Easter

Been really busy the past week. The moot court competition I've been helping to organise is starting next week, so there are many loose ends and odd jobs to finish. Seems like nothing's ever done, and there's always more to do! The other day I was at the office from 9 to 7, got home, and worked more until 9! It's tiring, and some of the things are tedious to do, others just downright irritating (especially when you contact people and ask them questions, but they don't answer your mails!!!) , but in the end it's worth it, and I have a lot of fun at work with my colleagues.

So come Tuesday, we'll be receiving the first group of guests... in total twenty-five groups from all over Europe, so it's a lot of people! After that, it's three full days of work, work, work. In a way I'm looking forward to it, since me and others have been working on this since September. That feeling when everything comes together is great... then again, you hope that people will enjoy themselves and have fond memories of their time here, so there's 'pressure' to make things go as smoothly and problem-free as possible... everything, from the catering to the party, from the set up of the moot court sessions to the arrangement conference room tables, from the travel to the accomodation... little details, but things that hopefully will click together and work as planned.

Thankfully there's a long Easter weekend before all this, so time to relax and take it a little eas(y)ier before the busi-ness sets in. Been cleaning up the whole day today... my balcony has grown green and mossy over the winter, and leaves were collecting. Gave it a big swipe and sweep, and it's clear and fresh and ready to be sat on when the sun is out and bright! Planted a few pots of daffodils and hyacinths and hung them over the edge of the balcony... a refreshing feeling of Spring in the air, especially so with the sight of budding flowers.

I've invited a bunch of my classmates over for tomorrow. It's Easter Sunday, and I thought since none of them have family here, it'll be nice for them to have a 'homely' brunch. So went to buy a lot of food, and some of them will be bringing choclates and eggs. Should be quite a feast! For the occassion I promised to 'fast' a number of days... It was hard, and at times difficult to resist, but finally tomorrow I can have chocolates again!

Stroke

Suddenly today I got a mail from my cousin saying that my aunt had a stroke a few days ago. Thank goodness it was mild, and she's more or less recovered (I hope), but still it's messages like this that really stun me. Being so far away from my family, it's moments like this that you realise when you get to know what happened, it's already a few days later. This was a relative... but it could very well be my parents. What then?

Which made me think about my dad.... not that I don't think about him from time to time. Ever since he left around a month ago, I've not heard anything from him at all. I call hom every single week, but never have a chance to talk to him. I talk to my mum, but dad never answers the phone or bothers to call me. So I really don't know what is happening with him, or how he's doing. All I know about him is through my mum, and she said they've not talked to one another for over a month... the other day she cooked and asked him whether he wants to eat. He didn't answer and just looked at her like she's the number one enemy... I really don't understand what dad is up to, or what's going on inside his head... all this hatred and anger, how can you be happy and peace with yourself with all these negative feelings?

That's why it’s so disturbing to hear that my aunt had a stroke, and to know that it runs in the family. What if one day…? I dread to think of it, but it is a possibility. And the more I do not hear from my dad, I less I know about his wellbeing. If one day something does happen to him, when am I going to know? Who am I going to hear it from? What do I do...?

Beach at sunset

There’s something strangely romantic about an (almost) empty beach. More so when the sun is setting, and the sky is dyed in streams of orange, red, violet and dark, dark blue that collapse and merge into one another in a natural blend.

It’s been a while since I last went to the beach, and because the sky is getting darker later and later since the change to summertime, I cycled to the beach after dinner. It was nice and quiet, as the hordes of tourists have disappeared as dusk slowly approached. So it was just me, and the waves… a few other faceless couples in the distance, and curious dogs that came, sniffed and went away again.

So quickly Autumn and Winter went, and Spring is creeping in, while Summer is just lurking behind. But standing there watching the sky get darker and darker, all that didn’t seem to matter for a moment. The waves came and tried to ‘tag’ my feet, but I was most of the time quick to get away. Playing with the sea seemed such a precious gift, especially when at the back of my mind deadlines and things to be done are whispering.