there's this quote about football, something along the lines of "football is a game where two teams chase a ball and germany wins."
unfortunately, i think this actually might happen.
after three stunningly beautiful, too-good-to-be-true, living-a-dream group matches, we've lost. to russia.
gosh, even saying that pains me. to russia. oh. ew.
however, this is rather overshadowed for me by one thing: khalid boularouz lost his baby daughter three days ago. his wife was hospitalized, and their premie daughter died. holland played in black armbands, and the sight made me tear up. boula played, and that made me tear up. in fact, the crowd singing 'boula boula boularouz' made me tear up.
boula, wij zijn trots op je. oranje boven, oranje altijd.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
family days, orange flags, and a ton of pride.
it's hard for me to believe, true and exciting as it is, that this is one of my last posts from holland.
but it is.
a slight recap on this lovely month of june so far:
- the first weekend of this month i spent in bennekom (which i swear must mean something like "place of all things happy and daisy-like" because i always love it) with some of my lovely family. in a few words, this weekend was pretty much good food, cutting hedges with power tools, (no, i didn't get to use them, someone was thinking straight. dangit!) watching a horse-clinic, thunderstorms lasting hours and freaking me out, "hu-uugs"(because "that's how those canadians do things") and three kisses, testosterone-filled footie, and personal barbequing (this, i got to do. wee!). oh, and, of course, beer and loud music, lots of chatting, and FAMILY. okay, so maybe that was more than a few words, but you get the picture. (literally, because omigoodness elizabeth took pictures!)
- i don't know if you all know anything about this little thing called the european championship? well, it's for football, the real kind, and we're kicking ASS. we're playing like a team, all united and knit and fabulous, and our passing is brilliant and they're scoring and assisting and even not pouting if they're benched and it's so amazingly good! i read this quote somewhere, and it was so true it almost made me cry, and it said something like 'the dutch fans, who hope for so much from their team, but expect so little, are finally getting something to cheer for' and hell yes we are. also, i wish i could expound on the genius of our team, but here's the hard part: this year, they're all brilliant. if i had to list them, it would look something like this: well, van der sar is a given, the man is a god on the pitch, and of course van nistelrooy, because hello, and van persie and robben and sneijder (and who expected that?) and van bronckhorst, and engelaar (and he's more out of nowhere than anyone else) and the new kid, ibrahim abellay or whatever his name is and dirk kuyt and oh crap, i like the whole team. because i do! and we've won the pool and we're in the quarters, and we actually have a shot at this and how fantastic would that be?
- also, this country has turned orange. literally. the streets aren't paved with gold, they're lined with orange. orange flags, orange... flags, and more orange flags. everywhere.
i'm gonna miss this country. i really am.
AANVALLUH!
also, the effing buses have been on effing strike for, like, four or five weeks now. which, for the record, effing sucks.
also, does anyone want me to reupload the soundtrack, cause i will if you want me to.
but it is.
a slight recap on this lovely month of june so far:
- the first weekend of this month i spent in bennekom (which i swear must mean something like "place of all things happy and daisy-like" because i always love it) with some of my lovely family. in a few words, this weekend was pretty much good food, cutting hedges with power tools, (no, i didn't get to use them, someone was thinking straight. dangit!) watching a horse-clinic, thunderstorms lasting hours and freaking me out, "hu-uugs"(because "that's how those canadians do things") and three kisses, testosterone-filled footie, and personal barbequing (this, i got to do. wee!). oh, and, of course, beer and loud music, lots of chatting, and FAMILY. okay, so maybe that was more than a few words, but you get the picture. (literally, because omigoodness elizabeth took pictures!)
