Thursday, March 11, 2010

Eerste dag in Nederland.

Welkom bij Shoobs Boobs in Nederland!

With that begins all my blogging from NL, hopefully it'll be just as interesting and full of musings and rants as the posts from KL :P

As I sit here in the cold room (but not so cold because the heating is on), I'm feeling happy that I've already taken my shower - the worst part of the day. I always have to prepare my mind for it, get it into the mindset and use all my willpower to force myself into the cold cold room.

I think I got some water in my left ear :(

Before I left KL, I asked Yelleh Belleh to show me how her driving skills had improved from the last few shriek-worthy snail-paced moments from months ago.


It was much, much better than before, but still needs some improvement. Good luck with yer exam at the end of March!!

And last Sunday was the last Sunday Dinner I'm gonna have with Dad and the circus until the next time I'm back in KL - which is probably at the end of the year. Kinda sad :(


So I took some photos to remember this dinner scene.

Leaving Malaysia was really hard. Not only because I really love living there, but also thinking of how the people I've left are feeling really affects me. At the airport, I just remained businesslike and tried not to think about me actually leaving for a long period of time.


Till now, I still don't feel like I've really left Malaysia. I think I'll always call that home, and I really hope to eventually go back. True Malaysian at heart!

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The flight to NL was alright. Coulda been better without the two shrieking babies and if the inflight entertainment system hadn't been down for the first 10 hours. But at least it helped me sleep instead of stay up to watch Up In The Air. Got a nice neckache out of the experience of sleeping on a plane. Why can't it ever be enjoyable? Buck up, aviation industry!

As usual, I was dreading passport control and customs. For the past few years, every single time I went overseas, they'd demand to see into all my bags. I dunno what it is about me that looks so suspicious?!

And I hate passport control because they're so freaking rude and power-obsessed.

This time I got a guy.

Me: Good morning!
Him (flipping through my passport): Where are you going.
Me: Rotterdam.
Him: What are you going for.
Me: To pick up my permit?
Him (finds my MVV sticker, shuts up, stamps it and just hands it back in silence)
Me: Thank you.

Rude! Rude! Rude!

But I love this MVV sticker! It's like some free pass. Only took me 10 seconds to get through, without having to answer questions like how much money did you bring, is that enough to live on, etc etc etc.

Then I head to the Baggage Hall, and wonderfully, my box and pink luggage appear within only 10 minutes of waiting. 10 bags later, my black luggage appears. I actually nearly miss it because the two sides with red ribbon tied on were hidden from me. I just happened to be staring at the bag until it passed me and I saw a bit of red underneath. Ran past about twenty people and yanked it off. Phew!

Everything safe and sound, I pushed the trolley to Customs, prepared to look straight ahead because every time I look at them (or even not), they tend to stop me. Unfortunately, this method didn't work because I couldn't figure out if I was supposed to walk straight or turn right. So I stopped, and caught the guy's eye and asked which way to go. He just pointed straight and I walked out!

Talk about smooth, man... it only took me probably 20 minutes from airplane to Arrivals hall.

Oh man, but the walk from the plane to the airport in that tunnel, where it was -2C outside, was seriously friggin cold! I almost wanted to start chattering by the time I reached the end, as I was only wearing one sweater.

Anyway, I got into the Arrivals hall, and saw Schrobbenmaster waving with a big smile on his face. What a nice greeting! I say Hi, and his dad appears as well and we greet each other.

They then warn me about how cold it is outside, so I unlock my hand luggage to remove the big heavy Zara coat that Mumsy Bumsy gave me for my birthday. Then we head towards the car park. Wow, outside it was so cold that even breathing out through my nose produced loads of "smoke".

Loaded the bags, got into the car and made our way back to Rotterdam, once in a while braving a bout of rush hour traffic or two.


First views of NL as an almost-resident.


The Fyra - high-speed train.

Once home, I took a shower and got ready for some rest. I had some clothes left from last year, and was hoping to use those, but in the end I had to unlock and rummage through all my bags anyway for toiletries :( Found a broken bottle which messed up my toiletries box, but nothing else much worse than a broken photo frame of an artwork I bought off Etsy.


Oh, before resting, I had to take care of the "Welkom thuis" roses Papa Bert gifted me as well as the spring flower plant from Schrobbenmaster.


Really pretty, huh?

After my rest, Schrobbenmaster and I headed out for lunch and some home shopping.


Dropped by the floor and curtain shop. So exciting to get new flooring! It dramatically changes a home, just like a simple thing as paint can.


After such domesticated shopping, we headed into the city to look for a beanie for me. My ears really suffer when it's windy out, so I need something protective.


I have GOTS to remind Schrobbenmaster not to take photos of me from his height. Makes me look  stunted!

Isn't that a lovely coat, btw? Thanks a bunch, Mumsy Bumsy! It's really, really useful!

Anyway, no luck with the beanie. Will try again this weekend.

Back home, Schrobbenmaster tinkered a bit more with our new projector so that we could watch movies and TV shows in comfort.


Can't really see here because the screen is too bright for my phone camera, but the screen is actually quite big, maybe about 5 feet wide? He was trying to get the sound to work via the speakers...


... while I was catching up on tweets. I dunno why I keep doing it still. Most of the 27 people I'm following have really dull and sometimes annoying tweets. I even removed one more yesterday because of his arrogant and cocky tweets.

frachely, of course, has very interesting tweets :P

I really need to find more interesting people to follow.

Besides tweeting, I also looked out the window.


And then we had homemade burgers for dinner, cleaned up, and I crashed into bed for a good night's sleep, filled with intensely vivid dreams.

6 comments:

Rik van der Kroon said...

Does that mean I see you stunted as well?

Btw, wasn't fixing the sound but tinkering with the resolution.

siedne said...

I so get what you mean about taking a shower when it's cold! I literally have to drag my feet and psych myself up too.

And I have that same Zara coat! Given to me by my aunt. Why is it that this coat is destined to be given by a loved one? :p

shoobaba said...

Rik: Better get it fixed asap! Movies await!

siedne: I actually really like your tweets as well!

schola said...

Oh how time flies... before i remembered, you're already in NL! man .... u take good care of yourself girl ..keep blogging

frachely said...

are you saying that because I'm one of your loyal blog reader? haha

hate taking showers during winter!

shoobaba said...

frachely:
that IS the reason i put it up on purpose, but i really did mean it! it's so i don't get a comment going...

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frachely said...
are you saying my tweets are boring!!!
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