Nimavenl - Nicole's Random Ramblings

Reading about ongoing acts of terror and destruction around the world and people who use their interpretation of religious teachings as an excuse to hurt or kill others makes me wonder about humanity, makes me wonder if we are really as smart, special and evolved as we like to believe. With all we think we know, with all we've learnt about the world and about the universe, everything we've achieved in fields like science, technology and medicine, somehow many of us still seem to believe that it is right or just to kill living beings, to keep people as slaves, to treat others as property and hurt people for not following rules some believe are right. Last week, I wrote this post entitled Violence, Death, Destruction... in which I wrote about a number of horrible attacks that took place, attacks by people who support terror, brutality and injustice. Wanting to write about what's going on in the world yet desiring to write something positive and inspiring instead of a do...

A few days ago I left work with a half-full cup of hot chocolate. Managed to walk a few metres incident-free, then tried drinking and walking at the same time... and of course managed to get a mouthful of hot choc all over my coat! It was dark outside, there was pretty much no-one around. I laughed at myself and just for a 'caught up in a funny memory' moment, had a huge smile on my face imagining what one of my best friends would say about my choc-covered coat. I could hear his voice so clearly, could see the half mocking smile as he'd hand me a tissue to clean my coat. Just for a sec, I was totally convinced we were meeting up after work, just as we used to do. The thing is, he lives on the other side of the world. I haven't seen him in person in over a year. We still talk online, however it's not the same as laughing and joking in person. And yet, as I spilled that mouthful of hot chocolate on my coat I was completely convinced I'd be showing him my coat an...

I'm looking to buy a new phone. Have been looking around - online, in shops, at phones my friends have. I've pretty much narrowed it down to a list of four. So now what? Ask the nice people at the shop if I can pretty please try each one out for a week?! Fat chance. Still, if only! Guess it's back to asking friends if I can pretty please play with their phones for a minute. Ok wow - that sounds rather dodgy... I'm currently looking at the Nokia N8, the iPhone, the HTC Desire HD and the Samsung Galaxy S. Being female (or just me!), I love pretty colours and pictures. The HTC has the prettiest colours. And NO - I refuse to base an important choice on pretty colours. So, it comes down to statistics. Every cellphone I've ever had was simple, easy and straightforward. It calls, it sends txts and it might even take simple photos. No internet, no eBooks on it (which is what makes some of these phones sound so awesome !!!!!), no music, no Twitter or Facebook or che...

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...

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...