Another Quiet Moment...

I believe it is about time I share a little more about myself and especially about the title of this blog. 'A quiet moment' is as I mentioned in my very first post, a period that I'm going through at the moment. I lost my voice exactly four years ago and haven't recovered it completely ever since. At the time I was already living in Amsterdam for a year and enjoying the student life to the fullest. I got antibiotics and loads of other medications at first because they thought my vocal cords were inflamed. But once I was off the meds, my voice was gone again. A few doctors later, they decided to teach me how to speak again because wrong usage of the vocal cords could have been the cause. Loads of singers have this as well so I kinda felt cool and didn't mind explaining to people what I had, but six months later my voice still wasn't back. To give you an idea, I spoke really really low (just like when you have a terrible hangover after a crazy night), or with a squeek (when I actually was hangover) or I whispered. After a while I was known as 'the girl with the voice' among my student friends.

For two years I saw a dozen doctors at 5 different hospitals, whom all promised me : "I know what it is, and I will cure you!!!" But after a while I simply stopped believing them and I decided to just live my life and consider my voice as a handicap. I started to cope with the continuous comments from people on the streets who'd hear me 'speak' to friends, tramdrivers who'd ask if I'd had a rough night, bartenders who saw me as the ultimate party girl and the never ending explaining of what I 'had'. Because actually, I didn't have anything to explain since the doctors didn't know what I had. So I just told people that I indeed had had a rough night, or that I was simply ill, and I lived my life. Luckily my voice hasn't held me back from achieving my goals as I managed to get several bartending jobs, to become the secretary of my sorority, finish my Bachelor degree with an internship for a non-profit organization, and to get another internship at the marketing department of a Dutch fashion brand called Oilily which was during the last 6 months of 2008. Then I got in at the European School of Economics in Milan and started my master in Marketing. And again despite my voice I learned Italian in order to be able to get an internship which this time, I got at a tiny fashion PR company called Pink&Chic in Milan. I'm starting in September... exciting.

It was beginning of 2008 that I started treatment with a doctor in Brussels who also treated my mom, who has fybromyalgia. He did a bunch of blood tests and started treatment through trial and error. The end of 2008, my surroundings started noticing the difference in my voice and that it started getting better. Now another 6 months, many medications, vitamins, minerals and natural boosters, other bloodtests further, my doctor finally knows what I have. It still doesn't have a name-tag to it, but to keep a long story short, the loss of my voice was caused by a bacteria I caught on my travels to Ecuador. This little bug, although cured at the time, created such damage in my intestinal system that my body started making these toxins that ended up in my bloodstream. The toxicated blood then damaged the enzymes needed for vocal cords to be able to move smoothly and tadaaa, my voice stopped because the cords couldn't move smoothly anymore. Now he's trying to get these toxins out of my body and restore all the bacterial balance in order for my body to regain these enzymes needed for the elasticity in my voice. He too told me: "I know what you have and I will cure you!!", but this time, I believe him.

I am not losing faith nor hope that one day I will be able to speak again... Until then, I'm fighting my way to achieve my dreams within the fashion world, with or without voice, I will get there!

Harry Potter Fashionable?

Ok I know, Harry Potter is not what you would call super duper cool and fashionable, but I just can't help it: I'm addicted to the little boy with his lightning scar and tiny round glasses, which he has outgrown big time.

It all started around 6 years ago when I was dating this lovely skinny french boy Thomas. He was totally into the whole HP rage, and I just refused to go with it. I thought Harry was for kids, and seen my 17 years old, I surely wasn't a kid. But he stood foot, and placed me in front of the tv and made me watch HP and the philospher's stone the movie. Two hours later I was hooked. I bought the second, third and fourth book the next day. Four books were already published, imagine how far behind I was. But two small months later I was up to date. I read like a madwoman, sometimes until 4 in the morning. Harry Potter for kids? Heck if that meant I was a kid, who cares!! I was totally turned around, and my boyfriend regretted introducing me to the magical world of Hogwarts.

Ever since I was on waiting lists for every book that was published and I sat in the cinema as soon as the next movie was out. My ultimate favourite was the fourth book and movie, Harry Potter and the goblet of Fire. Amazing the way JK Rowling let her imagination go on that one.

But the last movie: HP and the Half-Blood Prince! Just one word: BRAVO!! Really well done, and even though some parts of the book were left out, it's amazingly done. I just love the way they have all grown up and how they're starting to have love lives and so on. And one character has especially evolved big time: Hermione Granger. Wow. In realy life as well... To think that she has become the new face of Burberry.

So in the end, Harry just is plain fashionable, and there's no shame in saying you read or rather devour the books and movies... :D few, what a relief!

Baby Blues

Global warming.... definitely present! We are the 27th of July and the past week and a half have been unpredictably predictable with rain, storms, sunshine, wind, heat, cold... and so on! The only predictability of the weather in Brussels so far has been the storms every night/morning at 6 am! And this is supposed to be my summer?!

No wonder there's a little bit of the blues in the air. Where I felt extremely positive and energetic this weekend, and therefore managed to do loads, today is just the opposite. Drained of energy and creativity, I feel that I just want to curl up on the couch and watch movies all day. Or again, is it just the rain that makes me feel like that?

To cure the baby blues, I've started downloading a bunch of french 'ballades' ... picking a bunch of movies to watch tonight, and making myself a cup of jasmin green tea for with my new favourite book: Petite Anglaise!

Sneek Preview

After having searched on the web for various blogs, and trying to find my style I want to use for my own, I have decided to continue my research some more. I'm currently busy doing some scrapbooking, which I totally love, to get some inspiration and things like that. Don't you have that too, that when you're up and about in town, of even under the shower, that genius ideas come to mind, and then once you actually want to put them to life.. oops "what was it I was thinking about again?"
This is actually the main reason I'm starting this blog. I want to get those ideas out there... who knows, I might reach some people who really appreciate it. Although my ideas range from: 'Where's the latest party?, What to wear tomorrow, or to that latest party? What to eat tonight? Is he really into me? .... to .... What will my life be like in 10 years? or When will this damn recession come to an end?' So there's not really one topic I want to share with you. Although, the focus will be mainly on: How a twenty-something year old manages the last year of her life abroad, with a keen interest in fashion, food, health and bien sur, boyssss!

Surprise surprise: it's SUMMER!!! And as Milan, the city I currently study in, is boiling hot and therefore dead silent during the summer, I'm spending my lucious summer months in Brussels, where my parents live, and Amsterdam, where I used to study before. Planning on going to Egypt at the end of August with my best friend, so I guess my summer is packed and busy enough. I actually went to Paris for a day yesterday, which was amazing! PARIS PARIS... I will love you forever. But more on the Paris chapter later on! Besides chilling and enjoying those sunny days, I have to start doing some research on my thesis, and boy let me tell you, I am not looking forward to that one at all. Even though it's is going to be on luxury brand management and marketing communications (my master major), which are topics I love, but it's still a damn pain in the ass!

So yeah, I guess welcome on my blog "A Quiet Moment"... which is by the way the title because I lost my voice exactly four years ago and it has changed my life and my view on life radically. It's coming back to me, thanks to my wonderous doctor, but there's still some work to do. Good thing about losing your voice, is that you have time to really get those brains going on whatever is worhtwhile and important at that point. It has made me who I am right now!