Sick People, Grades, Fire Drills...Winter

People beginning to show the tell tale signs of getting sick, and some are already sick. I myself am included in the first group. My body is definitely fighting something off, which is why I'm going to bed so early, drinking lots of tea, and washing my hands as if I were a doctor! I don't have the time or ability to become sick this year, it would be brutal to try and catch up in my work, and it would throw a fork in the learning of my Dutch. So, if you're sick wash your hands and cough into your elbow! Not for me, but for everyone's benefit!

In math we reached a unit that I was struggling with last year. But because I struggled with it before, this was a piece of cake! I'm am really glad about that because it means that I am on the right track of achieving my goal to reinforce my math skills. I also received three more grades back today. One being Chemistry where I unfortunately scored a 4.2 which is not passing, but was in my ball park for the language barrier. What I was glad about though was all the questions I made, I made either correctly of partially correct. The second grade was Physics where I knew I had made dumb mistakes, and my grade of a 4. Something (can't remember at the moment) was expected. The last grade was in Computer sciences and there I knew I was in for a low score due to the surprising amount of history and text we are doing for a computer course. That grade was a 3.9. All and all I didn't fare very well if I were a normal student, I could have done better I know that, and my excuse of not knowing dutch very well is only valid to a point. For the next test week these grades will all be above a 5.5 (passing)!

Biology, Gym, and English are tomorrow, followed by what I think will be two hours of homework at school in order to make my thirty-three hours per week quota. Tomorrow also is the announcement of who is playing at A State Of Trance 550! I can barely wait for March!

One thing I didn't mention in yesterday's post was that there was a fire drill during my first hour. Now for me and most kids back in the states this is nothing very interesting but here, it was the first in FOUR YEARS! It was quite funny to see how absolutely nonchalant everyone was a d the teachers just did their best to keep their class in one relative location. This is made possible by students being more responsible than in the states, and going to their teacher first before friends. On the way back in there was a firework or more noise bomb on the side of the path. When it when off (and it was loud) you could see everyone jump a few inches.

A 6 in Biology! Also where was my head?

So I had a pleasant surprise today! I have a 6 in Biology which is amazing since i was expecting a 3 or 4! So that was a real highlight of my day, this is subject to change after an oral test next week though. My elation dimmed a bit when I went to fencing this evening, and everything felt wrong. My footwork, blade-work, and tactics were all off. I was just having just one of those days, where nothing gets processed. So that was a bit disappointing.

Sorry this post is so short, I didn't manage my time very well today. Tomorrow will be a post of a normal length.

Ik snap de weer hier niet!

One week is cold and everyday mist, the other it's clear skies and warm. This is almost as bad a a year or two ago back in the states when the weather would drastically change each day, at least this is by week.

Today in school was physics along with Nederlands and homeroom.

This evening I watch the very short concert put on by deadmau5 in London where the set was an entire skyscraper with visuals projected on it! As one google+ user put it, "too much effort for too little show." I agree but it was still a good little party, and I don't think anyone is topping that visual display for awhile!

Tomorrow brings math, physics, biology, and to wrap up the school day Nederlands. In the evening is Fencig!

A Moment Too Many

SO...no lacrosse today because I failed to get out of my bed when my first alarm went off. Then I fell back asleep by accident and slept for another hour and twenty minutes. Thus missing my trains and because Nijmegen is so far away all the other trains were too late to arrive at the game. So to make up for the lack of exercise I went running again, for almost an hour. My right leg was getting tired and my knee also, so I headed home instead of pressing forward. It's really too bad I screwed up this morning, I can only make sure I am there next week.

The weather is continuing to change with huge gusts of wind and a but of rain. But it is warm, warm for winter that is.

Normal week next week, or so I predict. Is everyone recovered from Thanksgiving?

Warmer Wind, With Rain

All day the wind has been gusting across Hoorn, rattling the house and moving the doors. But it is no longer cold! It is now very comfortable fall weather, but as I am typing this the rain is begining and so I am looking forward for another wet game day!

Homework is complete for the most part, just a few questions to ask when I get back to school, and so all and all today has been a restful day.

Tineke is in Groningen to visit Kees and Wouter, and Jan had tennis. Jelle and I didn't really do too much today.

Congratulations to NASA for a succesful launch of the Mars Science Laboratory named Curiosity!

Ahh, its Friday.

