The Trip to Holland by KB

NOTE: This e-mail was sent to me and others about KB's recent vacation -- thought I'd post it up with her permission because it's fun and interesting -- different perspective, though! Enjoy! R-


returned to dreary ol' US of A after a totally relaxing week in the Netherlands. Alas, I did not get to see Amsterdam (Meri - I'm keeping your recommendations for the next time round!) and stayed in Wendy's home in Groningen during the entirety of the trip. i'm at work (shhhh!) and will compose this whilst the details are fresh in my mind..

let's see .. i happily left NYSD for JFK airport - the staff remarked on how big my grin was plastered across my face mere minutes before my departure.. as you can say, i was totally ready to skedaddle.

the flight to Iceland was uneventual and through the plane window I was able to glimpse the geography.. An Icelandic friend had told me that I'd be seeing a lava field from the airport and sho enuff it was.. dark brown with some boulders and ridges about, with some crisscrossing road.. the airport is situated on an island so the shoreline was amazing to look at.

I proceeded to Heathrow airport in London and I made the mistake of speaking to the flight stewardess.. I had the window seat and had passed out for few hours and my anxious bladder had woken me up.. but the passenger blocking my way to the lavatory was out like a light.. i feared that touching a hearing sleeper would cause a ruckus.. eventually a stewardess came to see if i was alright - my speech was numbed from heavy sleep and i couldn't understand her accent.. i was able to use the lavatory.. upon the arrival in london, i found what i feared for, a disability guide waiting for me! i told him i didn't need him since i knew the airport well and hauled a** out of the gate.

as the plane approached the schiphol airport in amsterdam, we were greeted by fields of tulips in striking red, blue, yellow, pink, orange, etc. (didn't take pictures!). the fields were everywhere and manicured farmlands showed itself.. might put the pennsylvania dutch farmers to shame!

Wendy picked me up and we drove for nearly 3 hours to her home in Groningen in northern Holland - 30 minutes from the northern shore as well as the German border.. no tulips fields! Wendy explained that all tulips are cultivated west of Amsterdam.. somethign about the favorable climate, I suppose..

On thursday, the day after my arrival, two other friends arrived to stay at Wendy's home for Queen's Night and Day fesitivies. Every year Queen Beatrix celebrates her mother's birthday and accession to the throne by visiting a chosen city and village each year. As luck would have it, Groningen is the city this year. Princess Juliana (the mother) had died in April but the Queen decided to continue the festitivies since it is very popular. as opposed to the British royalty who rule til death, the dutch royalty retire at age of 65. sensible, huh? the four of us went to Wendy's brother JW's
home to meet the others and warm up before the Queen's night.

Bikes, oh my! When we walked to the city square, the bikes were everywhere.. stacked against buildings and parked.. it's a wonder how an intoxicated biker would find his or her bike out of the mess.

the crowd in the square was crammed and crazy - at one point we were nearly trampled when the crowd moved too quickly from pushing and shoving.. it was a trip though.

On Friday, one of Wendy's friends lent me an orange t-shirt to don in honor of Queen's day and we headed out before noon. We watched the Queen and her grown children visit a village nearby before they proceeded to Groningen.. the town threw out its traditional festivites and activities which included some kind of endurance test where a man lifts himself up by his arms holding a piece of cloth hung from a monkey's bar.. one of the princes who is obviously in a good shape held out the longest and he looked kind of bored.. oh well.

We secured a good spot along the parade route where the queen and her heir apparent and spouses would be transported on horse carriages.. I got a good shot of the queen .. hopefully it comes out great..! we wandered around the city and the shops and bars were open. we secured a table outside and were served beer and colas. very mellow and relaxing afternoon.

on a ramble, the group showed me the original deaf school near the city center (the school moved to outskirts in mid 80's since the kids were continually being hit by cars).. the school is the second oldest in Europe after Abbe's in Paris. Wendy's brother explained that it is the scene where the Nazis rounded up deaf school children and the bullet holes remained in the walls for decades afterwards - as a kid he used to poke his fingers in the holes until he learned of the significance. the city bought the school and removed the bullet holes much to the deaf community's indigination.
they put up a memorial in the park across from the old school.

Saturday - the weather continued to be beautiful so we took the chance to go out to the lake to hang out. One girl and I rolled up our jeans and waded into the water. after some time, we walked around the lake and went though a nudist beach.. there wasn't much to look at since not many people were there and it was mostly old men (need i to say more?? uck) walking around and sunning themselves. Lik the night before, Wendy and I stayed home for the night to watch movies.

