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Beatrix, Queen of The Netherlands turned 71 today, congratulations Majesty!

Her name is a Latin name and means ‘blessed woman’. Well, being 71 and still heading the dutch monarchy (for 29 years already!) you can indeed say she is blessed…

I saw a new dutch band called Rigby performing on dutch tv yesterday…check’em out, they ROCK!

And, they are the support act for the Kaiser Chiefs’ concert in Amsterdam February 16 2009, pretty cool!

Today marks the day that I have my iPhone for one year. Gadgets are normally not something worthy enough for a (small) one-year-celebration, but hey, this is the iPhone, myPhone! 😉 Introduced as a mobile phone, widescreen iPod and internet communications device it redefined the world of smartphones, it has had quite an impact on my online experience and the way I use the internet nowadays.

I didn’t feel the need to upgrade to iPhone 3G last year, differences were to little at the time, but I’m pretty sure to go for the next generation iPhone. The first indication that an iPhone2 is in the making surfaced the web today. It is likely to be announced/introduced around June 2009…let time fly! 😉

It was kinda hectic, but I managed, the Beamer is IN the garage!! 😉

I came back from NL early evening and had a nice surprise waiting for me; first at the airport where the car was half snowed in and consequently a similar surprise at home;  50cm of snow in front of the garage!

I’m getting used to the exercise, so I directly started shoveling. Unfortunately (or actually, fortunately! 😉 ) I had to clean BOTH the path in front of the garage AND the area next to it, all in order to make some space for MULTIPLE cars! 😉

It took took me 1.5 hours, and, a sore back again…:(

Then Willy picked me up, drove me to the workshop, and there I saw the new car…for the first time I might add! Hehe, it has been quite an experience buying a car that I never saw myself…well, what can I say, I have some great friends whom I trust till death!

And now; life is GREAT! The car looks fantastic (especially considering its age) and driving it back home was a Yippee ki-yay! 😉

We’ll have fun with this car, for sure!

Pictures of the evening are in my Flickr photostream! 😉

Storm Jameson: “Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed.”

The search is over and the word is out; we’re the proud owner of a new (norwegian registered) car, a major step into Vikingization! Our friend Willy knew the right people and helped purchasing it. The car is currently in the workshop for its final ‘delivery service’ and I should be able to pick it up coming Wednesday evening, yay!!

Oh, it’s no Volvo as we were first looking for…instead it’s an uhhh beamer!! A 1997 BMW 520 touring to be specific, pictures to follow!

hehe, it’s ‘only’ a car, but can’t wait until it’s Wednesday!! 😉

Vernon Sanders Law: “Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards.”

It’s my sisters 31st and my nephews first Birthday today…they threw a party this afternoon and we sent them a postcard with a ‘sorry that we’re not able to come, hope this card brings us a bit closer to you today’…well, that was one big decoy! I was extremely fortunate that I have to be in NL for work coming week, and flying with a weekend inbetween is extremely cost-efective; a win-win situation, eh? Kristel had to be in NL coming week too, so we flew to NL last night! The end result; both my sister and mother in tears…mission accomplished! 😉

Yay, it’s weekend! About time, after yet another intense week, it wasn’t bad though, work was great and ofcourse evenings filled with Lost were addictive! Snow is coming, so I might go for another ski-trip tomorrow!

For some reason I lately receive more and more spam comments on my blog…luckily WordPress is catching them, pre-tagging them correctly as SPAM, so I only have to acknowledge  and delete them, but still…common people, this is SO 2008…find some better methods or stay away and don’t bother me, for sure I’m not gonna buy any of those products anyway!! 😉

As said some days ago; by now I turned into a fulltime couch potato…in other words; Lost Season 3 is done! 23 episodes in 5 days…pfew, a nice average, eh? 😉

And actually, Season 4 is ready to go…I’d better unwind a bit first and get away from the tv for some weeks, before starting that one!!

Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider: “I used to think of all the billions of people in the world, and of all those people, how was I going to meet the right ones? The right ones to be my friends, the right one to be my husband. Now I just believe you meet the people you’re supposed to meet.”

Yahoo! News: “The new 100,000,000,000,000 Zim-dollar bill would have been worth about 300 US dollars (225 euros) at Thursday’s exchange rate on the informal market, where most currency trading now takes place, but the value of the local currency erodes dramatically every day.”

I’m pretty sure that y’all know that the situation in Zimbabwe is out of control, already for a LONNNGGG time. The hyperinflation is breaking records, and that is not a good thing for the people (which is a huge understatement!).

Only 6 months ago, Zimbabwe’s central bank introduced a 100 BILLION dollar note, now it says it will soon introduce a 100 TRILLION dollar note! Also new are 50 trillion, 20 trillion and 10 trillion notes, which are said to be released for the “convenience of the public”..can you believe this shit?!?

Snow is falling (> 20cm as we speak) and ski conditions today proved to be good enough for a first cross country ski trip in the forest behind the house (this is basically in the backyard! 😉 ).

I have no idea if the technique was exactly as it should, but still it was a very, very nice trip through the forest…I’m sure I’ll do this more often! (actually have to too, as training for the Skarverennet race end April)

We’ve started watching Lost – Season 3  (the TV-series) tonight. Having Season 1 and 2 still in the back of my mind, it will probably turn into a couch potato the coming week. 😉

The tour around Europe from Norway to NL, Brussels, Vienna and Bratislava has been quite intense. It was a nice mix of (a lot of) hard work and enjoying life in between…all in all a very successful week.

I’m pretty knackered though and can use a good night’s sleep. Oh well, it’s close to midnight…time to zzzzzzzz!

Buddha: “If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way.”

Hmm, interesting video from the Top Gear guys…the Euro NCAP rating is indeed something to consider when selecting a new (second hand) car!

So, here I am; first-timer in the KLM Business Lounge at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol!

I recently got upgraded to Gold Member in KLM’s Flying Blue program. I have to admit; I’m gonna spend more time here! 😉 …no more last minute runs through customs and rush to the gate…I’ll be here a few hours before departure, working via free WiFi, enjoying a meal and a wide choice of drinks; name it, they got it!

Anyway, gotta run, my flight to Vienna leaves in a bit…next stop; Bratislava. Will be there until Friday morning, CYA!

Start of a new week, a week filled with a trip through Europe; I left Norway yesterday for The Netherlands, was staying over with my parents for the night, before that visiting my sister/brother in law and nephew (who sleeping like a baby boy, which he actually is! 😉 ), and then playing first-line PC helpdesk support for my mothers work PC (I have to admit, my father did a great job in installing Windows XP on that, crashed, computer!).

Today I drove to Brussels, and enjoyed a day filled with customer meetings, teleconferences and an perfect dinner to end the busy day…Brussels is great!

Tomorrow? Back to NL for an afternoon in the office, then flying to sweet Slovakia in the evening to spend the rest of the week there…it’ll be great to be in Bratislava again, it has been some time! They have the Euro now, and I am just in time to exchange my Slovak koruna/crowns! 😉