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It's been awhile since my last journal entry and a lot has happened so let me start with what went later in the day after my last entry, June 6. After work I rode my bike to the salon, STAN, and got my hair dyed. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with it other than making it darker so I let the woman doing my hair sort of do whatever she wanted. We ended up going for a dark reddish-purple with the front part dyed black. It pretty much looks black unless I'm under a light or out in the sun. I was worried about missing my train to Amsterdam but I ended up getting out of the salon early.
I rode my bike to the train station and got my bag out of the locker then went to a cafe and had a beer before getting on the train. The train ride to Amsterdam takes about 2 hours and goes by pretty quickly. I just listened to music and watched the scenery go by.
When I got to Amsterdam I got a taxi and told him to take me to Hotel Europa 92 and showed him a print out I had. I had a bad feeling that something was going to happen but the driver seemed nice so I just got in the cab and looked at the city. We finally got to the hotel but it looked different (nicer) than the photos on the internet, so I asked if it was the right hotel and it turned out that he took to my Hotel Europe which is a different part of town. He reset the meter and we left. When we finally got to the correct address I paid the driver and gave a good tip and got my bag and as I was going into the hotel he said that I owed him another 10 euros for the ride to the first hotel. I refused saying it was his fault since I showed him the print out and he obviously didn't look at it, then went into the hotel.I checked in, put my things in the room and walked to the Paradiso, hoping that I wasn't going to be late for the show. In true Dustin form I got a little lost and what should have taken me ten minutes took me about 30, but I made it in time for the show, in fact I was early. The Paradiso is a legendary venue and I was glad to finally see a show there. When I arrived there was a dj playing music and a few people milling around, but it wasn't as crowded as I was expecting considering it was premier of a new Ryoji Ikeda piece. After about an hour Ikeda was on stage and I was surprised to see that he looked younger than I was expecting. The music and video projections were fantastic! It's amazing how loud something can be and not damage your hearing when the sound quality is good. After Ikeda played Olaf Bender (aka BYETONE) went on stage and played an almost equally good set. Once the show was over the dance party started. Some of the crowd left while more showed up. I wandered around the venue a little and found another dance party going on the first floor (second floor) which I danced at a little. Getting back to the main floor I danced on and off for awhile and then headed back to the hotel.In the morning I got up and dressed and went down stairs for breakfast. I then headed into town to finally do some shopping and sightseeing. I found my way to the 9 Streets (a famous shopping part of town) and wandered around until the stores opened and took some photos:
When the stores opened I made my way to Van Ravenstein which opens a basement sale room on Saturdays. I tried on some great Demeulemeester boots but the pair I really wanted was too large. In the end I got a black tank top with the AMOUR print on it. I talked to the sales associates and they gave me some ideas on other shops to look at, including telling me where the Droog shop was, since I couldn't remember from my last trip. They also told me about another shop, Frozen Fountain, which turned out to be great.
So I walked and walked and walked...
It is amazing how many bikes there are in Amsterdam. Tens of thousands of bikes and all kinds of bikes: delivery bikes, bikes with kid baskets, old bikes, mountain bikes, tandem bikes, recumbant bikes, etc...
I ended up going to a shop, Ennu, that was recommended to me by the women and Van Ravenstein and found a new bag (my white leather bag is falling apart) and a scissor pendant that I had been wanting since the beginning of the season. The people in the shop were really nice and one of the owners was wear the Theo Brainwear frame, so I told them I was working there at the moment, to which they said "great, but you should move to Amsterdam." I've been told and I've noticed there is a lot of rivalary between Netherlands and Belgium.
After going to the Droog shop I stopped into a Smart Cafe and purchased my evenings activity, Philosophers Stones. I then did some more walking and eventually found my way to a bar called the Chaos Cafe, where I sat on a bench outside and enjoyed a La Chouffe while looking at a canal. I then headed back to my hotel and ate the Philosopher Stones along with some chocolate. The next 6 hours is hard to describe, but it was a trip.
Sunday morning I woke up feeling a little more tired than usual but got dressed, packed my things and had breakfast. I checked out, leaving my bag at the hotel, and walked around the city for about 4 hours, taking in the scenery, taking photos and finally stopping for a beer, Kwak, at a Belgian pub. I then caught the 2pm train back to Antwerp.
25 Juni 2008
24 Juni 2008
23 Juni 2008
22 Juni 2008 (photo missing)
Black leather sandals
Black cotton/linen striped short pants
Black cotton t-shirt with white cotton inset with black and red "Dada" print
Black titanium and plastic mirrored sunglasses
21 Juni 2008
20 Juni 2008
19 Juni 2008
18 Juni 2008
17 Juni 2008
16 Juni 2008
Just a short entry before I head to Amsterdam for the weekend. Earlier in the week I found out about some special live performances and installations by Ryoji Ikeda that are happening in Amsterdam being today and ending on June 21 (DreamAmsterdam). There isn't a lot of opportunity to see Ikeda in concert in the states and the idea of a city shutting off it's lights for an art installation by a somewhat obscure Japanese musician/artist is something I couldn't miss out on, so I rescheduled my hair appointment that was for Saturday and bought concert and train tickets and booked a hotel room near Paradiso (the venue where the concert is being held).
