Finally got to 50 dives on Saturday! Had a very relaxed dive at the Club Naval location and clocked in at 42 minutes. Will dive one last time on Thursday before flying out on Friday.
Seven days left...
Monday, November 28, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Hectic few hours this morning :-)
First cheaptickets.nl had changed the departure date from December 3 to December 4 which raised all kinds of red flags. Emailed them yesterday but no reply so tried calling them this morning. However, the phone number listed on their website doesn't work. Good thing Asnida still had a phone number that does work. I explained the situation and now have new e-tickets with departure date December 2.
That way I have a two day buffer if I run into delays.
So, it's now 11 days to go before W-day I think :-)
I also just submitted a big European research proposal which I've been working on for the last 1,5 month or so. Let's see if they like it enough to fund me. At least now I can catch my breath a bit and start thinking about writing more proposals.
The weather is turning colder with every week it seems. Sadly, no more shorts and t-shirts for the time being.
First cheaptickets.nl had changed the departure date from December 3 to December 4 which raised all kinds of red flags. Emailed them yesterday but no reply so tried calling them this morning. However, the phone number listed on their website doesn't work. Good thing Asnida still had a phone number that does work. I explained the situation and now have new e-tickets with departure date December 2.
That way I have a two day buffer if I run into delays.
So, it's now 11 days to go before W-day I think :-)
I also just submitted a big European research proposal which I've been working on for the last 1,5 month or so. Let's see if they like it enough to fund me. At least now I can catch my breath a bit and start thinking about writing more proposals.
The weather is turning colder with every week it seems. Sadly, no more shorts and t-shirts for the time being.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
The weather this weekend is pretty good so I went diving yesterday morning. Got separated from my group because I saw my dive buddy staying behind a bit. But when I saw the others turn a corner and looked back my dive buddy was gone. Then I looked ahead and the others were gone too. Oops!
Good thing I've dived at Garajau many times so I kind of know the area. Still, my heart beat and breathing increased quite a bit. I still had half a tank of air (100 bar) left so no worries about that. Then it was just about making a decision, go left or right around a big rock formation. I knew the anchor line was along the left side somewhere so I opted to go left. Then after maybe 30 seconds I saw bubbles (others divers!) and swam over to them. Turned out to be the 2nd group of divers that was on the same dive boat as my group. Then I looked to my right and saw my own group appear as well. Signalled OK to our dive guide, checked my air (still had 85 bar left) and settled down in terms of heart beat and breathing.
While at the moment of realizing that I was alone I thought "this f*ckin' sucks!" it was a good learning experience. I didn't panic, I kept thinking and made the correct decisions and managed to rejoin the group. Great success! ;-)
Managed to buy tickets for the gig with the old The Gathering line-up:
After talking to Asnida she said she wants to go to London so since the Exivious tour also plays in London we'll probably head there on April 2 or 3. We'll have several days to explore London, catch the Exivious gig on April 4, and hopefully the Bolt Thrower anniversary gig on April 7.
I haven't been to London since 1995 and I don't remember the city being all that great haha. But I'm sure I'll like it more this 2nd time around :-)
Good thing I've dived at Garajau many times so I kind of know the area. Still, my heart beat and breathing increased quite a bit. I still had half a tank of air (100 bar) left so no worries about that. Then it was just about making a decision, go left or right around a big rock formation. I knew the anchor line was along the left side somewhere so I opted to go left. Then after maybe 30 seconds I saw bubbles (others divers!) and swam over to them. Turned out to be the 2nd group of divers that was on the same dive boat as my group. Then I looked to my right and saw my own group appear as well. Signalled OK to our dive guide, checked my air (still had 85 bar left) and settled down in terms of heart beat and breathing.
