blossoms in the Vondelpark

a trenchcoat out of wood on Spiegelstraat

origami poster & graffiti on Amstel

home sweet home

this morning i stepped outside to head off to work, and there was a sideways sleet coming down outside.  given that i have a longish bicycle ride to work (on the amstelveenseweg end of the vondelpark), the windy sleet didn’t appeal to me as an ideal riding condition, so i took the tram.

on the few occasions that i take the tram to work, i usually have some kind of reading material to keep me occupied.  this time i didn’t, so i looked out the windows.

what a different perspective!  the buildings look different, more complete.  it helped that the sun kept breaking brightly through the clouds.  since i didn’t personally have to concentrate on not hitting them, the antics of tourists trying to experiment with double-seat bicycles in the middle of commuting traffic was amusing rather than irritating.  i still had to shake my head, though, when they fell over into the street just as the car that had been very patiently waiting for them to find the edge of the road had begun to edge past them.  the tram route took me past the places that i regularly pass on my bicycle, and i saw other bicyclists that i recognize from my daily commute, but they look different from slightly above. 

once a week or so, i’ve started walking to/from work rather than bicycling, but it hasn’t been so notably different as today’s tram ride was.  anyway, i’ll be walking home again today, through the vondelpark, past paradiso, muntplein, nieuwmarkt then home.  the magnolia trees have started opening up… it’s spring!  yay!

Hey anyone driving to Leipzig from the Netherlands,

Does anyone have any car space where we can send with you our festival luggage (probably a smallish suitcase each)?  We will be on our long motorcycle road trip, so either have to mail it to the hotel or send it with someone.  Happy to pay a portion of your gas money, for the privilege!  We’ll be getting to the hotel Friday afternoon. 

Thanks!

last week was shit.  the whole week.  absolute hell.
work was shit (long story to skip), so i had to explain to my boss that i was overloaded.
house stuff was shit (long story to skip), involving my landlord and our cv ketel and a gas bill.
matt was gone, so no help with these things.
i didn’t sleep well all week, and was really really tired and crabby.

then my aunt and uncle (who i haven’t seen in 15 years) came into town. 
exhausting, but fun.  even if my aunt seems to be more of an extremist, religion-wise, than i’d known.

they’re still here.  house stuff still unsolved.  back to work. 
on the plus side, my boss brought me a little present today.  🙂  that’s really sweet of her.  and she really is trying to solve the overloading problem, although it will take time.

ugh.
and i didn’t go out to get really drunk, as i would have liked, friday or saturday, because i was so damn worn out.  my apologies to you,

.  i really didn’t flake, just fell completely and desperately asleep before clubbing time, on the sofa.  😦