would you like a bag with that?

Whenever I move to a different country, I know that life will be different from what I experienced in the U.S. I expect and understand all of the big differences, like currency, language, and business hours.

But sometimes little things completely astound me.

A few weeks ago I went to Quick, the fast food place across the street from my apartment to grab a meal to go. I was surprised when the cashier put this giant bag with handles on the counter in front of me, and then patiently waited while the cashier got my fries, burger, and even my drink and put each of them in a smaller bag. Then he took the three bags and put them in the big bag for me to take home.




I really, really don't understand this. The fries and sandwich could easily fit in one bag together. I got stuff like that all the time in the US, the fries never beat up the sandwich. The lived in toasty harmony until I would bring them home and put them in my belly. And seriously, I can carry the drink. I plan to actually drink on my way out the door thanks!

I wondered if it was unique to Quick. Maybe that is their thing, excessive packaging.

But today I felt lazy and stopped by McDonald's for a McChicken meal. I had to try very hard from laughing when the cashier put this bag on the counter:



Yep, every thing has it's own bag (well, except the drink because I snatched it up before the guy could even try bagging it, ha!).



There was even a handy drink holder in the bottom of the bag, which is another handy wasteful piece of packaging.



So it isn't just Quick, it's BELGIUM. I just don't understand it. You have to pay a nickel to get a bag at the grocery store and many other retail places, and there is a strong push for environmentally-friendly living. Yet these fast food giants have to waste three bags for a take away meal? Strange.

apartment tour part 2: the sorry state of my living room

So far these first three months in Europe have been wonderful. I love my tiny little apartment even with all of its tiny-ness because it is right in the center of the city, so if I need anything, it is within walking distance.

So far the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom are in good shape, decorating wise. There is pretty much enough storage and furniture to make these rooms easily livable.

Then there's the living room. Which is sad.


I got the table and chairs on eBay for about 15 bucks, which was about what they are worth, but they are not exactly ideal for relaxing at the end of the day.



Now this state of affairs is mostly because I don't have a car, so getting and transporting furniture is a bit of conundrum. Also, I have tended to spend any extra money on my travel plans to Paris, London, and Cologne over the next month or so.

While I do think that experiences are more important than things, I am getting damn tired of living my life with my only piece of furniture being my bed.

So I am thinking a cheap little IKEA convertible couch (SOLSTA, if you were wondering), and then one of those chairs with a foot rest. The big question is the color scheme for the room. The sofa is dark grey, and the chair is dark brown, which I know clashes a bit but those are the colors IKEA has so I can't do much else about that. I am leaning toward red, because I love red.

Is anyone out there a fabulous interior designer? Any hints or tips about transforming this place into a livable area would be appreciated!

Fat Tuesday

This past weekend I made my first trip out of Belgium, to Maastricht in the Netherlands to take part in the Carnaval celebrations. The first festivities began on November 11 (the 11th day of the 11th month) and culminated in the parades and balls taking place from Sunday until today.

It was a fabulous experience, the city was full of people of all ages dressed up in weird and wonderful costumes. I took tons of picture and they are in my flickr uploadr just waiting for me to add the proper captions, so I will share those later.

Today I just want to share my favorite float in the entire parade, I couldn't stop laughing at the ridiculous-ness of it. I have no idea who this is supposed to be, but now I really want to make something like this for Burning Man.



I could watch that every day and still laugh. Just thinking about those little feet shuffling along under a GIANT HEAD makes me LOL.

And now Lent begins. I am thinking about giving up speaking English (to people who speak French) for Lent. Either that or Nutella.

Or just not do anything since I don't really practice any specific religion.

But, I do need to work on my French and probably shouldn't be so free about eating Nutella by the spoonful, so Lent kinda comes in handy.

flat mini-tour

I am in the process of transforming my empty studio apartment into more of a home with actual furniture. It's challenging because I don't have alot of money and also don't have a car, so I must rely upon the kindness of others for helping me with big items.

So, at the moment the place is still very much a work in progress, but I can give a partial tour of the areas closest to being finished.

