Four

I just realized that I am today starting on my fifth year of this blog. I'm quite surprised that I've managed to keep this thing up for four full years already! It's probably turned into quite a strange & partial reflection of my life over the past couple of years.

Oh well, let's see if I can manage another four!

Changes

In preparation of the upcoming interview I've been looking through the first couple of months of this blog. That might sound strange but the interview is actually for an organisation that I did some work for while I was in Tokyo (which is really when I started writing here).

And as I started this blog off thinking of making it fairly intelligent, without the random touristy and weekend stories, I was looking to find more details on what I had done for them - my memory already seems to be worsening!

That lead to two observations:
* the attempt of

making it fairly intelligent, without the random touristy and weekend stories,

hasn't worked. So, I didn't find anything useful.

* I think I actually write much better now than I did back then. Some of the posts are just painful to read. Ouch.

Whoops, I forgot I'd been tagged

Via chimera and iggy (and hopefully am not forgetting anyone).

Each person tagged gives seven random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write on their blog seven facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and need to read your blog.

1) My head is almost spinning... When does July start again?

2) Newest favourite quote as seen on the London tube: "One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." - by Virginia Woolf

3) I'm thoroughly frustrated that I have NO travel planned from now on. And no, weekends in Gelderland and Friesland don't count. Grrrr.

4) You sometimes hear that you could probably make a personality sketch of the books people read or what they have in their house. So, riddle me this, my latest reads and purchases: Platform - Houellebecq, Strange Days - Murakami (Ryu), Cosmopolitanism - Appiah, Small Gods - Pratchett, In search of Kazakhstan - Robbins. Hmm.

5) Have taken on a two-day freelance gig. If the guy on the phone was right, I should definitely be changing careers! Actually, come to think of it, it could solve #3 ;-)

6) Am recently discovering that I'm very clueless and naive about some stuff (oh, and cryptic, but too many people are reading this I'm afraid...). It's weird how things are always so out of balance....

7) And another recent discovery - Lauryn Hill's unplugged cd. Excellent music for coming home late at night needing to clear my head (see #1).

Unfortunately it seems that almost everyone else in the blog-posse has been tagged already so am leaving this up here for who ever feels like continuing on to their own blog - it's yours!

Ontlurken

I should probably write this in Dutch, but let's not confuse too many people.

Just stumbled onto Zezunja's post on the Dutch de-lurking week*. A fairly hilarious idea I thought, and I know there are plenty of people reading this but not making themselves known, i.e. lurkers.

Now is the time. From 14th May until the 20th May.

I look forward to finding out who else unexpected is reading!

* There should also be an international/English week, but haven't been able yet to find out when. January, I think?

KAB

Because I think it deserves some attention: Kansai Art Beat

If you live in the Kansai-area, and are interested in whatever arty things happen around you, this is a must-use site (just as Tokyo Art Beat is for the Kanto-region)

I keep thinking that we really need something like this for the Netherlands/Randstad-region as well. Although I quietly think that it exists, it just isn't as user-friendly, and doesn't look half as good!

Out of the comfort zone

I've been meaning to write a post on this for a while but I don't really know how to write it, or what exactly the point is that I want to make. So, bear with me if it turns into a long ramble.

Since living in Tokyo (and basically also, since starting this blog) I've started meeting more and more people from the internet. It's really become an addition to my social life in the real world. And in that sense, it's been very good as well as I've made some fabulous new friends, met really interesting people, and it has made life just a bit more adventurous.

It is always strange when meeting these people though. I've become fascinated by how contact is never initiated in the same way, or kept up in the same way as a different contact. This is especially true for one-on-one contact - you can be msn'ing for months and finally accidentally meet for coffee, or out of the blue start emailing and see eachother within days.

