Check out this website and report back:
http://www.politicalcompass.org/questionnaire
Any guesses on where I landed?
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
Outstanding...
I was just informed that the ICTY has a gift shop - and what's best, I can browse online! This is great news for Friday at 4:00 p.m.!
Here are a few of my favorite items:
Stimulate your memo writing with an ICTY Mousepad!
Here are a few of my favorite items:
Stimulate your memo writing with an ICTY Mousepad!
ICTY Swiss Army Knife (don't worry, this is not an indication that the UN is preferential to the Swiss)
A U.N. Teddy-bear Key Ring (a must have for your special someone this Valentine's Day)
Long lines at the airport? Tired of security check hassels? Get your very own U.N. luggage!
And finally, for those of you (us?) who like to abuse various substances...
An Interesting Article
That might help some of my loved ones who are trying to quit smoking or manage physical pain...
In Clue to Addiction, a Brain Injury Halts Smoking
By BENEDICT CAREY
Published: January 26, 2007
An injury to a specific part of the brain can instantly and permanently break a smoking habit, scientists reported.
In Clue to Addiction, a Brain Injury Halts Smoking
By BENEDICT CAREY
Published: January 26, 2007
An injury to a specific part of the brain can instantly and permanently break a smoking habit, scientists reported.
What I'm Working on Today...
So, in the midst of meeting new people, exploring The Hague, and general merrymaking, here is a taste of what I'm doing today:
Reading about:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srebrenica_massacre
In connection with this case:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vidoje_Blagojevic
What were you doing in July 1995?
Tought for Today: This is a good reminder of why I'm really here.
Reading about:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srebrenica_massacre
In connection with this case:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vidoje_Blagojevic
What were you doing in July 1995?
Tought for Today: This is a good reminder of why I'm really here.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
What Kind of Fuckery Is This?
Highlights: Snow! Biking! ICC Lectures!
Lowlights: False alarm re: Shakira concert. She is playing a concert next weekend in The Netherlands...but it's sold out, and the scalpers are asking upwards of $100 for tickets. BOOOOO! So close, yet so far away...
Lowlights: False alarm re: Shakira concert. She is playing a concert next weekend in The Netherlands...but it's sold out, and the scalpers are asking upwards of $100 for tickets. BOOOOO! So close, yet so far away...
Monday, January 22, 2007
Suffering from Negativituscontactus Humanus Syndrome
Symptoms Include:
Pangs of loneliness and homesickness (ouch!).
Brought on By:
General lack of physical human contact combined with nine hour time differences from friends who wake up too late and go to bed too early.
Suggested Remedies:
Drinking, dancing and eating in the company of others.
Pangs of loneliness and homesickness (ouch!).
Brought on By:
General lack of physical human contact combined with nine hour time differences from friends who wake up too late and go to bed too early.
Suggested Remedies:
Drinking, dancing and eating in the company of others.
Weekend Update
So I survived my first "real" weekend in The Hague. Last week at work was slow - several people were out of the office, and most people expect it to take a week for phones, computer, and other various bureaucratic mechanisms to be set in place. Luckily for me, this was all taken care of early in the week, so I had lots of time for contemplation of a variety of interesting topics.
After everyone had been forced to stay in Thursday due to stormy weather, Friday night people were rearing to go out. After several hours of arm twisting, I hesitantly agreed to join them. Going out drinking is not really my style, but I wanted to make some friends... A few hours (read: drinks) later, we were wandering around the center of town, a small Korean intern on her child-sized bike leading the rest of us on a search for the bar where we'd meet up with the rest of the interns. (A note on the bikes - Dutch bikes are notoriously large for most non-Dutch persons.) It took awhile to track down, likely due to the fact that said bar was hidden up a small alley, nearly buried under construction materials and scaffolding. Inside was cool - live jazz music and cheap drinks. Who can ask for anything more?
Not me, apparently. Saturday morning, after a long stumble home, was spent watching "The Rise and Rise of..." marathon on MTV. I was oh so disappointed to find out I'd missed the first half of Shakira's special, damn that last shot of whiskey! By 6 the headache had subsided enough for me to face the harsh reality of grocery shopping with the rest of the city in the small, poorly stocked grocery store I frequent. So much for a day exploring the town center! I got cozy with my couch, more MTV, and had an early night.
Sunday, fully recovered, I headed out with another intern to explore Delft, a smaller version of Den Haag about 30 minutes away by tram. Being Sunday, everything was closed, but there was a cute town square, I bought my first pieces of Dutch kitsch, and stopped into a cafe for a lovely cup of tea (chose "no" on the Jägermeister shot option).
So, that's about it... not very exciting to say the least. It's hard to get used to being bored (relaxed?), but I think somehow I'll manage, as long as I can run fast enough to avoid the hail.
Oh yeah, I bought a bike, and appropriately enough, today is garbage day. Scary.
