The Eiffel Tower!!
Monday, August 4, 2008
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Sequel to "My First Time"
It's been a year since I posted my first blog about moving and missing everything about MI. I would say it is update time.
The past year living here in GA has been a tough one. We have had issues with our teenage daughter (which I will not go into) in November I gave up my Suburban for a smaller car. That lead to a major breakdown for me. I mean MAJOR.... Who knew one could be so connected to a gas guzzling, money burning vehicle?? My husband actually considered moving us back up north because of how I reacted to that. He really did not know how to handle it and I could not help him since I was just as perplexed as him as to what the hell was happening to me.... I like my car now so I am over it. :) It took me until the first of the year to accept the fact that I was not just visiting and would be moving back to MI soon. Last Fall I did however get involved and started a Newcomers group and have made a very good friend from that. Also I am very involved in a local online mom's group and we get together often for lunches, night's out etc etc. So yes I have made friends and I am doing much better. I usually do not have a problem with making friends and putting myself out there. Just this move was so emotionally hard on me that I have noticed myself not putting in the effort. Who knows maybe it is a subconcious way of protecting me. Why make great friends, make myself part of the community just so I can go through that again when we move next time. Yes it's a morbid way of thinking and no I do not like it at all.... So the first of the year I decided to jump off the pity potty cliff and knock it off... Things have been much better, it's amazing how a positive attitude can change your outlook on things. Who would have thunk it?? Now school is starting up again next week and my plan is to become much more involved with the schools this year. I took last year off, but I am ready.
The past year living here in GA has been a tough one. We have had issues with our teenage daughter (which I will not go into) in November I gave up my Suburban for a smaller car. That lead to a major breakdown for me. I mean MAJOR.... Who knew one could be so connected to a gas guzzling, money burning vehicle?? My husband actually considered moving us back up north because of how I reacted to that. He really did not know how to handle it and I could not help him since I was just as perplexed as him as to what the hell was happening to me.... I like my car now so I am over it. :) It took me until the first of the year to accept the fact that I was not just visiting and would be moving back to MI soon. Last Fall I did however get involved and started a Newcomers group and have made a very good friend from that. Also I am very involved in a local online mom's group and we get together often for lunches, night's out etc etc. So yes I have made friends and I am doing much better. I usually do not have a problem with making friends and putting myself out there. Just this move was so emotionally hard on me that I have noticed myself not putting in the effort. Who knows maybe it is a subconcious way of protecting me. Why make great friends, make myself part of the community just so I can go through that again when we move next time. Yes it's a morbid way of thinking and no I do not like it at all.... So the first of the year I decided to jump off the pity potty cliff and knock it off... Things have been much better, it's amazing how a positive attitude can change your outlook on things. Who would have thunk it?? Now school is starting up again next week and my plan is to become much more involved with the schools this year. I took last year off, but I am ready.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Culture to Culture.
Yea yea I know I have not posted in a long time. But as I stated in my first post I am not very good at this so you were warned....
I just got back a couple of days ago from my first overseas vacation!! Or as they call it over there my holiday. I kind of like that saying, going on holiday. Sounds very chic don't you think? I have lot's of stories but will start with this one.
My sister and I went to Paris, France for 10 days and then to Barcelona, Spain for 5 days. If you have been you will get this but if you have not here is a bit of info for you just incase you decide to go.
