Blog @ Work

I think it’s outrageous! Force is not necessary in most cases I think if you do your work properly as a policeman. I know there can be dangerous situations for the police when dealing with sick people or people who are extremely aggressive but force should be used at a minimum. There are far too many killings when dealing with the police. I think it’s bad that a President of a civilized country is saying such a thing!

Cleaning the toilet.
1. Entering the toilet
2. Putting on the light
3. Get rid of everything on the floor
4. Putting up the lid
5. Taking out the brush
6. Putting in the soap
7. Cleaning the toilet
8. Flushing the toilet
9. Cleaning the brim
10. Putting back everything as you found it

I am not that familiar with VIPs so the first couple that comes to mind is Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. But I think they split up already?

No. I certainly wouldn’t want to be able to read people’s minds. I think what you think is first of all, private and if you choose to keep it a secret you must be able to do so, second…thoughts are overrated. Not every thought is something you should pay attention to. They are no more true than what you choose to say or do for that matter. Furthermore, it would be very annoying to constantly read people’s mind so I don’t want to be bothered with it. People choose or don’t choose to share thoughts with one and other, that’s their freedom. I wouldn’t want to mess with that. And I certainly wouldn’t want others to read my mind. My mind is full of odd stuff, not very interesting to others. Sometimes I can’t even be bothered with what I think.

I found love this year and that is changing me. My main priority in life is not me, myself and I any longer but there is a human being in my life I care deeply about. It changed the way I perceive myself and my life because it made my personality nicer. I think this relationship is bringing the best out of me. I have to take care of myself and him like a flower that is in bloom. Watering it, giving it nourishment, let it be surrounded by good, deep, affectionate thoughts and actions. I am no longer alone and by myself but there is another in my life. That hasn’t been the case in a very long time so I am enjoying this change tremendously. It has opened my soul and made a connection with others in general. I find myself more grounded in the world now there is a connection with one, there is a connection with others.

At the surface nothing really changed, I am still me doing my work as a writer, living my life with my dog, doing the day-to-day chores. But if you take a closer look everything has shifted and there is a new light that shines. I love this change and am hoping to learn more from this beautiful experience of loving and learning from another human being. This was the part that was lacking in my life and I am so grateful I have the chance to experience this immense joy.

I try to take responsibility and look after my lover and myself in order to fulfill another purpose in life: to love! I always regretted not being able to experience this part of my life before he came along. Now it’s there for the taking. I hope I don’t squander it! I have no intention to do so.

When I was younger my folks and I wanted to have dinner in a VanderValk restaurant, a Dutch chain of road restaurants in the Netherlands. We came in their dining room, which was poorly lit and shabby looking and had to wait more than half an hour before a waitress recognized us as customers. That was the limit for us, so we left, never to return for years in those restaurants. In recent years the service has gone up, and is significantly better nowadays.

I was trained for a career in Theoretical Psychology but due to violent circumstances I quit my career and became, after years of struggling, a writer. I changed for the better I think and live a good and fulfilling life now, not as an academic but as a poet and a writer. I love my life now, but I could not have said that 10 years ago.

I was a feminist in my younger years when it was good to take action to laws and regulations only profitable to men. A lot has changed for the better since. But a lot is still in progress. Men and women have a choice nowadays, to live a life of equality or choose one side…it’s up to them. Of course, I am talking of the Western world, in a lot of parts of the globe there is still misogyny or hatred towards women, or fear, I am not sure which is which. Things always change slowly. It’s a normal progression in life. I am still not worried although a lot still has to change for the better for women AND men!

The title is: Meanderings to Rumi. It's a blog about my experience with the mystic Rumi (12th century mystic and poet).I just started reading an exiting book The Soul of Rumi, translations by Coleman Barks. A new collection of ecstatic poems. I am on a journey with this poet and this book is a reflection on that.

Wies Blaize is a Dutch writer and poet. She is blogging about her life and the reads she encounters. Join her in her travels.

I have seen a great deal of the series, and liked them. They were great movies. I tried to read the Dutch translation of book 1 but it was apparently a bad translation because I didn't like it at all. That changed when I read the original version. They are good, well written. I am not a fan though, but that's my jalousy speaking, I guess. I wished I wrote a bestseller like this.

I still have my first made booklet from when I was very, very young. It’s a carton booklet of 10 by 10 cm with paper colored items in it. My parents have saved this and when my father passed away my stepmom gave it to me. It’s my first book, without letters, but still, my very first. I have it in my living room as a dear memento from my early childhood.

