life in bxl

Rejestracja wyborców

2010-06-10T11:42:00.000+02:00

Muszę pochwalić, wreszcie są bardzo jasne instrukcje co, gdzie i kiedy odnośnie najbliższych wyborów prezydenckich 20 czerwca 2010r. Mówię naturalnie o informacji podanej na stronie konsulatu RP dotyczącej rejestracji wyborców chcących głosować w Belgii. Nawet są informacja odnośnie co robić by zagłosować w ewentualnej II turze, jeśli po zarejestrowaniu się do głosowania w belgijskiej komisji, wyborca będzie przebywał gdzieś indziej 4 lipca. Naprawdę bardzo wyczerpujące odpowiedzi, bez zagmatwanego tłumaczenia, języka urzędowego i ogólnie straightforward i przychylnie.

Wklejam to co uważam w tych instrukcjach za najważniejsze:

a po resztę odsyłam do najczęściej zadawanych pytań na stronie Konsulatu.

dla Polaków głosujących w Belgii

2010-05-07T09:22:00.009+02:00

Osobiście denerwują mnie bardzo wszelkiego rodzaju 'odsyłacze'. Mam na myśli czytanie wszelkich urzędowych lub prawnych dokumentów (zazwyczaj pełniących funkcję instrukcji), które by zrozumieć należy przeczytać jednocześnie min 6 innych dokumentów, do których ten pierwszy dokument odsyła.
Samo odsyłanie do źródła nie jest naturalnie niczym złym. Podawanie do wiadomości, gdzie znajdują się oryginalne informacje na dany temat jest bardzo przydatne, np. gdy zachodzi wątpliwość interpretacyjna, lub gdy konieczne jest powołanie się właśnie na źródło przepisu. Uważam jednak, że bardziej stosowne do tego celu jest akademickie korzystanie z przypisów. Co jest wyjątkowo niehumanitarne (wg mnie) i traktujące czytelnika jako intruzo-petenta, jest formułowanie zdanie w sposób budzący nadzieje, że zwieńczeniem lektury będzie pełna wiedza o tym jak należy postępować i w miejsce oczekiwanych informacji wpisanie samego tytułu źródła. Włos się jeży!
O ile w internecie jest to mniej kłopotliwe bo stosując hyperlinki odsyłanie skutkuje natychmiastowym otworzeniem się źródła, o tyle w wersji drukowanej, bądź na stronach gdzie o hiperlinki nikt się nie fatyguje, przeczytawszy łaskawą instrukcję dowiadujemy się jedynie ile innych dokumentów musimy przeczytać. grrr!
Info o warunkach uczestniczenia w wyborach prezydenckich udzielone na stronie Konsulatu w Belgii jest niestety dobrym przykładam. Chciałam taką prostą instrukcję tam znaleźć, zacytować tu na blogu ku ułatwieniu życia wszystkim zainteresowanym głosowaniem w Belgii. Niestety taka koleżeńska przysługa nie jest możliwa. Tak samo jak nie chciało się osobie decydującej o treści umieszczonej na stronie wpisać prostej syntezy co + w jakiej kolejności + gdzie + kiedy, tak samo mi się nie chce przecedzać Informacji ze strony PKW , która ma jedynie 1087 słów. I choć czas poświęcony na napisanie tego żalącego się postu mógłby zostać lepiej wykorzystany gdybym jednak przeczytała wszystkie odsyłacze, dokonała wulgaryzacji języka urzędowego i ku dobru wszystkim Polakom czytającym ten post przytoczyła 3 proste linijki instrukcji, nie zrobię tego w ramach protestu i wolę Wam ponarzekać na ten konkretny brak user friendliness w polskich urzędowych realiach.
I to nie jest post przeciw Konsulatowi, bo ja przeciw niemu nic nie mam. I piszę tę skargę z całym szacunkiem i nadzieją, że dożyję głębokiej przemiany obyczajów i relacji urzędnik-obywatel. Mam ogromny żal do braku wyobraźni, do braku stawiania się w pozycji osoby obsługiwanej (obsługiwanej w tym przypadku informacją), za brak chęci wykazania tego minimalnego dodatkowego wysiłku wobec petenta, współobywatela, czytelnika.
Drodzy czytelnicy, zatem jeśli interesują Was warunki udziału w głosowaniu, pójdźcie sobie do strony Ambasady, która odeśle Was do strony Konsulatu, która odeśle Was do strony PKW, gdzie może te 1087 słów już Wam wszystko wyjaśni, bez dalszego odsyłania do głębszych źródeł.


