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I like romantic things
Like music and art.
And as you know
I have a gigantic heart
So why don't I have
A boyfriend?
Fuck!
It sucks to be me!
***
You'd never think that a puppet show would be the one piece of theater that truly captures what its like to be a twenty-something nothing in this day and age. But I guess you'd also never think that a puppet show would be full of swearing, sex, and alcohol either, now would you?
I saw Avenue Q before when it was having a Las Vegas run and so when I saw it was coming to Chicago I really wanted to go again. Luckily Emily, Tyler, and Andy wanted to see it too! We started off the night at Italian Village and then headed over to the theatre. We were in the last row of the balcony, but you could still see everything pretty well...except that I always forget to bring glasses because I never wear them. I could still see everything fine but they would have helped crisp things up a bit.
The show was amazingly awesome. Basically, it's about people who live in an apartment complex managed by Gary Coleman (yes, that Gary Coleman). They are all unemployed/unemployed and range from human to puppet to monster. One of them was an English major and of course unemployed. Two are Bert-and-Ernie style roommates, one of which was a closeted homosexual who happens to be in love with the other. One of them was the most stereotypically "Asian-American" humans ever. Another was a porn-obsessed monster who rarely left his apartment. The songs are make the show with lyrics such as "it sucks to be me," "If you're gay that'd be OK," "Everyone's a little bit racist," and "the internet is for porn" and basically every line had the entire audience rolling on the floor laughing. It really is a brilliant piece of un-PC fun.
I think though that the characters really do capture what it's like to be young and not have direction and not know who you are or where you're going or what exactly is so wrong with you. Who knew a puppet could characterize you so well? These puppets really portray what it's like to not know why you can't get a date or a job and have no idea what your purpose in life might be.
I will leave you with a quote, and a little advice for my financial panther:
Trekkie Monster: Me give you ten million dollars!
Princeton: Trekkie! Where did you get all that money?!
Trekkie Monster: In volatile market, only stable investment is porn!
This weekend was three-day weekend #1. I have five more three-day weekends and two four-day weekends ahead of me this summer. And I plan to fill them all!
Here was my Memorial Day Weekend in ten items or less:
1. Friday night I met up with Nadia for dinner at Cheesecake Factory. Despite the fact that they have the most extensive menu ever we both ended up ordering the same chicken dish. We got different cheesecakes though. I got the carrot cake cheesecake (YUM) and probably immediately gained back the five pounds I lost from walking around Amsterdam.
2. Saturday morning I left for Emily's lake house in Decatur, Michigan. Three strangers picked me up in the fun-vee. Weirdest coincidence ever: the guy who was driving happed to live right across the alley from me. Crazy.
3. Due to every possible thing-gone-wrong possible we didn't get to take the boat out. :( But that's OK. It was a damn relaxing weekend. And I didn't have to try to brave tubing :)
4. Luther is the cutest dog ever. Whenever there is a dog around half my photos are of him.
5. Ian still refuses to let me take a photo of "the face." Whenever there is an Ian around half my photos are of him.
6. Despite the fact that there was no sacrificial lamb, Tyler's burgers were damn tasty. Especially when topped with ketchup, cheese, a fried egg, and burnt bacon. Did you know that you can grill bacon? You do now.
7. Floating on an innertube, drinking a cherry wheat, and soaking up the sun = heavenly.
8. Sunburnt knees = not so heavenly.
9. da da. da da. Nope...no sharks in the lake!
10. "Ian made my crotch all wet!" Ian kept picking fights with me and throwing water balloons at me. He clocked me in the head twice and the lower regions once. Thanks to Tyler's obsession with my camera I've got a great photo of a water balloon exploding on my skull:
The weekend was tons of fun and incredibly relaxing (which was much needed). Can't wait to crash Em's lake house again :-)
Photos Here!!!
It's easy to get lost here, but it's just as easy to get found.
That was the first thing I wrote in my journal, sitting alone in a restaurant, on my first night in Amsterdam.
So, did it turn out to be more than just my observations of the city plan, did it turn out to be a metaphor for my trip, did it turn out to be a metaphor for my life?
More than anything in the world I needed this trip. I needed Amsterdam.
Quite honestly I was a completely different person here and I hope upon hope that I can take that person back with me.
I was thoroughly prepared to say here that this was the best experience and the worst experience of my life.
It was lonely, it was scary, it was nerve racking.
But I did it.
I did it.
Everyone kept telling me that I was brave for doing this by myself. And I'd say No. No I'm not brave.
But I want to be.
After that first night I didn't think I would be able to cope for a whole week and now I never want to leave.
This last week the most important thing I have ever experienced. The greatest thing I have ever experienced. And I know now that I can do it. That everything will always be OK. Did I get lost here? Yes. But did I find my way.
I'm sitting in the airport and feel completely fucked. I guess that's a good thing.
Last night I went to the party again. Why the fuck not?
There were more people, which meant less vodka so I compensated with jager shots and glasses of wine. Some guys from Cincinnati made fun of me for drinking wine.
Jodie and I pole danced a lot. She rocks my socks. Katy from their hostel came out and so did British James who disappeared at one point. He didn't like where he was from. I'm beginning to think that no one likes where they come from.
