Nimavenl - Nicole's Random Ramblings

I keep promising myself that I'll write more blog posts. Really, I do. Actually intend to write, and even think of stuff to write about. Thing is, when I'm not working, eating, sporting, playing Scrabble and Restaurant City on Facebook or spending time with friends and family, I'm asleep. Yes - really. Turns out working full-time again is really amazing, however it also means I suddenly have about 50ish hours less a week to just blah and think of crazy stuff to write about. I pretty much always want stuff I write to be profound and meaningful and all "I'm making a statement here"-ish, and when my writing is not like that it tends to be filled with really long sentences, and lots of "so yeah"s and expressions like that. The way this post is - if you know what I mean!  The words don't flow as easily as they used to. Might be 'coz I don't speak English on a daily basis anymore. Might be 'coz I think in Dutch when I'm at work...

Alfred J. Kwak Zag net een berichtje van een vriendin op Facebook. Vervang je eigen foto met een plaatje van een tekenfilm waar je vroeger gek op was. Dit om geweld tegen kinderen tegen te gaan. Okay, leuk idee. Goed idee ook. Nu nog een leuk plaatje uitzoeken. En even bedenken wat nou eigenlijk mijn favoriete jeugdserie was... De Smurfen, Ovide, Alfred J. Kwak, Boes Boes, Dommel, David de Kabouter of misschien toch Inspector Gadget... Na wat wikken en wegen besluit ik uiteindelijk toch voor Alfred Jodocus Kwak te gaan. Een mooi getekende wereld, een sympathieke eend en een verhaal met een positieve boodschap. En ja: Ook een jeugdserie met een fantastisch aanstekelijk liedje. Als ik deze dagen - en ik ben nu 27 - een vreselijk rothumeur heb, dan dans ik en zing ik luidkeels "Ik Ben Vandaag Zo Vrolijk." Het is me nog nooit gelukt het hele liedje te zingen zonder minstens een keer te glimlachen!

Been busy working, sleeping, eating and *trying* to maintain a social life as well lately... Interesting task, that! ;-) It's good to have a job again - doing "nothing" was nice for a while, but am mighty glad to be working again! Feels good to have a reason to get up in the morning and to feel like I'm making a difference. Love working at a big and busy company - have met lots of interesting people and am making new friends too. Have also learnt many new things, and must say that it's very satisfying to know I'm actually good at something I enjoy! As with any social situation where many different people spend time together; there were some people I got on with from the first minute and some that really annoyed me from Day One. Of the annoying ones, some that I thought I wouldn't like at all turned out to be really nice once I got to know them, and others turned our to be not nearly as annoying as they seemed... at least in smallish doses ;-) ...

I've been looking for a job for about a month now. Haven't replied to every ad or anything like that; I'm simply applying for jobs that look interesting and feel like they suit me and I'd suit them. Perhaps later on in the game I'll start applying for just about anything, but right now I'm still being picky. I may not have finished Uni, however I am University educated and have half a Bachelor degree - my thinking is at University level, I write good essays, my research skills are ace and I learn quickly. I'd like a job that involves using my brain. I've done cleaning jobs and supermarket jobs and I really enjoyed them, however now I'm looking for a different challenge. So today I applied for a job. I apply for one or two a week it seems - Yup I did say I'm picky. The funniest thing though was when the website had processed my application and it asked me if I'd like to Tweet about applying for a job. Now I may have a blog and a Twitt...

Jennifer Aniston is destructive to society? Oh come ON! Seriously?! Apparently she is, according to Fox News Commentator Bill O'Reilly. I've never heard of the guy, however reading this article about what he said on iVillage.com , I'm curious to see what else he comes up with! According to the article, Mr O'Reilly had a problem with remarks Aniston made while promoting her new comedy The Switch, in which she plays a single mother who gets pregnant through artificial insemination. What Jennifer said? Here goes... Earlier this week at an L.A. press conference, Aniston, 41, reportedly said, "Women are realizing it more and more, knowing that they don't have to settle with a man just to have that child....Times have changed....What is amazing is that we do have so many options these days, as opposed to our parents' days when you can't have children because you have waited too long." The Emmy-winning actress added, "The point of the movie ...

