50 things to do before you die

I read somewhere that we all just can't resist a good ol' list. So we keep reading them and we keep making them and we keep failing to complete them.

Well, Mike Sowden of Fevered Mutterings wrote a list some time ago that I think we could all complete and be proud of it. Somewhat.

I found the list so inspiring that I had to make an easy-to-tick-off poster. Enjoy!

Click on it to view a larger version. Enjoy!

Summer of Darkness in Utrecht

What an apt festival to have this summer.

It's a yearly festival (I'm told) in summer, where goths and the like can come out and parade to their heart's content.

I had decided to go to Utrecht for some canoeing that weekend, without knowing about this festival, and when I was walking from the train station to the city centre, I saw this guy with a long cape flowing in the wind just turning the corner. And I was making an excited note to myself: "I must tell Diederik that I just saw a man wearing a cape!"

And of course, a few streets later, I saw many more men wearing capes and leather and chains and all that. And I knew there must be something up.

I suppose the highlight of the festival for me was hearing them play Conjure One's Oligarch on the speakers. It wasn't very loud, but it was nice enough to hear my favourite music being appreciated in public.

I also liked some of the clothes I saw. And the effort and the extent to which these people go to for their costumes is really inspiring. Some of them looked really nice. I don't know the concept of being a goth (and all their subgenres), but it seems that whichever era they're dressed up for, they always have to be the lowlifes, the rejects, the outcasts.

I took some pictures with Diederik's camera -

Diederik: I have a camera, do you want to use it?
Me: Yeah, sure... but why don't you take the photos?
Diederik: I'm kinda shy. I feel like I'm intruding on their privacy.
Me: (thinking that if they dress up like that in public, they would actually want people to admire their costumes)... Okay... and you're letting me do it because I'm smaller than them and they wouldn't beat me up, right?

Even the girls following the Lolita subgenre were giants. Yeah, they were helped by their 10-inch platforms, but still. It crossed my mind not for the first time that the clothes they imported from Japan (they had a fashion show) must have been the largest sizes made. Hehe. Not saying that people here are giants... just that they are so much bigger than the cute, Lolita-type Japanese girls.

Among the Lolitas (which were my personal favourite Goth subgenre), were also 19th-century people-from-the-streets costumes and futuristic alien neon cyber costumes. Those were VERY cool too.

Jack the Ripper would have so gone for her. The red lady. Not the normal-looking one eating.

See what I mean by giant Lolitas?

I took way more photos than this and also a couple of videos, but Diederik said they weren't good :( I'm glad I got a photo of my favourite Lolita and her costume though. The black and dark blue dress! On her dress is a city skyline illustration. I don't know if it was printed or embroidered (didn't get up that close!), but it looks so amazing! And her hair/wig and even her face was so perfect for it!

After the fashion show, it got a little boring, so we took a couple of bikes and biked 15-20 minutes out of the centre to Rijnstroom (I think) to canoe.

In the beginning, we both got rather wet from the oars, being inexperienced and all, but after 20 minutes, I think we really got the hang of it and even took turns (because he kept knocking my oar) paddling.

The scenery was really nice and it was really peaceful. Everyone who passed said Hi.

We eventually stopped and parked on the riverbank and took a walk to get some chocolate cake. Unfortunately, the cafe was already closed, but further up was a pancake house which sells every kind of pancake imaginable, apparently. We weren't that hungry so we skipped it, but we did find chocolate cake at the restaurant/cafe of the youth hostel next door. I say youth hostel, but it really is in one of those big country mansions, surrounded by greenery and of course, the river. So it's a really beautiful youth hostel. I would recommend it to anyone visiting Utrecht and who doesn't need to stay in the city centre and wouldn't mind biking.

After that little break, we canoed back, and it was much faster because we were now paddling downstream and we managed to make it back right on time so we didn't get fined, hehehe.

All in all, I would really recommend canoeing at Rijnstroom in Utrecht for the nature lover. It's only 15 minutes out of the city and is a really nice alternative activity to windmills, tulips and shopping.

Who is the bestest market of them all?

I just got back from a whirlwind visit to the Swan Market in North Rotterdam, my most favouritest market of all.

I'd been to it two months ago (they have it every 2 months) and really enjoyed it, buying 3 handdrawn postcards (which I seem to have misplaced...) and a cute green handbag with the € 10 cash that I had. This is why I love markets. Good stuff for low prices!!

It was a whirlwind visit today because I had to come back in time for my Skype date with the folks back home. I had only 30-40 minutes to look at everything and decide if I wanted/needed anything. In the end, I purchased a nice mint green blouse for € 5 from a very nice-looking girl who has a Facebook page that I intend to visit once I find the card she popped into my bag along with the blouse.

However, the weather has been really horrible and mood swingy the whole week. It rained all day Thursday, was incredibly beautiful on Friday and then rained all day yesterday again. And today it's off and on, like the sky can't decide what it wants to do. So while we were walking around the market, all of a sudden it started pouring and Schrobbenmaster and I ran under the tent of the stall I was touching clothes at. Which was the stall I bought my mint green blouse from :P

Anyway, since I didn't bring my camera today and I lost my photos from two months ago, I stole some photos from the Swan Market website... heehee. These are from the two previous markets.

