Sunday, November 29, 2009
Gone blogging... again
After a long hiatus going to start blogging again... twitter doesn't suit my rambling needs... been reading a lot of a certain author and he has a style that makes me want to start writing again. So, here goes, whether anyone (besides my very supportive and attentive wife) actually reads it... to be seen.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Trip to Spain
Took a week in Marbella, Spain. Really nice to get away and just hang with the kids. Spent about 60% of our time in the pool and the rest drinking sangria and eating oranges.
In other news, Ethan had his tonsils and adenoids removed and tubes put in his ears. School also started this week. He's doing OK, still recovering from the surgery. Zaza (as she calls herself) has started at a new creche and will be there until January when she'll start going to Ethan's school. Ethan turns 4 in a couple of weeks - nuts!
Summer (or what tried to pass itself off as summer) is officially over. Leaves are changing colors, heat is on every night... we're a LONG way from LA. The heat was on a couple of different nights in July and August... craziness. Let's talk about the weather. Exciting stuff. No energy to do anything else.
Hope all our friends and loved ones are well.
Photos from Spain.
In other news, Ethan had his tonsils and adenoids removed and tubes put in his ears. School also started this week. He's doing OK, still recovering from the surgery. Zaza (as she calls herself) has started at a new creche and will be there until January when she'll start going to Ethan's school. Ethan turns 4 in a couple of weeks - nuts!
Summer (or what tried to pass itself off as summer) is officially over. Leaves are changing colors, heat is on every night... we're a LONG way from LA. The heat was on a couple of different nights in July and August... craziness. Let's talk about the weather. Exciting stuff. No energy to do anything else.
Hope all our friends and loved ones are well.
Photos from Spain.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
6 month break
I'm getting worse with this blogging stuff. Like to say it's just because we're really busy (we are), but it's also because I'm lazy. And because we lost our camera charger for several months and so are missing out on months of photos.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=astubing
All good here, same theme as normal - kids growing up, all enjoying Bxl despite the shite summer weather we've had, work going well, really feeling settled now. Made some new friends, social lives getting better, casually shopping for a house, either as a primary residence, or taking advantage of how low the prices are in the South of Belgium and buying a vacation place - can't figure that one out at the moment for certain reasons.
Dad coming to visit in a week, then we're going to Spain for a week - my and the kids first time - looking forward to it and then England for Halloween. That's about it. We miss all of you. Hope you're all well. Photos of the kids and a link to a couple of random videos. There's probably a very easy way to post videos on here, but I'm clueless, so here's a link to my You Tube page.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=astubing
Sunday, February 11, 2007
2 months
2 months since I last posted - how lazy and undisciplined.
The honeymoon with Bxl is over and now it is becoming home. We miss all of our friends and always will probably, but the comfort level is much higher than it was 6 mos ago, and the careers are going well, the kids are settled. We've had a really mild winter and are now looking forward to a few months of spring and summer, with trips to Malta and Paris already booked and trying to plan another, thinking maybe Greece or Spain, somewhere hot, resort-y, with a steady supply sunshine, popsicles, ice cream and swimming/lounging with the kids.
Kids are good, overall we're much healthier than last winter, though Ethan was home all week last week with the flu. His vocabulary continues to grow, and he has us cracking up almost daily with his innocent, blunt observations.. An example: One evening a couple of weeks ago, she goes with Ethan to pick up Sonia from the creche, and while Sara is putting on Sonia's jacket, etc. Ethan has gone exploring as 3 year old's do, and he comes back and tells Sara, "Mommy, I saw a BIG BOTTOM!" Sara says, "what?!" "That lady, I saw her big bottom. She's got a big bottom!" Turns out one of the large-posterior'd women that works at Sonia's creche had unfortunately bent over right in front of Ethan, and he gave Sara (and another couple of women who were there a full report). While they all bit their lip and tried to get out of there as quickly as possible without cracking up, Ethan kept talking about the big bottom, and I'm sure the poor owner tried to pretend she didn't understand, but who doesn't understand a 3 year old kid yelling "big bottom!" over and over.
Assorted recent photos:
The nice big brother:
The not-so-nice big brother:
Ethan with his first go on the drums. At his friend, Leon's place. Gorgeous Art Nouveau house in the backrgound.
