4th post in December, must be fucken X-mas?!
Almost.
December is the toughest month since it emphasizes the fact that I'm playing solitaire.
Can't put it any clearer than that.

So I survived my birthday watching the new Rocky movie (which is great) and making some kick ass pancakes and drinking some good ole Apfelkorn. Good times.

Got this e-mail from a friend who went home for the holidays which pinpointed exactly why I don't go 'home' for the so-called holidays.
He said his parents' house felt like a prison and he has to commute to where ever his friends live to have any fun. So why would I waste money on something which is the same no matter where you are?
People always long for this place called 'home' while in reality that very place not only stays the same but moreover changes remarkably over time. Why clutch to something which has either vanished or transformed into something else?

Anypoo, I'm chilling out, cleaning my house, doing laundry, listening to shitloads of music (obviously).
I just grabbed the Grinderman album which is set to be released in March 2007. It's ridiculous but one can't be blamed for grabbing something when the music industry waits 6 months after an album was finished to actually release it.
I'll end up buying it since it shows a different side of Nick Cave. While having a much rawer and rocking sound there's also several relatively mellow tunes to be found.

I think I'll have another drink to the dark poet who writes these haunting beautiful life compositions. Fuck the holidays, cheerzz Nick!

Since it's a special occasion on Friday and just about no one will be around to celebrate it with me I asked a friend of mine in Arizona to send me something I haven't had in ages.

My Dutch friends and my parents will have instant memories when clicking HERE

Let's hope it will arrive on time!

I salute Tom for his efforts of making this happen for me. Cheerzz dude!

Weather

On a related note, what the hell is the weather up to?

December started out cold with a whopping minus 11 degrees Celsius but after a few days it jumped up again.
It's 14 degrees Celsius right now which is just not right for December. I want cold, depressive weather.

Snow seems a faded memory...

Much dreaded December has arrived.
I did find the perfect soundtrack for this horrible month:















Eight days left and then it's 30 years.
Seems like everyone fled Pittsburgh so I'll be a solitary dancer once again.

Good thing I still have lots of Dutch treats left and 10 new packages of Tim Tams. Candy and chocolate shall be my salvation!

Halloween

Today it's Halloween and I'm going to share my take on it with you.
You lucky bastards!

It's actually a watered down version of our Limburgian carnaval.
Don't tell any Americans though haha!

People dress up and go out to parades and parties. But it's just one night really. Sure there are pre-parties and so on but the celebration isn't as massive as Limburgians tend to do carnaval. You can easily escape Halloween if you want.
Just don't turn the lights on in your house or else you'll have kids trick or treating you all night hehe.

I'm going to a friend's house tonight to watch some movies. Probably horror movies.
DUH!

Hey Joost!

Check this out!










HAHAHA!
Jawohl, it's The God Machine's "Scenes from the second storey"!

családlátogatás

Most people in the US don't know this but I spent last week in the Netherlands to renew my visa.
I obviously also visited friends and family.
Some pics from my visit to my grandfather in his nursing home can be found HERE.

I must admit I didn't know how I would react to seeing him in his current state. The last time I saw him was in summer 2005 when he was still in good health.
But it felt good to see see him and grandma again. Despite the heavy stroke he suffered back in March 2006 he still recognized me and was laughing quite a bit.
He's half paralyzed, sitting in a wheel chair and can't speak much but he still understood what the other family members and me were talking about.

I obviously wish he would still be in his old good health but it's reality one has to face and accept. He's had a good life and I hope he'll continue to live on for quite a bit cause I would like to see him again on my next trip to the Netherlands.

One last note, I hope he doesn't hear anything about the current situation in Hungary. That would break his heart for sure and he can definitely do without that...

weeping for a nation

Though I'm only half Hungarian the country's sad history and continued misery caused by all its governments is something I can't shake off easily.

Last Monday, October 23rd was the memorial day for the Revolution back in 1956. Many Hungarians fled the country, among them my grandparents and their children, my mom being one of them.
However many Hungarian bravely stood up to the Russian communist giant who in front of the eyes of the whole world violently removed all revolutionary voices.
It's unbelievably sad that the entire world knew about this and actually saw it happen but nobody came to the rescue of the poor Hungarians.

What is even sadder is the current situation of Hungary. The government is led by a liar which has provoked angry responses from the people who feel betrayed. Despite the call for his resignation he stays.
In this country which has had more than its share of lies and oppression by governments the agony continues...

Budapest Riots - Oct 23, 2006 - Revolution part 2

Police brutality at Hungarian 1956 tribute

budapest 2006 - day 2 of the riots

Tequila makes one forget about pain...

The CMU rockstars as dubbed by the Yale organizers

Yale soccer tournament!

I'll post two e-mails here which sum up last weekend very well!
We went to Yale University to participate in their annual soccer tournament:

PICS

Guys,

I think this email deserves special attention!!! First of all, you'll be glad to know that Yale Medical won the tournament. If you look at the scores of their games, they beat some good teams pretty badly but only beat us 1-0... Much congratulations to all of us again for our performance!

Second, notice Katie's comments about us in this email she sent out to all the schools.. As we suspected, we made a pretty big impression on everyone!


Lastly, and on the same note, she sent out two pictures to everyone and they just happened to be the pics taken of us at the Yale Graduate Bar!! I guess CMU MBA's do have more fun...

Well, again, thank you all for making the trip and giving their all this past weekend. You all showed a lot of heart - playing through injuries and all!! This could be a great start to a long legacy of fun times that the "CMU Soccer Club" has. Yes, Session has already set the wheels in motion on getting an official club sanctioned by the school and there will be forthcoming meetings very soon to decide the matter. We'll keep everyone posted.

Additionally, stay tuned for more information on the UNC 7-vs-7 tournament coming up in November. We were invited this morning to come play in that "invite only" tournament and we are looking into getting funding, etc.

Again, thanks to you all. I know I certainly won't forget our first tournament in New Haven!

Regards,

Andy

-----Original Message-----
From: Club-SOM United Soccer
Subject: Final Results

Hello Soccer Captains!!!

Thanks to all who participated in making the 17th Annual Yale SOM Soccer Tournament such a great success! A big congratulations goes out to the Yale Medical School who won the Cup in tough final match up against Wharton. The final score was 3-2 and there were some beautiful goals in that game!

