Melt with Me

the movement to exchange, the theories of like webs, weaving and blend to create anew Postulate pontificate unwrap and design its now because there is never time again to create like the present its a new move its a new direction its a new space its a new face follow or lead or get out of the way right around the bend its 2010 M

its a good time to reflect, to look back at the many accomplishments of the year 2009 Well I am a live, and I eat well and I drink well and i have some nice memories of things gone past and well lived experiances. this year has been a growth spurt for me. in that I am an adult living in Europe and loving a European and my life is good and I am happy and I work hard and things are moving towards an ideal that can happen and I am really making it like that. 2009 is nearly over? Say your I love yous and kiss the ones you love and make sure you dont forget the simple hand held moments of goodness and calm. its nice to look ahead with big eyes on the horizon. well cheers ching ching Santé one for the road. and love of love 2010

heres to a bright beautiful future of choices to make and review. may all the prosperity of new hope be yours to share. XOX melisa

We recieved 2.5-3 inches nice huh

yep ain't that the truth. I try and i try and I try but I cant get no ..............satisfaction. My classes leave me stressed and exhausted and then to be reviewed and under inspection doesnt help any either. I had a bad review due to my paperwork and lesson planning and the stucture. Then the students rioted. another not so good day in the world of the teaching. they said it would happen.

going to do the right thing . shopping second hand tables and chairs. should be fun. wish you were here.

things will get better, not just for the individual but for the collective. If we all reduce our energy inputs then we will all have less outputs, WASTE baby good old WASTE. Human and the human exsistance is a machine for creating BY-products. One of those such By-products are other wasteful humans. Lets all make better decisions for the best future livable. If we can use something for the duration of its life and then properly dispose of it that is better than buying something newer because we think we need it. better windows in your houses WALK and BIKE and use the trains and Buses yeah I know they are late but its better for the collective. But its true sometimes we reduce one problem and then a silent more deadly one arises LIKE STRESS. Just do the right thing its MORAL fiber that Helps the maintanance of the exsitence. its moral Integrity to keep the fellow brotheren and sisteren with-in reach for assistance. Stop Being so selfish and get involved with making the world a be

Results Based Conference in Copenhagen is seeking definitive results from 2009 forward. Reduce your emissions. ME TOO

Everything was lovely and fine and the music made me shake my booty. GLTT can throw a pretty cool party. Thanks to all the students who supported their school and made a great night. Tops M

The weather is WET the winds are causing trees to up-root and power lines to be taken to the ground. All of this plus depression that kills and the silent scream of no return from the people who end it all. Last week I was affected By the death of a selfish person who threw themself on the tracks in Brussel Midi train station. Not much is heard about after, but the train conductors have to report what is happening, and this time it was called a personal incident on the tracks. Golly I guess I am lucky and I guess I have nothing to worry about as far as the life that I am living and not having regrets for and enjoying. PEACE

I finally have word about :::::MONEY MY MONEY. I have sent the first document to my school and I continue to participate in the Paper race that keeps this country running. I am happy because I will recieve the minimum and then after the next paper in the paper shuffle I will know a better rate for which I deserve based on my education and experiance. Maybe in December I will have some mooola. x M

Tonight after the day from HELL I recieved my MAATSCHAPPELIJKE ORIËNTATIE GETUIGSCHRIFT with perfect attendance and 100 percent responce and attitude for learning about Belgium.

It was my treat tonight at a famous Lobster restaurant in Ghent, LE GRAND BLEU and boy was it perfect or what. Absolutely fabulous and delicious and special yummy and well, we had champangne and oysters and then a lime sorbet with champagne froth and then the main meal of 500 gram lobsters. DUDE it was so yummy I am full but not stuffed and loved the champagne. very fine dining to treat my fine man. a good man has his costs. xM

where and when is not exact, but Belgium for a bit longer, no doubt making a move but not buying right now. we are moving back to rural gooik. we have looked at a couple places and on saturday we are going to negotiate the best place and price. renting is silly stupid because the money spent on monthy rent is gone forever without lasting benifits like ownership and equity but, its the right thing to do now. til the weekend m

Yes its true, there are many holidays for teachers and school workers, here in BELGIUM I am observing Wapenstilstand dag from 1918 Belgium, Armistice day France, Remembrance day in Canada, and Veterans' Day in the USA (11th hour-11th day-11th month) 11-11-11 It is a good day to be Peaceful and refute war. It is a good day to give thanks to the people who fought for your civil liberties and freedoms.

een week voor herfst vacantie gedaan. Hurray back to work, bright and early monday morning but then 2 days off in the middle of the week wow. life is going ok.

