I haven't been able to write for awhile, due to an exhaustive schedule. Many things have happened in the last month. But the most important news in years and years, the presidential election, I cannot pass this historic day by without writing something!
In the last few weeks, I have gotten asked several times by people if I can vote. And I replied, yes of course! i already did! I sent my absentee ballot in about 3 weeks ago. I have to explain how that works of course. My only trouble with that was the fact that I needed an American citizen to sign the ballot as a witness. WI is the only state that requires a US citizen as a witness. Now, when you live in a foreign country, as is part of the point of an absentee ballot---where do you think I will come across an American? I was really worried I wouldn't get my vote in on time due to this little problem. But I asked the HR dept at my work if there were any other americans here. Luckily for me there was ONE other american, and I got her to sign it for me! problem solved.
I sent in my vote for Mr Obama with two stamps, just to make sure it got back to WI on time.
The coverage in the US is unrelenting, I'm sure. I know how it works there. The ads on tv, the phone calls, the flyers in your mailbox, the non-stop 24 hour coverage on cable news channels. But here, that kind of campagning and news coverage is unheard of. That is purely thought as of "american sensationalism". And its true, it is a bit over the top, but that's how it works in the US. But in the last few months, the news coverage here has also stepped up. Every news report in the evening had a piece over what was going on with McCain and Obama. And last night, there were several watch-parties around the country, specifically the bigger cities: Amsterdam, den Haag, Rotterdam, Leiden, and Utrecht, with programs and speakers, and in one case "an american breakfast" (they think here that's donuts and coffee). Several Dutch channels (there's only 3 main public ones!) had coverage from NY and DC. The Germans were there too, and of course in Miami, FL (if you know Germans, they love Florida). The free daily newspapers in the train- all have "full" coverage (that means more than one page) of what is going on in the election. There is even a special edition newspaper this afternoon over the election that will be distributed nation-wide. It is very interesting for me to see their coverage on an election that they cannot vote in, yet directly impacts them. There is always a feeling of hope here, that America will pull through and vote for the man that will bring a better future to the US and to the world. And, of course, I want to keep up with everything going on in my own country.
So, it was an unprecidented election- two candidates that would both have made history (first black president or the oldest man to take office), highest voter turnout in generations, and the most expensive campagnes ever. But it was also unprecidented coverage here in Holland as well. Over 80% of the Netherlands would have voted for Obama if they could have voted. Everyone wanted him to win. It was a no-brainer. But I think they were still hesitant here on how America would really vote- could they get past his "liberal" ways or the color of his skin? But even here in the NL, I've heard from many people, that they do not believe Holland would be ready for a black prime minister. Just in the past month, a Morrocan born Dutch citizen was voted as mayor of Rotterdam. Many many people still have a problem with this. But, if he can lead and govern properly and enough people have faith in him to do his job right, then where is the problem? Its letting go of their "dutchness" and of what has always been.
We all know we are at a critical turning point: in international relations, with the environment, and the future of this planet. So, will America continue the same path as always, or vote for change, was the big question.
When I woke up this morning at 630am to check the news, I see that finally my fellow Americans came through, and voted for change! I'm SOO happy and excited and proud that Obama won and will lead our country in a new direction. Now I do not have to be ashamed any more to say I'm an American...Bush will no longer be the image synonymous with the US to others around the world. It will be an inspirational, intelligent, honest, young, black man. The image that everything and anything is still possible in the United States.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Iceland betrays us!
Well, as the US economy crashes a la Depression Era style, one may wonder about the little countries of the world and how they are doing. Ok, maybe no one is really wondering that, but of course, if the US economy fails, it will bring everyone else down with them! Way to go, teamwork USA! Anyways, as you may or may not have heard, Fortis, the big leaders in mortgages in the Benelux, failed and the gov't will bail them out and buy up shares. Iceland's banks have failed, and the gov't took control of all three of their national banks. Seems its like dominoes now.
Up til now, this crisis doesn't directly affect me, except for the dollar-euro exchange rate! Or at least that's what I thought. A few months ago, M opened up a savings account with the Icelandic bank Icesave, which is (was) a purely online banking system. No statements, no hard copy proof....everything online. There was a 5.25% interest rate on the account, and it had good reviews (according to what M found). It was a branch of the Icelandic bank Landsbanki. Icesave only opened up their international banking to UK and Dutch investors only. Well, these banks failed, and Icesave went bottom up earlier this week. We could not even load the page on Wednesday when we realized we should try to withdraw our money. The UK customer's page had a message that all accounts were frozen and no one could withdraw their money. So, while we are still quite young to not have a large savings account, it is still significant enough to be upset about! So, we could be set to lose all our savings due to this worldwise financial crisis.
