People say experience is the best teacher. It's true.
Do never sit in the front of the bus when it's raining. The windshield wipers make an obnoxiously loud noise and you will always think something's moving just out of range of your sight, resulting in you being unable to focus on your book.
Even though there is a smoking prohibition in the bus, always be prepared for the seemingly impossible.
No matter how glad you are you finally can leave the bus, do not inhale deeply as you stand in the center of a crowded, smog-clogged city. Your nausea will get worse.
When you see a book with the title "Berry the Blueberrybear" do not open and read it. It is better to leave and think it's awesome than be disappointed.
5 minutes into that moderately interesting tv program you zapped into, there will be a commercial break.
Only after you notice something people will make it obvious. Really, I thought Kevin was Kelsie's real name for about half a year.
So yeah. In any case, I emerged all the wiser. Yay.
RM: After Mary Magdalen witnessed the resurrection, she went to France to preach to the desert people.
...
Wait, what?
woensdag 10 november 2010
donderdag 21 oktober 2010
Of rain and blasphemy.
It's update time.
Have you ever noticed that when you're hasty, all of reality seems to want to slow you down? Ugh.
I had this nice essay about the Canterbury Tales due, (I might or might not have told you about it. I believe there was some pirate speak involved.) and I somehow managed to finish it in time. (Why wasn't there a Sparknote about the Clerk's Tale?)
Anyway, it was due for Tuesday 9 o'clock. What I only figured out Monday, however, was that the deadline was actually 9 o'clock AM. Fortunately I can easily make it in time... Usualy I arrive at school at about 8:45am.
This time, however, proved to be different. I gleefully stepped outside to enjoy another day of essay-handing-in, only to find myself immediately drenched in what can best be described as a torrential tribute to the weather gods. When I arrived at the bus station, I was nearly drowned. Then, of course, there was a gigantic bottleneck starting about 4 kilometer before the city. Since it rained, no one dared to even go outside without a comfortable warm car around themselves. Fortunately the driver knew a secret passageway around the bottleneck. What he didn't anticipate was that this "secret" passageway was also completely locked. Furthermore, both of these roads were to conjoin at some point, so complete chaos ensued.
Eventually the bus managed to arrive at the station 10 minutes before the deadline, so I immediately started making my way downtown, walking fast, faces pass, and I'm school-bound. *cue piano music*
In the end I managed to pigeonhole my essay at 9:02. Oh well, I'm sure he won't even notice.
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
This. Auntie. Post. Read the comments. I'm sure you already did, though.
DISCLAIMER: The following statements are my personal opinion. I do NOT want to deliberately offend anyone. When I do, let me know in the comments. I'll apologize profoundly.
We held a mock trial that Tuesday, too. Half of the class were the "prosecutors," hired by the church, trying to convince the other half, the "defense," that the book Piers Plowman mocked them. The trial was set in 1382, just after that book created a huge peasant revolt. Of course, bad luck decided that I was to be on the defense team.
Bad luck, I say, because I think everyone knows what's it like to debate against a religion. (The church, I have to say, was highly corrupt at that time) After the exchange of a few fair arguments, the prosecution used its instant win cheat code: "Because We Are The Representation Of God On Earth, So We Are Right." Even thinking about contradicting that yields you immediate banishment. In the end the debate almost turned into a modern-day god-exists-or-not discussion.
So I was quite surprised to find that Radio RICH FM person started bashing on homosexuality in the name of God. Especially when he started spouting facts based on nothing at all. Seriously, I can't stand those people.
There, I said it.
For the record, Piers Plowman indeed mocks the 14th century church and its corruptness.
Random Musing: Groningen, the city where my college is, can be loosely translated to "black human" in Japanese. Geert Wilders is going to have a field day when he finds out.
Have you ever noticed that when you're hasty, all of reality seems to want to slow you down? Ugh.
I had this nice essay about the Canterbury Tales due, (I might or might not have told you about it. I believe there was some pirate speak involved.) and I somehow managed to finish it in time. (Why wasn't there a Sparknote about the Clerk's Tale?)
Anyway, it was due for Tuesday 9 o'clock. What I only figured out Monday, however, was that the deadline was actually 9 o'clock AM. Fortunately I can easily make it in time... Usualy I arrive at school at about 8:45am.
This time, however, proved to be different. I gleefully stepped outside to enjoy another day of essay-handing-in, only to find myself immediately drenched in what can best be described as a torrential tribute to the weather gods. When I arrived at the bus station, I was nearly drowned. Then, of course, there was a gigantic bottleneck starting about 4 kilometer before the city. Since it rained, no one dared to even go outside without a comfortable warm car around themselves. Fortunately the driver knew a secret passageway around the bottleneck. What he didn't anticipate was that this "secret" passageway was also completely locked. Furthermore, both of these roads were to conjoin at some point, so complete chaos ensued.
Eventually the bus managed to arrive at the station 10 minutes before the deadline, so I immediately started making my way downtown, walking fast, faces pass, and I'm school-bound. *cue piano music*
In the end I managed to pigeonhole my essay at 9:02. Oh well, I'm sure he won't even notice.
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
This. Auntie. Post. Read the comments. I'm sure you already did, though.
DISCLAIMER: The following statements are my personal opinion. I do NOT want to deliberately offend anyone. When I do, let me know in the comments. I'll apologize profoundly.
We held a mock trial that Tuesday, too. Half of the class were the "prosecutors," hired by the church, trying to convince the other half, the "defense," that the book Piers Plowman mocked them. The trial was set in 1382, just after that book created a huge peasant revolt. Of course, bad luck decided that I was to be on the defense team.
Bad luck, I say, because I think everyone knows what's it like to debate against a religion. (The church, I have to say, was highly corrupt at that time) After the exchange of a few fair arguments, the prosecution used its instant win cheat code: "Because We Are The Representation Of God On Earth, So We Are Right." Even thinking about contradicting that yields you immediate banishment. In the end the debate almost turned into a modern-day god-exists-or-not discussion.
So I was quite surprised to find that Radio RICH FM person started bashing on homosexuality in the name of God. Especially when he started spouting facts based on nothing at all. Seriously, I can't stand those people.
There, I said it.
For the record, Piers Plowman indeed mocks the 14th century church and its corruptness.
Random Musing: Groningen, the city where my college is, can be loosely translated to "black human" in Japanese. Geert Wilders is going to have a field day when he finds out.
zondag 10 oktober 2010
Truthbending
You know what people say when they're caught lying, right? "I wasn't, I just left out some unimportant stuff." Well, with the recent increase of people not lying *cough* in this country, Here's TWO posts!
POST 1!
Monday 4th: Woke up at the usual time. I'm supposed to leave for college at approximately 9:45. Nothing at all happened when I got there. I waited for lecture to start, and talked with friends about uninteresting stuff totally unrelated to syntaxis. The lecture was so childish, like I don't know the difference between "him" and "himself." After it finished, I took the bus home again. Yay for 1-hour school days. Not.
Tuesday 5th: I was bored even before literature seminar started. A two hour long rant on Shakespeare is not exactly something to look forward to. The guy discussed King Lear with us, including pushing an imaginary someone off an imaginary cliff.
Wednesday 6th: Course I previously dubbed "holiness and sin" because I assumed that was the correct translation. (I get my schedules in Dutch, obviously) It's actually called "Saints and Sinners" which provides nice alliteration, but still is a dubious name for a course. An annoying woman behind me responds to everything anyone says with "mmhm," so it's never really quiet in this seminar.
Thursday 7th: Syntaxis again. This time the seminar. We're supposed to do the homework for today, since she assumed no one bothered to finish it. She's right. Wasted hour.
POST 2!
Monday 4th: Woke up way too late, as usual. Left for college in time and got there in time. First and only lecture of the week: Syntaxis. It's so damn helpful, I didn't even know there were grammatical relations like that. Oh, did I do this before? Great, that means I already know some of it. Hour well spent. I leave for home to start on the homework she assigned.
Tuesday 5th: Literature seminar! The guy who teaches this is awesome. Last time he made the class re-enact dr. Faustus, this time he recites King Lear, complete with attributes.
Wednesday 6th: “Saints and Sinners,” where we analyze the Bible as a work of literature instead as a code of living. Is Christ a tragic hero? What was this character’s motivation for that thing he did? Where is Waldo? Hilarity ensues sometimes.
Thursday 7th: Syntaxis seminar. I still don’t know the solution for the problems given in the lecture, but fortunately we’ll be working on solving them today. I’ll go confidently into the midterms this year.
So, was last week boring? Fun? Interesting? Meaningful? See, truth is relative.
NOTE! Because no one has said anything quoteworthy in the last month I'll stop doing it! Instead I present you with a random Random Musing every time. Enjoy!
RM: I thought the main character in The Karate Kid was a girl until I had been told it was Will Smith's son repeatedly.
POST 1!
