What a packed weekend! On Saturday, we went for a bike ride just outside the city to an area pronounced "Outerkirk" to where there's all natural settings with a windmill along the way to remind you, if you happened to forget, that you were in the Netherlands! In the early afternoon we went to the movies, seeing "The Other Boleyn Girl". Enjoyed it, and as usual for us when we see "Hollywood's" depiction of history we did a little research on Henry the 8th over the weekend in order to filter out any embellishments, adjusted facts or complete falsehoods. Saturday night there was a party at a bar in the center of Amsterdam for a co-worker who is returning to Sweden after working at GE Amsterdam for 7 years. We had fun and fortunately we didn't smell like walking cigarettes afterwards, which is usually the case here. In July, a law will go into place that prohibits smoking in many places, so I expect a lot of grumpy Dutch people stomping around until they go through their withdrawals or find another way to cope. Sunday, we had our usual cheese omelet breakfast before going off to see the Magnum exhibit at a local museum. That was pretty interesting, along with 1 or 2 other exhibits in the museum. But then there are the ones that we just didn't get! What I do, as art, is pretty self explanatory most of the time. But then there are those spread out over the "art spectrum", whether it's representational art, abstract, performance, whatever, that it's just not clear where they are going with what they produce!! Some pieces had explanations by the artist, and we're both saying "I don't see it!" We were there about 4 hours and could've stayed longer, but they closed at 6pm. So, we walked home, which was a considerable distance, stopping to have dinner at a Tibetan / Nepalese restaurant that was very good!! We will visit there again for sure.
Ah, but back to reality part of this post. While it is true that most people, easily 90% or more, of the people I have come in contact with speak enough English for easy communication. However, try buying a mobile phone, getting electric service, cable TV, GPS unit, etc. Get ready for some real fun, because the large majority of websites are in Dutch, and all the paper work you receive with the equipment is written in Dutch! I (at least like to think) am pretty patient, but WOW have I broken new territory for myself! If my previous level of patience was Georgia and I'm living in Orlando, hell, I have now visited the "Land of Enchantment" (Arizona, right?)!!!! Thankfully, I have found a rudimentary online translator, but we're talking a lot of pain-staking typing when it comes to manuals, and copying and pasting when directions or information are on a website!! All in all, it makes for some seriously long engagements to change an address, open an online account, update your GPS, change the language settings on your mobile phone, basically everything! I admit to getting frustrated and sending a few not-so-nice emails to different companies chastising them for not supporting the large contingent of English speaking residents. It did bear some fruit, as I was contacted by customer and tech support for one company I was dealing with, and another said they are behind schedule ramping up their English version of their website. This has to be near the top of my list of difficult things encountered by this move to Amsterdam.
Okay, we're here, it's another Monday. It's been sprinkling here since about 10am. I say "sprinkling" while the Dutch say rain. I think "rain" is those July downpours we get in central Florida where in 2 seconds you get more wet than you would jumping in a swimming pool! What makes it bad here is this place is windy! I mean windy, folks!!! Not that warm breeze where a leaf flutters and you get all giggly inside. Today, there are gusts of wind that take me back to the dark night several years ago when I tried to sleep, and #2 or #3 hurricane of the week was passing through and I thought Florida Eastcoast RR had put a track next to the bedroom while I was asleep!!! Last week, I had the owner bring by some weatherstrip as 3 of the windows in the place had sizable gaps. Those windows are just fine now. However, I will be sitting or walking in here, and all of a sudden part of my body will feel a stiff, cold, gust of wind. Not my whole body now, let's just say, for example, the outside lower left are of my left wrist! I have to start crawling around trying to find where that's coming from!!! I sealed the window in the bathroom last week, but damn if that wasn't one of the places this morning I felt one of those little bursts of cold air!!! After some inspection, I found the source to be the wall switch!! I took of the plate and damn if it didn't feel like I opened the freezer upstairs! Our place is very modern. Just remodeled last July and it looks like it. However, when the building is centuries old, it must be tough to seal all of the cracks! There are cold, small little breezes everywhere in this place on a day like today. Wind blows hard, and the crack in the door whistles The Andy Griffith Show! I already know I'm going to want more weatherstrip and a can of foam for those pipe and conduit risers in the closets and utility area. Like I say at home....It's always something!!!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
Settin' Up House