One week back, one week further. This weekend will be the first back into the swing of things, with home work on Saturday, and lacrosse on Sunday. Homework will entail biology, and chemistry. I was able to finish the rest of my homework during my five break hours today.
I also received my English grade for my test and because there was a section that was translating I missed a good chunk and ended with a 7.2 which normally is a decent grade. Next time it will be a 9 or 10 I think.

Now that the mist has gone away, the air is a little bit warmer. Probably because there isn't so much water in the air, but either way its nicer. But, on Sunday in Nijmegen there will be rain...again...WOOHOO! It wouldn't be Dutch lacrosse though without getting a bit wet.

Well see what happens tomorrow, doing something wise, but until then, good night and enjoy those Black Friday steals if you're state side!

Thanksgiving Via Skype!

Its thanksgiving in America and some of the Cohen family has gathered to commence in what has become "The Cohen Family Thanks Giving Conversation" which is also known as; "The Annual Strangest Thanksgiving conversation in America". This is the time of year that we Cohens sit down and discuss all the things that normal families would never imagine could be a conversation let alone a Thanksgiving conversation. We pride ourselves in out topic variety and rarity while the entire time laughing hysterically at things that really shouldn't be funny. But that us for you and, to top it all off we end the night by eating another Turkey. But this time its made of sugar and cake... the entire process is part rocket science and part luck. Trying to get all the pieces together and to not eat everything is a challenge! Here is the construction process!

I had the opprotunity to join my crazy family via Skype, and the crazy-ness has already begun. I wish I were there to join in with the Dinner conversation, but I will have to wait for next year to do so!

With it being Thanksgiving I want to say how thankful I am to have the opportunity to be living here in the Netherlands and to have such amazing friends, without whom I would be nowhere and would still be speaking English. To also have the great fortune of living with a host family whom are not strangers and instead are close friends of our family, I probably wouldn't be in Hoorn if it wasn't for them, and I would have been able to speak even less Nederlands on the first day of school if I hadn't be pushed by Tineke and Jan. So another great thank you to them!

With that I bid you all a good thanksgiving, and good Tryptophan induced sleep!

I Was In The News!

So I don't know why it took me this long but I was in the local new paper! Well my fencing club was, and the article was decent for someone that doesn't really know fencing. I wasn't the focus of the photo, instead it was two other guys but I was in the background and according to my coach in perfect form, rather than the the two most forward members.

In other news the mist left, came back, and then left again to only return. I also got a few of my grades back. I did not fair very well, even with the expectations lowered because of the language difference. I still made a silly mistakes here or failed to remember something. I also realized how little information I am absorbing from my books. I know it will get better as my Dutch improves, but for now it's a blow to my confidence now.

Well, I have a bit of homework to do before I go to bed. I will report to you all tomorrow!

Its Finally Raining!

Well after days of mist, the rain has finally begun clearing away some of the mist! There was even ice forming on the bushes out side of my school! Also at school we had one hour off because Physics was canceled. So Meik, Martin, Jack, and I went to take a look at a new supermarket that had opened up near the school, which was famous for its low prices. But were were not prepared for how absolutely rock bottom the prices were! Just one example was that we bought four chocolate croissants for one Euro!

In other news my schedule is back to normal, and I am back in the pattern of things. The test week really messes with things.

Apparently I was in the newspaper a little while back without knowing it for Fencing. It wasn't about me, but about my club and I was in the photo! According to my coach I was in perfect form too! I will look for the image!

I also have come across two great videos via Google +. One from NASA again and another from a friend! Check them out!

This one from NASA is another stunning display of our beautiful home, with music by Peter Gabriel:

Time Lapse From Space - Literally. The Journey Home. from Fragile Oasis on Vimeo.

And this is a cute story of how a toy took a cross country roadtrip:

Address Is Approximate from The Theory on Vimeo.

I hope you enjoy them, as much as I did!

The Mist Is Everywhere

Those of you who are followers of international news may have heard of the fog that is covering most of northern Europe. Flights out of Amsterdam, London, and other major cities. Hoorn isn't an exception, other than that it doesn't have an airport. The mist seems to be here to stay, and its thick and cold. I don't think anyone will be stating out the school windows anymore because the view is even more boring than the teacher!

Tomorrow is the first day back into the normal school schedule after all the tests. I haven't looked ahead yet but I will a little later. I know that for the next test week, I will be able to worry about Nederlands less and more about the classes. Tineke said I will also be more accustomed to how the books are formatted and also the tests, which I agree with. My Nederlands is already much better, and I know that it can only improve. So with that said, it's time to get back into the school grind!

