staring at the sun

Hello party people,

I'm sitting at some friends' place and waiting for the laundry, and somehow I got the idea that I could write something here. I guess it's because of this gentleman who asked me if I understood how his stamps worked in front of the supermarket today. Really. It somehow reminded me of my story because we couldn't believe how strange the stamps were. But they are introducing a strange system here indeed.

Anyway, it's been a while. And looking back at the last few months, waiting has been a minor activity. Only little time after my December post, life took up speed again. The short version (not in chronological order) is that I got a job, quit again and found a new job. I found a new "house" (as some Dutch might call my two lovely rooms), left the container and moved. I've visited my family and friends in the South 4 times (really?!), seen my lovely niece and her parents at least as often, visited a friend in Cologne, checked out Maastricht, played 2 gigs with the band (really? that could be more, man), survived the World Cup watching most of the matches of Germany and the Netherlands (as well as some others... ay, too many nationalities here), been to three weddings.

Last but certainly not least, a significant change is that since January I am with the most lovely guy (somebody provide the proper vocabulary, please... I don't know Dating English). No details here, but believe me, he's awesome. Smart, good-looking, charming and all that - although I might not be objective ;-)

Alright, laundry is done. See you all soon, I hope.

Labels: Leben

Hey there,

I should be grading papers for finishing my old job (long story, to be told later), but I have the urgent need to share some music - I guess I'd explode otherwise...

Ever since I listened to the National's album the Boxer for the first time, randomly picking the cd while dog sitting at a friend's place last year, I loved it. Both the voice of this guy and the sound of the band (the instruments, arrangements) are awesome. I have listened to the album so many times in all kinds of situations, mostly when I was trying to calm down (given the situation) but also when I was happy or just cycling a bit. Well, check it out yourself. Here's a video with the band performing the opening track of the album, "Fake Empire". The sound quality is not so great, you should take the time for checking out the proper recordings, but the intro of the presenter is worth listening to :-)

The National - Fake Empire

Labels: Soundtrack

There's not too much happening these days... Well, actually there is, but not too many stories, really... Today I went to the same Albert Heijn, and was helped by the same lady as before, but got the stamps I wanted right away. It might have been because they were for the Netherlands.

People on Facebook might have heard about my Mumford and Suns-mania. I still love them. Their album "Sigh No More" is amazing! AND I was lucky enough to win a package of 5 cds of bands that played at the Crossing Border festival - including the M&S one! Thanks, Henk Kanning / KinkFM!!! Now I have loads of new music to check out :-)

My main occupation right now is looking for jobs. It's not really fun, but once in a while I have these short moments of thinking of the experience as an adventure, meeting interesting people etc. Last weekend I took the chance for a small detour on the way to an interview and visited one of my sisters and her sweet family. Very nice!

Last but not least I'm back doing the dishes in the café Festina Lente, a lovely place with lovely people working there. So that's kind of fun although it's difficult to get used to having to schedule the weeks' evening program in advance again.

Oh, and an unforgettable event certainly was the gig of our band as Sinterklaas and Zwarte Pieten in the Engelenbak. So much fun!

Alright. By now I put enough songs on my iPod again. iTunes had been so nice and had deleted all of them. Argh. Time to sleep...

Labels: Leben

"I'd like to buy stamps for Europe."
"Inside or outside?"
"Eeeeh, Europe."
"I know, but inside or outside?"
"Outside of the Netherlands, inside of Europe."
"Ok."

The lady is handing me a set of 5 stamps for Europe. Looks good. I pay. But wait, something is wrong...

"This is a bit strange. This is 4x 77 cents and 1x 75 cents."

The lady is looking at me like I'm an alien.

"What?"
"It's not normal. There should be 5x 77 cents."

She seems to be really puzzled. But I have the impression that it is more about why I have a problem with it than because of the bizarre fact that on a printed set of stamp-stickers one stamp has a different value than the others.

"Oh, maybe they put an old stamp on it."

An old stamp?!
The guy next to me is really interested in what is happening. He explains like it is the most normal thing in the world:

"You will have to buy extra stamps for a few cents."
"What?!!"
"You will just have to buy extra stamps."
"But when I buy stamps for a certain purpose I just want to use them and not buy extra ones!"

