Went to the controversial "Bodies" exhibition with Sarah yesterday.
Controversial since it's not entirely clear whose bodies were actually used by the Chinese folks who prepped the exhibition.
So since it's unclear I shall remain silent about this issue and simply note that the exhibition was very interesting. Besides some full bodies being displayed while exercising some sport (tennis, soccer, volleyball) there were a lot of body parts displayed. From bones, to skin (yes the biggest organ), the other organs, muscles, nerves, brain, miscarriaged fetuses, blood vessel system of several body systems, reproductive systems etc.
I especially liked the blood vessel systems which were so elaborate that it must have been an insane job to extract them.
Since this exhibition is rather successful and it was Saturday, the parking lot of the Carnegie Science Center was ful so we ended up parking on the Steelers parking lot. Apparently some off season Steelers Fan Blitz was happening in the Steelers stadium. Funny to see how crazy Yinzers are about their beloved Aniercan football team throughout the entire year.
After we came out of the exhibition we decided to go for a drink and a bite. Since it was fairly nice being outside we discussed some possibilities and obviously the Harris Grill came up. I remember clearly that a friend of mine (Tomek) told me it caught fire during my time in Europe and had been closed down.
So Sarah and I figured to check out the bar/eatery across the Harris Grill, called the Bites and Brews. But when we got there the Harris Grill was actually opened and their terrace filled with people. Turned out they had just re-opened last week.
We couldn't figure out what had been burnt since the place looked pretty much the same as we remembered it.
Apparently there were some people who pointed out my beard to each other but unfortunately Sarah did not point out those guys to me or I'd have walked up to them to give them my autograph haha.
Soccer in 1,5 hours!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Pennsylvania Primary elections 2008
It's interesting how Americans get totally caught up in this. At the bus stop I was harassed by a woman holding a "Vote for Hillary!" sign and who gave me a flyer with info on how awesome Hillary is.
On the bus trip into work I noticed more women up and about holding Hillary signs.
Then, as I got to my office I noticed I had one new message on my voicemail and it was, once again, a woman telling me not to vote for Obama since he had voted against some detailed abortion things.
Well if all this is any indication it looks pretty bad for poor Obama. I like the guy but I'm not allowed to vote.
I was told yesterday that the final decision about the actual Democratic presidency candidate won't be chosen until early summer. Say late June, early July. That's still a rather short time period (in my opinion ) when realizing the actual presidency elections are in early November.
And John McCain definitely has a chance. More than most Europeans think/realize he has.
Fingers crossed.
On the bus trip into work I noticed more women up and about holding Hillary signs.
Then, as I got to my office I noticed I had one new message on my voicemail and it was, once again, a woman telling me not to vote for Obama since he had voted against some detailed abortion things.
Well if all this is any indication it looks pretty bad for poor Obama. I like the guy but I'm not allowed to vote.
I was told yesterday that the final decision about the actual Democratic presidency candidate won't be chosen until early summer. Say late June, early July. That's still a rather short time period (in my opinion ) when realizing the actual presidency elections are in early November.
And John McCain definitely has a chance. More than most Europeans think/realize he has.
Fingers crossed.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Identity
Until now I have avoided talking about certain matters on this blog. I guess I’ve been protective of the ones dear to me and honestly, of myself too. Yet I feel the need to vent something which will seem alien to most and perhaps familiar to some.
It is merely my version of the truth as I experience it so if people get offended then no harm meant.
One reason why I decided to make this post is a conversation I recently had with a Czech grad student who spoke openly about the difficulties he was experiencing as a European, or more precisely as a Czech, to feel comfortable living in another country. In this case the country being the United States.
Furthermore, since my current position at CMU will end at the end of August 2009 I have a big decision to make. Will I stay in this foreign country, will I venture to another foreign country, or do I go back to the so-called home country?
It’s been roughly 2 years and 8 months since I packed up everything I thought necessary to start all over in a different country. I arrived with only 3 bags, one of which contained a laptop.
I quickly noticed people (‘Americans’) liked to talk about everything except really personal stuff. In the time I’ve been here I have rarely spoken about my deeply European/Dutch identity. Basically when you move to another country you might get some surface questions about your origins but people expect you to fit in and to be in the here and now.
Obviously when starting all over one is looking for his own place in this new setting and tries to figure out his role. Eventually things will take form but for some that form might not be acceptable. Like for the Czech grad student I mentioned earlier. He is seriously considering quitting his position here and moving back to the Czech Republic and pick up his old job.
