Het einde

SANE 2004 ended on Friday, leaving me feeling a little sad. For five days, that had formed my purpose and I had enjoyed biking through the south of the city to the RAI, drinking lots of decent coffee and attending the various technical sessions.

Thursday’s social event saw us take a coach to Nieuwendam, where we boarded a boat that sailed up and down the North Sea Channel for a few hours. It was a catered event, with good oriental food and a cheesy, slightly discordant saxophone band. We had lots of fun, though, which is the only thing that counts.

Friday saw my business card randomly plucked from the hat to select the contestants for the InSANE quiz. Random, my arse. I had to get up on stage and compete in the closing trivia quiz. I hate the limelight, but I must admit that it was quite amusing and satisfying in a personal way. I didn’t win, but I did manage to answer a few hard questions (and miss a few easy ones, I’m afraid).

I took part in a demonstration yesterday against the current cabinet’s myopic and destructive policies. More than 200,000 people turned out for the march to the Museumplein, which is reportedly the largest turnout for a march in Amsterdam since the demonstrations against the deployment of American cruise missiles here in the early eighties. It was quite a moving experience to march alongside thousands upon thousands of similarly pissed off people.

In the evening, Jo and I went out to a Belgian restaurant called Lieve, which was particularly good for the price.

This evening, we went to see Simon, the Dutch entry for next year’s Oscars. Geoff couldn’t understand a word of it, but Jo and I enjoyed it immensely. That’s a film I’d like to own on DVD when it eventually emerges.

Time has passed quickly since we got here. It’s hard to imagine that we’re leaving already. I’ve viewed a prospective home on the Prinsengracht, renewed some acquaintances, attended a system administration conference, biked around my favourite city on earth, attended a demonstration and generally had quite a productive time of it. Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to seeing my wife again, even if I do have to return to the US in order to do so. Still, at least I can get some Leonidas on the way out.