Een spirituele week..

Hai lieve trouwe lezers en lezeressen,

Soms heb je dat, dan lijkt je omgeving en alles wat je doet even in het teken van een bepaald thema, deze week was dat de spiritualiteit…

Het begon op maandag met mijn wekelijkse les vocal jazz. Kathleen, onze docent, had een spontaan idee: ‘laten we voor een goed begin van de les beginnen met een gemeenschappelijk gebed. Ok guys, let’s hold hands!’ Ze leidde zelf het gebed en dankte voor vanalles, voor onze mooie stemmen, voor het leven dat wij mogen leiden en vroeg God/de Goden (want ze maakte geen onderscheid in religies) om spontaniteit en creativiteit voor ons allen tijdens deze les. En, het wonder geschiedde hoor, wat zongen we mooi en waren we los! Nou goed iets losser dan, maar ja of dat nou te wijten was aan het gebed of je door de tijd wat meer op je gemak voelen, ik weet het niet. Maar ik vond het in ieder geval heel grappig om mee te maken en zelfs deel van te zijn: zo’n manier van bidden dat ik hiervoor alleen nog maar kende van ‘family ties’ of zo.. Ik kon het dan ook niet helpen diep van binnen een beetje te giechelen om die toch wel een beetje rare Amerikaantjes..

Aangezien Anne sinds deze week een echte vroege vogel is geworden (!), leek mij dat reden om daarin mee te gaan en woensdag de dag eens goed en vroeg te beginnen met een San Francisciaanse meditatie. Het is toch de stad van de zweverigheid dus ook dat moet ik mee maken. En nu wil het natuurlijk daarnaast zo zijn,en de mensen die mij een beetje kennen weten dat wel, dat de oosterse wereld met zijn yoga en meditatie mij ook wel erg fascineerd. Dus ging ik om half 6 ’s ochtends, in een verbazingwekkend volle tram, met de Judah N-line naar het Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center.

Het center is in 1957 opgezet door meneer Swami Vishnu- devananda (1927-1993), die ook het boek heeft geschreven "The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga.", wat nog best eens bij mij in Amsterdam in de kast kan staan (en dan eigenlijk van jou is pap…).

Swami Vishnu-devananda

En dit is de meneer waar de filosofie mee begonnen is.

Swami Shivananda (1887-1963)

"He was a great Indian Saint with universal teachings presented in more than 300 books. His teaching is a synthesis of the Four Paths of Yoga and can be summarized in the words: “Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realize.”

Na een paar minuten voor een dichte deur te hebben gestaan en de klok al zes slagen had gemaakt, besloot ik hoewel het er erg dicht uitzag toch maar aan te bellen. Gelijk kwam een donkere kleine vrouw van de trap af en deed mij open. Ze liet me binnen en vroeg of ik wel stil wil zijn want ze zijn aan mediteren. ‘Ja’, zei ik ‘the six o’clock class right?’ Maar ze reageerde niet echt en leidde me naar boven. Bij een kleine ruimte aangekomen sommeerde ze me stil tussen de mensen (de meeste mysterieus verhuld in doeken) te gaan zitten. Met jas, tas, een takeway thee in de hand en mijn schoenen nog aan baande ik mij een weg tussen de stille mensen. Bij de eerste stap hoorde ik uit mijn linker hoek ‘No shoes, take your shoes off’. Al ‘sorryend’ en ‘of coursend’ liep ik gauw weer naar de gang. Zette enigszins gespannen snel mijn tas en beker neer en deed mijn jas uit. Vervolgens probeerde ik zo stil mogelijk opnieuw een plekje te vinden. Echt rustig voelde ik mij niet. Allemaal gedachten gingen door mij heen in de trant van ‘het is toch niet mijn schuld, ik was op tijd, lekker aardig om eerder te beginnen; die vrouw klonk wel onvriendelijk, ik vind ze nu al niet meer leuk; lekker welkom; maar anderzijds ja ook lekkere binnenkomer; waarom trek je dan ook niet gelijk je schoenen uit, je weet dat toch! tuttebel .....’.

Dus van de meditatie kwam niet veel terecht. Maar gelukkig was er tijd genoeg..hoewel er tijdens zo’n tijd stil zitten toch veel gebeurt, zoals lichamelijke ongemakken tijdens het in de houding blijven zitten, ‘ik moet mijn been strekken! maar ja niemand beweegt. Nou ik doe het gewoon heeel zachtjes. He lekker, poeh he, o nee nu ‘pins and needles’..

