to going to torture myself with another week of stringent and intense language classes delivered in the methods of the Nuns of Vught. I made the final payment yesterday. And while I was doing that, I thought “Ï could be booking myself a little holiday in Turkey for one third of this cost”. I did the responsible thing though and completed the transaction. So, 3 May I am on my way to Vught via the train.

This did get me thinking about other goals I have though. This year would have been Mom’s 75th birthday and as you know, by coincidence (or not) Andre Rieu is playing in Maastricht on her chosen birthday. I will be going to that and staying the weekend in Maastricht to celebrate her properly. While that is pretty excellent tribute to Mama, there’s one more thing that she always wanted to do and talked about. That was visiting Ecuador. Well, to be honest, she was thinking of taking George and moving there, she already had her Spanish school picked out! I am going to do that next year, go to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. That means in addition to saving for the cost of such an adventure, I am also going to learn to dive in the mean time so I can not just snorkel but dive. It promises to be a life enhancing experience 🙂

Friday night I am off to Rotterdam to see Russell Peters. I think he is hilarious and I am looking forward to hearing something all in English 😉 And Tuesday night next week it is Melissa Etheridge in Utrecht. Which reminds me that I need to buy my tickets for Garbage. I like going to concerts here. Partly because they are more reasonably priced than in the US and because it is a treat. In September, Lollapalooza is coming to Berlin and I am thinking of going. I am still muddling on it because I am not quite crazy about big festivals. Speaking of festivals, we just got a notice through the letterbox that there will be a big electronic music festival at the RAI on the 27th. That’s King’s Day so if last year is anything to go by, there will be floods of orange wearing folk all coming to Amsterdam. I remember last year that there were so many people coming through the park that I wondered if there was anyone left in the rest of the Netherlands! Last year Eliza and I sat on terraces for nine hours during King’s Day. Of course, they were terraces in many different places!

This week I have a technology conference to go to in Utrecht which means that I will have to do a lot of talking to strangers. I think I have something like 12 individual conversations scheduled with attendees. This is the Netherlands so of course, conversations are scheduled in advance for conference attendees 😉 That will take a lot of social energy. I should probably start meditating now to build up the introvert reserves. This will be the second to the last conference of the year. In May, we have a two day one. Perhaps I should just bring my banjo along to recharge – that will certainly create a wide circle of open space around me!

Okay, my second coffee is finished which means it is time to go to work!