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.

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.....

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

Koninginnenacht

I’ve been wanting to do something outside of my apartment and start some sort of Dutch socialization process and I decided on yoga. Last night was my first class. I found a studio right across the canal from my apartment, not even a 5 minute walk. It was really nice. There are lots of young people who were there and the instructor was nice too. She said everything in Dutch though so I was a bit lost, but I just followed everyone else and it wasn’t too bad. I plan on going back, and hopefully continue 2x a week until I move home. We’ll see how that works. I am a bit sore today. Nothing major, but I can feel a few select muscles. I consider that a good thing.

Tonight is Queen’s night or koninginnenacht as the Dutch say it. It is the start of the celebration for the Queen’s birthday. It is actually the date of her Mom’s birthday since the weather tends to be better on April 30 compared to January 31, her actual birthday. This celebration continues right on through till tomorrow night. I am planning on going out tonight, alone, for the first time EVER. I have never been out to a bar or party or anything of the sorts totally alone. I have met people there but this time I am flying solo. The guys at work have given me all sorts of advice and tips, only half of which I feel safe listening to. The other half I would have been better off never hearing. I did make two of them in charge though. One is responsible if anything should happen to me, and the other is responsible for searching for me if I don’t show up to work on Monday. I should survive, but you never know.

Tomorrow, Queen’s day or Koninginnedag, I am headed to Amsterdam to see what the party there is like. It is going to be wild. They say over a million people come out and celebrate in the city. There aren’t even that many full time residents! I am meeting a few people from work who reluctantly agreed to be my friends. I still don’t own any orange, which is a prerequisite to wear but I figured I can buy a big silly hat on the street or something. I’ll manage one way or another. The weather isn’t supposed to be that great though, rain in the mornings and a high of 59. Oh well, maybe there will be less crowds? I doubt it. I will keep you posted about the crazy antics of Dutch partying. Hope I live through it!!!

Hump Day

Today is Wednesday and the big move day. Well, the start of it anyways. All empty desks and computer are to be taken out of the office and to the warehouse or upstairs so that we can prepare for the floor lifting. All cabinets need to be emptied out so that they can be carted out with the pallet jack and dolly. Now, the rest of the office seems to grasp this. The little office Kelly and I sit in, has had no sense of moving. Not even a single binder removed from the shelves and put in a labeled box. I guess they’re not worried.

My birthday is in 2 weeks and 1 day. Now, I realize most people don’t mention their birthdays at all but usually, I celebrate it. Shout it from the mountains, celebrate. Last year I took over poor Ron’s calendar and made a big countdown followed by happy balloons and martini glasses drawn on the magical day of April 1. Since this calendar hung behind the counter, all customers saw it as well. I think anyone remotely involved with me on any level knew about my upcoming birthday. I was so excited. It’s my day!! My one day!! Everyone I worked with even surprised me a cake and ice cream. They used to celebrate birthdays but stopped then made an exception just for me. It was a great day!!! We won’t get into all of the jokes everyone played on me that day also. It just goes with the territory of having your birthday on April Fool’s Day.

But this year, I’m not as excited. My friends aren’t as close by. Tabatha (whose birthday is 2 days after mine) isn’t even all that excited. When the pond splits the fun duo it is just less fun (and tax season, that’s always a dampener for an accountant). I’m not sure how many people here even know my birthday is coming up. I am also perplexed by the traditions here. Another lady at work had her birthday not too long ago and there was tart, which was fantastic. But did she bring her own tart? I think so. That’s fine; I just have no idea where to get amazing tart from. I could probably ask, but I just don’t have that fun, close personal relationship with people here. Not like the ones I made the people of Colorado develop with me. It’s alright though, you can’t win them all.

It is a real possibility, though, that I will be heading to Barcelona on the first or second depending on how airfare goes. So, celebrating my 24th birthday in Barcelona isn’t really a reason to be sad and depressed about the lack of total excitement for my birthday. It’s actually a reason to start celebrating! Kelly and I are both dying to go, but for some reason neither of us can get really PUMPED about it and book it. We also need a European mailing address to be able to buy cheap tickets online, so it’s dependent on the bank account I’m opening tomorrow. Hopefully, we’ll get it booked this weekend or next week and be able to blog about an amazing 4 days there and now how we got robbed. That’s our other concern.

Time to get moving…it appears this mission is in full force with the rest of the office. I guess I should try and help somewhere!

Party Time!

