Gong Xi Fa Chai!

Yes I know Chinese (and Vietnamese, etc.) New Year was yesterday, but I was hoping to catch the lion dancers who were performing today in Brussels' tiny Chinatown. However, they did it at lunchtime and I was busy lunching with Cat Lady - even if it is the year of the Dog! I might catch them later in the week in Antwerp, if I get around to going there.

The year of the dog is supposed to be a good year for me, a horse. I hope it is a healthy and happy year for everyone.

Cat Lady recently attended a seminar organised by an organisation called Les Portes sur les Mondes (gateways to worlds) on how physical and mental conditions that a person develops have their origin in the parents' situation at the time of conception and even before, e.g. - don't ask me why - 18 months before your birth. In one sense this doesn't seem impossible, certainly the way my parents treated me derives in large part from the way they were treated by their own parents, which in turn derives from the way they were treated by my grand-parents; and I can well believe that how you are treated has an impact on your later physical health. However I am not sure how when you get ill and what illnesses you develop could result from challenges faced by our own parents, and indeed theirs. It will be interesting when my friend progresses from the stage of "decoding" an existing situation onto "deprogramming" or stopping the cycle from repeating itself.

Talking of cycles, she also mentioned a theory that one's life is divided into cycles that depend on when you first became financially independent from your parents - so if it was 20, you have 20-year cycles. In my case that would be 18, and it is true that my 36th year was a significant one. However, I will reserve judgment on the theory until I know what happens in my 54th!

Mannekin Mozart

As I mentioned the other day, it's Mozart's birthday today, and google's logo of the day is in his honour:
So I trotted downtown to see if the Mannekin Pis, one of the best-known (unfortunately) symbols of Brussels was dressed in his honour, and sure enough, he was!

I had to pass by all the tourist shops, some of which have multiple representations of the Mannekin in all sizes, from corkscrews and bottle openers to drinks dispensers....
















while others sell delicious Belgian chocolates, and have chocolate fountains in operation in their windows:













No I didn't stop to taste it... too busy hurrying home, it is COLD in Brussels today.

D-Day (D for Depression)

Miki's last post lists things she does to overcome depression. I rather need this today as I had my purse stolen - two girls seemed to be sticking close to me in a drugstore: while I was reading labels on shampoos they needed to look at shampoos and when I went to look at something else, one of them bobbed up again by my side. I found it a bit strange, but when they left the shop I thought nothing of it - until I found my bag unzipped and realised that they had removed my purse, which I had stupidly left on the top! So now I am depressed due to my own stupidity - although luckily thanks to having my purse stolen some years ago in the metro, I no longer keep anything but money in there, and money is at least the most replaceable thing. Anyway, this is what I actually did:
*Eat mango yoghurt
*Eat another mango yoghurt
*Go for a walk in the park, although it was more like a stomp because I was so cross with myself
*Buy new magazines
*Read new magazines
*Try to do sudoku puzzles
*Clear up the kitchen
*Tell someone they are wrong (in response to yet another urban legend e-mailed to me as a warning, this time about lead in lipsticks)
*Read blogs to see what sort of a day other people have had
*Have a long hot bubble bath (OK I haven't done this yet but I am going to).

Tomorrow I might take myself to the Cercle des Voyageurs.


PS And now I find that according to this article in the Washington Times, my depressing day is 2 days late!

Graffiti poets

Cryptic poetry from the ladies' toilet in a nearby shopping centre:

Which would seem to mean something like (free translation, in the original all the lines rhyme):

She's been found.
Who? Eternity.
It's the sea, gone away
with the sun.

And on another wall it said:

J'aime tes yeux
mais je préfère les miens
car sans eux je ne pourrais
voir les tiens

I love your eyes,
but I prefer mine,
for without them I
could not see thine.

A better class of graffiti than most!

