Work what a concept

I have had 2 days of work now. I am enjoying it. I have a lot to learn and am sure it is going to take me a long time before I feel like I know what I’m doing. It has been over 2 years since I had a job and close to 12 since I have worked for a new company. After a little bit of training I will be doing support work for a vendor of an Ethernet Switch/Router.

I am even enjoying the commute right now. It takes me around 30 minutes from my house to get to the office on my bike. I figure it will be a few weeks of trying different routes prior to figuring out which I think is best. It helps that the weather has been really pretty for my first few rides and I have been going via a park on the west side of Amsterdam which, makes for a pleasant ride. The enjoyment may end on the first day I encounter rain but loving it now.

Tree Tomato

I was watching TV and there was a travel program where the host was trying a piece of fruit that I thought I had tried while traveling. They said the name of this fruit was a Tree Tomato.

The program was over Taiwan but I tried this fruit in Indonesia. I did a search on the web and found some info about it on Wikipedia. Funny they don't list Taiwan as one the countries where it is grown but do say it is also grown in the US. It doesn't say where in the US but I would guess it is one of the warmer states. Even though I did not think it tasted anything like a Tomato I was happy to discover the name of another piece of fruit I tried.

Music in Amsterdam

One of the things I really enjoy about living in Amsterdam is that there are a couple of places close to where I live that have concerts. They are small venues but still get some pretty good bands. The places are called The Melkweg and The Paradiso. There is also a bigger venue called the Heineken Music Hall but I don't enjoy it near as much. The feeling in the Music Hall is just not as good and I have been spoiled by going to the smaller venues. I have also been to the Arena to see a show but it is really huge and is the stadium that is used for the Amsterdam Soccer team Ajax. The bigger venues are also not so close to home and another down side is having to buy tokens or a type of electronic card to buy concessions.

I have been to the Melkweg now 3 times since returning to Amsterdam. I have seen You & Me at Six a UK punk band, Blue October a rock band out of Texas, and Less Than Jake a Ska-Punk fusion band out of Florida. I really enjoyed all 3 of the concerts and even got pulled up on stage for Less than Jake to show they let old people into their shows. Being on stage was not enjoyable but I did get a fee beer out of it.

Nothing New Here

Well not a lot new with me so this will be a short entry. I have been doing a bit of looking for work and getting settled in my new Apartment. After over a month of calls and appointment I now have internet and TV at home, what a pain. My friend that was storing my stuff has returned from his vacation and I have what he stored for me back. Sort of fun finding out what I thought was important enough to store when I was away.

I have also been going to the movies a lot. They have a subscription thing here where you pay a monthly fee and see as many movies as you want. Without TV at home and scince I am not working I have seen everything I am interested in that is now out at the theater.

I have been out on the bike a few times making some of the rides I use to really enjoy. The one thing is the weather in the place I have visited while traveling has really spoiled me. In Holland if the sun is out for a part of the day it is considered good weather. It does not matter that it is still so cold you have to wear a coat and gloves. I think you should not have to wear a coat and gloves at the end of May. I guess I will adjust and be thankful for the few days that you see the sun here within a few months.

Thanks for the 3 people that are still reading the blog and here is a picture I took while out on the bike yesterday. I was on my way back from Uitdam when I took the picture. I thought it was a really hard ride to Uitdam but once I was off the top of the dike and out of the wind the ride back to Amsterdam was really easy.



If I have anything exciting I will do a new entry but if not I will try and make another by the end of June.