The morning from hell...

I have just woken up to go and collect the key for our new apartment... I say woken up , which would imply that I have been sleeping but in all honestly there has been very little of that! We rolled in at three this morning, the silver lining right now being that neither of us had had very much to drink - so at least no headaches..,

It is raining cats and dogs outside (seriously Singapore, what is up with the Saturday weather???), I haven't slept, the phone has been ringing all night with drama from sweden, my throat is super soar, I have to get my hands on some cash for all our furniture (not sure how to do that!), have to move all of our stuff to an empty apartment (how will I get a cab, apparently they all disappear when it rains??!)... Long sentence, at lot of worries and just not a very nice morning!

Hope you are all having a great weekend... I am sure mine will get better as I intend to reconnect with my roots and take a trip to that institution which feels like all swedes homes (maybe because it actually is) - ikea!

I will leave you with some photos of last night (before the shit hit the fan!) :-)

Thanks to Ian for taking us out, you will have to live with fact that you ended up falling down the stairs, flat on your back on Monday though!

Update!

I realise I have not been as active for the last few days as I should when it comes to the blog, sorry about that! Anyways, here's an update! Me and Liv have been hanging out in the evenings, as one would expect. She has been very active on her own during the days and sweetest juju has shown her the wonders of china town. Apparently I miss the most amazing duck lunch in china town, something me and hubby will have to try when he is back!

We also went to the cinema to watch the hunger games, great film, watch it if you haven't already!

What more? Little baby brother turned 18 this week, and I have still not gotten to talk to him! It is a great age to be, but we will see if he is up for chatting this weekend, the first weekend as an 18 year old in sweden can be quite rough!

Yesterday we ended up going out for tapas just around my office, despite Liv being quite ill we ended up having a great time! She has been a real trooper even though I can tell that her cold is keeping her up at night.

Here are some photos of the food we had. I do that btw, take photos of my food, I have been told it is a very Asian thing to do, so I guess I am settling in alright!

... And one more thing on my list in the post below! It may just have been a coincident, but I hope not - I seem to have discovered the perfect time to take the MRT to work! As you can imagine, Singapore being a tiny island with 5m people, the MRT is quite packed in the mornings. To remedy this, an off peak discount has been introduced for commuters traveling before 7.30. Today I got on the MRT at 7.35, no discount but oh so empty! Frankly, I am not sure if 30 cents off justifies me spending my morning in someones armpit, so I consider this money well spent! Now: breakfast!

Bisous

Little things...

It is the little things in life that makes you happy... This very morning I am happy about:

*hubby doing so great in his stage, I am more confident than ever that he will be a great success when he comes over!
*the morning walk to the MRT was breezy and not too hot, and I will treat myself with breakfast in the office!
*no events tonight so me and Livan will frequent the cinema, really looking forward to that!

What are you happy about today?

A little less conversation, a little more action

So whilst the wife is swanning off and enjoying a near-holidayesque life, I am 'stuck' here in Belgium. But let me stop you in your tracks straight away. The first sentence might well be deceiving. Though I know I like to go on about Singapore, having no doubt bored half of my friends here already after only 5 days back, let's get the record straight!

I do love Belgium. There I said it. But not so much the country as the people that are there. Over the last few days I ave introduced you to the magical food of Kevin and talked about my mother and her undoubted talents in the kitchen as well, but I haven't yet talked about what else makes it so special here.

The realisation came yesterday and was fortified by the experiences today. What happened? Nothing dramatic, just another day in the office so to speak! Just another match with FC Irlande. But yestreday, for the first time I started feeling that my FC Irlande career was slowly coming to a close... It was my second to last match and I can say that I have loved the past 12 years that I have been associated with the club. Thank you all very much and I am dreading my last match next weekend! No doubt I will enjoy it, but I am not looking forward to saying goodbye to something that has played a very big part of my life here in Brussels. I could go on and mention everyone that has made it special, but then I would be swinging back to the 'aul emotional and soppy stories...and we don't want that know do we! Suffice to say that it is a legendary club and I feel honoured to have been part of it! 

To celebrate this second to last game I went out for a few drinks with some of the usual suspects...as seen below (notice Yann has shaved the beard off, after an overwhelming vote of 'disconfidence' as proven by the poll...).

Today was another day and another such experiences which reminded me of why Brussels has always been so dear to me...Step forward La Famiglia Demnert! Though they are more closely related to Elli, the wife who used to be their au paire, they have accepted me as part of theirs! Yet again they were so kind as to invite me (I was going to say us, but...well...ye know) over for breakfast and I was all to keen to join...

