{"id":1942,"date":"2007-10-31T15:45:25","date_gmt":"2007-10-31T14:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/levenmetals.nl\/dagboek-oktober-2007\/"},"modified":"2018-08-30T15:25:05","modified_gmt":"2018-08-30T13:25:05","slug":"diary-october-2007","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/levenmetals.nl\/en\/diary-october-2007\/","title":{"rendered":"Diary October 2007"},"content":{"rendered":"

Domestic help<\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve had our fair share of domestic helps over the years, from all walks of life. The oldies, the kids who just got out of secondary school and, of course, the huge amounts of students, who were usually bad at communication, cleaning or both. I like to have something to talk about over coffee and biscuits. I\u2019m so fortunate to have my standard domestic helps, but their replacements leave much to be desired. We used to be eligible for a personal domestic budget, but since July 1st, we\u2019ve had to chip in to pay our helps. <\/p>\n

I should have known there was going to be trouble when I received a letter telling me that I\u2019d have to start paying up to 900 euros a month for domestic help. I\u2019m not against paying some contribution, but I have limits. Last week, we got our first bill. 400 euros a month, as much as our domestic budget used to be. In short, we were paying the full price and simultaneously had to deal with the surrounding bureaucracy. We went to look for a cheaper alternative, something undeclared. We saw an ad in our supermarket for cleaning services from a Polish lady. She started this week and she doesn\u2019t speak a word of Dutch, just a bit of German. Her standard reply to anything we say is \u201cOK\u201d, which kind of reminds me of the Chinese lady who used to repeat \u201cYes, yes\u201d over and over again, even though she didn\u2019t have a clue what I was saying. The same goes for our Polish help. Roeline explained to her that she shouldn\u2019t do any vacuuming while I\u2019m sleeping, but that same day I was woken up by the sound of a vacuum cleaner. I tried to get her to stop, but to no avail. I was upset. Having an employee who doesn\u2019t speak a lick of Dutch is hard. I feel for all of the old people who are in the same predicament I\u2019m in, having to find terrible cheap alternatives to their former trusted helps. <\/p>\n

Fundraiser<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s going very well. Our meetings have been jolly and productive to boot. We\u2019ll be in at least three newspapers and thus far, the journalists have been very impressed with our work. At two o\u2019clock on Thursday afternoon, Lieke, Monieke and I were ready for our first interview, with another one scheduled two hours later. Our answers were swift and concise. Taking a flattering picture was the most difficult task of the day. I didn\u2019t like the way my mouth gaped in one, while Lieke wasn\u2019t happy about her nose in another. Monieke was the only one without any hangups. I wish someone could fix my teeth in photoshop, I\u2019m not too keen on the final picture.
\nRight now, our biggest concern is the Italian cuisine and its pricing. We\u2019ve been selling wristbands for three and five euros, letting people judge for themselves how much they\u2019ll eat that evening. It\u2019s an honour system, something some people in the committee find preposterous. I, on the other hand, am a firm believer in the honesty of our guests.
\nAnd ticket sales? I used to be worried about showing up in front of an empty theatre, but I\u2019m much more confident now. We\u2019ve sold 116 out of a total 219 tickets and I personally know a lot of people who intend on booking theirs soon. Get yours now, before they\u2019re all sold out!<\/p>\n

Grey<\/h2>\n

The following pictures were published alongside the newspaper articles about the fundraiser. My hair is so grey in them. I went to the hairdresser\u2019s in between shoots. I was planning on having my hair dyed, but decided against it. I was curious about how I would look with grey hair. Besides, dying hair is such a hassle. It\u2019s not too obvious yet because my hair isn\u2019t fully grey yet, but I\u2019ve been getting some positive reactions to my change of style. The kids aren\u2019t too thrilled though. <\/p>\n

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ervoor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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erna<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Audiobook<\/h2>\n

Five years ago, I listened to my first and last audiobook. It was a bit of a failure, as I\u2019d often fall asleep while I was listening. This week, I gave it a second try. Digital Fortress is a 350-pages-long book by Dan Brown. In audio form, it\u2019s seven hours and ten minutes. It went by in a blink and I finished it in about half a week, much faster than if I\u2019d read it. Moreover, I didn\u2019t fall asleep this time. I should give audiobooks another shot.<\/p>\n

PEG<\/h2>\n

I had another 2 hours of breathing problems on Sunday, because I couldn\u2019t dislodge the mucus from my throat. It was such an ordeal that I decided to eat through my feeding tube from now on. I had my doubts the following few days, because swearing off eating altogether is a big step. But I persevered and, that Thursday, there were five boxes in the hallway. I started that very same day, mainly because I felt a bout of strep throat coming. 1500 calories from only four glasses a day, meaning I\u2019d spend roughly 30 minutes a day on eating as opposed to the previous three hours of hard labour. The time I used to spend carefully eating and trying not to choke, I can now spend on better things. My carers were mainly there to help me eat, which took up the bulk of their time. We\u2019ll have to find something else to distract them with. A new routine. I haven\u2019t stopped eating conventionally completely. I like my breakfast way too much to give it up. <\/p>\n

In general<\/h2>\n

I can spend all day trying to distract myself with Polish cleaners, fundraisers and audiobooks, but reality is a lot more grim than that. I feel like my foundations are slowly crumbling. <\/p>\n