Wednesday afternoon...definitely not easy like Sunday morning...

Now that's not to say that the day has been incredibly difficult, but I was looking for an excuse to include that well-adored Commadores favourite in a Blog title and this seemed as good an opportunity as any. That song has gained some significance as of late, thanks to time in Barcelona and playful banter between two good friends becoming better, building a framework of inside jokes and times between just "the two", good and difficult, that a lifetime of friendship is built on. Yes, I am sentimental today but missing people and can't help it. Missing, worrying, wondering, hoping...

Adding to my sentimentality is the fact that I visited the IKEA website today and purely accidentally came across posters they are selling, I imagine now in almost every IKEA around the world, of photographs taken by someone I actually know. And not just someone I know, but someone who occupied a significant amount of mental space throughout 3 of 4 years in pharmacy school, not to mention the major reason for my unfathomable budget for eating outside the home during that time (but the FOOD WAS SO GOOD! Let us take a moment to mourn the loss of the Grilled Greek, Veggie Sushi and Orchid Martinis as a former favourite restaurant was transformed into a sushi bar...). So many memories coming back, which is extremely bizarre as just last night the same wash of nostalgia came over me while watching (one of the best) reruns of SATC. Springtime 2002, me, Siyao, Sade, SATC, Mr. T, pharmacy....it is also unfathomable that it is 4 years since that time, and I am living my dream across the Pond, Siyao is married, and someone who used to mix my martinis (shaken, both me and the drink) is now an internationally recognized photographer for a Swedish furniture icon.

You never, EVER know what's going to happen next, do you? I always thought that there MUST be something to the fascination I held throughout those years, wondered why, speculated, pined, imagined...all the while those closest ready to check me into a room with padded walls (as I was significantly affecting THEIR eating-outside-the-home budget as well hehehehe). But, who knows why...

But now I at least have gained the wisdom to focus on those who reciprocate, and am therefore most happy for. If I take inventory of Then and Now, there are few who remain on the list of Top 10, but that, I suppose, is an inherent facet of life, and I wouldn't trade ANY of Now for the One of Then.

I sure could go for an Orchid martini and veggie sushi though...Colleen??

one week ago..already..

One week ago already...I miss that time...very, very much...

PostBlog: If you enjoyed this fabulous shot, you may enjoy many more like it at

http://myrz-pics.smugmug.com/gallery/984214 !

TAKE COVER!!!!

SWEET ONION CHUTNEY....we are experiencing today the most insane weather I have ever seen here in The Netherlands. I mean, yes, there have been days of sideways rain and gale force winds and hail pellets, but today takes the cake. It takes ALL the cakes as there has not been one moment since I awoke that the hail has not been pounding on the windows and the wind not blowing at literally 90km/hour. I have taken shelter in the comfort of my own office, huddled by the heater and mentally stockpiling those little cookies they serve with the coffee in case we have to batten down the hatches and spend the night. IT'S INSANE! (Editor's Note: I still believe it is better than the -19 in Winnipeg right now)

And not only is it just downright Les Miserable at the Tony Award winning level, it also means that for the sake of comfort (and safety, at this point, as I see tree branches careen down the street and car alarms go off from the hail) I will not be going to Utrecht tonight to do my presentation, which also means I will not be seeing BH90210, who I haven't seen in weeks and, quite frankly, miss bunches. Oh sure, the daily emails and sms' do well to keep the quotient up, but it's not the same. But I can barely muster up the intention to venture out the door to the bus stop never mind to Utrecht.

I have decided that starting Monday I am going to begin an overall health and cleansing process in preparation for what will surely be an extremely gastronomically indulgent holiday season. As such, I will exercise (but how can I do more than I already do? My legs would fall off I'm sure), drink more water (hmmm, already floating away at 2 litres a day...), cut down on the caffeine (except for tablets, and one cup in the morning, and maybe one at dinner...), eat more organics and fruit and vegetables (what else do I eat now? not much) and take care of my skin (are 4 different post-shower lotions and creams not enough?). So basically I will carry on status-quo in hopes that the intention alone is enough to make me feel better without having to alter that which can hardly be altered.

