Only the Best Days

Not all is bleak and dark. Behold, my fondest memories!

- My first visit to the yearly rally in the region, 1993. Standing outside at the end of November in the freezing cold at 3AM with my dad, my uncles and my cousins. Almost falling asleep against a tree inbetween trials and being taken to the nearest bar for....hot coco.

- Family holiday in Center Parks for my parents' 25th wedding anniversary, 2010. All 6 of us together, just having fun. Spending the day in the tropical pool, eating old-style hamburgers, relaxing in the hot tub, having a fantastic grilled meal in our VIP-cottage with sauna, sitting on the sofa's watching 'Australia' and getting pleasantly drunk off of the Beertender brews.

- Watching the 'Tour of Eleven Cities' with my dad, 1997. Being waken up at 4.30 in the morning for a surprise, going down and seeing the couch pulled up to the TV and snacks all over the table. Sitting down and watching the start of the first and so far only Tour of my life. We sat there all day, till the finish line closed at 11.59PM and we felt sorry for the people who finished a minute too late and didn't get their reward. 'Watch and enjoy son, this is a unique event and there may never be one ever again'....oh how right he has been.

- Touching down in Poland after a 2 hour flight, 2009. My first plane trip, my first holiday, my first time further away than my own country, my first time visiting WoW-folk, my first time away on my own, my first time clubbing and dancing. And for all that, only 2 days of planning went into it. The biggest leap of faith I've ever taken and the one that paid out the most. Perhaps not right away but certainly the aftereffects.

- My first kiss, 2009. Every detail, every smell, every feeling...Burned into my memory for all times.

- Discovery of my musical tastes, 2007. One slow Wednesday evening, I tuned into the WoW-Radio show 'the Lorekeepers' and got blasted by VNV Nation's 'Honor'. It changed the way I looked and still look at music and the type of music I prefer. Electronic, Industrial, Techno, this is my kind of music!

- Purchasing a major appliance with hard-earned cash, 2004. A big, shiny beast of a computer. Put together from selected parts by Dell, this black beauty still serves me well. She will be retired within a month, to be replaced with a significant upgrade. She won't be forgotten though.

- First time I got drunk, 1994. My Holy Communion, a big occasion over here and reason to party hard. I spent the evening emptying my esteemed guests' beer bottles with my straw, resulting in my parents putting me underneath a stream of cold water in the shower, afraid I might pass out from euphoria and/or alcohol overdose. Sipping beer through straws is not done, especially not when 8 years old...