Sunday - the other two people left to return to Amsterdam. Wendy decided to show me the north shore and to a good friend of her's home in the countryside. before we left, she showed me the new deaf school where she teaches.. it s not as grand as the original school, all in concrete blocks and affiliated with a blind school. a nice foresty setting though.

the shore was covered with sheep droppings and there was some kind of marshland beyond the shore.. the Dutch do this kind of activitiy where they wear sneakers or shoes (to avoid having one's feet be pinched by crabs) and old clothes to walk into the water, with water up to their chest.. walk around for several hours.. they are to wait until the water level drops later in the spring ... apologies for sparse details since i don't understand it myself!

We visited her friend Daan's house who is a self employed carpenter. He had bought a small falling down brick house and renovated it by himself - he would find old tiles, doors, windows, including Wendy's old kitchen counter what have you that the neighbors tossed out, clean them up and add them to his house. a charming feature is a large round window in the shower room. Daan's mother makes stained glass window and she recreated his house and property. very nice.. I was completely blown away by his house.. I'm a sucker for a genuie do it yourself people :). Took couple pictures outside the house.

We returned to the city and rode the bike... Holland is the 2nd country after China in bike riders.. they have their own lanes and stop lights. family sized bikes even.. a typical parent's bike would consist of a small seat behind the handlebars for a toddler and a larger child's seat behind the rider. I saw one parent with a small child inthe front AND a stroller attached to the rear of the bike (giving you any ideas with aidan, tracy? :)). One of wendy's friends was not at home so we rode back home.

Monday - as usual, we slept in and went shopping.. later, wendy and i went to a friend's house to hang out and later, to a deaf club gathering.. two japanese women were travelling from beligum and i knew a friend of theirs back in japan. deaf world can be so small :).

Tuesday - took me 18 or 19 hours to travel from Wendy's home to my apartment. the plane ride from amsterdam to iceland and iceland to new york were uneventual other than some nasty turbulence. took pictures of iceland (poor ones due to limited visibility).. i stupidly declared two small boxes of breakfast candy. the US Customs had all my bags x-rayed and i was handed a brochure on agricultural products despite my protests that it is NOT a farm product and had bought them from a honest to goodness supermarket. then i was grieved to find that NYC taxi commission had hiked the fares the day before and now, the cab ride to NYC from JFK is 45 buckaroos. I let out some jet-lag laced curses and settled for the subway home..

overall the vacation was great, slept in everyday, and when we were not out, we'd be inside watching TV and reading books. Wendy made some delicious meals, some dutch and some indonesia cusine (former colony of the netherlands). i have yet to develop pictures and when i do (soon!) will post it on ofoto.com.

-KB

War Funny Nothing!

It is interesting to note that the international community has condemned the American soldiers for humiliating the Iraqi prisoners with various acts. But nobody condemned the crazed Iraqis who dragged the dead American bodies and mutilated it and hung the bodies by a bridge with children and parents cheering and smiling.

This is sickening ... but that is the reality of being in a war business.

Surdus, you are hypocrite at its best. Always ready to attack the US Government when it made a mistake, but vanished when the Americans were being mutilated, abused and bombed by others.

Shane, think about it. Bush sucks, so are the folks in Middle East.

R-

This, there and THAT!

Few thoughts to ponder today.

The Army scandal in Iraqi prison, Abu Gahrib where some soldiers forced or humiliated the Iraqi prisoners to stimulate sexual acts, to molest each other ... it makes the Republicans and Pentagon officials stupid than ever when they refused to permit gays in the military.

But again, I always believed that any Armed Forces in any country are barbaric -- they were trained to be like that. They were and still are barbaric even if they got the medals for whatever they did -- they are still destroying, killing and maiming everyone else in the process.

Again, what happened in Iraq already cemented what the Arabs said -- it is an occupation of some sorts.

Ahh. Manny and Merritt stayed with me for two nights in a row. It was fun. Took them to many places as can be. They just left today. Ask them for details if you dare.

Few pictures to show y'all.

Darlene, my good friend, went to Tokyo, Japan for several months and had this picture that I thought are so cute. Yes, these little girls are Deaf, is it obvious?

I posted two extra pics of myself -- one was taken yesterday when I was eating some lo mein in my boss' office at work. I look so fugly, don't I? And Lee from Wisconsin emailed me an old picture of us partying at Badlands, now known as The Apex.

Enjoy it while you can!

R-

Really, Very Interesting Questions, Though!

Thanks to thatmattdude for letting me take his questions on my blog. R-


1. Who is the last person you've handwritten a letter to?
My former landlord before I moved out last week.

2. What's in your work area that most people might not have?
Many deaf people (Staff and consumers), many crazies and purple walls. Ask Manny, Merritt or Benis.