(WE REALLY MUST HEAD TO THE BOMB SHELTER - XH's tree has no leaves left)

On the mind constantly is GP, who is still so very very sad. Have been in contact all week for both work and otherwise and sent what I hope is a smile-inspiring care package to his home of our weekend photos and a cd of music teasing him about is second career as magazine model (it could happen, have you seen the man?) containing such ground breaking runway hits as I'm Too Sexy, Vogue, Work It (I LOVE RuPaul!) and the all time and very apropos favourite, Es Tao Boa. I hope it makes him laugh. Spoke to him last night....was not so well, and again I crumbled.

A few potentially significant developments have also come about regarding living arrangements. Could be a very interesting time to come.

At any rate, have a few tasks to finish this afternoon and want to finish earlier rather than later despite being meteorologically denied a trip to BH90210-ville. *sigh* weather, the ultimate out-of-control entity.

Barcelona...looking back, and moving on, for two

I can't believe it's been almost a week since my last Post, which is probably a Blog Absence record on my part. Couldn't be helped really, as the weekend offered no opportunity and have been swamped playing catch up since I got back. Even today after 12 hours in front of a computer screen I am still stealing time from something else that should be done right now. But whatever, it's almost 11 and I have definitely put in my time today.

I am not one to adopt cliches readily, but that ubiquitous Dickensonian prologue of torn emotion could not be more apropros when it comes to my weekend away; however this time it was a mere tale of one city, and it most certainly was the best of times, and the worst of times.

The city itself was still beautiful, and I got to see many more tucked away places than I had last time as I was staying with someone who has lived there for 6 years. It was very funny, as we would pass places I used to go to all the time and that he goes to all the time we started to wonder if we had ever been in the same place at the same time before and dared to think that are paths had previously crossed and tempted a twist in fate. But we will never know, will we?

Unfortunately my purpose there was not so much for exploration and fun but to offer some company and comfort to someone who truly needed it. It was perhaps the saddest weekend I have ever spent with someone, although peppered with great laughs and a bit of fun and enriched with the experience of feeling yourself get closer to someone because they need you, and grow stronger yourself because someone needs you to. I watched my friend ache, and I ached; I watched a good person be a better person despite having a more than reasonable claim to the opposite; and I hope I took care of someone as best as I could, offered tokens of happiness in the form of meaningful things and thoughts and a shoulder and an ear. Even now I am most sad for him...

But it was beautiful there and so many memories came back. It was much different to be there in the winter, and somehow, over the course of the weekend...I became...ONE OF THEM! Yes, there it was, fifteen degrees and yours truly, supposed hardy stock from Canada, was decked out in a scarf and 3 layers and closed toed shoes. I would pretend to be sorry if it didn't mean I was just becoming more and more acclimatised to la vie en Europe ; ) We walked and walked, to breakfast to 3-hour-2-bottle of wine lunches to 4 hour dinners, sometimes talking sometimes not. Through it all I have made a most special friend that I hope to see so much more of (much time to be spent throughout the holidays - I now have a New Year's date!), work more with, and look forward to a potential adventure post-Congress in Brazil. I hope the little things nudge him towards feeling better, or at least to the more fun stage of bitterness where we can plot the torturous suffering of our enemies hehehehehe.

I'm tired, although logged more hours of sleep this weekend than any in recent history, despite hitting what I'm sure was a significant fraction of the gay bars in Barcelona!

Good times...and there will be more, and better, and it WILL all be for the absolute best...if anyone, I know.

a return to where it all began

What a day it's been...too long and involved to get into here but I am MORE excited than ever to take flight tomorrow and return to the city that first gave light to life in Europe. I am SO excited that I actually have butterflies in my tummy! WHEEE! All the memories are coming back to me, what it was like to be there and meet the people I met and experience what all of us North Americans consider THE right of passage: a summer in Europe!

It's a good thing I still have plenty to do when I get home tonight as I am sure I would just be sitting around jittering and waiting for time to pass...I don't know how I will ever sleep.

This anxiousness is due in part, I am sure, to seeing first hand how someone I adore is doing in light of life-rocking news, in hopes that I am able to provide some sort of comfort and fun.

