Count down NYE

Aaah, only a few more hours until New Years Eve! So exciting! My friend is having a party in Utrecht, so I'm hoping to see the Dom Tower (Dom Toren) lit up with fireworks tonight. She also said "not to eat a large dinner", which can only mean she overdid her shopping, once again. I'm so happy to spend my last days in Holland with so many of my dear friends! I'm getting so nostalgic, especially listening to the count down of the Top2000 of 2013 on the radio. (And this is a good opportunity to take my mind of the packing, because I have no clue what to bring for Oxford...)

Anyway, put some Moët et Chandon cold, and hope you have a wonderful New Years Eve! Party on!

Christmas and flea market

Merry Christmas everybody! I hope you had a wonderful time! 

Since we don´t have much family left (they're either dead, or we don't have a good relationship), we spend the holidays just with the three of us. Which I don't really mind, because it means more food, you can drink as much as you like, and nobody bats an I if you open your pants for some extra belly space. Opening the presents was really fun, and my parents were genuinely surprised with some of the stuff I got them (which included a riding whip for my mom and sci-fi DVDs for my dad). In Holland we also have a second day of Christmas on the 26th of December, which usually means obligatory family rounds. Since we don't have any, we decided to go to the indoor flea market in the Brabanthallen in Den Bosch. Which turned out pretty well for me! Not only did I find two lovely English carved (champagne/cocktail?) glasses and a Bosboom bag for my camera, the piece the resistance was a genuine leather new lammy coat! For only 75 euros! My dad did do a Picard facepalm, but even he couldn't deny it was an absolute bargain. Secretly I know he loved going the flea market, as he mentioned it would probably be a while since we will be able to go as a family. As the date of my departure is coming nearer, I'm beginning to feel more nostalgic about things, even bickering over the dishes. Tomorrow I'm having lunch my high school friends as a final goodbye. I'd never thought I'd say this, but I'm feeling a wee bit homesick already!

Anyway, I hope you survived Christmas with your family (and still sort of like them afterwards), and wish you a cracking New Years!

Düsseldorf

A little overdue, but I thought I'd share with you the a-ma-zing trip to Düsseldorf, in honor of my parents anniversary. Needless to say it was a great success, although it was a little challenging to keep it a secret from my mom. She was getting a little annoyed with our secretive smiles and knowing looks, but was totally excited when she found out (in the car near the border) that we were going to Düsseldorf. If you like Christmas atmosphere and decorations, I definitely recommend a trip to the Weihnachtsmarkt in Düsseldorf. It's completely different than Christmas in the Netherlands or the UK. After arriving at our hotel around noon, we went for a walk around the Königsallee, the most expensive street in Düsseldorf. I've never seen so many expensive cars and fur coats in under a minute. But lucky for me, there was also a Primark (not on the Königsallee, mind you). The markets itself are spread around the city on walking distances, and you basically follow a long train of little chalets to a platz (city square). Half of these chalets sell food, such a sausages, glühwein, and fruits dipped in chocolate, and the other half sells Christmas decorations, mittens and jewelry. And while walking through the city you can enjoy the illuminated trees, streets and Christmas trees. Düsseldorf really knows how to decorate its city. My parents were so enthusiastic they are thinking about going next year as well! I hope they still let me come along... ;) 

With love and Christmas joy!

p.s. I stole some picture from the internet, because silly me forgot to bring her camera.

Christmas Fair

Ah yes, the Christmas spirit has hit everywhere! Finally! You know when it has really begun when you hear your favorite Christmas songs on the regular radio stations (instead of the Christmas station I've been secretly listening to since November). To get in the spirit even more, I went to the Marienwaerdt Christmas Fair with my parents last weekend. Which was a-ma-zing! Jingle bells, wine, Christmas sleds and decorations, all in one lovely estate in the country. A lot like the one in Haarzuilens, but I just can't get enough of it!

And guess what: another Christmas market is coming up! My parents marriage anniversary is coming up the 18th of December, and to celebrate my dad is taking my mum to Dusseldorf. And because they like me (and because they will argue endlessly when I'm not around) I can come along for the ride! Woohoo! Dusseldorf is known for its epic Christmas markets, so I can't wait! We're leaving the 19th, and since I've got no school work left, there's really not much I can do... But play silly online games of course ;) Anyway, hope the Christmas spirit has hit you full force too!

With love,

Willemijn

Happy times

Finally, a post with only goods news! Firstly, I handed in my thesis! Hooray! My supervisor told me last week that without any adjustments, it would be a seven. Since a few adjustments are easy to make, I took the weekend to tweak it a little, so now I´m hoping for a 7+. Anyway, it's handed in, so now all I have to do is wait for his opinion and that of the second reviewer.
Second good news: the supervisor from my upcoming internship at Oxford asked if I'd like to do my PhD there as well. It's quite a tough program to get into (GPA of 3,5? Ha, let's try 2,9 XD), but she seems confident it's not totally out of my league. So what's the harm in trying? If it doesn't turn out, I'll always have the experience, and I'll just apply for a PhD in Holland. In Holland the admission criteria aren't as strict as in Oxford, however to become a PhD we do require 3 to 4 publications, which aren't required for a PhD in Oxford. So both have their ups and downs.
As for the third, our Christmas tree is up! :D I know, it's really really early, but I just love Christmas! It's so pretty! :D Now that all the school work is finished (for now), all I have to do is sleep in, buy presents and enjoy Christmas! I already have a present for my mum (she wanted a new riding whip), but my dad is always a problem. Some kind of DVD from Stargate/Star Wars/ Star Trek? Something star anyway...

