Archive for November, 2012

QOTD November 30 2012

Friday, November 30th, 2012

Hugh Macleod: “It’s about what YOU are going to do with the short time you have left on this earth.”

Misha 14 months

Thursday, November 29th, 2012

Misha turned 14 months today; quite a different experience while he is in NL, I actually realized today that it is the first time since June that he is not with me on this ‘milestone’ day…Luckily I regularly receive photos and movie clips of him, and it is great to see his latest moves and overall happiness! 😉

I can’t wait to see him again this Saturday; ‘Sinterklaas day’ in NL with my parents, brother, sister and all five kids, looking forward!!

QOTD November 29 2012

Thursday, November 29th, 2012

Aldous Huxley: “There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.”

QOTD November 28 2012

Wednesday, November 28th, 2012

Joan Didion: “To have that sense of one’s intrinsic worth… is potentially to have everything…”

QOTD November 27 2012

Tuesday, November 27th, 2012

Milton Berle: “Laughter is an instant vacation.”

QOTD November 26 2012

Monday, November 26th, 2012

Ethel Barrett: “We would worry less about what others think of us if we realized how seldom they do.”

QOTD November 25 2012

Sunday, November 25th, 2012

Simone de Beauvoir: “I tore myself away from the safe comfort of certainties through my love for the truth; and truth rewarded me.”

QOTD November 24 2012

Saturday, November 24th, 2012

Dorothy Draper: “Eating is really one of your indoor sports. You play three times a day, and it’s well worth while to make the game as pleasant as possible.”

Rome!

Friday, November 23rd, 2012

Wow, what started as a crazy idea is now reality; I am in Rome this weekend, my first time (not counting a training for work many years ago, stuck in a hotel outside the city and no time for sightseeing)…I am soooo looking forward!! I wonder how much I recognise from the city based on the Da Vince Code, meeting with the pope is scheduled for Sunday around 13h. 😉

Weather is supposed to be dry, sunny and close to 20C, lovely, it’s gonna be great!

Just leave a comment if you know a nice restaurant, bar, club, a must see, must do and don’t…all are more than are welcome! 😉

QOTD November 23 2012

Friday, November 23rd, 2012

Vincent van Gogh: “I am not an adventurer by choice but by fate.”

QOTD November 22 2012

Thursday, November 22nd, 2012

Julia Sorel: “If you’re never scared or embarrassed or hurt, it means you never take any chances.”

QOTD November 21 2012

Wednesday, November 21st, 2012

Elizabeth Cady Stanton: “Truth is the only safe ground to stand on.”

Something positive from security cameras!

Tuesday, November 20th, 2012

I am not a big fan of CCTV/security cameras, but sometimes they capture something totally different and show us that the world is actually a much better place than you might think (at least, when you follow mainstream news… 😉 ).

Be positive, y’all!! 😉

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N-BSQvASs0

QOTD November 20 2012

Tuesday, November 20th, 2012

Lois McMaster Bujold: “If you can’t do what you want, do what you can.”

World Toilet Day

Monday, November 19th, 2012

It is World Toilet Day today, an international day of action that aims to break the taboo around toilets and draw attention to the global sanitation challenge. (in 2001, World Toilet Organization declared its founding day, 19 November, as World Toilet Day)

This directly brings me back to May this year; my Global Village trip for Habitat for Humanity! A part of Habitat’s building homes program is besides building homes, also to deliver decent pit latrines (you can see one below), conveniently located, and dignified they help to reduce diseases! We didn’t build the toilet ourselves, but I did use one! 😉

Can you imagine not having a toilet? Can you imagine not having privacy when you need to relieve yourself? Although unthinkable for ‘us’ living in wealthy parts of the world, this is a harsh reality for many – in fact, one in three people on this globe, does not have access to a toilet! Have you ever thought about the true meaning of dignity? (not to mention hygiene…..)

Support the cause by following WTD on twitter (@worldtoiletday) and tell the world why you ‘give a shit’ using #IGiveAShit ! 😉

(click to enlarge)

 

(click to enlarge)

QOTD November 19 2012

Monday, November 19th, 2012

Seneca: “Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.”

Permanent residency in Norway

Sunday, November 18th, 2012

After being 5 years in Norway it was time to extend my residence permit. While the process took a couple of months in 2007, it took just a week this time! And, since I apparently have been a good resident, I was given permanent residency in Norway, nice!! (ha, the police must have forgotten about me crashing into one of their cars last year 😉 )

 

QOTD November 18 2012

Sunday, November 18th, 2012

Wayne Dyer: “Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you.”

QOTD November 17 2012

Saturday, November 17th, 2012

Denis Diderot: “Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.”

Norenhater / Norwegianhater

Friday, November 16th, 2012

Especially when you love Norway and want to understand the deep relation between the dutch and Norwegians, you should watch this YouTube video; a brilliant sketch by the infamous dutch comedy series ‘Jiskefet‘.

I am not sure what kind of people would hate Norwegians, but hey, anything is possible in comedy?! 😉

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCIY_mm1u3I