Well, our sea shipment was delivered to the new apartment last Saturday morning. I had actually started earlier with the move, packing our stuff at the old place in the Jordaan. Most of it was packed and/or ready to be moved. There were some items already in the car that were given to us by Nancy and Jelle, who moved from here to Ct. where Nancy was working in GE's corporate headquarters. We dropped that stuff off Friday night at the new apartment, drove over to our Jordann place and filled it up with stuff, driving it back to GE at night and then stopping at The Taco Shop for 2 smothered burritos (tasty!). Next morning, we picked up the car at the GE lot, driving it to our new apartment, noticing the movers were there ahead of schedule before 8am. They said we could use the outdoor elevator to bring up the stuff in the car to the 3rd and 4th floor. Words can't say how nice that was not having to hump that stuff up all of those stairs!!! Once emptied, I drove the car back to our old place, backing it up near the door of our building. Luckily we have a bike shop next to the old location that didn't allow parking in front of it. But on a Saturday, and this being Netherlands where most laws are suggestions, we took advantage. I loaded up the car with as much stuff as I could (up and down those stairs!! what a workout), grabbed my camera, and drove back to the new place using the elevator again. The movers were done in about 3 hours, doing a pretty good job. We still had a little bit remaining at the old place, so we drove over to the old place and got the rest of the stuff and brought it over using the old fashioned method...up and down the stairs. On Sunday, we did a little unpacking and then decided to take a break and go see a movie. "No Country For Old Men"...excellent flick...have seen it twice so far. Broke open the boxes of kitchen stuff and found my Sam's Club jumbo box of Skittles and chewed up half a bag. They were so good I almost had an afterglow. It was weird to see our belongings in a place other than our livingroom back in Gotha...but getting used to the sight already. Furnishings fit pretty well in this new place in both size and color, with the exception of the blue master bath... and some light pink walls and purple wallpaper in one of the bedrooms. Radhika seems to be holding up well to all the bright, cheerful color exposure. Those who know our home in Florida with it's all white walls and ceilings and her proclivity to wearing black and gray clothing know what an adjustment it will be for her. But she's coping.
I have work to do, so I will follow up on this topic more later and add a few pictures from moving day. There's stuff all around this place and and I'm finding places for it all to go, not to mention the cleaning that's needed, and occasionally setting out to buy some things (bike lights, mirror for restroom, etc). Until later....
I have work to do, so I will follow up on this topic more later and add a few pictures from moving day. There's stuff all around this place and and I'm finding places for it all to go, not to mention the cleaning that's needed, and occasionally setting out to buy some things (bike lights, mirror for restroom, etc). Until later....
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Random Ramblings 2
I'm overdue for some ranting and raving. I'm sure you've missed it, so here it goes. This one is all about the arrogant, rude American stereotype. I'm sure most of you are aware of it, how American's are perceived in the rest of the world. At least that's what we hear at home. I gotta tell you, I'm a real doubter of its validity. Now I know there are certain places that dislike American's more than others... the Middle East comes to mind. But more and more, as I visit different places and ask questions of the locals, my perception is changing a little on that 'ol ditty. Just as we came to disbelieve the French are snobs after our visit there, I'm hearing (and seeing) American's have not cornered the market on rudeness and arrogance. One of the things I bitch about at home is how self-centered people act. The notion that they are the only beings in existance, and when out in public, walking around, and definitely on the roads, their needs are the only ones of concern. Well, the US does not have the monopoly on that type of behavior! I can attest to that. It's almost a "slam dance" sometimes when I walk down the streets in certain parts of Amsterdam. There's an abundance of people who walk Tokyo while looking Chicago!! I used to cut and move like Walter Payton or Barry Sanders dodging these self-involved chumps. People stopped right in front of me, looking through a window of a store, and right when I come up on them they'll back up right into me or in front of me. Hardly anyone looks around as they walk or stop, to see the impact of their forthcoming action. I got tired of it and now just collide right into them. Hey, it works!!! They get shocked and knocked a little silly (okay...I'm slight but I am solid!) and I brace for it. They apologize and collect themselves. I say "No problem." in my American accent, and continue on. It's like this with the bike riders and car drivers too. Kinda reminds me of people at home, in the far left lane realizing at the last second they have to turn right and cutting across 3 lanes of traffic at that instant, instead of being polite and protecting the safety of themselves, passengers, and other drivers by going to the next intersection and making a u-turn. Lord knows those couple of seconds or even minutes will kill them or ruin their entire day.
