Food Snobbery

I pride myself on being myself because it took a lot of time and effort to get there. As a teenager I used to be obsessed with the latest trends, until my best friend one day decided that I was not quite cool enough to remain her best friend. As so many other teenagers, I was bullied every single day at school. This lasted for about a year. When I regained my composure after that year, I had some new goals in life. One, to graduate high school ASAP so that I could flee Almelo. First to Utrecht, and eventually even farther away to Los Angeles. Second, to remain as invisible as possible during my time still left there. For several years, I was dressed in black.

I believe this is when my lack of interest in trends started, and it has really taken off during the last couple of years. What's left is me, a person who, I believe, is truly herself. This manifests itself in a number of ways. For example: I don't like fashion. I wear reasonable clothes that are comfortable and practical. I like to dress up in natural colors like black, white, brown and blue. I have never understood those women who like lacy underwear (it itches!) or stiletto heels - I mean, they're uncomfortable, excuciatingly painful, and cold because so much of your foot is exposed to the unmerciful Dutch weather. When will you EVER wear them?! At parties? When you have to spend hours standing on them? No, thank you. I wear flip flops in summer, sneakers in the spring and fall, and high boots with thick socks in winter. Ergo: I am never influenced by what some rich designers that I don't know have decided is 'in' this season.

Nor do I care about reviews about the latest things to watch, listen to or adore. I listen to John Mayer (why does everyone hate John Mayer?), I watch Bride Wars three times in one week and I still like to watch reruns of Dawson's Creek. Why, you may ask. Because they're comfortable. They literally comfort me because I know what I can expect, and that gives me solace in a cruel world. I used to watch, what I refer to as, politically correct movies, like Hotel Rwanda. It left me deeply depressed with the world. Even though I still think it's important to know what's going on in the world, I have stopped watching such movies because they make me feel terrible about things I cannot change. And who has the energy to keep up with the reviews? I have some really intelligent friends but I always wonder how they have the energy to watch this movie, download that CD, look up that website. They always seem to know everything about everyone and it makes me feel so not-up-to-date. Then again, I can barely muster the strength to update my Facebook account every week. Twitter is lost on me.

I also don't care about gossip. Why do other people care? So Britney Spears has a new boyfriend whom she takes to the park with her kids - SO WHAT?! Why is that necessary information, or even entertaining? I must say, though, that my dislike of the currect media circus sometimes goes too far. For years I have been telling myself to watch the news more often, and I just don't. I really think I should. But I don't. Sometimes I get into it and I watch the news for two days in a row, but then I stop again. It's not that I don't want to see the news (even though it's usually depressing) or that I don't find it interesting, but when it's 8 PM and my boyfriend and I finally finished making dinner and crash onto the couch with a beer and a glass of wine, I'd much rather watch a predicatable episode of Bones than the news. And God, what hassle are newspapers! They're too big and they leave smelly black stains on your fingers. I'll pass, thanks.

Anyway, so this is me. Someone who is herself despite what other people think: someone who wears, watches, listens to and reads whatever she wants without adhering to social standards. Or at least so I thought till now.

It turns out that I have one weakness in this protective harness. I think I am a food snob. I am one of those annoying, self-righteous, Jamie Oliver-reading snobs who now tells other people what good food really is. I never go to fast food restaurants anymore (late night drunken aftermaths not included), because, let's face it, that food is crap. Supermarkets are the enemy, with their over-priced, bad quality production food. Local, organic food is the only food worth eating, so I buy most of my supplies at local vegetable and fruit suppliers and organic butchers. Only free-range eggs come into my house. If this means charging my friends more money because I insist on cooking organic food only, I will just do it. I also preach to other people about the holiness of organic food (mostly to my family, since they can't really disown me in any way). Whenever I cook some of the recipes that I used to cook before, I feel like a cheater, because only the recipes from one of Jamie Oliver's books is really worth cooking. Also, diet products are the work of the devil. People are so obsessed with being thin these days that these Frankenstein producers remove everything that is to like about a product, replace it with chemicals, and call it diet. Seriously, what's the point in eating something like a low fat brownie?! It tastes like crap! If you're really worried about your health (health, not weight) you'd be much wiser to eat less brownies, but when you do eat a brownie, please get a decent one filled with real chocolate and real butter. It makes the sin that much more pleasurable. With the exception of diet Coke (which I like because it's watery) I only eat REAL food.

Plus, every celebration is immersed in food. Every major holiday is celebrated by cooking food for other people. Tomorrow I will cook a six-course meal for eleven (!) colleagues. At Jochem's family I will cook Italian crostini and a Jamie Oliver (of course) salad. At my family I will cook risotto. Is it my birthday? Let's cook Thai curry! Is it our anniversary? Let's go to Fifteen in Amsterdam! Do we have some money left to spare? Let's go to the Italian store and buy truffel at €10 per 10 grams.

Of course I love food. But I've also noticed that everybody loves the person doing the cooking. And... we've come full circle.

Sad Spinster by Night

Today I reread one of my previous entries titled "Teacher by Day." Everything positive that I described in that entry is still very much true. I still love my internship and probably more so every day. My studies can be quite overbearing, especially now that our practical research is coming up (eewl Statistics!), but manageable. Parttime jobs are not as easy to fit into my schedule as they once were, but I find some time here and there so that I can keep saving for all of our wild plans. Family and friends are also good. The only problem that I have right now is that my boyfriend is unbelievably busy! It's quite depressing - he gets up every day before I am awake and goes to bed each night hours after I've fallen asleep. I am lucky when I get to spend two minutes with him in between brushing my teeth and changing my clothes. When he isn't in the Hague doing his thing, he is always either working behind his computer or making calls on his cell phone. I feel for my best friend, whose boyfriend also has an iPhone and all sorts of other gadgets. Luckily Jochem doesn't have any of those, but his behavior still disturbs me. Once he asked me to edit two pages out of one of his many reports, and I almost fell asleep due to pure boredom. Of course I don't have to understand his academic ambitions all the time (which I don't). All I need to know is that he's happy doing what he's doing - I mean, he should be doing exactly what he loves to do right now. And, since I am kind of counting on him to support me and my big plans in the future so that I can continue making a pittance doing what it is I love to do, I can only complain so much. With which I'm done now. After all, after rain comes shine. Even when you live in the Netherlands.

Istanbul

On Thursday I casually said to Jochem that it might be nice to get away for a short weekend. On Friday we looked at some websites. Today we booked a plane ticket to Istanbul for the end of February. It's like I don't even recognize my responsible, unable-to-be-spontaneous, hoarder self!

A Kinder, Gentler Philosophy of Success

Anna told me about this speech by Alain de Botton today, and I recommend anyone to watch it carefully. It is truly inspiring! Check it out here.

1 + 1 = 2

And then there were two: Bicho ('Bug' in Spanish; on the left) and Manchego (same old Spanish sheep cheese; on the right). Two cats for twice as much fun!

