Celebrate the summer, 2013

The weather has been so grey and pressing this whole week that I've been quite down in the dumps and just not in the mood for working. That's the great freedom of being a freelancer, isn't it? If I have to stress about getting new projects every month, I should be able to reward myself with some down time if I need it.

Anyway, I wasn't in the mood for work, but more specifically, it was design I wasn't in the mood for. So I decided to get started on the latest project for my webshop, my Summer Recipes series. It's a series that I can finally use my lovely typewriter for.

So I got started on some layouts and sketches for the first in the series, but then a friend's birthday gathering came up yesterday evening and we needed a birthday card to go with the present. As with all financially-challenged artists, when you don't want to spend on a card, well, you just make one yourself! And it usually turns out better than a store-bought card anyway. Just depends if the recipient knows how to truly appreciate a piece of art...

This friend's birthday is in the summer, so we decided to get her a summer-themed present and card. I drew a beach scene with all the typical girl's beach essentials, and wrote the message: "There is only one thing missing..." And she would then open the present and find a beach blanket!

I hope she likes both presents, because, really, a piece of artwork that I spent more time on than the actual shopping, is pretty much a present on its own, isn't it?

Because I liked the theme so much, I decided to reproduce it as a watercolour print, which is now available in my webshop. I repainted the card in stronger colours and I think this second version is an improvement. You can pick any message you like for in the balloon, as long as it fits ;)

A weekend with Rotterdam Unlimited

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*ringggg* *ringggg* (By the way, which phone goes ring ring anymore? Our children will never know what it means when we imitate the sound of a telephone ringing)

Hello, summer?
Are you there?
You're kinda late, and it's not polite.

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Last weekend was Rotterdam Unlimited, a weekend of carnivals, festivities, food and concerts.

Sounds good, right? Until you remember that the problem is in the name itself: Rotterdam. This means that it's not typically Dutch or typically anything, except a mix of classless people. I'm sorry if I'm offending anyone, but I was on Coolsingel on Sunday afternoon, and just walking down it really got my spirits down. All the rubbish on the road, the bad smells, the weird people (and not in a good way, believe me, I like weird people, but there can be a negative side to it) and the bad music got me down.

Perhaps it was better on Saturday? I certainly hope so. Although I did walk down Westblaak and around Eendrachtsplein, and I think all the (okay okay I'm just gonna say it) low-class people had crawled out of the woodwork. Call me a snob if you want, and I already feel guilty enough admitting this, but seriously, last weekend Rotterdam was like just hanging out in the ghettos of KL. Except I would say that it was safer, security-wise. That's one positive!

Apart from the festival, I had a great weekend. I practised my piano - at the moment, I'm trying to master La Valse d'Amélie and one of Schubert's works which I never can remember the name of - and I took some time out to watch a Hitchcock film on the beamer in the bedroom.

Schubert and me.

Strangers on a Train.

I also have a free desktop wallpaper available on my webshop. It's an original illustration by yours truly, and made into a desktop wallpaper to thank everyone who has supported me in my hobby. Grab it here: http://goodputty.tictail.com/

BBQ at Het Park and performing at Theater Zuidplein

While we are awaiting the real spring/summer to arrive, we are just itching to get out and enjoy what sun we can get. So last weekend, we arranged a picnic BBQ at Het Park.

On the day of the picnic, we awoke to cloudy skies and chilly winds. But did that dampen our spirits? Kinda. But we kept the faith! And while we were rewarded with sun eventually, it was the first time I've sat on a picnic blanket with a coat on ;)

Photos courtesy of Riri P.

We, as a group, are so unused to having picnics that we forgot so many basic things like moist wipes and... some other things which I can't remember now. Well, it takes practice!

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Now, for something else more personal.

On 1 and 2 June, I performed onstage in a real theatre for the very first time! Okay, I was onstage before at the Actors Studio in Bangsar about six years ago, but that was pretty silly stuff. Both times were for my ballet school, but at my first performance, I had only had three years of ballet under my belt, so I hardly could perform in a proper choreography. So all I did was run about the stage pretending to be graceful.

