A'dam Day 336

location: PC Hoofthuis
working on: news update, thesis update, emails update
mood: between 9-18 degrees Celsius [for one thing, I'm quite certain Dutchmen don't call July "Oven"! - 18 has been the highest temperature this month and there were days with 12 degrees!]

on my ears: last.fm
on my mind: climate change [even Brazil seems to be reacting!], my sister & the recent rejections of Dad's & Joao's proposed visits this month
this week:
3 Aug - semi-deadline T1
5 Aug - Ligia's departure

my Window

Is that so?!... [Hamas starts payment of salaries]

Hamas took over Gaza by force in mid-June

The Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas has begun paying the overdue wages of more than 10,000 civil servants and members of the security forces.

Most of the employees were hired by the former Hamas government.

That government was dismissed by President Mahmoud Abbas after Hamas militants seized control of Gaza's security apparatus last month.

Meanwhile, Israel has reportedly agreed to allow hundreds of Palestinians stranded in Egypt to pass into Gaza.

The 10,000 employees who are now being paid had been excluded from payments authorised by the new government established by Mr Abbas in the West Bank last month.

Mr Abbas leads the rival Fatah faction, whose forces in Gaza were routed in June by Hamas in bloody battles.

Hamas has refused to recognise the new government, saying it is illegal and unconstitutional.

Correspondents say the payments to the civil servants mark a further step toward entrenching two separate Palestinian governments.

Wild Wild West...ern Europe!

Spain's most-wanted robber caught

Portuguese police showed off the Loner's weapons and false beard

The police in Portugal say they have arrested a man described as Spain's most-wanted bank robber.

The man, known as "The Loner", is accused of carrying out more than 30 armed bank robberies in Spain and of killing at least three policemen.

Police said the man, who disguised himself with a dark wig and a false beard to carry out his crimes, had evaded arrest for more than a decade.

His total booty amounted to more than 600,000 euros ($828,000; £402,000).

The Loner's last successful robbery took place in May, when he held up a bank in the Spanish town of Toro.

- credits go to the BBC here

A'dam Day 327

mood: sunny Sunday morning
working on: what do you think?!... [indistinguishable mumbling of unhappiness...]
flavour: these new cereals I've just discovered a couple of days ago & which are just soooo nice!!

listening to: Röyksopp
thinking of: going to study again in the Westerpark

Nota Bene: for anyone in the Universe, the reason why I'm taking so long in writing this darn thesis is 97% based on the fact that my thesis coordinator (whom I had already met for more times than I wish were necessary with a view to the end result) already rejected some 12 thesis proposals at various times; the most recent event was last Monday, when I had presented him with one week's worth of work and he decided that it had been to no ado... these thesis adventures are not only highly time consuming but also particularly frustrating. The missing 3% is based on my uneasiness (some prefer to read that as "laziness") with the process due to experience behind the other 97%...

this is one of the realities of A'dam:

"The shortest distance between two points is under construction." - Noelie Altito
[taken from here]

A'dam Day 235

mood: sleepy but entrepreneurial
working on: ordering the chaos in my thesis, life, future, head...

location: the Internet, the Law School, maybe some pub later on (as to meet Jess...)
on my mind: time management, still
flavour: Stimorol's Fresh Zone/Spearmint Delight

A'dam Day 324

location: "on my way!"
working on: ordering books from various Dutch cities to the UvA
fuel: Greek Frappe - from Tina

on my mind: time management

A'dam Day 320

location: somewhere in the neighbourhood
working on: the draft of the 1st half of my thesis, due tomorrow
fuel: coffee, black.

on my mind: yesterday's raspberry pie (that we baked in Vasiliki's oven) and the fact that my sister's in this country
coping with: everyone's departure from A'dam (most recently - Emilie & Luis)

thought of the day: I definitely like fresh air IN THE ABSENCE OF RAIN early in the morning!

A'dam Day 317
(thesis writing - week 2)

location: PC Hoofthuis
mood: tired but still going

working on: the mapping out of borders between the international law on terrorism and the better-defined regimes of international humanitarian law, ~ law of military operations, ~ human rights law, ~ law on state responsibility, ~ law on individual criminal responsibility and ~ refugee law. assessing the possibility of using a more qualified graphic tool in order to have this better done

on my mind: the thesis, internships/jobs apps, the language test
fuel: water. plenty of it [I seem to be getting really dehydrated when staying in front of the computer all day long!]

past issues: had a really cool birthDAY, as well as a cool celebration the following Saturday [3o.o6] - dinner with friends, going out for drinks and bouncing afterwards;
been in Deventer last Saturday [o7.o7.o7] - my last 'official' day off prior to actually starting to work on this dran thesis (as opposite to what I was saying last week) - the most Eastern in NL as I've ever been till now, for the "best rated street festival in the Netherlands", as they say; well, I did get quite impressed, esp. by this one show... I'll post photos if they come out alright and you'll see what I mean!

current issues: my sister's getting her skinny ass here today - though I don't know if I'll see her straight away. she's in with 'business' and we'll definitely start hanging out after 28.o7.

i'm wondering what are you guys doing, though?...

perhaps this is indeed quite a while that I needed to be able to process my last collection of Lisbon images, but this is definitely a souvenir worth remembering: the visit to the "Casa do Alentejo"








... they had these motifs which I can relate just as well to Portugal as I do to The Netherlands: boats and seagulls. I must admit it, living by the water definitely has its advantages, you know, the other side of the miserable continuous humidity and winds; and though I don't feel like I've exhausted my share of Sea/Ocean-related experiences, I still think it worthwhile mentioning my appreciation. and the fact that I can somehow understand the desire to express this in various manners, no matter how eloquent or silly, just telling.

A'dam Day 308
(thesis writing, week 1)

gps: BethanienKlooster on Barndesteeg 6b (near Nieuwmarkt)
working on: Graduating
flavour: cereal & strawberry yogurt

on my ears: Porcupine Tree

this week:
Tue, 3.07: Graduation Ceremony
Wed, 4.07: Scissor Sisters live @ Westerpark
Thu, 5.07: FSLSD deadline
Fri, 6.07: meeting the doctor, part 7
Sun, 8.07: dad's birthday

currently: resume updating & finishing up the summer cleaning/reorganising

Marian: thanks for the HB msg!
Alex: am still keeping my fingers crossed! in any case, your calls are always welcome! :)