There once was a boy named Mike.
He lived on First Ave with his bike.
He came from New Glarus
And he was Swiss, thus the fairest.
And he danced to Scissors Sisters, Clarkson, and the like.
Posted by: patriciamar | February 23, 2009
Limericks about my Neighbors
Posted by: patriciamar | February 22, 2009
Taking the Day off…
Every once in a while you really need to just take the day off. I’m not really talking about a vacation day from work, but a day in the weekend (or go ahead and take a vacation day…). The important thing is to be able to take a day off and not feel guilty about doing nothing. Also, doing nothing does not actually have to be doing nothing. You can just do things you have been wanting to do (for you) and actually do them (again without guilt). Watch a movie, read a book, go sit outside in the sun and drink lemonade (fresh squeezed, of course), write limericks about your crazy neighbors, or read wikipedia articles all day. Just do whatever you want. And don’t feel bad. I’m sure most of you are thinking about how you can easily do this and you don’t know what guilt I’m even referring to. Yeah, right.
Today, I drank coffee and ate suikerbrood. Then I watched Friends, wrote, made pea soup (seriously) and then watched the Parent Trap (new). I ate pea soup, and I ate a lot of chocolate too. (Bon Bon Bloc, in case you’re wondering). Maybe next I’ll watch the Parent Trap (old). I did help Matt identify relative and complement clauses in Aymara…. but that was just for a few minutes.
I think I might have another cup of coffee and stay up all night. I really love taking the day off.
Posted by: patriciamar | February 22, 2009
Naming your Pet
Naming a pet can be a difficult task. When I see an animal, I usually instinctually feel a name for it. In Leiden, our building is blessed with a fairly good sized lawn and thus, a number of dogs taking care of things. With each dog (and one cat), I like to choose a name that I think best represents the being. This is, of course, all in good practice for when Matt realizes that we should get a beautiful bear puppy. Or at least a turtle. Or maybe a fish.
If you need an original name for your pet, you can always contact me and I can help you by creating a list of possibilities. I will need a picture of the being in order to best produce suitable names. For your reference, I have included some additional rules and commentary that should be used by everyone when naming a pet. Please not that this list is only for pets, and does not at all apply to humans. I once had a doll named Ennhiahlaiynah (Enni for short). I’m not so good with the human-like names.
1. Did you ever notice that a huge number of pets are named after Native American tribes? Why is this?
2. Do not name your pets after friends or relatives. I’m pretty sure that this is just insulting.
3. I have noticed that many pet names are adjectives. This is okay. (Spunky, Jolly). Try adding a -y to any word to make a great pet name (Lampy, Pluggy, Muggy) (Yes, I am sitting at a desk, but aren’t they all cute names?) Puns are also fun (Long Hair(d)y= Long Harry). Just kidding, that wasn’t a good one.
4. I’m really better at this than it seems. I think I’m having an off-night. I really do need to see the pet.
Posted by: patriciamar | February 10, 2009
Copious Amounts of Nutella
Just how much is a copious amount of Nutella? This seems like a quite logical question, as I would have to think it would vary greatly among users. And what exactly is Nutella? Truthfully, I believe it is a type of Hazelnut spread. To be even more truthful, I would say it is a chocolate and hazelnut spread that probably crosses the line of a breakfast spread for toast and borders more on frosting.
I typically eat it on toast for breakfast.
With sprinkles.
And I’m actually not even kidding.
Though I will admit that one piece is plenty, two is a bit much for breakfast.
Besides Nutella or toast with sprinkles (okay, so I combine both and this isn’t reeeaally a typical Dutch thing, but oh, well) a typical Dutch breakfast consists of a cheese sandwich and a half liter of milk. A typical Dutch lunch consists of a cheese sandwich and a half liter of milk. Sometimes a fried croquette accompanies this… Yet another typical Dutch treat. A typical Dutch dinner consists of something… and potatoes. And likely bread, and probably a half liter of milk. Although this may seem like a strange diet at first, is it really that strange? In Minnesota, I would argue that we drink copious amounts of milk, a pretty good amount of potatoes, and meat. Lots of meat. Most international students that I discuss the Dutch diet with are most shocked about the amount of milk. A half liter per day… “hmm,” they think, “this is quite a bit.” But then when you clarify – no a half liter per meal; usually just astonishment. I admit that I do not drink a half liter of milk with each meal, but yesterday when I realized that my milk was unopened and was best if consumed by today, I still managed to drink the whole liter, and it really wasn’t that big of a deal. Yum.
Posted by: patriciamar | February 9, 2009
Happy 434th Birthday Universiteit Leiden!
Posted in education, Etc., Nederland | Tags: Leiden University, Universiteit Leiden
Posted by: patriciamar | February 9, 2009
Why does Gmail make my browser stop working???
Lately, Gmail has been causing my browser to stop working. Normally, this occurs when I have had a browser open for a long time (for multiple other sites, etc.), or when I have several tabs open. This probably means that it is caused by some type of memory (cache?) being full. But I am not sure. This whole ordeal saddens me, as I am usually quite dedicated to Gmail and its simple and carefree usage. I also find the Calendar, Google Books, and Google Scholar quite amazing. Google Scholar actually seems to work better than my own university library website. I guess 434 years doesn’t really make you good at technology.
