Auto ongeluk

- Car accident -

I almost died.



As some my lovely readers already knew, I've studied in Sweden and came back to my home country about eight months ago. I went there with a few classmates of mine and we have made a lot of new foreign friends from all over Europe. We organised our first big meeting / reunion in Brussels, which was gonna be held from yesterday until sunday.

So, Tom (the driver), Stefan (in the passengers seat) me and Danique (both sitting in the back) went to Brussels by car. Our journey from Amsterdam started slow...really, really slow. We got stuck in traffic many times and our trip delayed for like a few hours(!). It only takes a little longer than two hours from Brussels to Amsterdam. But after driving for three hours, we still didn't reached Belgium!!

So...one moment we got stuck and the next moment, we could drive again (on a normal high speed).

We were driving in the middle on a three lane highway. Tom changed lanes and went to the left...and found out too late that the cars in this lane was standing completely still...so he quikly hit the brakes...

And so...the 200 meter slip begins....

The car didn't stop...because the roads were very slippery of the rain from a few hours ago and we slipped and slipped!
Tom pulled on the steering wheel and changed lanes (back to the middle lane!) without looking if there was a car behind us on the middle lane. It prevented us from driving into the car which was standing still in front of us.
Thank THE LORD there was no car, behind us, on the middle lane at the moment!!! Otherwise we would've been hit by a 120km/h (75mph) speeding car!



The crash.

Because the roads were slippery, Tom couldn't get the car drive straight so we were slipping all the way to the right...
He pulled on the steering wheel again, making the car go left and hoping to get the car go straight again, but all of a sudden the car went a little too far to the left...about to crash into the cars which were standing still on the left lane!!

Tom prevented us from crashing into those cars by pulling the steering wheel to go right and again we went way too far to the right. Once again Tom steered to the left to make the car drive straight but it didn't work out...we were slipping the whole time and slipped to the cars in the left lane. Again he prevented us from crashing into those cars by steering to the right and that was the moment we made a 360 degrees spin, in the middle of the highway...

We were slipping and spinning until we crashed against the siderails with the back of the car. Me and Danique were so lucky because we were the ones who were in the back. If it happened with a tiny car, me and Danique would've been seriously injured or maybe even dead.

The car can't be used anymore and declared 'a total wreck' by the people from a 'tow truck company' who picked us up after the accident.



We got home safe by cab...

Once back in Amsterdam...me and Stefan went partying all night long at DJ Don Diablo's b-day party just to try to forget the accident. It was a crazy night...

I will post some more pictures (I've made with Danique's camera) later this week, which I've made right after the accident. Because at that time, all of our stuff (including my camera) was stuck in the crashed trunk.

Druk

- Busy -

This week was quite hectic, odd, no fun at all. Yet very funny.
My apologies for not keeping you up to date about my.........my graphic life.

I haven't been shooting around my city as I have been very busy with other things. But today I had to go downtown and I brought my camera along with me:


- I took this one while I was waiting for the red light to go green -


- Scooter -


- Cycling! -

Mama en kindje

- Mama & little child -

This will be my last post about bikes. I'm sure my dear readers are all fed up with my pictures of bicycles.


- Taken in the always cozy Haarlemmerdijk. -

But I just can't help it. There are way too many bikers in this city!

Waarom regent het nou?

- Why does it rain? -

I took the public transport to the building where I had an assignment for my internship. I NEVER take public transport, but today...it was rainy as hell. I decided to walk back home and make some pics. These were taken in Vijzelstraat. I took a picture of this street before. Check it out!


- Vijzelstraat with public transport -


- Vijzelstraat..rainy! -

Gewoon lekker fietsen.

-just riding my bike-

We had such a beautiful light today. But I was a little too late for that. Until around 2pm there's always this special light. I took a picture of that a few posts back.


Here are some pics I took today while crrruisin' downtown.

- Vijzelstraat -


- This was taken while I was just crrruisin' through the city. It's a part of my bike. Can you guess what part? :P -


- Peeking through a hole of cloths. I like spying on my neighbours... -

- And oh yeah, I got me a copy of Paul Arden's book: 'It's not how good you are, it's how good you want to be'.
I already own an Arden book which is called: 'Whatever you think, think the opposite'.. And although I don't agree with everything he says, he did changed a little of my way of thinking when making decisions. -


Have a nice weekend!

Chagrijnig

- being cranky / bad mood -

Oh nooo...2009 already started bad for me. I have received The Blue Envelope from 'De Belastingdienst' (tax company). Which means good or bad news. OF COURSE it was BAD news for me and now I have to pay A LOT of taxes...Bitches! I was gonna save up some money for a new iMac but nooo.
I have to pay almost one third of the price of a new iMac. Boy oh boy. It's hard being Jack Daniel. Always struggling in life.
(I also had a flat tire, so I had to bring my bike all the way to a bike...thingy! Bikestore / Bike-repare-store / Bike-garage.)

Anyways. My sister cheered me up by telling me all these stories of people she knows being in bigger (financial) problems than me and took me to a nice place called Latei. Perhaps my fellow blogger and only regular Dutch visitor of my blog, The Man Who Knew Too Much, knows this cozy place. He probably does...hence his name. He knows a lot...

Check out these pics I made during my crankyness-mood to happiness-mood. Amsterdam is the right city which can make you smile again, even when you're in a very depressing mood and struggling hard to survive.
Thanks Mokum!


- There were these different lamps (for sale!) hanging on the ceiling. -


- Cups, boards, plates. Almost everything you see in this lunch / breakfast place was for sale. -


- Then, after lunch we walked into an unexpected Asian event: I think the Dragons are supposed to move the bad spirits out of the houses. But only the places where they had how do you call this in english? for the Dragons. -


- Hanging up the food which the Dragons had to eat. -


- Cute Dragon. -


- My sister. Scared like a mouse of what's coming up next! -


- Firecrackers! -


- And then we moved along. Walking over the little bridges to cross the canals. -


- Of course, we came across lots and lots of bicycles! -


- Almost near our place. This picture (of Sarphatistreet) was taken when we were walking through Sarphatipark.. -

Cousin in Amsterdam

My cousin from Doetinchem (a place, waaay back in the east of The Netherlands) came to visit me in Amsterdam. And of course I had to show him around town!

Well...here are a few pics I made tonight!


- Near the famous 'Spui square' -


- Taken near the huge warehouse called 'De Bijenkorf' -


- Close up shot! -


- Taken in de cozy Utrechtsestraat -


- Damstraat -


-Dam -

Well, me and my sister are going to visit our parents tomorrow...'cause it's Christmas!
Happy Holidays to all of you...!