All Work...

The last week has been work, work, work. Over the last few weeks, I have worked more than my share of hours. I am tired of working, so this weekend I took a mini vacation. I went to visit my friends in Tyler, TX to help his birthday. We were discussing how different life turned out compared to what we all dreamed it would hold back in high school. We even busted out the senior year yearbook and re-read our bios. It is amazing how life changes and new challenges are thrown at you every day and how on overcomes these challenges.

In a few short weeks I get to go visit another friend from high school on her special day. She is marrying another guy from NMMI. It is going to be quite the little reunion and I am very excited about it. I can't wait to see all of my old friends again and catch up with everyone. It seems as though I have almost lived 2 lives. A life at NMMI and then a life in College. Up until now, these two lives have existed separately. I think it has been that way for everyone though. After NMMI's graduation, everyone was so excited to be done and leave that life style, nobody looked back. Now that we are all done with, or finishing, college we are looking back more. Rethinking how we interact with newer and older friends and trying to find a way to let the 2 lives intersect and coexist. Both phases of my life are very important and have made equally large impressions on how I view and interact with the people around me.

The newest challenge I have is introducing my two lives to each other. For the most part they are two very separate 4 years divided into chunks by a year abroad. Now, going to this wedding, I am going to begin trying to mix the two and see how it works out. I have amazing friends from both parts and I think they would all really like each other so we will see how this experiment works out. The brightest point in all of this, I get to go dress shopping. I am terribly excited about that.

Time to Catch Up!

These past few weeks have been pretty busy. I need to catch up so I will try to make things short and sweet. First off, I finally have a tan. After 3 days at the lake over Labor Day weekend, I am not longer blinding white. I even managed to not seriously burn, which was pretty surprising for the lack of sun I had been exposed to over the last half year. The lake was so wonderful and relaxing. It was great to be able to hang out with all of my friends that came up and spend time practicing my water skiing. One big weekend and the season is over. Oh well, I'm excited for snow skiing next!

The most exciting part about Labor Day was Evi. She is my best friend from my exchange year and she was able to come spend 2 weeks with me. We both flew home for the lake, then flew back on Monday. She had to keep herself preoccupied for a few days while I worked (which she did just fine by sleeping, reading, shopping, and tanning) but then we headed to New Orleans for a weekend. We didn't get there till late Friday night, but we had a blast. Our hotel was in a terrific location, not even a block away from Bourbon Street. We hung out on the street, did a city tour, toured an Estate (we didn't have time for a plantation), and took a steam paddle boat up the Mississippi. I was so happy to get to experience such a fun city with Evi. She said Bourbon St. was a bit much for her, but other than that she loved it. On the way home we also managed to stop at a wonderful outlet mall. We were short on time, but we both managed to find some good deals and great clothes. She had to leave the next day (Monday) but it was a great 2 weeks and I can't wait to see her again!

The Weekend!

I am so happy it is Saturday. Although, it doesn't feel much like a weekend, I'm still happy it is here. Today I went to the gym, then to work for a few hours then to the grocery store. I've been told about this grocery store, Brookshire's, but I've never been. There is another location closer to the house which is nicknamed "Crackshire's" because it apparently caters to the less fortunate crowd. Now I've been to this location, and its like any other grocery store. But the Brookshire's on Line Ave.....its like a food mecca! It reminds me a lot of a Whole Foods. There are all sorts of fresh prepared food, veggies, salads, cheeses, everything. I went on overload upon walking in and ended up buying chicken stuffed with a jalapeno stuffed with cheese, green beans with garlic and dill, and a turtle cheese cake for dinner. Oh, appetizers were tomato with fresh mozzarella and fresh basil from the basil plant I bought. I had a blast grocery shopping! I also found the great jalapeno relish that I eat all of Kathy's supply of. I bought 3 bottles, I hope that will hold us for awhile.

Tomorrow I'm going to church. There are a ton of Methodist churches around and some of the people I have met were talking about going. I asked if I could tag along and I'm getting picked up around 10:45 tomorrow morning for the 11 am contemporary service. I didn't know Methodist did contemporary so I am excited to check it out. The church also looks AMAZING. Not quite the European ancient gothic style, but the southern massive style with giant pillars, red brick, and big steps. I'll keep you posted how this goes.

Car Trouble?

Something that I've noticed around here....there are broken down cars EVERYWHERE. I literally mean EVERYWHERE. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't see some poor, lone car parked on the side of the road, on the off ramp, on a median between 3 roads, in the grass on the side of the road, somewhere. At first I just wrote it off, oh that car has trouble, no big deal. Then it came to my attention, they are everywhere! Either Shreveport has horrible mechanics, the upkeep habits of this city are below standard, or all the lemons are shipped here, but this seems to be an epidemic. I just hope I won't become one of those people.

Work is about to be shaken up again. One of our key guys, who is full of knowledge, is leaving. The worst part of him leaving is the experience he is taking with him. The rest of us will be picking up the slack and working on team work. Things go easier when we all help each other and this location is still working on that concept. Things are really going great though and I love being here and watching all of these transitions take place. It is a great learning opportunity and I am so thankful to be part of it.

Less than a week until one of my best friends from Germany arrives. Evi is flying in on Monday and I am so excited to see her. It was a bit of a last minute, impromptu trip but the timing couldn't be better. We are headed home for Labor Day to work on our tan at the lake, then back here for a few days so I can work, then we are on for a weekend in New Orleans. We are going to have a blast and you will probably hear about it in the next few weeks. Be excited!

Party!!!