First, the kitchen:



I am thinking of a green color scheme here (hence the green striped carpet). What this kitchen lacks in counter space it makes up for with the cupboard space. And honestly, of all of the flats I looked at, this kitchen is one of the best. Many kitchens did not come with refrigerators, or even a proper stove/oven (instead there would be no oven and a hotplate thing for a stove). Since this kitchen had an oven, a fridge, and a double sink, it was the winner! I got the toaster oven thing from eBay for quick reheating of stuff and it even has a rotisserie setup (chicken anyone?).

Next the bathroom:


I plan to get another little drawer set for the stuff currently in the Body Shop bag. The hamper is great there since I have started doing a fair amount of my laundry by hand in the bathtub.



The little stepstool is for me to be able to get in and out of the shower without dying, since the floor of the bathroom is about six inches lower than the floor of the tub. So weird. The little wooden door in the wall is apparently access to pipes or something. I am not exactly sure why they didn't opt for a more waterproof housing for the opening, since it is in a shower oh well.

The biggest improvement that my latest trip to IKEA produced is making the bedroom a bit more private. Here is the before shot:



Notice that the door on the left is actually the front door, so when I come into my apartment, I am essentially walking right into the bedroom. This is not really the impression I want to give ALL of my guests, so I decided to get some curtains to use as a room divider, and it worked fabulously! Also I found a proper night table to replace my ghetto cardboard box one. Here is the new, improved entryway:



The only thing left for the entryway is to talk to the landlord about the ceiling light. When I moved in it did not work, and the light bulb was screwed in by a very strong person with very tiny fingers because it is practically impossible to get a grip on the bulb and actually impossible to unscrew it. Recently, the light started randomly flickering on and off and now it does work when I turn it on, but then shortly after flickers off. Since it is actually hanging from the ceiling by its wires, it is a little too dodgy for my tastes. I am hoping by using the french words for 'fire hazard' I can get it taken care of relatively quickly.

The living room is essentially bare at the moment, with an ironing board being the most prominent feature of the area. But as soon as I get paid again I will be able to start working on that area.

Better than the Fanta Girls

Saw this on Youtube today and loved it. I think the DJ teacher is my favorite. But a close second is the Soap Opera teacher.



The way the student says "That hurt" with so little expressiveness just killed me.

My own personal teaching style is probably most like Dragon, making things exciting but no so dramatic as Soap Opera (although the kicking the desk was classic).

Sunday Sunday Sunday

It's been just a little over a month since I have moved into the new place, and slowy but surely I am making it my own. I am still missing living room furniture, but that will come in time. My tax refund will come in handy.

One of my new officemates has tons of plants, most of which can have a cutting taken from them to grow new plants, so I got some free greenery for the new pad.

Here are my new friends on day 1 when I put them in water to grow roots:



And today, about a week later I put them in some soil, so hopefully they will flourish and fill my tiny studio apartment with brand spanking new oxygen!



Also today I ventured down to La Batte, the oldest and largest open-air market in Europe. There was almost everything that you can imagine. It had pretty much everything that one would expect from an open air market, tons of fruits and veggies, clothes and shoes. But there were a few unique things that I had never seen at a market before:

• live roosters, geese, ducks, rabbits and chickens (I don't think for pets)
• live peacocks and fancy birds (I hope for pets)
• racy lingerie (leather bits and naughty nurse outfits)
• buckets of tobacco (like 2kg buckets of loose tobacco for rolling your own cigarettes)

I ended up with the rather boring purchases of some almonds, zuchinni, and a rotisserie chicken.

But next Sunday, who knows...

delayed gratification

Happy 2009 everyone! I hope that so far the new year has been fabulous.

New Year's Eve was not as exciting as I hoped it would be. My plan was to move into my new apartment in the middle of the city and then go down to the river and watch fireworks. On NYE 2007 I was in Melbourne, Australia on the banks of the Yarra sweating like a mad woman and watching the fireworks usher in the new year, so I thought freezing my ass off on the banks of the Meuse on NYE 2008 would be the start of a river and fireworks NYE tradition for me.

