Mar 28, 2011

Things I Should Miss

When I lived in France, there were many things that I didn't think that I could live without.  But many of those same things, I hardly use now that I am back in America.  It seems to silly to me now that I longed for:
1) peanut butter
2) maple syrup
3) fried chicken -- I do have this about once every 2 or 3 months
4) black beans, which I do like, but come on, they taste just like any other bean
5) macaroni and cheese
6) mint chocolate chip ice cream
7) anything Ben and Jerry's
8) lemon poppy seed muffins


Yet there are still some things that I was right to miss:
a) comfortable shoes -- I love you teva and clarks
b) crab chips, you have to be from MD to understand
c) ability to eat stuff and understand people.

Mar 20, 2011

Darkside of Vancouver

I have been totally uninteresting for the last month.  I feel like I am in the work, kids, clean, sleep, repeat mode.  I even went to Vancouver and spent the entire time in the hotel.  Well actually I do have one good story from Vancouver:
So on the first night in Vancouver my "conference roommate" and I  decide that it is time for a little Karoke.  I had a post-dinner meeting to attending until 9:30, so she did all of the 'fun night out' research.  She finds 2 Karoke bars, both with great reviews online and were within walking distance of the hotel.  So we have our map and our foolishness.  Get to bar 1.  Dive bar, no karoke and a few toothless 'regulars'.  Then we started off on the road to bar 2.  I began at some point that the neighborhood was getting shadier, but this was Vancouver, how dangerous could it be.  At some point though, there are about 100 or so people standing on the sidewalk in this one block.  That seemed odd, there were no businesses on that block, at least none that are open at night.  Hmm, it wasn't until we got too close that I noticed that half of the people were selling drugs and the other half are buying them.  Ooops.  Well the worst thing to do at that point would have been to turn around and run away.  So we charged on, walked through the 'drug' block to the other side towards this Karoke bar, which I didn't even want to go to any more since it obiviously was in a bad neighborhood.  It was closed.

Although I have to say, the worst part of Vancouver at night seemed safer to me, than the worst part of Baltimore during the day...Needless to say, that when CR suggested Karoke the next night, I just had to say 'NO' ;)

Mar 2, 2011

TV Woes

Somehow my TV, that I got in France, was involved in a head on collision with a toy truck and she didn't make it.  So we decided maybe it was time to by a new TV.  The thing I like about my old TV was that it took 110-220 power and accepted NTSC, PAL and SECEM input.  So I thought, maybe I could find a replacement on the internet.  So I bought one on www.220-electronics.com.  And a few days later my TV arrived.  The TV had the extra-special bonus of having a region-free DVD player.  But my happiness was not to last forever, the DVD player didn't work -- on any DVD.  So I called and they asked me to send it back.  It has been several weeks later and they STILL haven't sent me a new TV and they WON'T refund my money.  They claim that the TV they sent me was fine and that I don't know how to work a DVD player.  I really hope my credit card company can help....