When I read Kundera’s “Ignorance” last year a lot of pieces of the puzzle fell into place and I immediately recognized so many details. The book is about two former lovers who leave Czechoslovakia and separately live in different countries for 20 years before returning and actually running into each other by chance.
The way Kundera describes the differences between the Czech who emigrated and the ‘natives’ of the country to which they fled is impeccable. Yes a person can fit in anywhere if he’s flexible enough but somehow the shoe never fits 100%.
The ‘natives’ do not show much affection or understanding for the lead characters' background and experiences. They assign them a role; put them in a category so the world makes sense again. Yet when the lead characters return to their ‘home land’ they feel estranged since their friends expect them to be the exact same person as when they had left. They are expected to perform the very same role they once had 20 years ago and basically leave those 20 years spent elsewhere behind. All the while their friends’ lives have continued the way they had been doing back then. Meaning that the lives of their friends largely remained the same throughout all those years. But the lead characters find it impossible to slip back in their former assigned roles.
Obviously all this is very recognizable for me. I’m not too sure about what role people here in Pittsburgh have assigned me other than being this obnoxious, goofy, blunt, wild Dutch person. That is probably the role I have been assigned to and am expected to behave as accordingly. When I actually act differently for a change, for instance at Matthias’ farewell party where I held a short farewell speech for him, people were surprised. Surprised that I showed a completely different side of myself. They liked the speech I gave but never took this as an opportunity to explore my identity further.
And honestly, why should they? People are mostly caught up in their own lives and reaching out simply IS hard.
I firmly believe that you leave parts of you everywhere you go. On each travel/move you leave something behind which cannot be returned. Your soul is fractioned.
Note that I don’t necessarily mean this in a negative way. Each of those ‘lost’ parts is held dearly to yourself and the experiences you gained whilst losing those parts can be very intense. Additionally, the longer you spent someplace the bigger the fraction of your soul is left behind when you move away from that place.
I sometimes use my CD collection as a metaphor when conversing with myself about this subject. Just like I had to leave most of my CD collection back in the Netherlands, I left a big chunk of what I am behind too.
Thinking back on those first few months here in Pittsburgh it’s not that strange that I was out of my element. I was looking for my place in this new town, this new country, this community, this new work environment.
The thing is that ever since I accepted my current job is that I never knew for how long this was going to be. It could have been just one year as it turned out for former colleague Niels who went back to Germany with his wife. It could have been 2 years had our project extension been rejected.
People like Stefan who was here for a preset time frame last year will experience all these things differently. They know that they’re here for a limited period of time and that they will go back to their ‘old’ life afterwards.
But what is my old life, do I still have any?
I’ve never been one to sulk and have burnt my fair share of bridges while always looking ahead. As such I know that no matter where I end up I will find a place and role which will fit me fairly well. Yet it is never an easy process. This is what I have tried to clarify with this lengthy post.
For whom it matters.
It is merely my version of the truth as I experience it so if people get offended then no harm meant.
One reason why I decided to make this post is a conversation I recently had with a Czech grad student who spoke openly about the difficulties he was experiencing as a European, or more precisely as a Czech, to feel comfortable living in another country. In this case the country being the United States.
Furthermore, since my current position at CMU will end at the end of August 2009 I have a big decision to make. Will I stay in this foreign country, will I venture to another foreign country, or do I go back to the so-called home country?
It’s been roughly 2 years and 8 months since I packed up everything I thought necessary to start all over in a different country. I arrived with only 3 bags, one of which contained a laptop.
I quickly noticed people (‘Americans’) liked to talk about everything except really personal stuff. In the time I’ve been here I have rarely spoken about my deeply European/Dutch identity. Basically when you move to another country you might get some surface questions about your origins but people expect you to fit in and to be in the here and now.
Obviously when starting all over one is looking for his own place in this new setting and tries to figure out his role. Eventually things will take form but for some that form might not be acceptable. Like for the Czech grad student I mentioned earlier. He is seriously considering quitting his position here and moving back to the Czech Republic and pick up his old job.
When I read Kundera’s “Ignorance” last year a lot of pieces of the puzzle fell into place and I immediately recognized so many details. The book is about two former lovers who leave Czechoslovakia and separately live in different countries for 20 years before returning and actually running into each other by chance.
