XXX and beyond...

Nasty Buggers

2008-08-30T09:50:00.003+02:00

It's been hard getting a good night's sleep for the past few days, thanks to an annoying gang of mosquitos that seem to auto-replenish themselves everytime we kill one. Even if we use our mosquito net to block 'em out, they seem to be able to find a way in somehow!? OR they are piercing us through the net, which would be totally pointless to have the stick-to-our-skin net at all.

This morning, I awoke to the familiar high-pitched buzzing in my ear. I bolted up, grabbed our electric racquet and went on the prowl. You would think that with my bad eyesight I wouldn't have a chance, but luckily this one was all juiced up and plump with a fresh bite off C's back. I swooped him onto my powered raquet, and he was frozen still by the electric shock.

'That was easy,' I thought as I carried him on the racquet towards the toilet, but suddenly, his corpse POPPED and a huge blue spark exploded off the racquet!!!!! !@$%$%@#$@#$!!! This is what normally happens if my prey is exceptionally large, but I totally didn't expect it as I let out a blood curdling scream. All this at 8 in the morning...

Then on my way to the kitchen I stopped dead in my tracks to see a GIANT daddy long legs on its back, with its angular legs pointing at the sky. Looked pretty dead to me. But of course, there was NO WAY I was going near it!! So of course, I called on my personal exterminator:

E: Huuuun...!! There's a giant fly dead in the kitchen!!!! Hellllp!!
C: (grumbling, half asleep)
E: Come on!! It's gross!!! (I step over it and go make some breakfast.)
C: (walks down the hall, into the kitchen) ... ugh.. where is it?
E: (turns around, looks at the floor) OMG YOU STEPPED ON IT!! HAHAHAHAAHAHAH!!! ITS UNDER YOUR FOOT!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!
C: (jumps away with half of the daddy long legs stuck to his foot) Ahhh!! ewww!! I HATE YOU!!!! I hate you... I hate you... (grumbles and goes back to bed)

Hahahahahaha :D

Eggs and their many uses

2008-08-13T12:48:00.004+02:00

It's a well known fact in Amsterdam that the taxi drivers are ruthless when it comes to bikers/cyclists. They're constantly trying to run you off the road with load honking, making sharp turns on the canal bridges 1cm away from you, accelerating towards you while you cross the street and/or hitting you with their side mirrors at high speed on narrow streets. It's like they're trying to kill you, literally.

This morning, a fellow biker almost got crushed by a taxi driver making a U-turn into a taxi lane. He had tried to pass the taxi on its left side as it happened, and was uttering a series of 'Hey's' with increasing volume and frequency before the taxi driver caught eye of him. This was actually a 'nice' taxi driver, believe it or not, because he raised his hand and shirked apologetically to the biker, who was understandably hot-headed and furious at this point. Like, c'mon, can't you see he's got a backpack, suitcase, children seated in the front and back, block of cheese in the front rack, umbrella in one-hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other?!! Give the guy a break!!!

(Okay so I was kidding about his Dutchness. He only had 2 bags and an umbrella, to be fair.)

Anyway, I have been in many of these situations myself, and have always felt flustered afterwards. How else should one feel after knowing someone actually tried to kill you!!? or at least could have... The rapid rage of fury is usually followed by "I wish I had an egg right about now" stream of thoughts, because it would be so nice - SOO NICE - to smash an egg (or 2) into that a**hole's shiny new car.

(My other inventions for annoyed bikers are still in the works and will be released in 2009, namely the 'Move Bitch' Tourist Swatter, Pocket-sized Air Horn, Racquet Ball on-a-Stick for hitting cars, and other exciting items.)

Waddle, waddle

2008-04-04T10:23:00.003+02:00

I was backing out of my garage today when I thought I saw the garage door jerk a little. Must've been my eyes, I thought. But then, in the rearview mirror, something looked just a wee bit wrong. Better turn my head around...Slowly but surely, I realised that there was a car parked right behind me, on our driveway!(?)...BOXing me in!!! argh!!!

It's the woman who lives downstairs. I had only seen her once, while driving home with my Grandma one day. She was quite large, flabby, and short haired, walking up our driveway to take the side entrance to the basement. At the time, she had flashed us a toothy smile, which gave me the impression that she was a decent human being...

I didn't understand why she had parked on our 45 degree sloped driveway anyway. Was she that lazy she couldn't even walk up 10 steps to get up the hill?? Didn't she think about us in the garage who might have to get out to go someplace?? Needless to say, I was pretty steamed when I gave her a phone call to move her cheap-ass car out da way.

Waiting impatiently in the garage with my arms crossed, I was ready to yell at her and tell her to NEVER park her car on our driveway again, but when she finally came into view, I just couldn't do it.

She was way bigger than I remembered, and literally waddled from side to side while making deep breathing noises. Nasty looking, she stared at the ground while walking and didn't apologise or act sorry for boxing me in. Maybe I should have said something more, but I felt really sorry for the way she was and didn't think it would help anything.

Hm...I'll get my dad to tell her... hehe.

Easter chocolate inventory

2008-04-04T10:17:00.002+02:00

1 Lindt chocolate bunny, wrapped in gold foil
1 Reese PB Egg, filled with mini Reese PB cups
1 solid milk chocolate 2D rabbit
1 half-eaten bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs (couldn't help it)
1 ginormous Purdy's chocolate rabbit, with purple ribbon
4 Cadbury Creme Eggs
1 Spongebob Easter Egg Chocolate

Coming home during Easter was indeed a good idea... :)

Grandma's musings

2008-03-28T07:14:00.000+01:00

In only the few days that I’ve been home, my Grandma has pretty much been making me laugh non-stop with all her strange and cute remarks/actions. It really makes me realise how much I’m really missing by not being around to spend time with her each and every day…she’s such a goofball!! But now that I’m here, I love every minute that we spend together. Here are just a few of the funny moments we’ve shared so far:

Poo-nanas
Maa: I don’t know why, but I’ve been getting small stomachaches these days right before I have to poo…
E: Really? What kind of poo is it? Is it diarrhea? (wondering if she has a stomach bug)
Maa: NO!! (defiantly) I have the nicest poo, they come out one strip at a time, just like bananas.
E: Oh…(cringe)

Big mouth
Maa: (to Dad) Your daughter bought you a bottle of wine!
E: Hey!! Why’d you tell him!? I haven’t given him the gift yet!!
Maa: Heh? It’s not a secret, why can’t I tell him? He’s going to get the gift anyway!
E: (grumble grumble) Great, just great.
Maa: If it was a secret, you should have told me it was a secret. Then I wouldn’t have told…
E: Well, why do you think I wrapped it?!
Maa: (eyebrows lift and mouth makes an ‘O’ shape) Oh…! (nodding)

Red mark
We’ve just parked the car and as we’re getting out, my G-ma opens the door and WHACKS the car next to us with her car door.
“Aiya!!” I scream. “Why did you do that??”
“Do what?” she says. Slowly she gets out of the car and I run around to inspect the damage. Lo and behold, there’s a big RED mark on the other person’s car, courtesy of our lovely red sports car door.
“Aiiii! Now I have to move the car so they don’t know it was us!!”“What do you mean?” she says. “I don’t see a mark!”

The long journey home...

2008-03-22T22:29:00.002+01:00

I thought I had gotten myself a pretty sweet deal at first. "Only" 15 hours of total flight time, 1 connection and a relatively short stopover of 1.5 hours. Little did I know, how wrong it could get. Let me count the ways:

When I'm checking in, the lady tells me that I will have to go thru Immigrations and Customs in Chicago and recheck my 2 ginormous bags, and with only one hour in between my flights that's really sh*tty.
Somehow I'm in a mad rush after checking in cuz it's time to board, but I haven't changed money yet, I realise I've forgotten my beloved block of cheese back home and haven't bought anything for my Grandma yet!! -->I run around like a beheaded chicken and get most of the stuff done and run to the gate.
I get on board and of course I'm sandwiched between 2 men with a strong preference for elbow space. My stomach's growling like crazy due to my total lack of planning to pack snacks instead of all those godforesaken stroopwafels and 2 totally filling grapefruits. :P
I get excited that 'No Country For Old Men' is gonna be showing on one of the channels (5), only to discover that (of course), Channel 5 is out of service. I resort to watching/grimacing thru Alvin and the Chipmunks and Lions for Lambs.
The flight lands on time, we get off and walk 2 km (I'm not kidding) to get to a long line for US Immigration, where a cute beagle sniffed me out and I get caught for carrying grapefruits in my backpack. The inspection lady puts a big red mark on my customs card.
When waiting in line for the Immigration person, the guy in front of me who is standing with the officer starts to heckle me with sly remarks like, "Hey lady... Chinese... Japanese..." At first I responded with a "Huh?" and when I realised he was just a beligerent fool I looked away trying to ignore him, only to be further harassed with repeated "Lady.. hey Lady..." He was with a whole family of people, sons, and a wife(?) but none of them did anything to stop him, wut da hell!!?
Finally after passing thru Immigration, I wait for my bag. One arrives, but the other one is nowhere to be seen!!! I go grab a luggage trolley to kill time, and break off 2 fingernails in the process (Ow!!). Thirty stress-filled minutes pass before my other bag shows up and I roll rapidly to Customs.
OF COURSE... Customs sees the red mark and tells me to go get checked. I lug my bags to them and get my 2nd grapefruit confiscated. Damn them!!
At this time, I have like 5 mins to get to my gate before it closes, so I run to the other side of the airport and board in time, phew!
Sitting in my seat, I'm SO relieved to be on the plane and think 'I made it!! Only 4 more hours, and I'll be there!!' The plane is 10 minutes late (that's cool, that's cool). 30 minutes late (what's going on??). Then 2 hours late (WUT dA F!?!). There's a snow storm and the de-icing machines keep putting us on the bottom of their priority list. AARRGH!!! We finally lift off after about 2.5 hrs delay.

Seriously, I'm never flying thru the US again!!! (Okay except for my flight back.) I totally thought it wouldn't be as bad as flying thru London, but it's way worse!! The being surrounded by Americans thing was also freaky, SHUDDER!

Flu + Stomach Flu = -2kg

2008-02-29T23:30:00.006+01:00

So...after going through one heck of a flu, I had the 'pleasure' of experiencing the stomach flu a few days later, and let me tell you - as someone who is totally against throwing up, it was NOT a fun experience.

See, when you get the stomach flu, your gastrointestinal system shuts down, meaning nothing can stay in. You get totally nauseous (check) and you usually end up throwing up (...). In my case, I suppose my urge to stifle the puke-gag was so strong, I ended up with 'just' hours of nausea, while I lay on my back struggling to keep my body at 90 degrees to the floor, so that I wouldn't have to puke.

After a good um, I dunno, 6 hours, and strange nightmares of myself revolving around in a carousel (wtf right?) I decided it was time to get over my fear of throwing up, and just do it. It was no easy task, but thanks to an orange toothbrush handle and the gentle coaxing of C, I managed to choke up what had been bothering me for way too long.

I'll spare you the details, but I just wanna say: PUKING.REALLY. SUCKS!!! Oh gawd, was it disgusting. and I'LL NEVER DO IT AGAIN if I can help myself!!!!

Real life 'POPPLE'

2008-02-23T12:54:00.003+01:00

So remember back when we were kids, there were these cute lil stuffed animals called 'Popples', that you could turn inside out?

Well a crazy Dutch woman/artist (and I use the term loosely) has created a real-life popple, using the carcasses of a household cat and dog. Calling it art, she has once killed her own cat to make a purse, shredded baby chicks in a paper shredder and let hundreds of hamsters run around for days in coloured plastic balls (poor things!).

I find it rather disgusting... and you know what they say about people who kill animals.

http://www.tinkebell.com/popple.html

http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/080207-dead-dog-cat-popple

This explains everything.

2008-02-04T00:07:00.000+01:00

Ever wonder why so many Dutch kids smoke? This was the weather report in the daily free paper the other day:

No wonder...

Dutch Efficiency

2008-02-03T23:48:00.000+01:00

It's 10PM on a Thursday evening, and after another Bikram yoga session, my head's pounding, my mouth is dry, and I'm really craving a glass bottle of freshly pressed OJ. So, I walk into the AH To Go ('convenience' store at the Central Station) and what do I see but a MASSIVE line of people, all waiting to pay for their 1 or 2 items from ONE working kassa (cashier). I'm not talking 5 or 6 people, I'm talking 10+.

Shocked (but not really), I grab my juice and get in the back of the line. In the entrance of the store, people who would have otherwise come in to BUY SOMETHING gape at the line-up and leave quickly, taking their money elsewhere. The guy at the cash machine notices this, but can't do anything and so continues to work quickly with each customer.

I felt bad for him at first, thinking, 'Poor guy, all alone, and all these people to get through...', but when I moved up the line a bit and saw into the other part of the store, I saw not ONE, but TWO bored-looking AH staff, one placing croissants leisurely into rows and another meticulously lining up all the boxed yogurt drinks in the refridgerated shelves.

CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS!? Why, oh WHY weren't they helping out with the customers? Wouldn't it make MORE sense to get on cash to serve the customers instead of sort croissants and yogurt drinks?? It was almost closing time too! Ugggh... and get this - when I finally got closer to the cashier, I read on his plastic name tag: MANAGER.

@_@ ... Only in Holland... Only in Holland, I say.

2008

2008-01-07T00:18:00.000+01:00

2 0 0 8!! Wow, it's really here.

This year is going to be a year of changes. First of all, I'm going to try and blog more. Dunno why but in the last year and bit, I've been so 'off' the internet. It used to be that I was on all the time, checking stuff, sitting on the net, but these days I just have no patience for it. I guess I'd much rather be out doing stuff in 'real life'...

Anyway, this has led to a very isolated feeling, at least towards people back home, so it's time that I filled people in on wat's happening over here once in a while. Hopefully, some people will want to read it ^_^

The last weekend was spent in Barcelona, Spain. Me and C have been traveling sooo much over the past 1.5 months (HK-Singapore-China-Macau-Holland-Sweden-Poland-Spain) that I'm finally dying for some Amsterdam time and no more airport security checks or lugging around oversized baggage from train to cab to bus. Packing and repacking, each time with more crap to stuff down... its' so damn tiring!!

Tonight, we're going for 3 hours of sleep before having to catch a taxi to the airport at 4:45am, to catch our 6:25 flight back to Amsterdam and go straight to work. Ugh...I already feel dizzy...!

10. Days. Left.

2007-11-14T00:31:00.000+01:00

Woopee! Just 10 more days until Hong Kong :D :D :D and I can see my G-ma, after nearly one whole year!!!! Must remember to get her a bday gift...

Other random thoughts:

I saw a real-life Ken doll at the office today
Who knew an accordion could produce a dance hit?
Need to plan videos!!
Time is running out... :(

She-Hulk!!

2007-11-12T23:06:00.000+01:00

'So, guess what I was for Halloween!' I said to Carlson, handing over my mobile phone so he could take a look at the pics.

Squinting a little, his first blurt was 'She-Hulk??'

Baffled, I froze and thought, now WHY DIDNT *I* THINK OF THAT??? Woulda been pretty cool...perhaps even cooler than my original idea of The Green Giant which led to me eventually turning into Burnt Broccoli.

No one else had ever suggested the She-Hulk and to be honest, I didn't even know she existed!! but now thanks to CS... I now have another version of Halloween 2007 to tell :)

Lay Ho Ma??

2007-10-11T09:06:00.000+02:00

"Ahhhh..."

I shift a little, folding my knees into my chest, readjusting my head on the couch's arm.

"Eeee..."

With my eyes closed, I hear football fans chanting faintly in the background.

"Ngaaw..."

Lifting one eyelid, I see him sitting on the couch in front of me, curled over a tiny book.

"Tzchhhh..." he continued, contorting his thick lips in the best way he could.

Grumbling, I stirred in my half-sleep, wondering what the hell those sounds were, and why they were disturbing my very peaceful rest after filling my tummy with brussel sprouts and pea soup. Slowly, it dawned on me: C was practicing his Cantonese.

Does a wonky eye = success?

2007-09-06T21:32:00.000+02:00

Today I had a meeting with a man with a wonky eye.

I always find it so awkward when someone has a wonky eye. Like, where are you supposed to look? At the eye that's gone astray or the eye that's actually working (if they have such an eye)? Should you ask them how they got that way? or how they see things (do they have panoramic vision)? Do you assume they can see what you're doing at all times even if they appear to be staring off into the distance?

