something other than bikes and pancakes

you want to know a little more about what im doing up here in the north west of europe do ya? well i just finished a marathon of 5 essays in 5 days! nope thats not how hard they work you here in amsterdam, thats just how hard i made it for myself by having a holiday at an inappropriate time... but all that writing (it was somewhere near 6000 words) did make me think just a little bit, and there was one particular thing that i felt was share-worthy... its a concept that a guy (actually a really famous british sociologist) called anthony giddens came up with that just keeps bouncing around in my head, it may do the same if you're one of the 'just-about-everyone-i-know' people in a relationship, well, actually i think it affects all of us but here goes: he talks about how the institution of family is becoming more flexible, how we are increasingly free to choose our mates and how we relate to them, sounds good huh? in fact he goes on to say that this creates unparalleled opportunities... but and its a big butt... it also creates a lot of work, because a relationship becomes a reflexive project which has to be interpreted, maintained and at times worried over... no those arent all my own words, but you get the point, no? cant we go back to the simple days, i want a white picket fence... i think... you happy now, davo?

the italy experience

start with cold pizza in the park... then walk along a big old river



to a reaaallly famous old building (or is it a reaaallly old famous building?)



but make sure u watch out for the italian traffic...

shiny things

aah i nice shiny apple laptop sure keeps you warm at night... nope its not mine, although i should have mine in a day or three, im just house sitting for a friend and in return for taking care of the kittens i get to play with her laptop, and wireless internet, and that has taken up just about all of my time! well, apart from it being 2 degrees outside, actually that has something to do with it, it might snow... i was going to say that apart from that, things are looking pretty peachy up here in north western europe, the sycip is on its way back home, all shiny and new, they even fixed the dents, those nice men at the bike factory are quite something huh..? pictures to follow

is it too late to say 'happy new year'?

so we're back from italy feeling over pizza-ed and a little broke, what a cool experience tho! new years eve was spent with a bottle of champagne (and thousand or so other people also with bottles of champagne) on a hill overlooking rome watching the fireworks, then we were prevented from going to a party a long way away by the diabolical taxi system in rome, we just couldnt get one... but all ended well cos i got to eat a donut that was to big to hold with one hand! well anyway, its a new year and i wish you all well! i got an appointment with a coach at the university of amsterdam sport centre, its time to get back into shape!