Happy new year!
Should have updated a while ago, but just couldn't be bothered. Just realised that although I have been living in this house for nearly 6 years, this is my first new year's eve here. The first two years I lived here, I went to my parents' house, and the last four years we were in Glasgow. No Glasgow this year, well, not for the holidays. Couldn't get a cheap enough flight, cos Easyjet decided to not fly the Amsterdam-Glasgow route anymore.
Fireworks have been going off all day. Actually, they've been going off all week, today is worse though. I just can't understand why peopel spend so much money on them. There was an item in the news the other day about how much people are spending on fireworks. They were interviewing people that just came out of the shop. There were these four boys, of around 16 years old, who had bought for about 300 euro. That's just insane. And most of it is just noisy fireworks.
So what happened this year?
Well, I finished the MSc in palaeobiology course. Still waiting for my final marks, but they will be in soon I guess. We were told they would tell us in January, as the graduating ceremony is in February.
When doing the research for my MSc thesis on Cope's Rule in elephants, I was in the Rotterdam nature museum and decided to just be bold and ask if they had some material I could work on. Result: I am now working on a PhD with the nature museum's director (who is also a professor in vertebrate palaeontology at Utrecht university) and the vertebrate palaeontology curator of the national natural history museum.
Am also still working as an archaeologist. The excavation we did was quite interesting. An iron age settlement, with most of the wood from the buildings still intact, and a dug-out canoe. I got the opportunity to work with the wood specialist, very nice people and also very keen on sharing their knowledge. I have been visiting them at their office and they have been teaching me how to recognize trees and also how to identify tree species from archaeological excavations (involves slicing them up and looking at them under the microscope, all very interesting). Unfortunately, the people from the excavation are not as nice. I am still working there, cos I need the money, but if I didn't, or if I was offered another job, I would leave right away. Well, my contract ends in about 13 weeks anyway, so I won't be there for long anymore.
In April we went to America. I had never been to America, so it was all very exciting. We were staying with friends that I had never met before. Not even properly spoken with before. But they were so nice, and their dog is really fantastic :) If anyone's interested, the photos are on my website.
So what else has happened this year? Granma has been in the hospital. She is doing ok now, but is still very stubborn. I think she is the most stubborn person I know :) At times she is driving my parents insane, cos she doesn't want anything. She needs help, but doesn't want it. Eventually she does what they want, but it takes a lot. At least she has now accepted that someone is coming over to clean her house every week, and that people are doing the groceries for her.
Granpa is doing quite well, he still drives around on his scootmobile, except when the weather is bad.
Mum broke her foot a few weeks ago, but she is now allowed to stand on it (even though her leg is still in a cast).
Christmas was a big disappointment, as always. It's a lot of hassle to get all the groceries done, and do all the cooking, and before you get the time to enjoy it, it is over.
And so is christmas vacation. I had two weeks off, but it all went so fast and I have to go back to work again on monday. Fortunately the snow is gone. It looked beautiful, but it's not good driving in it.
So, just another two and a half hours and the year is over. I always feel a bit weird on new years eve. I don't really like it. But tomorrow will be better. And we have oliebollen :)
Fireworks have been going off all day. Actually, they've been going off all week, today is worse though. I just can't understand why peopel spend so much money on them. There was an item in the news the other day about how much people are spending on fireworks. They were interviewing people that just came out of the shop. There were these four boys, of around 16 years old, who had bought for about 300 euro. That's just insane. And most of it is just noisy fireworks.
So what happened this year?
Well, I finished the MSc in palaeobiology course. Still waiting for my final marks, but they will be in soon I guess. We were told they would tell us in January, as the graduating ceremony is in February.
When doing the research for my MSc thesis on Cope's Rule in elephants, I was in the Rotterdam nature museum and decided to just be bold and ask if they had some material I could work on. Result: I am now working on a PhD with the nature museum's director (who is also a professor in vertebrate palaeontology at Utrecht university) and the vertebrate palaeontology curator of the national natural history museum.
Am also still working as an archaeologist. The excavation we did was quite interesting. An iron age settlement, with most of the wood from the buildings still intact, and a dug-out canoe. I got the opportunity to work with the wood specialist, very nice people and also very keen on sharing their knowledge. I have been visiting them at their office and they have been teaching me how to recognize trees and also how to identify tree species from archaeological excavations (involves slicing them up and looking at them under the microscope, all very interesting). Unfortunately, the people from the excavation are not as nice. I am still working there, cos I need the money, but if I didn't, or if I was offered another job, I would leave right away. Well, my contract ends in about 13 weeks anyway, so I won't be there for long anymore.
In April we went to America. I had never been to America, so it was all very exciting. We were staying with friends that I had never met before. Not even properly spoken with before. But they were so nice, and their dog is really fantastic :) If anyone's interested, the photos are on my website.
So what else has happened this year? Granma has been in the hospital. She is doing ok now, but is still very stubborn. I think she is the most stubborn person I know :) At times she is driving my parents insane, cos she doesn't want anything. She needs help, but doesn't want it. Eventually she does what they want, but it takes a lot. At least she has now accepted that someone is coming over to clean her house every week, and that people are doing the groceries for her.
Granpa is doing quite well, he still drives around on his scootmobile, except when the weather is bad.
Mum broke her foot a few weeks ago, but she is now allowed to stand on it (even though her leg is still in a cast).
Christmas was a big disappointment, as always. It's a lot of hassle to get all the groceries done, and do all the cooking, and before you get the time to enjoy it, it is over.
And so is christmas vacation. I had two weeks off, but it all went so fast and I have to go back to work again on monday. Fortunately the snow is gone. It looked beautiful, but it's not good driving in it.
So, just another two and a half hours and the year is over. I always feel a bit weird on new years eve. I don't really like it. But tomorrow will be better. And we have oliebollen :)