Broken things.

Hello!

It's story time. Grab some tea, get comfortable and enjoy the ride. (Watch out with the tea though!)

Once upon a time there was this Dutch girl. And like so many times the Dutch girl was sitting behind her laptop, scrolling through social media and not doing what she actually should be doing. Surprisingly enough there weren't just social media tabs open, in the far left corner there were two tabs open, tabs that contained crucial information of the school projects she should be working on. There was this voice in the back of Dutch girl's head that kept telling her to stop the scrolling and start the studying. Although every time she was about to close one of the social media tabs she found something that caught her attention and kept her from actually closing the tab. Because oh my god just look at that cute dog wearing a superman cape or the sneezing cat! Enough, she decided. I am now going to make myself a cup of tea grab some studying snacks and finally start the projects.

And she did as she said. Tea in one hand, snacks next to the laptop, mouse in the other hand ready for some action. The social media tabs got closed and so only the school tabs remained. Another click and an empty Microsoft Word document got opened. The magic of technology. Nothing was going to keep her from working on the project anymore. The Dutch girl took a determent sip of her tea before putting it away and proceeding to the next phase of "getting ready for some school projects".  After doing some pre-project hand and arm stretching she was officially ready. 

Fingertips gently touching the keys of the keyboard, she typed and she typed, stopped to take a sip of her tea and typed some more. Now there were 5 complete sentences in the at first empty Word document. Time for evaluation, she decided as she leaned forward to re-read the sentences and check for possible spelling or grammar mistakes. No mistakes so far. Happy with the start of the important school project she leaned back whilst a little smile formed on her lips. This smile soon disappeared when she noticed that half the contents of her teacup were now on the keyboard. Panic took over the poor Dutch girl as reality kicked her in the face. Her hand reached out for the mouse to quickly save those five sentences she had just typed. It was the fastest she had ever moved. The laptop screen turned black after holding the power button for 10 seconds. Now it was time for some serious drying action. As quick as she could she moved the only half full cup of tea away from the laptop. She put the laptop in an upside down V shape to let most of the tea drip out of the keyboard. Chair pushed back and panic still in control she ran into the kitchen to grab a towel and some tissues. 

Once she got back to the laptop a lot of tea had come out already and was now forming a small puddle on the table. The Dutch girl quickly cleaned up the puddle and then lifted it up diagonally. A few drops of tea still dripping out onto the laptop as she was gently rubbing tissues on the keyboard in an attempt to dry it. After about half an hour and 100 tissues later the laptop seemed pretty dry. There was no more tea dripping out. The Dutch girl cleaned up the wet towel and all the tissues. Knowing there was probably still some tea inside the keyboard she put the laptop upside down again on a dry towel and left it like that for over 24 hours. Something she had read online, how ironically. 

A big dilemma was awaiting as the deadline for the project was only five days away and there was no spare laptop or other computer she could use. Panic and a feeling of worthlessness got the best of her and the smile that had appeared on her face seemed forever gone. Thoughts of the consequences of her failing this project started flying around in her mind. Only the worst versions got to her leaving a stream of tears behind as the got replaced with one that was even worse. The Dutch girl seemed broken, not able to see any light in this utter darkness of her failings and flaws as a human being. Long live the infinite stock of tissues. 

After hours had passed the poor Dutch girl got some of her broken pieces back together. Making her feel a bit hopeful again and as she got more hopeful she also gained some courage. This got her to remove the laptop from this unnatural upside down V shape and back onto her lap. No fluids around this time. Carefully she pressed the power button and her hopes got answered as the screen lit up and seemed to start up normally again. More of her despair faded as the home screen appeared and everything seemed to start normally. The Dutch girl got more and more relieved with every second.

The moment of truth was now finally there. As the tea had mostly fallen over her keyboard the big question remained. Will all the keys still work? The answer no. As she opened Microsoft Word, ready to try all the keys it happened. Dramatic music started playing in her head. What she had feared was now really happening. The screen froze and an absurd noise escaped from the laptop just before the screen went black. It was over. The laptop had given up, it was time for it to leave this planet and move on to a new place, a better place perhaps.

The broken laptop got taken away for physical examination before getting buried. The Dutch girl had no time to grieve. That stupid project still needed to get done. Still sad over the fact she had lost her loyal friend she called. Friends, Family members and with luck. Her aunt had an old laptop she could borrow. Never before was the Dutch girl so happy with a crappy piece of out of time technology. She didn't care about the laptop functioning super slow, the sound system not working and the fact that this old thing needed to be plugged in a charger constantly. There was new hope. Not for her old laptop but for herself. She was now able to finish the project and still hand it in on time. And so the Dutch girl and the old laptop lived a short happily ever after before this one got replaced by a new one.
THE END

ThatDutchGirl96

Train adventures.

