A rather late announcement · 1:25am Sep 28th, 2022
So first the mechanic stuff:
You know what to do.
Source
You remember how I told you that when I was on vacation to Seattle, one of our other mechanics decided to take some time off? He didn't come back.
To add to that, our high school helper also decided to leave in September. In a nutshell, we're now shorthanded again and have no chance to catch up in the near future. Also, I spent the last couple of days trying to put together an engine that our other mechanic took apart a couple months ago. A day in, and it's somewhat assembled . . . maybe I'll gripe about that more later. I've also got a partially-disassembled Traverse to deal with when I get this car done.
The good news is that I don't have to worry about it for the next couple of days.
'Cause I'm going on another vacation!
[SOFT BREAK]
Y'all might remember from a couple blog posts ago that I went sailing in Holland, which is in Michigan. It's got a lot of Dutch people there, and it's also got an authentic Dutch windmill.
I'm gonna end the month with the real thing (the country, not the windmill).
Probably won't see tulips; from what I know they're more of a spring flower than a fall flower. I dunno how many traditional windmills there are around Zeist, either—I'll find out!
[SOFT BREAK]
There was some 'fun' stuff I had to do before I went (besides just an unreasonable amount of work at the shop . . . did I tell you that it's been our best sales September ever, continuing a year-long trend? Like, by a lot). I think it all got sorted out, but we'll find out when I get to Schiphol.
Assuming all goes well, I'll be at Holland Ponycon, and I'd love to say 'hi' to any of my European friends who happen to be there. And no matter how it goes, it'll make for an interesting blog post.
. . . eventually 
Sooner or later I'll post that blog post about going to Seaquestria last May, I promise
[SOFT BREAK]
Looks like you are onto the pony planet.
Will you be taking the train at any point of your Eurotrip?
If so make sure you watch out for italians.
Have a great time, Biscuit! Looking forward to hearing about the latest trip.
Ooh have fun!
I am surprised that your boss is still allowing that vacation.
5689025
Most people there will be speaking headcanon Ponish and hopefully some of them will also speak English.
5689028
Yes, to and from the airport and likely to and from the con. Otherwise, probably not (although I don't know for sure).
I shall. I expect they won't be that far north in the fall, but I don't know what their normal migratory patterns are.
5689032
I will!
All y'all will get a blog post maybe with pictures at some time in the future. Given my publishing record, it might not be until Christmas, but hey, that's a nice Christmas present, right?
5689033
Thank you, I shall!
I know you subscribe to the theory that ponies' language is effectively Dutch, but I don't think this is how you find ponies.
Fingers crossed you end up with no spare parts when you finish putting the engine together.
5689036
He's not happy about it, but what can he do?
He did ask me today what time my flight left and if I could work some in the morning, and I told him no.
Also, lest I come off as complete jerk, I want him to take a vacation, too. He needs it. He was supposed to go on vacation as soon as I got back from Seattle, but since the other guy quit, he didn't and I think that was a mistake. We'd have managed without him, and he could have taken some time to unwind and I think that would be beneficial for everyone.
5689051
YOU DON'T KNOW UNTIL YOU LOOK
moved to PM
5689052
I'll be honest, I anticipate it.
Rather find a spare part before it leaves than have it come back with a missing part, like the last engine job I finished that someone else started. Miracle it didn't blow up; it was missing a coolant hose clamp at the radiator, which I didn't think to look for since I didn't know the guy who took it apart had taken that hose off.
5689055
I'll be headed in the opposite direction, most likely.
Although . . . I just looked on the map, and Google helpfully highlighted the 'cheese museum' for me, and I must say I'm intrigued.
5689049
Definitely!
Damn, I know a few breweries nearby. Let me know next time.
You remember what the NFL Europe team that played in Amsterdam was called? The Admirals. And now, a new Admiral is coming to Amsterdam.
5689048
For those not getting the reference.
