These are just things that have fascinated, intrigued or amused me in the land of Uncle Sam this week.
1. The school loud-speaker. Every day at the elementary school, as school is just about to finish, I hear the loud-speaker. It’s the principal or whoever telling the kids about what’s happening tomorrow or that week. Sometimes there is a ‘chosen’ kid who gets to make an announcement, and they are obviously very chuffed to do so – you can tell they are beaming with American pride!
I don’t recall there ever being loud-speakers in UK schools that I went to – a bell rung loudly in our ear to wake us up at 7am in the dormitory at boarding school, yes, but a loud-speaker, nope.
It reminded me of Grease’s Rydell High. Love that! ‘If you can’t be an athlete or you can be an athletic supporter.’ 😉
2. British and American differences. The Telegraph ran a recent piece about cultural translation, and this one has stuck with me, and got a few reactions from Brits.
Cultural translations
Interesting…..
3. Rhyming books American style. I was reading a book to Harry that had come from his school library and I realised, after I had read it with my British pronunciation, I really need to read it out loud with American pronunciation to make it rhyme. Try it, you’ll see 😉 .
You say tomatoes, I say tomatoes 😉
And here concludes today’s musings.
P.S. The sun is shining today, but there is snow forecast for tomorrow! 😦
Recently there was a chat by British expats and others via the Twitter hashtag #mindthechat (from BBC America) about American optimism and British negativity, for which we are renowned and quite aware (almost proud?!) of. Are the Americans just dreaming the dream and reaching for the unattainable, and are we Brits just a bunch of glums who are more realistic in our outlook?
I’ve developed a sense of optimism out here that I can achieve things I’ve wanted to do for ages, like write stuff (ooh, look that’s what I’m doing right at this moment!) and much of what I have set out to do I have accomplished.
An American friend said I was more American in my thinking, but to be honest I can still have that British voice going on in my head that reeks of cynicism. Someone commented that I should become a motivational speaker when I return to the UK, but I can envision it now – me telling a bunch of Brits that change really is possible if they put their heart and soul into it, and they surely can do that thing they want to do (thinking Tom Cruise in Magnolia….) because it is not impossible.
The response from my British audience? They’d all be sitting there wishing it was the tea break, shifting awkwardly in their seats and sighing inwardly at the nonsense I am spouting forth. I just don’t think that kind of thinking sits comfortably in the British psyche. Our cultures and outlooks really can differ so.
Some of the best comments from the Twitter chat are worth sharing about the American optimism and the British pessimism (read as ‘stiff upper lip’). Enjoy!
– My US husband’s optimism balances out my [British] pessimism – it works well.
– In Britain people will moan about rain for months, then, when one hot day comes along they instantly complain about the heat.
– Do Brits maybe equate happiness with stupidity, whereas Americans think the exact opposite?
– British expats are happier in the US… UNLESS they decide to moan about how happy everyone else is!
– Stiff upper lip = perseverance. Brits are happy just not in a “I’m going to shout it off the mountain tops” way.
– When I think of Britain I think of depressed people in the rain waiting at bus stops holding a plastic carrier bag.
– I once said living here [in the USA] is like living with 350 million Labrador puppies!
– I’ve actually come to enjoy the “Have a nice day” culture of the US. Certainly beats the constant misery of British shopkeepers.
– Americans always seem to over-share both positive and negative stuff. I just smile and nod, obviously.
– Living in the US has had a profound effect on my outlook.
– Americans don’t complain about their kids like Brits do.
– In the US it’s OK for parents to boast about kids and in UK it’s more the done thing to complain.
Are we really such ‘bah humbugs’?!
Interesting stuff, hey? Comments welcome!
Dude Ranch
I have a need to go to a Dude Ranch. I don’t know why, because I don’t ride and don’t much like horses, but I like the idea of what it all has to offer.
But, I have one request for the Dude Ranch, and it is quite simple and very shallow: the cowboys must be young and hot in a John Ross from Dallas kind of way, and not old and gnarly and farty in a Blazing Saddles kind of way. 😉
This kind of cowboy, if you please 😉
If anyone knows of such a Dude Ranch, please let me know…. 😉 .
Gary’s flags
Yesterday I posted this picture of Gary’s flags.
Gary’s flags
Apparently, Gary has defied the rules here. How naughty! Etiquette dictates that the American flag flies first (to the left) when in the host country. So now we know!
American date confusion
Yesterday I thought it was my 40th birthday in the USA because the date was written 3/12/2014 in the American stylie.