Ummm...that's all I wrote. I think I was feeling pretty shitty but in an awesome way. I also think I didn't remember most of the night. I have a bunch of photos though that I don't remember taking and about a million and a half self portraits with Jodie from the night. I'll just sum up the night in a bunch of pictures then.
You know what's fucking scary? When you are in the women's bathroom and see a reflection of a man behind you in the mirror and you turn around and no one's there.
Then you see it again...
And then you finally realize that those portholes behind you aren't mirrors but are windows into the men's bathroom.
***
You know what's fucking awesome? As I write this I am sitting here drinking a Heineken and smoking a joint. True story.
***
There's now a Canadian tour group of high schoolers or something staying here and they are damn loud.
I'm having a lazy day. Daniel was going to email me to go to the zoo with him but I haven't heard from him. This morning I walked around a bit, just enjoying the streets of Amsterdam. I grabbed some pasta salad and juice and decided to have a picnic at Rembrandtplein for lunch. I'll probably take it easy today and party all night before catching my plane. I can't believe that this is my last night. I feel different here although it's probably just all the pot smoke in the air.
I can't tell if this is really doing anything to me and I keep sucking in fibers and having to spit them out. And I don't like that it keeps smoking so I keep putting it out and relighting it. You probably aren't supposed to do that and I'm probably doing it all wrong.
(portions deleted)
My feet are going to fall off.
I'm not looking forward to leaving tomorrow.
I'm singing to myself at the table like I do in my car but not out loud.
That probably means something.
I miss my car. I don't like walking. My feet hurt.
All these fucking Canadians probably think I'm a complete stoner. I can't wait to rest my feet. I don't want to go back. I'm not going back as me. Everyone told me Amsterdam took only 2 or 3 days but I can't imagine if I'd only been here for 2. I would have left needing more.
You know what rocks? When you're in a bar in AMSTERDAM and a BON JOVI song comes on. You can rock to that anywhere in the world.
Also, they only play 10-year-old American music here. It's true. Oh, except for this song by Amy Winehouse the first far keeps playing called "Valerie."
***
I really didn't have any plans for the night so I set off for a walk to go photograph some canals. Of course, that involved walking past the memorial statue on the dam...where the bar crawl peeps meet up...Joe was there with Daniel, and Thomas was there too...and they saw me and convinced me to come out again. By "convinced me" I mean they said "Come out with us." In record time I ran back to my room to ditch my camera and sped back to take off with them.
At the first bar I told Joe that tonight I was going to be a good girl because that last night I kind of pretty much wasn't. Then Thomas walked up and had me open wide for some vodka. I guess that promise went out the window.
Now to be fair I was a good girl. To be unfair it wasn't totally my fault :(
The night was an absolute blast. There was (of course) pole dancing and (of course) lots of drinks and (of course) dancing with the boys and (of course) a little fire. I specifically remember at one point Thomas helping me onto a stage and I totally fell straight over. Yeah... Honestly, I don't know if I remember much. I do remember that at the end of the night some random Englishman bought us drinks and then we got totally lost going home. Go figure.
I think instead of trying to pull together a recap, let's just go over a cast of characters...
Jodie and Megan
Jodie and Megan are sisters, not lesbians. They are from Melbourne, Australia and they rock my socks off. Jodie is my new btff (best TRAVEL friend forever) and she and I are dancing partners and really can work the pole...Except when I accidentally kick some random girl in the head. True story. They left Amsterdam on the same night as me but then they went back. I miss them terribly now and wish I could still be there dancing with them.
Joe
As you already know Joe is a truck driver from New York who I met while photographing. He's the one who got me into this mess :-) He likes his purple hat. He likes the stripper pole too.
Daniel
Danny boy is from Hawaii. He was awesome and was also travelling alone. We were supposed to go to the zoo together but he never called. To be fair, I didn't have a phone there so he couldn't really call me :-)
Will
Will: I don't like Chicago.
Val: Why not?
Will: There's nothing special about Chicago.
Val: [makes her signature sad face]
Will: Well, except for you.
Will is the cutie from Virginia but he talks with a British accent. He doesn't like Chicago, but he doesn't really like Virginia either so I guess it's somehow OK. He works four jobs but I forgot what they are. He likes the stripper pole too. He had to leave slightly early to go catch a plane. I told him I am going to drive out to see him this summer. $4+ gas is my enemy.
Thomas
Thomas was one of the pub crawl guides and I was pretty much in love with him from the moment I saw him. And then again from when he talked with an Australian accent...All night this night he kept telling me that he got out at 2:30 and would be able to dance with just me then. Then at 2:30 he told me he was tired and going home. I'm pretty sure he was telling everyone the same thing. But whatever. I was being a good girl anyways :-)
Despite the fact that I'd just gotten home a few hours before I decided I still wanted to make it to Keukenhof, a flower garden a few towns over in Lisse.