But alas, it was not to be. Because lots of little inconveniences all got together to make the day become the exact opposite thing to what I wanted.

First, I woke up to knocking on my door. It was the dorm people asking if I was leaving today, I said yes, this afternoon. Then I was informed that no one would be there in the afternoon so if I wanted my deposit back I had to get everything done before noon. So I knew I would have to rush around and clean and pack everything much more hurriedly than I wanted.

Next, my boss called to say she would not be able to take me to the appointment with the landlord to get the keys because there had been freezing rain overnight and the roads were really, really icy. I said I could take the bus and do the appointment no problem, since the bus company's website did not say that they had suspended service due to the weather.

So I check out of the dorm, and thank goodness they let me leave the 120lbs of luggage I have in the room until that afternoon when the ice melted so I didn't have to lug it all over town. I go to the bus and a nice young man comes to the stop and tells me that the buses are not running because of the ice.

Grr..I call the boss back and we talk about rescheduling the appointment for Friday. Not really what I want to do, but alternatives are running low.

I go back to the dorm and they let me stay 2 more nights there. But, then boss calls and says she's going to try to make the appointment. She is my hero.

Then, all of it becomes moot because the landlord's agent calls and says the previous tenant missed her appointment and did not give back the keys yet.

So, my glorious celebration of the new year was in the crappy dorm room, hearing the echoes of the fireworks down in the city. The flashes of light in the sky behind the tree line reminded me of a WWII TV show or movie, probably because I was in the concrete bunker dorm room. I called some friends and family to wish them happy new year and then went to sleep in the early hours of 2009.

Turns out that the previous tenant had a small fender bender on the icy roads that morning. I got the keys and moved in on Friday. I am loving my new apartment, even in it's current empty unfurnished state. I have more drawers and cupboards than I have stuff to fill them, but I am sure that will not last too long. Turns out the post-Christmas sales here start on Jan 3 and last until the end of January, so I am sure these rooms will be full and my bank account will be empty before I know it.

culture shock: food

I heard before I arrived here that Belgians pride themselves on having good food and good drink.

With the amazing selection of fabulous beers I will definitely not argue there.

As for the food selection, I haven't explored the culinary options in the city enough to render a valid judgement. But going out to eat has been an adventure.

Mostly because my French is not perfect. I know many food related words, but not all of them, so I will have an idea of what I am eating but it never is what I expect.

For example, the first week I was here I ordered something that involved ham. I recognized "jambon" in the title as ham so I decided to try it. What arrived on my plate was something wrapped in ham, some sort of vegetable. Turns out it was endive, wrapped in ham and baked with cheese. It was pretty good.

The next week I decided to order something that I felt sure I recognized: "grill burger". I assumed it would be a burger and fries, but it was actually a hamburger patty, on a salad with fries. No bun. This also came with my choice of sauce, I guessed at one and it was pretty good.

Speaking of burgers, I am sorry to say that I have eaten at McDonald's or Quick (Belgian McDonalds) a bit more than I should (since really I shouldn't at all) because I have been cowardly about dealing with trying converse with a waiter in French. But even in the fast food world there have been some surprises.

Like, the fact that here it seems people do not expect their hamburgers at fast food places to be cooked completely. The first beef burger I had at Quick was pink in the middle, more pink than my American-E.Coli-fearing senses were comfortable with. Since then I have switched to chicken, like this Very Important Burger:



I confirmed my suspicions about the done-ness of the burgers when I was in line at McDonald's and they were putting trays of burgers out to be boxed for customers, and I could see red juiciness dripping off of the burger patties down the side of the bun. Now I am all for a good medium rare steak, but fast food burgers need to be well-done for my tastes. So I have stuck to the McChicken, specifically the 'large' McChicken meal, which is the same as the American 'medium' McChicken meal but twice as expensive.