AND I get to be on a plane again!! I LOVE FLYING! I LOVE AIRPORTS!! It all means you are embarking on or returning from a journey, and I am never one to pass up THAT chance.

THIS JUST IN FROM CBC WEATHER

It is now not only blizzarding BUT 24 DEGREES BELOW ZERO IN WINNIPEG MWAA HA HA HA HAAAAA!

*contented sigh*...you know sometimes life gives you little hints that you have made the right decisions, and this is merely one that I have been fortunate enough to receive today. Upwards and onwards I say!

let it snow let it snow let it snow...just not HERE!

Well, it seems as though Winter has descended in many Northernly Hemisphered parts of the globe and although our current meteorological Dutch forecast looks rather bleak (oooh, 9 degrees, CHILLY hehehehe) we can all be thankful we are not from whence I came, as upon chatting to those back in the Great White North it is apparently very white and not so great at the moment: big snowstorm hit Winnipeg and surrounding areas, which is pretty much on par for this time of year. WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE I am doing one of those "the hills are alive with the sound of music" I'm-so-happy dances (or was) around the living space that I am NOT THERE and will go an ENTIRE WINTER SEASON WITHOUT A CANADIAN WINTER! I say this a LOT, and I am sure those who spend any considerable time with me are quite tired of hearing it, but it's only because they don't understand what I have escaped. People from There always say, oh, but all this cold and snow is better than having it rainy like in Vancouver...HOOEY I SAY! And go on boldly being able to wear only a vest and sweater throughout the entire "cold" season. One more reason why I love it here.

Must not Post too long this AM lest I lose the kick to, well, kick but had to get that down on some virtual paper.

Work has been all consuming this week (all two days of it, ha ha!) but hope to be back to blog when the developments of the day warrant it. Which of course means when I think of more pointless drivel to purge into cyberspace!

Something to be excited about: 2 DAYS TILL BARCA!

in nature randomness is a pattern

Which is theory that could most definitely be applied to my sleeping habits at the moment, as I bipolarly flip-flop from one night falling asleep at 23h00 and remaining so until 09h00 the next morning to barely being able to catch 3 consecutive horas without *zing*ing awake. I have tried to link said irregularities to caffeine consumption but have yet to find a causal relationship. So here it is, 8am on a Sunday morning and me wide awake already having the pre-Tae Bo coffee. I hope tomorrow I do not pay for today with the high cost of fatigue.

Had a very low-key weekend this far, and really didn't mind in the least as am still under a small cloud of unwellness, however today feel much improved. Part of this malaise is surely due to the concern over previously mentioned friend and the so-sad news that has since tainted our communication. But I will see him on Friday, and the days can't go by fast enough. The weekend will be surrounded by quite a different atmosphere than originally planned, but would never think of not going.

I foresee the afternoon being most enjoyable with a trip to Delft (in a CAR!) for a Gathering of the People, which has seemingly materialized into a Sunday tradition, at least for the past three. Which means it has been three weeks since Porto...(which I still think about every day). People often get to a certain point in their lives and wonder where all the time went, how it went by so fast without them being able to permanently capture or give meaning to more of it. Even I, barely to meet quarter-life never mind mid, wonder how it all goes so fast, despite adopting the determination to fill as many minutes/hours/days/weeks with that and those I deem of importance to personal fulfillment.

And in preparation for another one of those times, ie the trip to Barca next weekend, I will spend a part of the day in an attempt to undue the damage done to my weekend luggage by Portugalia airlines, although considering there is a gaping hole where plastic used to be and a half-attached wheel, I face a considerable challenge. I was fully intending to purchase a new piece of weekend luggage yesterday but found nothing incredibly suitable save for a somewhat trendy Esprit wheelie tote...had it been in pink I would have snatched it up, but the rather bold chartreuse canvas just wasn't screaming at me. Well, maybe it was, but it was saying "I'M AN ICKY COLOUR AND YOU WISH I WAS IN PINK" so I moved on.

Speaking of which, time for me to do the same as as much I as would like it to Tae Bo is not going to be of any use from my position in this chair.

some things make you smile instantly...