Video of the same: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP4UOTQCZkw
The honeymoon with Bxl is over and now it is becoming home. We miss all of our friends and always will probably, but the comfort level is much higher than it was 6 mos ago, and the careers are going well, the kids are settled. We've had a really mild winter and are now looking forward to a few months of spring and summer, with trips to Malta and Paris already booked and trying to plan another, thinking maybe Greece or Spain, somewhere hot, resort-y, with a steady supply sunshine, popsicles, ice cream and swimming/lounging with the kids.
Kids are good, overall we're much healthier than last winter, though Ethan was home all week last week with the flu. His vocabulary continues to grow, and he has us cracking up almost daily with his innocent, blunt observations.. An example: One evening a couple of weeks ago, she goes with Ethan to pick up Sonia from the creche, and while Sara is putting on Sonia's jacket, etc. Ethan has gone exploring as 3 year old's do, and he comes back and tells Sara, "Mommy, I saw a BIG BOTTOM!" Sara says, "what?!" "That lady, I saw her big bottom. She's got a big bottom!" Turns out one of the large-posterior'd women that works at Sonia's creche had unfortunately bent over right in front of Ethan, and he gave Sara (and another couple of women who were there a full report). While they all bit their lip and tried to get out of there as quickly as possible without cracking up, Ethan kept talking about the big bottom, and I'm sure the poor owner tried to pretend she didn't understand, but who doesn't understand a 3 year old kid yelling "big bottom!" over and over.
Assorted recent photos:
The nice big brother:
The not-so-nice big brother:
Ethan with his first go on the drums. At his friend, Leon's place. Gorgeous Art Nouveau house in the backrgound.
Video of the same: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP4UOTQCZkw
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Random musings and one year anniversary
It's been a while since I've worked in a big company, and I'm finding that it doesn't matter if it's in the US or Europe or probably anywhere else, people just behave strangely when you put them in a group in one place. The politics, the need for people to put on airs or be someone they're not seems an inevitable by-product of putting more than a couple of people together. It's weird. People are weird. That being said, I'm enjoying myself, but it is an adjustment.
A couple of things I've noticed. A lot of people at my office say good day (bonne journee) or good afternoon (bonne apres-midi) as they exit elevators. I got over my initial cynicism about it, and now I find it kind of nice, especially in the morning. What's weird is though it's an English-speaking company, and many people are Flemish, yet nobody says the equivalent phrase in English or Flemish - what's that about? Are the French Belgies just more polite than the rest of us?
One thing that's kind of sad is when someone says 'bonne journee', and no one on a full elevator says it back, so I try and always say it. I'm sure that they probably scoff at my accent but you know what, F them and their impolite non-bonne-journee-saying asses. Oui, oui!
On another note, it's our one year anniversary in Brussels. In some ways it feels longer, but in others it feels like we just arrived. I wonder if Ethan has any clue about all of this. Doubt it. I hope this will be good for them in the long run. I think it will, but I guess we won't know until they've grown up, at least a bit. Sonia is starting to communicate a lot more, mixing in French and English, and Ethan is talking up a storm. Some of the things he comes out with crack me up. The other night I was running the bath for him and Sonia, and before he got in, he said he needed to go pee, so I said OK, go to the potty downstairs, and a few minutes later when the bath was ready, he still hadn't gone downstairs to the potty, so I said what's up, thought you wanted to go pee, and he said, 'no, that's ok, pee pee and poo poo are sleeping'. I said what? (trying not to crack up) and he said 'pee pee and poo poo are sleeping in his bottom', and that 'they make his bottom big'. I lost it. If you think about it though, using his vocabulary, it's a pretty accurate way of saying he doesn't have to go anymore and probably is what he thinks is actually going on. Reminded me of that show Kids Say the Darndest Things or whatever it's called.
Anyway, it's inspired me to post a couple of throwback photos of my boy from 2 years ago this month to remind me and Sara how much he's grown up in just the past couple of years.
A couple of things I've noticed. A lot of people at my office say good day (bonne journee) or good afternoon (bonne apres-midi) as they exit elevators. I got over my initial cynicism about it, and now I find it kind of nice, especially in the morning. What's weird is though it's an English-speaking company, and many people are Flemish, yet nobody says the equivalent phrase in English or Flemish - what's that about? Are the French Belgies just more polite than the rest of us?
