Mendel has asked me about a play date with one of the friends from her class: Stephanie.
I was trying to figure out who the mom of this little girl was, so I could approach her, but then I saw it...
Turns out that the grandma of this little girl is the same woman in the story I posted earlier: What a nerve...
Oops....
What the heck, I'm gonna ask it anyway.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
When it rains ... it pours.....
So, today is my birthday...
Not one I will likely forget.
Yesterday evening I received news from my manager that the transfer from CA to Belgium was rejected by the EVP. It doesn't fit in the BU plan of having development at 4 sites (2 in the US and 2 in India). What does that mean to me... that I have the option to look for a job in Cisco Brussels or somewhere/something else...
I have a few days to think about it and we will meet again over the phone to discuss further.
To get my mind off of this, Nivea and Ghislaine took me out to go shopping in Leuven. After we had lunch, we got involved in a terrible accident... a 60 year old man riding his bike felt down and did not move. We didn't see it happening but walked into the scene and rushed closer to see whether we could help. Someone had called 100 and most people were waiting, but not doing anything. Ghislaine suggested rolling the man onto his back while someone else started doing CPR. Once the paramedic entered the scene, I helped cutting open his shirt so they could use a defibrillator.
It didn't help, the man passed away....
Made me put things into perspective ... there are worse things in life than loosing a job...
Not one I will likely forget.
Yesterday evening I received news from my manager that the transfer from CA to Belgium was rejected by the EVP. It doesn't fit in the BU plan of having development at 4 sites (2 in the US and 2 in India). What does that mean to me... that I have the option to look for a job in Cisco Brussels or somewhere/something else...
I have a few days to think about it and we will meet again over the phone to discuss further.
To get my mind off of this, Nivea and Ghislaine took me out to go shopping in Leuven. After we had lunch, we got involved in a terrible accident... a 60 year old man riding his bike felt down and did not move. We didn't see it happening but walked into the scene and rushed closer to see whether we could help. Someone had called 100 and most people were waiting, but not doing anything. Ghislaine suggested rolling the man onto his back while someone else started doing CPR. Once the paramedic entered the scene, I helped cutting open his shirt so they could use a defibrillator.
It didn't help, the man passed away....
Made me put things into perspective ... there are worse things in life than loosing a job...
Monday, November 26, 2007
Mendel's dream
Mendel seems to be going through a tougher time the last few weeks.
She is missing her friends from Monticello and has asked repeatedly for Anu (Ms. Bindu's daughter).
She will come out of bed in the middle of the night, crying for her friend. She has woken up crying. She would cry at the dinner table.... really heartbreaking.
She asks me why we can not move back to America, she wants to move back for her friends, and it's so hard to tell her that we will not.
And then she found her own way....
One morning she crawled into bed with me and cheerfully told me she had had a beautiful dream. She dreamed that she had little pieces of pasta that she put in the mud and then all her friends grew out of that pasta so she was able to play with them all night.
I was so touched by her little story and am glad she has found a way to deal with her feelings.
She is missing her friends from Monticello and has asked repeatedly for Anu (Ms. Bindu's daughter).
She will come out of bed in the middle of the night, crying for her friend. She has woken up crying. She would cry at the dinner table.... really heartbreaking.
She asks me why we can not move back to America, she wants to move back for her friends, and it's so hard to tell her that we will not.
And then she found her own way....
One morning she crawled into bed with me and cheerfully told me she had had a beautiful dream. She dreamed that she had little pieces of pasta that she put in the mud and then all her friends grew out of that pasta so she was able to play with them all night.
I was so touched by her little story and am glad she has found a way to deal with her feelings.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Finally some pictures of our "troubled" kitchen.
I am glad with the result - although not entirely finished. Please don't mind the unpainted walls and wiring sticking out from the ceiling, a new house requires LOTS of work.
The breakfast nook also needs painting (it's part of the kitchen) but the lighting here is done.
I like it a lot, the lights can be bright when kids are doing homework or art, but can be turned down to a very cozy romantic glow as well.
The living room seating area
These are the sofa's that we had to wait 3 months for before they delivered them, but they're worth it.
It's finally a cozy area where we relax at night, read a book and watch some TV (Belgian TV sucks though - I want my American series back)
Elias's bedroom
Elias's bedroom is the one where everyone wants to hang out at. Maybe it's because he already has a soft rug to sit on?
A bit bare on the walls, but we're waiting till we find something just right to put there.
