First of all I wanted to thank everyone for the e-mails, texts and comments they have send. it's so good hearing from all of ya. Right now I'm enjoying my last day in Salt Lake City. Nice and warm inside. It's snowing out and I've be out in it, up in the mountains most of the day. After yet another american breakfast, this morning at denny's, Grandpa and I set of to Park City. It's pretty much as I remembered it. Just colder and I guess less big than I thought. But I was only like 10 years old when I saw it first.
I've had a lot of fun here so far. I believe I left of telling you I was going to spend the night with my Grandma Sam. Grandpa, Sam and I met for dinner at Ruby River and after that I wnet home with Sam. She has a beautifull house that she regretfully has to sell due to moving to Arizona to take care of her folks. She had a pooltable in the bassment so we had us some Jack&Coke and played pool all night together with Joe and Joe, her friend and his son. The next morning (afternoon more like it) we had some breakfast (she cooked) and watched a movie. I didn't see the end though because grandpa was there around 4 o'clock to pick me up. (Saw the movie before so it didn't matter). It was almost like having seperated parents, haha. Grandpa and I went out to dinner to a mexican restaurant that night.
Yesterday we spend the day with Sheryl. Grandpa's girlfriend. We met up for breakfast at Dee's and went down to Thanksgiving Point after that. They had a museum there illustrating the history of the world. Dinosaurs (bones) and way older living beings to be seen there. It was way bigger than it looked from the outside. There was so much to see. Big fun. Actually learned alot already since I've come here. They had a 3D theater there as well so we saw a 3D movie about Afrika Wild Life. It was like being on a safari. Way fun.
That night we had dinner with us 3 plus Sheryl's brother and his wife who are on skiing holiday here. We ate at Parrotshead. It's a new restaurant here in Utah that was founded by a famous singer. (Or at least, that what they say, I never heard of the guy...) After that we went back to Sheryl's house and just hung out. Or at least, I let them all talk and catch up while I flipped through magazines. The letters where to small to read (right). Lexie, the wife, kept asking me questions about Holland. I wasn't in the mood to answer them though. Who gives a damn about Holland when your in America. For me the land of my dreams. I got a bit irritated when she asked me the same question for the zillionth time. Isn't it the Netherlands and not Holland. I'll tell you all now so I don't need to be asked this question anymore. It's both, you can use both. The netherlands is more international but the Dutch actually use both. We cheer our teams (soccer and shit) with Hup Holland Hup (meaning Go Holland GO) and we'll use it differntly too. The Netherlands is I guess the official name for those few people who don't know what your talking about when saying Holland and when sending a letter to that country. And no, Holland is not just a regio, that South Holland.
There, got rid of that frustration. I'm good to go to dinner now, haha.
Probably should get my suitcases good to go as well seeing as in Grandpa and I are driving out to Las Vegas tomorrow. Rhiannon, my 10 year older aunt, is meeting us down there. We'll spend the weekend there and then I'll be off to San Diego where I'll be for the rest of my trip. Lovely....
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
Salt Lake City
Well, I'm with my Grandpa in Salt Lake City right now. But it was a hell of a way getting here. Dawn and I left early on the morning of the 22e and headed for Lunchburg first. We went there to do the Jack Daniel's Distilery Tour. It was so nice to see and smell!!! I know everything about Jack Daniels now, haha.
After the tour we set of for Nashville, which is the capitol of Tennessee. We send the last hours of the day in the mall there. We looked around the shops, had dinner and decided to kill some time by going to the Imax movie theater. We bought tickets for the movie, prediction with Sandra Bullock. Good movie, I recommend it. After that we headed to the Motel where we had gotten a room earlier that day and got ready for bed. It took a couple of hours for us to fall asleep though. Eventually we did. But only to wake up early the next morning.
That morning we went to the Cracker Barrel for breakfast where I had amazing pancakes and 'keep it coming' coffee. We set of for Memphis after that. That's where my train would be departing from. But my train wouldn't leave till 10.50 pm and it was only noon when we got there. But we went there with a plan!!! We were going to Graceland. For the few people who do not know, Graceland is where Elvis Presley lived with his family. he bought the mansion when he was 22 until the end of his days. He was layed to rest there as well. We got to see most of his house. Apparently he never let people on the upper levels of his house when alive, so out of respect for him it is still closed for public today. They do charge you way to much seeing as in you can't see everything. We saw all of his property though and saw all his cars and airplanes. It was a nice experience. After that we went to down town memphis. We had some time to kill. We walked around there for a bit and then decided to find somewhere to eat. That appeared to be a much harder thing to do then it would appear to be. Memphis isn't really a city for me. It had a weird feel to it with even weirder people. Eventually we found somewhere to eat and after that we headed to the station. We had actually been there earlier in the day, right fater Graceland, to make sure they had my tickets. They did.
So we had some hours to kill before I could check in my bags. Around 9 pm we checked my bags and Dawn headed off. We both felt comftorable enough with leaving me there alone to wait for my train seeing as in there was a policestation right next to the train station. It was hard saying goodbye to Dawn. I love her so much. We had so much fun together. I miss her.
I still had to wait about 2 hours before the train would roll into the station and I spend those hours listening to music, smoking, listening to music and drinking (soft drink). Eventually my train rolled in and I boarded (duh). I found a seat next to a very nice old lady. It was her first time with Amtrak as well. Seeing as in it was night there wasn't a lot to see outside and I was dead teird. I slept around 12 o'clock and woke up a lot the rest of the night. I think I only slept about 4 hours that night. As I would the next. I eventually gave up around 6 o'clock. I walked up and down the train a bit and had a conversation with the lady next to me. We had a lively conversation about the big fat guy a couple of seats in front of us who had been snoring aaallll night. He kept sleeping until 10 o'clock when they woke him up because we had reached our destination, Chicago. A lot of people had gotten of already during the night in stations along the way.
I knew I had some time in Chicago. 4 and a half hours in fact. So I walked out the station and looked for a good place to eat breakfast. I ended up in a McDonalds. But they have great breakfast there. Pancakes, Sausages, Egg and everything. I had pancakes with a sausages. I took that time to call my parents and tell them I was ok adn where I was. Then i walked back to the station. Found a Starbucks on the way and of course walked in. And then I kept walking, I was lost...oops. I was god enough not to let people notice I was lost though. And it turned out I wasn't that lost at all. I had found the main entrence, but didn't reconize it as that because that wasn't where I had gone out of. Found it within a half hour after activating my brain.
I still had a lot of time to kill there. My train wouldn't leave till 1.30 pm or something. Finally that time rolled in and they called for the first people to start boarding. But then they said they couldn't board yet because the train hadn't arrived yet. It came in an hour late so eventually we left an hour late. They where pretty sure we would catch up on the time though. When I asked them half way through the trip we were 2 hours behind.
The train ride was ok. But highly uncomftorable to sleep there. There was a nice view in the train though. That being this cute guy. His name, as turned out the next morning when we spoke for the first and last time, is Jeremy. Lovely body, nice muscles and tattoo's on one arm. Not as nice a face as I at first thought he had though. It was dark first and I didn't want to look at him to closely, because it would have been even more obvious than it alreday was that we were watching eachother. We had a nice converstaion for about 2 hours in the morning. Up until the point he had to get off of the train in Denver. I still had, what, more than 15 hours to go. The rest of the trip was uneventfull though. The food was bad and over prized and the coffee tasted as if it was microwaved. There were way to less smoking stops as well. But it was a nice experience. Glad I did it because I got to see a lot of the country. I'm definatly never going to move to Iowa or any of those states. There's nothing there, at all...
Most of the train ride on the second day was through the mountains so I had a nice view. The Rocky Mountains are beautifull!!!
I arrived in Salt lake City around 12.30. being the middle of the night. AM on the 26e. Grandpa was already there waiting for me. It was so good seeing him again, still is obviously. We talked a bit when coming home and went to bed after that. Well, I took a shower first.
I woke up early again this morning. Around 8 o'clock . Grandpa was already in the kitchen making coffee. We went out to eat breakfast and spend the rest of the morning walking around down town Salt Lake City. We set off to see the Great Salt Lake after that and now we're in his appartment. I'm behind his computer and he's watching sports. We called Grandma and are seeing her at 7 pm for dinner at Ruby something. A restaurant. I'll be going with Grandma after that to spend the night with her and spend some time with her tomorrow. Owh, I call her Grandma because that's the roll she's always played in my live. She's Grandpa's ex-wife and Rhiannon's mother. But she's not a blood relation. I love her though. Can't wait to see her. haven't seen her for 7 or 8 years now.
I'm tierd though. I think I slept only 15 hours, if not less the last 3 nights. I guess I'll catch up on sleep in san Diego, haha.
After the tour we set of for Nashville, which is the capitol of Tennessee. We send the last hours of the day in the mall there. We looked around the shops, had dinner and decided to kill some time by going to the Imax movie theater. We bought tickets for the movie, prediction with Sandra Bullock. Good movie, I recommend it. After that we headed to the Motel where we had gotten a room earlier that day and got ready for bed. It took a couple of hours for us to fall asleep though. Eventually we did. But only to wake up early the next morning.
That morning we went to the Cracker Barrel for breakfast where I had amazing pancakes and 'keep it coming' coffee. We set of for Memphis after that. That's where my train would be departing from. But my train wouldn't leave till 10.50 pm and it was only noon when we got there. But we went there with a plan!!! We were going to Graceland. For the few people who do not know, Graceland is where Elvis Presley lived with his family. he bought the mansion when he was 22 until the end of his days. He was layed to rest there as well. We got to see most of his house. Apparently he never let people on the upper levels of his house when alive, so out of respect for him it is still closed for public today. They do charge you way to much seeing as in you can't see everything. We saw all of his property though and saw all his cars and airplanes. It was a nice experience. After that we went to down town memphis. We had some time to kill. We walked around there for a bit and then decided to find somewhere to eat. That appeared to be a much harder thing to do then it would appear to be. Memphis isn't really a city for me. It had a weird feel to it with even weirder people. Eventually we found somewhere to eat and after that we headed to the station. We had actually been there earlier in the day, right fater Graceland, to make sure they had my tickets. They did.
So we had some hours to kill before I could check in my bags. Around 9 pm we checked my bags and Dawn headed off. We both felt comftorable enough with leaving me there alone to wait for my train seeing as in there was a policestation right next to the train station. It was hard saying goodbye to Dawn. I love her so much. We had so much fun together. I miss her.
