Music for the soul

As always when the year is about the end, I start to reflect on all the things I have done in the past twelve months. Besides many great adventures, 2011 has brought me music. More than ever before, my musical landscape has widened. I have always said I was into black music, because white music lacked soul. That is certainly not true, or so I found out this year. So here, I present to you my Top Ten of Most Played Songs in 2011. Thanks to all my friends for sharing their great music with me!

1. Ane Brun - One
 
2. King - Supernatural


3. Lizz Wright - Salt

This is actually a very old song from Lizz, which I had apparently missed before.

4. Mayra Andrade - Kenha ki ben ki ta bai

In September, I saw Mayra play live - definitively the best concert of 2011!

5. James Blake - Limit to your love


6. Edward Sharpe - Home

7. Avishai Cohen - Dreaming


8. James Vincent McMorrow - Higher love


9. Norah Jones - Chasing pirates

This song is actually from 2009, but I only discovered it a few months ago.

10. Fink - Trouble is what you're in


May 2012 bring you all lots of happy melodies and soulful tunes!

Settle down

More than ever before, the question is posed to me. I am 32 (ouch), have no place to call my own and no job, at least not one that provides me with a sense of security - since I just started my own consultancy. The question usually comes after a moment of hesitation and with a prelude like "No offense, but" or "I hope you won't be insulted, but". And then, there it is: "Don't you want to settle down?".

Some people refer to having a pied a terre somewhere or some savings in the bank, but most people talk about living in one place (preferably Amsterdam) and starting a family. Given my age that may be the obvious thing to do. In fact, when I was 25 I already bought an apartment in Amsterdam and was on the way to settling down. It was great in many ways. However, the scary thing about the settled life for me is that is has a tendency to suck you in. Before you know it, you ride the same train to work everyday and flip channels from America's Next Top Model to Boer zoekt Vrouw (a dating show for Dutch farners). At work, you then discuss these things (train was late, farmer was handsome). This was not my cup of tea. There had to be more to life than this, right? The great wide world kept on pulling my arm. So, for me it meant I needed to get off the couch. 

Very superstitious

It seems nobody listens to Stevie Wonder here in Indonesia. In any case, the average Indonesian probably wouldn't sing along to "When you believe in things that you don't understand, then you suffer." Because superstition IS the way! In the past two weeks here I have gotten to know some new superstitions, which I shouldn't refer to as such of course. They are "facts''.

As always my health is slightly unstable with a change of temperature of 20 degrees and an invasion of polluted air into my pores. Thus, my eye is irritated. I must have been peaking in on someone taking a bath, someone tells me. No, someone else says, you gave someone something and took it back, or was considering it - after I heard this, I did actually start contemplating asking back a dress I had given to Esther a few months ago. Today my ear ached: someone misses me, or so they say. Last week I learned that unmarried couples shouldn't visit the botanical gardens in Bogor together, or they will certainly never get married. Finally, when a child stands on all fours, they want a little brother or sister. I wonder what more I will learn in the next two weeks. In the meantime, I'll sing along to Stevie...

Humans: sleepwalkers in robot mode or highly intelligent creatures?

In the movie Limitless (not bad by the way) it is assumed that we only use 20% of our brain capacity. That we don't use a lot of it, became obvious to me again last Saturday at Albert Heyn (a Dutch supermarket chain). People often act like computers in sleep mode than as highly intelligent creatures!

Upon arrival at the store I noticed there was an extraordinarily long queue at the ATM near the entrance. In order to pass it, you almost bumped into a sign saying that you could only pay by cash. Maybe some hackers had managed to bring the electronic payment systems down - it was down in all Albert Heyn stores in the country. While I was getting my groceries they announced on the intercom as well that we could only pay by cash. I was impressed by how well they were informing the customers.

But yes, you can of course guess what's coming next... While in line to pay, there were at least five people that seemed to wake up from a long nap and were annoyed at the cashier that they could not pay by card ("This is ridiculous. I don't have any money on me!"). They aggressively put their groceries back into their basket and made their way to the ATM queue.