In earlier posts I mention my perception to be that the Dutch people seem very nice. For the most part, this still remains my opinion. However, as the saying goes, familiarity breeds contempt. In this application, contempt is too strong a word of course! Let's just say I continue to gain a fuller understanding of Dutch culture with each passing day. And like American culture, the Dutch culture is in a constant state of change. Amsterdam has a considerable immigrant population. Where the US has seen it's most dramatic changes come from Latin America, Eastern Europe and Northern Africa seem to be the major additions to Dutch culture. Amsterdam is a beautiful city. Upon closer inspection you discover the considerable amount of debris and trash floating in the canals. Even with the abundance of street cleaners in this socialistic country, there's almost always something blowing around your feet carried by the wind. And with all of the signage prohibiting pet owners from allowing their dogs to "deposit goodies" on the sidewalks, there seems to be a fair amount of doggy souvenirs out there! I have seen many people walking their dogs, but have yet to witness one allowing Rover to "unleash" his cargo on the sidewalk. Staying on subject of "laws", it seems they are more like "suggestions". Perhaps the Dutch have an underlying knowledge of the law, but approach it as "Yeah, but it can't be for me!" kinda thing. Also, it seems they may not be too used to polite behavior. I was waiting for Radhika's tram to arrive one evening near the apartment, and a number of other people were in the area waiting, I assume, for friends or transportation because we were next to a gym. A woman was crossing the street pulling a rolling basket containing various articles. As she crossed the tram tracks, her load spilled. I could see it happening before the fact as things began to slide out, and had started out into the street. I helped her pick up everything and crossed the street with her. She was very thankful (in Dutch) and as I returned to my waiting space, the men and women smiled at me. I took it as a "...that was a nice thing..." look, but wondered why no one else made a move. I have opened doors, helped a woman in the grocery store, and in every instance I can remember, I got a sense that they are not used to others making an effort to make their day a little better or easier.
Well, the observations will continue. I can't help it, it's part of what I do!! And you get to be on the receiving end of it all. Oh boy! Today is Wednesday, and I'm making general preparations for our move. We'll be using the GE car to move our stuff from this apartment to our new one, possibly as early as Friday night. Saturday will be for the professionals to deliver our stuff, and Sunday morning we'll move any remaining items from this current place. So when after all of this rig-a-maroll is over, I'll write again.
In earlier posts I mention my perception to be that the Dutch people seem very nice. For the most part, this still remains my opinion. However, as the saying goes, familiarity breeds contempt. In this application, contempt is too strong a word of course! Let's just say I continue to gain a fuller understanding of Dutch culture with each passing day. And like American culture, the Dutch culture is in a constant state of change. Amsterdam has a considerable immigrant population. Where the US has seen it's most dramatic changes come from Latin America, Eastern Europe and Northern Africa seem to be the major additions to Dutch culture. Amsterdam is a beautiful city. Upon closer inspection you discover the considerable amount of debris and trash floating in the canals. Even with the abundance of street cleaners in this socialistic country, there's almost always something blowing around your feet carried by the wind. And with all of the signage prohibiting pet owners from allowing their dogs to "deposit goodies" on the sidewalks, there seems to be a fair amount of doggy souvenirs out there! I have seen many people walking their dogs, but have yet to witness one allowing Rover to "unleash" his cargo on the sidewalk. Staying on subject of "laws", it seems they are more like "suggestions". Perhaps the Dutch have an underlying knowledge of the law, but approach it as "Yeah, but it can't be for me!" kinda thing. Also, it seems they may not be too used to polite behavior. I was waiting for Radhika's tram to arrive one evening near the apartment, and a number of other people were in the area waiting, I assume, for friends or transportation because we were next to a gym. A woman was crossing the street pulling a rolling basket containing various articles. As she crossed the tram tracks, her load spilled. I could see it happening before the fact as things began to slide out, and had started out into the street. I helped her pick up everything and crossed the street with her. She was very thankful (in Dutch) and as I returned to my waiting space, the men and women smiled at me. I took it as a "...that was a nice thing..." look, but wondered why no one else made a move. I have opened doors, helped a woman in the grocery store, and in every instance I can remember, I got a sense that they are not used to others making an effort to make their day a little better or easier.