Speaking of concerts, on Tuesday I caught a train to Brussels and went back to AB Club to see Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues Band. I got there a little early so I walked around the city a bit, but I didn't bring my camera, so no photos. When the doors opened I got my pass which turned out to be an all access pass, which was great. I got a drink and then headed back stage to see if I could find my friend, Jim, who's drumming in the band. It turned out that he was back at the hotel, so I went back out front and bought a t-shirt and another drink and waited for the show to start. I hadn't heard of the opening band, Appalooza, they turned out to be a two piece: vocals and electronics/guitar. It wasn't bad but I think it would work better as a recording. It was very dance oriented. Cat Power and band came on at 9:00 (I love these early shows). The band was great and Chan Marshall was much more involved with the crowd than I'd seen her before, however she wasn't playing guitar so she could move around stage more easily. Her voice has improved a lot since the first time I saw her and but she seemed to be having throat problems and left the stage for a few minutes about half way through the show. She played until 10:30 when the curfew starts. Overall the show was really good and I was happy to see it. After the show I went back stage again and hung out with Jim and most of the band (Jim introduced me to everyone). I seemed to be the only person back there that wasn't in the band or crew, which was nice but surprising, since the show was sold out. It was nice catching up with Jim but I had to leave early to catch the last train. On my way to the train station as I was getting into a cab (I got turned around and was afraid of missing the train) Chan passed me in a van and through a flower to me, which was nice. Not sure what kind of flower it is (do you?) but I kept it:
Wednesday night I went with a co-worker to a Pré-Soirée party that was being held on a barge. The first Wednesday of each month, from 7-12, there is a party held in Antwerp basically for the 25-45 year old people (aka Yuppies). This was the last party of the season which is why my coworker decided to go. So, it was all drinks, techno dance music and button shirts for the men while the women mostly wore skirts and heels. Pretty similar to 30 year old professional crowds I've seen in Portland, Seattle, New York... As soon as we got there we both agreed that it was not our idea of a good party. However it had the benefit of being on a barge, on the Schelde river, in Antwerp, so I spent most of my time on the deck outside with a drink in my hand talking to my coworker. I did dance a little towards the end, just because I'm missing dancing in Portland a bit.
That's about all for now. I'm getting my hair cut soon and then I'm on a train to Amsterdam (about 2 hours north of here). I'm bringing my camera so, pictures to come...
-Dustin
It's Monday evening and shortly after I got returned home from work the sky started to get really dark and a storm started to move in. It's alomost 8:00 pm as I type this and the storm has past my apartment but it can still be heard in the distance. I love thunder storms and this one was really good! I didn't see a lot of lightning but I did see a lot of flashing in the sky. I'm going to try and post some footage I shot with my camera if I can.The weekend was pretty uneventful. I didn't end up going to the "Vampire Party" on Friday because I saw the set list from the previous party and there were only three songs that I liked in the 8 hour set, and nothing that I love. Since when to vampires listen to "cyber punk" music? After work I did take a long walk and ended up finding a really good jewelry store, Atelier 11 (they do all the jewelry for Raf Simons along with having done jewelry for many other Belgian designers). I didn't buy anything but I think I might have to get something before I leave.Saturday I watched some television in the morning and then got up to go to the open air market and then the grocery store. I still find it strange that grocery stores are closed on Sunday. Who knows what they are going to want to eat on Sunday on Saturday? After doing my shopping I ended up walking to work to pick up my bike and then I rode around for awhile. I found a couple more offices of designers that I like (Dries Van Noten and Veronique Branquinho) then I got Westmalle Triple at the Cappucinno Club. On my way back home I ended up riding past the placed I stayed at two years ago (Seamens Huis). Who knew it was in the Red Light District? I also found the house that a couple of local architects built that's a little over 2 meters wide and is all glass on the exterior. I am still trying to figure out what to do in the evenings on the weekend. The people I know from my previous trip to Antwerp haven't been available and I'm not up to going to pubs (the only thing open in the evening on weekends) in the evening by myself.
After I got up on Sunday I decided it was time to do laundry. Unfortunately, my apartment doesn't have laundry facilities which means I needed to brave the laundry mat. Luckily I don't have that many clothes with me and the apartment owner comes in once a week to clean and do the towels and bedding. To my horror each load of laundry cost 3.60 euro to wash (about $5.50) and another 1.50 euro to dry (luckily i don't dry many things. The washers are nicer than in the US but not that much nicer. I got through the laundry and went back home where I began to make a pasta dinner. I have to say that I am cooking more again since being in Antwerp, which is nice. I would be nicer if I had an oven but I'm getting by. I'm glad I brought my knives from home though. I opened a really nice bottle of 2006 Côtes de Rhône to go along with dinner and then proceeded to watch too much television.
Television is strange here, interesting but strange. I have about 50 channels but there are triplets of many channels so I actually think there are about 20 channels. Like I said before, it's great switching between all the different languages and seeing what US programs get shown abroad (Different Strokes, Sex in the City, South Park, Sponge Bob Square Pants, Simpsons...). Last night there was some French show on about sexuality and they had three guys testing different "male enhancement" methods (all devices). It was really strange and I could only deducts from the doctor on the show that none of the methods work after the doctor said something and then all the guys took off their pumps, stretchers and weights with looks of defeat. It was hilarious!
Tomorrow is Tuesday and I'm going back to Brussels to watch a Cat Power show. My friend is drumming for her and he's my favorite drummer. I'm looking forward to the show and being back in Brussels. Hopefully, I will be able to spend a little more time there and be a little more relaxed.
Cheers!
Dustin
02 Juni 2008
- Black leather oxfords
- Brownish grey cotton/triacetate wide leg trousers
- White cotton t-shirt (American Apparel)
- White cotton gauze tuxedo shirt
- Black cotton/rayon satin military style coat with metal buttons
- Matte black rubberized titanium aymmetrical frames
1 Juni 2008
- Black suede and white leather trainers (adidas)
- Black cotton light weight denim jeans with white stitching
- Black cotton t-shirt with raw cut sleeves and white SIN print
- Clear plastic frames with black "scribble" print
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