Still, there were a few highlights, like the family reunion of my father's side of the family in honor of his 65th birthday, cooking for lots of people in honor of my own birthday on three separate occasions, one pretty awesome show I saw, and getting an open-ended extension of my employment contract.

On the downside, things at work didn't particularly go the way I wanted them to go, for a score of reasons I won't bother you with. Also, my grandfather dying was a bit of a downer. Given the circumstances it's not as if I'm overly sad—he was 92, he hadn't been doing all too well for the last few years, and, frankly, he was waiting for it all to be over—but still, you know, it sucks. Death is pretty fuckin final, and it makes life, the universe and everything seem so finite and inconsequential in the grander scheme of things.

So. Yeah. Overall, January 2012 wasn't too bad, just a bit hectic. If things settle down just a little all over the line, February'll probably work out alright enough. And if all else fails, there's always panic to fall back on.

Redesign my website. I started a redesign months ago, and it still lingers in a development-limbo. Time to ditch it, start again and finish it.

Write more. I know I can do better than last year's 100 posts.

See at least one concert, musical, play, show, or something else that happens on stage a month. That's what I've been doing since October 2007, and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon.

Cross of at least five items from my list of 100 things.

Improve my social interaction skills. Go out. Meet more people. Live a little.

And finally: don't forget to be awesome. Yeah, okay, I know, that's easy for me to say, given my general awesomeness, but still.

First up: books. This year, I started in 31 books, and finished 28 of them. I stole the idea of keeping track of when I read those books from Art Garfunkel.

1. Stephen King — 11/22/63 (2011-11-12—2011-12-26)
2. Joseph Campbell — The Hero with a Thousand Faces (2011-10-29—2011-12-24)
3. Mary Haley Bell — Whistle Down the Wind (2011-10-27—2011-10-28)
4. Monaldi & Sorti — Versluiering (2011-10-19—2011-10-24)
5. J.R.R. Tolkien — The Hobbit, or There and Back Again (2011-10-05—2011-10-18)
6. J.D. Salinger — The Cather in the Rye (2011-09-24—2011-10-04)
7. Kevin J. Anderson — The Key to Creation (Book Three of Terra Incognita) (2011-09-09—2011-09-23)
8. Jonathan Friesen — Rush (2011-09-05—2011-09-08)
9. Mitchel Scanlon — Fifteen Hours 2011-08-29—2011-09-05)
10. Penn Jillette — God, No! Signs You May Already Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales (2011-08-25—2011-10-07)
11. Gerard Reve — De avonden (2011-08-07—2011-08-29)
12. Joe Hill — Horns (2011-08-01—2011-08-11)
13. Jordan Sonnenblick — Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie (2011-07-30)
14. Michael Scott — The Warlock (Book Five of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel) (2011-07-25—201-07-29)
15. Carlos Ruiz Zafón — The Prince of Mist (2011-07-13—2011-07-22)
16. Neil Gaiman — Anansi Boys (2011-07-05—2011-07-11)
17. Stories: All-New Tales Edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio (2011-06-04—2011-07-05)
18. F. Scott Fitzgerald — The Great Gatsby (2011-05-27—2011-06-03)
19. Neil Gaiman — Neverwhere (2011-05-16—2011-05-26)
20. Aldous Huxley — Brave New World (2011-04-17—2011-05-15)
21. Jeffery Eugenides — The Virgin Suicides (2011-04-09—2011-04-17)
22. Niels Aalbers — Doorbraak! Zero Budget Marketing op internet (2011-03-20)
23. Justin Cronin — The Passage (2011-03-18—2011-04-09)
24. Nescio — De uitvreter / Titaantjes / Dichtertje / Mene tekel (2011-02-28—2011-03-17)
25. Terry Pratchett — The Witches Trilogy (Equal Rites, Wyrd Sisters, Witches Abroad) (2011-02-11—2011-08-07)
26. Gibson, William — Neuromancer (2011-02-07—2011-02-28)
27. John Green and David Levithan — Will Grayson, Will Grayson (2011-02-01—2011-02-11)
28. H.P. Lovecraft — Against Religion: The Atheist Writings of H.P. Lovecraft (2010-12-29—2011-02-05)

Currently, I'm still reading two of the other three (Christopher Paolini's Inheritance and Anne Frank's Diary), and I'll pick up Stephen King's Nightmares & Dreamscapes again when there isn't a brick of book waiting to be read. Plus, I already read that one in Dutch, so I'm in no hurry.

