After such a wonderful time at the beach with the girls last week, I suggested an MAIPR beach day happen immediately. The crew was more than happy to oblige. Monday was another holiday here in the Netherlands (at this point I can't even keep track) so we boarded the train with the other holiday revelers on our way to Zandvoort.
We picked a great day. The temperature reached 24, which for the lowest part of Europe (we're below sea level) is pretty respectable. After learning from the last time (when they tried to charge us for using the lounge chairs!) we staked out a beautiful spot in the sand and went straight to relaxing. I brought my copy of Hello Magazine Canada - sent by my wonderful friend Emma - and read all about the celebrity happens on our side of the border. The other members of the group were razzed when they pulled out school related library books. Sand + Theory just does not mix.
On the last visit we didn't end up going swimming because the water was super cold. This may surprise some of you since I love to swim in saltwater. I could spend my whole day trying to ride waves. On this visit however, Hetta bullied me into joining her in the water. She's use to Finnish lakes where a dip is taken after a nice long sauna; I'm use to Island beaches on reading week and warm lakes on Prescott evenings. The water was cold upon entry, but as with any dip, after ten minutes I had adjusted to the warmth and rediscovered the joys of swimming in salt water. Hetta left after ten minutes but I stayed in for a half hour.
Dev, Adam, and Courtney wandered down after a while to see where their Canadian comrade had disappeared to. After they took some photos of me splashing in the waves (there were actually a lot of surfers in the water too) they joined in: Courtney rolled up her pants and waded in a bit, Adam came fully in and then retreated back to the warmth of the sun after ten minutes, but Dev's another story. He wore jeans and a T-shirt to the beach not expecting to swim. After rolling his jeans up (belt and all) he entered the water and it was a struggle to get him out. Having lived in a small village in India, Dev had never swam in saltwater before. We waded in, swam out a bit, and tried to catch waves as they crested. I can't really remember what the ocean must have been like as a young child, but seeing Dev jump and splash around I have a pretty good idea. It was really a great moment to share with him; he was in his glory. After twenty more minutes of hanging out with Dev, the hour in the water left me a little drained. I laid down in the swallow water to relax while keeping an eye on my friend and his new found fun.
Once we made it back to the beach, the rest of the afternoon was spent chatting about the upcoming summer school, enjoying the packed surroundings, and venturing to one of the many patio bars for a beer. By the time six o'clock rolled around the seven hours of sun, sand, and water had taken its toll. You'd think that after a day of doing absolutely nothing productive that one wouldn't be tired, but we were all wiped. We boarded the train back to Centraal and called it a day. I took with me a winning sunburn that is quickly making its way into a golden tan. I chalk it up to practice for the 12 days of scorching sun I'll be seeing in Portugal and Spain in July. It'll go down as one of the best Amsterdam group days.
Yesterday was my Mom's birthday. It's difficult to try and catch her at home during the weekdays since she gets in around 6pm, but I was happy to be able to wish her a good day. Last evening I took Bec out for dinner as a thank you for her wonderful help during the macbook crisis. We went to a pizzeria just around the corner from her house - I had a pizzer with broccoli, eggplant, onions, and asparagus. Today I've been working in the library and madly trying to get errands done before a Sunday departure to Finland. Apparently we'll be having about 21 hours of sunlight during our days - that should be an experience.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: I always think that I'd be really happy to live on or near a beach. Here's hoping you're able to schedule some beach time this summer.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
You Don't Have to Put on The Red Light.doc
So the visitors have come and the visitors have gone. It has been a great month. I've realized that when friends come to visit, you get the opportunity to re-experience the city all over again (on foot nonetheless). I have about a month left here in Amsterdam, minus one week in Finland, so I'm trying to soak it up before leaving.