But this year, I was in a proper big auditorium in Theater Zuidplein, performing in my ballet school's Les Arts & La Danse, a dance show with choreography inspired by famous artwork. I danced two pieces - Les Sylphides and Das Triadischen Ballet - one classical ballet and the other en pointe.

Julien B recorded a short clip of my dance from his seat at the balcony. It's surprisingly good! I had such low expectations of our performance, haha.

Before both performances, I was impossibly nervous because all my friends were attending. But I managed to push out a smile for this backstage pic with my fellow dancers.

Anyway, despite all the nervousness and tiredness by the end of the weekend, it was a fantastic experience and I wouldn't mind doing it again :)

REVIEW: Stroom Rotterdam

Yesterday, March 7, was mine and Rik's third year anniversary. We usually don't celebrate it because we always forget about it until it's past, but somehow we remembered it this year. So we decided to use Rik's Bongo that he got for his birthday, which offered a main dish for free at any of the participating restaurants. There were only 5 in Rotterdam, so we chose Stroom, who said that they were the hippest lifestyle hotel/restaurant in the country.

Well, when I read that description, I was already scoffing, because no one says that about themselves and is actually telling the truth. But, everyone and everything deserves a chance to prove itself.

True enough though, when we pulled up in front of the restaurant, the logo looked like it was made for an electrical appliance shop - so Stroom means electric, and the building is an old electric company or factory, but it doesn't mean that an electrical shop logo will fit a "hip lifestyle restaurant".

Even worse, the interior felt to me like a cafeteria, and not the hip, artistic type cafeteria. It really felt like a cafeteria on the ground floor of an office building, with all the echos and the cheap furnishings. I should add that Rik actually didn't have the same impression at all as I did, so don't take my word on this.


What we did both agree on though, was that the service was pretty much "meh". Sure, the waitress came without having to be called, and she knew what the dishes were like, but there wasn't much friendliness or "hipness" about it. Oh, I should also mention that Stroom says that they are inspired by the Australian social dining experience. Well, I have been to Australia about ten times now, usually to Melbourne and Sydney, and I wasn't reminded of it at all while I was at Stroom.

Anyway, the service wasn't outstanding but it wasn't abysmal. What was really disappointing was the food on offer. Our Bongo said we were entitled to one main dish each. So the waitress told us that it could be either a fish with potatoes, or Chinese chicken. And if we wanted to order something from the menu, it would cost us an additional € 5 per dish. So we looked at the menu to see if there was something more interesting... but there wasn't. In fact, there were only around 5 items of € 25 and 5 of € 15 to choose from. Our Bongo was worth € 17,50 per person, so of course we weren't going to order a € 15 + € 5 (of our own money) dish with it. Effectively, there were only 2 dishes we could choose from for "free" or 5 dishes at € 30. Which is a lot of money for eating in a cafeteria with cheap furnishings.

So I ordered the fish and Rik ordered the Chinese chicken. He asked the waitress if it came with rice; which Chinese dish just comes with meat alone, right? And she said, no it doesn't come with rice, it comes with fries.

Yup, fries.

When the dishes came, they even looked like cafeteria food. I really couldn't believe that a restaurant which charges € 25 for main dishes and € 7 for plain soups could have this standard of food presentation. It looked terribly weird to see pieces of chicken in black sauce and vegetables just sitting smack in the middle of a large plate. Something was missing. Oh yes, the rice.

My fish dish came with potatoes and celery, all chopped up and poured onto my plate like I was eating a children's meal that was already cut up and mixed together by my dad. Did they think that I didn't know how to use a fork and knife? Come on, no self-respecting restaurant serves a meal of fish, potatoes and vegetables all pre-cut into pieces and pre-mixed on the plate.

At least the restaurant was quiet enough to chat and have a nice time dining. If you can ignore the cheap surroundings and the disappointing food (Rik was even still hungry after the meal) that's overpriced, then you may find it alright. But I really would advise against it. If you want similar fusion food with great service and at the same price level, I would recommend Citroen on Kop van Zuid, a small and cosy restaurant with great atmosphere, upbeat waitresses and delicious food.