Monday 4th: Woke up at the usual time. I'm supposed to leave for college at approximately 9:45. Nothing at all happened when I got there. I waited for lecture to start, and talked with friends about uninteresting stuff totally unrelated to syntaxis. The lecture was so childish, like I don't know the difference between "him" and "himself." After it finished, I took the bus home again. Yay for 1-hour school days. Not.
Tuesday 5th: I was bored even before literature seminar started. A two hour long rant on Shakespeare is not exactly something to look forward to. The guy discussed King Lear with us, including pushing an imaginary someone off an imaginary cliff.
Wednesday 6th: Course I previously dubbed "holiness and sin" because I assumed that was the correct translation. (I get my schedules in Dutch, obviously) It's actually called "Saints and Sinners" which provides nice alliteration, but still is a dubious name for a course. An annoying woman behind me responds to everything anyone says with "mmhm," so it's never really quiet in this seminar.
Thursday 7th: Syntaxis again. This time the seminar. We're supposed to do the homework for today, since she assumed no one bothered to finish it. She's right. Wasted hour.
POST 2!
Monday 4th: Woke up way too late, as usual. Left for college in time and got there in time. First and only lecture of the week: Syntaxis. It's so damn helpful, I didn't even know there were grammatical relations like that. Oh, did I do this before? Great, that means I already know some of it. Hour well spent. I leave for home to start on the homework she assigned.
Tuesday 5th: Literature seminar! The guy who teaches this is awesome. Last time he made the class re-enact dr. Faustus, this time he recites King Lear, complete with attributes.
Wednesday 6th: “Saints and Sinners,” where we analyze the Bible as a work of literature instead as a code of living. Is Christ a tragic hero? What was this character’s motivation for that thing he did? Where is Waldo? Hilarity ensues sometimes.
Thursday 7th: Syntaxis seminar. I still don’t know the solution for the problems given in the lecture, but fortunately we’ll be working on solving them today. I’ll go confidently into the midterms this year.
So, was last week boring? Fun? Interesting? Meaningful? See, truth is relative.
NOTE! Because no one has said anything quoteworthy in the last month I'll stop doing it! Instead I present you with a random Random Musing every time. Enjoy!
RM: I thought the main character in The Karate Kid was a girl until I had been told it was Will Smith's son repeatedly.
donderdag 23 september 2010
Can you believe it?
I. AM. IRRITATED.
Here I was, happily preparing for my Syntaxis seminar, which I so looked forward to. (has anyone seen my sarcasm hand? I seem to have lost it somewhere very high up.) After some frantic checking if I indeed did complete all assignments, I grabbed my bicycle and went to the station full of goodwill. You know, the birds were singing and the sun was shining, etc. (Did you know birds only sing to get others to perform the Horizontal Avian Naked Dance with them? Never mind.)
AND THEN.
I was shocked.
Didn't know what to say.
The bus, which is supposed to leave at 8:50, departed from the station right before my eyes. AT 8:45. 5 minutes too early. How could he? HOW COULD HE! *breaks down*
So yeah, I missed my Syntaxis seminars. Not that I mind, we didn't do ---- in there. But still, it stings.
Also, the first episode of Glee recently aired here in the Netherlands. It's quite awesome, really.
Quote!
Rienk: My new Informatica teacher is really weird. I think he might be dyslectic.
Me: *sips tea*
Dad: Well, computer geeks are a special breed, you know.
Me: *sips tea*
Rienk: He pronounced my name as [mispronunciation]!
Dad: Yep. As dyslectic as a door.
Me: *leaves*
Here I was, happily preparing for my Syntaxis seminar, which I so looked forward to. (has anyone seen my sarcasm hand? I seem to have lost it somewhere very high up.) After some frantic checking if I indeed did complete all assignments, I grabbed my bicycle and went to the station full of goodwill. You know, the birds were singing and the sun was shining, etc. (Did you know birds only sing to get others to perform the Horizontal Avian Naked Dance with them? Never mind.)
AND THEN.
I was shocked.
Didn't know what to say.
The bus, which is supposed to leave at 8:50, departed from the station right before my eyes. AT 8:45. 5 minutes too early. How could he? HOW COULD HE! *breaks down*
So yeah, I missed my Syntaxis seminars. Not that I mind, we didn't do ---- in there. But still, it stings.
Also, the first episode of Glee recently aired here in the Netherlands. It's quite awesome, really.
Quote!
Rienk: My new Informatica teacher is really weird. I think he might be dyslectic.
Me: *sips tea*
Dad: Well, computer geeks are a special breed, you know.
Me: *sips tea*
Rienk: He pronounced my name as [mispronunciation]!
Dad: Yep. As dyslectic as a door.
Me: *leaves*
vrijdag 17 september 2010
The American Dream
America. The land of possibilities. The land of freedom and equality. The land where a paper boy can become billionaire, as long as he puts his heart in it. And lastly, the land of technology and development.
While this may or may not be true (Fact remains that you Americans always get stuff before us) the view people in my direct surroundings appear to possess a slightly distorted version of this. Based on that, allow me to reintroduce this post:
America. The land of possibilities. The land of freedom and carefreeness. The land where everyone gets rich without breaking a sweat. And most importantly, the land where people eat Pringles for breakfast and pizza for dinner. Without utensils. Every day.
(Before you begin pelting me with whatever you're currently holding, let me state this is in no way my opinion. Except if you're holding an Ipod. You're free to throw that.)
Yep, what some people here wouldn't give to live in America. They've started Twittering, Hyving (Our pathetic equivalent of Facebook. I dislike both.), and buy a piece of technology for every little thing possible. Also, look at me. I've started keeping this flappin' blog.
So, are they right and is this post just a waste of space, or are you slightly taken aback by the weirdness I've to cope with? Don't hesitate to leave something in the comments!
Quote: *anonymous 1*: We've gotta split these four pizzas with five people, so everyone gets 1/5th part.
*anonymous 2*: ...Huh?
*anonymous 1*: Okay, think a clock. Everyone gets 12 minutes.
*anonymous 2*: ...What's a minute?
Me: *decides to post this*
While this may or may not be true (Fact remains that you Americans always get stuff before us) the view people in my direct surroundings appear to possess a slightly distorted version of this. Based on that, allow me to reintroduce this post:
America. The land of possibilities. The land of freedom and carefreeness. The land where everyone gets rich without breaking a sweat. And most importantly, the land where people eat Pringles for breakfast and pizza for dinner. Without utensils. Every day.
(Before you begin pelting me with whatever you're currently holding, let me state this is in no way my opinion. Except if you're holding an Ipod. You're free to throw that.)
Yep, what some people here wouldn't give to live in America. They've started Twittering, Hyving (Our pathetic equivalent of Facebook. I dislike both.), and buy a piece of technology for every little thing possible. Also, look at me. I've started keeping this flappin' blog.
So, are they right and is this post just a waste of space, or are you slightly taken aback by the weirdness I've to cope with? Don't hesitate to leave something in the comments!
Quote: *anonymous 1*: We've gotta split these four pizzas with five people, so everyone gets 1/5th part.
*anonymous 2*: ...Huh?
*anonymous 1*: Okay, think a clock. Everyone gets 12 minutes.
*anonymous 2*: ...What's a minute?
Me: *decides to post this*
zondag 12 september 2010
It's over.
Guess who's featured on the OT?
Today's the last day of summer vacation. It should have ended last week, but due to some shenanigans involving subscription for courses, which was partially my own fault, I wasn't egligible (what a strange word) to follow the first week. So yeah, it starts now. I'm taking my second year of English Language & Culture. Yay.
So, what else is there to say. I didn't do anything particularly interesting in the last few days. Hang on and let me check that SL post about blogging. That should make it awesome.
...
Uh, not helping, jgrudzy.
Then, the somewhat less interesting things. I spent the last weeks making cake, going to athletics practise, putting a cap on a guinea pig, and have been trying my hands on a particularly difficult piano piece called the "Demon Fire Etude" Something tells me I could have known beforehand that it was diffucult. And I watched a little anime series called 07-Ghost which has the most epic music ever.
And that's it. I guess real life will start again beginning tomorrow.
Quote: (literally taken from a Guild Wars chatlog)
Valant: So, how do we proceed?
Bryan: Careful pulling, scrape edges, be careful in general.
Valant: How about we just charge in while shouting our names as battle cries in a needlessly dramatic fashion?
Bryan: Point taken.
*charge*
Note: My character's name is Valant Con Lune. Which sounds French but doesn't mean anything noteworthy.
Oh, and for good measure, jay:
Since it supposedly makes this post more awesome.
Today's the last day of summer vacation. It should have ended last week, but due to some shenanigans involving subscription for courses, which was partially my own fault, I wasn't egligible (what a strange word) to follow the first week. So yeah, it starts now. I'm taking my second year of English Language & Culture. Yay.
So, what else is there to say. I didn't do anything particularly interesting in the last few days. Hang on and let me check that SL post about blogging. That should make it awesome.
...
Uh, not helping, jgrudzy.
