2006/2007

"Let this coming year be better than all the others.
Vow to do some of the things you've always wanted to do
but couldn't find the time.
Call up a forgotten friend.
Drop an old grudge, and replace it with some pleasant memories.
Vow not to make a promise you don't think you can keep.
Walk tall, and smile more. You'll look ten years younger.
Don't be afraid to say, 'I love you'.
Say it again.
They are the sweetest words in the world."
- Ann Landers

Cheers to a New Year and another chance to get it right.
Let’s make it a wonderful and happy year!

To all my Blogger Friends, Readers and Everyone!

In the flurry of the season,
may you find time to dream,
time to wonder,
time to remember,
time to celebrate and
time to be.
Peace, fun and joy to you at Christmas and always!

Wanna play?

Christmas is (or can be) fun, but sometimes you just want to do something else for 5 minutes. So, are you bored, sick of it all or….just want to play a nice little game (for 5 minutes, of course ;)), here are some suggestions:

Elf attack
Sleigh away
Rudolph's kick 'n fly

Have Fun!

The Holiday Game!

Last Thursday I told you I am going the play a game with some friends on Christmas Eve. Here is the game we are going to play.

This is nice alternative way to celebrate Christmas (Sinterklaas or any other gift giving holiday).

What you’ll need:

• Everyone who is going to play the game needs to bring three (one thing they want to give away*/one thing they would want to get themselves/and one hideous object) wrapped gifts. Before hand you decide (together) the amount you are going to spend (5 or 10 euro/pound/dollar is a nice amount per gift).
• A die/dice
• A clock/timer
• Chance-cards (optional!. – you can find two files at the bottom of this post. If you are going to use these, you will also need some paper, a printer and scissors)
• Fun friends/relatives.
• Time!

When people enter the room, they place their gifts on a pile (or in a big basket) in the centre of the room. Gifts stay wrapped until round 3
Now gather around, take a seat and let the game begin!

Round 1
Set the timer for 30 minutes or keep an eye on the clock
Ask the youngest person to roll the die to start the game (the game is played clockwise)
The eyes on the die will tell you what to do next. When your result is:

Lucky you, you may roll the die again.


Give the die to the person on your right (the game will be played counter clockwise now. When someone throws a 4, the game will be played clockwise again)

Lucky you, you don’t have to do a thing


Give the die to the person sitting two seats on the left of you


Return one gift to the pile, if you don’t have any gifts you don’t have to do a thing


Hooray, you may take a gift from the pile


When the time is up, it’s time for a little break. Get some snacks or drinks, change the music, go to the bathroom or just relax! (don’t forget to enjoy yourself)

Round 2
Set the timer for 30 minutes or keep an eye on the clock
The game starts with the person who’s turn it was.
Remember: the gifts stay wrapped
Again, the number on the die will tell you what to do next. When your result is:

Lucky you, you may roll the die again.


Give the die to the person on your right (the game will be played counter clockwise now. When someone throws a 4, the game will be played clockwise again)

Give the die to the person sitting two seats on the left of you


Exchange a gift with one of the other players


Nick a gift from one of the other players


Hooray, you may get a gift from the pile. When all the presents are gone you must take a chance cards.

When the time is up, it’s time for a little break. Get some snacks or drinks, change the music, go to the bathroom, have a laugh or just relax!

Round 3
Set the timer for 30 minutes or keep an eye on the clock.
Now everyone gets up and moves to the seat on his left (or move the gifts one place to the left) and now it’s time…..TIME to unwrap the gifts!! When everyone has unwrapped the gifts the game continues (you can still lose gifts)….so here we go again:

Lucky you, you may roll the die again


Give the die to the person on your right (the game will be played counter clockwise now. When someone throws a 4, the game will be played clockwise again)

Give the die to the person sitting two seats on the left of you


Exchange a gift with one of the other players


Nick a gift from one of the other players


Hooray, you may take a gift from the pile. When all the presents are gone you must take a chance cards

The game ends when the time is up! When the buzzer rings you are stuck with the gifts right in front of you. If you are really unlucky this can also mean no gifts at all, but hey…..at least you had fun :) If everyone is displeased with the gifts, you can trade gifts, auction gifts or play another round. Remember: It’s all about fun, it’s not about the presents!

* this can also be something that was given to you once.

Chance cards 1
Chance cards 2

Sometimes I don’t understand…….myself!

Yesterday some of my friends were going to see a play and they invited me to join them because they had an extra ticket. So, I met them at the theatre and while we were enjoying some drinks one of my friends took me aside and said ‘Hmmz, I don’t know if I should tell you this, but I think someone you know might have died last weekend’. It stupefied me for a second but then I replied by saying ‘you must be wrong, no one has called or anything’. ‘Yeah, you are right, but it’s not someone you really know…..it is someone you might have met. Today the paper had some obituaries’ she said. ‘Well what is his or her name then?’ I asked. Unfortunately she couldn’t remember, but she mentioned a few people and businesses I (sort of) know. The rest of the evening I was lost in thought, trying to figure out who this person could be. I actually can’t remember the play at all.

When the play ended, I didn’t stay for drinks but went home instead. I looked up the obituaries online and soon discovered I actually knew the person my friend had been talking about. Hmmz…knew is a big word in this case! I met the guy a couple of times and had a really nice, but above all, interesting conversation with him once. While I was looking at the obituaries my mood changed and I am not really sure why. I felt so incredibly sad, it was almost like I had lost a very close friend and today I am not really myself either…….

And that’s the part I don’t understand. Why does his passing affect me this much? Is it because:

- it is almost Christmas?
- I am just an emotional flake?
- I am thinking of his family and friends?
- Someone I actually do know, liked (admired is probably a better word) this guy enormously?

Or is it just because this guy was so passionate about everything (life, love, work and people), that he has left an everlasting impression that will live on, in me and so many others?!

He will be missed....

4 days and counting!

‘Are you stressed yet?’ one of my friends asked yesterday, and my answer was ‘No, I am actually quite relaxed!’ I said. She looked at me with surprise, because she almost has steam coming out of her ears. She is going to have to entertain 20 people in the next couple of days. Luckily I opted for a relaxed Christmas this year.

I am having a small informal party for close friends on Christmas Eve. I don’t have to get a lot of groceries in because every one is going to bring something. Just for fun we are going to play a dice/gift exchanging game (maybe I’ll post the rules later!