Last night was my first social engagement since moving here. I attended a "Wine & Win" party which was a ton of fun. I would love to host one of these some day so I better write this all down. They had everyone bring a bottle of wine, and $5 to enter. The hosts took the wine, put it in a bag so the bottle was fully covered and put a number on the neck of the bottle. Everyone then had a little score card with numbers corresponding to the number of bottles of wine. The wine was set up at different tables around the room so it encouraged mingling and talking which was great to get to know a ton of people from around here. They also had some FABULOUS cheeses set up and some sushi. I had to know where they got the cheeses from, and the answer, Sam's. Guess I'll be headed there for my cheese shopping from now on! After 2 hours everyone voted on their favorite wine and turned in the number to preferred bottle. They tallied up the scores and the winning bottle had 6 votes (mine got 2 which put it in 5th place). The winner, which turned out to be a Menage a Trios, got all the money from the pot. Last night it turned out to be $115, so not a bad little purse.

What I learned from "Wine & Win": I do like red wine. I don't like Syrah. The cheap wines are just as good as the expensive ones (2nd place was Charles Shaw, otherwise known as 2 Buck Chuck). I like Malbec (Kelly and I had some in Holland I really like it, turns out, I still do). There are a lot of people who have unsophisticated palates but still enjoy drinking wine. Rating 23 wines on a scale of 1 to 10 is sort of difficult.

I attended the wine party with one of my roommates and some of his friends from Med School. So after the wine party 1/2 of us decided to go out. We took a cab to the party so we were taking a cab home. It was an interesting experience taking a cab in Shreveport, but not a bad one. We ended up at The Phoenix Underground which is a pretty cool little bar/club. It is an after hours place so it was really starting to get hoppin' about the time we were leaving (at 2:30am). They played some great music though and there were lots of people, which is generally a good combination. I do miss having girl friends though to go out dancing with. I will hopefully make some in my time here so that I can truly enjoy all the things Shreveport has to offer.

Call Me Betty....

Betty Crocker that is. Now, I'm not the chef, nor do I have a vast knowledge of cooking, but I won't burn the house down. I haven't actively cooked a meal in probably 8 months. I've warmed things up, but actually cooking, yeah thats another story. Due to my new work out schedule and yearn to get into shape, i've been trying to watch what I eat a lot more. Now, that doesn't mean that McDonald's doesn't happen to get into my belly at lunch time, but I try to keep it at a minimum. Today, I resisted the donuts. So by little steps, maybe progress will be made.

Tonight, I cooked myself a chicken breast as well as some frozen green beans. I also cooked another chicken breast and got it ready for my lunch tomorrow. I left the other two in the baggie marinating in Ms. Dash's new no sodium marinade. So far, I really like the stuff. I also made chili and put it in the crock pot for Frito Pie tomorrow. Kathy and Ky (the ladies who own the house I live in) have been so nice to me and always give me some of their food, I thought it only fair that I return the favor. Now, I'm sure my trainer wouldn't 100% approve of the chili, but I figured if I can stay away from the fritos I might be ok.

Another issue I had today, reusable grocery bags. Now, I'm barely getting over the habit of not bagging my own groceries (I was helping the Target lady the other day and she didn't approve so she dumped out my bag and re-did it) but I still like to use the reusable earth friendly bags. What makes me mad, is that I pay $3 for this bag and the only benefit I get from it is knowing I'm doing good. In Europe, you had to pay for every shopping bag you used, so you were being punished for not thinking ahead or re-using. In America, you're basically being punished for using a eco-friendly bagging method. Where is my rebate on the money I'm saving the grocery store by bringing my own bags?? I think America has missed part of the lesson on this whole reusable/recycle concept.

Alright, enough for today. I have been getting up at 4:30 so that I can go to the gym before work and get my cardio in. It seems there just isn't enough hours in the day. I am always exhausted by about 8 so when 9:30 rolls around, I'm a grump. I hope everyone's week is going great!

I'm Melting!!!

This past week has been a blur. Business has been slower than preferred, but I will say it is a bit of a nice break. Things have been pretty crazy since the day I got here so a quieter week was very welcome.

Last week I was on call for the first time ever. I would love to say it was uneventful and boring, but I'd be lying. There were "misunderstandings" that resulted in one of our customers "hating" us and somehow I was in the middle. I was mostly a casualty of war, but it was still frustrating and I still get mad about it any time any one brings it up. Most people don't but there is this one fellow who does. I would like to say he tries to be ornery but he just doesn't pull it off very well. My grandfather is much better at it, which is probably also why I seem to handle this fellow pretty well compared to others. I've had a life time of practice.

I spoke to the poor on call guy today, he was lucky enough to be running around all night and didn't get home until 7am this morning. He then has to work all day but hopefully he will get tomorrow night off. The way they do on call around here is interesting. Sometimes people alternate, such as one guy does it Monday and Tuesday, the other guy handles Wednesday and Thursday, the other one Friday, both on Saturday, then the last one on Sunday. That seems pretty complicated to me. The other way that people will do it is that one person handles the phone calls the other person drives. This only seems semi fair, but I don't think any one person should have to do all the driving. These rigs can get pretty spread out and you can easily travel an hour and a half in one direction for a single rig. I know it is part of the business, but I think trying to keeps peoples continual subjection to such trips should be kept to a minimum. It makes it a little less painful if people trade off.

The upside to all of this hard work is the wonderful weather. Yesterday the thermometer across the street on the bank like building read 101 degrees. Thats not counting the humidity. The radio has been saying that the heat index has been up around 114 degrees which is insane. Blond haired people who freckle and sweat a lot are not made for this climate. That translate to "I hate it." The upside, people pay good money to sit in saunas...all I have to do is walk into the warehouse. It's almost like a day at the spa....almost. Today there appears to be a bit of breeze out and the humidity doesn't seem to be so bad. I thought I would go lay out for a bit and see if I can get some color. I never last long, which is probably for the better since there is nothing worse than dealing with a sunburn. I better take lots of water with me!!

I hope everyone is doing well, and I will keep working to get better about my blogging. I do enjoy it and I have missed it.

I'm Connected!

