not too much new news, except that i'm crazy happy here and regularly thanking Fortuna for spinning me down this cycle of joy. i'm a lucky lay-dee.
also: LAURA JEAN DONNELLY WILL BE HERE EXACTLY 24 HOURS FROM NOW.
i am so excited to show her around my new home. basically, i just want her to relax and have as much fun as possible between 8:15 on Thursday (when the wheels of her plane touch down in holland) until 8:15 on Tuesday (when she is wrenched from my arms). she totally deserves a break and i'm thrilled that she's using her precious down-time to visit meeeeeeeeeeee!
(i miss you dad, charley, annie and rachel -- i wish you were visiting, as well)
get ready netherlands -- LD weekend 2009 begins now.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
peace
this afternoon we (me, guilia, emma, ron, alejandra, lydia) went to the peace palace. some people complained that the E5 charge to get in wasn't worth it, but i completely disagree. i absolutely loved the place.
the palace itself is beautiful from the outside. it's surrounded by large, well-tended lawns and gardens. inside, though, is where it starts getting good.
initially, the impact of the interior is an interior designer's worst nightmare. the building itself was designed by a french architect and funded by Carnegie, so it has a great deal of structural beauty, but the decorations were all donated by various member states. the marble in one hallway was donated by italy, the mosaics were done by a team of french girls over the course of an entire year and the polar bear fountain in the center was donated by denmark. the tapestries in the board member's hall were made by japan, the giant vases were produced in china and the rug was woven in turkey (and happens to be the largest carpet in western europe -- what whaaaaat!?!?). sounds great, huh? and it is, really. but none of the giving states consulted one another about their donations, so the entire place lacks any sort of design continuity. every item reflects the country it was produced by, and it was all thrown in together without regard to theme or pattern. at first, this is somewhat off-putting, but it grows on you. by the end, the hodge-podge vision of the interior is really inspiring, actually.
my favorite part was the masterwork of the dutch artist who painted the ceiling above the main staircase. at 24 years old, he was commissioned to paint this important work, and started out depicting gods and goddesses of justice and prosperity. during the time he was at work, the stained-glass windows that overlook the gardens weren't installed yet, and he would occasionally gaze out the vacant windows at the gardeners as they went about their landscaping. apparently, he looked out one day and saw the assistant gardener, a young woman whom he fell in love with immediately. completely enamored, he proceeded to paint the goddess of wisdom in her likeness. pretty romantic, huh? but the story isn't done! when the painting was finished, she went inside to look at it, and fell instantly in love with HIM. the two got married and moved to the states, where he became the first dutch man to win an oscar for set design.
how. effing. romantic. is. that!?!?!?
needless to say, i loved it.
aside from the aesthetics, the palace also hosts the international court of justice (where states can file suit against other states -- mostly the court deals with boundary and boarder issues) and the permanent court of arbitration where parties -- state, personal or private -- can come together to mediate disputes. the grounds are home to one of the biggest international law libraries in the world, as well. all in all, a very cool place. and what's more, there's a gelato stand right outside. perfect.
on a completely unrelated note, i wanted to give a quick shout-out to my waffle haus girls. i have a framed picture of the five of us at prom on my mantle and i just really love and miss you all. the time i spent with you in our home was the best of my life, and i can't thank you enough for being there with/for me. i have been profoundly changed by the love that each of you shared with me, and i will be forever grateful. please know that wherever you are, i am thinking of you and would go to whatever end to be there for you if you need me. thank you.
whoa that was sappy. sorry! in other news -- one mrs. laura jean donnelly is visiting me in august. i can't even begin to tell you how excited i am. i've already started planning her visit and its gonna be great. YAY!
anyway, i'm off to a staff party.
the palace itself is beautiful from the outside. it's surrounded by large, well-tended lawns and gardens. inside, though, is where it starts getting good.