This week I've been a slave to my lengthy 'to-do' list which consists of mainly academic tasks, but also more practical ones. The 'to-do' list has become my constant. If you were to sift through my trash bin or leaf through my personal planner you'd find pages and pages of crossed out lists. Not only do I include extremely easy tasks on the list (to get myself rolling) but I cross everything off once it has been accomplished. A bit OCD yes, but they're the key to my success. My current 'to-do' list is a beast - it contains the major tasks that must be accomplished before heading to Canada in four weeks. I know other important things will come up, but these are the major, big-ticket items. I've crossed off about half of the tasks but the ones that remain are the ones I'm putting off as much as possible - this is a regular occurrence.
So aside from methodically ticking off the tasks, I've been gearing up for summer school and wrapping up activities related to classes. We need to bring an A1 (size) poster to summer school to give everyone an idea of the topics we'll be covering in our theses. These type of poster displays are more for science disciplines, but it's a good exercise in dealing with your material and making it accessible. While a bunch of my classmates have started gluing, cutting, and writing onto bristol board, I've opted to design mine and get it printed in the city. You wouldn't believe how much the going rate for poster printing is (I've shopped around) but I just don't have the time or patience to craft it. Besides, the design looks pretty stellar. I also helped Adam with a conference he organized this week called New Music, New Audience. I was on camera duty which I haven't been in charge of since the x and why days. It felt great to be the camera man again.
The highlight of the week though was the guided tour of the Red Light District I went on two nights ago. One of the Residence Assistants is part of an English tour group that offers a two hour journey through the area. Since the City of Amsterdam will be closing half of the windows on June 1 (or so they say), I felt it important to get the full tour before it's all gone. Best of all it was free. Whatever your opinion of the legalization of prostitution, at the very least the "sex business" in Amsterdam is a unique and interesting place. The Red Light District, in a variety of forms has existed since the 13th Century when Amsterdam was one of the largest ports in the world. It would be difficult to do justice to all the information I learned on the tour, but here are some of the informative highlights:
1) There are over 400 windows in the Red Light District. They are set to trim this number to 200 at the start of next week. Whether or not the city will actually shut down that high a number is yet to be seen.
2) The Red Light District windows make up only 20% of the "sex business" in the city. I'll let you ponder that one.
3) The oldest working prostitute in the city is 75. No joke. She works by appointment only.
4) There is a place called the PIC (Prostitute Information Centre) in the RLD. The centre is there to provide information for the girls, the clients, the public, and those interested in joining the business.
5) At the centre of the Red Light District, on the same street as some of the windows is the city's oldest parish church (built in 1306) and a Kindergarden School. When asked by a Dutch TV station what they thought the 'neighbourhood' ladies in the window were doing, a child remarked: "Our teach said they sell kisses."
6) A prostitute working in the district rents a window for 150 euros for 8 hours.
7) There is a special window down one of the alleys where tourists can pay 25 Euros to dress up and have their picture taken as if they work in the RLD.
8) The City once experimented with having men in the windows. They asked for applications for men who were willing to work in the business. There were 2,000,000 applications. After narrowing the applications to five, the experiment began and was shut down 30 minutes later. The media-frenzy meant that anonymity was impossible, the female prostitutes became jealous of all the attention, and there were stamina issues that weren't initially taken into consideration.
9) Contrary to popular belief, the sex workers ARE NOT subject to mandatory STD checks. However, a study compared the STD rates of the workers and the general public and they were just less than everyone else walking around on the street.
10) There is no agreed upon etymology of the reds lights and their connection to the sex business. Some of the theories:
i. In the bible, Rahab the Harlot hung a red rope from her window so she could be recognized.
ii. When Napoleon was in control of Amsterdam he instituted a sexual testing policy where those clean were given a red card to display.
iii. When sailors visited the homes of prostitutes they would hang their lanterns on the outside to indicate their presence to other would-be clients.
iv. More practically, a red light makes everyone look better. It hides blemishes, its seductive, and is less harsh than white light.
I hope those facts were as interesting to you as they were to me. The Dutch have a very different approach to sexual education than a lot of other cultures and it seems to pay off. As opposed to Britain, which has the highest teenage pregnancy rates in all of Europe, the Netherlands was one of the lowest teenage rates and more young people use protection. The Red Light District, even though for some it is a stain on Amsterdam's beauty, is unarguably part of the character of the city.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: 'To-Do' Lists are a really great way to keep organized. What? You didn't think I'd prescribe something RLD related. Not that far.