...like getting on the bus and hearing "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" on the radio, perhaps THE pinnacle good-times song of the 80's. Ahhh George and Andrew, you WHAM!ed your way into our hearts and never quite left, did you? Even the bus driver was whistling along. I half expected all of us on board to break into song and dance somewhat reminiscent of Club Tropicana, with the girls snapping their fingers and the young Dutch studmuffin students in the background muttering "jitterbug" then ripping off their Diesel jackets to reveal cut-offs and half ripped "CHOOSE LIFE" t-shirts. Ahhhh, those were the days.

And you know what ELSE MAKES YOU SMILE INSTANTLY??? ROBBIE WILLIAMS TICKETS!!!!!!!! Thanks in WHOLE to good friend B, I AM GOING TO SEE ROBBIE WILLIAMS, AMSTERDAM RAI! Standing tickets are ordered, which necessitates that the whole day be taken off work in order to secure a place in line that best puts one in the position of beating off the young, Barbie-esque competitors threatening my front row access to M. Williams, who will for SURE see me in the audience and invite me on stage to dance a la Courtney Cox in Bruce Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark video (wow the 80's are alive and kicking on the Blog today). Then of course he will realise I am what has been missing in his life and I will be forced (?) to leave FIP and join him on the road only to be later offered my own ludicrously successful sitcom in which 20-something New Yorkers - OH WAIT, LONDONERS! - live in brightly painted SoHo lofts none of them could ever afford in real life.

HEY IT COULD HAPPEN.

Web-Site Guy is here, must painfully remove myself from the fantasy and go to a meeting.

PostBlog: After hearing word that the tickets were OURS spent the rest of the night literally dreaming of being at the concert. At one point Robbie had a girl on stage and said "Myriah is SO much better at Karaoke" MWAA HA HA HA HA. I woke up and had to laugh...at myself : D

take comfort in the little things

Okay, there were no bubbles, no champagne nor strawberries, and Robbie has yet to emerge, but there were the softest DKNY velour towels you could ever imagine, still fluffy and Bounce-y fresh from their first washing - and most importantly DRYING! - immediately after purchase in Winnipeg.

Ahhh, I love Winners, bringing you the latest in home fashion, just a little late.

een sla met kip zonder spek

Mmmm satisfied a major craving tonight and headed over to Augustus for the above, my favourite dish. Granted there are other more extravagant things on the menu, a great specialty being the chicken tortilla, but I usually stick to this standard to satisfy the veg quotient of the day. Although next time may treat myself to the mexican fiesta...it's so huge you need not eat for days afterward.
Cannot pinpoint a viral nor allergic origin but am suffering sever nasal congestion today with eyes and nose running a marathon. I cand breed dru by doze (I can't breath through my nose). I feel like I've been inhaling cat fur all day.

Received word of some very heartbreaking news about a good friend. I feel for him wholeheartedly and feel helpless in nudging him towards comfort and happiness, although much too soon to consider either. I hope I will still see him next week to hug and hold and take care of, but will proceed on cue.

Although it is verging on Thursday already the week has felt incredibly long. These computer affairs have drained all my attention and am continually annoyed that things still aren't working status quo and am now using ancient programs and sub-par hardware.

I could really, really go for a bubble bath. Ok, I know, that goes without saying but tonight with my stuffy head and slight chill in the air it would be heaven to sink into hot sudsy bubbles. Even more so with hot sudsy jacuzzi bubbles and a glass of champagne. And strawberries. And Robbie Williams. OH did I say that out loud?? ARGH quiet parts loud and loud parts quiet again, I hate it when that happens...

Speaking of which my mission to see Robbie has ebbed and flowed over the last two days with the Fan Pre-Sale selling out before we could even enter our credit card number. !*@#&!#*&^!! ZUT ALORS!! NOW I have to stand in line for age and ages and ages....or do a little dabbling on the Black Market. MAN that was another "quiet part loud" moment...

