Disappointment ...

Pieter had his entrance exam for the Academy of Music today. To his big disappointment and our surprise, he didn't pass the exam. Although he was quite upset about it, he immediately started looking for alternatives. One option may be to try again next year, at another Academy. This would mean a one year delay of his musical career plans though and there would again be a chance of not passing.

Another possibility, one that Pieter is now looking into more specifically, is to become a qualified/certified piano teacher. Similar to the Acadamy of Music study, this study takes four years, but one does not get a Bachelor or Master's degree in music. Advantage of taking this road is that there are no entrance exams and Pieter would be able to start this August instead of waiting another year.

BBQ and training wheels for sale

It was a glorious four day weekend. As Pieter wanted to practice as much as possible this last few days before his exam, I decided to take the girls to Oma for two days, so on Friday the five of us (with Oma and Tante Elly) went to Bosbad Hoeven. There's a very big, old fashioned play ground, water bikes and air mattress and the girls had a great time. For some reason, I didn't take my camera, so no pics of that outing.

Saturday, I walked my 'obligatory' 25 km. As it is getting warmer and warmer during my training walks, I get an impression of what it will be like to walk 40 km in the middle of summer. Make sure to bring plenty of sun screen, water and a sun hat! Two more months and I should be ready for the 4x40 km ...

That night, we had a BBQ at Asia friends' Ayelene and Erik's house, and again, we all had a great time. I did take my camera that time, so here are e a few shots. Aylene's sister and her husband were there as well, which was nice, because we hadn't seen them since their wedding in the Philippines.

'All' the men taking care of the BBQ

Some healthy exercise before digging in ...

After spending all energy, it's time for some quiet TV (PC) time

Last but not least, Janne has mastered the art of bicycling. After several days of practice on Emma's bike, we took off the training wheels from her own bike. Our little girl is proud as can be and so are we!
Look mom, here I go!

Entrance exams

Pieter received an invitation from the Acadamy of Music. We now know that the practical part of his entrance exam for the Acadamy will be on May 26, 10.30 am. The theoretical exam will be on June 4, 11.40 am and 2.40 pm. If you have a little time to spare on those days at those times; keep your fingers crossed :-)

Exposition

No, not an exposition by Pieter, but by the son of one of Pieter's best friends. Nic Roex graduated from the Design Acadamy in the Hague and today he held an exposition of his first pieces of designer furniture. Nic used everyday objects and transformed them into very stylish and trendy pieces of furniture; amazing! Even Emma and Janne were impressed by the designs, which is quite an achievement :-)

Nic's Spade Furniture

The artist showing that it's safe to sit on the Spade Furniture :-)

Piano recital

Yesterday, Pieter had his third piano recital, at the local music school. It served as a last rehearsal for his academy of music entrance exams, which will take place end of May.
Checking the time of the first piece, with a digital metronome

We invited a few friends and some family, of whom about half where able to come, so it was an intimate little concert.

Listening intently to Pieter's explanation

Pieter explained the various pieces a little bit and he also told some interesting facts about the composers. His piano teacher was also there, making notes for further improvement of the pieces. As usual, Pieter was quite nervous, which caused mistakes which he wouldn't have made otherwise. All in all, the recital was very enjoyable and a very good last rehearsal.

The master himself :-)

Business is slow

Business for me as a freelance consultant is pretty slow. So far, I only have one assignment and it's a small one. Another one may be 'around the corner', but no contract yet. Still, I had business cards made. My request to the graphic designer was to make a feminine yet business like card, in which use of color was allowed. It was her idea to use my Chinese name chop as logo. I think she did a great job. Have a look and judge for yourself.

My card, front and back

ODMC day 2 and more

Today was the last day of the ODMC. With four distances to swim, it was a full program for me. Still, I'm quite happy with the results.