The books I would recommend are Horns by Joe Hill, 22/11/63 by Stephen King, either of the Neil Gaiman novels. Feel free to skip the Monaldi & Sorti one.

On to music then. According to my Last.fm profile, these are the artists I played most:

1. Meat Loaf (282)
2. Bløf (255)
3. Daniël Lohues (232)
4. Dream Theater (216)
5. Solo (175)
6. Bruce Springsteen (168)
7. Within Temptation (122)
8. Boudewijn de Groot (119)
9. Jim Steinman (109)
10. Acda en de Munnik (108)

The top four all released new albums this year, and apart from the first one, they're all quite good. In March I 'discovered' Michiel Flamman's work, which explains Solo. In fact, if I would add the plays for Flamman's solo record, he'd be in second place. Boudewijn de Groot probably should have been higher, 'cause apparently, I didn't quite make it to the end of the box set with all his albums yet.

But speaking of new albums, my favorites:

1. Bløf — Alles blijft anders One hell of a record. It's loaded with songs with big, strong hooks. It's hard to pick a best track, but I'd probably go for either Wachten op de dag or Hou vol hou vast.
2. Daniël Lohues — Hout moet After doing four albums completely by himself, Lohues asked two friends to play along. The songs are as good as ever, but just a tad more uptempo, like the first single, Prachtig mooie dag.
3. Dream Theater — A Dramatic Turn of Events The first album with Mike Mangini, after Mike Portnoy left the band. As a result, it's less metal and more prog. There are no real stand-out songs, it's all good, and I'm quite looking forward to their show in Zwolle.
4. Eefje de Visser — De koek Singer-songwriter with electropoppy touches. Afdwaalt is fun.
5. Within Temptation — The Unforgiving The two preceding albums didn't really stick. This one does. Catchy pop songs with a heavy edge. Even some you can dance to.

Honourable mentions go to Symphony X (Iconoclast), Opeth (Herritage), Lorrainville (You May Never Know What Happiness Is) and Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings Symphony. If I would make a list of my favorite old albums that were new for me this year, I'd probably include James Taylor's Greatest Hits, J Perkin's Exhibit (especially part A is gorgeous) and all Solo albums.

This year, I saw 36 shows on stage. I think that's a new record. First, the musical acts I saw:

1. 2011-12-21 — BLØF + Ed Struijlaart, Paradiso, Amsterdam
2. 2011-12-18 — Charlie Dée, Stadsschouwburg (kleine zaal), Almere
3. 2011-12-12 — Lorrainville, Hedon, Zwolle
4. 2011-11-18 — Hanson + Meiko, Paradiso, Amsterdam
5. 2011-10-28/29 — "Vampyyrien Tanssi", Seinäjoki Kaupungingteatteri, Seinäjoki, Finland
6. 2011-10-21 — Dotan + Anneke van Giersbergen, Tom Pintens & Krause, De Kelder, Amersfoort
7. 2011-10-09 — Eefje de Visser + Laura Arkana, Hedon, Zwolle
8. 2011-10-01 — mr. a balladeer, "Save Your Drama for Your Mama", Stadstheater, Zoetermeer
9. 2011-09-30 — Brooke Fraser + Cary Brothers, People's Place, Amsterdam
10. 2011-07-21 — De Parade: Het Monica da Silva Trio + Hade, "Part One", Moreelsepark, Utrecht
11. 2011-07-19 — Orkest van het Oosten, Consensus Vocalis, Jan Willem de Vriend (conductor), Ronald Brautigam (fortepiano), Annemarie Kremer (soprano), Wilke te Brummelstroete (alto), Marcel Reijans (tenor) and Geert Smits (bass), Concertgebouw, Amsterdam
    • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, KV. 453
    • Ludwig Van Beethoven - Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125
12. 2011-06-11 — Torenpop: Memphis Maniacs + Dazzled Kid + Handsome Poets, Eemplein, Amersfoort
13. 2011-06-05 — Singer/Songwriter Sunday: Rachel Louise + Yori Swart, Podium-cafe De Vorstin, Hilversum
14. 2011-06-02 — Neal Morse, Hedon, Zwolle
15. 2011-05-27 — Rush, Ahoy', Rotterdam
16. 2011-04-24 — mr. a balladeer (lunchconcert), Stadsschouwburg, Utrecht
17. 2011-04-16 — Cortez, Velvet Amersfoort (instore Record Store Day)
18. 2011-04-13 — Acda en De Munnik, "Ode II", Carré, Amsterdam
19. 2011-03-31 — Het Monica da Silva Trio, De Lieve Vrouw, Amersfoort
20. 2011-03-28 — Solo, "This is Solo", Theater Kikker, Utrecht
21. 2011-03-26 — Trans-Siberian Orchestra, "Beethoven's Last Night", Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam
22. 2011-03-16 — Devin Townsend Project, Tivoli Oudegracht, Utrecht
23. 2011-03-12 — The Steel Breeze (Pink Floyd tribute), De Schuur, Hoogmade
24. 2011-03-09 — "We Will Rock You" De originele musical van Queen en Ben Elton, Beatrix Theater, Utrecht
25. 2011-03-05 — Daniël Lohues, "Hout moet", Kleine Komedie, Amsterdam
26. 2011-02-28 — BLØF + Handsome Poets, Paradiso, Amsterdam
27. 2011-01-26 — Charlie Dée, "A Tribute To Joni Mitchell", De Vorstin, Hilversum

