Another Thing I Learned in Brussels
Writing by blake on Friday, 6 of April , 2007 at 5:35 am
I got into my hotel room (staying @ Thon - Hotel Brussels City Centre) yesterday and for the life of me couldn’t figure out how to turn on any lights. I’m used to just walking in and flipping on switches. Standing there perplexed I also noticed that the AC wasn’t working. I then call down to the front desk and explain I can’t get the lights to turn on and the AC appears to be out. They told me that rest assured somebody would be right up to help. Coming off a 5,000+ mile flight to get here I was dying to take a shower. With the lights not working I contemplated any other options I had to take a shower:
A) Go to the grocery store next door and buy some candles and matches.
B) Buy a battery operated strobe light or disco ball at a pawn shop.
C) Use the force and shower in the dark.
D) Get a bucket of water, towel, bar of soap and find a back alley.
E) Wait for the hotel to help me.
I went with option E. However, after waiting 30 minutes I realized I needed to go down to the front desk. Apparently Amelie who took my request failed to put in an actual request so I was back at square one. The guy working said he would send someone asap. When I returned to my room I had a hotel worker with the wooden boards off and wires everywhere. Within minutes he had the AC working again. I asked him about the lights and not speaking any English he basically asked me in French if I had put my room card into the white box. My response was “white box?” I quickly scanned the room looking for anything that looked like a white box. He then pointed to this white object by the door and said in order to have electricity in my room I had to leave my room card in it. Otherwise no damn electricity. Inserted my card and left it in. Several seconds and wamp wamp wamp the electricity came on.
As a side note the whole ordeal made me think this situation would make a great big hair 80’s rock band song, “Put your card… in the white box, in the WHITE BOX, in the white boooooox! OOO OOO OOOOOHHH!!!”
Category: Things I Learned in Brussels
- Add this post to
- Del.icio.us -
- Meneame -
- Digg
Comment by Rob Fleury
Made Tuesday, 17 of April , 2007 at 12:27 pm
Oh my god, I nearly fell out of my chair laughing at the last sentence. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Europe, but from what I remember, every public service was broken down into how much money they could make at any possible intersection.
You would go to a public bathroom, and if you wanted to drop a deuce, 1$. If you went into a McDonalds, and your table had a fan, but if you wanted to use it, 1$.
Wamp wamp, what it do what it do!
