Special thanks to the wonderfully talented and accomplished photographer.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: Nothing sounds so sweet as a city filled with a cacophony of bike bells.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
GQ Comes Calling.doc
Apparently the Dutch bike is becoming all the rage in NYC. I've read five articles about the new bike lanes and how fashionable riding will become in these "tough economic times." It figured that GQ would want to snap some pics of "authentic" Amsterdam riders. I was more than happy to oblige.
Special thanks to the wonderfully talented and accomplished photographer.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: Nothing sounds so sweet as a city filled with a cacophony of bike bells.
Special thanks to the wonderfully talented and accomplished photographer.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: Nothing sounds so sweet as a city filled with a cacophony of bike bells.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
A Week With a Friend.doc
Oh wow, readers, it is tough to find time to blog when you're hosting a friend or friends in the city. There are just so many great places to visit, conversations to have, and time spent on the computer is seldom. Today, on Murph's last full day in the city, I'm stealing five hours to work on the internship archive I've been neglecting for the last week and a half hosting friends. I would choose the latter any day.
Murph and I have had a wonderful time here in Amsterdam. The nicest thing about the journey is that he is staying a full 7 days so there is no time crunch to fit everything in. We've done a lot of great things in the city, but I haven't felt like a complete tour guide, more like a city ombudsman. I think the most economic way to detail all of our adventures is a day to day highlight reel.
Monday: We arrived at the Amstel bus stop after the long trek from Belgium. It's not exactly the most beautiful place to first land in the city, but it makes the rest of AMS look stunning. We arrived back at my place and made a fantastic pasta dinner. Instead of hitting the city (after two full days in Brussels) we chilled in that night and caught up on all kinds of stories and developments since I've been away from Canada. I asked about each and every one of you in Toronto and what you've been up to. It was a great way to get back in the loop.
Tuesday: I had class for three hours in the morning and after I returned home I took Michael on an initial tour of the city. We walked through the Waterloo Market, my UVA buildings, Dam Square, Rembrandt Plein, and stopped by a canal or two. That evening we made yet another fine meal, and I rehearsed my presentation for the next day's class. Again, we had some of the convos I've missed since leaving: politics, theatre, the future, and a bit of reminiscing about Queen's Drama. My apartment, with its big floor to ceiling window, is a great place to spend away an evening.
Wednesday: The day started early with a tour through Amsterdam's largest market (an obligatory stop for any visitor). From there we visited the Concert Hall (for the second week in a row) and caught the free lunch time concert. This week, it was a saxophone ensemble. I had never seen such a thing. A dozen saxophones (from soprano to bass) combined in beautiful harmony. It was a nice afternoon treat. Afterwards, I went to my LAST OFFICIAL MAIPR CLASS. This is a big deal for me. Aside from summer school, this is the last of the formal in-class instruction. There I presented my 15 minute Verbatim Theatre exploration as part of the portfolio. I got such great feedback from the students and professor, that it was one of those moments where I questioned my disinterest in continuing with the PhD. These days come every once in a while. After the class, we all went out for drinks at the restaurant near the Theatre Studies department. There, Murphy met all my MAPIR class mates and some of the students who had joined us from other departments. I'm really going to miss this group of students from the Theory class - they're extremely intelligent and socially have been great to get to know. Murphy made quick friends chatting with Adam and Stu about directing and Bec about Mac computers. Worlds colliding in a great way! After the restaurant we moved to our "One more beer bar" to round out the night.
Thursday: I took Michael to the Amsterdam Public Library which must be one of the nicest PubLibs in the world. I knew he would appreciate the six floors of architectural wonder and mac computers. We sipped coffees on the patio overlooking the city and enjoyed a relaxed afternoon. We walked by the Anne Frank museum on our way to the MacStore where I purchased a new hard drive for my computer. Thankfully, the hard drive cost me only 85 Euros and is about five times the size of my old one. It'll be nice to have the computer up and running in under a week. That evening, I made my favourite Amsterdam Peanut Stir Fry. After, we figured we'd catch a film so we went to the late show of Angels and Demons. I can't say Dan Brown is my favourite author, but the film was entertaining.