Keukenhof is the world's largest flower gardens and is apparently the most photographed place in the world. And it's only open for three months out of the year. Basically it's a huge garden filled with flowers. I suppose it would be a pretty horrible garden if it wasn't filled with flowers. But I'm pretty damn tired so please forgive me. I'm not sure what else to say about it. It was pretty. Here are some pictures. Pictures speak a thousand words you know:
I'm proud of myself because on the way home I looked at the train board and saw that a train to Amsterdam was leaving in a minute so I hopped on with no hesitation. I think normal Val would have second guessed herself and waited for the next train. I don't think I am normal Val here.
I guess it's good to know that I can handle this all on my own. I know that just a few days ago I was convinced that my savings would now be earmarked for a condo, but now I'm not sure. It sucks being alone but it's nice to meet new people. And even if you're alone there are always people who can become your new best friend for an hour, a day, a week, or a lifetime.
I should find dinner.
I remember vodka. Lots and lots of vodka.
It's 11am and I'm on a train headed to Leiden. Pretty good considering I just got home to my hostel at 7am...Just in time to see a man leaving the red window across the street and just in time to see the lights on the canals go back off.
Last night I met up with Joe to go to Ultimate Party Amsterdam. It's a pub crawl and for 20 euro you get admission to six bars a drink at each and way too much vodka in the first half hour (poured straight down your throat by the really cute Aussie guide). Seriously, after a jager shot with another Aussie girl I probably had about 8 or 9 or 20 shots of vodka. Did I mention that was at the first bar? And just in the first half hour? And that end of that first half hour at that first bar I was pretty much completely wasted.
 me and joe
You know what I learned? It's pretty easy to go up to a table full of guys and start talking. I also may have learned that Val makes really bad decisions while drunk. But anyways...
So the pub crawl was tons of fun...even if I don't remember much of it...I think Joe confessed his attraction for me...and then later told me his friend liked me...but...yeah...at that point I was already making out with a Canadian...
Seriously, next time I decide to go to Europe I'm just going to Canada because that's all I meet.
Anyways...there was a stripper pole at some point...and a bartender that spouted fire...and...more alcohol...
And did I mention this Canadian was tall? Like 6'7" tall? And that he was 22? And that he kept telling me that I had beautiful eyes? And that we may have left together? I did mention that I got home at 7. And I did mention that Val makes really stupid decisions when drunk. But whatever. Life experience.
***
Ummmm.
Ummmmmmmmm.
I may feel sick.
I kind of looked dude up on facebook.
It may have said such and such high school class of '07.
I don't think that makes him 22...
I may feel sick.
Today. Woke up. Made it down in time for the end of breakfast. Ate. Took off.
I found FOAM, which is an amazing little photography museum I wanted to check out. The photography in the first exhibit was contemporary Amsterdam work. But the second floor had a killer exhibit by Jessica Dimmock titled "The 9th Floor." She basically followed these heroin addicts as they lived in a 9th floor apartment and after they were kicked out. One disappeared. One tried to get help form family. Two of them had a baby together. It was beautiful work.
After the museum I walked through bloemenmarkt, which is a big flower market that had fresh flowers, bulbs, etc. So many pretty flowers.
Next up I decided to go find pancakes and found the Pancake Bakery. I said "Just one." The waitress said "Just one?" It's a phrase I've had to utter and confirm too many times this week.
She seated me next to the kitchen on a table that they had formerly been using to stack trays. I didn't mind because I liked just watching the pancakes being made. I ordered an orange juice because really nothing is better than fresh orange juice and a pancake with bacon, cheese, and mushrooms. It was damn tasty but way too huge to finish.
After that I walked through Magna Plaza, which is basically a shopping mall, and headed back to my hostel. Now I'm sitting here, doing, what else but drinking a Heineken.
I swear everyone here thinks I'm a huge stoner because they just see me sitting here staring and doing not much else a lot. But it's OK because they are all stoners. The other day there were two guys in here who were literally just sitting and staring. I left and came back a few hours later and I swear they hadn't moved an inch.
True Story: I have had more Heinekens than I've had Cokes this week (that says A LOT coming from me).
Another True Story: If I wanted to start a different type of coke habit there are a couple of guys outside my hostel that would be more than willing to help.
***
Today was a busy busy day. I started by going to the Noodermarkt. They like their markets here. There are tons of them. I saw a man selling birds. I bought an orange juice. That's another thing they have here: fresh juice. It's everywhere and I love it.
Then I walked to museumplein and I didn't get lost! I'm learning how to read a map.
I toured through the Van Gogh Museum. Of course, I declined the tour in favor of just reading the descriptions when I saw something that caught my eye. There was a gorgeous exhibition going on of John Everett Millais's works. He's probably best known for his painting of Ophelia and I particularly loved the corresponding photography exhibit that showed different takes on the Ophelia theme.
The Van Gogh's themselves were amazing and I never knew so much about him and there were pieces that I'd never guess in a million years were his (such as the pieces that were inspired by Japanese artwork).
After the museum I again walked through museumplein. That is where the giant "I AMSTERDAM" sign is.
At the other end of museumplein is the big concert hall concertgebau. I decided to step in and see if anything was playing. There were two shows playing: an opera concert at night and a piano concert in half an hour. I would have seen opera but that was 85 euro and the piano concert was 25...I went with piano. So I bought a ticket and she gave me what they call the "Queen's seat," which was, quite literally, the best seat in the house: front row balcony, dead center. Amazing.