Quickly I focused on his one good eye, and reminded myself the whole meeting on to keep my eyes on his. But my mind couldn't stop wandering. Had he had such an eye his whole life? Did his eye ever frighten anyone, especially kids? Was his eye real? Did his eye ever get in the way of his professional career?

Well, apparently not, because this was one guy who was at the top of his game, being the director of sales for a very large company. Maybe his wonky eye actually helped him, as many people might let their guard down thanks to the curiosity surrounding his strange gaze...plus, with his increased peripheral vision, his ability to address a panel of people without ever having to turn his head is pretty impressive, wouldn't you say? ;)

Handy Me

2007-06-21T12:56:00.000+02:00

Ahh...fresh air finally. Without the threat of small, medium or king-sized flies coming in through the window. Not to mention mosquitos.

See, I just installed a mesh cover over the window that I got from Blokker, and I did it all by myself! :D It's quite a nice feeling, considering that usually when a light bulb goes out in my place, it stays out for at least a few months before it gets the least bit attention (I just can't be bothered to change it). That and I usually let others take care of things like that, such as mosquito-chasing and zapping, fly-catching and cleaning out dirty garbage cans (muahaha).

It's not that I can't do any of that myself. But when there is someone to do it for you, it's just so easy to let them do it and get used to them doing it... but now that there's no one here I finally did something myself and it feels pretty damn good. :)

GOBS: Girls Only Ball Sports

2007-06-05T23:46:00.000+02:00

So today was the first day of the girls-only games at work. Me and 5 other girls from our team went venturing out into the hot sunny bball court to play some 3 on 3, blondes against the dark-haired ones. :) We started alright, but realised quickly none of us knew the rules of 3 on 3, as in what do you do if the other team gets the ball, (apparently you hafta throw it back out) so we settled on playing full court 3 on 3. Needless to say, we were pretty exhausted after 15 mins or so of running around!!

Anyway, next week is gonna be tennis! I hope it's as sunny as it is this week :) It should be by now, it's June dammit!!

Babies and muisjes

2007-03-22T20:46:00.000+01:00

Today, one of our colleagues brought in his nearly brand new baby in for everyone to gawk at. Being a mixed kid of Danish and Japanese descent, he was destined to be a star as he was cradled and rocked in a very rugged (and probably very expensive) stroller.

It's amazing how many people are having kids now!!! Is it cuz we're at "that age"??? Anyway part of Dutch tradition is to spread butter on really DRY, CRUMBLY biscuits and then sprinkle blue and white (for boys) or pink and white sprinkles on 'em, and then eat them altogether. So, these MUISJES, as they are called, were consumed by us in a circle, while we all stared silently at the lil baby, occasionally oo'ing and ah'ing here and there.

The baby was cute, but I can't say the same about the muisjes. Turns out the lil sprinkles were actually sugar coated aniseeds, which tasted something like a mix between mint and licorice. Apparently they were traditionally eaten by new mothers to encourage lactation (upon hearing this I had trouble swallowing) but then, if men eat them too, I should be okay... (?_?)

It must be something to become a parent. It seems that once you are one, you suddenly connect with all other parents. Suddenly you can ask them, 'Did your baby get that too?' or 'What did you do when your baby did this?' etc. It's that deep nod they give to each other, an acknowledgement of the 'i know what you're going thru' feeling, that somehow bonds people that have kids. I guess its' the same for everything though. I've also heard that people who lose their parents, can only be understood by others who have gone through the same. Funny how human beings connect isnt it...

*random thoughts continue...*

Sucky Eye Makeup Remover

2007-03-07T11:04:00.000+01:00

Just a tip for all the girls out there - don't buy L'Oreal's eye make up remover!! It's pretty cheap but doesn't work at all. Basically it just removes your eye shadow but as for mascara/eye liner? Forget about it! You're better off paying double for the Body Shop's amazing camomile-based eye make up remover instead!!

Bite my a**!

2007-03-06T22:05:00.000+01:00

Hey y'alls!

I was in Nice, France the past weekend visiting the French Riviera and enjoying some warmer temperature and balmier sights. We were on our way to Cannes, and stopped at Antibes to check out Fort Carré, which happened to be closed. Anyway, I needed to use the washroom so we stopped first at the Piranha Café right across the train station.

Walking in, we saw that the cafe had real piranhas in a tank, floating ever so still, and some of them had bite marks on their upper backs where the others had obviously bitten a chunk out of. Gross. Anyway, I walked into the back where the washrooms were, and waited for the ladies room to be free.

A minute passed, and then another few, and I got desperate so I pushed open the Men's toilet, only to find 3 urinals. A few more minutes passed, and I thought, ugh this is takin too damn long so I'll just go somewhere else.

Walking out again, I was passing by the bar when the man behind it said in his typical French accent, "What would you like to drink? Tea, coffee, water?"

"Oh, no thanks, I'm fine," I replied. On second thought, I asked him if he had any ice cream, as it was such a fine sunny day.

"Non, that is only for eat-in, by the kaart. Tea coffee water, you must order something," he continued, and blabbed on about how I used his toilet, and that I need to order something now. Calmly, I explained that I hadn't used his toilet, and that I had waited, but it was locked with someone inside. (In fact, the women's toilet required a 4-digit security code that you punch into the wall, in order to get in!!!) Anyhow, he said "I am not crazy, I saw you go in and I saw a man come out, now you must pay, what do you want - tea-coffee-water."

Our bantering went back and forth, and he was convinced I had used his goddamned toilet, which I totally hadn't(!!) so in the end, I had had it, so I gave him the *HAND* (sorta) and said, "I'm NOT paying! What the hell.." as I walked out of his stupid cafe (secretly panickin a bit and hoping he was not racing out behind me.)

Surprisingly, he didn't chase after me, and I was able to prevent being gypped out of 2 euros, just for stepping inside his godforsaken cafe. So the lesson is - if you go to Antibes someday, dont visit this Piranha man!! He is a total jerk and for all I care, he can make like a piranha and BITE MY A**!!.

Pulverized

2006-12-23T09:02:00.000+01:00

"Do you have any problems?"

"No..."

"Oh, I see, you just come today for relax?" said Michael, the well recommended Taiwanese massage guy that my mom frequently went to for Chinese 'massage'. I put that in quotations for a reason, which you'll soon see.

It started out okay, a few moments of feeling flattened like a pancake in several spots and the standard pokes and prods that you'd expect from a Chinese massage. I found myself face down in a heavily toweled head-hole, and despite the stuffiness I caught myself driftin off to sleep once or twice (couldn't hide those beginnings of snores).

I was rudely awakened though when he began to work on my lower legs. He literally kneaded them like they were MEANT to be silly putty, running his entire arm down my calves and rubbing so damn hard I thought the meat was gonna come off. He then proceeded to use his nailed fingers to find my tendons and apparently try to separate them from my muscles, pinching and scraping and at the same time pressing through my legs.

At this point I thought - maybe I should say something (as this was NOT exactly 'relaxing') - but then, maybe pain is good for the soul, just to be able to appreciate the nonexistence of pain. So, I kept it in, for a good while.

THEN, he turned me over. The tenderizing of my whole body continued, and all the while I imagined I was a prison inmate/terrorist being tortured until I told the truth. I felt like a wiener schnitzel, pounded by a human version of one of those metal studded hammers, ready to be breaded and fried. I eventually made whimpering noises, to which he just responded with a "yes you are sore, velly sore" and continued rippin through my muscles!!!

When it finally ended, I asked my mom whether it was supposed to hurt that much. Apparently it is (!!), and now my blood circulation is supposed to be much better. It better be, because I totally feel like I've been run over by a truck 4x. :P

FUR IS BAD

2006-12-18T08:29:00.000+01:00

Today on the corner of Robson and Burrard, there was an anti-fur protest outside of Bebe, a major retailer who uses real fur in their items. They were there to tell people not to buy products with fur, because alot of animals are inhumanely slaughtered and skinned alive just for a piece of trim for your new jacket or scarf.

Surprisingly, many people didn't bat an eyelash and continued shopping, not even taking the time to listen to what the people were saying, or even if they considered the thought that it might be true, they would just rather not know the details to it.

I couldn't help feeling really sick and disgusted while watching the footage they had of animals being stepped on, necks almost broken, hanging from something while kicking their front legs, while their skin was being ripped and slice off their bodies. The poor things, and what was all this for? Just to adorn a fashion item???

I hadn't seen anything as brutal as the videos today since I went to the bullfight in Spain last July. If you're at all interested and have any sort of care for animals, you might want to watch the embedded video for an insider look at what really goes on. I hope it opens up your eyes too...

Home

2006-12-16T18:41:00.000+01:00

Got home last night after a long-ass flight. Went straight to dinner with the fam and the usual family friends from HK. Heard the predictable lines of "You lost weight" and "You gained weight (but thats good cuz it means you are takin good care of yourself)" and "How pretty your daughter(s) are" etc. Getting pretty tired of all that as it seems so fake and you know its just something thats obligatory for Chinese people to say to any Chinese girl. Ah well.

I have to admit that I wasn't really that excited to come home this time around. Sure its Christmas and its always that I miss home during Xmas, and I do miss family and friends and all the delicious Vancity food, but there's just something different this time around. If I had to pinpoint it, I think it's cuz this is the first time that it doesn't really feel like home here. It's like that line from Garden State:

Andrew Largeman: You know that point in your life when you realize that the house that you grew up in isn't really your home anymore? All of the sudden even though you have some place where you can put your stuff that idea of home is gone.

Sam: I still feel at home in my house.

Andrew Largeman: You'll see when you move out it just sort of happens one day one day and it's just gone. And you can never get it back. It's like you get homesick for a place that doesn't exist. I mean it's like this rite of passage, you know. You won't have this feeling again until you create a new idea of home for yourself, you know, for you kids, for the family you start, it's like a cycle or something. I miss the idea of it. Maybe that's all family really is. A group of people who miss the same imaginary place.

It's so strange, like when I was making tea this morning and wondering where the sugar was, I realised that there's no sugar jar here, like the small one I have back home in Amsterdam. Instead, there was just a big canister for cooking normal food with sugar, so I just skipped it altogether. It just seemed strange to me, and so reverse from before, when I would use the stuff at home in vancouver as a 'sane point' with which to measure everything else in life. Now, what I do in Amsterdam is what seems most normal...

I guess its all part of growing up, and moving out...

Tax time again...

2006-10-16T23:04:00.000+02:00

So, after months of agony, I finally got my 2004 taxes back a few months ago. With a sliver of hope resurrected in me, I decided to go ahead with trying to file for my 2005 taxes, first by checking out the website of the Dutch tax authorities.

This is what I found:

NO COMMENT... -___-

The Dutch are awful

2006-09-25T12:07:00.000+02:00

Holy blood pressure! Let me calm down again...

As easily predicted, I have just been on the phone once again with another Dutch Customer "SERVICE" (quotations right there so) line that called me to infuriate me to my wit's end. This time, it was an ADSL company.

I had my left number a few days ago to get them to call me, just to inquire about possibly signing up. But today, when I picked up and told him right away that I couldn't make a decision today about it, he tried to close the call immediately. Hoping to get at least one question in, I asked him how long it would take to get connected if I was going to start a new account.

"I can't tell you that, I would need your details," he stated matter-of-factly.
"But I just want to know how long it takes to set up an account with you-" I jabbed in.
"I can't help you with that. I don't know, I'm sorry, I don't know."
"How can you not know, you work for the company!"
"Yes but I'm sorry I can't help you, I don't have your details."
"So you called for nothing, you can't help me with anything at all, what-"
"I'm sorry, I don't know. I can't help you, when you want to sign up you can call again and leave your number. I can't help you-"
"So you can't help me with anything,"
"No, I'm sorry, I don't know-""Yea yea, thanks for NOTHING!" *click*

ARRRRRGHGGHG!!!!!!!!!! I've been sheltered for the past while from the slow, lazy, dumb and fat-headed ways of the Dutch, ever since working in an American company where the Dutch are mostly "second-class" workers (janitors, store workers, reception, cantine, etc.) and have adopted a very American way of being. By this I mean, they smile, they are friendly, eager to help, and very, very nice people. Real Dutch people, however, are another story as you would know if you have ever lived in Holland for more than a year. OMG!!!!!

I seriously had a spike in my heart rate after that phone call and I'm going to avoid having any contact with the "real" Dutch from now on. Especially if it's got anything to do with administration! Geez!!

No, I haven't died...

2006-08-18T16:53:00.000+02:00

...but I may have gone to heaven. Job heaven that is.

*blows dust off blog surface*

Yes it's true, I've finally left my bank job and I have never been more overjoyed, amazed, in awe, elated, giddy, ecstatic, happy, etc. (I could keep going but I won't) about joining a company that I am truly proud to be a part of.

"It's like everything I dreamed, and more." ~Me, a few days ago ;)

Now that I have a (real) job, one where people are productive, actually do work and the work directly affects the results, I have much less time to blog. Nevertheless, I will try my best to keep it alive...somehow. :D

Til next time.

Things I've learned...

2006-07-13T17:15:00.000+02:00

Yesterday while chit-chatting with Maija and Ola, two girls who like me were from the 'old skool' crew of AIESEC trainees in Amsterdam, Maija mentioned that she felt like she had aged five years during her one year in Amsterdam. I cackled for a bit, but then a few seconds later I realised she was right.

When you are at home, nothing really new happens that make you struggle or suffer. Maybe small things like a flat tire, or a job loss, but other than that, life is pretty regular. Being abroad however is rather different. With nothing steady in your life, changes happening all the time, there you are without anyone to rely on or call up for critical times. You really need to take care of yourself, whether that means cleaning the toilet (yes, YOURSELF), or paying big time bills and taking care of your health insurance, for example.

Now that I have been in Amsterdam for almost two years, I've decided to share with you all everything that I have learned, whether it has to do with life, random facts or whatnot. Hopefully, you will learn something from it too.

Tanning in a sun bed can lead to a severely burnt butt.
Watch out for car doors opening at you while biking.
Sometimes it is better to hold your tongue and keep evil plots to yourself. (In other words, honesty is not always the best policy.)
Mice poop can be fatal for humans.
If you want to ask someone something, make sure you ask 10 different people and don't trust the first answer you get. Question everything!
Never sign a contract for something that a) doesn't exist or b) has not opened yet.
Do not pour oil into sinks - this can lead to clogged drains.
If your fridge leaks, you probably have a problem with your drip cup.
Always open red wine bottles away from yourself.
To fix a burnt out light bulb, you really do have to change it yourself.
Always lock your bike to something other than itself.
Sucking up and being fake has its advantages.
Even if you are the best person to do the job, you can still get fired.

It's getting late and I must go pump some iron, thus the list is to be continued...

However, I will add one more thing before I go, which is probably the most important thing I've learned while being in Amsterdam.

*~Everything changes when you fall in love.~*
xoxo pojkey!! :)

Til next time!!

Not dead yet!

2006-07-04T16:26:00.000+02:00

'O my god, that's like, my worst nightmare,' is what most Dutch people have remarked when I tell them what has just recently happened to me. The ironic thing is, they've lived in Holland for most their lives and it's never happened, yet I have been here for less than 2 years and I could tell you many more stories of a similar kind.

What is it that has happened, you ask? Well the funny thing is, I used to think it was hilarious to hear of someone getting run over by a car, ie. the rolling of the person slowly onto the windshield (not the drive by running over of old punjabi people, that is serious stuff man). I guess what happened to me is similar to the first scenario.

I was having a sunny, happy Friday...I was off work and biking along, enjoying my new job offer, the nice weather, the radio friendly songs that came out of my bubble gum pink Sony walkman bean, when I suddenly saw [in slow motion] a navy blue car door swinging open. Speeding up, I thought, 'i'll just swerve around it on the left' but of course, I ended up hitting the car door FULL FORCE w/ the right side of my body, overextending the car door and throwing myself into the middle of the street.

Dazed, I saw two bronze sneakers approach me from the right while I could hear a lady saying "O god, O god." A crowd gathered around, and as I seemed to be blocking traffic, they asked me if I could get up. Looking down at my bloody shin, I kept my stone face on and said no. Honestly I couldn't have moved my legs even if I wanted to...So, the bronze-sneakered lady (I had yet to see her face) and another short-haired Dutch lady grabbed me by the armpits and dragged me off the road.