Friday: Any tourist loves to shop! We went up and down the shopping district, the flower market, and the indoor mall in the city centre. I was doing a bit of window shopping (after tying my money up in future travel tickets) while Michael spied some items to take home. It was yet again, another restful afternoon spent in Amsterdam. That night, we went to Dev and Stu's place for (what was bound to be) another late-night MAIPR get-together. The whole group had come together to celebrate Stu's birthday and the party did not disappoint. Michael was introduced to our intercultural games and was able to chat with the rest of the contingent. The highlight of the night was a game Hetta introduced which is a toast circle that progresses with the passing of a champagne bottle. I'd entitle the game "MAIPR gets Sappy." It was really touching to hear everyone speak fondly of each other after three months of classes.
Saturday: Museum and Culture Day. One of the highlights of the visit with Michael was our trip to the World Press Photo Exhibit 2009. Having become interested in photography in the past year, I was moved by some incredibly stunning photos from journalists all over the world: conflict, everyday, sports, arts, and war. It was a reminder how powerful the captured image can be. From there we traveled to the Van Gogh museum. It was my third trip, but I never tire of floating through the collection. There is something indescribably inspiring about Van Gogh's work (and his story) that I appreciate. I'm sure I'll make one more trip before heading out. That evening we made a makeshift meal and stayed in after such a late night with the MAIPRs on Friday. (Note for Emily: I introduced Michael to the Survivor/Truman Show games!)
Sunday: I'm working on my internship stuff which needs attention ASAP. I've stolen 40 minutes out of that to catch up with the blogo. Tonight, we're heading to my favourite Sunday night spot for Michael's last night in the city. It has been a great visit!
Doc's Prescription of the Day: Most of you won't have a chance to visit me in Amsterdam, but read through as if you've spent a week - this is the type of visit I'd love to spend with each of you.
Murph and I have had a wonderful time here in Amsterdam. The nicest thing about the journey is that he is staying a full 7 days so there is no time crunch to fit everything in. We've done a lot of great things in the city, but I haven't felt like a complete tour guide, more like a city ombudsman. I think the most economic way to detail all of our adventures is a day to day highlight reel.
Monday: We arrived at the Amstel bus stop after the long trek from Belgium. It's not exactly the most beautiful place to first land in the city, but it makes the rest of AMS look stunning. We arrived back at my place and made a fantastic pasta dinner. Instead of hitting the city (after two full days in Brussels) we chilled in that night and caught up on all kinds of stories and developments since I've been away from Canada. I asked about each and every one of you in Toronto and what you've been up to. It was a great way to get back in the loop.
Tuesday: I had class for three hours in the morning and after I returned home I took Michael on an initial tour of the city. We walked through the Waterloo Market, my UVA buildings, Dam Square, Rembrandt Plein, and stopped by a canal or two. That evening we made yet another fine meal, and I rehearsed my presentation for the next day's class. Again, we had some of the convos I've missed since leaving: politics, theatre, the future, and a bit of reminiscing about Queen's Drama. My apartment, with its big floor to ceiling window, is a great place to spend away an evening.
Wednesday: The day started early with a tour through Amsterdam's largest market (an obligatory stop for any visitor). From there we visited the Concert Hall (for the second week in a row) and caught the free lunch time concert. This week, it was a saxophone ensemble. I had never seen such a thing. A dozen saxophones (from soprano to bass) combined in beautiful harmony. It was a nice afternoon treat. Afterwards, I went to my LAST OFFICIAL MAIPR CLASS. This is a big deal for me. Aside from summer school, this is the last of the formal in-class instruction. There I presented my 15 minute Verbatim Theatre exploration as part of the portfolio. I got such great feedback from the students and professor, that it was one of those moments where I questioned my disinterest in continuing with the PhD. These days come every once in a while. After the class, we all went out for drinks at the restaurant near the Theatre Studies department. There, Murphy met all my MAPIR class mates and some of the students who had joined us from other departments. I'm really going to miss this group of students from the Theory class - they're extremely intelligent and socially have been great to get to know. Murphy made quick friends chatting with Adam and Stu about directing and Bec about Mac computers. Worlds colliding in a great way! After the restaurant we moved to our "One more beer bar" to round out the night.