But it wasn’t, since it was obviously March 12th and not December 3rd.
American-stylie dates
So, I was gutted in one way not to have a party, but I guess also happy not yet to be 40!
The wonder and beauty of the Interweb is that I am able to connect with Brits and Americans all over the place. Obviously, since I live in America, it is most excellent that they are based in America and that we talk about our lives in America. 😉
One such fella is Gary Archer, who, despite having lived in the States since he was a wee nipper, is very, very British at heart.
Gary from London/California, innit.
Reasons you can tell Gary is really, really British:
a) he likes naughty and rude humour;
b) he likes ‘proper football’;
c) he spells stuff with a ‘u’ or ‘re’;
d) he likes my British bits in my blog.
Gary Archer was born in London, and emigrated to the United states at the tender age of eleven. Married with two children and two dogs he lives with his family in Calabasas, California (lucky bugger).
After finishing school he went straight into the family business as an apprentice dental technician. In 1996 he branched out into the movie business, designing a line of dental prosthetics for use by the film and TV industry. His credits include the Austin Powers teeth, the Blade trilogy, Interview with a Vampire (OMG, has he had his hands in Brad Pitt’s mouth!?) and, most recently, Nebraska and The Wolf of Wall Street. Check out all those celebrity teeth at his website, GA Enterprises.
Gary made them gnashers, don’t ya know!
Gary is a true storyteller and will be giving us little snippets and anecdotes of his time in the USA on this very blog every now and then. So, sit back, take that cuppa (or pint) in hand, and read his story, which was obviously written with a very British twinkle in his eye… 😉 .
How I Nearly Scored For England……
The story of interesting bits of my life, and living it large in Los Angeles.
The following stories are true, however the names have been changed to hide the everlasting shame of the participants.
It was about as cold, wet and miserable as the San Fernando Valley ever got, which to be honest really wasn’t much compared to where I used to live back in a small town just outside Greater London at the end of the Northern Line.
The annual New Year’s day England v Scotland match had been a pub staple ever since I could remember going into the pub and becoming involved with proper football again after moving to America, the home of peculiarly shaped [foot]balls.
A proper soccer team in California 😉
Gary and his family – what lovely teeth they have!
And so it came to pass that as usual, Scotland had scored on their only attack of the game, and the England team were camped out in the Scottish half, with Joe and Andy having a wretched game between them, either blazing high over the bar, or failing to trouble big Kevin in the Scottish goal at all.
Where was I during all this? On the sidelines as an unused sub, in no small part due to the fact that a goalkeeper with a broken thumb is about as much use as a chocolate fire grate. However, I was willing to play on the field (we had no other subs) and the persistent drizzle was making a mockery of the field in about the same way as the Scottish supporters were giving the England supporters stick and insults galore.
About 10 minutes from the end of full-time, the Scottish centre back just about takes Andy’s leg off in the penalty area and gives up a spot kick to England which Mark B duly dispatches into the net to level the score at 1-1. Andy by this time has hobbled off clutching what remains of his leg, leaving us down to 10 men. “Come on Archer!” yells old Doc, the team manager. “Get up front and see if you can stick one in the net for us.”
Now my field playing days were long ago and, if truth be told, I couldn’t trap a bag of cement, much less play the central #9 strikers role. But we were short, it was 1-1 with 5 minutes to go, and running around was better than sitting in the thin drizzle getting cold.
Both sides seemed quite happy to settle for a draw and I think the old Taffy the bespectacled Welsh referee was about ready to call it over and retire to the pub for some complimentary homemade Shepherd’s Pie when, to everyone’s amazement, little George came streaking down the wing, skipping two tackles and a soggy wet scarf thrown by a bemused Scots fan, and chipped over an inch perfect cross that Lionel Messi would have been proud of. All I had to do was get to it. I gave it everything I had and threw myself at the ball headfirst, making contact with the ball and flicking it outside of the Scottish keepers outstretched arm and into the net.
The crowd went mad, the players went mental, and I lay face-down in the mud buried under six bodies screaming and shouting……until we heard the whistle.
To the Scottish players relief, and the English howls of anguish, old Taffy had disallowed the goal. As we got up to protest he told us quite plainly: “He could never have done that with his head, he must’ve used his arm…” and promptly marched up to me, showed me a yellow card, and awarded a free kick to the Scots.
No sooner had they kicked the ball he blew the final whistle and quickly retired to the pavilion, leaving the team to wonder quite how they had been held to a draw under such appalling circumstances – and me to ponder the fact that I had nearly scored for England…….