It could've happened to me too. And probably to you too. So, why is that? Are we robots that do not think when we do things that we often do? Do we stop observing if we know the environment? How come people were so lost in their thoughts that they missed the ATM queue, the signs AND the announcements? How come there aren't many more bicycle accidents in Amsterdam knowing people are absentminded?

Well, now I understand why all this talk about mindfulness and 'the power of NOW' is really necessary. In Jakarta, I'd often take a different route to work just to give my brain some different impulses. On my other blog, I once wrote about things you can do to get yourself out if you're stuck in a rut. So, what are you gonna do to get yourself out of robot mode?

An instant dose of inspiration or the Fifteen Minutes of Fame Weekend effect

The third edition of the Fifteen Minutes of Fame weekend (last year renamed Matchbox weekend, but now back to its original name) was a great success, just like its two predecessors. We went to the same bungalow park (appropriately named Carpe Diem) as last year, since I had to book everything while traveling in Asia only three months before the event - which for Dutch standards is ridiculously late...

Having breakfast surrounded by paparazzi

We had again twelve presentations covering a wide range of issues - from photography to personal development, from looking the lessons life presents us with to discussing what we eat and buy. As always, each fifteen minute presentation brought a unique insight or inspiration to do things we had wanted to do for a long time. Since the weather was great, we changed the program to be able to get some sun on the beach. The presentations were thus quite spread out over two days which made it easy to focus and gave time to reflect.

So what were the presentations about?

Maike did a presentation on association. Using postcards as her modern-day powerpoint, she urged us to get more into right brain activities. She reminded me of the power of association and of the freedom it brings to just fantasize away. We hardly ever allow ourselves to associate freely and take the sometimes random connections our brain makes seriously. Very refreshing. 

Maike stimulating creativity

Beatriz asked us for input for her research proposal combining sociology with urban planning. We discussed some issues on the border of these two disciplines, such as safety or the extent to which different ethnic groups interact in Amsterdam. Which cities or areas could be comparable and which topics would be interesting enough to study?

Emma made an exhibition with to do lists and photos of tasks which she felt needed to be done - before and after they actually were. As I keep lots of to do lists, the topic spoke to me. It made me see that just doing things straight away works better than keeping it on to do lists for a long time. A lot of the pressure is built up in our own brain. Another eyeopener: the list is never done. Every time we complete a task, we will have come up with a new one. Give yourself a break! (You too, Emma!)

Fenneke reminded me of the fact that we can be in touch with nature if we want to be. On the map of Amsterdam she showed us the places where she goes to pick berries and apples. I was surprised to hear there were actually places like this in my city and realized that I don't see the city's plants as a source for food. Also, I seem to trust the supermarket more than a tree to provide me with healthy berries. Strange isn't it?

Fenneke points us to the city's treasures

Luis makes a great photography magazine, which is read by thousands of people. To me, his presentation was truly a wake up call. Things will only happen, if we make them happen. We do not have to be experts in something in order to have an opinion. Again, just DO it. Also, his persistence NOT to ask for money, or make money with advertising, is just amazing - he wants a 'pure' product, solely fueled by passion, nothing else. Check out DOF magazine and sign up!

Philippe did a consumer test on us as a group. We all tasted four different types of beer, cola and crisps and had to say which ones we liked best. Also, we had to match the right brands with the products tasted. I am very much a Coca Cola preacher (I really do not like pepsi) and was very happy when I recognized it - as did everyone else. Besides that, it was a good reminder of the fact that the more expensive products are not necessarily the best.

Serious tasting

Victor shared the life lessons that he learns by doing improvisation theatre. The one that rang most with me, was 'be confident'. He said that when he plays a scene, he forces himself to fully go for it. Despite any insecurities you may have, it matters that you do it. After his presentation, he did some improv exercise with us. It was cool to see how quickly a funny sketch can evolve.

Miriam talked about the Happiness project, a very popular initiative started by New Yorker Gretchin Rubin who works to improve different aspects of her life to end up happier and shares her steps online. Miriam gave us all a little handwritten notebook with the main points. What stuck with me is to have concrete goals and to do something every day. More on that soon!

Tommy spoke about personal development, overcoming fear and fighting limiting beliefs. We all spend too much time telling ourselves we are not good at things (such as singing, dancing, doing our finances), just because we are afraid or too lazy to start improving our skills. We should be aware of the reasons why we tell ourselves these things and find solutions to overcome them.