I survived my first Dutch party! Around midnight Erik and I head out to this party at another fraternity house. Rumor had it that it was “sold out” but someone also said this is usually the rumor with their parties, but it is not normally the case. We jump on the subway and then Erik’s friend gets on at the next stop. I feel like I can survive the night hanging out with 2 local guys. I don’t think they’ll let me get lost and die. We ride to our final destination then enjoy a short walk in the cold, fresh air to the house. There is a line outside with everyone standing around in their t-shirts. Apparently, there isn’t room for the coat check inside the house, so they have a container sitting on the road where you drop your coat off then have to wait in the line freezing while they check our IDs. We do as we are told and I give Erik my coat and find us a place in line while he checks our jackets. On the walk to the party Erik’s friend (we are going to call him Niels. That isn’t his real name, but that is what I heard the first time Erik introduced him to me, so that is what stuck in my mind) was telling me how he lost/someone stole his jacket at the bar a few nights ago. It is one thing to lose your jacket, but quite another to have to walk home in winter in the dark with no jacket. We were discussing how horrible of a situation it was and how I never want to experience it.

Well, we check our coats and I have this disappearing coat story in the back of my mind. So we give the bouncer guys our IDs and he lets Erik and "Niels" in and stops me. I try to plead with him to let me in because I’m 1) cold 2) will be left 3) will get lost 4) might cry but none of the reasons are good enough for him. So I stand in the cold, alone. He reassured me they would wait for me, but boys will be boys and I have been left before. Sure enough though, they waited for me like nice gentlemen. Thankfully! The Dutch fraternity bouncer guys are not as easily persuaded as an American boy. At this party, you give your money to a desk in the front and then they give you little green chips. Each chip is worth 1 Euro. Makes it easier, that way the bar tenders don’t have to deal with change and things go faster (in theory). We make our way into the first room and upon opening the doors I am met with loud remixed music. Now, it was quite as techno bad as I was expecting, but it wasn’t like an American party. It was definitely the dance mix version, being mixed by the DJ. What are the odds? I know, it’s amazing. We find the bar and get our first drink. They are serving none other than….Heineken. Smiling “e” cups and all! I do believe the beer tasted better when it was free though. I guess that’s how it always is though, right?

Well I decided I need to take some pictures with the boys to commemorate the evening, especially at the beginning. It is always safer that way. However, Erik wasn’t very corporative. He didn’t want the picture on the blog, but since I don’t have any others of him, I’m left with this.

This is "Niels." He was a bit more corporative but I won't say either picture would fall into "Best Picture Ever" category. But they are both tall and that makes me happy!

After a few hours, the party starts to clear out. It is now around 3am which, in my mind was still early because I was preparing myself for a 6am “bed time.” We have to wait for “Niels” to finish his cigarette then we were going to head out. The Netherlands instituted a rule that you can’t smoke just anywhere. There has to be a separate smoking area/section which makes it so nice because you can go out and don’t come home smelling like an ash tray! Now, you still stink but it is not as bad. Pick your battles!

So we head out into the coldness and Erik gives the coat check people our jacket numbers and we wait for our jackets. They bring his. They can’t find mine. I have the story of poor “Niels” losing his jacket running through my mind. I don’t know about other people, but I like my jackets. All of them. I don’t wear things I don’t like and being a jacket, they are generally not always the cheapest item of clothing I buy. They keep looking and ask me to describe it. Well, it’s a black pea coat just like the other 75% of jackets in there. Not so helpful. They ask me the brand. Still can’t find it. So then they invite me back there to look. I start rummaging through all of the jackets, freezing. I wanted to find MY jacket. They assured me that if we can’t find it, they would give me money for it. I appreciated the offer, but I wanted MY jacket. It also had my pink scarf tucked into the sleeve. They are just material things, but I have grown fond of them! I start to panic. Then finally…..I find it! I was so relieved!!!!!! I couldn’t wait to get it on, I was so cold!

After I get the jacket incident handled, the three of us jump in a cab and head back to Erik’s apartment. We grab a doner for our “midnight” snack and start eating. It was soooo tasty!!! I love those things, but after Kelly’s food poisoning incident she hasn’t exactly jumped on the band wagon to eat them again. I don’t blame her one bit, but I still miss them. This one was good too. It was nice and spicy! We make our way upstairs and all find our designated crash spots and pass out. Poor “Niels” got stuck on the tiny loveseat couch using Erik’s robe as a blanket. I had the futon and Erik got his bed. At one point I had to use the restroom in the middle of the night and I couldn’t get out of the door. I was locked in!!!!! After a slight freak out moment I woke poor Erik up and had him open the door for me. Apparently, the door knob had moved to the other side of the door. Who does that? I’m sure the alcohol consumption didn’t help either, but still! The door knob was on the wrong side!

