Honey, is that a nail sitting on your ear?

Tuesday night Mr. Sweety and I went to STOMP with Laura. It was the second time I saw it, and loved it. If you get the chance to go, GO!

We took the tram to the theatre. After about 5 minutes in the tram, we hear “clip”, “clip”, “clip”…….. “clip”. I turn my head to Mr. Sweety and asked him if that sound was what I think it was. We both turned our heads and the lady in the seat right behind us was clipping her nails. Disgusting.

Me: I’m haunted by people clipping nails this week.
Mr. Sweety (whispering): Shhhh
Me (whispering): Isn’t it disgusting?
Mr. Sweety (whispering): Well at least it’s her FINGER nails.
Me (whispering): I mean, what’s next? Old people cleaning their fake teeth in the train?
Mr. Sweety (whispering): I could shave myself in the bus in the mornings.
Me (whispering): Yeah, I could wax my legs in the tram.
Mr. Sweety (whispering): Did you know your soul won’t go to heaven unless you have found all the nails you clipped in your life?
Me: Is that in the BIBLE??
Mr. Sweety (whispering): No. But your soul will stay on earth, looking for you nails into eternity.
Me: So nail clipping woman’s soul is forever doomed because her nails are scattered throughout the public transport net in The Netherlands?
Mr. Sweety (whispering): Shhh. Yeah.
Me (whispering): How did this wisdom come to you?
Mr. Sweety (whispering): It’s an old grandmothers wisdom.
Mr. Sweety (whispering): Used by my mother when I was little to make sure when I clipped my nails I cleaned them up.
Me: Ah. I think there should be a new sign next to the no-eating-sign and the no-smoking-sign.
Mr. Sweety: A no personal hygiene activities in public sign?
Me: I wonder what that would look like.
Me (picks imaginary nails out of Mr. Sweety’s hair). This is our stop!

We managed to forget about the nails and have a great time watching STOMP.

Over and over and over and over

Oh god. Can someone please come and strangle the downstair-neighbour-aupair-of-French-little-3 year old- monsters? She is playing Bryan Adam’s “Heaven” over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. Can't.take.it.no.more.

Also: Heat wave!!!
I'm thinking of moving into our freezer. It could make myself pretty comfortable between the ice cubes and the frozen pizza Hawaii. I may even find some icecream.

AC, my dentist, ostriches and an animal activist anti-NRA Green Party member

Or too much crap in one post

When temperatures rises in The Netherlands, I’m reminded that air-conditioning is not a common thing here. It’s 90 F outside and inside it’s 77, and still climbing. Too hot too work. I’m praying Summer 2005 will be the year of the introduction of air-conditioning in buildings and public transport. Amen.

This morning I had my yearly dentist check-up. Dentist says I have mad tooth brushing skills. I have had the same dentist for over 10 years now, and he is SO great, I travel to another town to see him. I used to live in this town, called Zoetermeer (translates into: Sweet Lake City) until I was 18. It’s about half an hour from the city I live in (The Hague).

Since I don’t have my drivers license, I always go by train. There used to be a big empty space between Sweet Lake City and The Hague. And riding the train I would enjoy looking at fields with cows, sheep’s and goats. Parks. But now? They’re building houses, houses and more houses. This is one of the things I don’t like about living in Holland. The little empty spaces that are left, are being build on. I’m wondering if there will be forests and fields left in another 10 years.

Also I noticed something odd. When we drove past a few city gardens (mind you, the size of an average city garden is 26 feet by 26 feet) I saw two ostriches (okay, how do you even pronounce that?). Two giant birds in a city garden. Isn’t that like illegal? I was just wondering, how does anyone come to the idea to have ostriches in a mini city garden? The next hot thing are rhino’s on a balcony? Come on people, get a puppy.

That reminds me of the Wife Swap show I saw Saturday. We are about a year behind the US. An - animal activist anti-NRA Green Party member tree hugger - lady swapped with a southern hunter’s wife. I laughed so hard. The Dutch version of that show isn’t that funny. How do they find those people?

I should get back to eating my ice cream without getting my keyboard all sticky work. I’m trying to ignore the nail clipping sounds I have been hearing for the last 5 minutes. There are more activities with that same sound right? Right?

Stop! Cuteness ahead.

I could of course bore you with stories of my so far quiet day. Tell you about the weird woman in the grocery store today, who looked at the strawberries I was holding and said to me (almost horror):”You TOO?”.

But that wouldn’t be any fun.

I could have taken a photo of the man in my street who actually wore wooden shoes.

But that wouldn't be any fun either.

In stead, I’ll overload you with some cuteness I have to deal with every single day. I know some of you already met my hairy friends. But hey, what harm can a little extra cuteness do?

In case you don’t know: the grey one is named Moby. She likes to wash the red one (Simba). In public. She does it all the time.

What does Dilbert say about teambuilding?

The one thing I hate more than my job?

Going on a 2 day trip, including sleepover, with my 71 colleagues.

I had the pleasure to go on said trip this Monday & Tuesday.

Three positive things about it:

1. It ended as promised at 2 PM Tuesday.
2. Rumor has it, my organization is going to downsize. How is downsizing a good thing? They have plans to get rid of a large part of middle management by the end of the year. My manager = middle management.
3. Golf. I played golf for the first time. I actually enjoyed it! Especially hitting the balls as far as possible. That is… when I didn’t swing past the ball without hitting it, looking like a total fool.

So the trip actually brought hope. And “hoop doet leven” as we say here in Holland. “Hope makes life”... Bring on downsizing, if that will make my evil manager disappear. I just hope that does mean I get to keep my job.

Along with these positive things, I participated in the joy of serious team-building, experienced dreadful bus ride games and saw colleagues getting drunk on the free drinks (that’s a big no no in my book).