20090526

.: Dragonflies
I have had some time to go driving the last few days and I was forced to several conclusions. In no particular order; being outdoors on a beautiful day is healthy and cathartic. I am prone to sunburns, and when driving around with the top down, wearing glasses will turn me into a raccoon. I don’t care if it makes the car impractical, a convertible is where it’s at. The Netherlands are beautiful, with many, many undiscovered gems. Dragonflies have returned, and I am happier with that than I thought I would be. I want to be independently wealthy, or be paid to do this for a living. I want to know a little bit more about the several noble families of the Netherlands’ last five or six hundred years or so. Modern windmills, of which the Netherlands has many, are cool in a slightly creepy way. I am a decent, though not great driver and with more hours logged, I will improve. Grass can look like it’s thick, lush and bountiful, but looks can be deceiving. Frogs are very, very weird, yet amazingly cool. While I still don’t know why anyone would live in the eastern part of the Netherlands, I totally get why they’d want a second home there. There is so much out there to discover!

.: Two Years
It’s hard to believe it’s already been two years since my father died. It’s been pretty busy since he died, and so I haven’t really had the chance to take some time to process it. I think about him every day — literally — but it’s different than really taking the time. My sister and I went to the park on the water where we scattered his ashes, and spent some time reminiscing, having a few drinks and shedding some tears.

At about 1 am the park was completely empty, which was a bit strange since it had been a really warm day, which usually means that a bunch of winos hang out in the park after dark. The weather was crystal clear, and it was completely windstill, and the lake looked like the polished surface of a mirror. Not a cloud in the sky, the heavens were awash with a tremendous amount of stars, most of which are usually not visible on an average night, due to the light pollution. You could even say the stain of the milky way across the sky.

Now that I think about it, we’ve had the most amazing weather recently. Beautiful, warm weather, crystal clear evenings, and one of the most violent thunderstorm the Netherlands has seen in the last decade. I love it.