Thursday: I took Michael to the Amsterdam Public Library which must be one of the nicest PubLibs in the world. I knew he would appreciate the six floors of architectural wonder and mac computers. We sipped coffees on the patio overlooking the city and enjoyed a relaxed afternoon. We walked by the Anne Frank museum on our way to the MacStore where I purchased a new hard drive for my computer. Thankfully, the hard drive cost me only 85 Euros and is about five times the size of my old one. It'll be nice to have the computer up and running in under a week. That evening, I made my favourite Amsterdam Peanut Stir Fry. After, we figured we'd catch a film so we went to the late show of Angels and Demons. I can't say Dan Brown is my favourite author, but the film was entertaining.
Friday: Any tourist loves to shop! We went up and down the shopping district, the flower market, and the indoor mall in the city centre. I was doing a bit of window shopping (after tying my money up in future travel tickets) while Michael spied some items to take home. It was yet again, another restful afternoon spent in Amsterdam. That night, we went to Dev and Stu's place for (what was bound to be) another late-night MAIPR get-together. The whole group had come together to celebrate Stu's birthday and the party did not disappoint. Michael was introduced to our intercultural games and was able to chat with the rest of the contingent. The highlight of the night was a game Hetta introduced which is a toast circle that progresses with the passing of a champagne bottle. I'd entitle the game "MAIPR gets Sappy." It was really touching to hear everyone speak fondly of each other after three months of classes.
Saturday: Museum and Culture Day. One of the highlights of the visit with Michael was our trip to the World Press Photo Exhibit 2009. Having become interested in photography in the past year, I was moved by some incredibly stunning photos from journalists all over the world: conflict, everyday, sports, arts, and war. It was a reminder how powerful the captured image can be. From there we traveled to the Van Gogh museum. It was my third trip, but I never tire of floating through the collection. There is something indescribably inspiring about Van Gogh's work (and his story) that I appreciate. I'm sure I'll make one more trip before heading out. That evening we made a makeshift meal and stayed in after such a late night with the MAIPRs on Friday. (Note for Emily: I introduced Michael to the Survivor/Truman Show games!)
Sunday: I'm working on my internship stuff which needs attention ASAP. I've stolen 40 minutes out of that to catch up with the blogo. Tonight, we're heading to my favourite Sunday night spot for Michael's last night in the city. It has been a great visit!
Doc's Prescription of the Day: Most of you won't have a chance to visit me in Amsterdam, but read through as if you've spent a week - this is the type of visit I'd love to spend with each of you.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Muscles in Brussels.doc
I am back in Amsterdam, with a one Mr. Michael Murphy in tow who will be staying for a week. It's great to have a friend here for such a long time so I can show him all the wonderful places in the city.
We were joined by our friend Paul who took a weekend off from Oxford and came down by train. I met the boys at a central metro stop in the city after a very short three hour bus ride to the EU Capital. It was great to see Michael. It's been a long eight months where our talks about politics, theatre, and the like have had to take place over skype. I look forward to a number of good chats this week. It was also good to see Paul after our adventures in Stockholm back in November.
The weekend in Brussels was unlike some of the other travel-a-thons of the past. The three of us decided to mainly take it easy and soak up the city rather than burden ourselves with a whole schedule of museums and must-sees. Our first stop was a patio while we waited for the check-in to open at our hostel. There we sipped on some beers in the sun and went over a bevy of updates. After months of not seeing friends, the stories seem to just pour out. We stayed at the Van Gogh Hostel (apparently the artist lived in the building at one point). It was clean, modest, and we shared the room with another guy. We nicknamed him Scotland because he had a Marks and Sparks water bottle that said Scottish Water on it - he wasn't from Scotland.
