Obamanator 1000

Barack Obama has the exact same smile in every photo with G20 leaders.

Quote of the day

"Dorothy was considered insincere and shallow by her schoolfellows. The teachers regarded her as brilliant but superficial - an accusation that Dorothy strongly suspected of being accurate."

- from the biography of Dororthy L. Sayers

Quote of the day

"But what she read was to her always a little more real than what she experienced."

- Dorothy L. Sayers

Quick update

The doctor did call me back the next day. My lungs are fine, now my dignity just needs to recover.

The Sorry State of Dutch Medicine Part 2

Despite scrupulously following the instructions on the sign in my company bathroom, I'm worried I might have contracted swine flu. I stayed home from work today and called my doctor's office for an emergency appointment. The receptionist told me I didn't need one, that I should just stay home and "sick it out." It took 5 minutes of my protesting to get her to change her mind.

When I got to the doctor's office, he was more concerned about my shortness of breath than any of my swine flu-ish symptoms (e.g., sore throat, joint pain) and referred me to get a chest x-ray.

I went to the nearest hospital: Diakonessenhuis. (I want to name and shame, so if you ever happen to fall ill in Utrecht you'll know to avoid this place like the plague!)

The waiting room was crawling with ants and one of my fellow patients was a teenage boy guarded by two armed police officers.

When my turn for an x-ray came, I was unpleasantly surprised not to be offered a hospital gown. Maybe that's their way of cutting costs. The x-ray was taken by a middled aged woman who clearly does a hundred of these a day, so that was OK. But I still felt like an animal in a meatpacking factory.

She told me the radiologist was at lunch, but that he'd look at my x-rays in about 15 minutes. So I went back to the waiting room with the ants and the inmate...and waited and waited. (I was listening to a Mark Driscoll sermon on my ipod, so at least the time wasn't entirely wasted.) After over half an hour, I went to reception to ask what was going on. They said they'd look into it. After 15 more minutes, an orderly came up to me to tell me that...my x-rays had been sent to my doctor who would call me with the results tomorrow.

At this point, I don't care what he says. My attempts to get treatment for my possible swine flu are more painful than the disease itself. The receptionist this morning was right. I should have stayed home.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

I made my Mom this video in honor of her birthday. Thought I'd share...

Oxymoron?

Elevator chat

The following is a transcript of an actual conversation I had in my office elevator today. When I took it to go down to the lobby, it was already occupied by a random colleague from a higher floor. To see the sign in question, please view my post You're Climbing the Dutch Mountains.

Random colleague from higher floor: So you're ignoring the lovely signs and taking the elevator?

Emma: I try to avoid obeying signs whenever I can.

Random colleague: So this is your way of rebelling against authority?

Emma: Exactly.

Random colleague: But what if everyone in our society disobeyed signs? We'd have chaos.

(Emma loses all interest in the conversation)

Emma: That's a philosphical question, and those are above my pay grade.

(They reach the lobby and part ways)

Striking terror into the hearts of unsuspecting bathroom users: Part 2

For many of us, using the bathroom is simply an unavoidable part of the human condition that we don't make too much of a fuss about.

For Dutch people, however, bathroom visits are teachable moments. And the bathroom itself is a prime location for public service announcements.

You're Climbing the Dutch Mountains

"More adventurous than the elevator."

Or not...

Ariane's shirt is very cool:)

The perils of the powerful

Today after a staff meeting, I was making small talk with a relatively new colleague from Poland. I mentioned something about the US, and he asked me if I'd worked there. I told him that I am an American and that I worked there for 4 years before starting my current job.

Apparently, that was his cue to go off about American consumerism, our zero percent savings rate, short-term planning by companies that only think about the next financial quarter results, etc.

So, of course, that was my cue to say, "Excuse me. I have to make a phone call." Having lived in Europe for a combined total of several years, I am used to these sorts of eruptions. Experience has taught me that if I don't ditch the conversation right away, I could be stuck for half an hour. And then I get tempted to make childish remarks like, "Well, I've got the cool blue passport with the eagle, and you don't!"

You know, it would never even enter into my head to start lecturing this colleague about things that are wrong with Poland. If I did want to discuss a societal problem there, I would introduce the topic politely with something like, "So I don't know if this is true, but I've read that..." and then ask him for his opinion on the matter.