Well, the observations will continue. I can't help it, it's part of what I do!! And you get to be on the receiving end of it all. Oh boy! Today is Wednesday, and I'm making general preparations for our move. We'll be using the GE car to move our stuff from this apartment to our new one, possibly as early as Friday night. Saturday will be for the professionals to deliver our stuff, and Sunday morning we'll move any remaining items from this current place. So when after all of this rig-a-maroll is over, I'll write again.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Found A Home
Well, we are moving into our permanent apartment this weekend, and we couldn't be more relieved! Apartment hunting is not a joyous undertaking anywhere, but even less so over here. Finding what you want in a limited amount of time is a tall order, especially when you're looking for an apartment on a canal and near the central part of the city. But, we're generally happy with our choice and hope it will turn out to be a great decision in the long run. We take the keys on Friday around 1pm, and the movers will bring our stuff that came by ship on Saturday. It will be interesting as they lift everything up on what is called an elevator from the outside, and bring everything through the 3rd or 4th floor windows! The stairs are too long, narrow, and twisty for them to bring anything but the smallest and lightest items up. So they shut down a portion of the road as the trucks are parked out front. This is done on a routine basis, as we see it as we walk around the city. Radhika is concerned that certain things won't fit, as a co-worker had to saw their box frame in half to get it through their apartment windows. Well, there will be no cutting the 63" TV or our couch, and those are the 2 largest things we own. It will be a full weekend of furniture moving, setting up our new place, finding a safe place to lock up our bikes, and all of that fun stuff!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Apartment Hunting.102
Well, we're not done yet! Tomorrow morning, we will revisit 2 properties we have already seen as a final run through before we make the offer. Of course when we make the offer and it's accepted, there's no turning back. So we want to be sure. This has not been....fun, just another one of those "gotta do it" things in life. Our current lease on the temporary apaertment runs out on the 24th, so a decision has to be made soon as it takes 2 weeks for the paper work to go through. Once we are settled, I'll be able to stop my whining...at least about apartment searches. I'll find something else to moan about, I'm sure. Seriously, it will be nice to be in the long term place. Just hope it's the one we have our eye on!
Finally got a new stereo in this place! Still waiting on the part to fix the jacuuzi tub in the master bath. We have been in here since mid December and I told them about these things within the first couple of days. From what I'm told though, the Dutch don't move too fast, so I guess we're doing good to have music and hot bubbles in the bath before we leave here.
Went food shopping...another observation. They have not embraced plastic as much as the US has. Packaging has a considerable glass and metal presense here. It's good for the recycling that they do, but it sure makes your grocery bag weigh a ton! When was the last time you saw fruit juice in a can? One monthly trip to Sam's weighs as much as a day trip to the store here! And I wonder if the transportation of the added weight adds to the air pollution. Don't see where they do too much plastic recycling here.
Radhika's friend from boarding school is coming in from London on Friday night. Saturday, we're taking the Ford on our first long distance trip to Brugge, Belgium. Look it up on the net. It's a beautiful city. We did take the car out once already to Volendam which is about 30 minutes north of Amsterdam. It's in an earlier post. We'll be staying the night in Brugge, and leaving the next morning to drop Dimple off at the Amsterdam airport for her trip back to London. She has a Canon 30D, so we'll do some shooting, I'm sure. So, come back soon to see what's new, and I should have pictures up from Brugge. Don't get too pissed off Rose! And I have new images, and made changes to my website, so check that out as well instead of playing solitaire or whatever it is you're doing instead of work (like reading this post?). Later!
