Botanique Baby

Don't you ever have that feeling like you've gotta go somewhere and preferably all by yourself? Well, I do get that a lot to be honest. Sometimes I just have to escape, but I don't know what I'm escaping from. Usually I do this after my exams because I remember the first time I did this or had the urge to do so. It was my last year of high school and also my last exam. Instead of joining my friends for lunch I took the bus to the country side (or what you can call country side) and just went for a walk. I spent the whole afternoon walking and listening to music. Unfortunately I can't remember what I was thinking about, but it had something to do with a dream I once had.

A while ago I had the exact same feeling, but this time I got this feeling because a friend told me about another friend of ours. She told me about how he visits cities all by him self for several days so he could enjoy it to the fullest. That's where I got my idea from to visit the Belgian capital Brussels (and no, according to me it's not "just Brussels"). I decided to go the day right after she told me. Oddly I didn't feel like getting there as quickly as possible. So that's why I went for an hour during bus ride instead of a 20 minute train ride. I didn't feel in a hurry.

Since I was all by myself I was the one making the decisions and the first decision I made, besides taking the bus, was getting off at the Botanical Garden instead of the North Station as I'd usually do. The main reason why I decided to do so was because I'm pretty fond of 19th Century buildings, mainly because of the large windows which means a lot of natural incidence of light.

First I went for a little stroll through the garden which didn't have lots to offer in the winter besides the many statues. After taking a few pictures my iPhone began to struggle with some issues; the battery died. I usually carry its charger everywhere with me because this regularly happens, so I had to go look for a plug. Luckily I found one in something you could compare with a lobby. There I realized that there was more to do besides observing exotic plants. I did know it's the cultural centre of the French Community of Belgium, but I didn't expect something interesting to happen today.

To my surprise the complete building was filled with artists and other creative people, all of them were participating in this event called "ProPulse". All of these people were standing there aching to introduce themselves to you, and talk about what they love to do. To be honest I wasn't quite interested in talking to them, I was more interested in the appealing music I could hear but couldn't see who was making it. Following the sound which made me curious I ended up standing on front of a black door. Even though I was afraid I might be interrupting them, I opened the door and nobody even bothered (the more the merrier, right?).

When I entered the dark room I noticed this girl sitting in the stage, I guess she was about nine years old. It was like she was part of the orchestra because she was singing along. After some research I found out that she isn't part of the orchestra. Yet it felt like she was their lead singer, I can't explain it quite right. Neither can I explain what seeing Bernard Orchestar's (exactly that's what they're called) performance. I can only say that if I'd ever get the chance to direct a movie I'd use their music in it.



Thank you, enjoy these other pictures of Brussels and take care.

My Top 21 Tracks of 2014

Since there are only three days of 2014 left I've decided to share my top 21 tracks of 2014 before it's too late. Now why 21? Well, I'll be honest with you. At first it was a regular top 20, but then I realized I totally forgot about a song and I'm not telling which one. There were some songs I really had to add to the playlist, even though some - lots of - people aren't really fan of it (already guessing which song I might be talking about?). But I definitely love it and I think it has really deserved its place in this list.

Some of you might think that it's filled with songs from Lana Del Rey's new album "Ultraviolence", but unfortunately I'm gonna have to disappoint you guys. I've chosen to put only one song of Lana in this playlist because otherwise it wouldn't be fair. And besides, it's not like you only eat sweets. You just eat them from time to time, and it's the same with Lana and me. That doesn't mean I don't like other music or artists. It means that they're all different and have other moments to listen to.

Enjoy my 21 favorite tracks of 2014!

Thank you, hope you enjoyed them and take care.

Cheer Me Up

Sometimes we've gotta go back in time and listen some of those songs that always get stuck in your head. I pretty much did that the other day, but I didn't go back that much, just like seven years or something. - Whether I'm feeling old? Not at all! (Oh, I sure feel old at the moment) - I'm talking about Sean Kingston's hit "Beautiful Girls". Well, at first my sister and I were listening to some Justin Bieber songs (it's okay to listen to Justin Bieber) and stumbled upon this song right after listening - actually viewing - the Justin Bieber and Sean Kingston collaboration "Eenie Meenie".

So, the video shows us teenagers from the 50s until now (okay, 2007 is not now, but you get it) at the - what I'd like to call - milkshake bar (why don't we have those in Belgium?). Surprisingly this music video inspired me which I didn't expect because it's just a "silly" music video. Actually it's not the complete video that did the trick; it just took a couple of cheerleaders. Well, to be more specific I'm kinda intrigued by the 50s cheerleader's uniforms, and especially their sweaters.

Don't you just adore them? I'll share a little secret with you: those sweaters are 70s Varsity sweaters. Oh well, they look good too, especially the "Tigers" one. Anyhow they'd stil give me the 50s feeling if I'd wear one of them, which will probably never happen. I don't know why, but I'll always have this kinda love and admiration for the American 50s and especially the youth culture of that time.

Thank you, and take care.

June All Over Again

It's has been August for 10 days already and I've spent half of them studying for my reexaminations (it pretty much sucks). Even though I don't really like the act of studying, but I do like learning (yes, there's a difference between learning and studying) something new. And of course I like to do it in a fun way. This basically means using lots of colors - mainly pink because it's the only marker that works properly - in my summary, using Japanese words when I actually shouldn't and adding some doodles. Well, I actually use those doodles when I don't feel like writing anymore and they usually end up in the trash when I've rewritten - keeping it neat - my summary on my laptop. And rewriting it on my laptop makes it easier to share with others, remember: "Sharing is caring" (I use this when my baby sister won't share her Barbies with me).

Another "study-habit" I've got is listening to music while studying. I know lots of you think it's the worst idea in the world, but it keeps me focused. Besides when you listen to music you won't have to deal with the noise around you (why do my neighbors have a dog?). To the ones who don't have to deal with barking dogs and lawn-mowing seniors: You, my friend, are one lucky potato. 

Something I'd like to share - sharing is caring - with you, my potato-friend, is a little playlist containing my most played songs of the moment. Even though it says "of the moment", it doesn't mean "music of now". I don't quite know how to put this right, but let's just say that there might be lots of songs people of our age - about 18 - won't know. But if you're about 18 and you do know these songs, then maybe you and I should become best friends or something (I'm just saying). So, I called this playlist "M A D o n n a" and I don't know why as I tweeted earlier. Maybe I'll know why I named it like that in the morning... Sometimes it just takes me a while why I give stuff their names.

Making this playlist on @YouTube and idk why I called it M A D o n n a 💿 #DontAsk

— Nesrine Naïmane (@NSFrenchFries) August 10, 2014

So yeah, here's the playlist that keeps me focused while I doodle, write in pastels (you know, the BIC 4 Colours Fashion), mark with the only marker I own - don't wanna buy a new one because it's unnecessary - and rewrite to share it with the ones who also think that sharing is caring.

Thank you, and take care.