To be continued. 😉
Gary flies both flags (not a euphemism 😉 )
Gary Archer and Anna Nicole Smith – get him!
I really, really want to hook up with Gary and his family and his buddies when we head over to California in the summer. I have a feeling it will be right good laugh. And I might get to try on some celebrity teeth!
You’ll be hearing more from Gary soon. Cheers!
Things that have tickled me this week in the land of America
1. This (it has swearing, be warned).
Yes, ‘erbs / herbs: ‘Because there’s a f*cking h in it!’
(PS. Watch till the end for great comment about the Dutch – so true! 😉 )
2. This (for most American drivers!).
Or turn signal, whatever, just use it! 😉
3. And this (they need to distribute this to you at Heathrow!)
I saw something that I’d not seen before in the USA yesterday and it took me a bit by surprise.
It was the dead deer pick up truck.
Yes, it was the truck that goes along the roads and picks up the dead deer who have been walloped by drivers and are then at the roadside dead as doornails. 😦
I wish it had been a covered truck 😦
Brits in the USA
I love hearing the stories of other Brits in the USA and how they find the whole experience. Thomas reads my blog and I asked him to share his journey so far. It makes me realise how very different experiences can be in different parts of the country and how being an expat can be tough at times.
This is Thomas’s story.
My wife, daughter and I left New Malden, Surrey in October 2010 aboard the Queen Mary 2 to the USA. (My wife’s aunt emigrated to the USA after the second world war aboard the original Queen Mary ).
Coming over to the States on the Queen Mary
After a brief stay in Connecticut we arrived in Minnesota in December 2010. The first thing we noticed was how big everything was compared to where we were from. We arrived just after a big snow storm so we also noticed the tremendous amount of snow around. We found a nice (though expensive) apartment which is lovely and close to a lot of amenities (schools, grocery stores). But, we found the first year here very hard.
We did not know anyone and did not know the area, and often we regretted coming here. We also found the food too sweet and processed compared to the UK, we still do. We eventually got jobs (we won our visa on the Visa lottery) and got to meet some really lovely people. People here are generally very friendly and polite. We put our daughter into school where she made a lot of friends. However, we do still think the UK has a better education system than the USA, but she has more of a social life than in the UK.
Thomas’s landscape
Life here in Minnesota is more relaxed and laid back than New Malden, (we like the relaxed life) but we do find that the USA is behind in many areas. The local banks charge for everything and their system seems more complicated and stress inducing than the banks in the UK. The health system is basically unaffordable to us and that may drive us back to the UK. We are ineligible to get health insurance as we are not citizens (we checked this with an immigration lawyer).
The language differences, though funny, are no problem and we do not drive (we cannot afford a car as our wages are so low). We have met so many lovely people, though, so they drive us places.
Snowy Minnesota
Overall, however, it has been an amazing experience. We will miss this place when we leave as we have made so many friends and there are a lot of positives, but an equally amount of negatives to living here.
So, we have mixed feelings, but no regrets. We love the laid back lifestyle and the social interactions and the friends we have made. But the cost of living is too high for us and the wages too low.
Thank you, Thomas, for an interesting, and very honest, account of another British family’s time in the USA. It’s not always happy times and fun for all, so this captures the hard choices made by transitioning and taking on a new life in a new country. Thought-provoking.
A lot of Brits in the USA say they miss British bacon. It’s true. I hear it a lot: ‘Oooh, this bacon just isn’t like the bacon we have back home.’
Well, a certain six-year-old disagrees. Yesterday we had some British bacon and a wrinkled nose and a frown was the response from young Harry.
‘I don’t like that bacon,’ said he. ‘But it’s British bacon!’ we cried. ‘Well, I like American bacon,’ was the retort.
But what exactly is the difference between British and American bacon? The American Paupered Chef helped me out 🙂 .
Apparently, we British have got bacon all backwards. We don’t traditionally use the familiar bacon cut that Americans know and love, and there is a ton of conflicting information out there on the subject.
British bacon
British bacon is “grilled,” which actually means “broiled”; we refer to pieces of bacon as “rashers,” but only if it’s a certain type of bacon; the cut that actually looks like American bacon is called “streaky,” and whether you choose rashers or streaky says things not only about your tastes, but your economic standing. It’s even the subject of a nursery rhyme involving someone named Jack Sprat. Yes, it is!