I still had to wait about 2 hours before the train would roll into the station and I spend those hours listening to music, smoking, listening to music and drinking (soft drink). Eventually my train rolled in and I boarded (duh). I found a seat next to a very nice old lady. It was her first time with Amtrak as well. Seeing as in it was night there wasn't a lot to see outside and I was dead teird. I slept around 12 o'clock and woke up a lot the rest of the night. I think I only slept about 4 hours that night. As I would the next. I eventually gave up around 6 o'clock. I walked up and down the train a bit and had a conversation with the lady next to me. We had a lively conversation about the big fat guy a couple of seats in front of us who had been snoring aaallll night. He kept sleeping until 10 o'clock when they woke him up because we had reached our destination, Chicago. A lot of people had gotten of already during the night in stations along the way.
I knew I had some time in Chicago. 4 and a half hours in fact. So I walked out the station and looked for a good place to eat breakfast. I ended up in a McDonalds. But they have great breakfast there. Pancakes, Sausages, Egg and everything. I had pancakes with a sausages. I took that time to call my parents and tell them I was ok adn where I was. Then i walked back to the station. Found a Starbucks on the way and of course walked in. And then I kept walking, I was lost...oops. I was god enough not to let people notice I was lost though. And it turned out I wasn't that lost at all. I had found the main entrence, but didn't reconize it as that because that wasn't where I had gone out of. Found it within a half hour after activating my brain.
I still had a lot of time to kill there. My train wouldn't leave till 1.30 pm or something. Finally that time rolled in and they called for the first people to start boarding. But then they said they couldn't board yet because the train hadn't arrived yet. It came in an hour late so eventually we left an hour late. They where pretty sure we would catch up on the time though. When I asked them half way through the trip we were 2 hours behind.
The train ride was ok. But highly uncomftorable to sleep there. There was a nice view in the train though. That being this cute guy. His name, as turned out the next morning when we spoke for the first and last time, is Jeremy. Lovely body, nice muscles and tattoo's on one arm. Not as nice a face as I at first thought he had though. It was dark first and I didn't want to look at him to closely, because it would have been even more obvious than it alreday was that we were watching eachother. We had a nice converstaion for about 2 hours in the morning. Up until the point he had to get off of the train in Denver. I still had, what, more than 15 hours to go. The rest of the trip was uneventfull though. The food was bad and over prized and the coffee tasted as if it was microwaved. There were way to less smoking stops as well. But it was a nice experience. Glad I did it because I got to see a lot of the country. I'm definatly never going to move to Iowa or any of those states. There's nothing there, at all...
Most of the train ride on the second day was through the mountains so I had a nice view. The Rocky Mountains are beautifull!!!
I arrived in Salt lake City around 12.30. being the middle of the night. AM on the 26e. Grandpa was already there waiting for me. It was so good seeing him again, still is obviously. We talked a bit when coming home and went to bed after that. Well, I took a shower first.
I woke up early again this morning. Around 8 o'clock . Grandpa was already in the kitchen making coffee. We went out to eat breakfast and spend the rest of the morning walking around down town Salt Lake City. We set off to see the Great Salt Lake after that and now we're in his appartment. I'm behind his computer and he's watching sports. We called Grandma and are seeing her at 7 pm for dinner at Ruby something. A restaurant. I'll be going with Grandma after that to spend the night with her and spend some time with her tomorrow. Owh, I call her Grandma because that's the roll she's always played in my live. She's Grandpa's ex-wife and Rhiannon's mother. But she's not a blood relation. I love her though. Can't wait to see her. haven't seen her for 7 or 8 years now.
I'm tierd though. I think I slept only 15 hours, if not less the last 3 nights. I guess I'll catch up on sleep in san Diego, haha.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
going again
Yesterday Dawn and I ran some errands and then we set of for Fort Loudon. It's a fort here in the area used between in the British and Indian war here. It was quit nice to see. It didn't take long to walk through though. We were driving more then we were there. But it was nice to see. And it was such nice weather yesterday. Almost 80.
Around 6.30 we set off for the hospital. We arrived there around 7 pm to meet little Turner Micheal C. The newest member of the family. Just little over a day old. He is such a beautiful baby. I got to say goodbye to Jamie and Evan as well. Seeing as in I'm about to get my ass out of Knoxville. Dawn is driving me to the train station down in Memphis, where I'll be catching my train tomorrow evening to SLC. We are taking a detour though. First we'll be heading off to Lynchburg to do the Jack Daniels Tour. Then we'll keep driving to Nashville where we'll be visiting the big ass mall there. We'll be spending the night there and then drive to Memphis the next morning. There we'll be visiting Graceland (from Elvis Presley) and around 10 pm we'll have to be at the station so I can have my bags checked in. Then it will be saying goodbye to Dawn. Hate that prospect. Had so much fun here!!! Had so much fun with her!!!!
Next time I write I'll be in the cold again in SLC, UT.
Around 6.30 we set off for the hospital. We arrived there around 7 pm to meet little Turner Micheal C. The newest member of the family. Just little over a day old. He is such a beautiful baby. I got to say goodbye to Jamie and Evan as well. Seeing as in I'm about to get my ass out of Knoxville. Dawn is driving me to the train station down in Memphis, where I'll be catching my train tomorrow evening to SLC. We are taking a detour though. First we'll be heading off to Lynchburg to do the Jack Daniels Tour. Then we'll keep driving to Nashville where we'll be visiting the big ass mall there. We'll be spending the night there and then drive to Memphis the next morning. There we'll be visiting Graceland (from Elvis Presley) and around 10 pm we'll have to be at the station so I can have my bags checked in. Then it will be saying goodbye to Dawn. Hate that prospect. Had so much fun here!!! Had so much fun with her!!!!
Next time I write I'll be in the cold again in SLC, UT.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Ruby Falls and Rock City
Dawn and I had a very nice day yesterday. We went to the Imax-cinema in Cattanooga. That's a type of cinema here. They have a big ass screen there. Like 6 stories high and almost as wide as a basketballfield is long. We saw a 3D movie there. It was cool. After that we went to Ruby Falls. That's a cave and a big waterfall in it, under ground. It is quit impressive to see. But there was a group of school kids there, eventhough in the end it appeared to be so that Dawn and I were the loudest there. Up till a certain point though. After a while there was such a weird, funky fibe in there. It was uncomftorable. I thought it was just me who felt weird in there, but Dawn had it too, she said after we left the cave. Couldn't wait to get out of there. But it appears that there was a big battle near there during the civil war and they used that cave as an hostpital. So that could have been it. I don't know.
After that, when we could finally get out we drove down to Rock City. This was so beautifull. Exept the ending of the walk. Everything was so natural and pretty and then you came to this other man-made cave. The things in there. Coral in the ceiling and fairies and fairytail figures posed behind bares. So stupid. That was a big let down. But the rest was beautifull.
Yesterday Turner was born. So Dawn and Jim are grandparents now. It wasn't a natural birth though. But I saw a picture of him, and he's beautifull. Such a nice face. Hope we can go to the hostpital to see the baby though. Otherwise I won't get a change anymore.
Today is my last day in Knoxville. We're just going to be doing this and that today.
After that, when we could finally get out we drove down to Rock City. This was so beautifull. Exept the ending of the walk. Everything was so natural and pretty and then you came to this other man-made cave. The things in there. Coral in the ceiling and fairies and fairytail figures posed behind bares. So stupid. That was a big let down. But the rest was beautifull.
Yesterday Turner was born. So Dawn and Jim are grandparents now. It wasn't a natural birth though. But I saw a picture of him, and he's beautifull. Such a nice face. Hope we can go to the hostpital to see the baby though. Otherwise I won't get a change anymore.
Today is my last day in Knoxville. We're just going to be doing this and that today.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Shooting
I went shooting today!!! It was so fun. Jim, Dawn and I went to a shootingrach where they are members at. It was so fun. I fired 4 different guns. A 22, a 9 mm and a revolver. It was so fun and Dawn said I was a natural. It appears that my great-grandfather Lemasters did some contests and stuff. Dawn has one of his medals even.The rest of the day wasn't that eventfull. It was nice and quiet. We didn't head out to go shooting till around 4 pm. We were there for about 1 and a half hour. Then it was time for dinner which is in the oven right now. Enchaladas with sour creme. Tonight we won't be doing much, I don't think. Just watching tv would be fine for me.
To bad we didn't go riding today. But it was way to cold. We would have been freezing our butts off if we were to go riding today. It was only like 45 degrees most of the day. It went up to 65 degrees today. But only for like a couple of hours late in the afternoon. To bad.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
The smokies
I actually woke up feeling pretty good today. Dawn and I started making plans for the rest of the week this morning. Today we went 
horsebackriding up at Sugar Lands up in the Smoky Mountains. That is Dawn and I did. Jim wouldn't go. He drove back down to Gatlinburg for that hour and Dawn and I took the guided tour up. The guide was so damn anoying. I was so glad Dawn was riding in front of me and right behind the guide. Them, she was a damn Red Neck.'There's only two kin a plants I cen grow, verns an the other one
y'all cen guess.''Go' myself sum roadrash cause I hadn't had it before an I wanted ter know wha it was like.'
Damn dumb Red Neck. Funny to listen to her though. Dawn getting her ears talked off by her. She tried to get the guide to talk to me, but it didn't work, hehe. It was fun though. My horses name was Strawberry, stuborn little thing. And not that little either. Dawn's horse was Hard Rock, slow thing at that.
Jim was there to pick us up after the ride and we went to drive around the smokies for a while. We saw some beautifull things. It was pretty cold up in the mountains today so we got to see a lot of ice coming off the rocks and bridges and even covering the cricks. It was beautifull and we got some lovely pictures of it as well. The smokies are lovely.We turned the car around as soon as we got to the North Carolina side of the Smokies. There aren't as many pretty views there because the river and the cricks don't flow down there. We drove up to Gatlinburg and hit a couple of shops. Then we ordered us some dinner at the Texas Steakhouse there. After that good meal, with pretty nice waiter (wink) we sent off to check out some more stores.
By the time we drove back home it was pretty dark already. Jim took this back road so we could see Gatlinburg by night from above. It was breathtaking. The drive home took a while, but it was a lovely view all the way home. Got me some Starbucks too. White Chocolate and Caramel Latte Machiatto. Lovely...
Sat here and watched the movie Sin City while typing this and uploading the pictures. Jim and Dawn have gone to bed a while back alreday. It is getting pretty late. Jim and I are going Riding again tomorrow in the afternoon. That is motors, not horses. So i'd better be getting to bed soon...
