Texas needs a new reputation

Much to my husband's dismay, I'm from Texas and proud of it.  But living in France and being a Texan is kinda funny.  

First people ask me if I'm British.  Nope, American I respond.
Where in America?  Texas, I respond.
I kid you not, two people, at two different occassions, upon hearing this made their hands in the shape of guns, put them at their hips then drew them like pistols and went "pow-pow"
Another said, "Texas!  Oh! JR, Dallas!" (man, Europe really has to get up to speed with our new TV shows)
The final time someone tipped his pretend cowboy hat at me then pointed to my shoes and asked where my boots are.

Dear god, really???

Organ doner

I heard a story from a Dallas radio station that we still listen to...last weekend this high school student was hit in the head with a softball at his team practice, put in a coma, and a few days later passed away.  Really sad, but the amazing part is that he had just signed up as an organ doner.  His parents honored that wish and several of his organs were disbursed to needing parties.  One of those happened to be a  young girl living in Arkansas.  She was within a few hours of dying because her little heart couldn't take it anymore - until she was given this kid's heart.  All is going well now for her.

How could anyone not be an organ doner?  Sure you hear paranoid people talk about the money hungry doctors not trying on a patient because they can get more money off the organs...or maybe that was just in some bad lifetime show.  I choose to believe doctors are not that bad.

Why just throw away those organs?  Why not let them go to good use and help another person like this little girl?  I just don't get why everyone isn't an organ doner...

SOOO typically French

Suprisingly common...you hear about this kind of stuff happening all the time.

My friend went to Paris last weekend.  She tracked down the little "booth" where you have to purchase the bus tickets for Versailles (about an hr outside of Paris, huge tourist attraction)
She walks up to the little French guy at the booth,
"I'd like 1 bus ticket for Versailles for today"
"That will be 19Euro"
Payment is made, bus ticket is printed and handed to my friend.
"Where do I catch the bus and what time does it leave today"
French vendor "Oh, the bus has already left for today"
"But you just sold me a ticket for today - can I get my money back because I can't go tomorrow"
French vendor "I can't give refunds once the ticket is printed"

The service counter of a furniture/electronics store - you pay for the item in the store and then come to this service counter in the back to pick it up - no matter what the item.
My friend  waits in line for 30 minutes, when the Customer Service lady decides
to go to lunch (with people still in line) - this means the place is closed for 2 hrs.
After 2 hrs she returns from lunch and the counter opens again.
My friend, after waiting 30 minutes in line again"Hi, I purchased this printer the other day and it's broken"
Customer Service lady (after looking at the printer) "You need to go to the front of the store and get a piece of paper to return it"
So my friend goes to the front of the store, and is told to go to the back of the store.
He goes back to the back, waits in line another 30 minutes, gets to the front of the counter "They told me to come back here to return this printer"
Customer Service Lady "Sorry, we don't take returns for that brand of printer"

Another friend...calling a bank
"Hi Mr Banker, I need to make an appointment to come see you this afternoon"
Mr Banker "No problem, how about 4PM today"
"Great, I'll see you then"
later my friend hears a rumor that banks are closed this afternoon for the Carnival parade (schools too) so she calls Mr Banker back.
"Is your bank open this afternoon?  I've heard some may be closed for Carnival"
Mr Banker "No, we are closed for this afternoon"
"Um, but earlier we made an appointment for 4PM this afternoon, remember?"
Mr Banker "We are closed this afternoon"

And it's not something they do to just mess with "etrangers" in this last situation my friend has lived in France for 20yrs and speaks fleuent French.

Ahhhh Barcelona

We spent last week there - I love Barcelona - so normal compared to France...
People actually have some self awareness and will step to the side if they're walking towards you on the street...

Plus great shopping, cheaper than France.  So I decided I need a new pair of black boots, why not look for them in Barcelona?  But I have a hard time spending money (aka I'm cheap), I also really wanted to get a massage...just thought it's be nice and I could have it done at the hotel vs trying to find a nice place.  Considering how cheap I am I didn't see me spending 100Euro on a pair of boots AND 60Euro on a massage.  

So, I decided to try to trick myself.  I scheduled a massage for Wednesday at 4 thinking, because of how much I wouldn't like spending money on both, this would ensure that I'd find the perfect boots.

So, Wednesday at 4 came and instead of boots or a massage I ended up getting a flu shot in the butt by a Spanish doctor.  Woo hoo, that didn't really work out how I planned.

Aaahhh La Rambla

There are things you can always count on seeing on La Rambla:
Tons of tourist
Old guys sitting in the chairs watching the tourist
Caged birds (pigeons siting on top of the caged pigeon's cage mocking his freedom)
Street performers (no, not hookers)
Stores, stores, stores
restaurants, restaurants, restaurants
Crazy guy talking to himself

You can always count on seeing those...by far my favorite area of Barcelona.

Starbucks Snob

So one day I decided to stop at a Starbucks, get a nice Cafe Mocha and relax and read my book inside where it's warm.  (Don't worry Sparky, with no whip cream it's only like 3grams of fat, and I never get the whip cream)

I walked up to the counter, the Spanish punk rock coffee snob asks me what I'd like
"Tall Cafe Mocha please, no whip cream"
Without missing a beat he says "No, tall is for children, do you want this or this (picture him holding up two other sized cups)"
That one (as I point to the smaller one)
I pay and as I'm waiting for my order I think he must have misunderstood me, he must have thought I said Small, instead of Tall (right, tall is what they call their small, but whatever, there's also the expresso size that I have seen them give to kids before)

What I ended up with is a grande (meduim)
What a total coffee snob - what was he thinking, I can't seriously want a small/tall, "if you're going to drink coffee do it right and get the big size"  whatever.

No I didn't go back, yes, I drank it....

Kissing record

I rode the subway a lot in Barcelona.  One morning I got on, along with another couple, and ended up sitting directly across from them.  They kisses so many times from the moment they sat down until the next stop, and so loudly, I couldn't believe it.  The more people that got on didn't stop them either - just continued with the loud pecking kisses.  I decided to count and see how many kisses they could give each other.  Don't worry, I'm not some total freak, I didn't have to look to count the kisses - you could easily hear them across the metro car.  

97 kisses.
97 kisses between that 2nd stop, when I started counting, and three stops later when I got off the metro.

Boobie

So I'm sitting in this little cafe in Barcelona, finishing my sandwich, decided I had a good spot so I'd relax for a little bit and read my book.  Then this lady and her baby plop down at the table directly in front of me...no worries right, I don't mind kids in restaurants, even when they're crying.  Until she proceeds to pull up her sweater in the restaurant and pop out the boobie to breast feed.  She's in my direct line of sight so there's nowhere else to look without turning my body.  I'm just soooo not comfortable with public breast feeding...it's bad enough when they do that "cover my whole body and baby with a blanket to try to cover it" thing, but this lady just lifted up the shirt and let it all fall out like it was nothing...

RATS!!

Oh my god, I think we have rats in our house.
That freaks me out so much to say but I don't know what else it could be.

I was just standing in the kitchen stirring my soup (and noiseless process) when I heard
something above me.  There is a small attic door that sits slightly crooked in the kitchen...
directly above where I was standing.  

I'm pretty good at distinguishing noises - what I heard was tiny nails walking across that 
attic door.  Rat or mouse, no doubt about it...they don't have squirrels here...too small for a cat...

This freaks me out totally...rats...or mice...

Thank Buddha I've never seen them in the house...I don't know what else it could be.

Must always have a cat or dog...
Must always have a cat or dog...
Critters won't come around with a cat or dog in the house...

...right...