Xmas was awesome! My brother and his family were here, and we ate, drank and were merry for 5 days, which was great! Xmas dinner was quite successful, despite the shopping FAIL when I tried to buy artichokes and a few other problems. I am not sure what my highlights were, but the chocolate trifle was great. As was the lobster. And the garlic soup. Hmmmm, difficult to say, basically... Rather surprisingly, the only thing my nieces really liked was the garlic soup! Oh well, I attribute their refusal of tuna carpaccio, goats cheese fondue etc to a lack of experience and simply assume it does not reflect my cooking skills! ;-)
Obviously, in addition to eating, there were presents, and everyone was happy with what they received. Well, maybe I shouldnt speak on behalf of others, but at least I was very happy with mine! For photos, go to Facebook or to Fedor's blog.
On Sunday, they all left and we had some time to clean up the house and relax, which was nice for a change. I went back to work yesterday and today, to try and finish as many things as possible, which has been fairly successful. My paper is finished, the research project that I am quasi-supervising is in its final stages, my Workshop (taking place on 1-2 February) is nearly completely organised (the only thing still missing is funds to pay for it, but I am sure this will work out somehow), and I am ready to go on holiday.
Because tomorrow, we fly to Bangkok!!! For four weeks of Sun and Heat and Temples and Beach and Food and Culture etc etc etc. I am totally looking forward to it, and to fleeing from the Berlin cold. We will fly out of Frankfurt, so we have a 13.00 train to get to Frankfurt, so we even have time to take it slowly tomorrow morning. So for that reason we start our holidays by going to see Avatar in 3D tonight (recommendation by my brother and his wife). I hope it is going to be great!!!
So, the only thing still left for me to do is to wish everyone a great 2010! Think of us while we are lying on a nice comfy warm beach and you are suffering in the freezing cold. :-))))))))
Tschüßi,
OJ
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
It's the most Wonderful Time... of the year...
It's nearly xmas! And it is absolutely FREEZING. Well, it was, anyway. Between Thursday and Monday morning, the temperature didnt come above -10, with windchill making it feel like a good -20 (during the day, that is). As my colleague Kati pointed out "oh, and it's not even winter yet"... oh god, I hadnt realised Berlin was going to be THIS bad! Anyway, since this morning it is a balmy -2 (windchill: -8), so it's nearly time to get our shorts out again...
We have had some snow as well, but not really a lot. not more than a few centimetres basicaylly, which is convenient as I, obviously, still cycle everywhere. I did join in with the rest of civilisation and purchase a hat, despite the obviously negative consequences this has for my hair... But it really is too cold otherwise!
Anyways, more visitors during recent weekends. Last weekend, Stefanie and Cobus were here, and this weekend Rosie and Ness were here (they were actually here for two Rammstein concerts, but stayed at our place: we did not see much of them). Tonite we are meeting with my friend Linlin who lives in China but is in Berlin for a few days, and tomorrow with Jochen, who is over from Groningen for a week or so to visit family. And then on Wednesday, xmas properly starts: My brother and his family will arrive! I am really looking forward to it, and to making lots of nice food etc. It will be lovely, I am sure!
In addition to the visitors etc, there has obviously been some work as well. Last week, I spent 2 days in Geneva for an Expert Workshop on Armed Violence Indicators. It was quite interesting, and a good place to meet many important people. Thanks UNDP, for inviting me! And for paying for the ticket (wtf, what idiot would pay 1000€ to fly Berlin-Geneva and back???). I did learn at least one thing new: the UN has an Office for Outerspace Affairs. How cool is that? Anyway, it was nice to see Geneva (I had never been there) and to meet people, but I was quite sad to arrive in Frankfurt to find that I had missed my connecting flight and to find that I was going to end up having to spend the night in Frankfurt. Oh well, shit happens, but it was all quite stressful and I really would have preferred to get home!
For the rest, my main activities these days are related to the organisation of my Workshop, which is taking place on February 1-2. Rather inconveniently, we will be on our honeymoon the month before the workshop takes place (I will be back at work on January 28th), so everything has to be taken care off right now. And that is quite a hassle! But I am sure it is going to be great: We are having people coming over from the US, UK, France, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Belgium, India, Egypt, etc... So a nice international group, indeed!
Right, now that is it for now. Merry xmas to everyone and try not to get snowed in!
Tschüßi,
OJ
We have had some snow as well, but not really a lot. not more than a few centimetres basicaylly, which is convenient as I, obviously, still cycle everywhere. I did join in with the rest of civilisation and purchase a hat, despite the obviously negative consequences this has for my hair... But it really is too cold otherwise!
Anyways, more visitors during recent weekends. Last weekend, Stefanie and Cobus were here, and this weekend Rosie and Ness were here (they were actually here for two Rammstein concerts, but stayed at our place: we did not see much of them). Tonite we are meeting with my friend Linlin who lives in China but is in Berlin for a few days, and tomorrow with Jochen, who is over from Groningen for a week or so to visit family. And then on Wednesday, xmas properly starts: My brother and his family will arrive! I am really looking forward to it, and to making lots of nice food etc. It will be lovely, I am sure!
In addition to the visitors etc, there has obviously been some work as well. Last week, I spent 2 days in Geneva for an Expert Workshop on Armed Violence Indicators. It was quite interesting, and a good place to meet many important people. Thanks UNDP, for inviting me! And for paying for the ticket (wtf, what idiot would pay 1000€ to fly Berlin-Geneva and back???). I did learn at least one thing new: the UN has an Office for Outerspace Affairs. How cool is that? Anyway, it was nice to see Geneva (I had never been there) and to meet people, but I was quite sad to arrive in Frankfurt to find that I had missed my connecting flight and to find that I was going to end up having to spend the night in Frankfurt. Oh well, shit happens, but it was all quite stressful and I really would have preferred to get home!
For the rest, my main activities these days are related to the organisation of my Workshop, which is taking place on February 1-2. Rather inconveniently, we will be on our honeymoon the month before the workshop takes place (I will be back at work on January 28th), so everything has to be taken care off right now. And that is quite a hassle! But I am sure it is going to be great: We are having people coming over from the US, UK, France, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Belgium, India, Egypt, etc... So a nice international group, indeed!