'night y'all
Saturday, March 17, 2007
St. Patrick's day
Happy St.Patrick's day!!! It's a holiday today, go figure. I myself didn't really know what St. Patrick's day was, except that it was Irish. So why is it being celebrated in the US. According to Dawn it's just a great excuse for people here to get drunk. Couldn't really believe that the people here needed an excuse though. I mean, it's Hill Billy Vill down here (gotta luv ya some Moonshine). So I went and found some background information on the internet about it though (don't you just love google). Enjoy....
Many people who immigrated to the United States have come from Ireland. More than one- half of the soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War had Irish ancestors. Today, it is said, Irish descendants in the United States put on a noisier and bigger St. Patrick's Day celebration than the people in Ireland. Every year on March 17 or the preceding Saturday, cities with a large population of Irish Americans have parades. Green is one of the national colors of Ireland and also one of the signs of spring. Green stripes are painted on the streets where the parade will travel. People wear green shirts, ties, hair ribbons and hats. Many American bars even serve green beer on that day!
Just like many other holidays in the United States, St. Patrick's Day has its origins in ancient times. A young boy named Patrick lived in the British Isles, a land that had been invaded and conquered first by the Romans and then by Germanic tribes. Patrick was captured and taken as a slave from the British Isles to what is now Ireland. He lived there for several years herding sheep. He was a religious boy and he prayed that he would someday return to his homeland.
Legend has it that one night while he was praying, a voice told him to escape from the farm, and find a ship that was waiting for him two hundred miles away. Patrick got to the ship, sailed to Europe, and disembarked in what is now probably France. He led several of the ship's crew through a dangerous forest, praying all the time. Neither Patrick nor any member of his crew was captured. When some of the men were about to die of starvation, wild animals appeared for them to eat. Events such as these appeared to be miracles and gave rise to later legends surrounding Patrick.
At home, Patrick felt that he was called by God to perform an important mission. He believed it was his duty to go back to Ireland and convert the Celtic people to the Christian religion.
Patrick arrived in Ireland and became a missionary, travelling from village to village and talking about his faith. Once, several members of a tribe approached Patrick and told him that they found it difficult to understand and believe in the Holy Trinity. Patrick thought a moment, then stooped down and picked one of the plentiful shamrocks growing wild around Ireland. "Here are three leaves," he said, "yet it is one plant. Imagine the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit as each of these leaves. Here they are, yet they are one plant." The tribesmen understood, because Patrick had used a familiar object to explain. From that time on, the shamrock has been a revered symbol of Ireland.
Stories of Saint Patrick, for by then he was a saint, reached far and wide. His most famous feat is forcing the snakes out of the entire country of Ireland. Even though there are many different stories about how he accomplished such a task, it is probably not true.
St. Patrick died on March 17 and the Irish people set aside the day to mourn. He became the patron saint of Ireland. Mourning turned to commemorating him and celebrating his life. Americans have inherited this custom. On St. Patrick's Day in the United States, millions of people celebrate whether they are Irish or not!
The Leprechaun
The leprechaun is a tiny elf connected with St. Patrick's Day. The word 'leprechaun' is from a mixture of 'luchorpan' or 'small person' and a word meaning 'one-shoemaker.' As a St. Patrick's Day symbol, the leprechaun is a smiling, merry little elf. However, legend tells us that he is always grumpy, untrustworthy and very tricky. In ancient myths, the leprechaun guards a hidden pot of gold which humans try to find but without success. As one story goes, an Irishman caught a leprechaun, managed to make him reveal which tree his pot of gold was buried under. The Irishman tied a red handkerchief around the trunk of it so he would remember the location when he went away to find a shovel. When he returned, he found that the leprechaun had tied a red handkerchief exactly like his own around every other tree in the forest!
Now I gotta go get ready for the wedding. Well, get the house ready first, hihi.
Update 11.30 am: We sort of got the house clean. I dusted, put things in the junk room, did the windows (Dawn's hell at doing them, she says) and some of the walls. Dawn herself did the bathroom, the floors and all the damn rest. It was actually fun being productive again. Long time since I've been productive. Well, actually it's only been a week or so, but considering I've been working full-time this whole year and then all of the sudden nothing. Vacation can be so tough, haha. Update on how the wedding was later...Have to get ready for it first...
Many people who immigrated to the United States have come from Ireland. More than one- half of the soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War had Irish ancestors. Today, it is said, Irish descendants in the United States put on a noisier and bigger St. Patrick's Day celebration than the people in Ireland. Every year on March 17 or the preceding Saturday, cities with a large population of Irish Americans have parades. Green is one of the national colors of Ireland and also one of the signs of spring. Green stripes are painted on the streets where the parade will travel. People wear green shirts, ties, hair ribbons and hats. Many American bars even serve green beer on that day!
Just like many other holidays in the United States, St. Patrick's Day has its origins in ancient times. A young boy named Patrick lived in the British Isles, a land that had been invaded and conquered first by the Romans and then by Germanic tribes. Patrick was captured and taken as a slave from the British Isles to what is now Ireland. He lived there for several years herding sheep. He was a religious boy and he prayed that he would someday return to his homeland.
Legend has it that one night while he was praying, a voice told him to escape from the farm, and find a ship that was waiting for him two hundred miles away. Patrick got to the ship, sailed to Europe, and disembarked in what is now probably France. He led several of the ship's crew through a dangerous forest, praying all the time. Neither Patrick nor any member of his crew was captured. When some of the men were about to die of starvation, wild animals appeared for them to eat. Events such as these appeared to be miracles and gave rise to later legends surrounding Patrick.
At home, Patrick felt that he was called by God to perform an important mission. He believed it was his duty to go back to Ireland and convert the Celtic people to the Christian religion.
Patrick arrived in Ireland and became a missionary, travelling from village to village and talking about his faith. Once, several members of a tribe approached Patrick and told him that they found it difficult to understand and believe in the Holy Trinity. Patrick thought a moment, then stooped down and picked one of the plentiful shamrocks growing wild around Ireland. "Here are three leaves," he said, "yet it is one plant. Imagine the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit as each of these leaves. Here they are, yet they are one plant." The tribesmen understood, because Patrick had used a familiar object to explain. From that time on, the shamrock has been a revered symbol of Ireland.
Stories of Saint Patrick, for by then he was a saint, reached far and wide. His most famous feat is forcing the snakes out of the entire country of Ireland. Even though there are many different stories about how he accomplished such a task, it is probably not true.
St. Patrick died on March 17 and the Irish people set aside the day to mourn. He became the patron saint of Ireland. Mourning turned to commemorating him and celebrating his life. Americans have inherited this custom. On St. Patrick's Day in the United States, millions of people celebrate whether they are Irish or not!
The Leprechaun
The leprechaun is a tiny elf connected with St. Patrick's Day. The word 'leprechaun' is from a mixture of 'luchorpan' or 'small person' and a word meaning 'one-shoemaker.' As a St. Patrick's Day symbol, the leprechaun is a smiling, merry little elf. However, legend tells us that he is always grumpy, untrustworthy and very tricky. In ancient myths, the leprechaun guards a hidden pot of gold which humans try to find but without success. As one story goes, an Irishman caught a leprechaun, managed to make him reveal which tree his pot of gold was buried under. The Irishman tied a red handkerchief around the trunk of it so he would remember the location when he went away to find a shovel. When he returned, he found that the leprechaun had tied a red handkerchief exactly like his own around every other tree in the forest!
Now I gotta go get ready for the wedding. Well, get the house ready first, hihi.
Update 11.30 am: We sort of got the house clean. I dusted, put things in the junk room, did the windows (Dawn's hell at doing them, she says) and some of the walls. Dawn herself did the bathroom, the floors and all the damn rest. It was actually fun being productive again. Long time since I've been productive. Well, actually it's only been a week or so, but considering I've been working full-time this whole year and then all of the sudden nothing. Vacation can be so tough, haha. Update on how the wedding was later...Have to get ready for it first...
Update on the wedding:
So much fun. The wedding it self wasn't so exciting. I mean, it was a really nice reception and all, but if you don't know the people there it can only be that impresive. But it was a nice and beautifull ceremony though. After the ceremony of course we had the cake cutting and there was green punch there. Because it was St. Patricks day ofcourse.
Dawn, Jim and I left earlier to get the house ready for the party. The last little things like getting the food out and stuff. Jim spend the whole of yesterday making enchaladas for the party, they where wonderfull. There was great food there but all high in calory though. Lots of sour creme, guacamoly and bean dip. (Don't really like beans, but still it was ok mixed in with the sour creme). There were really nice people at the party here. The bride and groom themselves came in late. But I got to meet some really interesting people here. Really fun people. I had some laughes with them even though most of them where more then twice my age. There was only one someone who was younger then I was. She was someones daughter. My guess is she was about 12 years old. Maybe a little older. I not such a good guesser.
Anyways there was Green Beer there thanks to St. Pattie's Day. They put a little to much coloring in the beer at first though so it took about 10 new fillings to delude it even a bit. But the taste was pretty much the same. Looked nice though.
Mel, the bride, was so drunk though. We started the party at about 4 pm. At firs
t I felt like a fish out of water. I didn't know anybody there. But after a while, and after a couple of beers I felt pretty much at ease. I had a converstaion with Mel. She asked me where I was from, somewhere in Europe right? 'Ya, I'm from Holland,' is what I said. 'Your not what I expected you to be,' is Mel's responce. I asked her what she had expected me to be then. 'I don't know, wearing wooden shoes and a little hat and everything...' So funny to hear. So stereo-type.
t I felt like a fish out of water. I didn't know anybody there. But after a while, and after a couple of beers I felt pretty much at ease. I had a converstaion with Mel. She asked me where I was from, somewhere in Europe right? 'Ya, I'm from Holland,' is what I said. 'Your not what I expected you to be,' is Mel's responce. I asked her what she had expected me to be then. 'I don't know, wearing wooden shoes and a little hat and everything...' So funny to hear. So stereo-type.Had me a few laughs though, and a lot of beers. And even though the party ended at 10.30 pm. Many went to bed/home drunk and the bride was just wasted. Poor Bryan (her new husband)...
To bad I will never see them again though. Except if I come back that is...
Friday, March 16, 2007
Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede
When I woke up this morning there was no other plan for today then heading down to the Dixie Stampede this evening. As it turned out the reall show starts at 6 o'clock but they have this pre-show so we had to be there at 4.30 pm.
