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

Countdown

I can’t take it anymore! Only 9 more days (or 8 nights) to go until France and I’m counting every minute. I haven’t posted anything lately because I’ve be so busy with those God awful statistics that I couldn’t find the energy to drag myself to the computer and write a post. Not that it would’ve been interesting, since all I’ve been doing are stupid ANOVAs, Pearson correlations and T-tests… But today, after a good long sleep, I thought it would be time to let the world know I’m not completely dead. I’m still here, just swamping in work. But as long as I keep my eye on the prize I’m sure I can make it another week. Which isn’t even a full week with Queens day turned Coronation day on Tuesday the 30^th. I’m so excited for the coronation of Willem Alexander (and of course the dress of Máxima)! Dutchies everywhere all over the world are going to celebrate their ass off! :D The government has advised people not to go to Amsterdam because they fear the city is going to be jammed with people. Is that going to stop us? No, of course not. But I think I’ll stick to Utrecht, that’s busy enough as it is (I probably wouldn’t last a minute in Amsterdam). I love how they let the flea market go on until late at night, because it’s a lot less crowded and the temperature isn’t as high. I really believe there is some kind of magic spell on Queens day: it can poor with rain the days before, but it’s always (well, almost always) dry on Queens day. So with Coronation day on Tuesday, Wednesday is going to be nothing as well. Even though there is a restriction of 1 beer per person in Amsterdam and a cancelation of happy hour, people are going to get hammered anyway. I just love to see those groggy hangover faces the next day. So that’s for Wednesday, which leaves only Thursday, since I took Friday of for a shopping date and movie night with my friends. But don’t tell my boss! ;)

With love,

Willemijn

Stats

Drum rolls please! According to the weather forecast, spring should hit our little country this weekend! And I have to say, I’ve seen a lot of blue skies and birds the last couple of days… Could it really be? Unfortunately, I’ve hadn’t had an awful lot of time to look out the window, with the planning of a new test day and my epic battle with SPSS. Damn statistics. Although, they have predicted the upcoming nice weather, so they are good for something. I just haven’t got a clue how to apply them to my research. Something ANOVA, something…? Help, anyone? And to make things easier (not) my supervisor decided to slip out the door unnoticed. We (two other interns and I) were all quite stunned when we found out she left for Scotland, but by that time she had already left. The moral totally plummeted… (Am I using that correct? I should really not be using fancy words) Luckily, my H&M package came on Friday to brighten my mood. And boy was it heavy! Usually I get everything in a plastic sack, but this time it came in a huge carton box. Seriously, my mum had to help me carry it upstairs, it was embarrassing. Apparently, I first had a small H&M order, but kept adding 1 or 2 items to the total package and postponed the delivery date. So my ‘small’ order secretly turned into a massive package. The delivery guy nearly buckled under the weight: 6kg! Oops… But I haven’t kept nearly half of it, so I didn’t totally ignore my ‘no shopping until May’ rule. Speaking of May, I’ll be going on a short vacation brake to France! Woohoo! Only three more weeks!

With love

p.s. I passed my last course! Score! 4 down, only 3 (or 4?) more to go.

Last Saturday night

Is it just me, or does it seem harder to start on Monday when you’ve had an awesome weekend? Like, the better you weekend, the worse you’ll feel when you start on Monday? I was kind of hoping it would give me some renewed energy for the research project, but all I’ve been doing is day dreaming and reminiscing about the party last Saturday. About what could have been. About what might have been if I hadn’t left so early. Damn, I still regret it. I could have talked just a little while longer to that guy I really really liked. Or maybe that wouldn’t have been a good idea, since I already made the great move by somehow spilling my drink in his ear. If the ground could just have opened up and swallowed me whole. Seriously, the guy is 2 meters tall! And I manage to hit my straw, and flick water at his head! Did I mention it was my 5^th drink? Of some unknown mixture with vodka, limoncello en sprite. It tastes awesome, but you need a strong liver. One of the hosts works at a liquor store, and he went a little crazy with the booze. And since I’ve been out of practice, it hit home hard. As did the drink hit his face. But I don’t think I scared him off too much, cause he laughed really hard and stuck around. God, I hope he has a great sense of humor. So maybe I left at the right time, before I could do any real damage. Speaking of damage, a little birdie told me some party goers (the host) did even more damage. To their liver I mean. Something about being send home in a taxi and throwing up four times. But hey, if it’s you birthday, and you recently got your Bachelors degree you’re allowed to go a little crazy, right? I’m just glad these things don’t happen too often :P But the maybe the memories can pull me through the horrible program that is called SPSS, and lift me spirits when I’m ready to give up on all statistics. I really suck at statistics, but unfortunately I really need to get started, if I want to make it out of here on time. As much as I like the occasional wackadoodle or patient (the wackadoodle does not refer to the patients, those are way more normal than some of the researchers that walk around at the psychiatric department) that skips by, I don’t think it's a good idea to stay here too long. It might rub off...