I'm annoyed at Blogger. Just slightly, mind you. I'd like to center the title of this blog. However, no matter what I try, the only way I can find to do so is to add the center tag to my blog title in the editor. Which means that my blog's title is "<" center ">" Random Ramblings "<" / center ">", which just doesn't quite do it for me. I can change the blog description field and center that text, however getting the title in the center... nope. Tried messing around with the html, however as I don't know enough about how *not* to screw everything up, I haven't found the solution yet. Will keep searching and hopefully figure out how to change the blog to my liking without screwing any other page elements up. In the meantime - if anyone knows exactly where to insert a title tag into the html without the tag showing up in the actual title, please help me out here!

I'm currently reading Linda Fairstein's latest book called Legal Legacy. She is one of my favourite authors, and I look forward to reading her books each and every time. For the author's website, check my links on the right. For a description of the book and the characters in it, go there too. In a nutshell, Ms Fairstein writes fiction based loosely on her own experiences as Assistant District Attorney for Manhattan's Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit in New York City. The main character of all her books, Alexandra Cooper, holds the same job. In this book, Alex investigates the death of a woman with connections to the New York Public Library, and the readers get taken inside the amazingly intricate world of the library system, book collectors and antique maps.

Vermaak me prima op deze regenachtige dag. Veel foto's genomen van de regen... Winterjas met capuchon aan zodat ik niet te nat wordt en een theedoek over mijn fototoestel zodat 'ie ook niet nat wordt... ;-) Regen / Rain | Nimavenl

Mijn missie vandaag met betrekking tot dit blog was om door oude blog entries te kijken en ze ietwat te saniteren als dat nodig was. Informatie weghalen die ik te persoonlijk vond, of juist een extra stukje schrijven bij een artikel van een paar maanden geleden zodat het - in mijn ogen - net iets beter klinkt. Ik had eigenlijk al lang in bed willen liggen, maar wilde deze taak afmaken, en kwam zo aan bij een entry die ik schreef op de avond van de verkiezingen. De verkiezingen die - let wel - op woensdag 09 Juni werden gehouden. Het is nu begin Augustus, we zijn bijna twee maanden verder en de heren in Den Haag zijn nog steeds aan het onderhandelen over wie het land de komende paar jaar zullen regeren. De VVD en PVV bleken de "grote winnaars" te zijn van de verkiezingen. Nederland wilde blijkbaar een rechtsere regering. De PvdA kreeg ook veel stemmen, terwijl het CDA van Balkenende veel stemmen moest inleveren (aan de VVD en PVV). We hebben naar een rechtse r...

"Most of US troops to leave Iraq by August 31st of this year" Saw this on the late news tonight and my first thought was  WOW, seriously?! It's about bloody time !!!  I didn't think it was a good idea when America 'invaded' Iraq in 2003, and while the US army's presence there has no doubt done a lot of good, I also wonder if the situation might not have been resolved better without intervention from the USA.

I'm a big sci-fi and fantasy nutter really - as long as a story involves aliens, magic, time travel, strange creatures, vampires, werewolves, dinosaurs, or really anything paranormal or supernatural - count me in. Think I've watched pretty much every episode of oh let me think... Star Trek (all series), Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Tru Calling, Dollhouse, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Primeval, Charmed, The Vampire Diaries, Torchwood, Supernatural, Earth: Final Conflict, Babylon 5... I'm sure the list is longer than this, but hey, you get the message. I'm a Trekkie, Trekker, Star-Trek nutter, call it what you will. And I'm proud of it! Deep Space 9 is my favourite series, however I also enjoyed Enterprise a lot. And Voyager. And The Next Generation. And the DS9 relaunch books. And the books set after The Original Series. And... Well, you get the point. Supernatural is currently in it's 4th season on TV over here, and while I read episode des...

Having watched the final episode of the 3rd series of Primeval, I'm left with a gazillion questions.

