Beach & Turmoil

Zandvoort aan Zee & Financial Crisis...

This weekend Shosh and I went to Zandvoort aan Zee. And even better, we brought Piggy :-) A nice walk on the beach and some strolling around in the shopping area is a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. We even decided to buy some drinks and snacks and have a beach pre-dinner... Unfortunately it got pretty cold when the sun started to go down, but it kind of added to the "Dutch" feeling.

Besides fun in the weekend and evenings, my job keeps going on as well of course. And as you might have noticed there is quite a bit turmoil surrounding ING these days. a massive loss and a lay-off of thousands. Will it affect me? To be honest, I don't know, but I am pretty confident I am in a safe zone. ING spends a good deal of money and effort in recruiting trainees and I don't see why they would lay us off... But then again, these are unpredictable times and anything can happen.
Besides these uncertainties, I am still enjoying my time at ING and get to know the company better and better. I also am still working on the "merger" between the Postbank and ING Bank, which is pretty cool since the results of our efforts become ever more visible. Time went by so fast that I am already thinking about what assignment to do next. What it will be..? Time will tell!

That's all for now. Hope all of you are doing well in these turbulent weeks!

Groeten,
Ruudje, Shosh & Piggy

New Year's Eve Brothel Party

Yup, you read it right, I celebrated New Year's Eve in a brothel...

Haha, not one that actually operates anymore but still. A friend of a friend lives in an ex-brothel to prevent it from being occupied by squatters (anti-kraak). He was throwing a party and we were invited. And be honest, doesn't it sound awesome to celebrate the end of 2008 in a brothel..?!

Since trains stopped going at 20.00 we had to go relatively early. First some dinner at Bas and Bibi's place and then on to the Spijkerkwartier in Arnhem (known as the red light district of that city). We brought our drinks, some snacks and some stuff to sleep in/on/with, so we were all ready to party!!! And that is exactly what we did. After downing all our beers, Bonne arrived just in time to play Mix Master for most of us, creating some of the best cocktails known to mankind, especially for us... Thanks again Bonne!!!

At midnight we all went outside to check out the fireworks (which everyone can buy and light..) and have champagne to celebrate the start of 2009.

Since we started at 20.00 we were kind of "done" relatively early (don't ask me an exact time, because I have no idea...). Fortunately finding a place to sleep wasn't that hard. Remember we were staying at an ex-brothel... and if there is one thing they have enough... indeed, rooms ;-)

Besides Shoshannah being a bit sick in the last couple of days everything is going just fine. I started working again today, Shosh went to The Hague to get some documents legalized and is in Maastricht now and that's about it.

All the best for 2009!!!
Ruud & Shosh