Amsterdam it's been a long time since I posted a blog

I mean, a real blog that is. Like, not a rap blog.
This one is gonna be about Amsterdam.
When we last left our hero (me), he (I) was just leaving V's hometown of Witten to go to the Netherlands for a Sigur Ros concert (this will get it's own entry) (usage of parenthesis in one sentence record is now broken (by me)).
Since it's been such a long time I am almost certainly going to have a hard time giving you all the rich blog-experience you so heartily deserve. I will soldier on and do my best however, remembering what Amsterdam trivia I can and letting the pictures do most of the talking. Well... we arrived at the train station, which is quite a sight in and of itself.
And we walked to the Hostel. This was no easy walk, we got quite lost what with the endless canals
and the narrow streets.
Not that it was a great burden or anything, since we were seeing some beautiful sights.
Actually, now that I think back to it, we were carrying all of our possessions with us while we walked (yes, I had to lug everything I took to Europe around with me everywhere, the inglorious downside of traveling life), so yeah, it was a great burden.
Eventually we got to the hostel and were greeted with the unfortunate realization that we would be staying in a dorm with 30 something other people. Like, this was a hostel-hostel, not a hotel-hostel. I had thought we were getting a 4 person room, but I guess I am an idiot. At least the hostel had going for it that it was very centrally located, a short walk to all the interesting areas, including the red light district.
So what do I remember about Amsterdam to tell you guys? Well, there were a lot of bikes. More bikes than there are people actually. And something like 100 fall into the canals every day and are fished out by people who have this as a full time job. (Please don't quote me on that figure, it might be completely wrong, but I remember it was some astounding number.)
That night we went to the red light district for dinner, it's really an astounding place. I guess picture Bourbon street with hookers and marijuana everywhere. Next update I will show you guys the concert (complete with videos!) and the time after that we will do some Amsterdam exploring! It turns out I remember a bit more than I expected.
Thanks for reading guys.

Blap Rog is Black

That'z right, everyone's favorite rap blog is back with all new content, let's say three days a week (the days I'm at work).
This blog is still going to be happening, but it's so hard to find the time. It'll certainly be updated less frequently now that I'm always out of the house.

please read my blogs

http://blaprog.blogspot.com

Blog Write, blog, right?

This morning while I was driving to work I saw a guy painting a white wall the color of dirt. He was doing this, presumably, so that no one would be able to tell when the wall got dirty. Then it began to rain.

I like to imagine that this washes the paint away from the wall, even though modern paint is probably rain proof even when still wet. But in my mind the wall is white again and he is cursing his poor luck.

Sorry that it's been a while guys, it's hard to adjust to the grind of real life. I still miss the travel. Can't upload pictures while at work and etc. Will be back blogging soon.

The Economy Continues to Decline as Blog Posts Become Less Frequent

Yeah, sorry guys, I guess I don't blog this blog thing as much anymore. It's back to real life for me, having a job, going to school.
That's no joke about the economy either, I'm working as many hours as is humanly possible to try and make some money, thus I have less time for this nonsense no one cares about.
But enough metablog, how about some blog? Today's pictures are from Witten, V's sleepy, industrial hometown. They're big on iron production there I think. Or mining. One of those dangerous things.
I went there to meet her parents and friends, see the place she grew up, etc etc. Also we were on our way to Amsterdam and it's kind of half way between there and Tuebingen.
Meeting her parents went better than expected. Better than meeting any girlfriend's parents ever has gone actually. An especially impressive feat considering they don't speak any English. But food speaks louder than words, just check out this home-cooked-all-vegetarian-mealstravaganza (and this was a lunch!).
So what's Witten got? Well, a lot of power lines for one.
A lot of them.
And other industrial looking stuff, you know.
Witten's one of those towns that's got a 'thing' going for it, like Berlin has bears. Instead of brightly painted festive animals it's got fat businessmen.
This was once a brightly colored fountain, when it stopped working they painted it grey so it would look more like a statue. I guess that's kind of a good way to sum up Witten as a town.
Not that I didn't like, it had a comforting humanity and utilitarianism to it that is sometimes not found in German towns. Next stop Amsterdam.
Also, check out V's blog for her picture report of us going to a Gaza protest in downtown Orlando.

It just wouldn't be moving day without me dramatically injuring myself

Todays pictures are from my trip to Wiesbaden and Niedernhausen where I attended and presented at the EB-ACA conference.

..So here I am, back in Orlando (well, Winter Park to be exact). Spent all day looking for and transporting free furniture from Craigslist (that website is AMAZING++).

Here's my injury story: I was trying to roll a bed through a parkling lot and saw a speedbump coming that I thought those little bed-wheels might be able to clear if I got up enough speed. Well, the thing stopped dead instead and my leg went right into the metal frame. This might sound funny to you but I would have been surprised if it hadn't happened. In fact the only reason I wasn't more seriously injured is because I've done things like this so many times before. Build up a resistance, you know? Not that it doesn't hurt like hell. It really does.
Life in the states has been difficult to adjust to but I am appreciating the little things that make America so American more and more these days. And the things I used to hate about the states I can now categorize as interesting cultural differences.
Living in another country changes you, I think, even if it's only for a few months.
Anyway, tomorrow it's back to work, in a few days it's back to school. A new type of adventure is going to begin (it's an adventure called surviving the monotony of real life) and I'm ready, if not quite excited.
Fear not though, I still got lots of stuff to show you guys from Europe-times.
And I saw an Alligator the other day so tune in for that in about 3 months.