Halloween pumpkin

The big advantage of halloween is that the pumpkins are on special offer....

Cut it up and make soup out of it...

Kitchen radio

There is no longer absolute silence when I'm cooking. I can now listen to some tunes when I'm slicing, dicing and stiring in my pans.

[ I can even pretend I know the lyrics... ]

Wow, I'm cutting onions in rhythm with the music...

Winter light

With daylight savings in effect, the sun doesn't only rise earlier, it sets sooner too. I now have to turn on my lights when I cycle home in the dark.

[ and exactly today my rear light decides to quit on me... ]

I've had it, I'm done...

Not being able to see what the issue was, I took a big wrench when I came home and detached the complete light from my bike (what a hustle, almost hidden bolts, sheer impossible angle to manouver the wrench). When I finally manage to remove it I tok it in my kitchen. In that light I spotted a tiny tiny screw. After unscrewing that I could easily replace the batteries inside.

[ why don't I spot these things right away..? ]

With a now functional rear light in my hand all I needed to do was to get it fixed to my bike again. And I thought it was difficult to get it off my bike...

Company outing

Yesterday it was time, with all my colleagues we were heading in a small cosy green bus (with red carpet and green table lamps) to the surprise location.

[ something requiring swimmingtrunks, that's all we knew... ]

After a short trip we were dropped of at Dutch water dreams and were hoisted into a wetsuit. We got some safety instructions and some practise in 'how to keep a float in fast streaming cold water' we were allowed to choose a peddle and get aboard of a rubber boat.

[ and than peddle like your life depended on it... ]

Look out: a water rapid! And another one...

A few rounds in an enormous tub later and having lost just two passengers it was time for something else: flowboarden.

Trying to surf on a generated wave...

After all these watery activities we ended the outing in a warm tapas bar in The Hague.

[ when is our next outing..? ]

Empty chairs

I still have to get used to it, but I can see the back rests of all my chairs. Normally most chairs are host to one of my coats, but today they have all moved...

[ yes indeed, I've got some coat-hooks..! ]

Just throw your coat over a chair You can hang up your coat here...

Time for a house-warming party I would think...

5: At last..!!!

I don't know how long I've been putting this off (actually I do: more than two years), but finally I've done it...

[ hurray, hurray, and hurray once more... ]

Skirting boards..!!!!!11112

4: More D.I.Y.

No, I wasn't finished yet, I have more stuff to put on my walls...

[ and that stuff now hangs as well... ]

No, this isn't a fish, it's a kite...

3: Doing it yourself...

I hope my neighbours haven't gone mad. It took quite some time in step three to turn one of my walls into something resembling a piece of Swiss cheese...

[ but all the holes are in use now... ]

New: a whole wall to display some of my CD's...

2: Get a drill

Now I know the 'where' part, all I have to do is arrange the 'how'.

[ that's when you borrow the boss's drill... ]

Step two, thanks to Tjeerd...

1: Mark your wall

Been busy the whole evening with a pencil, measuring tape and spirit level. The result: 54 little marks on my walls...

[ that's just step one... ]

These and 50 other pencil marks...

Hello.., it's me...

I was surprised when my phone rang whilst cycling home from work last night. When I answered the phone it was silent for a split second, then I heard a voice: "Hello.., it's me... Have you forgotten me..?"

[ silence overtook me as I realized my terrible mistake... ]

Bread-call: A reconstruction...

I was so absorbed in work that I didn't get around to eating my 4 'o clock breadroll. Normally I would eat it on the way home (pre-diner snack), but I completely forgotten to do that.

[ unfortunately my bread phones me to express its disappointment... ]

You're elephants..!

"You're elephants..!," we are frequently told now-a-days on mondays. Since a few weeks we are getting a special fitness training for kendo. Our trainer reminds us we stamp our feet when we are running.

[ and we should act like gazelles... ]

My view on route to Amersfoort

Dooooooooonuts!

