You know when you forget to meet someone and they call you 15 minutes after the scheduled meeting time wondering where you are? That happened to me today, and I think I set a record biking to Dam Sqaure in 4 minutes to meet someone. I still feel like an ass.

Thankfully the people I spoke of in my last blog did not have a heart attack. It was much more minor than that. Wonderful!

Shain

Good Vibes...

I just found out that in Toronto, someone I love has been rushed to the hospital with an apparant heart attack. I don't know what is exactly wrong, so I am not jumping to conclusions, but in the meantime I am being as positive as possible despite the fact that I'm freak out once again. It's been a tough month when it comes to health and more tragedy will be like kicking me when I'm already down. Good Vibes Needed and I'm Thinking About You Every Minute.

I was planning on this grandiose, expansive blog post because I've been bitching and complaining alot lately. Now I realize that all my problems, mostly dealing with systemic beaurocracy, are just problems and will be worked out with time. It always takes disaster to make you realize where you are at fault.

Today was a productive day, however. I sorted out the bank once and foreall and wrote an article that was due. My orientation with school in on Frijdag, so I am trying to get as much done beforehand. I also found an 80 euro textbook used for 25 and am picking it up tomorrow. That provided a small sense of accomplishment.

Tonite I am supposed to go for dinner, but right now I'm hanging by the phone to wait for more news. I love life sometimes. RIP Alli and Scott. I'm thinking about you all the time.

Heya...

Well, today was less frustrating than yesterday, but yesterday was one of those days where everything goes sour. My buddy Peter was visiting and I decided to go with him to Antwerp today for shits and giggles. After getting to Centraal Station at 9AM, I discovered I couldn't afford the ticket right now and said goodbye to him as he continued his travels.

Instead I went to wait in line at Uni (for 45 minutes) to get some cash to pay rent, and then went to the bank to get the cash to find out that while they close at 5, the money counter closes at 4. Fuck beans! These are the little intricacies that baffle me all the time. Why close at 4 if you're really closing at 5? It makes no sense.

I'm staying in tonite. Gonna try and get something done.

Before I start bitching I want to tell you about a wonderful encounter I had this afternoon with a crazy guy. All the time people come upto me in Amsterdam, either asking for money, offering drugs or asking for directions. I've learned to say NO very forcefully, or give directions.. This guy was different. In a think Germanic accent, this guy came up to me and said;

Guy: Would you like funny joke that make you laugh funny? If you really like, I tell you even funnier joke.
Me: Sure
Guy: Okay.

and then he just walked away. Without a joke. Quite funny.

Anyway, I've been thinking in my mind about compiling a list of qualifications one must attain in order to live as an expat in a country that speaks a different language. Here's the start.

1. You must feel like an ignorant, confused ass 80% of the time, especially when speaking with anyone else or trying to get anything done at the bank.

2. Don't ever expect anything from the government or service industry. It will come when it's ready. Expectations fall on deaf ears.

3. Never go out expecting you are going to have this wonderful day and accomplish something. Usually some cultural force with stop those sails and you will end up running around like a chicken with your head cut off, accomplishing nothing in the process.

I had a lovely day :)

Frijdag...


It's raining and I have tons of stuff to do. First thing on the menu, purchase new umbrella.

Another picture only post from walking around town yesterday.

Iceland...


I've decided I'm going to do everything in my power to go to the Iceland Airwaves Music Festival in Reykjavik. I've also wanted to go to Iceland - been a bit of a goal of mine - and I'm going to do it. My heart is pounding just thinking about it.

It's raining again today. Yesterday was a lovely day. I hung out with my friends Melissa and Jared from Canada. We went to the Albert Cuyp Market, had some lunch, made dinner at home and went to see ZOX, a fantastic band from Baltimore at the Melkweg. The show was superb. Great day.

I've got a ton of work to do, so I'm holing myself up at home and bearing down...

more later.

Grrr...

Sometimes I get so frustrated here I want to kill a baby. Getting a phone contract in the Netherlands is proving to be beyond difficult. Each place I go requires something different, and although I have everything they need, there is always some byzantine reason, or some abstract form I haven't heard of that I'm missing... Gah!

Plus, in order to register for my elective, yup that's right, elective courses, I have to go through this god-awful complicated system which involves going to differen departments within the University and getting approvals and signatures and this and that...

I guess if it was easy I'd be complaining to.

Fack!

I'm addicted to this stuff. It's delicious.

Travel Travel Travel...

Here's a quick map of the Netherlands for reference...

---

I start school next week, so I'm taking advantage of my 40% off all train travel (Voordeelurenabonnement) card and heading to Delft this week and Nimejen next week to see the cities. It's valid in all Benelux countries, so might as well.

It's raining again.

Here's a picture-only post of Amsterdam on a lovely day. Things are status-quo here. Had a lovely weekend with some Couch Surfers

peace-

Howdy...

I've been updating this everyday. I sure hope people are reading it. Regardless, it's fun to recant my normalcy. Today was my sister's wedding anniversary, which again brings about another tough emotional day. It doesn't get any easier. But I move on, every moment, minute, hour and day in search of something better, whatever that may be.