Being a huge fan of just about every sci-fi TV show I've ever come across, I've now become addicted to British show Primeval as well. Read recently that they'll be making a 4th and 5th series, and am over the moon! Almost through watching the 3rd series... Two episodes to go. Am hoping I'll stumble across another awesome tv show soon to fill Primeval's shoes... Now just really, really, really want there to be more Torchwood episodes some time soonish !!! Watching Doctor Who is awesome too of course and am catching up on episodes I've missed and enjoying that, however I do miss Torchwood just a bit! Might just end up re-watching more old Enterprise episodes, which, even though it's American, is still pretty good. And yes - it's Star Trek which makes it "pretty darn awesome" really !!! OK - rant over - back to watching Primeval !

Just had to share this photo as I love the pic! Fly Away... | Nimavenl

Very, very quick post after reading a news story about Lady Gaga... Apparently some narrow-minded people were protesting outside one of Lady Gaga's concerts about how she is very outspoken about gay rights, and LG sent a huge long message to her fans through Twitter basically saying to ignore the protesters and be glad to love instead of hate. "Don't waste your words, or feelings, no matter what you hear or see...   I wanted to make my fans aware of my views on how to approach, or rather not approach, these kinds of hate activists...   Be inspired to ignore their ignorant message, and feel gratitude in your heart that you are not burdened or addicted to hate, as they are..." (Source: Lady Gaga's Twitter page   ) Awesome to read a message like that - not a self-promotion or anything like that, simply a message saying "this is what I think, and this is how I think my fans should handle these people." By loving instead of hating. Awesome message. M...

So I've been playing around with the new blog editor thingie that Blogger's come up with. Love it. Well, I mostly do. The one thing that I'm still confused about is how to upload my OWN background image. I'm sure I just overlooked the option and will find it next time I look... I'm a photographer. Not by any means a professional one and perhaps not even a very good one, however I *am* one. I love trying to capture on camera the beauty that is the world around me and sharing it with others. I don't like to edit or Photoshop my photos much and usually don't change them other than cropping a bit here and there. The pictures I post on my blog as well as my display picture were taken by me, and I love them the way they are, and think they too are worthy of serving as a background picture for a blog - or at the very least for my own blog. [UPDATE: I've figured it out! Turns out it was right where I should have expected it to be...]  That said, I'...

I'm a huge fan of Goodreads.com . This website seriously has just about everything any book lover could want, and is a wonderful tool for keeping track of what I read. You can write reviews of books you've read, check what others have to say about books you're thinking of reading, and my favourite - answer tons and tons of trivia questions. Admittedly, I'm a bit of a nerd and when I'm not in front of my computer my nose tends to be stuck in a book, so it's no surprise really that I love this website. If you know anyone else who might enjoy it - pass on the address !!!

With my new Twitter account going and people deciding to "follow" me every day, I figured there might be a chance some of these people actually read what I have to say. I "follow" 200+ people, and I certainly can't read everything written by everyone, so I don't expect others to read everything written by me, however if some people read what I write and enjoy it, then that would be awesome! I tried to find a quote I liked to use for today's update. Something about how life is a train and we should enjoy not only the journey but also the destination. Or maybe something about how every cloud has a silver lining and how after rain there will be sunshine (Dutch saying). As I couldn't find a quote on any of those subjects I decided to go with something slightly different: "I have found that if you love life, life will love you back." ~Arthur Rubinstein Also true, and also a reflection of how I'm feeling today. As I'm still tr...

I'm a huge fan of Australian author Traci Harding. She's written quite a few books by now, has an online community dedicated to her work and the ideas that inspired her work, and would very easily qualify as "one of the authors who has inspired me the most". I came across her first book, The Ancient Future , some time in 2002. It looked like an interesting and entertaining story of a modern Australian woman, Tory Alexander, who accidentally goes back in time through a stone circle while on holiday in Britain, then finds herself in Wales some 1500 years ago where she meets and marries the love of her life, Prince Maelgwn Gwynedd. She becomes Queen of Gwynedd (in modern-day Wales), enforces new child- and female-friendly laws and teaches the ancient Britons a new way of fighting and with it, a new way of thinking. As the book unfolds, Tory learns that her coming to the 6th Century wasn't an accident but deliberate, and was orchestrated by Merlin - yes the Merlin...