I am once again able to connect to the world again. It is fantastic having a computer again. After work took back my laptop because I didn't need one any more (who doesn't need a computer?) I was too cheap to get a new one. My old one from college is in desperate need of some TLC and it just wasn't hacking it in this day and age of computing super power. I upgraded to a Mac. I'm still terrified and trying to get used to it. A little exposure every day and I'm sure I'll have it down before too long.

Shreveport, the update on my new home. From what I've seen its a fantastic little city. I've been out once, and dinner twice so I wouldn't yet consider myself a pro. I live in a fantastic area called Broadmoor that has tons of old houses and beautiful big old trees. I need to do some walking around and taking pictures so that you all can see what I'm talking about.

Work is really busy. It makes the days fly by and I can't believe I've been here almost a month now (just a few more days). In a way it seems like I just got here but it also seems I've been here forever (minus me not knowing where anything is). I really like everyone I work with and those stories will come soon....as well as my first on-call experience.

That is just a little blip of what is currently going on. I will now be better at posting and keeping you all involved in my not so exciting, but definitely different life.

My Last Day

Today was my last day in the Beverwijk office. The upside was that I won a7 Euros in a bet on what the score of the Netherlands – Slovakia game would be, so that little stack of coins met. Other than that, it was so sad!! I can’t believe 6 months have flown by so quickly. I am not ready to leave. It will be wonderful seeing my friends and family, but I am really going to miss the beautiful landscapes and water. I won’t miss fearing my life from bicycle riders. I cleaned out my cabinets and belongings last night and took anything with value to the office to give to whoever wanted it. It was a mini yard sale. I also borrowed the scale so that I could weigh my bags and make sure I’m not overweight. Nothing is worse than dealing with that at the airport while everyone is staring at you and you’re holding up the line! I will hopefully have all my bags mostly 100% finished by this evening so tomorrow I can enjoy seeing the last 2 sites that are on my to-do list in Haarlem. I need to go to the Corrie Ten Boom house and the Frans Hals museum. It will be a wonderful last day out on the town. At 6pm tomorrow I have my final walk through with the apartment owns and real estate agent then bright and early at 7:30 Thursday morning my ride will be here to shuttle me to the airport. I will not cry……

My Host Parents

This past weekend my host parents came to visit. I am so happy they were able to make it!! We had a great weekend…and they even helped me pack. Uwe and Andrea arrived Friday afternoon, about the same time I got back from Stavanger. I met them at Amsterdam Centraal, which was perfect, and we stored our bags and went for a canal cruise. The weather was fantastic, and quite warm, so we enjoyed the city from water level then dined on some Dutch pancakes. We were all tired so we decided to call it a day and head back to Haarlem. Upon arrival at the train station, I offered for them to take the bus, but they wanted to walk home from the train station. On that walk, I ran into some upper managers who were here for work. I didn’t even realize they were in town, but it was good to chat a bit with them.

On Saturday we decided it was a Haarlem day. We saw some sights that I had not yet seen (churches and markets) then headed to the beach. We didn’t get there till around 3 but it was probably just as well because it gave enough time for the mass crowds to leave. It was still busy since the weather was so wonderful but the traffic and parking was tolerable. I also managed to suffer my first sunburn of the season on my back side so now my back and back of my legs are about 2 shades darker than the front side. I guess I will have to try and correct that while at the lake for a few days. After the lake, we made it back to Haarlem in time to see America loose our soccer game. What a sad 2 hours of my life.

On Sunday we headed into Amsterdam. The original plan was the Van Gogh museum, but we decided to take a bus tour of the city and see some other sights and learn little known facts. One of these facts: on average 1 car per week ends up in the canals. We were also able to go to another big market that is open every day. I went to more markets last weekend than my entire time here, combined. They do sell some pretty good things! After touring the city for awhile we came back to my apartment to pack and watch Germany kick England’s butt in soccer. The packing has gone so easy thus far I’m worried. It seems too good to be true. I guess I’m not done yet, though.

Me, Uwe, and Andrea on the bus during our tour around Amsterdam. It was a double decker.

I am really going to miss this country!


They definitely know how to support soccer! It is a ton of fun watching it in this country.

The crowded beach at Zandvoort. Only a week before it was stormy and full of foam. This is much better!

Uwe & Andrea in front of the St. Bravo church in Haarlem. I had seen pictures of this place but this was the first time I had "found" it.

Stavanger, Norway

Javan and I arrived around 1 pm in Norway. We had a direct flight from Amsterdam and since it all seemed so simple and Javan was checking his bag, I figured I might as well check mine. BAD IDEA!!! I have a fear of checking bags, I never do so unless absolutely required and I remember why…especially when flying KLM. Well, upon arrival we wait, and wait, and wait for my bag. It never arrived. Turns out, it never caught the flight, or the next one. It finally caught the last flight over and was delivered to be at 12:30 am by the biggest burliest Norwegian I have yet seen. Most are tall and elegant and pretty, this one stepped out of the NFL including tattoos on his hand. He was nice though, and I did feel safer knowing he was guarding the hotel during the sinister hours.

The work day was pretty normal, but their hours of 8-4 with a 30 min lunch are pretty awesome. It is a combination of many of the great things I have learned throughout my experience in the corporate world. I miss getting off at 4 so it was great to have some free time in the afternoon to do things. It also helps that this country never really gets dark during the summer. Carean also met us in Norway so we did more culinary exploration. This is another country that isn’t starving and knows the finer things in life. They also know how to price gouge on EVERYTHING!! One evening I had venison, then the next we had fantastic Italian. On Wednesday night, June 23rd otherwise known as Midsummers Night, there was a special cruise offering. It went into the nearby fjord and underneath Pulpit rock. Next time I am hiking up to the rock and looking down. Javan and Carean didn’t want to go so I was on my own. As I was sitting there, a guy walked by with an NOV back pack. I figured he worked for the company and didn’t think much more of it. When he came back up for picture taking I started looking at him and thought he looked familiar. Turns out, I had a seminar with him back in October in Houston. It really, truly is a small world. This was the last place where I thought I would run into someone. When we arrived back on shore at 11 pm the harbor was hopping!! There was live music playing and people EVERYWHERE! I could have stayed out and enjoyed the party and atmosphere for a long time had I not needed to work the next day.