Strona Ambasady:

Wybory Prezydenckie
Szanowni Państwo! Uprzejmie informujemy, że wszelkie informacje dla obywateli polskich przebywających w Belgii i zainteresowanych udziałem w wyborach Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej znajdziecie Państwo na stronie internetowej Wydziału Konsularnego Ambasady. Strona Konsulatu:

WYBORY 2010

Szanowni Państwo!
Wydział Konsularny Ambasady RP w Brukseli informuje, iż głosowanie w obwodowych komisjach wyborczych, które zostaną utworzone w Belgii będzie możliwe 1) na podstawie wniosku o wpisanie do spisu wyborców albo 2) na podstawie zaświadczenia o prawie do głosowania.
Szczegółowa informacja na ten temat znajduje się na stronie internetowej Państwowej Komisji Wyborczej: http://www.pkw.gov.pl/ - kolejno zakładki: Wybory i referenda - Wybory Prezydenta - 2010 - Wyjaśnienia, informacje i pisma okólne PKW - Informacja Państwowej Komisji Wyborczej z dnia 23 kwietnia 2010 r. o warunkach udziału w głosowaniu w obwodach głosowania utworzonych za granicą i na polskich statkach morskich, w wyborach Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, zarządzonych na dzień 20 czerwca 2010 r.
O utworzeniu obwodowych komisji wyborczych w Belgii oraz o rozpoczęciu przyjmowania wniosków o wpisanie do spisu wyborców będziemy Państwa informować na bieżąco.

ps. Całe swoje doświadczenie zawodowe mogę określić jako syntezowanie skomplikowanych treści i przekazywanie uproszczonego materiału, którego celem było informowanie czytelnika o xy. Celem głębszym było umożliwienie czytelnikowi jakiegoś działania na podstawie uzyskanej wiedzy, bez konieczności zapoznawania się ze wszystkimi istniejącymi źródłami. I wiem jedno na pewno, taką skomplikowaną treść w przekazie zawsze można streścić i zawsze można ułatwić jej dostępność. Jeśli się tego nie osiąga to tylko dlatego, że się nie chce, albo że się nie może...

Jerzy Buzek press conference

2009-07-16T12:29:00.003+02:00

As I can't seem to find the entire version of the press conference on EUTube or EUXTV to embed here, all I can provide for now is a link to europarltv,

Get the Flash Player to see this video.

just because I love U2

2009-07-16T11:55:00.003+02:00

The clip produced by the European Commission Representation in Poland celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Iron Curtain from a Polish perspective. It is about the birthday of a Polish girl Marta who was born on the 4th of June 1989, i.e. exactly on the day of the first half-free elections in the Central-East Europe which took place in Poland and which paved the way for the democratic change in this part of Europe. A mix of scenes show key events for Poland, such as the Solidarnosc movement with its leader Lech Walesa, Polish Round Table Talks, integration with NATO and the EU.
[description directly from EU Tube]

you can read more on U2.com

rejoice and celebrate with Buzek and all Poles

2009-07-14T13:33:00.013+02:00

[via europarl.europa.eu]

Jerzy Buzek just elected President of EP. YEY!
As I myself am just reading everything published in the last 40 min, excuse lack of comments, this time links only:

Bloomberg
Gazeta Wyborcza
WSJ
AP
Reuters
BBC
AFP
The New York Times
Europarl tv:

Opinions from some bloggers:

1. "The fact is that, by giving this post to Buzek, older and bigger member-states in western Europe are making sure that they will get all the really big jobs when they come up for grabs later this year." [from: ft.com/brusselsblog]

2. "But Jerzy Buzek is still the wrong choice, for three simple reasons:
* He is old.
* He is male.
* He has built his political career on national politics.
(...)
Party politics and power positions are dominated by old males. With Barroso in place for a second term on top of the European Commission, and with no women in sight for the post of European Council president and High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy (if the Lisbon Treaty is ratified), the post of the European Parliament president could have been the only one where MEPs could have made a point for equal opportunities and equal share of power. But they have missed their chance." [from: Julien Frisch Watching Europe]

3. "Sucede al alemán Hans-Gert Pöttering Cuando el card. Ratzinger fue elegido Papa, circulaba un chiste en Alemania: ¿sabes en qué se nota que Hartz IV (la reforma al mercado laboral) da resultado? En que un alemán reemplaza a un polaco en un trabajo. Hoy es al revés ;)" [from: Alemania: Economía, Sociedad y Derecho]