Mendel's bedroom
Isn't this a room for a princess?
I love it and so does Mendel.
In the corner she has a dress-up area where she stores all dresses and accessories. The walls are adorned with Disney princesses....
Our first house issue: Water Damage
So we happily painted the master bathroom last weekend (at least two accent walls) and removed the heater from the wall so we could also paint behind it.
In the evening I opened up the window in that bathroom so the paint smell could escape.
In the morning while I was still in bed, Wim told me that the heater hadn't turned on that morning and he was going to check downstairs what the problem could be.
Then I heard the rush of water .... outside ... it's raining hard ..... oh no, that's not outside, it's coming from the bathroom!!!
I rush to the bathroom (not seeing a thing because I wasn't wearing my contacts) and just hear (it was dark) the water rushing out. "WIM... WIM"... he doesn't hear me and I can't stop that water from rushing out. Then it stops.
I rush down and I see a nightmare.... the ceiling of our kitchen is dripping with water. We can see from the wetness of the ceiling that the water is spreading further and further, so Wim ended up making a hole in the ceiling so the water can get out.
What happened: the master bathroom tiles had spaces between them that weren't filled properly and the water just poured right in between.
To make a long story short: We called the builder, then our insurance, then Wim's brother (works in insurances) and then again the builder. The builder is going to give us a quote (including painting and deductible) and we'll have it fixed that way.
I am very glad the water damage was confined to the kitchen ceiling (the only one that had only 1 layer of paint) and that it didn't damage the living room ceiling.
Pff... it could have been worse... ;-)
In the evening I opened up the window in that bathroom so the paint smell could escape.
In the morning while I was still in bed, Wim told me that the heater hadn't turned on that morning and he was going to check downstairs what the problem could be.
Then I heard the rush of water .... outside ... it's raining hard ..... oh no, that's not outside, it's coming from the bathroom!!!
I rush to the bathroom (not seeing a thing because I wasn't wearing my contacts) and just hear (it was dark) the water rushing out. "WIM... WIM"... he doesn't hear me and I can't stop that water from rushing out. Then it stops.
I rush down and I see a nightmare.... the ceiling of our kitchen is dripping with water. We can see from the wetness of the ceiling that the water is spreading further and further, so Wim ended up making a hole in the ceiling so the water can get out.
What happened: the master bathroom tiles had spaces between them that weren't filled properly and the water just poured right in between.
To make a long story short: We called the builder, then our insurance, then Wim's brother (works in insurances) and then again the builder. The builder is going to give us a quote (including painting and deductible) and we'll have it fixed that way.
I am very glad the water damage was confined to the kitchen ceiling (the only one that had only 1 layer of paint) and that it didn't damage the living room ceiling.
Pff... it could have been worse... ;-)
Saturday, November 10, 2007
What a nerve....
It's 3pm on a Friday and my friend Nivea and I are waiting at the preschool door for the school bell to ring, chatting away in English.
The bell rings, the door opens, and all parent rush in to pick up their little darlings.
When I find Mendel, another mom approaches and the following conversation follows (in Dutch but I'll translate):
- other mom: Why were you speaking English outside to the other lady
- me: Because we always speak English and she is not fluent in Dutch
- other mom: Then maybe you should talk Dutch to her so she'll learn
- me: Well, we always agreed to continue talking in English so that I can still practice mine, as well as the kids.
- other mom: Well, I think this is not appropriate on a Dutch speaking school!
- me: HUH ??? < I started trembling with anger >
- me: Well, it's exactly that kind of small mindedness of Belgians that frightened me to move back to Belgium.
I could have said much more but didn't want to create to much of a scene and hurried outside to pick up Elias at the other gate.
Not wanting to scare others to move to Belgium though ;-)
The bell rings, the door opens, and all parent rush in to pick up their little darlings.
When I find Mendel, another mom approaches and the following conversation follows (in Dutch but I'll translate):
- other mom: Why were you speaking English outside to the other lady
- me:
- other mom: Then maybe you should talk Dutch to her so she'll learn
- me:
- other mom: Well, I think this is not appropriate on a Dutch speaking school!
- me: HUH ??? < I started trembling with anger >
- me: Well, it's exactly that kind of small mindedness of Belgians that frightened me to move back to Belgium.
I could have said much more but didn't want to create to much of a scene and hurried outside to pick up Elias at the other gate.
Not wanting to scare others to move to Belgium though ;-)
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
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