Euromania

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2 Euro 2012!There is another 2 euro coin being minted. Very good for the treasury, but why is the Dutch mint always thinking so small. My point being that the special collectors versions of this coin was sold out in four days. The reason, there were only 15.000 coins being minted. These coins were sold with a nice profit for 10 euros each.

The direct profit for the government is 8 euro per sold coin. Furthermore, it is a pretty safe guess that all the coins will disappear into various collections resulting in a double profit for the government. But what I don’t understand is that in a time of crisis Holland is thinking so small. If 15.000 coins get sold in four days for sure there is a demand for more. With 30.000 coins you double the profit. Because this 2 euro coin will be wanted by collectors everywhere in Europe I think even one million coins would eventually be sold. A missed opportunity for the treasury.

Going with the flow

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After quite some years it got time to make some updates. A fresh new look for my blog with a little less fuss and a nice changing image in the header.

The WordPress theme I’m now using is called twenty eleven (2011), so I’m just in time, because I would not want to change to something that is already outdated.

4 Months

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Alex surprised!It has already been 4 months since Alex’ birth and he has grown a lot. After the birth of our son our lived changed to the fast lane. Everything is happening faster and suddenly we don’t have time for a lot of things we used to take for granted. It seems that we are living our lives with much more intensity.

A simple cold that used to be annoying is suddenly a big issue because the results are much bigger. When I got a cold the little one also got it, resulting in sleepless nights, a poor coughing baby, a baby that does not want to drink, and a poor baby that will only quiet down and sleep it you rock it to sleep in your arms. This is quite an effort if you have a cold and need to keep it up a few days, 24 hours a day.

At the same time it is a fantastic experience to notice new developments all the time. Alex picking something up, Alex looking at his father when someone says ‘daddy’, Alex getting smarter all the time, avoiding we spray a salt solution in his nose, Alex controlling his body better and better and sometimes stretching his legs to avoid his pants being put on.

Being a parent is a lot of work, but it pays out. An Alex laughing, or showing a little smile is the best thing there is, and Alex smiles a lot. Even after coughing, puking, or whatever there is still a smile that appears on his little face.

The next adventure is already imminent. It looks like one of his teeth is starting to grow.

Coughing

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Rhinomer!Yesterday and today the little one had a bad cold and this affected us dearly. Drinking his milk posed a problem because this nose was so blocked up that he could not drink and breath at the same time. The entire time he was coughing and he didn’t sleep for even a second the entire night. The immediate result was that we also did not sleep during the night. The poor boy, but it didn’t seem to bother him that much. A few times, just after a cough that sounded horrible, and sounded like the worst yet, a beautiful smile appeared on his little face.

The solution we are trying now is Rhinomer. A salt solution that we spray directly in his nose. Alex does not like it at all, but it works very well to get his some temporary relief.

High rent

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For almost four years we have been renting our little apartment in the middle of the city, in a very green area. The area is called ‘Ciudad Jardin‘, which means city garden.

Our problem is that there is another apartment for rent in our block. According to the website where the apartment is advertised the rent they ask is higher than ours, but we overheard a salesperson talking to potential renters, and this salesperson commented that there was space to negotiate and they could drop the rent for the apartment to 100 euro less. A bit strange to have these negotiations out loud when other renters are nearby, but we’ll just have to profit from this information.

We never had problems with our rent, but now that we know there is room to negotiate, of course we also want a lower rent! Even more so because we are exemplary renters and we made a lot of improvements to our apartment. We painted, repaired and improved. We even addressed the deterioration of the neighborhood and made the area a better place to stay.

Lets see if we can get a new lower rent, and if I can convince Ana to start the negotiations. Due to the crisis rents have dropped everywhere, except for us. We are even renting two apartments now. One for us and one nearby for Ana’s parents. There must be room for negotiation!

Revenge is sweet

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Screwdriver under the hood!I was just called by the mechanic that yesterday charged me two hours for one hour of work. As it seems he is missing some tool, and he presumes the tool is located under the hood of our car. Well, that’s a coincidence.

The mechanic even claimed that I should leave my job and go home to check the car, get to tool, and bring it by his garage. I think he must have been on some kind of mind altering chemical to make these pretty outrageous demands.

We made the deal that this afternoon I would look for his tool and afterwards we will see.

  • Phone inquiry: Free
  • Search: Half hour (15 euro)
  • Return product: Half hour, plus gas and deduction costs car
  • Rounded up: 40 euro

I’m planing to tell him to come and get his tool, or he can wait until I pass by when I’m in the neighborhood.

Result: I am to good for this world. In the end we had to be in the neighborhood, van I delivered the screwdriver to his porch. Still, I managed to secure a discount for the next job. Now I only hope he will remember about this discount, but might he forget I still have the photo proof.

Garage

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Taller Peru!Since we are living in Las Palmas we take our car on a regular basis to the same garage ‘Taller Peru’. Thanks to our old seat we provide our mechanic with a steady flow of jobs. The weird thing is that is seems like our car has a completely new problem almost every month. In recent months we experienced:

The most recent problem with the windscreen wipers was solved quickly and for the nice round amount of 80 euros. The weird thing was the invoice. We needed to pay 2 hours of work (30 euros an hour) plus some small parts like oil and rubbers. Only the car had been in the garage only a single hour! Maybe we need to find us a different garage.

Sinterklaas

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Sinterklaas!Finally, the perfect evening has arrived. It is our first traditional Dutch Sinterklaas evening that we celebrate with Alex. Although Alex does not yet seem te realise what is going on. This way it’s a good general rehearsal where we can figure out what areas we are lacking in order to improve in the coming years.

The Sint has already been notified that Alex has been a very good boy this year. The presents have been flown in from Holland, and the typical music (including karaoke versions) is ready. The carrot Alex has left for the horse in his shoe was eaten so all looks well. The only thing we are missing is a cloth bag and the candies to throw around, but for this I will try and find some alternative.

Tonight we sing together and then we open the presents. The little one does not yet show any interest in toys, but maybe he will enjoy the unwrapping.

The shoe is set

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First set shoe!I don’t think Alex will realize it, but his shoe is set and it contains a nice big carrot. The only attention point is probably the distance from Holland, but Alex is hopeful that the Sint will make a detour and also provide half-dutch children with a present.

Alex has been a good boy, that’s for sure and the horse on which the Sint rides will surely like the carrot because it is a nice Canarian one.