Day trip: the Keukenhof

For the longest time, I have wanted to visit the Keukenhof, a huge flower garden in The Netherlands. According to their website, over 7 million bulbs are planted annually in the park and Keukenhof houses a total of 800 varieties of tulips. That place, my dear friend, is heaven on earth. May 16th was the day I finally paid the garden a visit. And I had a blast. I loved being there, surrounded by such beauty, peace and serenity. If you ever get the chance to visit Keukenhof, go for it. It is definitely worth it.

We - my family and I - woke up early to drive to our destination. At one point, we had almost reached it by then, we were driving through a downpour. It got so bad that my dad even suggested we remain inside the car and watch from a distance. Needless to say, I was annoyed. I mean, did we seriously drive all that way just to sit in the car? And we came just to visit Keukenhof. May 16th was the last day it was open, which means we'd have to wait a year before we could try again. Fortunately it cleared up when we arrived, so we entered.

From the moment we left the entrance behind us, gorgeous flowers greeted us. It's hard not to be mesmerised. I was absorbing everything that crossed my path.  

We had been walking for a while when the growling of our stomachs directed us towards a restaurant. I don't know why, but we somehow always end up going for chips on these family trips.

After lunch, we continued our stroll and spotted one of those famous Dutch windmills in the distance. We went to take a closer look.

For centuries, windmills played an important part in Dutch life and they were used to mill grain or to pump water. 

This particular windmill was built in 1892. I wish I'd taken photographs of when I was inside. Everything looked old-fashioned, from the rickety wooden stairs, to the teeny tiny room the stairs led to. It felt as though I was transported back in time, to the 1800s and I would have loved to relive that through photos.

At some point, we came across a pottery exhibition. The art looked so cool!

I like how detailed the paintings are. So much time and effort must have gone into creating this. Absolutely stunning.

On our way to the exit, we found a little shed and a well. I couldn't leave without capturing the scene.

I spent a wonderful day there and I would love to go back someday. If you ever find yourself in The Netherlands between the months of March and May, you should definitely visit Keukenhof. As I said before, it's worth it!

Yours faithfully,

Morgana

Bad luck

What a day, what a day...

I woke up very early this morning to attend lectures. But as I was preparing to leave, I got a bad tummy ache. Really bad. After the pain died down, I headed off to school. I got on the tram, but I soon found out that I had forgotten my public transport pass at home. Urghhh of course... No problem, I'll just buy a new one. *rummages in bag* Now, guess what? I left my darn wallet in my other bag. Meanwhile, the tram driver had driven off to the next stop. I obviously couldn't stay, so I got off. I walked all the way back to my house to fetch the wallet and the pass. By this time, I'd already missed two out of the four lectures that were scheduled for today. I finally took the tram to the tube station and waited for the tube to arrive. A few minutes later, it was announced that the tube had been cancelled. Great. Excellent. Fan-freaking-tastic. I waited for more than 30 flippin' minutes. I considered going back home. But then I see something in the distance... It's coming our way! Is it... Could it be the metro? Hooray! It came, at last! And so I arrived at university after a two hour struggle. It normally takes me no more than 30 minutes to get there. I'm glad I could at least attend two lectures. What a day... 

And on the way back home, an accident happened.

I hope you had/are having a better one.

Morgana

Tag#1: Too much information

About two or three years ago, the TMI tag, in which people give too much information about themselves, started floating around YouTube and I became obsessed... Goes to show what a nosy person I am. I believe this tag was created by Carrie from Itswaypastmybedtime. I'll leave a link to her video and her YouTube channel here . Since I've seen so many YouTube videos and since I've read so many blog posts about this tag, I thought it would be fun to do it myself. So without further ado, let's get to it.

1: What are you wearing? 

My floral pyjama bottoms and a red shirt.

2: Ever been in love? 

Not really.

3: Ever had a terrible breakup? 

Never. 

4: How tall are you? 

Pretty short actually, 165cm/5'5".

5: How much do you weigh? 

No idea, to be honest. I haven't weighed myself in so long.

6: Any tattoos?

Nope, and quite frankly, I'm not interested in getting any. 

7: Any piercings?

Just my ears.

8: OTP? 

Maxon Schreave and America Singer.

 
9: Favourite Show? 

That's a tie between Supernatural and Prison Break.

10: Favorite bands? 

One Direction.

11: Something you miss? .

Supernatural. I guess it's time for some binge-watching.

12: Favorite song?

I'm really liking Zayn's album 'Mind of Mine'. I also really enjoy listening to 'One call away' by Charlie Puth and 'Sun is shining' by Axwell and Ingrosso. And how could I forget the classic 'Final Countdown' by Europe?

13: How old are you? 

I'm 19 years of age.

14: Zodiac sign? 

Gemini.

15: Quality you look for in a partner? 

Caring.

16: Favorite Quote?

Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.

 
17: Favorite actor? 

Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Mark Pellegrino, Asa Butterfield, Collin Morgan, Josh Hutcherson and many more.