Today was uneventful. Going through my going's on is not all that entertaining, so I'll spare it. The integration simply continues. In order to sign up for dutch lessons, one must embark on this 'kill the death star' byzantine journey in which papers must be signed, accredited and return in haste, so therein lies a task for next week. I'm also considering going to Edinburgh, but the flight prices may halt such excursions. A friend is putting on a play at the Fringe Festival there.

Hosting more friends this weekend, including a few Canadians and a Scot, and may head to Rotterdam for a friend's party on Saturday. Nothing special. I just want to wish my amazing friend Jenn Bui a safe move to Calgary to start her new job, as well as my buddy Jared a safe move to Amsterdam, where he'll join us in the 'suck.' Just kidding, it was a gorgeous day today, one that warranted a canal stroll-along.

Anywho, here's a link to the play, Rob Roy, in Edinburgh and a shout-out to 365 Magazine, who hired me today for more writing stuff. Love you all, especially Alli....

Obstacle Course...


Everytime I ride my bike, I feel like a mouse in a maze trying to overcome some of byzantine obstacle course in order to get to my destination. Take today for example; I went into the centre, about a 10 minute bike ride to take care of some things. I had to deal with cars, trams, people, ignorant tourists, other bikes, people going the wrong way, obstructions in the bike lane, construction etc... Plus my back tire was flat. Thankfully I got it fixed and the bike rides better, and I have yet to kill myself. I have to go back into town in a few hours. Pray for me.

The new Pilate CD is quite good. I'm not shitting you. Go download it or heaven-forfend, purchase it!

Promotion Time...


My exceptionally talented bandmate, Kae Sun will be teaming up with Guelph's wonderful What The Thunder Said for a night of original music in Hamilton. Please go if you can. The details are below.

Kae Sun
featuring What The Thunder Said
Saturday, August 18th
The Pepper Jack Cafe, Hamilton, ON
(38 King William @ Hughson)
9PM, 19+, $6/door.

I wish I could go.

Blogsterdam!

I am really getting the hang of this city geographically. Once you get over the fact that there is no such thing as a straight line, the city becomes quite easy to navigate. I haven't been lost in a few days. That's nice.

Today was a bit of a shitty day, but I have no one to blame but myself. I stayed up way too late last night, and am paying for it today. I slept much of it, ran a few errands and went to work, das it all. Tomorrow my lovely friend Kate from Leeds is coming to visit, which will be a treat. Then I'm hosting some couch surfers this weekend. It should be a hottenanny, if it doesn't rain.

One of the greatest dutch inventions of our modern age is Blokker. Blokker is a discount Canadian Tire, but even cheaper and with more crap. It's a housewares dream for a student, and I am going back there tomorrow. Also going to see Xavier Rudd on Tuesday, which should be lovely.

Now I'll leave you with some photos I took. My bike is one of these.

I've been reading the e-mails all my classmates have been sending remembering our good friend Scott. Here's a quote that has struck me. I've been having a wretched, horrible day thusfar; everything has gone sour today, but now, it doesn't matter. More later.


"I believe we have all of the resources necessary right now to create a utopia." - Scott Lauriston


.... RIP.

Sunny Day!

Today there was SUN! SUN! SUN!! It was a gorgeous day. Absolutely gorgeous. So gorgeous a useless adverb like 'Absolutely' is more than warranted. After a week straight of rain, including some horrible moments where I've been completely drenched, head-to-toe on my bike, a sunny day was a blessing. A few friends stayed with me last night, friends who I met through Couch Surfing, a great site meant of building new contacts and experiencing other cultures. Matt and Sofie are Parisian, and I hope to send them a visit later this fall.

Yesterday was not so nice. It rained harder, and longer than it has yet, and I got so wet my jeans stuck to my skin. I biked from my place downtown, about 20 minutes, and got absolutely drenched. I met Grant and Amanda for some jazz in Nieuwmarkt before heading back with Matt and Sofie for dinner. We ate too much surinamese food and went to sleep.

Today I did very little. I enjoyed the sun. I went to Vondelpark to read, but it was too busy so I settled on my balcony. I intended to see Calexico tonite, but it was sold out. I betcha it's gonna rain tomorrow.

Lastly, it's certainly been tough integrating. Sure everyone speaks english, but EVERYTHING is in dutch, including cell phone manuals and bank statements. The best thing is, the Dutch pride themselves in inconvienencing you by doing this. They sneer at it. I'm going to enroll in a Dutch language course in September, as I get a huge discount with the University. Off to bed. More social commentary tomorrow.... Oh yeah, read David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest. I'm 60 pages in and it is brilliant.

Rain Rain Go Away...

I haven't left the flat this morning. I plan on going to the English bookstore and then to head down to the Nieuwmarkt to see some jazz with a friend, but it's been pouring all day. I remember once I was in Scottsdale, AZ and we participated in a Monsoon. It rained so hard it hurt.. like pellets. It feels like that today. Still thinking about Alli and Scott. RIP.

Horrible, Sad News...

I just found that my classmate and good friend Scott Lauriston died suddenly in Toronto on Tuesday night. He was 28. I feel sick... utterly sick. RIP Scott. You will be missed my friend... I'll never forget ya you sarcastic bastard.

