Recently in Amsterdam Category
I'm back from a hectic trip to the Lowlands which was absolutely draining and I'm still recovering from all the stress and lack of sleep. Friday A. and I left at 07.45 to go and pick up the van, we ha...
Continue reading: The Move [part II] here...
I'm off to the Lowlands for a few days, hopefully I will get to ride my bicycle across town on Saturday, they better keep me on a lead *hehe*
But first things first and that's gonna be moving all my...
Continue reading: Home And Not here...
I wasn't pissed... honestly!
I was in trance!...
...
Continue reading: Cockney vs Amsterdams here...
It's Wednesday and I'm still feeling tired and drained, I think I haven't had enough sleep last week; going to bed late and getting up early. I have a cold since Monday, I'm trying to fight it: I don'...
Continue reading: Maid Of Honor here...
It's Saturday morning, the day of the wedding. I have to get ready in a while so I won't be writing a long post. Yesterday morning I met up with Christiaan at 'De Prins' to have a chat with him, a per...
Continue reading: Wedding Day here...
Things have been hectic for two days and I was really tired last night [Wednesday] when I came home, I didn't feel like writing. I just went straight to bed asap to catch up on sleep... So I will try ...
Continue reading: Busy busy Bee... here...
I tried to get up early this morning but I seemed to be as quick as the speed of a really, really slow snail; it took me ages to get ready. I reckon it had to do with the fact that it was pissing down...
Continue reading: Pampering here...
It feels great to be back in the Lowlands... when I arrived at the airport yesterday it was raining but Dutch rain never felt this good before and it's so totally different from English rain, I swear!...
Continue reading: I'm Here! [or there...] here...
I'm still getting slightly frustrated by my last employer, well I reckon 'slightly' is quite an understatement really... I'm so happy I made the decision to quit the job and leave the country, it has ...
Continue reading: Stone Age Employer here...
A. has been a bit grumpy for two days he has a good reason though: problems trying to get thru to some people. He tried to pay council tax by direct debit which is only possible by filling out a form ...
Continue reading: Dutch Attitude here...
It just hit me earlier, out of the blue, out of nowhere... I was preparing lunch and my mind wandered off thinking about my friends and my mother. She had a stroke and it's bothering me. She recovered...
Continue reading: Homesick here...
Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life. ~Immanuel Kant
I've been exchanging emails with J. again lately, she's my personal guide at times. Whenever I have issues she will be right t...
Continue reading: Quest here...
I've received a really cool letter from the Lowlands yesterday! Awesome! It came from my ex colleague [Gerrit Rietveld Academy] and friend Christiaan. I can't explain what it means to me because some ...
Continue reading: The Letter here...
I wanted to take A. out for dinner because I didn't feel like cooking. There's not much choice around here and I do miss all the little restaurants situated all over Amsterdam. Nothing like that in Lo...
Continue reading: Tapas here...
13 Seems to be my lucky number/day; Carla called me this evening and announced that she and Tjalling are going to get married next year, now isn't that great?!!! I'm so happy for them. And then she as...
Continue reading: Maid Of Honour here...
Noticeable Oddities of the Day:
'Holland' or 'The Netherlands'...
It's simple...
The Netherlands: a country
Noord Holland and Zuid Holland; two of twelve provinces of The Netherlands... [so no coun...
Continue reading: Once And For All... here...
Jeez, I have been faffing half the day because I screwed up some stupid script. Basically I was just too blind to see the mistake that I made and to be honest I still don't know how a little bit of 'g...
Continue reading: Leprechauns here...
I hereby declare that the picture which can be found here, has been taken by my dear colleague and friend Alex Barbaix. Look Alex... here's a picture of you, at my goodbye party, taken by Joyce...
Hi...
Continue reading: To Alex here...
It's early and I'm not awake yet; it takes more than one mug of coffee. We are going to load the van up. So wish me luck, we've got four hours... See you around on Tuesday!