3. The last time you've teared...
Last December 24, 2003

4. Who do you fear the most?
Condeleeza Rice -- there is something about her ... she is plotting something for her own agenda

5. What was your first paying job and how old were you?
14 with a work permit from the city to work at ... McDonalds where billions and billions of hamburgers were sold.

YOUR TURN! SAME QUESTIONS!

Introducing the Kuhn Triplets!

Thanks to Larry Gray's comments about my fraternity brothers. Chris, Curt and Craig Kuhn are the identical triplets of Ursa, Illinois -- now Jacksonville, Illinois.

Travis Imel and I once drove to Jacksonville, Illinois. Don't think anyone else from NYC can survive in Jax. It is very boring town -- believe it or not, there are MANY video stores to choose from. That says a lot.

Anyway, the Kuhn triplets also are my pledge brothers. We pledged together in '95 or '96. I'm not sure which one, sorry. But it was hysterical, blast and awesome experience. After the first few days, I could not identify which one is Craig, Curt or Chris but after that ... it's easy. Curt has a scar on his nose, Craig is arrogant dude that any fags in East Village would die for, Chris is laid-back, quiet and calculating. They were pretty inseparable, to say the least.

Seeing the picture in an article made me miss them a little.

To play the game -- can you tell me who's who in this picture and answer it in the comment section? Which one is Chris, Curt and Craig?

Love you, Chris, Craig and Curt!!

R-

Some Gossip from Gallaudet, What Else Is New?

NOTE: I did not search for the information. When I said I shall find out, I already got 4 emails and messages from different people, ready to supply me the information. If you know the Economics 101, it is all about supply and demand.

Well, well. The information is sketchy at its best. There was two freshmen, Laura and Megan, who were guarding the burial between Peet Hall and the library. Apparently, 10 girls and one boy were in a truck. They were drunk and ran over two freshmen who were guarding the burial from vandalism for a night. Both freshmen were injured. It was driven by my best friend's sister. Which, of course, made me roll my eyes.

I'm sure I will gather more information on this later.

On other hand, last night, Benis and I chit-chatted on the bus for two hours without moving at all. We got to Chinatown at 8:48 PM and the bus does not leave until 11 PM. It was cold and raining. So we just sat and chatted. Too bad we did not make out just to aggravate Aaron from Charlottesville. ;-)

Until then,

R-

DJ Aaron Elvis' Triple XXX Party

Benis and I rounded up Web and Lil Joe for some fun and drama at the legendary Triple XXX Party at The Hole. According to the information, the Triple XXX Party will be the last time ever at The Hole.

It was Benis, Web and Lil Joe's first time ever. My fourth time. Suffice to say, we "is the VEE" all the night long!! So many dicks, so many drunks, so many assholes, so many cool dudes.

It was difficult to pin what's happening from the beginning to the end. But there were some negative moments that shocked me a little. It is not cool to pull someone to go downstairs to play when one said no. It is not cool to pull someone to enter the bathroom when one said no. It is not cool!!

The bartenders were charming. Even after an hour of free drinks, I kept on getting free drinks or reduced prices. They did not have to do that but they did. I probably gave them 1,842 dollars in tips. ;-)

The go-go boys were insane. The drunkards everywhere were ... all that. I think Benis, Web and Lil Joe will not be able to think clearly for the next two or three days. There were moments that people became very aggressive in chasing my friend, Benis. That was a big fuckin' NO-NO! Which part did you not understand what Benis said when he said, "NO, no, no!"???

The music was good, knowing myself -- I'm not a fan of music. But feeling the soft vibrations all night long was great. The DJ is none other than Aaron Elvis, the owner of Narcissism 101. Met him, he's charming dude. He's funny, sweet and a gentleman. We had good conversations while Benis, Web and Lil Joe were in search of shock"ment" values.

Shortly, Web left. Benis and I were supposed to leave but he wanted to return for few minutes, only to see some incredible drama that unfolded before our eyes -- it was bizarre to see a familiar person on the bar counter like a dog, beckoning a stripper to fuck him in front of 20 or more guys. Totally uncool.

I was in the midst of a chat with Aaron when I felt a thunderous crash. Then I turned to see a ladder on the floor with a naked guy writhing in pain. Because the floor is wet, the ladder slipped with the naked guy on the top part of the ladder -- probably trying to retrieve his clothes (the coat check is right above, you'd have to use the ladder to retrieve your stuff) -- so literally, you could say that naked men actually flew all over.

Men? It happened three times.

That was a cue to go home. I smacked Aaron with a kiss and ran off home with Benis ... needless to say, I was in bed with Benis (nothing happened, trust me) and he kept on talking about what happened at The Hole. I nodded, nodded and dozed off.

Aaron, it was great to meet you. Thanks!

R-