Remeber me?

[AndreRA3]

Hey folks,

Just dropping by to say hi to everyone, and to thank you all once again for that farewell lunch a couple of weeks ago!  Sorry it took so long, but I was only able to move in to an apartment a couple of nights ago, and just got an internet/cable tv connection set up last night.  Man, these belgians are a bureaucratic bunch!  You need an appointment in order to do almost anything! 

I just finished setting up some furniture in my apartment, and I now have a coffe table to hold that MotoGP book  .  In related news, I just finished watching WSBK superpole live on Eurosport 2.  Ah, life is good.  I wont spoil anything, but Kiyonary and Tom Sykes had a couple of flying laps out there!!!  And yes, I will be watching the races live AND on HD tomorrow.  Did I say life is good???  Would it be bragging if I said that I'll also watch supersport and superstock?  And that no less than 5 channels will broadcast the F1 race tomorrow?  Live?  and one in HD?

Oh yeah, the beer here is fantastic, as expected.  I've managed to have more than a few different ones already, and I've only barely scratched the surface.  One store I went to bragged about having 280 varieties in stock !!!

Anyway, I'm pretty beat up from all the work, so I'll stop typing before I start talking in circles...

take care,

André

P.S. if you hear of a touristy-looking guy traveling through belgium with a Ducati Dallas shirt and a stupid ear to ear grin on his face, that's probably me.  Cheers 

[bryant8]

Andre its great to hear you settling in and enjoying the Euro-life.  Must be tough with all the great beer out there. 

[caffeinejunkee]

Oh yeah, the beer here is fantastic, as expected.  I've managed to have more than a few different ones already, and I've only barely scratched the surface.  One store I went to bragged about having 280 varieties in stock !!!

It's good to have important goals in life  ; this seems to be one worth shooting for.   

Good to hear from ya!

[fastwin]

Great hearing from you Andre!! Glad things are settling down and you are getting the important things taken care of first... like making time to drink beer and watch Superpole and the races. Remember, don't tell them anything about Brazil or being from the US... you are from Texas! It makes a huge difference! Go ahead and lie a little bit too, but in TX it's not lying it's just telling it like it is. You have a ranch, 1000 head of cattle, haul hay in your Cadillac to feed your cattle, oh yeah, horses too, several oil wells, lots of guns and lots of stuffed animals hanging from all the walls of your ranch house. Show 'em your scars from the Indian attack you survived and most of all proudly wear that t-shirt from the Ducati shop you own in Dallas!

Keep us up on all the inside news from the Continent! Keep having fun!! Oh, did I forget to tell you about the 107 degree temperature that you're missing?? Wish you had taken that with you when you left! It's miserable. Hope things are much better for you.

Stay in touch. Hey, is your brother still alive?

[♣ McKraut ♣]

my sympathies are with you now that you will not be able to find any truly fine beers such at natural light...very sad.

[AndreRA3]

You know those little Heineken kegs you can buy in a supermarket?  We've got those over here as well, except that with beers like Stella Artois, Leffe, Juliper...  Someday I'll just have to buy one. 

Brian,  the texas thing really works!  A couple of times people have asked if I'm from the states, and when I say "Not really, but I've been living in Texas for the past 10 years" their attitudes change completely.  When buying my TV, I managed to surprise the cashier with a credit card so backwards you have to swipe it ("no chip on it? I haven't seen one of those in years!!!"), so I said "sorry, I just came from a backwards country, the States".  When I tell the guy I lived in texas, he said "Oh, Texas is not that backwards!" 

But yeah, I'm settling in nicely.  Won't get to see the races live today, since I'm going to Bruges for the day, but thankfully I got a DVR.  Life is good 

André

[fastwin]

Outstanding! Keep having a great time even if we are not! It's people living life like you are that keep the rest of us going! Do it for the rest of us.

[♣ McKraut ♣]

you need a flickr set or something so that we can live vicariously through you.  plz thx.

[AndreRA3]

And so it shall be done, just as soon as I start photographing things more seriously...  I took a little point and shoot to Brugge today, just to have it run out of batteries in 1 hour 

Hopefully next weekend I won't feel so beat up and will take my SLR with me wherever I go!!

[calscrazy]

you gotta go to amsterdam for me. i hear that's a rowdy bunch. i have been to 13 different countries but never any in europe. i gotta get out more often. of course some of those were USMC related so the parts i saw were prob just the nude shows and not the touristy stuff. i hope you are doing well and have a few for us poor smucks back here     

[AndreRA3]

Been there earlier this year...  It would better if only it wasn't treated like europe's springbreak location all year round.  Too much fratboy-like behaviour for my taste.  But to each their own, and it's still an awesome place 

[LYD]

Andre,
Glad life is good for you in Belguim, many of us wish we were there, but were not so enjoy life while you can it only lasts a short time.   

Enjoy and don't be a stranger!!

[Duc L'Smart]

Great to hear from you, André!

We've all been worried sick to death, you poor little boy all alone in a big strange country...

Sounds like you're having fun

Let us know when that spare room is ready so we can pop by for a visit. I'm thinking maybe next June through September? Lemme know...

Ciao