...
Continue reading: Early here...
Well, I guess this will be my last entry for now. Things have been hectic and I will be happy if it's all over. Tomorrow evening I will hang out at the Irish pub with some of my friends and ex colleag...
Continue reading: Last Entry here...
Chantal sent me a really sweet email a while ago [in reply to the group email that I sent about the change of url] asking me if we could meet up before I would leave the country. I wasn't sure back th...
Continue reading: A Welcome Break here...
All the mail is gone, it took me an hour. I had to wait in line for 25 minutes but everything is done which is a good feeling. A. called me to let me now that we could take the mice along and that we ...
Continue reading: Lexus? here...
It's so warm, I'm having headaches because I don't sleep well. Even with all the windows open it's still 28°C in the house. Unbearable really. I had to get out of the house today to arrange all sorts ...
Continue reading: Heat Wave here...
I've spend about four hours sorting out stuff over the phone and arranging things, it's driving me nuts to be honest. Trying to take the car across the channel, calling tax people at four different de...
Continue reading: Aaaaaaaaaaaargh here...
Well I registered... but it won't be the same as last year when I went there with my colleagues from the academy, I have no idea if A. would want to join me [I registered him too] but if he doesn't I ...
Continue reading: Mac Expo 2006 London here...
The vultures are circling around already... Well I don't blame them of course. I would've done the same thing but it just feels weird. Only a few days after I sent a fax to the estate agency I receive...
Continue reading: My Goodness here...
I met up with Christiaan this morning at cafe Kale, which used to be one of my favourite pubs to have dinner or meet up with a friend. Time changed and so do pubs, it was not the pub that I used to go...
Continue reading: Coffee and Dinner here...
Have not done much this week. I needed to chill for a change. I went to the hairdresser on Thursday and had my hair cut... Yes: about 12 cm is gone but it was quite urgent because of split ends. I wan...
Continue reading: Week #19 here...
If you have a good relationship with your neighbours things are fine. If you don't, you could end up having a serious problem. I have a good relationship with most of them; a friendly one which is abo...
Continue reading: Neighbours here...
We came home today at 18.30 after spending three weeks in the South of France [half an hour drive from Cannes] where we had to work on A.'s house to accomplish a complete make over... It's been stress...
Continue reading: Home Sweet Home here...
It's been a hectic day. I contacted my friends a few weeks ago and asked them to set a date because it has been about a year since I saw them [at my birthday party]. So I'm going to have dinner at Bar...
Continue reading: Girls Night here...
My neighbour Monique has a serious mouse problem. Her apt has been invaded by a mice colony. Don't worry, mine are still in their own little container... She used poison but they seem to like it and t...
Continue reading: Mouse Trap here...
We went to the east of the country today to pick up the flight case. It's perfect and the lights are excellent although I'm not going to use them for the drawers. I will take out that stuff and use it...
Continue reading: Self-Service here...
if you were wondering whether I'm still alive or not, here I am, after a long period of silence. Lots of things happened in the meantime. First of all for those who didn't get my personal new year's f...
Continue reading: Hi there... here...
We had a wonderful day! We slept in till about 11.30 had coffee, then champagne and then we started to open the presents straight away [we couldn't be bothered to get dressed either, after all, it's S...
Continue reading: Merry xMas! [2005] here...
I have been trying to get ready today but I didn't succeed. I had too much to do. Buying presents at the last moment, going to the store to meet up with Carla, she called me yesterday to ask if I woul...
Continue reading: Crazy Thursday here...
We've decorated our xMas branches today. I'm allergic to pine needles so we decided to get these beautiful branches instead. We're very happy with the result, see pictures below. I still have a few mo...
Continue reading: Our xMas Branches here...
A. had to get up early this morning to work extra time for the Oracle team. He left at about 07.30. I slept in for a while and woke up by the sound of a hailstorm. The weather was terrible today, very...