‘American bacon is invariably made from the belly of the pig, which is not actually its stomach but the fat-streaked padding on the side of the animal. If you’ve eaten anywhere in the last 5 years you’ve probably managed to order pork belly as a main course, and if you grew up in America you definitely have eaten pork belly (unless your vegan parents shielded you from one of life’s highest pleasures).’
Harry’ll have six slices, please.
‘British bacon is a bit like a combination of American and Canadian (though Canadian bacon evolved from the British style and not the other way around). With British bacon, you take the loin but leave lots of lovely fat on it, especially the fat cap, and include the part where the loin attaches to the same cut American-style is made from: the belly. So a full rack of British bacon is the pork loin with plenty of pork belly attached to it: the loin section is the rasher (what [a glossary of British food terms] calls “a thin, floppy slice of fatty ham”) and the belly is the streaky. Then you take your pick.’
And that is the story of bacon. 🙂
The Real Housewives of Baltimore
It can’t be helped: British folks bond over their senses of humour, especially us gals.
Yesterday I got together with Emma Kaufmann, who is a wildly wicked Brit in Baltimore (yes, a real housewife of Baltimore 😉 ) and author of Mommy Has a Headache and Cocktails At Naptime (yes, you must read them, and just from the titles you understand why we bond!) and other excellent pieces of literature (and art).
Oh, how we crack each other up!
Emma and I did not go to boarding school together, but I can categorically state that if we had done we would have got in terrible trouble and, no doubt about it, would have been expelled for doing something naughty and hilarious. Fact.
Anyway, Emma’s boobs were adorned yesterday by a triumphant t-shirt:
Best t-shirt (and boobs) ever!
Most excellent. It got me to thinking, what would a Real Housewives of Columbia or Howard County look like? A figure with a masseur, a figure with a personal trainer, a figure with a cappuccino, and a figure with a covert glass of wine possibly?
Anyhow, I jest, of course, in my naughty, sarcastic British way. But I am seriously thinking of getting myself one of these t-shirts made up to fit my own purpose – what would the images portray for me I wonder….?!
Hoorah! I got a piece about my USA expat life in Global Living Magazine, which is the ‘ultimate global lifestyle magazine and resource for expats worldwide’. Brillopads!
I am, as we Brits say, dead chuffed. 🙂
You can read the article by following the link here: ExpatinUSA
And this is my smiling face on the Contributors’ page: Contributors
The cover of Global Living
Global Living Magazine is on a mission to become the leading resource for expatriates and individuals living abroad, worldwide so it’s pretty cool to be part of that journey as a writer 🙂 .
This link (Issue 11 GLM) takes you to the front cover and you can download the whole magazine via an app if you wish – how very modern!
American politics
So, last night I was part of something very new and very fascinating and very, very American.
I was at a house party in Howard County for the Democratic candidates for the race to become Maryland’s next Governor and Lieutenant (read ‘Loo-tenant’, Americans; and ‘Lef-tenant’, Brits 😉 ).
I was trying to explain why American politics is so different from British politics. For one, there is a fundraising for campaigns in the USA, and then there is the kind of ‘glamour’ aspect. I mean the glitterati turning out for an event, and all the whooping and cheering in a double-fronted #hocomd house as folk get all passionate whilst raising a toast of Miller-Lite and balancing a plate of sushi appetizers.
Schmoozing with the next Governor and Lt Governor of Maryland, don’t ya know!
Sure, people get passionate in the UK, but the British reserve is always applied, and there is only so much passion one can apply in a draughty town or church hall, as one waits to indulge in Vera’s Cotswold-renowned harder-than-marble fruitcake and a cup of urn-churned tea.
Look, my experience of American politics so far is rather glam, and I love hearing the speeches – Gordon Bennett, they know how speak and rally a crowd. It feels real and genuine and, sure it’s PR, but I hear what they’re saying and I feel inspired. Ken Ulman and Anthony Brown know how to get that crowd going – they’re like the rock gods of Maryland!
Ken and Anthony having a right old giggle!
And Ken wears jeans, which most British men can’t pull off, so full respect to the man they call #hocohottiepants 😉
Ken Ulman rocks the jeans look!
During my American journey my involvement in Tom Coale’s campaign for District 9B in Ellicott City and events such as this one have given me an insight into how the PR of politics works, and as I schmoozed and chatted with the community of Howard County last night, I stopped for one moment and took it all in.
Wow, thought I, I was potentially in a room with at least one future candidate for the USA presidency. How cool is that! Rock on!