On Christmas Day I am going to have a friend over for dinner and we are going to cook, sing and have fun together. Not sure what I am going to on Boxing Day though, I could visit my family, go to the beach, have brunch with some friends or stay at home! I’ll decide then and there I guess! So, no stress for me :)

Although……I discovered today that other people's stress can be contagious. I went to the supermarket today and a lot of the stuff was sold out already, so other people where getting really hot and bothered. They were sighing, complaining, pushing and shoving etc. and I felt the stress creeping in ……. fortunately I encountered a lady in one of the aisles and she was singing along with the Christmas songs, smiling at her daughter and enjoying the whole Christmas experience. She really made my day!

A bit of fun :-)

Still looking for a Christmas e-card? These two are hilarious:

A Christmas Pick-Me Up
Personalized Christmas Hits

Cartoon Tuesday: Very helpful

Dad.

For those of you who expect a Mind, Body & Soul Session today, I’ve a bit of disappointing news: I am not posting any session today. Why not? Well, today is a bit of a different day for me. On this date, December 17th, in the year 1928, my Dad was born. So, today he would have turned 78. I often wonder what he would look like today. I guess he would look older, his hair would be grey, but in essence he would be the same remarkable man (or at least I hope so). We had an amazing and loving relationship and I often wonder what kind of relationship we would have had if he was still alive. Maybe it all would have changed over the years, like the relationship with my Mum has changed too. When I was young, me and my Mum couldn’t get along, but we are doing pretty okay now.

In the twenty years since his passing, there have been times when I wished painfully that my Dad could be a part of my life. Times when I wanted to hug him, share some exciting news with him, ask for his advice or just have a chat. I’ve done and seen a lot of things. Many things have changed and some have stayed the same……. I still miss my Dad very much. Today was his birthday. He was remarkable man, a loving Dad and husband and extraordinary friend. I didn't have my Dad long enough but I am very thankful I had him as long as I did.

Last year I wrote a message to my Dad and everything in there still applies, so I am not going to write another one. Instead I want to share a song (Dad by K's Choice) with you (for a limited time only*). A song that always reminds me of my Dad, a song I know by heart, a song that sometimes makes me cry and other times makes me smile, a song that I love.....

Dad……. I LOVE you!

* I have removed the mp3, but if you are interested , you can still find the song on You Tube where it was used in a video (not mine)

O Dennenboom, oh Christmas tree, O Tannenbaum.

One of the things I like most about Christmas is the tree, or to be more precise the hunt for the tree. Strange really, because I know a lot of people who actually detest that part of Christmas. They even got a fake artificial tree in the house, so they won’t have to go through the whole ordeal year after year. I personally don’t like a fake tree and I think it is kind of funny that people are not willing to go out and buy a tree but are, instead, willing to spend an evening (or a day) assembling the tree, bending every branch into the right shape.

Like I said, I actually like it. I like the smell of the trees; I like all the people who are looking for their “perfect” tree, the smell of gluhwein and hot chocolate, the burning fires (when it’s cold – not happening this year!) and the fun that can be had with the tree sellers. Every year this whole ritual brings back a lot of memories too, lovely memories.

When I was a kid, we would go Christmas tree shopping with the whole family, which was sort of fun in the beginning, but the mood radically changed most of the time. First my brother would get bored and then my Mum would get fed up with the fact that my Dad could never find his “perfect” tree. So, when I was old enough, it became a father and daughter “hunt for the perfect Christmas tree”, which was fun. It usually meant we would spend most of the day together, going from one garden centre to another, going from one stall to the next and then back again to the first garden centre to check their stock one more time. In the car we would discus the trees we had seen, all the pros and the cons, sing songs and chat about random stuff. At the time it was just a great day out with my dad, but in retrospect it was a day of learning too. He taught what to look for in a tree (fullness, height, width and colour), how to interact with the sales people (be polite, friendly and don’t forget to smile), how to transport a tree (make sure you have a rope with you) and never forget to bring some gloves.

Last Saturday I bought my tree for this year and I truly believe it is the perfect tree. Thanks for the lessons Dad. There was one downer though, I think I might have been to friendly to the tree selling guy…..he wanted to know my name and phone number :)

* No, it did not snow, that isn't my tree, and most certainly not my car.

Should I stay or should I go?

Blogger really has been getting on my nerves lately. On certain (or should that be uncertain?) day's people can’t log in, the next day others can’t log in, and on the third day I can’t log in or post a comment on other blogs. This is starting to drive me mad. So, recently I’ve been thinking about moving my blog.

Since Snowqueen’s move, I’ve been reading more Wordpress blogs and I like what I see. I like the variety of templates they offer, the clean look most blogs have and the fact that visitors don’t have to become a member when they want to leave a comment. One of the other things I like are “pages”, I think that is one of the things Blogger is still missing. Oh, and did I mentioned that you can import your blog. Actually when I am looking at Wordpress I can’t seem to find anything wrong with it. Do you?

Another option is VOX – a fairly new service, or at least I think it’s fairly new. Some people over on 43T have asked me to join but I still haven’t done it yet. There are a few things I like about VOX. For instance, I like the fact that you can post video and audio files without a lot of hassle and you can also put your books and collections on there just as easily. They have lovely templates and when you are a member you are part of a large international community. Nice, but I think I am part of an international community already! What I don’t like is the fact that only members can comment, that would mean that you, my readers, need to become members too or else you won’t be able to leave comments. In my opinion it is not right to make people do stuff they don’t want to do ;)
On the other hand they have this nice thing going called Qotd – Question of the day…..very handy for the days you don’t have any inspiration :)

And finally there is the third option….Blogger! I like Blogger beta better then the previous version. I like the way you can easily change your template and customize it, I like the new tag option, and……………..hmmz, I guess that’s about it. Somehow I still have the feeling there is a lot of stuff missing.

Okay, I am going to put my thinking cap on………………

The 12 Days of Christmas

Don't laugh! ;)

Cartoon Tuesday: (global) Warming!

Mind, Body & Soul Sessions – Christmas edition.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year?!

Maybe you think it is if you are one of those people who love the holidays, the fresh scent of Christmas trees, the excitement in the air, the hustle and bustle, the food, the family. On the other hands you might think of the holiday season as a stressful time. So, here are some practical suggestions which can help you reduce your 'Christmas stress'.

Keep it simple.
Probably the No. 1 reason for out-of-control stress is trying to overdo it. Does your daydream holiday feature you as the ideal hostess presiding over a magazine-style home? Forget it! Going for perfection could be a recipe for disaster. It’s better to focus on your friends and family, and leave being the super-hostess to the professionals. Don't set yourself unrealistic targets and deadlines.

