Saturday we went to a balfolk workshop where we learned the waltz in 5, 8 and 11 times and some variations on those, scottish variations and a variation on the mazurka. The workshop was in French but fortunately there was a translator present. Unfortunately we couldn't stay long at the ball itself because of a nineties party of Cora and Kelly. So we went there at about 21:30, after dressing the part (photo by Woran).

It was really cool to see all those people in nineties clothes. So weird! The place itself was a student bar. Every surface of the place was sticky and the music was so loud that it hurt my ears. However, I did some skimpy dancing and had a good few hours. Matthijs however isn't much of a disco dancer, so at 24:00 we left again. The balfolk would still be going on so we went back there. Unfortunately we just missed the band Parasol, but we were in time for Lirio. Did some more nice dances, helped to tidy up and then gave Frank and Moes (from the Gonnagles) a ride to their sleeping place on the other side of Utrecht.

We were finally on our way 'home' to my father's place in Ermelo at around 02:45.

Thanks go to the students who stopped in front of us when we had stopped on the 'vluchtstrook' because of a sudden very low roaring sound from our car. They quickly diagnosed it as a hole in the exhaust which would not be a hazard but would not get the car through the APK. Thanks for putting us at ease at 03:15 in the morning! We won't even report that you took a 'hectometerpaal' (sign). It is so good to know that there are still people out there willing to help total strangers. I don't know what we would've done if they hadn't stopped. (Matthijs would probably have looked under the car and would've come to the same conclusion..)

So, yeah, after the tinkling noise in the back end of the exhaust (and the repairs for about 125 euro's) we now have a rupture in the end of the middle part of the exhaust where it used to be attached to the end part. My dad advised us to find someone who can weld on a new piece of pipe to cover the rusty part because the rest of the exhaust still looks ok.

We had a lovely brunch on Sunday morning at my dad's place (with soup, salad, buns, apple pie) and then went to Matthijs' mom in Harderwijk to swap the empty juice crates for full ones. At 15:30 we were on our way back to Enschede in our little Kia that sounded like a sports car.... It nearly gave me a headache.

Now a new work week. I'll be going to Amsterdam on Thursday to have a face to face meeting about what the h*ck they actually want. E-mail communication apparently doesn't work good enough to convey ideas. (Not having a friggin' clue about anything but your own work doesn't help either...). Saturday is my mom's birthday which we'll celebrate by eating (gourmet) here at my place (instead of going out for dinner, which I don't like at all). I'll have to do grocery shopping for that, since my mom and her girlfriend are in a hotel nearby, and I want to make a nice cake. Sunday is still free of any plans.