I really like the way they displayed the oils for sale!

I like her yellow stuff!!

It's more crowded than this. This set of photos were taken at the end of winter, at their second edition, so I think they just needed more publicity.

The photo set below is from the first time I went.

I must say, these buddies are rather expensive for what they are...

Looks absolutely delicious!

So nice!

The moving procedure...

It's Thursday, two days before the Big Move (when everything has to be in the new place).

We have fallen waaaaay behind schedule, mainly because we expected to get the keys to a gleaming, nice apartment, but got the opposite instead. Poor apartment, it's not your fault, it's your previous owner's.

I suppose we were being too optimistic to think we could have done everything in a week, but there you go. I think it's a whole long process, this moving house thing, continuing even after the Big Move. But Schrobbenmaster has been really stressed out about it because he had planned things down to the second (well, sort of) and nothing is going right.

Guess this teaches us to be more communicative with each other about each other's plans.

To get my head clear and to not forget anything, I have made a List.

Everything we need to do in three days. Well, two days and an evening.

I like that moving house gives the opportunity to clear out and reorganise everything. You never really feel the urgency to do so when you've already settled in. So I'm going to take advantage of this by taking my time to really figure out what I want and what I don't, and where I should keep them. I've already found about eight spare bulbs, two boxes of fuses and countless sponges and cleaning cloths. Mostly still in their packing. Tsk tsk.

And if any of you are hoping for photos of the new place when it's done, the hoping stops right here. I'm not posting any photos of it. You'll just have to come visit and have the real experience for yourselves.

Updates on the kitchen:

1. The quote for a new kitchen has come in ranging from € 6000 - 9000, with € 6000 being at the top of our budget.
2. The reason for getting the more expensive quotes was to get custom-built cupboards that would fit within our floors (the floors are built around the existing cupboards).
3. If we get a cheaper (smaller) IKEA kitchen, we would need to get new floors, which we've found out costs nearly € 5000.
4. Hence, we have come up with a brilliant idea - I love it when constraints make you think up creative solutions - instead of installing completely new kitchens, we'll just go back to our existing kitchen manufacturer, Bruynzeel, and replace the less-than-acceptable things and spruce up the rest. Thereby hopefully cutting our cost by half.
5. We would still need to do the floors though. Schrobbenmaster is pointedly insistent on that point. And I think he has a point, seeing as both he and I have received pointy splinters in our toes at some point.

More updates tomorrow on how the To Do List went... :P

(I wish I had emoticons. Where do I find them??)

Okay, I googled it and just found one recommended by Blogger (dammit Blogger why don't you have one already built-in?), but I can only use the old post editor with it. And this kinda looks uglier and more... old-fashioned.

But at least I can do this

The new apartment, a chill Pim, some grammar tidbits and movie stuff

Wow, I didn't realise it had been so long since my last post!

Updates:

1. Got the keys to the new apartment (rather cool detail, we are moving from number 33 to 333!)
2. Spent the whole of last weekend carrying boxes, cleaning and painting. It's supremely tiring! I don't know Mumsy Bumsy can do this on her own, very impressed.
3. The living room is now entirely white, and the bedroom is my favourite room colour: olivey greeny grey brown. It's gonna look awesome when it's decorated.
4. I'm on the hunt for cheap, nice-looking boxes and baskets to organise all our rubbish.
5. Went to Xenos (was already closed), Blokker (only plastic boxes), HEMA (ugly un-cheap stuff, but still got some functional coloured boxes anyway) and V&D (slightly nicer stuff but way more expensive and frankly, not really worth it).
6. Therefore, IKEA is my last option and I hope I'll find something suitable!
7. We have gotten quotes for new kitchens from 3 different places. Everything looks so wonderful! I hope we can find a suitably-priced kitchen that we both love soon.

On the Pim front:

1. Pim has been super stressed for a few weeks now because of the packing and moving, and has therefore seem to have lost his ability to find his litterbox. But when he needs to pee.
2. After consulting with the vet, Pim now has chill pills as part of his daily diet.
3. He is now a very nice pet to have, as opposed to the monster we had just a second before the consumption of the first pill.

On the grammar front:

1. I have another tidbit! It seems that these particular 'c' words are very confusing.
2. First, Mumsy Bumsy went:

Go check the bus stop round the corner, there is usually a conglomeration of taxis waiting.

Now Schrobbenmaster goes:

It's so rare to see such a big congruation of swallows in one place.

On the movie front:

1. Watched Transformers 3 in IMAX 3D last week and I enjoyed it! Sure, it was the usual story etc, but it was still very enjoyable, mostly because of the quality of the animation, effects and all the little details they pay attention to.
2. Is € 15 too much to pay for IMAX 3D? How much is it back in KL?
3. I can't wait for Harry Potter opening in a week!! Love the haunting tinkling melody.

Now I'm off to make fried rice for dinner, before heading over to the new place to start unpacking more things into the new HEMA boxes I bought!

Before the inburgering exam...

