Mark and I finally caught up on skype - too long it had been.As usual we discussed the deeply important ... student loans, whether I would ever return to New Zealand and what stops me from watching the television series he sent for discussion almost 2 years ago.
He explained that while I read busy, I rarely explain.
I guess it surprised me and so here are some details, the ones that come to me now anyway.
Not that he asked.
The alarm at 6.45am.
Breakfast for everyone ... from 4 to 6 people, more when we have guests.
Kindy run maybe, cleaning for sure, then work and it's that work seems to bleed, even hemorrhage a little, into this home-based life of mine.
I have the one day per week in the city of Brussels where I work for an NGO as a communications chick. Website updating, press release writing, brochure development, business card creation, database maintenance, newsletter creation, photographer and etc ...
I took it on at one day a week but we all agree it is more and I'm fine with it stealing 2 or 3 days depending on workload.
Then there's the development of Di Mackey Word & Image ... business cards, a website perhaps, advertising and etc, including the same kind of work with Di Mackey Photography which actually falls into the Word & Image basket.
A photography gig can go on for weeks, as with the conference in March. 3 nights of photography, a week of organising the results, a weekend of loading 250 onto the web and then receiving and filling out orders from newspapers, magazines and the conference folk themselves.
Out-of-the-blue requests for photographs from an interesting international group based in Egypt takes up time and then general maintenance of promises made, as in a dvd full of photographs taken out on Flanders Fields in 2007 for the man who organises so many of the events there.
Spare time researching a friend of my father's adoption story, trying to locate some of his lost family here in Belgie. A story possibly getting national coverage in Belgian media soon, courtesy of Gert.
There's dinner and dishes and vacuuming and laundry and windows and all those endless things meant to satisfy the female soul.
There's the photo-ordering, frame-choosing, pick-up errands where I learn who is honest, talented and affordable in this relatively new city of mine.
And there's the new website, so close to completion that my eyes are almost ready to bleed from the wait. And that's why I'm here ... at Via Via Cafe, with a glass of red wine, a laptop full of photographs, trying to select 4 perfect images for the new website banner. And I mean perfect. Images that convey all we need them to convey, that are stunning and say, 'Come read us, we're fabulous'.
Bookshop, photography shop, and post office last, so many parcels to post ... it's a day.
The photograph was my everyday metro stop back in Istanbul. Going through all of my photographs, I stumbled upon a million memories of Istanbul and decided to add one, even if it is completely out of context.
6 comments:
hey, you sound like me with all the busyness. get some time for you too k?
You've blossomed well, my young one. Last year was a a tough one for you, but look at you now. A strong, confident woman with work all across the globe.
I'm awaiting your national news story :D
Thanks Van but I cheated a little ... I put housework in twice. I giggled when I thought about it on the way home ... what an exaggerator eh wot ;)
Blossomed ... I look a bit autumnal actually, Manic. Feel it anyway ... today.
I'll let you know, already one of the newspapers want to interview our lovely kiwi bloke via the phone :)
Di, what you manage to squeeze into a 10h day would take me a whole week, with most of it way beyond my reach ;-)
I'm so scatterbrained, I can't tell you where my day goes--it just goes....
I had to smile, Peter. You leave me standing in research and ummm who would want to do what I did with my days last week ;)
I still feel kinda lazy next to Van.
I think that's called moving countries, Veronica. One's calm is shattered a while, and then a while longer.
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