Noisy Nuissance

I know I haven't written in a while. I don't know if it's that my life has been full of all sorts of stuff, or if I've just not had the inspiration to find something decent to write about.
(My drafts folder is full of unfinished posts which, most probably, will never see the publish button.)

But today I need to rant!
I'm in the office right now, and thanks to my lovely landlord, well to be more correct - his wife, I am absolutely wrecked and cannot wake up.

Some of you know this, but for those of you who don't, my recently married landlord and his missus, argue a wee bit.
Now this in itself is not a problem.

The problem is, that every time she decides to scream at him, she screams for Flanders! And well, with me living in the flat just above, it can turn into a bloody nightmare.
I can't really explain how loud it is, I hear it through the walls, the floor and the stairwell. I can hear every word (lucky for me, my dutch is not soo good as to allow me to understand every word when delivered at high pitch and high speed - but I get the general idea, and the reasons for her bitching don't vary much!).

Now, I know that when you live in a flat (especially in a Brussels town house), you will inevitably hear what's going on around you. And most of the time, I don't mind it that much - it offers a feeling of security that you don't get in a house. I've had my fair share of noisy dealers - err sorry, neighbours, but this time it's getting really uncomfortable.
You see, when you hear people argue and scream at one another, it gets your stress levels up, it tends to leave you in a state of heightened annoyance and it will influence your mood for the rest of the day.

I have made my feelings known to my landlord. 3 times so far in the last 2 months. They always apologise profusely and I'd imagine they don't realise how loud they are being. However, clearly, in the middle of an argument, restraint is not usually a quality many people possess.

Anyway, last night, someone other than me had finally had enough. The arguing started around 10.30.
I've become quite a master at drowning them out and not paying attention to the incessant screaming and sobbing. It only really started to bother me when I wanted to go to bed. I made the most of a time-out to fall asleep, but was rudely awakened not more than 10 minutes later by an insult which I swear was coming from my living room. I listened for a while, trying desperately not to let my state of doziness be replaced by anger. It continued. After a while, I heard some tapping. I can't really tell where it came from. A couple of minutes later, it came again. It was clearly not loud enough to permeate the noise levels from downstairs.

A short respite followed, giving me enough time to fall asleep.
Once again to be woken abruptly by a slamming door (at least I thank that's what it was) and more screaming.
I was, understandably, getting pissed off by this time, so I grabbed my phone and sent a short, to the point sms.
Stop. Please.
It was about 12.30 by this time. I am assuming his phone was not in the vicinity because the noise continued.
More tapping, by some other poor soul trying to get some sleep, each time becoming more insistent.

And then, the doorbell. SALVATION.
Someone - not me, had finally called the police.
They didn't stay long, and believe it or not, the arguing continued after they left - although at normal noise levels.
It was about 2.30 by the time I escaped into a quiet dreamland.

As much as this whole thing annoys me and really is starting to make my flat feel even more unwelcoming, It's very sad to see that a couple who, a couple of months ago, were obviously hopeful enough to get married, have now become two beings, unable to listen and whose only form of communication is screaming at each other.

I'm hoping that one day, the penny will drop and she will finally realise that the more you yell, the less they listen.

OK, rant over.
Should get back to work.

Flight tracker

Can someone please give me the link to a usable flight tracker for flights OUTSIDE the sodding USA???

pissed off now. :(

The real face of Advertising

Still laughing at the exquisite portrayal of this wonderfully honest and sincere industry.

p.s. Oh yeah .... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Bonne Maman

My grandmother died today.

Just as I thought 2007 couldn't get any worse. It did.

My sister and I were lucky enough to be able to get a last minute flight back to Brussels on Thursday to visit her in hospital. She was taken in suffering from a pulmonary embolism after becoming so weak she couldn't get out of bed.

Listening to the doc telling us how she was doing and then seeing her having to struggle for each breath, made my own memories come flooding back.
I don't tend to think of summer 2003 that much, all I remember is the loneliness. Despite being surrounded by people, I had never felt more alone.

She didn't seem to feel like that, and while being totally exhausted, we managed to talk to her, tell her that we loved her, and say goodbye. It was a rough day, but after having hesitated to go back for just the day, I will be eternally grateful that I did.

I spent hours last night, going through some of the memories I have of her.
I found myself back on the Belgian coast where we used to spend our Easter holidays as kids. It was always so bloody cold and windy, but we would love sitting in the wind, running on the beach and taking our first trips to Meli park which gave me the love I now have for roller coasters.
But her greatest achievement at La Panne was taking my brother and I to see the Fly. I was 11. And it has scared the bejeezus out of me ever since. I remember being taken to see Rambo: First blood part II a year earlier as well. Cool grandmother or what !!!

Or every Tuesday after school when I would take the bus to cross town to spend the night with her and my grandad. She taught me French grammar... well as much as she could cos I was real shite at it. I did this for the first two years I was in Belgium to avoid having to resit a year due to my weaknesses in French.
I remembering her help me out with my book list in my final year. She read a couple for me and made up the best little summaries describing the characters, the intrigues - both hidden and obvious - and cross referencing a plenty. I aced my exam and I remember those books better than the ones I had actually read myself.

Merci pour ta patience, pour ton soutien, pour les sorties théâtres, pour les bols de yahourts à la cassonade, pour les petites histoires avant de s'en dormir et enfin, pour nos petits déjeuners à deux devant la grande fênêtre de la cuisine.

Tu vas me manquer. Je t'aime.

Merry Xmas

Well, here I am on xmas eve, and for the second year running, I'm spending it in Bristol.
It has been a totally bizarre and yet very normal day.
We started off the day with a huge cup of coffee and a chocolate m==-oi-p (muffin was the word I was writing, however, Takanna had other ideas) in the local Cafe Nero.

Followed by a massive amount of visa usage and yet another purchase of slightly small winter coat. Let's leave it at that shall we.
A quick trip to Sainsbury's for some last little additions to the HUGE amount of food already in the fridge to be consumed tomorrow and the afternoon was done.

So, tonight, I am sitting in my sister's living room, watching Captain Jack Sparrow after having just finished a kebab. What traditional way to spend xmas eve. I love it.

We had planned to go and see if the Bristolians had once again won the award for most electricity spent on lighting up a house for Christmas but a greedy dog ambushed our plans by eating an entire xmas pudding. This is a problem because it turns out that raisins are highly toxic for dogs.

So, finally ending my blogstipation, I'm sat here thinking about who is currently doing what on their respective xmas eves... and while for some, it has been over for almost 10hours already, others in the East haven't even started.

Whatever you are doing tonight and tomorrow, Enjoy!!!!