Guus Bosman

software executive and technologist

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dailylife

English sentences

Thu, 11/07/2013 - 6:34am

We only talk to Nora in Bulgarian and Dutch, and she is getting more vocal every day. Everybody says that this is the way to go, since she will learn English here from everybody else. In fact, in a few years Dutch and Bulgarian will be the minority languages for her.

Still, it is a little scary to not explicitly teach Nora English. Will she be okay in school? Will she be able to talk to her friends?

A week ago, we heard Nora make her first real sentence in English. When we met Tristan and Calla on the street, Nora told them: "balloons! there!"

And toddlers have a great memory for language. Yesterday we overheard her talking to her self and saying: "happy birthday to you". The only place she would have heard that was when we sang at Ingrid's birthday, two weeks ago.

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Topic: 
dailylife

Early but not too early

Mon, 11/04/2013 - 7:51am

While I ran at 7.00 am it felt like 8.00 am -- end of Daylight Savings Time will do that to you. So slept in nicely and then went for a fast run, felt good. Even did the 4.5 distance.

Ran with my hat on which was good. It was 37 degrees. Cold arms and hands for the first 10 minutes but then nice.

Distance: 
5 miles
Duration: 
45 minutes
Temperature: 
37
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dailylife

Walk to Washington-Lee

Sun, 11/03/2013 - 1:55pm

This morning we went for a walk to Washington-Lee, the high school near us. It's less than half a mile but we took our time since Nora was walking with us. Since a few weeks we let her walk longer distances, without the stroller, and she loves it. She stops and looks at everything: flowers, stones, carved pumpkins ("poes!").

At Washington-Lee we saw the build-up for this afternoon's political rally when President Obama will speak to support Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic candidate for governor. The elections are this Tuesday.

We walked back and did some shopping at Giant. This was one of the first time Nora was walking in the supermarket and she enjoyed it. I had to remind her a few times not to touch the merchandise but she did well.

A nice Sunday morning. Nora went to sleep at 1.00 pm, which is quite late for her especially since today is the first day without Daylight Savings Time.

Last night we had a common meal with several of our neighbors at the 'taverna', which was great.

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Topic: 
dailylife

Preparing for Obama

Sat, 11/02/2013 - 2:54pm

When I ran past the Washington-Lee highschool I saw several trucks on loading chairs and equipment. President Obama will visit there tomorrow, pretty cool -- it's a few minutes from our house.

I surpassed my absolute minimum mileage for the year today. In 2010 I ran 358 miles and I consider that the lowest I should go in a year. Next milestone is the 2012 number, 379 miles.

Distance: 
5 miles
Duration: 
46 minutes
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Topic: 
dailylife

Early morning

Tue, 10/29/2013 - 7:53am

Nora woke up twice tonight -- she has a case of the sniffles. So I woke up for the 3rd time at 6:30 and figured I'd go for a run. Wasn't too cold, run went well. In the mornings there is more traffic, so a longer wait to cross Lee Highway.

Distance: 
4 miles
Duration: 
45 minutes
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Topic: 
dailylife

4.5 miles with Nora

Sat, 10/26/2013 - 1:47pm

I planned to go for a longer run today but I felt tired on my run. I was a little bit grumpy in the morning so I guess I'm really tired. When I felt my right knee weirdly while going up the first hill on Custis, I decided to not do 6 miles but do our 4.5 miles course instead. First time in forever that I felt something like that so taking it easy.

Distance: 
5 miles
Duration: 
48 minutes
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dailylife

Musicians

Sat, 10/26/2013 - 9:33am

The other day we where at Clarendon Commons and a group of musicians was performing for toddlers. There was a man in a gorilla costume and someone playing the guitar, both quite memorable for her.

She makes funny connections between the languages.

"Hoe zeg je klappen in het Bulgaars?" "браво!"

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Topic: 
dailylife

Morning run

Thu, 10/24/2013 - 8:14am

I won't be able to run tonight so I went in the morning instead. Sasha gets up at 6.45 am these days so I got up with her and left at 7.00 am. It was still dark when I left, but when I got back the sun had gotten up. As usual, early morning runs are slower for me. I stretched well.

Distance: 
4 miles
Duration: 
44 minutes
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dailylife

Bosbessen broodje

Wed, 10/23/2013 - 8:53pm

Last weekend I made blueberry scones. We call them "bosbessen broodjes". I'm not sure if that's the right Dutch translation but in any case, Nora loves them.

It is rewarding to cook for Nora. Tonight we had pasta with bolognese sauce and she devoured it.

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Topic: 
dailylife

On stage

Tue, 10/22/2013 - 8:56pm

"I feel like I'm on stage", I told the bicyclist who came in the opposite direction with impressively bright headlights.

I went for a run without Nora so I used my new running belt, instead of the highly visible running stroller. The belt works well but there is always a trade-off between having it too loose so it moves and too tight so it makes my sides start hurting.

Distance: 
5 miles
Duration: 
48 minutes
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