This week I've been a slave to my lengthy 'to-do' list which consists of mainly academic tasks, but also more practical ones. The 'to-do' list has become my constant. If you were to sift through my trash bin or leaf through my personal planner you'd find pages and pages of crossed out lists. Not only do I include extremely easy tasks on the list (to get myself rolling) but I cross everything off once it has been accomplished. A bit OCD yes, but they're the key to my success. My current 'to-do' list is a beast - it contains the major tasks that must be accomplished before heading to Canada in four weeks. I know other important things will come up, but these are the major, big-ticket items. I've crossed off about half of the tasks but the ones that remain are the ones I'm putting off as much as possible - this is a regular occurrence.
So aside from methodically ticking off the tasks, I've been gearing up for summer school and wrapping up activities related to classes. We need to bring an A1 (size) poster to summer school to give everyone an idea of the topics we'll be covering in our theses. These type of poster displays are more for science disciplines, but it's a good exercise in dealing with your material and making it accessible. While a bunch of my classmates have started gluing, cutting, and writing onto bristol board, I've opted to design mine and get it printed in the city. You wouldn't believe how much the going rate for poster printing is (I've shopped around) but I just don't have the time or patience to craft it. Besides, the design looks pretty stellar. I also helped Adam with a conference he organized this week called New Music, New Audience. I was on camera duty which I haven't been in charge of since the x and why days. It felt great to be the camera man again.
The highlight of the week though was the guided tour of the Red Light District I went on two nights ago. One of the Residence Assistants is part of an English tour group that offers a two hour journey through the area. Since the City of Amsterdam will be closing half of the windows on June 1 (or so they say), I felt it important to get the full tour before it's all gone. Best of all it was free. Whatever your opinion of the legalization of prostitution, at the very least the "sex business" in Amsterdam is a unique and interesting place. The Red Light District, in a variety of forms has existed since the 13th Century when Amsterdam was one of the largest ports in the world. It would be difficult to do justice to all the information I learned on the tour, but here are some of the informative highlights:
1) There are over 400 windows in the Red Light District. They are set to trim this number to 200 at the start of next week. Whether or not the city will actually shut down that high a number is yet to be seen.
2) The Red Light District windows make up only 20% of the "sex business" in the city. I'll let you ponder that one.
3) The oldest working prostitute in the city is 75. No joke. She works by appointment only.
4) There is a place called the PIC (Prostitute Information Centre) in the RLD. The centre is there to provide information for the girls, the clients, the public, and those interested in joining the business.
5) At the centre of the Red Light District, on the same street as some of the windows is the city's oldest parish church (built in 1306) and a Kindergarden School. When asked by a Dutch TV station what they thought the 'neighbourhood' ladies in the window were doing, a child remarked: "Our teach said they sell kisses."
6) A prostitute working in the district rents a window for 150 euros for 8 hours.
7) There is a special window down one of the alleys where tourists can pay 25 Euros to dress up and have their picture taken as if they work in the RLD.
8) The City once experimented with having men in the windows. They asked for applications for men who were willing to work in the business. There were 2,000,000 applications. After narrowing the applications to five, the experiment began and was shut down 30 minutes later. The media-frenzy meant that anonymity was impossible, the female prostitutes became jealous of all the attention, and there were stamina issues that weren't initially taken into consideration.
9) Contrary to popular belief, the sex workers ARE NOT subject to mandatory STD checks. However, a study compared the STD rates of the workers and the general public and they were just less than everyone else walking around on the street.
10) There is no agreed upon etymology of the reds lights and their connection to the sex business. Some of the theories:
i. In the bible, Rahab the Harlot hung a red rope from her window so she could be recognized.
ii. When Napoleon was in control of Amsterdam he instituted a sexual testing policy where those clean were given a red card to display.
iii. When sailors visited the homes of prostitutes they would hang their lanterns on the outside to indicate their presence to other would-be clients.
iv. More practically, a red light makes everyone look better. It hides blemishes, its seductive, and is less harsh than white light.