At first, I thought it was nothing serious, maybe some skin wound, but the bronze-sneakered lady, whom I had looked in the face now, told me that she knew the lady in the adjacent pet store, and we should go there so we can clean up the wound. I said very little to her, half mad and half hoping that my silence would make her feel worse about what she had done. So, we went in the store and I was given either a baby chair or a chair covered in cat fur to sit on. I took the baby chair and the lady, who I could see now had curly blonde afro-hair and dark skin, took the roughest towel I've ever seen to clean out my wound.

I don't need to tell you it hurt like hell but at this point I was still stone-faced, well okay maybe I was frowning a bit too. But then... I noticed that I couldn't lift my right shoulder!! PANIC!! So I told her and she got freaked out too, saying that I had hit her car door pretty hard, and that she couldn't even open the door anymore!! (Sweet!!) So she decided to take me to the hospital, but first we would see her sister, who used to be a nurse(?!). We drove up to a clothing boutique, where I limped in and got checked out by her sister. I heard her say in Dutch, "It doesn't look good," which got me kinda even more panicked, so I limped back into the car and closed the door. The dark lady walked back to the car w/ a friend of hers, who walked up to my window and gave me the "awwww" look as if I were a homeless animal. The dark lady came back in the car and we drove to the hospital.

Slowly but surely, I began to understand why she was able to open her car door so quickly without checking if there were bikers coming by. She was extremely careless, from the way she drove (tailgating!!) to the things she just didn't notice... When we arrived at the hospital, she went in through an exit, and then despite THREE (3) 'Spoedeindehulp' signs (Emergency), she made the first left turn into the farthest possible parking lot from our destination. Once in the hospital, she placed me in a hard wooden wheelchair, and proceeded to push me to the Emergency section.

A few collisions with a door, a wall and a children's stool later with my injured leg, we made it to the Emergency section where I checked in. First, she rolled me in backwards so that I was sitting right under the little TV where they were showing the World Cup game. 'Great spot,' I thought as I stared at all the other sickies in the waiting room who were staring at me inadvertently while they watched the game. Finally, realising that we might not be in such an interesting location, the lady rolled me to the other end of the room. There, with my leg oozing blood we watched Germany beat Argentina, and the lady even bought me a Twix bar and some tea (Yum!).

While waiting, I found out the lady's name was Gladys and that she had a huge hairy mole on one of her ring fingers. I didn't stare long at it though, and before long, Christian came (YAY!!!!!!!!!) Thank god!!

Anyway to cut a long story short, we got my arm checked out with X-rays, and nothing was broken. The doctor swiped my leg with a cotton pad with what seemed like pure acid and then put a bandage on it, and before long we were out of the hospital again. Gladys was nice to give us a ride home, in her 2-seater truck with storage space in the back for stowaways, and she also gave us 1 month gift certificates to the gym she goes to (which has a sauna that I can use to heal in).

[side note: i really would not fancy seeing her nude in the sauna, omg. even tho she said she was an ex-model, and that she once poured hot liquid on her chest and there was no scarring, i would prefer not to have proof that the aloe vera really worked.]

So now, I have a cheese cloth sling around my neck, which doesn't actually do much for me since it's my shoulder that is immobilized, and two big holes in my shin. I guess it will be a permanent souvenir from Amsterdam, but perhaps it won't be the last! People have told me to wear a helmet, but I still don't get why I of all people keep having these bike accidents?? One thing is for sure though, this time was definitely not my fault!

Current snapshot of Amsterdam

2006-06-28T11:10:00.000+02:00

Weather: Was actually *cold* the past few days and only starting to warm up to hopefully 30 degrees this weekend.
Mood: Ppl are triest/sad over the World Cup loss. Orange banners and flags can still be seen strung out in almost every street.
People: Still rude as ever. Welcome back to "It's not possible" as the most common thing people say here. Still trying to run me over on my bicycle.
Roads: As always under construction.
Ultracool gym that I signed up for 3 months ago: Still not open and will not open for at least 1 month more (wtf!!). [Note to self: Never sign a contract for anything that is yet to open and offers a too good to be true free DVD player sound system.]

After returning from a 2-week dream vacation in Vancouver, it's been a quick slap back into the harsh Dutch reality, where people are unfriendly (in Cdn standards anyway), nothing is mogelijk/possible, flexibility is an unknown concept, and frustrations are all abound.

Welcome home!! :-D

Stuffy head

2006-06-07T14:45:00.000+02:00

Well it's a relatively nice day but now it's clouding over just a bit. Just like my head actually. It started out fresh n' clear, and over time, it is now fogging over and I have aches in my ears and throat. Looks like I've got a cold... :(

Anyway, the day has almost finally come!!! Going home... Must pack tonight and get the last minute shopping done. Don't have that much time to post but here is something that may be of interest to many who have been dooped to think that the Netherlands is a very open and tolerant place:

One in 10 Dutch people are racist: poll

Enjoy!

Goodbye nice flat

2006-05-29T17:05:00.000+02:00

Goodbye nice open flat
I must move because of the rats
who defecated all over the place
putting a grimace on my scrunched up face.

Goodbye green floral couch
that was perfect for an afternoon slouch
I could sink into it with joy
and eat my fried tofu made of soy.

Goodbye kingsized waterbed
I slept in you as if I were dead
Sometimes I'd wake up with sore joints
but even then you still scored high points.

Goodbye big white oven
that allowed me to make cookies by the dozen
but I just couldn't look at you the same
after finding mice poop all over your stovetop covering windowpane.

Poor mousie

2006-05-17T22:47:00.000+02:00

You know it's gotta be pretty bad when a man lets out a yelpish groan, one that makes your spine tingle and your hairs raise. It was like that today when Christian was disposing of the half-mouse that was clamped between the black mouse trap that M&C had bought me before they left for their month-long eurotrip. Although the cut-in-half Reese bite had been in the trap for over a week, it was only now that a lil mouse dared to go for it. In doing so, he lost his lil life. When I discovered his dark half of a mouse body on my kitchen floor, I was pretty sick and saddened too.

It's true, I have a mouse problem. It started small but now it's just uncontrollable. Mouse poop is everywhere in my kitchen, the apartment reeks of a semi-sour piss, I have even seen 2 mice eating out of my cracker bag, which is in a cupboard hanging above the sink.

Yes they are small, and yes, they are quite cute. But when they defecate all over the f#¤king place, I just cannot accept them anymore. Last Sunday, we got poison pellets that dry them out from the inside. Apparently, it's sort of like a mummification process (mental note: if it exists for humans, i might just use it for my own future mummification heehee) whereby the mice eat the poison, get real dehydrated, and then just die somewhere (hopefully in private, or spending their last moments with their wife/hubby n' kids.) Sigh... sad.. oh so sad...

Our next career move: Professional burglary

2006-05-09T11:30:00.000+02:00

A few days ago, Mayling came to visit me with her friend Allan and they stayed at my apartment. When they left, I told them to drop off the keys in my mailbox, so that I could get them later on with my other set of keys. Little did I know that I only had *one* mailbox key, and that key was of course inside of the mailbox.

Me and Christian joked a bit about using magnets/clothing wire hangers/other 'long' things to get the keys out of the mailbox…and I thought ‘shit, I need to bother my landlord for such a stupid thing’, but before calling him, we decided to take a shot in the dark and pick the mailbox lock.

It was a nice warm summer night, and I began by shoving any small key I had on my keychain into the mailbox. Nothing fit except for a small bike lock key, which I jammed into the lock and wiggled for minutes unsuccessfully. Then, we proceeded to pound on the mailbox. This probably didn’t help much except for to vent our fury. I then flipped open the lil flap to the mailbox and tried to reach in, but of course my hand was too damn big. Flipping the flap up and down also didn’t do much to help.

Remembering that I had a bobby pin in my hair, I took it out and shoved it into the lock. It went in further, but couldn’t grip onto anything. Nevertheless, Christian wiggled the bobby pin at maybe 1000 vibrations per minute, frantically trying to pop the lock. Still nothing. I thought, maybe its time to give up. This will never work…

However, the lock had turned to a 45 degree angle now… and I thought.. maybe.. just maybe.. and I shoved the small bike lock key once more in, and turned it fully horizontal.

To our absolute shock, the mailbox door opened…!!!!!!!! And I got my keys back. :D :D :D we are SO made for burglary… what the hell am I doing at a bank!!! Hahaha

Finally Friday

2006-05-05T10:19:00.000+02:00

Today I saw a very dead rat. It was laying smack dab in the middle of the cement bike path, laying on its right side with what seemed to be a skinny tire track on its neck. Its long rat tail stretched nearly 5cm long, thick, dry and ropelike, and its eyes were open with no emotion. Its small yellow teeth were visible under its furry lips, and its little paws gripped at nothing, close to its chest.

Things like that really make me sad. I didn't know whether to kick the rat to the side of the road (to avoid it getting any more tire tracks), report it to the Animal Society (u know, like SPCA), or to just leave it there (that I did anyway). But what surprised me was the size of the rat. After catching my mouse just a few days earlier, I was under the impression that Dutch mice were small n' cute. But this rat was huuge!! Probably around 6-7 inches long (just the body). Yuck!

I'm soo glad the weekend's here. The sun has been out almost all week long (finally) and it's been an amazing 23 sunny degrees almost daily. Also, I'll be having another visitor from Vancouver! This time it's a guy I haven't seen in 5(?) years or more?? We used to work together at A&W, back in the heyday when I didn't work for money, had no problems with scrubbing toilets glove-free, scraping dried ketchup off the walls of the garbage can, reusing garbage bags, cleaning up after trailer-park type customers, etc. (hey it was just part of the job).

I remember even that there was one time when I cashed out, and we were short $100. Back then, I felt so responsible on the job that I went straight to the bank and took $100 out of my own account to even out the register. (Wow, I almost forgot about this.) Back then, I actually took my job seriously, even tho it was just a burger joint. I really made an effort to do well, to be nice to every customer and treat my job as if it were really something. When someone forgot their pop on the counter, I would run out into the public parking lot, in my gawdy grey faded clown pants and vertically shiped oversized shirt, just to make sure they didn't go thirsty after downing all that lard in the form of burgers and fries. I was such a good employee!!!! :) *pat on back*

Well, today is another story. When I find a better job, one that is not as dry, boring and processed, I am pretty sure I will go back to being a good employee (I think :) ).

WE GOT HIM!!

2006-05-03T11:26:00.000+02:00

We first found him rustling inside of an open Doritos bag. Scared as hell, Lorea and I poked at it randomly with a chinese wooden backscratcher, feeling around for what seemed like a huge, meaty rat with big yellow teeth and red eyes. Eventually I clipped the bag shut with clothespins, but somehow it seemed to have escaped while we were mesmerized with Greys Anatomy on TV or something.

Anyway, that was in Feb and since then I've seen a mouse on and off (not sure if it's the same one?) and it didn't really bother me. But a few days ago, I decided to clean my kitchen stove finally since I would be having visitors, and was extremely grossed out to see 20+ mouse poop between my gas elements. On top of that, there were sticky dried up pools of what had to be mouse piss, cuz it wouldn't dilute or wipe away easily.

Normally, I wouldn't be for hurting animals in any way. That's why I avoided rat poisons, mouse traps, etc. because it is just so sad to kill them. But seeing the 'chocolate sprinkles' on my stovetop was the last straw. I mean, I think I could've lived w/ having a lil mouse run around now n then, but if it's going to poop all over the places where I cook my food, I say poison that mofo!!

So as I was mentally prepared to do some mouse killing, we got home last night and what do y'know!!! There in my mouse trap was a tiny itty-bitty mousie!! (Maija my friend from Finland had lent me her ethical mouse trap.) The lil thing was sooo cute, it was standing so still and he had eaten all of the peanut butter bread I had put in the trap maybe 3 or 4 weeks ago(!). After a while he went crazy and ran around and around the trap, trying desperately to get out, but still couldnt. hehe. he was so cute, with his lil itsy-bitsy paws gripping the metal railings.

I always thought mice would be ugly but this one was really cute, and now that I see other mice pictures, they really *are* cute! In the end, we took the trap outside and released him into the wild. I wonder if I can catch more mice!! :D

QUEENS DAY!!

2006-04-28T20:03:00.000+02:00

It's that time of year again, everyone!! Time to:

dress all in orange
join the massive crowds in the streets who have come from all over Holland to Amsterdam
party in the outdoor festivals/concerts at every public square in town
watch Drag Queens compete in Pole Dances, Stiletto Runs and Handbag Throws at the Drag Olympics
paint our faces with a Dutch flag AND of course a CDN flag ;)
get totally drunk all night and day
watch boats float thru the canals blaring loud techno music and aboard with drunk dutch people in wigs and more orange clothing

Why all this? It's the Dutch national celebration of their queen, hence: QUEEN'S DAY!

Paris

2006-04-19T15:14:00.000+02:00

PARIJS highlights:
- gross cigarette-, razor- and match-eating man on the street (for money of course)
-funny Indian guys getting their portraits drawn
-average 6 EUROS for a small coca-cola (@#$!!)
-eating very red and very difficult to chew duck meat
-*standing on the Eiffel Tower as it sparkled in the night*
-running up to the 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower (too broke to buy a ticket for the lift)
-a lot of metro riding
-eating berry tarts and croissants, mmm
-o yea, how could I forget, looking out of our hotel window and right into another hotel that was 1 metre away, complete with a pair of (shocked) lovers in the bedroom

Okay so we didn't do a lot. But that's cuz it was so frickin' expensive!! Not a place to go if you are not filthy rich. But it was still fun :) <3

it all makes sense now...

2006-04-06T16:39:00.000+02:00

Y'know the question "if you were an animal, which animal would you be?" Well, I've never really been able to pinpoint it, but I did have some sort of affinity with FROGs and even had a childhood collection of them (in dollform, piggy bank form, u name it) but now it really all makes sense.

First, there was this picture I took last year with a frog statue that really had me convinced I was a frog in my past life:

And today, I ran my name through an ANAGRAM creator (don't ask why) and apparently, my name can be respelled as "A NICE FROG"! hahahahha!!!! Other noteworthy mentions are:

ACE OF RING
FACE GROIN <--LOL
A CRINGE OF
CAFE GROIN
I GO FRANCE
CARGO FINE
I CAN FORGE
ENRICO FAG
NO RICE FAG
GAIN FORCE

FYI

2006-04-04T16:17:00.000+02:00

I know you've all been sittin' around wondering the exact same things that I have been recently, so I thought I'd share the deep and analytical research findings of my very hard-at-work-googling efforts in this post. You can thank me later.

Q: What is a teat? Isn't it just some funky way of pronouncing 'TIT'? Y'know, you don't 'twist a tit', you 'twist someone's teat'.

A: In fact, a teat is a real word, as an alternative word for a nipple or breast. It is the projection from the udder through which milk is discharged. Teats are also called papilla mammae. So the next time you try to twist your friend's teat, you can use that word correctly, AND with confidence.

Q: Do sheep ever attack?

A: Well, sorry to disappoint, but I still have no conclusive research evidence on this topic. In Texel, it very well seemed that they might be capable of violent attacks, especially when we got nearer and nearer to the baby lambs, but the expression on their faces teetered back an forth between 'aware-angry- and ready to kick some human ass' and just plain ol' 'hey molly do you see something or is it my glaucoma??'

Note: I failed my mission to touch a baby lamb in Texel. They were SOOOOO cute.. but we really didnt' wanna risk a sheep stampede. If anyone knows the answer to this question, please let me know!!

Well, my 8 hrs are up, I'm running out into the sunshine!! If you have any questions you'd like answered, drop me a line...Tot volgende keer :)

Ouch...

2006-03-31T10:57:00.000+02:00

Today I saw a woman on the bus who was appallingly ugly. She had pale white skin, thick and dark drawn in eyebrows, a head of extremely frizz-dried overbleached blonde hair that was held back by a black headband and went down to the half of her back, a black n' white striped tshirt, pale white pantyhose, and chubby fingers with dark burgundy nail polish. I was quite amazed by her so I observed her for quite a while, even though I didnt' really want to.

So, since she was that special, here is a tribute to her:

cute lil lambs

2006-03-29T17:10:00.000+02:00

It's spring and time to see those baby lambs lying like dead things on the side of the railway tracks again! Dunno why, but I've always liked baby lambs. Sheeps, well, they're alright, but there's not many things cuter than a baby lamb. I think it's cuz they don't bite (as far as I know), scratch, bark, or really do anything bad. They're just kinda there. Lying on their sides with their legs crossed. Relaxing, chilling on the grass.