Plan.
Get organised, prioritise and plan your days. This is easier said than done, but making a list of jobs that need to be done can help you take on one thing at a time. Recognise when something is done or finished and feel good about it.
Pace yourself throughout Christmas and by the time Christmas eve comes along give yourself permission to say 'what isn't done now, won't get done'. Believe these words and relax!

Delegate
Delegate some of the tasks. Christmas is not just down to one person, everyone shares in Christmas. When you feel the stress creeping in, let other members of the family know how stressed you are feeling

Give the gift of time.
This year, put "quality time" at the top of your to-do list: quality time with your family, friends, and neighbours. Just taking a quiet moment to tell someone how important they are to you can mean so much more than any gift.
Consider organizing a casual potluck dinner for your friends - each can bring their favourite holiday dish, and perhaps you can spread the spirit by carolling after the meal.

Make a list, check it twice.
Make a list of all the gifts you wish to buy before you go shopping. If you wait for inspiration to strike when you are actually doing the shopping, you could be wandering aimlessly around the shopping centre for hours. You'll probably save money if you do all the shopping yourself, but if you don’t have the time to start early, the Internet can be a great place to shop too. Sit back, relax, sip your eggnog, and watch your tree while the gifts are delivered to your door. Oh, and buy a few extras, such as chocolates, just in case you forget somebody or you have unexpected guests bearing gifts.

Don’t forget the most important person.
It's fun to give to others, but in doing so we often forget to treat ourselves. So go ahead and schedule a 30-minute massage. Plan a quiet evening at home with that special someone. Enjoy some candlelight, watch the lights of the Christmas tree, watch your favourite Christmas movie, and buy that beautiful gift you saw for yourself.

Take the time
Write up a Christmas card list and keep it in a safe place so that you can refer to it (and add or delete names) year after year. Plan to write your Christmas cards in early December. Book a date in your diary so you don't forget

Enjoy.
Don’t forget to enjoy the holiday season!

Sometime I don’t understand the society we live in.

Earlier this year, one of my friends was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent surgery and had the tumour removed, did the radiotherapy and is now doing the, not so much fun, chemotherapy bit. Like all (cancer) patients, she has good and bad days, and when she has a good day, she wants to live life to its fullest. So, we go to the theatre, or when she feels like eating, we have a meal together. We fool around like we used to, or we do something that is just plain fun.

Apparently, that is not a thing you should do when you are ill, a cancer patient (and bald – she lost most of her hair right after her first chemo treatment). According to some people she should stay home, preferably in bed with the curtains closed so no one would see her. Some people find it too confronting. Others just stare, like my friend is the first cancer patient ever. Oh, and believe it or not, there are still people out there who think it’s contagious or something. They actually treat my friend like a leper and that is soooo wrong!

You know, I always thought that in this day and age, where 1 in 3 people get cancer, the taboo would be lifted, but apparently it’s not! People are still afraid, people still use the C-word, people stay away, and people just don’t know how to act around cancer patients (acting normal doesn’t seem to be an option, at least not in their minds). Such a shame!

Wouldn’t the world be a better a place if we could talk about anything and everything without feeling embarrassed? I always thought we could, but it appears that we aren’t allowed too. Hmmz… that reminds me of something one of my other friends once said “You know a taboo is a weird thing, take masturbation (I’m sorry if I shocked you here) for example, a huge taboo. People don’t talk about it, people think others should not talk about it, but we all know everyone does it (sooner or later or all the time)”. Okay, maybe a bad example, but there are hundreds of topics people don’t talk about just because it is just “not done” to do so. People are afraid (or ashamed) to talk about (sexual/child/mental) abuse, rape, death, incest, depression, suicide, AIDS, menstruation or whatever. These are all things that are out there in the big bad real world, so why on earth shouldn’t we be able to talk about them. In my opinion life would become a lot easier for millions and millions of people who have to deal/live with some of these issues on a daily basis.

To doodle, or not to doodle.

The last couple of days I’ve discovered, or should I say, rediscovered the pleasure of doodling. I used to do it all the time, but for some reason I stopped. Not sure why though, in my opinion there is nothing better than doing something completely mindless. And all you need is a pen and a piece of paper……who needs computers? Not sure, why I tried so hard to repair the damn thing now ;)

Anyway, here is something I doodled over the last couple of days while I was waiting for windows and other stuff to install, waiting for all the updates or yet another reboot sequence.


Of course I am curious, so here is my question to you: Do you doodle? If so, what sort of stuff do you draw? (Oops, those were two questions :))

Woohoo….finally!

Believe it or not, but I’ve done it! I’ve repaired everything, once again :) Hopefully all will keep working for some time now, but I have my doubts. I have a sneaky suspicion my PC is not going to last another year. But hey, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it :)

In other news…..it’s December 5th today and that means it is Sinterklaas. Here is a picture, I took some days ago, of the guy. He is not looking too pleased, but I bet he will be pleased today because this is his day. In this little country called Holland, we celebrate the name day of Saint Nicholas (don’t ask me why ;), it’s just a fun tradition). Anyway, the evening of December 5 is called pakjesavond ("evening of packages"). Traditionally, presents are ingeniously wrapped, and are therefore called surprises. Also, each present is accompanied by a poem from Saint Nicholas.

I haven’t seen any surprises yet but, I was quite surprised when I found a chocolate letter and kruidnoten in a pair of shoes this morning. Rumour has it, Sinterklaas came by last night and left all that lovely stuff in my shoes. Hooray, at least someone thinks I am not naughty….I am nice :) One thing though, he left all the goodies in my running shoes, maybe he is trying to tell me something!

Enjoy pakjesavond or, if you are not Dutch, have a nice evening :)

Dear readers

Just a short message to let you all know, I am still alive :) My PC on the other hand is not doing so great. Yesterday I tried to install Windows on my new HD but as it turned out my original CD was scratched and dented and wasn’t willing to cooperate at all! After a lot of grrrrr’s I finally managed to get XP installed, so today I need to get my ADSL working again, update a lot, install my security again and getting all my files back into place. I’ll probably be back tomorrow!

Thanks for all the nice and helpful comments and Steve thanks for dropping by.

The day my Hard disk died!?

And that day seems to be today. He had not been feeling all that well lately, feeling a bit under the weather, you might say. You could actually say, he was coughing and sneezing a lot and sometimes he even shivered! Just recently I pampered him, gave him (and his other parts) a full check-up, changed some setting and everything seemed okay, but I think it was just a temporary remission. Today….*sigh*….. today, I guess he died!

