Anyway, the main reason why I want to quit blogging is that I don’t feel like sharing anymore. It’s really as simple as that. But it has been fun and I really enjoyed it. I met a few nice people through my blog, I occasionally offended some people and I went through 5 seasons of The L Word… what more can a girl ask for, right?

So, bye.

I was quite shocked because I had absolutely no idea The Frau had planned this. But it was the best surprise I ever had. It was a bit strange because I was all packed and ready to get in the car and leave for Paris so I had to rewire my brain a bit and get over the fact that in a couple of hours I would be on a plane to Berlin. What was even more shocking is that quite a few people knew and never gave me a clue (but I guess they knew they were risking The Frau killing them if they did). So, thank you girlfriend for the best present ever!

The reason why The Frau took me to Berlin is because we are both very much in love with the city. It’s so relaxed and colourful and full of terraces and cute restaurants. It’s definitely number 1 on the list of my favourite European cities. Berlin is also a very cheap city and as I thought I was going to expensive Paris I had more money to spend. Also, in Berlin the summer sales had already started so some serious shopping was done. We also attended Christopher Street Day (Gay Pride in Berlin) and walked around until our feet almost fell off. On Sunday we went to a bar to watch the German soccer team lose the European Championship to Spain, which – despite being in Berlin – made us very happy. (I don’t know that much about soccer but I like to watch it and I always support the cutest team.)

I walked around with a smile on my face most of the time because Berlin is a great city to be in and to get a trip there as a surprise birthday present from your girlfriend feels rather good. The Frau found us a flat tiny studio near Kollwitz Platz in Prenzlauerberg. And we can conclude that babies and bikes are very popular in Berlin. We hardly saw any pensioners. And I found out that my German needs some serious brushing up.

Do scroll down for the picture report.

Smoking is no longer allowed in bars in Berlin.

The Frau expanded her collection of boy briefs.

Gay Pride

Even men were heels… I don’t understand.

Yes, this is what you think it is.

Gay Pride

Soccer support

The shop was closed otherwise I would have bought the t-shirt. :-)

Berliner Weisse, The Frau’s favourite drink.

Our last time flying to Tempelhof Airport. It’s closing in January.

You’re never too old to wear All-stars, well, that’s what we like to believe anyway…

Tempelhof

Why do most women in Berlin ride on men’s bikes?

Someone bought a new handbag.

All pictures here >>
 

But what we can conclude out of this is that I’m 30 years old and I have no style. My family isn’t really known for its sense of style (you should see my cousins, compared to them I always look gorgeous) so maybe it’s genetic (but I bet my sister will contradict that) (to which I would reply – to keep the peace – that there are always exceptions). Or maybe it’s because I’m a lesbian. That’s just the thing, when I’m at work and I compare my look to my female colleagues I always feel like such a lesbian. And up until now I always thought: well, this is just the way I am and this is my style. But the truth is that I’m ready for some serious re-styling. You could think that a couple of days in Paris with some fag buddies is a good start, but let me tell you that I’m nowhere near ready for gay exuberance in my clothing style. (And the particular fag buddies who are joining us in Paris this weekend are not that kind of fags, or at least they hide it well.)

A while ago I was talking to one of my perfectly outfitted colleagues and the topic was shoes. I’m a lesbian so I wear sensible shoes, it’s our thing. Believe me when I tell you that I have tried wearing non-sensible shoes and it hurt like hell. But it appears to me that straight women have no problem with wearing high heels and flimsy sandals, so what is their secret? Well, when my colleague told her mother that she was going to keep a pair of very comfortable shoes in her office to wear at work her mother said: don’t you dare spoil your feet like that! So, it is actually all about suffering (and I don’t feel like suffering). And my mother never told me not to spoil my feet.

If only I was Bette Porter.

“Talk with your doctor, make healthy lifestyle choices and most importantly, know your body as that can make all the difference in the world.” – Cynthia Nixon

A message for gay women
Gay women face unique issues when dealing with breast cancer.

www.komen.org/cynthia

Television? Of course! But fashion? Don’t get me wrong, I think Christian Siriano is super fierce (but Rami is the better draper) but I know nothing about fashion at all, not even about fashion for homosexual women. And since when are we not called lesbians anymore? But I do live in Belgium.

Nevertheless, thanks for the homosexual linkove!