EU losers generation

2009-07-10T10:47:00.005+02:00

What an unpleasant realisation, is this really me and my friends?
"Today's 'baby losers', as they are also known, are increasingly a minority in Europe. They are portrayed as well-educated but overqualified in some respects, which explains the seemingly never-ending unpaid intern phase many are forced to endure. They are the generation that passively boomerangs back to their parents' homes once they have run out of options and motivation. They are also the precarious generation suffering from the crisis of the welfare state, who will experience the effects of ageing and demographic change to the fullest in the course of their own lives. "
An entire generation summed up in a paragraph, and how non-optimistically;( There is as usual more to read but it was this particular excerpt that 'shook me'.
Other generations of course had it bad, the ones turned adults just as the war broke out naturally had it worse, but our future (as described in the above article) seems plain gloomy. It not only makes the today sound bad, it gives little hope of ever bouncing up and away from the current state. Very depressing. I have to say if the intention was to spear us up, motivate to do and stimulate to proactively steer circumstances towards the better - for me it had the opposite effect, just lay and do nothing, as it's never gonna get better, your efforts and hard work will be all in vain, might as well, not bother at all. brrr... not a feeling I like to have induced.
I like to believe that everything in nature finds it's balance, there are sinusoidal ups and downs, which are brought on by human impact or by nature itself, but in the long run, things bounce back and settle into 'norm'. This is not to say that I am a supporter of doing nothing because things 'settle on their own' (sometimes this settling can take a generation's lifetime, a century or more), just means I don't like 'scaring' with dark perspectives. Just a mistaken approach according to me. You can stimulate someone much more with a carrot than with a stick, or am I wrong?

Can Sweden please hold the presidency for longer than just 0.5y?

2009-07-09T17:18:00.003+02:00

Since it would not be 'constitutional', can at least the Swedish approach stay for longer? What a wonderful initiative for climate-friendly food labelling. If they also implement a ban on unnecessary food packaging, I'll apply for a Swedish passport:)
You can read all about food that has 25 % lower climate impact here.

sunsets even on very cloudy days

2009-07-08T22:39:00.008+02:00

se plaire

2009-07-08T11:51:00.003+02:00

this is a very confusing verb, even if I speak other roman languages grrr!
I always get it wrong, between wanting to say: I like Brussels, I like Lucy, we like each other, Lucy likes me, gggrrr again! Someone needs to explain this to me:(

plaire /plɛʀ/ (conjugate⇒)

plaire à verb+preposition
1. elle plaît aux hommes men find her attractive;
  elle m'a plu tout de suite I liked her straight away;
1. mon travail me plaît I like my job;
  un modèle qui plaît beaucoup a very popular model.

se plaire reflexive verb (+ v être)
1. [people, couple] to like each other;
1. ils se plaisent ici they like it here;
1. il se plaît à dire qu'il est issu du peuple he likes to say that he's a son of the people.

[from wordreference]

vaya tela marinera: ALDE, Greens and Socialists team up

2009-07-02T13:34:00.006+02:00

Daniel Cohn-Bendit: "(...) There must be no vote on the Commission President before Lisbon is ratified."
Guy Verhofstadt "(...) not accept timetables imposed on Parliament".
Martin Schulz: "a victory on blocking the fast-track reappointment of Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso."

EPP's 264 and European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR)'s 56 votes, not enough for the 368 simple majority.

more here

some European fears of the Lisbon Treaty settled

2009-07-01T11:03:00.004+02:00

Calming all those in doubt, the German Constitutional Court ruled that the Treaty of Lisbon is compatible with the German Constitution. Quoting yesterday's Euractiv article ("German Court clears EU treaty for House approval") quoting the Court's judgement we are left with no doubt: (...) the treaty would not lead to the formation of an EU state. Rather, the EU under Lisbon would remain "an association of sovereign states to which the principle of conferral applies," the court ruled.
Moreover, (...) the treaty does "not confer on the European Union the competence to use the member states' armed forces without the approval of the respective member state affected".
Now we just wait for some necessary changes (in September) to the German national legislation (also a recommendation of the German Constituional Court), of course later (in October) for the Irish referendum, ultimately for Lech Kaczyński and Václav Klaus...

should I stay or should I go

2009-06-30T13:05:00.003+02:00

In reference to my post from June 16, about the implications of so many commissioners participating in this year's EP elections, for all those interested in following what's happening on the European arena, i.e. which commissioners remain in the Commission, which take up the EP, an almost resolved situation is presented in today's euractive article.

