Good thing I got new shoes . . .

Right after I posted last night, I decided to take a walk.  This time, I went west, instead of east like I'd mostly done the day before.  This was around 7:30 p.m, I believe.  I took 61 pictures before I got back to the room, including some pictures of the hostel.  I discovered that, if I leave the camera on/open while I walk to the next place I want to take a picture, the next photo will not save, and I'll end up with a blank file on the SD card.  So I've gotten into the habit of closing it after each picture--or group of pictures.

Anyway, I got back around 9:30 or 10 p.m.  Wasn't it dark by then, you ask?  Not even close.  The sun sets very late here.  I think around 10:30.  It's certainly starting to get dark now, and it's just past 10:15, so I guess that's it.

Why did I walk so long?  Why, to see the windmill, of course.

Yes, I know that is the first picture I've posted on this blog, and I've been in this country four days already.  However, I've taken at least two hundred pictures already, and I'm posting them on Facebook as I go.  Before I even think about posting anymore here, I want to make sure that 1) they're all turned right-side-up, and 2) I can get them on PhotoBucket and into their own slideshows, so I'm not cluttering up blog posts with just pictures, pictures, pictures.  Make sense?  I thought so.

Anyway, on to today's adventures.

I think I got a sunburn with all the walking I did in the sun today.  I haven't passed a mirror yet, so I can't check though.

I got up and had the free breakfast here at the hostel, and then brought my computer down so that I could get directions to the various places I planned to go today.  After that, I walked to Rotterdam Centraal train station.  It didn't take long, and I was able to board a train for Den Haag.  You know, those train schedules are a lot easier to understand when you're not sleep deprived and jet lagged.

Got there around 1 p.m, and then walked to Madurodam, which is this theme park-type place.  It's a city, but the entire thing is built in miniature scale.  There are also educational videos (I only saw a couple of these) and some interactive bits, like "How many cheeses do you weigh?"  I weigh five cheeses. :)

I thought about getting the stroopwafels, chocolates and cheese that everyone wants back home in the Madurodam gift shop, but then I remembered that it would all have to stay in the guest kitchen until I'm ready to leave, so I figured it would be better to wait until probably Wednesday afternoon, just so I don't forget it on Thursday morning.  Instead, I bought an umbrella (so I wouldn't be caught without one here when it rains) in a pattern of Delft blue, and a set of three souvenir pens.  I almost bought a deck of souvenir playing cards (I like decks with different backs) but I couldn't decide which design I liked better, and I couldn't afford them all.

After having walked 30-45 minutes from the train station to Madurodam, and then all around Madurodam itself, I decided to take the tram back to the station.  I needed to sit down for at least a few minutes.

From Den Haag Centraal, I then traveled to Amsterdam Centraal for even more walking.  I walked to the Anne Frank house, but the line to get in was so long I decided not to wait.  I did take pictures of the outside though.

Next stop, Dam Square.  I had hoped to find a hot stroopwafel vendor here, but no dice.  I did, however, finally get some poffertjes!  I was so excited, I even took a picture before I started eating it.  Silly, huh?

I also so a lot of herring carts, but there's no way I was going to have some of that.  I can probably stand the saltiness, but I just wasn't in the mood for it.  Besides, before the poffertjes, I'd already stopped at a hot dog stand, so I was pretty full anyway.

From Dam Square, I headed to the Rembrandt House Museum, but it was closed when I got there.  Looks like it closed even before I left the Anne Frank house.  Took pictures of the outside there too, and then headed back to the station.

I hopped on a train back to Rotterdam Centraal, and got there about twenty-six minutes too late to catch the tram back to Vasteland, which is the tram stop closest to the hostel where I'm staying.  So, I walked.  I got back a little after 9 p.m, and called Grandma over Skype before uploading pictures to Facebook and typing up this post.

Tomorrow, I think I'll see if I can catch the Peppels at church--if I've got the right building.  I just hope I wake up in time, since I was hoping to use my phone as an alarm clock on this trip, but it won't even tell time here since it's outside its service area!

Ah, well.  I've at least been getting up on time for the free breakfast, which is between 8 and 10 a.m. every morning.  I think their ward meets at either 9:30 or 11:30, so if I get up for the earliest part of breakfast I will hopefully make it.

So . . . many . . . STAIRS!

I didn't go to Amsterdam today.

Tell the truth, I didn't even leave the hostel.

I'd done so much biking yesterday, that this morning, I had trouble getting back up to my room after breakfast--I was that sore, and it wasn't just my legs.  Besides, it rained right after breakfast, and I'd forgotten to grab my umbrella while I was getting my suitcase out of the Bug.  I'm not sure I could afford to buy one here, but I'd do it if I was caught out in the rain--and could find a place nearby to buy one.

