I know it's been a very long time since I last posted a blog. Anyway, I wrote a short story, and I'm actually quite proud of it. A good enough reason to share it! Please enjoy.

Recently I read an article which is basically summarized in the following sentence: "Dutch primary schools stop examining cycling skills because children cycle less and are less good cyclers." Excuse me? A good reason for me to write my first blog in a long time!

It seems to me that war is interesting. Looking around in the room that I'm in right now I can see: Xbox games named "Gears of War" and "Halo 3", DVDs with armed men on the covers, books about numerous wars, including the one on my bedside table: "The White Queen" about the Cousins' Wars, also known as the Wars of the Roses. There is not a single day that the news does not tell us about wars. We may not call them so, but they certainly. Apparently they fascinate people, so a column about them could do no harm.

I spent the last week in Aberdeen, Scotland. The English language is my passion, and I am intrigued by the culture. Still, being there and seeing all these Brits going about their daily lives, I did notice a few things. I have travelled the world and seen many cultures, but I hadn't realised that a culture so close to home could be so different from my own.

Iedere student kent de situatie: je gaat eindelijk studeren en je zoekt een eigen kamer. Voor het eerst weg bij de veilige haard en dan meteen ook eigen centjes waarvan alles betaald dient te worden. Je begint met het zoeken naar een eigen kamer. Een leuke kamer, leuke huisgenoten, beetje ruimte, dicht bij de universiteit of hogeschool, en betaalbaar.

Leuker kunnen we het niet maken, makkelijker wel… Dat is de slogan waar de belastingdienst al jaren mee adverteert. En als we de voorbeelden uit de reclames mogen geloven, dan is dat ook zeker waar. We kunnen aangifte doen op internet, toeslagen aanvragen op het internet. Bijna alles kan thuis vanuit de luie stoel, zonder ook maar iets op de post te hoeven doen. Dat klinkt wel heel makkelijk! En voor de meeste mensen is dat geheid zo. Dit is echter niet voor iedereen weggelegd.

About two and a half weeks ago I left on a holiday to Italy. Although the week was absolutely fantastic, I will not be telling you holiday stories. I would much rather inform you of our very pleasant journey from Zwolle in the Netherlands, to Orvieto in Italy. Here comes the tale of public transport and budget airlines throughout Europe.

My life has been and is changing pretty rapidly, as seems to be the case for the last couple of years. I am however very happy with the course of events and thought it was time to let all of you know what's happening.

Dit weekend is het Hemelvaart, volgend weekend Pinksteren. Kortgeleden hadden we Pasen en vlak daarna nog Koninginnedag en 5 mei. Vrije dagen genoeg in deze tijd van het jaar. Leuk toch? Zou je zeggen... Zo rondkijkend zijn zelfs de schoolgaande kinderen het een beetje zat. Iedere keer weer wennen aan het ritme van naar school gaan, en dan na een paar dagen weer een lang weekend vrij ertegenaan. Kunnen we de vrije dagen niet wat beter verspreiden?

Of all the times to spot "real" Dutchness in the Netherlands, just now is probably one of the best. This is the time to confirm and also to revoke stereotypes. For all the Dutchies reading this: any complaints can be posted as long as they're civil and I do not take responsibility for any feeling of contempt. For all the non-Dutchies: do not take my word for granted, this weblog is only based on observations over the last few days!

Looking at my RSS Reader and probably most newspapers, every second article or so is about the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland, the consequences and possible consequences of the eruption and individual persons' opinions on the matter. I even got invited to a Facebook group in honour of the volcano. So I figured I'd follow the flock and discuss this epic episode of natural power, which so effectively disrupted and disrupts human life. Leaving out any form of personal involvement we cannot but have respect for planet Earth and its power.

Be prepared: the Easter Bunny has once again entered the atmosphere and is ready to invade our planet. His little accomplices have already stocked the stores and planted a nerve craving chocolate eggs into all of your heads. Yes, Easter is a time of celebration.

Today I will use my weblog to advocate what I think is a fantastic initiative that has grown exponentially over the past two years. What started as a local event in Sydney, Australia went international in 2008 and now the entire world joins in Earth Hour. Today is the 27th of March and tonight between 8.30pm and 9.30pm cities around the world will be turning off their lights. For us "normal" people: we can do the same!

Time flies when you're having fun, quite rightly proven by my long absence on this website. Many new impressions were loaded on top of me, and I've finally managed to process most of them. So as of today: I'm back to writing weblogs.