Dagmaraka goes Dutch

I'll be in Leiden until .... noon/early afternoon, I suppose. This Thursday - that's quite certain by now.

Cool. and then? I work at least until 5pm (usually a bit later) and I have a deadline on a book chapter, but if you come to The Hague, I can hang out for a bit in the evening.

Would be too late for me, unfortunately ... (It takes about htree hours+ to drive back).

But I'll have Den Haag on the "trip radar"!

Oh, that's a pity. Unfortunately, I can't get out during the day. I'll be here for awhile though!

I'd thought that you have to stay in the office ... and drive to the Netherlands the one or other time per year.

(You were up late - your post looked like a Boston-time response.)

Yes, 9 to 5, every day. And so far, I really like it...Except I never leave at 5. More like 8. But that suits me OK so far. I'll find a Dutch language course, I already have a gym to go to, and an outdoorsy group to hang out with on the weekends...so maybe i'll be at work less. a little bit.

Yeap - left Leiden (aka Leyden in English) at 2 pm and went to s'Gravenhage/Den Hague ... but only on the motorway and onlyyup to "Knooppunt Gouwe". (Drove then to Gouda, getting some "Goudse stroopwafels".)

We 'discussed' the shop opening times earlier. Bad are the opening times for the restaurants at the motorways as well: they don't open before 7:30am (one or the other 'already' at 7.)

And between 6 and 8 in the morning as well as between 5 and 7 in the evening every dutchman is driving in the same direction on the motorway as I do.

well, i worked till around 9pm most of the days this week anyway. except today, i finished at 5pm and my head is a bit light and dizzy off the bubbly.

we had 2 big project proposals due today. Altogther for 1 million Euro. So... that was a lot of work between me and a colleague. We did it in two weeks.
We still had some things to finish today, and got to printing the proposals (4 copies, one of 130 pages, the other 165) at around 3pm. They were hand-delivered at 5 o'clock in the most amazing team work fashion. While the second was still printing, the first went by bike with S.
M. and me were hole-punching and binding the second one in the meantime . J. went to get his car and waited for us downstairs. I ran downstairs with 4 copies of the second proposal. That was at 4:45pm. Car battery was dead (somehow the light stayed on while he was waiting for us and that was enough to kill the car), the engine wouldn't even give us a cough.
So I ran upstairs, grabbed M. who lives closeby, and together we ran some decent distance to her house. At about 5 minutes to 5pm (the deadline of deadlines), J. mounted M's bike and set off for the foundation. He made it. M and I stopped at a little food store, picked up "vlais" (great fluffy cake with cream) and champagne and before 6pm we were all celebrating. I'm exhausted but pretty happy. I am working at a really great place with wonderful people (some a little too wonderful, but half my age, so nevermind).

Congratulations!!!


(Age, schmage.)

well, the live-in girlfriend of many years is a much larger obstacle.

besides, i do have a new object to dream of (it's good to have objects, if only for spiritual uplifting). I., the most beautiful Persian (no, he's not a cat) I have ever seen. Sigh.

That's hilarious!!!!


Maybe not so much at the time, but certainly enlivening!

It's amazing how many sober, well-dressed looking bits of work, which seem never to have hurried or experienced anything but a calm, measured birth...with low lights and sweet music...were, in fact, torn fibrillating from the womb, and rushed to intensive care, with a gaggle of panicking midwives and doctors feverishly working on them to get them to breathe.

well this one was ripped right out of the uterus, blood dripping and all....placenta discarded while biking to the Big Fat Important Foundation Headquarters, baby wiped a bit into jeans, shoved into a baby blanket in front of the headquarters, and pinned with a pretty pink ribbon in the elevator. it looked spiffy and adorable by the time the Big Fat Important Headquarters took it in (only because S. was waiting there with his foot in the door, refusing to let them go before proposal #2 arrives).

Wow...... new continent, same outrageous deadlines narrowly made!

Congrats to you and the team! Screech says ngrow!

Ooooooooooouch!!! How are the mothers today?

Interesting. I responded to this today....I wonder where. Apparently not in this thread. I swear my head will fall off one day and kids will play soccer with it.

So, what did your mystery post say?

everyone's doin' it now

I was first...i mean, before the mass scarfesteria that is highly unfair towards me.

ok, so i'm supposed to be writing my book chapter, due august 1st, so i will write up my near death experience from a week ago.

Nah, I was first, by virtue of age and revolving trends.

well, then i was first and most enscarved in my immediate vicinity. Definitely most enscarfed at least. Why, I have maybe 50 scarves, and that after the stolen suitcase with at least 10 scarves in it. But now, you can find very pretty scarves anywhere. Why, in H&M for 5 Euros. Grrrrrrr.