initially, the impact of the interior is an interior designer's worst nightmare. the building itself was designed by a french architect and funded by Carnegie, so it has a great deal of structural beauty, but the decorations were all donated by various member states. the marble in one hallway was donated by italy, the mosaics were done by a team of french girls over the course of an entire year and the polar bear fountain in the center was donated by denmark. the tapestries in the board member's hall were made by japan, the giant vases were produced in china and the rug was woven in turkey (and happens to be the largest carpet in western europe -- what whaaaaat!?!?). sounds great, huh? and it is, really. but none of the giving states consulted one another about their donations, so the entire place lacks any sort of design continuity. every item reflects the country it was produced by, and it was all thrown in together without regard to theme or pattern. at first, this is somewhat off-putting, but it grows on you. by the end, the hodge-podge vision of the interior is really inspiring, actually.
my favorite part was the masterwork of the dutch artist who painted the ceiling above the main staircase. at 24 years old, he was commissioned to paint this important work, and started out depicting gods and goddesses of justice and prosperity. during the time he was at work, the stained-glass windows that overlook the gardens weren't installed yet, and he would occasionally gaze out the vacant windows at the gardeners as they went about their landscaping. apparently, he looked out one day and saw the assistant gardener, a young woman whom he fell in love with immediately. completely enamored, he proceeded to paint the goddess of wisdom in her likeness. pretty romantic, huh? but the story isn't done! when the painting was finished, she went inside to look at it, and fell instantly in love with HIM. the two got married and moved to the states, where he became the first dutch man to win an oscar for set design.
how. effing. romantic. is. that!?!?!?
needless to say, i loved it.
aside from the aesthetics, the palace also hosts the international court of justice (where states can file suit against other states -- mostly the court deals with boundary and boarder issues) and the permanent court of arbitration where parties -- state, personal or private -- can come together to mediate disputes. the grounds are home to one of the biggest international law libraries in the world, as well. all in all, a very cool place. and what's more, there's a gelato stand right outside. perfect.
on a completely unrelated note, i wanted to give a quick shout-out to my waffle haus girls. i have a framed picture of the five of us at prom on my mantle and i just really love and miss you all. the time i spent with you in our home was the best of my life, and i can't thank you enough for being there with/for me. i have been profoundly changed by the love that each of you shared with me, and i will be forever grateful. please know that wherever you are, i am thinking of you and would go to whatever end to be there for you if you need me. thank you.
whoa that was sappy. sorry! in other news -- one mrs. laura jean donnelly is visiting me in august. i can't even begin to tell you how excited i am. i've already started planning her visit and its gonna be great. YAY!
anyway, i'm off to a staff party.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
whoa...
so today was completely ridiculous. its one in the morning, so i'm going to bullet-point this one:
- had a great day at work. made extra coffee in the morning to pack in a thermos and bring with me. sound dorky? well i am. and that thermos is magic. i was super productive this afternoon and all thanks to the double espresso i made at 8 am. athankyouverymuch.
- stopped at the heijn on the way home. i love the heijn.
- came home and went for an awesome run. the park out back is really nice. the perimeter is a solid little loop and there are enough paved paths inside the park so that you can easily wind in and out if one feels inclined to change it up a bit.
- ughh internet sucks in the apartment, so i missed skyping with both dad and michelle (lame and i'm really, really sorry you two)
- made delicious dinner and ate it in my fabulous living room with a really delightful cup of coffee. high point of my life? perhaps
- got my life together and went to TND (thursday night drinks) at a place called savanna. decent little place right across the circle from the bikram studio i practiced at a few times.
- watched my german ex-roommate bust a move on the makeshift dance floor (this particular moment goes out to mah girl michelle)
- came to the rescue of one of my fellow interns, john, who earlier had eaten four racks of ribs in about two hours, resulting in a serious case of the meat-sweats. fortunately, i am the queen of queasiness, so i happened to be packin' pepto. i saved him! (this one goes out to mah girl cait)
- danced for a few moments on the makeshift dance floor with a few other interns, felt immeasureably awkward and ran away when they weren't looking, yelling a quick good-bye over my shoulder as i fled the scene.
- biked home through the beautiful, warm streets of den haag. i love it here.