Halloween

On Saturday, October 31 Jochem and I celebrated Halloween. This American holiday is not yet widely celebrated in the Netherlands, but we decided to make something special out of it. First, we went downtown to do some shopping. Unfortunately, the Jamie Oliver book that we wanted to buy was sold out, but hopefully it will be back in storage in a week. After that we bought a lot of food. For starters, we had Spanish ham and Italian cheese. We decided to open one of our special Cinque Terre wines after more than a year of proudly having been presented in our kitchen. We made special Halloween pasta with black spagetti, fresh spinach, pumpkin and Ricotta cheese. Jochem carved a scary face in the pumpkin that we used for our pasta and we put a candle inside. We also lit all of our other candles in the living room and we gave the cats fresh salmon for dinner. We had brownies and our favorite green tea with ginger for dessert. Since I don't like to watch scary movies, we watched a bunch of House episodes. I wish that we had had a digital camera, but since ours are both broken you'll just have to believe me: it was perfect! :)

Perfection

- = traveling by plane
// = traveling over land

Netherlands - South Africa // Kenya - United Arab Emirates - India - Thailand - Indonesia - Australia - New Zealand - Tahiti - Easter Island - Chile // Ecuador - Spain - Netherlands

Courtesy of Derek's friend Kasper at JoHo.

Teacher by Day

Of course there are many disadvantages to being a teacher: the lousy pay, the heavy workload, the lack of social status ("Why do you have to study for 8 years just to become a teacher?"), the long work days, the teenagers who sometimes seem determined to bend you until you break, to name but a few. But, naturally, I would not be doing this program if there weren't also a lot of benefits to being a teacher. I get to spend all of my days thinking, talking, and breathing English language and literature. At the moment I do spend long days at school, but I hardly ever have any work to do at night or during the weekends. Gone are the days where you'd think: "I still have to write that paper on American lit. " or: "I still need to study for that Syntax final" - instead, I spent my free time watching House M.D. with Jochem. Preferably in bed, with our two cats, while eating something. Right now my life is pretty much stress-free. I don't make a lot of money with my internship, but at least I get something, which is more than most teachers in training who aren't working already can say. Some of my students can be pretty intimidating, but I find that they are slowly turning around - today, for example, a couple of students from my 'busy' class greeted me in the hallway. This may mean nothing to those not involved with spending 8 hours a day with a bunch of 16-year olds, but apparently I am just cool enough to be acknowledged, which is a big deal. I also can't get over how wonderful my colleagues are and I am very thankful for being able to work in such a pleasant, supportive, and well-knit group as ours. And the last addition that I would like to make to this list, is the fact that we have so many vacations. After only 8 weeks of work, I now have a complete week off to do as I please: watch romantic comedies, visit family and friends, and hang out in my pajamas all day while staying up all night. Life's not too shabby for me right now!!!

By the By

Explorer's Dream + India (in between China and Australia) is our latest idea. :P Is anyone getting tired of this, because I am! ;)

But what I really wanted to tell you is that yesterday Jochem and I had a 4-course dinner at Fifteen, the restaurant in Amsterdam based on Jamie Oliver's version in London, for a pre-birthday celebration. Of course Jamie Oliver is our God, and Jochem gave me the most beautiful watch from Fossil as a pre-birthday gift (though I suspect some other gift is also coming up). I had been pining for the watch for months, but of course never bought it due to all the saving. Anyway, we loved it and now I want to move in, get married and have lots of babies there! :)

This is just to say...

...that we STILL have absolutely no clue (NO CLUE!) where we are going on our world trip. We have received many responses and talked to a lot of people, but it only seems to be getting more difficult to pick a destination. For a while we were leaning towards Asia. Then we went back to South America. And now we are looking at world tickets again. We even tried to make a new list of countries that we want to see before we die, like last year, but that didn't help either. I am telling you, it is the stupidest and most spoiled problem ever! I am even considering just going to the travel agency and letting them assemble a random world ticket (of course I won't, being a control freak and all, but just to let you know how dumb it really is). Alas.

Poll

* It has been a while since I last wrote an entry on this weblog, because it has taken me some time to get used to my new routine. I spend more hours at 'school,' but have much less 'homework' than previous years. This is great, of course, it only makes me reluctant to sit behind my computer after a long day of 'work.' This week I am going camping with my 4 HAVO (i.e. 10th grade) students, but as of next week, I will try to write more often.



It is more difficult than one might think to 'plan' (I still use the term loosely) your perfect world trip. Especially when you have to decide together with someone who is completely different from you in almost every aspect, and when you want to see absolutely everything that this world has to offer. It took Jochem and me almost a year to realize that we might want to see too much during our world trip. That's when it got real difficult, because now we feel that we should make choices. Unfortunately for us, making choices means eliminating perfectly good travel spots for nothing but pragmatic reasons, so every time we get excited about one thing, we get sad about having to miss out on another thing.



We thought we had finally figured it all out when we decided to choose the East: China, Tibet, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand and India. We were thinking: cheap; less flights (so cheaper and better for the environment); and especially adventurous since we wouldn't otherwise just go to any of these countries. However, a few brief looks in a couple of Lonely Planets and Rough Guides quickly revealed that it's quite a hassle to arrange transportation in this area (at least much more of a hassle than we had anticipated during our time frame). Suddenly South America, Easter Island and Cuba started to look good: even less flights; a language we can both speak reasonably well; and less need to rush through a bunch of countries. But then we also think South America will be more expensive and less adventurous somehow.



After a while this kind of thinking drives you crazy. There are so many places that you would like to explore, and there is simply not one region in particular that you can easily opt for. The whole point of our world trip is to see the world in 9 months, and to have an adventure. So now we're thinking of just booking a standard world ticket. Kilroy Travels offers several interesting options, and these are the ones we like especially:



- = traveling by plane
// = traveling over land



"Explorers Dream"

London - Beijing // Hong Kong - Cairns (near the Great Barrier Reef in Australia) // Sydney - Christchurch // Auckland - Tahiti - Easter Island - Santiago de Chile // Lima - Quito (in Ecuador) - Madrid - London



"Cheeky Monkey"

Brussels - Madrid - Santiago de Chile // Ushuaia (at the bottom of Argentina) - Buenos Aires // Rio de Janeiro - Sydney // Cairns - Auckland - Beijing // Hong Kong - Mumbai // Delhi - Brussels



"Wonders of the World"

London - Rome - Amman (in Jordan) - Delhi - Hong Kong - Beijing - Hong Kong - New York - Cancun - Miami - Lima - Cuzco (in Peru) - Santiago de Chile - Rio de Janeiro - London


"Go West"

Amsterdam - Lima - Mexico City - Los Angeles - Honolulu - Tokyo - Bangkok - Nairobi // Kilimanjaro - Amsterdam


Jochem still has certain destinations he must see, whereas I tend to think that if you are buying a random world ticket because you can't choose, you might just as well go random all the way. Of course we can also try to assemble our own personalized world ticket.


Here is where I ask you guys for advice by means of a poll. What would YOU choose if you had to choose between the following options for your 9-month world trip:


(1) travel to Asia, Australia, New Zealand and India
(2) travel to South America, Easter Island and Cuba
(3) book "Explorers Dream"
(4) book "Cheeky Monkey"
(5) book "Wonder of the World"
(6) book "Go West"
(7) book your own personalized world ticket


Let me know, 'cause I could really use the perspective!