First of all I think a lot about it, do research if it’s a change of housing, jobs that kind of thing. Then I simmer a lot on it. I work on it internally, probably talk some with others about it. But then suddenly, out of the blue I make the change. The actual point of making the change is always somewhat abrupt.

For instance, because I was busy in my mind thinking about my sister and her ex-boyfriend, I suddenly thought about my own circumstances and decided, out of the blue, that I didn’t want to be alone for the rest of my life. So on a Sunday afternoon I suddenly subscribed to an online dating site. Monday morning M. reacted, and the rest is history. I found my true love. The actual point of changing something dramatically in my life was made in minutes.

I took writing courses outside WdC. One was an online course in short stories, but I didn’t finish it because this Summer I write less. The other was a one day workshop on memoir writing. I liked doing both, I learned a few things that helped me with my writing.

I performed once as a poet on stage with a poem of mine. It was in a nice little bar with an audience of 15 people. I wasn’t nervous as I thought I should be. I liked doing this, it gave me a boost as a poet. I would like to do it again, given the chance. Just try it for yourself and cherish the experience, you would be surprised!

I am surprised by a text message from Louise my American cousin who died two days ago.
I never knew her well, she was a bit of a loner I heard and didn’t have much contact with the family the last couple of years. This April she was in a car accident. Apparently, she had an emboli in her brain which caused her to have an accident. In which she broke her neck. She was taken to the hospital and had several surgeries. When she was conscious again they told her that she had to learn everything again: learning how to speak, to eat, to walk, to function properly and that she would be dependent on other people while doing so. She answered she would not want that for a life and the treatment had to stop. She then was taken to a hospice where she died a few days later. Fortunately, she was in no pain.

The text message was: I am in heaven now! Love Louise.

We should never be afraid to be ourselves. But in a fascist dictatorship, you probably would be afraid to be yourself while risking jail, torture or worse.

I wrote a piece about my struggle to become myself again after a long period of feeling less. "Learning curve of a basket case"  [E]. It’s all in the past now and I am doing more than great. But this piece of writing is a reminder of where I came from personally.

I would ask Cliniclowns in hospitals to use the confetti in their acts to brighten the days of sick kids in hospitals. I think they would love the confetti and use it in hospital rooms for kids to have something to smile about.

In Amsterdam there are a lot of canals with houseboats to live on. I would choose a nice boat and strip it all the way, then build it up again with the help of an architect. The floor would be wood, and the furniture would be light and airy, probably by Ikea, because that’s not that expensive and it’s the way I would like to furnish a boat. A living room area, sleeping quarters with shower and toilet and a nice deck on top where you can sit and hang out with friends. A few pots and plants outside and it would be finished. I would like to keep it as simple as possible.

Dr. Spock’s book was very famous back in the years. There really was a market for it and a lot of parents read it, or parts of it. A lot of professionals took this book as their bible in parenting. I don’t have kids of my own but I worked a lot with troubled youth and families. It always appalled me that you have to have a license for everything these days, except for parenting which is probably the most difficult and most challenging of all activities. I do believe it’s important for parents to read about parenting. It can give them tips and tricks and it will guide them in this so difficult task of upbringing your kids. It is not holy of course, but it will give parents a frame to work with. I think that is really necessary because too many parents just fool around (with the best intentions no doubt) and do a crappy job. Having said that, there is, of course, no one way of parenting. It’s all a mix of everything. But reading about psychological and educational insights can be very helpful.

I think Michael Jackson was important in pop culture and has influenced a lot of people with his music, his appearances and his moves, like the Moonwalk. Not me though. I only remember him for his nose job, his white skin (a disease) and the awful way he held his young kid over the balcony while photographers shot this horrible picture of child abuse. And of course his love of kids, which turned out into criminal lawsuits of people who took advantage of the situation. He was a troubled soul I think. But that’s not what people remember him by I hope.

So let’s watch him in his finest hour and listen!

My name is PETRA: so Petrified extraterrestrial tantrum, radio-active.
He was an alien out of space, with a petrified extraterrestrial tantrum, radio-active at best, but green and slimy at worse. The Gods of the Universe had cast him out of their realm in the sky and send him to Earth where he spent his days in complete solitude. People knew him by the name of Mr. Flying Saucer and he was seen frequently while holding a supermarket trolley carrying his belongings. After years of living rough, he looked just like any other old has-been that lived on the streets. When he died nobody mourned for him. Just a star in the sky flickered as a reminder of where he came from. But nobody noticed.