An Alien View

The entire day, Hoorn and good portions of Holland were covered by a thick and ever present layer of mist. Out of my window I could only see the next street over before the mist replaced the houses. When there is mist, it makes biking quite interesting. You are biking through a cloud, and so by the time you reach school or your destination, your hair is wet, and your jacket looks as if it had rained. The scary part is that when you are biking on the road, the drivers and other bikers can only see as far as you can.

The whole day reminded me of when I traveled t Iceland years ago and we landed in thick fog and all you could see were the barren volcanic rocks next to the runway.

I have been studying for my last test of the test week. It is physics and as I have said for the rest I hope I do well. And I must make sure I go to bed on time.

Now I don't want to make this political, but I want to show how much I respect the students of UC Davis.

Here is what happened during the day


And here is what happened during the night

Gefeliciteerd!

Congratulations to me for failing at making pancakes this morning. I don't know what I was doing wrong but it was something and the pancake gods didn't like me. So what meant to be an American pancake breakfast, turned into a "pancake" breakfast. Fortunately they still tasted good!

Congratulations Nico and Kieth, my town teen twin brothers. I made a mistake in including their birthday is yesterday's post, saying it was then. But it is today that they are thirteen years old. They went paint-balling for their birthday which seems to have become a tradition after I started. I hope the welts don't last too long guys!

Also congratulations again to Merle! Welcome to the club of sixteen years old! Your party was awesome and I know I had a great time and it looked like everyone else did too!

I am dead tired from Merle's party and it is quarter to three. It's time I went to bed.

100 Days! 101 Posts!

Although this is technically the hounded and first post, but its my hundredth day of blogging! This also means its my 99th day of being in the Netherlands. To add to the numbers my 2 brothers are 13 years old today; I had 2 tests today (sort of); its the best number day of the week, 5; and what else...oh 37 days until Christmas? I don't think there are any more relevant numbers today. My two test were Chemistry and my English Oral. Chemistry went OK, and the English...you can guess.

But the best part about today is that i have all weekend to prepare for my physics test on Monday. That will be my last test, until Wednesday which is Computers and Technology. Today I also found a rare sight. There were roses blooming along the path that I take Louis down for walks. This struck me as very odd because its been freezing here. When I mentioned this to Tineke she said that there had also been Ducklings born! Seems like the early cold with the oddly warm week before confused many animals and plants.

Biking Through A Cloud

Hoorn was blanketed by a think layer of fog. Biking to and from school left you wet and your hair frozen. My English test went well, unlike my ANW test that didn't go as great. Tomorrow is Chemistry and I am hoping to do well. That is why this is so late, I have been studying my brains out for this one.

I also activated my OV Chip Card today with Tineke, so now I wont be paying so heavily for my train trips. Which is always nice.


In gaming news, Minecraft comes out tomorrow, and I have begin playing Skyrim for anyone out there who knows the Elder Scrolls series. There are no faults in Skyrim at all, unless you include how hard it is to stop playing.

I need to get some sleep for my test tomorrow, so I shall bid you good night.

Restful Day

So restful that I nearly forgot to blog!

Well, today I had no tests so I relaxed. Alternating between, studying for ANW or chemistry, reading, or playing on the computer. So it was a productive day in the real world and virtual world too. I even wrapped up a few projects I had been working on in Minecraft (in doing so I made about 5 more colossal projects, I just need to find graph paper).

Tomorrow is English, and ANW. I hope my reading is up to par for ANW, and im not too sure about my English test. We shall have to see how that goes.

No videos today, I didn't find one (and by that I never looked, sorry).

Beautiful Earth

Only my Nederlands tests was today, and I actually was able to read the story which we had to answer questions from. Thankfully it wasn't a spelling test. The story was about the exploration of using Spider Silk in materials that need unsurpassed strength but also need flexibility like cables on a bridge. Then we hung out in the mess hall/cafeteria/ eating area/ but also a stage/ room/ what ever you want to call it, until I went home to study.

After studying for a good amount of time and not getting too far, I went on a run. And this time I went far. My time was 1:08:04, from front door to front door. I was running at an almost constant pace of which I'm guessing is around 6:00-6:10 minute mile, so I did nearly ten miles and in kilometers that's sixteen some! Later tonight I have fencing as well, so I'm not too sure that it was a good idea but I feel great right now. My knee feels fine too for anyone wondering, I can't say how it will feel later though.

Time for more studying and more amazing films from Viemo below!