Right, now that is it for now. Merry xmas to everyone and try not to get snowed in!
Tschüßi,
OJ
Sunday, December 06, 2009
update from the bed!
Wow, that was quite a while again. We have had so many visitors, and so many other things to do though! Jorryt and Lilian (and their Unborn), Suuz and BarD and Felix and Annaig. It was all great fun and good to see everyone (see pictures at the end of this post). But to be honest, and that is meant in the nicest way possible, I am most excited about the current weekend: our free weekend!!! The first one in a looooooooong while. So now it is Sunday, 1pm, and I am in bed, updating my blog. And loving it!!! And oh, btw, this update is coming to you from an EEE notebook: my new computer, that is!
Fedor's ancient computer finally died, 2 days ago (it had been a long time coming), so we bought a new one. But because we didnt really want to spend much money, we decided to go for one of this mini netbooks (its about half the size of a normal laptop), which is my computer now, and Fedor has my old one. It takes some getting used to, but it really isnt all that bad. And it really is a lot more convenient for taking around with me. So I am quite satisfied. (oh, and it only cost 249 euros, that is also a big bonus).
Anyways, the first time I will have the opportunity to take it with me is next week, when I go to Geneva for 3 days, for a meeting with some people from the UNDP and others (an expert meeting on the role of violence in the accomplisment of the Millenium Development Goals: pretty cool, actually). Oh, while talking about work: Did I mention I had a paper accepted in Journal for Development Studies? And a Revise&Resubmit at Journal of Conflict Resolution? Well, I do! And I am very happy about it. Oh, and 3 Discussion Papers, which can be found on the DIW website, if you are interested.
Just a short summary of other things we have recently done: xmas party from work, which was fun. And booking our honeymoon (oh yeah, I forgot to mention: we will fly to Bangkok on the 30th of December, spend 4 weeks in Thailand-Cambodia-Laos and get back to Berlin on the 26th. And we are soooooooooooooo much looking forward to it. Particularly given the CRAPPY weather in Berlin...)
Tschüß,
OJ
Fedor's ancient computer finally died, 2 days ago (it had been a long time coming), so we bought a new one. But because we didnt really want to spend much money, we decided to go for one of this mini netbooks (its about half the size of a normal laptop), which is my computer now, and Fedor has my old one. It takes some getting used to, but it really isnt all that bad. And it really is a lot more convenient for taking around with me. So I am quite satisfied. (oh, and it only cost 249 euros, that is also a big bonus).
Anyways, the first time I will have the opportunity to take it with me is next week, when I go to Geneva for 3 days, for a meeting with some people from the UNDP and others (an expert meeting on the role of violence in the accomplisment of the Millenium Development Goals: pretty cool, actually). Oh, while talking about work: Did I mention I had a paper accepted in Journal for Development Studies? And a Revise&Resubmit at Journal of Conflict Resolution? Well, I do! And I am very happy about it. Oh, and 3 Discussion Papers, which can be found on the DIW website, if you are interested.
Just a short summary of other things we have recently done: xmas party from work, which was fun. And booking our honeymoon (oh yeah, I forgot to mention: we will fly to Bangkok on the 30th of December, spend 4 weeks in Thailand-Cambodia-Laos and get back to Berlin on the 26th. And we are soooooooooooooo much looking forward to it. Particularly given the CRAPPY weather in Berlin...)
Tschüß,
OJ
Friday, November 06, 2009
Married, part 2
So, now I have a bit more time to elaborate on the whole "marrying thing". We had always said that we wanted to elope and get married in secret. So when I asked him to marry me, on June 1, we immediately started planning where to do so. Unfortunately, not all countries are as enlightened as the Netherlands, and it was actually not easy to find an appropriate country (ie, one with equal marriage rights, that also allowed foreigners to get married). In the end we realised the Netherlands would really just be the easiest way to go. So we did!
We decided on a date (our 5-year anniversary), a location (Naarden, because it is so pretty), and asked our parents to come and witness the event. They were very happpy about our plans and excited to be part of the gang. So, over the months, we made all the other preparations (clothes, rings, all that) and last week came to the Netherlands. Fedor's father also celebrated his 60th the same weekend, so we didnt even have to make up an excuse about coming to the Netherlands. We drove to Naarden on thursday, and welcomed our parents to the hotel on Friday. It was a gorgeous beautiful day, so we walked through the town a bit before the actual ceremony.
The ceremony was beautiful. The lady performing the marriage was sweet, funny and just really cool. So that was pleasant. After the ceremony, saying the yesses and exchanging rings, we enjoyed the town for some more time. In the evening, we started with a wine tasting and then went to a beautiful restaurant called Het Arsenaal, which belongs to the reasonably well known Dutch chef Paul Fagel. And the food was amazing! Afterwards, we afterpartied in the bridal suite (well, our room) in the hotel, until receiving a call from reception about complaining customers regarding the noise... (ooooooops!).
The next day we went to Nijmegen and celebrated Fedor's fathers bday. It was great to see all his family and all that, so we were happy. On Sunday, we drove back to Berlin (in terrible weather: it took us 8 hours!!!).
This week has been lots of partying, with some work thrown into the mix every now and then. I must saz I am very happy that it is weekend though! Tomorrow morning we fly to Venice, in order to go visit friends in Trieste. We will be back on Monday in Berlin, in time to celebrate the 20 years of Mauerfall. It is going to be HUGE!
Anyways, here are a few more pictures from the wedding. More can be found HERE
Tschuessi,
OJ
We decided on a date (our 5-year anniversary), a location (Naarden, because it is so pretty), and asked our parents to come and witness the event. They were very happpy about our plans and excited to be part of the gang. So, over the months, we made all the other preparations (clothes, rings, all that) and last week came to the Netherlands. Fedor's father also celebrated his 60th the same weekend, so we didnt even have to make up an excuse about coming to the Netherlands. We drove to Naarden on thursday, and welcomed our parents to the hotel on Friday. It was a gorgeous beautiful day, so we walked through the town a bit before the actual ceremony.