Now, I'm a nervous person to begin with. I am worried and anxious about quite a few things in life, more than the average person, I'd say. But for some reason, I'm not freaking out about this. I am not worried that we won't get it back. Iceland was supposed to guarantee the first 20,000 euros, and anything above that, the Dutch gov't pays back. Of course we don't have more than 20,000euros, so it shouldn't be a big deal....right?
Then there's the threat of the Iceland gov't being bankrupt. So who's going to give us our money back?
Well, last night, we, as one of 120,000 Dutch customers of Icesave, were assured that we would get our money back, by the Dutch finance minister. Here's a short english article summing up the current situation.
So, while I truely love Iceland (its the special place where M proposed and also a very very beautiful country), I can't help but be upset by their goverment...who stole our money!! A country of only 320,000 people... had billions and billions worth of euros invested in their country by 2 others.....as the PM of Iceland said yesterday: "I think this is a good lesson in the fact that a small country should not aim to be a world leader in international banking."
If that's not a "doh!" moment, I don't know what is.
Up til now, this crisis doesn't directly affect me, except for the dollar-euro exchange rate! Or at least that's what I thought. A few months ago, M opened up a savings account with the Icelandic bank Icesave, which is (was) a purely online banking system. No statements, no hard copy proof....everything online. There was a 5.25% interest rate on the account, and it had good reviews (according to what M found). It was a branch of the Icelandic bank Landsbanki. Icesave only opened up their international banking to UK and Dutch investors only. Well, these banks failed, and Icesave went bottom up earlier this week. We could not even load the page on Wednesday when we realized we should try to withdraw our money. The UK customer's page had a message that all accounts were frozen and no one could withdraw their money. So, while we are still quite young to not have a large savings account, it is still significant enough to be upset about! So, we could be set to lose all our savings due to this worldwise financial crisis.
Now, I'm a nervous person to begin with. I am worried and anxious about quite a few things in life, more than the average person, I'd say. But for some reason, I'm not freaking out about this. I am not worried that we won't get it back. Iceland was supposed to guarantee the first 20,000 euros, and anything above that, the Dutch gov't pays back. Of course we don't have more than 20,000euros, so it shouldn't be a big deal....right?
Then there's the threat of the Iceland gov't being bankrupt. So who's going to give us our money back?
Well, last night, we, as one of 120,000 Dutch customers of Icesave, were assured that we would get our money back, by the Dutch finance minister. Here's a short english article summing up the current situation.
So, while I truely love Iceland (its the special place where M proposed and also a very very beautiful country), I can't help but be upset by their goverment...who stole our money!! A country of only 320,000 people... had billions and billions worth of euros invested in their country by 2 others.....as the PM of Iceland said yesterday: "I think this is a good lesson in the fact that a small country should not aim to be a world leader in international banking."
If that's not a "doh!" moment, I don't know what is.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
true love, forever
This past week has been one of the most difficult weeks, emotionally, in a long time. One week ago today, my first bunny love, Rosie (left), died. It came as a great and sudden shock, as she did not seem terminally ill. She died while at the the vet's office on Tuesday morning, probably of either a heart attack or of being unable to breathe, probably from stress. Only in the last month was she not breathing quite normal. Since the last week or so of August she was sneezing a lot. I took her to the vet the first week in Sept and she got some antibiotics for her sneezing. She stopped while on the meds, but soon after they were over, about 2 wks ago now, she started sneezing again, a hard sneeze, not a normal bunny sneeze. I also noticed that i could hear her breathing harder thru her nose, and her lungs were moving differently. I asked M to take her in to the vet last Tuesday morning, his last day of work at his old job. I left home in a rush that morning because I was running late. I didn't say goodbye to her, because I never ever thought she wouldn't come home alive. I will always regret that. I thought this would be just a normal check-up and she'd be home. I did feel that she wasn't healthy and probably wouldn't live for another year. I actually said that to my mom on the phone on sunday. But never would I think that 2 days later, she would die! I'm still in shock and disbelief, one week later.
Her x-ray showed that her lung capacity was much much smaller than normal due to a build up of fluid around her heart. The reason for this, we will never know. The vet tried to revive her with a shot of adrenaline to the heart and oxygen, but it didn't work. Rosie wanted to go over the rainbow bridge where the fields are greener and there are endless carrots and cranberries to eat, where she can binky as much as she wants, and breathe easily. She is survived by her hus-bun, Japie. He will miss her terribly, and we can tell a definite change in his character in this last week; he is lonely and misses Rosie.