One thing that's kind of sad is when someone says 'bonne journee', and no one on a full elevator says it back, so I try and always say it. I'm sure that they probably scoff at my accent but you know what, F them and their impolite non-bonne-journee-saying asses. Oui, oui!
On another note, it's our one year anniversary in Brussels. In some ways it feels longer, but in others it feels like we just arrived. I wonder if Ethan has any clue about all of this. Doubt it. I hope this will be good for them in the long run. I think it will, but I guess we won't know until they've grown up, at least a bit. Sonia is starting to communicate a lot more, mixing in French and English, and Ethan is talking up a storm. Some of the things he comes out with crack me up. The other night I was running the bath for him and Sonia, and before he got in, he said he needed to go pee, so I said OK, go to the potty downstairs, and a few minutes later when the bath was ready, he still hadn't gone downstairs to the potty, so I said what's up, thought you wanted to go pee, and he said, 'no, that's ok, pee pee and poo poo are sleeping'. I said what? (trying not to crack up) and he said 'pee pee and poo poo are sleeping in his bottom', and that 'they make his bottom big'. I lost it. If you think about it though, using his vocabulary, it's a pretty accurate way of saying he doesn't have to go anymore and probably is what he thinks is actually going on. Reminded me of that show Kids Say the Darndest Things or whatever it's called.
Anyway, it's inspired me to post a couple of throwback photos of my boy from 2 years ago this month to remind me and Sara how much he's grown up in just the past couple of years.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Our nephew and cousin!
http://www.growingfamily.com/webnursery/babypage_view.asp?URLID=5I2H0L4N4U
Natalia and Edson had a baby boy October 27th, Anthony Casto Soriano, pictured in the link above. The delivery only took a couple of hours from the time she went into labor until the time he was born, and everyone is doing great. It doesn't seem real yet, that my little sister has a child. Can't wait to meet him at Christmas, when we're going to DC.
Speaking of DC, our friend, Jo, is going to be there to join us for NYE. Don't know what we're doing yet. Jo also came to visit us here for a few days, and she and Sara managed to squeeze in a day trip to Paris.
We introduced Thanksgiving to some of Sara's Belgian co-workers, had a lot of fun. Wasn't the same without Madden on TV, but it was a good time. Sara took the day off of work and cooked up a feast.
Some recent photos:
Natalia and Edson had a baby boy October 27th, Anthony Casto Soriano, pictured in the link above. The delivery only took a couple of hours from the time she went into labor until the time he was born, and everyone is doing great. It doesn't seem real yet, that my little sister has a child. Can't wait to meet him at Christmas, when we're going to DC.
Speaking of DC, our friend, Jo, is going to be there to join us for NYE. Don't know what we're doing yet. Jo also came to visit us here for a few days, and she and Sara managed to squeeze in a day trip to Paris.
We introduced Thanksgiving to some of Sara's Belgian co-workers, had a lot of fun. Wasn't the same without Madden on TV, but it was a good time. Sara took the day off of work and cooked up a feast.
Some recent photos:
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Gezundheit!
Winter has come to Brussels, sort of. It's definitely colder, but it's still really mild relative to this time of year, and it really hasn't been raining that much at all. Don't know if this is global warming in action, but if so, I'm all for it! Gore, shmore!
Finished the first full week of work, and what a week it was. Worked 8-7 or 8-8 every day, forgot what that was like, haven't had to do that since I first started in the mortgage biz, but then it was of my own accord because I had to work that long to try and sell as much as possible. Nice not to have to sell anymore, but I'm also going to miss being able to just pick up and go to the driving range or go for a run when I wanted.
My company is an open environment, meaning there are just desks everywhere, and you have these little trollies that you can conceivably roll up to any desk for that day. The reality in my department though is that you have your desk, and you just leave the trolley by your desk most nights ready for the next day. Of course the CEO, CFO, any managing directors, have their own office, so it's just us cogs that get to enjoy the open floorplan.