Spray painting glass jars

Anyone who knows me well will know that I've always been into recycling and I can't stand the thought of throwing something perfectly good and useful away. I used to have boxes and boxes of still-useable paper for me to sketch or scribble on the back. The unfortunate thing was that I received so much more useless paper in the mail or from other people than I could use up, hence the boxes and boxes.

Since I moved to The Netherlands and started cooking, I've found myself with not only scrap paper to use up, but glass jars from sauces and vegetables. After washing and removing the labels, most of them are still good to reuse. So now I have a box of reusable glass jars without a use for them.

Then I saw photos of beautifully-painted glass jars on Pinterest, and I looked for tutorials on how to recreate those looks. Some blogs say to use acrylic paint but when I saw one which said spray paint was quicker, I jumped at that. Because I already had the perfect shade of pink spray paint that I'd bought years ago for my bike, and because I didn't have any acrylic paint to hand.

So last weekend, I attempted my first painted glass jar. Since I have about 30 jars, I can't possibly use them all myself, so I thought that if successful, I'd put them up for sale during Queensday for 50 cents or 1 euro each. Just so they wouldn't go to waste!

Apparently, spray paint on glass takes ages to dry, so I still don't have a final version to show. And I don't even know if it looks good as I haven't unwrapped the plastic around the jar in case I peel off some of the paint by accident.

So check back for the final result... hopefully it's worked!

Registering a business at the KvK

This morning, I woke up early to finally register Goodputty as a business in The Netherlands. It's a super simple and painless process, and that's really impressive. When I registered Goodputty in Malaysia six years ago, there was a lot of waiting and scammers waiting at the offices to try to get you to pay them to register for you, but luckily there were also official signboards warning you about them. Still, I'm sure not everyone is as observant as I am when it comes to these things, so the scammers probably get a pretty decent wage from this.

Anyway, here's what you need to do to register at the KvK (Kamer van Koophandel).

What you need:
A valid identity document.

I would have used my Dutch ID, but as that got pickpocketed in Germany and I haven't received a replacement, I emailed the KvK in Rotterdam (you have to direct all your enquiries to your local KvK) to ask if I could use my Malaysian passport instead. They said yes. Basically, all you need is a valid passport or driving license, and you have to be registered with your local city hall and have your information listed in the GBA so that the KvK can refer to this. The KvK can retrieve this information through the system, so don't worry about getting a printed GBA from the city hall.

What you can do to save time:
Go online to kvk.nl and find the link to register as whatever you want to be. In my case, it was a one-person company (eenmanszaak). Once you're there, look for the digital form to register. This goes straight through to them, and then you don't have to sit at the desk at the KvK and fill it in in front of the staff. The digital form asks for all your personal and company details. It also allows you to register at the tax department immediately for a BTW number, which is very handy.

After you've finished filling in the form, depending on your location, you must either make an appointment at the KvK or you can just drop by. In my case, I'm super fortunate because the KvK branch at Rotterdam Blaak is the walk-in kind. It's even just around the corner from where I live! The office is the busiest between 12pm and 2pm, so if you can only make it at those times, do make an appointment. I decided to go first thing in the morning, so that I wouldn't have to wait long.

The process at KvK:
I arrived at KvK at 9.30am and felt a little lost at first because the reception area is circular and the sign which says "Receptie" is blocked by other little signs saying "alleen pinnen", "pinnen en contant", etc. So I initially thought that it was just the cashier's counter. Plus, the lady behind the counter was busily typing in her computer and I thought I just had to walk straight in. But she was actually the receptionist; and as with most businesses here, the receptionist is the biggest and most annoying obstacle to any visit. I had to wait while she finished typing, and then I received a cold and regal smile asking what my purpose there was. I only managed to say "I would like to register as..." before she went "Okay" and tapped on her keyboard. I received a waiting card and was asked to wait at the waiting area behind.

There were only two other men there, and about 6 counters open so far as I could see. So that was good news. I sat for about 3 minutes before a man came over to introduce himself. Very quick and efficient! So far so good.