I knew as soon as I stepped off the plane in Paris that I was not in Kansas anymore, I don't live in Kansas but we all know what that means right? The French culture is so different. There is no sense of personal space and let me tell you if you are not moving along to wherever you are going you will get run over. They are movers, they have somewhere to be and that is what they are focused on. At first I considered this very rude as there is no excuse me or anything from anyone. But once I realized this is the way then I adapted and it worked very well. The people in Paris walk everywhere, they take the metro (which is a fabulous system) , scooters are the thing to use there, as a matter of fact I would love to get one for here. Great gas mileage and easy to find parking... It is not a wonder that I did not see any overweight people over there. Well until I looked in the mirror...:) Except of course at the museums which were full of tourists like myself... The only muffin tops I saw were in the bakeries where they belong.. When people talk about sitting at a outside cafe in Paris they are not kidding. Just about every restaurant has sections outside. Also they all have their menus posted so you just roam from one to the other checking out the menus and prices until you find the one you like. It's a great system as there have been many times that I have chosen a restaurant here, sat down and looked at the menu and realized this is not where I want to be. Do be prepared to spend time at a cafe when you go. They do not go out to eat, they go out to socialize. It is not uncommon to sit at a table for several, several minutes before a server even gets to you. Then expect about a hour for each course, so if you order entree (which is appetizer over there), a plat (main course) and a dessert you will spend on average 3 hours at dinner. To me this was very refreshing once I got over the "where is our server, why have we not been brought our drinks, what is taking so long to get our food" shock. Here in the states we tend to rush through our meals and throw a fit if we are not waited on immediately. I went to lunch with my husband yesterday and the server was apologizing for the food not being out after only 10 minutes or so of taking our orders. I found myself eating much slower while my husband plowed through his meal and was done before I had finished half. Then he and the waiter both asked if I wanted a to-go box. LOL... That is another thing you do not get in Paris is to-go boxes for leftovers. You eat what you eat and that is that. They do have take away places which I also love that term. Take Away. Something about it just feels nice.
Not everything they do works for me however. Such as ordering water. Make sure you order tap water. Other wise you will get bottled water and you will be charged. You have to ask for ice and soda's cost more than most drinks and they are usually warm... McDonalds (yes I went into one the last day or so of being there) pre-pours their sodas, so when you order a coke they just turn around and grab the one on the counter. Bleck... It is flat and warm. So get your sodas out of machines, unless of course you like warm flat Coke. If you are a Pepsi fan good luck finding it. Coke is the main soda over there. I did not see a Pepsi until I went to Spain and then only once. Luckily I am a Coke fan. The toilettes are mostly co-ed and some you have to pay to use. Usually only about 50cents. The first time I experienced the co-ed was my second day. We had lunch at a wonderful little cafe in the Latin quarter and I used the toilette. I payed my 50cents and went in. It seemed like a normal room, a sink and a stall with a door. I was the only one in there so I go into the stall, lock the door and hear someone come in. No big deal they will just wait till I am finished right??? Well I open the door and what I failed to see when I entered was right across from my stall was a room with a urinal. So as I exit my stall expecting to see someone waiting to use the stall I see a man with his back to me using the urinal...... Let's just say I was shocked and no I did not hang around to wash my hands.....lol I promptly left. I never really got used to that situation. LOL..... Overall the restaurant experiences were fabulous and if you attempt to speak in their language then they are very nice and will try to speak in your language to help you out. Learn the basics such as Bonjour, Mercy, etc and you will do just fine.
I just got back a couple of days ago from my first overseas vacation!! Or as they call it over there my holiday. I kind of like that saying, going on holiday. Sounds very chic don't you think? I have lot's of stories but will start with this one.
My sister and I went to Paris, France for 10 days and then to Barcelona, Spain for 5 days. If you have been you will get this but if you have not here is a bit of info for you just incase you decide to go.