While at the moment of realizing that I was alone I thought "this f*ckin' sucks!" it was a good learning experience. I didn't panic, I kept thinking and made the correct decisions and managed to rejoin the group. Great success! ;-)
Managed to buy tickets for the gig with the old The Gathering line-up:
I haven't been to London since 1995 and I don't remember the city being all that great haha. But I'm sure I'll like it more this 2nd time around :-)
Thursday, November 17, 2011
April 2012 concert heaven
There are three very cool gigs coming up in April 2012 and I wish I could go to all of them!
First up, on April 1 (not a joke!) The Gathering's "Always" era line-up will reunite to perform their debut album!!! Also on the bill are Acrostichon and Pentacle.
Then there's a very cool tour with Obscura, Gorod, Spawn of Possession and Exivious which are playing in Belgium on April 5 and in Haarlem on April 6.
And finally, there's Bolt Thrower's 25th anniversary party in London on April 7.
Ah to be rich...
First up, on April 1 (not a joke!) The Gathering's "Always" era line-up will reunite to perform their debut album!!! Also on the bill are Acrostichon and Pentacle.
Then there's a very cool tour with Obscura, Gorod, Spawn of Possession and Exivious which are playing in Belgium on April 5 and in Haarlem on April 6.
And finally, there's Bolt Thrower's 25th anniversary party in London on April 7.
Ah to be rich...
Monday, November 14, 2011
only 3 weeks left...
And then we'll be married :-)
Another nerve wrecking game by the Steelers last night but at least they won. So this week starts on a positive note!
Also watched "Bol" last night which is a pretty good movie from Pakistan and proves to be quite ballsy as well. To make a movie which doesn't shy away from criticizing social problems and religion in your own country deserves respect. A bit strange to see some Bollywood-ish songs in this movie but the small romantic side story makes the tougher parts a bit easier to swallow.
All in all recommended!
Finally, I was chatting with a friend yesterday who tried to persuade me to join facebook. So much peer pressure haha.
While talking to him about metal music I realized that I've been listening to metal for 20 years now. Ah, those early formative years were so much fun. I had a classmate who had started buying metal albums earlier than me so he gave me a list of everything he had. Then I frequently gave him some empty TDK 90 minute cassette tapes and requested 2 albums. He'd fill up the remaining space with some random songs by bands he thought I would like. There were a few more school mates who I also traded tapes with but this guy was the go-to guy for many years.
When I started buying the Aardschok Metal Hammer magazine back in 1992 I also started buying my own metal CDs. Every month I would check the reviews by Wim Baelus and choose the 2 albums that he gave the highest score (often a 8.5 or 9) and then would call Music Machine in Sittard. This was pretty much the only music store which had a decent supply of metal albums in the vicinity of my parents' hometown. I remember the first time I went there was with my mom haha.
When I turned 18 I got a OV card from the Dutch government so it became easier (read: cheaper!) to hop on the bus to Sittard to browse the CDs in Music Machine and hopefully find those 2 albums I had marked down. Sometimes they had to order CDs and it could take a few months before they got it in stock. Ah, the current instant-generation will never know the built-up anticipation caused by having to wait for so long.
For Christmas 1992 my parents let me buy 4 metal CDs at Music Machine and these were then put up in our Christmas tree. I vividly remember the excruciating waiting and my clever brain figuring out a way to get to listen to the 4 albums before Christmas. Basically I persuaded my parents to replace each CD with an envelop with 40 Guilders from my own pocket. Of course it helped that my birthday was just a few days prior to Christmas haha!
The 4 metal CDs in our tree are etched into my memory: Asphyx-Last one on earth, Bolt Thrower-The 4th crusade, Gorefest-False, Vader-The ultimate incantation.
Good memories!
Another nerve wrecking game by the Steelers last night but at least they won. So this week starts on a positive note!
Also watched "Bol" last night which is a pretty good movie from Pakistan and proves to be quite ballsy as well. To make a movie which doesn't shy away from criticizing social problems and religion in your own country deserves respect. A bit strange to see some Bollywood-ish songs in this movie but the small romantic side story makes the tougher parts a bit easier to swallow.
All in all recommended!