That first afternoon we walked around the centre of the city. The Grand Place is an enormous piazza with beautiful old buildings with gold accents on the roofs. The square was packed, but we managed to take some obligatory photos. There was also a giant (like huge) comic strip that was being assembled in the centre of the place. I think it was some sort of comic book event. Apparently, comics are huge in Belgium. We saw the tiny Mannequin Peeing statue that everyone mentions. He was wearing a silly costume. I can't imagine how many pictures such a small and seemingly mundane statue must appear in. For dinner we stopped in at a Thai restaurant and sat out on their patio. Michael had a dish that was served in a Pineapple and Paul and I both had curry.
That evening we went to a special weekend party after getting a tip about a great spot not to be missed. We searched for about 10 minutes in the area where the party should have been (in regards to the map I had) before realizing that the party wasn't near the subway station, it was IN the subway station. Two weeks ago it was a party under a bridge, now it's a party in a metro station. Europe. We had a great time. It was neat to explore a deserted metro station at night where the music reverberated off the concrete walls. We stayed quite late - once again I felt like we were surrounded by a crowd "in the know."
After a sleep in the next day, we walked towards a beautiful mosque on the horizon from our hostel and spent a good hour just lounging in the park outside. The sun was extremely hot and it felt good to just relax and chat with friends. We went to an organic restaurant for lunch (how trendy, how healthy) and had some decent grub. The Iris Festival was going on that week so we checked out all the booths, performances, and free swag scattered throughout the old town area. Like the day before, we walked and walked around the city just content to be in a new place.
That evening we went for a wonderful pasta dinner at the patio around the corner from our hostel. I rarely go out for dinner in Amsterdam (to save money) so it was great to be able to indulge while on vacation. From there we went back to the hostel, had some cheap Jupiler beers, and went out to a club. The cover was 9 Euros, but with that you got 3 drink tickets for 3 Euro drinks. A bit of an odd system, but I guess it guarantees three drinks a head. It was a big club with a DJ booth built into the wall overlooking the main area. Again, we boys had a great night. No OPDs to speak of, sorry friends.
The next morning we split paths after a really restful, but considerably fun, weekend in Brussels. The ride back to Amsterdam was long and drawn out, but I was happy to arrive home and show Michael the city I've settled into. Update on that to come.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: I did not sample one Belgium chocolate. For shame? Maybe. Have some chocolate in lieu of my transgression.
We were joined by our friend Paul who took a weekend off from Oxford and came down by train. I met the boys at a central metro stop in the city after a very short three hour bus ride to the EU Capital. It was great to see Michael. It's been a long eight months where our talks about politics, theatre, and the like have had to take place over skype. I look forward to a number of good chats this week. It was also good to see Paul after our adventures in Stockholm back in November.
The weekend in Brussels was unlike some of the other travel-a-thons of the past. The three of us decided to mainly take it easy and soak up the city rather than burden ourselves with a whole schedule of museums and must-sees. Our first stop was a patio while we waited for the check-in to open at our hostel. There we sipped on some beers in the sun and went over a bevy of updates. After months of not seeing friends, the stories seem to just pour out. We stayed at the Van Gogh Hostel (apparently the artist lived in the building at one point). It was clean, modest, and we shared the room with another guy. We nicknamed him Scotland because he had a Marks and Sparks water bottle that said Scottish Water on it - he wasn't from Scotland.
That first afternoon we walked around the centre of the city. The Grand Place is an enormous piazza with beautiful old buildings with gold accents on the roofs. The square was packed, but we managed to take some obligatory photos. There was also a giant (like huge) comic strip that was being assembled in the centre of the place. I think it was some sort of comic book event. Apparently, comics are huge in Belgium. We saw the tiny Mannequin Peeing statue that everyone mentions. He was wearing a silly costume. I can't imagine how many pictures such a small and seemingly mundane statue must appear in. For dinner we stopped in at a Thai restaurant and sat out on their patio. Michael had a dish that was served in a Pineapple and Paul and I both had curry.
