January

Janus Head - In Greek mythology, Janus was the god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings and endings. His most prominent remnants in modern culture are his namesakes: the month of January, which begins the New Year, and the janitor, who is a caretaker of doors and halls. (from sublimethings blog)

That’s a good concept to start off with. And work on the God given day of Sunday. What a pity, I say. What will they do if they run out of the Sunday as well? Will they come up with a small day in between? The Somday. We’ll be forced to work on the Somday to make up for all the in-between-mistakes of IT or solve any other issue that cannot be dealt with on a normal working day… Anyhow, the good news about it was that we ended up the week with a team dinner at a Lebanese resto. Had some good mezza’s, though didn’t trust the raw lamb. Mistrust anything raw that made sound once and just sits on your plate! Or bring on more wine. That we did. Talked about not having a speech and about news on tv. Like on the 72-year old mother. I’m happy she’s still getting some. Water pipe was needed to keep the conversation going after this one. Then we remembered youthful drunkenness stories of party, disaster, joy and faith no one will notice what you’ve been doing one night before. Few of us standing went for some other beers at Leidseplein. Though the tram should have come, it didn’t. Every one else gave hope on it. I walked home for a change. Very refreshing, especially since I was off the next day.

I’m drumming my evenings away and building condition on Enter Sandman. It’s so damn difficult to keep up the toms going again and again throughout.. how does Lars do it?! He’s so strong and beautiful. I think I’m in love.

We’re having parents over for dinner. I’m not sure why we always end up having some conversation that embarrasses one of the persons at the table. It must be a family thing. Always one. Or the other. The beauty of it is that you almost never know whom the next one it’s going to be. Hopefully not you. In a starting family it’s always good you don’t think yet.. or you don’t realize, like when you’re 2. We went to visit friends who already have 2 children. One of 2 and one just born. The kids don’t even know what their parents are up to.. the one who can play, plays with the iron.. he could come over to my place – loads of ironing to do! Then he plays on with everything else that moves, while our friend shows us the newly acquired bed that moves around to accommodate different sex positions. We retire to the living room, my Russian friend is cooking again big time, it always feels like home and Sailorboy always feels like too much whiskey. Modern couples drink too much whiskey and red wine – hi and her respectively. It’s a couple disease. When you’re out in public you drink cocktails and beer. But we all know what you drank last night ;)

Monday is the Quiz Monday. Quiz Monday is the Monday you embarrass yourself in public for all the years you partied hard instead of reading a book or two. Unless you’re with your friend the Walking Encyclopedia. Then you really get a chance. The more smart friends you have, the better. So we actually got to the point where we were winning on general knowledge questions. Until we failed big time on the TMF music round. Then we realize we also need stupid friends who just dumbly watch the garbage on tv nowadays. We’ll do better next time!

The highlight of the month was shopping in Paris in between a training session and a train back home. Back home to Amsterdam, ‘cause I’ve celebrated 3 years of being here. That’s a lifetime! That’s something to remember.. about when I started this blog.. oh stop being such a sentimental fool! Just want to say: I’m still lovin’ it!!

To celebrate once more, I went to an Amsterdam Klezmer Band concert. Brilliant Dutch music with a Jewish twist and a hoopla-hoopla feeling swarming around ‘til your clothes get wet. The orchestra was so close to us and their shiny shoes so kitschy, we were one big family and a Balkan-Western nation. Good tunes, good vibes! I want more!

frecvent

Imi voi bloca singura usha de la mashina, de teama sa nu pic on afara si ma voi mira mai tarziu ca de ce nu se deskide usha in curu meu...

Bikers in Asterdam

Even though you're in AMsterdam and you think you'd be in the most safe place for biking, you're not. I've recently seen a bus getting in front of a biker and getting him down (sort of like an accident, but softer). The biker run after the bus, told him to stop and asked him for the papers. The bus driver was pretending nothing happened, he was like - well, you don't just get these papers bla bla.. luckily for the biker there was a police car in the area and they saw the entire thing.. what a bummer for the bus driver.. and a savior for the biker!

Kids

I've figured it out that I'm old. When I was a young girl, when some one stole my pen, I would run after them... nowadays eery young girl has a smartphone. So the games change. Nowadays another girl is stealing her phone and this one runs afetr her to catch her and get back her phone. I'm wondering when my unborn children will have children what will they run after. I figure out illusions. They'll just create some illusions, let them run free, like baloons, and the other one will try get them..

Biking in Amsterdam

The most beautiful thing about biking in Amsterdam is when you get on top of the bridge over the canal. That's because I'm biking hard to get to the top of the bridge and then I get there! I not only get there, but I hold my bike still for 2 seconds. These 2 seconds are like Amelie, like any other slow motion scene in a film, where you just hold it. Like the the camera is turning around you, you're on top of the world, you're not breathing, but everything around is moving. Especially at night when the canals are lightened so beautifully it's a bless! I just love getting on top of a bridge. I know I'm going to have at least 2 seconds of pure simple bliss. And then I go down the hill again, to my destination.

Agatata

Cui ati mai vazut sa i se agate umbrela intr-un trandafir? Merg normal pe strada si mi se baga umbrela in trandafir de parca ar fi fost un tot unitar. Trag, trag, dupa vreo 2 min reusesc sa-mi scot umbrela. Am pus-o pe seama berilor de ieri, dar oricum, surprinzator intr-o dimineata devreme.....

