Good night, and good luck

And so I am now signed out of the city of Amsterdam -- and (semi) settled in New York. (Last Fun Dutch Fact? Well, sadly this one isn't very fun, but certainly interesting. The Dutch keep extremely detailed records of where all its citizens -- and gastarbeider alike -- reside. You have to register with the city -- within 3 days of arrival -- and with your neighborhood "government." It does seem a little big brother-esque. But that's not the "not fun" part. The not-fun Dutch fact is that this registration system has been in place for a very long time. And, in 1941 when the Nazi's occupied the Netherlands, it was as easy as opening a few drawers to find out where all the Jews were. Okay, on that depressing note...).

A review of all the things I will miss about the city (and, by inference, things that already irk me about being back in America), the Netherlands and, in general, my time abroad:

• Trains
• Modern looking windmills
• Wine picnics
• Techno-tastic clubs and outdoor parties
• Dishwasher
• Washer and dryer in the apartment
• Not paying my own cell phone bill
• Getting snail mail
• Visiting places for the first time
• Meeting up with Barringer in the snow
• Not having to walk to work/train/etc. in the snow
• Long summer days (like, really long)
• Dogs in restaurants (though I will not miss stepping in dog shit...it's everywhere. When I was moving out of my apartment I stepped in two separate piles of it within 48 hours. That's just pure talent.)
• Imaginative tagging
• Living room dining
• Maoz
• Canals
• Cheap flowers
• Cheap beer (good cheap beer)
• Cheap tapas
• Cheap supermarkets
• Cheap whores (well, not really...easily accessible whores)
• Market shopping
• Mini breaks in [insert European city]
• T-Lo and the consultant crew
• Lack of Starbucks (maybe...)
• My "routine"
• Pikant fried peanuts (sounds gross, is awesome)
• Stroopwaffels
• Subsidized lunch/breakfast
• Subsidized borrel (read: free wine every Friday at 4:30pm...)
• No work on the weekends, no work after 6pm, no work before 9am (you get the picture...)
• 30% of my salary going un-taxed
• Being "short"
• Katsu
• Nespresso ("What else?")
• Biking (gasp! yes, it's true, I will miss this)
• Getting to host massive amounts of friends because hey, who doesn't want to go to Amsterdam?

On that note -- I will have a two-bedroom in Brooklyn, so lots of space for people to come visit. Also, look for more inane ramblings about NYC: http://steflivesbrooklyn.blogspot.com/ Nothing up as of yet, but soon my kiddies, soon.