Rond half zeven kwam er een geluid uit de oranje/roze Hare Krishna meneer links van mij, duidelijk de docent. Het geluid was zijn stem en het mini orgeltje waar hij op speelde. En iedereen begon hem na te zingen, ik bleef natuurlijk niet uit, mijn kans om die valse start weer te herstellen.

De oranje/roze Hare Krishna meneer

Swami Padmapadananda

Vervolgens gingen de liedboekjes rond, het meisje wat eerder zo onaardig was en zei dat ik mijn schoenen uit moest doen, wees mij nu heel attent op welke pagina ik moest zijn. Ach misschien bedoelde ze het eerder ook wel niet zo kwaad.. De Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna en Om Shanti Shanti zat er bij iedereen helemaal in en natuurlijk deed ik vrolijk.., of liever gezegd zo serieus als iedereen was, mee (het was niet zoals wij het gezellig gewend zijn vanes;)

De oranje/roze Hare Krishna meneer koos nog iemand uit om voor te zingen. Hierna was het ‘chanting ‘ gedeelte voltooid en werd de sfeer wat informeler. De oranje/roze Hare Krishna meneer vroeg naar mijn naam. Uit mijn accent maakte hij op dat ik vast Oost-Europees moest zijn, ik verbeterde hem, waarna hij in gebrekkig Nederlands tegen mij begon te praten. Hij vroeg of ik een bladzijde voor wilde lezen uit een zwart boekje, dat wilde ik wel. Ik was toch geaccepteerd. Vervolgens hoorde ik mijzelf vertellen hoe een echte Boeddhist zijn leven zou moeten leiden. Hierna volgde een gebed, gevolgd door handen in bidhouding naar neus in de lucht en daarna wenden we allen ons hoofd tot de grond, alsof we deze kusten. We werden beloond met een stukje banaan en toen was de 'satsang' rond kwart over 7 ten einde. Van achteren voelde ik een hand op mijn schouder en hoorde de woorden: ‘nice to have you with us’. Voldaan liep ik de kamer uit.

Rond half 8 lag ik in hetzelfde center maar een andere kamer op een yogamat voor nog een anderhalf uur Hatha yoga. Deze vorm van yoga had ik al wel een enkele keer eerder en uit boek zelf gedaan: ingewikkeld ademhalen, sun greeting poses, op je kop staan, benen achter je hoofd keren en meer van dat soort ingewikkelde dingen. Inmiddels was de zon op. Het was een fijne les, fijne ochtend. Voldaan verliet ik na negenen het gebouw om verder te gaan met deze duidelijk zonnige vrije dag.

Op vrijdag ging ik met nog meer rust en bewustzijn de Tai Chi les in, hoewel mijn handen nog steeds koud voelen tijdens en na het uitvoeren van de bewegingen boek ik toch weer meer vooruitgang.

Nou lieve mensen ik laat jullie nu weer door gaan met jullie waarschijnlijk veel belangrijkere zaken dan dit spirituele gewauwel. Maar ik dacht de nuance van auto’s naar yoga is ook wel weer leuk..

Veel liefs Phin

A.K. phone home

Wherein: *A title is stolen from the '82 Spielberg movie *4 friends span the globe to reunite

I just hung out with three of my best friends. We talked. We laughed. We had some beers (Niko was on vodka). Some of us hadn't been in touch for a while, so the reunion was a real treat. It was like old times. No, scratch that. It was like recent times, when we would meet up in O'Donnels, have a few, go on to Paradiso or Melkweg and end up at Niko's house. Talking absolute S##t 'till the wee hours.
For a moment there we were all together. Never mind that I'm 8800 Km (5470 miles) down the road, that all of us are sitting behind a laptop and have headphones on. We were there, together.
You can go anywhere. See anything. But for a guy like me, stuff hasn't really happened until you tell your friends about it. When you hear the guy you've known for 22 years laugh at your story and relate it to something you did together in Spain, that's when it hits home. That's when you've gone and done something.

So thanks guys. Kevin, Marc, Niko, you just helped me be were I am. Marius, you'll be in on it next time, I'm sure ;)

I'd also like to thank Al Gore for inventing the Internet, even though his "Inconvenient Truth" might flood my house back home.

hello, daar zijn we weer, here we are again!