I've made a few observations in my first week of work: 1. People in general, and especially high-powered execs, really LOVE to get their writing corrected. I'm a shoe-in for the Most Popular Newbie award. The CFO came down for this little champagne "meet-the-new-people" thing they had for me and this woman who started the same day as me, and when I introduced myself, he said, "Ah, so you're the one who's wasting all our time!" I just said thank you. Profound I know, but I didn't really want to get into it with the CFO my first week. Then he proceeded to tell a story to me and a bunch of other people about the former chief of Sony who said he never spoke English in the US even though he knew how to because people in the US don't speak English. It was a really stupid story, don't really care that he was trying to insult me or my compatriots for a laugh, but if you're going to rip on someone, make sure it's funny. Of course everyone gave a polite chuckle because he's the CFO (and is rumored to be our next CEO). That is, everyone chuckled except him, he was practically on the floor laughing. Those finance types, what a riot. Anyway, good to know I've already made an impression on our future CEO.
2. Office politics are the same in the US, EU, anywhere you have more than a few people working in one place. People just can't help playing games, being passive aggressive, etc. It's really funny and really annoying at the same time. What did Sartre say, "L'enfer, c'est les autres" - Hell is others. He may have been onto something that old Frenchie.
3. Last observation - people in offices sneeze a lot. I don't think it's the healthiest environment, especially this time of year when the climate is changing and everyone's immune systems are weakened. Anyway, the first day I started, there was someone sneezing quite a bit, and I sneezed a couple of times, and I didn't say bless you for some reason, and vice versa, so I thought OK, this is a good precedent to set because normally I'm a relgious bless you'er to everyone who sneezes in my presence, and it gets a bit annoying sometimes, especially if it's not reciprocated. So I've made a conscious decision to NOT say bless you, at least not in the office, and I'm pretty happy with the decision so far (though I'm sure my fascistly-polite (or is it politely fascist) mother would not be impressed). It is weird though when one grows up as a bless-you'er to suddenly stop. My Pavlovian reaction is to say bless you, so I have to consciously stop myself when I hear someone sneeze, and in fact did falter once, and the woman was very surprised of course because I had spent a week of not saying bless you and suddenly did. I hope she doesn't think I like her or something. I think it's the right choice though. Anyway, we'll see how long it lasts and if I give in and go back to my god-blessing ways. Maybe I'll just limit my blessing to America, a la W.
That's all from Brussels. Ahh-choo!
Finished the first full week of work, and what a week it was. Worked 8-7 or 8-8 every day, forgot what that was like, haven't had to do that since I first started in the mortgage biz, but then it was of my own accord because I had to work that long to try and sell as much as possible. Nice not to have to sell anymore, but I'm also going to miss being able to just pick up and go to the driving range or go for a run when I wanted.
My company is an open environment, meaning there are just desks everywhere, and you have these little trollies that you can conceivably roll up to any desk for that day. The reality in my department though is that you have your desk, and you just leave the trolley by your desk most nights ready for the next day. Of course the CEO, CFO, any managing directors, have their own office, so it's just us cogs that get to enjoy the open floorplan.
I've made a few observations in my first week of work: 1. People in general, and especially high-powered execs, really LOVE to get their writing corrected. I'm a shoe-in for the Most Popular Newbie award. The CFO came down for this little champagne "meet-the-new-people" thing they had for me and this woman who started the same day as me, and when I introduced myself, he said, "Ah, so you're the one who's wasting all our time!" I just said thank you. Profound I know, but I didn't really want to get into it with the CFO my first week. Then he proceeded to tell a story to me and a bunch of other people about the former chief of Sony who said he never spoke English in the US even though he knew how to because people in the US don't speak English. It was a really stupid story, don't really care that he was trying to insult me or my compatriots for a laugh, but if you're going to rip on someone, make sure it's funny. Of course everyone gave a polite chuckle because he's the CFO (and is rumored to be our next CEO). That is, everyone chuckled except him, he was practically on the floor laughing. Those finance types, what a riot. Anyway, good to know I've already made an impression on our future CEO.
2. Office politics are the same in the US, EU, anywhere you have more than a few people working in one place. People just can't help playing games, being passive aggressive, etc. It's really funny and really annoying at the same time. What did Sartre say, "L'enfer, c'est les autres" - Hell is others. He may have been onto something that old Frenchie.