TO give my colleagues a taste of New York I brought with me a dozen donuts.

[ I got some strange glances when I entered the plane with a bag full of donuts... ]

Mmm, donuts...

I left one box at the User Intelligence office, the other was my donation for the UCD cookie jar.

Trying to see it all

My plan of today is simple: I have a few hours left in New York before I have to fly back home. I want to see as much as possible.

[ by foot of course... ]

I've done my upmost best to walk through New York: to Central park, emprire state building and from 80th street back to Battery park.

Quickly, there so much of New York to be seen...

I met Xander en Ingrid in China town, they showed me the older parts of New York, with Brooklyn bridge, Wall street and the statue of liberty (very far away).

[ and now I have to hurry to catch my plane... ]

I couldn't resist buying the iconic T-shirt...

New York, New York

Today I started breakfast with tea and donuts. The rest of the day I conducted tests at a large research hospital in Manhattan.

Breakfast NY style: chocolate and Jelly donut...

After all tests were done I walked to the appartement of my friends (Xander en Ingrid), who live very near the test location.

[ I already met Xander by coincidence yesterday... ]

After leaving some Dutch gifts (stroopwafels, pepernoten, Dutch meatball spices and a wandering book) we headed to Time square in a fresh smelling cab. I could look at all the pretty lights down there.

Are these all energy saving bulbs..?

We then had something to eat at the Hard Rock café and finished the day with drinks in 'The view', a spinning restaurant/bar on the 48th floor with a view on New York (even more lights).

Park avenue

I am to travel again for work, this time to New York! After landing on Newark airport I took the traion to the centre to find myself surrounded by skyscrapers.

[ mission: buy a city map and find your hotel... ]

I quickly located Park avenue on my new map. After some zig-zagging through streets and avenues I reach Park. All I had to do was walk on to number 365 and check-in in the hotel.

Wow, I'm in New York...

After arriving at number 345 I cross the street to discover number 375. What happened to 365? After some confused looking around I decide to ask. It turns out that Park avenu has two sides (East and West) with its own numbering.

[ and I had to be on the other side of course... ]

East-side was not on my side...

Just when I had gathered myself to walk about 26 blocks the other way, I hear my name. To my surprise I see a friend from my schooldays who lives in New York now. I was supposed to meet him and his girlfriend on frisdaynight for some drinks, but running into him now is just dumb luck...

[ only something like 8 million people live in New York... ]

Welcome to my world

I suffer from a strange kind of dyslexia. I mange to scramble up letters in words in such a way that it spells something which is much funnier.

[ I wish the world would be as cute as my brain makes it... ]

Don't you agree with this sign..?

Early...

Today I've conducted a test in the UK. I decided to go to and fro in one day.

Advantage: not having to stay the night in a boring business hotel
Disadvantage: Getting up really early...

Did I say early..?

Wandering book

Packing my bag this evening I suddenly find a strange object, a book that isn't mine...

I'm not lost...
I'm a book on a journey,
may I travel with you..?

A sticker on the cover indicates that 'de klokkenluider' from Tomas Ross didn't get in my bag by accident.

This book is on a journey...

According to the instructions in the book, I've just found a wandering book. I can read it, and sent it on its journey again: read and let go!

[ to the anonymous donator: thanks... ]

Cycle...what the?...crash..!

I'm cycling to an appointment in the early morning light, well on time, neat shirt (ironed it myself), everything will go just fine. All I need to do is cross a bridge at the central station and take the ferry north.

[ steap bridge, some extra power is needed... ]

Than, all of a sudden I'm only holding the handle of my bike in my hand. The stearless bike swerves and smashes halfway on the bridge to the ground...

This shouldn't let go...

Thanks to a reflex (or pure luck) I manage to keep from falling. People look at me like I can't ride a bike. In my astonishment I hold up my loose handle, but no one seems to care, everybody just continues biking.

[ I get up and do the same... ]