18: Favorite color? 

Purple.

19: Loud music or soft? 

I don't care as long as I like the melody and the lyrics.

20: Where do you go when you're sad? 

Wherever I am at that moment. I don't have a specific place I go to when I'm sad.

21: How long does it take you to shower? 

Too long.

22: How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?

Around 20 minutes.

 
23: Ever been in a physical fight?

I have a younger brother... Of course I've been in a physical fight.

24: Turn on?

Kindness.

25: Turn off?

Disrespect.

26: The reason I joined Youtube (or in my case blogger)? 

I enjoy writing and I thought it would be fun to connect with people from all around the world.

27: Fears? 

Losing loved ones.

28: Last thing that made you cry? 

Eeeerr... I know it's stupid, but I'm going to be honest... An exam. Today.

29: Last time you said you loved someone? 

Today. 

30: Meaning behind your Youtube Name (blogger)? 

Morgana Anderson. Need I say more?

31: Last book you read? 

Crossed by Eliza Crewe. So good! The first book in the trilogy is called Cracked.

32: The book you're currently reading?

Night Film by Marisha Pessl.

33: Last show you watched? 

Kiznaiver キズナイーバー. There are some really good anime out there this season.

34: Last person you talked to? 

My parents.

35: The relationship between you and the person you last texted? 

The person I last texted is my friend.

36: Favorite food?

Italian, Mexican, Moroccan

 
37: Place you want to visit?

Dubai

38: Last place you were? 

My living room.

39: Do you have a crush?

Celebrity crush.

40: Last time you kissed someone? 

Today.

41: Last time you were insulted? 

Almost two weeks ago and I'm still mad about it.

42: Favourite flavour of sweet?

Strawberry.

 
43: What instruments do you play?

I love to play the piano, but I don't actually have one :(

44: favourite piece of jewellery?

A necklace with my name on it.

45: Last sport you played? 

Football. 

46: Last song you sang? 

You are my sunshine by Johnny Cash

47: favourite chat up line?

Don't have one. 

48:Have you ever used it?

Nope.

49: Last time you hung out with anyone?

If we're talking about hanging out with friends and doing something fun, then I'd say back in March when we went to see Allegiant in the cinema. Uni kind of took over my life in April.

 

50: Who should answer these questions next? 

You.

So, now that you know a little more about me, I'd like you to tell me a little more about yourself. Feel free to answer (some of) these questions.

Yours faithfully,

Morgana

The unpredictability of life

I never would have thought I would be boarding a plane a few hours after I went to work on that fateful Saturday. How grateful I am that we arrived in time so we could see him before he passed. It is at times like these when you realise that you should never take your loved ones for granted. So spend time with them, show them your love, because you never know when that is not even an option anymore. We often say "See you tomorrow!" like it is bound to happen. But when do we ever truly know what life has in store for us?

Yours faithfully,

Morgana

Gold digger

So I was going through the files on my old computer, the other day, when I stumbled upon the file 'Gold digger'. This made me so happy, as I thought I had lost it. I opened up the file and started reading the fairy tale I had to write for English class all those years ago. I remember being overly excited about this project. Then again, I've always enjoyed writing assignments. I sometimes wonder if I am the only person who actually likes to do those. I remember having a hard time coming up with a coherent story. The feedback my mum gave me was invaluable, as my lack of creativity was getting me nowhere. Naming the characters also turned out to be difficult. At the time, I was fascinated by names and their meanings and I wanted the names to reflect the personalities of the characters or the role of said characters in the story. So much time went into naming the characters (except for Serenity's. I named her Serenity because Serenity was my favourite character on Yu-Gi-Oh!). This reminds me of The Sims. Before I start playing the actual game, I will spend up to an hour or two customising my character (I'm not even talking about naming it). All in all, I remember having a lot of fun writing 'Gold digger'. Younger me was pleased with the outcome and I still like to visit the story from time to time. 

Yours faithfully,

Morgana

Gold digger

Once upon a time a poor girl was born to Abrianna and Galahad, two hardworking parents. The name of this girl was Serenity. She lived in a small house with her parents and her younger siblings: Grace and Madison.

For her, this wasn’t an obstacle to reach the top of her school career. At the age of 18, she walked through the hallway of Fionn University, where she met Prince Brendon. They both knew it was love at first sight.

After two years, Prince Brendon announced their marriage. But not everybody was enthusiastic about this... Both Brendon’s father King Ubel and Glenda, Brendon’s stepmother, had their own reason why this marriage should be sabotaged. Glenda didn’t want Brendon to have joy and happiness in his life. She was afraid that history might repeat itself. Glenda envied Jacqueline, Brendon’s biological mother, because of her popularity among the crowd. She saw taking away Brendon’s source of happiness as revenge. Glenda couldn’t bear it if Serenity received the same attention as Jacqueline did. On the other side, Ubel would be ashamed if his son married a girl, hailed from the working-class. So they decided to combine their powers and make everybody hate Serenity, including Brendon.

