night at the movies

i went to the movies last night. i very, very rarely go to the theatre. i prefer to rent a redbox movie because it is so much cheaper. if i do go to the theatre, it is usually for a drama that is benefited by a big screen, an indie film, or a documentary. rarely do i go a blockbuster-type movie. most of the time i don't even see those!

last night, olvin asked me to go with a group of his friends to see angels and demons...the 10:40 showing! eek! after some arm twisting, i agreed to go. i was just afraid i was going to take an expensive nap!!

we got to the theatre and the time was wrong so we ended up seeing UP, the Pixar film. it started at 11:00...yikes! i haven't been to an animated film since The Lion King....something like that!

overall, it was a pretty good movie. the attention to detail is incredible. the interesting thing about the movie was that i really felt like it was an adult film. i know disney always puts in the adult humor, but the broader themes of the movie (love, loss, goals/priorities, etc) were quite deep.

an interesting thing was that the first 15 minutes or so didn't have a lot of dialog. i really enjoyed this portion a lot...i'm trying not to be a spoiler here but it draws you in and you start to empathize with the characters. i could relate to the movie because it spoke on dreams and adventures and relationships...topics that i'm constantly thinking about recently.

my main criticism was that it is a little too long....and animals start talking and doing supernatural things...so i didn't like that but i'm overlooking it because of the other good things.

i can say that i felt tense a couple times...even though we all know it will be okay and that it is just a cartoon....and i shed a few tears too! this doesn't surprise a lot of you, i know!

final trip recap

okay, we'll tackle sunday and monday.

Sunday was full of tulips!! there were over 100 varietys of tulips. crazy! we also went on a bike ride through the country side and ended up at the North Sea...so cool! the water was cold and it was a windy ride, but definitely a highlight of the trip!

MONDAY

On monday we had to fly home...but that didn't stop us from going to the Van Gogh museum before hitting the airport! we knew the lines would be long so we treked all the way across amsterdam with our bags early and then took a speedy tour through the museum. it was a lot of fun and boy was he good for being so young! i'm not a big art person, but i did enjoy that museum. it was a good trip and just really good to get away....the plane was really empty on the way back too. that was a nice plus!!

trip continued

so, continuing on our way...


SATURDAY

we went to zaans schaans on saturday. we took the train there and we had to walk to the ferry. on the way, we ran into the cutest pastry shop! it was 9 in the morning, but we stopped and got croissants for breakfast instead--it was difficult to resist the pastries!



the city is very touristy, but it the main epicenter of working windmills. this area used to have over 1000, but now they have 20. the majority of them are from the 1600's.

check out the picture on the left. the man has clogs on!!! i love it! these are gigantic shoes on our feet!!

we went to haarlem in the afternoon. there was a market going in the center of town and it was great. there was also a HUGE church in the town square. the pipe organ to the left has over 5,000 pipes and 50 octaves. Mozart played this organ at the age of 10. Handel also has played it. pretty neat! the floor is made of grave stonesand people are buried under the church. the clergy used to sell these to villagers. if they couldn't afford it, but wanted to be buried there the family could "rent" a space. after 10 years, the family would have to decide if they wanted to buy the plot of their family would be put in a community grave location in the church. very fascinating!

Trip Details

my parents want more pictures of the trip, so here goes. i'll give a brief summary of each day as well. we headed out late on a wednesday afternoon. i had worked that morning.

THURSDAY

we got in at 8:00 AM Paris time. we took a shuttle to the hotel and put our stuff away and hit the road. i love public transportation! i wish it was more effectively used in the states. we only had 24 hours in paris so it was a whirlwind. i had been there before so i just swung april by all of the "must see" things. here are a couple pictures:

we went to a great cafe for dinner....this is a salad, believe it or not! that is all i'm really going to write about that day. the only funny thing that happened was that i walked into the men's restroom by mistake. it took a couple seconds too long for me to realize my misstep!

all in all, i really do like paris, but i'm just not super sophisticated. i would like to visit the south of france on a bike at some point....the man we sat next to on the airplane raved about it!