100m breast - 1:41.69 - 7 of 7
(over 1 second slower than in Apr, disappointing)

100m breaststroke (picture by Frank van Vliet)

50m fly - 44.04 - 11 of 12
(first time swimming, lots to improve)

50m back - 43.16 - 6 of 10
(first time swimming, pretty good)

At the start of the 100m freestyle

100m free - 1:18.29 - 5 of 11
(8 seconds faster than Apr, VERY good!)
For this distance, I finished first in my series. Which doesn't mean much at the Masters, but it does feel nice :-)

Proof of me finishing first (of my series)

The fun during this tournament was heightened by the fact that it was held at the great Pieter van den Hoogenband Swim Stadion. There is a 10-lane olympic swimming pool, electronic timekeeping, a giant LCD scoreboard, and a separate 4-lane 50m warming up and cooling down pool. Admittedly, one doesn't swim a tenth of a second faster for all these extra's. It does help though to create a genuine competition atmosphere.

During all my swimming, Emma and Janne stayed with Oma and Tante Elly. On Friday, they went to a theme park in Belgium, Bobbejaanland.

Family fun at Bobbejaanland

They came home today and saw me swim my 'winning' distance (100m free). After that, they could finally give me their Mother's Day gifts. Their gifts were totally in style with the latest theme at the school 'Now and the old days' (see below).

ODMC day 1

My results so far at the ODMC are satisfactory.
Not great, just satisfactory.

200m freestyle - 2:55.48 - 6th of 10
half a second slower than in January, a bit disappointing

50m freestyle - : 34.19 - 7th of 17
over 1 second faster than in April, pretty good!

50m breast stroke - 48.16 - 13th of 15
2 seconds slower than in Jan, disappointing!

50m freestyle (in 4x50m free women's relay) - 33.49
nice!

Tomorrow, I'll swim 100m breast, 50m butterfly, 50m backstroke, 100m freestyle. I have high hopes for the 100m freestyle, not so high hopes for the 100m breast (after today) and I am curious what my times on the other two distances will be. Will let you know tomorrow :-)

Above all, Masters Swimming is fun!

Apenheul

Two little monkeys sitting on a big one

Yesterday, we visited De Apenheul in Apeldoorn. It's basically a monkey (primate) zoo, but it also has several playgrounds and there's a large park around the zoo grounds. It was a bit chilly and rain was forecasted, the advantage of which was that there weren't too many people.

In the areas of the smaller monkeys, visitors can walk amongst the monkey, so you can observe them from really close by. We saw quite a few monkey babies, which where so cute! Emma made us take pictures of all different kinds of monkeys, because she wanted to draw them at home. We were able to see pretty much the whole park, from the free ranging squirrel monkeys to a big gorilla family, including (of course) all three playgrounds. It was a great outing and we can recommend it to anyone, even if you don't have children.

Mother and child

Enjoying a snack

Monkey from the House of Orange?

At De Apenheul, they also educate visitors about taking care of the environment

Queen's Day 2009

As many of you may have heard by now, our Queen's Day 2009 was not as festive as it should have been. The weather was glorious (quite different from last year) and the day started great. Then some nut-case raced his car through the spectators of the royal holiday parade, crashing it into a stone monument. He didn't hit the bus carrying the royal family, but killed five bystanders.

In Veldhoven, as in most cities and towns, Queen's Day celebrations for the children were scheduled in the morning. As the accident happened around noon, our activities were pretty much over by the time the news came through. Which means that we actually had a very fun Queen’s Day morning.
Ready to go and celebrate Queen's Day; check out Pieter's red-white-blue-and-orange shirt!

Emma and Janne joined the traditional decorated bike parade for the first time and they thought it was great fun. They also enjoyed participating in the games fair, which included things like face painting, ball throwing games, ring throwing and (of course) plenty of candy.
Despite the fact that many were on holiday, there were still about 100 kids in the parade

At the end of the morning, all kids released their gas balloons, hoping theirs would get the furthest. So, iff any of you happens to find an orange balloon with a little Dutch card attached to it, please return it as requested. (Especially if it has Emma or Janne's name on it ... )
99 air balloons, ready to go up

In the afternoon, we visited with Monique, Jeroen and their two girls (motorcycle and Asia friends) in Megen. Emma and Janne had a great time playing with Lize.