I guess all I need to do is complain a little;)

2009-06-30T12:15:00.006+02:00

Ever since the last post about it being very cold in Brussels, it has been sunny, stuffy, even hot, for a whole week straight! amazing the powers of blogging;)

Ps. I've been adding quite a few restaurants to my right hand side list. Almost all of the ones I've visited so far have been great, some have been just OK, but still good, just not recommendable enough, none have been terrible:) That is another wonderful aspect of Brussels, the variety of food and it's quality:) Plus the service is usually just excellent, friendly, awake, aware, with a smile and ready to assist you - I know a few locations where this package is either incomplete, not present at all, or very very rare...;)
I absolutely recommend going to all of the places on my list, and if anyone will have a bad experience in any of those, I just won't believe it...:)

you need warmer clothes in the summer than in the winter...

2009-06-21T23:58:00.004+02:00

Yes, this is by far the downside of Brussels:( No summer on the first day of summer is a bummer, even if I don't care so much about the weather. The weekend was really cold. I didn' know what else to put on myself. The thermometres keep lying! They keep saying 16 degrees. Yet it feels like 8. I don't exagerate. Being Polish I know how to dress for the weather, know how to deal with colder summers, and extremely cold winters. But we come badly equipped to deal with humidity, or with lying thermometres. When thermometres in Poland show 16 Celsius, you know you'll need a long sleeve, most likely a jacket if it's not sunny. But you know you won't need much more than that. Here 2 cotton layers, a coat and a scarf are not enough:( The local 16 is much more penetrating, be it the wind or the humidity, you just feel unprotected by what you wear:(
And I even chose Alaska for a honeymoon, so I really enjoy cold summers; but not like this. Not when dressing for the weather means still feeling cold.
In fact all weekend long I've been having Alaska déjà vus and didn't know why. That was the last place during summer when I felt this cold and so bulky from all the layers I had on LOL. Alaska was much more dry though....

the Eurocity in barbed wire

2009-06-17T18:06:00.003+02:00

In preparation for tomorrow's summit, the streets around Schuman are taking on a new look. Stands and barricades ok, but barbed wire -? Is that really necessary?

understanding the current situation of the EU

2009-06-16T16:02:00.005+02:00

It is definitely an interesting moment in EU's history. There are plenty of uncertainties and the more is uncertain politically and institutionally and dependent on some other uncertain, the more scenarios are possible for the coming months. I just read a very good article (The new European Commission) which explains just how complex is the current state. Anyone trying to get it all together will appreciate this piece:)

Perhaps a side topic, but definately related to the moment's unsettled issues, is something I have not paid attention to, i.e. the number of commissioners who participated in the latest EP elections, and the implications of this, in the event they got reappointed for commissioner. This section I'll just paste in directly, as it's really thought provoking...

Of particular interest this year, however, was the fact that a number of commissioners put themselves forward for June's EU elections as high-profile names on their national party lists. According to EU rules, if commissioners choose to return to their home countries to engage in active campaigning, they must leave their positions. However, if they simply attach their name to a party list, they are not required to step down.

As a result, a commissioner could, in theory, head an electoral list in their member state and gain many votes due to his/her high profile, then decide to not take up their seat in the Parliament, thus passing their seat to the next person on the list, all the while continuing to work for the EU executive. Indeed, this is precisely what happened as Commissioners Kuneva, Hübner and Reding topped the poll in Bulgaria, Poland and Luxembourg respectively.

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, president of the Party of European Socialists (PES), told EurActiv that "some commissioners will use their position to promote themselves as candidates. That is wrong, and the president of the Commission should insist that anyone who does so must stand down".

Strongly rebuking this practice, Rasmussen said although "commissioners are party-political," they "need to keep their official duties very separate from their political activities," adding that he "can name, shame and complain" if he believes "commissioners are abusing their positions or taking advantage of their president's party-political sympathies".

[via Euractiv]

[edit] Although, since I just read that Lewandowski was chosen for the Polish Commissioner I guess, at least in the case of Poland, there won't be dissapointed voters who will realise they have given their support to a person, who has turned down to represent them, and passed on the mandate to the next in line....who doesn't necessarly have to be bad...just wasn't the one voted for...
Let's see what happens in Bulgaria and Luxembourg.

3 things I love about Brussels

2009-06-14T23:46:00.006+02:00

I could probably give a longer list, but the 3 I want to mention really make me happy. It's something I have noticed since day one, something that calms me and makes me think this city is special.

Number 1 - plenty of roses. everywhere you look there's a rose garden, either a public space, the entrance of an apartment building, the front lawn of someone's private home, often they just grow wild, next to a tree in the middle of a sidewalk. Additional plus, they smell. The ones in The Netherlands never smelled. God knows I searched and searched up and down the bloemenmarkt, and all the flower shops of the Jordaan...

