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Clay's Personal

This Sunshine Blogger Award

Posted on July 19, 2018

By Clayton

Back in May of this year I was nominated for The Sunshine Blogger Award. I saw the post and was about to immediately write a post, however… I postponed it and *poof* 2 months flew by and we are now near the end of July.

So The Sunshine Blogger Award… Let me copy & paste the description.

The Sunshine Blogger award is given by bloggers to bloggers who inspire positivity and creativity in the blogging community.

I had never heard of this award before, but I am super stoked to have been nominated by Jill-Joy Landburg. Jill is the owner of the blog VICTUALS.me
The blog is basically all about food and I am a foodie, so that got my attention 🙂

I know Jill via friends and social events. She had noticed my blog and asked me to join her blog group on Facebook, which was good for me, because now I can attract more local readers.

So I am nominated and below are the questions that I have to answer.

Jill’s questions for me:

1. What’s your zodiac sign?
I am an Aquarius. And from the books and webpages I have read I am a true Aquarian.
I have all the typical characteristics. We are very caring and loving people, also very patient, but once our patience runs out or when we notice that you are taking advantage of our kindness we are DONE!

2. What is the difference in dining and fine dining?
Fine dining is where I need to figure out what all those extra spoons and forks on the table are for and which one I start with. You work your way from the outside to the inside in case you didn’t know 😉

And dining is when it’s just about the food, and no rules or regulations.

3. What activity takes the most of your time?
Work, work and more work.
Both my regular day job and my freelance work. And in between I try to balance sporting, social events and relaxations, but yeah, mostly I am working.

4. Did your friends and family give you their support when you started your blog?
I have always written just for myself, so their opinion didn’t nor doesn’t matter. Whoever likes to read is welcome of course.

5. If you are making money with your blog, what do you plan to spend the money you’re making from your blog on?
I don’t, but when I do: TRAVEL!! I want to see the world.

6. If you go back in time, would you still start a blog knowing all the positive and negative aspects of blogging?
I have no regrets… the only regret I have is that I don’t have more free time to work on new blog posts. The best part is that I have an outlet for my thoughts.

7. Would you rather eat Carpaccio or Shrimp cocktail?
Shrimp Cocktail 🙂

8. What’s the most recent foreign country you’ve visited?
The last place I traveled to was Curaçao about a month ago.

9. Have you ever been nominated for and/or won other blogging awards?
This is my first time *blushing*

10. What’s your favorite thing about your blog?
That I can write about anything… and that I don’t have to limit myself to one topic.

11. Are you, so far, proud and satisfied with your blog’s progress?
Uhm… I would like to earn money and live of It one day, soooo the answer is: not yet.

The rules:
The Sunshine Blogger award is given by bloggers to bloggers who inspire positivity and creativity in the blogging community.

  1. Thank blogger(s) who nominated you for a blog post and link back to their blog.
  2. Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
  3. Nominate up to 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
  4. List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.

My nominees:

  1. Smoonstyle – Simone Simons – Singer of Epica
  2. The Modern Man – Daniel – @Magic_Fox on Instagram
  3. Flight Attendant Joe – Joe Thomas

My questions for the nominees:

  1. Are you blogging as often as you’d like?
  2. Who or what inspired you to start your blog?
  3. What does the name/title of your blog mean?
  4. Do you listen to music when blogging (and what kind)?
  5. Where do you see your blog in 10 years from now?
  6. Please share a description of your perfect life in no more than 5 sentences?
  7. What attracts you most in people? (this can be for love, friendship or anything)
  8. Where is the place you would like to grow old in?
  9. What’s your opinion on tattoos?
  10. What’s your favorite thing about traveling?
  11. How many languages do you speak and which ones are they?

To be honest, I highly doubt the above bloggers will respond, but hey, anything can happen 🙂

If you are reading this and you still want to answer these questions, you can do so in the comments section below. And if you want to answer them on your own blog, please link back to me.