I quickly grabbed a waffle then came back to watch the show. The concert was very nice and the music was beautiful. The woman next to me was insanely into it. She kept taking off her rings so she could clap louder. I felt bad for her having to sit next to me because I was wearing the same jeans I'd worn for days and had yet to shower. I probably smelled. But whatever.
After the concert I was just going to head home but then I noticed that there was no line for the Rijksmuseum. Rijksmuseum is a huge high-class art museum full of masterpieces...unfortunately it is currently closed. They do however have one wing open and luckily it was easily doable :)
So...somewhere between the conveyor belt and the bag check I managed to lose my wallet. I completely freaked out. Luckily a nice lady found it and returned it straight to me.
The work there was definitely high quality art and they actually had some Rembrandts. Of course, I think I saw the whole thing in about fifteen minutes...but it was beautiful.
So I booked it home to return my bike because hell if I was going to pay for that thing to sit outside of my hostel for another day. The guy who checked the bikes looked at my receipt and said "Just one?" "Yup." "You alone?" "Yup." "Why are you alone?"
"I don't know."
Now I am back, yet again, in the hostel bar, drinking a Heineken, writing in my blog away from blog.
***
I debated whether I would/should/could write the rest of this entry here. We don't want to get in trouble now do we? But whatever, its legal (there...or at least decriminalized)...and if I'm willing to embarras myself greatly with the most embarrisingly stupid "first time" story (yes, I'm 27, and yes it was my first experience) ever I shouldn't deny that to the world, now should I? So...here we go...
And here it is. I have officially gotten high. OK, so maybe not "gotten high" but I definitely smoked a joint...at least kind of. It was pure grass, pre-rolled. At least that's what the gu who worked there said when I told him I'd never done it before and asked what I should get. I sucked it up and went in alone and he sold me a pack of 4 (they only came in packs of 4) and a lighter. I have three left in my purse. I sat for a while staring at it. Not necessarily because I was afraid or questioning my morality or any shit like that. I just honestly didn't know how to light the thing. I had to watch a bunch of people do it until I felt like I kind of got it then did it. At one point about half way through I flicked off some ash and the whole thing went out. I didn't know if you were allowed to relight it. But I kind of gathered that you could and so I did and I finished it off.
I just went to the coffeeshop that was part of my hostel so I could be close to home and so when I finished I came back here. I don't know if I feel anything but a bit ago I went online and was chatting with some friends and totally completely blanked out staring for a minute. I guess that means something?
"Find a man who thinks your silence is beautiful."
The old Dutchman at the bar said that to me. I wasn't talking much and to be truthful it was because I could hardly understand what he was saying and to be more truthful it was because in general I just don't talk much.
It's been something I've been thinking about these last few days. Whenever I talk I have to clear my throat and start again because each sentence has come after a long period of silence. Paul kept saying today that I don't say much. And it's true. It's hard to meet new people when you don't know what to say. In real life there have always been people I either click with or don't. If there is no instant connection I find it hard to try to create it.
(portions deleted)
I want to be someone people want to know. I'm watching a girl at the hostel bar in a short dress dancing for the guys. It's an easy way for attention but I just don't want to be one of those girls. I suppose, you can say, I want someone to love me for my silence. Someone will.
I think sometimes that I am looking at this all wrong. Whether I meet anyone or not. Whether I see all the sites or not. Whether I smoke a joint or not. I will have learned something and grown and fallen in love with a city and done something I have never done before.
(portions deleted)
Part of me wants to go home and part of me wants to never leave and part of me wants to pick up all my friends and move them here.
(portions deleted)
He told me that my silence is beautiful. Why he said that I'm not so sure. Why I am taking to heart so much something a strange Dutchman said to me in a cafe is beyond me. And why this man who I could hardly understand could understand me so well is frightening. He gave me a postcard before I left. It has his picture on the back and a painting on the front. He is an artist who maybe I am supposed to know. He told me my silence is beautiful. He told me to find a man who thinks my silence is beautiful. He told me to find a man who loves me for my silence.
They say it's just like riding a bike when something supposedly comes back to you naturally. But what they don't say is that riding a bike for the first time in god knows how long is hard and scary and sometimes just makes things worse. They don't say that you are still prone to fall and that you shake and that you are going so fast that you don't have time to think.
my bike
This morning was the great bike experiment. I rented a bike and immediately recognized that it was a bad idea. Everyone bikes in Amsterdam and I thought that it might solve my biggest dilemma: getting lost. I figured that I would still get lost but at least with the bike I'd find my way back sooner. But actually it made things worse. I had to make too quick of decisions. I had to turn before knowing which way to turn. I had to figure out where I could and could not be and when it was safe to cross a street.
So after going in circles for a bit and finally finding my way back to the square I retired my bike chained outside of my hostel.
By that time I was so dehydrated I felt like I was foaming at the mouth. I bought a water from the machine and took a breather in the hostel lobby. Luckily Paul, a guy who claims one of 10 beds in my hostel room (the room does in fact hold 12 people though as two of those beds are doubles) was walking by. Paul's from Canada (I didn't say Canadia there) and is also travelling alone. We decided to take a walk and find some lunch, finally settling on an outdoor cafe. I got a salmon sandwich because I remembered Jason had told me to get one, although I completely forgot to look up where he'd said to. It was rather tasty.