With love and Christmas spirit!

Willemijn

Thesis and holiday tingles

A few weeks have passed since my last post, so it's time for an update. First of all, Tim turned out not to be a pervert, so we (my parents and I) decided to rent the room. Even though it's a little more expensive than we anticipated (700 pound per month instead of 600 pound), but the location is absolutely perfect (walking distance from the lab), and the house is really nice and I get my own bathroom! So we paid the down payment last week, and now its officially mine. Hooray! Even if the internship turns out the be crap, and the people at the lab turn out the be horrible, I know I'll have a nice and comfortable house to come back to at the end of the day. Can you tell I'm starting to get nervous? So nervous in fact, that I'm already slowly starting to gather stuff that I want to bring with me to England. Like a masher, for the boerenkool (old Dutch recipe with potatoes and kale) and peeler, because we couldn't find one in the holiday cottage last summer. It's also because I've got way too much time on my hands, since I still haven't heard back from my supervisor. Last week I got a little fed up, and tried to ring him at his office. Turns out he's gone abroad. So today I was finally able to make an appointment for next Thursday, so we can finally discuss the progress of my thesis.

Meanwhile, I've sort of finished my thesis, started reading up on my Oxford internship, downloaded this awesome pc game called Warframe (a Halo style game, play it here) and went to the Country and Christmas fair at Castle De Haar at Haarzuilens. Which may be a little early, but was amazing! The atmosphere, the stalls, the Christmas decorations and the glühwein! It's a sort of family Christmas tradition we have with the three of us. And we also buy a lot of our Christmas presents there, especially if we have a hard time deciding what to give one another (which turned out to be a new pair of Dubarry Roscommon boots for me). Even though we said we were going to celebrate Christmas a little milder this year, with my trip and all, I believe those promises are only short lived. After all, it's the one time a year to spoil each other rotten with gifts! Let the holiday season begin!

House hunting

Since I’ll be leaving in January for my internship at Oxford, I thought it would be a good time to start house hunting. Or house-share hunting in my case. I started looking for properties back in August, but I soon found out that the turn-over for properties in Oxford is so high, that many people start looking when they’ve arrived at the location. Which is not my style, I like to arrange things well ahead. So I postponed the search a few months, but now I’m starting to get twitchy. So the hunt is on! I’ve found some nice properties, but there are some problems. One is that by the time I inform about availability, there gone already. Two is that most are above the budget I set for myself. And three, is that many people don’t want to hold the property until January, because they think they can rent it right away. But seriously, December is coming up! People are way more likely to leave than to come in. Oh and four, which is just minor, is that people really don’t know how to put some proper pictures online. For heaven’s sake, I don’t want to see a picture of your cat, I want to know what the bathroom looks like! As you can see, so far is not going brilliant. However, I do have a Skype viewing of a property this afternoon. Its 700 pounds (yikes!) but it does come with its own en-suite, has a large sitting area, is very VERY close to the lab, and I share it with only one other person. Which is a boy. Which didn’t make my dad very happy. Hence the Skype chat to see if he’s not a total pervert.  Wish me luck!

Hope you’re having a nice weekend! ;)

p.s. It’s been two+ weeks since I handed in my first draft version of my thesis, but I haven’t heard back from my supervisor since… I hope this is not turning out to be the same kind of fiasco as my previous internship…

Chanel and thesis

We´ve just had the weirdest weather in Holland the last couple of days: even though autumn has definitely set in (leafs turning red and orange), it’s like somebody switched up the thermostat. Which worked out perfectly for my bad ass move on Thursday to skip working on my thesis and go to the museum with my mum. After a gruelling 6 weeks of courses (Vaccines, Cardiology and Virology), it was time to start working on my thesis again. But mid-week I got some great news! I passed Cardiology! Hooray! So to celebrate my mum took me to the exhibition “Chanel: the legend” in the Hague (or Den Haag if you’re Dutch). It was amazing, but also a little disappointing. For one, somebody had the brilliant idea to not put the text and explanation near the objects, but on the opposite wall. Brilliant. Especially since it was pretty crowded, cause when will us ordinary people ever get to see a Chanel jacket in real life, except in this exhibition? However, because we still had the entire afternoon left we went shopping! But not for a Chanel jacket mind you ;) Sooooo, I kinda bought a pair of Chelsea boots and a faux leather skirt. But on sale, I swear! Ironically, I’m going shopping with my friends this weekend (after two months of planning) and one of them specifically texted me Thursday “not to buy anything, because we’re going shopping Saturday!”. Oops. I guess I failed that test...

