When owning Jewelry becomes a Basic Need

I am in love with this jewelry... I want want want, I need need need!!

MURDER: VIOLENCE AND ELEGANCE HAVE BEEN THOUGHTFULLY CRAFTED IN INCREDIBLE DETAIL TO PRODUCE A RANGE OF BEAUTIFUL AND BREATHTAKING PIECES IN RUBIES, SAPPHIRES AND GARNETS, CAREFULLY SELECTED TO RESEMBLE BULLET WOUNDS, CUTS, MACHINE GUN FIRE TO THE BODY, SLASHES, BUTCHERING AND HACKING OF THE THROAT, HEAD AND EARS TO PORTRAY THE INHUMANITY AROUND THE WORLD

http://www.superfertile.com/MURDERBYSUPERFERTILE2011-12.pdf

Ode aan Marcelleke

Here I am... Tata! ... I AM Tata! And you didn't have to do anything special for it... just be born. And Tata I will be... as long as I get to see you splash about in the bath-tub, be upset, play with everything except with the truck-load of toys I will have gotten you. Draw on my holy sofa with the thickest pen you could find in the house. Pee in your pants just as we are about to leave to a party. Tease your cousin Mila. I am looking forward to forcing you to finish your first year of piano classes on behalf of my sister, and discovering your stack of weed and having to hide it from her. I hope I will be your confident as your first love breaks your heart (I have quite some experience with that). On long drives, we would leave no political party, radio-station or film unspoken. If you really insist, we can even talk about football. I am quite flexible. I am ready for your Marcelleke... Bring it on!

The Public Wants

... the Public Gets: Kizomba

Although I told the whole world why love Tarraxha better, I must say I am Happily surprised to see that Kizomba is gaining so much more interest throughout Europe. Personally, I don't like it when something I like becomes commercial and widely spread, but I can't fight this virus spreading ;-) 

The same thing happened when 15 years ago, I was really into Cuban salsa, dancing it with authentic Cuban friends... and then the crowd discovered it, "jan en alleman" became teachers, the US versions came over, and soon the sexy and fun latino dancers left the dance floor so that Mr Geek and Miss China could take over, losing all the soul of this great music and dance along the way. Dancing became a constant competition, girls started wearing adapted shoes and dresses, guys came with their little towels to dry their sweat... and it was fucked. I hope that the same thing doesn't happen to Kizomba, that it stays small scaled and fun, authentic!

In the meantime, one of the first commercial (and not so great) songs came out and even already showed on Trace Tropical. I prefer the Angolan or Cabo Verde ones, but I post the video, because I do find that the great basic steps in this video are showing clearly and it is an accessible song... Next time I will post a great tutorial, one that really helped me a lot! Stay tuned...

The Mercenary World labelled me a Lesbian

What kind of world do we live in? I have been having discussions with people recently that always seem to end in a sombre picture of a mercenary world, where human nature is in decline, values being swept away by iPhones and the future scary...

But is it really so? I mean, I love my iPhone...

I think this subject is too vast and hard to write about, but I wanted to share a few random thoughts. I can only speak for myself, and I notice that people are so little tolerant and understanding, and that more then ever, we need to fit into a box (probably produced in China, of recycled material IF you are lucky).

We just chucked away the freedom our hippie-parents so proudly claimed for themselves together with the wrapping of our ready-made meal. In times of crisis, people go back to the safety of their protectionist and conservative lives and become more self-centered then ever. As if pointing out the weaknesses of the other will increase your own strength!

It makes me sad to see that people experience diversity as a threat, that anyone who wasn’t born in the “right” country, or the “right” family or didn't make the “right” choices has such a hard time to conquer their own place on this planet, in our society... did anyone ask themselves by whose standards we DO live? Who dictates all of this crap?