Well, well, things are moving along pretty quickly now. Just found out yesterday that, contrary to what the Dutch embassy told me (grrrrr!!), I don't just make an appointment to do the exam. They should really be more informative and tell me the whole process, or at least direct me to a website which will give me instructions. Isn't one of their functions being a foreign embassy to help citizens of both countries with matters concerning both??

Thankfully, me being paranoid and nervous about the inburgering exam, checked out websites to try and find out exactly what to expect and if anything has changed, seeing that the Naar Nederland package I have is freaking 4 years old. Found a page in Dutch from which Schrobbenmaster then informed me that I had to fill in an application form to register with the IND (Immigration in Netherlands) that I wanted to take the exam. They would then give details for bank transfer of the exam payment. After processing, they would inform me and I could then make an appointment with the embassy to take the inburgering exam.

Apparently all this takes 1 to 2 weeks, so finding this information yesterday was really timely as I want to do the exam in 2 weeks.

Now I feel really pressured with time because before I take the exam, I have loads of things to do! I have to renew my passport at the Immigration Department, get a certificate of "singledom" at the National Registration Department in Putrajaya, and hop on over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to legalise and certify it as a true copy.

Yep, I'm also curious as to why an official document from the NRD, which will have the government stamps and all, has to be legalised and certified yet again by the Foreign Ministry. Oh well. At least they're close by to each other, which is the whole point of Putrajaya, right? I'm about to test it's useability and IT HAD BETTER PROVE RIGHT.

On a more positive note, I took a mock exam last night and did pretty well on it. So I feel a little more confident about going for the real one.

(I'm getting really distracted from writing because I'm watching Friends at the same time, so I think I'm gonna sign off right now.)

Oh, and one more thing... goodputty::paperie has something new - and free - for Christmas.

Project day

Word of the day: zenuwachtig = nervous

After two not very satisfactory dinners, Schrobbenmaster decided to take matters into his own hands. He made boerenkool, which translates into farmer's cabbage. It consists of mashed potatoes, mashed with mashed cabbage, and a big fat sausage on top, unmashed.


Awesome shot of the two potato halves flying out of his hands after being cut!


Those appetising-looking *ahem* green balls are frozen cabbage balls.


The end product looks pretty nice. The sausage is really tasty. The mashed up food needed some vinegar to add much-needed taste though.

Yesterday we stayed home to work on our separate projects. Schrobbenmaster had received his new motherboard a few days ago, and finally found a matching processor and all the other tech blah needed, so he was cleaning and building it happily on the balcony.


I always thought balconies would be nice places to hang out and do stuff. Gotta clear up the unused junk on this one first, then come up with a way to pretty it up. Then perhaps more hangout time out there this summer!

I'm not a big fan of the bright blue cupboard doors with red trimmings in the kitchen, so I decided to make some useful changes. I've always liked the idea of having a blackboard wall to write on, instead of hanging an actual, potentially ugly, board. I had a huge strip on my office wall converted into a blackboard wall, and decided to do the same in this kitchen.


Prepping the cupboard door for the first coat of blackboard paint.


And this is how it looks before... stay tuned for the final makeover result!

Later that evening I was looking for ingredients for tonight's dinner, and found more expired bottles and packets of food. Not nice! So I did a big clearout of the cupboards, threw the expired products away, and packed away items that don't belong here anymore.

Arranged the bottles and boxes in a more conducive order for easy reaching and aesthetic purposes, and now, the kitchen almost... just almost feels like it belongs to me too. Still a long way to go, but it'll be a good journey, I'm sure.

READ: Ryan Runs Europe

While I was in Singapore last week, I was occasionally bored at home when there was nothing on TV. I decided to look for an interesting blog (and even if I didn't find any, I would've used up my bored time doing something, albeit useless, anyway).

On Blogger's main page, they have a Blogs of Note section, which is where I found a new blog to follow (apart from Gaijin Smash):

Ryan Runs Europe

Ryan, a long-time fan of long-distance running, has decided in the summer of 2009, to run from Amsterdam to Athens with nothing but a backpack. An architecture student from NYC, his story already sounds pretty interesting, but once I started reading his posts, I realised that he was also a really funny, honest and entertaining person. Just check out his blog, and I really guarantee you won't be stuck with nothing to do on a day you don't feel like doing anything.

Days of note (read: Days that made me giggle out loud): Day 42, Day 36

If you have to scroll down or click 'Older Posts' to view these, they're every bit worth the effort!

GOOD LUCK RYAN! If you were passing by my way, I'd definitely offer you a room for the night :)

May: Why don't you...

I know it's a bit late to be talking about doing something in May when there's only a week left, but "it's never too late" should be everyone's motto. So why don't you...


Image grabbed from official website

Watch Cirque Balagan, showing for only 5 days from 28 May. It is so rare for Malaysians to catch a performance in this genre - European circus - locally that no matter how expensive it may seem (RM93-RM353), it will be worth it. Sure, it isn't the Cirque Du Soleil, but you take what you can get! And this promises not to disappoint, based on the music I'm listening to on its website right now! Click here to listen.

For more information, visit Time Out KL.