Author Archives: dichroic

In the Netherlands, today is Oudejaarsdag – Old Year’s Day, as opposed to Niewjaarsdag. I was really hoping to spend it doing something other than washing the sheets, the two waterbed liners and the comforter to get the cat piss … Continue reading →

Huh. These pants are too long and not tight in the waist – and I’ve had them for years and that hasn’t been true for at least the last couple of years. I guess that’s good. Trousers are better monitors … Continue reading →

Bleah. For some reason I’m feeling dizzy again, which is a bit worrying for someone who’s getting on a ship in four days. I tried a home-grown version of the Epley maneuver, and it seems to have helped a bit. … Continue reading →

I have Minor Annoyances going on. First, now that we’ve unpacked or at least stirred through most of our boxes, it appears that my formal velvet dress and three sweaters did not make it to Europe. I’d complain to the … Continue reading →

Yay! I got my first paycheck! I’ve transferred jobs enough to know that something usually goes wrong with the paperwork somewhere, and it’s usually resolved soonest if you track down the problem and bulldog the solution yourself, so this wasn’t … Continue reading →

Fuck it. I’m taking a day off erging. Rudder’s got a work-drinks thing, so I took the bus home. Got here at 6:30, did some online banking (found my credit card balance was much higher than I’d thought, dammit, and … Continue reading →

I hit a small cultural divide yesterday; I think I handled it well enough. I’ve been working closely with one other person, who’s been moved into the office I share with my boss. (The department is very short on space … Continue reading →

I commented one of my email discussion groups that I can well understand why a lot of Dutch people seem to resent the way American-style Christmas is moving in here, because it tends to push out their own Sinterklaas traditions. … Continue reading →