Hallo lieve mensen,

Hoe is het hier echt willen jullie weten.. Nog steeds best wel heel goed. Ik vermaak mij met de colleges, heb het voor elkaar gekregen na enig duw en trek werk om een mooi pakketje samen te stellen. Sommige wel pittig maar goed voor de uitdaging.

Eén voor de algemene ontwikkeling: American Indian History (nu kan ik eindelijk een gesprek met Anne voeren op hoger niveau..;)). Twee in mijn field of special interest: Psychology of the Family en Family transitions. En tenslotte twee voor de ontspanning, creativiteit en horizonverbreding: Taoisme/Tai Chi (met accupressure) en Vocal Jazz ensemble (met optredens!). Nou een pretpakket nietwaar!

Nu zal ik jullie een indruk geven van de wereld waar ik mij dagelijks in begeef.

Hello darling people,

How is life here you’ll want to know.. Well still pretty darrrrn good! I enjoy myself with lectures at the ‘uni’. After working hard convincing the teachers I got myself enrolled in some nice classes, some are pretty time consuming and challenging, but definitely worth the effort.

One to boost my general knowledge: American Indian History (then I’ll finally be able to keep up with a conversation with Anne..;). Two in my field of special interest: Psychology of the Family and Family life transitions. And at last two for relaxation, creativity and to broaden my horizon: Taoism/Tai Chi/Accupressure and Vocal Jazz Ensemble (with real performances!). Isn’t that a great package deal?!

Now I’ll give you now some impressions of where I/we spend our time these days.

Zo ziet de uni SFSU eruit!
The Uni SFSU!

Mijn studeerkamer

My study

En hier zit Anne dan vaak in de tussentijd, als hij even pauzeert van het boekenstruinen, en ik, als ik niet naar de uni moet. En eet dan een heerlijke 'Key lime pie'. MMMMMmmmm en ook ik, ik die nooit een taarten fan was, vind het heeerlijk.. Daarnaast is het is net een klein museumpje.

And this is where Anne spends time when he has a break from looking for secondhand books and I, when I don’t have to go to uni. Most of the time we’ll have a yummy ‘Key lime Pie’. MMMMMmmmmm yes me too, the one who never liked cakes! But these are delicious…! Apart from the lovely cakes it is a little museum.

En dan natuurlijk ook even een indruk van de huisjes hier.

And then some pics to give you an impression of the houses they got here.

Nou lieve mensen, nu hebben jullie een beetje een idee van ons/mijn heerlijke leven hier…
Dikke kus Phin
Well I hope this gave you a little bit of an idea of our great life here..

Love 'n hugs Phin

Any given Sunday

wherein: *something really bad happens. *three good things happen. *money is wasted and saved in the process. *I learn an important lesson.

When I woke up on Sunday I knew something was wrong. Thought at first it might have been a dream, because it was one of those feelings you can't quite place. Can't name it, can't quite make out an image of it. Must be a dream. Went to the bathroom. Got back in bed. Snuggled up.
Then I remembered the sign.
It had been sometime earlier this week. I was parking the car along the Golden Gate park, 'cause our street -which supposedly has 'ample' street parking, was full up, as usual. The sign had said no parking within 100 feet on Sunday, vehicles will be towed. I hadn't really looked at the sign since it was a) not Sunday and b) the Sunday in question seemed to be somewhere in March, the printed date being something like ../03/08.
But now it was Sunday. Moreover it was Sunday the 3rd of February 2008. One would have to hate TV and the NFL to not know this... I mean indifferent about the NFL, you do keep track of things you hate, don't you?
In Europe we have the (entirely logical and correct) habit of first stating the day-of-month, followed by the month and topped of by the year: 02/03/08 would therefore be the second of March and consequently of no concern to you if it happens to be the end of January and you are parking your car.
But this is America. Anything is possible. It's practically the nation's credo: We do things different, and proud of it! We measure stuff in feet, weigh them in ounces, spell address with two (!) d's and s'ses for no good reason AND screw you up on the date! Don't like it? Go join the coalition of the unwilling my friend; this is Bush country (ok, THIS wasn't his doing, but you get my drift).
So back to my presentiment. Last night it was raining cats and dogs, there was no available parking in our street, I parked in between a long row of cars along the park and had probably made a horrible mistake in doing so. I shot out of bed, considered running outside in nothing but my boxer-shorts and stopped short. If my car had been towed by the sneaky-sign mafia, so be it. Que sera, sera. It would suck. I mean really suck. But running out in your undies won't help. Take it like a man, suck it up.. or.. act like it hasn't happened. Ignore the pit in your stomach. As long as you haven't actually seen the empty spot of tarmac, it hasn't really happened, right?
Business as usual then. Check my mail. Find out if those people giving away free monitors through craigslist.org have written back. Rejoice! Two 19" monitors ready to be picked up, gratis. Map out driving route for the pickup. Get dressed. Walk out the door and smell the roses. Get in my..., oh S##t! Somebody freakin' towed my car!
Back to frenzy mode. Imagine car is not towed but stolen! Get even more worked up. Call Towing company. Find out they have a nice black Ford with my license plate. Calm down. Except reality. What was it you said, automatic robot-voice lady? I need a release form from the Police? Jeez. I need to sit down if I'm gonna talk to the Police. Go back inside. Find pen. Find all car-related paperwork. Realize it is all in car (not so good judgement on my part, but I can explain). Get worked up again. Eat apple. Put on on cool, calm & collective voice I use for official stuff. Call Police.
"Hi, good morning, my car has been towed and I have been told I need a release form from you guys"
"Licence plate number"
Didn't know this one by heart and didn't have the papers. Luckily I am so in love with my new car that I had taken a lot of pictures. Gave the man the number.
"Let's see. Yeah, we got the car. You the owner?"
Now things were going to get a little tricky. I bought the car two weeks ago, but the dealer hadn't received my new sticker and registration from the DMV yet. Gave this one my best shot -involving that it is insured in my name & I have a receipt from a mechanic for work on the car, and it seemed to work.
"Yeah, you need to come down here and we'll sort it out"
That didn't sound too bad. Just wait till they see my Dutch driver's license and my interesting first name.