On Thursday, Javan and I headed to the oil museum after work. It was a great museum and very interactive. They had samples of crude oil from different parts of the world so you could compare, examples of rocks which make up the different formations in the ground, as well as all the different tools involved in drilling. Turns out, NOV even donated a driller’s chair. Javan drove it, I don’t know how his well drilling went, but he didn’t blow anything up. We did learn, though, that his ROV driving wasn’t too hot. They had a simulator of what it was like to steer an underwater remote operated vehicle and I can only imagine what the engineers in Houston are going through with the well a mile under the water in the Gulf. I give them props for doing what they have done. If it were left to me, that well would still be gushing full steam ahead and my ROV lost somewhere in Venezuela.

After the museum, we had sushi for dinner and Javan headed back. We were both heading back but somehow I got left behind and then left to my own devices. I found an ice cream shop then wondered the old streets of Stavanger. After getting back to the hotel at 9:30 pm I saw some big dudes in the lobby. I turned the corner and who is standing there giving autographs? None other than my dear friend Snoop Dogg. He had a concert the same evening that started at 9. Considering he was already late for it, I’m glad I spent my money on a fjord cruise rather than his concert. I heard today (Friday) he didn’t even do an encore and was a total of 1.5 hours late. Dang him…disappointing his fans. I am currently at the air port waiting for my flight back to Amsterdam where I will meet up with my German host parents Uwe and Andrea for a weekend of catching up and packing my life away. Maybe Snoop will be on my flight…he has a concert in Berlin next. Google told me.

A small town on the waters edge outside of Stavanger. This picture was taken aroun 11 pm. The advantage of living so far north.

A view from where our bbq was held. It was only accessible by boat and the guys were building a bon fire for after dinner.

A small harbor area and apartments in Stavanger


The Lysefjorden which is popular for hiking...

...mostly because it contains Pulpit Rock which is 1800 ft above the water. Next time, I'll be looking down from it.

The Germans are Invading!

So after 2 weeks of work and hanging out with Javan, I had some more German visitors come. Peter, Doris' cousin, and his 3 friends all made the long journey. I know Peter through all of the weddings that I have attended with her, but this last wedding we really hit it off and had a fantastic time. He has become quite the dancer and just made us all laugh and enjoy the evening. When I finally convinced him to come visit, I was really excited. They didn't arrive till late Friday evening and had to leave Sunday so it was a short trip but we packed a lot into it. Friday night we headed into Amsterdam for a night in the clubs. We ended up in Studio 80 and had a great time. I never thought I'd be one to like the dance music, but I have come to enjoy it in the right setting. Maybe Karla and her brothers aren't so crazy for always listening to it. Well, they still are since I can only handle it under certain circumstances but I can see why they like it. We didn't get to bed till about 7 am on Saturday morning and as a girl who need her sleep, their waking up at 11 am was not cool. I never function on 4 hrs of sleep, let alone morning hours of sleep. We all got dressed and headed into Haarlem for some shopping. They came to appreciate all of the wonderful little stores we have. In the afternoon they headed to Amsterdam but I stayed behind. I was so grumpy I knew I was not an enjoyable person to be around. I spared us all the grief and stayed home for a nap.


That afternoon after they had returned, we all debated on a plan and decided that since the beach was so close they needed to see the North Sea. It was cold, rainy, windy weather but the ocean was beautiful. There was nobody on the beach and the waves were huge with foam all along the shore. You could just see the force of nature with every curling wave. They all ran in and out of the surf chasing the surging and receding water lines, but I didn't want to get my shoes sandy so I skipped those activities. We got sprinkled on, but no major precipitation fell from the sky. After the beach wed drove into Amsterdam. When they were there earlier during the day they didn't go through the red light district. Now, I can't let any of my visitors not see the most famous part of the city. So on our tour through the district, we stopped by a coffee shop so that they could see inside. The verdict, looks like a normal coffee shop but stinks. So Saturday night was definitely a shorter night, and very much welcomed.

Since I knew I was going to be busy on the weekend, Javan went with Richard, his wife, and some of their friends to a big outdoor concert. He had to ride a bike 20 miles in the rain which any American is definitely not used to. The big act he saw was UB40 along with many others but I'm happy he had such a great time.

We both took it easy on Sunday and relaxed and prepared for our flight out Monday morning to Norway for Bar-Code implementation at their location. Another exciting week!!

Me freezing at the sea. It was so windy and cold!!

The dark rain clouds, the big waves and the foam. It was beautiful in its own way.

Peter and I at Studio 80. He liked the hat.

Never a Dull Moment

After Doris and the girls leave, I have about a day's recovery period as I head to the airport Sunday evening to pick up another coworker, Carean, who is flying in from Scotland. Karla is flying out on Monday, June 7^th, and I am supposed to be taking her to the airport first thing Monday morning but one of her other friends said she would take her and since it would save me a bit of stress, I took her up on the offer. I did meet the girls for dinner at Wilma and Albert's and took Karla some of the belongings that got left here by the group. I still managed to forget a few things, so I still have stuff I need to take back for Karla.

With Carean and Javan here, I have done a TON of eating out these last few weeks. After a week of work and no major hang ups, we spend the weekend touring Amsterdam and seeing the Van Gogh museum. I never knew how many different styles he painted and how where he lived affected what he painted. During his time in The Netherlands and Antwerp, things were a lot darker and more traditional. Once he moved to France, it was like someone turned on the lights to his paintings as they became more colorful. He had such a dramatic life filled with so many different events. After the museum, we headed over to the Hard Rock Café for drinks and appetizers in preparation for the big game. USA v. England was coming on later in the evening and we were not going to miss out on that action.