Coco Chanel, 1935. © Man Ray Trust / ADAGP, c/o Pictoright Amsterdam 2013
Watch a small introduction trailer of the exhibition here 

p.s. If you love Chanel (like I do) I recommend watching the 9 short films made by CHANEL on youtube. There give a really nice but detailed peek into the life and collection of Coco Chanel. Watch the first part here:

Stick it

Soooo, another message from the front ;)
Yesterday I started my final course (Virology) from the triathlon of courses I’m taking. Already I can feel that this group has a totally different vibe from the Cardiology group, much more relaxed. Something I can’t say from the Cardiology test I took, nor the presentation from last week. Both were intense and very dramatic. The test: awful! Incredibly long, and much harder than the practice exam. The presentation: Incredibly unclear. The subject was about some new paradigm for cardiotoxicity testing? And suddenly the entire group is grilling you with questions like you invented the damn thing. Jeez, take a break people… Be nice to your fellow students (especially that bitch in the back, shut up making me look bad! You’re not asking because you want to know, you’re just asking questions for the sake asking questions and being annoying). Luckily, a little bright note came last Wednesday, when I found out I passed the exam for the Vaccines course. So one down, two to go.

Oh, and about the sunglasses: I never got to see them. I ordered them twice, and twice I got a different pair of horrible ugly sunglasses, even though the receipt mentioned the correct reference number! Twice! Apparently the website page contained the wrong picture, so they down have it :(. But I don’t care anymore, I’m to fed up with going back and forth to the store to return the thing. They can stick it where the sun don’t shine ;P

With love!

p.s. Nanny Diaries is definitively on the bad list...

Good vs. bad

Three downers today:
1.       My request for the Saal van Zwanenberg fund was denied. Something with only wanting to give away larger sums of money? Personally, I think 2500 Euros is pretty large. I don’t get it…
2.       I’m studying for this HUGE test for tomorrow on cardiology. A practice exam was posted online, and I was just in awe at the amount of detail. Also, a friend of mine took the course last year, and did the test twice in order to pass. And he’s Asian. Needless to say, my spirit is since gone.
3.       As retail therapy for point 2, I did some online shopping. To my utter horror, the sunglasses I bought had a 50% discount rate yesterday! Still, I got 20%, so not a total loss…

On the other hand, something good did happen:
1.     I bought a pair of sunglasses from Polaroid. Even though the sun isn’t shining. Bite me.
2.     My dad bought my favorite Lady Grey tea in the supermarket in Bilthoven (where he works). Our local supermarket in Houten has been out of the specific tea since last week (even with daily deliveries, according to the staff). So apparently you have  to travel 30 minutes for a bag of tea. Very British, according to my dad.

So because the ‘bads’ are still outnumbering the ‘goods’ I’ve decided to stop studying and watch “the Nanny Diaries” on tv. Not sure if that falls under the good or bad category, but I guess there’s only one way to find out…

Shopaholic

Ah yes, another weekend post. The last two weeks have been kinda tiring, with the final exam of my vaccines course last Friday. Which sucked to say the least, so let’s keep our fingers crossed. However, these last two weeks have been very good for my closet: the need to escape reality, and find a more shopaholic friendly environment has let me to the (Dutch) marktplaats.nl website. Which is basically a giant secondhand store (or “market place”, literally translated) for anything unwanted. In my case meaning clothes and jewelry, but apparently houses, cars and large animals (aka horses) are also welcome. So in the last two weeks I have bought a heavy long wool winter coat (€26.75) and a blue hearing bone matching jacket and skirt (€16.75). Granted, this doesn’t include dry cleaning costs, but I can’t say I’ve ever bought a wool coat for under 30 bucks. However, it does mean regular trips from our local delivery guy to our house, and since it’s always the same guy we’re getting to know each other pretty well by now. And whenever I say “ Mom, I need to tell you something...” her first reaction isn’t “Omg! Are you pregnant?!” but “Omg, what did you buy this time?!”. Gottta love the women :P. So I’m currently waiting for a red blazer (from America Today), bidding on a H&M tan wool cape/poncho, and searching for a green tweed blazer. But please don’t tell my mom.  

With love

Back in routine

Isn’t it amazing how easy you slip back into your old routine after a vacation? I’ve been at it again for 4 weeks now, and it almost seems like I never went away. One week ago I started a new course, which is an extra pull back into reality. Those 3 weeks of writing my thesis were easy compared to the 9 to 5 classes, filled with endless presentations. Although it  is a interesting subject about vaccines and vaccination, after 4 hours of presentations my brain is just swamped with information. And my but is beginning to hurt from the hard chairs. Really, are they trying to make it even flatter than it already is?! Also the weather has taken a turn to the cold, marking the return to normal life. It’s unbelievable: two weeks ago (during my thesis) my friend and I decided to take a break from writing, and treat ourselves to a trip to the Primark and the beach, while wearing shorts and summer dresses. And now, two weeks later, I’m actually wearing the winter sweaters I bought during the hot sunglasses-and-ice-cream Primark trip. The Dutch weather is really the most unpredictable thing… And we are famous for complaining about it ;)
Other good news! My application fund from the Dutch Cancer Society good approved! Finally, after the previous fund rejection some good news. Which sort of feels justified, since we are loyal contributors and my dad did many projects funded by the foundation. Unfortunately, at the same time my friend is experiencing firsthand how lazy and unhelpful a psychiatrist can be. After my bad experience I warned her about taking a (bachelor) thesis position at the children’s psychiatric department, but we were both confident that it wouldn’t turn out as crazy as mine. However, after just 4 weeks she’s beginning to regret her decision. He burns her writing down to the ground, without ever making suggesting for improvement, and told her to work with a statistics program she’s never heard of and has no experience with. He told her to just “figure it out” and seems very reluctant to help her. So she’s asked me if I could help her out, which of course I will try to do as much as I can. But it does make you wander about the profession of psychiatrist. For someone who job it is to talk to people, they seem to have very little communication skills. Luckily I have my program coordinator to stand by my side. She has talked about my previous internship, the supervisor and seemed genuinely shocked and helpful to straighten things out. So I’m happy this thing can finally come to somewhat of a happy end. Anyway, can’t dwell on it anymore now, need to start learning for my exam next week. ;)