Things that are entertaining to me today (in no particular order):
After everyone had been forced to stay in Thursday due to stormy weather, Friday night people were rearing to go out. After several hours of arm twisting, I hesitantly agreed to join them. Going out drinking is not really my style, but I wanted to make some friends... A few hours (read: drinks) later, we were wandering around the center of town, a small Korean intern on her child-sized bike leading the rest of us on a search for the bar where we'd meet up with the rest of the interns. (A note on the bikes - Dutch bikes are notoriously large for most non-Dutch persons.) It took awhile to track down, likely due to the fact that said bar was hidden up a small alley, nearly buried under construction materials and scaffolding. Inside was cool - live jazz music and cheap drinks. Who can ask for anything more?
Not me, apparently. Saturday morning, after a long stumble home, was spent watching "The Rise and Rise of..." marathon on MTV. I was oh so disappointed to find out I'd missed the first half of Shakira's special, damn that last shot of whiskey! By 6 the headache had subsided enough for me to face the harsh reality of grocery shopping with the rest of the city in the small, poorly stocked grocery store I frequent. So much for a day exploring the town center! I got cozy with my couch, more MTV, and had an early night.
Sunday, fully recovered, I headed out with another intern to explore Delft, a smaller version of Den Haag about 30 minutes away by tram. Being Sunday, everything was closed, but there was a cute town square, I bought my first pieces of Dutch kitsch, and stopped into a cafe for a lovely cup of tea (chose "no" on the Jägermeister shot option).
So, that's about it... not very exciting to say the least. It's hard to get used to being bored (relaxed?), but I think somehow I'll manage, as long as I can run fast enough to avoid the hail.
Oh yeah, I bought a bike, and appropriately enough, today is garbage day. Scary.
Things that are entertaining to me today (in no particular order):
- Chavez to U.S.: 'Go to hell, gringos!'
- The "Dungcam, tortoisecam, and bouldercam" shots on BBC nature shows. Nothing like watching a lion cub walk around pushing a camera disguised as a pile of elephant dung.
- The pink tulips I bought on Saturday!
- Having to decide between Clinton or Obama...
Friday, January 19, 2007
Thursday, January 18, 2007
My Sincerest Apologies...
...to all the drunk frat boys out there, especially those who frequent Marina bars. I didn't meant it, I swear...I was grumpy, having a bad hair day, and well, you know how it is... I certainly didn't mean to insult your strength, amorous abilities, or any other manifestation of your collective manhood... So, now that we're cool, stop with the hurricane already! (Oh, just from CNN, not technically a hurricane, just hurricane force winds - 113km/hour in Amsterdam).
I think I picked up some psychic abilities during my aura healing last weekend in Golden Gate Park, because as I wrote the posting this morning I thought to myself that karma would probably come after me with worse weather after my rant this morning. And so it has - trains in Holland have stopped running, air traffic is interrupted, co-workers are stranded or leaving work early to get home safely. Those with bikes (ha ha, not me!) are worried about the blustery ride home. Trees have been overturned. It's chaos.
So naturally, I did what any Californian would do in such a situation. Left work early, bought two bottles of wine, a package of cookies and a cell phone card and holed myself up in my apartment to wait it out and watch the BBC's "The Death of Yugoslavia."
We'll see how my "severe weather indicator" holds up over the night - the plastic bag stuck in the side of the building across the street.
Thought for Today: My doomsday clock stopped ticking...
I think I picked up some psychic abilities during my aura healing last weekend in Golden Gate Park, because as I wrote the posting this morning I thought to myself that karma would probably come after me with worse weather after my rant this morning. And so it has - trains in Holland have stopped running, air traffic is interrupted, co-workers are stranded or leaving work early to get home safely. Those with bikes (ha ha, not me!) are worried about the blustery ride home. Trees have been overturned. It's chaos.
So naturally, I did what any Californian would do in such a situation. Left work early, bought two bottles of wine, a package of cookies and a cell phone card and holed myself up in my apartment to wait it out and watch the BBC's "The Death of Yugoslavia."
We'll see how my "severe weather indicator" holds up over the night - the plastic bag stuck in the side of the building across the street.
Thought for Today: My doomsday clock stopped ticking...
End of Week 1 (Almost)
I woke up this morning on the wrong side of the bed (figuratively speaking, of course). Perhaps it was the gale force winds battering rain against my windows that did it. Or the other list of things I mentally complained about as I got ready (was going to include said list here, but it just sounded pathetic). I delayed as much as possible getting out of the house, examining the various hair products I'd brought, enjoying a second cup of coffee, watching a cat across the street play with rain drops on the window, etc. But finally I couldn't delay any longer, and stepped out to face the forces of nature. Which were actually quite small - similar to a drunk frat boy in the Marina, there was a lot of big talk and nothing to back it up. A few gusts of wind (at one point I thought it was the train approaching, but no, it wasn't) and no rain. The Dutch are amazingly ambivalent to the weather - saw a woman riding her bike in a skirt suit and pumps. I'm not sure I could do that even on a calm summer day.
So anyway, shockingly enough, I made it to work. It's Thursday, and I have a short assignment for today. Yay! I'll also probably have lots of time to brush up on useless trivia for quiz night at the bar tonight, which is apparently loads of fun and not to be missed. It's amazing how I'm already looking forward to the weekend. Playing grown-up at work definitely gets old after a few days at the office!