PC Jeans

My overall plan to save the world one tofu meal at a time has reached a new high. It all began when my mom claimed that I needed a new pair of jeans last Thursday. I said that I already had two pairs of jeans in my possession, but she, in turn, said that it does not count when both of them have holes in them that have been fixed by sewing material from yet another pair of jeans over them. I tend to think that beggars, and savers for world trips, can't be choosers when it comes to the quality of their denim, but my mother disagreed and although I'm very much the idealistic and/or naive twenty-something, who am I to refuse a new pair of jeans free of charge?

And there we go, now everyone can save the world by buying the right pair of jeans. Although it was not so much my contribution, since the jeans were a gift, I still want to tell you about them. The jeans brand is called Kuyichi. In a nutshell, Kuyichi is all about raising awareness about fashion while respecting the environment. It uses organic cotton and recycled paper, amongst other sustainable materials, supports fair trade and also has its Track & Trace and Mady-By features, which enable buyers to find out where their jeans come from. On the Kuyichi website you can insert the number that you can find on the inside of your purchased jeans. This is how I found out that my pair of jeans was designed in Haarlem, the Netherlands, manufactured in Tunisia, and produced in Malatya, Turkey (see here for details). Kuyichi jeans can be bought in the Netherlands in Amsterdam and Utrecht at Nukuhiva, Floortje Dessing's fair trade store. You can also check out the Kuyichi website. I think this is a great initiative and of course urge everyone to purchase a pair of politically correct jeans!

On a somewhat different note: yesterday Jochem and I went discount shopping and somehow managed to buy two jackets and one fleece sweater for almost no money at all. They are meant to be used during our world trip in two years. Of course that's still very far away, but we couldn't resist the urge...

Some Thoughts

About vegetarianism:
Spain is arguably the most difficult country (that I have been to thus far) to be a vegetarian in. Up until my holiday in Spain I generally found it very easy to not eat meat or fish, but as soon as I had been in Spain for a couple of days, all I could think about were hamburgers and tuna sandwiches. Of course I didn't cave. Although I can't begin to tell you about the numerous times that there was not a single vegetarian meal to be found in any of the restaurants that we visited, and I had to depend on tapas and side salads, most of the time we had dinner at my family's place where it was easier to accommodate to my vegetarian wishes. But it was very, VERY hard. Now that I am back in the Netherlands it has become much easier, and I definitely want to keep going through August, so that I can say that I have been a vegetarian for two months (as was expected, Jochem quit after one month and is happily eating meat and fish once more). I am not sure where to go from there. I truly think that it might be too difficult to never eat meat and fish ever again, so I will probably end up some sort of semi-vegetarian. Luckily, I now know of a lot of ways to replace meat and fish with other food. I feel perfectly comfortable eating my soy burgers during bbqs, or replacing meat and fish with veggies and nuts in pasta and risotto dishes, and I even managed to successfully prepare my signature chicken tandoori dish with tofu (although I must admit that my first attempt at this tofu tandoori was not as successful). Luckily Jochem supports me and if I am able to find a vegetarian option for an otherwise non-vegetarian dish, he will join me in my vegetarian cooking. If I really can't find a suitable replacement, I will buy real meat and fish, but only if it is organic. Since this is quite expensive for us, we will probably eat less meat and fish anyway. I will probably never have fastfood like McDonald's and 'kroket' again, but at least I won't have to say goodbye to tuna sandwiches and sushi. Sometimes I feel guilty for not pulling through completely, but then again: Jochem and I support four organizations that aid animals and the environment, we take care of the environment ourselves in our own surroundings by recycling and not wasting, we only buy products from The Body Shop because they are not tested on animals and support fair trade, we hardly eat meat and fish, and when we do, it's organic, and in my spare time I end up taking care of a bunch of kittens for three days before bringing them to the Spanish local police (a whole other story). There's only so much that a person can do without indulging in guilt forever. So I now declare myself a wannabe vegetarian!

About philosophy:
I used to hate philosophy in college and I still can't bear to read philosopher's original works, but now I'm reading Philosophy for Dummies and it's really interesting! I tend to side with Agnosticism and am now reading Bertrand Russel's "Why I Am Not A Christian."

About renovating:
Jochem and I were supposed to help out my parents for a couple of days as a means to say 'thank you for helping us get to Spain this summer.' I thought we'd be redecorating my parents' bedroom and my old bedroom, but dad had a much less pleasant job in mind. He wanted us to paint all of the wood on the outside of the house. Thinking that as long as I can paint, all is good, we set out to work, but what a painful job it was! It has been very hot and humid in the Netherlands recently, and I kept hurting myself or dripping paint all over my newly acquired, 'especially bought for the world trip,' favorite (of course) hat, until the grand finale where I accidentally poured half a bottle of paint thinner on my front body. It stopped hurting after a couple of hours, but after almost two days my skin still has a very red color. I keep putting aloe vera on it but should I be doing more? Danielle asked me whether I'd been to the hospital... Needless to say, Jochem has been doing most of the painting after that, while I stayed in and edited our pictures. But at least my parents are very happy that the painting has finally been done after ten years of procrastination, and that's what's important.

About reading:
I feel especially proud of my reading skills this summer. I don't read a whole lot during the school year because I am usually too busy reading for my studies, so in the summer I go all out and read all of the books I didn't get to read before. This summer, in just two weeks, I finished the latest two novels by my favorite author Santa Montefiore (finally!), one novel by Cecilia Samartin, one book by my American educational guru Ron Clark (which, admittedly, I had read years before), and the 735 pages of The Other Boleyn Girl (for comparison: Ulysses is also 735 pages long). In total I managed to read 1990 pages in two weeks! One quotation that I wanted to share with you from Ron Clark's book is the following: "Always make sure there are seven things in your life at all times: laughter, family, adventure, good food, challenge, change, and the quest for knowledge." I am proud to say that all seven things are in my life; how about you?

About accomplishments:
Besides feeling pretty good about having read so many books over the summer, I feel pretty good about myself overall, I think. Of course I still feel great for having finished my master thesis on time, getting good grades and being accepted into that internship. I also managed to squeeze in four extra weeks of work for some extra money to save. I cleaned out my apartment and did a whole bunch of little things that had been on my to do list for over a year. My parents' house looks great. I can't wait to start the new, and last, year of grad school. I just feel great! Time for me to indulge in this greatness at the hair salon this afternoon...



These are Chips (the red kitten) and Salsa (the black kitten). It's a long story...

Things come in 3's!

3 names I go by:
1. Nuria
2. Nur
3. Nuri

3 of my favorite words and/or phrases:
1. "Stap op!" (= "Get lost!")
2. "Echt niet!" (= "No way!")
3. "Kats" and "kel" (= "very"; interchangeable nonsense words from the Twents landscape in Almelo)

3 places I have lived:
1. Utrecht, The Netherlands
2. Los Angeles, USA
3. New York, USA

3 jobs I have had in my life:
1. student assistant at Utrecht University
2. invigilator at the British Council
3. English tutor at Studiekring

3 favorite drinks:
1. Corona with lime
2. dry, white wine
3. green tea with ginger

3 favorite foods:
1. pasta
2. risotto
3. sushi

3 TV shows I watch:
1. The Office
2. Samantha Who?
3. Lipstick Jungle

3 places I have been:
1. Andalucía, Spain
2. Cinque Terre, Italy
3. Big Sur, California, USA

3 things I am looking forward to:
1. my world trip with Jochem
2. my wedding (although not anticipated anytime soon)
3. buying my first house with Jochem and putting a HUGE kitchen in it (equally not anticipated anytime soon)


(from Facebook)

¡Adios España!