Hope you have a nice weekend!

Willemijn

 

Holiday to an end

Well, to be honest it ended two weeks ago, but I've been too busy (and too lazy of course) to post. Although I can't really complain, because writing this thesis feels like a semi-holiday. 1) I can make my own hours (so I take a bus later), 2) I'm situated at the medical library, so no-one is looking over my shoulder making sure I work every minute of the day, and 3) one of my best friends is writing her bachelor thesis at the same time, so we motivate and distract each other at the same time. And she makes for an excellent lunch conversation. There is (of course) only one downside to this thesis: the subject, which is HLA-DP and T-cell education in the thymus, is apparently quite unknown to the world. Or at least until now, no-one found it interesting enough to write much about it or do any proper research. So I'm really scraping the barrel for some good articles. Although I've got a lot on paper, much is about HLA class II in general, and not about HLA-DP specific. Which is of course the reason why my supervisor wanted me to write his thesis/review in the first place, but I feel I could have done more in two weeks, if only there were more articles. I'm planning to email my progress to him tomorrow, so we'll just have to wait and see. Luckily, my dearest friend promised me a trip to Primark to cheer me up, so if all goes downhill from here I've got something to look forward to. And after this week I'll be starting courses anyway, so I'll be gone for the next 6 weeks. Not my idea of a good planning, but that’s the master administration for you, everything at the same time.

So if you are still celebrating your holiday: I’m jealous! And if you just started work or school: I feel your pain!

With love


p.s. I celebrated my birthday this August! Happy me, I turned 22! :D

Recap II: England

Hello again! As promised, part two of the recap from the last month. Here we go!
So after my return from Lisbon on Wednesday I had exactly 3 days to wash up and get ready for my two week vacation to England with my folks. Even though I’ll be turning 22 this August, I still love going on holiday with my parents. Since we are all quite busy during the year, it’s a nice way for us to get together and reconnect. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I’m an only child as well, I don’t know. Anyway, we packed our bags and left Saturday morning with the car for a 10 hour drive to Moreton in Marsh, a small, picturesque village in the county of Gloucestershire. We rented a cottage so we could do some of our own cooking, since eating out in Britain in a lot more expensive than in Portugal. But to our surprise, the temperature was quite similar! After fixing a local news paper we found out that Britain was experiencing one of its hottest summers since 2006, with temperatures up to 30 degrees Celsius! Ironically, we only packed trousers, jumpers and umbrellas, because, hey, it’s the UK for crying out loud! Not the bloody Provence. So one of the first things we did was hit the stores for some summer frok and open shoes. Not too bad in my opinion. This shopping was often interrupted by tea, scones and clotted cream. And I mean lots of clotted cream. We didn’t beat our old record, but I’m pretty sure we had ourselves a cream tea every day or two. So we did alright. We also visited a lot of gardens and country estates, since my mum is a passionate gardener. So we had a nice balance between shopping and visiting old towns, and on the other hand gardens and the more rural views of the Cotswolds. Another thing I planned for this holiday was a visit to Oxford. Since I’ll be doing an internship in Oxford this January, I thought it would be a nice idea to meet my supervisor during my holiday. But boy was I nervous! Luckily, the meeting wasn’t until Thursday, so I had plenty of time to prepare. This was nicely timed, especially since she asked me to give short presentation of my previous projects. We planned it in such a way that my parents would drop me off at the research building and then we would meet up later in the city center. Which turned out to be a little later than I expected with all the paperwork we had to fill out for funding applications. But I really appreciate the time she made for me, and I feel we really got to know each other a little better as well. She’s a really sweet woman, and I feel a lot more secure about my move in the winter. Since there wasn’t much time left for me to look around in Oxford (although I’ve been there 3 times by now), we planned a second trip later in the second week. But enough with the talking, here are some photo’s, so you can see the loveliness of the Cotswolds for yourself ;)

 

Bourton House gardens

Find out more here

Bourton on the Water

 

 

The amazing Sudeley Castle

For more information on this beautiful place visit their website

If you ever plan to go there, I recommend to visit the places above, including Stow on the Wold, Stratford upon Avon and Cirencester. So that’s all, for now ;) Hope that your holiday is/was/will be as good as mine!

With love,

Willemijn

p.s. Red2 was awesome! Must see movie!

