I decided to do more cross-stitching again. I had started on this 39 by 49 cm (15 by 20 inches) piece, a picture of a tradtional African tribe woman – or, at least, what the Western world typically likes to imagine they look like. The material alone cost me 60 euros (90 dollars). It has beautiful warm and earthy colors with a streak of aqua blue in it for the woman’s hair decoration. I really love it. Although, I kinda wish I had bought a different picture; it was the same size but the colors weren’t as bright and dominating. It was the portrait of an North American Indian kid.

I’m not sure if I’ll like this one put up on a wall somewhere just because it is so colorful and bright. It hardly matches with anything. But then my friend J showed me a picture she drew over the course of a couple of months. It’s a Mediterranean scene painted in acrylics and it looks unbelievably real. As if it was a photograph, almost. It’s awesome.

And so I asked her if she’d paint me a picture to hang next to my cross-stitch project. Maybe if I’d have a whole wall in these colors, it won’t look as crazy out of place. And it would also be nice to have something made by her in my own apartment once I won’t get to see her every day anymore; a nice conversation piece. In a Hey, remember when I asked you to paint this for me? sort of way.

She already agreed to start on my painting as soon as all our exams are over which will be around the end of April. Now I don’t know yet when exactly I’ll be moving out – my mom has been looking for apartments in Belgium because they’re much cheaper than in the Netherlands or all the way over in Germany. But I’m thinking I should start working on my African woman cross-stitch again so that by the time J’s painting is ready and it comes to the actual situation of moving into my own place it’ll be ready to frame and hang up on a wall.

On the other hand, I’m still totally caught up in Pillars of the Earth – I just can’t put it down. Plus I’m supposed to be studying like, right now and later on, before dinner, and at night and on my way to school. And anywhere in between. Crazy educatioal politics that force people to go beyond eveything that’s good and holy to graduate from goddamned high school!

Oh by the way, ONLY THREE DAYS TO GO.