After taking a break for food, Javan and I were exhausted so we decided to use public transportation to get back to the train station and get back to Haarlem before the start of the game. We went to the Whiskey bar in Javan's hotel to catch the game. They had it on the big screen, and we didn't win but didn't lose either and that is what is important.

On Sunday, we were both lazy and decided to take an easy day with nothing planned. We did get out and do a brief little tour of Haarlem, but nothing too exciting. We were preparing for a busy week at work and game planning how we were going to tackle any issues that came up after we turned on the new systems. My last few weeks here are winding down quickly and are full of work. I am glad to be keeping busy and being able to help out and hopefully make these transitions a bit easier, but it is sad because the time is flying by.

Tomorrow morning I fly out to Norway for a few days to help Javan train the new location and prepare for any issues that might come up. On Friday I fly back here and get to spend the weekend packing and spending the weekend with my host parents from Germany. So, as of now, 11 days and counting….

More and More Visitors

So after Tabatha and Boyd flew home on Monday, May 31^st I had 4 days to recover and get my apartment ready Doris and her 2 friends to visit. They arrived on Thursday evening, June 3^rd and we didn't waste any time! We headed out into Haarlem for a brief walk around town so that the girls could get a lay of the land for their excursion to Amsterdam on Friday while I worked. It was so great to catch up with Doris and her friends. Doris and I were the two single gals as Katrin is married and Sabina is engaged. They are both with American soldiers who are currently in Iraq and they found out just before they came that their men were going to be home in 6 weeks which was several months earlier than originally thought. I have known Katrin for many years as she was an exchange student the same time Doris was. She lived in Georgia and her and Doris celebrated their German graduation together and we all went on a trip together. Stories were brought up from that fabulous vacation and we had many more laughs.

The girls had a busy day in Amsterdam on Friday and, from what I hear, did a TON of walking. We met back at my apartment and they took a break and we got ready to go back into the city for an evening out. We walked around Dam square, toured the ever famous red light district and just hung out and enjoyed the atmosphere for a few hours. We caught the last train home at 1:30 am and called it a decently early night. On Saturday I had to head to the airport bright and early to pick up Javan, my coworker. He and I worked pretty closely during my rotation in Houston and I was excited to see him again. He got check into his hotel and had a few hours to take a nap. The girls and I had planned to head to Delft and Den Haag (The Hague) to see the sights and help Annemiek celebrate her birthday. Javan sent me a message and let me know there was no way he was going to make the trip with us, he wanted to keep napping. We completely lucked out and the weather was amazing the entire weekend. So in addition to seeing The Hague, we had to stop by the beach at Scheveningen. We were only there for about an hour, but that was long enough to walk in the sand, take some pictures and eat an ice cream. It isn't a trip to the beach unless there is ice cream!! After we dusted off our feet, we headed to Delft to visit with Mark's family and celebrate Annemiek's birthday. I was a bad attendee, though, because I forgot her gift and it is still sitting on my table. I'll get it sent before I leave this country!! It was so nice to see all of the family - grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We spent the evening talking and visiting the local bars and pubs here in Haarlem. It was great to see Doris again and spend some time with everyone.

They had to leave early Sunday as it is an 8 hour drive (with traffic). From what I heard, it was a decently uneventful drive which is always a great thing. The next time I'll be seeing Doris is for her brother's wedding in September when I make a crazy long weekend trip across the big pond to help her family celebrate the happy event. Until then, we've got to depend on emails!

Amsterdam with Americans

After England, Tabatha, Karla, and Boyd caught a flight to Amsterdam where I picked them up after work and we got to experience Holland. We all went out and about in Haarlem and grabbed a bite to eat at Wilma & Albert’s because they wanted an amazing meal and I had to delivery. Nobody was disappointed. We also got to experience the wine bar at the market as well as the local pubs around here. On Friday, while I worked, Tabatha, Karla and Boyd went to Amsterdam. They did the Heineken experience which is just a blast as well as looking around. We met back up in Haarlem and prepared to experience the nightlife the city has to offer. We ended up at a club around 1am and danced the morning away. Karla looked so much more natural in her original dance atmosphere rather than college night at Goobers. I am glad I got to finally experience that side of the city. I couldn’t live here for 6 months and not go out. We caught the 6am train home and slept a large portion of Saturday away but still managed to go out in the afternoon and enjoy another great meal at Wilma & Albert’s.

On Sunday we drove to Friesland to see where Karla came from. The drive North was very neat and interesting to see how the population gets thinner the farther North we went. We also travelled over the bridge that connects North Holland to Friesland. We met up with some of Karla’s friends from her days before America and went go-kart racing. Mark has always told us about these Dutch go-karts so we had to finally experience them. Karla’s cousin Johann also met up with us. We all met him from back in the day when we drug him to the rodeo in Lovington so it was good to see him again. Him and Karla had a show-down over who was the best driver. I clearly wasn’t, and it also explained a lot about how Karla drives to this day. We left Karla there so she could spend a week with her friends and Tabatha and Boyd had to prepare to fly home the next day. I was so happy to spend time with all of them and to see Karla in her original habitat. We also decided that we will have to make big trips every so often, but hopefully there will be no luggage issues, ash clouds, or airline strikes.

Club Paradisio in Amsterdam

Me and Karla at 6 am on the bus ride home

Karla and I out to dinner

Me and Karla at the club

I have no idea where pictures of Tabatha and Boyd are.....

Cliffs of Dover

Since we had 3 days in England, we decided to take a day trip. I had a book “The 25 Best Day trips from London” so I tossed it to Boyd and let him pick. We all figured he was more of the history person than the rest of us so he could make a good decision. He had a hard time deciding between Battle, where the Battle of Hastings took place and Dover, where the big white chalk cliffs are. It turned out to be a great decision on Boyd’s part.

