Change of scenery

July was a bit boring, August is looking good with Gay Pride weekend coming up, followed by a balloon / party weekend and RE and my annual bike tour, and September is going to be even better with the Madonna concert and a trip to New York with the gang:
Just booked:
Flight: DL081
From: Schiphol (AMS), Amsterdam, Nederland - 3
Departing: Wednesday, September 3, 2008 12:40
To: John F Kennedy (JFK), New York, NY U.S.A.
Arriving: Wednesday, September 3, 2008 14:55
Status: Confirmed

Flight: CO070
From: Newark Liberty Intl (EWR), New York, NY U.S.A.
Departing: Monday, September 8, 2008 18:35
To: Schiphol (AMS), Amsterdam, Nederland - C
Arriving: Tuesday, September 9, 2008 08:15
Status: Confirmed

A big problem solved

I finally know what to ask for next Christmas: the Senz XL umbrella. Everybody who lives in a climate with much rain and wind will recognize the problem that umbrellas are not designed to keep you dry when there is a storm. However, due to its asymmetric design, the SENZ XL storm umbrella automatically finds the best position in the wind, making it comfortable and easy to use, even in strong gusts. The patented construction makes the umbrella windproof up to 70 MPH. Additionally, the umbrella will not invert. The specially shaped "eye savers" provides protection to dangerous tips and the aerodynamic shape of the umbrella gives the user an excellent view. The opening mechanism has been integrated into the handle, while the smooth oval shaft matches seamlessly with the umbrella's aerodynamic design.
In other news, I met DD for lunch today. He updated me on the other "old generation Singaporeans" who live in Amsterdam and who have retired from bar life. All are doing well and spend their time watching TV and going to bed early. Hehe.

1.3 million working age Dutch live from social security

In the news today: 1.3 million Dutch between the ages of 18 and 65 don't work, but get their income from social security. This is down from 1.6 million in 2004. In addition, some 2.7 million people are older than 65 and also get a basic income (about € 940 per month) from the state. To compare: there are 7.3 million Dutch with jobs. So basically every 2.5 Dutch worker is also paying for one other person.
The popular press is of course the voice for those who believe that all those "lazy bastards" should be kicked into a job. While it is undoubtedly true that there are abusers of the system, the rules have been tightened and if you are just lazy and can work, they will try to get you a job. And the system works very well for people like OS who has been too sick to work and hence is entitled to a decent benefit payment every month. I can't say I like to pay the high taxes here, but looking at the benefits I wouldn't want to change our system for a more purely capitalist system without a social safety net.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Quite an entertaining movie. Value for money, too, at 2 1/2 hours. Cute guy, this Prince Caspian.
Was chatting with a guy his morning via gayromeo and I already thought he looked familiar. In the end we agreed to meet for lunch next week, and only then did he recognize me from my profile picture. (and I recognized him) He (DD) put some pictures from 15 years ago on-line - FR, who also knows him from Singapore says he is "ancient". I wouldn't go so far but he definitely looks much older than his pictures. Anyway, will be nice to see him - if only for lunch.
Happy hour etc. was excellent tonight. The Taiwanese clan were all over me - no idea why I got the honour.

I am blessed

Sometimes I need to sit back and remind myself how blessed I am. I am in good health (touch wood), I have a job that pays more than I spend, some good friends, and a few sex buddies. Today in the morning I felt horny so I called one of my sex buddies (let's call him #1) if he had time and he said "sorry I am busy today", so I called #2 and made an appointment with #2 for this afternoon. As soon as I finished the call with #2 #1 called back informing me he is horny too and told me he cancelled his other appointment. So suddenly I had two sex appointments for the afternoon! Blessed indeed.

Swan Lake - Bolshoi Ballet

I had bought tickets to take my mom to Swan Lake, by the Bolshoi Theatre ballet. The famous Russian ballet troupe was in Amsterdam for the first time in 22 years and we decided to see Tchaikovski's Swan Lake. Unfortunately my mom called to inform me she had the flu so I had to find someone to replace her and to not let the (very expensive) ticket go to waste. RE was happy to take my mom's place and I must say the ballet was very, very nice. The technics of some of the dancers are just incredible, they seem to be able to float in the air. I was also looking at the faces of the dancers, some were visibly stressed while others were able to keep a smile on their faces throughout the performance. RE and I agreed that most of the dancers are not very cute - there is something non-attractive about (many) Russian men. After the ballet we went to Soho where we met MA and had too many beers in a too short time.

So where are you all from?