At the moment McDonald's is having a special set of burgers called
Stars of America, I am curious about them, but I don't know if I will be able to get over my fear of pink for that.

By this time tomorrow, I will be in my brand new tiny studio apartment. I will be right in the heart of the city and have my own kitchen so I will no longer be dependent upon fast food and microwave dinners, then the real food adventures will begin!

Three weeks in Belgium

Well it is Christmas Eve eve, and I am relaxing at 'the prison' and thinking about these past few weeks getting settled in Belgium.

Mom reminded me the other day that I have only been here 3 weeks, and have accomplished a good amount of stuff over the past few weeks. It is good to have Mom remind me of that, since I often think about how I am not fluent in French yet and don't have a whole bunch of friends yet. It all takes time, I know.

I am moving into my new apartment on New Year's Eve day! I am very excited to have a place of my own, with my own kitchen and my own bathroom. I haven't had a place that I could truly call my own since August, and I am ready to be a real grown-up again. I went to get renter's insurance and was amused when I asked the agent whether or not there was a deductible. She spoke english, but she had no idea what I was talking about. So I asked (in French) that if my stuff is stolen or destroyed, what would I have to pay. She looked at me again like I had a 3rd eye and she said, nothing, you are completely covered. sweet.

The new job is shaping out well. The people are all nice and have been very patient with my burgeoning French skills. Luckily the holidays have brought several work social events, so I have been able to interact with people and feel more at home there.

I think the most exciting, if not exhausting, holiday activity was the indoor soccer tournament. I must admit, when the recruiters came to the office asking if I wanted to participate, I tried to make excuses and bow out. It has been years since I played soccer, and I'm not exactly the most fit I have ever been. But, my office mates and the recruiters encouraged me, and I signed up. They were short, intense games. There was a black eye and someone kicked the ball into their own goal, and fun was had by all. Against my wildest expectations, our team tied for 2nd place! My legs and back were sore and mad at me for the next few days.

Next on my list of things to do after the holiday is to get health insurance and set up the power and internet at my new apartment.

Zombiedog and I send our warmest holiday wishes!

Belgium - Day 10

After all of the bureaucratic hoops I had to jump through to get here, I finally arrived in Belgium on the first of this month. Finally! It has been challenging, both because I am in a brand new place, and especially because of the language barrier. I tend to get a little shy in new situations, and when I don't speak the language that is magnified by about 1000%.

At the moment I am shacking up at temporary housing at the dorms, they are kind of crappy, I have nicknamed the place 'the prison'. Mostly because of the bunks, the concrete slab walls and ceiling and the lack of color.


The days are short and cold, and it has snowed several times in the last few days.



See? It's got this whole post WWII depression thing going on, even with the coating of snow.

Also, my interactions with the staff have been less than ideal. The desk attendant has little patience for my trouble speaking French.

The bulk of my time these past few days has been spent getting set up with the internet, filling out paperwork and finding an apartment. My new boss has been amazingly helpful, taking me to look at places and serving as a translator when need be. I have been quite lucky with that. I was even luckier to find a super cute studio in the heart of the city, close to everything I could possibly need. Here is my street to be:


And at the end of the street is this lovely cathedral as well as a temporary ice skating rink, part of the Cite de Noel Christmas market here in Liege.


I've been going into town pretty regularly to check out the neighborhood to be and to explore the Christmas market. I had some delicious vin chaud (mulled wine) as well as tried some putein (fries, gravy, and cheese curds) from a Quebecois stall,it was delicious!



My most amusing find at the christmas market is the best bathroom sign ever. It made me think that Belgium will definitely be interesting:

Cash in the Garage

Last weekend I helped my dad have a garage sale



I manned the cash register and watched over the customers. It was quite fun, as I haven't had a garage sale with dad in over 20 years. We had much fun and we made about $200 bucks total. I was amazed at how much cool vintage stuff dad had, and was happy to take a good amount of stuff that no one else bought.

My favorite find was this space heater. It has two settings: plugged in (on) and not plugged in (off). It was made way before things like "safety" went into the design of small heating appliances, so it could totally burn the house down if left unattended.