Hello!!1!!

Travelling by train, a nowadays very common and efficient way of transporting yourself from one place to another. Massive automatic iron worms crawling forward on an endless iron rail constantly going back and forth on various tracks to various places. A mostly reliable system that goes on all day long and repeats itself the next day. Thousands and thousands of people hop on and off, go to work, friends, events, meetings and many many other places, return to the station and hop on and off again to go back home.

I am one of those thousands of people that use the marvellous train system on a daily basis. Every morning I leave the house and make my way to the station where I patiently wait on a platform that gets more and more crowded with every minute, all waiting on that one specific train that will take us to that one place we need to go. After being on that train for half an hour it's time to hop off, change platform and the waiting starts again. Train number two arrives, this one is bigger just as the crowd waiting for it's arrival. It's one of the main lines that goes all the way from the north of the country to the south. 

The south, that's where I'm heading. I sit down in one of the many pairs of chairs, preferably the chair closest to the window so I can watch cities and open fields fly by. After I sit down I pray for being left alone, to not have a stranger sit down next to me whom will only distract me from the changing sights that will be shown on the nature channel, also known as the train window. Beautiful landscapes pass by in mere seconds to be replaced with a different landscape or a big city or an endless field of grass. Sometimes I spend my time on the train writing stories, on paper, in my head or on my laptop. Other times I decide to listen to stories. Listening to what the people around me have to say. One on his way to an important business thing, others, like me, on their way to school. Catching up on the latest stories and gossips from people I have never seen before and I will probably never see again.












Another 45 minutes later I have arrived, my final destination for the day. Ready to push the stories I just heard and the landscapes I have just seen to the back of my head and create space for all the knowledge I'll have to absorb throughout the day. 

As the day is finished, my head is pounding from all the facts, medical names and lack of concentration. Time to go back home, finally. I don't care whether it's dark outside or not, this is my relaxation time. Back into the iron worm, my seat at the window. Music on and ready to go. The train makes it's way back over the tracks showing me the beautiful sights all over again although this time it's a little darker outside. Lights everywhere. At this time of the day I prefer the cities over the landscapes as they light up brightly like a Christmas tree. 

Hop off and on and off again as I arrive back home. Head filled with marvellous landscapes, beautifully lit up cities and vaguely in the back of my head the medical terms and facts school has tried to teach me.

ThatDutchGirl96

Happy New Year!!!

Hello,

Maybe it’s a little late for this but I don’t care: HAPPY NEW YEAR all you lovely people!!!! I hope you had a great night and lots of fun whilst the new year started. If not the universe saved that fun up for you only to give it back later this year. Trust me.

We’re a little over a week in the new year now and slowly but surely real life has started again. Since Monday most people went back to school or work or whatever they do. The Christmas tree has been put away. The presents might have lost some of their magic already and the Christmas dinners have left your body (hopefully, if not you might want to get it checked out). All memories of Christmas have started to fade and even new years eve is slowly blurring out to a faint memory (the same goes for most new years resolutions). Goodbye holiday! I had a great time with you and I miss you already. Can’t wait to see you again next year.

Despite the sad fact the holiday really is over now is also the time the new year has really begun. It's all fun you know holidays and celebrating the new year although you can't actually start changing yourself whilst not participating in the society. You know what I mean? Maybe you will be able to change yourself during the holidays yet there won't be anyone to notice the change. I know, I know, you don't change yourself for other people you want to change for yourself but it is always nice to get compliments or have other people tell you that you have changed. Just as a confirmation of some kind.

Maybe it's just me who prefers that I don't really know....

So one of the big "one week into the new year's" questions, how are your new years resolutions coming along. Have you given up on them already? Are you procrastinating (again)? Or is it actually working for you this year? Maybe you're one of those very few people that for some reason actually succeed with their new year's resolutions.

I myself don't do new years resolutions I rather set some goals for the whole year and maybe add some throughout the year. Not because I don't like new years resolutions or due to me being so pessimistic about them never working anyway. No! Not at all. They're wonderful, especially if they work or if people really try it just doesn't work out. For me they just don't work. I like to set goals whenever I want not just because it's the 1st of January and the whole "new year new me" thing.

So if you'd like. Please tell me about your new years resolution and whether it's going to work out or why it won't work out.

I hope you all have had a wonderful first week!

ThatDutchGirl96