Number 2 - brids singing. For the moment we live in a place not too far away from the Council and Commission, so it's not literally in the centre, but it's still central Brussels. It's a jogging 7 minutes away from the Berlaymont. Our windows do go out to an interior courtyrard rather then the busy street, but still, we are right on a busy road. And I hear birds all day long. How perfect:)

Number 3 - so many people jog. The Cinquantenaire is almost always filled with joggers. It gives me a feeling of a city full of people who care about their health and fitness. Plus they're omnipresence gives me a healthy peer pressure, not to be any worse.

For the moment those 3 suffice, for a 1st month's summary:)

Faces of MEPs

2009-06-11T11:19:00.008+02:00

[via Gazeta Wyborcza]

Since I have to work on the html side of the previous post what I just found I'm posting to a new entry. The former one is already lengthy.
You don't judge a book by its cover, but I love seeing a face next to a name. If a face can be misleading, a name alone, even more. I think you can tell much more from a face than most people are willing to admit they do. Eyes further tell a wealth of information. I know this from personal experience and from some so far very limited reading. The study of interpreting human eyes though, I'm leaving for when I'm 65 - or perhaps by then I won't need psychology books to explain it all to me.
Malcolm Gladwell in his Outliers explained at a level for people with little science understanding, how many muscles there are in human face, how different combination of contracting together different muscles reflect an emotion, and how the observer, often unaware, reads (and acts upon) this information flawlessly. So yes, I think a face is important to see. Not for aesthetic judgement, but for a complete appreciation of the personality. Although, a face seen live (or least recorded in movement), tells much more, than one frozen on a photograph, it is always a step closer to full appreciation. So here are the faces of the new Polish MEPs.

European Election results & Polish MEPs

2009-06-11T10:38:00.009+02:00

Gazeta Wyborcza included after Le Monde a really cool gadget, where you can see the European Election results by country and by political affiliation. Available in several languages as well. How cool.

I could just give you a link, but I'm worried it will soon cease to function, so I'll copy from the article of Gazeta Wyborcza as well, the results of the Polish elections to the European Parliament. You never know when you'll need this;)

Ostateczna lista europosłów

2009-06-08, ostatnia aktualizacja 2009-06-08 21:43

Frekwencja: 24,53 proc.

Podział głosów i mandatów:
PO - 44,43 - mandatów - 25
PiS - 27,40 - mandatów - 15
SLD-UP - 12,34 - mandatów - 7
PSL - 7,01 - mandatów - 3
Centrolewica - 2,44 proc.

Mandaty:

PSL
Andrzej Grzyb
Kalinowski Jarosław
Siekierski Czesław

SLD- UP
Lidia Geringer de Oedenberg
Adam Gierek
Bogusław Liberadzki
Wojciech Olejniczak
Joanna Senyszyn
Marek Siwiec

Janusz Zemke

PO
Piotr Borys
Jerzy Buzek
Róża Thun
Małgorzata Handzlik
Hibner Jolanta
Hübner Danuta
Danuta Jazłowiecka
Sidonia Jędrzejewska
Filip Kaczmarek
Lena Kolarska Bobińska
Janusza Lewandowski
Krzysztof Lisek
Elżbieta Łukacijewska
Bogdan Marcinkiewicz
Sławomir Nitras
Jan Olbrycht
Jacek Protasiewicz
Jacek Saryusz Wolski
Joanna Skrzydlewska
Bogusław Sonik
Rafał Trzaskowski
Jarosław Wałęsa
Paweł Zalewski
Artur Zasada
Tadeusz Zwiefka

PiS
Adam Bielan
Tadeusz Cymański
Ryszard Czarnecki
Marek Gróbarczyk
Michał Kamiński
Paweł Kowal
Jacek Kurski
Ryszard Legutko
Marek Migalski
Mirosław Piotrowski
Tomasz Poręba
Konrad Szymański
Jacek Włosowicz
Janusz Wojciechowski
Zbigniew Ziobro

Podział mandatów w okręgach wyborczych

Okręg nr 1 Pomorze:
Janusz Lewandowski PO
Jarosław Wałęsa PO
Tadeusz Cymański PiS

Okręg nr 2 Kujawsko-pomorskie:
Tadeusz Zwiefka PO
Janusz Zemke SLD.

Okręg nr 3 Warmia, Mazury i Podlasie:
Krzysztof Lisek PO
Jacek Kurski PiS.

Okręg nr 4 Warszawa:
Danuta Huebner,
Paweł Zalewski i
Rafał Trzaskowski PO,
Michał Kamiński z PiS-u oraz
Wojciech Olejniczak z SLD.

Okręg nr 5 Mazowsze:
Jolanta Hibner PO,
Jarosław Kalinowski PSL
Adam Bielan z PiS.

