Moving Pains (continued)

So yesterday the movers (Top Movers) finally came. They arrived on time at 0800 but with only 2 people. It took them 8.5 hours to pack and load a one bedroom apartment!! I sort of expected they would take lunch somewhere in between, but they didn't. So I didn't eat or drink anything all day (all food had been thrown out). That still would've been such a big deal, except that they didn't know how to pack. They would not fully pack the boxes, so if the boxes were shaken, you can hear stuff shifting around inside. When I told them they needed to stuff the boxes with paper or something to prevent this shifting, they said they only wrap breakables. Don't they realize unbreakables can still get damaged? When I insisted, they gave me an attitude saying this is how they do it and it's never a problem. I don't believe it. They started stuffing a little bit of paper, but not enough to really keep things in place. I'm pretty much expecting things to arrive damaged. Oh, and they only had small boxes! So anything bigger than the box would either be squeezed in, or bubble wrapped and left as is. They forced my printer in one of the boxes, but didn't pad it at all, and the top didn't close properly. Put one heavy box on top of it and my printer is crushed. I also had to insist on getting my electronics wrapped, and getting a plastic (bubble wrap) lining for the box containing the liquors. They also almost didn't get everything into their truck. They decided to put the 2 sofa pieces into the truck last. Smart move guys. Next time, get the big things in first.

What did go well though, was the check out with the makelaar. He seemed quite happy with how clean I left the apartment. The only problem I had was that he thought it would be better if I had the final bills for utilities sent to the owners and have them pay it out of the deposit. Unfortunately, it takes 4-8 weeks for these bills to be sent, and the owners have an obligation to give me back my deposit within 2 months according to my contract. There is also nothing in my contract about having to pay the final bill out of my deposit. So, I insisted the final bill be sent to me so I could pay it and get my deposit back sooner - hopefully before I close my Dutch bank account.

Oh, I made one last try to change my mailing address without making a visit. It turns out there is a section on the Dutch site (not the English site) that lets you change address. So I thought, great... until the site came back with a form I had to print and mail into ABN Amro. I couldn't even get my local bank rep to use my work address they already have on file as the mailing address. Stupid bank.

Good-bye, Harstenhoekstraat

The movers are coming tomorrow to get all of my stuff so I spent all of yesterday packing, sorting, and cleaning. It was a busy day but at least the kitchen and bathroom's cleaned up. Now I just have to take care of the floor once all the stuff is gone. I pretty much moved out last night, and will stay with my boyfriend or friends, when I'm not away on business, until I leave on 9/21. I'll miss having my own place, but I've bounced around from place to place so many times in the past so it shouldn't be a big deal. Getting kind of tired of moving every year though. I hope I will stick around in one place for a while this time. We'll see.... Anyways, just letting y'all know so you don't come knocking on my door looking for me :)

Moving Pains

For those of you who do not know, I am moving back to the United States. It's been a great year here in Netherlands, and I have enjoyed my job here. However, I was given an offer back home I didn't want to refuse. My new job will take me McLean, VA. I already have a place to live lined up in Reston. I fly back to Virginia on September 21st.

I began moving preparations some time ago, but as I prepare to move out of my apartment end of this month, I have to yet again deal with terrible Dutch services. I called ABN AMRO, my bank, to inform them I was closing my account, and also to let them know of an address change. I can understand having to go into their office to close an account, but I don't see why I have to go into their office for a simple change of address. I need to change my address few weeks before closing my account and I don't want to make two trips to the bank, especially for something so trivial as an address change. I can't call it in, fax it in, or email it in. Their website doesn't even allow you to change your information. If their on-line banking services is secure enough to perform transactions through, why can't I change my address there also?

Then there's Eneco Energy. They can't prepare the final bill until 6-8 weeks after my move date. I'll be in the States by then! Based on my arrival experiences with Dutch service, I can already imagine things will only get worse from here. Not looking forward to the mess at all.

