednesday, and then we should have taken another very big step forward to making this house and yard look better.

Back out into the sun I go... sweat you later!

Spent most of my day so far by looking up info on building a terrace. Called dad to see if he had suggestions or answers to the many questions I faced while thinking over the project. Contacted 5 companies to make me a price for the job and will then compare their prices to the option of attempting it all on our own.

We're talking close to 18sqm here with a thickness of 15 to 18cm. I used a quick online calculator, and lets be honest... I don't see us taking in 2500kg of sand, 1096kg of cement, 3.130kg of stone and 548l water to make concrete. If we opt for "chape" we're talking 4695kg of sand, just 783kg of cement and 392l of water. Which is still an awful lot of materials!

Hopefully the plumber will show up today as well to give us advice or a solution to the leak we had or still have, so we can file everything with the insurance company. The rainwater pump pressure vessel is also leaking, so I'll have to replace that as well, possibly tomorrow, depending on what else is pushed to the front of the to-do list.

Life = working on improving life

That's the score I got on the apartment's EPC, which is not that bad for a place built back in 1973 I'd say. The house we live in now scores 112 or so which is pretty good, but then again, that was built in 2001.

Off to finish the description and set my price, then drop it all in the mailbox of the neighbors and wait for a response. I want this place rented out already...