updates

Great news!!!

I got a JOB!

Needless to say I'm beyond excited and totally overjoyed!! After many interviews I was actually lucky enough to have a few offers on the table and furtherly lucky that my first choice company was among them!! I'm extremely fortunate that it so happened that due to Amsterdam's strategic positioning in the world it has become sort of a hub for international firms to establish headquarters... and thus there is lots of demand for my line of work. (Not to mention tat Dutch language, or lack there of, is not an issue.) I start mid of next month... I'm very VERY excited!!!

kitchen adventures:

On the second note... today I attempted to make a tiramisu for the very first time... How did it go? Well, lets just say, you know how you try to attempt to put together a piece of IKEA furniture and at the very end you have built exactly what the picture shows but you have a whole bunch of spare nuts and bolts left over...

I mean I followed the recipe exactly! and still had literally a BUCKET of filling left over! HOW!???? Uggh! Well we'll see went wrong after it chills and we can do a taste test.

learning dutch:

Today during my private Dutch lesson Sarina said: Good job! Your pronunciation is not as horrible as in the beginning!

(Yeah! I'm overjoyed!! Maybe in 5 years it'll be even LESS horrible!)

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No, REALLY, I'm SO blonde!

The lovely couple is sitting on a bench drinking some water from water bottles and resting from battling the winds in the dunes. Well, the young lady is resting, and big guy is just waiting... Oh lets call the young lady A and the big guy, big V. In front of them is drop with prickly dune grasses and beyond it a big expansive beach of Ameland...

A: waaaaw, super beautiful!

V: yep

... pauze.. enjoy comfortable silence together... her head on his shoulder... awww...

A: waaaw, gorgeous! (makes hand gesture)

V: careful, don't drop your bike lock key into the dunes, I'd hate to see you get scratched up trying to get it

A: HA! no, I'd hate to see YOU get scratched up while getting my key!!! ... wow... oops...

V: what was that!?

A: oh don't worry it was just the cap to my water bottle...

V: hmm now you have to finish it

A: yeah I will... (starts looking around for her water bottle)

V: what are you looking for?

A: um... where did I put my water bottle..??

V: are you kidding?

A: no are you kidding? did you hide it!???

V: sweetie... it's in your hand

A: ...what...OH! ah, right...

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Ameland

There is just something about being on an Island! Now this is what an island in the North of Holland looks like...

BIG gorgeous beach...

Girl with smug face... and some hairy locals...

The WAY cute town of Nes. You know what the most happening bar is called? Nes Cafe. hehehe Another one of my favorite names was Happy Nes Restaurant. Awww...

Here is a typical looking farm with the strawy roof...
The light house!

Now we were really lucky to have perfect weather on Saturday for our gran tour de Ameland. We biked along the dunes which was absolutely gorgeous. There was a bit of wind in the beginning which caused me to say not such nice things under my breath to smarties passing by on MOTORized bicycles. I told Vito that maybe next time we can just rent a dark blue Jaguar... (Right Cadiz?) She knows, a few years ago the four of us went to the beautiful Sardegna and rented a super lux Jaguar with creamy leather interior... we had more pictures of that car then the beaches I believe, we were just obsessed with it!!

Anyway, it really was a marvelous ride, I really love biking as it turns out.

What gorgeousness! Here, below is a nice areal view (I got from the internet) of the island...

Ahhh... what to do to make yourself get over the post fun island weekend blues?..... PLAN the next trip!!!!

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ZUM BA BA!!!!!!! (Thanks Kaiya for bringing this to my attention!) Brasil knows how to rock it.

Speaking of rocking it Brasilian style, Big Vito and I were on a "tropical" retreat of our own this weekend to COSTA del Ameland! Pictures coming mañana!!! Meanwhile let Daniela take you away...

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Everyone loves ice cream

Now, why can't I have passion fruit ice cream for breakfast???