Prague, Czech Republic

I had no plans to take anymore trips this summer, but I decided there was just no point hanging around Holland so I went to Prague this weekend. Unfortunately, I am completely jaded. Prague to me is just another 'pretty' European city that I've seen enough of. I don't even think it's one of the prettiest cities in Europe, and it's so over-hyped. The famed Charles bridge was so over-crowded with tourists that I couldn't even see the bridge when I was on it. The Brugge trip last weekend was somewhat nicer if just for the fact that I got some delicious chocolates out of it. I figured Prague wouldn't excite me so much, but nevertheless, it's my goal to see as much of this world as possible.

The first half of Saturday was spent mostly around the Prague Castle. We saw the St. Vitus Cathedral, St. George Basilica, and some galleries. Everything was ho-hum until I stepped into the Daliborka Tower and came across their collection of torture instruments. I found it so fascinating that the next day I actually went to another Medieval Torture Museum in the city center. It was definitely worth the visit. I learned a lot about different torture methods that you normally would not hear about (probably because it's too disturbing for public television or Hollywood movies). The museum claims the worst torture to be impalement. While the museum's image of impalement did draw the biggest gasp out of me, I thought sawing was quite nasty too.

The rest of the time in the city was spent mostly walking around and meeting up with a friend from college. We wanted to check out the Technical Museum there, but it was closed for renovations. We went instead to their National Musuem, which was more like a natural history museum. I found the Natural History museums in NYC and at Smithsonian much better tho (and not just because it's in English!) We were tempted go check out the Sex Machines Museum instead, but we were too short on time :(

Tips for Weather Forecasting?

I am going to Prague this weekend and wanted to check the weather so I would know what kind of shoes to take. I checked couple of websites, only to find that their forecasts were not similar at all. So I went on to check several more websites only to find that none agreed with another. The forecasts varied from no rain to 70% chance of rain. Some websites expected some sun on one day, while others expected some sun on the other day. How is it possible that these weather forecasts can be so different? Since I have no idea which site is the most reliable, I have no freakin' idea what the weather is going to be like. Stupid useless sites....

Brugge, Belgium

On Sunday I took a day trip with some friends to Brugge. It's about a 2.5 hour drive from the Hague. I've always heard it's a nice place, but I assumed it was just like any other 'nice' city - meaning nice pretty houses that to me now are just normal. Perhaps because my expectations were low, I found it to be quite nice. The city has a medieval look to it, and it's on the UNESCO world heritage list. It's not too big to walk around and see the sights. The canal boat trips are also popular though we skipped it. Aside from walking around and seeing the nice buildings, we enjoyed bradwurst, waffles, frites, and chocolates. Mmm....

Pictures are here.

Aveda in the Hague

If you're looking for a good place to go get your hair cut in the Hague, check out Aveda Lifestyle Salon. I have a tendency to get my hair butchered when I go to any old salon, so I try to stick to brand name salons (I've never had a cut go wrong at Toni & Guy). I tried Aveda for the first time on Saturday, and it was not a bad experience and the price is not much different from the salons you'd find elsewhere in the Hague. For starters, the cut takes place on their second floor so that passerbys outside can't see you getting your cut. Then, they start you off with a short head, shoulder, and back massage. I've been to places that do head massage, but I've never had shoulder and back included. It's just too bad the girl I had was weak and sucked at the massage part. Next, they wash your hair like any other salon. The difference here is that you get a bed to lie on instead of one of those chairs that kill your neck when you get a wash. I requested a stylist (you can get a Jr. stylist, stylist, Sr. stylist, or a top stylist), and she was okay. She didn't ooze creativity or lavish skills, but she was very text book and took her time cutting my hair. After some of my past experiences, I much prefer that than someone who is scissor or razor happy. So overall, I think it's a good place to go. Also, they have tons of nice products. You could probably ask for a sample or two of something new to try. They are also open on Sundays, and it's not difficult to get an appointment, even on a weekend (I got mine the day before). The stylist I got was 48 euros, and I think there's about a 10 euro difference between the each level of stylist. Check out their website (link above) for contact info (they are located in the center).