Solly as a Rock!!

10 Years ago I went to University. I was going to finish my M.Sc. in Geology in four years and conquer the world after that! It took me 7 years, but I joined a Forbes 500 company even before I officially graduated. The world was in my hands… Training in Houston, work in the UK, Faroer Islands. The Plan was simple: I was going to do the mudlogging thing for a little while and then move directly into wellsite geology, or company woman. Then I would become a consultant or senior geo of an E&P; team… Thing did not go according to The Plan. The Company went through a mayor downsizing operation, and others too. Our department was laid off completely. I thought I would find another job real soon. I had my degree, my experience… Others too, and more of it. 18 months later, I am still unemployed. I had a hell of a reality check: a pile of “We are sorry to inform…” and other ‘nice’ rejection letters in my desk.

I know things don’t always go according to Plans in life- ‘Guidelines only, subject to changes’ – but that does not mean it does not suck big time! Does any one have another Plan for me?

The milk turned into yoghurt and the Gouda into cheese spread, I noticed when I tried to make myself breakfast. I poured myself some coffee and swore. #%^&!!! The hottest week of the year and the fridge gave up. I checked the thermometer: 15 degC, where it should be 4 to 7 degC. #%^&!!! Everything gone off, except for the beer.

We bought a new second-hand. We let it settle for a day and turned it on. 24 hours later we checked the temperature. Twelve degrees. #%^&!!!

We bought a new thermometer and placed it inside for 6 hours. Thirteen degrees. #%^&!!!

We phoned the fridge guy. “How warm is the house itself?”, he asked. “25 degC”, we replied. “Too warm, the fridge can’t loose its heath”.

#%^&!!! It was never the fridge, it’s the house…

Does anyone need a – perfectly working – fridge?

I just noticed the date! And I have a driving class in 15 minutes… Fortunately, I don’t suffer from Paraskevidekatriaphobia… But, just in case, wish me luck!

He started out as a DJ in a very small – 150 people max. – venue in my hometown, where I used to party on Saturday night… I was sixteen and off course I was madly in love with the DJ… Twelve years later: twice voted ‘Best DJ of the world’, the world’s first 8 hour DJ-concert in front of an audience of 25.000, knighted… Can things get crazier, bigger or better for this guy?! Yes, they can:

“DJ Tiësto will make Olympic history on Friday, August 13, when he becomes the first DJ ever to perform in an Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games. Some four billion people will be watching the planet’s premier sport event. No DJ has ever performed at the Olympic Games. In October 2003, Tiësto was approached by the Athens Organizing Committee a DJ-performance of 90 minutes during the parade of the athletes, a part of the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games. During this parade, all participating nations introduce their athletes, over 10,000 in total. ATHOC has shown it values art and innovation by asking the most popular DJ on Earth to produce the music for the parade. Tiësto will perform his DJ-set live in the Olympic Stadium in Athens. This will include new tracks produced especially for the Opening Ceremony and songs that have been tailored to compliment the spirit of the Ceremony.” (source)

ps. It will be the longest broadcast of dance music ever on the American TV-stations…

pps. MyLove is the resident DJ at that same venue now… Where are the Olympics of 2016 held?

Why do you only check if you took your keys with you AFTER you closed the door, AND when no one else is in the house AND when the person you left the spare keys with is on a holiday…

…And we call him/her Mango*.

* because of its colour scheme, MyLove’s India experience(read: he tasted all -40- types of mango this country has to offer) and the clothing brand/shop!

The numerous visits to the coast have finally paid off. Not only am I tanned – My Love calls it “sun kissed off-white”, I consider myself incredibly tanned-, but also am I cured from a long term fear that has held me back for years. Sandphobia. The fear of sand. Can you imagine: a marine sedimentologist who does not like sand?! Almost like a hydrophobic lifeguard…

Don’t get me wrong: I loved the beach in a morphological kind of way. The combined action of the sea, the land and the wind… Giving, taking… Ripples, barriers, dunes… Breathtaking. Yet: the sand grains- the actual building blocks of the beach- AARGH! The sole reason for becoming a geologist and not a physical geographer was sand. Sandstone is solid. Sand comes in grains. It gets in your drinks, between your teeth, in your eyes, hair and who knows what body cavities.

Anyway, I am kind off cured. I still don’t like sand, yet I have learned to deal with it in the past week. Cover your drink with a book. Always wear sunglasses. Rent a beach bed and a wind screen. Shower or swim when sand-covered. But most important: leave a set of dry, clean and sandless clothes in the car.

It’s official: this is the fifth consecutive day above 25 degC and the second above 30 degC within that period… Heat Wave!!! So, do not expect a larger post than this one (maybe tonight, but I won’t promise anything), I’m off to the beach!

“Preposterous”.

I really love the sound of this word, don´t you?

Come on, just pronounce it – preferebly imitate Queen Elizabeth – and listen how this word rolls off your tongue…

“Preposterous”.

Let me hear your personal favorites!

Last year, we had the sunniest summer of all summers – at least, of the ones I can remember. An über-summer. The sun started shining at the end of June and I cannot recall seeing one single cloud or feeling a drop of rain till the end of September… More than 3 months of nice and warm. Off course, there were complaints. It´s part of our culture: the Dutch love to complain, especially about something as unpredictable and subjective like the weather. Last year´s summer was ´too hot´ and ´too dry´. Doom scenarios: ´this could be the herald of future climate change´, and so on…

This year, summer was late. In fact, it was cold and rainy – an extended spring – till a week ago. Complaints all around. ´Too cold, ´too wet´. We had definitely been spoilt by last year´s endless sunny season. It appeared, people suffered from collective memory loss, ´cause no one seemed to remember that this (17 degC, cloudy, partly sunny, rainy) was the original(TM) Dutch summer!

However, a week ago, the weather changed. Drastically. From 17 to 27 degC in 3 days. Hot, sunny, humid. Traffic jams on the roads to the North Sea beaches. No complaints (yet…) and no nagging about the bad start of the summer any more. Happy cloggies, smiles everywhere! Until last night…

A thunder storm. Nice, it blows away humidity, and clears up the sky. This morning it was still raining- drizzling, in fact. No sun, just clouds. When I turned on the radio, I heard the first ´Too humid´, ´too warm´…