After lunch we had a lazy day of wandering the city and making our way back to Vondelpark. On our way there I saw the most awesome thing ever: a boat with a claw whose purpose was to dig at the bottom of the canals for fallen bicycles. We saw him grabbing one and saw that the boat already contained quite a stack of them. Those bicycles are everywhere and a lot of people only chain the tire to the bike instead of chaining the bike to something stable, so I'd imagine a lot do fall in or are tossed in by pranksters.
Luckily I convinced him that we should hit up some Indonesian food for dinner and we set off to try some rijsttafel. Let me tell you, rijsttafel is pretty much the most amazing meal you could ever imagine. Our table was COVERED in food. Basically they bring out a lot of different things to try. We had twenty-some dishes of varying degrees of heat. There were differently prepared vegetables and beefs and chickens and two types of rice. Delicious. After dinner we headed back to the dam to sip some coffee and then parted ways.
It's lonely. At home I am perfectly fine staying at home for a night doing nothing. But here, its lonely. I decided to find a brown cafe to sit and have a drink. Alone but at least out. I found a suitable one, supposedly the "king of brown cafes" in my travel guide and set out to find it. I walked. And I passed bar after bar and wished I had friends to drink with as I saw people sitting outside and laughing and talking. I almost gave up looking but just as I was about to turn around it was there in front of me.
I am not the type to drink alone. And I'm not the type to go to a bar alone. But here I am, sipping strong genever (gin) from a filled-to-the-brim glass. According to the Dutch elders who sat down at my table ladies don't usually drink genever and definitely don't drink it straight. I guess we know I'm not really a lady.
I'm going to continue writing because I still have half a glass left and want to sip it slowly and want to look busy. It tastes good which I am surprised at because I don't usually take my alcohol straight. It tastes spicy. Amsterdam has done something to my taste buds because all I drink is Heineken and I go through glass after glass with no problems and now am drinking a drink most people don't even like and I can't get enough,
I finished my drink. I like this place. Everyone in here, and its not that many, are all certainly Dutch. There are others outside, but in here they are Dutch. The lady at the bar looked at me funny and smiled when I ordered the genever. I sometimes feel like guidebooks just fuck you over and tell you things that you really shouldn't do.
Maybe I should just go to the hostel and get high. I'm scared to do it with strangers and I'm scared to do it alone. But I don't really know who I am anymore and I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I wish I could split in half and be two different people with two separate lives.
There is a cat walking down the stairs.
I think for today's entry it is best for me to first write what I actually wrote and then write what I probably meant to say...
What I actually wrote...
Today started at 10, which I can't believe I slept in that late. I keep getting lost and it kills me. I couldn't find anything. It took me forever to find Stopera. It wasn't too exciting when I finally did. And then I walked around until finding Rembrandt House.
Then I walked a million wrong directions finding Vondelpark. Then this is the crappiest blog ever. Then I went back to the hostel then I started
Dude I talked to two Canadians the night before (unintelligible scribble).
met up with Joe and Jackie and Lawrence. I can't write fake blog at this time. We took pictures than drank beer.
Fuck this is a fucking horrible blog on paper.
It's 3am I don't feel tired and haven't eaten a damn thing today. I had a cookie and frites. I need a goddamn bike. I need to go to a brown cafe and a coffee shop and a performance at Concertgebau. I suppose I should sleep.
And I also want to get high already.
I dunno.
I should move to Canadia. But then I'd probably have to stop calling it Canadia.
What I probably meant to say...
I woke up at 10, which feels late for a vacation. But I have seven days so I guess I don't have to rush anything. Last night, right after closing my book I decided that if I'm going to make this work I'm going to have to make this work. I bought myself another Heineken and asked a couple of guys if I could join them. They, of course, turned out to be Canadian and ended up being probably 18 or 19 (they hadn't yet started university). They were pretty awesome guys though. One wants to be a graphic designer/artist and the other a chef. I wish I had gotten their email addresses.
Today, as I said, started late(ish). I decided that my plan would be to go to see Stopera (I feel like I can't go anywhere now without at least checking out the opera house) and Rembrandt House then headed over to the Van Gogh Museum and Vondelpark.
This plan was somewhat foiled by the fact that I have absolutely no sense of direction and can't read a map for the life of me.
After walking in all kinds of wrong directions I finally stumbled upon Stopera...which wasn't really that exciting of a place to see. Probably prettier at night. I stumbled upon Rembrandtplein which was a cute little grassy area with a statue of the painter.
More wandering until I hit the Rembrandt House. Seriously, these Museums are impossible to find because they are all just in houses that blend in with other houses. Rembrandt House was OK, but not spectacular. Basically the first half of it is just his house set up to look like it did when he lived there. There is a lot of art work on the walls but only one of them is a Rembrandt. The man who worked there who at first thought I was German pointed out a series of paintings to me that were all sleeping guards with prisoners escaping. I doubt I would have noticed that without him.