I hope those facts were as interesting to you as they were to me. The Dutch have a very different approach to sexual education than a lot of other cultures and it seems to pay off. As opposed to Britain, which has the highest teenage pregnancy rates in all of Europe, the Netherlands was one of the lowest teenage rates and more young people use protection. The Red Light District, even though for some it is a stain on Amsterdam's beauty, is unarguably part of the character of the city.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: 'To-Do' Lists are a really great way to keep organized. What? You didn't think I'd prescribe something RLD related. Not that far.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
An Amster-Damn Good Weekend.doc
The title is a shout out to Bronwyn, one of my houseguests this past weekend. If I had a nickel for every time she said something was "Amster-Damn Good," I'd be a wealthy man. Thankfully, this type of enthusiasm for the city made the visit with Emily, Bronwyn, and Cynthia extremely memorable.
I greeted the girls as their bus arrived at 11:30pm. The meeting could have been in a movie: I cycled up just as the girls were dragging their suitcases away from the bus. I rang my little bell (which I think was a welcome sound after an eight hour journey) and we rejoiced in a mini-reunion. After the obligatory bike photos, we walked with luggage in tow to my apartment. There we blew up an air mattress (three guests is a new one for me) and then had a catch-up over a few beers. Emily and Cynthia had moved out of their apartment in Rennes that very day so we hit the hay quite early. It struck me afterwards that I was there to bookend Emily's Rennes experience in some ways. When I arrived in September she had only moved into her new apartment a few days before and the day she moved out of the city she arrived in Amsterdam. It's hard to believe how much time has passed since then.
The next morning we had a breaky feast (with the fresh market items bought the day before) and then we hit the city. I took the girls through the market. It was, without a doubt, the longest market visit I've ever had. That's because I've never been with shoppers before. Instead of just walking the length of the street and just "taking it in," the girls were keen to investigate, inquire about the price, and PURCHASE. This was totally fine with me. The next stop was MuseumPlein where I pointed out all the cultural spots. The I AMSTERDAM sign has returned to the area after a two-week absence (sorry Michael, Graham, and Leslie) so we took some shots with the sign. Bronwyn, not wanting to miss an opportunity for a great profile pic, sat in the lower case 'd' and we took photos from the opposite side so it looked like a 'b'. Clever girl. We wandered to the north of the city past all the galleries and busy shopping areas - both Emily and Bronwyn purchased some comfortable Birkenstock shoes. I might nab a pair before I ship off.
After a quick grocery stop to get supplies to the evening we headed to Hetta's house for an MAIPR BBQ. The girls had been in the city one evening and they were already invited to a party. We had prepared a platter of guacamole (made with fresh avocadoes, onions, tomatoes, and lemon juice). It was a big hit. Emily also made her own hamburgers, and Bronwyn and I opted for some grilled poulet. I am happy to announce that all the MAIPR crew made it out to the BBQ so Emily finally met Dev from India who she had heard a lot about; she was particularly interested by a story he told about sneakily catching a culprit back in Heronbank. I think they're kindred spirits - tricks and pranks rank high on their lists. We stayed late into the night chatting with the big group (Hetta also had three friends from home), avoiding RAs for a noise complaint, and enjoying the left over grill items. On the way home I took the girls through the Red Light District (an AMS must). Yet again, after previous visits from Emily and Michael, all the MAIPR kids told me just how much they love my friends. If they could just see us ALL at one gathering.... they’d probably run for the hills.
Saturday was also a busy day. Our first stop was the World Press Photo Exhibit. I took Michael two weeks ago and thought the girls would enjoy it. It was great the second time around; there is something interesting for everyone. We went through a few more markets, saw other parts of the city, and eventually ended up at the Anne Frank Museum. Bronwyn and Cynthia went inside. Since Emily and I had been in before we hung out in oversized patio chairs for an hour and talked about plans post-September. After that proved taxing, we read through a Dutch menu and tried to guess what each other would have for each course (some things never change).