So, what did I do instead?  I caught up on some reading, of course.  That seems to be the default Darcy relaxation technique, after all.

Anna had told me about the two Sookie Stackhouse novels I hadn't read yet a couple of weeks ago, and I had my Kindle with me, so I downloaded them both.  I just finished the latest one a few minutes ago.  I can't decide whether to a) lament the apparent death of the Sookie/Eric thing (he was sooo much cooler than Bill), or b) cheer on the Sookie/Sam thing Harris has pretty much been setting up since book one.

Talked to Anna on the phone last night, and tried to call Grandma, but I guess she was out or something, since I only got the answering machine.

I'm kind of on the fence about calling Grandma's friend in Hellevoetsluis, even though she's pretty much the only person I actually know in this country.  I mean, it'd be kind of wierd, if she doesn't even know I'm here, to just all of a sudden call up a friend of my grandma's I'd only met once or twice, right?

Tomorrow though, I'll definitely go into Amsterdam, no matter how hard it is to climb the stairs back to my room.  Maybe I'll walk to the train station (it's only about five blocks or so, straight north from here anyway) instead of biking there.  Perhaps, if I feel the need, I can rent a bicycle when I get there--and get a map of the city, since the one I have is only for Rotterdam.

Other places to see this trip include:

• In Amsterdam
• The Dam
• The Anne Frank House
• The Rembrandt Museum
• A Canal Tour
• In the Hague - Maybe I'll just stop here on my way to Amsterdam tomorrow, get two cities done in one go.
• Madurodam
• The Arnhem Open Air Museum
• The Keukenhof
• The Delta Works in Spijkenisse - would take about an hour by bicycle, and Spijkenisse looks like it's on the way to Hellevoetsluis.  I'm still not sure I'd want to bike that far though.  I still can't find any information about public transportation to either of those places.
• The Arboretum Trompenburg, which is here in Rotterdam somewhere - Looks like about a 15-minute bike ride, but I think I'll wait until Tuesday, and have lunch in the tea house.
• Kinderdijk, which would take about an hour and a half, even with public transport.

I still have yet to have a stroopwafel, hot off the press too, so that's still on the list.  There are also walking tours of Rotterdam from the hostel every Wednesday night, so I'm going to try and get to the one next Wednesday, which is the night before I leave.  I have to make sure I have enough time to pack everything back up either before I go to sleep or before I check out.  The IcelandAir website says that particular flight doesn't leave until 2 p.m, and checkout has to be before 11 a.m, so I'll be all right, I guess.

Whew!

Okay, now that all the non-fiction is posted, I get get down to explaining where I've been all this time.

Scratch that.  You can pretty much figure it out: school, work, Haven, etc.  How about I describe my plans for the summer and next school year instead?

Oh, I've pretty much given up on listing all the books I read for the 50-Book Challenge--keeping track of them as I go is extremely tedious, so when I get around to writing the list, I can never remember all of them.

Anyway, next week, we have a new shift bid at work.  Due to the nature of next Fall's school schedule (one class on Monday/Wednesday, plus two music lessons on either Monday or Tuesday, and two online courses), I'm hoping I finally have the seniority to get the shift with four ten-hour days and three days off--specifically Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday.  Failing that, I'll try either to get the overnight shift with any days off, since my classes are all after that shift ends, or the same shift I have now (0430-1300) with Tuesday/Wednesday or Monday/Tuesday off, which I will then ask to be split to Monday/Wednesday like last Fall, in order to accommodate my class schedule.

A week from this coming Tuesday, I will be accomplishing a goal I have had on my list for over two decades: I'm going to Holland!

I've wanted to go ever since I found out 1) What countries are, and 2) Grandma and Grandpa S. were born and raised there.  In fact, I decided years ago that the first time I was able to afford to take a vacation outside the country, I would go to the Netherlands.  Everywhere else could wait until after that.

I will be staying at a hostel in Rotterdam, and might go to at least say "Hi" to Grandma's friend in The Hague.  I will definitely be visiting The Hague, as well as Amsterdam, the Kinderdijk, and some other places around the country.  I plan to travel by train from city to city, and by bus or taxi within each city.  I might rent a bicycle for in-city transportation as well, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to afford it.

My plane leaves around 5 p.m. on the 29th, so I will be working that day before changing clothes and going to get my luggage from the car.  After that, I will check in and go back through the checkpoint.  I have a layover of about an hour and a half in Rekjavik going both directions, but I figure that will only be enough time to eat, if I need to.

