just writing about my life

So Wicher and Anna are visiting right now. They have been here for about a week now. It is funny to see the contrast between their holiday and that of my parents here. My parents wanted to spend as little time inside my apartment as possible. Getting up early and visiting places here and there. Good for them, they had a very active holiday :-).

And Wicher and Anna are taking things easy. Getting up at 10 in the morning, spending many hours at the beach. Going for a swim. Go here. Go there.

This weekend we went to a desert trip. Camel riding, camping out in the desert and barbecue-ing in the sand dunes. The only thing that made me cranky was the sand in the chicken, since there was a strong. The new batch of chicken we cooked in a pan, that was tasty too.

Parents are here

So my parents have arrived in Oman. They are here now and will be staying for two weeks. I drove them around yesterday to see some sites around Muscat. And today I went in the afternoon with Ahmed my colleague and friend driving them around outside of Muscat. It rained heavily today so there were many wadi's (flooded areas). It was fun driving around in the 4x4 through the water. And my parents seemed to really enjoy themselves. They are watching the hundreds of pictures that they took and right now. Haha, is it weird how the pictures sometimes seem to get more attention that the actual object at that particular time that you see it.

Like we live our lives recollecting the past while not really living in the present because we are so busy creating memories for the future... I don't know to which extend that really applies to anyone all the time...

Whatever. Love you all!

Gelske en Jacob Jan

Today my sister Gelske and her husband Jacob Jan are emigrating to Tanzania. Through this post I want to wish them all the best there. May God be a shining light on their path and a guide through the African wilderness. I pray that God will protect them on their journey there.

Good luck guys. I love you!

Growling and roaring

The big V8 engine was roaring under the hood of the black Ford Mustang 2009. A growling beast, dark as the night. Pumping gas and ready to take off like a jet. In the passengers seat of this monster I was enjoying sitting in one of the American trademarks of the road. And man, that was cool.

I mean, I don't necessarily, care about cars when I am just looking at them. And of course I am also making fun of show offs at the beach boulevard, but when actually having the experience of being in one, it is a whole different story. Then you just feel the comfort, the speed the excitement. And that makes all the difference. But only on the short run. And that is why I am happy that it wasn't my car. I mean, I got the benefits but not the cost :-). I like the experience of sitting in one and not having the ownership and responsibility over it.

But that was yesterday evening part one. Part two consisted of taking Younis his Jeep and cruising over the Bowsher Sanddunes. These are like 70 meters high and it is a thrill trying to make your way through the sand not seeing what is behind the next dune.

And the view is really nice. Looking out over the city. One one hand the mountain range and on the other the sea. A glowing city with lights from streets, houses and cars. A cool breeze and eating dinner at eleven at night. Too bad I did not bring my camera.

fulfillment in life

So today I had some thoughts about life. Fullfillment of life. What does that mean? Answering to a call? Fullfilling a goal? Undertaking certain activities? The attitude towards life? Filling life with satisfying activities? Fullfillment of life? Wat does that look like? Living by rules? Following the heart? Living by reason? Going with the flow? Pursuing what you value? Receiving what is offered to you?

And how is God related to all these things? It is often said that God can only give true fulfillment of life. He fills the void in our existence it is said.

The bible says that Jesus was the fulfillment of the law. Did he answer to a call? Did he fulfill a goal? What was he undertaking? What was his attitude towards life... maybe even, what was his attitude towards death. What did his life look like. Did he live by rules? Did he follow his heart? Did he live by reason? Did he go with the flow? What values did he pursue? What did he receive what was offered to him?

How can men connect to Jesus and to God? God is already connected to me. He gave promises that will be fulfilled. Is that the answer? Finding fulfillment in the promises of God...

Finding fulfillment in the promises of God. That sounds so vague and out there. Yet also very clear and simple.

I find fulfillment in my life through the promises of God

Fietsen

Random fact: Het afgelopen jaar zijn in Nederland volgens voorlopige cijfers ruim 1,3 miljoen fietsen verkocht. De omzet komt naar verwachting uit op zo'n 950 miljoen euro, een stijging van 4 procent ten opzichte van 2008. (www.nu.nl)

Working and living

So today I went to Yiti. We have a camp there. Eleven o' clock we left and it was an hour and a halve drive through a really nice hilly area. Every turn we took (there were many sharp turns) surprised us with a new view, like donkeys on the middle of the road. The hills are also kind of greenish now because of the moderate temperature (27 degrees celsius) and it just makes things look so much more alive. It is also really good being out of the office. Sadly enough, and also kind of ironically, it is just is such a bad place for working effectively. Though I must say that it is getting better, I feel much less stressed than I did before.

Having said that (or actually typed that) I am actually seeing more the challenges in my work. And I am seeking more to face the things that I found hard before. An example is my graduation project. That was a great source of procrastination. Good thing is that after my holiday in America I found a renewed focus. I am happy that I see now that that is my reason for being hear and I am determined to succeed! Really that makes me happy and I actually see myself graduating in an odd 5 months. Looking forward I also don't really worry about working anymore. I was afraid before for working life and not knowing what I would be doing, but I'll be fine. Keeping that in mind and also believing that God is guiding makes me feel happy.

Now the next couple of days I will be busy prepare myself mentally for the process of starting to develop our own HACCP plan and prepare also for the meeting with an HACCP consultant.

Of everything I have learned already this whole HACCP thing seems to be the most practically valuable subject. With the training that I had I can really see this as a big challenge for the coming months...

Well talk to y'all later, I am going to bed! I'll post some pictures again soon.