I have been told to mention that the pancakes, juice, strawberry tarts and coffee were all freshly handmade... It's not real until it's in the blog! No doubt Papa Gunnar went to slaughter the poor big that served as bacon and spent the morning slaving over the stove to prepare the chocolate paste that reminded me a lot of a famous brand...but I put my trust in him....he is a man of many talents, supported by a woman with even more (sound familiar....well it shouldn't!). 

In all honesty, they are amazing and some of the people both the wife and I will miss immensely. Enough of that again, before I get complaints! So off we went to the park and had a bit of fun...check out the pictures here below! Great weekend and thank you all...

Over to you wife...and Liv...

The boys hanging...

Well, beer.

A girl hanging...

Some strange man looking up at us...

One angel...

Another one hanging...

Even the adults were at it...well adults in body only...

Slightly to small?

Thought from sentosa

After a somewhat disappointing day weatherwise yesterday, me and Liv are getting all the sun and heat we could ever wish for and more today. We will spend the rest of the day on the island to head back to mainland Singapore to sign the apartment lease tonight. I am very excited to hopefully get to see the apartment again today, I should be getting the keys next weekend already! We have had a very nice and efficient estate agent named Sean in this deal, sadly he does not seem to be completely representative for his trade!

Since we arrived three weeks ago we have been staying in a short term flat, so far so good, I have no complaints about the place. The agent who set us up though, that's a whole different story! Me and Kieran have already had to show the apartment once to prospective tennants, as the agent turned up late. Last night she texted me at 22.30 to see if she could show the apartment this morning, she clearly lacks what we would call 'framförhållning'. I explained that we are not in Singapore and that tomorrow night would not work either as me and Liv have an event after work. Her solution? It must happen today or tomorrow as she will be out of the country after Monday. You can of course see how that is my, her paying client's, problem! Anyways, I told her that she could pass by during the day on monday but we would need a specific time as Liv would not be overly keen on spending one of her precious holidays waiting for an agent... I even felt obliged to tell her that my friend will not show the apartment, only open the door as she does not speak english (the wimpy Swedish way to say 'Liv is not getting paid to do your job, so please turn up!). She then asked for liv's contact number. I really don't see why she would have to call her so I simply asked her to just show up on time - again! In the end she decided she would turn up at 22.00 tonight and I keep thinking that there must be an easier way to deal with a short term let!

Anyways, enough complaining, life is not that bad ;-)

Post about posts

I have heard some grumblings among the fan base of this blog that it has become too lovey-dovy, too sappy! Well you will be glad to hear that I had a very manly evening last night, which didn't really involve any women (I will explain) and certainly no loving (again this will become clear to you).

Rather than think about love, I spent the day thinking about hate, about war... All that is manly really... Ggrrr!! Why oh why I hear you shout, well very simply because I had to prepare lessons on the causes of WWII ( that's World War 2 for those that do not know of the abbreviation). So rather than thinking about a lovely woman on the beach somewhere in South East Asia, I found myself thinking about a slight, angry little man with a funny looking moustache! Loving I ask you? I think not young comrade!

There, step one completed, no sappy love story! Step 2, or 1.5 first. Having spent the morning filling my head with such things as the remilitarisation of the Rhineland (look it up) I needed a break and my good friend The Hairy Canary would provide just that. Had a great chat with Simon and the now infamous Stephen ( the bar man that is), which invigorated me and gave me the energy to finish my lesson plan!

All the while I was in contact with yet more men ( starting to sound a wee-bit gay? We haven't hit the climax yet people...). This time it was Brambo, the man they have named the famous race the Bramathon after... What is a Bramathon I hear you say? Well in Ancient Greece it is said that having to make love with Bram took so long, because his weapon is 42.195 kilometres long that they named a famous Olympic Event after him... You just can't make this stuff up people...

Oh yeah, back to the phone call! So together with Bram and our good friends Kev&Björn we were due to have dinner that night! So far a lot of men in this story and as you can read, no women, but step forward the one woman that we would allow at our table... Mother of mine! So dinner organised, I spent the rest of the afternoon buried in the books.

Come 7 o'clock I walked over to the Hairy, for the second time that day with my mother's partner Marc where we were due to meet His Bramness and the mother in question. So a drink or two later off we go to Kev & Björn's place for what turned out to be an excellent meal... Probably the best schnitzel ever, or at least in a long time! Check out the pictures hereunder. Thank you my gay friends, you have been very supportive since I have come back. I state gay here (and I hope they will forgive me) simply to make the point there was no loving involved! Well, the closest it came to loving was myself and Malcolm (Kev & Björn's live-in friend) grabbing each other indecently. Step 2 completed!