Recap I: Lisbon

Yes, I have completely neglected my blog. With the my internship coming to its dramatic end, and holidays so closely following one another, I just couldn’t find the time, or energy. But to make it up, I’m planning a long post! Here comes the last month in a nutshell, but if it gets too much I might do a second post.
So for starters, my final presentation went good. My final meeting with my supervisor a little less. It was very clear that we had nothing other to discuss. He was mad for me saying “no” to his ridiculous assignment and behavior, and I still felt hurt for the way he treated me. So in the end, I got a 7. Which isn’t bad, but it isn’t great either. So I can’t complain, but I also can’t shake the feeling that he probably graded me lower due to the whole argument.
But then! On Sunday! I got sick. And I mean really, really sick. So sick in fact, that I wasn’t sure I would be able to go on holiday to Lisbon on Wednesday. I was so mad, because I knew this was just all the stress of the last two weeks coming out. I hadn’t been sick in over a year, so this was just too coincidental to be “just a cold”. But there was no way I was letting the aftermath of my internship ruine my long awaited vacation with my two best friends. So I swallowed a whole bottle of Advil and Strepsil and went on that damned plain. Did I mention I hate flying? But I’m sooo glad I pushed through, because I was one of the best vacations ever! The hottest one too, since there was an unexpected heat wave, which increased temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius. But we didn’t let it stop us! We just shopped on! The Amoreiras and especially the Colombo shopping malls are a girls dream come true! And of course we also did (some) cultural things, like the Torre de Belém. Which is a long walk from the train station by the way, in the scorching Portuguese sun. To make the heat a little more bearable, we would go back to our hotel room around 1pm, sleep and eat for little while, and go out again when the worst of the heat had settled. And since the nicest temperatures were at night we stayed out later. Finding a good place for dinner was a little harder. Food is very cheap in Lisbon, a meal costs around 10 to 13 euro per person, but since my friends aren’t too fond on fish we were sometimes left with minimal options. In the end we found this lovely restaurant called “Aura” at the Praca do Comercio, which served lovely cooked food and a killer chocolate cake. So we ate there when we couldn’t find a decent restaurant, which happened a couple of times. In total we stayed in Lisbon for 7 days, which was enough to see the city. Towards the end, the rough edges of the holiday were starting to get more visible, so we were ok with going home. For one, the beds were rather small, especially since I was sharing one with my friends. And since it was one of those old fashioned spiral spring mattresses, we would get launched up in the air every time one of us rolled over. Which was funny at first, but after 7 days your body is getting a bit bruised. But hey, we only paid 20euros a night per person, and the breakfast was really good. Also, the location of the hotel was right in the city center, so I would definitely stay at Pensoa Nova Goa again. Another thing was the beggars. We Dutchies (or at least we) are not used to beggars. Especially not to that rude little brat who came all the way up in my face, while I was eating an McDonald ice-cream, and stuck her finger in my cup. She just stuck her FINGER in my ice-cream! I was so baffled, my instant reaction was to slap her on the wrist, which surprised both her and me. I know what you may be thinking, “well didn’t you react a bit harsh”, but there was something about that girl (and her friends) that made me suspect she wasn’t your typical poor girl living on the street. For one, she was dressed pretty decent, and she didn’t look as dirty as any of the others I had seen on the street before. And, she didn’t beg for money, but for an ice-cream. I’ve heard a lot of stories where people begging for money turn out the be just normal people, trying to make an extra penny, and the way she looked just made me suspect she and her friends were just in it for the kick. Which my friends thought too. Needles to say I didn’t finish that ice-cream, but I did buy a nice bag. I’ll show you some nice pictures at the end of the post, and hope the ice-cream-finger-incident hasn’t put you off of going to Lisbon, because it’s really a wonderful city!

I definitely can’t fit it all in one post, so stay tuned for post number two! It probably won’t happen tonight, since I’m taking my folks to see Red2 (just love a little family time). So see ya tomorrow!



Nervous for final presentation

Yesterday I had a meeting with my master coordinator, and boy what a relieve that was! She’s totally on my side, and I quote “very disappointed with my supervisor”. I’m so glad to finally have someone on my side who can actually do something for me. She said she’s going to contact him after I get my grade, and if that grade is disappointing also talk to him about that. I’m so glad I went to talk to her. My lab supervisor was right to push me into going, it was so worth it. A weight lifted off my shoulders. And to thank my lab supervisor for all his great support I went by the lab yesterday with a cake. With his name on it and some Sanger sequences. He was so surprised! After all he has done for me, and the great support he has been in this mess with my supervisor I wanted him to know how much I appreciate him. Also, I had a meeting with a possible thesis internship last Monday, which went quite good. It’s a whole new subject for me about minor histocompatibility antigens and graft versus  host disease, so I was a little intimidated at first. But the guy was really nice, and he told me if I wanted the internship he would like to have me. So that’s another positive thing. All I have to do now is make through until Friday and finish my final presentation. I'm soooo nervous! Fingers crossed and “focus on infinity”? We say “blik op oneindig” but I have no idea how to translate it! :P

With love,

Willemijn

p.s. I passed my course! Woohoo! Unfortunately, two of my good friends didn’t, so that sucks… Maybe we had a little too much fun in the sun…

