And Just When...

So I was thinking about my reunion and feeling a bit like I wish that I had been there. SO I decided to see if there were any pictures or information online. And much to my chagrin, it was canceled. That explains a lot. There was a reason about low attendance. That seems odd, cause when I was there it was the largest high school in the state. And now, not enough graduated folks can come together to have a reunion. I guess that I should not be surprised since I could not make it either. Maybe if they had chosen a different time then I would have been there. Maybe I should take it as a message or something.

10 years Huh

Well, later tonight is my 10-year High School reunion. As I am here I will not be there to join. I kind of wish that I could be there. It would be cool to meet up with some of my old friends. Also, while in Oregon I could connect with some friends and family. It seems that it would just be good to be with the same people that I spent my days with back then. It might tell me something about myself. But since I cannot be there I am fine to live with that. I will not have any reservations for now. Besides, that part of my life is 10-years gone. In some ways though, I do feel like maybe I have not moved along. But I do feel like I have grown quite a bit, quite some.

Gather the Flood

The world is tough, what shall we do? Let us not look at the hardships but look to the river of blessings.

The Lord lead his people out of bondage Egypt. He guided Moses to rally the people and stand up to Pharaoh. Even Moses faltered, but the Lord was with him. So great and amazing things happened. We have the promise of Jesus and the Holy Spirit; the Lord is with us.

Thought

Well, lately I have been quite busy with work. This of course creates the need to have some time not at work. This need can be real pressing at times. Yesterday was just one of those times and it just happened that I had the day off, PTL. So after some needed rest, I headed out to Amstelveen. I was interested in the COBRA Museum. This is a pretty good place though they do have a lot of building for the amount of work that is available for viewing. The main (only) exhibit was about a Dutch painter, Corneille. I really enjoyed his work. I feel that he captured this land and life well. His drawings almost look abstract, but for a change I can see something in them. So I have also had some time to think lately. I am not sure of any conclusions that I have come to nor any that I need to come to. But I do feel that I have ruminated my mind a bit. I look forward to more. Amstelveen is also a cool place. They have a nice, seemingly new, square. There is a nice mall that is of course crafted into multiple buildings. I may venture back if the time comes my way.

What's Going on Lately

Lately things have been very busy with me. I cannot quite pin down where I spend my hours, but I feel that it is at the hostel doing work. We are still quite full so that lends to that sort of a feeling. But I have been feeling like my time here is nearing an end. However, that is just not true. I am halfway through my time, yet I feel myself counting the days.

At any rate, I had another day off the other day. I went for a bike ride. The weather was a tad on the cool side for that but I did not let that spoil my unwinding. The wind, however, put a damper on things. I catch a lot of it as I ride my bike.

What I Do

So I like windmills for some reason. They are nice machines. Back in the day there were lots of nice machines that people made. They seem more ingenious to me than all of the modern machines. Anyway, I like to ride by the windmills at Zaan Schanse. Also, I take lots of pictures of them. So here are a few more of the pictures to post here. I cannot really post my memories from my ride the other day. They just are hard to put down in words. Peace, I felt, along with being free and a crispness. Air is also nice to breathe in cleanly.

So here a couple of pictures of windmills that I took. Enjoy, soon I will post more pictures on my webshots account. I updated it a few weeks ago.

Let's Go

So again I had some time on my hands. This time it did not feel like a burden but rather a reprieve. I was in need of some time off and away. So I decided to go to that great city of Rotterdam that I so like. I had been wanting to see some museums that they have there. My museum card got me into most of the ones that I was interested in. So I went down to have a good and relaxing time.

I rather enjoyed my time there. I wish that I had more time there. It took me longer than expected to scope out the museums. They were quite extraordinary. I enjoyed the Maritiem Museum, it gave a great history of the city as well as of artfully displaying maritime matters. I also enjoyed the Fotomuseum though I did not have enough time to explore it fully. The photos of the city are great, some of them largely panoramic. Also, they had some jazz photos with of course the jazz lightly playing. The Boijmans museum was excellent. They have a little bit of just about every style of painting and artworks. I enjoyed Willink's work, it just looks so real. I just wanted to reach out and touch the cuff of his coat in his self portrait. I also like how he added himself into the Pompei painting.

More stuff that I did in Rotterdam is just to hang out. I enjoy that but also it is nice to do so by the water. It is so nice and peaceful there; life seems so serene. Also I just walked around a bit. I still enjoy doing that in Rotterdam though I have seen a lot of the inner triangle and I enjoy the architecture. I was able to venture out a bit from that. But my time there seemed short. I hope that I will have some ability to return.

Fotographie

Well, wondering what to do. I decided, after some research and planning, that I would purchase a museum card. This is an investment for me since I do not get it for the discount price that most folks around here do. But I figured that the cost will force me to utilize it to its proper fulfillment.

Today I went to the photo museum in Amsterdam, Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam. I like photos quite a bit so it seemed like a good first choice for usage of my crisp new museum card. They have an American photo exhibit there that will be departing soon. I had to check it out; Mitch Epstein. It features different photos that are taken from a couple of collections. Some show the photographers political endeavorings. But if you do not even take that into account you can see the pictures for their intrinsic beauty. The other photos and a short movie showcase the photographers parents. But this is to showcase the situation of the American dream. It is in a downfall; quite true.

There was another exhibit that is pretty cool. There are similiar scenes that were shot in three cities. They showcase the similarities of folks across the world in our lives. It is good and laid out well. Also, another out there exhibit of American youth. The room is laid out in darkness with speakers at each photo stand pelting out a decent tune. Somehow the youth of America has changed. I am no longer counted in that part. Somehow, I am no longer so young. How did this happen?