Last stop of the roadshow was, yep you guessed it, The Hairy! My good friends JVP and Yann were there and I spent the rest of the evening having a drink and a chat with them. The most controversial point was Yann and his beard growth! JVP and I agreed that it just isn't his thing... Shave it off mate! Actually let's put this to a vote. I will set one up in a minute, in the meantime check out the picture.

My wife and her guest will no doubt have had a lot more interesting day... Watch out for that post later on...

The ever-smiling face of Yann...but what about the beard?

Kevin's preparations...niiiiiiiiiiice

Awesome food!!!

I think I may have died and come to heaven

Beautiful lunch and the complementary smoothly in the office, life is good! - Kieran, get your ass over here so that I can properly start enjoying this!

I could so get used to this!

Life without the wife

It has now been 3 days without seeing my wife, but it has felt longer than that already. The good news is that we won't have to wait the odd 55 days or so originally planned, but a mere 3 weeks! I will be heading over there on my mid-term break partly to see the wife and partly to work on setting myself up in the job market if at all possible...

So what is life like here in Belgium at the minute? It feels dark and cold... Rainy is definitely a word that comes to mind as well...

I am also being taken care of. The mother has yet again made me a meal. Thanks mother from a mama's boy...

The pictures here under gives you a vibe of daily life here at the moment..

From a lonely ring to a bag full of books and a good meal to a tired man...

Waiting for Liv

I am sat in the lobby of my building, waiting for Liv to arrive... I haven't heard from her but it seems like her plane has landed, so hope all is ok!

The plan for tonight (depending on liv's form after a 12 hour flight!) is to go and watch the guys from the office run the JP Morgan 10k race that is on. All the guys are crazy into their running, it seems to be somewhat of a national obsession, at least among the expats! The plan is to have a glass of wine and some tapas while the 17000+ runners rush by, let's see how that goes!

Random pics from the lobby

Twist

Through a very ironic twist of fate, guess where I find myself this morning, enjoying a bagel with cream cheese?! You would be forgiven for thinking that this blog is sponsored...

The office

Today was a shorter day in the office, which was good as I have really had a bad case of 'I need hubby' today. Anyways, I am lucky in having great colleagues who come to the rescue. After some dinner with them I feel a little better and look forward to get home and catch up with the hubby. He booked his tickets today to come back - so let the official countdown begin! I already have some ideas on how to welcome him when he arrives!

How are you all getting on? The comments are rare, I need to know you're out there! ;-)

The boys from my office below...

The bed

Lying here in the bed alone for the first time in 60! It's been a long day here as well on the other side of the world. Landing in Amsterdam at 07:00 and then heading back to Bxl...my temporary home.

Having done some reading on the way back on the train I arrived back on ye central station for 12:00. Just re-reading this now and find it very boring compared to exciting Singapore... But let's keep this vibe going people... Let's surf the Singapore excitement wave...

The biggest shock upon my return was most definitely the weather... Deary me it's cold here... so envious of you wife at present... But am happy for you... See photo here below... And also check out what they have done to madou... Madness...

Last stop before going to dinner was going over to our good friends Kevin and Björn who are always superbly welcoming! Next stop my mums for some supper. Great to see her and as always was fed properly... But with jet lag kicking in and my chin starting to drop in the food it was time to head home...

Funnily enough I tried writing this whilst I was in bed last night but fell asleep and had to re-write it cause it made no sense...

Today started really well because I was woken up by my beautiful wife on the other line... With a load of energy I then proceeded to book my flight back home...

Only 58 more days before I leave... Patience my love...

Cold...

Mad-ou...

Looong day...

I will start today's post with a classical 'Dagens' - today's outfit. It is a typical Swedish blogger phenomenon and I post it for the simple reason that I like my outfit today. Today has been a crazy long day, which is a good thing, because sitting at home without hubby would have killed me. I got up at 6.00 and only got in now, at 10.20 from an event with work. I had a good time though. I had invited a guy me and Kieran met last week, Anant, and he showed up after a presentation for some drinks and food. Great guy, I think me and hubby will make sure to stay in contact with him as we both got on with him really well. I told him about the blog, so he might pop by, make him feel welcome! :)

I a off to try to call sweet hubby, my iPhone died and it is taking a long time to load up again and I neeeeed to get my hubby-fix for today!

Good night everyone!

