Sick Week

We were finally able to go to the gym today for the first time in two weeks. Last weekend we were too sick to make it. Monday I only had two lesson so I struggled though it. Tuesday I didn't have any lessons, but a conference in Utrecht and a dinner with friends. On Wednesday and Thursday things caught up with me and I stayed home from school. Naomi stayed home on Thursday as well, and she was worse off then me: not the cough and runny nose that I had, but pure exhaustion.

Friday we went back to school and I made it through 8 lessons. The first year students are getting busier and less manageable. This is a bummer. Friday night we had three colleagues over for dinner and the burritos were delicious  We had a great time. A couple more joined us for a movie - we watched Colombiana. We schedule one of these 'Movie Club' nights every month and this one was a great success.

This weekend was much more relaxed because we were able to take care of a few things on Wednesday and Thursday. The rest of the afternoon holds a rehabilitation of our guest room and the cooking of a tasty stew. Perhaps we will write down our recipie and kick off the cookbook we will make some day with it. Our American friend Tyson will join us for dinner. Should be an enjoyable remainder of the weekend.

Birthday Week

On Wednesday I turned 27. People at work were a bit surprised that I was under 30...I guess I make them feel old. Tuesday was a long day. We had a prospective parent workshop so I had to help out with that. This meant a 14 hour day of work. The day after I was feeling a bit sick. Naomi was a little disappointed about this because she had reserved for dinner at a fancy place. As it turns out, the lady phoned to say that she had no more reservations for the evening and didn't want us to feel uncomfortable being the only ones eating. We postponed for the weekend (yesterday) and she set us up with a deal where four of us could eat for the same price as two. This worked out quite nicely as Naomi's Dad and significant other were planning to visit.

Fast forward to Saturday - we barely had time to pick up some nice bike bags for Naomi's bike (so I don't have to haul her stuff around anymore) and our guests arrived. We had a nice lunch and afterward Naomi arranged a little excursion for the four of us. We visited the SS Rotterdam, a cruise ship built in 1957 for the Holland-America line that hauled about 2000 tourists or immigrants at a time. Its regular route was from Rotterdam to NYC but it was retired to a dock in the city center about 15 years ago. It needed an estimated few million Euros worth of renovation, and as the city owned the boat, agreed to foot the bill. The project became a bit scandalous as the costs mushroomed toward the 200 million mark and just recently the city sold the boat to a big hotel chain for a mere 20 or 30 million Euros. Quite the loss. The tour was interesting though. Amazing that they could carry enough stuff to keep 2000 people fed and entertained for 80 days at sea.

Our dinner turned out to be quite nice. A five course meal. We spent about 3 hours at our table. After that it didn't take long to find the bed as I was feeling sick still. Today was much worse as far as my cold goes. It is turning into something real now. Luckily I was able to relax for much of the day, so hopefully I will be able to make it to school tomorrow.

The amazing cranberry cheesecake that Naomi made for my Birthday.

The SS Rotterdam from the boarding gangway.

Sinterklaas arrived with his 'Black Piets'...long story.

Downtown Rotterdam in the mist.

From the edge of the bridge.

The steering wheel that lacks all imagination.

Captain's Quarters.

Smoke stacks.

Dessert...mmmmmmm.

 

Breaking Down

This week has been one of things breaking. At school, my adapter that allows me to use my laptop with a projector finally completely broke. It has been showing funny colors for the past month, so a few weeks ago I put in an order for a new one. Several times a week I would check on this order with no progress. The new adapter has still not arrived, so I asked for a whole new computer. I was asked to bring it back at the end of the day, and had a long discussion about how this would not happen because I use it for every lesson. I said I would return it when I got my adapter. This should move the order along - unfortunately this seems to be one of the few ways to make anything happen - collateral of some kind or another. This week I will take a shot at some new tactics for solving problems at school...quite the political dilemma...

At home, we woke up to a cold house. After an hour of troubleshooting in the attic, we finally determined it was our new, expensive thermostat and not the hot water heater that was acting up. At least we found a temporary way to solve the problem.

On the ride home last night, we noticed my bike light has stopped working. This is an essential component of transportation at this time of the year, when we ride to and from school in the dark. The troublesome thing is that the light is an integrated system that generates is energy from inside the hub of my front wheel. Not sure how to fix this one...

Back to the...routine?

It would have been nice to have an easy week to slide back into. On the home front, some painters were replacing window trim and sanding down the house. It was supposed to be done in the spring, but better now than December I suppose. This meant they needed a bit of support and a lot of cleaning up after. Yesterday we cleaned the downstairs and put some plastic on the windows - and found some nice, red plates and bowls from France! I am sure they will make our food taste better. Today we hope to do some more plastic and finish cleaning, along with the grocery shopping, sporting at the gym, and visiting with a friend. Another full weekend.

School was a bit of a mess. The first years had their standardized tests this week. They were much better organized than last year, but the kids were still very busy after 3 hours of testing 3 days of the week. Glad we shifted the 4th day to Monday. Grades were also due, and there was one class I was not able to finish due to the tests. The others turned out well. I asked for an extension until 5pm on Friday to put in my grades - and I submitted the last on at 4:59. I was quite proud of myself, due to this beautiful timing, but also because we tried something new. Their latest assignment was done on Google Drive. They were working in partners and could edit the same document at the same time. I could also see it. This way, they also didn't have to submit via email or a hard copy of something. The process was quite streamlined for a first go.

We created quite the Moroccan-style dinner this week.