Finally, I was chatting with a friend yesterday who tried to persuade me to join facebook. So much peer pressure haha.
While talking to him about metal music I realized that I've been listening to metal for 20 years now. Ah, those early formative years were so much fun. I had a classmate who had started buying metal albums earlier than me so he gave me a list of everything he had. Then I frequently gave him some empty TDK 90 minute cassette tapes and requested 2 albums. He'd fill up the remaining space with some random songs by bands he thought I would like. There were a few more school mates who I also traded tapes with but this guy was the go-to guy for many years.
When I started buying the Aardschok Metal Hammer magazine back in 1992 I also started buying my own metal CDs. Every month I would check the reviews by Wim Baelus and choose the 2 albums that he gave the highest score (often a 8.5 or 9) and then would call Music Machine in Sittard. This was pretty much the only music store which had a decent supply of metal albums in the vicinity of my parents' hometown. I remember the first time I went there was with my mom haha.
When I turned 18 I got a OV card from the Dutch government so it became easier (read: cheaper!) to hop on the bus to Sittard to browse the CDs in Music Machine and hopefully find those 2 albums I had marked down. Sometimes they had to order CDs and it could take a few months before they got it in stock. Ah, the current instant-generation will never know the built-up anticipation caused by having to wait for so long.
For Christmas 1992 my parents let me buy 4 metal CDs at Music Machine and these were then put up in our Christmas tree. I vividly remember the excruciating waiting and my clever brain figuring out a way to get to listen to the 4 albums before Christmas. Basically I persuaded my parents to replace each CD with an envelop with 40 Guilders from my own pocket. Of course it helped that my birthday was just a few days prior to Christmas haha!
The 4 metal CDs in our tree are etched into my memory: Asphyx-Last one on earth, Bolt Thrower-The 4th crusade, Gorefest-False, Vader-The ultimate incantation.
Good memories!
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
fridge works again!
Yesterday the new thermostat finally arrived and was installed into my frigerator. I waited until this morning to see if it would start cooling again when it should. Then I finally went on a shopping spree for groceries :-)
I love to shop in the morning since there's almost nobody in the stores so you can easily get what you need and get out without having to wait.
I finished "A Dance with Dragons" last night and it ended with a lot of cliffhangers. No idea when book 6 is supposed to be released but it might be some years.
Oh well, at least I can catch up on watching all those movies I downloaded. Watched the prequel "Rise of the planet of the apes" last night which was fun.
The weather has turned pretty crappy. Strong winds and frequent rain with an occasional half sunny day. The outdoors temperature is still around 22 Celsius so it's not cold.
We'll see if today's football game will happen or be cancelled again due to bad weather. Same for diving on Saturdays. I hope I can get 2 more dives before the year is over so I'll have 50 dives in total.
I love to shop in the morning since there's almost nobody in the stores so you can easily get what you need and get out without having to wait.
I finished "A Dance with Dragons" last night and it ended with a lot of cliffhangers. No idea when book 6 is supposed to be released but it might be some years.
Oh well, at least I can catch up on watching all those movies I downloaded. Watched the prequel "Rise of the planet of the apes" last night which was fun.
The weather has turned pretty crappy. Strong winds and frequent rain with an occasional half sunny day. The outdoors temperature is still around 22 Celsius so it's not cold.
We'll see if today's football game will happen or be cancelled again due to bad weather. Same for diving on Saturdays. I hope I can get 2 more dives before the year is over so I'll have 50 dives in total.
Monday, November 07, 2011
ouch
Stayed up late to watch the Steelers vs Ravens games which turned out to be a thriller. Fortunately this time the Steelers didn't get their ass kicked but Joe Flacco pulled a Big Ben comeback that covered 92 yards and ended in a Ravens touchdown in the final 8 seconds of the game.
Time will tell whether the Steelers can make the play-offs as a wildcard team now.
Time will tell whether the Steelers can make the play-offs as a wildcard team now.
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)