I hope you all enjoyed playing, BBQing and drinking with us here in New Haven. We certainly enjoyed hosting you. We sincerely hope you'll return to our tournament next year. Special thanks goes out to NYU Stern for switching time slots last minute to accommodate a cancelled flight for the Fuqua team. Huge props to Carnegie Mellon team who partied like rock stars at the Toga Party, played with 11 players, then partied again on Saturday evening & played again Sunday. I'm impressed!

Below are the finishing results of the tournament for all of the games also enclosed.

Best wished to all,

The Yale SOM Soccer Captains

I want one just like THIS one! :-D

The gaps are getting bigger haha.
Then again, to quote a line of a Michael Stipe lyric, "I'm not sure all these people understand".

Well lots of deadlines to catch up with since I went back to work after my parents left. Some soccer, running, movies, parties and more music.

Am going back to the NL on October 15th (landing on the 16th though) to get my visa renewed. Will fly back on the 22nd so it's a short visit.
The schedule of visiting friends and family is starting to look quite busy :-)

Tonight Soulfly's playing at Mr Smalls with Danny Lilker on bass, will most likely go check it out though I don't care about all support acts.
But to hear Max thrash out some classic Sepultura tunes will definitely be worth it!

"Walking These Dirty Streets
With Hate In My Mind
Feeling The Scorn Of The World
I Won't Follow Your Rules
Blame And Lies, Contradictions Arise
Blame And Lies, Contradictions Arise

Nonconformity In My Inner Self
I Only Guide My Inner Self"

Exactly a week later a new post :-)
Dropped my parents off at the airport this morning and they seemed to be ready to travel all the way back to the Netherlands.
What have we been doing in the 2nd week?

Returned all the DVDs we had rented and tried picking up the rental car for the Niagara Falls trip on Monday. Tried cause I don't have a credit card and thus I had to bring utility bills and such crap to prove I'm not a criminal.
Fun!

On Tuesday we drove to the Falls which took about 5 hours, and after checking in we went for a walk which took us a few hours. When we came back to the hotel we booked an overpriced tour for the Wednesday but since my parents are on their holiday I figured what the hell.
At least we got a boat ride on the Maiden of the Mist and a tour in the butterfly conservatory which my mom loved.
Getting up Thursday morning to drive back which was a bit faster since I speeded a bit more haha. Think we made it in like 4 hours.
Went out to get some more DVDs with my dad and we spent the last few days relaxing and watching movies.

Oh, apparently my mom loved La Filipiana cause after having been there on their first Saturday she insisted on going back yesterday. What can I say? She loves Thai food now and La Filipiana is my fave restaurant in Pittsburgh.

For pics of their 2 weeks here click here.


Of course it's good to have my apartment all to myself again. Even though it will take some getting used to the silence again.
And so it goes.

Been a while but we've been busy.

On Tuesday I worked and we didn't go out in the evening just relax. I think my parents went to the local Giant Eagle to get some more groceries.
Also during the day my mom had started to clean my house and do laundry. Not cause I asked but since you know, moms...

On Wednesday they went out in the neighborhood to do some shopping and walking around. When I came home we soon went out to Mount Washington where we saw the sunset, all the lights in downtown being turned on and the big red full moon. We also check the Saint Mary of the Mount Church but it was closed, much to my mom's dismay.

Thursday morning they got some more groceries I think haha. I have way too much food in my house.
Anyway.
In the evening I went out to Dreaming Ant to rent a few Dutch movies so that my dad could watch them too. After dinner I took them to Silky's to watch the Steelers' kick off season game.
Good thing the fans didn't let me down, they were loud and crazy as I was hoping for haha. Together with the good game, they ensured my parents enjoying themselves.

Friday was my last work day so I had to crunch some work to make the deadlines. Didn't make all of them but the most important ones were dealt with.
My parents had a resting day so I guess it was just my mom doing some household things and watching the Dutch movies.
My mom wanted to go to McDonalds so we did and went to the Giant Eagle to buy a few groceries and a Terrible Towel. Also headed into the DVD rental space of the GE to rent 4 movies.

On Saturday we had a webcam session with my sister and some family members. After that it was soccer time so my dad came along to watch me play while my mom stayed at home to watch DVDs.
I had told them we would go to La Filipiana for dinner so they made sure they didn't eat too much during the day. And as always, the food was exquisite, not expensive and my mom almost finished her dish which was quite impressive.
After dinner we hooked up with poor Linda who had been slaving away at work for most of the day so we picked her up at CMU and headed to the 61C for some tea/coffee and chatting. She showed my parents her place and afterwards we headed home. I went to bed, quite tired from all the soccer, while my parents stayed up to watch another DVD.

To be continued...

Summary of day one.

Sunday evening they finally arrived, a few minutes late but the plane had to wait before being able to land cause of the heavy air traffic.
Told me that no problems occured in Atlanta, not even big waiting times at the immigration and customs desks.
And even their baggage arrived.
After coming home and some chatting they unpacked, we ate some pizza and went to bed.

On Monday I tried (emphasis on tried) to re-install XP on my own laptop but failed miserably. After 2.5 hours I just gave up and took my parents to the Waterfront where we did some shopping. After that we headed out to the Strip District but apparently several shops were closed due to Labor Day. But we did get some fruit and veggies.
I decided to drive them around Pittsburgh a bit and show them Squirrel Hill so they can get around a bit. After a short recess at my place I wanted to get them a cell phone but both Radioshack and Verizon Wireless were closed. Since my mom doesn't listen to what I say she didn't have any walking shoes with her.
And she started complaining about all the walking and not having the right footwear for it(...)
So we drove to DSW at the Waterfront and got some good walking shoes for her.
Dinner was the next logical step but finding a restaurant in Squirrel Hill which was open turned out to be quite the challenge. Too bad La Filipiana and Bangkok Balcony were closed so we ended up at Gullifty's. The food was good but sitting right next to the jazz band was a little bit too much.
Although the advantage of my mom not being able to chat away was quite enjoyable haha!

Okay their flight to Pittsburgh took off at 5:12 pm, 10 minutes ago. Estimated arrival time is 7 pm.
Haven't received any phone calls so I'll assume everything went fine.
Will be leaving in 37 minutes!

