My 2009 list
December 24th, 2009
As 2009 is drawing to a close, I can’t help noticing (even though I try) that blogs around me are looking back on 2009 and summarize things by condensing them into top ten lists of best things, worst things, funniest things, or most unexpected things.
Now, I am not one to look back too much for fear of drowning in nostalgia and melancholy, but a hasty rerun of 2009 does bring some experiences to mind that made an impression on me, and that I would like to share with you. Some of these things are personal. I’m primarily writing this blog for myself, so you can skip them if you wish. They are # 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1.
Ok, here goes. My list of things in 2009 that will stay with me for a long time:
5. The death of my grandmother. She was the warmest person I know on this world. I hope I can do her memory justice by making an effort to be warm and open to others, including all strangers and people that I find annoying or stupid, and including those who are different.
4. Getting a new job at the CAK in Den Haag. I wanted to find a job that emotionally, intellectually and nerdy binds me, and I think I actually found it as medior system-developer in the .Net technology.
3. Breaking up with Aleksandra. It is hard to say goodbye to a dream, and I am very glad this dream turned into an enjoyable friendship.
2. Going on a holiday with Kirsten and Remco to Spain and France (and visiting Belgium, Luxembourg and Andorra as we went along). Never before did I go on a holiday with two people I barely knew, let alone spending 10 days with them in a car. We visited Ignasi in Barcelona, the Tour-de-France, some of Kirsten’s friends in France, Mont St. Michel, Omaha beach, the Tourmalet mountain (on foot!). I have taken a lot of openness from this holiday, and hope I can contribute to the Twitter and Couchsurfing community.
1. Visiting Auschwitz. Since meeting Aleksandra (who lives in the South of Poland) I have been reading about the concentration camps the Nazi’s built, and visiting Auschwitz in January 2009 has coloured my perception of the world. The mindless effort of those who built these camps and the incomprehensible loss I felt on the off-loading platform at Birkenau are so shocking that they will never leave me.
My name is Marco Hokke. My blog is about the things that interest me and things I might forget if I would not blog them.
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