Speaking of which, this weekend we started watching Sugar Rush (thank you After Ellen for the tip) and it’s hilarious. It tells the story of “a 15-year old gay virgin who is sexually obsessed with her best friend called Sugar”. It definitely gets the D&tC approval seal and I advice you all to watch it. Not today of course because today is a gorgeous sunny day but now that I’m 30 I kid myself a lot less and I accept that it’s probably going to start raining again tomorrow.

As you can probably imagine I’ve been getting quite a lot of ‘how does it feel to be 30?’ kind of questions. And I have to say that it does feel different. Now that I’m 30 I’m beginning to realize that the future is now. I’ve had a good run so far and even though I’m actually very happy with my life as it is now, I will be looking to make some changes. Changes as in wanting to spend a couple of my thirtysomething years in another country. I’m working on it, so let’s all cross our lesbian fingers and hope for the best. I do want to take this cheesy moment to thank all of the people who came to our birthday party and gave us fabulous gifts. I shall share some of the less embarrassing (= not many) pictures on Facebook later this week.

I can also happily announce you that I shed a few pounds since we last virtually saw each other. Turning 30 is so motivating (especially when you plan a party and you want to look good for it). After the party I did let my discipline slide for a little while. But I’ve got a new goal now (a bikini holiday with my mother-in-law) so I’m back with full force working on my body of steel. The Wii Fit really is a fun way to get your lazy ass out of the couch, I can vouch for that. (And the rhythmic boxing is perfect for blowing of steam while pretending you’re hitting an annoying colleague.)

In other more dyke-related news: On Sunday there will be an After Ellen Meet-Up in Paris! And we will be in Paris… Unfortunately Jill Bennett is not coming but I wouldn’t mind shaking hands with Bridget McManus either. But we do have fag buddies to entertain that day so we’ll have to see. Of course that thing I just wrote about our fag buddies is just a lame excuse because The Frau and I are actually not so big on mingling with large crowds of lesbians. Especially if some of the lesbians are of internet fame. But, you never know… it’s Pride Weekend and there will be fag buddies which means there will be bubbles which means I might be slightly scandalously drunk in the afternoon which means that we might possibly go…

Oh, and don’t forget to get your tickets for Blondie! I know, it’s a festival and all that but seeing Debby Harry really is worth it (I hope). Tonight we’re going to see Elbow and I’m taking my brand new camera (thank you for the Fnac vouchers, fabulous fag buddies) to film some of my favourite tunes (and share with you later).

Bye.

We were strolling in the park during our lunch hour and we saw a rather skinny jogger running past us and my colleague remarked that this guy had no ass at all and then he continued by telling me that his wife always says that he has a very tiny behind as well (I know, too much information). And then he turned to check my ass and he dryly said: yeah, you do have a fat ass. I took it with a smile (because that’s what I do). I strongly believe that letting your colleagues have some fun at your expense from time to time improves the overall work spirit. Or so I tell myself.

In other news, I found a way to trick myself into feeling that commuter trains are punctual. For the second day in a row I have been leaving 1 minute earlier than usual in the morning and both times I’ve been able to catch an earlier train (than the one I had planned to take) that was actually late but did leave earlier and brought me to Brussels earlier than I had planned. (Get it?) This also had the advantage that I didn’t even have to wait for the train to arrive; even better, it felt like the train was waiting for me to arrive before it left. Commuting is such a source of unlimited joy.

What were these televoters thinking? Choosing Jessie over Rachel? Rachel Tucker was by far the hottest TV 2.0 contestant ever. I guess you could say that at Casa Dykes we had the hots for Rachel and we thought she was the best. She wasn’t very popular with the audience though and I did see her exit coming. It’s just so unfortunate that she was in the sing-off with Samantha. But The Lord really let us down. I’m not a musical fan and I don’t really care who’s best for the part of Nancy, I actually don’t even know who Nancy is because I’ve never seen Oliver. But I do love reality TV and I also love it when pretty girls sing songs on TV. And I love the gayness of Graham Norton and John Barrowman. And I never missed an episode of I’d Do Anything. I even learnt how to program our DVD-recorder for it. But no more Rachel? That sucks.

Oh well, I’ll be rooting for Jodie now. But I swear that if Jessie wins I’ll find some way of boycotting the UK and its crazy televoters. Rachel, the dykes love you!