Time To Kill

While net surfing the other night, I discovered this game called Jumping Jelly Beans. It's at the official website of Cartoon Network and it turns out that the (animal) characters in the game have their own tv program titled Camp Lazlo. They all have those wacky, exaggerated looks, almost like those of Cow 'n Chicken (loved that show) but it's the first time I've seen these guys.

After playing the game a couple of times I was hooked, I had to admit. The comical music is also implanted in my mind now, perhaps for good, and I kinda like that. Embarrassing.

The game's objective is for all three characters to catch as many fireflies as they can within a given time. And all you have to do is point and click with your mouse, that's it. A fun and ultra-light, no-brainer activity during one of those office breaks when you're just too frazzled to do Sudoku.

Snowed Under

This morning when I woke up, the bedroom looked a bit strange. There was just way too much light coming from outside, it could easily trick someone into thinking it's already high noon on a warm, sunny day. I looked out the window and I almost went blind! It had snowed gently some time during the early morning or during the night so our grounds and everything else on it were white. Immaculate white!


In the garden, everything was covered in snow, except for a few upright leaves/branches here and there. The flowers which have long dried up looked very nice topped with snow--they were like huge lollipops.



We let our cats play out in the snow-clad garden. One of them, Minky, is a bit new to this experience, so today's her chance to get acquainted with it.



It didn't take long before she started having fun like the other cats--enjoying how each step felt on the snow and digging holes everywhere in search for imaginary prey.

To Market, To Market

Sundays in Brussels are always bursting with life and color. Particularly at the marketplace.



This morning, I've been to the Bruxelles Midi train terminal to get to its surrounding open market--one of the biggest in the country, I guess. It shares great similarity with the Divisoria market in Manila. I'm thinking human congestion, loud-mouthed vendors, cheap (and cheaper) prices, fresh produce in abundance, good smells and stinky smells, the danger of pickpockets, and the vast diversity of goods for sale, from odd-looking fruits to crafty imitations of signature handbags. You get the picture.

After about an hour of looking around I checked out Midi's "food section" and took out my camera from my bag. It was time for some snapshot fun! I chose to take photos of foodstuff, mostly of fruits and vegetables. Besides the green goods already shown above, I also have pictures of artichokes, olives, Roman cauliflower, celeriac, button mushrooms, and the underrated Brussels sprouts.

It was nice to see all those different colors, shapes and textures through the camera lens. The experience became an impromptu hands-on study on composition and technique, as I've always been a photographer wannabe. It was also interesting how I shamelessly zoomed in and out at my subjects, behaving as if I was at an art gallery. Well, in a manner of speaking, I was! Ahh, it would have been an enormous pleasure if I did nothing all day but take pictures and admire the views.

Soon, however, it was already midday and the temperature continued to rise. I suppose you can imagine what happens to food that's been sitting in your bag for some time on a warm day. Hence, I had to call it quits and get back on the train bound homewards.

I can't believe I let a couple of eclairs get the best of me.

Queer Coiffeur

Believe it or not, my husband and I go to the same hair salon and we have the same hairstylist! And our stylist is a he, who goes by the name of Jan (pronounced as "Yan"). My husband has long been his faithful client even before I settled in Belgium. The hair parlor is his own but is also a one-man business, so he does everything by himself: from a simple trim to an elaborate hairstyle. He doesn't do manicure nor pedicure though, just coif.

Somehow I miss my gay beauticians back in Manila--they're such a happy, animated bunch and you even get to catch up with the latest showbiz gossip as they trim your hair and do your nails. I remember some of them--Carl and Mon (a.k.a. Lola). They're funny. Jan on the other hand isn't gay and he isn't funny as in funny ha-ha. He's a straight Belgian guy, about in the late 50s and is definitely sober as compared to my queer cosmeticians.

Jan has his own quirks though. He paints in his spare time. His hair salon is adorned with charming murals and framed paintings, all done by himself. Just how many hairdressers you know can do that?! I find it so cool.

However, there's one thing not-so-cool about Jan: his telephone manners. He's not rude or anything like that -- he's just a bit... queer. Whenever my husband calls him up for an appointment, Jan takes note but then hangs up rather abruptly. So you'd hear him confirm the day and time and then his voice quickly fades out as he expresses his thanks and says goodbye. I don't think we've ever heard his last sentence on the phone. Ever. Now that makes him funny.

It turns out he does this to all his customers. Hubby and I were at his parlor today and we saw it happen: Jan on the phone scribbling something on his planner and abruptly hanging up while saying thanks and goodbye. Hilarious! Hubby and I found it so hard to keep a straight face!

Struck It Lucky!

Woohoo, I won something again at a contest on the net. I won the lottery... tickets! Well I guess it's the next best thing to actually winning the jackpot.



I received four unique scratch-to-win cards and by a stroke of luck, I won cash out of three of them! Well it was only 18 euros in total but at least I didn't shell out a single cent on them.

The Red Cause

At the three-day fund-raising lunch organized by a local chapter of the Red Cross in Flanders (a.k.a. Rode Kruis). A fulfilling and filling event!

Fashionably Late

Just when the last of the holiday goodies have long been tucked in and burned off (hopefully) through exercise...


... they came back today as an army of 56 assorted chocolate bars. If I eat a bar then I'd have to do 50 pushups per day. I never thought that something so sweet can also be so mean!