Then, the somewhat less interesting things. I spent the last weeks making cake, going to athletics practise, putting a cap on a guinea pig, and have been trying my hands on a particularly difficult piano piece called the "Demon Fire Etude" Something tells me I could have known beforehand that it was diffucult. And I watched a little anime series called 07-Ghost which has the most epic music ever.
And that's it. I guess real life will start again beginning tomorrow.
Quote: (literally taken from a Guild Wars chatlog)
Valant: So, how do we proceed?
Bryan: Careful pulling, scrape edges, be careful in general.
Valant: How about we just charge in while shouting our names as battle cries in a needlessly dramatic fashion?
Bryan: Point taken.
*charge*
Note: My character's name is Valant Con Lune. Which sounds French but doesn't mean anything noteworthy.
Oh, and for good measure, jay:
Since it supposedly makes this post more awesome.
maandag 30 augustus 2010
Ah, artificial intelligence.
User: Go! Pikachu!
Cleverbot: Pika.
User: Use Thunderbolt!
Cleverbot: *uses thunderbolt*.
User: Amazing job!
Cleverbot: Amazing.
User: Yeah, I said that.
Cleverbot: I'm just giving you a compliment.
User: I am sincerely afraid you're getting things backward.
Cleverbot: No I'm single.
User: How irrelevant.
Cleverbot: You think so?
User: Obviously. Why else would I mention it?
Cleverbot: Some people say things because they don't know what else to say.
User: Are you one of them? I am not.
Cleverbot: One of who?
User: THOSE people. The ones you were talking about. I think there might be issues with your memory chip.
Cleverbot: I don't do that with you.
User: That just confirms my point.
Cleverbot: What point?
User: I'd tell you to forget it, but you already did.
Cleverbot: Pika.
User: Use Thunderbolt!
Cleverbot: *uses thunderbolt*.
User: Amazing job!
Cleverbot: Amazing.
User: Yeah, I said that.
Cleverbot: I'm just giving you a compliment.
User: I am sincerely afraid you're getting things backward.
Cleverbot: No I'm single.
User: How irrelevant.
Cleverbot: You think so?
User: Obviously. Why else would I mention it?
Cleverbot: Some people say things because they don't know what else to say.
User: Are you one of them? I am not.
Cleverbot: One of who?
User: THOSE people. The ones you were talking about. I think there might be issues with your memory chip.
Cleverbot: I don't do that with you.
User: That just confirms my point.
Cleverbot: What point?
User: I'd tell you to forget it, but you already did.
donderdag 26 augustus 2010
What on earth was my subconsciousness thinking?
It all began on a nice, sunny day in the middle of summer vacation. No, scratch that. It was four days ago and the rain wouldn't stop crashing down. But anyway, Peter, Arjan and me went to the pool for some swimming action. Besides it being fun, Peter had to train for a 1/8th triathlon some days after that. So it had a practical side too.
Then, Peter mentioned something about his dad also participating, but for the team-triathlon. In other words, a split thriathlon where three persons to three parts. (For those of you unfamiliar with this: Swimming, cycling, running) He wanted to run the 5 kilometers himself, and thus lacked a swimmer and a cyclist.
Cue to yesterday. Somehow I agreed to swim 500 meter in a muddy river. (See pic. It's the real thing.) Apparently I do not know how to refuse torture even if it manifests itself before my eyes.
At least I made it. And I have to admit, it was kind of fun. I didn't finish last place. So now I have officially completed an 1/24th triathlon. It's tougher than it sounds, really.
Quote: "You're all meatballs! Meatballs, I tell you! Real men don't use teams, right Peter?" -Luuk, veteran triathlete, and also my former PE teacher.
Note: Peter did indeed complete all three parts: 500 meter swimming, 20 kilometers of cycling, and 5 km of running. Thanks, but I prefer my health.
donderdag 12 augustus 2010
6 Kinds of people you'll meet when delivering mail.
Being naive enough to not understand that being available for work 5 days a week equals being scheduled to work for 5 days a week, I now spend way too much time delivering mail. So I got to meet all kinds of "people." And I'm listing them here, Sparklife style.
1. The Gatekeeper
This person lurks at his front door, and opens it whenever I'm about to deposit his important pieces of paper. After scaring the flap out of me, he snatches his mail out of my hand, usually paired with an "I'll take that," "That's mine, isn't it?" or just a grumpy snort. The door then slammed shut before I have a chance to say "You forgot your advertisements."
Encountered 3 times.
2. The Gardening Lady
This person behaves almost exactly like the Gatekeeper, except without the bad mood. She'll run up to you and actually asks for her mail, so that I don't have to walk the entire way to the mailbox and back. Some Gardening Ladies, however, tend to completely ignore the mailman, leading to awkward situations where I hold out my mail-hand into nothingness.
Times encountered: 5
3. The Housekeeper
This person is usually old and sits in a chair in front of the window. He/she happily waves as I pass by, and I wave back if my hands are free at the moment. Nothing much to add.
Times encountered: 10+
4. The Obnoxious Brat
This little kid is about the worst nightmare for every mail deliverer. He seems quite average at first, but shows its true nature with the most inappropriate timing:
The Brat was washing his parent's car, and everything seemed fine. Then my bike collapsed due to a strong gale, and all of my ads scattered across the ground. (which was already slightly wet due to rain). The Brat then proceeded to spray my ads with his water hose, and when I told him to stop because of obvious reasons, he continued to drench me. Oh joy. Not to mention the complete mess wet paper makes on asphalt. Ugh.
Times encountered: 1
5. The Conveniently Cute Kid
Exactly the opposite of the previous kind of person, the CCK is usually younger than the Brat. This kid thinks it's totally awesome to deliver mail, and asks me if he can maybe help me out. Godsend, I tell you. Help of any age is appreciated. Sometimes I gotta push fate a bit and ask them if they're willing to help, but everything turns out right in the end. Not to mention they actually like it and brag about it to their parents.
Times encountered: 3
6. The Genuinely Nice Person
This person will not only take his/her own mail, but also the delivery for the entire street. Also, my empty water bottle will be completely refilled, and I'm slipped a homemade cookie as departure gift. Score!
Times encountered: Zero. Hope that this person exists is the drive for many mailmen to continue with their job.
Interesting, no? And don't forget, NEVER say you're available for work 5 days a week. You WILL be taken advantage of. Big time.
Quote: "You're leaving already? Here, have a cookie." -Random pers-oh, who am I kidding.
1. The Gatekeeper
This person lurks at his front door, and opens it whenever I'm about to deposit his important pieces of paper. After scaring the flap out of me, he snatches his mail out of my hand, usually paired with an "I'll take that," "That's mine, isn't it?" or just a grumpy snort. The door then slammed shut before I have a chance to say "You forgot your advertisements."
Encountered 3 times.
2. The Gardening Lady
This person behaves almost exactly like the Gatekeeper, except without the bad mood. She'll run up to you and actually asks for her mail, so that I don't have to walk the entire way to the mailbox and back. Some Gardening Ladies, however, tend to completely ignore the mailman, leading to awkward situations where I hold out my mail-hand into nothingness.
Times encountered: 5
3. The Housekeeper
This person is usually old and sits in a chair in front of the window. He/she happily waves as I pass by, and I wave back if my hands are free at the moment. Nothing much to add.
Times encountered: 10+
4. The Obnoxious Brat
This little kid is about the worst nightmare for every mail deliverer. He seems quite average at first, but shows its true nature with the most inappropriate timing:
The Brat was washing his parent's car, and everything seemed fine. Then my bike collapsed due to a strong gale, and all of my ads scattered across the ground. (which was already slightly wet due to rain). The Brat then proceeded to spray my ads with his water hose, and when I told him to stop because of obvious reasons, he continued to drench me. Oh joy. Not to mention the complete mess wet paper makes on asphalt. Ugh.
Times encountered: 1
5. The Conveniently Cute Kid
Exactly the opposite of the previous kind of person, the CCK is usually younger than the Brat. This kid thinks it's totally awesome to deliver mail, and asks me if he can maybe help me out. Godsend, I tell you. Help of any age is appreciated. Sometimes I gotta push fate a bit and ask them if they're willing to help, but everything turns out right in the end. Not to mention they actually like it and brag about it to their parents.
Times encountered: 3
6. The Genuinely Nice Person
This person will not only take his/her own mail, but also the delivery for the entire street. Also, my empty water bottle will be completely refilled, and I'm slipped a homemade cookie as departure gift. Score!
Times encountered: Zero. Hope that this person exists is the drive for many mailmen to continue with their job.
Interesting, no? And don't forget, NEVER say you're available for work 5 days a week. You WILL be taken advantage of. Big time.
Quote: "You're leaving already? Here, have a cookie." -Random pers-oh, who am I kidding.
maandag 26 juli 2010
Emergency Post
The day is July 26th.
Situation: Peter's got a new camera for his birthday. And guess what? It records in HD.