I've never cried so much for an extended period of time, in my life. Every day all last week, I would cry for my dear Rosiie. This has been really very very difficult.
but, i know, that perhaps this was the best way for her to go, she knew to make it as easy as possible for us (me especially). she wasn't sick very long, she wasn't in pain for long, she didnt let us see her suffer, and she didnt make us make a decision to put her to sleep (that would be horrible). and i'm glad she didnt die when we were in the US, or this weekend when we will be gone. she would have died soon anyways, bc of her lung capacity/heart. so this was probably best. i just wish she didn't have to die! burying her was extremely hard to do, to put her in the cold dark wet ground. and it was all so rushed, i didn't have time to fully grieve, bc we had to bury her before it got dark out. when i got home from work (after crying all day at work), we had a goodbye ceremony here at home. we said our goodbyes and gave her her last noserubs. it was so strange how still and stiff she was, i just kept expecting her to wake up--she was still so soft and fluffy. japie said his goodbye too. that was very sad as well, to watch. We buried rosie with carrots and basil, with some wildflower seeds we gave away at our wedding in june, as well as with flowers and a note i wrote to her. we wrapped her up in her favorite blanket that she and japie used to cuddle up in so much.
its still hard for me to think of her laying there. our house is empty without her big personality around. she was mean to bram and lily. she was bossy yet sweet with japie, her love. she was obedient to us. when we said 'cage', she knew what to do (and expected a treat afterwards!). she also took out my nose piercing, back in 2004...in some weird mental-message my mom sent her (my mom wanted the nose peircing out, so rosie did it!). she always greeted me in the morning, excited for her breakfast. she would steal carrots from japie and hold them in her mouth above his head so he couldn't reach it. she was a really special bun with a distinct character. she was my first pet ever, and my first bunny-love; she showed me that i was capable of loving an animal so much, that she became a member of our family. it was with her, that my love-affair with rabbits started.
i hate to think of her buried in the cold, wet ground. we had to bury her in the rain, before it got dark out. we buried her in a forested area in the polder area, just about a mile from here. we visited her again on saturday and left her some flowers. she will be terribly missed. and we love her so much. rest in peace rosie. you were a wonderful bunny friend.
For her tribute page and some more pictures, please see my flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/bunnyloversunite/discuss/72157607595447128/
Her x-ray showed that her lung capacity was much much smaller than normal due to a build up of fluid around her heart. The reason for this, we will never know. The vet tried to revive her with a shot of adrenaline to the heart and oxygen, but it didn't work. Rosie wanted to go over the rainbow bridge where the fields are greener and there are endless carrots and cranberries to eat, where she can binky as much as she wants, and breathe easily. She is survived by her hus-bun, Japie. He will miss her terribly, and we can tell a definite change in his character in this last week; he is lonely and misses Rosie.
I've never cried so much for an extended period of time, in my life. Every day all last week, I would cry for my dear Rosiie. This has been really very very difficult.
but, i know, that perhaps this was the best way for her to go, she knew to make it as easy as possible for us (me especially). she wasn't sick very long, she wasn't in pain for long, she didnt let us see her suffer, and she didnt make us make a decision to put her to sleep (that would be horrible). and i'm glad she didnt die when we were in the US, or this weekend when we will be gone. she would have died soon anyways, bc of her lung capacity/heart. so this was probably best. i just wish she didn't have to die! burying her was extremely hard to do, to put her in the cold dark wet ground. and it was all so rushed, i didn't have time to fully grieve, bc we had to bury her before it got dark out. when i got home from work (after crying all day at work), we had a goodbye ceremony here at home. we said our goodbyes and gave her her last noserubs. it was so strange how still and stiff she was, i just kept expecting her to wake up--she was still so soft and fluffy. japie said his goodbye too. that was very sad as well, to watch. We buried rosie with carrots and basil, with some wildflower seeds we gave away at our wedding in june, as well as with flowers and a note i wrote to her. we wrapped her up in her favorite blanket that she and japie used to cuddle up in so much.
its still hard for me to think of her laying there. our house is empty without her big personality around. she was mean to bram and lily. she was bossy yet sweet with japie, her love. she was obedient to us. when we said 'cage', she knew what to do (and expected a treat afterwards!). she also took out my nose piercing, back in 2004...in some weird mental-message my mom sent her (my mom wanted the nose peircing out, so rosie did it!). she always greeted me in the morning, excited for her breakfast. she would steal carrots from japie and hold them in her mouth above his head so he couldn't reach it. she was a really special bun with a distinct character. she was my first pet ever, and my first bunny-love; she showed me that i was capable of loving an animal so much, that she became a member of our family. it was with her, that my love-affair with rabbits started.
i hate to think of her buried in the cold, wet ground. we had to bury her in the rain, before it got dark out. we buried her in a forested area in the polder area, just about a mile from here. we visited her again on saturday and left her some flowers. she will be terribly missed. and we love her so much. rest in peace rosie. you were a wonderful bunny friend.