Being Human means accepting and absorbing different types of information. some of this information tells us about emotion and some of the information tells us about actual factual reality? and the such. Which info am I trying to absorb? well over the last 5 years I didnt want any facts I refuted anything concrete and I overcame with sheer will and belief. BUT in the mean time I neglected absorbing the fact that I wasnt going away forever and thus i still have responsibilities to my name on my name and hanging onto my name and in order to clear my name i have to PAY PAY PAY the arrangement of lending and spending in the US is the worst trap to fall into watch out for consumption and only take what you can pay outright for

rain and rain and sideways rain its kindof like portland rain. But i managed to walk through the rain drops today for a little outting. This are ok, tonight is the big night for cooking for the Schoon ouders (In laws) at our place in gent, we have a lovely 4 course meal planned with multiple starters, its is a recipie form the top chef in Belgium hopefully our meal tonight earns us a tripple michelen star award. hee hee NO stress just good food and a nice evening. xo m The image is from De Kermeliet in Brugge, where our recipe has been prepared by Geert Van Hecke, Sorry we cant provide this view while dining but at least we are inspired by the richness and hope it will come out LEKKER

Today, I finally made it into a Quilt Shop in Gent, Belgium, Called het Quilthuys Its very close to where I live and I have walked passed it many times but I came especially to visit today and I am glad I did. So to all the Ladies and a few men who are interested in stopping by check it out on Muinklaan 10, Gent

As a teacher I now have a different appreciation for time management:) This is because, as a student one of the most important things I learned was Time management. Now students are sumbitting papers and exercices on the dates they are due As well as whenever they want, thus spreading my work out over a much longer period of time TIME I DONT want to spend All is great but lots of work. I created my first test to give next week and its going to be good I hope they all do a great job. GRRRRRRRR

We spend so much of our lives waiting for the next-thing, looking ahead for the next thing and as so many people have said , Our lives are happening while we are planning for other things The basic fact about human existence is not that it is a tragedy, but that it is a bore. It is not so much a war as an endless standing in line. H. L. Mencken Believing in what you think life is, creates the personal truth for you. M

To buy an house to go to Egypt ( travel or invest in other things ) Travel is a selfish personal individual investment. when one goes somewhere new the investment come from the changes they must face. we are staying to invest in less selfish things

The goal I have now is to survive the cold winter that is coming AND figure out how to make money. I have a great job But cant receive money until the bureaucratic system is happy with dissecting my degree. The frost has come the night stays long, the wind rips and no more summers song, The migration is happening and I feel like going too, South is beckoning and the seas of Blue. land locked and cold and nothing to harvest makes me feel a fright Long Autumn freshness, so fine divine, yet the summer ripêness so far behind. Feel positive and stay warm and keep your eyes peeled for sometimes the sun chooses to shine just where we least expect to see it. golden tawny auburn copper leaves, leave the trees and create a smell, special to this season of Autumn. x

Hello Big and sometimes unkind world, I am writing this entry to give thanks and to send my wishes to all the people I have touched paths with {A LOT of people} ESPECIALLY THE people that I call part of my BIG family. When the daily grind or rat race appearances occur as they do, one must stop and think about the people in our lives not the situations or the work experiences or the transportation dilemmas but indeed our people. our big family our true family the ones that touch our souls and the ones who offer love to us and the ones that we grew with and learned from and teach together the way people make connections that last time after time love movement after movement we still hold a bond that makes the connection unique in that it remains what it was and burns stronger then who knew. its the big picture about learning from our friends and family and the people we hold dear. I love you friends family I love you new future meetings but I REALLY LOVE THE TIES FROM MY PAST THAT Ke

I was sick for the last week and not with the (swine flu or with the Mexican flu same thing) But I was coughing and had an upper respiratory infection. BUT no fever not other issues But the little joke was that I was spreading just a little mexicannse griep. hee hehe Not true. Finally i am getting into the flow of My job and the paper shuffle that i must comply with. No pay yet but. The drinks will still be on me When the good old Euro is dispersed.

HIp hip hurray, The news that made it from the west coast of the USA all the way to Belgium is that We are having Connor on the 12th of February, My Sister is scheduled to deliver another healthy baby boy. THAT IS SO SUPER. I had a tear of happiness before my second class today, I told all the students the good news. Best of luck mamma and papa and Big brother Cameron.