In the north of the NL, there are a few islands where you can see alot of nature. Dunes, sand, beaches, marshes, and ... baby lambs!! I am planning to go see them this weekend. :D Can't wait to touch one hehe. I hope I can sneak one in my duffelbag.

today was alright

2006-03-23T18:45:00.000+01:00

hey y'alls,

It was an OK day today. I didn't get arrested, so that was good. I did, however, do a front flip on my bicycle (unintentionally). As usual, I had no idea how/what happened, but it felt like I hit a big pylon or rock that was in my way, cuz my front wheel totally went locked and the bike just went over my head and before I knew it, I was squashed under my bike on the concrete, waving my arms wildly trying to get the bike off my head. What a sight it must've been. Thank god no one was around...

Life is really funny actually. I can't be too specific here, but I was reminded today that nothing is ever as you expect. And everytime I think something is really really great, I am reminded that it's usually only a matter of time before I start complaining about it. It's just part of humanity I suppose. But anyway, after my meetings today I can't wait to find out what will happen next week!! :)

will try to blog more...

this says it all...

2006-03-22T16:58:00.000+01:00

Go ahead, arrest me!!

2006-03-06T18:00:00.000+01:00

Earlier this year, I made a resolution to be a tougher person. By tough I don't mean going around with a butch haircut, wearing ripped jeans and leather vests, or punching people out randomly. I just meant standing up for what I believe in more often and being more vocal when I'm not cool with something.

About a month ago, I was able to exercise this 'toughness' with a dumb bimbo in the coat check of Jimmy Woo (club in Amsterdam). We were in a big crowd trying to get our coats back, but I had hung mine with a girl who was still going to stay at the club, so I asked if the bimbo could take just MY coat off the rack and hang the remaining coat back up.

"No," she replied coldly. "There are too many people here waiting for me to do that. Either you take both coats, or you don't take either of them." At that, she decided to throw both coats off the hanger and leave them on the counter. I was in disbelief at her rude and stupid service. Blanking out for a few minutes (seconds??), we finally decided to comply and just ask her to put the coat on another rack, thus having to get a new ticket stub for the coat check.

After waiting for what was probably 10 minutes, watching the stupid coat check bimbos mull around slowly in the coat check, back and forth, slow as snails, she finally issued a new ticket for the coat we were holding onto. I had had enough.

When she gave us the new ticket stub, I said to her, "I hope you realise that you just created MORE work for yourself. You could've just kept the coat on the hanger and hung it back up!!" She responded with a "yea whatever" and walked away, while I then shouted, "MAYBE IF YOU USED YOUR *BRAIN* A LITTLE!!!!!" (this is where i quickly disappeared into the crowd).

[Note: This is a very typical example of the Dutch 'customer service' mentality. They just DONT THINK/give a shit about how to help you.]

Today, I was confronted with another chance to stand up for myself.

I was biking on my way to work when a navy-blue uniform clad Dutch man jumped out to stop me. Saying I had run a red light, he demanded to see my ID over and over, while I stared at him and tried to get him to let me go. After a few tries, he said he was going to arrest me if I didn't show him my ID so he dragged me all the way to the police station.

You may be wondering why I didn't give him my ID?

Because if I did, I'd DEFINITELY be fined (and I was still hoping I'd be let go).
Because he was being a total asshole.
Because I did NOT run the red light!!!

On the way there, I started to cry as a last resort, but it did no good whatsoever. He was just as mean. He even grabbed me a few times roughly, took my bike and walked ahead, making sure I followed him.

Ten mins later, I found myself locked in a little cell in the police station with real iron bars, and no way of getting out. The police officer then came around to search my purse, and only snatched it out of my hands after some struggle. He went to the otherside of the bars and started searching around, including unfolding my foil-wrapped open faced sandwich (rye bread with cheese).

"What is this??" he said while he unwrapped my foil. I shouted back, "That's my lunch, do you wanna take that too? Just take it, why don't you????" Finally he opened my wallet and found my ID, those bastards. I also muttered many other things (such as "There are real criminals out there!!", "I'm a good person!!", "This is no way to treat your citizens!!", "I'm sick of all these stupid systems in the Netherlands!" "Go ahead and kick me out of this stupid country!") that got no sympathy from them as they proceeded to ask my address/name and check my background.

I couldn't have cared less if I got arrested or a record, it was SO ridiculous how they were accusing me of running a red light (there WERE NO bike traffic lights at that intersection, that I'm sure of.) and they were fining me for something stupid when drugs and prostitutionis totally OKAY there.. what the hell!!!

So I sat in that lil room for maybe 45 mins, waiting to be let out and go to work. I was done my crying session and so then decided finally to cooperate (and give them my real address). I did manage to tell them tho that the police officer was a total asshole and was extremely abusive and rough with me. Not that it will result in any consequences for him, but sigh, that's life in the Netherlands.

In the end, I was let go with two different fines: One for "running the red light" and another for refusing to show my ID. Was it worth it? Maybe not. But at least I stood up for my rights!!!!! ARRRGH!!!!!!!

Things that make me laugh

2006-03-03T16:49:00.000+01:00

posters for some woman's concert was titled "The Farewell World Tour" (get it? farewell world?? hahaha)
You know you're Chinese when...
the word for "teenagers" in Dutch is 'pubers'!!!!! (no joke, lol!!!)

and of course, who could forget, a few days ago:

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A teenage guitarist got so carried away while bouncing up and down on his bed mimicking a rock star that he flew out of a third floor window to his death, a Singapore newspaper reported Wednesday.

The Straits Times said Li Xiao Meng, a 16-year-old from China who was studying at Singapore's Hua Business School, was a keen musician who liked to jump up and down while playing his guitar in his hostel room.

"But on November 17 he took things a bit too far," the newspaper said, reporting on a coroner's court findings.

Ruling death by misadventure, the court said evidence "points to the deceased unintentionally falling out of the window to his death when he was hyped up with exhilaration, jumping up and down on the bed placed against an open window while mimicking a rock guitarist.""

Normally the windows were locked, the newspaper said, but students sometimes forced them open so they could smoke, something prohibited by the hostel.

Picture update

2006-03-01T07:10:00.000+01:00

hello! as i've been too busy (lazy) to post, here is a picture update. Mouseover the pics for the captions! :) tot later, -e

Moments of insanity

2006-02-03T16:53:00.000+01:00

Have you ever noticed that sometimes you just lose control of yourself? You kinda know what you're doing, and you know it's not going to end up pretty, but you are doing it anyway and then you just have to deal w/ the consequences that follow.

It can be anything from having a total lapse from logical reasoning, like the time I dropped EUR 200 on a pair of jeans (and only realised a few hours later that I spent CDN $320 on a single pair of jeans), binging non-stop on chocolates and cookies (just for the hell of it, and dammit, cuz it feels good), and of course, hitting my limbs on random street obstacles like parked cars and bike racks.

The other day, I happened to go too fast through a narrow path, with parked cars on my left and a row of parked bikes on a bike rack to my right. Thinking "I-can-make-it-I-can-make-it" as I sped by did me little good, as I was brought to an instant HALT when my right calf got caught somewhere between the bike rack and my bike pedal(??) I still have no idea what happened. All I know is I now have a bruise the size of my fist surfacing slowly on the back of my calf muscle.

I guess we all kinda zone out at one time or another. Like now, for instance, cuz I can't think of anything else to elaborate on this subject.

[Zoning out in progress...]

--
In other news, I was particularly amused by the following incident at work yesterday :

Boss: Please excuse the strange sounds I'm making... [bends over in her chair towards colleague seated next to her]
Colleague: *chuckles*
Boss: [bent over, under desk] *slurp* *squish* *lick* *smack lips* *wet slurps*
Me: [wide-eyed]
Boss: Ha ha ha! It's VERY JUICY... *slurp* *smack* *breathy gasp of enjoyment/relief*

Um.. yea (it was apparently some kinda orange). ^_-

Back from the dead!!!

2006-01-31T00:13:00.000+01:00

I HAVE SURVIVED THE EUROPEAN/AMSTERDAM FLU FOR THE 2ND (and hopefully the last) TIME.

I have never experienced more pain. Constant fever (39-40 degrees Celsius), aches and pains, nausea, dizziness, headache, chills, lack of appetite, total inability to do anything but lie in my totally wet clothes drenched in sweat, and of course this lasts for more than a whole week straight!!!

Maybe I'm getting old, but what happened to the days where flus lasted 1-2 days and then I am well again??? Before I knew it, I've missed over 1 week of work, and for the record did not enjoy my days off as I could not leave my room for most of those days.

Of course, I got the dreaded recurring nightmare that I always get when I'm delerious (the one where I almost always wake up totally disoriented and ready to jump out the window hysterical) but luckily this time, I didn't actually have to die in my dream...which is a good change to say the least... :) Something's changed!!

Tomorrow will be my first day back at work after my sickness. I'm not looking forward to it but it will be nice to do something productive after lying around for so long. Oh yea, I've also moved apartments!!! and it is GREAT!!!! I have a king-sized waterbed (fyi - king-sized in amsterdam is more like a Queen bed back home), but hey I ain't complaining as my bed back home is just a Twin (oh but how I love thee Obusforme, we shall meet again soon, I hope)...

Housewarming will come soon... :) I hope I never get the flu again in Europe. My European friends don't seem to be affected by the strain of flu I got at all, it must be something they've grown up with and have fought thru before as a kid. But seriously, I am determined never to get it again! It was the worst experience ever and I really thought I was going to die!!!! :(

PS - super super tak to freknar for saving/sustaining my life the past week... :)

Friday the 13th

2006-01-13T16:21:00.000+01:00

Hm... I just noticed that it's Friday the 13th and no one here has mentioned it! SO, I decided to turn to my colleague:

E: HEY! It's Friday the 13th today! :)
M: ...so?
E: You know! Friday the 13th! *making claw-like gesture* Y'know, Freddy Kruger, Nightmare on Elm Street...*baring teeth* rowr...
M: Ohh.. yea...
E: No walking under ladders, avoiding black cats-
M: I have 2 black cats.
E: Oh...so.. I guess it's not a big thing here, eh?
M: ...nope.

Because I was curious and hoping to enlighten my readers about Friday the 13th (translation: i wanted to avoid working), I decided to find out more about this funny date.

Some facts:

In North America and Europe, a significant portion of the population won't fly in airplanes, host a party, apply for a job, get married or even start a new project today. Some people won't even come into work.
The medical condition for being afraid of Friday the 13th is known as paraskevidekatriaphobia.
Thirteen is significant to Christians because it is the number of people who were present at the Last Supper (Jesus and his 12 apostles). Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th member of the party to arrive. Jesus was also crucified on a Friday.

Well, that's enough educational material for me to last a while. Happy Friday the 13th everyone!

About work

2006-01-12T10:36:00.000+01:00

So life has returned pretty much 'back to normal,' or back to 'business as usual' if I should use company lingo. :P Since I am currently out of ideas on what to post here, I thought I'd maybe give you a glimpse into what my workplace is like. (Mouse-over the pics to see captions.)

Embarrassing moment van de dag (of the day)
In Holland, it's hard to find a water cooler in the office. However, you can bet that in every office, you can find a coffee machine. This coffee machine gives small dental sized cups of coffee, tea, hot water, hot chocolate and sometimes soup. Dutch people can have anywhere from 2-10+ cups a day of this stuff, and it's a social custom to ask your colleagues if they would like a drink when you are getting one for yourself.

Sidenote: The quality of drinks from these coffee machines is quite crappy, but the Dutch don't seem to notice. Hence, the lack of quality coffee in this country.

Anyway, I had just gotten a round of drinks from the coffee machine and rounded the corner back to our section to distribute them. Noticing that one of our colleagues, an older British man had returned from a meeting and I hadn't gotten a drink for him, I said in an overly sweet tone: "Oh! I missed you!"

It took only a second for me to realise how wrong that sounded cuz I saw a strange look on his face as well, but then I quickly blurted out, "I mean, I didn't get you a drink!! Ha..Ha.." -____-

Yay for Christmas!

2005-12-22T16:54:00.000+01:00

I can't believe it's almost Christmas! Another year's gone by and all those cliches about reflecting on the past year and looking forward into the next can't be avoided... Finally, I get to go on a mini-vacation away from the daily grind of work and just relax and forget about all the problems I've been having lately.

Yes, it's true, the last week has been really really shitty. It had nothing to do with Grace being here (or did it??? Haha just kidding Grace!! ) but I dunno why so much shit happened.

It started with falling off my bike last Thursday. Then over the weekend, we went to a spa, and it turned out to be a NUDE spa, and no swimsuits were permitted. It was really awkward at first cuz of all the 'hairy snouts' flopping around and of course there were nude ladies too but after a while I tried to act cool (didnt' really work). We had signed up for a HAMAM treatment, which was a traditional Turkish bath where you get scrubbed all over your body, and were again shocked to realise it was done by men. Not only that, but it's done in an open area with other naked people all over the place! But in the end, we went through with it anyway.

I shook hands with my HAMAM guy, who told me that all I needed to do was 'relax'. I tried my best and told him to avoid my left knee which I had scraped up while falling off my bike, and he did so that was good. But the massaging/kneading of my legs was BRUTAL and after the 20 min treatment I found a big purple bruise on my left calf!!! (ahhhh the agony!!!)

Next up was a pedicure upstairs. The lady was using some kind of device I had never seen being used for pedicures before, it was sort of like a dentist drill but on the end of it was some sort of screwdriver/flat metal chisel that she was running up and down the side of my big toenail. She started w/ my left foot, and it hurt a bit but not THAT much... but when she went to my right big toe, she just kept on digging deeper into my toe along the side of my toenail, so that before I knew it, I was shrieking like a baboon to her to STOP!! STOP!!! but she just kept going!!!!! for at least a few seconds. By the time she stopped, blood started pouring out of my toe, along the edge, and she just calmly took a cotton to my foot and said that it was 'normal'.

NORMAL!?!? I was NOT convinced. In fact, I was mortified!!!!!!!!! and in a LOT OF PAIN!! I now know what it feels like to be a war victim, I think, the ones who get tortured by having their limbs cut off, or their intestines pulled out of them while alive, etc. because I was WATCHING the lady CUT into my toe and I could do nothing about it! and after I was bleeding, I was probably in shock cuz I started shaking in my chair at what she did to me :(

If that wasn't enough, I found another big cut in my finger (from where I have no clue) which bled and bled... then a few days ago I went to a tanning salon and went to the 'turbo sunner' for 10 mins, thinking that my asian skin wouldnt burn like the dutchies even though I was warned by the girl who worked there... and what do you know... 24 hours after the tanning, my ass and back is as red as a lobster and it hurts to move :(

ANNNNND... this morning when I was washing a few dishes, I accidentally dropped a small glass and it broke into literally 50+ pieces, and I found 2 shards of glass jammed into my left pinky finger!!!! (which bled too). WHAT THE HELL!!!!!!!!!!! I hope all these little bad things have come to an end...

Oh.. btw... Merry Christmas everyone! :)

2005-12-16T14:33:00.000+01:00

I used to think it was crazy when people would call me more than 1ce or 2ce in a row when trying to reach me. There was this one time a few years ago when a guy I knew called my house and I really didn't feel like talking to him. It went something like this:

*ring ring*
"Oh look it's BOY-X."
[pick up. hang up.]

*ring ring*
"Oh look, him again."
[pick up. hang up.]

*ring ring*
[pick up. hang up.]

Repeat 5x more.

*ring ring*
"Hello?"
"Hi, it's me, BOY-X."
"Oh hey. Did you just call me a few minutes ago?"
"What..? No..."
"Oh, okay."
[roll eyes.]

Anyway, I think I now finally understand the phenomenon of chronic dialing syndrome. It came upon me last night as I was sitting at our company xmas party, 'alone' at my table while those around me hee-hawed loudly in Dutch. I tried to appear amused with myself and my glass of white wine, but really, how amused can a girl look when she's sitting all by herself???? So, in order to alleviate the boredom, I started dialing for people to talk to, and before I knew it, I was pushing the send button repeatedly and listening anxiously to the beeps on the line and hoping that a human voice would be on the other end to say hello...

I can't think of that many moments where I felt more like a loser. In front of me sat the Head of my business unit, chatting somewhat secretly with the mean-looking Dutch lady who sat beside her, the one with the wrinkled face, slitty eyes, fake red lil lips and fried permed white hair. On my left was my boss, filling up the air with her snorty laughter, having a great time, in her snazzy shiny white blazer.

