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...

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