The next 2 months

So this really is it. The countdown begins. 60 days until the bald sees the brave again in person. It won't be easy, but we know that our love will pull us through. Though I (the baldy) was quite emotional leaving - no tears though - it is true what the wife said about the mental image that we have given each other of how it will be. Everyday will be tough, but I couldn't help myself but smile on the airplane back.

Why? Well because I have an amazing wife and we are truly so lucky and grateful to be able to experience this adventure.

We left each other last night at the airport, each our separate ways, but how different I felt than two weeks ago when we left behind a crying mother at the train station. I really do feel now that I am off to Belgium on a temporary mission and will be going back home in two months!

I am currently on the train after a very comfortable flight with Singapore airlines and couldn't help myself but take a coffee whilst awaiting the train.... Reminds me of home...

So it's the middle of the night (12.37) and I am lying in a dark bedroom composing a blog post just 5.5 hours before I have to get up to work and what could quite possibly become the longest day I have ever spent 'on the clock'. Those of you who know me well know that I most definitely need my beauty sleep, but I am taking the time to write this as I know it will make hubby happy. I have just dropped him off at the airport and had to take a taxi home as the mrt had stopped running. It was tough to see him go, but he left me with a mental picture of what it will be like when he returns 'home', and I know this is what will keep me sane for the coming months as I would surely go mad from missing him if I didn't have this to look forward to.

So with this short post I say goodnight and sleep well. May the next two months fly by so that I can be with my loving hubby soon!

PS although it was hard to see hubby leave, I am super excited to welcome Liv to Singapore on Wednesday, as well as going over to Sentosa in the weekend. Look out for the guest post I will make Liv write! ;-)

So this is it...

This is my last day here in Singapore for the time being and I must say that I am quite sad. Not so much because I am leaving this place, even though that does play a role, but mostly because I am leaving behind my brave wife. She is just so amazing and courageous that she can do this! I don't know of anyone else who could just have gotten up and done that, and that is why I love her so much. She drives me, supports me and is a part of me.

As she said so beautifully this morning, "I am only half a person without you"...and so it is true. As sappy as it may sound we complete each other and that is why we are so great together.

Strangely, two weeks ago I was nervous about moving over to Singapore. Wanting to move but not feeling sure that I was ready just yet. How things have changed! I feel completely at home here now and that is solely down to the fact that my wife, my love is here. Home really is where the heart is...

As an ode to my wife here are some other nice arty pictures that we took in the last few days...

Don't forget to place your vote on what you think of this cake (top right of this blog)

Yep just a bottle of water...

Ready for sport?

The baldy

The brave

Elli's work neigbourhood

The lovers

And their life commitment

Day 16

This day was all about football, as it often tends to be with me. But I have an amazing and very patient wife. Somehow I had managed to sign myself up for not one, but two football matches on Sunday and this in 35 degree heat! Don't know what I was thinking. So the plan was, wake up, baldy makes breakfast while brave-y does a little cleaning. By 09:45 we were out of the door and the wife had the great idea of taking a taxi. Without her bright thinking we would have turned up late...so not just amazing and patient, but intelligent as well should be added to an ever-growing list of superlatives that has be showered on the wife!

So match 1 was with the Gaelic lads...and here's me in a brand-new, over-sized kit. Match was won 2-0 with that handsome young man in the picture scoring on his debut!

Yours truly before the debut-goal

A spot of lunch before match number 2

So playing two matches in one day is not only logistically a bad idea, but as I am writing I am aching everywhere...then again it might well be the age catching up on me. So game won and enjoyed, fueled-up with some food, off we headed for the next match, which happened to be on the exact opposite end of the island...again, not ideal, but lesson learned...

The wife enjoying her second match of the day...euh, well at least she got some nice colour on her legs

Sweatiest back ever? Well the heat was unreal...

Arty picture of a man preparing for a football match

Football finished, with a 2-2 draw in the second match, off we headed back home. But not before Elli could take a couple of snaps of some amazing cakes... You find some great ones in Singapore.

In having played a match on the East Coast and the the West Coast, we managed to take the wrong MRT back home, well it still got us there but with a slight detour and so we managed to somehow cover nearly the whole island in one day...without having done any sightseeing...

The red line indicates the distance traveled today...

A quiet night was needed after a long and very tiring day...so here I am writing to you at close to 01:30 AM... no need to thank me...I know the fans need their daily fix... Funny things is that we have been here now for two weeks and have't really gotten much colour...EXCEPT for today...I was left red-faced...literally...

At first it was a shock...

Then comprehension kicked in...should have put in factor 50 earlier...

Good night to you all...