My parents must be running around at Atlanta airport. Their flight DL 0125 from Brussels arrived at 2:17 pm and their connecting flight DL 0590 to Pittsburgh is schedule to leave at 5:15 pm.
That should give them ample time to get through immigration, customs, collect their bags, re-check in the bags, and get to the gate where their flight to Pittsburgh departs from.

I haven't had a phone call yet and if all goes well they should be through immigration and customs in half an hour from now.
Rough estimate of course :-)

I'm leaving at 6 pm to pick them up at the airport so 3 hours left.

Ugh, I hate these little colds. Just got up after waking up with a stuffed nose, unable to breath. Gives me some extra time to fold my laundry.
Been raining since last night, supposed to rain entire day too but supposedly the sun will come out tomorrow.

It's exactly 35 hours from now that my parents are expected to land in Pittsburgh.
Aka 1 day and 11 hours.

Blast this weather. Rather chilly with some slight wind.
What else? Busy day at work, listening to some music WITHOUT headphones since Niels is back in die Heimat. He got a new job as an assistent professor in Germany, the lucky bastard haha.
I hope their flight back home wasn't too bad and no luggage got lost.
Viel Glück du Tugendwächter! ;-)

Parent alert: just 2 days left.
I hope they're getting some sleep these last few nights.

To end with a movie quote: "The weather will change your life twice."

Hmm, the weather forecast seems totally random. Now they predict rain for only one day next week, on Friday to be exact.
But the temperature and weather type are pretty Dutch so no transition time needed to get used to that.

Best news of this week is that I got my first security deposit back! Verizon Wireless sent me a check for $411.51 so it feels good to have that money back where it belongs: my pocket!
Also got my paycheck today which is perfect timing with only 3 days to go before my parents land in Pittsburgh.

Almost everything is arranged for our Niagara Falls trip, hotel and rental car are booked. Only thing I still need to do is drop by the AAA to get some road maps but that's an easy fix.

Tomorrow at 6 pm is our next soccer massacre. Good thing it wasn't earlier this week cause my legs are finally starting to feel normal again. So the muscles are ready for some heavy activity again.
And it might even rain which makes it even better cause being Dutch, playing soccer in the rain is definitely one of the best things in life :-)

Weather going downhill :(
Four days left and I hope my parents bring their rain coats haha.

My apartment is actually looking quite nice now that I've got some furniture haha.
Also just picked up all of Niels and Julia's kitchen utensils so now I have a lot more than I need. Will see what I'll keep and what I'll bring to a Thrift store or something.

The temperature outside has dropped slightly but it's still about 80 F in my house. Even with my silly ass aircos on. Funny to realize I'll be freezing my ass off in about 2 months from now.

Only 5 days left.

Ok, playing soccer for 3 straight hours yesterday while knowing I had to move lots of Niels' stuff to my place wasn't the smartest idea ever.
But I'm sure my legs will feel better in a few days haha.

Only 6 days to go, I'm curious if they will touch down in Pittsburgh on the estimated arrival time.

Divine intervention!
The anti abortion car has vanished ha!

Was raining quite a bit earlier this morning but the temperature is still around 30 Celsius. And I'm willing to bet the humidity has increased even more.
Gonna be tough playing soccer in this kind of weather but fuck it.
Just bought my own ball so I can get some extra practice to show these Americans how Dutchies play soccer haha.

7 days aka one week left...

There's a car parked in front of my house with a sticker on its back bumper saying "Abortion is destroying America's future".

Right.

I didn't expect such pro-life idiots in Pittsburgh and the fact the slogan combines it with America's future is utterly retarted.
With their current president pretty much every bit of future being destroying ought to be credited by Sjors Dobbeljoe Boesj.

I seriously have to refrain myself not to tear off the sticker and replace it with a liberal one!

Time is flying for sure, 8 days left now.
So far the weather forecast for the period mom and dad will be here is looking good, sunny with 26-27 Celsius.

Will do some shopping today at the Waterfront. After jumping in the shower and doing some laundry.
Soccer again tomorrow, hell yeah!

Busy little Dutch bee, 9 days...

Having a Dutch night today with mostly Dutchies I have never met before. Gonna be interesting.
Too bad I have to skip today's soccer game though.


10 days...

Haha, man oh man.
What a day.

Had my road test today but since I didn't have an international driver's license the guy didn't let me take the damn test. My international license expired in April so he was right. Until today I could bullshit my way through all the things and the people at Penndot Pittsburgh even let me take the damn knowledge test without the international license.
Go figure!

But the guy told me to get a friend with a valid license and come back in the afternoon haha.
So that's what I did, got my friend Soudi and passed the silly test and now am fully legal concerning the driving papers!
Only took me half a day more than planned haha.

Anyway.

11 days left.

The countdown continues... 12 days left.

Summer in Pittsburgh still going strong which can't be said for my home country haha.
Well let's see if the weather keeps up in September.

Played another pick up game of soccer yesterday which lasted for 2.5 hours. We did have 3 short breaks but that's still a pretty long time I'd say. Muscles pretty achy and shit today but it's worth it.

And the countdown has begun, 13 days left before pops and moms arrive in Pittsburgh!

I almost forgot but when we went to have lunch at the Indian place in our street there was a woman sitting at the table next to us with several tattoos.
One of them was on her chest.
Couldn't help but think of the obvious question Matthias would ask her hahaha!

Been a while again, slacking as usual.
Must admit I've been up and about for quite a bit of sports. Running once a week and now pick up soccer games. Lotsa fun for sure!

Found this funny TV ad for "March of the penguins"
Go check that documentary out if you haven't already!

Time Jesum Transeuntum Et Non Riverentum

We were called to the forest,
and we went down.
A wind wind blew warm and eloquent,

We were searching for the secrets of the universe,
we rounded up demons and forced them
to tell us what it all meant.

We tied them to trees,
and broke them down, one by one.
On a scrap of paper they wrote these words:

And as we read them, the sun broke,
through the trees.

"Dread the passage of Jesus, for he will not return."

Then we headed back to our world,
and left the forest behind,
our hearts singing with all the knowledge of love.

But somewhere, somehow, we lost the message,
along the way,
and when we got home, we bought ourselves a house.

