After the second shot was administered, I felt great. Like nothing could shoot me down.. Thirteen hours later, though.. Well.. Let's just say I am happy I was informed about the side effects, because they came to say hello.
5 hours in, it started with muscle pain at the place of vaccination on my arm. I had that the last time as well, so I wasn't worried. If anything, there's less pain than before. Okay, so the pain came to stay. "I can deal with this, if that's all I get", was my though. 8 hours later, however.. Well, that's when the fever and headache began.
By the time I was going to bed, I walked like an old man. I was super uncomfortable, and it took me twice the time to get downstairs to brush my teeth than it usually does. I finally laid down in bed, where I was hoping to get some sleep. The fever, however, kept me awake until 2 am, where it mercifully subsided, and allowed me to fall asleep.
I feel back to normal today, after I finally got some sleep. The thing about these side effects I experienced, is that they are perfectly normal. One of my friends, who also got the same vaccine as me, had the exact same side effects. I was not worried at all, just annoyed that it prevented me from sleeping. Hopefully I will be able to get a full nights sleep soon
My youngest niece turned 9 yesterday, so we were having a birthday celebration for her today. It was a proper child birthday, complete with cake, chocolate milk and freshly baked buns. Plus a lot of presents, but it's a 9th birthday, so presents are a given. The gifts were beads, slime and a bunch of stretchy toys, so my niece was very happy.
On my way home, I decided to unfriend and block my previous housemate. I had already unfriended and blocked his girlfriend, so now it was time to do the same to him. The person in question is the guy I lived with for three years. The guy that was talking to me like I was 5. Not the person I lived with before moving to this new room. Anyway.. I felt it was time, since I don't really have the desire to reconnect with him, or have him be a part of my life again. He's probably gonna be really angry about me just unfriending and blocking him, but it's my life to live, and if I cannot find a place for him in it, then I don't see why I should.
My life has improved significantly after I moved away from him. Not having to look over my shoulders all the time. Not having to watch where I step, remember that there's a robotic vacuum cleaner running all the time. I also sleep a LOT better, which is very important when I have to begin studies soon.
I might have celebrated my 37th birthday two months ago exactly, but it's never too early to plan my next big bash - my 40th birthday! What follows now and a few blogs in, is ideas that I have for the various parties that I can plan and host.
Let's start with a garden party. Theme: USA.
The menu would be bbq food - Texas style. I then need to get all the sides. We're talking potato salad, garlic bread, mac & cheese, baguettes, condiments, salad and what else is present for a good USA bbq. I think I will need to contact a company that rents out fridges for parties, and explain that I am turning 40, so I might need two of the biggest fridges they have. Then I'm gonna head to Germany to buy all the soda and beer I can haul. By the time I am 40, I will have a driving license. I will then rent or buy a van, and fill it up with said soda and beer. Forget buying it here, it's WAY too expensive.
I NEED to have a party where there is spared NO expense on anything - at all! If I start saving up now, I should have plenty of money to host a fantastic birthday bash.
Anyway, that's the food and drinks situation planned. Next up is decoration. complete with country music, hay bales and other pure USA. That means dress code. I just need to narrow down what that's gonna be. I am thinking a somewhat laid back dress code. No suit/tie, dress or fancy clothing. It's a bbq, and things WILL get messy, food wise. Getting bbq sauce on a white shirt is not gonna end well.
I might actually invite an American friend over, so I get everything just right! Fingers crossed if that can happen!
Next idea is coming up later!
Yesterday morning, I went to my aunts place for some lunch, and a few hours later, I was back home, still feeling a bit rough from the vaccine side effects. Mostly fatigue, which I could handle. I was just spending time in my chair, until it was time for bed.
Now, I am not religious, but after a night with pretty much no sleep, I was PRAYING for a night of continuous sleep - and I got just that! As a result, I woke up refreshed this morning! Absolutely wonderful!
So now, I hope that all my nights from hereon in are like that - no waking up randomly at 5 am, which sucks a lot!
My plans for the week are simple: Preparing for my education to begin on Monday at 9 am!
I got an email earlier today, from the school where I am set to begin my trucker education. It was very good reading!
Monday 9 am: Meeting and dividing into teams. The day is done by 1 pm
Tuesday 8 am: Check in, and a tour of the premises
Wednesday 8 am: Check in and more touring the premises, as well as some study strategies.
Thursday 8 am: Check in and teambuilding. After that, we get our student ID and our OneDrive access.
Tuesday to thursday, it's 8 am to 2 pm.
Friday is the day I am most excited about: 10:50 am, we'll meet at a bowling arena - where we will do some bowling! That's gonna be so friggin' good! I'm so excited for bowling! My dad was a bowling champion, and I.. Well I'm not..