World of books

According to St. Augustine, "The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page" - but it might also be said, a book is a world, and those who don't read are stuck in the "here and now"! This past week I have visited ancient Rome and Egypt, in the concluding book of Conn Iggulden's series about Julius Caesar, Emperor; a fantasy land, which is really +/- 16th century Japan, in Lian Hearn's Tales of the Otori ; modern California with the latest in Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone series; and I'm still dipping into and out of England and America in a collection of short stories by Peter Ho Davies - and all without moving (much) from Brussels! Where to next, I ask myself?

In the meantime, it's a grey old day here in Brussels but I did force myself out to a nearby park. Just love those trees!

5 weird habits

Dakota has tagged me to list 5 weird habits of mine, so here they are:

1) When concentrating, I tend to put my upper teeth over my lower lip - which doesn't do my lipstick much good on the rare occasions when I wear it.

2) I can't resist stationery shops and have a huge collection of blank notebooks - and yet I never seem to have one with me when I want to write something down.

3) I'm always losing things and sometimes have to take strange measures to secure them. After having to get my bus pass replaced twice last year, I bought one of those holders that is supposed to hang round your neck, but mine lives in a pocket of my backpack, with the cord tied to a ring on the outside, so that I can show it to the busdriver but not drop it - or put it back in the wrong place!

4) In a similar sort of vein, I used to lock myself out of my apartment a lot and when I had a car, several times locked it with the keys inside - including once while I was visiting the duty-free shop at Calais and the car was in the queue for the hovercraft...

5) I never, ever pass on chain letters, chain jokes or those lists of inspirational messages that end with the suggestion that you send them to a certain number of people, so won't be tagging anyone else - but if you want to play anyway, consider yourself tagged!

Bad Day

Today I had the worst examination nightmare of my life, and I've taken a few exams in my time - heaven knows why I am still submitting myself to this torture! First when I arrived at the place where I was to take it - as agreed and paid for last July - the man on the door insisted that it was closed today and that there was no-one there; luckily - or possibly unluckily given the result- there was, although this year I was the only one taking an exam today (in German-English business translation, which I have to retake after failing last year). Then, I was pleased enough that they provided a laptop, since it isn't permitted to take one's own, but the guy wouldn't let me turn it on until the invigilator arrived, 5 minutes before the exam was due to start, and it turned out to have no mouse, only a touchpad, which I don't find very easy to use. After some initial difficulties getting into Word, I was managing OK until I tried to save the text, when it kept insisting it was password protected. I wasted 10 minutes with the invigilator trying to sort it out, neither of us could, and I ended up saving temporarily on the clipboard instead. Of course I could barely concentrate on the translation, and having had another abortive attempt at getting the text on the clipboard into a new document and saving that, decided I would have to write it out by hand, which took me 30 minutes - although this included reviewing the translation and adding notes, even if unfortunately I had no time to re-read what I had written. I estimate that I wasted at least half an hour out of a 2-hour exam because of these problems and on top of that, they were preying on my mind so much that I could barely think, and it was an extremely tricky text, I left at least 3 phrases that I wasn't happy with. To top it all, after I had handed in the paper, the invigilator and the guy from the office that provided the laptop did exactly what we had done before and received the "save" box without the password warning, so it should have been possible to save the text (which in the meantime of course I had changed while writing it out by hand, so there was no point in saving what I had in the laptop). The invigilator promised to send a report to the Institute in London that marks the papers telling them about the problem, but the Institute does specify in its general rules that such problems cannot be taken into account in assessing the quality of the translation. So I have a horrible feeling I have failed this paper again: but I won't find out for at least 3 months, as the results aren't due out till end of April/beginning of May.

After that, I needed something to cheer me up but dinner at an indifferent Italian restaurant and a Georgian dance thing (not my choice, blame La Carioca!) were not quite the things to do it. Although we did have a good laugh at these fur hats, that made the dancers look like Beatles, and a white version accompanied by white fur leggings that made them look like poodles!

I definitely feel a consolation shopping expedition coming on this weekend......

Ducks on ice

I rather like the sunflare in this, even if it shouldn't be there!

