2015 January - June

January

I finished my event planning course. There was first a sort of practice oral test, then a real one. I got a 5 for my real one, so now I have a paper that says I can plan events. I don't know if I'll ever use it, but you never know. The practice test was funny, because there wasn't anyone in the room after we got our question and could work on it. I didn't need my papers, however, because it was about analysing a source. For the real test I really wanted the first question. I used to be very good at always pulling the number that I wanted, and I relied on that. As so it happens, I did it again!

I got home pretty early, and in the afternoon got a call from RTL Klub TV station, that I was selected for a small part in "Budapest Day and Night". I got a contract and everything, and they were paying me some money for every worked day. Not a lot, but actually more than my salary. The first shooting was in January. The filming went okay, though I couldn't get there at the time they eventually said, because they kept calling me and changing the time. It was a work day, so I couldn't just get up and leave.

The day after my real test, I worked at home, and got a surprise in my email. My boss wrote to me on my day off, asking me why I wasn't working. I've told her many times that I wasn't going to work that day. I wrote back to her about it, and she said that next time I should write an email. True, I never wrote an email about it, but we talked it over so many times, I figured if she has such a bad memory, she had made a note about it. I actually realised at that point that she had a horrible memory, and no system of writing anything down. Of course, I should accommodate her at all times. I never missed writing an email to her about it though. If she misplaced an email, not my problem. A grown woman should know how to manage her life.

We went to Debrecen with my mum, and finally go to meet the newest member of the family, Matyi. Such a cute baby! His face was so serious all the time. We got him a few toys, and he inspected them like a scientist, gazing at it with a frown. He also liked to grab my fingers and examine them the same way. He also loved the music the toy was making. Whenever he heard it, he would drum his fingers to the beat, and wiggle is bottom. So he's either going to be a scientist, or something with music. :D I'll have him read this 18 years from now.

February

The month started off with my father writing on Sunday, that my grandmother died on Wednesday. Wow, don't be in such a hurry to tell me the news. I wasn't really surprised, since I knew she was dying. She was in a lot of pain, and I think it was a relief for her. It did still floor me though. When I talked to my boss about maybe needing time off for the funeral, I broke down crying. We had a weird relationship. I think she never really understood me, but she did feel some love for me. I got my favourite teddy bear from her, though mum told her what to get, but still... Her death did cause me sadness, but I felt less than it was supposed to. A part of me felt relief, because I really didn't like visiting her. Of course, that's not nice, but you can't help how you feel. I told my father to tell me on time when they would have the funeral, since it wasn't like I could just pop down to Szeged on a moment's notice. I saw on his Facebook that he left for the US soon after, so obviously it wasn't happening any time soon. He did also say it would be in March.

I had another shooting day, we actually did three scenes. One outside, and two inside. I played a member of a vegan group that the girlfriend of one of the main characters was a part of.

I was supposed to go to Andor's birthday, but I had a horrible migraine, so ended up not going. I felt bad about it, but I was feeling really under the weather.

March

There was another scene that they recorded, on the street. It was a bit cooler, because I got a microphone attached to me. I had to greet the main character. It was fun, but the director was a different one as from before, and he seemed not that good at his job.

They called me again later, but I had to refuse, because I had to get to Szeged, as I had a blood test and a doctor's appointment there for my thyroid. The doctor scared me a bit, because she felt lumps on my thyroid. I had an ultrasound done the next Monday, and they turned out to be benign. Still it was scary.

My father never contacted me about the funeral. I guessed they had it. Oh well, I wasn't that keen on going. He obviously didn't want me there anyway. It's not like I wanted to talk to him myself. Funerals are for the living, not the dead. It's a rite of passage. It's supposed to help the people let go of the person, close that part of their lives. I felt that I did that without needing to go to the funeral. I think I did that the last time I saw her.

I had one of my parties on a Saturday. Kriszti was supposed to come, but she got sick, so I ended up doing everything myself. I ran out of time, and was quite flustered when everyone started coming. I made Italian, and my beautiful Tiramisu, which I think is the best Tiramisu in the world. We did have fun, and played a lot. Veronika also came with her boyfriend, and she helped me make the polenta.

I launched my food blog, after I finally got the sign the way I wanted it. I also started working on getting likes for the Facebook page.

I got my hair cut. It used to be about mid-length, but I decided my face could handle short hair. I really got some good cheekbones since I've lost all the weight. The hairdresser was István, like with all my cuts in the past years. He was amazed at me taking this step. When he was done, I really loved it. I think I'm keeping it short for a while.

I also went to the Festival of Hungarian Flavours with Kriszti. It had been her birthday. We went around, sampled some good wine, I wrote some notes for a blog post. Afterwards we had lunch. I found a piece of plastic in mine! Never going there again. Then we watched a Hungarian movie, Liza, the fox fairy. It was brilliant! I so want to own it when it comes out!

April

I went home for Easter. We baked a kalács, our first. It turned out beautifully. Best thing ever.