And we bought a car that we did not use,
And we bought a cage, and two singing birds.
And at night we'd sit and listen to the canary song.

For we'd both run right out of words.

Now the stars they are all angled wrong,
and the sun and the moon refuse to burn.

But I remember a message,
in a demon's hand,

"Dread the passage of Jesus, for he does not return."
...he does not return
...he does not return

Okay, I made what was wrong right again.
Passed the damn knowledge test for the PA drivers license WITHOUT ANY ERRORS!!!

So now I'm gonna make an appointment for the road test!
Bring it on!!

It's official now: I'm a complete retard!

Failed the knowledge test for the PA drivers license yesterday.
Made one too many errors so I'll go back on Monday morning.

CogSci/Vancouver trip

Monday basically was a lazy day. Got up very late, went to stroll around the shops in Vancouver and spent a lot of time in the HMV. That's a big CD/DVD store so yes I couldn't resist the urge to buy something.
Bought the Criterion edition of Mike Leigh's "Naked".
That's one of my fave movies of all time and even though it was 50 Canadian dollars it most definitely is worth every penny.

Got up at 4:15 am on Tuesday to catch my 6:30 am flight out of Vancouver to Chicago.
Since I tried to carry on my 3 piece luggage in Pittsburgh and was sent back to check 1 bag in, I decided to check in one bag right away.
Asked them if I should pick up the bag and re-check in at Chicago but no, I could pick it up in Pittsburgh.

Right.

I spent most of both flight dozing so that's brilliant but when I landed in Pittsburgh and wanted to pick up my bag.
Taadaa.
No bag.

So make a report and filled in a form to which they said the bag would be delivered later that night (yesterday night).
Got home and waited but no one came by to drop off my bag. Called the info phone number and a very friendly computer informed me I should wait with complaining until after 12:30 am.
Around 11:17 pm I got a phone call from the company who works for United Airlines to deliver all the lost baggage, and they asked me if it would be okay if the bag was delivered the next morning between 10 and 12 am.
To which I kindly said no cause I need to go to work (duh), and asked whether they couldn't deliver it last night. To which the guy agreed and just before 1 am I was finally reunited with my bag.
Happy happy joy joy.

And FUCK United Airlines.

CogSci 2006 report part deux

During the eye movement workshop I recognized someone whom also started psychology in the same year as I did and soon I met several other Dutchies as well.
Lunch was always on our own according to the conference schedule so we always went out and walked around in downtown Vancouver for a nice place to eat lunch and talk Dutch.

On Wednesday evening there supposedly was fireworks scheduled but we weren't sure where exactly it would be. When we finished dinner and walked out of the restaurant it seemed like the entire population of Vancouver was walking into our direction to the beach.
Being the deductive researchers we are, we figured the fireworks were to take place right there.
So we waited and watched in amazement (Belgian PhD student Ben) and amusement (me) how the cops poured a whole tray of beer cans they had confiscated into the gutter.
The fireworks were cool and organized by Italy, to be followed by China on Saturday.

On Thursday the conference kicked off with keynote speaker and lots of interesting sessions of which I wisely chose Learning to be the main topic to attend.
Since they didn't leave any room between the talks and the posters sessions (three sessions, Thursday night through Saturday night 7pm-10:30pm) I skipped the last session prior to the first poster session and got some tasty McDonalds food.
Yum.
But at least I didn't starve to death cause there was no food whatsoever during the 3.5 hours I represented my dissertation poster. Had some good reactions, interesting and entertaining conversations and got rid of the 5 copies of my dissertation I brought with me.
Totally exhausted at 10:30 pm I bought (yes, bought) a card at the reception of the Sheraton to go online and check my e-mail.
Oh, in between all this I also checked what happened with the payment and the exact same girl who checked me in said she forgot all about it.
*Insert condescending bitch bashing rant here*
So I kindly asked her to check and it appeared all had worked out just fine.

Friday consisted of more talks and work things. Even went to the 2nd poster session while I didn't have a poster. I hooked up with colleague Dr. Phil and after a good healthy walk we found a good Indian place and had an excellent dinner. Afterwards we went to a place called Little Amsterdam. Guess what was going on in there.
Yes it smelled just like home.
And no, I was completely sober throughout the entire evening/conference.

When Saturday kicked in I was getting conference fatigue and I knew I would have my 2nd poster from 7 pm till 10:30 pm. So I decided to skip the sessions after 3 pm and went to the indoor pool and whirlpool to chill out.
There was less crowd left for this 3rd poster evening session but I still had some interested folks to explain my research so all good.
Around 10 pm I hooked up with some other Dutchies and assorted other nationalities and went out to see the Chinese fireworks. Which was cool as well but seemed shorter than the Italian.
Afterwards we lost track of each other but found most of us again at a central point we'd agreed to meet. Though the police (on foot and on horse) did their best to clean the streets ordering everyone to piss off.

Sunday was my first day off and after a long and comfy sleep I hooked up with (surprise surprise) Dutchies in Stanley Park. After lunch they had to get ready to catch their plane and I went off to the Aquarium.
Cool place and I love taking advantage of my CMU faculty card acting like I'm still a student. What can I say, discounts bring out the best in me!
Afterwards I went to the Vancouver Lookout which has an amazing panorama on the city, the mountains and the harbor.
Also went to see "Superman returns" and it simply rocks. It's popcorn Hollywood stuff all the way but I love it!

Back in town

Back from Vancouver where I visited the CogSci 2006 conference. I did try to leave a message the day before I left but this blogsite crashed and I figured 'fuck it'.

Short report:
Conference was good, my 2 posters had a fair share of interested people, the Sheraton hotel sucks, Vancouver is a very cool town and I ran into a whole bunch of Dutchies.

The only pic of the conference:

More pics HERE.

Long report, part 1:
On Tuesday July 25th I left Pittsburgh at 6 am and spent most of the day travelling with a lay over in Chicago.
I arrived at the Sheraton in Vancouver in the afternoon. Upon checking in I got the response that my credit card didn't work. To which I replied I only have a debit card since I'm a foreigner working/living in the USA and as such do not have any credit history.
Then she tried my card as a debit card but for some reason she could only deduct $600 from it, prompting her to say I was only good for 3 days and that she would try again later and leave me a message.
After dropping my bags in my room and refreshing I went out for a walk in downtown Vancouver and really liked the atmosphere. Lots of shops, people up and about but not too crowded.
I also had to buy some shaving cream since I forgot to pack it.

