Only hours left
Only hours left before departure, I could have known time wouldn’t be on my side. Although I did decide to leave one week later as planned, I STILL have too much to do, most notably during these last two days.
(I’m writing this quickly, so please excuse my spelling mistakes.)
The long saga that is…
Yes, indeed, I also spent time getting my Iranian passport, again. This time, however, it was very fruitful. I managed to hand over all the required documents, for a meagre 200 euros and three hours of my very precious time.
Now, these documents will travel to Iran and somehow, magically transform into my passport. By the time I get back, my Iranian passport -might- be waiting in my post office box.
Last minute thingies
Only today did I finally hand over Chaletplaza.nl. It has become quite a decent site. Now let’s hope it’ll make some money.
Also, as if these people somehow know, I got a call from a client I haven’t done business with for years, asking me questions about the services I delivered a long time ago. And then my uncle (from Germany) called, with some new business he’s been working on for several years. He thinks it’s now time for me to step in.
Food
Yesterday, Betsy and I had dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant. I LOVE Ethiopian and this time, too, it was gooood. More food today, when, tonight, I had a roti and, during the afternoon, a ‘broodje speciaal’. Can you believe it: Google image search doesn’t show ANY useful results for that query!?
Also, I raced around town today to get a 1GB SD card for my newly acquired and very cool Qtek9090 (MDA III). It rocks. During my race around town, I stopped for a minute at the Beestenmarkt, and checked the BBC news through the built-in WiFi card.
But the one main reason I got it, to be able to make notes and write reports anywhere, anytime, still is a problem. I need a compatible (wireless) keyboard for that, but NOONE has one to sell me. Yesterday, I drove down to PDAshop.nl, but all the compatible keyboards they had were sold out. Today, calling around, and checking several stores in person, I had no luck at all. Now, I hope to find the right keyboard at Schiphol airport or in London.
Flight
Which brings me to my upcoming trip. I checked Ariana’s website today. Turns out, they now fly straight from Frankfurt to Kabul! I could have saved a LOT of trouble, using that route. Then, I wouldn’t have to pull an overnighter in Dubai. Then again, I also wouldn’t have a nice stopover on my way back.
And, of course, to make the folks back home a bit worried, as you might have noticed, a Boeing (probably) crashed, just outside of Kabul (link). Don’t worry, it (most probably) was due to a snowstorm and it was KAM air, not Ariana.