Something #11 LMAO!

LMAO! I really detest acronyms like that, and LYMI for sure, but this little something had me laughing on a day when I really needed it.

I arrived in Waterloo ready to ride and take on the day, only to discover that my bike had been "tagged" with red permanent marker (no photo, sorry) AND I had a flat tire. Do you think these two incidents are related?

I walked my bike unsuccessfully through town only to discover that the air valve will not fit the valve on the air pump at the Auto Shop. (I am not even sure I am using the correct terminology.) AND I do not speak a lick of French! This all made for an interesting morning.

Also, school is kind of a bummer these days. The teacher I work with has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. She hasn't told the kids yet and she will have surgery two weeks from today. She is young, kind, a wife and mother. She is going through so much emotionally. We talk during the day and I've shared my experience with her, but she will soon find out for herself and have her own experiences.

When I talk with her, it all comes back to me and I wince at times from my memories of -

the sores in my mouth
the weakness
the aches
the nausea
the 30+ pounds I gained from the steroids

the two years it took to loose them

the chemical burns on my skin

the constipation
the hair loss

my cold head against the pillow
the fear
the constant tiredness
the exhaustion of people telling you everything will be ok over and over because it makes them feel better.

But I do hope everything is going to be ok...

Jon had a late night tonight, and I went to the International Short Film Festival in Leuven.

I wish you could have been here with me, but tonight's selection was so morbid and melancholy. The best short I saw was Wes Anderson's Hotel Chevalier.
Did you know it's a prologue to The Darjeeling Limited? Another film I saw out of the US, in Mexico...

I also saw this short:

I was a little depressed as I walked home tonight, not to mention I was FREEZING!

Thankfully, I had this at home to make me laugh:

Oh Steph! What did you do to this poor child?!

Just look at those cheeks!

I'm still cracking up...

xoxo

~LYMI

Legally Bonded!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to let you know, Jon and I just got back from city hall and I am good to stay in Belgium! (For now, but still!) Thanks for all of your support. Opening another LYMI in celebration. Will post later this weekend.

Promise.

xoxo

LYMI

Happy Birthday To You!

Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday!

As I write this post, it's almost tomorrow here. Jon and I have been compiling all of our papers for our BIG appointment tomorrow.

I have a special gift - a post just for you. Something told me you were curious, and even if you weren't I thought you would enjoy it. I wanted to share a typical day in my life. You know, that *seemingly* Boring Beyond Belief Belgian life I've been talking about...

I'm warning you now, this post is long, but only because I took so many photos.

This was the scene outside my window on the train this morning. It had stormed pretty bad last night, and I wasn't expecting to see the sun at all today. But she came out for a bit just before 8:30 a.m.

Lovely, eh?

Now, let's go back to last week. I have been thinking about doing a post like this and had actually started to document my day sometime last week. I think this was last Wednesday or Friday, but the weather was cold and clear...

For this photo, I am standing where I usually catch the bus in Leuven. Our apartment is behind the St. Peter's church on the right. Everyday bells ring on the quarter hour, starting past 9:00 a.m.

The train station in Leuven, which is actually quite nice...

This is the train I take.

Do you see the number 2?

That's for second class passengers. Like me!

The train to Waterloo leaves Leuven on the :08's of every hour. I am scheduled to arrive in Waterloo 1 hour +12 minutes later. Lately, there have been consistent delays.

Here are some things I do to keep busy on my commute. First, I always check to see if Metro, the free paper has a Sudoku puzzle. I've gotten very fast, and they are mind numbingly addictive. I usually sip my cappuccino, typically my second of the day, while I knit, crochet or read. Occasionally I listen/watch my iPhone, which is now used like an iTouch. International roaming charges? No, thank you!

Here, I prepare a lesson for tomorrow's private English lesson and catch up on my 5th grade reading: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

I pass through Brussels everyday, blah, blah, blah.

However, I like this stop at a small station outside of Waterloo.

I like the shelters and the graffiti.