I caved - Finally. Signed up for my very own Twitter account yesterday. As of right now I'm following 114 people and am being followed by 5 people. Random. Especially as I don't even know these 5 people. Still - it's kinda cool in a slightly strange way  :D I think I'll link my Twitter and my Blog, however still have to figure out how to do that exactly. While I do that - head on over to Youtube and enjoy this video showing how much we love OUR BOYS and how proud we are of them and their amazing achievement!!!! http://bit.ly/9b0Myf This is why I love being Dutch !!!

Hieronder een gedeelte van de speech van minister president Jan Peter Balkenende ten tijde van de huldiging van het Nederlands elftal in het Catshuis. Zie de link onderaan voor de volle tekst. Verliezen doet pijn, want een sportman wil winnen. Zo dichtbij en toch net niet.  Voor het WK zei Bert van Marwijk: “We hebben een beetje geluk nodig”. En dat hadden we dit toernooi. Tot die 116e minuut van de finale. De beelden staan ons allemaal op het netvlies. Dat Spaanse schot was een klap voor Nederland. Een klap voor de spelers. Een klap voor de Oranje supporters. Spanning maakte plaats voor stilte. Verslagenheid. Ook bij mij en al die duizenden en duizenden andere Oranjefans in Soccer City in Johannesburg.  Alles wat oranje is en van oranje houdt is terneergeslagen. Begrijpelijk. Maar ik hoop oprecht dat die teleurstelling snel plaatsmaakt voor trots.  Trots op de prestatie van dit Nederlands elftal. Op het hoofdpodium van het mondiale voetbal was zondagavond 11 ...

Went for a walk with a friend's daughter before the game on Sunday. We were gone for maybe an hour, taking photos of everything orange in the neighbourhood, of flowers and traffic signs, and of all the people dressed in orange. We were dressed in orange as well, singing football-related songs and running around happy as anything. It's been a long time since I spent time with my nephew, and haven't had much to do with children since then. My nephew's only 3, and while my friend's daughter is 9, she's as exuberant and joyful as my nephew is. It's easy to forget how much fun it is to spend time with children and how carefree it makes you. For a change, it doesn't matter what people think of you, it doesn't matter if you're running around acting silly and pulling faces - there's no pressure to behave a certain way or conform to social standards. It makes me wonder why we can't always feel that carefree and be that confident in...

Well, to say I'm disappointed would be the understatement of the century. Watched the game last night on a huge screen with friends and neighbours. The kids were all playing together, the grown-ups were all watching together, I talked to people I'd never met before and others I've known my whole life. It's amazing how football and the national pride we feel brings people together the way it does. For the duration of the World Cup, it didn't matter whether someone was a supporter of Ajax or Feyenoord or ADO Den Haag; things like race, religion and skin colour didn't matter. What did matter is that we all supported our boys, our team, our country. We all lived, breathed, and wore orange. Our dream to finally win the World Cup didn't come true. Spain won. We did not. We did, however, make it to the finals of the World Cup for the first time ever IN MY LIFETIME. For only the third time ever in football history, and for the very first time since 1978. We r...

Being female, people are often surprised that I'm a football fan. Some are still not quite convinced I actually enjoy the game even after asking about my favourite team and favourite players. They seem to think I only watch because apparently, football players are all "hot" and "sexy". Right... While I agree that some of the players do look good in shorts, is it really that hard for people to accept that "OH EMM GEE they're so cute" is not why I watch the game? Now that that's out of my system, on to today's random ramble... The Germany - Uruguay game for third place was held tonight (and daaaaamn I really was hoping that Forlan would strike gold... instead of the crossbar...), which leaves only one match to be played. The Netherlands vs Spain. And oh by the way - When it comes to football / soccer, I am definitely Dutch and I really really really hope we'll win. We've played in the finals twice before - in '74 and in '...

