Just saw a fellow in the train station wearing an amprty cat backpack. Empty because the cat, a gorgeous while flood all, was delicately and comfortably seated atop it, gazing at the rest of us like the detritus we are 😂
Also my hot take of the morning is that Kiosk's pumpkin spice latte is far superior to Starbucks's.
It was my birthday yesterday and I spent it with a friend who came to visit from Amsterdam. We had a nice wander around town, went to a museum, had very good lunch and coffee, and then I came home and napped. I caught up with my daddo and played some games with friends online. Did some art, and bought myself cinnastix as a birthday treat 😅
Overall not a bad weekend at all, but I've been lonely nonetheless! Miss my partner and miss my mom. It's her birthday, today, after all.
In a shitty position rn between employment contracts and housing, and I'm falling face first into burnout. I don't know what to do about it, but I'm worried I'm going to be so burnt that I make some rash and stupid decisions. But I can't think through anything, and don't really have anyone to talk through it all with. I need a therapist but also have to figure out how to get a therapist first. And I have zero time, negative energy, and am often in a state of high anxiety orz
Interesting insight when working in an international, public-facing shit job. You really get to know the archetypes of each country's nightmare customer and their particular flavors
Went to a used bookstore today and walked away with no books!! (this is a good thing: I have no room and I have a perfectly functional library card 😂 ). But I did walk away with several cursed vintage postcards 😌
Had an uncomfortable and unwelcome wave of emotion and grief looking at the same TV cabinet I bought for my partner and my first home rented with a reliable income
After living in a few households furnished partly by Ikea, trips to the store begin to feel like weird bittersweet memories of other times and places
It's moving out of the closet day today! Mover should be here tonight around 7, and I'm hoping I'll be in the new spot within two hours. The drive isn't long, and the loading shouldn't take long, but I've never met this guy so don't know what to expect.
Hopefully next update will be from my longer term temporary housing!
Hello, fediverse! I'm looking for ideas on how someone with many years of experience in public transit (light rail operation and training of new operators) might transfer some of those skills toward a transit position in the EU (ideally Netherlands for selfish reasons, lol, but anywhere really!). My understanding is that the system is quite different in the US, but I'm hoping years of some of the other skills, like working with dispatch, learning routes, etc. wouldn't be for nothing
55-60 housing apps sent in in the past month, and I've landed four total viewings/interviews. One was today: the cheapest option. Dirty and in disrepair, with 6 other housemates. Three toilets, one shower, a washer but no dryer. The room is 9m². The landlord received over 250 applicants and will be choosing via lottery.
Oh, I forgot the listing that mentioned the tenant must not eat meat or dairy
These are all for regular room listings, not even touching on the sublets, which are often between two dates, roughly two weeks apart. Lots of people essentially couch surf here, except they're actually moving from sublet to sublet every couple of weeks.
Things get really weird when it's a landlord's market. Here are some highlights I've come by:
-female only. Must be student. Must be between age 18 and 26.
-two females only. Live in landlord is a man
-girl who is student MEN DO NOT APPLY
-student with job only. Must be student. Must be working.
-Russian speakers preferred (landlord is learning Russian)
-international student only
-SPREEK ALLEEN NEDERLANDS
-basement room. No registration. Utilities not included. No shower or bath.
I've had about a year outside of the US to reflect on my time there, and I have to say I can feel the fear and despair which used to haunt me evolving inexorably into a deep fury for the suffering myself and all of my fellows have undergone and continue to undergo because of absolutely shit governance
I've seen some Americans smug posting about AC because Europe has the reputation of pooh poohing the idea and now we're all roasting over here.
But Iike. Where the AC at in the US? Other than our corporate apartment, I never lived in a home with air conditioning in a state that regularly gets up to 110°F in the summers. Landlords don't give a shit about their tenants there, lol
And a nice reminder that I'm aiming for a position with someone who reads motivation letters: and a person who reads motivation letters will likely be someone who can tell Slop when they see it because they see it over and over and over again
Today I gave a solid interview, and regardless whether I got the job or not, the hiring person expressed appreciation that my CV and cover letter were written by me and not AI. Tuning CVs and writing motivation letters is fucking exhausting but I do so for every app I put in. This is the first time ever that a hiring manager has verbally appreciated that work.
Keeping that little boost in my pocket for the next round of soul-sucking "hire me please for the love of fuck" letters
Suffering(tm) (having to use Instagram again)
Here's the raw video without music for anyone who hates meta like I do!
Tl:dw, I'm giving personalized tours for ppl who just moved to Amsterdam,, to help them find things like grocery stores, doc offices, furniture stores, and also to teach them to use the transit systems, pay at registers...anything that's overwhelming.
I could have reeeeaaaally benefitted from such a thing, so I'm offering it now. If you know anyone moving......lemme know LOL
I made some cuties, and they are for sale!
My shop is over here:
www.roekwaren.nl ✨
