Inspired

After finding out that Julie and Julia was already out on DVD (thanks Mark! Jim thanks you too), I went and rented it. She has inspired me to keep the blog alive despite the lack of acknowledgement of the blog on the part of the readers. Perhaps I'll make the blog searchable by google so that I can make some new friends :)

I've been hearing about all this cold weather that you've been getting back in the states. We're getting some of that too! Instead of the 78 degrees I'm used to, it was like 65 over the weekend. Talk about cold front! I was told before I moved here not to become one of those people that rubs in the fact that I live on an island. So I've decided to devote this entry to the top 10 reasons that Chicago is cooler than Bermuda.

1. Chicago really is cooler. Literally. Like 75 degrees cooler.

2. I'll occasionally see "68 degrees" on the forecast and freak out because it's not the 75 degrees I'm used to seeing every single day. Then I realize that 68 degrees is actually the low. This small swing in temperature can be quite confusing at first glance. This was never an issue in Chicago when the high and low for the day could be separated by 20+ degrees.

3. Enough about the weather, Bermuda stinks. Everything has a nasty, stinky, pungent mold smell. Sometimes you won't realize it because you get used to it. Then you'll get a wiff of the stink as you turn your head and want to throw up. This is particularly hazardous when you are at a restaurant. Although, it could be seen as a positive if you are trying to lose weight since you will lose your appetite.

4. Snowboarding is impossible. When in Chicago, you can hop in the car and drive up to scenic Wisconsin. In Bermuda, you can scatter some cotton all over the backyard and throw your board on top of it. It doesn't quite have the same effect though.

5. Why is Bermuda so expensive? A 40 pint dehumidifier should not cost $500. A used dehumidifier from the 1800s should not cost $150. A Chevy Spark should not cost as much as a BMW. Simple economics.

6. I miss chicken nuggets from McDonalds. Those of you that know how much I love chicken nuggets understand the enormity of this situation.

7. Full service gas station pumps means that someone must pump your gas for you. This means you are left with roughly 3-5 minutes where you are obligated to talk to the guy pumping the gas. Particularly awkward when the guy doesn't understand how you can possibly not have an accent and speak perfect English, even if you spent your entire life in the US.

8. Tree frogs dying on your screen door and getting stuck on the screen = bad. Enough said.

9. You know that feeling in the summer time when you are looking out of the window wishing that you were outside instead of wasting your life away at your desk? Now imagine having that feeling every single day.

10. Target. Even though I went there maybe once every 2 months back home, I want to cry when the commercials come on (yes, we get Target commercials because I'm pretty sure they just steal the TV signal from the states). The other day I went to pick up a filing cabinet from some guy that is moving back to the states. I asked why he was moving back. His exact words..."I miss Walmart."

So there you have it folks...living on an island is not just fun and games. In other news, I can't believe that Christmas has snuck up on us so soon! I didn't even realize it was coming up until Jim told me we were leaving for Vegas in 1 1/2 weeks.  We have no Christmas decorations up and the only Christmas-y thing we've done this year is go to the Christmas boat parade. Our first trip off the island! We'll also be back in Chicago at the end of January, then off to Taiwan. Hope we get to see you when we're back!