2008

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.

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!!

'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??

"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?

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

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

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

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

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**!

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

"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

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

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...

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

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...

...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...

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!

'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

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

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!