- got back to my fantastic apartment only to discover that i've left my key inside and thusly have locked myself out. brilliant. i took it off the key ring when i was going for my run because its a hassle to carry the entire ring of keys so i usually just shove the one outdoor key in my sock and leave my room key in a hiding spot ouside my room. because i'm a genius. who forgot to put the key back on the ring as she left.
FOOLISHNESS! realizing that i had to swallow my pride, i proceeded to ring the doorbell about 10 times, trying to wake the nearly-deaf, 80-year-old woman on the first floor. fortunately for me, though my frantic ringing (meanwhile i'm desperately calling friends to see if they can put me up for the night -- not my proudest moment) did not wake my neighbor, it did successfully wake her small dog, who barked enough to wake her up. tottering to the front door, she peeked out to see me in all my glory, standing meekly on the stoop. thank goodness she's a good-natured old dutch lady, because she just laughed as she let me in, patting me on the arm and giggling to herself. she will be the proud recipient of a huge bottle of wine tomorrow and a sincere thank-you note.
ughh. i'm an idiot.
we do it for the story?
- had a great day at work. made extra coffee in the morning to pack in a thermos and bring with me. sound dorky? well i am. and that thermos is magic. i was super productive this afternoon and all thanks to the double espresso i made at 8 am. athankyouverymuch.
- stopped at the heijn on the way home. i love the heijn.
- came home and went for an awesome run. the park out back is really nice. the perimeter is a solid little loop and there are enough paved paths inside the park so that you can easily wind in and out if one feels inclined to change it up a bit.
- ughh internet sucks in the apartment, so i missed skyping with both dad and michelle (lame and i'm really, really sorry you two)
- made delicious dinner and ate it in my fabulous living room with a really delightful cup of coffee. high point of my life? perhaps
- got my life together and went to TND (thursday night drinks) at a place called savanna. decent little place right across the circle from the bikram studio i practiced at a few times.
- watched my german ex-roommate bust a move on the makeshift dance floor (this particular moment goes out to mah girl michelle)
- came to the rescue of one of my fellow interns, john, who earlier had eaten four racks of ribs in about two hours, resulting in a serious case of the meat-sweats. fortunately, i am the queen of queasiness, so i happened to be packin' pepto. i saved him! (this one goes out to mah girl cait)
- danced for a few moments on the makeshift dance floor with a few other interns, felt immeasureably awkward and ran away when they weren't looking, yelling a quick good-bye over my shoulder as i fled the scene.
- biked home through the beautiful, warm streets of den haag. i love it here.
- got back to my fantastic apartment only to discover that i've left my key inside and thusly have locked myself out. brilliant. i took it off the key ring when i was going for my run because its a hassle to carry the entire ring of keys so i usually just shove the one outdoor key in my sock and leave my room key in a hiding spot ouside my room. because i'm a genius. who forgot to put the key back on the ring as she left.
FOOLISHNESS! realizing that i had to swallow my pride, i proceeded to ring the doorbell about 10 times, trying to wake the nearly-deaf, 80-year-old woman on the first floor. fortunately for me, though my frantic ringing (meanwhile i'm desperately calling friends to see if they can put me up for the night -- not my proudest moment) did not wake my neighbor, it did successfully wake her small dog, who barked enough to wake her up. tottering to the front door, she peeked out to see me in all my glory, standing meekly on the stoop. thank goodness she's a good-natured old dutch lady, because she just laughed as she let me in, patting me on the arm and giggling to herself. she will be the proud recipient of a huge bottle of wine tomorrow and a sincere thank-you note.
ughh. i'm an idiot.
we do it for the story?
