Monthly Archives: March 2012

I am a useless mapreader and like to throw hissy fits

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Bianca Eder

The moment I left the house with a map which wasn’t detailed enough, I knew this was going to be a rubbish training. I was in a rush and with a brief glance on the map, I thought: “Oh yeah I can just memorise that like McGyver”. I couldn’t…

Off I went to Hillversum to walk the “Voetstappenpad”. Hilversum North Train Station was my starting point. TomTom told me I was close and I thought: “oh I’ve got to get to the other side of the station”. So I just ignored good old TomTom and drove off. I arrived at the Station, and after asking about 20 people where the start of the “Voetstappenpad” was, a policeman told me that I was at the wrong Station. Yay for me…

So I started driving again (I was already pissed off because I just lost time) I couldn’t find the proper address on my iphone, so just followed the original TomTom instructions. I actually ended up calling my girlfriend at home (I was already in a hissy fit by then):

“damnit, I can’t find the F***ing station”.

“I don’t know where I am!!!”.

“I am about to come home now”.

“This is just rubbish damnit!“

She kept her cool and directed me to where I had to be. You may think this conversation went really smooth, it didn’t. I still believed that since I was driving and actually seeing the streets, I knew best. I didn’t.

After following her instructions, I arrived at the starting point of the “Voetstappenpad”. And had no clue where I had to start walking now. Yes I called her again and yes I got more and more pissed off.

Finally I found the first sign of the path and knew I was on the right track. YAY! So I toddled off and started feeling happy again. On a side note, it is a beautiful walk if you’re able to follow the signs properly …

…. because obviously I didn’t. I ended up somewhere with no sign to be seen. I searched and searched and figured that I was at the beginning of the path again and about 20 minutes walking from my car. I just did a little loop.

Who did I call? And all the frustration just came out, my girlfriend told me to chill and she would direct me. But I didn’t listen anymore..so we started having an argument…

Me: I don’t know where I am, this map is just stupid.

Carolien: If you would just please listen to me for a minute

Me: no!, Listen to me, Listen to me..grmbl grmbl…

Carolien: Okay, whatever, do whatever you want!

Me: Ok, well I will!

I walked back to the car. And felt like a proper Idiot.

What have I learned:

A)     I know I need to have a proper map because I am the most useless person with any map. So from now on I will walk only the bikepaths. Walking from number to number… I can do that!

B)     I should listen to my girlfriend, she knows stuff.

C)     I wasn’t even able to walk the “Voetstappenpad” and I know, someone out there will read this now and think: you idiot.

D)     I went to a flowershop and bought her flowers to say sorry.

My Trainingschedule said I only had to walk 15km today, I wanted to do 28km and did 9. We are having a beer now and are laughing again ;) .

On to next week! And  yes,  I will walk 15km tomorrow

Categories: Training for the Dodentocht | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

First 34,5 km walk – Not a Walk in the Park

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Bianca Eder

Saturday morning I started off at around 09:40 to walk the Aeën en Dieën route , my starting point was Schellingwoude. About 20minutes walk and you really start hitting the gorgeous country side. The entire walk is on a Cycle path , so from time to time you just have to watch out for the Race cycles.

It was so beautiful, the first village I really loved was Zunderdorp. It’s all you imagine from a Dutch village, farms selling fresh milk and breakfast (Stupid as I am, I didn’t take any cash with me, only my bank pass) it was awesome and really reminded me of back home in Austria. I felt some nostalgia creeping up on me.

I am a country pumpkin by nature but totally forgot that people there seriously act different. I was greeted by people sitting in their garden, driving past in their cars – it made me smile big time.

The walk up to Zeedijk, where you can see the village of Markem in the distance was good and not too heavy. I started feeling my legs a bit but not too crazy. Thankfully the nature kept me busy, there was so much to see so I just decided to focus on that.