On the Glamour couponing day I got a new phone. The old one had been getting very slow, and I had a problem with picking up calls. Not good when looking for a job.

I went to a flower festival. It was very nice, the weather was beautiful, and I also had some good food. I got some sweet wine from my favourite cellar a few weeks before, and they were there again. They had seen that I made a delicious apple and wine cake from it. I got some free drinks for that. I also bought some cute plants.




I went to Etyek alone, for the picnic. We had a lovely, warm weather, and even got a bit of a sunburn. I meet a guy, who was very nice, but not very appealing. I also bought some chili, which was going to be great in my dishes. Very good quality.

I saw on Facebook that Wine Company is launching a wine tasting school. I wanted to go on a course right away, and found on for red wines. I bought a ticket.

On the last day of the month, we went with mum to Debrecen again, for my god-sister's, my cousin's younger daughter's graduation. I only took my phone to take pictures. We actually couldn't see her during the graduation, because there were so many people on the yard, there was no more room left. We should have just gone to the restaurant. At the restaurant I had a couple of cocktails, and got a smidgen drunk. I have been suffering of a sore throat for day, so I wanted to cure it with alcohol. I looked really hot in my dress too. I got it at a sale in H&M, incredibly cheap. My Zsófi had a nice time at the restaurant too, and she seemed very happy to be finally graduating.

May

We went back to Budapest after only one day in Debrecen. We planned on having a nice time on Sunday, because it was Mother's Day. However, by Saturday I knew it wasn't happening. My sore throat had turned into me gasping for every breath, my lungs obviously not working properly. On Sunday we went to Szeged instead, and I let my boss know that I was sick and working from home. She told me that maybe I should go on a sick leave. I told her I couldn't afford it.

On the 6th the bomb exploded. Not an actual bomb, but it felt like it. My boss delivered the news that we were all laid off by the end of the month. I was really shocked, and after her call, immediately got in touch with the job agency that they were renting me out from. They actually hadn't been told, and heard the news from me. They were pretty shocked. So I got on social media, and started working my network. I got some requests for a CV. I also started going through every job site, applying for anything that looked good. I got some calls, and also some appointments. I did have to tell them that I was sick, and couldn't go right away.

While I was sick I spent a lot of time with mum. We were pretty bored with what was on TV, and she complained that she wanted to see some action movie. So I offered her to watch Avengers with me, as I wanted to see it again before watching Avengers 2. She loved it, and asked for more! So we ended up watching all of the Marvel superhero movies. Even the Hulk, which was a terrible misfire.

I also took out some vacation for the Wine Festival in Szeged. I got good enough to go on the first weekend, but on Monday I had to be in Budapest for a few interviews. I also applied to an agency that dealt with sending people to foreign hospitality jobs. I didn't sign right away, I told them I'd think about it. I also had an appointment on Tuesday, but it was weird. At the address they gave was an accounting office. When I asked them about the company I was seeking, they called someone, and then gave me another address nearby. This got me suspicious. I went to the address, but there was no sign for them, and at the door I couldn't tell what to buzz. I thought about calling them, but I wasn't even sure which number was for them in my call log, and the whole thing just smelled fishy to me. I ended up going home. I packed, and left for Szeged.

On Wednesday mum got sick. Her arthritis inflamed so much, she had a fever. I was so sick with worry, I didn't eat for a day. The weather was horrible. Big storms and everything. So no Festival, just staying home. At least I had a good rest. My knees and head weren't very good either.

I also had another doctor's appointment, and just as we were going there, my phone rang. They decided not to lay us off, and extend the contract until the end of the year. I didn't feel the relief I should have. I actually asked for a day to think it over, because they said I can leave if I want to. I wanted to, but I needed the money. That was when I realised I wanted to sign with the agency to maybe find a job for me in the UK. I signed the contract the next day. One of my colleagues, Adam, decided not to stay. We drank some champagne to send him off, and I went to a job interview a little tipsy after that. I hoped it didn't show. I did eat and have a mint.

A good thing about the whole affair was that my boss decided to change positions, so I could finally be relieved of her. I know it's not nice to write like that, but we were clashing more than comfortable. She really didn't like me from the very first. She had alluded to me not having a good opinion about her. I actually didn't know her much before she became my boss, so I didn't have an opinion. It did form quickly though after that. She always had me pinned down as a slacker. I'm not, I just work really fast, so often have time during the day that I fill with doing other stuff instead of staring at my email waiting for a partner to reply. I also started to feel this month that a desk job wasn't what I really wanted.

I've had a growing list of physical problems in these recent years, all coming from my job. My neck muscles became so tense all the time, nothing seemed to keep them from hurting. Shoulders too. My fingers also hurt because of the constant typing. The most recent thing was my elbows from being bent all day. Since I've lost weight, it got hard to sit on my behind, because there was so little flesh left, I'm sitting on my bones.I wanted to stand up.