So ya, it was kinda shitty being there but as most expats in NL know, the Dutch aren't known for being very considerate at all, which includes the fact that they will speak in Dutch around you without caring that you don't understand a word. Even if you tell them you only speak English, it doesn't seem to matter. It would make more sense if they didnt speak English, but most of them do but still choose to exclude people. It didn't matter that much to me actually, because I wasn't that interested in talking to these people about work anyway, which is what most of them resorted to.

In other news, I had my second official bike accident yesterday. After the work party, I jetted out of there early so I could get back home and chill. But as I approached the ferry terminal that would take me back to Central Station, I stopped the bike, only to teeter and tip to the left, adn before I knew it, I landed on my knee and elbow, trapped under the bike. I lay there for 2 seconds, thinking "not again..." and then picked myself up and acted like nothing happened.

There were at least 4 people standing about 5 feet away from me, but none of them said a word, and just stood in the darkness. I went towards the water so I didn't have to face them, and then I hear, "How is it?" from behind me.

Turns out it's a 'friendly' Surinamese guy, who in our conversation tells me what he does for a living, that he enjoys walking in the night, that he lives in the SouthEast of Amsterdam (translation: ghetto), that he has no girlfriend, that he can teach me Dutch and that he'd like to take me out sometime.

Big WOOP and WHAT a SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Man.. Surinamese guys are so damned predictable. Way to pick up a girl when she's down, man!!!

I did my best to fend him off, but as we got to the other side of the water, I decided to take a peek at my knee, which was feeling rather numb. To my surprise, it was deep red and oozing with thick blood!!! Ahhhh, at least last time when I fell off my bike, I had jeans on and I just got a slight scrape in my knee. But THIS time it was just pantyhose and that got scraped off right away.. and by the time I got home, the pantyhose had dried up w/ my blood and gotten stuck to my skin!!

Ohhh the pain!!!!!!!!! :'(

I'm bored too.

2005-12-08T17:14:00.000+01:00

TEN YEARS AGO I...wore oversized adidas track suits and baggy wide leg jeans, had braces and were dying to get em off so I could finally feel the skin of an apple burst against my teeth, chew caramel candies and all that kinda good stuff, and had a scary/stalker obsession with a guy whom I thought we were "made for each other".

FIVE YEARS AGO I...was in my 2nd year of Uni, having dimsum, Costco and grocery outings with my Grandma often, playing with my crazy white cat Pinky and wearing a LOTTA fleece. I also watched Days of our Lives religiously :)

ONE YEAR AGO I...lived with Sofie and Nico in a cute 'dollhouse', in Amsterdam working for the same company in a different department, rushing like mad to get a huge yearbook project completed and planning what to do for Christmas.

YESTERDAY I...ripped the bottoms of my feet open (or at least it felt that way) dancing on the oceandiva, did the YMCA, robot, and the fish, and felt the room (and my head) spin while we danced to '(I've had) The time of my life' (Dirty Dancing)

FIVE SNACKS I ENJOY:
Fruit (especially persimmons and mangos)
Kit Kat
Rice pudding
Stroopwafels
Coconut macaroons

FIVE SONGS I KNOW ALL THE WORDS TO:
Ode to a Friend - Jann Arden
Symbolistic White Walls - Matthew Good Band
Separated - Usher
Rendezvous - Craig David
I Wanna Know - Joe

FIVE THINGS I WOULD DO WITH 100 MILLION DOLLARS:
Invest (that goes without saying)
Give the ones I love something they have always wished for
Get my eyes lasered and my mom's too
Buy a loft in Hong Kong (Island)!
Take a year off to travel the world

FIVE BAD HABITS:
Avoid making decisions
Changing my mind too much
Never being completely satisfied
Getting annoyed with kids too easily
Binging on chocolate and waffles

FIVE BIGGEST JOYS:
BODYPUMP!!! :-)
Going to new places and seeing how others live
Making videos and editing them
Drawing cartoons
Chocolate chip cookies ... mmmm

FIVE FAVORITE TOYS:
Three Fishballs
Excreman
Digital Camera
Treadmill
Ipod

FIVE PLACES I WOULD RUN AWAY TO:
Vancouver
Hong Kong
Jamaica
LA/SF
New York

FIVE THINGS I WOULD NEVER WEAR:
A complete LULULEMON/TNA track suit
White jeans
A nose ring
White pantyhose
Leather pants
A wedding ring (hahahahahah..;)

FIVE FAVORITE TV SHOWS:
Dr. Phil
Oprah
Spongebob
Will & Grace
King of Queens

2005-12-06T17:26:00.000+01:00

“Prison life consists of routine, and then more routine.”

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Okay, so it might not be fair to compare work to prison, but you have to agree that there IS a lot of routine involved. You struggle to wake up every morning, put on your suit, trudge down the stairs, get on the tram, beep into the building, sit at your desk, attend a few meetings, zone out at the desk, wait a few hours, and then leave work, only to start the cycle again for the rest of the week.

I can’t decide whether having routine at work is a good or bad thing. I think most people would claim that they want a dynamic, challenging job that throws them curveballs on a daily basis. I would also say the same. BUT I can also see the other side, because it could be very comforting to just go to work, do what you gotta do, and then leave without anything hanging over your head.

“Work” for me also used to be much more defined. Sure, I have things to do now, but my tasks aren’t as clear as they used to be. What do I mean? Well… Back in the hey day when I wore grey clown pants, a greasy white/grey striped shirt and floppy green visor for A&W, my job was very clear. I was to:

Take customers’ orders (Do you wanna biggy-size that?)
Serve food to customers
Bag take-out orders
Clean the dining area
Clean the toilets
Take out the trash, etc.

Every task could be written out and checked off once completed, it was so clear. Oh look, the straws are almost out, we need more straws. Oh, oh, the ketchup’s spurting, we need to fill that up. Running low on extra large soda cups. Milkshake machine’s making a bit too much noise, we need more mix for that too. And so it went…The 8-hour shifts flew by as if they were only 2.

I remember when I first started at my so-called corporate job about one year ago and meeting my fellow coworkers. One of them introduced himself as responsible for Sustainable Development for an entire business unit. During our one-on-one meeting, I kept asking him, “So…what exactly do you do?” to which he responded with a slew of phrases that I (not surprisingly) cannot remember even one, and I am still unsure of what exactly he does to contribute to Sustainable Development for that entire business unit. I just didn’t understand what he was doing while on the phone, or in front of his computer for 8 hours in a day.

But eventually, it clicked, and now I realise that what people do at their desks is really a sort of façade. We’re all working in a maze of emails, corresponding with people, dealing with IT problems, googling something now and then (I’m pretty sure it’s not only me), making PowerPoint presentations, planning meetings, etc. Everyone seems to think that what they do is mighty important, when in fact, perhaps what they do doesn’t make an ounce of difference to the all and powerful multinational corporation.

I guess that’s the difference between working on the front line, and working on a ‘higher’ level (headquarters). On the front line, it’s clear what you gotta do. In fact, it can be very noticeable if you don’t do your job, (ie. No more ketchup!!) and when you are sitting behind a desk, doing ‘high-level’ stuff, it can become very ambiguous and vague what exactly you’re supposed to be doing…

Perhaps it’s just me and the other people in headquarters actually have lots of tasks to keep them busy. It could be true. But sometimes, when I am staring blankly at my screen, wondering what else I can possibly google today, I wish I had a mindless job which was simple enough for me to do without thinking, and just let the time fly by (and the money roll in.) ;)

Nightmare in Rome

2005-11-28T17:05:00.000+01:00

A picture's worth 1000 words...

but if you'd rather read through one thousand six hundred and three, here you go:

03:43
Our trip began at 3:43AM with a train taking us to Rotterdam, where we were to take the plane to Rome. It is a very normal connection, running about 60 mins and this should not have been any different. However, somewhere along the way we noticed that we had double backed to Den Haag and was headed back for Amsterdam, and finally decided to ask one of the drunken night-train people what the heck was going on.

Apparently, the wind was so bad that it had blown off the roof of some station between us and Rotterdam, thereby obstructing the rails, so the train was going all the way back to Amsterdam. People who had to go to Rotterdam needed to wait about 1 hr for a connecting train to Gouda, another city which woulda made us miss our flight FOR SURE!

So, we managed to find a train to Rotterdam Hofplein, which was "only 5 mins away from Rotterdam Central Station" according to the train lady, but as we had no idea where we were when we got off, we walked into the black night with all our luggage, while it was pouring rain and before we knew it, we were almost blown off our feet walking on some highway with hail balls hitting our faces like bullets!!!! This lasted for about 5 mins, and finally we found a taxi which we told to book it to the airport. LUCKILY, we made it there 2 mins before the check-in counter closed. (PHEW.)

Rain, rain and more rain
So we get to Rome, and it is pouring rain. We manage to find the hostel and things are fine, we decide to go to the Colosseum and check it out, but it got so bad that we ended up huddling under some kind of arch and staying there for 20 mins or so. Finally, we decide it's best to move on despite the rain and so we walk a bit further. At this point, muddy water is everywhere on the ground, the rain is coming down in big plops and we decide perhaps its a good idea to just go back to the hostel at least for a while. We decide to take the bus, just to save time and not get even wetter, and so we see a bus coming our way and we hop on, each of us with 1 euro in our hands, ready to pay the ticket.

The Incident with the "Police"
Dave goes up to the front of the bus and tries to get the bus driver's attention, but she has already started driving. So, he raises his eyebrows and shoulders, and we all just put our 1 euro in our pockets. Ten minutes later, to our absolute horror, the transit authorities come on board and request to see our tickets. I look at Ching-Yin with extra-wide eyes and then at Dave, who is mouthing the words, "Get off." But it was too late, cuz the bald italian man with a stern expression was already hovering over me. I stared at him and showed him my 1 euro coin, but he was emotionless and asked for me and Dave's identification (passports).

I tried to delay giving it to him as much as I could, by saying things like, "we were going to pay for the ticket but there was nowhere to buy it! We tried to get it from the driver!" etc. but nothing worked. We gave him our passports and he started to write us up. He told us, it would be 50 euros if we paid him now, or 100 if we paid him later, and he would bill it to our embassy according to our passports. I was thinking, there is NO WAY i am going to pay this asshole when we didnt do anything wrong, and meanwhile Dave was trying his best too, with his now signature line, "C'mon...You don't have to do this...seriously (repeat 2-3x)" but that too failed.

At this point, I was getting really annoyed. I told the guy, "this is ridiculous!!!" and apparently I had said it quite a few times beforehand, because the Italian dude took a pause from writing us up, and said to me, "You say the word ridiculous one more time, and i will take you to the station." I was standing up at this point and I stared long and hard at him, and he continued to write us up. So... I said it: "This is FUCKING ridiculous."

The bus stopped at Termini station (last stop), the man grabbed us and told us to get out, to follow him to the station, and he was pissed mad. Hetal and Ching-yin had already been fined by the other transit authority (female) and Hetal was very very compliant and polite. She tried to ask the lady more questions like "So... does this happen often to tourists?" when she had already paid the fine, I just wanted to pull all her hair off of that transit woman and give her a nice kick between the legs!!!!! (ok maybe not in real life but u know what I mean)

So now we're outside and the transit authorities are standing together and the bald guy said , "NO you do not say FUCK YOU to me, I AM A POLICE!" and here I said to him, "I did NOT say FUCK, I was speaking CHINESE, you dont even know what I said, you have no idea what Chinese even sounds like!!!" and now Dave was trying to stop the conflict and he starts to argue with another guy, telling him that we had NO clue how to pay for the bus ticket, etc. and anyway, the bald guy continues to write the receipt up and gives it to me, tells me to calm down and I continue with "This is NO WAY to treat visitors to Rome!!!" to which he doesn't give a shit anyways, but in the end, Dave goes, "Do me a favour? Come to Canada one day, cuz then you'll see how much better we treat people there." [Yea I know, that one hurt the cop real bad.] Finally, we got to leave and we trudged off in the rain.

I was a bit relieved, because I was holding a fine receipt in my hand, of 50 euros which I didnt even pay, and I was like, stupid Italian man!! :) Didn't even remember to collect the 50 euros from me in the midst of all that chaos. But then, when I mentioned this to the guys, they told me that Dave had given 100 euros to the authorities somehwere along the way, and they were like, "You thought they just let you go?? Why do you think we're allowed to go right now!!!?!?!?!" @#$#@%@%#!!!!! I am still so pissed!! I SO WAS NOT GOING TO PAY.

ARRRRRGH. We SO should not have paid, but since Hetal and Ching-Yin already paid, it was hard for me and Dave not to pay too. We were also freaked out because they had our passports, but cmon, we shouldve just let them bill us and not pay the stupid fine. As if not paying 1 euro for a bus ticket would look that bad on our "record", not like we killed someone!!!!! But it was reeeeeealy hard to argue all this when the rest of ur group paid the fine, and especially when someone paid the fine on ur behalf!!!!!!!!! GRRR!!

Okay, so we decided to put this behind us, so no more about this. If you have questions please just email me.

##vent over##

Sidenote: we also found out how bad we are at being bitches/bastards. Our lines at the police were sooo lame. Hehe. We so need to become more gangsta.

Smooth sailing
The next few days were fine, with the sightseeing and everything. I mean, it couldn't have gotten any worse after what we endured the first night. BUT...

On our way back 'home', our train to the airport departed WAY later than expected, causing us to arrive at the airport just 30 mins before take-off time. Right as the train pulled into the airport, Hetal also realises that she forgot her purse (and all her documentation) back at the breakfast place next to the hostel!!!! (AHHHHHHHHH)

We ran to the transavia.com counter but it was just too late, and no one was there anymore to check us in. So.. basically, we missed our flight. :(

We quickly found out that if we wanted to take the same flight out, it would be the next day, same time and with an additional charge of 160 euros!!! (each) KLM was 800 euros and so was Alitalia for the same day flight. Luckily tho, we found a flight out with VIRGIN express for 92 euros to Amsterdam (still bankrupting us).

Hetal and Ching-yin went back to get the purse, but they couldnt get back in time for the next flight out with Virgin Express, so they were forced to stay an extra night in Rome and take the once-a-day Virgin flight out tomorrow. So, they are still there and worse of all, Hetal's bag was with us when they went back to the hostel, so she is there with NOTHING at all... cept (very little) money of course.

---
All in all, a LOT went wrong in Rome and well, me and Dave dont feel like traveling again for a while. We are SO. BROKE. :-(

Last word: F#$% the transit police in ROME!!!!!!!!!! and boycott TRANSAVIA!! THEY SUCK!!

O Canada

2005-11-24T13:24:00.000+01:00

I LOVE CANADA!!

Cannot believe this...

2005-11-16T16:24:00.000+01:00

Ants eat away woman's eye in hospital

KOLKATA, India (Reuters) - A woman receiving treatment for diabetes at a state-run hospital in eastern India lost one of her eyes after ants nibbled away at it, officials said on Tuesday.

The patient recovering from a post-surgery infection shrieked for help as the ants attacked her on Sunday night, but nurses told her it was normal to feel pain from the infection.

On Monday, the patient's family saw a gaping hole with swarming ants in it when they lifted the bandage on her left eye.

Authorities of the Sambhunath Hospital in Kolkata said they were probing the incident.

"It's not uncommon for ants to attack diabetic patients. We have set up a committee to investigate the unfortunate incident," hospital superintendent A. Adhikary said.

Scampering rats and stray cats and dogs sharing bed space with patients are not uncommon sights at India's overcrowded state-run hospitals that are used by millions of poor and middle-class people.
--

Wat the hell!?!

Unwanted Nakedness

2005-11-11T17:53:00.000+01:00

Some people are just...strange. Okay so here's the deal. In the Netherlands (and possibly other parts of Europe), nakedness is not such a big deal. For example, it's not weird to see topless women at the beach (not just lying down, but running, swimming or even playing beach volleyball). It was enough of a shocker to me last year to find that there were no shower stalls, and even though it was still just ladies, it still felt a bit err--odd. But anyway, I eventually got used to it.

What I haven't gotten used to though is people who walk around naked in the spa at my gym. Back home, we wear swimsuits when we go to the sauna/steamroom, but apparently, that's unhealthy for the body because the body swells up due to the heat, and it restricts your blood flow to wear anything. I thought that the spa would be split between men and women, but it's not, and it's actually very common to enter the sauna to be face-to-*ahem* with someone's ding-dong!

