The NS Break Up

NS

This is not an easy thing for me to do but we need to talk about our relationship. This is why I am writing you this letter.

I accepted early on that I would have to share you with other people and sometimes it would be standing room only. I knew that you wanted to be treated first class but I could only afford second. We made it work back then but lately I feel that there is a distance between us.

At times when I think things seem to be going well you suddenly redirect your attention via another station. I try to understand where you are coming from and listen to where you are going but I am finding it harder and harder to relate to you. It’s like I don’t know who you are anymore. We’ve lost that connection we once had.

I know our relationship has changed over the years. I’ve changed where I want to go in life and you have changed your timetable. Sometimes the two are not compatible but I’ve always tried to make it work, I’ve always find other routes.

But then late last night you stood me up at Rotterdam central when I needed you the most. To make matters worse you wouldn’t communicate with me and tell me what was wrong. Later, when you finally did opened up a little you announced that you had issues between Den Haag HS and Schiedam but didn’t want to talk about it any further. I felt like you were shutting me out. I tried to ask how long you thought it would take you to work through your issues but you told me to check your website for further updates on the situation.

And so… I waited for you and I did not say anything else.

This morning you did your best to hide the events from last night and put on a happy face. I didn’t want to say anything but I could tell that whatever had happened the night before had affected you more deeply then you were willing to admit. When I couldn’t stay quite about it anymore I tried to ask you what was wrong you simply shut down again and dismissively suggested I take the bus.

I think it is time we both admit it. This is not working out. You obviously have a lot of your own issues to deal with. I don’t seem to be a priority to you anymore and that hurts. I think it’s just best if we end it and try to go our own separate ways.
But if you are ever ready, if you ever sort out all your issues… I’ll still be here, waiting for you, on spoor 8.

Stuart

Stuart is an accident prone Englishman who has been living in the Netherlands since 2001. Even his move to the country was an unintentional accident, the result of replying to a cryptic job advertisement he found one day in a local British magazine. Since then he has learned to love the Dutch (so much so that he married one of them) and now calls the country home. He started the blog Invading Holland in 2006 as a place to share his strange stories of language misunderstandings, cultural confusions and his own accident prone nature.

20 Responses

  1. Invader_Stuu says:

    Thanks Tam

  2. VallyP says:

    Brilliantly expressed our Stu! I’ve had this kind of break down myself, but it seems to have been me who suffered,not Blaak…what are you going to do now?

  3. Invader Stu says:

    Try to live my life one day at a time I guess… just one day at a time.

  4. Dragonlady says:

    Sounds like British Rail

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