2021: My year in music Jan 1, 2022 Art is how we decorate space; Music is how we decorate time. ― Jean Michel Basquiat When I first started the ritual of making an annual playlist, The stories of our plants: cosmos bipinnatus Sep 11, 2021 Come spring and the grocery store here starts giving out a small kitchen garden “starter packs” of seeds for every 15€ or so of groceries purchased. Utrecht Jul 18, 2021 The wife and I had a day off together a couple of weeks ago. Between me being fully vaccinated, her having had her first shot for a few days and the Amsterdam’s architecture under dramatic May skies Jun 6, 2021 What the title says… My Covid-19 vaccination story May 24, 2021 PostNL informs you via a notification in their app when a mail is on your way. They even include a picture of the envelope so you can guess what to Cherry blossoms and rose-ringed parakeets May 22, 2021 Come spring and the cherry blossoms are among the first ones to bloom in Amsterdam’s Westerpark. Last year, a few more of these had been planted My last flight Apr 17, 2021 It’s been more than a year now since I stepped inside an airport, let alone an airplane. The last time I flew was on a trip back from San Francisco The Night mode on iPhone Feb 6, 2021 As the winters begin to set in, the days in Amsterdam get shorter. One doesn’t have to stay up very late to do night photography. I had first tried Discovering Vilhelm Hammershøi Jan 30, 2021 I was at Munich’s Kusthalle in Sep 2019 to see an exhibition of works by Canadian impressionists. I was carrying a small backpack which wasn’t Curfew in the Netherlands Jan 24, 2021 After much deliberation, the parliament here has introduced curfews from 9:00 PM till 4:30 AM for two weeks starting yesterday. Having spent over a A long rant about the second Covid-19 wave in the Netherlands Jan 18, 2021 As October 2020 rolled in and the number of Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations continued to rise, it was quite clear that the Netherlands 2020: My year in music Jan 1, 2021 Music is one of the biggest joys of my life. In 2020 it was also a source of profound comfort and, in addition to whatever little I managed to read, The story of my integration tests (Inburgeringsexamen) Aug 23, 2020 Wij melden fraude altijd bij de politie We always report fraud to the police Warned a notice stuck to one of the pillars in the waiting area of my The library during the lockdown Jul 12, 2020 On the evening of 13 Mar 2020, I received an email from the library announcing that all branches of the library would close temporarily. A couple of Sort-of-quarantine Diaries, Day whatever: The Haircut May 23, 2020 The Netherlands has begun taking first tentative steps towards reopening after the Covid-19 lockdown. Since last week, the so called “contact King’s Day in the time of a pandemic May 3, 2020 A few years ago, when we were relocating from my company-provided temporary accommodation to our apartment in the last week of April, we were told Quarantine Diaries, Day 35 Apr 19, 2020 (Posted 20 Apr 2020, 21:09) 20:00 I was due to fly to India to meet my parents next week. Once the lockdowns began in Europe and India, the airline Quarantine Diaries, Day 34 Apr 18, 2020 (Posted 19 Apr 2020, 23:50) 20:39 Our energy provider sends us a monthly report detailing our usage of electricity and gas. It tells us how our Quarantine Diaries, Day 33 Apr 17, 2020 (Posted 18 Apr 2020, 21:49) 19:05 Centraal Station was eerily quiet. All the shops inside were closed (save for one to-go grocery store), no Quarantine Diaries, Day 32 Apr 16, 2020 (Posted 18 Apr 2020, 13:02) 20:05 Walked past Westerpark and saw this portable electronic sign dissuading people from visiting… …and keeping