Biggest fan

this was saturday a week ago. the little boy in the green shirt was so very happy and bouncing around... many, many times he tried to climb the stage, and a few times he actually did. so funny to suddenly see him sitting on the stage. until his mom got him off again... but then he returned at another place and did it again.

today the train was delayed when getting back from work. actually, i ran for it (if i dont i have to wait 15 minutes, and i dont like waiting), but then i just sat in the train, and it didnt move. after 2 minutes i got annoyed (with trains and such i get annoyed easily). with 5 i wondered what was going on (as were my fellow passengers. people started to check their watches. ah no, their phones. i checked my watch). a little later the train driver announces that the conductor is missing. by then i could almost take another train that would actually be more convenient for me (as i then dont need to take the subway, but immediately would get where i had to go). another train comes in and i hestitate a bit more (my more convenient train?!). in the end i did get out, only to get into an even later train in the same direction... :(

the worst part of it all? the above is extremely boring, AND they were actually handing out free icecream at the station to celebrate that they finished some major construction work. i passed, since i had to run for my 20+ minutes delayed train.... :(

Train rides...

i think this was a tulip field or something.... very flat, of course... :) theres always a tree-lined road somewhere near or in the distance (do you see the dots in the back?), very dutch too.... when in the train from amsterdam to utrecht (or groningen to utrecht), you speed through many green pastures. some with cows, others with sheep... some empty. i like staring out of the window, letting it all pass by. yesterday morning everything was covered in a layer of fog, and it was just so beautiful! for a moment i truly enjoyed the trip and didnt mind i was up so early....

in the afternoon the train was a little crowded, so when i finally found a seat, it was taken by a backpack. the girl in the seat next to the bag ignored my "sorry" (in american it would be "excuse me", of course). then she ignored some other noise i produced to make clear i wanted that seat ( i think the noise really made clear that she better remove the bag that instant, but she didnt even look up!) then, a bit louder (it felt like i was screaming but i probably wasnt), i asked (actually demanded) to sit there... she looked really pissed off and very slowly removed her bag, but continued to take more space than necessary. in the meantime someone else had removed his bag too, but by then the only seat i wanted was the one she refused to give up for as long as possible.

instances like that really make me dislike people. the entire train ride i was furious and she probably wasnt even aware that her behavior was ridiculous. i wonder whether at such moments it would be good if people could read my thoughts....? most likely not, during my commutes i have a lot (and i mean a LOT) of bad thoughts about the people around me... just like they have about me.... maybe?

Early trains....

here you see 2 dutch train engines.

and then i wrote an entire story about my experience with trains since i went to secondary school. i was so bored by it that i removed it again.... :)

lets just say i took the train this morning at 6.45 am from groningen. i think i slept a bit during this ride, and i hope i didnt drool. i did catch myself with my mouth open, and wonder whether the lady opposite of me noticed it too; it probably wasnt pretty. i also tried to read, yet most of the times i was just holding the book and had my eyes closed. i dragged my laptop with me; i was certain i would work the 2 hours i was sitting in the train, but i didnt even get the thing out of my bag........

i still need to get used to commuting..... or at least spend this time in a more useful way..... 

i did see a rainbow last week. it was very pretty :) (but im not carrying my camera at the moment, like i used to in boston)

Dutch landscape

ooohh... how different is the dutch landscape from the american (or well, some parts of texas were rather flat as well and actually reminded me of the netherlands)... this we saw last weekend from the moving train (thats why the trees in the front are not sharp). so flat... endless green fields and some trees perfectly aligned along a road. (although endless.... soon enough you are again in a crowded city). only the cows are missing from this pic! :)