Okay enough drama for now. Here is what happened. This afternoon I tried to boot my PC. Everything was working fine, XP was starting up nicely, but not as nicely as it normally would. After the first screen the whole process started up again. I discovered that the start-up screen said something different “S.M.A.R.T. capable but disabled” changed that in the BIOS into enabled but still no luck! Nothing has changed. Can someone enlighten me, is my master HD deceased?

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Oh, and in case you are wondering how on earth I was able to post this……well, I still have a very, very old (almost prehistoric) pc hanging around as a backup :)

Oh, I could have ended up a statistics

Yesterday I was reading a really interesting article in a popular science magazine about dying and what happens to the body before and afterwards. A bit morbid maybe, but nonetheless interesting. I’ll spare you all the details, but there was an interesting section called the “causes of death statistics” by Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

In 2005:

136,402 people died in the Netherlands.
Main cause of death: cardiovascular diseases/diseases of the heart - 43,350 people died
Second place goes to: cancer – claming 40,373 people
Third place: respiratory diseases, pneumonia and influenza – killed 14,315 people.
After that, there is a whole lot of nothing, followed by psychical problems (including Alzheimer’s) – take 6,436 lives
Problems with digestive organs – 5,384 victims
5,343 people die unnatural or unintentional, think accidents
Interesting fact: People are least likely to die when they have eye problems, only 5 victims a year.

174 people get murdered, 1,572 commit suicide and 1,961 die when they fall.* (Hopefully they didn’t slip on the sidewalk).
Strange, I never realised so many people lost their lives by falling. Did you?

Anyway, I didn’t end up a statistic this time around, but I probably will in the future. After all, everyone dies in the end!

* Leaves 17,489 people who probably died of old age a.k.a natural causes. They aren’t mentioned.

Interesting question!

If you came with a warning label, what would it say?

Today, mine would look like this:

Cartoon Tuesday: One of those?

Ouch! No Mind, Body & Soul session this week.

Yesterday I had a bit of a freak accident. Ouch!! No blood was spilled, no body parts were broken, but the right side of my body is bruised. I am okay, it just hurts! So, I am taking a couple days off to let my body heal! BBL :)

Think Fast Survey

Nicked from Stu (or was it Aoj)

Think Fast Survey- answer with the first thing that pops into your head DONT CHEAT!!!

1. My ex is still…
a very good friend.

2. I am listening to…
music (Ozark Henry – Weekenders)

3. Maybe I should…
stop blogging

4. I love…
old Dutch traditions like Sinterklaas

5. My best friend(s)….
have a lot on their minds right now

6. I don’t understand…
men who think it's okay to harass women

7. I lost …..
myself once. That’s never going to happen again (I hope)

8. People say…
I am weird. Luckily I never listen to people

9. The meaning of my screen name is…
No meaning actually, just a nickname a friend gave me after hearing the Dakota song.

10. Love is…
a mysterious thing.

11. Somewhere, someone is…
actually smiling :)

12. I will always…
be here, there, everywhere

13. Forever seems…
a very long time!

14. I never ever want to …
lose hope!

15. My mobile phone is…
lying on the coffee table….far, far away from me!

16. When I woke up this morning…
I turned the radio on and stayed in bed all warm and comfy for 30 minutes so I could catch the news.

17. I get annoyed at…
UPC

18. Parties are..
fun, fun, fun! Well, most are!

19. My pets…
I don’t have pets. O hold on, I have a timeshare cat called Mies! She is my neighbour’s cat

20. Kisses are…..
priceless

This is un*beeeeeeeeeeeping*believable!

Today I received this little letter addressed to the residents at my address. Since most of you can’t understand Dutch I will translate some of it:

Dear Mrs, Mr,

Currently we are delivering Radio and TV channels via our cable to your door, but according to our administration you are not paying for any of it. Because we like you to pay, we now call your attention to the next few point.

You want to keep receiving all our fabulous Radio and TV Channels. Fine, pay us € 9.53 a month and return the enclosed form to us with all your details.

You are already one of our customers. Please return the enclosed form to us with all your details.

You don’t want to use our great cable service. Fine, we will disconnect you on December 22.

And then they go on about how great they are, blablabla!

Of course this isn’t a literal translation, but you get the meaning. Now, here is the thing ….. they disconnected me without a reason or a warning 2 years ago!! I tried everything to get reconnected again, but every attempt failed. In the end I just gave up. Asked them politely to stick their cable in a place where the sun never shines and happily opted for Digital TV from another company. And now they are telling me I had cable the whole time?

Grrrrrr……

Freakishly weird or just magnificently interesting.

The other day there was a really interesting item in the news. Okay, they usually show interesting topics but this was something different. They had a piece about an exhibition and that’s something we rarely see on the news. ‘It must be something special’ I thought, and I was right.


The BODIES Exhibition, a phenomenal look at the phenomenon we call the human body, is hitting Amsterdam from November 25^th, 2006 till March 15^th, 2007 – Beurs van Berlage.

Some people think it’s tasteless and bizarre, others find it very interesting and wonderful. I admit at first I was a bit grossed out, but after seeing the video’s (About the exhibition – video) I changed my mind and I am rather intrigued by the exhibition.

So, what do you think?

Cartoon Tuesday: Politics ……..

Tomorrow is Election Day, elections for The Tweede Kamer ("second chamber"). Another chance to make my voice heard, another chance to change the political agenda (as if I could do that) for the next four years (if the new cabinet will last that long). Usually I have a fairly good idea which party is going to get my vote, but this year I really don’t know. I am what they call a “hovering voter”.

This year we can chose from 20 political parties and I don’t think that number makes it any easier. 5 of those are the real big ones, 5 are sort of medium size and the rest are new or really small or almost non existent. Two of them don’t even have a name; some of the others have (IMO) nasty names like Party for freedom (or Freedom Party – apparently we are at war and I missed it or something), One NL, Party for the Netherlands. They aren’t going to get my vote. So that still leaves 17 parties to choose from. Okay, the nameless ones aren’t going to get my vote so that is another two gone. If they can’t even come up with a name, I am not sure they could come up with an interesting political program. I am not going to vote on a party with a religious background so that means another 3 gone….still 12 left. Let’s see what left: Party for animals (hmmmz… if they were called “Party Animals” I would consider them ;)), Netherlands transparent, Ad Bos Collective (sounds like a band name), United Senior Party, Fortuyn, Liberal Democratic Party, Continued Direct Democratic Party and the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy. Wow, that’s another 8 gone…..still left with 4:
- Labour Party (PVDA)
- Socialist Party (SP)
- Green Left (Groen Links)
- Democrats 66 (D66)
Kind of an odd selection, but at least it’s a lot less then the 20 I started out with :) Earlier this afternoon I took a little test to see which party has opinions closest to mine and funnily enough these were all in the top5.