Not a bad show between them. The most memorable were Hanson (pure entertainment and joy), Solo (I went in completely blank, and halfway through the show I wondered why I hadn't listened to them before), Beethoven's Ninth (the melody of the choral part wouldn't exit my mind for a month), Charlie Dée in Almere (very, very intimate) and the Finnish Dance of the Vampires.

The other half of the list contains the comedy and plays.

1. 2011-12-30 — Dolf Jansen, "Als ik het niet do doet niemand het", De Kleine Komedie, Amsterdam
2. 2011-12-19 — Het Nationaal Toneel, "Midzomernachtsdroom", Stadsschouwburg, Amsterdam
3. 2011-11-22 — Lebbis, "Branding", De Kleine Komedie, Amsterdam
4. 2011-11-05 — Brigitte Kaandorp, "Cabaret voor beginners", De Flint, Amersfoort
5. 2011-08-16 — Orkater, "Richard III", Stadsschouwburg, Amsterdam
6. 2011-07-21 — De Parade: De Elite, "Once Upon a Time in La Mancha" + Rob en Emiel, "Close Up!", Moreelsepark, Utrecht
7. 2011-05-14 — Claudia de Breij, "Hete vrede", De Flint, Amersfoort
8. 2011-02-10 — Brigitte Kaandorp, "Cabaret voor beginners" (try-out), Theater Harderwijk
9. 2011-01-03 — Zuidpool, "Lucifer", Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam

For the first time I kept a list of museums I've visited, and I've seen quite a lot of great art, including Wim T. Schippers' Pindakaasvloer.

• Kunsthal, Rotterdam (2011-01-28, exhibits on Edvard Munch, Wim Oepts and a photoseries on Voodooby Gaël Turine)
• Palacio Real de Madrid, Madrid, Spain (2011-04-07)
• Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida, Madrid, Spain (2011-04-07)
• Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain (2011-04-08, temporary exhibits: Chardin, The Young Ribera, Nero and Seneca)
• El Museo de arte Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain (2011-04-08, temporary exhibit: Heroines)
• Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid, Spain (2011-04-09)
• Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (2011-05-15)
• Kunsthal KadE, Amersfoort (2011-12-01, Märklinworld exhibit)

Despite a week in Spain, short trips to Germany and Finland and a week of doing nothing at home, I still managed not to spend all my vacation time. Oh, well, there's always next year. In 2011, I spend at least one night in the following places, and on multiple occasions in those marked with a *.

