As the end of the year comes closer....

Things are winding down these days.

- Yesterday was my last active day of work at Cisco (wasn't that active either).
- Today the kids have their last day of school for 2007.
- Luc and Nivea have left for Goa.

One more week and it will be 2008 - I am curious what the new year will bring....

But first:
- a trip to the Ardennes
- a Christmas party at our place
- several play dates lined up for Elias and Mendel
- Dec 31 in Plopsaland (no long lines apparently)
- some family visits, but limited due to the above mentioned party

HAPPY HOLIDAYS everyone

The job thing..

After some thought, I decided that I don't want to look further within Cisco for a job. Instead I have sent my resignation to my manager and my last day of work will be the 31st of December.

On one hand I feel a bit sad to say goodbye with this part of my life. I've worked for Cisco for almost 8 years, so I have made many good friends there over the years. They have treated me well, I was able to work part time when I felt this was important, and I was recognized for my performances (most of the time).

On the other hand, I've felt for a while now that I want to do something else. I wasn't enthusiastic about my work anymore. Of course I love crafts and it would be a dream come true if I could do something in that area, however, it's not something that will give me a decent income so I think that I will just keep doing it as a hobby.

I've been seriously thinking about teaching. I will have to get a BPB (Bewijs van Pedagogische Bekwaamheid) which would allow me to teach, which I could get in 2 years if I take classes for two half days a week. I can already teach while taking these classes as well.
I checked online about what classes I can teach, and it looks like I can teach about anything out there with my current diploma (I am considering the age group 12-18). So that's encouraging.
I am going to update my resume, tweak it a bit for the "teaching" job and plan to talk to the director of the Atheneum in Keerbergen and ask her opinion about it. Would be great if they have a job opening since this is where Elias and Mendel would eventually go to.

I'm also thinking about creating web pages for local businesses. It's unbelievable how many businesses here in Belgium do not have a website. Sad really. So... maybe I could start a business on the side (and Wim would help) where we could do just that (and get payed under the table). Wim has a colleague who does this and he is earning quite a nice bit on the side this way. I have no clue how hard it would be to talk the local hairdresser or flower shop into a website though :-)

So you see... I am not heart broken, just full of ideas. Throwing them out here, but who knows what I'll end up doing ....

It's a small world after all.

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.

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...

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.

 
 


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)