The Amsterdam Debacle

So, I had been spending the last several days processing conversations from my reunion last weekend, coming to terms with the fact that my grandparents aren't going to be around forever, thinking about my own mortality (writing your will has a tendency to do that, I think...), and thinking about how big my niece and nephew are getting. I had also been spending a lot of time thinking about what I want to do when I'm not traveling. I was also considering what to do when September 1 rolls around and I am no longer legally entitled to remain in Amsterdam. So, all of this serves to give you a bit of my mind frame on my way back to Amsterdam. Upon arrival, I noticed that my maid had defrosted my fridge and freezer, which I thought was odd. Then I went to open up some windows to air out the place, and noticed that my internet box wasn't lit. And finally it donned on me that my electricity had been shut off. In the mail was a notice they were shutting off my electricity and gas for non-payment (I thought I had it set up to auto-pay from my bank). I tried calling the electricity place and the people that shut off the gas, but no one answered during business hours. I then realized it was a holiday. I also had a notice that I needed to pay an exorbitant amount in taxes. I took all of this as a colossal sign that it is time to leave Amsterdam. Also, Amsterdam just didn't "feel" the same this time around. All the little things that I found charming and endearing about living abroad and Amsterdam in particular, this time, I found annoying and didn't want to deal with anymore.

So, I made up my mind that it was time to leave Amsterdam. I mailed in my two months notice, bought a return trip home, packed my bags, left a note for my maid telling her that I was moving and giving her two more dates to come and clean before I was gone for good, and was gone the following day. I got a lot of flack from the security people at the airport, who questioned my thoroughly about buying a ticket the night before, but eventually I was deemed to not be a security risk and was allowed to board the plane, where interestingly enough, was the same flight attendant crew that I had on the way over. We said our hellos and they asked why I was returning so soon, etc, etc. Finally I made it back to Shreveport, where my mom picked me up fro.m the airport and took me over to see my niece and nephew. We hung out most of the night, then I crashed. It had been a long three or four days of travel. I will now have five days to hang out and figure out what I'm going to do with my life, before it's back to Amsterdam with my mom before we take off on our African safari!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Shreveport, LA