More videos

Had agreed with The Wiz to go to see Japanese Kodo drummers in Antwerp at the end of this month, but after getting hold of the details yesterday, it's a bit depressing. The cheapest ticket is €52 - very expensive for Belgium, the TOP price for a show I am going to in Brussels next week is €44 - plus so far it seems you can only book via their 0900 telephone line at a cost of 45 cents a minute, and I know from experience how they keep you on those lines while you navigate through language selection and so on, and hear all about future events before you can actually book your ticket. So unless we can find some other source of tickets, we may have to be content with the video on here.

While looking for other sources, I stumbled across a publicity video for an India-themed event which sounds like enormous fun for anyone (like me!) who loves Bollywood. It's not until the end of April and is on at a venue I hate, but I think I shall have to plan to be there.

I also found a video about Belgium which is interesting, though not as good (given the somewhat didactic commentary) as the one I saw in the Belgian pavilion at Expo 2005 in Aichi, which used some special camera technique to produce a very wide, panoramic picture composed of several overlapping images, most filmed from a helicopter or some other high vantage point, and shown almost "in the round". It's funny how such images can be better than the real thing! And some say the camera never lies...

L'ascenseur des Marolles

I don't know quite why, as it isn't the most exciting ride in the world, and doesn't even have a brilliant view, but I am always pleased to find an excuse to use this lift (elevator) between the upper and lower towns in Brussels. So this morning when I was in the area, of course I decided I had to take the bus that runs along the street below it.

Place de Breughel l'Ancien (Breughel the elder Square), Marolles

Tokyo on National Geographic

Just came across some great pictures of Tokyo here. I couldn't think of one individual sight from Japan to include in my list of "must-sees" (strangely, the one that stands out most is Kyoto station!), but my trip there at cherry-blossom time last year was one of my all-time favourites. It's a great pity I lost my camera in Nagoya, containing photos of Kyoto, Nara and the Expo - but it was a good excuse to buy a better one in Akihabara. Also, to return one day, this time hopefully in the Autumn. In the meantime, this was taken in Ueno Park.

Weasel words

Today BBC TV and British newspapers are reporting with glee that Glasgow is the only European city in a top 10 list of must-see destinations that doesn't mention, for instance, Paris, Rome or Barcelona. As I suspected, however, this is sloppy reporting: the list - established by Frommer - is of UP-AND-COMING must-see destinations, not the top 10 places to visit in the world, as these articles imply. I am so sick of mis-statements like this from the media, if it happens as regards issues that really aren't very important, how can we rely on them for things that are?

Anyway, the only one of the 10 Frommer recommendations that I have visited is Goa, and I'm astonished that anyone thinks that is "up-and-coming" any more (and anyway I think I prefer Kerala). The same applies to Kenya, where I have only transited via Nairobi airport, but I can't believe it is "better" than Tanzania - although I note that they are recommending Amboseli rather than the Masai Mara, presumably because the Mara is already well-known to tourists, and this list is really about where ELSE people who have already been to these places could now think of going.

Of course these things are a matter of personal taste, and even then, I would personally find it very hard to establish a world-ranking of must-see places. My own list, based on places I have already been to, would have to include Venice, the Grand Canyon, the Taj Mahal, Hong Kong, the Alhambra, Petra and New Zealand (and, and, and....) but in what order?! I was once asked by a Mexican-American which country in Europe she should visit if she could only visit one, and I had to say Italy, as it is such a treasure chest. But, if it was a single European city rather than a country, I think I would have had to recommend London over Paris. The BBC TV programme "Around the World in 80 Treasures" narrows things down even more, sometimes the treasure concerned is a place or building, but sometimes it is a specific object.

All I know is, the world is full of wonderful places and things, and I want to see them ALL!

Think pink!

Google video

I've only just discovered google video - I'm obviously a bit behind the times - and just love this one of two Chinese students singing along to "I want it that way" by the Backstreet Boys! It seems to have provoked a "response" in the form of 2 American students singing to a track by a Chinese singer, but that one is nowhere near as good - although it might be funny to a Chinese person who understands what they are singing...