Travel & Adventure Workaholic

Baboem’s Trip to Curaçao

Posted on June 25, 2018

By Clayton

At the office Christmas party of 2017 our bosses announced a work trip to Curaçao.
To be honest, at first it sounded too good to be true and we thought that this would probably never happen, but when we received the E-tickets a few months later we knew it was official… we were going to Curaçao.

The last time I was in Curaçao was 9 years ago and it didn’t leave a lasting impression on me. But I was a lot younger, I was with my parents and it was just a whole different kind of trip.

This time it was a trip full of partying and just having fun.

First off our trip got short from 6 to 4 due to a change in the flight schedule of our local airline. This sucked, because that meant we had to a lot in a very limited amount of time. Which afterwards was very exhausting. Nonetheless, we had fun.

The fun started very early when we all went to the airport by bus we had rented. It was very early, but my colleagues as a crazy bunch of people, so we were having fun from the start. At the airport, we went around and starting mixing with random people. By the time that we needed to board the sun was already high in the sky.

My colleague sitting next to me has a fear of flying so we had to comfort her during takeoff and landing. The flight to Curaçao is a flight that lands in Trinidad first to let out people and have others board. So we had to take off and land, twice. And boy, the pilot was not in a good mood. His takes offs and landings were horrible. It was like he was in a hurry for some reason and didn’t make that a very pleasant trip for us. We were happy when that was over.

 

At the Airport in Haito we were greeted by our other boss that lives there in whose house we were staying. Very fancy house, located far from the city center, but with an amazing view of the sea. We quickly freshened up and went to go hunting for food. We had 3 cars to our availability so we could form groups and do our own thing. I was in the car with the local boss. We found some Dutch snacks, went grocery shopping and finally had a full meal in a restaurant.

That evening we went to a karaoke (lesbian?) bar. I as always was the one doing most of the singing, cause not everyone was into that. After the night was over, a few went to the house to sleep and the other went to go sight-seeing by car with the boss. I went sight-seeing. Well, I didn’t see much, because I was exhausted and started falling asleep in the car.

The following morning we went to the beach. This was the first time I could enjoy the sea water and go snorkeling. With my contacts in and the snorkeling glasses I could for once actually see the fishes in the sea. It was amazing. We even drove to another beach, which was full of sea turtles, which was also an amazing experience.

That evening we went to the movies…. Jurassic Park 2… again I didn’t see much, because I always fall asleep in the movie theatre despite having had a Starbucks beforehand and the movie being okay-ish.

The following morning we went off road jeep riding, which was an experience to say the least. First of all I literally got roasted in the sun, it was extremely hot and not to mention dusty. There were many times when I thought we would just tumble off a mountain. We also went swimming again at the turtle beach, but I had no interest in swimming, I was not liking the head again.

On the way back I asked the very, sexy tour guide if I could ride along. There was a spare seat and that jeep had a roof, so that was good for me. From there I had an easier time during the rest of the tour. Great sights. But again, I feared tumbling over and dying constantly. At the end of the tour my white shirt was yellow.

The following day we had to leave again. In the morning we went to a shopping mall, where I really had fun!! I bought 2 great shirts very cheap and a new pair of sunglasses. Soon afterward we went back to the house, packed our bags and headed to the airport.

We said goodbye to the boss living in Curaçao and boarded our plane.

Again we had to comfort of colleagues with flight anxiety, but this time the flight was a lot easier than when we left from Suriname.

The next day we were allowed to stay home if we wanted, which most obviously did… including myself… and after that it was back to normal.

But for me it was also time to prepare for my next trip 😉
Clay's Personal pAArty

My 30th Birthday Party

Posted on February 9, 2018

By Clayton

So it finally happened… I turned 30 last week… the HORROR!!
I am just joking. It’s actually not that big of a deal to me and I actually do like my birthday. Since you only turn 30 once, I decided to throw a party… but this was not going to be just any regular birthday party… I mean, come on, have we met?!

Party Planning Stress
So it turns out that party planning is a lot of stress. If I had millions of dollars to spill I would have just hired someone to organize the entire thing and let them deal with all the stress. Since I don’t… I had to plan it all myself.

