Dog Shit

One of the first things I noticed when I first arrived here was that there was dog shit everywhere. The Dutch people do not pick after their dogs. Even though I was disgusted, it was of just minor irritance - until recently. As I was finishing up my yard work, I noticed that my neighbors' dogs had been shitting in my back yard. I didn't complain just yet though, since you would really never know given the state my yard my was in. So I was ready to let that slide too, until the next morning, when I woke up and walked out the front door only to find - guess what? - a huge f***ing terd right on the sidewalk in front of my apartment. I was little more than annoyed this time and was ready to start an anti-dog shit rally and call the press. Except I had to go to work.... Seriously though, why is this tolerated in this country? I heard that there is a law passed now against this, but it is not enforced. The government really needs to sponsor some educational materials to make their people realize how much nicer their country would be without all this shit everywhere. A commericial, a speech from the queen, street signs, posters, anything!!! One of these days, someone will start an anti-dog shit rally, and that person is going to be my hero.

Gardening 101

Rule #1 of gardening - don't rent an apartment that requires gardening.
Rule #2 of gardening - if you must get a place that requires gardening, don't get one with vines.

Today, I finally did what I've been putting off all summer - gardening. Not that I have a garden, but I realized a month or so after moving in that there are things growing in my back yard. I'd never lived in a place where maintaing the yard was necessary so I wasn't too happy about this. To make things worse, I have vines growing in my back yard. On one wall, I have a grapevine and a tree of some sort. The grapevine got so big over the summer that it fell from its support onto the ground. It sat there for 2 months while grapes were growing. I didn't even realize it was a grapevine until like a month ago. It probably grew to about 7-8 feet tall and 2-3 feet wide. I had to hack it down to like 3 feet high (see picture above left) to pin it back up on the wall. Apparently vines grow back easily so I was advised to go crazy on it. I also cut off all the leaves so I could see what I was doing. The tree also fell too, so I cut that down quite a bit and pinned it back up to the wall. I used an all-purpose string for pinning these. I hope it holds....

Now the other wall (see picture on right) is just covered in vines. And it started to grow on to the ground and the door to my backyard. If I didn't start cutting those down it'd be a lost world here. I am having guests over this weekend and I can't have a jungle in my backyard. Unfortunately, I ran out of trash bags so I will have to continue tomorrow with more gardening :(

Sky Radio 101FM

Want to listen to popular music in English, in the Netherlands? Check out Sky Radio 101FM. There are chart toppers from the 80's, 90's, and current decade. It's almost as if I'm listening to my own music collection. (Although it might be debatable by some on whether that's good or not.) The only problem is, they seem to play the some songs over and over again. I hear a lot of Billy Joel. Probably heard Eye of the Tiger and Fast Car 2 or 3 times since I've been here. I still think it's a good station though. There is enough variety and there is very little talking, unlike radio stations in the U.S.

Party Party Party

I haven't had any fun posts lately, so I thought I'd write a quick update. Last Friday I went to a Tropicana Beach Party hosted by the Inter Agency Events. They do two big parties a year - one at start of the summer, and one at the end of the summer. They also have small events here and there through out the year. I've been to each of the last 4 parties they had, and this one was probably the most fun of them all. Usually the music sucks (I'm not into Eurobeat), it's crowded, there are long lines at the loo, and drinks are expensive (not that I ever buy my own drinks.) I had planned to skip this one, but I found out at last minute that friends who I hadn't seen in a while were going, so I decided to go to this one too. In the end, the music still sucked, but it was less crowded, and there were more interesting people to talk to than usual. So I had fun. The sad part is, I never manage to meet anyone outside of work. Maybe 'cuz I'm too busy having fun with people I know, but it would be nice to get to know a few people outside of work. I haven't quite figured out how to do that yet here. I suppose it goes back to my earlier post about needing a hobby. Find a sport or something to do and I can meet people that way.