I told the gentleman what I was registering as, and gave him my passport. He took it to scan and verify - they seem to have some software or machine that instantly retrieves all the information based on your scanned document, which I think is really cool - and everything checked out. Then, as I had already filled in the digital form the day before, all we had to do was double check the details and fill in a few more details like codes for the type of business, which is only available in the KvK system.

After just 15 minutes, more or less, he was sending all the information to print and I was registered at the tax department as well. Very, very impressed.

The tax department:
You receive a BTW number, but it's only temporary until you receive a letter of confirmation from the tax department in about a week. You can then officially invoice your customers with this BTW number.

Fees:
Per 1 January 2013, the KvK does not charge business owners an annual fee.

Bank account:
If you want to open a bank account specially for your business, you'll need to order an 'uittreksel' that declares you to be a legitimate business owner. This costs a whopping € 11. But worth it for your peace of mind and that of your bookkeeper ;)

And voila! You're registered! Congratulations!

Pilkington's in Den Bosch

We had a belated Valentine's Day this year. To celebrate, we took a day trip to Den Bosch, one and a half hour's train ride from Rotterdam. I didn't know what to expect at all, so as always, that's the best way to be impressed.

Den Bosch is a very pretty town with a nice town centre with all the shops and cafes clustered in one area. The perfect structure for a tourist.

The most famous landmark in Den Bosch is the St John's Cathedral, the most outstanding Catholic cathedral built in the gothic style in South Holland. It sure didn't disappoint! I snapped many photos with my phone, but unfortunately, after taking a series of action shots of Rik jumping down huge ledges by a piece of water, my phone decided to reset itself once again.

The only photos I have are the ones I sent my mum and sister to make them jealous of us being in Den Bosch, hahaha. Sometimes jealousy is useful! So all I can do now is to write about Pilkington's, the English tearoom (although it calls itself a restaurant) we stumbled upon right next to the cathedral.

Very popular place, so I'd recommend making a reservation. We were lucky that the couple by the window were just leaving when we entered. In fact, that was even the best table in the restaurant. You have a view of the cathedral, and it's much quieter and more spacious than towards the back, where you have a nice view of the garden, but it's much busier and cramped.

My cream tea consisted of two scones and a pot of tea, and cost a reasonable € 6,50. Very pleased with that! I don't think I would've enjoyed it as much if it were more expensive.

If I ever go back to Den Bosch, I'm pretty sure I'd like to go back again :)

PHOTOS: Cologne, April 2012

I recently shifted back to my trusty iMac 24". It's been with me ever since I started Goodputty in 2007 and it's as awesome as ever. Even better than the lousy Mac Mini that I brought home from work that's, what, only 3 years old?

I had put aside the iMac since July, that is, since I started working from home for MERX and they provided me with the Mac Mini. And now that I no longer work there, I'm back to the iMac. Hence the discovery of old photos and things that I'd been hoarding before.

Among them, I discovered the photos from Cologne, Germany, from when Rik, Harry and I took a day trip there back in April. I searched my blog but found that I hadn't posted them or written about Cologne. Then I realised that it was in April, and Pim had just left us a month earlier. If you guys follow my blog, you'll know there was quite a long silence from me at that time because I was in mourning.

Anyway, although the photos are up on Facebook, that's not the same as writing it up in my blog. So here they are, 7 months later, our trip to Cologne.

First up, you absolutely cannot visit Cologne without seeing the Cologne cathedral. Literally and figuratively. It just stands out. It's a World Heritage site and one of the top sights in Germany and is very impressive indeed.

After parking the car, we needed a refueling of coffee and pastry. So we sat in the very touristy yet not too terrible cafe opposite the cathedral.

The only photo of me during the whole trip. We took this using the old-school timer method!

We didn't really have a plan for the day. Our aim for the trip was actually for Harry to buy German beer at half the price. So we just wandered around following tourist signs. We ended up here at the City Hall, which seems weirdly to be located in some back alley. There was a wedding going on.

Harry and Rik trying to blend into Karin and John's wedding party, probably for the free food.

Rik's going: Ermahgerd, Lergo!

Such a brilliant and colourful shop. In these bubbles you can pick up individual Lego pieces that you need. You just pick a cup size, fill it up and pay one price for whichever cup size you chose.

