DPOUT WYCDT

With the theme track from 'American Beauty' wafting in the background (thanks to another brilliant mix recorded by DJ Puregroove himself Mr. Simon Branson), I take a few minutes out during the commercial break of a gripping WW II tale on the little screen .. 'U-571' with Harvey Keitel and that dashing Matthew McConaughey dude .. to tap a few lines and get a head-start on the update due tomorrow.

Well that was as much as I got around to writing last night! And here it is dark and wet again this morning and me with a million-and-one things to do. Did you recognize the meaning behind the acronym in the title of today's post? --> Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today! Which you know well I am infamous for. This departure is no exception.

In any event, I had a grand time last night hanging with the old gang from Music Mayday in Saarein II, the lesbian bar in the Jordaan neighborhood around the corner from the office: Ruben the guy who remembers his dream and then goes out and makes it happen; Brechtje the walking smiling beam of sunshine who makes everything seem joyous and reasonable; and Gav Gav Gav Gavarino (aka Gavan) the half-Irish half-Dutch, half-stand-up comic half-student intern dude. Good friends who will be sorely missed.

The two biggest things on today's agenda are
1. organizing the disperal/disposal of most of my worldly possessions, currently in some state of storage at Tracey's gorgeous apartment. Tracey gave her OK yesterday for me to invite people to her place tomorrow morning to start their holiday shopping early (buying the things I no longer want), and I sent out an email to about 147 people to pop round for coffee and fresh croissants. [Note to self: buy croissants.] I will also find out at the post office what it will cost to ship things to the US.

And 2. preparing for the 6:30 dinner for 12 tonight at Dwaze Zaken ["Funny Business"], the all-mosaic ex-church turned into a funky cafe, right across the street from Centraal Station. A Swedish progressive rock band is set to take over about 9:30. And that will more or less wrap up my Friday night.

Geez Louise, you should see what my agenda looks like!

Speaking of Lousie, BIG NEWS! I heard from my mom [aka Mary Louise] 2 nights ago for the first time in .. well let´s just say a v e r y long time. We had a good chat for about 5 minutes before she started to get all choked up and could barely talk, poor thing! She´d just heard my news .. my letter telling her this not yet having arrived there .. that I was preparing to leave Holland (and the rest of the Netherlands!) on Monday and would be spending Thanksgiving with her. (I made sure she was sitting down before I popped this on her!)

But she took it well, and may even meet me at the bus station. I told her I would come up the day after landing in Miami, but depending on local weather conditions at the time, I may take an extra day to lie on the beach before getting on the bus for the long trip from the southern tip of the Floridian phallus to the base of the .. em .. shaft, that part of the state which we Americans refer to prosaically as ´the panhandle´. I can´t wait.

The other big news: old friends and neighbors during my first year in Amsterdam Susan and Bert have very kindly offered to keep Sandy for me until I get settled somewhere stateside after the holidays. As much as I hate the thought of not having her by my side, it will be a good deal less stressful for her, as well as for me. America is not the Netherlands in more ways than one, and Sandy would not be allowed on any bus, nor even in many hotels. I´d love to have her with me when I re-connect with mom, but they will have to meet another time.

OK, I´m well-caffeinated and ready for a shower and shave before heading out on my appointed rounds. I may not be able to post on Monday since that is after all D-Day, but will try to post next either on Sunday, or on Tuesday from some miscellaneous Miami internet cafe.

Also planned for Sunday, my last full day in dit gezellig kleine land: a trip down to the spa in Veenendaal with my bestest Dutch buddies Rob and Miranda, and their angelic little girl Ishele. And maybe that mad Scottish playwright/actor/writer Adrian, if he can possibly untangle himself from his triple-booked obligations I know he´s got for the day!