Yesterday, I took the family out to to see the steam engines. I don’t take them out much, but when I do…

We had a great time. And my son — a major Thomas & Friends fan — didn’t stop smiling all day. That was well worth the 10 euro price of admission.

The event was in Maldegem. We drove from Drongen up the E40 toward Brugges. The ride was about 30 minutes and both kids were fast asleep the entire time. Ahh… zen.

On to the steam engines: These things are much louder and smellier and dirtier than I imagined. And yes, I have spent time imagining what it would have been like taking a steam train into work very day. Now, I take the electric trains, which are reasonably quiet and clean.

At one point, my wife pointed out all the little black particles (not really sure what they were, maybe bits of coal or some byproduct from the steam) scattered on her and our daughter — sort of like steam engine dandruff you could say. I felt like a real bad dad for a bit. My poor daughter is only a few months old and here we are! Sprinkling her with coal jimmies.

Literally.

I was at a friend’s house working on the computer. My son was in the other room crying a bit. So I leaned over to see him… a bit more… a bit more…

POW! BAM!

Holy cow. I fell off the chair. (My wife would be keen to remind me at this point that cows aren’t holy!)

I left for De Jacht from Troon (where I work) at a little past 17:00 to attend a work party at Albert Hall. I went into the Subway to buy a 10 voyage Lijn ticket. I’m not sure if these little tickets have an official name. So from now on, I’ll call it a “jump pass”. Mostly because it sounds cool.

I took my Jump Pass to the bus stop and got on. The bus trip from Troon to De Jacht was uneventful and totally boring. The bus was full — mostly working stiffs trying to get home I suppose. 

When I arrived in De Jacht, I was about an hour early. So I walked around a bit. The intersection at De Jacht was pretty large — something like 6 roads converging. Lots of people. Lots of cars.

I really felt that I had entered the ‘old city’. I got this sense that the structures here predate the structures I see a lot around Troon and Central Station. If I had more time and a camera, I might have investigated further. It’s great how many buildings display their year built on a sign above or beside the front door. 

They let me into Albert Hall a bit early; I was the first one there but did get a chance to talk with some of the event organizers. Before letting me in though, I had buzzed the door and a very nice older French-speaking fellow came out to meet me. I asked when I could go in. He had no idea what I said. Then he said something and I had no idea what he said. I have <em>gotta</em> learn me some French!

Eventually, we resorted to animal sounds and pointing. I pointed to me. Then the door. Then I showed him 6 fingers. Then I shrugged. Something clicked and he responded with a nod, six fingers, and then 3 sets of ten. 18:30. Got it. Merci. Dank u. 10 minutes later, he let me in. Merci. Dank u opnieuw.

The party was our 2008 kickoff event and featured many PowerPoint slides about how we’re doing and where we’re going. half the presentation was in Dutch. I understood a surprising amount of it. The English slides helped. But in IT, many of the words are simply English: Data Warehousing, Service Level Agreement, Project Management, etc…

One conversation I had with a few different colleagues was the etiquette that surrounds the Belgian Kiss. You know, when two strangers, acquaintances, or friends exchange a cheek-to-cheek ghost peck. I asked a few people if extending my hand in a hand-shake could be seen as rude.  I’m not totally comfortable with the Belgian Kiss so I avoid it. Based on my feedback, it looks like I’ll stay the course. No new strategy. Merci. Dank u.

Then the magician came out. Ugh. I find it easy to see the sleight of hand when you don’t concentrate on what the magician is saying. Misdirection is his game. But I was focused on his hands and caught some of his moves. He’s fast, but I wear glasses now and don’t speak his language.

I got home around 00:10. It was a late night. But I enjoyed my short trip to De Jacht and look forward to heading that way again some day.

For the love of all things Holy. Gas prices here in Belgium would make any SUV owner in the US jump off a bridge. Or at least buy a bike.

I just filled my tank last night for the first time since moving to Belgium. 70 Euro.  S-e-v-e-n-t-y! In USD, we’re talking $110.00. Imagine the riots in LA. The extreme-commuters would disappear. People would be forced to take the bus! *gasp*

You might be wondering why last night was the first fill-up here in Belgium (I’ve been living here now since December 22, and my car has been here since February). The fact is, with the company car, I haven’t used the Rabbit so much. Just to get me to the train station (just a few km away) on rainy and super-cold days. So, after a few months of that, I finally needed to re-fuel.

As a matter of fact, the last time I filled my tank, it cost me about $30.00. And I did it back in December!

The moral is to keep using the company car and park the Rabbit. A lot.

I just learned today that practically right across the street from where I work (in the Troon area in Brussels) is the US Embassy building (which is in the Kunst-Wet area). I had been wondering where this was in relation to my building. I need to go to the US Embassy some day soon for my daughter’s paperwork.

It’s a lot of fun getting to know the lay of the land. I feel pretty good about the Central Station / Troon / and Kunst-Wet triangle now. I’m also a trained professional at buying cheese pizzas from the Pizza Hut around the corner.

And, to top it off, today is absolutely beautiful out. I’ve learned to really appreciate the nice days here!