Thursday 03/01/20123:

10:00: still getting used to typing 2013 instead of 2012

10:10: no updates yesterday. I was working on the new photo site, but frankly it was a bit frustrating. I found a solution to the problem at 21:00 or so… Now continuing…

10:20: clear sky. Sun is shining. Sitting behind the computer I’m getting blasted by the sun. Almost too hot. Also: hard to see the screen. Always something to complain!

10:30: ah, the “iTunes Christmas present” of today is from The XX. I liked the original album better than the remixes on the single (always something to complain!), but still, nice!

11:15: video of New York City firefighters on their way to a fire in 1920. The car scenes remind me of the chase in The French Connection.

11:30: LOL, the Netherlands is expecting the first dry weekend since September

12:00: okay, I should have shut up about the good weather here and laughing about the Dutch weather. Clouds are a-coming.

12:15: on my way to the city

12:30: for the last four years I travelled past a shop called ‘sauberbraut’ (beautiful bride). I still think it reads ‘sauerkraut’. It is also white, I guess.

12:45: there is a C&A (cheap clothes store from the Netherlands ) in Zurich. That is convenient because I don’t have to think where to buy my underpants etc. A guy I knew bought fashionable expensive underpants, each if which was more expensive than my complete collection. Now here to buy new pjs.

12:30: it starts raining, just when I’m in front of the Apple store… Lets check out the new iPad Mini.

12:45: size and weight: great. No retina display: not tempted to buy it. I have no need for it, but that’s another story.

23:30: I’m getting hungry, is it already dinner time? Oh shit… To busy making this new photo site.

23:45: I got the site working around 18:00, but then I decided to clean up the code and essentially start over. Of course, now I could reuse most of the old code so it is much quicker.

0:00: Oh yes! It works.

0:15: uploading the site, always a surprise how it looks like when you’re not looking at the local version and on different browsers

0:30: if you are interested, you can find the (beta version) here

Tuesday 01/01/2013:

9:00: I guess I fell asleep yesterday

9:15: 2013 doesn’t bring bring the ability to sleep longer

10:00: downloading the last part of Phish New Year’s Eve concerts. Really quick, considering that New York is six time zones away and the concert probably finished only hours ago.

11:00: it seems as if it was a relatively quiet New Year’s Eve in the Netherlands. That is a problem for the police commanders who traditionally abuse the fact that 16 million people have a party to complain about the increased number of incidents and demand more power and harsher punishments.

11:15: violence against emergency workers is of course very wrong, but so is trashing civil liberties

13:00: pizza lunch

14:00: watching the traditional New Year’s Eve cabaret show. Not very enthusiastic about it.

15:30: unsurprisingly, people found some incidents to complain about.

15:45: the indignation of some politicians would carry more weight if they were equally tough about corruption of political friends (there were some incidents recently)

16:00: I put the photos of the fireworks yesterday and of the Christmas Lecture online. Unfortunately the photo site is barely usable on iPads, so I spend most of the day making a new website. It is work in progress (not done yet).

Monday 31/12/2012:

9:30: already had more sun in Zurich this morning than in a week in the Netherlands

10:00: downloading the Phish Madison Square Garden concert

10:15: “gotta blank space where my mind should be” tralalala…

10:30: had to Google to find out how the things on the artwork are called: tape cassette

11:00: updated the 0th Christmas Day post with a photo of the food

12:00: doing stuff on my computer

13:00: still doing stuff on my computer

14:00: maybe I should go to a shop before they close

14:30: back at my computer

17:00: is it already lunchtime?

20:15: making pizza with friends

20:30: opening a bottle of wine with friends

20:45: eating pizza with friends

21:00: opening a bottle of vodka with friends

21:30: finishing the wine… Wait, there was still some?

22:00: finishing the pizza

22:30: finishing a bottle of vodka

23:30: readying my photo camera

0:00: happy new year!

0:15: fireworks!

0:30: oh yeah! There is a centrally organized fireworks display and I have a pretty good view of it!

0:45: took 365 pictures, probably there are a few good ones between them

1:00: looking at the pictures, not disappointed yet. Also: not completely sober yet.

