TRAVEL DIARY

A weblog regularly updated by Jodi Rose.

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

12:52 AM
Posted by jodi rose

Last night I dreamed about tiny jars of vegemite in a wooden rack, but when I looked closer they were all empty. Something Australian fading away?

Certainly being in Amsterdam has meant leaving the Aussie posse behind in Berlin. No more escalating squeals of conversation as the enthusiastic pitch rises above anything the Germans are murmuring.
Kept getting in trouble with Joni on our night of multi art openings, for screeching and being ridiculous. But hey, sometimes you need to and that art scene was waaaay too serious.

It's such a relief, the last week has been the closest to 'normal' I've had in a long time. And that's saying something, when it started with a mad journey into neptune's haven, included picking up and delivering a white piano; a lounge-room chi gong session; a trip to einhdoven - the netherland's most criminal city, which is about all it has going for it apart from various philips cultural activities - where I met ambient experience innovation designers and ate fabulous spanish figs and turron (almond halva); then back to my friend's sunny driveway and a long time drifting by reading 'dream brother' on the couch (a bio of tim and jeff buckley, fascinating, sad, nitty gritty of inspiration and life as a musician); until moving to egidiustraat in bos en lommer. Having fun with the Dutch language, it sounds weirdly close to english at times, and the pronounciation never fails to amuse me. Hence a hideous street. Anyway.

There is a fabulous venue around the corner called mosaik, and the erasmus park at the end of the street beckons on the next sunny day. My new apartment (for the next two weeks) is completely plush and filled with every mod con, including a pepper grinder with a push button mechanism that defeated my dexterity for a good five minutes or so.
The lounge room features a lamp made of sunglasses and bookshelves that look like stacks of books piled precariously against the wall, until you read closely and find the bottom book is the shelf. Also a white perspex table that glows from within, and a jigsaw globe. The most exciting thing about it though, is Philippa coming to visit for the Eurovision Final on Saturday. Planning a small drinks gathering with my friends here, who seem to be accumulating by the minute. It's wonderful. Definitely feels more like 'home' than anywhere I've been floating lately.

Having been existentially fraying for some time, it's very nice to finally unravel enough to find an end. To what end, who knows?

The musical education is nice, slowly working my way through a friend's incredibly thorough and esoteric collection. Singing Drums (Pierre someone), Herbie Hancock, Tom Waits, John Zorn, Steve Reich, Tony Williams, Sun Ra, Zappa and so much more... Sadly the magic driveway has been a little sodden of late, and work on the big yellow bus goes slowly. Very much enjoying the atmosphere of dedicated hard work and focus that goes into this DIY life though, it's a nice grounding moment after so much conceptual experimental this and that.

Working on my own innovation strategies and ambient design, and I now have an elephant!