Posted by: patriciamar | February 6, 2009
Biking and cell phone usage: An epidemic
Most days in Leiden are fairly rainy. If it not actually raining, then it has or will surely rain within 60 minutes. On a nice day, when the sky is blue, Dutchers somehow know that it is not going to rain. The world goes crazy. People are trimming trees, driving tractors on the streets, and talking on their cell phones while biking. They buy inappropriately huge things and bike home with them, and they eat long meals outside.
To me, this is all usually quite shocking, because I am thinking, this is the Netherlands, it could rain at any second… But again: They know.
Trimming trees seems to be somewhat of a Dutch pastime, because they truly love to do it. Clearing branches, cutting down weird trees, clearing brush from the edges of the canals, pruning the trees around the bikepaths so there is Plenty of room for the heads of tall bikers, they love it. Yesterday, I saw three tractors driving on the street. Sometimes with a full bucket. A fellow international here mentioned this and I didn’t really believe them at first. The next day I saw a mini-backhoe with tracks driving down Stationweg in central Leiden. I don’t know what was more surprising: the fact that a backhoe was driving (on tracks!) down the main street of historic central Leiden towards the train station, or that it was possible to make a fully functional backhoe this tiny. The Dutch really do like things small.
On a side note, until today, I was apparently unaware that there is only one t in pastime. Pasttime. Pastime. Hmm.
Posted in Etc., Nederland, Transportation | Tags: backhoe, biking, cell phones, Dutchers, Leiden, rain, Stationweg, tree trimming
Posted by: patriciamar | February 4, 2009
Dancing in the Moonlight just outside of Room Eleven
Dancing in the Moonlight really makes my heart soar. And I haven’t even actually danced in the moonlight with Dancing in the Moonlight.
I have a friend who wishes she were born a few centuries back… you know, so she could actually be Jane Austen rather than simply reading her books and watching Becoming Jane in every spare moment. I think I would prefer to have been born in the fifties. Wouldn’t it be nice to actually wear go-go boots. In all honesty, I’m actually not sure what a go-go boot looks like. And I’m not actually sure if the fifties were the right era to wear them. But they sound great. I bet they were always dancing in the moonlight in go-go boots in the fifties.
This past Wednesday, we went to a Room Eleven concert, bought a cd afterwards and got to meet Janne Schra and the adorable and super talented men in the band. I was so happy that my heart was again soaring. What a cute little Dutch girl and what a wonderful voice. I cannot wait to get the next cd and I recommend that you all do the same as well. I am particularly fond of La, La, Love; Hey, Hey, Hey; and Lovely Morning. I hope that they bring you joy too.
I hope the previous paragraph was cheesy enough for you Melissa. I wrote it specifically for you. Because you loathe bloggers… Although who could blame you really, people blabbering on about their day, what they ate for breakfast and how they felt when they first heard that fabulous song, Dancing in the Moonlight. Why would anyone read that kind of nothing???
Yet we have to.
W have to watch the head roll and we feel the need to write 25 things about ourselves and our habits and post it on Facebook. (I’d like to note that this week has been particularly nauseating). Misschien (perhaps) later I will elaborate on the Facebook hot sheet and how it plays an integral role in my life here in Leiden.
Posted in music | Tags: Becoming Jane, Dancing in the Moonlight, Facebook, go-go boots, Jane Austen, Janne Schra, Leiden, Melissa, Room Eleven, the fifties
Posted by: patriciamar | February 2, 2009
Wish List for De Verenigde Staten van Amerika
Now that we have purchased plane tickets and I have a definite time frame for how long it is before I am back in de Verenigde Staten van Amerika for a bit, I can make my wish list. So far Matt has scoffed at everything but one thing on the wish list. I can’t imagine why.
1. Canned frosting – the pink kind
2. Peanut butter – They do have peanut butter here and I realize and admit that they have an abundance of kinds, even American Style, but there is still something missing. I think it’s sugar. Apparently it is not the peanut part that I like, but the creamy deliciousness, sugar, and high fructose corn syrup. Shoot.
3. New Yorkers – It’s just not the same online
4. my garlic press – I don’t need it, I just miss it.
5. Hummus powder
6. Wasabi powder
Cocoa used to be almost number one on the list, but someone recently gave me some and told me where to buy it. Gracias a Dios. I just don’t know how to make good brownies with real chocolate.
I’ve just realized that this list makes me seem very American. And kind of spoiled. I will work on this, but right now I just can’t stop thinking about pink frosting in a can. Yum.
Posted in food, Minnesota, Travel | Tags: cocoa, de Verenigde Staten, frosting, garlic press, hummus, New Yorker, peanut butter, plane tickets, wasabi, yum
Posted by: patriciamar | January 27, 2009
How to be Extravagant
– be allergic to a lot of things
-constantly talk about your health, your weight, your skin, the moisture level of your hair
-complain about having to tip and then tip too much
-buy a lot of mittens
-go to the following website, and do everything on it… religiously http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/full-list-of-stuff-white-people-like/ (please note: in no way do I support this blog, the things on it, the racism I believe it entails, and so what if I like sea salt better than regular salt. It’s like taking a long, fresh sip of clean and refreshing ocean water.)
-start a blog
-have an unlimited cell phone plan
-prefer sea salt over regular salt
Posted in Etc. | Tags: extravagance, mittens, sea salt
If all were to go swimmingly... 