The Blog that Noone Reads

We had an amazing 10 course meal tonight at a restaurant in Cambridge, MA called Craigie on Main.

Craigie on Main from Dave Grijalva on Vimeo.

Amsterdam is beautiful. The buildings, the culture, the people. Beautiful. Many people think first of the very liberal laws when they think of Amsterdam. Gambling is legal here. As is prostitution. Marijuana is illegal, strictly speaking, but it’s accepted and the laws are unenforced. This leads people to think of the city as a wild haven for debauchery and degeneracy. This really couldn’t be farther form the truth.

The way I see it, they have it right. All of these vices exist pretty much everywhere in the world. Locations that legalize, tax, and regulate these activities instead of standing on a moral high horse and trying to stop them, appear to have far fewer problems stemming from them. I’m not trying to say I endorse these activities, but I’m also pleased to be in a place where the government does not stand in judgment of those who do. Marijuana use is so common place here that the only people I noticed abusing the privilege were americans or otherly tourists.

The incidence of violent crime here is insanely small. Being pick-pocketed is the biggest worry. People here are more tolerant of race and sexual orientation than any other place I’ve been to.

There are a few things I didn’t like about my visit here. The largest complaint is that people smoke everywhere, though I hear this is going to be changing in the coming summer. There’s too much mayonnaise. Everything is served with mayo. It’s gross. And this last complaint may be specific to people with large feet; the stairs are too small. This place is the land of tiny stairs. They’re über steep and half the depth of the stairs I’m used to. I can only fit the front third of my foot on a step.

Amsterdam is a beautiful, quiet, and safe city. Most everyone here speaks english. I would highly recommend anybody traveling through Europe set aside a couple days to visit Amsterdam.

Work day. Woke up late. I wandered around the city a bit while looking for meals, but otherwise, we stayed in the apartment and worked.

I remember when I was little, my dad would go on business trips. The concept always seemed so romantic to me. To get to fly half way around the world to meet with people because you were so important that someone was willing to pay for that trip. I’ve always wanted to have a job that would allow me to go on business trips. Maybe not for my whole life, but it would be really amazing for a few years. Even if you have to spend most of the time working, there’s got to be some time where you can get out and see the world.

I’m going on my first intercontinental trip. It’s a business trip. I’m sitting in the airport, thinking about all this while I eat some overpriced slop and watching a depressingly ugly woman shovel lettuce and “turkey” into plastic takeout boxes. It must be terribly depressing to food service work at the airport. You have to get up at the butt-crack of dawn, be x-rayed, and searched on your way in, then spend all day shoveling shit into boxes for “important” people who are always in too much of a hurry to be friendly. It’s got to be at least as lonely as I hear business trips become after a while.

Today, I’m grateful to be on this side of the counter.

I don’t really know much about Amsterdam. In 40 minutes, I’m going there. I just found this out on Wednesday night. I’ve never been to Europe. I’ve never been out of North America. I’m super excited, but I have no idea what to expect. The trip is for business, so I’m afraid I may spend much of my time there in front of a computer screen, but I’m going to do my darndest to get out there and see some sights. What should I see? What do they have there?