The way Kundera describes the differences between the Czech who emigrated and the ‘natives’ of the country to which they fled is impeccable. Yes a person can fit in anywhere if he’s flexible enough but somehow the shoe never fits 100%.
The ‘natives’ do not show much affection or understanding for the lead characters' background and experiences. They assign them a role; put them in a category so the world makes sense again. Yet when the lead characters return to their ‘home land’ they feel estranged since their friends expect them to be the exact same person as when they had left. They are expected to perform the very same role they once had 20 years ago and basically leave those 20 years spent elsewhere behind. All the while their friends’ lives have continued the way they had been doing back then. Meaning that the lives of their friends largely remained the same throughout all those years. But the lead characters find it impossible to slip back in their former assigned roles.
Obviously all this is very recognizable for me. I’m not too sure about what role people here in Pittsburgh have assigned me other than being this obnoxious, goofy, blunt, wild Dutch person. That is probably the role I have been assigned to and am expected to behave as accordingly. When I actually act differently for a change, for instance at Matthias’ farewell party where I held a short farewell speech for him, people were surprised. Surprised that I showed a completely different side of myself. They liked the speech I gave but never took this as an opportunity to explore my identity further.
And honestly, why should they? People are mostly caught up in their own lives and reaching out simply IS hard.
I firmly believe that you leave parts of you everywhere you go. On each travel/move you leave something behind which cannot be returned. Your soul is fractioned.
Note that I don’t necessarily mean this in a negative way. Each of those ‘lost’ parts is held dearly to yourself and the experiences you gained whilst losing those parts can be very intense. Additionally, the longer you spent someplace the bigger the fraction of your soul is left behind when you move away from that place.
I sometimes use my CD collection as a metaphor when conversing with myself about this subject. Just like I had to leave most of my CD collection back in the Netherlands, I left a big chunk of what I am behind too.
Thinking back on those first few months here in Pittsburgh it’s not that strange that I was out of my element. I was looking for my place in this new town, this new country, this community, this new work environment.
The thing is that ever since I accepted my current job is that I never knew for how long this was going to be. It could have been just one year as it turned out for former colleague Niels who went back to Germany with his wife. It could have been 2 years had our project extension been rejected.
People like Stefan who was here for a preset time frame last year will experience all these things differently. They know that they’re here for a limited period of time and that they will go back to their ‘old’ life afterwards.
But what is my old life, do I still have any?
I’ve never been one to sulk and have burnt my fair share of bridges while always looking ahead. As such I know that no matter where I end up I will find a place and role which will fit me fairly well. Yet it is never an easy process. This is what I have tried to clarify with this lengthy post.
For whom it matters.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
soccer
For those who don't understand all the fuzz about soccer (yes Tom, I mean YOU!):
The Netherlands-Argentina 1998 Worldcup France
In all fairness they should have included the two Argentinian chances which ended up on the crossbar and the post. As far as I remember these occured after Bergkamp scored the fabulous 2-1 goal.
But we definitely deserved to win! GREAT match!
The European Cup will kick off on June 7th this year, not sure if we can take on Italy and France. And we already had difficulty dealing with Romania in the qualifying round so it will be even harder at the actual tournament.
I think I'll be skipping work again for the matches of our national team. Piper's pub will be the place to go!
The Netherlands-Argentina 1998 Worldcup France
In all fairness they should have included the two Argentinian chances which ended up on the crossbar and the post. As far as I remember these occured after Bergkamp scored the fabulous 2-1 goal.
But we definitely deserved to win! GREAT match!
The European Cup will kick off on June 7th this year, not sure if we can take on Italy and France. And we already had difficulty dealing with Romania in the qualifying round so it will be even harder at the actual tournament.
I think I'll be skipping work again for the matches of our national team. Piper's pub will be the place to go!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
oops I lied
Apparently I never posted the link to this year's carnaval party on here!
It was another success with a good amount of visitors, of which most hated the genuine carnaval music haha. But I got drunk big time and had a brilliant time. Again no headache or other physical discomforts the next day so I've truly figured out how to get drunk and still have a great time the morning after!
Didn't shoot that many pics since I was too busy getting drunk but click HERE to see them.
It was another success with a good amount of visitors, of which most hated the genuine carnaval music haha. But I got drunk big time and had a brilliant time. Again no headache or other physical discomforts the next day so I've truly figured out how to get drunk and still have a great time the morning after!
