I had bought tickets for The Hague Jazz and had planned a dinner before that in a Korean restaurant (Giselle is currently studying both Japanese and Korean, hence the choice of restaurant). We agreed on Wednesday to go out on Friday and she said she was available from 6pm. So, I texted her "pick you up at 6?" at about 5pm. She didn't answer....a call, no answer. I was afraid the old Giselle had resurfaced (disappearing off the face of the earth from time to time) and getting hungry too, when at 7pm she still hadn't replied.

With steam coming out of my ears I placed my order at the McDrive and returned home. Then Giselle texted me at 8 pm she just got my message, turned out she fell asleep watching a movie. ;) 

I picked her up at 10 (women need 2 hours to get ready) and then we headed to The Hague Jazz. It's a festival with, obviously, jazz, but also funk, soul and jazzy dance were played by bands in different areas of the conference center. I especially went there for Kraak & Smaak (check them out on Youtube), a dance sensation from Holland. When they do live acts, they have a singer too. Her name is Rose Spearman, I believe she's American Dutch, I'm not sure.

I've always been an avid fan of her voice, it's really powerful and soulful with a hint of Erykah Badu blended in there. On Thursday, I had sent her a friend invite on her MySpace and she accepted. I sent her a comment about the fact that I had once booked her for an event that went sour and that I lost track of her and was looking forward to the Friday gig.

OK, back to the festival. We had managed to squeeze ourselves to the front of the crowd and Kraak & Smaak and Rose were awesome. Very funky, uplifting music that gets a smile on your face. Rose moved our way on stage and looked me straight in the eye....was that a look saying "hey, I know you!", or was I fooling myself?

Giselle was dancing her ass off (we found it back later after the concert) and we met with two ladies, who invited us to the after party in a hotel nearby. Some of the artists who had played on the festival would be there, some live music of course and a nice open air area in a light summer breeze. It was perfect and classy, although  we felt a bit out of place, since we're not really the quintessential jazz fans.

And what do you know, I ran into Rose in the hotel lobby. I walked up to her to congratulate her on a great gig. Before I could say anything, she said "Hi Pieter!" WTF? She recognized me, how cool is that? I felt like a little boy that just got some ice cream. We exchanged some how do you do's and you're so greats. Well, the latter of course me sugar coating her.

Anyway, we went our separate ways and I didn't see her later anymore. Meh, I had the "Hi Pieter" in my pocket anyway. At 4am my age was getting the best of me, so I called it a night and took Giselle home. It was a great night out, but next time I'm taking Giselle to some other music festival. Music with some chest hair, if you will. Next stop: Rock Werchter with, among many others: Metallica. Have I told you that I like all sorts of music? 

Until next time, adios and thanks for reading. Here's a video I found on Youtube, very similar to last night's experience. It starts with Rose with the fantastic keyboard player and after about 3 minutes it's party time, so show some respect for the band and see it all. Take it away Rose!

I'm an admitted forum junkie. I can't restrain myself from having some laughs with people from all over the world or discuss more serious topics. I frequent various racing related forums, but since a couple of months I also visit the Love & Relationships forum on MySpace. It's a great time waster for shits and giggles!

Everybody knows the internet abbreviations to express certain feelings about a post, like ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing), LMAO (laughing my ass off) and LOL (laughing out loud). Usually, in reality all you get is a smile, but tonight something really cracked me up and I really had to wipe my eyes from laughing.

Let me give you a transcript of the topic

"Does it bother you when your dog watches you having sex?"

I thought the title was hilarious already, so I joined in:

me: I don't have that problem, my dog can't twist her neck that far.

Pharos: try spooning

me: Tried that, but she kept licking my face. That's gross.

Pharos: she's going after that rubber ball in your mouth. Common problem. I now put peanut butter on the top of her mouth, keeps her occupied

That really made me LOL and wipe the tears from my eyes from laughing. I know it's silly, but having belly cramps from laughing is sometimes better than sex. Thanks Pharos, I needed that. I would like to add I don't own a dog, so don't cancel our friendship over this.

1) my intentions are strictly honorable
2) I'm only looking for pleasant company who would like to show me the best places in the city they live in
3) yes, I have maturity issues and fear of commitment, but I didn't ask you to marry me
4) there's more to my life than just the racing business
5) my wardrobe contains more than just silly racing t-shirts, it's just that people don't take pictures of me when wearing a suit
6) yes, you being attractive IS a reason for inviting you, but see point 1
7) I have read your "about me" section
8) if that's blank, you're really really cute
9) showing me your city gives you the right to a guided tour around Amsterdam, when countervisiting