Okręg nr 6 Łódź
Jacek Saryusz-Wolski
Joanna Skrzydlewska PO,
Janusz Wojciechowski z PiS.

Okręg nr 7 Wielkopolska
Filip Kaczmarek
Sidonia Jędrzejewska PO,
Konrad Szymański z PiS
Marek Siwiec z SLD
Andrzej Grzyb z PSL.

Okręg nr 8 Lubelszczyzna:
Lena Kolarska-Bobińska PO
Mirosław Mariusz Piotrowski PiS.

Okręg nr 9 Podkarpacie:
Elżbieta Łukacijewska PO
Tomasz Poręba z PiS.

Okręg nr 10 Małopolska:
Róża Thun,
Konstanty Miodowicz oraz
Bogusław Sonik z PO,
Zbigniew Ziobro,
Paweł Kowal oraz
Władysław Włosowicz z PiS,
Joanna Senyszyn z SLD i
Czesław Siekierski z PSL-u.

Okręg nr 11 Na Śląsku:
Jerzy Buzek,
Jan Olbrycht,
Małgorzata Handzlik oraz
Bogdan Marcinkiewicz z PO,
Marek Migalski i
Izabela Kloc z PiS oraz
Adam Gierek z SLD.

Okręg nr 12 Dolny Śląsk:
Jacek Protasiewicz i
Danuta Jazłowiecka z PO,
Ryszard Legutko z PiS i
Lidia Geringer de Oedenberg z SLD.

Okręg nr 13 Lubuskie i Zachodniopomorskie:
Sławomir Nitras i
Artur Zasada z PO,
Elżbieta Rafalska z PiS i
Bogusław Liberadzki z SLD.

Źródło: Gazeta Wyborcza

sleepless in Bruxelles

2009-06-11T02:08:00.004+02:00

It's late and I can't sleep. Tomorrow morning 2 (possibly more) apartment visits, so I'll have to wake up. I think I'm too excited to sleep. Under my skin I feel we're close to making a decision on the apartment. Just thinking that maybe we'll know soon where we'll live makes me too happy to sleep I guess.
The last apartment we lived in wasn't perfect, although it seemed so when we decided on it. Same story with the preceding one. This is what makes me worried and what perhaps contributes to insomnia more then excitement. I guess judgement on rented places is always weak... you can only notice so many things during a visit or two. The rest of the character of the apartment you can only discover living in it. Some later-discovered are just worse than others. For instance, the 2 last places had mice. Yes, I'm not kidding, real grey mice. Not every day, of course, but for me once in a lifetime of an apartment is enough... So I'll already be happy if our new Brussels home is a mice-free environment.
Many other things bothered us in the last 2 places, too many to waste time writing about them, but through these experiences a list got created, with all the apartment no-nos:) Things we in essence could have avoided had we known they'd cause trouble, or had we known they existed. 2 bad apartment experiences smarter than before, we approached this search with an extensive list of criteria. So demanding turned out to be our requirements, that many agencies remained silent after receiving the list haha. Whereas for me, those were just the basics that needed be satisfied for me to at all consider visiting the place. The very subjective do I like it, or do I see my things arranged here, or is it my style obviously could only be considered in the case an apartment met all the 'basic' demands.
I have seen very many places; most not satisfying the basic. But not satisfying 1 or 2 of them was good enough for me to contemplate it. All depended on which criteria was not met and how overachieving were the satisfied ones. Regardless my flexibility, all runner ups stayed as runner ups just for a short time. Whatever they failed in was usually just the beginning of other major drawbacks, often realized with a delay.
I have lived in very many rented places, well to me 7 is many, especially if I consider it was just during the last 8 years. Most places were found relatively quickly. I often found them towards the beginning of the search, continued to look some more and than realised the others were worse. A common mistake often made, I let charming places fool me, Charming is great, for a neighbour's dog, a postcard, or a weekend hotel. Your home, should be most of all safe and practical. The current narrowed down of runner ups is obviously full of charming places haha. I guess that's what charming is all about, fogging up your vision, keeping you hooked on something without letting you focus on the objective aspects. Keep your fingers crossed for a quick resolution; I've gotta move on to gym and job hunt.