Didn't shoot that many pics since I was too busy getting drunk but click HERE to see them.
rainy spring
Last post for today :-)
Recently started playing soccer again which feels good after gaining some weight during the winter time. Today's weather was perfect for soccer: bit chilly, slight rain and enough guys who showed up.
Btw, one of the Tepper guys shot some cool pics of last week's game. Click HERE for those pics and if you're only interested in seeing sexy me then click HERE.
My legs don't feel too shabby so all good. Just my head feels rather drowsy after playing soccer. No idea why but if you find spelling errors and such in these posts of today then you know what the cause is!
This Friday (April 18) we'll be going to the Hungarian food place again. Third time for me and I love Alexander's food! Genuine Hungarian food rules y'all!
Spring time has arrived, temperatures still jump up and down quite a bit here in Pittsburgh but by now I've gotten used to that. And since my deviated septum surgery I haven't gotten a single cold or flu. Knock on wood!
Speaking of my septum, I had my last appointment with the nose doctor last Friday. He said my nose is healed for 90% and the remaining 10% should be healed in about 2 months from now.
I don't have any real problems, just still some irritation spots in my nose. I'm sure it will take plenty of time to fully heal but no worries.
Soon enough summer will be here and I'll be going to MDF with Joost and Iwan, ICLS conference in Utrecht, Graspop festival in Dessel, CIM festival in Urbana-Champaign and CogSci conference in Washington DC!
Yay for traveling!
Recently started playing soccer again which feels good after gaining some weight during the winter time. Today's weather was perfect for soccer: bit chilly, slight rain and enough guys who showed up.
Btw, one of the Tepper guys shot some cool pics of last week's game. Click HERE for those pics and if you're only interested in seeing sexy me then click HERE.
My legs don't feel too shabby so all good. Just my head feels rather drowsy after playing soccer. No idea why but if you find spelling errors and such in these posts of today then you know what the cause is!
This Friday (April 18) we'll be going to the Hungarian food place again. Third time for me and I love Alexander's food! Genuine Hungarian food rules y'all!
Spring time has arrived, temperatures still jump up and down quite a bit here in Pittsburgh but by now I've gotten used to that. And since my deviated septum surgery I haven't gotten a single cold or flu. Knock on wood!
Speaking of my septum, I had my last appointment with the nose doctor last Friday. He said my nose is healed for 90% and the remaining 10% should be healed in about 2 months from now.
I don't have any real problems, just still some irritation spots in my nose. I'm sure it will take plenty of time to fully heal but no worries.
Soon enough summer will be here and I'll be going to MDF with Joost and Iwan, ICLS conference in Utrecht, Graspop festival in Dessel, CIM festival in Urbana-Champaign and CogSci conference in Washington DC!
Yay for traveling!
more spring time yay!
About 1.5 weeks after I messed up my back I was going to the AERA conference in New York City which was my first time being at the AERA.
The back was fine but the youth hostel I was staying at had put me in a room right next to the shared bathroom haha. So I slept like maybe 1 or 2 hours that first night. Next morning I asked for a single room which was not adjacent to a shared bathroom and fortunately they could accommodate me. Only weird thing in this 2nd room was that the heating was on most of the time and there was no control panel with which I could turn it off. Oh well, just slept with the window open and in my birthday suit :-D
The conference was actually better than I expected so that's always a good thing. Since it's the biggest Educational Research conference in the US there were thousands of participants and they used four big ass hotels in Manhattan to be able to host all the parallel sessions.
I had a presentation on Thursday morning in a session with all professors. It's always fun to be the odd ball out, people take notice and wonder what my position is. Presentation went well and after making a joke about my wicked beard people even dared to ask some questions!
Ran into Sarah again whom I had met at the EARLI conference last year in Budapest. She went into hyper job searching mode on day 2 haha. I'm sure she'll find a good job.
Since I'm officially only allowed to do 2 conferences per year and I'm doing 3 this year (AERA, ICLS, CogSci) I was keeping costs down as much as possible. That explains why I was staying in a youth hostel in the upper West side.
Oh, on Tuesday night I wanted to take the subway back to my hostel but apparently the line I wanted to take had stopped running at 10pm. That's rather early for NYC, no?!?!
Anyway, I walked back to my hostel (about 50 or 60 blocks) in about 40 minutes and my beard protected me from the night vipers to approach me.
The conference ended on Friday and since my flight back to Pittsburgh was scheduled for Sunday I finally had some time to check out the Big Apple. Went to Ground Zero, the Virgin Megastore (hey music addict for life haha!), the Guggenheim museum and walked back to my hostel through Central Park.