So anyway, the other day, there was a 20something plump Asian girl who was walking around in the changeroom naked. That's not so odd, but then she showered, and also entered the sauna completely naked! Not only was she naked, but upon entering, she chirped a cheerful "Hello!" to everyone in the sauna, which included 3 other guys and me (wrapped in a towel of course). The men of course replied "Hi's" back, while I just stared in utter disbelief. Okay, I didnt' really stare, but I just zoned out and tried not to look at anyone/anything.

I don't know any other situation more awkward then having a naked girl in the sauna and a bunch of guys all supposedly pretending to avert their eyes. It was just.. weird. THEN, she got out of the sauna and at this point I was sitting on a ledge, soaking my feet in a tub of warm water, and she goes to the tub next to me, BENDS OVER (still completely naked) and starts the faucet for the water in her tub. MOREOVER, she then SITS her naked ass onto the ledge, and plants her naked self there for maybe 10 minutes.

I retreat to the changeroom (ladies only now) and proceed to do my own thing. Of course, she saunters in a few minutes later, showers, and then continues to be naked, this time going to the hair dryer and proceeds to DRY HER HAIR while naked! WTF!?!?!?! I had to use the sink while she was drying her hair, and the cord was actually hanging over the sink so I ducked a lil bit to turn the faucet on. At the same moment, she swung her head over and her boob almost touched me, (OMGGGG!!!!), it was SO CLOSE I could even see the mini-nubs that surrounded her nipple!!!

Eeekk... I'm so traumatised, I dont' want to run into her again, I mean, good on her to be so comfortable in her body, but cmonnn!!! save it for yourself, woman!! >:P

Halloween Pics

2005-11-10T09:17:00.000+01:00

Afro-Egyptian (me) and Russian 60's Cop (Dave)

Halloween Party Attendees:

60s cop complete w/ small plastic gun and huge (HUGE) hair
Cleopatra (very cheap one as evidenced by the white polyester 'dress' --damn halloween packaged costumes)
cowgirl w/ dishtowel around neck
transvestite witch on a real broomstick
"geisha" in a chinese cheung-sam dress *rolls eyes*
rudolph the red nose reindeer
russian chef
naughty fairy ^_~ *barf*
arab

Click here for Dave's pics!

Random musings...

2005-11-09T17:04:00.000+01:00

why did i just eat a whole bag of wine gums (minus a few green ones)??
how the hell do people forget to flush??
when will i get home early enough to watch King of Queens?
where is the line between enduring true love and over-the-top obsession?
will i ever understand my colleagues when they cackle loudly in Dutch?
how do pigeons injure their feet and why don't we ever see them die?
why is it that i only want things when they're gone?
better stop eating candies, i have no dental insurance!

1 missed flight (cost of flight is too outrageous to publish) + EUR 4.50 per head to listen to string quartet + EUR 5 involuntary tip + EUR 8 hot chocolate + 2 unwanted but paid for bottles of white wine = one very expensive weekend in Venice.

Dutch Frickin' Bureaucracy

2005-10-26T14:58:00.000+02:00

I'm getting sick n' tired of the Dutch way of doing things. Or should I say, their way of finding the most ways of not doing anything!!! These days, I tell myself its' not worth getting upset, just expect it to take forever with every simple process, because if I have any higher expectations I will just be fooling myself. But still, i cant help but feel infuriated by all this piling up!!!
What exactly am I talking about?

1) MY 2004 TAXES. Steps included: Filing for them in person prior to April 2005, and being told that I'd get it in July 2005. Follow up call in mid-July. Response: Keep waiting. Follow up call in August. Response: You filled out wrong form. Fill in another form. I ask to get help filling it in to avoid more problems. Response: We don't help with that sort of form. Fill it in and send it to us. Follow up call in end of August. Response: Don't have your form. Visit tax office to get someone to fill in the right form, in the RIGHT way. He says that I'll get my taxes in a few weeks. Follow up call in September. Response: We have your form, but it could take up to a year to process. Keep waiting. I tell them my friends have gone thru the exact same form and got their taxes already. Response: Keep waiting, I cannot help you. ARRGH!!!!

2) Work-related logistics: Activating email - wait time: 7 hours + 3 reminder calls to the IT Helpdesk. Getting access to X-drive: at least 3 emails to the IT administrators, still no access. Gaining access to intranet content management: Wait time of 2 weeks, then realised they didnt give me enough access, so still waiting. Security entrance pass: 3 weeks to activate, then after 1 day of working, it does not work again thanks to 'system error'. Without the pass, one needs to be stopped at every exit and fill in redundant forms. It works now but I'm not holding my breath.

3) Mobile phone contract. They say its simple: just bring your bank statement, passport, and bank card. I dont have any bank statements kept so I bring my salary slip, since it has all the info there, such as my pay, my account number, etc. Everything's fine, they even said it's fine to use a salary slip, but then, upon filling out the paperwork, they change their mind and say 'nope, we need a BANK STATEMENT, not a SALARY SLIP.' They are very inflexible and wont budge. Wont open phone contract in the meantime for me. Must have all things together before going forward. SO DUTCH.

4) HR: Providing me with contract- 1 month late. Has no clue about the residence/work permit process, outsources to another company. When asked about the process, they simply say "i dont know, someone else does it." I ask: Can you please find out then where the process is? Their response: There's no point in asking, just wait. I ask "Can you please give me a contact of someone there at least so I can ask myself?" The response: "No, that is not possible."

5) Internet company: I want to cancel my contract so I call the helpline at least 3x. The line costs money so of course each time I wait more than 10 mins and get directed through countless voice trees (in DUTCH, on top of that). Man 1 says: Oh, youve reached tech support. I dont deal with personal account problems. He transfers me (read: puts me in an endless tunnel of black with grossly annoying long beeps as ring tones, I never get picked up and so I have to hang up after 7 or so minutes) Finally when I reach someone who supposedly knows the topic, he says "you have to write a letter to cancel the contract, hold onto ur modem til then and then u can return it to the store" So I do that.

Later I'm informed I can cancel earlier and go to the store w/ my modem and return it. I go. Lady at desk says: "We dont take modems back here. You can cancel by writing a letter. Or over the phone." I say, "I have written a letter already." She says, "okay then just wait. But I cannot take ur modem. Best you phone to cancel ur contract." I know there's no way to force her to take my huge frickin modem that I really did not want to lugg around, so I accept defeat. Then I saw a phone which had the customer service number written on it in permanent marker. Looking at her, I say "Can I use this phone to call and cancel?" She hesitates... thinks for a bit... and then says, ... "I guess so." (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) So I got to cancel over the phone just like that!!!! Stupid person on the phone, told me to write a letter.. but I still had to carry my modem around.

These stories are 100% TRUE. Can you imagine encountering "customer service" like this on a daily basis!?!?!?!?

WELCOME TO THE NETHERLANDS!!!! :P

My G-ma

2005-10-21T15:29:00.000+02:00

Life abroad so far has been great and I love it here in Amsterdam, but one thing that keeps me thinking about home and stuff is definitely my Grandma. It was only recently that I realised that by moving to Amsterdam I had chosen a life which did not involve her (sounds stupid I know) but it cemented the fact that 'home' had suddenly been reduced to 2 weeks per year, and that was IF i chose to use my holidays to go home rather than to travel to other parts of the world.

There would be no more spontaneous dimsum-ing, grocery shopping, or eating, no sitting seemingly un-noticeably next to her on the old blue couch watching TVB soap operas, no painting her triangle-filed nails a magenta shade of red whenever we had a big dinner to attend, no plucking beans off her home-grown bean stalks and watching them turn from purple to green in the frying pan, no morning walks at a snails pace with her around the block, no joint exercise sessions where we flail our arms up and down at our sides to rid our bodies of gas, no nothing, maybe just a phone call here or there.

My grandma is one of the most interesting (and amusing) people I know. On my last trip home, I got to spend lots of time with her, especially on the cruise we took from Vancouver to LA where I was her personal milk-tea preparer, food advisor and gambling sidekick. Although the cruise itself was somewhat boring, she kept me amused and I learned a few things about her still.

For one, she is astonishingly unshy about being video-camera'ed or photographed. This was evidenced by my stockpile of 'her eating' photos as well as video footage of her a) taking her morning pills, b) eating beans and c) rolling around in bed during a nap. The bean-eating was especially entertaining, as she stuffed more and more into her grinding mouth, occasionally muttering that she was 'bao' (full) but still stuffing food into her mouth. It was by watching her eat, and the contents of her mouth which would somehow get pushed out to the edge before she rolled them back into her mouth for more grinding, that I realised her mouth was nothing but a machine to break down food, chewing, grinding, and sometimes sloshing with a bit of milk tea.

She is also very complacent and patient. If there's nothing going on, she can totally just sit there, with her soft hands folded on her lap above her giant belly, usually clutching her purse in the same place, and stare very innocently into space. She doesnt' ask annoying questions like 'What are we doing now?" or "Where are we?" or "Are we there yet?" She just kinda sits there.

On the cruise, we had a rare opportunity to do a lil sun tanning, and it was the first time we had ever done so together. It was fun also cuz I think my G-ma's legs see the sun maybe once every ten years, and so this was almost cause for celebration!! On our way to the deck, she informed me that her legs were the envy of every woman in China, cuz they are so straight and look beautiful in cheung-sam's, the traditional Chinese dresses, and well, look at them, pictures dont lie!!!!! :)

The best thing about my G-ma is she never tries to tell me what to do. Although she once said she would prefer that I stay in Vancouver so that we could go dimsum more often (among other reasons), she is so supportive of what I want to do and even paid for my plane ticket back to AMS. Sigh, it sure is a bummer not to be closer to her, but maybe one day, I can find a way for us to be!

WIFI AMSTERDAM

2005-10-19T14:33:00.000+02:00

I found the solution!!! After moving to my new place, I haven't really had the need to go online cuz I'm hardly ever home. When I AM at home, I'm too busy lighting candles, changing or running to and from the kitchen/bathroom to really feel like I'm hanging out in the room. So, I wasn't really inclined to keep my contract w/ the internet provider for a whole nother year.

It had come crunch time, where I really needed to decide if I should keep the net or not, cuz the Hungarians from the old house needed me to return the cable modem asap so that they could get a new internet contract for themselves, and as usual, when faced w/ a fairly simple decision I just froze up!! (damn indecision)

Well... today, thanks to the suggestions from the Hungarians about stealing WIFI signals, I looked up on Google where I can do that in Amsterdam and turns out that there is a very cheap way for me to go online, via WIFI!!

INTRODUCING... HotSpot Amsterdam!!!

"Amsterdam to be the first European wifi'd capital"

Woopee! :) I love A'dam <3

Sweet sweet macaroon

2005-10-18T17:12:00.000+02:00

Have you ever had one of these?

If you have, then you know what I'm talking about when I say CHEWY, SOFT, SWEET, SHREDDED COCONUT, SUGARY, LUMP OF JOY!

Face-Skin-Thick (Meen Pay Houw)

2005-10-12T17:36:00.000+02:00

There's a saying in Chinese that literally translates to your facial skin being thick. It's supposed to mean that you can take a lot of sh*t, that you aren't petty, that you don't take offense easily, etc. Today, I found out how literal that saying actually is.

You see, my new boss is very cool. She's Dutch, powerful, strong, mature and very motivating. She also has very 'thick' skin, which you could compare to an elephant's. I often describe her as a clay face, one that you might have moulded out of pottery materials and left out to dry. She's that strong! Anyway, today she told me very bluntly never to do something ever again and it was a bit intimidating, but along w/ her steel blue eyes and tough exterior, I took her seriously and won't ever do what I did again.

I guess it takes some getting used to when dealing with the bluntness of the Dutch. I consider myself straight forward too but now it's quite fun to be on the receiving end. There's that initial shock of 'did she just say what she said she did?' and 'whats with the intense stare that came with the saying?' but then over time, you just appreciate that the person could be that up front with you. Now I know where the boundaries stand, right??

Anyway, the new job is going well, the days go by quickly and I'm happy being able to stare out my window and see half of Amsterdam in my 15th floor view. The last week has been super sunny and its' unbelievable that it's already October and still like this! :)

Here we go again...

2005-10-07T09:33:00.000+02:00

It's a nice, familiar feeling to be back in Amsterdam in the fall, with the air just getting cold again, people are in gloves, hats, scarves and boots, and the the city has a slightly dark feel. It's been exactly one year since I first arrived here and I can't believe how much things have changed!! I'm currently living in the very centre of the city, close to a major clubbing area, right on one of the coolest streets in Amsterdam filled w/ good restaurants and funky shops.

Altho it's in the centre, it's still relatively quiet, and in the morning when I walk out to the tram stop and wait by the canal, the flower stand is busy being set up and you can smell fresh bread being baked in the neighborhood 'warme bakker' bakeries. People are riding by on their bicycles, some in crisp suits and others in casual mismatched clothing, I can't wait to fix my bike(s) so I can also ride to work!! It's now the end of my first week at my new job and so far it's been fabulous! I have a great team of 6 (including me) who are all Dutch and seem to work great together, everyone has a role to do, it doesn't seem like too much to handle, and my manager is a great leader... I could really see myself staying here if things stay this good...

so here is the question. say you have a dream job, something u think u'd love to do. but when u get that dream job, the job benefits suck, the work environment sucks, your coworkers suck, there is no job satisfaction or recognition, etc. but it IS your dream job and you are essentially doing what you love. Is it really then a 'dream job'?

On the other hand, what if you had a job you were skilled at, and knew you could do, with a bit of challenge and change thrown in here and there, it's not in your dream field/job, but everything else is wonderful: ur coworkers, your pay, your boss, job recognition, work life balance, location, etc.

Is it then really a 'shame' to not have gone for the dream job? We all have hobbies, interests and passions.. but do they necessarily have to become our jobs? and maybe, just maybe, its more than the job that really matters. What do you think?

Monkeys on da bus

2005-09-10T17:00:00.000+02:00

Cool, no crashing yet. I have time to reflect on some things in HK...

Last night on the bus back from Causeway Bay, (it was a 60 min ride to get back home) I was sitting behind a young 20-something couple who were very close. The girl decided to take a nap by nestling her head into her boyfriend's neck and then eventually leaned over to rest her head on his lap, while his body slowly bent over her, and his head eventually began bobbing to and fro as well. For most of the ride, they were folded together like this.

About 20 mins later, she awoke with her hair in a mess, and the natural parting of her hair was pretty much unidentifiable. That is, until her boy started patting her hair down, picking strand by strand which way it should go (on which side of the part), picking and patting, picking and patting down the hair, until it was as good as freshly styled, before lightly pushing her head back into his neck so they could snuggle. Meanwhile, the groggy girl just let him groom her, and let herself be cuddled. It was like she was a toy he was playing w/.. styling a barbie, almost.

I found it quite comical to see the whole hair-picking and hair-parting and it reminded me of apes picking lice off each other. It was sweet... but hrm.. maybe it was weird to me that he was so thoughtful and considerate.. I guess it's a HK guy thing??

HK in a nutshell

2005-09-10T16:49:00.000+02:00

Since this crashed on me the last time I tried to blog, here is a supa-quickie entry on HK:

-its muggy and hot (i like it!)
-the people are really really small
-there are many seniors that look like they belong in a coffin
-people's hair styles are either fried or dyed, or sometimes both
-there are apparently 4 girls to every guy but,
-i have not seen ONE goodlooking guy
-the suits are cheap
-the electronics are really coool!
-i like melon flavoured soy milk
-i'm on the prowl for pineapple bun w/ egg cream inside (WHERE IS IT GODAMMIT!!?)
-i've shopped non-stop since I arrived (NO JOKE)
-i'm flat out broke. but still shopping :)
-we decided to skip China because, well, China came to HK.
-i wake up bloated every morning from the freakin humidity
-ive been told countless times how fat i am and how bad my skin is by my loving aunt :P
-the customer service here is impeccable!! (delivery of my new glasses to my hotel??!) what??
-ive become over the top materialistic
-bargaining wont make u friends
-i want to go clubbing but no one to go w/!
-is there anything more to HK than just shopping??

Greedy me

2005-09-02T16:25:00.000+02:00

I am so greedy... in my hands I clutch onto 4-5 different job prospects/offers, and I don't want to let any one of them go. I know I can't have them all, but I will keep my hands on each and everyone one until the moment someone comes to pry them away, finger by finger.

It's hard to comprehend exactly what's going on right now, with all the peeps chasing me down asking me to work for them, but I really can't complain. All I can complain about is my damn indecisiveness and not knowing which job to take.