That evening we went to a special weekend party after getting a tip about a great spot not to be missed. We searched for about 10 minutes in the area where the party should have been (in regards to the map I had) before realizing that the party wasn't near the subway station, it was IN the subway station. Two weeks ago it was a party under a bridge, now it's a party in a metro station. Europe. We had a great time. It was neat to explore a deserted metro station at night where the music reverberated off the concrete walls. We stayed quite late - once again I felt like we were surrounded by a crowd "in the know."
After a sleep in the next day, we walked towards a beautiful mosque on the horizon from our hostel and spent a good hour just lounging in the park outside. The sun was extremely hot and it felt good to just relax and chat with friends. We went to an organic restaurant for lunch (how trendy, how healthy) and had some decent grub. The Iris Festival was going on that week so we checked out all the booths, performances, and free swag scattered throughout the old town area. Like the day before, we walked and walked around the city just content to be in a new place.
That evening we went for a wonderful pasta dinner at the patio around the corner from our hostel. I rarely go out for dinner in Amsterdam (to save money) so it was great to be able to indulge while on vacation. From there we went back to the hostel, had some cheap Jupiler beers, and went out to a club. The cover was 9 Euros, but with that you got 3 drink tickets for 3 Euro drinks. A bit of an odd system, but I guess it guarantees three drinks a head. It was a big club with a DJ booth built into the wall overlooking the main area. Again, we boys had a great night. No OPDs to speak of, sorry friends.
The next morning we split paths after a really restful, but considerably fun, weekend in Brussels. The ride back to Amsterdam was long and drawn out, but I was happy to arrive home and show Michael the city I've settled into. Update on that to come.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: I did not sample one Belgium chocolate. For shame? Maybe. Have some chocolate in lieu of my transgression.
Friday, May 08, 2009
A Month of Mayhem.doc
The reason I haven't posted in a few days is because I had an accident on Monday. It was actually quite a non-event of the day (save that I thought readers would enjoy hearing about it). Unfortunately, it turned out to be quite the game-changer when I became aware of the consequences of the accident. Let me explain...
On Monday, I was biking to school on the seven minute route as usual. The sun was out and a boat was passing through in the adjacent canal. The road was strewn with some sand left over from the dump trucks working on construction the week before. Now that I've build up the seemingly perfect morning conditions, I can tell you about the actual accident. I rounded the corner much too quickly, buoyant and aggressive on a beautiful morning, and skidded my bike on the sand strewn road. I was able to slow the bike down with my feet, but did end up toppling over. I got up without a scratch - I was wearing my down Canadian vest which absorbed a lot of the soft blow. I chalked it up as my first official Amsterdam bike wipeout (every ex-pat has one) and laughed it off. A non-event, yes?
Wrong. Upon arriving at school, I took out my lovely macbook, and it wouldn't boot up. The usual apple screen would pop to the surface but what followed was a black screen with a blinking rectangle a la Microsoft Dos. Insert multiple expletives; not a good sign. It seems the damage in the accident was to my computer, rather than to me or my self-esteem. The mac shop here in Amsterdam diagnosed a damaged hard drive. It was a mix of emotions - I was gutted, frustrated, angry, and pretty much hopeless. You see, I hadn't done a good backup in a while (I don't want to hear about it either) so it seemed that I had lost all the school documents and the wonderful photos I had snapped in the past eight months.