I had this idea for a karaoke birthday party for a while now. As you know, I love karaoke, despite the fact that I cannot sing. I also wanted a photo booth for memorable, crazy, drunk pictures. I also didn’t want every day decorations, so I went on Amazon and order all the decorations, photo props and whatnot that I needed.

As the day to the birthday party came closer I started to stress a lot more. Everything costs a lot of money and it’s a lot of phone calls, emailing and driving places to arrange things. Also I was stressing out because up until 2 weeks before the party the things ordered were not here yet, due to a delay in delivery with the holiday season. But luckily the arrived just in time, so I could ease up a bit after that.

During the planning period I had a few times where I came THIS close to blowing off the entire party and just plan a trip abroad… I luckily know enough people that could help and advise me on things, so once that stress was lifted and I knew exactly what I wanted and needed the party could officially be organized.

The location I had picked was Hotel Babylon. A small, but gorgeous hotel that is not far from my home. I visited that place 2 years ago for the first time and it had left a lasting impression on me. As I was looking for a location for the party, I somehow knew that this would have to be it.

Actual Birthday
On my actual birthday, February 1st, I didn’t do much of celebrating, but mostly drove around doing some shopping and ordering stuff for the following day. In the evening I went to my best friend’s house were we peeled 12kg of potatoes for mashed potatoes. We drank a bottle of champagne while doing so, but that was the only kind of celebration.

When I went home I still wanted to create a playlist for the party and test the karaoke stuff, but my friends advised me to go to sleep. As I get older I cannot pull those all-nighters anymore. And it was about to be a long day so I could use all the sleep I could get it.

(more…)

Clay's Personal Friends

Update on 2017’s NY Post

Posted on January 3, 2018

By Clayton

Before I was about to post my 2018 “Happy New Year” post I re-read my 2017 post.
It appears that I still need to write an update regarding that post since a lot has changed.

Quickly read that post first before reading the below.

Friendship
The friendship between my best friend and I was restored, shortly after that post – around my birthday. It mostly involved another person that caused interference… let’s call it that and leave it at that. It’s over and all is good again.

Sleep
In 2016 I probably slept more than I have in recent year. Not nearly as much as I should, but I have at least tried to get some more down time, to prevent myself from burning out. However, this also meant a lot less projects and a lot less money. So I need to find the perfect balance between getting enough sleep and still earning enough to maintain my lifestyle.

Love
Pfft, I bet my blog posts are getting repetitive. This is still a NO-GO for me.

That one crush that started in late 2015 (or 2016), still has been going through all of 2017 and actually reached it peek…. But it also sunk right after that, and I am done.

This is not going to work. I cannot keep falling for someone that never appreciates the things I do, doesn’t see how much effort I am putting in trying to be a better person or never gets any of my signals. At several times in 2017 I even was at that point where I just wanted to blurt out all my feelings, but each time I had to pull back on the last minute because I knew that it was not the right moment or that I would just end up getting hurt. And maybe in some wear twisted part of my mind I rather live in plausible deniability than accept the truth… but now I am done. In retrospect maybe its best I never blurted it out, cause this person will never feel the same and maybe isn’t even someone I really need in my life “in that way”.

Can we move on now?!

College
Yay, I finished my damn college…. Got my degree… Bachelor in Applied Technology… but what is next now? I don’t know, but I am certainly not going back to any form of school. My knowledge shall be gained through self-study, work experience or any other type of training. I just don’t think I can do any full time study anymore.

So yup… that was 2017 more or less.

Clay's Personal pAArty

New Year’s Eve 2017

Posted on January 2, 2018

By Clayton

Actually I wasn’t done with my last post. I totally forgot to write how my New Year’s Eve was.

Well it was TOTES AMAZEBALLS!! 😀

Let me first give a short back story: I actually HATE new years’ eve. I am like the Grinch of New Year’s Eve. This is mostly because of my childhood fear of fireworks and my social anxiety (I don’t do large crowds of strangers)… not to mention the heat.

But last year I went out to the annual Galaxy street party with my friends from Holland, and it was fun. It was warm, but not to warm and the music was good and so was the crowd… although it was really crowded. I ended up dancing on the stage, thanks to my “connections”, but I was way too sober, so I thought I should better next year… well I did.