3. Last observation - people in offices sneeze a lot. I don't think it's the healthiest environment, especially this time of year when the climate is changing and everyone's immune systems are weakened. Anyway, the first day I started, there was someone sneezing quite a bit, and I sneezed a couple of times, and I didn't say bless you for some reason, and vice versa, so I thought OK, this is a good precedent to set because normally I'm a relgious bless you'er to everyone who sneezes in my presence, and it gets a bit annoying sometimes, especially if it's not reciprocated. So I've made a conscious decision to NOT say bless you, at least not in the office, and I'm pretty happy with the decision so far (though I'm sure my fascistly-polite (or is it politely fascist) mother would not be impressed). It is weird though when one grows up as a bless-you'er to suddenly stop. My Pavlovian reaction is to say bless you, so I have to consciously stop myself when I hear someone sneeze, and in fact did falter once, and the woman was very surprised of course because I had spent a week of not saying bless you and suddenly did. I hope she doesn't think I like her or something. I think it's the right choice though. Anyway, we'll see how long it lasts and if I give in and go back to my god-blessing ways. Maybe I'll just limit my blessing to America, a la W.
That's all from Brussels. Ahh-choo!
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Halloween, job and Movie Hero
Couple of photos from Halloween when Claire, Dom and Ellie came to visit. Good times, as it always is when we're with those guys. Jo's visiting now, went out in Antwerp last night until 3am, feeling a little rough today. Photos to follow, haven't downloaded yet.
Halloween. Ethan and Ellie were pumpkins, Sonia a cat.
Got that job, started last Thursday, working in the legal department, writing/editing the documents for the board and committee meetings. It's pretty dry material, but it's the first job where I'm writing and editing for a living, so I think I'm really going to like it. It's definitely going to keep me busy as there are a total of about 80 committees between the hq in Bxl and the offices in Amsterdam, Paris, London with more expansion expected.
Some other good news, this time re the Movie Hero , that movie I was involved with a few years back. It came out on DVD November 7th and is available at Netflix, Amazon, etc. I won't see a penny of any profits unless we sell about a million copies, but it's still a cool feeling. All the credit goes to Brad, I haven't lifted a finger on the film for probably 3 years. A lifetime ago.
Halloween. Ethan and Ellie were pumpkins, Sonia a cat.
Got that job, started last Thursday, working in the legal department, writing/editing the documents for the board and committee meetings. It's pretty dry material, but it's the first job where I'm writing and editing for a living, so I think I'm really going to like it. It's definitely going to keep me busy as there are a total of about 80 committees between the hq in Bxl and the offices in Amsterdam, Paris, London with more expansion expected.
Some other good news, this time re the Movie Hero , that movie I was involved with a few years back. It came out on DVD November 7th and is available at Netflix, Amazon, etc. I won't see a penny of any profits unless we sell about a million copies, but it's still a cool feeling. All the credit goes to Brad, I haven't lifted a finger on the film for probably 3 years. A lifetime ago.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Junk Jol
So I got that job offer last Friday, but can you believe HR still hasn't called me to officially offer it to me, begin salary negotiations, etc.?? Going on a second interview with Bank of New York today, and just sent off my CV for a job with Fortis because I really don't know what's going on with Euroclear... very strange.
Though not as strange as this... While wasting time online, predictably reading about football, I came across this in a profile of Martin Jol, the Dutch coach of Tottenham Hotspurs, one of the teams in the English Premier League.
"Martin Jol has 2 brothers, Cock (Cornelius) and Dick, who are both active in the world of football. Cock Jol is currently an overseas scout for Tottenham, whilst Dick Jol is a FIFA-accredited international referee, taking charge of the 2001 UEFA Champions League final."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Jol
What the f?? Cock and Dick?? They all speak English, they must know how that sounds. My only explanation is that those two are hung like horses, and unlucky Martin is more anatomically human, otherwise why wouldn't he be known as Package Jol or Junk Jol or something. Bizarre, but blogworthy.
Toodles,
Cock and Balls Sulaimani
Though not as strange as this... While wasting time online, predictably reading about football, I came across this in a profile of Martin Jol, the Dutch coach of Tottenham Hotspurs, one of the teams in the English Premier League.