I went to the hardware store today, and I got some LEDs for the room, and some wire clips. When I got home, I immediately sprung into action: The plug sockets were nailed to the wall using the wire clips, I put the batteries in the LEDs, and then I moved my bed and desk around. Loads more space now. I even measured regarding the sofa, and I can have a 1.8 meter long sofa here, with some room to spare. I also need a floor lamp and a carpet, I discovered. These things are super cheap to get from IKEA, so that's where I am going once I have a bit more money saved up.
But for now, I have slowly begun the upgrade into my perfect room.
I am slowly... Slowly.. Unpacking here. I have decided to take it very slow with getting all the things out of boxes. In order to stop my shelving unit from being completely cluttered, I have decided only to have the most important things out, until I can get to Ikea to buy a shelving unit. Most of the things I have here can easily be stored in a basement anyway.
Today, I unpacked all my clothes. I have way more than I realized, which is always a bit of a nuisance. But it all fit in the provided dresser anyway, so it's not like I need more space for clothes. I would like a place to hang my button up shirts, though. And somewhere to put my shoes as well. That might be on the agenda when I go to buy the shelving unit. I also need LEDs, a carpet and some other bits as well as a few plant and pictures. Those will be bought down the line. I might also get myself a mini fridge, for my sodas. I also need a small sofa, where I can sit and watch movies. Also, so K and I have a place to sit when she visits, which she will. Eventually. Baby steps. First I need to get fully situated here, and then I can think about having people over.
Ah yes, the joy of moving twice in less than six months.. But I plan to stay here for a long period of time, at least.
So what's new? Well.. Not much.. Other than I share a house with 8 other people. I have met them all, apart from the sole woman in the house, who is on holiday and will return next week.
There is a big mix of people here. Stoners, gamers, loners, neat freaks and weebs. And then there's me - a happy go-lucky guy, who really just keeps to himself. Now, with so many people sharing a single house, you'd imagine that there's not a lot of room, right? Well.. No.. You see, three people share the bathroom and kitchen on the top floor, while the rest of us share the kitchen in the basement, as well as two bathrooms. Also situated below is the wash room, where the washing machine and tumble dryer is located, as well as a big room for activities on a Friday evening, for instance. There is also a pretty big back yard, where there is a barbecue pit as well as some furniture. No pool, sadly. it would be ideal with so many people in the house, but it's fine.
We all share the same internet connection, which can result in some truly slow speeds, but it's fine. If the connection is too slow, hotspots on our phones is the way forward.
I have been here since Sunday morning, and i can already tell I will love it here. The people are very friendly and nice, which is perfect for me. The previous tenant in the room I am renting was a vegetarian, so my drawer in the freezer is all vegetables and plant based food, which I don't mind. As long as it's tasty, then I'm good. Speaking of tasty.. One of the people here grows his own tomatoes and chili peppers. I haven't had a go with the spicy stuff, but the tomatoes are fantastic! So is my bed. I haven't had this good of a sleep since.. Well, since forever, it seems. I plan to ask the landlord if I can buy it with me when I move. That would be fantastic! If not, well then I'll just head to IKEA to find a new bed. They aren't that expensive, anyway, so it'll all be good.
I hauled the last things from the old place today. As I left for the final time, I placed the key on the table, took one last look and closed the door. That chapter of my life is over.
Today I start a new chapter here - with 8 complete strangers, whom I know I will get along with just fine.
Earlier today, K sent me a message asking if I had laid any plans for today. I told her no, just a shower when I got home. She then asked me if I wanted to grab dinner together at her place. I said yes, so about an hour later, we met at the supermarket.
We found what we needed, paid for the items and headed home to her, where I went straight to business with the cooking.
It took less than fifteen minutes, which was perfect! We were both hungry, so we started eating right away. After dinner, we started talking about how our week had been. Mine was a bit odd, due to my previous blog. Her week was great. She did great at work, so she wanted to unwind and relax. At one point, she asked me to show her where I was moving. So we went out for a small walk, which was great. The weather was good, and the temperature was pleasant.
After the walk, we headed back home to K, where we continued to talk. The time flew by, and suddenly it was 9.30 pm. She has plans tomorrow, and I was feeling my energy getting low, so I said goodnight and gave her a hug. I then left, and headed back home, where I am sitting and typing this blog.
It's been a great day today. I had a lot of fun, which is the most important thing. We agreed to meet up again soon, so I look forward to that
I am the admin of two Slipknot fan groups on Facebook, and I am what the media calls a superfan. Anyway, I was minding my own business when I was notified about something. I ignored it at first, but after I had done what I was doing at the time, I looked at the notification - and was not prepared for what I read.