By the time I had finished my breakfast Dawn and I had the whole day planned out. First thing we did after I got ready was set out to Mckay's bookstore again. This time we went for my mom though, not for me. After that we went to the vet to pick up new meds for Roy (the oldest dog). After that we headed out for the Smoky Mountains. These are near Pigeon Forge (where the Dixie Stampede is). Pigeon Forge is actually Dolly Parton's home town. We went to the Smoky's en Gatlinburg for one reason today and that was; we were near it anyways so we could collect some information on what to do out there. So that's what we did. We have so many panflets. Glad I brought my big bag. I wanted a smaller bag as well so that's what I bought today. And I finally found a bigger wallet and some really nice sunglasses. Got a fix on almost all my addictions today, haha.
Jamie and Evan ended up not going with us to the Dolly Parton Dixie Stampede. One reason for that was that Jamie had changed shifts at work with someone so she had to work at night and the second reason was that the baby can pop any minute now and they really do not want the baby to be born by the Dixie Stampede, haha. It turned out to be really nice though. Made so many pictures.
Dawn and I got there by 4.30 and had to wait in line for a while before being let into the first room where the pre-show would take place. It turned out to be a 'band' playing called Wild Oats. They were good for some hoots. They were so typical Red Neck Hill Billy, so funny.
After having to indure that for an hour we got to go into the other room where the reall show would take place and where we would be having our meal. The food was great, but a lot!
We had Creamy Vegetable Soup and a homemade biscuit to start with. Then we got a whole Rotisserie Chicken, Hickory Smoked Barbeque Pork, Herb-Basted Potato Wedges and Hot Buttered Corn On The Cob. Dessert was a warm turnover (appelflap). During this meal we had unlimited Coffee, Tea and Pepsi-Cola products (and water). We were seated on the first row on the North side and this turned out to be the losing team, but not by much though. But the show was great. As you could probably figure out on your own there was a battle between the south and the north. There were Horses, Pig races, Buffello's and even Ostriches (dude, it's a lama). I'll let the pictures speak for themselfs though. Anyways, Dawn and I had so much fun. We couldn't stop laughing. I love her.
Tomorrow the wedding!!!! Should be enough fun. Wonder what the Tennessee, southern weddings are all about. It's not a really fancy wedding, Thank god. The weather isn't going to be to good and I only have nice weather fancy dresses, haha. So I'll be getting up on time tomorrow and help around the house. The actuall wedding isn't till 2 pm and then the party is here.
Owh, and news; Jamies deduction date for the baby has been moved to Tuesday. So I really will be seeing the baby before leaving. Yeah!!!
By the time I had finished my breakfast Dawn and I had the whole day planned out. First thing we did after I got ready was set out to Mckay's bookstore again. This time we went for my mom though, not for me. After that we went to the vet to pick up new meds for Roy (the oldest dog). After that we headed out for the Smoky Mountains. These are near Pigeon Forge (where the Dixie Stampede is). Pigeon Forge is actually Dolly Parton's home town. We went to the Smoky's en Gatlinburg for one reason today and that was; we were near it anyways so we could collect some information on what to do out there. So that's what we did. We have so many panflets. Glad I brought my big bag. I wanted a smaller bag as well so that's what I bought today. And I finally found a bigger wallet and some really nice sunglasses. Got a fix on almost all my addictions today, haha.
Jamie and Evan ended up not going with us to the Dolly Parton Dixie Stampede. One reason for that was that Jamie had changed shifts at work with someone so she had to work at night and the second reason was that the baby can pop any minute now and they really do not want the baby to be born by the Dixie Stampede, haha. It turned out to be really nice though. Made so many pictures.
Dawn and I got there by 4.30 and had to wait in line for a while before being let into the first room where the pre-show would take place. It turned out to be a 'band' playing called Wild Oats. They were good for some hoots. They were so typical Red Neck Hill Billy, so funny.
After having to indure that for an hour we got to go into the other room where the reall show would take place and where we would be having our meal. The food was great, but a lot!
We had Creamy Vegetable Soup and a homemade biscuit to start with. Then we got a whole Rotisserie Chicken, Hickory Smoked Barbeque Pork, Herb-Basted Potato Wedges and Hot Buttered Corn On The Cob. Dessert was a warm turnover (appelflap). During this meal we had unlimited Coffee, Tea and Pepsi-Cola products (and water). We were seated on the first row on the North side and this turned out to be the losing team, but not by much though. But the show was great. As you could probably figure out on your own there was a battle between the south and the north. There were Horses, Pig races, Buffello's and even Ostriches (dude, it's a lama). I'll let the pictures speak for themselfs though. Anyways, Dawn and I had so much fun. We couldn't stop laughing. I love her.
Tomorrow the wedding!!!! Should be enough fun. Wonder what the Tennessee, southern weddings are all about. It's not a really fancy wedding, Thank god. The weather isn't going to be to good and I only have nice weather fancy dresses, haha. So I'll be getting up on time tomorrow and help around the house. The actuall wedding isn't till 2 pm and then the party is here.
Owh, and news; Jamies deduction date for the baby has been moved to Tuesday. So I really will be seeing the baby before leaving. Yeah!!!
Pictures at the Dixie Stampede
Waitress and band in the first room
Waiter (Keith) during the dinner show
The show
Pigrace
Ostriche-race
Kids (from audience) Chasing Chickens
Thursday, March 15, 2007
March 15th
We didn't head into Gatlinburg today. We will be doing that somewhere next week. Instead we went to the stores to do some shopping for the wedding party this SSaturday. Friends of Dawn and Jim are going to get married and the wedding party is going to be held in Dawn and Jim's house. So we
needed to do a lot of shopping for it obviously. It was fun though. Just seeing the people who shop there. We actually saw a Grinch look a like there, it took all the strenght in my mind and body not to laugh in her face but wait till she passed us. Got a couple of pictures of her, but she looks more like a frog in it, haha. (Ok, the pictures are lying down, but you get the idea right).
needed to do a lot of shopping for it obviously. It was fun though. Just seeing the people who shop there. We actually saw a Grinch look a like there, it took all the strenght in my mind and body not to laugh in her face but wait till she passed us. Got a couple of pictures of her, but she looks more like a frog in it, haha. (Ok, the pictures are lying down, but you get the idea right).After the shopping was done and the grocerries put away Dawn got started on the painting. She has the boarders of the walls to end. I started (and finished) slicing olives. It's good therapy, haha. No, it's just good to feel usefull. (auw, just got a cramp in my toes, lovely).
Dawn took a little break just now and we had a steak-sandwich. There these frozen sandwiches you put in the microwave With fine-sliced steak on them. It's pretty good. Owh, and the microwave popcorn here is to die for. Extra butter. Not like the ordinary salted ones we have in Holland. Probably shouldn't have ate the whole bag by myself though. But even if I would put on a lot of weight here, I'm very thin here. Lovely.
Dawn and I will be going to Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede Dinner and Show tomorrow. Should be a lot of fun. You can check out what it is on www.dixiestampede.com
Of course, I will be telling you about it tomorrow evening or the day after. But maybe it's fun for ya all to look at. (haha, bit of hill-billy slang in there).
Jamie, Evan's wife (Dawn and Jim's son) is studying to be a vet. Dawn asked her to look at a couple of black spots on Mo's belly and she wasn't to happy about seeing those. She recons it might be skincancer. Not good news. And Mo is only like 2 years old. Poor dear. Of course he needs a couple of tests to see if it's really cancer. But as far as Jamie could tell.
Owh, Jamie just called. She and Evan will be coming with us tomorrow, if we can get the seats together. So that will be fun. If they can get tickets that is. On the lunch yesterday Jamie got Spagetty because she heard 4 other woman say that they had the spagetty there and within 24 hours the baby popped out. Unfortunatly, it didn't work for her. So, maybe the fact that she will have paid for the seats for tomorrow will mean we have to leave early because she's gone into labor. That is, if Murphy's law will be working for her, haha. Let's hope. Then I can meet little Turner before I leave.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Down Town Knoxville
Seeing as in I was feeling much better today (we'll less bad) we set out to do some more stuff today. We got a call from Evan and Jamie this morning saying they were on there way to the hostpital because it seemed like the baby was ready to come out. Because of that we decided not to go into Gatlinburg today. We will probably be doing that tomorrow. It turned out to be a false alarm though. So we left the house around 12 am and set of for lunch with Jamie and Evan near downtown Knoxville. After that we went to Dawn's work in downtown Knoxville to for one park the car en secondly for me to meet her boss. Nice guy. After that we met up with one of Dawn's friend and walked over to Starbucks. I love Starbucks. I had a White Chocolate Latte Machiatto. Lovely.
After the coffee we walked around the town a bit. It's nice down there. We went into a couple of shops and bought some candy we don't know down in Holland. Pretty good candy as well. More things for me to miss when I go back to Holland.
After walking along the town square for a while we set of to go to this big ass second hand book store. I bought way to many books there. Some Emily Dickinson and Aristotles. Very nice if you're into that kind of books like me. They're really nice. The old looking ones. So pretty. Look great in a bookcase.
Tday was fun. Dawn is so much fun. My kind of person, with my kind of humor. That helps too, hahaha.
I had bought a new phone yesterday, a tracfone. That's a prepaid provider here in the States. I got it all activated and stuff. Well that is, sort of. It works, it's on, it has a provider, I can call it even from my old phone from Holland. The only problem is that I can't call or text from the new phone. It's a Moterola by the way. Not a reall luxerious one, but just one that can call and text. Or at least, it should be able to do that. Guess I should call the Help Center again. I hate technology so much sometimes. It never seems to work the way it should for me. Dreadfull things, these dumb phones. Hope it will work soon. I need it to work as soon as I'm on the train. Would be great if I could get in contact with people (by phone) without paying way to much because of using my one from Holland. And I haven't even bought minutes for my other phone. And it will be a prepaid as well as of the 4th of april. So it's actually really important for the new phone to work. I'll get started on that now then. Well, almost right away anyways...
update: My phone works! I actually got it all working all by myself. And I didn't even call the help center. Like with almost everything in life now a days, all you need is Internet... So proud of me. I did something technical.
After the coffee we walked around the town a bit. It's nice down there. We went into a couple of shops and bought some candy we don't know down in Holland. Pretty good candy as well. More things for me to miss when I go back to Holland.
After walking along the town square for a while we set of to go to this big ass second hand book store. I bought way to many books there. Some Emily Dickinson and Aristotles. Very nice if you're into that kind of books like me. They're really nice. The old looking ones. So pretty. Look great in a bookcase.