- i don't know if you all know anything about this little thing called the european championship? well, it's for football, the real kind, and we're kicking ASS. we're playing like a team, all united and knit and fabulous, and our passing is brilliant and they're scoring and assisting and even not pouting if they're benched and it's so amazingly good! i read this quote somewhere, and it was so true it almost made me cry, and it said something like 'the dutch fans, who hope for so much from their team, but expect so little, are finally getting something to cheer for' and hell yes we are. also, i wish i could expound on the genius of our team, but here's the hard part: this year, they're all brilliant. if i had to list them, it would look something like this: well, van der sar is a given, the man is a god on the pitch, and of course van nistelrooy, because hello, and van persie and robben and sneijder (and who expected that?) and van bronckhorst, and engelaar (and he's more out of nowhere than anyone else) and the new kid, ibrahim abellay or whatever his name is and dirk kuyt and oh crap, i like the whole team. because i do! and we've won the pool and we're in the quarters, and we actually have a shot at this and how fantastic would that be?
- also, this country has turned orange. literally. the streets aren't paved with gold, they're lined with orange. orange flags, orange... flags, and more orange flags. everywhere.
i'm gonna miss this country. i really am.
AANVALLUH!
also, the effing buses have been on effing strike for, like, four or five weeks now. which, for the record, effing sucks.
also, does anyone want me to reupload the soundtrack, cause i will if you want me to.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
this is the life
so i made a (very incomplete, really) soundtrack to accompany my life in this glorious country.
download the whole thing here. (.zip file)
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
memey memey meme!
10 things you like starting with the letter b:
these are, ftr, in no particular order.
1. beschuit.
2. boys.
3. battlestar galactica.
4. becca.
5. best friends.
6. babies.
7. beaches.
8. brad pitt.
9. bed.
10.books.
one word answers:
where is your cell phone? purse.
your significant other? non-existent. apparently taking his sweet time in finding me.
your hair? loose. long. and messy.
your mother? superhero.
your father? strong.
your favorite thing? laptop.
your dream last night? inappropriate.
your favorite drink? water. spa. orange.
your dream/goal? published.
the room you're in? living.
your ex? non-existent.
your fear? loss.
where do you want to be in 6 years? happy.
where were you last night? home.
what you're not? energetic.
muffins? apple.
one of your wish list items? little-black-dress.
where you grew up? victoria.
the last thing you did? sighed.
what are you wearing? clothing.
your tv? large.
your pets? m.i.a.
your computer? lifeline.
your life? incomplete.
your mood? melancholy.
missing someone? hella.
your car? non-existent.
something you're not wearing? jewelry.
favorite store? hema.
your summer? coming.
love someone? hella.
your favorite color? blue.
when is the last time you laughed? earlier.
last time you cried? yesterday.
a series of questions:
1) Are you currently in a serious relationship? A. no
2) What was your dream growing up? A. to transform wilkinson jail back into a castle and be its princess.
3) What talent do you wish you had? A. some crazy elitist sports thing, like gymnastics.
4) If I bought you a drink what would it be? A. starbucks chai latte
5) Favorite vegetable? A. broccoli
6) What was the last book you read? A. sex god, by rob bell.
7) What zodiac sign are you? A. is that astrological sign? gemini, i think.
8) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where. A. ears pierced twice.
9) Worst Habit? A. procrastination
10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride? A. i don't drive, so unfortunately no, i wouldn't.
11) What is your favorite sport? A. FOOTBALL (the european kind)
12) Do you have a Negative or Optimistic attitude? A. depends on the weather.
13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me? A. start a conversation, probably. or i'd ignore you.
14) Worst thing to ever happen to you? A. hasn't happened yet.
15) Tell me one weird fact about you. A. i wear a silver wedding ring on my left ring finger and i haven't taken it off in so long that it's left this band of skin that's a different color and texture than the other skin.
16) Do you have any pets? A. a dog, named opal, and the memory of takkie, fluffy, and emmitt.
17) What if i showed up at your house unexpectedly? A. i'd welcome you, offer you something to drink, and then try to figure out why the hell you came over.
18) What was your first impression of me? (hmmm...careful!) A. seeing as i'm doing this as a general meme, i don't have one.