Finally got a new stereo in this place! Still waiting on the part to fix the jacuuzi tub in the master bath. We have been in here since mid December and I told them about these things within the first couple of days. From what I'm told though, the Dutch don't move too fast, so I guess we're doing good to have music and hot bubbles in the bath before we leave here.
Went food shopping...another observation. They have not embraced plastic as much as the US has. Packaging has a considerable glass and metal presense here. It's good for the recycling that they do, but it sure makes your grocery bag weigh a ton! When was the last time you saw fruit juice in a can? One monthly trip to Sam's weighs as much as a day trip to the store here! And I wonder if the transportation of the added weight adds to the air pollution. Don't see where they do too much plastic recycling here.
Radhika's friend from boarding school is coming in from London on Friday night. Saturday, we're taking the Ford on our first long distance trip to Brugge, Belgium. Look it up on the net. It's a beautiful city. We did take the car out once already to Volendam which is about 30 minutes north of Amsterdam. It's in an earlier post. We'll be staying the night in Brugge, and leaving the next morning to drop Dimple off at the Amsterdam airport for her trip back to London. She has a Canon 30D, so we'll do some shooting, I'm sure. So, come back soon to see what's new, and I should have pictures up from Brugge. Don't get too pissed off Rose! And I have new images, and made changes to my website, so check that out as well instead of playing solitaire or whatever it is you're doing instead of work (like reading this post?). Later!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Apartment Hunting.101
Well, after seeing 14 places back in June, then another estimated seven back in early December and another 16 over the past 3 days, I'm getting a good idea of how a lot of people live here in Amsterdam. I also remember what a total drag it was looking for a home over 7 years ago!! This time, the place we choose will be our home for at least the next year and ideally the next 3. It's always easier to weed out those early ones that don't make the cut, isn't it? But then you get down to those remaining 2, 3, or more, that have almost everything you are looking for but just don't quite take you all the way there.
We've learned a bit along the way...the big thing would be that toilets are like gold here! If you have more than one, you must be royalty!! We saw a 4 bedroom apartment, and it STILL had only 1 toilet!! I mean...COME ON!!!! I'll be the first to say as American's, we're spoiled to an extent. We're used to a way of living that's, well, referred to as a higher standard of living. Orlando provided us a 4/3, and sure, one of the toilets gets used about as much as "W" uses a dictionary, but there were those rare occasions we had a housefull and each one was "occupado". I guess we just don't like to "hold it". We are told it is just not the "Dutch way" to have more than 1...that they get by...have no problem with it. We are also looking at places that are in or near the city center, so space is at a premium (see previous posts where I dish on that). It would be easier finding 2 toilets if we were looking for a place out in the rural areas, but we're not looking to live out of the city. Also, we must be careful here. When a place advertises that it has 2 baths, that doesn't mean it has 2 toilets. Some rooms you go into and there's a shower, and only a shower. Some bedrooms have sinks in them. Yes, I know I wrote bedrooms, that's not a mistake. Some bathrooms have sinks and a bathtub with a shower head, but no curtain and no way to hang a rod and curtain. Many have full windows right next to the shower or bathtub, so you can clean your body as you entertain your neighbors with it!! We were at one of Radhika's co-workers apartment around Christmas, and their female neighbor was doing a little cleaning wearing a shirt. When she bent over just a little, it reminded me of Tom Petty's album, "Full Moon Fever"!! Some places I've looked at had a window to another apartment literally 2-3 feet from a window of the apartment I was looking at! "Love thy neighbor" takes on a whole new meaning over here.
Another new thing for us is making deals with the landlord. If you like a place, but it is lacking in something, you can negotiate for it. Say...like, you don't have a DVD that plays the European format, don't want to buy a 220v vacuum cleaner, and there's not enough shelving in the closets. Offer a lease that's for 3 years, but with an option to break it after a year with 2 months notice, and you can get those things and perhaps more provided by the landlord.
Well, that's about it for now. More on our apartment adventure as it developes. I'll add a few pics of the ones we have looked at, so you can get an idea. These are for reference, so you photo majors need not critique me on the backlight situations on some of these. Until next time.....
