Dutch log

A couple of odd/funny things that have happened to me recently:

1) It is getting close to Christmas (as you already know), and since I need to post presents back to NZ I’ve tried to get it all out of the way already. (Long story short - I have bought everything I need but haven’t posted it yet). While walking around looking at shops in the “old town”, I found a Gothic-themed shop. I didn’t think it would be terribly serious, so I popped in, on the off chance I found something suitably small and exotic enough to buy as a gift. After a few minutes in there, I noticed the other customers (predictably in black leather and with terribly dyed black hair and bad haircuts) looking at me (in a white-ish business shirt with a collar and wearing glasses) as if *I* was the freak. Anyway, not finding anything small enough to post back to NZ that was also not tacky, I decided to leave. When I tried to open the door, it was locked - the owner of the store had come and locked the door when I wasn’t looking.
Terrible thoughts about human sacrifice of non-goths went through my mind briefly until I realised the owner, not trusting the general public, had locked the door while he went out the back to look for something for the other customers. Still, that seems pretty odd looking back, even by the standards I would expect for someone running a some for goths.

After dropping my flatmate off at the airport (he was going to Barcelona for the weekend - you can fly there one way for about the equivalent of $NZ36!), I was driving his car back from the airport early in the morning when the fuel light came on. Luckily enough for him, I was alert enough to remember noticing that his car took diesel. Unfortunately, I got very confused at the petrol station because all the pumps said “gasolea” on them. Eventually I figured out that the ones that say “gasolea A” on them are diesel, but I felt pretty stupid standing in the middle of the forecourt holding the pump nozzle in my hand sniffing it to make sure it didn’t smell like petrol. (To be fair, the pump also said “desel” or something similar on it, but I was confused because it also said “gasolea” on it, which sounds suspiciously like gasoline). I also had trouble figuring out how to open the petrol cap on the car… I spent several minutes looking for the release button near the driver’s seat but couldn‘t find it, looked outside at the petrol cap to see if it needed the key inserted into it, but it didn’t have a key socket. After looking for the release button by the driver’s seat for another few minutes and giving up, I eventually figured out that the petrol cap opened by just being pushed in. Stupid VWs. Who would figure that out without already knowing that?

And as promised, a photo of a moustache. Now that November is over I can get rid of it again… I’m more worried about the wrinkles and grey hairs…
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