Serenity was very unhappy. She was disappointed in Brendon. One night, when Brendon was asleep, his mother Jacqueline appeared in his dream. ‘You should remain strong! Don’t listen to the haters. Follow your happiness and reach your prosperity.’ She said. When he woke up, his eyes were shining. He knew apologizing to Serenity was the right thing to do. To make sure Serenity would believe him, he made the announcement on live television. Serenity accepted the apology. 

A few days later, Serenity was trying on her wedding gown.

No matter how hard the drawbacks were, their genuine love conquered everything. The digging was finally over. Both Serenity and Brendon found their real gold. And they lived happily ever after. 

I HATE GROUP PROJECTS

Rarely do I come across a team that divide the work equally, actually do the tasks they have agreed on doing and finish them before they are due. Over the course of the summer holiday, I kind of forgot why I hated group projects so much, but when school started, it all came flooding back. God, do I hate group projects...

I understand that group projects can be beneficial to us students. They teach us to collaborate and we can learn from each other. But 90 per cent of the time - at least in my case - they are a pain in the arse. Excuse my language. 

This academic year I started at a new school, in a new class with new people. People I have never worked with before. People who might know what collaboration means... Dream on, Morgana.

At the start of this school year I was put into a group with... Let us call them S and A. We get an assignment at the start of the week and at the end of the week we hand it in and give a presentation about said assignment. At the start of the first week we divided the work for the writing part of the assignment equally and we agreed on giving the presentation together (I was happy about this, as I had a sore throat at the time). So far, so good. But as the day of the presentation drew near (and by this I mean a day before) - you've probably already guessed it - S and A became 'ill' and decided that I should give the presentation by myself. "So Morgana, you cool about doing this?" "But you guys know I have a sore throat. We agreed on doing this together, didn't we?" A even got annoyed. I don't understand how you can be annoyed with someone because they're ill. When I approached the teacher about this, she told me to ask my group to help me with the presentation, which they were obviously not doing to do. I eventually ended up giving the presentation anyway.

The week after that A told us she'd give the presentation this time. Once again we divided the work for the written part of the assignment and started working on it, so A could start preparing for her presentation. On Thursday, the day before the presentation, A announced that she didn't feel like doing it anymore because giving the presentation was not beneficial to her (whatever that meant) and that S or I should give the presentation. She also promised to work extra hard the following week (there was no assignment that week, smart move, A). I had to work till late on Thursday and come on, I had already given a presentation the week before. S agreed on doing the presentation. And guess what... She didn't show up for class the following morning. I received a message from her. She was ill. So there I was, my entire group was absent except for me. So when it was S's turn to give a presentation the teacher made me do it. Unprepared. "Oh come on, you worked on this assignment together, didn't you?" I spent about a minute panicking. OMG, I didn't prepare anything! I don't know what to say! What should I do?! To make things worse, I have a speaking anxiety. I had a shaky start, but once I got past that stage, it went surpisingly well. It was definitely not the best presentation I've ever given, but it amazed me how much I remembered about the assignment.

After that day I was done. D. O. N. E. Collaborating with S and A got better over the weeks, but one thing's for sure: I don't want to work with them again. Ever. I shall now continue my quest for the perfect team.

Yours faithfully,

Morgana

The state of being tired

Wake up. School. Work. Study. Sleep. Repeat. Those are the things I have been doing for the past days. Weeks. Months. I buried Social Life and Free Time two months ago when school started. May they rest in peace. 

Looking back, I wonder how I managed to keep going, keep pushing, for so long without collapsing, without giving up. Am I even human? I can say that I am tired. No, not tired, exhausted. My exhaustion reached a high when stress started to consume me from the inside out. The day when the final exam, that I was going to take the day after, was all I could think about. That day was yesterday. Yesterday was a rollercoaster. I spent the entire day studying and at one point I just became fed up with it all. I just could not do it anymore. Imagine the cortisol flowing through my veins. As a perfectionist, I cannot afford to fail a test. This newly developed indifference of mine stressed me out even more. All those days of non stop studying and stressing led up to this day, the day of the exam. I would either come back celebrating my success or crying and preparing for another round of studying for the resit. I've just come back from school,  and, fortunately, those many hours of hard work and dedication paid off, for I passed the test. Words cannot express how relieved I am. 

The exams are over and do you know what that means? The resurrection of Social Life and Free Time is happening! I feel like I have been neglecting my blog, which is a shame as I love reading and writing stories, but I'm hoping to change that now. Perhaps I will also be able to do something about that hideous lay-out (yes, I am aware of how ugly it looks right now). I have missed hanging out with Sam & Dean and Walter & Jesse. I am dying to experience school for the first time with Auggie (from R. J. Palacio's Wonder). And I am determined to finish Bella's 'Noobs guide to movies' before the end of this year. I promised her she would be allowed to 'hit me so hard, it'll make my ancestors dizzy' if I haven't finished it by the end of december, so I had better get to it, then.

But, first lemme take a nap.

Yours faithfully,

Morgana