I wanted to share a story about Scott, even if no one reads this blog anyways. I remember sitting with my thesis partner, Shaun Tucker in the lab at 3A or some ungodly time, struggling over some bitchy code that we couldn't figure out. I remember Scott walking in and just hanging out with us for a bit, joking about this and that before he went to the back of the lab to work. We then decided to get pizza and we asked Scott if he wanted, but in his true Italian sense, he said 'what the fuck, no meat on pizza? What are you, lesbians?' I had a good chuckle. Scott had a bit of a raunchy sense of humour, but he was always there for ya when you needed it, whether it was to insult his leather motorcycle jacket or just shoot the shit. I remember him saying he was planning on going to law school... I guess life is one big delay of the inevitable, but his delay was way too short.



Scott Lauriston's Obituary

It's been exactly one month since Alli passed away. I got up at 6AM this morning to go to synagogue in Amsterdam. The only one I found with a morning service was the famous one, entitled Esnoga, a portuguese synagogue erected 400 years ago. It was pouring rain, so I hopped the tram and it let me off right outside the synagogue. It was a gorgeous building... majestic even. Yet, I sat and ran the bell for forty-five minutes, getting beyond soaked and no one answered. I walked around and rang on the side doors; nothing. I found an open tourist cafe and checked the internet again telling me a service existed; it did. The time passed. I rang again, and again and again. Nothing. I gave up. In a final symbolic gesture, I dropped my bag in the rain, faced the west and did the Kaddish, by myself in Mr. Visselplein square at 8:30AM in Amsterdam, thinking that Alli was up there having a chuckle at my misfortune. I was soaked to the bone. I tried. I hopped the tram back and went home and right to bed. I love you Alli.

Quick One,

Everytime I try to speak dutch, they don't understand me and then speak back to me in English. It's gonna be tough learning this language.

Shain

Howdy,

Another crazy eventful day in Amsterdam. I slept in a little bit today, which was nice considering the lack of sleep I've been getting. I went straight to school, where they told me to go to another building in school, who promptly gave me a letter to take to the bank. Forty-five minutes later, I had a bank account. Then I got a cell phone. The rest of the day has been spent grocery shopping anf wandering amidst the rain and wind... lovely amsterdam weather. That's about it.

One thing I've noticed here, is that everything is more difficult for the non-dutch, regardless. Systems are set up to benefit the dutch, and annoy foreigners. Yet, I believe the dutch have a right to do this. They have made a living, since the beginning of their country, doing business by learning our language and coming to us. Now that I live here, the more I realize that in order for them to do that, it comes with a catch, either by charging more money or acting differently. Yet, they have a right to do this, and I accept it. It's my job to integrate, not theirs to be welcoming. Dutch is a tough language phonetically at first though, so I'm having difficulties, but I'll pull through. The adventure awaits.

Here are some pics from my flat I took two minutes ago.





Love Ya... (especially Alli)

Shain

Godenmorgen,

This is my first post from Amsterdam, and my first since Alli died. I wanted to memorialize her by keeping her at the top of the page throughout August, and now that I'm in Amsterdam slowly intgrating into culture, I know she'd want to hear about it.

Things have been really difficult the past month or so, and the past few days were no different. My flight from Toronto was surprisingly good though, as I was bumped up to first class and enjoyed getting liberally doused in beer throughout the flight. Once I arrived in London, I took the train back to Lisa's, had a nap, went for breakfast at a lovely diner and took the train back to the airport. I fumbled with my bags for a while, but ended up getting everything on the flight to Amsterdam for free (even though it was all overweight) and got through customs.

The flight was delayed two hours. Thankfully I met a lovely American named Shanna on the flight who was moving to Amsterdam just because, and she got me a ride to Dam Square with a friend after we arrived. I then cabbed it from here and here I am.

Today was eventful. Very eventful. I went to a small town outside Amsterdam called Hilversum to take care of my immigration. An hour later and many forms out of the way, I got my residence sticker - a big deal by the way - and came back home. Then I proceeded to get CRAZY lost biking home, ending up in a neighbourhood I've never seen. Then my bike broke, so I had to walk it home. I found a repair shop, fixed the bike and stumbled on home, exhausted and two hours late.

Then began my introduction to dutch grocery shopping. I went to the cheaper retailer, Dirk Van der Broek and spent a lovely hour grabbing everything from Zucchini to dutch jam. After ringing everything through, I brought out my VISA and they told me that they don't take credit cards. NOBODY TAKES CREDIT CARDS. Since I don't have a debit card yet, it's cash cash cash, and I had to start eliminating food to get down to the amount of cash I had in my pocket. I held up the line for 15 minutes, as everything had to be scanned individually. People were generally understanding, but I stood out like a black girl at an Aryan dance. Fun.

I've fully unpacked and hooked up my phone. Call me at 905.667.4389 if you like but remember, I'm six hours ahead. I have to go to school tomorrow, and then head to the bank to setup an account. I never thought they would just give me the residence permit, so I'm gonna make a headstart in getting a bank account set up, if my credit cards are useless.

More later with pictures.