19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary? A. effing scary, dude.
20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be? A. longer legs?
21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience? A. conscience. i'm notoriously un-fun as far as that crime shit goes.
22) What color eyes do you have? A. blue
23) Ever been arrested? A. ha! as if.
24) Bottle or can soda? A. bottle. glass.
25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it? A. put half in the bank and use half to get my ass to africa to volunteer there.
27) What's your favorite place to hang at? A. my porch. otherwise, the strauss's house. otherwise, downtown along the water is loverly.
28) Do you believe in ghosts? A. no
29) Favorite thing to do in your spare time? A. read or write
30) Do you swear a lot? A. in my head i've got worse language than a sailor. actually vocalizing it doesn't happen that often.
31) Biggest pet peeve? A. people on their phones while they're talking to me.
32) In one word, how would you describe yourself? A. elizabeth
33) Do you believe/appreciate romance? A. HELL EFFING YES
35) Do you believe in God? A. i'd answer as above, but i don't think he'd appreciate it.
these are, ftr, in no particular order.
1. beschuit.
2. boys.
3. battlestar galactica.
4. becca.
5. best friends.
6. babies.
7. beaches.
8. brad pitt.
9. bed.
10.books.
one word answers:
where is your cell phone? purse.
your significant other? non-existent. apparently taking his sweet time in finding me.
your hair? loose. long. and messy.
your mother? superhero.
your father? strong.
your favorite thing? laptop.
your dream last night? inappropriate.
your favorite drink? water. spa. orange.
your dream/goal? published.
the room you're in? living.
your ex? non-existent.
your fear? loss.
where do you want to be in 6 years? happy.
where were you last night? home.
what you're not? energetic.
muffins? apple.
one of your wish list items? little-black-dress.
where you grew up? victoria.
the last thing you did? sighed.
what are you wearing? clothing.
your tv? large.
your pets? m.i.a.
your computer? lifeline.
your life? incomplete.
your mood? melancholy.
missing someone? hella.
your car? non-existent.
something you're not wearing? jewelry.
favorite store? hema.
your summer? coming.
love someone? hella.
your favorite color? blue.
when is the last time you laughed? earlier.
last time you cried? yesterday.
a series of questions:
1) Are you currently in a serious relationship? A. no
2) What was your dream growing up? A. to transform wilkinson jail back into a castle and be its princess.
3) What talent do you wish you had? A. some crazy elitist sports thing, like gymnastics.
4) If I bought you a drink what would it be? A. starbucks chai latte
5) Favorite vegetable? A. broccoli
6) What was the last book you read? A. sex god, by rob bell.
7) What zodiac sign are you? A. is that astrological sign? gemini, i think.
8) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where. A. ears pierced twice.
9) Worst Habit? A. procrastination
10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride? A. i don't drive, so unfortunately no, i wouldn't.
11) What is your favorite sport? A. FOOTBALL (the european kind)
12) Do you have a Negative or Optimistic attitude? A. depends on the weather.
13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me? A. start a conversation, probably. or i'd ignore you.
14) Worst thing to ever happen to you? A. hasn't happened yet.
15) Tell me one weird fact about you. A. i wear a silver wedding ring on my left ring finger and i haven't taken it off in so long that it's left this band of skin that's a different color and texture than the other skin.
16) Do you have any pets? A. a dog, named opal, and the memory of takkie, fluffy, and emmitt.
17) What if i showed up at your house unexpectedly? A. i'd welcome you, offer you something to drink, and then try to figure out why the hell you came over.
18) What was your first impression of me? (hmmm...careful!) A. seeing as i'm doing this as a general meme, i don't have one.
19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary? A. effing scary, dude.
20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be? A. longer legs?
21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience? A. conscience. i'm notoriously un-fun as far as that crime shit goes.
22) What color eyes do you have? A. blue
23) Ever been arrested? A. ha! as if.