On Wednesday morning I decided to get some breakfast and had 1 cup of tea, 1 jus d'orange, a croissant and a piece of bread. Total cost $15.
Lesson learned: go to Starbucks which is in the hotel as well, one floor lower and costs for a Blueberry muffin (yumyum) and a drink are substantially lower.

Shortly after the breakfast experience the conference started with a day long workshop on eye movements and we got a good and interesting overview of the current state of research on this topic.
Note: no drinks were supplied during the afternoon break. By mistake?

Here we are now, entertain us...

Moving 3: censored

Due to extensive swearing and obscenities no pics of moving David's new couch into his apartment.
Our (as in Dave and I) first attempt was trying to take it to the elevator via the garage. But a tight turn soon ended our brave intentions.
The second attempt was trying to take the couch to the elevator by taking the backdoor. After some incredible performance we got it inside and to the elevator.
Which... turned out to be too small for the big ass couch.

Did we give up? No.

After a small recess at home I went to help again while we carried the couch from the back all the way to the front and into the lobby.
Then we finally got back up from a 3rd guy (thanks Doug!) which we really needed to since the plan was to push/drag the bloody couch up to the 6th floor.

Fun.

But we did it.

Moving 2: our new office!

Setting up our equipment.

I finally have a window with a view... on electricity cables and big trash containers...

One of Niels' boxes.

Our employer likes to keep an eye on us.

Niels trying to figure out the set up of his monitor.

Niels trying to prevent Big Brother to keep an eye on us...

but then he realises he failed.

Bloody hot!

Indicating a temperature of 81 F (about 27.22 Celsius) at 9:09 am in my house....

Moving 1: Dave's books

Dave's "Ringu" pic

Storing his CDs makes Dave happy

Lots and lots and lots of books in boxes

Down with the philosophy homies

Books are fun!

The best books remain unwritten.

RIP Syd Barrett

Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
You were caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom, blown on the steel breeze.
Come on you target for faraway laughter, come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!

You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Threatened by shadows at night, and exposed in the light.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Well you wore out your welcome with random precision, rode on the steel breeze.
Come on you raver, you seer of visions, come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!

Nobody knows where you are, how near or how far.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Pile on many more layers and Ill be joining you there.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
And well bask in the shadow of yesterdays triumph, and sail on the steel breeze.
Come on you boy child, you winner and loser, come on you miner, for truth and delusion, and shine!

Key Largo 5

So I finally found a decent camera shop who could easily deal with a disposable camera which had a stuck rewind button.
There's 22 pics to be found on my photobucket site.

A pre-taster:

Someone told me I should update my blog. Does it surprise anyone it was a woman? :P

Read some Dutch news yesterday and one item that popped out was the result of research among kids between 12-20 years. Apparently 25% of them engage in varying degrees of cybersex.
Good to know our reputation in the world is once again been reinstated.

Other news?
Seems a lot of people I know are leaving, either for vacation or for new jobs elsewhere.
The weather is pretty good though a week can't go by without any rain.
Work is rather slow but soon will speed up when the lab experiment is about to kick off. Also will make 2 posters for the CogSci conference in Vancouver where I'll spend a week from July 25th on.

Had a physical examination yesterday and I had to put on one of those hospital dresses. Always fun to answer every question with no.
Nobody understands why, but this is a requirement to be able to apply for a Pennsylvania driver's license. Will call the state office DL center tomorrow to make an appoinment when I can do the theoretical and practical exams.
Living in America is fun huh?

In dreams the truth is learned that all good works are done in the absence of a caress.
Leonard Cohen

Oranje gekte 3

Well, if you guys thought I was crazy then the following video clip/song will prove that the Dutchies back at home outdo me big time:
Orange Insanity

Oranje gekte 2

Two Dutchies sandwich an Argentinian (look how afraid he is!)

Met this cool Argentinian dude named Miguel

Soudi loves the hammer too

Thus he gets hammered

Ben supporting Argentina in Orange

Oranje gekte 1

Me and my prrrrrrecious at a 2-1 score against Ivory Coast

Matthias trying to cheer for the Dutch

Preparing for the game against Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast will be waved goodbye

Oh my god, I can't believe what I just dreamed.
Although there was some quirkiness to it most was crystal clear and realistic in portrayal. So no 'Traumdeutung' needed to figure this one out.
I'm absolutely baffled.

Guess what I just found on my porch?
Tamara's dissertation. So it took like 2.5 to 3 months to arrive.

Also found a bill from the Gas company and they seem to like me more and more. The total amount of charge is $2.44.

Let's see if I get kicked out of the bar during the game against Argentina...

Just came back from "The lake house", a wonderful movie.
How often do you come across an excellent romantic drama from hollywood?
It's a sort of remake of a Korean movie called "Siworae", but "The lake house" is impressive in its own right.

The story is basically a magic mailbox via which 2 persons who live 2 years apart from each other can communicate with each other.
Think "Frequency" but in a romantic drama setting.

Splendid acting by Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves in the lead roles with excellent supporting roles by Christopher Plummer, Willeke van Ammelrooy (yes, Dutch!) and Dylan Walsh.

Of course some people will say it's cheesy, sappy or whatever but I feel sorry for them. They have lost something valuable.
Once I fell into the movie's cadence I simply swooned along.
Add Nick Drake's "Time has told me" to the equation and you just might feel compelled to swoon too...

The weeping song

Go son, go down to the water
And see the women weeping there
Then go up into the mountains
The men, they are weeping too

Father, why are all the women weeping?
They are weeping for their men
Then why are all the men there weeping?
They are weeping back at them

This is a weeping song
A song in which to weep
While all the men and women sleep
This is a weeping song
But I won't be weeping long

Father, why are all the children weeping?
They are merely crying son
O, are they merely crying, father?
Yes, true weeping is yet to come

This is a weeping song
A song in which to weep
While all the men and women sleep
This is a weeping song
But I won't be weeping long

O father tell me, are you weeping?
Your face seems wet to touch
O then I'm so sorry, father
I never thought I hurt you so much

This is a weeping song
A song in which to weep
While we rock ourselves to sleep
This is a weeping song
But I won't be weeping long
But I won't be weeping long
But I won't be weeping long
But I won't be weeping long

Key Largo 4

On Thursday I drove to Key West and since parking there is virtually impossible I just checked it out while cruising with my car. When I had some McDrek lunch I figured I should get to buying all those shirts my family had requested. Not only did they specify the size (like normal people do), but they also had to specify the COLOR!!!
Let me tell you it was a major pain in the ass to find the right size, the right color AND a t-shirt which looked nice too.

