It's been a while..... (Part I)

So it's been a long time since I've written anything, almost two weeks now. A lot has happened. The bike situation got a little better, my first replacement was not a great bike so I returned it to get a new bike that is very similar to my old one that got stolen. That bike was perfect and can't be replaced, but this one is still pretty sweet. I need to trick this one out with the same stuff as my old one (lights, awesome bell, etc.) and then I'll feel completely comfortable.

Liz has been here for the last week and we've had a lot of fun. We hung around Leiden mostly, because I still had classes this week and a paper to write. Thursday we went to Amsterdam which was a blast, even though it was pouring for the majority of the day. The Marijuana and Hemp Museum was very interesting, not that I have any particular interest in the subject. After walking around the city for a while (and we also took a canal boat tour which was awesome) we went to the Van Gogh Museum. The paintings on display there are incredible, and not just Van Gogh's works either. It was too much to see it all in one day, especially because we went with only an hour left before closing. Thanks to my museum card though I can go back whenever I want.

Life is good. I've been doing a lot of reading and listening to new music. Right now I'm all about the Long Winters and Kings of Leon, both of which are bands that I had music from but hadn't listened to a whole lot. Check them out, Kings of Leon was pretty big for a while but the Long Winters don't get much play except with people who are obsessed with The O.C. March Madness has caught my attention even though I don't have a TV and need to watch the games online. I didn't have time to fill out a bracket, but I'm calling the Final Four as UNC, Duke, Georgetown and Pittsburgh. Just watch, those picks are as solid as they come.

Anyway I'm too tired to type anymore and I figure this will be part I of two parts of a catch up post. Tomorrow Liz and I are headed to Utrecht, which should be cool. We'll get to see lots of castles. As always, be well.

AC

I can't believe I got another bike stolen.....

Today seemed like it was going to be a fantastic day. I woke up earlier than I have my entire time in the Netherlands (7:30) and got all my philosophy reading done, I went to go print out some things at the library, got groceries, and found out somebody stole my bike. It was locked too, somebody clipped it right off. That makes the count 2- this is the second time in six months that my bike has had the lock clipped off and stolen from just outside where I live. Maybe the kid who took my bike in New Brunswick followed me here, knowing that the Netherlands is famous for its large amounts of bikes.

Other than that really shitty incident, my week has been pretty good (I know its Monday but cut me some slack). Thursday night the Rutgers crew had awesome Mexican dinner (I know it was awesome because I helped prepare it) and went to Proost. Friday was a chill day for me, Saturday night was more bar-hopping, and Sunday was homework day. I've been really into two bands lately, Iron and Wine (actually not a band, just one guy) and Badly Drawn Boy. I like to write what bands I'm listening to in these blogs so I have a reference and so I can influence peoples music tastes. Also, if you're looking for a bad sitcom to watch (since that was my underlying theme for the week) watch "How I Met Your Mother". It was a naturally transition from "Freaks and Geeks" with Jason Segel in it, plus the cast is funny.

Other than that, I think I'm gonna try to improve my cooking while I'm here. I say why not, because I'm usually just cooking for myself and if I mess up I'm the only person who will know. I say if I try out one new recipe a week, stuff I pull off the internet, I'll have a pretty decent repertoire when I get back the US. Then I can impress the ladies (or just making excellent dinners).

Other than that, Liz will be here this week, so that will be a good time. Spring break is coming up, but now that I have to buy a new bike I don't know how much traveling I'll do. I'll have to figure it all out. As always, be well.

AC

Drowning out my hatred of Hillary with Matt Pond PA

Yes, I know that the title of this post sounds really strange, but let me explain. Actually, I think the title more or less speaks for itself. I'm really not liking Hillary Clinton right now, and her latest antics aren't helping any. She made some retarded ad that said something like "When you're asleep at 3am, the phone is ringing in the White House. Who do you want answering that call?" I think that is absolutely the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I guess she's trying to say that Obama would not do a good job at making a decision at 3 in the morning. Whats stupid about it is that she wouldn't do a better job, the fact is that the only way you get the experience necessary to handle those calls are by being president. Last time I checked, neither Clinton, Obama, or McCain have been president. Her experience doesn't make her any better qualified, especially when the only important decisions she has had to make is whether to follow Bush into Iraq (and we all know what happened there).

But anyway, I didn't mean to go on a rant of my dislike of Hillary Clinton. The point and the title of this post is that I am totally digging Matt Pond PA right now, and the music is relaxing enough to make me slowly forget about politics. Its nice, because I can also ignore the fact that I got another less than perfect grade on a paper. Whatever, its just life.

In the last couple days I've started to realize that I miss some little things about the U.S. I miss baseball and driving and the park, but I don't actually miss being home. I guess the little things just don't really add up all that much. However, I do miss my friends a lot, but I talk to them online and through Skype all the time and constantly remind myself that I'll be hanging out with them in 4 months anyway. Working at summer camp really prepared me for being away, because every summer I would have to leave my friends for 2 months. I'd say that this preparation is the big reason why I'm feeling perfectly ok about being here.

Well thats all the time I really have. I guess I make like Brett Favre and gracefully depart. Be well.

AC

My First Ever Blog Post

So seeing as this is my first time ever having a blog, and this is my first time putting up a post, this is a new experience for me. Excuse my lack of blogging "experience," although I'm not that convinced that much experience is needed. We'll see.

I wish I had begun doing this earlier, because I've been in Leiden for a month now. Needless to say it has been very interesting and difficult for me to take myself out of my comfort zone in New Jersey to come out here. Nonetheless, I'm glad I did it. When I first got to the train station in Leiden I was scared, sleep-deprived, and carrying a ton of bags. I figured the Leiden Visitor Centre was going to be the answer to all of my prayers, but they weren't very helpful and I found myself having to completely take care of myself. Without food, a place to sleep, and not having showered since I left Jersey, I dropped off my bags at the Visitor Centre and tried to find my way around. It was exhausting without a bike (if you don't have a bike in Leiden you're lost, something I didn't learn until my first week here), but I managed. I stayed in Den Haag for three nights seeing as my apartment would not be available until the 1st of February, and the hostel I stayed in was actually very nice. I was afraid to venture away from it too far, but I had a good time and met a lot of interesting people, including two Brits and a guy from Germany.

Without having gone to the Universiteit Leiden orientation I would have been a complete lost cause here. I learned more than I could have hoped for, so much that after my first week here it felt like I had been in the city for months. I bought a bike and explored, and figured out where all the academic buildings are and how to get to all the bars. They like their bars in Leiden, which I'm very pleased about. There are a lot of cool places with live music, and also whole-in-the-wall places that are cool to hang out with a couple of friends.

I know I could probably write more about the last month, but I'd rather just catch up to the present. Last weekend I went to Antwerp in Belgium with Steph, Rachel, Mike and Brian. We had an awesome time enjoying the pub crawl and going to the Peter Paul Ruebens Museum. It was also cheap transportation and the train was fast, so I feel as if Belgium is a great weekend getaway spot from Leiden. I'll be going to Brussels in a few weeks, which should be a blast.

Anyway, I'll cut this short because I've got to be at Transhuman Epistemics in about an hour. Should do some work and stuff. Be well.