1:15: just remembered that I should have started a new blog post for the new day… Screw it! Bed time!

1:30: …but not before I take another look at the pictures

2:00: I wanted to upload one, but it doesn’t work. Damn it!

2:30: bed time!

2:45: damn, going to bed on time is the first resolution that I break this new year… Twice!

2:50: “I’m floating in the blimp a lot” tralalala

2:55: lying in bed, not sleeping

This blog will be updated as the day unfolds/when I have time/when I have Internet connectivity

Sunday 30/12/2012:

9:00: two minutes of very intense rain

9:15: is this sixth Christmas Day? Or -1 New Year’s Eve? Or New Year’s Eve Eve?

9:30: anyway, I’m traveling back to Zurich today, in the evening. Maybe 2nd moving day?

11:00: there is an iPhone-shaped hole in my pant pocket. I don’t mean my wallet, I mean actual holes from wear and tear.

14:00: what the heck, after visiting Leiden, Amsterdam, Wageningen, Rotterdam why not a quick visit to The Hague.

16:00: packing my stuff

17:30: early dinner

18:00: did I really pack my passport?

18:05: did I really pack my iPad charger?

18:10: I’m a bit of a nervous traveller. Not as bad as it used to be though…

18:15: did I really pack my keys?

18:45: at the airport

18:50: glad to be a bit early, massive queue for checking in luggage.

19:15: queue for security is luckily shorter

19:30: which booze to buy?

19:45: last time I was at the airport a lady was looking at a broken floor tile. Four weeks later it is still clearly marked as broken.

20:00: am I really at the correct gate? So many tv-screens, such a lack of information

20:15: the stupid hairdo of the guy sitting in front of me tells me this is the right gate. Why is Grease (the movie) hairstyle fashionable in Switzerland?

20:25: time to board the plane

20:30: how difficult is it to find the correct seat?

20:45: if the guy next to me takes off his jacket we would both have more space

20:50: oh great, a delay

21:00: haha, the inflight map (which still positions us at the gate) places Tripoli near Beirut. Apparently, there is a small village with that name there. I do hope that they fly me to the correct Zurich (i.e. not the small town in the northern part of the Netherlands).

21:20: in the air

21:30: aren’t waffles Belgian national food? What do they do on a KLM airplane?

21:50: hello Luxembourg

21:52: bye Luxembourg

22:00: if the flight track on the monitors is to be believed the pilot is drunk.

22:15: final approach. Just to make clear, I’m not live-typing this

22:25: plane is parked on platform, have to use busses to go to gate.

22:40: almost have to run to pick up my luggage from the baggage belt. What a difference with last week. Not even time to go to the bathroom.

22:55: in tram home.

23:00: texting my parents that I arrived safely, but statistically the trip from the airport to home is more dangerous than the flight. Should I wait until I’m home?

23:05: oops, I left my Dutch (second) cell phone on during the flight and my iPad was not on flight-mode.

Tia blog will be continued here

Saturday 29/12/2012:

2:00: Can’t sleep

2:30: still can’t sleep

3:00: no progress yet

3:30: I normally only carry my laptop and when I’m too lazy for that, I only take my iPad. Carrying all those boxes yesterday gives me some muscle pain (is that the right word?).

3:45: also, still can’t sleep

4:00: boo!

9:30: I did fall asleep I guess

12:30: on my way to Rotterdam

12:55: walked into a glass separation wall… One covered with black dots to prevent people to walk into them. No worries, nothing is broken

13:15: the Netherlands is definitely more windy than Switzerland.

13:30: almost hit by another piece of hardware of the Dutch railways: a door handle

13:45: hit my head on the ceiling of the train. That makes it a hat trick!

14:30: eating a humus-cheese-avocado sandwich at my sisters place

15:30: walking down the street for the next appointment

16:30: yay Grolsch

22:00: walking to the train station with the wind in my back

22:15: do I dare to again sit on the top floor of the train or will I hit my head again?

22:30: checking in for tomorrow’s flight.

22:45: I did indeed hit my head again

0:00: looking at some adorable childhood pictures.

This blog is continued here