16deg in Köln and some thoughts

when i heard about what happened, the reason why i could take it objectively was because i had kind of expected it, and because i have seen it happen before.

there is a difference between friends and contacts. i would prefer the term acquaintance, but 'contact' is the buzzword nowadays. and sadly so. contacts are people you look for only when you need a favour or two from them. friends are people you always look to.

of course we always want to have a special group of people whom we are especially nice to. we accord them a special status. there's nothing wrong with this. but love is not exclusive. it doesnt mean that the other people are worth nothing, and can be left to die. or we save them only if we deem them to be of some value to us in the future.

some harvard professor was saying that young people of today should start learning to build relationships at this early stage, because the people you are talking to could be the next president, the next chairman or something.

it is precisely this kind of bullshit that young people are reading, adults are espousing, that our society is becoming more and more like a rat race, if it isn't already one.

make friends, not contacts. get to know someone not because he may find the next superdrug, but because he likes football. it's really all these simple things.

and it only takes a little bit from each of us to make this world a better place- like holding the door open so that the running stranger can get onto the tram.

for their own sakes, for their own souls, i hope they see the light soon. and the place they are in is actually one of the best place to do that.

and of course, we have every right to feel frustrated, to feel indignant. but always put your hand to your heart, and remember that last line of wilhelmus.

heb ik altijd geeerd

the problem with winning the rat race is that you are still a rat- lily tomlin