And then it was September

Mr Robert J Ross



It's so hard to believe we moved to the Netherlands 19 months ago. Maybe because there didn't seem to be a summer this year (see multiple previous posts referencing lack of season-appropriate weather), the past season and a half have gone especially fast.


Since coming back from Mongolia, things have been pretty exciting, I have to say. Well, at least there have been many occurrences of note.

I played in a weekend-long ultimate frisbee tournament just outside of Amsterdam, called Adam Hat. About 70 players from the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, the US and assorted other countries were put into randomly assorted teams and played 7 games (not counting the final) over the course of the weekend. Each team was named after some kind of occult organization - I was called to be a member of the Free Masons. Everyone camped on-site and the weather was marvelous, unlike the rest of the month.

I met up with a friend from college and her younger brother in Amsterdam, as they were trekking around Europe together. One night we went to see the most excellent pop-folk-rock duo The Avett Brothers play in the Paradiso. They stopped the show in the middle of a song because a couple of guys in the crowd were fighting. Just stopped the song dead in its tracks and stared at the assholes, who were eventually escorted off the floor. The brothers picked the song back up where they left off and, incredibly, were at a point where the lyrics referenced learning to use words to settle differences rather than fighting. In addition, they had a cellist in the band who wore his instrument on a neck strap so that he could dance around the stage with it. At points, he held the thing completely horizontal and strummed it madly like a guitarist. It was Yo-Yo Ma meets Jimmy Page. Amazing.

Upstairs that night, we saw aging Dutch punk band The Ex perform in the venue's smaller hall. They were pretty good, helped out by a couple of younger brass players that helped add more of an exciting ska edge to the performance. My favorite number was when the group's female drummer came front and center, whipped out a cow bell and proceeded to sing and bang the thing in a rather surprisingly reserved manner. Still pretty badass, though.

The following Monday, my girlfriend (who had just returned from an adventurous jealousy-inducing two-week trip to Siberia, Moscow and St Petersburg) and a couple other friends went to see the Arcade Fire play at the Heineken Music Hall that's right across from the AJAX football stadium. Incredible show, so-so crowd. We ran out after the last number, partly because we had to catch a train or risk not making it back to Den Bosch and partly out of a light disdain for the modern encore. Not to mention the Dutch give a standing ovation to absolutely everything. Not that anyone was sitting for the show, but in general, there's something lost if bands just expect to deliver an encore every time.

Yesterday I went with the girlfriend's company on their annual retreat. This year it was to a nearby theme park called Efteling. Nothing really to write home about, but they've got a wooden coaster with dueling trains that's pretty fun. We also enjoyed just the experience of seeing co-workers out of the office and in the company of their significant other(s), especially those with children. You get a little sense of what their home lives are like, which I think any of us with office jobs (and I use that term loosely, admittedly) are generally curious about.

Bob Ross, or as we've occasionally taken to calling him: Bob-o Fresh, appears to be doing well and seems fully adjusted to having had his manhood removed a few months ago. He's still curious and energetic when given the chance to hop giddily about the apartment. If you don't know about Mr Ross, I apologize for the awkward confusion the previous sentences may have caused you. Bob Ross is a painfully cute lop-eared rabbit who has been leading a rather luxurious life in our apartment since early spring. He figures to be the sole subject of numerous subsequent posts: his behavior and personality are probably not uncommon for a rabbit, but they're still worth critically analyzing for undoubtedly comedic effect.

As of yesterday, my Northwestern Wildcats football team is 2-0 on the season, after handily defeating the Eastern Illinois Panthers. Interestingly, EIU, in Charleston, Illinois, is west of Northwestern. But who's counting? It was great to see our recovering starting QB Dan Persa dressed to play, even though he never took a snap. Last week against Boston College he did even put on pads, so I guess that's progress. I stayed up after the game to watch the first parts of the Nebraska-Fresno St and Michigan-ND games. Evidently I shouldn't have turned off UM-ND, though I saw enough to appreciate that ND is developing skill at shooting themselves in the foot and Denard Robinson is really good at having freakishly talented receivers make up for him only heaving the ball in their general direction. Scary for our lackluster secondary later this season.

Finally (and congratulations and thank you if you've paid attention to this whole long and rambling scribble) some co-workers and I have been training to run a 16k race taking place next Sunday, called the Dam tot Damloop. It's a massive run between Amsterdam and outlying village Zaandam. I figure it'll take about 2 hours to complete, which is the longest run I've ever done. I'm not expecting any kind of high-placing finish, but it should be a fun challenge to work through and our company is running for a charity that works with helping girls in Africa get a formal education. If any of you happen to be reading this and are interested in donating to sponsor organization through my organization (i.e. helping our team's fundraising effort), let me know and I can facilitate that.

