Portugal

ok, I forgot my camera...wow. So these are off my phone. It is so amazing here, I love it. The coastline is just epic and dramatic, there is really no other word. I went for a walk yesterday with a few other guys and it was so amazing the sea was incredible, the power and strength. Enjoy.

The middle day

Ok, the last picture was Wednesday, this is thursday, the middle day to today, which is friday, if you lost track/count. Thursday I literally was at my desk all day, 8am - 10pm, it was a long day, but a good one, we got Summit all set, and now all I have to do is keep up with changes and pack. I think sticker is a good representation of how I felt at the end of yesterday, I leave you to interpret.

Another boring Pic

ok, rather than take another boring picture of my desk, which is where I have been the last 2 full days. I will use a pic taken in the last week. I know this is not what I promised, but I hope you can find it in your heart(s) to forgive me. I will be leaving The Hague sunday and not returning till 15 March, so between now and then I don't think there will be any shortage of interesting pictures. This is a picture from the Martini Tower in Groningen. I thought this picture was appropriate for my feeling toward life right now, but I made it to the top of that tower and I will make it through this period of life, press on!!

Another snowy day

Today, was another light snowy day. It was very picturesque. I woke to snow falling all of The Hague, as I walked to work it was like a winter wonderland. I snapped this shot in a square I walk through most days. It is a fun sculpture of a man walking his dog. Anyway, enjoy.

Heaven

This is a picture of heaven incarnate. The perfect bowl of Salsa. It was created yesterday and consumed immediately. That is all.

Sneeuw in Den Haag

We had another nice snowfall today in The Hague. It was great to wake up to a freshly coated city. It fit well after staying up to watch the Winter Olympics last night. Here is a shot me standing in the middle of two tram tracks. This is a common view in The Hague as you walk around at some point you will find yourself in the middle of two tram tracks. I am sure there is some sort of metaphor or lesson, but I don't know what it is...

The Duinen (Saturday)

Today I went with some people from Crossroads to Kijkduin and we walked in the Duins all the way to Scheveningen and back. It was cold, windy and great. I had a great time, got a good workout and had good conversation with people I knew and some who I did not. this is a little abandoned shop or at least abandoned in the winter time. I am beat now, so tired and am watching the winter olympics, congrats Switerland on the gold in ski jumping, now is the speed skating, come on USA, but I do have to say, every dutch person I have asked as said they are going to watch the skating.

Technical Article (Friday)

Yes, I am catching up, I have taken pictures, but uploading them has been a different story. Here is a picture of something that occupied my time while I could have been uploading pictures. Its an article, by Thomas Nagel. This is an article sent to my by my good friend, the self proclaimed, Lord Jonathan Krull Phd (pending). The article is titled "Public Education [in the U.S.] and Intelligent Design." Thomas Nagel is a philosophy professor at NYU and is an Athiest. To be honest, don't really care about the debate, I know its a big deal to a lot of people, but I just don't care, sorry. Anyway, this article was excellent, it was well argued, it was beautifully written and most of all it caused me to think, and think about core assumptions I held being a modern/postmodern person. Anyway, loved it, and it also reminded me how much like to research...I need to do more of that, again.

Mail Boxes (Thursday)

Here is my mail box, 18C. But don't send me anything. I can't get in. I do pass these everday and am actually glad I can't get in. Everyday everyone in our building has to stop and check their mail...I don't. It may seem like a little thing, but usually when I am coming home or leaving my mind is somewhere else, so I would hate to have to lose my train of thought everyday. Also, I can get mail at the office, where I am usually more focused on practical things...usually.

Snow Capped Roofs

Who doesn't like snow capped roofs? Really, is there a more serene sight? Smoke pouring out of chimneys, snow laying softly on the rooftops, everything is peaceful and quite. Ahh, I love winter.

A Sucker

I am always a sucker for a beautiful sunset. The colors, the clouds, this one caught my eye as I was running out the door. A relatively cloudy day in The Hague ended with this. I would say that's a pretty nice end to a day in south holland.

The Entry Way

This is the entry way to my apartment building. Not very exciting. I actually thought the colors were left over from the 60's, but no they just repainted them fresh the other week, wow. This is one of those hallways that is out of the matrix, sterile and bleak. I thought I would take a picture, because in a way it is also contemplative. The hallway analogy, where are we going, what is around the corner. A lot of times this is all we see in front of us, boring life, sterile, but we don't know what is around the corner. Anything?

Simplicity

I love simplicity, I strive for it. I don't think life is complicated, but I think we make it complicated, because we want to feel like things are hard because they are complicated, rather than the simple reality of "Life is just hard." This picture captures my love of simplicity. The color is bright and vibrant, the pegs are decretive, again simple yet add to the overall ascetic of the wood. I look at this an appreciate the beauty in its simplicity.

Make up

ok, since I missed the last couple days, I am making it up with photo's I took on those days, Friday was the hotel, saturday is this museum and Sunday will be another photo. This museum is the Groningen Museum, very modern, very abstract and very weird, I was not a fan of the architecture, although I can appreciate the style it was done in, but I am not a fan of that style. It was a fun building though and brought some spark to a otherwise dreary day.

Hampshire Hotel

This was our hotel in Groningen. It was a very nice hotel for only 30 euros per night, amazing. We had a great time here, in Groningen the north of the Netherlands. It was freezing cold, but there was snow and a lot of fog. It was a fun relaxing time visiting a nice city.

Broken Leather man

Here is what a Leather man looks like after it fell apart when you were trying to fix your bike yesterday and all of a sudden your leather man drops 5 different amazing tools all over the dark hallway that you are working on your bike in. I don't know what happened, obviously the bolt that held everything together fell out, but I don't know when or where. So there you go.

Blue Cross

This is a section of a cross my parents gave me from Arizona. It a has a very cool, southwestern design on it and nice light blue color. This cross was broken in my move to Holland, I was pretty bummed (upset) about that. Still though it carries a powerful symbolism with it. I think more can be done through brokenness than through any other means.

The Lantern

Outside of the window in front of my desk is a lantern, It is a little rusted as you can tell, and is really cool looking. I can't wait to have some warms nights with the lantern lit. You are all welcome to join me of course. I also enjoy the detail on the rope, I like the rustic feel it gives.