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<\/a> I realize I left something important out of my discussion of listmaking as a form of collecting.\u00a0 I forgot to mention one of my favorite types of lists, and one that\u2019s excruciatingly appropriate for this journal: I collect places<\/em>.\u00a0 I can tell you every US State I have visited.\u00a0 Every National Park.\u00a0 Every country.\u00a0 I get demented delight in adding items to these lists.\u00a0 So, as you can imagine, that creates a significant \u201cvalue-added\u201d bonus to the current trip.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \/\/\/<\/p>\n A pretty basic work day.\u00a0 Today was the first day after the entire office got converted to the new software, and so we were pretty busy \u2013 mostly with some keyboard language issues.<\/p>\n Took a lovely walk through the neighborhood after work.\u00a0 Brussels is full of Japanese cherry trees which are in full bloom, and the city is being carpeted with petals in a thousand shades of pink.\u00a0 It\u2019s quite magical.\u00a0 I hope to get some pictures of the blossoms before they\u2019re gone.\u00a0 I need to hurry if their moment of glory is as brief as it is in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n Had a scare with the laptop tonight in the hotel room.\u00a0 Moments after winning my first Player Versus Player gear upgrade from Baradin Hold with a pick-up group, the laptop simply died.\u00a0 I freaked out:\u00a0 Was the pressure from the 220V European wall outlet too much for my laptop\u2019s power source, despite the label saying it was okay?\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"gold_leaf\"](\"http:\/\/rayivey.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/gold_leaf2-199x300.jpg\" "\\"gold_leaf\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nCities I\u2019ve Worked in Before current trip<\/h4>\n
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<\/a>I let the machine cool off for an hour and it then started up with no problem.\u00a0 From now on I\u2019m not leaving the power source plugged into the wall.\u00a0 Perhaps I should even use the transformer I purchased and have with me, just to be safe.\u00a0 During the hour I thought I\u2019d lost my laptop I realized how, in a short time (since only October) I\u2019d gotten used to having a real computer with me on the road.\u00a0 It\u2019s difficult enough to be without my smart phone while in Europe (this lack causes me physical pain daily).\u00a0 The specter of being without phone OR computer felt grim.\u00a0 Fingers crossed.<\/p>\n![\"Intersection](\"http:\/\/rayivey.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/juggler-300x199.jpg\" "\\"juggler\\"")
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