We jumped a train for about an hour and a half ride down to Dover. We talked to the man on the train selling refreshments and he gave us the hints on where to go. We followed around the city map and went to the tourist information booth and they told us take the bus up to the castle because it is a long walk and when Europeans say that, we listen. After waiting a few minutes and staring into a pretty stream, we caught the bus up to the castle. When we paid the entrance they asked if we wanted to sign up for the War Time Tunnels tour free of charge. We said yes and then set off to explore the castle. The castle was really neat because everything was open. There were no rooms roped off and they had a lot set up like it might have been back in the day. The castle has served a lot of purposes over the year ranging for a place for royalty to stay all the way down to a prison. We also learned why a bathroom is called a W.C. (Water closet) because they kept their clothes where they used the restroom because the ammonia would keep the moths away. I’ve always wondered that, and now I have the answer.

After exploring the castle, and purchasing a bottle of mead, we headed to the tour meeting place to explore the tunnels. The tunnels were expanded and used during WWII and were going to be a backup plan during the Cold War in case nuclear war. Considering the cliffs are chalk, they determined that it wasn’t the best idea due to how porous the rock is. The tunnels were also used as a make shift hospital during the wars and offered suffered condensation buildup that would drip on the control rooms that helped communicate to the rest of the world and run missions for evacuating soldiers from France.

It was a great day exploring another part of England and drinking the mead on the train ride back. It was terribly sweet, but if someone offered me another glass, either iced or warm, I would take it. Room temperature wasn’t the prime drinking temperature. I don’t have any pictures because I let Karla the photographer take the pictures and we haven’t all exchanged pictures yet but trust me, they are great. If you want to know more about Dover, you can click the link HERE.

London with Americans

So, finally updating my blog. London with Tabatha, Karla, and Boyd was crazy fun. We didn’t do a lot of museums, but we did tons of walking and saw all the major sights. We were even sure to ride the London Eye since I didn’t get to do that last time I was in London. My other “to-do” thing was Westminster Abby. The others waited for me outside and I went in alone. I couldn’t take pictures but it was absolutely amazing to see where such great minds were buried such as Geoffrey Chaucer, Shakespear, T. S. Eliot, the Brontë sisters, Jane Austen, Isaac Newton, and Charles Darwin.

Another amazing activity we got to do was go see Phantom of the Opera at the London theater. I saw it in Vegas once upon a time but it was definitely the abridged version. Seeing in London in its original theater was truly amazing and gave us all the chills. Their singing was unbelievable and we all enjoyed it so much. It was funny though, that all of the dancers had burnt chests just like every other citizen of the UK because of the great weather. Good to know they are human too!

Every evening we generally went and got a drink (or two) at a local pub. We always tried to be back by our hotel before midnight for fear of getting stranded when the Tube shut down. It was just enjoyable being able to catch up with the girls (and Boyd) about what has been going on in their lives, reminiscing on old times, and debating our futures. We have all changed so much since graduating college not to long ago, but yet we are all still so much the same. I was so glad to meet up with them in London and be a part of (and reason why) they made the trip over the pond.

Tabatha, Boyd, and I at Leicester Square

Us girls having a drink. So good to be back together.


Outside of the theater after the show

All of the people enjoying the amazing weather at Leicester Square

Job Decision

I will finish blogging about London and my travels soon, I promise! I have had visitors coming and going for 2 weeks now and things are finally starting to calm down. After several days of intense stress, but luckily no tears, I have made my final job decision. I will be starting work July 12 in Shreveport, Louisiana. It was one of the hardest decisions I have made in my life and I know it is the best for my career, but my heart remains in Colorado. One day I'll get back there, I have faith.

London Part 1

I spent Sunday running around London with Lauren. We had to find me a hotel because I didn’t plan ahead on that on that one but we found a Comfort Inn by Kings Cross Station so I ditched my luggage there and we made our way. We went and visited Covent Gardens and grabbed a bite to eat. I worked with Lauren in Houston and hadn’t seen her in 5 months so it was great to catch up with her. We wondered around the city and saw many famous sites and did a ton of walking. When we were sitting down for a “pint” at an outdoor beer garden area we decided we were elegant enough to try and have dinner at the Ivy but we called and couldn’t get reservations. It was a sad moment. We did find, however, in my tour book a recommended Tex-Mex restaurant that was nearby so we decided that is what we needed with a margarita. Their salsa was actually spicy and their food pretty good. Not bad for being so far away from Mexico! After that it was getting late so we headed back to Kings Cross station and Lauren caught her train home and I retreated to my room which was in the back corner of the hotel…through 4 doors, down a few short steps and around a corner. It was interesting. The bed was comfortable and they had breakfast included so there isn’t much more one needs. On Monday I finally met up with Karla, Tabatha, and Boyd and that resulted in tons of fun!

Leicester Square in front of the British National Museum

Lauren and I with the British Cavalry gaurd

Downing Street. Hello Mr. Prime Minister

Big Ben and Parliment

York & Newcastle

After a brief week of working and recovery from Copenhagen and Sweden, I headed off to England on Saturday, May 22. I arrived very early on Saturday morning and caught a train up towards Newcastle which is located in north east England towards the Scottish border. I met a friend and fellow NOV employee from there during a seminar I attended in Houston. We really got along and had a great time and I threatened him that if I was ever in the area I was going to visit. He accepted that threat so I figured I better follow through with it. I bought a book that contained the 25 best day trips from London and York was one of them. York is about an hour south of Newcastle and is a precious town. It still has about 3 miles of medieval walls that line the city as well as small cobble stone streets that wind around the buildings. York has the largest gothic structure in Northern Europe so that was pretty impressive. I didn’t pay to go into the church because I didn’t have the time but it would have been neat. The city’s tourist website can be seen HERE. I did manage to do some shopping while I was there though. That was the most fun! It was just a splendid afternoon. I caught the train around 2:30 and headed into Newcastle to meet up with my friend.