The ceremony was beautiful. The lady performing the marriage was sweet, funny and just really cool. So that was pleasant. After the ceremony, saying the yesses and exchanging rings, we enjoyed the town for some more time. In the evening, we started with a wine tasting and then went to a beautiful restaurant called Het Arsenaal, which belongs to the reasonably well known Dutch chef Paul Fagel. And the food was amazing! Afterwards, we afterpartied in the bridal suite (well, our room) in the hotel, until receiving a call from reception about complaining customers regarding the noise... (ooooooops!).
The next day we went to Nijmegen and celebrated Fedor's fathers bday. It was great to see all his family and all that, so we were happy. On Sunday, we drove back to Berlin (in terrible weather: it took us 8 hours!!!).
This week has been lots of partying, with some work thrown into the mix every now and then. I must saz I am very happy that it is weekend though! Tomorrow morning we fly to Venice, in order to go visit friends in Trieste. We will be back on Monday in Berlin, in time to celebrate the 20 years of Mauerfall. It is going to be HUGE!
Anyways, here are a few more pictures from the wedding. More can be found HERE
Tschuessi,
OJ
Monday, November 02, 2009
MARRIED
Last Friday, Fedor and I got married in the beautiful town of Naarden. Don't be insulted if you weren't told in advance, because only our parents were. Here is one picture of the beautiful day, more will follow later!
Tschüßi,
OJ
Tschüßi,
OJ
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
DC Photos
So, here is just a small preview of the photos. It was such lovely weather (except for the first days I was there), so the pictures turned out very nice as well... For more photos, go HERE, to see the rest.
The flight back was fine, and we had a nice weekend with Fedor's little brother and his girlfriend (uhm, not Fedor's girlfriend, obviously...). And today we are celebrating Fedor's birthday. Where by "celebrating", I mean "giving a kiss and a prezzy, and maybe eat something nice today"...
Tschuessi!
OJ
The flight back was fine, and we had a nice weekend with Fedor's little brother and his girlfriend (uhm, not Fedor's girlfriend, obviously...). And today we are celebrating Fedor's birthday. Where by "celebrating", I mean "giving a kiss and a prezzy, and maybe eat something nice today"...
Tschuessi!
OJ
Friday, October 23, 2009
Observation
Call me cynical, but it feels very wrong to discuss development/conflict issues, while sitting in a fancy expensive restaurant in Washington DC, sleeping in a 450$/night hotel, and hearing people complaining about this one time, when the business class was full, and, omg, they had to fly coach !!! I mean, i know this is what the development industry is like, but I had never seen it from up close. If this meeting yesterday had not taken place, the could have saved 20-30,000€ or so and helped poor people with it: what do you think would have been more effective?
Anyway, I have networked a lot, both yesterday and today and had a great time in general. But that is not really why i got into the topic in the first place though...
One more day of networking and going to meetings, and in the evening I am flying back to Europe.
Howdy,
OJ
Anyway, I have networked a lot, both yesterday and today and had a great time in general. But that is not really why i got into the topic in the first place though...
One more day of networking and going to meetings, and in the evening I am flying back to Europe.
Howdy,
OJ
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
photo post!!!
So, as promised, finally some pictures! So, here are pictures from the UK.
Matt and me in the Cotswolds:
The Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury
Then from our holidays in Italy:
The Cathedral of Orvieto:
Undrground in the catacombs of Perugia:
Elsewhere in Perugia (i think)
Assisi:
The Monti Sibillini National Park (view from our hotel window)
Sardegna:
One of the many beaches near the house!
Just to show how much fun we had!
Back in Berlin, Ellen and Kim visiting:
OMG, a giant!!! part of the clebrations for German Day of Unification
With a little young lady giantess as well
peeing all over the pavement by the side of the Brandenburger Tor...
Weekend after, Stephie!
And going out with her, and Nicole and Kristy
Matt and me in the Cotswolds:
The Cathedral of Orvieto:
Undrground in the catacombs of Perugia:
One of the many beaches near the house!
Right, that was just a smaaaaaaaaaaall summary...
Howdy,
OJ
Howdy,
OJ
News from DC
So, here is the news from DC!
Actually, there is also sort-of news from before-DC. We had my friend Stephie over for a visit during the weekend, and it was great to see her. The weather was nice in Berlin (at least for 1 day), and we saw lots of the city. Once again, I promise to upload pictures. Except that this time, I actually have time to do so immediately, and I will.
The week after Stephie's visit was quite busy. I had several important deadlines coming up and I fulfilled all of them. So that was quite delightful. Particularly the completion of a paper that had been commissioned by someone publishing an Oxford Handbook had been weighing on my shoulders for along time and I was happy to have completed it.
Anyways, this week I am in Washington DC. For events, but mainly for networking. It started off rather negatively-turned-positively. My Air France flights was overbooked and I got bumped off the flight. And given that this was a 6.45 flight, I obviously wasnt happy about about it. However, when it turned out they were able to put me on a different flight (through BMI Baby and British Airways) that got me to DC with only a 45 minute delay, that relieved my mood. particularly when finding out that I was eligible for the "getting-bumped" compensation anyway! Unfortunately I wasnt completely awake in the morning and chose the 300€ cash reward, instead of the 500€ Air France-KLM voucher, but it is still a nice bonus!!!
When I did get to DC, the weather turned out to be quite horrible, so I spent a few hours in the Washington Plaza hotel, before meeting with my cousin Megan who lives in Arlington. We had dinner together and talked a lot. On Sunday, I met with my friend Jorida for brunch and a bunch of her friends. This was a great networking opportunity (well, sort of). In the evening I had dinner with my friend Macha who works at the Dutch Embassy.