Anyway, on Thursday the first few showers made an appearance and from then on the rain slowly but surely got worse. Friday was rainy but still fairly okay. Saturday and Sunday however were full on heavy rainfall.
A blessing that I could watch the World Cup soccer in my hotel room to avoid going out in the rain and actually have a good time staying in too!
Yet obviously, when the Dutch team was playing the Serbs I had to leave to bring back the rental car to Miami and check in for the flight back to chilly Pittsburgh.

All of my digital pics are found HERE.
I did make some pics with a disposable underwater camera but I still have to get that developed and also have to wait & see if those pics are any pics. Nonetheless, chances are I'll put those online too.

Well, it's after 2 a.m. now so I better sign off and get some sleep before the first work day kicks in....

But one last thing before I go to sleep is play that brilliant Brian Eno song ;-)

Key Largo 3

So after having wrapped up my scuba diving I could start relaxing 110% for the rest of the week.
Somewhere in the afternoon I found this pic which is especially for Matthias: I'm not kidding you man!
Other can check the pic but very few shall get it hehe.

On Wednesday evening I was zapping through the TV channels and only the Dutch folks will understand how surprised I was to see Andre Rieu on TV.
Not only was it just a concert but it was even in Limburgian dialect since this gig was recorded in Kerkrade.
I must admit I felt a slight lump in my throat hearing my very own dialect thousands of miles away from my home soil.
Yes I'm a wuss.

Key Largo 2

After getting my certification of the wreck diver course on the 6th of the 6th of 06, I had booked 1 day for 2 fun dives.
Found a dive buddy on the boat and as scheduled we did 2 deep dives: another one on the Duane and the 2nd one on the sorta Holy Grail of wrecks to dive on: the Spiegel Grove.

While we spent 26 minutes on the Duane with the deepest depth 105 feet (about 32 meters), we spent 29 minutes on the Spiegel Grove's wreck with a deepest depth of 86 feet.
According to the dive table we spent too much time at a too extreme depth and we should be dead by now. Well, I feel pretty damn good for a dead guy!
But we only had 1 hour surface interval between the 2 deep dives which adds to the risky business of scuba diving.
Nonetheless, everything went fine and all other divers on the boat also had no problems after doing these 2 deep dives within a slightly too small time period.

Key Largo 1

Guess who's back?
The week went by rather fast.
The departure was very very early but since I arrived in Miami during the early afternoon I could enjoy the ride to Key Largo and chill out after having arrived at the hotel.
I went to Horizon Divers to do some of the inevitable paperwork for my wreck diver course and checked out the area of Key Largo.

On Monday morning I had a short pool session since my dive instructor wanted to see how my skills were before we headed out to the ocean.
I did pretty well and after getting some lunch the first trip consisted of 2 shallow dives (18 metres or less): the first being on the City of Washington and a nearby wreck in the Elbow Reef.

On Tuesday we did a deep dive on the wreck of the Duane and a shallow dive on the wreck of the Benwood.
After cutting my left hand fairly deep on some rusty metal inside the Duane wreck I decided to buy some dive gloves for the leisure dives on Wednesday.

Done packing for my Key Largo trip. Couldn't find my DS2019 form for fucks sake. Without this document I can't travel outside the U.S. so it's rather important.
And yes smart ass, I know I don't need it for this trip.

I'm telling ya, I need to make copies of this document when I come back cause otherwise I WILL lose it.

My cold is still present and I'm hoping for a miracle to make it disappear on Monday morning. Otherwise they might not allow me to dive.

No one wants to hear this but in case something would happen and I don't return then here's the song I want to be played:
Brian Eno - By this river
You can find it on his stellar album "Before and after science".

It's a brilliant song but also quite suitable since the movie "La stanza del figlio" uses it very effectively. This movie deals with a family whose son dies in a scuba diving accident.
So, Brian Eno it is folks.

C-ya later!

Note to self: play Savatage's "When the crowds are gone" upon getting home.

So I just found a nice e-mail from cheaptickets informing the MORONS of US Airways and American Airlines decided to change my flight plan for my upcoming Florida trip.
Two days prior to leaving!
Besides the departure time I now have a fucken transfer in NC (?!?!) and arrive 2 hours laters as planned. And the flight back to Pittsburgh has been shifted 6 hours earlier than originally!!!
Of course they don't need to explain why they wanna fuck me over so bad...
Just fucken great that the reservation times for the rental car are now completely off.

So a most heartfelt FUCK YOU to US AIRWAYS!!

Yesterday was Memorial Day and about 33 degrees Celsius. What better thing to do than go kayaking?
So I hooked up with the only philosopher at CMU that actually admits being a philosopher. After waiting for a few aeons for a tandem kayak (much more fun!) we finally hit the water and pedelled around for about 1.5 hours: pics click me!

Apparently my cell phone didn't like it. It died.

To emphasize this brilliant day we found a parking ticket when we finally got back to the car. Which also was on the list to be towed away...

The night was spent on Italian water ice cream (Italian my ass) and the brilliant Indian movie "Water".
It was a sad story but well told and quite impressive. Long live art house movies!

Went to "X men III" on Sunday en on the way to the cinema I posted three bills. Only to find out an entire day later I forgot to put stamps on the envelopes....
Maybe I should go for professor after all?

Went to a prom party (my first!) on Saturday which was an uhm shall we say interesting experience. There were 2 rooms, one social room and one room with a crappy DJ. Guess in what room all the people were...
At midnight the guard kicked us out cause he wanted to go home. So he gets paid to go home early?!? Lazy punk ass bitch.

