Today is my birthday! Well, in the Netherlands it is, here in D.C. it's still November 9th.

Tomorrow will be my first working day and I'm really looking forward to it. Tomorrow evening Sasha and I will go out and celebrate.

Ettie will receive her propedeuse diploma today (on November 10th, that is).

The room we are staying in is located in the north-west area of Washington. I thought it might be interesting to put some pictures of our street online.

Today I am not working yet. My new job will start tomorrow so this is my last day off in a while. Sasha left this morning for her exam and we'll meet at 16:30 o'clock.

I like it that I have some time, after a busy weekend and the traveling yesterday. Finally I can update my website, unpack my bags and configure our new computer. Sasha bought a new PC last week, as she needed it this weekend. It's really fun to have such a new computer: it has DVD, it's quick and comes with a lot of software. The internet connection is an old-fashioned dial-up line and is not completely reliable, but it is great to have internet in our bedroom. The internet provider we have is the apt-named "America Online", or "AOL"; the computer came with a free trial AOL subscription. The computer works very nicely with my digital camera, and I have just installed one of the two harddisks I brought from the Netherlands.

I downloaded a lot of programs in Middenmeer and brought them on CD-ROM (such as Eclipse, various Java version and Mozilla Firefox). I'm very happy that I did that; dialup is too slow to download these large tools.

Sunday was a busy day and I didn't even have time to update my website. After Jaap and I moved the last things out of Haarlem Friday I had a long night of sleep and an easy Saturday morning. I finished some paperwork and in the afternoon we left for my grandmother's party.

We met in a party center in Akersloot, where my grandmother Bosman was celebrating her 80th birthday. Virtually the entire Bosman family was there, as well as many other friends of my grandmother. Various people gave speeches and small performances, which were very nice. It was a nice party, and it was wonderful to see so many people just before I left to the U.S. (thanks everbody for the kind words and wishes). My grandmother gave me a bible, the new edition with a new Dutch translation. Unfortunately I don't have time to put the pictures of the party online; if you're interested please send me an e-mail.

We were home around 22:00 o'clock; time to go to bed. Sunday Mieke had a birthday, and we celebrated our birthdays together with the family. Ettie and Gerben gave me their portraits, and my parents gave me a book "Righting English that's gone Dutch", on the subtal mistakes Dutch native speakers often make when writing or speaking English. I loved to be able to celebrate my birthday with my parents and Ettie and Gerben in the morning; it's a very old tradition.

In the afternoon my parents went to give a concert with the orchestra they're playing in. I visited Bianca and her family. That was a very cosy get-together; a while ago they were also in the U.S., in Florida. They gave me a lot of nice presents. The DVD you had made for me was just fabulous: thanks a lot!

I woke up at 2:45 o'clock this morning. This is 8:45 Dutch time, a good time to get up, but I was rather happy that my body decided to return to sleep immediately. The second time I woke up it was 9:00: much better. I slept very well; I really needed some rest.

This weekend I stayed in Middenmeer with my parents and Ettie and Gerben. Sunday evening we went out to a pizzaria in Hoorn. I said goodbye to Gerben in evenning. The rest of us had a short night in Middenmeer: we woke up at 5:00 o'clock, and we left to Schiphol just after 6:00 in the morning. There was quite some traffic on the road already, but Ettie brought us safe and well to the airport. We arrived at the departure hall at 7:30 o'clock. I went to the check-in desk with Mieke, so I wouldn't have to walk around with my huge suitcase and bag. There was only a short line (no wonder, so many hours before departure time). Just when I was checking in Jaap and Ettie came back from the car parking, and they brought Steven with them. I was happy to see him because due to the traffic we were later at the airport than expected, and was afraid we would miss each other.

Around 8:00 o'clock we went to a restaurant where we had coffee and breakfast and many friends came to say goodbye. Daniel, Marjolein and Jerry gave me a very welcome present: a large apple pie with the suggestion that I could either bring it in my carry-on luggage or share it immediately with everybody who was there. Ankie, Jean-Paul, Jennie, Jelly, Joost and Richard were there, as well as Tibor and Janneke with their little daughter Fiona. Saying goodbye was sad of course, but seeing all these friends and family members was great.