Plates done, me done

Pfff, I’m finished. I can’t believe I actually finished those plates in only four days. I worked my ass off, and now I’m completely finished. And amazingly tired. This whole week has been one big energy drain. Especially the conversion with my supervisor sucked the life out of me. I had been dreading the conversion the entire day, and it was even more disappointing than expected. He just doesn’t care. With every word he said it dawned on me even more that he just doesn’t give a shit about me. It’s all about him. You’re nothing to him, just a speck in his existence. And to top things off, he suddenly pulled out  a list of changes for my research report. While I already handed in my final report. So now I still can’t start working on my presentation, first I have to correct his changes (which I hope to finish today). He also rescheduled my presentation to next Thursday (the third time in three days!). But when I asked him who would be present he didn’t have a clue. So there’s a big chance no one will be attending. I just can’t believe how he completely ruined these two final weeks. Unbelievable. No cake for you mister!

With love

Shit hitting the fan

Omg… just omg. I can’t believe what has happened in the past two days. Yesterday morning I had a meeting with my daily supervisor to talk about my last two weeks as an intern. We had previously discussed how I would do a final preparation for two methylation plates. IF there was time. I had agreed to do it, IF there was enough time. As you may have read in my previous post I was quite surprised when she emailed me during my course. I hadn’t heard about the plates for a while, so I thought it wasn’t going to happen anymore. So I told her in the meeting that I didn’t have the time, it being all last minute. And BAM! 30 minutes later I get an email from my (head) supervisor, that if I don’t make those plates they won’t let me graduate (aka won’t give me a grade). What the hell?! I was completely surprised, shocked, overwhelmed, you name it! He just threatened me with falling my internship! And he told me I won’t be doing my final presentation this Thursday, but somewhere next week. Huh?! As you can imagine I was totally shocked, lost and shaking (I cried on the phone with my mum, it doesn’t get any more pathetic than that). I’ve never had an email that made me feel so threatened. So I contacted my parents and some people at the lab on what to do. But there really isn’t much I can do. I’m back at the lab, started yesterday by collecting the samples and today started taking samples from the stock. I asked my daily supervisor to help (which she had promised before, remember!!) but of course she was ‘busy’, so she sent another intern with 0.0000% lab experience. So I have to check her work tomorrow, because something’s aren’t right. It’s not her fault thought, she just got dragged into this mess. This isn’t even part of her job. I also made an appointment with my master coordinator, who was kind enough to schedule an appointment for next week from her holiday location. God, I love her right now. And, here is comes, I asked my (head) supervisor if we could discuss the matter tomorrow. He first tried to get out of it by suggesting a phone conversation, but that’s not going to happen now. I’m just totally appalled by his reaction. He’s a psychiatrist for God’s sake! What happened to communication?! And what did my daily supervisor say to him that made him blow up this way? Luckily, my lab supervisor, family, friends, and basically everyone I speak to convince me that it’s not my fault, and that he is totally out of line. You can’t threaten to let someone fail on a miserable little job, while the actual research report is already handed in (last Friday btw). It just feels like 9 months of hard work went down the drain. I was so sick of it, I didn’t sleep at all last night. I was looking forward to make these last two weeks relaxing and fun, but they’re full of frustration now. I just gotta suck up for another 8 days. And survive tomorrow. God, you have no idea how scared I am for tomorrow.

With love

2 more weeks!

Only two more weeks and then I'm done! Ah, the sweet summer holiday is calling my name. I’m just hoping it will go by smoothly, since I’ve had a little rumble with my daily supervisor… But hey, I can’t help if she doesn’t keep her end of the bargain. And there’s no way I’m going back into the lab all on my own. That was not part of the deal. It sort of makes me wonder if she ever had the intension of helping me… Like her plan was to let me do it on my own all along. The way she ambushed me in the middle of my course, while all I wanted to do was focus on the 2 research proposal, presentations, article review and exam (little rant here)! But whatever, I’m just going to focus on my final presentation (nervous already!) on Thursday. And of course I’m treating my lab supervisor and fellow students on some cake! Especially my lab supervisor deserves a super huge thank you cake, he’s been such a great help and support. Sometimes I feel he was more of a support than my actual supervisors. He really deserves a little more appreciations for all the work he’s doing. And what says appreciations more than a cake! :D  Please don't say two cakes, I can't afford it.
Also, I finally got an email back from the administration about my application for two courses (after 3 weeks, yay)! I'm registered for at least one, the other I will hear in July. So fingers crossed! And and and! I got an invitation for a thesis place! The first one that emailed back after 4 weeks and emailing 3 different people... So all in all I can’t complain. But hey, us Dutchies are known for our bitching and ranting ability. We always have to whine and complain before getting to the good and happy stuff. We call it "zeuren". But I'm sure you know that by now :P Or is that just a thing all females do in general?