Saturday was a pretty sunny day, I didn’t take a baseball cap with me either (2nd time stupid) and the sun quickly got to me. Thankfully I had enough water with me, but once I had to leave the Uitdammerdijk to walk to the village of Ransdorp, I got more and more tired. My feet and legs started aching and for the first time, I realised how rubbish it is if you don’t have anybody to talk to. I couldn’t listen to music since this was killing my Iphone battery real fast and the sun just really kicked my butt.

Walking to Ransdorp really felt like the longest walk. Once I reached the village, gosh I was happy the next focus was getting to Durgerdam. I knew from there it was around 3km to get back to the car.

I sat down for a moment just before entering Durgerdam, I received some motivating text messages and tweets as support and that really gave me the kick to walk on.

There was a brief confusion after Durgerdam with regards to the Cycle path and where my map said I had to go, so I just went with the google map on the iphone and literally started counting down the km.

Keys in my hands I walked towards where I thought my car was. You have no idea how freaked out I was when the car wasn’t where I thought it was. I just pressed the button on my keys like a manic but nada… So I had to walk further and there Oh HOOOORAAAYYY I saw the lights of the car. It was 16:02pm.

The moment I sat down, all the pain was forgotten and I was just really happy that I managed it.

A cold beer at home, a hot shower and foot bath later, I started to feel better and most important I hardly had any muscle pain the next day. And this is what I call awesome good news!!

For the avid cyclist I can only recommend this route, it is really truly stunning. You see beautiful little villages and nature. There are funny little houses to see ( like Foot massage in the middle of nowhere and a Thai massage place in an area you really wouldn’t expect) But also if you enjoy walking, do it, it is worth it!

Categories: Training for the Dodentocht | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Recruitment makes me go YABADABADOO

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Bianca Eder

Most People who follow me on Twitter or have met me know : I just love Recruitment.

It was like a love story – love at first sight. Back in the day , somewhere in 2001 I started my first day at Manpower in London. On the Industrial Temp desk. Wow I had my own Temp desk.

When I received my first call from a client, who wanted to have 5 labourers the next day at 07:00 on site, I briefly panicked. How on earth will I get 5 people to start work tomorrow?

The rush of calling around, negotiation hourly rates ,  and being able to confirm 5 names to my client , made me fall in love. By the end of my first day , I had totally fallen for and into the mighty arms of Recruitment.

Little did I know then, that sometimes confirming 5 names doesn’t mean 5 guys will be on site the next day. There were 3.

In the coming months I developed the Temp desk in a smooth running operation. Special bonds with Candidates (Temps) some of which I called every morning at 06:00 to remind them : Wake up , you have to go to work “ and the ease to call clients and say: Peter I have two extra guys available for next week, surely you can fit them somewhere onsite? Go on ! “ And Peter did fit them in the schedule, just because – we had a great work relationship.

After MP I moved to another Temp agency and started working with Lorry Drivers. Here we had to plan around 150 – 200 Lorry drivers per week for various big clients. Running of 24 hour schedules. I am no big planner , but I managed that. I loved the constant trouble shooting. The calls at 04:00 am from a client saying I need another 3 drivers at 08:00 , and I jumped out of bed, grabbed my .xl sheet and started calling. Or the Saturday I was out shopping on Oxford Street, I received a call from 10 Drivers to be fitted in that day. I went to the  nearest Pub, pulled out my beloved .xl sheet and started calling.

Back then it was the Thrill of getting things done, being quick to the client’s needs, having Temps who you know you can call them anytime and they will do it for you.

Then I moved onto the Office Temp desk – which was like moving up the ladder back in the days.

Nowadays I only do Permanent contracts, the projects are longer, decisions are not made in an instant (luckily) its finding the right match for candidates and clients. It’s a different game but I still love it.

I love the feeling I get when  a new client places a vacancy with us. Finding the candidates and making them excited about the company. The nervousness I still get when I know my candidates are going for an interview. Seriously , sometimes I think I am as nervous as them.

And then the moment when you wait (it’s almost like waiting for your new date to call and ask you out for a second date) for the call to hear : We want to make an offer to your candidate.