Updates Galore

Here are a few updates on my new life in the Netherlands:

1. On Mondays and Wednesdays I have been going to Ultimate Frisbee practice with some friends I was lucky enough to meet through my girlfriend’s work. My prior experience with the game was purely recreational and much less organized than this game. For Pete’s sake, there are warm-ups and drills!

The formalized game play was a little overwhelming at first, but I’ve been getting the hang of it. It’s been great to play a team sport again and the whole practice is a great workout. Since most of the other players are native Dutch the practices are also a good opportunity to try out my Rosetta Stone language skillz.

2. I found a sports complex with a pool where I can swim fairly cheaply. Unfortunately the open hours are 7-9am and 12-1pm. Fortunately my current state of unemployment makes it pretty easy to fit these times into my schedule. But anyway, the pool is great. It’s not terribly crowded, which is great because they don’t put in lane lines during the open swim.

Going at the 12-1 window has been cool because it’s kind of like a group practice. I’ve seen a lot of the same people there regularly – we all go for the whole hour – and we all are showering and changing at the same time. This has given me the opportunity to meet some more Dutch people, make friends and practice the language. I even got a haircut location recommendation from my latest friend.

While learning something new is always exciting, it can also be humbling and frustrating. As much as I like playing Ultimate and learning new words for things, having a lot of new come at you at once can be altogether draining. Going to the pool has helped in that respect because swimming is something I already know how to do well (I’m no Olympian but years of training and coaching weren't in vain). Being able to go to the pool and be one of the more experienced and fast swimmers feels good. It’s OK to enjoy an ego boost to balance all the inexperienced newness. At least I think so.

3. At the beginning of the month I started an unpaid internship with an excellent arts and culture magazine in Amsterdam, written IN ENGLISH! Amsterdam, you say? Isn’t that on the other side of the country from Den Bosch? Yes, but it’s like traversing Maryland.

Most Dutch people, especially A’dam’ers, are used to a cross-town bike commute so the hour-long train ride it takes me to get there from Den Bosch earned me a couple of quizzical looks along the way. I don’t mind. It’s a far cry from the two trains + bus I had to take from Chicago to Skokie when I first worked at the Nordstrom’s there. This is a piece of cake. I got myself a discount train card (pays for itself after just a couple of uses) and the smooth ride is great for reading, writing and the occasional crossword puzzle.

I’ve really enjoyed the internship thus far. Initially I was asked to come in once a week. Now they want to see me thrice. Progress! I’ve had the opportunity to do some nuts and bolts work for them but some bigger writing opportunities are looming on the horizon. In addition, I might get the chance to do a little photography! Though it isn’t exactly gainful employment, I really like the magazine and the service it provides to Amsterdam residents and tourists. I was told that in some instances interns get the opportunity for a paid position of sorts. That’s my goal.

4. Since I am still waiting to hear back from some part-time Den Bosch jobs I decided to use my recent birthday as an excuse to realize goal of learning to play guitar and become the third member of the Black Keys. Having no experience whatsoever I decided to start from the very beginning.

Fortunately there is a small sales/repair shop at the end of our street and I found its sole proprietor to be helpful, friendly, and altogether cool. Having been a salesperson for a number of years I have a sense about selling personalities. This man is a musician and instrument repairman, not a seller. I figured I could trust him.

After making an initial visit to see options and prices I could compare against the online community, I decided to go back and pull the trigger on a folk/acoustic: Greg Bennett Design Samich D-5 with beautiful cherry-stained neck and sides. Of the guitars I tried it also made the biggest sound without sacrificing tone. If I’m going to play acoustic blues-rock some day that quality will come in handy.

In just a week and a half of lessons with various YouTube instructors I’ve learned about 9 major and minor chords, the pentatonic scale, and how to pick out Ode to Joy and Let It Be. Slllloooooowwwllllyyy.

Learning an instrument is no foreign concept to me, but it’s definitely a different beast from piano, French horn and mellophone. I’ve noticed my fingers and hand get tired quicker than my lips, though it was many years ago that I first buzzed on a mouthpiece. Endurance should come with time and practice.

I’m definitely enjoying the process, and I need to because I’m not to the point yet where I can enjoy the sounds that are coming from the guitar. But I do like practicing, which is a sensation I don’t remember having earlier on in my musical career. Maybe that’s also just maturity talking.

If you've made it this far, I appreciate your time and patience. I promise to write in smaller doses and more often to prevent the need for long comprehensive updates like this one.

I've added some more pictures to my Facebook album that you can also check out here. For pictures of my visit to the Keukenhof, famous Dutch tulip garden, here is the album.