Nimavenl - Nicole's Random Ramblings

This week's Photo Challenge photos are here! We are certainly not rich enough to own a boat, however we love spending time on the water. Living in a small and pretty crowded country means getting away from people for some peace, quiet and one-on-one time with nature is a challenge on land, which is partly why I love being on the water. So, we rent a boat for the afternoon or the day a few times every summer. Just a small boat (I guess I should call it a dinghy with an outboard motor, not a boat) however it gets us away from people and out into nature. Living in New Zealand, where one can spend hours in nature without seeing or hearing another person, has certainly spoiled me! While I enjoy living in Europe and love being able to walk around towns that are hundreds of years old, I do miss the laid-back approach to life, the natural beauty and the serenity of New Zealand. But... This post isn't about the many differences between my two home countries, it's a Photo Chal...

It's Friday! That means a new episode of Defiance! And a Twitter feed full of references to Castithans, Irathients, Indogenes and Omec. And a lot of other things, including marriage and food... Not a bad way to spend my Friday evening - my inner geek / nerd / sci-fi fan(atic) is happy! To start off this Defiance Friday, I read an interview with Nichole Galicia. She plays Kindzi - one of the new aliens this season. As the actress explains in the interview, she was in New Zealand at the time of her audition. Due to the distance and the time difference with the rest of the world, her entire audition was done by taping herself. Now that is dedication and a lot of hard work! "This role was meant to be mine because that never happens. So when I was booked I did what I do to research every role, I started in a museum." As if reading that the actress was in New Zealand didn't already make me jealous, reading that she went to one of my favourite places didn't help eit...

As social media seems to explode about the Supreme Court of the United States of America's (SCOTUS) decision to legalise gay marriage in the US and Twitter can't seem to stop talking about how great the world is, I have to admit that there's this voice in the back of my mind that wants to tell Americans "Welcome to the club! Glad that you finally made it..." For a country that prides itself on its inclusiveness and democratic values, why did it have to take so long to legalise marriage for all people? The U.S. is now among nearly two dozen countries that allow same-sex marriage nationwide: http://t.co/GDlydLBCWW pic.twitter.com/awVwTfyHXi — PewResearch Religion (@PewReligion) June 26, 2015 As the above map shows, there are many other countries where marriage is legal for all couples, regardless of their gender. In fact, both of my countries - The Netherlands and New Zealand - have already legalised gay marriage. According to the data on the website, The...

Spent several hours on Skype today, talking to New Zealand. Well okay, about five hours. Thanks, Skype! Thanks, internet! As we emailed back and forth to make plans for when to talk, my friend suggested we talk my (European) morning, her (Kiwi) evening. We're currently ten hours apart, so planning for 'when' makes sense. As she was the one to suggest the time, I agreed. One question, though: Won't you miss Westside if you're talking to me? Hey, I may be on the other side of the world but there are some Kiwi programs I keep up to date with! I asked again during our Skype chat as my friend used to be as mad about Outrageous as I was (and am). Oh, I'll watch it later , she tells me. Good! Glad to see that some things don't change! Speaking of Westside - An anonymous commenter posted a link to a YouTube video in response to an earlier blog post I wrote about Westside . The video had been removed by the time I clicked the link however I suppose it was probabl...

New Kiwi TV show Westside hasn't even aired yet and I'm already wondering when it'll be out on DVD so I can watch it. Although I must admit there's a devil on my shoulder wondering if I ask really ( really, really ) nicely, perhaps someone in NZ will feel like directing a web cam at their television just so I can watch from over here. Yes, I'm kidding... Blame it on my enthusiasm for what looks to be a great new show! "There are lamingtons and screwdrivers, sausage rolls and crates of beer, lots of orange, lots of brown, vintage Holdens and Fords. This is Westside , the tale of Ted, his family and his gang, cruising and bruising through the 1970s." ( Westside: Outrageous Fortune rewinds the clock | New Zealand Herald, 24 May 2015) This new prequel to the massively successful Outrageous Fortune is set in the 1970s and looks to be just as outrageous as Outrageous . Not to mention funny, shocking and thrilling. The show stars Antonia Prebble as Rita We...

Only weeks after a 7.8 magnitude quake struck Nepal, another 7-pointer (7.3 this time) has hit the same region. The first quake caused a lot of damage and thousands of deaths. It was felt not just in Nepal but in surrounding countries as well. The second earthquake earlier today has, according to news reports, caused at least 30 40 57 66 deaths and injured hundreds thousands. No doubt the numbers will continue to rise. As the hash-tags #NepalEarthquake and #prayforNepal trend on Twitter, I can't help but think of what the poor people of Nepal must be going through. After losing so much (and so many) already, people in one of the world's poorest regions again go through agony, suffering and heartbreak. Everyone has lost a relative, a friend or a neighbour, or all of them in #Gorkha . http://t.co/e1XjISSAee pic.twitter.com/Sr096cyjSP — Nepali Times (@nepalitimes) May 11, 2015 Having lived in Napier, New Zealand for several years, I am no stranger to earthquakes...

