In the ongoing car drama, a police report was filled out and I was told the snow removal company's insurance company will be contacting me in the next 12 hours.

I moved aside the door rim and large shards of glass in order to get the car out of the way. Also emptied it of all the casino player cards I had in the glove compartment.

I'm still hoping it gets repaired. If it's considered totalled, I'll have to present a title, which if I had it, I'd have exchanged my Nevada plates for Illinois.

It's been so long, I can't remember where that title may be. It could've been lost in the move to Las Vegas or the move to Chicago, it could be in storage in Nevada, I may not have ever received it, and the bank I was making car payments to is no longer around. I'll be trying to contact the Nevada and Virginia DMV to see if they have a copy.

I rented a car last night from Enterprise because of their pickup service. I got the driver's life story in less than 2 miles. He asked my opinion about a woman he met a month ago who already asked him to move in. He suspects she's lonely for the holidays but they have a good relationship. The previous night he tested her commitment by getting her to drive over to his place in the dead cold night. She's 42 and he's 40 with a 12-year marriage below his belt.

If he took up gambling, he wouldn't have time for this.

§
Final pictures of the Belgium and Holland trip...

Today is Dec. 6, St. Nicholas' Day. In Belgium, it's customary for children to leave their shoes by the fireplace the night before. Throughout the night, St. Nicholas will drop things down the chimney, filling the shoes. Nice boys and girls get toys, candy, chocolates, and cookies. Naughty boys and girls get coal and twigs.




St. Nicholas has a helper/servant named Zwarte Piet, or Black Pete.

Throughout town I spotted Belgians dressed in blackface as Black Pete, handing out nuts to people.

Strange custom, but then, we have flying reindeer led by one with a very shiny nose that glows.



At the Brussels airport is an area called Kiddieland. The United States is represented by the rocket ship.



The European Poker Masters (EPM) is being broadcast in Dutch. I only caught the word "floop."

On the way to McDonald's (skipped the Royale with Cheese for the Chicken Mythic, which was a tasty chicken, cheese, and bacon with some special sauce), I saw someone drop a 20 Euro bill. I called out to him and chased after the bill while people unknowingly kicked it around. By the time I retrieved it, the guy was gone and I was 20 Euros richer. With a casino trip on the agenda, this lucky money was going to win me mega Euros.




Holland has about a dozen casinos (with over 6000 slot machines), all of them not too confusingly named Holland Casino. We checked out the one in Breda, the site of an old church connected to an upscale movie theater. The main courtyard was covered and went up three levels (with the main level being 0 and the level below being -1). Poker was advertised, but I didn't see a poker room.

There's normally an admission charge of 2.5 Euros, but we were there on Ladies' Night. Apparently non-ladies complained of discrimination, so that night is now free to everyone. I didn't see many ladies anyway.

Jackets must be checked at coat-check, which I think is a scam to get a tip out of you on the way out.

What struck me about the casino was how quiet everything was. No loud drunk frat guys, no free drinks.

We had dinner in the brasserie next to a fireplace, and we were the only diners for 3 hours. Had fun with a coworker, who mistakenly called the dessert sampler the Grand Pleasure instead of the Grand Dessert. I didn't correct him and said careful ordering that in Amsterdam. He unexpectedly asked the waitress for it by that name and she blushed and flirted with, "You might have better luck on a Saturday night." He realized the mistake and used my line, and she winked, "It's not just in Amsterdam."

I'd ordered the vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce as part of my prix fixe, but the Grand Dessert/Pleasure was served instead. I didn't mind.



The bathroom stall at the Holland Casino included a plunger. Asking where the restroom was gave blank looks; in Europe, it's "toilets."

Never did get to gamble, which was just as well. I spent my lucky money on a cab ride.



This mysterious sign provided hours of debate. Some thought the numbers were bus routes, some thought they were remaining parking spaces.




Two coworkers and I ducked into a Brussels bar with women dancing to disco music. This dog eyed me suspiciously, and in retrospect, he was probably telling me to leave.



I went to the corner of the bar to play this AWP-like machine called Magic Circus, my form of research since I didn't get to play slots at the casino.

The combination slot/pinball machines are found throughout bars in Europe, and they're confusing as anything. It begins as a video slot machine that releases a ball that enters a hole which you can sometimes depress to get to some numbers. Even after reading the instructions in English, I didn't know what was going on.

Each play was 0,25 Euro but you can bet more per game. The machine took me for 5 Euro before I gave up.

Returning to the bar, a guy approached me and shook my hand. He kept speaking in French and I tried to follow what he was saying. He passed by me to go to the toilet and I couldn't be sure if he touched my ass on the way or if it was an accident.

When he returned, he resumed his one-sided French conversation with me.

I heard "ami" as he pointed to my coworker. I said, "Oui, ami."

He then made a gesture with his two index fingers. I said, "No, not that kind of ami."

Looking around the bar, all the women had disappeared.

He kept trying to shake my hand, and I decided it was best not to agree with anything he said, just in case I committed myself to something.

We weren't entirely sure that the place wasn't a gay bar.

When we left, I found out he had done the same thing with my two coworkers: shook their hand, brushed their ass, and made that finger gesture.

So not only was I manhandled by a gay European, I was also chosen third.