The return flight lands back at Dulles around 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 7th, so if I still have the a.m. shift then, I will not be able to get home in time for a shower and enough recovery time from jet lag in order to function properly at work the next morning.  So, I am taking off Friday, June 8th as well, and returning to work on Saturday, June 9th, which is actually Mom's birthday.

No matter what schedule I have this bid, I should have July 4th off (or at least the day after, so I don't have to worry about going to bed on time), so I'll be able to be in the Haven's annual group picture this year.  That's good, because I had to miss last year's photo.

After my vacation, I'm going to be running an RPG at the Haven, probably on Tuesdays, based on Anne McCaffrey's Pern.  I'm currently tweaking the Cinematic Unisystem rules to accommodate that setting, and I hope the game goes well, because I'm extremely excited about it.  It's going to be set about 500 Turns after the events in The Skies of Pern (in other words, approximately 3,000 After Landing), and I'm not going to say anymore about it, because I don't want to give any spoilers to the people who may be interested in playing.

Next Fall, my classes are as follows:

EN203 with Ted Taft (the same instructor as for EN205 in Fall 2011 and EN204 in Spring 2012): American Literature from the beginning to the Civil War.  EN204 was from the Civil War to modern times.  Mondays/Wednesdays 1100-1215.

LF101 with an as-yet-unnamed instructor: Introductory French - I took French in Middle and High School, but when I signed up for it, the A.P. French class was cancelled, so I could not take it for college credit.  Therefore, I have to start back at the beginning for French at FCC.  Online Course.

MU103 with James Hontz: Fundamentals of Music - I've been trying to take this course for ages, since it's the prerequisite for the Music Theory and Music Composition courses, but never had the time to take it when it was offered before.  Online Course.

MU178A with John Pursell: First Year Brass (Trumpet) - I'm way out of practice with the trumpet, and I want to get my lip back, so I'll be taking weekly ½-hour-long lessons.  Schedule unknown until August, will either be Mondays or Tuesdays.

MU184 with James Hontz: First Year Guitar - Since I only know one real song on the guitar ("Merelan" from The Masterharper of Pern Soundtrack Songbook), and can't really play it at tempo, I figured I'd get actual lessons.  The class I had signed up for in senior year of high school started out with just theory, so I dropped that class in favor of Show Choir, and hadn't gotten around to getting personal lessons yet.  Now, I will have.  These lessons, unlike the trumpet lessons, will be hour-long sessions.  Tuesdays, 1430-1530.

After next semester, I will only need two more Literature courses before I can graduate and get my A.A. degree in English/Literature.  Those courses are the second half of British Literature, EN202, and the second half of World Literature, EN206.  If one or both of them is not offered in the Spring of 2013, my academic advisor, Dr. K, said that we could substitute any other 200-series Literature course, though I don't know what that could be, since I've already taken all of the other 200-series Literature courses I know of.

Anyway, after I get that degree, I plan to go back to FCC and change my major to Music.  I hope to later transfer to a four-year school and get my B.A, so that I can teach music.  That way, if I can't find a position teaching at a school, I'll at least be able to give lessons in my spare time.

I also started writing a story back in November. It's nowhere near finished yet, and it's already over 13,000 words (48 pages, Times New Roman, 12pt, typed and double-spaced or 14 pages, Times New Roman, 6pt, typed and double-spaced). There was no way I was going to do it for Na-No-Wri-Mo though, since I have trouble writing it in anything other than fits and spurts. It doesn't have a title yet, and I'm not going to write a description of it here. I want to finish it before I send it out to the world in general, though a couple people have already read earlier parts of the story.


My original plan was to finish it and send it to the Writers of the Future Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writers Contest (which used to be judged by Anne McCaffrey, who as most of you should know was the author of the Pern series--among others--and my favorite author of all time), but they have a word limit of 17,000 words. Given that I'm maybe half-way through the story at more than 13,000 words, I'll probably be way over the limit by the time the story is finished. If that is the case, and I can do it well enough, I'll abridge the story so that it's under the limit and submit the abridged version to the contest. Then, I'll send the long version to a publisher after the contest is over, no matter whether the story gets a prize or not.


If I cannot abridge the story and still keep the major plot intact, I'll just send it to a publisher.


Lots of plans, lots of stuff to fill my time.  I'm also watching my way through all of the Stargate serieses and movies.  I'm currently nearing the end of Stargate: SG-1 season 9 and Stargate: Atlantis season 2.


No new knitting projects lately, but can you blame me, busy as I've been without them?