When I arrived in Auckland (New Zealand) as a fresh-faced and innocent 18-year old over a decade ago, I was determined to do everything my way, which means I checked into a backpacker hostel. There was a woman at the desk who welcomed me to the hostel and to the country. I don't remember her exact words, however as people do, we talked briefly. About New Zealand, about my flight, about the facilities at the hostel, about the weather... Yes, I'm very happy to be here...   My flight was fine, thanks...   Yes, I've been here before...   No, I don't need a map, I know the city... What I do remember is that she mentioned that Auckland weather was like four seasons in one day. Seeing I'd lived in Auckland before (and was raised by a Kiwi!), I readily agreed and thought she'd come up with a very clever way to describe Auckland's weather. The words sounded familiar too... What I found out later was that the woman at the hostel didn't come up with those words on...

Vanmorgen een berichtje ontvangen: "Heb je de aardbeving nog gevoeld?" We kijken elkaar aan - Welke aardbeving? Bij ons in Noord Holland of bij jullie in Groningen? , vragen we ons af terwijl we naar een nieuwskanaal zappen op televisie en druk beginnen te typen op laptop en telefoon om online ook eventjes te lezen wat er aan de hand is. Ik naar de website van het KNMI om daar naar hun kaartje van Nederland te kijken. Appingedam (in Groningen) staat bovenaan met een 2.3 op de schaal van Richter - uit eigen ervaring weet ik dat een 2.3 een lichte beving is die wat zal voelen als een vrachtwagen (of bus... of trein...) die langs rijdt, misschien wat stof naar beneden zal doen dwarrelen. Maar dat is in Nieuw Zeeland waar aardbevingen normaal zijn. Dat is in Nieuw Zeeland waar aardbevingen van nature voorkomen omdat er daar tektonische platen tegen elkaar aan schuiven die aardbevingen veroorzaken. Dat is in Nieuw Zeeland waar men op aardbevingen voorbereid is, er op bouwt en...

I've been re-watching my season one DVDs of New Zealand television show Outrageous Fortune and am having a blast with the West family. It's been some time! Decided to check out the TV show's official website today and came across an article that made me very happy. They're making a prequel to Outrageous Fortune starring Antonia Prebble as Rita West! I am so very thrilled! How did I not know this?! Antonia Prebble (Outrageous Fortune, White Lies, The Blue Rose) and David de Lautour (The Kick, NCIS, Once Upon a Time) headline the cast of South Pacific Pictures’ new comedy drama series WESTSIDE, the six-part Outrageous Fortune prequel which is coming next year to TV3.   Prebble stars as Rita, the West family matriarch – a role she played briefly in flashback scenes during Outrageous Fortune season four. De Lautour plays the role of Ted West, the 30-something incarnation of the beloved ‘Grandpa’ character who was deftly portrayed in all six seasons of Outrageous Fortu...

I posted a new photo to my Facebook Page. Love autumn and autumn colours - The colours make me happy! :-) Post by Nimavenl .

With the 2011 Rugby World Cup final approaching, every self-respecting Kiwi is finding excuses to wear black... Lots of black. While I'm not usually a girly-girl who cares too much about appearances, even my nails got a make-over and now look amazing... Tried to get a close-up shot of them using my phone, and to have it look vaguely artsy at the same time. Not sure how well that worked out though ;-) Now go back to your lives, remember to dress up in black on Sunday (the winners-to-be are after all called the All Blacks!!!!), and enjoy the big game! And just in case you can't get enough of fancy nails and nail art, check out this link to  Emily's Nail Files - totally awesome blog !!!!!

It's been a long time since I went on a holiday. Well, that's one way of looking at it... One could also say that I'm still on holiday, a holiday that's lasted for almost two years now. Life here in The Netherlands has been good. I really enjoy my job, have some pretty awesome friends, and feel at peace with myself. It's not a glamorous life or a very exciting one just right now, however all things can change! At the moment, my life is simple. Easy. Uncomplicated. Boring even, quite a lot of the time. I will most definitely go stir-crazy if I have to live this life for another two years, however for these past two years, it's been what I needed. Living a simple and easy life has allowed me to get settled in, it's allowed me to save up, it's allowed me to get a job and make friends and figure out what I want without a whole lot of stress. And now I'm going on holiday. I'm going back to New Zealand. I'm excited and looking forward...

I haven't spent much time in front of my computer since Friday. Instead, I've been spending time in front of my TV watching the news and the updates on the situation in Japan. It's unbelievable. Just completely unbelievable. Not only do the people of Japan have to deal with the aftermath of an extremely strong earthquake, there's also a tsunami, and to top it off fears for a possible nuclear disaster. I'm no stranger to earthquakes, however I'm used to 3, 4, and 5-point quakes on the Richter scale. A quake as huge, as enormous as the one in Japan, with as many aftershocks as there have been, that quite frankly scares the crap out of me. The feeling you get when the ground you stand on starts rumbling and shaking, that feeling of utter insignificance and smallness, that feeling is incredibly humbling. It is also incredibly scary. My first big earthquake was a life-changing experience. It really made me realise (even more than before) how small and insi...

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...

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...