Ken: Amsterdam

A lack of permanence has been a recurring theme in all my musings about “home”. I don’t recall being desperately unhappy anywhere. With that, however, I don’t remember ever feeling particularly legitimate. As my Mom was/is fond of declaring: “Your accent is so inoffensive!” There you have it. A dedicated denizen of neither-here-nor-there. Happy with that. Delirious in fact. But still, ever, ille-giti-mate on account of being never-quite-present.

This image captures a happy time of settling and finding comfort in discomfort. It’s the last little bit of my commute in the snow to my first Mon - Fri, 9 - 5 job in my new home, Amsterdam. Prior to this I had a career as a doctor on numerous ships in many, many warm places. On the back of a rushed move I found out I was not allowed to practice medicine in the Netherlands. As a result I spent the first seven months of my time here travelling to Sligo, Ireland, where my medical license is recognised, to work. Two weeks of each month there working, and the other two unsettled in Amsterdam. Cue September and a job (kinda medical) that let me STAY. I relished catching the same Metro at the same time every morning. Day after day walking past these impassive trees and into the -meh- office. Summer, Autumn, Winter took their best shots and still, the trees remained. So. Did. I. Ha!