This is Waterloo Station:

Exciting, right?

I make my way to the bike parking to pick up Humphriet, my bright green bicycle.

Can you spot him?

There he is!

Before I ride, I don the latest cycling fashion. I am bringing back the tight-roll, but going a step further and pushing it inside my sock. I do this, so grease won't get on my pants.

FYI or TMI? Those socks are wool, and I am wearing wool leggings underneath my pants.

Now for Part II: the bicycle ride.

Parts of my ride are on the street:

Parts are on this skinny trail:

And some parts and walked because some people don't know how to park!

Finally, I arrive at my destination:
You know? A school is a school, no matter where you are. At least to me it is. It takes me about 10 to 15 minutes to ride to school from the train station, and about 15 - 25 on the way back.

I usually have some down time before I start, so I usually just sit in the lounge and drink another cappuccino. This day, I wanted some juice so I went to the cafeteria. Check out the decorations!
Also, note the trays and glasses that are set, waiting for the children. It sort of reminds me of IKEA.

Here are some high school art projects that decorate the cafeteria. I like these:

What do you think?

The kids are studying a unit on light and sound. These kids LOVE science! I can't get over it, I don't remember loving science this much. Today, the kids had presentation on light and color in the Performing Arts Center, which like Dallas' is also called PAC.

The set from the play The Canterbury Tales.

Of course the girls pleaded, "make it rainbow!"

My journey home is pretty much the same as my journey there, except there are screaming high school students the first twenty minutes or so, then the business traffic from Brussels push their way onto the train. I tried to take a picture of the Red Light district for you, but I wasn't close enough. That's about as exciting as it gets on the train.

We do make a stop at Brussels International Airport everyday.

Passengers get on and off with their luggage and inevitably I imagine all of the exotic locations people are going without me.

It's dark by the time I get home - but this is my favorite part of the day. I love, Love, LOVE walking off the bus, towards our apartment and seeing the old town hall.

Isn't it gorgeous?

We live above an olive/middle eastern import store and these creatures live in our stairwell. It's always fun to fumble in the dark and turn on the lights to see this:

Do you need 6 foot wooden psychedelic neon painted camel?

Typically, I cook, but tonight was a celebration in honor of you, and the fact that I couldn't stomach anymore leftovers. :)

We tried a restaurant called Dewerf.

Jon had a "man's meal," beef and baked apples served in a bread bowl.

I had the broccoli bacon quiche with a side salad.

Jon won tonight's plate challenge.

Lekker!

Because it was your birthday, and because you love chocolate cake so much, I ordered one in good faith that it would be the best chocolate cake I had ever tasted. After all, this is Belgium...

Alas, it was dry and hardly tasted of chocolate at all.

I stuck the Prince cookie on top symbolizing my wish for you... Someday, your prince will come. Or the artist formerly known as Prince will come.

Happy Birthday Steph!

I am truly enjoying this LYMI Belgian experience, and have you to thank for it. I wish you the best year of your life, continued success and creativity and strong poses. This is the time of our lives. Thanks for helping me enjoy mine.

Much love,

xoxo

~LYMI

Something #10 and Some Excuses

Jon had a busy weekend last weekend, and I was a graduate school widow. Just kidding. It wasn't too bad. I had a ton of errands to run on Saturday, and did some traveling on Sunday.

But, I missed him.

So, I opened a special something:
It's flat and roughly the size of a photograph. What could it be? Also, the texture of the paper was a little rough as well. Similar to the paper that wrapped Something #3.

The creases on this paper are very nice:

It looks like a little street scene to me. In fact, as I write this post, I have an idea...

Ok, back to the something:
As I open it, I see and feel that it is not a photograph, but it is a note.

"Let your mind go and your body will follow."

I remember the movie LA Story. I remember Sarah Jessica Parker and Steve Martin roller skating in the LACMA.

Can you tell me a little bit more about this quote and what it means to you?

For the record, my response was:

Yes!

