UvA Intreeweek
Because I’m going to study in Amsterdam after summer vacation or next week actually I’ve decided to participate in the Intreeweek. During this introduction week you’ll not only meet fellow students, but also party a whole week long 
It’s already day 3 of Intreeweek, so only 2 more days to go! I decided to take a break from the program today, because I was so tired from all the walking and partying 
Monday the Intreeweek kicked off with a welcome in Koninklijk Theater Carré with the mayor of Amsterdam (Job Cohen), the UvA Rector Magnificus and cabaret performer Javier Guzman. The theater was pretty impressive and my introduction group was nice too 
We had dinner at WAGAMAMA a super stylish Japanese orientated restaurant! Being a Japanese language student I found it a very nice surprise 
I heard the name of the restaurant, but I wasn’t sure if I heard it correctly. So I said to a fellow student: “Hmm~ wagamama, that’s the Japanese word for selfish - could it really be a Japanese restaurant?” I’m glad it was - I definitely want to go there more often!
After dinner we went to see some cafés and bars, oh - the one definitely worth mentioning is Bar Plan-C. Although we actually went there yesterday, the ambiance was perfect even during daytime 
It’s also the location where student association Mercurius organises their drink evenings. It so much fun to discover all those new places in Amsterdam, but somehow it’s also tiring 
Walking around all day *sigh* I always use Public Transportation in Amsterdam or Klaas gives me a lift on his bike But during the Intreeweek all I seem to do was walking around big Amsterdam!
Tuesday evening we all went to Pepsi Stage for performances of Guillermo & Tropical Danny, De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig, Lange Frans & Baas B en The Party Squad. I seriously loved the dj of the last act - he’s really good! After that we went to HOTEL ARENA a very nice club, but it was waaaaay too crowded to be fun! 
I decided not stay at the end, luckily I could walk to the bus-stop with one of my group members. I was just in time to catch the bus to Klaas’ place, luckily I could stay at his place! That way I didn’t have to travel back to Leiden 
LUCKY! Ugh~ time to get ready for bed, tomorrow will be filled with loads of fun (and energy zapping) activities!
Autumn Shopping
Just before college starts I did some autumn shopping. Next to paying my bills, getting my college books for the first semester - clothes are my main concern I need to look cute when I’m studying in Amsterdam, right? My parents gave me this great autumn/early winter coat from H&M. I love the model, it looks so sharp even when wearing jeans with boots or nice high heels *sigh*
I’ve started to develop an interest in (hand)bags. At first I wanted to get my hands on a € 150,- model with soft leather. But when I thought about carrying it to school in crowded trains and trams… I decided to get a cheap version It still looks nice though, just don’t get too close to it. My mom really liked the idea of a brown leather handbag and did buy herself a € 150,- model Hahah hers definitely looks nice~
Although the coat looks nice I felt it missed something; a nice warm scarf I bought some chunky yarn ages ago, but I didn’t have the right size of needles. I found out the handcraft store DID sell needles, so I immediately went to get the right size and started knitting away. I’m not a hero when it comes to knitting, but knitting scarfs is pretty easy Working with chunky yarn is so much fun and it goes so fast too. I think I will be able to finish the scarf this weekend.
After all that shopping I still had to buy one need to have item, a regular pair of jeans Finding a good pair of jeans can take at least one whole day, so when I bumped into a perfect fit I felt so LUCKY !!! Yesterday I wanted to check the SALE items in one of my fav stores in my hometown just one more time. That’s when I saw these great jeans, a perfect fit AND with a 70 % discount! The price went from € 95,- to € 28,- 
INSANE - I never got that much discount on a item and it wasn’t torned or stained!
A new heir is found…
It was just over 2.5 years ago, my train was delayed and I was looking at some new mobile phones in Spits! newspaper. Although the advertisement was printed in black & white it immediately caught my eye, the lovely super slick Sony Ericsson T610. I fell in love with that phone and I knew I had to get my hands on it. When my student allowance came in I ran to the store to buy it together with my first subscription. Now, after almost 3 years I still think it’s one of the best designed phones No other phone has been able to move me as much as my T610 - untill today…
Unfortunately cellphones are becoming more like monster gadgets with über nice extras like a camera and of course a media player. Although the T610 also has a camera, it slowly becomes time to find a new heir. I want a new a phone with at least 2.0 megapixel, a mp3 player AND expandable memory. Of course it also has to be very very nice looking *sigh* I have been browsing new phones, but I didn’t see any really nice ones. Just when I thought I would never find a ‘nice’ phone again - I laid eyes on the new Z610i ME WANT BAD !!!
The new phone of Sony Ericsson has just been presented to the public in London on August 22nd - so it’s brand new! A release is scheduled (for Europe) somewhere Q3 2006, price unknown. An interesting feature is it’s external display’s mirror effect - it’s only visible when the Z610i is lit up Similar to the Sony Walkman display? It comes with a 64MB Memory Stick Micro, but you can upgrade your memory to a maximum of 2GB !!! Uhuh~ it also has the regular extra features you can find on all the 3G phones.
Further details on the exact release date, price and provider exclusivity still have to be published So I’m not sure if I will be able to get this phone in combination with my subscription renewal. Oh well, if not I can always go for the Sony Ericsson K610i or choose a Playstation Portable as a subscription renewal present Bwaaahhh~ I’m such a SONY fangirl!
Une fille, 23, university student, interactive media,
gadget girl, fashion, Japan ... 