Tday was fun. Dawn is so much fun. My kind of person, with my kind of humor. That helps too, hahaha.
I had bought a new phone yesterday, a tracfone. That's a prepaid provider here in the States. I got it all activated and stuff. Well that is, sort of. It works, it's on, it has a provider, I can call it even from my old phone from Holland. The only problem is that I can't call or text from the new phone. It's a Moterola by the way. Not a reall luxerious one, but just one that can call and text. Or at least, it should be able to do that. Guess I should call the Help Center again. I hate technology so much sometimes. It never seems to work the way it should for me. Dreadfull things, these dumb phones. Hope it will work soon. I need it to work as soon as I'm on the train. Would be great if I could get in contact with people (by phone) without paying way to much because of using my one from Holland. And I haven't even bought minutes for my other phone. And it will be a prepaid as well as of the 4th of april. So it's actually really important for the new phone to work. I'll get started on that now then. Well, almost right away anyways...
update: My phone works! I actually got it all working all by myself. And I didn't even call the help center. Like with almost everything in life now a days, all you need is Internet... So proud of me. I did something technical.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
nice day in
So, we decided on a nice and quiet day at home today. Or nice and quiet... The three dogs here really keep you busy and on your toes. They are cute though. Never thought I'd really like boxers, but these are really sweet.
We were going to go driving around the mountains today, but seeing as in I'm not feeling to hot we're staying in. Dawn and I just came back from doing some shopping. Seriously, these stores here are big ass. They're even bigger than a department-store over there in tiny little Holland. It is fun seeing the differences though. Besides of course the obvious difference of everything here being very very big (including the people) and everything in Holland being very little. The way of live here is so much different. I mean, the carrying guns and stuff. Try doing that in Holland and you'll be landed in prison before you can say Tennessee. And everyone here is so friendly. I mean, seriously. You bump into someone here and it's like 'That's ok'. Bump into someone in Holland and you'll be scowlded and here things like 'watch it bozo', (bozo being a great fill-in for the otherwise not so nice name calling).
Right now the dogs are walking from one room to the next here. Antsing as usuall. It's great fun for me to compare them to Mabel (my dog at home) and realize that Mabel is so quiet and relaxed and peacefull when comparing her to these three. Of course Mabel is busy if I just compare here to Roy, the really old farting dog here, haha.
It's such nice weather out now though. Almost 80. I have my nice little new shoes on, a 3/4 pants and a top and still it's warm here. Just hate this cold I have though. I have some new medicine for it though. You wouldn't believe the kinds of medicine they have here. Like 3 times as much as you would find in the Etos back home. I'm not a big fan of medication though, but this cold is really set to ruin this vacation time here in Tennessee and just for that I'm gonna kick it's butt. Better get started on that then. Like I actually have to take the damn things now that I've got them. Just buying them won't make the cold go away, now will it.
Yeez, the dogs just came in again and Ned and Mo decided they wanted my attention. So the keyboard here is sort of slimmy now. Eewh. Owh, just for you all to know. I can recieve Text on my phone here, but I can't send any. Some of you have send me a text and sorry, but I'll have to reply via e-mail. Not to worry, for the next two weeks I can check my e-mail every day. Then for two days not and in Utah I don't know yet. I think in California I'll have access to a computer daily as well. Just so you know and don't get mad at me if I don't reply your text by a text. Or if it takes a while for me to reply.
I so thought I would miss a lot of my series while here or that they would be way further. And ya, on most things they are, like with men in tree's and desperate housewives. But I actually saw an old episode of Gilmore Girls this morning. Fun too. Good for a refreshment of the memory. And so fun, these series actually come in the mornings as well. Not all of them obviously. But this morning I could enjoy episodes of Darma and Greg, Gilmore Girls and other series you don't know in Holland. So fun!!! Love this country...
Owh, eewh, Roy just farted again. He's so old he just keeps farting. So I'm going to be getting out of the danger zone here. Because, God, those doggy farts really smell.
We were going to go driving around the mountains today, but seeing as in I'm not feeling to hot we're staying in. Dawn and I just came back from doing some shopping. Seriously, these stores here are big ass. They're even bigger than a department-store over there in tiny little Holland. It is fun seeing the differences though. Besides of course the obvious difference of everything here being very very big (including the people) and everything in Holland being very little. The way of live here is so much different. I mean, the carrying guns and stuff. Try doing that in Holland and you'll be landed in prison before you can say Tennessee. And everyone here is so friendly. I mean, seriously. You bump into someone here and it's like 'That's ok'. Bump into someone in Holland and you'll be scowlded and here things like 'watch it bozo', (bozo being a great fill-in for the otherwise not so nice name calling).
Right now the dogs are walking from one room to the next here. Antsing as usuall. It's great fun for me to compare them to Mabel (my dog at home) and realize that Mabel is so quiet and relaxed and peacefull when comparing her to these three. Of course Mabel is busy if I just compare here to Roy, the really old farting dog here, haha.
It's such nice weather out now though. Almost 80. I have my nice little new shoes on, a 3/4 pants and a top and still it's warm here. Just hate this cold I have though. I have some new medicine for it though. You wouldn't believe the kinds of medicine they have here. Like 3 times as much as you would find in the Etos back home. I'm not a big fan of medication though, but this cold is really set to ruin this vacation time here in Tennessee and just for that I'm gonna kick it's butt. Better get started on that then. Like I actually have to take the damn things now that I've got them. Just buying them won't make the cold go away, now will it.
Yeez, the dogs just came in again and Ned and Mo decided they wanted my attention. So the keyboard here is sort of slimmy now. Eewh. Owh, just for you all to know. I can recieve Text on my phone here, but I can't send any. Some of you have send me a text and sorry, but I'll have to reply via e-mail. Not to worry, for the next two weeks I can check my e-mail every day. Then for two days not and in Utah I don't know yet. I think in California I'll have access to a computer daily as well. Just so you know and don't get mad at me if I don't reply your text by a text. Or if it takes a while for me to reply.
I so thought I would miss a lot of my series while here or that they would be way further. And ya, on most things they are, like with men in tree's and desperate housewives. But I actually saw an old episode of Gilmore Girls this morning. Fun too. Good for a refreshment of the memory. And so fun, these series actually come in the mornings as well. Not all of them obviously. But this morning I could enjoy episodes of Darma and Greg, Gilmore Girls and other series you don't know in Holland. So fun!!! Love this country...
Owh, eewh, Roy just farted again. He's so old he just keeps farting. So I'm going to be getting out of the danger zone here. Because, God, those doggy farts really smell.
Monday, March 12, 2007
318 curves in 11 miles
Today we went for a bike-ride. And with bike ride I mean on motorcycles. It was so much fun. Out here it isn't just a ride over some roads. It are rides up in the mountains. We went in the smoky mountains to this trail. Apparently people from all over the world come to the smoky mountains to ride on this one trail that we were on today. It is a road that winds through the smoky mountains. You start off in Tennessee and you end up in North Carolina. We stopped by this motorcycle resort called Deal's Gap. Dawn and Jim introduced me to a couple of people there. We had lunch at this place and then we took off to look at the dam that they filmed a movie on. Then we road back. This road has 318 curves in 11 miles of road. That's why it's so populair amongst bikers.
I had made a couple of pictures up there. But my phone decided to get all weird on me just now, so I lost them. I know Dawn has one still though. And we can go for that ride again. They're probably going to teach me to ride, so maybe I can do that ride by myself. With them though. But that would be way scary I do think.
I'm so having fun here. It's not at all good for my figure to be here though. All the portions are so big and almost all the drinks here are soft drinks. But we keep having big lunches and getting home late that we don't really have dinners. And sitting on the back of a bike is really good for your belly-muscles. And the hicking we did the other day and are going to do tomorrow is really good for your leg-muscles. But these 2 weeks, I'm going to try not to be bothered by it to much though. It's getting late. I'm going to bed. So glad my blog works again though. I forgot to tell you all. When I tried to access my blog yesterday and today I was denied access. They said there was no such user. I don't know what was wrong with it. I wrote them at the google help group and now it works again. So glad. So happy here!
I had made a couple of pictures up there. But my phone decided to get all weird on me just now, so I lost them. I know Dawn has one still though. And we can go for that ride again. They're probably going to teach me to ride, so maybe I can do that ride by myself. With them though. But that would be way scary I do think.
I'm so having fun here. It's not at all good for my figure to be here though. All the portions are so big and almost all the drinks here are soft drinks. But we keep having big lunches and getting home late that we don't really have dinners. And sitting on the back of a bike is really good for your belly-muscles. And the hicking we did the other day and are going to do tomorrow is really good for your leg-muscles. But these 2 weeks, I'm going to try not to be bothered by it to much though. It's getting late. I'm going to bed. So glad my blog works again though. I forgot to tell you all. When I tried to access my blog yesterday and today I was denied access. They said there was no such user. I don't know what was wrong with it. I wrote them at the google help group and now it works again. So glad. So happy here!
The first days
When my alarm sounded at 5 o'clock this morning I for once did not press snooze. Instead I leaped out of bed and took of my sheets right away. I was determened to leave my room spotless. Then I hopped under the shower for the last time in a time to come. By 6 o'clock everyone in the house was up, dressed and filled with a descent amount of coffee.
On the way to the airport, in the backseat of my parents car, I looked out the window and it took it all in for the last time. Because I can already say, that after this trip, Holland won't look the same to me anymore. I felt sereen and peacefull as we listened to the music and drove into the sunrize.
Nearing the airport I could see the first planes coming and going from Schiphol. Nerves suddenly appeared, but still I felt light and even proud. I had really made this happen. This is really happening. But before you can start any journey, before taking that first step away from your known and familiar home, you have to say goodbye. I didn't think I would be the one to let the first couple of tears spill out of my eyes. But as soon as my daddy told me that they couldn't go any further and that that would be where we had to say goodbye, I instantly felt homesick. And I hadn't even left Dutch soil yet. I hugged everyone goodbye, told them I loved them and would miss them and walked away thorge my gate. And that was easier then I had thought.
Sitting in the plane waiting for lift off I felt numb. How I hate taking off. But still not as much as I hate the slow process of landing though. Yet as soon as I was in the sky and looked out the window, my peacefull feeling had returned.
Seeing as in there was nobody seated in the aisle seat right beside me I had a very comfortable flight. And apparently watching 3 movies and eating helps the time to go by fast. But even with that it was a long flight. And all I really wanted after just being in the air for 3 hours was a sigaret.