The end of our two-week summer vacation is near! It went by so fast we can hardly believe it, but I think we were able to establish the usual division between spending time on nature (e.g. the Ebro Delta and the volcanic park in the Pyrenees), culture (e.g. Barcelona and Valencía) and relaxation (e.g. Penedès wine country, the beach and family). We made a lot of pictures, as always, and I hope to share them with you soon. Here is a preview of the afternoon right before Robin and Jesse took the bus back home to Almelo and my grandparents made a gazpacho and bbq lunch that contained so much garlic that we smelled like it for days!





Tomorrow Jochem and I are heading home in Jordi´s suburban car (which has only a few scratches ;)) and we will arrive on Sunday. We will spend a few days in Almelo working on my parents´ house before heading back to Utrecht on Friday. And then on Monday school starts again. Time just flies by so fast! But at least we were able to get away for a short while, so I don´t complain. Anyone traveling to Spain should definitely pay a visit to the Freixenet cava winery in Sant Sadurní d´Anoia in Penedès, the Parc Natural de la Zona Volcànica de la Garrotxa in the Pyrenees, and Valencía (but wear sensible shoes! Thanks to my being vain I now not only have an injured left foot, but also a nice pair of blisters on both feet because I decided to wear my mom´s ´pretty´ shoes in Valencía. What was I thinking putting on a pair of that tiny woman´s sandals?!). Those were definitely our favorite destinations.


As for now: ¡Hasta luego!

¡Buenos Días!

Thus far in Spain I have ...

... discovered that sleeping in a station wagon is very much like sleeping in a coffin.

... had the honor of meeting the 5 kilogram/37 cent melon.

... found out that hiking Montjuïc in Barcelona is the best way to get lost, tired and burned.

... come to hate my Reef flipflops because they caused such a serious injury to my left foot that we have had to cancel our walking trip to the Pyrenees until next week. Rainbows all the way!

... had to stop Jochem from buying absolutely everything in the Freixenet store.

... realized that walking towards the Devil´s Bridge in Tarragona in 40 degree heat at noon while the monument is under construction and I cannot use my left foot, might not be the best idea.

But other than that we have the sun, the beach, the Mediterranean Sea, an airconditioned villa, family, pets, THE patatas bravas and cava. ¡Muchos besos de España!

Spain 2009

In one week Jochem and I will be here. This is Cambrils Mediterraneo, part of Cambrils de Mar, which is a small town on the eastern coast of Spain, called the Costa Dorada. It is the place where my Spanish relatives own a small villa near this beach. We will borrow my brother's car and spend two weeks traveling through this region. We plan to see Barcelona, Tarragona, Valencía, a few small beach towns, a volcanic park in the Pyrenees, the Ebro Delta and Penedès wine country. I'm not exactly sure how to be a vegetarian in Spain (especially amongst my very much non-vegetarian Spanish family members) or how to be away from my pets for more than a few days, but I sure as hell am glad to be going abroad real soon.

These pictures were taken in the summer of 2006, when my girls and I spent the most perfect little weekend there.

Summer Break

Ever since I heard that I had passed my master thesis one week ago, I have been on my summer break. Which is so weird after having been so busy for so long. Which is also why I do not have that much to tell y'all. I have a summer job cleaning people's houses, but that's only for three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon, tops. Jochem, meanwhile, has a job serving rich people at a golf tournament in Zandvoort, which means that by the time I get back from work, he is gone, and he doesn't come back until the middle of the night. The only time we see each other is during my breakfast, after which Jochem crawls back into bed until he has to get up for work. That kinda sucks, but it also means that I have the house all to myself. Jochem is not around making phone calls or working on his computer, which is arguably the most depressing sight for me right now. I don't have to fight for the remote. Not having any homework or other responsibilities and with family in Almelo and friends in Australia, Cuba and Belgium (really!), I spent about eight hours a day behind the tv and/or computer. I watch a variety of high quality tv shows, such as Oprah, Dr. Phil, Greyʾs Anatomy, CSI, CSI Miami, CSI New York, De bruiloft van... (Dutch for: The wedding of...), Rich Bride Poor Bride, Paradise Hotel 2, True Beauty, Sex and the City, Lipstick Jungle and Cashmere Mafia, as well as Pirates of the Caribbean parts 1, 2 and 3, and bad romantic comedies on tv, and an old homemade movie (all at the same time, of course). I go swimming with Bic once a week (which has happened once thus far), and I do Hatha Yoga three times a week (which reminds me: I shouldnʾt forget to do that before I go to bed tonight, even though my book says that I shouldnʾt do yoga before going to bed because then I start associating yoga with sleep, which is apparently very bad, but what do they know, really?). I have dinner with Bic and Mar every week, and I force them to either eat vegetarian food or cook it for me, because yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am a vegetarian now. The non-meat/non-fish eating vegetarian. Jochem thinks that this is just a phase, and that we are only ʾtrying it outʾ for one month, but letʾs embellish on that illusion a little longer. My cat and I are bonding (which is slightly more difficult with the fish, them being in a bowl and all), having no one but each other for company. I now always wear my very long hair in a bun (knoet!), since I refuse to deal with it otherwise. I read my books about list-making and creativity, and have actually started drawing stuff, which of course sucks and is only recognizable because I write editorial notes next to the drawings. I have also cleaned out my closet (and forced Jochem to do the same) and rearranged my correspondences (is that word still used in the Kingʾs English?) and magazine collection, and threw away about a forest worth of paper. I do loads and loads of laundry and play Katie Melua and John Mayer very loudly because they represent my blues collection (no lecture on music genre required). And thatʾs about it folks! Isnʾt it GREAT?! :P

3 out of 3

I did it! Today my supervisor sent me an e-mail that said that I received a 7.8 for my master thesis!!! :) I cannot believe it! I have been working on it for over nine months and had anticipated having to work on it even longer during the summer. It was incredibly hard to write about linguistics (as opposed to literature), and my first draft was not good at all. I only had nine days to rewrite 88 pages of bad research, so I spent those days from 8 AM till 12 AM behind my laptop in, what I believed to be, a vain attempt to finish before the summer. There was just so much writing that had to be redone that I barely had time to edit the final 95 pages that I wrote and I handed in the second draft fifteen minutes late. I definitely did NOT have a good feeling about it, which makes it all the more amazing that I did not only pass it, but received such a good grade. Before the summer break and before the second year of my educational master! This means that I will never again have to read, research or write about linguistics or literature, because next year is all about education. I can finally return the books that I have been staring at for the last six months! I passed James Joyce, I got the internship that I wanted, AND I passed my master thesis! SURREAL! I don't know what I'm gonna do now. But wait, Dr. Phil is on in fifteen minutes...