I need to go find some stronger decongestants...by doze iz gedding worze...

bash head **here**

It is not for want of task that I take to Posting at the moment, but rather a need to escape the mayhem that has befallen my office life over the last several days.
It all started on a lazy Sunday afternoon when the Work Computer crashed and burned to what I now learn was a miserable death. BAM. Hard drive, before I could even dive for a CD to back up on, gone, along with many a beloved photo and document that was placed there for safeguarding against my own malfunctioning personal machine. The details to follow are painful and I would rather not re-live them but now I am using said personal machine, itself lacking the ability to display anything on its LCD monitor and suffering several 'ping' ing hard drive issues, which necessitated that virtually all day yesterday was spent formatting and booting and rebooting and basically going insane.
But DAMMIT I am crestfallen about the loss of certain files. Granted most pics are posted online but there were some kept behind...as well as some IPSF memories. Not to mention entire FILES on reworked documents for the Federation that were of my own hand and seemingly not warranting being put on the Server. Ahh Grasshopper, live, learn, back-up. A CURSE ON THE HOUSE OF HEWLETT PACKARD!
Other than that Sunday saw a relapse of ill-functioning for my own part. In a most uncharacteristic manner I found myself dozing off and on as early as 8pm, only to get up and go to bed. Mmmmm almost a bed-couch-bed afternoon. Well a couch-bed afternoon anyway. So then of course this sleeping sickness continued and slept through the alarm, ergo no tae bo, and the day just got more irritating until I got home at 19h30 to force myself to launch into a Billy Blanks session before dinner. I almost died and was cursing him more than ever. LIFT your leg he says...ARRGGH!!
But have just realized why I am so sore right now, as I awoke this morning to cram in the usual hour of 'Bo. That's twice in less than 12 hours. I'm a maniac.
I also have discovered that the upstairs neighbours are early morning fans of Burt Bacharach, which is an almost welcome change from the easy listening old-school 80's Whitney Houston I usually hear emanating from their balcony before dawn. Seeing as how my familiarity with Burt comes solely from Austin Powers movies I can't say I'm a fan, although it was better than Whitney endlessly expressing her desire to dance with somebody who loves her.
Tonight is Dutch class! Was up late doing the homework, although have found things have gotten quite a smidge complicated in this chapter. I hope DCG makes a return in order that a social gathering may be appropriately planned. I also hope Pie-Hole finds himself held up at work or some tram-jam, or at the very least discovers some control over what comes out of the Pie Hole.
Back to the grind. Speaking of which, I need more coffee.

blog...myrz blog

There's just no escaping. 007 has not only spanned what, 40 years (?) of movie making but now shows no signs of being bound by nation nor culture nor language. My point is supported by the fact we now find Mr. Bond laying his life on the line on behalf of her Majesty's Secret Service in Germany. Well, technically I am seeing him in A View to a Kill which zip zaps all over the globe from Russia to San Francisco, but it is playing on the German channel (who when last mentioned was bringing us the ever-loved Sabrina), with very poorly dubbed sub-titles, I might add.

Oh James, do you never get reprieve from saving the world? What a tough life. Whatsay you and Money Penny just call it a day and go raise alpacas in the English countryside. I'll be over for a martini as per the usual shaken rather than stirred order. Tell Q I prefer cherries to olives.

At least this one is evident of a moderate improvement in technology and cinemetography. Well, as much as you could hope from 1985. But with Christopher Walken as Bond Villain extraordinare and still-hot-today uber group Duran Duran belting out the theme sone (the only Bond song to hit #1 in the States, I might add) you can't not rank it as a favourite.

Tonight was deliciously low-key. At some points I was getting a little antsy but forced myself to just sit back an enjoy, as next weekend the flat is flush with guests once again. I did however manage to do the prelim prep work for my small but hopefully delightful brunch tomorrow.

Also chatted some time with the J-Man tonight who helped heaps with The Dutch. I'm sure my grammar was absolutely painful to read but he was of most help and I hope to pick up more hints and tips up til and including the time he cracks under the pressure of having to tutor me. Maar ik sprek nederlandse een beetje!!!