My hotel was located right across the street and conveniently right next door to a Starbucks. I figured what better way to implore American irony than having him meet me there around 5. We walked down to the Quayside (pronounced Keyside) to look at the river and their famous bridges. He gave me a brief history of the area and then we decided to have a beer outside (with ½ of the town) and enjoy the amazing sunny, warm weather. We migrated to a few pubs and just caught up with each other’s lives and discussed a bit work in there. He caught the train home around 9 and I retreated to my room for a restful evening. My room over looked the street and the train station and it was very warm because I could not open my window but other than that, I slept like a baby. I had to catch the morning train at 9:30 to head back to London to meet another friends so I welcomed the early night and a long rest. If you would like to learn more about Newcastle, you can click HERE.

The bridge in Newcastle connecting it to Gateshead. It is a smaller version of the bridge in Sydney, Australia

The cute little streets of York


Inside the church in York. Over 1/2 of all the stained glass in England is in this church

The outside of the church in York

Cute mideval buildings in York

Update

Due to the fact that I am way behind schedule in my blogging, many of the future posts will consist of main highlights. I will still do my best to relay the story and show pictures, but I am going to have to cut down on the details.

I found out that I will for sure be moving back to America at the end of June. I will be working in US Operations, which is similar to my time in Colorado. I still do not yet know for sure where I will be going but the options on the table are: Louisiana; Rifle, Colorado; Odessa, Texas; North Dakota; California (possibly). I am waiting to talk to managers to find out where the greatest need is and then I'll be headed that way after a short visit home. At least I'll be in one location for awhile and can plan a bit!

Stockholm

After jumping on the train in Malmö and traveling through the beautiful Swedish country side that alternated between evergreen trees, lakes, and cute cabin/houses I arrived in Stockholm. My 2nd cousin Melanie met me took me to one of her favorite restaurants for a late dinner. Since I had family in the area, I figured I better take advantage of them while and I could and her and her husband were nice enough to let me stay with them. They have a wonderful place out on an island outside of the city. The island has about 20,000 people total so it is quaint, but large enough. Melanie’s husband also plays in a semi professional soccer league and they had a big game on Saturday with their local rivals. Melanie and I went first to Drottningholm Palace where the royal family lives and took a tour of the beautiful estate. Since they still live there, only a small portion of the palace is open for tours but you may wonder the grounds at will. We got lucky and had great weather so there were people laying out all over with feet in the fountains and boats on the water. There was a yacht pulled up to the dock by the palace so I would guess it belongs to the royal family, but I didn’t stop to ask anyone.

After the palace tour we went to the soccer game where her husband’s team ended up winning. Everyone was in a great mood after that which always makes things more enjoyable. Saturday evening we headed into the city for a walk around Stockholm then eventually dinner at an American favorite, TGIF. On our way though, we...well, more I, saw a beautiful sight. It was a tall, muscular Swedish man lifting heavy building materials at a construction site. He had longish blond hair and was wearing a tank top with perfect jeans and boots. He had the look down. Luckily we got seated outdoors in eye shot of this beautiful creature working. Melanie and her husband had a great laugh over my entertainment with, what we call, “the sexy Swedish Viking man.” After dinner we went out and experienced a bit of the Stockholm night life and had a lot of fun. Those Swedes know how to get down and sing those 80’s songs!

My flight left late Sunday evening so Melanie and I took an enjoyable and slow Sunday. We had some great discussions about politics, history, family, and business. It was also neat because Melanie gave me a run down on the other side (my dad’s side) of my family that I don’t know as much about. We headed into town to do a bit more sightseeing but all we ended up doing was hanging out at the train station drinking wine and having a muffin. The conversation was just too good to pass up and it is always very enjoyable to have an intelligent conversation with friends.

I fly quite a bit, especially with the way my life has been going. I never get lucky. On the flight home I got seated in the exit row AND next to a tall, cute, Dutch banker who was 32. I had more intellectual conversation over politics, history, and books. I felt like I hit the male jackpot over the weekend.

In the city. Stockholm is basically made up of a bunch of small natural and man made islands connected by bridges. Don't fall in!

Melanie and her husband

The view from Melanie's porch. Since we had such great weather, we ate breakfast out here. When they moved in, they had a view clear out to the water. Those pesky neighbors!

Stockholm and the wonderful weather we had

The Royal palace in Stockholm

Malmö

Friday morning I enjoyed sleeping in, again, and didn’t get a very early start. Due to this late start I wasn’t able to go and see any more sights in Copenhagen. There were a few things that I would have liked to have seen but I guess I’ll have to see them next time. When I got to the train station, I had to stand in a line that did not move for my train ticket. I watch all the other lines around me moving quickly and by the time I got the courage to switch lines, that line would have gotten a new influx of other impatient travelers. Usually, whenever I switch lines it seems that one gets stuck for some reason and then my old line moves rapidly. I decided to be patient as I wasn’t technically in a hurry. I bought my train ticket to Malmö from Copenhagen which goes over the Øresund bridge which is the first non water (ferry) connection between Sweden and Denmark. The bridge started construction in 1995 and was finished in 1999 3 months ahead of schedule even though they ran into a few setbacks (finding unexploded WWII bombs on the sea floor and a skewed tunnel segment). You can check out more information on the bridge and see aerial photos of it HERE.

My guide book told me (again) to start with a canal tour and since this one left right across from the train station, that is exactly what I did after stashing my bag in a locker. I am getting pretty good at that now but I did have a few mishaps and lost about $5 due to the machine being mean. I headed over and bought my ticket for the boat but I had about a 20 min wait since I just missed the last one. I walked into the city square and took some pictures and grabbed a warm chi tea because it was FREEZING out. I then headed back to the boat dock and started bundling up and wrapping my scarf for maximum warmth since I knew it was only going to get colder being on the water. The water cruise was a bit over an hour long and like Copenhagen; their harbor area is becoming quite inhabited and new modern housing buildings are being built left and right. Malmö also has a few luxurious gardens, one of which is the King’s Garden that I strolled through. It was a quick few hours there but very enjoyable.