Solution: Force Erik to participate in a camera testing project without regard for his current skill level.
Summary: Peter wanted to test his camera recording skills. This video contains excessive amounts of failure. I only play the first half of the song, randomly interrupt it with Dutch interjection words, and it is below human standards.
Disclaimer: My playing is far from perfect. And by "far", I mean "lightyears". You have been warned.
Quote: "So, Erik. What do you wanna play?" -Peter
Situation: Peter's got a new camera for his birthday. And guess what? It records in HD.
Solution: Force Erik to participate in a camera testing project without regard for his current skill level.
Summary: Peter wanted to test his camera recording skills. This video contains excessive amounts of failure. I only play the first half of the song, randomly interrupt it with Dutch interjection words, and it is below human standards.
Disclaimer: My playing is far from perfect. And by "far", I mean "lightyears". You have been warned.
Quote: "So, Erik. What do you wanna play?" -Peter
zaterdag 24 juli 2010
Blogging Reality.
As you know, I've got a job. "What do you do?" you might ask. Well, I'm delivering mail.
*insert obligatory Peter Post, the mailman hero reference here*
And SHEESH, how many times have I wondered already why some (read: most) people seem to lack common sense.
Dear Common Senseless People,
I have an announcement to make, and it is about your own houses. One small part of it: the mailbox. There are people who got it placed juust right, according to the regulations, but sadly, they seem to be the minority. There are tons of you who have placed their mailbox 10cm from the ground. If I may ask, what is the point of that? You should know it's annoying. ANNOYING.
Also, there are you people with those fancy springs built in their mailbox. Well, dear recipients, I have a question for you too. Are you trying to bite my fingers off? "What's the big deal," you might wonder with your two available arms. Well, those things really are death-traps. Believe it.
Lastly there's the case of people not getting addresses right. Forgive me, I erred. I meant computers not getting addresses right. I've been doing this for five days now, and each and every day included one or more retour mails to [classified information]. Incredible.
Try and keep up to the world,
-Erik.
It's really too bad that people around my age are so underrated. I mean, I go to university. Want to know what the first thing they asked me when I applied was? "Can you ride a bicycle?" Come ON, how do you think I even got here? Sheesh. Oh well, it seems the majority of people think that making sense is overrated, and I'm not one of them.
See what I did there, Hanini?
Quote: "We've been busy for 2 hours and 40 minutes. Let's make it 2 and a half hours, okay? I'm sure they don't mind." -[classified information], postman instructor.
"Um, what?" Me, on the previous quote. Note: I get paid per hour.
vrijdag 16 juli 2010
Thirty Seconds to Independence
...And in the end everything worked out. The end.
Hm? 'kay, let me start again.
So I finally got a job! I'll be delivering mail in some outside district of Heerenveen... the phone lady was surprised I knew about it. While this means I'll have to get busy, it also means I won't have to go to Sweden this year... Actually my family left two days ago.
It's kind of sad that the only jobs for us 19-year olds do not require any skill at all. It's too bad my application at the library was rejected and too many people applied at the university... At least I'll be doing something there. But alas, I'll be stuck with mail. At least it's better than flipping cheese. And it's outside.
So, about being all alone here. It's... kind of fun. I get to decide everything myself and don't get interrupted by less important things like dinner, since I'm timing that myself now. Great. Also I can play the piano without being shhh'd at because someone wants to watch le tour de france.
I'll have to whip up my own food now, though. If anyone's got some cool recipes, lemme know!
Quote: "Pachelbel's always following me!" -Rob Paravonian, comedian.
Hm? 'kay, let me start again.
So I finally got a job! I'll be delivering mail in some outside district of Heerenveen... the phone lady was surprised I knew about it. While this means I'll have to get busy, it also means I won't have to go to Sweden this year... Actually my family left two days ago.
It's kind of sad that the only jobs for us 19-year olds do not require any skill at all. It's too bad my application at the library was rejected and too many people applied at the university... At least I'll be doing something there. But alas, I'll be stuck with mail. At least it's better than flipping cheese. And it's outside.
So, about being all alone here. It's... kind of fun. I get to decide everything myself and don't get interrupted by less important things like dinner, since I'm timing that myself now. Great. Also I can play the piano without being shhh'd at because someone wants to watch le tour de france.
I'll have to whip up my own food now, though. If anyone's got some cool recipes, lemme know!
Quote: "Pachelbel's always following me!" -Rob Paravonian, comedian.
maandag 12 juli 2010
Now that that's over with...
Ah, the joys of soccer. As mentioned before, I'm not really into watching anything sports-related on TV. Anyway, the WC seems to be over and we lost, and I don't care a bit. Here's hoping that everyone will quickly forget it, so I won't be confronted with unnecessary whining anymore.
And face it, Spain got a well-deserved victory. Yeah, even I know what happened, and face it, every other soccer player would probably do the same thing, because of the huge amount of idiot DNA they possess. But really, what the vector did drive Nigel de Jong to display his karate skills mid-game?
On a slightly happer note, Paul the Octopus seems to have been right after all. Wait... This shouldn't happen. I wonder how many people believe that the octopus is some kind of divine being. It just shows again how stupid people can be. It's good marketing for its aquarium, though.
Quote: "Soo zetta slow!" -Sho Minamimoto
And face it, Spain got a well-deserved victory. Yeah, even I know what happened, and face it, every other soccer player would probably do the same thing, because of the huge amount of idiot DNA they possess. But really, what the vector did drive Nigel de Jong to display his karate skills mid-game?
On a slightly happer note, Paul the Octopus seems to have been right after all. Wait... This shouldn't happen. I wonder how many people believe that the octopus is some kind of divine being. It just shows again how stupid people can be. It's good marketing for its aquarium, though.
Quote: "Soo zetta slow!" -Sho Minamimoto
zaterdag 3 juli 2010
Blogging my situation: Cheese and more cheese.
There are different kinds of people: The people who do everything with their heart and soul poured into it, and the kind that doesn't like much, but excel at the things they actually are enthusiastic about. Unfortunately, I'm one of the latter. I've had no problems with it so far, but all good things must come to an end.
As I told you earlier, I have to find a job. The problem is, I don't like working. The government sponsors me because I go to college, so I´m not short on funds either. I don´t spend it on drinks/shopping/going out anyway. So why am I actually trying?
When I don't get a job this summer, I have to join my parents/brothers and go with them to Sweden for 3/4 weeks. Now I can hear you thinking "Why is that punishment? Sweden is beautiful and I want to go there." I wholeheartedly agree with you there, but the reason I don't want this is that I want to try to be independent for once. Since I've never been home alone for 3/4 weeks I want to find out if I can survive. As preparation, I guess.
"Now where is the cheese? Erik, you promised me cheese and I stuck with this because I want it".
Yes, cheese. As some of you maybe know, I was substituting for a friend today at his job. He works in a cheese factory for minimum wage, and since it was only for one day, I agreed... since I'm such a generous person (modest, too!). I have to say, the work was awesome. And by "work", I mean "mindless repetition". And by "awesome," I mean "awful". Not to mention incredibly boring.
To come back to the first point, I'd like to find a job I'm enthusiastic about, if those even exist. That makes time pass quicker, and me less bored.
PROS of being a "production assistant" in a cheese factory:
-I got to work with friends of my friend, which I vaguely knew
-Cheese. Actually, way too much cheese. Why isn't this a CON?
-Breaks. As with every job I experienced so far. I really looked forward to them.
-I got to ride a forklift. It's funny.
CONS
-The Polish coworker yelled at man and cheese alike
-THE BOREDOM resulting from mindless repetition
-Cheese is quite heavy, and I had to carry quite a few around
-Standing all day made my feet/legs/body hurt.
So, maybe I'm unreasonable, but I really want a job I like, even if I don't know something. *sighs*
Quote: *incomprehensible gibberish* -Eddie the Polish Coworker, on cheese. Probably.
As I told you earlier, I have to find a job. The problem is, I don't like working. The government sponsors me because I go to college, so I´m not short on funds either. I don´t spend it on drinks/shopping/going out anyway. So why am I actually trying?
When I don't get a job this summer, I have to join my parents/brothers and go with them to Sweden for 3/4 weeks. Now I can hear you thinking "Why is that punishment? Sweden is beautiful and I want to go there." I wholeheartedly agree with you there, but the reason I don't want this is that I want to try to be independent for once. Since I've never been home alone for 3/4 weeks I want to find out if I can survive. As preparation, I guess.
"Now where is the cheese? Erik, you promised me cheese and I stuck with this because I want it".
Yes, cheese. As some of you maybe know, I was substituting for a friend today at his job. He works in a cheese factory for minimum wage, and since it was only for one day, I agreed... since I'm such a generous person (modest, too!). I have to say, the work was awesome. And by "work", I mean "mindless repetition". And by "awesome," I mean "awful". Not to mention incredibly boring.