Yesterday (Monday), I had time for sightseeing, and the weather was absolutely amazing. So that was fantastic, and I saw many of the beautiful sights DC has to offer. The trees and their autumny colours are particularly impressive right now... Dinner in the evening with my colleague Kati who arrived as well. Today I moved hotels and I am now staying in the Mayflower Hotel in DC (and am I glad I dont have to pay the 450$ per night it costs). Tomorrow the Real work starts during the German Development Day at the World Bank. We will be presenting some things there, including what was my Job Market Paper. Very exciting! On Thursday there is a Policy Forum and gala dinner, here at the Mayflower, organised by IZA. Finally, on Friday, I will have meetings at World Bank, SAIS and Georgetown Uni, before taking the night flight back to Paris and then to Berlin. busy, busy busy!
Now, as I am in my hotel anyway, I certainly will have time to upload old pictures. And I will! The DC pictures will follow (I would promise next week, when i am back in Germany, but that is probably not too realistic, eh).
Howdy!
OJ
Actually, there is also sort-of news from before-DC. We had my friend Stephie over for a visit during the weekend, and it was great to see her. The weather was nice in Berlin (at least for 1 day), and we saw lots of the city. Once again, I promise to upload pictures. Except that this time, I actually have time to do so immediately, and I will.
The week after Stephie's visit was quite busy. I had several important deadlines coming up and I fulfilled all of them. So that was quite delightful. Particularly the completion of a paper that had been commissioned by someone publishing an Oxford Handbook had been weighing on my shoulders for along time and I was happy to have completed it.
Anyways, this week I am in Washington DC. For events, but mainly for networking. It started off rather negatively-turned-positively. My Air France flights was overbooked and I got bumped off the flight. And given that this was a 6.45 flight, I obviously wasnt happy about about it. However, when it turned out they were able to put me on a different flight (through BMI Baby and British Airways) that got me to DC with only a 45 minute delay, that relieved my mood. particularly when finding out that I was eligible for the "getting-bumped" compensation anyway! Unfortunately I wasnt completely awake in the morning and chose the 300€ cash reward, instead of the 500€ Air France-KLM voucher, but it is still a nice bonus!!!
When I did get to DC, the weather turned out to be quite horrible, so I spent a few hours in the Washington Plaza hotel, before meeting with my cousin Megan who lives in Arlington. We had dinner together and talked a lot. On Sunday, I met with my friend Jorida for brunch and a bunch of her friends. This was a great networking opportunity (well, sort of). In the evening I had dinner with my friend Macha who works at the Dutch Embassy.
Yesterday (Monday), I had time for sightseeing, and the weather was absolutely amazing. So that was fantastic, and I saw many of the beautiful sights DC has to offer. The trees and their autumny colours are particularly impressive right now... Dinner in the evening with my colleague Kati who arrived as well. Today I moved hotels and I am now staying in the Mayflower Hotel in DC (and am I glad I dont have to pay the 450$ per night it costs). Tomorrow the Real work starts during the German Development Day at the World Bank. We will be presenting some things there, including what was my Job Market Paper. Very exciting! On Thursday there is a Policy Forum and gala dinner, here at the Mayflower, organised by IZA. Finally, on Friday, I will have meetings at World Bank, SAIS and Georgetown Uni, before taking the night flight back to Paris and then to Berlin. busy, busy busy!
Now, as I am in my hotel anyway, I certainly will have time to upload old pictures. And I will! The DC pictures will follow (I would promise next week, when i am back in Germany, but that is probably not too realistic, eh).
Howdy!
OJ
Thursday, October 08, 2009
busy nights
So, Fedor is now going to fitness on Mondays and Wednesdays, so I work extra late on those days. Tuesdays and Thursdays I go to German course (which starts really early: 18.15!), and Fridays we have visitors, or Fedor is working late.
All I am trying to say: we only see each other 2 hours a day, and that kinda ruins my efforts to write anything here.
But, good news: I am still alive!
The Italy holiday was gorgeous, particularly our stay with friends on Sardegna. it was great to see our friends again, and to meet many new people. It was absolutely fantastic, and also to have a quick visit to Milano and say hi to my Bocconi mates. The weekend after was the weekend of my highschool reunion, which a lot of people actually think is kind of a lame concept. Even Fedor said he wouldnt go if there was one of his class! Anyway, I am different and I loooooooved it! So great to hear about so many people and to find out what everyone is doing now (and of course to see their baby pictures). I mean, 10 years after the final exam: it really is kind of a big thing!
Anyways, that was obviously in the Netherlands so I took a train ride there to visit and came back again on Sunday night. The weekend after was the Tag der Deutsche Einheit (National Reunification Day) and our friends Ellen and Kim from Rotterdam were visiting. We had a fantastic weekend, which much food and much enjoyment. I even managed to drag them to the local big gay monthly celebration at Kino International. Tomorrow, it will be my Groningen friend Stephie who lives in Duesseldorf now. Another weekend of partying will ensue!
Anyway, in the meantime I have also been quite busy with work, but I wont bore you with the details. Let me suffice it to say that I have had 2 DIW discussion papers published in the past weeks (nrs 921 and 927, if anyone is interested), and I have 3 important deadlines coming up within the next 7 days. Lovely! And oh, in 9 days, I will be flying to Washington DC to present work at the World Bank, and meet with many other people for "networking" and all that. Stress!!!
When I have time (and the desire to do so), I will post a picture post soon to show the things we have been up to recently!
Tschuessi!
OJ
All I am trying to say: we only see each other 2 hours a day, and that kinda ruins my efforts to write anything here.
But, good news: I am still alive!
The Italy holiday was gorgeous, particularly our stay with friends on Sardegna. it was great to see our friends again, and to meet many new people. It was absolutely fantastic, and also to have a quick visit to Milano and say hi to my Bocconi mates. The weekend after was the weekend of my highschool reunion, which a lot of people actually think is kind of a lame concept. Even Fedor said he wouldnt go if there was one of his class! Anyway, I am different and I loooooooved it! So great to hear about so many people and to find out what everyone is doing now (and of course to see their baby pictures). I mean, 10 years after the final exam: it really is kind of a big thing!