That night we made a tasty and healthy dinner: pesto, tomato, mozzarella, and pine nut sandwiches (a recipe I picked up in Amsterdam) with an everything salad with corn and broccoli that Cynthia and Emily made. Delicious. I took the girls to a club on Rembrandtplein called Club Smokey since it has cheap cover and plays accessible 'poppy' tunes. The song playing as we entered was a Will Smith classic. I think Bronwyn had a heart attack. It turned out to be the perfect place for the Saturday night - they played new stuff and some old classics. Best of all, there was no cover and drinks were relatively well priced. We stayed there late until one of the group (who will remain nameless) parked herself in a chair and said she was danced out from all the walking; Lady Marmalade quickly cured her inability to walk. The girls sang Fill Me Up Buttercup on the walk home - undeniably one of the best nights in Amsterdam.
Sunday we took a day trip out of the city to Zandvoort. I'm not sure if Zandvoort translates intoSandfort in English, but it's the closest beach to Amsterdam and boy, is it beautiful. Who would have thought that 25 minutes outside of the city there are sandy beaches as far as the eye can see. Hotels and restaurants pepper the beach and there are wind tents for rent. If you had told me we were in Florida I would have believed you. It also helped that it was a scorching 24 degrees (scorching by Netherland standards). We made the most of it: tanning in the sun, eating lays potato chips and choco-peanuts, watching little children fight over a mountain of lounge chairs, and we even considered a game or two of beach volleyball. The latter was deemed too much effort on such a sunny day. From 2 - 7pm we soaked it up like beach royalty before taking the train home with everyone else who made the pilgrimage to the beach. That night, us lobsters made a wonderful peanut stir-fry and chatted over a beer (yes, we were beered out). As a nice cap to the trip, we flicked on Paris Je T'aime and fell off to sleep.
The next morning we went on one more market and department store trip before Bronwyn and Emily headed off for the bus en route to Spain. Cynthia visited for a few hours longer before heading off to the train station en route to Italy (I did mention we're royalty, right?). The apartment has never felt so empty. To go from four voices filling a tiny bachelor to just me getting back to schoolwork was a bit of a downer. After living with Emily at 135, I've become good friends with her louder volleyball loving other half Bronwyn, and after visiting Rennes in September I've also become close to her quieter med-school bound flatmate Cynthia. It was an absolute pleasure to host three really amazing girls, and surprise surprise; there was no noise complaint! I'm really proud when my MAIPR classmates tell me how wonderful my friends are, but I can't say I'm surprised they feel so.
I return to Canada a month today to see all my other wonderful friends and family.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: Euroshopper choco-peanuts (one third the price of M&M peanuts) were our companion this weekend. I don't know if you can get a hold of them, but they may just change your life.
I greeted the girls as their bus arrived at 11:30pm. The meeting could have been in a movie: I cycled up just as the girls were dragging their suitcases away from the bus. I rang my little bell (which I think was a welcome sound after an eight hour journey) and we rejoiced in a mini-reunion. After the obligatory bike photos, we walked with luggage in tow to my apartment. There we blew up an air mattress (three guests is a new one for me) and then had a catch-up over a few beers. Emily and Cynthia had moved out of their apartment in Rennes that very day so we hit the hay quite early. It struck me afterwards that I was there to bookend Emily's Rennes experience in some ways. When I arrived in September she had only moved into her new apartment a few days before and the day she moved out of the city she arrived in Amsterdam. It's hard to believe how much time has passed since then.
The next morning we had a breaky feast (with the fresh market items bought the day before) and then we hit the city. I took the girls through the market. It was, without a doubt, the longest market visit I've ever had. That's because I've never been with shoppers before. Instead of just walking the length of the street and just "taking it in," the girls were keen to investigate, inquire about the price, and PURCHASE. This was totally fine with me. The next stop was MuseumPlein where I pointed out all the cultural spots. The I AMSTERDAM sign has returned to the area after a two-week absence (sorry Michael, Graham, and Leslie) so we took some shots with the sign. Bronwyn, not wanting to miss an opportunity for a great profile pic, sat in the lower case 'd' and we took photos from the opposite side so it looked like a 'b'. Clever girl. We wandered to the north of the city past all the galleries and busy shopping areas - both Emily and Bronwyn purchased some comfortable Birkenstock shoes. I might nab a pair before I ship off.