NASA has given the world a magnificent view of our home, the Earth. It is truly amazing how so many beings, large and small, live in near harmony on a single ball of rock floating through the vacuum of space. Filmed by the ISS crew, Mother Earth shows of her beauty, and power. Start both the videos at the same time (for the YouTube you will have to wait a few seconds until music begins so take that into account, also its an ambient Deamau5 piece not bass thumping progressive house), turn the sound off of for the Viemo video, and enjoy (another tip: click the HD to see it in HD on Viemo)! Oh leave names of locations and time in the comments for a prize!


Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.

First Two Tests & Flight Of The Frenchies

My tests could have gone better, but they also could have been much worse. I owe a HUGE thank you to all my friends, family, host family, and teachers. For bringing my Dutch to the level that it is today. With out their help I would be bombing these tests, and not being capable of putting in a good effort. Not to mention, I wouldn't be able to socialize and fit in as well.

Today was only Biology and Math, I managed in Biology. What held me back was the language, because I sometimes didn't know what the question was asking for or I couldn't read the story/experiment that the questions refereed to. Math I had a good time with, except for a few problems that I had been having problems with already. I need to ask more questions because I can see that my timidness to is hurting my grades.

Tomorrow is a quick test of Nederlands in the morning and then I will be studying my brains out for Physics and Chemistry. Maybe relax for a little with friends before hand though.

The weather is still bitterly cold, but amazingly dry. Which I would much rather than cold and wet, as I don't think its cold enough for snow.

Well with that I want to share a video of two of the most insane men on earth. Check this out:

Study Study Study

My whole day other than a few hours of chilling with Max, was consumed by my studying for the test week. Tineke and Jan were away to the birthday party of Jan's Aunt, who turned 70 years old today.

The weather is still beautiful, I wish I could have gone out to take pictures. Im sorry there is nothing else to really announce.

Wish me luck with the tests!

STUDY AND SINTERKLAAS!!!

It is Sinterklaas tonight in Holland and Sinterklaas visited every town in Holland by boat, accompanied by his helpers! All the boys and girls have left out their shoes with carrots in them. The carrots are for Sinterklaas' horse and then he places the gifts in the shoes. This happens a few times depending on the family.

While all the younger kids were out trying to see Sinterklaas, I and I know most of my friends were busy studying. I went over to Lotte's home to study with her, because I needed better explanations of biology and math. Her youngest sister went out onto the lake with her parents to meet the boat. I stayed for dinner and then returned home. I now have a much better grasp on biology and the math just solidified my ability.

Tomorrow is more studying and I really hope to score decent ciphers on these tests. But for now a little rest will do well.

11/11/11 11:11

Well special meaning or not today was the eleventh of Novermber, 2011! Now I hope everyone made their wishes, and had a good day. In the mess hall there was a small celebration marked by a count down, led by Steven, and capped off by two guns of confetti, and the popping of a bottle of bubbling cider (N.A Cider)! I have to say those confetti guns sure carry a lot! I also got a little cider on me because the student who popped it was standing behind me.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Filled with studying, and class. Though I did finish Fall Of Giants in English. Once home I took a much needed rest before getting back to work. I also had the chance to send a few more emails. I'm really happy to be getting back in touch with people though email and Skype. If you want to ask questions of what life here is like, shoot over an email to gregoryrobben@gmail.com or grobbin95 on skype!

This weekend is all about studying and will be mind intensive. But after the test week, if the weather is good, I want to organize a pick up game of Frisbee on Saturday. Lets see if I survive the test week first!

Bonus: here a beautiful picture of the Adirondacks in fall, I saw courtesy of National Geographic:

With Tanager Loge I have climbed the center and left most Mountains

Trapeze In Gym?

Today in gym we began using a mini trapeze. No it wasn't way up in the air with a rope but only swinging bars over mats. But is was a lot of fun and yet again kicks American gym's butt. I took me one try before I got the right footing down for jumping on the trampoline before catching the bar. Catching and swinging was no problem, everything I knew from the real trapeze in Florida came back to me. After gym was a short pause followed by English which was only one period today because of the college seminars.

I went to four seminars, first being about chemistry from the University of Delft. I also sat in on another one from Delft for their aeronautics program. This was followed by criminology. Criminology was not very good, the speakers seemed like they were going through the motions and they really spoke very little of what they are doing. Instead they spoke of room & board, Delft, how you would be broken up as students. Finally I sat in on a medical seminar from the University of Amsterdam. Unfortunately many of these talks were less on the program and more on social life and living. The best seminar was for Chemistry.