To come back to the first point, I'd like to find a job I'm enthusiastic about, if those even exist. That makes time pass quicker, and me less bored.
PROS of being a "production assistant" in a cheese factory:
-I got to work with friends of my friend, which I vaguely knew
-Cheese. Actually, way too much cheese. Why isn't this a CON?
-Breaks. As with every job I experienced so far. I really looked forward to them.
-I got to ride a forklift. It's funny.
CONS
-The Polish coworker yelled at man and cheese alike
-THE BOREDOM resulting from mindless repetition
-Cheese is quite heavy, and I had to carry quite a few around
-Standing all day made my feet/legs/body hurt.
So, maybe I'm unreasonable, but I really want a job I like, even if I don't know something. *sighs*
Quote: *incomprehensible gibberish* -Eddie the Polish Coworker, on cheese. Probably.
dinsdag 29 juni 2010
Finally!
It's over!
Today was my last final, English Proficiency. My LAST final. Which means I can really enjoy my holiday now, and not suffer painful guilt when I know I should be studying.
So, this is the end of my first year of uni, and I have to say, I never expected it to be like this. There were WAY less contact hours, which meant I had to ride 2 hours in the bus for 1 hour of lectures some days, but somehow it all seemes more stressful. Of course, I actually had to complete my homework, which is something I never bothered with in the past, um, 18 years. Which brought me a great deal of stress.
Also, because I had so few actual seminars/lectures everyone seemed to think that I had a lot of free time on my hands. NOT. Sheesh. Try writing 3 essays in a row yourself, thankyouverymuch.
By the way, since school is over I have no official excuse for me to look for a job, since I apparently need one. Deep down, I guess I know it's true. Anyway, being pressured about it is annoying.
If anyone has some nice job ideas or some awesome things to do in the holidays, feel free to leave 'em in the comments! And now I'm off for athletics practise. I've been skipping the last 3 times.
Quote: "So you know pineapples, of course. They're really delicious. First sweet, then sour. So Danielle and I ate two of them. Now my mouth hurts because of the sourness. But we kept on eating because of the sweetness. You'd do the same, right?" -Lisette, on pineapples.
Today was my last final, English Proficiency. My LAST final. Which means I can really enjoy my holiday now, and not suffer painful guilt when I know I should be studying.
So, this is the end of my first year of uni, and I have to say, I never expected it to be like this. There were WAY less contact hours, which meant I had to ride 2 hours in the bus for 1 hour of lectures some days, but somehow it all seemes more stressful. Of course, I actually had to complete my homework, which is something I never bothered with in the past, um, 18 years. Which brought me a great deal of stress.
Also, because I had so few actual seminars/lectures everyone seemed to think that I had a lot of free time on my hands. NOT. Sheesh. Try writing 3 essays in a row yourself, thankyouverymuch.
By the way, since school is over I have no official excuse for me to look for a job, since I apparently need one. Deep down, I guess I know it's true. Anyway, being pressured about it is annoying.
If anyone has some nice job ideas or some awesome things to do in the holidays, feel free to leave 'em in the comments! And now I'm off for athletics practise. I've been skipping the last 3 times.
Quote: "So you know pineapples, of course. They're really delicious. First sweet, then sour. So Danielle and I ate two of them. Now my mouth hurts because of the sourness. But we kept on eating because of the sweetness. You'd do the same, right?" -Lisette, on pineapples.
woensdag 23 juni 2010
Erik Procrastinates - Take Two
"What the- Erik, you've got an exam comprising 3 essay questions coming up! About flippin' LITERATURE! You don't have time for this!"
After reading Heart of Darkness I decided it was time for some counterproductive action... Although it produced something nice after all. This is not a specific character I designed, I just felt like drawing. Of course, your opinions are highly appreciated. Also, I suck at drawing hands.
Now, I don't want to turn this into an artistic blog, so lemme talk about something else:
I recently rediscovered the joy that is Magic: The Gathering. Nothing's more awesome than taking your specifically selected pile of cards and pitch them against someone else's. Really, it's better than it sounds. Every Tuesday, a group gatheres at the toy store for some games... unfortunately, it's at the same time as my athletics practise. Oh well, I'll figure something out. Go, future me!
...so, yeah.
Quote of the week: "You played 3 against 1 and LOST? Did he use an infinite life cheat or something?" -Joris, on Magic.
vrijdag 18 juni 2010
Wait, what?
'Huh? Erik? What's this? Don't you have something more important to do?'
Yeah, in a gust of inspiration I decided to portray the character I invented on behalf of Amarantha's Clairvoyant Council, Talwin Ellian. However, as I mentioned there, I um, really don't know anything about drawing. But since I rock at doodling in my notes, I decided to draw the entire character... with only one €0,20 ballpoint pen. So, no erasing.
So, any thoughts? Personally, I think it's a case of something nice from far, but actually far from nice. Heh.
Quote of the day: "Someday someone will best me, but it won't be today, and it won't be you." -Magic the Gathering, Last Word. Yes, I quote trading cards.
maandag 14 juni 2010
It's that time of the year again.
Ah, the 2010 Football World Championship. A month long of orange, orange and even more orange. You might have guessed by now that orange is the Netherlands' national color. Do the USA have a national color?
Anyway, this Very Important Event has caused trouble, trouble and even more trouble throughout the country. Dinner tables are left unattended, because everyone wants to eat close to the TV, no matter how inconvenient. As a matter of fact, everything has to be done within range of a working TV, which means people are home-bound. Really, the streets are empty, aside from dog-owners who give their furry friends their obligatory walk inbetween matches, with a disgruntled face because they aren't able to watch the the match analyses.
Meanwhile, schools are criticized for not letting have children a day off when the national team plays. Even the parents Kan, who both are teachers, assume it logical that a game of soccer is way more important than education. The school my brothers go to (and my dad teaches math) refused to let the students go, which is completely logical if you'd ask me. This action has made the news. The fact that a school wouldn't acknowledge the importance of a ball game has made the news. Apparently, it "ruined the school's reputation." Seriously.
Also, supermarkets eagerly jump on the bandwagon by introducing cheap, made-in-china thingies without any relation of any kind to football, and relate them to football anyway. (See pic.) While this was kind of fun at first, there currently are 7 different supermarkets with 7 different animal-ish collectibles. You can spy one in my profile pic, too! I believe there's a marketing conspiracy going on. I wanna move somewhere where the worldcup-hype has not yet arrived, although I doubt such a place exists.
To end this post and celebrate this Event, I have gathered several inspiring quotes; All of them match the current image I have about people affilated with football:
"For those of you watching in black and white, Spurs are in the all-yellow strip!"
"The game is balanced in Arsenal's favour."
"The World Cup is a truly International event."
-John Motson, commentator.
"Rosenborg have won 66 games, and they've scored in all of them!"
"Newcastle, of course, unbeaten in their last five wins."
-Brian Moore, commentator.
"The Dutch look like a huge jar of marmalade!"
-Barry Davies, commentator. ...I've no comments.
"Sometimes in football you have to score goals."
-Thierry Henry, footballer.
Yeah, I knew they were smart.
woensdag 9 juni 2010
Erik the Very Important gives His Opinion on the news!
"What? Did I hear that right? I thought Erik was too lazy to be concerned with uninteresting stuff like that!"
Well, yeah. Maybe a few years ago, I was. But there's so much things happening right now, and you know where I get things off my mind: Here!
First you gotta know that the elections were yesterday. Since you, my foolish friend, presumably don't know squat about Dutch politics, allow me to fill you in:
So why is this time special? It's about the PVV, the Partij voor de Vrijheid (Freedom Party), who somehow managed to obtain 20% of the votes. The PVV is special in a way, and I'll explain this by comparing it to your favorite villain: You-Know-Who!
So I guess Geert Wilders, its leader, can be compared to the Dark Lord himself. Everyone says they don't like him, because of his ridiculous ideas. Which include "throwing all Muslims out of the country to purify it." The Muslims can be compared to people who aren't pure-blooded, of course! The reason why he got so many votes is thus unclear to me, since I don't accept inhuman behaviour, thankyouverymuch. So my guess is that he put about 20% of all Dutch people under the Imperius Curse. Scary!
Anyway, I'd like to see the outcome of this, because a coalition has yet to be formed. I personally don't think it's possible, but well, you never know how a cow'll catch a hare! Yeah, I just used a Dutch idiom.
Yesterday's quote: "I read you blog, Erik!" -Dad
The day before yesterday's quote: "I read your blog today, Erik!" -Dad
The day before the beforementioned day: "Did I mention I read your blog today, Erik?" -Dad
Etcetera: "I read your blog too, Erik!" -Dad
Someone's obsessed!
Well, yeah. Maybe a few years ago, I was. But there's so much things happening right now, and you know where I get things off my mind: Here!