After a quick grocery stop to get supplies to the evening we headed to Hetta's house for an MAIPR BBQ. The girls had been in the city one evening and they were already invited to a party. We had prepared a platter of guacamole (made with fresh avocadoes, onions, tomatoes, and lemon juice). It was a big hit. Emily also made her own hamburgers, and Bronwyn and I opted for some grilled poulet. I am happy to announce that all the MAIPR crew made it out to the BBQ so Emily finally met Dev from India who she had heard a lot about; she was particularly interested by a story he told about sneakily catching a culprit back in Heronbank. I think they're kindred spirits - tricks and pranks rank high on their lists. We stayed late into the night chatting with the big group (Hetta also had three friends from home), avoiding RAs for a noise complaint, and enjoying the left over grill items. On the way home I took the girls through the Red Light District (an AMS must). Yet again, after previous visits from Emily and Michael, all the MAIPR kids told me just how much they love my friends. If they could just see us ALL at one gathering.... they’d probably run for the hills.
Saturday was also a busy day. Our first stop was the World Press Photo Exhibit. I took Michael two weeks ago and thought the girls would enjoy it. It was great the second time around; there is something interesting for everyone. We went through a few more markets, saw other parts of the city, and eventually ended up at the Anne Frank Museum. Bronwyn and Cynthia went inside. Since Emily and I had been in before we hung out in oversized patio chairs for an hour and talked about plans post-September. After that proved taxing, we read through a Dutch menu and tried to guess what each other would have for each course (some things never change).
That night we made a tasty and healthy dinner: pesto, tomato, mozzarella, and pine nut sandwiches (a recipe I picked up in Amsterdam) with an everything salad with corn and broccoli that Cynthia and Emily made. Delicious. I took the girls to a club on Rembrandtplein called Club Smokey since it has cheap cover and plays accessible 'poppy' tunes. The song playing as we entered was a Will Smith classic. I think Bronwyn had a heart attack. It turned out to be the perfect place for the Saturday night - they played new stuff and some old classics. Best of all, there was no cover and drinks were relatively well priced. We stayed there late until one of the group (who will remain nameless) parked herself in a chair and said she was danced out from all the walking; Lady Marmalade quickly cured her inability to walk. The girls sang Fill Me Up Buttercup on the walk home - undeniably one of the best nights in Amsterdam.
Sunday we took a day trip out of the city to Zandvoort. I'm not sure if Zandvoort translates intoSandfort in English, but it's the closest beach to Amsterdam and boy, is it beautiful. Who would have thought that 25 minutes outside of the city there are sandy beaches as far as the eye can see. Hotels and restaurants pepper the beach and there are wind tents for rent. If you had told me we were in Florida I would have believed you. It also helped that it was a scorching 24 degrees (scorching by Netherland standards). We made the most of it: tanning in the sun, eating lays potato chips and choco-peanuts, watching little children fight over a mountain of lounge chairs, and we even considered a game or two of beach volleyball. The latter was deemed too much effort on such a sunny day. From 2 - 7pm we soaked it up like beach royalty before taking the train home with everyone else who made the pilgrimage to the beach. That night, us lobsters made a wonderful peanut stir-fry and chatted over a beer (yes, we were beered out). As a nice cap to the trip, we flicked on Paris Je T'aime and fell off to sleep.
The next morning we went on one more market and department store trip before Bronwyn and Emily headed off for the bus en route to Spain. Cynthia visited for a few hours longer before heading off to the train station en route to Italy (I did mention we're royalty, right?). The apartment has never felt so empty. To go from four voices filling a tiny bachelor to just me getting back to schoolwork was a bit of a downer. After living with Emily at 135, I've become good friends with her louder volleyball loving other half Bronwyn, and after visiting Rennes in September I've also become close to her quieter med-school bound flatmate Cynthia. It was an absolute pleasure to host three really amazing girls, and surprise surprise; there was no noise complaint! I'm really proud when my MAIPR classmates tell me how wonderful my friends are, but I can't say I'm surprised they feel so.