Oh yet another f"§'èé"!é()à ing great time with the people of Inburgening. I called at 1230 to schedule an appointment for today, They told me my lady was out for this week and the next and that the person handling her accounts is in. So they gave me an appointment for 1330 to come in with my questions and receive the help I need. So i rode My Bike and arrived early and It was another receptionist and she had to have a whole new explanation why i was there and why I couldn't see my own Trajectbegeleidster, She told me to wait that another person has an appointment at 1330 also with the same person. so I waited and Hour until 1430 and Finally a man came to me and told me that he cant help me and that i must wait til next week for my appointed staff member and all this total bullshit and I was totally àéç"è'çè!é"§( pissed off and Now I have to waite even longer for my Lone or payment from my job because the 9!§"'è§heads can help me yet. AHHHHH i

I have semi-recovered from my little trip down madness lane and hope to actually write something cognitive. WORK, that nasty dirty four letter word. What oh what shall we ever do. BUT WORK like dogs and hopefully make some moo~la, And the almighty EURO is pretty nice, Even though I still haven seen it on my account yet but thats the bureaucratic Belgium way. maybe next month, I can buy a friendly celebratory beer for all my mates here in België. I am going to the Vridagsmarkt to see what there is. Love and Have a great weekend.

in a galaxy far away and in a land far away too, there exists wait a minute thats not how I was going to start the Blog, I haven't anyone in my family with strange sleeping patterns. Ok enough with the madness, I want to begin with a little ditty about a girl and a boy that fell in love - they fell so hard that reality changed right in front of there eyes

OK, So I still love my JOB and I am finding that its a good fit for me. The only concern or big issue is managing my spare time and not working during those precious hours, and dealing with the commute. The days are colder and the nights too. The rain is staying and creating a dank bone chilling feeling. It feels like Fall It feels like I am approaching the autumn of my years and the truth is from the weather I KNOW it. Its the way we see change, the growth and renewal and the growth and decay and then the ultimate sleep, Death. I am certainly a long way from the end but i can see the difference and I truly feel it too. I love my job still and tomorrow I will be audited and reviewed for performance and some other criteria I am not sure about. i am not worried. I love what I do. I have 7 Blocks of 3 hours where I give lessons in/on English. Its great I have 5 blocks where I see the students once a week and 2 where they come 2times a week. My schedule for the week is Front loaded, meani

Hello Handsome and gentle world, I am so delighted to report That I am nearly finished with my first week of teaching Adults' English, And as far as its going now, I hope it continues like this for years and years. I LOVE MY JOB. I REALLY LOVE THE WORK I DO. I have 84 students 90% are older than I am and this is super! My students come from many lands and are eager to learn. This makes my job easier. When there is willing participation on the two ends of communication then things come into place with greater ease and flexibility. I love my students. They are the reason I am going to work hard and give 110 percent. The drawbacks to my job are the commute. I have schedule that is good, I am very happy with it, I live in a town that I also am very happy with but.... the distance between work and home is well, pretty much at the max for living and working in Belgium. I am operating on an approximate 2 hour in and 2 hour out routine. YES you read that correctly 2 hours in and 2 ho

Hey its all gonna be fine and dandy and its all gonna work out, but right now its like the ring of fire and I am burning with questions in the middle. I am very happy that I accepted a full time teaching pôsition, but .... I havent seen the clients or cusists or students yet and already I am exhausted, I have split work 70 %in St Genesius Rode and 30%in Halle and really the schedule is totally do-able with public transport, BUT I make it back home after 12AM MOndays and on Wednesday and Fridays after 1AM DUDE get a job and be miserably tired like the rest of us, should be the quote from my father HA HA all's well Happy weekend oh But I have to work tomorrow so when you come home make sure you are quite. HEE HEE love M

After Having a fabulous time with the IN-LAWS in the Ardennes and sharing my good News with them I am delighted to share with you all. On Thursday the 27th Of Augustus, I had an exercise in teaching a lesson and then interview. Well there were 5 other candidates and some how I still managed to gleen one of the two jobs for teaching English. Beyond thrilled Beyond excited and Now the excitment is turning into nervousness. OH my Gosh what have I done, I accepted a JOB, Hee hee I NOW have to show up and WORK and according to my father and his supporters, 'Work and be miserable like the rest of us!' Well alrighty then I will just have to work and find the rewards, The part of the job that offers INcome will be the binding tie to keeping me happier plus I think about the exchange with the students and the freedom I have as conducting the room and well there are many hidden advantages that I am waiting to discover. ACTUALLY I am totally cut out for this role. This picture is me i

the zwin nature reserve was hot and sunny creating muddy paths and some fun off limits walking. the weather on the kust was lovely and the camping was ok. the seashore was packed full of day trippers and bargain seekers. There were many rommel markets and of course parties everywhere. Two places i recommend in Blakenburg (good value good food) A semi dive looking place that was really hopping called 't Minuut, we ate delicious steaks mine with typische champanions sause and his with a pikanttomatoroom sauce;;;;;;;;; YUMMY YUMMY perfectly (barely) cooked and nice cuts of meat. nice side salad and ok fries, BUT heres the BUT, they LIE and say on there menu that they have Trappist leffe blond and Bruin . Hilarious, LEFFE a trappist; NO flucking way people I guess the absentminded tourist dont have a clue. Next place of goodness and high value was on the strip or on the waterside facing the North sea , it is called The Sunset, THEY have a terrific selection of BEER and the PRICES m