More Good News

Almost a month ago I wrote on this same weblog that I was hoping to be done soon. Unfortunately, I am still writing my master thesis, as I have been for the past seven days straight, while the rest of the country is enjoying the summer weather as I am stuck behind my laptop in a very hot apartment. But I found out another piece of good news today. Two weeks ago I was invited for a very mysterious IVLOS meeting and last week I attended another meeting at the Koningin Wilhelmina College (KWC) in Culemborg. It turned out that they needed two English teachers in training for an amazing one-year internship. And I found out today that I got it! What's more, my good friend Nienke got the other spot, so I'll have a friend close by for a whole year. It's great news to hear one day before the second draft of your master thesis is due. Even if this one is not approved either, I will at least be able to finally start the practical year of my master (thanks to James Joyce), and do it at the school of my first choice. Of course, I am still secretly hoping that my second draft will be approved, but if there is anything that I learned from linguistics, it is to expect the unexpected...

Honk if you hate James Joyce!

I did it! After sending several e-mails to my professors, I found out today that I received an 8 for Mapping Joyce! YAY!!! :) I am beyond happy because I had to pass that class. My master thesis has turned out to be much more difficult than I had anticipated, so there is a big chance that I'll have to work on it next year. Fortunately, this is accepted in the educational master, but only as long as you've passed 45 ECTS. So had I failed Mapping Joyce, and hadn't finished my master thesis either, I wouldn't have been allowed to start the second year. That's why I spent days writing 4,500 words about women in Hamlet and Ulysses. But it paid off, so at least now I know my position for next year is safe. Now all that's left is rewriting my master thesis, which I've been doing for the past five days. It's a lot of work, and I'm in that "what-I'm-writing-makes-no-sense-at-all"-phase, but Thursday it'll all be over. Because even if I have to rewrite it again, I am taking a long and much-needed break from sociolinguistics!

One Small Happy Family

"What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories."

~ George Eliot

Happy Feet

My toe nails are pink again!!! :) I hate grooming, but I convinced Anna to do them for me when Jochem and I were in Brussels last weekend. Ever since I had a pedicure in New York last summer and walked around with red toe nails for weeks, I LOVE bright colors on my toe nails! I can't explain it, but it makes me very happy. This is especially helpful during the "laatste loodjes" that I am engaging in right now; my master thesis is due on Friday and one week later I am supposed to have written 4,000 words on Ulysses. Compared to what I've done so far it's fairly easy, but I'm just so not motivated anymore. So pink toe nails help a lot to make the process a bit more fun!

Conditioner

I caved. I bought the Honey Moisturizing Conditioner at The Body Shop in downtown Utrecht today.

A New Routine

I have A New Routine. My whole life is made up of routines, which gives me a sense of calm in a hectic life, but this New Routine is something I am particularly excited about. In the morning, I get ready, feed the cat and the fish, make breakfast, and watch programs on my computer before I start working. I used to watch the news in the morning, but these days Jochem and I usually watch it together at night (which is the routine my parents have been engaged in for as long as I know them, so how scary is that?!). I also used to watch a lot of wedding shows, but now have found something really great: RTL Travel. This is a travel show and on their website the documentaries are divided by country, so I am watching them in the same order as our world trip! How cool is that?! I have just started watching documentaries about Asia and will then continue with Australia, New Zealand, South America and Cuba. Right now I'm watching documentaries about India and I just can't wait to go!

Hair

Ever since my friends subtly (not so much) told me that my hair "wasn't looking so good" one Friday afternoon, I have been a little bit obsessed with my hair. Before I could explain to them that I had just washed my hair and that it is always fuzzy after just having washed it, they had put a hair mask in my hands with a bunch of instructions on how to make my hair look better. What they don't understand is that they've hit a somewhat sensitive spot. My hair is probably what I like most about myself (at least when it's been washed), and now I'm told that it doesn't look good. "You've got split ends", they tell me. Well, considering the fact that I am saving up for a 9-month world trip and my hair grows like it's eager to get somewhere, I am not about to spend €30 a month on a hair dresser. I go to the hair dresser once a year; right after the summer break when it's been exposed to numerous sun hours and Mediterranean sea water. But apparently this can all be solved with a hair mask. I tried the hair mask which is (1) very expensive, (2) smells funny and (3) takes a lot of work, but okay, my hair did look better than usual (even though it was still fuzzy when drying). What my friends also don't understand is that I hate spending time on my hair because it takes so looooong. When I take the kind of shower where I wash my hair, it takes me about an hour to get ready from start to finish. When I really make an effort and put on some jewelry and make-up, it takes me another 15 minutes. Seeing as that I am, like, superslow in getting ready, have always been, and will probably always be (except when I have 15 minutes to get to class), I am not exactly looking for more activities to add to my already well-established getting ready routine. Their next solution was to leave in my conditioner longer than usual when taking a shower. When I explained to them that I don't even use hair conditioner, I believe they almost had a heart attack. Today I took the shampoo and conditioner sample from a magazine and tried them in the shower. Result: it took me an hour and a half to get ready and my hair is fuzzier than ever. So you can see where this is going.

Aaahhh...

After what seems like an eternity of reading, doing research and writing the end of my master thesis is finally in sight. I'm not sure whether I'll need to spend a couple of weeks during the summer break rewriting or whether I'll really be done at the end of June, but I have 84 pages thus far and am only short one conclusion and a couple of paragraphs on didactic International English. Meanwhile, I've also managed to read the 732 pages of James Joyce's Ulysses (see below) and write three assignments on it of 1,000 words each. I have one more assignment and a 4,000-word final paper and then the academic year is really over. I've also managed to work five days a week for the past two months, but luckily those days are over now. Until the summer break I only work Tuesdays and Wednesdays, as well as three days supervising for the British Council and one extra day exam training for the Studiekring. So it seems like my life is finally slowing down. I cannot wait to be done with this year and to start my internships in the fall, because I can guarantee that I will NEVER do this again! It's been a bleak couple of months, but there were two strays of sunshine in between. First of all Jochem's 23rd birthday party. Jochem was about to let the day pass by without notice, but of course I couldn't let that happen. So I organized a small dinner party with friends, wine and good food. AND I gave him the first three books of Jamie Oliver, from which we've been cooking ever since!

After eight weeks of working every Saturday, Sunday and holiday for the Studiekring (besides working Monday through Wednesday and struggling through Modernist Lit. and Sociolinguistics) I had almost forgotten what it was like to sleep in or to have a weekend. So Jochem and I decided that the best way to celebrate my first weekend of 'freedom' was in Brussels! I have been too busy to be sad about the fact that BFF Anna and her boyfriend Ashwin have moved to Belgium. Even though it's only a 3-hour train ride away from Utrecht (which is NOTHING in American terms) I am not too happy about her being so much farther away. Still, I am very happy for her that her life has taken this positive turn! Brussels is a great city and the neighborhood they live in is very pretty (Mini Coopers, Fiat 500s and pugs are wherever I look, which is all I need to get a smile on my face!). Their apartment is also amazing and it was great to stay there for a couple of days (even though we really missed Manchego). The weather was great, and I went grocery shopping, walked around the Magritte Museum (which we'll have to visit next time since we couldn't get tickets for the opening), had beer in the park, had Thai food, had coffee in my pajamas, took a very long bath, read tons of magazines (no study material allowed!), attempted to draw, sunbathed in the grass, had bagels and pie for lunch, took a walk around the embassies, cooked risotto and salmon, watched The Office and Slumdog Millionnaire, went to bed late, and RELAXED!

Only 25 days till the summer break!

732 pages later...

...I finally finished it.