Enter my Australian friend Bec, MW (mac wizard). She told me to buy a firewire cable and get over to her place. We docked my poor injured machine to her Macbook and went through five hours of digital surgery trying to retrieve important files. I was able to salvage the portfolio presentation I was working on for next week, the ten page essay draft I was working on, and a lot of other important documents. We tried to access the photos but to no avail. I'm going to try next week to extract them again. If worst comes to worst, I can keep the hard drive and then send it to a Disk Recovery company once I'm making a salary somewhere. I'm optimistic about the possibilities. Next week, I'll purchase a new hard drive and slip it into the machine to get back online. It has been a truly interesting experience (a blog post all its own in the coming weeks) full of ups and downs, but at the end of the day all that was lost (and possibly salvageable) was digital files. Life goes on.
And go on it did! I was extremely excited to host Graham and Leslie for two nights in Amsterdam. Graham and Leslie are two friends from the good old Queen's days. I lived with Graham on the third floor of the infamous 309 Earl St of 2nd year drama. 8 guys, one house, one rooftop...lots of jousting and parties. They are doing a five week tour of Europa and Amsterdam was the second stop along the way. I met them at the Centraal Station on Tuesday evening and walked them back to the apartment. I give them credit; they are authentic backpackers. Huge sacs filled to the brim on their backs (properly Canadian flagged) and small backpacks in the front. We had a quick little dinner before heading out to see what was going on in Amsterdam.
They arrived on a wonderful day in Canadian/Netherland history - Liberation Day. It's a national holiday commemorating the day the allies freed the country from the Nazis. And who lead the charge to free the Netherlands? Canadians, of course. I wore all my flag pins with pride. We wanted to check out a concert as part of Liberation Day, and arrived at midnight to see them closing up shop. I know it was a Tuesday, but that was a bit unfortunate. Never fear, we hatched an alternate plan. We sipped a few AH beers and I took them for a night tour along the Amstel, across my favourite bridge in the city, through Rembrandtplein, and all the way to my favourite bar in the city, The Neighbour. The place is just undeniably cool - a hidden gem. We watched the locals play pool, sipped on a few beers, and caught up with where everyone was. Graham just finished his first year of Law school in Ottawa and Leslie just completed her MA of Teaching at UofT. An impressive couple, yes?
The next day was a whirlwind. We woke up at a decent hour and toured the Albert (the largest market in Amsterdam) and then made our way to Museumplein. There, I wanted to offer them the opportunity to take photos with the I AMSTERDAM sign but it had disappeared for Lib Day festivities. A disappointment. What was NOT a disappointment was the free lunch time concert we attended at the Concert Hall. I figured it would be a nice treat, but I had no idea how special it would be. The concert that day was in the Grand Hall and there was not an extra seat in sight. We figured it must be a bigger concert than usual. Joining the orchestra for a lunchtime rehearsal of their concert that evening was none other than Lang Lang (worth a google) - he's was a child prodigy who is one of the foremost pianists in the world. He played at the Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, has countless other honours, and just so happened to be performing in Amsterdam. It was magical - all the other orchestra members were watching him work the keys with his magical hands. A superb surprise.
Our day of culture continued with a visit to the Van Gogh museum - probably my favourite in the city. We saw the special "Colours of the Night" Exhibit and the permanent collection that traces the evolution of his work. We stopped for a coffee in a cafe that afternoon, and continued to tour the city. After enjoying a late lunch I took them through the school facilities and we passed a beautiful outdoor exhibit raising awareness for children with Downes Syndrome. After an afternoon nap, Graham and Leslie treated me for a dinner at a great Thai place. We then went on a leisurely tour of the Red Light District (no trip would be incomplete) and finished the night off in another Amsterdam pub.
The next day they continued to explore the city with a visit to the Anne Frank museum while I did internship work. I walked them to the train station at 5pm and saw them off to Bruges. It was great to re-connect with Graham and Leslie. It's such an adult thing to host "university friends" for a few nights but I had been looking forward to it for some time. As with any close friendships, we picked up right where we left off and it was great to get updates as to what they had been doing the past two years or so.