24) Bottle or can soda? A. bottle. glass.
25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it? A. put half in the bank and use half to get my ass to africa to volunteer there.
27) What's your favorite place to hang at? A. my porch. otherwise, the strauss's house. otherwise, downtown along the water is loverly.
28) Do you believe in ghosts? A. no
29) Favorite thing to do in your spare time? A. read or write
30) Do you swear a lot? A. in my head i've got worse language than a sailor. actually vocalizing it doesn't happen that often.
31) Biggest pet peeve? A. people on their phones while they're talking to me.
32) In one word, how would you describe yourself? A. elizabeth
33) Do you believe/appreciate romance? A. HELL EFFING YES
35) Do you believe in God? A. i'd answer as above, but i don't think he'd appreciate it.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
sand, surf and tickle wars.
yesterday, the family b. spent the entire day elsewhere (in den hague, i think, for something to do with t.'s job) so i had the house to myself. i popped some croissants in the oven and settled myself down with a magazine.
the doorbell rang. which was unexpected.
and an adorable little four-year-old boy asked me if i wanted to go to the beach. and i asked him if he realized that s. was gone. and he said yes, would i like to go with them. and i said yes, but then realized that (duh) i had the oven on. his dad said they'd wait.
so i went to the beach. and had a fantastic time.
we brought a soccerball and walked around the sand and the men played soccer while i enjoyed the sunshine. and there were tickle-wars and tag, and lots of child giggles and (my) screams. because apparently trying to scare me by grabbing my shoulders when i wasn't expecting it is just too funny. at least, the wee one thought so.
and then there was loud music and "kite-surfers" and it was fun.
i miss my family.
the doorbell rang. which was unexpected.
and an adorable little four-year-old boy asked me if i wanted to go to the beach. and i asked him if he realized that s. was gone. and he said yes, would i like to go with them. and i said yes, but then realized that (duh) i had the oven on. his dad said they'd wait.
so i went to the beach. and had a fantastic time.
we brought a soccerball and walked around the sand and the men played soccer while i enjoyed the sunshine. and there were tickle-wars and tag, and lots of child giggles and (my) screams. because apparently trying to scare me by grabbing my shoulders when i wasn't expecting it is just too funny. at least, the wee one thought so.
and then there was loud music and "kite-surfers" and it was fun.
i miss my family.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
the hills are alive
so i went to austria last week. i went skiing in this little town relatively close to salzburg, except i forgot its name. oops!
anyhow,
10 THINGS THAT MADE MY TRIP:
10. w. and m. also known as fam. b's closest, dearest, funniest friends. came with and were rather much a blast to have around. i really really really had fun with them, although m. liked to tease me about boys.
9. stefan potzinger's traminer 2006. a.k.a. the wine that m. and n. ordered every night. so in our 6, 7ish days there, they consumed roughly 10 bottles. apparently, it was a really really good wine.
8. cnn. a.k.a. the only english channel on the austrian television network. thus, i am now an expert on the joys of the clinton/obama campaign trail, which, along with the u.s.a.'s falling dollar, seemed to be the only news in the world. wow.
7. ski boots. a.k.a. torture devices for my shins. although, by the last day, they were rather comfortable.
6. s. sharing my bed. every night. a.k.a. automatic lack of sleep. because as sweet as he can be, he likes cuddling, which would be fine if it wasn't painful (which it was as it usually meant jabbing a limb into my back).
5. food. especially wiener schnitzel. a.k.a. my downfall. there was sooooo much good food at the hotel where we stayed, i swear it was amazing. and mama, for the record, every morning i had a slice of bread, 2 slices of cheese, tomato/meat, and then fruit salad on three scoops of plain yogurt. so yes i ate my fruits and veggies.
4. ski lessons. a.k.a. the time of my life. 5 days, four hours a day. an all dutch (except for d. on day one and a. on day three) group. lots of fun. lots of insta-friends. lots of falling (but not by me! i only fell twice the WHOLE WEEK! yay!) lots of almost-sunburnt faces and sweet ski clothes (like my jacket, woot).