We've learned a bit along the way...the big thing would be that toilets are like gold here! If you have more than one, you must be royalty!! We saw a 4 bedroom apartment, and it STILL had only 1 toilet!! I mean...COME ON!!!! I'll be the first to say as American's, we're spoiled to an extent. We're used to a way of living that's, well, referred to as a higher standard of living. Orlando provided us a 4/3, and sure, one of the toilets gets used about as much as "W" uses a dictionary, but there were those rare occasions we had a housefull and each one was "occupado". I guess we just don't like to "hold it". We are told it is just not the "Dutch way" to have more than 1...that they get by...have no problem with it. We are also looking at places that are in or near the city center, so space is at a premium (see previous posts where I dish on that). It would be easier finding 2 toilets if we were looking for a place out in the rural areas, but we're not looking to live out of the city. Also, we must be careful here. When a place advertises that it has 2 baths, that doesn't mean it has 2 toilets. Some rooms you go into and there's a shower, and only a shower. Some bedrooms have sinks in them. Yes, I know I wrote bedrooms, that's not a mistake. Some bathrooms have sinks and a bathtub with a shower head, but no curtain and no way to hang a rod and curtain. Many have full windows right next to the shower or bathtub, so you can clean your body as you entertain your neighbors with it!! We were at one of Radhika's co-workers apartment around Christmas, and their female neighbor was doing a little cleaning wearing a shirt. When she bent over just a little, it reminded me of Tom Petty's album, "Full Moon Fever"!! Some places I've looked at had a window to another apartment literally 2-3 feet from a window of the apartment I was looking at! "Love thy neighbor" takes on a whole new meaning over here.
Another new thing for us is making deals with the landlord. If you like a place, but it is lacking in something, you can negotiate for it. Say...like, you don't have a DVD that plays the European format, don't want to buy a 220v vacuum cleaner, and there's not enough shelving in the closets. Offer a lease that's for 3 years, but with an option to break it after a year with 2 months notice, and you can get those things and perhaps more provided by the landlord.
Well, that's about it for now. More on our apartment adventure as it developes. I'll add a few pics of the ones we have looked at, so you can get an idea. These are for reference, so you photo majors need not critique me on the backlight situations on some of these. Until next time.....
Saturday, January 19, 2008
So Much To Do, So Little Time
Sorry I have been away so long, but we've been busy, busy, busy! My opening at the library and all the work leading up to it (printing, framing, support work), Radhika's Disney Marathon (26.2 miles in a little over 6 hours and 2 foot blisters!), friends and family visiting from out of town, last minute purchases to take back to Amsterdam, 2 days of movers at the house, renter moving in, Steve McCurry at DBC, visiting with friends, and details, details, details to address!!! Radhika is in NY this weekend visiting her awesome Mom and crazy sister, Dolly...not to mention still mentally stable John (Frenchy 2) after all these years of "exposure" to Dolly. They are setting up a device called a sling box at thier house in Seaford Harbor that will enable us to watch American TV while in Amsterdam. Cool, huh? Then she will continue on to NL on Sunday. I will leave Orlando on the 24th and get to NL on the 25th via Memphis.
My opening went well. I am quite happy with the way the images tell the story of our visit to China. There are more pictures in this show, however many are 8X10 and not the large 16X20 size as in the Windows To The World show 18 months ago. I had hoped for a better turnout. It seems the library didn't market and promote this event nearly as well as the previous one I had.
The moving of our stuff was a new experience for us, as was the empty house when all was done. I was okay with that, but what felt odd was someone else's belongings coming into the house. But 24 hours later, I'm over it. The person who we have renting the top floor is someone we have confidence in, or else he wouldn't be there.