A fountain and pretty flowers in the King's Garden

Cute little houses

These ducks almost attacked me. I reas ready to start kicking but luckily they flew off before things got dirty.

They put cats and fountains on the stairs so that people feel less lonely sitting on them enjoying the river

I had to include a Swedish viking ship

Copenhagen

Well, last Wednesday evening I flew out of Schipol direction Copenhagen for my first trip alone. I have travelled alone but I have always had somebody waiting for me on the other end. This time, I was all on my own. I didn’t arrive in Copenhagen till around 11 pm and I caught the train ticket agent just before they closed. I got situated and hopped on the right train and headed into town. Thinking back, I’m surprised how easy it was. I guess once you figure out these European systems, the rest goes pretty smoothly. I forgot my papers with the map to my hotel but I have a visual of it in my head and I start walking off in the direction I see hordes of drunken teenagers walking. I figured that would be a good sign of the direction of city center, or at least a bar. Thursday, May 13th, was Ascension Day which is a pretty big holiday across Europe I guess everyone was making the most of their day off. My hotel was super easy to find, right on the main square in downtown Copenhagen. I was going to go for a hostel, but I chickened out and after seeing how everyone was partying, I am sort of glad I was able to seclude myself from the masses.

I had big plans for Thursday but really nothing planned. I just wanted to go out and see the city. Well, my plans got delayed a bit by my love for sleep so I took advantage of the free time and slept in. I then enjoyed a not-cheap breakfast and headed out into the city. The book said to take the canal tour first to get situated with the city but I decided to stop by the royal area first. The 3rd major palace is located in the area as well as a few royal museums. Since it was a holiday, most things were closed. I didn’t think about that one. However, in the palace you can go down into the cellar/basement area and see the foundation remains from the 2 previous palaces that were built in the exact same spot. It seems that history repeats itself, though, because they both burnt down due to stove pipes not being cleaned properly and catching on fire.

My guide book recommended a few cafés to take a break at while following their recommended walking tour. I figured, if the book says so, it must be good. It was. I took a break at Cap Horn one of Copenhagen’s first organic restaurants. It is located by the old harbor, Nyhavn, with outdoor seating over looking the water and boats. One of the Danish staples is Smørrebrød and they had a wide variety of them. It means bread and butter which it is usually a piece or dense rye bread with butter and topped with fish or meats. I went for pickled herring, salmon, and roast beef. I had to eat herring once while I was in the area and it was quite delicious. They all were in fact. Since I enjoyed my lunch for 2 hours I ended up taking a late boat tour that was only supposed to last an hour but ended up going for about 1.5 hours. This isn’t usually a big deal but it made me late enough that I wasn’t able to go into anything else because everything was closed. I enjoyed the tour, though, and learned a lot about the city and its history. In the evening, I made my way back to the hotel slowly enjoying the city and an ice cream on the way. For dinner my book recommended visiting Tivoli gardens and a restaurant located in there.

Tivoli gardens are basically a large, classy theme park. They have rides, roller coasters, performing theaters, games, and a wide variety of food establishments ranging from vendor carts to gourmet restaurants. The nice part about going North is that spring is just now arriving and their tulips are just starting to bloom. I loved being surrounded by flowers…again so I had to take plenty of pictures. I decided not to go with the guide book and go with the happening resteraunt which is usually a good sign according to “Restaurant Roulette” and this time it didn’t disappoint. I read my book while having a peaceful dinner glancing up at families with running, screaming kids and thankful I didn’t have to worry about those yet. After dinner I walked through the park and even treated myself to a small Candy Floss (cotton candy) because I hadn’t had any in YEARS and I figured I was in the right place for it. I also remember why I probably won’t have any again for another several years. The sticky fingers just aren’t worth it! I have included more than enough pictures and I hope they aren’t boring. Tomorrow, my trip to Sweden!!

This is the town hall with a world clock inside that has 14,000 moving parts displayed between a double sided glass case. It was closed though, so I didn't witness it.

The 3rd of the Copenghagen palaces, of which the ruins from the first 2 are located underneath it

The royal library

Nyhavn

Nyhavn

This is the only picture I have of me in Copenhagen (the downside to travelling alone) so I thought I would include it as proof. I feel like it makes me look old and displays my future crows feet. I need to invest in some of that anti wrinkle cream!

The old harbor was historically industrial and the city is trying to make it into the new, hip area. Many modern buildings are being built, including this one, the new theater.

This used to be the largest ship building factory in Denmark. Now, it is modern apartments

These used to be cannon boat houses. Since the slope towards the water, the cannons could easily be rolled out onto boats and ships quickly if needed. Now, they are offices, meeting rooms and apartments.

Amalienborg, the queen's residence. I think the name correlation means something

The inside area of palace area

A building in Tivoli park. During my visit there, I got to watch a pantomime performance about arranged marriages and giving your first born child to the devil. Quite interesting

Couldn't skip the flowers

The roller coaster and chinese house in Tivoli. Also, bumper boats. They didn't look like much fun since one could probably row faster than they moved.

More pretty flowers :)

The main characters from the most famous Danish author, Hans Christian Anderson. I even bought one of his books there containing his 14 most famous stories including the Little Mermaid, the Ugly Duckling, and The Emporer's New Clothes. I didn't get to see the little mermaid sitting on the habor shores because she was in China at the Danish World Expo exhibit. I am still a bit dissapointed

Joe & The Juice have the right idea. I don't know if you can read, but some of the juices have interesting names. One way to sell your product!

I definitely couldn't miss taking a picture of a pink tulip!!