Am all of a sudden tired. Man, if my Blog does this to everyone I may lose my small but devoted following. Shower and jammies time...

issuing a public apology

Seems as though some readers of the Blog have taken offence to my speculation that my illness- causing virus is of Scottish and Scotteee origin. This theory was merely planted by fellow roomie who was also experiencing some off URT symptoms; I now make it clear that there is NO evidence whatsoever to pin the source on our fabulous Highland friend other than an inferred transfer after hearing he himself had fallen ill quite recently. Scotteee - WE KID 'CUZ WE LOVE! I hope you start talking to me soon...

Whatever the origin this nasty bug has me cuddled on the couch today in a cozy blankie although still trying to produce some documents for work. And as we have little resembling actual food in the flat (quel surprise) I am nursing myself well with instant coffee and the M&M's that remain from the gift from BH90210.

Speaking of whom, received an email message today and was invited to speak at a KNPSV International night on the 25th. YAY!! Am more than happy to oblige especially considering the source of the invite. Does not seem likely we will meet before then, however, due to schedules and general busy-ness. Also heard how well the "gift" went over with the New Interest which of course thrilled me beyond the boundaries of joy. *eye roll eye roll....sigh* This brings me back to that whole self-preservation project I've been meaning to get started on.

I'm all of a sudden tired. Funny enough they are showing yet another cheesy James Bond movie this afternoon...once again we see Roger Moore battling evil-doers in an ultimately successful plan to save the world from eminent doom. I don't know if these movies shot in the 60's were just uber low-budge or if they just didn't have a pool of high quality actors that exemplify today's modern talent (HA HA I laugh out loud at that one).

Going to further medicate.

CRAM IT!

There are very few instances where I can say I truly dislike someone. Sometimes people annoy you and drive you completely insane while others make you wish either you or they were further removed from any point of contact, but it rarely elevates to true dislike. This is not the case for a MOST annoying, arrogant, know-it-all colleague in my Dutch class (NOT DCG). He so overtly displays all of these characteristics it sometimes ruins the whole grand experience of phlegming my way through the class. He needs a name. Let's call him Pie-Hole, because the only thing I ever want to say to him is to shut his, or cram something down it.

Cases in point. I walk in with one of those Solero frozen yogurt frozen treats to be met with the greeting "Do you really think it's hot enough to warrant eating ice cream?" This without even a hello. Strike One. The evening then proceeds to discuss Dutch shopping lingo. I make a very harmless remark about this being my favourite topic and kiddingly urge our instructor to proceed. Pie-Hole makes yet another snide remark along the lines of "figures", accompanied by an eye-roll. Strike Two. And then came the straw that pushed the camel over the line from annoying to dislike. Upon discussing what time each of us wakes up in the morning and the class discovering I get up at 545 while XH hauls out of bed at 800 despite us being expected at the office at the same time, Pie-Hole comes out with the most insightful speculation: "Well I guess you must not have anything better to do than spend three hours on your hair". BIG, GIGANTIC, STRIKE THREE. CRAM IT ALL THE WAYYYY DOWN THE PIE-HOLE, PIE-HOLE! I retaliated with the glaring fact that my morning is spent trying to better myself with Billy Blanks then purposely left without acknowledgement of my now discerned enemy of wits. I want to take on a "Dan Aykroyd-Jane Curtin Saturday Night Live Weekend Update" approach and yell out "Jane [Pie-Hole] you IGNORANT slut" but it fails to be completely contextually appropriate and not to mention the fact it is always classier to defend with intelligence.

And not only that but DCG was held up in a meeting and couldn't make it to class, and we were all too tired and virally loaded to head to the Buddha Bar. Thus, home I went to medicate and eat sla, but didn't really mind.

Am looking forward to the weekend. It begins a week of solitude at the flat during which I plan on getting completely organised for the winter season, meaning of course clearing space for the seasonal footwear that with any luck will be acquired during the doubtlessly excellent Gonzo-tastic trip to Barcelona in two weeks : D

intruder alert!