Anyways, that was obviously in the Netherlands so I took a train ride there to visit and came back again on Sunday night. The weekend after was the Tag der Deutsche Einheit (National Reunification Day) and our friends Ellen and Kim from Rotterdam were visiting. We had a fantastic weekend, which much food and much enjoyment. I even managed to drag them to the local big gay monthly celebration at Kino International. Tomorrow, it will be my Groningen friend Stephie who lives in Duesseldorf now. Another weekend of partying will ensue!
Anyway, in the meantime I have also been quite busy with work, but I wont bore you with the details. Let me suffice it to say that I have had 2 DIW discussion papers published in the past weeks (nrs 921 and 927, if anyone is interested), and I have 3 important deadlines coming up within the next 7 days. Lovely! And oh, in 9 days, I will be flying to Washington DC to present work at the World Bank, and meet with many other people for "networking" and all that. Stress!!!
When I have time (and the desire to do so), I will post a picture post soon to show the things we have been up to recently!
Tschuessi!
OJ
Friday, September 11, 2009
Urlaub!!!
I had a neat little trip to England, I must say. I went to visit my old friend Matt in Coventry, which was absolutely lovely. Particularly our Sunday trip to the Cotswalds was grand!!! it is this gorgeous traditionally english-looking area. Simply stunning! For some photos, see facebook.
I then continued on to Canterbury for a conference. Conflict and Complexity. Let's put it this way: it was very, uhm, interdisciplinary. I turned out to be one of only two economists, and for the rest there was a total mishmash of random people. Varying from self-declared spies and linguists looking for expressions of empathy to people working with UK Airforce space as art objects and complexity theorists (don't ask me what complexity theory is. I have been trying to find out, but without success...). All in all, it was actually a very enjoyable and interesting conference.
On Wednesday I returned and enjoyed two days of rather stressful work (dont get me started, there are all these projects that seem to be running at the same time but not in the same direction). And now it is HOLIDAY!
We will fly to Roma tomorrow, and enjoy two days there. Then we rent a car and visit Umbria. On Friday we fly to Sardegna for a party weekend with friends and we finish off with one day of Milano! I cannot wait!!!
We will be back in 10 days!
Tschuessi,
OJ
I then continued on to Canterbury for a conference. Conflict and Complexity. Let's put it this way: it was very, uhm, interdisciplinary. I turned out to be one of only two economists, and for the rest there was a total mishmash of random people. Varying from self-declared spies and linguists looking for expressions of empathy to people working with UK Airforce space as art objects and complexity theorists (don't ask me what complexity theory is. I have been trying to find out, but without success...). All in all, it was actually a very enjoyable and interesting conference.
On Wednesday I returned and enjoyed two days of rather stressful work (dont get me started, there are all these projects that seem to be running at the same time but not in the same direction). And now it is HOLIDAY!
We will fly to Roma tomorrow, and enjoy two days there. Then we rent a car and visit Umbria. On Friday we fly to Sardegna for a party weekend with friends and we finish off with one day of Milano! I cannot wait!!!
We will be back in 10 days!
Tschuessi,
OJ
Monday, August 31, 2009
So hungry
Another week with the hospital-prescribed diet that lacks all forms of substance, as well as vitamins. Now I really am very hungry... But I guess it is all for a greater good!
Well, that is what I thought anyway. Last Friday i was gonna hear the results, to see whether there really was any point to this diet. Unfortunately, after waiting for 3 hours, the doctor told me that he would not have any time for me that day. wtf?
Today, I did manage to see him and he informed me that, unfortunately, they didnt really find anything in particular, apart from the inflammation in the esophagus, for which they have no real explanation. Oh, and the diet: he doesnt really care, so "why dont you just continue the diet for another three or four WEEKS, and then start relaxing it a little". four weeks???? Are u insane? (oh yeah, those weeks would also include our holiday in Italy where I definitely will not be able to eat ANYTHING). I think I may have to have my own variation of the doctor's rules...
Oh well, on to happier topics: I did practically nothing at work last week, being mostly preoccupied with food. But during the weekend, on Saturday, we managed to go to Tristan und Isolde by Wagner, which was playing in the State Opera House. While it was enjoyable, I must admit it was also a little long: 5.5 hours of opera is a bit much... Afterwards, my friend Nicole who had joined us at the opera came to our place and we drank and chatted merrily until 4am. Well, lets put it this way: we chatted merrily and Fedor and Nicole drank merrily... *sigh*
On Sunday, then, we cycled to Spandau, which was supposed to be quite a pleasant suburb. While it was good to have seen it, we were not particularly impressed. The Citadel is not all that, the old town is kinda small (it really is only one street) and the medieval part of the city consists of one building and a piece of wall. And the way there is basically one big industrial zone, so it was not particularly impressive. But at least we have done it, on our last free Sunday before winter!
Oh wait, no, winter already started. At least that is what it seemd like last night, while I was sitting there in my warmest biggest jumper and still being cold... tomorrow's forecast says 31 degrees again though, so I guess Winter is on hold again!
Tschuessi!
OJ
PS Fedor had a job interview! And it went well...
Well, that is what I thought anyway. Last Friday i was gonna hear the results, to see whether there really was any point to this diet. Unfortunately, after waiting for 3 hours, the doctor told me that he would not have any time for me that day. wtf?
Today, I did manage to see him and he informed me that, unfortunately, they didnt really find anything in particular, apart from the inflammation in the esophagus, for which they have no real explanation. Oh, and the diet: he doesnt really care, so "why dont you just continue the diet for another three or four WEEKS, and then start relaxing it a little". four weeks???? Are u insane? (oh yeah, those weeks would also include our holiday in Italy where I definitely will not be able to eat ANYTHING). I think I may have to have my own variation of the doctor's rules...