Continue reading: Another Busy Day here...
A. took me out for dinner tonight at a fish restaurant called J. nearby where we live. He wanted to celebrate with me. The food was very good and the company was excellent, we had a good time together...
Continue reading: Dinner here...
There's this really nice couple. Both regular customers at the store. Most of the time this man and his wife come in to buy bread; always the same order. They place it in advance on Friday so they can...
Continue reading: Ed here...
It's been a terrible Friday... I had to start early and for some reason I started at 07.00 instead of 07.30. Carla called me yesterday to tell me that she wouldn't be in today. She had spent all night...
Continue reading: Freaky Friday here...
I noticed the smell already for at least 10 minutes, but I had no clue what was causing it. I checked my heater and took the clothes off the top where they were lying to dry. I smelt the clothes but i...
Continue reading: FIRE! here...
We watched another DVD tonight which was quite good in my opinion although the reviews about this movie seem to be quite bad... I liked it, it was a bit complex at times; too many names and characters...
Continue reading: The Bridge of San Luis Rey here...
Vanja called me last night to invite us for an evening out since her movie had been chosen by the organisation of 'Open Screen' as one of the 17 movies that was going to be shown on the big screen Fri...
Continue reading: Open Screen Night here...
We watched this excellent movie tonight called 'Saw'. See review below, it is actually not as bloody as they're saying. It's not really gross either. It's no butchering, it's actually more like a very...
Continue reading: Saw here...
I slept well for a change but had to get up early to go to the GP so no sleeping in for me today. Although I slept well I had a terrible migraine all day long, that's why I will keep this short becaus...
Continue reading: Migraine here...
We've rented a DVD tonight, Un Long Dimanche de Fiançailles with Audrey Tautou [also known as the actress in Amélie] which was quite impressive. At times I couldn't keep up with the actors' ...
Continue reading: Un Long Dimanche de Fiançailles here...
What a weird movie that is... I wanted to arrange a quiet evening since we both had to work extra hours this weekend. A. had a major project to launch and I had offered to work an extra day because of...
Continue reading: Birth here...
There's a dead rat, stuck with his head in a whole in the wall. It's in my tiny garden in the front of the house, surrounded by all the lavender so basically out of sight... The only thing that could ...
Continue reading: Dead Rat here...
We left at 05.30 this morning to go to the airport. I had mixed feelings and felt a bit emotional while we were on our way to Glasgow. It was quiet on the road, hardly any car. The fog was still there...
Continue reading: Glasgow - home here...
Yesterday I had to arrange stuff at the store and find someone who would be willing to work on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Debrah her mother is very ill and Debrah had to go back to Canada as soo...
Continue reading: Glasgow - Inge/Frank here...
I will have to work tomorrow and so this is the final day for me to arrange my things. I've been busy sorting out all sorts of stuff and the list is getting shorter. I feel like my brain is over-cooke...
Continue reading: Last Minute Things here...
Another boring eleven hours day at the store. A good one though, not too stressful this time and working with a really nice colleague called Reinout. Carla called me to ask me how things were going an...
Continue reading: Crash here...
I didn't sleep very well last night, more as in: just a few hours due to circumstances. So I was really tired when I woke up this morning causing a disagreement. No point mentioning details on here be...
Continue reading: Having Fun here...
I've been working like an idiot; running around like a headless chicken for 10 hours, trying to get everything done before closing time... I didn't succeed, so I had to finish things after closing tim...
Continue reading: What a Day... here...
I've been too tired to write lately... I've worked 21 hours in two days and that's why I'm exhausted! Yesterday all day, with Debrah, a Canadian woman and today with Tuilin, a Turkish woman. Saturdays...
Continue reading: Exhausted... here...
A. called me to ask me if I rented the last DVD from the Kingdom Hospital series. Of course I didn't. I have been to the park this morning to meet up with Dina for a run. Silly girl over slept. So I s...