I knew as soon as I stepped off the plane in Paris that I was not in Kansas anymore, I don't live in Kansas but we all know what that means right? The French culture is so different. There is no sense of personal space and let me tell you if you are not moving along to wherever you are going you will get run over. They are movers, they have somewhere to be and that is what they are focused on. At first I considered this very rude as there is no excuse me or anything from anyone. But once I realized this is the way then I adapted and it worked very well. The people in Paris walk everywhere, they take the metro (which is a fabulous system) , scooters are the thing to use there, as a matter of fact I would love to get one for here. Great gas mileage and easy to find parking... It is not a wonder that I did not see any overweight people over there. Well until I looked in the mirror...:) Except of course at the museums which were full of tourists like myself... The only muffin tops I saw were in the bakeries where they belong.. When people talk about sitting at a outside cafe in Paris they are not kidding. Just about every restaurant has sections outside. Also they all have their menus posted so you just roam from one to the other checking out the menus and prices until you find the one you like. It's a great system as there have been many times that I have chosen a restaurant here, sat down and looked at the menu and realized this is not where I want to be. Do be prepared to spend time at a cafe when you go. They do not go out to eat, they go out to socialize. It is not uncommon to sit at a table for several, several minutes before a server even gets to you. Then expect about a hour for each course, so if you order entree (which is appetizer over there), a plat (main course) and a dessert you will spend on average 3 hours at dinner. To me this was very refreshing once I got over the "where is our server, why have we not been brought our drinks, what is taking so long to get our food" shock. Here in the states we tend to rush through our meals and throw a fit if we are not waited on immediately. I went to lunch with my husband yesterday and the server was apologizing for the food not being out after only 10 minutes or so of taking our orders. I found myself eating much slower while my husband plowed through his meal and was done before I had finished half. Then he and the waiter both asked if I wanted a to-go box. LOL... That is another thing you do not get in Paris is to-go boxes for leftovers. You eat what you eat and that is that. They do have take away places which I also love that term. Take Away. Something about it just feels nice.
Not everything they do works for me however. Such as ordering water. Make sure you order tap water. Other wise you will get bottled water and you will be charged. You have to ask for ice and soda's cost more than most drinks and they are usually warm... McDonalds (yes I went into one the last day or so of being there) pre-pours their sodas, so when you order a coke they just turn around and grab the one on the counter. Bleck... It is flat and warm. So get your sodas out of machines, unless of course you like warm flat Coke. If you are a Pepsi fan good luck finding it. Coke is the main soda over there. I did not see a Pepsi until I went to Spain and then only once. Luckily I am a Coke fan. The toilettes are mostly co-ed and some you have to pay to use. Usually only about 50cents. The first time I experienced the co-ed was my second day. We had lunch at a wonderful little cafe in the Latin quarter and I used the toilette. I payed my 50cents and went in. It seemed like a normal room, a sink and a stall with a door. I was the only one in there so I go into the stall, lock the door and hear someone come in. No big deal they will just wait till I am finished right??? Well I open the door and what I failed to see when I entered was right across from my stall was a room with a urinal. So as I exit my stall expecting to see someone waiting to use the stall I see a man with his back to me using the urinal...... Let's just say I was shocked and no I did not hang around to wash my hands.....lol I promptly left. I never really got used to that situation. LOL..... Overall the restaurant experiences were fabulous and if you attempt to speak in their language then they are very nice and will try to speak in your language to help you out. Learn the basics such as Bonjour, Mercy, etc and you will do just fine.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Orthodontist Nightmare!!!
I dont even know if I should write about this. I might overload the site with the rage that is seeping out of my fingers into the keyboard....