No running today unfortunately. My knee is a little sore from the landings in gym and I had one fall where I fell slightly on it so it got jerked a little. But at least I did something today!

1 Up! Survive Half A Week

Well more preparations today I have have spent the better part of the afternoon studying and taking breaks on my computer and reading Fall of Giants, which im almost finished with. For the tests I have been aloud to make a word list of some of the words that I dont know. So I have a little notebook going (which i should have started much earlier), and I think it will make an impact on my scores. I will also be aloud a dictionary thankfully.

The weather is a steady chill, but thankfully its dry and is making for great photographs. There is one problem. I never have my camera on me when I need it, so from now on its living in my backpack and will be charged every night.


I had a brief scare this evening when I smelled odd smoke in my room, and I though it may have been from my power-strip but it wasn't fortunately. After opening my winder I discovered that the smell came from outside and probably from someones fireplace.

I did not go running today because of studying, tomorrow is gym so I hope to make up for it a little. Maybe even go out after school tomorrow. Though after school will be after a college fair like event at OSg where we get to see what the Dutch universities are like and where we would like to go. I will be looking into medicine (didn't see that coming did you?), flight, and engineering. Should be a lot of fun!

Long Night

Well today was a hodgepodge of getting little things done (other than blogging at a decent hour). This morning I went to the bank to deliver my Dutch equivalent to a social security number. Now I went thinking "this will be easy, I have my papers from the IND and should be no problem! I even have a bank receipt and my passport to prove its me." Well not so fast! Turns out either I haven't done something at my end of I'm not in the system yet. So tomorrow we will look over the packet of information to double check that we did what we were supposed to do. I forgot to bring it down before I went to fencing so nothing was read this evening.

In school test week is all anyone can think about. I am impressed by the Dutch work ethic. Everyone is doing nothing but studying, and I have to say I feel a bit like a slacker! This work ethic could be very beneficial for the United States. My hardest classes will be Biology, Chemistry, and Nederlands of course. I think that Physics will go over well unless there is a lot of text in which case its iffy.

At fencing a few things clicked while other problems were brought to light. There is a lot of work to be done, but I know I will reshape my fencing into a better version of its past self!

Back At It!

Its game time and I'm studying away to prepare for the test week. I am also trying to get back into shape. Even if it means running in the bitter cold. Today was no special day in school, just more learning about electricity and grammar in Nederlands. We also had out Mentor hour but it was for a short announcement and didn't last the whole hour. I stayed behind with my friend Noor to try and see if my emails had been received about F.L.E. Unfortunately the teacher had already left and form experience we knew that going to the school administrator was futile because they would just ask for an email. But, when I returned home it turns out my email did reach the school. The reason I hadn't heard back was because my email was bouncing back the responses for some reason. So the administrator sent and email to Jan. Sadly FLE is too full and I can't join in. But I think I will hop in during my break hours just to clear my head, or at this point make sure I don't forget all of my English! I am speaking more and more Dutch everyday! In school I spoke mostly Dutch, except when I didn't know a word or needed to ask a specific question to the teacher.

I did go running today in between rounds of home work. I ran for a bit more than a half hour though I don't know how far I got because I kept repeating trails and taking small sides ones so mapping it out is impossible. It felt really really good to run, and I only returned home because my knee started to feel weak. My lungs, legs and core are still surprisingly strong after the summer. Tomorrow is fencing so I wont be running, but I plan to run every other day (Sundays will be lacrosse).

I have also begun writing again and I just posted a new story/poem on Een Paar Verhalen my poem/story blog. You can go read all of mine and others pieces there!
http://eenpaarverhalen.blogspot.com/

Lang maar kort dag?

Today was in the clouds a bit. My head wasn't on straight for some reason.

On the train home from Utrecht, I met two very kind people from Hoorn. We chatted ( in Dutch with English where I didn't know a word) until they hopped off to pick up their car at an earlier station than mine. Once home I did a bit of studying, and was lucky enough to skype with a bunch of people back home which was nice.

This coming week is going to be study heavy and I may miss a post or two, because I'm either too tired or still reading. Just a fair warning there.

So without further ado it's time to get some sleep!

Utrecht is almost my third home...