When I see the phone number of my client come up on my mobile, for the first second I sometimes feel that my heart stops. “this is it!” I try to sound really casual at first , when we go through the small talk but inside I just scream : JUST TELL ME IS IT A YES OR A NO!!! .

Its a YES! What I actually usually do is shout a hard : YEAAAAAHHHHHHH . I can’t help it, it just comes out of the deepness of my heart.

And then comes the second part : Will the Candidate accept? Sometimes its a straight forward story, sometimes its hard negotiations but when the deal is round. When everybody agreed , the rush I get then is priceless. Don’t get me wrong, yes I just earned another fee and got money for that. So that makes me happy too. But it is also the rush of total excitement which comes over me, I can’t stop smiling , I am so freakin happy. I feel it from the tip of my hairs right through to my toes. My whole body is in a state of excitement.

It is a fist in the air moment. And that is why I love Recruitment. And the moment when months later you hear from the client : “We are so happy with your Candidate” and hear back from the Candidate how much they love their new job.

This is my eternal love with Recruitment , for me there is no better job , because it makes me go YABADABADOO or sometimes I Yodel as well.

Categories: Recruitment | Tags: , , | 2 Comments

What’s in it for us ? – The Big Question – Or just a wee rant and asking for help

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Bianca Eder

I know I have about 5 months to go ( 20 weeks) before the Big Walk, but I feel a certain nervousness.

I have read blogs now, how difficult it is to walk the Dodentocht, I know how much pain you can feel in your legs when you are tired of walking but apart from this, I am most nervous of not collecting the money I said I would.

5000 Euro – a magic number right now. If you have read my first blog you know I had 15K in my mind, what can I say : I am a dreamer.

I am a dreamer and I never had to collect an amount like this, so I feel like an 18 year old on the first proper job. It’s all a bit daunting, social media, informing myself about Alzheimer, training and collecting money. And then to hear from Businesses : We need a Sponsor Plan from you before we will sponsor you.

Yes, I know and quite aware it’s all about : What’s in it for me/us. A sponsor plan – freaking beat me up, what the feck is that? I got some pointers on what I have to do for that from a friend. I am not a naive Heidi;  still , sometimes the What’s in it for me – part really beats me. Part of me wants to say, “Well what’s in it for you is the fact, that if you give money and sponsor this – you ensure that research will be done and help will be provided for those who are suffering from Alzheimer’s right now. And for those in the future. “

However if you are a business and think this is a cause worth supporting, thank you. What’s in it for you? I will mention you , yes I will – will you get more customers because of that? More Sales? Maybe you will, maybe you won’t .  But you did something. So, thank you.

Maybe I am just that naive. But also sometimes I just have to let off steam. Some things are too big for one person alone.

The fun thing is individuals just give, no questions asked. Thank you.

Anyhow , today all of a sudden I received a tweet from @Ladilalala telling me that my FB page BiancaWalks is now live and ready to be filled with stuff.  She set it up, filled it with pics I sent through, sorted out the layout ,…Wow!

In the afternoon I received a Tweet from @BiancaWalks telling me, now I have a working Twitter Account! Again set up by Kim (@Ladilalala) . Today I saw Kim , approaching people, companies asking to follow me and  give attention to @BiancaWalks all day long. It was seriously awesome.

And it was not that she asked any PR for this herself. She just did it because she is an awesome , caring woman. Man I love this chick right now!

So, here I sit on my couch , ahead of me another Training weekend (35Km) and I ask you to help me and support Actie voor Alzheimer. Let’s rock this together. If you can spare a Tweet , tweet about it, Like me on FB, if you have a couple of Euro’s to spend , please sponsor me. If you know someone who can spread the word wider – louder – harder – connect us.

What will you get in Return? The fact that I will walk my socks off for you on the 10th of August, that  you helped Alzheimer Research and Support a bit more and all of that should just give you a warm feeling and the thought I helped a little bit.

Ps: If you have an awesome idea how to collect money – can help me organise something , please let me know. I am only  a Recruiter – creative with recruitment – rubbish with organising stuff.