FRIDAY

we took a flight from paris to amsterdam the next morning. we could have taken the train, but we got special tickets from AirFrance with the 24 hour stopover in paris included in the price...so technically, this was cheaper!

my first impression of amsterdam was that it looked somewhat similar to Munich, Germany. (i hope that doesn't offend anyone from either place!!) my second thought was...there are bicycles everywhere!! that was when i knew i was going to like the country. side note: the weather the whole time was very good. that reminded me of chicago. we only got rain for part of one afternoon.

we went on a boat tour of the canals. there is such pretty architecture. that is something we learned about each other on the trip...april really comments on plant life and i comment on structures!

we took to many pictures to give you a good overview so these will have to suffice.

this was lunch on Friday...delicious!

my favorite part of the first day was definitely the Anne Frank House. i am so thankful that i read the diary again before coming on the trip. this is where she stayed for over 2 years until the Nazi's found her and took her to Auschwitz and then to Bergen-Belson. She passed away there from typhoid right before the liberation of the camp.

on a trip in college, angie and i were able to go to Dachau. it was a sobering experience. hopefully every trip you (or I) go on has some part of it that moves your soul....he Anne Frank house was the moment for me on this trip.

that makes me think that it would be a great blogging topic...all of my trips and the moments that stand out. i'll think on that.

all i'm saying is that this is a MUST SEE for amsterdam. read the book again before you come!

okay, tired of typing now. i will finish the trip either later today or this week!

the unexpected

i thoroughly enjoy the unexpected...

..note/e-mail from a lost friend
..question from my patients "how long have you been a doctor?"
..good laugh...we debated the difference between handsome and hot in clinic today. that is not typical. we are usually ALL business!
..sale on swedish fish at the store

i live a simple life!

my house

so, here is a picture of my house....i have been wondering how big (small) it is for awhile and this morning on the way to work i decided i would wonder no longer!

i pulled out my ruler when i got home from work---yes, it is possible to measure the entire thing with a 12 inch ruler!

here are the dimensions.....drumroll......:

- my room 10x13 feet

- living room 10x13 feet

- bathroom 7x6 feet

- kitchen/hallway 7x3 feet (college sized fridge, microwave, small sink, and a burner)

if you add all this up...the grand total is 323 square feet!!! woo hoo!!

don't get me wrong, i'm SO SO thankful for this place to live. i really do like it although it is small. the ceilings are really high so i think it feels a little more spacious. the house is about 100 years old so it is quite drafty, but has a lot of character!

angie and i had looked at an apartment about a year ago and it seemed huge to me! i think the square footage was about 550 or so...now i understand why!

today

so, i headed out to galveston today. april and i had gone biking in the netherlands and it reignited my desire to ride outdoors....indoor spinners just aren't the same!

i hit the road at 7:00---i love the earlier morning sunrises! (i also must add that i hate the temp in the 90's). i was about 20 miles into my ride and something felt off. i pulled over and wouldn't you know, but i have a flat back tire. now, my fear was that this would happen in the half ironman...so i was oddly okay with it. i tried to fix it, but the big piece of metal left an unrepairable hole. so this left me 20 miles from my car and without running shoes. i was able to fill the tire enough to trek about a mile back to a gas station. by this time, my hands are covered in grease from the gears---i decide the only sane thing to do is ask for a lift back. i saw a guy with a truck (a key part to getting me back). there was a golder retreiver in the back too---i figured the owner must not be an evil man to have that kind of dog.

david helped me out and took me back to the Wal-Mart where my car was parked. on the way, i got a history lesson about galveston while he spit his chewing tobacco...i tell you, it was a cultural experience! once i made it back, i decided to sit on the beach for a few hours. the water is already warm!

when i was riding with 2 good wheels, i was thinking....for me, this is my best time to be still. there isn't a television, phone, book, or pager anywhere to distract me. of course my brain is still there, but i haven't figured out how to efficiently shut that down yet.

i came to an early conclusion that i'm a person that does well with a goal. these past 2 years have been rather goal-less. that was okay at first since i was fresh out of grad school and just soaking everything up in my job. i really enjoyed the goal of training for the half-ironman...and now i don't have a goal. granted, there are pros and cons to this whole situation. it is good to challenge myself, but am i looking for the "next best thing" or am in not content and i should be? it is difficult to say.

i had mentioned in an earlier post that i was thinking about school again. i have put in an application to begin taking classes toward my masters in public health. i'm not sure where it will all lead...and i guess it depends whether i get accepted too. i am excited about studying again though! i'm also contemplating a second half-ironman...this one in austin, texas. we'll see!

Trip Recap

Here are some random pics from my recent trip to Paris and the Netherlands. April is going to give me some more pictures tomorrow so I'll add more to the mix.

I had been to Paris before, so I took April around to the "must see" tourist sites.

When we got to Amsterdam, things got a little more exciting for me....one thing that was amazing is the number of bikes. Literally, there are thousands! They have bike lanes with bike traffic lights. It is so great!

to the left is me on the canal tour

hanging out next to the canals....i love my sweatshirt-jean wear. the simple things make me so happy!

check out the tulips and the windmill.

and i'm out

i'm headed out for a quick trip to paris and amsterdam. i'm leaving tomorrow after work and will be back about 7:30 Monday night.

i will have much better pictures than these clogs...have a good rest of the week.