Now, no fraternity house I have ever been to has been clean, and this one was no exception. The only difference was that there were girls who lived there. I would have thought they would regulate on the dirty stair ways and trash in common areas. They apparently don’t. And I also now know why there are mice. Good thing I visited “out” of mouse season.

I told Erik he had to give me a tour of Rotterdam on Saturday so we all had to rest up to prepare for our walking journey around the city.

Oh No.....

I’m in the process of getting sick, and fighting it. I hope I curb this with my planned mass amounts of hot tea drinking and Emergen-C consumption. I will be miserable if I don’t. I also know why this all started….

I had planned to go visit Erik on Friday. I hadn’t heard from him for a few days and was a bit worried about our plans. He ended up emailing and he told me he would be in Delft till about 10:30 pm so I should just go hang out with his family until then. I love his family and I didn’t see anything wrong with that suggestion but it was just so late! My parents hardly stay up past 8! I call their house and get the youngest daughter on the phone and she tells me to come around 8 or 8:15 pm. I still think its super late to be showing up but she assured me it’s Dutch and I shouldn’t worry. I say OK! Erik had emailed me instructions on how to get to his parents house from the train station. This thought was overwhelming but I figured I’d give it a shot!

I took the bus for the first time in Haarlem to the bus station. It was raining and I had a big bag with me. Lazy won out. But the bright side, I figured out how to use the bus in Haarlem!! Not so difficult, but still, the ice has been broken! So I jump on the train down to Delft and sit back and enjoy the 40 minutes that I have. I thought I had synced my Ipod so I could watch my show, but it didn’t work so I read my book instead. I have started reading “The Blind Side.” While I’m not generally one for football books, I really like it. I get lost in the football talk but I like the characters and the story behind it.

Anyways, I get off in Delft and follow the signs to the new bus station and jump on the bus that Erik says. I look at the bus driver a little lost, I tell him where I need to go, he confirms that stop is on his route and I pay the €1.30 and sit down. A few stops later, I get off the bus. I was a bit worried about how I was going to find my way from the bus stop to their house, but Gina (Mark and Erik’s mom) was waiting for me. I was so HAPPY to see her!! I was so proud of myself for getting there totally Dutch style too. Full use of the public transportation system! She led me back to their house where I settled in for a few hours to wait for Erik. It was so nice to spend time talking with their family (and their American exchange student). She performed Lady GaGa at the school’s talent show and they had filmed it. I was super impressed!! She is really good! And it took a lot of guts to get up there and perform. I never would have! Americans are quite competitive so my first question was “Did you win?” I was informed it wasn’t a competition; it was just for fun for the students. What is funny, when Mark called later that was his first question as well. Apparently America is rubbing off on him also!

Ton, the father and husband of the family, is really good at finding cheap air fare. Kelly and I have a few trips up our sleeves and I started talking to him about them and he started looking online. I had ran into an issue when I was looking because I couldn’t book them on a budget European site because I don’t have a European billing address for my credit card. This is just another issue that I have with the Dutch monetary system. I ended up not booking anything yet because I have to verify my holidays but I do think I’m going to try and open a bank account today after work. Maybe tomorrow, we’ll see how the weather is. It snowed again last night so we are back to white.

Another issue with this credit card/chip card thing is the OV chip card. This OV card is for use on subways, busses, trams, and all other public transportation systems in Holland. Basically, you scan your card when you get on public transit vehicle and then it charges you €4. You scan it again when you get off at your destination and it credits you back the difference of your travels. Pretty handy, right? Now I’ve seen signs for this card but have no idea how to get one. I even asked the train station lady and she didn’t really know either. I asked Erik, he knew! So that was his mission, to help me get an OV Chip card. The downfall, I can refill it unless I have a bank chip card. Another reason I need a local bank account, the stupid chip card!

So anyways, at about 11 pm Erik and I headed off towards Rotterdam. His parents were perfectly fine staying up so late. I guess it really is Dutch style. Ton took us to the train station where we intercepted the train and took the 20 minutes (or somewhere around there) down to Rotterdam. Erik’s fraternity house is only about 10 minutes from the train station but it was kind of drizzling and ruining my cute “party hair.” It was my first Dutch party; I had to have cute hair! We arrive at his fraternity where they are having a bit of social hour and I get to meet a few of the other members. I found the cute, tall Dutch guys!!! They are still in college…and not living in Haarlem! Dang. But at least I know they’re out there.

After I drop my stuff off in his room, and he promises me the mice won’t get it, we head out for the evening. You will have to tune in tomorrow to find out how it went!