Categories: Training for the Dodentocht | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Never memorize a Route (if you have my brain) and Twitter to the rescue !

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Bianca Eder

So today was the big day, after 2 weeks of an injured foot, I started this week with short, 4.6Km walks. Today was the big 25km walk from Krommenie to Halfweg, also known as the Noord Holland walk.

I had my Iphone, where I took some pictures of crucial roads and obviously used my gps, worst of all I thought I had memorized the entire route. People who know me, know I have the memory of a wooden table. As I was toddling along, listening via Spotify to BB King using the mapmytrack app I saw that my battery was dying fast. But I figured surely it would last.

After about 45 minutes, I turned left where I should have walked straight on, and as I arrived at the same petrol station again, I figured I should really use the map more often.

1 ½ hours further I looked at the map and honestly didn’t know, am I walking straight on or do I have to turn right here? A call to my girlfriend was needed, and she told me to walk on straight. Naturally after I walked on for about 20 minutes, I declared in an angry text that she was wrong and I should have turned to the right. So I was in a pissy mood already, damn it damn it I have to walk further than planned, it was raining, it was cold and my battery was at 11%. I had turned off my music some time ago, but having to read the map a lot didn’t help the good old Iphone battery.

Finally after 16,8 ( yes everything after the comma is extremely important too) I arrived at the pontje at the North sea canal, my Iphone died on me. This nearly made me cry, I had no one to call if my foot was playing up again or when I was ready to be picked up. I could not resort to reading the map, damn it. I felt ..honestly I felt like I was in the freaking dutch jungle of nowhere.

So what did I do? I followed the street signs, which made take a even longer route than originally, but actually I started to enjoy this. I had to resort to the maps on the street, figure out where I was, where I should go. I actually used my brain! I loved it!

And then I saw one of the most beautiful things that day: From afar I saw the towers of Sugar City, which I knew was going to be my end point. And where my girlfriend should meet me to take me home. I actually said this aloud : Ahhhhhhh vrienden!!! ( friends in English)

But I still had to walk quite a bit, then I realised that I actually wasn’t able to call her because my battery was dead. Once I arrived in Halfweg I dropped into the Cafe Herberge and there were 8 men sitting at the bar. The first one pointed me to the ladies toilet and when I answered that I actually want to have a beer, they were cheering, nice….. . I asked if someone had an Iphone charger, nobody did. Anybody had a smartphone? One of the guys, called Marco, gave me his Iphone, with this I logged onto my Twitter (big freakin YEAh I love you Twitter – moment). I sent a help message to @BPenninx to call my girlfriend to pick me up. @BPenninx did and 20 Minutes later (during this I had a rather interesting chat with Marco, who also bought me a beer, how nice!) Carolien picked me up.

So what did I learn? Fucking Iphone battery is useless. Nobody needs to memorize a telephone number anymore, just know which Twitter handle and send a Help Tweet. I actually have a brain I can use when technology fails me. After all I walked 28Km today, saw some truly beautiful Dutch scenery, met some really nice guy called Marco and arrived home with a big smile and a feeling of YES I did it!

If after all of this you think. Whooohaaa I want to sponsor this girl..you can do this here !

PS: Carolien (girlfriend) was right..I had to walk straight on. Ahem..

Image

See you over 25Km!

 

Categories: Training for the Dodentocht | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Brief update

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Bianca Eder

 

Two weeks ago I was walking 23,2Km, the last 5km were a nightmare. Somehow my muscles (as little as they are) in my right foot started playing up. Causing so much pain I thought a 100kg stone fell on it.

The next day I couldn’t even wear shoes anymore, we were busy moving and the ache got worse and worse. Half way through the week I went to the physiotherapist who told me I should take it easy and stay another week off Training.

Great.

So today, is the first day when I am allowed to start walking again. Starting with a small 10km , a bit anxious but I am well ready. I feel like I am running behind, but that’s not the case. Because for once I started something way too early and not leave it to the last minute. YAY Me.

 

So just so you know why there has been sweet all on update blogs.

Categories: Training for the Dodentocht | Leave a comment

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