This blog gets readers from all over the world, it seems.

Inflation worries

All over the world, people are worried about rising prices and life getting more expensive rapidly. Here in the Netherlands, we are still lucky with the lowest inflation in the euro zone (2.3%), but if you live in the USA (5%), or Singapore (7.5%) things are already worse. Just be happy that you don't live in Zimbabwe, where inflation is 2.2.......million %.

Why don't Singaporeans produce children?

A series of public consultation sessions in Singapore has shown that barriers to marriage and parenthood include difficulty in finding suitable partners, owning a home, financial security, work-life balance, and childcare arrangements. Duh. I could have told them. But they forgot the main reason: there are more gay men in Singapore than anywhere else. I don't know why. Maybe because forbidden fruits always taste better?

Real and imaginary crimes

I was reading my book tonight which is about identity theft and terrorism, and was wondering how it would be if someone stole my identity, committed crimes as "me", and basically ruined my life posing as my alter ego. The book seems to suggest that there is almost no defence against identity theft, but the book is only an imaginary story, right?
I heard my Blackberry beep and read an e-mail informing me that two of my colleagues who are on a business trip somewhere in the former Soviet Union have been attacked and are in hospital with serious injuries. Apparently, two guys tried to run them over with a car, and when they failed they got out of their car and started beating them up. My colleagues managed to escape, ran into a police station where they were questioned for two hours while the police refused to call a doctor! The wild East, indeed.

Turkish pizza with shoarma

As it was such a nice evening last night, I decided to honour the happy hour at Soho with my presence. I was the first of our gang to arrive around 7pm, and was surprised to see how crowded it was. Hardly anyone was inside, instead everybody was on the street blocking passage for the few innocent tourists. Soon most of the gang arrived and the evening was merry, gay and happy. After a beer or 6 and half a joint, MA, WI, FR and I crossed the street to eat the best food in the world: Turkish pizza with shoarma. With garlic and spicy sauce. Comfort food for the party crowd. After the food we had more beers and I somehow managed to bike home. One of these days I will be stopped by police for drunk biking.

La Noche de los Girasoles

It was a quiet weekend. I guess I was still very tired from last week (three nights almost without sleep), so when the gang texted yesterday if I was coming out I replied "no, too tired", to which the predictable reply was "old man". Instead, I worked in the garden and read my very good novel / thriller "Cel" by Dutch author Charles den Tex. And today went to an art cinema to watch "La Noche de los Girasoles" (The Night of the Sunflowers), a Spanish thriller, telling the story of the tragic aftermath of an attack on a woman, and set against the backdrop of a dying, depopulated rural town. In the opening episode a vacuum cleaner salesman (sublimely creepy Manuel Moron) rapes Gabi (Judith Diakhate) in an isolated wooded spot as she awaits the arrival of husband Esteban (Carmelo Gomez) and his assistant Pedro (yummie Mariano Alameda), who have traveled to the area to investigate the discovery of a new cave.
Infuriated upon finding Gabi in a state of shock, Esteban and Pedro go in search of the rapist, whom the hysterical Gabi misidentifies as Cecilio (Cesareo Estebanez), one of the two inhabitants of a nearby almost-abandoned village. In a drawn-out scene, Cecilio is accidentally killed.
Tomas (Vicente Romero) is a young civil guard working under Amadeo (Celso Bugallo), to whose daughter Raquel (Nuria Mencia) he is engaged. Desperate to escape the rural future that awaits him, Tomas sees the arrival of the three panicking outsiders as an opportunity. Why deliver justice, he wonders, if nobody is seeking it? But Amadeo smells a rat, and dedicates much of the remainder of the film to unearthing the awful truth.
A good and entertaining movie.

Mamma Mia

It has been a hectic week. I was in Cairo for 25 hours (for work) and didn't get much sleep for two nights while on the plane. Not much to report about that trip (just meetings), although I met an ex-colleague from long ago who wrote me an e-mail after I got back: "Nice to see you after such a long time. (much bigger and fatter)" I guess it is time to start a diet again........
On the day I returned to Amsterdam, MA had arranged for tickets for the gang to see Mamma Mia, the movie, gay preview. The movie was hilarious and we all had fun singing-along. At the after-party in Exit Café I met VI, who was a waiter in Backstage Bar in Singapore when I lived there. It was good to see him and catch up.
Yesterday I spent most of the day with OS at the hospital. Once again I was impressed with the level of medical care, after the nurse arranged for a Spanish-Dutch interpreter free of charge when she found out OS had problems understanding all the details that she was telling him. OS will have to undergo a small operation on the 24th when they will remove some tissue for further research, with the results and the action plan to be communicated early August. We hope for the best but fear that more surgery and/or other treatment will be needed.

