Solly as a Rock!!

Today’s weather forecast on the radio: “In the southern half of the country it will rain continuously, and in heavy showers, too. Have a nice day.”

motor handicapped (mõ-ter han'dé kap'd) n the condition in which the transmission of impulses from the nerve centres to the muscles is interrupted unexpectedly. A side affect of this condition is bad eye-hand coördination.

This morning’s score: one finger stuck behind the doorpost, one dropped sweetener dispenser (not broken, no spills), one dropped coffee mug with content (fell in sink, not broken, minor spill), one bowl of cruesli with yoghurt (plastic, on kitchen floor, cruesli yogurt combo splashed all over the place), one knee hurt against washing machine and a black eye when opening a cupboard at (doh!) eye height…

Personally, I really think this is one of my better days…

… how they place the “don’t walk on the grass” – signs on the lawn?

… why kamikaze pilots wore a helmet?

… why Noah did not kill the two mosquito’s on his arch?

… if the people at the Pickwick factory have coffee breaks?

… if a rabbits tail is a lucky charm, what happened to the rabbit?

… how a thermos flask knows whether the drink inside should remain cold or hot?

… why sheep don’t crimp when they dry after some rain and my woolen sweater does?

… why you have to make an appointment with a fortune teller?

… if there’s another word for synonym?

… if married people really live longer or just think they do?

… why they put an expiration date on a cup of sour cream?

and just out of curiosity: do you ever wonder why I wonder about these things?

I have not driven a car since I got my drivers license almost a week ago… I don’t own a car, so I have to depend on the charity of others. Yet, people don’t want me to drive their cars – at least not during the day. I’ve been asked by several people to drive them home after a party next week, but I refused. Not that I don’t want to be the designated driver now that I can legally do so, but… I just want them to trust me with their car. When I ask why they don’t want me to drive, they say that it’s because I only got the license a week ago. I’ll have to practice more… Hello! I can’t practice if they don’t cooperate!

*sighs depressed*

Does anyone of you have a spare car? The lessons are still fresh in my memory, I know and follow all the rules, I won’t speed and I will drive safely…

Extreme Ironing…

An Australian diving club has claimed a world record in the extreme sport of underwater ironing. Some 43 members of Melbourne’s Bay City Scuba Diving Club ironed in 10ft of water in Port Phillip Bay. Club spokesman Alan Igoe said the 25 minute dive, using cold non-electric irons, also raised £250 for charity. “We always try to do something to get our members diving after the winter break, but this gained momentum and took off as a chase for a world record,” he said. The Australian divers snatched a six week old record from a sixteen-strong New Zealand group of ironists. Underwater extreme ironing was invented by German extreme ironist, Iron Lung, when he took his iron and board into the Mediterranean sea off Majorca in 2001. Extreme ironing founder, Steam, says: “I never realised how competitive the Aussie ironists were – as soon as the Kiwis took the record, they were there.”

Some things come to mind after reading this:

What the f*** is the use of underwater ironing? It seems to me like a contradictio in terminus…

And when did ironing become an extreme sport?! I do it every week! (O.K., not in 10ft of water, but still.)

Isn´t this just a hoax – considering the name of the German (`Iron Lung`)and founder (´Steam´)? There are pictures of the action, though…

… St. Martin’s Day. Children walk around the streets after dark, carrying lanterns, and singing special songs. A bit like trick or treating: they are rewarded for their singing and the beauty of their lanterns, with sweets and other goodies.

… The start of the Carnaval season.

… 40 days before Christmas.

… My ‘little’ brother’s first wedding anniversary.

… a happy day. Period. No fires, no bombs, no terrorism.

I’m afraid to turn on the TV or radio these days. Afraid that I’ll catch the news. This country has some very un-Dutch news nowadays. In fact, we have turned into world news! It’s incredible how one f*cked up fundamentalist can destroy the delicate peace between the ‘religious tribes’ of this country. Tolerance: we’re famous for it around the globe, but it’s a habit sadly fading into the past.

Since Theo van Gogh was shot and stabbed to death as he cycled to work, a wave of arson attacks has targeted at least eight mosques, including one in my hometown! A Muslim school in Eindhoven was badly damaged in a small bomb blast on Monday and another one in Uden was set on fire last night. Graffiti on the last school indicated it was an ‘act of revenge’…

Some Muslims signaled they are ready to strike back. Fire bombs were thrown at two churches in the central Netherlands in the early hours of Tuesday. After the attacks on Muslim buildings, an Islamic group has threatened to strike this country. We had already been the subject of several threats by Islamic extremists due to the presence of 1,300 Dutch troops in Iraq… This time, the statement said: “Stop the attacks on our mosques, schools and the Muslim community in Holland…before you pay a heavy price!”. It is attributed to the Islamic Tawhid Brigades, which claimed responsibility for bombings last month in Egypt. (read more)

I just turned on the radio, hoping to catch a happy song or so to cheer me up. Big mistake. I heard the news about three Dutch police officers have been wounded in an explosion during an anti-terror raid this morning on a house in The Hague. There was a grenade blast and shots were also fired during the raid…

I can’t take this anymore. This is not the country I grew up in… This is not America, or some ‘religiously challenged’ country in the Middle East… I wish I still was that little girl, who woke up in the middle of the night, scared and disoriented and her Mommy told her that it’s all just a bad dream… ‘I don’t think, we’re in Kansas anymore, Toto’.

Weeeeeeeeh! I have my drivers license! Finally! The exam did not go as perfect as I wanted, yet it was good enough. Baby can drive a car now – well, I could, if I had one (they still don’t hand out free cars when you come to pick up your license…)

I tried. I really tried. But I just could not find inspiration. I stared at a white screen half this day; I typed, retyped and deleted text – posts about birds, laundry and white fluffy clouds – the other half. I think its a Monday thing. Or maybe I just have a boring life. Who knows. I just wanted to let you know at the end of this empty day, that I’m fine. I’m still alive. I’m over the common cold. I was just out of inspiration.

I considered deleting this useless filling-the-screen post, but hey, this is my life-log and I can post crappy stuff on it whenever I feel like it!