For her tribute page and some more pictures, please see my flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/bunnyloversunite/discuss/72157607595447128/
Sunday, September 28, 2008
its happening
well, a lot is happening actually-- therefore i'm too busy to update lately! i started a new job 2 weeks ago, and learning new things is exhausting. i want to try hard and make this work, and i don't want it to end up like the previous job. the first week was hard, to learn a new procedure of doing things, but also learning new names/faces, a new work environment, and a new routine. my new job is a fulfillment administrator in the logistic department of a international corporation that sells computer related things. so far, things are going well. in the last few days i felt more at ease at what i was doing. now i'm actually completing something and accomplishing stuff by the end of the day, unlike before. the end of the day is the most stressful for me, as i try hard to get it all completed and deliveries created before i have to leave. the job itself is not that interesting or special, and is not the 'meaningful' or international type job i was hoping to find...but the people there are really nice and the work environment is professional and positive, so therefore it is a much better situation than before. in the first 3 days alone, i felt more respected as a human being and as a worker than i ever did in the last job. it makes a huge difference in my work ethic and confidence. i feel included in the company already. that is the way it should be. why did i stay for 1 whole year at the previous place? how did i make it?
evenings are busy once again, and i'm hardly home before 1030 (or later) every night. dutch classes keep me busy and tired...now i have no time between work and the class to go home for dinner, so for now until december, i will have to bring microwave dinners to work with me and eat on the go. tuesday is basketball, also starting at 7pm, so it will be hard to make it there on time. thursday is a possible free evening, but probably doesn't happen that way! gotta have social friend time too! on fridays i get to have a relaxed dinner with M for the first time all week. that's the way it will go until december.
lately i've noticed that dutch words are slipping into my english thoughts and conversation. this is not nice and doesn't help me at all! i'm losing more and more english vocabulary (some words this week i had problems with: ballerina, cafeteria, confirmation...and many others!)...and sometimes dutch words slip in on the conversation. just small words like "of" (or/if), "als" (if/when), and numbers....but its happening....too bad the normal regular fluency doesn't happen. i am low on dutch vocab as well, and am still unable to make sentences with complicated verb tenses, etc.
the sun has been shining almost every day for the past 2 weeks, which is amazing. i dont think that happened at all during the whole summer! but it has really helped my mood and get through these tough first two weeks of a new job and new routine. its supposed to switch back to 'normal' (rain and cold) tomorrow....the sunshine really makes such a difference, and you only notice that after you live in a place where it doesnt shine on a regular basis. that is one important reason why the US is a better living situation than the Netherlands! so i will go and enjoy the rest of the day while i can!
evenings are busy once again, and i'm hardly home before 1030 (or later) every night. dutch classes keep me busy and tired...now i have no time between work and the class to go home for dinner, so for now until december, i will have to bring microwave dinners to work with me and eat on the go. tuesday is basketball, also starting at 7pm, so it will be hard to make it there on time. thursday is a possible free evening, but probably doesn't happen that way! gotta have social friend time too! on fridays i get to have a relaxed dinner with M for the first time all week. that's the way it will go until december.
lately i've noticed that dutch words are slipping into my english thoughts and conversation. this is not nice and doesn't help me at all! i'm losing more and more english vocabulary (some words this week i had problems with: ballerina, cafeteria, confirmation...and many others!)...and sometimes dutch words slip in on the conversation. just small words like "of" (or/if), "als" (if/when), and numbers....but its happening....too bad the normal regular fluency doesn't happen. i am low on dutch vocab as well, and am still unable to make sentences with complicated verb tenses, etc.
the sun has been shining almost every day for the past 2 weeks, which is amazing. i dont think that happened at all during the whole summer! but it has really helped my mood and get through these tough first two weeks of a new job and new routine. its supposed to switch back to 'normal' (rain and cold) tomorrow....the sunshine really makes such a difference, and you only notice that after you live in a place where it doesnt shine on a regular basis. that is one important reason why the US is a better living situation than the Netherlands! so i will go and enjoy the rest of the day while i can!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Lily
Our newest family member as of last night! She will be Brammie's girlfriend...once we bond them! Its an arranged bunny marriage. She's still pretty tiny, and is a show rabbit...but I think we'll just show her off through pictures! She was born in May so only a few months old. Brammie is lonely, and has so much bunny love to give, he definitely would love a friend.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