The day didn’t start off great. I wanted to make my way to the city’s center, but decided to stop to fill up my car’s tank. When I was done and wanted to drive away the car wouldn’t start… the battery had died. I had to call my dad for help to help jump start the battery with car and I just drove back home. I almost decided to simply stay home, but I called a cab instead and he dropped me off as close to the city’s center as he could.

I was there quite “early” as it was not that crowded yet. Said hello to the Galaxy owners and started drinking. I soon got bored, since I knew a lot of people, but no one I actually am used to hang with on a regular basis, so I walked to my other friends that were about to meet up nearby. We gather there and started drinking some more. As we had enough we all walked to Galaxy for the street party and by then it was packed with people.

It also started raining, but that didn’t spoil the fun. I eventually ended up on the stage again, same way I did last year, and this time I had a GREAT TIME… little did I know that the best way to have fun on New Year’s Eve was to get wasted.

After a while I went back to my friends and we danced until nearly the end of the street party. I soon was grinding up on 2 hot tourists like it was the pride month closing party or something. I didn’t care much. I was having fun.

After the party we all walked back to the place where we gather for an after party. I may or may have not ended up making out with the tourists (read: I totally did), but this was the best NYE EVER!! After this after-party, one of my friends and I drove to another friend for some food and all I drank there was cold water…which tasted like the sweet nectar of the Gods at that moment.

A little after 10pm I was dropped home at home and later I took a shower and by then it was almost midnight. At midnight I wished my family members a happy new year and went to bed.

Best way to end the year! 😀

Clay's Personal

Happy New Year 2018

Posted on January 1, 2018

By Clayton

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!

HAPPY 54th BIRTHDAY MOM!

So that was 2017 and what a ride it has been.
Was it special? I guess… it was okay.
Could have been worse, but also could definitely be better.

Quick recap: Finally finished my college, met some new awesome people, went on a much needed vacation, got to see my favorite band perform live for the 6th time, my older brother got married, work has been very good and I learned a lot this year… and probably much more.

Those that know me long enough know that I stopped with making resolutions long ago.

I do want to work on a few things though…
Like, I need to stop being nice to people that take my actions for granted. Not that I expect anything back, I just really need to learn to think about myself more.

Also I have neglected my blog for way too long and want to actively work on that again.

Last… seriously cut back on my bad eating habits.

Hmm, do these count as resolutions?

Anyways… uh… happy new year again, all the best, etc etc etc…
I am going to eat and watch TV now.

Clay's Personal The Naked Truth

Drunk in love

Posted on October 26, 2017

By Clayton

The other day a newly-made friend asked me why I am still single.
Each time I get this question – which is all freaking the time – I answer by saying:
“If I knew the answer to that question I probably wouldn’t be single”.

However I suddenly had an epiphany today. Apparently I am only liked when there is vodka, rum or weed involved. Yes, that’s when I am “romantically” attractive to others.

Yes, I admit, I like my glass of wine before a date (feel to interpret that word as broadly as you want), but for me it’s more a courage thing. But yup, I think that is the answer.

Where did this sudden epiphany come from? There I was sitting at a social event across someone I have seen naked on two occasions… I was wondering: why are there no sparks flying this time? Well, probably because we were both completely sober.

Another example is the case of my two-year-secret-not-so-secret crush. Open the bottle of vodka, pour us a few glasses, get the music just right and we will be making out on the dance floor before the break of dawn.

The other day I was looking at our pics and I was asking myself: why the hell are we not dating?
It’s probably way more complicated than that, but maybe because we both can’t be perpetually drunk, which is why this will never happen.

So…. Yeah…. I am mostly drunk in love, but I don’t see any sober love happening any time soon.
#CallMeWhenYouReSober

DISCLAIMER: I don’t smoke weed, nor have I ever… but certain people around me do.