Continue reading: Stench Everywhere here...
I've grilled the sardines tonight and added a little bit of grind sea salt on top. It was good!!!
It reminded me of Portugal, where I had these for dinner under the bridge at the harbour. Long lines ...
Continue reading: Portugal and Sardines here...
A. has been on stand by all week. They didn't call him in the middle of the night thank God. He received a phone call this morning so he had to go to work for a short while. A friend of his is coming ...
Continue reading: They that Sow in Tears shall Reap in Joy here...
Tonight we've rented this really cool series by Stephen King called Kingdom Hospital. It's an awesome DVD set of four!!! We rented part one and two which is about 6 hours of movie. Once the show start...
Continue reading: Kingdom Hospital here...
Early Rise n' Shine today because I had to return the silly machine before a certain time. Of course I didn't make it because no matter how early I get up, I end up faffing around, being busy with not...
Continue reading: Rise n' Shine here...
This morning I had to go to the hospital again to have this scan done. It took half an hour or so. About ten minutes later I had to go to another room where a nurse put this silly box on me. Once agai...
Continue reading: Machines and friends here...
Got up early today to go to the Vondelpark where I was supposed to meet up with Dina for a run. The grass was still wet everywhere from last night's showers so we had to find ourselves a dry spot whic...
Continue reading: Character here...
We went to the market today because I wanted to buy some nice fish, vegetables, nuts and fruit. We bought salmon, mussels, tilapia fillets and sardines from Portugal.
About Tilapia:
Spiny-finned fres...
Continue reading: A $150000 meal... here...
Willy DeVille was awesome! The gig at Paradiso was really cool. He's getting older though, he needed a stool to sit on during the concert and he was limping. People were guessing about his age, most o...
Continue reading: Gig Last Night here...
Vanja, Tilly, me and my beer... Enjoying the weather at the Tig Barra. When Tilly was about to leave, I called A. to ask him if he wanted to join me. He did. We stayed till 23.15 and had a discussion ...
Continue reading: AM and PM - What is Noon and Midnight? here...
I have to hurry a bit. I'm going to hang out with one of my best friends, Tilly. We're going to the Irish bar. Wasn't my idea... seriously! *of course no-one believes me* We haven't seen eachother for...
Continue reading: Gone in 60 Seconds... here...
I got tickets two weeks ago, for this really cool gig! I have seen him four times [perhaps five] and it will never get boring! I didn't find out until a few weeks ago when I checked the website to see...
Continue reading: Willy DeVille here...
Yesterday when I came home from work, I noticed that the birds nest next to the front door, is in use again this year. The mummy was feeding the babies. I heard them being all noisy when mum came flyi...
Continue reading: Aliens here...
I took pictures of the flowers, but will upload them later......
Continue reading: P.S. here...
After what happened yesterday in London [the bombs] we were happy to hear that everyone is fine over there, friends and family of A.. Next weekend we'll be flying to London ourselves. I guess it is go...
Continue reading: Relief here...
We watched too many movies lately and I couldn't even remember them all when I tried a few minutes ago... I've been trying to get this DVD for about 6 weeks now, it's called Finding Neverland, which c...
Continue reading: Finding Neverland here...
I received a note in the mailbox today. They delivered flowers for this person at my neighbour next door. I didn't expect anything from anyone so I was really curious to see from who it was and to who...
Continue reading: Mystery Woman here...
Been at the Vondelpark all day, enjoying the weather and Dina's company. She's been telling me cool stories about the Dominican Republic where she is born. Funny because we're friends for 10 years alr...
Continue reading: Relaxed Day at The Park... here...
We went to the Tig again tonight... It seems to become a weekly event every Tuesday. I told A. I would go to Dina in the afternoon to meet up and have a chat with her. He already knows that if I do so...
Continue reading: Regulars here...
A. has been on standby all week and I didn't have a good night sleep at all. He was called several times during the night and had to get up and go to work to fix problems. I'm starting to become reall...