3. d. and his wife. a.k.a. this lovely british couple i met and befriended. d. was in my ski class and let me tell you was the life of the party day one. then he broke his toe and no longer came to ski class. sad. but i still saw him around. he was the epitome of the perfect older, sarcastic, hilarious british guy. i was his cheerleader. it was fun. she was lovely and funny and i rode the ski lift with her a few times.
2. kevin-whose-name-is-joel. a.k.a. my ski instructor. he's a canadian who's been in austria for eight years, and you have no idea how excited i was to see him. another canadian, guys! for real. unfortunately, despite knowing full well his name was joel, my brain refused to accept him as anything other than kevin, which led to me calling him kevin-whose-name-is-joel everytime i addressed him. which led to moments of me, screaming my way down a hill, yelling "kevin-whose-name-is-joel, i don't wanna die!" ah, entertainment.
1. the mountains. a.k.a. the glorys of the world. beautiful. just beautiful. i don't even have other words for how incredible they were.
p.s. it was exceptionally hot. in dutch we say bloedheet which is literally blood-hot. just think about that.
anyhow,
10 THINGS THAT MADE MY TRIP:
10. w. and m. also known as fam. b's closest, dearest, funniest friends. came with and were rather much a blast to have around. i really really really had fun with them, although m. liked to tease me about boys.
9. stefan potzinger's traminer 2006. a.k.a. the wine that m. and n. ordered every night. so in our 6, 7ish days there, they consumed roughly 10 bottles. apparently, it was a really really good wine.
8. cnn. a.k.a. the only english channel on the austrian television network. thus, i am now an expert on the joys of the clinton/obama campaign trail, which, along with the u.s.a.'s falling dollar, seemed to be the only news in the world. wow.
7. ski boots. a.k.a. torture devices for my shins. although, by the last day, they were rather comfortable.
6. s. sharing my bed. every night. a.k.a. automatic lack of sleep. because as sweet as he can be, he likes cuddling, which would be fine if it wasn't painful (which it was as it usually meant jabbing a limb into my back).
5. food. especially wiener schnitzel. a.k.a. my downfall. there was sooooo much good food at the hotel where we stayed, i swear it was amazing. and mama, for the record, every morning i had a slice of bread, 2 slices of cheese, tomato/meat, and then fruit salad on three scoops of plain yogurt. so yes i ate my fruits and veggies.
4. ski lessons. a.k.a. the time of my life. 5 days, four hours a day. an all dutch (except for d. on day one and a. on day three) group. lots of fun. lots of insta-friends. lots of falling (but not by me! i only fell twice the WHOLE WEEK! yay!) lots of almost-sunburnt faces and sweet ski clothes (like my jacket, woot).
3. d. and his wife. a.k.a. this lovely british couple i met and befriended. d. was in my ski class and let me tell you was the life of the party day one. then he broke his toe and no longer came to ski class. sad. but i still saw him around. he was the epitome of the perfect older, sarcastic, hilarious british guy. i was his cheerleader. it was fun. she was lovely and funny and i rode the ski lift with her a few times.
2. kevin-whose-name-is-joel. a.k.a. my ski instructor. he's a canadian who's been in austria for eight years, and you have no idea how excited i was to see him. another canadian, guys! for real. unfortunately, despite knowing full well his name was joel, my brain refused to accept him as anything other than kevin, which led to me calling him kevin-whose-name-is-joel everytime i addressed him. which led to moments of me, screaming my way down a hill, yelling "kevin-whose-name-is-joel, i don't wanna die!" ah, entertainment.
1. the mountains. a.k.a. the glorys of the world. beautiful. just beautiful. i don't even have other words for how incredible they were.
p.s. it was exceptionally hot. in dutch we say bloedheet which is literally blood-hot. just think about that.
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