Clay's Personal Nerd Herd

My new eyes

Posted on June 18, 2017

By Clayton

First thing I did when I arrived in Holland was order contact lenses. You may or not remember an old blog post from 2014 where I stated that I did some research on Lasik eye surgery or contact lens implants. Both were advised not to do so, as they would not work for me. However they did advise me to try hybrid contact lenses. Hybrid contact lenses are a blend between hard contact lenses and soft contact lenses. Since I have very bad eyes I can’t (or couldn’t) get soft contact lenses when I first tried contacts back in 2004. I got subscribed hard lenses and I simply never could get used to them.

After I booked my trip to Holland for this year I went on Google and searched for places in Holland where I could purchase them. I eventually mailed a supplier of these special contact lenses here in Holland and they referred me to an optician, as they do not deliver directly to customers.

The day after I arrived I had my appointment. The supplier of the contacts also came with his kit full of contacts. Together with the optician they checked my eyes and finally decided upon the best solution. Not a cheap one, but I wanted them.

These contacts are custom made in the US and would arrive within 1-2 weeks from the day they were ordered. Well they actually arrived 4 weeks later on the very last day in Holland.

(more…)

Travel & Adventure

Last day travel drama

Posted on June 18, 2017

By Clayton

Since I didn’t write a blog at 36.000ft on my way to The Netherlands as I usually do, I’ve decided to do this on my way back home.

So that that my month in Amsterdam… I wasn’t emotional when I left, mostly because I was way too exhausted to think. I still am very exhausted, but for some reason cannot fall asleep. So I just switched on my laptop, put on Epica to play and started writing.

The total flight is 9 hours and 20 minutes and currently we have about 4 more hours to go.
So I am going to try to do another attempt at sleeping in a bit, which I seriously need as I didn’t sleep last night. I went out with a friend, afterward went to say goodbye to someone I met (nuff said) and opened the doors to the Amsterdam house at 6 AM. The entire room was a mess as I did some last minute shopping that afternoon and just put everything on the bed and decided to pack in the morning and simply sleep on the airplane… which I am NOT doing at the moment.

So my last day was kind of not that great. Let me summarize a very long story as short as I possibly can.

If you are Surinamese you always, read ALWAYS have to bring crap… I mean stuff… for your family. These things can be the most ridiculous things and will make you ask just one simple question: WHY THE FUCK?

Anyways…. So the deal with my mom was to have her sister fill up a suitcase with stuff for her. Everything was pre-paid for the extra luggage. The idea was that I would pick this suitcase up on my last Friday in Holland. However, my Friday was jammed pack. I went to Heerhugowaard to the birthday party of my former boss and after that I had a kiki with friends in Amsterdam. Both were great, but I was traveling from left to right.

So on Saturday morning, I woke up very early to pick up the luggage. I arrived there and the bloody suitcase was nearly 40 kilos!!!! FYI: the limit is 25KG. So that had to be resolved.
What I thought was a resolution, was still not good enough, cause as I started walking with the suitcase to the metro station the wheels started breaking off and I had to return to the house. There we transferred all things to a new lightweight suitcase, but even that turned out to be not a great idea, cause that one broke much sooner than the first when I was walking to the metro station again. So I had to go BACK to the house again.

Meanwhile, I also had an appointment to pick up the custom-made contact lenses which I had ordered. More about that in another blog.

As it was getting later and later, I told my uncle I would leave the luggage and later that evening he can bring it by car. Obviously in another suitcase. After that I made my way to the city and arrived one hour before the optician was about to close. Got my new contacts and learned how to insert and remove them… after that I went back to the center in order to do some last minute shopping.

And that was exactly when my uncle called and said he would bring the other suitcase within 10 minutes. Now, I know my people so I knew that 10 minutes meant 30 minutes. Which was exactly the case. Mostly due to traffic, you can’t drive with a car in the street I was staying in. Nonetheless, my precious last few hours in Amsterdam were spilled. By 17.00hr all the luggage drama was resolved and I had about 2 more hours before the stores would close.

I bought some shirts and some other random stuff and all threw them on the bed. After that I had to help my friends unload their car and finally I showered and went to my friend’s house to eat and drink. He and I went out and as I mentioned above already that went on very late, but it was my last night and I was not about to spend it sober.

