It seems the "typical" weather of Belgium has finally set in. For the past week it has been cloudy, rainy and somewhat cold. It's still fluctuating a bit, though. The sun pokes through at least once a day and it varies between jacket temperature and several layer temperature. Today I wore a hat and gloves for the first time to go to the store.

Our apartment offers some protection against the cold. However, we have to stay semi-bundled inside as well. Toes, fingers, and noses get cold. Turn on the heat, you say? If it were within my power to do so, I would. We have radiators here, but the landlord has yet to turn the heat on for the building. Cranking the dial on the radiator does nothing. Apparently, it is customary for the Belgian landlords across the land to turn on the heat on October 1st. That date has come and gone, but still no heat. Kristen e-mailed the landlord on October 2nd, but she has still not responded. I called today and left a message on her cell-phone, but still no call-back. We're thinking they probably went out of town and forgot about the whole "heat thing". Strikes me as more than slightly unprofessional. Sure, it's not that cold, but I don't think I'm crazy to expect that I don't have to wear two pairs of socks, shoes, and sweater when I'm inside. Am I overreacting?

Aside from that, things are pretty good. We had our Jeroen, Valerie, and Arthur (our Belgian friends) over for dinner on Saturday. I cooked an "American Dinner" of barbecue chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob. They enjoyed it. Though Arthur, their infant child, got a little cranky for 20 minutes or so. Anyway, we had a good time and will hopefully do something like that again.

I'm still in flux regarding the whole job situation. I had two preliminary interviews last week, as well as a "technical test" to gauge my knowledge of software, hardware, and networking. The interviews were with two different job agents who have submitted me to their clients. Still waiting to hear back from them. Both jobs are call-center "tech support" positions for Swedish speaking people. So, if I am hired, my Swedish will improve tremendously which, if you ask me, is pretty funny. This is Belgium! They speak French and Dutch, but I now end up relying on Danish and Swedish. Two languages that have been heretofore pretty much useless. Now they are perhaps my greatest asset in the Belgian job market. The irony is not lost on me.

Keep your fingers crossed. I have a few other leads percolating, but nothing as solid as the two interviews. However, come December without a job, Belgium will kindly ask me to go live somewhere else (as I've stated before). Hopefully, I'll hear something tomorrow about these two jobs.

--RP--