This week I discovered Ancienne Belgique!
Ok, so I knew about it before this week, but I kept forgetting about it, and thinking it was farther away than it was, and I didn't check the website. This week, however, I got a copy of The Bulletin, a weekly magazine for English speakers in Belgium, that lists all the goings on. I happened to see a picture of the Flaming Lips who are playing at the AB next week, and so I immediately went to their website to see if there were any still available. (Of course not.) I also saw that Wilco was playing the very next day (Friday the 6th), and that show was also sold out. Bummer... right? WRONG!
Under each concerts there were comments listed, and after checking a few, (I had to translate many of them from Flemmish to English) I discovered that there were still tickets to be had! I used google translate to compose an email in Flemmish to one guy, Christof, who had one ticket to the Wilco show. At this point I doubted I would get it, but hey, worth a shot! A few hours later he notified me that indeed, I had the ticket! And for the original selling price! HURRAH!!
A few clumsy emails in Flemmish later, we switched to English and had decided upon a meeting place and time. I must note here, what did we ever do without cell phones??? Anyway, we met up without a hitch! He was a youngun (well, 21 yo) from Ghent (about a half hour from Brussels by train) who was a huge Wilco fan and who reminded me a bit of Mike Zeifang. His brother was supposed to go with him, but canceled at the last minute. Lucky me!
We put our coats into a locker (I'm telling you, this venue was amazing!), checked out the opening act (who we agreed was a bit too "experimental"), got BIG glasses of Stella (for a remarkably low price) and proceeded to get standing places about 5 people-layers from the stage.
I'm not even sure how to describe the concert. It was totally awesome. It was a sold out crowd (approx. 2,000 people) that obviously LOVED the band. They played a fantastic set, with an encore of roughly 8-10 songs! Jeff Tweedy had some fun talking to the crowd. He asked us why in the world would the Belgians vote themselves the most boring people? (Did they really??) He complimented the excellent health care system, as 2 band members had to use it! He teased a guy about double-fisting (holding 2 drinks) the entire concert, and got us all to sing along to "Jesus, etc." (He said we did the best of any "second language" crowd, YAY!!! hahaha, I say yay, even though I don't count in that group...)
I left Christof with 3 cheek kisses (I don't think I'll ever know the right number, it's different with everyone I meet! And it's hard to play it off if you go for an extra, or don't go for it, oy! The stress!) and "Handshake Drugs" stuck in my head. A short 15 minute bus ride and I was back home! I think I will be going to the Ancienne Belgique a lot more in the near future!
So I posted before about my cat Sophie, and her peeing issues and the struggles with medicine. Well, we took her to the vet, this nice one that we had early on that we hunted down to in his brand new practice, Dr. Smets. We told him that we had tried so many options, from multiple litter boxes, to different litter, to getting rid of the futon where she used to pee, even to a cat anti-depressant. We needed a solution.
Well, after giving her an examination, to make sure it wasn't a physical problem, he prescribed a couple of things. I had told him how I hated the effects of the clomicalm, and he said that there were other solutions. 1. Feliway, a cat pheromone diffuser that apparently makes cats happy without side effects and 2. Zylkene, another drug to make cats calm, but totally natural, actually made from some chemical found in cheese! So no dopey, drugged up cat side effects! Yay!
So the first thing I got was the Feliway, because as much experience as I have giving cats pills (oh 
Phil...), I didn't want to stress Sophie out. So the diffuser has been plugged in for over a week now, and no accidents on the new sofas, or anything else! That's good, though who knows if she would have peed on anything without the meds anyway, it's pretty sporadic. So then yesterday, I got the Zylkene, thinking, oh well, it wouldn't hurt to have it on hand. Well that evening I was showing it to Miguel and we were trying to decide whether to give it to her. I shook the bottle, and the cats came running (I guess it sounded like treats?)! I put one on the floor for Sophie to sniff out. When Cleo tried to approach, Sophie grabbed it in her mouth and ran off! She was protecting her pill!
