Another Apartment

I went to see another apartment in Amsterdam this week. I found it on the funda website. This one is in a similar location to the one from last week. It was on the fourth floor, and had a great view out of a huge window in the front room. Again, I love the location, and this time I loved the front room. However, the kitchen and the bedroom were a little on the small side. After last weeks experience, I talked with a few guys in the office. And it seems that when you see a place that is for you, you just seem to know, you get a feeling, and that helps you decide that you have found the right place.

So, whilst I got that feeling in the front room of the apartment, the rest of the apartment didn’t quite match up. Close but no cigar!

Kiltman Goes To Cardiff

It’s Thursday now, and it’s taken me this long to get over the trauma of Cardiff. I returned from Cardiff this past Sunday evening. I was there to watch Scotland play Wales at rugby, where we lost badly, again. Now Cardiff is a great place, with fantastic beer called Brains. I love that stuff, I could drink it all the time.

Anyway, back to the trauma. After the game, the streets of Cardiff were packed with people in various states of drunkenness. Like most of my fellow Scotsman, I was wearing a kilt. There seems to be a particular breed of female that attends the rugby in Wales. Slightly larger ladies, short dyed hair, late forties/early fifties, not very attractive. These ladies seem to think that it is okay to demand that you show them what is under your kilt. Then, when you don’t, it is okay to shout abuse at you. And then when you ignore them further they think it is okay to grab at the bottom of your kilt, and attempt to pull it up so they can see underneath it. And when I object to this, it’s all my fault, and I’m in the wrong. Turn the tables now for a moment, if I did this to a woman walking down the street, I’d be getting arrested. It’s quite a scary experience to have all these old woman trying to grope you on the street

Dublin is up next for me. I’m still debating if I should wear the kilt or not

The Apartment Search

I’ve been in Amsterdam for almost five years now, and for at least three of those I’ve been thinking of buying my own place. I’ve lived in the same rented apartment for the majority of those five years, and I’m always thinking it’s time I should buy my own place.

I go through phases where I will look at places, and see one or two that I like. But when it comes down to it, I’ve never felt brave enough, or committed enough to take that big step. It always just seems like such a big step to me, so I always pull back and stick with the status quo.

Yesterday saw me embark on another phase of apartment viewing. Only time will tell whether this is another pretend phase or not. This apartment was in an area of Amsterdam that I really love, the location is just perfect. The place itself is really nice, and modern, the building is only three years old. But ultimately, as much as I love the area, I think this apartment is not for me. It’s an open plan apartment, a 70m2 studio essentially, and whilst there is scope to build a wall or two, I think I’ve decided it’s not for me

So, for now at least, the search continues…

Getting Old

I’m 31. And recently I’ve been feeling really old. Things that don’t seem that long ago actually are quite some years ago. In the last week I realized……..

• I have been working for ten years this year
• It is twenty years since I started Secondary School, or High School
• It is now eight years that I have been going to watch Scotland play international rugby
• It is twelve years since I went to live in Boston for a year
• It is five years since I came to work in Amsterdam

I really don’t know where the time goes. I remember when I was a teenager, I wanted to be older, so that I could drive, so that I could drink legally, so that I could be a grown up. And I remember my mother saying to me that once you reached 21, every year after that would go past quicker and quicker. And of course I didn’t believe her. And now, ten years on from 21, I realize how true those words are.

I was reading an interview with the Scotland rugby captain, he’s a similar age to me. He was commenting on the new players in the squad, and how young they were, being in there early 20s. He went on to explain that it just didn’t seem possible that guys with birth dates in the mid 80s could be playing in the same team as him. I think a guy played on Saturday, and he was 21, born January 1987. Stuff like that makes me feel old!

Pizza, Gym, Iron & Wine

So I was feeling a bit bummed out on Friday. Comfort food was in order, so I had a nice pizza and garlic bread whilst watching a movie. I watched ‘The Breakfast Club’. Nice movie, where not much goes on. I think the highlight for me is when they are all high, and Emilio Estevez goes for a dance around the library, jumping around and carrying on. Its not something I could watch over and over, but for a once in a while viewing, it’s not so bad.

Saturday morning I headed off to the gym, to pound out the pizza, and for general exercise. My personal best on the cross trainer is 10Km in 40 minutes, which is obvioulsy a pace of a KM every four minutes, at a pace of 15KM/hr. I was determined to make this again on Saturday, and I’m pleased to say that I made it. It was tough, with the biggest challenge keeping the pulse rate under control whilst you maintain the pace. I think I’m still feeling the affects of the effort today! But a good work out sure makes me feel better. I was feeling so energised, I went out for a long walk round my favourite part of Amsterdam yesterday morning. It was a beautiful day for it, listening to ‘Iron & Wine on the ipod.

