The O'Reilly's Shuffle
There's this thing - it's called the O'Reilly's shuffle.No, it's not a dance.
It's the way one walks the morning after spending way too long at O'Reilly's the night before.
I was to meet - the always charming - Lara for Thai food last night. She wanted to try out a new Thai restaurant Fanny Thai. We are always on the look out for a replacement for Davi Thai which has gone from absolutely fabulous to downright terrible over the last 3 years. Davi Thai used to be an institution - I know people who ate there 2-3 times a week because it was so good - that was before it became a touristy food factory.
Anyway - while cleaning out my e-mail in-box (which takes me forever because I always stop and e-mail friends I haven't communicated with in ages) I decided to mail an old friend and ask if he was still in Belgium. He said 'of course', and that he was still going to O'Reilly's regularly as it is right down the street from his flat. What a coincidence. I could pop in and have a wine with him on the way to meet Lara.
I had arranged to have my dog walker take Bunny Dog until late in the evening so I didn't have to go home before dinner to walk him.
I wandered down to O'Reillys - affectionately known as OR in Brussels sms or text messaging lingo (Wild Geese is WG - and so on).
Anyway my friend was there and he looked great - we had a good catch-up over a glass of wine and then Lara arrived, ushered in to OR by the equivalent of Lake Victoria dumped by the bucket-load from the skies. It was rats and dogs raining. Tipping down. So she decided to get sitting and stay put. Another wine? Well, why not?
Talk talk talk - when Lara mentioned that she needed to contact Aussie Girl because she wanted to meet up with her in London next week, my other friend said - I know her! He reminded me that he met her when we went to Le Corbeau many years back. He correctly remembered her as the Aussie Girl who took a massive and spectacular fall off a table while dancing - as you do at Le Corbeau. Yep, Why yes, the very same Aussie ! I think she was in rare form that night too - he reminds me that she had some extracurricular activities that night. Of course she did - hey - it's Aussie Girl after all!! :-))
Ok - Lara and I made it to the Thai resto and it wasn't bad. Lara ordered some honey ribs which were very nice looking, succulent and perfectly cooked, but so honey-laden they were overpowering. Could have used some spice to hot them up a bit. My beef with Thai basil was great. I could actually taste the vegetables - they were so fresh and clean - each with a distinct flavour - even the bamboo shoots. The sauce was not too think and gloopy - very well scented. Pleasing. I had Shu Mai (steamed pork dumplings) to start, which were very nice and homemade.
So, amply fuelled, we returned to OR. My friend had been home and changed from his suit to casual wear. Another wine...some dancing. Talk talk talk. Possibly a few dances and a few flirts and glances. possibly.
I was home and in bed by 12:30. Bunny Dog was a little stand-offish because he knew that I had been out without him. Tough.
This morning it's cold and rainy again - (remember a while back I said there would be a day in August that lets you know winter is coming in Belgium? That was a couple days ago) Anyway - I have a distinct shuffle in my walk today. Something leaden keeping my feet from lifting off the ground more than absolutely necessary for the function of walking. The bare minimum of effort.
At the office this morning. There's a new cleaning crew - this is about the 12th new crew we have had - none of them ever do a good job for more than 1 week. Anyway - these women were awfully thorough and pushy - kinda like Portugese pit bulls - moved me right away from my desk and wiped everything down, whipped out the vac and started to do the carpet.
All of a sudden, a weird noise. The unmistakable sound of something being sucked in the vac that shouldn't have been sucked. The pit bulls dissect the vacuum and it's hose. Finally, finding the culprit of the clogged nozzle.
The cover of the heel to one of my shoes. Seems the O'Reilly's shuffle has worn down my heels and made them lose this morning. Oh well...it was worth it.
posted by Brussels Confidential @ 11:09 AM
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