Called the people with the monitors. Explained my predicament. Got the sympathetic response I was hoping for. Getting there a little later would be no problem, and good luck with the car. Hopped in a cab and $22.50 later I got out in front of the San Francisco Hall of Justice. First thing you see coming through the door is an airport-sized security check-point. Having my I-can't-really-prove-it's-mine car towed was humiliating enough, I really didn't need to be standing in my socks too (Dave Chappelle's 'bend over and lift your sack' joke came to mind). Frantically looking for a way out of this situation I saw a small window with a S.F.P.D. sign. Thank you!
That relief didn't last long, because the cop behind the window was far less accommodating then the one on the phone. Gone was the can-do attitude, replaced by the suspicious 'what are you trying to pull?' look. Played out my spiel once again. This time hampered by a foreign license and ditto first name. They guy went to "See what I can do", but it seemed more to get away from me and laugh out loud then any real hope of resolving my problem. I looked behind me, only to find a line had now formed. Gave them my best 'Sorry for being difficult' look and decided to focus on my own problems.
After what seemed like an eternity the cop came back carrying all my documents and, Oh golly!, a release slip. Can't quite relate how happy I was, suffice to say I used 'Oh Golly!' to describe it.

On to the tow lot. Conveniently located around the corner. Even though rationally I had got into this mess all through my own doing, I was starting to feel like the city was giving me a bit 'o the cold shoulder. It was another sign that came to the rescue:


Well, it's nice to know someone cares right? Wrong. It was a setup. And I walked right into it. They know you've probably been through a bit before you see the sign. They know they're gonna hit you where it hurts -the wallet, in about five minutes after you see the sign. They are trying to soften you up. I walked in thinking that after a few smiles and, maybe, 75 bucks, I'd be driving away... $280 later I was still waiting for my car:

But at least I could see her:


The guy was friendly enough -no use adding insult to injury I guess. Quick checkup on the car, no noticeable dings or scratches that I didn't know about. Quite a few that I do, but in all the right places. At least I'm back on the road.
After picking up the first monitor and en-route to the second I was back into a groove. I'd be home in thirty minutes. I'd be eating the breakfast I'd meant to make a few hours ago -pancakes, bacon & eggs and a toasted everything bagel with cream cheese (yum!), all in good time to watch my first live Super Bowl. No more surprises for me, except, hopefully, that the Giants would actually beat the 'perfect' Patriots. This is when the craziest thing ever rolled up next to me.
Standing at a pedestrian cross-walk, where I'd politely stopped for a guy, now being in a good mood and all, I notice this guy in a huge truck waving at me. He's trying to tell me something. Not quite sure why, but I roll down my window to hear what he's got to say.
"Hey, you wanna get that ding in you car fixed?. I do body work, real good, and I'll give you a great deal!"
More then half of me was thinking 'you got to be kidding'. You can't just pull up to guys driving around, offering them body work on their cars. But a small voice (always starts small) piped in: 'You wanted to get it done. What if he is cheap. Could be a lucky break. It would help your resell value in 6 months when you leave'. Three seconds later I hear myself saying "Well, yeah, I'll pull over just up ahead and we'll talk". So pull over we do. The passenger guy gets out of this huge black truck, walks over to the left-rear of my car and sais "Hi I'm Tony. I can get that ding right out, got everything with me right here, tools, paint, you name it. No problem"
Now I'm thinking 'what are you doing even talking to this guy'. You were almost done with the hassle this day. This close to food and the game. Now you are talking to some Tony who wants to do things to your car here and now. A guy that came out of nowhere? Get Real! So I say "Well, actually, this ding is nothing, come look at the other side"
"Ohh, that's a real one. Let me and my brother do this one and I'll throw the left side in for free. You do this at a body shop and it'll run you maybe eight, nine hundred bucks. I'll do you, ehh, three hunnerd fifty."
Absolutely not! Walk away. You are going to get robbed, maybe end up walking home. No good can come out of this. Besides, you don't have $350, 'specially after getting your car from the impound lot!
"Well man, that's a great offer. And I can see from the tools you are showing me that you are the real deal, but I just don't have $350." This is where I was going to stop talking. "I could do, maybe, $150, but if you accept that you wouldn't be as good as you say"
"One fifty? You sure man? Ahh, that's too bad really. Ehh. Thing is, it's my daughter's birthday tomorrow and I just need the extra cash. Gonna get her a power wheel! Got my brother here working on game-day and everything. You sure you got just a hunnerd fifty?... Well, uhh.. I'll do it man!"
Damn. The hundred fifty was my exit strategy. Now what? I should still walk right... At best they are going to screw up your car. Worst case you are dead within the hour (ok, bit over dramatic). But the thing is.. It will cost almost a grand at the body shop. The mechanic that worked on your car, this good guy, said as much. Damn my Dutch upbringing! always looking for a deal. If something sounds too good to be true, then it is. Walk away. Even if the guy seems kinda ok, now that the shock has worn off. Even if your city-honed buls##t meter is reading green. Walk away.
"OK man. Let's do this. I'll drive to Sunset blvd. Park it there. You guys do what you say you can and we'll go by the ATM on Taraval and I'll be able to pay you. Start with the little ding first so I can see you know what your doing"
What am I doing here? Sure, I know the ATM on Taraval is right next to the Police station. Sure Sunset is so busy that at the first sign of trouble I can run into the street and create enough commotion to scare off anyone. But still.
Truth is I was hooked on the novelty of it all. The slim chance this was actually going to go down as presented. Too good of a story. So of we went.

Upon arrival the brothers got busy, and I started with a few covert shots of their truck. They had not seen the camera yet, and I wanted something to show the cops if it came to that:

Tony & Tommy (nom-de-plume? most likely..) were an amicable set of guys and soon I was taking pictures of the whole operation:

Tony even had his daughters name, Bambi, tattooed on his arm, complete with the Disney rendition of a baby deer. Didn't go so far as to shoot that one though..
Called Phin to share the crazy story and let her know I was running an hour later. She seemed to think the situation was a bit bizarre, but reacted more to the hour-later part. Fair enough, we were supposed to be having pancakes by now.
Eventually I did get home. In one piece. With the monitors I had set out to get. With a car that had been fixed up like I drove it through MTV's 'Pimp my Ride' shop. And with time to spare before The Game so I could get us a Serious Helping of food going.
Amazing.
I won't go into a big play-by-play of the Super Bowl. Those who care, already know what happened. Suffice to say that 'my guys', the G-men, who were the xx-point underdogs going in, managed to kick some 'almost-perfect' Patriot butt and came out victorious! : Giants 17- Patriots 14

A cost - benefit of the day might look something like this:
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Spent

Taxi: $22.50
Impound lot: $280
Tony&Tommy: $150

Saved

Monitors: $100
Bodywork: $850

-Being here for this day? : Priceless.
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So what about the lesson? Can 'Que Sera, Sera' sum it up? Nope, don't think so. It's more like:

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You make your own luck.
You make your own mistakes.
Deal with it.
Pay more attention to signs.
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