With love and a happy weekend to you all!

p.s. Before I forget: Happy Fathers Day! What did you get your dad? I bought him a DVD of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Happy as a child! :)

Almost there

In Dutch we have a sort of expression that says “de laatste loodjes zijn het zwaarst”, which I think translates to something of “the last steps are the hardest” (but you can correct me on that one). And now I really know (and feel) the meaning of those words. Every time when I think I’m done with my research report I start doubting and questioning the statistics, and wonder whether my conclusions aren’t completely preposterous. So I change them again, have an endless discussion with my supervisor (or my dad), and change it back again. And then it starts all over again. Its driving me nuts! So right now I think I may be done, but it might change in a couple of minutes. Fortunately, I have the course to take my mind of the report a bit. I’m actually quite enjoying the courses, since I’m hanging out with two friends I haven’t seen in a while, and another girl who is just a ball of energy. She’s actually studying to be a vet, so she brings a nice new view to the projects we’re working on. Only downside is that we have to create two research proposals and make an exam, in only two weeks. Which we sometimes tend to forget a little with conversation, pointless jokes and incredible sunshine outside. The weather is just awesome! Too bad for the awful timing. But on the bright side its only 5 more weeks until I’m flying off to Lisbon! I’m just trying to focus on the holiday, so my mind won’t get stuck on the dreadful task that still lies ahead: the final presentation.. Ugh, and I’m still not registered for those course! When I called the administration, I had the most confusing conversation with the person at the other end, who was apparently abroad. As it turned out, this “person” was the not only the coordinator of the course, but also the master. Oops. So now I have to write a motivation and send in my course list to apply. Something I’ve never had to do before to apply for a course. Something tells me this is not going to end well…

p.s. If you haven’t seen the Great Gatsby you have to go and see it! I command you! Really, it’s awesome, you don’t know what you’re missing. If only it had a happy ending. I would have loved to see them fade out into a sunset or something and leave the evil guy all alone and ruined. I’m just a sucker for happy endings ;) Watch the trailer here!

End in sight

I’m totally stressing this weekend. I’ve had a meeting with my supervisor and we’ve set the date for me to hand in my final internship report: June 16^th. Which is a lot sooner than I anticipated. I know this may seem far away, but I also have a two week course coming up, so technically I’ve got only one week left. Oopsy! And I also have to do a presentation during the weekly group meeting (which I was trying to wiggle myself out off, damn it). This and the test day on Friday, and the horseback riding later that same evening, left me totally exhausted for the weekend. Only upside is that Friday was our final test day of the project. So no more blood samples, saliva samples and running back and forth. Of course this final test day didn’t go by without a switch of the files, minor mental breakdown of a participant and spilling some pee on my hand. Ironically, the only calm person was the schizo participant. It should call for a celebration but I’m too tired to move. I’m also stressing to get everything arranged for my trip to Oxford. Apparently, some funds have a closing date for June 1^st, which I didn’t know, so I’m trying to get everything arranged a top high speed. On top of that, I still haven’t heard back from the administration whether I’m registered for two courses (which I need to get all my ECTS to graduate). So I’m in desperate need of some distraction. Fortunately, my friend was available tonight, so we’re going to see the Great Gatsby! I’m soooo excited! I’ve been dying to see it since they postponed the release back in December. Anyone seen it yet? Wait, never mind, no spoilers please! Hope you have a fun weekend (or what’s left of it).

With love

Minute of silence

A not so happy post today. This morning Holland got the news that the two boys Ruben (9) en Julian (7) were found. The boys got missing after they were picked up by their farther on May the 7^th, who was later found dead after having committed suicide. After an intense two week search, the two boys were found yesterday afternoon, unfortunately no longer alive. My condolences go out to their mother and family, who must be going through one of the most difficult times in their lives. I hope they will be able to bury their children in peace, and get the answers to their questions. For them and all other victims of such acts, I’d like to give one minute of silence.  

Home sweet home

It’s been a week now since I got back from France, and unfortunately it already feels far away. Luckily, there was enough fun to distract me from this fleeting memory loss. Or maybe that is actually the reason why Le Vigan feels like it happened a month ago, instead of just one week. Anyway, yesterday I got some great news in the morning mail: my internship at Oxford has been approved by the board of examiners! I’m officially going to Oxford! :D Hooray! If the finances don’t get in the way, that is. I’m a little worried about raising funds, but my dad has assured me that I will be able to go even if I’m not able to get any grants or funds. Which is a real relieve, but doesn’t mean I’m not going to work my ass off to get as much money as possible (Oxford is a little more expensive than I thought… And I don’t want to borrow any money from my folks, I’ve leeched on them long enough ;) ). Another celebration later that night was for my good friend’s 22^nd birthday. She had a lovely stay-in party with lots and lots of food and friends (I got completely stuffed!), and my other good friend was kind enough to pick me up with her car so I wouldn’t have to ride (which really is only 15 minutes by bike, but I’m lazy, so bear with me). I love those girls to bits, and I’m so happy we’re celebrating our vacation together again this summer! Last year we went to London, but for this summer we wanted to seek out the heat, so we decided to go to Lisbon. We’ve had such a cold and wet winter, so we agreed we needed to go somewhere to soak in the sun. Although today wasn’t too bad. The first proper Spring day actually. Since its Pentecost/Whit Sunday (or whatever you call it in English, we Dutchies call in “Pinksteren”) there was a Pentecost/Whit Sunday fair nearby (I don’t think it has anything to do with the holiday, just a good excuse) with all kinds of food, clothes, plants, bags and home decoration stuff, which I went to with my parents (some quality time while we still can). And of course we didn’t go home empty handed! I got two paintings of horses in this sort of old, study-sketching-style for only 5 buck each! It totally reminded me of the work of Gerti Bierenbroodspot, who’s work I absolutely love (but can’t afford). So I just couldn’t let this bargain go by. By the way, if you don’t know who she is, check out her work at her website, you’ll love it. And then we came across another incredible bargain: a dubarry bag for half price! My dad fell in love with it even more than my mum and I did, which was hilarious. They ended up buying it for me, because they were so proud I’m going to Oxford. They’re such sweethearts, and I’m really really going to miss them when I’m in Oxford. And I know what you’re thinking “yeah, because of the presents”, but I am quite close with my parents. Being an only child, and especially since we don’t see our other relatives very often (we don’t get along too well, things happened…). So I like to cherish these moments, even if I’m not leaving until January. Family and friends is all that matters, right? So I’m happy to have spend time this weekend with both.