Just one of the many times we checked the map.

Rik and Harry were debating the map so I took a photo of where we were.

This was a lovely break from the walk. We had wandered kinda out from the centre and were getting hot and tired. I may point out here that it was only April, and in NL it was rainy and cold and you needed to wear leather jackets still. Then look at us here. Look at the sun shining onto Harry's arm. It was bliss.

Not a very interesting structure, but it was weirdly located in the middle of nowhere.

You know how you sometimes wonder if someone, somewhere looks exactly like you? Ahem.

Finally reached the shopping street!

Found the famous No. 4711. A verrrrrrrry old and famous eau de cologne company. I believe that's where the name Cologne comes from.

You can wash your hands in it and smell like 4711 all day.

I don't know what this means but I thought it just looked cute. It was tucked away on a corner wall upstairs.

The outside.

Map-checking again.

It was getting close to dinnertime, so we decided to start looking for the beer. Strangely, it was super difficult to find a supermarket or any beer shop. Someone on the street pointed us towards the station, saying there was a big supermarket there. But we still couldn't find it, so we stopped by this cafe to ask where the supermarket was. An asshole barista there cut us off mid-question, saying: We are not an information desk.

Asshole.

Eventually, we found the supermarket thanks to a girl behind the counter at a bookshop opposite the cafe. There wasn't any Paulaner, which Harry wanted, but he found the Vita-malz for Vicky.

Harry carrying it one-arm style like a hero, and the Cologne cathedral in the background.

We gave up on the Paulaner and decided to head to this brewery-restaurant that I found on Tripadvisor. It's supposedly the number one restaurant for people visiting Cologne, but not only that, it's also exceedingly popular with the locals because of its amazing food and Kölner - special Cologne beer.

But then whaddya know? Across the street from the restaurant, we found a little kiosk in the wall selling all kinds of things, like a mini market, and we decided to ask for Paulaner. And they had it! Not in a crate, but Harry didn't mind carrying 24 bottles of Paulaner in plastic bags :P We had the car just there anyway. So we finally had success!

This is the brewery-restaurant - Päffgen. I would recommend this to anyone visiting Cologne.

Inside is big. But they are so popular that even when we went in at 6pm there were already people at tables, and the rest of the tables were reserved. The only spot we could find was this little table in the hallway (they even had to make an eating space of the hallway!) nearly opposite the toilets.

The photo above shows the German dishes waiting to be served, unloaded from a dumb waiter, and a guy on the right serving kölner. They march up and down and around tables watching if anyone's glass is empty, and once it is, they just replace it with one of those full glasses and make a notch on your beer mat. Talk about efficiency!

The hallway towards the entrance.

My delicious delicious (big) wienerschnitzel.

Harry's, I don't know now... pretty huge dish of sausages.

And Rik's, I don't know either... pork cooked in beer and things like that.

Look how popular this place is! And it has such a genuine authentic feel to it plus great service. Surely a winner!

The kölner is so popular - each brewery brews its own kölner, and this is Päffgen's own - that from our special vantage point in the hallway, I could see them changing the beer barrels once every 10 minutes or so. And they had three big ones! See that barrel on the top right? That's not just decoration. I saw them hoisting it up, but I don't remember why now.

Cologne had one more surprise for us. When we finished dinner and went back to our car, we found this lovely white rose waiting for us. No note and no one else around. No roses on other cars either. Maybe it's one of those pay it forward good deeds kinda things. Or maybe they wanted to show appreciation for our eco-friendly Prius. Whatever it was, it was certainly something to remember of Cologne!

A smile in the post!

This morning, I was awakened by the postman ringing the doorbell. I answered the door in my pyjamas, but I don't really care about that.

To my delight, it was a little package from my mum! Check out the photos to see how she gave me a bunch of smiles today and for Christmas.

First time a parcel has been tied with a festive red ribbon!

A tube of hand cream and a present for under the tree! When it eventually goes up :) But what are those two objects at the bottom wrapped in paper?

These two cuties travelled halfway across the world to be with me this Christmas. They already look like best buds. Awwwww!

What should I name them??