The visits continue! Tomorrow I head to Brussels to meet Michael and Paul for a weekend in the EU captial. I could not be happier to escape the city for a week and hang out with two more good friends from home. On Monday, Michael turns with me to Amsterdam for a week long visit. I'm extremely looking forward to hosting again.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: I've been waiting for the 'May'hem for months - I'm finally glad the visits are here. Visit with your family, friends, colleagues, neighbours, enemies, and nemesis in this wonderful sunshine.
Doc's Blog Prescription: I'm not sure who is and who isn't reading anymore. Comments and responses to what I was writing from friends is what initially inspired me to fit the blog into my already busy schedule. So, all I ask is, if you are still reading, just let me know sometime so I know it's not all for naught. I'm going to keep pressing through so I have a record of my travels, but if I know more people haven't tuned out, it will inspire me to post often and with pride. A lone Canadian half-way around the world just needs to know that his messages in a bottle find their way to shore. Yuck, how jam-down-your-throat poetic.
On Monday, I was biking to school on the seven minute route as usual. The sun was out and a boat was passing through in the adjacent canal. The road was strewn with some sand left over from the dump trucks working on construction the week before. Now that I've build up the seemingly perfect morning conditions, I can tell you about the actual accident. I rounded the corner much too quickly, buoyant and aggressive on a beautiful morning, and skidded my bike on the sand strewn road. I was able to slow the bike down with my feet, but did end up toppling over. I got up without a scratch - I was wearing my down Canadian vest which absorbed a lot of the soft blow. I chalked it up as my first official Amsterdam bike wipeout (every ex-pat has one) and laughed it off. A non-event, yes?
Wrong. Upon arriving at school, I took out my lovely macbook, and it wouldn't boot up. The usual apple screen would pop to the surface but what followed was a black screen with a blinking rectangle a la Microsoft Dos. Insert multiple expletives; not a good sign. It seems the damage in the accident was to my computer, rather than to me or my self-esteem. The mac shop here in Amsterdam diagnosed a damaged hard drive. It was a mix of emotions - I was gutted, frustrated, angry, and pretty much hopeless. You see, I hadn't done a good backup in a while (I don't want to hear about it either) so it seemed that I had lost all the school documents and the wonderful photos I had snapped in the past eight months.
Enter my Australian friend Bec, MW (mac wizard). She told me to buy a firewire cable and get over to her place. We docked my poor injured machine to her Macbook and went through five hours of digital surgery trying to retrieve important files. I was able to salvage the portfolio presentation I was working on for next week, the ten page essay draft I was working on, and a lot of other important documents. We tried to access the photos but to no avail. I'm going to try next week to extract them again. If worst comes to worst, I can keep the hard drive and then send it to a Disk Recovery company once I'm making a salary somewhere. I'm optimistic about the possibilities. Next week, I'll purchase a new hard drive and slip it into the machine to get back online. It has been a truly interesting experience (a blog post all its own in the coming weeks) full of ups and downs, but at the end of the day all that was lost (and possibly salvageable) was digital files. Life goes on.
And go on it did! I was extremely excited to host Graham and Leslie for two nights in Amsterdam. Graham and Leslie are two friends from the good old Queen's days. I lived with Graham on the third floor of the infamous 309 Earl St of 2nd year drama. 8 guys, one house, one rooftop...lots of jousting and parties. They are doing a five week tour of Europa and Amsterdam was the second stop along the way. I met them at the Centraal Station on Tuesday evening and walked them back to the apartment. I give them credit; they are authentic backpackers. Huge sacs filled to the brim on their backs (properly Canadian flagged) and small backpacks in the front. We had a quick little dinner before heading out to see what was going on in Amsterdam.
They arrived on a wonderful day in Canadian/Netherland history - Liberation Day. It's a national holiday commemorating the day the allies freed the country from the Nazis. And who lead the charge to free the Netherlands? Canadians, of course. I wore all my flag pins with pride. We wanted to check out a concert as part of Liberation Day, and arrived at midnight to see them closing up shop. I know it was a Tuesday, but that was a bit unfortunate. Never fear, we hatched an alternate plan. We sipped a few AH beers and I took them for a night tour along the Amstel, across my favourite bridge in the city, through Rembrandtplein, and all the way to my favourite bar in the city, The Neighbour. The place is just undeniably cool - a hidden gem. We watched the locals play pool, sipped on a few beers, and caught up with where everyone was. Graham just finished his first year of Law school in Ottawa and Leslie just completed her MA of Teaching at UofT. An impressive couple, yes?