Some of my other friends are usually quite surprised (well, not anymore, come to think of it) when I tell them I am going out to dinner with a guy I met online, or that I'm going to see a concert of a band that I don't know with people flying over from the US. It makes it very fun as well. I think that most people reading this have some sort of experience with meeting random people of the net though, so maybe you can relate a bit more ;-)

In any case, I've thought about it before, but these past few weeks have been a bit intense in this sense, and will continue to be too, I think. I love meeting all these new people, but it's also scary as hell. It's easy to portray a certain image on-line, but is that really you off-line as well? On-line you actually have time to think about your quick and witty response, but in real life? It's never happened that I don't get along with someone in real life, but hardly anyone is the way I expected them to be. So I doubt I am what people expect neither.

I've also come to realize that it is a way for me to expand my comfort zone, so to speak. I don't seem to be looking so much for a relationship as I am looking just for new people in general. People who are outside of my (great, but in a way also confining) group of friends at home, people who can give a new form of inspiration maybe also (or just give me good tips on exciting new music and gigs). And I think I've also started to see it as a way of pushing boundaries, becoming more assertive, becoming more comfortable amongst completely unknown people.

I was surprised recently when several people seperately from eachother started saying how they really thought I was really sociable, could talk to everyone and have no problems in just approaching anyone. It was good to hear, but so different from what I think of me, and how others usually see me - different from the image that I think I portray. On the other hand, I know I'm getting better at it, and by pushing myself to meet new people (it be either a group of foreign travellers to catch up on traveltales, or a potential romantic interest) I think I'm actually doing myself a big favour by it as well.

Of course, it doesn't mean I will start doing stupid things like drinking champagne on some stranger's balcony ;-)

New favourite

After discovering Pandora a few months ago, I've recently (re-) discovered another online music source: 3voor12 Luisterpaal which lists new (and usually quite cool) albums for a few days to discover.

Excellent entertainment!

Sushi - but different

Midnight/noise (whose work I love btw, if you are ever wondering what kind of present you should get me...) links to Koo-ki Sushi



Gorgeous looking chocolate sushi for those people who don't like raw fish. Or for those who do, but love chocolate too (that'd be me).

And for some holiday cheer...

Check out the penguin (hover your cursor over it) at Yahoo!.

I *heart* the internets

Okay, saying that I adore the internet is maybe a bit over the top - but I realized the other day that somehow some of the things that I do online are actually connecting with my off-line life more and more lately (hmm, this sounds too nerdy huh?).

Over the last few years, I have of course successfully procrastinated online while writing my thesis, doing research and spending time at the office.

But not only that, I've used that time to:

# make some great (real-life) friends in the Netherlands, Tokyo and elsewhere (like China, for example!);
# wait excitedly for Christmas gifts from people I've never met (and send Christmas gifts to people I've never met');
# discover a fab book;
# swoon over postcards from exotic locations;
# and much more.

And, in February I will be seeing The Decemberists as a consequence of this addiction. I have no idea what music they play, but hey, live gigs are always good so I'm sure it'll be fun.

So, yay for the internet. There are some pretty amazing people out there, each behind their own little screen ;-)

A next step?

I've been talking, thinking and blogging for some time now about doing things radically different, soon.

Mostly this refers to the fact that I will start making the things I want happen - instead of sitting around behind my computer waiting for them to pop along.

In keeping with that plan, I've been toying with the idea of a new blog lay-out. And... Tadaa!

What's the verdict? Yay? Nay?

Addiction

Now that I'm finally using my Flickr-account - one that I've had for ages, but without a digital camera I didn't do much with - I fear yet another on-line addiction.

This thing looks like fun. And it'll give me a good enough reason to experiment with my camera.

Or maybe I should get a life - instead of playing on here? No wait, I need a job that won't give me enough time to play on the 'net, that sounds like a much better plan!

How to blog

During this trip I've been writing much more blog posts than I had intended/expected. And more than I write at home even, I think!

I'm not much of a diary writer. I've tried a few times but always find that my pen can't keep up with the thoughts in my head.

Somehow knowing that I have a blog to post to is now making it work for me to use it as an online travellog. When I'm at home and sit in front of my computer nothing much useful comes up and usually the result is a bunch of random-bullets-of crap-posts.