(ProBlog: Thanks to a delay in arriving at the office and then being notified of almost an immediate meeting, I am now finishing a two-hour old bowl of oatmeal that has congealed into a oaty gelatinous glob. Definitely NOT what I wish I was having for breakfast today)

So much has been in the news of late regarding potential outbreaks of disease and the pandemic threat to the wellbeing of man- and chicken-kind, but I really wish someone would put the heat on to further investigate the troublesome yet ubiquitous rhinoviruses so often responsible for otitis media, and those that I fear have invaded my own upper respiratory tract. Earrache, headache, sore throat, mild fever, the "I have been bit by a truck" achy-ness....all present. Someone pass my blankie and some chicken soup...Scotteee and his Scottish germs! BEGONE!

Had another very fulfilling meeting today. Things at work continue to get better and better and I am being trusted with increasingly more responsibilities, which I more than relish. I am excited to be working on all of these pojects; I consider it a professional success to be entrusted with work that has a direct impact on the Federation. I will take all they can give me...I want to do it all. And word on the street is that a certain former President of the United States (let's call him B. Clinton...OH wait that's too obvious, let's just say Bill C., hehehehe) is on slate to be commissioned as a motivational speaker for a meeting that I will have direct involvement in. I have heard the man speak, and it is an experience never to be forgotten. If I actually have the opportunity to meet this individual it would go far beyond any expectation I have had for my professional opportunities. I will resist wearing a blue dress, however...hehehehe. I foresee busy, demanding, but productive times ahead.

Which begs the question as to why I am Blogging and not working. Well I had to do something while I made my way through this oatmeal.

Dutch class tonight then Buddha Bar! I hope I make it without being virally overtaken.

appreciation

Even on a tres/muito/heel/very (I'm pushing forth in becoming multi-lingual, one word at a time it seems) dismal day like to today I find myself gazing at my surroundings from the bus window on the way to work, and I am reminded how happy I am to be here. And especially on a day like today the characteristic Dutch buildings have a glow which dismisses any question as to why the word "gezellig" exists and has no direct counterpart in any other language. Sometimes it is hard to believe I spent most of my life in markedly different environments, but at this point I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. Granted today I wish I was enjoying this atmosphere from the rather removed locale of my favourite couch cushion, but that is beside the point.

Last night was a test of will on so many levels. It began with Dutch class which truthfully was a highlight - I love Dutch Class! NERD ALERT! Have also decided that certain individuals at Dutch Class, oh let's assign an acronym....hmm DCG will do, warrant further investigation, and as such I have taken on the role of social convener and started the process of educating my co-eds on the best places to go voor eeten e drinken. I managed to smoothly parlay this into an invitation to the whole group albeit directed mainly at DCG to join me at the Buddha Bar post-class on Thursday, and to allow me to introduce them to the wonders of Crunch on the weekend. We will see how this pans out.

So back to the evening. It was 20:30 by the time our troupe arrived in Delft and it was already past the point of no return on suggesting we merely stay put in The Hague for dinner. As all of us had suffered a severe memory lapse and left our handy-dandy map outlining a very well thought out suggested venue for dinner, the evening saw us wandering about asking for directions until we finally just settled for Mexican just off the Square. Lovely place, but a language barrier prevented comprehensive ordering and we only sort of ended up with what was asked for.

I was tres/muito/heel/very happy to get home, and the tram was absent of similar events of the previous night. It is the PERFECT day today to set the sights on leaving a smidge early after arriving a smidge early, jumping into the jammies and snuggling in. Granted I feel personally obligated to devote some time to these languages that remain just out of my grasp and there are a few dangling literary threads that need to be snipped, but nothing pressing. Of course, who am I kidding...should an attractive social opportunity arise there is little doubt I will let it pass me by.

Time to get to the business of the day. Meaning of course my coffee cup is empty and needs an immediate refill.

Have not heard from BH90210 in a couple days....sent the "enhanced" souvenir photo CD of Porto yesterday which means it should arrive any time. Am anxious to hear how it is received...

Goldfinger

This is one of the worst movies in the history of cinema...total 'kaas'fest...

you just can't make this stuff up

There are some things you can't even imagine yourself doing, and then there are those things that do not even exist in the farthest reaches of your imagination, like for example my immediate situation of sitting in a Dutch immigration office watching a James Bond movie with Roger Moore while waiting to pick up a residency card almost 6 months in the making. Frankly I would have preferred Pierce Brosnan but beggars can't be choosers at IND I suppose...