I'm a huge football fan. Football as in that strange sport where your foot kicks a ball... not American football. Not soccer. Foot-Ball. Just so we're clear. With the 2010 World Cup almost over and my country in the Finals for the first time since 1978 and only the third time ever (we made it to the finals in '74 as well), I figured it was about time to write about my love for this sport. It's 22 people on a field, 20 of whom run around after a ball, kicking it and often each other, and 2 who stand in front of a huge goal and perform the strangest acrobatics to try and keep this small round ball out of said goal. It's a reasonably simple game with simple rules. Well ok - the rules are simple when you grow up with them. They're probably ridiculously complicated and silly when you're learning them for the first time. It's also an entertaining and fun game, one we obsess over and one where the players make absolutely ridiculous amounts of money. No mat...

I love listening to music. I love re-discovering a song that I've known for years, that I've heard so many times, and then reading the lyrics properly and seeing the song in a whole new light. I love the way a song brings back memories of good times, of bad times, of fun times, of sad times, of people and of situations. I've got songs I associate with people, songs I associate with experiences, songs I just love because they brought me comfort or joy at one point in my life and listening to those songs reminds me of the tough times or the happy times and the fact that I lived through those experiences and survived -That I  came out stronger and more sure of myself, with new knowledge and experiences to add to the story of my life. One of my friends loves finding songs and song lyrics online that express her feelings. Whether she's been through a break-up, she's happy, she's sad - anything, she finds a song that matches her mood. I love that about her an...

Enjoying the change in my priorities lately. Watching the soccer comes first. No matter what.  (Well, except for sleeping, eating and drinking!)  Aah, it's good to be Dutch and mad about soccer! And I have to say WOOT WOOT to New Zealand for their 1-1 score... I am totally proud !!!!!

Watched the movie Evan Almighty  on TV the other day. Loved the movie's message about ARK - how Acts of Random Kindness make the world a better place. What an amazing message. So simple yet so true! Also loved the underlying message to trust in God, love your family, do what is right instead of what is profitable or will make you "successful", and most of all, to believe in yourself and to not let anyone tell you you're crazy or wrong when you know you're doing the right thing. It's a family movie, a God-accepting movie, a funny movie and a slightly sarcastic movie all in one, and I have to say I just love that combination. Dogma was a similar movie - one not afraid to challenge conventional Western ideas about God and religion in order to tell a story that is deep, meaningful and religious in nature and yet still appealing to the average viewer. I'm not always a big fan of pro-Christian movies as I often find that them to be 'preaching' ...

Dit zal zeker niet de eerste of de laatste random ramble zijn over voetbal. Ik ben nou eenmaal voetbal gek, en een EK of WK is voor mij net zoiets als Kerst voor anderen - ik ga er helemaal in op, draag oranje, versier mijn huis, en geniet volop van de sfeer en de gezelligheid. Wat ik ook fantastisch vind is dat de problemen tussen supporters van verschillende clubs even bijna weg zijn. Het is niet meer een kwestie van stad tegen stad of de ene helft van het dorp tegen de andere helft, het is wij allemaal samen tegen de rest van de wereld. Of ik nou voor Ajax ben of voor Feyenoord of PSV, een Jood of een Kakkerlak of een Pisvlek word genoemd - het maakt eventje gewoon niet uit. Wij zijn allemaal voor Oranje, voor ons team van onze jongens, en voor welke club ze normaal spelen maakt eventjes gewoon niet uit! Lees alles over het WK 2010 in Zuid Afrika op de website http://www.southafrica2010.nl/ en ik hoop dat jullie allemaal net zo veel plezier zullen hebben als ik dit WK!...

Today it is exactly eight years ago that Pim Fortuijn (Fortuyn) was murdered. I wasn't in The Netherlands when it happened. I heard about it, read about it, was completely dumbfounded by it. The Netherlands is not usually a violent country (well, apart from when it comes to football, perhaps!), we are not usually a violent people. We are competitive, we are easily annoyed, we often grumble about anything from weather to sports to the economy - but we are not a people who assasinate politicians or our royal family or people we don't agree with. Or so I thought. The first time I came across Pim Fortuijn was when I saw him on TV, commenting on the happening of September 11th. I was 17 then, and really not interested in politics. This TV appearance was the first time I heard Pim Fortuyn's name, the first time I saw his face. The first time I can remember anyway. I didn't agree with what he had to say then - something along the lines of how Muslims are bad, Isl...