[pause for applause]

Disclaimer

You may not hear from me for a while. At least not until mid June. Because I am trying to write at least 70 pages about Linguistics and Education for my Master Thesis while at the same time:

(1) finish reading the last 400 pages (out of 700) from James Joyce's Ulysses;
(2) writing a total of 10,000 words on said novel;
(3) tutoring freelance on Mondays;
(4) tutoring for the Studiekring on Tuesdays and Wednesdays;
(5) giving exam training on Saturdays and Sundays;
(6) grading high school Literature papers;
(7) having some kind of social life.

Bear with me...

Just a Little Thought on Trees

I've been meaning to write a little piece about trees. I hadn't done so thus far because I thought it was kind of weird to write about trees, but Jochem said to go for it. They are just so pretty this year! The spring weather here in the Netherlands has been great so far and very much unlike the previous years. There is a lot of sun, but not a heat wave, and hardly any rain or cloudiness, and even when it is not as sunny, it is not very cold. There's just a lot of wind, but I can safely say that's a sacrifice we're all willing to make. But when I bike to work, after getting through some of the busiest roads in the city without (1) being run over and (2) killing someone for being so stupid, I bike through this lovely little street which has the most beautiful trees with the freshest looking leaves on them. It makes me so happy! :) Just like the big tree in the back yard of our neighbor; I'm pretty sure everyone in the neighborhood hates that thing but I love it. We always have a pretty, Renoir-like shade in our rooms. I just love how it's been winter and the trees have been bare for months and all of a sudden, out of nowhere it seems, the trees are green again. It makes me think that I could never live somewhere where the seasons don't change every year. But then again: what do I know? I just wrote a blog about trees.

Oops...

What I TOTALLY and SHAMEFULLY forgot to mention was my brother and his girlfriend Silvana. These two crazy people told me yesterday that they are going to sponsor our world trip as well! They just bought a house together, they have cars and pets to take care of, and still they are willing to help us out. Why people are so willing to pay for our aimless wanderings is beyond my level of comprehension, but I am eternally grateful. Thank you!!!

ABCs of Me

Once again I am more tempted to reproduce Facebook notes than to actually do some productive work. But I just finished reading the first five chapters from James Joyce's Ulysses and managed not to jump from the window and this is how I chose to celebrate.

A - Age: 25.
B - Bed size: I'm not sure what to call it in English, but it fits me, Jochem and Manchego comfortably (as long as Jochem keeps his elbows to himself).
C - Chore you hate: Uhm... All of them? I probably hate dusting the most.
D - Dog's name: Our future pug already has a name picked out for him: Cracker!
E - Essential start your day item: Coffee.
F - Favorite color: Black and white (and yes, I know that, technically, these are not real colors).
G - Gold or silver: Silver.
H - Height: 173 cm.
I - Instruments you play(ed): As a kid I used to play the recorder, but I quickly grew out of that phase.
J - Job title: Student, tutor, invigilator and exam trainer (yes, besides being in grad school I also have three jobs).
K - Kid(s): None in the making right now.
L - Living arrangements: Jochem and I share an amazing two-story apartment in the most beautiful neighorhood in Utrecht.
M - Mom's name: Dori, after Isidora.
N - Nicknames: Nur and Nuri.
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Nope. I pretend that never even happened.
P - Pet peeve: Those people who should not be allowed on a bike in Utrecht when I am in a rush to get to work.
Q - Quote from a movie: "I am only here because of you. You are the reason I am. You are all my reasons." from A Beautiful Mind.
R - Right- or left-handed: Right.
S - Siblings: 1 brother, Jordi.
T - Time you wake up: Preferably around 8 AM, although those days are long gone now.
U - Underwear: Thongs.
V - Vegetable you dislike: Broccoli.
W - Ways you run late: When I think that I live close and therefore don't need to rush but then end up rushing because I overestimated how close I really live near everything. It's pure arrogance, really.
X - X-rays you've had: Chest and back, due to my bad posture.
Y - Yummy food you make: I think I make great Italian food.
Z - Zoo favorite: Scary spiders, insects, crocodiles and the like.

Impromptu

I am many things, but spontaneous is not one of them.

Yet Jochem and I had a very spontaneous weekend. I had some money left at the end of this month and decided that we had been thrifty enough and that we should go out to dinner. On Saturday, after my exam training and before Jochem's private driver shift, we had dinner at a great Indian restaurant called Taj Mahal in downtown Utrecht. We had Indian beer, Tandoori and Curry. It was great food and really nice to be able to go out to dinner at a place we'd been wanting to visit for a long time.

On Sunday, after my exam training and before Jochem's early Spanish class on Monday morning, we drove to Almelo for a quick visit. Jochem still had his private driver car, a teeny tiny Smart, in his possession and since we don't own our own car we decided to shamefully abuse it and drove 1,5 hours and back to Almelo with our cat. Manchego is to stay with my parents during holidays and the famous world trip, and we wanted him to see the place. We saw my brother's house and had dinner at the Shamrock. Much beer and many shots were consumed.

And now it's Monday and back to work, but it was a great little weekend for us!

Oh Happy Day

On a regular basis I feel quite sorry for myself in a spoiled kind of way. The truth is, despite the general priviliged state of my existence, I often find myself fed up with the situation at hand. These are a few things that make me feel better:

* The sun, especially in combination with any of these factors: the Griftpark; Jochem; my friends; wine; Mag's famous sandwiches; Bic's unfailing cynicism.

* Looking at bridesmaid dresses on The Knot even though I am not getting married.

* Bright nail polish.

* Reading travel literature in 'preparation' of our world trip.

* Cooking Jamie Oliver's Italian recipes.

* Having coffee on Sunday morning while watching Jochem prepare my eggs.

* Watching wedding and food shows on TV.

* Waking up with Manchego curled into my neck.

* Having risotto two days in a row.

* The knowledge that I wil be in Brussels in 1 month and 18 days, and in Spain in 3 months and 3 weeks.

* Family drama.

But I am writing this after a sunny day in the park with my people, so I can't guarantee that this blog is completely true to my general state of self.

Little House, Little Tree, Little Animal

My little brother Jordi and his girlfriend Silvana have bought a house together in Almelo for themselves, their dog Diego, their cat Maiki and undoubtedly a variety of other pets that they will purchase in the upcoming years. The house stands in a neighborhood called Windmolenbroek and is only a couple of blocks away from my parents' house, who live in the same neighborhood. Of course I escaped from Almelo when I was 18 and never intented to come back, and even though I am starting to warm up to the place a little bit more (mainly because of my family), I still don't envision myself going back there for many years to come. First I want to finish school and then travel and then live abroad. But I know that Jordi and Silvana are different and I am very happy for them to have reached this milestone. As a housewarming gift I asked BFF Anna to make a playful, colorful, though not too crazy painting to mark the occasion. I'm not sure she knew exactly what I meant, but she did a great job anyway. The painting is supposed to represent the couple moving into their new home, as well as their pets and their love for animals in general. After an already crazy weekend (I believe we spent a total of 12 hours traveling last weekend), Jochem and I visited the family in Almelo on Sunday and gave Jordi and Silvana their present. And they loved it! Congratulations you two! :) And also, I feel like everyone is moving into new directions (see some of my previous blogs), while I am still stuck here studying English in Utrecht. I can't wait to be done with this year, start internshipping and then finally start working. I can't wait to be done with grad school. I can't wait to travel the world with Jochem and to live abroad. Those big plans will have to wait for a while, but for now I have a summer vacation in Spain to look forward to. Only four more months until August...

