Chores

I dared do something very difficult, yet boring, and possibly unrewarding: filling the tax return.

In Italy it was not hard, for two reasons. First, I was (and am) an employee, and taxes are deducted from my salary. Second, in Italy companies employ fiscal consultancy agencies, so employees just talk to a consultant, and (s)he does all the paperwork.

Here, one is on his own. The HR department does not know much about tax forms. And the form is strictly in Dutch. And I didn't find anything in it about the so-called 30% ruling. I would like to have my taxes back, since I didn't have a 30% ruling in 2005 but I have now, but the form says nothing.

On another topic, maybe I'll have to change house. The rent in my current house will increase, and Elisa is not sure she will stay in Holland after January, so this house would become unaffordable for me alone. And that's a real pity, becuse I really like this house.

What you call heatwave, I call summer

When I came, I thought Holland was different from Italy. Well, it is, in the sense that August in Italy is a summer month, while in Holland it has an autumn-like weather. But there's something in common: people complaining about warm weather. If it were for me, summer should be 9 months longer. 30 degrees is the ideal temperature. Instead, people, TV and newspapers complained the whole July about the heatwave, instead of letting the other people enjoy the wonderful weather.

The heatwave is over, it's cold (that is, you cannot go around in short sleeves), it rains, and I severely need a holiday.