Oh well, on to happier topics: I did practically nothing at work last week, being mostly preoccupied with food. But during the weekend, on Saturday, we managed to go to Tristan und Isolde by Wagner, which was playing in the State Opera House. While it was enjoyable, I must admit it was also a little long: 5.5 hours of opera is a bit much... Afterwards, my friend Nicole who had joined us at the opera came to our place and we drank and chatted merrily until 4am. Well, lets put it this way: we chatted merrily and Fedor and Nicole drank merrily... *sigh*
On Sunday, then, we cycled to Spandau, which was supposed to be quite a pleasant suburb. While it was good to have seen it, we were not particularly impressed. The Citadel is not all that, the old town is kinda small (it really is only one street) and the medieval part of the city consists of one building and a piece of wall. And the way there is basically one big industrial zone, so it was not particularly impressive. But at least we have done it, on our last free Sunday before winter!
Oh wait, no, winter already started. At least that is what it seemd like last night, while I was sitting there in my warmest biggest jumper and still being cold... tomorrow's forecast says 31 degrees again though, so I guess Winter is on hold again!
Tschuessi!
OJ
PS Fedor had a job interview! And it went well...
Monday, August 24, 2009
German hospitals...
...are really not bad! Possibly tainted by my experience with an Italian hospital before (real story: I came out of surgery and was told: "it is very important to drink a lot of water, and you can buy water from the machine in the hallway"), but I must say that it was not too bad at all, overall. Of course I had the bad luck of being in the hospital on the hottest day of the year, so it was bloody hot, but you really cannot blame the hospital for that! The food was kinda crappy, but that was more due to the compulsory rice-potatoes-water diet than to anything else!
Oh yeah, regarding conclusions: we'll get back to you about that. They found a few other things, which they think may be correlated to the allergy/infection, but I have to wait until Friday to get the final results for that. Anyway, I will leave out the unpleasant details, I guess. One little interesting fact is that, at least until Friday, I will be on a rather strict diet. No fun things for me! Such as fruits, fish, nuts, alcohol, most dairy, sweets, spices, tomatoes, etc, etc, etc. Oh well, at least I am home!
During my 4 days in the hospital, Fedor was joined by his mother and her boyfriend, so he was not entirely lonely. I also saw them in the hospital on Wednesday, but on Thursday they returned to the Netherlands. I came home on Friday, in time for the arrival of Joost and Kim from the Netherlands in the evening. We had a great weekend together, although it probably would have been slightly more enjoyable had I been able to fully participate (very depressing to go to a Biergarten and drink water. Seriously. Or to go to a breakfast buffet with lots of lovely foods and only being able to eat bread, cucumbur and salt), and we had some lovely weather for it. Sunday afternoon, they left again (photos will follow later, I guess), and Fedor and I FINALLY managed to go and see the latest Harry Potter movie. It was pretty good!
Today, I was back at work again, going through administrative stuff that had piled up in my absence and designing a flyer for my work project. Our team assistant is totally convinced I should have gone into designing instead of economics... :-) Oh well, maybe I'll do that in my next life!!!
Tschüßi,
OJ
Oh yeah, regarding conclusions: we'll get back to you about that. They found a few other things, which they think may be correlated to the allergy/infection, but I have to wait until Friday to get the final results for that. Anyway, I will leave out the unpleasant details, I guess. One little interesting fact is that, at least until Friday, I will be on a rather strict diet. No fun things for me! Such as fruits, fish, nuts, alcohol, most dairy, sweets, spices, tomatoes, etc, etc, etc. Oh well, at least I am home!
During my 4 days in the hospital, Fedor was joined by his mother and her boyfriend, so he was not entirely lonely. I also saw them in the hospital on Wednesday, but on Thursday they returned to the Netherlands. I came home on Friday, in time for the arrival of Joost and Kim from the Netherlands in the evening. We had a great weekend together, although it probably would have been slightly more enjoyable had I been able to fully participate (very depressing to go to a Biergarten and drink water. Seriously. Or to go to a breakfast buffet with lots of lovely foods and only being able to eat bread, cucumbur and salt), and we had some lovely weather for it. Sunday afternoon, they left again (photos will follow later, I guess), and Fedor and I FINALLY managed to go and see the latest Harry Potter movie. It was pretty good!
Today, I was back at work again, going through administrative stuff that had piled up in my absence and designing a flyer for my work project. Our team assistant is totally convinced I should have gone into designing instead of economics... :-) Oh well, maybe I'll do that in my next life!!!
Tschüßi,
OJ
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Hospital!
A week of relatively low-key visitors. That is, after my brother and family, fedor's father arrived with his girlfriend but they were staying on a camping ground in Potsdam, so we didnt see them too much... They did of course come to Berlin a few times, and we went to see them in Potsdam on Saturday (nice bike ride, but 35 kms at 10am, with a mild hangover is not fun!), which is an absolutely gorgeous city btw...
Tomorrow our next guests arrive: Fedors Mum and her boyfriend. They stay until Thursday, then from Friday to Sunday we have friends of mine and from Monday til Thursday we have friends of Fedor again. Hotel Fe&OJ is in business!
However, this is all slightly interrupted by the fact that I will be taken to hospital tomorrow. The allergy-thing is not going quite perfectly and I visited the emergency ward last week. Now I will be admitted tomorrow so they can start testing what is actually wrong. I should (hopefully) be out before the weekend, so dont worry about me! It will give me time to read some books that I have been wanting to read for a long time... That is worth something, no?
Tschüßi,
OJ
Tomorrow our next guests arrive: Fedors Mum and her boyfriend. They stay until Thursday, then from Friday to Sunday we have friends of mine and from Monday til Thursday we have friends of Fedor again. Hotel Fe&OJ is in business!
However, this is all slightly interrupted by the fact that I will be taken to hospital tomorrow. The allergy-thing is not going quite perfectly and I visited the emergency ward last week. Now I will be admitted tomorrow so they can start testing what is actually wrong. I should (hopefully) be out before the weekend, so dont worry about me! It will give me time to read some books that I have been wanting to read for a long time... That is worth something, no?
Tschüßi,
OJ
Monday, August 10, 2009
just a few pictures
Well, here are just a few pictures of things. This is our Friends wall in the hallway, with the pictures hanging of a Fishnet.
And here are some pictures of the awesome visit of my brother and the family!!!
Tschüßi,OJ
And here are some pictures of the awesome visit of my brother and the family!!!