There is milk... there is fruit... I don't know, but sounds very healthy to me...



I wanted an nice vintage ice cream ad to adorn my post with and came across this one...

Notice the Mom and the daughter are talking on the phone with Dad (lower left corner) and are probably enticing him to come home from work earlier to have some ice cream. (Or maybe they're just trying to make him jealous.) This is the ad from 1960's. Now I don't understand the whole Feminist movement, what was wrong with just being home, relaxing and enjoying life???? Thanks, now we have the right to go to work everyday for 8 hours a day... now WHY is this a good thing? Seems like we had a pretty good arrangement already. Now women can vote? That's sweet an'll but like there is anyone worthwhile to vote for anyway.

Yeah yeah, I know, we have to work to pay (taxes) to the government to organize our "protection" and the only way that will happen if there are women in the government saying what kind of "protection" is needed. Without working you don't have money, and without money you can't support (buy) government officials.

Here is an example of a women only village in Kenya that are supporting themselves with a tourist center and by selling crafts. In return for their work they are able to live independently and not have to marry 70 yr old dudes.

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It's all about food, even kayaking!

Well before it's Thursday and I still haven't talked about the weekend, I might as well talk about the weekend!

Friday Vito and I went out for some sushi. It's rare that I'm in Amsterdam when its dark, so its easy to forget how beautiful the canals are with all the lights reflecting in them... aahhh...

Saturday yummy bbq!

Sunday I went Kayaking with Alexis and friends to a town a bit North of Amsterdam. There are canals opening into lakes, houses or green fields with chewing cows. Lovely! We kayaked for almost 3 hours and after that were hungry like the chewing cows! Across the street was a tiny town with a big Pancake house...

I had a "Bermuda" pancake with bananas, fudge and ice cream. I'm not usually a sweet tooth person, but after trying my best to keep up with the girls I was famished! Oh yes that's a beer in the back ground. Just because one is having chocolate and ice cream does not mean one should not also have a beer! One is smart!

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Growing up is tough to do

My cousin Aniya emailed some pictures of her gorgeous and always smiling little boys... I wrote her back:

Me: I promise promise PROMISE that this really is the last time I will ask you this... can you tell me when everyone's birthday is?? I PROMISE its the last time...!! I'm really a big girl now and I have a special calendar hanging in the bathroom* and I will write everything in there so I'll never have to ask you again.... PROMISE!!

Aniya: (in a different color writes in everyone's birthday next to the list of names I kindly provided her with) I CAN'T believe you!!! You and I have a birthday on the same day a month apart and you're still asking!???

Me: sorryyyy!!! me bad girl!!!!.... bad bad!! Oh, and also can you write down your address too... I PROMISE this is the VERY LAST time I ask you this... my friend Cadiz sent me this cool pink address book in which she wrote down all my friends' addresses and birthday because everytime someone's birthday is coming up I call her for their address... every year... but she of course doesn't know you so your address wasn't in the address book... but if you give it me now... for the LAST time I PROMISE, I'll write it down!! :)

(Thank you again Cadiz!!! You are participating in a very influential way in my growing up process.)

*Everyone in the Netherlands has a birthday calendar hanging in the bathroom. The birthday calendar just simply has 31 days for each month with a space next to them for names. (See diagram below.) :P

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Confessions

Ok, ok, FINE! I do like Dutch lessons. The most important part of learning the language is that you actually learn more about the people. And I do notice that whatever I learn in class I start to recognize when I'm reading or watching tv. It's just a bit boring when you can't actually use the language, I mean how much of a meaningful conversation can you have with a shopgirl or a train conductor???

I did learn something fun to say: It doesn't matter! (which in Dutch kinda sounds like: I couldn't care less)

So now I can't wait to use it!

I also learned that if you want to say that something is getting treated with less priority - It gets treated like a "step mother''

Hmm interesting, in English there is something similar but we'll say, it gets the treatment of a ''step CHILD"

Yes I know, so very fascinating...