Empty

My head feels empty. There's nothing in it. There's only a tiny little dark grey cloud swimming around. This is the effect of having one (1) bottle of wine and waking up the next day to go to work.

Afara vantul batea

Va jur! N-ati vazut voi vant ca in Olanda!! Sa te ia pe sus, nu altceva. Da nu la figurat, ci la propriu. Sa te pui pe bicicleta, sa mergi un pic si sa te impinga vantu inapoi. Apoi dilema - eu unde mergeam?!

Si zici ok - am ajuns la birou. E safe. Frate si-ti bate vantu in cladirea de 11 etaje pe structura flexibila si-ti joaca cifrele si literele-n fatza. Da e-am baut, ma, nene?! si te uiti la colegii tai care-s linistit dizzy - ciudat sa fii high cu colegii si sefu.

Si iesi afara si iar te ia pe sus, ai uitat ca ai avut vreodata freza. Ai uitat ca ai fost vreodata femeie. Iti curg lacrimi fara durere si fara oprire. Nu poti sa apari in public in halul asta.

Te duci si te culci.

Te trezesti, scoti capul pe fereastra. O zi cu soare, fara vant. YAY!

Intr-o zi

Azi m-am simtit ca si cum aveam 100 de ani si duceam toata greutatea pamantului in carca, iar apoi m-am culcat

what have I been doing in 2010 – a comprehensive list of a person’s life - VI

Where I have partied at:

• § New Year @ Westergasfabriek where we got way too many coins, spoke to too many people and forgot our friend sleeping on the loo
• § Some strangely named restaurant with the parents of Sailorboy out of which only the name “Bamba” remained in my head
• § Home, having a charade game with my friends where the toughest word to mime was the book “Ulyses” and where we had a winner to go to the cinema, chapeau!
• § My Russian friend, where I’ve eaten raw haring (again - not in a Dutch house!) for the first time and didn’t throw up as the alcohol was pumping in our hearts and evaporating in our speech
• § Some place that I cannot remember the name, to celebrate my new job and say good-bye to my old colleagues at the other company, where one of them forgot his iPhone (luckily for him it had a password for/against the children)
• 
• § Film Museum Café in Vondelpark with two girlfriends where we talked about our entire lives
• § Sushibar at a date with my boyfriend
• § Magere Brug to say good-bye to dear friends who moved to India
• § Home for the celebration of my newly-acquired title, leaving us dancing Jordan music with belly-dancing, Balkan shake-arounds, Shakira, salsa and Indian Bollywood moves
• § A strange Spanish restaurant in the Jordaan with Sailorboy and Nordstorm, where all they cared about was when we’re going to order wine – we didn’t! – and the waitresses were bending over the table, over your food in order to talk to you (nice breasts though), such bad habits and acoustics.
• § Across The Hague University with my friend the JoDiva and had good laughs, gossiped and analyzed men behavior, as we always do
• § Some Mediterranean cuisine restaurant along the water in Utrecht with Sailorboy
• § At a fancy restaurant in Abcoude with the extended family of Sailorboy to celebrate 2 birthdays and a lot of memories – gezellig!
• § PhD graduation party at a Lebanese restaurant with a huge crowd, good food and chill-out water pipe
• § My boyfriend’s best friend and at the time newly-acquired-girlfriend, whom every one was so curious about
• § The Czech bar to drink away some lost bets and talk away work and nationalities in a cocktail of thoughts
• § Zaandvoort beach to lay in the sun and gossip the people around, talk non-sense and wait for the sun to set
• § At a non-party resistance @ home, watched the football final, scared that The Netherlands will lose.. Spanish bastards!
• § Luxembourg for a drink with friends and Burgermeester for fresh cow (holy shit for some)
• § Had drunk friends on and over the floor, then went to Circus Rez (for real!) – it was circ
• us all the way!! Biking there was already a show, falling friends, crying friends, laughing friends, masters of equilibristic, show and hope
• § After a night of watching football in the Hague with my uncle, got back to Amsterdam, had some drinks @ Grasshopper with the JoDiva and the LittleTrulyAsian, then headed for the Cuba cocktail time, where the Latina JewelryFish joined. We all decided we don’t have the same taste in men. Then lost a few, gained some others while chatting to the Dam owner of a pub. BollywoodDiva and Polko made me have some more drinks and nice times before hitting the sack after 2 days of not seeing my house in sight
• § ADE @ Trouw for a huge cracking and sweaty party with da girlz! Going out with girls for a good shake rulz!! And the music was brilliant!
• § Wilhemina Dok to celebrate 2 years with Sailorboy – you wouldn’t think so,we look so young lol
• § Dinner at home with Sailorboy, his friend, the Aussie (after Aussieboy left his Aussie-flagged underwear in the bathroom as display of friendship amongst nations), BollywoodDiva and Latina JewelryFish
• § Suzy Wong & Jimmy Woo to end up at Bourbon Street – what a night! And a more than 10 people’s crowd and more than 50% friends.. that doesn’t happen every day, no!
• § Home for my B-day Party the 20s theme and had huge fun! I’m definitely not mentioning the Brusselina landing on the plates for the pleasure of a hungry Spanish man. The Jamaican rum punch was lekker and the money confetti was an asset for which breasts and asses were shaken: Shakira-Shakira!