I return to Canada a month today to see all my other wonderful friends and family.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: Euroshopper choco-peanuts (one third the price of M&M peanuts) were our companion this weekend. I don't know if you can get a hold of them, but they may just change your life.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Pass the Catchup.doc
To begin this mid-week post, I'd like to formally announce my trip back home to Canada for 10 days. Unfortunately, if this is news to you then you might be the last one to know. The bomb was dropped over phone and facebook a few weeks ago. This is a reminder to bust out those calendars and write it down: June 27 - July 6. I'll be splitting my time between visiting my lovely family back in Thorold and friends in Toronto. I'll firm up the exact dates of each location in the coming month, but I plan to schedule a few jams and sneak in a baseball game or two. Please, any plans you may have will be welcome. Homeward bound in 36 days.
So I'm back in the world, so to speak. After two weeks of not having a computer at my apartment, I am writing this from the luxury of my own desk. Not only did I extract my old hard drive from the macbook, but I installed a new one with Michael's guidance (he is a former Mac employee). All I needed were the start up disks from home, which arrived yesterday, and now i am fully back online. After the new facelift (and five times more storage) my computer and I rekindled the romance last evening by tweaked settings and uploading all the necessary programs. It was nice to be able to use skype again and watch the season finale of Lost which I had been anticipating for a few weeks. My old hard drive will ride with me back to Canada where I'll try every possible avenue to rip my photos off the thing. I'm confident it'll work out. I've missed the glow of my macbook and the subtle ways she says I love you.
After Michael left I was nervous I wouldn't know what to do with myself! Seven days of relaxing and walking around the city got really comfortable. We had a great time. Thankfully, I had a project to jump directly into after he left. Two hours after I guided him to Centraal Station (after one final hurrah on the Sunday night) I was back in the library trying to complete my paper for the International Performance Theory class. We were requested to have an abstract or a full draft ready for Tuesday. In true Doctor style, I pumped out the 4200 word draft (see my earlier post on vomiting the ideas out). I am writing on the Performance of Citizenship as a constructed series of behaviours that define the relationship between citizen and state. I'm looking at the performance through the theories of Judith Butler and Homi Bhabha. With the draft done I can continue to work on it over the next month before it's due at the end of June. It's child's play.
Just when I thought things couldn't get worst (after two weeks of computer connection anxiety) I started my day off with a flat bike tire yesterday. When problem after problem that I can't really deal with on my own start to mount, I feel more and more like an adult (think the Simpson's montage: 'Lisa Needs Braces!'). Add to this the fact that there are no bike shops open today because it's Ascension Day. My reaction cycle took the following path: unbelieving that this has happened to me, an attempt to fix it myself, anger at having no tools at my disposal, a bit of mild sulking, an afternoon patio pint to cheer me up, eventually fixing the problem after realizing it was easy all along, and laughing at myself for being so frustrated in the moment. I bought a pump at the market for 2.50 and the tire seems to be doing fine. Both computer and bike problems in a two week span? I'm not buying a lottery ticket until my luck starts to change.
In addition to continuing to improve the essay, I have an internship report to complete and summer school in Finland to prepare for. It's hard to believe that our week long retreat in the Finnish forest is only about three weeks away. It looks like they've got a full 8am - 9pm schedule planned for us, but the resort facilities include a beach volleyball court, a sauna, and a lake. I'm hoping to play just as much as work that week. As I mentioned before, I've volunteered to be one of three members of the Student Committee to help plan all the social and student lead sessions (what can I say, I just can't say no to Student Council Work - Year 8 and counting). I don't think a professor spoof video is in the works though, sorry Queen's grads.