Selfie with the #hocohomos and Ken UIman, aka #hocohottiepants 😉
PS. I was on my best behaviour, although I did photobomb one important pic – can you spot me..? 😉
The American term ‘eyeglasses’, which is used over the word simply ‘glasses’, never fails to amuse me, because I pretty much think the word ‘eye’ before ‘glasses’ is redundant when using the word in context.
For example, if I were to say “I’ll just put my glasses on” I am guessing that it’s fairly obvious that I require apparel for my eyes to see and not that I am going to put two drinks glasses up to my eyes in order to view something better.
But, then it got me to wondering if there is common usage in the States of those comedy ‘drinking glasses’ that have straws attached to them and that the word ‘eyeglasses’ needs to be used to prevent confusion over usage of these types of glasses. 😉
See what I mean – drinking eyeglasses! 🙂
Ken and Anthony drinkiepoos
Tonight I’m going ‘hobnobbing’ and having drinkiepoos with the next Governor (Anthony Brown) and Lt. Governor (Ken Ulman) of Maryland, which is very exciting for this little blogging British girl in Howard County #hocomd. I love me a bit of American politics!
Firstly, I must remember to call Anthony with a ‘th’ the American way when I meet him tonight. (Why do we Brits say it differently from our American cousins…?).
Secondly, I must be on my best behaviour and not let the British side down in case they decide to throw us Brits out again. (Note to self: no mojitos or dancing on the tables.)
Thirdly, I must not do a Mockney British accent and say ‘Alwight Guv’nor’ all evening 😉 .
Ken Ulman and Anthony Brown
British food at the Corner Pantry
I’ve heard about this place in Baltimore called the Corner Pantry, which does British food and does it quite well, at that, because the chef is from Colchester in England.
Whilst I don’t actually ever really crave a Bacon Butty or Spotted Dick, I’m keen to see and taste the promise of “British fare with an American accent”.
Bacon Butty, innit.
British specialties are on the breakfast menu. I’ll get to choose from crumpets (fyi, my mother calls a ‘buttered crumpet’ a ‘cruttered bumtit’!), scones and sausage rolls. On the daily menu, there’s a listing of ‘sarnies’ (yes, this is a popular term in the UK for bacon sandwiches in particular and sandwiches in general 😉 ).
They also do afternoon tea. Ooh, marvellous, I might just be in time for that!
Oooh, my American chums are being right cheeky buggers, messing with my head.
I used a phrase today ‘get cracking’ (as in, ‘Yes, I will get cracking with that’ – to start doing something quickly) and I asked if it was used in American English much.
The reply? ‘Horribly racist term. Embarrassed…’
For one short moment I really believed this to be true and thought I had been offensive. But no, the cheeky buggers were just joshing with me.
So ha bloody ha – I’ll get you back American chums, just you wait. You’ll be saying highly inappropriate British English things soon enough without even realising it…. 😉
They’re messing with my head!
‘They say things backwards’
Dear Harry is picking up on all sorts of differences in the language arena whilst at school.
‘Americans say things backwards sometimes and it really makes me confused.’
‘Like what?’
‘They call a “tummy” a “belly” and a “bottom” a “butt” and sometimes I just don’t know what they’re talking about because they’re saying things backwards.’
I’m guessing by ‘backwards’ he means different. Well, Harry, count yourself lucky – at least your friends aren’t giving you rogue interpretations of words and phrases to get you all in a doo-dah! 😉
An American butt (let me tell you, when I Google-imaged those words, you won’t believe what came up! And I found a male butt, rather than a female butt – rejoice! 😉 )
The Art of Undertaking
Good Lord, I’ve mastered it and am thoroughly enjoying it! What is she on about you may ask….?
Undertaking on the freeway/highway/whatever-it’s-called, that’s what!
Yeah, I have thrown all my British Highway Code rules out the window and am now driving with complete abandon, relishing the total and utter freedom of undertaking! Yes, let’s speed up on the inside lane – it feels good!
(Obviously, I do this with total and utter caution as well, since I do not want to cause a crash, but – oh my, it is so liberating!)
Interestingly, nowhere in UK The Highway Code does it say a driver ‘must not’ overtake using an inside lane. In fact, Section 268 states, “Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake.” The use of ‘do not’ instead of ‘must not’ means it is technically legal to overtake in any lane except the hard shoulder. Ah, semantics!
So I can overtake however I like in the UK when I get back? Can I? No, don’t be daft, I certainly cannot!
