Another project crossed off the list ... and a job

When Liesbeth took possession of our apartment this summer, the former tenant sold us the flooring in the living room and bedrooms. The only problem was that not all of the trim had been put on, and there were some large gaps (~2 cm) between the flooring and the wall in very visible places. Every now and then, I'd hear a gentle reminder about the trim not being installed yet, and I finally decided that I'd tackle the project. My father-in-law kindly lent me his miter saw and jig saw, and seven hours later, the job was done. Liesbeth was very happy. To help ensure her happiness, I made a concentrated effort to vacuum up all the sawdust from the living room. Fortunately, my cleaning job received the same high marks as my carpentry job.

It was very handy that I finished that task yesterday, because I'll soon be losing the flexible schedule I've had these last few months. At my brother-in-law Stefan's suggestion, Liesbeth and I visited a greenhouse in Boskoop today. (Boskoop is a village a few kilometers to the north of Waddinxveen.) We walked into their front office and I asked the receptionist about vacancies, and she went to talk to her manager. While we were waiting, a gentleman came around the corner and asked if we needed help. But the secretary was already taking care of us. Her manager told me about the vacancies, and I told her that I like to work hard and learn new things, I've always dreamed of working in greenhouses, and that I have five green thumbs. This sounded interesting. She took my CV, and registered me in their system. At which point, the gentleman who had earlier come around the corner, stepped out of his office, and asked if we could do an interview right then.

Turns out that he was the Productions Manager. We had a nice interview. Marius was quite pleased to find I was a native English speaker, because Starre Group (that's the company name, see www.starregroup.nl for the company website) is currently working on entering the American market. He offered me a temporary position, lasting from February to August. But he seemed quite hopeful, that after I show what I can do for the company (not everyone has five green thumbs), a permanent position may well be forthcoming. Praise the Lord for a job! I was pleasantly surprised to find out during the interview that temp workers also get vacation days ... my contract will give me 14 days vacation!

The company is quite interesting. The big boss (he's three times as big as Marius, weighing in at nearly 160 kilos--350 lbs--according to Marius) is Dutch Reformed. The lunch break begins with quiet time for people to pray, and right after the lunch break is over, the President or one of the managers reads a chapter of the Bible aloud and closes the time in prayer. How unique! I assured Marius that would present no problem to me. He also told me that cursing isn't aloud, and if I heard any of the other temp workers using bad language, I was to remind them of the rule. The company dress code is also very nice ... I'm supposed to wear trousers and decent shirts (no holes, except those for the head and arms) and female workers have to wear skirts and modest blouses/shirts. As he gave me a tour of the premises, it was nice not to hear any worldly music or anything of the sort. I'm very thankful for such a job!

As I conclude this post, I can smell fine fragrances wafting from the kitchen. Supper is almost ready. And I am ready for it, too! Tonight, we have the special privilege of hosting Bro. Philip Mawugbe, a friend from home. Or, rather, he was from home, but he's since moved to Canada. But that's beside the point, which is he's visiting us this weekend en route to Tanzania, where he's joining a missions team. But before I go chasing after more rabbits, I'll sign off ... and go eat supper!

SNOW!

This morning, I awoke to the happy sound of children's voices. I got up to look around, and quickly discovered the cause of the (neighbor) kids' celebration: the snow! It seems that even as leaders from around the world gather north of us in Copenhagen to discuss the globe's devastating warming. I remember C.S. Lewis' observation that while children frequently enjoy the weather ("Mommy, can [sic] I please play outside in the rain?") adults usually find something to worry about. This week, Copenhagen has an unfortunate overabundance of adults.

This past weekend was a blur of activity. Liesbeth had long been wanting me to paint the dining table white, and the day finally came. We spent Saturday prepping the table and applying its first coat. My favorite moment of the day came in the shortly after noon, when Liesbeth commented, "Isn't it fun to paint together?" I just laughed and replied, "In the same way that it's fun to bike on the tandem, and canoe, yes, it is fun to paint together!" It requires but little imagination to understand why people laughed at us on our honeymoon when they saw "us" peddling "together" on the tandem bicycle! But a later, Liesbeth really did help us paint the table. Though we lack the corroborating photographic evidence, she painted one of the chairs and part of the table, too. And, I offer the photo to the right as corroborating evidence to demonstrate that, yes, it really was fun to paint together. After much arduous labor (see the corroborating photo to the left) and another full day on Monday in which I applied a second coat to said table and chairs, the project was completed. Of course, the best part was seeing the finished product, of which there is also corroborating evidence. (In case you were seeking an explanation for all the "corroborating evidence" in today's post, I've been reading Lee Strobel's chapter on corroborating evidence of the Gospels in The Case for Christ.)

As a brief postscript, I'm guessing Michelangelo began with something like a dining room table before he graduated to the Sistine Chapel. I can imagine the birth of his "contract" for the Sistine Chapel taking place when the alleged Pope visited the Michelangelo's at lunch time. Said pope was so impressed with the alleged table that he offered the artist the chapel. Of course, I lack any corroborating evidence. But my interpretations probably don't leak nearly so much water as Dan Brown's (of Da Vinci Code notoriety). Hmmm.... the clock has ticked too far for me to continue with a second postscript, but I'll try to address the kilometer tax in a later post! Besides, it probably warrants more than a postscript!