I went off to see the band last night, and I have to say that it was beautiful. I think that this word best describes the evening. Sam Beam and his seven band members, playing a variety of instruments, it was truly amazing. The music made by all these instruments was just perfect. The vocals were superb, and it just created an amazing atmosphere. A drunk(stoned?) girl staggering all over my area threatened the tranquility somewhat, but I think some girls ‘talked’ to her, and she disappeared. Coming in a close second to the absolute magical qualities of the music is the magical quality of Sam’s beard. A true work of art! Hopefully, I will have some pictures to follow

Sam Beam

Iron & Wine

Ups & Downs

Something that has long held me curious is mood swings. And in particular downward mood swings. At least twice a week, for no apparent reason at all, I find myself having really bad days, where I feel angry at the world, with everything getting me down. There is no trigger that I am aware of that makes me feel this way, and in almost all instances I wake up the next day and I am back to ‘normal’ and don’t feel quite so down. I’d really love to get a handle on the logic that makes me feel this way. On days like today when this happens, I just want the day to be over. It brings with is a real sense of lethargy, laziness, and a general lack of interest in everything. On days like these I become a little bit of an actor, trying my best to act ‘normal’ to those around me so that I don’t let anyone see how I feel, or bring anyone else around me down.

Ideally, I’d figure out what causes these ups & downs so I could do something about them, but thus far, it seems to be completely random. I’ve thought long and hard about it and I can’t put my finger on anything specific that seems to cause it. Recently, I’ve just started to accept that this happens, deal with it as best as I can, and hope that the next day the feeling has gone again and I am back to ‘normal’. This time, it started last night, I was watching a DVD, a Kevin Smith movie, and I just became uninterested in it. An early night followed, which resulted in me wakening up this morning in a bit of a funk. It’s all very weird!

It’s Friday

Almost home time on Friday, sitting here listening to some Neil Young. It seems to fit the Friday feeling quite, well, nice and laid back and chilled. The record is Chrome Dreams II, and it’s really enjoyable. I love the song on there called ‘Ordinary People’. It’s some 18 minutes long, but its superb.

I’ve been suffering from the cold all week, it’s a ‘nosey’ cold this one. Just means my nose is blocked, and i can feel my sinuses choked up as well. And I sneeze a gazillion times a day, which means I am getting a good work out on my back and chest muscles. Hopefully a nice hot curry for dinner tonight should give me a wee bit of respite!

Thank Crunchie it’s Friday

G

Be Great In 08…

As I near the end of my first day back at work in 2008, I am struggling to keep my eyes open.  I had a great festive period, back first in Scotland for Christmas, and then Oslo for New Year.  I arrived back at 11pm last night, and up at 7am for work.  I think I may have killed off some brain cells with alcohol, as I am struggling to get back into the zone at work.  One of my colleagues suggested that meant I had enjoyed a good break, as my mind had completely forgotten about work.  I think honestly it will take until next Monday for me to get myself back to normal. 

Everythings new here today, I have a new desk location in a re-shuffle that was done whilst I was away.  So I have new furniture, and a different view of the office, and I am sitting beside different colleagues.  Its given 2008 a fresh start here in the office, which will take a bit of getting used to.  I think we all easily get into our routines in life, and it’s difficult to shake ourselves out of that routine when things change

 Must learn to be more fleixble this year

New Job

So, after four years, two months with my current company, I’ve handed in my resignation and I’m off to pastures new.  Time for a change I think.  The new company is larger, are giving me a better package, and should have better prospects.  Of course there is the fear of the unknown, I’m worried how its going to go.  My brain hasn’t been used at capacity for some time now, so I am concerned that it never will again. 

 Hopefully this is all wrong, and I will have a smooth transition and get on fine.  I get to finish my current job two weeks early due to vacation time owed, so it will be nice to have two weeks to myself before I start this new phase in my life

three couples, three babies, and the kiltman

Monday afternoon, and the monday morning blues are still lurking around.  Quite an interesting weekend this one.  My weekend involved rugby, couples, and babies.  One of which I fit in quite well with, and the other two, well, I don’t know much about those

 First, the rugby.  Scotland was playing at home against Italy.  Great things were expected from Scotland after a comfortable victory against the Welsh two weeks ago.  Filled with confidence, we charged our glasses and roared at the screen as the Italians kicked off.  A mere 18 seconds later the Italians were in front, 7-0, having charged down a clearance kick.  Relax guys, freak occurance, still got the whole game to get back.  Yip.  In six minutes we were 21-0 down, and staring defeat in the face.  Two errant passes found Italian hands, and they broke away for more tries.  To say my friends and I were shocked would be an understatement. 

 The only man that was happy was the barman, who was cashing in as we reached to drown our sorrows.  We ended up loosing by 20 points, not a good result.  It was also the Italians first away victory in the tournament, this being their seventh year.  If it could get worse, it really did.  The Irish beat the English by 30 points, and the English beat Scotland rather comfortably.  I’m going to Scotland on March 10th to see the game between Scotland and Ireland, and I am now not overly optimistic.  We could get a real beating that week.  And with the Irish being so arrogrant as a race, it could make for a really long night in Edinburgh

Sunday brought a refreshing change. After feeling sorry for myself most of the morning, I went off to meet some old friends in the afternoon that I hadn’t seen in over a year.  I was looking forward to seeing them again, people I had a lot of fun with a couple of years ago, we just drifted apart.  The afternoon was spent with three babies, seven months, nine months, and two years.  The parents all swapped baby stories, and poop stories, and I kinda didn’t have much to add to this discussion.  They all seemed so happy, which I’m glad to see.  I don’t know if I can ever see myself in their situation, I’m certainly a long way off that point at the moment.  I thought a lot last night about it, wandering if I could see myself doing that

But I do now have a new baby story.  And it is this. 

When is the correct time to stop breast feeding your youngster?

When the youngster grows front teeth and starts clamping down and biting your nipple

 Ouch!!!