With love,

Willemijn

p.s. Maybe I'll post pictures of the paintings later...

p.p.s. Did you watch the Eurovision song contest 2013? I think Norway's Margaret Berger with "I Feed You My Love" should have won! Not Denmark... lame song. Our Anouk with "Birds" was also good, of course ;)

Excuse my French

If only that lovely week in France could have lasted a little longer… Don’t get me wrong, I love to be home in my own soft bed and have all my lovely clothes (my bag couldn’t zip because I packed it so full), but the weather is just awful back here! Everything is wet and rainy, whereas in Gourdon (the Lot, South-France)  the sun was shining constantly. I had such a lovely time there! We left on Sunday the 5th and came back yesterday evening. I was soooo looking forward to this break! Doing nothing and laze around. All we did was eat, sleep, drink wine (lots and lots of wine!) and visit the occasional village such as Sarlat and Rocamadour. If you’ve never been to the South of France, you should! Sure, it was a long 10 hours drive, but more than worth it! The hills, the green forests, and the wine, oh my god the wine! C’est maginfique! And plenty of sunshine. If even we did have the occasional cloud, the sun was so strong there. Forgot to sunscreen this little spot on my hand and nearly got myself a sunburn!  But best of all was the company, which we shared with two of our old friends (mother and her daughter) who invited us to stay a week. Together with another daughter they bought this piece of land on a hill with a bungalow and two ruins, and restored it (by hand!) into three lovely French homes. They’ve done this over a time span of eleven years, driving back and forth from Holland to France to bring materials and antique furniture to restore the place to its former glory. To me it really is one of the most wonderful places on earth. Only one little problem: the French nature. To be more specific, a bug called  the “French spider centipede”. I get shivers down my spine just thinking of it. For your amusement I’ve included a picture of this vile creature at the end of this post. It is the most disgusting, leggy, fast moving bug….. ever! And apparently they just happened to nest in our little French cottage, which meant a hunt every night before bedtime. One nearly ran into my bag, merde! Please excuse my French. I was very close to put polyurethane foam in every nook and cranny of that place *shudder*. Besides that, I also saw a woodpecker ( a first for me!) and two humping owls. Nature is really wild in France. Now for some photos:

Our sweet French cottage

The neighbors dog Coca that would visit us

The city Rocamadour

And last but definitely least, The Bug

You need to zoom in for the full effect. I was too scared to dare get any closer. Just imagine he is the size of your finger... *shudder*. Apperently it's called the "Scutigera coleoptrata"... Don't google it, trust me.

Spring vacation!

I feel like jumping in the air! My spring vacation has finally started! Well actually, it started around 3.30 (when I left the hospital) but hey, I deserve to leave a little early with all the hard work I’ve been doing lately. And besides, my fellow interns promised they wouldn’t tell I left early,  just in case anyone asked. Not that there’s anyone around, the whole department is deserted. With spring break and the nice weather we’ve been having you can’t expect people to stick around.  And besides, they can’t tell on me, it’s not like they were being productive. One was playing Pokémon on his mobile phone (I was getting a bit nostalgic) and the other was sleeping on her desk. The amazing world of scientific research. I think it’s because of the Coronation day (people are still buzzing with excitement) and the promise of lots of sunshine (you better be right Mister weather guy!) makes it impossible to focus on work. That, and maybe the air-tight concealment of three people and three roaring computers in a 3 by 3 office space (meters that is). It kinda takes your breath away. But now they’re down to two, so that leaves them with enough air until lunch… But who cares, its vacation time! And to kick start it off, me and my two friends are going to clear the Primark tomorrow. The alarm is set and ready for us to board the 9:53, and then hopefully we will be able to beat the stiletto mob. I’ll get back to you on that one ;)

With love,

Willemijn

p.s. The coronation was a-ma-zing! A beautiful hint of emotion in Beatrix’s eyes when the Wilhelmus played after the abdication, and of course the happy waving of Willem-Alexander, Máxima and their offspring on the balcony. So sweet! And if you haven’t seen Máxima’s dresses I command you to google them now! Right now! Both designed by the Dutch designer Jan Taminiau, and absolutely stunning (especially the one in regal blue for the ceremony). It truly was a special once-in-a-life-time Queens day! And the funniest joke in the newspaper the next morning: unemployment in the Netherlands has become so high, 16 million people are now celebrating the new job of one single man. Touché :P