The next day was a whirlwind. We woke up at a decent hour and toured the Albert (the largest market in Amsterdam) and then made our way to Museumplein. There, I wanted to offer them the opportunity to take photos with the I AMSTERDAM sign but it had disappeared for Lib Day festivities. A disappointment. What was NOT a disappointment was the free lunch time concert we attended at the Concert Hall. I figured it would be a nice treat, but I had no idea how special it would be. The concert that day was in the Grand Hall and there was not an extra seat in sight. We figured it must be a bigger concert than usual. Joining the orchestra for a lunchtime rehearsal of their concert that evening was none other than Lang Lang (worth a google) - he's was a child prodigy who is one of the foremost pianists in the world. He played at the Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, has countless other honours, and just so happened to be performing in Amsterdam. It was magical - all the other orchestra members were watching him work the keys with his magical hands. A superb surprise.
Our day of culture continued with a visit to the Van Gogh museum - probably my favourite in the city. We saw the special "Colours of the Night" Exhibit and the permanent collection that traces the evolution of his work. We stopped for a coffee in a cafe that afternoon, and continued to tour the city. After enjoying a late lunch I took them through the school facilities and we passed a beautiful outdoor exhibit raising awareness for children with Downes Syndrome. After an afternoon nap, Graham and Leslie treated me for a dinner at a great Thai place. We then went on a leisurely tour of the Red Light District (no trip would be incomplete) and finished the night off in another Amsterdam pub.
The next day they continued to explore the city with a visit to the Anne Frank museum while I did internship work. I walked them to the train station at 5pm and saw them off to Bruges. It was great to re-connect with Graham and Leslie. It's such an adult thing to host "university friends" for a few nights but I had been looking forward to it for some time. As with any close friendships, we picked up right where we left off and it was great to get updates as to what they had been doing the past two years or so.
The visits continue! Tomorrow I head to Brussels to meet Michael and Paul for a weekend in the EU captial. I could not be happier to escape the city for a week and hang out with two more good friends from home. On Monday, Michael turns with me to Amsterdam for a week long visit. I'm extremely looking forward to hosting again.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: I've been waiting for the 'May'hem for months - I'm finally glad the visits are here. Visit with your family, friends, colleagues, neighbours, enemies, and nemesis in this wonderful sunshine.
Doc's Blog Prescription: I'm not sure who is and who isn't reading anymore. Comments and responses to what I was writing from friends is what initially inspired me to fit the blog into my already busy schedule. So, all I ask is, if you are still reading, just let me know sometime so I know it's not all for naught. I'm going to keep pressing through so I have a record of my travels, but if I know more people haven't tuned out, it will inspire me to post often and with pride. A lone Canadian half-way around the world just needs to know that his messages in a bottle find their way to shore. Yuck, how jam-down-your-throat poetic.
Monday, May 04, 2009
Orangeade and Sunny D.doc
As promised, here are some of the best Queen's Day photos from the Orange Nation.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: An orange, carrot, or pumpkin. Then enough with the orange.
Sailing Through at Day's End.
Pure excess.
Plexat!
Leisure Time.
Where are we going?
Put Your Hands in the Air.
Park Chilling.
House of Orange, MD.
Hello, may I have something orange please? Thanks.
Booze Cruise.
Early Morning Wake Up.
The Breakfast Club.
Bonfire Under the Bridge.
Orange Steel.
Under the Bridge.
Sights and Sounds.
The Orange Lights Come From Everywhere.
Queen's Night Music Venue.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: An orange, carrot, or pumpkin. Then enough with the orange.
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