The lady behind the desk makes a smart comment:

"But it's only five cents difference."

Five?! I look at her and it must be obvious that I don't understand what she is saying...

"Would you like to have another set?"
"Yes, please!"

She is handing me another set of stamps and I'm very relieved that it is a regular one. Shaking my head I leave the store.

Labels: Leben

Ok, today is blogging day. This post actually dates back to November 1st. My friend Marco indirectly reminded me of it by announcing on Facebook today: "The Facebook cheat: "Press up up down down left right left right b a enter, and then click... " Why that reminds me of this post, you will find out once you listen to the song below.

Alright. On the day I came up with the idea of writing this, I was sick, had a cold, and all kinds of aches. Basically I felt like I couldn't do anything. Even listening was rather difficult. Still I was longing for some background music that might help in believing that everything was not so bad or at least would be alright some time soon.

So I chose for the soundtrack of the movie "Juno". I must have been looking for some naiveness or whatever... Somehow I remembered it as being easy.

It turned out to be more complex than that. Right, starting to listen to it, it mainly sounds sweet. But there seems to be more to the woman who is singing a lot of the songs, with the voice of a teenager. Well, but probably you already know Kimya Dawson and the Moldy Peaches, the band in which she used to play together with Adam Green, the singer/songwriter hero of the alternative music scene*.

Anyway, check it out yourself... For the more bitter version of Kimya, see "You're so nice, you're so smart". Below you get the nice side... Because I am still fascinated by these weird characters who are incredibly famous...



*) To take part in the hype: Adam Green will play in the small hall of the Paradiso on February 10 and 11, 2010. Ticket sales start on November 21. I bet it's gonna be sold out.

Labels: Soundtrack

Here are finally some pictures from my graduation in August. Good thing Jochem brought his paparazzi camera, even though I was kind of distracted by it during the defense :-P

Labels: Leben, Studium

Yesterday I had a hard time falling asleep, still struggling to get rid of a cold and my brain unwilling to stop thinking. Listening to music (Jon Foreman and Dustin Kensrue) helped a bit... The stuff of Jon Foreman and especially of Dustin Kensrue (yes, the guy from Thrice) is remarkably unspectacular but soothing to me somehow. I got stuck on Dustin's "Blanket of Ghosts" which really helped getting my mind set on sleeping mode...


Dustin Kensrue - Blanket of Ghosts



Sleep well!

PS: The studio version even has an organ...

Labels: Soundtrack

Life's a blast these days. Well, let's be honest. It's a bit annoying. Now that I finished my studies, I am trying to look for a job. This usually involves taking decisions, and some of you might know that having to take decisions is driving me crazy. The same is true for networking, randomly talking to people you're only interested in for professional reasons.

Anyway. It could be worse. I still enjoy being in Amsterdam, having great people around who are helping me by revising applications, building connections and encouraging me. And after all, I appreciate that for now I did not end up in the middle of nowhere without Internet and can stay connected to most of my friends, no matter where they are.

But that's not what I wanted to write about. But a small update once in a while helps, doesn't it?

Today's story is that I needed to distract myself from heavy thinking (or give me a reason to keep postponing it...). So I had the idea to go on a short bike trip. For bike trips you need music, so what to do? I let iTunes generate a list of songs I had never listened to before. Sooo random, good entertainment, I must say ;-) Check this out:

1. Johann Strauss I - Radetzkymarsch
2. Goldfrapp - Ride A White Horse
3. a listening excercise for the NT2 Dutch exam (skip)
4. a podcast from a Dutch eco-activist radio station (skip)
5. Sherrie Austin - Streets Of Heaven
6. Trisha Yearwood - XXX's And OOO's (An American Girl)
7. Tanya Tucker - Love Me Like You Used to
8. Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton - It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels
9. Neal McCoy - Billy's Got his Beer Go
10. Lila McCann - Come A Little Closer
11. Daryle Singletary - I Let Her Lie
12. Conway Twitty - Who Did They Think He Was
13. +44 - No, It Isn't
14. 3T - I Need You

In case you don't know them: 5-12 are pure Country music :-D
Agreeing to be on of the DJs at my sister's wedding totally messed up my music library...

Some pics from the trip (remind me to check out the pancake restaurant when you come for a visit):

Labels: Leben