Now I write two (small) pages in my notepad when I think of something, and post it on here (with appropriate time & date) when I find a few spare internet minutes. And I think it's working rather well.

So, apologies to my readers if you were hoping for just the summary of what sights I've seen on what day. You'll have to wait for the pictures for that!

Maybe I should continue this habit of first writing something on paper and then posting. At least I feel as if I make more sense now! Although it does seem to be a bit contrary to the whole computer-thing...

Surfing...

The sites where I'm spending my office time at (while everyone else's on holiday):

Man in seat 61
Lonely Planet
More Chinese trains
Chinese flights
More Chinese flights
etc...

Did I mention yet that I'm very excited?

To continue on from many other blogs...

A) Four jobs I've had in my life
- management assistant
- interpreter
- waitress/receptionist/kitchenhand (i.e. anything you might need in a hotel)
- administrative assistant

B) Four movies I would watch over and over
- Mononoke hime
- Afterlife
- more of Valerio Zurlini & Akira Kurosawa
- *whispers* Grease (hey, it's an ultimate feelgood movie!)

C) Four places I have lived
- Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
- Haenosaki, Nagasaki, Japan
- Leiden, Netherlands
- Tokyo, Japan

D) Four TV shows I love to watch
- 24
- RTL Travel
- Secret Life of Us
- not really entertainment but: Buitenhof

E) Four places I have been on vacation
- Seoul, South Korea
- Isle of Skye, Scotland
- Moscow
- Izumo, Japan

F) Four websites I visit daily
- BBC News
- Volkskrant
- my bloglines account and a lot of blogs
- the office's intra/internet

G) Four of my favourite foods
- okonomiyaki
- rucola and tomato salad
- my dad's cooking
- seasonal foods: asparagus, mussels, summerfruits(yumm!)

H) Four places I would rather be right now
- Copenhagen
- on the Trans Mongolian Express
- on a sailing boat in the Mediteranean
- behind a brandnew iBook *sigh*

I) Four people I think will respond
- Haha! If any, they'll do it in the same way as I responded to Jo/Jules/Jules/Cookie/Chimera etc.

All-Round Reader

I just took this on-line test about reading personalities. Usually these things are not too interesting, and in a sense my result is easy to achieve but it still makes sense to me.

Apparently I'm an all-round reader:

Your responses showed you fitting equally into all four reading personalities:

Involved Reader: You don't just love to read books, you love to read about books. For you, half the fun of reading is the thrill of the chase - discovering new books and authors, and discussing your finds with others.

Yep, that sounds about right. I make an effort to read the Friday bookpages in the newspaper and in magazines. And I make note of recommendations that I hear about through friends.

Exacting Reader: You love books but you rarely have as much time to read as you'd like - so you're very particular about the books you choose.

This is quite true as well. I love to read, and I'll read loads of different things, but I won't quickly pick up a book that I've only heard mediocre things about. And, if I'm not into the book within say 50 pages I'll put it away again. Luckily this doesn't happen a lot!

Serial Reader: Once you discover a favorite writer you tend to stick with him/her through thick and thin.

Yes, I have a few favourite writers and I'll buy anything from them when it comes out without knowing what it's about or how it has been reviewed (at the moment these authors are David Mitchell and Haruki Murakami)

Eclectic Reader: You read for entertainment but also to expand your mind. You're open to new ideas and new writers, and are not wedded to a particular genre or limited range of authors.

Uhuh, I probably have books in any genre on my bookshelf and love them too. Fantasy, romantic drama, political intrige, mystery etc. I also read different languages so I'm not too stuck by just reading contemporary English-language lit. And although I tend to read mostly fiction, I'm now waiting impatiently for a few non-fiction books to come in on 'cosmopolitanism' and economic reform... I guess I need a bit of intellectual challenge again now that I'm not getting that at my work!

Speaking of books, I had a very pleasant surprise yesterday. Through an internet-book-exchange I came home yesterday to find a package containing a book from Finland. It looks really really cool, so can't wait to get started on it!

Pop Experiment

Just discovered this site, which is great for browsing and discovering amazing - and sometimes not-so-amazing - art.