Every now and then I looked out the window of the plane and this gave excellent inspiration for a new poem. You almost feel like an angel flying high and looking down onto the fluffy snowy white clouds.
Nearing Chicago, the mass of clouds below is less thick and spots of land can be seen through them. As soon as we start descending the first thing to be seen are the many baseball fields and large parkinglots and big parks to break the picture of many linings and clusters of houses.
Landing turned out not to be the most dreadfull thing in my flight to Chicago though. Once we landed I actually had to stand in long cue just to collect my bags. Some people standing in line with me actually missed there linked flight. As soon as I finally got my bags it wasn't over yet though. There was another security point where they checked my bags, then another where they just checked my bags and then yet another one to check my bags in again for my flight to Atlanta and then another security point where I even had to take of my shoes and belt. What made this all a bit better was that the people there were all really friendly. And as soon as I walked to my gate I saw the one thing that could have lifted my spirits. A starbucks coffee stand. I never had a Caramel Apple Cider before, but it was really good.
My flight from Chicago to Atlanta turns out to
be slightly less comftorable then the previous flight. On this flight I am, yes seated on a windowseat near the wing again, just like the previous flight. But this time I am seated next to a man who doesn't seem to realize that other people would like a place to rest there arms as well. He also keeps scratching himself all over (and I mean ALL over). After hearing the arrival time in Atlanta he even gave a whoo-hoo movement with his arm.
The girl next to him seems to be ignoring it all though. Perhaps I should too. I mean, the flight is only 1 1/5 hours so how bad can it be, right?
But seriously, question, why are people only ever seated next to really cute, single, straight guys on movies and television-series. Why can't it be that way in reall life. I mean, I saw plenty of cute guys at the gate. And yet, I'm seated next to a middle-aged who keeps scratching himself on every part of his body, eewh. Ok, so the guy is pretty kind. But every time you think he's stopped all that scratching, he starts again.
Landing after a flight within the USA turns out to be way better than when coming in out of the country. There were no weird lines to stand in and no extra security points here in Atlanta. I walked straight to the baggage claim and found Dawn and Jim already waiting for me. We set of to collect my bags and then went to the car for the 3 hour ride home in Knoxville, Tennessee. My plan was to stay awake and enjoy the scenery but 30 minutes later I was asleep on the back seat of their Tayota ( where I later learnt Jim is a cardealer at).
We were almost at the house we decided to get something to eat. So we went the drive in by Taco Bell. Coming home we turned on the tv, ate our food and enjoyed our glasses of root beer. It wasn't long after I finished that I went up to bed though.
My room is nice. It's big with a kingsized bed in it and a tv. I have a lovely view of the backyard from there. I have my own bathroom one door down the hall. There's a bath in there, a toilet and two sinks. Really nice.
I had set my alarm for 10 o'clock that night, so that's the time I woke up on the morning of the 11th of march. It was a cloudless, clear day with a temparture of 70 F. I thought it would be colder here but it turns out Spring has come here and I missed the snow and the ice by a week. Instead I'm walking out in the sun without a jacket on.
We set of for a lunchdate with Evan and Jamie around 12 o'clock. We went to a bbq restaurant. Everything on the menu looked big, and it was. Dawn and I shared a Sampler's platter and even then we couldn't even eat half of it. Evan and Jim spend the whole lunch talking about bikes and cars.
Out here it's reall Hill-Billy country. Almost everyone here carries a gun with them at all times. Almost everyone rides an a motor and almost everyone attends to one of the many, many, large (super big) Babtitst' churches. Dawn and Jim are the out laws here because they don't attend church. And the houses here are so lovely. Dawn and Jim have a really lovely house as are all the houses in there neighbourhood. And they are really cheap too. Then as we drove into the mountains today we saw these little shacks that some people apparently call home. According to Dawn some shacks up in the mountains even have out-houses and their only heating is that of the fire-place.
Like I said, we went into the mountains after lunch. We went to see a beautifull waterfull. I even dared to look down over the edge and that when being afraid of hights (yeeh me). It was lovely though. After viewing it from the top we climbed down to the little creek it ended in and walked and climbed around there. The water was so unbelievably clear. Lovely.
We drove back taking the longer route so I could see more of the scenery. And it was beautifull. We spend the rest of the day watching tv. Owh wait, I almost lied. Dawn and I set of for the supermarket after visiting the waterfall, and got all kinds of stuff I've never really heard of before. Really cool are the pizza-rolls. Sort of loempia's with pizza filling. During and after 'dinner' we watched the Jackass movies 1 and 2. But then in the wrong order. And 2 is way more fun then 1. After those movies we were all beat though and we set of to bed. I'm still a little jet-lagged though. So so far I've woken up around 3 o'clock every evening. Put my alarm on 10 o'clock again. Have to wake up on time so I get over that.
On the way to the airport, in the backseat of my parents car, I looked out the window and it took it all in for the last time. Because I can already say, that after this trip, Holland won't look the same to me anymore. I felt sereen and peacefull as we listened to the music and drove into the sunrize.
Nearing the airport I could see the first planes coming and going from Schiphol. Nerves suddenly appeared, but still I felt light and even proud. I had really made this happen. This is really happening. But before you can start any journey, before taking that first step away from your known and familiar home, you have to say goodbye. I didn't think I would be the one to let the first couple of tears spill out of my eyes. But as soon as my daddy told me that they couldn't go any further and that that would be where we had to say goodbye, I instantly felt homesick. And I hadn't even left Dutch soil yet. I hugged everyone goodbye, told them I loved them and would miss them and walked away thorge my gate. And that was easier then I had thought.
Sitting in the plane waiting for lift off I felt numb. How I hate taking off. But still not as much as I hate the slow process of landing though. Yet as soon as I was in the sky and looked out the window, my peacefull feeling had returned.
Seeing as in there was nobody seated in the aisle seat right beside me I had a very comfortable flight. And apparently watching 3 movies and eating helps the time to go by fast. But even with that it was a long flight. And all I really wanted after just being in the air for 3 hours was a sigaret.
Every now and then I looked out the window of the plane and this gave excellent inspiration for a new poem. You almost feel like an angel flying high and looking down onto the fluffy snowy white clouds.
Nearing Chicago, the mass of clouds below is less thick and spots of land can be seen through them. As soon as we start descending the first thing to be seen are the many baseball fields and large parkinglots and big parks to break the picture of many linings and clusters of houses.
Landing turned out not to be the most dreadfull thing in my flight to Chicago though. Once we landed I actually had to stand in long cue just to collect my bags. Some people standing in line with me actually missed there linked flight. As soon as I finally got my bags it wasn't over yet though. There was another security point where they checked my bags, then another where they just checked my bags and then yet another one to check my bags in again for my flight to Atlanta and then another security point where I even had to take of my shoes and belt. What made this all a bit better was that the people there were all really friendly. And as soon as I walked to my gate I saw the one thing that could have lifted my spirits. A starbucks coffee stand. I never had a Caramel Apple Cider before, but it was really good.
My flight from Chicago to Atlanta turns out to
be slightly less comftorable then the previous flight. On this flight I am, yes seated on a windowseat near the wing again, just like the previous flight. But this time I am seated next to a man who doesn't seem to realize that other people would like a place to rest there arms as well. He also keeps scratching himself all over (and I mean ALL over). After hearing the arrival time in Atlanta he even gave a whoo-hoo movement with his arm.The girl next to him seems to be ignoring it all though. Perhaps I should too. I mean, the flight is only 1 1/5 hours so how bad can it be, right?
But seriously, question, why are people only ever seated next to really cute, single, straight guys on movies and television-series. Why can't it be that way in reall life. I mean, I saw plenty of cute guys at the gate. And yet, I'm seated next to a middle-aged who keeps scratching himself on every part of his body, eewh. Ok, so the guy is pretty kind. But every time you think he's stopped all that scratching, he starts again.
Landing after a flight within the USA turns out to be way better than when coming in out of the country. There were no weird lines to stand in and no extra security points here in Atlanta. I walked straight to the baggage claim and found Dawn and Jim already waiting for me. We set of to collect my bags and then went to the car for the 3 hour ride home in Knoxville, Tennessee. My plan was to stay awake and enjoy the scenery but 30 minutes later I was asleep on the back seat of their Tayota ( where I later learnt Jim is a cardealer at).
We were almost at the house we decided to get something to eat. So we went the drive in by Taco Bell. Coming home we turned on the tv, ate our food and enjoyed our glasses of root beer. It wasn't long after I finished that I went up to bed though.
My room is nice. It's big with a kingsized bed in it and a tv. I have a lovely view of the backyard from there. I have my own bathroom one door down the hall. There's a bath in there, a toilet and two sinks. Really nice.
I had set my alarm for 10 o'clock that night, so that's the time I woke up on the morning of the 11th of march. It was a cloudless, clear day with a temparture of 70 F. I thought it would be colder here but it turns out Spring has come here and I missed the snow and the ice by a week. Instead I'm walking out in the sun without a jacket on.
We set of for a lunchdate with Evan and Jamie around 12 o'clock. We went to a bbq restaurant. Everything on the menu looked big, and it was. Dawn and I shared a Sampler's platter and even then we couldn't even eat half of it. Evan and Jim spend the whole lunch talking about bikes and cars.
Out here it's reall Hill-Billy country. Almost everyone here carries a gun with them at all times. Almost everyone rides an a motor and almost everyone attends to one of the many, many, large (super big) Babtitst' churches. Dawn and Jim are the out laws here because they don't attend church. And the houses here are so lovely. Dawn and Jim have a really lovely house as are all the houses in there neighbourhood. And they are really cheap too. Then as we drove into the mountains today we saw these little shacks that some people apparently call home. According to Dawn some shacks up in the mountains even have out-houses and their only heating is that of the fire-place.
Like I said, we went into the mountains after lunch. We went to see a beautifull waterfull. I even dared to look down over the edge and that when being afraid of hights (yeeh me). It was lovely though. After viewing it from the top we climbed down to the little creek it ended in and walked and climbed around there. The water was so unbelievably clear. Lovely.We drove back taking the longer route so I could see more of the scenery. And it was beautifull. We spend the rest of the day watching tv. Owh wait, I almost lied. Dawn and I set of for the supermarket after visiting the waterfall, and got all kinds of stuff I've never really heard of before. Really cool are the pizza-rolls. Sort of loempia's with pizza filling. During and after 'dinner' we watched the Jackass movies 1 and 2. But then in the wrong order. And 2 is way more fun then 1. After those movies we were all beat though and we set of to bed. I'm still a little jet-lagged though. So so far I've woken up around 3 o'clock every evening. Put my alarm on 10 o'clock again. Have to wake up on time so I get over that.