Radhika (for the 2nd or 3rd time) met her girlie friends for a farewell lunch and enjoyed herself, as usual. I have been getting as much tennis in as I can, and even bought a new Prince O3 racket!!! It's light as air and sounds sweet when it smacks that ball! I am hopefully getting over to Tampa tonight to see our friend Vince and his band play at a place called the Sad Tiger, or is it Proud Lion? Either way, I hope to be there to support him in the way he knows I can (by yelling "You suck!" or "Pick a key!"). Joe figured out I need to replace or fix a pump on my RA-4 processer. I'm following up on that before I leave Orlando. Perhaps I'll get to Daytona one more time and have lunch with either him or Alexis. I sent Alexis an email, but received no response. What's up with that?! Perhaps Campus Cupcake is mad at me? Lunch with Jim would be nice too, but not getting a response there, either. Hmmmmmm...think people have finally said this guy's too much trouble? Perhaps I will eliminate one more by really giving Vince the business at his gig tonight (he's so damned resilient though, and can give as good as he gets). A damn fine tennis player too, once he gets all his vertibrae unfused! All of those years in solitary lock-up have taken their toll. Clark, Clide, Steven, and I got some good tennis in yesterday. Good seeing those guys. Steven has grown every time I see him! And his voice is getting more like Barry White and less like Michael Jackson. Steven is Clide's grandson, who is 12 or 13, is playing in the 16 age bracket, is highly ranked in the state, and is capable of taking his tennis game to a high, on the world's stage, level. Watch for Steven Watson in the coming years from the US. If it's his desire, he can enjoy a high level of tennis as a career. Clark has improved his game a lot in the 5 weeks + that I haven't played them.
Gotta go. Many things to do. Will try to add some images soon. Thanks for reading, and thanks to all who have remarked how much they enjoy reading what I put down. Happy MLK!
My opening went well. I am quite happy with the way the images tell the story of our visit to China. There are more pictures in this show, however many are 8X10 and not the large 16X20 size as in the Windows To The World show 18 months ago. I had hoped for a better turnout. It seems the library didn't market and promote this event nearly as well as the previous one I had.
The moving of our stuff was a new experience for us, as was the empty house when all was done. I was okay with that, but what felt odd was someone else's belongings coming into the house. But 24 hours later, I'm over it. The person who we have renting the top floor is someone we have confidence in, or else he wouldn't be there.
Radhika (for the 2nd or 3rd time) met her girlie friends for a farewell lunch and enjoyed herself, as usual. I have been getting as much tennis in as I can, and even bought a new Prince O3 racket!!! It's light as air and sounds sweet when it smacks that ball! I am hopefully getting over to Tampa tonight to see our friend Vince and his band play at a place called the Sad Tiger, or is it Proud Lion? Either way, I hope to be there to support him in the way he knows I can (by yelling "You suck!" or "Pick a key!"). Joe figured out I need to replace or fix a pump on my RA-4 processer. I'm following up on that before I leave Orlando. Perhaps I'll get to Daytona one more time and have lunch with either him or Alexis. I sent Alexis an email, but received no response. What's up with that?! Perhaps Campus Cupcake is mad at me? Lunch with Jim would be nice too, but not getting a response there, either. Hmmmmmm...think people have finally said this guy's too much trouble? Perhaps I will eliminate one more by really giving Vince the business at his gig tonight (he's so damned resilient though, and can give as good as he gets). A damn fine tennis player too, once he gets all his vertibrae unfused! All of those years in solitary lock-up have taken their toll. Clark, Clide, Steven, and I got some good tennis in yesterday. Good seeing those guys. Steven has grown every time I see him! And his voice is getting more like Barry White and less like Michael Jackson. Steven is Clide's grandson, who is 12 or 13, is playing in the 16 age bracket, is highly ranked in the state, and is capable of taking his tennis game to a high, on the world's stage, level. Watch for Steven Watson in the coming years from the US. If it's his desire, he can enjoy a high level of tennis as a career. Clark has improved his game a lot in the 5 weeks + that I haven't played them.
