Networking

People say that I am a networker, not in the bad sense of the word, but more like I have a huge network and I know people everywhere. It is true, no doubt about that and I really don't want to brag, but it does take a lot of effort to maintain such a network. The amount of money I spend on calls, sms, emails, letters and postcards to foreign countries is probably way higher than what a normal person spends on these things. I do it with pleasure though, as I like my friends and I want to be a good friend to them. However I do not get the same back from them, but I don't expect that and don't blame them.

The reason why I got to this point was a chat with a friend in which he said the following: "but I or anyone can't beat you in regards to communication, the networking miracle". Yes, I do care about communication and networks. He mentioned an occassion where he talked about an election observer mission in Albania and some funding in regards to that. There was some misunderstanding about it all and after I sent one sms to Albania, I got a reply back within 10 minutes and the matter was cleared. Another friend mentioned the following when he referred me for a job: "The second is Mr. Leander van Delden. Rarely have I seen such a good and effective networker as Mr. van Delden. This man, although with 26 years still very young, has shown himself to be remarkably effective in my previous dealings with him." I admit: it is a bit over the top, but it is how people see me. I can't say I dislike it. :-)