I think I will.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I'm sorry, I know I've been a little absent from the blogosphere these days, but I have my reasons...

1. Exhausted
2. Travel/commuting
3. Tales of the 5th Grade Nothing.
4. Lazy
5. Bored
6. Compiling documents for the Belgian government so that I may stay with my beloved.
7. I found a website where I can watch TV, thus begins my subcategory:

• A. The Office
• B. Project Runway Season 6
• C. Glee

To make up for it and get my creative juices going, yesterday I started a special post about my typical day just for you, but I literally got derailed and will have to write and document another day. I'm going to pick up where I left off tomorrow.

Here is a sneak peak:
Will write more later, I promise!

I am off to tutor a Greek teen with his English, I am using a clip from Flight of the Conchords.

I'll let you know how that goes.

xoxo

LYMI

Something #9

Ok. Here goes. First of all, let me apologize for the delay in this post. It's not that I don't have anything interesting to post, it's not that anything hasn't happened, it's just been a feeling of an underlying need to make things easier - simplify. I'm still in the process of getting all the papers in order to apply for a visa, but once everything is turned in I will be able to stay past November 30th, the date of my original airline ticket. Thanks to Jon and his tenacity, who went to city hall and asked all the questions with humor and sincerity. It looks like I will be stuck in Belgium as my visa gets processed, but that was the whole point of the application wasn't it?

Yes, it was. I am happy to stay here with Jon, and so glad that things are falling into place here. It's strange how life just keeps clicking right along: before you know it, things become mundane, everyday, and just life. But I still have to catch my breath every time I walk upon the city square here in Leuven. It's just beautiful, I could just pinch myself.

This is where I live?

Really?

Thank you life!

I opened a little package the other day, but as I mentioned in the post before one, it really had me stumped. I spent the next couple of days debating whether or not to open another one, eventually I wrapped up that little something (#8) and opened another one, #9.

I picked this one because of the blue speckled envelope paper. I knew when I held it in my hands it was another photograph, I really liked the way you turned an envelope inside out to wrap this little something.

I'm still knitting Jon's scarf, you can see it on the left. I proceeded to open the envelope:

I check out the back. It says,

"It's a big blue Spanish Sky, Lay on my back and watch the clouds roll by. I've got the time to wonder why, she left me. It's a slow, sad Spanish song, I knew the words but I sang them wrong. The one that I love has left and gone, without me."

~Chris Isaak

You underlined a few lines, as I think they really resonated with you.

I read them again.

Geez Steph, that is depressing.

But I do love clouds... they are wondrous. The way they form, come together and then dissipate. It is exactly like an intimate relationship isn't it?

I like your drawing on the inside of the envelope too. What was behind it?

Also, the date on the back of the photograph is from 1997.
Where is this from? Do you have lots of pictures of beautiful blue sky?

Would you believe I took this picture before I came home and opened this something?
It's ironic. I was feeling a little stumped creatively, without anything to blog about. Then I looked up and thought I would write about the Belgian sky...

The skies here are amazing, changing all the time:
(Actually, the above pic is from Rotterdam, not Belgium, but it shows the changing sky as I see it here.) One day it will be gray and rainy, cold and a little dreary.

Then the sun will peek out and you will hours of beautiful blue sky:

Antwerp

Also Antwerp

The skies are constantly changing and the weathers reciprocates. I am constantly changing. I can feel myself transforming, not physically, but mentally. I guess that's part of adapting to life far away. Maybe that was the source of my creative stump? I am learning to let myself go and become available to the changes that will come. It's exciting, but also a little unnerving at times. It was a tough week last week with a few cultural blips and bumps, but I survived and learned a few lessons a long the way.

I know more about the Belgian train system, a new Belgian town, am making friends and even have access to an English library. I am starting to look at boots in store windows and adapt to Belgian fashion, shop at specialty stores for meats, cheeses and fish. I think I will enroll in a language class next. It's a transformation... much like the season and the clouds.

Life is just rolling right along...

xoxo

LYMI