Okay, so that’s it.

I’ve been waiting to get the final invoice from the bankruptcy trustee. Figured I had another 600 or so euros to pay.

I was wrong.

Instead I can expect a refund of almost 57 euros.

That’s it, that’s how it ends. Other than some paperwork to tie up it’s all done.

Weird

Four years ago everything went to hell.

Three years ago I was in bankruptcy court due to Covid-19 wiping me out. I was hoping to be accepted into the WSNP, a three year bankruptcy protection and debt restructuring program. After which, if all goes well, I will have a clean slate, no more debt.

I was let into the program.

And now, times up.

It’s all over.

For the first time since 2019 I will be able to keep my full paycheck.

So what’s next?

Funny how things happen, and why they happen. Sometimes the reason is very simple…things happen so the next thing can happen.

So, as for next…

Well, I have some people to thank for helping me get through this. Obviously my family and friends were instrumental, their support and sticking with me even as I fell apart is something I will never forget.

There are a couple of people I want to especially single out though.

First of all, Ernst Beerdsen. He was the first bankruptcy trustee I had assigned to me by the court in late May of 2020. He was instrumental in guiding me through the process, laying it all out for me, what to expect and so forth. He calmed me down by doing his job in a way that put a lot of my fears to rest. He also came up with the name for the book…but more on that in a bit.

So again, thank you Ernst.

I also want to thank Alex de Boer. Alex is the man who took a chance and hired me to be a mechanic with Swapfiets in October of 2020. While I did leave Swapfiets after over two years of getting greasy I still like to stop in and say hi to all the freaks still at the warehouse who are doing all the real work for the company.

Working there, especially the first year or so I was there, was a great stress reliever. Ernst was in charge of the bankruptcy, there was nothing I could do so all I could do was wrench bikes, get greasy and skin my knuckles over and over again.

It was awesome, thanks Alex.

As for the book, The Only Way Through is Forward : How an American Survived Bankruptcy in Amsterdam During Covid-19. It’s being re-written at the moment. What I finished back in 2022, while awesome, was something that still needs a bit of work. So to those who bought an initial copy or traded one for alcohol (which is where all the money I made on the book went anyway) I thank you very much. In the end almost one hundred copies are out there, some to people I don’t even know which is really neat.

But it needs work and while some of it is damn good some of it reads like a journal and there are quite a few typos. Basically what I did was a tape release party like bands would do in the 1980’s and early 90’s. So now it’s time to remix it and get a proper edition of it to send to publishers or, if that doesn’t work out, re-release it as an E-book, a next step that I am looking forward to very much.

But for now, right now…

First of all, some time off. I begin a new job on the 15th of March, helping to manage a bike rental company where we’ll also be doing repairs and helping out some friends who will be running bike tours out of the shop as well.

In the meantime I have a week off. So in addition to taking some Lindy-hop and Charleston dance classes I will be drinking.

And unlike the past few years I can now afford my own drinks, so while I thank everyone who bought me a drink over the past few years that time is over, I am now in your debt. I owe a lot of you out there a drink. So, when you see me out there be sure to put your drink on my tab.

I’ve got it.

You all had my back for the past few years, it is truly the least I can do.

Now the WSNP program was a three year thing. Bankruptcy itself in the Netherlands is a five year process. According to Dutch bankruptcy law I am not allowed to open or be a partner in a business until five years have passed from my initial bankruptcy.

That was May 25th, 2020. So in theory I will be allowed to start over again next year.

I’ve been thinking about that quite a bit over the past year.

Initially there was no way in hell I would ever consider going back down that road.

Lately though, I’m considering it, doing it again, trying one more time.

Some people would say that’s crazy, a literal definition of the word. Repeating yourself over and over, hoping for a different outcome.

Those people are quitters.