The second half of the museum was an art gallery. The exhibition that was playing was Maria Sibylla Merian. You probably don't know her name but she drew lots of flowers and bugs and stuff and some of it probably looks familiar. At this point the audio tour began going into great detail over every piece of art. At this point I gave up on the audio tour and just looked around saying "That one is pretty."
My goal next was to make it to the Van Gogh Museum and Vondelpark. Yeah...so I managed to get lost. And loster. And lostest. I did find about three parks but none of them were the ones I wanted to find. I don't know where I was, but I honestly walked around for a couple of hours. It was grueling and terrifying. And I was cursing the fact that I had almost the entire week left to survive.
Finally found my way across a bridge, found my way through a market, and found the Heineken Experience and I knew that was near where I wanted to be. I finally found that on my map...still got lost...but made to to Museumplein. By that time I didn't really feel like going into the museums and managed to, somehow, find Vondelpark.
Vondelpark is beautiful and relaxing and beautiful. Its basically just a big park. I stopped and got a cookie and that was the only food I'd eaten so far. I wandered about. I sat down for a bit. I took some pictures. I reveled in the fact that I finally found where I was going. Then I nervously took off hoping I would be able to find my way home.
After a quick bite of some frites with fritesauce and some freshening up I headed to the monument to meet Joe. Joe's a truck driver from New York who I'd met earlier in the day while photographing some statues. He's into photography too and we'd agreed to meet up to go shoot some night shots. Also joining us was Jackie from the Philippines who Joe had met even earlier and Lawrence from Israel who just happened upon us.
We headed over to the red light district to shoot from the bridge (you can't take pics of the girls, but you can shoot straight on from the bridge) and did the square and some canals. Amsterdam is gorgeous at night.
At one point a guy came up to us and asked if we were a club. Lawrence made up a whole story about our club. We are so starting a facebook group.
After shooting we headed to a bar to grab a Heineken and chat. And then we called it a night. Apparently I went back to my hostel and wrote the worst non-blog entry in the history of non-blog entries. I honestly don't know where the Canadian rant came from...
Over the next week (hopefully all by Friday when I leave for Memorial Day weekend) I will be posting a day-by-day recap of my week in Amsterdam. Most of the journal entries will be taken straight from the journal I kept, maybe with a little more added...maybe with a little taken out ;-) Each entry will hopefully capture how I felt each day on that day. It was kind of an up and down journey for me and hopefully I will be able to reflect that. I'll post a few photos with each entry, but I'm guessing it may be about a month until you see the entire photo gallery. Sorry :(
It's easy to get lost here, but it's just as easy to get found. That's what I'm learning and I hope upon hope that that ends up being some grand-scheme-of-things metaphor. For now though, I am strictly speaking directionally.
As far as I can tell, the blocks work like this: on one side of the canal the numbers count up. On the other side of the canal the numbers count down. One side has evens and the other odds but neither side really seems to correspond to the other. In America a block is 100, in Amsterdam the houses are consecutive, each house if 2 after the other no matter how many fit on a block.
I haven't been here twelve hours and already my feet are full of blisters, my face is sunburnt, and my brand new $600 camera lens is broken. OK, to be fair it's not broken broken, I just accidentally dumped way too much cleaning solution on it and there's a fuzzy pool permeating the inside of it that's making all my photos blurry. Looking at it now the circle does seem to be fading and hopefully by the end of dinner it will be gone.
As I write this I am sitting at a table for one Haesje Claes waiting for a meal that is entirely Dutch and that I am pretty sure I won't like at all. I passed this place three times and on the fourth finally sucked it up and came in. I walked for an hour and a half looking for a place to eat that I felt I could go into. The first time it seemed too empty. The second time I didn't like the menu. The third it seemed too full. And the fourth I just went for it and asked for a table for one and was sat at the end of a table for six.
It's hard. And so far I am thinking that my quit my job and backpack Europe fund is quickly going to become a condo fund.
There is no doubt it is beautiful here. Amsterdam is kind of like Venice: there are canals (in fact, there are more here than in Venice), the streets are easy to lose (despite being a small place), and it's lonely.
Just a few years ago I still had it in my head that I wanted someone amazing in my life who would show me the world. And now I am trying my damndest to be the amazing kind of person who can show someone else the world. But I still wish there was someone special, or at least someone here to help me out, to make me less afraid, paranoid, and lonely.
And now its nearly 8pm and I have yet to eat and have done nothing but wander. And here is my food. I will be back.
***
Lets start from the beginning. My flight took off around 8pm last night. I watched a couple of sitcoms, 27 dresses, and...get this MK...they showed Top Gear. I ate chicken covered in a green sauce even though I'd asked for the pasta. I didn't sleep. That's enough about the flight.
I got in with no problems but when I tried to get a train ticket the machine rejected my atm card and asked for a pin for my credit card (I do not know a pin for my credit card). I thought for sure that I was screwed and would have to spend the entire week scraping by on only the few Euros I'd bought off my sister. Luckily later I managed to use both with no problems.
I found my hostel easily but couldn't check in for three more hours. I dropped off my bag though and went out wandering. I saw some sites, took some pictures, got lost, got unlost, found my way back to the hostel and checked in. I took a shower standing next to the toilet. There was just a shower spout and afterwards I had to mop up and squeegee the floor. I shouldn't complain though as it was pretty damn good to have a shower at all.