So this party on Friday lasted all night for the most part and Saturday was wasted. I did make it out to another party tho for some good ol' fashioned board games. Yes, I play board games. Board games aren't big here in Europe though, and I can see how it would be a bit difficult for foreigners to play anything based on English or American culture. Luckily, there are a few Americans around that are into games. I'm having a few non-Americans over this Saturday for a "housewarming" party so maybe I'll see how Cranium goes with these guys.

Anyways, I don't usually write about parties but things have been so uneventful otherwise. I thought I'd spare you an entry on how boring this Java Web Services training I am receiving this week is. Or a recap of Grey's Anatomy Season 2, which I've been watching every free chance I get lately. Things are going to get really busy pretty soon. This coming weekend will be my last weekend home until late October. Hopefully I'll have some interesting stories to tell then.

NyQuil Rules!

The good news is that my homesickness didn't last but a day or so. The bad news is, that few days later I came down with an actual cold I haven't been able to shake. I did manage to take a sick day off of work on Tuesday, but it's really hard to take these unexpected days off when you've only got a 38 hour work week and ~9 weeks off a year. So I drugged myself with Dutch meds and dragged myself into work only to still be miserable cuz the meds aren't working. Finally, in hopes of getting some peace last night knowing I could sleep in today, I resorted to taking my one last pill of NyQuil that I had left over from the U.S. And that drug does wonders. All discomfort gone. Unfortunately, it didn't have the knock-me-out effect that it usually does so I'm wide awake at 3am doing laundry, dishes, and blogging. Maybe I'll even do some work. I must be high. The effects aren't going to last past the morning though. Where do I find NyQuil in Holland?!?!?

Home Sick

I hate having to write a bummer entry, but I guess I gotta be honest when portraying the life of the dancing nomad. So as the title states - I'm homesick. My karate instructor back home e-mailed me today to tell me about a mutual friend's baby, and how he's going for his 4th degree black belt. It got me thinking of all my friends back home who I miss very much, and karate. Back home if I had nothing else I always had karate. Now I just realized I have no hobby here in Holland!!! I have yet to find a martial-arts school to stick with, and I can hardly call traveling a hobby when I can't do it on a regular basis (once a month doesn't quite cut it). It hadn't bothered me up until now because things had been quite fun regardless. Recently though, things have been shaken up a bit and I feel like I have to find my place here all over again. I am still meeting new people and am hopeful of all being well again since I've done the moving thing so many times. For the moment though, I miss all of my friends and family back in the U.S., in Japan, and everywhere else. I've also got it in my head now to start practicing karate again. Maybe I'll just stick to my old style and go for my 2nd degree some day. I can't really think of any other hobby I'd like to take up. Snowboarding and hiking is no good since Holland has no mountains. Or maybe I'll take up dance lessons so I can be a professional dancing nomad :)

Book Review: The Alchemist

The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, is about a boy who travels to follow his dreams. He learns a lot while in pursuit of his dreams and has the kind of experiences he never even dreamt of. Along the way though, he also faced many challenges which discouraged him and at times made him give up. Yet, something always turns him around and he eventually succeeds in his quest.

A phrase often repeated in the book is that when a man is in pursuit of his dreams, the universe will conspire to help him. This was very encouraging for me. My theory is that there are two types of people - ones who are always content with what they have, and ones who are perpetually pursuing their dream. I've always been the second type, constantly seeking for something new and exciting and better. At times, I wonder why I couldn't just be content with what I have. It is not a bad philosophy to live by. Afterall, if you never want anything, you can never be disappointed. However, if you never expect anything, you also get nothing. And the world has so much to offer! It's not just about traveling either. It's about meeting people and developing relationships, new challenges in your career, or perhaps just a better life at home. I do have a dream, although it's a secret, and I have been in pursuit of it for as long as I can remember. I do admit there are tough times, but I think there are tough times for everyone, regardless of whether you are the first type, or the second type. I have on many occasions thought about giving up, or settling for something else. This book has inspired me to continue in search of my dreams, meanwhile, enjoying the journey along the way. The hope of achieving my goal helps to keep me going. Maybe once I've reached it, I'll be that type 1 person I always envy. Oh yeah, the book - absolutely recommended. It's short and easy-reading, so no excuses! :)