---
ANYWAY! Alberta's in town and I'm busy trying to best show her what Amsterdam is all about. She has already tried stroopwafels in Vancouver and so all that's left now is:

Vla (light and airy pudding)
Milk n' Fruit (fruit flavoured milk, what else did you think it could be, dummi? ;)
Pancakes w/ nutella and hagelslag (sprinkles)
Gouda cheese sandwiches or on its own
Fruit teas w/ milk, mmm
Drop (licorice)
MAYBE some stampot/hutspot (mashed potatoes with mashed crap inside)
Kroket (fried unidentifiable meat w/ crispy exterior)
Cone fries (in Belgium)

We will be hitting my favourite city tomorrow: BRUSSELS!! for some well deserved cake and pies, and of course a lil sight seeing. There is a beer festival on right now so there will be many tents w/ different kinds of beer in the Grand Place. O yA!

My head is being hunted

2005-08-30T15:05:00.000+02:00

VS.

I'm going to Hong Kong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, today I got a call from my contact there who invited me to go to HK for an assessment and meet with some key HR contacts who are going to offer me a 'package'!! The best part is, I don't have to decide if I want to take the job until I get back to Amsterdam... but I'm SO considering it now. WOOHOO!!!!!

A tribute to BBQs

2005-08-25T01:06:00.000+02:00

We had a BBQ in our backyard last weekend to clear out the fridge. As you can see, it was nice sunny weather and very delicious :) Note: Gouda cheese on burgers is to die for...

Photo Captions: (Starting on top left, clockwise)

Can this Taiwanese/Canadian guy (Dave) be trusted??
*sizzle* *crack* looking pretty tasty mm-mm!
Me: Oh Cheesy-Burger, I am under your spell!! Dave: Works every time ;)
Nico: Ooo gas sure travels fast. Me: Hehe, way to keep the fire going!

Big props to Dave for lighting the (coal) grill in under 10 minutes, you know that's why you were selected to live with us, don't you?? ;)

I h8 decision-making

2005-08-24T15:52:00.000+02:00

Library to lend out gays and Muslims

23 August 2005

AMSTERDAM — Members of the public will be able to borrow more than books at Almelo Library. In September, people will be able to "borrow"a gay person, gypsy or a Muslim for an hour.

Jan Krol, the head of the library, got the idea from a Swedish colleague who set up a similar "forget the stereotypes" project in Malmo.

People will be allowed to bring the "borrowee" to a cafe for an hour next to Almelo library to ask questions they would not normally dare to ask.

Krol is putting together a group of 10 people — representing different minority groups — to volunteer to be lent out. One of the volunteers is a Muslim woman living in a local asylum seekers centre.

Krol is also chairperson of the Twente and Achterhoek branch of the gay organisation COC.

[Copyright Expatica News + ANP 2005]

--
Interesting isnt it?? Me and my friend are planning to borrow a gypsy. :)

Life has been a whirlwind as of late, and only recently have I been able to take a breather. Finally things are somewhat set.. but still not.. But after what I have gone through, I find myself in a state of utter indecision, where even the simplest decisions are impossible for me. Ugh it is so horrible to be like this!

Anyway, this weekend, we've got the second christening of the TEAM ABN AMRO boat in Rotterdam and I got a free ticket to go. If you dont know already , we are sponsoring 2 boats in the Volvo Ocean Race (a 9 month long boat race around the world), --I cant believe I am promoting this-- but anyway I'll be going for the free food and drinks and concert w/ Kane, a dutch band w/ an extremely HOT singer :D See, it all makes sense after all.

The rest of the weekend will be spent exploring uitmarkt, which is an annual festival in Amsterdam all over town, with shows, music, and other art performances scattered around. Hope it's nice weather!!

O yea, we had like 3 BBQ's in the past week cuz we had company, and we also wanted to clear out the fridge since Nico and Sofie are moving out (Waaaaahhhhh!!! :( jk..) They will be moving together into a very nice apartment, and so I will be staying in our house with a new guy from Canada -Dave- and Robert, the Hungarian. I will be moving too eventually but just in a few months maybe, but for now it will be interesting to see how the house is without Nico and Sofie. (Probably dead). but anyway we'll see. From the BBQs I learned that sausages are only good around 5-10 minutes fresh off the grill. I tried to take a few to work the next day and 'warm them up' in my soup, but they still tasted like (very fatty) rolled up cardboard shreddings. Blech...

I have Achilles Tendonitis

2005-08-18T14:29:00.000+02:00

"Women who wear high-heeled shoes often and switch to sneakers for exercise also can develop Achilles tendonitis. The Achilles tendon and lower leg muscles gradually adapt to a shortened position because the shoes prevent the heel from stretching all the way to the ground. When this occurs, wearing sneakers or flat shoes forces the Achilles tendon to stretch further than it is accustomed to, causing inflammation. If high heels are worn everyday, stretching should be done every morning and night to keep the Achilles tendon lengthened. "

So, I have my answer. Owww...

Money ain't a thang

2005-08-12T20:56:00.000+02:00

So I had a time span of 30 mins to try to find a pair of nice looking jeans, and I found myself in the DIESEL store of the main shopping street in Amsterdam yesterday. A few weeks prior I had already been scouting for jeans at the Replay store, and well, even though the price tag was demanding way too much from me, I went back twice to try on the same pair of jeans, both times without buying anything. Yes, I should be ashamed of myself, but what the heck, I did it anyway.

So this time, I decided to try and see if I could finally find a pair of DIESEL jeans that fit me well, as I have always wanted to own a pair 'for life'. The lady gave me 3 pairs and after I squeezed myself into the first pair, I knew it was over. I asked her, "Can I walk out in these?" to which she replied, "Well, if you buy them first." So... I went down to the first floor, paid the completely overpriced amount and changed into MY new pair of jeans.

I have never felt happier!!!!!

oh oh gotta go party now, TO BE CONTINUED...

Never 100%

2005-08-09T20:04:00.000+02:00

I dunno what's up lately. I seem to always be sick!

Last week after boxing class, I injured my wrists and they were sore for a few days. Then, I got bit by a gang of mosquitos all over my lower left leg, causing me to hobble around like a cripple for another few days (the swelling was horrific around my ankle). Now, my ankle is finally healing and I have found a swollen lump on the right side of my neck! It's so gross, and I've been told it's just a regular lymph node fighting off some kind of infection in my body. But when will it finish???

I just tried to lie down, and it felt like the lymph node weighs 3 pounds on its own, the way it seemed to pull all of my head's weight down. What the hell!? I wanna get well!!!!

Other than the sicknesses, life has been stressful. There are so many decisions to be made and I am not in any position to make them yet. It's like constantly being dangled in mid-air. What is going to happen!!!??!?!?! I'm getting impatient.

Ghetto Superstar

2005-08-02T14:45:00.000+02:00

Purchase of the day: adidas superstar shoes
Goal for the next 2 months: be able to move like missy elliott and her crew in her 'lose control' video
Just ingested: Milka Luflee (chocolate bar)
Instead of: Kit Kat Chunky
Feeling: very, very dissatisfied.

Rain, rain and more rain

2005-07-27T13:26:00.000+02:00

It's another rainy July day in Amsterdam, and the whole rest of the week is forecasted to be the same. Everything is grey and the air looks thick and muggy. I so do not wanna walk out there in the rain, but, it is the only option as I have no car or other bubble form to enclose me from the cold wind and rain. Grrrr. Where is the nice sun n' beach weather!?!

Been having a pretty fun week and it's thanks to the increase of human contact I've had in the form of telephone chats and skype (add me: wafflerica!) Here are some of the things that made me laugh this week:

Me: He's addicted to salsa.
R: Are you sure it's not salsa n' chips?

Rob (to Max): Get off of me, I can see ur anus!!

C: A midget is any person under 137cm.
Me: How the hell did you know that?!

Me: Does anyone want this last chicken foot? *yum
Ch: I'll eat it!
Me: wtf!?
N (in a distinguished English accent): YOU bitch.

Me: Just wait til you get your face mashed by someone's lips.
A: I wish.

B: Nay... joe-gun meh-ah? hehe

CP: She has those...GOOD VALUES I would say.

oh, and did I mention, i returned home yesterday to find a huge pile of shit (literally) in my bed? Yes, it was Max. That ungrateful bastard!!!!

Dutch WCs: Odour incubators

2005-07-22T09:49:00.000+02:00

At work, there are 2 stalls in the bathroom, both with doors that go all the way up to the ceiling and leave only a tiny crack at the bottom. Once inside the stall, there is a (relatively) strong lock that seals you inside this solitary room that fits a single toilet. Most 'WC's (water closets) are built this way, they are, literally, closets, where you are fully enclosed to take in the nastiest odours, produced by yours truly (YOU, not me, well... me too. hehe)

The toilets are structured this way for privacy's sake, something the Dutch favour highly. Since they are the most densely populated country in the world, they really like to build walls (both physically and psychologically!) If by chance you were to run out of toilet paper, you're on your own, there is no way you could ask your next door neighbour to pass you a few squares. Luckily, this has never happened to me before.

Anyway, everytime I go into the bathroom and there is someone who just came out, it is always a toss-up which door I should go into. Behind one door is a fresh, fragrant stall that has not been used for at least 10 minutes. The other door, however, is guaranteed to reek of recent rising wafts of stank from whatever the previous person was doing. The key here is not to offend the person who is currently washing their hands. So.. sometimes even though it is obvious which stall should be chosen (from listening to where the post-flush noise is coming from), I would have to go into the not so pleasant option.

...I don't call them odour incubators for no reason. *gag*

Call me Yuschenko

2005-07-20T16:09:00.000+02:00

ahhhhh my face is changing!! somebody help me!!! its bumpy, its itchy, its red... i'm turning into victor yushenko!! have i been poisoned?? what the hell's going on!?!?!?

after a bout of deep thinking...I came to realise that I must be allergic to cats!!

See, it only started after we got Max and Kiek (meet Max below), and they have been playing around/sleeping in my room a bit, so yea, all of a sudden, I am allergic to cat dander. My boss confirmed that she also got allergies upon coming to Amsterdam, and then another Dutchie said to me that he also got new allergies when he moved to Amsterdam. So, there must be something about this city...

My stomach has a heartbeat

2005-07-19T14:42:00.000+02:00

Sitting in front of my computer at work on this Tuesday afternoon, I realise I have just stuffed myself with a cup of chocolate vla (aka pudding), a large crisp apple, several cough drops, and 500 ml of water.. all this after a lunch of bread w/ 2 slices old cheese, fruit salad, and a cup of soup.

Feeling already like a blimp, I looked down at my pink tank top-wrapped stomach 5 mins ago to find that it was beating rhythmically in a dooown-UP!-dooown-UP! fashion. If it could talk, it would probably say "(gargle) more food, MORE!!! glub-glub-glub"

Ugh! Must. Stop. Eating!!!

Our Monochromatic Friend - Max

2005-07-17T21:08:00.000+02:00

Max

Max likes to sit around. He is laid back, calm and quiet. He has a black triangle on his nose that makes him look like a koala. And his paws prints are perfectly inked in black. I like Max. He is our visitor until mid-August when his owner (and our colleague) comes back from his honeymoon.

Wholesome Swimwear

2005-07-15T09:58:00.000+02:00

Watch out Sports Illustrated swimsuit models, these 3 ladies (especially Ms. Slimming Swimmer with a mullet and mustache) might take over the scene!

From www.wholesomewear.com:

"WholesomeWear is a modest line of clothing for "wherever." Our WaterWear is the first to be introduced because the need for modesty in swimwear is greatest and the supply is almost non-existant. Swimwear that "highlights the face, rather than the body" includes an undergarment with bright colours at the neck and shoulders to draw attention to the face. "

What the hell? Let's see them wear that in 30+ degree weather!

NAPOLI pt.2

2005-07-13T23:37:00.000+02:00

Fond memories of Napoli...

the hot sun
the sandy beaches
the blue sky
the piles of garbage on the streets
the vespas/scooters racing around
the mini-buses
the crazy driving
the flirting romantic men
the HOT men
the Jesse Metcalfe look-alike
the quick-melting gelato
the half cooked pastas
the little sauces
the scorching heat
wet backpack straps from our sweat :P

It was an awesome time in Naples ... We didn't do the usual tourist thing like visit all the sites and stuff, but hung out with a really cool bunch of people: the AIESEC Napoli Parthenope crew. They included Giulio (thanks for hosting us!!), Franco, Bianca, Camilla, Maria, Anarosa, Luigi & Co., etc. and I will never forget any of you! It was so nice of them to just let us tag along with them the whole weekend. :) With them, we went to downtown Napoli, a cool beach club in Napoli, Sorrento, and the island of Ischia. Me and Ching-Yin also visited the archaeological site of Pompei, where it was so hot we nearly melted into the sand ourselves.

It's true that Italian men are very romantic (*cough*horny*cough*). They don't beat around the bush and they dont' waste time when it comes to hitting on girls. If they like you (which doesnt necessarily have to be beyond surface levels), they'll tell you or show you, depending on how brash he is. It seems that in their minds, there's no use in playing those silly mind games because you're only really wasting time. Think, if everyone just said "I like you" and that person liked them back, hook-ups could happen in a matter of minutes rather than weeks. And that's exactly how it happens in Napoli. ;)

So... lesson learned: Don't waste time and just show your feelings, if you're lucky enough to have any. Hehe.

<--real Napoli Margherita pizza sold by the metre!

Fly, woman, fly!

2005-07-13T09:25:00.000+02:00

Apparently these images are too abrasive for bank communications, due to the fact that they are: -funny, -energetic, -different, -eyecatching, -cool, -inspiring, etc.

I ask myself everyday:

What am I doing here?

NAPOLI

2005-07-11T10:57:00.000+02:00

We are sitting in the AIESEC Napoli Parthenope office right now and just chilling out. it is amazing how similar all the aiesec offices are around the world. here there is enough space for maybe 10 people to squish, 2 computers, flags from all over the world covering the walls and ceilings, certificates, and a tshirt on the wall with the familiar line: its cool to be..its cool to be an lcp...

its been amazing the whole weekend. we hung out with 2 ceeders from germany and denmark, and a whole bunch of lc members as well and they all were so keen to take us around and party too. we went to the beach several times and oh oops our host is telling me to go now, back into the scorching sun and its time for me to get some more gelato and a nice pasta lunch.. mmm cant wait!!!!!!!! back to write when theres time.. take care everyone!

Invincible no more

2005-07-06T18:08:00.000+02:00

You think you're indestructible, you think you're invincible, you think nothing can stop you, until you hit something and DIE.

It goes something like this: While driving, or riding a bicycle, you tend to have those 'close calls', those times when you wonder 'How the hell did I get through that small space without scraping my car on both sides' or 'woa that was close' or something along those lines. Well I had always been a lil cocky in my car/on my bike. I would go dangerously close behind cars (aka tailgating) or swerve around on my bicycle without knowing how the hell i'd get between parked cars and moving cars on my sides, truck mirrors inches from my face as I sped by, getting stuck in tram tracks, the works. Somehow, I always made it thru.

Last night, I learned I am not always so lucky.

I was carrying Ching-Yin on the back of my bike, making a left turn and I saw a girl riding her bike straight, so somehow I thought she would speed up so I could go pass behind her as she rode by, but she DIDNT, and I ran full speed into her back wheel for a full on bike collision. What happened next was a blur: The bike tipped over, I flew off and hit the pavement with my palms and left knee, I hear Ching-Yin going "are u okay are u okay????" and suddenly I'm on my back staring into the starless Amsterdam sky.

At this point I look down and see a TEAR in my jeans on my left knee (and think, o great now Sofie is going to think I copied her ripped jeans look) but how cool is that?? I ACTUALLY RIPPED A HOLE IN MY JEANS FROM A REAL INJURY!! now THATs authentic hardcore!!! :D But looking beyond the tear, I see scraped skin and some blood. :( Anyway my bike seemed to be okay after a kick in the back by Ching-Yin, and now I am hobbling around like a cripple.

I learned my lesson though, I never thought I'd actually hit anything/anyone.. but it happens. I'll TRY to be more careful.. but yea who am I kidding.. hehe.

Cool people

2005-06-29T16:44:00.000+02:00

When you're abroad, you tend to meet a lot of people you would never otherwise come across in your lifetime. Some of them you don't quite notice too much, but others have a bigger impact on you and your perception of the world and of people in general.