You've been living the "Customer States" life for far too long without a break. Enjoy!
5689068
Thanks!
I did get EFNW and a train ride which was nice, this is just the cherry on top. If it goes really well, by the time I get back to Michigan, I'll've forgotten where I work.
Nothing quite like putting back together something someone else took apart. Something something free jigsaw puzzle...
The Netherlands is a lovely country, I hope you enjoy your trip there!
Footage of Biscuit trying to reassemble the engine (colorized):
Not too many windmills in the Zeist area (Zeist is around 10 to 20 miles from where I live).
If you want windmills, I'd more recommend the 'Zaanse Schans' or 'Kinderdijk'. Not like the Netherlands is THAT big.
I wish you a ton of fun! :)
Have fun and take care.
Have fun! If you have time go to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Have a fun and safe trip!
Anyone got any fic recommendations involving sone sort of "Neightherlands"?
Aw, I just got back from Holland and missed you! Have fun while you're there! Amsterdam is utterly gorgeous!
¡Have fun in Holland!
5689103
And the two biggest question is "which bolts go where?" and "what order do the parts go on?" (There are twelve or fourteen intake manifold bolts [I don't remember for sure], some of which are studs . . . it took over half an hour to figure out which holes the studs go in, and that one of the intake bolts was missing.
Thank you! I had fun!
5689104
Yeah, that's about right . . .
Although I don't get a scene break from "where does this go?" to "car runs fine, boss."
5689111
Didja come to the con?
That's gonna be a project for next time . . . now I've got a longer list of places I should go and things I should see, and now I also have figured out how the trains work (yay trains!), so when I can get back, I can ttake more time off work and spend more time touristing around the Netherlands.
Lovely country, by the way. I had a lot of fun, even if it was a short trip.
Airport was a little less fun, though, especially on the outbound side. I'll get to that in a blog post sooner or later. Might even spawn a story!
5689140
Thank you! It was a blast!
5689177
Thank you
5689202
I didn't have time, although I would have liked to. They apparently have a mini Rijksmuseum at the airport, and if I'd had more time there (when I wasn't waiting in a line) I woulda checked that out.
5689242
Thank you, I did!
5689269
If you didn't know, there's a Dutch group on FimFiction. I don't personally know of any such stories, although I think there's one HiE that starts out with a couple of people who come from Amsterdam (from years ago, can't remember the name of it).
5689418
So close yet so far . . .
Thank you, I did! I didn't get to spend much time in Amsterdam (besides the airport), but the countryside was nice and Zeist was nice.
5690414
Thank you, I did!
5690587
Yay! I'll be eagerly anticipating the associated blog post!
5690583
No I didn't... Probably would've looked you up if I did tho :)
And I'm well aware of the insanity going on at Schiphol... I can imagine that NOT being fun.
5690611
Expect it to be a while; I've still got two more for EFNW and one for Seaquestriafest that haven't been posted yet.
5690659
Shame, it would've been fun!
If I can go next year, I'll announce a lot further in advance. This was kind of a last-minute thing, and there were a few confounding factors that didn't make it 100% certain until I was basically on Dutch soil.
It was something. At least I had a good book to read.
Damn you were at PCH? I'm only almost a year late in noticing lol.
(sry for the necropost, I was just looking through your blogs for the print stuff that showed up in the Twilight's Book Nook 2023 Catalog on RBDash47's blog, but couldn't really find anything. Also if you were at the karaoke at any point you'll have seen me)
5745364
Yup, I was there. Got delayed on the way back due to cancelled flights. Was going to try and go again this year, but it doesn't seem likely unless I suddenly win the lottery . . . maybe 2024 will be the year
I didn't visit the karaoke at all, just sort of came and went. Was with Snowlaisaon the most often, and also hung out with some new friends.
You can't find anything if you're looking for my books, but I can PM you a direct link if you're looking to buy any particular titles. Or if you are gonna be at Ciderfest this year, they'll be available there.