I still have some reading to do before I can decide, I guess. In the meantime I’ll keep hovering around, happily :)

I wonder….do these people have any kids?

Last week the UN-climate summit in Nairobi ended with, what they called, a result. Hooray, they are going to cut the emissions, I thought, but that wasn’t it. No, they are going to help Africa so that they can start working with clean technology. Makes sense doesn’t it, because after all Africa has a lot of industrial countries on its continent. Hmmz… when you think about it, it doesn’t make that much sense at all. It would have made more sense if the 35 industrial countries had agreed on using more clean technology themselves, but they didn’t. Instead they tried to agree on a timetable for the completion of discussions on global binding emissions cuts beyond the existing Kyoto Protocol, which means they actually talked about a timetable, a plan, for the past week and a half. And did they actually come up with such a timetable….nope! No clear timetable emerged, so there will probably not be enough time to get new targets into place before 2012, when the Kyoto agreement expires. And because they were so busy talking about the schedule, there wasn’t any time left to talk about another round of mandatory cuts in emissions……obviously!

I had high hopes after reading the Stern Review. I thought that this would open the world’s eyes, but it apparently had not much impact. It's very clear from the Stern Review that we need very rapid cuts in carbon emissions and that it will cost far less to cut emissions now than to deal with the consequences later, so why wait? I don’t know what they are waiting for. If we acted internationally now, things could still be changed around. The world could still be a nice place a hundred years from now, but instead politician and ministers like this option better:

• Floods from rising sea levels (displacing up to 100 million people)
• Melting glaciers which could cause water shortages for 1 in 6 of the worlds population.
• Wildlife will be harmed; at worst up to 40 % of species could become extinct
• Droughts may create tens or even hundreds of millions of “climate refugees”

Prosperity today, is much more important then a healthy liveable planet earth in the future.

I wonder….do these people have any kids?

Mind, Body & Soulsession (#23)

Visualizations for insomniacs

Last week we did a bit of exploring into the world of meditation and visualization and today we are going to explore some more. I am going to introduce you to some visualization techniques for insomniacs (or for people who find it very hard to fall a sleep from time to time). Visualizations are very useful for treating insomnia because they help you relax and will reduce stress levels, both very helpful if you want to fall asleep.
Below I will introduce you to two visualizations (or call them exercises, if you want) you can try. You can choose the one that suits you best, or you can make up your own. No matter which one you choose, they both start off in the same way.

To start:
When it is time for bed, get into bed and prepare yourself for a good and relaxing night.
Lie down in a comfortable position, on your back, stomach or side, every position is okay, and try to relax. You can place your hands on your tummy, rest them by your side or put them under your pillow, whatever feels best. Keep your eyes open for now.
Now are you ready, lets go….

Take a deep slow breath through your nose and release it slowly through your slightly opened mouth, like blowing a kiss or blowing out smoke. Exhale fully!
Take another deep slow breath, deeper this time, count up to 8 and fill your lungs all the way. Release it again, very slowly and gently through the mouth, counting up to 8 again.
Close your eyes relax and feel the stress disappear while you’re breathing out.
Take another, deep breath just like the one before. In through the nose, count up to 8, hold it for a second and breath out through the mouth again.
As you exhale, try to relax your muscles, not just one, but every muscle in your body.
If this feels good already you can keep doing this until you fall asleep, but you can also go to the visualizations. Just pick the one you like best and continue. Eyes closed....start visualizing!

Visualization 1
Forget about the bed; imagine yourself lying on a warm, peaceful exotic beach.
Activate all your senses. Feel the sun on your face, hear the waves gently lapping on the shore and try to breathe slow and deep, in time with the waves. You can just lie there or you can even lie in a hammock if you want (feel the gentle sway of the hammock). Whatever you choose, just lie there and relax. After a while walk up to water and feel the warm sand between your toes. You can go for a walk, if you feel like it, or you can go for a swim, the water isn’t going to be cold, it’s your visualization remember, you can make it as hot or cold as you want. Feel the water caressing your body. When you are done walking or swimming it’s time for some additional relaxation. Visualize an air mattress, no you won’t have to inflate it, that’s already done. Place it on the waves and get on it. Lie in a comfy position and float. Smell the sea, taste the salt on your lips, smell the sun lotion (or leave this part out….you can’t get sunburned in a visualization anyway), hear the birds. Listen, smell and experience everything around you. Now slowly let yourself drift, float on the warm waves, drift, drift, feel the breeze on your skin, hear the wave and the splashing of water, experience your tranquil surroundings….. drift, drift of to sleep.
Sweet dreams!!

(I like to use this visualization when I go to the dentist too, only I’ll stay awake then. In that case I just float around on my air mattress enjoying the scenery, forgetting about the horror that’s going on inside my mouth).

Visualization 2.
Imagine yourself leaving a party. The party was in a penthouse on the hundredth floor. You had an amazing night, which you’ve spent with family, friends, celebrities or your boy-/girlfriend, whatever you pick will do. You are the last to go. One more time you glance outside and watch all the light of the city. Next you’ll get your coat and kiss the host(ess) goodbye and you will leave. Outside the door is a corridor, visualize it. At the end of the corridor you will find the elevator which will take you down. Walk toward (create your surroundings whilst walking over) the elevator and push the button. Ping! The elevator is there. Create the inside of the elevator while the doors open. Listen, is there any music playing, does it smell nice, what are the walls like, and how about the floor? Now get in and look for the elevator panel, study it. Give it the look you like. Done? Now press the button for the ground floor, no fooling around here……you are not allowed to hit every button there is ;)
The doors close as you get a last glimpse of the corridor you just created. Feel the elevator move; you are going down in a nice gentle motion. Look for the light that indicates which floor you are on and start counting backwards accordingly. Here we go, that’s floor 99…(breath in)…, floor 98…(exhale slowly)..zzzzz floor 97…… (breath in slowly and deeply)…….floor 96…..(exhale slowly) and so on. While you feel yourself going down, go with the flow, feel the motion. Continue counting, keep visualizing and breathing deeply and slowly. When you are ready just let yourself drift off.
Sleep well!

Just stir …..and that’s it!