• Amersfoort *
• Noorden *
• Barcelona, Spain
• Madrid, Spain
• Berg en Terblijt
• Emmerich am Rhein, Germany
• Den Haag
• Helsinki, Finland *
• Seinäjoki, Finland

If you're reading this, there's a good chance that you know of my List of 100 Things. Here's a roundup of the items I crossed of this year:

• #6: Climb the Onze Lieve Vrouwetoren in Amersfoort.
• #15. I did not shave at all for at least a month.
• #67. Books I've read from my list of 40 booksto read before my 40th birthday: Neuromancer, De uitvreter / Titaantjes, Brave New World, The Great Gatsby, De avonden, The Catcher in the Rye, The Hero with a Thousand Faces
• #73: See a play by Shakespeare (Richard III, Midsummernight's Dream)
• #74: See Beethoven's Ninth in concert.
• #88: Museums visited in Amersfoort: Kunsthal KadE
• #94: Visit the Prado in Madrid, Spain.

So, uhm, anything else? Oh, yes: mind your fingers and see you on the other side.

Twas the still of the night of the monday before christmas, and the clocks were striking one. I made my way to where I parked my bike that morning, and it's not there. So I started looking for it. I looked here, I looked there, I looked every damn where, but crapdammit, it's gone. Either the people who are responsible for removing wrongly parked bikes and the wrecks of their abandoned kinsmen got a little overzealous and took it, or somebody else did. Illegally. Like a thief in the night, so to speak. Either way: it's now quarter past one, wet slush is falling from the sky, the streets are slippery and I have to walk twenty to thirty minutes to get home because my bike's gone. Joy to the world, and good will towards men, and all that.

So, what-d'ya-do? For the next few days I improvised to and from the station. And then I thought I might as well pay De Opstap—the department of legal bike removal, if you will—a visit. Because, you know, if my bike isn't stolen, it might just be there. And if it isn't, they sell the bikes that aren't claimed by their owners. Problem solved either way.

As it turns out, De Opstap is open from monday to friday when I'm at work, and between 10 and 12 am on saturdays. So last friday I tried to call 'em to see if they would be open the next day, it being the day before christmas and all. Guess what? No one took my call. So I slept in on saturday. Today, on what some people tend to call Derde Kerstdag, I happened to have a day off, so I tried calling them again. Because, you know, it's between christmas and new year and they might just be closed. Nothing. But seeing that I had to arrange a bike sooner rather than later, I went there anyway.

Now, imagine a stretched out industrial park. Imagine the remotest corner of that industrial park. Then imagine that there's just two buses coming anywhere near that remote, desolate corner. Yep. That's indeed the most logical place to send people who currently, for whatever reason, don't have a bike at their disposal. And that's where I ended up this afternoon. Only to find that, big surprise, they were closed. For three weeks. See ya in january, y'all.

Crapdammit it all to hell.

How difficult can it be to set up an answering machine with a simple message saying, Hey, don't bother stopping by, we're closed.? You know what's even easier? Put it on your website. Along with other useful bits of information, like yes, we sell bikes, and you should bring cash cause we don't take plastic. But they don't even have a website. Which, in the year of our lord 2011, is a pretty big #EPICFAIL with a side of failsauce.

Anyway.

Having wasted enough time already, I walked all the way to a bus top, waited, thought of some nice things to say about this total cluster-fuck, failed miserably, waited some more and got on a bus to the station. Once I got there, I decided to have one more quick look for my bike before hitting up some bike shops on the way home to see if they got some acceptable second hand bikes.

And lo, and behold, for verily, I sayeth unto thee: and so it came to pass that, look, there, not quite in a ray of light that shone down from the heavens, without an host of angels thundering a deep and booming tadhaaaaaahhhhhh and most certainly absolutely nowhere near the place where I left it a week ago, there stood my bike, in all it's undersized and beat up glory.

It's a freakin' miracle.

Photo credit: Hey you get out of my !!!!! by Andreas-photography. CC-BY-NC

Happy everything and good luck with that thing.

Beware the irrational, however seductive. Shun the ‘transcendent’ and all who invite you to subordinate or annihilate yourself. Distrust compassion; prefer dignity for yourself and others. Don’t be afraid to be thought arrogant or selfish. Picture all experts as if they were mammals. Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. Seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will supply plenty of time for silence. Suspect your own motives, and all excuses. Do not live for others any more than you would expect others to live for you.

Letters to a Young Contrarian, p. 140

Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011.

And sure, there's a lot of other things I could write about: the stupidity never seems to end. But I'm having one of these phases where I can't really be bothered to get worked up enough to write about stuff.

If you need me, I'll be in the hot air room inflating my ego.