Complaint about 24counter.com + my to do list is not shrinking:(

2009-06-09T11:32:00.004+02:00

Which is why I have less and less time to blog. But since I just checked the flag and the visit counters, and they both seem to be reset, I had to write and complain about both! I have no idea what happened. but I see that my other blogs where I was using the same counters have been reset as well:( What a shame I had to loose confidence after more than a year of being a happy user. The 2 counters I'm talkig about are both from 24counter, although one tracks total hits, the other total hits by country. Has this happened to anyone else? The Brussels blog is new, plus I blog less frequently and the slow flow of visiters I was getting was absolutely normal and it satisfied me perfectly; it was a good solid start. But a blog I've had since February 2008, suddenly shows 200 hits -? Thankgod I can verify with google analytics which says over 14590 visits... talk about credibility and popularity of my blog going down the drain. I won't complain more. I'll try to fiure out if there's a way I can manually reset them according to the statistics of google analytics. In the meantime though, I do not advise anyone using these tools, as without notice or explanation they failed to work properly. Unless someone can explain to me what happened and the explanation is perfectly rational and soothing...

from St. Martin to Anguilla

2009-06-02T18:21:00.003+02:00

Today is a 5th flip-flop day. It was very cold when I woke up. The chilly wind coming in through the window and the grey clouds beyond were a surprise, as I had checked the weather the night before. As soon as I was sitting I looked it up again and accuweather confirmed a high of 26 and full sunshine. Confused once more by the meteorology of my new home I dressed warm, but took flip-flops into my bag, just in case. Until 9.30 it was still cloudy and chilly, I was actually regretting not having taken a scarf. And then out of nowhere the heat settled. Ok, ok. It was not the Napoli, Barcelona or St.Martin heat. But it was very warm. So off went my mocasins, on came my flip-flops. I'm a bit picky about shoes, or rather I have very demanding feet. My shoes must be comfortable. Of course I love cool, pretty, fun and stylish shoes, so it takes forever for me to find a pair that satisfies all of the above criteria, once it does, there's almost no limit I'll go to, to get what I want;) Mine aren't any old flip-flops. These are bought in Cancun, made in Brazil, tested in the heat of Miami, St. Martin, San Juan Puerto Rico, Guadalajara, Mexico DF, Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Anguilla...Once I realised how wonderful they were, I bought myself more pairs in other colours, plus a few more for presents. I'm not much into boasting about brands, but if you want good quality flip-flops the Ipanema signed by Giselle Bundchen, are the thing to get. My well tested foot companion did not deal well with the Brussels heat haha. I did walk a lot today, partially because I had to run arrands, and partially because wanting to discover the city I took a few wrong turns. I just redid my route on google maps and the result is a bit over 11km; it felt like much more for the soles of my feet. When I jog that distance, I feel perfectly fine. Can't quite understand why I am in so much pain today. It looks far on the map, I did walk through 3 different neighbourhoods, but it is roughly the distance between St. Martin and Anguilla. No one's ever tried walking that of course, but anyone who's been to either, knows that the islands look like they're right next to each other, it looks like nothing. So why are my feet killing me!

4 days in a row of great weather...

2009-06-01T10:59:00.002+02:00

yes, there is a spring in Brussels. friends talk about sunburns, no kidding. I still practice precaution in dressing (haha) but the days are lately gorgeous!

mess on apt-for-rent pictures

2009-05-28T12:51:00.005+02:00

Do you get ticked off by an iron left on a bathroom sink? or a kitchen sink full of dirty dishes? I do! I can't believe some people don't. I know male student apartments that look tidier and cleaner than some of the Sodomas shown on Immoweb. I don't mean to judge the people living there, anyone can have in the privacy of their home the mess they desire. But to decide to photograph it with the purpose of gaining interest of potential buyers/tenants - that is just beyond me. People obviously have the right to their own levels of aesthetic needs and my higher expectations have no powers of influencing this, yet pictures, presenting either a sloppy house, or taken with a shaky hand, out of focus, do nothing to atract interest. I find them repelling. Sad, perhaps I omit good potential future homes; but once I see the mess, I just can't concentrate on other features and loose all interest.
Good for the ones who are less demanding I guess...

Elections to the European Parliament

2009-05-26T23:00:00.006+02:00

If you're a foreigner who lives in Belgium and still hasn't figured out how you can vote, it's time you do so if you're interested in participating! I wanted to vote. For a while was worried it wouldn't be possible, as I heard from Italian and Spanish friends, their deadlines were up. Fortunately this is not the case for Poles, or for any EU citizens who are resident in Poland, but who will be in Belgium on the day of the election. Very glad. It's not often public administration in Poland makes things easy, even less frequent, makes things better than the public administrations of other countries. This time, it has achieved it and deserves praise!

You can read more of the official notice here. Or go directly to the online registration which allows to register to vote anywhere outside of Poland (i.e. everywhere abroad where Polish Consulates organise elections). Very handy, easy, done in a minute.

