It’s not what you know.

Last week, all the locks of the apartment I live in were changed with only one purpose: open all the different doors with just one key.
After an incredible amount  of nagging and whining, the promotor and real estate guy of our block yielded and kept a promise made three years ago. It’s quite a hassle, you know, dragging around separate keys for the gates, your front door, your apartment door, the cellar, the garage, and in my case even the elevator (it ends up directly in the hall of my apartment and therefore can only be operated with a key).

Little did I know of what was going to happen next…

Happy Halloween!

Friday night. Feeling good. Feeling like having a drink. Feeling like going out! Hell yeah, let’s party!
So I made myself a delicious meal (fish and veggies in the oven, marinated in white wine, with mashed potatoes), and had a glass (ok, two glasses) of wine.

I wasn’t going to finish the bottle all by myself, so I decided to drive to my lovely 79-year old mother, and finish the bottle together with her.
While doing that, I started calling and texting some friends, hoping that somebody would join me to dive into the night. But no…

Apparently everybody was so busy doing their own thing, so they left me no choice. For the first time in my life, I had to go out alone. No way that I was gonna stay in. Hell no, let’s party!

So I came home from my mom, switched my car for my bike (oh yeah, I was gonna go drinking!)  and headed for a café in the center of the small village that I live in.

Coming in, it was funny to see all the heads (8 heads, to be precise) turn my way, then looking at me from head to toe, soaking in their first impression of me. And yes, I know: you never get a second chance to make a first impression. So I ordered a beer. And another one. And before I knew it, people started buying me beers, just to have a reason to talk to this stranger. Where are you from? How long have you been living here? What’s your name?
I must admit that this night was way beyond my expectations. Those people were special, in oh so many ways.
So we Belgians may not be so aloof after all. At least not all of us.
Happy Halloween!