Gotta go. Many things to do. Will try to add some images soon. Thanks for reading, and thanks to all who have remarked how much they enjoy reading what I put down. Happy MLK!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Happy New Year
It's the 2nd day of the new year, it's a little after 9pm, and it's in the high 30's outside going down to the high 20's. What's the big deal? I'm no longer in Amsterdam!!!! I got back to Orlando last night right before midnight. The flights were between Amsterdam and Minneapolis then Orlando. Concerning the flights....those who fly know the poor state of that type of travel first hand these days. Boarding was almost completed on the transatlantic leg, and the seat next to me was still vacant. I was so hopeful...but you know how it goes. The flight attendants put an old, large, non-English speaking muslim woman with mobility issues there. She plopped in, with her large paper tote bag loaded with cloth, pringles, papers, and all sorts of odds and ends in her lap. She stayed in the same exact position for the entire flight! Trapped for 9 hours, I couldn't get up to stretch, splash water on my face, nothing!! Even worse, she took up a fair portion of my space, so I didn't have much room to twist, wriggle, shift....we were so tight if I had gotten a goosebump on my right arm it would've knocked her out of her seat!! The attendants would try to talk to her, but she would just smile. I helped her a couple of times with her seat belt, meal, and paper work. If it wasn't for movies on demand ("Into The Wild" *****, "Rush Hour 3" ***, "The Game Plan" **) and 5 hours of warm, orange and red sunset light bouncing off the ice in Greenland, Canada, and the leading edge of the plane's wing I would've been in a worse way. Entering the US you are asked many, many, many questions. I think we have gone over the edge with Homeland Security. Are they really going to catch an "evil doer" by asking if they like their apartment? And Orlando is still announcing the threat level (orange, if anyone still gives a shit about that nonsense). The flight was delayed to Orlando because they were waiting on a flight attendant. Is that insane, or what? You're late to work and you could end up sticking it to thousands of people if the wait is long enough!!! I would have to give NWA a C. Grading on todays curve, that's probably an A+!!! One moment, Stevie Wonder is kicking it......30 year old song and it still kicks ass....
New Years eve in Dam Square, Amsterdam. Picture it, Sicily, 1935 (props to Sophia...yeah...I watched Golden Girls...you got a problem with that?) okay, seriously, picture it....humans allowed to smoke pot in public, drink beer - champagne - turpentine - axle grease - AND manipulating explosives!!!!!!!!!! I don't mean little sparklers or some weenie little cardboard cone that burps little puffs of smoke. These dolts are setting off M-80 type explosives and larger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The state sponsored firework show was embarrassingly boring (basically non-existant), which is possibly why the citizendry has taken it upon themselves to provide the excitement such an earth-shattering event dictates. We had to dodge "incoming" on our walk home. Radhika almost yanked my arm out of the socket trying to pull me out of the way of an RPG as it bounced off of my right shoulder/chest area. Perhaps it's a good thing that a number of dolts were spraying the crowd with champagne...it kept the number of people bursting into flames down below the number of people who were being told by police to get down off of various structures they had climbed upon to get a better view of the idiots at ground level. I had enough and couldn't wait to get back to our flat. There was an apartment building totally engulfed in flames on our route back! According to the article it was due to fireworks!!
http://www.at5.nl/nieuwsartikel.asp?newsid=31994
http://tip.at5.nl/2008/01/01/meer-hgracht/
Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting a little warm weather by this weekend. It's going to have to hold me until May from what I understand about Amsterdam weather. Great!!!
New Years eve in Dam Square, Amsterdam. Picture it, Sicily, 1935 (props to Sophia...yeah...I watched Golden Girls...you got a problem with that?) okay, seriously, picture it....humans allowed to smoke pot in public, drink beer - champagne - turpentine - axle grease - AND manipulating explosives!!!!!!!!!! I don't mean little sparklers or some weenie little cardboard cone that burps little puffs of smoke. These dolts are setting off M-80 type explosives and larger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The state sponsored firework show was embarrassingly boring (basically non-existant), which is possibly why the citizendry has taken it upon themselves to provide the excitement such an earth-shattering event dictates. We had to dodge "incoming" on our walk home. Radhika almost yanked my arm out of the socket trying to pull me out of the way of an RPG as it bounced off of my right shoulder/chest area. Perhaps it's a good thing that a number of dolts were spraying the crowd with champagne...it kept the number of people bursting into flames down below the number of people who were being told by police to get down off of various structures they had climbed upon to get a better view of the idiots at ground level. I had enough and couldn't wait to get back to our flat. There was an apartment building totally engulfed in flames on our route back! According to the article it was due to fireworks!!
http://www.at5.nl/nieuwsartikel.asp?newsid=31994
http://tip.at5.nl/2008/01/01/meer-hgracht/
Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting a little warm weather by this weekend. It's going to have to hold me until May from what I understand about Amsterdam weather. Great!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
