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I got to see my new apartment yesterday. Yesterday had already been quite a good day, what with me discovering an absolutely wonderful song (Happiness by Super Junior – you just can’t help being happy when you listen to it), but seeing the apartment made it ten times better. I can hardly wait for moving day now…

My landlords are really wonderful, by the way. According to my mother they’re practically family (though mostly my mother’s generation – us young ones haven’t really met much). So helpful, so positive, so enthusiastic, and so genuinely nice people. They seemed really happy that I liked the apartment.

The apartment itself has an entrance/hall, which I have missed where I live now. It’s more roomy than in the pictures I saw of the apartment and actually has closets there to hang coats. That means it will look nice and tidy even if I have all my coats and jackets hanging there.

The main room is a combined living room and bedroom, constructed so that the bedroom part seems kind of like a separate room nonetheless. There’s also plenty of closet space and two large sets of shelves. Maybe I’ll actually have room for all my books, combined with the bookshelves that I bring with me, finally. There’s also a sofa which can be made into a bed if needed, and two small coffee tables, and a desk (which means I can’t bring the huge desk I already have, but contrary to what my mother insists, there would have been room for it otherwise. Maybe it’s a good thing there’s already a desk, as my mother and I won’t be able to argue about it anymore I’ll probably ask for the computer table we have at home, though).

The bathroom is more spacious than the one I have now – a washing machine, and a shower with… I’m not sure what it’s called in English, but instead of shower curtains there’s “walls” around it. Very nice. Plenty of shelf space for all my toiletries and make up. I can actually be in there without knocking into something. That’s difficult where I live now.

The kitchen is really cozy. It has old-fashioned wallpaper, and all the cupboards are old too, but then again there are plenty of cupboards. There’s a tiny dining table which can be turned into a larger table, and a balcony that looked small but is actually quite roomy. And the view! I have a proper view again. At one place it’s obstructed by a tall building, but other than that… FAR better than just seeing a fence and another house from your window. And the kitchen has a “kitchen machine” (don’t know the English name. Used for making dough for bread and cakes etc.) that is old as dirt, but apparently still works. Not to mention, easy to keep clean, contrary to the one where I live now. The most important thing: Huge refridgerator. Three shelves in the freezer part, and the fridge part is STILL far bigger than my current fridge.

The apartment is in a block building, and it’s kind of an old fashioned building. There’s a laundry room (even though I have my own washing machine there) and a hobby room, garden room (as if there’s a garden – but I’m thinking of having flowers or grow vegetables on my balcony) and store rooms. Few of these rooms are in use, but they’re there… We also met one of the ladies in charge there. She’s probably lived there since it was built, at least she looked like it, and was in the board for the block. Apparently she wasn’t sure I could be trusted with the washing machines, although it’s not like there’s no instruction poster for them, and seemed to think that the idea of showing me the washing machines just in case when I have one in my apartment was completely strange.

Apparently one of my neighbours is a very curious person. I guess I’ll have to expect plenty of questions the first weeks, both from her and others. And I’ll have to get used to the fact that it’s right by the road, so it’s more noisy. But when I was there the balcony door and the windows were open, and there wasn’t really that much noise. I’ve lived by a much noisier road before, so I can handle that. Especially since this location means that it’s 30-50 metres from a supermarket, in which what remains of the post office is currently located, and 5-10 metres from the bus stop to town.

The first 2,5 hours at work has NEVER been so long. I just can’t wait – I got up at six this morning to pack, although it’s six more days until the move (possibly only 5), and now I kind of have to stop myself so I don’t pack the things I need in the meantime. I almost have enough boxes for everything, even.

Oh well, back to work, counting the hours.

It seems I change my plans for the future more often than many people change socks.

I had first decided that I wanted to try to get into my university’s PhD programme once I had finished my Master’s degree. Then I decided that it would probably be wise to work a year or so – then that I should try to get accepted into a bachelor’s degree in Japanese (being that I have the modules needed for 3 of 6 semesters and thus only lack the Japanese bit it wouldn’t take too long).

Some days ago one of my colleagues showed me the website CouchSurfing.org, which is basically about people offering you a place to stay. That way it’s actually possible to travel quite a bit without so much economic loss.

So now I’m thinking about working as much as I can for one year, and then travel for half a year or a year. I’d have to save up a great deal of money. AND if I get my translation thing up and running I’d be able to earn some money while travelling, same if I manage to earn something doing stock photography. (I have also decided to go for using my interest as a possible extra income)

I’d like to go to Italy, first and foremost, but also Iceland, Portugal, France, Scotland, Wales and Ireland (I’ve already been to England several times, but yeah… also England). Actually I’d like to go on a “castle tour”, visiting all the noteworthy castles of Europe. Or seeing all the old cities – I guess I could spend half a year only in Italy.

I wonder which of my plans will actually turn into reality…

I find it very rewarding to go through all the good things in my life once in a while, in order to remember that my life is very good and as a “fuck you” to my depression. Today things are very good, in spite of some not-so-good things, but let’s not dwell on those.

- The card reader at work finally started working again. It only took half an hour on the phone Good thing the CSRs at the company which supplies our card reader are both knowledgeable and nice. Usually, in such places and despite their PR, they are only the first. Sometimes neither. But this was a good experience.

- Tapas tonight

- I’m soon going to see both the latest Harry Potter movie and Ice Age 3, and will probably also find the time to see Public Enemies. It’s so good that there finally is coming movies I want to see again.

- It is now less than two weeks until I’m moving, and I’m getting to see the apartment next Thursday. My new landlord sounds very nice on the phone, and my mum, who’s met him (his aunt is a colleague of hers, and his mother was my mother’s maid of honour in my parents’ wedding) says he IS very nice too.

- Stine, my old flatmate (though it’s only two weeks since she moved out), and her dog have been visiting me the last days.

- I have possibly found a way to take Japanese next year after all. Discovered that even if I need to take another bachelor’s degree in language I have all the other units so all in all, I only need 1,5 more years. That is, if I’m allowed to take it. But still there’s hope.

- London in less than a month

- Several days off in the last part of the month.

- Last but not least, I just had the best holiday ever.