Copyright (c) 2004 - 2009
annadenise.nl
All Rights Reserved

My congratulations to...

...Martijn and Jolien for getting married on March 20, 2009!!!

Annefloor, Me, Jantien, Jolien, Marije, Chantal, Evelien and Marjolein

...and to Anna for (1) turning 25, (2) getting a job in Brussels and (3) finding an apartment in Brussels!!!

Jochem and I after being 'forced' to dress up for Anna's Mustaches and Beards Party (well, at least Jochem looks awesome...)

Hihihi!!! :)

And did I mention that we were listening to an old Britney Spears album that I have in my possession while we were doing this?

And this one time...

Overall, I would say that my life is pretty, well, boring. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am a creature of habit. Although I have all sorts of grand plans and actually get to experience them once in a while (e.g. living in New York City; being a bridesmaid at my American friend's wedding), my general day-to-day existence follows a well-designed and well-paved path (nice alliteration, huh?! :P). But the last week or so has been pretty exciting, and I wanted to share.

First of all, last week on Friday I finally saw the movie Slumdog Millionaire, with big thanks to my good friend Kiran who told me to watch it and who makes me a little less uncool by association. And I gotta tell you: it is such a good movie! I think it may be my favorite which means that American Beauty has been pushed from first place for the first time since I first saw it in 1999. That's 10 years! Now, I don't pretend to be some kind of movie critic, but I can tell you why it is so amazing. To me, this movie represents the best of two worlds: although I like Hollywood films they also tend to be of the cookie-cutter kind (which is one of the reasons why I like them -- you know what to expect); I also like Bollywood films although they also seem to be a little bit over the top for me. This movie is like a mix, and not in the way Bride and Prejudice was a mix. Also, the way Jamal's life story is told through the television show is absolutely brilliant. The story is true and authentic, funny and sad, but with a (somewhat) happy ending. The music is also great. I can't say anything more about it except that you simply MUST see it!!!

On Friday Jochem and I also went to Eindhoven to have dinner with the in-laws. First we went to Okke (Jochem's older brother) and Loes' (his girlfriend) new apartment, which was small but incredibly well decorated and cute. We had some Prosecco (always a big hit with me) and then went to a nice Asian restaurant where there were chefs preparing meat and fish with loads of garlic. It was delicious.

Then on Saturday Bic, Mag, Mar and I went clubbing. We had estimated that we hadn't been clubbing since Mar's birthday in June 2008, so we decided it was time to do it again. After months of planning and replanning (because of my bad planning, can you believe it?) we finally bought tickets to the 80s and 90s Party at the Winkel van Sinkel. I was a little bit afraid we weren't gonna make it, being older now and easily tired. But, with help from Anna (who borrowed me a great top which I loved so much I wore it two days in a row), Mag (who had brought Mamma Mia! as a warming up exercise), lots of alcohol and even more bad music, we ended up partying until 4 'o clock in the morning. I was pretty surprised myself! Afterwards we had fastfood and I rolled into bed at 5.30 AM, minus hangover I should add. I am supposed to have incredibly incriminating pictures of this night, but unfortunately I keep forgetting to get the camera back from Mar, so that'll have to wait I'm afraid.

On Sunday my parents, uncle, aunt, cousin Robin and her boyfriend Jesse came to visit and see our (not so new anymore) apartment. My uncle slaved in the kitchen for hours making an old family recipe for, what we call it, Spanish spagetti, and there were lots of drinks and snacks. We had a great time, but the best thing was that my family had prepared a little surprise for us; three cards and one collage later we found out that they are going to sponsor us every month until we leave for our world trip. It was absolutely amazing, sweet, incredibly generous, and a truly touching surprise!

The rest of the week centred around work. On Tuesday Nienke and I sat behind my computer at 7.30 AM (no kidding) to spend an hour and a half talking to three very nice students from the Czech Replublic for our Language Education class. I was still in my pajamas because I refuse to get dressed before 8 AM unless I get paid for some kind of job, but the talks were really nice. Unfortunately a lot of other work is concerned with this project and I think that my entire group, including me, is getting really sick of it. I also had a big meeting in Nijmegen on Thursday with an important Dutch Social Linguist whose book I'd read, but she offered me more questions than answers. The thing about my master thesis is that I definitely don't want to do more linguistic research, but she was kind of pushing me towards exactly that. I want to do educational research instead, but it's hard to find my bearings without the help of my supervisor, who is doing his own research until April. But I have almost read every single book and article and website that I've wanted to read, and I'm starting to see more clearly. I just hope it works.

On Saturday I had to work first from 8 AM until 3 PM, but it was for the British Council, which is always a blast. Afterwards I had to rush home and then to Mag's for our little birthday surprise. Last year I gave Anna a kind of improvised spa treatment coupon, but it never happened, so this year I wanted to do it right. Bic, Mag, Mar and I made an arrangement to visit the Veluwse Bron, an absolutely amazing spa, and to take Anna with us as a kind of early birthday celebration. Mag made her signature 'stampot andijvie' and I had made a brownie cake with pink frosting, purple flowers and pink candles shaped 25 (and no, I don't have pictures, but it was delicious if I may say so). Afterwards we spent an hour in the car which made Anna wonder where the heck we were going, because we were driving in the middle of nowhere and Anna and nature don't mix. We finally made it and spent 5 hours in a diverse arrangement of saunas, steam rooms, swimming pools and hamam-style places. It was a little weird to be NAKED, but after a while you do get used to it (Bic and I never thought we'd see the day), and before long I was lying in corpse pose and then sitting in a lotus position in the panoramic sauna. The waterfall was the best part though, because it was almost magical. I am also very proud to say that I went down in an icecold bath, and also stood underneath an icecold bucket with the rest of the girls, although we squealed like girls while that happened, which really wasn't very cool. Anna made a great picture of it (see below), that you can also find on her website et al.

Copyright (c) 2004 - 2009

annadenise.nl

All Rights Reserved

Then, on Sunday, Jochem and I celebrated our 2,5 year anniversary! Pretty special, I'd say. We weren't sure how to celebrate it, but eventually opted for just staying in, having good food, drinking champagne with rasberries and watching Vicky Christina Barcelona (also a very good movie!). It was nice.

And today it's back to work, although I haven't done that much today except running errands. I find that I get a lot more work done once the pressure is on. Today I only had to read a few chapters from the last book I want to finish before starting to write my master thesis, and instead I did loads of other things. Tomorrow it's back to the Language Education project and then work. I also have to work on Wednesday, but on Thursday morning I'm going to Almelo to visit my family. I haven't been back home in months. On Friday one of my oldest friends from high school, Jolien, is getting married, and on Saturday Anna is celebrating her 25th Birthday Party (where I'll have to wear some kind of beard or mustache apparently). So many more good things are in the making! I doubt I'll get anything more done today, because my Sivananda Hatha Yoga class starts in half an hour and afterwards it's more champagne with rasberries because Jochem received an 8.3 for his Spanish test (after almost having been expelled for failing the test in the summer), and then Grey's Anatomy starts at 8.30. Mmm...