Friday, March 9, 2007
almost, almost, almost
Well,it's almost time. Just one more night of sleep. Well actually it will be a little nap more like it. It's almost 00.00 o'clock here and I have to get up at 5 again. But I'm not even ready for bed yet. It will probably be another hour before I'm in bed. I keep remebering little things I still need to do. And I've but so much little extra things in my suitcases that I wouldn't be suprized if they are over the weight-limit now.
My last night in my own bed. My own room. My own house. Weird. It's not just a vacation. It's for a longer period of time. Lovely!!!!
Just to bad I have to get up so early. 5 o'clock in the morning. We leave here at 6 and that means we'll be at the airport around 7 am. My flight doesn't leave till just before 11 though. But I really do not want to miss my flight.
Better get the last things ready to go then. And set my alarm.
And the next blog I write... I'll be in the United States of America in the lovely city of Knoxville, Tennessee...
My last night in my own bed. My own room. My own house. Weird. It's not just a vacation. It's for a longer period of time. Lovely!!!!
Just to bad I have to get up so early. 5 o'clock in the morning. We leave here at 6 and that means we'll be at the airport around 7 am. My flight doesn't leave till just before 11 though. But I really do not want to miss my flight.
Better get the last things ready to go then. And set my alarm.
And the next blog I write... I'll be in the United States of America in the lovely city of Knoxville, Tennessee...
Thursday, March 8, 2007
GoodB.ye
I just had my going away party. As a mather of fact it just ended 10 minutes ago. That's when the last people left. The last people of course being RB, B. and Rupert. But also B.'s little brother Rob was one of the last to leave.
It was harder for me to say goodbye to some people, than it was to say goodbye to others. I kept hugging Hester and Sugeey. They are really good friends of mine and definatly ones I'm going to miss alot. And RB and B. are always a laugh. I'll definatly miss them too. Aspecially B. You all know he's my ex by now. And Friday evening after a birthdayparty we had a sort of talk about how we felt now that it was over between us. In my opinion a conversation that should have taken place way earlier. But then again, maybe this was a little to early. I was just last week and we sort of both said the same thing. Sometimes we think the break-up was tyhe right thing to do and other times we feel like shit, to say the least. I really miss him sometimes and dream about him and me together again as well. But then often I wake up and think about how silly the dream was. No sence in pondering over a dream right...?
But tonight, as we said goodbye. He hugged me, and he held me so tight. And all I wanted was never to let go again. We let eachother out of the tight grip though and looked into eachothers eyes as we said the words of parting and I swear, it took all the strenght I had not to kiss him. Then he held me tight again and it felt so right, so save. But the timing couldn't be worse. I'm levaing for America in just over 24 hours. And this fact could be the only thing really between us right now. I mean, it's the knowing that I'll be gone for so long that can make you see what you're going to miss. You don't know what you had till you lose it. And maybe me feeling things for him, sure there're feelings for him still, but maybe they are only magnified by the prospect of leaving.
Leaving, taking a trip, moving on it all starts with a single step. But that first step is always the hardest to make. Because right before you take that step, you step a little closer to what you're leaving behind and that's when you see it at it's best.
And right now, all I know is that that hugg, that B. and I shared, felt like a thousand words. It felt so good. His embrasse is still the one that can make me forget all about my worries and drive away all my fears.
But right after he left, I wa sin tears. And for one simple reason. He left. I won't be seeing him for 3 months. And maybe that's what we need. Maybe this is what we always needed. Or to move on or to get back together. This time apart can't do anything but help us figure that out. Because right now, I don't know anymore. I haven't really known since a month before we broke up. I don't know if we are right for eachother or not, if we belong together. If the love for him I'm feeling is a reall one or just a strong feeling of liking. I almost wanted to say that I wondered if I ever really did love him. But that's not a question I can ask myself without getting mad at myself. Because the answer is clear and out there for everyone to see. I loved him with all my herat, and he loved me. We just both got a little side-tracked.
But like a said in a previous post... Taking this trip will help me gain perspective on my life here. Will help me put all my feelings about the people here, and my life here into place.
And if B. and I are meant to be, it will be. First we both just need freedom and time to grow up a little more, see new things and have new experiences. Really find out what we want in life and what we want in love. And if we come back together then, we'll know it's right and if we decide not to, we can still stay friends.
I do feel really weird about levaing now though. It's really starting to sink in. I've said goodbye to most people already and everything is packed and I'm actually all ready to go. Except for the fact that I still have a teribble cold. And all these people I said goodbye to tonight. These are the ones that will still be there when I get back. Especially B., as friend or as more, I'll see when I get back.
The really weird thing about this post now, is that everyone at the party has my blogadress now and B. can read this too. But it's a bit to long not to post now. Do have some great ideas for poems now though, so got to go.
It was harder for me to say goodbye to some people, than it was to say goodbye to others. I kept hugging Hester and Sugeey. They are really good friends of mine and definatly ones I'm going to miss alot. And RB and B. are always a laugh. I'll definatly miss them too. Aspecially B. You all know he's my ex by now. And Friday evening after a birthdayparty we had a sort of talk about how we felt now that it was over between us. In my opinion a conversation that should have taken place way earlier. But then again, maybe this was a little to early. I was just last week and we sort of both said the same thing. Sometimes we think the break-up was tyhe right thing to do and other times we feel like shit, to say the least. I really miss him sometimes and dream about him and me together again as well. But then often I wake up and think about how silly the dream was. No sence in pondering over a dream right...?
But tonight, as we said goodbye. He hugged me, and he held me so tight. And all I wanted was never to let go again. We let eachother out of the tight grip though and looked into eachothers eyes as we said the words of parting and I swear, it took all the strenght I had not to kiss him. Then he held me tight again and it felt so right, so save. But the timing couldn't be worse. I'm levaing for America in just over 24 hours. And this fact could be the only thing really between us right now. I mean, it's the knowing that I'll be gone for so long that can make you see what you're going to miss. You don't know what you had till you lose it. And maybe me feeling things for him, sure there're feelings for him still, but maybe they are only magnified by the prospect of leaving.
Leaving, taking a trip, moving on it all starts with a single step. But that first step is always the hardest to make. Because right before you take that step, you step a little closer to what you're leaving behind and that's when you see it at it's best.
And right now, all I know is that that hugg, that B. and I shared, felt like a thousand words. It felt so good. His embrasse is still the one that can make me forget all about my worries and drive away all my fears.
But right after he left, I wa sin tears. And for one simple reason. He left. I won't be seeing him for 3 months. And maybe that's what we need. Maybe this is what we always needed. Or to move on or to get back together. This time apart can't do anything but help us figure that out. Because right now, I don't know anymore. I haven't really known since a month before we broke up. I don't know if we are right for eachother or not, if we belong together. If the love for him I'm feeling is a reall one or just a strong feeling of liking. I almost wanted to say that I wondered if I ever really did love him. But that's not a question I can ask myself without getting mad at myself. Because the answer is clear and out there for everyone to see. I loved him with all my herat, and he loved me. We just both got a little side-tracked.
But like a said in a previous post... Taking this trip will help me gain perspective on my life here. Will help me put all my feelings about the people here, and my life here into place.
And if B. and I are meant to be, it will be. First we both just need freedom and time to grow up a little more, see new things and have new experiences. Really find out what we want in life and what we want in love. And if we come back together then, we'll know it's right and if we decide not to, we can still stay friends.
I do feel really weird about levaing now though. It's really starting to sink in. I've said goodbye to most people already and everything is packed and I'm actually all ready to go. Except for the fact that I still have a teribble cold. And all these people I said goodbye to tonight. These are the ones that will still be there when I get back. Especially B., as friend or as more, I'll see when I get back.
The really weird thing about this post now, is that everyone at the party has my blogadress now and B. can read this too. But it's a bit to long not to post now. Do have some great ideas for poems now though, so got to go.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
money, money, money
Owh god, I really do worry to much. Money issues yet again. I keep panicking about not having enough money when I'm there. What if I run out of money. I mean, I do have about 100 euro's to spend a week there. That's about 130 dollars. But with all the hotels and sight-seeing it won't be much will it. It's so easy to spend money. Just walking in Utrecht with my mom cost me about 130 euro's in ONE day. But of course I'll be given out money on some days when on others not that much (I hope). I should have saved more. I should have been more strict with myself. But there's nothing to do about that right now is there. I'll just have to be strict with myself over there. Don't spend it all in one go, because it's all I'll have.
Jeeh, the closer the day of departure, the more fears come drifting to the surface.
Money-issues, I hate them. Wish I'd win the lotery. But then I'd probably have to buy me a lotery-ticket first, right. Wouldn't it be great to have enough money all the time. Never have to worry about it. Being able to buy what you want when you want. Wouldn't it be great to be a miljonair...
Jeeh, the closer the day of departure, the more fears come drifting to the surface.
Money-issues, I hate them. Wish I'd win the lotery. But then I'd probably have to buy me a lotery-ticket first, right. Wouldn't it be great to have enough money all the time. Never have to worry about it. Being able to buy what you want when you want. Wouldn't it be great to be a miljonair...
Owh no, she's in the hostpital
Of course there had to be some bad news. Things where going too well. My aunt is in the hostpital. She was submitted last night when she called in for heart-problems. Seeing as in she's a heart-patient she was submitted right away and they have been doing tests ever since. She'll probably have to stay tonight as well. My biggest fear with going to America is not the flying, which I'm really scared of, at least only the lift off and the landing. No my biggest fear is that something will happen to the people I left behind here and that I won't be able to be there right away. If something should happen and I need to get over here it will take at least 9 hours and that's with a direct flight that leaves right away.
What if something should happen to my father, mother or little sister. Or my aunt, uncle and cousins. And what if something should happen to one of my friends. We will have said goodbye, that's the trueth. But we will have said goodbye with the idea of seeing eachother again.
All I can do is hope nothing will happen and believe in it with all my might. I mean, whenever you think something will happen it usually does. So maybe if I think nothing will happen, it won't... right.And the truth is, will all of this, this whole trip and life in fact, only time can tell. It's stupid and senseless to fear the futher and to keep thinking what if. Because it can't be helped.
I just hope my aunt is going to be ok. And that we'll be able to visit her tonight. There's nothing more to do than to see the people you love as often as possible without putting your own needs aside to much. I'm leaving in 4 days. I'd better start thinking positive again. All that negativity is bad for my karma. And we all know how karma works right...