I didn't really need another way of wasting time, but this is a great one!

Mozart's balls

It's Mozart year, 250 years after his birth in Salzburg (1756), and I must recommend the Talk About Mozart website designed by the husband of a friend of mine, who is an Austrian artist and photographer called Walter Mirtl. Unfortunately his design makes me feel hungry because he has used some very realistic images of chocolate Mozartkugeln (Mozart balls)! I'm still looking for an occasion to take a Mozart-related photo to post there - I gather the Manneken Pis (symbol of Brussels, unfortunately) has a Mozart outfit among the several hundred in his wardrobe, so I will go and check whether he is wearing it on 27 January, which is Mozart's birthday.

Feast of no kings

January 6 is of course Twelfth Night or the "Fête des Rois" - "feast of the (3) kings" (Epiphany) - and this week Belgian pastry shops have been selling special almond-filled cakes called "galette des rois" which come surrounded by a cardboard crown. Whoever finds the lucky charm - now usually china or plastic, but it used to be a real bean ("fève"), which is what it is still called - in their portion of the cake is King or Queen for the day and has to wear the crown around the home or office, supposedly. In the past it seems they would also have had to buy a round of drinks, but I don't know anyone who follows this practice.

The "fèves" used by one of the local supermarkets here are miniature ceramic figurines, or "santons" for a nativity scene or crib, and I've been buying at least one of their cakes every year for years, so now I have a small collection of these figurines. The only thing is, as you have no control over what you get, I have ended up with 4 shepherds (including a pair of identical twins), 2 rather ugly angels, 3 baby elephants - which I don't remember figuring in the Christmas story - and no kings at all, unless the figure I thought was Joseph is one of them! I do hope next year I finally get a KING in my cake...

(Loro) sono L'Italiano

This is the team - minus owner Stefania - from the café, L'Italiano in rue du Luxembourg, that has been my alternative office for more than 10 years. They are a wonderful crew and I will miss the place terribly when I start (I think) at a new office in August - not just for the great coffee and chocolate cake, which are supposedly off-limits for me at the moment anyway, but for the occasional impromptu circus act: today, juggling with packets of paper napkins (à la Tom Cruise in Cocktail), and a can-can demonstration!

Time to get organised

I'm not normally one for New Year Resolutions because I know very well I will forget about them within days - but this year things really do have to change. I just spent an entire day, on and off, searching for my 2006 season ticket for travel on the Brussels public transport system, which I very efficiently renewed by post well before the new year and then put in a very safe place. It eventually turned up among my paid bills, which makes some sort of sense I suppose. I was hoping that while looking, I would come across a letter I have to take with me to the translation exam I am taking on (I think!) 18 January - and which seems to have vanished into thin air, even though I know I saw it lying around just before Christmas. I have also mislaid one of the 3 key-cards I was issued with when my building's locks were changed this year, which is probably lying around under a pile of papers somewhere. Life would be so much easier if I put things where they should be and didn't have to waste so much time and energy hunting for them!
I already have quite a few things about getting organised in my "43 Things" list, it only remains to make them a higher priority - and actually do them!

Back in Brux

Happy New Year, everyone! I can't believe that this time last week I was walking around in the sun in Madeira, Brussels is so cold, dark and dismal - and the first thing I have done upon returning is catch a cold! Anyway, here are some pictures of Madeira to brighten things up a bit.





















Funchal from the Botanical Gardens - Christmas lights in rua da Carreira - Friday market.






















I took a local bus to Porto Moniz on the Northern coast, where rock swimming pools have been made in the sea - not that anyone would use them in the winter, when the Atlantic is pretty wild. The road there is pretty interesting too, at one point the bus went under a waterfall, where after rain a stream falls off the cliff into the sea, not quite clearing the road and therefore hitting the tops of any vehicles passing underneath! The driver had to stop twice to clear away fallen rocks or shrubs from the road.