After my prom date Matthias and me went all European on the one and only miss American PI it dawned on me I better hit on the balloons.
There's some pics on the photobucket page with me doing silly 'n raunchy stuff with them. Oh, we also went to this afterparty at someone's place.
Here's me running around in Oakland impersonating Frank's "Stranger in the night"...

Getting ready for the WorldCup soccer!

Though I miss many CDs which I couldn't take with me when I moved to Pittsburgh, I did pack 48 albums from my immense collection.

Classic oldie album of this week is Therapy's "Infernal love". It's brilliant, it's 11 years old and it still rocks.
While the excellent "Troublegum" might be the most popular album by these Irish dudes there's more variety, melancholy and depth to be found on "Infernal love".
And their cover of Hüsker Dü's "Diane" is even better than the original version.

The magic of good music is neverending!

So all it took was an outlash on my blogsite?
A few hours after ranting about the Dutch post not arriving I received 3 copies of Tamara's dissertation at my work mailbox and when I came home that night I found the CD from The Gathering on the porch.
So now there's only 1 copy of T's dissertation missing. Must have ended up on the slowest possible postal ship or something.

Bloody rain, gonna be double wet diving...

Postal nightmares

So I've figured out that everything sent from the Netherlands since April has not arrived at my place.
Not only The Gathering's CD but also 4 copies of Tamara's dissertation are listen MIA. So Dutchies, don't sent anything unless you want it to never reach me.
Though the stuff might still arrive I have a hard time believing this.
I got a package from Italy yesterday which was sent 5 days ago by airmail, the Dutch stuff was sent more than a month ago.
Fuggeddabout it!

In the meantime I got some cool wetwear stuff. Bought a mask, snorkel, fins and boots. Rented the remaining stuff and will go diving upcoming Saturday and Sunday. Can you say STOKED??
Have to set up the tank with the regulators, air supply for BCD and gauge by myself when I get to the Strawberry Fields Quarry. Lovely :-)
Gotta go back to the dive store on Saturday afternoon to get the tanks refilled for Sunday.
After the upcoming weekend I'll be fully prepared when I hit Key Largo on June 4.

Small note on weather: Dutch drizzle in Pittsburgh?

TimTam heaven!!

Found an Aussie webstore from San Antonio and ordered some TimTams which arrived today at work!

The religion of TimTams: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Atrium/2436/timtams/

WOW!
Just got the new Misery Index album from our ftp server and it even exceeds my high expectations!!
The drive, the groove, the speed, the brutality, it's simply brilliant.
This embodies the perfect death metal music for me.
Can't wait for this CD to hit the stores so I can buy it!

End of music rant.

Someone asked me about the state and city taxes but since the numbers added up I got no refund from them. Doesn't matter anyway, the federal refund is still making me happy haha.

Also got a reimbursement for my expenses on the NY trip and this month's salary today so I feel even more like Dagobert Duck than before!
This means I can buy some wetwear, do the scuba review course, and be ready when I hit Florida on the 4th of June.
When I come back on the 11th FURNITURE is way up there on the to do list :-)

Funny thing about gas bills. Apparently I forgot to pay the last two bills but since the 2nd one was a ridiculous estimate bill for 400 dollars I wasn't that sorry not to pay lol.
And instead of giving me a huge fine they gas company re-adjusted the estimate bill and send me a reasonable bill to catch up with the last 2 months.
All's well that ends well indeed.

Besides a few setbacks at work there's not that much new. As always, we'll manage in any case.

Oh, can you hear it?
It's the summer knocking...

Today it is exactly one year ago since I got my PhD. Good memories!
Time does fly...

It's silly but I just found out today that I got my tax refund 10 days ago!
I'm rich!!!

The last unicorn

I just got the DVD of this brilliant cartoon last Friday and although I still have to watch it, it made me do this online questionnaire:
Which character from The Last Unicorn are you?

The result sounds eerily familiar...

You are the Skeleton

You are always joking about something. You often don't make much sense to anyone other than yourself, but you can surprise people with random words of wisdom when they are least expecting it. You have a good memory, and you are always reminiscing about something from your past. You get lonely sometimes, and you love idle chit-chat with random strangers. You tend to make people uneasy with the unusual way you look.

Found the following statement in a fortune cookie. Quite like this one.

"When you're finished changing, you're finished."

Been a while again. Slacking as usual :-S

In the meantime I kept busting my legs playing soccer and since I didn't make the team (yet?) I got some time to let all those aching joints and muscles to fully heal. There will be soccer practice soon so no worries.

Busy pretty much sums up March and is a good predictor for April and May. In March we finished and delivered all necessary materials to our German collaborators (uhm, no pun intended), and following that we jumped into working on our own experiment. Crunch time still ongoing.

And last week I had my first trip outside of Pittsburgh! Timing couldn't be worse but the symposium was pretty good, my presentation went well (video will be up soon!), and NY is a nice city.
It's big, 50% or more of all cars are yellow cabs, the cab drivers are insane, New Yorkers are... well New Yorkers. Still, lots of interesting stuff to see, do, buy, etc.
Which I didn't have time for since I flew in on Tuesday afternoon and left on Friday afternoon again. In and out.

Oh, I shouldn't forget to mention my new found addiction called ebay. Yes sir. Buying obscure albums is something that keeps the money flying out of my bank. But being debtless makes these expenses easily peanuts.

Last thing before I sign off, spring has finally arrived!! The upcoming week should be mostly sunny and 17 Celsius so even though I'll be locked in the basement of the building where I work, these are good times :D

Groovy!

Finally started playing soccer again yesterday. Went okay, especially considering not having played for like 10 years.
But it was indoor hence more exhausting then outdoor. Left ankle is somewhat stretched but not swollen so shouldn't take too long to heal.

Furthermore, filled in my federal tax form and am actually getting back a significant amount of money! Let's do the Dance of Joy!! :D

Still have to do the state and city tax forms. Hopefully they'll be covered during tonight's tax session at the Office of International Education.

Everyone remembers 9/11.
Here's the documentary Michael Moore should have made instead of doing a Bush bashing shit film.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5137581991288263801&q=loose+change

If it don't work then typ in Loose Change 2 in google and you'll find it within a nanosecond.

The facts that are revealed and displayed are shocking.
God bless America....