Tschüßi,OJ
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Okay, tired now
Well, well, well. As I wrote previously, the visitors' Circus has started. Fedor's Mum stazed with us for a few days. We drank a lot, we visited the Pergamon Museum (a first for me) and ate lots of good food (I have favourite dishes at all 10 restaurants within a 50 meter vicinity of our house now). Of course, I also had to work in the meantime, but at least during the weekend we were able to hang out with all of us together. She stayed until Tuesday afternoon, partly overlapping with Maartje, who arrived on Tuesday Morning.
With her we continued drinking more cocktails, and I went out for lunch with her on the day that Fedor had his first Job (well, he entertained an old guy for 2 hours, kind of practicing english with him). She only stayed til Thursday, when she left at an ungodly hour.
The next day, my friend Idil from arrived from Milano. It was great to see her and to catch up on all the gossip! We ate a lot (again), and enjoyed a lovely day out on Saturday at Schloss Charlottenburg.
It was another site I hadnt seen (well, at least not in the past 15 years), and it was great to be there. The gardens in particular, are AMAZING. On Monday and Tuesday, Idil had to kind of entertain herself, which was made easier by the fact taht Summer finally started in Berlin!!! The weather was simply stunning, and Idil had a good time seeing the city. Tuesday evening, she departed.
On Wednesday, my brother, his wife and their two daughters arrived. They were staying until this morning and it was absolutely great to have them over! The kiddos are absolutely gorgeous (hopefully there will be some photos later, once my sister-in-law has sent them to me), and good times were definitely had. Again, I didnt participate in the day programmes, but one of the highlights was apparently the fountain on Museeninsel, as it was actually visited twice! In the evenings, we drank. And ate. This was made more convenient by the IKEA visit we made on Thursday where we also bought a monitor (baby-alarm-system; babyfoon), so we could sit in a restaurant nearby (finally got to try the Chinese across the street) and still be in touch with the kids! we also played many games.
On Saturday, after a plentiful breakfast around the corner, the parents went into town and we had the kids for the afternoon. Afterwards, we went to the Berlin Beer Festival (with 2.2km of beergarten: the biggest in the world!) on Karl Marx Allee. It was fantastic, but of course we could not stay long because the kids had to go to bed. Next year, my brother and his wife are planning to come over again for the Festival, but without their children...
This morning, they managed (with difficulty) to pack everything back into the car and set off for the Netherlands. We then cleaned the whole house and finished constructing the last of the new IKEA furniture. Our hallway is finally finished!!! I am so happy... We have two little pieces of furniture with shelves, for footwear and bags etc, and a gorgeous courtain kind of construction in front of what we refer to as our basement. Very, very, VERY satisfied!
On the health front, doing pretty ok. The belly inspection found a small infection, but nothing a bunch of pills won't cure. The allergy (we still assume it is that) on the other hand shows no signs of abating. I have an appointment for an inspection at the Academic Hospital in November. However, my doctor says I cannot continue taking the current medication until then, so he has tried to arrange something for me at a different hospital. The solution of which is that, apparently, I will have to actually go to the Emergency Ward.... Strange, strange German system (what the heck are they doing with the 500€ a month that I am paying in!), but I guess that for hospitals, the saying holds: when in Berlin, act as the Berliners...
Tschüßi,OJ
With her we continued drinking more cocktails, and I went out for lunch with her on the day that Fedor had his first Job (well, he entertained an old guy for 2 hours, kind of practicing english with him). She only stayed til Thursday, when she left at an ungodly hour.
The next day, my friend Idil from arrived from Milano. It was great to see her and to catch up on all the gossip! We ate a lot (again), and enjoyed a lovely day out on Saturday at Schloss Charlottenburg.
It was another site I hadnt seen (well, at least not in the past 15 years), and it was great to be there. The gardens in particular, are AMAZING. On Monday and Tuesday, Idil had to kind of entertain herself, which was made easier by the fact taht Summer finally started in Berlin!!! The weather was simply stunning, and Idil had a good time seeing the city. Tuesday evening, she departed.
On Wednesday, my brother, his wife and their two daughters arrived. They were staying until this morning and it was absolutely great to have them over! The kiddos are absolutely gorgeous (hopefully there will be some photos later, once my sister-in-law has sent them to me), and good times were definitely had. Again, I didnt participate in the day programmes, but one of the highlights was apparently the fountain on Museeninsel, as it was actually visited twice! In the evenings, we drank. And ate. This was made more convenient by the IKEA visit we made on Thursday where we also bought a monitor (baby-alarm-system; babyfoon), so we could sit in a restaurant nearby (finally got to try the Chinese across the street) and still be in touch with the kids! we also played many games.
On Saturday, after a plentiful breakfast around the corner, the parents went into town and we had the kids for the afternoon. Afterwards, we went to the Berlin Beer Festival (with 2.2km of beergarten: the biggest in the world!) on Karl Marx Allee. It was fantastic, but of course we could not stay long because the kids had to go to bed. Next year, my brother and his wife are planning to come over again for the Festival, but without their children...
This morning, they managed (with difficulty) to pack everything back into the car and set off for the Netherlands. We then cleaned the whole house and finished constructing the last of the new IKEA furniture. Our hallway is finally finished!!! I am so happy... We have two little pieces of furniture with shelves, for footwear and bags etc, and a gorgeous courtain kind of construction in front of what we refer to as our basement. Very, very, VERY satisfied!
On the health front, doing pretty ok. The belly inspection found a small infection, but nothing a bunch of pills won't cure. The allergy (we still assume it is that) on the other hand shows no signs of abating. I have an appointment for an inspection at the Academic Hospital in November. However, my doctor says I cannot continue taking the current medication until then, so he has tried to arrange something for me at a different hospital. The solution of which is that, apparently, I will have to actually go to the Emergency Ward.... Strange, strange German system (what the heck are they doing with the 500€ a month that I am paying in!), but I guess that for hospitals, the saying holds: when in Berlin, act as the Berliners...
Tschüßi,OJ
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
New toilet!!!
