Dear Grace,
Battles
Yesterday was a horrible day. I’ve been asked for unnecessary paperwork by HL. I’ll provide it if I must, but I’m considering complaining to the Financial Ombudsman if they don’t ease up. It will cost them time and money to respond, dealing with me and the Ombudsman.
Then I had to deal with the bank and medical providers. One wanted information, the others refused to provide it. Now I’m having to write formal complaints. Typical of Patford House Surgery—they say no, then when I complain, they tell me they’re busy over the winter period. This is the same surgery that failed to diagnose you with FTD.
Crap Date
From the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew she and I weren’t a good fit. She’s very beautiful, a few years older than me, and has lived in Spain for several years.
What was I thinking paying for the meal? I feel like a sucker. Her dress and demeanor just confirmed she’s not the one for me.
The beard didn’t help either. If I had self-confidence issues before, growing the beard just made them worse. The 90-minute journey home in the dark felt endless, and all I wanted was to get back. Part of me was thinking, What a waste of a trip. I’m really done with swiping and meet-ups. When I got home, I shaved it all off and ended up using your spare razors for your legs.
She wasn’t interested in me, but somehow, despite not being interested in her, I still feel a sense of rejection. It’s stupid really.
But there is hope!
And then I see the light again… A lady matched with me last night, and we chatted for about an hour. I’m heading north of Alicante this evening to have dinner with her. She’s extremely attractive, and she sounds like an amazing person inside as well. There’s something about her that reminds me of you, Grace—she seems to share your values.
New Home Office
I love my new home office. I’ve got a picture of you above and in front of me, and it feels spacious—the perfect place to be creative with my writing.
Who Do You Think You Are?
You didn’t share everything with me about your Oma (grandmother), but I think you alluded to it in the past, and maybe you didn’t know the full story. Based on a newspaper article I read regarding your aunts and uncle’s naturalization in the Netherlands, I discovered that your Oma divorced your Opa (grandfather) in 1957 and, as I presumed, came to the Netherlands alone with your aunts and uncles. I also found out where all your aunts and uncle were born, across Java, and that Mabel was born in Surabaya in 1953. It seems they all lived in Surabaya until 1962, at least for nine years.
I think I found your Opa in a 1953 Surabaya newspaper article (May 10th), working for the Surabaya Work Safety Department (Mr. P. L. R. Kesaulija).
This is all thanks to the Molukku Museum in Den Haag, which pointed me to a website full of articles. That’s where I found out your aunts and uncle all naturalized in the Netherlands in 1969.
Now, I need to find out more about your grandfather Piet. From what I’ve seen, he may be from Ambon, as someone sharing his name was at a trade school in Ambon in the late 1930s. But now, I’m questioning if your grandmother could have come from the Molukku Islands.
Love you,
David