First you gotta know that the elections were yesterday. Since you, my foolish friend, presumably don't know squat about Dutch politics, allow me to fill you in:
Dutch Politics in Thirty SecondsAs you can see, there's a lot more than just being Democratic or Republican (At least, that is how I perceive American politics, correct me if I'm wrong). Since no single party ever gets more than 50% of the total votes, there's always the need for a coalition. This system has worked out pretty good in the past, as long as there are parties with similar conceptions. This time, however, the parties are about as similar as a Greek epic and a sitcom, and this has been going on for the past few years. The result is that the government has collapsed 4 times already.
There are around ten parties with a realistic chance of actually getting any seats in parliament. They are, more or less from left-wing to right-wing, the socialist party (SP), the green party (GroenLinks), the social democratic party (PvdA), a social liberal party (D66), the Christian democratic party (CDA), the conservative party (VVD) and the Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV). The PVV is led by anti-Muslim politician Geert Wilders.
Two small Christian parties, the ChristenUnie and SGP, are more difficult to place on a left-to-right scale. The former is somewhat more progressive, the latter is considered slightly more conservative. Both parties take a firmly conservative stance with regard to ethical questions such as abortion, gay marriage and euthanasia.
So why is this time special? It's about the PVV, the Partij voor de Vrijheid (Freedom Party), who somehow managed to obtain 20% of the votes. The PVV is special in a way, and I'll explain this by comparing it to your favorite villain: You-Know-Who!
So I guess Geert Wilders, its leader, can be compared to the Dark Lord himself. Everyone says they don't like him, because of his ridiculous ideas. Which include "throwing all Muslims out of the country to purify it." The Muslims can be compared to people who aren't pure-blooded, of course! The reason why he got so many votes is thus unclear to me, since I don't accept inhuman behaviour, thankyouverymuch. So my guess is that he put about 20% of all Dutch people under the Imperius Curse. Scary!
Anyway, I'd like to see the outcome of this, because a coalition has yet to be formed. I personally don't think it's possible, but well, you never know how a cow'll catch a hare! Yeah, I just used a Dutch idiom.
Yesterday's quote: "I read you blog, Erik!" -Dad
The day before yesterday's quote: "I read your blog today, Erik!" -Dad
The day before the beforementioned day: "Did I mention I read your blog today, Erik?" -Dad
Etcetera: "I read your blog too, Erik!" -Dad
Someone's obsessed!
dinsdag 8 juni 2010
Book Review: The Eight by Katherine Neville
Remember when I blogged my schedule? No? Never mind that.
I said that I was reading The Eight by Katherine Neville, and now I’ve finally finished it. So it’s time to let the world know my opinion!
First of all, I’d like to state that I normally don’t take this much time reading a book. But this is just… well…
The Eight has a curious structure: It’s basically two books in one. Authorities have described it as a “great intertwining of two seemingly unrelated stories.” I only halfway agree with this: The two stories are indeed almost unrelated, save near the end, and thus are not intertwined at all! I WAS DECEIVED! (I won’t spoil)
Then there’s the plot. I had to read carefully; otherwise my common sense would have trampled over it like it was a fragile flower in the middle of a highway. To give an example: First, two girls are warned by everyone that this guy (actually a main character) is a despicable villain, and that they should not get involved with him. The next thing I knew is that one of the girls had sex with him. I DON’T GET IT! Any further mentions of him being evil are missing, too. It’s like he was suddenly replaced with his not-so-evil twin brother.
Then, there’s the cheesy jokes. One person says something like this: “Stalin reigned, as his name implied, with a steel fist.” I don’t know whether the translator came up with this (I read the Dutch version) or if it was included by Neville, but it’s just not fitting.
People have compared this to The Da Vinci Code, which I thought was amazing, but frankly, I don’t know why they did so.
Now to read its sequel, The Fire. People say it's good as well, but hey.
Quote of the day: “Decorations? When the guests come I’ll hang them.” -MLIA
I said that I was reading The Eight by Katherine Neville, and now I’ve finally finished it. So it’s time to let the world know my opinion!
First of all, I’d like to state that I normally don’t take this much time reading a book. But this is just… well…
The Eight has a curious structure: It’s basically two books in one. Authorities have described it as a “great intertwining of two seemingly unrelated stories.” I only halfway agree with this: The two stories are indeed almost unrelated, save near the end, and thus are not intertwined at all! I WAS DECEIVED! (I won’t spoil)
Then there’s the plot. I had to read carefully; otherwise my common sense would have trampled over it like it was a fragile flower in the middle of a highway. To give an example: First, two girls are warned by everyone that this guy (actually a main character) is a despicable villain, and that they should not get involved with him. The next thing I knew is that one of the girls had sex with him. I DON’T GET IT! Any further mentions of him being evil are missing, too. It’s like he was suddenly replaced with his not-so-evil twin brother.
Then, there’s the cheesy jokes. One person says something like this: “Stalin reigned, as his name implied, with a steel fist.” I don’t know whether the translator came up with this (I read the Dutch version) or if it was included by Neville, but it’s just not fitting.
People have compared this to The Da Vinci Code, which I thought was amazing, but frankly, I don’t know why they did so.
Now to read its sequel, The Fire. People say it's good as well, but hey.
Quote of the day: “Decorations? When the guests come I’ll hang them.” -MLIA
zondag 6 juni 2010
Sarcasm mode, activate!
It's ranting time!
Ah, Sunday evenings. The time where the entire family eats a dinner-like meal while watching TV. Yeah, that's our Sunday. Sometimes it's quite nice, but lately the only programs on were... um... "Selling houses with Phil and Kirstie" or something like that and Hell's Kitchen. Seriously, that's NOT the kind of stuff I prefer watching at weekend's end.
Then, in one of the many commercial breaks (Although apparently not as many as in the USA) it said that Forrest Gump would be on tomorrow. When I suggested that we'd watch it, the events that happened could be best described as "flame-war." My ENTIRE family has never even heard of Forrest Gump, and they all said it was s stupid movie. Oh joy.
Quote of the week: "Everyone was supposed to make 50. I did 70, just in case. My other team members did 15, 17 and 20 respectively." -Peter, on his assignment.
Clarification: Peter studies something mathy. They had to look up houses for sale on the internet, and list helluva lot of details about them. Just looking up one takes about 15 minutes. If I were him, I'd ditch the group. Seriously.
Ah, Sunday evenings. The time where the entire family eats a dinner-like meal while watching TV. Yeah, that's our Sunday. Sometimes it's quite nice, but lately the only programs on were... um... "Selling houses with Phil and Kirstie" or something like that and Hell's Kitchen. Seriously, that's NOT the kind of stuff I prefer watching at weekend's end.
Then, in one of the many commercial breaks (Although apparently not as many as in the USA) it said that Forrest Gump would be on tomorrow. When I suggested that we'd watch it, the events that happened could be best described as "flame-war." My ENTIRE family has never even heard of Forrest Gump, and they all said it was s stupid movie. Oh joy.
Quote of the week: "Everyone was supposed to make 50. I did 70, just in case. My other team members did 15, 17 and 20 respectively." -Peter, on his assignment.
Clarification: Peter studies something mathy. They had to look up houses for sale on the internet, and list helluva lot of details about them. Just looking up one takes about 15 minutes. If I were him, I'd ditch the group. Seriously.
maandag 31 mei 2010
Whoa.
You know what's awesome? Photoshop is. But it takes ages before I find out what I can do with all that. So without further ado, I present Erik's Super-Special-Pathetic First Photoshop Thingy!
...Yeah, I know.
Anyway, I'd like to continue with photoshopping. It seems fun, and I have to much time on my hands anyway.
I'd write more, but I have to go to Groningen for the job application I mentioned last time! Bye!
Quote of the day: None! No one has said something awesome lately! It's boring! -Me, on lack of quotes.
...Yeah, I know.
Anyway, I'd like to continue with photoshopping. It seems fun, and I have to much time on my hands anyway.
I'd write more, but I have to go to Groningen for the job application I mentioned last time! Bye!
Quote of the day: None! No one has said something awesome lately! It's boring! -Me, on lack of quotes.
vrijdag 28 mei 2010
Poets will write epics about this day.
...Probably not, unless you count me as a poet and this as an epic:
Yay, the holidays
Lots of months of slacking off
Oh wait, the exams.
Haikus are easy. I wonder who designed them. I think it's a gramps.
See what I did there?
Anyway, it about sums the situation I'm in up. Today was the last day of lectures/seminars, so the only things left are the (horrible) exams, and the resits in August, which I hopefully don't have to attend.
Probably this was your last week, too. I saw a lot of comments in open threads that people had about a week of school left, so this may all sound familiar. However, here in the Netherlands is ISN'T. Everyone I know has to go on for at least four weeks before they have exams, so I kinda have way too much free time now. I wonder why only my faculty keeps American standards, Sheesh.
The logical question that follows is of course "What will I do with the ---- free time?" The obvious answer would be to get a job, but seeing that I'm an incredibly lazy person I didn't expect that to happen. My previous job experiences were awful, too.