Happy Be-earlied Birthday

I sent Anna an early birthday card on Sunday and she made the most beautiful drawing of it in her Moleskine. I had to share it! It's such a nice feeling to see that your friends are so happy about something you've done. You can find more amazing art work on her website, on her Flickr Photostream and in her Etsy Shop. You should definitely check it out!

Copyright (c) 2004 - 2009

annadenise.nl

All Rights Reserved

(I hope that I did this copyright thing right. I checked all of Anna's websites and I think I should be good. However, with Anna's boyfriend specializing in copyright law, I am a bit nervous...)

One Word by Jochem

Somebody DID send it back to me! :)


"I stole it from you! ;)"

1. Where is your cell phone? LAPTOP
2. Your significant other? GOODY
3. Your hair? CURLY
4. Your mother? SMART
5. Your father? KID
6. Your favorite? STUDIES
7. Your dream last night? LIVING
8. Your favorite drink? MOJITO
9. Your dream and/or goal? HAPPINESS
10. What room are you in? STUDY
11. Your hobby? PROJECTS
12. Your fear? PAIN
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? SPAIN
14. Where were you last night? STUDY
15. Something that you aren't? BOLD
16. Muffins? CHIPS
17. Wish list item? WORLD-TRIP
18. Where did you grow up? WOODS
19. Last thing you did? DELEGATE
20. What are you wearing? NECESSITIES
21. Your TV? WORKS
22. Your pets? MANCHEGO
23. Friends? INSPIRING
24. Your life? FAST
25. Your mood? TO-DO-LIST
26. Missing someone? PEPIJN
27. Car? PLEASE
28. Something you're not wearing? SHOES
29. Your favorite store? WE
30. Your favorite color? GREEN
31. When was the last time you laughed? DINNER
32. When was the last time you cried? SOMETIME
33. Who will re-send this? NOBODY
34. One place that I go to over and over? ITALY
35. One person who e-mails me regularly? EYAL
36. My favorite place to eat? W/.NURIA

One Word

I totally stole this from Facebook.

1. Where is your cell phone? DESK
2. Your significant other? MIND-BLOWING
3. Your hair? LONG
4. Your mother? SPANISH
5. Your father? WISE
6. Your favorite? TRAVEL
7. Your dream last night? DISORIENTING
8. Your favorite drink? CORONA
9. Your dream and/or goal? LEISURE
10. What room are you in? STUDY
11. Your hobby? READING
12. Your fear? LOSS
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? BARCELONA
14. Where were you last night? YOGA
15. Something that you aren't? FLEXIBLE
16. Muffins? CHOCOLATE
17. Wish list item? PUG
18. Where did you grow up? SUBURBIA
19. Last thing you did? EAT
20. What are you wearing? UGGS
21. Your TV? OLD
22. Your pets? KITTEN
23. Friends? FABULOUS
24. Your life? BUSY
25. Your mood? BLUE
26. Missing someone? AMERICANS
27. Car? NONE
28. Something you're not wearing? VEST
29. Your favorite store? WE
30. Your favorite color? WHITE
31. When was the last time you laughed? JUST
32. When was the last time you cried? LATELY
33. Who will re-send this? NOBODY
34. One place that I go to over and over? SPAIN
35. One person who e-mails me regularly? ANNA
36. My favorite place to eat? COUCH

Spring

When I got off work today at 6 PM it was not yet dark. And I would have sworn I smelled a hint of Spring on Sunday. Do you feel it too? Anna???

Week 3

Facts at Random

I also have some random facts that I wanted to share with you (you know, in lack of an actual weblog consisting of a coherent story):

* Manchego likes beer, wine, tea and chocolate. He is clearly a child of mine.

* Then again, he does like to watch Jochem do the dishes (see below). I don't know what that's about.

* Staying serene, calm and zen-like in Tree Pose is very hard when your cat is attacking the one foot you're standing on. Om...

* I think Pasta may be pregnant. And has been for a while. How long does it take for a goldfish to give birth? Either way, Pesto is starting to look like a real fox. Or maybe they are lesbians.

* I think that I am pretty done with the theory of my graduate program. We have actually started rereading the theory that we have read before, so that now when I see a term such as "Krashen's i + 1", I actually know what it means. Scary... When do we get to teach already?!

* But what's really scary, is that I am actually starting to like the topic of my Linguistics thesis. I never meant for it to happen, I swear!

* I have been very annoyed lately. One friend even called me up to ask whether I was mad at her, when I wasn't. I think I need a week in Italy to recuperate.

* Jochem may be offered a job in Brussels by his uncle after he graduates. But I don't know how I feel about Belgium.

* Jochem is also thinking about opening a restaurant in Spain with his good friend Eyal. That sounds better. I just need to convince them to do it in Barcelona, which is way cool and where I'll surely find a job myself as a teacher.

* After a few months with me, one of the kids I tutor received a pass for an English test after receiving fails for, literally, years. I am very proud.

* And yet again my professors this quarter are chaotic, unorganized and unstructured. I don't understand...

* I gotta go. The baby needs me.

In Honor of the Graduate

First of all, congratulations to Mar who receives her Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English Language and Culture today from Utrecht University with a Minor in Language Education. I believe she had a rocky start during her first year but after a delay of only six months she now also has her undergraduate degree with good grades and even an 8 for her thesis. Thatagirl!!! :)

Second of all, you may remember that I orchestrated a little contest on this weblog a while ago, asking you what present I ended up buying my little brother Jordi for Christmas. Mar was the first (and the only) one to guess but she guessed right in going for the beanie, so I owed Mar a little poem. Unfortunately I was in the middle of finals and after those I kind of had forgotten about it, but eventually I remembered. I started scribbling and I believe the preliminary version was very well received, so I haven't altered it very much. Since I can't be at the actual ceremony itself because of work, I decided to delay posting the poem until today, as a little gift to my friend. So here goes:

I know a girl

Who's as unique as the most priceless pearl

When I first met her I didn't see

What good friends we were meant to be

I didn't know her very well

But according to Bic she was swell

Mag and I soon agreed

That this was a great girl indeed

Together we have seen it all

The good, the bad, the crazy and the know-it-all

It feels like the four of us keep each other sane

Perhaps the highpoint was that wonderful week in Spain

Mag is always happy in her mind

But Bic and I are of a different kind

We indulge in each other's cynical art

But our friend is the one with the biggest heart

One time when I was very sick

She brought me a homemade picnic

She also gave me vitamin pills and a thermomether

Too bad it didn't make me better

Besides being a caregiver

You can also have great fun with her

She likes the books, the movies, the good food and the drinks at the bar

Sometimes it's scary how similar we are

When we go out she can party until the curtain folds

Luckily we don't go that often because the three of us are getting old

Although we sometimes pretend to also be a great dancer

There is simply no way of keeping up with her

My girl also has the look

Anyone who is a voluntary brunette is cool in my book

With her great fashion style she often causes a scene

She's the only one of us who fits into skinny jeans

Because she's so sweet I sometimes believe

That she may be a bit naive

But I know that she's actually grown much

And now she's almost as bitter as the rest of us

She's one of my best friends by far

And her name is Mar