Thought for Today: I'm glad I brought 5 hats.
So anyway, shockingly enough, I made it to work. It's Thursday, and I have a short assignment for today. Yay! I'll also probably have lots of time to brush up on useless trivia for quiz night at the bar tonight, which is apparently loads of fun and not to be missed. It's amazing how I'm already looking forward to the weekend. Playing grown-up at work definitely gets old after a few days at the office!
Thought for Today: I'm glad I brought 5 hats.
Monday, January 15, 2007
ICTY - Day 1
I work in a basement. A smelly basement. In a fluorescent-lit room across from the bathrooms and an industrial sized shredder. This, I've been told, is where all legal officers start their careers at the ICTY. Deep breath (through the mouth to avoid the stink), here goes nothing.
My fellow basement dwellers include 2 men - an Italian and a Mexican, and 7 women - a German, Swiss, Russian, Dutch, Indonesian, Canadian and one other American. Everyone is friendly and welcoming, and there is already talk of a happy hour get together later this week. Drinking foreigners. I like.
But apart from the smelly basement and maze-like building (more on this later), the day has been pretty cool. I have an official UN security card, and, the best part, I got a UN email address. Awesome. My supervisor took me out to lunch, and is friendly, helpful and I think will be a great resource. Same with the other interns I'll be working with directly (the Swiss and Italian).
No real work yet (hence the new blog), but I presume enough will come shortly.
Thought for today: Worried about getting a bike and crashing it into garbage bins.
My fellow basement dwellers include 2 men - an Italian and a Mexican, and 7 women - a German, Swiss, Russian, Dutch, Indonesian, Canadian and one other American. Everyone is friendly and welcoming, and there is already talk of a happy hour get together later this week. Drinking foreigners. I like.
But apart from the smelly basement and maze-like building (more on this later), the day has been pretty cool. I have an official UN security card, and, the best part, I got a UN email address. Awesome. My supervisor took me out to lunch, and is friendly, helpful and I think will be a great resource. Same with the other interns I'll be working with directly (the Swiss and Italian).
No real work yet (hence the new blog), but I presume enough will come shortly.
Thought for today: Worried about getting a bike and crashing it into garbage bins.
Beginnings - The Hague
Well, after much prompting by friends and family, I have officially started a blog. Ideally this will take the place of mass emails and other random postings, giving you the freedom to ignore me, or stalk me, at your leisure.
So, welcome. Or, I should say, welkom.
I arrived in The Hague with little trouble, although wondering if I really did need that last pair of shoes I shoved in my bag, or the second purse, or necklaces... but either way, I arrived safe and sound, if only a little road weary. My landlady is a scatterbrained Englishwoman who gave me tea and biscuits, talks a mile a minute and told me to sleep and she'd be back later for a chat.
The rest of Saturday was largely spent lying on the couch, sleeping, drinking tea and watching BBC. I finally got up the energy to exit my cute, cozy little studio (all white decor and no oven, and you have to step through the shower to get to the toilet, but otherwise no complaints) to buy myself the first real meal I'd had in what seemed like days (actually, just 1 day, and I'd eaten on the plane, but you know how it feels...) Found the grocery, bought a few supplies, and holed up once again at 35 Blois Van Treslongstraat.
Sunday, was, appropriately enough, a sunny day! Feeling like it was probably the one and only I'd see in a long time, I unpacked my bags, ate a quick lunch, and went to see if I could find the beach. All I had to do was wander 15 minutes up the street, and there I was, face to face with the North Sea.
And the entire rest of the city. Resolute to enjoy the day, we plodded along the sandy beach in a long column of couples, families, dogs and kite fliers. It was definitely the welkom I'd been hoping for.
Thought for today: I don't like saying "The Hague." It's too close to "the plague."
So, welcome. Or, I should say, welkom.
I arrived in The Hague with little trouble, although wondering if I really did need that last pair of shoes I shoved in my bag, or the second purse, or necklaces... but either way, I arrived safe and sound, if only a little road weary. My landlady is a scatterbrained Englishwoman who gave me tea and biscuits, talks a mile a minute and told me to sleep and she'd be back later for a chat.
The rest of Saturday was largely spent lying on the couch, sleeping, drinking tea and watching BBC. I finally got up the energy to exit my cute, cozy little studio (all white decor and no oven, and you have to step through the shower to get to the toilet, but otherwise no complaints) to buy myself the first real meal I'd had in what seemed like days (actually, just 1 day, and I'd eaten on the plane, but you know how it feels...) Found the grocery, bought a few supplies, and holed up once again at 35 Blois Van Treslongstraat.
Sunday, was, appropriately enough, a sunny day! Feeling like it was probably the one and only I'd see in a long time, I unpacked my bags, ate a quick lunch, and went to see if I could find the beach. All I had to do was wander 15 minutes up the street, and there I was, face to face with the North Sea.
And the entire rest of the city. Resolute to enjoy the day, we plodded along the sandy beach in a long column of couples, families, dogs and kite fliers. It was definitely the welkom I'd been hoping for.
Thought for today: I don't like saying "The Hague." It's too close to "the plague."
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