This made the email dr. Schmidt sent a godsend. She was looking for some people to "code some data" as a summer job. Basically you'll be doing all the "boring stuff" of her research. In other words, this is a great opportunity! I applied immediately, but it turned out there were 10 other applicants, most of which I luckily know. We meet next Monday to discuss things, so I'll let you know how it goes.
Quote of the week/day/whatever:
"The only person who got his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe." -Dr. Schmidt
Yay, the holidays
Lots of months of slacking off
Oh wait, the exams.
Haikus are easy. I wonder who designed them. I think it's a gramps.
See what I did there?
Anyway, it about sums the situation I'm in up. Today was the last day of lectures/seminars, so the only things left are the (horrible) exams, and the resits in August, which I hopefully don't have to attend.
Probably this was your last week, too. I saw a lot of comments in open threads that people had about a week of school left, so this may all sound familiar. However, here in the Netherlands is ISN'T. Everyone I know has to go on for at least four weeks before they have exams, so I kinda have way too much free time now. I wonder why only my faculty keeps American standards, Sheesh.
The logical question that follows is of course "What will I do with the ---- free time?" The obvious answer would be to get a job, but seeing that I'm an incredibly lazy person I didn't expect that to happen. My previous job experiences were awful, too.
This made the email dr. Schmidt sent a godsend. She was looking for some people to "code some data" as a summer job. Basically you'll be doing all the "boring stuff" of her research. In other words, this is a great opportunity! I applied immediately, but it turned out there were 10 other applicants, most of which I luckily know. We meet next Monday to discuss things, so I'll let you know how it goes.
Quote of the week/day/whatever:
"The only person who got his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe." -Dr. Schmidt
vrijdag 21 mei 2010
I just need to quote this.
Which makes this the end of the post.
Quote of the day: "Will everyone raise their hand? Good, no one's absent, as usual." -Dr. Flood, on the low amount of people that came to the lecture today.
Quote of the day: "Will everyone raise their hand? Good, no one's absent, as usual." -Dr. Flood, on the low amount of people that came to the lecture today.
donderdag 20 mei 2010
HOLY BLUE BALLOONS! WHAT HAPPENED HERE!
Look at the sky! It's all... blue and stuff! And what's with the temperature? It's so HIGH!
It's around 23 degrees Celsius over here at the moment. What am I doing here? I should be outside.
So, a lot of things happened today, so I'll just give a summary of this day schedule-style!
7:00 - Wake up. Parents ring bell and shout it's time for breakfast.
7:30 - Actually get out of bed. Eat breakfast with my brothers who are just as lazy as I am. Admire the thermometer since it shows promise.
8:00 - Read new volume of Liar Game. Someone uploaded like 20 episodes yesterday.
9:30 - Begin with Medieval Literature homework. Boring.
10:30 - Leave for the station, spend the bus trip reading "The Eight." Valentine seems stupid so far.
12:15 - Workgroup's starting. It was useless.
13:00 - Workgroup's ended. Walk to Groningen Station together with Froukje, try to make it to the bus in time. Complain about how it's too hot.
13:15 - Sigh miserably if the bus I want to catch passes by, hoping that the driver's a nice guy and lets me in when stopping for a red light. It worked, although the driver wasn't a guy. Read "The Eight" until I get home.
14:15 - Admire the temperature when cycling home. Hear from my brother that my elderly neighbor crashed her car into ours. It now has a bump in it and the left rear light is broken.
14:24: Publish blog about today so far.
14:25+ - I trust the future me has some other cool things to do. How should I know.
Quote of the day: "Really, I meant 'deixis.' Did I say 'deicide'? I didn't mean it. Really. Or did I?" -Dr. Schmidt, on phonological registers, genres, and styles.
It's around 23 degrees Celsius over here at the moment. What am I doing here? I should be outside.
So, a lot of things happened today, so I'll just give a summary of this day schedule-style!
7:00 - Wake up. Parents ring bell and shout it's time for breakfast.
7:30 - Actually get out of bed. Eat breakfast with my brothers who are just as lazy as I am. Admire the thermometer since it shows promise.
8:00 - Read new volume of Liar Game. Someone uploaded like 20 episodes yesterday.
9:30 - Begin with Medieval Literature homework. Boring.
10:30 - Leave for the station, spend the bus trip reading "The Eight." Valentine seems stupid so far.
12:15 - Workgroup's starting. It was useless.
13:00 - Workgroup's ended. Walk to Groningen Station together with Froukje, try to make it to the bus in time. Complain about how it's too hot.
13:15 - Sigh miserably if the bus I want to catch passes by, hoping that the driver's a nice guy and lets me in when stopping for a red light. It worked, although the driver wasn't a guy. Read "The Eight" until I get home.
14:15 - Admire the temperature when cycling home. Hear from my brother that my elderly neighbor crashed her car into ours. It now has a bump in it and the left rear light is broken.
14:24: Publish blog about today so far.
14:25+ - I trust the future me has some other cool things to do. How should I know.
Quote of the day: "Really, I meant 'deixis.' Did I say 'deicide'? I didn't mean it. Really. Or did I?" -Dr. Schmidt, on phonological registers, genres, and styles.
dinsdag 18 mei 2010
maandag 17 mei 2010
Woohoo!
Well, I was in for a nice surprise today. Not only did Doodle make it to the Open Thread for May 17, the caption I suggested for the Cute thing of the Week also made it! Here it is:
Quite the feat, isn't it? My day is made. In addition, tomorrow I get to collect my Translation Prize, and I'm done with all the important assignments and essays for this week. I haven't felt this happy and relaxed in a looong time.
So, yeah. Nothing important happened today, except for this.
Quote of the day: "I would never use your exam results for my own entertainment!" -Dr. Flood, on our exams
Quite the feat, isn't it? My day is made. In addition, tomorrow I get to collect my Translation Prize, and I'm done with all the important assignments and essays for this week. I haven't felt this happy and relaxed in a looong time.
So, yeah. Nothing important happened today, except for this.
Quote of the day: "I would never use your exam results for my own entertainment!" -Dr. Flood, on our exams
zaterdag 15 mei 2010
You've got mail!
Yeah, REAL mail! ...no, not really. But people should write more letters, they're cooler than e-mail. Just like cookies are more awesome that e-cookies, and cabbages are... wait, never mind. I don't like cabbage.
HINT: I totally ripped this off SparkNotes.
but, yeah. If anyone wants to send me a letter, e-mail me for my address. (Oh, the irony, but I can't just leave my contact details out in the criminal, criminal internets)
So much for this early post. I'm too sleepy to come up with more stuff to put here.
Quote of the morning: I'm going to get eggs. No, I don't care that we already got six eggs. Maybe we need more eggs this week. It's never a good thing to run out of eggs. *goes out to get eggs and krentenbollen* -Dad, on eggs.
HINT: I totally ripped this off SparkNotes.
but, yeah. If anyone wants to send me a letter, e-mail me for my address. (Oh, the irony, but I can't just leave my contact details out in the criminal, criminal internets)
So much for this early post. I'm too sleepy to come up with more stuff to put here.
Quote of the morning: I'm going to get eggs. No, I don't care that we already got six eggs. Maybe we need more eggs this week. It's never a good thing to run out of eggs. *goes out to get eggs and krentenbollen* -Dad, on eggs.
vrijdag 14 mei 2010
Oh, the irony.
omg first sad post!
...yep, really. Remember Doodle? that amazing guinea pig a few posts ago? About two hours ago she died. T-T Of course, she was like 7 years old, which is slightly older than the average guinea pig's expected lifespan, but still, when I left for school this morning, she bit my finger.
No more.
*sigh*
This one's to you, Doodle.
No quote this time due to lack of inspirational speeches.
BY THE WAY: Do you guys see everything in Dutch? I see all of your blogs in English, but not mine. I figure it would be weird to see Dutch text if you're not Dutch
Test: If you see "Volgers" where there should be "Followers" it's a hit
...yep, really. Remember Doodle? that amazing guinea pig a few posts ago? About two hours ago she died. T-T Of course, she was like 7 years old, which is slightly older than the average guinea pig's expected lifespan, but still, when I left for school this morning, she bit my finger.
No more.
*sigh*
This one's to you, Doodle.
No quote this time due to lack of inspirational speeches.
BY THE WAY: Do you guys see everything in Dutch? I see all of your blogs in English, but not mine. I figure it would be weird to see Dutch text if you're not Dutch
Test: If you see "Volgers" where there should be "Followers" it's a hit
donderdag 13 mei 2010
Fear my mad translation skillz.
YAY~!
A few weeks ago, we all had to re-translate a poorly done translation of Dutch into English. In other words, it was a text stuffed with Dutch idioms that no American/Englishman/General non-Dutch person would understand. The text was the Little Thumbkin-fairytale, by the way:
A few weeks ago, we all had to re-translate a poorly done translation of Dutch into English. In other words, it was a text stuffed with Dutch idioms that no American/Englishman/General non-Dutch person would understand. The text was the Little Thumbkin-fairytale, by the way:
'By God,' the parents said as they came to foreshine, 'how have you ragged him that?' - 'No art on,' said Thumbkin and explained what he had done. 'If you want to be rid of us you will have to stand up a bit earlier.'