When we moved here my daughter was already wearing braces. So of course I had to get a ortho right away so she would not miss any appts. Well on our insurance there is only one ortho. So I called the office and was told I had to have her records from the other dr. Ok that's fine. I called up to MI and got them to send her records to the office here. Well after about 2 weeks of calling the office to see if they had gotten them I called the office up in MI. Just to make sure they sent them. Well of course they had. So the secretary there said she would call the office down here to find out what was going on. Now I had JUST talked to the office here before I called MI. (are you still with me? Good..) So about 15 minutes later MI calls and she cannot believe it. When she called the office here they told her that they had the records right there... So I call back to the office here and all I get is a recording. Now the recording says if you are a new patient please leave your name and # and we will get back to you. Yeah whatever... Did I hear back from them you ask? Of course not... So I had to leave and go back to MI and continued to call the office here and all I could get was this recording... Never did they call me back. By the time I got back down here I had had it. I called once again and what do you know. THEY ANSWERED!! I told them I was coming in to pick up the records and going elsewhere... In the mean time my daughter had a dentist appt and they also do ortho there so I thought I might as well check that out right? I mean get it done at the same place... Well, no. They only do the simple orthos and nothing complex so after wasting time at the dentist when I could have had a appt elsewhere the dentist refers me to another ortho and guess who?? Yeah that's right. The same one I had just walked into and took the records from. I am thinking that I will give them another try and see if getting a referral will help. So I set up a appt and finally get in there only to sit in the waiting area for a hour and a half. We finally get called back and my daughter has a broken bracket by this time. Not a big deal usually. The ortho sees her (oh and I walked into the office to make the appt and gave them back the records.) and goes through the files and asks if I have the records from her old ortho??? I said "Uh no.. I gave them to the lady when I made the appt." He calls the woman back and she says "nope we dont have them" I said "Yes you do. I gave them to you when I made the appt" So she goes to look again and of course she finds them. Then the dr says that they have to remove the braces that she has on because the material belongs to the other ortho and if something were to happen later on this dr would not be responsible since it was not his originally.. Ok whatever, just do it. So of course I have to make another appt for that... So we make a appt for last week and she goes in and the woman tells her that they will be putting bands on her and she tells the woman that she already has braces on. The woman looks at her and says "Well I dont know what you are doing here then" So out comes my daughter and tells me this. They call me up to the front desk and proceed to tell me that when they made the appt they did not realize that she had to have those removed first, so we would have to come back since it will take longer.... So they set up the appt for this morning at 8am... My daughter and I get there and no one is there.. I mean the door is locked.. So I call the office thinking they just forgot to unlock the door. Nope no one answers except that damn recording.... We sit in the parking lot till 8:25 during that time I call several times and go to the door and knock several times.... I called my husband and told him that he may be getting a call from the local sheriff sometime soon..... Because I am going to kill someone..... After waiting I called my insurance and asked them what happens if I use out of network. Well NOTHING happens with ortho. It does not matter who you use.. Why the hell would you not just say that. If it does not matter then why have it..... Needless to say I am in the process of getting a new ortho. After dropping my daughter off at school I called the office and of course still got the recording. This was at 9:00am. I told them that I had been there and waited almost a half an hour and that I have had nothing but problems with them and that I would be finding a new place. Also the moldings and xrays they took of my daughter, that I would be in to pick them up, since I paid for them, they are MINE....
Phew... I do feel better now. Thanks for listening and if you did not get through the whole thing I understand Of course if you did not you would not be reading this.. Also I never realized how many times I say so...
_________________
When we moved here my daughter was already wearing braces. So of course I had to get a ortho right away so she would not miss any appts. Well on our insurance there is only one ortho. So I called the office and was told I had to have her records from the other dr. Ok that's fine. I called up to MI and got them to send her records to the office here. Well after about 2 weeks of calling the office to see if they had gotten them I called the office up in MI. Just to make sure they sent them. Well of course they had. So the secretary there said she would call the office down here to find out what was going on. Now I had JUST talked to the office here before I called MI. (are you still with me? Good..) So about 15 minutes later MI calls and she cannot believe it. When she called the office here they told her that they had the records right there... So I call back to the office here and all I get is a recording. Now the recording says if you are a new patient please leave your name and # and we will get back to you. Yeah whatever... Did I hear back from them you ask? Of course not... So I had to leave and go back to MI and continued to call the office here and all I could get was this recording... Never did they call me back. By the time I got back down here I had had it. I called once again and what do you know. THEY ANSWERED!! I told them I was coming in to