Not PC. At all.

A friend forwarded a link to me recently.  I confess I have spent way too much time looking at the maps. I do like to look at maps, but usually skip the political maps as I find them dull.  These are not those.

I like to think that, as a European, my knowledge of European maps is good.  Sadly, it is not and Google Maps has helped fill in the gaps.

My knowledge of the map of the USA is similarly challenged.  Took me years to figure out that Arkansas and Ah-Kansas were the same state.  Bill Clinton helped me out there 😉

Anywho, I digress …

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Open wide!

I have been searching for a new dentist.  My old dentist, well, I wasn’t happy.  Nuff said.

I found my new dentist on Yelp.  Why?  I couldn’t find anyone who would recommend their dentist!  I was hoping that the comments on Yelp were genuine – much of what I have seen about local restaurants is too extreme to be useful.

“The meat was off and I ended up in hospital”  Vs  “The waiter kissed my shoes and gave me free champagne”

The truth is somewhere in the middle.

Anywho, I digress …

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Like many people, I’m anticipating the flu season.  I’ve had the seasonal shot and am waiting to “qualify” for the H1N1 shot.  In the mean time, I am stocking up on decent pocket tissues.

A few years back, a fellow expat of mine pointed out the difference between UK Kleenex pocket tissues and those sold in the US.  Same brand, same packaging but very different quality, or so he said.  I confess, I thought he was “having a moment”.  There is a very big difference between Kleenex and store brands, but the same brand purchased in a different country?

I took the nose test … and he was right.  The UK version is soft, strong and absorbent, the US version, not so much.  More of a spreader than wiper.

I always have a pack of tissues in my (fabulous!) handbag, attractively packaged in a handy tissue holder.  Imagine my dismay on a recent trip to the UK, when I stocked up on pocket Kleenex, only to discover that the UK Kleenex have morphed into the US Kleenex!  The horror!!

I have been test driving (nosing?) all the brands I can find.  They are all spreaders, not wipers.  Do let me know if you discover a good one.

Anywho, I digress …

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There's no place like home. There's no place like home ...

Once people are done with telling me about their vacations in the UK and how cute my accent is, the inevitable next question is:

“Why did you move here?”.

My automatic answer is:

“Money, the weather and opportunity”.

Sometimes I vary the order depending on the preceding conversation, but in reality, there is no order.  All three are of equal value.

Personally, I think the actual act of moving to the USA is the more interesting question.  Six weeks after a trip to the US from the UK for interviews, the house was sold, I had a green card, the four cats were crated and in the hold of the plane and we were on the way.  I am very decisive.  And it was 1996, so things were much easier then.

Anywho, I digress …

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