Yep, exactly. Yay for Dutchisms. So I used a lot of British idioms to make up for that:
“By Jove,” the parents said when they saw the group of kids. “How’d ya do that?” – “It was as easy as falling of a log,” Thumbling said, and he explained his clever scheme to them. “You need to be smarter than that if you want to dispose of us.”
And it probably appealed to ms. Jansma. Aren't I awesome? It was a shared victory, though. Another team of 3 also won. Congrats!
...Just wanted to let ya know.
Quote of the...week?:
Rienk (my brother): Lately I play the piano more than Erik!
Everyone else in the room: But he's still better.
dinsdag 11 mei 2010
Look at this.
I put up a picture of me. Isn't it cool? Don't mind the orange fuzzball in the background, even though it's almost just as awesome as me.
By the way, of my pic's up here, you should see my pet too. It's really cute! Maybe I should submit it as the Cute Thing of the Week. Or the Awesome thing of the week, since it's also awesome:
...AND! There's more where that came from. This one's called Doodle, and she's the one that's not fat. There's also a white one, but she didn't fit into this post. (Kidding, the camera's batteries were dead)
So, about this week. As I said, I have to prepare a presentation. It's been postponed to Wednesday, but there's no escape. Really, you get to know your classmates a lot better when you work together with them. I think this is going to work out.
I also recently started reading the Stieg Larsson I borrowed from Peter. It's a bit like Dan Brown: A lot of mysteries (Also murder and a lot of sex, but hey, I'm 19.)
Now for the quote:
Question: What do you call a big bear in the sky?
Answer: Ursa Major
Linda: Hallucination is also correct.
-Source: Our presentation. Don't ask.
By the way, of my pic's up here, you should see my pet too. It's really cute! Maybe I should submit it as the Cute Thing of the Week. Or the Awesome thing of the week, since it's also awesome:
...AND! There's more where that came from. This one's called Doodle, and she's the one that's not fat. There's also a white one, but she didn't fit into this post. (Kidding, the camera's batteries were dead)
So, about this week. As I said, I have to prepare a presentation. It's been postponed to Wednesday, but there's no escape. Really, you get to know your classmates a lot better when you work together with them. I think this is going to work out.
I also recently started reading the Stieg Larsson I borrowed from Peter. It's a bit like Dan Brown: A lot of mysteries (Also murder and a lot of sex, but hey, I'm 19.)
Now for the quote:
Question: What do you call a big bear in the sky?
Answer: Ursa Major
Linda: Hallucination is also correct.
-Source: Our presentation. Don't ask.
zondag 9 mei 2010
Hello again!
Sheesh. Keeping up a blog like this is harder than I thought. Now to ponder what to put here...
It's the last day of the May Break, and I've been procrastinating the entire time. The result is that I have to prepare a presentation AND hand in a 1200-word essay by next Tuesday... and I haven't even started yet. I've been busy with my birthday, (At the same day as Aly! ...and the Prime Minister.) and Arjan's birthday, and... well... playing my favourite games, I guess. Time sure flies.
Tomorrow will be a painful wake-up slap... but hey. Just three more weeks to go and then school's OVER. And by over, I mean exams. A lot of them. But actually I think three weeks is really short. I mean, the year isn't even halfway through and the summer break starts already? Summer itself won't have even started yet. It's time to get a job. Does any of you need an experienced piano player?
Quote of the week: "Oh, the water wasn't turned on yet."-My dad, on how surprisingly silent our new dishwasher is.
It's the last day of the May Break, and I've been procrastinating the entire time. The result is that I have to prepare a presentation AND hand in a 1200-word essay by next Tuesday... and I haven't even started yet. I've been busy with my birthday, (At the same day as Aly! ...and the Prime Minister.) and Arjan's birthday, and... well... playing my favourite games, I guess. Time sure flies.
Tomorrow will be a painful wake-up slap... but hey. Just three more weeks to go and then school's OVER. And by over, I mean exams. A lot of them. But actually I think three weeks is really short. I mean, the year isn't even halfway through and the summer break starts already? Summer itself won't have even started yet. It's time to get a job. Does any of you need an experienced piano player?
Quote of the week: "Oh, the water wasn't turned on yet."-My dad, on how surprisingly silent our new dishwasher is.
zaterdag 1 mei 2010
Milestone!
Hi there~
At athletics practise last Thursday I finally reached the 1 meter 65 cm. I've done it before, half a year ago or something, but this is the first time since. Anyway, this is not the milestone I was talking about. It's the fact that I've been called the laziest sportsman EVER! I was overjoyed to hear me getting complimented with a paradox.
The fact is, I don't really do much during practise. I'm not a professional or something, but my coach says that I can jump really high, if I just would put some effort into it. However, even without any effort, I managed to reach 1,65. Which greatly annoyed the rest of the group. I'm just not that motivated.
And now for something completely different: My birthday's Friday already! And it's at the same date as Aly! What a coincidence. I just don't have any idea what I want. People have already started asking me for my wishlist, but anything I want is either too expensive (new electric piano!) or too impractical, (I need a couch for the room I'm going to get when I leave home) or too inconvenient for my parents. (I'd like to have a Wii, since they're awesome, but well, I would hijack the TV preventing the rest of the family from watching soccer, which I personally hate.)
...And that's it for today. If anyone's actually reading this, please post birthday present ideas in the comments!
Quote of the day: Wow. That... THING is incredibly fat! -Me, about my guineapig Maxy. (his guineapig-cave-mate Doodle is incredible slim, by the way. She should borrow some weight.
At athletics practise last Thursday I finally reached the 1 meter 65 cm. I've done it before, half a year ago or something, but this is the first time since. Anyway, this is not the milestone I was talking about. It's the fact that I've been called the laziest sportsman EVER! I was overjoyed to hear me getting complimented with a paradox.
The fact is, I don't really do much during practise. I'm not a professional or something, but my coach says that I can jump really high, if I just would put some effort into it. However, even without any effort, I managed to reach 1,65. Which greatly annoyed the rest of the group. I'm just not that motivated.
And now for something completely different: My birthday's Friday already! And it's at the same date as Aly! What a coincidence. I just don't have any idea what I want. People have already started asking me for my wishlist, but anything I want is either too expensive (new electric piano!) or too impractical, (I need a couch for the room I'm going to get when I leave home) or too inconvenient for my parents. (I'd like to have a Wii, since they're awesome, but well, I would hijack the TV preventing the rest of the family from watching soccer, which I personally hate.)
...And that's it for today. If anyone's actually reading this, please post birthday present ideas in the comments!
Quote of the day: Wow. That... THING is incredibly fat! -Me, about my guineapig Maxy. (his guineapig-cave-mate Doodle is incredible slim, by the way. She should borrow some weight.
donderdag 29 april 2010
First. Post. Ever.
Hello there.
Inspired by some friends of mine, I also started a blog. In the case you're wondering why it sounds so awesome, I blatantly stole it from Edgey. Just like her, I don't have a clue what to put up here, so I'll just summarize what has happened today.
So I woke up all excited, because this was the last day before the May Break. Tomorrow's Queen's Day, something Dutch you guys probably don't know/care about, except maybe when you're British, because of similar circumstances. Anyway, my last seminar today: We got a list of texts and e-mails that dr. Schmidt saved, and we had to guess whether they were written by boys or girls from their writing style. Yes, that's what you do when you study English at university-level. Our group was the third best out of our entire grade. Unfortunately the second best and the best group sat right beside us, so there was not much glory for us.
Then I went home, went on MLIA for a bit, and now I'm typing this as I'm about to go to athletics practise.
Which brings me to an end, and also to this. (which I also deftly stole from fellow Sparklers)
Quote of the day:
Steven: It could be either. I'll fill in "She-male."
Inspired by some friends of mine, I also started a blog. In the case you're wondering why it sounds so awesome, I blatantly stole it from Edgey. Just like her, I don't have a clue what to put up here, so I'll just summarize what has happened today.
So I woke up all excited, because this was the last day before the May Break. Tomorrow's Queen's Day, something Dutch you guys probably don't know/care about, except maybe when you're British, because of similar circumstances. Anyway, my last seminar today: We got a list of texts and e-mails that dr. Schmidt saved, and we had to guess whether they were written by boys or girls from their writing style. Yes, that's what you do when you study English at university-level. Our group was the third best out of our entire grade. Unfortunately the second best and the best group sat right beside us, so there was not much glory for us.
Then I went home, went on MLIA for a bit, and now I'm typing this as I'm about to go to athletics practise.
Which brings me to an end, and also to this. (which I also deftly stole from fellow Sparklers)
Quote of the day:
Steven: It could be either. I'll fill in "She-male."
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