So far I've only had a look at the visual arts section, but photography looks good too, and they also have music and motion arts. And with seperate links to all artists featured.

As it looks like the next few days in the office will be quiet this is just the thing I needed to keep me somewhat entertained. :)

Virtual representation

Procrastinating as ever - as usual I need to do job stuff - I was trying to fix a profile on one of those internet virtual networks that I don't use (what else to do with your time!)

I started wondering about how we portray ourselves online, and if that is different from who we are in real life. For example, I have no clue if this blog is a correct reflection of who I am - even if I write about stuff that I'm occupied with in daily life.

Avatars are another weird habit. Mine is always some image of Lain, as you can see on the left. I don't know why. Just love the series. Mostly because it is so unbelievably vague, but also because of the way it is drawn. She always looks incredibly sad in every picture though. Maybe if people see avatars as some kind of reflection of themselves it could be interpreted as a representation of me?

Ah well, the profile I was trying to fix had me portrayed as psycho and depressed I think :)

Food tagged!

Well, I could've seen this one coming, Y has tagged me to list five food things, challenges. Right.

1) Learn to bake cakes and dessert-like stuff. Although that also means that I need to have more people over for dinner and so on because I won't be able to eat it all myself.

2) Grow my own herbs. I have a little patio thing with my apartment but it doesn't get any direct sunlight so I'm not sure if I can do it there. Friends of mine always use fresh herbs and it's so nice. Even if it's not for the taste, the idea of growing stuff yourself (but being in the city) sort of sounds good :)

3) Use my not-so-standard kitchen stuff more often: steam basket, grill pan, etc. I should be able to make loads of yummy food with it, I just need to make an effort to find some good recipes for it.

4) Take better care of randomly printed and cut-out recipes.

5) Use more seasonal foods. That probably means that I need to get my dad to teach me how to cook some of the less common vegetables. It's somewhat unclear to me how I can be the daughter of a chef, but not know some basic kitchen stuff.

Hmm, who to tag next? Who else but Cookie? This is definitely her kind of tag. Plus: Bonny, Kanakana (once she's back from the US of course) and Pompelmoes. Yoroshiku ne ;)

[Update @ 25/2]
I actually thought of another challenge that I should have included:
6) Cook more Japanese!
I made the best gyoza and okonomiyaki a few weeks ago, so will have to do that more often. But tonight I think I might dive into my Wagamama cookbook (okay, not completely authentic Japanese) for a good ramen-recipe. Yummm.

How to make sense of the world...?

In absence of actual work to do I spend my days in the office reading news & blogs, posting away on boards, oh and finding job ads and writing applications. Who would have thought earning money would be this stressful!

The highlights of today’s news selection:

* Cultivating Loneliness – Robert D. Kaplan - an article by Kaplan on the differences between journalism and travel writing (through Coming Anarchy)

* The continuing controversy surrounding the Danish cartoons which were published in a national paper last September and depicted the prophet Mohammed:
Cartoon outrage bemuses Denmark
France enters Muslim cartoon row (unfortunately I haven’t been able to load the French site though...)

* The State of the Union – and mostly the fact that all reporting that I’ve seen on it focus so much on Bush's resolution to break the American ‘addiction’ to oil... (on imported oil, that is)
Bush urges end to “oil addiction”

And oh yeah, Iran. Apparently even Russia and China have said they recommend to refer the issue to the UNSC? Surprising... I wonder what will happen at the IAEA meet tomorrow.

I can't believe so much is going wrong at the same time (okay, maybe GWB's comments are positive but still). Weird world it is...

But to keep my mind away from serious stuff I’m also slowly expanding my network on Hyves (VERY slowly, that is)...
Hmm, will have to post something about that sometime too. Jules has written about blogs and communities, and the popularity of this interactive network (or whatever you should call them) in particular has really surprised me...

----
okay, after reading through a few more blogs, here are some other posts about the 'addicted to oil'-catchphrase:
SOTU Followup by Kevin Drum
and of course lots at The Oil Drum