It turns out, that Joey Jordison, one of the founding members of the band, passed away in his sleep. He was just 46 years old.. Naturally, step one kicked in: Denial. Refusing to believe that the former drummer of my favourite band passed away. It then slowly turned into acceptance.
The band went dark on all their social media. Radio silence, which is understandable. They lost a brother. I then took to the groups I admin, and posted a message in each group, just to let everyone know how I felt about it all, and write a small tribute to Joey.
Today, the band released a statement, on Joey's death. Even though he wasn't a part of the band since 2013, he was still very much a brother. A huge part of who Slipknot has become over the years.
On a personal front, reading about Joey's passing left me with a huge gut punch. His drumming was what got me into Slipknot, almost 20 years ago. That, and the intensity that the music brings. It's a way for me to escape the everyday life. For me to get lost in the noise, and become a happier person when I emerge on the other end.
I had the privilege to see Joey live a few times, and it's always been amazing! His other bands have also been great, and he will be missed.
Oh boy, these rant blogs are rare, but they do happen.. So what has sparked my ire today? What made this otherwise calm guy go "argh this annoys me SO much"..? Well.. It's calling things the wrong thing.. Case in point: There was an article on a website today that read "Muscle car impounded". Now, seeing that these types of cars are rare here, I was interested. And also because I love cars.. Anyway..
They recently passed a new law here, that deals with drivers and the reckless driving that some, note: SOME, drivers do. The law states the following: "Reckless driving will result in impounding of the car". Let's say a person drives his/her car in a manner that can cause serious harm and/or death, or if the car is speeding above 100% of the posted speed limit, the car gets impounded. No exceptions. That includes street racing, DUIs and driving at speeds of 200 kmh or over. I hope that makes sense. Anyway!
There was a street race, where a muscle car was involved. Well, according to the media, the car was a muscle car.. Side note: I propose a new rule: Before someone posts an article, they should get the facts right. Anyway, back to the topic of the rant..
The car in question was a Ford Mustang GT. The driver was doing 123 kmh in a 60 kmh zone. In USA numbers, that's 76 mph in a 37 mph zone. As the driver crossed the speed limit by 100%, the car was impounded. The law is a good one, and one that's needed. It's not what this blog is about. Neither is it the street race, since I have attended a few of those in my time..
No, it's the fact that they call a Ford Mustang GT a muscle car.. It's NOT A MUSCLE CAR! It's a pony car. Big difference! The term pony car is used to refer to sporty compact cars that are usually fitted with a small-block V8 engine or sometimes even a V6 engine. Muscle cars, on the other hand, are more muscular and bigger than pony cars. They usually have a big-block V8 under their hood. Why did the media label the Mustang GT as a muscle car? Well, it's because it was a V8 with 300 horsepower. That's definitely not muscle car territory. It can become a muscle car, if it's fitted with suitable high performance parts.
It might be a small thing to complain about, but it REALLY grinds my gears when people mislabel stuff or get stuff wrong. Well, depending on how wrong the thing is. If someone says I'm a handsome devil, I let it slide because I know they're wrong. But when people WRONGFULLY claim that vikings had horned helmets, the Danish in me goes "Now just hang on a minute, mister! You're wrong! Vikings never had horned helmets, despite what other people are telling you". The only reason vikings wears helmets on some tv shows and in some media, is because costume designer Carl Emil Doepler included horned helmets in his costume designs for the 1876 performance of Wagner's classic Norse saga, Der Ring des Nibelungen.
Again: VIKINGS. DID. NOT. WEAR. HORNED. HELMETS, and I would appreciate it if people got that into their heads..
Rant over.. Now back to watching olympics hightlights!
As most of you... Well... Hopefully most of you do, I am watching the Olympics from Tokyo. It's fantastic! So far, I have watched the rowing, badminton, handball, street skating, archery, volleyball, swimming, synchronized, mountain biking, cycling and dressage.. Yes, dressage. Posh, I know!
The highlight was the volleyball. Specifically the Brazilian women's team, which flat out demolished Korea. And no, it's not because the Brazilian women are built like goddesses, or the fact that they are extremely good looking.. It's more because they are just so good at what they do!
Yes, I did want to go to Brazil because of that, but.. I need money for that.. Which is why it's perfect that I'm gonna start working in about seven months. Saving up to go to Rio, or something.
Speaking of the Olympics: The 2024 edition is in Paris, France. If I save up, I could actually afford to go there. Should I?
Anyway.. Sitting in my bed watching all these elite athletes compete, made me realize that I REALLY need to get my act together, and get in shape. Soon!
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