Home by chance on a Wednesday night, I happened to come across an ad for a TV program that looked interesting. I decided to see if the show would deliver what it promised, and BOY, did it ever. I'm not really one for cooking, and much prefer a simple meal to a fancy occasion with more cutlery than I know what to do with. Well actually - I do know what to do with the cutlery, I simply choose not to use that much cutlery and to go for simple, easy and non-pretentious. I’m also not a big meat eater. This comes partly from personal preference, partly from religious reasons, and partly from living a good few years without the money to afford meat as a regular part of my diet. I'm not a strict vegetarian, however when given the choice do prefer non-meat to meat. The TV show was a cooking show that took celebrities along to the places their food comes from. Tonight’s show saw two celebrities visit an organic farm, a deer-breeding facility where they fed and petted two gorgeo...

I've got a feeling this is going to be another random ramble. There have been goings-on in the world at large and in my personal world that I've wanted to write about. The plane crash of a great number of Poland's officials for instance. The ash cloud hanging over Europe after a volcano erupted in Iceland. People I talk to. Things I'm reading about.  In the end, I didn't write about any of these things. They mattered, I followed the news, read more about things that interested me, however didn't feel I had enough to say about any of these things to write an opinion piece about them. A general recap definitely, however a well-researched and thought-through story, argument, anything - no. Life is going on. It's going well. I'm doing well. Coming to terms with several things, learning new things about myself, learning new things about life. I'm also starting to realise that some people I thought of as good friends maybe aren't such good f...

I'm reading, or rather, listening to, "An Echo in the Bone" by Diana Gabaldon. It's the seventh novel in the Outlander series and the first of the books I'm listening to instead of reading. It's strange not having my nose in the book itself, however I'm enjoying the new experience of listening to it. In short, the first six books in the Outlander series:

One definite plus of being away from the place I've called home for the past 8+ years is the opportunity to see which friendships stand the test of time... and distance. The people I spent a lot of time with in New Zealand, are they still people I want to spend time with, talk to, stay in touch with, while I'm over here? There are some friends I catch up with a few times a week. We talk, even if all we talk about is something completely random. We make the effort to stay in touch, and while I can't speak for their motivations for staying in touch, I know why I do. I care about them, I want to know how they are, what's going on in their heads, in their lives. Talking to them makes my day better, makes me happier. There are friends I only talk to once a month. Some of them good friends. While at home I'd see them two or three times a week, we don't have as much to talk about these days as we did then. Talking to them less doesn't mean I care about the...

I've had the first verse of Simple Plan's "Welcome to my Life" as the description at the top of my blog for some time now. The lyrics fit me, somehow, sometimes. They describe someone feeling lost and alone and unsure of who they are and what their place is in the world. The lyrics describe how I feel sometimes. They are also more than I am, and less than I am as well. I'm not always down or depressed, I'm not always lost and searching. Certainly not. There are times when I know exactly how I feel and why, what I want and how to go about achieving my goals. There are times I'm sad and times I'm happy, times I know I'm on the right track and other times when I feel like I've completely lost the plot and the meaning of life seems to elude me. Don't we all have times like that?! Do you ever feel like breaking down / Do you ever feel out of place / Like somehow you just don't belong / And no one understands you / Do you ever wanna run a...

Wow, another interesting day in The Netherlands. The weather pulled a very Kiwi "Four seasons in one day" (pop-culture reference to the song by Kiwi band Crowded House) stunt today - rain, hail, wind, grey skies, a bit of sun, then blue sky and lovely sunshine - had it all and enjoyed, well, none of it actually. If only the sun had been shining a bit earlier, then my backyard would have been a lovely spot this arvo. Ah well, at least the flowers got watered eh... On a completely unrelated note, I was about to switch the telly off a few minutes ago when I heard an interesting sentence. Due to financial problems in this lovely country the government is trying its best to find ways to save money. One way that has been suggested is the reintroduction of compulsory military service. Whoa hold up WAIT THIS IS INTERESTING  my brain told me, yet the compulsion to log on to Facebook and play some games got to me. Good thing pretty much every newspaper is online today, as it m...