But there were also some great items from my past for sale that made me a little nostalgic. This is what I used to type my papers up in high school before I got my first computer. It was so cool to be able to type in a paragraph and preview it on the little screen sentence by sentence before hitting the 'print' button!



And then I found my pac-man phone from when I was a kid! Turns out dad had 3 of these, so I snagged on in the original box, in case I decided to eBay this someday...



I remember thinking this phone was the coolest thing ever, especially since it played a tune when you put someone on hold, I felt so grown up putting people on hold.

I also got this super cute speaker that still works! I won't be taking it to Belgium, but I will keep it for my next apartment in America.



The biggest sellers on the day though, were these little doorstops for ten cents each. Almost everyone that got something usually picked up one or two of these. I suppose that this is the season for home improvement projects.

Oh yeah, and one more reminder

Vote! from Amir on Vimeo.

Waiting at the airport

Ack! My flight was canceled!

They called me about 2 and a half hours before the scheduled departure to tell me my flight was canceled for mechanical reasons. That's fine, I don't want to fly on a plane that is defective, but then trying to get to San Francisco before 11am was intensely frustrating and ultimately unsuccessful. Twice I called the airline to make alternate arrangements, and was disconnected both times. Finally, an hour later, they told me no can do. So frustrating! Especially when it happens before I get any caffeine.

Now that I've eaten and had some diet cola, I can calmly go to the customer service desk to complain until they either put me in first class for both flights or give me some frequent flyer miles.

It's disappointing because I scheduled the flight specifically so I could arrive in SF in time to go to a noon-time concert with sparkle.

I am trying to maintain a positive attitude on this very exciting election day, and I am very happy that the Las Vegas airport has free Wi-Fi.

Remember, get out and vote today!

VOTE TODAY!!!!

It's just after midnight here on the west coast, so it is officially November 4, election day. When I get up tomorrow, I am getting on a plane to visit Sparkle in SF, and we will see a mid-day concert, and then by the time we get back to her house, the first polls will only be hours away from closing. It is kind of nice to be on the west coast at election time because we don't have to stay up as late to get election results.

It is crazy windy outside here at the moment, hopefully that indicates some winds of change happening tomorrow!

I know, that was cheesy. I get cheesy when my patriotism shows.

I am so excited for tomorrow! Regardless of who wins the election, it will be amazing to see how many Americans actually get out there and vote!

I voted weeks ago via absentee ballot, since I was expecting to be in Europe right now. It feels like it has been forever since I cast my ballot, and I can't wait to see how my vote affected things.

Happy Nevada Day! Oh, and Halloween too!

On this date in 1864, Nevada was admitted to the union of these great United States. And so in all my years growing up in Las Vegas, we got Halloween off from school. Today the holiday is observed on the last friday of October, which this year happens to fall on actual Halloween.

So BFF and the family went off to enjoy their long weekend in a cabin in the mountains, and I am here with her mom and the pets giving out candy on Halloween for the first time in years. So far there has only been 1 set of trick or treaters, but it has only been dark for about half an hour so we'll see.

Part of my Halloween celebration involved getting some fabulous wigs to wear throughout the weekend*




The cat was very interested in the wig trying-on process, he wanted to get in all the pictures.



BFF was kind enough to leave a pumpkin behind for me, and I got to use my mad carving skills that I perfected at the pumpkin carving parties I used to go to in Pennsylvania. I am a big fan of the classic triangles and funny teeth look.



Of course the best part about carving a pumpkin is getting the messy yet delicious seeds, yum!!



I also put the spooky skull by the door to lend to the aura of halloween-ness and the cat certainly seemed intrigued by this new addition to the porch.



There have been a couple more sets of trick-or-treaters while I have been writing this post. I have noticed that when they say "Trick-or-treat" I say it back. Each time it seems stupid, like when you are at the movies and the ticket person tells you to enjoy the show and you say "you too".

Happy Halloween everyone!

*and especially to wear at Burning Man next year!