"Martin Jol has 2 brothers, Cock (Cornelius) and Dick, who are both active in the world of football. Cock Jol is currently an overseas scout for Tottenham, whilst Dick Jol is a FIFA-accredited international referee, taking charge of the 2001 UEFA Champions League final."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Jol
What the f?? Cock and Dick?? They all speak English, they must know how that sounds. My only explanation is that those two are hung like horses, and unlucky Martin is more anatomically human, otherwise why wouldn't he be known as Package Jol or Junk Jol or something. Bizarre, but blogworthy.
Toodles,
Cock and Balls Sulaimani
Friday, October 06, 2006
Sara in the news
Sara was interviewed by an Ad magazine, and though she's trying to downplay it, it's cool that they wanted to speak with her. I've scanned the article to show it off because I'm really proud of her. She's been working her ass off, and it's been a difficult transition for in part because she's gone from having such a good network of colleagues and fellow art buyers in LA to being all by herself here, but it seems like she's coming into her own and starting to enjoy her work.
The article is in French, and I don't know if it's online somewhere, but I couldn't find it. I did find that the Eurostar campaign Sara worked on was named Campaign of the Month by the same magazine... pretty cool. Of course, she never mentioned it.
http://www.mm.be/fr/cotm.php?id=792&page=3
Here's the interview JPEG:
Also a couple of random photos from when my Mom was visiting.
I love this photo of Sara and the kids when we went to feed the ducks and swans at the park by our house. I think the kids were eating the old bread intended for the birds. You'd think we didn't feed them... the kids I mean. I think the birds did get fed in the end, after the kids had their fill. ;) The doctor today said Ethan has grown 4 cm in 4 months which is a lot I guess. Part of the reason he keeps getting sick is (besides snacking on old bread) because his body is using so much energy to enable the growth. He's been off of school since Tuesday afternoon with a chest, nose, ear and throat infection! Doc said he'll have to have his tonsils out this Spring/Summer, and then his sleeping and health will get better... a big relief. Sara and I have had to alternate sleeping with him while he's been sick and the kid doesn't sleep well at all... it's like has sleep apnea or something, and so he's constantly moving around, flopping around like a fish and kicking us in the back or ribs. Makes for an interesting night. Could be worse I guess - he could kick me in the... Then it really would be night night. Or, as he uses it daily, "But I don't wanna go nigh, nigh!"
I went in for the 4th interview with that bank today, ostensibly to take a writing test, and they told me they'll let me know Wednesday. I'm trying to remain positie, but I just think if they wanted me, they would have told me already. Perhaps this is just normal process, and the other guy (it's between me and some English bloke) is thinking the same thing as me. Had an interview with Whirlpool on Thursday that went really well I think, so that's an interesting possibility as well. I've read a lot about them, and they seem like a well-run company that is poised for significant growth as markets in E. Europe and Asia mature. Anyway, we shall see.
The article is in French, and I don't know if it's online somewhere, but I couldn't find it. I did find that the Eurostar campaign Sara worked on was named Campaign of the Month by the same magazine... pretty cool. Of course, she never mentioned it.
http://www.mm.be/fr/cotm.php?id=792&page=3
Here's the interview JPEG:
Also a couple of random photos from when my Mom was visiting.
I love this photo of Sara and the kids when we went to feed the ducks and swans at the park by our house. I think the kids were eating the old bread intended for the birds. You'd think we didn't feed them... the kids I mean. I think the birds did get fed in the end, after the kids had their fill. ;) The doctor today said Ethan has grown 4 cm in 4 months which is a lot I guess. Part of the reason he keeps getting sick is (besides snacking on old bread) because his body is using so much energy to enable the growth. He's been off of school since Tuesday afternoon with a chest, nose, ear and throat infection! Doc said he'll have to have his tonsils out this Spring/Summer, and then his sleeping and health will get better... a big relief. Sara and I have had to alternate sleeping with him while he's been sick and the kid doesn't sleep well at all... it's like has sleep apnea or something, and so he's constantly moving around, flopping around like a fish and kicking us in the back or ribs. Makes for an interesting night. Could be worse I guess - he could kick me in the... Then it really would be night night. Or, as he uses it daily, "But I don't wanna go nigh, nigh!"