Concerts & Shows

Epica live in Bibelot

Posted on June 15, 2017

By Clayton

So last Sunday I went to see my favorite band Epica perform again for the sixth time.
Sixth time… but with Epica each time is a charm.

The show was in a very small venue called Bibelot, which is located in Dordrecht.
I think about 100-150 people were inside.

The stage was very close to the public, so it felt very personal. I think after seeing them in Paradiso the first time in 2011, this was the second time I’ve seen them in such a small venue. But it was great.
A small venue obviously meant no pyros or H20 effects. It was just Epica, the music instruments and light effects, but that was it. Nonetheless, the energy was there. The band members put up and amazing show and all the gimmicks weren’t even missed.

I arrived in Dordrecht around 13.30hr and after a short walk to the venue and a quick fresh up in the toilet, I was in front of the doors to the main stage at 14.00hr. That was about 5 hours before the doors would open. Yes, you read that right. No more than 10 people (including myself) were just standing there and just engaging in some chit-chat. The hall was extremely hot and we often went outside for some fresh air. The hall didn’t really start filling up after 17.00hr and by 18.30hr there was a huge crowd in front of those 2 black doors. I think everyone was more than relieved when they opened and the gush of cold air from the air-conditioning inside filled the air. After scanning the tickets everyone rushed inside. I stood in the second row like I usually do.

The show started with a band called 3rd Machine.
I don’t know them, but their music was okay. However, I could barely hear a word the singer was singing. The sound of his mic was not good. But from what I could hear he sounded good and he also has a good stage presence. Although I think he struggled to get the crowd hyped. Then again, I highly doubt many knew the music of the band.
The band’s music (and the appearance of the singer) was very similar to that of the band Disturbed in my opinion.

Before Epica took the stage, there was this band called Evil Invaders.
Not my cup of tea at all. So to be honest I couldn’t wait for it to be over. But I guess if I was into that kind of music it would have been a good performance.

At exact 21.00hr the stage was clear and ready for Epica to enter.
The lights dimmed and the first notes of the intro song Eidola could be heard.
I imagined hearing that live since listening to the new album for the first time, but actually hearing it, seconds from seeing the band again, was pure magic.

As usual, the boys entered the stage and Simone made her way to the stage when the first song got played, Edge of the Blade. Simone looked gorgeous in her black and gold dress.
However, it didn’t even take 2 minutes since the band has started to play the first song that the fire alarm went off. The lights were all bright and all the music was cut. Simone kept singing but soon had to stop. All the band members went to the side of the stage and Ariën kept the crowd hyped with a drum solo until the smoke got cleared and the band could re-enter the stage.

And there it was, the second attempt and from there on there were no more interruptions.
The band kicked ass and had a very diverse set list. Obviously, I can’t remember which songs they played exactly, but I sang along to all. And jumping around and cheered them on.

My favorite track on The Holographic Principle “Ascension – Dream State Armageddon” was also performed and I was more than happy to finally hear that track live. They also played “Once Upon A Nightmare”, the only ballad on THP, which I hear they have never played live in Holland before (after the release show). It was a truly magical night and I obviously took many pictures and videos. You could tell that the band was also happy to play in their own homeland and I think they should do that more often. Coen and Isaac even got off the stage during the show to play right in the middle of the crowd. That was amazing.

Another favorite track of mine that they played was “Beyond The Matrix” and that had the entire crowd jumping along with the band. The energy was amazing. Nothing but positivity and I am sure that everyone for that one and a half hour forgot all their life problems. I certainly did.

After the show was over, Mark came to greet everyone, just like he always did and it was nice seeing him in person again. I could tell it was mutual.

Soon after I took my selfie with Mark I made my way downstairs. Got a ride from another fellow Epica fan and made my way from Dordrecht to Amsterdam. A trip that was not that easy. Had to take 2 trains and the NS bus and it took from 00.20 am in Dordrecht to 02.45 am until I opened the front door to the Amsterdam house. But for Epica all is worth and I hope to see them one day soon again.

For some great professional pictures of this show visit McSharq‘s Facebook page.

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