Folks who leave notes on the Highway Code say this: ‘It’s strongly advised you avoid overtaking using the inside lane in any circumstance. The odd undertake here and there won’t attract too much negative attention from police, particularly if a situation obviously calls for it, but darting across three lanes to cut down the inside of some poor, unsuspecting granny could cause you problems.’
You can get banged up, that’s for sure!
Yes, now I remember. Rules exist in the UK, and, if broken on the roads, you get THE GLARE. So what kind of problems would I encounter back home if I drove like I just drove today in the USA?
‘You can be charged with “dangerous driving”, or “driving without due care and attention”, both of which can result in fines and up to eleven points on your licence, depending on the extent of the damage caused by your driving.
‘In fact, dangerous driving can land you a two-year holiday at Her Majesty’s pleasure and you’d have to re-sit your driving test after an obligatory one-year ban. It hardly seems worth it to save a few minutes by breezing past a couple of cars.’
I suspect that the warning and penalty is pretty similar in America-ca-ca, so even though I throughly enjoyed today’s undertaking session whilst listening to Bohemian Rhapsody, I shall attempt to instill my British reserve again and drive with all due care and attention and only overtake on the outside lane.
I love me some British comedy. To the Manor Born, The Vicar of Dibley, The Office, Alan Partridge.
I also love me some American comedy. Parks and Recreation, Arrested Development, Modern Family, Friends.
One of my favourite images of David Brent 🙂
But, British comedy is what I was raised on and that’s at the heart of my funny bone 🙂 . I am always pleasantly surprised by how much my American friends love a dose of British comedy. I have one friend (you know who you are!) who seems to have watched more British comedy than I have and knows his Hyacinth Bucket and Patsy Stone quotes inside out!
Anyway, this is my piece on British comedy for your pleasure. (Post writing I kicked myself for not mentioning Blackadder, which, interestingly, I was watching on Christmas Day when my waters broke! So Harry is very lucky not to be called Baldrick! 😉 )
The Last of the Snow Days (please)
And so, yet another snow day is upon us. And my sanity slowly melts away as the snow does not.
Please, please, let this be the last of the snow days. We’ll be pushing the summer term into August at this rate, and whilst I will certainly take advantage of days at the pool sans enfants, this is taking the piss now!
Hoorah for the parents!
Plus, I slipped on some effing ice today, which must have been hilarious to see. It was one of the those quality, slow-mo falls right on to my arse. 😉
Just do it, already!
This phrase is very American, I’m sure. When Harry uttered it the other day whilst watching TV, I realised it was a genuine Americanism that he had adopted into his vocabulary, and why not hey?
It’s not a bad phrase at all, but if I said it, I would sound like a bit of knob with my British accent. It’s like if I said ‘y’all’ at the end of a sentence without being tongue in cheek about it. I’d sound right and proper daft, I would. 🙂
Yeah, this is the new storm here on the East Coast of the USA messing with our daily lives. I think everyone’s pretty much had it with this weather malarkey.
Mother Nature owes me a few $$$ is lost income. B*tch.
Yes, when?
It feels like this American winter has gone on foreeeeeeeever. And it sucks. I’m not even going to put up pictures of the snow as the inches grow on the front lawn / yard. Instead, here is a picture of where I would like to be today instead.
Up yours snow.
Staying up to watch the Oscars
It’s been known for me to take a day’s leave in the UK in previous years so that I can stay up to ridiculous o’clock and watch the Oscars.
However, one of the [more shallow] benefits of living in the States is that I only need to stay up till midnight (on the East Coast, anyhow – they have it earlier on the West Coast, of course).
And did I help in that collapse of Twitter last night with the Ellen / celebrity picture retweet? You bet I did!
Gotta love the Oscars!
Evening in the Stacks video
I wanted to share this video with you that was taken at the fundraising event last weekend. In it I speak several times through a severely blocked nose, aided by one glass of red wine, antibiotics and flu medicine (not a recommended combination for anyone with any sense).
Aren’t I soooo jolly and enthusiastic and British! 😉
American checks / British cheques
An American blog reader who lives in the UK recently alluded to the fact that she still writes out her cheques/checks in an American way, even after being in Great Britain for so many years.
Gawd, I still don’t know how to write them in the American way and the banks must have a right old laugh when they read mine!
To confirm, this is the British way: Twenty pounds and 20 pence.
And this is the American way: Twenty and 20/100 dollars.
An American check, y’all.
I will certainly try to write my checks that way, but old habits die hard!
ukdesperatehousewifeusa 