I got another call for a job from a headhunter and he babbled off the languages necessary for the job and Dutch was one of them. I told him that I'm just barely intermediate, he said he'll call me back. He did in the next five minutes and said that speaking Dutch was not necessary! (It was also a very financial position and he said that knowledge of finance ''not necessary!" either) yeah needless to say that company didn't invite me for an interview.

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Where you from and who is your daddy?

Yesterday started out as a bright sunny day! Did I leave my umbrella at home??? NO! It is always in my purse. Sure enough around noon it started pouring.

Today: Sunny... I think I will bring my umbrella.

People ask me how I'm dealing with the big differences between Amsterdam and New York. Well for the umthousandsthsssths time, it's actually VERY similar! In the things that I like.

For example I went to a party on Saturday, lets go through a list of who was there (that I got to meet).

Austrian, Danish, Japanese

Chinese girl born in Norway

3 Italian guys (Italian guys never go anywhere alone)

Swiss, German, and a French guy that spoke Russian

even a Canadian

and of course a few Dutchies just for diversity :)

Basically the one thing that I loved the most about NYC, the international flare, it's here!

*above is a sneaky pic I took with my camera of the rooftop patio before it got full.

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This is how I feel about Dutch class...

And taking this photo opportunity to introduce my new turquoise shirt. Hey! It's all about rewarding yourself for good work!

Hmm... waw this picture is kinda depressing lets get another more life like shot... and with another kind of 'reward'.

Ahhh! Feeling better already!

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Interviewing 102 - Discussing cleavage

Appearance is important, lets not pretend that it's not. How you dress and do your hair can literally affect if you get the job or not. Every detail can boost you just a bit ahead of the next candidate. So this brings us to the following question...

How much cleavage to show???

Well, I personally keep it under wraps for the first interview, and for the second I still keep it to a minimal. Just as a basic rule of thumb, if your shoes are super high and/or very expensive -NO cleavage. If your shoes are lower and more casual a bit of cleavage is just the right amount to create a relaxed atmosphere.

Happy Interviewing!

for mom: I'm talking about toe lines peaking out from shoes (see diagram above) that's called toe cleavage.

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It's 4th of JULY!!!!!! Almost forgot with all the weather excitement here...

Well the sun did come out yesterday! Then it rained, then it was sunny! then it rained, then sun! then RAIN. And literally it changed as quickly as you read it! I figured out why Dutch people never use umbrellas... It's because by the time you reach in your bag and open the umbrella the SUN is shining! That's highly annoying! I guess maybe that's why Rihanna's Under my Umbrella song is so popular here... I can understand it would be super nice to have someone just put an umbrella over your head the moment rain falls... and then take it away when sun comes back out... umbrella... not...umbrella... not...

I want a rain cape... and then I can get on my bike and pretend that it's a horse and ride around in the night with a zoro like mask!

Ahhh.... nothing like a great Indian style coffee (with ginger and cinnamon) to get your day started! Thanks Cadiz for the recipe!

OK, enough messing around, I'm heading out to Leiden for some sightseeing!!! :) Well, using an interview as an excuse to take an hour ride out there.

Everyone have fun with fabulous 4th of July parties on rooftops, with hamburgers, and firework shows...

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It's FREEZING, RAINING and WINDY! I guess this is what it's like to live in the middle of the SEA!

This is a pic of Ri when she was in Florida last April. I'm concentrating on making the sun come out...

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Sport is good for you

Ahh, sweet weekend... beach again, but it was super windy so don't think the Hawaiian Tropics oil came out of the bag. (Well no, since the OZONE layer is disintegrating we should all be wearing Garnier spf 30.) Anyway, I really want to try this:

Oh and Saturday I discovered a new brand... Sport clothing. Never heard of them before, can you guess why they don't sell it in america? I got a white sweatshirt and a gray and pink tee, super cute.

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