After freshening up I wandered off to find the Anne Frank Huis because I figured by that time it wouldn't be too crowded. I took off down the wrong side of the canal and then walked the other way back. At one point I found myself walking into a roped off line then quickly got out then realized that that was exactly the line I wanted to be in. It was pretty much unassuming...which...when you think about it...makes the most sense in the world.
The tour was sad and beautiful and powerful. Although, I felt kind of bad that I kept thinking that the apartment they were hiding in was way bigger than anything I'd ever be able to afford. It was interesting to go through because you actually entered through the door that was hidden behind a bookcase. You actually had to kind of hop up behind it. You actually had to walk up teeny tiny small stairs to get to the top. Anne's room was still decorated with movie star posters. And, the diary was right there. Although, it was a reproduction because they were safeguarding the real one until they adjusted the atmosphere or whatnot.
After the house I wandered around some more. Stumbled upon some statues. Stumbled upon some more canals. Then walked around huge blocks for forever until finally working up the nerve to get a meal. Let's just say Dutch food is...well...Dutch food. I had a hutspot, which is a dish with mashed potatoes mixed with carrots and onion, braised beef, bacon, and sausage. I hate sausage but I ate half of it anyways. (and, btw, my camera fixed itself by the time the meal came... thank god.)
After my dinner I wandered my way around some more. I sat down in the square for a bit, just to be out, but then this old(er) Kenyan guy started hitting on me and I had to get away. I was going to go to bed, because I believe I have now been awake for about 38 hours...but fuck it. I'm writing my journal and drinking a Heineken at my hostel bar. Everyone else is with someone else and I have a feeling I'm going to be on my own the whole week. And I don't know if I like this feeling.
Guy: So, are you the official photographer?
Val: No, I'm just a big competitive eating fan.
Guy: I'm not going to lie. That's kind of weird.
So, it's not that me being a little weird of a person is any big news to anyone. But, every once in a while you are confronted with a situation which may just illustrate how odd you are. And, well, when you are seemingly the only person to show up to watch a hot-dog eating contest that is not either related to or friends with a competitor, you may start to reevaluate your life choices...or you just realize that perhaps you are the most awesome person ever and just enjoy the day. I will go with the latter.
Saturday afternoon the Matteson Sam's Club hosted a hot-dog eating contest which served as one of the qualifying rounds for the big Fourth of July competition. It's not often that there is an official IFOCE (International Federation of Competitive Eating) contest anywhere near Chicago, so when there is you know I'm there.
The way these qualifiers work is that there are usually one or two ranked or emerging competitors with the rest being locals who just want to try it out. While I was waiting I walked around for a bit to talk to some of the people because, hey, why not? No one had any clue how much they'd eat and I think everyone thought I was a reporter at first and then thought I was crazy when I said I was just a fan. Yes, yes, I think I am officially a groupie :)
The event started out with a "neat" eating contest for youngins where they each got a hot dog with ketchup and had to eat it without getting anything on them. Heck, I certainly can't do that. After that was the main event.
One by one the competitors took their places, prepared their drinks of choice, and were handed a plate full of hot dogs. In the middle, in the prime position, was Tim "Gravy" Brown, the number 13-ranked eater and obvious frontrunner. Next to him was a newcomer Patrick Vandam (another Pat!!!) who had only competed in 3 or 4 competitions thus far.
The countdown began and they were off. The two in the middle gobbled down while everyone else took their time. Actually, after a few minutes many of them kind of just stopped eating and started watching Pat and Tim battle it out. It was pretty fierce. Patrick began edging out Tim, being passed plate after plate of hot dog.
It wasn't the sheer speed or the commonly-used shaking technique that surprised me about this newcomer. It was his level of cleanliness. Seriously, I think he would have cleaned up (no pun intended) in that neat eating contest. I've met some of these eaters right after a competition before, and let me tell you, it's not always pretty. They usually are kind of sweaty and covered in water/juice/milk and have food particles all over. He had no crumbs. Almost nothing. It was pretty insane.
Anyways...as the final moments ticked down it was slightly unclear who would win. But in the end the upset was announced: Tim Brown with 28, Patrick Vandam with 31. Not bad not bad.
Everyone else I'd talked to said they'd eaten about 7. One guy said he had one. Then I went and got my picture taken with Pat. :)
It was a totally awesome contest. Nad, Bryan, and I are going to try to make it to Coney Island for the big one on the Fourth. I can't wait!!!
PHOTOS HERE!!!
p.s. Next up...day-by-day replay of my week in Amsterdam!!!!! Its the recap you've been waiting for!
OK, we're going to work backwards here...
Last night was JoeJoe's birthday. OK, so TODAY was JoeJoe's birthday but we celebrated last night.
About 45 minutes after I was supposed to get there JoeJoe gave me a call because he was worried about me. I told him I was there but just trying to find parking so he offered to come help. This offered up a brilliant opportunity. Julie was in my car. Julie, who as far as Joe knew was 1,000 miles away in Florida. So...while we waited for Joe to come down, Julie hid in the back seat of my car, and when Joe sat down inside, She jumped up with a pompom and yelled "surprise!" And that, well, totally surprised the heck out of Joe :)
After finding parking we headed back to Joe's place, ate some pizza, played some Mario Kart, watched some blueray. And Alina baked a yummy cake! Then we headed off to a bar where I got my fav raspberry beer and we all chatted for a bit and I tried my damndest not to fall asleep.
