The Table of Contents didn’t do so well at tonight’s pub quiz in Rotterdam. We finished with 52.5 points (out of 90), 10th out of 14 teams. I guess since we only had 4 people, and not 5, we could say that we actually increased our points per capita from last week (when we scored …
Monthly Archive: August 2005
Aug
31
Aug
29
A Very Culinary Weekend
In Dutch it’s called “Dordt op jou bord”. Literally translated it’s something like “Dordrecht on your plate.” Actually, Ann and I didn’t even know about it until we stepped out of the apartment at 2pm (something I would not have done had it not been for Ann’s prodding). But we found ourselves right in the …
Aug
28
More Signs of the Apocalypse
Trust the Dutch to broadcast the first reality-TV birth.
Aug
24
Reason to Stay in Iraq #34
Bush says now we are staying because leaving would weaken the US. Huh? *scratch of the head* Were we any weaker BEFORE we put 130,000 US citizens there at the cost of hundreds of billions of dollars that could have been spent actually fighting terrorists?
Aug
23
Reason to Stay in Iraq #27
I had to mention this. The latest reason we are staying in Iraq: to honor the fallen dead. I’m sure the ghosts of all those who died would want exactly that, for more of their comrades to be killed by the people they are “liberating”. I actually am not in favor of pulling out of …
Aug
23
Iraqi Constitution
As cynical as I have become about the Bush administration and the war in Iraq, there are certain milestones in the development of a new nation that make you stop and question for a second if it may have all been worth it. The first moment like that for me with Iraq was when they …
Aug
18
License Update 2
Another trip to the “Regiokantoor” (Regional Office). Here’s what I needed to gather this time: My declaration from the driving bureau The letter from the tax office saying I was getting the 30% ruling The letter form my company that they sent to the tax office explaining how special I am and requesting the 30% …
Aug
18
My Surreal Train Trip Home
So this turned out to be a rather surreal evening. It starts with a beautiful day. Rarer than a male under six feet tall here in the Netherlands. Sunny, 72 degrees, slight breeze, just perfect. And it just so happens to be the first day of official ultimate practice. For me, this means riding my …
Aug
16
License Update 1
I take it all back. The two ditzes behind the counter today had to spend ten minutes looking up in a book what the procedure for special people was and then told me that they needed yet another friggin’ piece of paper. A letter from my company explaining that I really AM special. Argh!.
Aug
16
Dutch License
So a few days ago I had to interact with the Dutch bureaucracy again. I decided that after a year without a car, it’s finally time to get a driver’s license. Owing to the fact that I am just a wonderful and talented individual, a unique and beautiful snowflake you might go so far as …