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
alone in the apartment
so michelle went home yesterday.
i'm really sad about it. i mean, its sort of (not really) nice to have some alone time, because i do love my alone time, but i really wish she was still here with me. i can't even begin to thank her enough for moving here with me and sharing the last seven weeks of this adventure. she's an incredible friend. i'm so lucky.
anyway, i've moved into my new place. the address is van boetzelaerlaan 72, second floor. the layout is really similar to my old place (shared kitchen/shower/toilet with two separate rooms for each of the tenants) but this space is way, way nicer. i have a big living room with a decently-sized bedroom off of it and a BALCONY! i love the balcony so much. the kitchen could be better (no stove, kinda grimey) but i'm channeling my inner cait and giving the whole thing a cleaning over-haul tonight. the other woman on the floor, albertine, is really great. she's a freelance journalist with a masters in American Studies as well as one in Media Studies. she's in the U.S. for two months right now, so i have some time to settle in and make this place my own and then she'll come back and i'm sure we're going to get along really well.
work is going well. i really like my office and the general work environment around the icty. there are about 90 other interns, and so far i've found quite a few people who i get along with quite well. the two other interns in my office are effing phenomenal. a few of us are planning a trip to brussels this weekend. hopefully we'll get to croatia in the fall? ughh -- i'm so lucky!
oooh also -- i'm borrowing albertine's bike while she is gone. i love dutch bikes! i absolutely want to get one when i'm back in the states.
i miss everyone at home a lot, though. i hate that i'm missing all of these important years in my sisters' lives and that i can't be there with my friends while they transition to the next phases of their lives. the internet is nice -- thank goodness for skype -- but its not quite the same. i love all of you so much. come visit!
alright, well, i'm off to bring my wrath down upon the grime in the kitchen. this will be germocide like the world has never known.
i'm really sad about it. i mean, its sort of (not really) nice to have some alone time, because i do love my alone time, but i really wish she was still here with me. i can't even begin to thank her enough for moving here with me and sharing the last seven weeks of this adventure. she's an incredible friend. i'm so lucky.
anyway, i've moved into my new place. the address is van boetzelaerlaan 72, second floor. the layout is really similar to my old place (shared kitchen/shower/toilet with two separate rooms for each of the tenants) but this space is way, way nicer. i have a big living room with a decently-sized bedroom off of it and a BALCONY! i love the balcony so much. the kitchen could be better (no stove, kinda grimey) but i'm channeling my inner cait and giving the whole thing a cleaning over-haul tonight. the other woman on the floor, albertine, is really great. she's a freelance journalist with a masters in American Studies as well as one in Media Studies. she's in the U.S. for two months right now, so i have some time to settle in and make this place my own and then she'll come back and i'm sure we're going to get along really well.
work is going well. i really like my office and the general work environment around the icty. there are about 90 other interns, and so far i've found quite a few people who i get along with quite well. the two other interns in my office are effing phenomenal. a few of us are planning a trip to brussels this weekend. hopefully we'll get to croatia in the fall? ughh -- i'm so lucky!
oooh also -- i'm borrowing albertine's bike while she is gone. i love dutch bikes! i absolutely want to get one when i'm back in the states.
i miss everyone at home a lot, though. i hate that i'm missing all of these important years in my sisters' lives and that i can't be there with my friends while they transition to the next phases of their lives. the internet is nice -- thank goodness for skype -- but its not quite the same. i love all of you so much. come visit!
alright, well, i'm off to bring my wrath down upon the grime in the kitchen. this will be germocide like the world has never known.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
quick update
i'm updating before work because i never seem to think of it later in the day, so i must be quick.
work is going great. i really like working at the tribunal, and i really like the office of the prosecutor (OTP) and i really like my department (leadership research team - LRT). the other interns are fun and the work is interesting. not much more i could ask for.
i've been going to bikram yoga a lot and i really like it. its completely different than any other yoga i've ever done, but it kicks ass.
michelle leaves on tuesday, which sucks so much i can't even begin to write about it. so i'll leave you with the gravity of my silence to speak volumes to my despair.
i move into my new place tomorrow. michelle, james and i are renting a car and going to ikea to tear it up. furnishing a whole apartment for less than E300. CAN SHE DO IT?
of course.
work is going great. i really like working at the tribunal, and i really like the office of the prosecutor (OTP) and i really like my department (leadership research team - LRT). the other interns are fun and the work is interesting. not much more i could ask for.