June

The first weekend mum came to Budapest, because we were going to Etyek together. There was also a beer festival in Budapest, so we went there on Friday evening. The on Saturday we finally saw Avengers 2, which we both loved in IMAX. After that, we had lunch at the beer festival. Mum first wanted to have langos, but the people making it were really amateurs. Very slow, and the line wasn't moving. We were starving. I saw a place advertising porchetta on the way. I love porchetta! I said to mum that maybe we should check it out, and she agreed. She had a nice white sausage sandwich, and I a porchetta sandwich. It was very good. I even got some beer that was named something "India", and that had an interesting, but good flavour.

On Sunday we went to Etyek. We got the final two seats on the bus, and it even had air con. There weren't really that many people there, and it was a lot better the previous occasion. We had lunch and a couple of wines, then went back to Budapest. We had a coffee at Starbucks, and decided that the toilet there was horrible. There was a book festival nearby. We looked around. I wanted to get a book in Hungarian that was a Hungarian dystopia, and sounded interesting. Mum saw Anna Jókai, and she was mesmerised. She got a book and had her sign it for her friend. I got a picture of the two of them. I did find the book I wanted almost at the last stall. Looking around, I knew I wanted my book here. There were so many books with silly titles, and people were buying them. I knew, I wanted to get back into writing. By the time we got home, we were exhausted. I even felt a bit sick because of the heat and all the walking.

I went to a job interview with a a very weird guy. He called on the phone, and didn't say what the job was, just that they thought I would be good for it, and wants to set up an interview. I told him that first I'd like to know what the job is. He was equally weird during the interview. I didn't get it, but I bet they expected me to ask for less.

I finally got to go to the wine tasting course. I didn't go at the original time, because I was sick. I got it postponed for another time. They sadly only had bread filled with sesame seeds, so I got a bit drunk during the tasting. I did discover that I love Pino though.

It was my birthday, and I went home to celebrate it. Mum made me chocolate cake, and it was fantastic! We also had lunch at my favourite restaurant, John Bull. I had a difficult time selecting, and we ended up going off the menu. Basically I had a stake that they made, a salad and potatoes. It was so tasty! I love steak. Beef is good. During the day we saw a lovely movie about Beatrix Potter, and I read up on her life. I found it fascinating that a woman set up one of the largest conservation areas in the UK.

I got another little sheep from Timi. She's very cute, and loves all her little sisters and her brother.

Our former big boss at the company got laid off, and a farewell party was organised for him. A lot of people came. We went to a nice place by the Danube. They had a good hamburger too, and I really liked one of the beers called "Dad and his son". I talked with a couple of people, and ended up going home with Csilla for part of the way. We talked about stuff, and I ended up telling her that I didn't like how much I've changed. She said she liked it, because I seem more approachable now. She didn't feel like she could talk to me before. I was very surprised by that.

I went to shop at the big Market, on the following Saturday, and in the afternoon went to a hamburger and wine festival. I wasn't impressed by either one, but the chips were nice at the hamburger festival, and found a wine I liked a lot that the Hungarian Flavours Festival, and finally bought it.

On Tuesday I got my hair cut again. It had grown considerably, and wanted it shorter again. István did it fast. In the evening mum told me that she would be coming for the weekend, and we could finally make that boat excursion to Szentendre that we didn't get to go on last year.

On Wednesday I got a call from the agency that I signed up with. I almost thought they had forgotten about me. They had an interview set up for me. They sent the website for the hotel, and it was in the Lake District. I immediately remembered the movie about Beatrix Potter. What a coincidence! I did the interview, and Jane was lovely. I liked her right away. She said they wanted me, and we settled on about two weeks from then. I couldn't believe it. Me, moving to the Lake District. I was so scared it was all a dream, I didn't want to do anything until it was for sure.

Told mum right away. She was sad, but also happy. I am too. Both. It's hard to leave everything behind, and I sort of still don't believe it, even though on Monday when everything was finalized I gave in my notice, and discussed that I'd be leaving the company on the 10th, and Hungary on the 14th. I'll miss my mum and my stuff. My stuffed animals. However, I know I want to do this. I really did like working at a hotel before. The interaction with the customers was great. Being at a properly managed place would be better. The money is minimum pay, but still more than what I make here, and with only 200 pounds a month for rent and food, I'll be able to put away a lot more. Also, ultimately, I always wanted to write. Such a place, a beautiful village among hills and lakes is ideal. Away from the big city, the beggars, the smelly people, no metro, away from the sweltering heat of the summer that chocks my lungs. No matter how much I'll miss mum and my stuff, I need this. I've set a goal, of writing 300 pages by Christmas. I'm going to finish my book in Hungarian and English, then self publish. Maybe some day, I'll be a famous writer, and I never have to worry about money again. Then I can live wherever I want to.

We did go to Szentendre, and had a great time. The boat ride was wonderful. Szentendre is small, but we had a nice walk, and then went back to Budapest on the HÉV. We had a late lunch at the "Két Szerecsen", which is a great restaurant in Budapest. I had a very nice liver dish. I did have to comfort mum a few times, but we talked it over, and we'll see what the future holds. If I hate it, I can always come home.