Now it's not there, now it is.
Came home from work on Friday to find my bike gone. Even though I live a stone's throw away from the station, sometimes - when I'm particularly late - I do grab my bike to get to the station in the mornings. But not always - so when I didn't see it on Friday, I started to seriously doubt myself. I stood there like an idiot trying to retrace my steps of that morning, but yes, I had taken my bike. And it wasn't where I left it.
*censored*
Now, the area around the station is being "redeveloped" - that is to say, the square's being repaved, only someone is getting paid for making it sound more expensive. And well, due to this repaving, excuse me, redeveloping, they occassionally have to move some bikes that are in the way. And indeed, there was a sign up saying "bikes have been moved to the bicycle park across the street". So, even though I could see no reason why my bike would've been in the way, I went across the street, hoping very hard I'd find it there. But you know what? On a rainy evening in the dark it's very nearly impossible to distinguish one bicycle from another, and after searching (and getting wetter and colder) for 15 minutes, I gave up.
On Saturday morning, I went back to search by daylight. But the bike wasn't there.
* more censored, censored, censored*
So, hoping against hope, I decided to not only look in the area where removed bikes were supposedly repositioned, but I searched the entire bike park. (For those readers living in non-bikey countries: bicycle parks near Dutch railway stations look like this:)
I found it. Somewhere in between 10,000 other bikes, I found my trusted and reliable means of transportation. Someone had moved it to a different position altogether!!! Grr, grr, grrr. But, at least it wasn't stolen. So, all in all, this was a non-event, but it turns out you can fill an entire LJ-post with saying "my bike was not stolen on Friday." This amuses me.
Something else that amuses me is the Jane Austen-course I'm taking this semester. We'll be discussing nothing but Jane, Jane, Jane for 13 glorious weeks. I've been wanting to take this course since I first started my studies at Leiden. Whoo! Join in the fun:
Prof T (teaching Jane Austen course): The last time I taught an evening course was around the time that Jane Austen was still alive.
Prof T: My voice is gone, and so will I be, soon. (He's not that old, so it was funny, not morbid.)
And, in fashion shopping:
Me: *tries on red coat with black buttons*
Friend I: *frowning* Do you really like that?
Me: It reminds me of a ladybug!
Friend I: Yes, well. A very large ladybug...
I didn't buy the coat... 'Nuff said.
*censored*
Now, the area around the station is being "redeveloped" - that is to say, the square's being repaved, only someone is getting paid for making it sound more expensive. And well, due to this repaving, excuse me, redeveloping, they occassionally have to move some bikes that are in the way. And indeed, there was a sign up saying "bikes have been moved to the bicycle park across the street". So, even though I could see no reason why my bike would've been in the way, I went across the street, hoping very hard I'd find it there. But you know what? On a rainy evening in the dark it's very nearly impossible to distinguish one bicycle from another, and after searching (and getting wetter and colder) for 15 minutes, I gave up.
On Saturday morning, I went back to search by daylight. But the bike wasn't there.
* more censored, censored, censored*
So, hoping against hope, I decided to not only look in the area where removed bikes were supposedly repositioned, but I searched the entire bike park. (For those readers living in non-bikey countries: bicycle parks near Dutch railway stations look like this:)
I found it. Somewhere in between 10,000 other bikes, I found my trusted and reliable means of transportation. Someone had moved it to a different position altogether!!! Grr, grr, grrr. But, at least it wasn't stolen. So, all in all, this was a non-event, but it turns out you can fill an entire LJ-post with saying "my bike was not stolen on Friday." This amuses me.
Something else that amuses me is the Jane Austen-course I'm taking this semester. We'll be discussing nothing but Jane, Jane, Jane for 13 glorious weeks. I've been wanting to take this course since I first started my studies at Leiden. Whoo! Join in the fun:
Prof T (teaching Jane Austen course): The last time I taught an evening course was around the time that Jane Austen was still alive.
Prof T: My voice is gone, and so will I be, soon. (He's not that old, so it was funny, not morbid.)
And, in fashion shopping:
Me: *tries on red coat with black buttons*
Friend I: *frowning* Do you really like that?
Me: It reminds me of a ladybug!
Friend I: Yes, well. A very large ladybug...
I didn't buy the coat... 'Nuff said.