Watched the news earlier and saw the report on the bombings in the Moscow subway. Or well, bombings - suicide missions actually. Thirty-eight people killed and many wounded because two women felt the need to make a point. And what was the point about? It seems about the exact same thing so many bombings and attacks around the world have been about: terrorists trying to what, prove a point, scare the world, get support for their cause? The one thing I just really don't get here is WHY people, human beings just like you and I, feel the need to kill other human beings, innocent ones at that, to help further their cause. From what I've read on newspaper websites so far no-one has claimed responsibility for this latest attack yet, however apparently Russian authorities believe there is evidence that these attacks were commited by people from the North Caucasus region. According to CNN.com, "Our preliminary assessment is that this act of terror was committed by a terroris...

While checking some information online that had been going through my head for most of the morning, I came across a reference to the TV programme "The Big Bang Theory". I'd seen a few episodes of it now and then, however never really got into watching it regularly. I'd been thinking about a friend of a friend of a friend who has a child with hearing problems. I'd never met the child and only ever met his mother twice, however we talked about the hearing problems when we met due to my background in (studying) Early Childhood Education. We talked about possible causes both physical and psychological and she then went on with her life and I with mine. It's a while ago by now, however something I read recently reminded me of this woman and her child. Not knowing much about either the mother or the son and having no idea as to whether the hearing problems were physical or psychological, we only discussed general options. I decided that to satisfy my curiosi...

I'm interested in what makes people tick. What moves people to do what they do, why they act a certain way, what the reasons are behind certain behaviours. I study and learn about things like sociology, anthropology, psychology, psychiatry, counselling and religions to help me further my understanding and learn more about these topics. This is organised study, going out to learn about a specific topic at a certain time - deciding to go out and learn about something that interests me. Last night I ended up watching a program on TV about teenage girls who are anorexic, so thin that their bodies can become permanently damaged. While in no way something I aspire to, it was very interesting to watch and fits right in with many other things that I find interesting and enjoy learning about. The program featured girls as young as fourteen or even eleven with a personal target weight of under 30 kilos wearing clothes suited for children much younger than they are. Girls whose periods ha...

So, having decided to start writing a new blog, I need to figure out what to write about. Back in Uni I learnt this technique called "Mind Mapping". Basically you get one central idea or topic and you just write down everything to do with it that comes into your head. So, my topic today is My Interests. I'm going to write some of them down and hopefully from there figure out stuff to actually write about. Some of my Interests in no particular order: Psychology, Psychiatry, Anthropology, Sociology, Photography, Gaming, Religions, Languages, History, Geography, Politics, Ecology, Horses, Horse Riding, Sport, Fitness, Kickboxing, Self Defense, Self Development, Cultures, Music, Bowling, Soccer/Football, Rugby, Biking, Walking, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Israel, Writing, Reading, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Star Trek, Grey´s Anatomy, NCIS, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Fringe, Lost, Heroes, X-Men, Laurell K. Hamilton, Traci Harding, Anne Bishop, Kathy Reichs, Linda Fai...

I've been thinking about starting a new blog. I have all these ideas about what kinds of posts I want on that blog. Posts that share my view of life and of the world, posts that explore things that interest me - people, places, history, religion, psychology, ecology, photography... And then I got thinking - why a new blog? Why not just this one? I've written posts on here and deleted them, started over a few times. And I keep coming back to wondering how much information to share, what to write about, whether to write about stuff happening to me or out there in the world, about my hopes and dreams or about the hopes and dreams of others. So, I figured the other day - this is MY blog, right?! It's my opportunity to share MY views on MY interests. So, not 10 or 20 new blogs where I write about one specific topic. Just this blog that covers all the topics that I care about, find interesting, want to learn more about. People may read my views, opinions, jokes (not that...