This is a good time to say thank you: everybody who was there yesterday, and everybody who over the last weeks has sent me e-mails, supported me, came to visit, left comments on the website, gave me presents, helped me moving, called me, and wished me well: it means a lot to me, and I really feel stronger with your support!

My luggage turned out to be a bit more than 50 kilogram. My father had the nice suggestion to write down all the things I have brought to the States. That's a very nice idea indeed; I will do it because it will give a good impression of the physical things I really find important. Writing everything down will take some time, but two important categories are my coffee preparation set (including two espresso dish-and-cups, and the coffee machine my colleagues gave me when I left Chess), and a collection of useful computer parts (including two harddisks, a webcam and an UTP hub with network cables).

My plane left nicely on time. I had a seat at the emergency exit, which was very convenient: there is much more leg-space there and that's great on a 8-hour flight. I arrived in New York JFK airport around 13:00 o'clock local time.

My travel agency had put me on a connecting flight to Washington 4 hours later, in case there would be big lines at immigration or at customs. However it was not extremely busy at the airport and after an hour I was at the gate for my next flight. I was getting rather tired, but there was a Starbuck's nearby. I called Sasha and my parents from the terminal using an phonecard I had kept from the previous time I was in the U.S. In the terminal a saw a large group of Dutch marathon runners, who did the New York marathon yesterday. Funny, I had just read an article in the Volkskrant Saturday on organized tours for marathon runners. Later I bought a package "breakfast blend" coffee at the Starbuck's shop, which we had this morning and which I'm drinking right now.

My next flight was short: we were in Washington D.C. in an hour. There is big difference in flying international or "domestic", as Americans say when they mean flying in the U.S. These domestic flights feel a bit like taking a the bus, unlike flying over the Atlantic which I still find a very special experience.

Sasha was at the airport to pick me up, and it was great to see each other. We took a taxi home, because of the luggage. Sasha showed me the new computer, and we had dinner together. I went to bed around 22:00 o'clock (local time).

I've arrived in Washington, and it's great to be here. Exciting, new, and wonderful to be together.

It was a super morning; everybody who was there: thank you so much! Tomorrow more.

It's 21:45 o'clock here, but it feels much later for me so I'm going to bed.

I am traveling to the United States tomorrow!

The alarm will go at 5:00 o'clock in the morning; that's in about six hours. Jaap, Mieke, Ettie and I will be at Schiphol around 7:00 o'clock. I just said goodbye to Gerben.

I'm looking forward to meet my friends tomorrow morning; too bad I missed all the party's this weekend: Jerry on Friday, Jelly on Saturday and Rob & Kirsten on Sunday.

It is a very busy day today, and I don't even have time to update my website!

But hey -- let's meet in real life: tomorrow morning I will be at Schiphol Airport. I'll fly with Delta Airlines, at 11:00 o'clock in the morning. My flight number is DL 81; a flight to New York (JFK).

It would be great to see you tomorrow morning: at 8:00 o'clock I'll be in restaurant "Touch down"; above departure hall 1 on the third floor. I hope to be at Schiphol around 7:00 o'clock (to be sure not to get stuck in traffic jams we'll leave early). I'll check in my luggage then.

Later I'll write more about yesterday (my grandmother's party), and today (Mieke's birthday, a nice visit to Bianca and her family).

Yesterday we moved the last things out of our apartment. Jaap helped me out (thanks a lot!).

We first went to throw away some old furniture and larger pieces of garbage. Then we brought the boxes and things for storing downstairs. Things went smoothly and around 12:30 o'clock everything was in the car (see some pictures).

We afterwards went to the post office and I sent some books to the U.S. They will take between six and eight weeks to arrive. The package was 12 kilogram and even though I can take more than 60 kilogram with me in my luggage Monday, it would have been too much to bring these 10 books.

We were in Middenmeer at 15:00 o'clock, where Ettie and I picked up Mieke from her school. She had been celebrating her birthday (she'll have a birthday tomorrow) and received a lot of presents from the children.

It was nice and relaxing to be in Middenmeer, I was rather tired. Went to bed at 22:00 o'clock.

Wow, that was quick.

Just 15 minutes after I've put some old furniture outside, two girls came with a car and took two pieces.

They said they could use it well and asked if they could take it. Good for them and good for us: saves us carrying them!