Erik talked about the fantastic Dutch TV show 'Keuringsdienst van Waarde' and reminded us of the fact that we need to aware of the products we buy: "After going out, when I'm already drunk, I really want to eat something greasy. I see the chicken at the snackbar, it's calling my name. But I won't eat it". It was good to again think about the choices I myself make when I shop. How much more am I willing to pay for an ecological fair trade product?

Matteo gave us some tips for making better pictures. One I liked was to think about the light. I mostly focus on the composition and forget about the importance of light. Matteo warned for taking pictures around noon and advised to instead do it in the golden hour, right after sunrise or just before sundown.

The last presentation was mine. I confessed that I am a latte snob. Yes, I am one of those women that spend too much money on a daily dose of coffee drowned in milk. I enjoyed talking about it (supported by this) and realized along the way that I would really like to work in the realm of coffee. To be continued...

Miriam made frontpages of the 'Wall of fame journal' for everyone, which were written on during the weekend.

Others blogged way faster than me. Check out what Victor wrote beforehand (in Dutch) and Miriam and Tommy afterwards. Want to know more? Go here or leave a comment to already sign up for next year's edition!

Who says learning is fun?

or: struggling to manage myself (part 3)

As you may remember, I am currently self-employed. Since May, I have taken a few months to reflect on my professional journey so far and work on my project - NGO toolkit, a website helping NGO's (non-governmental organizations) in developing countries to more easily access information on how to manage their organization and measure their successes. There is already lots of information about this topic, but it mostly comes in the shape of thick handbooks. As I've seen from up close, most people working at NGO's don't take the time to read these. So, instead, I will offer videos and summaries.

Talkative Amis at age two

As I had no idea how to build a website, let alone how to make a video, I started completely from scratch. There I sat in an apartment in Hanoi, all set up to record my first video. And then the talkative Amis, that enjoyed giving trainings in Jakarta, had left the building. Completely gone! I hadn't realized that in order for me to be spontaneous, I needed an audience or more practise. At first, I got very frustrated and wanted to quit. Then I became aware of a shocking fact: I do not like to learn new things as I say do. It's not fun to suck at something! I wanted it to be perfect at the first try. But of course we all know it's about daring to fail. That, my friends, is not easy...

The footage from the first rounds of recording was too funny to be wasted though. So I made a little compilation. Here I am, making a fool of myself. Enjoy!

Oh, and the music continues for a while as I didn't know at the time how to cut the audio file :)

Somewhere between love and hate

How wonderful it is to wander and wonder...

 At a construction site on Javastraat, Amsterdam

Last year, I described the phases we go through when we live in another country for a while: the honeymoon and the hostility phases. Well, they also appear when you come back to your own country. While I am happy to have family gatherings, eat cheese & licorice, bike through Amsterdam and meet friends for coffees, I also look at my own city through different eyes. Yes, there is such a thing as a reversed cultureshock! Despite the fact that I've spent most of my life in the Netherlands, living abroad makes me see my country in a completely different light. And I figured I should take advantage of this sense of wonder by taking many pictures and blogging about it.

Healthy people eating out

Amongst other things, I've noticed: Girls were wearing bikinis in the park with the first rays of sunshine (my battery died as I tried to take a picture. Sorry, guys). Everybody here looks healthy and carefree. It's all so expensive! A single tram ticket costs 2,60 euro, that's the amount I paid for an 8 hour busride in Vietnam. There is so much going on in Amsterdam. There are tourists everywhere and festivals on every street corner. Then there are the funny interactions between people: A woman on the tram says to the driver "Sorry, I can not see very well, I'm only wearing one contactlens". Waiting for the ferry, I see a man in a wheelchair asking someone for a sigarette. The smoker bluntly said "No", nothing more. It's interesting, this city of mine...

 

Royal palace on Dam square

Spreading the word of the Lord

Human statues still do it for tourists

A man at the city hall pays with coins he keeps in a winebox

Very Amsterdam style bar called 'The traffic light'

"Stop suffering" (across the street from the bar)

Drinking water available for free!