What if something should happen to my father, mother or little sister. Or my aunt, uncle and cousins. And what if something should happen to one of my friends. We will have said goodbye, that's the trueth. But we will have said goodbye with the idea of seeing eachother again.
All I can do is hope nothing will happen and believe in it with all my might. I mean, whenever you think something will happen it usually does. So maybe if I think nothing will happen, it won't... right.And the truth is, will all of this, this whole trip and life in fact, only time can tell. It's stupid and senseless to fear the futher and to keep thinking what if. Because it can't be helped.
I just hope my aunt is going to be ok. And that we'll be able to visit her tonight. There's nothing more to do than to see the people you love as often as possible without putting your own needs aside to much. I'm leaving in 4 days. I'd better start thinking positive again. All that negativity is bad for my karma. And we all know how karma works right...
Monday, March 5, 2007
4 more days
Four more days... Four more nights... Then the day will ahve come... It's coming... But way to slowly... The days seem to last foreve... The nights are filled with sleeplessness... Excitment, Sadness, Fear, Joy... I feel it all...I am going to leave life as I know it behind. My job, my little sister who looks up to me, my mother who will miss me like hell and my father whom I can always laugh with, all that i'll leave behind.But I'll find so much more in return. The places I'll see, the people I'll meet.
This trip will hopefully complete me. Fill the empty place in my soul. I don't know what the empty space means, so I don't know what will fill it. But I'm pretty sure that the land of opportunity is the place where I'll find it. Maybe a new love, maybe just a new and stronger me, new friends or maybe a new carreer. There's something there for me and I'm going to find it. And if I don't find it there, I never will find it.
It's there, I feel it in every inch of my body and soul. Or is that just hope and excitement talking.It will be good and bad to leave here. I'll miss alot about here, a lot of people, and lord knows I already miss my job. But it will be good to have some distants, to get some more perspective. On the direction I'm headed and the path I've already travelled.
All I really hope is that I'll come back a stronger and more complete person. Without the stress of the past. Without the mixed feelings about B. and without the hope of something more. Because I'll have the more. i'll have had this trip and it will make me stronger and more complete. I'm pretty sure of that to. Ofcourse I'm reserving the right to get back on that if it turns out I don't find out what I'm looking for...
What if people here won't even miss me though. Or I come back to changed, to different. My life is already headed in a much different direction than that of most of my friends. My only reall fear is that people here will forget about me. But there's only one way of finding out and that is by leaving and actually coming back. I know my mom would kill me if I decided to stay there. She says I should at least finish school.
And I should. But I'll see how it is there soon enough. Just 4 more days... just 4 more nights... Then I'll be off... Hope my cold will be over by then though!
Friday, March 2, 2007
I'm unimployed
So, as of wendsday I'm out of a job. It was my last day and I actually felt bad about it. I'll miss it a lot, I already do. I just went about my wendsday routine, but with some less energy. I hated saying goodbye to everybody. But I guess I might as well get used to it right. I mean, in just 7 more days I'll be saying goodbye to everybody here in Holland. But for a good reason. It's to say hello to my family in America. I can't wait to see them. But I do have a lot of stress right now. I still have so much to take care of. I need to take care of my taxes, my school payment, the lawyer, clean my room completly, do all my washing and of course pack my bags. Just I still need to get a second suitcase. I could borrow one from a friend of my mothers, but it turned out to be too small. I already have one big suitcase but it's a soft cover and i obviously need a hardcover with all the breakables I have to bring as well. So maybe my uncle has one for me. But what if he doesn't? I'd be up a creak without a padle.
Anyways, i can never really write and stick to one story can I. The story was my last day of work wendsday. In the middle of the day my manager just huged me out of the blue and said she would miss me. At the end of the day my manager and her assistent gave a little speech, saying how much they would miss me, how hard a worker I am and that they were really happy with me as an imployer. In the almost 9 months I have worked there I saw a lot of people leave there as well. But so far I've been the only one who's had an applause for my hard work and devotion. It felt good and it was really moving.
So, I'm a free girl. I don't need to get up every morning. I need to take care of some things, true, but I don't need to do them when others tell me to. It's all on my own time. And it feels weird. Sure, you could say it just vacation. But because I know that there's no turning back, now the plan is really being carried out, I don't have a job anymore (for the first time in 5 years) and that means no security. And that makes it all really scarry, but also very exciting.
I went to Utrecht with mama yesterday. Just a day for her and me. We wanted to go to Amsterdam, had bought the tickets traveld one station further and then found out that there were no trains going to Amsterdam that day because of a vaulting lightsignal. So we ended up in Utrecht. But believe me if you want to go souvenir-shopping like me and my mom, utrecht is NOT the place to be. We managed to find some cool stuff though and I finaly found a really nice bag for my hand luggage. Gave out a lot of money yesterday though. To much really. But I'll still have enough with me in America, I hope. I'll manage. I always do.
My mom and me ended up spending the whole day there. We had dinner there just the two of us and I really enjoyed it. I'll miss her.
Today I went to get a haircut. I guess my hairs ok. Everyone here says it looks nice and I guess it does, I just think it makes my face look a little to round. But ofcourse B. didn't even notice. he was here today to take a look at my phone/computer. I'm so glad we found a way to remain friends, even somewhat good friends.
Anyways, after I got the haircut I went by the Mexx, I still needed to hand in some things. If I hadn't I would get my last paycheck, and I really need it obviously. And I got to see my colleagues again. They said they missed me already, what ofcourse gave me a good feeling to. And I had lunch with Peter. Was fun. He already said we would go out to dinner, with a couple more when I got back in the summer. I really hope he's going to find his diploma, then we'll be going to the same school as well. And we'll probably be working together when I come back as well, because I can probably start working by the coffee-lounge then.
Also me and mardou are going to share an appartment when I get back. Hoping that we found one by the time I get back. Sharing an appartment made more sence, seeing as in we're both looking for the same thing. A nice appartment near city and trainstation in Amersfoort. And well, it's cheaper too. I mean, I'll be having enough costs with just my schooling already, so naturally I need a job to be able to move out. And then there's always still the loan I can get from IB-group. I'll need to lend anyways, just the scolarship isn't enough to cover all the costs.
I'm just feeling really weird right now. I'm almost going and I keep thinking I'm going to forget to take care of something and that I'll forget to take something. I think it's just the stress of saying goodbye and stuff. Ending a fase in my life. I'm not a working girl anymore. Not at the moment anyways and I'm not used to that. I'm also always afraid that when you say goodbye, when you leave, it's a goodbye forever. What if I keep the contact up but they don't. Then I'll never see some people again, ever. That's weird. But lots of people already said I had to visit them when I got back. So ofcourse I will.
Right now, I just can't wait. It's still a little to early to be packing, and it's also hard to be packing if you don't have the right suitcase (stress just hit me again) and so all I can do is prepair. I really want to get over there and at the same time it's really straing to scare me, excitingly scarred though. Not horror scarred. It's a good nervous scarred.
I'd better stop typing, things don't even make sence anymore.
Anyways, i can never really write and stick to one story can I. The story was my last day of work wendsday. In the middle of the day my manager just huged me out of the blue and said she would miss me. At the end of the day my manager and her assistent gave a little speech, saying how much they would miss me, how hard a worker I am and that they were really happy with me as an imployer. In the almost 9 months I have worked there I saw a lot of people leave there as well. But so far I've been the only one who's had an applause for my hard work and devotion. It felt good and it was really moving.
So, I'm a free girl. I don't need to get up every morning. I need to take care of some things, true, but I don't need to do them when others tell me to. It's all on my own time. And it feels weird. Sure, you could say it just vacation. But because I know that there's no turning back, now the plan is really being carried out, I don't have a job anymore (for the first time in 5 years) and that means no security. And that makes it all really scarry, but also very exciting.
I went to Utrecht with mama yesterday. Just a day for her and me. We wanted to go to Amsterdam, had bought the tickets traveld one station further and then found out that there were no trains going to Amsterdam that day because of a vaulting lightsignal. So we ended up in Utrecht. But believe me if you want to go souvenir-shopping like me and my mom, utrecht is NOT the place to be. We managed to find some cool stuff though and I finaly found a really nice bag for my hand luggage. Gave out a lot of money yesterday though. To much really. But I'll still have enough with me in America, I hope. I'll manage. I always do.
My mom and me ended up spending the whole day there. We had dinner there just the two of us and I really enjoyed it. I'll miss her.
Today I went to get a haircut. I guess my hairs ok. Everyone here says it looks nice and I guess it does, I just think it makes my face look a little to round. But ofcourse B. didn't even notice. he was here today to take a look at my phone/computer. I'm so glad we found a way to remain friends, even somewhat good friends.
Anyways, after I got the haircut I went by the Mexx, I still needed to hand in some things. If I hadn't I would get my last paycheck, and I really need it obviously. And I got to see my colleagues again. They said they missed me already, what ofcourse gave me a good feeling to. And I had lunch with Peter. Was fun. He already said we would go out to dinner, with a couple more when I got back in the summer. I really hope he's going to find his diploma, then we'll be going to the same school as well. And we'll probably be working together when I come back as well, because I can probably start working by the coffee-lounge then.
Also me and mardou are going to share an appartment when I get back. Hoping that we found one by the time I get back. Sharing an appartment made more sence, seeing as in we're both looking for the same thing. A nice appartment near city and trainstation in Amersfoort. And well, it's cheaper too. I mean, I'll be having enough costs with just my schooling already, so naturally I need a job to be able to move out. And then there's always still the loan I can get from IB-group. I'll need to lend anyways, just the scolarship isn't enough to cover all the costs.
I'm just feeling really weird right now. I'm almost going and I keep thinking I'm going to forget to take care of something and that I'll forget to take something. I think it's just the stress of saying goodbye and stuff. Ending a fase in my life. I'm not a working girl anymore. Not at the moment anyways and I'm not used to that. I'm also always afraid that when you say goodbye, when you leave, it's a goodbye forever. What if I keep the contact up but they don't. Then I'll never see some people again, ever. That's weird. But lots of people already said I had to visit them when I got back. So ofcourse I will.
Right now, I just can't wait. It's still a little to early to be packing, and it's also hard to be packing if you don't have the right suitcase (stress just hit me again) and so all I can do is prepair. I really want to get over there and at the same time it's really straing to scare me, excitingly scarred though. Not horror scarred. It's a good nervous scarred.
I'd better stop typing, things don't even make sence anymore.
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