For example, before coming abroad on my traineeship, I had never met a 'real' Swede, Uruguayan, or Austrian (not to be confused with Australia). All I knew about Sweden was that they shipped their ice hockey players to our teams, about Uruguay - Homer Simpsons 'U R GAY', and Austria - Ahnold Schwarzeneggar, of course.

I find it so enriching (yes fancy wording) to meet people whom I know nothing about, who are from a place where I can't even really imagine what it's like to have a life there. You would think they are very different but the biggest realisation for me was how much the US has influenced the world, in terms of pop culture for instance.

My Swedish roommate is an avid viewer of "Nip Tuck" and "The OC", there is a German trainee claims to be a 'movie expert' and you can take that as truth becuz he just knows so damn many movies (out of Hollywood), my Hungarian roommate is big into brands like Puma and Diesel, and the now very famous Austrian coworker of mine probably knows more lyrics to 50cent's Candy Shop than I do (he definitely has the moves down).

Sometimes it's hard to make a connection with people who are from completely different backgrounds. If you happen to have nothing in common, that's one thing, but if it happens you do, sometimes it's a language barrier that makes one person have less of a personality. Then, you also need to overcome the 'superficial conversations' that are inevitable when you have too many acquaintances from all different parts of the world. The topics never stray far from: the weather, how long you've been here, when your contract ends, where you are from and what it's like there. Repeat 20x and see if you like meeting new people anymore.

That's why it's so nice to meet people that, despite coming from a totally different background and maybe mother tongue, you are able to connect with, on a deeper level of understanding and conversation. Surprisingly, I found this in a thin, willowy Austrian fellow. I've always been a fan of wise, intellectual (yet sickly funny) folk and I have to say that he is one of them.

So here's to you Chris, the guy who can:

talk forever on philosophical topics, financial topics, relational topics, u name it, all the while interspersed w/ "Ja", "I mean" or "To be honest"..
shake his butt like no man has ever (wanted to) seen
squint to have smaller eyes than Asians themselves
match his eye colour to his hair
get the attention of everyone in the clubs with his swaying 'loose hips'

Take care, u'll be missed!

Beach boobies

2005-06-19T23:38:00.000+02:00

"They have my size!!"

hehe. The last weekend has been crazy hot in Amsterdam and pretty much all of Holland, with temperatures in the low to mid 30's (celsius). Supposedly, this rarely happens in the mostly cloudy Netherlands, where it's said that you only need two seasons of clothing: winter and fall. Therefore, at the first glimpse of sunlight, you can expect to find a Dutchie in shorts.

So, on Sunday, me and Sofie went to Zandvoort, the same place as our beach party a few weeks back, but this time, to get some serious tanning done. I didn't bring any sunscreen, thinking that compared to the average fair person I had really strong skin that could stand up to the blistering sun, but was I ever wrong. I am SO burnt. Not only that, but I have the ugliest tanline on my back, cuz as I was lying on my stomach, the little string around my skirt had shifted itself to lie right across my back, so now I have a striped back. :P It hurts to move now owww, my shoulders!!

The view on the beach was quite interesting as well. There are lil tarps everywhere and beach chairs, and if you happen to take one of them, someone will come around to collect 8 euros from you for using them. There are also people who walk around asking you if you'd like any drinks, and they will deliver them to you after running back to their shops on the boardwalk. Aside from that, a LOT of women were *gasp* topless! Okay, so I AM in Europe.. but I guess I just didn't expect to see that really. The last time I was in Europe (in 1995 w/ my parents on a bus tour) I remember going to a pebbly beach and us all gawking at ONE woman with her top off. This time, they were everywhere!

You'd think it'd be some kinda heaven for guys wouldn't you, but let me tell you, I'd think again. There are women of all ages there, of all shades of tans, and some really should get out of the sun (they're nearly orange or black!!). Their 'assets' are of all shapes, triangular, round, droopy, wrinkly, you name it, its there. And the weirdest thing was, me and Sofie were saying, it'd be okay if they're just lying there, doing nothing but laying still, but these women were doing everything from walking, running, playing volleyball, and splashing around in the water. We weren't used to it at all. :P Oh, and the worst thing I saw has got to be this woman with huuuuuge breasts, and her nipples were like the size of my palms! (For anyone who's reading this who actually has nipples that size, I apologize in advance, please do not take any personal offense to this. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, it's just have never seen anything like that before.) :P

busted!

2005-06-15T19:22:00.000+02:00

Today I arrived at the company gym to find a notification on my locker door. It said something like, "lockers are not for personal use, yada yada yada.." :P Yea, I have been keeping my shower stuff in there for months now, but I guess they finally noticed...

So before my workout, I removed the notice and stuck it onto the locker beside mine (hehe) and went on my way. However, after I returned from my workout, I was shocked to find that the notice was returned to MY locker once again!! So whoever did it probably knew I was in the gym, and pinpointed me (dammit!) Aiya.. Looks like I might have to keep moving around to different lockers, or finally remove my stuff :P

The gym lockers.

cookies are simple

2005-06-12T21:57:00.000+02:00

THIS is a chocolate chip cookie. It is perfect, with its generous amount of chocolate chips poking thru the surface, the bronze clumps of cooked, crispy sugar, the buttery goodness wrapped inside the sugar shell...can u say Mmmmm????

It's rainy days like these when such a cookie makes me wish that life was just as easy as making a chocolate chip cookie. You put in the pre-determined measured amounts of each ingredient, bake it at the right temperature for the exact amount of time, and out pops just what you were expecting: sweet, perfect pieces of absolute heaven.

I guess I'm at that stage of my life where there's just so much to decide that I wish someone would just tell me what to do, and I could be happy with it. Right now, I really have no freakin clue. :P

The things I do at work...

2005-05-27T02:01:00.000+02:00

So, I'm supposed to post news articles up on the company intranet at work, and I get all kinds of submissions from around the world. This particular one came from Pakistan, some kind of client event.

Somehow while I was arranging pictures and text, this came about:

I could've been really mean and left it like this, heheeh, but after laughing manically for 3 minutes I decided to be nice and rearrange. Pretty cool effect it has tho, EH?! ;) haha

Beach Party

2005-05-23T22:40:00.000+02:00

Me, Christian, Sofie and Nico

^Picture is from a beach party we went to on Friday nite at Zandvoort. There was an all-you-can-eat BBQ (!!!) and open bar, hehe. Needless to say, many drinks were had! This pic was before our drinking started :)

Went for a long run today, was pretty relaxing just chugging along. The first time I ran 2 laps around the lake (total 12km) my heart felt like it shuffled up my throat at the halfway point, but these days I just get a sore knee a little bit.

Its pretty cool running for longer periods cuz after a while, the mind just blanks out and I find myself suddenly thinking "o cool i'm all the way here now" and then really looking at my surroundings. Hope I dont run off into unknown territory one day, thatd be kinda dangerous!

Around the lake, there are lotsa people walking, biking, rollerblading, etc. It's actually really beautiful, I should take pics :) There are also interesting sights, such as the Turkish/Moroccan women who run in groups of 2 or 3 dressed in a full black cloak and head wrap, wearing extra layers of course, and then some young fat boy who's also running in a puffy jacket (what's up with that? it's like 20 degrees out!) The Turkish/Moroccan men also walk around in black drapery and large groups, looking quite threatening.. and then there are the groups of giant geese who stare at me while I run by, some of them shuffling into my path as if to say "feed me!!", hehe. They're kinda cute, but I imagine they could probably peck me apart if they really wanted to, there are like 20 of them together all the time. :P

but yea, these days, its always nice weather in the evenings after we get off work, and its going to get up to 27'Celsius in the next few days!!

2005-05-12T21:19:00.000+02:00

Two Polish old ladies on a street in Gdansk, so cute!

Queens Day and more...

2005-05-03T22:56:00.000+02:00

Woo its been busy!

Last weekend was Queen's Day in Holland, which is the biggest party of the year in the Netherlands. It's pretty much equivalent to Canada Day in Canada, cept add a lot more drunkenness all over the place. Everyone from all over Holland comes into Amsterdam for the celebrations, wearing orange and ready to party all (night and) day and night on April 30 2005.

So yea, there were people packed all over the place, where you literally had to shove and push and move at a snails pace down the road, DJs playing music at every corner, people buying cups and cups of beer, outdoor dance parties, street stalls selling everything from junk to homemade space cookies, etc. We spent the day pretty much walking around, stopping to find out where people have drifted off to, walking more, dancing a bit, grabbing drinks, people-watching, street food sampling, and repeat all of the above several times. :)

Anyway it was a good time, cept for people who kept stepping on my already bruised toe (oww!) and the crowdedness (to be expected) and the inconvenience of getting alcohol (too crowded to move to and from the beer stall, plus it was expensive!!).

---
Touched for the very first time...(by a ghetto-woman)

Here's one to remember. Me and Ching-Yin were walking under the metro station where I parked my bike when I did my usual look over the shoulder to see if anyone was behind us who could be a potential threat. Looking back, I saw three black girls (trendily dressed in a bandana, leather jacket, tight jeans, etc.) who were eyeing me too. The "leader of the pack" seemed to have a sly sneer on her face, but I looked away and kept walking towards my bike. Suddenly, they were much closer and passing to my left, still sneering at me, when the pack leader reached out and touched my ass(!!!!!!!!!!!). I looked at her and (dont ask me why) SMILED a polite smile, as if to say 'Hi'.. and then I looked at Ching-Yin who was also giving me quite the surprised look. Then, the girl went and touched Ching-Yin's ass too (!!!), the very same way, and then the three girls walked forth still giggling and sneering. We were like.. WTF!!!?!?!?!!?! inside, but outside, we could do no more than SMILE. I couldnt believe us. What the hell!!

I wasn't so much disturbed that a random girl touched my ass than I was disturbed that we could not defend ourselves. I mean, after the incident, I was thinking of all the things we could've done, such as maybe raise my hands out to my sides and bluff a fight pose ("BRINNNG IT ONNNNN, BIATCH!!!!"), do the drunken chicken/praying mantis kung fu moves I'd seen on TV, slap the girl in the face, or at least swear at them, but what did I do?? Smile. So, it seems that, even tho I am armed with pepper spray, I will probably most likely die from an attacker with a very polite smile on my face. Hrm. We really gotta train our reflexes better Ching-Yin. Let's practice next time. For realz.

---
A quick update

Well it will be a while again for me to update cuz I'm going to Warsaw tomorrow on a 14 hr train. We'll be in Warsaw for 2 days, then visiting a friend in Lodz, then two days in the north of Poland (Gdansk/Sopot), where I will be frolicking around in the Aquapark with all the saunas, whirlpools and waterslides and massages, and then back to Warsaw before we take another all-day train home to Amsterdam. Woohoo, it will be nice to get away from work, it's been WAY too busy. I am too stressed for my own good. Ai...

"I'm a bad grandma!!"

2005-04-25T21:44:00.000+02:00

Hehe, just thought I'd share one of my favourite ads I've seen so far in the Netherlands. I haven't found it online yet but if anyone has it, let me know, it is soo funny!!

So its an ad for skittles, and first you see a teenage boy visiting his grandma and grandpa in their living room. The teen offers them skittles on a tray, and after the seniors have had a taste, the grandmother jumps out of her couch, while grandpa starts scratching the turntable that he's sitting next to, and grandma starts rapping, "I'm a bad grandma!!! Busting moves, to SHOCK YA!" and as she says 'shock ya', she's taken off her white knitted cardigan and flashed her grandson! Then you see the shock on the grandson's face while his grandma is just frozen there with her hands out to her sides holding her sweater open, and then the teen gets up quickly with a blanket to cover his grandma's chest.. Hahhahahahahahah!! it is SO funny i love it!!

Funny tho, when I was searching for the ad online, I found so many opinions about the ad where people hate it, and they think its just the worst thing ever to promote such a relationship between grandma and grandson.. but cmon, lighten up!! it is great!! :D heheheh.

Bruised toenails

2005-04-25T21:28:00.000+02:00

Why is it that when you finally have the discipline to stick to doing something, external factors suddenly arise that make it nearly impossible for you to do what you were really going to do?? In my case, I was determined to really run everyday for an hour, and after I did it for the first time in a long time last week when my heart nearly stopped (!!!), I was just getting used to it and now I am cursed w/ a hurting bruised toenail.

It probably doesn't sound very pretty but its just a small bruise on my second toe of my right foot, under the nail. It's not very noticeable but OMG DOES IT HURT!! The slightest pressure on it makes me cringe and I had no idea how I got it (usually you have to stub your toe on something like a table or chair leg)... so I used the handy google at work to search it up and this is what I found:

*All you ever wanted to know about bruised toenails*

Maybe it's time to get new shoes! Argh.. I just cant wait for it to heal...the dumbest thing is that i'll probably always have it as long as i keep running.... and i can't believe such a small thing could keep me from running, damn.. I actually thought it would be safe to bike but then as I was getting on my bike today I jammed my foot (and injured toe) right into the metal frame @#$@#!! so... it was a no-go after all with the biking... guess I'll just rest for a bit :p

"Ni Hao!!"

2005-04-21T22:01:00.000+02:00

I shoulda known better than to stretch on a street corner after my run today. Thinking that I lived in a neighborhood of seniors and that they rarely looked out their windows, I usually cooled down after jogs around the lake by walking up and down my block and doing some stretching. Today was no different. It was a sunny day and I was doing a typical runners stretch where you stand with your feet apart and lean over to one side and stick your butt in the air with one leg bent, when suddenly I heard a car pull up behind me.

"LEKKER blablah!! blahblahblah... LEKKER blahblah!!.. Ni Hao!! Ni Hao!!! LEKKER!!!!"

After the first time he said 'lekker' (which means yummy in Dutch) I kinda assumed he could only have been meaning one thing... I looked over my shoulder and saw a 20-something young man in a car!! Needless to say, I quickly got out of my stretch and walked even more quickly to my front door. AHHH!!! What a sick perve!!! does he really expect people to respond to a generic 'ni hao'??? at least learn something else in Chinese!!! What is he doing in a senior neighborhood!?!? It's not safe anymore, o noooo.. but I was lucky he drove away and didnt follow me to my door, phew!!

Angry thoughts in the metro

2005-04-20T10:32:00.001+02:00

"Damn you and your wide body. Why do you have to stand RIGHT in the doorway so that it's even harder for people to get in and out!?"

"Ugh! can't you cover your flegm-filled cough instead of spraying a billion germs into the already stagnant air in here??"

"Wutchu lookin' at? Huh? HUH?"

"Is this pole engraved w/ your name? Yea thats right it's NOT! So stop leaning your entire body on it and give people some space to hold onto!"

"Why are these metro seats made out of hard plastic!?!! I can't slouch and sit back without sliding off my chair, dammit."

"Muahaha. Enjoy the fragrance, you sitting person. *fsssssst..."

Disclaimer: Of course Im not always this angry, bitter or evil (really!!). But consider this: it's 630am, freezing, I've just rolled out of bed in my workout clothes, my ass hurts from the bike riding to the metro stn, i have really bad hair and bug eyes, and all I want to do is sleep. in this condition, just about anything can annoy me!! grrr!!!!!!

Relaxing weekend...

2005-04-17T11:53:00.000+02:00

It was so nice this past weekend to have nothing planned. The best feeling is waking up whenever it feels right and knowing there is nothing I have to do! :) So this weekend, I ended up watching 3 different movies, the most I've ever seen in such a short time I think... Friday I watched Stepmom, Saturday I watched The Pianist (WOW) and Sunday I watched Moulin Rouge (finally).

my cinnzeo ripoffs ;)

On Saturday, I had an urge to bake so I made cinnamon buns. It was the first time I ever made a 'bread' thing with real YEAST and somehow it feels like I've achieved another milestone in womanhood. Much like the first day you put on a (training) bra, making bread just feels like I've entered another stage of life :P I had always avoided it because it seemed so complicated, with the yeast having to be in a certain temperature water n allowed to rise, etc. but actually it wasn't that difficult and it turned out really yummy :) mmm.. hungry now..

Anyway, my fave movie of this weekend was definitely The Pianist. For those who haven't seen it, it's about a well-known Polish pianist who went thru the Holocaust in Warsaw and actually survived. It was so sad, to see him run around town and hideaway on his own, in his diminished form... I couldnt imagine having that will to survive after having gone thru so much and seen so much. But somehow, he lived on and survived. I'm even more interested in seeing Warsaw now after seeing the movie. (Me and a few friends will go to Warsaw in the first weekend of May!)

2005-04-17T11:52:00.000+02:00

"Fried rice w/ chicken leg"