The past weeks have flown by again. I have spent a lot of time finishing the toilet and now it looks absolutely amazing. Here are the pre- and post- pictures:
Doesnt it look absolutely amazing? I am so happy my brother was able to come and help a few weeks ago with the floors though, because I would so not have been able to do that myself....
Anyways, more pictures are available here
Last weekend, my highschool friend Bastiaan and his new girlfriend came to visit and we had an absolutely fabulous time! The weather could have been a bit better, but we managed to see some of Berlin and enjoy ourselves immensely with drinking, playing games and not getting enough sleep.
The visitors' season is now seriously starting, with Fedor's Mum arriving on Saturday and staying until Tuesday, after which another friend will be here from Tue until Thu and Idil will visit from Milan from Thu until Tue. After that, there are two days of rest and my oldest brother and his family will come over! I am really excited about having so many visitors, but it certainly is a good thing that Fedor still has not found a job yet!!!
On the health front, things are fluctuating a bit. I have several things, but it is an allergy that is bothering me most. When I first had it, the doctor gave me medication and I felt great again afterwards, but last week (culminating on Sunday night), it came back with a vengeance (in summary: completely swollen head, red spots everywhere, swollen limbs and terrible muscle aches). I have different medication now, but as we have no idea what I might be allergic to, these are also not working quite as well as they should. In addition to the allergy thing, I am having a belly inspection tomorrow for which I have been on a no-fiber or many other things diet for a week. Which is (1) inconvenient and (2) awfully depressing. Today is different though: today I am not allowed to eat anything at all...
Oh well, I am sure everything will be fine, and at least I am getting my money's worth out of the German Health System!
Tschüßi,OJ
Doesnt it look absolutely amazing? I am so happy my brother was able to come and help a few weeks ago with the floors though, because I would so not have been able to do that myself....
Anyways, more pictures are available here
Last weekend, my highschool friend Bastiaan and his new girlfriend came to visit and we had an absolutely fabulous time! The weather could have been a bit better, but we managed to see some of Berlin and enjoy ourselves immensely with drinking, playing games and not getting enough sleep.
The visitors' season is now seriously starting, with Fedor's Mum arriving on Saturday and staying until Tuesday, after which another friend will be here from Tue until Thu and Idil will visit from Milan from Thu until Tue. After that, there are two days of rest and my oldest brother and his family will come over! I am really excited about having so many visitors, but it certainly is a good thing that Fedor still has not found a job yet!!!
On the health front, things are fluctuating a bit. I have several things, but it is an allergy that is bothering me most. When I first had it, the doctor gave me medication and I felt great again afterwards, but last week (culminating on Sunday night), it came back with a vengeance (in summary: completely swollen head, red spots everywhere, swollen limbs and terrible muscle aches). I have different medication now, but as we have no idea what I might be allergic to, these are also not working quite as well as they should. In addition to the allergy thing, I am having a belly inspection tomorrow for which I have been on a no-fiber or many other things diet for a week. Which is (1) inconvenient and (2) awfully depressing. Today is different though: today I am not allowed to eat anything at all...
Oh well, I am sure everything will be fine, and at least I am getting my money's worth out of the German Health System!
Tschüßi,OJ
Friday, July 10, 2009
Greece-visitors-cocktails, and all that...
So that got me all charged up for returning to work with a vengeance afterwards. I have been trying to juggle a whole lot of things, research, proposals, etc etc. Unfortunately, my first proposal I wrote back in April was rejected :-(((( But hey, it was a learning experience!
In the meantime, we have also had our first real visitor coming to stay: our friend Tatiana. She wanted to visit the modern art museum, and therefore came to stay with us. It was nice to see her, but damned, I am NOT into modern art!!! It was pretty awful, in fact.... Oh well, it was a learning experience!
The last weekend, we went to see my brother and his family who are staying in a holidaypark about 75 km north of Berlin. It was nice to be out of the city and to play with the kids and all that. Two days ago, in return, they came to visit us in Berlin! This was great, because my brother, the Handyman he is, was able to help me with some flat reconstruction. in fact, the one thing that bothered me most about our flat was the toilet: it is small, dark and unpleasant. But thanks to my brother's efforts, it now has an absolutely amazing floor and a new toilet. Just wait until the weekend, when I will paint the walls etc, and it will be fantastic!!! I guess that is the positive part from the fact that our friends Jorryt and Lilian are not coming due to a medical emergency..... :´(((((((
Anyways, for the rest there isnt much to comment. Yesterday I taught a class on ethnolinguistic heterogeneity at the Humboldt University, which was actually quite enjoyable (yes, rather surprising indeed). And then we went to go to a Pub Quiz: I LOOOOOOVE pub quizzes!!! Unfortunately, and embarrassingly so, we actually were LAST! Oh well, shit happens. Today, I have been not so well, and have gone to see some doctors. Let's assume everything will be fine (I have 3 kinds of medication already!), I will inform you more about this, later.........
Tschüßi.OJ
Sunday, June 21, 2009
photo post
As promised, here are some photos:
First, from our Housewarming party (it was a cocktail party: "Stock The Bar", which would have worked very well if we hadnt been drinking cocktails all night long!)
Then another thing, that I hadnt written about yet. I had a work retreat: we went to a hotel outside Berlin, where we listened to presentations, got quite drunk and went on this train thing (that was actually kinda cool!)
The day after the housewarming we went with Cathérine and Jean-Pierre to the sand sculpture festival near the Hauptbahnhof, called SANDsation. It was pretty interesting, although we were collectively hungover....
And finally, this week there was a big power outage at work, so no work could be done. Instead, we went to the Prater Biergarten and drank beers in the sun. Pas de problème!!!
First, from our Housewarming party (it was a cocktail party: "Stock The Bar", which would have worked very well if we hadnt been drinking cocktails all night long!)
The day after the housewarming we went with Cathérine and Jean-Pierre to the sand sculpture festival near the Hauptbahnhof, called SANDsation. It was pretty interesting, although we were collectively hungover....
Tschuessi!
Dr.OJ
Dr.OJ
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