i've been going to bikram yoga a lot and i really like it. its completely different than any other yoga i've ever done, but it kicks ass.
michelle leaves on tuesday, which sucks so much i can't even begin to write about it. so i'll leave you with the gravity of my silence to speak volumes to my despair.
i move into my new place tomorrow. michelle, james and i are renting a car and going to ikea to tear it up. furnishing a whole apartment for less than E300. CAN SHE DO IT?
of course.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
whoa
first things first: this is a stupid blog name. suggestions more than welcome.
also -- sorry for the negligence. i've been travelin'!
so i think the last time i updated this piece was just shy of a full month ago. right before jess came, i do believe.
its been a really busy four weeks. my dearest jess came to visit our humble digs here in den haag from the 12th until the 17th. we spent the weekend getting a tour around holland from a real-life dutchie (thanks anton) including a bomb trip to the hokiest spot in all of the nederlands. for more, check out my facebook pictures and look for me sitting in a giant clog, grinning like an idiot. from thar we went to amsterdam for a few days and then hopped a train for paris.
being the genius that i am, i booked a ticket for a train that left a full two hours after my dear companions, and in order to make it to france i had sweet talk my way through three different european countires. done and done. paris was great, obviously. i actually enjoyed this trip quite a bit more than my last. nothing against my previous travel buddies (duh) or my previous host (again -- duh), i was just way more into it this time. on our last day, the city was celebrating its adorableness by having an all-day music festival with stages all over the damn place. it was a beautiful day and we spent it listening to shitty euro-pop and dancing like maniacs.
oh! and erica met up with us on the 20th. on the 22nd, michelle, erica and i boarded trains back to the netherlands. michelle and i were estatic to get back to our happy home and to show erica around. dressed in full soccer-mom gear, erica proceeded to take pictures of nearly every square meter of both the hague and amsterdam. also, james proves himself a saint yet again for taking us and our rowdy-ass friends in for a few days. many, many thanks for his patience and hospitality (and the crazy delicious mexican food -- whoa).
michelle and i hunkered down for a few days in the hague, looking for a new apartment and a job. unsuccessful on both counts, but undeterred we set off for london on the 1st of july. definitely one of the best trips ever. we stayed with the incredible kelly and jon rogers for four scorching hot days and groovy nights. we saw a bunch of museums (my fave was the tate modern) and most of the important landmarks, chilled in a few parks, played some apples to apples and...wait for it...saw avenue q. if you haven't seen it, please go right now. too funny. we spent the fourth of july in the park, snacking on delicious english cheese and trying to ditch the crazy expat who took it upon himself to attach himself to our humble group and proceed to drive all of us to consider brutal homicide. and kelly's a minister. that's how cray he was. and yet, even the psychodude couldn't get us down! we drank pimms, paddle-boated around the lake and danced with an 80 year old dude (actually that last bit was just michelle -- pictures soon!). it was so great to see kelly and get to know jon a bit. i absolutely loved the whole vibe of the city. i could spend all day in borough market, for reals. thanks so much mr and mrs rogers for an amazing time.
unfortunately we couldn't seem to connect with erica while we were there, but not for lack of trying on either of our ends. love you, babes!
oh and michelle got caught carrying an illegal weapon (pepper spray) in a UK airport. she was detained for a bit and had to be finger printed, photographed and swabbed for a DNA sample. the police men who interviewed her were such great guys, though, it actually was sort of a fun adventure. but then again, that's quite easy for me to say...my DNA isn't sitting in a criminal tracking database somewhere in the UK.
so now that we're basically caught up, i'm going to go and finish filling out the paperwork for my internship. which starts tomorrow, by the by.
expect an update 'round this time tomorrow night!
also -- sorry for the negligence. i've been travelin'!
so i think the last time i updated this piece was just shy of a full month ago. right before jess came, i do believe.
