Joy, sadness and a bit of everything

Life is so strange sometimes. Last weekend was full of joy with several dinners, parties and a BBQ at my house on Sunday. Then on Monday we got the news that my stepfather has indeed been diagnosed with uncurable lung cancer, and the doctors expect he will only live another 6 to 9 months. I can't imagine how he must feel, given the fact that he feels quite well at the moment and he and my mum have so many plans. They said that they are planning to live on "as if nothing has changed", but of course that is impossible.
Last night MT from London was here as he had a job interview in Amsterdam this morning. Apparently the economy in the UK is much worse than here and he would move back to Amsterdam if he gets a job here, even if it would mean being separated from his partner PE.
And, last but not least, today it is exactly 3 years after I met the sweetest man. There was talk that I had to go on a business trip to Asia and I could surprise him the 2nd weekend of August, but yesterday I learned the trip was cancelled. Sh!t. Well, hopefully soon I can travel Eastwards again.

The U2 concert

Yesterday I went to the U2 concert in the Amsterdam ArenA. It was GREAT. It all started with a warm-up act by a band called Snow Patrol (find their song Shut your eyes on Youtube) which was already very good and bringing the atmosphere to the stadium. U2 played for more than 2 hours and it is amazing how the band and especially Bono can create a "bond" between the audience and the performers. FANTASTIC. I went with MA, FR, CR and some of MA's friends and we were comparing this concert to Madonna and the verdict was clear: U2 is 20 times better. Madonna is just a well-oiled money machine - here with U2 we got 20 times the fun and experience for half the money. A great night out!
Above is an old video of one of their best songs "One love" which they also played last night. Below is a video from last night with "Vertigo".

Marriage, bars and dances

The weekend was quite nice. It started with ED having a stop-over in Amsterdam (just like in December last year) and us having lunch on Friday. This time he was telling me that his parents are putting a lot of pressure on him to get married, and he might give in. "After all, I have been dating men for 15 years and never found real love, so why not try with a woman?" I asked him if he thought it would be easier with a woman and he said "no", but anyway he would consider having a wife, making some children and "leaving the house every other Saturday to fuck some guy." Oh well.
Friday I went to the recently re-opened, and renovated April Bar. I must say I very much like the new decor and it was amazing how many guys turned up all weekend to see the new bar. I ran into dozens of acquaintances that I hadn't seen for a long, long time. Around 2am we all went to Rouge, and when they closed at 3am GO put pressure on me to join him to Cockring. We had a nice conversation there, and I cycled home a happy man after 5am.
Saturday was the day of the annual Colombian / Latin party celebrating Colombia's independence day. Thousands of Colombians who live here gather every year, and wow, those Latinos know how to party. OS, as usual, was dancing non-stop and was extremely popular with the Latin women, and I also tried to dance to the Latin beats. One woman I danced with tried to teach me how to dance better: "just move your body as if you are fucking me". Hmmm.
Yesterday was the day that I said good-bye to BY, who had been staying in the house since early June. He is now an illegal immigrant struggling to get his paperwork in order, and I thought that hosting him for 6 weeks is enough. He has another friend where he can stay so I don't feel too bad about asking him to leave. In the evening, another round of catch-up with long forgotten people in April, a good Thai dinner in restaurant Bangkok, a night cap in Rouge with the gang, and home exhausted and ready for the new week.

Greenland

I am feeling a bit strange today. Bored with everything. I just want to be alone, go far. Maybe hiking for a long while in Greenland, or something like that.

The MJ memorial

So this was probably one of these nights that half of the world was watching the same thing: in this case the Michael Jackson memorial. After 20 minutes I started reading the newspaper, only watching now and then with one eye, which means I found the whole thing extremely boring. And melodramatic, pseudo-religious and non-honest. ;-)
And anyway, can someone explain to me please why all these black people are so proud of a man who spent half his life to look white?

Bad news

When we went to Portugal, we all noticed that my stepfather was short of energy most of the time. He had trouble walking more than 100 meters or climbing the stairs in the hotel. So when he was back home, he went to the doctor who sent him to hospital where they did some tests and today he got the prelimary results: one of his lungs is operating at only 25% which is caused by either asbestosis or cancer. His entire career he was a load manager in the port cities of Rotterdam, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, and he was exposed to asbestos for more than 30 years. The doctors will do another test next week but it is not looking good. He jokingly asked the doctor "will I ever celebrate my 90th birthday?" (he is 83) and the answer was a clear "no". The doctors will only tell him their prognosis after the upcoming tests, but I am afraid it won't be very long.
He is a good guy and I hope he won't have to suffer much.