I think I’ve to visit Belgium soon. Why? Because! Kidding…. I’ve found a very interesting, new product online the other day which I, of course, would like to sample. Who knows, you might want to do the same after you have read the rest :)

Do you love dark milk chocolate, based on bitter chocolate? Or milk chocolate with just a hint of sweetness? Or are you more likely to choose a marriage between nuts and chocolate? No, still not a thing you would fancy? Well, how about this one then: Cointreau…..a novel combination of orange liqueur and bitter chocolate? What am I talking about? I am talking about Choc-o-lait here, the new way to make hot chocolate in an instant.
The concept is new and original. They have created something that looks like a chocolate lollypop. It’s a wooden stick with a Belgian chocolate on one end, which rapidly melts in a cup of hot milk. Man, that must result in the best hot-chocolate ever!

Hmmz… not willing to travel to Belgium? Well, you could always make your own hot cocoa. Just put some cocoa in a cup, add some lukewarm milk (not too much) and stir until you have a smooth mix. Add some sugar and steaming hot milk. Of course you can add some whipped cream on top or some marshmallows. You could also use chocolate sauce or syrup. But you probably knew that already, so here is an alternative hot chocolate…..which is very yummy too!

Cocos – Cocoa

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes.
Ingredients:
500 ml ready made/store bought chocolate milk
100 ml coconut milk
25 gr. Dark (bitter) chocolate
4 table spoons Malibu Coconut liqueur
Whipped cream
½ table spoon of grated coconut.

Also needed: 4 mugs and a grater

How to:
Put the chocolate milk and coconut milk in a saucepan
Bring it almost to a boil
In the meantime grate the chocolate
Put a spoon full of Malibu in each mug
Pour the hot chocolate/coconut milk on top of that
Add the whipped cream and garnish with the grated coconut and chocolate.

Enjoy!!

What's next?

I am having a bit of a lousy week. It all started last Sunday. One of my friends was willing to lend me his camera so I could take some "real" photos (most of my pics are taken with my cell phone). I had planned to go to the oldest cemetery in the area. Call me weird, but I like old cemeteries, especially in autumn. There was a time I visited cemeteries every time I went on holiday just to see how other people and cultures honoured their dead.
Sunday, I thought, was the perfect day to visit the old cemetery I had never visited before. The threatening clouds looked just perfect for moody pictures and the fallen leaves would hopefully give the photos just a little bit extra appeal.

Well, I am never going to find out if I was right. When I got to the cemetery the gate was locked. As it turned out, you can only visit these dead folks during office-hours. I was quite flabbergasted because I always assumed that cemeteries only closed between sunset and sunup. And, come on, a lot of people go to the cemetery during the weekends, don’t they?
I wanted to photograph the signs on the gate with the gravestones in the back, but I wasn’t even able to do that. The dead must have had a strange effect on the camera because it went dead right there and then. Of course I panicked. ‘Oh, my got, I’ve ruined the camera. I am going to end up here in the next few days because my friend is going to kill me! OMG just imagine, me lying here and people can only visit me during office-hours. So, no one is ever going to come and visit me…’ I thought to myself.

With my head hanging down I returned to my friend’s home. ‘Back so soon?’ he asked. ‘Yes, because I’ve broken your camera’ I blurted out. ‘No way’ he said ‘did you drop it?’ ‘No, of course not, it just isn’t working!’ ‘Did you check the batteries, before you went’ I had and they were full when I left home. He tried to turn the camera on, but it still wasn’t working. He opened the battery compartment and started to laugh. I can almost hear you thinking ‘oh, the compartment was empty………’ Nooooo, it was NOT!! As it turned out he had given me his old rechargeable batteries. You can recharge them all you want, but they just stay almost empty. You can turn the camera on once and after that they are empty again. *sigh* But at least the camera was all right.

On Monday my cell phone died, or sort of died. I was able to turn it on but the display wasn’t working right. I had to reset the thing, download new software, of course I had to install that and I had it working again after a couple of hours.

Yesterday, my PC went on strike, whatever I tried it just wasn’t willing to start up. When I finally got it working again Photoshop was acting really weird. Luckily I was able to straighten that out again. Hooray!! Sorry about that, I just can’t live without Photoshop (or any other graphic design software, for that matter) ;)

And today, after enjoying just 4 hours of sleep last night, I really messed up an application form I needed to fill in for a temporary job in December. I spilled my tea all over it. Luckily I was able to save most of it and restore the rest, but it took me most of the afternoon.

So, now I am wondering, what’s next? Hopefully nothing….fingers crossed, hey. It almost feels like I am cursed or something. Maybe I shouldn't have gone to the cemetery.*sigh*
Ah, forget it, let’s just be positive, because after all this....

Things can only get better!!! :)

Cartoon Tuesday: Ouch! (not for sensitive people)

Just a little poem

Mind, Body & Soul Sessions (#22)

Take a breather and visualize!

The average person has approximately 60,000 thoughts a day. The thoughts we have may vary. They can be positive, negative, we can control and be aware of them but many of these thoughts are uncontrollable simply because we are not aware of them. They just do their own thing in the back of your head.

Next to that we have the tendency to imagine different worst-case scenarios. How many times have you thought about what would happen if you lost your partner, your child, or parents? Or what would happen if you lost your job, or got sick? I am sure you have spent a lot of time and some of the 60,000 thoughts on worst case scenarios. Well written scenarios, in full colour, with all the doom and gloom that goes with it.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could spend the same amount of time and energy imagining something positive and satisfying? Well, here is the good news, all of us, with a little help, can change our way of thinking around. They say that the body follows where the mind goes, so why not lead the mind in the right direction (no GPS needed for this exercise!). When you change your way of thinking, you will feel happier, better and healthier. So, today it’s time for an alternative route. We’re going to concentrate on using the power of our minds to guide us to places where we actually want to be and we are going to accomplish this through meditation and visualisation. Visualisation allows us to see other possibilities and meditations allows us to slow down our thoughts so we can really see what is going on in ourselves and where we want to go.

Meditation means deliberately choosing to concentrate on something other than the thoughts which keep running in your head. Its most basic form involves following your breath. Sounds simple, but it’s actually quite difficult. This exercise starts with 5 minutes of meditation, followed by 10 min of visualisation and ends with a couple of minutes of meditating. Of course you can change the amount of time if you want too. If you have a timer, set it so you won’t have to watch the clock.

Find a quiet, private and comfortable place with minimal distractions. If you want, you can use your sanctuary . You can do this exercise sitting or lying down, but you can also do it whilst walking, just in case you prefer multitasking.
If you want, sit cross legged (don’t worry you don’t have to do the full lotus position if you can’t) on the floor with a pillow, cushion or blanket under you. If you can’t do the cross legged position, stretch your legs out in front of you. Keep your spine tall and lifted, sitting with your back against the wall or a straight backed chair might help. Place your hands in a restful position on your thighs. You can close your eyes when your mind is racing a million miles a minute, but you can also keep your eyes open when you are tired. When you chose to meditate with your eyes open, focus your gaze on a spot on the floor (about ½ meters in front of you) or on the wall.

