5 words

[franceslievens]

frenchani gave me five words. It is my task to think up stories behind them.

Blogging: I've been writing the living web since 2004, later declared the year of the blog because of the exponential growth of the medium that year. I was immediately sucked into it: My writing, always there but only for myself, suddenly found an audience. And the audience started communicating back, living my life together with me. That's what blogging is: letting others live your life together with you. But instead of those others being friends and acquaintances you see, you make friends and acquaintances you might never see, but who are as deeply missed when they disappear from the virtual realms.
Viewed like this blogging demands interaction. I've got a nice reading list of blogs I follow, not every one of them as religiously. Like in ordinary life I like some friends better than others.
Unfortunately with the birth of Little Bit the whole writing thing has been driven to the background. I still read a lot, but not always find the time for writing. My paper journal has been empty as well. Consider this post as me trying to change my life and kick myself back in gear.

City: I live in Brussels, which is one of the biggest cities of the country. Of course it isn't Paris or London, but it has got its own immigrants, crime, and poverty because people with money have fled towards the country. Flanders doesn't really have a countryside. Everything looks like the suburb of one city or another, because it's so densely populated. Maybe that's also a reason for me to live in the city: all the rest is so damn ugly and filled with narrow-minded people. I even want to raise my child(ren) here, even though I sometimes see pollution drifting above the houses. Luckily my parents still live in Hometown: a Flemish countryside suburb.
Sometimes I wish Brussels was more like cities in other countries, where you can effectively drive out of the city into the countryside. If you try that here you end up in the Ardennes. Maybe I should move abroad. To France or something.

France: Is the #1 country to travel to for Belgians. Nice place, and if I'm very prejudiced I'd say those French are too chauvinistic for my taste. President Sarkozy is a total twat, etc. etc.
But right now France is in the first place the country where two of my best friends live: frenchani just a couple of hours away in Paris, and A. who moved there in September of last year (and who I dearly miss). So underneath all the stereotypes, France gives me some great friendships.

Television: That must be the reason why I dared poking around on the internet. I didn't have a television with cable, but still wanted to know what was going on in my favourite television shows. Right now it's my number one passtime. While nursing Little Bit I sometimes try to read a book one-handed, but usually I end up in a crampy position, or the book closes and I've lost my page, or Little Bit ends up with a book on her head. Television is great in that respect: the remote lets you change channels without getting up, you can sit quite snugly on the couch, and can keep lounging there when the baby's well fed. Not so fun are diaper changes in the middle of your favourite program.

Gadget: Since I'm talking about breast-feeding. The funnest thing to do to pass nursing time, is reading blogs. I have the coolest gadget to do so: an iPod touch. I got it from P. and love it. I am a gadget lover, but hardly ever buy them because I never really need those things, do I? But once you have them, it's great.
I do need some fun applications on my iPod. Anyone have any suggestions?

Comments

[frenchani.livejournal.com]

It's funny but I didn't expect you to discuss those words on such a personal ground. :- )

Sarkozy is a twat and a joke but at least he's become quite unpopular here. How can Berlusconi be still so popular in his country? It's beyond my understanding.

[frances-lievens.livejournal.com]

Oh, I wasn't supposed to do that? It was the first way to tackle them that came in mind. I'm probably too focussed on myself right now to write something else. All that will change when I go back to work next week!

[frenchani.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, there was no rules; you were supposed to discuss them the way you wanted.

It was just my impression. I thought you would go more general sometimes, although I didn't expect you to philosophy on every word. :- )

[sister-luck.livejournal.com]

Good answers - and I feel similar about living in the city. I don't think I'm ready for typical suburbia. We'll see what happens about that...

And as an apology to frenchani much to my shame, I've only just discovered my five words, as I forgot to track the comments in your meme post. I shall be tackling the meme tonight or tomorrow...

[frances-lievens.livejournal.com]

I think I'll never be ready for suburbia. (At least that's what I keep telling myself.)