Further Proof 03/13/06

that parenting turns your brain to mush:

Anyone who's been around kids knows sometimes you have spell out words so they don't go nuts or because you don't want to have to try and explain something that's unexplainable to a 2 1/2 year old... e.g. playground (let's take them to the p-l-a-y-g-r-o-u-n-d later) and condoms (did you remember to buy c-o-n-d-o-m-s so we don't have to take our 3 kids and move in with our parents in 9 months?) Yes, it's taking advantage of the weaker members of our tribe because they lack the ability to spell, but as head lion (no, of course I'm not really the head lion, but let me dream) of my tribe, I'm OK with that. At the rate I'm losing my sanity, Simba could be hot on my tail anyway...

So anyway, my point - the latest hint of the dementia to come is that all weekend I was spelling words out unnecessarily, such as TV, as in (Hey, let's watch T-V when the kids go to sleep) and there were a couple of other morsels of pure genius that I can't remember (losing my memory too). Sara was wondering about me more than usual I think. It made me realize that maybe that Dear Liza song is pretty right on... I haven't reached Henry's level of idiocy yet, but I'm well on my way.

Things here otherwise are good. It's ffing cold, seriously cold, but it was bright blue skies and sunshine today. Man, Brussels has some gorgeous little neighborhoods... picturesque streets that lead onto thes old squares or big, lush parks, but none of what I've seen of Brussels is fairytale looking or forced... it's not a city that's been built piece-meal to attract people to certain areas, those areas have evolved naturally or seem to have been put there by a grand design that serves itself first and foremost... it's just a very natural city with a great blend of buildings and green everywhere. I wouldn't say Brussels as a whole is a beautiful city, the EU buildings for example are very unimaginative I think, but it's got these sections that could rival the prettiest cities I think, especially on a sunny day... Alas, those don't come around a lot this time of year.

Work is going well again after a bumpy beginning. Ethan's starting preschool at the end of this month and is getting potty-trained slowly but surely. Never thought 5 years ago I'd ever utter the words "You went POO-POO!!! What a clever boy!!!" with such energy and sincerity. Ah, parenthood. Sonia is a joy after a rough first few months, a different baby. It's like we're in a movie, and there have been two babies to play the role of 'Sonia'. We fired the first baby diva after 6 months, and this new baby has made the role her own. Sara is also doing well, working a lot of hours, but happy to be home.

My Dad's coming back for a visit at the end of the month, this time with an investor friend of his. We may be getting into investing in some real estate here together, we'll see. Some really favorable conditions in Belgium for buying property; low prices relative to other big cities in Europe and the US, no capital gains after 5 years, 30 year fixed interest only rates at 4 -5%, no income tax on rental revenue, etc. though there is a big up-front tax 12.5% to 21% depending on the age of the property. That's one of the big factors which kept the prices reasonable while London, Paris, etc. have been booming for the past several years.

There's also no capital gains on stocks, which doesn't affect me at the moment but is incredible as well. I'm finding out that Belgium is really set up almost like a Luxembourg or Switzerland in terms of tax shelters for the rich. Yes, that sounds like a very Republican statement... I'm a Democrat, but I'm not an idiot. Tax shelters are a very good thing when VAT is 21% and the top tax bracket starts at 36000 Euros/year and is roughly 53%. Yikes.

I'm writing again which is nice... very cathartic for me, especially as I don't have any coworkers to talk to and spend much of my time alone sitting in this very spot. Might as well make some use of the time in between working and while the house is quiet. I'm not writing a lot, but I'm not pushing myself either, and it's a good feeling, writing to write instead of trying to reach some goal.

I think that pressure to finish something (as well as laziness, procrastination, lack of discipline, fear of failure, the usual excuses) really paralyzed me in Los Angeles. I became used to the writers block and accepted it eventually, but I was beating myself up for a while over that lack of production, which of course is FANTASTIC for the psyche. Anyway, that's over now, the ideas up there may get put on paper before my brain melts into a pool of Teletubbies songs and mortgage terminology, but they may not. Either way, life goes on, there is a family to raise, a wife to love, and of course, in between, there's soccer on TV like 3 times a week and beer that tastes like wine. It's the simple things. : )