On Sunday I was supposed to be picked up by SuperShuttle and they had even confirmed the pick up twice but failed to actually do so. Ended up taking a cab and made the flight easily. SupperShuttle said they'd give me a refund but as it turns out they didn't give me a refund of the cab costs (what was I thinking?) but 'only' of the original SuperShuttle tickets.
Oh well.
Pics of my NYC trip can be found HERE
The back was fine but the youth hostel I was staying at had put me in a room right next to the shared bathroom haha. So I slept like maybe 1 or 2 hours that first night. Next morning I asked for a single room which was not adjacent to a shared bathroom and fortunately they could accommodate me. Only weird thing in this 2nd room was that the heating was on most of the time and there was no control panel with which I could turn it off. Oh well, just slept with the window open and in my birthday suit :-D
The conference was actually better than I expected so that's always a good thing. Since it's the biggest Educational Research conference in the US there were thousands of participants and they used four big ass hotels in Manhattan to be able to host all the parallel sessions.
I had a presentation on Thursday morning in a session with all professors. It's always fun to be the odd ball out, people take notice and wonder what my position is. Presentation went well and after making a joke about my wicked beard people even dared to ask some questions!
Ran into Sarah again whom I had met at the EARLI conference last year in Budapest. She went into hyper job searching mode on day 2 haha. I'm sure she'll find a good job.
Since I'm officially only allowed to do 2 conferences per year and I'm doing 3 this year (AERA, ICLS, CogSci) I was keeping costs down as much as possible. That explains why I was staying in a youth hostel in the upper West side.
Oh, on Tuesday night I wanted to take the subway back to my hostel but apparently the line I wanted to take had stopped running at 10pm. That's rather early for NYC, no?!?!
Anyway, I walked back to my hostel (about 50 or 60 blocks) in about 40 minutes and my beard protected me from the night vipers to approach me.
The conference ended on Friday and since my flight back to Pittsburgh was scheduled for Sunday I finally had some time to check out the Big Apple. Went to Ground Zero, the Virgin Megastore (hey music addict for life haha!), the Guggenheim museum and walked back to my hostel through Central Park.
On Sunday I was supposed to be picked up by SuperShuttle and they had even confirmed the pick up twice but failed to actually do so. Ended up taking a cab and made the flight easily. SupperShuttle said they'd give me a refund but as it turns out they didn't give me a refund of the cab costs (what was I thinking?) but 'only' of the original SuperShuttle tickets.
Oh well.
Pics of my NYC trip can be found HERE
spring time :-)
Time to resuscitate this blog. So what happened in the meantime??
Early March I messed up my back rather badly and after working at home for a few days I thought I could go into work. BIG mistake.
On the bus my back just fell apart and when I got off I crumbled. Made it to my office and started calling people to see if anyone could take me to a hospital or medical center. Fortunately my colleague Ryan was willing to help me out and drove me to a medical center out in Monroeville.
I first declined the shot but after my back crumbled fruther and I was literally shouting in pain I reconsidered haha. Also got some X rays taken but it was all muscle damage. They sent me home with prescriptions for Vicodin, Lodine and Valium.
Took me about 2 weeks to fully recover from this excruciating back ache. I might have overdone some activities which are taxing on the back and I've always had a weak back according to the doctors. Back when I was a child they told me I should swim a lot haha. Gee thanks doc!
Fortunately the back feels fine again now and I'll be more careful, read lazy, next time around when I'm doing something which is taxing on my back.
Early March I messed up my back rather badly and after working at home for a few days I thought I could go into work. BIG mistake.
On the bus my back just fell apart and when I got off I crumbled. Made it to my office and started calling people to see if anyone could take me to a hospital or medical center. Fortunately my colleague Ryan was willing to help me out and drove me to a medical center out in Monroeville.
I first declined the shot but after my back crumbled fruther and I was literally shouting in pain I reconsidered haha. Also got some X rays taken but it was all muscle damage. They sent me home with prescriptions for Vicodin, Lodine and Valium.
Took me about 2 weeks to fully recover from this excruciating back ache. I might have overdone some activities which are taxing on the back and I've always had a weak back according to the doctors. Back when I was a child they told me I should swim a lot haha. Gee thanks doc!
Fortunately the back feels fine again now and I'll be more careful, read lazy, next time around when I'm doing something which is taxing on my back.
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