Aug 31, 2008

Solitude

A reminder to self. Being alone doesn't mean you're experience the benefits of solitude. You can be alone yet easily to busy and preoccupied to meditate and reflect, to know yourself and evaluate your strengths and failures, to know what you need and what you want, to know where you stand ethically and morally, to know how far you are from God.

On the other hand, time spent with others does not preclude being able to set aside some time, even a moment, between yourself and something great.
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Aug 30, 2008

Geneva, day 1

There's a big difference between Geneva and Amsterdam. All the expensive looking cars and women really gives a feeling there's a lot more money in this town. Oh, and all the watch stores and private banks as well. But the banks here actually aren't that impressive looking from the outside.
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Aug 28, 2008

I need an excuse.

I haven't posted up the photos from Budapest two weekends ago. Or the ones from the beach at Zandvoort aan Zee last weekend. How long will it be till I get the pics up from Geneve this weekend, or Perpignan next week?

Aug 19, 2008

Chez moi

The problem with getting into a routine is that you get unmotivated. Instead of striving forward and pushing yourself, you get comfortable and lazy. Instead of planning ahead and thinking of a meal for dinner, I just end up buying whatever looks good at the supermarket and combining it with whatever I had in the fridge. Usually I make it work, but I have to admit, while being edible and tasty, it's hardle restaurant quality.

Today's supermarket haul: belgian endives, haricots verts, cooked crawfish.
What was in the fish: sausage that looks like kielbasa (but tastes like spam), arugula, a block of parmesan reggiano.
Sitting on the counter: basil plant.

1. Boil haricots verts for about 3 minutes, then toss in ice water to maintain colour.
2. Peel belgian endive leaves.
3. Chop up belgian endive hearts and spam-sausage. Chop up or grate parmesan. Chiffonade 5 or 6 basil leaves.
4. Sautee chopped up endive hearts and spam-sausage, flavour with salt, pepper, paprika, oregano and thyme in olive oil.
5. Toss cooked crawfish into sautee.
6. When chopped up endive hearts are browned and spam-sausage is crisped, turn off heat.
7. Toss haricots verts, endive leaves, arugula, parmesan and basil in pan, along with a splash of balsamic vinegar.
8. Serve salad with a tall glass of acai and passionfruit juice (preferably generously spiked with export strength Tanqueray).

To be honest, it would have been pretty damn good if it wasn't for the spam-sausage. I should have known better than to keep it around. Maybe if I have visitors, I'll be smart enough to toss out anything spam-flavoured from my fridge (hint hint).
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Aug 11, 2008

As Usual, Time Flies

I had a constant sense of unease during the first week here, trying to figure out how to get around a new city, not knowing where I'll live, and being unsure of whether my luggage would still be there when I got back from work. The second week was quite the opposite though; it surprised me how quickly I got into a routine. The weekdays on the past week have flown by.

I try to leave the house by 9:30am, it's a 25 minute walk to work to get there by 10. I've been leaving work around 7pm, and by the time I walk home, buy groceries, make dinner, and clean up, the day's pretty much over. I found a climbing gym, so a couple of nights were spent climbing (kinda expensive at 9 euro to boulder for an evening). Wednesday night was home group night from one of the two churches. after a week I hadn't had time to start working on the side project I had wanted to work on at home, and I've barely gotten through processing photos or updating the blog.

So I've been meaning to put up photos of the apartment for a while:

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It's pretty roomy 1 bedroom, and fully stocked with IKEA furniture. The kitchen is pretty well stocked with IKEA kitchenware, and has a decent spice rack too. I'm pretty much set for visitors, in case anyone wants to come by.

Things here are definitely more expensive than the US. I'm feeling it but I'm trying not to do the currency conversion in my head. One of the cheapest meals I've found is a "turkish pizza", a round flatbread with some toppings (ie spinach & feta), covered with some sauces and condiments and rolled up. They can be had for as low as 2 euro. A bagel with cream cheese goes for around 3 euro. Falafel sandwiches are usually a little under 4 euro, shwarma sandwiches are usually around 5 euro. These constitue the majority of the cheap fast food. The cheapest sit down meal I've had was a 10 euro quarter chicken with fries and salad.

Drinks and juices tend to be fairly pricey. A 500 ml bottle of pop at a corner store tends to go for about 2 euro, a 350 ml beer around 2.30 euro, a coffee at a cafe around 3 euro, a large fresh orange juice around 4 euro.

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I'm hoping to save at least a little by eating in more. Here's a sample of my first grocery trip (click through for prices), and the price of a meal of pasta comes out to about 4 euro. Right now though, I think I'm spending a lot more on snacks than on meals themselves. For example, Kettle Chips are 2 euro for a 150g bag, and a pint of Haagen-Dazs went for 6 euro. The Kettle Chips here are made in the UK, and they're far less crispy and crunchy as the US version. They're also a lot less tasty. I don't think I'll be getting any more.

I've also noticed that they don't seem to have baking soda here, I don't know how they get rid of fridge smells.

Aug 4, 2008

Settled In

I have this syndrome that whenever I actually sit down to write a blog, my mind goes blank and I can't think of what to write about.

I could start and write about hanging out in Toronto with friends. I had planned to drop by for a couple of days and not do anything but relax, but I ended up filling up the schedule randomly, meeting up with high school friends I haven't seen in over a decade, and friends who just happened to be visiting from Hong Kong.

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Or I could write about going to Jason's wedding and seeing University friends I haven't seen in seven years.

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Or I guess I could talk about flying to Amsterdam and looking for an apartment on the day I arrived, and how after looking at 3 rooms, I picked (the wrong) one. The guy renting the place bailed. Staying in the hostel for the first few days really wasn't too bad. The worst part was the fact that I had two suitcases and I constantly had to stuff everything back in them and make sure they were locked up properly every day. If I had fewer belongings, it wouldn't have felt as difficult.

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I could write about giving up in frustration and calling up the rental agency I had called while in California, but which I dismissed because of the price. I think maybe it just indicates how spoiled I am in just throwing money at the problem and getting myself an apartment. It's not quite as central a location as I initially wanted, but it's fully furnished, and more than large enough to have visitors, and it's actually within walking distance to work.

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Oh that reminds me, the one thing I thought I'd write about was that both churches I checked out on Sunday (after staying up way too late on Saturday) ended up playing the same song to close the service. They must really like this song here.

Blessed be your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where the streams of abundance flow
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name

Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name