The website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs actually clears up one last doubt I had, that is, do you need to register if you obtain a certificate of right to vote at home. I had called my city hall before digging all these infos on the web. As I had voted outside my place of residence before (but within Poland) knew I required the certificate and knew it was a simple formality to get it. Figuring that voting abroad should be similar I got the certificate just in case. Now I know that having registered online, the requirement of presenting a certificate does not apply to me. But since you never know, and since it cost me no trouble, plus was free of charge, I'm glad I have it just in case;)

aujourd'hui il fait vraiment beau

2009-05-20T14:23:00.003+02:00

After 2 days tied to my bed with my collection of vick's vapo rub products, I decided I had to go out. It looked nice out the window, but than again, so it did the day I underestimated the strength of the Belgian sun and got sick. I wanted to get back to my jogging, which I had so much enjoyed right after arriving. There may be many downsides to colder climates but when it comes to jogging, a max 20 celcius, is best according to me. Hesitan but eager, wearing 2 layers of tops and a scarf I headed for the wonderful Cinquantenaire. Today I took a different route and arrived at an entrance gate sooner. Would have liked to say, I just ran faster, but the weakened by the cold lungs and throat allowed only for an average tempo. Happy that I had found this shortcut, which not only meant I got to spend more time crousing the park allies, it also meant having to stop at only 2 roadlights. Although I avoided the busiest thouroughfare in the area, I did get to do my share of observations today as well. Not sure how much more warm it acually is today vis-à-vis Saturday, yet today I saw plenty of bare legs, short sleeves, once even flip-flops:) I also noticed that the more springy clothes and accessories sported today streched outside the limits of beige, brown and black. So maybe there is a spring in Brussels after all?;)
Without being too sarcastic, there's one advice I need to give to anyone who is planning a move to Brussels soon, 2 items you can not forget are a coat and a hair dryer. Air drying hair is not an option here at all, unless July proves me wrong. The lack of a coat just means you run a daily risk of wearing wet clothes. An umbrella is not always enough...

are the Poles really too sensitive?

2009-05-19T14:46:00.003+02:00

to read more on Poland's critisism of the video go to this Euractive article
or read the comments in youtube

First week in Brussels

2009-05-19T10:01:00.000+02:00

The first few days in Brussels have been great. Much more interesting than anticipated. I knew coming to Brussels would be a positive change, yet experienced with previous moves my expectations were veered towards the difficulties of a new unknown home, finding your way in a new mentality, with all street names sounding unfamiliar, all landmarks being of no reference point yet, having to ask about almost everything and scarcely being able to rely on intuition.
Brussels has turned out to be much less complicated in that sense. I still have plenty to discover, plenty to get wrong and plenty to be disillusioned about, but I can say with satisfaction, the first stage, which is behind me and which tends to pose most difficulty turned out to be fun and not difficult at all.
Brussels has so much of what I've missed for a very long time. Many deny it the status of a metropolis, stating it is obviously no NY or Paris, but I think it has all it needs to feel like a true great city. Public transport, boulevards, parks, cafes, boutiques, museums, gyms...I could go on, but from this list alone you already must realise I have lived deprived of basic urban civilisation and therefore understand am easily pleased.
Arriving here in spring has its advantages; the season in the north of Europe has a particular charm, everything has just turned vivid green from being grey for months, the plants are either in full bloom or about to, in both cases boasting the freshest of colours and offering the most tranquil of moods.
I did get sick though. I am still in awe of how unreasonably I behaved wearing flip-flops in Brussels in May... It seemed warmer. It was sunny and central heating is still on in the temporary accommodation we're staying at; I was under the impression that it really was warm enough. This feeling was reinforced by the fact that the preceding day I had seen so many people so 'over'dressed; there was plenty of wool scarves, jackets with fur collars, boots, thick tights. I was very surprised to see this because it seemed like full fledged autumn attire, where was everyone's spring closet? Not only were the colours all dark earth tones, focused mainly around black, but the fabrics were all heavy and thick. I was running late to a lunch date with my former classmates and as I underestimated the distance, was walking rather fast through the city centre. I wore a jacket but quickly got rid of it staying in a short sleeve t-shirt. I must have turned quite a few heads haha, but I was honestly too warm. In fact having gone jogging in the Cinquantenaire early that morning I had already then realised it was not cold at all. This one day experience of being too warm drove me to the conclusion that everyone here must be too stressed out to care about how they dress, insane or just very in love with their autumn clothing and made me all the more confident that I can dress much more spring appropriate. So I opted for bare legs and flip-flops; and here I am, second day in bed curing my cold. I still love the city though;)