So, after great visits from Graham and Leslie, and Michael, the final round of May visitors arrives tonight. I welcome Emily, Bronwyn, and Cynthia for FOUR nights here in the city. In preparation for their arrival I visited the markets today where it was packed with holiday shoppers. I managed to pick up some brie, grapes, mangos, oranges, and avocados for really cheap. I also scored a 24 of Grolsch for an incredible 10 Euros at the AH (One of the things I'll miss most about Europe: cheap alcohol). We're all ready for an incredible visit. There may even be bike rentals involved.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: The computer catastrophe was a reminder to BACK UP your important files. I was able to retrieve a lot, but I'm still waiting on the photos. Also, if you don't show it often...let your computer know you appreciate all they do. That is all.
So I'm back in the world, so to speak. After two weeks of not having a computer at my apartment, I am writing this from the luxury of my own desk. Not only did I extract my old hard drive from the macbook, but I installed a new one with Michael's guidance (he is a former Mac employee). All I needed were the start up disks from home, which arrived yesterday, and now i am fully back online. After the new facelift (and five times more storage) my computer and I rekindled the romance last evening by tweaked settings and uploading all the necessary programs. It was nice to be able to use skype again and watch the season finale of Lost which I had been anticipating for a few weeks. My old hard drive will ride with me back to Canada where I'll try every possible avenue to rip my photos off the thing. I'm confident it'll work out. I've missed the glow of my macbook and the subtle ways she says I love you.
After Michael left I was nervous I wouldn't know what to do with myself! Seven days of relaxing and walking around the city got really comfortable. We had a great time. Thankfully, I had a project to jump directly into after he left. Two hours after I guided him to Centraal Station (after one final hurrah on the Sunday night) I was back in the library trying to complete my paper for the International Performance Theory class. We were requested to have an abstract or a full draft ready for Tuesday. In true Doctor style, I pumped out the 4200 word draft (see my earlier post on vomiting the ideas out). I am writing on the Performance of Citizenship as a constructed series of behaviours that define the relationship between citizen and state. I'm looking at the performance through the theories of Judith Butler and Homi Bhabha. With the draft done I can continue to work on it over the next month before it's due at the end of June. It's child's play.
Just when I thought things couldn't get worst (after two weeks of computer connection anxiety) I started my day off with a flat bike tire yesterday. When problem after problem that I can't really deal with on my own start to mount, I feel more and more like an adult (think the Simpson's montage: 'Lisa Needs Braces!'). Add to this the fact that there are no bike shops open today because it's Ascension Day. My reaction cycle took the following path: unbelieving that this has happened to me, an attempt to fix it myself, anger at having no tools at my disposal, a bit of mild sulking, an afternoon patio pint to cheer me up, eventually fixing the problem after realizing it was easy all along, and laughing at myself for being so frustrated in the moment. I bought a pump at the market for 2.50 and the tire seems to be doing fine. Both computer and bike problems in a two week span? I'm not buying a lottery ticket until my luck starts to change.
In addition to continuing to improve the essay, I have an internship report to complete and summer school in Finland to prepare for. It's hard to believe that our week long retreat in the Finnish forest is only about three weeks away. It looks like they've got a full 8am - 9pm schedule planned for us, but the resort facilities include a beach volleyball court, a sauna, and a lake. I'm hoping to play just as much as work that week. As I mentioned before, I've volunteered to be one of three members of the Student Committee to help plan all the social and student lead sessions (what can I say, I just can't say no to Student Council Work - Year 8 and counting). I don't think a professor spoof video is in the works though, sorry Queen's grads.
So, after great visits from Graham and Leslie, and Michael, the final round of May visitors arrives tonight. I welcome Emily, Bronwyn, and Cynthia for FOUR nights here in the city. In preparation for their arrival I visited the markets today where it was packed with holiday shoppers. I managed to pick up some brie, grapes, mangos, oranges, and avocados for really cheap. I also scored a 24 of Grolsch for an incredible 10 Euros at the AH (One of the things I'll miss most about Europe: cheap alcohol). We're all ready for an incredible visit. There may even be bike rentals involved.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: The computer catastrophe was a reminder to BACK UP your important files. I was able to retrieve a lot, but I'm still waiting on the photos. Also, if you don't show it often...let your computer know you appreciate all they do. That is all.
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.
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