I went in for the 4th interview with that bank today, ostensibly to take a writing test, and they told me they'll let me know Wednesday. I'm trying to remain positie, but I just think if they wanted me, they would have told me already. Perhaps this is just normal process, and the other guy (it's between me and some English bloke) is thinking the same thing as me. Had an interview with Whirlpool on Thursday that went really well I think, so that's an interesting possibility as well. I've read a lot about them, and they seem like a well-run company that is poised for significant growth as markets in E. Europe and Asia mature. Anyway, we shall see.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Nothing new
to report really. Will find out Friday about that bank job, and I have an interview on Thursday with an American multi-national, think it's Whirlpool, but the headhunter woman wouldn't tell me for sure, just the location and the industry. Certainly not my dream job, but with a big company like that, it could lead to a lot of opportunities to get into the Communications side where I think I'll probably end up, regardless of the company or my starting point.
Sick season has arrived already and with a vengeance. Sonia has a mild case of bronchitis, and Ethan came home sick today from school with a high fever. Part of the deal with having kids in creches, daycare, etc. Other than that, same old. Played 9 holes of golf today with a fellow unemployed husband, Petter, Swedish, good guy, helpful with my game, interesting to talk to. We both felt a little ridiculous out there being the only people under 60, like dandies really, but we're both actively job-hunting, and until we get the call from the Man, might as well enjoy ourselves and work on our games, which in my case could take the next couple of decades. We went to this course called Chateau de la Tournette in Nivelles, about 30 mins south of Brussels, not far from Waterloo. Really nice. Have 2 full 18's, one English, one American, and a 9 hole beginners course. We played the front 9 of the American. Really pretty and very challenging, especially with the putting. And I thought that was the one part of my game that was OK... yikes. Think I two-put maybe 1 or 2 holes, and the rest were 3 puts. Didn't play terribly overall, but had a couple of disastrous holes that really killed my round.
Photos of the last couple of weeks:
Went to visit the Waterloo Lion and Beersel Castle with our friends Eric and Jen and their daughter Cameron on the Saturday a couple of weekends ago and then the Boitsfort market on the Sunday for a picnic in the park. Sonia is finally walking, albeit trepidly. It's amazing the differences between Ethan and her. Ethan was walking at 11 months and running at about 12 months, and he can't sit still to save his life. Sonia is barely now walking at 16 months, and would love nothing more than to be in your arms and be cuddled for hours on end.
Was starting to wonder about my Skins after the rough beginning to the season, but after the last couple of weeks, thinking maybe all is not lost. This week's game vs the Gints is huge. GO SKINS!
Sick season has arrived already and with a vengeance. Sonia has a mild case of bronchitis, and Ethan came home sick today from school with a high fever. Part of the deal with having kids in creches, daycare, etc. Other than that, same old. Played 9 holes of golf today with a fellow unemployed husband, Petter, Swedish, good guy, helpful with my game, interesting to talk to. We both felt a little ridiculous out there being the only people under 60, like dandies really, but we're both actively job-hunting, and until we get the call from the Man, might as well enjoy ourselves and work on our games, which in my case could take the next couple of decades. We went to this course called Chateau de la Tournette in Nivelles, about 30 mins south of Brussels, not far from Waterloo. Really nice. Have 2 full 18's, one English, one American, and a 9 hole beginners course. We played the front 9 of the American. Really pretty and very challenging, especially with the putting. And I thought that was the one part of my game that was OK... yikes. Think I two-put maybe 1 or 2 holes, and the rest were 3 puts. Didn't play terribly overall, but had a couple of disastrous holes that really killed my round.
Photos of the last couple of weeks:
Went to visit the Waterloo Lion and Beersel Castle with our friends Eric and Jen and their daughter Cameron on the Saturday a couple of weekends ago and then the Boitsfort market on the Sunday for a picnic in the park. Sonia is finally walking, albeit trepidly. It's amazing the differences between Ethan and her. Ethan was walking at 11 months and running at about 12 months, and he can't sit still to save his life. Sonia is barely now walking at 16 months, and would love nothing more than to be in your arms and be cuddled for hours on end.
Was starting to wonder about my Skins after the rough beginning to the season, but after the last couple of weeks, thinking maybe all is not lost. This week's game vs the Gints is huge. GO SKINS!
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