Genuine support, affection or help, completely deprived from any kind of pervert or mercenary objectives, seems to be no longer acceptable... and has earned me the Label of Lesbian... those of you that know me well, know better

I'm in my 30ies

And I don't dare to admit it is a great time of my life! ok.. sometimes I want to go 10 years back, but usually that is not to stay in my 20ies but to make different choices. This is what I would have done differently if I could go back in time:

I would have studied goldsmith and jewelry design, would have created my own company in organic food and cosmetics, would have had 3 kids in my twenties, taken better care of the beautiful body I had. I would have put less importance into finding Mr. Right and spent most time with family and friends...

Now that I am in my 30ies, I finally have the ability (material and especially mental) to make some real choices. I'll have to resolve the 3-kid dream in time before the biological bomb explodes, and I have a few new ideas: I need to find a way to merge the European and the African molecules of my body, expressing it through art, a clothing line, an ecological farm in Africa, or eco-friendly tourism...

These ideas will need to grow over time, but you will here from me in let's say... 10 years?

One Little Frustration at a Time

I am like milk. I boil over real quickly... but take me off the heat and I'll calm down as quickly as I got onto my horse. But it happens a few times per day. I decided to start a small list of irritating situations. Feel free to pitch in or add to the list ;-)

1. Old people:

Not in general (because I know that it isn't politically correct and I know some great old people), but specifically those going to the super market on Saturday morning, chatting with the cashier. With all that time on their hands, why do they have to nag the young working class (who en passant provide for their pension) during rush hour? Can't they come on a Monday morning at... let's say 10am?

A few years ago, I went swimming before going to work. At 7am. I stopped because a group of old people started going there at 7am too, spreading all over the pool, blocking every single corridor. I guess it was followed by a cosy, old-people-breakfast thing... I had visions of poisoning them!

2. Young people:

Their is something about having your own kids: you can deal with their screaming (or not), but you can certainly not bring up the same patience for other people's kids. I am definitely one of those who will "tsss..." and throw nasty looks to mis-behaving kids and their parents, while my own daughter is ignoring my every instruction to obey. 

3. Dumb people:

Yes, I know... this piece isn't be very politically correct after all: I am a hugely tolerant person and don't discriminate against people of different racial, social, cultural, sexual,... backgrounds. Their is only one category I have the greatest issues with and that is dumb people. And oh boy, there are many. What a waist of time! Often they are also the ones discriminating against the racial, social etc... which just puts oil on my fire (and the milk boils even faster). 

I admit they are good fun to observe. I am hooked on the TV shows exposing dumb and dumber in their crappy (often happy I must admit) lives.. don't they make us feel better about our own averageness?

4. Traffic:

Although I am a blond, Belgian, woman (words of my French boss, who thinks this is hilarious btw) who literally bought her drivers license in Cameroon for 125euros, I think I am pretty damn-good driver ;-)... I like a nervous shift of gears, snaring tires, a bit of speed and loud music. 

Driving Mila to school is sometimes a real test to my stress resistance though: between the good house-wifes, driving their 4 kids in a mono-space that seems to go max at 30km/h; and the trucks on-loading in the middle of the street, I sometimes swear my heart out, my 7-year old holding on tight in the back... Jesus... Move!

Ha, and last night a friend of mine said that 40% of the traffic jams in Belgium are not related to people going into work or dropping off their kids at school, but are those old people driving to the super-market or swimming pools... get a life!

I Love My Mr. Wrong

People ask me why I am into Thug Love... I am not! I just happen to have fallen in love with a "bad boy", living a hysteric love story... I don't think I am attracted to bad boys in general, as this is the first (and last) of my life. I am fascinated by people who are different, and interesting people keep me awake, alert and help me question my own life and way of living. I have realised that many vilains are actually extremely sensitive to their entourage and to certain events. Noone is born a bad boy... It's hard to break the vicious circle though. Labelling people only conforts them and results in them behaving like everyone expects them to. Lack of self-esteem, opportunities to grow and proof that they can be responsible, are big hurdles. My bad boy will make it, because he is surrounded by people who care, opportunities and he is smart... I hope that maybe one day he will be able to use his experience to inspire others.