Last week I picked up my new mobile phone. That’s nothing special in itself since I treat myself to a new mobile phone every year (side note: that’s the only thing I replace yearly, the other things I replace when they’re worn down in order to keep a pretty good carbon footprint), but after having an Android phone I came back to buying a Nokia once again. And ever since getting my first mobile about 13 years ago I’ve owned 10 phones. 8 of those were from Nokia.
I know that Nokia isn’t perceived as the leader in mobile phones any more and that their phones are a little behind when it comes to technology. But frankly: I don’t care. Their OS is stable, their build quality is excellent and it does what I want my phone to do: crisp and clear calls, messaging, occasional web browsing and tweeting, take a picture now and then, use it as an alarm and watch and navigate from A to B. And all that without a fuss. Simple. I like what they offer and although I felt a need for change every now and then (I switched to a Sony Ericsson a couple of years back and the HTC Hero last year) I always came back.
This got me thinking about other brands I’m loyal too. And it seems there are a couple. I only buy for need these days, but still there’s Geox when it comes to my shoes because of my…erhm…warm feet. Canon when it comes to my digital camera. Samsung when it comes to PC monitors. HP when it comes to printers/scanners. Bol when it comes to books. Pathe when it comes to seeing movies.
The reason for this is simple: these brands make products/create services that fill my needs. That doesn’t mean that I won’t buy any other brand when the need arises or when a better alternative comes along. But as long as that isn’t the case, these are preferred.
Summer has definitely come to our part of the woods with temperatures hitting above 30 degrees Celsius (that’s 80-90 degrees fahrenheit for you people across the pond). When it’s hot here it’s not the dry heat of the Mediterranean but this damp, clammy heat that sticks to you. So you need to adjust a bit.
I try to do as much as I need to do in the morning hours (when the heat is still manageable) and relax in the afternoons during these weekends. So it’s domestic chores (vacuuming, buying groceries etc) as early as possible (without waking up the neighbors) and just do some relaxing stuff like reading a book in the park in the afternoon. That’s in the shade of course. I also tend to eat less (maybe one meal a day) during the day, but drink a lot more.
I’m one of those people who enjoys good weather, but not extreme heat (I think there’s some Scandinavian bloodline somewhere although my parents keep denying that) so for me it’s just getting through the days and try to enjoy it as best as I can.
Hope you have a great summer.
About a month and a half ago I stumbled upon a video of Graham Hill and his thoughts on weekday vegetarianism and wrote about it. As mentioned in the post I was seriously considering following that regime for a month to see if it could work for me. So for the month of June I’ve been a weekday vegetarian but with some exceptions. Let me explain.
Of course the main outline was to go completely vegetarian during the week and having the opportunity to eat meat (which I have stated before I love to eat) during the weekends. I added a provision though: if I would find myself in a social setting where eating was involved (say eating out with friends or anything work-related) I would choose at the time. During the month I found myself to be in one of those situations about once each week. And I have to say that I chose the meat option on every one of those occasions (did I mention that I love meat). So all in all I was completely vegetarian for about 4 out of 5 weekdays (with 2 out of 3 meals on the other days being vegetarian as well).
So what did I eat? Well, same as in my first experiment with being a vegetarian I would eat soy based replacements. I also started to eat fruit in stead of bread in the morning. As for dinner I just experimented with vegetarian dishes (some came out better than others). I think this has helped to improve my eating habits towards an even healthier diet and I even lost a fair bit of weight (although, to be honest, that could also have to do with my increased exercise regime).
I have to admit that changing from just a Meatless Monday to weekday vegetarianism was an easy step. As stated before, I will never give up meat entirely (with this lifestyle though, it seems I enjoy eating meat even more) but with the apparent advantages it has I will keep on living the weekday vegetarian lifestyle for the foreseeable future.
The Dutch football team will play Slovakia next monday in the round of 16 in this years Football World Cup. There’s a very good chance (the Dutch are favorites for this game) they’ll advance to the quarter finals and then it’s just 3 more wins until you win the final! And that’s a big deal in our little knack of the woods where it’s the talk of the day and you sense there’s real pride about what those guys do out there. But the fans aren’t the only ones hoping the Dutch team advances and keeps on doing well. Because when they keep on winning, the Dutch economy keeps on winning as well.
Just think about all the orange merchandising that’s being sold or given away with purchases. And Dutch fans love to see the games with friends in bars and cafes where a victory will be celebrated with the consumption of a large number of drinks (not to mention the ones consumed before and during). And that on a day that usually isn’t a big day for that industry. That of course will all dry out as soon as, God forbid, the team is beaten.
It’s great to see the Dutch team doing well. I, like many others, enjoy the games and watch them in the company of others. And with the worst of the recession behind us, it’s a good thing our economy gets that little extra boost. If the Dutch team will become World Champion, there will be more than one winner.