Now spend 5 minutes focussing on your breathing. As you inhale, say silently ‘inhale’, as you exhale say ‘exhale’ to yourself. Don’t be too hard on yourself, when your mind starts to wander, which will almost certainly happen, just return to where you left off ‘inhale’ in and ‘exhale’ out again!

After (about) 5 minutes stop focussing on your breath and start visualizing something positive, for example:

• Imagine yourself going on a dream trip,
• See yourself working through a difficult problem,
• Imagine yourself getting the dream job your after,
• See yourself healthier if you are experiencing health problems,
• Envision someone who infuriates you finding happiness,
• Envision yourself finding happiness,
• Imagine yourself up when you are down,
• See yourself finding solutions for an unsolvable dilemma,
• Imagine a difficult conversation going well.

Oh, and if you have no difficulties or problems, just visualize yourself lying on a tropical beach, on top of a mountain, or with your feet in a gentle stream (whatever you fancy, will do)
Think of visualisation as a magical mini mental vacation. You can go anywhere you like within your mind and you can look differently at existing problems.

Anyway, this is your party so you decide which scenario you want to visualize. See the details of a situation, explore options, you might even want to explore options you wouldn’t normally take and watch yourself work through it or just enjoy the ride if you have chosen the relaxing visualisation.

When time is up, focus on the breathing again. Say ‘inhale’ and ‘exhale’ a couple of minutes more and when you are done, open your eyes (if closed) or divert your eyes elsewhere (if you focused on a spot) and gently stretch your legs and arms and when you are ready, carefully stand up……and go on with the rest of your day.

From Dakota's book of fairy tales - The sequel

Inside she offered him some refreshments and a place to sit and all of a sudden she realised that it had been a while since she had company. ‘Yes, it has been while’ the messenger said. ‘Did I just say that out loud’ the lady asked whilst thinking ‘I must be losing my marbles’. ‘No’ the messenger said ‘I just know things!’ enjoying his little pie she had given him.
In the mean time the lady wasn’t able to enjoy any of it. She was eagerly awaiting his important message. At one point she just couldn’t stand it anymore, so she straightforward asked him ‘you said you had an important message for me, so what is it?’ ‘Oh’ the man said, while swallowing the last bit of pie ‘I’m here to tell you about this great invention called the internet!’ The lady looked at him rather puzzled. ‘What about it?’ ‘Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s out there and I love it’ ‘You’ve got to be kidding me’ the lady said ‘that’s has been out there for ages now, how can that be so important. That’s nothing new!’ By the time she finished her last words she had turned quite red in the face and was feeling a bit frustrated. She had actually trusted this messenger; let him into her house, offered him refreshments and now he was telling her something this ridiculous…grrrr..how annoying! The messenger looked at her with a pleased grin on his face. Oh, she just couldn’t stand it anymore. ‘Well, if that’s all you have to say, I think it’s is time you left. I would rather be alone now’. The messenger just nodded and said ‘I know you want me to leave and I also know that you would rather be alone.’

‘Actually, now that we are on the subject, your loneliness is, in fact, the reasons why I’m here. I came here today to warn you, so listen very carefully! ‘For the last couple of years, you’ve been living here all by yourself, all safe and neatly tucked away from the outside world.
Unfortunately you haven’t been living at all, you just merely existed’.
The woman started to utter some objections, but the man just shushed her. ‘Don’t object, just listen’ he said and continued ‘in order to live life and exist you can’t shut yourself away from the outside world. When you do that, you are missing out on too many things. Can you even remember the last time you laughed so hard you thought you were going to pee your pants? Can you remember the last time you had diner with a friend? Or how about, a simple nice chat? According to my information it has been a while!’ The lady’s face had turned from red to a light shade of white by now. It all sounded so right, so she nodded slowly. ‘You are right’ she said ‘but there is a reason for that. Every time I go out, every time I open the door and let somebody in, every time I’ve trust someone, I’m the one who’s getting hurt. And quite frankly, I’m getting sick and tired of getting hurt, sick of all the distrust, all the arguments and sorrow.’ ‘Oh, you have a point there’ the messenger said ‘that’s all out there in the great evil outside world! But don’t you miss all the fun stuff? Your friends, other people, the laughs, the chats, the smiles, the companionship, hugs & kisses, or how about touching another human being?’ The lady slowly nodded again. She had been missing all that stuff for some time now. ‘Can’t I have one without the other?’ she asked, ‘Isn’t it possible to only have the fun bits?’ ‘No’, the messenger said ‘because that won’t be living life either’. ‘Man, this is complicated’ she said and she sighed.

They sat quietly for a while. Then she asked ‘Is that the important message you have for me? That I can’t have one without the other?’ ‘No, my message to you is this, you have to start living again, take some chances, get out there or else you are going to die a lonely old lady one day’ he said. ‘Life is out there, waiting for you to join in and I can tell you this…..everything out there is so much better than everything in here. Even the air is fresher outside’ he said while he sniffed. She sighed again, wondering what to do with this information. Then she said ‘but I can’t just go out there, I’ve been indoors too long. I probably will get sick and if I won’t get sick there will be other problems…..I don’t know anyone out there. People here, don’t know me, I haven’t spoken to my friends in ages. I can’t just walk out there and say Hello world, I am the lady of the house, now can I?’ ‘Yes, you can! All that is needed is a bit of guts’ he said while he handed her some nuts. ‘Have the guts, to go nuts’ he added with a big smile on his face. ‘You know, you have started a war against life and that is something you can do all by yourself. For peace you need two parties and that’s why I am here. I am here to represent life in this case. Together we are going to make peace’. The lady still looked at him in disbelief and sighed ‘maybe in the morning. I don’t think I can do that today. ’ ‘No, not tomorrow, you have to start working on this today. You’ve been waiting too long…..just believe in yourself and get out there. The world and life is waiting for you.’ ‘Hmm, maybe life is but I am not so sure about the world….’ she said. ‘Of course, you’ll see, just grab your coat and lets go’ the messenger said. She hesitated a bit longer and asked herself ‘do I really want to go out there again? Do I really need all that? Who needs to live life anyway? But if I don’t live I might as well be dead right now! And besides, didn’t this guy just show me I can just as easily be hurt and disappointed in my own house too. What do I have to lose?’