I slept in a bit this morning, but had to wake up because of the homework I had left over. The weather is continuing to be beautiful, and I hope it is as nice tomorrow for the game! We traveled to Utrecht in the afternoon and met up with friends of Tineke and Jan, and Kees who was able to take a break from studying for the day. Miss. Saigon was great and everything was paid for by the lottery in which we and the entire audience won the tickets in. It was very nice to no have to worry about paying for food or drink. The show was in Dutch and I was able to understand most of it, with the help of the scenery or physical actions. The show was tainted a little bit by the audience, who were not all knowledgeable of what to do at a show. Such as when to clap (not every time someone stops singing), to please be quite and not talk, cell phones, and finally to to clap to the rhythm of the closing music. But those were minuscule in comparison to the rest of the show.
We had dinner in an Italian restaurant in Utrecht, which was very filling and too salty for the amount of water I had. I am still thirsty! After dinner we said goodbye to Kees before he went back to Groningen.
At Utrecht Central is getting a major overhaul and a new theater is being built with it. Much has changed since Tineke, Jan, and my parents lived in Utrecht.
Tomorrow is lacrosse in which city but Utrecht! We are versing Nijmegen and are seeking to avenge out loss last week!

Vrijdag! Druk! Slaap?

I had five hours, five whole hours. And I still have homework to do. It's mainly because of the language barrier but I am also having trouble with few topics. I hope to ask my teachers on Monday.
Tomorrow we are seeing the musical Miss Saigon in Utrecht.

Today's weather was surprisingly nice , and unfortunately I forgot my lacrosse ball at the game in Rotterdam, so no lacrosse today.

I hope everyone has a good weekend!

Bijna Vrijdag

I fixed The English problem today and I was slightly surprised with how easily Dutch is coming to me. Biology is not letting up with two more chapter assigned. I really am wondering how my teacher expects us to finish all of this. Gym went well again and my knee is feeling good. I am really happy to be moving again. English was English with more grammar and writing practice. I still haven't heard back from the school administrator about FLE.

Happy birthday to Meik! Welcome to the 16 club!

Time to translate some more to have a but ready for the study hour marathons tomorrow!

Busy Busy Stuff

The test week is looming over everyone now. It's on everyone's minds and weekends have been gridlocked into studying. Though Sunday I will be resting my brain and heading into controlled combat (lacrosse)! I hope a few of my friends and join me.

Today was my full day and I felt short oddly enough. Each class went by rather well and like the rest of this week things were clicking. Though I caught myself using too much English, tomorrow I must amend that. I have almost cought up in my work, after the rooster wide bombshell of homework. All that remains in Biology a bit of Chem. and Physics. Also in Informatica I have begun a project to try and make a blog of sorts of my own like this one. Its so basic right now though that I am hesitant to call it a web page.

This evening for Culture we went to see the theater performance of The Portrait of Dorian Grey. The show was in Dutch, and I was happy to realize I was following the story for the most part. Dutch theater as I have concluded in minimalistic in the set, and very story focused. I think from growing up with HHS' spectacular shows I prefer the blend of strong stories supported by beautiful scenery.

Nose to the grindstone on the field and in the books, let go!

ASOT550 & Back In the Zone

This morning was a nail biter and nerve splitting one. I sat in front of my laptop and the house desktop furiously refreshing the ticket page, along with thousands of other. The page must have been overwhelmed but its started crashing, giving errors, false sold out reports, and everything else immediately. It took twenty minutes to have even area to select which tickets you want to show up. Then once you did that it took another 10 minutes to figure out the price and let you move to the next step, and the pattern continues...Once I finally got through after making many friends who were all just as ready to throttle someone, the credit card I was using didn't work for some reason and I had to start all over. This repeated about four times. Between this I had emailed my mom thinking she wouldn't have read it until much later due to the time difference, but she was up and tried from the states with success!!! I don't know how but it work, and no for my birthday I am seeing Amrin Van Buuren and all of Armada Music live in Den Bosch! Plus an one hour exclusive warm up session with Armin which only the first 2500 people got! Thank you Mom!
Now I didn't know my mom had gotten in until I had already been forced to give up because of school. But after a series of rapid emails I found the one in my inbox with the ticket. My day was made and all the nerve wracking attempts were made up for!

At fencing today I felt more natural. Things were beginning to click again and I was much more confident. I still need to work on footwork and moments to go. Blade work goes without saying almost. But it was refreshing and a confidence booster.

Test week in coming up and I have begin reviewing for my classes, which is a lot. But ill manage, things seem to be going well these days.

How was everyone's white Halloween? And, who's got a major test coming up that they should probably be studying for?