its been a really busy four weeks. my dearest jess came to visit our humble digs here in den haag from the 12th until the 17th. we spent the weekend getting a tour around holland from a real-life dutchie (thanks anton) including a bomb trip to the hokiest spot in all of the nederlands. for more, check out my facebook pictures and look for me sitting in a giant clog, grinning like an idiot. from thar we went to amsterdam for a few days and then hopped a train for paris.
being the genius that i am, i booked a ticket for a train that left a full two hours after my dear companions, and in order to make it to france i had sweet talk my way through three different european countires. done and done. paris was great, obviously. i actually enjoyed this trip quite a bit more than my last. nothing against my previous travel buddies (duh) or my previous host (again -- duh), i was just way more into it this time. on our last day, the city was celebrating its adorableness by having an all-day music festival with stages all over the damn place. it was a beautiful day and we spent it listening to shitty euro-pop and dancing like maniacs.
oh! and erica met up with us on the 20th. on the 22nd, michelle, erica and i boarded trains back to the netherlands. michelle and i were estatic to get back to our happy home and to show erica around. dressed in full soccer-mom gear, erica proceeded to take pictures of nearly every square meter of both the hague and amsterdam. also, james proves himself a saint yet again for taking us and our rowdy-ass friends in for a few days. many, many thanks for his patience and hospitality (and the crazy delicious mexican food -- whoa).
michelle and i hunkered down for a few days in the hague, looking for a new apartment and a job. unsuccessful on both counts, but undeterred we set off for london on the 1st of july. definitely one of the best trips ever. we stayed with the incredible kelly and jon rogers for four scorching hot days and groovy nights. we saw a bunch of museums (my fave was the tate modern) and most of the important landmarks, chilled in a few parks, played some apples to apples and...wait for it...saw avenue q. if you haven't seen it, please go right now. too funny. we spent the fourth of july in the park, snacking on delicious english cheese and trying to ditch the crazy expat who took it upon himself to attach himself to our humble group and proceed to drive all of us to consider brutal homicide. and kelly's a minister. that's how cray he was. and yet, even the psychodude couldn't get us down! we drank pimms, paddle-boated around the lake and danced with an 80 year old dude (actually that last bit was just michelle -- pictures soon!). it was so great to see kelly and get to know jon a bit. i absolutely loved the whole vibe of the city. i could spend all day in borough market, for reals. thanks so much mr and mrs rogers for an amazing time.
unfortunately we couldn't seem to connect with erica while we were there, but not for lack of trying on either of our ends. love you, babes!
oh and michelle got caught carrying an illegal weapon (pepper spray) in a UK airport. she was detained for a bit and had to be finger printed, photographed and swabbed for a DNA sample. the police men who interviewed her were such great guys, though, it actually was sort of a fun adventure. but then again, that's quite easy for me to say...my DNA isn't sitting in a criminal tracking database somewhere in the UK.
so now that we're basically caught up, i'm going to go and finish filling out the paperwork for my internship. which starts tomorrow, by the by.
expect an update 'round this time tomorrow night!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
one night turns into four...
its been quite a few days since i wrote anything, but i am back and ready to update.
so last friday michelle and i hopped a train to amsterdam to visit our friend james. the plan was to hang out, make dinner and then go home either saturday or early sunday. aaaaaaaand somehow we ended up staying until tuesday. i blame james. his company is just too good and his cooking is just too delicious.
we walked around the city a bunch, read in parks a lot and made home-made pasta. it was wonderful!
my debit card arrives in the mail today (fingers crossed), so i'm camping out here in my room awaiting the ring of the bell and wondering where the toaster has gone...
miss you all. come visit!
so last friday michelle and i hopped a train to amsterdam to visit our friend james. the plan was to hang out, make dinner and then go home either saturday or early sunday. aaaaaaaand somehow we ended up staying until tuesday. i blame james. his company is just too good and his cooking is just too delicious.
we walked around the city a bunch, read in parks a lot and made home-made pasta. it was wonderful!
my debit card arrives in the mail today (fingers crossed), so i'm camping out here in my room awaiting the ring of the bell and wondering where the toaster has gone...
miss you all. come visit!
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