Nimavenl - Nicole's Random Ramblings

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...

The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon My rating: 4 of 5 stars I enjoyed this book but did find it a little hard to read at times. I found the story very interesting, and was fascinated with the descriptions of how a Jewish state could have been, had it not been for the country of Israel. Definitely a good read, and worth the time it took me to finish the book. View all my reviews

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama My rating: 5 of 5 stars Reading this book, there was one thought that kept spinning through my head: "I like this guy!" Seeing Mr Obama on TV and reading about him in different newspapers in the time before his election to President, he amazed me. The way he talked  drew me in and his charisma and vision fascinated me. But, I wondered, did he have the experience to know what he was talking about? How well would his words translate into action? Reading about Mr Obama's life and experiences in Hawaii, Indonesia, Chicago and Kenya was extremely interesting. To have access to diverse environments such as these is one thing, but to be an insider there (instead of a visitor or a tourist) is something else entirely. It gives one unique insights that aren't available to others, and I feel that this is definitely true in his case. I wanted to read this book as I wanted to find out more about Mr O...

So ok, it's a random thing, sure, but it annoyed me and I want to write about it. Watching the Italy - The Netherlands soccer world cup qualifying match (well, we've already qualified. Still... that's what the match was for...), I was royally pissed off at the Italian team. Not only do they take out one of our star players by tearing into his ankle, they also try for a Maradona-ish "hand of God" moment by trying to push the ball into the goal... using a hand, not a foot as would be expected of a FOOTball player! I get that it's nice to score a goal, I totally do.  I get that any normal person would try and catch something that's thrown at them, or at least stick their hand out to try to get it away from them. I do. HOWEVER - A professional soccer player - someone who gets paid megabucks for how good he is at running around a field, running after a ball and kicking that ball WITH HIS FEET - that person definitely should not use his hand to get...

Tommyland by Tommy Lee My rating: 3 of 5 stars I quite enjoyed this book, and absolutely loved the humour Mr Lee brought to this story. Also, his sincerity and fortrightness appealed to me. Mr Lee seems the type to tell a story the way it is (as far as possible and allowed in a book like this), no matter the rough bits, no matter how bad it makes him look. The way he explains being in jail and how hard it was, the birth of his children and his separation from his second wife - these explanations sound so real and sincere that they really shook me. Yes, I knew already that Tommy Lee is a real person with a real life, not just a drummer or a party person or a face on a cd cover. But now I feel I've had an actual glimpse of who that person is, and he's someone I'm happy to respect and read more of. For sure! View all my reviews