Keroin
aKwatic
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2009
- Posts
- 8,154
Whew, the whirlwind tour has come to an end. The dust - or snow, as the case may now be - is still settling as I get set up at new address #253 but I do have some actual free time now.
Anyhoo, it's been almost two months and, aside from the odd popping in, I've barely spent any time in the cafe. I'm sure lots of stuff has happened in that time so feel free to fill me in!
Also, thought I'd share a few observations about my travels, (in no particular order).
1. Southern California has a serious air quality problem. Wow. I mean, I always knew it was bad but...wow. I had the misfortune of driving through the central valley, en route from Vegas to the coast, and I assumed the thick cloud of "gunk" was smoke from one of the wildfires until I was informed that it is just the normal agricultural pollution. People actually live and work in that??!!!
2. Food is so cheap and plentiful! (Irony - see above).
3. After two years on the Rock, it really struck me, upon returning to civilization, how inundated we North Americans are by advertising. It is everywhere. The sheer amount of it made me dizzy.
4. TV still sucks.
5. Customer Service in N. America is pretty damn good most of the time.
6. Reports of the recession were not exaggerated. I must say, however, that the US is suffering far more than Canada, (well, at least BC). Our woes are minuscule compared to the stories I heard from the south.
7. What has happened to our attention spans? Do we really need TV's on gas station pumps?
8. The San Bernadino freeway has more litter on the side of it than most third world highways I've driven on. Can't some people be employed to pick up trash?
9. Bubble baths are still one of my top ten favourite things in the world.
10. It is very strange to have to worry about how I look again. I suppose it's part of the deal but where, on the Rock, I used to just leave the house in any state - hair askew, dirty and mismatched clothes, etc - I now think twice about how I look. This bothers me and I'm going to resist it.
11. N. Americans are too obsessed with appearance, specifically with the appearance of youthfulness. The skin cream hawkers in the mall, in Vegas were all over me. One guy called out, "Excuse me Ma'am, do you want to try a free sample of a cream that will help get rid of those fine lines and wrinkles?" I called back, "I got these wrinkles from living in the sun, on the ocean, and I love them!"
12. There is a lot of insidious stress in "civilization". I will work hard not to let it permeate my soul.
13. I still like leather belts. Sorry cows.
Blah, blah, blah. There's so much more I could say but that's a start. I missed you guys! I won't have as much idle chat time anymore but I'll still try and join in when I can. I hope this little dispatch finds everyone well.
Smiles - K
Anyhoo, it's been almost two months and, aside from the odd popping in, I've barely spent any time in the cafe. I'm sure lots of stuff has happened in that time so feel free to fill me in!
Also, thought I'd share a few observations about my travels, (in no particular order).
1. Southern California has a serious air quality problem. Wow. I mean, I always knew it was bad but...wow. I had the misfortune of driving through the central valley, en route from Vegas to the coast, and I assumed the thick cloud of "gunk" was smoke from one of the wildfires until I was informed that it is just the normal agricultural pollution. People actually live and work in that??!!!
2. Food is so cheap and plentiful! (Irony - see above).
3. After two years on the Rock, it really struck me, upon returning to civilization, how inundated we North Americans are by advertising. It is everywhere. The sheer amount of it made me dizzy.
4. TV still sucks.
5. Customer Service in N. America is pretty damn good most of the time.
6. Reports of the recession were not exaggerated. I must say, however, that the US is suffering far more than Canada, (well, at least BC). Our woes are minuscule compared to the stories I heard from the south.
7. What has happened to our attention spans? Do we really need TV's on gas station pumps?
8. The San Bernadino freeway has more litter on the side of it than most third world highways I've driven on. Can't some people be employed to pick up trash?
9. Bubble baths are still one of my top ten favourite things in the world.
10. It is very strange to have to worry about how I look again. I suppose it's part of the deal but where, on the Rock, I used to just leave the house in any state - hair askew, dirty and mismatched clothes, etc - I now think twice about how I look. This bothers me and I'm going to resist it.
11. N. Americans are too obsessed with appearance, specifically with the appearance of youthfulness. The skin cream hawkers in the mall, in Vegas were all over me. One guy called out, "Excuse me Ma'am, do you want to try a free sample of a cream that will help get rid of those fine lines and wrinkles?" I called back, "I got these wrinkles from living in the sun, on the ocean, and I love them!"
12. There is a lot of insidious stress in "civilization". I will work hard not to let it permeate my soul.
13. I still like leather belts. Sorry cows.
Blah, blah, blah. There's so much more I could say but that's a start. I missed you guys! I won't have as much idle chat time anymore but I'll still try and join in when I can. I hope this little dispatch finds everyone well.
Smiles - K