I guess this is one of the downsides to America's cultural dominance. Foreigners are exposed to so many of our movies, TV shows, etc. that they feel like they know us intimately - an extended stay living and working in the US would be a huge reality check.

I can also understand where they would be frustrated that America has so much influence over international affairs.

So when people start giving me these lectures, I try to be sympathetic and not take it personally. After all, I've got the cool blue passport with the eagle. And they don't.

A glimpse into my world

For those of you that are interested, this Economist article encapsulates many of the issues that I work on at my job - particularly the question of whether the current economic downturn will permanently change consumer spending patterns.

Consumer goods in the recession

Striking terror into hearts of unsuspecting bathroom users

Multiple choice quiz

My boss has been diagnosed with swine flu:

a) personal tragedy for her

b) career opportunity for me

c) both of the above

Not a bad day

Actual dialogue from my bimonthly chat with my boss this afternoon.

Emma: I struggled a bit during July and August. It seemed like whenever a problem arose, the person I could go to for help would be on vacation. So next year I intend to take my vacation in July and August.

Emma's boss: But next year you'll be the one that people are going to for help.

Quote of the day

"When I discovered Youtube, I didn't work for five days."

-Michael Scott, The Office

Traitor to my race?

I couldn't pass myself off as a true Dutch woman even if I wanted to. Item: I don't own a bicycle. I'm very American in my view that foot and car are the two ways in which human beings should transport themselves. Most Dutch people own several bikes: a newish one they ride everywhere and then two or three old ones that gather rust in their shed. Urban legend has it that my city Utrecht has this country's the highest bicycle-to-human ratio.

When I first moved here, I borrowed one of the old bicycles from a friend's shed and rode it to work. The area around my office is a huge, confusing construction zone. The Dutch people biking around me were very aggressive and unpleasant. I hate mornings enough without getting cursed at, so I switched to commuting by foot instead. (I told this to a Dutch colleague who responded, "You must be a really dreadful bicycler to get cursed out like that. Are you one of those annoying people who stops at the red lights?")

It's eight months later, and walking still works very well for me. I am part of a four-person team at my work. Two of my colleagues have had to take sick days resulting from bicycle accidents. The third colleague is a non-biking fellow American.

Yesterday a girl on a bicycle was struck by a car in my street. I heard the screaching tires and ran to the window. The girl seemed to be ok, but her bike sure wasn't. I began thinking that the same thing could easily happen to me.

And when it does, I'll be sure that I'm the person in the car.

Poem of the day

The Leal

The friends I made have slipped and strayed,
And who's the one that cares?
A trifling lot and best forgot ---
And that's my tale, and theirs.

Then if my friendships break and bend,
There's little need to cry
The while I know that every foe
Is faithful till I die.

- Dorothy Parker

Some things never change

I've been reading Ayn Rand recently. I've been thinking a lot about her idea of a free market (an individual's right to exchange the best they can produce for the best another individual can produce through the medium of money) and how it invariably meets fierce opposition.

Today a visiting American friend and I toured the Catharijne Convent museum, a former nunnery around the corner from my house. The museum showcases the history of Christianity in the Netherlands and, according to a curator's introduction to the audio tour, professes to show its relevance to modern times. That kind of annoyed me since Christiantiy is relevant to modern times, no museum necessary.

But I got over it and enjoyed a really cool exhibit on medieval books. I saw a copy of Augustine's Confessions from 1430. That's one of my favorite books. Of course I know it's ancient, but seeing that handwritten version in the original Latin was still quite moving. I also saw a beautiful Bible from a church in Zwolle (a city close to my mom's hometown which I've visited many times.) The borders around the text were decorated with wild flowers.

I was particularly struck by one copy of the Book of Hours from 1450. According to the audio tour, the illustrations for such books were made separately and pasted in. The illustrations in this copy featured a small "B" in the corner, signifying that they were made in Brugge. Apparently, the best book illustrations at that time were made by monks in Utrecht. In order to protect local monks, however, the government of Brugge passed a law that all books printed there could only include illlustrations that were also made in Brugge, i.e., ones featuring the "B."

So in 1450 people were already trying to stop the free market! Ayn Rand would not be amused.