Continue reading: Disturbed nights here...
I came home from work, tired and desperately in need of sleep. I took a shower for half an hour and found myself all energised again and ready to go out and have a nice meal at the Irish pub. So when ...
Continue reading: Tig Barra here...
Noisy little idiots, screaming for food whenever one of their parents came around. Too funny to watch. I was sitting in the garden while the parent flew over my head to get some of the food that was r...
Continue reading: Chicks here...
...
Continue reading: Sushi and Champagne here...
We organised a dinner party last night at this Ethiopian restaurant with seven of us. The food was excellent, I have been craving for it for at least one year but somehow no-one really wanted to join ...
Continue reading: Banana Beer! here...
We slept in till 14.00 today, we didn't feel like doing anything this year. I wanted to go away for the weekend and made plans to go to Belgium/Ardenn and stay at some nice hotel [with a jacuzzi in th...
Continue reading: Queensday 2005 here...
A. is still ill, I don't feel so well either. But today was the first warm and sunny day of the year. My colleague Carla text me so I called her to see where they were; sitting outside in the sun enjo...
Continue reading: Nice and Warm here...
We [me, Carla and Idefix her dog] went to the forest today. The weather was wonderful although it started of nasty this morning. We were so lucky. We've been walking for hours! We had coffee and cake ...
Continue reading: Spring is Here! here...
View from academy today... Lovely ain't it? I do have to go now... Working 'overtime' But had to take these pix, just to show this little white world I'm in. Will have to walk home, will visit Dina on...
Continue reading: More White here...
It seems it hasn't been this bad for about 50 years... When I took these pictures this morning, I thought it would probably be gone by the time I had to go home from work but it didn't stop ever since...
Continue reading: A White View here...
I've been spoiled... I had a wonderful evening with my sweet funny valentine. He gave me a beautiful bunch of long stemmed red roses. We agreed to go out for dinner so I'd made reservations at some ar...
Continue reading: Sweet Funny Valentine here...
Today A. officially bought his house in France. I promised him to take him to a Spanish Restaurant to celebrate because he told me a few weeks ago that he never had Zarzuela which is totally unaccepta...
Continue reading: Albatrosses and Winkles here...
I met up with my friend Sandra tonight at the Irish bar. It was really good to see her again after a long long time. We found out that it has been 2 years. A lot of things have changed in the meantime...
Continue reading: Nothing Ventured here...
I am so fed up with some people... Especially if they are called 'boss' or 'manager'. I wonder if that gives them the right to shout and yell at you like you're some 16 year old kid. Even if I would b...
Continue reading: Laws, Rules, Grumpy Bosses here...
Thanks everyone for coming yesterday!!! I am not going to give any comments here, you just have a look at the results of the evening and have a good laugh about these pix... *grin*
...
Continue reading: Party Time at The Pub... here...
I'm having my birthday, Yay! I feel so much older all of a sudden *not* I feel happy! A. surprised me this morning; when I came back to the bedroom there was this huge bouquet of beautiful red roses *...
Continue reading: Birthday Gal here...
I wanted two more piercings... I have been thinking about this for a while but every time I wanted to go to the shop something got in the way. The piercing shop that I used to go to moved to the south...
Continue reading: Piercings here...
We have a hag in the area although I can't tell whether she is a grumpy, unpleasant woman or not, we do call her The Witch. She seems alright just a little odd. She makes us witnesses of awful things ...
Continue reading: Appetite here...
We bought a car last week. My first and our first together. There were some problems but we solved them so far. One more problem needs to be solved called 'The Previous Owner Con Man' but I'll take ca...
Continue reading: Red Monster here...
I have been really busy lately and had no time to write anything on here, I also forgot to write about the workshop glassblowing. It was awesome! We had a wonderful day and we're probably gonna do it ...
Continue reading: Glass here...