pick up the records and going elsewhere... In the mean time my daughter had a dentist appt and they also do ortho there so I thought I might as well check that out right? I mean get it done at the same place... Well, no. They only do the simple orthos and nothing complex so after wasting time at the dentist when I could have had a appt elsewhere the dentist refers me to another ortho and guess who?? Yeah that's right. The same one I had just walked into and took the records from. I am thinking that I will give them another try and see if getting a referral will help. So I set up a appt and finally get in there only to sit in the waiting area for a hour and a half. We finally get called back and my daughter has a broken bracket by this time. Not a big deal usually. The ortho sees her (oh and I walked into the office to make the appt and gave them back the records.) and goes through the files and asks if I have the records from her old ortho??? I said "Uh no.. I gave them to the lady when I made the appt." He calls the woman back and she says "nope we dont have them" I said "Yes you do. I gave them to you when I made the appt" So she goes to look again and of course she finds them. Then the dr says that they have to remove the braces that she has on because the material belongs to the other ortho and if something were to happen later on this dr would not be responsible since it was not his originally.. Ok whatever, just do it. So of course I have to make another appt for that... So we make a appt for last week and she goes in and the woman tells her that they will be putting bands on her and she tells the woman that she already has braces on. The woman looks at her and says "Well I dont know what you are doing here then" So out comes my daughter and tells me this. They call me up to the front desk and proceed to tell me that when they made the appt they did not realize that she had to have those removed first, so we would have to come back since it will take longer.... So they set up the appt for this morning at 8am... My daughter and I get there and no one is there.. I mean the door is locked.. So I call the office thinking they just forgot to unlock the door. Nope no one answers except that damn recording.... We sit in the parking lot till 8:25 during that time I call several times and go to the door and knock several times.... I called my husband and told him that he may be getting a call from the local sheriff sometime soon..... Because I am going to kill someone..... After waiting I called my insurance and asked them what happens if I use out of network. Well NOTHING happens with ortho. It does not matter who you use.. Why the hell would you not just say that. If it does not matter then why have it..... Needless to say I am in the process of getting a new ortho. After dropping my daughter off at school I called the office and of course still got the recording. This was at 9:00am. I told them that I had been there and waited almost a half an hour and that I have had nothing but problems with them and that I would be finding a new place. Also the moldings and xrays they took of my daughter, that I would be in to pick them up, since I paid for them, they are MINE....
Phew... I do feel better now. Thanks for listening and if you did not get through the whole thing I understand Of course if you did not you would not be reading this.. Also I never realized how many times I say so...
_________________
Thursday, August 16, 2007
My first time!!
Ok so get your head out of the gutter. (you know who you are) It's not about 'that' first time, although maybe someday it will be.
This is the 'first time' blogging on here for me.
I am not sure what I am doing on here. I feel like I want to blog but then I think, "who the hell is going to want to read my thoughts?" Know what I mean? I am starting all over with a new life so what do I write about? My old life or my new one??
My family has moved away from the place I called home and left everyone behind. Now, I have moved soooo many times in my life so this should not be a problem for me, right? Well this time it is. I really considered for the first time in my life that place home. I got involved with the community, schools and made some fantastic friends. You can go to the grocery store and most likely see someone you know and knows you back. Of course this was a downfall when I would go with bedhead, bags under the eyes and a stain on the shirt. Then you would always see someone no matter the time of day. I am sure you all can relate. Now I am in a city of 100,000 and I walk through the grocery store and think, "will I ever see a familiar face?" I have often jokingly called myself a gypsy with all the times I have moved and started over. Each time gets better but for now I am still back there in the grocery store that I recognize and recognizes me stained shirt and all.
This is the 'first time' blogging on here for me.
I am not sure what I am doing on here. I feel like I want to blog but then I think, "who the hell is going to want to read my thoughts?" Know what I mean? I am starting all over with a new life so what do I write about? My old life or my new one??
My family has moved away from the place I called home and left everyone behind. Now, I have moved soooo many times in my life so this should not be a problem for me, right? Well this time it is. I really considered for the first time in my life that place home. I got involved with the community, schools and made some fantastic friends. You can go to the grocery store and most likely see someone you know and knows you back. Of course this was a downfall when I would go with bedhead, bags under the eyes and a stain on the shirt. Then you would always see someone no matter the time of day. I am sure you all can relate. Now I am in a city of 100,000 and I walk through the grocery store and think, "will I ever see a familiar face?" I have often jokingly called myself a gypsy with all the times I have moved and started over. Each time gets better but for now I am still back there in the grocery store that I recognize and recognizes me stained shirt and all.
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