She went into the corner, and proceeded to try to figure out what it was. She would try to eat it, but it stuck to her little kitty lips and she couldn't get it off. Then she would drop it, pick it up again, and the saliva would stick it to her mouth like glue. She even had to pull a squirrel move, using both of her front paws to try to get it in, all the while protecting it from Cleo. Eventually, while trying to chew it, she punctured it, and white powder spilled out onto the floor.
This she tried to sniff, and ended up (while exhaling) blowing some of it into her face. She then licked it all up and walked away. Such a strange little cat!
So we thought ok, this is probably a one off, she won't do this again tomorrow... I shook the bottle again, and took out a pill and put it on the floor, and sure enough, as soon as Cleo came near, Sophie was off with that pill, and when she finally punctured it, she licked up all the powder! So there you have it! My strange little cat who won't eat ham or chicken scraps (while her sister will devour them), and who is apparently stressed or depressed, will happily self-medicate! Problem solved!
I'll finish writing about the wedding later, but I feel the need to blog about today...
I've showed you pictures of my little cat Sophie. She is so sweet, and loves nothing more than to sit on my lap (or my chest or knee, if my lap isn't available). I love her to death, but we've been having our problems.
She has had trouble, really, since we got her, with peeing in places she shouldn't. We keep making the mistake of trusting her, thinking that because it's been a while since the last accident, she's grown out of it. We always end up regretting that trust. The other day, we decided to leave the bedroom door open during the night, and we nearly made it, but at about 8am, while Sophie was innocently (or so I thought) sitting on my leg, I started feeling something very hot. Yep, she peed through the comforter and sheet, down to my leg and the mattress. Now mind you, this was 8am on a Saturday. VERY grumpy and upset, Miguel and I get up to throw everything into the washing machine (actually took 2 loads, as the machine is tiny), flip the mattress, remake the bed, etc.
Now, this was the final straw for me, and I decided to take her back to the vet. I had finally found our first vet, Dr. John Smets who has a great manner, good, modern technique and speaks English very well. I had been to a different vet about the same problem, and he prescribed Clomicalm, which is an animal antidepressant that really only served to make Sophie very groggy, disoriented, grumpy, frightened and drugged. This made me upset, stressed, guilty and very nearly sick to my stomach. We lasted 3 days. It took her about a week to return to herself.
So, I went with Miguel to take Sophie to Dr. Smets who gave us a couple new options, both natural, that god-willing, will work. One of them is Feliway, which is a cat pheromone diffuser, which I bought yesterday and installed.
Now, I was told it would take a few days to really kick in, so that's fine. But this morning Sophie was meowing pathetically outside the bedroom door, begging for attention. I finally obliged, deciding to watch her at every second. Cleo of course came barreling in too, and jumped on the bed. Sophie followed suit and IMMEDIATELY went for the spot where she peed the other day, and got into a squatting position. I wasted NO time and kicked her (through the duvet from underneath) off the bed. She ran off and hid behind the futon in the living room. I'm telling you, it did not take her 30 seconds in the bedroom to do this. So I'm trying to be optimistic, but it's becoming more and more difficult.
So that was how I started the day, and the rest of my day has been spent cleaning and baking. I am making brownies for the cafe downstairs to sell on Saturday. This is our first collaboration and I'm really hoping it goes well, so there's pressure. So I made the first batch and put it in the oven, and then sat down to look over the recipe again. It's my grandmother's, and it makes some of the best brownies ever. Of course, that was when I realized that, instead of putting in a teaspoon of baking powder, like the recipe said, I had put in a teaspoon of baking soda. Not good. It smelled weird and rose WAY too high. As soon as it was cool enough I dumped it directly into the trash.
I then cleaned the dish (and all the rest of the dishes I had dirtied) and proceeded to make the NEXT batch of brownies. Of course, I broke a plate in the process. While they were baking, I did the dishes AGAIN (I had also done the dishes from the night before, right before I started baking). It's times like that I reeeeally miss having a dishwasher. I was nervous while that batch was in the oven, because I still have to do one more batch today, and I really don't have time for 4 batches of brownies in one day. Thank god that batch was ok, and now only one more to go. Lord.
I also have a lesson today, which I think (and hope) I'm prepared for. All I really feel like doing, though, is curling up on the futon with the good cat (hahaha) and watching a movie.