Got back from the excellent gig almost an hour ago.
Was supposed to start at 8pm but Devin Townsend was already playing when I got in line to get in. It was fucken freezing!
Saw about 20 to 25 minutes which were very pleasant to warm up my ears.

Dark Tranquillity only played 40 minutes which is rather short but they were superb. Mikael's voice sounded very good as well.
Though again no "Of chaos and eternal night" :-(

Opeth played for two whole hours which was a bit too long for me, but I still bought their latest album. And an expensive DT zipper hooded sweater. Sorry mum!

Drinking age is a big thing in America. I am allowed to get totally drunk and wreck my car on the way home (yay!):














(it says 'Drinking age verified')

Got hooked up with cable internet yesterday so I'm back in business.
Tonight it's time for Devin Townsend Band, Dark Tranquillity and Opeth!!

Went to see Malick's "The new world" with a bunch of guys on Saturday.
And it's simply breathtaking. Malick is a poetic film maker who loves to paint rhymes of nature and mankind in all it harmony and disharmony.
Some more dialogues than in "The thin red line" but the same mesmerizing shots of nature, rituals and hypnotizing voice overs. The pace is obviously slow but it enhances the impact the visually imposing scenes have on you.
Highly recommended!

On another note, I will be hooked up with cable internet on upcoming Friday. DSL is not possible at my home address and dial up belongs to the stone age.
Anyway, cable internet is quite expensive but 2 months without internet makes me very grumpy.

STEELERS WIN FUCKING SUPERBOWL!!!

Right now Pittsburgh is the happiest city in the world!
Crazy shit going on since last night haha.
We walked into Oakland district and the streets were filled with extatic people going completely nuts. Singing, screaming, dancing, running, playing with the snow etc.
Cops on almost every street corner watching the mayhem unfold ha!

When I drove back to my place I slipped at 1 traffic light (snow makes roads slippery) but I did manage to stop hehe. Shortly after that I got into a traffic jam due to an accident somewhere in front of me, so I took a detour.
Drove past some guy in just his shorts who was screaming and jumping on his front porch while his son was filming it haha.

Imagine your country winning the World Championship soccer, that's how Pittsburgh exploded with joy, alcohol and partying.

Great to be here to experience it, I don't expect the Steelers to win the Superbowl anytime soon again.

Five days left to the Superbowl and it seems Pittsburgh is even more frantic than usual!
Bus lines alternate their number/destination with "GO STEELERS", all team jerseys are sold out and people wear all kinds of Steelers merchandise (hats, jackets, scarves, etc.).
I think the city will explode if they win the Superbowl. So in case you don't hear from me after upcoming Sunday: it was nice knowing y'all!

Pittsburgh Steelers are Super Bowl Bound!!!
By defeating the Denver Broncos with 34-17 the Steelers will play against the Seattle Seahawks on February 5th 2006 to try and win the Superbowl XL.
Take one guess what everybody will be doing on that upcoming Sunday.

FINALLY!!!
I just booked a flight and hotel for a late spring break from June 4 till June 11 at Key Largo, Florida.
Have requesting some info from Padi to make this diving vacation personalized as possible :-)
Man I'm looking forward to hitting the ocean again and do some scuba diving!
Furniture can wait, gotta have priorities hehe.

Haha, check out this Joe Average looking guy drumming along with Mike Smith!

http://www.youtube.com/w/Death-Metal-Office-Drumming?v=ig43zRNWYy4&search=death%20metal

Oh my... finally after 6 months the first decent tour package in the vicinity of Pittsburgh...

OPETH, DARK TRANQUILLITY & DEVIN TOWNSEND BAND - US TOUR 2006

FEBRUARY:
18th - Millvale, Mr. Small's Theatre - PA

Millvale is just a 20 minutes drive from my house according to mapquest, hell yeah!
Happy happy joy joy, looking forward to this!

So, survived another December.
At what cost?
Who knows.

Since my neighbors killed their wireless internet connection so I've been without internet for the last few weeks. Not really a huge ordeal but sometimes it would have been convenient to go online of course.
Will get my own connection asap.

Thanks goes out to Bas and Tamara for sending some chocolate. No Tim Tams but anything different than American tastes good!
After 4 months I can honestly say the food tastes a lot less rich than I'm used to. It tastes a bit stale as though they try to put as little stuff into it. Think I should check out some of the Delicatessen stores.

Biggest news is probably that I now have my own car. It's an old 1990 Toyota Corella but it's just the thing I need. It runs and that's the way I like it.
Went to downtown last week which was easier than I thought, only to get lost for a short while on the way back. Oh well, the movie (Kurosawa's "Hidden fortress") was worth the fuss.

Have seen quite a share of movies during the last two weeks. I'll say some brief words about a few of them.
"Walk the line": Johnny Cash biopic with Joaquin Phoenix leading the viewer to the ups and down of this American idol. Not a classic but very good and enticing throughout the entire length.
"Memoirs of a geisha": Though I haven't read the book (yet) the movie makes me want to read it. The makers have paid a lot of attention to the visuals and it looks impressive. The acting is good and most of the dialogues in English, though I would have preferred it to be in Japanese. The story is quite predictable but enjoyable nonetheless.
King Kong: Peter Jackson's rendition of the 1933 edition is an exhilirating ride from start to finish. He takes time to establish his characters in the beginning of the movie and tension is build up to new peaks before we finally get a glimpse of Kong. I've always been a huge fan of these monster movies and Jackson's reputation to be impeccable no matter what genre he tackles is held high. Though some of the CGI is a tad weak it is necessary to recreate the prehistoric population of Skull Island.
No classic but vintage blockbuster.

"Munich": After the immensely horrible and ultimately disappointing "War of the worlds" I was curious if Spielberg would still have something to say in movie world. Considering the topic of this movie one's expectations are high.
Stylistically it's a breathtaking ride. Acting is excellent with Geoffrey Rush in villainous role and Eric Bana ("Chopper", "Incredible Hulk") as the leading character heading the small group of men on a crusade of revenge. While in some spots Spielberg merely brushes the surface of some profound topics it feels good that the movie is not as pro-Israel as I feared it might be. The message is clear and in Eric Bana's character the viewer can recognize the effects of this ongoing violent history between the Israelis and Palestines. All just for a piece land of their own. To call home.