Nadal wins Wimbledon

I came home, switched on the TV to check who won Wimbledon, and to my surprise they hadn't finished yet. So I was able to see the latter part of the last set life, and YES!!!!! my favourite Rafael Nadal won! Congrats to a great player. Federer is not bad, but compared to Nadal he just seems so boring. Rafael is skillful, elegant, strong and cute.

No-smoking woes

Following the example of many other countries, the Netherlands introduced a ban on smoking in restaurants, bars, nightclubs, etc. last week. So this weekend was the first weekend that the air was pure inside the bars. As the weather was nice, our gang was outside on the street anyway so I didn't benefit much from the smoking ban yet. The entire gang had dinner at our favourite restaurant Dynasty to celebrate our successful party and they put us outside on the terrace so even there the smokers could still indulge. WI decided to quit smoking and the effect was that he was not his normal self (he was nervous and behaved strangely) and went home early. OS also is trying to smoke less (the doctors told him to quit smoking and drinking now), so far I haven't noticed he is making progress. Only smoking tobacco has been banned, and it was fun to see people smoke pure weed in the coffeeshops.
On a summer day like today I value the garden (actually, it is more like a terrace) behind the house so much. It is a little paradise with lots of flowers and plants, quiet and relaxing. I think I couldn't live in an apartment without a large outdoor area anymore.
Later today I will drive to the East of the country to visit my brother who is celebrating his birthday. And tomorrow I will be leaving on another business trip to Cairo. Weather forecast says it will be 38C there - yuck.

Do I blog because I am happy or am I happy because I blog?

While some commentators have characterised bloggers as lonely, desperate souls in search of validation for their meaningless lives, recent medical research has indicated that the opposite might actually be true: bloggers appear to be less lonely and feel more connected and supported than those who don't blog. Swinburne University researcher James Baker, along with Swinburne colleague Professor Susan Moore, will soon publish a paper in the journal CyberPsychology & Behaviour which concludes that people who blog feel less isolated and more satisfied with their friendships. More here.
Hmmm. I don't really know what to think about this piece of research. Th reasons I blog can be found here.

Never hire women with children

We have a few young mothers working for us, and if you have to run a business and want advice this is the best I can give you: never hire women with children. For these ladies, children come first, second and third and if there is a little time left they may think about work. I can't even blame them - it is the genes and the hormones and it is all pre-determined biologically. But if you need to get work done, forget about young mothers.
Our Australian secretary has already left us. She was a disaster. I don't know if it was laziness, stupidity or a combination of the two, but today was the first day she was no longer with us and I spent half the day cleaning up the mess she left. It seems that whenever she didn't know how to do something, she wouldn't ask but she would ignore the question or request hoping the issue would be resolved automatically. Our new secretary will only start on August 1 so I will have to play secretary (again) for a month in addition to my normal tasks.
Yesterday I was on the phone for more than an hour with my good friend XYZ (not his real name, but I will protect his privacy). He has been with his partner for more than 20 years, I always thought they were happy together until a month ago when XYZ told me he has been treated badly regularly by his boyfriend. XYZ met another guy and he is now seriously contemplating to leave his partner of 20 years and move in with the new guy. However, the new guy has many issues - he was sexually abused as a child and as a result still has many psychological problems. I warned XYZ that he should think deep and hard if he wants to live with someone like that and also told him to think about his own happiness first. More often than not, psychological problems are there to stay and people's characters never change. I hope XYZ got the message and won't rush into this new relationship.

In memoriam: Father Jan van Kilsdonk

When I moved to Amsterdam in 1988 and started going out in the gay bars, I often saw an old man in his 70's in April bar. At first, I didn't know who he was (I must have thought he was just an average dirty old man looking for young cock), but soon I noticed he was approached by many in the bars and they were all very nice to him. I learned that he was a Catholic Priest who was very popular in the gay scene because he gave comfort to many AIDS patients. He also publicly said that homosexuality was "an invention of the Creator" which helped a lot in making homosexuality normal in this country. The Vatican tried to kick him out of church but he had powerful friends in the Netherlands and the people from Rome didn't succeed.
I regularly saw him in April bar until perhaps 6 or 7 years ago. I noticed he enjoyed the atmosphere in the bar, and have often thought to myself that he liked being around cute young men. He died today aged 91. May this good man rest in peace.