So I've been back in Brussels now just over a week after 2 and a half weeks in the US. I was there to get MARRIED. I'm a WIFE now. So now it's time to blog about wedding week! One day at a time...
I'm back in Brussels, and while I am glad to be back, and glad to get back into the swing of things, I have immediately been made aware of the flaws of this city (and country). And no, I'm not just talking about the weather!
I've been back in the good old US of A! I know, I know, I was just here, but I had to come back, mostly for vacation purposes, but also to make some decisions about the wedding. I go back to Brussels on Friday.
I spent my first night at home here in my parents' house, eating Chinese food with my good friend Lena. Somehow in my sleep-deprived, travel-addled state, it was all I could think of eating. I was more tired than usual due to my ridiculous trip.
Ok, so I know August is a really bad time to travel, high ticket prices, crowds, etc., and yet I decided to do it anyway. Of course, I didn't have a whole lot of choice, those wedding decisions weren't going to decide themselves, so away I flew, adding a nice chunk of change to what I already owe the parental units. The problems started when I got to the airport in Brussels...
I was told at the ticket counter that the economy class of the Continental Airlines flight I was supposed to be on was overbooked. Sad face. But, they were giving upgrades! Happy face! So in my overly optimistic mind-set, I marched right through security, not stopping, not passing go, not even collecting 200! I get to the gate and there is a very long line, God knew what for. There was a free woman at the desk, so I went to talk to her, but one of the people in line said "There's a line, ya know!" so I was forced back. After waiting line for about 10 minutes to be asked the same security questions I had already been asked, they said I couldn't go through, because I didn't have a seat assignment! Then I went up to the free woman at the desk. I gave her my prepared schpiel which included "I just got married!" She glared at me. "You have to wait like everyone else!" (she said sternly.) If she had been American I would have been put in first class, or at least business!
So she took my ticket and I was free to go get the bottle of water I had passed by before in my effort to get to the gate quickly. After that errand, I returned, and the same woman told me I still didn't have a seat assignment. Miguel read off the European passenger rights to me on the phone (if I had been bumped off the flight there would have been a new flight and money!) but alas, I was called at the last second and given a boarding pass. I looked at my seating assignment, knowing that little number would mean nothing to me until I was on the plane. And oy, did it mean something to me then!
I was in the worst seat possible. Directly in front of the bathrooms (noisy, the seat didn't recline) and in the middle. Being in the middle sucks. A lot. I like to get up and walk around and have easy access to the bathroom. The guy on the aisle kept falling asleep (how he could, god knows), so I think I only went to the bathroom twice. During the whole 7-8 hour flight. Twice. Normally I go 4-5 times. Grr. Nor did things get better after that flight was over. Oh no...
That flight was into Newark, NJ. There had been, and were still, thunderstorms all afternoon. And I mean ALL afternoon. So I picked up my luggage to go through customs. No problem. I took it to the designated luggage drop off area and waited in another line. I then showed my boarding pass to the guy there. "I'm sorry ma'am, that flight has been cancelled." "Say what now?" Crappity crap crap.
On to the Continental window. My connecting flight was supposed to leave at 2:40pm. After waiting in yet another line the woman says "I can get you on another flight that leaves at 9:00pm." *jaw drops* I ask "Don't you have anything else?" her: "Are you ok with flying into Reagan National?" me: "Dear god, yes!" her: "I can get you on a flight at 5pm." me: "Done! And make it a window seat!"
So smooth sailing from there eh? No problem. Just a few hours... MMhmm. So I go to the gate for that flight. I sit for a few minutes, and BOOM delayed. Keeping in mind I got to the airport about 8am. I sit a while longer. BOOM delayed again. A few more minutes BOOM cancelled. Say what now? The tell us to go to the Continental desk. Wait in line. Again. I get to someone and they say "That flight isn't cancelled." ????? Go back to the gate, but now it's another flight there, not mine. I check the board, and now my flight is set to leave from a few gates away at 7:45pm! RAPTURE!!
The rest is easy. I got on that flight and made it home. TA DA.
There's more to tell, but not now. I just saw Julie & Julia and was in a blogging state of mind, not knowing what the hell I would talk about (I never really know), and here is a super long entry! Voila!