‘Right’ the messenger said ‘let’s go!’ He helped her in her coat, handed her a scarf and some gloves while they walked in the direction of the door. ‘Oh, wait a moment, there is something else you need to know before we go. The people outside think you are living in a castle.’ ‘Huh, as you can see, I live in a normal house! My home is my castle, but that’s all. Like I said, and as you can see, this place has no castle characteristics at all. Why would they think such a thing?’ ‘Well, they think you are unapproachable and that’s why they can only see the castle now. You are known as the lady of the castle. When you look down from your bedroom window, they see you looking down on them from a tower.’ ‘How odd’ she said. ‘Yeah, I know! I even had to pretend a bit when I came here. When I asked for directions, people kept directing me towards a castle and I have been searching for a castle ever since, but wasn’t able to find it until it finally became clear to me that they saw a castle that didn’t existed. So, I prepared a whole song and dance to get in here’ ‘Aha, that’s what all the racket was about?’ ‘Yup, now let’s go…..I’ve some other stuff that’s need to be done today as well’.

They walked towards the door, the lady just a couple of steps behind the messenger. It really looked like she was pretty unsure about the whole thing. The messenger reached for the doorknob but then she stopped him while his hand was nearly there. The lady obviously had caught up with him when she did that ;). ‘You know, maybe this isn’t such a good idea’ ‘Now hold on, you can’t back out now! You’re nearly there’ ‘Oh’ she laughed ‘I’m not changing my mind. I just think that this is a big step and if anybody has to take it, it’s gotta be me!’ Her hand reached for the knob and she turned it. Slowly she opened the squeaking door and looked outside. ‘Oh, that looks nice” she said surprised and ‘smell that fresh air. I want to go out right now’ ‘Well, go on then, what are you waiting for’ the man said. And with a hop, a skip and a jump the lady was outside, breathing in as much of the fresh air as she possibly could right that instant. The people outside looked at it in wonder. Who was that lady? They had never seen her before. Was it possible that that was the lady of the castle? No!! It couldn’t be her! In unison they looked up at the castle and stood there in awe. Where once had stood a castle there now was an ordinary house. Could that be? One person passed the lady and touched the house in disbelieve. ‘Ehmm’ he stuttered ‘arrrre you the lady of the castle?’ ‘No, I am the lady of the house’ she replied with a big grin on her face. ‘See, there is no castle, just a house and oh, by the way, my name is Caithleen, what’s yours?’ ‘Martin! Nice to meet you Caithleen’ he said. The other people came closer and they all started to introduce themselves.
It didn’t take long, after a short period of time people were chatting happily but then Caithleen realised that she hadn’t seen the man anymore. She looked around, ‘where is he?’ she thought. ‘Maybe he’s still inside the house?’ She excused herself and walked towards the door. She didn’t had to enter the house though, because right there on the doormat, exactly where she had last seen him, was a note and all it said was:
“Don’t ever lock yourself away again; don’t ever throw away the key,
They say “If you love someone, set them free”;
I would like to change that into: If you love yourself, set yourself free.
Love life and live to love.
Enjoy the great outdoors!!

I'll be seeing you”

*THE END*

From Dakota's book of Fairy Tales.

Once upon a time there was this lovely lady who lived, like others, in a house. It was no ordinary house, some people suggested it was more like a manor, others would say it looked more like a castle, but to the lady of the house it was just a house, her home! She wasn’t aware of the fact that others thought she lived in a castle. To the outside world her property was surrounded by a big thick wall with towers, a moat and when you wanted to knock on her front door, you had a bit of a problem when the drawbridge was up. When the lady had just move in the neighbours just ignored all that, they were a friendly bunch, willing to welcome the lady to their neighbourhood with open arms. They persistently knocked on the ladies door, or yelled out to get her attention when the drawbridge was up, but after a while they just gave up. At first the lady of the house didn’t noticed it, she was happily protected in her own home, but after a while she started to wonder: ‘what was going on out there, why was there no one knocking on her door anymore? Was everybody gone?’ She just couldn’t understand it. So one day she went up to her bedroom and glanced outside. She discovered the people were still there, nothing had changed, they just didn’t come knocking anymore. Strange, she thought to herself. The outside world however, saw the lady, standing on top of one of her towers, looking down and they thought ‘what is she looking at; she made it perfectly clear she wants to be on her own’. So, they just ignored her and life went on!

Some time had passed and one day people saw a man walking up to the moat, as always the drawbridge was up. The people talked among themselves. Maybe they should warn this man. His life wasn’t in any grave danger or anything, but everybody knew that he wasn’t going to be welcome. They decided not to bother him, it’s wasn’t any of their business anyway. So, they got on with their day-to-day lives.
The man heard all the whispers but just ignored them. He walked up to the moat and stood there for a second wondering what to do next. First he thought about swimming across the moat but he soon discovered there wouldn’t be any point to that. No matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find an opening to get into the castle. One other point that made him decide against swimming was the water temperature. ‘Way to cold this time of year!’ he thought. He decided to call out to the lady of the house; after all, he had a pretty important message to convey. So he called out once which resulted in no response. He tried again; a bit louder this time, but still there was no answer. One lady, passing him by, suggested yelling. And he yelled! And he yelled again, a bit louder this time, but still nothing. ‘Is the lady deaf or something’ he wondered out loud. ‘No’ a man, walking his dog, assured him ‘she just isn’t paying any attention to the outside world’. ‘How peculiar’ the messenger thought to himself. A good thing he was known to be stubborn. He looked around, maybe there was something lying around, anything would be nice just as long as it could help him. A noisy horn, a sound van, a big rock or even fireworks would be welcomed with wide open arms by now. Alas, nothing! The only thing lying around was a long pole. ‘Hmm… maybe that will do’ he thought. At first he considered using the pole as a vaulting pole, but he quickly decided against it. With today’s luck, he would probably go splat against the thick wall. No, he opted for another strategy; he would use the pole as a battering ram/or a very noisy doorknocker. He walked away from the castle and then started running towards the moat, pole at the ready. Success depended merely on letting go at the right moment. His luck must have been changing while he was running, because just moments after he had let go he heard a loud, and not easy to ignore, noise. Just after the big bang, he saw a little hatch open up. ‘What’s going on out there’ the lady asked. ‘Oh, please don’t shoot the messenger’ the man said ‘I do apologize but I have an important message for you, the lady of the house’! She looked flabbergasted, so much racket just to deliver a message.'That must be some message' she thought. She just stood there for a while but eventually decided, after careful consideration, to lower the drawbridge and the messenger happily crossed it, leaving the other people, who had also heard the commotion, in awe.

*To Be Continued*