Boxing day was spent at my aunt's in The Hague. She had organized an afternoon programme, I think mainly because my uncle (her brother) likes the after-dinner party drinks and will then drive back without any problems. Anyway, the food was good: an old-fashioned Dutch Sunday meal of rollade, Brussels sprouts, green beans, potatoes and gravy. Ice for dessert; my mom had brought back a Christmas pudding from Edinburgh when she went to my graduation, but I think that was outvoted in favour of ice, so the pudding will have to wait until some other time. They appear to have use-by dates in the very distant future anyway, so dessert for Christmas 2015 is all settled.
Between the main course and dessert we went on a little walk through the dunes to the beach boulevard of Kijkduin. They had some sort of artsy exposition there, with large milky-glass balls with paintings on, that were illuminated from the inside. They were supposed to be gorgeous. They were okay, but not exactly a life-changing experience. The sea was much nicer.
The train ride back the next day was problematic. Between Gouda and Woerden we had to go really slowly because the tracks were slippery from the snow. Then just after Amersfoort there was another slow stretch because someone was spotted walking along the tracks. After a while we sped up again and they said the person had not been found. A couple of stations on, the same thing. This time we did see the guy being picked up by the police. I wonder what the idea was behind building all these mental hospitals in the woods right next to the railroad tracks...
Today I had to go to the bank. They called yesterday, because apparently I don't qualify for a student account anymore, because they spotted that I no longer receive money from the government. The Bank may need to wake up, cause I haven't received that money since 2001! I now seem to be a young professional, cause that's the package they offered me now. They did say you needed at least €900 a month 'feeding' into your account. Too bad, but I did change the contract to 800 before I signed it. Banks are evil corporations that you really need to keep an eye on. After my mom's problems with her credit card while she was in Edinburgh, they are seriously considering moving all their money away from this bank -- then see how nice they suddenly are...
Radio 2 is currently doing their mammoth Top 2000 broadcast. The best 2000 songs ever as voted by their listeners. It's the seventh year in a row that they do this, it all started in 1999 as a run-up to the new millennium. A chart that runs from midnight into Boxing Day until midnight New Year's Eve, with really a lot of good records! (Currently a very bad hour actually, numbers 965 to 952, the next hour will be better.) After six years with Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody at #1, it's now Boudewijn de Groot's Avond which has rightly clinched the top spot. Either way, it's a lot better than turning on the tv to any of the music channels. We have three -- TMF, MTV Nederland, and The Box -- and at any given time, at least one of them plays a Robbie Williams song.
A good thing on tv these days is the Dutch qualifying tournament for the Olympics in speedskating. Two days down, two days to go. It's very exciting, they're going really really fast and the results so far are just perfect: enough nice surprises and unexpected results but it's all safe bets that qualify for the Olympics. I'll be going to Heerenveen on Friday with JH and EvL to watch it in person (1000 m ladies, 1500 m men [that's going to be murder!] and 5000 m ladies). Should be good.
Oh yeah, the Christmas present books: three Bommel books by Marten Toonder (De toornviolen, De loodhervormer and De kwade inblazingen), Alexander McCall Smith's The Sunday Philosophy Club (in Dutch; set in Edinburgh), and a book with short stories by Eastern European authors with names with hacheks on the S and dashes through the L.
Between the main course and dessert we went on a little walk through the dunes to the beach boulevard of Kijkduin. They had some sort of artsy exposition there, with large milky-glass balls with paintings on, that were illuminated from the inside. They were supposed to be gorgeous. They were okay, but not exactly a life-changing experience. The sea was much nicer.
The train ride back the next day was problematic. Between Gouda and Woerden we had to go really slowly because the tracks were slippery from the snow. Then just after Amersfoort there was another slow stretch because someone was spotted walking along the tracks. After a while we sped up again and they said the person had not been found. A couple of stations on, the same thing. This time we did see the guy being picked up by the police. I wonder what the idea was behind building all these mental hospitals in the woods right next to the railroad tracks...
Today I had to go to the bank. They called yesterday, because apparently I don't qualify for a student account anymore, because they spotted that I no longer receive money from the government. The Bank may need to wake up, cause I haven't received that money since 2001! I now seem to be a young professional, cause that's the package they offered me now. They did say you needed at least €900 a month 'feeding' into your account. Too bad, but I did change the contract to 800 before I signed it. Banks are evil corporations that you really need to keep an eye on. After my mom's problems with her credit card while she was in Edinburgh, they are seriously considering moving all their money away from this bank -- then see how nice they suddenly are...
Radio 2 is currently doing their mammoth Top 2000 broadcast. The best 2000 songs ever as voted by their listeners. It's the seventh year in a row that they do this, it all started in 1999 as a run-up to the new millennium. A chart that runs from midnight into Boxing Day until midnight New Year's Eve, with really a lot of good records! (Currently a very bad hour actually, numbers 965 to 952, the next hour will be better.) After six years with Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody at #1, it's now Boudewijn de Groot's Avond which has rightly clinched the top spot. Either way, it's a lot better than turning on the tv to any of the music channels. We have three -- TMF, MTV Nederland, and The Box -- and at any given time, at least one of them plays a Robbie Williams song.
A good thing on tv these days is the Dutch qualifying tournament for the Olympics in speedskating. Two days down, two days to go. It's very exciting, they're going really really fast and the results so far are just perfect: enough nice surprises and unexpected results but it's all safe bets that qualify for the Olympics. I'll be going to Heerenveen on Friday with JH and EvL to watch it in person (1000 m ladies, 1500 m men [that's going to be murder!] and 5000 m ladies). Should be good.
Oh yeah, the Christmas present books: three Bommel books by Marten Toonder (De toornviolen, De loodhervormer and De kwade inblazingen), Alexander McCall Smith's The Sunday Philosophy Club (in Dutch; set in Edinburgh), and a book with short stories by Eastern European authors with names with hacheks on the S and dashes through the L.