I got some pictures here.
Well...I think I managed to totally surprise Heather last night. Josh texted me that he was organizing a little engagement celebration get-together in Champaign. I really should eventually get some sleep, so I debated whether I should drive the two hours, but, come on, your twin sister only gets engaged once in her life, right?
So after work I took off and met up at Jeff's place where we played Mario Cart. For the record, "Val's even in front of you" is not an acceptable insult :(
We finally headed over to the bar around 10pm and Heather was certainly surprised to see me, especially since she didn't expect for anyone to be there.
It was great to see her and see the ring and hear about the engagement. The ring didn't fit so she wore it on her middle finger and flicked people off with it. She is so happy. And she asked me to be her wedding photographer! :)
It was odd to see Champaign, because it is SO different, but it was kind of fun to be back there chilling at a bar. And it was fun to hang out with Jeff and Lindsay so hopefully I will be taking some more trips soon.
Oh, and James was totally hitting on me all night. He even stole my phone and texted himself with it to get my number. Just sayin. hahaha.
So congratulations to my twin Heather. You are going to be a beautiful bride (well...as long as you don't flick people off too much at the wedding). And Josh, you best treat her right. :-)
More photos here!!!
Seriously people, stop getting engaged already!
I now know TEN couples getting married, presumably within about the next 2 years. I happen to know of those TEN couple THREE of the weddings are within nine days of each other. So...lets catch up on the congratulations to those who got engaged while I was away...
Congratulations Joe and Meredith!!!!
Congratulations Heather and Josh!!!!
In all seriousness, I couldn't be happier for the four of you!!! And, I mean, it does mean that I get to buy ten new dresses :-)
I don't think I have ever even left Illinois before completely on my own. So why I decided to pick up and travel to Amsterdam all by my lonesome is pretty much beyond me.
After day two I knew what I was going to write here: that this trip was simultaneously the best thing and worst thing I have ever done.
After seven days though, there is only one thing to say: this trip was the fucking best thing I have ever done thus far in my life. Period.
Amsterdam was...
Oh fuck it, Amsterdam really was:
While I was gone I kept a blog away from blog (aka my paper journal) so I'll be typing that up and posting all about it next week. I have a pretty busy weekend ahead though so you probably won't see much else before Sunday or Monday. Plus I'm pretty exhausted and go straight back to work tomorrow. It will probably be a few weeks before you get all my photos. But don't you worry, they'll be worth the wait.
In the land of tulips, wooden shoes, windmills, sex museums, and coffeeshops!!!
So...I'll be in Amsterdam for the next week!
Eep!
Can you believe this vacation is here already? I sure can't!
What am I going to be doing there? Ummm...who knows! I don't really have any plans for once I get there. I'm mostly just going to play is by ear. I'm going all by myself and everyone thinks I'm brave. But really I'm not brave but am trying to teach myself to be. I think it's gonna be a blast!!!!
I may post while there...who knows...if not, see you in a week!
1. Happy Birthday Chris!
Yesterday was Chris's birthday, so today there was a party! We ate food including some yummy red beans and rice (and I made a yummy onion dip, and I cried A LOT making it because my eyes are wusses) and watched Snatch, which I have never seen before.
2. Sorry, that was a really crappy recap.
3. After completely filling a 4gb CF card in 7 hours on Friday night, I decided that the 12gb of storage I curently had wouldn't be enough...so I bought another 8gb card...and now I have 20gb.
face painting.
rain.
fire dancers.
performance art.
rubber monkeys.
midnight circus.
Looptopia photos here.
You know what sucks about being sick for 3 months straight and being too stubborn to go to a doctor? You totally forget about your list and/or knocking anything off of it. So, what's Val's total for April? Zero. A big fat zero. Don't worry though...May will be a huge month of making up for it...Trust me, I'm going to get interesting again soon, I swear. Who wants to have an Indiana Jones marathon before the new movie comes out???
Brush up on flash (3)
I have been working on it...
Go to a coffee shop at least twice a month to write (5)
Did it this month
Watch all the seasons of 24 (3)
Watched part of season 3. The first episode was all about Jack's drug problem. It was hard to get into.
April total: 0
March total: 1
February total: 5
January total: 13
Total Points: 19
1. My car is on Google Maps!!!!!
2. I got a raise yesterday! :-)
3. MK held a beer tasting last night at Taylor Brewing. By beer tasting that apparently meant just come and order a beer. I was almost done with my raspberry wheat (I SWEAR) but then Scott ruined it for me by pouring his tasting glass into mine :( While MK was working he was not eating his food...and it was right there...so I may have eated a handful or 2 of his fries...and maybe some of the bacon off his burger...
4. A conversation:
LINK7182: how was beer?
faeriewingtips: ok
faeriewingtips: ohno, sex is coming back
faeriewingtips: that was really out of context
5. I forgot how much I hate my natural hair color
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